The Style Council - The Singular Adventures of the Style Council

MINE

Aaaagh... I've already used my Style Council story in the Paul Weller review... what to do?  OK, OK, just put the CD on, maybe something will come to me.  Ah!  Of course.

Paul Weller has written two of my top-three love songs of all time.  George Harrison has the honour of taking the number one spot, with Something (on the Beatles' Abbey Road album, if you need to find it).  But it's closely followed by two of the Modfather's own - You Do Something To Me from his solo album Stanley Road, and this compilation's opening number: You're the Best Thing.

I can't imagine my life without this CD as it delivers hit after hit after hit... and I can really only find two songs that haven't stood the test of time for me.  So I just skip over It Didn't Matter and Waiting, and immerse myself in all the other songs.  No doubt the completists will tell me I should have all the albums, and they're probably right.  But this CD has always been a favourite of mine, and it always will be.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (and SHOUT to the top!)

YOURZ

This is the incarnation of Paul Weller I'm not hugely a fan of but then I've never been a big fan of this kind of British soul.  While I'm probably gonna earn the wrath of Mine for saying this, I think a lot of the songs on this collection have aged pretty poorly.  (Mine says: So this is Girl Music, huh?) This is not to take away from Paul Weller's song writing.  It's more about the sound of the record rather than the songs themselves.

Having said this, tracks like Walls Come Tumbling Down and Shout To The Top still sound every bit as vital as they did when first released.  And Weller's voice is just fuckin' awesome, no doubt.  But given I only knew four of the songs on this this collection, I can't really find anything more to say about it except I hope the pointy stick lands on The Jam, so we can complete the Weller triumvirate.

Given Mine's love of all things Weller, I'm not going to risk it by saying "Throw It Out", so I'll just say...

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

For more information: http://www.myspace.com/thestylecouncil

In our collection, we also have Confessions Of A Pop Group

The Sleepy Jackson - Lovers

YOURZ

I can't remember the first time I heard The Sleepy Jackson, but this album, in particular, has been one of those I go back to time and again.  It is, quite simply, superb.  It's also a testament to Luke Steele and his multi-faceted talents.  As you're about to read, Mine feels exactly the same way about him as I do.

The Sleepy Jackson are another of those bands that not only provide me an emotional attachment to their music but also inspire me to be creative as well.  The frustrating thing is that I'm often listening to this at times and places where I can't just run away and lock myself in my little studio.  I mean, I do have to spend some time socially interacting otherwise I'd be accused of being a recluse.  And I'm just too young and good-looking to wear such a tag.

As a debut album, Lovers stylistic range is a wide as as this great island we call home. There's a little bit of just about everything in it, showcasing Steele's quixotic musical nature, from the alt-country stylings of Old Dirt Farmer through to the indie dance of Tell The Girls.  More tellingly, Lovers sounds particularly Australian without resorting to clichéd devices or using a didgeridoo, while also sounding positively international. I believe in years to come, this album will be hailed as one of the greatest documents of its time.

If you've not heard any Sleepy Jackson before, don't waste any more time reading this.  Click here or here and see for yourself.  I will say it again: it is superb and you won't be disappointed.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

I love Luke Steele and I don't care who knows it.  I previously mentioned his side project Nations by the River in our Gomez review, and I'm hopeful the pointy stick will land on Empire of the Sun sooner or later.  To quote Ben Lee: They play Sleepy Jackson on the radio/ And that's the way I like it.

Luke is another one of those frighteningly-talented musicians (YourZ sez: the only thing frightening about Luke Steel is his penchant for makeup) who can just roll out pop song after pop song, and it makes me so glad he's an Aussie - though he does hail from West Australia, which is like another country to me.  No, REALLY like another country.  OK, how about I put it this way: Perth (the capital of WA) is more than 3,300 kilometres away from Sydney, where I live.  It would take me five to six hours to fly there.  That's less than LA to New York, but still... there's a whole lot of NOTHING in between, unlike the USA, which is supposedly filled with shopping malls and obesity (how they manage to fit all those people in when they're getting fatter every year is beyond me).  The last time I visited Perth I was five years old, and arrived by ship from Singapore.  The only story I know about my time there is that I managed to give my parents the slip and wandered off hand in hand with a nice lady I picked up, chatting freely.  How little we change...

But I digress.  Lovers is a great album, moving from pure pop to alt-country, with nods to the Beatles and the Velvet Underground.  Luke's voice in this incarnation reminds me of the softer songs produced by seminal punks the Saints (from across the other side of Oz) and his voice is a little reminiscent of their lead singer, Chris Bailey. This CD is dangerous to play in the car, as one track makes me want to lie back and close my eyes, not recommended on the freeway.  And I love how the final song - Mourning Rain - ends with the sound of rain.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://thesleepyjackson.com/

In our collection, we also have Personality - One Was A Spider, One Was A Bird

Dusty Springfield - Am I The Same Girl?

YOURZ

My experiences of Dusty, like Mine's, go back years. My love of music comes from my parents, who had a wonderful collection of LPs (remember those?) My Dad was also a reel-to-reel tape fanatic and spent many hours recording huge selections of music. He borrowed, bought and begged music from a large array of sources and my musical education began by picking my way through these tapes, song by song.

It was in front of that tape deck, as a pre-teen, that I developed a love of both rock and pop music, a love that continues to this very day.  It also opened my mind to an understanding of the wide variety of music being made and to the idea that I didn't have to restrict myself to a single genre.  In fact, it was here I first learnt to despise the way people would judge others by what they read, listened to or watched.  My parents loved all sorts of music, from contemporary rock to marching bands, from folk to funk and from polka to pop.  Oh sure, they had their favourites, both individually and collectively, but they never restricted themselves.

My mother loved the girl singers like Petula Clark, Connie Francis, Nancy Sinatra and, of course, Dusty.  I distinctly remember songs such as Wishin' and Hopin, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, I Only Want To Be With You and You Don't Have To Say You Love Me and more.  Ask anyone born in or before the 60s and they will know these songs. 

The shame of it is none of these appear on this album.  In fact, the only song on here I would consider a classic Dusty track is Son Of A Preacher Man.  The rest of this album is filled with songs you might recognise even if you aren't familiar with the Dusty versions, songs like the Carpenters classic (They Long To Be) Close To You, Bacharch and David's This Guy's In Love With You and Spooky.  It also includes her take on Windmills Of Your Mind, which brings something beautiful and quite sad to the song.  I particularly like the lovely acoustic guitar in this one. 

On the whole, this is a lovely album, particularly if you're a Dusty fan and looking to complete your collection with rare takes of songs.  And with a voice like hers, you really can't go wrong.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP



MINE

Dusty and I go way, waaaay back. My family spent most of 1973 on the road, in a Kombi van driving across Europe, through Iran, Afghanistan, (I know!) Pakistan and India. I spent most of the time either squeezed in next to my mother in a front-seat two-in-one seatbelt situation (that no doubt was just as highly dangerous and illegal then as it is now) or curled up in the back on top of our sleeping bags, listening to a bunch of cassettes my father had picked up in Singapore. They were all cheap knockoffs, mostly with typewritten labels. And while I feel a pang at the thought of the money we did Dusty out of then (among others including the Beatles and the Stones), I kind of feel better at the thought that I've spent a great deal of money on Ms Springfield's output since then. (Did you like the way I avoided the term oeuvre there?  Took a lot of restraint, you know.)

Lying in the back, reading or just watching the scenery go by, I fell in love with the white-soul diva. OK, the cassette also had Petula Clark on it, but Don't Sleep In The Subway will never compare to Son Of A Preacher Man for me. This particular album was purchased purely for the fact that I didn't own the title track on CD after coming to know it well on that cassette, all those years ago. In fact, this CD must contain the fourth or fifth Preacher Man and Breakfast In Bed I own. But it does have a bonus - never-before-heard versions of Spooky and Close To You.

I've previously mentioned my kitchen music - and this CD ordinarily resides on that shelf, for turning up and singing my heart out to while chopping, mixing and baking. I'd swear it makes the food taste better...

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (you know all the words)

For more information: http://www.dusty-springfield.com/

In our collection we also have The Ultimate Collection and Dusty In Memphis

Blur - Parklife

YOURZ

There's an old saying those of a certain generation would be familiar with: you’re either a Beatles fan or a Stones fan. This divide is as narrow as Jagger’s skinny shoulders but so wide, it can tear families apart (okay, an exaggeration but not far from the truth).

For those of a younger generation, there's a similar divide between Blur and Oasis fans. For me there's no contest between the two. Simply put: Blur rule and Oasis suck. Thankfully, Mine has the same opinion. In fact, I doubt our marriage would have lasted if one of us had thought differently. There are some things that simply can’t work together.

Parklife was the real beginning of my love of this band. When it first came out, I was sharing a house with two girls who had an unswerving love of all things British and total control over the only stereo in the house. I had no choice: it was either enjoy the music they played or throw myself off the roof. Having to endure some of their selections for the umpteenth time often became a chore. However, with Blur, listening proved to be such a pleasure, I would indulge myself even if they weren’t home.

Parklife isn't my favourite Blur album. But then again, I don’t have a favourite. As far as I’m concerned, even if Blur were to make a really bad album, it would be light-years in front of anything Oasis could do. And that, my friends, is a huge divide.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

(Cockney accent) There are two main emotions I experience when I'm thinking about - PARKLIFE! (Sorry, I just have to channel the song when I'm writing about it.)

One is elation - for the title track, the sheer raunchery of Girls & Boys, for all-balls-out with Tracy Jacks and Magic America, and for This Is A Low (where elation mixes with reverential awe).

The other is frustration - that I can't walk up to the man who was a manager at HMV when I was a temp there in 1997 and say "SEE????"

Because he was Oasis and I was Blur. And I could say "Well those eyebrowed Mancunians have done bugger-all worthwhile since What's The Story. And while Blur did break up eventually they put in some damn fine albums right into the 2000s. Plus Damon Albarn??? Gorillaz? The Good, The Bad And The Queen? Film scores? WHO'S GOT CREDIBILITY NOW, DUDE?"

OK, I could be overreacting a bit. I guess I could say Parklife's not my favourite Blur album - even though it's got a bunch of great songs on it - but it was my first.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP


Click here for more info: http://www.blur.co.uk/home.php


In our collection, we also have 13 and Think Tank