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.