Day 0936 - A Little Deeper

Miss Dynamite "A Little Deeper" (2002)

The book makes comparisons between Miss Dynamite and Lauryn Hill, suggesting MD helped fill the gap left by Hill's absence from the music scene.   While it's not necessarily always a compliment to label an artist using another's name, being compared to a hugely successful and influential artist like Hill isn't the worst praise to receive.

In places Dynamite has a comparable voice to Hill and this album consists of a similar mix of soul, reggae, hip-hop and RnB.  She cuts her own path though, whether it's the almost loungey (via trip-hop beats) vibe of single "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee", the soul groove of "Brother" or the acapella cry against oppression "Watch over them".   "Krazy Krush" chucks an almost electronic sound into the mix.

I came in not expecting much from the album.  I was familar with "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" and it didn't necessarily leave me with a favourable impression, but as it was I really enjoyed this one with its simple beats, minimal instrumental arrangements and focus on Dynamite's vocals.

 

Guess I should have looked... a little deeper

  

I'll see myself out.

 

Day 0910 - The Hour of Bewilderbeest

Badly Drawn Boy "The Hour of Bewilderbeest" (2000)

Badly Drawn Boy (nee Damon Gough) is someone I was mainly familiar with due to his work on the "About a Boy" soundtrack and the fact that he seems to always be wearing a beanie.  I had no real feel for him or his music at all.

Gough released a string of EPs before producing this debut full-length.   The 18-track album was said to be a loose concept album describing the lifespan of a relationship.

Ambitious project as far as the narrative idea, the mix of styles (technically he's indie folk-pop but there are elements of funk, baroque pop and rock, amongst others) and as far as the amount of music on the album.   

Can't say it really won me over.  It's one of those albums where none of the music is really unpleasant.  Quite the opposite, each track was nice enough.  The problem is that none of it really stuck with me.   As each track finished it was gone from my head and I felt no real connection to the music.   With over an hour of it  (and I  played it through a couple of times) it made for a cumbersome listening experience.

Day 0904 - Sincere

M.J. Cole "Sincere" (2000)

 

Cole was classically trained in oboe and piano.  He got a job as a tape operator and sound engineer for a drum and bass label which fuelled a love for electronic music.

I was kind of surprised at first.  I'd read something about him being into garage so I'd assumed it was garage-rock as that genre was due to become big in the next few years; instead it was the electronic genre of garage  ...I guess it makes sense.  You have house music, why wouldn't you have garage music?  I'm sure the garden shed music is just around the corner.

To my electronica layman's ears this sounds like interesting enough electronic music with touches of pop and soul, but nothing I feel I'll need to revisit.   The most interesting parts to me are the poppier ones like 70 funk-esque track "Rough Out Here" or single "Crazy Love" with its belting vocal.

There are some hints of Cole's classical training with pianos and strings popping up in places.  

Day 0897 - Remedy

Basement Jaxx "Remedy" (1999)

I love the Jaxx! I don’t own a lot of their albums (a greatest hits and “Crazy Itch Radio”) but I enjoy everything I’ve heard from them and have used them as inspiration for some of my own forays into electronic (pop) music.   So with that in mind, when I saw one of their albums on the list, I was definitely keen to check it out.  I wasn't disappointed.

Jaxx felt that a lot of electronic music was a bit too shiny and superficial, and certainly their music (the 'remedy' to this) seeks to make you shake your thang, but with fun and interesting music with enough hooks to appeal to a broader audience rather than just existing ravers and club-goers.

There's the body-moving "Jump N Shout", the moody triphop of "Always be There" and the electro pop of "Rendez Vu" with its propulsive acoustic guitar break.

The Jaxx quirkiness is on display with the funky "U Can't Stop Me", the twitchy "Bingo Bango" and the chanted chorus of "Same Old Show".

The album ends on a subdued, smooth grooving fingersnapping note with "Being With U" and there's enough of a mix of genres that you don't really come away feeling like there's a single wasted track on the whole thing.

Day 0896 - HMS Fable

Shack "HMS Fable" (1999)

I'd initially put this one on while I was cooking dinner.  I  was listening to the first track thinking "oh yeah I think I know what this one is about - sounds like a bit of 90s brit rock, like Oasis but with a touch of Suede.   But then that first track "Natalie's Party" breaks from its rowdy-yet-melodic rock to drop in a nice little string section.   I decided I needed to give the album a bit more of my attention rather than having it as background music.    

I've listened to it a couple of times through now and there are certainly some swirly rock tracks that have more than a hint of the 'Madchester' sound but this album is all over the place in an interesting way.

There's bouncy melodic "Lend's Some Dough" with its beautiful layered vocals.  "Captains Table" has a dreamy, folky vocal-heavy sound not unlike the last Tripping Daisy albums before they transitioned into Polyphonic Spree.   "The Streets of Kenny" somehow manages to build a mellow, vocal laden track into what feels like a crescendo before suddenly cutting out and dropping you into "Re-instated" which, with its strings and mellow trumpet parts almost seems to hint at Burt Bacharach.  After a couple of more guitar-heavy tracks, the album closes out with the delicate acoustic "Daniella".

Day 0891 - Darkdancer

Les Rythmes Digitales “Darkdancer” (1999)

More dance music, *le sigh*

No, this was actually pretty enjoyable.  Much like Mark Ronson’s “Record Collection” album some 10 years later, this album draws on a 1980s synth pop sound and features singers from that era/genre.   Singer Shannon features on track “Take a Little Time”, and the catchy “Sometimes” features singer and multi-instrumentalist Nik Kershaw.

Les Rythmes is Stuart Price, an English lad with a soft spot for French electro-pop.   Price has done production and remixing work for a number of artists including Pet Shop Boys, the Killers, Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Coldplay.

This album features upbeat, vibrant synthesizer pop that feels like it’s dripping with fluro 80s colour.   The track “Soft Machine” has a nice jittery, off-kilter rhythm and raspy rock vocal that I quite enjoyed.   "Music Makes You Lose Control" has the kind of repetitive loop-based approach to making music, has a fairly musical synth/bass line running throughout.  

Day 0839 - Maverick a Strike

Finley Quaye "Maverick a Strike" (1997) - got it

This is a straight-up summer album.   Quaye's distinctive voice moves between laid-back delivery and ecstatic yells.

The music largely revolves around reggae and dub sounds, with a bouncing, jiving reimagining of Bob Marley via "Sunday Shining", summery reggae pop with single "Your Love gets Sweeter", the long percussion jam of "Red Rolled and Seen" and the deep soupy dub of "Supreme I Preme".

Quaye seems someone who has been dogged by hassles, whether it's a feud with Tricky after claiming that he was the trip-hop star's uncle, being booed offstage by a bunch of football fans for disparaging the team, or being charged with physically assaulting someone.   Separating the artist from the art though, this is an enjoyable listen.

Day 0838 - OK Computer

Radiohead "OK Computer" (1997) - got it

A couple of things I learned reading about 'OK Computer':

1. Most it was recorded with the band playing together, allowing for bleed through of the instruments into each other's feed and using minimal overdubs.  I find that kind of interesting, as I've always pictured the band meticulously layering overdubs and putting together the album piece by piece like that.
   
   
2. A couple of the songs were thrown together fairly quickly at outside requests.  Again, I find that surprising because I assumed the band were a group of perfectionists who would need/want to spend weeks or even months on any given track.

It was one of these quick turnaround songs "Lucky" that started off the writing for OK Computer.  Brian Eno had requested a composition from the band for a charity compilation and the song was recorded in five hours with Nigel Godrich, who had been an engineer on previous album "The Bends".   The band were happy with the experience and brought Godrich on to produce OK Computer, and eventually all subsequent Radiohead albums and Thom Yorke's solo material.

The album moves further away from the rock sound of "Pablo Honey" and "the Bends", with only "Electioneering" really feeling like a 'rock' song.  

The album starts off with an almost 'Bends-esque' track "Airbag", but then track two "Paranoid Android" comes crashing in taking you on a sonic odyssey and setting the scene for the album, from the simple acoustic guitar and vocal that swells to a dense arrangement mixing guitar noises and keyboards, with multiple vocals layered and playing against each other in a melancholic, almost unsettling atmosphere.  A similar approach is used on "Karma Police" and the brilliant "Exit Music (For a Film)" (written at request for the soundtrack to Baz Lurhmann's "Romeo and Juliet" film).

The lovely, delicate "No Suprises" offers a respite from the aural density.  

The album was a huge success, but Radiohead would not rest on their laurels, taking even bigger risks with their next release "Kid A" and flipping the script on their sound yet again.

Day 0829 - Logical Progression

LTJ Bukem "Logical Progression" (1996)

This one was a bit of an attention marathon, being well in excess of 2 hours.   Electronic music is not my first love, though as with any area of music (yes even country and teeny pop) there are good albums/artists.  But my lack of a natural affinity with the genre does mean I find it harder to take longer albums in this style.

Bukem had been producing tracks himself through the early 90s but by this stage had quietened on that front to concentrate on running his club 'Speed' and his label 'Good Looking Records'.   This album seems to be a way of promoting both those ventures in that its long runtime seems to frame it less as a concise 'album' statement, and more like a DJ's set at a dance club.  In addition, the album features tracks not only by Bukem but some of his label mates on Good Looking Records, so it's a bit like a label sampler.   

It's interesting because I didn't really think that compilations were included on the 1001 Albums list, maybe Bukem's remixed the other artist's tracks enough that they let it slide?

The music is drum and bass, but not the aggressive pounding style maybe more associated with the genre, instead it's more of an ambient jazzy sound but still with the beats.

Day 0827 - Walking Wounded

Everything But the Girl "Walking Wounded"

Following Tracey Thorn's guest spot on Massive Attack's "Protection" (see day 776) and the popular remix of EBtG's track "Missing", the group decided to delve into more of an electronic sound.

The sound is only cosmetically differently from where the band was at for previous releases.   Sure there are loops, and beats echoing a range of dance genres; but the songs are still based around sparse orchestration and Tracey Thorn's haunting voice.  

"Single" is a mournful tale of hurt at lost love, "the Heart Remains a Child" almost sounds upbeat with it's major chord melody and peppy beat.   "Mirrorball" with its heartfelt acoustic guitar, laidback beat and lovely melody make it sound like a blueprint for a lot of modern pop.

An updated but familiar sound for the band that placed them more in the triphop camp, and it fits them like a glove.

Day 0807 - Jagged Little Pill

Alanis Morissette "Jagged Little Pill" (1995)

Another of those albums that was EVERYWHERE while I was in high school.

I remember being vaguely aware even at the time that Alanis had had albums before this.   Reading up on it, her self-titled album and "Now is the Time" were Canada-only releases in more of a dancey pop vein.  The release of those two records completed the two-album deal she was signed to and she was free to move to Toronto, get together with producer/writer Glen Ballard to put together "Jagged Little Pill".

A lot of people view it as her debut, and certainly it is her first international release and her first album in the more raw, alt-rock vibe.

Morissette seemed to be up for trying different things.  The single "You Oughta Know" was given to Dave Navarro and Flea (at the time both in Red Hot Chili Peppers) to essentially jam out a new arrangement over the existing beat and vocal.    

My favourite track "Head Over Feet" has fuzzy and acoustic guitars blending over a drum-machine beat that gives it almost a hint of the UK's 'baggy' scene.   Lyrically, Morissette covers topics from sexual guilt, predatory music industry types, hope, a little humour, and that lyrical stalwart: the ex-relationship. 

Yep, let's not even talk about "Ironic" and whether it's actually ironic (don't ya think?)

Day 0806 - Timeless

Goldie "Timeless"

Things I learned from this entry:

• Thing the first - Goldie didn't get his name from his golden grill.  He was known as Goldilocks back when he was rocking dreads   
• Thing the second - Goldie has a freakin' MBE
• Thing the third - before he started making music (and possibly after?) Goldie gained a level of notoriety for his graffiti art.
  

Musically this album is enjoyable, but it's a lot.   There's nearly 2 hours of music, and while I could put on any part of this album and get enjoyment from it; it's not something where I'd sit and listen to it in its entirety.

The beats are unconventional and skittish, the bass deep and low.   Some of the tracks are lushly orchestrated and punctuated with some soaring female vocals.

The beautiful "State of Mind" is possibly my favourite.  Though the sprawling title track is well worth a listen too.

Day 0804 - Brown Sugar

D'Angelo "Brown Sugar" (1995)

D'Angelo is another musical lifer, getting into music as a child, taking part in amateur nights at the Apollo Theatre, and eventually dropping out of school to pursue a music career.

D'Angelo handled most of the production and vocals on "Brown Sugar" himself, crafting a sound that was like a modernised Marvin Gaye.   Similar to (and probably a source of) a lot of current modern RnB but without the now seemingly obligatory rap guest spot.

The sound was dubbed 'neo-soul' and, slowly but surely worked D'Angelo into the public consciousnes.   Love his take on "Cruisin" and his own eloquent "Sh*t, Damn, Motherf**ker".

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 0787 - Garbage

Garbage "Garbage" (1995)

 Garbage was formed by 3 producers who were doing remix work for artists like U2, NIN and others and wanted to turn that arrangement experience to a band context.  They initially started with drummer Butch Vig on vocals, but then decided that a female voice would be a better fit for their music.    They saw a music video for the band Anglefish and, after a couple of auditions, got that band's singer Shirley Manson on board.

The band combined a mix of loops, samples, live jam sessions and ad-libs to create their tracks.  Accordingly, the band's sound is a mix of alt-rock and electronic elements with Manson's voice ranging from dreamy murmur in "Milk" to cutting snarl in "Only Happy When it Rains" and everything between.

Garbage (a name taken from a somewhat unkind assessment of their early music) would follow this album up with the slightly more electronic "Version 2.0" and the gloriously poppy "Beautiful Garbage" showing that they were not just a one-trick pony.

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 0757 - Teenager of the Year

Frank Black "Teenager of the Year" (1994)

 

Black Francis broke up the Pixies (announcing it in an interview before informing his bandmates) then changed his name to Frank Black and headed right back into the studio to record his first solo album.   That album didn't make it to the 1001 albums but this, his second album did.

It's a sprawling beast of a thing, with 22 tracks and a runtime of well over an hour.   Styles as varied as punk, reggae, rockabilly and Beatles-esque pop vie for space.   "Olé Mulholland" has a definite Lou Reed swagger to it, while album-closer "Pie in the Sky" has a kind of shouty rock that wouldn't be out of place on a Foo Fighters album. "Headache" has shades of Beatles.

Black has a keen instinct for melody and interesting melodic ideas, one of those songwriters whose melodies take unexpected (but not unwelcome) little twists and turns, like in "Fazer Eyes"

There was nothing on here I particularly disliked, and I actually find Black's lyrics more interesting than most, but it's unlikely that I'd sit down and listen to this in its entirety again which I did 3-4 times to get the measure of it.

Day 0756 - Tical

Method Man "Tical" (1994)

A hint of the pool of talent contained in the Wu-Tang Clan that its constituent members were already producing solo albums even as their debut was hitting.   They'd worked out a record deal that allowed them to record as solo artists for different record labels.

Method man signed with Def Jam for his debut.   The RZA's production brings more kung-fu film soundtrack bits, murky bass and interesting beats.  

There is the potential that having primarily just one MC this album could be less interesting than the Wu's material, but between the guest MCs and Meth's own bouncy, hypnotic flow, it's still a great album.

Day 0755 - Strange Cargo III

William Orbit "Strange Cargo III" (1993)

 

William Orbit is now a well known name in music, with production and remix gigs ranging from U2 and Madonna, through Blur, Finley Quaye, P!nk and Chris Brown.   But back in the day he was just starting out as an artist in his own right.

Orbit had been in a group called Torch Song, making music from their home-made studio... learning on the job essentially.  The group disbanded and Orbit started on his solo career.

The book opines that this album sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday rather than decades ago... I'd have to agree.  The trance-like soundscapes and well-aged synth sounds are as fresh as anything out today.

Day 0753 - Bubble & Scrape

 Sebadoh “Bubble & Scrape” (1993)

 

Sebadoh was formed by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr. bassist/vocalist Lou Barlow.  Originally it acted as a creative outlet and side project for Barlow, who was being somewhat shut out of the songwriting process of Dinosaur Jr by his bandmate J Mascis.  Eventually Barlow was fired from Dinosaur Jr and made Sebadoh his full-time priority.

Possibly due to Mascis’ overbearing nature, some of Barlow’s songs ruminated on the subject of control.  In contrast to that band, Sebadoh seems much more democratic, with all three band members contributing songs to the album.

The band had built itself up on lo-fi indie recordings, but this was the first album that they recorded entirely in a professional studio, and the last album with founding member Gaffney, who went on to pursue a prodigious DIY solo career.

'Bubble and Scrape' benefits from the mix of writers with a range of sounds, from noisy fuzzed out lo-fi punk, to washy alt-rock and some almost 1960s pop moments (but sifted through a grimy 90s filter).