Nightmares on Wax
A Word of Science (1st and Final Chapter) WARP 1991 Chillaxing grooves open the album for a few minutes, bringing summer time nostalgia and a twinkle from the window that brightens the mood. Laid back melody and peaceful evolution of flow make the first track gentle and alluring. As the album moves on, it's made clear that Nightmares on Wax do not just sit back and enjoy the sunshine. There's some dancing to be done, and as “A Case of Funk” is laid down before us, the beats make it difficult to not move along in some way. Mixing breaks with melodic loops and patterns to form house and techno in this way has its roots in the 80s, an answer to disco where the bits that made people dance harder were simply snipped out and made into full on music. It became the done thing to work a bit harder than that, and by the time this album made the scene, the mixing and delivery had all been given a polish and shine, meaning this perhaps is one from the first wave of truly interesting DJ albums. The art of the mix and the use of the tools which mutate the sounds in various ways has become integral to the culture of DJ music, groundbreaking work from previous decades like this has set the bar for future artists. Rolling rhythms and progressive atmosphere combine to make sonic experiences which occupy two parts, one that wants to move, and one that wants to appreciate the sculpture of sound. There's bass and there's funk, it's relaxing due to the simplicity but the generous tempos and lively energy give a layer which oversteps any kind of ambient music. The balance is teetering on the fulcrum of high energy and thoughtful listening. There's some experimental pieces, calling on unusual sounds and abstract rhythms, the album moves around the spectrum of genre like a gyroscope, providing ample material for listeners to take home. Loops and build-ups make the majority of the work, sometimes it's less obvious but it's very easy to visualise the disks spinning on their turn tables. When comparing the music to music of today, there's a lack of technology and a few cliches that perhaps show its age but its well within reach of what is being made right now. The simplicity and catchiness of some of the melodies have a strange magnetism which I recognise in modern pop music. Maybe this is where it came from?
Placebo
Self titled 1996 Ten years earlier and this would have been heavy metal, but Brit-pop and grunge had happened which sort of put this somewhere in the middle. Too heavy for pop but too well polished for anything that fell from the punk tree, Placebo entered the scene with their debut stonker, Placebo, self titled, and it makes a point straight away with Come Home. For anyone with an urge to move around and a sensation of underlying emotional bubbling, this album spoke volumes. And so the volume was turned up in homes around the world as teenagers (mainly) lapped up the sonic sounds of the 90s newest alternative act. Catchy riff based songs make up the entire album,and that's pretty much what we want, it's the lyrics that make it, man, apart from the nicely mixed and well written music that can't be overlooked. A guitar as a percussion instrument is something that came out of the hard rock scene, finger tapping from the virtuoso and plain old chord bashing to the bass drum from the grunge scene, Placebo make full use of this instantly rewarding playing technique with a half way house of melodic frenzy. The angst that pours from the verse lines of the song “Teenage Angst” hits home even now as a fully grown man, and I think to be honest I prefer the band now as back in the day I was into much heavier stuff. I opened my eyes to other music a few years later once I'd used up all my Maiden albums and discovered that other stuff like that wasn't nearly as good. The rock doesn't stop, and neither does the singing about random things that seem to make sense at the time. I enjoy the flow, the bass makes the music deeper and it's really good to hear a band that utilises the bass as a truly keystone instrument, following the guitar is okay and all but it doesn't inspire the next bass wizard. This album opened the doors to a fully fledged music career with fans the world over, I once saw the bassist walking through my local city centre and he had a crowd of young people (mainly women) following him a few paces behind. Must be nice eh? For a day or two. I imagine that you learn to switch off to it after so long. Totally check out Placebo, an answer to Slayer, nothing like them but strangely with as much energy.
The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 2002 A laid back and summery feel wraps the songs in paper adorned with sparkling pattern and repeating phrases that simply curve and bend in all the right places. The first track, titled Fight Test, to me is about over analysing things. The singer mentions a time when he chose the peaceful path instead of losing his temper, but regretted it after. He judges his manhood on the notion of violence which to me is a little extreme, but that's none of my business really. It seems to be some kind of ironic throwback to some memory where it felt some kind of test was taking place, and from experience I can say we have them daily. The music drops to a calmer tone and the resonant walking pace of track two breaks away from the spiralling thoughts of self reflection that dominated the first. The song debates artificial intelligence and human mind, perhaps roughing the edges up a bit in a hard look at what we really are. The pessimistic of us do tend to view the human species as a chemical reaction with the illusion of consciousness as a bi-product of the processes required to propagate. The rest like to see us as inhabiting a vessel of biology that although relies on chemical reactions to sustain itself, is actually the part of us that we are not. Is our body an icon that represents our divine light in this material world? Perhaps that's what Yoshimi is trying to find out. Her song is next on the list, and its fantastic classic material that has floor filling potential in the opening strokes of acoustic guitar. We all know the words and for some reason, it makes total sense. We all have metaphorical evil machines in life that we have to work out of our comfort zone in order to defeat, Yoshimi is there to fight alongside us, taking her vitamins and doing her best. A repetitive chorus and a simple progression with an added sprinkle of bass guitar splodge, the song sits firmly in place as a great reason to own this album. The instrumental track that perhaps represents the battle itself shifts the energy from fun tongue in cheek shenanigans to some fairly intense but funky bars of heady, noisy, bass slapping juiciness. More classic numbers such as Hypnotist sandwiched between other lesser known but equally as groovy pieces wrap up the album with a story of fun and well delivered progressions which melt away like burning candles on a windowsill outside a late bar. It's a lovely album to sit with and enjoy with good company, or to sit and relax to while waiting for something to cook in the oven. Plenty of moving moments mixed with ample flow and journeying portions means that we're kept interested but kept away from being overly drawn in that we forget what we're doing. Good for the car then, or for doing some late night study.
Van Halen MCMLXXXIV 1984 Space age synthesiser sound waves pierce the air with shrill and bassy tones that weave into each other and back again in a delicious and sonically pleasant symphony of oddity. The instantly recognisable intro riff to Jump flies from the moment's pause and begins the album proper. The keyboard melody leaps in skipping beats while Dave Lee Roth sings the familiar verses. We wait for the middle eight where Eddie Van Halen struts his stuff before moving over to keyboard flurries to drive the music into the second phase of the song. Panama reveals some quality power chord progressions and a driving riff that does more than swing the beat, it dances around like a sprite in the mists of cymbal and a happy go lucky vocal delivery. Some references to motorcycling in hot weather brings a slightly greasy but sexy sentiment towards the end of the track. The following guitar harmonics demonstrate an air of proficiency that few could establish, and the fast paced licks to a double time drum that proceed them just melt like butter over the hot potato of a song. Continual guitar volleys pace out the verse chorus structure that revolves around rock, blue, and pop style structures. The virtuoso element of Van Halen gives the otherwise fairly tame sound something with a kick, and in a similar way to Guns n Roses, the style remains traditional but takes a new perspective on what a guitar can be used for in a song. Slower paced Drop Dead Legs rounds off the original side A of the classic recording, leaving the classic Hot For Teacher to ring in the start of side B. With two singles a piece on both sides of the album, the record sales were astronomically high, with over ten million internationally sold. The popular sound of the frantic guitar and clean but slightly innuendo led vocal lines brings the bread, it's fun, dance ready, and totally rock n roll. With five previous albums made before this one, it shows that time and effort pay off when crafting a sound. It was perhaps the pinnacle of the Van Halen career, as Dave Lee Roth decided to move onto other things after the success of 1984. It wasn't until 2012 when he returned to re-establish the legacy left by this monumental band. Perhaps he left it too late?
Fear Factory
Demanufacture 1995 Heavy metal hardcore slams into action at the moment the play button is pressed. Some mechanistic clanks provide the backdrop to a rolling guitar and drum combination that instantly injects a pile driver into the room. Vocals begin, and we can hear the words, angry and gruff lyrical expression rhythmically pulses with the repetitious riffs. It's easy to envisage a room of rock hard heavy metal fans bouncing around and into each other to this powerful and immense onslaught of music. The title track begins the CD, and with mountainous drums that smash a path through the noisy bursts of dropped guitars, the sound of this band is hammered home. Self Bias Resistor begins and the sound remains the same only this time it's a denser and more rich layer of percussion. The guitar rages with palm muted glissando and finger walks between fleshy progressions. Burton C. Bell on vocals makes a statement with each line, he seems to be attacking the power structures that govern people's lives. He is speaking directly to the victim within, who perhaps lays silent but still hurts after everything that's happened. It turns dark towards the end with some ghostly like moans before the album progresses onto the next track. Keyboard and sample give extra decoration to the otherwise bare bones sounding guitar and drum based music. Everything is fast and full of energy, the background noises and sounds give atmosphere, complete with futuristic edges. The art on the front of the album shows a fusion between organic with mechanical, and the sound has fused these two concepts well. Angst driven songs that tap into a primal desire to shake your head around to insane beats play one after the other, every one has an edge that stands it apart from the last but the flow and consistency of Fear Factory as a band is fairly stable. One minute he's singing, the next he's roaring like a demon, the guitar and bass rip the calm with slicing bursts of whisked whirligig explosions, and the drums use the snare to snap every beat and every beat between to a strict schedule of synchronous pounding. The whole music sits within a structured grid of sound that means the stage presence must be something of a spectacle, with everyone doing exactly the same thing with their given instrument. A samey but worthwhile album, one that deserves to sit on the shelf in any rocker's home, and with classic moments within the songs that really make us love it. There are sections that drag, and perhaps it's simply because it's not being played loud enough. It can be said for definite that if you want to annoy the neighbours, or your parents, then this played loud is a good bet.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra (John McLaughlin) The Inner Mounting Flame 1971 Meeting of the Spirits begins this wonderfully fruity album with a ferociously jazzical jam over a busy backdrop of pure rhythmic class. The major melodies are so thrown about that most of us would find it a bit overpowering, and so it's best to listen to the rhythm section ,admire the flow, and just let the crazy melody swirl around like a rubber duck. It's more fun that way. The general power of the music is one of talent and non reductionist glamour that makes everything shine like it was meant to be for the gods. A second track turns the guitar into the main instrument, and the band play around with some slower rhythms to keep the album flowing nicely. It brings out a rock n roll side to the sound which makes a tangent fro the original opening sound, although the way it is formulated rings true in the psychedelia way. Something more experimental takes the third spot, The Noonward Race being a mix of bass and drum with some manic melodic sprays from a violin and guitar. It does sound like running, and perhaps with a countryside setting as bushes and hedges meander by at the pace of a few jogging men in wellys. The jazz edge is crafted again, within the realms of some sound effects and instrument sounds that push the barriers to what fits to music even today. The decision to test the synthesiser in this way has made a really interesting time snippet as to what was doable in the days of dials and peddles. Mostly everything can be done on a computer these days. Amazing guitar soloing ricochets from the pounding drumming of Billy Cobharn. His expert handling of the entire kit means the language of percussion speaks in expert sentences. John Mclaughlin has earned the name tag on the later recordings of this album through his virtuoso guitar fame, but the rest of the band which make up the Mahavishnu Orchestra really ought to be represented on equal terms. Jan Hammer makes an emotive pianist, with ample ability to flesh out the sombre moments with fun and tuneful additions. The keys don't always make up the main body of the sound, sometimes they're simply assisting the drums, but in every instance of their flowering they produce a rewarding array of moments. Jerry Goodman on the violin drips the music from the strings like it was melting butter, his notes have no need for artistic licence as the training behind the hands shows determination for perfection. Somewhere in the background, the steady hand of Rick Laird plucks away as the resonant and finely mixed bass, in many cases it sounds like a double bass, and in others its a tightly played funky lick that gives everything else something to sound great against. The Inner Mounting Flame is a monumental album, simmering with musical indulgence. A fun and maximum effect set of tracks worm their way through the realms of some mysterious jazz infused universe where sometimes not all the notes come from the same family. The city centre on a hot afternoon sensation that comes from this diversity of harmony and melody brings a necessity to give the whole sound our attention rather than listening for the little bits to prick our ears. We wont find them until we let go and swallow the entire thing.
Read more on John Mclaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra
Necromandus
Orexis of Death 1973 This strangely before its time production opens with a false sense of tranquil security. A charming melody branches out from the mystical soundsphere and gently swings on for a few moments. It's when the fade to silence begins to take shape that experience tells me something is about to happen. And maybe this was new back then, and for this I love it, after a moment's pause some dirty psychedelic and blues orientated guitar throws everything off balance. Production by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath gives the flavour a heaviness and full on feel that makes an impression immediately. Thumping rhythm with a notch extra for the bass notes makes way for some wailing vocals. It's got rock n roll all over it, the pace is up tempo and the music remains frantic even when the chord progression leans back for the verses. Tight playing and interesting directions of melody and song section make the quality bar rise within a few minutes. A definite sense of Sabbath and Deep Purple oozes from this album, the song structure is exciting and with parts that flow and alternate, glued together by continuously original fills, the classical rock sound really encapsulates the record. As the second track calms down with the use of acoustic guitar and a more folky edge to the melody, we get to hear the singer a bit more clearly. Bill Branch sings poetry and stories with a formulated but complex band effort that almost works in unison, each instrument firing off around the same parts. The element of progressive rock is called on with most of the tracks, some funky workings take the place of some of the more atmospheric styles other bands may revolve around but the evolution of each number works for listening and allowing. Getting to grips with the words makes it more enjoyable, singing along is good fun. It's a cool album, with a magic of its own that speaks loudly for its era but without having a status symbol track to keep it on the radio. It wasn't officially released until 1999 due to the band splitting shortly after it being made. Who knows what would have happened otherwise?
Eyes of Blue
The Crossroads of Time 1968 A fruity keyboard lick fires the ignition of sound from a chaotic explosion of noise halfway between artillery and thunder. Melodic pulses give a bouncy framework for a jumping and dynamic number about why the singer's had enough of a woman. He's tired of her greed, .and wants to end the relationship. Psychedelia and rock n roll fuse with classical sounding interludes which dowse everything in a magical charm. Track two slows down and twists off in a dancing dreamlike frolic through tune and rhythm, drawing on images of pleasure and love. Interesting use of recording equipment give layers of abstraction that experiment with sound and flow, nothing flies from the song and makes a scene, but nothing sounds exactly normal either. Balladeering tones sweep the oddity into the realms of popular culture but the underscoring of vocal harmony and the drumming that swells around a tidal rhythm allow the atmosphere to remain enchanting. With Welsh origins, and having won a competition to have a record deal, the original singles made under the contract were not of their own writing and they also failed to reach success in the charts. This being their follow up album, it saw a change of label and direction, covering a couple of tracks from occult musician Graham Bond and Yesterday by The Beatles. The album is known to have inspired the workings of prog-rock giants, Yes. The progression of The Crossroads of Time brings the album into a dazed circle dance around a spitting fire of drums and guitar riff that flow together and in their own unique directions, all at once causing a sonic wall of trance inducing rhythm and harmony. That famous psychedelia pulsing sound makes an appearance in several places, throwing crowds of live gig goers into frantic frenzies and living room listeners into foot-tapping time to the ambience.
Slayer
South of Heaven 1988 Spine creeping twin guitar melodics and harmonic open the album with the classic title track. Angry riffs with jerking changes roar through the structured formula like rally cars and the screaming of the vocals add screech to the cornering amplitude and velocity. Tom Araya provides aggressive but audible vocal lines about violence and matters of near satanic escapades. Another pounding riff based song flares from the runway in the mode of Silent Scream. Pulsing and frantic guitars make ample room for paced and searing lines that delve into the humanity of darkness. Live Undead throws the tempo down into a pit of dirging sludgery, although still heavy, still metal, the comparison to previous work including on the previous album is distinct. When the energy is built and the spring coiled to snap, a fill throws the gearbox up into top setting and the entire thing rockets into an orbital speed. Behind the Crooked Cross takes religious symbolism to a new dimension of song-man-ship, oddly melodic vocals that sound almost torn from the book of Motorhead give a simple rock progression style song that is of course granted an extra layer of meat sauce in the shape of distortion and treble dense guitar solos. Another moment of thrashing mania throws the spasm like song structure into a vortex of middle eight, before more mocking style vocals give a glaze to some more tuneful guitars. A classic melody and one with that eerie Slayer melodic edge comes out of the chaos with the well known Mandatory Suicide. A song about armed forces, conscription, war, and all this generally dark, the song makes a political issue out of some ghastly imagery and satirical metaphor. A bluesy direction carries the song into a tuneful section, the familiar zing of Slayer guitars keeps us interested before more horrific scenes are described in time to the music. The spoken word section adds a haunting moment to the already scary and discomforting piece. Storming flurries of pitch bending insanity reveal another supersonic riff with the frantic energy that keeps this album on fire. More angry and aggressively spat words fire from the bars in between fills of sporadic trills and volleys of soloing lead guitar. Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King make the equally as blood vital duo who create the wall of guitar assault for this album. As King is the only living member of this team, it makes this album even more iconic.
Burnin
The Wailers 1973 As a sixth album released at the end of an era in which the original band maintained good spirits, The Wailers, fronted by Bob Marley but yet to carry his iconic name, still contained their forming members Pete Tosh and Bunny Wailer. This was the last time they'd make a Wailers album together, as Tosh and Wailer decided to embark on solo careers soon after. Get Up Stand Up opens the album with what is now considered a classic and memorable track, the motivational lines forming the inner vocabularies of many generations since its writing. There are times we all need to stand up for our rights, or for what is right, and I think this song has been the foundation stone that has built many towers. Hallelujah Time takes the lesser talked about but equally significant religious twist that grants that ethereal quality The Wailers seem to have, even today, the sound and images of Bob seem to kindle spiritual connotations with many fans. It reminds us that this music is written with bigger things in mind than a passion for groove or a desire to make a living. There was something higher going on with the work of this band, or at least they wanted to believe it. Years from that time, and a legacy to rival most from the era, they at least managed to keep a fire alight long since the spark had faded. I Shot The Sheriff brings the mood into that party feel that reggae loves to bounce around to, and again with the classic and well known song, the album makes its mark on the room with hooks and sing-a-long sections that warm up parties and rest time in unison. The history of the Jamaican culture is brought into verse with Burning and Looting, and minor keys to the vocal melody with sombre tempos bring home tales of past times where people were angry, poor, and disillusioned. A lot of people were let down after extremely poor treatment and it took many generations to heal the scars left behind by slavery and oppression. Track by track the wisdom of well travelled and peaceful minds from tough neighbourhoods bring their perspectives on life, and the smooth rhythms of reggae allow meaningful songs to work their way into our auditory zones and gently feed themselves in spoon-fulls of charming and melodic pieces. It's when we take time to listen to the actions of the keyboard, drum, and guitar in harmony with one another, and stop focussing on the words themselves, that the real credit becomes apparent. The little fills and tinkling chimes all work together to form delightful works of moving music, and although the famous and loved voice makes everything sound like The Wailers, the band need to be listened to as well. |
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