This week on anniversary albums we took a look at The Beatles classic album "Revolver". Released in 1966, "Revolver" changed understandings around how a pop record could sound, and what could be done in the studio when making pop music. "Revolver" is generally considered to be one of the greatest albums ever recorded.
This week we are celebrating 50 years of the Beach Boys magnum opus Pet Sounds. It seems appropriate given Brian Wilson is in town performing the album in full this weekend.
Released in May 1966, Pet Sounds was Brian Wilson’s project. He wrote, arranged and produced pretty much the entire album with minimal support from the rest of the band. The other members would only provide vocals, with over fifty session players brought into play on the record.
By this time, Wilson had quit touring with the group and had decided to focus on working in the studio. This caused some friction, with other members not entirely enamoured with what Brian was trying to do on this record.
Sound-wise, Pet Sounds is quite symphonic with complex arrangements and unusual sounds featuring throughout. It was quite a departure from the groups pop sound of previous records, with many critics labelled the sound of this record baroque pop, or progressive pop.
You can also hear the influence of Phil Spector’s wall of sound production on this record, with quite a heavily layered sound throughout. Wilson was also influenced by what The Beatles were doing at the time in making more sophisticated studio recordings.
Pet Sounds received a somewhat lukewarm reception at the time in the States, a market which was still infatuated with singles and not albums. However, it was heavily praised in the UK, with bands ranging from the Beatles to Cream raving about the record.
It was also very hard to replicate live, with only a handful of songs ever being performed by the band. Brian Wilson would subsequently tour the record in its entirety.
Pet Sounds has since gone on to garner significant critical acclaim and is considered to be one of the most influential albums in the history of popular music. Rolling Stone magazine even ranked it second in their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
It is also universally accepted to be Wilson’s best work and the Beach Boys greatest album.
In its wake more and more acts would begin experimenting in the studio with different sounds and song-structures. It also set a precedent which helped lead to the birth of album-oriented rock and prog rock, showing that music could be more than just pop, but art as well.
Yo! I got some more choice cuts from new music released over the past seven days. Just as last week, I was really impressed with the quality of new music that I've been hearing recently. If you liked/hated any of these selections, let me know with a comment. That being said, here are my five favourite new tracks.
case/lang/veirs – “Atomic Number”
Teaser single for the upcoming project by Neko Case from The New Pornographers, country/pop superstar k.d. lang & singer-songwriter Laura Veirs. Although I do particularly like the backing instrumentation of acoustic guitar, light percussion and string sections, what really struck me was the trio of female voices weaving in and out through the piece, each distinct in their own way. Makes for a captivating concoction of pop, country & indie pop aesthetics. 4/5
JMSN – “Cruel Intentions”
Smooooooooth soul. Feels like a classic D’Angelo joint from the Brown Sugar era. Featuring some bluesy guitars, punchy horns & laid-back grooves, it’s the quintessential slow jam. JMSN croons as if he was born to dish out heavy doses of soul. 3.5/5
Kendrick Lamar – “untitled 06”
Okay, so I had a tough decision to make here. Kendrick’s untitled unmastered. has several standout tracks, and I’ve been noticing a lot of hype around 02, 05, 07 and of course 08 a.k.a. “Blue Faces”. But as a massive fan of OutKast, it was 06 that stood out to me the most. It plays like something out of Aquemini (is it a coincidence that Kendrick muses about his star sign – Gemini – on the intro?) with Cee-Lo singing the hook, and production handled by Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge. It’s definitely added a LOT of hype for me in regards to his upcoming performance at Auckland City Limits. 4.5/5
Yeasayer – “Silly Me”
Brooklyn-based psychedelic/electronic quartet Yeasayer aren’t a group that I’m all that familiar with, but after hearing this track ahead of their fourth album Amen & Goodbye due out on April 1, I might have to start diving into their discography. It’s surprisingly catchy considering how odd and heavily layered the instrumentation is, and the vocals really give me vibes of Andy Bell from 1980s synthpop duo Erasure. 3.5/5
Your Old Droog – “Hip-Hop Head”
Had a good laugh while listening to this. Your Old Droog delivers a couple of funny verses about a girl he meets that really loves hip hop, hence the title. There are some fairly clever humorous lines, for example “Fuck with Bun B, then she givin up the Buns, B”. It’s produced by Alchemist, who gives it an old-school style beat with some druggy horns and a steady backbeat. It’s the kind of comedy rap that I don’t hear very often in modern hip hop, akin to what Biz Markie was doing during the 1980s. 3.5/5
Odessey
and Oracle by The Zombies is a gem of an album,
and is quite simply a baroque/psychedelic pop masterpiece, as well as being one
of the greatest albums of the 1960s. Released in 1968 at a time when the band
where in the process of splitting up, this album was simply intended to be one
last musical effort by them before going their separate ways, although little
did they know that they were creating a masterpiece which would still endure
decades on.
The sound of this album is a combination of baroque pop and
psychedelic pop, with the band combining elements of both to create some of the
most beautiful melodies and harmony singing. The album has a Beach Boys circa
Pet Sounds feel to it, while The Beatles can also be heard, but one thing is
for sure that when you listen to this album you can tell instantly that The
Zombies have their own distinctive sound. Key aspects of the overall sound of
this album include choral harmony singing, singing that is also often double
tracked to create an amazing densely layered sound much like a church choir,
the heavy use of classical piano and harpsichord, and a mellotron which creates
the effect of baroque strings. Combine these elements with the singing of Colin
Blunstone who projects a calmness in his delivery and you get what sounds like
it should be a classical album, but what is actually instead a psychedelic pop
record with an underlying baroque feel.
The baroque influence is what makes Odessey and Oracle so good, with the choral singing and classical
piano giving the material quite an historical feel which would otherwise not
have been there, as well as an overall Englishness to the album. Opening track
“Care of Cell 44” has a Penny Lane-like sound to it with some of the most
exquisite harmony singing in pop, as well as some great harpsichord lines from
keyboard wiz and band songwriter Rod Argent. Other tracks in the baroque mould
include “A Rose for Emily” and “Changes”, both of which are classic examples of
the choral harmony singing throughout this album of which when listened to you
can almost picture being in a church listening to a choir, the sound is that
amazing.
Melody is also a key component of the sound on this album
and is something The Zombies do brilliantly on here. There infectious
psychedelic pop as seen on tracks such as “Friends of Mine”, “Brief Candles”,
and “I Want Her, She Wants Me” takes the listener to another place, and for me
conjured up images of autumn (strange as that may seem), in particular the
certain calmness and beauty that autumn brings. The combination of
piano/keyboards, mellotron and harmony vocals combines so well and creates a
beautiful pop feel which is like nothing else from the late-60s period, making
this album standout in a unique way from the more experimental British psychedelia,
as well as the drug-fuelled electric psychedelia of America.
Ironically enough, the one track on the album which is
stylistically quite different to the rest of the album is also the bands most
famous song. “Time of the Season” is a 60s classic but it is not a baroque pop
song, and in fact it has more of a Stax soul sound to it complete with a
Hammond organ keyboard solo, marking a slight departure from the melodic pop of
the rest of the album. This aside it is still to this day a fantastic track,
while it is also quite a nice way to close out the album on a slightly
different note for variety’s sake if not anything.
At the time of its release Odessey and Oracle was overlooked completely in England and was
viewed indifferently in music circles. But over time its reputation has grown
significantly to the point that it is now considered a 60s classic and
recognised as one of the great albums. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it the
eightieth greatest album of all time, while its popularity is also seen in that
due to popular demand The Zombies play it in its entirety every year (yes they
got back together). Odessey and Oracle represents
the perfect pop album full of melody and harmony, and in my opinion even tops
that overrated supposed masterpiece Sgt. Pepper in quality. I cannot recommend
it enough as a 60s pop album and suggest you give it a spin, as it is might
just be one of the most melodically beautiful albums you will ever hear. A - Sam
Led by
Paul Weller’s keyboard player Andy Croft, The Moons are a 1960s influenced psychedelic
pop/rock band from Northampton, and it is with their second studio release
Fables Of History where the listener can clearly see where this band gets its
inspiration from. Fables Of History is chock full of Beatles like melody and
harmony, Kinks inspired lyrics, and Zombies influenced psychedelia, all mixed
together in a contemporary manner. The band does a very good job in ensuring
the songs on the album sound fresh and modern, but without losing that classic
1960s British sound which seeps through each track on the album. You can here
elements of The Zombies on the opening track “Be Not Me” with an infectious psychedelic
keyboard sound, as well as a slowed down dreamy sounding bridge which makes the
listener feel as if they will be taken into space any minute. Beatles like
psychedelic pop is heard on songs such as “Revolutionary Lovers”, “Forever Came
Today”, and “The First Goodbye” songs which sound as if they could have been
written in 1967 not 2012. The Kinks influence is also there to be seen on
tracks like “English Summer”, and “Jennifer Sits Alone” with more intermit storybook
lyrics accompanied by simpler, less busy psychadelic arrangements. The band do go
down a more psychedelic route on this album compared to their heavily Beatles
influenced first release, but this slight change in direction does not affect the
quality of the songs in anyway, with the busy psychedelic grooves in
combination with simple soothing melodies making this album a very enjoyable
listen. Fables of History is well worth a listen if you are into 1960s British
psychedelic pop, and may also appeal to those not familiar with that period but
would like to check it out in the form of something more contemporary. Whatever
your taste in music is, I thoroughly recommend this album.
Over the years,
Nick Drake has become somewhat of a cult figure in music and since his untimely
death in 1974 has taken on a large following of fans. This in itself is no real
surprise, as the man was an unbelievable musical talent who was taken too early.
What is more confusing however is why he did not receive the amount of
attention, or commercial recognition that he has subsequently gained when he
was alive? But that discussion is for another day, and instead I am going to
focus on the music that has given this man a cult following by looking at his
second studio release Bryter Layter from 1970.
Bryter Layter is
quite different from most of his other work in particular in that it has a full
backing band accompanying him, including members of seminal English folk rock
group Fairport Convention, and guest appearance by among others ex-Velvet
Underground member John Cale. Although Drake continues to showcase the Baroque
influenced orchestral arrangements that were seen on his brilliant first album
Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter is a more eclectic album that includes jazz
influences, and a notably more electric sound than its predecessor. Although
his pastoral folk sound complete with acoustic guitar and airy vocals is ever present,
this album is more polished and commercially sounding in nature with very good
production, especially when it comes to the instrumental arrangements. It is also
his most diverse album stylistically encompassing everything from the Baroque
influences on “Fly”, folk rock on “Hazey Jane II”, and jazz on “The Chime of
The City Clock”, “One Of These Things First”, and “Poor Boy” tracks that include
wonderful flourishes of jazz piano, smooth sax parts, and even soulful female
backing singers. Such elements are far removed from the dark and spacious
acoustic folk sound that appeared on his final studio album Pink Moon, where notably
he was only accompanied once by another musician on the opening title track.
The blending of musical
styles across this album and intelligent use of backing arrangements highlights
well Nick Drakes abilities as a musician, suggesting he was more than just a
singer-songwriter. On Bryter Layter we see how he could take other styles of
music such as jazz and make them work so well in combination with his own unique
acoustic folk style, and in doing so not lose anything musically with the end
result still sounding quintessentially Nick Drake.In fact complex string and piano arrangements
lend themselves very well to Drake’s reflective lyrics and soft vocal delivery,
allowing his own unique finger picking guitar style and vocals to flow gently
over the top of the busy instrumental arrangements without taking the
limelight.
Bryter Layter sits very
well alongside Nick Drakes other more intense sounding work and is very good on
the ear if his more acoustic folk style does not do it for you. It is a very
reflective album and one where on listening you can’t help but feel a sense of
joy, hopefulness, and warmth things that you often do not feel when listening
to Nick Drake’s music. Bryter Layter is a true 1970s underground masterpiece and
shows there was another more playful and experimental side to this man’s music.
Although it did not sell in high numbers when it was released in 1968, time has done “The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society” the world of good, with this fantastic album of steam trains, village greens, and playing cricket in the rain now seen by many as Ray Davies greatest lyrical achievement, and one of the greatest albums of that era. It is an album that anyone can enjoy because of the vivid imagery the songs portray, with the strong theme of Britain and all its great past times running throughout the album. As an album it is an easy listen because the songs allow you to close your eyes and picture the lyrics as they are sung to you, with the songs in many ways being mini stories individually focusing on something uniquely British that links back to the overall concept of the album . There are a couple of weaker tracks here musically, but all in all it is a fun listen, and one cannot but help feel happy when listening to it.
