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 0951 - Rejoicing in the Hands

 Devendra Banhart "Rejoicing in the Hands" (2004)

I'm 50/50 on this one.  There are some interesting sounds on here, with compositional ideas ranging from dusty Americana, Eastern influences and indie-folk.  It's a pretty stripped down record mostly centring around Banhart's high, tremulous voice and nimble guitar.    

 

On the other hand, I got a little tired of the constant count-ins at the start of every second track.  Not particularly difficult to edit out.. "yeah we get it, you're not recording in a professional studio and it's all very DIY".   Also, the stripped down sound and shortness of most of the tracks started to grate on me.  As much as I often prefer songs not to overstay their welcome, I fee like some of the songs here could have used a bit more time to connect with the listener.

In that respect, some of my favourite parts on the album are when it changes up its approach, such as penultimate track "Insect Eyes" taking around 5 minutes to make its point. "When the Sun Shone on Vetiver" provides a welcome change of sound with string arrangements mixing melodic parts with scratchy discordant strings.

"Fall" sounded familiar but I'm not sure if I've heard that song or if it' just Banhart's general sound that's familiar.

Day 0939 - The Coral

The Coral "The Coral" (2002)

What the what?!

Another situation where I was familiar with the name but for some reason assumed this band was one of the indie rock groups making the scene at the time; far from it! This album mixes a punky raucousness with melodic sensibility.  Musical control with wild abandon.  The whole thing is smothered in vocal harmonies which is something that (if you're keeping track) I love.

"Goodbye" has jazzy fusiony vamps.  "Shadows Fall" has a Specials-esque bit of moody two-tone with folky vocals that suddenly launch into a burst of hot jazz and plays out with a cool ping-pong vocal thing.  "I Remember When" moves between slow morose alt-rock and bursts into an explosive almost punky rock for the chorus and rounds out on a sort of klezmer section.

It's a definite "all sounds considered" approach that wraps in rock, folk, jazz, balladry, reggae, sea shanty, indie rock.  Music for the sake of music, and I love it!

Day 0925 - Gold

Ryan Adams "Gold" (2001)

I have to admit that my earlier prejudice against Adams (as per my write-up for "Heartbreaker", day 902) was definitely unfounded.   This is another good album, this time in an alt-country vibe with more than a few nods to the rootsy folky rock of The Band.

Adams had wanted to make it a double album but his record company cut the last few songs and offered them up as a bonus disc on some versions of the album.   They would later refuse to release albums Adams had recorded and tore 3-4 potential albums to pieces in order to put together the next album they released... so much for artistic freedom.

"Gold" is at least a collection of songs that Adams wanted to present together.   It opens with the peppy "New York, New York" which got a lot of airplay after the September 11 attacks (which occurred just a few days after Adams filmed his music video in front of the NY skyline).   "Answering Bell" sounded familiar to me, and "When the Stars go Blue" is just lovely.   

 

The last track "Goodnight, Hollywood Boulevard" seems an appropriate closer with its piano and strings putting forward an 'end of night' feel.

Day 0785 - Dookie

Green Day "Dookie" (1994) - got it

 

The band signed to a major label after their second album “Kerplunk” attracted attention from a number of labels and put the group at the centre of a minor bidding war.   This move away from independent release led to some of their punk fans labelling them “sellouts”.  I find that a bit odd really because I don’t entirely view Green Day as a pure punk band to begin with.   It’s kind of like, if punk is a shot of espresso, Green Day are a cappuccino.  You get a taste and a bit of a zing, but not the full hit.

The group produce pop-punk, in places it delves into jazzy territory, with the bass-driven "Longview"; there's more 'pure' punk with "In the End"; and an almost early-Beatles vibe (but with more distortion) in "Pulling Teeth".   Loud guitars and vocal harmonies abound throughout, with singer Billie Joe Armstrong affecting a sneery vocal that almost sounds like he's doing a British accent to give it a bit more of a Sex Pistols vibe or something.

While the band would arguably go through a period of being more focussed around Armstrong, this sounds like a band effort, with Mike Dirnt's bass often being boosted in the mix to shove it in your face.   Even hit "When I come around", Dirnt isn't just following the guitar line, he's weaving in and out of it with busy basslines.   

Drummer Tre Cool is also given plenty of space to shine, whether it's his jazzy shuffle on Longview, his speedy snare rolls and flanges on album opener "Burnout" or his bouncing, almost Cuban interlude in the middle of "In the End" (the album also closes with a secret track penned and performed by Cool).

It's not 'really' punk, but I like it.

Day 0743 - Emergency on Planet Earth

 Jamiroquai “Emergency on Planet Earth” (1993) – got it

 

Kind of like a combination of Herbie Hancock’s fusion material, and Steve Wonder… in fact, if I were to be uncharitable, I’d say that that’s pretty much all their sound is.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Jamiroquai’s tight funk grooves, danceable beats and Wonder-esque vocals, and I have a few of their releases; but I have to admit that their sound doesn’t change hugely between albums.  They might chuck in a ballad here or more of a disco influence there but generally they stick with what they know.

That aside, I could definitely understand this record and band making a splash when they first appeared.  Their music is lively, their musicians skilled, and lead-singer Jay Kay (who people forever assume is a solo artist called Jamiroquai) was a ball of big-hat-wearing energetic stage presence.

Day 0728 - The Predator

Ice Cube "The Predator" (1992)

Put "Are we there yet?" out of your mind, because this is the real Ice Cube.  Angry, confident, justifiably enraged.   Predator was released following the acquittal of police responsible for the on-camera beating of Rodney King, and the album certainly takes a look at racism and the police.

The production is bassy, beaty and interesting, with a number of collaborators (including Cypress Hill's DJ Muggs) involved.   A number of dialogue samples are mixed in, joining it all together and giving it a feeling like a whole 'album' as opposed to just a collection of songs.   All in all, another interesting early 90s rap album

Fun fact: this album is believed to be the origin of the phrase "it's on like donkey-kong".

Day 0685 - Loveless

My Bloody Valentine "Loveless" (1991)

Another enjoyable late-era shoe-gaze album.  Funnily enough, I didn't think too much of this on first listen, but then I gave it another go through headphones and it kind of clicked for me.  Not sure if this is just headphone music, or if I just needed time to get on board with it.

The band spend a lot of time (and money) experimenting with sounds and studio techniques and I'd say it's paid off.  The sounds are almost orchestral, there's a wall of sound that is most likely guitar but (full credit to them) I can't tell for sure.   There's enough melody tucked away in there as well that it's not complete drone.

Day 0675 - Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1

George Michael "Listen Without Prejudice  Vol.1" (1990)

Another excellent solo album from GM.  He was clearly still looking to show that he was more than a pretty face and a pair of short-shorts in Wham!

The album mixes jazz, gospel and West Indian influences, with a range of sonic textures and GM's strong voice soaring over it all.

Amazing voice, and his rendition of Stevie Wonder's "They won't go when I go" is a new favourite.

Unfortunately, the record did not sell as well as it's predecessor "Faith" ...though 8 million in sales sounds pretty damned good to me.  GM quarrelled with his record label, accusing them of not supporting his career.  Everyone just needs to calm the heck down!

Day 0601 - Darklands

The Jesus and Mary Chain "Darklands" (1987)

With "Darklands" J&MC move from a fuzzed-out 'shoegazer' sound, to something that almost sounds like "upbeat Joy Division".  Their drummer had left to become the lead singer of Primal Scream, so the band opted to replace him with a drum machine.  As a result of this, and I guess their general songwriting style, their songs have zero groove.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, it just means that their songs drift along like a dreamy wave heading serenely for shore, rather than like choppy surf.

I feel as though their previous album "Psychocandy" was the one that the band is better known for.  But I prefer the rolling, pulsing drone pop of "Darklands" over the fuzzy cloud of "Psychocandy".  I listened to this one 2 or 3 times and would happily spin it again.

Day 0552 - Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout "Steve McQueen" (1985)

 
Another of the literate/intellectual indie-pop sect of the 80s.  There are occasional hints of bands such as the Smiths and even Pet Shop Boys here, but musically, Prefab are pleasingly all over the map.

The album kicks off with dose of rockabilly, it veers from delicate pop to hot blooded soul-rock (not a million miles from the sound of Crowded House).  There are hints of Elvis Costello here and there, some dreamy pop, even a taste of bossa nova.

If anything, the album's weakness is that it doesn't have much of an identity.  It showcases a variety of sounds, and the songs are enjoyable, but there's nothing here that if I heard it on the radio I'd think "that definitely sounds like Prefab Sprout" like I would with other diverse bands like Ween or even 10CC.

With the album's title, legal action was taken against the band by McQueen's estate, forcing them to release the album under the title "Two Wheels Good" (maybe an Animal Farm reference?) in the US.

Day 0524 - Hearts and Bones

Paul Simon "Hearts and Bones" (1983)

Following a decline in his popularity as a solo artist, Simon reunited with Garfunkel for some successful shows.  The two of them started working on a new S&G album, but all the old arguments flared up and they broke up again.  Paul chucked Art's songs and worked some of his into a new solo album.

At the time of its release, this album didn't fare much better commercially than his recent releases, though it seems to have been reassessed with hindsight.  To me it shows hints of his next (much more successful) solo album Graceland, in that it has a good bit of groove to it and the quite '80s' sounding production.  In places, the synth laden grooves even sound a bit like that good 70s era Stevie Wonder.

It's a bit of a mixed bag, and I'd argue that the more straight-ahead mellow tracks are still his strength, such as the sombre "the late great Johnny Ace", his tribute to John Lennon.  That being said, the peppy "Cars are cars" is a fun little song, regardless of its slightly so-so lyrics.

Day 0495 - The Visitors

ABBA "The Visitors" (1981)

 
I'm a bit of an ABBA fan but I don't actually own this album.  The album feels like a bit of ABBA past/present/future in that there are sounds that they'd already made famous: the catchy songs with luscious harmonies such as on "one of us", but many of the songs dip into (for the time) the 'now' sounds of modern synthesizer.  There are hints of the future too, both in songs like "I let the music speak" which hints at the musical theatre avenues that Benny and Bjorn would explore post-ABBA; and just with a track like "the Visitors" which with its swirling soundscapes and middle-eastern flavour almost sounds like the start of a Chemical Brothers' track.

The divorces of the two couples in ABBA (and subsequent breakup of the group) render this in a slightly more sombre collection of tracks than previous albums... and to be honest, I kind of feel like the darker undertone works well to offset their natural cheesiness and naivety. 

Day 0455 - Searching for the Young Soul Rebels

Dexy's Midnight Runners "Searching for the Young Soul Rebels" (1980)

Touché 80s - the goodness continues!

Kevin Rowland and Kevin 'Al' Archer, late of the punk band 'Killjoy' formed Dexy's Midnight Runners at the tail end of the 1970s. The band's name was a reference to the 60s party drug of choice, Dexedrine.

The album opens with a confusing babble of mixed radio programme signals before these are interrupted by a raucous yell, signalling the start of the music proper. My first impression was that this would be another punky ska album (though that hadn't been my experience with the one or two DMR songs I'd heard), it turned out to be more like 'Northern soul... with guts'. Horns and backing vocals that almost have a slight hint of theatricality to their wildness.

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.