Day 0843 - Shleep

Robert Wyatt "Shleep" (1997)

If you were giving points just for longevity, Wyatt would be doing well.  His last entry in this list "Rock Bottom" (day 325) was released in 1974.  If you were just going based on fun song titles he'd be doing well with doozies like "Free Will and Testament" and "the Whole Point of No Return".   If you were going based on the respect of other musicians, he'd be doing well as Brian Eno helps produce and guitars are provided by Paul Weller and Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera.

The fact is that, beside all of the above, the music is damned good too.  From the naive 60s-esque pop of "Heaps of Sheep" and "Maryan" to the jazzy experimentation of "the Duchess", the extended fusiony jam of "Alien" to the jazzy beat poetry homage to Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" this is just a great collection of songs.   The music brings to mind everything from the Kinks, early Pink Floyd, and Frank Zappa to later interesting and inventive bands like Ween and XTC.

Day 0842 - Vanishing Point

Primal Scream "Vanishing Point" (1997)

I really enjoyed Primal Scream's "Screamadelica" album where they combined rock sounds, dance sounds, and the in between 'baggy' sound.   As much as I enjoy musical variety, I felt that some of the electronic tracks didn't really sit along the more guitar-based songs, possibly it's because it was a fairly new direction for the band and they hadn't quite worked out how to properly integrate everything.   Colour me pleased then that this album still mixes its sounds but seems to have found more of a balance across the album.

The album is named after a film of the same name that the band loved.   They felt that the film's score was a bit too much like hippy music for a film about speed-jacked cross-country car antics and sought to reimagine this at least for the track "Kowalski" (the main character).  

The album also manages to work in the trip-hoppy jazz of "Get Duffy", the rock sound of "Medication", the Krautrock of "Stuka", a slightly dance-infused cover of Motörhead's eponymous track, and the 60s-spy-music-evolving-into jazzy-trip-hop-voyage of penultimate track "Trainspotting".  

Excellent album, liking what I'm hearing and should probably check out at least the album between "Screamadelica" and "Vanishing Point" some time.

Day 0798 - Alien Lanes

Guided by Voices "Alien Lanes" (1995)

Packing 28 tracks in barely more than 40 minutes, this is GBV's eighth full-length album, and their first for Matador records.   The band were given a sizeable advance, yet reverted to type and mostly patched the album together from home recordings and bits.

The songs don't really overstay their welcome, with most being either less than a minute, or at most, less than two minutes.   Many of the songs seem to fade out abruptly at the end, like the band had suddenly grown bored of them and pulled the plug.

The sound is a lo-fi noisy, jangly pop-rock with bursts of punkiness.   Kind of like a mix of Velvet Underground and the Violent Femmes (maybe a touch of John Frusciante's early solo work).   

Enjoyable sounds, though I find it hard to really lock into it with everything being so brief in an almost accidental way.

Day 0776 - Protection

Massive Attack "Protection" (1994)

 

Things had not been running smoothly for Massive Attack, their tour in the US had not fared well, they had briefly tried shortening their name to ‘Massive’ in order to not ruffle feathers during the first Iraq war, and had parted ways with their main singer Shara Nelson.

Despite these setbacks the group put together a strong sophomore release, with guest spots from 'Everything But the Girl' singer Tracey Thorn, and rapper Tricky.  Tricky had featured on the first Massive Attack album but had since started his solo career, and after “Protection” would not record with the group again for around another 10 years.

It strikes me how simple some of these songs are, the first few tracks (even the sublime and moody title track) are mostly just the same piece of music looped around with the vocals adding points of difference.   There’s sounds ranging from the deep muddy dub of "Spying Glass", through to "Sly" with its strings-and-beat combo, a sound that would become synonymous with trip-hop.

The whole thing is rounded off with a funky, sound-effect laden cover of the Doors' "Light my Fire"

Day 0705 - Screamadelica

Primal Scream "Screamadelica"

Primal Scream started as a duo of Jim Beatty and Bobby Gillespie.  As they developed their music and started playing live, they expanded their line-up.   Their flavour of jangly pop-rock did not go over well with punters or critics, with the band being accused of being unoriginal and bland.

The band started to get into the acid house scene and asked DJ Andrew Weatherall to remix one of their tracks.  The resulting remix of "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have" (repurposed as "Loaded") was a success and the band delved deeper into this mix of rock and dance, already being explored by bands such as the Happy Mondays and New Order.

Screamadelica actually lives up to some of the hype laid on it by the book.  It has heart, it has musical exploration, it has some catchy bits, some interesting bits and a wide range of sounds.  If it has any weaknesses for my tastes, it's maybe that some of the more electronic/remixy tracks don't necessarily sit coherently alongside the more "voice and guitar" kind of tracks.  They aren't really completely incompatible or anything though, so it just adds a little extra variety to spice up the lengthy runtime of the album.

The album wasn't a commercial or critical runaway success, but it was certainly a step up for the group, making it to number 8 in the UK charts and gaining a few accolades including the inaugural Mercury Prize.   Speaking of the Mercury Prize, looking at the calibre of the winning albums that I am familiar with I feel like I should put the other winners on my musical 'to-do' list for future investigation.  

Day 0704 - Blue Lines

Massive Attack "Blue Lines" (1991)

Massive Attack had gravitated towards each other and been developing music together for months.  Some of the group were involved in the production of Neneh Cherry's "Raw Like Sushi" album, and Neneh in turn had been motivating the group to make and release their own music.  In the words of Daddy G:

"We were lazy Bristol twats. It was Neneh Cherry who kicked our arses and got us in the studio. We recorded a lot at her house, in her baby's room. It stank for months and eventually we found a dirty nappy behind a radiator".

The group produced music with an electronic vibe, but throwing live instruments into the mix and with much slower tempos than typically found in the electronic genre.  Hiphop beats and rapping mix with an almost loungey soul, strings and brilliant vocals from Shara Nelson, Horace Andy and rapper Tricky, who would go on to have an extensive solo career.

Viewed as one of the first/cornerstone albums in the yet-to-be labelled 'trip-hop' genre.

Day 0651 - Disintegration

The Cure "Disintegration" (1989) 

Robert Smith plumbed the depths again, facing the realisation that he was growing old because he was turning 30...  my near-40-year-old heart bleeds for him.

Smith felt pressured to follow up on the Cure's prior successes.  They had initially had a Gothic vibe to them, but once people came to expect that, he switched to a more accessible pop vein, but disliked the increased popularity so returned again to the goth fold.

This album certainly doesn't appear to court MTV or commercial radio, with the songs being lengthy morose grooves that take their time creating an atmosphere (though still with a keen sense of melody on display).  Whatever Smith's intentions, the album did reasonably well commercially.

Day 0620 - 16 Lovers Lane

The Go-Betweens "16 Lovers Lane" (1988)

Referred to in some quarters as 'the Indie "Rumours"' because romantic relationships within the band were ending (singer/songwriter Robert  Forster and drummer Lindy Morrison) and just taking off (singer/songwriter Grant McLennan and violinist Amanda Brown).  In amongst this changing and potentially volatile dynamic, their bass-player had also left and been replaced.

The album reflects that landscape, with a mix of upbeat pop songs and dole-drum laments.  The band broke up following this album (but reformed several years later).   The songs aren't terrible, but honestly, I listened to the album about 4 times in a row, and aside from vaguely recognising one or two songs when they came back around, it mostly just didn't feel like any of it was memorable enough to stick with me.

Day 0606 - Calenture

The Triffids "Calenture" (1987)

I had heard the Triffids' name but had no real idea of what they'd sound like.  This album is almost indie-meets-gospel.  It has a really raw, soulful feel that is admittedly curtailed somewhat by the amount of studio sheen heaped on it.

The musical style, combined with David McComb's deep and declamatory vocal delivery make the music sound like a more upbeat take on early-mid era Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.  Not surprising then that bass-player Martyn Casey would later go on to play in the Bad Seeds.

Definitely enjoyed this and will keep it in mind for further investigation at a later date.

Day 0521 - A Walk Across the Rooftops

The Blue Nile "A Walk Across the Rooftops" (1983)

According to the book, being a fan of Blue Nile requires only patience.  The albums are all pretty similar but it takes them at least 5 years between releases.  Apparently even in being offered a recording deal it took them several months to come back with an answer for their record company.

There was a persistent story that the band had been commissioned to make an album by a company wanting to show off their hi-fi equipment and that the recording so impressed the company that they formed a record label to release the album.  Apparently though that is not true and the company had already released one or two things already; but it makes for a nice story.

The sound of this album is reminiscent of a few other artists of this era, in that these are essentially soulful pop songs but just steeped in instrumentation and production techniques of the 80s that maybe make them cleaner and colder than they want to be.  I liked it well enough.

Day 0500 - Pornography

The Cure "Pornography" (1982)

 
It's almost like one of those cheesy billboards "Pornography!  Now that I've got your attention..."

The last of the 'early' Cure albums as the band was torn apart by in-fighting, drug use, and Smith working to cope with his depression.  From this point on, the band would move away from their gothy droney alt-rock sound for more of a gothy pop influence.

This album is all bass and drum grooves with synth and minimal guitars layered over the top, creating music-beds for Smith's desolate lyrics.

The final (title) track is an interesting sound collage.

Day 0485 - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts

David Byrne and Brian Eno "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" (1981)

Having enjoyed the individual works of Eno and Byrne; I was keen to hear this one.  The album, described by Eno as "psychedelic Africa" was delayed in its release due clearance issues with the various copyrighted materials sampled.  As a result, the Talking Heads'  "Remain in Light" album (also produced by Eno), though recorded later, was released before this collaboration.

Whereas that Talking Heads album was built on a foundation of jam sessions among the various musicians, this is much more a studio construct, formed around samples and based heavily on Holger Czukay's "movies" album.  An interesting album to be sure, but I'd say I really prefer Byrne in more of a traditional song-based vein, whether it's with the Heads, with St Vincent or as a solo artist.

Day 0461 - Seventeen Seconds

The Cure "Seventeen Seconds"

The Cure are another band that I was primarily familiar with through a few singles... that I wasn't overly keen on; but this is a pretty fantastic album. Aside from the odd wailing, dramatic vocal this is a pretty low-key affair with jangling but mostly unobtrusive guitar. There are odd spots of keyboards but they're used sparingly and in such a way that they add to the music without drawing attention to themselves. In fact everyone here seems to be just doing good work to serve the songs.

I can definitely hear the influence of this band on artists like early REM, a lot of 00s indie rockers, and even the early demos of the Smashing Pumpkins bear a startling resemblance to this collection of songs.

Day 0459 - Peter Gabriel III (AKA "Melt")

Peter Gabriel "Peter Gabriel III" (AKA "Melt") (1980)

 
Gabriel was well clear of his Genesis 'Prog' sound, and with his first two relatively quirky and eccentric solo albums also behind him, he seemed content to settle into a groove as a purveyor of interesting and innovative art pop-rock in the vein of Berlin-Bowie and Brian Eno. He even uses Eno-regular Robert Fripp on guitar, along with his Genesis bandmate (and vocal replacement) Phil Collins.

PG experiments with world music (sampling African chants for one song) and new technology, playing around with drum machines, and studio trickery to produce an album that seems a collision of human with machine.

Day 0425 - Ambient 1: Music For Airports

Brian Eno "Ambient 1: Music For Airports" (1978)

 ,

Eno, having produced some great pop-rock records and Bowie's adventurous Berlin trilogy, as well as his own solo albums that mixed traditional song structures with interesting production techniques and background sonic experiments took a few steps further here.

Eno had been moving in more and more ambient directions, here he fully takes the plunge with relatively formless, sparse soundscapes. Eno stated that the music "...must be as ignorable as it is interesting", music designed to have on in the background and drift in and out of, rather than concentrate on intently, and in that, it succeeds beautifully.

Day 0380 - Pink Flag

Wire "Pink Flag" (1977)

This one sounded cool on paper: "Slightly older punks who squeezed 21 songs onto a 35 minute album.  Not always sticking to a verses-choruses structure, and occasionally just stopping songs when they felt they had run their course... or they were bored.  Intellectual lyrics that sound like mathematical equations or surrealist poetry."  On a less musical front, I really liked the album cover too. 

Unfortunately, the reality of the album wasn't something that appealed to me.

I listened to this 10 or so years ago when I made a small list from the '1001' albums book, and it didn't do much for me then either.  I've tried to give it a chance and listened to it 2 or 3 times, and it has grown on me a little, but much of the album just dissolves into aural wallpaper after a while.  Sometimes that can be a good thing, but not so much with an 'in-your-face' punk album.

Day 0274 - Larks' Tongues in Aspic

King Crimson "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" (1973)

What the hell did I just listen to? ...so much musical excess!

The opening (title) track is a journey from tinkling finger cymbals through various musical movements including some fantastic bass work.  Bass seems to be a featured instrument in many of the prog-rock albums I've listened to so far on the list.

This first track gives way to more mellow songs.  There's the delicate and beautiful "Book of Saturday", with it's graceful violin and backwards guitar duet; the proggy ballad of 'Exiles'; the rock riffs of 'Easy Money'; and again the proggy excesses of 'The Talking Drum' and the second part of the title track.

Brilliant album.