Day 0975 - Renaissance

Q-Tip "Renaissance" (2008)

I've seen a lot about Q-Tip, but almost always either as a member of a group (most notably Tribe Called Quest and Soulquarians) or as a producer for other artists' work, often partnering up with J-Dilla.

Q-Tip released his first solo album 'Amplified' in 1999.  A further release was abandoned by his record company and he changed labels.   After some more production work and with a 9 year gap since 'Amplified' he followed up his first release with 'The Renaissance'.

It took me a listen or two to really latch onto the album, though tracks like "You", "WeFight/WeLove" and "Life is Better" (with Norah Jones) clicked straight away for me.  I'm on my fourth listen now and the album is funky, soulful, and of course well produced.  Lots of live drum sounds prominent in the mix.   Something like "Shaka" sounds kind of retro and totally contemporary at the same time.

Day 0965 - Back to Black

Amy Winehouse "Back to Black" (2006) - got it

It would be easy enough to go on about Amy's drug problems (and her possibly related parental problems) or her early death making her a late-era member of the famed '27 club', but I love this album and would prefer to stick to the music.

I enjoy Amy's debut "Frank" well enough, it's more of a straight-ahead jazz thing with a few reggae and pop touches, but this one is much more my cup of tea.   As Winehouse began her relationship with her eventual husband Blake Fielder-Civil they were hanging out in bars with a lot of jukebox music, lots of 60s girl groups and Motown stuff.   This soundtrack highly influenced her writing, and even after the relationship with Fielder-Civil fell apart (for a time) she carried on with the sound.

While there are one or two more straight ahead jazz ballads here like "Love is a Losing Game" and "Wake Up Alone", for the most part the songs have a bit more of a groove to them, combined with Amy's strong, controlled, distinctive voice.    

 

Whether it's my favourite, the funereal, cinematic title track (the basic track of which was thrown together overnight by producer Mark Ronson to show Winehouse that he could get with the sound she wanted); or jazzy funk of opening track "Rehab", Ronson and Winehouse bring a groove that is somehow simultaneously retro and contemporary.  "Tears Dry on Their Own" takes things a step further, isn't just influenced by Motown, it's Winehouse and Ronson pretty much building a new song over the backing track for the Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell track "Ain't no Mountain High Enough".

Mark Ronson's string and horn arrangements suit the pop/motown vibe perfectly, while Winehouse's voice still with its jazzy nod to the versatility of Sarah Vaughan and the raw emotion of Billie Holliday slinks around the tunes.   It's an album that started being written in the throes of love and was finished in the pain of breakup, it gives you the lot, and in under 40 minutes to-boot

Despite what I said about not dwelling on her death, I will say that Amy Winehouse is another of those great musical 'what ifs'.   Maybe she never would have topped this album, but I feel like she was (apologies for the cliche) just getting started.

Day 0937 - Come Away With Me

Norah Jones “Come Away With Me” (2002) – got it 

 

Like many people I discovered Norah via the single “Don’t Know Why”.  I feel as though I heard it through an ad for her album.  Her dreamy, breathy voice, laid-back groove and beautiful melody hooked me in.

For some people it was TOO laid-back, with Norah being unfairly dubbed “Snorah Jones” by some  detractors.  While it’s true that her brand of jazz-pop-infused-with-folk lacks the pizazz of pop, and the teeth of the best jazz, there is some good songcraft and musicianship on display.  Definitely there are enough good jazz musicians involved (including John Zorn collaborators: Bill Frisell, Kenny Wolleson and Jesse Harris) to lend her some credibility amongst the genre’s purists.

It’s not as if this is a jazz aberration.  Jones taps into the light melodic jazz sounds of Bill Evans and Billie Holliday, adding in touches of country, folk and even tango (“I’ve got to see you again”).  The Hank Williams country classic “Cold Cold Heart” is given a sultry jazz reworking.  “Shoot the Moon” has a moody descending melodic pattern.

The album is an exercise in restraint, whether it’s the smouldering but understated sensuality of “I’ve Got To See You Again” and ”Turn Me On” (a nice bluesy number where Norah’s voice builds above a murmur to really get the passion across); or the sparse arrangements, which generally just consist of minimal drums, bass, a guitar and some piano with Norah’s breathy voice over top.  Sometimes she treats herself (and the listener) to a harmony or backing vocal.

Whether or not it’s jazz is in the ear of the beholder, but I like it, and it helped launch Norah’s career.   While she has experimented a little with her music she has largely continued to just move back and forth between the jazz and country idioms.

Day 0800 - A Northern Soul

 The Verve "A Northern Soul" (1995)

 

Okay, I have to admit that my only real experience with the Verve was the "Urban Hymns" album.   This whole psychedelic rock with hints of droney shoegaze took me (pleasantly) by surprise.

There are some almost dance-influenced beats like on "Life's an Ocean", mixed with the noisy wash of guitar that is reminiscent of bands from My Bloody Valentine, Ride and maybe the Happy Mondays.

The long, slow moody mellow atmospheric "Drive you home" is quite dreamy and wonderful.  

The  band broke up after this, but reformed and hit new commercial heights.

Day 0656 - Doolittle

Pixies "Doolittle" (1989)

The Pixies switched up producers with a noticeable change in sound.  Where "Surfer Rosa" producer Steve Albini favoured dirty, punky production with unconventional techniques; "Doolittle" producer Gil Norton favoured more of a conventional studio sheen.   Given that the Pixies were a band who mixed pleasant melody with abrasive noise, they were clearly amenable to either approach.  

Norton's production sees clean, prominent bass-lines and drums with a noisy squall of guitar over the top.  Black Francis' vocals alternately scream, or sink into melodic harmony with bassist Kim Deal's voice.   The album is a great cohesive mix of styles that lays further groundwork for the wave of Grunge (Cobain was a vocal fan of the Pixies) and the noisier areas of 90s indie-rock and indie-pop alike.

Day 0607 - Bad

Michael Jackson "Bad" (1987)

My sister used to crank this album on a regular basis shortly after its release, and I remember out-and-out hating it.  I quite like it now, and I'm not sure if my tastes have just changed over time, or if back then my 1990s contrariness was just rearing its head a little early.

Jacko, together with producer Quincy Jones, had produced 2 amazingly successful albums in 'Off the Wall' and 'Thriller'.  With Thriller having been the highest selling album of all time (still is), it was a bit of a difficult act to follow.  Despite the weight of expectation, they come out firing with what is a brilliant (if somewhat over-polished) collection of songs.

The songs continues Jacko's mix of funk-rock (Smooth Criminal), cheese-rock and weepy soul (I Just Can't Stop Loving You).  He got right into the tough guy roll hinted at by the title track, donning his leathers with more buckles and zips than had been seen on an album cover before.

Whether or not this music is up to the standard of his previous couple of releases is up for debate; either way, it's a solid collection of songs.   Certainly from this point on, success  (presumably also fuelled by his messed up childhood) started to warp him into a crazy, monkey-toting, plastic-surgery-getting weirdo, whose music could still stoke the fires every now and then; but didn't really continue to hit the same heights.

Day 0508 - Thriller

Michael Jackson "Thriller" (1982)

The highest selling album of all time, sold a million copies per month for its first year of release, 6 of its 10 songs were hit singles.

What more could you really want from an album: it was produced by Quincy Jones with a seasoned collection of studio players (check out the videos of Michael's drummer playing some of the hits from this era, the groove is tight like you wouldn't believe), a guest vocal by Paul McCartney, a guitar solo by Eddie van Halen and even some backing vocals from his sister Janet.

I won't say that it doesn't sound dated, there are some production and instrument sounds here that are unmistakably 80s.  That being said, there are other sounds on here that have aged nicely and wouldn't be out of place in contemporary pop, particularly given the number of artists who Jacko has influenced directly or indirectly.

Day 0505 - Pelican West

Haircut One Hundred "Pelican West" (1982)

Another album that presents a certain familiar side of 80s pop.  Tame and glossy funk guitar licks, with smooth horns and roomy percussion hits.  Slightly melodramatic vocals sail over the top of it all to create something that feels polished and shiny, but with its emotional core as more of an act rather than something genuine.

If you're not too worried about earnestness in your music (it doesn't overly bother me), then this is an extremely well-constructed pop album, that even throws out some clever little musical left-turns every now and then.

Day 0488 - Talk Talk Talk

The Psychedelic Furs "Talk Talk Talk" (1981)

An 80s band that managed to bridge the gap between the mainstream and underground pop scenes.  Melding melodic guitar lines and catchy saxophone, with a bit of punk directness showing up on some track.  The vocals seem to run somewhere between the ragged drawl of Shane McGowan and the snarl of Lou Reed.   The lyrics are anti-love and more focussed on sex for sex's sake, with penultimate track "I wanna sleep with you" feeling particularly aurally 'climactic'.

The track "Pretty in pink" had something of a resurgence in popularity after John Hughes used it in his film of the same name.

Day 0450 - Off the Wall

Michael Jackson "Off the Wall" (1979)

The beginning of the end of the... beginning, I guess. MJ hadn't had a solo hit in 7 odd years, and while working on the (not particularly successful) film 'The Wiz' Jackson asked Quincy Jones to recommend him a producer. Quincy suggested himself and they began what has to be one of the more commercially successful partnerships in music.

This album combined funk, disco and soul to basically lay out the blueprints for modern RnB (and the blueprint for nearly every Jamiroquai album).  Michael is let loose over these tracks, forming and honing the array of vocal ticks and exclamations that would become one of his many trademarks and would go on to define his vocal style.

Amongst all the upbeat danceable songs, he even has one of the more straightforward heart-string tugging ballads of his career in "She's out of my life".  He's so sincere that by the end of it he sounds like he's more or less in tears... tears of money.

Day 0439 - London Calling

The Clash "London Calling" (1979) - got it

From a ho-hum punk album on day 438 to one of the greats.  To be fair, the Clash were barely 'punk' by this stage.  The attitude remained, and some of the more direct, raw 'rock' tracks still reflect that side of their sound, but the band were pulling influences from all corners: rockabilly, northern soul, post-punk, ska, reggae... even hints of new-wave.

 With a run of 19 tracks, I do tend to get a feeling of 'track fatigue' with it.  Most of these tracks are good and I can pick out pretty much any one track and enjoy it, but it just seems as though 65 uninterrupted minutes of Clash is probably slightly too much in one sitting for me.

Day 0422 - Stardust

Willie Nelson "Stardust" (1978) - got it

Riding on the success of "Red Headed Stranger" Willie was given a reasonable degree of freedom by his record company.  But they must have still had their doubts when Willie went outside of his country background to release a collection of covers of classic tin pan alley songs.  It's a musical gamble that works though.  Willie seamlessly blends the jazzy tunes like "Georgia on my mind", "Blue skies", "Somebody to watch over me" and Moonlight in Vermont" with a hint of his country background, similar to the mix of styles that Norah Jones would later toy around with in her first two albums (but then it's known that she's a big Willie fan).

The real star here is Willie's voice.  It's so distinctive, somehow strong and frail at the same time.  He makes these familiar songs come alive in a new way. Will definitely keep an eye out for this one next time I'm out shopping.

*as you can see from the top of this post, I have since found a copy too

Day 0394 - Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols "Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols" (1977)

 
Well this one was really always going to show up, wasn't it. This album gets held up as one of the most influential, the one to really 'put punk on the map'.  Quite frankly though, with so many punk artists and albums around at the time, the 'revolution' would have happened whether this band released an album or not.

I can see why this one got seized on though: for a start, it was hugely publicised with the Pistols being assembled and marketed by Malcolm McLaren.  The band had gone on the Bill Grundy show and dropped the F-bomb.  But aside from all of that, where a lot of the other artists at the time, such as the Clash or Suicide or whoever were punk, mixed with other musical elements the Pistols seemed to be designed as some kind of punk shorthand.  The album has simplistic 3 chord songs played fast, noisily and with a large dose of sneery, smirking attitude.  There's not lot of variation so it almost reflects the later more "pure" underground and American hardcore punk that followed over the next decade or so. 

Day 0377 - The Clash

The Clash "The Clash" (1977) - got it

The Clash mostly eschewed the self-destructive ideology of many of their peers, digging more into the political anger and cynicism. According to the book (and a Joe Strummer doco I saw a while back) they were accused of sloganeering and bandwagon jumping in some corners, but they made good music, so who really cares what their motivations were. As best as I can tell, the lyrics of songs like "Career opportunities" and "I'm so bored with the USA" seem authentic enough.

The band soaked up the multiple cultural influences of living in West London at the time, with sounds including reggae, ska and rocksteady fusing into their punk with a bit more musicality than some of their contemporaries could/wanted to included.

Day 0157 - Led Zeppelin II

Led Zeppelin "Led Zeppelin II" (1969)

This has to be a record: two entries in the 1001 albums book, with only a one other artist's album to separate them!

I'm more familiar with the non 'hits' on this album than I was from the debut.  There are further forays into delicate numbers with 'ramble on' (or parts of it are delicate) and the beautiful 'thank you'.  There's also plenty more big rockin' blues, including a favourite of mine 'heartbreaker'.

John Bonham's drums sound ENORMOUS throughout.

Day 0070 - Aftermath

The Rolling Stones "Aftermath" (1966)

The first RS album where they wrote all of the songs themselves... and it benefits from this, with a nice variety of strong songs.

Brian Jones (who was apparently a bit bored by this point) stretches out beyond his guitar duties to add some sitar, marimba and a variety of other instruments.
Several tracks were omitted for the US edition of the album; but they got 'Paint it Black' instead, which is pretty sweet compensation!

Day 0053 - A Love Supreme

John Coltrane "A Love Supreme" (1965) - got it

I love this period of music history, where pop/rock albums could sit side by side in popularity with instrumental jazz records and other genres.  I honestly hadn't realised that 'a love supreme' was released this late though!

One of the more popular jazz albums ever released, and, like Miles' "Kind of blue" it's an exploration in modal jazz.
I somewhat prefer Coltrane's "giant steps" album for its concise, hooky yet virtuosic bop.  Also, some of his later more exploratory releases, but a love supreme is still an amazing record.   Coltrane's band at the time was unsurpassed, especially his drummer Elvin Jones... mindblowing ability!