Day 0640 - Like a Prayer

Madonna "Like a Prayer" (1989)

Madonna moved away from her dancey pop music into a more artistically daring form of pop, one that led critics to label it "as close to art as pop gets"

An album born from turmoil, Madonna was dealing with the Catholic guilt bred into her through her upbringing, coming close to the age her mother had been when she died, and having her tumultuous marriage to Sean Penn come to an end.

Madonna funnelled all of this into her work, with an album steeped in sex and God.  As such, it wasn't exactly welcomed by the church.  The Vatican condemned one of her music videos and Pepsi pulled out of promotional deal with her (apparently controversial religious overtones are not welcome, but shallow Kardashian trivialisation of important social movements is fine). 

She had been working to develop a musical with Prince, that didn't end up eventuating, but the collaboration did result in him dueting with her on the song "Love Song" and contributed some guitar and production elsewhere on the album.

The album cemented Madonna's place as pop royalty and seemed to be her working out some residual catholic guilt, opening her up to more confronting projects such as her album "Erotica" and her book "Sex".

Day 0618 - Green

R.E.M. "Green" (1988) - got it

The band's first major label release after parting company with I.R.S. Records.   According to interviews, the band felt that I.R.S. was putting pressure on them to sell well, while not really putting a lot of marketing or wide distribution efforts behind them.  Following the move to a major label (who guaranteed them creative freedom), the band became defensive in interviews in response to accusations of 'selling out'.

When left to their own devices, the band threw themselves more into major-key pop-rock tunes, but at the same time, Peter Buck starts spraying mandolin all over the place, laying down that sort of 'alt-folk' sound that would become prevalent on a few of their 90s releases.  The band experimented with trying to write "un-REM-ish" songs and switching instruments to change things up a bit.

There are touches of country, and the odd moodier track.  "I remember California" sounds like some effective middle-ground between gothy post-punk and grunge.

Day 0595 - Faith

George Michael "Faith" (1987)

 
Wham! played their last show, then George Michael immediately got to work on his first solo album.  Given that he had been the producer and main songwriter in the band, and had an easily marketable image (i.e. he was a pretty face); the move to a solo career wasn't exactly a shock. 

He probably could have coasted for his first solo outing, producing Wham!-lite; instead he delivers a stonking pop and RnB album that perfectly showcases his strong, clear voice.

Possibly a controversial take but I feel like George Michael would have made a great replacement for Freddie Mercury in Queen.  Obviously nobody can live up to Freddie, but GM has a kind of similar tone to his voice, he can sing it hard or delicate, and his rendition of "Somebody to Love" at the Freddie tribute concert was fantastic.   I kind of feel like his pop and soul vibe would nicely offset the rock of Brian and Roger to produce the variety that Queen always had. 

In case you didn't get the message, this is me giving GM high praise.  Normally, the idea of Queen playing with anyone else on vocals leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Day 0566 - Planet Rock - the Album

Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force "Planet Rock - the Album" (1986)

Amazing achievement, in that Bambaataa manages to be an early pioneer of hiphop, but also, through splicing various synth-heavy beats (including cuts by Kraftwerk) he also laid the groundwork for House music and other forms of electronic experimentalism.

I could easily see this being a reference point for bands as varied as early Red Hot Chili Peppers through to the Chemical Brothers.   Rage Against the Machine would go on to cover "Renegades of Funk" and the Beastie Boys would sample Bambaataa.

A true visionary musical force.

Day 0527 - Sweet Dreams are Made of This

The Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams are Made of This" (1983)

I don't have a lot to say about this one, to be honest.  I was introduced to the band through Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet dreams.." and through the later era single "I saved the world today" and I have a vinyl copy of one of their albums that I picked up at a sale once.

The video for 'Love is a stranger' was initially banned in the US where they accused Lennox of being "a youth-corrupting transvestite"... by the end of 1983, the album was a smash hit (score one for the transvestites).  There's an interesting mix of upbeat dance-pop, angular synth pop and more atmospheric numbers, like the ethereal "Jennifer" (which I love as it's a good song, and that's my wife's name).

Day 0512 - Sulk

Associates "Sulk" (1982)

Another smorgasbord of 80s pop sounds, with minimal guitars and a heady dose of synths.  The synths are tastefully used though, with nicely orchestrated sounds that signposted the more new-wave sounds of bands like Duran Duran.  The singer has kind of an odd voice, but it sits well enough in these tunes.

Not too much else to say about the one.

Day 0499 - Imperial Bedroom

Elvis Costello and the Attractions "Imperial Bedroom" (1982)

Costello was up to the grand total of 6 albums in 5 years, including raw rock n roll with a punk energy, a country album and an album of keyboard-heavy pop.

With the Beatles' engineer Geoff Emerick on board as producer, Elvis and co set down a platter of lush pop here, with arrangements ranging from smokey jazz blues to full-on Sgt Peppers-esque bouncy baroque pop.  Sonically, the band throws in everything from backwards guitars to horn sections.

As with previous Costello albums, I keep thinking that his prolific output is going to offer up a few duds, or at least 'middle of the road' fare... if it is, it's yet to show up, because this is a great album!

Day 0452 - The Pleasure Principle

Gary Numan "The Pleasure Principle" (1979)

Numan!   Stop eyeballing that pyramid.

Another synth-pop album that kind of heralded the sound that would come to rule the airwaves in the 80s. Numan's band consisted of drums, synthesisers, bass, and a viola... the last of which adds a touch of the organic to what can occasionally be an overly polished and dehumanised genre.

The cover too speaks of that move from flamboyant or macho scruffy musician in the 70s to a buttoned down, corporate look that a few bands opted for the following decade.

The track M.E (or a part of it) is the basis for the popular Bassment Jaxx song "Where's your head at", aside from that, I was familiar with the song "Cars".

Day 0417 - The Cars

The Cars "The Cars" (1978)

One of the early new-wave albums and a huge pop 'smash' that managed to stay in the US Billboard charts for some 139 weeks.

The quote that accompanies the album's entry in the book reads" I never wanted to really be a musician and I don't care about musicianship that much. I care about style and content" which I guess kind of sums up 80s pop music in general. The prog and fusion bands of the 70s with their virtuosic musicianship, were giving way more and more to glossy new-wave sounds.  Even bands like Queen and Sparks pared back their arrangements and eased up on their more indulgent flashier musicianship to produce simpler arrangements and more (theoretically) accessible pop fare.

This is an enjoyable and recognisable album, every second track seemed to be "that song I've heard on the radio".

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 0392 - Lust for Life

Iggy Pop "Lust for Life" (1977) - got it

Rawk! Since his days with the Stooges, the punk rock sound that they'd been chipping away at had come of age and started to find its way into the mainstream consciousness, which must have offered up some degree of vindication to Iggy.  This, mixed with his positive experience making "The Idiot" restored his confidence, and he felt comfortable shaking off the more prominent Bowie influences from his sound to produce another slice of gritty Stooges-esque rock but now with more of an underlying pop flavour.

The singles 'Lust for life' and 'the Passenger' feel like instant classics.  'Success' is a raging exorcism and 'Turn blue' is brilliant, drawn out bluesy jam.

The rhythm section for the album are brothers Hunt and Tony Sales, who would go on to become half of Bowie's (I feel unjustly) maligned Tin Machine band.

Day 0387 - The Idiot

Iggy Pop "the Idiot" (1977)

 
Have been wanting to dig into Iggy's solo stuff a bit more. I've really enjoyed the Stooges albums on this list, Iggy's album with Josh Homme, and the other bits and pieces I've heard from him over the years.

Iggy had checked into a mental institution to help himself clean up.  He just wanted a second chance, but nobody in the industry wanted to give it to him... until David Bowie (who had produced/remixed the Stooges' "Raw Power") came along and whisked him off to Berlin to record music and lived life to the full.

This is a great collection of songs; Bowie's influence can definitely be heard on the album, in fact it almost feels like he has overridden Iggy's own sound (though he later suggested that Iggy was a willing guinea pig for his experiments), with less of the punkish abrasiveness of Iggy's earlier work and more of a cerebral arty sound in a not dissimilar vein to what Bowie was doing at the time. The album includes the original version of the song "China Girl", which Bowie obviously also released later on the 'Let's dance' album.

The album was named after Dostoyevsky's novel of the same name.

Day 0379 - Aja

Steely Dan "Aja" (1977)

 
Steely Dan ramp up the 'jazz' part of their 'jazz tinged pop' sound.  As much as I love jazz, and a couple of the other Steely Dan albums, this one didn't quite 'ring my bell'.

I enjoyed the album well enough, but where the "Can't buy a thrill" and "Pretzel logic" were brilliant; this is just alright. The pop moments work well enough, and there is some impressive musicianship in jazzy parts but it just feels too polished... just needs a little more 'edge' for my tastes.

Day 0369 - Before and After Science

Brian Eno "Before and After Science" (1977)

Eno collaborates with a catalogue of artists including Robert Fripp and even Phil Collins. As with his other solo albums that I've listened to so far, he manages to incorporate interesting audio textures, avant garde techniques and, here, some occasionally virtuosic performances into a cohesive and often quite 'pop' sounding whole.

This album doesn't stand out above the other two of his that I've heard on this list, but that says more about the consistency of quality of Eno's solo output than any particular shortcoming of this album.

Fun fact, Eno would go on to produce the second Talking Heads album, and this record features a track "King's Lead Hat" which is an anagram of that band's name.

Day 0353 - Boston

Boston "Boston" (1976)

I started listening to this thinking "I wonder if I know any songs by Boston? I mean, the name is kind of omnipresent, so they seem like they'd be one of those well known radio-friendly bands."

The first track is "More than a feeling"...  ..."Oh, THAT'S a Boston song?!"

This album is pretty much pop-rock perfection.  There are a couple of little dallinces into blues and tripped out jamming, but it's mostly just upbeat hooky guitars and big vocal harmonies. Every second song seems to sound familiar.

Apparently the music was leader Tom Scholz's take on Cream and Led Zeppelin. His music was much less raw and rocking than theirs but, I guess, acted as a precursor to a lot of the big melodic rock bands of the 80s.

Day 0253 - Clube Da Esquina

Milton Nascimento and Lo Borges "Clube Da Esquina" (1972)

Another album that I had checked out when I first read the "1001 albums" book around 2009 or so.  The description of it as a "Brazilian Sgt Pepper" was just too good to pass up.

Milton, Lo, and their compatriots were members of the Tropicalia movement, and had come together to write, and to bond over their love of the Beatles.  That mutual creativity and collaboration leading to this collection of great melodies, unexpected changes, and lush arrangements.

The 60s may have been dead, but thankfully Brazil was still keeping it alive at this point.

Day 0151 - Dusty in Memphis

Dusty Springfield "Dusty in Memphis" (1969)

The old "one person's trash is another's treasure" thing.  Apparently Dusty was appalled when she heard this music.  She didn't want to do easy-listening ballads, she wanted to sing gritty funk and RnB.

Ahmet Ertegun (that genius again) persisted and, after some fraught recording sessions with the odd ashtray flung, they came out with a wonderful album.

The album gave Dusty her first hit in ages with 'Son of a Preacher Man'.  The album received rave reviews, but it tanked commercially.  Personally, I love it.

Day 0130 - Scott 2

Scott Walker "Scott 2" (1968) - got it

I've made no secret in the past for my love of Scott Walker.  His luscious, lush arrangements, his brilliant croon, his quirky sense of humour... this is possibly the peak of his early work (to my tastes).
This set is somewhat typical of the 'Scott' albums: some translated Jacques Brel covers with an added swagger, some syruppy easy listening ballads and some other grandiose galloping arrangements.  Ranging from the trumpeting upbeat 'Jackie' the almost Bond-esque epic sound of 'best of both worlds' (a great near-breakup song).  The elephantine Eastern swagger of 'the girls from the street' slips into a nimble European bounce without a thought spared!

Day 0129 - Caetano Veloso

Caetano Veloso "Caetano Veloso" (1968)

 
Groovy and quirky, Veloso was at the head of the 'Tropicalia' movement, playing highbrow art pop psychedelic bossa-nova.  He was hated by the dictatorship in Brazil and was forced out of the country to live in exile in the UK (which just made him seem cooler to the various anti-establishment types who were attracted to him at the time).  Veloso went on to become hugely popular with artists in the UK and US such as David Byrne and Beck.

Great album.

Day 055 - Rubber Soul

The Beatles "Rubber Soul" (1965) - got it

Wow, 1965 was obviously a decent year for music (not like smelly old 1961), including as it does, this... contender for best Beatles album?

It manages somehow to be hugely varied, yet it still feels like it has a kind of uniform sound.  Possibly the only weak song is the country cover with Ringo on vocals.  Even that's not 'bad', and kind of makes a nice counterpoint to the baroque pop and increasingly psychedelic mod rock that makes up much of the rest of the album.  So many brilliant songs, I was going to list the great ones but it's pretty much all of them.  My one gripe (and it's only a small one) is around sequencing: "In my life" would have made a great album closer, rather than being jammed in the middle of the second side.

Apparently this was one of the first albums released in the US to not feature the artist's name on the cover... I guess at this point, they didn't have to.  It also adds to the enigmatic vibe of the album.