Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence - ROBERT FRIPP.
Information is not knowledge;
knowledge is not wisdom;
wisdom is not truth;
truth is not beauty;
beauty is not love;
love is not music;
MUSIC IS THE BEST - FRANK ZAPPA.
I think we're a little happier when we have a little music in our lives - STEVE JOBS.
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe - LAO TZU.
Rock and Roll is fire, man. FIRE. - DAVID BRIGGS.
Music grips you, gets into your soul -
GEORGE MARTIN
Eric Clapton24 Nights(Vinyl - Reprise Records, 1991) ** Genre: Blues Places I remember:Marbecks Records (Queen's Arcade, Auckland) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Bad Love
Gear costume: Watch Yourself Active compensatory factors: This one is a bit weird - as it forms a sampler from all the 42 concerts Eric played at the Royal Albert Hall starting in 1990, each side has a different band line up. Not surprising then that the album lacks cohesion. My favourite side is three with the 9 piece band which includes a groovy smouldering Wonderful Tonight; least favourite is side 4 - the band augmented by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, only Procol Harum can get away with this kind of union and even then... That leaves sides 1 and 2 and it's EC with the slick late eighties band he had (Greg Phillinganes, Nathan East, Steve Ferrone). Given even EC wasn't that happy with the 1990 dates, the whole package becomes a nice collection but a little lacking in edge. Raw it ain't. Where do they all belong? The Cream of Eric is coming.
LindisfarneBack and Fourth(Vinyl - Charisma, 1978) ** LindisfarneThe News(Vinyl - Phonogram, 1979) *** Lindisfarne"Lindisfarntastic!" Live(Vinyl - LMP Records, 1983) ** Genre: Folk Places I remember: Vinyl Countdown (New Plymouth) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Run For Home (Back and Fourth)
Gear costume: Call Of The Wild (The News)
Active compensatory factors:Back And Fourth is clearly the band's fourth studio album (I've covered the first three in an earlier post). It's a disappointing record. Unfortunately, it's a case of ever diminishing returns with Lindisfarne (the first two albums are immense, then from Dingly Dell to Back and Fourth it's a slide) until The News perks things up somewhat. However, they were never going to ever return to the joy and freshness of the first two albums.
The live one is Lindisfarne as a party band. May have been great to be a part of that experience but it doesn't make for a great listen stone cold sober alone at home. Where do they all belong? That's it for Lindisfarne. If you are new to the band go directly to a best of compilation. Inevitably, it will focus on all the great early stuff. Steeleye Span is the next vinyl member of the Folk genre collection.
Commander Cody and his Lost Planet AirmenLost in The Ozone(Vinyl - MCA, 1971) *** Commander Cody and his Lost Planet AirmenHot Licks, Cold Steel and Truckers Favorites(Vinyl - Paramount Records, 1972) ***
Genre: Country Places I remember:Real Groovy Records (Auckland) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Hot Rod Lincoln (can't go past it!). Two versions here - studio and a smokin' live one that I've used afore but what the heckfire!
Gear costume: Beat me Daddy, Eight To The Bar (Lost...), Mama Hated Diesels (Hot Licks...)
Active compensatory factors: The first two albums from the fantastically named Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen are the real deal! Songs about truckers, songs about hot rods, songs about artificial stimulants - all the bases are covered! Hot Rod Lincoln was among the earliest clutch of singles I bought and thrashed mercilessly. The fun aspect is a big component on the Airmen: their compilation Too Much Funis titled that for good reason! Second album, Hot Licks... is a concept album of sorts, built around the Truckers' Favourites tag. Fun ingredient still very much intact! Where do they all belong? Live albums to follow.
AudienceLunch(Vinyl - Charisma, 1972) *** Genre: Progressive rock Places I remember: Slow Boat Records (Wellington) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Thunder and Lightnin'
Gear costume:Barracuda Dan Active compensatory factors: There is a strong earthy feel to this album - and a distinct Band resonance: real music by real people. Audience are a weird band - hard to pin down genre wise. Howard Werth's vocals are very distinctive but he's not a rock voice and the band instruments lend themselves to prog, or Art Rock according to wikipedia (whatever that is - I have no Art Rock genre section in my collection). This one has Jim Price, and Bobby Keys adding their distinctive patois to the mix. All very confusing. Which is why, I guess, they never reached an, erm, audience. Where do they all belong? Barclay James Harvest are next up in the prog section.
Natural GasNatural Gas(Vinyl - Private Stock Records, 1976) *** Genre:Apple/ Dark Horse Records (of course Private Stock is neither of those but I group Badfinger related albums all together) Places I remember: Real Groovy Records Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Christmas Song
Gear costume:Little Darlin' Active compensatory factors: Of course, Joey Molland's voice is very familiar from those Badfinger songs, but hardly anyone remembers this band. The band is obscure enough that there is not even a wikipedia article on them! On the surface it's a supergroup of sorts. Some of the bands the membership of Natural Gas have been part of: Badfinger, Humble Pie, Colosseum, Uriah Heep, Rare Bird, Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. It's a nice collection of largely undistinguished songs from various band members. Naturally, I'm more partial to Joey's tunes, but even his contribution doesn't come anywhere near his Badfinger output. Where do they all belong? Natural Gas was a brief interlude before Joey went back to the Badfinger name with Tom Evans.
The BeatlesFor Sale(various CDs/Vinyl - Apple Records, 1964) ***** The BeatlesVI(Vinyl - Apple Records, 1965) **** The Beatles'65(Vinyl - Apple Records, 1965) **** The BeatlesNo. 5(Vinyl - Apple Records, 1965) **** Genre: Beatles related pop Places I remember:For Sale CDs came from Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi) and The Warehouse; vinyl from DJ Records (Otahuhu) ; Beatles VI - Marbecks Records; Beatles '65 and #5 from Noel Forth. Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:No Reply
Gear costume: I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
Active compensatory factors: Okay. Deep breath. The one true item amongst this bunch is The Beatles For Sale, with that iconic cover above. That's the one long term Beatles fans who don't have OCD know and love from their nostalgic past. But wait...there were other versions?!
The other three records in my list are the American versions - they made two out of one (The Beatle '65 and Beatles VI), and the Japanese version was The Beatles No. 5. All these records are repackages on Apple Records rather than on Capitol or Parlophone. Why? Because I'm an OCD/completist Beatle AND Apple Records fanatic. Well, those two things usually go hand in hand for us OCD/completist Beatle AND Apple Records fanatics.
Four stars for these other versions of Beatles For Sale is because they each take tracks from For Sale and flesh them out with various singles or older cuts. That doesn't make for a cohesive package and there's only so many times I can listen without prejudice to the German language versions of I want To Hold Your Hand and She Loves You. Great though they are. My opinion. But what is never under dispute is the fact that 1964 was the year the Beatle dam burst. Where do they all belong?Help is coming! P.S. Off to meet up with Macca in Auckland this coming Saturday night! My heart is all a flutter.
Buffalo SpringfieldLast Time Around(CD - Atco Records, 1968) ** Genre: Canadian pop/rock Places I remember:The Warehouse (Cambridge) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:On The Way Home (the only track the original five members all play on).
Gear costume:I Am A Child, Kind Woman, Four Days Gone (all provide hints of solo greatness to come) Active compensatory factors: Heavily tilted towards (ultimately, sub-par) songs by Stephen Stills and Richie Furay (with only two from Neil), Last Time Around was the band's third and final album and cobbled together to fulfill their contract and boy does it show! The front cover and title are clear indications that the band members are moving on. Neil is even facing the other direction to the rest and the back cover collage is a clear symbol of the cut and paste job happening inside. Pity, because while the restless Neil Young loves the band in retrospect, and the Buffalo Springfield sound is unique, with strong individual egos pulling in different directions the band just couldn't sustain itself beyond two strong albums and this last one. Where do they all belong? Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, Jim Messina, and Neil Young went on to realise their potential in the next decade in a variety of bands.
Alter BridgeOne Day Remains(CD - Wind-up Records, 2004) **** Alter BridgeBlackbird(CD - Universal Republic Records, 2007) **** Genre: American pop/rock Places I remember:Virgin Megastore Abu Dhabi; Music Box Record Exchange (Hastings) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:White Knuckles (Blackbird) is nicely representative of the Alter Bridge experience.
Gear costume:Wayward One (Blackbird); Find the Real, Down To My Last (ODR)
Active compensatory factors: They used to be Creed but please don't hold that against them. Along came the lung busting vocals of Myles Kennedy and hey presto, they are Alter Bridge! These are the band's first two albums. They sound kinda like Volume 1 and 2, even though are three years apart so it seemed a good idea to pair them here. If old school guitar shredding rawk is your bag - get hip to be square and check out these dudes! Where do they all belong? America is next up in the US pop/ rock genre.
Lene MarlinPlaying My Game(CD - Virgin, 1999) *** Genre: Norwegian pop/ rock Places I remember:Virgin Megastore Dubai Mall. Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Sitting Down Here
Gear costume:Unforgivable Sinner Active compensatory factors: I started my Lene Marlin obsession via a sampler. Sitting Down Here was a crazily effective ditty. It got into my brain and wouldn't let go. In a nice way. Lene's wholesound is a superb mix of pop hooks, Scandinavian mystery and appropriate beats. It's catchy as all get out. Taylor Swift was certainly one person who was listening and watching closely! I can just imagine a preteen Tay Tay picking up on what Lene was doing! Where do they all belong? Debut album in a stellar career. Another Day is next. No difficult second album syndrome for Lene.
RammsteinLive Aus Berlin(CD - Universal, 1999) **** (***** for the DVD version) Genre: German pop/rock Places I remember:The Warehouse (Cambridge) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Engel (sadly, the Berlin version not available)
Gear costume:Du Hast, Asche zu Asche, Rammstein Active compensatory factors: Brutal. But not humourless. There is no better place to start if you have never experienced the joy of listening to Rammstein. Utterly captivating - the DVD of this concert trumps the CD/Record. The malevolent robot cartoon concept is breathtaking in its execution. It's impossible to turn away for even a second. Go view it now and turn your hifi stereo support system up to 11!! Where do they all belong? Next up - the boys head back to the studio with Mutter
Rory GallagherBBC Sessions(CD - Capo, 1999) *** Genre: Irish pop/ rock Places I remember: HMV Stratford Mall, London Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:I take What I want
Gear costume:Country Mile, Race The Breeze Active compensatory factors: Rory played everywhere, and he always played for fun. If ever a guy had a guitar shaped heart, it was Rory Gallagher. If ever I guy had his mojo working on a consistent basis, it was Rory. Here we find Rory on the wireless, both in the concert and studio mode over two CDs. He lets rip! As he always did! Faithful allies Gerry McAvoy, Lou Martin and Rod deAth are present and correct - laying down the bedrock for Rory to do his expansive best upon. Where do they all belong? More to come in the firey/bluesy guitar stylings of Rory Gallagher.
Big Country Live in New York City 1986 (CD - Immortal, 2012) *** Big Country Without The Aid Of A Safety Net (Live) (CD -EMI, 1994) ***** Genre: Scottish pop/rock Places I remember: The Warehouse (Hastings); Music store in the Onehunga Mall back in 1994. Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles/ Gear costume:Just A Shadow (Live in NYC); Everything on Without...Net.
The whole concert is magical but if you want a brief sample - try Thirteen Valleys at 9.40 mark.
Active compensatory factors: I quite liked Big Country when, in 1994, I came across Without...a Net in a remainder store in the Onehunga Mall (best $5 I've ever spent). From that point on, I LOVED Big Country. Without...a Net is a nigh on perfect live album: bags of atmosphere at the Barrowlands in Glasgow; Stuart Adamson's warm vocals and welcome; the way it begins with a number of acoustic versions and builds and builds; the crowd singalongs and chiming in at appropriate times; the electric intensity at the end of the concert! It is magic and I could listen to it every day without ever getting weary of it. The other live album in this post has some great moments but the audio quality and atmosphere is not a patch on Without...a Net. Where do they all belong? A fitting tribute to Adamson's genius. More BC to come.
StereophonicsWord Gets Around(CD - V2, 1997) *** StereophonicsPerformance and Cocktails(CD - V2, 1999) ** StereophonicsJust Enough Education To Perform(CD - V2, 2001) *** StereophonicsYou Gotta Go There To Come Back(CD - V2, 2003) *** Genre: Welsh pop/rock Places I remember: Record shop Central World Plaza in Bangkok, Fives (Leigh-on-sea)and HMV (Edinburgh and Oxford Street) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Maybe Tomorrow
Gear costume:Traffic (Word Gets Around); Local Boy In The Photograph (WGA);
Active compensatory factors: We were living in Essex in 2004 and I had back catalogued from 2003's You Gotta Go There To Come Back, which I'd bought in Bangkok on the way to my first ever visit to the UK the year before. Which is why I've lumped the first four Stereophonics albums together. Keeping up in the back? At the time (2003), the title struck me as being particularly prescient, and I'd heard Local Boy In A Photograph on a compilation, and liked it a lot. So I took a punt. The song Maybe Tomorrow is responsible. I listened to YGGTTCB a lot on the plane ride from Bangkok to London to help quell my nerves. It had the right kind of melancholy longing and haunted wistfulness that matched my mood. In the end I was going home (to Rochdale) but that was fleeting and, as it turned out, unsustainable. Although it's not brilliant, when I got sorted in Leigh-on-sea I dug around and picked up the back catalogue. None are classics but there are enough individual brilliant songs scattered among each one to make me keep coming back for more.
While Word Gets Around is a really good debut, Performance and Cocktails, for me, suffers from classic second album syndrome (most of the time, Kelly Jones tries too hard). Third album Just Enough Education To Perform hits the mark with some classic pop and a more varied approach - Mr Writer and especially Have A Nice Day distinguish themselves. Which brings us back to where I started with Maybe Tomorrow. Where do they all belong? A swag of post YGGTTCB albums to come.
Arctic MonkeysFavourite Worst Nightmare(CD - Domino, 2007) *** Arctic MonkeysHumbug(CD - Domino, 2009) ** Genre: English pop/rock Places I remember: The Warehouse (New Plymouth) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: This House is a Circus (FWN)
Gear costume: Fluorescent Adolescent/ Old Yellow Bricks (FWN), Fire and the Thud (Humbug)
Active compensatory factors: For me second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, is the band's high water mark, the fire. I like the guitar attack, the loudness which differentiated it from the debut, the melodic hooks, and the distinctiveness of the arrangements throughout the whole album. It's a winner all the way! Third album, Humbug, in comparison, was more about bass/drums thud, albeit with some interesting textures overlayed, and I stopped keeping up with the band from that point onwards. Where do they all belong? Even though Humbug changed the AM sound quite a bit, for me, the AM problem is how do they develop around those distinctive AM ticks (the Alex Turner vocals are so AM).
AC/DCIf You Want Blood You Got It(CD - Atlantic 1978) ***** Genre: Australian pop/rock Places I remember:Fives (Leigh-on-sea) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: The 7.35 minutes of Bad Boy Boogie are tough to beat.
Gear costume:Riff Raff and Whole Lotta Rosie are larger than life! Active compensatory factors: A case can be made that Bon Scott is AC/DC. He's certainly my favourite AC/DC vocalist and this, my goo goo friends, is his finest hour. Live and strutting his stuff. Living it. Breathing it! But that would also be doing Angus Young a disservice. Along with Bon, Angus is the star attraction live. It's very hard to keep your eyes off him as he becomes Mr Perpetual Motion. His guitaring is feral wild and pure excitement. But that would also ignore the songs. On this set all the catchy riffs and vocals exist because the songs are great. Bottom line: my favourite AC/DC album. Full stop. Where do they all belong? Almost at the end of AC/DC mark 1 but fear not. There is more Bon Scott to come.
