Day 0969 - Ys

Joanna Newsom "Ys" (2006)

The book compares Newsom to Kate Bush, and I could certainly see/hear some similarities, both in the timbre of her voice, the almost operatic/theatrical quality of some of her music and the range of sounds.   Her more violent delivery in places like "Sawdust and Diamonds" almost brings Bjork to mind.

Harpist and vocalist Newsom had released her debut album and was part of a new-folk movement along with Devendra Branhart.   

 

This album is an interesting mix of parts.   Newsom recorded her harp and vocal parts with brass-tacks, punkish producer Steve Albini.  Orchestral arrangements were added after the fact by Van Dyke Parks, arranger for the Beach Boys' more adventurous albums.   

The arrangements nicely accentuate Newsom's songs, giving them room to breathe in places, but coming to the fore when it's appropriate.

The album has only 5 tracks, but most of them are around the 10-15 minute mark, not unlike some 1970s albums, like a lot of the prog, fusion and yeah even some of the folk stuff from that era.

Day 0942 - The Rising

Bruce Springsteen "The Rising" (2002)

This is essentially Bruce's 9/11 album.   He told a story to journalists that at some point after the World Trade Centre attacks, a man in a car had pulled up alongside Bruce, wound down his window and said "we need you now".   Probably for a lesser artist, that story and some of these songs would seem a bit corny; but for the boss it feels about right.

The album seems to manage to capture a myriad of conflicting feelings that were swirling around, from anger, loss, sadness, confusion.  There's the morose "Paradise" contrasting with the gospel tinged "My City of Ruin" and the upbeat "Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin)".

It was Springsteen's first studio album in 7 odd years and his first full album with the E-Street Band since "Born in the USA", and Springsteen and the band slip with ease back into that particular groove of hot-blooded stadium-ready rock with an earthy soul to it.  Definitely "Lonesome Day" feels like it would sit quite easily with that album.

There are some different sounds too, with "Worlds Apart" opening with middle-eastern vocals (a daring move, all things considered), or "The Fuse" which with its looped beat and high drawling vocal sounds almost like a Chris Cornell solo track in places.

Springsteen is in fine voice and it's a good album that manages to offer up enough patriotism to keep conservatives happy but with enough understanding and trying to heal wounds to appeal to those who hadn't given in totally to the hate, anger and xenophobia that tried to take hold after the attacks.

Day 0887 - Beyond Skin

Nitin Sawhney "Beyond Skin" (1999)

Another interesting, multi-faceted creative type.  Sawhney studied piano, guitar, sitar and tabla.  He toured with the group the James Taylor Quartet, formed his own band, the Jazztones, then joined forces with Talvin Singh (entry 875) to create the Tihai Trio.

Sawhney joined up with an old university friend Sanjeev Baskhar to write a comedy radio show that eventually became the brilliant tv programme "Goodness Gracious Me".   Sawhney also continued with his music.

The Talvin Singh connection made me expect that this would be another album in the 'Asian Underground' sub-genre, but that's not the case at all.   The first track "Broken Skin" sounds like a pretty straight-ahead bit of soulful pop, albeit with chants in the middle section.   Another track features what sounds like Southern American music.  On the whole it wouldn't be unfair to label the album 'world music', but not in some pigeonholing or dismissive way, more because it feels like whole world is capture here through differing genres, instrumentation and musical ethnicity!

"Serpents" and "the Conference" both feature enjoyably speedy rhythmic vocal and percussion sounds playing off against each other.   "Nadia" would fit broadly into the Asian Underground category.  "Nostalgia" is another somewhat poppy track.

There is a theme running through about nuclear weapons.  Beyond this, in the album liner notes Sawhney stated:
    "I believe in Hindu philosophy.  I am not religious.  I am a pacifist.  I am a British Asian.  My identity     and my history are defined only by myself - beyond politics, beyond nationality, beyond religion and     Beyond Skin."