What I have noticed is, in a day singularly lacking in
detail, nuance and uniqueness, I’ve selected music that, to this ear, sounds
very basic. Or put another way, music
played with very few instruments or, if a few are involved, just the basic ones
(i.e combinations of voice, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards or saxophone). No
exotic instruments are involved, production values are relatively simple and
the music is something I imagine that could easily be reproduced live without
having to haul much equipment on stage, that is assuming a stage is even needed.
That is certainly true in the case of jazz which is where I started my day with
a true classic;
(# 427) John Coltrane
– A Love Supreme (1965)
Along with Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue and Norah Jones’ Come
Away With Me, this is the jazz album most likely to turn up in the collections
of people who don’t profess to have anything more than a passing interest in
the genre. It is a wonderful 33 minute
composition that is broken up into three phases of varying lengths. Coltrane doesn’t even play his saxophone for
significant portions, gracefully allowing soloing time and space for his
pianist, drummer and bassist. His
saxophone playing effectively bookends the album and consists of the same
graceful playing that marked the majority of this work until this stage of his
career. Nonetheless, when it comes, it’s
incredibly expressive and effective.
(# 428) The Cure –
Seventeen Seconds (1980)
Don’t ask me why, but the final flourishes of A Love Supreme
brought this album into the forefront of my mind. It might have been due to A Reflection, the
sparse piano and guitar instrumental which opens this album and sets the tone
for a collection of relatively quiet and fragile though very dark songs. The albums power has not been diminished over
years and, if anything, tracks such as Play For Today, A Forrest, the title
track and In Your House have gained added intensity.
(429) Kraftwerk – The
Man Machine (1978)
Men with computers.
What could be simpler. This was
Kraftwerk’s seventh album sitting between the glorious Trans Europe and the
utterly human Computer World. Obviously,
the amount of hardware needed to create this music would have been quite
significant when this was recorded, but it is a mark of progress that the
remnants of the band can now tour the world and play this exquisite music essentially
from laptops. I’m not suggesting for a
second that either you or can can now create this; a keen musical mind is still
essential to create the sheer melodic marvels that are Neon Lights, the title
tracks and, of course The Robots and The Model.
(# 430) John Lee
Hooker – That’s Where It’s At (1969)
One man, his electric guitar, an unbilled bassist and some
wonderful examples of delta blues. This
gem is not often mentioned in many of the overviews of Hooker’s career but it
is unhesitatingly recommended to any fans of the great man. Please Don’t Go lacks only the Baby from its
title, the final track, Grinder Man, is obviously admired by Nick Cave and Feel
So Bad, a duet with the bassist is one of the most overlooked songs in his
entire catalogue. As always, Hooker’s
guitar playing is a treat, full of dark menace.
(# 431) Beck – One Foot
In The Grave (1994)
Apparently, under the terms of his contract with Geffen
records, Beck Hansen was allowed to record and release some of his more
experimental efforts on independent labels.
The wonderfully weird StereoPatheticSoulManure was one such release and
this album, released between Mellow Gold and Odelay, is another. Originally released on Calvin Johnson’s K
Record Label, the album originally consisted of 16 tracks although I think I
might have originally obtained a Japanese edition of 19 tracks. (The album has since been rereleased with a
whopping additional 19 tracks to the original 16.) Whatever it composition, it still contains a
number of lo fi, kind of modern version of folk blues with a number of
instantly memorable tracks such as I Get Lonesome, Ziplock Bag, Asshole and
Girl Dreams.
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