Day 0947 - Boy in da Corner

Dizzee Rascal "Boy in da Corner" (2003)

This was actually not quite what I was expecting.  I'd gotten used to his more radio-friendly releases like Bonkers, Bassline Junkie, or that song with Calvin Harris.  Dizzee's first release though is a trailblazer for the Grime genre, mixing hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, dub in a way that often almost does away with melody in favour of rhythm and energy.

There's the broken beat and synth line of "Sittin' Here", the banging beat and dirty bass of "I Luv U" and the digital beat and occasional bleeps of "Live O".   "Brand New Day" has an almost childlike backing track but one that's slightly distorted to make it seem off-kilter.   That vibe matches some of the lyrics which show the mindset of growing up in the sometimes depressing, sometimes violent environment of the housing projects.

Coming up from this background Dizzee latched onto music as something that he was good at and could funnel his energies into, and was DJing and MCing from his early teens.   This, his debut album, was released when he was around 18 or 19 and managed to win the coveted Mercury Prize... so, obviously he was onto something.

Day 0897 - Remedy

Basement Jaxx "Remedy" (1999)

I love the Jaxx! I don’t own a lot of their albums (a greatest hits and “Crazy Itch Radio”) but I enjoy everything I’ve heard from them and have used them as inspiration for some of my own forays into electronic (pop) music.   So with that in mind, when I saw one of their albums on the list, I was definitely keen to check it out.  I wasn't disappointed.

Jaxx felt that a lot of electronic music was a bit too shiny and superficial, and certainly their music (the 'remedy' to this) seeks to make you shake your thang, but with fun and interesting music with enough hooks to appeal to a broader audience rather than just existing ravers and club-goers.

There's the body-moving "Jump N Shout", the moody triphop of "Always be There" and the electro pop of "Rendez Vu" with its propulsive acoustic guitar break.

The Jaxx quirkiness is on display with the funky "U Can't Stop Me", the twitchy "Bingo Bango" and the chanted chorus of "Same Old Show".

The album ends on a subdued, smooth grooving fingersnapping note with "Being With U" and there's enough of a mix of genres that you don't really come away feeling like there's a single wasted track on the whole thing.

Day 0699 - Foxbase Alpha

Saint-Étienne "Foxbase Alpha" (1991) - got it

This album channels 1960s sounds through a 1990s 'filter', so it's pretty much in my wheelhouse.

The group was formed by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, who had both been music writers (who says 'those who can't, write).  They'd originally planned to feature different singers across every album, but after working with Sarah Cracknell on this, their debut, they decided to invite her in as a permanent vocalist.

The album does something that I love, namely it engages in musical collage/experimentation, but uses it to create something quite accessible and poppy.   The dancey beats were akin to the sounds fermenting in the triphop scene, some of the film/dialogue samples lend things a touch of musique concrete, but the melodies and much of the arrangement hints more at summery 60s pop, with wistful female vocals and swirly psychedelic string touches.

Oddly, I've never got around to checking out the rest of their albums.  Might have to put it on the musical to-do list once I've finished the 1001.

Day 0678 - Ritual de lo Habitual

Jane's Addiction "Ritual de lo Habitual" (1990) - got it

The last album before the tumultuous Jane's broke up (for the first time). 

It really is "an album of two halves".  The first 5 tracks are more or less stand-alone rock songs, including the brilliant "Been caught stealing".  The last 4 songs take you on a journey, musically and emotionally with songs written for Farrell's mother who committed suicide, and his girlfriend who overdosed.  The songs are drawn out alternative rock epics with synthesisers, piano and strings on "Then she did..." which almost touches on Zeppelin's 'Kashmir' or "Stairway' in its scope and power.   That is followed by the brilliantly left-field middle-eastern flavoured "Of course" with heavily featured violin, plodding, elephantine percussion and Farrell's voice hitting new heights of nasal-ness.... nasality?

Day 0607 - Bad

Michael Jackson "Bad" (1987)

My sister used to crank this album on a regular basis shortly after its release, and I remember out-and-out hating it.  I quite like it now, and I'm not sure if my tastes have just changed over time, or if back then my 1990s contrariness was just rearing its head a little early.

Jacko, together with producer Quincy Jones, had produced 2 amazingly successful albums in 'Off the Wall' and 'Thriller'.  With Thriller having been the highest selling album of all time (still is), it was a bit of a difficult act to follow.  Despite the weight of expectation, they come out firing with what is a brilliant (if somewhat over-polished) collection of songs.

The songs continues Jacko's mix of funk-rock (Smooth Criminal), cheese-rock and weepy soul (I Just Can't Stop Loving You).  He got right into the tough guy roll hinted at by the title track, donning his leathers with more buckles and zips than had been seen on an album cover before.

Whether or not this music is up to the standard of his previous couple of releases is up for debate; either way, it's a solid collection of songs.   Certainly from this point on, success  (presumably also fuelled by his messed up childhood) started to warp him into a crazy, monkey-toting, plastic-surgery-getting weirdo, whose music could still stoke the fires every now and then; but didn't really continue to hit the same heights.

Day 0477 - The Pretenders

The Pretenders "The Pretenders" (1980)

Another of the many bands that I had heard of and really wanted to check out.  This list has made for a good motivation to get on with it.

According to what I've read, Chrissie Hynde was working as a writer for NME magazine in the UK and hanging out with Clash and Sex Pistols, even working in Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's SEX shop in London. A few of the punkers in the area didn't think much of Hynde and her musical aspirations. It was Lemmy from Motörhead who pushed her to put her money where her mouth was and get the band going.

Some great punky stuff in here mixed with some more pop moments and even a Police-esque new-wave reggae groove to "Private Life". Hynde's voice ties it all nicely together; alternately wailing, snarling or cooing. I recognised the track 'brass in pocket'.

Interestingly Madonna listed Hynde as one of the people who really inspired her to go and make music.

Day 0450 - Off the Wall

Michael Jackson "Off the Wall" (1979)

The beginning of the end of the... beginning, I guess. MJ hadn't had a solo hit in 7 odd years, and while working on the (not particularly successful) film 'The Wiz' Jackson asked Quincy Jones to recommend him a producer. Quincy suggested himself and they began what has to be one of the more commercially successful partnerships in music.

This album combined funk, disco and soul to basically lay out the blueprints for modern RnB (and the blueprint for nearly every Jamiroquai album).  Michael is let loose over these tracks, forming and honing the array of vocal ticks and exclamations that would become one of his many trademarks and would go on to define his vocal style.

Amongst all the upbeat danceable songs, he even has one of the more straightforward heart-string tugging ballads of his career in "She's out of my life".  He's so sincere that by the end of it he sounds like he's more or less in tears... tears of money.

Day 0421 - Here, My Dear

Marvin Gaye "Here, My Dear" (1978) - got it

Possibly one of the more whiny and passive-aggressive break-up albums of all time.

Marvin had divorced his wife, Anna Gordy (the sister of Motown owner Berry Gordy... in hindsight, not the smartest career move) having met and fallen for another woman.  After failing to pay his alimony, Marvin was taken to court and reluctantly agreed to pay Anna the advance and half of the earnings for his next album.

Instead of just making any old record and getting it out of the way, Marvin set about airing their dirty laundry (with the narrative slanted firmly in his favour). Lamenting his situation, railing against Anna for dragging him through court and tarnishing his image with the press, and then eventually gushing about his new love and how much happier he was.

The album was not loved by critics, fans... or Anna. It is a lengthy ride, but Marvin's mix of funk, soul, jazz, doowop and some more modern (at the time) production, would create a sound picked up on by artists like Michael Jackson, Jamiroquai, Justin Timberlake and other purveyors of funky RnB.

Day 0383 - Rumours

Fleetwood Mac "Rumours" (1977)

A powerhouse release! FM had been a London-based blues band started in the 1960s, but after recruiting musical (and romantic) partners Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, they re-crafted their sound to produce a much more Americanised adult contemporary rock sound with a rich summery West Coast pop flavour. The new line-up released an eponymous album which did fairly well, then came Rumours.

Possibly proving the idea that internal tension and tumult can often lead to good music, during the making of the album Nicks and Buckingham were breaking up and the other 3 band members were in the middle of divorces... yet out of this angsty musical hotbed came 'Rumours' an album that topped the charts for 31 weeks and included 3 US top 20 singles "don't stop" "go your own way" and "dreams" and on top of all of that... it's good. Great mix of male and female vocals and upbeat and laidback tracks with stellar musicianship.