Day 0877 - Devil Without a Cause

Kid Rock “Devil Without a Cause” (1998)

 

These days it can be easy to just think of Kid Rock as the grinning grease-stain in ‘stars and stripes’ pants playing golf with Donald Trump and forget that he used to be a musician.

Rock’s association with Trump seems appropriate as his lyrics dwell in misogyny, greed and lashing out at those who he felt had not helped him or had held him back.  On the title track he classily invites his detractors to “shut up or put his balls in their mouths”.

Rock’s lyrics reflect his reinvention from straight hip-hop to his ‘cowboy pimp rockstar’ persona.   Revelling in his sleaze and trashiness as he goes on about ‘bitches’ and ‘hoes’ and a ‘hose’ (a garden hose made of solid gold, don’tcha know).

Lyrics aside though, I do find it hard to fault the album musically.  From the opening chant and stonking riffs of single “Bawitdaba” into the mix of styles on the twangy country “Cowboy” which almost feels like it could be a Beck song.   There’s the Rage Against the Machine-esque but ridiculously titled “Fist of Rage”.   All in all, the music is an interesting mix of hiphop, metal, country and even a touch of funk.  

The main issue then (aside from the lyrics) is that the runtime is in excess of 70 minutes (ditto with a few of the albums in this part of the list).  It’s hard to maintain interest for that length of runtime unless it’s a release from one of your absolute favourite artists.

Day 0621 - The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies "The Trinity Session" (1988)

The Cowboy Junkies were something of a family affair, formed by lifelong friends Alan Anton and Michael Timmins, and eventually also featuring Michael's brother Peter on drums, and their sister Margo on vocals.

Margo was originally plagued with shyness, recording her vocals with her back to the rest of the band.

This album was recorded with the band grouped around one microphone in Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity (thus the album's title).  The result is a beautiful album of minimalistic, intimate country tracks.  A mixture of  original tracks and covers ranging from Hank Williams to Lou Reed.

Day 0498 - The Message

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five "The Message" (1982)

 
One of the first 'rap' albums, though this is packed with everything from funk, soul and almost krautrock grooves with robot voices over it. 

It's similar to a few of the early hip hop records, both in its socially conscious (if sometimes mildly homophobic and misogynist) lyrics, and its magpie-like approach to creating musical tracks.