Day 0886 - Central Reservation

Beth Orton "Central Reservation" (1999) - got it

Another interesting character.  Beth spent time living with Buddhist nuns in Thailand, did catering work and performed in the theatre.   She dated producer William Orbit and they collaborated on music together, including a full release "Superpinkymandy" and working on music that would wind up on their respective solo albums.

Orton's first solo album featured triphoppy beats mixed with a folk sound.   She followed this up with an EP collaborating with singer Terry Callier with a more 'organic' sound and she followed that direction through into "Central Reservation".

This is another situation where I knew Orton's name and had listened to some things she'd done with artists such as Finley Quaye, Orbit, and the Chemical Brothers but wasn't really familiar with her own music.   Luckily my wife had a copy of this album (so by extension, I have it) and I enjoyed being educated.

Turns out I was familiar with the opening track "Stolen Car" though Jenni suggested this might be because she's played it for me before.  The album largely sticks to a folky/alt-country sound.  To my ears, the tracks when she does bring in some beats (in places, courtesy of Everything But the Girl's Ben Watt) such as "Stars All Seem to Weep" it feels kind of jarring alongside the more earthy tracks on the rest of the album.

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 0490 - Fire of Love

The Gun Club "Fire of Love" (1981)

Another album that I'd listened to when I first read through the 1001 albums book a few years ago.  I'd judged it by its cover and thought it was going to be something like "Dr John the nighttripper", a bit of voodoo-laced New Orleans rhythm and blues.  Much like the Cramps and X though, this is more of a rockabilly-meets-punk stripped down sound.  This album takes the stripped-down thing a bit further with the music being laid almost bare, with very little studio trickery to airbrush it.

The lyrics are occasionally in-your-face and uncomfortable with racial slurs and lines like  "I will fuck you till you die" thrown in to the mix.... possibly delivered with a sense of humour, but it's hard to tell.

Day 0475 - More Specials

The Specials "More Specials" (1980)

 
The Specials had helped launch the ska craze in the UK. The label 2-tone records, started by Specials keyboardist and songwriter Jerry Dammers would go on to release music from artists such as Madness, the Beat, and Elvis Costello (only one single for EC though).

The band were exhausted from touring and were hoping to make a few changes for their second album in order to keep things interesting.

The first few tracks stick to the ska/reggae formula, but towards the middle of the album you start to get the kitschy sing-along of "Pearl's Cafe" and hard funking of "Sock it to em JB". The album works with passages of exotica and some noodling around with different keyboard textures. The mix of styles would go on to influence the 90s trip-hop explosion through artists like Portishead, Massive Attack and others.