Day 0927 - Time (the Revelator)

Gillian Welch "Time (the Revelator)" (2001) - got it

The film "O Brother Where Art Thou" had revived public interest in rootsy, folky Americana.   Welch and her writing/performing partner David Rawlings had previously worked with the producer of that soundtrack, T-Bone Burnett.  They'd agreed to have Burnett as their producer when he'd let them know he was happy to stick to their approach of minimal instrumentation.

The pair themselves had recently been working with Ryan Adams on his 'Heartbreaker' album and "Time (the Revelator)" was the pair's third album under Welch's name.

The album is a rootsy sort of mountain music.  It feels like a weird mix of music that's 100 years old an brand new at the same time.   The opening track is nice and mellow, then it heads into "My First Lover" which is more of an upbeat banjo-heavy track.   The one that (by its name) sounds like it should be punchier "I want to see that rock n roll" is all vocal harmonies and restraint.

"Ruination Day part II" has an almost dangerous tone to its subdued melody.  Like there's murder under the notes somewhere.   "Dear Someone" is my favourite off the album, a nice trotting pace rendered in acoustic guitar and a vocal harmony that wouldn't have been out of place 90 years ago, or 150 years ago or last week.

Another one of those albums where owning it is one of the many perks of being married to my wife.

Day 0915 - Our Aim is to Satisfy

Red Snapper “Our Aim is to Satisfy” (2000)

An interesting band that blends live instruments/players with electronic elements, like samples, loops and scratches to make interesting, (mostly) instrumental music based in deep deep groove.

I liked the sound of this album on paper, and the music was ‘interesting enough’, but not amazing.   That is to say it didn’t impact on me enough that I'll rush out and check out multiple Red Snapper albums, but each new track would have enough of a “ooh that sounds interesting” moment to keep me ticking along.

There’s a reasonable range of sounds on the album, from the dry, hard funk groove of “Some Kind of Kink”, to the lurching groove and cinematic triphop feel of “Shellback”.   There’s the funky “The Rough and the Quick” which is filthy.  It makes its point adequately with its sultry groove and lyrics:

“I want the kind of life I read about

You know, the one you find on the top shelf”

and you’re like ‘yes I do know. I understand that reference’ but before that thought has even lodged itself in your head the lyrics have moved on to spreading thighs, rubbing clits and the singer moaning and panting… y’know, just to really ram the point home.

Album wraps up with “They’re hanging me tonight” which sounds pleasingly like it either emulates or is sampled from an old giallo film soundtrack.
 

 

Day 0898 - Californication

Red Hot Chili Peppers “Californication” (1999) – got it

Another album that I don’t necessarily have to listen to specifically for the list because it’s burned into my memory… but for completism’s sake I gave it another spin.

Following the departure of guitar prodigy John Frusciante, the Chili Peppers tried a couple of different guitarists and carried on with Arik Marshall for their Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour, but when they came to record music, Marshall wasn’t clicking.   They enlisted Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and together made the album “One Hot Minute” which had a much heavier and more layered sound than BSSM.  Personally I love OHM, but fans, some critics, and even the band themselves were less enamoured.  It constantly gets held up as a commercial failure… which is odd as it sold at least a couple of million copies, but I guess that’s not BSSM numbers.

Anyhoo, the partnership with Navarro ended too and the band reunited with Frusciante who had, in the interim released a couple of interesting-to-difficult solo albums and almost destroyed himself with heroin (he had no usable teeth left and his arms were heavily scarred from improper heroin injection).  He managed to clean himself up and switched his obsessive focus from junk back to music.

Which brings us to Californication.  The band reconvened in bass player Flea’s garage and in a really low-key way just started jamming together and coming up with music.

From the opening track “Around the World” it might almost seem like the band were picking up where they left off with a tornado of funk giving way to percussive single-note guitar lines and bouncy bass, but then the melodic chorus with Frusciante’s backing vocals kicks in.   Of course the game had already been given away with lead single “Scar Tissue” that seemed to nicely sum up the band’s journey since BSSM and was a much more melodic direction for the band.  More harmony/backing vocal arrangements from Frusciante and his technique of breaking chords down to 2 or 3 separately plucked clean notes with a bass and treble thing so it's almost mimicking a kick-and-snare rhythm pattern on drums.

I like the album for its simplicity.  The band aren't really looking to play a million miles a minute like they did on Mother's Milk, and Frusciante had not played for a couple of years so was just finding his way back around his instrument.  They explore their new mature melodic side on tracks like "Porcelain", the title track and the lovely acoustic album-closer "Road Trippin" (and singer Anthony Kiedis acquits himself well despite the many criticisms of his singing ability through the years), but they still dip into their funk sound with "Get on top" "I like dirt" and the fun "Purple Stain".  

In subsequent albums Frusciante would become a force to be reckoned with, and would arguably become too controlling in his vision, but here he's back to finding his feet and the four feel like equal partners.

The album isn't perfection.  The band starts to be guilty of "chorus overuse syndrome" repeating hooks on certain songs ad nauseum.   The 'hits' here suffered from radio saturation.  I can't listen to the title track or "Otherside" in isolation any more, though as part of the album as a whole they are still tolerable.

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 0886 - Central Reservation

Beth Orton "Central Reservation" (1999) - got it

Another interesting character.  Beth spent time living with Buddhist nuns in Thailand, did catering work and performed in the theatre.   She dated producer William Orbit and they collaborated on music together, including a full release "Superpinkymandy" and working on music that would wind up on their respective solo albums.

Orton's first solo album featured triphoppy beats mixed with a folk sound.   She followed this up with an EP collaborating with singer Terry Callier with a more 'organic' sound and she followed that direction through into "Central Reservation".

This is another situation where I knew Orton's name and had listened to some things she'd done with artists such as Finley Quaye, Orbit, and the Chemical Brothers but wasn't really familiar with her own music.   Luckily my wife had a copy of this album (so by extension, I have it) and I enjoyed being educated.

Turns out I was familiar with the opening track "Stolen Car" though Jenni suggested this might be because she's played it for me before.  The album largely sticks to a folky/alt-country sound.  To my ears, the tracks when she does bring in some beats (in places, courtesy of Everything But the Girl's Ben Watt) such as "Stars All Seem to Weep" it feels kind of jarring alongside the more earthy tracks on the rest of the album.

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 0803 - Leftism

Leftfield "Leftism" (1995)

 

Formed by two percussionist DJs, Leftfield had previously released a number of singles with various guests.   Though their music is very much in the electronic genre with trancey soundscapes mixing with house synths, they brought in vocalists from other genres like rock (Toni Haliday and John Lydon), reggae (Danny Red, Earl Sixteen) and even a poet (Lemm Sissay).

The duo started their debut album by tweaking and re-purposing some of the tracks they'd released as singles over the previous years then went from there, developing new music.

I heard enough here to enjoy, though I wouldn't say that the album really seized my attention for the duration.    Another "I'll listen to it if someone puts it on, but I won't seek it out" album.

Day 0767 - CrazySexyCool

TLC "CrazySexyCool" (1994)

TLC were started by Crystal Jones and her manager when they had the idea to put together a girl-group with a hip-hop image.  They enlisted Lisa ‘left-eye’ Lopes and Tionne Watkins and started shopping around management and producers.  The band’s name was made up from the first letter of each member’s first name.   Before they could be signed, Jones was ousted from the group and Rozonda Thomas was bought on board.  She was given the nickname 'Chilli' to keep the TLC moniker intact.
                                              
After a successful debut “Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip” the group set about recording their second album.  They cast aside the energetic, colourful ‘teen’ image from the first album to recast themselves as a more sultry, adult group.  This, mixed with their genre-mixing of RnB, soul and hip hop would create a blueprint for future artists such as Destiny Child, Pussycat Dolls etc.

To my ears "Waterfalls" is the most obvious hit on the album, so not surprising that it was chosen as a single.

Despite the group's success, they filed for bankruptcy the next year, partly due to the reported unfairness of their contracts and partly due to Left-eye having set fire to the mansion of her football player boyfriend... oddly, the two reconciled and went back to dating after that!

Day 0758 - Venus Luxure No.1 Baby

Girls Against Boys "Venus Luxure No.1 Baby" (1994)

The band utilise synthesisers and dual bass guitars... I have to admit that I did not notice these things on first listen, it was only when I went back and gave it a second listen that could hear the two different basslines going on.

The music is largely grungey rock but it feels like it touches on the sounds of bands as diverse and Mazzy Star and Clutch.  There is some stonking, riff-heavy rock but there are also some moodier moments.  They play around with distorted piano lines in "Billy's One Stop", a hypnotic almost sensuous groove on "Get Down" and a slow groove-metal feel to "Rockets are Red".

Day 0693 - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

This is a lengthy one because... as I say below, this is a favourite. 


Red Hot Chili Peppers "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" (1991) - got it

I’m a big Chili Pepper’s fan, so here’s some band history.   The Chili Peppers formed, and recorded 3 albums of punky, speedy rap-funk characterised by busy slap-pop bass, minimalist guitar and sex-inspired rhymes, but also exploring elements such as RnB, psychedelic rock and metal.

Original guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose and drummer Jack Irons decided to leave music (though he’d later join Pearl Jam for – arguably – their best albums).

Mainstays Anthony Kiedis and Flea recruited drumming behemoth Chad Smith and teen guitar prodigy John Frusciante and together they released the much heavier “Mother’s Milk” album with wall-to-wall distorted guitar on some tracks, and with each of the players showing off their musical chops.   The band parted company with EMI, and signed to a new label.  They joined forces with young producer Rick Rubin, who had co-founded Def Jam records and was making a name producing rap and metal albums (LL Cool J, Run DMC, Slayer etc.).  He suggested that they rent a house to live and record in, and in that laid-back setting, this collection of tracks was created.

For a time this was my favourite album (in general, not just for the Chili Peppers), until I realised that ‘favourites’ with music are somewhat transitory.  There's over an hour of music across 17 tracks, yet to my tastes, it does not sag at any point.  One of those albums where every other song has been my 'favourite' at some point.

The studio polish that defines the Chili Peppers now was barely starting to show then, which is a good thing.   Where their records now feature tight, compressed polished production; the drums on "give it away" sound like they were recorded in someone's bathroom, and it's fantastic.

Whereas they are now serial offenders for COS (Chorus Overuse Syndrome), on BSSM they would play around a lot more with structures and parts, with lengthy jam sections being injected into songs.   There's something like "Power of Equality" which just keeps going with multiple verses before breaking into a slappy bass outro that eventually winds down to scattered applause.  Even a 'hit' song like "Under the Bridge" has that beautiful opening guitar part... that never pops up again in the rest of the song!

Frusciante would later become somewhat overbearing creatively, but here he is balanced by still finding his place, so provides brilliant playing and ideas but more as a facilitator than as a leader.

The album is diverse, yet has a certain internal logic, helped by the band's MO at that point of having the tracks segue into each other, creating the feeling of an "album" as opposed to just a collection of songs.  The sound is mostly slow, minimalist funk with interplaying parts that don't necessarily ape each other.  There is rock in tracks like "Suck my kiss" and "My lovely man".   There's melodic balladry with songs like "Breaking the girl" and "I could have lied", there's the leisurely psychedelic outro of "Sir Psycho Sexy" and the fun coda of Robert Johnson cover "They're Red Hot", recorded outside at night (you can hear cars driving past in places).

This was lightning in a bottle, and even the Peppers themselves while promoting other albums have often acknowledged that it was special album for them.

Day 0585 - So

Peter Gabriel "So" (1986)

Huge success for Peter, helped along by high rotation of the unusual and entertaining video for the funky single "Sledgehammer", not to mention the fact that PG's handsome mug was displayed unadorned on the album cover for once.

While there are some familiar 80s sounds here with synths and stabs of brass and some synthy slap bass, Gabriel manages to add his own touches to the songs.  Whether it's his solid songcraft, including elements of world music (including a guest spot by Youssou N'Dour), elements of experimentation (including a poppy duet with wild-card Kate Bush), or just his own strong and versatile voice.

Thoroughly enjoyed this, and could see why the blurb it the book holds it up as a good starting point for getting into his work.

Day 0562 - Picture Book

Simply Red "Picture Book" (1985)

Mick Hucknall had started out in a punk band called the Frantic Elevators, but decided that he wanted to play a genre that would give his voice more room to showcase itself.  He assembled a number of session players to form Simply Red.

This album skits around a few genres, including rock and jazz, but mostly sits in the soul zone, where Hucknall makes full use of his (admittedly strong) voice.  Not a huge fan of the band.  There's some okay stuff here, but much of it sits firmly in the middle-of-the-road.

Eventually the band would go on to become a revolving cast of players with Hucknall as the only constant.

Day 0497 - 1999

Prince "1999" (1982)

Though Prince's next album "Purple Rain" would contribute to the parental advisory stickers being added to albums, this one is also pretty full-on (in typical Prince fashion).  It includes the ad-libbed line "I sincerely want to fuck the taste out of your mouth".

Barry White, Isaac Hayes and Marvin Gaye may have been masters of the bedroom groove that gave you the aural equivalent of being laid down on satin sheets, but I daresay Prince was king of the 'fuck-groove'.  The pull your panties down in the backseat and get buck-wild vibe.  "Lady Cab Driver" and "International lover" are pretty overt with this with Prince's ecstatic squeals and hard funk grooves, but the whole album has touches of the erotic.

Combining the warm grooves of Funkadelic with the machine-like rhythms of Kraftwerk, Prince was the future.

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 0386 - Suicide

Suicide "Suicide" (1977)

I'd been keen to check these guys out ever since I saw/heard them referenced in Don Letts' excellent documentary "Punk Attitude".

Suicide are another band that took the punk attitude and abrasiveness but avoided falling into a generic 'punk' sound. The duo combined a confrontational name, a dose of nihilism and an approach that eschewed the basic ingredients of rock (even punk rock) by having no guitar player or drummer!

Using a primitive drum machine and a distorted organ the band delivers a set that is part punk rock, part avant rock with beat poetry overlaid, part drone... I could imagine these guys having been fans of the Velvet Underground's first couple of albums.