Tame Impala - Innerspeaker

MINE

I wanted to like it, really I did.  This was picked as an Album of the Year for Aussie Youth Radio network Triple J, and I like to think I've got a bit of an insight into what those young people are on about.  No, seriously.  Stop snickering, you.

But all I could think while listening to this was - Beatles Rubber Soul and Revolver,  but without the variety the Fab Four managed on those albums.  Amped up a bit with some beats here and there, but essentially a bit hippy-trippy.  Which is alright for a song or two, but a whole album?  Nice dinner-party music, but that's about it.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

Yet more proof that there is something in those isolated waters of Western Australia that keeps producing some of the best music in Australia. 

Citing a laundry list of influences, including Beck, Kyuss, Massive Attack, RZA and The Beatles (boy, are they covering all bases or what), Tame Impala are anything but locked into a single style.  Yet the cohesiveness of Innerspeaker, their debut album, is surprisingly strong, thanks to the overall production aesthetic   While it is definitely psychedelic, it also reminds me of some of the shoegazer bands around the late 80s and early 90s.

Listening to Lucidity, for instance, took me back to house parties, where most of us were floating from a cocktail of various fixings.  And the music, like Innerspeaker is to a new generation, was not just background but an integral part of the journey.  Maybe the fact I'm relatively straight and sober these days dulled my appreciation slightly but not by much.

There are treats of sharp, effected pop gems like Solitude Is Bliss and I Don't Really Mind as well as surprises like the sludgy psych-rock of The Bold Arrow Of Time.  And while I think the band could have done better with a name, I expect it will be one I'll be hearing of for some time to come. 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to http://www.tameimpala.com/

John Lennon - Shaved Fish

MINE

This is kind of the quintessential solo Lennon album.  However much Double Fantasy and Rock'n'Roll reverberated through my life (neither of which I own), it's these songs that mean so much to me.

I guess people of our generation always remember where we were when we heard about it.  Because it was early December and summer, I was with a couple of friends at a local swimming spot in Canberra, where I grew up.  My friend Karen and I had taken an air mattress out on the lake and were splashing about happily while our friend David went back to the car to turn up the music.  I'll never forget how he called us in to shore - we thought he might have hurt himself or something.  But as we came closer he shouted out "John Lennon's been shot!" and so we just packed up everything and went home, to mourn.

Much more than Elvis a few years earlier, this was the death that pierced my musical heart.  At that stage I was firmly a Lennon Beatles fan, budding anarchist that I was, well before my shift to gentle George.  These days I'm bound to acknowledge his many flaws.  Massive talent so often breeds massive ego.

There's so much on Shaved Fish to love.  But thirty years after his death, and thirty-five since this was released, I'm desperately sad to realise none of the things he Imagined have come true.  In many ways, this is a world the worse for wear, not the better for progress.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

For a long time, it was said there are two types of music lovers in the world: Beatles fans or Stones fans.  While it is perfectly acceptable to like both bands, it is also nearly impossible to like them equally.  Me, I'm a Beatles fan, of this I have no doubt.

Of course, the divisions don't stop at being a Beatles fan.  Oh no, that would be way too easy.  There are subsets within this set: Lennon fans, McCartney fans or Harrison fans.  I can't imagine anyone who calls themselves a Beatles fan wanting to identify themselves in the Starr subset but who knows, they might be out there. (Mine says: oh yes, I knew one once - very weird guy)

If push comes to shove, I consider myself a McCartney fan.  I love his voice and his songs.  I love his personality and his musical abilities.  I love that he wrote my favourite Bond theme, Live And Let Die, and that had the balls to do the dreadful Mull Of Kintyre.  My favourite Beatles songs are mostly ones he wrote and sang (Yesterday, Michelle, Lady Madonna).  But as I've said previously in this blog, I have a hard time with being pigeon-holed.  I guess this is basically because I'm a loner and I'm non-competitive.  (Mine says: unless he's racing someone for a parking spot, folks!)

But having said all this, in my usual long-winded way, Lennon's songs are as important to me, although in much different ways, as McCartney.  Lennon had a way of being able to condense complex ideas into such poignant, powerful lyrics, much more so than McCartney has ever been able to do.  His deft turns of phrase and projection was able to tap in to the collective mindset of a generation

So, now we come to Shaved Fish.  Finally.  This is pretty much a compilation of singles released by John Lennon from the late 60s to the mid-70s.  It is an absolutely superb example of Lennon's songwriting, which, unlike typical McCartney tracks, are more socio-political and include many lyrical references to his personal philosophies (Imagine, Give Peace A Chance, Instant Karma, Power To The People).  It also details his battle with drugs (Cold Turkey), his search for higher states (Mindgames) and his ability to write beautiful pop (#9 Dream). 

No, I don't really care for being pigeon-holed.  Just like I don't care for the idea of borders.  As the great man says:

You may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope some day you'll join us

And the world will be as one

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to http://www.johnlennon.com/ (one of the many sites available)

Jimi Hendrix - The Ultimate Experience

YOURZ

Oh boy, here is another artist who evokes such rabid support from critics and fans alike, it is hard to know where to start writing about him.  A very large amount of books have been written about Hendrix's influence on modern music, his prodigious abilities with both the guitar and the ladies and using him as a kind of starting pin on the map of modern rock.

I've only ever read Charles Shaar Murray's effort, Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and the Post-War Rock 'n' Roll Revolution.  Despite the thesis-like title, this fascinating read doesn't do anything to contain the myth of Hendrix but instead, reverently parlays the sounds of the time into an well-written, intellectual and very-readable look at the way blues music has influenced music, with Hendrix's tracks acting as the guiding light.

I can't recall a time when I wasn't hearing Hendrix.  He has been on my musical spectrum since I was a young lad first learning to play the guitar.  Songs like Hey Joe and All Along The Watchtower were constants at my parent's parties in the early 70s while tracks such as Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), Foxy Lady, Manic Depression, Fire and Crosstown Traffic became party favourites of mine and my friends years later.  

In fact, it is Crosstown Traffic I often reference as being one of the pinnacle tracks of influence for me.  It is one of my funeral playlist songs (yeah, my friends are gonna rock out at mine wake, for sure).  Hendrix has the privilege of being the only artist, apart from The Beatles, to appear a number of times on this playlist, the other track being the gorgeous Little Wing.  After all, who can not fail to be touched by this:

When I'm sad, she comes to me

With a thousand smiles, she give to me for free

It's alright she says it's alright

Take anything you want from me,

Anything.

Fly on little wing

VERDICT: TURN IT UP


MINE

So, let me preface this by stating for the record: I'm not particularly a Hendrix fan.  No, back!  Stop pelting me with those rocks!  It's not because the tunes aren't good, because HELL YEAH they are great.  But there's two things abut Hendrix that stop me being a real enthusiast.  

One is, I lack whatever gene it is that finds guitar solos entertaining.  It's kind of how mostly everyone except drummers feels about drum solos.  I don't have that Guitar Hero inside of me - and I use that term advisedly, I'm not a fan of the game, either.

The second is, I kind of hear a lot of it as stripper music.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm as fond of ecdysiasts as the next person (being in this case, YourZ) (YourZ sez: see, how could I not love this lady) but mental images of tassels, pasties and feather boas tend to distract me from the tunes themselves.  It's not a problem, just a mental tic.  Nothing to do with the cover of Electric Ladyland, either.  What?

I also have to admit that while I never experienced the famous mondegreen for Kiss The Sky, I still do a mental double-take every time I see Voodoo Chile because I think it's talking about a a bowl of magical food.

I did have fun listening to this CD.  And as a side note, the London apartment where he lived in 1968 has just been open to the public, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his death.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information http://www.jimihendrix.com/us/home

Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell

YOURZ

My first experience with this album was as a barely 18 year old Airforce recruit.  At basic training, to reinforce our lowly status, the airmen recruits had their own 'club' (meaning a room with tables and chairs and a hole-in-the-wall bar).  But the club had a juke box with a selection of present-day hits.  This selection included just about every track on Bat Out Of Hell, the Jim Steinman penned rock opus.

We would spend many a night in various stages of drunken rowdiness singing along to these tracks, generally loudly and particularly out of tune.  Alcohol has a way, though, of tuning even the most tuneless until we all sounded like Pavarotti or maybe even Meat Loaf himself.

It had been some considerable time since I last heard Bat Out Of Hell, but I wasn't surprised I knew most of the words still.  Like The Beatles, these songs have become part of my music memory, there to be instantly recalled with the opening strains of, lets say, Paradise By The Dashboard Light.  Ask me to recall them without a musical prompt and I'd fail miserably.  Put the track on, though, and I'm right there with Meat, belting it out like I've been singing it for years.

33 years on (yes, it has been that long), this album is still selling more in any given year than most indie bands can manage in their careers.  The only question I have is when is the stage show going to happen?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

When I was a teenager, I'd often sit up late on a Friday and Saturday night with my father, talking about everything in the world, with the radio on in the background.  For most of my teenage years we didn't have a television, because my mother objected to the fact it would suck our brains out of our eyes (read: no-one helped her with the housework) and so she got rid of it (read: hid it in the garage under a bunch of boxes.)

The local public broadcast radio station ended at midnight, and switched over to what was then Australia's only youth radio station: Sydney's Double J, later to become the national broadcaster Triple J.  In this way I got to hear some truly weird and wonderful music, given that I lived in the country backwater that was (and occasionally still is) our national capital.  I can still recall when I heard for the first time the introduction to You Took the Words Right Out Of My Mouth, and it gave me a shiver.  I was 14, and totally prepared to offer my throat to the wolf with the red roses, but unsure of what that would really entail.  I remember that moment like it was yesterday: the smell of my dad's pipe and the woodsmoke from our open fire.  I remember it had come in the middle of a short break in the conversation, and we both just listened to it until the music started, and then looked at each other and asked: What was THAT all about?

Later this album would be everywhere, and was certainly played over and over again on the cassette player in my first boyfriend's house (hi, Andrew!) along with Kate Bush and the Sweet (ah, those were the days!)  Therefore it's as much a part of my DNA as Hotel California, and will never not be a part of my life.  Especially as it'll always bring that moment back to me, a moment I treasure.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.meatloaf.net/

Jet - Get Born

YOURZ

The deliciously derivative debut from Aussies Jet took the band to the metaphorical heights of the rock industry with tracks Are You Gonna Be My Girl and Rollover DJ.  As an album, it's further proof that the world loves and regularly needs big fat, classic-sounding rock to feed its insatiable, beer-swillling, devil-horns throwing hands-in-the-air needs.

Oh yeah, it sounds like just about any rock and roll outfit of the last 30 or so years.  And they haven't been able to repeat the success of this album.  But so what?  Who gives a fuck?  This is foot-to-the-floor, flatout rock except when it resorts to rock balladry.  But either way, it's well-played, well-polished and absolutely necessary.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

A few days ago I was listening to the radio when the announcer was sounding off about Jet's new release - which he said was the same as all their others - ripping off classic rock riffs.  He then played a few songs to prove his point.  I remember thinking at the time - bitter much?  I mean there he is, playing tunes on a Sydney radio station that less than five per cent of the city's population listens to (according to the latest Nielsen survey) and there they are, at the start of a 33-gig national tour supporting Aussie legends Powderfinger.  I know who I'd rather be.

But I'll concede the announcer had a point, after listening to this album all the way through today.  That's something I haven't really done, becasue I put most of it on the gymPod (a Shuffle) when I first got it so I've generally only heard the songs by themselves.

So let's play the game!  Well, you can see just from the album cover this band is screaming "rip-off", as it closely resembles the artwork on the cover of The Beatles' Revolver (reviewed just a few days ago.)  Last Chance is an AC/DC riff, we all know Are You Gonna Be My Girl is Iggy Pop, while I hear some Status Quo on Roll Over DJ.  Look What You've Done is very Beatles, but with a hint of Oasis (made a fool of everyone?) and then Get What You Need moves back to a Quo-ishness.  Move On is somewhere between the Eagles and Neil Young, while Radio Song confused me because I couldn't pin it down.  Get Me Outta Here and Cold Hard Bitch are AC/DC all over, Come Around Again has has a West Coast feel (Henley?) Take It or Leave It is sorta Zeppelin, Lazy Gun is weird because it goes between T Rex and Pink Floyd (who knew that could work in a mash-up?) and then Timothy is definitely Floyd.

Wasn't that fun?  Ah, come on, Jet are everybody's favourite covers band playing their own songs.  Don't you think?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.jettheband.com/

Easy Star All-Stars - Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band

YOURZ

They're clever fellas, those Easy Star All-Star boys.  First they tackled one of the pillars of psychedelia with Dub Side Of The Moon, a very faithful retelling in the reggae, dub and ska vernacular of the Pink Floyd classic.  They followed this up with a retelling of Radiohead's Okay Computer called Radiodread.

But it is this reverent reinterpretation of what is arguably The Beatles greatest album, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, that is my favourite.  As Mine says, there is so much built-in recognition of the tracks, particularly as the All-Stars work hard to recreate the wonderful layers of sound and vocals.  It is faithful and infinitely likeable.  In fact, I think even a hardened Beatles fan couldn't help but enjoy this.

When I first heard this, I couldn't believe how easily some of the tracks fit the style.  For The Benefit Of Mr Kite perfectly suited the dub retelling while A Day In The Life sounded as powerful as the original ever was, with a killer horn section.

They could be viewed as a novelty act, simply using reggae.  But the reality of each of their releases so far points at something far more reverent, musically adept and attuned.  Can't wait to hear what they do next.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Well I'm really glad  the pointy stick landed on this album and not the others - as my complete lack of Radiohead appreciation is well known, and I prefer this album to Dark Side of the Moon anyway.

I know all the words to all the songs - it's like they're embedded in my DNA or something - and the All-Stars don't do anything too horrific to the tunes.  There's a great deal of respect for the tunes, which still stand and shine on their own.  I really liked the fact that they got a female vocalist to do She's Leaving Home (my favourite track on the album) because it really fits well with the feeling of the song.

Other cheeky changes include calling the cellophane flowers in Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds "red, gold and green" (Rasta colours) rather than "yellow and green," and asking Lovely Rita to "smoke some tea with me."    Not one for the Beatles purists, but a fresh way to hear tunes that are essential in the soundtrack to my life.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

In our collection, we also have: Dub Side Of The Moon and Radiodread

The Beatles - Revolver

MINE

For my 18th birthday, my father more than doubled the size of my (vinyl) record collection by buying me The Beatles box set.  Because of that I've held back on buying any of these albums on CD, but recently YourZ and I were in a music shop, and found we just had to.  It's one of the things about this blog - it makes us more aware of the music we buy, and forces us to buy stuff that's really, really good. 

Now I know it's difficult to name a favourite Beatles album, but this one is right up there. I adore Love You To's tabla and mock-sitar sounds, but For No One  is my standout track.  Sad and wistful but paying tribute to a great relationship that doesn't last.

And of course while the eight-year-old me is horrified, I really don't like Yellow Submarine any more.  Sorry, Ringo.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Is there anyone out there who doesn't like The Beatles?  I mean, aside from the fact they always came across as lovable young rogues and that they also changed the face of modern music, they wrote an extraordinary amount of songs that have become pop standards.  Of course, there are probably some Stones fans out there crying foul, but from an historical perspective, The Beatles are always going to outshine any of the other bands from the 60s.

The first piece of music I can recall hearing and recognising is a Beatles song - Michelle.  I remember sitting on the kitchen floor, playing with toy cars and watching my mother, who was standing at the sink, swaying and humming along to the song as it played on the little leather-covered radio sitting on the window sill.  I must have been all of 4 or 5 years of age, maybe even a little younger.  Yes, that long ago.  And while this song is on Revolver's predecessor, Rubber Soul, this album has one of the first songs I learnt to play on a guitar - Eleanor Rigby.  (As a point of interest, I also learnt House Of The Rising Sun, Down On The Corner and Paint It Black - a well-rounded little set).

I read recently that the music you hear as a preteen (like a lot of other influences) is the music that most informs the rest of your life.  This is probably why I love pop music so much, despite my tough stickers and penchant for loud rock.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.thebeatles.com/

In our collection, we also have Rubber Soul

Sidewinder - Tangerine

MINE

Y'know, while we're doing this review-a-day thing I generally play my cards pretty close to my chest when it comes to music bought by YourZ that I'm not really familiar with.  I like to let him wait until I've written it down before he really discovers how I feel.  But when I heard Tangerine, I couldn't wait to come home and confront him, saying "How fucking good are Sidewinder?" (I'm trying to cut down on my profanity so you can tell I was moved.)

Side note: is a band a singular or a plural?  Do I say: How good is Sidewinder or: How good are Sidewinder?  Weirdly I would say R.E.M are touring next year but Bon Jovi isn't.  Thoughts?

This album is O-L-D... 1997 and recorded when they were young lads from our hometown Canberra (the nation's capital).  I'm horrified they never made it past this album, which sounds like the guys from Cream, the Byrds and the Beatles all had kids together who formed a band.  The songs Titanic Days and Here She Comes Again are particularly gorgeous.  I will play this album over and over agian, and I'm furious I didn't know about it before.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I was at the very first live show Sidewinder did, at a long-gone venue in Canberra called The Terminus Tavern.  It was a Sunday afternoon gig and friends (hi Nadine and Tim), who were in the headlining band, told us about this great young act and said my friends and I should make sure we get there early to see them.

Well, my friends weren't wrong - this band were young.  I think Martin was all of 14, although he looked somewhat older, while his big brother, Nick, may have been 16.  But as these kids played their set, everyone there soon realised that, despite their ages, this band had more potential than most of the other bands on the scene at the time.  And how right we were.

Sidewinder went from strength to strength, developing both as songwriters and performers.  I can't tell you how many times I saw them perform, first as support to the band I was in at the time then as headliners of their own shows.  We all loved them but we were also envious of their natural abilities and shining talents. Once they started recording, they outgrew Canberra very quickly and became a well-established name, not just locally, but Australia-wide.

On the recording front, they took their time and released a number of EPs, attempting to find their feet in the studio.  Their earliest, T Star, while probably not as confident as they would have liked, showed so much promise, it was scary.  This promise continued to show with the EPs that followed, Yoko Icepick and The Gentle Art Of Spoonbending and started to fully blossom on their first album, Atlantis.

But it wasn't until the first singles from Tangerine emerged that this promise really bloomed.  Titanic Days and Here She Comes Again were both huge songs, but also served to not only show the path the band had taken to get to where they were but also to show the direction they were heading.  When the album came out, local music press fell over itself trying to describe the depth and scope of the album.  From the beautiful, summery Sunshine In My Pocket (which Martin previewed on my guitar in my lounge room one afternoon) to the trippy Mad Women Of The Universe, as well as great rock tracks like God and Intensify, there was so much to take in.

What it showed to those of us who knew the band so well was the promise we knew they had absolutely realised.  But it was so much more than this, more than any of us expected.  And we were stunned.

Listening back to Tangerine now, I still feel stunned.  It's every bit as brilliant as I remember it but perhaps even more so because it still sounds so fresh, inventive and, more than anything else, relevant.  What pains me so much about this is that Sidewinder didn't last beyond this magnum opus.  Despite the promise, despite the blooming and the brightest of futures, they didn't last.

Tangerine is not just a Forgotten Gem (although it was hardly forgotten) but is quite possibly still one of the best pieces of music I own.  I was proud to call them friends.  And I still miss them.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.halfacow.com.au/artists.php?page=artist_bio&artist=A028

Bruce Springsteen - The Essential Bruce Springsteen

YOURZ

Years ago, I worked with a couple of ladies who were, to put it mildly, Springsteen fanatics.  Now I don't have a problem with fandom, not even with geeky fandom.  I might even be accused of being somewhat this way about a few bands myself. 

The problem I had with these ladies is their love of Bruce only came about because of the song Dancing In The Dark and the accompanying album.  I remember at a coffee break one afternoon discussing their attendance at a Bruce concert in the near future and that he was reknowned for putting on great, long live shows with lots of his old material and how cool it would be to see he and the E Street band performing such classics as Blinded By The Light, Thunder Road, The River or, of course, Born To Run. 

The looks on their faces said at all.  They had no idea what I was talking about.  They recognised the names of a couple of the songs but didn't know them.  I equated this with saying you're a Beatles fan but them admitting to not knowing anything before, lets say, Sgt. Peppers.  Now I realise I was probably being a smug SOB but back then, I just couldn't let them get away it.  I remember peppering them with assaults about being 'chart' fans and not knowing the 'real' Bruce.  (It must be said I'd never met or seen him live either, so my extremely limited righteousness was based on the few records I heard and what I'd read).  Such is the arrogance of youth, I guess.

Those girls came back converted.  Not only did they enjoy seeing the songs they knew and loved but fell for all his old material, as much of it as they heard, anyway.  And like a Bruce show, this collection is in no way complete.  But really, I think to properly appreciate Springsteen, the songs have to be listened to in the context of the album they came from (yes, Mine, some more albums to add to that list).  But this is a great collection nonetheless.  Listening back to it made me want to jump in the car and get out while we're still young (okay, reasonably middle-aged but allow me my fantasy, will ya?)

VERDICT: TURN IT UP because tramps like us, baby, we're born to run

MINE

Bruce.  Broooooooce.  There's so much I have to say!

How about, I think Springsteen is a songwriter in the same way Stephen King is a writer - he distils modern America while still remaining relevant to the nitty gritty moments in life we all experience.  Although Bruce is less about the horror and more about the everyday.

Then there's the voice - unmistakable with that hint of a growl - and I don't know about any other ladies out there, but he certainly rates highly on my seduct-o-meter.  Not to mention he just gets better looking.

What if I take a walk through this 3 CD set and just marvel at the range of songs - some of which I can cheerfully never hear again after my time in commercial radio, but many I just want to listen to over and over.  Walk with me through my favourites - Thunder Road, Born To Run, The River, Nebraska, Brilliant Disguise, Human Touch, Lucky Town. And even though I've heard it a thousand times, Glory Days just gets more and more relevant as I get older and greyer.

Then there's that glittering moment on Welcome to the Pleasuredome.  Yes, I'm talking about Frankie Goes to Hollywood.  I've searched YouTube and no-one's uploaded the original track but there's a wonderful mash-up of the Gerry and the Pacemakers song Ferry 'Cross the Mersey crossed with Born To Run.  Magic.

And it wouldn't be a review from me without telling you about the time I saw Bruce.  The Ghost of Tom Joad tour.  In the fancy-schmancy State Theatre because this wasn't a greatest-hits Bruce, this was the slowed-down, stripped-back version with no Born In The USA moments.  And he was brilliant.  Incandescent.  Although my night's entertainment was soured somewhat by the drunk merchant bankers in front of me who apparently hadn't bothered to read what the tour was about, and persisted in the "Broooooce" calls throughout the show.  But apart from that I had a damn fine time, and I have a fond memory of Bruce playing Red Headed Woman for Patti - who was there!

So I guess all that remains is to say to YourZ - who bought this for me some time ago - thank you.  (YourZ sez: you're very welcome, my love).  And I really, really need to play it more.  It's easy to skip Dancing (shudder) for the rest of the album - which is magnificent.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.brucespringsteen.net/

The Black Keys - Attack & Release

YOURZ

Produced by the 'he's everywhere, he's everywhere' producer (and a personal favourite of mine), Danger Mouse, Attack & Release is The Black Keys' fifth full length album.  It's also the first album of theirs I bought. 

Like a lot of the new millenium bands, this duo slipped by me while I was squirrelling away in my home studio, writing beats and rehearsing the little hip hop band I was producer for at the time.  Another part of my avoidance issues (and this was true with my problem with The White Stripes as well) was I wasn't convinced a two piece band could sound 'proper'.  I'm such a fan of fat bass and drums, the idea of reducing the formula to vocals, guitars and drums didn't really sound like it would work, at least not in a way that would interest me.  But I am nothing if not willing to be proven wrong.

Attack & Release is a damned fine record of what could be called modern blues rock.  I should have trusted my ears instead of ignoring The Black Keys based on what I'd read about them.  I've listened to both this and their first album, The Big Come Up, many times over now and haven't gotten sick of either. 

Oh, and the whole debate Mine mentions below kind of negates itself when you read The Beatles admitted to openly pilfering riffs and licks from their favourite artists of the time.  The development of most modern musical genres has often involved magpie-ing bits from other artists and adapting them for new use, with the blues being the most prolific in this habit.  I'm eagerly looking forward to their new album, Brothers, to see what they've stolen this time.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Blues-rock.  Meh.  I can see why this album's jumped into our collection as YourZ is both fond of  the genre and has a tendency to follow producers he likes, being a producer himself.  And this was put together by Danger Mouse, who we both think is shit-hot.  But that doesn't change the fact that the songs are generally what you'd expect from any old blues-rock band playing in Generic Pub, Anywhere.

That's apart from the closing number, which absolutely staggered me.  Not because it's better than the rest of the album, which it is, but because it so blatantly rips off the Beatles' Don't Let Me Down.  Which has been pointed out on numerous Black Keys forums in the past so I won't belabour the point.  (YourZ sez: yeah, but, no, but, oh, see above...)

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.theblackkeys.com/

In our collection we also have The Big Come Up

The Mike Flowers Pops - A Groovy Place

YOURZ

I don't know how to react to this album.  Part of me wants to laugh out loud and the other part wants to run from the room screaming 'it burns, it burns'.  Hearing Wonderwall like this makes sense though; I never liked the song and thought the words were absolute crap but as a piece of lounge music, it is well-suited (pardon the pun).

There is also something weirdly beguiling about the choral version of Bjork's Venus As A Boy, even though it makes me cringe.  And to hear the medley of Velvet Underground songs done like this is silliness almost bordering on genius.  I did say almost. 

Mostly, this album serves to remind me of a lot of the compilation albums my parents unfortuantely brought - you know, things like Moog Plays The Beatles, Hammond Party Hits or some such tripe.  Either that, or like I'm stuck in an elevator going straight to music hell.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

MINE

When I saw what date this CD review was to be posted, it made me smile - there's something very fitting about a novelty album review on April 1.  It's one of only two albums I'd truly call "novelty" in our collection - both bought by Mine (good self), although the album being reviewed tomorrow kind of teeters on the edge.  But you'll have to come back tomorrow to see what that is, I'm not giving it away here.

Anyway, I bought this because their version of Wonderwall is the best way to show just how ridiculous the lyrics to that tune are.  And because I have a deep-seated regard for lounge music, largely due to my parents purchase of another novelty album, many years ago.  Christmastime from The Swingle Singers made its way onto our turntable year after year.  And there's something so lounge about acapella like this, isn't there?

So, a silly CD for a silly day.  Their version of Light My Fire shows how close to easy listening the original is, and their Venus As A Boy is actually delightful.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (I'm not foolin') (YourZ sez: oh fuck, I wish you were)

For more information: http://www.mikeflowers.co.uk/

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

YOURZ

On another blog I write, I recently named Danger Mouse as my favourite producer of the decade.  Let's recap for the sake of the discussion: he started with the mashing of The Beatles' White Album and Jay Z's Black Album.  Whatever there is left to say about this, there is absolutely no denying its scope and genius. 

Then there's his production for The Gorillaz' Demon Days, undoubtedly a modern classic, The Good The Bad and The Queen's debut and for The Black Keys Attack and Release.  He rescued Beck's flagging career with his production of the under-rated but brilliant Modern Guilt.  He also added his weight to a staggering array of other projects.  His touch was not just golden, it almost guaranteed platinum success.  But it does make me wonder when he's had time to sleep in the last half dozen years or so?

St. Elsewhere came across as a breath of fresh air in pretty tired and hackneyed scene.  Like Katalyst, Gnarls Barkley paved their own way, relying on both fresh sounds and updates of old school ideals to bring something altogether new and uniquely their own but somehow also comforting and familiar.  Cee Lo continually hits the mark and astounds with his versatility.  From the gospel-on-steroids of the first track, appropriately called Go-Go Gadget Gospel (don't you just love a good piece of alliteration), the soaring chorus of Crazy, the loyal interpretation of Gone Daddy Gone, the pumping rhythm of Smiley Faces, the authentic modern soul of Online and so on, Danger Mouse pulls out all stops and Cee Lo meets it all head on.

I don't doubt Danger Mouse is going to continue to push himself and those he works with to achieve bigger, better and grander musical masterpieces, but as a standalone work, St. Elsewhere is a shimmering success and a constant delight.  Now, why don't we have The Odd Couple?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

Okay, YourZ has said it all here - hail, hail Danger Mouse.

And I love this album with its high-class bop and classy lyrics.  But it's one of the slow songs that makes it really stand out for me.  I understand why YourZ hasn't name-checked Just A Thought - we've discussed together many times the fact he doesn't really understand depression (YourZ sez: I think I do have an understanding of it - had too many friends suffer it over the years not to have some small understanding) he's never experienced it (lucky bastard).  This song expresses depression perfectly - and the final lines are just exactly how I've felt when I've had my deepest depression and yet have tried to shake it off when around my nearest and dearest.

And so I've tried/ Everything but suicide/ But yes - it's crossed my mind/ But I'm fine

Getting out of that deep "Great Depression" isn't easy, and happens in different ways for different people.  Me, I favour counselling, diet, exercise, avoiding alcohol and drugs.  Others take different routes, and I say - whatever works.

I didn't mean to be all down about Gnarls - this CD has so many great songs on it I'm also wondering why we don't have The Odd Couple.

VERDICT:TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.gnarlsbarkley.com/