860. The Dandy Warhols - The Dandy Warhols Come Down... (1997)

Track Listing

1. Be-In
2. Boys Better
3. Minnesoter
4. Orange
5. I Love You
6. Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth
7. Every Day Should Be A Holiday
8. Good Morning
9. Whipping Tree
10. Green
11. Cool As Kim Deal
12. Hard On For Jesus
13. Pete International Airport
14. The Creep Out

Review

This is really not what I was expecting, all I knew of the Dandy Warhols were a couple of singles and little else, so I was quite surprised at the overall tone of the album. This is not, however, a bad thing.

Instead of what is quite attractive but disposable pop-rock of songs such as Bohemian Like You, the album reveals much deeper levels of exploration of psychedelic sounds and loads of soundscaping going on.

Of course the singles are still there and Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth is quite successful in making you sing along, but the overall tone of the album is much darker and often more interesting than the singles would make you think. This makes the album very uneven, unfortunately.

Track Highlights

1. Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth
2. Boys Better
3. Be-In
4. Cool as Kim Deal

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

"Boys Better" was included on the Good Will Hunting and Igby Goes Down soundtracks and in the 2000 Gap "Lightbulb" ad directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.


Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth:

859. Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We're Floating in Space (1997)

Track Listing

1. Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space
2. Come together
3. I think I'm in love
4. All of my thoughts
5. Stay with me
6. Electricity
7. Home of the brave
8. The individual
9. Broken heart
10. No God only religion
11. Cool waves
12. Cop shoot cop...

Review

So Spiritualized were a better band when they were called Spacemen 3. Still, as it happens, they had a lot more success as Spiritualized. Why? Beats me. But it is definitely slicker stuff. Which is more immediately appealing but not always amazing.

That said, this is not a bad album. There is plenty to enjoy here, from the Michael Nyman inspired Broken Heart to the Dr. John participation in the very long Cop Shoot Cop... That said much of the album goes by unnoticed or like The Individual is just annoying.

The spaceyness that is present in the title is spread throughout the album but not completely consistently. As it is the album is more often interesting than actually enjoyable with a few moments of brilliance spread around.

Track Highlights

1. Broken Heart
2. Cop Shoot Cop...
3. Come Together
4. I Think I'm In Love

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The title of the album is taken from the philosophical novel Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, the context being: "Only philosophers embark on this perilous expedition to the outermost reaches of language and existence. Some of them fall off, but others cling on desperately and yell at the people nestling deep in the snug softness, stuffing themselves with delicious food and drink. 'Ladies and Gentlemen,' they yell, 'we are floating in space!' But none of the people down there care."

Broken Heart:

858. The Verve - Urban Hymns (1997)

Track Listing

1. Bitter Sweet Symphony
2. Sonnet
3. The Rolling People
4. The Drugs Don't Work
5. Catching The Butterfly
6. Neon Wilderness
7. Space And Time
8. Weeping Willow
9. Lucky Man
10. One Day
11. This Time
12. Velvet Morning
13. Come On
14. Deep Freeze

Review

The Verve have always seemed to me like a kind of slightly more interesting Oasis, and they kind of are that. They are substantially more original even while stealing samples from the Stones and Ashcroft is a better writer and a substantially less annoying singer.

That being said they never go much beyond competent. They create a foursome of competent power ballads in this album on which much of their fame is based and rightly so. Bittersweet Symphony, Sonnet, Dugs Don't Work and Lucky Man are all songs that defined not only the band but much of the year of 1997 into 1998.

That being said the album as a whole is not really great. It is pretty good and I can easily understand how it became so popular but it is no masterpiece. So pretty good but not mind-blowing in any way.

Track Highlights

1. Sonnet
2. Bittersweet Symphony
3. Dugs Don't Work
4. Lucky Man

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The Verve were known for their music's complex, immersive sonic textures. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, and remains the band's most well-known song. "The Drugs Don't Work", the Verve's only number one single in the UK, has become a concert staple for jam bands and other groups. The rest of the album alternates between wistful ballads like "Sonnet" and "Space and Time", spacey grooves like "Catching the Butterfly" and "The Rolling People", and all-out rockers like the Led Zeppelin-esque, pounding "Come On", which closes the album.

Sonnet:

857. Elliott Smith - Either/Or (1997)

Track Listing

1. Speed Trials
2. Alameda
3. Ballad of Big Nothing
4. Between the Bars
5. Pictures of Me
6. No Name No. 5
7. Rose Parade
8. Punch and Judy
9. Angeles
10. Cupid's Trick
11. 2:45 A.M.
12. Say Yes


Review

Some people in the music business who are unfortunate enough to die young get a personality cult going around them which often results in a overratedness of their career and achievements. Of course there are plenty of exceptions, Hendrix, Janis Joplin or Nick Drake being some examples.

Elliott Smith is not a case of a shit artist being made great by his death. On the evidence of this album he is something different. A lo-fi artist who uses his lo-fi wisely as a way to actually improve his sound, a gifted lyricist and player capable of the greatest of delicate moments as well as venomous spite.

This is, then, a great album. A pretty sad album but also one where each song is great in itself, listen to it enough and all tracks will end up imprinted in your mind. No need for overcomplicated arrangements or vast instrumentation, Elliott Smith shows what everyone can do at home, provided they have talent. And he did.

Track Highlights

1. Say Yes
2. 2.45 A. M.
3. Angeles
4. Alameda

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The title is derived from the Søren Kierkegaard book of the same name, reflecting Smith's interest in philosophy, something he studied (among other subjects) at Hampshire College in Massachusetts. Smith stated in a few interviews that the album follows the Kierkegaard philosophy in relation with the absurdist struggle between choosing an aesthetic life and an ethical life.

Angeles:

856. Roni Size / Reprazent - New Forms (1997)

Track Listing

1. Railings
2. Brown Paper Bag
3. New Forms
4. Let's Get It On
5. Digital
6. Matter Of Fact
7. Mad Cat
8. Heroes
9. Share The Fall
10. Watching Windows
11. Beatbox
12. Morse Code
13. Destination
14. Intro
15. Hi Potent
16. Trust Me
17. Change My Life
18. Share The Fall (2)
19. Down
20. Jazz
21. Ballet Dance

Review

There is one obvious and immediately apparent aspect to this album, and that is its length. After 2 hours and 13 minutes of listening to Drum 'n' Bass you are about ready to call it a day.

This does not mean, however, that when you listen to this album in shorter dosages, you can't recognise its quality. Roni Size/Reprazent clearly make one of the best Drum 'n' Bass albums by smartly using Jazz elements together with the elements that Goldie had already introduced the mainstream to in Timeless.

The main problem with the album is then its length, not only of the album itself but of the individual tracks which often bore you to tears after you've gotten over some interesting element in the composition of the thing. On the other hand it works well as background music, and you won't have to change album for more than 2 hours.

Track Highlights

1. Hi Potent
2. Heroes
3. Brown Paper Bag
4. Digital

Final Grade

7/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The double-disc set was the winner of the Mercury Music Prize in 1997, and often cited as their magnum opus. In the UK, the first disc was released by itself, while two different vinyl versions exist. The most common pressing is a 4LP version listed below, and the other pressing is a 5LP set and consists of the second disc of the CD version, with "Heroes" and "Digital" appended to the end; each song takes up one side each, with "Intro" and "Hi-Potent" taking the first side.

A shorter version of Brown Paper Bag: