Regularly updated blog charting the most important albums of the last 50 years
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
136. Neil Young With Crazy Horse - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)
Track Listing
1. Cinnamon Girl 2. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere 3. Round And Round 4. Down By The River 5. Losing End (When You're On) 6. Running Dry (Requiem For The Rockets) 7. Cowgirl In The Sand
Review
Ok, there very few artists that I love as much as Neil Young, and this is his first truly great album, first of many. And there isn't anything better to start 1969 off than this album. I'll say this right of the bat: this album is a 10.
Neil Young destroys the excesses of psychadelia, which are sometimes fun and sometimes just over the top, and brings rock back to guitars and songs, in this album, he later goes into orchestration and more complex stuff. But here it's the guitar and the voice that matters. He is considered the father of Grunge, and this is where we first see him as such. He left the confines of Buffalo Springfield, which were frankly just keeping Young back from his greatness.
Here Young makes two tracks which are around the 10 minute mark, and it is a tribute to his immense talent that they never sound stretched, and that you are never hoping that they finish. In fact there is not one bad track in this album, or mediocre, or medium good, or good. All are excellent. The album both rocks hard, particularly in the extended songs but is also capable of moments of great beauty in Round & Round and Running Dry, which has an exquisitely beautiful violin in it.
It's an album that I am sad to see go, but fortunately I listen to it all the time anyway... so you can stream it from Napster or buy it from Amazon UK or US. Track Highlights
1. Down By The River 2. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere 3. Running Dry 4. Cowgirl In The Sand Final Grade
10/10
Trivia
CSNY play Down By The River (it is actually the same version of the album, but with CSN instead of Crazy Horse):
From Wikipedia:
* Other hobbies of Young include collecting and restoring classic automobiles, and attending San Jose Sharks ice hockey games with his son, Ben Young.
* Young's full birth name is reportedly Neil Percival Kenneth Robert Ragland Young. In the opening of the documentary Year of the Horse, Young identifies himself as Neil Percival Young.
* Young owns a 101-foot wooden schooner, built in 1913, the W.N. Ragland, which he named after his grandfather, Bill Ragland.
* Police knocked out one of Young's teeth in the aftermath of one of the notorious Sunset Strip riots of 1967. Comparison of modern concert footage with Buffalo Springfield footage shows that Young has had extensive dental work in the intervening years. In an interview for Jerry Hopkins' book The Rock Story in 1970, Buffalo Springfield manager Dick Davis stated that the beating sent Young to the UCLA neuropsychiatric hospital for some time for tests. He believed that Young's epilepsy was at least partly an outcome of police battery.
* When filming the motion picture The Last Waltz, Young appeared on stage with one nostril clearly filled with cocaine. Bandleader Robbie Robertson later had to pay several thousand dollars for the cocaine to be Rotoscoped out of the film, lest rock audiences be "offended." Robertson called it "the most expensive cocaine I've ever bought." When asked about the incident many years later, Young replied, "I'm not proud of that."
* Young's tour buses operate on biodiesel. He also owns a Hummer that has been modified to operate on alternative fuel. Said Young about the latter vehicle in the 2005 Time article, "I love it when people yell at me that about the environment... and then I tell them that I'm burning 90% cleaner than them."
* Young wrote the song "Ohio" after David Crosby gave him the Newsweek magazine cover with pictures from the infamous Kent State shootings in 1970.
* He wrote his song "Campaigner" (originally called "Requiem for a President") after sitting on a hotel bed with his (then) young son Zeke watching the news and seeing an emergency bulletin about Pat Nixon who had suffered a stroke. The sight of a sad and beaten Richard Nixon tearily moving through the hospital's revolving doors inspired Young to write the song.
* Young was the musical guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien for the first week of November 2005. This was one of his few late night talk show appearances.
* On 17 August 2006 Young apeared as a guest on The Colbert Report. His interview led to a musical duet with Colbert that ended prematurely. Before Young was able to finish singing the opening line, "Let's impeach the President for lying", Colbert interrupted, saying "Wait a second!", waving his arm, and adding "We'll be right back", twice, as the show cut to a commercial.
* The Australian Band Powderfinger is named after a Neil Young song.
* Actor Rick Moranis portrayed a left-handed Young in an SCTV sketch entitled "The Wide World of High Voices".
* According to Marge Simpson, Neil Young "was a singer in the Sixties, like the Archies and the Banana Splits."
* The Sonic Youth song Creme Brulee contains the line "last night I dreamed I kissed Neil Young, if I was a boy I guess it would be fun."
* The Teenage Fanclub song "Neil Jung" was a working title given by a sound engineer. The name stayed and appears on the album Grand Prix.
* The Pixies, a late 80s indie band, had covered the songs, "Winterlong" and "I've Been Waiting For You", as one of their B-sides. Both cover songs can be found on their B-sides compilation.
* Canadian singer-songwriter Scott B. Sympathy released an album entiled Neil Yonge Street in 1990 (which puns on the name of the City of Toronto's central thoroughfare).
* A live cover of the song "Rockin' in the Free World" can be found on the Bon Jovi album "One Wild Night 2001"
* Young was interested in playing lead guitar for Iron Butterfly when the group reformed in 1968 after a brief split. Before deciding upon Erik Brann, the band also considered Jeff Beck and Michael Monarch.
* On the 31st season finale of Saturday Night Live, in a commercial spoof, the actor Kevin Spacey portrayed Young promoting his "subtlest" album, I Do Not Agree With Many Of This Administration's Policies, about the Bush administration. Songs included President George W. Liar, Donald Rumsfeld is a Straight-Up Murderer, I'm Just Going To Say It, I Don't Think Iraq is Going Well, Dick Cheney is Overweight, and The NSA Wiretapping Shuffle. It also included duets with The Dixie Chicks and Bright Eyes and was "not sold at Wal-mart," considering that the store refused to sell his album Living With War.
* There is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, called Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute, where Neil Young attended before he was expelled. There is somewhat of a legend of how he got expelled; some say he was expelled for some drug-related reasons, but many attendees of the school claim that he was expelled for riding his motorcycle through the hallway.
* At some point before he made it big, Neil Young worked at a Coles Sporting Goods store in Toronto as a shipper receiver.
* The mythical feud between Young and Lynyrd Skynyrd is referenced by the Drive-By Truckers on their 2001 album Southern Rock Opera in the song "Ronnie and Neil".
* The song "Old Man" off of Harvest (1972) features a banjo played by James Taylor.
* Neil Young was parodied by Jim Carrey in a third season In Living Color sketch entitled "Career-Aid".
Monday, October 30, 2006
135. Mothers Of Invention - We're Only In It For The Money (1968)
Track Listing
1. Are You Hung Up 2. Who Needs The Peace Corps 3. Concentration Moon 4. Mom And Dad 5. Bow Tie Daddy 6. Harry You're A Beast 7. What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body 8. Absolutely Free 9. Flower Punk 10. Hot Poop 11. Nasal Retentive Caliope Music 12. Mother People
Review
Here's Mr. Zappa and the Mothers again! This is actually a much more digestible album than Freak Out!, and in spite of the provocative title, it does not mean that there was a compromise with commericalism here. In fact this is one weird album, but one which is peppered with very catchy songs, at times scatological and at other times actually quite beautiful.
Most of the album has some kind of social message, whether from attacking pseudo-hippies or conservatives. Some of the lyrics, particularly the ones that criticise the hippie culture have obviously aged, but only in the way that they permit us to date the album. The songs about conservatism are the most long lived ones, WASPS will be WASPS.
Musically, it is the usual mixed bag, going from Do-wop to musique concrete, passing through rock and psychadelia. Zappa is an extremely gifted composer, who is at times too much in love with his own persona to be able to make the best out of the album. It is, however a work of genius, with inane jokes and beautiful dementia throughout.
1. Who Needs The Peace Corps 2. Mother People 3. Let's Make The Water Turn Black 4. Flower Punk Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
Let's Make The Water Turn Black instrumental, with an intro which is actually taken from Freak Out! CREAMCHEESE! MOTHERFUCKERS! :
From Wikipedia:
Censorship
Initial releases of the album had certain sections of songs edited or removed due to perceived offensiveness. These two sets of edits are often distinguished by the monikers "censored" and "heavily censored." However, these set of edits were sometimes applied inconsistently, so these two categories are inexhaustive. [7]
Tracks affected by censor edits include:
* "Who Needs the Peace Corps?": a spoken line "I will love the police as they kick the shit out of me" was cut out of the heavily censored version.
* "Concentration Moon": Gary Kellgren's whispered statement describing The Velvet Underground and The Mothers of Invention as 'shitty' was cut. In one of the more interesting cases of album censorship, three different variations of the cut exist: the most common version (and the one that made it to the '95 reissue) has the line completely cut, while Canadian LP issues seem to include the line intact.
* "Absolutely Free": The spoken word lines "I don't do publicity balling for you any more" and remark "Flower power sucks!" were removed on the heavily-censored version.
* "Let's Make the Water Turn Black": Several lines of the song are removed from the heavily-censored version, most notably the line about booger-smearing teenage friends Ronnie and Kenny Williams' mother ("and I still remember Mama with her Apron and her pad, feeding all the boys at Ed's Cafe") was removed due to a record company executive who thought the line referred to a sanitary pad. [8]
* "Mother People": a verse containing the expletives 'fucking' and 'shitty' was replaced with another; the original was backmasked and appended to the track "Hot Poop" (even there, however, "fucking" is absent, and the heavily-censored version omits the backwards verse entirely). (The line is: "Better look around before you say you don't care/Shut your fucking mouth 'bout the length of my hair/how would you survive/if you were alive/shitty little person?")
* "Harry You're a Beast": The "Don't come in me, in me" verse was edited in order to hide the offending lyric by re-editing parts of the verse in the wrong way, and reversing parts of the song. This phrase is from Lenny Bruce's "To is a Preposition, Come is a Verb" routine.
The 1986 release with new drum and bass tracks reinstated these sections, while the 1995 release with the original musical parts reverted to the "standard" set of US censorship.
Cover art
The front cover Zappa originally intended to use for the album mimics the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The double Sgt. Pepper cover had a collage of famous people by Peter Blake on the outside and a portrait of the band on the inside. Zappa's record company demurred and put the Sgt. Pepper parody on the inside and the picture of the band on the outside; a later Rykodisc release on CD featured the original photo restored to the front cover. Next to Zappa's head, a speech bubble has him questioning, "Is this phase one of Lumpy Gravy?"
One section of the CD liner art features a series of badge, banknote, and facial hair cut-outs, satirising those of Sgt. Pepper, with some differences; one badge features a small photograph of recording engineer Gary Kellgren and the other is a nipple.The banknote had a picture of a belly button in the middle.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
134. The Beatles - The Beatles (aka White Album) (1968)
Track Listing
Disc: 1 1. Back In The U.S.S.R. 2. Dear Prudence 3. Glass Onion 4. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 5. Wild Honey Pie 6. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill 7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 8. Happiness Is A Warm Gun 9. Martha My Dear 10. Im So Tired 11. Blackbird 12. Piggies 13. Rocky Raccoon 14. Don't Pass Me By 15. Why Don't We Do It In The Road 16. I Will 17. Julia
Disc: 2 1. Birthday 2. Yer Blues 3. Mother Nature's Son 4. Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me & My Monkey 5. Sexy Sadie 6. Helter Skelter 7. Long Long Long 8. Revolution 1 9. Honey Pie 10. Savoy Truffle 11. Cry Baby Cry 12. Revolution 9 13. Good Night
Review
This first paragraph is brought to you by the letter A, for anachronism. With it's iconic cover based on Spinal Tap's Smell The Glove, The White Album is the biggest single work by the Beatles. And it starts out as challenging and it would go on (with the exception of shit like Ob-la-di Ob-la-da). Back in the USSR starts off with thye sound of an aeroplane landing, and goes on to talk about the fine ladies of the Soviet Union in Beach Boys, surfer rock style right in the middle of the Cold War, it is then followed by a Siousxie and the Banshees cover of Dear Prudence, both recorded without Ringo Starr... not that you can tell.
And it goes on for another hour and a half. And in such a big album there would always be hits and misses, but with such a great band as The Beatles the hits are much more frequent than the misses.
Of course The Beatles had completely disintegrated as a band by this time, but that also makes the album great, the different personalities come across, at the same time independent but cohesive. Cohesive because all of the members are influenced by their fellow Beatles and in the end you have a surprising variety, in a sprawling and great album.
It is also important to note the whole experimentalism of the thing. One of my favourite things of the late 60's was that bands were allowed to be innovative, strange and try to bring something new into the world of music and still be commercially successful. I can't see Shakira doing Revolution 9 for example, or any of the groups on the charts now. None would take the chances. There are exceptions, and people like Radiohead and Bjork manage to be mildly successful commercially while still pushing the envelope of innovation, but it seems that at this time everyone was trying to do something new. And look! Helter Skelter became one of the first and most important songs in the development of Heavy Metal... they came a long way from She Loves You (Yesh, Yeah, Yeah). But as I have said there are misses, and it is not a perfect album. Probably the third best Beatles Album, after Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's. Still Great then! Buy it at Amazon UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. Helter Skelter 2. Blackbird 3. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 4. Revolution 1
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
Helter Skelter and video clips of its biggest fan:
From Wikipedia:
Many of the songs here are personal and self-referencing; for example "Dear Prudence" was written for actress Mia Farrow's sister, Prudence, who attended a Transcendental Meditation course in Rishikesh, India, at the same time as the group and who experienced violent hallucinations while meditating. She had to be kept in her room under guard for a period and after the guard was removed she was afraid to leave her room, thus the lyrics "Won't you come out to play...". She was serenaded with this song in an attempt to reassure her and help her calm down. In fact, many songs on The White Album were conceived during the group's ill-fated visit to India in the spring of 1968. "Sexy Sadie" is about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who led those transcendental meditation classes and who allegedly tried to seduce Mia Farrow. "Glass Onion" is Lennon's song for those fans who spent their time trying to find hidden meanings in the group's lyrics; it references several other Beatles songs. The album runs the gamut of genres from pop with tracks such as "Birthday" and "Back in the U.S.S.R.," hard guitar-based rock in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," British blues in "Yer Blues," proto-heavy metal in "Helter Skelter," ska in "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," influential and experimental audio-montages in "Revolution 9," and acoustic ballads such as "Blackbird" and "Julia."
The only western instrument that was available to the group during their Indian visit was the acoustic guitar, and several of the songs (such as "Dear Prudence", "Julia", "Blackbird" and "Mother Nature's Son") were written and first performed during their stay. These songs were recorded either solo, or by only part of the group.
Yoko Ono made her first appearance, adding backing vocals in "Birthday" (along with Pattie Harrison and Linda Eastman); Ono also sang backing vocals and a solo line on "Bungalow Bill" and was a strong influence on Lennon's musique concrète piece, "Revolution 9".
Eric Clapton, at Harrison's invitation, provided an extra lead guitar for Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." George would later return the favour by collaborating on the song "Badge" for Cream's last album Goodbye.
Several songs recorded during The White Album sessions were not part of the final album, such as, "Hey Jude" (released as a single backed with "Revolution"). Other songs would later surface on bootlegs as well as on The Beatles Anthology, including Harrison's "Not Guilty" (which he would later re-record as a solo track and release on his 1979 self-titled album, George Harrison) and Lennon's "What's The New Mary Jane?".
The album was produced and orchestrated by George Martin, and was the first album released by Apple Records, and the only original double album released by The Beatles. Martin was personally dissatisfied with the double album and advised the group to reduce the number of songs in order to feature their stronger work on a single disc. However, the group overruled him.
The arrangement of the songs on the White Album follows some patterns and symmetry. For example, "Wild Honey Pie" is the fifth song from the beginning of the album and "Honey Pie" is the fifth song from the end. Also, the three songs containing animal names in their titles ("Blackbird", "Piggies", and "Rocky Raccoon") are grouped together. "Savoy Truffle" contains a reference to "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," a previous song on the album. In addition, the four songs composed by George Harrison are distributed with one on each of the four sides.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
133. The Byrds - Sweetheart Of The Rodeo (1968)
Track Listing
1. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere 2. I Am A Pilgrim 3. Christian Life 4. You Don't Miss Your Water 5. You're Still On My Mind 6. Pretty Boy Floyd 7. Hickory Wind 8. One Hundred Years From Now 9. Blue Canadian Rockies 10. Life In Prison 11. Nothing Was Delivered
Review
The Byrds again! But this is a completely different album. The Byrds decided to go really all the way into country music for this, Crosby had left the band, and they decided to do something different. They are still the Byrds however, and this is perfectly noticeble.
Of course this album must have come as a shock at the time, hippie band goes redneck... it's strange. Most of the things that made The Byrds great are still here however, the harmonies, the innovation and their own distinct voice, even with two Bob Dylan covers.
The influence of this album is also immense, this was a huge influence not only on the new-born genre of country-rock but also in what is now called Americana, some tracks here sound like something from Blanche or Nickel Creek, two bands I really like. Some tracks are however played too traditionally for their own good, what really stands out is when The Byrds personal mark is applied to the country music. They were also influential in another respect, they helped bring the Louvin' Brothers into the country spotlight for example, and for that they have my thanks. You can stream this from Napster or buy it from Amazon UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. I Am A Pilgrim 2. Christian Life 3. Pretty Boy Floyd 4. Life In Prison
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
Learn how to play I Am a Pilgrim and laugh at crappiness:
From Wikipedia:
Released at a time when The Byrds' surprising immersion into the world of country coincided with declining commercial appeal, Sweetheart of the Rodeo only reached seventy-seven on Billboard's Pop Albums chart, while the single "You Ain't Going Nowhere" reached seventy-four on the Pop Singles chart. After having a hit with The Notorious Byrd Brothers, Sweetheart of the Rodeo missed the UK charts completely.
Although an uncommercial proposition at time, Sweetheart of the Rodeo proved to be a major landmark album, and its effects are still felt to this day, serving as a blueprint of sorts for the approach of not only Parson and Hillman's Flying Burrito Brothers, but of the nascent 1970s Los Angeles country-rock movement, outlaw country, the New Traditionalists, and the so-called alternative country of the 1990s and 2000s. It is widely considered to be The Byrds' last truly influential album.
132. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968)
Track Listing
1. Astral Weeks 2. Beside You 3. Sweet Thing 4. Cyprus Avenue 5. Young Lovers Do 6. Madame George 7. Ballerina 8. Slim Slow Rider
Review
Well, Van Morrison actually had a pretty bad rep, stuff like Brown Eyed Girl and other fun but not very high on the quality scales tune really do a disservice to the man. And this album is a good example of what he could do at his best. The album is a mix of folk and jazzy elements, that fuse very well indeed.
Van Morrison has a very whinny voice, sounds a bit like a drunken Mick Jagger. At same times impossible to understand, and he is frequently just rambling along. This suits the tracks on the album however, in fact if anything this album is too consistent. It is a perfect rainy afternoon with a hangover album, as it has that longingly depressing feel to it, but at times it is difficult to distinguish the tracks from each other, they just meld into this wallowing in saddness mood. But some tracks do stand out, like Madam George, Ballerina or Sweet Thing.
The lyrics are poetic, sometimes to the point of gibberish, but the exact meaning is not really that important, the feeling that it transmits is really the main thing here. And it does that fine. It's not something that I would want to hear too often, but it is definitely a depressing and pleasent work. And you can't beat trying to make Van Morrison impressions, a bit like Taz only slurrier. Buy it at Amazon UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. Madam George 2. Sweet Thing 3. Ballerina 4. Beside You
Final Grade
7/10
Trivia
Just for the Van Morrison bit at the End:
From Wikipedia:
n 1997 Astral Weeks was named the 9th greatest album of all time in a 'Music of the Millennium' poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In a critics' poll published in the August 1995 issue of Mojo, Astral Weeks placed at number 2 while a separate readers' poll published in January 1996 placed Astral Weeks at number 5 behind three Beatles albums and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
In 1998 Q magazine readers placed it at number 52, and in 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 6 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003 the TV network VH1 named it the 40th greatest album ever, while in the same year Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 19.
The influential rock journalist Lester Bangs wrote in 1979: "It sounded like the man who made Astral Weeks was in terrible pain, pain most of Van Morrison's previous works had only suggested; but like the later albums by The Velvet Underground, there was a redemptive element in the blackness, ultimate compassion for the suffering of others, and a swath of pure beauty and mystical awe that cut right through the heart of the work."
Thursday, October 26, 2006
131. The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle (1968)
Track Listing
1. Care Of Cell 44 2. Rose For Emily 3. Maybe After He's Gone 4. Beechwood Park 5. Brief Candles 6. Hung Up On A Dream 7. Changes 8. I Want Her She Wants Me 9. This Will Be Our Year 10. Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914) 11. Friends Of Mine 12. Time Of The Season
Review
Yes, that is really the album title... it's Odyssey and not Odessey, but the cover artist had a spelling malfunction.
It is only natural that this album has been a slow burner in music history, and that is because it sounds astonishingly modern. Just put the first track on and if that doesn't sound like some soft indie stuff off the soundtrack of The O. C. I don't know what does. Of course this is not necessarily a good thing, but The Zombies are never boring, and for their time it does sound different from most of the stuff we've been listening too.
Maybe it sounds so original because the band just didn't care about comercial success or even the future of the band, as this was recorded after they had already split up. They were disillusioned with their lack of success... and some years later the single and closing track of this album went on to sell 2 million copies... oh well... crap timing boys.
Of course many tracks on this album sound like the time in which they were produced, the use of typically Psych organs and instrumentation is a sign of this, as well as the ubiquitous harmonies, but there are moments here where you really can't tell they this is an almost 40 year old album, there is a freshness to it. This does not mean however that the album is perfect, Time Of The Season, although great, seems out of place, and some of the tracks are unremarkable. But it certainly deserves it's place on this list, more from the surprise of how fresh it sounds than anything else, but that is good enough for me. Buy it from Amazon UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. Care Of Cell 44 2. Brief Candles 3. Time Of The Season 4. I Want Her She Wants Me
Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The famous misspelling of "odyssey" in the title was the result of a mistake by the designer of the LP cover, Terry Quirk (who was the flatmate of bass player Chris White). The band, however, claims that the title was deliberate.
Odessey and Oracle was recorded in 1967 after the Zombies signed to the CBS label, and was only the second album they had released since 1965. As their first LP, Begin Here, was a collection of singles, Odessey can be regarded as the only true Zombies album.
The group began work on the album in June 1967. Some songs were recorded at EMI's Abbey Road Studios, where earlier in the year the Beatles had recorded Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. By the time the recording was finished, in late 1967, the Zombies were effectively disbanded, due to lack of financial success. Odessey and Oracle was released in the U.K. in April 1968 and in the United States in June. The single "Time of the Season" became a surprise hit in early 1969, and Columbia Records (in the United States) re-released Odessey in February, with a slightly different album cover.
Since its release the LP has come to be regarded as one of the greatest of all pop albums, with indelible melodies, complex harmonies, and an air of nostalgia and longing that makes it comparable to such albums as Love's Forever Changes and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds.
In 2002, Rolling Stone placed Odessey in 80th place on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The first song on the album, "Care of Cell 44" has been covered by such notable artists as Elliott Smith.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
130. Scott Walker - Scott 2 (1968)
Track Listing
1. Jackie 2. Best Of Both Worlds 3. Black Sheep Boy 4. Amourous Humphrey Plugg 5. Next 6. Girls From The Streets 7. Plastic Palace People 8. Wait Until Dark 9. Girls And The Dogs 10. Windows Of The World 11. Bridge 12. Come Next Spring
Review
This is a very very strange album. At least for the first 2 or 3 listens, and then it is a beautiful, funny amazing work of self-consciouss kitsch. Scott Walker is a big Brel fan, and so am I, and that really helps. Some of the humor of Brel is here but Scott Walker was also in love with lounge music and big orchestrations... Still, he is the best interpreter of Brel in English (although I like David Bowie's Amsterdam on the BBC sessions), and the three best tracks in this album are Brel tracks, but his own lyrics really aren't out of place here.
So this is an album with extremely gritty lyrics about prostitutes, homosexuality, brothels and gonorreah with amazing John Barry/Ennio Morricone style orchestration... like James Bond soundtrack in some alternate universe...
The album is extremely over the top, but I wouldn't like it any other way. It is in fact pretty funny, but there are moments of delicate beauty here, like Windows Of The World or The Bridge. And it is musically pretty innovative, it is very strange in this world of Sgt. Pepper's to actually be more sincere and racy with your lyrics than the whole rock and pop scene but do it in a Frank Sinatra voice with the soundtrack for Dr. No behind you... I love it.
You really need to listen to this, so stream it from Napster or buy it from Amazon UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. Jackie 2. Next 3. The Girls And The Dogs 4. Windows Of The World
Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
Scott Walker Chocolate Commercial in Japan! Santori Time:
Walker's own original songs of this period are a late, last flowering of a dark Romanticism tinged with Surrealism and Existential angst. They are influenced by Brel and in some inchoate way, the writing of Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus and early twentieth century European thought, poetry, art and music (despite the fact that by then Existentialism was waning as a philosophical and literary fashion). Walker explored European musical roots while paradoxically expressing his own American experience and alienation. He was also inching to a new maturity as a recording artist. This would bear incredible fruit with his marvellous country recordings in the early seventies.
As the Walker Brothers phenomenon had rolled on, Scott had thrown himself into intense study of contemporary and classical music, even living in a monastery in France to learn Gregorian chant. His own songs gradually course into Lieder and classical musical modes and are more musically developed than that virile Belgian, Brel, who formed his style in Paris's post war boites and cabarets. Sung in a voice reminiscent of Jack Jones or with power of a hip Frank Sinatra, each song is treated uniquely without any house style evident. The breadth of subject and musical means used to deliver them remain impressive, while the power of Walker's delivery probably discouraged cover versions.
Scott Walker's early solo career was extremely successful in Britain; his first three albums, titled Scott (1967), Scott 2 (1968) and Scott 3 (1969) all sold in large numbers, Scott 2 topping the British charts. There were also early indications that this concentrated attention was not conducive to his emotional well being. He became reclusive and somewhat distanced from his audience. During this time, he combined his earlier teen appeal with a darker, more idiosyncratic approach hinted at in songs like Orpheus on the Images album. Scott drove a fine line between classic ballads, his own poetic compositions and great Brel covers, all delivered inimitably.
At the peak of this fame in 1969, he had his own British TV series, Scott, featuring solo Walker performances of ballads, big band standards and introductions of his own and Brel compositions. He admitted in recent interviews that a certain self-indulgent complacency crept into the choice of material and the use of slow tempos by his third album.
With the whole psychadelic thing going on in the big international selling countries, like the UK and US, it is only natural that other countries would develop their own versions of it.
No country did it as well as Brazil, however, and Caetano Veloso is probably the greatest exponent of the psychadelic, or should I say Tropicalian singer-songwriter in Brazil. Caetano is good because he does not try to produce Sgt. Pepper's clones, in fact what he does is a completely original reply to psychadelia, in a movement that would be entitled Tropicalia after the first track in this album.
The album is distinctly in the realm of psychadelia, but more importantly it is as firmly in the realm of Brazilian music. Caetano recognises his origin as not Anglo-saxonic, so when producing the kind of music popular in Anglo speaking countries does it with a deeply Brazilian feel, and for that same reason all songs here are in Portuguese, with the exception of Che tribute, Soy Loco Por Ti America, which is half in Spanish and half in Portuguese, but still firmly in the South American world. A good example of this is the fact that the last track, Eles, seems at first to be an Indian music influenced track, for about 18 seconds, it then stops and goes into full Tropicalia... And all this musical message in a guy who still fills stadiums today (in Brazil and Portugal mostly).
And I still haven't spoken about the music. This is most likely my favourite Brazilian album at the moment and it is all amazing. Knowing Portuguese helps of course, but is definitely not essential. So either stream it from Napster (they don't have the full album, but you can reconstruct it from greatest hits album and make a playlist), or buy it at Amazon UK or US.
Veloso's politically active stance, unapologetically leftist, earned him the enmity of Brazil's military dictatorship which ruled until 1985; his songs were frequently censored, and some were banned. Veloso was also alienated from the socialist left in Brazil because of his acceptance and integration of non-nationalist influences (like rock and roll) in his music. Veloso and Gilberto Gil spent several months in jail for "anti-government activity" in 1968 and eventually exiled themselves to London. Caetano Veloso's work upon his return in 1972 was often characterized by frequent appropriations not only of international styles, but of half-forgotten Brazilian folkloric styles and rhythms as well. In particular, his celebration of the Afro-Brazilian culture of Bahia can be seen as the precursor of such Afro-centric groups as Timbalada.
In the 1980s, Veloso's popularity outside Brazil grew, especially in Israel, Portugal, France and Africa. In America, his records produced by Arto Lindsay helped gain him a larger audience there. By 2004, he was one of the most respected and prolific international pop stars, with more than fifty recordings available, including songs in soundtracks of movies such as Michelangelo Antonioni's "Eros", Pedro Almodovar's Hable con Ella (Talk to Her), and Frida. In 2002 Veloso published an account of his early years and the Tropicalia movement, Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil. In his albums he has included surprising personal versions of well-known Latin-American songs, among them some by Venezuelan folk songwriter Simón DÃaz.
On Tropicalia:
"Tropicalismo" or "Tropicália" is associated almost exclusively with the movement's musical expression, both in Brazil and internationally; a form of Brazilian music that arose in the late 1960s from a melange of bossa nova, rock and roll, Bahia folk music, African music and Portuguese fado. Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil are considered to be the leaders of the movement. Veloso, Gil and other artists commonly associated with the movement, notably Os Mutantes, have experimented with unusual time signatures and other means of heterodox song structures. A lot of Tropicalismo artists were driven by socially aware lyrics and political activism following the coup of 1964, much like its contemporary Brazilian film movement, Cinema Novo (brazilian new wave). The movement only lasted consistently for a few years, and, in part, is responsible for what is now known as MPB, Música Popular Brasileira (Brazilian Popular Music). Tropicália as a movement ended in 1969 when its' leaders, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, were jailed for about a month and, shortly after their release, exiled by the military government.
Although it attained little commercial success outside of Brazil, Tropicalismo has a growing popularity, and has been cited as an influence by rock musicians such as David Byrne, Beck, Kurt Cobain, Arto Lindsay and Nelly Furtado. In 1998, Beck released Mutations, the title of which is a tribute to Tropicalismo pioneers Os Mutantes. Its hit single, "Tropicalia", went as high as #21 on the Billboard Modern Rock singles chart.
Monday, October 23, 2006
128. Jeff Beck - Truth (1968)
Track Listing
1. Shapes Of Things 2. Let Me Love You 3. Morning Dew 4. You Shook Me 5. Ol' Man River 6. Greensleeves 7. Rock My Plimsoul 8. Beck's Bolero 9. Blues Deluxe 10. I Ain't Superstitious
Review
This is a great album, but it unfortuantely suffers from a plague, the Rod Stewart. The album is under Jeff Beck's name, and he is indeed the star, the Guitar Hero in the album, and it is all about him, but the vocals are provided by the then unknown Rod Stewart. Of course audiences of the time had no Rod Stewart associations, because it was the beginning of his carrer. And frankly he does not do the album a disservice, he is not a bad singer and he interprets the songs quite well, but it is hard to distance yourself from the fact that it's Rod "Do You Think I'm Sexy" fucking Stewart.
Ok let's be logical about this, I love Stevie Wonder, but I Just Called To Say I Love You makes e retch, but he was once not only a good but a great artist. Let's try to apply the same brush to Rod Stewart and not make the later impressions that he has made destroy what is a really good album.
The guitar playing is of course amazing, Jeff Beck was a really talented guy, and you've got a lot of the elements of later metal and bands like Led Zeppelin poking their head out here. In fact no song in the album is really bad. There is an unnecessary Greensleeves in the middle of it, which is just a bit tacky, but expertly played, and if you really hate Rod Stewart you can appreciate a truly great instrumental track, Beck's Bolero. Jeff Beck basically took a lot of elements and songs from his previous band (the Yardbirds) and made something heavier and cooler with them, good going.
Yuo can stream this from Napster or buy it from Amazon UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. Shapes of Things 2. Beck's Bolero 3. Blues Deluxe 4. You Shook Me Final Grade
8/10
Trivia
Wow, a clogged sink to the sound of Beck's Bolero:
From Wikipedia:
"Shapes of Things" is a song originally performed by The Yardbirds when Jeff Beck was the guitar player. It is probably one of their best known songs and features a solo from Jeff Beck. The song was covered in this form by the band Rush on their 2004 EP Feedback. The song was also re-worked by Jeff Beck and is the leadoff track to his 1968 album Truth. Gary Moore covered the Jeff Beck Group version on his 1983 album Victims of the Future. Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes later covered it in concert on their 2000 live album Live at the Greek. Though Page still played the solo from the original version.
David Bowie recorded a version of this song for his Pin Ups album in 1973.
The song was also recorded by The British Invasion All-Stars which includes Yardbirds founding member Jim McCarty (also one of the co-writers of the song) 'Shapes of Things' appears on the 'Yardbirds Family Tree' album (Mooreland St Records, released July 4, 2006).
The Allman Joys recorded a demo version of this song at Bradley's Barn in Nashville in 1966.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Shapes of Things" at number 61 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
Black Stone Cherry's first album, Black Stone Cherry (released July 18, 2006) , featured a version of Shapes of Things as well.
127. The Band - Music From Big Pink (1968)
Track Listing
1. Tears Of Rage 2. To Kingdom Come 3. In A Station 4. Caledonian Mission 5. Weight 6. We Can Talk 7. Long Black Veil 8. Chest Fever 9. Lonesome Suzie 10. This Wheel's On Fire 11. I Shall Be Released
Review
So, you think you don't know The Band... well you do, it's Bob Dylan's band, sans Dylan. And you are bound to know three maybe four tracks from this album alone, even if you only have a superficial interest in music. Possibly however, you might know them in other versions, like This Wheel's On Fire is well known for the version that shows up as the title track for Ab Fab. However, the best track in the album is something that we all know, and that is The Weight, with it's complex Biblical references and extremely catchy chorus it it almost a perfect track.
Of course the Weight has possibly been overplayed, but for good reasons. Although Bob Dylan is not present, he is a major influence and actually contributed with lyrics for some tracks, such as the great Tears of Rage. Really what you are getting here is a folksy band, which really owes a lot to Dylan, and I'd imagine Dylan owes a lot to The Band. The experience is a bit like listening to a slightly more ballady, poppier Dylan with a more pleasent voice. Of course the pleasent voice is both a grace and a disgrace, as it loses the particular edginess of Dylan. In terms of lyrics, even on the non-Dylan penned songs, they are quite good and have their own voice, Dylan lyrics are clearly Dylany, while the Band's one's have their own identity.
It is a refreshing detour from all-out psychadelia, frankly, this album resorts much more to traditional and countrier/ folkier song forms and instrumentation, and it is like a bolt out of the blue in 1968, and all the better for it! Followers would come along soon, the CSN's and Creedence's of this world, and good thing they did. You can stream this from Napster or buy it from Amazon UK or US. Track Highlights
1. The Weight 2. Tears Of Rage 3. I Shall Be Released 4. Long Black Veil Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
The Band At Woodstock (bear with the Intro):
From Wikipedia:
With a rough sound, seemingly chaotic arrangements, and a distinctive blend of country, rock and folk, Music From Big Pink is generally considered one of the best albums by the Band, along with their 1969 sophomore release The Band. The album follows the band's backing of Bob Dylan on his 1966 tour (as The Hawks) and time spent at a shared house in upstate New York recording what would become the Basement Tapes, also with Dylan. The shared house, in Saugerties near Woodstock, was painted pink, providing the title for the album.
The initial critical reception of the album was generally positive, though sales were slim; Al Kooper's rave review of the LP in Rolling Stone helped draw public attention to it. The fact that Bob Dylan had composed three of the songs also helped to increase sales.
At the time, "The Weight" peaked at #63 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart (North America). The album peaked at #30 on Billboard's Pop Albums chart in 1968, and then recharted as a #8 hit on the Top Internet Albums chart in 2000 . The song "The Weight" has gained widespread popularity, in spite of its dismal chart ranking, due partially to its inclusion in the cult favorite film Easy Rider, though it was left off of the soundtrack.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 34 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The laid-back feel of the album drew the attention of many other artists. For example, Eric Clapton cites the album's roots rock style as what convinced him to quit Cream, and pursue the styles of Blind Faith, Delaney and Bonnie and his debut album.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
126. The Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (1968)
Track Listing
1. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake 2. Afterglow Of Your Love 3. Long Agos And Worlds Apart 4. Rene 5. Song Of A Baker 6. Lazy Sunday 7. Happiness Stan 8. Rollin' Over 9. Hungry Intruder 10. Journey 11. Mad John 12. Happy Days Toy Town
Review
If nothing else could be said about this album, it does have one of the greatest album covers in the history of album covers. That said, it is not just a pretty face. There are some things to love here, as well as some to like but not really love.
The album is effectively two albums, the first consisting of the first 6 tracks, up to Lazy Sunday and the second consisting of Side B. Honestly Side A is the far better one, and there is really very little fault to be found in it. Side B is another story.
Side B is a concept side, and concept albums were all the rage these days. In this case it's the story of Happiness Stan and a completely insane fairy tale in which he goes in search of the other half of the moon. All these tracks are put together by the narration of Stanley Unwin not doing much to help you understand what the fuck is going on. It is however quite funny, but unfortunately the songs seem to lose themselves in the confines of the concept making for not such a great side.
Side A is a pearl however, from the title track to Lazy Sunday, it's all good. So definitely give it a listen. Napster doesn't stream it, but Amazon stocks it, either in the UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. Lazy Sunday 2. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake 3. Afterglow (Of Your Love) 4. Rene Final Grade
7/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
The Happiness Stan Story:
When Stan looks up in the sky and sees only half the moon, he sets out on a quest to search for the missing half. Along the way he saves a fly from starvation, and in gratitude the insect tells him of someone who can answer his question and also tell him the philosophy of life itself. With his magic power Stan intones, "If all the flies were one fly, what a great enormous fly-follolloper that would bold," and the fly grows to gigantic proportions. Seated on the giant fly's back Stan takes a psychedelic journey to the cave of Mad John the hermit, who explains that the moon's disappearance is only temporary, and demonstrates by pointing out that Stan has spent so long on his quest that the moon is now full again. He then sings Stan a cheerful song about the meaning of life.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
125. Simon and Garfunkel - Bookends (1968)
Track Listing
1. Bookends Theme 2. Save The Life Of My Child 3. America 4. Overs 5. Voice Of Old People 6. Old Friends 7. Bookends Theme 8. Fakin' It 9. Punky's Dilemma 10. Mrs Robinson 11. Hazy Shade Of Winter 12. At The Zoo
Review
From the previous review of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, you probably allready know that I'm a bit of a Simon and Garfunkel buff, not as much as my girlfriend but quite a bit. So, this album was never going to disappoint, particularly because I've been familiar with it for the last 24 years.
That said there are pluses and minuses to this album, and it is not perfect, actually I don't think there is a Simon and Garfunkel perfect album, I can always nitpick at something. This is not because I dislike them however, it's criticism out of love really, and as I said it is very much nitpicking. The album is mostly amazing, but you could say that the whole artistic sequence of Voices of Old People, Old Friends and Bookends is both a bit pretentious and schmaltzy. But, then it is all of those things extremely well done. Voices is an impressive example of voice collage and the longing feeling of the two songs that follow it work perfectly... but sometimes it does grate on your sensibilities.
Mrs. Robinson is definitely the most famous track on the whole album, and it is indeed a good track, but it is not great, and it has been played to death due to its association with The Graduate. I would have to say that both musically and lyrically America is a much better song, as is Hazy Shade of Winter or Overs. But again these criticisms are from someone who has spent way too many years listening to this album, and I did that for a reason. The reason being that it is excellent. Stream it from Napster or buy it at Amazon UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. America 2. A Hazy Shade of Winter 3. Overs 4. At The Zoo Final Grade
9/10
Trivia
From Wikipedia:
"America", a Paul Simon song, was made popular by 1960s folk duo Simon and Garfunkel. It was included in their album Bookends, released on 3 April 1968.
The song was released as a single in 1972, to coincide with the album Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits, and eventually hit #97 on the Billboard Hot 100. The flip side of the single, "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her," did slightly better, reaching #53.
The song describes in first-hand terms the physical and metaphorical journey of two companions in search of the true meaning of America. Their initial hopefulness, indicated by such lyrics as "Let us be lovers," turns to a sense of frustration and sadness, accompanied by the breakdown of their relationship. "'Kathy, I'm lost,' I said, though I knew she was sleeping" is a reference to Kathy Chitty, with whom Simon had a relationship while living in England in 1965.
In January 1977, Paul Simon performed the song at the Kennedy Center at Jimmy Carter's inaugural gala. He said then that the song had been written in a despairing mood about the country, but that he was performing it with a new sense of hope. Some have speculated that the line, "Michigan seems like a dream to me now" might refer to the 1962 Port Huron Statement, the founding manifesto of the Students for a Democratic Society.
The song mentions the cities of Saginaw, Michigan, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the New Jersey Turnpike; and Mrs. Wagner's Pies.
The song was rearranged by the progressive rock band Yes in 1971; this version was released on the compilation album Yesterdays in 1975 and also appeared on the 2003 re-issue of their album Fragile. A memorably minimalist performance of it was given by David Bowie to open The Concert for New York City, held in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. The baritone Josh Groban also did a rendition of it on his live album.
In 2000, "America" was featured in the soundtrack to the film Almost Famous. The main character's sister, Anita, cites the song as her reason for leaving home to become a stewardess.
or US
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