Day 0741 - Fuzzy

Grant Lee Buffalo "Fuzzy" (1993)

The members of Grant Lee Buffalo originally operated under the name Shiva Burlesque, but then reformed in the 90s under their new name.

The album has a definite feel of Americana to it.   Tales from the dusty US back-roads, rendered in a mix of acoustic and over-driven guitars.  My favourite is probably "Dixie Drug Store" the falsetto chorus of which, kind of reminds me favourably of U2's track "Numb".

There's a nice mix of raucous and rocking through to more mellow and meditative tracks.

Day 0648 - Raw Like Sushii

Neneh Cherry "Raw Like Sushi" (1989)

It was almost a foregone conclusion that Neneh Cherry would become an artist of some description.  She was born to a painter mother and a musician father.  After parting with Neneh's father, her mother would go on to marry jazz trumpeter Don Cherry (who famously worked with Ornette Coleman, mentioned two posts earlier).  Neneh travelled the world, played in a number of bands (including punkers the Slits), and she deejayed, exploring rap and reggae among other genres.

Her husband was a producer for the first Massive Attack album (on which Neneh would also worked).  The album has hints of that sound, of looped beats and soundscapes that feel like they have a foot in the club and a foot on the street, but with a bit more of a pop and rap slant.

Neneh promoted the strength of women, and the power of motherhood, having done tv performances heavily pregnant or carrying her infant child.  Definitely some of the songs here touch on the topic of motherhood with "Inna City Mamma" and "The Next Generation".

Day 0516 - Duck Rock

Malcolm McLaren "Duck Rock" (1983)

Having become well known through his involvement in the punk scene (in particular, his management of the Sex Pistols); McLaren was keen to translate that notoriety into pop stardom for himself.

McLaren teamed up with producer Trevor Horn, who was given a reasonable amount of creative control due to McLaren's lack of musicality and specific direction for how the album should be.  The book states that such was McLaren's lack of musical ability that he had to have Horn slapping him in time to the beat of the music to keep his vocal delivery in time.

Music from various nationalities was brought into the mix along with McLaren's interest in the nascent hip-hop and turntablism scene.  The resulting tracks could be seen as a precursor to the world music craze that would later arise.