9th December - Cream's Fresh Cream

Artist – Album: Cream – Fresh Cream

Released: 9^th December 1966

Sounds Like: Best before 1967

Now it’s never nice to torpedo a classic*, especially when it’s a long established one and you weren’t there to feel its initial impact first hand. I’m left to rely on what I’ve read on Wikipedia and think about the impression an album has made on me. The impression Cream’s Fresh Cream has made on me is… meh. I’m not bothered really. ‘I Feel Free’ is an awesome, swinging track, full of innovations and quirks, but in the UK that was a non-album track, a top twenty single only. The rest feels less like the cream of the crop and more like a poor harvest.

Cream have quite rightly been lauded for being pioneers, influential in the birth of jam rock, heavy metal and psychedelic blues, as well as making the power trio a viable band format, but influence doesn’t always mean greatness. Citizen Kane is one of the most influential films of all time and it is rubbish (haha, I know that that’s controversial). Rather than possessing the exciting creativity of its psychedelic progeny or the masculine muscle of its metal descendents, Fresh Cream is just a bit turgid and boring. ‘Spoonful’ is probably my favourite cut – and it is good – but it can’t hold a candle to the Howlin’ Wolf original.

If you’re looking for an introduction in to the music of the world’s first supergroup, I’d recommend diving straight into the 1967 sequel Disraeli Gears for a much more enjoyable set, plus one of the coolest album covers of all time.

* this is in no way true: it can actually be great fun if it’s one you have a particular distaste for…

Albumaday... rating: 6/10

1.       N.S.U. – 2:43

2.       Sleepy Time Time – 4:20

3.       Dreaming – 1:58

4.       Sweet Wine – 3:17

5.       Spoonful – 6:30

6.       Cat’s Squirrel – 3:03

7.       Four Until Late – 2:07

8.       Rollin’ and Tumblin’ – 4:42

9.       I’m So Glad – 3:57

10.   Toad – 5:11

Listen to ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrQftYFU7Vc

Also released on the 9^th December:

1966: The Who – A Quick One

Also released on the 9^th December:

2011: Slow Club – Paradise

8th December - The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour

Artist – Album: The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour

Released: 8^th December 1967

Sounds Like: Roll up, roll up for the Mystery Tour

Around the same time that the Beatles quit performing live, the quality of their album releases went up several notches. December 1965 saw the release of Rubber Soul, August ’66 was Revolver, June ’67 was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, November ’68 was The Beatles (White album), September ’69 had Abbey Road and finally, after they’d split, Let It Be was released in May 1970. The other two albums that saw the light of day during that incredibly productive period were soundtracks – one was Yellow Submarine, which was poorly received and is generally considered to be one of their weakest efforts, and the other is Magical Mystery Tour, the forgotten great album from the Beatles catalogue.

In truth, it was never intended to actually be an album – in the UK, only the first six songs were originally released as a large EP, but in the US they added that year’s singles and B-sides to complete the set – and it doesn’t possess the same holistic approach of some of its siblings. The other factor that means it is comparatively ignored is that the parent film is, by all accounts, rubbish. But its lack of recognition should by no means dissuade you from giving it a spin.

The EP tracks are strong – from the rousing opener ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ to Lennon’s trippy ‘I Am the Walrus’ via the atmospheric ballad ‘The Fool on the Hill’ and the stately music hall of ‘Your Mother Should Know’ – but the singles are from another planet. Seriously, ‘Hello, Goodbye’, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’ one after the other, my mind is blown. The ordinary ‘Baby, You’re a Rich Man’ gives you time to breath, before the curtain is drawn with the wonderful sing-a-long ‘All You Need is Love’. It is an awesome album and one that completely deserves its place in the Beatles canon.

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       Magical Mystery Tour – 2:48

2.       The Fool on the Hill – 3:00

3.       Flying – 2:16

4.       Blue Jay Way – 3:50

5.       Your Mother Should Know – 2:33

6.       I Am the Walrus – 4:35

7.       Hello, Goodbye – 3:24

8.       Strawberry Fields Forever – 4:05

9.       Penny Lane – 3:00

10.   Baby, You’re a Rich Man – 3:07

11.   All You Need is Love – 3:57

Listen to ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nehRB1FTeTo

1st December - The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Axis: Bold as Love

Artist – Album: The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold as Love

Released: 1^st December 1967

Sounds Like: Blerggghhh

Urgghhh. Well, the stag do may be over but I’m afraid the hangover has just begun. Blergh. I feel like there was a controlled explosion in my brain. It’s one of those days were you need to put sunglasses on to open the fridge. I’m so sensitive to sound that I can hear the clouds lurching across the sky, the noisy so-and-sos. I am not in a condition to write a blog. At all.

 

So here’s a run down of today’s listening experience: ‘Exp’ confused me. Skip. ‘Up from the Skies’ is too garish. Skip it. ‘Spanish Castle Magic’, now I know that this is belting tune. But it’s too loud for this time in the… afternoon. Skiiiip iiiit. ‘Wait Until Tomorrow’ and ‘Ain’t No Telling’ are fun and harmless, as long as you keep the volume down. ‘Little Wing’, what a beautiful (i.e. quiet) track, this is more like it. -What on earth is going on with this ‘If 6 Was 9’? This is hurting my brain. Skip, skip, skip…

In summary, Axis: Bold as Love is a great album by Hendrix, covering everything from all-out psychedelic jams to gorgeous, down-tempo ballads. It is not, repeat not, recommended for a hangover.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       EXP – 1:55

2.       Up from the Skies – 2:55

3.       Spanish Castle Magic – 3:00

4.       Wait Until Tomorrow – 3:00

5.       Ain’t No Telling – 1:46

6.       Little Wing – 2:24

7.       If 6 Was 9 – 5:32

8.       You Got Me Floating – 2:45

9.       Castles Made of Sand – 2:46

10.   She’s So Fine – 2:37

11.   One Rainy Wish – 3:40

12.   Little Miss Lover – 2:20

13.   Bold as Lover – 4:11

Listen to ‘Little Wing’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZsN6RMmdls

11th November - The Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed

Artist – Album: The Moody Blues – Days of Future Passed

Released: 11^th November 1967

Sounds Like: File this one under: what-on-Earth-is-it?!

1967 may have been the year of tie-dyed psychedelia, the Summer of Love, and the gorging of a harmless little drug named LSD, but even in those turned on, tuned in and dropped out days the Quasimodo-esque figure of Prog Rock was beginning to rear its ugly head. The original concept was the admirable (read: conceited) notion of producing a higher form of music – merging wild rock and roll and disposable pop music with the sophisticated airs and graces of classical music – but it wasn’t long before it morphed into the hulking, unmanageable monster of Yes, King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Days of Future Passed, with its orchestral song-cycle and team up with the London Festival Orchestra, stands as something of a missing link in the embryonic evolution of Prog.

The album begins with ‘The Day Begins’, a track that surprises on first listen and which features spoken word poetry and the virtually omnipresent orchestra. From then on the album is a strange amorphous beast, delving into psychedelic rock, earnest balladry and baroque art pop in a stately procession, culminating in the lush melodrama of ‘Nights in White Satin’. Unfortunately, where once this eclecticism and use of orchestra would’ve seemed revolutionary and ground-breaking, today the record is just difficult to get your head around. Some of the more experimental pieces sound like the soundtrack to a cheap Merchant Ivory costume drama, and at one point (I think it was in ‘Dawn Is A Feeling’, though it’s hard to say as the unifying orchestra breaks down the individual songs into one big knotty muddle) I’m sure I could hear pan pipes play carousel music.

The Passed being a different country and all that, I think that to fully appreciate this album – like a lot of things that happened in 1967 – you had to be there.

Albumaday... rating: 5/10

1.       The Day Begins – 5:45

2.       DAWN: Dawn Is A Feeling – 3:50

3.       THE MORNING: Another Morning – 3:40

4.       LUNCH BREAK: Peak Hour – 5:21

5.       THE AFTERNOON: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) – 8:25

6.       EVENING: The Sun Set: Twilight Time – 6:39

7.       THE NIGHT: Nights in White Satin – 7:41

Listen to ‘Nights in White Satin’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdykXAT19Go

Also released on the 11^th November:

1992: Denim – Back in Denim

25th October - The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Electric Ladyland

Artist – Album: The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland 

Released: 25^th October 1968

Sounds Like: Electrical Dylan d (it’s a rubbish anagram!)

Defining cool is not an easy thing to do:

Marge: Am I cool, kids?
Bart and Lisa: No.
Marge: Good. I'm glad. And that's what makes me cool—not caring, right?
Bart and Lisa: No.
Marge: Well, how the hell do you be cool? I feel like we've tried everything here.
Homer: Wait, Marge. Maybe if you're truly cool, you don't need to be told you're cool.
Bart: Well, sure you do.
Lisa: How else would you know?...

The closest anybody ever came to embodying cool was Jimi Hendrix. His recording engineers and bandmates may have disagreed, as they struggled with the hanger-ons and the titanic consumption of drugs, but the flamboyant guitar-God was the coolest of them all and this album just so happens to find him at the very peak of his powers. From the groovy ‘Crosstown Traffic’ (the only Hendrix recording to not feature a guitar solo) to the apocalyptic Dylan cover ‘All Along the Watchtower’ (my vote for the greatest cover song of all time), Hendrix and his Experience come out all guns blazing in one of the most free-wheeling, experimental albums of the 60s. A stoned cold classic.

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       …And the Gods Made Love – 1:21

2.       Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) – 2:11

3.       Crosstown Traffic – 2:25

4.       Voodoo Chile – 15:00

5.       Little Miss Strange – 2:52

6.       Long Hot Summer Night – 3:27

7.       Come On (Part 1) – 4:09

8.       Gypsy Eyes – 3:43

9.       Burning of the Midnight Lamp – 3:39

10.   Rainy Day, Dream Away – 3:42

11.   1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be) – 13:39

12.   Moon, Turn the Tides… Gently Gently Away – 1:02

13.   Still Raining, Still Dreaming – 4:25

14.   House Burning Down – 4:33

15.   All Along the Watchtower – 4:01

16.   Voodoo Child (Slight Return) – 5:12

Listen to ‘Burning of the Midnight Lamp’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smNJQZxZMeA

Also released on 25^th October:

1974: Bob Marley & The Wailers – Natty Dread

19th August - Artic Monkeys' Humbug

Artist - Album: Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
Released: 19th August 2009
Sounds like: cohesive rubbish (the words of my flatmate)

Not only is today the birthday of the Arctic Monkey's third album, but it's also the day of birth of another of the city of Sheffield's finest exports, Amy. Happy birthday girly! She's actually in London today, so I'm blogging about Humbug during the half time break in the Manchester City v Newcastle game.

By 2009, The Monkeys had come a long way from their The Jam inspired tighter-than-a-tight-thing beginnings. Unfortunately, not all of it was in the right direction. Some songs here - 'My Propeller', 'Dangerous Animals' and 'Secret Door' in particular - are just a touch lethargic, and lack any of the hooks and boisterousness that made their debut album such a hit. That said, there are some great moments: 'Crying Lightning' has a rolling stately elegance, whilst 'Cornerstone', the clear standout of this set, is perfect indie pop, with Alex Turner producing his best impression of fellow Sheffielder Jarvis Cocker with trademark wit and intelligence.

In truth though, for all the potential here - I've not yet mentioned that it was produced by Queen of the Stone Age Josh Homme - the album fails to deliver regularly enough. Which is not something you can say about that Manchester City front line after their rousing 4-0 victory.

Analbumaday... rating: 7/10

1. My Propeller - 3:27
2. Crying Lightning - 3:43
3. Dangerous Animals - 3:30
4. Secret Door - 3:43
5. Potion Approaching - 3:32
6. Fire and the Thud - 3:57
7. Cornerstone - 3:18
8. Dance Little Liar - 4:43
9. Pretty Visitors - 3:40
10. The Jeweller's Hands - 5:42

Listen to 'Cornerstone':  www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIQz6zZi7R0

5th August - The Beatles' Revolver

Artist – Album: The Beatles - Revolver

Released:  5^th August 1966

Sounds Like: The Daddy

The Beatles kicked off 1965 with Help!, the last album of the Fab Four’s mop top era, which featured classic pop tunes such as ‘Help!’ and ‘Ticket to Ride’, as well as olde-worlde folk songs like ‘Yesterday’ (apparently the most covered song of all time, which is just crazy, as I can’t recall a single other version of it). Two years later, they released the psychedelic kaleidoscopic menagerie that is Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. What happened in between? The daring, inventive, masterpiece Rubber Soul, and the daringer, inventivier, and masterpiecier Revolver.

Every single one of the Fabs were on top form for this landmark album. Ringo’s most obvious contribution may have been the lead vocals on the Technicolor nursery rhyme ‘Yellow Submarine’, but his real strength was to be able to cope admirably with the rhythmic demands and styles that the wide variety of genres and moods required. George Harrison provided his biggest input yet, chipping in with the acerbic album opener ‘Taxman’, the raga tinged ‘Love You To’ and the frustrated ‘I Want to Tell You’, all of which are excellent.

Lennon and McCartney, as always, supplied the majority of the works here though and as wonderful as the likes of ‘I’m Only Sleeping’, ‘And Your Bird Can Sing’, ‘For No One’ and ‘Got to Get You into My Life’ are, they are overshadowed by the each of the duo’s crowning glories. McCartney gave us ‘Eleanor Rigby’ an orchestral, spooky paean to those in society who are desperately lonely. It serves as a counterpoint to his nostalgic ‘Penny Lane’ – both are character studies, but where the latter is charmingly goofy, the former is chillingly desolate. Lennon’s ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, meanwhile, is a blistering, hypnotic slice of sequenced experimental rock, one which was completely unique until the Chemical Brothers stumbled upon its alchemical formula 30 years later and proceeded to forge a long and successful career out of rehashing it time and time again.

Revolver is the greatest album in the history of the greatest band in the history of music. It’s as good as an eleven out of ten, could it be anything else?

Albumaday... rating: 10/10

1.       Taxman – 2:39

2.       Eleanor Rigby – 2:08

3.       I’m Only Sleeping – 3:02

4.       Love You To – 3:01

5.       Here, There and Everywhere – 2:26

6.       Yellow Submarine – 2:40

7.       She Said She Said – 2:37

8.       Good Day Sunshine – 2:10

9.       And Your Bird Can Sing – 2:02

10.   For No One – 2:01

11.   Doctor Robert – 2:15

12.   I Want to Tell You – 2:30

13.   Got to Get You into My Life – 2:31

14.   Tomorrow Never Knows – 2:57

Listen to ‘I Want to Tell You’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y9W8tgXKQU

Also released on the 5^th August:

1969: Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River

27th June - The Mothers of Invention's Freak Out!

Artist – Album: The Mothers of Invention – Freak Out!

Released:  27^th June 1966

Sounds Like: I want to get freaky with you

The Mothers of Invention, Frank Zappa’s band, even did debut albums differently, smashing down their mission statement on not one but two discs of delightful doolalliness.

Disc one is a  pop album of sorts, distilling all the discernible elements of popular music at the time and churning out a sound that was both accessible and unique at the same time. As well as the obvious titular pastiches on the likes of ‘Go Cry on Somebody Else’s Shoulder’ and ‘I’m Not Satisfied’, whole genres are parodied in the comical turns of doo wop or the xylophone-tastic beat pop of ‘Wowie Zowie’ (A writer friend described thusly – whimsical words married with stand-alone rhythms which may well have served as an unsung template for the Pixies. Smart eh?). Zappa wasn’t just a clown though, and lyrically he delivers masterful turns at songs of alienation, love and loss and avante-garde irony. As silly as ditties such as ‘Wowie Zowie’ and ‘You Didn’t Try to Call Me’ are, ‘How Could I Be Such a Fool’ and ‘Anyway the Wind Blows’ (written when Zappa was considering divorcing his first wife) are truly devastating. Meanwhile, tunes such as ‘Hungry Freaks, Daddy’ and ‘You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here’ flag up the fact that the band isn’t dealing in your standard pop rock, and that their music is aimed at “those who aren't afraid to say what's on their minds (The left-behinds of the Great Society)”.

Disc two is SUPER-trippy and may be best indulged after copious volumes of drugs. Still, ‘Trouble Every Day’ is brilliant blues rock set against an amazingly smart retort against racism, and on ‘Help, I’m a Rock’, well, it’s just fun to sing “help, i’m a rock” repeatedly.

It’s brilliant. In fact you might say that “just the other day I got so shook up I had a flash in the afternoon”.

Albumaday... rating:   10/10

1.       Hungry Freaks, Daddy – 3:32

2.       I Ain’t Got No Heart – 2:34

3.       Who Are the Brain Police? – 3:25

4.       Go Cry on Somebody Else’s Shoulder – 3:43

5.       Motherly Love – 2:50

6.       How Could I Be Such a Fool? – 2:16

7.       Wowie Zowie – 2:55

8.       You Didn’t Try to Call Me – 3:21

9.       Any Way the Wind Blows – 2:55

10.   I’m Not Satisfied – 2:41

11.   You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here – 3:41

12.   Trouble Every Day – 5:53

13.   Help, I’m a Rock (Suite in Three Movements) – 8:37

14.   The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux) – 12:22

Listen to ‘You Didn’t Try to Call Me ’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJ6sUxMQ5M

Also released on the 27^th June:

2005: Hayseed Dixie – A Hot Piece of Grass