Sometimes I Walk Sideways...

 

Last weekend saw local heroes The Jesus and Mary Chain return for two nights to their spiritual home at Glasgow Barrowland. I had been eagerly awaiting both nights for months and was hoping they would not disappoint. After reading Swiss Adam's review last week I had a feeling we were in for something pretty special and, thankfully, that turned out to be the case. I know not everyone is a fan of these "one album" gigs but I approve wholeheartedly. I have been to a few over the last few years - Wedding Present, Cowboy Junkies, EATB (less said about that one the better!!) - and on most occasions have really enjoyed them. Yes, you know what you are getting next but that ain't necassarilly a bad thing.

Starting off with the encore was fairly unusual, but if every encore was as good as this maybe it is something other bands should look to do. We were treated to April Skies,  Head On, Some Candy Talking, Psychocandy, Up Too High, Reverance and finishing with the glorious noisefest that is Upside Down.

Then down to the real business of the night, Psychocandy from start to finish. Anyone expecting a cosy nostalgia trip would have left the shows disappointed. Audience interaction was almost non existent with Jim and William just getting on with the job in hand and letting the songs speak for themselves. The main event was wryly introduced by a grainy clip from Town Of Tomorrow, an archive promotional film extolling the virtues of the Mary Chain’s native East Kilbride. The feedback levels were turned up to almost painful levels which did, on occasion, completely drown out the lovely melodies that were so much in evidence on the album, which was a real pity on songs like You Trip Me Up. It worked to great effect on tracks like The Living End and In My Hole, but not so much on the album's more delicate numbers. Despite that, these gigs were a reminder of how important The Mary Chaim were. They could easily have played the album as if they were going through the motions, but this was a band on fire, playing with more fury and urgency than they have for many years. The Mary Chain never had anything to prove about what a great album Psychocandy is, but for any doubters these shows were evidence that they are one of the most important British bands of the last 30 years and that Psychocandy is one of the most important albums of the last 30 years.

You Trip Me Up

Some Sunday Soul...

 

Four years in and I don't think I have ever posted a song by one of the greatest vocal groups of all time, The Temptations. That faux pas shall have to remedied today. Surprisingly they had trouble establishing themselves initially, but that all changed in '64 when they recorded the Smokey penned classic "The Way You Do The things You Do", and the rest, as they say, is history. In the 60's they totally redefined what a soul group was, from their impeccable style, to their unique choreography and, most importantly, to their the immediately identifiable 5 part harmonies that made them the wonderful group that they were. Every soul group since owes them a huge debt. Not just one of the best soul groups of all time, simply one of the best groups of all time.

The Way You Do The things You Do

All At Sea Again...

If you are going to proclaim to the world that your band have released "the greatest album of all time" then hopefully you have the tunes to back up that rather grandoise statement. Not really sure if there is such a thing as the greatest album and I'm pretty sure that Ian McCulloch had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he made his proclamation upon the release of album that rounds off my Top 10 rundown of my personal favourite albums.

Ocean Rain was released at a time when the band were at their creative peak and, for me, is their masterpiece. It is an album that still splits opinion amongst Bunnymen fans, with some having the same opinion I have, and others not too keen on the orchestration throughout. Unlike many other albums released in the mid 80's, this album does not sound dated at all and finds the band in full command of their craft. The contrast of cheery ballads, like Silver and Crystal Days, alongside the more epic, brooding tracks like Nocturnal Me and The Killing Moon just works to perfection. It is one of those rare albums without a weak song, with Mac delivering the best vocals of his career. The band set out to record the ''perfect album'' and they delivered, producing an evocative, mystical masterpiece that has a sweep and grandeur to it rarely matched in popular music.

I love the rawness of Crocodiles, my other favourite Bunnymen album, but Ocean Rain is quite simply exquisite and contains possibly the finest closing track on any album that I own.

Next week sees me heading along to see The Bunnymen perform live again, here's hoping this time that Mac is sober and we don't have a repeat of the Ocean Rain gig debacle from a few years back.

Ocean Rain

Some Sunday Soul

  

Starting off as a backing singer for the likes of Etta James and Fontella Bass, Barbara Acklin got her opportunity to shine when she passed a tune she had written to none other than Jackie Wilson, whilst she was working as a secretary at the legendary Brunswick label in the mid 60's. Not long after the track was recorded by Wilson himself and gave him his biggest hit for about three years. Wilson then managed to get her signed to the Brunswick label, where she went on to have quite a few hits of her own including the classic "Love Makes A Woman". Into the 70's, she formed a hugely successful songwriting team with Chi-Lite Eugene Record. Together they wrote some belting Chi-Lites tunes such as "Have You Seen Her" and "Stoned Out Of My Mind". Her name is not that well known but, both as a great singer and songwriter, she deserves to be much better known...

Love Makes A Woman

No Elvis, Beatles Or The Rolling Stones...

CC over at the ever excellent Charity Chic asked on Monday for a rundown of the albums that I had picked as my Top 10 faves. As I did start the rundown quite a while ago he's probably not the only one who got a bit lost with what I had chosen so before I post the last album on the list in the next week or so here are the other nine...

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
The Pixies - Surfer Rosa
Dusty Springfield - A Girl Called Dusty
Roberta Flack - First Take
The Specials - The Specials
The Ramones - Rocket to Russia
The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace
Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town
The Smiths - The Smiths

The albums were not in any order, they were simply the albums that meant the most to me, for different reasons. These type of lists, by their very nature, are very subjective and does not mean that any of them are the "best" (whatever that means) albums ever made. They are solely the albums that I listen to more than any others and that would accompany me to a desert island.

As you could probably guess when I was deciding on the ten choices I had a far larger list that was whittled down to the ten that I chose. Below are some of the albums that very near made the ten, and on another day may very well have...

Martin Stephenson and The Daintees - Boat To Bolivia
The Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session
Lloyd Cole and The Commotions - Rattlesnakes
Curtis Mayfield - Curtis
Aztec Camera - High Land Hard Rain
Trashcan Sinatras - In The Music
Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen
ABC - The Lexicon Of Love
The Clash - London Calling
Bobby Womack - The Poet
Bob Marley and The Wailers - Catch A Fire
The Jam - Sound Affects
Mary Margaret O'Hara - Miss America
The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy and The Lash
Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Al Green - I'm Still In Love With You
The Undertones - The Undertones
Orange Juice - You Can't Hide Your Love Forever

As you can see from the list there are no Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones, hence the title of today's post. All artists that I listen to regularly but usually it is The Sun Sessions, The Red and Blue albums and Rolled Gold, all of which are compilations which, by my rules, were not allowed. If I had included Best Of's there may well have been albums by the likes of James Carr, Otis and The Temptations. Also I only allowed myself to pick one album by any artist, otherwise the list may have comprised of The Smiths, The Pixies, Springsteen and one or two others..

Looking at the list of albums that nearly made the list I was thinking how many of those titles would be appreciated by a blog that inspired me greatly when I started Spools Paradise, the superb
cathedrals of sound. David is currently taking a break from blogging, but hopefully one day we will see him blogging again.

Yes, I Know My Luck Too Well...

The penultimate choice in my Top 10 rundown was the one that took me the longest to choose, simply because the band in question had only 4 studio albums and I could have, for different reasons,  chosen any one of them. I mentioned in a post last week that my musical tastes changed somewhat back in '83 when I first heard "Reel Around The Fountain" and I always knew when I started this rundown that The Smiths would feature at some point. If I had bent the rules slightly I would have chosen "Hatful Of Hollow" but as it was not a studio album as such I did not include it.

The Smiths debut album sounds like nothing before and nothing since with the music and arrangements of Johnny Marr complimenting Morrissey's lyrics perfectly. It might not be as slick and well produced as the later albums but, for me, the lyrics and guitar work are unmatched by the albums that followed and the unpolished nature of the production is a plus point in my book. The Smiths, in their brief career, created something that was beautiful and unique and this is where it all started. Many of the eleven songs on "The Smiths"explore dark, sometimes unsettling aspects of love and relationships, but there is an elegant beauty to this album despite the subject matter. Album opener "Reel Around The Fountain" features some gorgeous piano/organ from Paul Carrack and a classically ambiguous lyric from Morrissey that sets the tone for what was to follow. It is a pretty bold decision to start a debut album off with a sprawling, six-minute song where the lead singer reflects on an early sexual experience with what sounds like someone much older. Not really what was lighting up the charts in '84. Nobody had written lyrics of this nature before for a pop song, especially on the closing track, "Suffer Little Children" which the press, as per usual, completely misinterpreted.

Thirty years on, ‘The Smiths’ remains a raw and powerful album that continues to tease and tantalize. I adore all four studio albums but the debut release is The Smiths album that I go back to time after time.

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle

Never Forget...

And I can't help but wonder, no Willie McBride,

Do all those who lie here know why they died?

Did you really believe them when they told you "The Cause?"

Did you really believe that this war would end wars?

Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame

The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain,

For Willie McBride, it all happened again,

And again, and again, and again, and again.

The Green Fields Of France

You Gotta Live It Every Day...

That there was going to be a Springsteen album in my Top 10 rundown was never in doubt. Which album to pick was the difficulty. I was a bit of  a latecomer to The Boss, having only started listening to his early work when "The Rising" came out . I had bought "Born In The USA" when it came out, and then sort of forgot about him in the late 80's and all through the 90's. But that all changed in 2003 when I went to see him live at Old Trafford Cricket Ground and I was converted.

I could easily have chosen the stark beauty of "Nebraska", the sheer romanticism of "Born to Run", the versatilty of "The River", the depth and passion of "The Rising"...I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. I know Springsteen  is not to everyone's taste and that some fellow bloggers are not fans but I can't get enough of Bruce. So you will just have to indulge me for a short while as I eulogize The Boss....

Released in 1978, "Darkness On The Edge Of Town", this is the album that defines Springsteen. It is his most raw, stripped down and intense album where the optimism of his first three albums has waned but there is still the feeling that eventually things are gonna work out alright. Frustration, longing, and all the dark places that can be found in the soul are on display here, but he also doesn't allow anyone to give up, you fight it or you accept it, but you don't quit. The music and lyrics reflect the sense of anger he was feeling at the time but this is not a bleak album, with tracks like "The Promised Land" and "Badlands" defiantly sweeping away the darkness of some of the darker tracks. There is an awesome grandeur in the tone and the sound and the songwriting is consistently excellent as an older and more mature Bruce begins to face the trials of adulthood. This was also the album where The E Street Band really came into their own with Max Weinberg's drumming in particular sounding more assured and powerful than on previous albums. The sound is much harsher than any of Springsteen's other albums with some fantastic, searing guitar playing throughout. "Darkness"confirmed that Springsteen's talents were greater than the hype that had been a part of the "Born to Run" period, with some of the best songwriting Springsteen has ever done.

From the pounding intro of "Badlands" to the beautiful closure of "Darkness", via the poignant, heartbreaking jewel of the record that is "Racing In The Street",  this album is flawless and is as good a rock and roll record as there ever has been, where Springsteen screams and howls some of his best lyrics with a conviction and intensity that is virtually unrivalled.

Some parts of today's post are maybe slightly overblown and pompous, but that was kinda deliberate as that is quite often the view that some have of Springsteen but, for me, he is The Boss and "Darkness"is his masterpiece.

 

Some Sunday Soul...

1984 saw the release of one the great soul albums, The Poet II, by the late Bobby Womack. This was one of the first soul albums that I bought, mainly due to wanting to know what all the fuss was about when the NME put it ahead of the likes of Billy Bragg, The Smiths and The Go Betweens, and named it as their album of the year, and I was not to be disappointed. It may not be quite as good as "The Poet" and is a tad over produced for my liking but those are minor details. It made me seek out "The Poet" and his earlier material and for that I doff my hat to the soul boys that were running the NME in the mid 80's.

You can get both albums on one CD for about a fiver these days which, in my eyes, is a pretty decent return on your money.

Tryin' To Get Over You