Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See

MINE

I was really pleased the other morning that it was raining while I made my way to work, listening to Mazzy Star.  Not because I like the rain - dammit this is supposed to be summer - but because it reminded me of when I like to listen to music like this.  Which is curled up on the sofa with a good book, the rain coming down outside and me snug and warm inside.

It also made me think about my niece, who's recently left home, and is the first of the young 'uns to leave the nest.  She's all about the horses and a lot of her musical tastes run to the country.  So I thought to myself, YourZ and I ought to get together an alt-country playlist for her.  There's a bunch of stuff we've reviewed this year that fits nicely into that genre, including this band, Cowboy Junkies, Love Me, M Ward, Nations By the River... we could have fun!

Anyway, there's a bunch of things Hope Sandoval's voice got me thinking about - and that's another reason I love Mazzy Star.  It lets your mind wander in the best of ways.  Love it.

VERDICT:TURN IT UP

YOURZ

I don't think I ever noticed how much parts of this CD remind me of The Doors.  In a good way, too.  This album, while best known for the hit single, Fade Into You, has a creeping, bluesy quality in parts where vocalist Hope Sandoval sounds like a female reincarnation of the Lizard King himself.  But then she does this whole whisper singing thing as well and sounds more like a country chanteuse, full of bitter passion.

It also sounds positively art cinema, so much so I'm waiting for someone like Jim Jarmusch to make a film using this as the soundtrack.  There's the dirty, almost falling apart blues of Wasted, the languid groove of She's My Baby, a folky, violin-fuelled spareness called Into Dust and, of course, the wasted elegance of Fade..., with that irresistible, velvet slide guitar line.  It is a thing of beauty.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information go to http://www.myspace.com/mazzystar68 

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/