At work, I keep busy trying to tie up a few loose ends as I’m
not sure when I’ll be returning. “M” is
undergoing routine surgery tomorrow on a matter that has the potential to be extremely
serious. Suffice to say we’re both on
edge which I try to diffuse with a night out after work.
Accordingly, I didn’t listen to much during the day - only 2 and a half albums - but
continue my homage to some of the great European acts you’ll never ever see at
an Eurovision.
(#364) The
Hellacopters – Payin’ The Dues (1997)
The Hellacopters were a high energy garage band from Sweden
who loved the sounds by the great Detroit bands such as The Stooges, MC5, Sonic’s
Rendezvous Band and, by definition, Australia’s own Radio Birdman. This is the second of their first two albums
featuring original guitarist Dregen which are regarded as the pinnacles of
their career and are recommended to any serious air guitaist out there. Payin’ The Dues is very much an album of pairs with a number of
one/two punches throughout the record.
It opens with the savage combination of You Are Nothin’ and Like No
Other Man which, later on, is made to sound almost impotent by the ferocious
combination of Riot On The Rocks and Hey!
The pummelling continues later on with the uppercuts of Where The Action
Is and Twist Action and all of the
remaining tracks are solid body punches.
Even better, is the knock out limited edition version of the album with a
bonus disc of about 25 minutes of the band live which is every bit as good as
the gig I saw at The Corner Hotel on their debut tour.
(#365) Etienne de
Crecy – Super Discount (1997)
Etienne de Crecy is a French DJ and producer who, along with
Daft Punk and Air have created a number of notable dance/electronic
albums. This particular album might very
well be the best of them all encompassing a number of different styles. The opening track, Le patron est devenu fou! Places a reggae beat at
the heart of a flamboyant Euro dance beat.
The following track, Prix choc, reduces the quotient of reggae with the
remaining tracks giving way to some inspired dance tracks which, at times,
weave an incredible hypnotic spell particularly on closing numbers Les 10
jours fous and Destockage massif.
(#366) The Young Gods – Live Sky Tour (1993)
Just about the
only act I can name that has emerged from Switzerland, The Young Gods have been
creating their inspired take on industrial music for nearly 3 decades. This live album was recorded in Melbourne at
the Sarah Sands Hotel , then a grungy inner city band venue (and now a respectable Irish
pub) during 1992. (That tour altered me
to the existence of the band so I wasn’t in the audience that night, but was on
their next tour.) The early tracks provide
a good overview of the repertoire at the time culminating in a wonderful
version of Skinflowers. A couple of tracks later comes the epic Summer Eyes
which sounds at times like a great lost Doors track complete with Jim Morrison
sound alike vocals. This leads to a
number of brutal industrial tracks – Pas Mal, Longue Route and September Song –
before an encore of the German cabaret sounding Seeräuber Jenny ends the show
to a clearly bemused audience.
I listened to
these final tracks after “M” had gone to sleep, knowing that tomorrow is going
to be a long day.
No comments:
Post a Comment