Adam's Music Reviews #6 (Dec 2020)

It was while walking to the car one day that I realised that programmers are missing a great opportunity to create a game called 'Social Distancing.' The character walks relentlessly down an alley as people come towards him at various positions along the path. The gamer has to move the character left or right on the path to maintain two metres distance. There could be a second round set in the aisle of a supermarket with the added interest of trolleys and prams being used as battering rams!

Er... That said, yes, here we are, still in tier three in Kent, which is about as exciting as watching emulsion go from a liquid state to a solid state. Thank goodness for music. And beer! So here I am with another batch of albums that I've blasted my way through since my last post, occasionally getting up to join in on the guitar or the keyboard on my way to the fridge. People of the future, this is what 'hedonism' meant in 2020...

Blur - Parklife (1994)

I remember my sister wanting this album on in the car on a family holiday to Lancashire in the nineties and finding it irritating. Like Liam Gallagher, who compared Blur to Chas & Dave (who I actually like), I had dismissed the band prematurely based on an accent. Schoolboy error. This album has far more than the singalong anthems of 'Girls and Boys' and 'Parklife.' There's some punky stuff in the form of 'Bank Holiday,' a Syd Barrett pastiche called 'Far Out,' and the album's highlight in my opinion, 'This Is A Low,' an anthem that the Oasis boys would have surely been proud of.

Blur - The Great Escape (1995)

Critics panned this album and declared Oasis the winners of the Britpop war at the time, but in hindsight this was unfair, especially knowing now that Blur went headlong into avant-garde territory with their next two albums. They were no 'one trick pony.' This one has a similar structure to Parklife with some anthems like 'The Universal,' which sees the band emulating the gang of thugs in 'A Clockwork Orange' in the video, as well as the odd punk blast, and the National Lottery themed anthem 'It Could Be You.' However, in spite of the great melodies and harmonies, there is a darker feel to this album than Parklife, from the jaded guest vocal from Ken Livingstone on 'Ernold Same' to the resigned sadness of 'Best Days.' If your mood needs picking up again at the end, simply replay the openers, 'Stereotypes' and 'Country House.'

Hawkwind - Levitation (1980)

This album is Hawkwind at a junction point, returning to a certain extent to the space rock and psychedelia of their early years. The rock anthems like Motorway City, Levitation and Who's Gonna Win The War are broken up with ethereal instrumental music. The bonus tracks go much deeper into experimental territory, particularly the completely bonkers 'Douglas in the Jungle.' 'Valium 10' is also good fun (not taking it, listening to it, I hasten to add), and the live rendition of Brainstorm gives an oldie of theirs a twist, opening with a jazzy drum solo. (Review refers to disc one of the three-CD set.)

The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)

It does seem that no matter what new music and genres I discover, the Beatles always get a regular airing. There were perhaps more adept musicians around in the sixties, but there is something legendary about the combination of the four of them with George Martin, the only contender for the epithet 'fifth Beatle' in my opinion, as he literally made the impossible possible. Perhaps it is partly the way four working class lads conquered the world and partly the 'love and peace' ethos, sadly lost in the era of Trumpism and hate masquerading as political views. Visit the Cavern Club in Liverpool and you'll find it still alive. Anyway, Abbey Road, what can I say? Classic follows classic, and there is Paul's symphonic finish which even Elbow couldn't touch with their rendition of Golden Slumbers a little while back. One of my favourites is 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)' which sees the foursome simultaneously dabbling in jazz, lyrical minimalism and heavy rock. I rest my case!

Photo: Myself on the famous zebra crossing in 2011.

The Beatles – A Hard Day's Night (1964)

One from the earlier years of the Beatles. Young and innocent days? Well, not really, and I get the impression that John Lennon in particular hated the manufactured image. Anyway, the music holds up. My favourites are not the big hits but the more introspective songs, particularly 'If I Fell' and 'Things We Said Today.' That said, the rock and roll of 'You Can't Do That' is tremendous, with Ringo pushing the cowbell into overtime. When you think that this was hastily assembled as a soundtrack, you realise that the Beatles could just churn out quality at the drop of a hat! Other favourites of mine from the early years are 'I'll Follow The Sun,' 'Anna (Go To Him),' 'Baby, It's You,' 'Yes It Is' and 'This Boy' which all have a surprisingly melancholic quality for such successful young men.

Oasis – Definitely Maybe (1994)

Often the first album released by an artist has a vibrancy that the other albums don't quite have. Examples in my opinion go from John Lennon's first proper solo album 'Plastic Ono Band' to Travis's 'Good Feeling.' I sometimes put this down to not having the comforts of money and fame, but I've already undone my own argument with the 'John Lennon' example as he'd had a good six years of both by then and appeared thoroughly sick of it! So, Oasis. When this album came out the band literally were an oasis in the desert of dance tracks that filled the charts. Guitars were back in and I let out a 'Hallelujah.' Favourites of mine are the psychedelic blues of 'Shakermaker,' the brooding mantra-like 'Columbia' and the epic 'Slide Away,' announced by its memorable opening guitar note. There's even room for a bit of comedy with 'Digsy's Dinner' and 'Married With Children.' People said they were the new Beatles at the time, although the influence wasn't blatantly obvious until the release of 'Whatever.'

I've also added a new Miles Davis album to my collection recently, a mix of ethereal ambiance and eighties lounge jazz called 'Aura.' However, after only a handful of listens I don't feel qualified to review it yet. I'll be back with another batch soon, and again, and again, and again, until the poxy pubs are open! Please Boris, we're climbing up the walls here. And that's a Radiohead reference to finish. Another time...

STOP PRESS: The musical musings and humour continue in '2021: A Musical Odyssey' - now available in digital and paperback formats.

Adam's Music Reviews #5 (Nov 2020)

This particular post is being written while my home county of Kent has been plunged into 'tier three' coronavirus restrictions (basically a lockdown under another name). Cue the puns – it'll all end in tiers, three is the tragic number, etc. I was thinking what it must mean to be a hedonist in this situation – do you go all-out and make a cup of tea, or have a bit of a kip, or look out of the window, or really go to town and get a biscuit from the kitchen cupboard? It's life, but not as we know it!

Anyway, while sitting on the sofa drinking a glass of wine and listening to Pink Floyd I realised that we are at last living the lifestyle proposed by BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme. Let's face it, it's either that or The Matrix, and the 'desert island' scenario seems much more pleasant than floating in a sac of liquid wired up to a parasitic computer. Yes, we are pretty much on our own with just music for company, so what would one choose? Well, I've done my ultimate Desert Island Discs a couple of times before, so I thought 'How about writing about the albums I have listened to in their entirety over the past fortnight?' Like or not, I'm doing it, so here goes!

John Coltrane – My Favourite Things (1961)

Jazz is a genre I only really got into a couple of years ago. 'Kind of Blue' by Miles Davis featured highly in my book of 'The All-Time Top 1000 Albums' so I thought I'd give it a bash. Since then it has opened up new vistas, although I tend to like the 'cool jazz' era and then skip the post-bop era and pick up again with fusion. If I'm talking a foreign language, it was all Greek to me too until a couple of years ago. Anyway, this is an album for those who like to hear tunes they recognise played in an improvisational way. Coltrane's saxophone playing is superb and occasionally bordering on frenzied and the piano breaks are also pretty amazing.

Tears For Fears – The Hurting (1983)

When I was a child in the eighties I was not a fan of the 'current' bands, despising what I viewed as excessive use of synthesizers and much preferring the 'real instruments' of the sixties. However, with the passing of forty years, the bands of the era seem worth reappraising and this album is a gem. Like U2's 'The Joshua Tree,' the first half of the album is so strong that the second half tends to get passed over. 'Mad World' is a classic, even if you only know the Gary Jules' 'Christmas number one' version, but there are plenty of other angst-ridden atmospheric pieces here including 'The Hurting,' 'Pale Shelter' and 'Ideas as Opiates' which could be an anthem for our age – 'Lies spread on lies, we don't care.' Trump, anybody?

Tears For Fears – Songs From The Big Chair (1984)

Tears for Fears again, yes, but this is an album I've had much longer, initially because 'Shout' was such a good song. The other two hits 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World' and 'Head Over Heels' appeal next, but then one gets into the more ethereal stuff and you realise that Tears for Fears were not really an eighties pop band (like Duran Duran, etc.) but more akin to bands like Pink Floyd in what they were trying to achieve. Talking of which...

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Although I have professed 'The Dark Side of the Moon' to be my favourite album in both of my 'Desert Island Discs' blogs, this is the one I tend to go to for instant Floydian gratification. 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' is a symphony in two halves with some of Dave Gilmour's bluesiest soloing. The keyboard work by Richard Wright reminds me a bit of Procol Harum at times. Every song on the album is an out and out classic. Enough said.

The photograph depicts my visit to Grantchester Meadows in Cambridge, surely the 'Penny Lane' of the Pink Floyd world?

Pink Floyd – Meddle (1971)

OK, I've been having a bit of a Pink Floyd week. There is the side-long epic 'Echoes' (remember 'sides?') and five very pleasant tracks to boot. This is Pink Floyd at the nearest they ever got to 'easy listening,' with 'A Pillow of Winds,' 'Fearless' which has an added surprise for Liverpool fans, the vaudevillian 'San Tropez' and finally 'Seamus where the band let a canine take the vocals. If you don't believe it's a dog watch 'Live in Pompeii.' There's also the Doctor-Who-like 'One Of These Days (I'm going to cut you into little pieces)' – lockdown fever in action! As a footnote, I'm actually sure that I had this album as a 'hand me down' vinyl record as a child, although it was a bit tough for a ten-year-old to appreciate admittedly.

Barclay James Harvest – Barclay James Harvest (1970)

'Who?' I hear you say. Well, in truth BJH were bigger in Germany than in their native England. They were also the only band I know that had their own touring orchestra, as evident on this, their debut album. The album takes in a variety of styles from the rock of 'Taking Some Time On' and 'Good Love Child' to the balladry of 'Mother Dear.' I particularly like the orchestrations and plodding bass of 'When The World Was Woken,' and the the closing track 'Dark Now My Sky' is a symphonic masterpiece. Eccentric, yes, but superb!

Barclay James Harvest – Once Again (1971)

OK, OK, I've had a bit of Barclay James Harvest week too. What do you expect in lockdown - imagination? This was the band's second album and another bona fide classic, although lyrically pretty dark with a slightly unhealthy fixation on shuffling off this mortal coil, 'Happy Old World' being the most obvious example. It always seems a bit excessive to use a mellotron when you have an orchestra, as a mellotron was a keyboard instrument playing recorded loops of orchestra notes, but that's exactly what BJH did here to excellent effect. To break up the drama there is the lighter 'Vanessa Simmons' and the rock blast of 'Ball and Chain.' There's even a Jew's harp on the final track, but the show-stopper is 'Mocking Bird' which builds from a quiet ballad into frenetic rock before exploding into two of the most dramatic orchestral chords you'll ever hear in a rock song. If You like Pink Floyd, you'll like BJH.

Blonde on Blonde – Bob Dylan (1966)

In the 'Desert Island Discs' blogs I cited 'Bringing It All Back Home' as my favourite Bob Dylan album, although in reality it is so hard to choose with so much quality. This one was arguably the first double-album released by a rock act, the other one possibly being Frank Zappa's 'Freak Out.' Either way the contents are terrific, with bluesy tracks such as 'Pledging My Time' and 'Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat' interspersed among folky classics like 'Just Like A Woman.' There's a humorous poke at the Beatles' 'Norwegian Wood' with 'Fourth Time Around,' although in truth the flow of influence was mutual. And finally, 'Say Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' – an eleven-minute epic with Dylan at his most poetic.

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants - Oasis (2000)

This is often viewed as the album where the legend imploded and I was formerly of that opinion. However, a listen twenty years later reveals that we were all wrong. Admittedly, the expletively-titled opening track leaves you wondering what kind of ride you're in for, but the content is actually surprisingly good. 'Go Let It Out' perhaps sums up our feelings in these times, 'Is it any wonder that princes and kings, Are clowns that caper in the sawdust rings?' The album has a darker brooding feel than most Oasis albums and the final track 'Roll It Over' is sublime, but for me the high point it when Noel launches into the guitar solo on 'Sunday Morning Call.'

Tonight -David Bowie (1984)

Certainly not an album that springs to mind as classic Bowie, in fact initially I thought 'What on earth has happened to him?' However repeated listens make it more palatable and you can even overlook the eighties instrumentation. 'Loving the Alien' is actually a very good song, and it's quite novel to hear him having a go at reggae as well as covering a Beach Boys classic, a feat few would attempt. Most of the songs were written by Iggy Pop, but eventually you do appreciate this as much as Let's Dance although 'Ziggy Stardust' it ain't! After this one fast forward to the furious rock of Tin Machine.

Well, that's nine albums that I've played in the last week or so. I could well be back with another set in ten days or so. A few singles I've played a lot in the last week include 'A Forest' by The Cure, David Bowie's 'Absolute Beginners' (make sure you get the full length version) and 'Someday My Prince Will Come' by Miles Davis (available as a nine-minute single track download album if you're not ready for the whole album).

And bearing in mind the kind of music I listen to, if you'd like to see any well-known albums reviewed feel free to post your suggestions in the comments. Keep spinning those decks!

STOP PRESS: The musical musings and humour continue in '2021: A Musical Odyssey' - now available in digital and paperback formats.