|
Badly Drawn Boy - About A Boy
***¾
Film soundtrack album including a few excellent songs which stand up in their own
right and some beautiful musical progressions. Inevitably, as a soundtrack album, some musical motifs are frequently repeated
but it's still a very worthwhile release and one of the best albums I've heard from 2002.
Released - 2002
Acquired by
me: 25.6.02 - Bought
Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
****
Nicely
packaged, award winning album which is made with considerable charm. At its best its pastoral, slightly pschedelic and acoustic
based with some great instrumental passages.
Released - 2000
Acquired by me: 15.3.01 - Borrowed (Claire)
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
***½
Landmark album whose ambitious musical arrangements must have been mind-blowing at the time. I'm not so keen on the vocals
- tellingly two of my favourite tracks on this album are the two instrumentals. - though some of the melodies and harmonies
are great. Perceptive lyrics at the time though pretty basic by today's standards, Pet Sounds contains some lovely musical
progressions.
Released - 1966
Acquired by me: 15.5.02 - Borrowed (Howard)
Beatles, The –
Love
****
So which side are you on? Is
it blasphemy to copy and paste at free-will the most scared back catalogue in pop or are you a bit sick of the reverence with
which The Beatles’ music is held. Or more pertinently perhaps, the snobbish
stronghold with which Apple frequently protect it?
We are talking here of course about the Love album, a one and a half
hour soundscape created by George Martin and his son Giles from The Beatles music for a production by the Cirque do Soleil. Whatever the purists say, there is no one more qualified for this major project than
Martin and it should be noted that the album has been endorsed by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison
who have had a chance to listen to the project as it has progressed. So that’s
enough about the politics – now is the album any good?
The answer is yes though not really a substitute for the original
recordings. A few of the songs seem to be very similar to the original versions
to all but the most discernible of listeners whereas others have been altered more substantially. Take for example Strawberry Fields Forever – some of the main song is from an acoustic demo rather
than the final version with the extended outro including parts from Piggies, Sgt Pepper, Penny Lane, Hello Goodbye and In
My Life (and maybe one or two others which I haven’t detected yet)
Another highlight of Love for me is the combination
of George Harrison’s underrated Within You Without You with the droning bass and drums of Tomorrow Never Knows which
together make a wonderful, spiritual rave anthem. Perhaps more tellingly, another highlight involves the stripping away rather
than overdubbing of further parts – shorn of its music the beautiful multi-tracked vocals of Because are a joy indeed.
Not
surprisingly given the development of The Beatles music Love has far more materials from the Fab Four’s more remixable
later albums rather than their earliest recordings. Of the 37 tracks listed on
the sleeve, only 6 pre-date the classic Revolver LP though there are probably snippets from a few other older tracks somewhere
in the mix…
It’s great to hear The Beatles (still) sounding so clear and, though not a substitute for hearing
the original recordings, Love is a very worthy modern interpretation. Furthermore,
if it results in a new generation going back to those incredible 60s recordings by the band then that can only be a good
thing. Now if only Apple would re-release the original albums with a second
CD or DVD of extra tracks or promos…
Released: 2006
Acquired by me: 25.12.06 – Present (from Naomi)
Beatles – 1
****1/2
In
my opinion the greatest band of all time but is this their greatest compilation? Yes it is for a single
CD Best Of though the Red (1962-66) and Blue (1967-70) double LPs steal its thunder overall. 1 contains
27 songs, all of which made it to the top spot in either the UK or US.
For the Fab Four’s early period, 1 pretty
much includes their best songs though, from Revolver onwards, The Beatles' singles represent a somewhat sanitised version
of their best output. By all means buy 1 as an introduction though there’s no real substitute for
their last four major LPs – Revolver, Sgt Pepper, The White Album and Abbey Road (Let It Be and other latter Beatles
' LPs are less essential).
Particular highlights of 1 for me include the early ebullience of I Want to Hold Your Hand,
A Hard Day’s Night with its classic opening chord and closing arpeggios and the beautiful melancholy of Eleanor Rigby
and Penny Lane. These are just personal choices as nearly every track on this LP is a classic and, on another
day, I may have picked out four others.
1 is a very good first Beatles purchase though like many singles compilations,
barely tells half the band’s story. Buy it but don’t stop there in exploring the music of the
most influential and significant band of all time. Probably the best band ever as well…
Released:
2000
Acquired by me: 25.9.05 – Present (from Mum)
Beatles –
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
*****
Sgt. Pepper used to win most
polls for the best album of all time till the early 90s after which it was usually surpassed by The Beatles previous LP Revolver. Which album you prefer is up to you though there’s no doubt whatsoever that
Pepper is a monumental recording and listening experience.
Revisiting Sgt Pepper what astounds me more than the songs themselves
is the clarity of the sound and arrangements. George Martin’s production
and Geoff Emerick’s engineering are brilliant as are the complex yet intimate arrangements which often use unusual instrumentation. Indeed the kaleidoscopic, sonic experience which is Sgt. Pepper is more similar to
the key influence of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys rather than any previous recordings by the Fab Four themselves.
Although
Martin and Emerick deserve a lot of credit, just as much praise should be attributed to the band themselves – especially
Paul McCartney who is on brilliant form throughout the album. McCartney’s
melodic bass-lines, usually recorded after the other instruments, are superb whereas George Harrison and John Lennon’s
electric guitars are used more sparingly, though all the more effective when they are deployed. Indeed, several tracks have virtually no guitar at all but other unusual instruments such as the clarinets
on When I’m Sixty-Four, harp and strings on She’s Leaving Home and wonderful fairground organ on Being For The
Benefit Of Mr Kite. Other highlights include the rocking opening title track,
spiritual Within You Without You and immense closer A Day In The Life though virtually ever track is a highpoint on this brilliant
album.
It is now 40 years ago today yet Sgt Pepper is still an incredible musical experience with brilliant playing, arrangements
and production. A landmark pinnacle in the history of popular music.
Originally released:
1967
Acquired by me: 29.9.08 - Present
Beatles –
The Beatles (White Album)
****1/2
With
its plain white sleeve and pared-down arrangements, the White Album was released as something of an antidote to its predecessor
Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Although it lacks Pepper’s
cohesion, it has an incredible, unbelievable diversity and is brilliant in places.
Recorded at a time when tensions between
The Beatles were at their height, the White Album is also one of the first double albums of new material ever released by
a pop or rock band. As with most double discs, there are some critics who say
that The Beatles should have cut out the fillers and released a single LP. Whilst
I see their argument, I disagree with them – the strength of the White Album is its variety and, though every track
isn’t a classic, there’s only a handful I would consider possibly not worthy of a place on my ipod. Revolution No. 9 for starters obviously…
On to the better music, the highlights for me of the
White Album range across several genres. Of the acoustic tracks, Paul McCartney’s
Blackbird is as majestic in its quiet way as anything the Fab Four ever recorded. Other
quieter highpoints include John Lennon’s moving ode to his mother Julia and Paul’s Mother Nature’s Son,
hidden away on side 3. Just as MNS fades, the clanging, driving Everybody’s
Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey kicks in for two minutes of frenzy followed by the elegant chord changes of
Sexy Sadie. Further highlights for me include Back In the USSR, the vaudeville
Honey Pie and George Harrison’s rather spiteful Piggies though I could also have mentioned several others.
So, the
music is largely excellent even though the White Album lacks togetherness in most senses of the term with each song’s
writer more or less using the other members of the band as session musicians (if at all) on many of the songs. Often not a terribly good atmosphere in the studio then yet the resulting album probably benefits from
these tensions in terms of intra-band competitiveness and the variety of styles present.
A wayward classic but a classic nonetheless which is stunningly brilliant in places.
Released: 1968
Acquired by me: 29.9.07 (Present)
Beck - Mellow Gold
**¼
The praised prequel to Odelay is very disappointing for
me. Apart from the slacker anthem Loser, the songs are mostly unmemorable and the lyrics often vulgar. There is a poor lo-fi
production and too much hip hop influence for my tastes. A poor and overated album.
Released - 1994
Acquired by me:
29.8.00 - Borrowed (Library)
Beck - Mutations
****
Quickly recorded,
very contrasting follow up to Odelay, Mutations contains more conventional, sample-free songs with strong immediate melodies.
Frequently acoustic, it has particularly excellent, sparse use of unusual extra instrumentation. Strong traditional song writing
which still has many of Beck's unusual quirks - it shows the immense talent of the man.
Released - 1998
Acquired by
me: 25.12.98 - Present (Nicole)
Beck - Odelay
****
A compulsive
eclectic album which combines pop, folk, hardcore, country, hip-hop and soul - sometimes in the same song!! Innovative music
on an excellent album with a handful of Beck classics. I genrally prefer his more conventional, melodic but still very original
songs to his more modern hip hopand techno influenced pieces.
Released - 1996
Acquired by me: 17.7.00 - Borrowed (Library)
Belle & Sebastian - Tigermilk
***¾
An album of strong melodies which are (usually) effectively repeated throughout each
song. The gentle, largely acoustic instrumentation belies words which often have a rather sinister twist. Fades towards the
end but still a good LP.
Released - 1996 ish
Acquired by me: 1.9.02 - Taped (Leo)
Bellowhead – Burlesque
*****
It’s
very rare indeed that a band emerges as different and talented as Bellowhead. The
11 piece big-band collective play contemporary, innovative versions of traditional folk songs, which, despite the band’s
size, have excellent, uncluttered arrangements.
Bellowhead is the brainchild of singer / fiddler Jon Boden and melodeon
playing John Spiers, both well-known faces on the English folk circuit. One or
other of the Jo(h)ns arranged most of the songs on Burlesque or wrote an original melody or reel with the exception of Across
The Line and London Town which were arranged by Pete Flood and Paul Sartin respectively,
Both highlights, London Town has an almost ska-like feel courtesy of Bellowhead’s superb four-piece brass section
who are more like the Dirty Dozen Band than the standard soul or jazz influenced horn ensemble.
Yes the brass section are
crucial to Bellowhead’s sound. They also particularly shine on the clipped,
almost calypso-like instrumental Sloe Gin as well as providing further sympathetic, funky emblishments throughout the LP. Despite their presence though, Bellowhead are essentially a folk group with extensive
notes on the derivation of each song provided in the inlay, presumably by Boden and Spiers.
If these two have ever had enough of music, they would make excellent archivists…
The Bellowhead sound is
so different that it’s hard to describe the band in terms of musical influences though the closest match is possibly
The Pogues at their most sophisticated around the time of If I Should Fall From Grace With God. This only of course tells half the story at most. For further
non-folk pointers, the superb Across The Line and Courting Too Slow would not be out of place on The Waterboys’ Fisherman’s
Blues whilst the discordant, vaudeville Flash Company peters towards Tom Waits’ territory.
Don’t just think
if influences too much when playing Burlesque though but just enjoy it for the incredible body of work that it is. It’s far too rich to be pigeonholed as just folk music with Bellowhead having huge potential cross-over
appeal if they want it though I suspect, as mostly family men nearer 30 than 20, they are happy enough to be a big cult act. Whatever their intentions, Burlesque is a magnificent, melodic, extremely original
album and is very highly recommended.
Released: 2006
Acquired by me: 11.07 – Bought (for Naomi)
Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorised Biography Of Reinhold Messner
***¾
Final album with the Five before Ben went solo, this bizarrely titled LP is probably his
most commercial, mainstream album and is surprisingly downbeat (by his standards) in places. This is particularly evident
in the regretful words of Mess, one of the best songs. Another favourite of mine is Don't Change Your Plans with its strong
melody and Bacharachesque trumpet solo (why do I always describe trumpet solos as Bacharachesque?). The more downbeat mood
is counteracted with Army, one of Ben's most melodic and commercial songs which has been used by the BBC in 2003 in its coverage
of the Six Nations Rugby Championship . Hopefully this exposure will bring Ben's wonderful, underrated music to the attention
of a few more people. Reinhold Messner is a quality, piano-led pop / rock LP by a hugely talented writer and performer.
Released
- 1999
Acquired by me: 6.1.03 - Borrowed (Library)
See also Folds, Ben
Ben Folds Five - Whatever And Ever Amen
***¾
Refreshingly different piano driven indie rock. Contemporary yet with unfashionable
influences such as Billy Joel and 10CC. The playing and use of the piano-bass-drums line-up is imaginative yet flags over
the whole LP. 2 or 3 classics yet humorous words often misfire.
Released - 1997
Acquired by me: 8.1.02 - Borrowed (Howard)
See
also Folds, Ben
Blur - Blur
****¼
A very successful change of direction for Blur following their Britpop trilogy of Modern Life Is Rubbish,
Park Life and The Great Escape. The eponymous album is less layered and intricately arranged than its predecessors and has
a more abrasive, looser, semi-hardcore sound. However, it still includes some strong melodies and hooklines. There are several
lasting highlights including the grunge influenced leading single Beetlebum which has an extended semi-psychedelic outro and
was later revealed to be about heroin and Damon Albarn's then girlfriend's reliance on it. Another leading song is the now
classic 2 minute metal thrash Song 2 though, perfectionist as I am, I'm slightly disappointed that live Albarn always screams
the chorus "Waah Haaa" instead of the original "Woo Hoo" thus taking away the tongue in cheek element of the song - well for
me anyway. Another highlight and one of my absolute favourites is the Boys Keep Swinging influenced MOR with its incredibly
exciting frenetic guitar intro. Other highlights include the skewed country of Country Sad Ballad Man with a suitably weird
but effective guitar solo from the ever impressive Graham Coxon and You're So Great, a rather sweet song by Graham himself.
Side 2 gets a bit self indulgent in places but still contains the excellent Kinks influenced Look Inside America, a lyrical
acknowledgement of America's growing musical influence on Albarn after his previous infatuation with all things British, and
the gloriously trippy Strange New From Another Star. A mostly superb album with several stand out tracks and exhilarating
musical moments.
Released - 1997
Acquired by me: 19.7.97 - Bought
Blur –
Modern Life Is Rubbish
****
After a decidedly average debut album, some not
very successful subsequent singles and rather too much alcohol, Blur were told by their record label Food to get their act
together or they would be dropped. On submitting the much-improved Modern Life
Is Rubbish, they were still told to go back to the studio and add a couple of singles.
One of these songs, the album’s wonderful opener For Tomorrow, subsequently possibly saved their career. It’s odd to consider that without it there may have been no Parklife, Song 2
or Gorillaz…
For tomorrow is arguably the first Britpop song. Like many
of the best songs on the MLIR LP, it is influenced by The Kinks though has enough modern keyboard sounds to not be merely
derivative. Further highlights from the album include Blue Jeans with its lovely
double-tracked melody, the XTC-like Colin Zeal and vaudeville Sunday Sunday.
Many of the other tracks on Modern Life Is
Rubbish are also punk influenced and it’s fair to say that the album loses its way a bit over its second half and isn’t
quite the fully realised article that the band managed with their next LP Parklife.
Despite this, Modern Life is an excellent LP showing a band going very much in the right direction. Charmingly put together with instrumental intermissions and chords to the songs in the inlay booklet, it
saved Blur’s career and provided a strong hint of some of the riches to come.
Acquired by me: Borrowed (Library 3.09)
Blur - 13
***¾
Very eclectic album with several excellent songs such as the massive hit Tender, Graham Coxon's touching Coffee &
TV and the sublime 1992. However it also includes some quite appalling amateur dirges and is very self indulgent in places.
Overall, this is not one of their best LPs.
Released - 1999
Acquired by me: 25.12.99 - Present (Jenny)
Blur - Unplugged - The Acoustic Sessions
***¾
A bootleg of (mostly) acoustic recordings from Blur's carrer to date.
Always interesting to hear the scaled-down versions but there's little here to match the studio recordings.
Released -
1999 (though never released officially of course)
Acquired by me: 18.4.99 - Bought (Camden Market)
Bolan, Marc
& T Rex – The Essential Collection
****
Marc Bolan ended the 60s as a cult star playing
hippy, pixie acoustic music and hanging out with John Peel. He then went through
a massive transition and re-emerged in the early 70s as a highly successful, fully-fledged glam-rocker who came to epitomise
the first half of that hedonistic decade.
This single disc compilation covers both periods and contains all the classic
hits such as the excellent Hot Love, Jeepster and Children Of The Revolution. Also
included is Cosmic Dancer, another superb song which has risen in prominence in recent years after its appearance in the film
Billy Eliot.
With his hippy background, Bolan always had more about him than the likes of Slade and Gary Glitter though
he wasn’t as arty as David Bowie or Roxy Music. He always thought that
he was going to be a massive star and had the looks, charisma and arrogance to define his time as well as a superb, swaggering
rock’n’roll voice. This backed by a gift for catchy melodies, crunching
guitar riffs and (now) rather sickly sounding orchestrations was the recipe for success and T Rex reigned supreme for a couple
of years.
This CD contains all of those big hits and the best of Bolan’s other songs.
The only unfortunate omission for me is the absence of the ballad Life’s A Gas though this is much better than
virtually every other T Rex compilation on the market where a hit or two is missed out altogether, presumably for legal reasons.
Yes,
Bolan’s business assets were (and are) a mess. This first really became
evident in the mid 70s when the hits started stalling and Marc’s drug use started to get out of control. Coming out of the other side of this bleak period as punk dawned, he started to make a promising comeback
before tragically dieing in 1977 in a car accident near Barnes Common.
The Essential Collection is the best T Rex compilation
for those who want just one album with all the hits. An excellent purchase with
some of the best teen anthems ever written.
Released: 2002
Acquired by me: 29.1.05
(Bought)
Bowie, David - Black Tie White Noise
***½
1993 album including the good title track and excellent Jump They Say
as well as lots of less memorable songs. This album is enlivened for me by the welcome return of Bowies unconventional but
effective sax playing on several tracks. Not classic Bowie but an improvement on most of his 80s output.
Released - 1993
Acquired
by me: 11.11.99 - Borrowed (Library)
Bowie, David
– Diamond Dogs – 30th Anniversary 2CD Edition
*****
The
album that became Diamond Dogs was originally intended as a musical based on George Orwell’s 1984 till Orwell’s
widow refused permission. The revised album which eventually followed is still
largely conceptual and includes many of the now commonplace terms used in Orwell’s masterpiece. It is a highly imaginative LP both musically and lyrically and there is a case for arguing that it is Bowie’s
best ever long player.
Unlike David’ previous albums, the appeal of Diamond Dogs is as much down to some thrilling
musical passages as the quality of the songs themselves. In many respects
this is surprising given that, for the first time, Bowie didn’t have a regular backing band but was working more as
a solo artist with a handful of hired musicians. A move which would normally
result in a more introverted, singer-songwriter based LP works the other way for our David…
A further deliberate
consequence of this change is that Bowie plays far more of the music – virtually all of the guitar as well as saxophone,
moog and mellotron. Although he’s not a virtuoso on any of these instruments,
his imaginative, unconventional playing leads to some fantastic musical textures and passages.
This is particularly the case in the stunning Sweet Thing / Candidate / Sweet Thing (Reprise) trilogy (a big favourite
with David’s real fans) as well as the haunting We Are The Dead and Big Brother.
Among such uncommercial numbers,
the album’s biggest hut Rebel Rebel seems rather out of place. Tacked on the end of side one, it’s almost as if someone told David that he had to write and include a catchy hit single even though
it doesn’t fit with the flow of the LP. Having said this though, Rebel
Rebel is an excellent track built almost entirely around that riff and a cool, mid 60s R’n’B beat. The 30th Anniversary Edition of Diamond Dogs also includes a rare and inferior
US single version recorded in 1974, which has more variety but not the feel of the UK original. Other extras on the second disc include Dodo and the rather filthy Alternative Candidate, a totally different
song from the main album’s Candidate apart from a couple of lyrics. Overall
the disc has some interesting rather than brilliant extras though the fantastic accompanying booklet with an extensive essay
on the album’s genesis by David Buckley makes up for any possible musical shortcomings on the second CD .
Diamond
Dogs 30th Anniversary Edition is a very worthy souvenir of what is arguably David Bowie’s best ever long-player. It has some of the most thrilling music Bowie has ever made and is recommended for
new fans and those who have the original album. Get it quickly though as the
canny musician is likely to delete it soon, like he sadly already recently has with the Anniversary Edition of Aladdin Sane. Over to the “used and new” sections for that one for me…
Released: 2004
Acquired by me: 25.12.07 - Present (Naomi)
Bowie, David - Earthling
***¼
Contemporary dance-rock album with trip-hop drum patterns, heavy grunge guitar amd repetitive, overlong
songs. Has two excellent songs in Dead Man Walking and Seven Years In Tibet, the rest is more admirable than likeable.
Released
- 1997
Acquired by me: 7.10.99 - Borrowed (Library)
Bowie, David - Hours
***¾
Bowie's best album for years. Includes conventional songs with strong melodies, world weary words and
especially good guitar-work. Excellent traditional song craft although I don't find myself returning to this LP much. Possibly
its very well made but ultimately a little dull.
Released - 1999
Acquired by me: 12.2.00 - Borrowed (Colin)
Bragg, Billy - Bloke On Bloke
***½
A mini album of extra tracks and covers from the William Bloke sessions. Worth releasing
with 3 good tracks - The Boy Done Good, Thatcherites and an excellent cover of The Smiths Nevr Had No One Ever - none of which,
perhaps tellingly, were entirely written by Billy.
Released - 1997
Acquired by me: 11.11.99 - Borrowed (Library)
Billy Bragg - England Half English
****
Around the time of this album's release, Billy bravely spoke a lot about Englishness. He felt that it was now OK again to be proud to be English, that such patriotic sentiments
had been wrestled away from their uncomfortable recent associations with
the National Front. After all, we have always been a nation of cultural diversity. It was interesting that his quite Orwellian opinions felt uncomfortable to many left
leaning liberals (including me) - people who are really to Billy's right politically.
This
cultural diversity is very much in evidence lyrically and musically on England Half English.
Most of the best tracks have a strong world music influence with many Eastern instruments used. Among these are the joyous title track and Baby Farouk. England
Half English also has strong soul and reggae influences and is Billy's most varied album musically. It also has some more conventional pop / rock as well as a nod back to the electric guitar and vocal combination
he originally became famous for on Tear Down The Union Jack, a song about devolution.
The melodies throughout the album are strong and immediate and surprisingly this is probably Billy's most commercial
album - its nearest cousin in his canon is Don't Try This At Home rather than the more wilfully uncommercial William Bloke. His singing is also soulful and superb - his vocals have come a long way since
his gruff Essex delivery in the mid 80s.
England Half English is an excellent
contemporary album by an artist who continues to expand his musical and lyrical horizons.
Crucially it's an album Billy couldn't have made five years ago. It deserves
to be far more successful than it has been so far.
Released - 2002
Acquired by me: 19.1.04 - Borrowed (Library)
Bragg, Billy – Mr Love & Justice (Deluxe
Edition)
****1/2
Although it’s been six years since his last album England
Half English, Billy Bragg is one artist who you can‘t accuse of being lazy. Since
releasing that LP, Billy has written a book The Progressive Patriot, made or appeared on countless TV and radio programmes
and played numerous regular and low-key gigs and benefits around the World. And
now he has brought out not just one new album buy two…
Yes the Deluxe Edition version of Mr. Love & Justice comes
with two discs – the band version recorded with Billy’s group The Blokes and a solo rendition of the same songs
with Billy on vocals and crunchy electric guitar. Recorded after the band versions,
the solo recordings will delight those from Billy’s fanbase who still hanker for his one-man-and-a-guitar assault on
the World in the 80s. They also of course beg the question as to which version
of Bragg is best. My reply is that both the band and solo versions of the songs
are worthy on this excellent album.
Not that the solo recordings are necessarily quieter than the full versions with this
artist of course. Take the second song I Almost Killed You – the band version
has a campfire feel whereas the solo take has loud, punky guitar like it’s 1984 all over again. Both versions are excellent. Among the other highlights for
me are the literal wordplay of M For Me, highly political O Freedom and Something Happened which dissects the difference between
love and lust in two sentences over some of the grungiest guitar ever laid down on a Billy Bragg record.
Musically the
key influences on Mr. Love & Justice are classic soul, folk and country rather than the mix of World music to celebrate
multicultural Britain and rather less inspiring pub-rock on England Half English. There
are though still plenty of instruments from around the World featured on the new album whose songs are much stronger than
its predecessor. An excellent album then and Billy’s best since 1991’s
Don’ Try This At Home at the very least. It’s worth the wait if it’s
this good as well as extra points for whoever had the idea of bringing out band and solo versions of the songs. Well done Billy on your best album for a long time.
Released:
2008
Acquired by me: 3 March 2008 (Bought)
Bragg, Billy - Reaching For The Converted
***¼
Collection of B-sides including some inferior re-recordings of Bragg originals.
Includes a beautiful cover of Kate & Anna McGarrigles Heart Like A Wheel and the touching Walk Away Renee (Version). The
rest is pretty average.
Released - 1999 ?
Acquired by me: 7.6.00 - Borrowed (Library)
Bragg, Billy - William Bloke
***¾
Billys
comeback after his paternity leave. Includes 3 superb songs musically and lyrically - the revealing Everybody Loves You Babe,
the romantic 14th Of February and The Space Age Is Over which is not a leftist rant about how much money was wasted
racing to the moon but a beautiful, sad song about the loss of innocence and no longer being young and spontaneous - settling
into a comfortable and happy yet predictable middle-aged way of living. Some of the other songs on the LP are unmemorable
and predictable but its good to have Billy back.
Released - 1996
Acquired by me: 25.11.99 - Borrowed (Library)
Bragg, Billy and Wilco - Mermaid Avenue
***½
A collaboration where Billy and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy excellently put music to Woody Guthrie's surprisingly varied lyrics
with some respect but not too much. Good, nicely arranged folk rock.
Released - 1998/9
Acquired by me: 7.10.99 - Borrowed
(Library)
Buckley, Jeff - Grace
****¼
A classic debut album and
tragically, the only album Jeff released in his lifetime. Unlike most famous rock star's sons who have made music in their
own right, Jeff showed all the signs of being truly talented rather than a pale imitation of his father. Although his wonderful,
multi-octave, improvisational voice is clearly genetically derived from father Tim, Grace does not need any "son of a late,
cult star" kudos - it is an excellent album in its own right. On the album, Jeff's fantastic voice is restrained by the just
the right amount to augment these excellently-arranged, mostly self or co-written songs. Although the voice is his main legacy,
I also really like Jeff's often overlooked guitar playing, especially his electric rhythm guitar where he often uses alternative
tunings to get unusual chord voicings . The songs and performances on Grace are often intense and the lyrics haunting - especially
when viewed retrospectively. The closest musical comparison to this quite remarkable album is probably as a more PC Led Zeppelin
for the 90s yet influenced equally by the likes of The Smiths and The Cocteau Twins as well as classical and opera (as in
Jeff's cover of Corpus Christi Carol) and other types of music. A classic album introducing an outstanding talent whose life
was all too short.
Released - 1994
Acquired by me: 21.7.97 - Taped (Dad)
Buckley, Jeff - Mystery White Boy
***¾
A retrospective live album containing quite improvised versions of most of the song on Grace and a few other Buckley originals
and covers. There are some strong versions and great exciting moments here though its too much to take in as a whole.
Released
- 2000
Acquired by me: 13.5.00 - Bought
Buckley, Jeff - Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk
***¾
Posthumously released double CD with CD1 including some of the songs which
would probably have appeared on Jeff's proper 2nd album and CD2 largely including 4 track home demos recorded by
Jeff shortly before his tragic death. The 1st CD contains some excellent, interesting rock songs - admirably different
from Grace and generally more compact, band-based and rocky. Despite this, they don't have quite the massive emotional pull
or impact of Jeff's classic debut but would have made a very worthy follow-up. The demos on the 2nd CD on the other
hand are very rough and basic and it may have been better if they had never been released even though Jeffs mother and executor
wanted his fans to hear the last songs he was working on before his death. Overall ,a worthy 1st posthumous release
for a fantastic artist who died so tragically young.
Released
- 1998
Acquired by me: 14.5.98 - Bought
Buckley, Tim - Goodbye & Hello
***½
Buckley's 2nd album, Goodbye & Hello was released in 1967 and
was probably the most commercial of all his LPs at the time of its release. It showcases his talent with an admirable variety
of styles, some of which have dated badly though there's still some good moments such as the simple Once I Was with a plaintive,
sympathetic accompanying harmonica part.
Released - 1967
Acquired by me: 10.3.02 - Borrowed (Chris)
Buckley, Tim - Happy Sad
****¼
Acoustic jazz influenced album of extended songs with some fantastic performances
- often completely live. Especially fine singing, electric lead guitar and vibraphone by a superb group of musicians.
Released
- 1968
Acquired by me: 11.12.00 - Borrowed (Library)
Buckley, Tim - Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology
****¼
Double CD Best Of spanning Tins very varied musical career - 60s acid-pop,
acoustic jazz, decadent funk and more. Superb vocals. Not everything is great but the best moments are absolutely stunning.
Released
- 2001
Acquired by me: 5.4.01 - Bought
Buckley, Tim - Tim Buckley
**¼
Debut album announcing Buckley's rich baritone which is rather too formal a voice for
my vocal tastes. A very average selection of contemporary mid 60s songs with a very dated production. Buckley would go on
to much better music though there's not much indication of that here.
Released - 1966
Acquired by me: 10.3.02 - Borrowed
(Chris)
The Byrds – unknown compilation
****
The
Byrds are considered one of the most influential groups of the 60s though their legacy is down to their superb harmonies and
marriage of different musical styles rather than their songwriting. For nine of the 25 songs on this unknown
compilation were written or co-written by Bob Dylan…
The Dylan covers range from the brilliant (Mr Tambourine Man
– arguably the best Dylan cover ever) to the good (You Ain’t Going Nowhere) to quite bland, pointless interpretations
with none of the bite of either Bob’s originals or cover versions by others. The leading candidates
for this final category are the quite insipid readings of It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, This Wheel’s On Fire and
Lay Lady Lay.
The Byrds’ musical journey began with Mr Tambourine Man, a winning combination of Dylan’s lyricism
and The Beatles’ pop which defined the folk-rock moniker. Further fusions of styles occurred in their
later 60s work, most notably incursions into psychedelia and country though the most significant track in the former category
is inexplicably absent here…
Yes this compilation amazingly doesn’t include the druggy Eight Miles High (though
it may be someone's private compilation as I can't find a Best Of with the same tracklisting anywhere on the internet!).
Other tracks I would also like to have seen included are B-sides such as the raga-influenced Why and David Crosby’s
Everybody’s Been Burned, paraphrased by The Charlatans on their major hit The Only One I Know.
Despite these omissions,
there are some excellent self-penned tracks on this Best-Of such as 5D (Fifth Dimension), Mr Spaceman and She Don’t
Care About Time. This results in a good jingle-jangle 60s compilation though not quite the definitive single
Byrds artefact it could have been
Acquired by me: 6.05 – Present (John E)
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