Lennon, John - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970) ~ by Plainview

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (2000) ~ by Baconbash

musicbanter.com/album-reviews/81475-linkin-park-hybrid-theory.html

Don't have 15 posts, wouldn't let me add the www at the front :bonkhead:

Welcome to le forum.

http://www.musicbanter.com/1655894-post8.html

Album review of Coheed and Cambria's debut The Second Stage Turbine Blade (2002)

From my journal The Identity Matrix Domain

This is great! Thanks :)

Oh goody. Pop folk. Never enough of that. I'll bet there's just a dash of indie in there, too!

Thank you so much for sharing :)

Alexandria Adrian borland 1989
 

1989 No 6
Alexandria Adrian Borland & The Citizens
So my number 6 in the best of 1989 is Alexandria by Adrian Borland & The Citizens. Some of you may
recall Adrian Borland as the main protagonist in The Sound. The sound emerged at the end of the 70’s
and got a recording contract in 1980. Although swallowed up by the U2 hype, many view The Sound
as a highly underrated band in main due to the talent of their songwriter, singer and guitarist Adrian Borland.

Check out their catolgue there’s some great music there. After the demise of The Sound Borland went to Holland and Alexandria
followed as his first solo project. The music is more melodic, less aggressive and gave Borland
the opportunity to experiment with different sounds - however his songs remained very dark and emotionally
heart wrenching. Adrian tragically committed suicide in 1999 after a long fight with depression.
So onto Alexandria - as ever choosing 4 favourite tracks sucks but here goes. After a bright beginning the second offering
‘Rogue Beauty’ which has nice string arrangements over acoustic guitars - it’s a song about romantic illusion
it reminds me a little of Forveer Changes the classic 1967 album by Love. Violins and brass appear on a number of tracks
which adds style and depth to the sound. However it’s Borland’s emotionally charged singing and lyrics
that stay with you. my 2nd offering is ‘other Side of The world’- it starts off dark ala The Sound and then
a flute echoes from yonder and could be a song from the soundtrack to a sergio leone western. The harmonica
bleeds out over the Prairie - Adrian’s desire to escape to somewhere new - the track also has strong links
with Mike Scott’s Waterboys. My third choice is ‘Shadow of Your Grace’ described by another critic as ‘World Beat’

The guitars jangle as the rhythm is established and we get a tatse of saxophone as the music builds through piano
and a glimpse of harmonica - it’s a wonderful song and yes it has a shuffle like beat. My final choice is the finale
‘Deep deep Blue’ - the mood is bleak but with a twist of optimism. In summery Borland was an artist
with huge talent who deserved success but he left us a body of work that impacts you as a listener of alt rock
as it is often labelled.

Spike Elvis Costello 1989
 

At number 5 in my Top 20 of 1989 is Spike by elvis costello without The attractions. Now elvis costello has been making albums for over a decade and his catologue stands
out for the variety and styles of music - he emerged with punk and developed into what was called new wave, a touch of reggare, R&B and ventured into American Country & western
but has consistently been praised as a songwriter of quality with a special love for pop. His songs have always had a touch of class albeit at times his lyrics seem somwhat
bewildering and beyond understanding. Some critics said that Spike was a bit like Jack of all Trades and Master of None as Elvis tried to entertain the masses with his vast repertoire
of styles - for me this is the reason why he is the best songwriter since those guys that made records for Parlophone. Talking of macca he collaborates on 2 tracks - more of those
later. so to give the album justice I’m going to fish through it track by track. the record was made at 4 different venues - London, New orleans, Dublin and hollywood
with different musicians contributing at different venues. Who played where - a mystery apart from the obvious
So let’s start with ‘This town’ with Roger McGuinn joining EC on guitar and harmony vocals it’s a well crafted pop song , catchy and a nice opener -
next up is ‘Let Him Dangle’ - this is where things get serious - it’s a haunting homage to Derek Bentley , a young man with
learning difficulties who was hanged for the murder of a policeman by an under aged friend
who Bentley was with. Costello clearly lays out the case against capital punishment and
a miscarriage of justice - the final jerky, crunchy rhythm guitar at the end creates imagery of a nose
with it’s victim seconds before death. ‘deep Dark Truthful Mirror’ follows and there’s
some nice piano from Allen Toussaint + brass accompaniement which takes you to the
heart of New Orleans jazz quarter. Track 4 is the first track with Macca , ‘Veronica’ It’s
bouncy pop with polished lead vocal from Elvis and you can hear that hoffner bass in there.
‘God’s Comic’ an acoustic blues is a stand out - Costello’s amusing view on life and death
all it’s foolishness - some nice brass to add to the quality. By now the variety
of musical styles are mounting - just wait - ‘Chewing Gum’ sound like an outtake from Punch The Clock
- lovely tuba from The DirtyDozen Brass Band and it is funky but don’t expect Prince.
The stand out track ‘Tramp The dirt down’ is costello’s epitaph to maggie Thatcher - problem is
she wasn’t dead - Elvis launching his hatred and emotions at her grave side - dark stuff. The music is
reminiscent of an Irish wake, beautifully played. An instrumental follows - ‘Stalin Malone’ - after
a slow start it develops into a jig come free form jazz with brass - I’m not sure what Elvis does
on it - maybe the bells. It’s kinda cute. ‘Satellite’ finds Chrissie Hynde helping EC on vocals.
It’s a love song , a ballad and thoroughly pleasant. The 2nd McCartmey song is ‘Pad,Paws and Claws’
it’s a send up of rockabilly and forgettable - 1st dude yeh. ‘Baby Plays Around’ is a simple
acoustic number and the title tells it all. It’s sung with sincerity and was co-written by Costello’s
missus cait O’Roirdan. ‘Miss Macbeth’ is a musical hall umpa and recalls Imperial Bedroom.
‘Any King’s Shilling’ starts with a medievel lute I think and mid-way adds the Celtic feel-
the music is very moving with violin - The song - not sure what it’s about - maybe a warning to a friend
not go on a mission - could refer to Irish troubles in the past - anyway it’s a beauty. ‘Coal Train Robberies’
has a Stax intro - very R&B - reminds me of Get Happy a little.The album closes with ‘Last Boat Leaving’
another song where Elvis describes a community that relies on the sea and it is dying - nice harmonium
So that’s it an album that requires many listens to handle the styles. NO 5 in my Top 20 for 1989
I nearly forgot - the album cover has a bizarre picture of Elvis as the Great Entertainer looking like The Joker

Nick Drake - 1970 - Bryter Layter