Day 0942 - The Rising

Bruce Springsteen "The Rising" (2002)

This is essentially Bruce's 9/11 album.   He told a story to journalists that at some point after the World Trade Centre attacks, a man in a car had pulled up alongside Bruce, wound down his window and said "we need you now".   Probably for a lesser artist, that story and some of these songs would seem a bit corny; but for the boss it feels about right.

The album seems to manage to capture a myriad of conflicting feelings that were swirling around, from anger, loss, sadness, confusion.  There's the morose "Paradise" contrasting with the gospel tinged "My City of Ruin" and the upbeat "Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)".

It was Springsteen's first studio album in 7 odd years and his first full album with the E-Street Band since "Born in the USA", and Springsteen and the band slip with ease back into that particular groove of hot-blooded stadium-ready rock with an earthy soul to it.  Definitely "Lonesome Day" feels like it would sit quite easily with that album.

There are some different sounds too, with "Worlds Apart" opening with middle-eastern vocals (a daring move, all things considered), or "The Fuse" which with its looped beat and high drawling vocal sounds almost like a Chris Cornell solo track in places.

Springsteen is in fine voice and it's a good album that manages to offer up enough patriotism to keep conservatives happy but with enough understanding and trying to heal wounds to appeal to those who hadn't given in totally to the hate, anger and xenophobia that tried to take hold after the attacks.

Day 0765 - Brutal Youth

Elvis Costello "Brutal Youth" (1994)

The book mentions Costello having recorded albums of surf and classical music.... so in a way it's a pity that they haven't really looked at those, instead selecting this one which returns to his early sound of melodic, yet biting rock music.

Having said that, the album does seem to wrap in different sounds that Costello had been playing around with, from jazz and soul flavours, piano balladry, and Beatles/Wilson-esque vocal harmonies which helped to keep things interesting.

As with all his other albums here, I enjoyed this and would happily listen to it again.

Day 0546 - Born in the USA

Bruce Springsteen "Born in the USA" (1984) - got it

Following the moody and downbeat "Nebraska", the record company were putting pressure on Bruce to produce something a bit more commercial.   An expectation that he lashed out at lyrically in "Dancing in the Dark" but at the same time, one that he ended up meeting in crafting one of the biggest hits of his career.

Even as Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was dropping off the number 1 spot in the charts, Bruce took over that position for the next stretch of time.  As both artists were signed to CBS subsidiaries, that label must have been popping champagne... and probably some cocaine, being the 80s and all.  Like that other album, this one is almost entirely populated with hit singles, making it seem as much a greatest hits as stand-alone album.

"Dancing in the Dark" wasn't the only song with hidden undertones.  The title track seems like a cry of patriotism, but was actually a criticism of the Vietnam war and how America had gone on to treat veterans of that conflict.

This album is a monster.  I was not a rabid Springsteen fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoy every song on this album, including the few songs that haven't been thrashed on the radio!  Ended up picking up copies of this album and Nebraska as a result of doing this list.

Day 0513 - The Number of the Beast

Iron Maiden "The Number of the Beast" (1982)

As I said with the last Iron Maiden album on this list; I quite liked the band with singer Paul Di'Anno.  He offset their virtuosic music with his more limited, and at times punky vocals.  Here Dickinson earns his nickname 'the air raid siren' (originally given by a disgruntled fan who preferred Di'Anno), wailing operatically through much of the album. 

I'm sure that the band were happy to have a singer whose control of his instrument equalled their own, and this album has gone on to be one of the most successful in their canon, and I do enjoy it well enough, but it's just not my favourite.  "Run to the hills" though... pretty damned solid track!

Day 0511 - Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen "Nebraska"  (1982) - got it

Springsteen originally recorded the demos for this album at home on his 4-track.  He took the demos into the studio to record them with his E-Street Band.  But, once the tracks were down, Bruce and his team decided that the rootsy, stripped-down melancholy of the original demos was the sound that the songs needed and elected to just release Springsteen's demos.  The record company were less certain, but eventually allowed it.

The album remains (justifiably) critically acclaimed.  It is a morose and intimate portrait of struggling small town America.  Bruce moved to more radio-and-stadium-friendly fare for his next album "Born in the USA", but this one certainly adds an extra dimension to his oeuvre.

Day 0471 - Sound Affects

The Jam "Sound Affects" (1980)

 
This band seems kind of like the meeting point of the Beatles (to the extent of nicking the 'Taxman' bassline for their song 'Start!') and the indie rock of the 00s.

Like a few albums of the day it has the post-punk mix of stripped down rock with occasionally bouncy and funky bass.  The band also add the odd horn section, double-tracked acoustic guitars (on hit "that's entertainment") and occasional fiddly poly-rhythmic guitars playing over a fairly straight ahead rhythm section.

Day 0443 - Armed Forces

Elvis Costello "Armed Forces" (1979) - got it

I keep expecting to find that the next Elvis Costello album I listen to will be rubbish. He's one of those artists who has been around so long that you'd assume he'd have a few duds in him, but nope, this is another good'un.

Here Costello's keyboardist Steve Nieve was beginning to exert more control and the result is a very poppy, catchy, keyboard-heavy album. Bubbly pop rock with hints of new-wave and just the lightest ska-flavour. Possibly my favourite from Elvis and his band so far.

I picked up a copy sometime after listening to it for the list.

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 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 0380 - Pink Flag

Wire "Pink Flag" (1977)

This one sounded cool on paper: "Slightly older punks who squeezed 21 songs onto a 35 minute album.  Not always sticking to a verses-choruses structure, and occasionally just stopping songs when they felt they had run their course... or they were bored.  Intellectual lyrics that sound like mathematical equations or surrealist poetry."  On a less musical front, I really liked the album cover too. 

Unfortunately, the reality of the album wasn't something that appealed to me.

I listened to this 10 or so years ago when I made a small list from the '1001' albums book, and it didn't do much for me then either.  I've tried to give it a chance and listened to it 2 or 3 times, and it has grown on me a little, but much of the album just dissolves into aural wallpaper after a while.  Sometimes that can be a good thing, but not so much with an 'in-your-face' punk album.