Day 0939 - The Coral

The Coral "The Coral" (2002)

What the what?!

Another situation where I was familiar with the name but for some reason assumed this band was one of the indie rock groups making the scene at the time; far from it! This album mixes a punky raucousness with melodic sensibility.  Musical control with wild abandon.  The whole thing is smothered in vocal harmonies which is something that (if you're keeping track) I love.

"Goodbye" has jazzy fusiony vamps.  "Shadows Fall" has a Specials-esque bit of moody two-tone with folky vocals that suddenly launch into a burst of hot jazz and plays out with a cool ping-pong vocal thing.  "I Remember When" moves between slow morose alt-rock and bursts into an explosive almost punky rock for the chorus and rounds out on a sort of klezmer section.

It's a definite "all sounds considered" approach that wraps in rock, folk, jazz, balladry, reggae, sea shanty, indie rock.  Music for the sake of music, and I love it!

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 0828 - Murder Ballads

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds "Murder Ballads" (1996) - got it

The album was a bit of change up for the Bad Seeds, with the change of a charming oil painting in place of the usual moody photograph of Cave on the album cover, through to the lyrics being completely narrative and non-autobiographical.

The album, which Cave has described as 'a holiday' had its genesis during the sessions for the "Henry's Dream" album, where the song "O'Malley's Bar" (the near-enough-to quarter hour penultimate track on Murder Ballads) was written.   The band felt it didn't fit on any of their albums, so created an album that would work for it.   Having said that, musically the album isn't a million miles from the gothic blues, folk and lounge stylings of their previous album "Let Love In".

Murder ballads are a subgenre within balladry, featuring songs that recount the gruesome details and sometimes aftermath of murderous deeds.   Cave launches into it with twisted glee, with a foul-mouthed account of the actions of one "Stagger Lee" at the Bucket of Blood Inn.   You can almost hear how much fun he's having as he assumes the role of the mass-murdering schoolgirl Loretta in the wild organ-driven song "the Curse of Milhaven".   

It's not all Cave by himself though, PJ Harvey guests on "Henry Lee" and wildcard Kylie Minogue duets with Cave on the beautifully cinematic "Where the Wild Roses Grow" which provided the band with an unlikely hit and adds a bit of colour amongst some of the low-key groove-based tracks.  On that note "Stagger Lee" is an interesting one in that it doesn't have verses and choruses, just the same groove repeated throughout the entire song (including the freakout section at the end).   

The album closes on what seems like a more positive note, with a cover of Bob Dylan's "Death is not the End" featuring guest vocal spots from Kylie, PJ, Shane Macgowan and members of the Bad Seeds.

Is it the best Bad Seeds' album?   Depends which day of the week you ask me.

Day 0808 - Dust

Screaming Trees "Dust" (1996)

Screaming Trees and their dust-throated vocliast Mark Lanegan have always drifted in and out of my orbit.   I first heard the Screaming Tress through their brilliant song "Nearly lost you" from the soundtrack Cameron Crowe's grunge-centric film "Singles".   Even though I loved that song I didn't really think to check out any more of their music.

A few years later a friend was well into the Mark Lanegan band and I listened to a couple of their albums but left it at that again.   Then a few years later, I saw Lanegan perform with the band the Soulsavers and a friend who is very much a Lanegan afficiando helped me discover a lot more of his work (solo, with Belle & Sebastian's Isobel Campbell, with Duke Garwood, Gutter Twins, Twilight Singers...).   Basically, sometimes I'm a slow learner.

Anyway, back to "Dust".   The basic foundation of this album seems to be the Beatles' Revolver and Rubber Soul albums, it has that mix of hard rock with middle-eastern sounds and a wash of psychedelia.   I guess those sounds, mixed with a little more distortion and with Lanegan's gravelly voice somehow manages to sound rock hard, the album is too good to fob off as "just another grunge record".

Great songs with occasional touches of gospel backing vocals that seem to signpost what was to come as far as Lanegan's work with the Soulsavers goes.

Day 0741 - Fuzzy

Grant Lee Buffalo "Fuzzy" (1993)

The members of Grant Lee Buffalo originally operated under the name Shiva Burlesque, but then reformed in the 90s under their new name.

The album has a definite feel of Americana to it.   Tales from the dusty US back-roads, rendered in a mix of acoustic and over-driven guitars.  My favourite is probably "Dixie Drug Store" the falsetto chorus of which, kind of reminds me favourably of U2's track "Numb".

There's a nice mix of raucous and rocking through to more mellow and meditative tracks.

Day 0724 - Dirty

Sonic Youth "Dirty" (1992)

Sonic Youth seem to be another of those bands whose discography is very heavily represented in this list, and I'm not entirely sure it's warranted.  That's not to say that any of their albums are bad, far from it.  There's just not enough variety between the albums to really set them above artists with more diverse catalogues who are less represented here.

The band chose Butch Vig to produce the album.  Vig was riding high on having produced Nirvana's punky-yet-polished "Nevermind", but this was apparently not why Sonic Youth chose him.   Certainly, while Vig sought to tighten the band's arrangements, their music was no more "consumer-friendly" as a result of the collaboration.

There are some great things done with hard-panning the guitars to either side to really make use of the stereophonic field, and with bassist Kim Gordon experimenting with a variety of vocal sounds.  Essentially this album sits in the same ranking as their others for me: good album, but kind of similar to its fellows (to my ears).

Day 0683 - Goo

Sonic Youth "Goo" (1990)

Sonic Youth's major label debut, but it doesn't feel as though they're trying to court a mainstream audience any more than they have on previous albums.

The band started with noisy no-wave, brought in swirling psychedelic noise pop.  This album feels a lot punkier and more riff-heavy (not that their albums have ever been bereft of riffs).  The band were followed and filmed on tour for the documentary film "The Year Punk Broke" which included some bands from the burgeoning grunge scene.

I liked it, though less impressed with the track "Kool Thing" with Chuck D from Public Enemy.  Not really the best thing that either party has ever done, but kudos to both for being willing to try it.  Sonic Youth were willing to experiment with different styles, they worked with samples and drum machines on the album "The Whitey Album" released under moniker Ciccone Youth, a reference to Madonna.

Day 0667 - The La's

The La's "The La's" (1990)

 
There must be something about Liverpool.  This is a strong and competent pop album that reflects the passion for 1960s retro prevalent in the 90s.... actually, technically most of these songs were written in the 80s. 

The band had been trying to record the album for 3-4 years with 3-4 different producers and were never quite happy with any of these attempts.  The record company finally pushed for it to be released and the band (or at least songwriter Lee Mavers) was dissatisfied with the results, and didn't mind telling people.

Not sure what Mayers' problem was; it's great collection of concise pop songs.  The main frame of reference is early-to-mid-era Beatles played through a 1990s filter.  The most instantly recognisable song is "There she goes", and surely there can't be too many people in the western world who haven't heard it, due to its radio play and extensive use in film and tv.  The rest of the album is hardly filler though, with memorable upbeat pop tracks, the vaguely musichall "Freedom song" and the glorious "Looking glass" that starts off simple but builds to noisy-yet-melodic crescendo.  

Day 0638 - The Healer

John Lee Hooker "The Healer" (1989)

John Lee had been active since the late 1940s, but had been pretty quiet over the bulk of the 70s and 80s.   He came bounding back with 'the Healer', helped by collaborators such as Los Lobos, Canned Heat (which whom he'd recorded an album "Hooker n Heat" some years earlier), Bonnie Raitt and Carlos Santana, among others.

I quite like it.  The first half of the album has a number of boogie-rocking blues tracks, even a little Latin flavour on the opening (title) track.  The second half of the album lends itself more to stripped-down, low-key, mostly acoustic tracks.

Day 0631 - Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth "Daydream Nation" (1988)

Sonic Youth's last release before moving across to a major label.   Friends of the band, including Henry Rollins had told them that their albums were great, but the long-form noise jam versions of the songs that would characterise their live shows had never really been captured on record.

The band took this on board, and when Thurston Moore brought in the songs for "Daydream Nation", instead of refining and condensing his ideas, the band sought to expand them out into a form more recognisable to fans of their live work.   The resulting album is viewed by many as Sonic Youth's creative peak.

Myself I probably preferred "EVOL" and "Sisters" as I enjoy that more concise approach.  However, this is still a worthwhile and interesting album.

Day 0606 - Calenture

The Triffids "Calenture" (1987)

I had heard the Triffids' name but had no real idea of what they'd sound like.  This album is almost indie-meets-gospel.  It has a really raw, soulful feel that is admittedly curtailed somewhat by the amount of studio sheen heaped on it.

The musical style, combined with David McComb's deep and declamatory vocal delivery make the music sound like a more upbeat take on early-mid era Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.  Not surprising then that bass-player Martyn Casey would later go on to play in the Bad Seeds.

Definitely enjoyed this and will keep it in mind for further investigation at a later date.

Day 0605 - Sister

Sonic Youth "Sister" (1987)

The more I listen to Sonic Youth, the more I start to like them.  I always had the idea that they were nothing but noise-makers with not a lot of musical substance, but they actually have some pretty solid pop songs and punk songs that they dress in a coat of feedback and squealing squalls of guitar.

From what I read, their first one or two albums might have been a bit more confrontational with their sound mellowing as they developed.  Certainly "Sister" and "Evol" are perfectly accessible for the average rock person.

Day 0604 - Scum

Napalm Death "Scum" (1987) - got it

Napalm Death, one of the progenitors of grindcore and producers of maybe the shortest song in the history of recoded music - "You suffer" clocks in at barely more than 1 second.

The band took punishing blast-beats, growling, barely-intelligible Cookie-Monster style vocals combined with some intense guitar riffs to produce an album that is nothing short of an aural onslaught.

The two halves of the album are also produced by almost completely different bands, with only drummer (and sometimes vocalist) Mick Harris playing on the entire album.  Guitarist Justin Broadrick had left partway through recording to help create industrial metal band Godflesh. 

Day 0575 - EVOL

Sonic Youth "EVOL" (1986)

Sonic Youth are a band that I'd hear & bits and pieces from, but they'd never really inspired me to dip deeper into their work.  I really quite enjoyed this album and ended up listening to it 3 times in a row.  Love the mix of hypnotic but noisy drones, pared-back riffing, and dalliances with musique concrete.

This is a sonically exciting and experimental album, that still has a solid base in 'song' writing, with melody and structure being employed where appropriate.  For me, the album's epic penultimate track "Expressway to Yr Skull" is the album's high point.

I like that it's not a straight instrumental album, but that the vocals are used sparingly, and often as more of an 'instrument' than as a way of communicating a message.

Day 0572 - The Colour of Spring

Talk Talk "The Colour of the Spring"

 
Talk Talk, one of the earlier bands to employ the new sound of synthesizers is here, one of the first bands to abandon them.  The synths are ousted for pianos, organs and interesting guitar textures, and the results are brilliant!

There is some competent pop-rock in the shape of "Life's What You Make it" and "Happiness is Easy" which has a moody trumpet solo and a child choir to lift it above standard fare.  There are some moodier tracks like "Chameleon Day", where Mark Hollis' haunting tenor backed with a semi-classical backdrop of piano and keyboards almost predicts the moodier moments of A Perfect Circle.

Day 0537 - 1984

Van Halen "1984" (1984)

As the book suggests, there's nothing new here lyrically: more macho musings on fast cars and fast women; but the music shows signs of evolution.  Having worked on Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album that combined live instruments with synthesizers, and having been pushing to include synths on previous VH albums, Eddie Van Halen finally got his way here.

The resultant sound is a pretty fun mix of hard rock and cheesy synth rock, with "Jump" being the most known hit here.  Eddie VH still sprays a liberal serving of searing lead guitar over the album, and David Lee Roth is in fine voice.

Day 0503 - the Rise and Fall

Madness "the Rise and Fall" (1982)

 
By this stage Madness had released 3 albums, a greatest hits collection, and (most importantly) had made the first of their two appearances on 'the Young Ones'.  Their fourth album is suitably sonically interesting.  Still working within their ska framework, but pushing that sound to its very limits with songs that alternatively bounce, cajole, swing, wallow, and reminisce.

'The Rise and Fall' was designed to be a concept album of sorts, looking at aspects of the band's childhood and upbringing, but that concept fell slightly by the wayside with tracks about New Delhi, and Margaret Thatcher ('Blue skinned beast') being included.  The latter of these two would signal a slightly more political bent in Madness' future albums.

At the moment I have a greatest hits album by Madness, but listening to this one has convinced me that I should probably explore their discography a bit more!

Day 0494 - Moving Pictures

Rush "Moving Pictures" (1981)

 
I love that all of the articles or reviews I've read about this album go out of their way to mention its cheesy play-on-words title/album cover combo... which in some ways short-changes the quality music inside.

I've never been hugely fussed on Rush one way or the other, but this is a great album.  It combines the musicality of their prog background with an adoption of the poppier new-wave sound that was rising in popularity, with the last track "vital signs" even having a vaguely Police-esque sound to it.

Even something like the radio-friendly "Tom Sawyer" mixes groovy keyboards, catchy melody with tricky drum fills and odd time signatures.  I listened to the album about 4 times in a row and would happily listen to it again.

Day 0490 - Fire of Love

The Gun Club "Fire of Love" (1981)

Another album that I'd listened to when I first read through the 1001 albums book a few years ago.  I'd judged it by its cover and thought it was going to be something like "Dr John the nighttripper", a bit of voodoo-laced New Orleans rhythm and blues.  Much like the Cramps and X though, this is more of a rockabilly-meets-punk stripped down sound.  This album takes the stripped-down thing a bit further with the music being laid almost bare, with very little studio trickery to airbrush it.

The lyrics are occasionally in-your-face and uncomfortable with racial slurs and lines like  "I will fuck you till you die" thrown in to the mix.... possibly delivered with a sense of humour, but it's hard to tell.

Day 0415 - Van Halen

Van Halen "Van Halen" (1978)

This album is the business!  I listened to it a year or two ago out of curiosity (everyone knows the name Van Halen) and was wowed by the raw energy and relative musical inventiveness - within the rock idiom.  The sudden burst of doowop vocals gave me a pleasant surprise back then, and again now. Eddie Van Halen is a guitar legend, even if 'Eruption' didn't prove it (it does), he kills on every other track with his riffs and lead breaks.

Apparently the band had been scooped up by Kiss' Gene Simmons who, seeing their potential, put them to work writing demos for both themselves and for Kiss.  He even tried to recruit Eddie VH for his band!

Van Halen could easily be accused of helping to start the whole 80s hair-metal thing, but as is often the case with the progenitors of various styles, they're so much better than much of the rest of it.