14 January 2013 - A Bog Standard Day

Today was a bog standard day at work albeit one without meetings.  An instrumental album kicked off proceedings.

(39) Tuatara – Trading With The Enemy

This is the second album and ,last on a major label, for the alt-rock supergroup whose membership on this album included Justin Harwood (Luna), Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees), Peter Buck (R.E.M), Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) and Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5, Young Fresh Fellows and R.E.M.’s touring band).  The album contains a variety of instrumentals using all manner of instruments and themes and using more than a dollop of world music flourishes.

(40)  Little Willie John – Complete Hit Singles A’s & B’s

So you think that James Brown was the Godfather Of Soul?  If that’s the case meet the Great-Godfather, a man that used to regularly headline over the still to be christened Sex Machine.  John recorded for King Records (one of Brown’s earliest labels) between 1955-1961 and this album contains all of the hits that reached the US R&B charts.  Three tracks in particular should be well known to the audience of today – his signature hit Fever (later a hit for loads of acts including Peggy Lee and Elvis Presley), Leave My Kitten Along (recorded by The Beatles but left unreleased until it surfaced on one of their Anthology albums in the 1990s) and I’m Shaking (another track covered by many acts, notably The Blasters). Unfortunately, the five foot two inch John was imprisoned for manslaughter and died in prison in 1969. Who knows how soul would have developed had things turned out differently?

(41) The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin

In the absence of anything other descriptor I’d guess you’d call this a modern folk album mixing sparse acoustics or more up tempo numbers with vague Tom Waits or Kings Of Leon touches.  Somehow it all hangs together wonderfully.

(42) Lambchop – Nixon

Probably Lambchop’s most highly regarded album, a lovely collection of country songs wrapped up in tasteful MOR arrangements and Kurt Wagner’s distinctive part singing/mostly intoning voice that will not be to everyone’s liking.  It is sumptuous listening, particularly on headphones.

(43) Ride – Nowhere

Whenever I read a review of this debut band from the Kings Of Shoegazing, the phrase “simmering guitars” inevitably gets a spin and I’m not going to describe its main feature any other way.  I haven’t given this a spin for a few years as my preference had been for its follow up Going Blank Again which contains the brilliant Leave Them All Behind, one of the high water marks of 90s British rock.  Today’s listen reminded me that this is ultimately the more consistent and better album.  The closing brace of tracks, Paralysed/Vapour Trail/Taste/Here And Now and Nowhere is one of the better second halves.