Pretenders "Extended Play" (1981) (ep)

Extended Play, ep
release date: Mar. 30, 1981
format: vinyl (cut-out record - MINI 3563)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Chris Thomas
label: Sire Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Message of Love" - 2. "Talk of the Town" - 3. "Porcelain" - - B) 1. "Cuban Slide" - 2. "Precious" (live)

5 track ep release by Pretenders, here consisting of Chrissie Hynde on rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals, James Honeyman-Scott on lead guitar, keyboards and backing vocals, Pete Farndon on bass guitar and backing vocals, and with Martin Chambers on drums and backing vocals.
A tight and very fine ep.

Blondie "Eat to the Beat" (1979)

Eat to the Beat
release date: Oct. 1979
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Mike Chapman
label: Chrysalis Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Dreaming" (4 / 5) - 3. "Union City Blue" ( 4 / 5) - 4. "Shayla" - (3 / 5) - 7. "Die Young Stay Pretty" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Atomic" (4 / 5)

4th studio album by Blondie. Parallel Lines (1978) was the band's world-wide triumphant album with a style which put the band in a league of their own in a mix of both new wave and pop. Once again, Mike Chapman is in the producer seat but the album is not as great as its predecessor. Yes, "Dreaming", "Union City Blue", and "Atomic" are great tracks, and the reggae-inspired "Die Young Stay Pretty" and a few others are fine, but the rest are mediocre compositions that don't come near the same quality. The title track (by Debbie Harry and bassist Nigel Harrison) sounds like Blondie laying out a blueprint for The Pretenders. Basically, here the band does what they did before Parallel Lines, trying too hard to sound attractive to everyone, they get stuck in-between styles and genres being neither pure pop / rock nor edgy or alternative enough to be rock and new wave... entirely. Still, the band was extremely popular and the album ended up on top of the UK albums chart list, and the first single from the album, "Dreaming" went to number #2 on the UK singles charts, but "Atomic", the fourth single release from the album, was a real dance floor monster hit, which went all the way to the top of the UK singles lists as it did in many countries.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Aztec Camera "Knife" (1984)

Knife
release date: Sep. 21, 1984
format: vinyl (WX8) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Mark Knopfler
label: WEA international - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Still on Fire" (4 / 5) - 2. "Just Like the USA" - 5. "All I Need Is Everything" (4 / 5) - 7. "The Birth of the True" (Roddy Frame live) - 8. "Knife" (4 / 5)

2nd studio album by Aztec Camera following 1½ years after High Land, Hard Rain (Apr. 1983) introduces a new sound, which may or may not be the result of working with Mark Knopfler as producer. Certainly, the frontman of Dire Straits signalled something completely different than one would - given the time of the release - normally, associate with Aztec Camera. The band was seen as a folk rock and jazz rock band emerging out of post punk, which was anything but mainstream, and with Knopfler... that didn't bring about big cheers amongst critics and fans - or, at least they were mildly bewildered by this unusual cocktail. Yes, the style is more embracing in terms of mainstream styles with a noticeable r&b and soul pop introduction to the bands' repertoire, but its still genuine jangle pop at the core, and Frame croons as good as ever. The members list has changed in so far that keyboardist Guy Fletcher has replaced Bernie Clark, who took part in the band on the debut, and Malcolm Ross has entered on guitar replacing Craig Gannon who joined the band after the debut, but who should go on to play with The Smiths. Several others contribute on the album and at times it seems difficult to pin out exactly who's in the band and who's just in a supporting role, but with Frame as the only consistent member. Also, Roddy Frame is here credited all songs and music. In fact, one could argue that Aztec Camera alone is his project. The inner sleeve of the vinyl issue reveals some of this ambiguity, with Frame (credited vocals, guitar) in a sole photo on one side featuring three band members blurred in the background, and then on the other page of the sleeve: three smaller photos showing these individually: David Ruffy (drums, backing vocals), Campbell Owens (bass, backing vocals), and Malcolm Ross (guitar, backing vocals). This gives you the impression that these four constitute the band - then what about Guy Fletcher, you may ask? He is mentioned by name in the credit list playing keyboards and for backing vocals, but with smaller letters indicating he's not in the band after all.
I think, many critics couldn't help noticing what they found as Knopfler's fingerprints, instead of accepting this as new pastures without compromising. Anyway, I found it (and still do) somewhat mixed, too unfocused, like without a clear direction, as in search of (and without a clear idea of) where to go next. Some songs are potent pop songs but others sound misplaced or perhaps unfinished. The sound, however, is nicely shaped - it's a well-crafted production. I just don't like the bold use of keyboards and brass on tracks like "Head Is Happy (Heart's Insane)", and "The Back Door to Heaven", although, that works more than just fine on the title track.
The album contains three great compositions (tracks #1, #5, and #8), some really fine ones, but it also contains a few fillers, which in the end makes it a bit incoherent. The album received mixed reviews but still reached position #14 on the national albums chart list, and it's nevertheless an album I always return to and consider a classic Aztec Camera album.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 2 / 5 stars ]

The Style Council "Speak Like a Child" (1983) (single)

Speak Like a Child, 7'' single
release date: Mar. 1983
format: vinyl (TSC1)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Peter Wilson and Paul Weller
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "Speak Like a Child" (4 / 5) - B) "Party Chambers" (3 / 5)

First single release by The Style Council. The A-side track could easily have been enlisted as a final single release by The Jam without sounding like something completely different when thinking of that band's final single "Beat Surrender". This is not the sophisti-pop style that The Style Council would become associated with, but it's more pure pop soul. Here the band only consists of Paul Weller and Mick Talbot with Zeke Manyika playing drums and Tracie Young singing backing vocals (both credited as hon. councillors). I bought the single upon its release after hearing it on MTV and it really only made me ready to purchase the band's debut album as soon as it landed.

Blur "Think Tank" (2003)

Think Tank
release date: May 5, 2003
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]
producer: Ben Hillier and Blur
label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 0. "Me, White Noise" (4 / 5) - 1. "Ambulance" - 2. "Out of Time" (4 / 5) (alt. live version) - 3. "Crazy Beat" - 4. "Good Song" - 5. "On the Way to the Club" - 7. "Caravan" - 10. "Sweet Song" - 11. "Jets" - 12. "Gene by Gene" - *13. "Battery in Your Leg"
*this video ends with the opening hidden track as some cd-issues put it at the end after a 1:20 minutes silence

7th (and so far final) studio album by Blur follows four full years after 13 (1999) is with new co-producer Ben Hillier. Also electronic musicians Norman Cook [Fatboy Slim] and William Orbit are credited for co-producing tracks on the album. On previous albums, guitarist Graham Coxon had always been adversary to Albarn's more experimental direction - here Coxon is near absent and only plays guitar on #13, as he was "excused" due to his alcoholism. Keyboards, programming and sound effects fill out the role of the traditional guitar on an album, which in a way turns out much more as an(other) Albarn-lead project.
It's both electronic, alt. rock and art pop, but it really comes out as a huge conglomerate with influences from hip hop, dub, jazz, Jamaican and African music. In that way it really consolidates Albarn's interest for mixing styles and genres as it's the first Blur album to be released after Albarn's project debut under the moniker Gorillaz.
I didn't pay the album much attention in 2003, neither a decade on, and I must confess that it's far from bad. In fact, it's like the majority of albums with Damon Albarn's signature: highly original with a certain amount of... genius about it. In the end, this is really such a great album, which still amazes me in terms of ingenuity and musical quality, and despite Parklife being the band's near-signature album of classic britpop, this one is just much more - it's daringly experimental without stylistic bonds, and at the same time really very coherent. To me it's easily my favourite album by Blur.
What I really like about it is the sense of a strict style without being able to point to any tracks proving that 'cause they're not alike, yet they constitute a common signature "matrix." And in that way it's also difficult to direct one's attention to obvious hits - I think the whole album is more of a conceptual album, which in other ways foresees Albarn's future solo-projects. At the time of the release I primarily regarded Blur as one of the genuine britpop bands that you could compare with Pulp, Oasis, and the like, but Blur is so much more than that, and with Blur (1997), 13 (1999) and Think Tank the band confirms the fact that I should've known back then - that Blur is / was a musical project of many styles a genres, and that the band should be much more lauded for its alt. rock releases than those associated with the early 1990s.
During the recording sessions for the album guitarist Graham Coxon left the band reduced to a trio. Coxon would not rejoin Blur again until 2009, and the band would remain on a hiatus in terms of recording new studio material.
Think Tank is easily Blur's best effort - ever. Highly recommendable.

NB! All artwork and direction - including the front cover - is credited British artist officially known as Banksy.

[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, The Guardian, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Uncut 5 / 5 stars ]

The Stills-Young Band "Long May You Run" (1976)

Long May You Run
release date: Sep. 20, 1976
format: cd
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,55]
producer: Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Don Gehman
label: Reprise, Warner;- nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Long May You Run" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Midnight on the Bay" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Let It Shine" - 8. "Fontainebleau"

Studio debut and only release as The Stills-Young Band. The album was apparently intended as a follow-up to Déjà vu from 1970, and more recently as the outcome of the CSNY 1974 live tour where the quartet played stadiums across the US from Spring to Autumn of '74. Several attempts were made to record new studio material, and in the end it became this: an amputated project featuring songs from only Stephen Stills and Neil Young.
The band is enlisted as: Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Joe Lala on percussion and backing vocals, Jerry Aiello on organ and piano, George 'Chocolate' Perry on bass and backing vocals, and with Joe Vitale on drums, flute and backing vocals.
Musically, it's in the tradition of Buffalo Springfield and the two principle band member's solo careers. The result is not convincing, and it really proves how Stills and Young had taken separate roads after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Young was deeply into folk rock, in various shapes and with influences from rock and country, whereas Stills seems much more of a blues rock person with influences from roots rock and jazz, and here these two trends don't mix that well.
The best tracks are undoubtedly compositions by Young with the rest as mere fillers to add that Crosby, Nash, Stills & Young-feel... but without two members the result seems apparent.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Reptile Youth "Reptile Youth" (2012)

Reptile Youth
"Reptile Youth" (2012)

[debut album]

"Speeddance"

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Aztec Camera "High Land, Hard Rain" (1983)

High Land, Hard Rain [debut]
release date: Apr. 1983
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: John Brand, Bernie Clarke
label: Sire - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Oblivious" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Boy Wonders" - 3. "Walk Out to Winter" - 5. "We Could Send Letters" - 6. "Pillar to Post" (4 / 5) - 9. "Back on Board"

Studio album debut by Scottish jangle pop band Aztec Camera, here consisting of composer Roddy Frame on vocals, guitar, and harmonica, backed by Bernie Clark on piano and organ, Campbell Owens on bass, and with Dave Ruffy on drums and percussion. Although, this is the band members while recording this album it's really a difficult issue as the list changed from year to year on a continuous basis. Aztec Camera was formed by Frame who is the only lasting member throughout its life-span. The style is rather new at the time of the release. The jangle pop emerged in the early post-punk era being influenced by new romantic and 1960s folk rock artists like The Byrds and The Walker Brothers - generally speaking, artists playing either acoustic-driven guitar music and / or in the style of baroque pop. Roddy Frame was the band's front figure and he also wrote all music and lyrics.
Unnoticed, the album made it as high as number #22 on the national album charts list, which may come to a surprise to a lot of people.
The track "Pillar to Post" was the most prominent track, at least at the time, due to its more new wave sources, and that was also the track that made me listen to the band. However, "Oblivious" is much more a track one will associate with the sound of Aztec Camera: the folk rock and jangle pop melancholy, which hints at both jazz as well as pop, and perhaps more than anything points to the creation of the later style of sophisti-pop. Back then, I would have handed it perhaps 3 / 5, today I'm in no doubt in handing the album 4 stars. It's quite original, but it also made way for many artists to come, e.g. Johnny Hates Jazz, Sade, Prefab Sprout, Swing Out Sisters, The Smiths, etc., and it helped shaping the sound of others incl. Everything But the Girl and The Go-Betweens.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Uncut 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Tom Waits "Blue Valentine" (1978)

Blue Valentine
release date: Oct. 1978
format: cd (1990 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Bones Howe
label: Elektra Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Somewhere (from 'West Side Story')" - 2. "Red Shoes by the Drugstore" - 3. "Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis" - 4. "Romeo Is Bleeding" (live) - 5. "$29.00" - 6. "Wrong Side of the Road" - 8. "Kentucky Avenue" - 10. "Blue Valentines"

6th studio album by Tom Waits following Foreign Affairs (1977) with the almost constant of one year in between releases and for the fifth time with Bones Howe in the producer seat.

Blue Valentine is one of his best known and at the same time one of his most celebrated albums from the 70s, and for a reason. On his previous albums, he was always this fixated persona as a kind of a drunken homeless sitting at the piano, and the arrangements were all jazz-oriented with the piano at the centre of the songs. On this, it's still vocal jazz, blues and singer / songwriter material, but it's the first time you encounter electric guitar on a Waits album - and he plays it himself. On the opening track, Waits is heard singing two roles: his usual deep, hoarse and rusty voice and then a brighter singing voice in response. The change lies in both form and content, with more focus on ballads with string-and-horn arrangements (not really chamber pop) in jazzy versions. On the content side, he has kind of left behind his heartbreak songs, always evaporating a special Bukowski / Kerouac vibe from the 50s and early 60s, and instead there is focus on a more contemporary everyday street life, and the general feeling is to meet a more dramatic songwriter and composer.

Waits and Bette Midler were never really an official couple, although they were often seen together from 1976 to '77, but in the spring / early summer of '77 he met his 'soul-mate' in a then young and unknown Rickie Lee Jones, who hung out at Waits' old venue, The Troubadour on the outskirts of Los Angeles. She may be thought of as the one he sings about in songs #2 and #4, while Waits and his chambermaid Chuck Weiss ["Chuck E's in Love"] on the other hand, are believed to be her source of inspiration for her acclaimed debut Rickie Lee Jones (Feb. 1979). During the spring and summer of '79, Waits and Rickie Lee were still dating, but their unhealthy lifestyles of drugs and alcohol took their toll, and Jones may have become heavily addicted to string substance abuse during this period, which ultimately led to Waits quitting their relationship in the Fall of '79.

It's quite difficult to pinpoint selected songs as this is an album with no weak tracks on it, and it's somewhat of a landmark in Waits' career after witnessing the new musical winds with the influx of new wave and punk rock, which involved a changed view of the music industry.

Blue Valentine is a great place to start if you're unfamiliar with this great modern musician.

[ allmusic.com, Classic Rock 3,5 / 5, Uncut 4 / 5, Record Mirror 4,5 / 5, Mojo 5 / 5 stars ]

The Call "Modern Romans" (1983)

Modern Romans
release date: 1983
format: vinyl (6337 263) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Michael Been, The Call
label: Mercury Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "The Walls Came Down" - 2. "Turn a Blind Eye" - 4. "Modern Romans" - 5. "Back From the Front"

2nd studio album by Californian post-punk and new wave band The Call consisting of songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Michael Been, guitarist Tom Ferrier, bassist Greg Freeman and drummer and percussionist Scott Musick. Garth Hudson (The Band) plays additional synths and saxophone on the album.
Stylistically, the band plays a dark and energetic rock that may be described as predominantly post-punk. I bought the album in the early 80s and played this a lot. The following albums by The Call were styled as more mainstream rock-productions, and although they gained more recognition, I only fell for this early release by the band.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Interpol "Our Love to Admire" (2007)

Our Love to Admire
release date: Jul. 10, 2007
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Interpol, Rich Costey
label: Capitol Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Pioneer to the Falls" - 2. "No I in Threesome" - 4. "The Heinrich Maneuver" (4 / 5) - 6. "Pace Is the Trick" - 7. "All Fired Up" - 9. "Who Do You Think"

3rd studio album by Interpol with a new producer and three years in the making. The style is mostly unchanged, though, I find that it's generally a bit slower. The first single "The Heinrich Maneuver" promised another fine album with a strong post-punk outing, but it is turns out as almost the only great track of what appears a somewhat anonymous release.
I found the album a bit of a disappointment. Nonetheless, it received many positive reviews, but I think of it as a lesser album. Expectations were perhaps too high, but I think that too many tracks simply sound much alike. It's not mediocre but neither truly unforgettable and not really recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Die Kapelle "The Siege" (1987)

The Siege
release date: 1987
format: vinyl (SAM 23)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Jens Walther
label: Sam Records - nationality: Denmark

2nd and final studio album by Die Kapelle, who has been expanded to a quartet by the inclusion of keyboardist and saxophone player Trond Clementsen.
Musically, the band has taken a step away from the dark and sinister gothic rock towards a more keyboard-founded synthpop universe seemingly inspired by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Angelic Upstarts "Teenage Warning" (1979)

Teenage Warning [debut]
release date: Aug. 1979
format: cd (2003 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]
producer: Jimmy Pursey
label: Captain Oi! - nationality: England, UK

Studio album debut by North-Eastern, English punk rock band Angelic Upstarts consisting of vocalist Mensi (aka Thomas Mensforth), guitarist Mond (aka Ray Cowie), bassist Steve Forsten and drummer Decca (aka Derek Wade). The album is produced by Sham 69-founder Jimmy Pursey. 

Mireille Mathieu "Grand Collection" (2000)

Grand Collection (compilation)
release date: 2000
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Mon credo" (4 / 5) - 2. "Quand on revient" - 3. "La premiere etoile" - 4. "Viens dans ma rue" (5 / 5) - 5. "La dernière valse" - 6. "Un homme, une femme" - 7. "Paris en colère" - 8. "Qu'elle est belle" - 9. "J'ai gardé l'accent" - 10. "Acropolis adieu" - 11. "Pardonne-moi ce caprice d'enfant" - 12. "C'est ton nom" - 13. "Je ne suis rien sans toi" - 14. "C'est a Mayerling" - 15. "Toi et moi" - 16. "Donne ton coeur donne ta vie"

Compilation album by Mireille Mathieu. They don't really make 'em like this anymore... Beautiful, gorgeous and absolutely wonderful French chanson entertainer. She's not Piaf, well of course not, and I must say that I prefer Mireille. I'd like to get hold of some of her original releases one day, as I only happen to have two collection albums and this is the best. Indeed I cannot be certain but I think it must lack some highlights from her long and golden career. Long ago she has won fans all over the world, and in Germany her success has been so massive that she even released and sang German schlager - in German! - A musical style I don't really appreciate... at all. Luckily, that's just diversity isn't it?! I think she's best singing French chansons. Grand Collection contains 16 really fine tracks of this genre. I just generally find it a bit hard to rate compilation albums too high but this is truly recommended.

"Viens dans ma rue" (live version), (playback version)

alt. cover

U2 "The Joshua Tree" (1987)

The Joshua Tree
release date: Mar. 9, 1987
format: vinyl (208 219) / 2 cd (2007 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,38]
producer: Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

5th studio album by U2 follows 3½ years after The Unforgettable Fire (Oct. '84) is the band's second collaboration work with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers. This is their huge commercial world wide success, which took the band 2½ years to make. It is a great pop / rock album, and a near conceptual one. I really loved it then, and played it over and over but I wasn't too pleased with the American tone of the album. I just find it hard to accept the band's adoption of blues and gospel into their musical universe, a thing that really worsened on the following album. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

1987 Favourite releases: 1. The Smiths Strangeways, Here We Come - 2. U2 The Joshua Tree - 3. Hüsker Dü Warehouse: Songs and Stories

Gorillaz "G-Sides" (2002)

G-Sides (compilation)
release date: Mar. 2002
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Dan the Automator, Gorillaz
label: EMI, Brazil - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)" -  5. "Faust" - 6. "Clint Eastwood (Phi Life Cypher version)" (feat. Phi Life Cypher) - 9. "12D3" - 11. "Rock the House (Radio Edit)" (feat. Del tha Funkee Homosapien) - 12. "Left Hand Suzuki Method"

Compilation album by Gorillaz originally released exclusively for the Japanese market Dec. 2001 - later issued in Europe, Brazil and North America in slightly different editions. The material here are compositions recorded from 2000-2001, which are in new remix versions. Actually, only three tracks from the debut appear on this compilation, although, several others may be found on enhanced versions of the debut. Most of the remaining tracks are remixes taken from the ep Tomorrow Comes Today from 2000 and then from various single releases and their B-sides. G-sides thus referring to "Gorillaz' sides" - a bit of all kinds of releases so far.
Despite the many new versions one will find on this, the album doesn't add a lot of great tracks to the band's repertoire but it does help building a more sophisticated image to the project. All in all, it seems like an idea of handing something to the fans, and not being really a huge one, for me it's a bit superfluous but yet... 'interesting'.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5, Uncut 2,5 / 5 stars ]

New Order "Blue Monday" (1983) (single)

Blue Monday, 12'' single
release date: Mar. 7, 1983
format: vinyl (FAC 73) / digital
[single rate: 5 / 5] [4,38]
producer: New Order
label: Factory Records - nationality: England UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Blue Monday" (5 / 5) (official video*) (studio session) - - B) 1. "The Beach"
*[shorter than the org. song]

Single release by New Order as FAC 73 on Factory Records. The A-single track is a cornerstone in modern popular music. After the initial shock of recognising this as a track by New Order, I fell for the new sound of alt. dance. The single is known for being the best-selling single ever. The B-side track has its own title but is in fact "just" an instrumental alternate version of the A-side.

Siouxsie and the Banshees "The Scream" (1978)

2005 cover

The Scream [debut]

release date: Oct. 1978

format: 2 cd (2005 remaster)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]

producer: Steve Lillywhite, Siouxsie and the Banshees

label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights, disc 1: 2. "Jigsaw Feeling" - 4. "Carcass" - 5. "Helter Skelter" - 6. "Mirage" (4 / 5) - 7. "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" - 8. "Nicotine Stain" - - disc 2': *15. "Hong Kong Garden (single A-side)" - *16. "The Staircase (Mystery) (single A-side)"

*Bonus tracks on 2005 remaster

Studio album debut by Siouxsie and the Banshees formed in London 1976. The 'original' / initial spontaneous line-up - the brain-child of Siouxsie Sioux (aka Susan Janet Ballion) and Steve Havoc (later: 'Steve Severin', aka Steven Bailey) - for a one-off live-concert included Marco Pirroni (who should later join Adam & The Ants) on guitar and with Sid Vicious (aka John Beverly) of Sex Pistols on drums; however, the two founding and only long-time lasting members were Siouxsie on vocals and Severin on bass, and after the concert they teamed up with Peter Fenton on guitar and Kenny Morris on drums. After a short period of '77, Fenton was replaced by John McKay and this was the quartet who recorded The Scream in just one week in the Summer of '78. Most songs are credited the band except track #4, composed while Fenton was still a member, and track #5, a cover-song by The Beatles credited Lennon / McCartney.

Style-wise, it's quite evidently post-punk with both dark, electrifying outbursts and gloomy melancholy drawing on the rawness of The Velvet Underground and The Stooges, the more art rock and complexity of David Bowie and Can. Most original appears the vocal of Sioux and the drumming technique (and sound) of Morris, but altogether the soundscape is highly original with Severin demonstrating a vigorous bass technique and McKay excelling with a flanged distortion-sound that inspired many others.

The Scream was met by quite positive reviews and in retrospect its legacy remains intact if not even more legendary as the album is put alongside the very best debut albums of modern rock. The album may also have inspired contemporary acts like Joy Division, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Southern Death Cult, and the likes, and longer up the temporary stream, artists like Cocteau Twins, Jesus and Mary Chain, Garbage and Massive Attack may likely all have listened to this very album.

The 2005 remastered Deluxe Edition is a fine bargain comprising two discs with disc 1 reserved the 10-track original album and disc 2, subtitled 'Rarities, Sessions & Singles' divided into tracks from 'Riverside session' (track #1), 'John Peel Session 1' (tracks #2-5), 'John Peel Session 2' (tracks #6-9), 'Pathway Demoes' (tracks #10-14), and 'Single A-sides' (tracks #15 & 16).

The album is a must-have if you're interested in early post-punk and / or the origins of gothic rock.

[ allmusic.com, Mojo, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Record Mirror, Sounds, Uncut 5 / 5 stars ]

original cover

Ebba Grön "We're Only in It for the Drugs" (1979)

We're Only in It for the Drugs [debut]
release date: 1979
format: vinyl (MLR-10) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Stefan Glaumann
label: Mistlur - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: A) 1. "We’re Only in It for the Drugs No. 1" (live) - 2. "Totalvägra" - 3. "Jag hatar söndagar" - 6. "Beväpna er" - - B) 1. "Det måste vara radion" - 2. "Folk är farliga, folk bits" (4 / 5) - 3 ."Flyger" - 4. "Schweden Schweden" (4 / 5) - - *13. "Tyst för fan"
* Bonus track on cd issue

Studio album debut by Swedish punk rock band Ebba Grön, a trio consisting of Joakim 'Pimme' Thåström (aka Sven Joachim Eriksson Thåström), on this credited as 'Stortån' on vocals and guitar, Lennart 'Fjodor' Eriksson, here credited as 'Simple Simon' on bass and backing vocals, and with Gunnar 'Gurra' Ljungstedt, here appearing as 'Gunta' on drums.
The album is punk rock but with clear inspiration from 1970s psychedelic rock and garage rock scene - perhaps with sources in MC5, The Stooges, and of course referenced in the title: The Mothers of Invention ("We're Only in It for the Money"). The lyrics are typical (classic) punk issues: generation cleft, political and social issues. When one knows the debut album by The Clash, this is - without being a mere copy - very much a Scandinavian version of that same energy.
I think, this may be one of the first albums, I purchased with the band shortly after being introduced to some of their songs by a friend of a friend in '81. I always felt that it consisted of great tracks but also that it had too much focus on 70s guitar rock, which they would leave behind on their two following albums. The end track on the A side is credited The Haters - the name of the band before settling with Ebba Grön.

[ Ebba Grön live 1979 ]

Van Morrison "Common One" (1980)

Common One
release date: Aug. 1980
format: cd (1998 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Van Morrison
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Haunts of Ancient Peace" - 2. "Summertime in England" (live) - 3. "Satisfied" - 4. "Wild Honey" - 5. "Spirit" - 6. "When Heart Is Open"

12th studio album by Van Morrison originally released on Mercury in the UK and on Warner in the US is not stylistically shaped like its great predecessor. The cover hints at its focus on sensations and a freer style, which in places comes close to new age. Morrison has always found back to a free form of composing, by some described as streams of consciousness, or: impressionistic, and here he may challenge this form further with tunes soothing of mysticism. There are elements of jazz and folk, and the result is clearly less strict compositions than one has met before on any of his albums. Also, the album contains two songs (tracks #2 & #6) of more than 15 mins playing time.
The album was generally met by negative reviews and poor sales numbers and it's his first album not to be followed by any single releases. In retrospect the album has gained much more acclaim with reviewers acknowledging its potential outside a traditional mainstream pop / rock sphere and that it contains other qualities of beauty than those normally attributed popular music albums.
Common One is really something else, even from Morrison's hands, but it's by no means a mediocre or poor album. Yes, you probably have to appreciate vocal jazz and longer more freer compositions that touch on new age in order to enjoy Common One. It doesn't contain any obvious memorable tracks and in that way it resembles the strengths of Hard Nose the Highway from 1973 where it's much about the sum of songs that is the album's real power; however, Common One is in that respect arguably a warmer and better album, imho.
Among his own albums, Morrison is said to hold this as a personal favourite.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Squeeze "Squeeze" (1978)

Squeeze [debut]
release date: Mar. 1978
format: digital (1997 remaster)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: John Cale
label: A&M Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Sex Master" - 2. "Bang Bang" - 4. "Wild Sewerage Tickles Brazil" - 5. "Out of Control" - 6. "Take Me, I'm Yours" (officiel video) (fra Top Of The Pops)

Studio album debut by London-based new wave quintet Squeeze consisting of Glen Tilbrook on lead vocals & lead guitar, Chris Difford on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Harry Kakoulli on bass, Jools Holland on keyboards, and with Gilson Lavis on drums. In the US and Australia, the band was launched as the U.K. Squeeze. Almost all tracks were written and composed by Difford / Tilbrook (only track #4 is credited the entire band).

Stylistically, it's power pop, new wave with some ties to punk rock, and the band leans on artists such as XTC, Elvis Costello, Buzzcocks, Devo, Talking Heads etc., but it also has strong ties to early proto-punk in the form of bands like Stooges, MC5 and late Velvet Underground. The band name is also the title of the Velvet Underground's controversial '73 release, which was produced by Doug Yule, who had replaced John Cale in late '68, and who then went on to release the album Squeeze as an (official) Velvet Underground album, although neither Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, nor Maureen Tucker contributed - and yes, John Cale is in fact producer on this album. And this role in particular was apparently something that exerted a massive influence on the creation of the album, as Cale reportedly refused to record the songs the band brought with them and instead asked the band to write new songs on the spot, as he thought their material was too soft. Rather than recording an album similar to or following up on the Packet of Three (1977) EP (admittedly also produced by Cale), which had A&M Records sign the band in the first place, this debut is nonetheless a rather different kind of music than the band felt ready to record, but with an ego as a producer on a debut, the young people didn't see otherwise than to please the legendary Mr. Cale. When the album was about to be completed, the band, in support of A&M, managed to add a couple of songs they had initially wanted to record (tracks #2 and #6) - tracks that also ended up as the only singles from the album.

Squeeze is a strange album that most of all sounds like an art rock, pop punk mix and something that points in many directions. And if you only know a little about the music that Squeeze eventually came to release, there is not much pointing in that direction here. However, the album is interesting as a clear example of the many musical trends of the time. In this way, Squeeze is involuntarily launched as a band with hard rock, art rock, and proto-punk roots, although they might rather be part of the 'pure' new wave style.

[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Gorillaz "Gorillaz" (2001)

Gorillaz [debut]
release date: Jun. 19, 2001
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: Tom Girling, Jason Cox, Dan the Automator, Gorillaz
label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Re-Hash" - 3. "Tomorrow Comes Today" - 5. "Clint Eastwood" - 10. "Rock the House" - 11. "19-2000" (4 / 5)

Studio album debut by the English "virtual" or: project-band Gorillaz crafted by Blur front-man Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett featuring various band members. The virtual band, an imagined but fixed four-piece consisting of 2-D on vocals and keyboard, Noodle on guitars and keyboards, Murdoc on bass and drum machine, and with Russel Hobbs on drums and percussion. In reality, Albarn is the main musical composer, who's credited as writer of nearly all tracks.
For this, two others contributed in the making: rapper Del the Funky Homosapien - for the album renamed Del the Ghost Rapper and American producer Dan the Automator (aka Daniel Nakamura).
The album showcases a huge mix of styles and genres but all done in a sophisticated manner, which makes it a fine whole. Several tracks stick out as near great, others contribute to the whole and a few sound like experimental fillers on a very interesting album debut.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Q Magazine, Slant 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Echobelly "Everyone's Got One" (1994)

Everyone's Got One [debut]
release date: Aug. 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Simon Vinestock
label: Fauve Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Today Tomorrow Sometime Never" - 2. "Father, Ruler, King, Computer" - 3. "Give Her a Gun" - 4. "I Can't Imagine the World Without Me" - 5. "Bellyache" - 7. "Insomniac" (4 / 5) (official video) - 8. "Call Me Names" - 9. "Close... But"

Studio debut album by Echobelly. I never understood why the band was labelled britpop. I think, it's much more power pop and indie pop with elements of dream pop. The track "Insomniac" made me buy the album. The rest is okay but not really up to that level. Still, the album is a fine and promising debut, which alas, was never parred.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

The Police "Ghost in the Machine" (1981)

Ghost in the Machine
release date: Oct. 2, 1981
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,43]
producer: The Police & Hugh Padgham
label: A&M Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Spirits in the Material World" (4 / 5) - 2. "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (5 / 5) - 3. "Invisible Sun" - 4. "Hungry for You (J'aurais toujours faim de toi)" - - B) 2. "Rehumanize Yourself" - 3. "One World (Not Three)"

4th studio album by The Police follows the schedule of releasing a new album after one year. As replacement for Nigel Gray, the band here introduces Hugh Padgham as co-producer. As on Zenyatta Mondatta Sting maintains the role as primary songwriter. He is once again sole songwriter and composer of eigth out of eleven compositions with Andy Summers being limited as provider of one song only (track #B4) and Copeland as co-composer (with Sting) on one track (track #B2) and solely credited one song (track #B6).
A new style is introduced with the strong opening track, the keyboard-driven "Spirits in the Material World". The track really opens the album in a way that makes you curious for the rest of the album, but it quickly turns out as the band's least coherent, imho. The following track "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" is the album's strongest hit but with only two great tracks, the album as a whole remains a bit of a disappointing affair.
Ghost in the Machine has been lauded as great, as a daring and fine artistic work by great musicians, but aside from the first two tracks, I find it a difficult listen, throughout. As was the case with the band's previous two albums, this also topped the albums chart list in the UK, Australia, France, and in a number of other countries, thus being a highly successful release. Altogether, the album demonstrates a huge change of style with synthpop, experimental jazz, and fusion rock, but as a whole, and despite fine work on the production aspect, I find it... of only little interest and also the band's weakest album.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 ]

The Edge with Michael Brook "Captive" (OST) (1986)

Captive (OST) (soundtrack) [debut]
release date: 1986
format: vinyl
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,78]
producer: Michael Brook, The Edge
label: Virgin - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Rowena's Theme" - 2. "Heroine (Theme From Captive)"

Solo album debut by U2 guitarist, The Edge (aka David Howell Evans), or 'quasi' solo since it's recorded and composed together with Canadian producer and guitarist Michael Brook.
Like U2, Brook had been working with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois on his collaboration debut album Hybrid (1985).

Killing Joke "The Bum's Rush" (1983) (unofficial)

The Bum's Rush (unofficial bootleg)
release date: 1983
format: vinyl / cd (2007 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: none
label: A Skidmark Record - nationality: England, UK

Unofficial album by Killing Joke released by 'Skidmark'.
It took me a couple of years before I realised that the album wasn't an official one as I bought it in an ordinary record store, and it had a sticker attached saying 'Sam import', which was a much used distribution company selling official albums. Also, the recording sound isn't all that different from what you were used to in the early '80s. Although, being a bootleg product, the album itself has been pirated and re-distributed in various issues, and with many covers. The original issue came with a still image from an early slapstick comedy. Furthermore, tracks A2 to A4 were later officially issued as the second part (second John Peel recordings) of The Peel Sessions 1979-1981 (2008) and tracks A1, A5, B1 to B4 officially released in 2003 on the compilation album The Unperverted Pantomime (2003).
In an attempt to deal with the abundance of pirate albums and recordings featuring songs by Killing Joke, the band released two 3-disc compilation albums in 2007 with selected pirated material: Bootleg Vinyl Archive Vol.1 and Bootleg Vinyl Archive Vol.2 issued by Candlelight Records, which includes The Bum's Rush on disc 1 of "Vol. 2".

Alina Devecerski "Maraton" (2012)

Maraton [debut]
release date: Nov. 19, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Christoffer Wikberg
label: EMI Sweden - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 2. "Maraton" (4 / 5) - 3. "Vem tog dig hem" - 4. "Flytta på dej" (4 / 5) - 5. "Det e dark nu" - 7. "Ikväll skiter jag i allt" - 8. "Jag svär" (4 / 5) 'live version'

Studio solo debut album by Swedish artist Alina Devecerski. The title is said to refer to Devecerski's experience with the Swedish music industry and being able to release the album - apparently, it was her marathon. It's like 'Robyn or Veronica Maggio on speed'... Nice energetic electro-pop and dance pop from Sweden, which out-beats P!nk, Rihanna, Lady Blabla, and the likes, anytime! But I guess, it's mostly music for the young at heart, and also believe, I could listen to this when I'm 80 - if not for the pleasure anymore, then at least just to harass younger neighbors. All songs are written and composed by Devecerski and producer Christoffer Wikberg except track #5, co-written by Yvonne Kossek - tracks #9 and #10, co-written by Jocke Berg (aka Joakim Berg) of Kent...
A very promissing debut!
[ 👍Aftonbladet, Expressen, Svenska Dagbladet 4 / 5, Dagens Nyheter 3 / 5, 👎Gaffa 2 / 5 stars ]

~ ~ ~
"Jag svär"

"När alla säger 'nej', ska jag säga 'ja'
när alting går emot, ska jag hålla kvar
När världen faller ner, är det du och jag
det är du och jag
ja, jag lover och jag svär
jag svär
ja, jag lover och jag svär"

~ ~ ~

Lou Reed "Rock and Roll Heart" (1976)

Rock and Roll Heart
release date: Oct. 1976
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,27]
producer: Lou Reed
label: Arista Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 4. "You Wear It So Well" - 12. "Temporary Thing"

7th studio album by Lou Reed and his first on Arista Records after leaving RCA. Despite having a more than a few interesting stories, it's not really a great album. The sound is one-dimensional and Lou just plays and sings on auto-pilot, sounding rather indifferent. Not a favourite Lou Reed album.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]