14 February 2013 (Day 45) – Door bell, cuckoo clock, soccer crowd, mosquito, chicken and telephone sounds

Oops! I did it again - another day where I’m able to play a few albums and again I’ve found myself unconsciously then deliberately choosing my selections based on what I’d just heard.  The starting point was two of the finest dub albums ever released;

(121 & 122) Joe Gibbs And The Professionals – African Dub All-Mighty Chapters 3 and 4

Joe Gibbs was one of the major producers of reggae in Jamaica during its golden era of the 1970’s and the early 1980’s.  The Professionals was his crack studio band comprising rhythm section Sly & Robbie (Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare) and guitarist [Earl] Chinna Smith.  Together the released a total of six albums (i.e Chapters) of the African Dub series which are available as individual albums or, if you still able to find them, as “twofers” (i.e two complete albums on the one disc). General critical opinion appears to regard Chapters 3 & 4 as the pick of the bunch; I certainly prefer them to Chapters 1 & 2 (and then Chapter 3 to 4) but haven’t yet heard the final two.  These are definitively two of the finest examples of dub, the reggae practice of taking usually existing tracks, emphasising the drums and bass and adding echo and effects and removing or selectively retaining the remaining elements. I love these albums because, Gibbs allows some vocal elements to remain, occasionally gives as much emphasis to the horns on the records as to the rhythm section and also because of the range of sound effects added to the mix.  It’s these effects that really stay in the mind afterwards especially as ythey appear without warning.  On Chapter 3 alone, I heard running water, ringing telephones, gongs, door bells and the hoots from a cuckoo clock.  Wanting to keep the largely instrumental vibe going I next turned to:

(123) Pink Floyd – Meddle

…or as it is fated to be known for the rest of time, “The One Pink Floyd Released Before The Dark Side Of The Moon”.  I don’t think it deserves such a fate as it is a very strong album in its own right.  The opening instrumental One Of These Days is justly celebrated, one of those pieces that starts slowly but continually builds tempo throughout. The remainder of the former Side 1 is a combination of largely acoustic tunes with all of the original Side 2 given over to a single track.  Echoes is arguably Pink Floyd’s finest post Syd/pre Dark Side (now I’m doing it!) moment.  Most of the lyrical comment, some form of hippie I’m-one-with-the-earth-man-so-let’s-get-it-on-girl babbling is disposed of relatively early on.  The rest is a wondrous exploration as David Gilmour’s guitars fight to the death against Richard Wright’s keyboards. 

Whilst this album was on, I was distracted by some of the effects added to some of the tracks (the wind and the soccer crowd during Fearless and the howling dog during Seamus) like on the dub albums. Determined to break this, I decided on making an ironic comment by next selecting:

(124) The Jam – Sound Affects

I don’t care what anyone says but this is their best album.  Although admittedly it was the first Jam album I’d ever heard, Sound Affects is the most balanced of their records.  The early up tempo mod tunes of the early album are tempered here by some light and shade, especially the ballad like That’s Entertainment, the whistles on Set The House Ablaze (a particular favourite of mine) and the increased use of horns.   And then – to my horror – was the track I’d completely forgotten about.  About mid way through The Last Couple, the track breaks down so that we could all listen to the sound of a mosquito buzzing!  Throwing my hands up in the air, I’d thought I’d go to an album that was bound to include many effects:

(125) Easy Star All-Stars – Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band

This is a reggae band that specialises in producing reggae versions of entire classic albums such as Dark Side Of The Moon, Thriller and OK Computer.  Their take on The Beatles Sgt Pepper’s, an album many people would have you think is the best album ever made when it doesn’t even make my Beatles top three, is a pretty good one even though it falls short of the heights reached on Pink Floyd’s opus.  Some of the tunes here lend themselves well to reggae, especially Getting Better, Lovely Rita and the McCartney mid-section of A Day In The Life.  Having a female voice sing She’s Leaving Home is a sensible one as the sentiments expressed in the song are more likely to be expressed by a mother.  The expected sound effects from the original were present; the alarm clock in A Day In The Life and the chicken, dogs, horses and birds Good Morning Good Morning with a lion added.  If you listen carefully, the latter also incorporates a number of chickens sampled from their own Dub Side Of The Moon.

(126) The Electric Light Orchestra – A New World Record

A great example of how the memory can play tricks.  This was a real favourite of mine when it was originally released.  Yet for some reason I thought it was loaded with effects.  As it turns out there are only the telephone sounds that occur throughout Telephone Line and a police siren in Mission.  None of this detracts from the album which also contains the wonderful Rockaria! and Do Ya where Jeff Lynne covers his own song that was originally recorded when he was in The Move.   It is still a good album after all this time and, unlike some of the latter ELO material, one that doesn’t feel dated.

Tomorrow is looking grim music wise.  Some lengthy commitments at work and a delayed Valentine’s Day dinner with “M” raises the distinct possibility that I’ll have nothing to write about.