Day 0761 - Dummy

Portishead "Dummy" (1994) - got it

The words that spring to mind with this one are moody, cinematic and a mix of old and new.

"Cinematic", not necessarily meaning grandiose, it's just that the music creates atmospheres and visuals in my mind.  This sense of the cinematic is emphasised by Beth Gibbons changing her singing voice to suit each track, almost like a vocal 'actor'.

"Old and new" because they're mixing old jazz, soul and torch-song sounds with modern production.   Organs, strings and moody trumpet with hip hop beats and scratches.  

Opening track "Mysteron" is appropriately titled as it sounds like an old sci-fi b-movie score with a beat.  "Glory Box" speaks of sultry noir, and was used as the backing track for MTV's Superrock show, hosted by the glamorous Julia Valet.

Though Portishead didn't invent triphop, this album's sound came to be what many would associate the with the genre.

Sadly, the band's output (though superlative) has been fairly small.  Two albums, then a fantastic live album with the NY orchestra.  After that there was a 10 year wait before their third and (to date) final album.  

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.