Angélique Kidjo "Oyaya!" (2004)

Oyaya!
release date: 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,05]
producer: Alberto Salas, Steve Berlin
label: Columbia Records - nationality: Benin

Track highlights: 1. "Seyin Djro"

9th studio album by Angélique Kidjo is a another combo of fon music - African pop and vocal jazz, just without the truly fine tracks one will find on her 2002 album.

My Bloody Valentine "This Is Your Bloody Valentine" (1985)

This Is Your Bloody Valentine, mini-album
release date: Jan. 1985
format: digital (1990 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,77]
producer: My Bloody Valentine
label: Dossier Records - nationality: Ireland

Track highlights: 3. "Don't Cramp My Style" - 5. "The Love Gang" - 6. "Inferno"

Studio mini-album debut by Irish band My Bloody Valentine originally released on Tycoon Records is a 7 track album at just above 25 minutes playing time. From the formation of the band in '83 and up to this point the band had gone through a phase with ever-changing band members with only Kevin Shields and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig as the only stable members. Here, the band consist of vocalist David Conway, Kevin Shields on guitar, bass and backing vocals, Tina Durkin on keyboards, and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig (credited as Colm Cusack). Stylistically, it's close to the music of contemporary Scottish band Jesus and Mary Chain with a distinct psychobilly inspiration with distorted guitars and a close bond to gothic rock and post-punk.
I only came to listen to this after all of their successive three albums, and it really is a completely different style as to what the band has become known and famous for. Vocalist Dave Conway sounds a bit like Dave Vanian of The Damned, and the music comes out as a clone of The Damned, The Cure, Ramones of the mid-80s and The Cramps. One could also argue that there's a bond to the debut by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Anyway, it's almost hard to accept as an album by My Bloody Valentine, but this is their (and Shields') formative sound despite the band's own failing attempts in finding a suitable new name when they would later change their style and again replace band formation. I do think this is much more in the style of what Robert Smith referred to when he pointed to My Bloody Valentine as an upcoming band to look out for, as this has much more in common with the roots of The Cure than what Shields and Co. would produce in the early 90s, although, that would generally be much more valued.
[ allmusic.com 2 / 5 stars ]

Editors

~ ~ ~

Editors was formed in 2002 in Birmingham, England, UK. Members: Tom Smith (aka Thomas Michael Henry Smith [birth name], vocals, guitar, piano), Russell Leetch (bass & synths), Ed Lay (drums & percussion), Chris Urbanowicz (guitar & synths, 2002-12), Justin Lockey (lead guitar, 2012-present), Elliott Williams (keyboards, synths, guitar & backing vocals, 2012-present). Editors was one of many neo-post-punk or post-punk revival bands to emerge in the late 1990s and in the new millennium on both sides of the Atlantic. In the US the dominating artists were Interpol, The Killers, The National, The Rapture and from the UK: Bloc Party, Art Brut, Franz Ferdinand and Editors, the latter being the most recent contributors of the new revival, and as such they have understood to combine the sound of the American style as well as the original British post-punk artists. The band play a distinct post-punk on their first two albums on which you'll find inspiration in the musical universe of the original post-punk bands as well as the earliest revivalists - both in content and form. Later on, the band has progressed into synth pop indie pop as well as alt. rock territory, and the band underwent a major change in line-up in 2012. Tom Smith is the band's lead vocalist, songwriter and dominating front figure, and I first heard of the band when the song "Munich" was played in a national radio program.

~ ~ ~

Elvis Costello "King of America" (1986)

King of America
release date: Feb. 4, 1986
format: vinyl (RCLP 20369) / digital (2013 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: The Coward Brothers ['T-Bone' Burnett, Elvis Costello]
label: RCA Victor - nationality: England, UK

10th studio album by Elvis Costello, credited the Costello Show, following close to two years after Goodbye Cruel World (Jun. '84) marks a new direction in a more substantial way than has usually been the case. Costello has always sought new ways of expression and challenged his fans from album to album but never to the extent he end up showcasing here. Around '84 he had found himself in various deep conflicts - be it privately, between two women, which ended with his first wife Mary [Burgoyne] filing for divorce and Costello then rejecting his American girlfriend, and the ongoing and increased tensions with The Attractions had him considering firing the band. He sought relief on an American solo tour where he played with 'T-Bone' Burnett [aka Joseph Henry Burnett III] and in him found a soul, with whom things seemed to work out for the better. Alledgedly, Burnett helped Costello in finding the essense of his songs and skip the superfluous arrangements he had recently become accustomed to. Together the two played covers from a long range of songwriters in a refreshing new style, and this appears to be the first step to this album. Initially, Costello invited The Attractions to the States because he still thought they should back him on the album, but after listening to what they produced together, he simply rejected the idea of a full involvement from his old backing band and completed most songs with the studio musicians that Burnett suggested - and with whom Costello found a new free form that was impossible for him to imitate together with The Attractions (they all play on two songs; keyboardist Steve Nieve on three). All but two covers are written and composed by Costello who was so determined to come up with something new that he also skipped his name; or rather: he returned to his birthname, so all songs are credited Declan MacManus and the producer-duo (T-Bone Burnett & Costello) are simple credited The Coward Brothers.
But he had also found a new love in Cait O'Riordan. He had been introduced to The Pogues and immediately fell for the band's bassist, and he then managed to hire the band as warm-up on a tour in Britain and not long after, he was hired as the band's producer for Rum, Sodomy & The Lash (1985) and during the recordings he soon began acquainting O'Riordan, and in Dec. '85 the two informally married [since Costello wasn't yet officially divorced] - seemingly, they married officially in May '86; however, Cait much later admitted - in 2004 when the two parted ways - that there never was an official marriage. The album then both deals with old flames, a broken marriage and a newfound love.
King of America is in many ways the rebirth of the artist. He tries hard to dissociate his new self with the image he had tired from, but it's not an easy task, when everyone knows who you are anyway. But with new musical friendships, new backing musicians and songs that have been stripped from the pretentiousness of his recent releases, Costello succeeds - again. His songwriting talent makes it a sheer tour de force of emotions and the sound is far from anything he has done before. He has included two covers: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Bennie Benjamin, Sol Marcus, and Gloria Caldwell (originally written for Nina Simone in '64 and covered by many artists over the years) and "Eisenhower Blues" by J. B. Lenoir - probably to pay tribute to the very song catalogue that had inspired him to make the album, and perhaps also to show in what context he basically wanted his new songs to hint at.
I recall, purchasing the album upon its release - simply because it had been rumoured to be something completely different from his recent albums, and I simply wished he would live up to his name. Iinitially, I was slightly bewildered but the songs and the stripped down arrangements were so good that I embraced it as his best in years.
The 2013 remaster is released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.
The album is Costello's first of two full-length albums to be issued in '86, and King of America is simply a cornerstone in an already long and remarkable career.
A must.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Blender, Q Magazine 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

XTC "English Settlement" (1982)

English Settlement
release date: Feb. 12, 1982
format: vinyl 2 lp (embossed cover - V2223) / cd (2001 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,06]
producer: Hugh Padgham & XTC
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 1. "Runaways" - 2. "Ball and Chain" (4 / 5) - 3. "Senses Working Overtime" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Jason and the Argonauts" - - B) 1. "No Thugs in Our House" (4 / 5) - 7. "All of a Sudden (It's Too Late)" - - C) 1. "Melt the Guns" - 3. "It's Nearly Africa" - - D) 1. "Fly on the Wall" (4 / 5) - 2. "Down in the Cockpit" - 3. "English Roundabout" (4 / 5) - 4. "Snowman"

5th studio album by XTC produced by Hugh Padgham and the band is XTC's critically acclaimed conceptual double album.
Commercially, the band never succeeded like contemporaries like U2 and The Jam, but they were the critics' and other bands' darlings, and with this, Partridge / Moulding was a duo in the songwriters' super-league. At this point their music had changed from fast energetic new wave outbursts, and experimental art pop, to more lyrics-based tracks in an art pop, pop / rock style, and it had become more jangle pop. The album was soon seen as a cornerstone of new stylistic progression on the contemporary European pop / rock scene because undoubtedly, they played perfectly unnoticed by the broad American audience.
Personally, the music didn't sink in until some years after but it's one of Britain's musical jewels of the early 1980s. I find that it's one of those rare albums that keep adding new dimensions to "its shape". Actually, it doesn't even sound dated, and that's a huge accomplishment, and I think it has to do with the band's unique original sound. In a sense it's rather homogeneously crafted, but it's also extremely varied and ambitious - and in a way, opposite the tightness of Black Sea. To me, this is their absolute best and it's a highly recommendable listen.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars, Pitchfork 100 / 100 ]

[ collectors' item - 1st issue with embossed cover ]

Van Morrison "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher" (1986)

No Guru, No Method, No Teacher
release date: Jul. 1986
format: vinyl / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,28]
producer: Van Morrison
label: Mercury / Exile, Polydor - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Got to Go Back" (4 / 5) - 2. "Oh the Warm Feeling" - 3. "Foreign Window" (4 / 5) - 4. "A Town Called Paradise" - 5. "In the Garden" (5 / 5) (live - live 2017) - 7. "Here Comes the Knight" - 8. "Thanks for the Information" (4 / 5) - 9. "One Irish Rover" (4,5 / 5) - 10. "Ivory Tower" - *12. "Lonely at the Top"

* Bonus track on CD remaster

16th studio album by Van Morrison following 1½ years after A Sense of Wonder (1984).

The front cover is a photo collage with Van on the left and what appears to be the photograph of a sculpture of Chinese philosopher Confucius on the right. The title of the album is with reference to Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, who said "[It all] depends on you, and not someone else, because in this there is no teacher, no pupil; there is no leader; there is no guru; there is no Master, no Saviour. You yourself are the teacher and the pupil; you are the Master; you are the guru; you are the leader; you are everything" (1966). With this, Van continues his open spiritual search, but with that new statement that he is not part of the Jehovas Witnesses, the Scientology movement or any other specific belief - only underlining that he has come to an understanding of the importance of the individual's own choices.

In retrospect, the album has come to be regarded as a bit of a cornerstone in his long career. From this, he really produces a series of some of his most acclaimed works. During the 80s, he is said to have suffered from writers' block, which had him rethink his artistic role and to even consider a complete retirement from the music business.

As Nick Coleman of the Independent puts it (here): "The four great Van albums are ‘Astral Weeks’, ‘Moondance’, ‘Veedon Fleece’ and … this one." - I do understand what he means, though I would add at least another two or three studio albums, but there's a strong common link to the potency of Van Morrison to all these (quite) different albums but they all share the powers of one man's songwriting and especially the unique force of his soulful vocal. He didn't participate in the gospel choirs growing up in Northern Ireland but he sings as if he was raised on nothing but Northern soul. On the fabulous "In the Garden" he sings "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher - Just you and I and nature - And the Father and the son and the holy ghost - In the garden". Does this reveal that Van is hanging on to an idea of the almighty Christian father figure, despite references to Krishnamurti? 'Cause the Indian philosopher also said: "I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect" (jiddu-krishnamurti.net), which doesn't coincide with a belief in the holy ghost, Van. [If you really are a true believer, you will find reason in all statements by Newton and Darwin to our current times of Victor Stenger and Richard Dawkins]. And it seems Van has landed a new understanding of the meaning of... everything. In some songs you'll find references to a belief in higher spirits, and then in others he claims to have come to realise it was all a hoax, as in "Thanks for the Information" when he sings: "Thanks for the invitation - I know I must be on to something big - Every time, I take two steps forward - I end up having to take three back [...] Thanks for the information - Thanks for the memory." Meaning: he's now over searching new truths about a higher understanding? And in that regard you can take almost any song on the album and find words and bits about a disbelief and what seems like a new confirmation that it's Okay not be in search of the light of truth, or a new water hole to drink from together with other believers but in fact be on your own in your understanding - regardless what that is.

And regardless belief, truth and 'truth' this very album contains some truly fine soulful compositions with a solid backing band and a balanced maturity in his vocal performance, which is the beautiful narration and the finest instrument.

Highly recommendable.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Hot Press 11 / 12 stars ]

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds "The Firstborn Is Dead" (1985)

The Firstborn Is Dead
release date: Jun. 4, 1985
format: cd (1996 Japan reissue)
album rate: 3 / 5] [3,08]
producer:  Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Flood
label: Mute Records - nationality: Australia

Track highlights: 1. "Tupelo" (4 / 5) - 2. "Say Goodbye to the Little Girl Tree" (3 / 5) - 4. "Black Crow King" - 6. "Wanted Man"

2nd studio album by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds originally released on Mute Records follows one year after the debut From Her to Eternity.

Compared to the debut album, this is a more melodic album, and it signals a final goodbye to no wave. The line-up here is Nick Cave on vocals and harmonica, Blixa Bargeld on guitar, slide guitar, piano and backing vocals, and with both Barry Adamson and Mick Harvey on bass, drums, guitar, organ and backing vocals. This is in fact an early example of music in the genre of alt. rock, which initially was made up of reminiscences of post-punk and art rock, but here with a certain amount of blues rock influences, although, it still displays obvious experimental and post-punk traits.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone Album Guide 4 / 5 stars ]

Red House Painters "Shock Me" (1994) (ep)

Shock Me, ep
release date: Feb. 4, 1994
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Mark Kozelek
label: 4AD Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Shock Me" - 2. "Sundays and Holidays" - 3. "Three-Legged Cat" - 4. "Shock Me (acoustic version) / [untitled track]"

A 4-track ep by Red House Painters released on 4AD follows less than 3 months after the full-length album Red House Painters [II].
The track "Shock Me" (Kiss cover song) comes in two versions, the latter being an acoustic version, lasting 4:32 min. followed by an approx. 6 min. long instrumental untitled track. Both versions of the title track are the ep's strongest (together with the untitled instrumental), and are also nice improvements to the original.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars ]

The Creatures "Feast" (1983)

Feast [debut]

release date: May 20, 1983

format: vinyl (SHELP 1) / digital

[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]

producer: Mike Hedges, The Creatures

label: Wonderland / Polydor - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: A) 3. "Ice House" - 4. "Dancing on Glass" - 5. "Gecko" - - B) 2. "Festival of Colours" - 3. "Miss the Girl"

Studio album debut by the duo The Creatures, consisting of Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie, vocalist and drummer respectively in Siouxsie and the Banshees (SATB). The album is the first on newly formed label Wonderland (started by SATB) and it's produced by Mike Hedges, previously credited as sound engineer on A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982) by SATB, and as a producer already a high-profile name within the post-punk-related scene, where in '82-83 he produced for e.g. The Cure, Associates, The Beat, and The Undertones.

Musically, The Creatures are naturally closely related to SATB, but it's still a radically more experimental soundscape that you hear on Feast, with its distinct mix of the special easy-listening style of exotica with remnants and touches from exotic world music (here musically inspired by sounds and music from Hawaii) and art pop, and where more traditional rock instruments such as electric guitar and bass are replaced by that of percussion - instruments such as xylophone, pipe bells, vibraphone, marimba and the like, and with the incorporation of natural sounds (the special exotica impression) and vocal. Rumour has it that Sioux and Budgie used a globe before they had the tracks for the album - they spun the globe and with eyes closed one of them used a finger to stop spinning the globe, thus pointing at a random place which happened to be (close to) Hawaii - that approach then was the starting point for the music. The two traveled to the American state to find inspiration for the album, which in this way was given natural sound patterns and a distinctly exotic touch.

The album garnered good reviews and landed a nice 17th place on the UK albums chart, although part of the album's success is probably due to the familiarity of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the fact that Polydor saw the duo as potential hitmakers and spent some financial resources to help promote the band. And precisely to this notion, Feast doesn't exactly contain notable single hits. "Miss the Girl" was selected for sole single release and the track peaked at No. #21 on the singles chart. Two months later, The Creatures released "Right Now" as a single - a cover track originally from 1962 with music by Herbie Mann and lyrics by Carl Sigman, as song which is probably best known in Mel Tormé's version from the same year. That single became The Creatures' highest-charting single peaking at number #14 in the UK (none of the band's later releases charted similarly). Despite good reviews, where the duo garnered great praise for originality, I personally don't think that the album is all that convincing. Sioux sounds like herself, which is a quality in itself, and Budgie is an excellent percussionist who gets an opportunity to show his worth, but as a whole the album is more of an interesting curiosity with great originality than being close to a real masterpiece.

Mostly for collectors and fans of Siouxsie and the Banshees.

[ allmusic.com, Record Mirror 4 / 5 stars ]

The Style Council "Our Favourite Shop" (1985)

Our Favourite Shop
release date: May 1, 1985
format: vinyl (gatefold - 825 700-1) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,46]
producer: Paul Weller, Peter Wilson
label: Polydor Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "All Gone Away" - 3. "Come to Milton Keynes" - 4. "Internationalists" (3,5 / 5) (live) - 5. "A Stones Throw Away" - 7. "Boy Who Cried Wolf" - 9. "Down in the Seine" (4 / 5) - 10. "The Lodgers (Or She Was Only a Shopkeeper's Daughter)" - 12. "With Everything to Lose" - 14. "Walls Come Tumbling Down" (at Live Aid)

2nd studio album by The Style Council, whose style has become less pop soul, more jazz inspired, and seems more straight and narrow with this release compared to the debut, and although, it contains a large number of fine compositions I generally find it a bit too slick, too nicely sounding. There's simply too much work put in the studio in arranging these songs with the right horns, strings, and additional instrumentation, which nearly disguises the quality of the songs. The first track "Homebreakers" is like a perfect example of what you shouldn't do. It's lengthy, somewhat tiresome, and it doesn't provide any original ideas, whereas "A Stones Throw Away", "Down in the Seine", and "Walls Come Tumbling Down" show what this duo is capable of.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Uncut Magazine 3 / 5 stars ]

Lars Muhl "The Glorious Art of Breaking Little Girls' Hearts and Blowing Big Boys' Brains" (1986)

The Glorious Art of Breaking Little Girls' Hearts... [debut]
release date: 1986
format: vinyl (GENLP 149) / cd (1995 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: Lars Muhl & Thomas Breckling
label: Genlyd - nationality: Denmark

Studio solo debut with the full title: The Glorious Art of Breaking Little Girls' Hearts and Blowing Big Boys' Brains by former Warm Guns vocalist Lars Muhl.
With the album Muhl launched himself into the top of Danish pop / rock artists on the national and Scandinavian scene. He soon became one of the most frequently used songwriters, and many Danish artists made use of his songwriting for covering his songs as well as for writing original material.
The album hasn't aged that well as there's strong use of '80s synths and drum machines, but as original material it still stands out in its own rights.

Leonard Cohen "I'm Your Man" (1988)

I'm Your Man
release date: Feb. 2, 1988
format: vinyl / digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Leonard Cohen
label: Columbia Records - nationality: Canada

8th studio album by Leonard Cohen follows three years after Various Positions (Dec. 1984) and it's his first album on which he is credited as producer.
Unfortunately, the cover to my copy has gone missing.

The Icicle Works "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (1984) (single)

Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream), 7'' single
release date: Mar. 1984
format: vinyl (106 327)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,82]
producer: Hugh Jones
label: Virgin / Beggars Banquet - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream)" (4 / 5) - - B) "In the Cauldron of Love"

Single release by The Icicle Works released as a promotional single for the debut album, and with both tracks appearing on the album this is a fine, yet somewhat superfluous single. Initially, it was released by Situation Two - a sub-label of Beggars Banquet as early as June '83 with a different B-side (and cover) with the song "Reverie Girl".

Bobby McFerrin "The Voice" (1984) (live)

The Voice (live)
release date: 1984
format: cd (2013 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Linda Goldstein
label: Elektra Musician / Rhino - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Blackbird" (5 / 5) (other recording) - 2. "The Jump" - 4. "I Feel Good" (5 / 5) (other recording) - 6. "Music Box" - 7. "Medley: Donna Lee / Big Top / We're in the Money" - 9. "T.J." (5 / 5) - 10. "A-train"

Live album by Bobby McFerrin performing solo at four different locations in Germany in Mar. '84: The Bahnhof, Köln (17th), Rosengarten, Mannheim (19th), Musikhalle, Hamburg (21st), Liederhalle, Stuttgart (26th).
This album is an absolute gem showcasing McFerrin's talent as vocal artist / performer.
Highly recommendable.

[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide 4 / 4 stars ]

Peter Murphy "Should the World Fail to Fall Apart" (1986)

Should the World Fail to Fall Apart [debut]
release date: Jul. 1986
format: vinyl (BEGA 69 - gatefold) / digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]
producer: Ivo Watts-Russell, Peter Murphy, Howard Hughes, Gerry Kitchingham
label: Beggars Banquet - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Canvas Beauty (Romance Version)" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Light Pours Out of Me" - 3. "Confessions" - 4. "Should the World Fail to Fall Apart" (4 / 5) - 6. "God Sends" (4 / 5) - 9. "Final Solution" - 10. "Jemal"

Solo studio album debut by Peter Murphy, former lead vocalist in Bauhaus following three years after the band's breakup. Murphy was not the musical composer behind the music in Bauhaus and nor did he play an instrument, and therefore most of the songs here were written in collaboration with co-producer Howard Hughes (aka Stephen Betts), former keyboardist in The Associates from 1984 to 1990. However, Murphy is credited several contributions in the album's rather long credit list. His parts include: guitar, keyboards, mixing, producer, rhythm arrangements, and rhythm programming. In the big picture, the album has obviously been created with help of a large number of studio musicians. Previous collaboration with Japan bassist Mick Karn on their short-lived joint project Dalis Car, has clearly had an effect on the outcome of the rhythm section. A list of acclaimed guitarists doen't lack - Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees' John McGeoch is on the list, as is multi-instrumentalist Martin McCarrick, who has worked as studio musician for The Glove, This Mortail Coil, he has featured on Bryan Ferry's Boys and Girls and became a stable member of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Also Bauhaus guitarist Daniel Ash features on an album that also includes two covers: "The Light Pours Out of Me" by Magazine, and "Final Solution" by Pere Ubu.

I remember purchasing the album when it came out, really hoping to find some of the spirit from Bauhaus, and while there's basically none of that, aside from Murphy's unique and easy recognisable vocal, the album was nonetheless a positive acquisition. In terms of style, nowadays you would call it alt. rock, but as that category wasn't really established yet, you would label it as something on the edge of gothic rock, and more precisely, you'd probably see it as a variantion of art pop, since the music isn't dark and gloomy, but is kept in a bright and positive tone with quite complex rhythms and something that almost makes it chamber pop with a bold use of strings. Without working with anyone other than Mick Karn from Japan, there is nevertheless an almost natural link to (or something similar in spirit to), David Sylvian's fine solo album Secrets of the Beehive, which came out the following year.

Only the composition "Never Man" may contain stronger reminiscents of the Bauhaus era, which also means that this song stands somewhat alone here. It's a strong debut, but apart from the fine reviews it wasn't a major commercial success, and Murphy and the album remained somewhat overlooked in 1986.

[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Snow Patrol "Eyes Open" (2006)

Eyes Open
release date: May 1, 2006
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "You're All I Have" (4 / 5) - 2. "Hands Open" (4 / 5) - 3. "Chasing Cars" (5 / 5) - 4. "Shut Your Eyes" - 5. "It's Beginning to Get to Me" - 6. "You Could Be Happy" - 10. "Open Your Eyes" (3,5 / 5)

4th studio album by the Scottish indie rock and pop / rock band Snow Patrol. This was my first album with the band and actually only the second big commercial break through release they experienced as the album Final Straw (2003) gave them a number #3 on the British albums chart list and a number #1 in Ireland. However, elsewhere they remained a secret until this album, which gave them their international success. "You're All I Have" was the first in a row of successful singles from the album. The second and biggest single release was of course "Chasing Cars", the so far only Platinum-selling single by the band. The music is pop / rock with a positive and simple sound and straight-forward compositions, which sometimes makes me think of Coldplay in a not so positive way. Meaning: I can only listen to it in small dozes, and that's sad, 'cause they do write good music.

Monty Python "The Final Rip Off" (1987)

The Final Rip Off (compilation)
release date: Nov. 30, 1987
format: 2 lp vinyl (gatefold - MPD 1)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Andre Jacquemin
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Compilation album by Monty Python released as a double vinyl album containing material from various sketches recorded from 1971-1987 after Virgin had achieved ownership rights of previously released material issued by Charisma Records.

BEST OF 1988:Chet Baker "Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo" (1988) (live)

'My' lp version

Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo (live)
Release date: 1988
format: vinyl (K28P 6491) / digital
[album rate: 5 / 5] [4,80]
producer: Shigeyuki Kawashima
label: Paddle Wheel - nationality: USA

*Tracklist: 1. "Stella by Starlight" - 2. "For Minors Only" - 3. "Almost Blue" [Elvis Costello cover] - 4. "Portrait in Black and White" - 5. "My Funny Valentine"
*[original vinyl version]

alternate cover

This album is sooo cool and... absolutely wonderful.
I always found that tiny bit more pleasure from Chet than Miles Davis - no bad feelings about Miles but I think it has to do with some inner feel and slow sincerity that is ever present in Chet's sound. And also, he's not a bad singer. He's not a great vocalist in terms of ability to articulate and produce clean clear notes but there's something extremely authentic and fragile in his voice that you also find in his instrumentation. The only real down side to this album is the short playing time, of course having it on cd as well, the repeat function really comes handy.

1988 Favourite releases: 1. Chet Baker Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo - 2. R.E.M. Green - 3. Talk Talk Spirit of Eden

[ collectors' item ]

Hüsker Dü "Everything Falls Apart" (1983)

Everything Falls Apart [debut]
release date: Jan. 1983
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Hüsker Dü and Spot (aka Glen Locket)
label: Reflex Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "From the Gut" - 2. "Blah, Blah, Blah" - 5. "Afraid of Being Wrong" - 6. "Sunshine Superman" - 8. "Everything Falls Apart" - 12. "Gravity"

Studio debut album by the American trio Hüsker Dü released after the first full-length release, the live album Land Speed Record released exactly one year earlier. The band was formed in Minneapolis in Mar. '79 and consists of Bob Mould on guitar and vocals, Greg Norton on bass and backing vocals, and with Grant Hart on drums and vocals. This is American hard-core punk, which only had a little in common with the early stages of what became known as punk rock, meaning 1976-77. Hüsker Dü is one of a few dominant bands of the genre when speaking of the American version of hardcore punk, which included Black Flag, Bad Brains, D.O.A., Circle Jerks, and Dead Kennedys. The UK scene included bands like The Exploited, Charged G.B.H., Subhumans, Crass, Anti-Nowhere League, One-Way System, and UK Subs, but the two scenes were not identical. The American scene was a primary source and link to noise rock, which more or less evolved at the same time, and that may be heard on this album. I recall being interested in the British scene, which had more evident roots in traditional punk rock with some focus on harmonies, chorus-lines, political subjects, and with the addition of intensified energy. A few bands with Crass as the extreme forerunners were on the edge of punk making highly political music with bonds to experimental art rock and rock satire, which was labelled anarcho-punk - and this only really happened in the UK, whereas the American artists more or less concentrated their energy in playing with speed, high-voltage energy and anger as driving forces - rebelling with either nihilism or what resembled 1960s anti-war protest-songs engagement, and not seldom as a huge (strange) mix of founding inspiration.
Everything Falls Apart is however, also one of a few albums that closes the gap between American and British hardcore punk. Listening to Subhumans, The Exploited and One-Way System this has an equal expression of harmony structures and short-lived tunes build on guitar-chords and wry statements.
I rejected this as too much noise for my liking. My first experience with the band was Zen Arcade from 1984, and that didn't do much for me like the band's last releases, which failed to my appeal. At the time, I thought, this was just a matter of playing fast, running wild with energy, and with too little diversion. Today, I actually enjoy some of the tracks from this. It has it's moments and moreover: it's quite evident how the band became a source to other styles and genres, including grunge, but also how close this was to noise rock and American alternative rock, which helped giving birth to bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Red Hot Chili Pepper - all of these seem unthinkable without Hüsker Dü in this incarnation.
"From the Gut" is a great, simple, but original starter, which points to music by Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Blah, Blah, Blah" and perhaps even more "Bricklayer" are fine examples of music bonding with chanting chorus lines from the UK scene, experimental 'art rock' by Frank Zappa, Dead Kennedys, and Nirvana at the same time. The production sound is... of course on the low side of things but that's how it is with the genre. "Punch Drunk" (30 secs of distilled raw energy) could easily have thought made by Crass, The Exploited, Charged G.B.H. of the British scene, or by Dead Kennedys. Most songs are written by Bob Mould and one track "Sunshine Superman" is a cover of a track by Donovan, however, here highly transformed. The original album issue has a total playing time of just above 19 minutes making it a rather short long-player. In '93 the album was reissued as Everything Falls Apart and More on cd with seven bonus tracks including the band's first two singles.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Bloc Party

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Bloc Party: is a British band formed 1999, London, UK. Members: Kele Okereke (vocals, guitar), Russell Lissack (guitar), Gordon Moakes (bass, vocals), Matt Tong (drums). It's not easy to say by a few words what genre this band plays. The band started out in the new retro wave of post-punk but has played with many styles since the debut, including indie rock, indietronica, alternative rock, indie pop, alternative dance, electronic, dream pop, dance-punk, electro house, dance, synth pop. 

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