Anniversary Albums: Edition Six - Billy Bragg "Talking with the Taxman About Poetry"

This week's Anniversary Album is Billy Bragg's "Talking with the Taxman About Poetry" which is celebrating 30 years this year.

This was the British singer-songwriters third studio album, and marked the moment where Bragg, the master of the protest anthem began to get wider exposure.

Despite singing politically charged folk-influenced anthems, Bragg's music is not straight out acoustic folk, but is in fact a mixture of styles that blended aggressive punk guitar with melodic pop song-writing at times.

This album also marked a bit of a turn musically for Bragg. On previous albums it was mainly just Bragg by himself on guitar. However, on here he brings in other musicians to play, including The Smiths Johnny Marr who plays guitar on the album opener, the jangle pop-influenced "Greetings To The New Brunette".

By the time of this record, Bragg had developed a strong reputation in the UK as a protest singer, with his songs tearing into Thatcher’s England and the sociopolitical climate of the time.

He was involved with the political activist group Red Wedge, while his music was tailored towards left-wing causes and encouraging the youth to get involved in activism and political causes.

The track that probably captures this the most on this record is his cover of a traditional protest song "There Is Power in a Union."

"Talking with the Taxman About Poetry" has proven a popular record in Bragg’s cannon over the years.

It is his second highest rated album on Rate Your Music, while it also cracked the top 10 of the UK album charts, something Bragg has only achieved twice in his career.

This record is undoubtedly one of the most important singer-songwriter albums of the 1980's and was an important collection of songs that explored the political and social climate of the UK at the back end of the decade.

- Sam 

George Ezra - Waiting on Voyage (2014)

Waiting on Voyage is the debut album by twenty-one year old British singer/songwriter George Ezra, yet another in a long list of twenty-something year olds breaking through in this very in vogue acoustic-folk style. However, at the same time, this guy is quite different stylistically from the likes of Ed Sheeran and Jake Bugg largely thanks to his very distinctive singing voice.

George Ezra’s voice when you hear for the first time is a voice that you do not immediately think belongs to a twenty-one year old, and sounds more so like someone in their sixties, someone with years of singing behind them. With this in mind, I must confess that I don’t think I have heard a voice quite like this one on someone in the early stages of their career, and Ezra certainly has a voice way beyond his years. Sound-wise I would describe his voice as being a cross between Eddie Vedder and someone in the ilk of Robert Johnson, or other delta blues musicians, with its warm bluesy tone and deepness. It is this unique and very mature voice which more than anything ensures that Ezra’s music stands out within what is quite a saturated singer-songwriter market, and after hearing a couple of singles, made his debut album Waiting on Voyage that much more intriguing to find out if the songs themselves could match up to the singer.

Ezra’s music is very much acoustic-based (he uses a semi-acoustic guitar and occasionally a resonator) and contains a blend of folk, skiffle, blues, and pop. Yes the song-writing at this stage is quite simplistic and the music definitely owes a lot to Ezra’s unique voice and the overall sense of melody it portrays, but often when you have such a distinct sound in your armoury whether it be a distinctive guitar, or singing style, simplicity can work best, with complex arrangements or experimental sounds only working to distract the listener. With this in mind, at times the music on here does suffer a bit from over-production, with whoever is producing trying to give some of the tracks a modern pop kick to them, something which is totally unnecessary. Some of the tracks could do without the synths, sequencing and electronic backing as they do not add anything, and quite frankly do not work well with the style of music Ezra is playing.

So what tracks stand out on the album? Well the album kicks off with a great opener “Blame It on Me”, which contains some skiffle influences in the guitar playing and also has a great sing-a-long chorus, something most of the songs on here contain. “Budapest” is one of the singles on the album which began to get Ezra noticed in the music world, and is more a mellower folk track with a slight calypso feel to it especially in the vocals and guitar. It is on tracks like this one that you really get to hear the unique quality of Ezra’s voice and his very distinctive deep tone. “Cassy O” is the second single, and although lyrically it is a bit throw-a-way, it has a very nice country shuffle to it and does a good job in highlighting Ezra’s efficient rhythm guitar playing, a style that is quite experimental when it comes to different strum patterns. “Did You Hear the Rain” musically is perhaps the most interesting track on the record and begins with a very haunting delta-blues like moan, before Ezra begins singing a cappella in a deep bluesy voice which sounds as if it could have come straight from the cotton fields in the Southern states of America, it is truly something. The track then transitions into a bit of an alt-folk track full of mood and feeling in what is definitely one of the album highlights. “Drawing Board”, “Stand by Your Gun” and “Barcelona” are also other noteworthy tracks on what is a very varied album stylistically and one which keeps the listener guessing as to what will come next, with Ezra bouncing from style to style across each track. There are a few dud tracks on the record, namely “Leaving It Up to You”, “Breakaway” and “Over the Creek”, but on the whole these are the exception to the rule and do not really diminish the overall quality of the album.

Waiting on Voyage is a very interesting and eclectic first up effort from George Ezra. There are a lot of things going on here musically which stand out and the fact he is willing to move from style to style across the album is quite daring for a debut. At times the production does get a bit too much and sees some of the songs lose their focus a bit, with the production team going dangerously down the pop for pop sake road which tends to be employed a lot in this day and age. Despite this, there is definitely plenty to work with here and if anything his quite remarkable voice will ensure he has a future in the industry. It will be very interesting to see where he goes from here musically, especially as he begins to mature as a song-writer, while as the voice itself, maturity-wise is already there. 

A- 

- Sam 

Rodriguez - Coming from Reality (1971)

Coming from Reality is the 1971 second and till this point last album by Detroit singer-songwriter Rodriguez. Rodriguez and his music came to wider public prominence with the 2012 academy award winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man”, with his career having largely been till that point an underground word of mouth sort of affair, at least in Anglo-Saxon countries. The story of Rodriguez career is fascinating to say the least and the documentary film does a good job in bringing it to light for a wider audience, which is why I will not touch on it here and instead will focus on the music and what is a truly great second album. An album which often gets overlooked in favour of its more well-known predecessor Cold Fact.

Coming from Reality was in some ways a transformational album for Rodriguez after his lo-fi acoustic folk debut. Here he placed more attention on the production of the tracks going for a slicker sound, while the songs themselves also have more of an electric feel, although his standard acoustic folk style is still prominent across the album. This might have been down to a desire from his record label to make a more commercially sounding album, as well as the presence during the recordings of acclaimed British guitarist Chris Spedding who helps out on electric guitar and production. Musically, Rodriguez also branches out more into other styles on this album, with spoken word, garage, funk, R&B, jazz, Latin and classical all appearing in various forms and guises across the album, making this set of tracks a highly eclectic take on the singer-songwriter/folk style which Rodriguez successfully went for on his debut. Lyrically, the songs themselves continue to focus largely on social themes, something which was ever-present on Cold Fact, with their social imagery and anti-establishment inklings settling in the mind of the listener right from the get go. Lines such as “I’ve played faggot bars, hooker bars, motorcycle funerals” are hard for the listener to ignore as they are so vivid and hard hitting, especially when they take the form of a spoken word track, in this instance “A Disgusting Song”. Through his words, Rodriguez is masterful in capturing the essence and mood of his own experiences living in Detroit, a city which was then experiencing the beginnings of its now well publicised collapse and downward spiral.

In terms of what songs standout, well there are many and it is impossible to narrow the list down as there is hardly a dud on here. “Climb Up on My Music” is a brilliant opener and sets the tone for the rest of the record. Here you are immediately alerted to some of the changes from the first record, especially this tracks electric feel and Santana-like sound with its shuffling guitar, electric piano and subtle jazz influences. “I Think of You” is a beautiful folk ballad that features some delicate acoustic finger-picking in the mould of Jose Feliciano and a very soulful vocal. “To Whom It May Concern” is another stunning track that opens with a great piano refrain before transforming into a kind of LA singer-songwriter jam. I am sure if Rodriguez had been involved in that scene he would have taken it by storm. “Halfway Up the Stairs” like many of the tracks on this album employs electric piano and also strings, with Rodriguez paying more attention in trying to achieve more of a pop sound, something he manages with great success. Finally, we are fortunate that the re-release of this album contains three outstanding bonus tracks which should have made the final cut for the original album given their quality. The first of these is the fantastic “Street Boy”, a sing-a-long sort of affair which also features a well-constructed acoustic solo. Aside from his vocals and lyrics, Rodriguez guitar playing is an album highlight and probably doesn’t get the attention it deserves especially given the quality of the little solos he puts in like the one on this track. This bonus track is accompanied by the road tripping “Can’t Get Away”, and finally the acoustic summer track “I’ll Slip Away”.

Although Rodriguez debut album was fantastic, and in most people’s eyes represents the true essence of his song writing and music, I feel that Coming from Reality trumps that album. Musically the songs on here are more melodic with a stronger focus on the production of the songs and how they are presented to the listener, something I believe improves the material. Rodriguez still retains the level of song-writing of his debut and the folk sound he is known for is still there in spades. However the thing I love about this album is how he branches out further musically, especially in his exploration of other styles and sounds that all in all come together so well on here. This album is an early-70s classic and I guess symbolises what might have been had Rodriguez continued to record. My parting message is a request for those of you who haven’t seen the film “Searching for Sugar Man” about this man’s musical journey to see it. As apart from the brilliant music on display here, this man’s story is truly one of the more fascinating stories in the history of twentieth century music.

A

- Sam 

Sheep, Dog & Wolf - Egospect (2013)

Egospect is the debut album by twenty year old Wellington-based multi-instrumentalist and singer Daniel McBride, more commonly known as Sheep, Dog & Wolf. This album has to be one of the hardest I have ever reviewed, mainly because there is so much going on musically across the album and even within single tracks. McBride certainly knows no boundaries when it comes to musical composition and exploring different sounds and on this album he certainly goes all out to make a significant musical statement straight off the bat.

The sound of this album is quite hard to describe, but I will give it a go and describe the instrumentation side of things as alt-folk experimental jazz, while vocally McBride sounds like a mash up of Gregorian chant and early-70s Queen in what is a heavily layered kind of classical/opera vocal sound which also comes across like vocal exercises in small bursts of flourishes. I also here a bit of prog rock in the music, with Yes coming to mind in the vocals and King Crimson in the instrumentation. Aside from the theatrical vocals, it is the quality of the instrumentation and McBride’s quite breath-taking ability to play every instrument on this album which makes this album worth a listen. According to the liner notes of the CD, McBride plays electric and acoustic guitar, saxophone, drums, bass guitar, clarinet, violin, cello, euphonium and French horn, a list of instruments that appears like a min-orchestra of type and leaves one gasping as to how much music ability and talent it requires to play such a diverse array of instruments. Aside from the unique vocals and smorgasbord of instruments, what makes this album even more spectacular is how McBride recorded it pretty much in his bedroom, something which gives the music quite a low-fi sound and jagged appearance, which all in all suits the stylistic diversity of the music on here.

As for the tracks themselves, well the albums kicks off with the track “Breathe”, which does a good job in encompassing the overall sound of the album and all of the key elements which appear throughout. This track to my ears sound like alt-jazz set to Gregorian chant and builds up nicely from an instrumental section at the start into a gigantic climax with a multi-tracked vocal section, before a decrescendo in the second half. “Breathe” is followed by the standout track for me “Glare”, which has a bit of a neo-psychedelic feel to it but without losing the jazz and classical influences. Again this track is brilliant in building up to an enormous crescendo of vocals which sound as if they are going to burst through the speakers. “Problems/Canvas” is a folky sort of track which floats along in a low-key sort of way before out of nowhere those layered vocals return to push the song to another level and in yet another completely different direction. It is these sorts of twists and turns within tracks that in many ways makes Egospect the album that is it and such an intriguing album to listen to.

The middle of the album moves swiftly along with “Not Aquatic”, which is quite an experimental track that appears quite loose structurally, with McBride playing around with different textures, layers and song structure in general. At this point I think it is important to note the skill and ability of McBride as a composer willing to takes risks with different song structures and sounds within single tracks, ensuring that no single track sounds the same. “Ablutophobia” is another track that showcases little moments of stylistic diversity, moving from jazz to folk to classical all on one track, while “Nothing, Probably” is an acoustic folk track which allows the listener to have a breather from the intense nature of some of the other bigger sounding tracks on the album. This track also showcases McBride’s softer side and how he can also play the singer-songwriter role as well as the jazz composer extraordinaire. The album comes to an end with acoustic ballad “An Incomprehensive Catalogue” and finally the piece de resistance, title track “Egospect” which is like the “A Day in the Life” of the album. “Egospect” starts off with a chorus of vocals chants, before kicking in to another alt-folk prog-jazz track, finishing the album as it began with a diverse range of styles and sounds confined within the limits of a six minute composition.

Egospect is an amazingly complex album musically with some incredible instrumentation and vocals, while the composition and structure of the songs on display is incredible. This album really should not work as the music appears as a mash-up of several diverse styles incorporated together in combination with classical sounding vocals and topped off by the fact it was recorded in a bedroom. But amazingly, it does, keeping the listener intrigued about where a track will go next. A complex, unusual but clever debut by McBride, that showcases his musical abilities and ear for sound, making me very interested to see where he will go next on. 

A-

- Sam 

Neil Young - Live at the Cellar Door (2013)

Live at the Cellar Door is the latest release in the Neil Young Archive Series, a series of releases which similarly to the highly successful Bob Dylan Bootleg Series features a mixture of already released, as well as unreleased remastered studio and live recordings. This latest offering is a live recording containing performances from the six concerts Young performed in 1970 at Washington DCs. Cellar Door.

On here Young treats the smallish audience to some acoustic performances of tracks off his then just released album “After the Gold Rush”, mixed in with some old Crazy Horse and Buffalo Springfield favourites, as well as some earlier renditions of songs which he had yet released namely “Old Man” and “See the Sky About to Rain”. The performances on this album feature just Young by himself playing acoustic guitar and occasionally piano, giving the audience present an unplugged minimalist interpretation of his country and folk rock compositions. This in itself works well as his early-70s output was mainly made up of acoustic folk tracks meant for smaller live settings like the Cellar Door club. It is also very interesting to hear laidback acoustic versions of songs such as “Cinnamon Girl” and “Down by the River” of which the original recordings done with Crazy Horse were exercises in heavily distorted guitar madness.

Live at the Cellar Door all and all has much the same feel as the 2007 released “Live at Massey Hall 1971”, just not as good. “Massey Hall” had an intimacy and a performer-audience connection which I think is lacking a bit on this album. This seems to have something to do with the production on “Cellar Door”, with the songs themselves sounding as if Young could have been sitting in a studio booth playing to himself, with some overdubbed audience applause thrown in for good measure to make it appear like it’s live. That’s not to say that all of the tracks on here are bad performances, or are lacking in quality. There are gorgeous versions of the Buffalo Springfield song “I Am A Child” and “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” from “After the Gold Rush” among other gems dotted across the album, it’s just that if you liked “Live at Massey Hall” which was a brilliant live album recorded around the same time, you won’t really be missing out if you don’t hear this one. Live at Cellar Door is probably best left for Neil Young fanatics and album collectors, or those into historical and archival recordings.

 

B

 

- Sam

Jake Bugg - Shangri La (2013)

19 year old British singer-songwriter Jake Bugg’s rapid rise from obscurity over the last year has surprised many people, most of all the man himself. So quick has his music career gotten up and running he is already releasing his second studio album Shangri La. Bugg had been working in Malibu, California re-recording a song off his self-titled debut album with renowned American producer Rick Rubin when the sessions for Shangri la began. There was no plan to record an album, simply to play around with some songs and record them, something which ultimately developed into the recording of an album.

After the massive success of his self-titled debut which saw him being compared with Bob Dylan, Donovan and others, whilst also being seen as a saviour for music, Shangri La takes the folk sound of his debut but expands it to include other influencesThe Dylanesque folk is still there across the album, but Bugg also delves into punk rock, Brit pop, indie, rockabilly and even folk-jazz. The production on this album is also much greater; something that I guess comes with the territory of working with Rick Rubin, with a much bigger sound overall including a full backing band on most of the tracks. With his move towards a more electric sound, Bugg also had the opportunity to showcase more of his ability on the guitar, proving that he is just as good on the electric as he is on the acoustic. Although his delicate acoustic playing drew plenty of comment on his debut, the guitar remains almost a hidden bow within his repertoire and his playing often appears in the shadow of his vocal performances and song-writing which draws most of the attention. Speaking of his vocals, they continue to standout on this latest offering, if not sounding more mature and complete. Although that folk twang is still there in patches, Bugg also shows off his skills as a ballad singer showing there is a softer side to him as well.

This brings me then to the songs themselves of which many standout. The album begins with the interestingly named “There’s a Beast and We All Feed It”, a song which is similar in style to the more folk-oriented tracks on his debut and has a “Subterranean Homesick Blues” feel to it. This is followed by “Slumville Sunrise”, an electric rockabilly number that contains immense riffage and a pounding rhythm section. Already you can tell after these first two tracks how this album will be quite different from his first album in terms of its greater electric sound. As we head in to the middle part of the album, Bugg begins to change gear and spice things up a bit starting with the sweet indie-folk of “Me and You”. On this track Bugg combines some soothing acoustic playing with a delicate vocal that shows off his softer side, while proving his music isn’t all just built around a hard-edged country twang. This is followed by the anthemic “Messed Up Kids” which is sure to be a live favourite, and the beautiful ballad “A Song About Love” which in my mind could go down as Bugg’s best song to date. This beautiful ballad has a Nick Drake feel to it especially in the verses and sees Bugg show off his vocal range in the chorus proving he can belt out a ballad just as good as a folk rocker. The final part of the album continues the theme across the album where quality overrides filler on most occasions. “Kitchen Table” is a folk-jazz number similar in nature to John Martyn’s Solid Air and combines some great acoustic folk licks with jazzy electric piano flourishes and a great drum track. Then there is the gorgeous “Pine Tree”, an alt-country ballad featuring Bugg on his own singing and playing acoustic guitar in what is one of the more heart felt tender moments on the album. Finally, the album ends with the Neil Young sounding electric folk rocker “Simple Pleasures” and “Storm Passes Away” which sees Bugg end as he started with folk, this time in a similar mould to Woody Guthrie with this very rootsy country number.

Shangri La is a massive step forward for Bugg musically and showcases quite a lot of growth and progression from his first album. It is not a straight out country folk album and contains a lot more musical diversity on it than his debut. The greater role of electric instruments also adds another dimension to proceedings and gives Bugg’s sound that extra maturity, allowing him to play around more with musical ideas and different musical styles. He showcases a greater depth to his vocals, while the added bonus of having an greater electric sound allows him the chance to showcase his guitar playing more than he did on his debut. My only real criticism would be around some of the production which at times I feel Ruben overdoes. This is particularly the case in the adding of a rhythm section and a big drum sound to songs which would have sounded better stripped back with just Bugg playing guitar. However this is just a fussy observation more than anything and the production doesn’t take away from the quality of the song-writing. In conclusion then, I feel Shangri La is a more rounded album and improves on his debut, showing Bugg’s maturity as an artist and offering more versatility musically. All in all a very good album with some really well constructed and nice sounding songs by this great talent, showing that Bugg won’t be a one album flash in the pan.

 

A-

 

- Sam

Bob Dylan - Another Self Portrait (1969-1971) The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 (2013)

Another Self Portrait (1969-1971) is the tenth release in the long running Bob Dylan bootleg series, focussing this time on Dylan’s transitional period between 1969 and 1971 and in particular the albums Self Portrait and New Morning. This two disc compilation has plenty of variety and is made up of a mixture of unreleased recordings, demos, alternative takes, as well as a couple of live performances from Dylan’s 1969 performance at the Isle of White Festival.

What is interesting about this latest bootleg release was the decision to focus on the material recorded around the release of Self Portrait, an album which has garnered its fair shear of critics, and at the time of its release left fans and reviewers confused to say the least. The original album was made up mostly of covers of pop standards and traditional folk songs of varying quality, and contained hardly any new original material from Dylan. The reaction to this was poor despite the album still selling in the millions, with many expecting yet another Dylan masterpiece after his return post his serious motorcycle accident saw him release two of his finest albums John Wesley Harding in 1968 and Nashville Skyline in 1969. The story behind this inconsistent and confusing release is that Dylan had had enough of being in the spotlight and wanted to escape in order to live a normal life. To achieve this he thought that by releasing a sub-standard album people would go off him and his celebrity would die down allowing him to raise his family in peace. In the end this decision ultimately failed and the album still sold well despite receiving a lot of negative press. This album seemingly didn’t do Dylan any favours and simply had the effect of increasing the spotlight around him as people became more expectant for the real Dylan to stand up. So it seems in focussing on the period around Self Portrait on this latest compilation, Columbia Records who produces these official bootleg releases is partaking in an act of music revisionism, going back to an album and period which was initially panned (mostly by critics) and seeing if was actually as bad as made out. In response I can say that after having listened to this compilation, this period of Dylan’s career was not as bad as has been made out and in fact I think that many of these new recordings and alternative takes have done justice to the music Dylan was making at the time.

The recordings on this compilation are very simplistic with minimal production that conveys a very warm homely feel. Most of the tracks on here which are performed in a country and folk style are just Dylan singing and playing acoustic guitar and piano, accompanied only by David Bromberg on lead acoustic. Bromberg is one of the highlights of this compilation with his delicate folk touches and country flourishes really contributing nicely to the recordings and acting as a nice counter to Dylan’s strumming and rhythm playing. In listening to this material although they are all old recordings from 1969 and 1970, many of them sound fresh and new as if they could have been recorded yesterday, while at the same time despite the fact that the majority of this material in its varying forms has not been released until now it feels as if you could have been listening to these recordings for years as they portray a comforting familiarity which feeds the soul. Much of this I put down to how Dylan sounded at this time, with his voice in my opinion sounding at its best during the years between 1968 and 1970. A lot of people were put off by his country croon that he put on at times especially on Nashville Skyline, but I feel this added another dimension to his voice which suited tremendously the music he was beginning to record giving it a richly soft country feel as opposed to his early work where his voice could often could come across as a bit jagged and hard-edged.

Coming in at thirty-five tracks I don’t have enough room to focus on all the material on here, but I will mention some of my favourites from the two discs. “Pretty Saro” is a traditional English folk ballad from the 1700s which was recorded by Dylan for Self Portrait and has until now remained unreleased. It is done in a beautifully simplistic folk style and features one of Dylan’s best vocal performances, a definite highlight on this compilation. “Spanish is the Loving Tongue” is a song which was based on a poem from the early 1900s and was set to music in the 1920s. Here, Dylan’s recording is just him on piano delivering yet again another brilliant vocal performance, showing also that at times he had a mellower vulnerable side to his voice and could sing a love song just as well as a protest anthem. “Time Passes Slowly” is a Dylan original which was originally released on New Morning. This recording is an alternative take that features George Harrison on guitar and backing vocals (one of two tracks that Harrison appears on) and comes across as vastly superior to the original album version of this track. “This Evening So Soon” is another traditional folk song that Dylan makes his own and one where he is accompanied by Broomberg on guitar and Al Kooper on piano. Finally, “Bring Me a Little Water” is another unreleased recording this time from the New Morning sessions which sees Dylan mix it up a bit with something I like to call folk gospel. On this recording Dylan plays piano and sings with a soulful edge to his voice, while being accompanied by some female backing singers in what is one of the best songs on this compilation.  Why this recording was passed over for the original album I don’t know, but I sure am glad we get to hear it now forty-odd years later.

All in all this is a pretty good release and for me does well to somewhat destroy the myth about the Self Portrait period being a dud for Dylan. There is some occasional filler and the odd recording that could have been passed over such as an unreleased Basement Tapes recording which sounds almost inaudible, as well as a version of “All the Tired Horses” from Self Portrait which sounded as bad now as it did then, but if you sift through this there is definitely plenty of worthy material and stuff to capture your interest. I would also not that much like most compilations this is not a coherent consistent release and as a listener you should be prepared to go full circle from one style to the next, with Dylan taking you from folk to country to Americana and back again. This however does not take away from what is an overall highly satisfying and magical compilation which does a great job in highlighting just how wonderful this period was for Dylan musically.

A-

- Sam

 

 

 

 

Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends (1968)

There’s a strange, almost mythical image of folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, one which I used to share until I began going through their discography – it’s of a quiet, unassuming pair from (mostly upper-class) Forest Hills, New York that comprised of one guy (Paul Simon) strum-humming about marbles and promises while the other (Art Garfunkel) rocked back and forth on a petit stool with a vacant expression, occasionally singing a word or two. This particular image, I am glad to say, was more or less broken by the time I sat through Sounds of Silence (1966) and was completely shattered after listening to and digesting their fourth studio album Bookends, released in 1968.

Cultural champions after the providing the soundtrack for the film The Graduate in 1967, Simon & Garfunkel shortly returned to the studio to complete additional recording for their upcoming album. On the surface, Bookends appears to continue the duo’s tradition of packing Simon-penned acoustic pieces around pushed singles (in this case, “Mrs. Robinson”) but the album is really a story in two parts – these are purposefully separated by Side A and Side B. The album’s first half could be loosely described as a concept piece, covering themes of birth, life and death in 60s America, and the second half is mostly Simon flexing his newly acquired influences, and doing so much better than on the largely forgettable preceding effort Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme from 1967.

Beginning with the brief, breezy acoustic “Bookends Theme”, the album truly announces itself with “Save the Life of My Child”, opening with a surprisingly thick, ethereal moog synthesiser, completely breaking tradition from the pair’s previous releases. The duo break the mould even further, as additional sounds and voices flood the aural atmosphere, from distorted synths to snippets of “The Sound of Silence” (released two years prior) complete with almost ghostly wails while Simon sings the refrain “Save the life of my child / Cried the desperate mother”. Showing just how far Simon had come as a songwriter, the track is a greater reflection on particular attitudes within American society at the time, depicting a boy who is on the verge of plunging to his death, and rather than assisting him the adult population instead blame his actions on drugs and a lack of respect.

Following a smooth transition, “America” is perhaps the first indication in Bookends of Simon’s growing admiration for British music, featuring drum fills that sound like they were pulled straight from The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” (courtesy of legendary Wrecking Crew session musician Hal Blaine) along with psychedelic-tinged keyboards and incessantly pleasant double-tracked acoustic guitar, all providing a backdrop for vocal harmonies by the pair which range from soft and airy to emphatic and prolonged. It’s the first song with a real and distinctive sense of character that the pair had recorded, pulling in a range of influences but not really sounding like anybody else. The next track does sound like Simon & Garfunkel however, but not completely – “Overs” is a bare, pure acoustic piece which separates the two’s vocal duties, including a verse of Garfunkel singing solo, which is a rarity to hear. A sombre number, the track deals with a sort of helplessness and inevitability that usually accompanies a dying relationship, in this case being Simon’s lover Kathy Chitty, who was earlier referenced in “America”. Then there’s “Voices of Old People”, a track that has me completely stumped as to why it was included – it’s literally two minutes of recordings that Garfunkel had made, interviewing elderly people from (I’m assuming) his neighbourhood. I can appreciate what they were both trying to accomplish here, as the whole ‘concept’ approach (thanks Sgt. Pepper’s) was all the rage in 1968, but leading in from the superb “America” and “Overs”, it disrupts the flow of the album, acting as a bizarre and unnecessary segue into the sentimental, dreamy acoustic ballads “Old Friends” and “Bookends”.

Kicking off Side B, “Fakin’ It” is evidence that Simon also found a lot to like in particular strands of American popular music, in this instance borrowing heavily from the psychedelic-folk sounds of Love’s Forever Changes, making use of a strong, recurring acoustic riff as well as handclaps and brief, otherworldly bursts of horns and strings. A track that is littered with aspects of British psychedelic-pop, “Punky’s Dilemma” is a finely crafted happy-go-lucky piece that includes lines like “I wish I was an English muffin / ‘Bout to make the most of a toaster / I’d ease myself down / Coming up brown / I prefer boysenberry / Than any other jam”, and is really just Simon tipping his hat to groups like Small Faces and The Zombies in a very appropriate and charming way. Undoubtedly the album’s biggest audience puller, the endearing, folk-pop staple “Mrs. Robinson” is still a classic track, one that has probably been most associated with the pair, and deservedly so. Originally titled “Mrs. Roosevelt” but reworked to fit the narrative of The Graduate, the upbeat sing-a-long nature of the song belies Simon’s lyrics, who pines for the loss of American icons and role models, as well as being disillusioned with the political climate in the late 60s – “Going to the candidates’ debate / Laugh about it / Shout about it / When you’ve got to choose / Every way you look at it you lose”. A chart-topper through and through, “Mrs. Robinson” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968 and later earned the pair a Grammy, in the form of Record of the Year. The album’s last pairing; “A Hazy Shade of Winter” and “At the Zoo” encapsulate the very nature of Bookends, or at least its second half, with the former imbuing the same driving, cheery vibe as “Mrs. Robinson” and the latter signing the album off by superbly balancing soft, quiet acoustic passages with verses in the style of a children’s song, and an incredibly infectious one at that.

With only a few glaring shortcomings, Bookends is a delightful offering of folk-pop, sure the vague concept in the album’s first half isn’t particularly well orchestrated, but the individual songs (not interview recordings) are still melodic, brilliantly composed and meticulously arranged. Not bad for a pair that I once thought of as guys that sat on stools and hummed a bit. Along with Sounds of Silence and their last studio album Bridge Over Troubled Water, it’s basically essential listening for anyone who, like myself not long ago, don’t exactly rate Simon & Garfunkel or aren’t aware of their true musicality – chances are your image may be shattered too, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

B+

-Karl

Listen to Bookends on Grooveshark

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

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

The Pogues - If I Should Fall from Grace with God (1988)

Ever since I heard them for the first time as a child I have been in love with The Pogues. Their punk influenced brand of Irish/Celtic folk music has always appealed to me,  probably for the reason that I just love the sound of tin whistles, mandolins, and accordions playing in unison and definitely because The Pogues are simply just a good band. The Pogues brilliance is best exemplified on their third and arguably their best album “If I Should Fall from Grace with God”, released in 1988 when the band were at the peak of their powers musically. On “If I Should Fall from Grace”, the band began to expand their style more by including influences outside the Celtic/punk hybrid they had developed so successfully on their first two albums but at the same time without compromising their traditional sound. The band still showcased strongly their Irish folk sound but included new sound in places including Middle Eastern influences on “Turkish Song of The Damned”, Spanish influences on “Fiesta”, and subtle jazz influences throughout the album. The songs on this album are highly textured with layers of instruments lining most songs. Some of the instruments include the tin whistle, accordion, banjo, mandolin, and brass ensembles, many of which listeners of the band’s music would have gotten used to as they perfected their Irish influences on their first two albums. There is no doubt that the key to The Pogues sound is the instruments used by the players in the group and is these brilliantly talented players that ensures the band’s music is a Celtic cocktail of musical brilliance,  which when listened to sounds as if they could be playing in the middle of Ireland somewhere at a village fate.

Lyrically this album is quite diverse to in that the songs deal with a vast array of subject matter including. The traditional content of Pogues material continues to inspire in the form of drinking and partying, (or is that just Pogues songs combine nicely with drinking and partying) but other themes also appear in the form of love and even politics, with one track in particular dealing with the Birmingham Six and the issue of Northern Ireland. As with every Pogue album Shane McGowan is a standout, with his punk like vocal delivery and swagger again a key feature. He puts everything into his performance on this album and has an amazing ability to switch between a harsh up-tempo delivery style on the quicker folk tracks to a softer controlled approach on the slower ballads. The Pogues sound would not be the same without McGowan who gives them a uniqueness that separates them from other folk rock acts, with McGowan making up for his lack of vocal range with a swagger and confidence that drives these songs home and makes the listener sit up and take note on every song.

“If I Should Fall from Grace with God” was The Pogues most coherent and wide ranging album till that point, and probably out of all their albums best represented their sound. They took what they had done on their first two albums and showed a glimpse of what was to come on later albums leading to a wholehearted complete account of what they achieved so far. The band along with this album also helped contribute to the revival of folk music in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s, with their more modern punk influenced style ensuring that folk music became more appealing and relevant to young people who might not have listened to folk styles before during an age where synth pop, new wave, and commercial pop dominated.  “If I Should Fall from Grace with God” is one of The Pogues best albums and one of the best albums to come out of the 1980s. This album highlights that there is more to The Pogues than just “Fairytale of New York”, but also rams home the point that good folk music has been around for decades and was not a new revolutionary change in music started by Mumford and Sons. Check it out if you have heard their music before, and check them out if you haven’t, you won’t be disappointed.

A-

- Sam

Jake Bugg - Jake Bugg (2012)

Jake Bugg is not your ordinary nineteen year old musician. In a world where the likes of Justin Bieber and One Direction churn out predictably boring pop music, this guy comes on to the scene channelling Bob Dylan on his self-titled debut, and in the process goes straight to number one on the UK album chart. Influenced by the likes of Donovan and Don McLean, Jake Bugg grew up in Nottingham England on a rough council estate and took up music after hearing a Don McLean song “Vincet (Starry, Starry Night) on The Simpsons. Such influences become all too clear when the guitar chords come in on the opening track “Lightening Bolt” and you first hear his uniquely different voice. Immediately you think of that early Dylan twang, and then you remember he is only 18-19...WHAT? You say, someone of his age should not be singing in this style, right? But in reality this guy is a breath of fresh air. Even on the most pop sounding track on the record “Two Fingers” he draws on the past, you hear a skiffle beat reminiscent of early Beatles, and a melody during the chorus that could have been pulled straight off a La’s album. On the same song he sings of “skinning up a fat one, and hiding from the feds” obviously in relation to his childhood growing up on the streets of Nottingham, a theme he draws on throughout the album. The first half of the album is definitely stronger later in the album the songs tend to drift and become a bit too mellow in places, but all together this is a great first up effort from a real talent. I very much look forward to what he comes up with next.

B+

 

- Sam

Nick Drake - Bryter Layter (1970)

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.   

A

- Sam