Day 1000 - MBV

My Bloody Valentine "MBV" (2013)

Finally made use of that first character. 😉

I don't know that this album really tickled my fancy.   The book trumpets the fact that MBV managed to produce this album after a 20+ year break and have it sound like a continuation of their previous sound.   While I do like it when bands can still maintain their identity after a lengthy break (because it shows that their sound is very much a result of their joint chemistry) I don't know that an album following the same formula as their other releases really warranted inclusion here.   Don't get me wrong, I like what they're doing, but when it's really just more of what they were doing on their other albums on this list then I'd prefer it to have been left off rather than removing albums from artists like Gorillaz, Florence and the Machine and Gnarls Barkley from the 1001.

MBV had signed a huge recording contract after the success of their "Loveless" album (see day 685), but the band struggled through aborted recording attempts, a temporary breakup, and media speculation that vocalist/guitarist Kevin Shields might have had a breakdown and turned recluse a la Brian Wilson or Syd Barrett.   The band reformed after a number of years and toured for a bit before knuckling down to try and get their third album wrapped up.

Opening tracks "She Found Now" and "Only Tomorrow" definitely seem to pick up where the band left off with buzzy swirls of guitar and soft, not always distinct vocals.

"In Another Way" has a nice rolling dance beat to it.   "Nothing Is" builds from a great, repetitive, unrelenting yet kind of off-kilter beat.   The album closes with "Wonder 2" that sounds like it's being recorded in a hangar at a busy airport (in a good way).

As of 2021 the band have not followed up "MBV"... maybe give it another decade or so.

Day 0945 - Under Construction

Missy Elliott "Under Construction" (2002)

Missy continued her collaboration with Timbaland, bringing a lot of classic hip-hop sounds into the mix and reminiscing on the 'good old days' a bit with "Back in the Day" featuring Jay Z.   

The album has a few guests and collaborators, but Missy easily rules the roost.   Ludacris guests on "Gossip Folks" but Missy again is the centre of attention, completely changing her vocal style for the track and still busting some great rhymes.

Single "Work it" has a fairly simple arrangement of skeletal beat and synthline with a synthy hook that swings in now and then.  Most its appeal then comes again from Missy's vocals.  She manages to make a dirty-as song where half of it dances around its subject, but you know exactly what she's talking about.   Sound effects and clever use of reverse sounds complete the picture.

Beyonce shows up on "Nothing Out There for Me" one of the albums more melodic moments.   

The spoken word parts at the start and end of the album could easily have come across as a bit cheesy, but again Missy manages to make them work.  The opening speech reflects the World Trade Centre attacks and show that (thinking back a few entries to Bruce Springsteen) this was a hurt being felt by artists across a range of genres.

Day 0857 - Either/Or

Elliott Smith "Either/Or" (1997)

Well I'm an idiot.  I had Elliott Smith totally confused with pop singer Sam Smith (I mean Smith isn't really a common name, right?).   I'd seen this CD in my wife's music collection and I was like "kind of surprised she's into that Sam Smith guy".   When this came up on the list and I actually listened to the album I realised that it was awesome and nothing like Sam Smith.

Smith's (Elliott's) sound here is a really stripped-down singer-songwriter vibe.  His voice is light and gentle over tracks that are often just acoustic guitar, with drums and bass only occasionally coming into the picture.

"Angeles" is largely just acoustic guitar and voice with some subtle keyboard in places.  "No Name No.5" with its droney sitar-esque acoustic guitar and big thumping bass drums in places remind me of a mellower take on the classic Soundgarden sound.   "Cupid's Trick" adds a little more texture and even some rock to it.

The music seems somehow really familiar to me but I can't really place it.  Like I feel that maybe it has hints of Chris Cornell, Jeff Buckley and Eleven (it does have that descending melodic patterns and contrasting descending/ascending vocal/guitar thing going on in places) but it's much quieter and more intimate than that.  Maybe I'm just picking up on that '60s sounds through a cynical 90s filter' thing that some of those other artists also employed.   The songs also bring to mind Ween's folkier moments and Liam Finn's solo material.

A few songs from the album were featured in the film "Good Will Hunting" which brought Smith a bit more recognition.   Sadly, he died 5 or 6 years later after being stabbed twice in the chest.  The coroner could not confirm if it was suicide or homicide

Day 0707 - Metallica

Metallica "Metallica (AKA The Black Album)" (1992) - got it

Metallica’s greatest album, or “the one where they sold out” depending on where you hang your hat.

Metallica had started off playing sweaty, dirty punk-metal, a genre that came to be known as ‘thrash’.  The intensity of punk, but the heaviness and musicianship of metal.   The band had been evolving on each album, with arrangements becoming more and more intricate and harmonically interesting, with many different riffs, time changes and the songs building in length.  This all came to a head with “…and Justice For All” where the songs were generally all around the 7-10 minute mark with a multitude of riffs.  The band found the songs hard going while playing them live, and even started to notice some of the fans in the audience noticeably losing interest during the duration.

Enter “Metallica (the Black Album)”, the band enlisted producer Bob Rock, impressed with his work on Motley Crue’s Dr Feelgood album with it’s crunchy-yet-polished sound.  With Rock’s help, the band simplified their songs, basing them around one or two riffs, (instead of 15!)  The band slowed most of their songs down, using more of a ‘groove-metal’ approach, fusing heaviness with a greater degree of melody and atmosphere than had maybe been present before.

While some felt Rock’s production sound was too polished, I feel it adds a bit of much needed bottom-end to ‘tallica’s sound.  Jason Newsted’s bass is audible after being MIA on “…and Justice”.   He doesn’t have the nimble-fingered virtuosity of previous bassist Cliff Burton, but his solid, chunky sound suits the groove of the new music nicely.

There are still some speedy riffs that wouldn't be out of place on their 80s albums.  Songs like “Holier than thou”, “Through the Never” race along at a rate of knots.  Elsewhere, songs such as “Wherever I may roam” and “Sad but true” have a slower, more epic bent.

The album was a massive success, going multi-platinum and (to date) spending more than 500 weeks in the billboard 200.  With the polished sound, simpler songs, music videos, and the occasional (gasp!) ballad - the beautifully simplistic “Nothing Else Matters” – this album would also cause one of the biggest divides between Metallica fans until the next album where they (Gasp!  Again) cut their hair.

Day 0699 - Foxbase Alpha

Saint-Étienne "Foxbase Alpha" (1991) - got it

This album channels 1960s sounds through a 1990s 'filter', so it's pretty much in my wheelhouse.

The group was formed by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, who had both been music writers (who says 'those who can't, write).  They'd originally planned to feature different singers across every album, but after working with Sarah Cracknell on this, their debut, they decided to invite her in as a permanent vocalist.

The album does something that I love, namely it engages in musical collage/experimentation, but uses it to create something quite accessible and poppy.   The dancey beats were akin to the sounds fermenting in the triphop scene, some of the film/dialogue samples lend things a touch of musique concrete, but the melodies and much of the arrangement hints more at summery 60s pop, with wistful female vocals and swirly psychedelic string touches.

Oddly, I've never got around to checking out the rest of their albums.  Might have to put it on the musical to-do list once I've finished the 1001.

Day 681 - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

Sinead O'Connor "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" (1990)

A great album beyond just the obvious hit of "Nothing compares 2u" (that Prince fella popping up again).  The album touches on elements of her homeland with some Irish folk elements, and "I am stretched on your grave" a 17th century poem translated from Irish and laid out over a bass and drum loop that, with O'Connor's voice, feels akin to Massive Attack's early sound.  Some fiddles eventually crash in at the end  to see the track off in style.

There are a couple of more pumping, driving songs in "Emperor's new clothes" and "Jump in the River" which stop any chance of the album being 'one note'.  

The track "Black boys on mopeds" is criticised in the book, something to do with it being a bit of an unsubtle protest song.  Thanks to my blind-spot (deaf-spot?) when it comes to lyrics, it just feels like a nice folky singer-songwritery thing that I really enjoyed.   

The album closes with the meditative acapella title-track.  A calm after the storm.

Day 0551 - Brothers in Arms

Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" (1985)

I think it's safe to say that I'll never be a hardcore Dire Straits fan.  While there are definitely some worthy tracks here (most notably the subtle and moving title track), this album is largely the epitome of MOR.  The album's most known hit "Money for Nothing" is co-written with another eventual MOR star: Sting.

In 'Money for Nothing', 'Walk of Life' and the title track, the album has memorable tracks enough to ensure it would be a hit. 

With Mark Knopfler being one of the only members from the original lineup left, his vocals and guitar dominate; whether it's the riff-heavy 'Money' or the folky, almost country bent of "The Man's too Strong".

Day 0488 - Talk Talk Talk

The Psychedelic Furs "Talk Talk Talk" (1981)

An 80s band that managed to bridge the gap between the mainstream and underground pop scenes.  Melding melodic guitar lines and catchy saxophone, with a bit of punk directness showing up on some track.  The vocals seem to run somewhere between the ragged drawl of Shane McGowan and the snarl of Lou Reed.   The lyrics are anti-love and more focussed on sex for sex's sake, with penultimate track "I wanna sleep with you" feeling particularly aurally 'climactic'.

The track "Pretty in pink" had something of a resurgence in popularity after John Hughes used it in his film of the same name.