September 2020 Anniversaries
Released 3rd September 1990
LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE VOL. 1
George Michael
The album title and the general twerpishness of the artist makes the experience of this so meta that Christopher Nolan could probably make a movie out of it. It takes some level of paranoia to make such a plea in naming your art. Everything about it's presentation is annoying, down to the 'Vol. 1'. God knows what level of celebrity delusion had taken hold at this point. Or maybe he was just being ironic?
The music itself is archly studied with an air of faux classiness. 'Praying For Time' feels like the stream of trite consciousness, he commits cultural misappropriation by nicking "You can't always get what you want" from the Stones in the lyric of 'Waiting For The Day' and 'Freedom 90' was covered with more meaning by Robbie Williams, which tells you something. I found it quite annoying and what's more, I went into it believing I would.
Post Status: I've slagged him off royally here, but the Wham!/Michael story could be very good grist to the R.O. mill.
Praying For Time
Freedom! 90
They Won't Go When I Go
Something To Save
Cowboys And Angels
Waiting For The Day
Mother's Pride
Heal The Pain
Soul Free
Waiting (Reprise)
Released 4th September 1970
GET YER YA YA'S OUT!
The Rolling Stones
Rules are made to be broken. And if you're going to break the rules then The Rolling Stones are the ones to break them with. Normally live albums are banned. Studio recordings only. However I have good reasons for including this.
1. I like the title
2. It reputedly cements the current string of four albums that represent the Stones in their all-conquering pomp and brings their work to date together.
3. The Stones are a massive undertaking anyway, so one more won't hurt.
4. A trusted adviser told me I should include it.
The great thing about live albums is that they generally tend to work as a kind of less formal 'Best Of' and yet you also get to hear how the band cope with the differences between studio and stage. You also get a bit of between-song chit-chat which can often be fun.
Now I don't know if there is an echo in Madison Square Garden or the band are announced about 5 times at the beginning. They do not appear to be the only band on the bill either. Wikipedia hints that Terry Reid, B.B. King and Ike and Tina were supporting them, which in itself tells you how far they had come.
When it starts with 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' there's a suspicion that Richards' guitar is slightly out of tune, but the remarkable thing about these performances is that they are both as tight as one of Charlie's snares and as loose-limbed as Jagger's dancing. Mick suffers a wardrobe malfunction after JJF, threatening to treat the crowd to some unplanned kecks-dropping. This may still be heavily blues-influenced music but it is also modern, hard rock that hundreds of bands have copied ever since. I'm tempted to say that 'Midnight Rambler' is better than the version on Let It Bleed, and they dispense with the "woo-woos" in favour of a searing guitar performance from Keith on 'Sympathy For The Devil' which they play just after a Noo Yoik woman has requested "Paint It Black. Paint It Black, y'devil!". That's Charlie on the cover. With a donkey.
Post Status: This one is included in the Stones studio albums post, hence the intro, which can be found here: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-rolling-stones-out-of-control.html. There is another live album, Brussels Affair, covered in the 1972-1973 Live Album blogpost: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2018/01/classic-live-albums-part-3-1972-1973.html
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Carol
Stray Cat Blues
Love In Vain
Midnight Rambler
Sympathy For The Devil
Live With Me
Little Queenie
Honky Tonk Woman
Street Fighting Man
Released 4th September 1995
ROOTS TO BRANCHES
Jethro Tull
One more after this and I have to admit to flagging a little of late, not more than one a week recently. Not for lack of quality or interest though, and this is no exception. This is very coherent as a single musical piece. It's very Seventies and proggy, although it occasionally crosses the line into jazz, and no-one wants that. Anderson has been off to Cairo, wandered around the souk and done a beginners course in snake charming to advantageous effect on the opening two tracks. The prog stylings kick in heavily on 'Dangerous Veils', especially toward the end of the track. On 'Wounded, Old And Treacherous' IA speaks the lyric in a rather arch fashion and it gets a bit chaotic at the end.
'At Last Forever' is what I consider trad Tull, by which I mean it fits into the Stormwatch/Broadsword period, where I first came in. 'Stuck In The August Rain' reminds me a little of 'From A Dead Beat To An Old Greaser'. Dire Straits 'Your Latest Trick'. At the end the mumbling, headbanded ghost of Mark Knopfler appears again at Anderson's shoulder and the closing 'Another Harry's Bar' is reminiscent of 'Your Latest Trick'. Artwork still going well too.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2016/10/se25-5bd.html
Roots To Branches
Rare And Precious Chain
Out Of The Noise
This Free Will
Valley
Dangerous Veils
Beside Myself
Wounded, Old And Treacherous
At Last Forever
Stuck In The August Rain
Another Harry's Bar
Released 5th September 1975
MINSTREL IN THE GALLERY
Jethro Tull
Schizophrenia rules. Tull can't decide if they are a folk band or a heavy rock band. Their solution? Make the title track an exercise in doing the same song twice in either style. Of course it's a bit more complex and clever than that, but the title track, 'Minstrel In The Gallery' is essentially a run through in a mock-mediaeval style, followed by identical lyrics, played as if they were Free. In a way it sums up Jethro Tull nicely. Their artwork and general musical style often suggests rustic olde-Englishness, but Anderson's voice and Barre's guitar easily achieve a hard rock edge.
In my slow progress toward making this all a little more informed (and, let's be honest, to boost the blog's stats), I have recently ventured onto some of the fan forums to get the insider's line on these albums. Yes and ELO have both been very welcoming, but Floyd and the Beatles are tougher nuts to crack. Since I am embroiled in Jethro Tull it gives me an opportunity to sound their fans out about what I should look for. 'One White Duck' seems to be the favourite on this one. I like 'Black Satin Dancer', it suggests some of the later tracks that I like, such as 'Budapest'. Those gentle, reflective acoustic guitar ditties are back too with 'Requiem', 'One White Duck/010 = Nothing At All' and the pleasingly short 'Grace'. Centrepiece of Side 2 is 'over 16 minutes of 'Baker St. Muse' medley. Not sure to be honest. It's disjointed, which is always a danger with a medley. 'Summerday Sands' is included as a bonus track on the Spotify version, and it ain't half like 'Skating Away'
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2016/10/se25-5bd.html
Minstrel In The Gallery
Cold Wind To Valhalla
Black Satin Dancer
Requiem
One White Duck/010 = Nothing At All
Baker St. Muse
Pig Me and The Whore
Nice Little Tune
Crash Barrier Waltzer
Mother England Reverie
Grace
Released 6th September 2005
A BIGGER BANG
The Rolling Stones
At the time of singing, Mick Jagger is 62 years old, and yet he's still carrying on like a canine with twin sexual appendages. His opening salvo on 'Rough Justice' is "One time you were my baby chicken, Now you've grown into a fockssss. Once upon a time I was your rooster, Now am I just one of your cockssss". No time for subtlety at his age. But those lines are both beautifully crafted and shockingly blunt. As noted previously, the Stones are so accomplished and so utterly comfortable with what they are doing that they hardly put a foot wrong throughout. Everything fits together snugly like a jigsaw puzzle.
This is a double and in fact the last, to date, of original material. While you couldn't accuse them of breaking new ground or changing the course of rock and roll, they still have some original ideas in the tank. The reggae chops of 'Rain Fall Down' are pleasingly bell-like and they are downright political on 'Sweet Neo Con' as they rip into the fundamentalist Christian Right. Mick seems to be weighing his enunciation of every word on the slow and roughly tender 'Streets Of Love'. I'm almost certain to have used the words slidey, slow, swampy and blues all together somewhere in the past, but I'm not earning a living at this so a bit of sloppiness should be forgivable. 'Back Of My Hand' is slow, swampy, slidey blues.
Something I've never commented on so far, is the nature of Rolling Stones song titles. There's something very self aware about many of them, they play up the whole 'bad boys of rock and roll' thing with titles like 'Rough Justice', 'Back Of My Hand', 'Laugh, I Nearly Died', 'Look What Cat Dragged In' and 'Infamy', and they've done it throughout with both individual songs and album titles. Admittedly the content of many of these songs are also quite near the knuckle, but that just confirms their authenticity I guess. But you also know, that they know, that it's all a bit of a game.
Of course a couple of Keith croons are now de-rigeur. Just try not to conjure any images in your mind when he sings "Come on, bare your breasts and make me feel at home" on 'This Place Is Empty'. There's still plenty of spike in the Stones lyrics too. "Oh no not you again, fucking up my life, it was bad the first time, I can't stand it twice", sings Mick on 'Oh No Not You Again'. It seems standard now that Keef gets the last word. So 'Infamy' plays on that old Carry On Cleo chestnut of confusing "infamy" with "in for me" ("Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me"). That they can get away with such a tired old joke probably tells you as much about their status as you need to know.
They appear to be trying a touch of spot-welding on the cover art, and since it is merely quite bland, represents a considerable improvement on recent efforts. But honestly, who cares when it's this good?
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-rolling-stones-out-of-control.html
Rough Justice
Let Me Down Slow
It Won't Take Long
Rain Fall Down
Streets Of Love
Back Of My Hand
She Saw Me Coming
Biggest Mistake
This Place Is Empty
Oh No, Not You Again
Dangerous Beauty
Laugh, I Nearly Died
Sweet Neo Con
Look What The Cat Dragged In
Driving Too Fast
Infamy
Released 7th September 1980
NEVER FOR EVER
Kate Bush
Starts with Babooshka, the video of which left many boys of a certain age at that time feeling 'confused'. You had to take your scantily clad female popstars where you could find them in those days, not like now. I love the effects in it, breaking glass or crockery and all that. It's followed by 'Delius (Song of Summer)' This has got a drum machine and is a bit trancey with lots of vocal shenanighans. Has a slight Kraftwerk-y feel to it.
Later on, 'All We Ever Look' for has Kate walking through my head as I listen on 'phones. Wedding List is interestingly jerky and the The Violin is full on Rock and Roll with some mad screaming vocals.
She finishes up with a couple of singles, Army Dreamers, with another memorable video in which the camera shutter effect was synchronised with Kate's blinking eye if I remember correctly (without cheating by looking it up on You Tube) and then Breathing, which I don't really get at all, it just seems a bit dischordant.
Post Status: Kate is about as early as they come, so could be due for a review and update: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2014/02/kate-bushfrom-kick-to-snow.html
Babooshka
Delius
Blow Away
All We Ever Look For
Egypt
The Wedding List
Violin
The Infant Kiss
Night Scented Stock
Army Dreamers
Breathing
Released 10th September 1975
ALIVE!
KISS
KISS fall between several ludicrous Rock and Roll stools. Camper than Queen, but not as outrageously so as Twisted Sister. Less committed and downright terrifying than Alice Cooper (and probably not as self-aware either). Their stagewear not quite as leftfield as Angus Young's schoolboy outfit. A taste for greasepaint that suggests cynical image-creation rather than the artistic expression you might associate with Bowie or Gabriel. They even suggest that their name is an acronym by presenting it in capitals, but can't actually come up with something as moderately offensive as WASP (if you're being beaten by Blackie Lawless and crew then you need to worry). The problem can be adequately summarized by considering that Robbie Williams thought that emulating them was a good idea in his 'Let Me Entertain You' video.
However, if screaming guitars and screaming vocals are your thing, then KISS are the band for you. It's all quite relentless and although I've given this a fair crack of the whip, it's hard to isolate anything that stands out. There are sirens at the end of 'Firehouse', will that do? There was definitely a drum solo somewhere. One of the songs was a bit slower than the others, but not significantly so, and they still screamed it. If 'She' had been a cover of the Charles Aznavour song, that might have been interesting.
I know they have a following and I never try to offend anyone but the artist, who will never read this, but can anyone really put up with this stuff? But what do I know? The modern oracle that is Wikipedia tells me, and I quote, " It is considered to be their breakthrough and a landmark for live albums.". Well, it's a landmark like an abandoned warehouse, empty and a bit of an eyesore. And just look at the state of them on the cover. I ask you.
Band Bantz: Can't you guess? RAWK AND ROLL! IT'S GONNA GET HOT IN HERE TONIGHT. YEAH!
Heckles and Coughs: Being part of the KISS horde is an undemanding task. They scream "ROCK AND ROLL!". You scream "ROCK AND ROLL!" back. Job done.
Post Status: This live album is the nearest I'll ever get. https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2018/03/classic-live-albums-part-4-1974-1976.html
Band Bantz: Can't you guess? RAWK AND ROLL! IT'S GONNA GET HOT IN HERE TONIGHT. YEAH!
Heckles and Coughs: Being part of the KISS horde is an undemanding task. They scream "ROCK AND ROLL!". You scream "ROCK AND ROLL!" back. Job done.
Post Status: This live album is the nearest I'll ever get. https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2018/03/classic-live-albums-part-4-1974-1976.html
Deuce
Strutter
Got To Choose
Hotter Than Hell
Firehouse
Nothin' To Lose
C'mon And Love Me
Parasite
She
Watchin' You
100,000 Years
Black Diamond
Rock Bottom
Cold Gin
Rock And Roll All Nite
Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll
Released 10th September 1990
UNDER THE RED SKY
Bob Dylan
Wilbury period Bob sees the influence of his erstwhile bandmates rubbing off. Which means for the casual listener this comes across as quite accessible and even good fun at times. But of course it is frowned upon by Bob-bores for just the same reasons. I guess 'Wiggle Wiggle' does undermine that Nobel prize for literature somewhat.
Post Status: See posts passim
Wiggle Wiggle
Under The Red Sky
Unbelievable
Born In Time
T.V. Talkin' Song
10,000 Men
2 x 2
God Knows
Handy Dandy
Cat's In The Well
Released 10th September 1990
RAGGED GLORY
Neil Young
For me, this is peak Young. The follow up to Freedom but with Crazy Horse officially in tow this time. There are several Young songs on here which deserve to be considered classics - 'F*!#in' Up, 'Love To Burn', Farmer John', 'Mansion On The Hill' and 'Love And Only Love' for example. This is definitely in the same league as Harvest, After The Goldrush, Freedom and Sleeps With Angels.
Post Status: Getting impatient
White Line
Fuckin' Up
Over and Over
Love to Burn
Farmer John
Mansion on the Hill
Days That Used to Be
Love and Only Love
Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)
Released 10th September 1985
UNDER A RAGING MOON
Roger Daltrey
There's something about this particular album which means it has lodged in my memory. I think I had just discovered The Who properly around then, so a Daltrey solo album piqued my interest. 35 years on it's just muscular and unimaginative, what you'd probably expect from him.
Post Status: Here's The Who. Close enough. https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-who-hope-i-die.html
After the Fire
Don't Talk to Strangers
Breaking Down Paradise
The Pride You Hide
Move Better in the NightLet Me Down Easy
Fallen Angel
It Don't Satisfy Me
Rebel
Under a Raging Moon
Released 11th September 1990
DAVE STEWART AND THE SPRITUAL COWBOYS
Dave Stewart and the Spritual Cowboys
Now here is a real rarity. An album seemingly so obscure that it does not have a Wikipedia entry, meaning that instead of blagging the image from there I got the Spotify banner. I remember this coming out, it was reasonably well received as I recall. The project must have been the subject of an article in Q magazine surely? And yet there's just a miserly single paragraph about the band and their two album/six single discography. Funnily enough the follow-up, Honest does have a page. They're also a kind of cut-price supergroup with members from the Pretenders, Blockheads and errrm JoBoxers.
It's good too, not remarkable, a bit derivative but worth spending an hour of your time.
Post Status: Here's the Eurythmics. I could have shoehorned these albums in there. Maybe a joint Lennox/Stewart post would be worth considering.
https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2017/04/eurythmics.html
Soul Years
King Of The Hypocrites
Diamond Avenue
This Little Town
On Fire
Heaven And Earth
Love Shines
Party Town
Mr Reed
Fashion Bomb
Jack Talking
Hey Johnny
The Devil's Just Been Using You
Spritual Love
Released 12th September 1975
WISH YOU WERE HERE
Pink Floyd
I've listened to this almost constantly since finishing the Dark Side Of The Moon post and it is fan-bloody-tastic. I was acquainted in my Sunderland student days with a lovely chap from Oughtibridge in South Yorkshire who was a massive Floyd fan. Dear old Higgy, described anything dirty as 'loppy' and was endearingly forthright in his views. This was 1986-1987 and he shared our rather awful student house. At the time the Pink Floyd legal wars were in full spate and the Higster was firmly in the 'Rodge' faction. Anyway, one evening we had indulged in a few Holsten Pils and the Higatollah insisted that we turned out the lights and put 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' on. This may have been the closest to an out of body experience that I have ever come.
There's no weak point on this for me, from the bell-like four opening guitar notes on 'Shine On..' parts I-V to the heartbreaking sentiment of the title track, this has to be their best album by a country mile (NB I haven't ever listened to some that are still to come so some desperate backtracking may still occur). I dismissed Syd Barrett earlier but if he could inspire much of the material on here then maybe he did have something after all. Famously he turned up during the recording despite being desperately ill, and the songs reflect a sense of loss for friendship, talent and the person they knew.
Roy Harper's vocal on 'Have A Cigar' is also inspired, although his delivery isn't much different to Gilmour's or Waters', the fact that he is not a member of the band adds an extra level of meaning to the song, and he does sing it brilliantly. Once again, all those myths about punk washing away the excesses of prog are blown away. This is a much more scathing attack on the biz than the Pistols ever achieved with 'EMI'.
Complex packaging too. The image of the burning man shaking hands with another was concealed in black shrink wrap, but there was a sticker showing two robot hands shaking too.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-pink-floyd-by-way-which-ones-pink.html
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V)
Welcome to the Machine
Have a Cigar
Wish You Were Here
Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI–IX)
SCARY MONSTERS (AND SUPER CREEPS)
David Bowie
SCARY MONSTERS (1980)
I'm going to stick my neck out and say that side one of Scary Monsters is the best thing Bowie has done so far and will probably not be surpassed. It seems to build on the promise of Lodger and blend some pretty diverse elements into a compelling whole. It also shows I think the influence it had on later British artists. It doesn't take much imagination to think that Damon Albarn and Blur had recently listened to 'It's No Game (Part 1)', when they wrote 'Boys and Girls' and I wouldn't be surprised if Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream had the opening to 'Up The Hill Backwards' running through his head when he wrote 'Movin' On Up' (OK it's a fairly standard blues riff but you can see the same DNA). 'It's No Game' Parts 1 and 2 bracket the whole album and they themselves start and finish respectively with some "can you guess it" sound effects (I can't, answers on a postcard please). The first part is brilliant, with it's discordant backing and spoken Japanese female vocal, interspersed with Bowie virtually howling the song. It could have been awful but instead it's just incredible. It finishes with a screamed "SHUT UP!", which is only heeded second time around.
I'm going to stick my neck out and say that side one of Scary Monsters is the best thing Bowie has done so far and will probably not be surpassed. It seems to build on the promise of Lodger and blend some pretty diverse elements into a compelling whole. It also shows I think the influence it had on later British artists. It doesn't take much imagination to think that Damon Albarn and Blur had recently listened to 'It's No Game (Part 1)', when they wrote 'Boys and Girls' and I wouldn't be surprised if Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream had the opening to 'Up The Hill Backwards' running through his head when he wrote 'Movin' On Up' (OK it's a fairly standard blues riff but you can see the same DNA). 'It's No Game' Parts 1 and 2 bracket the whole album and they themselves start and finish respectively with some "can you guess it" sound effects (I can't, answers on a postcard please). The first part is brilliant, with it's discordant backing and spoken Japanese female vocal, interspersed with Bowie virtually howling the song. It could have been awful but instead it's just incredible. It finishes with a screamed "SHUT UP!", which is only heeded second time around.
I think 'Up The Hill Backwards' may be my favorite Bowie track of all time (have I said that already? - if so I've now changed my mind). The aforementioned intro is completely out of keeping with the rest of it which consists of a distantly chanted vocal. "I'm OK, you're so-so" - is possibly the best example of a lyric that is both bland and fascinating at the same time. 'Scary Monsters' is another of the few I remember him doing live in 1987. It had good lighting effects, very quick bright flashes during the drum beats in the chorus. He sounds pretty threatening and scary himself as he sings it. He also deploys his glottal stops to their full strength with "well I love the li'le gerwl".
'Ashes To Ashes' always makes me think of the late great Rik Mayall in the Young Ones when they were performing a funeral in the back garden. The vicar intoned "Ashes To Ashes" and Rik immediately chips in with "Funk to funky, we all know Major Tom's a junkie' in his own inimitable fashion. Seemed to perfectly sum up the way that every generation thinks their own culture is original and best. The video was on the Pops interminably and was another big inspiration for more early eighties comedy in Not The Nine O'clock News' 'Nice Video, Shame About the Song'. It's all about Major Tom of course. I guess we must see it as a bleak descent from heroic adventurer to washed up druggie. 'Fashion' is another one that shouldn't work on paper, but the flatulent synth, and buzzy guitar and "beep beep"s all come together perfectly.
Side 2 goes off the boil a bit. 'Teenage Wildlife' goes go on a bit. He has some fun with vocal effects on 'Scream Like A Baby' going from Pinky and Perky to Will 'Kissing With Confidence' Powers. I found 'Kingdom Come' unremarkable, so I'll make no remarks. There's lots going on in 'Because You're Young' and it has a catchy chorus with a twinkly synth backing. It all closes with the second part of 'It's No Game' It's less chaotic than it's partner. He doesn't try to rip his own vocal cords out this time and the tone is much more introspective, and dare I say, political. He touches on child labour.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2014/08/david-bowie-eponymous-to-next-day.html
It's No Game (No. 1)
Up the Hill Backwards
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
Ashes to Ashes
Fashion
Teenage Wildlife
Scream Like a Baby
Kingdom Come
Because You're Young
It's No Game (No. 2)
BLACK SEA
XTC
I'm pretty certain I had this on tape, bought cheaply from a bargain bin, but never really gave it a proper chance. XTC were a band I felt I should like but they could be quite difficult at times. Listening to it today I'm not sure what I was thinking. It's not difficult at all and is quite brilliant. Even my Monster Hunter obsessed younger son was nodding along appreciatively. 'Sgt. Rock.', 'Generals and Majors' and 'Towers Of London', there's plenty to enjoy although the closing 'Travels in Nihilon' is quite challenging, a forerunner of Death Metal I'd say. It's got a great cover picture too.
Post Status: Not yet but they must be considered.
Respectable Street
Generals and Majors
Living Through Another Cuba
Love at First Sight
Rocket from a Bottle
No Language in Our Lungs
Towers of London
Paper and Iron (Notes and Coins)
Burning with Optimism's Flames
Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)
Travels in Nihilon
Released 12th September 2005
CHAOS AND CREATION IN THE BACKYARD
Paul McCartney
It's a dog of a title for a terrific album. This is all quite low key and introspective, and so it feels quite heartfelt too. I was going to argue that it's pointless trying to second-guess what is going on in any artist's head on the basis of their output, but that's clearly nonsense, even the most humdrum office worker is affected in their professional life by the personal, so it's probably valid to note that the McCartney-Mills marriage was reaching it's final throes. However it's hard to detect any overriding mood on this. Possibly a little sad. 'How Kind Of You' and 'At The Mercy' are gently touching and 'Jenny Wren' is sweet and simple.
He might be taking the piss out of his own tendency for whimsy on 'English Tea', but he absolutely nails the gentle latin beat of 'A Certain Softness'. There's a bitter undertone to the lyrics of 'Riding To Vanity Fair' - "The definition of friendship, apparently ought to be; Showing support for the one that you love; And I was open to friendship, but you don't seem to have any to spare; while you were riding to Vanity Fair". You could definitely see Sting covering it.
'Promise To You Girl' starts like a companion piece to 'In My Life', but it soon veers off into some light, up tempo piano work. The last two songs, third single 'This Never Happened Before' and 'Anyway' are both classy but a little dull.
All of the songs are stripped back, gawd knows what a Padgham would have done with it. McCartney plays most of the instruments too. The lushest is the opening track and first single 'Fine Line'. It just about tugs at the the back of my mind as a memory of it's original release, but then that might just be the assumed familiarity that you get with so many of McCartney's songs.
The cover picture is himself in his family backyard (note Americans, that 'backyards' are empty, with a hard surface and fences around them - anything which features greenery is probably a 'back garden') taken by his brother Mike, who you have to concede had a good eye for framing an image back then
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-solo-beatles.html
Fine Line
How Kind Of You
Jenny Wren
At The Mercy
Friends To Go
English Tea
Too Much Rain
A Certain Softness
Riding To Vanity Fair
Follow Me
Promise To You Girl
This Never Happened Before
Anyway
Released 16th September 1985
HOUNDS OF LOVE
Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Do you remember how, when 'Running Up That Hill' was released as a single, everyone was saying. "Wow. Have you heard that new song by Kate Bush, she hasn't been around in ages". Well I do anyway. A 3 year hiatus in those days was tantamount to career suicide, whereas as now we might suspect her of risking burnout. It was a pretty radical change for her as well. Much more radio-friendly than the previous offering. Side 1 (note for the kids - records used to have two sides and you flipped them over halfway through - what's THAT all about?) follows a fairly standard album structure. 5 songs, all of which are, in my view, probably the best work she's done.
We all know Running.. and Hounds of Love. I'll give a shout out to the Futureheads version of the latter here as I think that's great too.'The Big Sky' features a bit of warbling that she later revisited in 'Rubberband Girl' and some strident vocals borrowed from her earlier work. 'Mother Stands for Comfort' - the only non-single on side 1 - is much synthier than I remember.
And then we come to 'Cloudbusting'. This IS my favourite Kate Bush track, and it's down to a perfect storm (pardoning the pun) of a beautiful structure, great storytelling, slight weirdness and a video that probably rewrote the form. "Hang on. That's Donald Sutherland, innit?" we all cried. It was cinematic, touching and uplifting. Listening to the song now even the first line raises questions 'I still dream of Organon' Huh? I still love the repeated violin phrase to the chugging beat, which eventually resolves into the final steam train closure. It occurred to me that she may have been referencing the final scene of the Railway Children here ('Daddy!, My Daddy!') when the father returns from being spirited away by the 'men in power'. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.
Side 2 is the Ninth Wave concept-album-y thing.It's all of a piece but is still split up into individual tracks. I was surprised by how much of it I was familiar with. I had this vague theory that no-one ever really bothered listening to side 2. 'Waking the Witch' starts gently with lots of different voices saying 'wake up', then it jumps into a short section which sounds like Norman Collier's broken mike act as performed by Pinky and Perky before settling into the main bit about 'red, red roses' and so on. It's much more reminiscent of The Dreaming but just about avoids the transition from interesting to annoying. 'Watching You Without Me' reprises the stuttering at the end before launching into 'Jig Of Life', Irish influence to the fore. 'Hello Earth' starts with a bit of 'come in Houston' style astronaut chat - bit like the end of War of the Worlds and incorporates a bit of monastic chanting along the way. The closing track 'The Morning Fog' seems a little more standalone, in fact, having got to the end, it' not much of a suite at all, it's just that the tracks tend to run into each other. I would say this is her masterpiece, but I really rate Aerial too which is kind of the same in structure.
We all know Running.. and Hounds of Love. I'll give a shout out to the Futureheads version of the latter here as I think that's great too.'The Big Sky' features a bit of warbling that she later revisited in 'Rubberband Girl' and some strident vocals borrowed from her earlier work. 'Mother Stands for Comfort' - the only non-single on side 1 - is much synthier than I remember.
And then we come to 'Cloudbusting'. This IS my favourite Kate Bush track, and it's down to a perfect storm (pardoning the pun) of a beautiful structure, great storytelling, slight weirdness and a video that probably rewrote the form. "Hang on. That's Donald Sutherland, innit?" we all cried. It was cinematic, touching and uplifting. Listening to the song now even the first line raises questions 'I still dream of Organon' Huh? I still love the repeated violin phrase to the chugging beat, which eventually resolves into the final steam train closure. It occurred to me that she may have been referencing the final scene of the Railway Children here ('Daddy!, My Daddy!') when the father returns from being spirited away by the 'men in power'. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.
Side 2 is the Ninth Wave concept-album-y thing.It's all of a piece but is still split up into individual tracks. I was surprised by how much of it I was familiar with. I had this vague theory that no-one ever really bothered listening to side 2. 'Waking the Witch' starts gently with lots of different voices saying 'wake up', then it jumps into a short section which sounds like Norman Collier's broken mike act as performed by Pinky and Perky before settling into the main bit about 'red, red roses' and so on. It's much more reminiscent of The Dreaming but just about avoids the transition from interesting to annoying. 'Watching You Without Me' reprises the stuttering at the end before launching into 'Jig Of Life', Irish influence to the fore. 'Hello Earth' starts with a bit of 'come in Houston' style astronaut chat - bit like the end of War of the Worlds and incorporates a bit of monastic chanting along the way. The closing track 'The Morning Fog' seems a little more standalone, in fact, having got to the end, it' not much of a suite at all, it's just that the tracks tend to run into each other. I would say this is her masterpiece, but I really rate Aerial too which is kind of the same in structure.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2014/02/kate-bushfrom-kick-to-snow.html
Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)
Hounds of Love
The Big Sky
Mother Stands for Comfort
Cloudbusting
The Ninth Wave
And Dream of Sheep
Under Ice
Waking the Witch
Watching You Without Me
Jig of Life
Hello Earth
The Morning Fog
PARANOID
Black Sabbath
Great song titles ('War Pigs', 'Rat Salad', Fairies Wear Boots') and great guitar riffs ('Paranoid', 'Iron Man'). If I had to spell it I'd say the Paranoid riff goes "Dang, Dang, Dang, Dakken-Chakken, Dakken Chakken" It's a great album by any standard.
Post Status: Sabbath have a back catalogue as lang's my arm and I'd worry that this, at number 2 in the chronology, might be the peak of their achievement.
War Pigs
Paranoid
Planet Caravan
Iron Man
Electric Funeral
Hand of Doom
Rat Salad
Fairies Wear Boots
Released 18th September 1970
KILN HOUSE
Fleetwood Mac
One of my missing FM albums due to lack of availability on Spotify when I was going through the discography. Peter Green has just left and Christine is knocking around in the background and hasn't made it into the first team yet. This is a mish-mash of Elvis style country blues ('This Is The Rock'), Buddy Holly tribute ('Buddy's Song') and more folky/country stuff like 'One Together' and 'Mission Bell'.
Post Status: As mentioned above, this one is not included. https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2014/07/fleetwood-mac-from-green-to-will.html
This Is The Rock
Station Man
Blood On The Floor
Hi Ho Silver
Jewel Eyed Judy
Buddy's Song
Earl Gray
One Together
Tell Me All The Things You Do
Mission Bell
Released 18th September 2000
MUSIC
Madonna
Line dancing. Madonna decided that a revival of the Electric Slide and Red Hot Salsa was long overdue following the previous high point of Billy Ray Cyrus's 'Achy Breaky Heart'. And Steps just hadn't really caught the public imagination a couple of years earlier with '5,6,7,8'. OK. Maybe I'm being a little unfair, but she did wear a Stetson and showed off some boot-scootin' moves in the video for 'Don't Tell Me'. A deeply irritating song at the time because of those momentary silences, and, ironically now, it's even worse because they just seem like buffering issues. It's a shame because they actually spoil a perfectly good song.
The autotune is to the fore. Madge doesn't need it, she has proved she can hold a tune, so you have to assume that it's there for artistic reasons. It's used effectively in places but it dates the sound and it's overdone on 'Nobody's Perfect' which has a nasty jarring edge. This has a French DJ producer and you can detect the same DNA as Daft Punk and Air, particularly on 'Paradise - Not For Me' (and not just because she goes a bit Gallic on the vocal).
On the plus side 'I Deserve It' and 'Gone' are both nice country-tinged ballads and the title track is kind of compelling. Incidentally I was reminded that my elder son is lumbered with 'Music' as the UK number 1 on the day of his birth. (Mine is 'Massachusetts' by the Bee Gees). I have to abhor her version of 'American Pie' on principle. For me even the shortened version of Don McLean's original that they play on the radio is barely acceptable, so Madonna's edited effort is best simply ignored.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2016/12/madonna-i-wanna-boogie-woogie.html
Music
Impressive Instant
Runaway Lover
I Deserve It
Amazing
Nobody's Perfect
Don't Tell Me
What It Feels Like For A Girl
Paradise (Not For Me)
Gone
American Pie
Released 19th Sepetember 1970
AFTER THE GOLD RUSH
Neil Young
It's a strong month for Neil Young in an amazingly strong year in general. The Beatles broke up in September 1969 and it seems like suddenly everyone was off the leash and filling the perceived void with work that would been considered among the best of their careers, even those that are still going today. Young has a few candidates for his best but this and Harvest lead the pack. I think this is his greatest, it has one of those 'Best Side Ones of all time' and the title track is timeless.
Post Status: See Ragged Glory above.
Tell Me Why
After the Gold Rush
Only Love Can Break Your Heart
Southern Man
Till the Morning Comes
Oh, Lonesome Me
Don't Let It Bring You Down
Birds
When You Dance I Can Really Love
I Believe in You
Cripple Creek Ferry
Released 22nd September 1975
EXTRA TEXTURE
George Harrison
The last we saw of the Quiet One, he had disappeared with his tail between his legs on a tour with Ravi Shankar promoting the disastrous Dark Horse album. But we should not despair for our self-effacing hero, he's cleared his throat and has an equally good album title in his back pocket. All he has to do now is stage a spectacular return to form and all in the garden will be rosy again.
And guess what? He's pulled it off! This is all pretty terrific stuff, although the first impression for me was a little muted. But in my opinion the opening 'You' would be totally at home on 'All Things Must Pass', as would several others on this. It made me think of advertising jingles and sports themes, which is in no way a criticism because both have to be appealing, immediate and catchy. It also features a good dollop of Clemons-like saxophone, which cannot be a bad thing. All boxes ticked here. However recent experience has scarred dear George and he reaches once again for his lachrymose instrument to have a good old moan about the way he's been treated since the last album. There can hardly be any pretense that a song called 'This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)' is a sequel to 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' especially since it has the same basic melody. Of course he isn't suggesting otherwise and it's a clever and moving way of gently venting some spleen. He's strong on soft, well-made ballads such as 'Can't Stop Thinking About You', 'World Of Stone' (which also chucks in some Eltonish pop) and the lightly jazzy 'Tired Of Midnight Blue'. There's also quite a lot of piano, characterised by the closing 'His Name Is Legs (Ladies And Gentleman)'. Its a pleasing die-cut cover as well.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-solo-beatles.html
You
The Answer's At The End
This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)
Ooh Baby (You Know That I Love You)
World Of Stone
A Bit More You
Can't Stop Thinking About You
Tired Of Midnight Blue
Grey Cloudy Lies
His Name Is Legs (Ladies And Gentleman)
Released 23rd September 2020
THE WISHING CHAIR
10,000 Maniacs
The major label debut and immediate predecessor to In My Tribe feels a bit flat. There's mandolins aplenty and wistfulness from Natalie Merchant, but you can see why they didn't make a real breakthrough until the next album.
'Daktari' is interesting, if only for the title, but is is not a tribute to Zebra-striped jeeps or Cross-Eyed Lions, at least not directly, it's definitely African in tone and doesn't make a lot of sense lyrically, but that's the intention, more of a joyous tribal dance number.
Post Status: Another that is long overdue.
Can't Ignore The Train
Scorpio Rising
Just As The Tide Was A Flowing
Lilydale
Back O' The Moon
Maddox Table
The Colonial Wing
Grey Victory
Among The Americans
Everyone A Puzzle Lover
Cotton Alley
Daktari
My Mother The War
Tension Make A Tangle
Arbor Day
OUT OF OUR HEADS
The Rolling Stones
I think I've pinpointed what makes the Stones special, and you can't really tell it from just listening to the music. If you watch them perform in those early days they are just so bloody physical in the way that they deliver the music. Obviously and especially Mick Jagger stands out, but while from the distance of all these years later, it's easy to dismiss his antics as bizarre and mannered, when you watch him back then, he just seems so consumed by the music that he can't help himself. And if he still does it today, then you have to assume its because it still takes him that way. Meanwhile Keef invents the art of throwing guitar hero shapes, Wyman is fascinatingly blank, Watts seems to be just tapping away absently and only Brian Jones seems to have no discernible schtick.
Spotify serves up the US version which includes 'The Last Time' and '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' where the UK version does not. The latter is the first instance from what I've encountered so far of Richards mastery of the electric guitar riff. There's also a live version of 'I'm All Right'. Much knicker-wettening hysteria in the background but a pretty poor recording nonetheless. The Stones are never what you'd call polished but some of the production on these early albums doesn't do them any favours. The slow paced 'Play With Fire' is an unexpected highlight, and Mick goes all a bit Sam Cooke on 'Good Times'. They aren't getting any better looking though.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-rolling-stones-out-of-control.html
Mercy Mercy
Hitch Hike
The Last Time
That's How Strong My Love Is
Good Times
I'm All Right
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Cry To Me
The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man
Play With Fire
The Spider And The Fly
One More Try
CARESS OF STEEL
Rush
An album title more suited to Judas Priest than Rush, and the band themselves seem to be on the cusp of the early seventies rock zodiac between Led Zeppelin (The Trouser Snake) and Genesis (The Daffodil Man) and ending up sounding not unlike AC/DC in places with Geddy Lee's squeal prefiguring Brian Johnson.
Cliche dictated that 'The Necromancer' was a Tolkien reference and Side 2 is supposed to be a single track, 'The Fountain of Lamneth' (Salmacis had already been taken) but they make enough jagged changes of direction across all 6 parts that it doesn't really feel that way. 'Didacts and Narpets' (anagram fans take note) is a drum solo but only a minute long, which doesn't seem right.
A word on the cover art. Am I supposed to see a woman with big hair in profile as well as the standing robed figure?
Post Status: The Rush discography runs to 19 albums. I like then well enough but I can't enthuse. They aren't a priority.
Bastille Day
I Think I'm Going Bald
Lakeside Park
The Necromancer
I. "Into the Darkness"
II. "Under the Shadow"
III. "Return of the Prince"
The Fountain of Lamneth
I. "In the Valley"
II. "Didacts and Narpets"
III. "No One at the Bridge"
IV. "Panacea"
V. "Bacchus Plateau"
VI. "The Fountain"
BEAUCOUPS OF BLUES
Ringo Starr
It seems like Ringo is definitely making the most rational decisions of the four of them. Despite the title, not a Blues album as I expected, but a country album, and a pretty good one too. He stays just the right side of pastiche and has clearly teamed up with musicians who really know their business. As I understand it these are not cover versions either, but songs specially written for the album (according to my usual impeccable source), and written in the course of a few days to boot. The personnel are nothing to be sniffed at either, including Charlie Daniels and a duet with Jeannie Kendall. Recorded in 3 days in Nashville too, just to add a few more levels of authenticity.
Once again, Ringo plays it straight and a love of the genre and his material does come through. The old RockOdyssey complaint about British artists mangling their vowels to sound American definitely does not apply to Starr. Not one millimeter of concession is made to his scouse drone, but that's fine, it really works in this context, it's just another form of country drawl. As noted, you never get the feeling he's being arch about this stuff, the closest he comes is the almost comically tragic 'Love Don't Last Long', which takes in a dying mother rejected by her son, a boy who hangs himself after his politician father refuses to bail him out of jail and a man coming home to his wife and her lover and killing them before topping himself too.
'Woman Of The Night' is a quite touching and gentle love song, despite the premise. Just before the end we get the most Beatlish thing here, 'Coochy Coochy', but then he and his mates treat us to a rather brilliant six and a half minutes of improvisation in 'Nashville Jam'. Nothing wrong with this at all, and, in fact, a bit of a triumph.
Post Status: Having subjected myself to all of Ringo's solo output after listening to this, I think I can confidently confirm that he was near his peak here. https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-solo-beatles.html
Beaucoups Of Blues
Love Don't Last Long
Fastest Growing Heartache In The West
Without Her
Woman Of The Night
I'd Be Talking All The Time
$15 Draw
Wine, Women And Loud Happy Songs
I Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way
Loser's Lounge
Waiting
Silent Homecoming
Coochy Coochy (Bonus)
Nashville Jam (Bonus)
Released 25th September 1995
OUTSIDE (1995)
David Bowie
A lot of muttering at the beginning. Can't stand poor enunciation. 'Leon Takes Us Outside' is a lead in to the title track and makes me think this could be a concept album. Oh dear me. OK. I really try to avoid looking things up on the interweb for this but I think some background reading is required here. It's the first collaboration with Eno since Berlin and is subtitled: The Ritual Art-Murder of Baby Grace Blue: A non-linear Gothic Drama Hyper-Cycle. Oh deary deary me. I don't have the sleeve notes, so let's take it on it's musical merits alone, the plot around 'art crime' can go hang.
You can certainly detect Eno's touch (but would I have spotted it if I hadn't known?). 'Art's Filthy Lesson' is quite memorable but maybe that's due to it's repetitiveness. There's some freeform piano work in 'A Small Plot Of Land' but it soon settles into something Moby-ish. Bowie sings it tonelessly, and what IS he singing? "whoreson"?, "arsehole"?. There are segues in this too. The first one coming next to lead us into 'Hallo Spaceboy' consisting of a voice distorted to sound like a child, possibly Bowie, wittering on about something or other. 'Hallo Spaceboy' is the only thing I remember from the time the album was out. He did a rather good performance at the Brits I think wearing some quite fabulous high heels.It's got some hefty drumming and really snarls along well.
In fact, if you ignore the massive pretentiousness of the whole affair, I could see that this could bear several listens. As a concept album, it's no worse than, say, The Wall and it IS pretty musically diverse. It's almost impossible to characterize individual tracks and I guess the best tactic is to let it all wash over you. The segues are the most amusing parts, In 'Algeria Touchshriek' he does a passable impression of Grandad from Only Fools and Horses and the 'Ramona A. Stone' segue is done in what I can only describe as a pixie-ish voice. 'Wishful Beginnings' features a rather compelling hoarse, electronic chuckle. You can see he was getting interested in Drum n' Bass too, particularly on 'We Prick You'. Final segue is 'Nathan Adler' (the main character apparently) and sees him attempting what we must assume is his version of a Mike Hammer style gumshoe. Not entry level Bowie certainly, but a potential grower. The segues would probably get tedious though.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2014/08/david-bowie-eponymous-to-next-day.html
Leon Takes Us Outside
Outside
The Hearts Filthy Lesson
A Small Plot of Land
Baby Grace (A Horrid Cassette)
Hallo Spaceboy
The Motel
I Have Not Been to Oxford Town
No Control
Algeria Touchshriek
The Voyeur of Utter Destruction (as Beauty)
Ramona A. Stone/I Am with Name
Wishful Beginnings
We Prick You
Nathan Adler
I'm Deranged
Thru' These Architects Eyes
Nathan Adler
Strangers When We Meet
Released: 25th September 1995
THE GOLD EXPERIENCEPrince/'Love Symbol'
For my next journey into Prince's hedonistic world we must imagine that we are browsing in Boots, WH Smith or Marks and Sparks (or maybe somewhere like JC Penney if you are of an American bent) in the days before Christmas. The desperate shopper alights on a rack of essentially empty boxes which offer 'experiences'. You know the sort of thing, balloon trip, wine tasting for two, spa day and driving. Well Prince seems to be offering his own range of experiences, but if Auntie Ethel is not that interested in various forms of sexual encounter then they might not be the perfect seasonal gift after all. Each song is prefaced by a kind of jukebox selection of an experience from "The Dawn, playground of the New Power Generation". The calm female voice lists the themes, all of which inevitably include 'sex'. I'll be honest, I'm getting tired of Prince now, he's good, but the subject matter is relentless, and I'm saying that when I'm on a pretty artistically solid album. Take the opening track, coyly titled as P Control but much less coy in actual execution. The P stands for 'pussy' and this is not a guide to training your cat. The use of the oedipal expletive seems gratuitous and I began to spend more time wondering why there is such a need to shock rather than enjoying the song.
There's two hit singles and, if you're looking for evidence that this is a return to mainstream acceptance then 'The Most Beautiful Girl In the World' and 'Gold' are compelling, but the former is withheld from the Spotify version of the album. The criteria for this kind of thing is not clear to me at all, it happens occasionally, usually with hit singles, but if so, why doesn't 'Gold' qualify too? The lyrics of that song have always given me pause, "Even at the center of the fire, there is cold"? simply not true I'm afraid, it's clearly the hottest place, it glows red.
All my negativity is really just based on weariness with him, this is actually a really good album, and seems to be generally accepted as his best since Sign O The Times, and the end is now in sight as I'm drawing the line at Emancipation
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2020/01/prince.html
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2020/01/prince.html
P Control
Endorphinmachine
Shhh
We March
The Most Beautiful Girl In the World
Dolphin
Now
319
Shy
Billy Jack Bitch
Eye Hate You
Gold
Endorphinmachine
Shhh
We March
The Most Beautiful Girl In the World
Dolphin
Now
319
Shy
Billy Jack Bitch
Eye Hate You
Gold
Released 25th September 1980ABSOLUTELY
Madness
Baggy Trousers perfectly captures the average kid's secondary school experience, Embarrassment took them to places not so breezily 'nutty' and 'The Return Of The Las Palmas Seven' is almost arty. My mum wouldn't let me have this album because she'd heard it contained bad language, but I've never really been able to spot it, and I've tried.
Post Status: Not sure they would sustain my interest enough.
Baggy Trousers
Embarrassment
E.R.N.I.E.
Close Escape
Not Home Today
On the Beat Pete
Solid Gone
Take It or Leave It
Shadow of Fear
Disappear
Overdone
In the Rain
You Said
The Return of the Los Palmas 7
Embarrassment
E.R.N.I.E.
Close Escape
Not Home Today
On the Beat Pete
Solid Gone
Take It or Leave It
Shadow of Fear
Disappear
Overdone
In the Rain
You Said
The Return of the Los Palmas 7
Released 28th September 2005
YOU COULD HAVE IT SO MUCH BETTER
Franz Ferdinand
The thinking man's Kaiser Chiefs, and this is an absolute banger of an album from start to finish, quirky and catchy. They don't seem to have troubled the pop scorer ever since however. Quite often they change pace and direction mid-song, In fact 'That Was Easy' seems to be a collage of decent guitar hooks that they had left lying around. Alex Kapranos has a bit of a Lou Reed moment on 'Fade Together' too.
Post Status: Not enough to go on.
The Fallen
Do You Want To
This Boy
Walk Away
Evil And A Heathen
You're The Reason I'm Leaving
Well That Was Easy
What You Meant
I'm Your Villain
You Could Have It So Much Better
Fade Together
Outsiders
HOTTER THAN JULY
Stevie Wonder
I've never really had much time for Stevie Wonder and I think listening to this helped me pinpoint why. he is a brilliant songwriter but quite a ropey singer, like that current thorn in my side, Elton John. But if you get past that you can't fault this album (well, the C&W vocal on 'I Ain't Gonna Stand for It' is dodgy but apart from that...). There's Master Blaster, Lately and the in smartest career move of all time 'Happy Birthday', the perfect choice for a radio dedication for the hard-of-original-ideas.
Post Status: He's a long way down the list, and I got my fingers burned with Jacko.
Did I Hear You Say You Love Me
All I Do
Rocket Love
I Ain't Gonna Stand for It
As If You Read My Mind
Master Blaster (Jammin')
Do Like You
Cash in Your Face
Lately
Happy Birthday
Released 30th September 1985
RAIN DOGS
Tom Waits
You can approach a Tom Waits album fearing it will be challenging and sounding like a wino haranguing you on the street, but your expectations are unlikely to be met. I mean he does sound a bit like that, but he mixes everything up so much that it's never less than interesting. The whole feel is very low-tech and sparse, but he can leave it up to others to put the flesh on the songs if they feel the need thus Rod Stewart took 'Downtown Train' and it's probably his best ever song.
Post Status: It's a long back catalogue. Not quite yet
Singapore
Clap Hands
Cemetery Polka
Jockey Full of Bourbon
Tango Till They're Sore
Big Black Mariah
Diamonds & Gold
Hang Down Your Head
Time
Rain Dogs
Midtown
9th & Hennepin
Gun Street Girl
Union Square
Blind Love
Walking Spanish
Downtown Train
Bride of Rain Dog
Anywhere I Lay My Head
Released September 1970
LIVE JOHNNY WINTER AND
Johnny Winter
Blood-dee Nora! He's committed isn't he? Kind of like what George Thorogood and the Destroyers could have been if they'd really put their backs into it. This is ferocious, mad, bad blues. There's not much on it and most of the tracks are early rock and roll standards, including a medley of 'Great Balls Of Fire', 'Long Tall Sally' and 'Whole Lotta Shakin Goin On' and a crazed version of Johnny B Goode - a song that has a baseline level of insanity that gives Winter plenty of theme to develop. There's a frenetic Mean Town Blues and a cover of 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' that puts Mick and Keef to shame for being guilty of not quite realising the potential of the song. It seems entirely likely that Johnny Winter really was born in a crossfire hurricane and never quite got the storm out of his soul. Underneath it all is hard, rapid virtuoso guitar playing. The interplay between Winter and his guitar partner Rick Derringer is extraordinary on 'Mean Town Blues'. It's possible that you probably need to go no further than 'Johnny B Goode' for the greatest rock song of all time. Winter bawls "Rock and Roll!" at the start and then proceeds to tear it up at ninety miles per hour. I've listened to a lot of live albums recently but this is one where I wish I'd been there (although I'd have had to travel to both New York City and Florida). It must have been terrifying and uplifting in equal measure to see him
Band Bantz: During Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On, Winter strongly suggests that he would like to see the audience shaking. The impression is that everyone had best get vibrating, since Johnny is quite clear that he will not accept any half measures, and no slacking at the back. No polaroid pictures here thanks.
Heckles and Coughs: They just obey Johnny in whatever he tells them to do, possibly in fear of their mortal souls if they do not.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2017/10/classic-live-albums-1970-1971-leeds.html
Good Morning Little School Girl
It's My Own Fault
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Rock And Roll Medley
Mean Town Blues
Johnny B Goode
Released September 1975
FACE THE MUSIC
ELO
Breaking News! ELO invented punk rock, or at least they could be the missing link between prog and punk. More on this later. First of all however, they start off by meddling in things they don't really understand, the ouija board of rock, back-masking. I definitely got the following message when I heard it: "Mephistopheles wants your soul. Kill yourself. Do it now". I managed to resist the command, maybe Satan should choose more direct lines of communication than via a Brummie rock band with a Beatles fixation.
This also features the first bona fide classic hit, 'Evil Woman'. Misogyny was big in the seventies, even Cliff was having a go at the fair sex. There's plenty of strings and that, but the song itself is a fairly straightforward piece of soul-pop. Now, back to our top story, 'Poker' is full on punk, but then halfway through they indulge in some very twiddly keyboard work and string arrangements to slow it down. Funny thing about ELO's best known songs, the intros rarely give a clue as to what's coming. They'd be no good on Name That Tune. 'Strange Magic' is a case in point. In fact the song is sort of not how I remembered it anyway. 'Down Home Town' has Jeff and co trying their hand at being the new Bob Dylan. It's alright actually, but the Americanisms are a touch forced. 'One Summer Dream' is a bland ending with a Midnight Cowboy feel to it. Electric chair on the cover. Nice.
Post Status: https://andysrockodysseys.blogspot.com/2016/03/electric-light-orchestra.html
Fire On High
Waterfall
Nightrider
Evil Woman
Poker
Strange Magic
Down Home Town
One Summer Dream