Day 0643 - fROMOHIO

fIREHOSE "fROMOHIO" (1989)

Following the death of their guitarist/singer D. Boon, the band the Minutemen broke up.   Singer/Bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurely had considered quitting music altogether, but after Sonic Youth invited Watt to collaborate with them it made him realise he wasn't done with music yet.   

Minutemen fan Ed Crawford tracked down Watt in the mistaken belief that he was auditioning guitarists for a new band.  The move paid off as Crawford's passion and enthusiasm impressed Watt and Hurley, and convinced them to try forming a band with the less road-tested Crawford, thus fIREHOSE was born.

"fROMOHIO" is their third studio album and mixes their sound of post-punk, funk, folky acoustic guitar and restrained but pleasant melody.   A sound not dissimilar from the Minutemen, but maybe more stylistically focussed and with less punk rock.

Day 0007 - Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra "Songs For Swingin' Lovers!" (1956) got it

Something of a companion piece to "In the wee small hours".  Where that was the breakup album you play at night and cry bitter tears into your scotch; this is the bright sunny flipside, as you revel in joys and wonders of love!

Frank has never been in better voice, and Nelson Riddle's arrangements are once again top-notch with brilliant little jabs of horns or pa-pows of drum fills that catch you unawares and put a smile on your face. Apparently after the band had run through Riddle's arrangement of "I've got you under my skin" they gave him a round of applause.

The book points out that the album's 45 minute runtime over 15 tracks shows that the 3 minute pop song was already well established here.

See this is where I'm glad for this listening 'quest' because I love this album but it seems there are always so many things I want to listen to , that it's easy enough for great albums like this to slip my net for a while.

Day 0001 - in the Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatara "In the Wee Small Hours" (1955) Got it

I once listened to this album on headphones while walking home on a moonlit night and it was freaking magical!

I'd read a biography of Nat King Cole that said Nat had helped the (at that stage) failed Sinatara, who had been dropped by his record company and had tried to commit suicide, to get his record deal with Capitol and helped put him together with composer/arranger Nelson Riddle.  Both of these moves essentially rejuvenated Frank's career and lead to the golden age of his career... (thanks Nat!)

This is (according to the book) is one of first, (if not the first ) longplaying 12" 'albums', and it is just a thing of beauty.  Riddle's sombre, delicate and imaginative arrangements and Sinatra's voice combine to make something that is #overusedphrase 'timeless'.