Day 0825 - Tellin' Stories

The Charlatans "Tellin' Stories" (1996)

The band had to promote themselves as the UK Charlatans when touring the US due to a band over there having prior claim to the name.   Maybe they should have called themselves 'the New Charlatans'.
 

The music is an organ-heavy rock sound, with nasally vocals... not surprising then that the band had supported Oasis for their 1996 shows at Knebworth.   Kind of like the Oasis sound but mixed with a bit of the 'Madchester' style, more dance-esque beats and swirly guitars.

Not too bad, a few catchy numbers, but not one that has really stuck with me too much after listening to it.  The track "How can you leave us" kind of reminded me in places of the equally catchy rock of "Long Grass" by the New Zealand band Pan Am.

Day 0737 - New Wave

The Auteurs “New Wave” (1993)

The Auteurs were started by then couple Luke Haines and Alice Redman with former classmate Glenn Collins.  They put together a demo and were quickly signed to Hut Records.  “New Wave” was their first full-length release.

The entry in the book talks about them being progenitors of ‘Britpop’… but then, as frequently happens with genres or musical movements, several albums in the book have been given this honour.   I do find it interesting that so many of these musical movements can spring up like this, with multiple different bands all relatively independently arriving at similar musical destinations.

While I was living in the UK there seemed to be this trend towards artists who ruminated on everyday things (the Streets, Arctic Monkeys) whereas I’ve always preferred more obscure lyrics that maybe use a bit of clever or creative wordplay.   This band seems to have a more cinematic/theatrical vibe, such as on opening track "Show Girl" with the crashing, flashy intro suddenly vanishing into a quietly subdued verse.  The arrangements are bit more interesting than straight-ahead ‘rawk n roll’ and I could certainly hear similarities between this band and artists like Blur or Suede (Supergrass at a stretch).

While I won’t say they’re my new favourite band, I do think they are an artist that requires further investigation.  

Day 0666 - World Clique

Dee-Lite "World Clique" (1990) - got it

More than just "Groove is in the Heart".  This is an album that features guest spots from such luminaries as Bootsy Collins, Herbie Hancock and Maceo Parker.  But it is more than those guest spots too.  This is an album that grooves from start to finish.  Some of the big rollicking beats and jagged piano date the music slightly, but aside from that, it's a great mix of techno, funk and pop.

Different styles and sounds are on display, mixing live instruments and samples.  Lady Miss Kier's voice provides enough variety that I didn't grow weary of hearing the same singer throughout.

Day 0507 - Rip it up

Orange Juice "Rip it up" (1982)

A Scottish pop band, though from their sound they could just as easily have been from the US, England or anywhere else.  Their sound has hints of the new-wave-era Police, and a LARGE dose of Bowie's soul and dance sound (particularly in the vocals).

This is becoming a bit of a theme with some of these 80s pop albums but "polished whiteboy funk guitar, subtle horn parts, and synths abound".  As with something like Haircut One Hundred, this is pretty solid pop fare, and is totally enjoyable if you're in the mood for a bit of catchy gloss.

Day 0459 - Peter Gabriel III (AKA "Melt")

Peter Gabriel "Peter Gabriel III" (AKA "Melt") (1980)

 
Gabriel was well clear of his Genesis 'Prog' sound, and with his first two relatively quirky and eccentric solo albums also behind him, he seemed content to settle into a groove as a purveyor of interesting and innovative art pop-rock in the vein of Berlin-Bowie and Brian Eno. He even uses Eno-regular Robert Fripp on guitar, along with his Genesis bandmate (and vocal replacement) Phil Collins.

PG experiments with world music (sampling African chants for one song) and new technology, playing around with drum machines, and studio trickery to produce an album that seems a collision of human with machine.

Day 0410 - One Nation Under a Groove

Funkadelic "One Nation Under a Groove" (1978)

 
I love George Clinton's funk bands (Funkadelic, Parliament, Brides of Funkenstein etc.) and I definitely dig the guitar-heavy, tight funk sound being rocked here by Funkadelic in one of their most popular (though I don't actually own... yet) and commercially successful albums. 

The first couple of tracks are tight, yet smooth grooves.  There are a couple of distorted guitar-backed funk-rock tracks, and amongst all of this there is still the space for looser extended jams like "PE Squad/Doo doo chasers".

Interesting fact that I did not know: Funkadelic bassist and solo artist in his own right, Bootsy Collins was originally a member of James Brown's backing band, the JBs. Not such a crazy idea I guess, Hendrix used to be in the backing band for the Isley Bros before he did his own thing.

Day 0369 - Before and After Science

Brian Eno "Before and After Science" (1977)

Eno collaborates with a catalogue of artists including Robert Fripp and even Phil Collins. As with his other solo albums that I've listened to so far, he manages to incorporate interesting audio textures, avant garde techniques and, here, some occasionally virtuosic performances into a cohesive and often quite 'pop' sounding whole.

This album doesn't stand out above the other two of his that I've heard on this list, but that says more about the consistency of quality of Eno's solo output than any particular shortcoming of this album.

Fun fact, Eno would go on to produce the second Talking Heads album, and this record features a track "King's Lead Hat" which is an anagram of that band's name.

Day 0361 - Mothership Connection

Parliament "Mothership Connection" (got it) - 1971

Starts off with some nice roomy, minimalist funk, with the instruments creating tons of space that George Clinton drawls over... kind of reminiscent of Clinton's other band at the time Funkadelic. From there the album launches into a cathartic explosion of horns, bubbly bass lines and vocal ensembles.

Despite its political name, the songs seem keeps away from the socially conscious lyrics of some funk bands (and some of Parliament's own other albums), opting instead for a heady mix of sex, fun, and weird.

The sheer amount of talent Clinton had assembled in the band is made apparent by the fact that half of the members eventually left and started their own bands/solo projects.

Day 0280 - Selling England by the Pound

Genesis "Selling England by the Pound" (1973)

Was surprised to find that this was Genesis' 5th album.  I didn't realise that they'd recorded so many with Peter Gabriel.

There seems to be a thing about prog albums using paintings as their album covers rather than photos or some other such thing.  Definitely bands like Gentle Giant, Genesis, some of Crimson's got on in on it.   Similar to the 50's jazz scene's flirtations with the modern artists.   It works for this album matching the parochial English vibe of the album.

Much as it's popular to jump on the 'Phil Collins bashing bandwagon', his drumming, while nowhere near as exploratory or virtuosic as some of his prog peers, is still pretty damned fine. Synths that sound like they're soundtracking a fox hunt, guitars that are at time frantic and unsettling and at others, majestic and grand, vocals that verge on the theatrical and playful.  This is definitely a long way from the poppy, sometimes slightly too-serious-for-its-own-good, later-era Genesis.

I would not be surprised if John Frusciate was into Genesis either.  There seem to be a lot of sounds that would not be out of place on some of his later work with the Chili Peppers or some of his mid-era solo work.