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I should just take this opportunity to thank all those who welcomed me back. And Batty. Sorry I didn't thank you all personally, but I'm just a lazy bastard, as you know. So thanks. It's good to be back.
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I bet you have like a million journal entries ready to upload:laughing: Welcome back tho m8.
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Adapt and survive... Now that I'm back, things will just go back to normal, yes? Man, you people do not know me, do you? :laughing: Of course I'm about to branch out yet again and shake things up. Although I'm delighted to see that my journal has reached over 300,000 views (a good 40-50,000 of those obviously having occurred while I was away, therefore nothing was updated) it's clear that this, my first journal, has become somewhat bloated and hard to navigate. The chances of anyone finding what they're looking for without the aid of a team of Huskies seem remote. Even I don't know where to look for things anymore! Further, with this journal now becoming essentially a vehicle for The Great Discography Project, and this likely to remain the case for many years, I've decided to open two more new journals in order to continue to pursue my two first loves, Progressive Rock http://www.trollheart.com/racing2.jpg and Heavy Metal http://www.trollheart.com/malleus1b.jpg Therefore, any articles or reviews or series pertaining to either will shortly be moved from this journal to their new home. This is not to say that they will be deleted from this journal: they will not. However it will make it easier for those who are into either subgenre to find stuff they may be interested in instead of having to wade through a lot of stuff they are not. It will also allow me to streamline the new journals to feature only the types of music I want to. The likes of the three Metal Months will be moved, as will the NWOBHM series, and indices will open each journal, linked, so that you can easily find what you're looking for. Of course, there will be new stuff, and lots of it, but initially I'll be concentrating on moving the old stuff. It may be a chance for those who missed out on Metal Month, or certain reviews, to read them fresh, or for anyone who wishes to re-read something but hasn't been able to find it in my main journal here, to locate it much more easily. At worst, it'll give Batty a headache I'm sure. :laughing: Some of my other journals will be closing; the likes of the "1001 Metal Albums" will be merged with the new Metal one, while others may just be wound up altogether. Haven't quite decided yet what I'm keeping other than the main ones. Any new reviews that are posted here as part of a discography that happens to fall into the category of prog or metal will at some point also be moved to the appropriate journal, though they will remain here as part of the GDP. So I'll start doing that probably tomorrow, and the new journals will surface then. If you're into either prog or metal, hope to see you there! |
Welcome home sir!!! Place hasn't been the same without you.
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Seriously, thanks. Good to be back. |
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Needless to say, glad to have you back ;) lots has happened in the past year. |
Are you ready to be pressured into producing massive content for MB that all us lazy ****s won't?
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#OfficeGate
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On the question of the journal update, well, stay tuned... ;) |
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Oh well, it was a troll rec anyway. |
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Time to step into the Unbelievably Stupid and Blinkered World of Young Trollheart again, as I reveal that though I had never listened to this band, I resented them because they were using the name chosen by Marillion for their second album. It was only the second time I had heard the word, so I assumed they had stolen it from Fish and the boys. Of course, it has its origins in the Vietnam War, where it was a GI acronym for Fucked Up, Got Ambushed, Zipped In. And so we begin the discography of
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...72d604b00d.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ater_cover.jpg Album title: Repeater Artiste: Fugazi Genre: Post-Hardcore Year: 1990 Label: Dischord Producer: Fugazi, Ted Niceley Chronological position: Debut album Notes: Album chart position: Unknown Singles: None Lineup: Ian MacKaye: Vocals, guitar, piano Guy Picciotti: Vocals, guitar Joe Lally: Bass Brendan Canty: Drums Review begins With a sort of wailing guitar chord we head into the opening track, “Turnover”, which has a nice sort of midpaced tempo to it, vocals (shared between Guy Picciotto and Ian MacKaye) are this first time out courtesy of the former, with a sort of raw, harsh quality but very understandable. Quite a catchy song really, with a lot of power and aggression but still almost commercial in its feel. Not anywhere near as radio-friendly is the title track, on which the vocals are switched to MacKaye, whose style I don't feel as attracted to. This is closer to what I would think of as punk, whereas the previous track was more indie rock, maybe. This feels very raw, the percussion is kind of hollow, tumbly? I assumed with a title like “Brendan #1” this would be a drum solo. It kind of is, but more an instrumental really. It's quite good, in fairness. “Merchandise” takes us back into the realm of MacKaye's singing, and has that sharp, snappy punk feel to it. Not feeling it here guys, not at all. Much prefer the more laidback style of “Blueprint”, with its softer guitar intro and the harsh, powerful but somehow more palatable vocal of Picciotto. I really like the riff in this. I see he's on the lead vocal for the next three tracks, which is good, though I have to admit “Sieve-fisted find” (?) sounds more like your other man. Like the guitar in it, but it's again a little bit chaotic. I also don't hear, so far, any piano, though it's credited. Maybe later. Good bassline here but overall I'm not as impressed with this track as I was with the one that preceded it. And “Greed” is just terrible, a total mess. I'm almost wishing for MacKaye to come back. Almost. Sounds like “Two beats off” might be better. Very simple, acoustic style guitar then electric kicks it up, and a lovely scratchy bassline. Not an awful lot in it though, and “Styrofoam” doesn't do it for me either. It's all just a little too shouty and raw. I was getting into some of the tracks, but overall the album is not winning me over. Think I finally hear the piano on “Reprovisional”, could be wrong though. It's a better track overall than most of the more recent ones, good melody running through it. That brings us to the final track, perhaps appropriately titled “Shut the door”, where things seem to slow down for the first time I think on the album. Oh but it doesn't stay that way. What a surprise. The vocal is pretty manic, and seems to concern someone having accidentally killed someone when he says “She's not breathing! She's not moving! She's not coming back!” so I guess that would be appropriate. Nice bass in the midsection then a pretty cool guitar solo before the end. TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS Turnover Repeater Brendan #1 Merchandise Blueprint Sieve-fisted find Greed Two beats off Styrofoam Reprovisional Shut the door Afterword: Not quite what I expected, though to be honest I'm so unversed in hardcore or post-hardcore that I would not really have had a clue what to expect. Little too raw for me, too close to punk maybe. Some good tracks but as you'll see from the ratings above, not that many and there were so many that were simply Meh. Again, it's a debut album so maybe they improved, or, I should say, maybe I'll find them more palatable as the discography goes on, but for now, really not my particular cup of poison at all. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
In On the Killer Taker and Red Medicine are the best Fugazi albums if ya wanna try those out later on.
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I'm not sure you'll be a fan of much of their material, but no one can possibly dislike The Arguement.
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Album title: Bathory Artiste: Bathory Genre: Black Metal/Thrash Metal Year: 1984 Label: Tyfon Producer: Quorthon, The Boss Chronological position: Debut album Notes: Album chart position: Are you fucking serious? A Black Metal album in the charts??? Singles: None Lineup: Quorthon: Vocals, guitar Stefan Larsson: Drums Rickard Bergman: Bass Review begins If there's one thing Bathory are famous for round here, it's for allowing our own Batlord to misread the name on the album and thus come up with his own username. Hey: it's easy to do! Those crazy Gothic letters, eh? Apparently famous by accident, Bathory's breakthrough came when they were included on a Black Metal compilation album after one of the bands had pulled out, and as a result of hugely positive feedback got to record their own album. This was it, and it led to a career spanning twenty years, and changing from Black Metal to Viking Metal (which Bathory are said to have invented) as they became favourites among the extreme metal community. This was recorded, literally, in a converted garage, so I don't expect any great overall sound, perhaps taking the term lo-fi to its epitome, but let's see how it sounds thirty years on. I've heard some Bathory, but it's been more on the Viking Metal side of things, so this will be my first real acquaintance with their original and much rawer sounds. Cellos? Nope. Flutes? You kidding? Mandolin? Not on your life, mate! And it opens with every sound that has become a cliche in Black Metal: pealing bells, sound of wind and rain, thunder as “Storm of damnation (intro)” kicks us off, very atmospheric and dark, kind of almost atmospheric black metal, and I'm assuming at this point an instrumental. Yep, it is. “Hades” then ramps up the proper black metal influences, but my god (sorry Quorthon!) that production is just awful! I can hardly make out what the guy is singing, and though this is often the case with black metal, that's usually due to the singer's style - screech or growl or hiss or snarl - but here I'm sure I would be able to understand the vocals if I could hear them properly. The drums sound like someone is hitting tin cans, though at least the guitar is front and centre. Good fast powerful headbanger for sure, giving Slayer a run for their money here, but it's hard to pick out anything specific about the track. Fretwork is excellent, but now it's over and we're into “Reaper”, where at least the drums sound fuller and stronger, and in fact yeah, I can hear the vocals fine now. Well, they come and go. I like this one better than “Hades”; at least I can make out what the song is about here. Not sure if “Necromansy” is meant to be spelled that way (Wiki says it was a mistake due to Quorthon running out of press-on letters, but I guess it's become known as that now) but it rocks nicely, and with somewhat less of an edge than “Reaper”. Some really nice riffs here and a great melody. Fantastic solo at the end. Didn't Elton John do a cover of this? No? Must be another “Sacrifice” I'm thinking of then. :laughing: Man, this rockets along like a good thing. Makes Motorhead sound slow and plodding and Slayer lethargic. That missing C in his Letra-set (TM) comes up again for “In conspirasy with Satan” which hammers along on rails of fire, punishing guitar and pounding drums, the vocal evil as all Hell. Another excellent solo, possibly one of the best on the album so far, and into the appropriately-titled “Armageddon” which destroys all before it. Quorthon's voice is a little lower-pitched on this, not a growl or anything close but definitely a lower register. The dark pealing bells return, accompanied by a slowing heartbeat to usher in “Raise the dead” with a Sabbathy riff to open, then it rocks and boogies along like nobody's business, and I think this may be my favourite track on the album. Love this. This is more the thrash metal side of Bathory, I guess. Love the solo. That leaves us with two tracks, but one really, as the closer is only seconds long. “War” just goes for the throat, taking no prisoners and ploughing a furrow across your brain that will make it impossible for you to sit still again. You have to headbang to this song: it's mandatory. Sure it's simple and almost throwaway, but it's such fun! How can you resist? Then we have as I say a few seconds of ambient noise to close in “Outro” and we're done. TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS Storm of damnation (intro) Hades Reaper Necromansy Sacrifice In conspirasy with Satan Armageddon Raise the dead War Outro Afterword: It's all a little raw and unfocussed for me, and hard to get at any actual real tunes, so hard to praise this album that much. Having said that, it's an impressive debut for something that was pretty much thrown together, and with better production or remastering this could have turned out to be quite an album. As it is, it's a cult favourite and a legend among black metal devotees, so I'm not going to say anything negative about it. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
Such a great album. I'm glad you at least, to some extent, recognize the brilliance of Reaper, one of my favourite Bathory tracks.
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My favorite Bathory album will always be Under The Sign Of The Black Mark. There's something beautiful to me about it's production I just haven't gotten anywhere else. :yeah:
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And now, the sharp dividing line which separates those who love and those who hate this man. I fall on the side of the former, not surprisingly, but I can see why a lot of people hate him. Nevertheless, this is where we begin the discography of one
http://marieclaire.media.ipcdigital....lliams-LP7.jpg Robbie Williams In case you've been living under a rock for the last decade or so, let me advise you that Robbie Williams came out of the boyband Take That, and began a solo career in 1997 that has since elevated him to superstardom and resulted in hit singles, million-selling albums and sellout tours. His music is mostly pop, but you'll get the odd shot of rock or at least pop/rock in there too. If you haven't already made up your mind, I'd recommend approaching his music with an open mind, and concentrating on that more than the often adverse press he's received or his admittedly massive ego. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Lens_cover.png Album title: Life Thru a Lens Artiste: Robbie Williams Genre: Pop Year: 1997 Label: EMI Producer: Guy Chambers, Steve Power Chronological position: Debut album Notes: Album chart position: 1 (eventually, on the back of the success of the “Angels” single) Singles: “Old before I die”, “Lazy days”, “South of the border”, “Angels”, “Let me entertain you” Lineup: n/a Review begins As a longtime sneerer at boybands, Take That not least of them, it surprised me how much I ended up liking this album. I had heard Robbie vaguely on the periphery, through singles like the aforementioned “Angels” and “Let me entertain you”, and I think it may have been to disprove my sister's contention that he really was a musical talent that I listened to this album, and had to radically change my view of him. I expected that the singles would be flanked by some real filler, and most of that written by others. But whatever you think of him, love him or hate him, or even ignore him, you can't deny Robbie Williams knows how to pen a great tune. Right from the very start I was impressed, with the power and melody of “Lazy days”, its semi-Indian arrangement and powerful guitar riffs getting my attention right away. In an era where much of the pop music was still based around keyboards and synths, Williams was one of the new rising stars who, with Blur and Oasis and others, would reintroduce the guitar to music fans outside of the rock genre. Pretty much every song here is catchy, and most of them could have been selected as singles. It says a lot for the quality of the album that, great song though the opener is, it's really one of the weaker ones. The title track is a good poppy uptempo with a clever twist in the lyric - ”Just because I ain't double-barrelled/ Doesn't mean I haven't travelled well” - though oddly I feel Robbie sounds a little like Neil Tennant here. Like most of his songs (that I've heard anyway) this has a great hook in it, and it's hard not to find yourself singing it later on, and there's some great bass and a kind of northern soul idea to “Ego a go-go” with some nice brass, while you really have to feel for Ray Heffernan. Who? Oh, he's the Irish guy who wrote “Angels” and sold it to Robbie for ten grand; the song went on to become Williams' most successful, bringing him instant stardom when it looked like he was going to fall flat on his face. I think everyone knows it by now, and it's the first ballad on the album. A beautiful song, with orchestral backing and a gorgeous piano line. “South of the border” is great fun and features another great hook in the chorus, cool little guitar solo too, then guitar drives “Old before I die”, another single and a really catchy song, hard to ignore. Another smart lyric --- "I hope I live to see the day/ The Pope gets high.” It's interesting that the idea in the lyric reverses the traditional rock mantra of “better to burn out than fade away”, which is kind of refreshing to hear. Also refreshing is acoustic guitar, which takes us into “One of God's better people”, showing how Williams excels in writing sentimental but not necessarily cloying ballads. Certainly, he's ably assisted on almost every track by songwriting partner Guy Chambers, and I don't know how much input either has into the songs, though in my review of Take the crown I noted that without Chambers, Williams' writing really suffers, so one would assume his partner was the main songwriter. Again, most people probably know “Let me entertain you”, with its rising intro on piano and guitar, a real vehicle for what would become Williams' often out of control ego, but again it's really enjoyable. There's a lot of rock in the guitar and it's not too hard to see some of the harder rockers shaking their heads to this. On the other hand, there's a lot of soul in “Killing me”, with a really nice keyboard line leading it and a kind of ELO/Beatles midsection on violin and cello. “Clean” has a nice kind of swagger about it, with a good sharp, jaunty piano line and it certainly references his time in rehab, ending on a warped, twisted piano line to no doubt reflect the times he was out of his head. “Baby girl window” then ties everything up really nicely, another acoustic ballad which rather unfortunately is followed by a bitter “hidden track” in which he speaks to his former teacher, reviling him for not believing in him and predicting he would go nowhere. It's understandable, yes, but a little unnecessary, and comes across as the equivalent of kicking a man who has already fallen to the ground. I'm sure the teacher was mortified, and its being a hidden track ironically would have brought it more attention than had it just been a normal one. Revenge may be best served cold, but this is pure ice. Oh well. Track Listing and Ratings 1. Lazy days 2. Life through a lens 3. Ego a go-go 4. Angels 5. South of the border 6. Old before I die 7. One of God's better people 8. Let me entertain you 9. Clean 10. Baby girl window 11. Hello Sir (Hidden track; spoken only) Afterword: Given that he was, and still is to many people, something of a joke, in that his ego tends to go before him and take away from his admittedly good songwriting skills and showmanship, I was a lot more impressed with this album than I expected to be, with very little bad to say about it, and it set me up rather well for the follow-up, and those to come. I wouldn't say I necessarily became a fan of his, but I certainly appreciated his music a lot more and I still listen to and enjoy it. Mostly. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
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Album title: Rush Artiste: Rush Genre: Hard rock Year: 1973 Label: Anthem/Moon/Mercury Producer: Rush Chronological position: Debut album Notes: The one and only Rush album not to feature longtime drummer Neil Peart Album chart position: 105 (US) Singles: “Finding my way”, “In the mood” Lineup: Geddy Lee: Vocals, bass Alex Lifeson: Guitar, vocals John Rutsey: Drums Review begins Although Rush would go on to become identified with the emerging progressive rock movement, this, their first album, is far more on the Zep/Purple side of hard rock, and you can hear Geddy Lee channeling Robert Plant in the opening lines of “Finding my way”, which would find its own way into their live set for years afterwards. Already though you can hear their particular sound being created, and it would be hard to hear this song and not realise it was Rush playing. It's a punchy and rocky opener, with great work from Alex Lifeson, and “Need some love” keeps everything hopping along nicely, even if it's hardly inspired lyrically, but at least it's short, then the first kind of smatterings of prog rock come through in the fade-in to “Take a friend”, though the song itself seems more a CCR or Steppenwolf idea. However there's really not too much to talk about until we hit “Here again”, where the boys break out their best blues chops, and at over seven minutes there's plenty to enjoy. Whether I'd call this a ballad or not I'm not quite sure, but it's slower than anything that has come before it anyway. This is the first track where it becomes clear what a guitar god Lifeson is going to turn out to be. Standout so far for sure. Some more great guitar histrionics in “What you're doing”, with very much a Zep vibe but again the proggy influences were creeping in there, while “In the mood” is, surprisingly, not a cover of the Glenn Miller standard (!) but a decent rocker which nods towards songs like “Something for nothing” and “Bastille Day”. Nice gentle intro then into “Before and after”, and it sounds like it might be a proper ballad, maybe. Actually, I think now it might be an instrumental. Hmm. No to both. Vocals just came in and the tempo kicked up in the third minute of the five it runs for. I guess the “before” in the title was the laidback guitar instrumental part and this is the “after”. Odd, though. “Working man” then closes the album, going back to the Zep/Free sound but slower than much of the rest of the album. Some very good guitar work on it, certainly. Great jam there at the end and a powerful conclusion. Again, I can hear little progressive elements leaking in. TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS Finding my way Need some love Take a friend Here again What you're doing In the mood Before and after Working man Afterword: Not, to be sure, an album to set the world on fire, and it didn't. In fact, it would take three more albums before their genius would finally be realised and Rush would be on the way to proper stardom. To achieve that, they would basically leave the blues and rock influences prevalent on this and their next album to one side, and concentrate on the burgeoning progressive rock themes beginning to surface here, and which would also come through on Fly by Night, as Neil Peart joined and pretty much took over writing the lyrics. With a big progressive suite on that album, this would be the direction Rush would follow for the next three years as they produced classic albums like Hemispheres, A Farewell to Kings, Caress of Steel and of course 2112. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres are my two favorite Rush albums. "Hey, let's stop here and pick this up on the next album." I love it!
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Album title: Pretty Hate Machine Artiste: Nine Inch Nails Genre: Industrial Rock, Electronica Year: 1989 Label: TVT Producer: Trent Reznor/Flood/Keth Leblanc/Adrian Sherwood/John Fryer Chronological position: Debut album Notes: Album chart position: 67 (UK) 75 (US) Singles: “Down in it”, “Head like a hole”, “Sin” Lineup: Trent Reznor: Pretty much everything Review begins Originally conceived as a set of songs he worked on while doing odd jobs in a record studio, Trent Reznor's music piqued the interest of record labels and a strong underground following ensured that, though his debut album did nothing chartwise, it became one of the releases of the year and gained him an army of cult fans. “Head like a hole”, one of the singles to be released from it, starts the album off and it's very synthpop, with thick buzzy synths, clicking percussion and snarling guitars. Reznor's voice however is nothing like you'd expect a Depeche Mode or Human League singer to be and owes more to the grunge movement I think than electropop. There's certainly a lot of anger there, whereas synthpop seems to be usually either not that bothered or just totally detached, that sort of robotic persona popularised by Gary Numan. I feel I may have heard this before; it sounds familiar. I like the anger and aggression, the angst mixed with the danceable synthpop. The only thing I've heard comparable to this would be The The. Grungepop? Darkgrunge? “Terrible lie” is in fact really close to Matt Johnson's work, even the percussion sounds similar, and the idea of stopping everything but it while you sing the verse is totally Matt. Builds up nicely, but it's too derivative of The The for me. “Down in it” has a sort of rap feel to the vocal delivery with sharp guitar allied to beeping synths (samplers?) and a loud vocal chorus. Oh come on! He even uses the “voice on a radio” that Johnson used on Infected. “Sanctified” has a great hypnotic bassline and really hits the spot. The snappier, angrier guitars work well here. I really like this one. And this one. The dark, brooding, almost minimalist feel of “Something I can never have” is really special, and his vocal is tight and bitter but not as angry as up to now. Another standout I feel. Kind a lot of Numan about this, though with, you know, feeling. Dripping with it in fact. Excellent. The desperation in his vocal is palpable. “Kinda I want to” returns to the dance/rock with plenty of The The, though it seems to have something like a goat bleating in the beginning (Vote GOAT!), not sure what that is, but it rocks nicely. Faster and more synth-driven is “Sin” then things slow down in a crunchy, snarly way for “That's what I get”, with Reznor dialling up the anger to ten. Great blasting synths on this. Now hes really channeling Johnson as we move into the penultimate track; I can't believe he hasn't been listening to Soul Mining, Infected and Burning Blue Soul, but this is classic The The. Oh, it's called “The only time” and it sounds so much like “That sinking feeling” that it's really not funny. The album then closes on “Ringfinger”, which is a sort of mixture of hard rock and dancy synths, a bit odd but not a bad closer. Nice piano line running through it and it's good to hear the guitars raging away even if they're a little in the background. TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS Head like a hole Terrible lie Down in it Sanctified Something I can never have Kinda I want to Sin That's what I get The only time Ringfinger Afterword: I'm just kind of shocked how similar to the music of The The this is, right down to Reznor's vocal at times. I hope he didn't just copy Matt. But given that I love The The, this is right down my alley so there's very little on it I don't like (nothing actually) and much I really love. A very impressive debut, but would be more impressive if I believed the sound was original. Maybe it is, but I've heard enough The The to know when someone is influenced by their sound to an almost worrying degree. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
It would appear that no self-respecting music fan would give Journey the time of day (16:04, fellas) but they say that about Bon Jovi too, and that doesn't stop me listening to them. Journey have gained a reputation for soft rock balladry, mainly thanks to hits from their biggest albums, but they began life as a progressive rock band, and back in 1975 they released their debut album. And this is it, without a Steve in sight.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...elf_titled.jpg Album title: Journey Artiste:Journey Genre: Progressive Rock Year: 1975 Label: Columbia Producer: Roy Halee Chronological position: Debut album Notes: Album chart position: Unknown Singles: “To play some music” Lineup: Neal Schon: Guitars Ross Valory: Bass, piano Gregg Rollie: Keyboards, vocals George Tickner Guitars, bass Aynsley Dunbar: Drums Review begins Nice soft guitar sets us on our way with “Of a lifetime” already demonstrating the skills Neal Schon would parlay into a successful career with the band and even a solo career too. Sonorous organ from Gregg Rolie joins proceedings, and then it's he who takes the vocal, sounding very competent indeed, and very much in the progressive rock mould. Nicely laidback and with the odd sudden jump into life from time to time. A nice opener, and the guitar motif from Schon suits the song perfectly. Even here, this early, he's establishing himself as a major focal point for the band, and it's almost, though not quite, the Neal Schon show from day one. Nothing wrong with that; he's a great guitarist as he proves here, as if he had to. Certainly a star in the making. Sounds exactly like the opening notes to “Yellow brick road” by Elton John opening “In the morning day”, but of course it changes and becomes its own tune. Nice powerful organ and piano meshing as Rollie and Ross Vallory collaborate, Schon's squealing guitar rising into the ether and Rollie's soulful voice holding court over all. Suddenly takes flight as Schon and Rollie power up the tempo and it heads off on something of an instrumental jam which takes it out to the fade. “Kohoutek” comes in on a slow, almost dramatic piano and guitar line, with pretty explosive drums, stops for a moment then picks up again, turning a little jazzy in the third minute, bopping along, oddly enough without too much in the way of guitar histrionics from Schon ... oh, there they are. Knew he wouldn't be able to rein himself in for too long. Back into the slow piano in the fifth minute as the piece winds towards its end, and it's pretty clear here that we're dealing with the first instrumental. Ends a bit abruptly, and into the only single from the album, this being the more uptempo, keyboard-led and almost a precursor to their later AOR days “To play some music”. Very strong organ line holding this together, and you can definitely hear echoes of the future drifting back in some of the rhythms and melodies that would surface years later on albums like Escape and Raised on Radio. “Topaz” is another instrumental, with a soft guitar opening it and then kicking up into another jam, this time very much guitar driven. Some very good piano however from Ross Valory. Kind of a feeling of southern boogie in some of the guitar work. Get a blues idea from “In my lonely feeling/Conversation”, with a nice striding bassline and thick organ, the vocal this time almost reminding me of Steve Perry; suppose that's just coincidence. Schon takes control here in no uncertain terms, and what I assume to be the second half (the “Conversation” part of the title) is taken by him almost solo, and then we're into the closer, which I'm told survived into their later stageshows and became a fan favourite, presumably the only one from their early days that did. “Mystery mountain” has a good driving rock beat, and again foreshadows the kind of direction they would later pursue, so it's not too hard to understand why this was more acceptable to, shall we say, the Escape generation than to the older fans. I find the vocal a little muddy here if I'm honest, not always but at certain points; Rollie just is not as clear as he has been up to now. It's also notable for being the only song on the album co-written by an outsider, as it were, this being Diane Valory, whom I take to be the wife or sister of Ross, who wrote it with her. Again very southern boogie running through this. Good work from Schon, who plays his fingers off. TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS Of a lifetime In the morning day Kohoutek To play some music Topaz In my lonely feeling/Conversations Mystery mountain Afterword: It's certainly a great album, but it's hard to see how Journey made the switch from okay progressive rock band to stadium-filling AOR and hitmakers. Still, as I keep saying, this is their debut and it would be another two albums before Steve Perry would arrive to take over vocals and a staggering six more before Jonathan Cain would complete the classic Journey lineup that would record their greatest and most successful albums. Quite a long journey, indeed, but a very promising start. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rea I've been a fan of Chris Rea ever since I heard “Nothing's happening by the sea” from his fifth album, Water Sign, and having bought that album I followed him not quite religiously, but did purchase his albums up to 1989, left off and picked up again in 1999, and more or less stopped listening to his new material from 2002 on, which is odd really, as that's when he released the epic double album Dancing Down the Stony Road. Then again, shortly afterwards I began downloading more albums than I could ever be realistically expected to listen to, and the idea of collecting further material from one of my favourite stars of my youth slowly receded. Well, I may have downloaded them but never listened to them. As for his earlier material? I know of the four albums that come before Water Sign, but have only heard Tennis once, though I do own and love Deltics. But it all began with something of an inside joke... https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ny_Santini.jpg Album title: Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? Artiste: Chris Rea Genre: Soft Rock, Pop Year: 1978 Label: Magnet Producer: Gus Dudgeon Chronological position: Debut album Notes: Album chart position: Unknown Singles: “Fool if you think it's over”, “Whatever happened to Benny Santini?” Lineup: Chris Rea: Vocals, guitar, keyboards, synth Robert Ahwai/Eddie Guy/Paul Keogh: Guitars Phil Curtis/Pat Donaldson/Dave Markie/Eoghan O'Neill: Bass Rod Argent: Keyboards, electric piano Pete Wingfield: Keyboards, piano Max Middleton/Kevin Leach: Keyboards Steve Gregory: Sax Dave Mattacks/Norman Nosebait/Adrian Rea: Drums Gus Dudgeon/Frank Ricotti/George Woodhead: Other percussion Doreen Chanter/Stuart Epps/Irene Chanter: Backing vocals Review begins I used to think, when I would see this album in a record store and never have any interest in buying it (and I never did) that the title referred to some old sports legend - a baseball player, rugby or soccer icon, or maybe a cricket hero. But it turns out that when Rea signed for Magnet Records, they thought his name was too boring and uninteresting, and wanted to rename him, you guessed it, Benny Santini! Now that sounds baseball to me. That, or Italian Mafia! Anyway, it would appear Rea persevered and retained his old name, so the title is probably an irreverent finger to his label, which perhaps might have worked better had this album been more successful. Mind you, it did yield him his biggest hit, a signature song for him, although it too bombed in the UK, being only successful in the US of A. Nevertheless, as time went on Chris Rea would have other big hits and would become moreover a household name and a respected musician. Not sure Benny would have done as well. It's a nice acoustic rocker that gets the album underway, and it is in fact the title track too. Sort of a Country feel to it, loping along nicely and you can hear right away that this is a new talent in the making as Rea's raspy voice, slightly reminiscent of a younger Rod Stewart, greets us. A catchy song, it's nothing terribly special but it does open the album well and features a fine sax solo from Steve Gregory. “Close as you get” is a kind of blues number with soul edges and some really nice piano from Pete Wingfield. It continues the rock nature of the album, and foreshadows the likes of “Hey you” on his later album with its basic “looking for a girl” idea in the lyric, while the first ballad comes in the shape of “Because of you”, but I have to admit it's pretty barf-inducing and nothing like the kind of thing he would later write. It's the first track on which he plays piano, so I guess there is that. Oh, there's a fantastic guitar solo too, though I think it's Eddie Guy and not Chris. Back to blues rock for “Dancing with Charlie” and it's an okay song but again it doesn't quite stand out. There's something in the main guitar riff that reminds me of one of his later songs, though I can't place it. A really nice powerful organ surge brings in “Bows and bangles”, some lovely electric piano sprinkled across the tune, and it appears to be another ballad, sung in an almost folk style, with some really great vocal harmonies. Like many of his later songs, this one tells a story and is populated by characters whom we end up caring about. Things begin to take a serious upswing then with the song that is, apparently, credited with keeping him in the music biz. Depressed at the lack of attention his debut album was receiving, and thinking of quitting, Rea came home to find a cheque on his doormat for the royalties from the only single taken from the album. Written to help his sister get over a love affair and show her it wasn't the end of the world, “Fool (if you think it's over)” is sung from the standpoint of an older man, trying to explain to a younger girl that these things happen, worse is to come and she'd better be ready for it. It's a dour song really, sung quite downbeat for most of it, and with a sense of perhaps not quite mocking but pragmatism about it. Running on a slow organ line and muted guitar, even the vocal is laconic as Rea stresses the unimportance, in the grand scheme of things, and compared to the rest of her life she has yet to lead, of her breakup when he sings “Save your tears, got years and years” and advises her “The pains of seventeen's unreal, they're only dreams.” It doesn't come across as a very comforting song, and I wonder what Rea's sister thought of his attempt to cheer her up, but it certainly cheered him up when he started receiving money for his efforts and could finally think of forgetting about jacking in the music career. It also provided later quite a hit for Canadian songstress Elkie Brooks. Rocking again then with “Three angels”, on which Rea shows his prowess on the guitar, while Pete Stanley (I assume no relation to the Kiss guitarist) adds some oddly appropriate banjo of all things. Another great track then is “Just one of those days”, which almost takes the bassline and rhythm from songs like “Tie a yellow ribbon” and “Kisses for me”, and trots along really nicely. Short little song but very nice. Next we have a Gerry Raffertyesque “Standing in your doorway”, which again sounds like one of his later songs with what sounds like accordion (guess it's synthesised, as in the rather exhaustive credits list no accordion player is mentioned). It's a nice sort of semi-ballad and leads into the closer, a steaming blues rocker called “Fires of spring”. Great bassline chugging along and with a certain sense of ELO in it TRACK LISTING AND RATINGS Whatever happened to Benny Santini? The closer you get Because of you Dancing with Charlie Bows and bangles Fool (if you think it's over) Three angels Just one of those days Standing in your doorway Fires of spring Afterword: Really, in fairness, it's not a bad debut, and it's weird to think that had “Fool” not made it 'cross the pond Chris Rea may have never recorded another album. I guess it just takes that one shot of confidence to tell you that you're actually on the right track, and he has gone on to record over twenty albums and sold over thirty million units in his so-far thirty-five year career. So I guess you can say, fool if you thought it was over, it had just begun. Sorry. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
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Album title: The End of an Ear Artiste: Robert Wyatt Genre: Free Jazz Year: 1970 Label: CBS Producer: Robert Wyatt Chronological position: Debut solo album Notes: Robert Wyatt was a founder member of Soft Machine, one of the lynchpins of the Canterbury Scene in progressive rock during the sixties and seventies Album chart position: n/a Singles: None Lineup: Robert Wyatt- Drums, Piano, Organ, keyboards, harmonica Neville Whitehead- Bass Mark Charig- Cornet Elton Dean- Alto Saxophone, Saxello Mark Ellidge - Piano Cyrille Ayers - Assorted Percussion David Sinclair- Organ Well thank you indeed Plainview for recommending not only a free jazz artist, but an album of totally instrumental music. This will be fun. I wasn't totally blown away by the two Soft Machine albums I reviewed in the History of Prog journal, so I can't say I'm particularly looking forward to this, but let's just get it done. Review begins Opens just as I feared, more like a tune-up than any real music, with Wyatt doing some vocalise singing of some sort, sounds like a swarm of bees being chased by a ghost playing bongos. Sigh. There's a piano in there too, but it fades out to leave us with experimental sounds and some vocal histrionics. Man I hate this, and it's only the first track. Apparently it's called “Las Vegas tango part one”, though what it has to do with either is anyone's guess. “To mark everywhere” has at least more of what I would call structure to it, with a pounding drum and wailing sax, and now there's some sort of weird shimmery thing going on, like a UFO landing, with increasingly insistent percussion and then whistling brings in “To Saintly Bridget”, which has something of a rhythm to it at least. Oh, and there's more squealy sax, just to annoy me further. It kind of transitions directly into the next track, with a fast running bass and wibbly sax. I really don't care any more. This is boring the hell out of me. It will be a long slog, that's for sure. And now a nine-minute track of what seems to me to be more or less the same disjointed melody, mostly carried on percussion and sax. Yawn. Some bassy piano joining in now, but I'm basically just enduring it and waiting (praying) for it to end. I bet Frownland loves this stuff. Not for me. Not by a long way. Oh my god, sounds like this might actually be a recognisable tune! “To Caravan and brother Jim” does have its mad, free jazz moments but I can follow the melody, most of which is driven by piano and organ. This is the first track I haven't hated: will it be the only one? Yep, it seems like we're back to the sound of a kazoo stuck up someone's arse. Sigh. Robotic sounds which I guess were innovative for the time, but just bore me. The next one is short, a nice piece of piano music which doesn't set my teeth on edge, though he can't leave it alone and starts messing with the melody, ruining it for me. Still, it's better than a whole lot of this album has been. The final track is a whopping eleven minutes long, but at least it is the last one. In fairness, it's a little more settled than some of the earlier tracks, but it's still something of a struggle to get through it. Discordant melodies, dissonance, whistling and seemingly off-tune tones, none of this does anything for me but make me wish this was over. And now it is. Track Listing and Ratings 1. Las Vegas Tango, part 1 (repeat) 2. To Mark everywhere 3. To Saintly Bridgid 4. To Oz Alien Daevid and Gilly 5. To Nick everyone 6. To Caravan and brother Jim 7. To the old world (Thank you for the use of your body, goodbye) 8. To Carla, Masha and Caroline (For making everything beautifuller) 9. Las Vegas Tango part 1 Afterword: Look, there was nobody expecting me to like this, was there? Once those two words popped up I was sunk. I don't like much jazz, and the little I can stomach does not include the word “free”, so while I try to keep an open mind whenever reviewing, I wasn't gambling on there being much here for me. And there wasn't. Which is not to say this is a bad album, or that Wyatt doesn't have talent, because obviously neither would be true. To those who can appreciate and enjoy this kind of thing, I'm sure it's amazing, transcendent and a lot of other praiseworthy adjectives. But to me, with my limited capacity to enjoy melody that is not pleasing to my ears, it is none of those things and I did not enjoy it. Apart from a track here or there. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
I gotta check that one out. The Wyatt album Rock Bottom is really nice and might be a little bit more up your alley. It is a bit noodly though.
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Album title:Rock Bottom Artiste: Robert Wyatt Genre: Folk Year: 1974 Label: Virgin Producer: Nick Mason Chronological position: Second solo album Notes: Between this and his previous, debut solo album, Wyatt suffered a terrible, life-changing accident that paralysed him. He subsequently began to think about his life and this album contains his reflections on same. Album chart position: n/a Singles: n/a Lineup: Robert Wyatt– vocals, keyboards, percussion,slide guitar(2) Mike Oldfield– guitar (6) Gary Windo–bass clarinet,tenor sax(5) Ivor Cutler– voice (3 and 6), baritone concertina,harmonium(6) Alfreda Benge– voice (5) Mongezi Feza– trumpets (3) Fred Frith–viola(6) Hugh Hopper– bass guitar (2, 4 and 5) Richard Sinclair– bass guitar (1, 3 and 6) Laurie Allan– drums (2 and 6) Review begins Much as I hated the previous album, it's in a way gratifying to see that Wyatt himself later dismissed it as “juvenilia”, this mostly I guess being due to his new way of seeing the world, due to the accident related above. So from his, and many of his fans' point of view, this is really his debut album, though in a more, real way, it isn't. You can hear much more of an attempt at serious music in the opener, “Sea song”; the noises and effects of the previous album are nowhere in sight, and this is more folk or even prog rock, probably more something fans of Soft Machine would have expected. The music still tends to be annoyingly discordant at times, but at least I can distinguish it as such this time around. The vocalise puts me off still though, but it's a hundred percent improvement on The End of an Ear. You can definitely hear more of the prog rock influence on “A last straw” though it's more kind of jazz/avant-garde for much of “Little Red Riding Hood hit the road”, with screeching horns and what sounds like loops (though I guess those weren't around in the seventies) but apparently are multi-tracked arrangements. There's a vocal halfway through, by Ivor Cutler. Does add something to the composition, though I'm not quite sure what. He sounds a bit like Bowie. Okay, now he's just talking. “Alifib” on the other hand features some beautiful classical guitar, is a nice little laidback piece, quite pastoral and relaxing, and it kind of continues on into “Alife”, which introduces some little effects, piping horns and acquires a darker texture. The closer then, and the companion piece to “Little Red Riding Hood hit the road” is called “Little Red Robin Hood hit the road”, driven mostly by a droning synth, screeching guitar and a repetitive vocal. Halfway through we get a recitation by Cutler of some nonsensical poem. Apparently, his vocal work here and on the first part gained him a recording deal. Go figure, huh? Violin coming in now over a harmonium (it says here; I would have said uileann or bagpipes, but there you go) setting up a kind of Celtic feel to the end part. Track listing and Ratings Sea song A last straw Little Red Riding Hood hit the road Alifib Alife Little Red Robin Hood hit the road Afterword: Yeah. Better by miles than the previous effort, but it's still a little freaky for me. Some nice moments, some decent music and some clever ideas, but nothing here that makes me want to hear more. Though as part of this overarching project, I have no choice but to do exactly that. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
Re: loops. They've been available ever since we've been recording music and they really took off once tape came into action.
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Album title:Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard Artiste: Robert Wyatt Genre: Porgressive Rock Year: 1975 Label: Virgin Producer: Robert Wyatt Chronological position: Third album Notes: Album chart position: n/a Singles: n/a Lineup: Robert Wyatt– vocals, piano, imitation electric piano (Ri4), organ (Ri2), drums (Ru2, Ri2) Brian Eno– guitar (Ri4),synthesizer(Ri4), direct inject anti-jazz ray gun (Ru3) Gary Windo–bass clarinet(Ri2, Ru2),tenor saxophone(Ri4, Ru1, Ru3, Ru4),alto saxophone(Ri4, Ru2, Ru4) Nisar Ahmad "George" Khan– tenor saxophone (Ri4, Ru4),baritone saxophone(Ru1, Ru4) Mongezi Feza–trumpet(Ru2) Fred Frith– piano (Ri1, Ri3, Ri5) Bill MacCormick– bass guitar (Ri2, Ri4, Ru1, Ru3, Ru4) John Greaves– bass guitar (Ru2) Laurie Allan– drums (Ri4, Ru1, Ru3, Ru4) For his third solo album, Wyatt chose to interpret songs written by his friends, or people he had been influenced by. There's a mention of “a return to the style of The End of an Ear”, which is not good news for me, but to be fair, I haven't really liked anything I've heard from this guy so far, so it's probably not going to make all that much of a difference. Review begins A bright but slow piano accompanies a falsetto vocal which varies between childish (as in, it sounds like a child singing) and annoying, but lasts less than a minute, then some nice sax takes in “Solar flares”, and I realise that for some reason Spotify seems to have transposed side one and side two of the album, but I'm just going to go with the way it comes at me, so I guess we're doing side two first. Seems oddly appropriate, given what I've heard so far about the guy. This is actually quite a nice lounge style instrumental, like something you would hear playing in the background of a bar or something. Oh, okay: it's not instrumental; there are some vocals coming in now, it's just it was only music for so long I assumed it was. Kind of a crooning effect to the singing. Nice. The short opener (as it were) was called “Muddy mouse (a)”, and now we have another, equally silly one called “Muddy mouse(b)” then a rather nice arrangement of Offenbach's Barcarolle under the title “5 black notes and 1 white note”, on piano and horn. Very stately and grand, and mournful. We then end on one more “Muddy mouse”, this one being also subtitled, “(c) (Which in turn leads to Muddy mouth”) - um, yeah – and is far longer at over six minutes, in fact the longest piece on the entire album, bar one. It actually develops into quite a nice piano ballad with normal vocals. Very nice. What should then be side one, but according to Spotify ends up as side two, opens with “Soup song”, a breezy, cheerful upbeat song with elements of jazz and some really cool piano. “Sonia” is pretty funky, a real shuffle with a super-addictive bassline and some nice horns (ooer!) while “Team spirit” is the longest song on the album, just shy of nine minutes, probably the most progressive rock sounding on an album which Wiki purports to be prog rock but I don't really see for most of it. The horns on this get a little wild, but it's not bad, and the album, according to Spotify, ends on Charlie Haden's “Song for Che”, which kind of works better as a closer, in my opinion, than the original arrangement of the album. Track listing and Ratings (As arranged by Spotify and as I heard them) Muddy mouse (a) Solar flares Muddy mouse (b) 5 black notes and 1 white note Muddy mouse (c) (Which leads to muddy mouth) Soup song Sonia Team spirit Song for Che Afterword: I guess I have to admit, the more I hear of Wyatt the better his albums get. I still would not be a fan, but this is the best yet. Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
Well, the great Dice have spoken (or rather, the Random Number Generator has) and decreed that this guy is up next.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...in_Toronto.jpg My lack of love towards Captain Beefheart is now almost legendary, and required reading for any new member who joins (;)) but I am slowly (slowly) coming around, it would seem. On my second listen to TMR I didn't quite hate it as much as I had originally, which is saying something, and way back in 2015 I reviewed three more of his albums, as you'll see from the colour scheme below, none of which I hated at all. So there may be some hope. All that notwithstanding, it's time to tackle those albums I have yet to hear, so let's get going with the first of those, which happens to be his second. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...y_Personal.jpg Album title: Strictly Personal Artiste: Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band Genre: Psych rock/blues Year: 1968 Label: Blue Thumb Producer: Bob Krasnow Chronological position: Second album Notes: Album chart position: n/a Singles: n/a Lineup: Don Van Vliet –vocals,harmonica Alex St. Clair–guitar Jeff Cotton– guitar Jerry Handley –bass John French–drums Review begins Starts off almost acapella then develops into a kind of folk/blues tune, uptempo and not at all bad, then “Safe as milk” is more guitar-oriented and with a vocal chorus, oddly enough the track is not on the previous album from which it gets its title. Turns into something of an instrumental jam with added sound effects in the third minute, though I'm informed those effects were added without his knowledge by his producer. I can see why he didn't want them there; they don't do anything for the song except make it a little confusing for the listener. Pointless, really. “Trust us” is another guitar-driven piece with a screeched vocal which Waits would later copy; always sounds a little tortured. Some very good guitar riffs here though. Gets quite psychedelic, though it also gets quite repetitive for such a long song, running for just over eight minutes. Turns almost into a separate little blues song in the last minute or so. “Son of mirror man – mere man” starts out as, again, a pretty repetitive bouncy blues tune, but then descends into some sort of effects nonsense, though there's some good harmonica in there, while “On tomorrow” is kinda formless to me and again there's a lot of repetition. The next one goes by without making any sort of impression on me – couldn't even tell you what it's like other than the cheeky little line from “Strawberry fields forever” at the end - then more harmonica as we head back into the blues arena for “Gimme dat harp boy”, which is pretty good, very catchy and works well. Really like this actually, probably the best on the album for me. Nah, no probably about it. We end then on “Kandy korn”, with some good guitar but it doesn't do much for me. Track listing and ratings Ah feel like acid Safe as milk Trust us Son of Mirror Man – Mere Man On tomorrow Beatle bones 'n smokin' stones Gimme dat harp boy Kandy korn Afterword: Well I tried to like it but it just wouldn't click with me. In previous instances I've gone into Beefheart albums expecting – intending – to hate them and have been quite surprised. This was the reverse: I had hoped I would enjoy it but I have to say it bored the hell out of me. Obviously, this is an earlier album and the ones I reviewed (other than the debut) are later, so maybe that's the way in for me, if there is one. Or maybe I just hated it because of all the fiddly effects. Hey, at least nothing was marked in red, which is an improvement from me! Rating: http://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gifhttp://www.trollheart.com/hphone.gif |
I was just listening to that yesterday and I think it's poorly produced and tried to implement new production ideas that just seem dated now. There's a different version of Trust Us (I think it's take 9) that's much better than the one here and the vocals on that version of Safe As Milk sound like Beefheart sang them without listening to the music (as he allegedly did on some TMR tracks. I also prefer On Tomorrow as an instrumental.
Beatle Bones 'n' Smokin Stones is one of his best tracks though. Is Beefheart one of the discographies that you're doing? It's also funny that you decided to review him on his birthday. |
has TH heard Safe as Milk yet? probably Beefheart's best, at least going off of the few albums by him that I've heard.
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