Day 0982 - Two Dancers

 Wild Beasts “Two Dancers” (2009)

The write-up in the book didn’t really give me much to go on this time around.  The blurb was heavy on praise but light on descriptive musical detail.

I quite liked the sound of it from the off.   A kind of gentle rolling bass and tom-tom drum rhythm with clean guitar and keyboards creating almost ambient soundscapes.  More prominent guitar parts pop up to contrast this, seeming to move between percussive funk, and effects laden grooves a la U2’s the Edge.

The vibe I got from the opening track “The Fun Powder Plot” was of a kind of updated take on the Talking Heads, from the funky guitar to the vocal delivery which was reminiscent of head Head David Byrne.   Elsewhere the wild falsetto vocals almost hint at Jeff Buckley.   Having two lead vocalists also gives the band a bit of variety.

I liked this well enough, but I was starting to lose interest by the end, which is surprising as it’s a fairly compact album, with 11 songs and a runtime of just 40-odd minutes.   While there was a definite ‘sound’ across the album, there was a bit of variety that should have kept it from getting too staid.  I guess their songwriting just doesn't quite do it for me (almost but not quite).

Day 0918 - Punishing Kiss

Ute Lemper "Punishing Kiss" (2000)

I'd not heard of Lemper, but it seems she is an acclaimed actress as well as being a singer.   She had built much of her music career dipping into the past, particularly interpreting the songs of Kurt Weil.  For this album she went with modern composers, though many of them had been inspired by Weil too, so still within Lemper's comfort zone.

Thankfully it's VERY much in my wheelhouse too, with her modern composers being such luminaries as Scott Walker, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello and Neil Hanlon.   Hanlon's band the Divine Comedy provide backing for much of the album and he duets with Lemper on a couple of tracks.

The album is bombastic, theatrical and bursting with good music.    Though the individual composers' voices can certainly be heard (Lemper even seems to mimic Costello's snarling crooning style on some of his songs) there's a cohesiveness across the album, and Lemper owns each song with a voice that ranges from gentle theatrical murmur through to passionate howl, on the almost Bjork-esque opener "Little Water Song".

The Costello-penned title track is a fun highlight for me, but the whole album is really good.  The finale is a brooding 10-minute late-era style Scott Walker dirge, which is quite frankly as good a way as any to close an album.

Day 0864 - Apocalypse Dudes

Turbonegro "Apocalypse Dudes" (1998)

Turbonegro had started off with noise-rock, moved through their own 'death-punk' sound and here adopt a style that is straight out of the 70s rock, punk and glam play-books.   By all accounts their line-up was as changeable as their choice of genre.

"Selfdestructo Bust" sounds like a slightly updated take on the Stooges.  "Prince of the Rodeo" throws in some congas to glam up the mix, and album closer "Good Head" leads out with enough excessive guitar soloing to make Slash blush.

The song titles nod to the Norwegian group's tongue-in-cheek approach too, with pearlers like "Rock Against Ass", "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker" and "Rendezvous with Anus".

I probably won't rush to revisit it, but it was fun enough.

Day 0861 - Live 1966

Bob Dylan "Live 1966" (1998)

Recorded during Dylan's controversial early move to electric music.  The first half of the concert/album is Dylan alone playing acoustic tracks.  For the second half, Dylan is accompanied by his excellent backing band the Hawks, who would go on to find fame themselves as "the Band" (see days 127 and 156).

The book states that Dylan and the Hawks were heckled and jeered during the electric set... maybe that was edited out of the version I listened to because it just sounds like cheers for the duration.

I like the mix of sounds between the two sets and I guess it's an important historical musical recording, but at an hour and a half, this is a touch too much Bob for my tastes.

Day 0841 - Dig Your Own Hole

Chemical Brothers "Dig Your Own Hole" (1997)

The Brothers Chemical (not their real names, I checked) moved quickly to follow up the success of their debut “Exit Planet Dust”.   They released the EP “Loops of Fury” in 1996 and plunged on with work for their second LP.

Electronic music is not my first love, but even I find this to be an exciting collection of tracks.   From the staccato opening bassline and punchy, ever-changing beats of opener “Block Rockin’ Beats” the album takes you on a journey of big funky bass (“Get up on it Like This” and “Lost in the K-Hole”), quirky 'found sound' laden dance tracks "Piku", to psychedelic looped soundscapes (“Setting Sun” “Where Do I Begin”).  

 The album features guest vocals from Beth Orton and Oasis’ Noel Gallagher.  The latter had met the Brothers (y’know what, they have different names… I’m not even sure they are legitimately related) and complimented them on “Exit Planet Dust”.   They contacted him about singing on the track “Setting Sun” and the result was reminiscent enough of the Beatles' groundbreaking track "Tomorrow Never Knows" that that band's lawyer attempted to sue the Brothers (you know what, they don't even look alike... really don't think they're related) for sampling it... they hadn't.

The album was another success and the brothers (y'know what, maybe it's not strictly familial, more of a term of endearment) were soon in hot demand as remixers, as well as continuing to make great music of their own.

Day 0793 - Exit Planet Dust

 Chemical Brothers "Exit Planet Dust" (1995)

The album title is likely a nod to the fact that the Chemical Brothers used to be called the Dust Brothers... until they were sued by the Beastie Boys' producers of the same name.   The duo were forced to change their name to the Chemical Brothers, which somehow feels like it suits them better anyway.  Another hangover from this previous moniker is the second track title "In Dust we Trust".

The Chemical Brothers' formula (see what I did there) is already pretty well established here, with its synthesizer loops, occasionally vaguely psychedelic soundscapes, and big beefy beats.

The duo were acknowledged in liner notes for albums from Fatboy Slim and Daft Punk following the release of their debut, showing the spread of their influence.  The big beat style also sounds very similar to that adopted by the Propellerheads, who are a bit of a favourite of mine.

Day 0723 - Bone Machine

Tom Waits "Bone Machine" (1992)

This was Waits' first album in 5 years - though the gap had been filled by a live album and a Jim Jarmusch soundtrack.

Waits had been moving away from his jazzy lounge piano tunes and drunken balladeer persona and into more avant territory.  Here he takes that evolution one step further, with a sound that I would class as "demented T-Bone Burnett". 

Waits recorded the album in space in the basement of the recording studio with concrete floors and a hot water heater.  He liked the echo of the room, and used this to best suit the songs.  They were essentially stripped down blues tracks, but with the vibe created by the room the sound feels much denser than it actually is.

The album is light on piano, with Waits' sound moving more towards the guitar and interesting percussion tracks.

Probably not my favourite Waits album, but you can hear him starting to get his 90s-Waits sound going and getting comfortable in that skin.

Day 0715 - Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine "Rage Against the Machine" (1992) - got it

Many bands are described as "exploding onto the music scene", but I'd say that RATM are actually deserving of that phrase.   Of all the bands branded with the often maligned label 'rap-metal', RATM managed to tap into the anger and aggression of both genres without really de-clawing either of them.

Rhythm section Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford lay down a funky and hardhitting base for vocalist Zack de la Rocha (once described, not inaccurately, by Tom Morello as the "punk-rock James Brown") to belt his raw-throated screams, raps and political protests over.  But the band-member name-checked most frequently is guitarist Tom Morello.  His guitar spits out thrash riffs, fiddly solos rhythmic grooves, and riffs... oh so many riffs.  Beyond that though, he engages in musical experimentation that sees him all but make his guitar moo like a cow.  His collection of squeals, stutters and scratches borrows from both metal and rap and elevates the band, giving them that point of difference.

The first song "Bombtrack" starts with a tantalising build-up before exploding all in your ears.  Single "Killing in the name" (whose riff Morello came up with while giving guitar lessons) is barely contained rock rage.   A little variety is provided by a guest spot by TOOL's Maynard James Keenan on "Know your enemy" and a moodier, more subdued approach to "Settle for Nothing" (though that also turns into a rager too on the choruses).

The band couldn't maintain this level of fire and originality, with their following two albums being a case of diminishing returns.  They rounded out their recorded career with the brilliant covers album "Renegades".  The band, freed from the requirement to come up with material, were able to just 'rage-ify' some existing songs.

Day 0655 - Pump

Aerosmith "Pump" (1989)

Aerosmith feel like they combine the riffs of Zeppelin and the backing/harmony vocals of the Beatles, but with a little slease and 80s production shine.   Going further on the Zeppelin thing, Aerosmith are such a quintessentially American band that it's almost like one of those things where someone puts English text through an online translator then translates it back into English.  You get Zeppelin taking American blues and doing their own thing with it, then Aerosmith bringing it back to America but funnelling it through their own unique filter.

The album is reflective of the band's late 80s/early 90s output with some stomping hook-filled rockers and some power ballads that could power half of Massachusetts.  Some interludes break things up interestingly ticking along and the odd, confronting "Janie's got a gun" keeps the listener from getting too complacent.

Aerosmith's creative and commercial slump was well and truly over.  For this album they decided to eschew outside help and assembled at a secluded studio to work on songs, coming up with 19 tracks that they divided into the 'A' and 'B' material.

Day 0629 - California

American Music Club "California" (1988)

The book outlines this as being an 'Americana' album before that was really established as a genre.  There is certainly a very American mix of genres here, with country featuring prominently, along with alt-country, rock, and a touch of what is almost psychobilly ("Bad Liquor"). 

The band had been compared (by themselves too) to R.E.M. so they were a little surprised to see that band take off mainstream while they themselves did not.  They resolved to record in a different, more mellow style this time around.

Really quite enjoyed this album, nice mix of styles: "Western Sky" almost has a Smiths kind of thing going on.  "Jenny" (much like my wife, with the same name) is gorgeous.  A delicate, sombre acoustic ballad.  "Somewhere" has a bit of a Springsteen flavour to it... maybe Springsteen-meets-REM.

The album is mostly low-key, mellow, with production geared to create mood around the sparse arrangements.   A few livelier tracks keep things spicy.

Day 0576 - Reign in Blood

Slayer "Reign in Blood" (1986) - got it

 
An album that kicks off with a punishing blizzard of guitars and cymbals, and (after an unsettling high-pitched yell) leads off with the lyrics:

"Auschwitz, the meaning of death, the way that I want you to die"

certainly made it difficult to ignore Slayer.  Though that opening track "Angel of Death" would lead them to have to continually reiterate in interviews that they did not support nazi ideals.

The album combines the stripped-down, unrelenting aggression of hardcore punk with the musicality and 'menace' of the nascent 'heavy metal' to create one of the early cornerstones of thrash metal.

Tom Araya's aggressive and fairly tuneless vocal yell means that the riffs can go where they want without clashing too much with his voice.  Though it has to be said that the little melody that is in the guitar parts is pulverised by speed and distortion with the focus being more on the rhythm than melody.

Some flashy lead guitar work on show, but the real (background) star of the album is Dave Lombardo who, with his inventive, unrelenting drumming can (even now) outplay most other drummers in his genre.  His playing has elements of jazz, punk, metal and more.

Day 0575 - EVOL

Sonic Youth "EVOL" (1986)

Sonic Youth are a band that I'd hear & bits and pieces from, but they'd never really inspired me to dip deeper into their work.  I really quite enjoyed this album and ended up listening to it 3 times in a row.  Love the mix of hypnotic but noisy drones, pared-back riffing, and dalliances with musique concrete.

This is a sonically exciting and experimental album, that still has a solid base in 'song' writing, with melody and structure being employed where appropriate.  For me, the album's epic penultimate track "Expressway to Yr Skull" is the album's high point.

I like that it's not a straight instrumental album, but that the vocals are used sparingly, and often as more of an 'instrument' than as a way of communicating a message.

Day 0559 - Rain Dogs

Tom Waits "Rain Dogs" (1985)

If "Swordfishtrombones" was a drunken left-turn down a dark alley, populated by an assortment of weird and unusual characters; "Rain Dogs" is Waits deciding that he likes the alley-way and setting himself up in his spot around the trash-can fire.

The beat poetry and drunken piano ballads are largely gone in favour of stories about the aforementioned odd characters, backed by honking horns (that occasionally drift into New Orleans jazz territory) and interesting melodic percussion.   Regular John Zorn collaborator Marc Ribot provides guitar for the album with playing that ranges from jazzy surf and twangy lead, to abrasive avant sounds, and everything between.  The music includes remnants of his bar-room piano balladry, and even some country and western, but mostly it's a whole new world.

Waits' voice ranges from his newly adopted barking shout, to a gravelly croon, occasionally even dabbling in a sort of affected nasally cabaret vocal.

Day 0520 - Swordfishtrombones

Tom Waits "Swordfishtrombones" (1983)

Great album, and the beginning of a whole new era of Waits' music.  His wife Kathleen Brennan had been introducing him to a range of avant music and began collaborating on songwriting with him and it really starts to show with this album.

To me, this album feels like Waits' drunken barfly character fell so far down his hole of inebriation that he ended up in some strange hallucinatory underworld.  The opening track "Underground" could be seen as a signal of this, or a paean to Waits' own new musical discoveries courtesy of Brennan "It's a place I've found/There's a world going on/Underground.  The album title seems like something of a nod to Captain Beefheart's "Trout Mask Replica" too.   

The other image the music conjures up for me is the Waits barfly joining a travelling circus and hitting the road.  The jarring instrumentation holds a definite carnival vibe, and Waits practises his ringmaster's holler on several tracks.  There are still one or two gentle moments here, including the melodic outro of "Rainbirds", providing a nice contrast to the abrasive opener.

Day 0494 - Moving Pictures

Rush "Moving Pictures" (1981)

 
I love that all of the articles or reviews I've read about this album go out of their way to mention its cheesy play-on-words title/album cover combo... which in some ways short-changes the quality music inside.

I've never been hugely fussed on Rush one way or the other, but this is a great album.  It combines the musicality of their prog background with an adoption of the poppier new-wave sound that was rising in popularity, with the last track "vital signs" even having a vaguely Police-esque sound to it.

Even something like the radio-friendly "Tom Sawyer" mixes groovy keyboards, catchy melody with tricky drum fills and odd time signatures.  I listened to the album about 4 times in a row and would happily listen to it again.

Day 0472 - Heartattack and Vine

Tom Waits "Heatattack and Vine" (1980)

 
After 5 or 6 albums leaning on his downtrodden barfly troubadour persona, Waits started changing it up here. There are one or two songs where he still slur-croons clever couplets over a loungey jazz piano, but the guitar starts to play a much bigger role in his compositions, and Waits starts exploring his bluesy yell-mixed-with-Cookie Monster vocal that would come out full force in later albums.

For a guy who used to put out albums every year or so in the 70s; the 80s onwards have been increasingly sparse as far as his musical output goes (with the exception of his dual releases 'blood money' and 'Alice' in 2002).  Maybe that's due to an increase in acting roles and soundtrack music... or maybe he's just been enjoying life outside of the 'business.

Day 0446 - At Budokan

Cheap Trick "At Budokan" (1979)

 
Cheap Trick had been working away in the US with 3 albums under their belts, but only moderate success. The band had however, scored success fairly early on in Japan so cashed in on that by recording this live album there to the adoring screams of hundreds of fans.

Whether it was those screams, the culmination of lots of hard work, or just sheer dumb luck, this album stayed in the US charts for around a year, selling over 3 millions copies and well and truly launching the band and their particular brand of power pop.   The success was no doubt aided by upbeat pop hit "I want you to want me".

Day 0399 - Dub Housing

Pere Ubu "Dub Housing" (1978)

 
Pere Ubu with another really great album. They had set up a crazy sound on 'the Modern Dance' which they could have easily continued exploring over the next few album; but instead set about revamping their sound.

A lot of the punk elements are gone, but the noisy experimental song forms remain. An interesting album that still hints at the origins of 00s indie music. Love the album cover too.

Day 0389 - Marque Moon

Television "Marque Moon" (1977)

Another dose of punk (but not totally punk) rock. Television were one of the founders of the CBGBs punk scene but had a little less success in their USA homeland than some of their peers (they fared much better in the UK).  As with many albums on this list, it has since been commercially/critically reassessed.

It could be that they were overlooked at the time due to their interesting sound that avoided the straight ahead mix of speed and caveman-like musicianship of some of their punk peers; opting instead for a jazz inflected take on the genre. They played around with (*gasp) counterpoint, polyrhythms, harmonic interplay and melodies.

I'm kind of starting to get a little punk-fatigue already (better brace myself for the upcoming run of the Sex Pistols etc.) but this is an interesting and engaging album that still manages to wear its attitude tattooed on its face.

Day 0002 - Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley "Elvis Presley" (1956) got it

With some of these early albums by famous artists, I almost expect them to be a bit 'meh'.  It seems like they'll sound dated (especially with this album being recorded in different studios, years apart with many of the songs coming from Elvis' early sessions at Sun) or maybe a bit embryonic with the artist still finding their feet... but this album still sounds fresh, and vital right from the off.  From the jocular swagger of "one sided love affair" to the sweet and gentle rendition of "Blue Moon".

Whenever I listen to this album I feel like "yeah, I can see why he's referred to as 'the king'."
The music is accompanied by an appropriately lively album cover that would later by referenced by the Clash for 'London Calling'

Apparently this was the first rock n roll recording to enter the billboard charts... and so that whole thing began.