Now I’m a Republican, as in an Australian favouring we
become a republic. Nothing enrages my national
sensibilities more than hearing monarchists here argue Australia doesn’t need
to become one because we already have an Australian Head of State in the Governor-General. The G-G is the Queen’s representative. A substitute. And so it is with this public holiday. The
second Monday on June is not the Queen’s actual birthday. It’s just the day we celebrate it. Given
Her real birthday is 21 April, the same as
that for Iggy Pop, I’d like to have my own regal substitute. So Happy Iggy’s Birthday everyone!
To celebrate Iggy’s Birthday, “M” and I went into town for a
huge feast but not before I squeezed in one album:
(# 419) Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
(2009)
One of the most lauded albums released in recent years is
still a bit of a mystery to me.
Certainly it starts off at a cracking pace. In The
Flowers, is a suitably enigmatic and psychedelic opener which gives way to My
Girls with its distinctive Beach Boys derived sound and vocals, a vibe that is continued by Also Frightened. The rest of the album sounds very much like
the Beach Boys covering Flaming Lips B-sides and outtakes.
After lunch, “M” and I headed into town to take advantage of
the mid-year clearance sales going on. I strike music gold at, of all places, the
David Jones Department store where I discover just about all CDs in what
appeared to be a dwindling stock was marked to 50% off. A run out perhaps? I purchased about 5 discs and after returning
home mange to play two of them starting with:
(# 420) Skyhooks –
The Collection [disc 2 only]
(compilation 1999)
Skyhooks were easily the most important Australian band of
the 1970s being the one that convinced record music execs that local product, containing explicit references to Australian
locations and themes, could sell in really big numbers and thus justify signing
more than a couple of token acts to the major labels. The Collection is one of a number of compilations
that have been released and does a reasonable job of filleting through their
first 4 albums whilst Graeme “Shirley” Strahan was their lead singer. But I
have those albums and I bought this solely for the second disc which consists
of music recorded in 1990 and 194 for a reunion album with Strahan that was
never released. Three of the 11 tracks
were released as singles; Jukebox In Siberia was a catchy no. 1 hit in 1990
that hasn’t lost its charm. Tall Timber
was reasonable but Happy Hippy Hut left me cold. There’s a couple of promising tracks in the
remainder, especially My Girleen which sounds like a tribute to the Hoodoo
Gurus, but unfortunately are testament to their wisdom in not released them as
a separate entity.
(#421) Paul Simon –
Graceland (25th anniversary extended version) (1986/2012)
This will be forever remembered as the album which popularised
“world music” to the extent that it could be seen as a viable genre. I’ve
always loved how the different musical styles on this album – the various
streams of South Africa music, zydeco and Los Lobos’ unique brand of rock – all
somehow meshed together musically but then contrasted against Simon’s lyrics
and delivery. And yet, there’s
something not quite right about this rerelease.
Many of the songs sound very different to how I remember them. It’s a complaint I have about so many of the
reissued and remastered classic albums over the last 10 years or so; every note
suddenly becomes crystal clear and in the process the music loses a lot of its
mystery. I find this incredibly
distracting; I don’t want to hear each and every instrument in pristine sound
separate from each other in much the same way that I hate watching remastered classic
American sitcoms on High Definition digital clarity that rams home the fact you’re
watching a set on a sound stage. My
other complaint is the additional tracks – all demos or unreleased versions as
well as Simon himself talking about how the title track came to be written – tacked
onto the end of the album. They’re nice
to hear but with an album as perfectly structured and arranged as this, they do
ultimately detract from the finished product.
My version of the album also contains a DVD with the Under African Skies
documentary and the videos that were released.
Having said all that, it is still the album that contains The Boy In The
Bubble, Graceland, Homeless, You Can Call Me All and the Los Lobos track with
the title that’s too long to repeat here, and as such deserves to be
celebrated.
No comments:
Post a Comment