Day 0426 - The Scream

Siouxsie and the Banshees "The Scream" (1978)

Another one of those ones where I knew the band's name well but couldn't tell you if I'd heard any of their music (though I feel like I buzzed through some youtube clips a few years back).

This is alright, but I wouldn't say that I'm in love with the band just yet. It's an okay album that mixes the rawness and lo-fi recording style of punk with a doomier wailing goth flavour. Pounding drums and buoyant bass are overlaid with guitar that goes between punky rock and proto-shoegaze.

Day 0425 - Ambient 1: Music For Airports

Brian Eno "Ambient 1: Music For Airports" (1978)

 ,

Eno, having produced some great pop-rock records and Bowie's adventurous Berlin trilogy, as well as his own solo albums that mixed traditional song structures with interesting production techniques and background sonic experiments took a few steps further here.

Eno had been moving in more and more ambient directions, here he fully takes the plunge with relatively formless, sparse soundscapes. Eno stated that the music "...must be as ignorable as it is interesting", music designed to have on in the background and drift in and out of, rather than concentrate on intently, and in that, it succeeds beautifully.

Day 0424 - Germfree Adolescents

X-Ray Spex "Germfree Adolescents" (1978)

I was quite interested in this one, partly because I think the cover is kind of groovy. Plus the lead singer sounds like a kind of an interesting lady. She went on to renounce punk after having a religious vision, and made a couple of more mellow albums under her own name. Then she left music altogether to focus on her Krishnan studies.

The music is pretty enjoyable punk rock.  The saxophone adds an extra flavour to the mix.  All in all it's like a mix of Roxy Music, the Runaways and the Stooges.  It's full of raw aggression, and Poly Styrene has a hell of a yell on her.

Day 0423 - C'est Chic

Chic "C'est Chic" (1978)

 
A big hit from the short-lived height of disco, before the widespread "disco sucks" movement kicked in.

It's a mix of disco, and what I'd term "soft funk". Not a bad album, and pretty influential, as the light-funk guitar style would be borrowed wholesale by many post-punk rock and pop bands.  Arguably even the 00 indie-rock bands were taking notes from this directly or indirectly. Grooves from the album were sampled by the emerging rap movement too.

Day 0422 - Stardust

Willie Nelson "Stardust" (1978) - got it

Riding on the success of "Red Headed Stranger" Willie was given a reasonable degree of freedom by his record company.  But they must have still had their doubts when Willie went outside of his country background to release a collection of covers of classic tin pan alley songs.  It's a musical gamble that works though.  Willie seamlessly blends the jazzy tunes like "Georgia on my mind", "Blue skies", "Somebody to watch over me" and Moonlight in Vermont" with a hint of his country background, similar to the mix of styles that Norah Jones would later toy around with in her first two albums (but then it's known that she's a big Willie fan).

The real star here is Willie's voice.  It's so distinctive, somehow strong and frail at the same time.  He makes these familiar songs come alive in a new way. Will definitely keep an eye out for this one next time I'm out shopping.

*as you can see from the top of this post, I have since found a copy too

Day 0421 - Here, My Dear

Marvin Gaye "Here, My Dear" (1978) - got it

Possibly one of the more whiny and passive-aggressive break-up albums of all time.

Marvin had divorced his wife, Anna Gordy (the sister of Motown owner Berry Gordy... in hindsight, not the smartest career move) having met and fallen for another woman.  After failing to pay his alimony, Marvin was taken to court and reluctantly agreed to pay Anna the advance and half of the earnings for his next album.

Instead of just making any old record and getting it out of the way, Marvin set about airing their dirty laundry (with the narrative slanted firmly in his favour). Lamenting his situation, railing against Anna for dragging him through court and tarnishing his image with the press, and then eventually gushing about his new love and how much happier he was.

The album was not loved by critics, fans... or Anna. It is a lengthy ride, but Marvin's mix of funk, soul, jazz, doowop and some more modern (at the time) production, would create a sound picked up on by artists like Michael Jackson, Jamiroquai, Justin Timberlake and other purveyors of funky RnB.

Day 0420 - Eternally Yours

The Saints "Eternally Yours" (1978)

Australian punk band who were swept up from Brisbane to London due to the record company feeding frenzy around anything vaguely punkish in 1977-78.

The band's songs have the pounding punk energy and are mostly pretty racous and noisy (without entirely sacrificing melody). With their overdriven bass, thrashy punk rock and melody they sound kind of like a halfway point between the Sex Pistols and the Strokes.

Day 0419 - Dire Straits

Dire Straits "Dire Straits" (1978)

Kind of an out-of-place album amongst the late 70s rush of punk, disco and the burgeoning new-wave scene. Dire straits was a vaguely blues-based 'adult-contemporary' rock band. Even the band's individual members are slightly incongruous in a rock setting. Band lead guitarist, singer and principal songwriter Mark Knopfler was an ex-journalist and schoolteacher; Knopfler's younger brother, guitarist David was a social worker; sociology student John Illsley on bass; and drummer Pick Withers.

The album did not fare well in Dire Straits' native England, but once the single "Sultans of Swing" blew up in the US, the UK sat up and took attention.

I don't have any particularly strong feelings about this album. It is perfectly enjoyable with some nice melodies and good musicianship... that said, it's so MoR that I find it more "inoffensive" than "life-changing".

Day 0418 - Are we not Men? A" We are Devo!

Devo "Q: Are we not Men? A" We are Devo!" (1978)

Devo mix a vaguely punk sound with sparing use of synthesisers that's not a million miles from the more frantic moments of early Talking Heads (possibly not surprising then that Brian Eno, having finished work on the second TH album, produced this one) mixed with a touch of Blondie's gloss.

I'd listened to one or two Devo songs, and knew of their influence on a number of other artists, but was mostly familiar with the big hit 'whip it'. I liked that song (with even more synthesiser than is on show here) and I like this album.

Intellectual electro-punk; what's not to like?

Day 0417 - The Cars

The Cars "The Cars" (1978)

One of the early new-wave albums and a huge pop 'smash' that managed to stay in the US Billboard charts for some 139 weeks.

The quote that accompanies the album's entry in the book reads" I never wanted to really be a musician and I don't care about musicianship that much. I care about style and content" which I guess kind of sums up 80s pop music in general. The prog and fusion bands of the 70s with their virtuosic musicianship, were giving way more and more to glossy new-wave sounds.  Even bands like Queen and Sparks pared back their arrangements and eased up on their more indulgent flashier musicianship to produce simpler arrangements and more (theoretically) accessible pop fare.

This is an enjoyable and recognisable album, every second track seemed to be "that song I've heard on the radio".

Day 0416 - Siembra

Willie Colon and Ruben Blades "Siembra" (1978)

 
Another of those albums where the book talks about the importance of the band's lyrics.  Given that I'm not much of a lyric person and I don't speak the language that the lyrics are in, I wasn't able to fully appreciate that aspect.

To a certain extent, I don't really need the lyrics though. This is justifiably the highest selling salsa album (or was at the time).  It reads like an encyclopedia of salsa and Latin jazz sounds, and those sounds have been reproduced across the genres in the intervening years. There are complex funky danceable rhythms, and smooth laidback grooves; lush orchestration, through to stripped down arrangements; overt passion, and subtle emotion.

Both Willie and Ruben were accomplished in their own right, Willie was a composer for big jazz bands, Ruben was an activist, singer and actor and together they made something else altogether.

Day 0415 - Van Halen

Van Halen "Van Halen" (1978)

This album is the business!  I listened to it a year or two ago out of curiosity (everyone knows the name Van Halen) and was wowed by the raw energy and relative musical inventiveness - within the rock idiom.  The sudden burst of doowop vocals gave me a pleasant surprise back then, and again now. Eddie Van Halen is a guitar legend, even if 'Eruption' didn't prove it (it does), he kills on every other track with his riffs and lead breaks.

Apparently the band had been scooped up by Kiss' Gene Simmons who, seeing their potential, put them to work writing demos for both themselves and for Kiss.  He even tried to recruit Eddie VH for his band!

Van Halen could easily be accused of helping to start the whole 80s hair-metal thing, but as is often the case with the progenitors of various styles, they're so much better than much of the rest of it.
 

0414 - Another Music in a Different Kitchen

The Buzzcocks "Another Music in a Different Kitchen" (1978)

Viewed as one of the poppier bands of the initial punk movement, yet they definitely embraced the punk attitude.  The band refused to include the bulk of their 'hits' on the album... unlike the sex pistols who were happy enough to oblige with this.

The album largely consists of short, tight, energetic but melodically and emotionally open tracks, that would pave the way for 'feeling' pop-rock artists such as Morrisey and Damon Albarn.

The tracks are so full-on and brief that at one point I thought I'd reached the halfway mark on the album... when I checked, I realised that I was only 8 minutes into it! The tracks rarely make it too much past 2 minutes, but then just to be contrarian, the band finishes the album with a pounding 7 minute rocker "Moving away from the pulsing beat".

Day 0413 - More Songs About Buildings and Food

Talking Heads "More Songs About Buildings and Food" 1978 - got it

Brian Eno joins the Heads in the studio, bringing his gift of mixing pop with new and interesting production ideas, starting a creative partnership that would help produce some great TH albums, but would also see fractures appear in the group.

The band mixes its skittish brand of art-rock with touches of scratchy funk and danceable disco beats, creating a sound that would be ripped off wholesale (though done very well) by Franz Ferdinand some 25-30 years later.

Byrne sounds like he's recording some of his vocals after drinking several pots of coffee, just a nervous gangly energy to what he's doing.

The husband-and-wife rhythm section of Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth lay down some tight grooves over a mix of styles.

The second-to-last track is a cool-down.  A fairly sedate reading of Al Green's "Take me to the river" that has become a bit of a classic rock radio staple (or at least it has over here).

Day 0412 - Live and Dangerous

Thin Lizzy "Live and Dangerous" (1978)

 
I'm not really familiar with Thin Lizzy outside of a couple of 'hits', so I can't really comment on how this compares to their recorded/studio output.  Whatever the case, it sounds like a killer concert, with some wailing guitar. I had read that TL's guitar harmonies were an influence on Metallica's Cliff Burton and that sounds about right from what I can hear here.

The music is exciting and (literally and figuratively) electric. I've mentioned in the past that live albums are not usually my favourite thing, and long albums are also not usually a favourite of mine -  this is both.

The live part doesn't really worry me here because (judging from the one or two songs of theirs I had heard before)  they seem like one of those bands that probably sounded a bit tamer in the studio but then really unleash live.  For all of the excitement and vitality, the running time did kind of wear me down a bit by the end and I started to lose my concentration on the music.

Day 0411 - D.O.A.: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle

Throbbing Gristle "D.O.A.: The Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle" (1978)

 
So I'd heard the name throbbing gristle, but had always assumed that they were a punk band... I was not prepared for the world of weird, electronic, often loop-based music I encountered.

The band make imaginative use of field recording equipment, early sampling techniques and sonic manipulation. Some of the tracks are just a stream of barely coherent sound, other sections are a mix of drone and electronic sounds and drifting vocals that create a sound somewhere in the middle of a Venn diagram with the velvet underground, Kraftwerk and the Residents. This is certainly nobody's idea of "easy listening"!

The bad went on to become an influence on sonic experimenters such as Depeche Mode and Trent Reznor.

Day 0410 - One Nation Under a Groove

Funkadelic "One Nation Under a Groove" (1978)

 
I love George Clinton's funk bands (Funkadelic, Parliament, Brides of Funkenstein etc.) and I definitely dig the guitar-heavy, tight funk sound being rocked here by Funkadelic in one of their most popular (though I don't actually own... yet) and commercially successful albums. 

The first couple of tracks are tight, yet smooth grooves.  There are a couple of distorted guitar-backed funk-rock tracks, and amongst all of this there is still the space for looser extended jams like "PE Squad/Doo doo chasers".

Interesting fact that I did not know: Funkadelic bassist and solo artist in his own right, Bootsy Collins was originally a member of James Brown's backing band, the JBs. Not such a crazy idea I guess, Hendrix used to be in the backing band for the Isley Bros before he did his own thing.

Day 0409 - Darkness on the Edge of Town

Bruce Springsteen "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (1978)

Legal, record label issues prevented Bruce from recording a follow-up to "Born to run" for a few years. When he finally came back, Springsteen was somewhat jaded by fame and had been spending time in between tours on a farm that he'd purchased, revisiting his small-town upbringing.

This album is a different beast from 'born to run', often quite stripped down, the musical equivalent to a gravelly country road. Arguably this is where Springsteen's gravelly voiced, small-town rocker sound reached maturity

The album didn't produce any 'hits' but has apparently maintained its popularity with Springsteen fans. "Adam raised a Cain" and "Streets of fire" are blisteringly good tracks with pounding vocals.

Day 0408 - Real Life

Magazine "Real Life" (1978)

Another ex-punker's "new band" (after having looked at Public Image Ltd yesterday), this time Howard Devoto who had just recently departed from the Buzzcocks.

Whereas John Lydon went more abrasive and confronting, Devoto added layers of melody, musicianship and quirkiness.

There are still hints of a punk identity to the music but it also suggests a more complex pop sound along the lines of a band like Sparks.

Day 0407 - Public Image: First Issue

Public Image Ltd. "Public Image: First Issue" (1978)

 
I didn't realise that the Sex Pistols had imploded quite so quickly. John Lydon (nee Rotten) formed PiL shortly afterwards and moved on from his punk background to communicate his nihilistic, destructive street poetry via new idioms.

I seem to remember enjoying Metal Box and one or two other PIL tracks, but this one didn't really appeal to me. It sounds as though John didn't really know what he wanted to do at this stage and was just lashing out lyrically and casting about musically... which is an approach that can be interesting when done well, but on this occasion it just didn't really hold my attention.

Day 0406 - Duckstab/Buster and Glen

The Residents "Duckstab/Buster and Glen" (1978)

I've listened to quite a few Residents' albums. A friend of mine got really into them a few years back, and every time I admitted to having listened to and enjoying one of their albums he'd give me another recommendation... not that I was complaining.

The Residents are one of the original oddball acts. They made music that utilised a cut and paste approach and dwelled in the obscure, with elements of world music, musique concrete, sound effects, pitch-shifted vocals, soundtrack, pop, ambient music and so many different flavours of experimentation all colliding with each other. The band are still going strong some 50 or so years since their inception, and in that time (though they have been tentatively identified) they have managed to successfully hide their identities for years.  Rumours flew around that the band consisted of everyone from Zappa and Beefheart through to Lennon and McCartney.

I hadn't actually listened to this one, despite it being one of their better known releases, but it certainly doesn't disappoint, equal parts fun, creepy, and genius.

This band is also a very clear influence on two bands that I enjoy greatly: Primus (who've covered at least three of the tracks here), and Ween.

Day 0405 - Third/Sister Lovers

Big Star "Third/Sister Lovers" (1978)

 
I listened to Big Star's album "Number one star" earlier in this list, and I have to say that this is a different kettle of fish altogether. Whereas that was an interesting upbeat pop-rock record with some nice vocal arrangements, this is a stripped down, gloomy AF dirge of an album (with occasional moments of lightness)... and I've gotta say; I prefer this.

The music kind of reminds me a bit of 'the Dunedin sound' in NZ, which was a similarly downbeat, stripped back, droney garage pop/rock... almost shoegazer stuff but without quite as much of the washy guitar usually associated with that genre.

I really dig it. Unfortunately the band broke up around this time.  Oddly, the album was recorded in 1974 but didn't manage to get released until a few years later. A while later, REM and a few others cited them as an influence, and they were inevitably received a bit more attention.

Day 0404 - Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts

The Adverts "Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts" (1978)

Hmm at first I was thinking this just sounded like another 'same ol-same ol' punk album.  Maybe it is, but turns out that doesn't stop it from being a good punk album.  It feels quite 'purist' punk too, fast and furious with plenty of attitude but not a whole lot of musicianship. Somehow though there is enough variety and strong songwriting to carry you through the album.

Musically it's not a million miles from early Arctic Monkeys, further reinforcing (in my mind at least) the musical links between the late 70s and the early 00s.

Day 0403 - Honky Tonk Masquerade

Joe Ely "Honky Tonk Masquerade" (1978)

 
This Joe was invited by a certain other Joe to open for his band the Clash.  The offer was made with genuine respect of Ely's brand of country rock, but that didn't stop the punk rock audience from spraying the singer with beer and spit while he tried to play.

I know that a lot of people go with the "I listen to all kinds of music... except country" but I've never really understood that.  Country, as with most genres, has good artists/songs to offer if you look in the right place.  Joe Ely is some of that good stuff. His songs are some nicely orchestrated country tunes that seem to go places melodically that you often don't expect them to, in a good way!

This was surprisingly tricky to track down, I could only find half of the songs on YouTube but managed to find the others elsewhere.

Day 0402 - All Mod Cons

The Jam "All Mod Cons" (1978)

The Jam had been signed in 1977 and within 12 months they seemed as if they were all dried up. Paul Weller's songwriting inpsiration seemed to have vanished. When the record company heard their new album they told the band to scrap it... That must be a harsh message for guys who were only around 20 at the time, and it worked to revitalise them as went back to the drawing board.

The book mentions Weller's well-sketched characters laid out in his lyrics, but as is often the case for me, I didn't really take much note of the lyrics. The music though is tight, it kind of has a punky Clash-esque vibe but with the bass even more prominent (which I enjoy) and a lot more melody.  It's almost as if the Beatles and the Clash had birthed a little pop/rock/punk baby.

There's a kind of stripped-down punk energy to it, but with a couple of tracks (including English Rose) actually being quite lovely and melodic.

Day 0401 - This Year's Model

Elvis Costello "This Year's Model" (1978)

 
A bit more of a polished effort than "My aim is true" (though still a little gritty production-wise).  The swirly, occasionally psychedelic electric organ adds a little extra flavour to Costello's jaded stories of love, lust, disgust and the grey areas between them.

The song "pump it up" was ripped off wholesale by U2 for their track 'Get on your boots' but then Costello claims that his track was likewise an appropriation of Bob Dylan's "Subterranean homesick blues"...music continues to eat itself.

This album sounds like it's another one (and maybe it's true of the more stripped down rock of this whole period of music) that influenced the 00s indie sound, I can hear shades of the Shins on one song.

Day 0400 - The Only Ones

The Only Ones "The Only Ones" (1978)

A band who were getting started just before punk took off in the UK, but managed to hitch a ride on that wave, angling their power-pop, rock, and occasionally slightly psychedelic sound to be a near enough fit for the genre. The band broke up in the early 80s due to inner turmoil, drugs and all the usual stuff. They reunited in 2006 after one of their songs was used in a vodafone ad which brought them back into the public consciousness.

I hadn't heard of them (and didn't mind them particularly earthshaking), but their songs have been covered by REM and the Libertines, so it's not a stretch to think that they probably influenced those bands.

Day 0399 - Dub Housing

Pere Ubu "Dub Housing" (1978)

 
Pere Ubu with another really great album. They had set up a crazy sound on 'the Modern Dance' which they could have easily continued exploring over the next few album; but instead set about revamping their sound.

A lot of the punk elements are gone, but the noisy experimental song forms remain. An interesting album that still hints at the origins of 00s indie music. Love the album cover too.

Day 0398 - Vento De Maio

Elis Regina "Vento De Maio" (1978)

 
While much of the popular music coming out of Brazil had been the cool, low-key chilled out bossa nova and tropicalia music; Elis Regina was a different proposition altogether.  Elis was a show-woman who had hosted tv shows, duetted with various other singers and won talent contests.   Her music was hot, extroverted and wearing its heart on its sleeve.

This isn't too bad of an album, though with touches of disco and soft funk, and some of the production it sounds a bit dated in places.
 

Day 0397 - Parallel Lines

Blondie "Parallel Lines" (1978)

I have a greatest hits by Blondie, which I enjoy... but ye gods, this album has so much more variety and interest than the hits package!

Blondie had started to develop their punky sound into more of a new-wave direction and producer Mike Chapman gave their sound more polished sheen.  Chapman took what was to be a James Brown-esque hard-funker "Heart of Glass" and giving it a disco groove.

The album has a kind of fun playfulness throughout, occasionally verging on the childish. Even the slightly menacing "one way or another" sounds like a playground threat with its "I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha".

Day 0396 - The Man-Machine

Kraftwerk "The Man-Machine" (1978)

The Kraftwerk men-bots take their idea of music made by machines a step further, occasionally having robot copies of the band standing in for a song or two during their shows.

This album seems like a continuation and development of the sound of 'Trans-Europe Express' with repetitive minimalist percussion and synth loops with the variety and flavour added by spare lead synth parts and vocals.

Nothing much to say about this that I didn't already say with "Trans-Europe Express" but it was enjoyable.