Day 0779 - Ready to Die

The Notorious B.I.G. "Ready to Die" (1994)

 
Biggie was signed to Uptown Records by Sean 'Puffy' Coombes (who was working as an A&R guy) and started recording his album.   When Coombes/Puffy/Daddy/Diddy was fired by Uptown, Biggie was left in limbo.  Pufferino set up his own 'Bad Boy Records' label and a year later work resumed on Biggie's debut.    Big had spent part of the interim dealing drugs, which I guess adds to the 'street' credibility and authenticity of his lyrics.

The production has a touch of G-funk, with extra funk.  The occasional female backing-singers are reminiscent of Diddy's own Daddy-era recordings.   The beats can get a bit samey throughout, but Biggie's rhymes carry things along nicely.   Do have to say though, that at around 70 minutes, the album is probably a bit too B.I.G. for me.

Day 0608 - Actually

Petshop Boys "Actually" (1987) - got it

Another one that my older sister used to thrash back in the 80s (though with this one I remember that I did enjoy it back then).  It's a solid pop album, somehow sounds 'of its time' but without seeming dated.  Probably due to the songs just being really strong, and of many of the synthesizer sounds used currently being back in vogue.

In some ways it's a quite a bleak album, covering ideas from consumerism, Catholic guilt, one-sided relationships, romantic paranoia.  However, these themes are couched in catchy tunes, with minimal but imaginative arrangements, which help increase their appeal.

The track "It couldn't happen here" is co-written with Ennio Morricone and with strings arranged by Angelo Badalamenti who brings in hints of his score-work on Twin Peaks.  Laying in strings that walk the line between schmaltz and darkness.

Day 0495 - The Visitors

ABBA "The Visitors" (1981)

 
I'm a bit of an ABBA fan but I don't actually own this album.  The album feels like a bit of ABBA past/present/future in that there are sounds that they'd already made famous: the catchy songs with luscious harmonies such as on "one of us", but many of the songs dip into (for the time) the 'now' sounds of modern synthesizer.  There are hints of the future too, both in songs like "I let the music speak" which hints at the musical theatre avenues that Benny and Bjorn would explore post-ABBA; and just with a track like "the Visitors" which with its swirling soundscapes and middle-eastern flavour almost sounds like the start of a Chemical Brothers' track.

The divorces of the two couples in ABBA (and subsequent breakup of the group) render this in a slightly more sombre collection of tracks than previous albums... and to be honest, I kind of feel like the darker undertone works well to offset their natural cheesiness and naivety.