Album #90 : Tool - Lateralus

Tool

Lateralus (2001)

I make no secret of the fact that Tool are one of my favourite bands, not just of the last 20 years, but of all time. The reason for this is because they have taken an "archaic" musical form - progressive rock - and somehow made it more relevant to the modern world. Additionally, in Danny Carey, they boast one of music's most sublime drummers, a man who, along with Mike Portnoy, is one of my few modern drumming heroes.

Lateralus has quite an interesting origin story. Released five years after Aenima (they've never really been about pumping out material, given that in 21 years they've released...um...four studio albums), the album was released after the band pulled a shifty, announcing an album and tracklisting (that subsequently found its way onto Napster) that was fake. It took a month before the group announced the real details.

Clocking in at just a few seconds shy of 80 minutes (just long enough to fit onto a single disc), it's arguably the band's finest, most cohesive work.

The Album

Something Tool have always done well, certainly as well as most other bands, is craft songs that shift between light and dark, between grand heaviness and quiet reflection, yet have this shift be akin to travelling on a rather inconsistent rollercoaster. To avoid this analogy being further tortured, let me explain. One of Tool's great strengths is going from loud to quiet (or vice versa) a number of times within a single song. Sometimes this is immediate, sometimes this is through a gradual buildup, and though you know it's coming, when the change arrives it is like a kick in the guts (in a good way).

On Lateralus they take this strength and pump it full of musical steroids. Compared to their previous releases, the quiet, mellow parts are even quieter, and the monstrous grand explosions of all four members are even grander and more spine-tingling. Additionally, compared to Aenima, there's less of those suite-style link pieces that, frankly, could be quite annoying.

Reviewing most of the songs would result in the same comments, so I'm just going to put them here in a single paragraph. The drumming is typical Carey, all headscratching polyrhythms and a far greater reliance on toms, rototoms and other percussion than is shown by 99.9% of modern drummers. Some of his fill work and general 'timekeeping' is simply mindblowing. Maynard James Keenan goes through every conceivable part of his vocal range, from stage whisper to melodic tone to frightfully painful and evil scream. Adam Jones' guitar doesn't emanate flashy solos, instead content to be a lead instrument sometimes, while taking a back seat at other times. Justin Chancellor proves his stature as an underrated bass player, doing a similar job to Jones, in that for the most part, he's there providing the skeleton for the songs, while at others his bass positively rumbles and thunders.

All four have shining moments throughout. For Carey, it's almost every song, though in particular there's the whirlwind insanity of Ticks and Leeches and the constant, steady tom work of Reflection. For Keenan, he also makes Ticks and Leeches his own, spewing forth a savagely vindictive lyric and vocal, reminiscent of Hooker With A Penis (and revisited five years later with Vicarious), while on Parabol he sings with an almost placid, calm air. He manages to combine both approaches superbly on The Grudge, Schism, Parabola and Lateralus. Jones contributes something brilliant to every track, whether through a "solo" or, more commonly, a chunky, powerful riff that forms the basis of the song. Chancellor's biggest moment is, of course, the bass intro and bassline to Schism.

That, however, is breaking up each member's contribution, and that's not what Tool's about. They are at their finest when all four combine to create something magnificent, which on this album, is often. I struggle to single out highlight tracks because, if I'm honest, I think almost all of them are stunning. I only exclude Mantra (aka the slowed-down sound of Keenan's cat) and Faaip de Oiad (which is an utter mindfuck); even Eon Blue Apocalypse, Adam Jones' touching tribute to his dog, is a pleasant 'link track'. Outside of those three, everywhere you look, you are confronted with genius.

The Verdict

I feel as though I haven't done a very good job conveying just why I love Lateralus so much. On a purely visceral level, it evokes so many feelings, and has such magnificently grand musical highs, that it's hard not to like. On the other hand, from a technical perspective, it is composed and recorded brilliantly. It has its wanky moments (the title track, despite its unadulterated brilliance, is based on the Fibonacci sequence right down to the shifting time signatures)...but then again, that's progressive rock to a T.

What makes this the band's best album in my view is that attention to detail, however; a great deal of thought and effort has gone into crafting these songs, and it shows.

It is simply remarkable.

My rating: *****

Standout Tracks

I struggle to pick only three or four, but....

Lateralus

Disposition/Reflection/Triad (heh heh)

Parabol/Parabola (double heh heh)

Tomorrow, the March recap, and the first album of April. I'm going to avoid pulling some sort of April Fools stunt because that would be predictable, and I'm all about unpredictability.

Album #89 : The Go-Go's - Beauty and the Beat

The Go-Go's

Beauty and the Beat (1981)

The Go-Go's started life as an all-girl punk band in 1978. At the time of the group's inception, only singer Belinda Carlisle and rhythm axewoman Jane Wiedlin were present in terms of the lineup that would take the band to the top of the charts. A desire to move to a new wave/pop style resulted in several lineup changes, namely the addition of lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey, drummer Gina Schock and bassist Kathy Valentine.

With this five-piece lineup in place, The Go-Go's were ready to go, and in 1981 they released their debut album Beauty and the Beat. Songwriting duties were largely handled by Caffey and Wiedlin (though not always together), although one of the album's singles (and one of the group's defining moments) needed a little help from an unlikely source....

The Album

Packed full of new wave, post-punk and proto-pop punk (yep, I just invented a new genre, what of it?), Beauty And The Beat alters between summery Californian powerpop and darker, moodier post-punk cuts. The majority of the songs are undeniably catchy, and the musicianship on display is solid (with the exception of Carlisle, who is fantastic, and Schock, whose snappy snare fills are a real feature of the record). 

Two singles frame the album. The first, Our Lips Are Sealed, was written by Wiedlin and, unusually, Coventry 2-Tone ska legends The Specials' lead singer, Terry Hall. It differs from the usual Go-Go's sound in that it is slower, lusher, more out and out pop. The chorus in particular is a monstrous hook, and it sits in your head long after the song has passed. The second, We Got The Beat, is a prime example of that new wave-meets-punk aesthetic. It's built around a driving guitar riff, which is overshadowed only by a walking bassline and Carlisle's high-register vocal. There's even a drum and vocal only break, complete with crowd-participating handclaps. It's short, punchy and splendid.

Outside of the singles is a good-quality collection of album tracks. The highlights of these are the musically interesting This Town, with its 14/4 time signature in the verses, a chorus where the bright guitar tone contrasts with the darker chord progressions, and Belinda Carlisle's best vocal performance of the album; How Much More, which is the closest the band come to a pure punk feel, as Gina Schock unleashes those machine gun fills, Caffey gives us a hooky riff and the group spin out some high-tempo guitar chugginess; and the jaunty, breezy You Can't Walk In Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep).

The only real disappointments are Fading Fast, which despite a darker, more reflective tone, lacks the attitude you might expect to find in a song about leaving behind a douchebag relationship; and Automatic, which is all German precision and angular beats....but it doesn't work, and comes off rather flat.  

Two disappointments out of eleven is still a pretty good strike rate, though.

The Verdict

Beauty And The Beat is a sometimes fun, sometimes serious, always rocking album. It's easy to see why the band began to build a substantial fanbase from the very beginning, because as debut albums go, this is a really good one. 

Definitely worth a listen.

My rating: *** and a half

Standout Tracks

This Town

Our Lips Are Sealed

How Much More

Finishing off the month of March......TOOL.

Album #88 : Joe Cocker - Fire It Up

Joe Cocker

Fire It Up (2012)

By and large, Joe Cocker has avoided the fate that has befallen many of his hard drinking, hard living contemporaries; namely, turning himself into some second-rate crooner, churning out Christmas albums of songs that have been covered more times than the number of sex workers and waitresses Tiger Woods has banged, and appearing in "spontaneous" staged TV specials wearing expensive, ill-fitting suits and playing with 30-piece orchestras in his lounge room.

(Yes, Rod Stewart, I'm looking at you.)

What Cocker has done is continue to produce soft, adult rock with a bluesy edge, occasionally making forays into balladry and country. Such is the case with Fire It Up, his second album with producer Matt Serletic, and featuring a band made up of session guns (including, rather humourously, Ray Parker Jr. Yep, the bloke who did Ghostbusters.)

The Album

Even after a long, long career, Cocker's voice sounds just as good as it ever has. That gravelly rasp barks out all over the album, and there are no signs of any weakness in his vocal, nor any dropoff in his range. There is, however, one thing that his voice lacks on this album, and that is feeling. Whether it's a reaction to the substandard material he has to work with, or the slick too-perfect production of the album, I'm not sure. But apart from maybe two or three tracks, Cocker is sleepwalking his way through this album...and that's a damn shame.

I don't want to be too critical of producer Serletic either - the album is well produced, none of the instrumentation is too over the top (or too showy, which is a common theme in modern 'popular' music production - we can't have musicians showing that they're good!) and generally, things are in their right place. The problem is that the music is soulless, and Cocker's career-best moments have been where the music and vocals are loaded with soul and feeling.

Positives? Apart from finding out that Cocker still has the goods, I Come In Peace is the album's best track. Penned by Australian rock legends Rick Brewster (The Angels) and Ross Wilson (Daddy Cool, Mondo Rock), it contains occasionally prominent swirls of Hammond organ, giving it an old-school rock feel. There's lots of little layers of piano, acoustic guitar and electric guitar in the mix, and it works well. Additionally, it's one of the few tracks where Cocker puts in a shift and injects some effort into the vocals. Eye On The Prize is another good track, standard smoky blues fare, and again it's made better by Cocker's gravelly snarl. He sounds like he gives a shit and sings accordingly.

Beyond that though, it's all just so by-the-numbers that it disengages the listener. The array of talent enlisted to pen the different tracks is a who's who of professional songwriters, but they are all either country hit makers or pop/rock hitmakers whose stock in trade is bland, inoffensive, radio-friendly staple songs. I really don't feel this befits a gravelly blues/rocker like Cocker. Worse than that, it's like they threw their castoffs to Cocker for this album because most tracks even lack anything remotely resembling a pop hook.

The Verdict

Fire It Up sounds exactly as it should. It's an album slickly produced by a commercial producer, played by musicians who are paid to get in, lay down a basic track and get out again, using songs written by professional songwriters who churn out material for a living. With all that in mind it's no wonder that Joe Cocker has little to work with. Yeah, he sounds disinterested for the most part (actually, that's unkind - maybe it would be kinder to say he's going through the motions) but who's surprised, when the songs themselves sound so nondescript?

At least we know that Joe can still belt out a tune. There's something comforting in that.

My rating: * and a half

Standout Tracks

I Come In Peace

Eye On The Prize

The Letting Go

Tomorrow's album is a power packed New Wave debut by five sassy, talented Californian women.

Album #87 : Girls' Generation - The Boys

Girls' Generation

The Boys (2011)

Alright, look, I'm not gonna lie. A few people requested an album that would potentially score zero stars. I'm assuming this is because these albums are usually so bad that they allow a great deal of potential for mirth and joking. 

So you know what? I'm gonna give you what you want, because this month has been very short of albums that are, without a shadow of hyperbole, unadulterated crimes against nature, science and the universe. 

Today I'm reviewing The Boys, the third studio album by Korean all-girl pop sensations, Girls' Generation. Now, I must confess that I am already somewhat aware of their work. Two years ago, a few of my female students in Grade 6 were all over this group, and were obsessed with Korean culture because of them. A few mornings (at their urgings - this is what you do when you're a teacher, know your students) saw me tuning into PopAsia on SBS, watching unbearable K-Pop and J-Pop.

Let's see what these nine (yes, NINE) Korean pop starlets have to offer. I'm scared.

The Album

Allow me to begin my review with a series of images.

That accurately sums up the experience of listening to Girls' Generation. In fairness to them, I'm not the target market, but I'm going to try and objectively describe their music for you. 

It's overproduced, thumpingly upbeat synthesised dancepop. 

That's all it is.

Oh except for two songs, one of which I liked (My J, which is a very quirky, jaunty and fun little pop ditty with a very sweet melody.)

You'd think, even with this sugary pitch-perfect sappy sound, that this could be achieved by ten, maybe twenty people in total (excepting the nine vocalists).

Well according to the album credits, no fewer than 120 people worked on this album.

120. ON ONE ALBUM.

There are albums recorded by entire symphony orchestras that used less people.

If I were to grab for any other positives (and it'd be like finding a needle in the Andromeda Galaxy) I would say that there is some attempt in creating variety amongst the neverending sea of synthdancepop - Say Yes goes for a 60s vibe and is vaguely successful in challenging it, How Great Is Your Love is a charming little ballad featuring WIND CHIMES, and Oscar hints at a darker, moodier tone.

Oh also the nine girls are really good singers (at least, the ones who take lead vocals are).

That's it.

The Verdict

You know, I can barely muster the feeling to write this review. This music is not meant for me. It's not supposed to be consumed by 33 year old white dudes with families. I feel bad giving it such a harsh rating, and I feel bad making jokes about it because...well, unlike other albums I've savaged, it's just so unpretentious. It's just making fun music for kids who like fun things.

On an objective musical note though, it's just so mechanical. By that I mean the whole thing sounds so perfectly planned that there's no heart or feel. It is a prime example of music as mass-produced commodity. I can't in good conscience celebrate that - even some of the albums I've canned are at least someone trying to make some semblance of 'art'. This doesn't try. It doesn't want to.

In a word, it is meaningless.

My rating: half a star, because My J was, at least, a decent and fun tune to listen to

Standout Tracks

Um............

My J

Tomorrow, the latest release by British soul/blues vocal legend Joe 'My Dad Apparently Once Competed In A Joe Cocker Soundalike Contest And Did Quite Well' Cocker.....does he still have the chops? How many graters has he swallowed this century? Tomorrow, we find out!

Album #86 : Pink - Missundaztood

P!nk

M!ssundaztood (2001)

I genuinely, honestly, have never seen what the big deal is about Pink. Really, truly. Is it the attitude that straddles perfectly the line between honest personality and manufactured confection designed to appeal? Is it the undeniable vocal talent? Is it the fact that she is one of the few artists in modern pop music who generally doesn't rely entirely on hired gun songwriters (though let's not bullshit here - there has not been a single album song released in her entire studio career that hasn't had the services of a hired gun songwriter to provide some guidance) to develop her material? Or is it the influence she's had on pretty much every female pop star in the last ten years?

To tell the truth, it's probably all of those things and more. Though I may not get the big deal, it can't be denied that Pink is a big deal. 

Therefore it seemed only logical that the LOAD Project take on a Pink album, given her profile and importance to modern music. I've selected 2001's disgustingly-spelt album M!ssundaztood (yeah there's an exclamation mark in there; no wonder the standard of modern English has gone through the toilet.) Let's see what it has to offer.....

The Album

The copy I'm reviewing is the international version of the album. Interestingly, my research told me that the American copy basically flooded the first few tracks with all the singles, thus following Modern Pop Album Rule One: Put the singles first because nobody gives a shit about the rest of the songs, and they will still say your album is OMGWTFBBQAMAZEBALLS even though they only listened to the first five songs. The international version is different, spreading the album's four singles throughout fairly evenly.

It's the singles that I'm going to start with, and they're a mixed bag. On the positive side, Get The Party Started is aptly titled, because it's a great dancepop party tune. Clever horn and synth samples make up the bulk of the sound, and it manages to sound like an 80s/90s pop tune without being a massive ripoff. Family Portrait is probably the standout song on the entire album. It's an emotionally charged song about Pink's parents' divorce, and tells perfectly the story of a divorce from a child's point of view (right down to the self-blame and the belief that they can make everything better). It's told in a soul-tinged ballad with a magnificent vocal.

On the negative side, Just Like A Pill is full of all the typical pop cliches - quiet verse, prechorus buildup, chorus sound explosion, repeat the chorus ad infinitum until it's stuck in your head - but it's just a mediocre pop-rock song, while Don't Let Me Get Me commits the cardinal sin of being a song, sung by a white girl with a steadily building musical profile on the verge of mega stardom, that cries WOE IS ME MY LIFE IS PAIN and wallows in self-pity. Added to that is the fact that it's just so middle-of-the-road that it engenders no feeling. To think that some dude described this as 'power rock'. Mate, it's as powerful as Andre Rieu.

On to the album tracks, then, and perhaps this is the big surprise - there are some mighty fine cuts here. The best of these are the Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) and Richie Supa (Aerosmith) penned Misery, with its 60s soul-meets-gospel-meets-modern pop ballad, and a cool guest vocal from Steven Tyler; Eventually, a mighty fine R & B ballad that might be 'by the numbers', but they're the right numbers (tasteful guitar, subtle synths, gentle drum and bass, and a top class vocal effort); and Gone To California, another nice R & B style tune with good lyrics and a smooth saxophone solo that manages to elevate this song above the average.

There's also some songs that, frankly, are little more than album filler designed to ensure that the consumer isn't being shortchanged, and possibly to boost the royalty coffers a bit more. 18 Wheeler is supposed to be all LOOK AT ME I AM A BADASS AND I WON'T TAKE YOUR SHIT attitude. Unfortunately, it overlooks several key factors:

• If you were run over by an 18 wheeler, you would probably be kept down due to being incapacitated at best, deceased at worst; and
• If you're such a OMG ATTITUDE BADASS, why have you censored the word 'fuck'? What's that? To avoid a Parental Advisory sticker? WHOA TAKE THAT WORLD! STICKIN' IT TO THE MAN

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, shit album filler tracks. Missundaztood is dreadfully boring (at least 18 Wheeler shows some fucking personality, this song has all the personality of tofu). Respect sees Pink try to drop science, busting MAD RHYMES YO. Unfortunately, she's quite shit at it. Dear Diary manages to take the tried-and-tested formula of the 90s acoustic guitar pop ballad and somehow suck the life out of it.

To finish on a positive note though, two things; firstly, when she's not attempting to rap, Pink is phenomenal. She displays such an adept vocal range through the album, shifting from rock chick 'tude to Dusty Springfieldesque soul smoothness. Some of the songs might be terrible but that's not a complaint you can level at her singing. Secondly, the guiding hand of Linda Perry is a boon for this album, helping out with a clever lyric here, an earwormy pop hook there. Her presence is part of the album's charm.

The Verdict

There's brilliant, there's good, there's bland, there's bad and there's utterly terrible....and all five are here on Missundaztood. To be honest, I found the album a frustrating experience. Fantastic songs were often lost among the uninteresting noise, which is a disappointment. What I was pleased about was that within the album tracks, there were a few little gems...which, for me, is always one sign of a properly talented artist.

It's safe to say that I get the big deal a little more now than I did before...but you'll forgive me if I think that in terms of pure musical value, Missundaztood is, on balance, a distinctly average album.

My rating: ** and a half

Standout Tracks

Family Portrait

Eventually

Misery

Tomorrow, I bring you an album that promises to be another one of those 'so bad it's hilarious' releases.....

Album #85 : AC/DC - Powerage

AC/DC

Powerage (1978)

Perhaps I'm slightly biased, but I've always preferred (by a large margin) the Bon Scott-era AC/DC to the Brian Johnson one. Bon's sheer vocal range, the swagger that dripped from his performances....they were a perfect match for the band's ballsy blues-based riffs. Not to say the Brian Johnson AC/DC hasn't done great work, but it's not quite the same.

Now, my plan has always been to do two Acca Dacca albums, one with Bon and one with Brian. For my Bon one, I wanted to steer away from the albums that are well known, and choose the one Bon album that seems to be largely ignored: 1978's Powerage. Despite its near ignorance to many, it has been cited by no less a musical icon than Keith Richards as his favourite AC/DC record, and it features guitar supergenius Slash's near-favourite song by the band.

Consider this my small attempt to bring this album to people's consciousness, because it bloody well deserves to be.

The Album

Every single possible AC/DC trademark is here - thick riffs that showcase both Young brothers' abilities (at times, the two play different but complimentary riffs), centre-of-attention guitar solos, stunning, attitude-heavy vocals and hedonistic, bullshit-free lyrics. For all intents and purposes it is as AC/DC an album as you can get.

So why is it so comparatively ignored? Well, I respectfully suggest that it's because the album contains no radio staples, no iconic singles or songs that are flogged to death by rock radio. Which is their loss, really, because one or two tracks are as good as anything else that is flogged by rock radio.

Leading the way is Riff Raff, the song that is one of Slash's favourites. To my mind it is the most underrated song in AC/DC's entire catalogue. After a rumbling start, it kicks in with one of the band's finest riffs, ably supported by the bassline....but the star (at least prior to/post Angus Young's fretboard majesty in the middle of the tune) is Bon Scott, who delivers the vocal in that typical he's-screaming-but-it's-in-key-and-sounds-fucking-fantastic style of his. Sin City is almost as good, telling a tale of hedonism as only AC/DC can do, with Bon's swagger and sex appeal dripping in his vocal and another rocking riff. Down Payment Blues is another highlight, with even more kickarse main riffery, a solo that alternates a slow groove with fretboard gymnastics, and a Bon vocal that is part carefree, part desperation.

A few of the songs veer away from the standard AC/DC formula as well, and that may also explain the album's status as largely ignored. Rock 'n' Roll Damnation and What's Next To The Moon eschew large guitar solo sections for a more measured, typical pop song structure (though Damnation has a lead break at the end, it's buried so low in the mix as to be almost indistinguishable from the rest of the soundscape). Gone Shootin' is also very different, as it is more of a blues-rock song. The riff is much more melodic, less abrasive and ballsy, and the guitar solo is pure blues, as Angus Young plays with more groove and feel than usual. The normal fretboard wankery is shelved to fit the song's blues vibe.

The latter three songs tend to suggest that by this time, the group were beginning to get comfortable enough to grow as songwriters and performers, being able to rely less on theatrics and showmanship in their songs and focus instead on crafting whole, well-structured pieces. In short, AC/DC were maturing.

The Verdict

I bloody love Powerage. I've honestly never understood why others didn't, or why it has generally received little to no press. To be honest, I still don't fully understand, but can at least identify possible reasons. It's a cracking album that features some of AC/DC's finest work, as well as some of their most mould-breaking efforts (in that it gets away from their own hard-rocker mould).

Basically, get around it. It deserves more kudos than it gets.

My rating: ****

Standout Tracks

Riff Raff

Down Payment Blues

Gone Shootin'

Sin City

Tomorrow, we return to Girl Pop town, only we take on someone a little more contemporary than ol' Madonna.....

Album #84 : The Church - Of Skins and Heart

The Church

Of Skins And Heart (1981)

The Church have basically only had two major hits in their entire career. One was the gorgeous Under The Milky Way. The other was a sprawling post-punk tune, and staple of late-night Rage playlists, The Unguarded Moment. Both are great songs, but the fact that they're really the only Church songs of note leads one to ask the question - what were the band really like? What did they have besides a lush ballad and a surrealistic post-punk exploration of not really giving a toss about what others do unless you let your guard down?

To find out, I decided to review their first album, Of Skins and Heart. Penned entirely by bassist/vocalist Steve Kilbey (with occasional help from others), it consists of eight post-punk songs, then a ninth song that starts as a slow, eerie mood piece (before turning into a post-punk song). 

The Album

Despite the fact that there's not a great deal of variety in structures, Of Skins And Heart manages to pack together several very good songs, along with the remaining tunes being pretty solid. Jangly guitars abound, as do sparse post-punk arrangements, though at times the group bend their trademark sounds for something a little different.

No review of this album should start by not talking about Hit 1, The Unguarded Moment. Despite Kilbey himself disowning the song as some sort of lame Buggles soundalike, the truth is that with its iconic opening guitar line, steady chugging verse riff and surreal lyrics, it's a brilliant slice of early 80s post-punk/new wave/pop. It's not the only quality song on the album though! Memories of Future Tense opens with a Sabbathesque chug which catches the attention, before settling into a pretty cool little post-punk track. She Never Said echoes the work of The Jam (though without the flair and brilliance of Foxton and Buckler, and without the cleverness of Weller) and The Cars, with sparse instrumentation, multitracked vocals and a tasteful fusing of pop and post-punk. Fighter Pilot....Korean War is as surreal as its title suggests, and it's loaded with some great riffs (some of which are mildly dissonant).

Is This Where You Live is really the only song that challenges the artistic norm here. This is the aforementioned slow, eerie mood piece; built, in the early stages, around spooky synth choirs and a repetitive, plodding two-note bassline. Gradually, the song builds in intensity, as Kilbey's vocal and the droning guitars gain in volume. Suddenly, halfway through, the song explodes back into the album's normal post-punk uptempo mode. The synths are stripped away and the track becomes sparser, allowing guitarist Peter Koppes to take centre stage with a quite messy solo (though given his work elsewhere, it's fair to say it's deliberate). It's a great song because of its differences, even if it's a tad repetitive.

Other tracks on the album fit the 'solid if unspectacular' mould. Bel-Air is Smiths-lite with a Johnny Marr-esque jangly guitar sound, For A Moment We're Strangers and Chrome Injury do the post-punk thing by numbers, and closing track Don't Open The Door To Strangers brings acoustic guitars and booming drums to the forefront, and includes a decent slide guitar solo.

The Verdict

Of Skins And Heart is a pretty good album, and quite an easy listen. From listening to the album, I did think that perhaps The Church were a little better than perhaps they're given credit for, generally; their only crime, on this album at least, is that there's not much variety in their sound. Though in later years, this would change quite a bit.

Happily, it was not just The Unguarded Moment And Other Stuff. There's some good tracks here that deserve attention.

My rating: *** and a half

Standout Tracks

The Unguarded Moment

Fighter Pilot...Korean War

Memories of Future Tense

The next album is our latest 26th of the month Super Aussie Album! It's by one of Australia's biggest, and most successful hard rock groups....but it's not an album that you might expect to be reviewed.

Album #83 : Deep Purple - In Rock

Deep Purple

In Rock (1970)

Over their 19 000 year career, Deep Purple have undergone 391 lineup changes, rarely keeping any one lineup for any longer than a few hours.

At least, that's the way it seems, even to a Purple fan like me. The actual statistics (46 years as a band, eight different lineups of which one particular outfit was returned to twice) are just a staggering without poor attempts at hyperbole. What's more amazing is that, like a cockroach after nuclear Armageddon, they just won't go away. 

In 1969, the Mark II lineup formed for the first time; this lineup would go on to be considered the 'classic' lineup despite being responsible for only seven of the band's 19 (to date) studio albums. Deep Purple In Rock was the first album with this lineup - bass player Roger Glover and vocalist Ian Gillan joined guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, drummer Ian Paice and keyboard player Jon Lord. With a new lineup came a dramatic shift in direction; increasing attempts to move the band to a harder, more aggressive sound took hold on this album.

Consequently, it is the first album that truly showcases Deep Purple as a proto-metal hard rock band.

The Album

Full of massive riffs, crazy instrumental sections and screaming, soaring vocals, In Rock is a driving heavy rock release. Some elements of the songs call to mind later metal sounds and techniques (more on that shortly.) All five members of the band display the technical prowess that had already seen them establish a reputation as a fearsome live band.

From the opening moments the tone is set, as Speed King kicks off with a frightfully unexpected guitar solo from Blackmore, before settling into a quiet Hammond organ intro; when the song gets going, it's a rough, rocking riff with stunning vocals from Gillan, where he gently introduces us to his outstanding scream. Lyrically, it is a massive homage to early rock and roll records. We also see, not for the last time in Purple history, a call-and-response solo section between Blackmore and Lord. Bloodsucker is another driving rock tune, though not quite as memorable as other tracks (though Gillan's final verse, 100% throat-destroying screaming, is a thing to behold). 

Child In Time is not only the best song on the album, it may well stand as the best song Purple have ever recorded. Beginning with a calm, almost serene organ solo, it segues into the first verse, which is a gentle Gillan singing over the top of more Hammond organ chords. As the drums enter properly, Gillan begins to warm up his vocal cords, finally ending in a spine-chillingly high crescendo (it's this song where Gillan's influence on metal vocalists like Eric Adams and Bruce Dickinson can clearly be seen). What then follows is sheer madness; firstly Blackmore plays one of the great guitar solos, especially when the song picks up in speed. Paice's drumwork is flamboyant and jaw-dropping, and Lord's organ provides the rhythm...until the close of the instrumental section, where he and Blackmore solo together at incredible speed.

And then....it returns to the serenity of the early minutes, working itself up again until the outro. My mere words do not do it justice; it simply must be heard.

Two songs on the 'second side' of the album are advertisements for the NWOBHM sound. Flight of the Rat, with its simple, yet heavy three-chord structure and Blackmore solo/riff, as well as extended guitar solo, is a precursor of the metal structure; while album closer Hard Lovin' Man features what would later become Iron Maiden's signature; a trademark galloping riff (it also features some keyboard work by Lord that is absolutely off-the-leash. At times it sounds like he has set fire to his Hammond organ, such are the otherworldly screams it emits.)

The remaining two tracks, Into the Fire and Living Wreck, are more heavy blues-rock in style. Both are decent cuts, there's no doubt. The former is somewhat slower in tempo, with a guitar solo to match, while the latter is a straight rock tune, with a really cool drum intro from Paice that gives way to a solid riff.

The Verdict

Deep Purple In Rock is a very good example of the early 70s British hard rock sound, with early hallmarks of metal spread on its seven tracks. It marked the arrival of Deep Purple as a force, and for that it is worth a listen, even if one or two subsequent albums exceeded it in quality.

Besides, it has Child In Time. That alone is worth several stars.

My rating: *** and a half

Standout Tracks

Child In Time

Hard Lovin' Man

Speed King

Coming up next: a post-punk debut from an underappreciated Australian group.

Album #82 : Madonna - Like A Prayer

Madonna

Like A Prayer (1989)

It's fair to say the late 80s weren't exactly Party Central for Madonna. She'd appeared in several fairly crap films, her marriage to Sean Penn was (to use a technical term) rooted, and after 1986's True Blue, her musical career had seemingly stalled. 

In September of 1988, she returned to the studio with Patrick Leonard and, to a lesser extent, Stephen Bray and recorded the album that would come to be regarded as her magnum opus by many, Like A Prayer. Drawing on her personal life and the myriad issues surrounding her mother's death, her father's relationship, her own marriage and the changing attitudes towards gender, Madonna crafted a series of highly introspective and personal songs. She even collaborated with Prince, and the master himself plays guitar on several tracks.

Time to see if this really is one of those albums that transcends its genre label.

The Album

Fusing pop with disco, funk and even gospel, the album's twelve tracks are largely a diverse mix of styles and themes. The writing is sharp, the production slick and classy, and Madonna's performance is outstanding. There are, of course, the obligatory pop-hook filled tracks, a few pop ballads and some filler tracks, but even the 'filler' tracks are better than most of the output of her contemporaries.

Some tracks (i.e. the big singles) are so ubiquitous that little needs to be said about them. Like a Prayer is one of the great pop songs of all time, with a superb arrangement and a sterling incorporation of gospel elements. Express Yourself is singing the message of 'girl power' before the Spice Girls were even out of primary school. Its soul/funk/pop blend gives it a highly danceable quality, and the horn section is a welcome highlight. Cherish is bright, feelgood summery pop; its placement on the album, after two emotionally charged, deeply personal songs, is not only clever but very, very necessary. 

When Madonna gets personal here, it is to extraordinary effect. Till Death Do Us Part tells, warts and all, the story of Madonna's marriage to Sean Penn. It's a pacy tempo, straight-up pop tune, albeit with a slightly dark tinge to the arrangement, and lyrics that pull no punches. The amazing Promise To Try is sombre and emotionally wrenching; a piano ballad with beautifully sweeping string arrangements that deals with the death of Madonna's mother (which happened when Madonna was a young child). It's the pick of the deeply personal tracks, though not by much over the almost as brilliant Oh Father. This is the second time I've heard the song (it was covered by Sia on her album We Are Born) and it's remarkable; dealing in unabashed honesty about the relationship between Madonna and her father, the strings are powerful and Madonna's vocal is laced with emotion. 

Elsewhere, the Prince collaboration Love Song is straight out of the Prince playbook. Sleazy, funky R & B with a seductive edge, Prince contributes some typically cool vocals and funky guitar licks. Prince also shows up on the funk tune Keep It Together, which features some damn fine slap bass work. Spanish Eyes is another pop ballad with light flicks of castanet for percussion, and a terrific vocal from Madonna, and Dear Jessie takes some of the psychedelic Beatles tunes (Mr Kite in particular) and creates a lush reimagining of 60s pop, resplendent with a mid-song time signature change to a waltz.

And then....there's the final track Act of Contrition. Basically this is Madonna gone avant-garde, as samples of the gospel choir from Like A Prayer are sequenced backwards, along with some percussion; meanwhile, over the top of that, Prince (again) plays a simply mindblowing shredding guitar solo while Madonna freeforms a prayer vocal that, eventually, descends into madness (the final line of the album is Madonna screaming, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT IN THE COMPUTER?!!?!?!"). It's weird as fuck and for that reason I LOVE IT.

The Verdict

Look, I don't like Madonna, it's no secret. 

And yet, this album is insanely good. Such is the breadth of influences and styles on the album, it is never a boring listen. Madonna is every inch the superstar of pop here, and proves herself to be one hell of a songwriter too.

This is a highly recommended album. If I loved it, anyone can.

My rating: *****

Standout Tracks

Promise To Try

Like A Prayer

Love Song

Album #81 : Modest Mouse - This Is A Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About

Modest Mouse

This Is A Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (1996)

Modest Mouse have built for themselves a reputation as one of indie's best, most underrated bands, in my view. Over the journey their brand of guitar-driven indie has undergone mild changes and evolutions; at one point, they even counted Smiths guitar god Johnny Marr as a member of the band.

For today's review, however, we go all the way back to 1996, and their debut LP, which is an early contender for longest titled album on The LOAD Project (especially since having already reviewed Electric Six's Fire means I won't be reviewing their splendidly titled album I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me that Prevents Me From Being The Master). It continues the March theme of listening to albums to satisfy my long held curiosity.

The Album

Mildly self-indulgent, probably too long, raw, rough and unorthodox - yep, this album is indie rock debut albums to a T. I don't use the term self-indulgent as a pejorative; indeed, I enjoyed listening to a group find their feet and just explore the musical process. According to the album's Wikipedia page (I know, unreliable and user-edited etc etc) it partly explores the 'loneliness and isolation of rural life' as well as 'driving in an automobile'.

If that is true, it would explain perfectly the album's melancholy vibe and the numbingly boring go-nowhere aspect of some of the songs. Perhaps that lack of knowing when to end a song before it outstays its welcome is also a sign of the group's immaturity.

Another word I would use to describe this album is 'inconsistent'. For every great song, there's a not-so-great one. The frantic, energising filthy guitar of Head South, the calming, rarely glimpsed beauty of Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset and the feedback-laden, abrasively edgy guitar histrionics of Exit Does Not Exist are counteracted by terminally bland dirges such as Lounge, Breakthrough and Beach Side Property. Other tracks, such as the exciting-but-too-short Might and opener Dramamine, with its sharp drumwork from the impressive Jeremiah Green, are tasters of potential but ultimately are left unfulfilled.

A credit to the band is the clever use of cellos, however. Where used, it gives the sound a depth that it otherwise would have lacked. It's never overbearing, and only once does it have that early ELO timbre of being too deep and booming for its own good. Another sidenote of interest is the album's producer Steve Wold, who contributes a few instruments on the album, notably a mandolin to Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds. Wold would, ten or so years later, achieve great fame himself as a musician.....in the guise of world-weary bluesman, Seasick Steve.

Despite its inconsistency and its frequent pointlessness, the potential of the band was clear to see here. Isaac Brock is a clever, energetic guitarist who plays like he is wringing the neck of his axe, and drummer Jeremiah Green displays some real chops, especially when the aggression is turned up and he can load up on booming, rapid fire fills. He also displays a love of the disco-style speedy hi-hat beat. There's no shortage of jangly indie riffs here, and the occasionally warbly and whiny vocals, while sometimes annoying, are a hallmark of the band's future work.

The Verdict

This Is A Long Drive.....isn't bad. It's a fairly middle of the road album because of its inconsistency. There are better Modest Mouse albums out there, especially if you're unfamiliar with the band and wanting to explore their work. There are great moments on here, but they're a bit too few and far between.

My rating: ***

Standout Tracks

Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset

Head South

Exit Does Not Exist

The next album up for review is an iconic album by an 80s pop superstar.

Album #80 : Underworld - Second Toughest In The Infants

Underworld

Second Toughest In The Infants (1996)

Underworld are famous amongst most music fans for two songs - late 80s synth/guitar hit Underneath the Radar and mid-90s progressive trance masterpiece Born Slippy. NUXX, famously found in the movie Trainspotting. However, they are one of the most well-credentialled, and longest serving, electronic bands still going today. The group themselves refer to having a Mark I (the guitar/synth electropop band) and a Mark II (the electronic creatives).

Second Toughest In The Infants was Underworld's fourth studio album, though only the second Mark II release (where Karl Hyde and Rick Smith were joined by Darren Emerson). It smashed onto the UK club music scene, picking up where their previous release, dubnobasswithmyheadman, left off. 

Now, my previous experiences with EDM have not been positive....so I'm hoping this will go slightly better.

The Album

I needn't have worried, because Second Toughest In The Infants is bloody brilliant. Yep, I just used the word 'brilliant' to describe a dance music album. 

The album manages, for the most part, to combine thumping beats, melodic synthesisers and abrasive basslines into several gloriously sprawling dance anthems. In fact, anthemic is the perfect word to describe some of the album's choice tunes. Karl Hyde's vocals, and the constant use of nonsensical free-association poetry and stream-of-consciousness ramblings for lyrics are perfectly suited to the progressive trance songs within; especially as those vocals are usually disguised by studio effects and assorted trickery.

The first two tracks take half an hour. The interestingly titled Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream Of Love (so titled because it is three compositions fused into one long, sixteen minute anthem) is a perfect example of how dance music can combine melody, groove, emotion and skill. Given its structure, it goes through a few distinct phases; it weaves through house, progressive trance and drum and bass sections with ease. There are slightly less intense synthesiser portions at times, acting as counterpoints to the heavy drum and bass; Hyde's echoey, distant voice is there, everpresent, but acting as just another layer of sound. Banstyle - Sappy's Curry is markedly different; it's a fifteen minute ambient chillout song. Starting with a laidback drum and bass vibe, it eventually segues into an even more laidback, Spanish-style picked guitar melody with eerie synth chords floating above. There's a particularly electric moment when a synthesiser solo plays, sounding like a Commodore 64 gone haywire.

After the incredibly dull Confusion The Waitress, Underworld give us three of the most thumping club-ready progressive trance anthems you'll hear in the one place. Rowla is extraordinarily abrasive with pumping beats, buzzy synth bass and fist-in-the-air synth chords; Pearl's Girl is the best of the three, with some wicked breakbeats forming the rhythm. Mostly, the synthesisers are set to 'trance anthemia', with a small break at about seven minutes, taking the intensity down a notch with more ambient-style synth, before returning to Trancetown; and Air Towel is more of the same, and that is not a bad thing. All three, however, retain a real sense of melody and musicality despite being just 'songs you dance to'.

The final two tracks represent Underworld's chillout side. Although Blueski is not really that interesting, being a constantly repeated, never shifting looped guitar break, final track Stagger takes the progressive trance ideal and slows it down about 80%, then adds in some Eno-lite ambience and the odd prog rock-style synthesiser lick. It's the sort of song that, nowadays, would be pumped out on 'pop' radio as a 'pop' song, and Underworld were producing it almost twenty years ago as an album's slowdown tune.

The Verdict

Fuck Skrillex. You want pumping dance music that's also musically interesting? This album is what you want. It demonstrates perfectly Underworld's sense of musical aesthetics combined with knowing what makes a party room tick. It's top notch trance music that's varied and interesting.

Proper bloody EDM, in other words.

(Oh. By the way. Some may be wondering, "Where's Born Slippy?" Well, it was a non-album single, and released later as a bonus disc with this album, but it wasn't on the original...so it's not part of the review.)

My rating: ****

Standout Tracks

Pearl's Girl

Stagger

Juanita: Kiteless: To Dream Of Love

The next album is the debut by a criminally underrated Washington indie troupe. It's an album I've never heard, so I'm looking forward to finding out where the group started.

Album #79 : The Police - Synchronicity

The Police

Synchronicity (1983)

By 1983, The Police were, essentially, a burnt out wreck of a band. Bassist/vocalist Sting was a major deal in the world, through his work in movies as well as his work with The Police, and was considering branching out to a solo career; drummer Stewart Copeland had fallen out with Sting, and their previous working relationship had deteriorated completely; and guitarist Andy Summers had dissolved a marriage, fathered a child and remarried, meaning music was less of a priority.

Dragging themselves into AIR Studios on Montserrat, the three recorded Synchronicity, the band's fifth (and final) studio album. The writing was on the wall during the sessions, where the band had (not just for sound reasons) each recorded their parts in a completely separate room from each other, and even avoided each other during the overdub process; Sting and Copeland even had a punchon at one stage. That they managed to put out a decent album is nothing short of a miracle.

Many critics regard this as their best work. As you'll see, I disagree with that assessment.

The Album

The high points on Synchronicity are properly soaring. The two tracks that share the album's name are two of the album's best; Synchronicity I is a repeated synthesiser line and a rock solid bass riff, with some clever rhymes and interesting vocabulary; Synchronicity II is an absolute beast of a track, with Summers crunching some positively dark tones out of his guitar, brilliant transitions between the lyric sections, top class vocal work from Sting and some biting lyrics, contrasting one man's emasculating, pathetic work and family life with the rise of some unseen evil. It's one of the best on the album.

While Every Breath You Take is one of those songs that's overplayed (WHY ARE PEOPLE USING THIS AS A WEDDING SONG?? HAVE YOU LISTENED TO THE LYRICS?? IT IS ABOUT STALKING!) it's also a brilliant tune; its simplicity is its strength, simplicity encapsulated by Summers' perfectly picked guitar melody and Sting's terrifically passionate vocal. Wrapped Around Your Finger will go down as the last properly great Police song; mostly keyboards and synthesisers, there are some little guitar licks here and there, while Sting's hypnotic bass line draws you in and takes you away. The choruses add a touch of scale to the track, as the synths and guitars swim up louder, anthem-style.

After this, though, there's a drop in quality. King Of Pain is pleasant but no more than that; there's some nice chord progressions and some decent lyrics, but it's not as thrilling as any of the four previously discussed tracks. Miss Gradenko is a song I've always liked but really, objectively speaking, it's a bit of throwaway filler. The vocal harmonies are great, Copeland's drum work is decent and the picked guitar is cool, but it's really just an average song all things considered. O My God is notable for the jazzy work of Andy Summers (who would go on to a decent career as a jazz guitarist after The Police) but that's about it.

There are also two songs on here that must be contenders for the worst Police song ever. Walking In Your Footsteps is wanky African-influenced junk about dinosaurs and humans, with congas, rhythm sticks and Deep Forest woodwind/synth work galore. Basically, it's utter shit. Mother gets a slight pass ahead of that, only because the artistic intention of the song is well executed; lyrically it's a song of obsessive paranoia about an unhealthy mother/son relationship, and the guitar work of Summers helps convey that paranoia. However, his screamed lyrics shit me up the wall. It is a dreadful song made barely tolerable by that successfully executed artistic vision.

The Verdict

With only a handful of properly good tunes, and an abundance of filler, I can't see how Synchronicity is better than Reggatta de Blanc or Ghost In The Machine, both of which I consider superior albums. Yeah, at its very, very best it's probably ahead of tracks on those albums, but those albums never bottomed out like this one does. If the critics are right, and this really is The Police's best studio work, then I guess we can safely say they were a singles band, because this is far from a complete, quality album.

Take the good tunes, ignore the rest. Experience The Police at their best because their worst is pretty dreadful.

My rating: ***

Standout Tracks

Synchronicity II

Wrapped Around Your Finger

Synchronicity I

The next album is an EDM release by a great old-school dance music act.