Arctic Monkeys "Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino" (2018)

Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino
release date: May 11, 2018
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,92]
producer: Alex Turner, James Ford
label: Domino Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Star Treatment" - 4. "Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino" - 6. "Four Out of Five"

6th studio album by Arctic Monkeys released after a five-year hiatus is produced by composer, vocalist and guitarist Alex Turner with James Ford, who has been in the producer seat on all of the band's releases except the debut - just as Ford is found in that role on Turner's last project: The Last Shadow Puppets' second album from 2016 Everything You've Come to Expect. The ice-cold monkeys have come a long way since the debut from 2006 but also since the brilliant AM from 2013, and so has Mr. Turner. He has always been the undisputed leader of this band, but here he is not only part of the production-team, he has also written all songs and dare I say: turned Arctic Monkeys into a Turner-project. Stylistically and sound-wise, this has much in common with The Last Shadow Puppets most recent album. It sounds like over-polished lounge-like chamber pop and psychedelic pop with Turner crooning like a new-born American jet-setter in his modern aristocratically mumblings about right and wrong. I know that doesn't sound like an appetizer but despite Alex Turner being an incredibly talented musician I don't really enjoy his recent artistic detours.
The album received positive to luke-warm reviews. I only find it boring and even less interesting than Turner's Shadow project. To quote Alexis Petridis of The Guardian: "The problem is that a smart guy is sometimes all Turner seems to be. The songs can feel like less than the sum of their parts: a selection of one-liners, wry observations and knowing winks to camera that leave you struggling to work out what he’s driving at – and wondering if he knows, or cares – and to locate any real emotional connection or impact." That is spot on how I perceive this one, which leaves me as indifferent as when listening to Bowie's last album Black Star from 2016, and Alex Turner has never sounded this much like Bowie as he comes through on this one. Form over matter. Have we seen that before?! Too often, but it's part of the game, and when you're a certified talent, it's obviously difficult not to make some misses.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Uncut 3,5 / 5, 👎NME 4 / 5, 👍The Guardian 3 / 5, Rolling Stone 2 / 5 stars ]

The Last Shadow Puppets "Everything You've Come to Expect" (2016)

Everything You've Come to Expect
release date: Apr. 1, 2016
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: James Ford
label: Domino Recording Company - nationality: England. UK

Track highlights: 1. "Aviation" (live on Later) - 2. "Miracle Aligner" - 4. "Everything Youve Come to Expect" - 7. "Sweet Dreams, TN"

2nd studio album by project-band The Last Shadow Puppets consisting of (Arctic Monkeys front figure) Alex Turner on vocals and guitar, Miles Kane (from The Rascals) also on vocals and guitar, Zach Dawes on bass and keyboards, and with (producer) James Ford (of Homelife and Simian) on drums and percussion. 'Super-group' this project has been labeled, although, only Turner has been in a highly successful band, but yes, Ford has mainly put his name down as a hot producer for Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons, Beth Ditto, Florence and the Machine and Mumford & Sons to mention just the most famous artists, and Dawes is a new member on this album.
Stylistically, this is somewhat far from Arctic Monkeys being more chamber pop, psychedelic pop and melodic pop / rock-orientated. The album has generally been met by positive reviews by most major critics. I just don't find it that interesting. Admitted, it's above mediocre but there are too few fine songs here to call it anything near great. The production side is fine - very neat and polished - but the songs are just too anonymous and soothing in big arrangement production for my liking. And then I just find that it builds a bit too much on The Divine Comedy and former heydays with Scott Walker and Lee Hazlewood.
It's like Alex Turner going with the jet-set.
[ allmusic.com, NME 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

XTC "Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)" (2000)

Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)
release date: May 17, 2000
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,34]
producer: Nick Davis
label: Cooking Vinyl - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Playground" - 2. "Stupidly Happy" - 3. "In Another Life" - 5. "Boarded Up" - 6. "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love" - 8. "Standing in for Joe" - 10. "You and the Clouds Will Still Be Beautiful" - 12. "The Wheel and the Maypole"
[ full album ]

12th studio album by XTC is the second part in the band's "Apple Venus" (volumes) series and the remaining tracks of an intended double album. XTC is still a duo of songwriters Andrew [Andy] Partridge and Colin Moulding after guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Dave Gregory left during the recordings of Apple Venus Volume 1. As usual, Partridge has written the majority of the tracks as Moulding is credited for three out of twelve songs.
This new, second part, doesn't quite follow the style of Volume 1 as it's much more a pop / rock album in the style of psychedelic pop / art pop and power pop - rhythm-guitar rock with clear bonds to Beach Boys, The Kinks, The Beatles, Badfinger and Todd Rundgren (who produced XTC's acclaimed Skylarking) more than more experimental styles of neo-psychedelia and progressive pop found on the '99 album, which in a way seems a bit odd given the fact that Partridge, Moulding and Gregory had already written material for a double album when entering the studio back in early '98.
Where critics loved the '99 album, they are much more reluctant and luke-warm about this.
Neither do I find it as fine and innovative as Apple Venus Volume 1, but it's more than just a decent album. It's really such a pity that they couldn't finance the double album they sat out for when entering the studio in '98. I think, it would have been great. Instead of producing an album containing all songs - perhaps with a completely different track listing, which would have made it more of a conglomerate - they end up having released two rather different albums that will always be compared to one another. Some even talk about "the leftovers" from "Volume 1" when determining this is the inferior second part... No, they are just very different, but also so much in the spirit of XTC, who have never ceased to write and compose music in so many different styles without losing the band's dna. This is another fine chapter in the story of XTC - not one of their best but less suffice to make a good album.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5 stars ]

XTC "Skylarking" (1986)

2014 cover

Skylarking
release date: Oct. 27, 1986
format: cd (2014 corrected polarity edition)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,96]
producer: Todd Rundgren
label: Ape Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Summer's Cauldron" - 2. "Grass" - 4. "That's Really Super, Supergirl" - 8. "Earn Enough for Us" - 9. "Big Day" - 12. "Dear God"

8th studio album by XTC originally released by Virgin Records is produced by American producer Todd Rundgren, and it follows two years after The Big Express (Oct. 1984). Or does it? Following the '84 album Andy Partridge and Dave Gregory had found a common interest in psychedelic rock of the 1960s and Partridge pursued the idea of making music with bonds to Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd, The Electric Prunes, and Beatles at their most experimental stage. The whole band found it an exciting side-step, and they were joined by Greg's brother Ian Roy and together they initially recorded six tracks with John leckie, 'Swami Anand Nagara' (aka John Leckie) and the band as producers - all four members are credited with new-found names like Sir John Johns, The Red Curtain, Lord Cornelius Plum, and E.I.E.I. Owen - and under the name of The Dukes of Stratosphear, a Mini-album titled 25 O'Clock (Apr. 1985) was released to great reviews and sales numbers (selling the double as their '84 album). That album has been re-issued and remastered and promoted as 'XTC as The Dukes of Stratosphear', and the album has been filed as the eight by XTC, which I find a difficult choice. Perhaps, Partridge an Co. would have likened it to follow The Big Express, but frankly, it's not only due to contractual obligations from Virgin that it wasn't promoted as an XTC album, it's so differently shaped that it's better perceived as an album by a (side-)project-band consisting of the members of XTC.
That aside, Skylarking both follows a style from the '84 album but also builds on the side-project with strong bonds to psychedelic rock but it's not the attempt to put out another album in the style of the 1960s but more so, to present us with a contemporary conglomerate. Thanks to the success of the band's newly recorded '85 album they have made quite a daring move into more experimental neo-psychedelic pop / rock. Varying accounts from members of the band concludes that the recording process with Rundgren wasn't an immediate success as Andy Partridge and Rundgren didn't communicate all that well, and to make things really complicated an error in the recording process afflicted the final issue of the album, and only some 24 years later in 2010, as Partridge reissued the album on his own label, the album came out as intended in a corrected polarity edition. Rundgren has been hailed as mastermind of the production aspect to it, and his accounts of the recordings is not surprisingly a different story.
My initial feelings towards the album was that it once again was a fine collection of songs, but at this point of my fascination for the band and their music in general, I simply had grown tired of their style, and I kind of abandoned the band for a period of time. I stopped buying and even listening to their new material of this. Duh! Only two decades later or so, I returned and found that their progression still made much sense, so I still enjoy their music and frankly, I don't think they have ever made a bad album. AND this one, is definitely worth more than a listen 'cause it's simply one of the band's better ones. Despite the unintended sound difficulties the album is the first by XTC to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The original cover for the album, as drawn out by Partridge, was banned by Virgin and replaced before being released; however, for the 2010 reissue (released on Andy Partridge's own Ape House label) of the album, the originally intended cover is back and so is the intended sound [ story ]. Having listened to both the 1986 album and the 2010 'corrected polarity edition', I must say that the album could only have received even broader acclaim, had the technical error been addressed back then. It's a must for XTC fans and most music lovers of early neo-psychedelia and a cornerstone in modern music.

Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 5 / 5, Uncut 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

   

vinyl cover

   

1986 cd cover

The Zombies "As Far as I Can See..." (2004)

As Far as I Can See...
release date: Apr. 26, 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 2 / 5]

Well, again an attempt to revive the greatness of a band long gone. They never were a favorite band, and frankly, I don't see why they should persist to release music under a name that once was. The original band members are here reduced to half of that former successful band. They could've called themselves by any other name or just... Old Zombies or: Half a Zombie.

Not recommended.

The Zombies "Odessey and Oracle" (1968)

Odessey and Oracle
release date: Apr. 19, 1968
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]

Best tracks: 1. "Care of Cell 44" - 12. "Time of the Season"

3rd studio album by British band The Zombies. This is a highly praised and classic pop album. I don't really understand the hype and the tremendous appraisal it received. I put it on, listen to it, and try to understand as to why, but it only eludes me. I don't get it, and I find it boring and senselessly dull. All I can think of, is that it seems like a pop-version of some of the harder music at the time, maybe, a softer pop-version of The Doors or Jefferson Airplane - a link between the British pop-invasion of The Kinks and The Who, and the aforementioned American bands together with harmonies by The Beach Boys. I just don't like that clone. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

David Bowie "The Man Who Sold the World" (1970)

The Man Who Sold the World
release date: Nov. 1970
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,82]
producer: Tony Visconti
label: Mercury Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "All the Madmen" - 3. "Black Country Rock" - 8. "The Man Who Sold the World" (4 / 5) - 9. "The Supermen"

3rd studio album by David Bowie and the first to feature guitarist Mick Ronson. The album marks a change towards heavy rock with a distinct glam rock influence. On the one hand it's more homogeneous than its predecessor but also less appealing - perhaps due to more hard rock influence but less hit-based compositions, except from the fine title track. At places, e.g. track #3, Bowie (and backing band) sounds much like a clone of Marc Bolan and Tyrannosaurus Rex. The album was reissued by RCA Records in '72 with a new cover, and that album reached number #24 on national albums chart list.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

  

1971 alt. cover

1972 RCA reissue

David Bowie "David Bowie [Space Oddity]" (1969)

David Bowie [Space Oddity]
release date: Nov. 4, 1969
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,96]
producer: Tony Visconti
label: EMI Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Space Oddity" (5 / 5) - 2. "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed" - 4. "Letter to Hermione" - 7. "An Occasional Dream" - 10. "Memory of a Free Festival"

2nd studio album by David Bowie and the first to be produced by Tony Visconti. The album was originally released on Philips Records as David Bowie. In 1972, after Bowie had signed with RCA Records, RCA reissued the album as Space Oddity (leaving out track #3, "Don't Sit Down").
Now with Visconti as producer the sound appears tighter, more energetic, and Bowie has moved away from the Britishness of baroque pop, which was quite typical for the period, and instead he has fused the album with blues rock elements and more straight-forward compositions founded on more traditional rock & roll instrumentation - perhaps influenced by a more American traditional style, also delivered by The Rolling Stones. Fleetwood Mac and The Who. The obvious hit on the album is "Space Oddity", which was Bowie's first hit song making it to number #5 on the national singles chart list, however, the remaining songs are somewhat distanced from that single, and the album comes out as a bit unfocused without a clear style or direction. Some tracks are pure blues rock compositions with what appears as a distinct The Doors inspiration, whereas other tracks are more subdued psychedelic pop songs completely without the rock tension.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

David Bowie "David Bowie" (1967)

org. cover

David Bowie [debut]
release date: Jun. 1, 1967
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,38]
producer: Mike Vernon
label: Deram Records - nationality: England, UK

Studio debut album by David Bowie [aka David Robert Jones, Jan. 8, 1947 - Jan. 10, 2016, Brixton, Greater London]. Stylistically, this is far from what Bowie was later associated with - this is baroque pop and much closer to the music of artists like The Kinks, Tommy Steele, and (apparently) Anthony Newley. It also resembles the style of a later '67 debut album by Scott Walker - music inspired primarily by British acts with certain amounts of The Beatles with an addition of a certain psychedelic pop element without being too extravagant nor innovative. This was not music that tried to seek out new musical territories or recreate pop music itself. The album didn't stir up things and basically was a rather unnoticed release in the UK, and it's quite difficult to link this with his later works. The album really only is interesting for historical reasons and as fan material. Otherwise, the album is not recommended.
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5, Blender 1 / 5 stars ]