Julian Cope "20 Mothers" (1995)

20 Mothers

release date: Aug. 28, 1995

format: cd (ECHCD 5)

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

producer: Julian Cope

label: Echo - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Wheelbarrow Man" (live) - 2. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" - 3. "Try Try Try" (Top of the Pops performance) - 4. "Stone Circles 'n' You" - 10. "Adam & Eve Hit the Road" - 15. "Senile Get" - 16. "The Lonely Guy"

11th studio album by Julian Cope is like the one year old predecessor Autogeddon released on the Chrysalis-owned sublabel Echo. With the album, Cope returns to his 'habit' of releasing extensive albums - 20 Mothers is nearly 72 minutes long and is divided into four 'phases', as was also the case with Peggy Suicide (Apr. 1991). His new album is similar to his most recent concept albums without it' being absolutely obvious where the focus lies, because it's more of a unifying album for all of Cope's thematic interests: climate and environment, the condition of our planet, consumerism, cars, religion, prehistoric cultures, and then as a more recent theme of his: stories from one's own lived life about family relationships. In the same way that themes are diverse, the music aspect is even more varied than on most of his other albums. Yes, there is the usual neo-psychedelia and space-rock, and then you'll also find indie rock, funk, and tracks with a clear folk touch, but also elements taken from Europop, synth-pop and rock & roll - in other words, the range is w--i---d----e, and the seemingly conceptual title, supported by the cover featuring family members - wife Dorian and friends, all of whom are actually mothers (as mentioned in the inlay) - then the album basically covers everything, and in that way it comes across as a bit of an all sorts mix - on all levels.

20 Mothers is by no means a bad album, the best side to it being Cope's stories, but at the same time it's somewhat incoherent and occasionally odd to listen to in its entirety.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

 

back cover: 
Julian with his
two daughters

inside:
Julian with family and friends
(wife Dorian on Julian's right)

Kele "2042" (2019)

2042

release date: Nov. 8, 2019

format: digital (16 x File, FLAC)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: Gethin Pearson

label: Kola / !K7 - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Jungle Bunny" - 3. "Let England Burn" - 4. "St. Kaepernick Wept" - 6. "My Business" - 7. "Ceiling Games" - 9. "Between Me and My Maker" - 13. "Catching Feelings" - 16. "Backburner"

4th studio release by Kele, who once again have returned to stand by his first name only, in contrast to Fatherland (Oct. 2017), which was released under the name Kele Okereke. There has now been room for a total of sixteen tracks and a total playing length of 61 minutes. The album follows four months after he and the band Bloc Party released the live album Silent Alarm Live (Jul. 2019) recorded during the band's European tour in 2018.

Stylistically, he's back in dance mode with an uptempo release using various electronic styles as alt. dance, neo-soul, funk, and disco mixed with indie pop, and a sound which isn't far from that of Bloc Party. Furthermore, he's more political than heard before, and the title apparently alludes to a collection of tracks revolving around an image of England in the year 2042. The album received fine reviews in the UK but didn't chart on the albums chart.

2042 is another fine example of Kele's musical skills, where he picks from all sorts of genres and styles to produce his own personal mix. In that way, stylistically and in terms of form, the album reminds me somewhat of his solo debut The Boxer (2010), without speaking of mere recycling. At times in the past, he hasn't always been able to hit the target with his releases but with 2042, I think he's back on track and the album simply appears to be his best and clearly most exciting album since his exiting debut and is therefore worthy of a recommendation.

[ NME, DIY 4 / 5 stars ]

Ike & Tina Turner "Nutbush City Limits" (1973) (single)

Nutbush City Limits, 7'' single

release date: Aug. 1973

format: vinyl

[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]

producer: Ike Turner

label: United Artists Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) "Nutbush City Limits" (4 / 5) - - B) "Help Him"

Single release by Ike & Tina Turner taken from the forthcoming studio album of the same name from November that same year. The song is credited Tina Turner and is one of the duo's final hit songs.

The single appears to have various front covers depending on national imprints. This particular Danish print comes from my parents' record collection. I do recall playing this at 7-12 years of age and found it one the better singles in my parents' collecion.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Black Grape "It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah" (1995)

It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah [debut]

release date: Aug. 7, 1995

format: cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,02]

producer: Danny Saber, Stephen Lironi, Shaun Ryder

label: Radioactive Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Reverend Black Grape" (4 / 5) - 2. "In the Name of the Father" (4 / 5) (live on Later) - 3. "Tramazi Parti" (live on Later) - 4. "Kelly's Heroes" (official video 1 - official video 2) - 5. "Yeah Yeah Brother" - 6. "A Big Day in the North" - 8. "Submarine" - 9. "Shake Your Money"

Studio album debut by the Northern English quintet Black Grape released on the small independent American label Radioactive. The band was formed in 1993 on initiative of vocalist Shaun Ryder and dancer Bez [aka Mark Berry] shortly after the disbandment of the Happy Mondays. Together with vocalist Paul 'Kermit' Leveridge (of Ruthless Rap Assassins), guitarist Paul 'Wags' Wagstaff (Paris Angel), and drummer Ged Lynch (Ruthless Rap Assassins) they constitute Black Grape. However, this quintet nearly only contains two performing instrumentalists. Bez is credited 'vibes' but is commonly known as a dancer - at times equiped with maracas, so 'vibes' would mean something like good karma. Apart from sharing vocal roles, Paul Leveridge is credited as co-songwriter on half of the ten songs, whereas Ryder is songwriter and composer of all tracks, and that aside, no one else from the band are credited music on this album. Instead the music basically seems manufactured, organised and arranged by the producer-trio of Saber, Lironi, and Ryder. Co-producer Danny Saber is a multi-instrumentalist and here, he is credited on guitar, bass, and keyboards as well as being in charge of programming. He is also sound engineer and co-composer of four tracks. Other co-producer Stephen Lironi (guitarist & drummer of Altered Images) is credited on guitar and keyboards, and he is co-composer of two songs. Apart from that, other instrumentalists feature on some of the songs but it's quite evident that it's an album driven by Ryder and two multi-instrumentalists, and the perception of a band effort is merely a manufactured official image. According to Ryder (from his autobiography "Twisting My Melon"), American manager Gary Kurfirst had initially made contact with Ryder to hear what he was up to after The Mondays. Ryder had then sent him a few demos and Kurfirst had been ready to manage Ryder as solo artist but Ryder had wanted it to be a new band effort with Kurfirst then making the needed contacts. Just like Kermit and Ryder were on the same channel when speaking musical influenses, also Saber and Ryder had the same perception of how to arrange songs, and Lironi was there to secure a certain rock-feel to the songs as opposed to the bolder hip-hop direction ensured by Saber. In that sense, it's really just the right combination of musical talent to start with.

Naturally, the music shares traits with that of Happy Mondays. Some suggest it sounds more like a natural progression from Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches (1990) than a move from the recent final album by The Mondays, and that's exactly what Ryder had wanted - also because his vision of Yes Please! (Oct 1992) had been an album based on the style from the '90-album, but then he had sort of been stoved away on that. With Ryder as the dominant figure - as both songwriter, composer, co-producer and vocalist - it's no wonder that it reminds people of his former project. Unfairly, Shaun is at times reduced to an original and creative songwriter with a highly distinctive vocal, but he's more than just that. Initially, he played the guitar with his younger brother Paul playing bass, and from the beginning of The Mondays, he shared composer-role with the rest of the band, which both underlines his ear for music structure as well as his role in Black Grape. Without Shaun there would've been no Happy Mondays nor a Black Grape - a name, which alledgedly comes from when they were to sign the release contract and the management opted for a band name before they would go any further and Kermit came in with a handful of black grapes, and Shaun then used the situation to get the contract settled.

Musically, the album comes out as a new original conglomerate of styles. It's alt. dance and indie pop in a bolder electronic shape than that of The Mondays, and it mixes elements from neo-psychedelia, funk and soul. A few of the songs, e.g. "A Big Day in the North", "Shake Well Before Opening" and "Yeah Yeah Brother" (actually written for the ...Yes Please! album) more strongly continues the style of The Happy Mondays with an acid house-tone but the overall sensation is that of a coherent whole of more uptempo funky alt. dance.

The title is almost like the answer to Pills 'n' Thrills... saying it's (probably) better to stay away from substance abuse, and then also suggesting that it's (again: probably) not really gonna go that way. Again, Ryder has given his accounts on how they were all on various substances, from Guiness, weed, and Temazis - "Tramazi Parti" is actually taken from 'Temazis' (name for 'Temazepam', which Ryder had recently discovered), but that would be granted as an album song - which had led them (back) to heroin. And the strong psychedelic colours of the front cover showing a pop art photo of the infamous terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (aka Carlos the Jackal) follows closely in the footsteps of covers for Ryder's former band.

Music critics welcomed the album and it went straight to number #1 on the UK chart list. It was preceded by the the single release of track #1 peaking at #9, and the album was followed by two singles, tracks #2 and #4, respectively peaking at #8, and #17 in the UK.

I vividly recall the album as something I considered an improvement to the Happy Mondays. In retrospect, it hasn't faded all that much and still carries a certain amount of quality.

It may not be as significant as Pills 'n' Thrills... but I find it better as more poignant, better structured, showcasing better hooks, filled with great songs, explicit and funny lyrics, and then it's just one of my favourites of the nineties and therefore highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com, Vox 4,5 / 5, NME 5 / 5, The Guardian, Mojo, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Cornershop "Urban Turban - The Singhles Club" (2012)

Urban Turban - The Singhles Club

release date: May 14, 2012

format: cd 

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: Tjinder Singh

label: Ample Play Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "What Did the Hippie Have in His Bag?" (ft. Castle Hill Primary) - 3. "Non-Stop Radio" (ft. Celeste) - 4. "Solid Gold" (ft. Katie) - 7. "Concrete, Concrete" (ft. Kay Kwong) - 8. "Something Makes You Feel Like" (ft. SoKo)

7th studio album by Cornershop released only one year after the highly original Cornershop & the Double 'O' Groove Of Featuring Bubbley Kaur is a release I first thought of as a compilation album due to its title, but that only points to band leader's surname. Once again the album is with Tjinder Singh as producer, main songwriter as well as main composer.

It has been made with various collaborating artists and is the result of "The Singhles Club" project, which meant that the band sent subscribers of their website a new single each month over a six month time-span. Urban Turban has then been expanded to compile twelve tracks most of which are made by the collaborating artist and Cornershop.

Terence Trent D'arby "Vibrator" (1995)

Vibrator
release date: Jun. 1, 1995
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,27]
producer: Terence Trent D'Arby
label: Columbia Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 3. "Holding on to You" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "We Don't Have That Much Time Together" - 8. "If You Go Before Me"

4th studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby continue its style from Symphony or Damn (1993), only it doesn't contain compositions on the same high level. It sounds and feels much like leftovers from his previous work. Together with Neither Fish Nor Flesh from '89, I find this his least interesting album, and the one that makes me think of Prince the most, and I'm not a fan of his. This is only just mediocre. This is one huge blend of styles: funk, soul , pop / rock, r&b, well even jazz is represented here making it fusion jazz rock. It seems he's almost trying to embrace all styles and genres, which can only lead to the style of... confusion [!].
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Select 1 / 5 stars ]

Terence Trent D'Arby "Neither Fish Nor Flesh..." (1989)

Neither Fish Nor Flesh...
release date: Oct. 23, 1989
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Terence Trent D'Arby
label: CBS Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 3."It Feels So Good To Love Someone Like You" - 4. "To Know Someone Deeply Is To Know Someone Softly" (4 / 5) - 5. "I'll Be Alright" (4 / 5) (live) - 6. "Billy Don't Fall" (3,5 / 5)

2nd studio album by Terence Trent D'Arby with the full title Neither Fish Nor Flesh (A Soundtrack of Love, Faith, Hope & Destruction) is released 2½ years after his great debut. The style is less focused, and loans from funk rock folk and gospel. It doesn't contain the same great single hits as the debut, but it contains fine music. I don't recall hearing it upon its release, and frankly suspect that most radio stations and distributor links didn't want D'Arby at all. Critics were hard on D'Arby. Well, he hadn't made it easy to himself claiming that his debut was a more important album than Sgt. Pepper... by The Beatles, and generally just taking it for granted that everyone in touch with the music industry could tell he was a genius. Prior to the album release, a German producer, Frank Farian reissued the album Love on Time (1984) by the German band, The Touch, a band featuring Terence Trent D'Arby on vocals. He played in the band while serving the US army stationed in Frankfurt, and Farian took advantage of D'Arby's new-found international debut to reissue the album as Early Works against D'Arby's will. When Neither Fish Nor Flesh was released, many music critics called the new album over-ambitious, pretentious, and simply rejected D'Arby's persona. Apparently, and according to D'Arby he found himself and the record label with conflicting ideas about promotional aspects, which wasn't in favor of the album nor the artist behind it. Some time after the release, TTD referred to himself as Sananda Maitreya, a name he legally changed to in 2001. On his homepage referring to this album, he recalls: "We believe this is the project that literally killed ‘TTD’, and from whose molten ashes, began the life of Sananda."
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Paul Young "Reflections" (1994)

Reflections
release date: Nov. 1994
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Ian Levine
label: Vision Music Entertainment - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Grazing in the Grass" (4 / 5) - 3. "That's How Heartaches Are Made" - 5. "Just a Little Misunderstanding" - 10. "Ain't No Sunshine" - 12. "More Love"

6th studio album by Paul Young released on a new label after his long-time contract with CBS / Sony. The style has changed to a lighter and funkier pop / rock with elements of contemporary r&b and soul pop. Unlike his former albums this doesn't contain any tracks written by Young. The release was a rather unnoticed one by both critics as well as music buyers, perhaps due to poor / little promotion. Three singles were released from the album none of which even entered the top 100 in the UK. The album is, however, by no means a mediocre collection of songs and just outside his top-3 best studio releases. Young's voice still sounds fine, and he still adds the usual quality to several tracks, but the album doesn't contain obvious hits, and I generally don't appreciate the funky up-tempo arrangements of roughly half of the tracks, whereas the other half are stronger soulful ballads. The album topped at #64 on the albums chart list in the UK, but frankly, I find this clearly bettering his 1990 album Other Voices reaching #4 on the same list but that album was promoted by CBS / Sony.
In the aftermath of the release Young played together with the 6-piece band Los Pacaminos, which had been formed in '92, as a playground for playing Tex-Mex-inspired music. The band has kept playing together and in 2002 an eponymous album was released.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Deep Purple "Come Taste the Band" (1975)

Come Taste the Band
release date: Oct. 10, 1975
format: vinyl (TPSA 7515) / digital (2010 remaster)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,96]
producer: Martin (The Wasp) Birch and Deep Purple
label: Purple Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Comin' Home" - 2. "Lady Luck" - 5. "I Need Love" - - B) 1. "Drifter"

10th studio album by Deep Purple released on Purple Records and produced by Martin Birch and Deep Purple. Stylistically, the band continues with a mix of hard rock, funk, soul elements and more mainstream pop / rock as was the case on Burn (1974). The album features the band's new guitarist Tommy Bolin who had replaced one of the band's central composers, Ritchie Blackmore, but it remains the only album with Bolin as guitarist. In early '76 the band was on an Asian tour and Bolin who was a drug addict often failed to play guitar properly and the band broke up Mar. '76 - Bolin died of a heroin overdose Dec. 1976. Deep Purple was, however, rejoined in 1984 with the original "Mark II" members, Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover and Ian Paice. The band still lives on, although, the members list have changed since the reunion but Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Ian Paice are still together as Deep Purple. This is my newest album with the band. I have listened to a few of their more recent albums, including their "reunion" album Perfect Strangers (1984), which became the band's biggest commercial success, but I have failed to find anything interesting in their following releases and simply see the band as one connected to the early 1970s.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars, Sputnik Music calls it "very poor" and hands it 1,5 / 5 stars ]

Lou Reed "The Bells" (1979)

The Bells
release date: Apr. 1979
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: Lou Reed
label: Arista Records - nationality: USA

9th studio album by newly deseased Lou Reed (Oct. 27, 2013) follows the release of the double live album Live: Take No Prisoners (Nov. 1978). The mid-70s found Lou Reed moving away from glam rock, now making music primarily in a adult rock and pop / rock style with a certain art rock profile. With The Bells he expands his stylistic universe by incorporating disco and funk. I never really liked this album that much and find it more of one of his misses of another transition period. Alledgedly, Reed himself has spoken fondly about it and actually has picked this as a personal favourite. Well, could it be that he (says he) likes it only because critics have seen it as a minor work of his? That would be SO much in the spirit of Lou Reed. Anyway, on most albums you'll see Lou as songwriter of all his songs but for this, most songs are composed in a collaboration with either Nils Lofgren (tracks #1, #4, and #6), Michael Fonfara (tracks #2 and #3), Marty Fogel (tracks #2 and #9), Ellard Boles (tracks #2 and #8), or Don Cherry (track #7). At worst, everything sounds a wee bit like an imitation of Bruce Springsteen but it's nevertheless an actual studio album by the great Lou Reed. It's not intentionally, nor in the light of this album that I choose to remember Lou Reed but I guess it also represents his many faces. He couldn't be framed in, and as an artist, he surely never stood grounded in the same spot but always kept renewing himself - searching for that new ingredient to color his sound. RIP Lewis Allan Reed.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Dieters Lieder "Hvor flink kan man blive?" (1988)

Hvor flink kan man blive?
release date: 1988
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]
producer: Kim Sagild
label: Genlyd - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 9. "Dig & mig"

2nd studio album by Dieters Lieder follows the debut Jeg ka' lieder released five years earlier. Meanwhile, the band has experienced their biggest succes with the pop-song "Dig og mig", which may have resulted in a change of style. This new album is in a distinct pop / rock sphere without traces of new wave and / or post-punk from their debut. This was a huge disappointment to me when I listened to the album for the first time. The band had been on their own, playing a daring new wave style, which was a strange blend, but here they have turned to pop with a distinct element of funk. The band is now in a new line-up still with the brothers Gerup, who both share the part as lead vocalist and Martin has changed his primary instrument and now is playing keyboards. Halfdan E plays bass - he would later on become an acclaimed composer / producer - and new drummer is Morten Kaufmann.
The band released the album, as well as the debut, on the label Genlyd, founded by the Danish band Gnags, and that may be the band's closest stylistic reference here. It now seems without a will to dare make new music. The band is mostly known for having had the composer / producer Halfdan E on bass from '83 and for being almost synonymous with the single track "Dig og mig", which was originally released in 1984, but it wasn't really noticed until the track featured in the Danish TV-series "Sonny Soufflé Chok Show" in '86 (link). And in '99 the track was covered by the Danish act, Blå øjne (link), and that brought some fame to the band. In 2008 Natasja also covered the song in a dance hall version - again with some success (link). The band dissolved in 1989 shortly after releasing Hvor flink kan man blive.

T. Rex "Futuristic Dragon" (1976)

Futuristic Dragon
release date: Jan. 30, 1976
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,14]
producer: Marc Bolan
label: EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "Jupiter Liar" - 3. "Chrome Sitar" - 4. "All Alone" - 6. "My Little Baby"

11th studio album by T. Rex and again with Bolan in full control. 1976 was the year when punk rock exploded in Britain with The Damned, Sex Pistols, The Clash and a totally different approach to music. but it was also a fine year for Marc Bolan, although, his music had a hard time getting through to the crowd he used to appeal to.
This is actually a fine and daring album with some nice tracks, but... Bolan keeps to a formula based on glam rock and boogie with the addition of soul and funk elements, which may feel a bit strange and somewhat dated when thinking of the time of its release. "My Little Baby" is a mighty fine track and would have fitted perfectly on The Slider or Tanx.

C.V. Jørgensen "Solgt til stanglakrids" (1979)

Solgt til stanglakrids

release date: maj 1979

format: cd (1988 reissue)

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]

producer: Stig Kreutzfeldt

label: CBS Records / Elap - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Søndags-seancer" - 2. "Christiania Black Star" - 7. "Ingenting & festfyld" - 8. "Det psykedeliske forår"

5th studio album by C.V. Jørgensen is originally his final on Metronome following 15 months after Vild i varmen (1978) and is C.V.'s second of two consecutive albums with producer Stig Kreutzfeldt. On this, C.V. is backed for the last time by Det Ganske Lille Band, here consisting of a quartet with 'the three regulars': guitarist and co-composer on most tracks, Ivan Horn, bassist Erik Falck, and drummer René Wulf, all three of whom have participated on Jørgensen's last three albums. The backing band is now without Thomas Grue, who only appears on Vild i varmen - he never really fell in with the relationships in the band and returned to play with Kim Larsen (and Frede Fup). In his place, keyboardist Lotte Rømer has taken over, she is also co-composer on the first track. Before recording the album, both Wulf and Horn had only just participated on Rømer's debut album and together they reportedly persuaded C.V. and Falck to include Rømer in Det Ganske Lille Band.

Musically, this is not a change of style. The band continues in the continued mainstream pop / rock or soft rock mix based on folk, country rock and funk rock that was heard on the predecessor. Likewise, the songs are like new chapters in the history of new trends in society, styles in art, moneymen, illusions and disillusions - in short: the contemporary lifestyle exposed to critical eyes with a good dose of irony added. It's just like taken from exactly the same shelf as C.V.'s previous album and in a way that it almost sounds like leftovers from the same recordings, and in retrospect it's not one of his best albums. Most of all because it is without strong numbers and good choruses. If you compare it with new musical currents such as new wave and punk rock, it is also remarkable how old-fashioned the album here sounds. However, it is quite clear that C.V. by no means overlooked the new trends. In the song "Surf à la mode" he talks about the new British band Siouxsie and the Banshees and notes that Siouxsie is the only interesting thing, because the band "i sig selv er nemlig ikke en nikkel værd - lige bortset fra som baggrundsfyld - af og til når det fungerer kan man ligesom abstrahere - fra den møgbeskidte lyd der fumles med" ['per se isn't worth a nickel except as background filler - occasionally, when it works, you may be able to ignore the dung-dirty sound they are fumbling with' (my translation)]. He continues his categorization of the band, which he clearly doesn't like: "vi har det ind imellem med at placere - ting på hovedet så hvem ved måske en skønne dag - er Siouxie og the Banshees på toppen - af hitlisterne landet over inklusive den hos Irma"['we sometimes turn things upside down, so who knows maybe one fine day Siouxie and the Banshees are topping the charts all across the country including the one at Sainsbury's' (my translation)]. Yes, yes, he has evidently noted new sounds in popular music, and no, he doesn't like it.

After three years of hectic life going from one concert to another, C.V. had to call it a day after a short tour with the new album. He was not a fan of the new band, in which Rømer and Horn now also formed a couple, and he needed a break, all the while the backing band continued to tour under the name C.V. Moto. He was now determined to move on artistically, and already in the autumn of '79 he announced to Horn, Falck, and Wulf that they had come to an end. With a collection of new songs written by C.V., with Lotte Rømer on vocal and with music by Rømer and (boyfriend) Ivan Horn, C.V. Moto released the stand-alone album Lampefeber in 1980. While the previous backing band had been busy touring and recording the new songs, Jørgensen had inititated a collaboration with Billy Cross, which simultaneosly led to the album Tidens tern (1980).

The reason I'm not a big fan of Solgt til stanglakrids isn't because of C.V.'s aversion to punk rock, it's simply because with this he basically stopped contributing with anything new to the collection of Danish classics and only delivers a few good songs to his repertoire. The band now sounds as if they are playing in 1973 while founding the music on J.J. Cale, Little Feat with the addition of guitar solos by Clapton and seem fully satisfied spitting out new songs as success rolls in. This is actually the first time you hear C.V. on repeat and without the ability, or the desire to move - and perhaps that was what he actually sensed himself when he made the decision to call it quits.

Incidentally, the cover is the first credited to C.V.'s girlfriend, Annemarie Albrectsen.

Not recommended.

Earth, Wind & Fire "I Am" (1979)

I Am
release date: Jun. 9, 1979
format: vinyl
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]
producer: Maurice White
label: ARC - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "In the Stone" (4 / 5) - 2. "Can't Let Go" - 3. "After the Love Has Gone" - 5. "Boogie Wonderland (feat. The Emotions)" (5 / 5) - 6. "Star" - 9. "You and I"

9th studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire originally released by Columbia Records and American Recording Company (ARC).
I believe my brother handed me this as a Christmas present back '79, as he knew I listened to Boney M.

[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, MusicHound 4 / 5 stars ]

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

C.V. Jørgensen "Vild i varmen" (1978)

Vild i varmen

release date: Feb. 1978

format: cd (1988 reissue) (460833 2)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: Stig Kreutzfeldt

label: CBS Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Hotel Halleluja" - 2. "Lænker & laster" - 3. "I en blågrå kupé" - 4. "13.294 bananer" - 6. "Et satanisk mesterværk" - 7. "Det rene hetleri" - 9. "Clue"

4th studio album by C.V. Jørgensen originally released on Metronome, is Jørgensen's first of two consecutive albums to be produced by Stig Kreutzfeld, who served as sound engineer on the nine-month-old predecessor Storbyens små oaser (May 1977) and who had otherwise made a name for himself as part of the psychedelic folk duo Stig & Steen in the early seventies. The album introduces a more mainstream pop / rock sound, where focus has shifted from a primarily folk rock and country rock expression to that of a broader soft rock style, often referred to as AOR (Adult-Oriented Rock), where the jazzy element is completely cut away. Jørgensen's backing band, Det Ganske Lille Band, has here been expanded to a quartet featuring three renowned names: guitarist Ivan Horn, bassist Erik Falck, and drummer René Wulf, who all appeared on the '77 album, as well as new member, guitarist Thomas Grue (from Kim Larsen's backing band and studio musician for Jomfru Ane, Røde Mor, etc.). Grue already joined the tour in the fall of '77 to release C.V. from the role of rhythm guitarist so he could concentrate on singing. Stig Kreutzfeldt is heard on keys, but what perhaps marks the biggest musical shift is revealed in the composer credits. On Jørgensen's three previous albums, he is alone to be credited as songwriter and composer, but here the majority of the tracks are credited 'Valentin - Horn / Valentin' - with Valentin as alias for C.V. Jørgensen as songwriter and most tracks dedicated 'Valentin - Horn' as an indication of having been composed by Jørgensen in collaboration with guitarist Ivan Horn, who also acted as musical arranger.

With Vild i varmen following only nine months after the successful Storbyens små oaser, it already marks another change of style, which here implies a move towards more uptempo tracks with a tighter rhythm section, as well as showcasing more melody-based guitar and an obvious inclusion of funk.

All in all, it's a style that caters far more to a mainstream audience with preferences for J.J. Cale, Genesis, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, and Little Feat and approaching domestic popular artists such as Gnags, Bifrost, and Gasolin'. "Hotel Halleluja", "Lænker & laster", and "I en blågrå kupé" are this album's three additions to Jørgensen's classics, while the final track "Clue" he actually delivers a clear love song. During this period, C.V. Jørgensen was mainly perceived as a band, and it's with three albums in the course of three years that they tour country and kingdom as one of the biggest Danish names.

Vocalist C.V. Jørgensen shows Danish rock with a flair for smart stories about ordinary people's everyday life, which is far removed from Springsteen's romanticisation of the conditions of the working class. In C.V.'s small portraits, Danes and their working life are instead made fun of with sharp ironic distance in an anonymised form, which is addressed more generally to parts of the population. He has sharpened his pen and talks about alienation and narrow-mindedness in a new and entertaining way. The songs are packed with humour without loss of the lyrical facet with a strong sense for melody and chorus, which in a way always points back to an inspiration drawn in the expression from especially American folk rock songwriters.

Vild i varman is a quite coherent album with sharp lyrics and an uptempo beat, without the same laid-back jazzy coolness of his most recent album. It's an album that shows C.V.'s new path to a position at the top of the hierarchy in popular Danish rock.

Recommended.

Deep Purple "Stormbringer" (1974)

Stormbringer
release date: Nov. 1974
format: vinyl (TPS 3508) / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,32]
producer: Martin Birch and Deep Purple
label: Purple Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Stormbringer" - - B) 1. "Lady Double Dealer" (4 / 5) - 5. "Soldier of Fortune" (4 / 5)

9th studio album by Deep Purple released on Purple and produced by Martin Birch and Deep Purple. The album introduces new styles like funk, soul, and more polished pop / rock output than heard before from the band. It features a more subdued and / or marginalised Ritchie Blackmore, which gives more room for keyboards and new styles. It's the last studio album with Blackmore, who would continue a solo career with Rithie Blackmore's Rainbow - later just Rainbow - and released his first solo album in the spring of 1975.
Stormbringer is a bit of a strange album featuring various styles and genres, and it is hard to see an overall idea with the album. The album was commercial step down compared to Burn released 6 months earlier and critics were divided on the album. Needless say, the band members are extremely skilled musicians but the end result is somewhat blurred. The first track takes off like Burn with a strong blues rock and hard rock composition but is then followed by "Love Don't Mean a Thing" and "Holy Man", which are soul- and funk-based compositions far away from anything they'd done before. The first track on the B-side continues a tradition they have repeated several times by putting the perhaps strongest track of the album here, but then funk really takes over again. The album concludes with one of the band's most beloved tracks "Soldier of Fortune", which in some ways is close to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" classic.
It's what you want it to be. All sorts.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, Records Collector 4 / 5 stars ]

Japan "Adolescent Sex" (1978)

Adolescent Sex [debut]
release date: Apr. 8, 1978
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,04]
producer: Ray Singer
label: Hansa Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Transmission" - 2. "The Unconventional" - 8. "Adolescent Sex" - 9. "Communist China"

Studio album debut by Japan consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist David Sylvian (aka David Alan Batt), lead guitarist Rob Dean, bassist Mick Karn, keyboardist Richard Barbieri, and with drummer and percussionist Steve Jansen (aka Stephen Batt, younger brother of Sylvian). All tracks are composed by David Sylvian.
The style is primarily glam rock with some art pop and funk rock elements, and differs from the band's later albums. Some tracks are dominated by a fusion of funk glam and r&b styles, whereas others are more new wave-based, which makes it hard to describe fully. There's also a distinct inspiration from David Bowie, who had fusioned styles on his Young Americans 1975 album.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

The Clash "Radio Clash" (1981) (single)

Radio Clash, 12'' single
release date: Nov. 20, 1981
format: vinyl (CBSA 12.1797)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: The Clash
label: CBS Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "This Is a Radio Clash") - 2. "Radio Clash" - - B) 1. "Outside Broadcast" - 2. "Radio 5"
[ all tracks ]

Single release by The Clash. Despite the different track names, all tracks are actually remixes of the same track. The A-side of the 12'' are identical versions of the two tracks found on the 7'' single issue. Nationally, the single didn't perform too well, topping at number #47 on the singles chart list. Highest position was at number #9 on the Swedish chart list.

The Clash "Sandinista!" (1980)

Sandinista!
release date: Dec. 12, 1980
format: vinyl 3 lp (CBS 66363) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,74]
producer: Mickey Dread, The Clash
label: CBS Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "The Magnificent Seven" (4 / 5) - 3. "Junco Partner" - 4. "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" - 5. "The Leader" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Rebel Waltz" - 3. "The Crooked Beat" - 4. "Somebody Got Murdered" (4 / 5) - 5. "One More Time" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "One More Dub" - - C) 1. "Lighting Strikes (Not Once But Twice)" - 2. "Up in Heaven (Not Only Here)" (4 / 5) - 3. "Corner Soul" (4 / 5) - 4. "Let's Go Crazy" (4,5 / 5) - - D) 1. "Police on My Back" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "The Equaliser" - 4. "The Call Up" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Washington Bullets" - - E) 1. "Lose This Skin" - 2. "Charlie Don't Surf" (4 / 5) - 4. "Junkie Slip" - 5. "Kingston Advice" - - F) 1. "Version City" - 3. "Silicone on Sapphire" - 4. "Version Pardner"
[ full album playlist ]

4th studio album by The Clash is a triple vinyl album introducing the band's perhaps most radical work of art. If London Calling is acclaimed for its daring huge blend of styles, then this should simply be the best album of all times, if ever that was enough to make great music. With this, The Clash has composed music in punk rock, rockabilly, jazz rock, reggae, dub, post-punk, rock & roll, experimental rock and several tracks with no familiar style to label it with. It was tremendously daring to release an album of this sort - at this point of time. My initial feelings towards the album undoubtedly were shaped by disappointment and delusion. "Where were the great punk songs? What was wrong with punk rock?", I thought. I had only just discovered punk rock - loved it, and then this! From one of my absolute favourite bands! For the first 5 years, I felt they could have released a great regular album using 10-15 tracks from this abundance of... 36 [!]. But it's an album, I have only come to like and enjoy more and more over the years. Today, I'm close to handing it 4 / 5 stars, and then, back in '81, I would probably have handed it 2 / 5 - maybe 2,5 'cause it is The Clash after all. Yes, they could have scraped everything away, all the experiments with styles and genres and released a hell of an album, but this is so... much fun. I think, in the future this could be on par with the works of Mozart, Stravinsky or other major classical composers' work 'cause it's really unlike anything else, and not just that. There are so many layers here that once you find into the substance / the essence, it will keep you entertained for years and perhaps decades. Critics have also been divided on this - and they still are. I think, the album fits perfectly on any best of lists comprising the most valuable, most important albums of all time. Because 'best' is such a defining label. How about the importance of an album instead of just 'best'? This would be nominated for exactly such a prize.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]