28th December - Buck Owens' I've Got a Tiger By the Tail

Artist – Album: Buck Owens – I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail

Released: 28^th December 1964

Sounds Like: Honky Tonk Man

Do you know that bit in the Blues Brothers where Jake, Elwood and the band pose as the Good Ol' Boys to hijack their gig? The one where Elwood asks their landlady what kind of music usually plays there, and she replies: "Oh, we got both kinds. We got country and western"? I kind of feel like the audience were hankering for a bit of Buck Owens.

Owens was one of the pioneers of the Bakersfield sound: electrified country music that took some cues from the nascent rock scene but remained resolutely cowboy. Steel guitars and rooting tooting rhythm sections are the name of the game, and the music is designed to get off your seat, slapping your thighs and taking up a bit of line dancing. If it all strikes you as a little bit limited, it may be worth remembering that the Beatles were big fans (they regularly performed his excellent single 'Act Naturally') and the Rolling Stones and the Byrds were directly influenced by this album. 

Still a full album of it is just a little bit too much for me.

Albumaday... rating: 6/10

1.       I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail – 2:12

2.       Trouble and Me – 1:54

3.       Let the Sad Times Roll On – 2:14

4.       Wham Bam – 2:01

5.       If You Fall Out of Love With Me – 2:15

6.       Fallin’ for You – 2:01

7.       We’re Gonna Let the Good Times Roll – 2:15

8.       The Band Keeps Playin’ On – 3:02

9.       The Streets of Laredo – 2:55

10.   Cryin’ Time – 2:30

11.   A Maiden’s Prayer – 2:33

12.   Memphis Tennessee – 2:27 

Listen to ‘I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBeOddejiGw

5th September - Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker

Artist – Album: Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker

Released:  5^th September 2000

Sounds Like: The life of Ryan

I don’t know about you, but I had my doubts when I saw that the first track on Heartbreaker is an argument about Morrissey. It doesn’t fill me with particularly high hopes that the rest of the songs are going to be full of quality and creativity if you chose to lead with a pointless conversation. However, whilst I don’t know how many other albums there are that begin with a Mozza debate, I can tell you this: out of the one albums that I know of that begin this way, 100% of them are great.

Ryan Adams famously has an ego the size of Carolina but even that must have taken a bit of a battering when his critically acclaimed but volatile group Whiskeytown finally imploded in 1999. He barely showed it though, and it wasn’t long before he bounced back with this, his first solo effort. And there’s enough good stuff here to support the courage of his conviction: ‘To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)’ is a rip-roaring rocker, ‘My Winding Wheel’ is a giddy love song and ‘Amy’ is a song of quiet resignation, suggesting those winding wheels may have come off somewhere in-between. There are also some stellar collaborations to enjoy, from the various contributions of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, to his hooking up with the golden voiced Emmylou Harris on ‘Oh My Sweet Carolina. ‘Come Pick Me Up’ is possibly the album highlight, a gorgeous, modern country song which was listed in Pitchfork Media’s top 500 tracks of the 2000s.

Heartbreaker helped to make Ryan Adams a star, and he became the poster boy of the final era of the alt-country movement. Later albums found him moving away from his country roots with varying success – the rock and pop of second album Gold was a resounding success, but the sketchy hard rock and punk of Rock and Roll is best ignored – but he’s so far yet to better this.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       (Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey) – 0:37

2.       To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High) – 3:04

3.       My Winding Wheel – 3:13

4.       Amy – 3:46

5.       Oh My Sweet Carolina – 4:57

6.       Bartering Lines – 3:59

7.       Call Me On Your Way Back Home – 3:09

8.       Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains) – 2:08

9.       Come Pick Me Up – 5:18

10.   To Be the One – 3:01

11.   Why Do They Leave? – 3:38

12.   Shakedown on 9^th Street – 2:53

13.   Don’t Ask for the Water – 2:56

14.   In My Time of Need – 5:39

15.   Sweet Lil Gal (23^rd/1^st) – 3:39

Listen to ‘My Winding Wheel’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIeLrcD672M

Also released on 5^th September:

2005: Richard Hawley – Coles Corner

Also released on 5^th September:

2006: Grizzly Bear – Yellow House

Also released on 5^th September:

2007: Jens Lekman – Night Falls Over Kortedala

26th April - k.d. lang's Shadowland

Artist – Album: k.d. lang - Shadowland

Released:  26^th April 1988             

Sounds Like: Tosh

I don’t know, k.d. lang may think she’s looking at me all seductive and sexy and ambigous on that album cover but, to be honest, she just reminds me of Rick Astley. What sort of a name is k.d. lang anyway? Why aren’t we allowed to capitalise it? Everybody else functions perfectly well within strict grammatical confines, I don’t understand why she has her own nomenclature rules. Her name is a proper noun, isn't it?? Anyway, back to disparaging her appearance: that strong manly jawline and magnificently coiffured quiff share more than a passing resemblance to the Lancashire heartthrob, no?

It’s not just in her androgynous looks that she conjured up the image of the original rickroller. She may never have achieved the musical perfection of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ (few have), but do you remember that old cover from Astley’s canon that somehow passes as a Christmas tune? I believe(/totally know) it’s called ‘When I Fall in Love’? This whole album sounds like that: overproduced, aged and just a bit rubbish. I mean, she (and he) really does possess an extraordinary voice and her (and his) music is clearly well written (I particularly liked the old country ballad ‘Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes’), but (as with his work) I hear no soul here. The lyrics are forlorn and she’s wrenching emotion out of each word by the book, but I just don’t buy it. It’s like the anti-blues. Stylistically, I hear a lot of Roy Orbison in the shuffling rhythm, slide guitar and captivating vocals, but I just care so much more about the Big O. The record may be a loving nod to Nashville, but it may as well be Newton-le-Willows (Rick’s hometown) for all that I care.

I hope that this record and I will not be 'Together Forever'.

By the way, this is totally against popular critical opinion, so, you know, you might like it. But there again, you may also love the Dixie Chicks and hate The Zombies, in which case I have only pity for you.  

Albumaday... rating:  5/10

1.       Western Stars – 3:12

2.       Lock, Stock and Teardrops – 3:28

3.       Sugar Moon – 2:26

4.       I Wish I Didn’t Love You So – 3:07

5.       (Waltz Me) Once Again Around the Dance Floor – 2:35

6.       Black Coffee – 3:17

7.       Shadowland – 2:28

8.       Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes – 2:20

9.       Tears Don’t Care Who Cries Them – 3:03

10.   I’m Down to My Last Cigarette – 2:46

11.   Busy Being Blue – 3:40

12.   Honky Tonk Angels’ Medley – 2:55

Listen to ‘Don’t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7zXk7-T0CQ

23rd March - Elvis Presley's Elvis Presley

Artist – Album: Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley

Released:  23^rd March 1956         

Sounds Like: Rock and Roll

At 57 years young, Elvis Presley’s Elvis Presley is the oldest album I’ll be listening to during this whole silly project, and there could hardly be a more fitting golden oldie to hold that crown.

This album, the King’s debut, marked the moment that the nascent rock and roll genre really became a phenomenon. It also stands as one of the first great music albums of any genre; the album being a medium that had hitherto taken a back seat to the common garden variety single (and, before that, music sheets – way back when, a songs popularity was measured by how many sheets of piano music had been sold for people to play at home). Studio albums had been around for a while but they tended to be a loose collection of greatest hits or live recordings, and lacked the focus or drive of this effort. Admittedly Frank Sinatra’s In The Wee Small Hours (the first concept album) was released a year before, but this was the first time a bright new star had released a landmark record. And it was good.

It could have been the case that this album’s legend had arisen as a result of his enduring infamy or subsequent greatness – this is why The Beatles’ and The Rolling Stones’ earliest albums are lauded – but, the truth is, this is a fantastic album by its own merit. Kicking off with his magnificent cover of Carl Perkins’ ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, the record proceeds to electrify, woo, and lament the listener in whirlwind turns. His may not be the best ever versions of ‘I Got a Woman’, ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Money Honey’, but that’s no disgrace as these are stone cold classics and he makes them all great fun. Meanwhile, the soulful balladry shown ‘I’m Counting on You’ displayed a light touch and heart that had not before been seen in his early hits.

It may be the oldest album i’ll listen to, but it’s still amongst the best.

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

1.       Blue Suede Shoes – 2:01

2.       I’m Counting on You – 2:24

3.       I Got a Woman – 2:26

4.       One-Sided Love Affair – 2:11

5.       I Love You Because – 2:44

6.       Just Because – 2:34

7.       Tutti Frutti – 1:59

8.       Tryin’ to Get to You – 2:33

9.       I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You) – 2:01

10.   I’ll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’) – 2:24

11.   Blue Moon – 2:41

12.   Money Honey -  2:33

Listen to ‘Tryin’ To Get to You’:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SRRRhdtzY89P41Qdkk6OA

Also released on the 23^rd March:

2004: Madvillain - Madvillainy

Also released on the 23^rd March:

1973: Roxy Music – For Your Pleasure

Also released on the 23^rd March:

1978: Bob Marley – Kaya

27th Jan - Dixie Chicks' Wide Open Spaces

Artist – Album: Dixie Chicks – Wide Open Spaces

Released: 27^th January 1998

Sounds Like: Being forced to line dance to death

I seriously cannot fathom what happened in the late 90’s to make people want to listen to this drivel, or Shania Twain or Leann Rimes, or watch Coyote Ugly, or take up line dancing. I’d like to think that the whole scene wasn’t really that popular, that time has skewed my memory of that harrowing period. But, according to Wikipedia, this album made 14 million sales worldwide. 14 million! That’s more than bloody Sgt. Pepper’s!

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not got a problem with country music. I like the real stuff: Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton are all great. I gave a 9 out of 10 to a countrified Byrds album only a couple of weeks ago. But this is not the same thing. To me, it comes across as a sort of plastic country, a major label effort aimed at sales rather than tradition. Not a single track stuck with me for longer than it’s own outro and I was never particularly struck by any single lyric or vocal phrasing. The songs themselves are about love and heartache and, though it seems to fit kind of odd, Spice Girls-esque girl power. At one point, I did hear what sounded like a Bonnie Raitt cast-off and I was pretty happy to find out that she had contributed, but that was about the only moment in the 45 minutes of listening that made me smile. Because I recognized her, not because I like her music.

I’m sorry, but it’s rubbish.

Albumaday... rating: 4/10

1.       I Can Love You Better – 3:53

2.       Wide Open Spaces – 3:44

3.       Loving Arms – 3:37

4.       There’s Your Trouble – 3:10

5.       You Were Mine – 3:37

6.       Never Say Die – 3:56

7.       Tonight the Heartache’s on Me – 3:25

8.       Let ‘Er Rip – 2:49

9.       Once You’ve Loved Somebody – 3:28

10.   I’ll Take Care of You – 3:40

11.   Am I the Only One (Who’s Ever Felt This Way) – 3:25

12.   Give It Up or Let Me Go – 4:55

Listen to ‘There’s Your Trouble’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w_mi-J1ew

11th Jan - Janis Joplin's Pearl

Artist – Album: Janis Joplin - Pearl

Released:  11^th January 1971

Sounds Like: Honey coated cigarettes. According to my sister.

It wasn't easy to decide which record to listen to and blog about today – as well as this excellent slice of blues rock celebrating its 42^nd birthday, Vampire Weekend’s Contra was released 3 years ago to the day. That album is a literate, summery, sort-of concept album that mashes a huge array of genres together with intelligence and flair. In the end, I chose to plump for the album which sounded freshest to me. For while Contra’s style may not be exactly ten a penny nowadays, there really is no one out there making big soulful blues rock like Pearl any more.

The album revolves around Joplin’s extraordinary vocals, a captivating rasp that is the voice of a big-busted, whiskey swigging, tattooed angel. Songs like Mercedes Benz and A Woman Left Lonely rely on a delicate sweetness to her tone, whilst the likes of the Me and Bobby McGee and Cry Baby (or the near carbon copy My Baby) are all about the prodigious power she possessed.

Joplin died on 4^th October 1970 of a heroin overdose, meaning that Pearl was released unfinished. In fact, the vocals for now instrumental track Buried Alive in the Blues were due to be recorded the day that she died. Her untimely death means that we can only wonder what she could have go on to accomplish, but the strength of this album, as well as the posthumous U.S. number one Me and Bobby McGee, still leave an incredible legacy.

Albumaday... rating:   8/10

1.       Move Over – 3:43

2.       Cry  Baby – 3:58

3.       A Woman Left Lonely – 3:29

4.       Half Moon – 3:53

5.       Buried Alive in the Blues – 2:29

6.       My Baby – 3:26

7.       Me and Bobby McGee – 4:33

8.       Mercedes Benz – 1:48

9.       Trust Me – 3:17

10.   Get It While You Can – 3:27

Listen to ‘A Woman Left Lonely’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klhK_4evO5c

Also released on the 11^th January:

2010: Vampire Weekend - Contra

2nd Jan - Elvis Presley's Elvis Country

Artist – Album: Elvis Presley – Elvis Country (I’m 10,000 Years Old)

Released:  2^nd January 1971

Sounds Like: Outlaw Elvis

There were a few reasons for me to take on this albumaday... project. From the top of my head, some of these are:

• I’m currently ‘in-between jobs’ and so needed a stupid project...
• My girlfriend has a popular fashion blog and I wanted to get in on the action.
• My itunes has swelled to scary proportions and I needed a way to explore it all without listening to the same old stuff over and over again.

Otherwise, I probably would never bang on a countrified concept album by the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. It just sounds weird, doesn’t it?

On first listen, yeah, it is a bit strange. The songs themselves are strong – as well as a raucous cover of Jerry Lee-Lewis’ ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On, there are songs penned by country legends such as Willie Nelson, Hank Cochran and Lee Hazelwood. But the mish-mash of most of country’s subgenres and the snippets of ‘I’m 10,000 Years Old’ intended to tie the album together can grate a little.

However, this record deserves and rewards repeated listens. The King puts his all into every number and his backing group are as good as he ever had. The lack of ballads or well known Presley hits means that it bounds along without any odd change in tone and it works best listened to in full. It’s definitely a grower.

Albumaday... rating:   7/10

1. Snowbird – 2:17
2. Tomorrow Never Comes – 4:07
3. Little Cabin on the Hill – 1:58
4. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On – 3:10
5. Funny How Time Slips Away – 4:32
6. I Really Don’t Want to Know – 2:59
7. There Goes My Everything – 3:10
8. It’s Your Baby You Rock It – 3:04
9. The Fool – 2:34
10. Faded Love – 3:19
11. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water – 3:54
12. Make the World Go Away – 3:46

     Listen to ‘It’s Your Baby, You Rock It’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPxy_lr7PWA

Also released on the 2^nd January:

1968: Merle Haggard – Sing Me Back Home