LENNONYC directed by Michael Epstein (2010)

 

Documentary films on John Lennon have always fallen flat for me as they tend to focus heavily on the more controversial aspects of his life whilst ultimately concluding with over-dramatic portrayals of his death. The scene near the end of the 1988 film Imagine showing Lennon’s glasses slowly falling before ultimately crashing into the ground and breaking into pieces while the famous final piano chord in “A Day in the Life” plays in the background is a case in point. However the 2010 film LENNONYC does none of this, and is hands down the best documentary I have seen on Lennon.

LENNONYC looks specifically at Lennon’s time in New York between 1971 and 1980, exploring all the key moments of his time there including his activism and political activity, the recording of albums such as Walls and Bridges and Double Fantasy, his Lost Weekend in LA, and the raising of his son Sean. What struck me about this film is that everything is explored with balance and without sensationalist ideas or hero worshiping which often comes with documentaries on musicians. The film does an attentive job in allowing for a fair representation of Lennon to emerge with both his good and bad attributes acknowledged fairly. The film pays homage to his political activism and the role he played in the anti-war movement, but it also acknowledges his often violent temper, womanising tendencies, and alcoholism. Part of this is helped by the quality of interviewees on display of which all were involved in Lennon’s life at some stage during his time in New York. These are the people who knew him the best and are in the best position to comment on his life during the seventies as they experienced it with him. The appearance of the people closest to Lennon including musicians, record producers, friends and of course Yoko comes as a welcome relief from annoying narrators and know it all rock writers who can often come to dominate documentaries on musical subjects.

Utilising some great archival footage including photographs and film many of which had not been seen before, as well as new interviews, LENNONYC is very well put together and is extremely insightful as it explores an often overlooked period in Lennon’s life. Yes many things from this period have been explored in detail such as the American government’s attempt to deport him, but as a whole this period has tended to be neglected, with this film being the first that I can think of that has given full attention to this wonderfully diverse and fascinating period in Lennon’s life. LENNONYC goes into more breadth and depth than any other film on John Lennon has managed to do, and at two hours long it is fair to say everything that needed to be examined is done so in detail. A highly interesting and thoroughly enjoyable music documentary on what is a fascinating story of a fascinating man.  

 

A+

- Sam

The Meters - Love Is For Me (1974)

The Meters - Rejuvenation (1974)

In the 1970s, The Meters were one of the leading rhythm & blues/funk acts doing the rounds in America at a time when there was an explosion of funk, soul and R&B going on, and acts such as Stevie Wonder, Cutis Mayfield and Parliament/Funkadelic were in their prime. Originally from New Orleans, The Meters not only performed and recorded their own energetic and highly charged style of R&B/funk, but also played as backing musicians for acts such as Dr. John and Allen Toussaint, and were amazingly talented musicians in their own right. The band’s style was heavily influenced by their home town New Orleans and was characterised by the extensive use of piano and organ, horns, and a strong emphasis placed on syncopated rhythms which gave their sound an underlying funk feel. This hybrid of funk and R&B has often been described as New Orleans R&B, and as a style was best represented on their 1974 release Rejuvenation, which is the album that I now turn.

Rejuvenation is a high class mix of funk and R&B, serving as a showcase for the individual band members and their talents as players. One thing you cannot miss when listening to this album is how good these guys are as musicians and notably how their individual talents are so important in coming together as one whole unit to create this groove based funk-R&B hybrid. There’s Art Neville’s funky keyboard playing and bluesy organ of which both feature strongly throughout, George Porter Jrs. bass playing and Zigaboo Modeliste’s drumming which gives many of the tracks a strong syncopated rhythmic feel, and Leo Nocentelli’s funky guitar. These guys lock in together so well as a band on this album that they could in fact go down as one of the tightest bands in history, a tightness and musical harmony that is best seen on the albums centrepiece “It Ain’t No Use”, a twelve minute epic that contains a seven minute free-jam section. The quality of the playing on this album means that the Neville Brothers soulful vocals are often overshadowed by the instrumental backing and don’t feature as prominently as they probably should. However with this in mind I guess apart from the really good vocalists within this genre this is probably the norm especially considering the heavy focus that is placed on instrumentation, rhythm, and free-jamming.

As individuals songs go on this album, the highlights for me included album opener “People Say”, the soulful “Love Is for Me”, “It Ain’t No Use”, and the piano driven “Loving You Is on My Mind”, however this album is less about the individual songs and more about the quality playing and musicianship. The emphasis on great song-writing or lyrical genius is minimal on here, but this is definitely excusable when you consider the singing and lyrics are pretty much just there to support the brilliant playing.  With this in mind it then comes as no real surprise that these guys were such in demand backing musicians within the R&B genre, and in many ways you could describe them as being the 1970s version of The Roots, just a thought anyway.

Although the album wasn’t a success commercially, I have no doubt it would have resonated strongly within the R&B/soul community at the time, while the band’s sound would surely have had an influence on many future soul, funk and R&B acts. This albums prominent position within the music community especially amongst critics is also seen in that it was ranked 138 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Overall Rejuvenation is a fantastic album with an immensely groovy vibe thanks to the incredible playing on display. I could not recommend it more and suggest it would be worth a listen for those into 70s R&B/funk as well as to all those who like to grove, something this album has plenty of.  

A

- Sam

J. J. Cale - Cocaine (1976)

In tribute to the legendary rock great J. J. Cale who died on Friday aged 75. He wrote and recorded the songs Cocaine and After Midnight which would be made famous by Eric Clapton, while he also recorded an album with Clapton in 2006 titled The Road to Escondido. An often overlooked songwriter and guitarist in the rock genre he will be missed. R.I.P.

The Golden Boy (La Nit performance, 1988) - Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe

An amazing performance of "The Golden Boy" in 1988 from Freddie Mercury's second solo album "Barcelona".

The saturation that is music reality television

So it’s over, New Zealand finally has its first X Factor winner in Jackie Thomas. No real surprise as she was the most consistent singer throughout the show right from her first up audition, an amazing version of the Bon Iver song “Skinny Love”. But I am not here to review the first season of X Factor in New Zealand but to talk in general about reality television music shows. Music reality TV has become completely saturated to the point of overkill. There seems to be so many different variations of essentially the same concept, that is pick someone out of obscurity and launch them into one of the craziest and toughest industries the music industry. This saturation in what is an already saturated reality TV decade lent me to the pondering of such questions as after twelve seasons of American Idol is there really that much more undiscovered talent in the US? And are these shows really about music?

Well essentially these shows aren’t really about music but are instead largely money generating activities for profit-driven television companies. Yeah sure occasionally someone can come out of one of these shows and be a success such as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and dare I say it One Direction, and yes I’m sure by going on these television shows you can get yourself good exposure as an artist even if you don’t make it “big”, whatever that means. However, the reality of these reality shows is that it is not about music. Television companies would not be pumping money in to them if they didn’t think they could get money out of them, or generate ratings in a highly competitive television market in the form of advertising, sponsorship deals etc. While major record labels such as Sony tend to play it safe with these shows by tailoring them (the shows) and the artists on them towards the mainstream pop market, meaning musical diversity is often lacking especially at the crunch stage of the competition. If you look at the majority of the winners of these shows they tend to be safe pop acts, while often the more musically interesting or out there acts tend to finish lower down. This in itself lends me to pose the idea of how these shows aren’t at all about who is the best musician or who has the best voice, but are instead about who is the most popular among the watching and voting public. But then again I guess the mainstream music industry has always been about who is the most popular.

There is also the question that with all this saturation (The Voice, X Factor, Idol, Talent) it becomes impossible that all the contestants on these shows will be able to make it in what is such a challenging industry anyway. I mean Sony and other labels only have so much money they are willing to spend and it won’t be on everyone who comes through the reality music show doors. You only have to look at people like Ruben Studdard and Ben Lummis to figure that out, both who simply faded away after winning American and New Zealand Idol respectively. Many of the singers (if you can call some of them that) on these shows would probably stand a better chance just continuing to hone their skills in bars and at small public events/festivals, while maybe going down the route of independent labels. At least this way their musical journey is largely in their own hands, while it very much becomes all about the music, and just the music. In winning these sorts of shows therein lies the risk of being constricted in what you can do as a musician under the realm of a greedy major label whose main objective is profit making.  This can often lead to the music suffering as a result and even the risk if you do not deliver financially of being dropped by the label, a move labels are prepared for as to them musicians tend to be dispensable especially when you consider that many acts turn in a loss.

In concluding this piece on reality music television, I’m not saying I hate music reality TV shows in fact they can actually be quite entertaining in parts and they do at times find some good talent. The Voice in particular I quite like with its unique format of blind auditions, constructive criticism from judges, and cross-judge support for acts unlike the heated rivalries you tend to see in shows like the X Factor. I just think there are too many of these shows and their position in society needs to be placed firmly in perspective, especially when the media and social media jump up and down when the latest winner is announced.

- Sam

Michael Jackson - Dangerous (1991)

An album as grandiose as the man himself, Michael Jackson’s 1991 release Dangerous was his eighth solo effort, fourth since his break from Motown. Taking an obscene amount of time to record (over a year) and overshadowed by the gratuitous size of the deal Jackson had signed with Sony records (a paltry $800 million dollars) , this album was intended to be a large, epic-scale blockbuster release that would dominate both the American and international markets. Being Jackson’s third consecutive #1 album and sporting seven singles (all complimented by expansive, and in some cases, full-length music videos that had heavy rotation on MTV) that either reached #1 or charted highly at different times, I’d say it got fairly close.

Marking a dramatic shift in Jackson’s career, Dangerous features absolutely no involvement with long-time collaborator and producer Quincy Jones, with Jackson himself and associates Teddy Riley and Bill Bottrell managing the album’s soundscapes instead. Eager to update his sound, Jackson drew inspiration from the ever-growing hip hop and urban dance movements within the United States, most notably ‘new jack swing’, a somewhat forgotten and maligned late-80s/early 90s fusion of hip hop and aspects of contemporary R&B music with artificially produced beats. Riley, a spearhead of the new jack swing explosion through the 1980s (most notably as a producer for Bobby Brown) was the ideal candidate to take the helm. Through his inclusion as co-producer, Jackson was also free to include more personal, intimate subject matter in his music, including messages promoting global unity and racial equality.

Continuing the trend of his album openers being energetic numbers suited for the dance floor, “Jam” immediately introduces Jackson’s audiences to his newly acquired sound, featuring hip hop-style scratching alongside a bursting horn sample, a somewhat understated funk-driven guitar riff, a cameo verse by New York rapper and Riley affiliate Heavy D and a few curious sonic inclusions, from sleigh bells to breaking glass. But what gives the track a real shot of adrenalin are Jackson’s vocals, delivering the refrain “Jam” in short, aggressive bursts with as much emphasis as the beat, setting the tone for much of the album.

Jackson’s superb ability as a craftsman of the pop single couldn’t be more apparent in “Remember the Time”, and despite how antiquated the beat is, it easily has the most infectious hook on the entire album – “Do you remember the tiiiiiime / When we fell in love”, it’s only flaw being that it follows three tracks that share its sound, but not its quality. It’s also the first instance on Dangerous of Jackson fully returning to his iconic singing style, operating in a passionate, softer tone which is a comfortable fit in a track like this. Jackson’s singing continues in a similar vein in “Heal the World”, an innocently optimistic, sombre ballad that is a welcome change in pace and production, making use of acoustic guitar, mellow synthesisers, an evocative string section and a well-placed choir arrangement.

Paying tribute to the re-emergence of mainstream guitar-driven music around the era of Dangerous, “Black or White” reasserts Jackson’s ability to keep pace with shifts in musical trends as opposed to falling into obscurity like some of his contemporaries from the 1980s. Featuring one of the most easily recognisable guitar riffs in pop music, “Black or White” is one of those peculiar songs that for all intents and purposes should have aged at least a little, but still holds up courtesy of Bill Bottrell’s driving guitar work and Jackson’s emphatic, inspired vocals. I was pleased to find through research that the rap verse was not performed by Macauly Kulkin, but rather Bottrell himself (credited as L.T.B.), and is easily the only rap cameo on Dangerous that actually seems to contribute in a meaningful way.

Dangerous is perhaps at its most ambitious in “Will You Be There”, which completely breaks convention in the form of a rousing prelude by the Cleveland Orchestra performing a section of Beethoven’s 9^th, eventually making way for a haunting chorale interlude. It’s not until the 2 minute mark that the track really kicks off with a rumbling, repetitive rhythm supplied by tribal-esque drumming, choral hums and vocals by Jackson at his emotive best – this is my personal highlight of the album, and I promise that has nothing to do with Free Willy. Honest. I can’t imagine why this wasn’t picked as the album closer, as it easily outshines “Keep the Faith”, “Gone Too Soon” and the title track for impact.

But ultimately, it’s artificial and dated sounds that dominate the somewhat bloated Dangerous, unlike the much more refined and authentic funk/disco-oriented grooves of Off the Wall and Thriller. If there’s one definite inclining trend through Jackson’s discography it’s the scale of production, increasingly evident through Bad to this album. When Dangerous does scale back its production though, it’s at its strongest (“Heal the World” and “Will You Be There” in particular) but sadly there’s too much new jack swing, not enough Jackson – often in this album, his singing presence is overpowered by the beat (which I suspect is the fault of bad mixing), which proves to be bizarre and dissatisfying especially if you approach a Michael Jackson album expecting… Michael Jackson. But what can’t be denied is the album’s passion, whether it’s the defiance of “Jam”, the sensuality of “In the Closet” or the conviction of “Black or White”, Dangerous is Michael Jackson letting loose, unbridled and enjoying rare moments of sanctuary from the limelight and a frantically obsessed media, proving to be a listening experience that is undoubtedly flawed, yet still unique and raw.

B-

-Karl

Listen to Dangerous on Grooveshark

The Doors - The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat) (1971)

The Doors - L.A. Woman (1971)

L.A. Woman was The Doors sixth studio album and their final album with Jim Morrison. Released in 1971, L.A. Woman is very much a back to basics/return to roots album, a road that many bands were going down during the years 1969 to 1972 almost as a response to the somewhat out of control nature of 60s psychedelic music, not to mention an opportunity to revisit past influences. Although the bands brand of psychedelic rock which they had become notable for remains across this album, the music on here takes in other styles as well ranging from funk on “The Changeling” to blues rock on tracks such as “Been Down So Long” and the slithery hypnotic “Crawling King Snake”.

L.A. Woman for me captures the band at their musical best and contains many of their greatest songs. Fans and critics alike respond glowingly to the material on their debut album and so they should with tracks such as “Light My Fire” and “Break on Through”, but some of the tracks on L.A. Woman are right up there with those songs and others in the bands catalogue. Just some of the tracks that standout on this album include the psychedelic dance of “Love Her Madly”, the moody jazz like psychedelia of “Riders On The Storm” a magnum opus like moment if ever there was one, and the raunchy driving rock of title track “L.A. Woman” where Morrison croons about the city he loves. Even Morrison’s spoken word poetry gets an airing on “The WASP”, an amazing psychedelic stomp that combines the sounds of bluesy organ and marching drums with Morrison’s take on 1950s Mexican border blaster radio stations; an experimental piece for them, but a good one at that.

L.A. Woman does a fantastic job in showcasing the quintessential Doors sound and provides a snapshot of all the key elements of what makes a Doors album. There’s the masterful playing of Ray Manzarek (R.I.P) whose keyboard playing is the centre of the band’s sound and is what gives the songs that classic eerie psychedelic feeling that often has the effect of taking you the listener to another place and the songs to another dimension. There’s also Robbie Krieger’s guitar playing a style almost Spanish like in parts with his carefully crafted solos and subtle rhythm playing, he is a man who plays for the song not himself and boy does it sound good.

And then of course there is Morrison, by this stage a troubled soul battling with addiction although you wouldn’t know on listening as he croons, speaks, and swaggers his way through the album. His vocal style of Sinatra meets Elvis meets Delta blues man lends itself so well to The Doors style of psychedelic rock, not to mention his own diverse lyrical influence on the songs, lyrics that include themes ranging from king snakes to Greek gods. If there is any album that best exemplifies why Morrison was one of the greatest singers in rock it surely is this one. The unfortunate sub-context to this albums release was the fact that Morrison would die roughly three months after the album’s release in July 1971. Had he lived the future of the band was have also been possibly up in the air as they had cancelled the tour in support of the album after only two dates when Morrison suffered a breakdown on stage, while by the time of the album’s release Morrison had left America for France, seemingly for good.

For me L.A. Woman is along with their self titled debut The Doors best album, it best represents the band’s sound, while it is also consistent throughout in terms of the songs on display. It showcases all of the bands styles from jazz to blues to psychedelia and probably most notably marks the final point in Jim Morrison’s musical journey with the band and his final musical statement. A must have album for any Doors fan and anybody into psychedelic rock of the late-60s period.

 

A

 

- Sam

George Harrison - Run Of The Mill (1970)

George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970)

 

Released in November 1970, All Things Must Pass was George Harrison’s first solo album and represented an album of mammoth proportions in the form of a triple album, as much a rarity then as it is now. The decision to release the album in the form of three discs was in many ways down to the backlog of songs Harrison had developed during the last years of The Beatles, many of which were demoed for possible release on Beatles albums but were eventually turned down in favour of Lennon/McCartney compositions. Harrison’s desire to record and hence release many of these songs meant his first solo album was more than likely going to be a lengthy album and eventually totalled eighteen songs and five studio jams, twenty-three tracks in total.  Harrison’s disappointment at not being given more of a chance to showcase himself as a songwriter in The Beatles ensured this first up solo effort would be a magic collection of songs, as he put his heart and soul into the recording process in an effort to prove people of his worth as a songwriter, and to show that he could survive on his own as a musician.

Musically, All Things Must Pass is quite a varied album and encompasses a wide range of styles from folk, rock, pop, soul and country. In summing up the sound of the album Rolling Stone described it as “Wagnerian, and the music of mountain tops and vast horizons”, an interesting description but probably fitting for the music on display. To achieve this sound Harrison drew on an impressive array of musicians (twenty-five in all) to record this album and included Eric Clapton on guitar, Ringo Starr on drums, Billy Preston on keyboards, and members of Delaney & Bonnie. The influence of The Band is quite prominent in some areas, with many of the songs having a loose rootsy feel to them thanks largely to the appreciation Harrison had gained of their music when he spent time with them during 1968 and 1969. The songs on the album tend to fall between beautiful melodic ballads and folk tunes “I’d Have You Anytime” and wall of sound rock epics “Let It Down”, the latter down to the influence of Phil Spector who produced the album. Spector’s influence looms large across the album with the rock heavy songs tending to be overproduced with massive amounts of reverb and layers upon layers of horns and guitars, something Harrison was indifferent towards considering many of the songs started off as simple acoustic based pieces.

What makes this a great album for me is the underlying melodic beauty of the songs many of which just hum to you as you listen, offering a chance to reflect whilst also warming the soul. I say this without meaning to be pretentious as this exactly the feeling you get when listening to this album, it is an utterly beautiful piece of music pretty much all the way through with little things such as George Harrison’s slide guitar sounding actually rather comforting. I was also taken back by the quality of Harrison’s song writing and his own personal musical style as a solo artist. It was significant to me to see how he would sound on his own as he had shown glimpses of quality song writing in The Beatles but had always remained in the shadows of Lennon and McCartney. Luckily he passed this hurdle with more than flying colours showing that maybe his fellow Beatles should have given him more scope to show off his song writing than they did, particularly in the later years.

The quality of this album is such that the only real criticism I have of the album is the third side of jams which to me appear unnecessary and do not compliment the rest of the album in any way. They really are for fans only, and you would only really listen to them once or twice especially given that one of the jams comes in at over eleven minutes. Apart from this minor criticism every song on the album is a beauty and not skippable by any stretch.

All Things Must Pass is an amazing musical statement by an often underrated musician. It is beautifully melodic in some places, hard edged and fierce in others, representing a musical journey of spiritual proportions through rock, pop, folk, soul and country. It is one of my favourite albums, one of the best 70s albums, the best Beatles solo album, and a must for any Beatles fan. So my advice would be to get it, GET IT NOW.

 

A+

 

- Sam

Spotify in the headines

http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-spotify-debate-a-new-artist-weighs-in

Interesting debate starting on the merits of Spotify for new and emerging artists. Do they get a fair deal financially from having their work on Spotify?

- Sam

The Faces - Had Me A Real Good Time (1971)

The Faces - Good Boys...When They're Asleep (1999)

Formed in 1969 out of the remnants of the Small Faces, The Faces are one of the forgotten bands of the 1970s appearing it seems in the shadow of the likes of The Stones and The Who. The band was made up of ex-Small Faces Ronnie Lane (bass), Kenny Jones (drums) and Ian McLagan (keyboards), and ex-Jeff Beck Group members Ronnie Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart (vocals). As a band they were together until 1975, releasing four studio albums and touring widely, whilst gaining a reputation as heavy partiers and boozers, I guess it was the 70s after all.

The bands style was very much rock and roll derived and is often labelled as boogie rock; however their sound also contained soul, R&B, and even folk influences. The band’s sound relied heavily on the brilliant individual talents of the members, musicians who were great players in their own right and who are often overlooked on those greatest players of all time lists in favour of more recognisable or fancier names. The key aspects of The Faces sound included the very tight rhythm section of Jones and Lane, with the underrated Lane’s heavy rolling bass lines holding the bottom end of the sound together. He was very much a lead bass player. Ronnie Wood who being the only guitarist got the chance to show off his talent more than he would in The Stones, and in doing so proved how good a guitarist he is with some amazing solos and slick rhythm playing. I wasn’t going to mention Rod, but his soulful vocals are a key component and not to be overlooked. In fact in my opinion he sounds far and away better vocally in this band than he did as a solo artist, this could be largely to do with the calibre of musicians he was playing with, as well as the sharing of song-writing duties with Lane and Wood leading to a more diverse range of styles to play with as a vocalist.  

This brings me to the album. The compilation Good Boys... When They’re Asleep was released in 1999 and is a true representation of The Faces sound and career. Everything that is worth hearing is on here including all their best tracks as well as some lesser known songs. The highlights for me include the boogie rock of “Had Me a Real Good Time” and “Miss Judys Farm”, the soul balladry of “Love Lives Here” and the country/folk tinged “Debris” and “Glad and Sorry” which both feature the Harrisonesque Ronnie Lane on vocals. Across the nineteen tracks you get a good indication of the bands boogie laden sound, while the moments when they delved into other areas namely folk and soul are also on display showing that they weren’t just a one trick pony.

This is a great compilation of a great band, and represents to me what a compilation should be, not a greatest hits collection but a best of taking in all their good moments hit or otherwise. Too many compilations in my opinion are just loaded up with hits or recognisable songs often at the expense of lesser-known but just as good material. Luckily this release doesn’t fall into that trap and is a thorough representation of the artist on show. This compilation is a must have for anyone who wants to get into one of the great 70s British bands. I would also recommend it for Stones and Who fans and those into British rock, because if you haven’t listened to The Faces yet you are missing out on a rear treat.

A

- Sam

Blondie - Blondie (1976)

Giving punk rock catchy and accessible pop twists before it was cool, Blondie's 1976 debut eponymous LP earned the group its rightful reputation as one of the central front-runners in punk’s transition towards ‘new wave’, exploding from the underground New York punk scene with a band and frontwoman capable of taking them to inevitable commercial success in later years.

Produced by former Brill Building songwriter Richard Gottehrer, Blondie is in many ways a tribute to the Phil Spector-era of pop music, flaunting tight and polished soundscapes not too dissimilar from the band’s New York punk contemporaries. Evoking the spirit of 60s girl groups, the opening number and lead single “X Offender” begins with a sultry spoken intro by lead singer Debbie Harry, a la The Shangri-Las or The Angels, which quickly escalates into a flurry of energetic organs, rapid drums and relentless rhythm and electric guitar. The B-side of that single, “In the Flesh” is another ode to early 60s bubblegum pop, a soothing ballad with light, breezy vocals by Harry featuring double-tracked “Ooooooh” refrains, and by pure accident (mistakenly played in Australia over the A-side) would be their very first charting single.

There are more than a few surprises in this album though, with Debbie Harry in “A Shark in Jets Clothing” taking on the persona of a character from West Side Story, utilising posse-style finger snaps and a buzzing overlay of synths from keyboardist Jimmy Destri. “Man Overboard” shuffles along courtesy of guitarists Chris Stein (lead, rhythm) and Gary Valentine (bass) brimming with funk, balanced out by Harry’s airy vocals that give it a distinct pop edge. Destri, as he often does throughout this record, really shines with a brief erratic synth solo, and not to be outdone, Stein matches it with a solo of his own. Debbie Harry’s famously cocky and alluring persona really comes to the fore in the third single “Rip Her to Shreds”, almost goading an imaginary disapproving audience into having a go at her - “She’s so dull / Come on, rip her to shreds”

What’s particularly striking about Blondie is that despite working very much within a pop framework, it’s still undoubtedly a punk album in nature, perhaps not in the instrumentation but rather the daringly explicit subject matter. “X Offender” details a prostitute’s attempts at seducing a policeman, “Look Good in Blue” has a rather saucy refrain by Debbie Harry, who lingers on the first part of “I could give you some head and shoulders to lie on”, and “Attack of the Giant Ants” is an absurd, rollicking tribute to the cult-like genre of monster movies, with drummer Clement Burke furiously providing a beat worthy of an apocalypse and Harry nonchalantly broadcasting the demise of Earth, complete with a soundbite of people fleeing in horror. I can’t think of anything more punk than a song describing giant ants melting people’s faces off.

Blondie epitomises what made the punk movement so liberating, in that there were no boundaries, limits or restrictions on what could be done, even if what was recorded wasn’t really punk at all (save “Kung Fu Girls”) so long as there was attitude, which is in abundance on this record. In the following years, punk contemporaries would continue to progress, adapting and bringing in additional sounds to their work, most notably The Clash (reggae, ska, hip hop) yet Blondie would surprisingly enough see one of their hits becoming a staple in the era of disco revival (“Heart of Glass”) as well as the unlikely achievement of being the first Caucasian group to have a #1 rap single (“Rapture”). Blondie definitely captures the band’s unapologetically exuberant and youthful style of early new wave, arguably not quite as refined as on the acclaimed Parallel Lines release, but still mightily fun and enjoyable either way.

B+

-Karl

Listen to Blondie on Grooveshark

Gil Scott-Heron - Save The Children (1971)

Gil Scott-Heron - Pieces of a Man (1971)

For a long time I had heard of Gil Scott-Heron, and was aware of the influence he had on the development of hip-hop with politicised spoken word songs such as “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. So with this in mind I went in to the listening of his seminal 1971 release Pieces of a Man thinking of hearing a spoken word literary masterpiece, but was pleasantly surprised at what greeted me in the form of a chill out jazz-soul album. It is fair to say I was not expecting this considering his reputation as a spoken word poet, but apart from the opening track, the influential “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” this is an album largely free of spoken word tracks and instead is a musical fusion of jazz, blues and soul, and boy is it good.

Scott-Heron’s fusion of these styles is something he referred to as “bluesology”, or the science of how things feel, and on Pieces of a Man he combines politically and socially charged lyrics with free spirited jazz arrangements and soulful vocals. The sound on the album is characterised by a largely mellow instrumentation with jazzy-funk guitar, floating electric piano, a tight rhythm section, and sexy sax. There is even a wonderful addition in the form of the flute, which gives the songs a lighter touch to their sometimes dark subject matter, while also acting as a counter to Scott-Heron’s deep soulful vocals. The songs themselves are quite loose both in terms of the vocals and the playing, with free jazz arrangements combining nicely with Scott-Heron’s vocals in allowing the subject matter of the lyrics to come to the surface. The loose nature of the instrumental backing also ensures that often Scott-Heron sounds as if he is singing a capella, with his vocals floating seamlessly on top of the backing track. This loose feel is at play across the album but is most evident on songs such as “Save the Children”, “Lady Day and John Coltrane” and “When You Are Who You Are”, some of the highlights of the album for me song wise.

Although the album was not a commercial success, it has since gone on to garner a very strong legacy and gain a reputation as being a masterful and influential work. The albums influence has especially been seen on the dance, hip-hop, and neo-soul genres, in particular how Scott-Heron blended together different styles of music something that at the time was quite original but would become more and more common throughout the 1970s. Mixing, sampling, spoken word, and loose free jazz instrumentation are just some of the things that were later influenced by Scott-Heron and that would form the basis of the music of many artists from other genres following this albums release.

Pieces of a Man is a very good album and is great for chill out listening all year round. It is an enjoyable listen especially the loose jazz-soul playing on display, and from my perspective is a comforting album that has the effect of warming the soul. Well worth a listen.

 

A-

 

- Sam

Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash - Girl from the North Country (1969)

Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline (1969)

Released in 1969 during the height of flower power Nashville Skyline was completely removed from much of everything else that was going on musically at the time and saw Bob Dylan build on the rootsy sound of his previous release 1967s John Wesley Harding as he moved head first into country music, leaving behind his politically charged folk anthems in the process.

Nashville Skyline is a very warm and friendly album, and has a strong homely feel to it. The music on the album is unthreatening lyrically and musically very much unlike Dylan’s earlier folk material as he attempts a radical change of direction in his music. Coming in the wake of his motorcycle accident in 1966, Dylan’s change of direction musically seems to have fallen in line with his new perspective on life where he became a more private family man. He also began to publically distance himself from the political and social unrest of the late-1960s and from the counter-culture, especially the tag of being seen as the spokesmen for a generation to which he responded “I wasn’t the toastmaster of any generation”. The state of mind Dylan seemingly was in during this period comes across in the tranquil-like music on Nashville Skyline, while country music was the perfect genre for him in which to retreat into his thoughts and reflect on his feelings.

On this album Dylan surrounds himself with in demand Nashville country players a move which I feel translates into an I play, you follow ethos on the album. What I mean by this is that the backing musicians are simply there to serve the song rather than to display their virtuosity on their instrument. These simple country songs don’t lend themselves to solos or amazing displays of musicianship, with Dylan very much going for simplicity over any form of musical statement. The album contains a mixture of soft country ballads and up-tempo tracks, while the only real display of musicianship from his reputable Nashville musicians occurs in the form of instrumental “Nashville Skyline Rag”. Although the album as a coherent whole flows nicely from song to song, the songs that stand out for me include the opening track “Girl from the North Country” which features Johnny Cash on vocals, one of the few up-tempo songs on the album “To Be Alone with You” and album closer “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You”. Dylan’s voice is also a pleasant surprise as he switches to a country crooning style taking many fans by surprise. On first listen he sounds unrecognisable in comparison to his folk twang that made him famous, but after a few songs his voice begins to grow on you as it gives off this warm soothing sound well suited to the short and sweet songs, and the country style of the album.

Although the style of the album was a surprise to many, Dylan was lauded by critics for this album especially for going down a completely different avenue musically. Nashville Skyline went on to become one of his best-selling albums and had a direct influence on the development of country rock during the early-70s. This reaction was quite ironic considering Dylan wanted more privacy and less attention at this time and what he got instead with this album was the exact opposite in the form of praise from music critics and commercial success. This albums release led to an increased interest in Dylan and his music, his whereabouts, and what his next move would be, the sort of heightened attention that resulted in his highly anticipated set at the 1969 Isle of White Festival, his first concert in three years. Nashville Skyline is a very fine album and is one of Dylan’s best, marking the moment where he left behind his political folk songs for a more self-reflective sound that he would continue with for much of his career. It is a very soothing album musically, which is not always the case for Dylan who can be a hard listen at times, and has an underlying relaxing quality to it allowing listeners to drift off. I thoroughly recommend it to Dylan fans, country rock fans, and those that like to chill out and relax to music.

 

Very High A-

 

- Sam

Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain (2003)

Perhaps the most notoriously enigmatic masked rapper that hip hop has ever seen, Daniel Dumille (better known as MF DOOM) embarked on his second side project album in 2003, this time under the pseudonym Viktor Vaughn with a release titled Vaudeville Villain.

Previously in Dumille’s releases both responsibilities of rapping and producing were handled by the man himself, but Vaudeville Villain sees a few of his collaborators handling the beats, allowing the masked villain to fully concentrate his efforts on throwing down verses. This is exactly what he does during the album's first few seconds on “Vaudeville Villain”, which simply contains one long, sprawling verse of abstract and comedic rhymes. Viktor Vaughn showcases a kind of intellectually pop-cultured brag through the track, as well as firing shots at other mainstream acts – “Viktor the director flip a script like Rob Reiner / The way a lotta dudes rhyme their name should be ‘knob shiner’” There are other rhymes throughout Vaudeville Villain which I’m sure only operate to trigger confused reactions from listeners, especially this couplet near the end of “The Drop” – “Woopdie-do flows do fifty like a hooptie do / Groupie crews try to figure out from which coop he flew”

Initially Vaudeville Villain seems to have a vague theme of introducing Vaughn’s character, whereas the second half loosely references Dumille’s past. And typical of a MF DOOM release, the verses are filled with abstract references, bizarre rhyming patterns and a flow that is impressively consistent through all 14 tracks that Viktor Vaughn leads on. Dumille also makes a point to his mainstream counterparts in 2003, that hooks and choruses aren’t always necessary to create memorable numbers – Vaudeville Villain is 100% verses. As the album progresses, we become more and more aware of Viktor Vaughn’s subtle, insidious manner, especially on “Let Me Watch” where Vaughn goes on a date with his “cousin’s friend’s friend” and despite the two having feelings for one another, Vaughn ruins everything by trash-talking her. The track ends with ‘Nikki’ stating “I’d rather masturbate than fuck with Vik Vaughn”, and rather than be insulted by such a statement, Vaughn demands “Let me watch”, hinting at his true intentions.

The traditional, old-school drum sample-heavy production style on Vaudeville Villain is really just a formality, a different yet fitting approach for Dumille who manages to adapt and ride the beats without really noticeably changing his style. And unlike other DOOM-related efforts, the obscure television sound bites (which at times in his other releases intrude on particular tracks and spoil the flow) are thankfully kept to a minimum. With the beats firmly taking a back seat, often it’s not the production that catches the ear but rather Viktor Vaughn’s rapping, either through an interesting rhyme or his appealing, appropriately paced style of delivery. There are times when the beats do become more prominent though, most notably in the mesmerisingly glitchy “Raedawn” and the infectious combination of horns, strings and drums in “Saliva”, handled by renowned producer RJD2.

In Vaudeville Villain are some of the most relentless, humorous and lasting examples of rhyming and vocal delivery in hip hop’s history, understandable given that Dumille was just about at the peak of his powers – 2004 would see the release of acclaimed releases MM…Food (as MF DOOM) and Madvillainy (a collaboration with revered underground producer Madlib), and in 2005 he would also work with Gorillaz on their release Demon Days and Danger Mouse in The Mouse and the Mask. Despite the laidback production being refreshingly appropriate in a MF DOOM release, the way the album progresses is a little uneven at times, with a few tracks seeming unnecessary (particularly the “Open Mic Night” numbers), but it’s still a damn entertaining album even considering its somewhat abstract nature, and is perfectly accessible. At the very least you’ll be walking away from Vaudeville Villain with several handfuls of memorable rhymes, some of which may require rabid clicking of the replay button.

B+

-Karl

Listen to Vaudeville Villain Grooveshark

Franz Ferdinand - Right Action (Official Video) (2013)

Franz Ferdinand have released their new video for single Right Action. The song is off their new album which is dropping later in the year. On first listen it has an early Franz Ferdinand feel to it which in my opinion is a good thing, while one thing to note is that the video is directed by the same guy who directed the Take Me Out video.

Humble Pie - The Sad Bag Of Shaky Jake (1969)

Humble Pie - Town and Country (1969)

Formed in 1969, Humble Pie was an English rock band led by ex-Small Faces singer-guitarist Steve Marriott and a very young yet-to-be famous Peter Frampton. Very much in the line of contemporary acts like The Faces, The Who and Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie never really achieved the recognition and success of their peers but did release a few good albums in the period between 1969 and 1975,  whilst also building a reputation as a strong live act.

One of their earlier more experimental albums was 1969s Town and Country, their second release and one of their best works. Stylistically Town and Country was very different from the hard rock sound Humble Pie became known for in the early-70s and contained an eclectic mix of acoustic folk, rock and roll, and boogie rock. In fact the album was very much in the mould of their live shows at the time which contained an acoustic set followed directly by an electric set, with softer tracks interspersed with heavier guitar-driven material. This album much like the band itself was very much a showcase for Frampton and Marriott to display their talents, the former who would go on to establish a successful career as a classic rock staple in the mid-70s, and the latter who had a reputation to live up to in the form of one of the 60s most loved bands the Small Faces. And showcase their talents they did,  Frampton’s acoustic guitar playing is incredibly layered and very much like that of the great English folk players of the early-60s, while he gets a chance to display his vocal qualities on tracks such as “Home and Away” and “Take Me Back”. Because Frampton sings solo on several of the tracks and on occasion in unison with Marriott, we hear less of Marriott and his amazing vocal prowess. A shame considering he possessed one of the greatest voices to come out of Britain. But when he does let rip on songs such as the soulful “Cold Lady” and the rock and roll boogie of “Sad Bag of Shaky Jake” his vocal delivery just oozes soul and gospel and is definitely one of the highlights of the album. The singing on bonus track “Wrist Job” is out of this world, with Marriott not only singing like a man possessed with that gravely soulful voice of his but also showcasing his ability on the Hammond organ with a blistering solo. Why this track missed the final cut for the album is hard to fathom.

One criticism I do have of Town and Country is that there is probably a little too much in the way of acoustic/folk tracks for my liking, especially as the more rockier tracks are of such good quality and not to mention Marriot’s background as a great R&B singer. In some places the acoustic numbers have a tendency to drift along without doing much to the point that it gets a bit laborious to listen to, but I guess when you consider that the folk sound on display is most unlike them musically we can accuse this and evidently credit them for experimenting this early on in their career.

Although Town and Country did not do anything commercially, it gave a good insight into the bands developing sound, as well as their folk and rock and roll influences. Also from my perspective it is a more enjoyable listen than some of their later albums where they do get very heavy in gravitating towards a hard rock sound. I think the combination of acoustic-folk with rock and roll tracks gives the album plenty of balance and some nice diversity something that their later work tended to lack on occasion. I believe Town and Country holds up pretty well alongside some of the more popular albums from the period and is worth a listen if you are into British rock from the late-60, early-70s.

 

B+

 

- Sam

Lou Reed - Satellite of Love (1972)

Lou Reed - Transformer (1972)

Transformer was the second student album Lou Reed released as a solo artist coming on the back of his work in the late 60s with the highly influential band the Velvet Underground. Released in 1972, Transformer was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and saw Reed become very much associated with the burgeoning glam rock scene of the mid-70s both visually and musically. Reeds work with the Velvet Underground had been a strong musical influence on many of the acts within this scene including Bowie himself, Iggy Pop, and the New York Dolls therefore it wasn’t much of a surprise that one of the scenes leading lights got involved in the making of this record.  

Musically, Transformer contains a mixture of mid and up-tempo rockers with driving Chuck Berry-like guitar, and slower songs that focus more on the subject matter of the lyrics rather than melody, or musicianship. Some examples of the heavier rock tracks include the guitar driven “Hangin Round” and album opener “Vicious” that was influenced by Andy Warhol, while the slower more lyrically focussed songs include “Make Up” which is a mini-commentary on the glam scene itself and album closer “Goodnight Ladies” which is a sleazy jazz influenced track. The album also contains some of Reeds most well known songs, notably the slow ballad “Perfect Day”, “Walk on the Wild Side” which touches on subjects such as trans-sexuality, male prostitution and drugs, and “Satellite of Love” which features Bowie himself on backing vocals.

At first glance Transformer appears very much like a standard glam rock album, but in certain areas things stand out which set the album apart from some of the other stuff from the period. Notably for me the use of a tuba on several songs, a quite brilliant jazz arrangement complete with sax and tuba on “Goodnight Ladies”, and the appearance throughout the album of female singing trio The Thunderthighs. The structure and arrangement of signature tune “Walk on the Wild Side” is also quite interesting and appears quite experimental and different from anything else on the album. Reed mixes things up on this track by including everything from a driving double bass line, quietly played acoustic guitar, subtle strings, and a sexy sax solo for good measure. This harks back to his Velvet days, in particular how Reed was very much an experimenter with music, a musician who was willing to try different sounds and play around with arrangements on tracks.

Transformer is considered to be Reeds greatest solo album and a 70s classic, while Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it 194 on their list of the 500 greatest albums. It was the moment when Reed broke away from his Velvet Underground roots and went out on a limb musically to establish himself as his own musician and as a solo artist, a move which would hold him in good stead for the rest of the decade at least. Yes Lou Reed will always be remembered for his work with the Velvets, but this album is testament to his credentials as a solo artist and is definitely up there with the work he had done previously in the confines of a group. A fun listen all and all, with some very interesting musical moments.

 

A very high A-

 

- Sam

Sam Cooke - Night Beat (1963)

Recorded in the ludicrously short space of three nights, Sam Cooke’s 1963 release Night Beat is a surprisingly powerful presence among the work of arguably the greatest soul singer to have ever lived. Compared to Cooke’s previous releases and electric live performances of the era, Night Beat is a deceptively titled and illustrated album that features ‘Mr. Soul’ at his most intimate, personal and melancholy.

Aided by some of the best session musicians of the era, Night Beat combines raw blues, soft rhythm and blues arrangements and gospel-style organs (played by a 16 year old Billy Preston) that all simply act as vassals for Cooke’s characteristically sublime, smooth vocals that are at times heart-wrenchingly emotional and powerful. The album’s A-side is particularly compelling, with the tracks “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen”, “Lost and Lookin’”, “Mean Old World”, “Please Don’t Drive Me Away” and “I Lost Everything” being among the best of Cooke’s work, but the first half’s finale “Get Yourself Another Fool” is soulful blues at its best, with Billy Preston’s organ playing invoking the typically passionate aura of church gospel, Barney Kessell following Cooke’s verses with sublime, bluesy electric guitar and Cooke himself brilliantly inflecting the sorrowful sort of disillusionment after a breakup, with the refrain “Use me for a tool / Get yourself another fool”.

However, common for a pop album released in the early 1960s, Night Beat does contain obvious radio singles that distinctly feel out of place, the perpetrators being the B-side’s cover songs “Little Red Rooster”, “You Gotta Move” and particularly the closing track “Shake Rattle and Roll”, where Cooke almost sounds uncomfortable covering Big Joe Turner’s classic in the context of the album. Seeing as it was an industry standard at the time to prioritise and promote radio singles over album content, I can’t really fault it here – besides, they’re all perfectly enjoyable songs in their own right.

Even considering its slight unevenness due to the easily distinguishable radio singles, Night Beat is a captivating record, sharing the same type of sorrow and despondence as Frank Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours, despite the arrangements of both releases being at polar opposites. The significant shift in tone on this album in a way acts as the archetype for Cooke’s later work, an obvious comparison being 1964's civil rights staple “A Change is Gonna Come”, a ballad tinged with sadness and optimism which uses similar arrangements as on Night Beat.

Don’t let the cover of Night Beat fool you with its zany, wonky 60s typeface, it doesn't do its content any justice. On first glance Cooke’s slight smile seems beguiling as well, but there’s definitely a hint of tiredness and sadness in his expression that becomes easier to identify after listening to the album. Night Beat is one of the truly unique early 60s pop albums that doesn't play like singles padded with filler, and is easily among the more impressive soul releases, and I daresay even blues releases. Fans of Sam Cooke’s renowned songs, particularly his singles, should visit Night Beat as their next port of call, an ideal night-time listen that contains a powerfully poignant side to 'Mr. Soul' unheard elsewhere in his work.

A

-Karl

Listen to Night Beat on Grooveshark

The Waterboys - And a Bang on the Ear (1988)

A great song from often overlooked British folk rockers The Waterboys. One of the best bands to come out of the 80s/90s folk revival.

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Traffic - Empty Pages (1970)

Traffic - John Barleycorn Must Die (1970)

Traffic was a band that flew under the radar during the late-60s and into the early-70s, and was not as big commercially speaking as some of their more famous contemporaries. Why? I don’t know as they not only had one of the best soul/R&B singers to ever come out of England in Steve Winwood, but also released some dam fine albums of which John Barleycorn Must Die was one.

Released in 1970, this album originally started as a Steve Winwood solo project as at this point Traffic was still disbanded after Winwood ended the group in order to form Blind Faith with Eric Clapton. But because of a burning desire to play with like-minded musicians, Winwood called on ex-Traffic members Jim Capaldi (drums/percussion) and Chris Wood (sax/flute) to work with him, and henceforth the project became a full on Traffic reunion and album. Stylistically, John Barleycorn was a massive step away from their previous psychedelic pop sound towards a more jazz and R&B influenced sound, and as an album was one of the earlier examples of jazz fusion, also known as jazz rock.

The jazz fusion sound the band was trying to create is best exemplified by the first two tracks on the record. The opening track “Glad” which is also an instrumental is a free jazz jam complete with sax flourishes and a jazzy piano riff, while “Freedom Rider” one of the standout tracks on the album is an intense fusion of R&B and jazz and features Chris Wood’s masterful flute playing. Both of these tracks also contain Winwood’s amazingly superb Hammond organ and piano playing, something that is a definite highlight of the record and is the main driver behind a lot of the songs. In order to get the jazz fusion style they were after, it is worth noting that this is not a guitar album by any means, with the music on the album very much based around piano, organ, flute and sax, with guitar by in large playing a secondary role. The Second side of the album is less jazzy and I guess more rocky with “Stranger To Himself”, the pastoral acoustic folk of “John Barlycorn Must Die” a traditional English folk song which offers a nice break from the heavy jazz and R&B, and album closer the anthemic “Every Mother’s Son” with its swirling psychedelic organ solo and classic rock guitar riff. John Barlycorn Must Die is not a lengthy album with only six songs on it, but the denseness of the tracks with four coming in at over six minutes, as well as the jazzy instrumental nature of the songs compensates for this and ensures the album is probably the right length for the material on display.

On its release the album went to number five in the US and helped establish the band on the highly lucrative touring rock circuit during the early seventies. It also marked the bands high point commercially becoming their first gold selling record. Although it is quite removed from their early work, I think John Barleycorn Must Die is Traffic’s best album and best represents their unique sound, with all of their influences from jazz to folk coming to play. The musicianship and playing on this record is first class, while the overall fusion style of jazz, R&B, rock and even folk is incredibly groovy in places, especially during the free jam breaks where Winwood especially comes into his own.  A great early-seventies album and well worth a listen for those into groovy jazz/R&B styled music, fusion genres, and 70s British rock.

 

A

 

- Sam