Van Morrison "Avalon Sunset" (1989)

Avalon Sunset
release date: May 19, 1989
format: vinyl (839 262-1) / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Ivan Morrison
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Whenever God Shines His Light" -  2. "Contacting My Angel" - 3. "I'd Love to Write Another Song" - 4. "Have I Told You Lately?" (5 / 5) - 5. "Coney Island" - 7. "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God?" - 8. "Orangefield" - 10. "These Are the Days"

19th studio album by Van Morrison released 11 months following Irish Heartbeat, which was an album of Celtic and Irish folk music, and in that regard this may appear as a big turnover. Stylistically, this is perhaps one of Morrison's most evident attempts within a mainstream pop / rock musical sphere, although, also the successor Enlightenment (1990) is a contender with appeal to a broader crowd.
Avalon Sunset also shows strong influences of chamber pop with bold use of string and brass arrangements, and then it's undeservedly best known for the collaboration work with one Mr. Cliff Richard, who takes part of "Whenever God Shines His Light". Well, 'collaboration' may be an exaggerated expression as Morrison wrote the song and Richard only features as duet vocalist. The rest of the album isn't really all that mainstream, but somehow that sticking label hangs on to an album, which is more than just fine. The beautiful love song "Have I Told You Lately?" may also be a resulting factor why it has been looked upon as his pure pop / rock album more than any other, but if you detract these two songs from the rest of the album, the end result is really an album with strong inner perspective and classic songwriting on the basis of rhythm & blues, soul, in combination with an ever-present celtic tone, and in that regard the album doesn't fall far from his modern classic: Into the Music (1979).
Fine and enjoyable.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Tom Waits "Franks Wild Years" (1987)

Franks Wild Years
release date: Aug. 17, 1987
format: cd (1989 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]
producer: Tom Waits
label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Hang on St. Christopher" - 2. "Straight to the Top (Rhumba)" - 4. "Temptation" (4 / 5) - 5. "Innocent When You Dream (Barroom)" (5 / 5) - 6. "I'll Be Gone" (4 / 5) - 7. "Yesterday Is Here" - 9. "Frank's Theme" - 11. "Way Down in the Whole" (4 / 5) - 14. "Telephone Call from Istanbul" - 15. "Cold Call Ground" (4,5 / 5) - 16. "Train Song" (4 / 5)

10th studio album by Tom Waits following two years after Rain Dogs carry the subtitle "Un Operachi Romantico in Two Acts" and it's Waits' music for his & wife Kathleen Brennan's stage show performed by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and directed by Gary Sinise in Chicago, where the show was staged over a two-month period with Waits in the role of Frank during the Summer of 1986.
This was actually the first Tom Waits album I acquired sometime in '89. I purchased the album upon hearing the song "Innocent When You Dream", which I first thought was a remake of an old classic but later found out was Tom's own composition. I had been thinking for some time about getting hold of some Waits' albums but I simply had no idea where to start.

For a start, I didn't fully appreciate the album the way I later came to. I thought it was fine, but also a little... too strange, since I only knew bits of his albums from the 70s but at the same time, the album also made me curious about the man and his music. Soon after, I came across Swordfishtrombones (1983) at my local music dealer. I noticed that it contained several songs that I knew, so I purchased it on the spot and was completely overwhelmed and intrigued and I just knew I had to dive into his back catalog from start to finish. The title Frank's Wild Years is a track from Swordfishtrombones and is in reference to his father, Frank, who, in addition to teaching Spanish, was widely known as a drunkard who abandoned his family during Tom's childhood.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Uncut 4 / 5 stars ]

Underworld "Underworld 1992-2002" (2003)

Underworld 1992-2002, compilation

release date: Nov. 3, 2003

format: 2 cd

[album rate: 4 / 5]

producer: Underworld; Rick Smith

label: JBO / V2 - nationality: Wales, UK

2 cd retrospective compilation by Underworld is the band's first official collection of early singles of electronica. "Bigmouth" and "Dirty" are two tracks released for single release in '95 by Lemon Interupt, which was an early alternative name for Rick Smith, Karl Hyde and Darren Emmerson - they also went by the alias Steppin' Razor to distinguish their music from the rock and new wave-oriented music by Underworld on its first two albums before settling with the former band name for Smith and Hyde. Emmerson guided Hyde and Smith into the world of techno and electronica, and after Emmerson's departure in early 2000, the two founding members continued releasing music as an electronic duo.

A nice thing about Underworld 1992-2002 is that it contains several non-album tracks such as "Rez", "Spikee", and "Born Slippy.NUXX" but also that the songs have been listed in what appears as chronological order, which seems to distinguish this from the 3-disc compilation 1992-2012 The Anthology from 2011. Disc 1 represents an early period of experimentation with techno, whereas the second disc showcases the band at its height of progressive house and what back then simply was known as 'rave' - later labelled breakbeat and downtempo.

David Sylvian & Holger Czukay "Plight & Premonition" (1988)

Plight & Premonition
release date: Mar. 1, 1988
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,65]
producer: David Sylvian, Holger Czukay
label: Venture / Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Plight (The Spiralling of Winter Ghosts)" - 2. "Premonition (Giant Empty Iron Vessel)"

1st collaboration album by David Sylvian & Holger Czukay. The album is Sylvian's first after his highly successful album Secrets of the Beehive (1987) but this has only little in common with that as it's an instrumental release consisting of two tracks: "Plight" (of more than 18 minutes) and "Premonition" (more than 16 minutes), both composed by Sylvian and Czukay. Holger Czukay is a German artist who played guitar and bass in the German (primarily 1970s) experimental, krautrock and psychedelic rock band Can. There's nothing of those styles involved in this except from experimental, and neither is there Sylvian's usual sophisti-pop, art pop nor jazz fusion to it, but it's more of an ambient album with the addition of sound collages, which isn't really my favourite. The release only demonstrates Sylvian's broad stylistic approach but also his reluctance to popular mainstream music. As his former band, Japan found itself on the verge of an international commercial breakthrough, the band split, and Sylvian took up his long and wide-embracing solo career. His 1984 and '87 solo albums only gained positive feedback from (almost) everyone in the music business but he sought other values than fame and glory with his music, which this basically serves to demonstrate. It's brave, it's honest to the bone, yes, but really not for the broader masses. Czukay is credited for playing organ, piano, shortwave radio, and for... "treatments", and Sylvian for playing electric guitar, keyboards, piano, vibraphone, and harmonium. Aside from the two main artists, also Can-drummer Jaki Liebezeit is credited for handling "infra sound", and Karl Lippegaus for "radio tuning".
I basically find this a difficult listen and don't enjoy the album that much, but with Sylvian there's always "something" to it, which almost never makes it a lesser release. After all, it might be brilliant for meditating, and my experiences with his music always has me letting a door open to it, 'cause I may find myself in a certain mood one day where his music makes sense upon returning to some of his more experimental music.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Danny Brown "XXX" (2011)

XXX
release date: Aug. 15, 2011
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Skywlkr (and others)
label: Fool's Gold Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "XXX" - 2. "Die Like a Rockstar" - 3. "Pac Blood" - 6. "I Will" - 13. "DNA" - 15. "Party All the Time" - 16. "EWNESW"

3rd studio album by Detroit rapper Danny Brown [aka Daniel Dewan Sewell] is an original hardcore hip hop and slightly experimental hip hop album. DB doesn't add much new to the genre as he raps 'bout his lifestyle, the negative stuff, drugs, ODs, and girls. That's pretty much within the frame of hip hop, right`? But Brown has his flow, a strict (almost industrial) production, and a nice touch with experimental influences, which are quite secondary here but they contribute to his style. With Brown it's not about making single hits with sing-along chorus and nice hooks as much as presenting his sonic style.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, URB 4 / 5 stars ]

Peaches "Fatherfucker" (2003)

Fatherfucker
release date: Sep. 15, 2003
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,63]
producer: Peaches
label: XL Recordings - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "I Don't Give A ..." - 2. "I'm the Kinda" - 4. "Kick It" (feat. Iggy Pop) - 5. "Operate" - 7. "Shake Yer Dix" (feat. Mignon) (live) - 8. "Rock 'n' Roll' - 11. "The Inch"

2nd studio album by Peaches following 3 years after The Teaches of Peaches is again produced by Merill Nisker herself, and it's an album that follows closely in the path laid out by the predecessor.
That said, it's still clearly bettering her 2000 album by being better produced, by having better and more original material, and by being a more coherent release without obvious misses. Stylewise, there are slight differences and I really like the bolder electroclash and dance-punk style on this.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars - Album of the Year 74/100 % ]

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US alt. cover

Crystal Castles "Crystal Castles" (II) (2010)

Crystal Castles
release date: May 24, 2010
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,40]
producer: Ethan Kath, Jacknife Lee, Paul Epworth, Alex Bonenfant
label: Fiction Records - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "Fainting Spells" - 2. "Celestica" (4 / 5) - 4. "Baptism" - 5. "Year Of Silence" - 11. "Pap Smear" - 12. "Not in Love" (4 / 5)

2nd studio album by Crystal Castles. The album marks a shift of style and is the duo's best effort as well as its most homogeneous and mainstream sounding album. It's still electroclash but I find that the experimental side is less dominant and the individual songs are generally more melodic. A few tracks scattered throughout the album are like electro-punk flashes in between beautiful compositions, and makes the whole experience more exciting. The track "Not in Love" is a cover of a song by the Canadian band Platinum Blonde, which was originally released on the debut album Standing in the Dark (1983). The track was later that year remixed featuring Robert Smith of The Cure featuring on vocals, which was Crystal Castles' biggest single hit.
[ allmusic.com, Spin, PopMatters 4 / 5 stars ]

Bill Frisell "In Line" (1983)

In Line (debut)

release date: 1983

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,34]

producer: Manfreid Eicher

label: ECM - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Start" - 2. "Throughout" - 4. "Shorts" - 5. "Smile on You" - 7. "In Line"

Studio album debut by American guitarist Bill Frisell [William Richard Frisell]. The album follows shortly after ECM apperances as collaborative or featuring guitarist: on Psalm (1982) by Paul Motian Band (led by drummer Paul Motian) on Paths, Prints (1982) by Norwegian alto-saxophonst Jan Garbarek, and also from '82: A Molde Concert by Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen, but his first appearance on an album appears to be with the album Good Buddies (1978), a jazz-fusion album credited Michel Herr, Bill Frisell, Vinton Johnson, and Kermit Driscoll released on EMI Belgium.

In Line is a quiet album touching on ambient minimalism, and it consists of nine compositions by Frisell and basically only feature Frisell on electric and acoustic guitars with Arild Andersen contributing on bass on five tracks. Frisell had often been praised his guitar-work on other albums, so it really makes sense have him star as instrumental virtouso.

In Line is a fine first album despite the absence of other instrumentation. In that regard it's a solid and subtle start of a long and shining career, though I wouldn't recommend to start here.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Salif Keita "Soro" (1987)

Soro

udgivet: dec. 1987

format: cd

[vurdering: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: Francois Breant

selskab: Stern's Africa - nationalitet: Mali

Udvalgte numre: 1. "Wamba" - 2. "Soro (Afriki)" - 5. "Cono" - 6. "Sanni Kegniba"

Album af Salif Keita, som er kendt som hans internationale debut, og som blev udgivet på forskellige pladeselskaber. Island Records ser ud til at have udgivet det i Tyskland og Italien, og dets underselskab Mango udgav albummet på det nordamerikanske marked og det australske, mens det i Frankrig er både Mango og EMI (Pathé Marconi EMI), der står bag udgivelsen. Styllart Records har udgivet albummet i tidligere franske kolonier, og Stern's Africa har udgivet albummet i Storbritannien, men også på CD-format i Tyskland og i Sydafrika. Det er svært at sige, hvilket selskab der havde distributionsrettighederne, men det er utvivlsomt, at Keita på dette tidspunkt allerede havde forladt Afrika og nu var bosiddende i Paris, hvor hans solokarriere blev cementeret med netop Soro. Før det, havde Keita påbegyndt sin musikalske karriere omkring 1970, da han opstrådte som den første forsanger i Rail Band (senere kendt som Super Rail Band og Bamako Rail Band, og et år senere blev også Mory Kanté en del af bandet). Efter ca. tre år forlod Keita Rail Band og var med til at stifte Les Ambassadeurs (alias Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako, alias Ambassadeurs du Motel), som oplevede en tilsyneladende flittigt skiftende besætning, som også talte Kante Manfila og Sekou Bembeya Diabaté. I slutningen af 70'erne skiftede bandet så navn til Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux (alias Ambassadeur International, alias Salif Keita et Les Ambassadeurs Internationaux). Albummet Ambassadeur International (1981) er senere blevet udgivet som Seydou Bathily som er et opsamlingsalbum i Salif Keita's diskografi.

Soro adskiller sig stilmæssigt fra den tempofyldte blanding af afrikansk jazz og latin-jazz-indflydelse, som lader til at have karakteriseret Keita's musik i 70'erne; en stil, der er blevet kaldt 'Afro-Cuban son'. Her er der et stærkere Mandé / malisk præg, som igen blander stilarter, men den egentlige fællesnævner og mærkbare styrke er Keita's originale vokal, som binder det hele sammen. Alle numre her er krediteret Keita, og selvom det primært er et album bestående af tempofyldt musik med vokalharmonier, er disse numre længere end traditionel popmusik. Albummet indeholder 'blot' seks numre med spilletider fra 4:46 til 9:50 minutter.

Når man sammenligner med musikken skabt af Keita's tidligere bands, er det tydeligt, at Keita her har fundet et produktionsmæssigt bedre udtryk. Opsamlinger med musik af Rail Band og Les Ambassadeurs underbygger kun Keita's evner som komponist, men de er også præget af en markant flad lyd.

Soro er efter min mening ikke Keita's bedste, men det dokumenterer hans alsidighed og hans øre for hooks og komplekse arrangementer.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stjerner ]

The Stranglers "Black and White" (1978)

l-r: JJ Burnel, Hugh Cornwell
Jet Black, Dave Greenfield

Black and White

release date: May 12, 1978

format: vinyl (Greek issue) / cd (2014 remaster)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]

producer: Martin Rushent

label: United Artists Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Tank" - 2. "Nice 'N Sleazy" (TOTP appearance)- 3. "Outside Tokyo" - 4. "Sweden (All Quiet on the Eastern Front)" - 5. "Hey! (Rise of the Robots)" - 6. "Toiler on the Sea" - - B) 1. "Curfew" - 4. "Death and Night and Blood (Yukio)" - 5. "Enough Time"

3rd studio album by The Stranglers following 8 months after No More Heroes (Sep. 1977) is the band's third and final to be produced by Rushent.

This album is one of the first examples of a post-punk album. Some tracks are held in a 'traditional' Stranglers punk rock tone, whereas about half of the songs introduce a much more experimental approack to their usual song structures with experimental use of percussion and synths. The album opener "Tank" is a razor-sharp punk track but already "Nice'N'Sleazy" is something different with a epic bass-line and bold use of synths. This is followed by a melancholic ballad with off-beat drums, and then back to what appears as blazing punk rock on track #4 but half way through it turns into a new stylistic mix and then ending as it started. Also track #5 is both punk rock and then experimental - is it ska revival on steroids, or rock fusion, pub rock, or garage rock revival?? "Toiler on the Sea" is mostly punk rock with a twist, and then "Curfew" is like the strong second track a new addictive blend of their own. "Threatened" is experimental punk rock with strong bass and keyboard, and then "In the Shadows" is one of the strongest experimental tracks on this album with a new set of tones and what sounds like an influence from jazz. "Do You Wanna" is the other obvious almost improvisitional track, which leads directly on to one of the band's new staples: "Death and Night and Blood (Yukio)", which is a highly original compositions build on an easy-to-remember chorus-line and minimalist bass and drums, but again, with an addition of organ and guitar solos that can only be The Stranglers. The end-track "Enough Time": "Have You Got Enough Time, Have You Got Enough Time, Have You Got Enough Time, Have You Got Enough Time..." is both tight, dark and angry, and then it's also punk, synth-pop and jazz-influenced. The album is anything but a strong coherent whole but thanks to the band's original soundscape and their will to experiment and leave the safe spot of their fans' mindset, this is just one their better works, and an album to appreciate.

Highly recommended.

Debbie Harry "Kookoo" (1981)

Kookoo [debut]
release date: Aug. 8, 1981
format: vinyl / digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]
producer: Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards
label: Chrysalis - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Jump Jump" - 2. "The Jam Was Moving" - 3. "Chrome" - 4. "Surrender" - 6. "Backfired"

Studio album debut by Blondie-vocalist Deborah Ann Harry released under her stage moniker Debbie Harry. The style is rather different from what one might expect. The simplistic uptempo new wave has been exchanged with a more funky form carried out by the three prominent members of the American disco band Chic, songwriter / guitarist and producer Nile Rodgers and songwriter / bassist and producer Bernard Edwards and drummer Tony Thompson. The guest trio contributes with a disco and dance pop style and Rodgers and Edwards are the primary songwriters on four of the albums ten tracks and they are co-writers on two. The remaining four songs are written by Harry and Chris Stein with whom she mostly writes material for Blondie and who also contribute as guitarist on the album. Two of the songs (tracks #8 and #10) are credited all four main songwriters.
The two Chic songwriters are credited a vast number of classics within the world of disco, and they later on contributed with their [magic] qualities on Diana (e.g. "I'm Coming Out") by Diana Ross, "Let's Dance" (title song) by David Bowie and Madonna's Like a Virgin album - all that is part of the highs of modern popular music, but here the result is not good. Harry and Stein's punchy new wave style, their admiration for reggae and funk in a simplistic form collide with the much more orchestrated and varied sounds and shapes of disco. Or: that's how it sounds like 'cause what really lacks here is a bunch a good songs. In fact, there's hardly any. The production sound is fine, though, and initial parts of songs are truly far from bad, but the overall picture is bland and it leaves me kinda thinking "was that it?"
The best thing about the album, which puts it on the shelve among classic albums, is actually the front cover artwork made by Swiss artist H.R. Giger.
I acquired the album at some point in the mid-80s just because it was a solo album by Harry but never played it much, as I soon found it lesser album with little connection to the music by Blondie.
[ allmusic.com 1,5 / 5 Rolling Stone 2 / 5 stars ]

Billy Joel "An Innocent Man" (1983)

An Innocent Man
release date: Aug. 8, 1983
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Phil Ramone
label: CBS Records - nationality: USA

9th studio album by Billy Joel is his fifth consecutive album to be produced by Phil Ramone, and it follows one year after the album The Nylon Curtain (Sep. 1982).
I really don't have any recollection that tells me anything about how and why I became convinced in purchasing this very album, although, I think I did acquire it in late '83 or in early '84. I wasn't particular interested in Joel and didn't know of any of his previous albums. My best guess is that I really liked the singles that I heard on MTV. A massive total of seven singles were released from the album - at first the promotion single "Tell Her About It" (Jul. 1983), which became the only number #1 single hit from the album, and then the following two singles: "Uptown Girl" (Sep. 1983) - peaking as number #3 in the US but generally performing best internationally - and "An Innocent Man" (Dec. 1983) making it to a tenth spot in the US. A fourth single "The Longest Time" was released Mar. '84, and it simply continued the fine chart performances reaching number #14 on the singles chart in the US, which paved the way for another three single releases: "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" (Jun. 1984) - charting as number #27, "This Night" (released exclusively in Japan and in the UK), and "Keeping the Faith" (Jan. 1985) peaking at number #18 in the US.
What I do remember is that I played the album quite a lot in about a year or so, after which it sort of had played its part. Listening to the album anew makes me remember the time but also reminds me that I never was and never has been a big fan of Billy Joel. Yes, he made some classic pop songs, and that's about it. At the same time there's something specifically American to his music that just doesn't appeal to me in the same way, say Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, or Etta James have had lasting impact. What's also saying about my taste for Joel, is the fact that I don't remember ever listening to his following album The Bridge (Jul. 1986) in its full length.
An Innocent Man is very much a product of a narrow time in music history. It's definitely a solid and classic album you should know of, although, many will have very different opinions as to calling it a certified classic pop album but to me, it fits on a shelve with best selling albums by Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, Pat Benatar, and Supertramp for that matter.
Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Chumbawamba "Never Mind the Ballots" (1987)

Never Mind the Ballots
release date: 1987
format: digital (1994 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,78]
producer: Chumbawamba
label: One Little Indian - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Come on Baby (Let's Do the Revolution)" - 3. "The Wasteland" - 6. "Mr. Heseltine Meets His Public" - 8. "...Here's the Rest of Your Life"

2nd studio album by Chumbawamba originally self-released on the band's own label Agit Prop and in '92 reissued on cd as a double disc compilation with the band's debut album as The First 2.
Never Mind the Ballots is a comment to modern politicians. The whole album is structured as two opposing politicians proposing their different stands but at the end of the album they are revealed as both basically wanting the same: they want weapon to either conquer others or defend themselves but in essence they want control over others. I like the story, the satire and the way its structured. It's definitely not an album for dancing, nor cosy small talk. It's... an interesting social and political comment, not unlike a theatrical radio-play. As music, however, it's not the most compelling treat, and when you examine the plot and the message, it becomes a wee bit naively exaggerated as always, when people become too one-eyed.

Lykke Li - Du är den ende (2014), single

"Du är den ende", single
release date: Mar. 12, 2014
[single rate: 3,5 / 5]

A single track release from "Tommy", a film by Swedish film director Tarik Saleh featuring Lykke Li in a supporting role.

Tindersticks "Simple Pleasure" (1999)

Simple Pleasure
release date: Sep. 6, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,28]
producer: Stuart A. Staples
label: Island Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Can We Start Again?" (4 / 5) - 2. "If You're Looking for a Way Out" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Pretty Words" - 4. "From the Inside" [instrumental] - 5. "If She's Torn" - 6. "Before You Close Your Eyes" - 7. "(You Take) This Heart of Mine" (5 / 5) - 8. "I Know That Loving" - 9. "CF GF" (4 / 5)

4th studio album by Tindersticks released on Island Records is their first album to be produced exclusively by lead vocalist and songwriter, Stuart A. Staples. All songs except track #7 co-written by Hinchliffe are credited Staples with all music credits shared by the trio of Staples, David Boulter, and Dickon Hinchliffe, with drummer Al(asdair) Macauley as co-composer on tracks #5 and #8 - except track #4 credited Tindersticks - and then track #2, which is a song by Sandy Linzer and Ralph Kotkov, originally a song for New York vocal-trio Odyssey taken from its 1980 album Hang Together.
Despite a lukewarm reception, the album is in my top-3 of Tindersticks albums. Well, the fact is the band never really was among the best-selling bands, and their biggest success in terms of albums sold, the second album went as high as to number #13 on the albums chart list in the UK, whereas the debut only reached number #56, and the third album peaked at position #37. This one peaked as number #36 on the list, and in that perspective, it's actually the second highest ranked Tindersticks' album, which both respond to the reception part as well as on the band's status, generally speaking. The album is perhaps their most significant pop soul-shaped album, imho. The previous release Curtains (1997) has the same chamber pop and special Tindersticks melancholic feel to it as this one, and although the debut Tindersticks (1993) is already a modern classic, it doesn't have the same accurate stylistic and tight message as Simple Pleasure. All of their albums contain great songs but I don't find any other Tindersticks release without fillers - this simply has none, which makes it so brilliant.
The front cover is a Polaroid taken by Staples of wife Suzanne Osborne when carrying their son Stanley.

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"(You Take) This Heart of Mine"

"I've been watching you play
Getting caught
And when you turn your face your eyes are about
To take this heart of mine
And when you stop and stare long
They're so blind and I can't understand
You take this heart of mine
Hey little boy
Do you want the same thing as me
Cos I just feel
A little lonely

I've been wandering round again
Getting lost
It's not safe to be near those eyes
Are enough
To take this heart of mine
And when you stop and stare long
Well I could run if there wasn't a chance
You take this heart of mine
Hey little boy
Do you want the same thing as me
Cos I just feel
A little lonely

It's never going anywhere
It's just running away
Just a step outside of our love
Where's it now
To bring it all back again

There's a certain sound you know
Well I could run if there wasn't a chance

You take this heart of mine
Hey little boy
Do you want the same thing as me
Cos I just feel
A little lonely"

~ ~ ~

Paul Young "Other Voices" (1990)

Other Voices
release date: Jun. 4, 1990
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: various; Paul Young (exe. producer)
label: Columbia Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Heaven Can Wait" - 4. "A Little Bit of Love" - 7. "Softly Whispering I Love You" - 10. "Calling You"

4th studio album by Paul Young is less pop-oriented in respect to the predecessor Between Two Fires (1986). The album is generally put together by a much bigger staff of technical personnel, as well as studio musicians. Again, the album contains several covers, and generally that simply raises the quality of the songs. There are a number of songs with a clear jazz feel, which perhaps was in an attempt to make a follow-up to his acclaimed '85 album. The album reached number #4 on the national album charts list but it didn't provide Young with a top-ten single. It comes in various versions with at least two different covers and with different track listing. The album is clearly bettering his '86 album, but it's not up with his two first albums, although, it's by no means a mediocre album.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

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Siouxsie and the Banshees "Through the Looking Glass" (1987)

2014 cover

Through the Looking Glass

release date: Mar. 2, 1987

format: cd (2014 remaster)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]

producer: Mike Hedges, Siouxsie and the Banshees

label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" (Sparks) - 2. "Hall of Mirrors" (Kraftwerk) - 4. "This Wheel's on Fire" (The Band) - 5. "Strange Fruit" (Billie Holiday) - 7. "The Passenger" (Iggy Pop)

8th studio album by Siouxsie and the Banshees (stylised: Siouxsie & The Banshees) following Tinderbox (Apr. 1986) is produced in collaboration with Mike Hedges, who has worked on/off with the band since A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982), where he worked as sound engineer. This new collection consists of cover songs exclusively, and it's only the band's second but also already its final with (new) guitarist John Valentine Carruthers.

After having spent a relatively long time writing, composing and recording the '86 album, the band wanted an easier and more spontaneous approach to the studio work, and they therefore selected a collection of tracks of other artists they have played live or just felt like honouring for being musical inspirations. The title of the album is taken from Lewis Carroll's novel with the same title, which btw. is the continuation of "Alice in Wonderland" - that very title was previously inspiration to the band's own label, which is simply named Wonderland.

Stylistically, the album falls somewhat outside of what usually characterises the band's music, much to the same extent as was the case with the single "Dear Prudence" (1983) - a Beatles cover, which resulted in positive feedback from reviewers and fans. At first listen the album may turn out a bit of a disappointment, but The Banshees' versions of very diverse songs have an original quality that extents the scope of each song in that they are still recognisable classics - there is an original cut left - and on the other hand they have been adapted to the band's soundscape. It may take several listens to sense how tracks with such different origins nevertheless have a common basic tone. One of the more recent changes to band's output is a greater musical complexity, which is partly conveyed by the presence of strings - something which admittedly was also used on Tinderbox. British composer Jocelyn Pook features on viola and multi-instrumentalist Martin McCarrick, who is yet to be a future band member, effectively from the successor Peepshow (1988), he is credited all string arranegements and also plays cello and keyboards.

Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin are the only two remaining members from the formative years, while drummer Budgie has been a regular since the band's third album Kaleidoscope (1980). However, it's far from a band secret that over the years they have had more than ordinary difficulty in holding on to their changing guitarists for a longer period, and after this, the band's newest guitarist, John Carruthers, was released from the band, who then decided to continue as a trio - without a stable guitarist.

The 2014 edition comes with four bonus tracks, two of which are remix versions of tracks #4 and #7.

This is a fine and different work from the band.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

My Bloody Valentine "Isn't Anything" (1988)

Isn't Anything [debut]
release date: Nov. 21, 1988
format: cd / cd (2012 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: My Bloody Valentine
label: Creation Records / Sony Music - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)" - 2. "Lose My Breath" - 3. "Cupid Come" - 4. "(When You Wake) You're Still in a Dream" - 6. "All I Need" - 7. "Feed Me With Your Kiss" (4 / 5) - 8. "Sueisfine" - 10. "You Never Should" - 12. "I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)"

Full-length studio album debut by My Bloody Valentine and the band's first on Creation.
The album was the second that I heard with the band after listening to their epic Loveless (1991). Despite being officially an Irish band, American Kevin Shields (guitarist, vocalist, composer) is the band's mastermind. He created most of the material on this album, either alone (six tracks) or with help from drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig or together with vocalist & guitarist Bilinda Butcher, and in retrospect Shield is near synonymous with the band name. Prior to this, the band released a number of singles and eps without bassist Debbie Googe and especially also without Bilinda Butcher who contributed in shaping their iconic sound from around 1987 when former vocalist Dave Conway left the band. So what lies before '87 is basically music from what sounds like another band, and with Isn't Anything they initiate a style that many bands and artists copied in the early nineties, which may be referred to as noise pop, shoegaze, and dream pop, and which much later led other artists (e.g. Mogwai, Sigur Rós) to exercise into post-rock.
Only in recent years, I have come across their mini-album debut, This Is Your Bloody Valentine (1985), which really seems far from the style on this and their earliest releases with focus on post-punk, gothic rock, and psychobilly. I recall that Robert Smith (The Cure) in the late 1980s referred to this band as one of his new favourites - and I often wondered if he had heard the style they came to abandon or the style that should become their trademark.
Isn't Anything is not as great as the iconic '91 album but it surely points in that direction - especially tracks #1, 4 and 7. Back in the 90s, I never really enjoyed this all that much, but I do understand its significance as a cornerstone in music history. Maybe, it's great music for background noise when painting or being in a creative process that involves craftsmanship with your hands instead of work that is dependent on more relaxed thinking processes. Anyway, I don't think the album is easy to let in with it's unusual compositions build on walls of heavy distorted guitars, but if you're capable of seeing it as complex music with another purpose than just echoing nice poetic chorus lines in your head, it may appeal to you. The album seems like caught between British indie pop, which was what Creation Records traditionally released at the time, and a much more unique sound of noise pop echoing Sonic Youth and primarily originating in the US, and which in any case had its roots in the post-punk movement. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Drowned in Sound 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Talk Talk "It's My Life" (1984)

It's My Life
release date: Feb. 1984
format: vinyl (reissue) / cd (1997 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Tim Friese-Greene
label: EMI Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Dum Dum Girl" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Such a Shame" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Renée" - 4. "It's My Life" (5 / 5) (live) - 5. "Tomorrow Started" (4 / 5) - 6. "The Last Time" (4 / 5) - 7. "Call in the Night Boy" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Does Caroline Know?" - 9. "It's You"

2nd studio album by Talk Talk is a strong follow-up to the debut from '82. By now the band is officially reduced to a trio as keyboardist Simon Brenner has left the band; however, producer Tim Friese-Greene is co-writer with Mark Hollis on three of the tracks, and Friese-Greene is also credited for playing keyboards alongside Ian Curnow. Friese-Greene would later be the band's second major songwriter alongside Mark Hollis, although he should never become an official member of the band.
The style is still very much synthpop but now more evidently art pop. It's no longer chorus-based pop compositions for the teenage-filled dance floors, and the band has in a way alienated itself from what was formerly seen as Duran Duran-associated music. Where the debut was more of a whole, this is still rather distinct in style, but it also points in new (yet obscure) directions.
The title track was undoubtedly the band's biggest radio hit, and both single and album generally fared well making it to top-10 entries in many countries except for in the UK where the single topped at #13 (the highest ranked single ever by Talk Talk on national scale), whereas the album topped at #35, but it made it to #2 in Switzerland, #3 in The Netherlands, and #4 in Germany. The title track was brought back to fame in 2003 when the American band No Doubt covered the song to promote its compilation album The Singles 1992-2003. The Talk Talk version of the song is not 'just' pop as it's a rather great and complex composition. Several other tracks drag the tempo and in that link the style more to that of Japan / David Sylvian (listen to "Tomorrow Started" and "Does Caroline Know?") and to the band's future trademark of what was much later labelled post rock and what slowly lifted both the band's and especially Mark Hollis' status. Tracks like #5, #6 and #8 already contain parts of that style. Bassist Paul Webb has a playing style that resembles that of Mick Karn (Japan) quite a bit - but then again: what bassist from (almost) any synthpop band of the early 1980s didn't copy his style? Compared to the debut, this is different and perhaps more original on its own premises and without falling into a specific stylistic category.
I have this particular album in 3 versions: a later vinyl reissue [Dutch pressing, year unknown], the original cd mastering (as of 1988), and a '97 remastered cd version, with no significant audible differences, although, I think that the remastered version offers slightly broader dynamics.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

vinyl cover (reissue)

Nena "? [fragezeichen]" (1984)

? [fragezeichen]
release date: Jan. 27, 1984
format: cd (2010 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Reinhold Heil, Manfred Praeker
label: Columbia / Legacy / Sony Music - nationality: Germany

Track highlights: 1. "Rette mich" - 2. "? (Fragezeichen)" (live) - 3. "Das Land der Elefanten" - 5. "Küss mich wach" (live '84) - 6. "Lass mich dein Pirat sein" - 7. "Ich häng' an Dir" - 12. "Der Anfang vom Ende"

2nd studio album by the German new wave and pop / rock band Nena, actually only titled ? but commonly referred to as 'Fragezeichen' [German for 'questionmark']. Stylistically, the album just continues where the debut ended. It's the same pop-rounded new wave or Neue Deutsche Welle, and it's also the same producer-duo as on the debut.
The album doesn't include a hit single like "99 Luftballons" but it contains several fine compositions primarily written and composed by guitarist Carlo Karges and keyboardist Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog Petersen, making it a general improvement to the promising debut. A few tracks, like the title-track have lyrics (and / or music co-written) by Nena Kerner, and not seldom, these actually work as the better songs.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]