Day 0730 - Dirt

Alice in Chains "Dirt" (1992)

The band had been formed by guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney.  Cantrell had been at his friend Layne Staley to come on as their vocalist while Staley was trying to get Cantrell as guitarist for his funk band.

Eventually the funk band disbanded and Alice in Chains was solidified.  Elements of funk showed up in their debut "Facelift" which was otherwise already fairly well formed with their signature mix of blues rock, chugging riffs and Staley and Cantrell's vocal harmonies.

The band followed up their debut with an acoustic EP (which they would also do after "Dirt") before coming back to their rock sound with "Dirt".
 
While the vocal harmonies are still present and there's melody to be had, these are some of the heaviest, most punishing riffs laid down by the band.  The lyrics are fairly dark, with the subject of addiction featuring largely, which is not surprising given that Staley would die of a drug overdose 10 years later.

Some great tracks on here with "Would" (featured in Cameron Crowe's "Singles" film), "Rain When I Die", and the one that first pricked up my ears towards AIC, Rooster.

Day 0475 - More Specials

The Specials "More Specials" (1980)

 
The Specials had helped launch the ska craze in the UK. The label 2-tone records, started by Specials keyboardist and songwriter Jerry Dammers would go on to release music from artists such as Madness, the Beat, and Elvis Costello (only one single for EC though).

The band were exhausted from touring and were hoping to make a few changes for their second album in order to keep things interesting.

The first few tracks stick to the ska/reggae formula, but towards the middle of the album you start to get the kitschy sing-along of "Pearl's Cafe" and hard funking of "Sock it to em JB". The album works with passages of exotica and some noodling around with different keyboard textures. The mix of styles would go on to influence the 90s trip-hop explosion through artists like Portishead, Massive Attack and others.

 

Day 0467 - Remain in Light

Talking Heads "Remain in Light" (1980) - got it

David Byrne was suffering a case of writers block so looked to build up some minimalist jams, often around just one or two chords. The band brought in influences from funk, to afro-beat, to electronica and Byrne helped craft the jams into functional songs.

Following the 'Fear of music' tour, the band had taken time off to pursue other interests. Byrne and 'Remain in light' producer Brian Eno recorded the "My life in the bush of ghosts" album.  Jerry Harrison produced an album for a soul singer.  The married rhythm section of Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz headed to the Caribbean to hang out with famed reggae rhythm section Sly and Robbie. The two mulled over the idea of leaving Talking Heads due to Byrne's controlling nature.

Eno too had questioned coming back as producer after his previous two albums with the Heads... so it wasn't really a happy working environment.   As it was, Eno didn't produce the next album ("Speaking in tongues") and a few year's later the band's inner turmoil became insurmountable and they broke up. It's probably telling that while many acrimoniously split groups have reformed throughout the years, the Heads (aside from a Rock n Roll Hall of Fame appearance) have avoided reuniting.

For all the friction in its making, the album produced some great songs, including one of TH's most known tracks "Once in a lifetime".

Day 0435 - Fear of Music

Talking Heads "Fear of Music" (1979)

Hmm, another Talking Heads album that I don't own. This one is really interesting, Eno's influence seems to be creeping in even more than on 'More songs about buildings and food' with additional sonic trickery.

David Byrne took the nervous energy and anxiety that popped up in places on the first two albums and just smeared it all over the songs here. Even the serene 'Heaven' (rendered as an ethereal ballad by Icehouse) has a slightly cynical and bleak feel to it.

Eno tweaks the sounds made by the band as well as increasing the nervous energy by throwing plenty of extra little unsettling bleeps and bloops into the mix.

Day 0413 - More Songs About Buildings and Food

Talking Heads "More Songs About Buildings and Food" 1978 - got it

Brian Eno joins the Heads in the studio, bringing his gift of mixing pop with new and interesting production ideas, starting a creative partnership that would help produce some great TH albums, but would also see fractures appear in the group.

The band mixes its skittish brand of art-rock with touches of scratchy funk and danceable disco beats, creating a sound that would be ripped off wholesale (though done very well) by Franz Ferdinand some 25-30 years later.

Byrne sounds like he's recording some of his vocals after drinking several pots of coffee, just a nervous gangly energy to what he's doing.

The husband-and-wife rhythm section of Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth lay down some tight grooves over a mix of styles.

The second-to-last track is a cool-down.  A fairly sedate reading of Al Green's "Take me to the river" that has become a bit of a classic rock radio staple (or at least it has over here).

Day 0382 - Talking Heads: 77

Talking Heads "Talking Heads: 77" (1977... rather obviously, I guess)

 
The Heads were formed by David Byrne and Chris Frantz, with Frantz's girlfriend Tina Weymouth joining on bass and played their first gig opening for the Ramones.  After the band were signed, Byrne (showing that talent doesn't always come with charm) then demanded that Weymouth audition to keep her role in the band.   Guitarist and keyboardist Jerry Harrison (formerly of the Modern Lvoers) joined shortly before they recorded their debut album, with Jon Bon Jovi's cousin Tony Bongiovi, handling production duties.

I really enjoy the Talking Heads and have a few of their albums, yet I've never really got around to properly checking out this one.  There are some great tracks here ("Happy day", "Don't worry about the government", "First week/last week...carefree", and of course "Psycho Killer"), it's a good album, and a clear influence on later bands with their mix of intellectualism and danceability, skittish postpunk and neurotic funk.

If I'm honest, I probably prefer their later albums' variety to the more uniform approach on this one, but it's still good.