Monday morning and a new CD for my journey between Stafford and Birmingham. Today it was the turn of US punk band, Covington and their 2005 CD Devised Without A Plan.
I don’t know anything about this band and couldn’t recall the title so it took 5 minutes of searching to try and find this out. I came by the CD as I had ordered a Punktastic compilation and Paul the guy at Punktastic put this in with the CD. Was it good of him?
Well if Good Riddance and Jawbox are your kind of thing then this would be very good of him as that is where Covington take their lead from. Jawbox I can take or leave but Good Riddance always made me smile. Covington take the shoutier elements of Good Riddances sound and kind of produce their own thing. Its not to say this is original but as 3 piece punk outfits go, it’s better than most.
The downside is that its a speedy 8 tracks long and I could have done with a little more to form a more solid opinion. 8 tracks and I think its pretty good, 10 tracks and it could be excellent or not so good. Either way I think I need to look further into Covington and see if they contributed anything else to this world or if they have long since faded. 6 out of 10.
No video seems to exist for Covington on Youtube so you cant sample them.
Showing posts with label 6's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 6's. Show all posts
Monday, 8 March 2010
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Give em' Enough Rope Review
John Mellor, Michael Jones, Nicholas Headon and Paul Gustave Simonon were todays commute music makers, or The Clash to me and you and their second album, Give Em Enough Rope.
The Clash are the greatest Rock n Roll band on the planet (after Tenacious D) and this their second album confirmed it for most. Universally liked by critics and fans alike it is an album that has stood the test of time. I think its OK, not that great and maybe my 4th favourite Clash album.
You see its got filler on it, and The Clash should not do filler on a single album, there isn’t any filler on double albums so why is there on a single? This filler is fair though and the good tracks are great, but where is the Career opportunities though, or the White Man in Hammersmith? Possibly still Hammersmith’s Palais.
It does have Tommy Gun, it does have Safe European Home and more but somehow these left me unfulfilled, The Clash are one of my very favourite bands, and I guess this isn’t Cut The Crap, thank heavens for that, but it’s just not right. 6 out of 10.
Stay Free by The Clash
The Clash are the greatest Rock n Roll band on the planet (after Tenacious D) and this their second album confirmed it for most. Universally liked by critics and fans alike it is an album that has stood the test of time. I think its OK, not that great and maybe my 4th favourite Clash album.
You see its got filler on it, and The Clash should not do filler on a single album, there isn’t any filler on double albums so why is there on a single? This filler is fair though and the good tracks are great, but where is the Career opportunities though, or the White Man in Hammersmith? Possibly still Hammersmith’s Palais.
It does have Tommy Gun, it does have Safe European Home and more but somehow these left me unfulfilled, The Clash are one of my very favourite bands, and I guess this isn’t Cut The Crap, thank heavens for that, but it’s just not right. 6 out of 10.
Stay Free by The Clash
Monday, 4 January 2010
Recurring Dream, The Best Of Crowded House - Review
Happy New Year. Some jokers on the M6 caused an accident this morning, resulting in gridlock on the minor roads that lead to Birmingham. That’s where you would have found me for 2 hours this morning, listening to Recurring Dream, The Best Of Crowded House. Re-read that last sentence, now re-read it without doing Alan Partridges voice.
When this album was released in around 1996 the resultant TV campaign went along the lines of “you know more Crowded House songs than you think you do”, a valid point, they may have also said, “you fell for the tut that The Beautiful South put out, why not this”
I must confess I didn’t buy this, my dwarfish sidekick, Little Ern, she had a number of Crowded House albums, on tape, but that’s it, unless I am proved wrong over the next few weeks, this compilation is one that was copied for us and you know it aint half bad. I know more Crowded House songs than I thought I did.
It takes you through the singles up to 1996 and on the whole they are very good, some of them suffer from over play, in particular Weather With You, it always seems to be the soundtrack of choice when local news does a weather based montage.
The down points of this album, and I cant explain why it sounds like this to my ears. Years ago when I worked at Butlins during Easter the site would be took over for a religious festival called Spring Harvest, born agains a-worshipping and enjoying the holy spirit. Now the night time at these things were fuelled by Christian rock bands, and the audience used to sway, hands aloft, head cocked to one side awaiting the rapture. When I listen to some Crowded House, they remind me of those Christian rock bands.
I don’t think I need to tell you too much about this album, its Crowded House, its fairly pleasant, on the whole good, during a few songs its actually great, and on Fall At Your Feet they hit perfection, 6 out of 10.
Fall At Your Feet by Crowded House
When this album was released in around 1996 the resultant TV campaign went along the lines of “you know more Crowded House songs than you think you do”, a valid point, they may have also said, “you fell for the tut that The Beautiful South put out, why not this”
I must confess I didn’t buy this, my dwarfish sidekick, Little Ern, she had a number of Crowded House albums, on tape, but that’s it, unless I am proved wrong over the next few weeks, this compilation is one that was copied for us and you know it aint half bad. I know more Crowded House songs than I thought I did.
It takes you through the singles up to 1996 and on the whole they are very good, some of them suffer from over play, in particular Weather With You, it always seems to be the soundtrack of choice when local news does a weather based montage.
The down points of this album, and I cant explain why it sounds like this to my ears. Years ago when I worked at Butlins during Easter the site would be took over for a religious festival called Spring Harvest, born agains a-worshipping and enjoying the holy spirit. Now the night time at these things were fuelled by Christian rock bands, and the audience used to sway, hands aloft, head cocked to one side awaiting the rapture. When I listen to some Crowded House, they remind me of those Christian rock bands.
I don’t think I need to tell you too much about this album, its Crowded House, its fairly pleasant, on the whole good, during a few songs its actually great, and on Fall At Your Feet they hit perfection, 6 out of 10.
Fall At Your Feet by Crowded House
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Cowcube
Cowcube and his selftitled album today.
My its an upbeat album, taking the best bits (see my review) of The Avalanches and melding them with Lemon Jelly to produce something quite great by itself.
I havent played it in years and maybe time has dated the turntablistic leanings and its cut and paste sampling but it doesnt stop it being good.
Cowcube is a single person, and he was championed by Peel rather mightily around 2000, and I think this is when this album dates from. It melds rather cutely samples from stereo demonstration records and public information films, with at times drum and bass beats, or is that drum n bass. I am too old for this I feel. Either way it is clever in all the right places and those samples bring a familiarity to the CD.
Its more than knowing samples though as oddly for a CD of this genre, its got tunes, and that is where it is aligned with a similar artist that do that so well, Lemon Jelly.
All in all a great album, enjoyable actually, not great so 6 out of 10.
Itchy Cut by Cowcube
My its an upbeat album, taking the best bits (see my review) of The Avalanches and melding them with Lemon Jelly to produce something quite great by itself.
I havent played it in years and maybe time has dated the turntablistic leanings and its cut and paste sampling but it doesnt stop it being good.
Cowcube is a single person, and he was championed by Peel rather mightily around 2000, and I think this is when this album dates from. It melds rather cutely samples from stereo demonstration records and public information films, with at times drum and bass beats, or is that drum n bass. I am too old for this I feel. Either way it is clever in all the right places and those samples bring a familiarity to the CD.
Its more than knowing samples though as oddly for a CD of this genre, its got tunes, and that is where it is aligned with a similar artist that do that so well, Lemon Jelly.
All in all a great album, enjoyable actually, not great so 6 out of 10.
Itchy Cut by Cowcube
Monday, 30 November 2009
Standing On A Beach
This weekend bonus commute disc, soundtracking my journey to Villa Park for the ESPN showing late kick off was The Cure's first retrospective, Standing On A Beach.
I genuinely believe The Cure to be amongst the top three singles bands ever to pick up a guitar pick, Ash and The Jam being the other two. The problem with The Cure though is the singles, the good singles, only started really towards the back end of the period this album covers.
Obviously that statement doesnt apply to the sublime, Boys Don't Cry, on any given days one of the most perfect pop songs ever created. Better than Teenage Kicks, better than Video killed the radio star, even better than over the hills with the swords of a thousand men. On it's day.
On this album there is a bit of a wait up to that track and then a bit of a wait till the goods are produced again, Lets go to bed.
This is the start though of something rather special, and it didnt stop there, because as a band, they never got crap after that. For me from Let's Go To Bed to now, The Cure produced/s singles of the highest quality. Restricted to this album we have The Walk, Love Cats, the fantastic In Between Dayas and the equally wonderful Close To Me.
It's a pity about the stuff inbetween, all gothy and brooding and painting pictures. I could smell the patchouli and see the rooms painted black. Cheer up gothy kids, Friday I'm In Love is only 3 albums away! 6 out of 10.
Boys Don't Cry by The Cure
I genuinely believe The Cure to be amongst the top three singles bands ever to pick up a guitar pick, Ash and The Jam being the other two. The problem with The Cure though is the singles, the good singles, only started really towards the back end of the period this album covers.
Obviously that statement doesnt apply to the sublime, Boys Don't Cry, on any given days one of the most perfect pop songs ever created. Better than Teenage Kicks, better than Video killed the radio star, even better than over the hills with the swords of a thousand men. On it's day.
On this album there is a bit of a wait up to that track and then a bit of a wait till the goods are produced again, Lets go to bed.
This is the start though of something rather special, and it didnt stop there, because as a band, they never got crap after that. For me from Let's Go To Bed to now, The Cure produced/s singles of the highest quality. Restricted to this album we have The Walk, Love Cats, the fantastic In Between Dayas and the equally wonderful Close To Me.
It's a pity about the stuff inbetween, all gothy and brooding and painting pictures. I could smell the patchouli and see the rooms painted black. Cheer up gothy kids, Friday I'm In Love is only 3 albums away! 6 out of 10.
Boys Don't Cry by The Cure
Monday, 28 September 2009
Your Favourite Weapon
Your Favourite Weapon was my CD of choice for my commute this morning, the debut album by Long Island’s Brand New.
An album that is massively different to its successor, so much so that possibly one track, Soco Ameretto Lime is the only track that hints at the route they would take on the subsequent albums.
This was my introduction to the band though and Mixtape from this album appeared on a mixtape that I did for my wife, a later mixtape contained the song Jude Law and a Semester Abroad. We were going through a bit of an emo phase at the time.
This album has more in common with the likes of Taking Back Sunday than it has with the namechecking Morrissey that would form the sound of their more recent albums. Taking Back Sunday, particularly early Taking Back Sunday are always a good influence but I don’t know if it works for me on this album. Time hasn’t been that kind to the album and its clear now with hindsight they can do better.
Also on one hand you have clever well thought out lyrics and on the other you do have the track Mixtape which although it is one of my favourite Brand New songs, its so badly written, it kind of makes you flinch. The Promise Ring do an equally bad job on their similarly themed song Make Me A Mixtape. I see a pattern.
However, this is an alright album and its power pop shapes left me wanting more, I didn’t turn it off to listen to Talk Sport so it must be at least OK. 6 out of 10
Mixtape by Brand New
An album that is massively different to its successor, so much so that possibly one track, Soco Ameretto Lime is the only track that hints at the route they would take on the subsequent albums.
This was my introduction to the band though and Mixtape from this album appeared on a mixtape that I did for my wife, a later mixtape contained the song Jude Law and a Semester Abroad. We were going through a bit of an emo phase at the time.
This album has more in common with the likes of Taking Back Sunday than it has with the namechecking Morrissey that would form the sound of their more recent albums. Taking Back Sunday, particularly early Taking Back Sunday are always a good influence but I don’t know if it works for me on this album. Time hasn’t been that kind to the album and its clear now with hindsight they can do better.
Also on one hand you have clever well thought out lyrics and on the other you do have the track Mixtape which although it is one of my favourite Brand New songs, its so badly written, it kind of makes you flinch. The Promise Ring do an equally bad job on their similarly themed song Make Me A Mixtape. I see a pattern.
However, this is an alright album and its power pop shapes left me wanting more, I didn’t turn it off to listen to Talk Sport so it must be at least OK. 6 out of 10
Mixtape by Brand New
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science Disc 2
The previous post has bought a few more people to the blog, its nice to feel that the readership extends to more than just me and Kev, but I suspect even he doesn’t actually read it.
In case the people that read the Saint Etienne post do return, daily I listen to the next CD album in my collection on my commute to work, Stafford to Birmingham, its roughly alphabetical, (the CD collection, not the commute, although the return journey actually is, Birmingham, Coleshill, Lichfield, Rugeley, Stafford. I am waffling now) and then I review it, ordinarily it is out of 10 and I post a Youtube video highlighting anything that is good about it. This is in addition to anything Kev or I might post. Looking down this page you may be assuming that this blog is heavy on the indie, it isn’t really, I just hit a patch of it in the CD’s and I also decided to write about Amelia Fletcher and The Field Mice.
That all said, today’s CD was Disc 2 of a moody copy of The Beastie Boys Anthology, The Sounds of Science. One of the first illegal CD’s I ever made, released in 1999, it has pretty much remained unplayed since then, in all honesty I made it to see if my CD writer worked. Stick that up your arse RIAA!
This CD is best described as diverse, I don’t mean diverse in a Tad/Kool and The Gang/Nana Mouskori mash up, I mean it swings quite violently between pretty good, to fair to absolute shite. I guess they were very particular when naming the compilation, what with trade description and all that, any great hits may only extend to an ep, or a mini album, a double album, perhaps could be seen as taking the piss.
When I was 16 and busy not revising for my exams I was rather keen on The Beastie Boys, they made hip hop for white boys, and that’s what I liked, my hip hop liking never really went beyond them, yeah I could nod appreciatively to an electro compilation and I knew most of the words to Christmas In Hollis by Run DMC, hell I owned the 12 inch of The Show by Doug E Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew, lets just say outside of The Beastie Boys my tastes were less KRS One and more KRS Tarrant. I do however tell people that my 7” of The Fat Boys version of Wipeout was bought purely to pre-empt me being a Beach Boys completist.
So what of this disc then, well the good is represented by the marvellous Sabotage, a nice opener to the album and a track that made me think, this compilation can only produce good things. If that’s representative of the quality, I will be rolling like a baller when I hit Coleshill.
The album picks up on highlights from all areas of their career, not just Ill communication and Licensed to Ill. Check Your Head, Hello Nasty and Paul’s Boutique are also represented. This anthology also dips into the lesser known corners of The Beatie Boys repertoire and that maybe where this all falls apart for me, admittedly Egg Raid On Mojo from Pollywog Stew was good to hear, its an oddity from their very early days, but the previously unreleased Benny and The Jets is absolutely f*cking diabolical, as covers go it’s a dreadful mess that should have remained unreleased. Similarly the Country Mike track, you know when you are 8 and you get hold of a tape recorder and you record yourself jabbering, and play it back and have a giggle at how funny you sound, then you record Jimmy Saville over it? Well The Beastie Boys did the recording and decided to release it.
The good is in equal measure to the bad though and its was a break from more of the same which I have been experiencing over the past few weeks. 6 out of 10.
Egg Raid on Mojo by The Beastie Boys
In case the people that read the Saint Etienne post do return, daily I listen to the next CD album in my collection on my commute to work, Stafford to Birmingham, its roughly alphabetical, (the CD collection, not the commute, although the return journey actually is, Birmingham, Coleshill, Lichfield, Rugeley, Stafford. I am waffling now) and then I review it, ordinarily it is out of 10 and I post a Youtube video highlighting anything that is good about it. This is in addition to anything Kev or I might post. Looking down this page you may be assuming that this blog is heavy on the indie, it isn’t really, I just hit a patch of it in the CD’s and I also decided to write about Amelia Fletcher and The Field Mice.
That all said, today’s CD was Disc 2 of a moody copy of The Beastie Boys Anthology, The Sounds of Science. One of the first illegal CD’s I ever made, released in 1999, it has pretty much remained unplayed since then, in all honesty I made it to see if my CD writer worked. Stick that up your arse RIAA!
This CD is best described as diverse, I don’t mean diverse in a Tad/Kool and The Gang/Nana Mouskori mash up, I mean it swings quite violently between pretty good, to fair to absolute shite. I guess they were very particular when naming the compilation, what with trade description and all that, any great hits may only extend to an ep, or a mini album, a double album, perhaps could be seen as taking the piss.
When I was 16 and busy not revising for my exams I was rather keen on The Beastie Boys, they made hip hop for white boys, and that’s what I liked, my hip hop liking never really went beyond them, yeah I could nod appreciatively to an electro compilation and I knew most of the words to Christmas In Hollis by Run DMC, hell I owned the 12 inch of The Show by Doug E Fresh and The Get Fresh Crew, lets just say outside of The Beastie Boys my tastes were less KRS One and more KRS Tarrant. I do however tell people that my 7” of The Fat Boys version of Wipeout was bought purely to pre-empt me being a Beach Boys completist.
So what of this disc then, well the good is represented by the marvellous Sabotage, a nice opener to the album and a track that made me think, this compilation can only produce good things. If that’s representative of the quality, I will be rolling like a baller when I hit Coleshill.
The album picks up on highlights from all areas of their career, not just Ill communication and Licensed to Ill. Check Your Head, Hello Nasty and Paul’s Boutique are also represented. This anthology also dips into the lesser known corners of The Beatie Boys repertoire and that maybe where this all falls apart for me, admittedly Egg Raid On Mojo from Pollywog Stew was good to hear, its an oddity from their very early days, but the previously unreleased Benny and The Jets is absolutely f*cking diabolical, as covers go it’s a dreadful mess that should have remained unreleased. Similarly the Country Mike track, you know when you are 8 and you get hold of a tape recorder and you record yourself jabbering, and play it back and have a giggle at how funny you sound, then you record Jimmy Saville over it? Well The Beastie Boys did the recording and decided to release it.
The good is in equal measure to the bad though and its was a break from more of the same which I have been experiencing over the past few weeks. 6 out of 10.
Egg Raid on Mojo by The Beastie Boys
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Marc Bolans Greatest Hits
A self made CD of Marc Boland and T-Rex’s greatest hits. Nothing much to say about this really, 70’s pop, which is good, bad lyrics that were completely of their time, bearing on the preposterous, affected vocals, but altogether enjoyable. I guess its somewhere between 6 out of 10 and 10 out of 10.
When I was a young slip of a lad, long after Bolans death and career friends of mine bought a TV advertised greatest hits of Bolan, I didn’t really know much, or care much for his work and so carried on listening to Animal Boy by The Ramones, I had less in common with what The Ramones were saying on that album than what Bolan was saying, but it served its purpose. One track that was played to me that I enjoyed though was Dreamy Lady, a lovely lolloping tune that today gets play on my ipod, however for some reason I chose not to put it on this CD.
Forward on 18 years or so and I start to enjoy Marc Bolan, possibly as a result of seeing the film Billy Elliot, I am high brow aren’t I, and I think that is why I compiled this CD. Billy Elliot.
On the whole its good though, Ride A White Swan, Deborah, others…..oh Jeepster, yes I recall that. Its not really fulfilling though, yes it’s a break from the cycle of Blink 182, Belle and Sebastian and Billy Bragg but its not something that makes me want to wind down the window, turn it up loudly and catch the attention of a Volvo driver and mouth “listen to this shit”, not that I would anyway. 6 out of 10
Ride A White Swan by Marc Bolan
When I was a young slip of a lad, long after Bolans death and career friends of mine bought a TV advertised greatest hits of Bolan, I didn’t really know much, or care much for his work and so carried on listening to Animal Boy by The Ramones, I had less in common with what The Ramones were saying on that album than what Bolan was saying, but it served its purpose. One track that was played to me that I enjoyed though was Dreamy Lady, a lovely lolloping tune that today gets play on my ipod, however for some reason I chose not to put it on this CD.
Forward on 18 years or so and I start to enjoy Marc Bolan, possibly as a result of seeing the film Billy Elliot, I am high brow aren’t I, and I think that is why I compiled this CD. Billy Elliot.
On the whole its good though, Ride A White Swan, Deborah, others…..oh Jeepster, yes I recall that. Its not really fulfilling though, yes it’s a break from the cycle of Blink 182, Belle and Sebastian and Billy Bragg but its not something that makes me want to wind down the window, turn it up loudly and catch the attention of a Volvo driver and mouth “listen to this shit”, not that I would anyway. 6 out of 10
Ride A White Swan by Marc Bolan
Monday, 10 August 2009
Wake Up
Wake Up its a beautiful morning, the commercial radio DJ’s dream song, and one of the songs on todays commute CD, Wake Up by The Boo Radleys. 1995 if memory serves me and an album owned by my short wife and sent to me on tape when I working at Butlins, I played it a lot that year.
The Boo Radleys, or to quote Simon Bates, that’s Bob Randley. He was a bit of an idiot that Simon Bates.
Any hoo, Wake Up is perhaps the bands most accessible work and it does have flashes of genius, although their interludes do get samey at times and they have a lot of interludes. Interludes aside, this album has some extremely fine tracks on it, Wilder in particular, It’s Lulu, Wake up Boo, Find The Answer Within, and a few more besides.
The thing with The Boo Radleys, and many bands in a similar position, they don’t like to keep to a formula and so the follow up was such a disappointment.
I think it was all downhill after this, squeezing out two more albums and then splitting up, Martin Carr the main songwriter went on to be Wichita records signing Brave Captain, Bassist Tim Brown is now a teacher, Steve the former drummer had a stint in Placebo, Rob Cieka is in a band with Bez and Sice, the baldie headed lead singer is now the baldie headed lead singer of the band Paperlung. You now know all there is to know about Boo Radleys.
The album though, its a good album and if this was 1995 it would be a great album, but as the world in 2009 isnt as forgiving as 1995, 6 out of 10.
Wilder by The Boo Radleys
The Boo Radleys, or to quote Simon Bates, that’s Bob Randley. He was a bit of an idiot that Simon Bates.
Any hoo, Wake Up is perhaps the bands most accessible work and it does have flashes of genius, although their interludes do get samey at times and they have a lot of interludes. Interludes aside, this album has some extremely fine tracks on it, Wilder in particular, It’s Lulu, Wake up Boo, Find The Answer Within, and a few more besides.
The thing with The Boo Radleys, and many bands in a similar position, they don’t like to keep to a formula and so the follow up was such a disappointment.
I think it was all downhill after this, squeezing out two more albums and then splitting up, Martin Carr the main songwriter went on to be Wichita records signing Brave Captain, Bassist Tim Brown is now a teacher, Steve the former drummer had a stint in Placebo, Rob Cieka is in a band with Bez and Sice, the baldie headed lead singer is now the baldie headed lead singer of the band Paperlung. You now know all there is to know about Boo Radleys.
The album though, its a good album and if this was 1995 it would be a great album, but as the world in 2009 isnt as forgiving as 1995, 6 out of 10.
Wilder by The Boo Radleys
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Have You Fed The Fish
Almost fittingly, as he is from the north, today I returned to Badly Drawn Boy and his 2002 album Have You Fed The Fish. Goughs third album and I think the last one that I bought, I may be wrong on that as although I have this on my ipod, I don’t recall buying it.
As I have said before I am a fan of BDB, I consider him to be a great songwriter, not good, great. Musically sometimes he faffs about, he doesn’t on this album, well not as much as on About A Boy, this in comparison is faff free.
It does contain one of if not my favourite BDB song in You Were Right and if the list I had done a few months ago extended to 100, that song would have featured.
However, even without the faff, this album is not nearly as good as his previous efforts and I find it difficult to listen to All Possibilities without thinking of Scots groupie, Edith Bowman telling me about the fantastic range of fridges on offer in my local branch of a leading electrical retailer.
This album features the drumming talents of Joey Waronker, you don’t know the name but you know his chops, trust me you do. This album also feature some musicians that enabled Blunt album see the light of day, fucking enablers.
Its rather telling that this album soundtracked a steady 70mph when I tend to be nearer 90 when NOFX are playing so for safety and law abiding purposes Badly Drawn Boy is the tops, well until I play my wifes Natalie Imbruglia, but then that might be responsible for a different crime. 6 out of 10.
You Were Right by Badly Drawn Boy
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Parklife
Parklife today, yet more textbook Blur, extremely popular album and one that has been the soundtrack to my shape throwing on too many occasions to mention, just add alcohol and “bank holiday” and I truly believed that Strictly Come Dancings loss was Wolverhamptons gain. Wolverhampton said “cheers mate but we are good for 30 something shape throwing tubbsters” bastard Wolverhampton.
As mentioned earlier in the week, its dated, its Blur by numbers and regardless of what you think I think the likes of Girls and Boys and Parklife are a million miles off their best work. They are a million miles off the best on this album.
This isn’t a particularly bad album, there are tracks on the album that I like, but that surely doesn’t make it a great album. It may be the best of the Britpop era….released in 1994….thats the third album…..by a band fronted by Damon Albarn. With hindsight though, its merely an average album.
Whats does make this good though are the green shoots of quality songwriting showing through with To The End, the album version is sans Francois Hardy, but avec Laetitia Sadier de le Stereolab. The Hardy version with all of its rum French vocals really does top the album version.
This is a low is another high point on the album, taking its lead from the shipping forecast, and running with it. End of the century and Bad head again are stand out tracks, that make this album ok, to pretty good, nothing more. 6 out of 10.
To The End by Blur
As mentioned earlier in the week, its dated, its Blur by numbers and regardless of what you think I think the likes of Girls and Boys and Parklife are a million miles off their best work. They are a million miles off the best on this album.
This isn’t a particularly bad album, there are tracks on the album that I like, but that surely doesn’t make it a great album. It may be the best of the Britpop era….released in 1994….thats the third album…..by a band fronted by Damon Albarn. With hindsight though, its merely an average album.
Whats does make this good though are the green shoots of quality songwriting showing through with To The End, the album version is sans Francois Hardy, but avec Laetitia Sadier de le Stereolab. The Hardy version with all of its rum French vocals really does top the album version.
This is a low is another high point on the album, taking its lead from the shipping forecast, and running with it. End of the century and Bad head again are stand out tracks, that make this album ok, to pretty good, nothing more. 6 out of 10.
To The End by Blur
Monday, 27 July 2009
Post
If the only music that existed in this world was Bjork, then todays commute CD would be king. It would be played constantly and celebrated as the pinnacle of recorded sound, out of Bjork it would be 10 out of Bjork……but it isn’t the only music that exists in this world, life, thankfully, isn’t that cruel.
That paragraph does however give you an indication of what I think of this CD when compared to Bjorks other releases, it is the best, well, it isn’t the best, but it is better than anticipated. Selma Songs is better, but we aren’t playing Selma Songs, we are playing Post.
Lets discount It’s Oh So Quiet from this album, it’s a big hit that everyone knows and forever tainted by Janice Battersby stomping all over Celebrity Stars In Your Eyes, trying, vainly to recreate the violent diminutive Icelander. 10 out of 10 to Janice for trying but unfortunately you have destroyed any credibility that song may have had.
The remainder of the album, its not bad, which shocked me, its better than other B’s and it surprised me in places. Sure Bjork did her trick of getting a song, making it sound like an intro and stringing it out for 4 minutes, she likes songs that sound like intros. Alas the intro to Katrina and The Waves, Walking on Sunshine isn’t represented, its purely intros to Bjork songs.
I think what Bjork needs is someone, Quincy Jones, or Phil Spector to produce her and not take any of that avante garde rubbish, sing proper you puffin eating nutter. As it goes though 6 out of 10.
Hyperballad by Bjork
That paragraph does however give you an indication of what I think of this CD when compared to Bjorks other releases, it is the best, well, it isn’t the best, but it is better than anticipated. Selma Songs is better, but we aren’t playing Selma Songs, we are playing Post.
Lets discount It’s Oh So Quiet from this album, it’s a big hit that everyone knows and forever tainted by Janice Battersby stomping all over Celebrity Stars In Your Eyes, trying, vainly to recreate the violent diminutive Icelander. 10 out of 10 to Janice for trying but unfortunately you have destroyed any credibility that song may have had.
The remainder of the album, its not bad, which shocked me, its better than other B’s and it surprised me in places. Sure Bjork did her trick of getting a song, making it sound like an intro and stringing it out for 4 minutes, she likes songs that sound like intros. Alas the intro to Katrina and The Waves, Walking on Sunshine isn’t represented, its purely intros to Bjork songs.
I think what Bjork needs is someone, Quincy Jones, or Phil Spector to produce her and not take any of that avante garde rubbish, sing proper you puffin eating nutter. As it goes though 6 out of 10.
Hyperballad by Bjork
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Pod
The Breeders debut album, Pod was my soundtrack to drive to today. Released in 1990 and produced by Steve Albini this copy is my wifes, as pretty much all of The Breeders stuff we own.
I have to say although I love the Breeders this is my least favourite of their works. Its not a particularly easy listen like its successor, but it is typical of the music my wife likes.
It has a few highs, a cover of Happiness Is a Warm Gun, Fortunately Gone and Iris and live all of the tracks work for me. On this album though it doesn’t really get me tapping my foot from start to finish.
The personnel on this album includes sometime Throwing Muse Tanya Donnelly, Jo Wiggs from The Perfect Disaster and Britt Walford of Slint. Of course Kim Deal is as ever present but no Kelley on this release, and maybe that is what taints my view. The Breeders are the Deal sisters and without one it doesn’t work for me. 6 out of 10.
Fortunately Gone by The Breeders
I have to say although I love the Breeders this is my least favourite of their works. Its not a particularly easy listen like its successor, but it is typical of the music my wife likes.
It has a few highs, a cover of Happiness Is a Warm Gun, Fortunately Gone and Iris and live all of the tracks work for me. On this album though it doesn’t really get me tapping my foot from start to finish.
The personnel on this album includes sometime Throwing Muse Tanya Donnelly, Jo Wiggs from The Perfect Disaster and Britt Walford of Slint. Of course Kim Deal is as ever present but no Kelley on this release, and maybe that is what taints my view. The Breeders are the Deal sisters and without one it doesn’t work for me. 6 out of 10.
Fortunately Gone by The Breeders
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Billy Talent II
I have had an extended break after the Bank Holiday so it is only today that my commute has recommenced. The thing with the mixing of the CD collections with my wife is that where we have very different tastes it can be a journey that I don’t particularly look forward to, some times it produces gold though in the Frank Black CD, todays CD is Billy Talent’s second album, Billy Talent II (their first album was Billy Talent, and their soon to be released third album is Billy Talent III). My wife adores Billy Talent, they are easily in her top 5 all time bands if not her number 1. For me they are just that noisy band that she used to play loud in her car when she picked me up.
They have this uncanny knack for planning live dates when we are on holiday, this year we are in Greece when they play the UK, last year we were and the year before that, so we ended up trekking down to Cardiff to see them the day before we were due to fly, it was a long day.
Anyway, the album, I always though of Billy Talent as rather 1 dimensional, I understand that description to the uninitiated could be applied to NOFX or Pixies, to the uninitiated. Billy Talent appear to have that 20 something angst, and quite humourless, this was confirmed on this album, on their debut the singer seemed rather bitter, and it still seems to be the case. However this album wasn’t anywhere as near as bad as I was expecting and it was a pleasant soundtrack all in all, its not something that I want to go back to but the songs were OK, as modern punk goes, its good, enjoyable, but not revisitable. 6 out of 10
Red Flag by Billy Talent
They have this uncanny knack for planning live dates when we are on holiday, this year we are in Greece when they play the UK, last year we were and the year before that, so we ended up trekking down to Cardiff to see them the day before we were due to fly, it was a long day.
Anyway, the album, I always though of Billy Talent as rather 1 dimensional, I understand that description to the uninitiated could be applied to NOFX or Pixies, to the uninitiated. Billy Talent appear to have that 20 something angst, and quite humourless, this was confirmed on this album, on their debut the singer seemed rather bitter, and it still seems to be the case. However this album wasn’t anywhere as near as bad as I was expecting and it was a pleasant soundtrack all in all, its not something that I want to go back to but the songs were OK, as modern punk goes, its good, enjoyable, but not revisitable. 6 out of 10
Red Flag by Billy Talent
Friday, 1 May 2009
Infinity Land
The second of my Biffy Clyro albums this morning, Infinity Land, their final album for Beggers Banquet and in my opinion the weakest of the three that they recorded for the label. It is still a fair album but in my opinion it doesn’t have the stand out tracks that graced Vertigo of Bliss or Blackened Sky.
On this album they seem to have been influenced by their contemporaries as opposed to influencing and that really disappoints, Biffy for me were always innovators and they took the path least trodden, similar I guess to Idlewild’s earlier material or at times the band that rose from the ashes of Symposium, Hell Is For Heroes, but on this album it seems like a glut of ideas has been thrown in and a keanness to please Kerrang readers was the priority.
As I left the album I had been listening to around 10 minutes of silence, after all that’s really what I want to do to get to the secret track, the cursed irritating secret track, so for the songs 6 out of 10, for the lengthy silence between the final song and the secret track, -10 out of 10.
There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake by Biffy Clyro
On this album they seem to have been influenced by their contemporaries as opposed to influencing and that really disappoints, Biffy for me were always innovators and they took the path least trodden, similar I guess to Idlewild’s earlier material or at times the band that rose from the ashes of Symposium, Hell Is For Heroes, but on this album it seems like a glut of ideas has been thrown in and a keanness to please Kerrang readers was the priority.
As I left the album I had been listening to around 10 minutes of silence, after all that’s really what I want to do to get to the secret track, the cursed irritating secret track, so for the songs 6 out of 10, for the lengthy silence between the final song and the secret track, -10 out of 10.
There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake by Biffy Clyro
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Alone With Everybody
I was on my way to work this morning, just past Rugeley and it appeared that hell froze over, I know, its weird, and there was snowballs, and above me, a pig flying, and finally I found out that our king was none other than Pease Pudding and his reign was in full swing.
That all said, todays commute CD was one that I was given by my brother in law and up to this point had never been played, it was likely to remain that way into the far future, and it has to be said I was dithering as to if I should break my rules and skip it. I didn’t and so todays CD was Alone With Everybody by Richard Ashcroft. I must stress now I am not a fan of The Verve, not their early, mid, late or reformation stuff, they are the antithesis of what I look for in music and I make no apologies that if you like them, you have given up on music, seriously, you probably like Weller as well and find Oasis the ultimate band, in that case really we have little in common and you should de-friend me rather sharpish.
Thursday, 26 March 2009
Anywhere But Here
This mornings ridiculously early soundtrack to my new route I may add, was Anywhere but here by The Ataris. Another chunk of pop punk and the weakest of their early to mid career albums in my opinion. Kris Roe is too heavily influenced by Green Day and to a lesser extent NOFX on this album. Not to way it isn’t quite wonderful but it does get a little repetitive after 20 tracks. I have to say it was good though and one that I recall I only played once or twice, its no So long Astoria but of the genre it’s a definite 6 out of 10.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Sad To See It's Morning
Spinning on the Donohoe in car CD player was the second offering so far from Ant, a compilation called Sad to See it’s Morning. Its an album of B-sides, demos and rarities, and to be honest it is perhaps the Ant album I have played the least, not as a reflection of its quality but maybe because it was a compilation. That’s neither here not there though as the whole point of me going through my CD’s in this fashion was to address the fact that I maybe haven’t listened to some albums as much as I should have, this album is a perfect example. Its not all great, it is all good though and there are few tracks that just blew me away, as the CD case is in the car and I am not very good with titles you will never know which ones, if you do own the album, and you should, it’s the one with the female vocal on it, track 2, Suzanne Rhatigan at a guess, that track in particular was just lovely. Of course it shouldn’t have been Ant today, it should have been The Ataris, but my CD player would not play that album so I pulled over and dashed back in the house for a different album. So, Sad to see its Morning, enjoyable, 6 out of 10.
Friday, 13 March 2009
Good Mourning
This mornings soundtrack to drive into work in the trek through my loosely alphabeticised CD’s was Good Mourning by The Alkaline Trio, a fairly enjoyable pop punk offering from a band that are likely to crop up a lot over the next week or two as I have a few albums by them. I do quite like the band a few years ago I really liked them but what struck me about this album and I think it is their thing, but what struck me was the cartoon fascination with murder and horror, other bands do it, notably in our house The Horrorpops and The Cramps, but it seems relistening to The Alkaline Trio, it becomes their schtick and formulaic. All in all a good album though and nice to relisten. 6 out of 10.
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