Bill Frisell "Guitar in the Space Age!" (2014)

Guitar in the Space Age!

release date: Oct. 6, 2014

format: digital (14 x File, FLAC)

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

producer: Lee Townsend

label: Okeh Records - nationality: USA

Studio album by Bill Frisell - his 29th, 30th, 31st, or 32nd, give or take - is in the category of cover albums. It follows the strings-album (violin, viola, cello) Big Sur (Jun. 2013) and it contains fourteen instrumentals, two original Frisell compositions (tracks #6 & #13) and twelve interpretations of popular compositions stemming from the late 1950s to the mid-60s. Several of these were originally surf rock, rock & roll, folk rock, or pop / rock tunes but in Frisell's rearranged versions they have all become jazz-influenced modern standards.

The album is almost naturally critically acclaimed - that's just the way a new Frisell album is met - and it's hard not to understand why Frisell is one of the most valued instrumentalists over the most recent four decades or so. He plays his instrument with an original voice, so to speak. That said, I immediately thought of The Raybeats, who released the album Guitar Beat back in '81, an almost peculiar release at the time with its modernised surf rock instrumentals, completely out of sync with contemporary stylistic waves but at the same time: extremely timeless. And with a selection of popular tunes, Frisell almost replicates that effort. The tunes are very much intact - perhaps a bit too much to my liking, but they still uphold a freshness and universality that cannot be denied. I only wish Frisell would've improvised more on the originals - something that works nicely on his rendition of Ray Davies' "Tired of Waiting for You" - where he gives us that extra layer he often adds to other people's songs 'cause here they mostly shine in their own rights. On the one hand, it makes it perfectly uncomplicated and then it reminds us of what great tunes the originals are. I'm not always in the mood to fully appreciate this collection, but I still find that Frisell just show us, not only what an exquisite instrumentalist he is but also what a fabulous interpretor he also is. I know most of the originals and mostly just think Frisell wants to remind us about these wonders - it's his tribute to that forgotten era of his own youth.

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

The B-52's "Wild Planet" (1980)

Wild Planet
release date: Aug. 27, 1980
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]
producer: Rhett Davies, B-52's; Chris Blackwell (exec. pro.)
label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Party Out of Bounds" - 2. "Dirty Back Road" - 3. "Runnin' Around" (live) - 4. "Give Me Back My Man" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "Private Idaho" - 6. "Devil in My Car" (live) - 9. "53 Miles West of Venus"

2nd studio album by The B-52's follows closely on the same path laid out on the debut from '79 with an uptempo new wave with strong bonds to the 1960s surf rock - especially thanks to the guitar-sound as played by Ricky Wilson. The strong musical and stylistic resemblance with the debut may be explained by the fact that the band already had "too many" songs in its repertoire when they began recording songs for the debut album, and instead of releasing an unlikely double album for its debut, the band just shelved these songs for a later release. This is a documented fact as The B-52's played most of these songs at concerts as early as 1978.
The album cover nearly duplicates the debut cover as it's held in the same style depicting the band members in what seems an early 1960s time bubble.
Wild Planet is a strong album without any fillers, and it's really an astonishing thought if they had actually pulled it off and released all songs on a double album in '79. They really could have, and it only makes it so much more reasonable to listen to these two albums at the same time.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

The B-52's "The B-52's" (1979)

The B-52's [debut]
release date: Jul. 6, 1979
format: cd (1988 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,98]
producer: Robert Ash [uncredited]; Chris Blackwell
label: Island Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Planet Claire" - 2. "52 Girls" - 3. "Dance This Mess Around" - 4. "Rock Lobster" (5 / 5) (official live recording) - 8. "60608-842" - 9. "Downtown"

Studio album debut by The B-52's, a quintet formed in Athens, Georgia, 1976 by vocalist Cindy Wilson, (Cindy's older brother) guitarist Ricky Wilson, vocalist and keyboardist Kate Pierson, drummer Keith Strickland, and lead vocalist and cowbell player Fred Schneider. The producer credits is handed to Island Records' founder Chris Blackwell, but according to Schneider, Robert Ash actually produced the album "and Chris oversaw the whole project".
Stylistically, the B-52's sticks to its own new wave style, which is influenced and incorporates funk and surf rock in a dance-pop-oriented way, and they also quite bluntly reflected a music and style that was observed as "pop kitsch". Lyrically, this was underlined in obscure or silly lyrics, which was seen as contrary to an American songwriter tradition, but which only resonated the late '70s - the punk rock era's stand against conformity. The majority of the tracks are composed by the band, or by Schneider and Wilson - except the end-track, "Downtown", a Petula Clark cover (1964 single) written by Tony Hatch but here in a new wave version arranged by Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson.
The album fared reasonably well making it to #59 on the US Billboard 200, but it wasn't regarded a great album until some decades later. It seems the music of B-52's was so much on its own that it took time to really digest - however, over the years the band and their debut album has only been subject of critical acclaim. The album is enlisted in many best of lists including Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 greatest Albums of All Time" and in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
I've have always regarded the album as one of the fine original new wave releases and, imho, The B-52's are simply a better and much more fun act to listen to than e.g. the more acclaimed Talking Heads. Also, listening to the album today - some four decades later, it's really music that still contains so many great tunes full of joy and instant positive energy that it's a thrill.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 5 / 5, Slant, Select 4 /5 stars ]

The Raveonettes "Pretty in Black" (2005)

Pretty in Black

release date: May 2, 2005

format: cd

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

producer: Richard Gottehrer, Sune Rose Wagner

label: Columbia - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "The Heavens" - 3. "Love in a Trashcan" - 5 . "Uncertain Times" - 6. "My Boyfriend's Back" - 7. "Here Comes Mary" - 11. "You Say You Lie" - 12. "Ode to L.A."

2nd studio album from The Raveonettes follows two years after the debut and is like that produced by veteran sound technician Richard Gottehrer in collaboration with Sune Wagner of the band. All except track #6 - a cover of a 60s song by The Angels written by R. Gottehrer, Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein - are credited Wagner, who is now credited as multi-instrumentalist handling synths, guitar, bass, drums, percussion and programming. Sharin Foo is exclusively credited as vocalist and on percussion. Additionally, a few recurring musicians also participate. This include guitarist Manoj Ramdas and drummer Jakob Hoyer, who both played on the band's ep debut as well as on Chain Gang of Love. Other than that, the album feature a few prominent guest artists, which count The Ronettes' legendary vocalist Ronnie Spector on vocal [track #12], Velvet Underground legend Maureen Tucker on drums on four tracks, and Suicide instrumentalist Martin Rev credited 'The Instrument' [guitar].

The album reveals a stylistic progression towards slower love song territory, and the songs are generally a bit longer. Like the debut, it contains 13 tracks but as opposed to the former's total running length at 33 minutes this one clocks in at 44:30 minutes. The songs are more traditionally composed with broader arrangements without losing the quality of a distinct sound. There's now definitely a stronger inspiration from Motown, country, and general pop songs of the early 60s, although, some tracks still reveal the bond to garage rock and surf rock. The front cover is like the debut held in cinematic b/w style as if situated in the 50s or 60s, only this time with the added 'technicolor' [added colours] style, and the title could suggest a hint at the 80s (Howard Deutch) popular film "Pretty in Pink" with its own references to the 50s and early 60s.

I believe this was the first full-length by the band that I listened to at the time of the release, and I recall finding it good, although, I didn't purchase the album until a few years later. I think, I initially still hoped Sune Wagner would produce stronger alt. rock music, and it took some time before I just accepted his retro-infused style of American twang and reverb, and then back in 2005, the band really stood on its own when pop music was overwhelmed by retro-waves in terms of synth pop and a new wave of post-punk revival flourished on both sides of the Atlantic. And Pretty in Black is far from those tendencies. The album was, however, genereally met by positive reviews and in retrospect it stands as a more original collection of songs than you'll find on the debut.

Recommended.

[ 👎allmusic.com 2 / 5, Pitchfork 6,8 / 10, PopMatters 3,5 / 5, NME, Rolling Stone, Uncut 4 / 5 stars ]

The Raveonettes "Chain Gang of Love" (2003)

Chain Gang of Love [debut]

release date: Aug. 25, 2003

format: cd

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

producer: Richard Gottehrer, Sune Rose Wagner

label: Columbia - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Remember" - 2. "That Great Love Sound" - 3. "Noisy Summer" - 5. "Let's Rave on" - 7. "Love Can Destroy Everything" - 8. "Heartbreak Stroll" - 11. "Chain Gang of Love" - 13. "New York Was Great"

Full-length studio debut by Danish band The Raveonettes following the ep debut Whip It On (May 2002) sees the band in a more traditional setup with a more professionally produced album - here co-produced with esteemed producer Richard Gottehrer, who had initiated his career working on 1960s albums as producer for The Angels, The Strangeloves, Dean Parrish, and The McCoys, during the 70s on albums by new wave artists like Blondie, Richard Hell & the Voivoids, and more traditional rock acts like Robert Gordon and Link Wray, and well into the 80s he produced albums for Joan Armatrading, The Go-Go's, The Fleshtones, Dr. Feelgood, before slowing down throughout the 90s where he worked on releases by Aerosmith and Miss B. Haven - after which Sune Wagner 'dug him out' to have someone with the skills to create a sound that would stand the test of time as a proper 60s production. Just as Gottehrer had written songs for and with former classic acts he has co-composed the song "That Great Love Sound" for this album together with Wagner, who is credited all other songs.

The Raveonettes had been singled out as part of a wave of upcoming artists, when Sony / Columbia signed the band, which again paved way for Wagner and Foo to work with a famous producer and to fund recording sessions in both Copenhagen and in New York. As with the ep-debut, the front cover suggests 1950s / early 60s with the duo on classic motorbikes as if still images taken from the 1953 film "The Wild One" featuring Marlon Brando, and it also comes with the same line as found on the ep: "Recorded in Glorious Bb-Minor". The album consists of 13 tracks with a total running time of 33 minutes making the compositions quite short. Compared to the one-year old ep, there's a slight turn towards a bolder garage rock and 60s pop music with strong bonds to surf rock and what became known as Phil Spector's wall-of-sound productions, which means a move away from the harder tones of rockabilly / psychobilly. "That Great Love Sound" and "Heartbreak Stroll" were selected for single releases but they didn't peak higher than number #34 and #49 respectively in the UK ("Heartbreak Stroll made a top-3 entry in Denmark), and the album made it to number #43 on the UK albums chart list, #53 in Sweden, and peaking as number #5 on the national list. Basically proving some international interest, though probably not as much as the label had wished for.

Chain Gang of Love is more than a decent debut. But one of the reasons it didn't succeed as well as the label had sat out for, could be an obvious link to noise rock act The Jesus and Mary Chain with bonds to the post-punk scene, indie rock of the 80s, which had all peaked at some point and what ultimately could appear as a too heavy mix of styles and influences pointing in too many directions - at least from distributors' and critics' point of view. However, the band still attracted an audience, although, at this point, they were still regarded as someone to keep an ear on. A potential was there but would they be able to fulfill the expectations?

Back in the day, I would probably have rated this 3 / 5 as the music didn't catch me. It's in retrospect that I have come to enjoy this more, and to see it as an important starting point to band's later releases but without this, they would never have been able to make such great albums later on, and then you have to give it to them and to Gottehrer: they have really made a distinct and classic sound on this one.

Recommended.

The Raveonettes "Whip It On" (2002) (ep)

Whip It On (ep) (debut)

release date: May 27, 2002

format: cd

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

producer: [rec. by Sune Rose Wagner]

label: Crunchy Frog - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: 1. "Attack of the Ghost Riders" - 2. "Veronica Fever" - 3. "Do You Believe Her" - 4. "Chains" - 5. "Cops on Our Tail" - 6. "My Tornado" - 7. "Bowels of the Beast" - 8. "Beat City"

Studio ep debut by Danish duo The Raveonettes consisting of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo. Wagner put an end to his brain-child Psyched Up Janis in 1999, and after a short stint with the instrumental psycho-billy band Tremolo Beer Gut, Wagner formed The Raveonettes with bassist Sharin Foo in late 2001. Initially, the band was full-members band centered around Wagner and Foo, and along the way it rooted as a duo, who would invite various musicians and vocalist to perform on specific releases.

Whip It On is an 8-track ep (originallly issued in Digipak and 10'' vinyl formats) with a running length just above 21 minutes resulting in quite short compositions all credited Wagner. A note on the cover cover stating: "Recorded in Glorious Bb-Minor" explicitly add detailed information about the music. For these recordings the duo made use of additional guitarist Manoj Ramdas and drummer Jakob Hoyer.

Stylewise, this debut represents a narrow combo of styles mostly originating from the late 1950s and early 1960s. It's basically a blend of garage rock, surf rock, and rockabilly - sometimes with a twist of 'modern' psychobilly, and with full attention on twang and reverb. Wagner already showed his interest for American old school rock music while playing in Psyched Up Janis - accentuated on the band's final studio album Enter the Super Peppermint Lounge (1998), and then with Tremolo Beer Gut, he commited fully on surf rock, rockabilly and psychobilly styles. In that regard, The Raveonettes comes out as a more harmony- and vocal-founded project, which focus both on compositional strength as well as presenting us with actual songs. This is actually, something you could say about their entire following production on the many albums that would follow this, and also despite taking on various stylistic detours on their way, but The Raveonettes always seem to carry a strong affection for quality of sound by implementing their output via... songs. The front cover is characteristically held in b/w with few coloured letters - again setting time and place to a period of the late 1950s and early 1960s - basically pre-Beatles era, which at the early stage of the band was mandatory. The album credits doesn't mention any producer, only that Sune Wagner recorded and wrote all tracks.

The album was met by some national attention and the band was right from scratch on both a critics' darling and a much treasured live cult act, i.e. not as such a mainstream hit but a band with evident potential.

Psyched Up Janis "Enter the Super Peppermint Lounge" (1998)

Enter the Super Peppermint Lounge
release date: Feb. 12, 1998
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Craig Leon
label: EMI-Medley - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Special One" (live) - 3. "In the Sun" - 4. "Evil Beauty" - 5. "I Think You Suck" - 7. "Tonight When You Are Gone" - 8. "Picking Stars"

3rd and final studio album by Psyched Up Janis is like the two previous albums produced by Craig Leon. At this point the band had been reduced to a duo consisting of singer, guitarist and now also drummer & percussionist Sune Rose Wagner and bassist Jacob Jørgensen. The album was recorded with legendary studio musician Hal Blaine on drums - but on one track only.
The album is slower and more quiet compared to the two previous albums and it reveals a substantial change of style. All music is, as always, written exclusively by Sune Wagner, and the compositions show a final move away from grunge rock presenting itself as a more Phil Spector-inspired collection of songs with strong bonds to the '60s 'surf rock' tradition - listen e.g. to "Evil Beauty". Basically, this has more in common with the first albums by Raveonettes than the first two albums by Psyched Up Janis.
After this, the journey of school friends Jørgensen and Wagner came to its end. Another two final albums by the band were released in '99 to mark the end of the road for the band: Hi-Fi Low Life - a compilation of demo-recordings almost entirely performed by Sune Wagner and the acoustic live album The Quiet Album.
Psyched Up Janis disbanded in the Fall of '99, after which Wagner went on to form Tremolo Beer Gut with Jesper Reginald (aka Yebo, of the band Thau) - who handled drums on Beats Me (1997) and on The Quiet Album (1999) - with guitarist Jens Ole Lembcke (also from Thau) and together with Swedish bassist Per Sunding (from Swedish indie pop trio Eggstone). This quartet released three albums from 1999 to 2001, and then still of Dec. 2001, Wagner then formed a duo together with Danish bassist Sharin Foo initially named The Girl On Death Row - shortly after, this duo would become The Raveonettes for the their ep debut Whip It On (2002).

The Raybeats "Guitar Beat" (1981)

Guitar Beat [debut]
release date: 1981
format: digital (expanded reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Martin Rushent
label: PVC Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Tight Turn" - 2. "Big Black Sneakers" - 3. "Tone Zone" - 5. "B-Gas Rickshaw" - 6. "International Operator" - 8. "Calhoun Surf" (4 / 5) - 11. "Guitar Beat" - 13. "Holiday Inn Spain" (Bonus track)

Studio album debut by American band The Raybeats released on PVC Records and produced by British engineer and producer Martin Rushent in England. The album came out as an anachronism while the world of popular music was either pop / rock, disco, mainstream pop, contemporary r&b, new romantic, new wave, or post-punk-minded, but this is mostly pure surf rock as played primarily in the US in the 1950's. Some tracks contain elements of no wave and jazz fusion, and it's an exclusively instrumental release. I guess, most people never really knew about the album, and it was only by chance that I stumbled on it in 1982 or '83 when it was still a new album. A friend of mine had bought the album in a local record store with mostly punk rock music, and I remember finding it quite interesting but never really great, but fine enough to keep a copy on cassette for years. The version I refer to here is an extended cd with two bonus tracks. Unfortunately, they changed the original track listing, which seems like a major blunt - although, a quite typical label decision.
The Raybeats released one more album before disbanding in '84.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

And Also the Trees "Silver Soul" (1998)

Silver Soul
release date: 1998
format: cd (AATTCD03)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,24]
producer: Justin Jones
label AATT - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Nailed" - 2. "Blue Runner" - 3. "Rose-Marie's Leaving" - 5. "Where the Souls Meet" - 6. "Get Critical" - 10. "Highway 4287"

8th studio album by And Also the Trees is a self-released and self-produced album, again with guitarist and main composer Justin Jones as producer, which continue a style with surf rock as heard on Angelfish (1996). Justin has created a more up-tempo and uniform sound and style on this compared to the predecessor. Before finishing the recordings for the album, drummer (and founding member) Nick Havas left the band. He was then replaced with new drummer Paul Hill. With the two most recent albums the band has changed its style quite drastically, although, Simon H. Jones' vocal still haunts throughout the tracks making it a distinct album by this band, and the drumming (despite a new drummer) and bass-lines still keep the soul of AATT intact. The keyboards have been reduced and are less dominant, and on an overall level, it really has its moments.
Admittedly, I saw this as a low-point in the band's career but think better of it in retrospect.

And Also the Trees "Angelfish" (1996)

Angelfish
release date: 1996
format: cd (MEZCD1)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Justin Jones
label: Mezentian - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Brother Fear" - 3. "The Next Flight to Rome" [instr.] - 6. "Tremaine" - 8. "Roulette" - 9. "The Butcher's Daughter" [instr.]

7th studio album release by And Also the Trees is its only release on the label Mezentian, and the first of two consecutive albums with Justin Jones as producer. Former (favourite) producers Mark Tibenham and Richard Waghorn are credited for mastering and as engineer respectively. In the band's search of a new style this is a more bold attempt with surf rock, which was tempted on The Klaxon (1993). It's really not unsuccessful as Justin Jones plays a fine original surf rock guitar - e.g. as heard on the instrumental tracks "The Next Flight to Rome" and "The Butcher's Daughter", and the overall result is a surprising journey into more positive territories.
My experience here tells me that it may take some time to fully adjust oneself to the blend of surf rock and post-punk, but I have come to consider it a more than decent experiment, which would be continued on the successor.

Pixies "Bossanova" (1990)

Bossanova
release date: Aug. 1990
format: cd (CAD 0010 CD) / sacd (2008 reissue - UDSACD 2035)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Gil Norton
label: 4AD Records / Mobile Fidelity - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Cecilia Ann" - 2. "Rock Music" - 3. "Velouria" - 4. "Allison" - 5. "Is She Weird" (4 / 5) - 7. "All Over the World" - 8. "Dig for Fire" (4 / 5) - 12. "Hang Wire" - 14. "Havalina"

3rd full studio album by Pixies, and their second time working with the English independent producer Gil Norton. The album is by many considered the weakest release by the band. I don't see it as solely weak and uninteresting, but yes, it's not their best, and it's also obvious that the production sound has changed. Critics find that the sound is blurred, too heavy and that it lacks space, and band members have recalled the recording process as a bit of a mess. On their previous material the music was mostly written by Black Francis but Kim Deal also provided one or two songs for the albums, and beside that played a more visible singing part, but this time everything is by Francis (except "Cecilia Ann", written by The Surftones), and it seems like an area of conflict within the band that only got worse. Unable to have much of a say or able to provide songs for the new album, Kim formed The Breeders and they soon released the acclaimed debut album Pod, also 1990. The music on Bossanova seems much inspired by 1960s surf rock and the noise rock, indie rock, alternative rock is more polished in a way, although, a song like "Rock Music" has much more in common with fierce and flaming guitar-driven tracks like "Tame", "Debaser" and "Bone Machine" on their previous albums than any of the remaining songs on this one. Most of the songs have focus on a softer and more quiet chorus with much more harmony than normal with Pixies. My favourite tracks are "Is She Weird" and the ultimate Pixies pop song "Dig for Fire", which got a lot of airplay on the Danish national radio station P3 that year, and that's a song I never get tired of. I think the album is weak in the sense that it lacks direction. As I mentioned, some tracks could fit nicely on their previous albums and others have more in common with the follower, and in that way it's somewhat unfinished. The team work was not perfect and that already signaled the end of the band with Deal concentrating on her side-project The Breeders and Francis taking over as a self-appointed chief of the band. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
In 2008 the album was reissued in a remastered version. I have both albums, but frankly, don't understand the need to update the original (heavy or not) sound of the original release. Yes, the remastered version has another sound - but better? I don't think so.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Blender 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

2008 Remaster,
Mobile Fidelity