And therein lay my dilemma. Most institutions – and the Stones are most definitely
an institution - are accurately aware of their history and do everything possible
to celebrate that fact. But the sheer
amount of books, DVD’s, CDs and other stuff that has been released has been an avalanche.
This probably accounts for my seeming
lack of interest this year, although I did put (and received) the Stones/Muddy
Waters Live at the Checkerboard Lounge CD/DVD
on last year’s Christmas wish list which I then devoured before the start
of this year. But I wanted to listen to
something that hasn’t been connected to the anniversary celebrations and wasn’t
in the mood for early period Stones and
so selected;
(# 440) The Rolling
Stones – Tattoo You (1981)
This is, without question, the most underrated album in
their entire collection and deserves consideration of being ranked with
Aftermath, Beggar’s Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main
Street as one of their very best albums. And it
is an incredible achievement given that the album effectively consists
of cast off tracks from the previous 10 years or so of recording. Yet to me it is an incredibly cohesive album,
probably because of the tracks were remixed and Jagger’s vocals overdubbed at
the one time. The album’s odd
sequencing, up tempo tracks on the vinyl side 1, slower stuff on side 2,
actually works in its favour, with saxophone overdubs by Sonny Rollins on side
1’s Slave and side 2’s Waiting On A Friend adding to the sense of
cohesion. But in the end, it’s home to a
number of tremendous tracks. Everyone
knows the ubiquitous opener Start Me Up.
Hang Fire and Neighbours are great flat out rockers and Little T&A is
a tremendous Keith Richards number which he really should perform live more
often. The ballads, and Jagger’s vocals
in particular, are magnificent especially the wondrous Worried About You where,
for once, he moves between falsetto and his normal voice effortlessly. (Mick played this from a piano the last time
The Stones played Melbourne and it came close to stealing the show.) Tops and
No Use In Crying are just as good. Waiting On A Friend is the perfect closer.
After this, I started thinking about albums that I really love
but which don’t seem to get the kudos they deserve in overviews of the artists’
work. Scrolling again I landed on;
(# 441) Blur – Modern
Life Is Rubbish (1993)
Blur’s second album is close to my favourite and I definitely
prefer it to the more lauded Parklife.
It’s a very English sounding album but ultimately what I really do love
about it is the complete lack of pretension on any of the tracks. Essentially it’s an album where a bunch of
English lads get together and play music just for the sheer joyous fun of
it. The result is a batch of truly
catchy songs such as the T-Rex influenced For Tomorrow, the pronounced nod to
The Kinks on Sunday Sunday and Chemical World/Intermission (the latter incorporating
snatches of music hall) and the terrific closer Resigned.
(# 442) Bob Dylan –
Street Legal (1978)
There are a number of underrated Dylan albums I could have
played including Slow Train Coming, Infidels, World Gone Wrong and Good As I’ve
Been To You. But this is the one for me
because of the future directions it clearly signposts. It opens with one of my very favourite Dylan
tracks, Changing Of The Guards. As is
the case with many of the great man’s masterworks, the lyrics can be taken to
mean anything, but to these ears it sounds like a career/life overview whilst simultaneously
preparing the ground for the first of his “Christian” albums, Slow Train
Coming. Possessed of an irresistible grove, the track
also introduces female musical back up singers to great effect who were seen by
many to be a grating feature on his next album, the very much unloved live Dylan
At Budokan. New Pony continues in this
vein. Is Your Love In Vain? was this album’s instant
classic, Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat) and Baby Stop Crying nearly attained the same
status and Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power) sounds to me like Dylan’s take on Neil
Young’s Cortez The Killer.
(# 443) R.E.M. –
Accelerate (2008)
This really should have been the album that restored R.E.M.
to world domination but instead probably marked the point when the band realised
their glory days had ended. The album
starts off in blistering fashion with Living Well Is The Best Revenge and the
truly awesome Man-Sized Wreath two of the most convincing rockers the band ever
recorded and effortlessly commanded by Michael Stipe’s vocals. Supernational Superserious which follows is
almost as good and Hollow Man, a good slow/fast
number, maintained the sonic attack. The
next four five tracks are of a uniformly high quality until the memorable final
two numbers Horse To Water and I’m Gonna DJ, both of which are cut from the same
cloth as the turbocharged opening three numbers. At 35 minutes in length, the album seems to
fly by very quickly leaving you wanting to cue it up and start again. By the time I got home, it was time for dinner and bed with the Grand Final of The Voice in which 4 acts are going to be told that they're the greatest young acts in the country, at least until next year's GF. Whether they be able to sustain long recording careers that will encompass an underrated album will be very much in doubt.
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