25th December - Gorillaz's The Fall

Artist – Album: Gorillaz – The Fall

Released: 25^th December 2010

Sounds Like: Happy Christmas everyone 

It’s Christmaaaassss! 

Whenever somebody new learns about my little stupid boy project they all tend to ask the same question: “Whyyyy?” Once the peculiar mix of confusion and somewhat patronising pity has washed from their face, people tend to get in to the idea and their second question is usually the same too: “you got an album for every day?!” It’s hard to believe, but yes, some poor fool did release an album on Christmas Day. It may have just been a bit of a marketing gimmick for an otherwise under-the-radar Gorillaz album, but the online release on Christmas Day of The Fall is to me a Christmas miracle. God bless us everyone.

Albumaday... rating: 5/10

1.       Phoner to Arizona – 4:14

2.       Revolving Doors – 3:26

3.       HillBilly Man – 3:50

4.       Detroit – 2:03

5.       Shy-town – 2:54

6.       Little Pink Plastic Bags – 3:09

7.       The Joplin Spider – 3:22

8.       The Parish of Space Dust – 2:25

9.       The Snake in Dallas – 2:11

10.   Amarillo – 3:24

11.   The Speak It Mountains – 2:14

12.   Aspen Forest – 2:50

13.   Bobby in Phoenix – 3:16

14.   California and the Slipping of the Sun – 3:24

15.   Seattle Yodel – 0:38 

Listen to ‘Bobby in Phoenix’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jh7r6d2u-Q

19th November - DJ Shadow's Endtroducing...

Artist – Album: DJ Shadow – Endtroducing…

Released: 19^th November 1995

Sounds Like: Patchwork

Well, I may have managed to stave it off for 323 days and blogs but – DUN, DUN, DUNNN! – the dreaded writer’s block has struck with a vengeance. I’ve been racking my brain all day and I can’t think of a bloody word to write DJ Shadow’s masterpiece. But then it hit me, why not take inspiration from the album itself, officially the first album in history to be made up entirely of samples. Result, it’s simultaneously the perfect tribute and a massive cheat!:

Trip-hop's crowning achievement, it's innovative, but it builds on a solid historical foundation, giving it a rich, multi-faceted sound. It's not only a major breakthrough for hip-hop and electronica, but for pop music. Shadow's brief is to develop a totally sample-based idiom, weaving a cinematically broad spectrum so deftly layered that the sampling-is-stealing argument falls flat.

Endtroducing… practically folds you into its symphonic fantasia, the coming-of-age story of a 24-year-old bunk-bed dreamer. A surreal film soundtrack on which jazz, classical, and jungle fragments are artfully blended with turntable tricks and dialogue snippets. It’s  not only one of the most daring and original albums of recent times, but also one of the loveliest – music and chaos and satire and self-mockery and music all at once.

The album flips hip hop inside out all over again like a reversible glove, and again, and again, and each time it's sudden and new. I am, I confess, totally confounded by it. I hear a lot of good records, but very few impossible ones... You need this record. You are incomplete without it.

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       Best Foot Forward – 0:49

2.       Building Steam with a Grain of Salt – 6:40

3.       The Number Song – 4:40

4.       Changeling – 7:17

5.       Transmission 1 – 0:35

6.       What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 4) – 5:08

7.       Untitled – 0:24

8.       Stem/Long Stem – 7:48

9.       Transmission 2 – 1:29

10.   Mutual Slump – 4:02

11.   Organ Donor – 1:57

12.   Why Hip Hop Sucks in ’96 – 0:43

13.   Midnight in a Perfect World – 4:57

14.   Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain – 9:23

15.   What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1 – Blue Sky Revisit) – 6:17

16.   Transmission 3 – 1:11

Listen to ‘Midnight in a Perfect World’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InFbBlpDTfQ

Also released on the 19^th November:

1991: U2 – Achtung Baby

18th September - Björk's Selmasongs

Artist – Album: Björk – Selmasongs

Released:  18^th September 2000

Sounds Like: My First Musical

Analbumaday… isn’t the first stupid boy project I’ve taken on over the last few years. I’ve taught myself to juggle and play harmonica (although not at the same time), hitchhiked to Morocco, and attempted to learn conversational Spanish and Italian on various occasions. I once drank (enjoyed is too strong a word) a pint of mild in 60 different pubs in the Nottingham area over the course of a month. I’ve watched/played/listened to practically every all time greatest films/television episodes/games/albums/songs list I’ve stumbled upon, and still have an insatiable appetite to watch/play/listen to more. One such list was Empire Magazine’s 500 5-star movies, which I progressed through last year in a bid to force myself to watch some classic oldies; those black and white flicks that you know are supposed to be good but somehow never get round to viewing.

One of the more surprising films registered in that countdown was Dancer in the Dark, a 2005 musical featuring Björk, about a factory worker called Selma who hides from her friends and family the fact that she is going blind. The film splits opinion – Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian said that “screen acting doesn't get much more dire than this”, whilst renowned reviewer Roger Ebert was effusive in his praise. The soundtrack to the film, by Björk, received more universal praise, averaging 76/100 on Metacritic.

Personally, I found it slightly disappointing. The film was colourful and endearing, but these qualities didn’t translate as well on the album. ‘Overture’ starts things excellently with a suitably dramatic orchestral piece, but far too many of the following songs dabble in clichéd musical conventions. ‘I’ve Seen It All’ holds immense promise as it is a duet with Thom Yorke, but even that suffers from disappointingly childish lyrics. Still, ‘107 Steps’, the piece that soundtracks Selma’s tense walk to the executioner (*SPOILER ALERT*), slightly redeems things, and the closer, ‘New World’, is emphatic and strong.

The film wasn’t bad in my book, but it’s certainly bettered by others featuring unlikely heroes that have an obsession with musicals (Wall-E for one). Similarly, the album, whilst not a failure, just doesn’t quite hit the heights of Björk’s other great works.

Albumaday... rating: 6/10

1.       Overture – 3:38

2.       Cvalda – 4:48

3.       I’ve Seen It All – 5:30

4.       Scatterheart – 6:40

5.       In the Musicals – 4:40

6.       107 Steps – 2:37

7.       New World – 4:25

Listen to ‘New World’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqnL6ie_FTw

13th June - Björk's Post

Artist – Album: Björk - Post

Released:  13^th June 1995

Sounds Like: Iceland’s Post-er girl

Why is it that certain parts of the world are so much better at this music thing than others? I mean, for example: Coventry and Leicester are pretty much the same rubbish-y grey cities in the UK, but one gave us splendid ska of The Specials and was the epicentre of the Two Tone movement, whereas the other’s legacy probably ends with Showaddywaddy. Likewise, despite having a population less than that of Luxembourg, Malta or the Bahamas (or even those aforementioned Midlands conurbations), Iceland has had a disproportionate measure of success in making exceptional and original music.

Following hot on the heels of yesterday’s hypnotic and elegant Sigur Rós, today we have their fellow compatriot Björk who happens to be dealing in an entirely different but equally compelling musical realm. Things kick off with the dark electronica of ‘Army of Me’ and it’s abrasive chorus of “if you complain once more, you’ll meet an army of me”, but the real strength of the album is how it flits between styles effortlessly and with little negative impact on the album’s overall quality. Following the menacing, industrial rock of that opener is the delicate electro-pop of ‘Hyperballad’, a gorgeous alternative to the throwaway love song. Just two songs later is the cartoon theatricality of ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ (annoying and overplayed back in the mid-nineties, energetic and appealing today).

Björk has been one of the most unpredictable and innovative artists in world music for the last 25 years, and each of her eight solo albums have received critical adoration. Other records contain moments of brilliance that surpass anything here (although I do bloody love ‘Hyperballad’) but as a set of songs this is by far her best.

Albumaday... rating: 8/10

1.       Army of Me – 3:54

2.       Hyperballad – 5:21

3.       The Modern Things – 4:10

4.       It’s Oh So Quiet – 3:38

5.       Enjoy – 3:57

6.       You’ve Been Flirting Again – 2:29

7.       Isobel – 5:47

8.       Possibly Maybe – 5:06

9.       I Miss You – 4:03

10.   Cover Me – 2:06

11.   Headphones – 5:40

Listen to ‘Isobel’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGjGh74n_9U

Also released on the 13^th June:

1995: Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill

Also released on the 13^th June:

2000: Modest Mouse – The Moon & Antarctica

5th May - Blur's Think Tank

Artist – Album: Blur – Think Tank

Released:  5^th May 2003

Sounds Like: The ‘Girls & Boys’ boys become men

Of the two bands most readily associated with Britpop – Oasis and Blur – one spent the decade after its death continuing to create the same laddish boozy anthems, with arguably diminishing returns, and the other was Blur. Following their huge success with Parklife and the Great Escape, the band decided to take something of an abrupt turn into lo-fi influenced alternative rock on their sixth studio album Blur, presaging the end of the mid nineties Britpop era.

On their seventh album the group took another u-turn, moving away from the Pavement sphere of influence onto more of a Radiohead orientated sound. For the first time they introduced electronic beats and elements of trip hop to the alternative rock mix, and the result is, for the most part, a pleasantly interesting and rewarding album. A selection of the opening cuts, ‘Ambulance’, ‘Out of Time’ (worth the admission price alone) and ‘Good Song’ stand up next to anything in the extensive back catalogue – lush, gorgeous and poignant songs that are further enhanced by Damon Albarn’s world-weary vocals.

Unfortunately, the song in between – ‘Crazy Beat’ – is a bit of a stinker. It introduces a vocoder style chorus in the style of Daft Punk, with none of that collective’s warmth and charm. This track is indicitive of the (rare and relative) failures that prevent this album from becoming on a par with the best early indie forays into electronica such as Kid A and Music Has the Right to Children. Being a step or two behind those two though really isn’t so bad and it’s quite an achievement for the group that not long before were releasing Cool Britannia fluff like ‘Country House’.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Ambulance – 5:09

2.       Out of Time – 3:52

3.       Crazy Beat – 3:15

4.       Good Song – 3:09

5.       On the Way to the Club – 3:48

6.       Brothers and Sisters – 3:47

7.       Caravan – 4:36

8.       We’ve Got a File on You – 1:03

9.       Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club -3:03

10.   Sweet Song – 4:01

11.   Jets – 6:25

12.   Gene by Gene – 3:49

13.   Battery in Your Leg – 3:20

Listen to ‘Out of Time’:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkX1Up1vnc

 

Also released on the 5^th May:

1973: Paul Simon – There Goes Rhymin’ Simon

8th April - Massive Attack's Blue Lines

Artist – Album: Massive Attack – Blue Lines

Released: 8^th April 1991

Sounds Like: Trip hop hooray

With the reinvention of dub step, the blossoming of experimental hip hop and the resurgence of British black music, it seems that the twenty-two year old debut album Blue Lines by Massive Attack was born to be played in today’s environment. It kick started the trip hop movement long before there was even a name for the scene, and announced to the world the emergence of one of the most important collectives of the 90’s.

From Elvis Presley’s Rhythm & Blues infused self titled debut to Nirvana’s confessed debt of gratitude to the Pixies on Nevermind, most of the most important innovative records released have a clear set of references – if they didn’t, they’d quickly be dismissed as crazy and would be unable to make the requisite impact – and this album's no different. From the raspy vocals of the semi-legendary Horace Andy to the 70’s soul and reggae that they obviously held dear, Blue Lines is chock full of influences but the genius is in the fusion of these into something new and special.

‘Unfinished Sympathy’ is clearly the crowning glory of this set, a soulful ballad that is rightfully acclaimed as one of the greatest songs of the last two decades. Fortunately, the rest of the album doesn’t pale into insignificance next to this jewel. ‘Safe from Harm’ is a fantastic introduction to the paranoid world the group usually inhabit, and is supported by the likes of ‘One Love’ and ‘Daydreaming’, whilst songs such as ‘Be Thankful for What You’ve Got’ and ‘Hymn of the Big Wheel’ are actually disarmingly positive.

Blue Lines must have been incredible when it hit the charts in 1991 – it was still relatively alien when I first listened to it nine years later – but today it feels like a snug fit. It wasn’t just the sound of what the future may turn out to be; we’re in the future, and it’s just right. That is the brilliant forward thinking on show here.

Albumaday... rating: 9/10

1.       Safe from Harm – 5:18

2.       One Love – 4:48

3.       Blue Lines – 4:21

4.       Be Thankful for What You’ve Got – 4:09

5.       Five Man Army – 6:04

6.       Unfinished Sympathy – 5:08

7.       Daydreaming – 4:14

8.       Lately – 4:26

9.       Hymn of the Big Wheel – 6:36

Listen to ‘Hymn of the Big Wheel’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M9muYyYxhI

Also released on the 8^th April:

1960: Elvis Presley – Elvis is Back

Also released on the 8^th April:

1977: The Clash – The Clash

Also released on the 8^th April:

1996: Ocean Colour Scene – Moseley Shoals

26th March - Gorillaz' Gorillaz

Artist – Album: Gorillaz - Gorillaz

Released:  26^th March 2001

Sounds Like: A helluva lot cooler than the Archies.

Gorillaz weren’t the first hit cartoon group – Comic book characters The Archies were the sickly sweet one hit wonderers responsible for ‘Sugar, Sugar’ – but they were still something startlingly new when they first landed in the early noughties.

The fantastic, Thriller, Dawn of the Dead AND Braindead referencing music video to ‘Clint Eastwood’ (no, I didn’t pick up on all the cultural nods either), actually served to distract from the cool and refreshing blend of trip hop beats and indie rock sensibilities created by Damon Albarn, Jamie Hewlett and producer Dan “The Automator” Nakamura. Or 2D, Murdoc, Russel and Noodle, as their fictional representatives are known. ‘Clint Eastwood’ is without a doubt the strongest track on the album, a The Good, The Bad and The Ugly sampling hip hop pastiche, well described by Allmusic as an update of the Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’. But it ain’t the be all and end all as far as the album goes. ‘Re-Hash’ and ‘ 5/4’ are more straightforward but good indie songs, whilst ‘Rock the House’ and ’19-2000’ were enjoyable singles by their own right.

I remember that one of my MTV-less friends went to see Gorillaz soon after the release of this album, and he was so devastated to find that he couldn’t see the real band, as they played behind the screen on to which their animated alter-egos were projected. Having never seen the videos, he had just thought Gorillaz was just the name of Blur singer Damon Albarn’s side project, the title of his dabbling into a variety of genres that his main group wouldn’t touch with a ten foot barge pole (now, a twelve foot barge pole would be a different matter altogether). For the most part, this isn’t just some rock stars wanky meanderings into strange territory, and some of this is great fun. But at times it does descend into for-the-big-fans-only territory, and it’s easy to see how the boy made the mistake. Still, it’s a great debut album from a band that aren’t afraid to do things differently.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       Re-Hash – 3:37

2.       5/4 – 2:39

3.       Tomorrow Comes Today – 3:12

4.       New Genius (Brother) – 3:57

5.       Clint Eastwood – 5:39

6.       Man Research (Clapper) – 4:32

7.       Punk – 1:36

8.       Sound Check (Gravity) – 4:40

9.       Double Bass – 4:44

10.   Rock the House – 4:08

11.   19-2000 – 3:27

12.   Latin Simone (¿Que Pasa Contigo?) – 3:36

13.   Starshine – 3:31

14.   Slow Country – 3:35

15.   M1 A1 – 10:40

Listen to ‘Slow Country’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jO0r1vu5Ek

Also released on the 26^th March:

1996: Neutral Milk Hotel – On Avery Island

Also released on the 26^th March:

2007: The Bees - Octopus

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