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Cash, Johnny
- At Folsom Prison / At San Quentin
*****
The recent film Walk The Line
tells the story. After years of pill popping and declining sales, a newly clean
Johnny Cash plans his comeback. Rather than making a new record with contemporary
late 60s influences as his record company wish, Johnny resolutely decides to record a live album at the notorious Folsom Prison
with his classic sound. As usual, the artist is right and, aided by Cash’s
deep resonance with the plight of the inmates, Folsom Prison is a massive, career reviving success. A few months later a second equally successful live album from San Quentin jail is recorded and released. This brilliant package collects together the full concerts of both performances and
is enhanced further by extensive liner notes.
A major theme of the songs performed at both concerts is the plight of the
blue-collar man who has fallen on to the wrong side of the law, sometimes but not always under circumstances beyond his control. Not surprisingly, the prison audience relate well to such sentiments yet it is Cash’s
between song banter and the sense that he has been there which strike the biggest artist-audience bond. Only Bruce Springsteen and Christy Moore come close in displaying such genuine empathy with the working
man.
Despite the albums being recorded only months apart, there is virtually no track overlap and highlights a plenty. The Folsom Prison LP begins appropriately enough with Folsom Prison Blues with other
highpoints including the intense 25 Minutes To Go, Orange Blossom Special and a duet of the brilliant Jackson with Cash’s
soon to be wife June Carter. There is also welcome humour with the daft Dirty
Old Egg Suckin’ Dog and increasingly ridiculous metaphors of Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart.
Humour is also
very much present on the San Quentin LP which features Johnny’s unveiling of A Boy Named Sue, a song which became one
of his most famous recordings. Other highlights include the classics Ring Of
Fire and I Walk The Line as well as Bob Dylan’s Wanted Man and a nice spiritual departure with He Turned The Water Into
Wine. The San Quentin set also features a new Cash-penned song about San Quentin
prison which the audience like so much that they demand an immediate repeat performance.
Being the full concert, the San Quentin LP of course includes both versions…
Given the lavish packaging they
deserve, these two seminal LPs are among the very best live albums ever recorded. With
classic but simple and disciplined songs and a special rapport with his audience, they show Johnny Cash at his peak, doing
what he does best. A blue collar hero indeed.
Released: 1999 / 2000 (full concert versions)
Acquired by me: Spring
2006 (Present for Naomi)
Cash,
Johnny – The Best Of Johnny Cash
****
This single CD contains the best
of Johnny Cash prior to his resurgence in the late 90s in collaboration with producer Rick Rubin and is difficult to fault
with regards to content. All of the absolutely essential classics are included
such a I Walk The Line, Ring Of Fire and a duet of Jackson with his enduring soulmate and second wife June Carter.
Cash
was one of the few artists who was successfully considered a “man of the people” throughout his career. Tellingly for such a blue-collar hero, his two most famous and critically acclaimed albums were recorded
live in American prisons and this compilation features Folsom Prison Blues from the At Folsom Prison LP and the funny A Boy
Name Sue from At San Quentin.
The Cash sound stays similar throughout this Best Of with Johnny’s deep vocals and
fast country-ish acoustic supported by sparing rock’n’roll influenced lead guitar licks, simple root note bass
and tight snare-heavy drumming. Female backing vocals and other instruments,
such as the brass on Ring Of Fire, are used on occasions to embellish the arrangements with the superb train-like harmonica
on Orange Blossom Special being particularly well played and effective.
Having said all this, I’m not a particularly
big fan of Johnny Cash’s music though it shows something of the almost universal esteem with which he’s held that
I have gone firmly on the defensive here. Nevertheless, it’s still good
to have one JC LP with all the classics and for this purposes, The Best Of Johnny Cash does a very good job indeed.
Released: 1996
Acquired by me: 23.7.05 (by Naomi)
Catatonia - International Velvet
***¾
Popular contemporary indie album with some strong songs and good varieties in style
whilst maintaining a unified feel. A solid album - I especially like some of the less straight forward songs and moments and
generally prefer the ballads by this group to their more conventional rock songs.
Released - 1997
Acquired by me: 28.6.00
- Borrowed (Library)
Charlatans - Melting Pot
****½
Excellent compilation from one of the 90s best bands. Superb trademark Hammond, funky
rhythms, effective economic guitar, swaggering vocals and strong harmonies. Great sounds.
Released - 1998
Acquired by
me: 20.9.99 - Bought
Charlatans - The Charlatans
**¾
One too many Charalatans albums for me and not one of their best. Sneering Stones-y rock
with very little variety. No immediate melodies or especially interesting musical sections.
Released - 1995
Acquired
by me: 26.4.00 - Borrowed (Library)
Charlatans - Up To Our Hips
****
Their
third comeback LP. Includes 3 great singles in the sneering Can't Get Out Of Bed, Jesus Hairdo and title-length award winning
I Never Want An Easy Life If Me & He Were Ever To Get There. Some good instrumental sections and grooves. Rootsy rock
with modern funk and dance influenced rhythms. An excellent groove-y LP.
Released - 1994
Acquired by me: 16.9.99 - Borrowed
(Library)
Chemical Brothers - Dig Your Own Hole
**¼
Electronica album featuring heavy beats rather than
melody or ambient beauty. Includes the big hit Blood Rockin Beats but I cant get into the rest of the album. Not really my
sort of music.
Released - 1997
Acquired by me: 9.10.00 - Borrowed (Library)
Cohen, Leonard
– New Skin For The Old Ceremony
***1/2
NSTOC is Cohen’s fourth studio
album released in 1974 by which time the poetry of his debut LP had largely given way to the embittered musings of an artist
unhappy with his life and his central relationship with Suzanne Elrod. Despite
this, there are still some moments of eloquence and beauty.
The album contains three songs which usually feature on Cohen
compilations, the beautiful prayer-like Who By Fire, Take This Longing and Leonard’s tribute of sorts to Janis Joplin
Chelsea Hotel No. 2. Further highlight include the bongo-led There Is A War and
darkly humorous, self-destroying A Singer Must Die whose witty lyrics accompany an attractive tune.
New Skin For The Old
Ceremony includes a broader musical palette than Cohen’s previous LPs with contemporary and traditional instruments
largely replacing the string-section back-up of yore to Leonard’s distinct acoustic playing. One good example of a new sound proving effective is the clarinet solo which closes the bluesy Why Don’t
You Try.
So far so good but NSFTOC does have its shortcomings. The songs overall
are not as strong as before and aren't helped by Leonard’s bitter lyrics. On
the worst occasions, it almost sounds like he is making up the words as he goes along, accompanied by some pub-singer type
wailing – such wretched trends are especially prevalent on the opener Is This What You Wanted and closing track
Leaving Green Sleeves.
Far from perfect then though there are enough good moments on NSFTOC to outweigh the bad. It’s not Cohen’s best album by some distance but is worth obtaining if you are already a fan
and own other LC LPs.
Acquired: Late 2008 – Borrowed (Library)
Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head
****
Understandably more epic,
complex and worldly than their debut Parachutes, A Rush... maintains intimacy with some good songs, interesting playing and
a clear production. The main difference in quality between A Rush... and Parachutes is that Jon Buckland's lead guitar playing
isn't as melodically inventive on the new release but it's still a very good album.
Released - 2002
Acquired by me:
30.8.02 - Bought
Coldplay - Parachutes
****¼
Melodic indie music with imaginative guitar work and nice sparse guitar-bass-drum arrangements. The 4 singles are probably
the best tracks on this superb highly lauded album but the other slower tracks begin to shine with repeated playing. One of
the best selling , most praised albums of the noughties and rightly so.
Released - 2000
Acquired by me: 14.4.01 - Bought
Coldplay – X&Y
***1/2
Whichever
of Coldplay’s first two albums you prefer you would have to admit that A Rush Of Blood To The Head has a richer musical
palette and discernibly different sound to its more introverted predecessor Parachutes.
Not so with X&Y which is an inferior version of the second LP.
X&Y is full of mid-tempo, keyboard-driven,
building ballads embellished with sparing lead guitar. The quality of the music
is consistently good though without the clear standout tracks and melodies of AROBTTH.
The problem is that it’s all rather boring and bland…
Maybe X&Y will be a grower for, trite lyrics
especially on Swallowed In The Sea aside, there’s nothing really wrong with it.
Tellingly one of the most memorable tracks is the uncredited fast-strumming happy love song at the end of the album.
A welcome break from the dull stadium rock sheen elsewhere.
Coldplay mainman Chris Martin recently said that the band were
going to disappear for a long time before bringing out their next album. In the
current musical climate, they could continue to release albums like X&Y every 2-3 years and more or less maintain their
popularity though with declining artistic worth. On the other hand they could
reinvent themselves and produce their Achtung Baby. And yes the U2 comparison
is deliberate…
I would prefer the latter path as, although A Rush Of Blood To The Head is currently one of my top 20 albums, I find X&Y worthy though rather dull and bland. Will X&Y make Z or
X&Y Volume 2…
Released: 2005
Acquired by me: 15.10.05 – Present (for Naomi)
Cole, Lloyd
& The Commotions – 1984-1989
****
When talk of the best acts of the 80s reaches the websites and
colour supplements, I'm surprised that Lloyd Cole & The Commotions are not mentioned more than they are. With a classic
debut album, some fine melodic songs and superb sympathetic guitar work by Neil Clark, their music has dated better than most
of their contemporaries amidst a decade bereft of much lasting musical legacy. Maybe frontman Lloyd's slightly smug vocal
style and occasionally pretentious lyrics were a factor though why not decide yourself by acquiring this compilation LP.
1984-1989
collects together the best tracks from The Commotions three LPs before Lloyd went solo. Most of the songs featured were singles
though a couple of quality-dipping non-album b-sides are also annoyingly included to presumably entice those who already own
the LPs proper.
The band's debut album Rattlesnakes is an acknowledged classic with some fine uncluttered arrangements
and exemplary often acoustic playing by Clark. The title track and debut single Perfect Skin are included on 1984-1989 as
well as the more soulful Forest Fire and Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken, a tune whose pretty guitar hides some rather sinister
lyrics.
One year later Lloyd And The Commotions brought out their follow-up Easy Pieces. More immediate, electric and
poppy yet ultimately less long-lasting than Rattlesnakes, it still has some good songs such as the singles Brand New Friend
and Lost Weekend, both of which are included on 1984-1989. Probably wisely realising that they couldn't go more poppy without
diminishing returns, the band's final album Mainstream (1987) is a less melodic, more textural affair though it still has
something of a pop sensibility. Four songs from it are featured on 1984-1989 with Jennifer She Said representing the poppier
side, Mr Malcontent the slightly more experimental and My Bag an unlikely foray into indie-disco.
A couple of years later
Lloyd Cole went solo though most of The Commotions continued to perform with him into the 90s. His solo career was successful
for the first half of the decade then sadly fell away, as much a victim of record company interference and mis-management
as a reflection of Cole's talent. The talent was certainly there as this compilation by The Commotions testifies. Although
not quite up there with The Smiths, Lloyd and the band were high flyers amongst the second tier of indie-pop acts in the 80s
and deserve more recognition than they currently get.
Acquired by
me: 4.09 – borrowed (Library)
The Coral - The Invisible Invasion
*****
Although I like Portishead,
I was a bit concerned when I first heard that The Coral’s new album was being produced by Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley.
Had the Liverpool septet gone all trip-hop and miserable? Rest assured that, although Invisible Invasion is a bit darker
in mood than its brilliant predecessor Magic & Medicine, it still has that recognisable Coral sound and is a superb album.
The
album opens with the gothic-leaning She Sings The Mourning and Cripples Crown. These two tracks and a few weird noises aside,
most of the rest of Invisible Invasion could have been recorded in the 60s. This doesn’t matter though when the songs,
playing and arrangements are this good.
Every song on the album is worthwhile though particular highlights for me include
the power-pop of Something Inside Of Me, acoustic charm of So Long Ago and stately refrain of A Warning To The Curious. Nor
does the album peter out with two of the best tracks saved till the end - Arabian Sand is probably the most exciting, frenetic
track the band have recorded and is reminiscent of The Doors. This is followed by the gentle closer Late Afternoon which sounds
like the Velvet Underground circa Candy Says right down to the softly focused vocals.
Although individual songs sound like
great groups from the past The Coral don’t steal melodies unlike some others (Mr Gallagher!) and have distinctive catchy
hooklines and instrumentation - the excellent arrangements and clear production are as tantamount to the success of Invisible
Invasion as the songs themselves. Even better, initial copies of the album include an eight-track limited edition live CD
which illustrates how brilliantly the group interplay and replicate their recordings onstage right down to the complex intro
to Shadows Fall from their eponymous debut LP.
With the live CD bonus Invisible Invasion is worthy of the full five star
treatment. A brilliant album by one of the best bands in the UK today.
Released - 2005
Acquired by me: 27.5.05 - Present
(Naomi)
Coral,
The - Magic & Medicine
****
Contrary to the
path trod by most groups, The Coral's second album Magic & Medicine is more reined in than their manic eponymous debut
LP...and all the better for it. It's an album which could have been made in the
mid 60s but this doesn't matter when the songs, playing and arrangements are this good.
The influences on this album are generally more mainstream than the debut album with the band wearing their record
collection more on their sleeves. Whereas The Coral had strong connections to
Syd Barrett and Captain Beefheart, Liezah on Magic & Medicine is indebted to early Simon & Garfunkel and Talkin' Gypsy
Mountain Blues akin to Highway 61 Revisited era Bob Dylan.
Among the
best songs on M&M are the singles Don't Think You're The First and Pass It On as well as the delicate Careless Hands. All the songs though are memorable apart from the last couple of tracks on this excellent
album.
It will be interesting to see what this young and very talented
band do next. A return to the less conventional song structures of The Coral
LP may be the best move for their long-term career. I doubt though that they
are worrying too much about it and whatever they do, Magic & Medicine is an excellent album by one of the best bands in
the UK.
Released - 2003
Acquired by me: 2.04 - Bought
Coral, The – Roots & Echoes
***1/2
The Coral’s fourth full length album starts very well with the fantastic light psychedelia
of lead single Who’s Gonna Find Me. With its strong melody, harmonies and
chord changes, it’s difficult to think of a better song released in 2007. Sadly
the same can’t be said of much of what follows on Roots & Echoes.
The main problem with R&E is the dominance
of lightweight, early 60s influenced pop with sugary melodies and sentiment. The
incredibly catchy Jacqueline is fine as a one-off but we don’t need another three or four songs in the same vein, songs
that I could even imagine being performed by a young Cliff Richard…
The pre-dominance of polite, skiffle-y pop therefore
lets the album down though fortunately there are some better moments. The more
distorted In The Rain and the outro to She’s Got A Reason offer some welcome rocky respite and the shuffly, atmospheric
closer Music At Night is excellent.
Overall Roots & Echoes is still a good album - it’s just a shame that it’s
not quite as excellent as its three predecessor. (Too) tastefully performed,
it’s a worthwhile purchase for Coral fans though probably not the best introduction for newcomers to this normally slightly
weird and very wonderful band.
Released: 2007
Acquired by me: 29.9.07 – Present (Caroline & Trevor)
Coral, The - The Coral
***¾
Precociously
talented , very young Liverpudlian band whose unique and bizarre music combines Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd (Simon Diamond,
Goodbye), Merseybeat (Dreaming Of You), sea shanties (I Remember When) and much more - often in the same song. Impressively
unpredictable - you never really know what's going to happen next. Quite rightly praised as one of the best albums of 2002
though it does fade in the 2nd half and, like many new acts with groundbreaking 1st albums (Gomez for
one), it may be very difficult to follow it up successfully. Nevertheless The Coral is an incredibly assured and excellent
debut LP.
Released - 2002
Acquired by me: 31.12.02 - Bought
Costello,
Elvis & The Attractions – Get Happy
*****
Get Happy gives new meaning to the term
value for money. The original LP had 20 tracks – this re-issue contains
a bonus disc with incredibly 30 more songs. The number of songs is, of course,
not always everything though it is in this case…
For this fourth LP, Elvis Costello deliberately went for the feel
of an old Motown or Stax album from including a large number of short songs right down to the album’s dated packaging. The music itself is superb and unique rock’n’soul – soul and reggae
influenced rhythms with an exciting punk bite. The Attractions are on superb
form with Steve Nieve on keyboards and Bruce Thomas on bass particularly shining – at the time Elvis was quite easily
the least brilliant musician in the band – his jagged guitar is usually quite low down in the mix.
The least brilliant
musician maybe but what a songwriter. The chord changes, melody and spite in
these songs is immense in what must have been Costello’s most prolific period of writing. The deliberately raw production may mean that it takes a while for the unaccustomed ear to get to know
these songs. If so, keep persevering for it is well worth it in the end. And if you still don’t like a song, there is of course another one coming in
just a couple of minutes…
There really is hardly a weak track on Get Happy with some of the absolute highlights including
the hits I Can’t Stand Up for Falling Down, High Fidelity and New Amsterdam – the first two are typical of the
album’s sound with the third less typical but a nicely more intimate counterpart to the bluster elsewhere. Temptation, Beaten To The Punch and Opportunity are among my other favourites though
virtually every track is excellent.
The extensive bonus disc includes a few songs recorded at the time which didn’t
make the final album including Girl’s Talk which Elvis gave to Dave Edmunds in a foolish drunken moment (Edmunds’
multi-layered version got to no. 2 in the UK singles charts). Also included are
alternative band versions of several of the album tracks – when I say alternative I don’t mean just a couple of
overdubs added but completely different versions of the songs in different musical
styles. This illustrates the supreme versatility and musicianship of The Attractions
though the better version was picked for the album in most cases. Finally, the
bonus disc also includes some fascinating demo’s for the album which show how advanced Elvis’ vision of Get Happy
was before the band even entered the studio.
With the extensive bonus disc, full lyrics and a commentary by Elvis this
is a superb reissue. This fantastic album has got even better and is well worth
the full five-star treatment.
Released: 2003 (original album released 1980)
Acquired by me: 25.3.04 (Bought)
Costello, Elvis - The Very Best Of Elvis Costello
****½
Double
CD containing all of Costello's hit singles and many of his best and most famous album tracks. For once, it's hard to disagree
with the selections which cover his whole career. An excellent introduction or overview of one of the top artists of the last
25 years.
Released - 2000
Acquired by me: 16.9.02 - Borrowed (Library)
Costello, Elvis - When
I Was Cruel
*** ¾
Elvis' 1st rock album for the best
part of 10 years, When I Was Cruel takes some listening to but is worth it in the end.
There are only two immediate tracks, the Attractions like, cleverly autobiographical 45 and Beatle-y Tear Off Your
Own Head (It's A Doll's Revolution). The other tracks have less hooklines and
are uncharacteristically atmospheric, often using discordant effects and repetition - a bit like Tom Waits circa Raindogs.
Despite the inclusion of 2 of the
3 Attractions, it's good to see Elvis still venturing out into new un-commercial musical directions. But at almost 50 has he matured into middle-aged contentment? No
way - there is still loads of bile in the lyrics and this is certainly not the album of an artist growing old gracefully
(i.e. blandly - though Elvis' next album North possibly tells a different story!).
In retrospect, it's obvious for
the critic to relate this album to the break up of Elvis' marriage to Cait O'Riordan though I can only see one clear reference
on 15 Petals when Elvis spits "15 petals - one for every year I spent with you".
The meaning is obvious!
When I Was Cruel takes a lot of
listening to but is worth it in the end. An excellent return to what many still
think Costello does best!
Released - 2002
Acquired by me: 1.04 - Borrowed (Library)
Coxon, Graham - The Sky Is Too High
***¼
A collection of gentle acoustic and loud electric songs by the Blur guitarist. Recorded in 5 days, the acoustic
A Day Is Far Too Long is especially nice. Theres some promise elsewhere but its too unfinished and often sounds like a demo.
Released
- 1999
Acquired by me: 14.3.00 - Borrowed (Library)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - unknown
compilation
****1/2
Creedence Clearwater Revival must have felt like a
breath of fresh air when they emerged in the late 60s. Refreshingly blue collar, unpretentious and short
on guitar histrionics they were briefly the biggest band in the world during their short and prolific existence.
This compilation collects together some of their finest moments.
Among the songs featured are of course their two
most famous hits – Bad Moon Rising (no. 1 in UK, 2 in US) and Proud Mary (no. 8 in UK, 2 in US) - which are
standards for pub bands everywhere. Other highlights range from the political – the brilliant Fortunate
Son’s anger at draft-dodging rich kids while the poor are sent to Vietnam – to the simple but incredibly funky
Down On the Corner. There are also excellent more introspective moments such as Who’ll Stop The Rain
and Have You Ever Seen The Rain as well as some excellent covers such as Creedence’s surprisingly effective take on
Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine and Midnight Special, a prison song popularised by Leadbelly.
Another excellent cover which is sadly absent is the band’s version of I Put A Spell On You, recorded most famously
by Nina Simone. There are no other glaring omissions though the tracklisting on this compilation seems
a bit bizarre after my familiarity with 1986’s superior, chronological Chronicles compilation.
Although Creedence
sometimes lapsed into rather rudimentary pub rock (e.g. Travellin’ Band) and their original albums were often rushed
and consequently inconsistent, any Best Of Creedence compilation is a very worthy purchase. It
shows what can be done with a fine set of songs, two guitars, bass and drums and a touch of doom-laden Americana.
Simple but effective, they are the US Status Quo it’s OK to like. Every guitar loving home
should have some.
Acquired by me: 14.7.05 - Present (John Evans)
Crosby Stills
& Nash – Greatest Hits
****
This is a strange compilation to be released
in 2005 as it covers just four albums – Crosby Stills & Nash (1969), Déjà Vu (1970), CSN (1977) and Daylight Again
(1982) – and none of the trio’s more recent work. Some might say
that this is no bad thing when considering that this single disc includes no less than seven of the 10 songs from CSN’s
classic, eponymous debut LP.
The one thing that everyone will say about Crosby Stills & Nash is how superb their
harmonies are. Listening carefully to perfect examples such as Helplessly Hoping
and Guinevere, it’s quite astounding to realise that the only musical backing to the choir of voices are one or two
exquisite guitar parts.
Although CSN were one of the first supergroups, I always suspected that Stills was the leader. He was definitely the most talented musician and arranger and also wrote classic songs
such as the epic Suite: Judy Blue Eyes and Carry On / Questions. It was also
his backwards guitar part, recorded while the others were out, which transformed Nash’s Marakesh Express from a pleasant
strum to a major hit.
Graham Nash’s other offerings for CSN were generally less essential – wispy tunes and
trite lyrics which have not dated well though his harmony vocals are sublime. Crosby
on the other hand specialised in more rocky numbers (Long Time Gone) and beguiling, minor key melodies (Guinevere).
Although
I’ve played Greatest Hits a few times now, I’ll have to admit that the unfamiliar songs featured from the latter
two LPs have made little impression so far. Maybe they will with further listens. Whether they do or not it's still great to have a compilation featuring the best tracks
from the classic debut album and Déjà Vu. Let the harmonies flow…
Released: 2005
Acquired by me: 13.8.05 (Bought)
Crow, Charlie - Black Crow
***½
A regular on the Bunjies
acoustic circuit in London in the mid-late 90s, Charlie sadly seems to have moved on as I haven't seen him for a few years.
The early Dylan / Guthrie influences on Black Crow are obvious but Charlie's melodies aren't derivative and his clear singing
and harmonica playing are better than either of them on most days. A very worthy presence on the 90s London acoustic scene.
Released
- 1997
Acquired by me: 1.3.97 - Album swap with Charlie
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