Run-DMC - Raising Hell

YOURZ

Of all the hip hop albums I own, Raising Hell is probably my favourite of them all.  For me, it's as close to perfection as you could hope to get.  Even if you don't like hip hop, listening to this will elevate you.  Its simplicity, its massive rhythms and sharp, shaped MCing, coupled with the biggest crossover hit of its genre in 'Walk This Way' (and doing Aerosmith a huge favour at the same time), guarantee its iconic status.

Having done The Ramones yesterday and following up with this is is a task of sweet, musical pleasure.  Similarly driven and similarly maverick, both bands stood on the edge of their prospective peer groups but ended up showing 'em all what it's really about. Like The Ramones, Run-DMC not only defined the sound but the look and lifestyle as well. 

As much as I liked 'Walk This Way' when I first heard it, this is merely the sugary icing on a very tasty cake. It is tracks like 'It's Tricky', 'Raising Hell' and 'You Be Illin', heavily relying on samples cut with huge beats, that are the real stars of this set.  You can blame these songs for every crap MC trying to rhyme over rock riffs.  The difference is Run-DMC do it right every time.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

MINE

It's fun and all, and I do like that this is hip hop done smart.  But just like the Beastie Boys, I prefer their songs dropped into a DJ set. You see, I just can't listen to someone shouting at me, song after song after song.  It literally gives me a headache.

It doesn't help that the hip hop album that's just a short jump away alphabetically is my favourite (and hopefully we'll review this later) Neneh Cherry's Raw Like Sushi.  It's so easy just to take that jump... and the shouting stops.  It's so lovely when it stops!

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

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

The Ramones - Anthology

MINE

From the first "Hey! Ho! Let's Go!" to the last fading away of that raw guitar sound, this anthology just leaps out of the stereo into my ears and keeps me humming snatches all day.  Which can be a bit dodgy when you're singing I Wanna Be Sedated under your breath in the break room at work.

I can say I've seen the Ramones, during a trip to Adelaide when the Formula One Grand Prix was still held there (1989) and we hadn't planned it at all.  We heard extra tickets were going on sale at the venue, and queued up for hours in what I recall was absolutely boiling-hot weather in a car park with no shade.  But it was worth it.

The boys delivered a blistering set, at such volume I recall I actually moved to the back of the venue fearing I'd suffer permanent hearing loss.  This from a girl about to sit trackside at a Formula One meet for four days.  What was I thinking?  I scored one of my most treasured merchandise purchases therre - my Ramones shorts, which were admired by many over the next several years.  Unfortunately these went missing in our last move (sulk).  (YourZ sez: I'm still convinced they're in a suitcase under the bed)

Re-listening to the tunes, what surprises me is that they're a lot slower than I was expecting.  Is this because they were faster played live, or because my memory of the recordings is faulty?  (YourZ sez: I'd love to say it's your memory, honey, but I know it's because they played everything way faster live)  (We only recently added this CD to our collection, thanks Col!)  Whatever, it's a great way to start or end your day, or for any time in between.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP fun, fun... oh baby

YOURZ

This collection came to us by way of my Dad.  We were at our favourite mega-store, checking out cheap music and looking at new laptops with my folks.  I'd wandered off to look for something and Dad followed.  I was poring over the CD racks (heh, heh, he said 'rack') and Dad was standing in the aisle, ogling at the sheer number of CDs.  I was wearing my much-loved but falling-to-bits Ramones tshirt and he pointed out this collection and asked if I had it.  When I said no, he offered to buy it as a gift for Mine and YourZ truly.  He wouldn't take no for an answer, thankfully.

To top it off, when we got home later, both he and my Mum wanted to hear it.  I wasn't sure about this but not only did they stay and listen all the way through the first disc, but they both said they actually liked it because it reminded them a lot of the 'old rock and roll' tunes they loved when they were young.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.  (Scary, ain't it?) 

The only other anecdote I have about them is the one where a friend overheard a young woman talking to her friend about his tshirt.  He had to correct her after she pronounced the name as The Ram Ones.  This still makes me giggle.

Anyway, I feel like I'm gonna make a big hypocrite out of myself, particularly after the way I carried on about the Pink Floyd compilation yesterday but I'm gonna plead ignorance and damn the consequences.  (Mine says: Blame youth and inexperience tempered with long and faithful service)  This is, hands down, the best fucking collection we have.  The booklet and rare photos that accompany it are superb and the track listing includes material from their entire career.  There are no exceptions or fillers on this - every track is a killer. 

Thanks Dad, you old punk-rocker, you!

VERDICT: TURN IT UP gabba, gabba, hey!

For more information: http://www.last.fm/music/Ramones

In our collection we also have We're Outta Here

Pink Floyd - Echoes

YOURZ 

When we first started this project, I wanted to exclude best of CDs.  Mine argued against it mainly because I couldn't, at the time, come up with a satisfactory reason.  She is a girl who likes to know why, dammit all. (Mine says: I wonder why that is? hee hee)

Well, this CD is the best of reasons.  While the individual tracks are outstanding, their context is completely lost.  And Pink Floyd, for all they're known as, are big on context. Floyd releases weren't just a date, they were an event.  Conceptually one of the most ambitious and successful bands in the world, they continue to delight and inspire generations of fans, like very few others bands can do.

But if I've got to do this review, I'm going to have to talk about my favourite Floyd album.  For most, it's a generational thing.  If you're older, like me, it's Dark Side Of The Moon and if you're younger, not like me, it's The Wall.  But not to be difficult, my favourite is neither of these (although both these albums are in my favourites of all time list).  Mine is Wish You Were Here.

I remember buying the album and playing it non-stop, only pausing to turn it over.  I was living by myself in a single room (at the time I was in the defence services - the less said about that the better).  This music took me to places I'd never been before even though I was straight, sober and very, very green.  I loved this album so much.  I still have that copy even though we don't have a record player.  I will never part with it.

As far as Echoes goes, I will take my lead from Mine.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT and buy the box set

MINE

When the pointy stick landed on this YourZ was a bit surprised to find it in my collection - and I explained it was a radio-industry freebie.  I've mostly ignored this CD because the mere concept of listening to a bunch of Floyd songs NOT in the order they were originally presented - i.e. not on the original albums - seems to me somewhat distasteful.  An opinion I know is shared by the band, whose efforts to stop the single-sale of songs via download has been taking up lots of time in various courts.  I think they won - but who knows?

Anyway, it's kind of strange to listen to Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 when it's not followed by Mother, or to not hear the chinks and chimes of Money following The Great Gig In The Sky.  But what listening to this album made me realise is that I absolutely frakkin' LOVE Pink Floyd.  Me.  The person who turns her nose up at anything remotely prog-rocky in today's music.

Floyd were a large part of my teen years and in fact formed an integral part of my introduction to.... you guessed it... marijuana.  I had a group of friends (Hi Kathy, Joy, Bernie and Cheryl!) and we used to have one afternoon off school each week for sport.  Like we ever raised a sweat.  Anyway our sport consisted of sitting at somebody's house passing the bong, and very often listening to Dark Side Of The Moon.  When we weren't listening to Black Sabbath or Kiss.  Positively stereotypical for the late 70s, don't you think?

But my best Floyd memory is of The Wall and listening to it in the home of a friend (male, not my boyfriend) soon after it was released - late '79.  He put it on the turntable and we lay on his sofa and listened to it.  I think the only thing he said was "Other side?" when side one ended, and all I said was "Yes, please."  I remember walking home afterwards, with the songs reverberating through my head.  So my vote for Echoes shouldn't come as a surprise.

PS I never knew it until we saw a documentary show on the band but Dave Gilmour was a real SORT, wasn't he?  He's aged well, too...

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT and buy the box set

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

Nouvelle Vague - Nouvelle Vague

MINE

Did you come back to see what I was talking about yesterday?  So, here we are with another album of covers - this time turning the originals into more French-chillout-ambient-lounge music.  What I instantly thought of as "music for cocktail parties", and which Amazon classifies as bossa nova/easy listening.  It makes me want to grab a martini and stand in a corner, slitting my eyes against cigarette smoke and feigning interest in this gorgeous-but-boring guy's conversation with my feet killing me in super-high heels... actually that doesn't sound very appealing, does it?

For me the outstanding hit of this album is their version of The Dead Kennedys' Too Drunk To Fuck.  It's a killer.  And I love how The Cure's A Forest sounds in bossa nova style.  But it's not something I'm enthused about.  Funny, we were just reflecting that the booze cabinet's getting kind of full - maybe we need to throw a cocktail party and use this as the soundtrack.  How about it, YourZ?

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

Yesterday, I panned Mike Flowers Pops for their godawful covers album but today, to use a music analogy, my tune has definitely changed.

Nouvelle Vague bring a Gauloise-hazed, staggeringly chilled vibe to their selection of 80s punk and new wave hits, some of which happen to be some of my all-time favourite songs.  Mine has mentioned both The Dead Kennedys and The Cure but failed to mention their absolutely stunning cover of The Clash's Guns Of Brixton or the suprisingly cool version of the Joy Divison classic, Love Will Tear Us Apart.  XTC's Making Plans For Nigel, P.I.L's This Is Not A Love Song and Friday Night, Saturday Morning, originally by The Specials, are also well served by this French duo.

I think the reason I enjoy this so much is because despite the chance of this album being completely fromage-y (it's not), there's an obvious reverence Nouvelle Vague have for their source material and the sense of musical respect they have for the bands who did these much-loved songs.

And Mine, yes, I think it is time we emptied the liquor cabinet, but I insist on two things: no Cha Cha music and as little cheesiness as possible.  Can you dig it, chicky-babe?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

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

In our collection we also have Bande A Part

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/

March - Wrapup

YOURZ

I can't believe we've got this far without a major disagreement occurring between Mine and YourZ (truly). Oh there have been plenty of heated discussions but this is to be expected.  You can't put two spirited, opinionated and intelligent people together on a project like this and not expect some heated debate. Add to the mix we're married and it really is a surprise we haven't resorted to base urges and tried to strangle each other in our sleep.

I think we've mentioned in previous wrapups how much we're enjoying this.  To reiterate, it has invigorated our collective love of music, has us actively talking about and seeking out new artists and opened our eyes to just how fucking awesome our collection is (even if I do say so myself).

This month, I was stoked to be able to review a few of my all time favourite bands (Led Zeppelin, Queens Of The Stoneage and Gomez) as well as one of my new favourite bands (Clutch) who I also got to see perform a blistering live set.  They kicked serious arse!

We also had the chance, as Mine mentions below, to see Rockwiz, where we stood out by being loud, boisterous know alls.  We spent half the night laughing and the other half rocking out.  We would gladly do it all again tomorrow and the day after too.

Our giveaway, after much deliberation, is to one of our regular(ish) respondents but also the author of some of the funniest, most astute music writing we've read.  We're going to send one of our favourite CDs, The Sleepy Jackson's Lover (review here) to Seano from Circle Of Fits (see this blog here), because we think he'd enjoy it as much as we do.  Seano, if you read this, send us an email with your address and we'll send you some padded baggy goodness.

Finally, another word about our Freebies.  This is the list in our sidebar of CDs we are GIVING AWAY. We're not asking for anything of you other than an email stating what you'd like, why you'd like it and an address where we can send it.  You don't even have to worry about postage.  If there is nothing on the list that interests you, tell your friends to check it out.  Our only motivation is we'd rather see these CDs go to a good home than become landfill.  Let me say it again - FREE CDS!

MINE

We're a quarter of the way through this journey and I'm still getting a thrill from all the music I'm listening to and talking about.  Plus each time we get the pointy stick and the blindfold out (that's how we pick the CDs to review, dear reader) we always have another conversation - about how close we came to almost picking more favourite albums.

And this month we both established ourselves as true music nerds, by going to see RocKwiz being filmed at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney.  Neither of us had the opportunity to  show our mean music skillz, but we sure had fun yelling out the answers and waving our hands in the air.

So at the three-month-mark, I guess I'm just getting more and more enthused about the wide range of music we enjoy.  Onward!

Free CDs - March throwouts

Free to a good home this month:

Gyroscope - Breed Obsession
Audioslave - Audioslave

Still going begging from previous months:

George Michael - Ladies & Gentlemen The Best Of George Michael
Roots Manuva - Awfully Deep, Run Come Save Me and Slime and Reason
Petula Clark - Greatest Hits
Queen - Greatest Hits II, Greatest Hits III, Made in Heaven (we're keeping the others)
Snow Patrol - Final Straw
Come - Near Life Experience, Eleven : Eleven and Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Ben Harper - The Will To Live and Diamonds On the Inside
Lightning Seeds - Sense
Sugar Ray - Floored

For anyone who wants a CD - you don't even have to worry about postage. Just send us an email with your details and a little bit about why you want said disc and we'll forward it to you as soon as we can.  With stamps and everything!