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

8th Feb - Gil Scott-Heron's I'm New Here

Artist – Album: Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here

Released:  8^th February 2010      

Sounds Like: Awesomeness. Just awesome.

Ok, so i’ve just been out for a few drinks and I’m hoping to go out for a few more so, honestly, I can’t be bothered writing a comprehensive review...

This was a refreshingly brilliant album though. The bookending tracks ‘On Coming from a Broken Home’ are two parts of the same fabulous, spoken word poem about his upbringing, set around a soothing Kanye West sample (‘Flashing Lights’, for those that are interested).

Elsewhere: ‘Me and the Devil’ – good; ‘Your Soul and Mine’ – good; ‘I’m New Here’ – gooooooood.

In conclusion (haha, yes I’m done already!), this is an extraordinary album that takes in trip hop and electronica influences and uses them to update blues sounds. It’s a great album from the erstwhile jazz poet and the last before he died, and certainly one that deserves more effort than I’m giving it...

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       On Coming from a Broken Home (Part 1) – 2:20

2.       Me and the Devil – 3:33

3.       I’m New Here – 3:33

4.       Your Soul and Mine – 2:02

5.       Parents (Interlude) – 0:18

6.       I’ll Take Care of You – 2:58

7.       Being Blessed (Interlude) – 0:12

8.       Where Did the Night Go – 1:14

9.       I Was Guided (Interlude) – 0:14

10.   New York Is Killing Me – 4:29

11.   Certain Things (Interlude) – 0:08

12.   Running – 2:00

13.   The Crutch – 2:44

14.   I’ve Been Me (Interlude) – 0:16

15.   On Coming from a Broken Home (Part 2) – 2:15

Listen to ‘I’m New Here’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV_astp3BjM

Also released on the 8^th February:

1977: Television – Marquee Moon

Also released on the 8^th February:

2000: Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele

Also released on the 8^th February:

2005: Andrew Bird – Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs