14th December - The Clash's London Calling

Artist – Album: The Clash – London Calling

Released: 14^th December 1979

Sounds Like: Progressive punks

You might have thought that, as the year winds down and everyone has one eye on Christmas, New Year and the whole festive shebang, that the quality of the albums covered would ease a little bit. Not a bit of it! This month we’ve already had two Rolling Stones albums, one from The Beatles and one each from Lennon and McCartney, career defining albums from Jimi Hendrix and Patti Smith, and an early classic from The Who. Today, we have an album that possibly tops even those.

Before London Calling, the Clash were politically sensitive punks, who dabbled in roots reggae and had had a storming debut, but were otherwise hard to separate from the other great bands of the era – Magazine, Buzzcocks, The Damned. On London Calling, The Clash matured into one of the greatest bands of any era. The record’s flawless mix of a library of genres – punk don't live here anymore, but plenty of rockabilly, ska and jazz – and socio-political lyrics were an instant hit with the public and the press alike, and its still seen as a landmark release. With its supreme sequencing, it plays like a brilliant compilation album, only every song is by the same band and the majority of them are originals (only ‘Brand New Cadillac’, ‘Wrong ‘Em Boyo’ and ‘Revolution Rock’ are covers). You’ll know the Armageddon-esque title track (obviously), and chances are you’re familiar with the excellent dance number ‘Train in Vain’, the storming ‘Clampdown’ and the atmospheric ‘The Guns of Brixton’, but there’s plenty more to enjoy: the loose ‘Jimmy Jazz’, the horn filled ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’, the propelling ‘Spanish Bombs’, the dreampop of ‘Lost in the Supermarket’ and the rocking ‘Death or Glory’.

Just so you know, this astronomically high level of excellence can not be maintained. Things quickly downhill from here…

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

1.       London Calling – 3:19

2.       Brand New Cadillac – 2:09

3.       Jimmy Jazz – 3:52

4.       Hateful – 2:45

5.       Rudie Can’t Fail – 3:26

6.       Spanish Bombs – 3:19

7.       The Right Profile – 3:56

8.       Lost in the Supermarket – 3:47

9.       Clampdown – 3:49

10.   The Guns of Brixton – 3:07

11.   Wrong ‘Em Boyo – 3:10

12.   Death or Glory – 3:55

13.   Koka Kola – 1:46

14.   The Card Cheat – 3:51

15.   Lover’s Rock – 4:01

16.   Four Horsemen – 2:56

17.   I’m Not Down – 3:00

18.   Revolution Rock – 5:37

19.   Train in Vain – 3:09

 
Listen to ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU1stt0okdM

Also released on the 14^th December:

1959: The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Time Out

Also released on the 14^th December:

1987: Dinosaur Jr. – You’re Living All Over Me

2nd November - The Police's Outlandos d'Amour

Artist – Album: The Police – Outlandos D’Amour

Released: 2^nd November 1978

Sounds Like: a Stinging review

What to make of The Police, eh? True, they were consistent deliverers of perky pop-rock and they did pick up a highly impressive five UK no. 1 singles. ‘Every Breath You Take’ is quite rightly considered amongst the greatest songs of all time, although that’s only correct if you view it as a delightfully sinister ode to stalking and not some ill-conceived love song.

On the other hand, it’s all just a little bit naff isn’t it? Their ill-conceived forays into reggae are like those early nineties dalliances with dance music: sounding old waaaaay sooner than it should do, and uniformly rubbish. Initially labelled punks, the band was in truth about as edgy as a balloon. They were about as edgy as I am. And then there’s Sting, rock’s most pretentious frontman this side of Bono (how did people cope in the 80’s??). A poll in US magazine Blender pegged him as the worst lyricist ever, which may be a little harsh but was no doubt aided by the mindless likes of ‘De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da’.

It all started for Sting and Co. with Outlandos D’Amour, which in name alone manages to convey everything that is pompous and wrong about the band. With a song featuring a spoken monologue about a blow up doll (‘Be My Girl – Sally’, it’s true!) and a horrible, experimental, semi-instrumental closing track (‘Masoko Tanga’), it has the potential to be a nightmare. But the main thing about The Police, right, is that if you look beyond the “reggae” and the posturing, there is actually something about them that is both entertaining and endearing, like watching an overly-enthusiastic drunk person dance. ‘So Lonely ‘ is enjoyably raucous, ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’  is great fun if you take the lyrics with a pinch of salt, ‘Truth Hits Everybody’ and ‘Next to You’ have great singalongy choruses and ‘Roxanne’ is hands down the greatest drinking song all time. Roxanne (DRINK!)!

Albumaday... rating: 6/10

1.       Next to You – 2:50

2.       So Lonely – 4:49

3.       Roxanne – 3:12

4.       Hole in My Life – 4:52

5.       Peanuts – 3:58

6.       Can’t Stand Losing You – 2:58

7.       Truth Hits Everybody – 2:53

8.       Born in the 50’s – 3:40

9.       Be My Girl – Sally – 3:22

10.   Masoko Tanga – 5:40

Listen to ‘So Lonely’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX6MvV8cbh8

8th October - Talking Heads' Remain in Light

Artist – Album: Talking Heads – Remain in Light

Released: 8^th October 1980

Sounds Like: Well, how did I get here?

Talking Heads were once known as a punk band. Admittedly, they were associated with the much more melodic and aptitude-based New York punk scene, rather than the gob in your face, can’t-play-their-own-instruments UK punk scene, but it’s startling nonetheless. In three short years since 1977 (a.k.a the dawn of punk) Talking Heads had morphed into a wildly inventive art rock collective, and their creativity reached an apex with 1980’s Remain in Light. The three chord simplicity of the Ramones’ debut it is not.

The Heads had found themselves obsessed with Afrobeat – particularly the stylings of the king of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti – and endeavoured to replicate the sound of their polyrhythms, fed through a Brian Eno produced filter. Guitars that don’t always sound like guitars are layered over the top of each other, and frequently season the album with random quirks. Husband and wife rhythm section Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth are typically prominent, supplementing their elastic playing with the frenetic beats synonymous with both Africa and their new home in the Caribbean. On top of it all, David Byrne spins wildly, churning out disparate disconnected images and struggling in vain to keep it all together.

It’s hard to pick individual moments from the dense, almost uniform body of the album, with one exception: the stunning ‘Once in a Lifetime’, with Byrne stealing the show as a preacher/marionette. The song, and album that went with it, is a fascinatingly singular effort from a band breaking far beyond the confines of the restrictive punk scene and with all members right at the top of their game. Once in a lifetime stuff indeed.

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) – 5:49

2.       Crosseyed and Painless – 4:48

3.       The Great Curve – 6:28

4.       Once in a Lifetime – 4:23

5.       Houses in Motion – 4:33

6.       Seen and Not Seen – 3:25

7.       Listening Wind – 4:43

8.       The Overload – 6:02

Listen to ‘Once in a Lifetime’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98AJUj-qxHI

Also released on 8^th October:

1980: Prince – Dirty Mind

Also released on 8^th October:

1971: John Lennon - Imagine

Also released on 8^th October:

2001: Royksopp – Melody A.M.

2nd October - The Replacements' Let It Be

Artist – Album: The Replacements – Let It Be

Released:  2^nd October 1984

Sounds Like: The Breakfast Club if Beavis and Butthead had writing credits

It’s a little surprising just how many more coming-of-age films there are than albums. Top of my head: Stand by Me, The Breakfast Club, Billy Elliott, Rebel Without a Cause, Kes, The 400 Blows, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Gregory’s Girl are all excellent candidates in the film corner; I’m struggling to think of even one for music. There are plenty of album reviews that contain the phrase of course, but these refer to a new maturity in the band themselves, in their musical or lyrical or songwriting ability, and not a record that is actually about the progression into adulthood. Therefore I’m going to say – bold as brass and with little fear of contradiction – that Let It Be is the greatest coming-of-age album of all time.

The album starts with ‘I Will Dare’ and ‘Favorite Thing’, two swaggering anthems, one indie and one rock and roll, that brilliantly capture the overwhelming intensity of young love. Teenage issues both specific (‘Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out’ and ‘Gary’s Got a Boner’) and general (‘Unsatisfied’) are covered, with the sharp eye for detail of someone who is not too far removed from their teenage years to remember the angst but is old enough to play and poke fun at it when needed. ‘Sixteen Blue’ is one of the undoubted highlights, with the empathetic “your age is the hardest age” and it’s comforting, everybody’s-been-there lyrics.

Of course, the album did also mark a maturing of the band’s sound, as they developed from the loose punk rockers of earlier albums (and best shown here with the headbanger ‘We’re Comin’ Out’), to a much more eclectic base. There was a nod to glam metal with their cover of Kiss’ ‘Black Diamond’, quirky piano pop on ‘Androgynous’ and stunning indie-rock on ‘Unsatisfied’, ‘Sixteen Blue’ and ‘Answering Machine’. ‘I Will Dare’ featured the jangling guitars R.E.M’s Peter Buck, and, as lead singer Paul Westerberg once noted, also served as an apt motto for the group: “We'll dare to flop [. . .] We'll dare to do anything."

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

1.       I Will Dare – 3:18

2.       Favorite Thing – 2:19

3.       We’re Comin’ Out – 2:21

4.       Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out – 1:53

5.       Androgynous – 3:11

6.       Black Diamond – 2:40

7.       Unsatisfied – 4:01

8.       Seen Your Video – 3:08

9.       Gary’s Got a Boner – 2:28

10.   Sixteen Blue – 4:24

11.   Answering Machine – 3:40

Listen to ‘Unsatisfied’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BUeO5YGF2Q

Also released on 2^nd October:

1995: Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory

Also released on 2^nd October:

2000: Radiohead – Kid A

Also released on 2^nd October:

2007: MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

28th August - Devo's Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

Artist – Album: Devo – Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!

Released:  28^th August 1978

Sounds Like: New wave for robots

I first came across Mark Mothersbaugh, the front man of Devo, when I was but a rugrat. Mothersbaugh, you see, was the composer of the theme tune to nineties cartoon Rugrats, a melody so simple and infectious that everybody in my high school music class would play it incessantly on the keyboard, like ‘Chopsticks’ for the 21^st Century. Like Max Fischer in Rushmore, I did pretty well all round in high school (Ok, ok, I never saved Latin or wrote a hit play), and Mothersbaugh supported me all the way: he provided the soundtrack to a host of Wes Anderson films, including the Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and, indeed, Rushmore. Finally, in university, I discovered Devo, and three of their best songs – the emphatic novelty hit ‘Whip It’, the genius deconstruction of the Rolling Stones’ classic ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ and the relentless, primitive ‘Mongoloid’.

Are We Not Men… does not contain their biggest hit, but those latter two tracks are here in all their mechanical wonder. Alongside them, is a selection of the jerkiest, catchiest songs new wave ever saw. Devo sound like a mix between Talking Heads and Kraftwerk, with Mothersbaugh yelping, stuttering and caterwauling like David Byrne having a panic attack, behind a mathematically designed danceable backing track. As well as the aforementioned duo (on ‘Satisfaction’, by the way, they come across as even more frustrated and desperate than in Jagger’s legendary performance), the bursting opener ‘Uncontrollable Urge’, the Johnny B. Goode referencing ‘Come Back Jonee’ and the delightful ‘Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin’) are gems. The centrepiece is ‘Jocko Homo’ , a track borne from their philosophy of the “devolution of man” and contains the persistent, insane call and response “Are we not men? We are Devo”, which probably stands as the litmus test as to whether you think these are art rock messiahs or just very naughty boys.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Uncontrollable Urge – 3:09
2.       (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – 2:40
3.       Praying Hands – 2:47
4.       Space Junk – 2:14
5.       Mongoloid – 3:44
6.       Jocko Homo – 3:40
7.       Too Much Paranoias – 1:57
8.       Gut Feeling / (Slap Your Mammy) – 4:54
9.       Come Back Jonee – 3:47
10.   Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin’) – 2:40
11.   Shrivel-Up – 3:05

Listen to ‘Uncontrollable Urge’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8UcpmUQkNU

Also released on 28^th August:

1973: Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On

18th July - Joy Division's Closer

Artist – Album: Joy Division - Closer

Released: 18^th July 1980

Sounds Like: Tales from the crypt

If Joy Division’s debut Unknown Pleasures is a masterpiece (and it is), then their follow up Closer is... um... an even better masterpiece.

Judged solely on the basis of its songs it’s pretty good. Opener ‘Atrocity Exhibition’ is a typically harrowing welcome, with its tribal drums and Ian Curtis’ unhinged chant of “This is the way, step in inside”. Thereafter, the band guides you down the grey stoney staircase in to a cavernous crypt of despair. ‘Isolation’ is punchy and frightening, ‘A Means to an End’ is indie disco two decades ahead of its time (that coruscating backing has been unapologetically ripped off countless times by the likes of The Gossip, Justice and Bloc Party), ‘Heart and Soul’ is solemn and mumbled, whilst ‘Twenty Four Hours’ strives to escape the gloom in vain. ‘The Eternal’ may well be the bleakest six minutes ever laid down.

Given the circumstances that gave birth to it however, the album is something extra special. On 17 May 1980, the iconic Curtis, who suffered from acute depression, committed suicide. Two months later this record, with its black and white tomb cover and desperate lyrics, was released...

Aannnnddddd that’s number 200! Score!

Albumaday... rating:  9/10

1.       Atrocity Exhibition – 6:06

2.       Isolation – 2:53

3.       Passover – 4:46

4.       Colony – 3:55

5.       A Means to an End – 4:07

6.       Heart and Soul – 5:51

7.       Twenty Four Hours – 4:26

8.       The Eternal – 6:07

9.       Decades – 6:10

Listen to ‘Twenty Four Hours ’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiCc_mFXD3E

Also released on the 18^th July:

1966: The Byrds – Fifth Dimension

6th July - The B-52's' The B-52's

Artist – Album: The B-52s – The B-52s

Released:  6^th July 1979

Sounds Like: 
 

Here's a bit of trivia for you: On 18^th April 1930, listeners to the 6.30pm Good Friday new broadcast on BBC Radio were matter-of-factly informed that “There is no news”, with the remainder of the usual broadcast time filled with piano music. On 6^th July 2013, my loyal (i.e. small) band of avid (i.e. capable of feigning interest when I bring the topic of music up) readers were treated to a similar scenario yesterday, as they eagerly searched the Albumaday… website only to find that there was no posting. Well guys, I can assure you that albums were released that day. It just happens that I was out enjoying the sun/getting drunk for a lot longer than I’d originally intended and therefore completely missed the 24 hour window to make a post. Doh!

In actual fact, the 6^th July saw the release of a bit of a belter. Released during the aftermath of the punk movement, when the rules were re-written and perversely the artists placed as much emphasis on their appearance as their music, The B-52’s’ self-titled debut was a breath of kitschy fresh air. With a sound that was as colourful and animated as that album cover, the album dances through it’s nine tracks in a state of unbridled ecstasy. Over a quirky amalgamation of pop rock, new wave, funk and punk, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson woop and holler whilst Fred Schneider sing-speaks in his campy vocal style about dance crazes, b-movie sci-fi and oceanic shindigs.

Opening with the brooding ‘Planet Claire’ things lighten up considerably by the revelries of ‘Dance This Mess Around’ and their signature tune (until ‘Love Shack’ that is) ‘Rock Lobster’. ‘There’s a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)’ is playful nonsense, whilst their cover of ‘Downtown’ which closes proceedings is ramshackle and amateurish but expertly displays their love for all things 50’s and early 60’s. It simply is a great party album.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

 

 1.       Planet Claire – 4:35

 2.       52 Girls – 3:34

 3.       Dance This Mess Around – 4:36

 4.       Rock Lobster – 6:49

 5.       Lava – 4:54

 6.       There’s a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon) – 4:54

 7.       Hero Worship – 4:07

 8.       6060-842 – 2:48

 9.       Downtown – 2:57

Listen to ‘6060-482’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hik5y1lNGbY

Also released on the 6^th July:

2009: Slow Club – Yeah So