17th December - David Bowie's Hunky Dory

Artist – Album: David Bowie – Hunky Dory

Released: 17^th December 1971

Sounds Like: Getting the ball rolling 

For one of the most successful and influential artists in pop history, David Bowie didn’t half get off to a slow start. Although he scored a big hit in 1969 with ‘Space Oddity’, the Thin White Duke spent the following years being viewed as just a one hit wonder, a bit of an oddity himself. His next few albums, Space Oddity and The Man Who Fell to Earth, met with little fanfare and it was no surprise that Hunky Dory – despite hosting ‘Changes’ and ‘Life on Mars?’ for goodness sake – also came and went without much attention. Then, in ’72, came The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and suddenly the world was ready for super-Starman Bowie. Fans clamouring for more releases were sated when Bowie, in true Blue Peter-esque style, said “here’s one I made earlier” and Hunky Dory marched back up the charts.

It may not be anywhere near as cohesive as Ziggy Stardust, but the songwriting on display here is simply extraordinary. As well as the aforementioned ‘Changes’ and ‘Life on Mars?’, the eccentric pop of ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’, the glam rock of ‘Queen Bitch’ and the folky ‘Song for Bob Dylan’ are splendidly crafted songs. Even the apparently throwaway ‘Kooks’ is delightfully perfect. At times there is the sneaking suspicion that Bowie hadn’t yet  decided on which direction he wanted to take, and the two more experimental cuts ‘Quicksand’ and ‘The Bewlay Brothers’ do begin to drag a little bit, but it’s charming and novel to hear a rock icon figure things out.

Ziggy Stardust may have been the real catalyst for one of rock and pop’s greatest careers, but Hunky Dory showed the world just how much talent had lay dormant, waiting for people to catch on.

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       Changes – 3:37

2.       Oh! You Pretty Things – 3:12

3.       Eight Line Poem – 2:55

4.       Life on Mars? – 3:53

5.       Kooks – 2:53

6.       Quicksand – 5:08

7.       Fill Your Heart – 3:07

8.       Andy Warhol – 3:56

9.       Song for Bob Dylan – 4:12

10.   Queen Bitch – 3:18

11.   The Bewlay Brothers – 5:22

Listen to ‘Life on Mars?’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--IqqusnNQ

16th September - Kate Bush's Hounds of Love

Artist – Album: Kate Bush – Hounds of Love

Released:  16^th September 1985

Sounds Like:  Certifiably excellent

It may have been Cyndi Lauper who, back in 1983, released an album entitled She’s So Unusual, but the Eighties’ strangest siren – with an honourable doff of the cap to Laurie Anderson – has to be Kate Bush.

Bush was just a 19 year old waif when she announced herself to the world with the loopy ‘Wuthering Heights’ and she continued her rich form of doolally singles when she reached the UK top 5 with ‘Babooshka’ in 1980. Amongst other topics, her early songs covered subjects such as the death of Houdini, François Truffaut films and Peter Pan. Perhaps feeling that she was somehow constrained by her label (really Kate?!) and their choice of producers, she began producing her own albums in 1984, and then she finally wrested complete control of her art for herself when she built her own recording studio near her home. If I’d have been around at the time of 1985’s Hounds of Love release, I’d have been worried about the inevitable mess of an album.

You mustn’t forget, though, that Bush might be a bit weird but she’s also a certified genius. Hounds of Love turned out to be her most complete album to date, and, what’s more, it’s full of wholly accessible pop hits. ‘Running Up That Hill’, ‘Hounds of Love’ (not quite as good as the Futureheads’ cover, but still awesome), ‘The Big Sky’ and ‘Cloudbusting’ are all top rate rockers and make up the majority of the Hounds of Love half of the record. The Ninth Wave segment follows roughly the same formula and is heady progressive rock.

Since Kate Bush (and Lauper and Anderson) there’s been plenty in the way of headstrong, odd female artists, and each of Tori Amos, Björk and Lady Gaga et al owe a huge debt to the Kentish songstress.

Albumaday... rating:  8/10

1.       Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) – 5:03

2.       Hounds of Love – 3:02

3.       The Big Sky – 4:41

4.       Mother Stands for Comfort – 3:07

5.       Cloudbusting – 5:10

6.       And Dream of Sheep – 2:45

7.       Under Ice – 2:21

8.       Waking the Witch – 4:18

9.       Watching You Without Me – 4:06

10.   Jig of Life – 4:04

11.   Hello Earth – 6:13

12.   The Morning Fog – 2:34

Listen to ‘The Big Sky’:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV7w5TaYjRA

Also released on 16^th September:

1967: Scott Walker – Scott 

Also released on 16^th September:

1977: Talking Heads – Talking Heads: 77

Also released on 16^th September:

1997: Buena Vista Social Club – Buena Vista Social Club

12th September - Sigur Rós' Takk...

Artist – Album: Sigur Rós – Takk…

Released:  12^th September 2005

Sounds Like: Planet Earth

Just how a band from Iceland, the world’s 178^th most populous country, have managed to release an album – an album with goobledigook lyrics and ten minute long songs no less – that has sold 800,000 units worldwide is anyone’s guess. On the face of it, Sigur Rós make music that is as far removed from conventional rock and pop as is imaginable. And yet... 

In actual fact, Takk is simply stadium rock done on the grandest scale. Don’t worry! They’re not U2! But their music on this less introspective album is made to be consumed by the masses, the sort of epic experiences that are best enjoyed as part of one exuberant throng. There’s a reason BBC have jumped upon the likes of ‘Hoppípolla’, ‘Sæglópur’ and ‘Mílanó’ for virtually every programme trailer they’ve made since 2005 – this is extraordinary music that speaks to people. 

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       Takk… - 1:57

2.       Glósóli – 6:15

3.       Hoppípolla – 4:28

4.       Með blóðnasir – 2:17

5.       Sé lest – 8:40

6.       Sæglópur – 7:38

7.       Mílanó – 10:25

8.       Gong – 5:33

9.       Andvari – 6:40

10.   Svo hljótt – 7:24

11.   Heysátan – 4:09

Listen to ‘Sæglópur’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84i7zQ_ACnU

Also released on 12^th September:

1975: Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

Also released on 12^th September:

1980: David Bowie – Scary Monsters... And Super Creeps

Also released on 12^th September:

2006: The Black Keys – Magic Potion

29th August - Iggy Pop's Lust for Life

Artist – Album: Iggy Pop – Lust for Life

Released:  29^th August 1977

Sounds Like: Choose life

There are many iconic scenes in Danny Boyle’s landmark 1996 film Trainspotting: from Renton’s Eno-soundtracked disgusting toilet dive, to the psychotic Begbie’s one-man-and-his-pool-cue brawl against an entire pub; from the terrifying drug induced roof crawling baby nightmare to the unfortunate kitchen episode with the parents of an underage girl that Renton has slept with. The film’s opener also sticks in the mind, with a young Ewan McGregor as Renton sprinting down Princes Street in Edinburgh, his eyes bulging on adrenaline and, no doubt, heroin. The music backing it is the bouncing, thrill-seeking ‘Lust for Life’, and a more appropriate song for a film there has never been.

In March 1977, Iggy Pop had released not-a-lot-of-fun The Idiot, a glum slow burner questioning rock posturing and detailing the demise of his contemporaries (reviewed what seems like a lifetime ago by yours truly here). Five months later, Pop had clearly laid those ghosts to rest with this nihilistic and rocking album. Things quick off splendidly with the rollicking title track, and this is followed by the aggressive ‘Sixteen’, the decadent ‘Passenger’, the mocking ‘Success’ and the cool ‘Tonight’. Pop was back enjoying life, and it's impossible not to be swept up in the enthusiasm.

As mentioned in its respective blog, The Idiot may well contain Pop’s strongest set of songs, but it’s an album to respect rather than love. Lust for Life, on the other hand, is necessarily primal and brazen, and requires little or no thought at all. As with Trainspotting, it may be visceral and unrefined, but it’s exhilarating and enjoyable, even for those of who would never dream of shooting up.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Lust for Life – 5:13

2.       Sixteen – 2:26

3.       Some Weird Sin – 3:42

4.       The Passenger – 4:44

5.       Tonight – 3:39

6.       Success – 4:25

7.       Turn Blue – 6:56

8.       Neighbourhood Threat – 3:25

9.       Fall in Love With Me – 6:30

Listen to ‘Success': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGbw-cz35qo

18th August - Elbow's Cast of Thousands

Artist - Album: Elbow - Cast of Thousands
Released: 18th August 2003
Sounds Like: we've been here before

Bloody Elbow again!

Analbumaday... rating: 6/10

1.Ribcage - 6:27
2.Fallen Angel - 4:07
3.Fugitive Motel - 5:51
4.Snooks (Progress Report) - 4:00
5.Switching Off - 5:05
6.Not a Job -4:23
7.I've Got Your Number - 4:48
8.Buttons and Zips - 3:57
9.Crawling with Idiot - 4:41
10. Grace Under Pressure -4:57
11. Flying Dream 143 -1:48

Listen to 'Grace Under Pressure': www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWCL_cbASR4

7th July - Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Artist – Album: Spoon – Ga ga ga ga ga

Released: 7^th July 2007

Sounds Like: Radio ga ga ga ga ga

Not only is the UK currently blissfully wilting away in a mini-heatwave (it’s summer guys, this is what summer’s supposed to be like!), but Andy Murray finally lifting the Wimbledon crown, and with it Britain’s ancient dry spell in the competition, had the country (or at least the tennis favouring quotient of it) in raptures. The euphoric pop of a couple of the tracks here – the unbelievably catchy, hook-laden ‘You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb’ and the brass propelled ‘The Underdog’ – are absolutely perfect representations of the current national state of mind.
 

Those two tracks in particular stand out from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon’s sixth album, because they’re musically more layered and bouncy than anything the critically acclaimed Texan group had ever previously released. But they’re not the only songs of note here. ‘Don’t Make Me a Target’ (which took on a whole new meaning for me when I saw this fan video from the legendary Adam Buxton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBtXw6CPwg4) and ‘Don’t You Evah’ are great spiky, ironic tunes in the typical Spoon fashion; full of paranoia and bite yet still accessible enough to make it on to your driving music playlist. ‘The Ghost of You Lingers’ is appropriately haunting and haunted, ‘Eddie’s Raga’ is an enjoyably messy jam, whilst album closer ‘Black Like Me’ is beautifully melodic, skitting along a repetitive piano riff and Britt Daniel’s candid loneliness.
 

Great days like this deserve great albums and thankfully Spoon have obliged.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1. Don't Make Me a Target - 3:55
2. The Ghost of You Lingers - 3:34
3. You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb - 3:08
4. Don't You Evah - 3:36
5. Rhythm & Soul -3:30
6. Eddie's Ragga – 3:39
7. The Underdog - 3:42
8. My Little Japanese Cigarette Case –3:03
9. Finer Feelings – 4:54
10. Black Like Me – 3:25

Listen to ‘Black Like Me’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJXYpDdKn-c

Also released on the 7^th July:

1970: The Stooges – Fun House

Also released on the 7^th July:

2003: The Darkness – Permission to Land

Also released on the 7^th July:

2003: Kings of Leon – Youth and Young Manhood

23rd June - Sigur Rós' Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Artist – Album: Sigur Rós – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

Released: 23^rd June 2008

Sounds Like: Gobbledigook

The traditional Sigur Rós sound could be described as tectonic: it’s slow and creeps up on you gradually, yet it’s also almost incomprehensibly vast and colossal. Similarly, the fact that on Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust the group so emphatically discard this decade-long-honed approach is nothing short of plate-shifting.

The albums first two tracks, ‘Gobbledigook’ and ‘Inní mér syngur vitleysingur’, make giant leaps on from the previous albums lightest moments, becoming (still relatively!) poppy and rousing. In fact, the former is such a change in direction that it almost feels like a statement. After all, it’s title is surely a reference to the media’s fascination with singing songs in their invented Hopelandish language. Fidgety and playful, the song is propelled by a dancing guitar riff, foot stomping percussion and chattering vocals, and still sounds like nothing else. ‘Inní mér syngur vitleysingur’ is an infectious, sunny slice of indie pop and these two (plus ‘Við spilum endalaust’) high tempo songs are where the album works best.

Unfortunately, the diversification somewhat loses momentum about halfway through, and Sigur Rós slip back into their old habits of epic soundscapes and snail-paced ballads. Which isn’t such a bad thing, but having re-imagined themselves so fruitfully it’s just a touch disappointing that they couldn’t make that last for the full hour.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Gobbledigook – 3:08

2.       Inní mér syngur vitleysingur – 4:05

3.       Góðan daginn – 5:15

4.       Við spilum endalaust – 3:33

5.       Festival – 9:24

6.       Með suð í eyrum – 4:56

7.       Ára bátur – 8:57

8.       Illgresi – 4:13

9.       Fljótavík – 3:49

10.   Straumnes – 2:01

11.   All Alright - 6:21

Listen to ‘Inní mér syngur vitleysingur’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiOU9NAiYlQ

7th May - Elbow's Asleep in the Back

Artist – Album: Elbow – Asleep in the Back

Released:  7^th May 2001               

Sounds Like: We’ve done these guys before

So, yesterday was the first time I reviewed an album by the Beatles, and yet today sees me on my third (third!) record by Elbow. No, I am not Guy Garvey in disguise and nor am I their biggest fan. Honest! It really is just the way the blog has fallen into place. I’m totally open to different suggestions of artists that aren’t, you know, Elbow or Bob Dylan though... Please feel free to bang a comment in below telling me who I should do next. Comment on anything actually, nobody ever comments...

My inferiority complex aside, Elbow aren’t exactly bad are they? On this, their debut, they indicated themselves worthy of taking up the Manchester indie mantle alongside Doves, following the deterioration of Oasis and the dissolution of the Stone Roses. Without ever producing a stone cold anthem along the lines of ‘One Day Like This’ on this album, they delivered plenty of lighter-waving ballads in the gorgeous likes of ‘Asleep in the Back’, ‘Powder Blue’ and ‘Scattered Black and Whites’, whilst also being experimental and electronically savvy enough to keep things interesting.

The unanimous verdict is that ‘New Born’ is the highlight; a timeless masterpiece of gentle loveliness that contains the disarming opening gambit “I’ll be the corpse in your bathtub” and is actually about growing old together despite the title. I remember buying Q Magazine’s special 1001 tracks to hear before you die in 2003 and that listed the track at #319, ahead of such classics as Little Richards’ ‘Tutti Frutti’, Jeff Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ and The Band’s ‘Weight’. (It also asked them if they think they’d ever better it, an intriguing thing to ask a band one album in).

The rest of the album doesn’t quite hit those heights, but it’s still a worthy debut from an underrated band (apart from by me, apparently).

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Any Day Now – 6:17

2.       Red – 5:11

3.       Little Beast – 4:15

4.       Powder Blue – 4:31

5.       Bitten by the Tailfly – 6:16

6.       Asleep in the Back – 3:47

7.       Newborn – 7:36

8.       Don’t Mix Your Drinks – 3:16

9.       Presuming Ed (Rest Easy) – 5:26

10.   Coming Second – 4:56

11.   Can’t Stop – 4:36

12.   Scattered Black and Whites – 5:30

Listen to ‘Newborn’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syQOaO9s2Tw

Also released on the 7^th May:

2001: The Moldy Peaches – The Moldy Peaches

18th March - Iggy Pop's The Idiot

Artist – Album: Iggy Pop – The Idiot

Released:  18^th March 1977

Sounds Like: Not quite Iggy but still great.

This may not be your typical Iggy fare, but The Idiot may just be his finest hour. If the violent spit-in-your-face music of his previous work with The Stooges went some way to laying the foundations for punk, this is the precursor to the goth rock of the likes of Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Depeche Mode.

‘Nightclubbing’ celebrates hedonism as well as his hit single ‘Lust for Life’, only instead of pounding drums and rocking guitars, it’s all humming synths and slow tempo. ‘Dum Dum Boys’ is an affectionate tribute to his old bandmates, way at odds with its insensitive moniker. His take on ‘China Girl’ is far more uneasy then Bowie’s sparkly pop version, and all the more appropriate to the lyrics of unrequited love.

Personally, I’m not entirely sure where I sit on this softer side of Pop. Being the brainchild not only of the fatigued and Stooge-less Iggy, but also Berlin era Bowie – this was released between Station to Station and Low – means that it feels drugged and removed, a difficult thing to really fall for. The songs are definitely strong, and I’d go as far to say that collectively they’re better than the previously reviewed Stooges album Raw Power, but that record just excited me more. I could put up with the weaker tracks to listen to a song as incredible as ‘Search and Destroy’, a high nothing here attains.

As I said earlier, it’s not your typical Iggy fare, and it may just be his finest hour. But then it may not. You decide!

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Sister Midnight – 4:19

2.       Nightclubbing – 4:14

3.       Funtime – 2:54

4.       Baby – 3:24

5.       China Girl – 5:08

6.       Dum Dum Boys – 7:12

7.       Tiny Girls – 2:59

8.       Mass Production – 8:24

Listen to ‘China Girl’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BBAEUOOFKQ

Also released on the 18^th March:

1997: Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen

Also released on the 18^th March:

2008: Devotchka – A Mad & Faithful Telling

17th March - Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid

Artist – Album: Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid

Released:  17^th March 2008         

Sounds Like: A good (gentle) craic

Happy St. Patrick’s Day you guys! If you’re in need of a soundtrack to your Irish session (for some strange reason), check out yesterday’s special post and youtube playlist!

I did most of my partying yesterday, meaning that most of my day has consisted of a small trip to the local for some football and hair of the dog and then wandering around Manchester in a slightly drunken and dishevelled condition hunting for a new coat.

Strangely, in that dazed state I have noticed that I have heard ‘One Day Like This’ - this albums centrepiece - twice already today. In the first instance it was on in the bar, as MTV counted down the “top 100 should’ve been number 1s!”, nestled in between Rihanna and Take That. The second time I encountered it was when I staggered past hip and trendy Manchester pub The Oast House and within some cool indie singer and acoustic guitarist was doing a worthy rendition of it. These two sum up Elbow perfectly – the group tread that fine line between commercial and cool with no little success.

As well as the rip roaring ‘One Day Like This’, ‘Starlings’ and ‘Grounds for Divorce’ are well worth special mention. The first is a lovely gentle welcome to the album, whilst the Ivor Novello award-winning ‘Grounds for Divorce’ is a rocking anthem. The whole album is full of subtle gems and understated beauty, with ‘Weather to Fly’ being another cracker that I feel like I’ve only just discovered. Well worth a listen.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Starlings – 5:05

2.       The Bones of You – 4:49

3.       Mirrorball – 5:50

4.       Grounds of Divorce – 3:39

5.       An Audience with the Pope – 4:27

6.       Weather to Fly – 4:29

7.       The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver – 5:14

8.       The Fix – 4:27

9.       Some Riot – 5:23

10.   One Day Like This – 6:34

11.   Friend of Ours – 4:38

12.   We’re Away – 1:59

Listen to ‘Weather to Fly’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqx4o6QyywU