Day 0889 - Play

Moby "Play" (1999) - got it

Fun fact that I did not previously know: Moby chose his stage name because he's a descendant of Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick (at least according to Moby himself).

Moby did some DJing, played in alt-rock and hardcore bands and started to build up a reputation via his electronic music and remixes for other artists.   Then he put his musical foot in it by releasing a guitar-heavy, hard-core-style record called "Animal Rights".  the creative left-turn was not well received which left Moby mopey.  Following this setback, Moby convinced himself to carry on making music and produced Play. 

Initially not that successful, Moby and his team, as a last resort, licensed out all of the tracks for use in advertising and television which helped familiarise the public with the album.

Moby's approach is generally similar to that of Fatboy Slim, to take samples of older music (generally soul/blues/rock) and combine that with some beats and interesting arrangements to take the samples to new places.  Opener "Honey" more or less builds an entire song around one line from a Bessie Jones track.  Single "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" likewise uses a couple of lines of lyrics combined with piano, strings and a gospel choir to create something different from its constituent pieces.

The album was eventually huge, spawning 8 singles.   Probably one problem with it (even for those of us who like a bit of Moby) is that it is huge track-wise too.   There are 18 tracks, over an hour of music and it's a bit much for a single listen.   There are a couple of more straight-ahead electro tracks and I almost feel like he should have made it two albums or a double album, split into more sample-based pop tracks, and some more electronic/dancey tracks.

Day 0738 - Exile in Guyville

Liz Phair "Exile in Guyville" (1993)

Phair started off with a collection of demos under the moniker 'Girly Sounds'.  After asking acquaintances who the 'coolest indie label' in town was, she approached the co-president of Matador Records.  As luck would have it, he had just been reading a review of her demo and asked her to send in a tape.   The tapes met with a good deal of enthusiasm and Phair was signed up.

The music is largely stripped down guitar and vocal.  It's melodic alt-rock with a little rawness to it, though this is interrupted somewhat by the almost perfect pop-rock song "Never Said" and the dreamy piano of "Canary" with Phair's slightly snarling vocals over the top.

She doesn't tread lightly lyrically, with songs such as "Divorce" and "Fuck and run" or "dance of the seven veils" in which she states "I'm a real c*nt in spring".  

Day 0639 - Technique

New Order "Technique" (1989)

So the book lines this up as one of the founding pillars of the acid house movement... now if I knew anything much about that movement, it might help me assess or have a deeper understanding of the album.   As it is, I don't know much about the genre/movement, but I still enjoyed this as a workable blend of dance music elements, with new-wavey synth pop.

The band went to work on this, their 5th album, in Ibiza and ended up having an extended holiday, taking in the local dance culture.  According to the book they came home with 12 rhythm tracks and a guitar solo rather than an entire album, but had successfully managed to filter the Ibiza feel into their music.  

This would be New Order's second-to-last album before a nearly-decade long break.

Day 0579 - Raising Hell

Run-D.M.C. "Raising Hell"  (1986)

The third album from Run-D.M.C put them on the map (and on MTV), in particular their collaboration with the members of Aerosmith on that band's track "Walk this way".  The collab was suggested by producer Rick Rubin after he gave Run-D.M.C. a copy of the lyrics to read.  The track was a hit and also helped rejuvenate Aerosmith's slightly slumped career by introducing them to a new audience.

'Raising Hell' continues the group's brilliant mix of rock riffs with scratches and with the two MCs trading rhymes over the top.  The extra loud and chunky scratches, booming beats and occasional cowbell render this almost the epitome of "old school hip hop".

A sonically interesting album that, much like Afrika Bambaataa, takes existing material and molds it into something new, original and exciting. 

Day 0513 - The Number of the Beast

Iron Maiden "The Number of the Beast" (1982)

As I said with the last Iron Maiden album on this list; I quite liked the band with singer Paul Di'Anno.  He offset their virtuosic music with his more limited, and at times punky vocals.  Here Dickinson earns his nickname 'the air raid siren' (originally given by a disgruntled fan who preferred Di'Anno), wailing operatically through much of the album. 

I'm sure that the band were happy to have a singer whose control of his instrument equalled their own, and this album has gone on to be one of the most successful in their canon, and I do enjoy it well enough, but it's just not my favourite.  "Run to the hills" though... pretty damned solid track!

0266 - All Directions

The Temptations "All Directions" (1972)

 
The Temps continue to prove themselves to be "more just that band who sung 'My Girl'".  The group continue to explore sounds outside of the standard Motown sound, as already heard in slinky funky wah-wah infused albums like 'Cloud Nine' and 'Psychedelic Shack'.

This album is full of funky grooves, including the nearly 12 minute jam of 'Papa was a Rollin' Stone' and gets in your face with the N-bomb laden "Run Charlie, Run" that definitely draw a line in the sand between this album and the clean, short-n-sweet pop of their earlier material.

It comes with a deceptively run of the mill album cover, featuring a clean-cut band photo that doesn't immediately hint at the interesting directions explored within.