Robert Forster "Inferno" (2019)

Inferno

release date: Mar. 1, 2019

format: vinyl (tr429lp) / digital

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

producer: Victor Van Vugt

label: Tapete Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Crazy Jane on the Day of Judgement" - 3. "Inferno (Brisbane in Summer)" - 5. "Life Has Turned a Page" (live) - 6. "Remain" - 7. "I’ll Look After You" - 9. "One Bird in the Sky"

7th solo album by Robert Forster following Songs to Play (Sep. 2015) is Forster's second album on German label Tapete. It offers nine new compositions, all of which except track #1 with lyrics by William Butler Yeats, are credited Forster himself, and the album was produced by Australian Victor Van Vugt, who previously, among other things, produced for names such as PJ Harvey, Beth Orton, Nick Cave, but he was also sound engineer on Forster's debut Danger in the Past (1990) - just as he is credited on a large number of Australian releases in the 80s and 90s before he chose to settle in New York and here he established himself as producer in mainly the singer / songwriter category. As with the predecessor and Forster's debut, wife Karin Baümler participates on this. Forster has a certain thing for belonging to a band rather than standing on his own, so the album is actually credited the band 'The Magic Five' consisting of Earl Havin on drums and bongos, Michael Mühlhaus on piano and keyboards, Karin Baümler on violin, glockenspiel and backing vocals, Forster himself as vocalist and on acoustic and electric guitar, and with Scott Bromiley on bass, electric & acoustic guitar, synthesizer, organ and backing vocals. The latter also featured on the 2015 album (which he co-produced with Luke McDonald and Forster).

Stylistically, Forster never strays far from the traditional singer / songwriter and folk rock scene rooted in the 60s and 70s. His lyrics about human relationships, sadness, happiness, friendships, the past and the present carry these songs, with a predominantly gentle instrumentation treated with melancholic bits and hints of jangle pop.

Thirteen years have passed since Forster lost his songwriting friend and the other founding member of The Go-Betweens, Grant McLennan, but he still fills - both in Forster's music as well as in his lyrics. Strictly musically, McLennan was the one who came up with the fine harmonies, and in his autobiography "Grant & I" Forster explains how they wrote the music for The Go-Betweens, and it's quite clear that McLennan (from Forster's perspective) had a particularly natural gift to write good songs, while Forster himself always had to struggle more with his music, and when he occasionally plays with more catchy harmonies, thoughts easily falls on the importance of his old friend.

Inferno is another series of fine songs from a musician who has clearly always felt, he had been born in the wrong era, but he is a highly original rhyme and soundsmith, who makes his mark with manners without making a huge fuzz about himself. The album may not be his absolute best, but it's far from the ordinary or copy mode, and it contains some of the freshness he launched with his 2015 album and to that he adds a little more depth to his fine lyrics.

Recommended.

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

Robert Forster "Songs to Play" (2015)

Songs to Play

release date: Sep. 18, 2015

format: digital (10 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Robert Forster, Luke McDonald & Scott Bromiley

label: Tapete Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 2. "Let Me Imagine You" - 4. "And I Knew" - 6. "I'm so Happy for You" - 8. "Turn on the Rain" - 9. "I Love Myself and I Always Have" - 10. "Disaster in Motion"

6th studio album by Robert Forster following a full 7½ years after The Evangelist (Apr. 2008). Apparently, most of these songs were written in 2010 / 2011 but weren't recorded until around five years later. Forster has explained that he needed a break in his music career, and initially had set himself up for a five-year hiatus, which then turned into seven... It was a period during which he wrote music articles and simultaneously worked on his autobiography. The album has been made completely without former collaborators Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson. Forster clearly wanted to make a fresh restart and in their place he has invited the two members from Australian The John Steel Singers: Luke McDonald and Scott Bromiley - both as multi-instrumentalists. Forster produced the band's 2010 debut Tangalooma and together they then played some of these songs, which would end up on Songs to Play, and here the two are also credited as co-producers. Forster's wife, Karin Baümler, previously participated on his albums playing violin and doing backing vocals, but on this, she has played a fuller part on all tracks, and together with drummer Matt Piele from Forster's tour band, they all form the new backing 'band', which of course gives the output new colours.

Although McDonald and Bromiley have been given rein to contribute with their ideas, it's still very much a Robert Forster solo with lyrics and music credited the man himself. The style is laid in an acoustic contemporary folk rock characterised by strong bonds to classic rock & roll in its simplest form. At times it's uptempo without being danceable rock and the songs appear with a marked lightness compared to the gloomier tone on his previous albums.

Songs to Play is an album where the music has come to the fore and Forster successfully acts as a classic singer / songwriter without being weighed down by his former achievements, suppressed emotions and the melancholy, which have been natural traits in the past, and by that, the album could pave the way for a new dynamic in his original musical realm. In any case, it's not an album, as the predecessor, that sounds like falling in between The Go-Betweens and a solo album - it's definitely a pure Robert Forster release on which he deals with the present.

The front cover is a photo of Robert and Karin's daughter Loretta Forster.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]

The Go-Betweens "The Friends of Rachel Worth" (2000)

The Friends of Rachel Worth
release date: Sep. 16, 2000
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: The Go-Betweens
label: Clearspot / EFA - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Magic in Here" - 3. "The Clock" - 5. "He Lives My Life" - 6. "Heart and Home" - 7. "Surfing Magazines" - 8. "Orpheus Beach" - 9. "Going Blind" - 10. "When She Sang About Angels"

7th studio album by The Go-Betweens released twelve years after 16 Lovers Lane (Aug. 1988) is the band's first since its recent reformation. Robert Forster and Grant McLennan had stayed friends and never lost touch in the years following the band's break-up in '89, although they were now busy pursuing individual solo careers. Forster released four solo albums - most recently Warm Nights from 1996 - and he produced a few releases for wife Karin Bäumler's band Baby You Know, whereas McLennan seems to have been more productive by also releasing four solo albums - most recently In Your Bright Ray from 1997 - one of these is a double album, and then he also released two albums with the band Jack Frost, as well as a single with the band Far Out Corporation. In the run-up to the reformation of The Go-Betweens, the two songwriters played a number of live gigs together assisted by bassist Adele Pickvance, either announced as Forster / McLennan or occasionally as The Go-Betweens, performing songs from their respective solo releases as well as songs from their time with The Go-Betweens. In Forster's autobiography "Grant & I" he recalls how the French music magazine 'Les Inrockuptibles' got in contact with Forster because they wanted to bring a longer article on the band's story and simulaneously they hired a version of the reformed band to perform as The Go-Betweens in Paris. The concert was quite successful and other European concerts soon followed. One night after a performance in '96, Grant aired the idea that they really should reform the band, an idea Forster didn't immediately reject, but it didn't materialise on that occasion as they had too many things going on. Forster had just released Warm Nights, which he intended to promote, and he and Karin were also expecting their first child, and then the near-always prolific McLennan was working on what would turn out to be his final solo album, the fine In Your Bright Ray (Sep. '97). Concurrently, he had also formed the band Far Out Corporation together with guitarist Ian Haug (of Powderfinger), Adele Pickvance, and drummer Ross McLennan (no relation to Grant), who had sometimes replaced Glenn Thompson when playing live with Forster, and together they released the album FOC (Oct. '98). So clearly, thoughts about new music from The Go-Betweens were still well and truly stoved away. As of May '99, Beggars Banquet released the album Bellavista Terrace: Best of The Go-Betweens - and the company wanted the band's aid to promote the album, and a new live tour was soon set up. The concerts were again powerful experiences and yet again McLennan had asked Forster whether it was time to reform the band and perhaps focus their joint songwriting on producing a new album. Forster first had to return home to ask his family in Germany how they felt about him doing a new shot at the old band, and with Karin's approval, Forster then moved with his family to Australia to make sure Forster and McLennan could work closely together on new music, just as they had found working was best years before - getting together with a handful of new drafts and then in a mutual process making a first rough sorting and testing out arrangements before the tracks were presented to the rest of the band.

For this album, the new quintet of The Go-Betweens consists of the two founding members, vocalist and guitarists Forster and McLennan, together with bassist and backing vocalist Adele Pickvance, who, in addition to having assisted McLennan on his solo tours, also was part of the band Far Out Corporation. Pickvance was to prove to be the only other and third stable member in the band's new short life cycle. Much like years before, all tracks are credited the Forster / McLennan unit, with one half of the songwriting credited Forster and the other half to McLennan, while all songs feature both as composers. The album is the band's first to be recorded in the US (Portland, Oregon), and to support the band they are assisted of the trio Sleater-Kinney, consisting of Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and Janet Weiss (drummer in three bands: Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, and The Go-Betweens). Officially, Brownstein and Tucker are only credited on track #9 for additional guitar and vocals, but apparently they contribute (uncredited) harmony vocals on several tracks. However, the album is the one and only with a line-up featuring Weiss and (husband) Sam Coomes, who both form the core of Sleater-Kinney.

The front cover only depicts McLennan and Forster (the back is text only), and the two reappear with Pickvance and Weiss (but without Coomes) on the inside of the digipak edition.

Compared to their solo releases over the past decade, the album doesn't offer strikingly new, and the closest is actually the style of McLennan and Forster's solo works, where they have both cultivated singer / songwriter and folk rock since the break-up in '89. It's very much like two troubadours doing their usual stuff - together, but separately. Neither the composition contribute much to the sound of the new Go-Betweens, and it's really only the familiar vocals of the two frontmen that connect the album with previous releases by The Go-Betweens.

As was the case before the disbandment, the album was met by positive reviews, and also by a lack of commercial success. All in all, The Friends of Rachel Worth isn't one of the band's most memorable albums, but as with their other six albums - perhaps with the exception of the stumbling debut - the songs have a distinct rock poetic signature. The lyrics offer fine lines and personal stories, 'cause as modern storytellers, the songwriting duo Forster / McLennan are in a league where you easily think of other names such as Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Tom Verlaine, David Bowie, etc., which in itself is exceptional company.

[ 👍allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, The Guardian, Melody Maker, NME, Spin 4 / 5, 👉Uncut 4,5 / 5 stars ]

The Cranberries "In the End" (2019)

In the End
release date: Apr. 26, 2019
format: vinyl (LTD. gatefold cranberry vinyl) / digital (11 x File, FLAC)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Stephen Street
label: BMG - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "All Over Now" - 2. "Lost" - 3. "Wake Me When It's Over" - 5. "Catch Me If You Can" - 9. "Summer Song" - 11. "In the End"

8th and final studio album by The Cranberries released more than one year after the accidental and most tragic death of lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the band, Dolores O'Riordan, Jan. 2018.
The album has been a long way in the making - partly because of O'Riordan's untimely departure, and for the remaining band members having to come to terms with the fact that what was to be a restart of the band with a ready-made promotion plan and a scheduled tour list, was all of a sudden something completely different - and final. Also, what had been recorded of Dolores' vocals were only demo takes, so what could easily have ended as a shelved half-finished last album had to be mixed and arranged to fit what had been laid down.
Stylistically, the band aims at the core of its own strengths: their special blend of soft alt. rock jangle pop and dream pop in a singer / songwriter outing, thanks to O'Riordan's talent for songwriting, which in a way takes the band back in time to its more successful releases of the '90s.
Stephen Street is credited as additional musician and he has mixed and produced the album so skilfully that you forget the circumstances that were at play. Without O'Riordan's sparkling demo vocals these songs could only have been shelved. Instead we are blessed with one final last chapter - all thanks to The Cranberries: Dolores O'Riordan, Noel & Mike Hogan, and Fergal Lawler.
The album has been met by positive reviews, and after only two days, I dare already say that it's truly a fine accomplishment. The album contains sincere ballads and uptempo rockers in a tone that puts the album at the very top of all the band's releases.
In the End may be one of the saddest ends to a great band, but at the same time it's a gem to have been handed to us all - despite devastating circumstances, and it's definitely highly recommended.
So far a certified top 3 album of the year!
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, 👍The Guardian, Clash, The Independent 4 / 5 stars ]

2019 Favorite releases: 1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Ghosteen - 2. The Cranberries In the End - 3. Rammstein Rammstein

The Cranberries "Something Else" (2017)

Something Else
release date: Apr. 28, 2017
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: The Cranberries
label: BMG - nationality: Ireland

[ playlist of album songs ]

7th studio album, or: 7th official band release is a collection of ten previously released songs in acoustic versions recorded live at the University of Limerick, Ireland with the addition of three new songs (#2, 7 and 13). The album follows a series of live albums (8 albums in 2010 recorded at various European locations and another 2 live albums in 2012 also in Europe), and it presents some of the band's most popular compositions in acoustic / orchestral versions with the addition of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, which really distinguishes this from ordinary live albums.
The album was met by positive reviews and a following European live tour was scheduled, but during its initial stage in late May, the remaining dates were cancelled due to O'Riordan's health problems. Also the American tour was subsequently cancelled in July, and the band didn't get to do any further live performances that year. However, they managed to record O'Riordan's vocals for a forthcoming album when in Jan. 2018 it was announced that she had been found dead at London's Park Lane Hilton hotel. So in a way, this material feature the last official live recordings of The Cranberries and by Dolores O'Riordan, although, a successive and final album, In the End would be released in 2019.
As for track highlights, I find it too difficult a task to pick tracks at the expense of others 'cause there really are no fillers nor any mediocre tracks on an album that may require some familiarisation to these arrangements, but in the end, it's a truly fine result and a recommended album.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Grant McLennan "In Your Bright Ray" (1997)

In Your Bright Ray

release date: Jul. 1997

format: cd

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]

producer: Wayne Connolly

label: Cortex - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "In Your Bright Ray" (4 / 5) - 2. "Cave In" - 3. "One Plus One" - 5. "Malibu 69" - 6. "Who Said Love Was Dead" - 8. "All Them Pretty Angels" (4 / 5) - 10. "Down Here" - 11. "Lamp by Lamp" - 12. "Do You See the Lights?" - 13. "The Parade of Shadows"

4th and final studio album by Grant McLennan following three years after the double album Horsebreaker Star (Dec. 1994) - in between these two albums he shortly returned to the duo-project Jack Snow together with The Church frontman Steve Kilbey and assisted by drummer Tim Powless (also The Church) and together they released the loose follow-up album Snow Job in '95 after which they shelved the project. Prior to the recordings of this album (Dec. '96), McLennan found his way back to performing with Robert Forster but plans about reforming their old band were still in the melting pot as Forster and Karin Baümler were about to become parents and McLennan was busy touring with his new album and writing new music for his new band, Far Out Corporation.

In Your Bright Ray is McLennan when he shines the brightest. The album contains 13 songs all by McLennan with a total running time right on 50 minutes, and it's recorded with Australian producer and multi-instrumentalist Wayne Connolly (from The Whipper Snappers - he also produced for Underground Lovers and Died Pretty) and drummer Tim Powless (from The Church and Jack Frost) together with guitarist Brett Myers (from Died Pretty) and bassist Maurice Argiro (from Underground Lovers).

Musically, this is probably McLennan's cleanest rock-album - with a sheer amount of jangle pop. Imho, this is easily McLennan's best solo album. Where the predecessor was his boldest singer / songwriter album this is something as unusual from this gifted bard as a lush and bright pop / rock album and primarily a collection of uptempo songs where McLennan shows his worth as one of Australia's best songwriters ever. It documents what Robert Forster meant, when he described Grant as ahead of him. Forster claimed that where he had to work hard to write his stuff and to come up with a good song - for Grant, it just came naturally - like opening a hose.

Highly recommended.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Gaffa.dk 5 / 6 stars ]

The Cranberries "Roses" (2012)

Roses
release date: Feb. 14, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Cooking Vinyl - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 1. "Conduct" - 2. "Tomorrow" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Raining in My Heart" - 6. "Schizophrenic Playboy" - 9. "Astral Projections" - 11. "Roses"

6th studio album by The Cranberries feature Stephen Street, who produced the band's two first albums, back in the producer seat, and that is a welcomed return. Street did help the band creating a fine balanced and broad sound, which in a way dissolved somewhat on the following albums.
The album doesn't contain that many great tracks but I find that the sound is back on track - O'Riordan's vocal and backing harmonies in collaboration with jangle pop elements and string arrangements secure a rather fine comeback album that may better the last 3 albums by The Cranberries, but which frankly, only just contain good enough material for an ep, as it also contains a number of clear fillers.
[ allmusic.com, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

The Stone Roses "The Stone Roses" (1989)

The Stone Roses [debut]
release date: Mar. 13, 1989
format: vinyl (ORE LP 502) / cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]
producer: John Leckie
label: Silvertone Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "I Wanna Be Adored" (4 / 5) - 2. "She Bangs the Drums" (4 / 5) (live) - 3. "Waterfall" (studio live 2013) - 5. "Bye Bye Badman" - 7. "(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister" (live) - 8. "Made of Stone" - 11. "I Am the Resurrection"

Studio album debut by Manchester band The Stone Roses consisting of vocalist Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, Mani [aka Gary Mounfield] on bass and Reni [aka Alan John Wren] on drums, backing vocals and piano. All 11 songs are credited Ian Brown and John Squire. Stylewise, the album was released as indie pop and jangle pop, which had its roots in the Manchester scene with close bonds to The Smiths, but time has first and foremost put it in the category of baggy / Madchester and neo-psychedelia including bands like Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays all of which with connection to the (New Order) nightclub The Haçienda music scene, but also with a distinct relation to other bands like The Sundays (jangle pop / dreampop) and Australian band The Church (jangle pop / neo-psychedelia).
I bought the album upon its release after having heard the single hit "She Bangs the Drums" on the look-out for the "new big thing" after the demise of The Smiths. It was quite all right and pretty good, but it wasn't great, imho. What I became more hooked on was the music by Kitchens of Distinction, also releasing their debut album in '89, music by Bob Mould and Pixies with more power-fuzed compositions. However, time has been quite gentle with this album, I think. Actually, I consider it a whole lot better today than I did back then. I would play the first half of the album finding that part above average, but as a whole, I thought of it as too unfocused and without sufficient variation. I also found it somewhat difficult to label 'cause was it close to The Smiths and jangle pop, or was it more in line with noise pop or dream pop bands like The Sundays?
What is particular good is not just the variation of mood and energy, there's also a fine incorporation of classic pop pointing back to The Byrds and a baroque pop period, which basically had its comeback with britpop - Oasis and Blur, years later - and there's the whole neo-psychedelic part linking the band with the 60s and a long line of bands dealing with that style throughout the 70s and into the 80s where it fuses with other styles and genres. The Church, XTC and Love and Rockets all incorporated neo-psychedelia but none of these bands were dance-oriented like The Stone Roses and the baggy / Madchester scene of late 80s Manchester.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The front cover is a Jackson Pollock-inspired painting "Bye Bye Badman" by John Squire.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Uncut 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

[ collectors' item, 1989 repress 'near mint' - from ~ €60,- ]

Happy Mondays "Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People..." (1987)

Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People... [debut]

release date: Apr. 1987

format: digital (1990 reissue)

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

producer: John Cale

label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Kuff Dam" - 2. "Tart Tart" - 4. "Russell" - 5. "Olive Oil" - 8. "Oasis" - 9. "24 Hr Party People"

Studio album debut by Happy Mondays with the full title: Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out) is recorded by John Cale for Factory Records. The band is the same stable sextet who released the 1985 Forty Five EP. The track "Oasis" also appears on the ep but here it's in a re-arranged version with much more focus on bass, and apart from that it's an album with nine new compositions.

Where the band started out as a jangle pop-oriented and alt dance-band, they now mix more styles and the jangle pop element has been subdued. Instead, they now blend funk, surf rock ("Russell"), indie pop and neo-psychedelia, which ultimately makes it a rather complex mix of styles. It's not really an example of a coherent collection of songs, and it's somewhat difficult to find a common denominator but it's also clear that the songs appear quite originally crafted despite obvious loans from other artists. Several songs, however, contain elements from various styles that are sort of mashed together, which in many ways forecast what was to come. "Russell" may be surf rock-inspired but it also contains funk, skilfully crafted by Paul Ryder's repetitious bass-line, and then on top Shaun Ryder now contribute with his speak-singing style, and we have a true Happy Mondays tune. Ryder no longer sounds like a clone of Ian Curtis and Feargal Sharkey but quite clearly has found his own foundation. Both album title and the song titles already here reflect how Ryder comes up with his lyrics. The album title appears to be Ryder's invention from three different associations that he just put after another - 'Squirrel and G-man' being the nicknames for the parents to one of the members, 'Twenty Hour Party People' is someone's reference to Ryder and his mates, and 'Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)' should be another one's exclamation upon finding Ryder, Bez et al completely tripping on acid. And then the songs: "Kuff Dam" is Ryder's rephrasing of a porn title misspelled backwards, "Tart Tart" refers to a particult girl, although, as in nearly all cases, the song itself isn't about anyone or anything in particular. This also goes for "Olive Oil", which was the nickname for someone's girlfriend, who had asked Ryder if he would write a song about her - to which he alledgedly answered that he didn't write like that but he could name a song after her.

I have absolutely no idea whatsoever about what Cale thought of it - the band and song potential - but luckily he didn't spoil too much, although, it probably could have been a much better end result with a producer in touch with the current dance scene - say New Order's Bernard Sumner, who was mentioned but weren't available - instead of someone with a reputation. You can only ask yourself if it would have been another "Blue Monday"-moment had Sumner been hired...

The album was met by positive reviews but generally lacked to attract music buyers as it sold quite poorly.

In a music historical perspective, it's quite fascinating as a new step towards their more defining sound but as a stand-alone experience, this album is simply just not strong enough.

[ Shaun Ryder interview about the origines of the band, The Haçienda, the production of the album etc.]

Happy Mondays "Forty Five EP" (1985) (ep)

Forty Five EP, ep

release date: Sep. 1985

format: digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,17]

producer: Mike Pickering

label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Delightful" (4 / 5) - 2. "This Feeling" (2,5 / 5) - 3. "Oasis" (3 / 5)

3-track ep debut by Happy Mondays is the band's first release after being put on contract by Factory Records. Producer Mike Pickering worked as a DJ at The Haçienda dance and nightclub in Manchester, and he saw the band's potential after having listened to a demo-tape by the band, who at this point toured with New Order. Already then, Happy Mondays is a stable sextet consisting of the Ryder brothers: singer and guitarist Shaun and bassist Paul together with lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, drummer Gary Whelan, and with new member dancer Bez (aka Mark Berry).

Musically, it's not yet the baggy / madchester-style they should later be associated with. Instead, they play dance-friendly indie pop with bold stylistic elements from jangle pop. The ep has also been recognised as "The Delightful ep" with its title referring to the first and also easily best track of the release. Also, in retrospect, Shaun Ryder has described this as a first experience, which he thought was a bit off in respect to what they were aiming at as it resulted in a sound without the dance-vibe they had wanted, and partly because Pickering simply didn't know that, and also because the band were still trying to find their ground. At the same time, Ryder was still influenced by other vocalists, partly leaning towards Ian Curtis, Feargal Sharkey and other strong performers and not yet had found his personal style. You could add that the band simply lacked a musical direction - should we play more like Joy Division / New Order, Orange Juice, or some other new act? Questions that basically revealed that they were not mature enough to hit it off.

Grant W. McLennan "Fireboy" (1992)

Fireboy
release date: Nov. 9, 1992
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
producer: Dave Dobbyn
label: White Label - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Lighting Fires" - 2. "Surround Me" - 3. "One Million Miles From Here" - 4. "The Dark Side of Town" - 8. "Fingers" - 11. "Bathe (In the Water)" - 13. "Riddle in the Rain"

2nd solo album by Grant W. McLennan released one year after his debut Watershed is once again produced by Dave Dobbyn. The album was released in Australia in late '92 and internationally in early '93. Once again, the album feature Dave Dobbyn with a handful of session musicians - only this time without Amanda Brown.

It's not a long period between the two McLennan solo albums but in between them he has co-founded the collaboration project-band, Jack Frost, together with Steve Kilbey of The Church. At least the songs here are more up-tempo styled, and knowing the works by Kilbey only adds to the fact that the related work has rubbed off.

Fireboy presents 13 new songs, which showcases McLennan narrating about the usual love stories - and especially his lost relationship with former bandmate Amanda Brown - and the subject matter makes it appear as Chapter 2 to his debut focusing on his shattered love life; however, the arrangements here are what really makes this a better album. It's simply more multi-facetted, and where the debut felt like too strongly bonded to former singer / songwriter artists as a one-dimensional ride, this is a more contemporary contribution, which immediately makes me think of Lloyd Cole and yes, Steve Kilbey.

Once again, McLennan demonstrates his ability to write and compose beautiful pop songs in a style founded on a singer / songwriter tradition. He has a gift for melody, which puts him on level with the finest songwriters, but he's also a person who seems in need of support or aid to maintain the course.

[ allmusic.com review (no stars indicated) ]

Gangway "Compendium - Greatest Hits" (1998)

Compendium - Greatest Hits, compilation

release date: Jan. 28, 1998

format: digital (18 x File, MP3)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

producer: various

label: BMG - nationality: Denmark

Compilation album by Danish synthpop band Gangway following the band's decision to call it quits in Sep. 1997 after poor sales numbers of their seventh studio album That's Life (Sep. 1996).

The album ums it up: Gangway was more than just 'one-hit wonders' - a term that was attributed the band after "My Girl and Me" open the doors to the British market in '86 but they weren't themselves aware of music business strategies and too many times ended up with people seing profit rather than a talent that needed nursing. The story is long, and it's full of examples of how you also need luck on your side, but the music is there to testify their talent. In the end the band was a trio consisting of songwriter and main composer Henrik Balling, keyboardist and other composer Torben Johansen, and vocalist Allan Jensen.

The eighteen songs here stem from all their seven studio albums from 1984 to 1996. They are mixed with one another but all show us the element of pop as a common denominator, and although, they have played with jangle pop, indie pop, r&b, and synthpop there's a positive spirit running through it all.

The debut album The Twist is only represented by one song: "Yellow", and their '96 finale only delivers two songs - revealing some of the feelings they have for that. The other albums deliver three songs each, except for The Quiet Boy Ate the Whole Cake (1991), which is the only be represented with four songs - again telling what that album means, and I'm completely with them: it was their best.

Robert Forster "I Had a New York Girlfriend" (1994)

I Had a New York Girlfriend

release date: Oct. 25, 1994

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]

producer: Robert Forster

label: Rough Trade Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Nature's Way" - 3. "Echo Beach" - 4. "Tell Me That It Isn't True" - 5. "2541" (4 / 5) (live with Grant Hart) - 6. "Anytime" - 7. "Locked Away" - 8. "Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow" - 9. "Alone"

3rd studio album by Robert Forster following one year after his sophomore Calling From a Country Phone is like that released on Beggars Banquet - with Rough Trade distributing optical issues for the German and Scandinavian markets. The album consists of 12 compositions that are all covers with Forster sending his praise to some of his idols. The album is recorded with a short list of familiar names including bassist Mick Harvey, keyboardist Conway Savage - both from The Bad Seeds - and with drummer Clare Moore. Also future Bad Seeds member Warren Ellis plays violin on two tracks. The songwriters represent all types of styles and are credited for music spanning several decades, and they are as follows: Randy California (of the American band Spirit), Guy Charles Clark (American folk / country artist), Mark Gane (of American band Martha & The Muffins), Bob Dylan, Grant Hart (of American punk rock band Hüsker Dü), Herbert 'Happy' Lawson (American country songwriter), Steve Jordan & Keith Richards (song taken from Richard's solo debut), Neil Diamond, Tom Kelly & Billy Steinberg (song from their project i-Ten), Michael Hansonis (of German indie rock band King Candy), Mickey Newbury (American singer / songwriter), Bill Anderson (American country songwriter).

It's a quite coherent release despite the fact that all songs originally stem from various stylistic genres. All compositions have that distict personal touch of Forster's songwriting skills, which makes them all sound like his personal songs. Of course it helps that he only makes use of a handful of musicians and also that the individual songs mostly are arranged with focus on the performance of the vocal, guitar and / or piano backing, so that the songs have a re-arranged mix that fit in a jangle pop and folk-territory - and that works quite nicely. It still contains elements of Forster's love for traditional country, but nowhere to the same extent as you fill find on Calling From a Country Phone. Best songs here are, however, the jangle pop arrangements of the original new wave song "Echo Beach" by Martha & The Muffins, the country song "Anytime" by songwriter Herbert Lawson, and the punk rock song "2541" by Grant Hart. Alongside these, other songs shine almost as bright making the whole thing a fine collection of "lost classics".

In Forster's autobiography "Grant & I" he talks about this album as something he wish he'd never recorded. He says it was made in a rush, hardly without preparation and that it's basically a mistake compared to his better '93 album. Well, I'm sorry Robert, but I simply do not agree. This is a better album because of good material and a personal take on highly diverse songs. And perhaps the unpreparedness to the recording process just gave it that extra quality of Forster origin that others find in it - the same product he finds insufficient.

Recommended.

[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

The Divine Comedy "Fanfare for the Comic Muse" (1990)

Fanfare for the Comic Muse [debut]

release date: 1990
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,62]
producer: Sean O Neill
label: Setanta Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Ignorance Is Bliss" - 5. "The Rise and Fall" - 6. "Logic vs Emotion"

Studio debut album by The Divine Comedy. The music is indie pop jangle pop, pop / rock not far from the style of The Smiths (listen to tracks #5 & #6) and that of R.E.M. (listen to tracks #1 & #6).
In retrospect, the album has more of historical interest. The music seems unoriginal and is far from the style normally associated with the band and Neil Hannon. At this early stage The Divine Comedy is a band consisting of Neil Hannon on guitar & vocals, Lawrence Hoy on guitar, John McCullagh on bass, and with Kevin Traynor on drums.
Within a few years after this, the band was to be synonymous with solo releases by Neil Hannon, and over the years Hannon has himself disowned the album.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

Grant W. McLennan "Watershed" (1991)

Watershed [debut]
release date: Jun. 1991
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Dave Dobbyn
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "When Word Gets Around" (video) - 2. "Haven't I Been a Fool" (live) - 3. "Haunted House" - 5. "Easy Come Easy Go" - 8. "You Can't Have Everything"

Studio album debut by Grant W. McLennan [Grant William] one of the founders of The Go-Betweens released 18 months after the disbandment Christmas 1989 and originally released on White (Label) Records in Australia, sub-label to Mushroom, and on Beggars Banquet for international issues. More recently, the album follows only 6 months after the debut album by the duo-project Jack Frost consisting of McLennan and Steve Kilbey.

Despite being one of the main composers, guitarists and vocalist, this is stylistically far from the last album 16 Lovers Lane (Aug. 1988) by his former band, and it's also further away than his co-founder, Robert Forster's solo debut released some 7 months earlier - the fine Danger in the Past (1990). It's of course unjust to compare these two solo albums, as the two are both 100% in charge of what they want their respective albums to sound like, and McLennan has chosen to release an album in a naked singer / songwriter and folk pop style that sits somewhere between Bob Dylan, Townes van Zandt and early Paul Simon and completely free of the Kilbey-induced neo-psychedelia of the Jack Frost project. All 12 songs here are written and composed by McLennan, who is credited on vocals and guitar with the support of a bunch of session musicians, which include producer Dave Dobbyn as well as Amanda Brown - McLennan's ex-band mate and ex-girlfriend, who is at the centre of the majority of the songs here.

A few up-tempo tracks with strumming jangle pop guitars remind us of the existence of a band called The Go-Betweens but the majority of the tracks do not. It's not contemporary indie pop and the rock label is only there, I think, 'cause that's what people relate to when thinking of music by one of the backbones of the former Australian indie rock-band.

The album was perhaps met by a few positive reviews but it came out with basically no one paying much attention, and my perceptions of the album is a bit far from the overwhelming reception you'll read on allmusic.com, which is the only one I could find. That said, Watershed reveals McLennan's forces as well as his weaknesses. He has been accustomed to writing the ligthweight counterparts to Forster's darker contributions, and as strong and nicely his heartbroken lyrics may appear, they simply shine brighter with a polarity. Here, he attempts with both slow and uptempo songs but his former band mates also helped in selecting his strongest songs and arranging. And now left to do the whole thing on his own, the dynamics are less apparent. When McLennan shines, he's among the finest and most fascinating songwriters around, but the album comes with too much fill.

Not bad and not really great, but definitely worth a spin and more.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Jack Frost "Jack Frost" (1990)

Jack Frost [debut]
release date: Nov. / Dec. 1990 (?)
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,56]
producer: Steve Kilbey
label: Arista Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Every Hour God Sends" - 4. "Geneva 4 a.m." - 6. "Providence" - 7. "Thought That I Was Over You" - 8. "Threshold" - 9. "Number Eleven" - 12. "Ramble"

Studio album debut from Australian duo-project Jack Frost founded by Steve Kilbey (front figure of The Church) and Grant McLennan (one of the main composers and lead vocalists of The Go-Betweens). The name of the project refers to the pseudonym Bob Dylan used as a producer on his latest album Under the Red Sky (1990) released a few months earlier. The story behind this perhaps uneasy pairing is that Kilbey reportedly contacted McLennan in Jul. 1990, at a time when, half a year earlier, McLennan and Robert Forster had decided to end 'their' band, The Go-Betweens. Both had then begun their respective solo careers, and Kilbey, on the other hand, had found himself in a personal crisis with obvious conflicts within The Church, and he went through a strained relationship with the group's record label, Arista, who had pushed the band's progress in a more commercial direction, although the band itself had other ideas in relation to its musical development.

The most recent album by The Church, Gold Afternoon Fix (Feb. '90) didn't turn out as succesfully as the band, and probably especially the record company, had expected. McLennan was in a position where he had ended his first and only band, a decision and an aftermath that sent him into an emotional slump when his girlfriend Amanda Brown subsequently ended their relationship. So, that's how Kilbey and McLennan met as two 'lost souls' and began this short-lived musical partnership, which led to this very debut and the 1995 follow-up Snow Job.

Jack Frost consists of thirteen tracks with a total running time at just under one hour. In addition to being credited as album producer, Kilbey is credited vocalist, guitarist, bassist, keyboards, and drummer, while McLennan is credited as vocalist, guitarist, and bassist. Along the way on the album, the two switch roles as lead vocalists, and they also [quite] apparently switch roles as songwriters without it being stated who wrote the individual tracks, as they are both credited all tracks.

However, it would be an obvious continuation of the practice McLennan was familiar with from his many years of pairing with Robert Forster in The Go-Betweens. While Kilbey / McLennan are songwriters and composers of all tracks, they have teamed up with Pryce Surplice, who is credited on drums, computers, and synthesizers without being an official member of the project. In addition, some other musicians participate, which includes Kilbey's (Swedish) girlfriend, Karin Jansson on backing vocals. The album was first released in Australia in late 1990 on the Red Eye Records label and later on Arista in early '91 for international releases - actually to positive reviews, but at the same time to very little commercial interest. Two singles were released: Tracks #1 and #7 released in Nov. '90 and Apr. '91, respectively.

Stylistically, the album falls in the box of alt. rock with elements from jangle-pop and neo-psychedelia as well as folk rock. It's in no way surprising that some songs bring memories of The Church while others point more in the direction of The Go-Betweens, but the two bands have always shared the jangle-pop element as a common starting point, even if Kilbey and McLennan have different starting points, when it comes to lyrical narratives but also the musical arrangements. In the simpler arrangements with classic melodic song structure, McLennan focuses on down-to-earth personal relationships centrered on family and love affairs, whereas Kilbey's songs generally are more complex in structure, focusing on cosmic ideas and mysticism. So even though they are both credited as songwriters and composers on all compositions, it's pretty obvious who is actual writer of the individual tracks. In this way, the album is anything but coherent, as in places it sound like the art of compromise, which nevertheless points in multiple directions.

Well, Jack Frost is both an interesting project and an album that hasn't gotten the attention it rightly deserves.

In later interviews, Kilbey - who has been open about his use of illicit drugs, which dates back to the beginning of The Church - has said that it was McLennan who introduced him to heroin and that his usage started during the recording of the songs for this first Jack Frost album.

The pair played some national concerts soon after its release, after which McLennan returned and concentrated on recording the tracks that would later result in his solo debut Watershed (Jun. 1990).

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

The Go-Betweens "1978 - 1990" (1990)

1978 - 1990 (compilation)
release date: Mar. 19, 1990
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Rebel Records - nationality: Australia

Compilation album by The Go-Betweens originally released on Beggars Banquet after the disbandment of the group. The album is not a mere best of album but more the collection of selected songs in incomplete order starting off with "Hammer the Hammer" from 1982. Also, the title suggests that you'll find songs from 1978 to 1990 on this album, which you won't - at least not on the CD issue of the album, which contains 22 tracks. However, the 2 lp vinyl issue comes closer to embracing the whole period with its 27 tracks, but the timespan is widened here to a full decade: '78-88 - since they didn't record any new material after 1988 (and there's also a Japanese 2 CD issue of the album with 28 tracks). Hence, the title is a reference to the life-time of the band, and there's a timeline in the inlay with the various line-ups of the band reflecting years as a duo ('78-80), as a trio ('80-82), a quartet ('82-86), and two different periods as a quintet ('86-88 / '88-89). But if the band ended in '89 (which it did), then why is it titled "1978 - 1990"? To justify this album... Well, that's of course a label decision.

Anyway, the album is fine but also rather redundant since it doesn't really add anything to the whole picture, and for those who do not know all albums, well, a true best of album would be the better option. But guess what - sadly there are no decent best of albums with this band. There's the album Bellavista Terrace: Best of The Go-Betweens (1999), which "only" contains 14 tracks and leaves too many great tunes out, and even the 2-disc versions just adds a live concert as further material. Then there's Quiet Heart: The Best of The Go-Betweens (2012), which contains 18 random songs - some fine, yes but best? No. And that one also contains a live disc...[!], as if this band didn't make enough great songs. Then there are some anthologies but all with their flaws. So please [e.g. Beggars Banquet], go ahead and make the genuine album featuring the best from one of the most important Australian bands ever.

[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Olesen-Olesen "Dagens gerning" (1998)

Dagens gerning
release date: Sep. 23, 1998
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]
producer: Kim Hyttel
Label: Exlibris - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Pondus" - 2. "Mit liv i flere versioner" (4 / 5) - 3. "Sol" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Nu går lykken forbi" (4 / 5) - 7. "Ny dag (morgen i København)" - 8. "Dagens gerning" - 9. "Jeg tog fejl, jeg har fortrudt" - 10. "Himlen er et kedeligt sted"

2nd studio album by Olesen-Olesen released on Exlibris and produced by Kim Hyttel like the debut Indenlands udenbys (1987).

Stylistically, the duo has not entirely abandoned the indie rock style of their common musical upbringing, but they take a stronger move into the origins of folk with songs that nearly all have a sort of singer / songwriter tone lurking at hand - a style that clearly contains Dylan-inspiration but also stays true to a highly original narration with personal subjects and all in Danish lyrics. These are provided by primary songwriter and vocalist, Peter H. Olesen, who constitute the duo with primary musical composer and guitarist, younger brother Henrik Olesen. Where the debut already showed us a fascination for classic American songwriting, the style and subjects were more of a tribute to the beat-generation, whereas this is very much another look at classic America, only with inspiration stemming much more from traditional folk.

I recall finding the album a bit of a disappointment when it came out but have come to enjoy it a lot more over the years. My initial verdict was somewhere around 2,5 / 5, regarding only "Nu går lykken forbi" as the only great song on an uneven album. That song is still very fine, but overall, the album has proved to be a rather strong follow-up, alas completely overlooked. The stylistic change towards more introspectiveness and a softer tone in style probably wasn't the natural choice of progression the public eye expected from the duo, who previously had been associated with a sneer of indie rock and post-punk. This is something else but it surely contains much more of the fingerprints that identify the duo when comparing to their successive releases. This is actually where they consolidate their common style, and in retrospect the album is bettering a fine and promising debut, and by that simply deserves much more recognition.

Recommended.

[ Gaffa.dk 5 / 6 stars ]

Chris Isaak "Chris Isaak" (1987)

Chris Isaak
release date: Feb. 16, 1987
format: cd (1990 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Erik Jacobsen
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "You Owe Me Some Kind of Love" - 2. "Heart Full of Soul" - 3. "Blue Hotel" (4 / 5) (live) - 4. "Lie to Me" (4 / 5) - 7. "This Love Will Last"

2nd studio album by Chris Isaak is like the debut produced by Eric Jacobsen and released by Warner. The title signals an early new - but still second - start. Perhaps because the debut was rather unnoticed by critics and music buyers, which also explains a more mainstream approach with more jangle pop instead of the more laid-back americana sound on the debut.
I don't think it betters the debut much, but it certainly has more mainstream potential. The songs are still pretty good, and it's basically a more homogeneous album, although, I find that the first half is clearly the best.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

The House of Love "The House of Love" (1988)

The House of Love [debut]
release date: Jun. 1988
format: vinyl (CRELP34) / digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: The House of Love
label: Creation Records - nationality: England, UK

Studio album debut by London-founded band The House of Love consisting of songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Guy Chadwick lead guitarist and backing vocalist Terry Bickers, bassist Chris Groothuizen and drummer Pete Evans.

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