Bill Frisell "The Sweetest Punch" (1999)

The Sweetest Punch
release date: Sep. 21, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]
producer: Lee Townsend
label: Decca - nationality: USA

Studio album by American jazz fusion guitarist Bill Frisell is actually fully titled: The Sweetest Punch - The New Songs of Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach Arranged by Bill Frisell, and as the title suggests all songs (but one) are the songs released by Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach on their '98 collaboration album Painted From Memory. The Costello / Bacharach collaboration work included Costello sending Bacharach his demo takes of his half-finished compositions upon which Bacaharach would contribute with ideas for a music score and the two would then elaborate on the songs, however, Frisell was already introduced to the Costello demos, sent to him by Costello, and Frisell would then use these early sketches to compose / re-arrange them to his very own interpretations, and this albums is the result of that process and therefore not Frisell's arrangements of the finished album.

Costello is featuring vocalist on two tracks (#2 and 10) and Cassandra Wilson also on two (#5 and 10), and apart from these three vocal jazz arrangements all other compositions are held in a subtle big band jazz fusion-style.

Costello / Bacharach harvested critical acclaim for their collaboration album, which is a fine piece of work. This, however, is something entirely different, and I also think it comes out as the slightly better and essentially more well-founded whole. I really enjoyed the live album Deep Dead End (1995) by Costello and Frisell, which is why I was eager to check this one out, and I'm glad that I did 'cause I think that Frisell has made an even stronger album than the original Costello / Bacharach release. And then this release only follows four months after Frisell's fine Good Dog, Happy Man (May 1999).

These compositions are beautifully arranged and Frisell shines with his drops of elegant dozes of subtle jazz notes here and there. As a consequence of the recording process, where Frisell didn't know of the final Costello / Bacharach compositions before finishing his own recordings this album delivers on a different scale, and what a gem it truly is.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Bill Frisell "Good Dog, Happy Man" (1999)

Good Dog, Happy Man

release date: May 18, 1999

format: cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]

producer: Lee Townsend

label: Nonesuch - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Rain, Rain" - 2. "Roscoe" - 4. "My Buffalo Girl" - 5. "Shenandoah (For Johnny Smith)" - 7. "The Pioneers" - 8. "Cold, Cold Ground" - 11. "Good Dog, Happy Man" - 12. "Poem for Eva"

14th studio album by Bill Frisell following Gone, Just Like a Train (Jan. '98) is Frisell's second of eight consecutive albums with long-time producer Lee Townsend.

Stylewise, Frisell has been on a long and twining progression in shaping that highly personal sound of his, and for me, this is when he first comes out the cleanest. He combines and bonds with other genres and styles and you'll notice elements from jazz, blues, americana, country and folk, and what appeals the most to me, is the absence of jazz fusion or the bold traits of rock fusion of the 1970s and 80s. Many will probably associate Frisell with artists like Pat Metheny, Dave Brubeck, Chick Corea and others belonging to, and keeping alive, the heritage of the innovative Miles Davis and the ingenuity of Thelonius Monk. Exactly that may also be a starting point to his own orginal blend, but what I really enjoy, lies more in his ability to combine roots music - be it blues, jazz, or country folk with bits of americana and a tad more gentle approach that flows into something highly original - and that's basically all found on this one.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 3,5 / 4 stars ]

The Divine Comedy "A Secret History: The Best of The Divine Comedy" (1999)

A Secret History: The Best of The Divine Comedy (compilation)

release date: Aug. 30, 1999
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: various
label: Setanta Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

7th album release by The Divine Comedy is Neil Hannon's first best of album. The album contains 17 tracks and it's a fine collection of songs for anyone not familiar with The Divine Comedy. For someone who knows some of his albums, I suggest that you buy the original albums, as these songs come from albums with either conceptual tracks or various styles and subject matter.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Mogwai "Come on Die Young" (1999)

Come on Die Young

release date: Mar. 29, 1999

format: cd (chem033cd)

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

producer: Dave Fridmann

label: Chemikal Underground - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Punk Rock:" - 2. "Cody" - 3. "Helps Both Ways" - 4. "Year 2000 Non-Compliant Cardia" (4 / 5) - 6. "Waltz for Aidan" - 7. "May Nothing but Happiness Come Through Your Door" - 9. "Ex-Cowboy" - 11. "Christmas Steps"

2nd studio album by Mogwai following 1½ years after Mogwai Young Team (Oct. '97) is the band's first of two consecutive albums to be produced by American producer Dave Fridmann (bassist and keyboardist in Mercury Rev and Grand Mal), who is also credited various additional instruments. Before this, Mogwai recorded and released the 3-track ep No Education = No Future (Fuck the Curfew) (June 1998) as a quartet, but before recording this new album they were back as a quintet with the inclusion of multi-instrumentalist Barry Burns. The standard issue is like the debut released as a double vinyl lp and a single cd issue containing 12 tracks with a total running time at 67 minutes.

The album marks a turn towards a gloomier and more melodic sound with especially apparent influence from The Cure and their two albums: Seventeen Seconds (1980) and Faith (1981). This also means that the noise rock-element is strongly reduced - except for tracks #9, #10, and #11. Several songs are also made with more distinct vocals - especially heard on "Cody", but also elsewhere via usage of samples. The overall impression is a fully coherent post-rock release with references to early British post-punk. and a release where the band examines new grounds of alt. rock labelled as experimental rock and post rock with obvious traits from progressive rock. Compared to the fine debut this is still a highly original release without a strong noise rock reference point and with a sense of adding new facets to the genre of post-rock.

A certified grower, one of the band's absolute best and highly recommended.

[ 👎allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Spin, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👍NME, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

XTC "Apple Venus Volume 1" (1999)

Apple Venus Volume 1
release date: Feb. 22, 1999
format: cd (COOKCD 172)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,98]
producer: Haydn Bendall, Nick Davis
label: Cooking Vinyl - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "River of Orchids" - 2. "I'd Like That" - 3. "Easter Theatre" - 5. "Frivolous Tonight" - 6. "Greenman" - 7. "Your Dictionary" - 9. "I Can't Own Her"
[ full album ]

11th studio album by XTC, and the last to feature guitarist Dave Gregory. The album is released some seven years following Nonsuch (Apr. '92) and after a controversy with the band's label, which meant that XTC had rejected to record any new material for Virgin to finally be freed from its contract and from the label. Free to do as they like, the three band members struggled to find financials to materialise a follow-up album. Apparently, Partridge & Co. had enough songs to record what should've been a double album but as a result of insufficient finances they ended up with this, which may be regarded as the first part of a conceptual work - hence the title "Volume 1".
The album differs somewhat from other XTC albums being perhaps closest to the album Skylarking from '86 - especially, when comparing to the 2014 'corrected' issue of that particular album. This one is likewise what has been labelled as neo-psychedelic and distinctively also chamber pop from a band that was reduced to its most prolific songwriters, Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding during the recording sessions when Dave Gregory left the band due to 'musical differences' [ Gregory's version ].
XTC once again prove their ability to be able to renew themselves over and over again without losing themselves. With only two songs by Moulding, the album mostly contains compositions by Partridge, but although, it plays with new styles and incorporates brass and The London Sessions Orchestra it's still clearly an XTC album.
The album didn't sell in great numbers, but critics were generally quite positive about it, and it's also one of only two XTC albums to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
Surely, it may not contain obvious single hits - it's an album for listeners, and I really find it a bit of a surprise after Oranges and Lemons and Nonsuch, both of which saw the band explore more simplistic pop / rock traditions. Some tracks are strongly experimental, some make me think of The Divine Comedy, or Love and Rockets, others are closer to The Church, and not seldom one is reminded of bands like The Beach Boys and The Beatles, but mostly I just hear XTC on top of it all.

Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Spin, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Bryan Ferry "As Time Goes By" (1999)

As Time Goes By
release date: Oct. 25, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Bryan Ferry, Rhett Davies
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "As Time Goes By" - 2. "The Way You Look Tonight" (4,5 / 5) (live version from Paris) - 4. "I'm in the Mood for Love" - 8. "Miss Otis Regrets (She's Unable to Lunch Today)" (4 / 5) - 10. "Lover, Come Back to Me" - 11. "Falling in Love Again" - 13. "You Do Something to Me" (live) - 15. "September Song"

10th solo studio album by Bryan Ferry is a collection of re-arranged oldies completely without the sophisti-pop traits one has come to associate the name of Bryan Ferry with. These 15 tracks are popular standards, traditional swing and vocal jazz songs that have been carefully updated without compromising their integrity as they have all been arranged with strings and brass and (seemingly) no electrical instrumentation.
I used to really enjoy Roxy Music and Ferry's solo releases, although the late 1980s and early 90s didn't justify his talent. Roxy Music officially disbanded in the early 80s at the height of its career, actually - Avalon (1982), a beloved classic pop album, was the last real Roxy Music release as the members apparently were more interested in solo and collaboration projects, or just got tired of each others company. Ferry relaunched a fine solo career and he was on everyone's lips when he released the polished sophisti-pop album Boys & Girls (1985), an album that took off pretty much from where Avalon finished. The following releases didn't really make it as good, and for every new album he just seemed to be on a descent until As Time Goes By. Throughout his career he has taken the part as a distinguished British upper-class gentleman, and maybe therefore it suits him so well to cover old classics of the 1930s and 40s, interpreting Cole Porter, Rogers & Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, Kurt Weill, among others, and the result is a fine atmospheric and almost anachronistic tribute to other heydays. I simply adore his versions of these classics because he lifts the songs without too much superfluity. The arrangements with horns and strings are in the spirit of the old songs. Maybe this is also at the core of his potential - his ability to interpret other people's songs, and very often with a better result than the original version. He has always been a great interpreter (he has hardly ever released an album written entirely by himself) whether it's Bob Dylan (whom he manages to make more tolerable), Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Lou Reed, and the great songwriters of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s as well as rearrangements of old traditionals. I only wish he would do more of this old stuff - it's really like hand in glove, and it suits him like... a fine Italian jacket.

Tom Waits "Mule Variations" (1999)

Mule Variations
release date: Apr. 27, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,04]
producer: Tom Waits & Kathleen Brennan
label: ABTI- / Epitaph - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Big in Japan" - 2. "Lowside of the Road" - 3. "Hold On" (official video) (4 / 5) - 4. "Get Behind the Mule" - 5. "House Where Nobody Lives" - 6. "Cold Water" - 8. "What's He Building?" (official video) - 10. "Eyeball Kid" - 11. "Picture in a Frame" - 12. "Chocolate Jesus" (live) - 13. "Georgia Lee" - 14. "Filipino Box Spring Hog" - 15. "Take It With Me" - 16. "Come on Up to the House"

13th studio album by Tom Waits following a long 5½ years after The Black Rider (1993) is his first album of new material after leaving Island Records, on which label he had been on a contract since '83. Instead of trying to renew his contract with the established record company, he chose to sign a contract with the newly established and independent label, ANTI-. All sixteen tracks are credited Waits, twelve of which are co-written with his wife, Kathleen Brennan. The album is a rather long affair with a total running time of more than 70 minutes.

The album is simply a clear improvement over his '93 release, but as it has often been the case with Tom Waits, this one marks a musical shift. The '90s have been, if anything, his experimental decade, and sometimes it proved very successful, while at other times he hit a little off the mark, but he has always been an exponent of making music in surprising new ways, as with this one, where he chooses to record his voice via megaphone. Mule Variations is an album with elements from blues rock in a singer / songwriter context and compositions that may be called experimental in an art rock category, and some tracks are influenced by cabaret / circus music, but at the same time it's more laid back - like a collection of songs inspired by country rock and / or Americana, and this is probably where the really new elements come into the picture when talking about Waits.

The album would prove to be Tom Waits' most significant chart-topper ever on the Billboard 200 in his home country, peaking at number #30, and not only was it a success here as it went to number #22 in France, No. #13 in Australia, No. #9 in the UK, No. #4 in Germany, and then it simply topped the album chart in Norway. More honors followed when Mojo nominated it as "Album of the Year" and Waits himself was nominated in "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" for the song "Hold On" at the '99 Grammy Awards, and Mule Variations won the award "Best Contemporary Folk Album" - his second award at the Grammy Awards.

The strength of the album lies very much in the supplementary lyrics, and these are not seldom the fascinating narratives created by Waits' wife, Kathleen Brennan. The album is quite complete and functions as a whole from an artist who knows how to renew himself and his music.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, The Guardian 4 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Grant Hart "Good News for Modern Man" (1999)

Good News for Modern Man

release date: Nov. 30, 1999

format: cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]

producer: Grant Hart & Brent Sigmeth

label: Pachyderm Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Think It Over Now" (4 / 5) - 3. "Run Run Run to the Centre Pompidou" - 4. "You Don't Have to Tell Me Now" (4 / 5) - 6. "A Letter From Anne Marie" - 7. "In a Cold House" - 8. "Seka Knows" - 11. "Little Nemo"

[ full album ]

2nd full-length studio album by Grant Hart follows more than five years after the final album by Nova Mob and ten full years since his first solo album Intolerance. And just like his solo debut, he has here written and composed all music as well as being the only performer playing all instruments, doing all vocals except for the lead guitar on track #8 by Mato Nanji (from the band Indigenous). The album was originally released on the small independent Minnesota label Pachyderm and only issued in the US and via Rough Trade in Germany, but in 2014 the album was reissued on Hart's own label Con D'Or Records as most of all his older albums.

This new updated version of Grant Hart doesn't carry a lot of the alt. rock style he showcased in Hüsker Dü, the folk rock-simili as introspective solo artist on his first solo, nor the more electrifying power pop of his band Nova Mob from 1991-94. Instead, it's a quite original blend of pop / rock with influences from a rock tradition with strong roots in 1960s psychedelic rock. The production sound has improved considerably compared to his previous albums, and it's quite a wonder how this one-man army is able to make such a distinct sounding album only based on his own material.

Hart isn't and never was afraid of blending styles and the album is rich of various stylistic impressions without losing coherency. He also possess a distinct and lively vocal, which glues it all nicely together. Some tracks sound as if they were covers of classic psychedelic rock songs by e.g. Jefferson Airplane ("Seka Knows"), experimental rock by e.g. Captain Beefheart ("Let Rosemary Rock Him, Laura-Louise") but they are all strictly originals of 1999 in a fine production.

So what's not to like? I don't know! And I frankly do not understand how Hart maintained status as a cult figure. His former band associate of Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould was recognised from early on as an important musician and songwriter of the 90s, and he was honoured as one of the forefathers of the grunge rock-movement. Grant Hart somehow stayed in the shadows where only few people knew of his importance. This is not even his first acclaimed album - and it was met by positive reviews, but Grant simply didn't make the big break in the business of music, but with this and other albums he will be remembered.

In total, Grant Hart released four solo studio albums and one live album after the disbandment of Hüsker Dü from 1989 to 2013. Of all five, this very album is from my perspective his best ever and therefore highly recommended.

[ 👍allmusic.com 4 / 5, Pitchfork 7,7 / 10 stars ]

Natalie Merchant "Live in Concert" (1999) (live)

Live in Concert (live)
release date: Nov. 8, 1999
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,33]
producer: Natalie Merchant
label: Elektra Records - nationality: USA

3rd album release by Natalie Merchant is a live recording from a concert at The Neil Simon Theatre in New York, and the full title of the album is Live in Concert, New York City, June 13, 1999. It consists of 11 tracks with 7 written by Merchant, and it features a fine cover of Bowie's "Space Oddity", and an even better version of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush".
All in all, it's a rather fine album, although, Merchant seem a bit too laid-back at times, but I do like the idea of releasing a full concert instead of picking live recordings from here and there.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Kent "Hagnesta Hill" (1999)

Hagnesta Hill
release date: Dec. 6, 1999
format: cd (repress)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]
producer: Zed (aka Zed Nagrano)
label: RCA / BMG Sweden - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Kungen är död" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Revolt III" - 3. "Musik Non Stop" (4 / 5) - 4. "Kevlarsjäl" (5 / 5) - 7. "En himmelsk drog" - 8. "Stanna hos mig" - 10. "Beskyddaren" (4 / 5) - 13. "Visslaren"

4th studio album by Kent following two years after Isola is the band's second consecutive album to be produced by Zed [Nagrano]. Here the band has taken a stronger move into a tighter 1-2-3-4 indie pop universe. This time it has taken the band two years to get the new album ready.
Now we're talking. 'cause with this album Kent really proved to have moved another step up - on all parameters. With Hagnesta Hill Kent conquered all of Sweden's neighbouring countries, and the album became an immediate bestseller in the late '90s establishing a vast fan crowd throughout all of Scandinavia. The band has found its very own special formula and refined its unique style. The album contains both fine up-tempo pop / rock tracks as well as slower chamber pop ballads. The track "Musik Non Stop" is probably the most played track from the album, although, "Kungen är död" and "Kevlarsjäl" are my personal favourites.
As was the case with Isola, the album was re-issued as an English-versioned album after one year, which would be the last time Kent made attempts with lyrics in English. I have only heard outtakes of their translated English songs, but I have to say, I'm really happy they didn't pursue that path and make further attempts in satisfying what could only be commercial interests.
Highly recommendable.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

<  show lyrics >

~ ~ ~

"Music Non Stop"

"Jag behövde en hundradels sekund
Nu när jag tagit beslutet är jag lugn
Visioner i mitt huvud när du ler
Jag har hittat nånting vackert,
vännen, ser du vad jag ser?
Jag är nästan som du

Och du är som jag när du dansar
Har aldrig träffat nån som du
Du är som jag när vi dansar
Musik non stop till slut

Jag sa upp mig för att fånga lite sol
och jag flyttade mitt skrivbord och min stol
till nattgaraget under vårat hus
När jag sluter mina ögon ser jag ljuset
Jag är nästan som du

Och du är som jag när du dansar
Har aldrig träffat nån som du
Du är som jag när vi dansar
Musik non stop till slut

Så det tog mig en hundradels sekund
Jag har rest tillbaks i tiden, blivit ung
Visioner i mitt huvud när du ler
Jag har hittat nånting vackert,
vännen, ser du vad jag ser?
Jag är nästan som du

Och du är som jag när du dansar
Har aldrig träffat nån som du
Du är som jag när vi dansar
Musik non stop till slut

Och du är som jag när du dansar
Har aldrig träffat nån som du
Du är som jag när vi dansar
Musik non stop till slut"

~ ~ ~

"Kevlarsjäl"

"Sommartid
Jag är tystnaden och vinden
Mitt land är ditt land, allt är fritt
Sommartid
Jag är lyssnaren som, som tårar
mot din kind
Min dröm är din…

Så länge hjärtat mitt slår
så minns jag dig när
du stack ett hål i min Kevlarsjäl
och så blev du mitt sår
och jag blöder ihjäl
Kom gör ett hål i min Kevlarsjäl

Sommartid
Var är hjärnan, här är våldet
Mitt land är mitt land bara mitt
Sommartid
I Socialstyrelsens folder
är allt svart & vitt
Din dröm är min…

Så länge hjärtat mitt slår
så minns jag dig när
du stack ett hål i min Kevlarsjäl
och så blev du mitt sår
och jag blöder ihjäl
Kom gör ett hål i min Kevlarsjäl

Så länge hjärtat mitt slår
så minns jag dig när
du stack ett hål i min Kevlarsjäl
(Min dröm är din nu…)
och så blev du mitt sår
och jag blöder ihjäl
Kom gör ett hål i min Kevlarsjäl

(Din dröm är min nu…)

Så länge hjärtat mitt slår
så minns jag dig när
du stack ett hål i min Kevlarsjäl
(Min dröm är din nu…)
och så blev du mitt sår
och jag blöder ihjäl
Kom gör ett hål i min Kevlarsjäl"

~ ~ ~

The Creatures "Anima Animus" (1999)

Anima Animus

release date: Feb. 15, 1999

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]

producer: The Creatures

label: Sioux Records / PIAS - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "2nd Floor" (video) - 2. "Disconnected" - 4. "Take Mine" - 5. "Say" - 7. "Prettiest Thing" (live) - 8. "Exterminating Angel" (live) - 9. "Another Planet"

3rd studio album by The Creatures (Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie) released a little more than 9 years following the sophomore Boomerang (Nov. 1989) is issued on the newly established Sioux Records. The album appears to have been more or less ready to be recorded in '96, but after Siouxsie and the Banshees were released from their contract with Polydor, that also had meant a farewell for The Creatures on the label, and the duo were therefore effectively without a record deal and established in '98 the company Sioux Records only for their own releases.

A lot has clearly happened since the duo's most recent album, and although the duo experimented with electronic beats early on, Anima Animus marks a clear transition from a mainly organic sound to more pure electronic-founded music. There are still ties to a strong rhythm section with percussion as the basic structure and the sound of the marimba, but there has also been room for the inclusion of electric guitar - here handled by Psychedelic Fur's tour guitarist Knox Chandler, who also happened to play on the live tour after the album The Rapture (1995) by Siouxsie and the Banshees, just as he's also found on the same band's live album The Seven Year Itch - Live (2003). Despite the use of a vast variety of instrumentation, it's still unmistakable characteristics of The Creatures' musical universe. There is an austerity and simplicity about the compositions - they often contain progressive structures and patterns, and percussion and drums can indicate quite complex patterns, but the overall experience is that of a flow of simplicity. Perhaps because the rhythm section alone takes up a major part of the overall picture, and then there is always room for Sioux's original vocal, which lift and create a harmonic link.

The album came out to positive reviews, but simply missed a larger audience - perhaps also as a result of the band no longer being cared for by the interests of a major record company. The three singles, tracks #1, #5 and #7 were released without charting higher than No. #72 ("Say").

Anima Animus is a quite fine album where Budgie once again is left room to demonstrate his skills as an percussionist equilibrist and where Sioux also impresses with one of her finest vocal performances. PJ Harvey, for example, has included the album on her top-10 list of the best albums of '99.

The album is no less than the very best in the discography of The Creatures.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, The Times, Uncut 4 / 5 stars ]

Blondie "No Exit" (1999)

No Exit
release date: Feb. 23, 1999
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,68]
producer: Craig Leon
label: Beyond Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Forgive and Forget" - 3. "Maria" (live)

7th studio album by Blondie released as the band's comeback album 17 years since its so far final album The Hunter (1982). Great expectations were attributed band and album, and a first (and only) fine single, "Maria" (written by Jimmy Destri) helped pave the way for the album, which eventually reached number #3 on the UK album charts list. As with the old classic Blondie hits, they share the signature of Jimmy Destri, and all three singles (tracks #3, #6, and #4) from the album were written or co-written by Destri.
To put it simple: the music here doesn't justify the expectations, and the fine sales around the world are the sheer result of a strong brand. However, with this contribution to the band's legacy it's also hard to release new material and still attract consumers. "Maria" and the second track, "Forgive and Forget" are the only fine songs on a well-produced album, which feature several mediocre and what's worse: several poor compositions almost putting it on level with the 17 year old predecessor The Hunter. This is really nowhere to start a Blondie collection but a must-have for fans - just to complete the collection.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 2,5 / 5 stars ]

Alanis Morissette "MTV Unplugged" (1999) (live)

MTV Unplugged (live)
release date: Nov. 9, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]

An in between albums release, and a very typical '90's MTV unplugged live session that all big stars just had to do. The album really displays her singing ability but the songs are very familiar and it just seems like an economical strategic release.

Madness "Wonderful" (1999)

Wonderful
release date: Nov. 1, 1999
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,94]
producer: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Lovestruck" - 3. "The Communicator" - 5. "The Wizard" - 6. "Drip Fed Fred" - 9. "Saturday Night Sunday Morning"

8th studio album by Madness is the band's first studio album in 11 years, and once again it features the producer-duo Langer-Winstanley. More importantly the album is the band's first in its classic septet line-up since its 5th album Keep Moving from 1984, which means Suggs, Chas Smash, Foreman, Bedford, Barson, Woodgate and Thompson are united as Madness.
The new set of songs has been written like in the 'old days' with all members contributing on various tracks and an attempt has been made to reconsolidate the band's image as a group playing ska revival instead of the more polished pop / rock as heard on The Madness from 1988. Ian Dury features with "guest vocals" on track #6 - a decent attempt to add some of the familiar humor.
The album is not the great comeback album many had hoped it would be, but it's clearly bettering the band's previous two attempts without coming close to former heydays. Langer-Winstanley have produced a nicely sounding album, and my guess is (from listening to the songs) that the band aimed for something that would follow in the footsteps of Keep Moving. Yes, they incorporate elements from ska revival but it's very much mere associations of that style where the dominating style clearly is pop / rock - and a sound that was wide-spread in the mid-80s. In essence, the album sounds as if released in '86 and not '99.
All in all, it's no near great. Just above average and an album that really doesn't add songs to a new best of album.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

David Sylvian "Dead Bees on a Cake" (1999)

Dead Bees on a Cake
release date: Mar. 29, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: David Sylvian
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "I Surrender" - 2. "Dobro #1" - 3. "Midnight Sun" - 4. "Thalhiem" - 5. "God Man" - 8. "The Shining of Things" - 12. "Wanderlust" - 14. "Darkest Dreaming"

5th studio album by David Sylvian is his first solo album in 12 years, thus following his acclaimed Secrets of the Beehive from 1987. The style is as usual somewhere centered around art pop with elements from jazz fusion and sophisti-pop. Most tracks are written solely by Sylvian and a few co-written with others. The album feature several prominent guest artists including Bill Frisell, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kenny Wheeler, Chris Minh Doky, and much as usual older brother Steve Jansen on percussion. It's really a fine and laid-back album with a singer / songwriter profile, which is nice for a change after several collaboration works with focus on the instrumental side. In a fine way this is like a synthesis of his abilities: cool crooning vocal, and soul-shaped music with a bold touch of jazz and experimental art pop. It's the kind of music I enjoy in solitude and as background carpet for a nice evening in good company. It's one of those albums that make you wish he'd make more music on his own.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars, Pitchfork Media 73 / 100 ]

Thåström "Det är ni som e dom konstiga det är jag som e normal" (1999)

Det är ni som e dom konstiga det är jag som e normal
release date: Oct. 18, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: Mikael Herrström, Joakim Thåström and Henryk Lipp
label: Mistlur Records - nationality: Sweden

Track highlights: 1. "Från himlen sänt" - 2. "En vackar död stad" - 3. "Hjärter dam" - 5. "Två + två" (live) - 6. "Städer när jag blöder" - 10. "Psalm #99"

3rd solo album by Thåström released more than 8 years following his most recent solo album, and after three consecutive studio albums released from '92-'97 with the band Peace, Love & Pitbulls, which only was active in this period. Thåström is still associated with the Mistlur label, although that label is by now a sublabel owned by MNW.

Thåström's second solo album Xplodera mig 2000 showed us a more aggressive and more hard rockin' Thåström than heard before, and that energy was continued and came to its full extent in the short-lived band he formed with Peter Lööf, Rikard Sporrong and Niklas Hellberg while living in Amsterdam. In 1998 Thåström and Hellberg co-wrote and released the album Singoalla - music for a theatre show based on a novel by Viktor Rydberg from 1857.
Det är ni som e dom konstiga... ['You are strange, I'm normal'] is his first studio album with songs in his native language since his '91 solo album, and it really follows closely in the footsteps of that particular album, as if he hadn't taken a move into industrial metal and singing in English on three other albums. Yes, there's still room for industrial rock, but that step had already been taken in the early 90s, and when listening to the music by Peace, Love & Pitbulls with its bold use of (vocal) distortion it's easy to point out the difference between industrial rock and the more extreme metal-version of the style, which is much closer the early albums by Marilyn Manson than any Thåström solo album.
I didn't listen to this album until after entering the new millennium, but it does have a strong and original touch with a mix of styles. It's not entirely just a bunch of hard rock compositions, as there's a nice blend of harmony-based songs scattered all over the album, and I also hear reminiscences of the old Ebba Grön sound and style - most openly in the song "Städer när jag blöder", which would have made a perfect entry on the first album by his old punk rock collaborators in Ebba Grön. A few tracks bond with the more white noise music of Love, Peace & Pitbulls but other compositions have more in common with his later move into a more apparent singer / songwriter universe (e.g. "Hjärter dam"), and that's also where he concludes the album with "Psalm #99".
The album was generally met by positive reviews from the Swedish music press and the audience who had longed for the day when he would make another album with Swedish lyrics. The album topped the national albums chart list and the first of three singles from the album, "Två + två" reached number #10 on the singles chart list.
Where Explodera mig 2000 showed Thåström experiment with styles and almost stumble into industrial rock, this album reveals a more mature version of his fascination for high energy rock, which blends much richer with music from his past. All in all, a fine release, although, he still seems in search of a unique style of his.

10,000 Maniacs "The Earth Pressed Flat" (1999)

The Earth Pressed Flat
release date: May 18, 1999
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]
producer: Armand John Petri
label: Bar/None Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 2. "Ellen" - 3. "Once a City" - 6. "Somebody's Heaven" - 7. "Cabaret" - 12. "Hidden in My Heart"

7th studio album by 10,000 Maniacs actually contains nine outtakes from the album Love Among the Ruins (Jun. 1997), which only makes room for five new compositions.
Stylistically, it's the same ballgame as the predecessor, which means folk pop and soft rock founded on traditional folk that doesn't come close to the band's most successful releases but also reflecting a diverse sound. It's the final album to feature Robert Buck on guitar, as he passed away in Dec. 2000, and then it's the final studio album by 10,000 Maniacs for the following 14 years.
Although, the majority of the tracks weren't found suited for the previous album, I find it on much the same level as the predecessor - again without being really good. Too many tracks sound like attempts to reproduce some of their hit material from the '80s resulting in little originality. All in all, it's above mediocre and a bit of a tepid experience compared to the heydays of the Merchant era, imho.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, Rolling Stone Album Guide 1,5 / 5 stars ]

John Mayer "Inside Wants Out" (1999) (ep)

Inside Wants Out, ep [debut]
release date: Sep. 24, 1999
format: cd (2002 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,34]
producer: John Mayer, Glenn Matullo, David LaBruyere
label: Columbia - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Back To You" - 2. "No Such Thing" - 3. "My Stupid Mouth" - 4. "Neon" - 6. "Love Soon"

Studio ep debut by John Mayer is originally a self-released album on Mayer Music containing nine tracks; however, the original cd was released in limited numbers and it was reissued in 2002 by Columbia now leaving one track out from the original.
Stylistically, it's mostly pop / rock but with a clear inspiration from jazz, blues rock, and rhythm & blues. The first four songs would later be included on his full-length studio album debut Room for Squares (2001) in slightly completely altered versions. Especially the track "Neon" - here an acoustic solo, is transformed into a more electrified pop / rock band-version on the 2001 album.
The album contains both slick produced tracks as well as completely narrowly produced compositions showcasing Mayer as a singer / songwriter, folk artist picking his acoustic guitar while singing. And actually, the overall negative aspect about the ep is that Mayer stays undecided as to whether he wants to appeal to a predominantly pop / rock audience or a more folk and jazz-based crowd. Something that he should always be in doubts about it seems.
This first collection of songs points in two separate directions, but it also reveals a gifted artist with a broad repertoire. All in all, it's fine, although, it leaves you thinking, it could have been great.

Kashmir "The Good Life" (1999)

The Good Life
release date: Jun. 7, 1999
format: cd
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,33]
producer: Joshua (Jon Schumann) and Kashmir
label: Start / Sony - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Mom in Love, Daddy in Space" - 4. "Graceland"

3rd studio album by Kashmir, and here produced by Kent producer Joshua. Here, the band has changed its style somewhat and moved away from the grunge rock element. It's also evident that it's still not that original as they now found the music more on alt. rock as played by Pearl Jam and / or art rock as played by Radiohead.
I only regret purchasing this album beacuse I found the first track quite good - for some time, at last.

The Cranberries "Bury the Hatchet" (1999)

Bury the Hatchet
release date: Apr. 19, 1999
format: 2 cd (2000 special edition)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: The Cranberries and Benedict Fenner
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Animal Instinct" - 2. "Loud and Clear" - 3. "Promises" - 4. "You and Me" - 5. "Just My Imagination" - 6. "Shattered" - 11. "Delilah"

4th studio album by The Cranberries released after a short hiatus - the band had faced poor reviews despite fine record sales with the previous album, To the Faithful Departed from 1996, and O'Riordan went through a period of stress-related illness, and she also gave needed time off the limelight as she have birth to her first child.
Bury the Hatchet is co-produced with a new producer and the sound and style has changed quite noticeable. Gone are the obvious links to alt. rock and almost also to the bold dream pop that characterised their previous releases, and instead this new album comes out as a more thoughtful and sincere album focusing on celtic rock with a stronger folk rock style and also more mainstream pop / rock references with jangle pop elements.
The album suffers, a bit like the predecessor, of a lack of consistent quality throughout, but the lows have clearly been levelled up, and it turns out much of a whole, and in that way easily betters the '96 album. The first four songs here are actually quite fine compositions pointing to something truly fine. The quality drops a bit in the second part and towards the end, and a track like "Copycat" sounds much like an outtake from the '96 album. Having said that, this is still a much better album than their last effort, and it's also a release with one of Ireland's most poignant voices and songwriters and as such an album clearly above the majority of mainstream pop / rock releases.
The 2000 Special Edition has been issued with the subtitle "The Complete Sessions" and feature a second disc containing five bonus tracks and seven previously unreleased live songs recorded in Paris Dec. 9, 1999.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, USA Today 2,5 / 5 stars ]