This is still one of most amazing, alluring and simply surreal records to emerge from punk rock — or simply rock. It’s a total one-off, and it hasn’t dated a bit. Where the hell did it come from? You can trace the lineage of the Clash or the Pistols back to their roots; Poly Styrene simply seems to have emerged completely formed, as if what she took from punk wasn’t a formula but a license to truly be herself. She is a wonderful lyricist, both critiquing and celebrating modern consumerism; for Poly, there’s something both fascinatingly alluring and horrifying in the plastic throwaway society. Really, the closest you’ll come to this record are J.G. Ballard’s 1970s novels such as Crash and The Unlimited Dream Company. The title track — about an obsessive-compulsive (as a result of rape?) — is one of the most haunting love songs you’ll ever hear. All this plus Styrene’s banshee wail and Rudi’s wild sax. So wonderfully alien — next to it, Bjork’s eccentricities looks like a tryhard wannabe. No wonder the band split after this; what was there left to say? –Brad
Album Reviews
Humble Pie “Rock On” (1971)
“Rock On” is Classic Rock with a Capitol C! It’s also The Pie’s very best record (in my Humble opinion). On this album a soulful Steve Marriott (of Small Faces) and guitar God Peter Frampton seamlessly blend all that was good about the seventies into one big sweaty orgy: hard rock, blues, country, gospel and R&B, all rolled up in glitter. Fans of Exile-era Stones, The Faces and Led Zeppelin will find something to love here. Throw this one on and watch the smiles on people’s faces as they groove to “Shine On,” “Sour Grain” and “Stone Cold Fever,” just three of many great tracks here. Criminally forgotten; shine some light back on “Rock On!” –David
Jethro Tull “Songs From the Wood” (1977)
I love it! It’s a glorious celebration of folk traditions and lore. These are presented for our consumption on a richly musical platter. It opens shakily with the title track which starts off vocal-only. That part doesn’t work for me, but as soon as the music kicks in, I’m grabbed. As a song it certainly sets the scene and the tone for the album. “Jack-in-the-Green” is a vaguely amusing song about nature’s relationship with the seasons and the changing planet. “Cup of Wonder” seems to be an upbeat celebration of May Day (and of life?), while “Hunting Girl” is a weird tale of social and sexual impropriety. It seems a little out of place. “Ring Out, Solstice Bells” is a joyous celebration of the winter solstice. It should not be confused with what are generally known as Christmas songs. This is a purely pagan affair. “Velvet Green” brings together nature, sex and love themes very successfully. Very interesting; very earthy; very folky. “The Whistler” is OK. It just reminds me (musically) of something that Cat Stevens did before. “Pibroch (Cap in Hand)” is the longest, darkest and heaviest track on the album. It’s pretty good, featuring some folky instrumental passages, but these don’t all work as well as each other. “Fire at Midnight” is a touching little love song that closes the album. I really like the theme of the album. I think it works very well and the songs have been put together well. There is some great music too. It sounds very rich: acoustic and electric guitars, flute, various kinds of percussion, bass, piano and assorted other instruments. It’s an excellent production. With this album Jethro Tull ignored the dawn of punk and went back to their roots. –Jim
James Blood Ulmer “Tales of Captain Black” (1979)
“HOLY CRAP!” is a good summary of my reaction to Tales of Captain Black. If you ever wanted to hear a Jazz album that could match…make that surpass Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica then this is it. It’s a Free-Jazz-Post-Punk-Polka-Funk-Blues merry-go-round, pushing the limits of any music listener’s tolerance levels. The most famous member of the band is certainly Ornette Coleman. He’s great company for James Blood Ulmer. You can hear briefly from time to time that Ulmer is a great Blues guitarist as well, when he’s not being a demon. Bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma books it at light speed. And Denardo Coleman’s performance makes me wonder if anyone has ever recorded the drumming tracks for an album by mounting a small drum kit to a horse, having their beats thrown off by galloping and bucking of freaked-out horse as they rode it around the studio. That would be pretty “Free-Jazz” of them. –Rob
The Clash “The Clash” (1977)
While London Calling is often hailed as the finest effort by these guys, my tastes has always made me favor their debut above the rest. It really stands out as the best representation of what the Clash were capable of and why at one point, they were considered the only band that mattered. Unlike London Calling, there isn’t a single bad song within the bunch. On this particular release (US version – which in my opinion is a more improved edition of the UK release) you get punk classics such as: “Clash City Rockers,” “I’m So Bored With the USA,” “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” (which just might be my favorite Clash song), “London’s Burning,” “I Fought the Law,” “Janie Jones,” and so on. Every last song is a stone cold classic and it just sounds so exciting no matter how many times it has been played. This is about as good as it get’s when referring to punk rock and it has my vote as the finest from the “Brit-punk” era. Actually, make that from any era. Highly recommended to everyone and it’s pretty damn close to being my all-time favorite record. –Jason
Shuggie Otis “Inspiration Information” (1974)
This is the ultimate soul-chill album. Shuggie is extremely versatile and this album exploits that ability. He might take you through a blaxploitation-era-sounding L.A. street walk as in the opener and “Strawberry 23”, a dub-influenced Hammond organ tune in “Aht uh Mi Head”. “Happy House” almost sounds like a millennial drum and bass piece. “Sweet Thang” might be one of the best soul jams on a blues number I’ve ever heard (here he’s successfully aped Duane Allman on guitar). He tries for some experimental stuff on his beat machine but the songs that shine are when he allows his guitar to create the atmosphere. Shuggie’s excellence is extremely subtle due in part to his highly laxed and soft vocal style and his tendency towards quiet groove. But this IS a 2am come down lazy groove album in the best sense. Don’t give up on the album in the middle instrumental section which drops off, as the album’s second half picks up starting with “Strawberry 23”. The high point of the album is the groove he kicks on the second half of “Island Letter”. All this, and the fact that Otis was practically a toddler when he made Inspiration Information, set the tone for what is certainly one of the most underappreciated albums and artists of all time. –B
Siouxsie and the Banshees “Kaleidoscope” (1980)
And so the Banshees effectively start over, with a new drummer (Budgie), new guitarist (John McGeoch), and a new sound. They keep the heart of darkness that was at the core of The Scream, but swap the constant jittery guitar and fractured beat for something sleeker, stranger, more expansive and greater. Put it this way: if the first two albums were grainy black-and-white, Kaleidoscope is a big-screen epic in glorious technicolor. The band absorbs elements that would have seen out of place just a year earlier: the acoustic guitars of “Christine”, the keyboards of “Happy House”, the swirling psychedelic feel to much of the record. Yet the Banshee’s signature sounds — Siouxsie’s emphatic vocals and Steven Severin’s flowing bass — are at the core of the album. A triumph, yet they would make even greater records down the track. –Brad
Kate Bush “Hounds of Love” (1985)
Albums that take you into another world never seem to have the adorable pop structures our ears need to play them as much as we’d like to. Kate Bush solved this by breaking the album into two sides, suiting both. Before you know it, it’s one and the same. There isn’t a more comforting voice in the world than Kate Bush’s, as far as I’m concerned. From the vivid opening trio to the down right moving “Hello Earth”, it’s amazing to contemplate Bush did this all on her own in her studio. The word genius gets flung around so often in music culture, but listening to Hounds of Love front to back there isn’t another word that seems more appropriate. It’s not about single-handedly inspiring every female musician to come or making some great songs, it’s about making one of the most strangest, complete, moving albums ever made that takes you into a different world every time and yet has you humming when you return back to your home in the city. –Allistair
Angel “Angel” (1975)
With their matching white outfits, immaculately coiffed locks, and over the top stage presence, Angel were a band ready to take the technicolor seventies by storm, and their ’75 debut easily ranks high among the greats of the decade’s American pomp ‘n’ rollers. With the heavenly helium-fueled vocals of Frank DiMino, crunchy axework of poutin’ Punky Meadows, and Greg Giuffra’s laser-blasting synths, there’s nothing shy or restrained about the Angel sound. Angel leads off with a pair of 7 minute epics in the fantasy chronicle “The Tower” and plaintive “Long Time,” before kicking into the stage-stormin’ “Rock and Rollers.” The heavy groove of “Broken Dreams,” dramatic ballad “Mariner,” king sized riffs of “Sunday Morning” and heroic “On and On” keep side two moving, and the band bids farewell with the brief instrumental, “Angel (Theme).” Not unlike Styx, a band who took the same formula to greater success, Angel deftly walk the tightrope bridging grandiosity and heaviosity throughout this stellar set. –Ben
Santana “Welcome” (1973)
Welcome stands between two popular Santana LPs, Caravanserei and Borboletta, and it’s perhaps the most underrated Santana album. Like the previous LP, Welcome has a recording sound which can easily match today’s standards. This band had it all. The album opens with an instrumental meditation dominated by Alice Coltrane’s organ sound. The first highlight is Samba de Sausalito with a marvelous undercurrent of percussion and a good e-piano solo by Tom Coster. The next song, When I Look Into Your Eyes is a light Pop tune greatly upvalued by Joe Farrell’s lovely flute solo and the band’s accompaniment and the adventurous production: Leon Thomas uses his yodel as a sound effect and Richard Kermode comes in with a super-funky keyboard riff on which the song fades out. Next is one of my all-time Santana favorites, Yours Is The Light featuring Flora Purim, a Brazilian rhythm, Leon Thomas’ whistling and a very disciplined yet inspired solo by Carlos himself. Side Two starts with another great instrumental, Mother Africa recalling Earth, Wind & Fire’s Head To The Sky from the same year, Coltrane (Jules Brussard’s soprano solo) and McCoy Tyner. Light Of Life evokes the atmosphere of Gato Barbieri’s soundtrack, Last Tango In Paris. And now, the most ambitious instrumental piece on the set, Flame-Sky introducing John McLaughlin. In the face of this guitar giant, however, Carlos does not shy away, he opens with a typical yet inspired solo; the band shows they hold up to any challenge and finally, the Mahavishnu does what he does so well until they duet. The title song closes the circle of this marvelous LP in a quiet way with a meditation. A fantastic LP from beginning to end. The sound engineer can’t be praised too high. Welcome sounds as good today as it sounded back then, a musical adventure and one of the best Rock albums of the 70s. –Yofriend
Ry Cooder “Chicken Skin Music” (1976)
This largely acoustic set composed entirely of covers is an interesting offering from Mr Cooder and various buddies. It looks like he wanted to collaborate with musicians specializing in traditional styles of popular music. The fact that he chooses to record two songs by Leadbelly, himself one of America’s great folk musicians, reinforces this notion. The hybrid “Always Lift Him Up/Kanaka Wai Wai” brings together a wonderfully positive gospel-sounding song from West Virginia and guitar music from Hawaii. “He’ll Have to Go” features some lovely “Tex-Mex” style accordion playing that almost gives the song a french flavor. There is some sensuous Polynesian music in “Yellow Roses” and “Chloe”. It’s a clever album by someone who obviously has a deep love for and great knowledge of popular music. The singing sometimes lets the quality down a little, but the musicianship, arrangements and production are almost faultless. For sheer listening pleasure this one is hard to beat. –Jim
Robin Trower “Bridge of Sighs” (1974)
Post-Hendrix bluesy power trios have a tendency to put competency over inspiration, attempting to match Hendrix’s technique without considering his tunefulness or his essential emphasis on feel. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination or style to put out a solid blues-rock album so long as you learn your instrument and learn it well. But once in a while this form finds some unique angle to exploit. Bridge of Sighs is a case in point. Former Procol Harum guitar whiz Trower uses a bank of effects pedals to produce a swirling, oceanic sound with sustain that hangs in the air for hours: lithe and surprisingly light of touch for the music’s intensity, his style on this album should have guitarheads frothing at the mouth. Singer/bassist James Dewar is no slouch, either, sounding rather like Paul Rodgers in a lower register, and anchoring Trower’s waves of sound firmly in the blues. The title track is a wonderful, atmospheric dirge-like thing, and closer “Little Bit of Sympathy” is another standout. It’s a stylish and well produced album, Trower is a pretty amazing guitar player with a strong sense of melody and an uncanny ability to do a lot with few notes, and those whose appetite for good guitar albums is never sated should definitely pick this up. –Will
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