Mazzy Star "So Tonight That I Might See" (1993)

So Tonight That I Might See
release date: Oct. 5, 1993
format: cd / vinyl (2022 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]
producer: David Roback
label: Capitol Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Fade Into You" (4,5 / 5) (live on Later) - 2. "Bells Ring" (4 / 5) - 3. "Mary of Silence" - 7. "Unreflected" - 9. "Into Dust" - 10. "So Tonight That I Might See"

2nd studio album by Mazzy Star following nearly 3½ years after the debut She Hangs Brightly (1990). Since then, the band signed with Capitol after the Rough Trade division closed in the US, and it appears that although both Keith Mitchell and Will Cooper of Opal participate on the album, they are merely additional personnel, and Mazzy Star has become what it basically always was: the duo-project of composer, guitarist and pianist David Roback and songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Hope Sandoval.

At first, the album sounds much alike the predecessor, in tone and especially sound, as the style has become even darker and mesmerising with drone-like guitar-sequences with Sandoval's haunting vocal on top.

"Fade into You" became the band's first and only top-100 single in the US peaking at #44; however, the band may never have aimed at making hit songs and becoming mainstream artists, but the album is often found listed among the best Dream Pop albums ever made [Pitchfork's 30 best dream pop albums].

The album comes out as the aural version of a highly original dream landscape - both hauntingly beautiful and disturbing at the same time. Roback and Sandoval appear more laid back on this, although, some tracks are 'noise rock' influenced and the title track sounds unimaginable without thinking of "The End" by The Doors and (perhaps also) "Heroin" by Velvet Underground, but overall I find it bettering their debut. This is simply their best studio album.

Now, did anyone say Lana Del Rey? Well, I betcha she heard this one!

Highly recommendable.

[ allmusic.com, Uncut 4,5 / 5, NME, Sputnikmusic 4 / 5, Soundlab 5 / 5 stars ]

"The Compact 2 Tone Story" (1993)

The Compact 2 Tone Story (compilation)
release date: 1993
format: digital (4-disc box set)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: various
label: Chrysalis / 2 Tone Records - nationality: England, UK

4-Disc Box Set compiling all A and B-side singles released on legendary 2 Tone Records. The album is basically an expanded reissue of the '89 album The 2 Tone Story, which was a double vinyl album containing 26 tracks released by Chrysalis / Two-Tone.
The album contains 68 tracks of which 32 are credited The Special A.K.A. / The Specials - which more or less is the same band. The name The Specials was used on the band's first two full-length studio albums, but the moniker 'The Special A.K.A.' had been used in the formative years and for the early single releases of "Gangsters" and "Too Much Too Young" (both 1979), which were included on the first album by The Specials ('Gangsters' only on non-UK versions), and the name was then re-used again after the major split of the band in '81, when the three vocalists Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding formed Fun Boy Three leaving the remainders to continue as The Special A.K.A. and releasing one studio album in '84.
The remaining 36 tracks are with various important and lesser known artists associated with the 2 Tone label. Major artists like Madness and The Beat only released one single each on 2 Tone before signing with Stiff and Go Feet respectively, which is why there's only two songs with each of the two. Also, one single by Elvis Costello & The Attractions, "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" / "Girls Talk" was released and subsequently withdrawn due to legal rights issues, as Costello was on contract with F-Beat; however, the songs are included here, despite, not really being 'ska revival' songs like nearly all other compositions on the album. The Selecter is another important band of the period, and they contribute with 7 tracks, and then there's a long list of various artists like The Bodysnatchers, The Swinging Cats, Rico Rodriguez, The Appolinaires, The Higsons, The Friday Club, and JB's Allstars, all of which contributed with just one or two single releases on 2 Tone before dissolving or morphing into other bands.
The album is a difficult listen - partly because of inconsistency of quality material, but also because of a wide span of stylistic expression. That said, the release is of high importance as a music historical document of an important time and musical expression.

Frank Black "Frank Black" (1993)

Frank Black [debut]
release date: Mar. 8, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Eric Drew Feldman, Frank Black
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Los Angeles" - 2. "I Heard Ramona Sing" - 3. "Hang on to Your Ego" - 8. "Ten Percenter" - 13. "Adda Lee" - 15. "Don't Ya Rile 'Em"

Studio album solo debut by Frank Black, aka Black Francis, which used to be his moniker while band leader of Pixies, aka Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV [actual birth name!] released only a few months after Black had announced the break-up of Pixies, which apparently had come as a surprise to the other members of the band. Musically, it follows close in the tradition of Pixies' material and also as a follow-up to its last album Trompe le monde (1991). Joey Santiago of Pixies feature on additional guitar, and Black's two foremost musical associates here are co-producer Eric Drew Feldman (former Pere Ubu and Captain Beefheart) on bass and keyboards and with Nick Vincent on drums and percussion.
I recall listening to the album by chance in the early 90s finding it superficial and of no particular interest. I think, I had been taken so much by surprise by the split of a great band and also found the band's last album of less interest - at the time - that I simply rejected this, thinking the band had been great with Doolittle and not really again after that. A few years later I changed by view on Pixies last album but never found this one in close relation to that. It's obvious that it's rather close to the soul of the band, but I don't find this one particular successful, and have come to regard it as Black's urge to show the others how he was somewhere else - already releasing his own material as if to say: "Pixies is all over with - just look where I'm heading!" - or something.
It does for sure seem unfinished - like an album in the making, and I have always regarded it as something just above the mediocre... for some reason.'Cause when I compare it to the last two albums by Pixies it's really not far from those - not considerably poorer. I think, it's major problem is that it almost only summarizes what Pixies stood for. Too many compositions stand so close to what has already been issued by his former band - here new songs have their own specific arrangements. That's true, but they still sound like remakes, and that's the problem about this album. Black doesn't do something else than going through the motions - just for himself this time. Perhaps it's actual problem is that it's his break-up album where he just wants something to shove in the face of his former associates saying "We used to do this together, now I do it on my own (and we all know it's the same shite)".
I'm not overly pleased about it, though I can't really say it's near bad. I just don't play it often and can only say that I do not agree with Heather Phares at allmusic.com.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Julian Cope "The Skellington Chronicles" (1993)

The Skellington Chronicles

release date: Jun. 1993

format: digital

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,26]

producer: Julian Cope

label: Ma-Gog - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: [see Skellington 1] [from Skellington 2] 13. "Electrical Stormgirl" - 16. "I've Got My T.V. & My Pills" - 25. "London Underground"

9th studio album by Julian Cope chronologically following Jehovakill (Oct. '92) with certain reservations, as the album here contains the entire original lo-fi album Skellington from '89 in its original version and in addition to that, the continuation Skellington 2 or: Skellington 2: He's Back... and This Time It's Personal! All 25 tracks are contained on a single CD with a total playing time of just over 71 minutes. As the first part, Skellington 2 was also recorded over just two days and here released on Cope's own company Ma-Gog. However, the most recent release with Cope is the album Rite (Feb. '93), credited Cope & Donald Ross Skinner.

Musically, it's 'just' more of the same - mainly Cope alone accompanied by acoustic guitar and with contributions from Donald Ross Skinner and Mark 'Rooster' Cosby in a mix of folk rock and psychedelic folk with tracks of varying length - however, half of the songs are just under two minutes.

The album was re-released in '99 on Cope's label, the former Ma-Gog Records, now Head Heritage, under the name Ye Skellington Chronicles [except one track of more than 8 minutes with a slightly different style containing more distinct krautrock and space rock, and instead added a newer live track and an uncredited version of "Trampolene"]. In 2018, Skellington 3 followed ('only' with twelve new tracks) with the subtitle "The All-New 21st Century Adventures of Skellington" as the provisional end of the Skellington series.

The album serves as an example of Cope's idea of creating music in the moment as flowing ideas and musical improvs - which you will also find on Rite - but it is rather far from contemporary albums like Jehovakill (1992) and Autogeddon (1994). The second part of the "Skellington" series is, albeit recorded in the same spirit, an even more experimental continuation, which probably appeals more to hardcore fans.

This album can't be recommended as a start, but it contains quite fine moments.

Skellington 2: He's Back...

Julian Cope & Donald Ross Skinner "Rite" (1993)

Rite

release date: Feb. 1993

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]

producer: Donald Ross Skinner

label: Ma-Gog Records - nationality: England, UK

1st album by Julian Cope in an official collaboration with musical friend Donald Ross Skinner, who has featured on Cope's solo releases since Fried (1984). The album is the first on Cope's own label Ma-Gog, which later became Head Heritage.

Musically, there is not much that ties this to previous albums from Julian Cope. The only common feature is Cope's experimentation with styles, and he has previously found inspiration from krautrock and elements from electronic styles, but the album here consists only of long instrumental ambient compositions with the shortest track running 9 minutes whereas the longest clocks in just below 25 minutes. With a release on their own label, Cope and Skinner have ultimate freedom to do whatever they feel like, regardless of fans and others. And well, here they have thrown themselves into something completely different, like a playground of theirs.

The result may not quite live up to expectations for an album by Julian Cope, who has guaranteed quality music of original content since the early 80s. Most of all, Rite sounds like a soundtrack to a non-existent film, or like a mix of music from funk of the 70s and electronic forays of the early nineties, but apparently, also without great renewal. Still, don't expect to find tracks here that resemble anything Cope has released before. Some of the music may be found on the BBC documentary "The Modern Antiquarian (A Megalithic Road Trip)" from 2000 [better version here] based on Julian Cope's book of the same name. The documentary demonstrates Cope's interest in Neolithic finds and is an extensive field trip with Cope as tour guide to various interesting prehistoric finds in Southern England, Scotland, and Orkney. With images of the magnificent nature and ancient stones, the music comes into its own right - which again shows us that this music is suitable as an accompaniment to a visual side that the album itself lacks.

If nothing else, Rite shows some of Cope's sources of inspiration with ties to a more experimental side, which at the same time points in the direction of the perhaps more exciting collaboration with Thighpaulsandra (aka Tim Lewis, who later should become an essential part of the space rock band Spiritualized), and together they form the duo Queen Elizabeth, who released the homonymous debut album in '94.

Not recommended.

The Divine Comedy "Liberation" (1993)

Liberation
release date: Aug. 16, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]
producer: Neil Hannon, Darren Allison
label: Setanta Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Festive Road" - 3. "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" - 5. "Your Daddy's Car" - 8. "The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count" - 10. "Victoria Falls"

2nd studio album by The Divine Comedy. Although, the band had not officially disbanded, it was by the end of '91 already reduced to a one-man band, led by Neil Hannon, who apparently consider this the debut album neglecting the first release with a very different output. In fact, the music on this is much closer to his most recent album release than to that of its immediate predecessor from 1990. The style is chamber pop (inspired by Scott Walker of the late 1960's and early '70s) with focus on Hannon's narrating portraits of characters inspired by various famous novelists, or his ironic or sarcastic comments on everyday-life in Britain. All songs (except one) are written and composed by Hannon.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Robert Forster "Calling From a Country Phone" (1993)

Calling From a Country Phone

release date: Oct. 24, 1993

format: cd

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]

producer: Robert Forster

label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 2. "121" - 3. "The Circle" - 6. "Cats Life" - 8. "Drop"

2nd studio album by Robert Forster following nearly three full years after his acclaimed debut Danger in the Past (Nov. 1990). In this period, he began a new life in Germany with German musician Karin Bäumler, and he produced the second album for Bäumler's band Baby You Know. This is the first album with Forster as sole producer after having co-produced albums with his former band, The Go-Betweens. All compositions are credited Forster, who is joined by a handful of new backing band musicians, most of which play in the Brisbane country-rock band COW [abbr. for "Country or Western"] including drummer Glenn Thompson, who should later play with Forster as solo artist and on releases with the reformed The Go-Betweens. The country-style comes through on many of the songs here, despite the fact that Forster had already written the songs before joining with his new crew. It may still be indie pop and singer / songwriter but there's the typical slide and picking of guitar-sound on most tracks, which adds a country / western-feel to the album, and hence the title.

Calling From a Country Phone gained positive reviews but I don't really concede to that. I enjoy his solo debut, which seems quite original, and here you still notice his songwriting skills, whereas the music score doesn't distinguish Forster from many of his idols of the 1960s and early '70s because of the bold use of country-styled arrangements, but I guess that's only a matter of preferences, and then I'm not a country-kind-of-a-person.

Björk "Big Time Sensuality" (1993) (single)

Big Time Sensuality, cd single
release date: Nov. 22, 1993
format: cd
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Nellee Hooper
label: Mother Records - nationality: Iceland

Tracklist: 1. "Big Time Sensuality" - 2. "Sídasta ég" - 3. "Glóra" - 4. "Come to Me - Black Dog Productions"

Single release taken from the album Debut and originally released by One Little Indian.

Tom Waits "The Black Rider" (1993)

The Black Rider
release date: Sep. 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,33]
producer: Tom Waits
label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Poster from the play

12th studio album by Tom Waits following one year after Bone Machine is also his final release of new material to be issued on Island Records. Shortly after his departure from Island, the label released the compilation Beautiful Maladies (The Island Years) (1998).

The Black Rider is a combination of material written and composed specifically for the album blended with tracks taken from the play / 'musical fable' "The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets" (which premiered in 1990) - a collaboration between stage director Robert Wilson, Tom Waits, and beat author William S. Burroughs, who himself participates on the album's sixth composition.

As with Waits' later performances [Alice / Blood Money] in collaboration with Wilson, I never found this album particularly good - perhaps the staging was excellent, but the music does not work particularly well as a pure album release.

[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, Mojo, Q Magazine 3 / 5, Rolling Stone, Select 4 / 5 stars ]

The Breeders "Divine Hammer" (1993) (single)

Divine Hammer, single
release date: Oct. 25, 1993
format: digital (HD Tracks) (4 x File, FLAC)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Fred Maher
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Divine Hammer (single version)" (4 / 5) - 2. "Hoverin' " - 3. "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love With You)" - 4. "Do You Love Me Now Jr?"

Single release taken from the album Last Splash (Aug. '93). Along with the title song, also track #4 is from the album, however, both versions are different from the album versions. Track #4 here feature Dinosaur Jr. vocalist Joseph Mascis on additional vocals. These alternate versions are not better, not worse, only slightly different, which is nice. Track #2 is written by Kim Deal and former husband John Murphy and basically sound more like a demo to a track by Pixies. Track #3 is a cover of a country-song by Hank Williams.

The Breeders "Last Splash" (1993)

Last Splash
release date: Aug. 31, 1993
format: cd (CAD 3014 CD)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Kim Deal & Mark Freegard
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "New Year" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Cannonball" (5 / 5) - 3. "Invisible Man" - 5. "Roi" - 6. "Do You Love Me Now?" - 7. "Flipside" (live) - 8. "I Just Wanna Get Along" - 10. "Divine Hammer" - 11. "S.O.S." - 13. "Saints"

2nd studio album by The Breeders who at this point consist of Kim Deal on guitar and vocals, her twin sister Kelley Deal on guitar and vocals, Josephine Wiggs on bass, and with Jim MacPherson on drums.
Musically and stylistically, the band here sounds both more uniform but also more experimental than before. Pod was much more of a one-dimensional expression compared to this. Last Splash is like Pixies, Belly, and Breeders in one band. There are strong aggressive outbursts, which pars the strongest energetic outbursts by Pixies, and there are strangely sounding bits and pieces where you wonder what is going on - and then it all falls in to place in melodic harmonies and great chorus lines.
The album primarily harvested critical acclaim, and is so far the only album by The Breeders to sell Platinum (US), Gold (Australia & Canada) and Silver (UK). It reached number #5 on the album charts list in the UK (base of 4AD Records), and the single release of "Cannonball" went to number #2 on the US single charts list (Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks list). In time it has been lauded as one of the most defining albums of the alt. rock scene of the 1990s. A sample of "S.O.S." was used by The Prodigy in their hit single "Firestarter" (1996), and that electronic project also used a sample from "I Just Wanna Get Along" for the track "World's on Fire" released on the album Invaders Must Die (2009).

The album was released five months after Pixies' frontman Frank Black released his solo debut album to much attention. And Last Splash also spawned fine reviews and was greeted as an immediate success but The Breeders never was and never intended to lead a life in the spotlight, and the acclaim seems to have been more of a burden to a side-project with members who just wanted a playground for themselves. Anyway, the band members returned to other musical projects. Kelley Deal got occupied by drug 'related problems' and Kim formed the band The Amps (which included both Kelley Jim MacPherson), however, the band never split but was put on a hiatus.
In 2013, the album was issued as LSXX (Last Splash 20th Anniversary Edition) - a vinyl box set containing 3 full length records and 4 eps, as well as an optical version consisting of 3 discs.
Last Splash is probably one in three albums I played the most in the mid 1990s, and I'm sure my then-neighbours know "New Year" and "Cannonball" 'cause I kinda played them really L O U D.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com, Blender 4 / 5, Spin, Rolling Stone Album Guide 4,5 / 5 stars ]

1993 Favourite releases: 1. Tindersticks Tindersticks - 2. Björk Debut - 3. The Breeders Last Splash

The Breeders "Cannonball" (1993) (single)

Cannonball, maxi single
release date: Aug. 19, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,59]
producer: Kim Deal, Mark Freegard
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Cannonball" (5 / 5) (live - live) - 2. "Cro-Aloha" (3 / 5) - 3. "Lord of the Thighs" - 4. "900" (3 / 5)

Single release taken from the forthcoming sophomore studio album by The Breeders. At this point, Tanya Donelly has left the band to concentrate on her new band, Belly, and Kim Deal's twin sister Kelley, now replaces Donelly on guitar and vocal. Also drummer Britt Walford has left to concentrate on his primary band, Slint. Instead, the band now includes drummer Jim MacPherson - and you may call it: Breeders Mark II.
The cd single comes in a 2-track version and this one, the 4-track maxi single. The first two compositions are by Kim Deal - with the title track from the forthcoming album, and the second track, a re-take on "No Aloha", also from the Last Splash album - track #3 is a cover by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and track #4 is written by Josephine Wiggs of the band.
The title track is truly a giant of a song, which basically is the band's best ever song, and one I simply adore. The rest is more so-so with "Cro-Aloha" as a skewed near Pixies sort of song.

Björk "Debut" (1993)

Debut [debut]
release date: Jul. 13, 1993
format: cd (519715-2)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,28]
producer: Nellee Hooper
label: Mother Records / One Little Indian - nationality: Iceland

Track highlights: 1. "Human Behaviour" - 2. "Crying" - 3. "Venus as a Boy" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Like Someone in Love" - 6. "Big Time Sensuality" - 9. "Come to Me" - 10. "Violently Happy"

Studio solo debut after leaving the successful indie pop band The Sugarcubes - actually, it's not her actual debut as solo artists since she released her first cover-songs album in her Christian name at the age of 12 in 1977; however, with the title Debut, she initiates her (artistic) adult music career pointing to the fact that her childhood debut should not have critics search for comparisons some 18 years down the line. This is her actual debut as Björk. This is the first issue of the album that consisted of 11 tracks, but already as of Nov. '93, the label reissued the album with 12 tracks and the addition of "Play Dead" on cd issues - later vinyl issues contain the original 11 tracks.
The loss of The Sugarcubes wasn't positively welcomed as they had been a nice blow of fresh air to the music industry, so a solo album by Björk at this point was like a secondary option.
Musically and instrumentally, she wasn't renowned for her musical capabilities, as her main instrument in her former band had been her voice. Therefore, the album almost came as a bit of a shock to everyone - including fans of Sugarcubes. Her vocal remains the same, but the music was brand new. It's literally one of the rare occasions where everything turned out just right. Stylistically, it's a difficult task to pin out - even today, as it represents a huge blend of influences and styles. Yes, it's art pop, and perhaps one should just refer to it as that leaving out the electronic, alt. dance, dance-pop, electropop, trip hop, and house elements, which by no means are just filler styles.
That year the album was aired everywhere. Not just on local and national radio stations, in record stores, not just bars and cafés - the album would be heard in restaurants, in clothes boutiques, shoe shops, and at sports retailers, in airports - you name it. It was like the soundtrack of the year, and it was naturally nominated dozens of prizes all over Europe. Across the Atlantic critics were a bit more controlled, and Rolling Stone even called the album 'a disappointment'; however, the general and wide-spread reception was more than just a thumbs up.
I played the album again and again and truly found it one of the absolute best releases of '93, but I also tired of the sound - not as much the music qualities but the sound of Björk, in general. Anyway, the album is a 'must-have' in any collection of popular music, and it's a quite natural inclusion in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Furthermore, the album is included in many best of lists like Slant Magazine's "The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s", Spin's "The 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years", Channel 4's "125 Nominations for the 100 Greatest Albums", Elvis Costello's list of "500 Albums You Need", Melody Maker's "Albums of the Year", Mojo's "The Greatest Albums of All Time... and How They Happened", NME's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" - just to mention some. In retrospect, I find the album worth the positive reviews and think of it as an essential contribution to modern popular music as well as a cornerstone in the history of contemporary popular music.
A musical cornerstone and highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Spin NME 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine, Select 4 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 3,5 / 5 but Rolling Stone 2 / 5 stars ]

1993 Favourite releases: 1. Tindersticks Tindersticks - 2. Björk Debut - 3. The Breeders Last Splash

Kate Bush "The Red Shoes" (1993)

The Red Shoes
release date: Nov. 2, 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Kate Bush
label: EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Rubberband Girl" - 2. "And so Is Love" - 3. "Eat the Music" - 6. "Lily"

7th studio album by Kate Bush released 4 years after The Sensual World (Oct. 1989). Once again Bush comes out with a mainstream pop / rock album, and in my mind, it's not a hugely inspiring album without being bad or mediocre. Like the predecessor, The Red Shoes reached number #2 on the national albums chart list - number #28 in the US making it her highest ranked album there.
The album would prove to be her last studio release for the following 12 years. Privately, Bush had gone through a break-up with Del Palmer in the early '90s and she found together with guitarist Dan McIntosh, whom she married in '92. Personal loss and a difficult life-style as an international pop star had her retire from the spotlight from early '94, after which she led a completely anonymous life paying attention to her family life until she finally released Aerial in 2005.
Apparently, Kate Bush wasn't satisfied with the production and arrangements of especially this album, which resulted in 7 alternate tracks released on her 2011 album Director's Cut.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Wilmer X "Pontiac till himmelen" (1993)

Pontiac till himmelen
released: 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]
producer: Michael Ilbert
label: EMI - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 2. "Slaget om en flickas hjärta" - 3. "Söt sak" - 5. "Ah du, hur fan ser du ut?" - 6. "Teddys rum" - 7. "Ett och ett är två men blir tre när vi blir ett" (4 / 5) - 8. "Fanny i fönstret" - 9. "Min egen metod" (4 / 5) - 10. "Pontiac till himmelen" - 12. "Hoppas på regn" - 14. "Radio W.X." - 15. "Håll flamman levande"

11th studio album by Wilmer X is just so... 'jävla grrreat – ja, bara grym'. I had this album on cassette for about 10 years, and for some other reason I was unable to listen to my old cassettes for some time and then I finally got hold of a cd-version. And as I enjoyed it then, I simply love it again. It’s a bit untraditional in the way the tracks are listed on the album because I think the first two songs are perhaps a little below the rest, or that’s just how it seems at the moment ‘cause another thing that shows its greatness is the way it grows on you. Songs suddenly open and let you in, or: they drag you in, while others remain more unnoticed, lurking for their turn to throw themselves over your defenceless mind, which leads to another wonderful thing about the album: the quality of so many songs on an ordinary studio release is a rare thing. I remember back when I discovered this treasure that I had ambiguous feelings about Nisse Hellberg's vocal – it is soooo 'skånsk' => [‘skaδunsg], ‘scanian’, for those around the world who knows where that is :-) Now I only enjoy it – there’s a humorous touch in the way the dialect is emphasised and used to produce rhymes. Without being to technical, I simply find it highly enjoyable – it is extremely positive music and then you listen to some guys who really know blues rock and rock & roll in a traditional sense, which I’m not really that much for, and perhaps it’s that Swedish twist that makes me love it. Get it, get it, get it, even though you don’t understand the lyrics 'cause it’s a truly fine piece of art.

Bill Frisell "Have a Little Faith" (1993)

Have a Little Faith

release date: Apr. 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Wayne Horvitz
label: Elektra Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Studio album by jazz fusion guitarist Bill Frisell following Where in the World? (1991) and Frisell's third consecutive album with producer Howvitz. Two members from The Bill Frisell Quartet contribute on this: bassist Kermit Driscoll and drummer Joey Baron - both are near stable instrumentalists on Frisell albums.
Normally, a new Frisell album means new original compositions by Frisell, however, in this case it's the selection of music based on what has inspired the artist himself. So, what you'll find here are new arrangements of American popular music ranging from classical music by Charles Yves, Stephen Foster and Aaron Copland to a list of music by modern popular songwriters and composers from a broad palette of styles and genres including Sonny Rollins, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, Madonna - all highly varied originals and all modernised in Frisell's jazz fusion-like arrangements.
I like it, it's really goood.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 4 / 4 stars ]

American Music Club "Mercury" (1993)

Mercury
release date: Mar. 23, 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,78]
producer: Mitchell Froom
label: Reprise Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Gratitude Walks" - 2. "If I Had a Hammer" - 3. "Challenger" - 4. "I've Been a Mess" (4 / 5) - 5. "Hollywood 4-5-92" - 11. "Johnny Mathis' Feet" - 14. "Will You Find Me?"

6th studio album by American Music Club has unmistakably Mark Eitzel's fingerprints all over, and it's, as usual, a slowcore album with elements from folk and jangle pop. Stylistically, it's like the second / continued part of  the fine Everclear from '91.
To me, this is clearly the best album by the band with it's more varied compositions held nicely together in Mitchell Froom's eye for solid productions.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Sputnikmusic 4 / 5 stars ]

Cocteau Twins "Four-Calendar Café" (1993)

Four-Calendar Café
release date: Nov. 1993
format: cd (2006 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,95]
producer: Cocteau Twins
label: Fontana Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Know Who You Are at Every Age" (5 / 5) - 2. "Evangeline" (4 / 5) - 3. "Bluebeard" (4 / 5) - 6. "Squeeze-Wax" - 9. "Summerhead" (4,5 / 5)

7th studio album by Cocteau Twins follows three years after Heaven or Las Vegas is much to the band's usual practise recorded and produced by the band. Since then, the band has left 4AD Records around '92 at a time when the label underwent management changes and Cocteau Twins then signed with larger Mercury Records to release music through its sublabel, Fontana Records. Apparently, the album took unusually long time to record - partly because guitarist Robin Guthrie and vocalist Elizabeth Fraser broke up their partnership, which had lasted some 13 years and given them a daughter in '89, and also because Fraser went through what has been described as a nervous breakdown while Guthrie was having troubles with substance abuse. Cocteau Twins had always been on its way playing concerts, recording albums or eps and the money earned was money spent going into studio and technical equipment investments, and easy access to drugs and alcohol hadn't made things easier.

Four-Calendar Café is not "Heaven or Las Vegas Part Two" - something many people had hoped for but the sound has changed, again, you might add 'cause that's what they had always been doing - always on their way bulding their (new) sound. It's a less uptempo album of an ambient feel compared to its acclaimed predecessor and the style has evolved to become more sophisticated with something I initially had mistaken for a touch of 'new age' but really just is a softer and more laid-back type of dream pop. The band members remain the same three but Robin Guthrie's distinct 'dreamy' or shoegaze guitar sound is considerably subdued on this, and then Fraser performs her singing in almost distinctive lyrics.

As many fans, my initial thoughts about this were less than positive, and I neglected the album for quite some time. I must say, however, that in retrospect it's much better than that, and years later, I had changed my verdict and now consider it among their best. The album has a pleasant melancholic feel and a sophisticated sound without being anything but dream pop. It's anything but an attempt to copy the success they experienced with Heaven or Las Vegas and instead represents a natural progression to a new playground of a more delicate sound. The album was reissued and remastered by Robin Guthrie in 2006, still on Fontana.

Recommended.

[ 👎allmusic.com 3 / 5, 👍NME, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

2006 remaster

The The "Dusk" (1993)

Dusk
release date: Jan. 26, 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Bruce Lampcov, Matt Johnson
label: Epic Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "True Happiness This Way Lies" - 2. "Love Is Stronger Than Death" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Dogs of Lust" - 5. "Slow Emotion Replay" (4 / 5) (org. video) - 6. "Helpline Operator" (4 / 5) (live) - 10. "Lonely Planet" (4 / 5)

4th studio album by The The follows almost four years after Mind Bomb (Jun. 1989). Like the predecessor the album features the band in the same line-up, although things took a windy road n the studio. Dave Palmer only plays drums on four of the ten tracks, and yes two songs are completely without drums, but that alone doesn't add up anyway. All band members are depicted on the inner sleeve, and Palmer is credited as drummer; however, he was practically sacked halfway through the recording of the album - apparently, for not being able to show up for clocked sessions, and / or for not always being in a sober state. Vinnie Colaiuta (from Sting's touring band) and Bruce Smith (from the Pop Group) handles drums on two tracks each - Colaiuta on tracks #3 and #9, Bruce Smith on tracks #4 and #6
A tour following the '89 album had been interrupted and nearly completely cancelled as a consequence of the sudden death of Matt Johnson's younger brother Eugene. Johnson had taken a three months hiatus, returned to finish the remaining tour, and then relocated to New York but continuosly fought with the loss for years to come - which to some extent explains the long interval between the two albums. When Dusk was finished and a new promotion tour was in the planning, it didn't start off in the easiest manner. Firstly, it was expected that Marr would probably be unavailable for 'The Lonely Planet Tour', as he was in the midst of making music with New Order's Bernard Summer in the duo-project Electronic, and he was then replaced by guitarist Keith Joyner. Bassist James Eller had been offered a contract for a solo album, which meant he was replaced by Jared Nickerson, and official drummer Dave Palmer was invited to join the band again for the tour, which he accepted. Halfway through the tour Palmer threw the bomb that he would now leave and instead join Rod Stewart's live tour, and in his place Andy Kubiszewski took over as drummer.
Dusk follows closely in the style laid out on the '89 album, though it appears as a more experimental art pop release, and in a way, a more genuine Matt Johnson release. In some ways, it feels more in family with his great Infected album from '86, a step in the right direction, or at least so I think of it. Instead of presenting a new set of lyrics about society and politics, the songs here deal with a personal dimension, human emotions, and the true meaning of life. The album is Johnson's best faring album to date peaking at number #2 on the UK albums chart. It delivered three singles, tracks #3, #5, and #2 with the latter being written with his brother in mind. Andy Dog is back with an illustration for the front cover.
Imho, Dusk shows Johnson at the peak of his career. The band play like one organic whole and the songs function on more than one level, and production-wise you don't find that many albums better balanced.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Jan Garbarek Group "Twelve Moons" (1993)

Twelve Moons
release date: 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlight: 1. "Twelve Moons - Pt.1: Winter - Summer; Pt.2: Summer - Winter" - 3. "Brother Wind March" - 10. "Witchi-Tai-To"

Released as 'Jan Garbarek Group' (Jan Garbarek - saxophones, Rainer Brüninghaus - keyboards, Eberhard Weber - bass, Manu Katché - drums, Marilyn Mazur - percussion, Agnes Buen Garnås - vocal, Mari Boine - vocal). This album is from his best period, from early 1980s to late 1990s, I think. It's beautiful modern jazz, jazz fusion and free jazz. Often, I don't find jazz fusion that great but that's mostly really when jazz has been fusioned with rock. On this album there's absolutely no rock styles present but it's really difficult to place in a genre because of the stylistic inputs from normally far apart genres like jazz and traditional folk in an ambient universe that sometimes almost becomes new age. On other Garbarek albums this style is too much present but here it only emphasizes the ambient feel.