Day 0932 - Southern Rock Opera

Drive-By Truckers "Southern Rock Opera"

Pretty much what it says on the tin.   A rock opera utilising and talking about Southern Rock, with special focus given to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young, and very much (musically) in their style.

From what I've read, the story is supposed to chart the progress of a group of youngsters from their Southern upbringing longing after fame and fortune, to finally getting what they want but with all the eventual pitfalls of fame.

I would say that I enjoyed one or two of the sounds on here, particularly on the second disc which has lots of nice guitar harmony bits going on and there is solid riffage throughout. "Angels and Fuselage" is a yearning epic rock ballad in the vein of Skynyrd's best.

The problem then is the 90-minute runtime.   I didn't really pay much attention to the 'narrative' and there's not enough variety to maintain interest across that duration of music (for my tastes anyway).   As is the case with many double albums, I feel that this could have been shorn down to an arresting single album.   

Day 0803 - Leftism

Leftfield "Leftism" (1995)

 

Formed by two percussionist DJs, Leftfield had previously released a number of singles with various guests.   Though their music is very much in the electronic genre with trancey soundscapes mixing with house synths, they brought in vocalists from other genres like rock (Toni Haliday and John Lydon), reggae (Danny Red, Earl Sixteen) and even a poet (Lemm Sissay).

The duo started their debut album by tweaking and re-purposing some of the tracks they'd released as singles over the previous years then went from there, developing new music.

I heard enough here to enjoy, though I wouldn't say that the album really seized my attention for the duration.    Another "I'll listen to it if someone puts it on, but I won't seek it out" album.

Day 0582 - I Against I

Bad Brains "I Against I" (1986)

I'm kind of surprised that the first (self titled) Bad Brains album isn't on this list.  Its sound - blistering onslaught of fast thrashy hardcore punk that could change speed or rhythm on a dime - is breathtaking.

That's not to take anything away from this album though as it is an amazing collection of tracks.  There's the groovy "Sacred Love" with its dreamy vocals which were recorded over the phone from the jail by singer HR where he was being held on charges of marijuana possession.  There's the face-melting opening of "House of Suffering" or the catchy Neanderthal groove of the title track.

The mix of groove with thrashy guitars and sneery punky spat-out lyrics brings to mind the Chuck Mosley iteration of Faith No More (seem to remember reading that Chuck briefly joined Bad Brains) or Fishbone.  Great album!

Day 0473 - UB40 "Signing off" (1980)

UB40 "Signing off" (1980)

 
I was most familiar with UB40 as purveyors of slightly twee reggae covers of Elvis and Neil Diamond songs; but this is actually a strong, moody reggae offering.

The band came from a working class background in Birmingham and funnelled discontent around their grim reality (the high unemployment figures, the rise of Margaret Thatcher's government, and the increasing popularity of the racist party the National Front) into lyrics that ranged from downbeat to scathing.

The music also ranged from lengthy atmospheric reggae jams, to deep rocksteady grooves and all with Ali Campbell's strong, heartfelt vocals.

At 66 minutes long, it was probably a little too much UB40 for my tastes, but then reggae has never been a genre that could hold my attention for too long a time.

Day 0255 - Will the Circle be Unbroken

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band "Will the Circle be Unbroken" (1972)

This is a phenomenal album for any fan of country, country-rock and bluegrass... but a 38 song double album with a running time of near enough to two hours is a bit much.  Even if this was a live concert setlist, it would be getting into Bruce Springsteen or Pearl Jam territory!

The band put their spin on a number of country standards. The album has a relaxed atmosphere with a range of guest stars and a lot of studio dialogue in between tracks.

For me the rambling lengthiness of the album lets it down somewhat, especially with some tracks being fairly similar sounding little banjo jams.  It's one of those cases where a decent double album could have been whittled down to a stellar single album.  However, if you want a one-stop country album that you're able to listen to in increments, this is pretty damned good (and I imagine that true country aficionados would happily listen through the whole thing in one sitting, as I would for my few favoured double albums.)