Day 0725 - Connected

Stereo MCs "Connected"

Stereo MCs had slowly been building their reputation through their first couple of releases.   Tracks backing MC Rob B and vocalist Cath Coffey were largely sample-based.   For "Connected" they upped the ante with several backing singers and a full band.

The tracks mix rap, soul, electronica, dub and pop to create a sound that is catchy, danceable and almost a touch hypnotic.

The album was a huge success, but the band would not follow it up for another 8-9 years.  The intervening time being peppered with some remix work for other artists.

Day 0605 - Sister

Sonic Youth "Sister" (1987)

The more I listen to Sonic Youth, the more I start to like them.  I always had the idea that they were nothing but noise-makers with not a lot of musical substance, but they actually have some pretty solid pop songs and punk songs that they dress in a coat of feedback and squealing squalls of guitar.

From what I read, their first one or two albums might have been a bit more confrontational with their sound mellowing as they developed.  Certainly "Sister" and "Evol" are perfectly accessible for the average rock person.

Day 0417 - The Cars

The Cars "The Cars" (1978)

One of the early new-wave albums and a huge pop 'smash' that managed to stay in the US Billboard charts for some 139 weeks.

The quote that accompanies the album's entry in the book reads" I never wanted to really be a musician and I don't care about musicianship that much. I care about style and content" which I guess kind of sums up 80s pop music in general. The prog and fusion bands of the 70s with their virtuosic musicianship, were giving way more and more to glossy new-wave sounds.  Even bands like Queen and Sparks pared back their arrangements and eased up on their more indulgent flashier musicianship to produce simpler arrangements and more (theoretically) accessible pop fare.

This is an enjoyable and recognisable album, every second track seemed to be "that song I've heard on the radio".