Cornershop "Handcream for a Generation" (2002)

Handcream for a Generation
release date: Apr. 1, 2002
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Tjinder Singh
label: Wiiija Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Staging the Plaguing of the Raised Platform" (live on Later) - 3. "Music Plus 1" - 4. "Lessons Learned from Rocky I to Rocky III" - 6. "Motion the 11" - 10. "Spectral Mornings"

4th studio album by Cornershop follows 4½ years after the acclaimed When I Was Born for the 7th Time (1997) is the band's final album on the Wiiija label. With this the band introduces a sound built more on indietronica, electronica with a bolder use of samling combined with the usual blend of indie rock and South Asian Music with a stronger dance appeal. Guitarist Noel Gallagher and bassist Guigsy [aka Paul Francis McGuigan] both of Oasis make guest appearances on two different tracks (#10 and #4 respectively).
For some time I found this poor or mediocre, and of little interest compared to the break-through album When I Was Born for the 7th Time, which preceded this, but it's more than just Okay, actually. With Cornershop one must realise that Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayres, the two founding members, always have sought to move on and to create new music - including new mixtures of sound. The change of style on this album comes out as a more big beat / house-inspired sound - I hear Chemical Brothers and or Underworld in tracks like "Music plus 1" and "Spectral Mornings" but also classic disco inspiration, which only adds to the band's soundscape. Cornershop already represents a huge blend of funk, soul, reggae, and rock - mostly garage-inspired rock. It's Western popular music on one side and Asian-inspired folk on the other with a fusion of Indian folk / Punjabi folk music.

Handcream for a Generation may require more than a few listens to sink in. At least it took me some time to fully understand that it's much better than my initial verdict told me. I really enjoy it and have come to think of it as one of the band's better albums.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Paul Young "Paul Young" (1997)

Paul Young
release date: May 1997
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Greg Penny, Paul Young
label: East West Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Ball and Chain" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "I Wish You Love" - 4. "Vanish"

7th studio album by Paul Young shows a rather different side to his musical interest. This is a quiet and overall more acoustic-sounding album. It's held in a pop / rock territory of folk rather than his usual pop soul. There's hardly any horns but mostly strings and acoustic guitars, and some slide guitars almost making it country folk at times. I think, the album was generally met by positive reviews without putting Young anywhere near the top of popular music like his earliest albums. There's no hit singles nor strong soulful ballads, and it's mostly melancholic mature songs about lost love. It's nice and fine and perhaps an album that will grow in strength over time. The album topped at position #39 on the UK albums chart list.
On the release list, it seems like Paul Young retired from the spotlight after this, but he continued to play live music, either with the band, Los Pacaminos, or just touring and giving concerts from his back catalogue. His following solo album, Rock Swings – On the Wild Side of Swing [a covers album] was not to be released until 2006 after which he didn't release any new studio albums for another ten years.

John Frusciante "Inside of Emptiness" (2004)

Inside of Emptiness
release date: Oct. 26, 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "What I Saw" - 2. "The World's Edge" - 4. "A Firm Kick" (4 / 5) - 6. "Emptiness" - 8. "666" - 9. "Interior Two"

6th solo album by John Frusciante is already his third album of the year. Like most of his albums, this one is quite unique in its style. The Will to Death (Jun. 2004) was raw and simple in its alternative singer / songwriter rock style but this differs by being almost hard rock or grunge rock with its heavy metal distorted guitar sound and an occasionally screaming Frusciante. It's quite fascinating how he is capable of making guitar-driven alt rock in a singer / songwriter category and still come up with that many different expressions, experimenting with stylistic changes but still holding an album together as a coherent thing, being both a unique product as well as keeping an eye for good songwriting, compositionally and lyrically.

Röyksopp "Melody A.M." (2001)

Melody A.M. [debut]
release date: Oct. 2001
format: 2 cd (LTD.)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
producer: Röyksopp
label: Wall of Sound - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: 1. "So Easy" - 2. "Eple" - 4. "In Space" - 5. "Poor Leno" - 8. "Remind Me"

Studio album debut by Norwegian duo Röyksopp consisting of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland is electronic downbeat with a certain ambient touch. It bears traces from a big mix of various influences where one will find reverberations from 1960s pop / rock and 1980s synthpop all fusioned with techno and dance pop of the 90s. Artists like Kraftwerk, Jean-Michel Jarre, Art of Noise, Aphex Twin, AIR, Fatboy Slim and Moby sound like obvious inspirational sources.
A few of the ten tracks have a more electropop-founded style, which have brought them wider recognition with various remixes, and this is not all bad. The album went straight to #1 on the national albums chart list, and the single "Eple" reached number #16 in the UK. What seems more vital to the band's popularity is the fact that many of the songs from the album have ended up in various commercial outings - e.g. computer and video games as well as television adds. The album is also enlisted in "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die."
It's an interesting albeit somewhat big scoped soundscape and a debut pointing in truly many directions. The track "Eple" was used as background or signature music in a vast number of tv productions of the early 2000s.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, NME, Blender, Q Magazine, The Guardian 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

XTC "Oranges & Lemons" (1989)

Oranges & Lemons
release date: Feb. 21, 1989
format: cd (2015 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,42]
producer: Paul Fox
label: Ape House - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Garden of Earthly Delights" - 2. "The Mayor of Simpleton" - 3. "King for a Day" - 5. "The Loving" - 9. "Merely a Man" - 10. "Cynical Days" - 11. "Across This Antheap" - 15. "Chalkhills and Children"

9th studio album by XTC with American producer Paul Fox is originally released as a double vinyl album issued on Virgin. With it, the band takes on another journey into neo-psychedelia pop / rock. Stylistically, it's not on the continued path laid out on the predecessor Skylarking but instead it presents a take on a more traditionally styled pop / rock universe pointing back to The Beatles and Beach Boys as evident sources and adding more to the styles of Mummer from 1983 with its more simplistic and harmony-founded pop / rock. On the other hand, Oranges & Lemons doesn't point to the new wave starting point of XTC but embrace some of the stylistic experiments heard on the two studio albums by the project-band The Dukes of Stratosphear, 25 O'Clock (1985) and Psonic Psunspot (1987), which were made as mere artistic and musical outlets of the three remaining members of XTC, Partridge, Moulding and Gregory.
The album is supposedly best known for containing the single "The Mayor of Simpleton" - a song I always found too simple and a bit tedious - a song that made it all the way to the top of the US Billboard's Modern Rock chart. The album itself also fared well reaching number #28 on the UK albums chart list and it generally received positive reviews praising its humour and detailed compositions. Compared to the predecessor, the album doesn't exactly reflect the same willingness to experiment, and instead XTC has made shorter and more mainstream compositions - perhaps with broader appeal. Oranges & Lemons is far from bad, but comparing with the band's extensive back catalogue, I think this is where they settle with a more uniform style and sound, and for fans of their readiness to explore new territories, it may seem like a less innovative album, but really, just give it a chance 'cause the music and lyrics are of highest quality as usual.
The album was re-released in 2015 as part of "The Surround Sound Series" in a highly expanded two-disc version consisting of a cd with a new mix of the original album (crafted by Steven Wilson], and a blue-ray disc consisting of extensive material.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Best of 2016:Tindersticks "The Waiting Room" (2016)

The Waiting Room
relase date: Jan. 22, 2016
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,14]
producer: Stuart A. Staples
label: Lucky Dog / City Slang - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Second Chance Man" - 3. "Were We Once Lovers?" (4 / 5) - 5. "Hey Lucinda" (feat. Lhasa de Sela) - 7. "How He Entered" (4,5 / 5) (live) - 8. "The Waiting Room" (4 / 5) - 10. "We Are Dreamers!" - 11. "Like Only Lovers Can" (4,5 / 5)

11th studio album by Tindersticks much to the usual produced by the band's frontman and main songwriter and composer Stuart Staples. In addition to lead singer Staples, the band here consists of Neil Fraser on guitars, David Boulter on piano, Dan McKinna on bass, and with Earl Harvin on drums and percussion - the same quintet that stood behind the two most recent albums, Across Six Leap Years (2013) and The Something Rain (2012), which both present the simple and yet complex combo of chamber pop mixed with a strong inspiration from jazz.

The Waiting Room is another very fine studio release from a band who have really understood how to reinvent themselves after a few years of searching for past greatness.

The song "Hey Lucinda" is said to be a song begun a decade earlier that has had many takes on final versions. During a visit to Montreal, Staples recorded a vocal version with Mexican-American singer Lhasa de Sela, who appears here on the final version [de Sela died in 2010].

My first impression of the album was good, but after another six months of constantly playing the album, tracks as well as the whole album only kept growing on me, and I have to admit that these Brits have done it again and simply made Album Of The Year. The Waiting Room is no less than one of the band's absolute best and can only be recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

2016 Favourite releases: 1. Tindersticks The Waiting Room - 2. Ukendt Kunstner Den anden side - 3. Bob Mould Patch the Sky

   

inlay photos by Richard Dumas

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~
"How He Entered"

"This is how he entered
How he came in
With an open heart and his eyes wide
A rubber in his pocket
Without socks, and a skip in his step
In an ill-fitting suit with something up his sleeve
A slither of a dream, a last gem
And the fear in his eyes of how dear it was held

This is how he entered
How he came in
Falling from the back of a transit van
Crumpled, desperate for relief from the humdrum
Each step a story, a song in the making
Each step cemented the living
The broken hearts left behind
They were just material to him
And how they would come to pursue him
How they would eventually come to drag him back in

This is how he entered
How he came in
With his hair cold he stood in the doorway
Like a lost dog holding his missing poster
Just to be sure - to be sure everyone knew just how lost he was
Telling his story he broke onions and sang songs
The street walkers carol
Soft tissue
The fear of emptiness
Planting holes to grow some money
These were his songs
And this was how he came in

This was how he entered
How he came in
With chips in his pocket
Just waiting for the chance to get into the game
With his head combed and the checks on his shirt just right
He sang of it but knew nothing of it
The house of cards by an open window
Pack of frazzles
An unsolvable puzzle
He knew nothing of what you needed from him
He knew nothing of giving
He only knew of his desires
He only knew of that woman

This is how he entered
This is how he came in

This is how he entered
How he came in"

~ ~ ~

Siouxsie and the Banshees "The Seven Year Itch - Live" (2003) (live)

The Seven Year Itch - Live (live)

release date: May 19, 2003

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]

producer: Siouxsie and the Banshees

label: Sanctuary Records / Wonderland - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. Jigsaw Feeling" - 3. "Metal Postcard" - 5. "Lullaby" - 6. "Lands End" - 9. "Night Shift" - 10. "Voodoo Dolly" - 13. "Monitor"

2nd live album by Siouxsie and the Banshees is a release, which comes eight years after the band's final studio album The Rapture (1995) and seven years following their final live performance - and hence the title.

Shortly following the '95 album, the band were released from its contract with Polydor, although, they still completed a planned live tour with yet another new guitarist. Jon Klein was replaced by Knox Chandler (of Psychedelic Furs) and the following year, the band officially disbanded. Sioux and Budgie continued briefly as a married couple and with their common duo The Creatures. In Apr. 2002, the two teamed up with bassist Steven Severin and Knox Chandler to organize a short live tour, which however, aside from a few concerts at home, also brought the band to the US and Japan. They named the tour "The Seven Year Itch Tour" - with reference to the fact that it had now been seven years since they last played together, and also inspired by Billy Wilder's famous film.

The selected tracks are neither the obvious hits nor the previously more critically acclaimed compositions, but instead rather a collection of lesser known tracks originating from singles' B-sides and fan favourites from the their many live performances over the years. All in all, it's stylistically kept in the band's mid-eighties tone with focus on bass, drums, guitar, and Sioux's vocal, and the tracks are also mainly from the early years, although both Tinderbox (1986) and Peepshow (1988) are represented.

The album garnered great reviews and instead of being followed by selected singles, the album was released in several formats - including VHS and DVD.

It's definitely worth a listen, but is mostly fan material - and here we don't hint at the kind of success the band experienced with commercial alt. dance songs at the end of their career, but fans from an early stage.

Immediately after the end of the 2002 Japan tour, Siouxsie and Budgie stayed in Tokyo and recorded some improvised tracks, which were later mixed in France for a series of new compositions intended for the fourth and final studio album Hái! (Oct. 2003) by The Creatures. Siouxsie and the Banshees didn't continue as a band - The Seven Year Itch - Live is a stand-alone tour and album, but subsequently several compilation albums have been issued by Polydor / Universal. In 2004, the label released the 4 CD box set Downside Up, in 2005 the album Gold, as a 2 CD release - an album which in fact is identical to The Best of Siouxsie & The Banshees from 2002, only presented with new cover and title. In 2006 the label issued Voices on the Air (The Peel Sessions), which collects five appearances on the BBC 1 in dedication to John Peel, who died in 2004 - by far the best compilation with the band so far. In 2009, the label then issued a 4-disc box set, Siouxsie and the Banshees at the BBC, and you'll find another three or four releases by Polydor / Universal.

The Seven Year Itch - Live is a really fine supplement to the band's best live album Nocturne (1988).

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Uncut 4 / 5 stars ]

The National "Boxer" (2007)

Boxer
release date: May 22, 2007
format: cd (BBQCD 252)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Peter Katis, The National
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Fake Empire" (4 / 5) - 2. "Mistaken for Strangers" - 3. "Brainy" - 6. "Slow Show" - 7. "Apartment Story" - 9. "Guest Room" - 11. "Ada"

4th full-length studio album by The National continues where Alligator (2005) ended, and thankfully so. Some critics suggest that the band has turned out as a mere copy of Tindersticks, but the style is not the similar quiet art pop chamber pop of Tindersticks. Also, The National has a fine wild energy that may be restricted but also released from time to time, or in small doses, and they have an underlying tone of post-punk revival hanging on to their own blend of styles, which cannot be said about the British band.
This is like a puzzle falling into place, and everything is almost right here. Perhaps the album lacks more great songs like "Fake Empire", but the quality of the compositions is really fine, the production sound is top notch, and the balance between sweet and sour - a play with loud and quiet... it all fits so well in their alt. rock and chamber pop combo of American melancholy.
So far, this is my favourite album by the band.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Mojo, Spin 4 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5, Slant 5 / 5 stars ]

Pearl Jam "Binaural" (2000)

Binaural
release date:  May 16, 2000
format: cd
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,48]
producer: Tchad Blake, Pearl Jam
label: Epic Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 7. "Insignificance" (3 / 5) - 9. "Grievance" (2,5 / 5) - 12. "Soon Forget" (3 / 5)

6th studio album by Pearl Jam and the first album since the debut not to be produced with Brendan O'Brien. A natural consequence of this is a change of style, and the album is the band's so far most experimental studio release. Especially three songs entirely written and composed by the band's rhythm guitarist, Stone Gossard, and the second track by bassist Jeff Ament are just... something else. The rest are at best mediocre Pearl Jam sound-a-likes. Eddie Vedder is as usual the one who provides almost all lyrics and the majority of the compositions, but even his contributions here are lesser works. One of his songs, "Soon Forget" anticipates his fine solo album Ukulele Songs from 2011.

To me, this is the band's least favourable and simply not recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine, The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]

The Beautiful South "Superbi" (2006)

Superbi
release date: May 15, 2006
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Ian Stanley
label: Sony BMG - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Manchester" - 3. "There Is Song" - 4. "The Cat Loves the Mouse" - 7. "Meanwhile" - 9. "Bed of Nails" - 10. "Never Lost a Chicken to a Fox"

10th and final studio album by The Beautiful South and its second for Sony BMG. It introduces a new producer [Ian Stanley, former keyboardist of Tears for Fears] after having working with Jon Kelly from the band's third to its most recent album Golddiggas Headnodders & Pholk Songs from 2004, or over a period of 12 years. In that sense Superbi introduces a new start of The Beautiful South, and although, Paul Heaton and David Rotheray still have composed all its songs, the band does sound refreshingly new. Or: they have made some 'progression' and once again focused in the making of new material. 'Progression' because it shares much with former fine albums. What was slowly introduced over several albums from Blue Is the Colour back in '96 and through the next three albums was a certain country-inspired British folk sound, which comes out more original and full-fledged on this. Maybe it doesn't contain truly great songs but the bottom level has surely raised. Whether it's thanks to Ian Stanley, a new record deal, or Paul Heaton, who has finally given in on his gloomy tristesse is uncertain, but it's nice to hear The Beautiful South - again.
Without being great, it's a nice listen - much on par with Quench (1998) without reaching the heights of the band's first three.
The album was the last by The Beautiful South, and in Jan. 2007 the band officially announced its split due to *'musical similarities' - an ironic reference to 'musical differences' which are often cited as the reason for a band's split.
*[from wikipedia, source].
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Steve Kilbey "Remindlessness" (1990)

Remindlessness
release date: Jul. 15, 1990
format: digital (2002 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Steve Kilbey
label: Karmic Hit - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 2. "Vanishing Act" - 3. "Life's Little Luxuries" - 5. "The Amphibian" - 6. "Random Pan" - 7. "Pain in My Temples" - 9. "Goliath" - 14. "Music From Commercial for 'Eternity Inc.' " / "No Such Thing" - 16. "Remindlessness"

4th solo album from The Church frontman Steve Kilbey, originally released as a double vinyl lp on Red Eye Records - in 2002 released on the small label Karmic Hit (founded in '92 by Steve and his younger brother John Kilbey). The album is an 18-track release with a total running length of just over 78 minutes. Most of the songs are written and composed by Steve alone, and the material leans closely to the latest studio albums from The Church - a bit of a contrast to other of his more experimental solo releases. The reason for a closer bond with the material from The Church could be the band's dissatisfaction with the studio recordings for their latest album, Gold Afternoon Fix (Feb '90), where the record company interfered in the artistic decisions surrounding the creation of the album - and perhaps Remindlessness therefore could indicate a style of music, which Kilbey & Co. actually were looking for had they been offered more freedom in the studio.

I don't think that the album here is significantly better than the band's 1990 album, but Kilbey's solo releases are undoubtedly less mainstream and the album here represents a stronger independent expression with loans from The Church and its many sources of inspiration. It doesn't contain any obvious hits nor any sing-a-long material, and it's clear that Kilbey at this point has some years behind him since the early jangle pop days with the first albums with The Church.

Musically, the new compositions are somewhat more complex and the lyrical side is the continued focus on universal human subjects and thoughts about existentialism. And to finish the comparison with the latest release from the band The Church, Kilbey's solo album wins in the long run because you never stop discovering new details with each new listen of these rather complex and diverse tracks.

After this, Kilbey contacted musician Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens and together they founded the joint project, Jack Frost.

Kings of Leon "Only by the Night" (2008)

Only by the Night
release date: Sep. 22, 2008
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Angelo Petraglia & Jacquire King
label RCA Records / Sony BMG - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Closer" (4 / 5) - 3. "Sex on Fire" - 4. "Use Somebody" (4 / 5) - 5. "Manhattan" (5 / 5) - 6. "Revelry" (4 / 5) - 7. "17" - 8. "Notion" - 9. "I Want You"

Fourth studio album release by Kings of Leon. In the producer seat Jacquire King has replaced Ethan Johns co-producing with Angelo Petraglia. Again, the band has elaborated on its style and moulded an improvement on their previous studio release. I think, this was the album that made them huge in Europe. The song "Sex on Fire" was an immediate hit on the national radio stations, and you could hardly go anywhere without hearing that track.
It's truly a fine album but I kind of tired of its hit status. I also enjoyed "Revelry" from this album, and they were the two songs that made me buy the album.
Nowadays, I think "Manhattan" is the most remarkable and brilliant track of the whole album. It starts out slow and soft and builds up with Caleb's strong and convincing vocal accompanied by Matthews distorted surf guitar. It's like musical fireworks, and before you know it, the song fades, too soon.
All in all, I find the album another improvement from a band that seems to have a great future ahead of them thinking of how they've been able to continuously make better and better albums.
[ 🙉allmusic.com, 🙈Rolling Stone 3 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine, 👍Spin 4 /5 stars ]

US cover

Sigur Rós "Valtari" (2012)

Valtari
release date: May 28, 2012
format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Sigur Rós, Alex Somers
label: self-released - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Ég anda" - 2. "Ekki múkk" - 3. "Varúð" - 5. "Dauðalogn" - 6. "Varðeldur"

6th studio album by Sigur Rós following four years after their fine Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust is originally released on EMI / Parlophone and produced by Sigur Rós assisted by Alex Somers. Since then the band went on a hiatus during which lead vocalist Jónsi (aka Jón Þór Birgisson) and (his partner) Alex Somers released their collaboration album Riceboy Sleeps in 2009, and the following year, Jónsi released his solo debut Go. Sigur Rós later issued the 2-disc live album Inni (Nov. 2011, from two concerts recorded in 2008). Valtari consists of eight compositions with a total playing time just below 55 minutes in the standard issues - the WEB-version offered through bandcamp.com comes with two bonus tracks and has a total running around 68 minutes.

With this, the band has in a way returned to an initial state of playing ambient music. It's not as direct and uptempo-shaped nor as open as their great 2008 album but appears as more closed and introspective, It's laid-back and almost exclusively ambient with light harmony vocals as a complete U-turn to their so far most uptempo album to date. In a way, it bonds with the debut but more specifically to the third album, aka "the brackets album" ( ) (2002) but on top of that it also feels very much like a soundtrack - with a soundscape so minimalist, as if without a distinct mission except from creating atmosphere and calmness; and perhaps with an attempt to inspire to be your new favourite music for mindfulness, meditation or for your daily yoga exercises. Actually, this is what it is: ambient touching on new age with drops of progressive pop. And although new age has never been a genre I normally fancy all too much, the thing about this band is, they still make such an original artistic effort that you're still blown away regardless your stylistic preferences.

The album is their so far highest ranked in the US, peaking at number #7 on the Billboard 200, and in the UK it reached #8, which is only surpassed by the band's 2008 album (reaching #5). Furthermore, Valtari is the only album by Sigur Rós to top the album chart list in another country - all their studio albums have peaked the charts in Iceland, but with this they also topped the album sales list in Ireland.

Anyhow, the album is not among my absolute favourites from this amazing Icelandic band but I admit, it has grown on me over the years. So if you, like me, rejected this as a minor piece of work, or as a not successful new direction, you may wanna give it another chance - and then perhaps yet another one 'cause for this band it's obviously not a matter of pleasing current requests regarding choice of styles. And thankfully so.

Recommended listen.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, 👍PopMatters, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👎Pitchfork 3 / 5 stars ]

Roxy Music "The Atlantic Years 1973 - 1980" (1983)

The Atlantic Years 1973 - 1980 (compilation)
release date: Nov. 1983
format: vinyl (815 849-1) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: EG / Polydor - nationality:

Compilation album by Roxy Music released after Bryan Ferry had dissolved the band earlier that year. The album contains ten tracks with a total running time of 41 minutes. The selected tracks may intend to reflect the entire history of the band, but it's quite obviously made with an attempt to showcase Roxy Music in the light of its most recent albums, thus putting emphasis on the sophisti-pop branch of the band's later stylistic sound. Four tracks (#1, #2, "6, #9) are from Manifesto (1979), four (#3, #5, #7, #8) from Flesh + Blood (1980), and one track (tracks #4 and #10) is originally found on Siren (1975) and For Your Pleasure (1973) respectively.

The Streets "A Grand Don't Come for Free" (2004)

A Grand Don't Come for Free
release date: May 10, 2004
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,22]
producer: Mike Skinner
label: 679 Recordings / Warner - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "It Was Supposed to Be so Easy" (4 / 5) - 2. "Could Well Be In" - 4. "Blinded by the Lights" (4 / 5) - 6. "Get Out of My House" (4 / 5) - 7. "Fit but You Know It" (4 / 5) - 9. "What Is He Thinking?" (5 / 5) - 10. "Dry Your Eyes" - 11. "Empty Cans"

2nd studio album by Mike Skinner's project The Streets, and it's a strong follow-up. Many consider this album the best ever by The Streets but I disagree on that. It's almost UK garage UK hip-hop in the same style as the debut, only, I think a few tracks are more contemporary r&b or pop / rock. "Blinded by the Lights" became a major video and single hit, and so was "Dry Your Eyes". Personally, I embraced "It Was Supposed to Be so Easy" as a more fascinating track, and "Fit but You Know It" is my favourite from this album.
This time, both critics and fans were prepared and the album peaked at number #1 on the UK chart list. A Grand Don't Come for Free is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" and is often mentioned as Skinner's peak. The debut remains my favourite, perhaps because it's his first? Dunno; however, this is very close to match Original Pirate Material.
[ allmusic.com, Slant 4,5 / 5, Uncut, Q Magazine 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

2004 Favourite releases: 1. Arcade Fire Funeral - 2. The Streets A Grand Don't Come for Free - 3. Grant-Lee Phillips Virginia Creeper

Morrissey "Swords" (2009)

Swords (compilation)
release date: Oct. 26, 2009
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Tony Visconti, Gustavo Santaolalla, Jerry Finn
label: Polydor - nationality: England, UK

Compilation album by Morrissey featuring B-sides to single releases from his last 3 albums: You Are the Quarry (2004), Ringleader of the Tormentors (2006), and Years of Refusal (2009). The album is actually pretty decent and Morrissey just really (again) documents his songwriting capabilities. The regular album consists of 18 tracks, whereas a Deluxe Edition contains an 8 tracks live bonus disc from a concert in Warsaw.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, Drowned in Music 3,5 / 5, MusicOMH 4 / 5 stars ]

Nina Simone "Wild Is the Wind" (1966)

Wild Is the Wind
release date: Sep. 1966
format: cd (2006 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Hal Mooney
label: Verve Record - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "I Love Your Lovin' Ways" - 2. "Four Women" (5 / 5) - 3. "Lilac Wine" - 4. "Break Down and Let It All Out" - 5. "Why Keep on Breaking My Heart" - 6. "Wild Is the Wind" - 7. "Black Is the Colour of My True Love's Hair" (live) - 8. "If I Should Lose You" - 9. "Either Way I Lose"

One of vocal jazz biggest female voices with a great example of her ability to mix soul with jazz and standards. Nina Simone is a wonderful vocalist and this album is one of her finest. Lisening to this, I cannot help thinking of modern contemporary artists like Amy Winehouse, Anohni (vocalist of Anohni and the Johnsons), Jimmy Somerville, and Roland Gift to mention just a few who may have listened to and thought of Miss Simone when shaping their own individual sound. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Elvis Costello "Kojak Variety" (1995)

Kojak Variety
release date: May 9, 1995
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Elvis Costello and Kevin Killen
label: Warner Bros. Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Hidden Charms" ["Screamin' Jay" Hawkins] - 5. "Leave My Kitten Alone" [Little Willie John] - 6. "Everybody's Crying Mercy" [Mose Allison] - 9. "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face?" [Bill Anderson] - 11. "The Very Thought of You" [Ray Noble] - 15. "Days" [Ray Davies]

15th studio album by Elvis Costello following one year after Brutal Youth is an album consisting exclusively of cover versions of songs from traditional rhythm & blues, soul, beat and rock & roll - all songs from his youth. The album contains 15 tracks recorded in the period 1989-94 and they include songs (1-15) made famous by 'Screamin' Jay' Hawkins, Willie Dixon, The Supremes, Bob Dylan, Little Willie John, Mose Allison, Randy Newman, Little Richard, Louvin Brothers, James Carr, Nat 'King' Cole, Jesse Winchester, The Drifters, Aretha Franklin, and The Kinks. Costello's cover of "Days" by Ray Davies was recorded for the film "Until the end of the World" (1991) by Wim Wenders.

[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 2 / 5, Rolling Stone 2,5 / 5, Blender, Mojo, Uncut 3 / 5 stars ]

Nena "Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann" (2005)

Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann (compilation)

release date: 2005

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: various

label: Sony BMG - nationality: Germany

Compilation album by German neue-welle band Nena released somewhat simultaneously with the release of Nena, the solo artist's eight studio album Willst Du mitt mir gehn (Mar. 2005). The background to this is probably given the fact that Nena signed with Warner in 2002, when she released the album Nena Feat. Nena, an album of old songs in new versions but previously issued by Polydor (now owned by Sony BMG) and also the compilation Irgendwie, Irgendwo, Irgendwann mostly concentrating on Nena the soloist's career but also containing tracks by Nena the band. I guess, Sony BMG were provoked to show they owned the rights to release the band's original songs, so they simply used the title used by Warner, which they could rightfully claim is taken from one the band's biggest hits - originates from Feuer und Flamme (Jun. 1985).

Anyway, this is a decent compilation, which also proves that the band was much more than the 'Ballons' song.

The Cranberries "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" (2001)

US cover

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
release date: Oct. 21, 2001
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Stephen Street
label: MCA Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Never Grow Old" - 2. "Analyse" (4 / 5) - 3. "Time Is Ticking Out" - 5. "This Is the Day" - 6. "The Concept" - 7. "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" - 9. "I Really Hope" - *14 "Cape Town"
*Bonus track on US issue

5th studio album by The Cranberries is the band's first and only issued on MCA Records, and it's a welcomed return to initial producer Stephen Street. With Benedict Fenner the band had produced the predecessor Bury the Hatchet from 1999, which marked a bit of a return to their original sound and with this new one, they have in a way continued that tour towards their former best moments that are found on the band's first two albums.
Street is the secure and also the right choice for this band. As he was an important part in the stylistic changes with The Smiths, he seems like the gathering figure, who knows the band's strengths - and perhaps even better than the band members themselves. There's a fine balance of energetic rock, spacious keyboard- / synths-founded dream pop and the more guitar-based jangle pop, all of which has to make room for O'Riordans introspective ballads. I think, Fenner also handled that part well on the '99 album, but on To the Faithful Departed from '96, Bruce Fairbairn proved the difficult project as he didn't suffice to adjust the chemistry to ensure a successful balance.
Dolores O'Riordan has taken an even stronger role as primary songwriter on this new studio release. On the band's previous albums most songs were written and composed in a collaboration work with guitarist Noel Hogan - she would then write 3-4 songs entirely on her own and the remaining songs would have lyrics by O'Riordan and music by Hogan. Here, it's basically the reversed way: 5 songs together with Hogan and 8 songs on her own, i.e. on the standard 13 tracks album. Musically, it doesn't shine through at all, but in retrospect it may perhaps indicate what would happen in the near future, as the band would embark on its longest hiatus with O'Riordan, Hogan and Lawler will all dedicate precious time on other projects, which includes two full solo albums by O'Riordan.
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee may be the most overlooked album by The Cranberries, and personally, I think of it as somewhere between the '96 and the '99 album - it's nor their best, nor their worst and is worth more than just a glance.
The front cover is made by Storm Thorgerson and Peter Curzon at Hipgnosis, who also made the cover for Bury the Hatchet.
[ allmusic.com, Slant, Q Magazine 3 / 5, Blender 4 / 5 stars ]

original cover

Laura Marling "Once I Was an Eagle" (2013)

Once I Was an Eagle

release date: May 27, 2013

format: digital (16 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]

producer: Ethan Johns

label: V2 - nationality: England, UK

4th studio album by Laura Marling following 1½ years after A Creature I Don't Know (Sep. 2011) is her third consecutive album with Ethan Johns as producer. The album appears as the continued deal from the predecessor by presenting an even more quiet and less orchestrated collection of songs, and it's also an album where the list of performing musicians is the so far most restricted as it only count Marling on vocals and guitar together with bassist Rex Horan, cellist Ruth de Tuberville, and Ethan Johns on drums. It's a 16 tracks record with a total running time exceeding 63 minutes, which means it was released on vinyl as a double lp.

Stylewise, it's dominated by accompanying strings, guitar, bass, and cello focusing on acoustic instrumentation. Together with the light arrangements it comes out as naked and with strong bonds to traditional folk. This kind of choice relies much on melody, lyrics, and vocal performance, and this is where Marling lives up to her potential and comes through with her best work to date. The album does rely on the listeners patience but given that, along with time and attention, it may unfold as a much rewarding experience. Despite her young age (23), imho, this is Marling's most mature collection of songs that some will probably find strongly introspective when comparing to songs on her previous albums. The apparent bonus is that Marling has matured as a songwriter, as a narrator, and as a musician, which makes this her so far best. In retrospect, I don't find this her absolute best, as I can't help thinking of Joni Mitchell as a strong influence, but of her first four albums, this is definitely her most coherent release and one to give more than one chance.

Recomended.

[ 👉allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👍The Guardian, Spin 4 / 5, 👉Pitchfork 8,1 / 10, NME 4,5 / 5 stars ]

a-ha "Stay on These Roads" (1988)

Stay on These Roads
release date: May 3, 1988
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Alan Tarney
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: Norway

Track highlights: 1. "Stay on These Roads" - 2. "The Blood That Moves the Body" - 6. "The Living Daylights"

3rd studio album release by a-ha released nearly two years after Scoundrel Days is exclusively produced by Alan Tarney.
Stylistically, the trio sticks to the soft side of pop / rock, and with this the production side has improved considerably.
The result is imho an album that's better than I thought back then. Here you'll find some fine songwriting and well-played instrumentation. a-ha always represented nicely composed music and they are instrumentally skilled musicians. The music is not really my style and taste but this is not bad, I just can't listen to it for that long but both the title track for the 007-film, "The Living Daylights" and the first track are truly fine songs. Without rising high in my ratings, I think, this album is easily their so far best.

Neil Young "Living With War" (2006)

Living With War
release date: May 2, 2006
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Neil Young, Niko Bolas and L.A. Johnson
label: Reprise Records - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "After the Garden" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Living With War" (3 / 5) - 4. "Shock and Awe" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Families" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Flags of Freedom" (3 / 5)

28th studio album by Neil Young. It's like Greendale considered conceptual. It's seen as Young's comment and criticism of the US administration's military engagements around the world. It's something as rare these days as a genuine protest rock album. The idea is good, his intentions the best, but the music is... weak. I think, he intentionally has made it sound raw and has taped the tracks as live recordings, but it really lacks great tunes. However, the album was nominated 3 Grammy awards in 2007. In my mind, it contains a couple of fine songs and a bunch of odd ones.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" (1985)

Brothers in Arms
release date: May 1, 1985
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Mark Knopfler, Neil Dorfsman
label: Vertigo Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "So Far Away" - 2. "Money for Nothing" - 3. "Walk of Life" - 9. "Brothers in Arms" (4,5 / 5)

5th studio album by Dire Straits follows nearly three years after Love Over Gold (Sep. 1982) is another fine album, although, I had tired of the band, their sound, and the predictable style of Mark Knopfler. The huge single hit of the album "Money for Nothing" featuring Sting was never my cup of tea. The video, however, was rather neat. The title track is a great tour de force of Knopfler's but it doesn't save the album. This was my last vinyl acquisition of any album by the band. The album is the second by Dire Straits to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]