9 May 2013 (Day 129) – Old(ish) And New(ish) Albums To Blow Your Mind

It’s often said that to truly appreciate psychedelic rock you need to take some form of hallucinogenics.  I’ve never felt the need.  I find that listening to and identifying the swirling or fractured melodies, sudden tempo changes,  sound effects, tape loops, drones, jams and disjointed lyrics is quite a stimulating experience in its own right.  It’s even better when these elements are brought together to form actual songs with discernible beginnings and ends.  I suspect this might be a major reason why so many music fans rate The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s as one of the greatest albums of all time although personally I don’t agree.

To my mind psychedelic music is all that much better if the acts that produced the music in a studio can convincingly reproduce it in a live environment. Even better still is when the act actually improves on the original recordings live.  I’m sure that’s why, for example, the Deadheads followed The Grateful Dead for all those years and why the Syd Barrett Pink Floyd was so revered.   It certainly explains to me why I think two of the all time best gigs I’ve ever experienced were the Primal Scream shows on their Xtrmntr and the original Screamadelica tours.    

Anyway, psychedelica is what binds together today’s listening matter.  On a work day that I really needed to feel inspired and break on through my thought processes on a couple of issues that demanded my attention, these albums really did the trick.

(# 347) The Flaming Lips – Transmissions From The Satellite Heart (1993)

This was the album that turned The Flaming Lips into stars for a short while, thanks mainly to the most unlikely hit She Don’t Use Jelly.  It was also the first of their albums that I had heard but I didn’t even get to that track before I became a fan.  Opening track, Turn It On, starts with the sound of radio dial being moved and is a catchy track before seguing into the lyrically weird Pilot Can At The Queer Of God and its irresistibly catchy “She likes Helli-copters/I think she does” refrain.  The aforementioned single, Be My Head and Superhumans are equally catchy but the band still kept room for inspired lunacy that is Moth In The Incubator and album closer, Slow Nerve Action.

(# 348) Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam (1991)

Transmissions From The Satellite Heart was the first album the Flaming Lips made after the departure of guitarist Jonathan Donahue to form Mercury Rev and the release of this debut album.  The opening cuts here, Chasing A Bee and Syringe Mouth sound like they’ve come straight off a Lips album but it wasn’t long before Donahue found his stride and sound.  With Frittering he created a 9 minute epic, a stately island of sanity still played frequently in their live shows today and which also anticipated the future masterpiece that was Deserters Songs.  My copy of the CD also contains the classic Car Wash Hair as a hidden track.

(# 349) MGMT – Congratulations (2010)

With all of the catchy, singalong numbers such as Kids that littered their debut album Oracular Spectacular and received mass airplay on JJJ here, I thought that MGMT were destined to be one of those acts that would flame out quickly.  Indeed, the first few tracks of this follow up being more of the same suggested that this might happen.  Then something quite miraculous happens as the record makes a massive turn to the experimental that is truly inspiring.  The 12 minute Siberian Breaks, Brian Eno, Lady Dada’s Nightmare and the closing title tracks are the sort of things that give experimental guitar driven music a good word.  If only even band could challenge their audience like this.

(# 350) Tame Impala – Innerspeaker (2010)

For reasons that are beyond me, their most recent album Lonerism is being feted all over the world.  Don’t get me wrong, it is a fine album, but the real mystery is why so many missed this.  This is arguably the finest album released by an Australian act since The Avalanches Since I Met You.  To these ears, Kevin Parker has created an album of simmering beauty that recalls the blissed out sounds of classic 60s psychedelica but utilising the benefit of modern recording techniques. (It’s a revelation on headphones.) Just about every track sounds like a potential hit with It Is Not Meant To Be, Solitude Is Bliss and especially Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind standing out. 

8 April 2013 (Day 128) – Recent Purchase Update

It was just another day at work.  There is nothing much of interest to report from work and a quiet night at home with “M”.

As such, it was a perfect day and night to get through a few recent purchases from the last couple of weeks, starting with:

(# 344) Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy (1999)

This is a 32 minute release that brings together two 4 track EPs that were originally released to promote the Come To Daddy single.  There are three versions of the track on the disc, the first being a harsh industrial version.  However, for the most part this, I suppose, mini album is dominated by gorgeous electronic melodies complete with vocals.  This is not something you normally associate with an Aphex Twin release and is something I hope Richard D James would attempt more often.

(# 345) Danzig II –Lucifuge (1990)

On paper this shouldn’t work.  After all Glen Danzig doesn’t have the strongest voice in the world – he sounds here like an out of tune Ian Astbury – for the traditional metal fare offered early on.  Yet somehow, Rick Rubin’s production turns this into a disciplined and tuneful modern metal album complete with some surprises.  I’m The One appears to channel Elvis Presley’s Sun Sessions, slide guitar is included on 777 and the final track, Pain In The World, ends with what can only be described as something approaching AC/DC’s patented boogie.

(# 346) Destroy All Monsters – Silver Wedding Anniversary (1996)

I bought this hoping that this version of the band would contain the then former Stooge Ron Asheton on guitar but alas it was not to be.  This is a live recording from their 25^th Anniversary Runion Tour in 1995, hence the title.  After the introductory organ version of Roy Orbison’s In Dreams, I was expecting an album of fired up Detroit rock much in the same vein of Dark Carnival where lead singer Niagra had teamed up with Asheton.  Instead, the music was very much in British post punk mode being sonic landscapes with random words and sound effects and vocals on only a handful of tracks.  One of these is a version of Killing Me Softly but otherwise most of the tracks very much blend into each other.  It’s not what I expected but its an interesting listen nonetheless.

(# 347) Sonic’s Rendezvous Band – The Second Chance (recorded 1977; released 2008)

Sonic is Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, guitarist with the MC5 and the late husband of Patti Smith.  This was the band he formed after the demise of the 5 but they never got round to recording a studio album.  A number of live albums of different performances have been released over the last 10 years or so and this is the second one that I’ve bought.  It is a double CD that sounds like an audience recording of a show in Ann Arbour, Michigan, in February 1977.  On the earlier tracks, the band sounds like it is in second gear when compared to the other CD I have, Sweet Nothing, recorded at the same venue 14 months later.  Towards the end of the first disc, they attempt a pretty good version of Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone and this seems to open the floodgate.  It’s followed by a blistering version of Do It Again (a song covered by our very own Celibate Rifles) and a rousing Hearts.  Disc 2 starts with You Gotta Suceed (If You Really Try), a rocking number modelled on The Stones Little Queenie and after this, the band doesn’t look back.  Sweet Nothing still gets my vote due to its clearer sound but this would be a corker too if the earlier tracks were discarded.

7 May 2013 (Day 127) – Music From The Last 50 Years

Back to work today feeling less refreshed than I would ordinarily but then again it was a one day weekend.  Struggling to even think of something to hear, I returned to my old trick of starting the day with a jazz classic.

(# 340) Art Pepper – Intensity (1963)

I’d bought this CD a number of years ago when I mistakenly thought one of the tracks here was used in a key scene in Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery.  It was an easy enough mistake to make; the track concerned was Too Close For Comfort a double bass driven number which I thought was superbly used in a scene where Woody and his wife (played by Diane Keaton) are nearly caught searching for clues in the apartment of a neighbour they suspect has murdered his wife.  But the compensation was hearing the entire album, arguably the best album by this master of the jazz saxophone.  Leading a quartet including bass, drums and piano, Pepper powers though a number of classy tunes including I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me, Come Rain Or Come Shine and I Wished For The Moon.

(# 341) Derek And The Dominoes – Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)

Let there be no question about it; this is Eric Clapton’s finest album.  Backed by a crack band and spurred on by the presence of Duane Allman on a number of tracks, Clapton opens up on guitar in a way he never has in the course of his career.  Bookended by the type of laid back tracks (I Looked Away and Thorn Tree In The Garden) that was to characterise many of his subsequent solo releases, most of the remaining tracks feature some of his flashiest and most fiery playing.  Keep On Growing, Anyday, Tell The Truth and Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad stand out in this regard, although everything is overshadowed by the legendary title track and its Jim Gordon piano coda. Superb cover versions of Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out, Big Bill Broonzy’s Key To The Highway, Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing and Billy Myles’ Have You Ever Loved A Woman add to the spectacle.  Unbelievably, the album barely sold on its initial release and it would have been very interesting to see how Clapton’s career would have developed if this had been a hit.  Certainly Clapton’s insistence on featuring tracks from this album in his shows today indicates the high regard he now has for it.

(# 342) Prince – Controversy (1981)

Last year I was fortunate enough to see Prince’s epic second night of his three night stand at Rod Laver Arena.  The other shows were, apparently, the routine – though musically satisfying – shows he puts on these days.  The second night was something else, one of those magical nights where something happened, and his muse was fully engaged.  The title track of this album - on record a seven minute funk extravaganza – served as the vehicle for a massive 30 minute jam that started the show and grew to incorporate covers of portions of his own Sexy Dancer, Chic’s Le Freak, Sly Stone’s Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Again), Wild Cherry’s Play That Funky Music, dancers and stage invaders, the last of whom was Public Enemy’s Flavor Fav who rapped out 911  Is A Joke.  It was unquestionably one of the finest things I’d ever been privileged to hear live and it sent me back to this album.   It was the first time I’d played it for about 20 years and found that infectious title track, Sexuality and Jack U Off still retain their capacity to shock.  Annie Christian and Ronnie Talk To Russia are intriguing and rare examples of Prince attempting to address real world concerns. 

(# 343) King Tubby & Friends – Dub Like Dirt 1975-1977 (released 1999)

This is one of at least three compilations of dub produced by King Tubby that was released by the Blood And Fire Label.  This one is credited to King Tubby & Friends, meaning that it also showcases the work of other producers at his studio.  Songs originally recorded by artists including Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy, John Holt and Leroy Smart are all given the riddim treatment.  To the uninitiated, many dub tracks sound identical – after all it is the rhythm section that is being highlighted in these reworkings – but a King Tubby dub is something special.  Like those produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry at his Black Ark studio, there is a particular sound and feel that is readily apparent.  In Tubby’s case I sense a thickness (or heaviness if you will) to the actual bass strum that no one else seems to have been able to replicate probably due to his working knowledge about electronics. For evidence listen to the Tubby dubs on tracks 1 – 4 of this album and the comparison to the others is apparent (well at least to me.)

At home tonight, I decided on another spot of viewing. 

(Audio visual 7) Various Artists – Later.…Even Louder (2005)

This is one of a number of themed DVD compilations from the British music show Later…. With Jools Holland.  The show has one of the best set ups on music television.  In each episode a number of acts – usually from a diverse range of the popular music spectrum – are set out in the one performance space.   Each act plays anywhere between 1 – 3 tracks in front of their peers and a studio audience.  Some of the best moments from episodes I’ve seen are cut aways to the acts who aren’t playing checking out and reacting to music they would not normally see live.  Holland himself, an accomplished pianist, usually plays with at least one of the acts per episode and also interviews an act or two.

This DVD contains 30 performances culled from episodes recorded between 1992 and 2004.  It is the second compilation that focusing mostly on alternative or hard rock acts with performances arranged in such a way as to imply a concert.  There’s barely  a dud track on this, although I suspect some acts might not have been featured to best effect by the need to provide a bit of musical light and shade in the overall package.  Green Day provides an appropriate start with American Idiot and the early momentum is sustained by The Killers (Somebody Told Me) and Jane’s Addiction (Been Caught Stealing).  The first real highlight is a tremendous version of Venus In Furs by John Cale that is very much in the spirit of the Velvet Underground’s original.  It’s power is such that it even overshadows the next track, Metallica’s King Nothing.  Queens Of The Stone Age deliver a blistering The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret which goes some way to explaining how the Rated R version of the band obtained their reputation as a great live act.  Screaming Trees’ Halo Of Ashes is suitably intense and The Datsuns provide a powerhouse In Love (How this band didn’t conquer the world is beyond me) and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion detonate the place on Sweet ‘n’ Sour with Holland desperately trying to keep up.  The disc is wrapped up by four magnificent numbers - Orpheus by Ash, Sonic Youth’s Drunken Butterfly, The Cure’s criminally underrated alt.end and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ There She Goes My Beautiful World complete with gospel choir.

6 May 2013 (Day 126) – Live Music DVDs or The Format Previously Known As The Live Album

Monday is normally the start of the new work week but, on this occasion, it comprises my one day weekend. I’d negotiated a deal at work that I would take today off to recharge following the five day week followed by the weekend conference. Even better “M” has a rostered day off.  She lets me sleep in until 7am, an absolute luxury for me, when she wakes me convinced I’ve had enough sleep...

... except that I hadn’t and could have gladly slept in until Midday at least.  But I knew I had to make it up to her for being away over the weekend so don’t complain.  After breakfast and a quick scan of the match reports about the Bulldogs 70 point loss to West Coast in Perth last night, I commit to her suggestion of a long walk. 

If you’ve never tried it, I recommend taking a long walk on a Monday morning after everyone around you has gone to work.  It’s quite a surreal feeling when the only people you come aacross are just those older than you or yummy mummies talking their children to school or kindergarten.  Otherwise, streets are quiet (except for the shopping strip), houses vacant (except for tradesmen) and even the now empty commuter trains appear to make no noise.  We stop off at a café for coffee and feel quite decadent. 

After that “M” and I decide to watch a DVD at home.  I go through some recent purchases we’ve yet to see and select the Mark Whalberg political thriller The Shooter.  Like most movies of this type, it has a preposterous storyline, but contains enough internal movie logic to enable to suspension of disbelief necessary for it to be quite entertaining.  After this “M” dozes off and I decide to check out some music DVDs.

Almost there are some great music documentaries out there, the great bulk of my reasonably small music DVD collection is of live performances.  I’ve started to collect these as it has dawned on me that these have effectively replaced the live album.  Think about it; when was the last time a major act released a live album that was not part of a package containing a live DVD of the same performance.  (My comments here obviously exclude live CDs released by acts more or less as historical artefacts from much earlier in the careers and for which footage does not exist such as The Who’s Live In Hull recorded the day after their seminal Live In Leeds.)  It’s reasonably hard to think of one, but there’s an incredible number of live DVDs now on the market.  Some acts, among them Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, U2, The Rolling Stones and many, many, more, now routinely release live DVDs after each of their tours.  It seems this is done as a necessary action to counteract the massive flood of gig footage available on YouTube, to provide punters with a quality souvenir of a typical show from the tour, to document significant shows in the act’s history, and to maintain the product flow in the gaps between albums.   It might even be viewed as a means to recoup some of the losses from sales of studio albums, etc resulting from illegal downloads.  

I managed to watch two DVD’s this afternoon, starting with a souvenir from a reunion tour;

(Audio visual # 5) Jane’s Addiction – Love Voodoo (2010)

Jane’s Addiction originally broke up in 1991, not that long after completing their first Australian tour.  Indeed I’m reasonably sure the Melbourne gig I saw at what was then called The Metro was their third last gig.  There were reformations subsequent to that for live shows and the Strays CD but these versions of the band did not include original bass player Eric Avery.  This DVD, is from a period when Avery did re-join, this performance taking place in New Orleans during 2009.  The disc captures a solid performance by the band playing tracks exclusively from the pre Strays era.  Some props and dancers provide reminders of past live hi jinx and everyone appears to be in great shape and sound but the whole thing appears too ordered.  At their prime, there was an element of danger implicit in their performance -  you’d think that something untoward was going to happen such as an onstage fight or nudity – but nothing really seems to be inferred or indeed happen.  Part of this may be due to the way the show appears on screen.  All shots appear to have been taken by cameras that are off stage and unseen; I don’t recall seeing anything that was shot on stage.  Additionally, the coloured lights seem to settle over the screen on a great number of occasions making the vision look like it’s been filmed on second hand video tape.

(Audio visual # 6) Primal Scream – Screamadelica live (2011)

This is a live DVD of a significant event – the band’s first performance of their classic Screamadelica album in full along with a set of catalogue highlights played beforehand.  It captures a lavish recreation of the album incorporating a number of horns, back up signers and a full gospel choir to great effect.  Movin’ On Up and the closing trio of High Than The Sun, Loaded and Come Together benefit greatly from this.  The non Screamadelica numbers don’t come off as well especially the revised arrangements given to Swastika Eyes and Rocks.  Shoot Speed/Kill Light is massive though. The DVD has been brilliantly directed to give views a magnificent sense of the electronically animated back projections that were generated for the tracks.  Unfortunately, the two sets are separated on the disc and cannot be viewed as one program. 

4 & 5 May 2013 (Days 124 & 125) – otis.youth live!

The weekend arrived but I’m still at work.  I’ve spent it representing my employer at a conference as well as delivering a paper and doing some speaker introductions.   

I’ve never seemed to have a problem with public speaking, which is something I’ve done on numerous occasions in the past.  I have few concerns about my paper which is on a topic I’ve frequently spoken.  Therefore my worries are strictly about my delivery, or dare I say it, the quality of my performance.

During a spare moment to myself, I muse about just how analogous my situation would be to that of the average rock star. Some of the differences are fairly obvious - no backstage, no rider, a much smaller crowd and absolutely zero prospect of groupies.   But I suspect the similarities are much more striking.  As I’m not disconnected from reality by alcohol or drugs, I worry about whether I don’t sound as though I’m delivering a rote, practically committed to memory presentation completely devoid of personality.  I hope I don’t forget lyrics (i.e fluff key points), that the P.A system (a microphone actually) I’ll be given to use works and that my back projection (i.e my PowerPoint presentation) doesn’t malfunction.

As I’m appearing at a conference, it could also be suggested that I’m not headlining my own gig but is one of numerous acts at a music festival.  I’m presenting in the area with the greatest audience capacity so it’s safe to suggest I’m on the equivalent of the festival main stage.   As my presentation is not a keynote address, it’s also safe to say I’m not the headliner, despite going on late in the day.  Despite being on a festival bill, I suspect I’ll be largely speaking to those who would want to hear “my message” or are “fans” (in this instance of my employer, not me).  There is a possibility though, should the punters not want to attend the parallel sessions on offer on the other “stages” that I’ll pick up a few curious onlookers and convert them to our cause.

And so it’s gig time.  I don’t have a walk on theme but I do receive a nice introduction from the President of the organising body.  I’m handed the mic and step into the limelight.  The conference “roadies” had already loaded my presentation into the computer and so I’m straight into it.  From this point onwards, I’m focused on my presentation and am especially conscious of the need to stay within the allocated time. I speak well although I occasionally send the presentation into reverse but the feedback is good.  Afterwards, a number have stayed behind to chat.  I give time to everyone even though I’m itching to check into my hotel for the night, grab something to eat and speak to “M”.

Of course, I could not do this all on my own.  For inspiration, I needed something reflective and yet simultaneously inspirational for my lengthy drive to and from the gig venue.  The following album delivers this in spades;

(# 339) Metallica And The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra – S + M (1999)

I must admit that I was dubious when I first heard about this album.  How could a symphony orchestra possibly compete with the kings of all things heavy? Fortunately, unlike other bands who have attempted this in the past, Metallica hit on the perfect collaborator for such a project. Michael Kamen had composed full bore orchestra scores for such Hollywood blockbusters as the first three Die Hard movies a couple of Lethal Weapons and other like films in which he was able to use the orchestra to either counter point or underscore various explosions and other similar moments.  He succeeded brilliantly in this task, finding tracks in their catalogue where sufficient space existed for the orchestra’s inclusion.  Of course, none of this would have mattered had the band not performed at maximum intensity ion the nights this was recorded; indeed, they seemed to play with such a ferocity that I don’t think I’ve heard on their mass released live recordings.  If it exists, I’d love to obtain a copy of this album without the orchestra.

The first disc of this double CD is nothing short of perfect and could have easily been released as a standalone album.  It begins with the orchestra playing their rendition of Metallica’s traditional walk on music, Ennio Morricone’s The Ecstasy Of Gold.  (Listen for the roar of the audience when they realise this was occurring.)  The band then joins them for the 9 minute instrumental The Call Of Ktulu, a fitting nod to co-writer Cliff Burton who had posed the idea years previously prior to his death and, for once, a deserved winner of that year’s Grammy Award for that most ridiculous of categories “Best Rock Instrumental Performance”.  This leads straight into a truly awesome rendition of Master Of Puppets, arguably the band’s best ever of this chestnut, with a major sing-along rendition by the audience. A turbocharged version of Fuel (easily outstripping the original studio version in power), The Memory Remains and the unreleased No Leaf Clover also stand out and Bleeding Me provides an enigmatic end to the first disc. Nothing Else Matters and Until It Sleeps starts the second disc in a similar mode which is quickly redressed by For Whom The Bells Tolls and Wherever I May Roam.  However, after this the quality dips.  There is a seriously heavy Sad But True but, for the first time, the orchestral accompaniment sounds like it’s been thrown on after the fact.  A shortened version of One simply doesn’t work, the orchestra merely plays along with Enter Sandman and is overwhelmed at the end by a ferocious Battery.  It almost sounds as though Kamen had produced his score in the order in which the songs were to be played in the shows and simply ran out time to do justice the final numbers.  Still, don’t let this deter you.  This is the one album that demonstrates that a mixture of classical and hard rock can actually work.

3 May 2013 (Day 123) – American Rockers

I’m not sure what happened today but found myself more or less going on a regional rock ‘n roll tour of the States. 

This something I would dearly love to do at some stage of my life.  Take a trip across the highways of the USA and visit all of the sites associated with the music that obsesses me.   I’m not exactly just how I would structure it, but I think I would start in Chicago and their blues sights and then travel south to New Orleans with a side trip into Texas before heading north again, through Memphis and Nashville up to New York City and Boston.  But if time was my enemy, I think I’d take Amanda Petrusich’s brilliant book It Still Moves Lost Songs Lost Highways & The Search For The Next American Music and retrace her steps.  Although the specifics escape me as I write this, I was particularly taken by her stay in cotton sharecropper shacks in the South that have been converted into tourist accommodation.  I’d go in summer, take a view beers and sit on the porch and ponder the harsh life that gave birth to the blues and ultimately rock’n’ roll.

These are the sorts of through that go my head these days whenever I play albums by some of these dyed in wool, heart on sleeve American rockers starting with:

(#335) Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – Southern Accents (1985)

Hard to believe now but I seem to remember that this album wasn’t all that well received in the States when it was originally released.  I suspect it is because Petty was trying to assert his pride in the Southern States of his childhood.  Whatever you might think about that stance – to an Australian like myself, I find it irrelevant – this album probably contains his best batch of tunes.  Rebels is a great rocker and perfect opener, Don’t Come Around Here No More injects some welcome psychedelica and Dogs On The Run employs horns to great effect.  But ultimately everything is shadowed by the closer, the sublime The Best Of Everything which sounds like The Band taking on Van Morrison’s horn driven classic Wonderful Remark.

(#336) John Cougar Mellencamp – Uh-Huh (1983)

Whilst known as Johnny Cougar, this artist had a couple of hits in Australia where he was ultimately regarded as a top 40 singer.  Although this was something like his seventh album, it was the first one to reveal that there was any real substance.  Basically, it’s a rather nifty collection of rocking tunes, some of which, Pink Houses and Authority Song hinted at the social commentator role to which he aspired and evolved.  But it was the straight ahead relatively meaningless rockers such as Crumblin’ Down, Play Guitar, Serious Business and Lovin’ Mother Fo Ya that best hit the mark.

(#337) Bob Seger And The Silver Bullett Band – Live Bullett (1976)

Take a regional rock hero such as Seeger, put him in from of his home crowd of Detroit at practically the height of his fame, record it and release it as a two disc vinyl set and you’d think you’d have the sort of  release that today gives the live album a bad name.  But there are two problems with such an attitude.  First, this was released in 1976, before all those horrible Frampton Comes Alive knock offs came out.  But even more importantly, this is really, really, seriously good.   It kicks off with a great reworking of Nutbush City Limits, encompasses a solid take on Van Morrison’s I’ve Been Working, a nice version of Bo Diddley and closes with a rousing Let It Rock. In between is basically the cream of the Seger catalogue up to that moment, the then unknown Travelin’ Man and Beautiful Loser segueing beautifully into each other, a strong Turn the Page and ball tearing versions of Katmandu and Get Out Of Denver.

(#338) The Hold Steady – Boys & Girls In America (2006)

A few years ago, The Hold Steady were being touted as the next big rock act with Craig Finn’s songwriting skills and the word “Springtseenesque” frequently appearing in the same sentence.  This album and its successor, Stay Positive were the reason for the fuss.  Both combined no frills rock with Finn’s literate lyrics as on this album’s highlights, Chips Ahoy!, Chillout Tent (a story of love lost and found at a music festival) and Southside Girls.  However, Finn’s voice is not to everyone’s taste and their most album Heaven Is Whenever wasn’t either.

2 May 2013 (Day 122) – Soothing Sounds …..and Turbonegro

I was in a mellow mood at work today despite the heavy load.  I’d made a couple of speculative world music purchases over the weekend and I was keen to give them a listen starting with:

(# 330) Ceu – Self Titled (2006)

It’s not that often that I’m swayed into buying an album by a sticker or overlay but this is one of the cases.  Even more remarkably, on this occasion the description is so spot on I may as well repeat it here.  “Just when you think that Brazil must surely have exhausted its supply of jazzy, funky, sexy, soulful electro-pop, singer songwriters, someone like Ceu comes along and irresistibly mixes samba, reggae, dub, electronica and soul music and makes you think that maybe that particular well is bottomless after all.”

(# 331) Fatoumata Diawara – Fatou (2011)

Born in Cote d’Ivoire to Malian parents, Fatoumata Diawara is a female guitarist singer/songwriter who sings in the Malian language.  On the basis of this CD, her debut full length release, all I can say is that she no less than the female version of Mali’s greatest musical export, Ali Farka Toure. (Little wonder that musicians of the calibre of Tony Allen and John Paul Jones make cameo appearances.)  This package’s booklet removes the language barrier by providing lyrics also in French and English as well as her comments on each track.  From this I know that she sings about African conflicts and the difficulties of being a child, a woman and a mother there. It’s pretty sobering, yet impressive stuff.

(# 332) Grace Jones – Nightclubbing (1981)

I can’t believe it took me the best part of 30 years before I bought this.  It is a strong moody album characterised by a great selection of material including her well known covers of Flash And The Pan’s Walking In The Rain, Iggy Pop’s title track, Bill Withers’ Use Me and The Police’s Demolition Man. Best of all is I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango) where she sings part of the lyric in French to incredible effect.  All this and the hit Pull Up To The Bumper too.

(# 333) The Blue Nile – A Walk Across The Rooftops (1984)

This is a synthetiser album from the 1980s.  If you’ve never heard this, I bet you’re thinking something along the lines of Gary Numan/Tubeway Army or Erasure or Soft Cell.  Well this is not like any of those acts, being essentially adult songs graced with the distinctive, slightly gravelly voice of Paul Buchanan.  The title track, Tinseltown In The Rain, Stay and Heatwave are all graceful atmospheric tracks that are brilliant to hear on headphones and are perfect for a cold winter’s evening in front of a fire. 

But there is only so much, style and sophistication I can take in a day.  I scrolled for something that is the complete opposite of this and came up with;

(# 334) Turbonegro – Darkness Forever! (1999)

Turbonegro are a Norwegian punk band that refuses to take anything seriously.  On stage they are a hoot, churning out straight ahead punk on tunes with titles such as Don’t Say Motherfxxker Motherfxxker, I Got Erection, Good Head, Rock Against Ass and Are You Ready (For Some Darkness), all of which are present here.  This is their only live album to date which includes tracks recorded at their final show before they disbanded for the first time, but their more successful era was still to come.  It more or less also functions as a demented best of lacking only the fake blood and gore they threw into the audience as they did on the time I saw them.