Day 0926 - Is This It

 The Strokes "Is This It" (2001)

One of the wave of garage rock revival bands (also known as the 'the' bands, e.g. the Strokes, the Datsuns, the Hives, the White Stripes etc.) and another of those bands given the plaudit of "Saving rock n roll".  I don't know about that, rock just seems to naturally ebb and flow rather than "die" or need "Saving".   

This is an enjoyable album though.  It's compact (under 40 minutes) and gives definite nods to its influences, Velvet Underground, and the first wave of bands influenced by them.   Definitely Julian Casablancas' vocals owe a debt to Lou Reed.   I detect a bit of 'Lust for Life' era Iggy Pop too, particularly in the rhythms of "Someday".   "Hard to Explain"  is a bit of a favourite of mine and always kind of brings Weezer (of all things) to mind.

Most of the songs have a propulsive rhythm to them, even something like "Alone, Together" which is a slower tempo track has an unrelenting beat behind it and the guitars keep pace.   The twisty turny interplay between the two guitars does offer a bit of a point of difference between the Strokes and some of their more rhythmically straight-ahead Rawk contemporaries. 

Day 0868 - This is Hardcore

Pulp "This is Hardcore" (1998) - got it

Pulp's "Different Class" album had been a success, but the band were not revelling in their new-found fame.  Facing it instead with a mix of drugs, resignations and paranoia that blighted the euphoria.   The angst all comes out on this album, with opening track "the Fear" featuring lines like "the sound of loneliness turned up to 10" and "this is the sound of someone losing the plot, making out that they're okay when they're not".

The album moves away from the bouncy, perky britpop of 'Different Class ' and into a more brooding, reflective realm.   The band's theatrical side (musically and via Cocker's low murmur-to-impassioned yell vocals) remains.   The title track has a noirish, almost cinematic bent.  Single "Help the Aged" moves from an easy-listening groove to a huge anthemic chorus.

With their propulsive grooves and Cocker's deep croon, "Party Hard" and "Glory Days" seem to nod to late 70s/early 80s Bowie.   Album odd-duck "Seductive Barry" is an atmospheric, meditative track which feels again like it owes a debt to Bowie, specifically his Berlin albums.

Day 0668 - Shake Your Money Maker

The Black Crowes "Shake Your Money Maker" (1990)

 
To pull out the 'old reliable' again "I'd heard of the band by name, but wasn't familiar with any of their music".  Turns out that I had heard a couple of these tracks ("Too hard to handle" and "She talks to angels") but just wasn't aware that they were Black Crowes songs.

The band was maybe one of the earlier groups to start the fad of reviving the 1960s blues rock sound.  Channelling artists such as Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker ("Seeing things") and Tom Petty.  They deliver a set of tracks that dwell in the sleazy, greasy good-time aspect of rock n roll, while still delivering a slice of gravity in "She talks to angels" which deals with another rock n roll 'classic'... heroin addiction.

Day 0595 - Faith

George Michael "Faith" (1987)

 
Wham! played their last show, then George Michael immediately got to work on his first solo album.  Given that he had been the producer and main songwriter in the band, and had an easily marketable image (i.e. he was a pretty face); the move to a solo career wasn't exactly a shock. 

He probably could have coasted for his first solo outing, producing Wham!-lite; instead he delivers a stonking pop and RnB album that perfectly showcases his strong, clear voice.

Possibly a controversial take but I feel like George Michael would have made a great replacement for Freddie Mercury in Queen.  Obviously nobody can live up to Freddie, but GM has a kind of similar tone to his voice, he can sing it hard or delicate, and his rendition of "Somebody to Love" at the Freddie tribute concert was fantastic.   I kind of feel like his pop and soul vibe would nicely offset the rock of Brian and Roger to produce the variety that Queen always had. 

In case you didn't get the message, this is me giving GM high praise.  Normally, the idea of Queen playing with anyone else on vocals leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Day 0553 - Fear and Whiskey

The Mekons "Fear and Whiskey" (1985)

I am in unfamiliar territory here, having not heard of this band, or the one in the previous entry.  In addition to that, the 80s are not really the decade of music I'm most familiar with.

This was another goodie though, so again, it's been quite cool to be introduced to new bands/albums through this 'quest'.

This album is credited as being one of the first alt-country albums, and certainly I can hear the genesis of bands in that genre I enjoy, such as the Nudie Suits, or Dieselhed.   The album is mostly raucous, occasionally trippy and always sonically exploratory.  Genres as diverse as folk, country and post-punk collide, overlaid with slide guitars, fiddles, harmonicas and other country-synonymous sounds.