Day 0893 - The Slim Shady LP

Eminem "The Slim Shady LP" (1999)

Eminem/Slim Shady/Marshall Mathers' story has already been told (in broad strokes) via the film "8 Mile":  Poor, working class white kid in a predominantly black neighbourhood, falls in love with hip-hop and builds up his skill in  underground rap battles.

Mathers released the relatively straight-ahead  hip-hop album "Infinite" which was a commercial failure and led to some DJs suggesting that as a white guy he should stick to 'rock'.   Mathers channelled his anger and frustration into a new persona Slim Shady, an angry-yet-mischievous alter ego who could and would say anything Mathers wanted him to say.

The character was a success, after an EP release, Mathers got to work with N.W.A.'s Dr Dre of whom he was a fan.   The pair worked well together, with beats by Dre inspiring Em.   The arrangements are mostly just stripped back to bass and beats while Mathers is rapping, but with lots of interesting bits and pieces going on in between.    

The album opens with a pretty hefty 1-2 punch of "My Name is" and "Guilty Conscience", both solid tracks that introduce the new anarchic, angry Slim Shady (his voice even sounds different than from on "Infinite") who was also an engaging storyteller.  

Where Will Smith released "Just the two of us" as a loving ode to fatherhood, Eminem's track "97' Bonnie and Clyde" previously also titled "Just the two of us" is a horror story of making his daughter unwitting accessory to murder.   The horror theme feels like it's continued on "Rock Bottom" the backing track of which sounds akin to old giallo soundtracks, maybe something from Morricone.

Mathers' first album sold around 1,000 copies.  Though he would come to largely retire the Slim Shady character as he matured, Slim helped him sell millions of copies of this second album and essentially put him on the musical map.

Day 0857 - Either/Or

Elliott Smith "Either/Or" (1997)

Well I'm an idiot.  I had Elliott Smith totally confused with pop singer Sam Smith (I mean Smith isn't really a common name, right?).   I'd seen this CD in my wife's music collection and I was like "kind of surprised she's into that Sam Smith guy".   When this came up on the list and I actually listened to the album I realised that it was awesome and nothing like Sam Smith.

Smith's (Elliott's) sound here is a really stripped-down singer-songwriter vibe.  His voice is light and gentle over tracks that are often just acoustic guitar, with drums and bass only occasionally coming into the picture.

"Angeles" is largely just acoustic guitar and voice with some subtle keyboard in places.  "No Name No.5" with its droney sitar-esque acoustic guitar and big thumping bass drums in places remind me of a mellower take on the classic Soundgarden sound.   "Cupid's Trick" adds a little more texture and even some rock to it.

The music seems somehow really familiar to me but I can't really place it.  Like I feel that maybe it has hints of Chris Cornell, Jeff Buckley and Eleven (it does have that descending melodic patterns and contrasting descending/ascending vocal/guitar thing going on in places) but it's much quieter and more intimate than that.  Maybe I'm just picking up on that '60s sounds through a cynical 90s filter' thing that some of those other artists also employed.   The songs also bring to mind Ween's folkier moments and Liam Finn's solo material.

A few songs from the album were featured in the film "Good Will Hunting" which brought Smith a bit more recognition.   Sadly, he died 5 or 6 years later after being stabbed twice in the chest.  The coroner could not confirm if it was suicide or homicide

Day 0715 - Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine "Rage Against the Machine" (1992) - got it

Many bands are described as "exploding onto the music scene", but I'd say that RATM are actually deserving of that phrase.   Of all the bands branded with the often maligned label 'rap-metal', RATM managed to tap into the anger and aggression of both genres without really de-clawing either of them.

Rhythm section Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford lay down a funky and hardhitting base for vocalist Zack de la Rocha (once described, not inaccurately, by Tom Morello as the "punk-rock James Brown") to belt his raw-throated screams, raps and political protests over.  But the band-member name-checked most frequently is guitarist Tom Morello.  His guitar spits out thrash riffs, fiddly solos rhythmic grooves, and riffs... oh so many riffs.  Beyond that though, he engages in musical experimentation that sees him all but make his guitar moo like a cow.  His collection of squeals, stutters and scratches borrows from both metal and rap and elevates the band, giving them that point of difference.

The first song "Bombtrack" starts with a tantalising build-up before exploding all in your ears.  Single "Killing in the name" (whose riff Morello came up with while giving guitar lessons) is barely contained rock rage.   A little variety is provided by a guest spot by TOOL's Maynard James Keenan on "Know your enemy" and a moodier, more subdued approach to "Settle for Nothing" (though that also turns into a rager too on the choruses).

The band couldn't maintain this level of fire and originality, with their following two albums being a case of diminishing returns.  They rounded out their recorded career with the brilliant covers album "Renegades".  The band, freed from the requirement to come up with material, were able to just 'rage-ify' some existing songs.

Day 0610 - Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby

Terence Trent D'Arby "Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby" (1987)

Over the first couple of tracks I was a little put off by the staid, sterile 80s production sound on this one, but TTD's amazing voice and strong songwriting turned my opinion right around.

There's the minimalist funk and catchy synth line of "Wishing well", the souful doowop of "Who's Lovin' You", the beautiful acapella "As yet untitled" and plenty of other gems.