Ella Fitzgerald "Classic Ella Fitzgerald" (2000)

Classic Ella Fitzgerald (compilation)
release date: May 29, 2000
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "Makin' Whoopee" - 2. "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (with Louis Armstrong) - 4. "How High the Moon" - 8. "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" - 11. "Lover, Come Back to Me" - 12. "How Long Has This Been Going On?" - 14. "It's Only a Paper Moon"

A compilation album with Ella Fitzgerald released on Universal Records in the series 'The Universal Masters Collection'. It's a another fine collection of mostly standards and big band vocal jazz.

The Psychedelic Furs "All of This and Nothing" (1988)

All of This and Nothing (compilation)
release date: 1988
format: vinyl (CBS 461110 1)
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: various
label: CBS Records - nationality: England, UK

1st compilation album by London-based new wave, alt. rock band The Psychedelic Furs.
I had heard about the band before and therefore purchased the album without any knowledge of the music, but I never quite understood why they were interesting...

Morrissey "Southpaw Grammar" (1995)

Southpaw Grammar
release date: Aug. 28, 1995
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Steve Lillywhite
label: RCA Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Reader Meet Author" - 3. "The Boy Racer" - 5. "Dagenham Dave" - 7. "Best Friend on the Payroll" (4 / 5) (live on BBC)

5th studio album by Morrissey is his first after leaving EMI and signing with RCA Records. The album is like the predecessor produced by Steve Lillywhite; however it represents another change of style by Morrissey who hasn't released similar albums after launching his solo career. Naturally, he's very dependent on musical collaboration work when writing new songs as his strengths are not in the musical composition chair. He writes lyrics and sings songs and very much rely on other peoples contributions when it comes to arrangements and the final musical output. On the debut album he was brought together with longtime The Smiths producer Stephen Street, which secured a recognisable sound, but already on his follow-up album, he had turned to Mark E. Nevin (of Fairground Attractions) and Clive Langer, which completely altered his style into more mainstream pop / rock, and on his 3rd solo album he mostly worked with guitarist and composer Alain Whyte, and together with producer Mick Ronson they assisted and collaborated in giving birth to his so far best rocking album. On his 4th solo album it was both Whyte and (new) guitarist Boz Boorer, but also Steve Lillywhite who, again in a collaboration work, made a new style shine through, which perhaps was the album that is closest to his solo debut.
Now although, both Whyte, Boorer and Lillywhite also has worked with Morrissey on this album, the style is much more experimental, progressive and introvert, and altogether strangely makes a rather big step away from Vauxhall and I. Some tracks like "Reader Meet Author", "The Boy Racer", "Dagenham Dave", and "Best Friend on the Payroll" are stylistically close to the predecessor but it also contains two tracks of more than 10 minutes playing time and "The Operation" (6:53 min.), which has a drum intro of more than 2 minutes, an outtro of approx. 2 min. (and a great middle part of almost 3 minutes) consisting of mostly noise rock and all three being tracks where Morrissey [?] experiments with a progressive alt. rock, which is completely new and ultimately less successful.
The front cover is rather different from all of his solo albums as they all feature a photo of himself. Here it's a photo of American "southpaw" [left-handed] boxer Kenny Lane (from 1963) that underlines an overall theme about boxing. In 2009 the album was reissued (and remastered) with 4 bonus tracks (and a different track list), which was released with a b/w front cover of... Morrissey.
All in all, I'm not particular fond of this album that I suspect of being a bit of record label manoeuvre. With a new artist under its roof, the management could use something to be remembered by. Sadly, the result is not one for the better.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Nova Mob "Nova Mob" (1994)

Nova Mob

release date: May 1994

format: cd (US issue)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]

producer: Nova Mob & Chopper Black

label: Restless Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Old Empire" (4 / 5) (video) - 2. "Shoot Your Way to Freedom" - 3. "Puzzles" - 5. "Little Miss Information" - 7. "I Won't Be There Anymore" - 8. "Please Don't Ask" - 9. "The Sins of Their Sons" - 10. "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" - *12. "Not Talking About"

*Bonus track on US issue

[ full album ]

2nd and final studio album by Nova Mob following more than three years after The Last Days of Pompeii (Feb. 1991). Since the debut, the line-up has changed a few times ending up with just two members from the initial line-up: primary songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist Grant Hart and bassist Tom Merkl. They are here joined by new guitarist Chris Hesler and new drummer Steve Sutherland now making the band a quartet.

After the album release also bassist Merkl left and was subsequently replaced by Marc Retish, and with this line-up Nova Mob embarked on a European tour before disbanding by the end of the Summer of '94 after which Hart continued as a solo artist.

The style and music this time sounds like a mix of the debut album and the music by Hart's former band Hüsker Dü - at least when compared to their last three albums. This means the tempo has slightly been turned up and there's a bolder use of distorted guitars, which bonds with the playing style of Bob Mould. The standard international issue comes with eleven tracks, whereas the US release is expanded with two bonus tracks. Hart is credited all lyrics and music except two compositions on which he is co-writer with Merkl and Hesler respectively (tracks #7 and #11).

Strangely, the album received mixed reviews commenting (see allmusic.com review) that the songs and the songwriting suffers from being a mere Hüsker Dü rip-off. Grant Hart wrote and composed half of the music in that band, and if anything it only bonds more closely with the music of his former band, and then there're some very fine new songs on this. The production sound was kind of poor on the debut, and here there's an improvement as it demonstrates more dynamics, but on the other hand it's still not all that impressive. The drums sound flat and one-dimensional and the album simply seems short of layers, which makes the single instruments battle too much in having the most power. Perhaps there's a desire to come close to the sound of live recordings - but as far as the songwriting goes and after the disbandment of Hüsker Dü, this is not only the best by Nova Mob, it's also the (so far) best by Grant Hart.

I like it, it's gooood..

[ 👎allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Bob Mould "The Last Dog and Pony Show" (1998)

The Last Dog and Pony Show
release date: Aug. 25, 1998
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Bob Mould
label: Rykodisc / Creation Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Moving Trucks" - 3. "Taking Everything" - 4. "First Drag of the Day" (4 / 5) - 5. "Classifieds" - 6. "Who Was Around?" - 7. "Skintrade" - 9. "Sweet Serene" - 11. "Reflecting Pool"

4th solo album by Bob Mould following nearly 2½ years after the self-titled '96 album was intended to be his last studio album. In an interview he referred to the troublesome almost 20 years of life on the road, but supposedly it was (also) his sufferings from tinnitus that had him accepting this to be incompatible with a lifestyle as a musician.

My first impression was one of disappointment as it doesn't reach the level of his '96 release, but then again: how many does that? Also, despite the effort to continue the success of his most recent album, it really contains some fine tracks but also points in too many directions.
It's by no means a mediocre release, but it may be regarded as his last good album for a long period of time as a comeback would be launched with Modulate in 2002, which initiates a period of... let's just call it experimentation.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Ane Brun "Spending Time With Morgan" (2003)

Spending Time With Morgan [debut]

release date: May 25, 2003

format: cd (DEMCD01)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]

producer: Kim Nelson; Katharina Nuttall & Cecile Grudet

label: DetErMine Records / V2 - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: 1. "Humming One of Your Songs" (4 / 5) (live - live) - 2. "Are They Saying Goodbye?" - 3. "On Off" - 4. "I Shot My Heart" - 7. "One More Time" - 9. "What I Want" - 11. "Wooden Body" (live)

Studio album debut by Norwegian soloist Ane Brun (aka Ane Kvien Brunvoll) released with assistance from V2 on the small independent label DetErMine, founded by the three singer / songwriter friends: Ane Brun, Canadian Wendy McNeill, and Swedish Ellekari Larsson (from the band The Tiny) - the album number reveals this as the first on the label, DEMCD01. From 2009 Brun exclusively releases her albums on her own label Balloon Ranger Recordings, however, these releases still comes with the catalog numbers beginning initiated with 'DEM' + continued numbers, either in respect of her co-founded early label, or simply because she has took over the old label when realising her own label. Ane Brun was born and raised in Molde in Norway, but she has been living in Sweden since 1999.

Spending Time With Morgan is mainly acoustic folk rock in a singer / songwriter format with elements from chamber pop and with strong ties to a predominantly American tradition, which in terms of style and genre has much in common with Danish Marie Frank and Tina Dickow, and which especially brings to mind the legacy of Joni Mitchell. That said, Brun is in another league with a stronger international appeal than her Danish colleagues, who cannot escape a national touch and an aspect of imitation.

Both music and lyrics here are Brun's own, and although you may find clear bonds to well-known styles and other artists, the album exudes a self-assured individuality with its quiet, introverted tone, and Brun's vocals suit the simple arrangements most brilliantly.

A very fine and promising debut.

[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]

Steve Kilbey "Earthed" (1987)

Earthed
release date: May 25, 1987
format: vinyl (clear vinyl - RALP 0043) / digital (1988)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Steve Kilbey [recorded by]
label: Ryko Analogue - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "The Dawn Poems" - 5. "A Loveletter From Sydney" - 6. "Carthage" - 7. "City of Women" - 9. "...The Empire Mourns Her Sun Without Tears" - 10. "Cornucopia" - 11. "Memory (c)" - 12. "Aphrodite" - 16. "Atlantis"

2nd solo album by Steve Kilbey released on Ryko Analogue, a Rykodisc-sublabel used for cassette- and vinylreleases. The vinyl issue is an American import on clear vinyl. As on his solo-debut Unearthed from '86, Kilbey is in charge of most things on this one, thus being credited: played by, recorded by, mixed by, as well as composer and as responsibe for (printed) material. Only a few other people are mentioned as contributors to this album: some who have assisted in creating artwork, some who have helped with mixing and mastering, and also his Swedish girlfriend at the time, Karin Jansson, who is co-writer on track #9. The album is published as a 'musical companion' to his homonymous lyric and essay publication on the modern life of mysticism. The back of the book cover contains the following description of the music: "An album of music which could be seen instrumental to the reading of the book..."

This was the first album I purchased of Kilbey's solo releases, which is probably quite fortunate, because if it had been the other way around and I had heard his actual solo debut first, I might not have considered buying this one, which consists entirely of instrumental tracks. It's quite a different collection of tracks by being far more experimental and more complex. The music is predominantly electronic in the sense that Kilbey makes use of synthesizers, drum programming, loops and tapes, and it's a release that is quite far from what he has released with the band The Church.

Some tracks (#7, #9, #10, #13, and #20) sound much like music inspired by Ryuichi Sakamoto and / or David Sylvian with a constant underlying presence of ambience. Another striking feature of the album is that it consists of twenty tracks and yet 'only' has a total running time of under 48 minutes. Three compositions are shorter than one minute, ten tracks have a duration of one to three minutes, five are between three and four minutes and two tracks are longer than four minutes.

Although, I do believe I acquired his solo debut a few weeks after this, I've always found this one that bit more entriguing. Yes, it's quite experimental, but at the same time it's also rich in ideas, and so it still holds up as quite a timeless work.

Arctic Monkeys "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (2006)

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not [debut]
release date: Jan. 23, 2006
format: cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,28]
producer: Jim Abbiss, Alan Smyth
label: Domino - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The View From the Afternoon" (4 / 5) - 2. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" (4 / 5) - 4. "Dancing Shoes" - 7. "Riot Van" (4 / 5) - 8. "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured" - 9. "Mardy Bum" - 10. "Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But..." - 11. "When the Sun Goes Down" (4 / 5) - 13. "A Certain Romance"

Studio debut album by Arctic Monkeys is a great release. Yes, they were hyped the next big thing like hundreds of artists before them, and often just without much evident basis or talent, but these guys really play their British asses off. It's great garage rock in the a typical British working class style that draws on The Kinks, The Who, and 1970s big working class band, The Jam, and then adds some indie rock, and alt. rock. What really holds the band together is the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, Alex Turner. He's fantastic!
The album won many prizes and was picked as album-of-the-year including that of NME, Q Awards, Time Magazine, Hot Press, it won the Mercury Prize in 2006, and it's included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

2006 Favourite releases: 1. Amy Winehouse Back to Black - 2. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - 3. Band of Horses Everything All the Time

Rod Stewart "Unplugged... and Seated" (1993) (live)

Unplugged... and Seated (live)
release date: May 24, 1993
format: vinyl
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Patrick Leonard
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: England, UK

Live album by Rod Stewart with special guest Ronnie Wood on acoustic guitar recorded Feb. 5, 1993 at Universal Studios, Los Angeles as part of MTV’s Unplugged series.

[ collectors' item - from ~ €50,- ]

Jan Garbarek "I Took Up the Runes" (1990)

I Took Up the Runes
release date: Aug. 1990
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Track highlight: 1. "Gula Gula" (4 / 5) - 2. "Molde Canticle Part 1" (5 / 5) - 3. "Molde Canticle Part 2" - 4. "Molde Canticle Part 3" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Molde Canticle Part 4" (2,5 / 5) - 6. "Molde Canticle Part 5" (3 / 5) - 7. "His Eyes Were Suns" (4 / 5) - 8. "I Took Up the Runes" (4 / 5) - 9. "Bueno Hora, Buenos Vientos" (3,5 / 5) - 10. "Rahkki Sruvvis"

Studio album by Jan Garbarek, which is stylistically close to Legend of the Seven Dreams (1988) with a little less focus on ambient but still it's modern free jazz with traditional folk elements, also on this what could be Indian sounding fragments. Overall, I like this a bit better.

Pearl Jam "Vitalogy" (1994)

Vitalogy
release date: Nov. 22, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Brendan O'Brien, Pearl Jam
label: Sony Records, Japan - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Last Exit" - 2. "Spin the Black Circle" (3 / 5) - 5. "Nothingman" - 8. "Corduroy" - 11. "Better Man" (4 / 5)

3rd studio album by Pearl Jam org. released on Epic Records. This is the second and final album to feature drummer Dave Abbruzzese, who was replaced by Jack Irons (former Red Hot Chili Peppers, also substituting Abbruzzese on track #14).
With Vitalogy the band embarks on a journey into more experimental alt. rock compared to the previous two albums. It's no longer just grunge rock but more of a alt. rock and hard rock combo. The whole album is really a huge blend of styles and songs, some of which are quite aggressive hard rock-styled touching punk rock elements, a few are just alternative... or mere experimental, others are fine rock hymns with harmony vocals, and the then there are also quiet singer / songwriter folk rock ballads. Best track here is "Better Man", and I know the album is a favourite among many Pearl Jam fans - I just don't find it that great and frankly find it too mixed as a whole with a big gap between highs and lows.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Arctic Monkeys "When the Sun Goes Down" (2006) (single)

When the Sun Goes Down, 7'' single
release date: Jan. 16, 2006
format: digital
[single rate: 3,5 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "When the Sun Goes Down" (4 / 5) - 2. "Stickin to the Floor" (3 / 5) - 3. "7"

Single release from Arctic Monkeys. The first track is taken from the forthcoming album debut, and the two other tracks are rather fine but not quite on par with the first track.

Arctic Monkeys

~ ~ ~

Arctic Monkeys: is a British band formed in High Green, Sheffield, England, in 2002. Members: Alex Turner (lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitar), Jamie Cook (rhythm & lead guitar), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), Matt Helders (drums, backing vocals). Former member: Andy Nicholson (bass guitar, backing vocals) left shortly after the debut album's release in 2006. The driving force in the band is the lead vocalist, guitarist, as well as its main composer, Alex Turner. From the start, the band was very much in the spotlight, and the debut album became the fastest-selling debut album in British music history. They have already won dozens of prizes, and all their albums have peaked at #1 on the British album hit list, and they have all sold "Platinum" or "Gold".

~ ~ ~

Jean-Michel Jarre "Oxygene 7-13" (1997)

Oxygene 7-13
release date: May 20, 1997
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Jean-Michel Jarre
label: Disques Dreyfus - nationality: France

Tracklist: 1. "Oxygène 7 (Part 1, 2, 3)" - 2. "Oxygène 8" - 3. "Oxygène 9 (Part 1, 2, 3)" - 4. "Oxygène 10" - 5. "Oxygène 11" - 6. "Oxygène 12" - 7. "Oxygène 13"

12th studio album release by 'Jean Michel' Jarre is a return to his masterpiece from 1976, Oxygène, and an album that continues where the '76 album ended - a premise you should think could only fail.
In my mind, this is nontheless a rather underrated album of the 1990s. Jarre has always belonged to the 1970s in one sense or the other - it was with his Oxygène and Equinoxe became internationally renowned, and everything that followed somehow pointed back to his starting point. And then all the following musical styles with synthpop and electronic had his name and legacy of the 70s written all over. I have, however, only paid him little interest since his albums of the 70s. Occasionally, I heard some of his music, and I saw his extravagant live performances on tv, but I always turned his new-found music down - that is, his music of the 80s and onwards; 'cause this new chapter is actually more than just fine. It's not only because it sounds much alike his original and highly praised first chapter but because it's an updated musical journey that makes use of the former as foundation and then explores musical landscapes on new terms of shape, sound, and style. This is not pop loops and form but experimental progressive electronic. I cannot help but think, this is the sequel he could and should have made instead of making commercial pop albums in the 1980s and I'm glad that I found this 'cause it's a very recommendable album.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

The Radio Dept. "Against the Tide" (2000) (ep)

Against the Tide, ep
release date: 2000 / 2002
format: digital (2002)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Johan Duncanson and Martin Larsson
label: Slottet Recordings - nationality: Sweden

Tracklist: 1. "Against the Tide" - 2. "Liebling" - 3. "Why Won't You Talk About It?" (4 / 5) - 4. "We Would Fall Against the Tide"

First ep release by Swedish band The Radio Dept., originally released as a demo in 2000 and later in 2002 pressed and released on 7'' vinyl.
The first formation of the band goes back to 1995 when vocalist Elin Almered and guitarist Johan Duncanson started playing together as a teenage project. The two soon split but around '98, guitarist Martin Larsson (aka Martin Carlberg) and Johan Duncanson started playing together under the band name, and in autumn 2001 they were joined by bassist Lisa Carlberg and drummer Per Blomgren - and this four-piece was later expanded to a quintet by keyboardist Daniel Tjäder.
Both track #1 and #3 are also found on the debut album, Lesser Matters from 2003, and #2 and #4 are included on the compilation album Passive Aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 (2011).
Despite being self-recorded and self-produced 'lo-fi' compositions the potential is truly remarkable.

Hothouse Flowers "People" (1988)

People [debut]
release date: May 1988
format: vinyl (828 101-1) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
label: London Records - nationality: Ireland

Studio album debut by Irish folk rock, pop / rock band Hothouse Flowers, who played as an in-between act at the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 with the song "Don't Go", which had been chosen for the second promotional single. I recall the show, and mostly only because of their song, which together with their very first single "Love Don't Work This Way" convinced me to go out and purchase this album.

BEST OF 1985:Ry Cooder "Paris, Texas" (OST) (1985)

org. album cover

Paris, Texas (soundtrack)
release date: 1985
format: cd (1988 reissue)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5]
producer: Ry Cooder
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Paris, Texas" (4 / 5) - 2. "Brothers" - 3. "Nothing Out There" - 4. "Canción Mixteca" (5 / 5) (live version with Harry Dean Stanton) - 5. "No Safety Zone" - 6. "Houston in Two Seconds" (4 / 5) - 7. "She's Leaving the Bank" - 8. "On the Couch" - 9. "I Knew These People (feat. Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski)" - 10. "Dark Was the Night"

Soundtrack by Ry Cooder to the movie "Paris, Texas" from 1984, directed by Wim Wenders.
It's the music by dusty angels, and it suits this fantabulous movie like... cheese and red wine... a Ferrari and my garage... a pink sweater on Nastassja Kinski... like... hand in glove. I love the music just the way I love the movie by Wenders, which I may have seen 4 or 5 times and haven't found boring or too long yet. The music on this album is just perfect for an evening listening to old vinyl records, and I don't really need any other company - this is more than just fine. In my mind, this is by far Cooder's best album.
[ movie trailer ]

1985 Favourite releases: 1. Ry Cooder Paris, Texas - 2. The Smiths Meat Is Murder - 3. The Pogues Rum, Sodomy and the Lash

'my' alternate CD version and the 2001 remaster

Ry Cooder "Bop Till You Drop" (1979)

Bop Till You Drop
release date: Aug. 1979
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: Ry Cooder
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Little Sister" - 3. "The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)" - 8. "Don' t Mess Up a Good Thing" - 9. "I Can't Win"

7th studio album by Ry Cooder marks another change of style towards mainstream pop / rock. His first three albums were all dedicated to roots rock and americana with music written by "forgotten" composers from before WW2. On his fourth album Paradise and Lunch (1974) he incorporated more contemporary music with a new style: jazz. On his fifth album Chicken Skin Music (1976) he mixed his americana style with gospel and Hawaiian music, and on his sixth studio album, Jazz (1978), well, I guess that sort of says it all. On this album he does what he has become famous for: re-arranging other artists compositions in new ways. The selected songs are rhythm & blues and rock & roll classics, and in Cooder's versions they are all added a certain roots rock element. The album sold well, but I don't find it as good as his more stylistic "clean" and traditional arrangements. Although, it's solid workmanship, I find that it's too much r&b to my liking.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Ry Cooder "Boomer's Story" (1972)

Boomer's Story
release date: Nov. 1972
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Jim Dickinson, Lenny Waronker
label: Reprise Records - nationality: USA

3rd studio album by Ry Cooder who keeps to his roots rock combining with americana. It's really impressive how this young-less-than-25-yo man sounds like a mature cowboy doing the blues of his life. This is just as impressive as his 2nd album, Into the Purple Valley (also 1972).
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Ry Cooder "Into the Purple Valley" (1972)

Into the Purple Valley
release date: Feb. 1972
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Jim Dickinson, Van Dyke Parks, Lenny Waronker
label: Reprise Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 3. "Money Honey" - 4. "F.D.R. in Trinidad" - 5. "Teardrops Will Fall" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "On A Monday" - 8. "Hey Porter" - 11. "Vigilante Man"

2nd studio album by Ry Cooder is an even bolder return to the heart of sources to contemporary rock. He interprets Agnes Cunningham, Leadbelly, Johnny Cash, and Woody Guthrie, and a number of other artists who made music in the earliest decades of the century. I have never been a great fan of the blues, traditional rhythm & blues nor country, but one has to hand it to Cooder: he does a fabulous job in making this music live again, and the album has an authenticity and genuine quality that simply came in smaller dozes on his debut. At the point of recording the album Cooder is 22 years old but mostly just sounds like a mature man with a long and lively life behind him.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Ry Cooder "Ry Cooder" (1970)

Ry Cooder [debut]
release date: Dec. 1970
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Van Dyke Parks, Lenny Waronker
label: Reprise Records - nationality: USA

Studio debut album by Ry Cooder is a blues rock, roots rock, and an americana album, though, I find that the blues element is the most dominant genre here. It's not bad not at all, only traditional blues doesn't appeal much to me. Cooder is famous for mixing styles and genres in his own blend of roots rock, I just find that The Band does this better. However, the album is interesting for being released in 1970 when blues rock was almost pseudonymous with electrified rock with reminiscence of Hendrix in one way or another, and then: this has no link at all to that, but goes beyond Hendrix, the whole psychedelic rock pond, and perhaps reaches out for the very sources to contemporary artists like Hendrix: Leadbelly, Blind Willie Johnson, and the like of the earliest decades of the century.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Andy Summers "XYZ" (1987)

XYZ [debut]
release date: Dec. 1987
format: vinyl (254 783-1) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Andy Summers, David Hentschel
label: MCA Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Love Is the Strangest Way" - 2. "How Many Days?" - 3. "Almost There" - 4. "Eyes of a Stranger" - 6. "Scary Voices" - 7. "Nowhere" - 10. "Hold Me"

Solo studio album debut by former The Police guitarist, Andy Summers (aka Andrew James Somers) who had previously released two collaboration albums with Robert Fripp: I Advance Masked (1982) and Bewitched (1984), and contributed on soundtracks for films: The Wild Life (1984), 2010 (1984) and for the TV-series "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (1986). Aside from being primary songwriter and composer - four tracks (tracks #2, #7, #8, and #10) are co-composed with producer Hentschel, who also provides keyboards and drum programming - Summers is credited as vocalist, which actually works more than just Okay, however, it's nevertheless his first and only album on which he provides lead vocals.

Musically, this isn't closely linked to the music by The Police. In fact, it has more in common with music by John Cale and Peter Gabriel with its bolder fusion rock and jazz fusion elements and a more obvious art rock approach. Yes, you can easily detect the guitar-sound of Summers, which has always made me wonder why he was never credited the music by The Police, 'cause how could Sting have written and arranged the songs telling Andy how to play the guitar?!

"Love Is the Strangest Thing" is the only single taken from an album, which wasn't exactly met by positive reviews, and it was basically seen as a commercial failure, which didn't have MCA invest further in Summers' career.

Personally, I purchased the album only to hear what the great guitarist of The Police could do on his own. Had I listened to it first, I may not have used money on it but I'm glad I did. No, it didn't sell and it wasn't met by acclaim, but in retrospect, I do think it's much better than rumour has it. Summers may have givin up singing after this, and because of this - the following tour and the sales numbers from the album didn't exactly encourage him to persue a career as vocalist, which I think is a shame. On this, he actually comes close to the sonic of Peter Gabriel. The music is close to that - perhaps too close - which may have had critics reject it as an original work.

XYZ is Summers' first solo album. It didn't turn out as intended - the music industry leeds its own unpredictable life. Overall, I think it's worth much more than a listen or two. It's flaw isn't because of the production sound, the mixing, nor in the song material but may likely be a result of missing personnel. A featuring artist (say Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, John Cale) here and there could likely have lifted this album from obscurity and brought it into the starlight. I do believe this very album is an example of how there's only a thin line between failure and success. "How Many Days" and "Nowhere" are both strong enough to make it to popular radio choices, but they weren't chosen as singles. The album is more than a decent first one out. It could arguably have been better arranged but the song material is there.

[ 👎allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]

Bloc Party "The Nextwave Sessions" (2013) (ep)

The Nextwave Sessions, ep

release date: Aug. 12, 2013

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,78]

producer: Dan Carey

label: Frenchkiss Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Ratchet" - 2. "Obscene" - 4. "French Exit" - 4. "Montreal" - 5. "Children of the Future"

5-track ep by Bloc Party and the last release to feature the original line-up as first drummer Matt Tong left the band shortly after this and in 2015 also bassist Gordon Moakes desided to leave.

Stylistically, it's electroindie, indie pop... something there-about. First impression hasn't changed much. That's really something new! I've always found that I needed time to adjust to the band's new style, but here without much luck, I'm stuck with something that lacks my interest. Without being near great "French Exit" is the best track, and perhaps one could argue that it shows us how the unit is left without new flourishing ideas.

Rammstein "Links 2-3-4" (2001) (single)

Links 2-3-4, single
release date: May 14, 2001
format: digital
[single rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Jacob Hellner, Rammstein
label: Motor Music - nationality: Germany

Tracklist: 1. "Links 2-3-4" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Halleluja" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Links 2-3-4 (Clawfinger Geradeaus Remix)" (2,5 / 5) - 4. "Links 2-3-4 (Westbam Technoelectro Mix)" (2,5 / 5) - 5. "Links 2-3-4 (Westbam Hard Rock Café Bonus Mix)" (2,5 / 5)

Single release by Rammstein from the album Mutter.

Elvis Costello "Mighty Like a Rose" (1991)

Mighty Like a Rose
release date: May 14, 1991
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Mitchell Froom, Kevin Killen and D.P.A. MacManus
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: England, UK

13th studio album by Elvis Costello following more than 2 years after Spike is his second album for his new label, Warner Bros., and it's also his second consecutive album not to feature The Attractions, although, drummer Pete Thomas is credited as additional musician. Alledgedly, Costello had wanted to record the album with The Attractions and sent invitations to the various band members, but only received rejections as they didn't like how they would be credited. On top of that, bassist Bruce Thomas released the semi-biography "The Big Wheel", in which he portrays life in a band with a lead singer, who ends up distancing himself from the other members - ultimately, yet with no further precision or identification, describing his band life with Elvis Costello. The two musicians had been on a relational slope, but this didn't make things better. After Thomas then sent Costello a copy of the book, via a friend of a friend, Costello wrote and recorded the song "How to Be Dumb" (track #3).
The album was recorded with Costello in a strong controlling role, where he came to the studio with pre-arranged songs and a final playlist, which left little room for Froom and Killen to have their say regarding arrangements or sound. It appears (even) more complex than Spike, and Costello also employs a Phil Spector-like approach by using multiple track recordings of his lead vocal. The end result is a rather complex album filled with strings, brass and extra keyboard tracks, and it doesn't really suit his songs as they at times appear muddy and over-produced - making me recall his Goodbye Cruel World period. However, Mighty Like a Rose contains better songs, e.g. "The Other Side of Summer", "Georgie and Her Rival" and "So Like Candy", but it doesn't come without fillers or what appear as unfinished ideas.
Bottom line, it's really not one of his best, and with this I simply lost a lot of my adoration and my expectations concerning new music from Costello was at a unprecedented low.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, NME 2,5 / 5, Blender, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

The Blue Nile "Hats" (1989)

Hats
release date: May 13, 1989
format: vinyl (LKH2) / digital
[album rate: 5 / 5] [4,78]
producer: The Blue Nile
label: Linn Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Over the Hillside" (5 / 5) - 2. "The Downtown Lights" (5 / 5 ) - 3. "Let's Go Out Tonight" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Headlights on the Parade" (5 / 5) - 5. "From a Late Night Train" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Seven A.M." - 7. "Saturday Night" (4,5 / 5)

2nd studio album by The Blue Nile. All songs are credited vocalist and guitarist Paul Buchanan. I recall how I impatiently awaited this second album while I kept trying to figure out if they had already disbanded. Most other artists released at least a new album each year but it took 4½ years before this one came out. I rushed out to buy it, which wasn't really easy, and I remember playing the album over and over for years to come. It's really another classic work, and again, mostly just artists and critics were overwhelmed. A remastered 2-disc Collector's Edition was released in 2012 by Virgin, and it feature live versions, alternate mixes and two new studio songs ("Christmas" is previously unreleased, whereas "The Wires Are Down" is a B-side to the single "The Downtown Lights").
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, NME 4,5 / 5, Records Mirror, Sounds 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3/5, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]
[ Danish review ]

1989 Favourite releases: 1. Pixies Doolittle - 2. The Blue Nile Hats - 3. Kitchens of Distinction Love Is Hell

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~

"Headlights On The Parade"

"And if in love she cried
Something wasn't right
'I'm sorry' - would be easy
To say I love you

Headlights on the parade
Light up the way
Headlights on the parade
Light up the way
I go, yeah

Close your eyes come with me
Only love is alive
Close your eyes can't you see
Only love will survive, yeah

Headlights on the parade
Light up the way, I love you

Headlights on the parade
Light up the way
I've made up my mind
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Only love will survive
Yeah

The city wins while you and I
Can't find a way
Oh, headlights on the parade, yeah, yeah

Fly little angel
Fly little angel
Yeah"

~ ~ ~

Chumbawamba "The Boy Bands Have Won" (2008)

The Boy Bands Have Won
release date: Mar. 3, 2008
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Chumbawamba
label: No Masters - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Add Me" (live) - 4. "Hull or Hell" - 5. "El fusilado" (live) - 7. "I Wish That They'd Sack Me" - 11. "Lord Bateman's Motorbike" - 14. "(Words Flew) Right Around the World" - 18. "Compliments of Your Waitress" - 24. "Waiting for the Bus"

13th studio album by Chumbawamba following A Singsong and a Scrap (2005) is like most of the band's recent albums played in a style of a cappella, English folk music, i.e. folk with focus on vocal harmonies. The album contains 25 listed tracks of which approx. half are just around one minute long, which in that respect follows the same formula as WYSIWYG from 2000. The full title of the album is actually: The Boy Bands Have Won, and All the Copyists and the Tribute Bands and the TV Talent Show Producers Have Won, If We Allow Our Culture to Be Shaped by Mimicry, Whether from Lack of Ideas or from Exaggerated Respect. You Should Never Try to Freeze Culture. What You Can Do Is Recycle That Culture. Take Your Older Brother's Hand-Me-Down Jacket and Re-Style It, Re-Fashion It to the Point Where It Becomes Your Own. But Don't Just Regurgitate Creative History, or Hold Art and Music and Literature as Fixed, Untouchable and Kept Under Glass. The People Who Try to 'Guard' Any Particular Form of Music Are, Like the Copyists and Manufactured Bands, Doing It the Worst Disservice, Because the Only Thing That You Can Do to Music That Will Damage It Is Not Change It, Not Make It Your Own. Because Then It Dies, Then It's Over, Then It's Done, and the Boy Bands Have Won. - needless say the title is commonly abbreviated.
Thematically, Chumbawamba hasn't changed its lyrics much over two decades. The change one will notice here is a stronger (local) social awareness in the bands' topics to direct its criticism on English politics that involve the ordinary Brit, and in that way this may be seen as a nice return to form.
At first, I found it a peculiar step away from the band's more musically pop- and dance-minded albums of the '90s, which brought the band fame, good reviews and some fine sales. I must admit, though, that this is no such thing as a lesser album. It's just very different. I think, they may have realised that all their good intentions about reaching more people with their messages through popular music was something they couldn't win. If the songs were popular, well, they were that, but the message drowned in a pool of commercialism, and where WYSIWYG was neither fish nor flesh, this presents a welcomed return of Chumbawamba as the world has come to know of it.
This album is smooth and beautiful - a truly fine accomplishment.
Recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Ben Watt "Hendra" (2014)

Hendra
release date: Apr. 14, 2014
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,26]
producer: Ewan Pearson
label: Unmade Road - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Hendra" - 2. "Forget" (live) - 3. "Spring" (4 / 5) - 6. "The Gun" - 8. "The Levels" (live) - 10. "The Heart Is a Mirror"

2nd solo studio album by Ben Watt released on his own label Unmade Road. Ben usually releases new material as part of Everything but the Girl together with his wife Tracey Thorn, and this is his only solo album in more than 30 years following his solo debut North Marine Drive (1983). The album comes out more or less simultaneously with his autobiography "Patient" - the story of how he was struck by a rare but serious decease, which had him hospitalised for a long period of time in the early 90s - and appears to be named after his recently deceased older sister's cottage, which bore the name, meaning 'home' in old Cornish. So, that also makes the album a hommage to his sister.
The music is like a return to the initial style of EBTG, which means sophisti-pop, jangle pop, and jazz pop. Add to that an element of singer / songwriter, which makes me think of Aztec Camera / Roddy Frame or Prefab Sprout. This is primarily acoustic driven music apart from collaboration artist Bernard Butler's background and laid-back electric jazz guitar. It's nice, quiet, and pretty neat - I like it, it's good. It doesn't stir up anything or anyone, and the music sounds like fine background noise at the hip cafe featuring a mature audience chatting quietly while sipping the latte before returning homeward. The single "Spring" is the strongest highlight of the album.

Rammstein "Mutter" (2001)

Mutter
release date: Apr. 2, 2001
format: cd
[album rate; 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Jacob Hellner, Rammstein
label: Motor Music - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Mein Herz brennt" (5 / 5) - 2. "Links 2-3-4" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Sonne" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Ich will" - 5. "Feuer frei!" - 6. "Mutter" (4,5 / 5) - 7. "Spieluhr" - 9. "Rein raus"

3rd studio album by Rammstein who continues to work with Swedish producer Jacob Hellner. He has been with the band from the beginning i.e. since 1995.
Compared to the previous album Sehnsucht (1997) the style remains the same. It's a collection of almost brutal energy and with the usual one or two slow songs - the title track and "Nebel" (#11) to balance the high tempo. The recipe worked on the '97 album, so why not repeat the formula with a bunch of new songs, you may ask, and the end result is that the band succeeds like never before.
Mutter is stronger than any of their previous albums, and in hindsight it's also the band's best album ever. It contains several (blasting) great compositions (the first three + the title track).
The album produced several singles - "Sonne" was the first and only to precede the album release, and it was followed by #2, #4, #6 and #5 in that order, and with a total of five single releases. The first single peaked at number #2 on the national singles chart list, and the remainders failed to enter top 10. Nationally, the album topped the charts, which it also did in Austria and in Switzerland, and it was the band's first to sell double platinum (+600.000 copies) in Germany.
The track "Links 2-3-4" is the band's answer to critics accusing it for right-wing and fascist sympathy. In the chorus line it says: "My heart beats to the left, 2-3-4" implying a political stand on the left with supposed allusions to a revolutionary Bertolt Brecht song.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Blender 3 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

2001 Favourite releases: 1. Björk Vespertine - 2. Nathalie Merchant Motherland - 3. Rammstein Mutter

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Sugar Tax" (1991)

Sugar Tax
release date: May 7, 1991
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: OMD, Howard Gray, Andy Richards
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" - 2. "Pandora's Box" (3,5 / 5)

8th studio album by OMD, which by now has become a solo-project by founding member Andy McCluskey. That is to say: McCluskey has teamed up with a new backing band consisting of the two keyboardists Nigel Ipinson and Phil Coxon reducing OMD to a trio - for live performances the band was extended by Abe Juckes on drums; however, the one-man project becomes more evident when looking at the songwriter credits as keyboardists Lloyd Massett and Stuart Kershaw are credited on some of the album's tracks (without participating) and with McCluskey being sole writer on half of all tracks.
Stylistically, the album was launched as a comeback after 5 years of silence with a new danceable style. The album was well-received - at least by fans, which put the album on #3 on the albums chart list in the UK, equalling the band's highest charting album Architecture & Morality. The single "Sailing on the Seven Seas" was released to promote the album and it also reached #3 on the singles chart list. Critics were split, although, several magazines welcomed the new style.
I only saw it as a confirmation on the band's detour into mainstream. I remember how a friend gladly presented the album to me, and all I could think was how in the world he was unable to hear how poor it was. To me, this certainly didn't make me want to check out new material from OMD, which I sort of continued to neglect for another decade or more.
And yes, the first two tracks suggest a much better album. But the remaining songs are so-so or just fillers to what could have been stretched to a decent ep.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Neil Young & Crazy Horse "Sleeps With Angels" (1994)

Sleeps With Angels
release date: Aug. 6, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: David Briggs, Neil Young
label: Reprise Records, Germany - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "My Heart" (4 / 5) - 2. "Prime of Life" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Change Your Mind" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Train of Love" (3,5 / 5) - 12. "A Dream That Can Last" (3,5 / 5)

21st studio album by Neil Young is released as Neil Young & Crazy Horse. It seems Neil has found his strengths as he hasn't released a "strange" and stylistically experimental album since 1986 with Landing on Water. This is perhaps his most restrained, dark and soft rock folk rock (official) release with Crazy Horse. Only exception is the hard rock track "Piece of Crap". Overall, it appears to me to be closest related with Tonight's the Night from 1975.
Although, the album was well-received, it's not really one of my favorites. I think, it serves well as background noise for interesting conversations but somehow also bores me somewhat. The only real exceptional tracks are the first and last: "My Heart" and "A Dream That Can Last", the latter being a rare Neil Young composition that has a certain circus feel and near The Last Waltz theme by The Band to it.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Mew "Half The World Is Watching Me" (2000)

Half The World Is Watching Me
release date: May 4, 2000
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Mew, Morten Sidenius and Flemming Rasmussen
label: Evil Office - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: 0. "Ending" - 1. "Am I Wry? No" (4 / 5) - 2. "Mica" - 3. "Saliva" - 4. "King Christian" - 5. "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" - 6. "156" - 7. "Symmetry" - 8. "Comforting Sounds"

2nd studio album by Mew issued on the band's own label and originally released in only about 5000 copies. Swedish singer Stina Nordenstam features on track #5, Georgian Becky Jarrett on #7, and the producer of the debut album, Damon Tutunjian sings rap on "King Christian".

The music is generally very interesting, however, being familiar with Frengers (2003) as the first Mew album, the first two albums mostly just generate great 'demos' to that. Frengers is then nothing more than an upgraded compilation, encompassing this album and the debut, A Triumph for Man (1997). What is striking about this, the band's second effort, is really the fine raw material, and alas, also the somewhat narrow production sound, although, the album comes out as slightly bettering the debut. Tracks like "Mica", "Saliva", and "King Christian" could easily have been included on Frengers, and in the hands of producer Rich Costey, only imagination can perceive how great these songs would have shone alongside the other tracks from the first two albums.

[ Gaffa.dk 4 / 6 stars ]

The Smiths "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" (1995) (single)

Sweet and Tender Hooligan, single
release date: May 23, 1995
format: digital
[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: John Porter
label: Sire Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Sweet and Tender Hooligan" - 2. "I Keep Mine Hidden" - 3. "Work Is a Four-Letter Word" - 4. "What's the World?" (Live)

Single release by The Smiths issued in May 1995 by Sire to promote the reissue of the compilation album Singles. The track was recorded back in 1986 and may be regarded as an outtake from the 1987 final studio album Strangeways, Here We Come. The single was issued with a sticker claiming it as "Previously unreleased"; however, the title track is found on the compilation album Louder Than Bombs from 1987, and the two following tracks are found on the 12'' single version of "Girlfriend in a Coma" (1987), and the live-recording "What's the World?" was previously released as B-side to "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" (1987).
The single cover features a still of boxer Cornelius Carr from the music video for Morrissey's single "Boxers", as directed by James O'Brien in 1995.

Jean Michel Jarre "Chronology" (1993)

Chronology
release date: May 1993
format: cd (2015 remaster)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,96]
producer: Jean Michel Jarre
label: Sony Music - nationality: France

Track highlights: 1. "Chronology, Part 1" - 6. "Chronology, Part 6"

11th studio album by 'Jean Michel' Jarre originally released as Chronologie by Disques Dreyfus.
On this Jarre blends his own original style of progressive electronic of the 70s with something that sounds like disco rave or electronic dance, which may display a nicely produced sound - at least on the remaster, but the compositions doesn't work all too well, I think. There's a bit too much re-takes on his repertoire, which makes it sound more like a remix album - updated bits and pieces from other familiar compositions.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

The Cure "Disintegration" (1989)

Disintegration
release date: May 1, 1989
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Robert Smith, David M. Allen
label: Fiction Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Plainsong" (3 / 5) - 2. "Pictures of You" - 3. "Closedown" (3 / 5) - 4. "Lovesong" - 6. "Lullaby" (2,5 / 5)

8th studio album by The Cure. During studio work on the album co-founder Laurence Tolhurst was fired from the band (allegedly after long-time alcohol addiction) and Roger O'Donnell took over Tolhurst's place as keyboardist. The style is in the same ballgame as the previous album, but with a stronger focus on a dream pop and neo-psychedelic sound, and a small move away from their most popular universe of sweet melodic love songs. Some see it as a return to darker gothic rock and post-punk but I find this progression more than hard to see. To me, this is just more of the same songs and compositions in new disguises, and my disappointment with the band had come to a final draw. I couldn't stand listening to Robert Smith and the band's lamenting songs. Yes, I purchased the album, but I never really got accustomed to it and resold it only a few years later. O'Donnell left the band in 1990 before they started rehearsals for a new album. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark "Sailing on the Seven Seas" (1991) (single)

Sailing on the Seven Seas, cd single
release date: Mar. 18, 1991
format: cd
[single rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: OMD
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Sailing on the Seven Seas" - 2. "Floating on the Seven Seas" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Sailing on the Seven Seas (Larrabee Mix)" - 4. "Sugartax"

Single release from the forthcoming album Sugar Tax by OMD. The cd single consists of two tracks (#2 and #3), which are variations of the title track plus the track "Sugar Tax" that never found its way to the album. The style is a combo of synthpop and dance pop, which emphasises drums and keyboards in a very simple and repetitious manner.
The single sold well, positioned the band and made way for the forthcoming album. I can't say that it's a truly great track and I only bought it around 2012 in a second-hand store for next to nothing.