VAMPIRE WEEKEND
2008-XL
Produced By ROSTAM BATMANGLIJ
1. Mansard Roof
2. Oxford Comma
3. A-Punk
4. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
5. M79
6. Campus
7. Bryn
8. One (Blake’s Got A New Face)
9. I Stand Corrected
10. Walcott
11. The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance
At first, I thought that pushing my musical journey had reached a new extreme with Vampire Weekend. Turns out, this band is actually pretty likable and ridiculously catchy. And, surprisingly, American. Vampire Weekend was formed at Columbia University, sharing love of rap, punk and African music. Knowing this makes it much easier to understand this band. They became an internet sensation, and toured three times before their debut album dropped. When Vampire Weekend was released in 2008, it was nothing short of a complete smash. But what to make of this music? The album starts out with a band, with the biggest hits and the most accessible music crammed into the first four tracks. You can catch the love of African rhythms pretty easily, and you’ll stop wondering where the guitars are by “A-Punk”.
It’s pretty easy to dismiss this band as just a pop machine…but there’s a lot more to them. This album is by no means perfect, but it is a ray of hope for the future of pop. This may sound completely foreign to the ears of one who was raised on good old fashioned classic rock…in fact, it may sound impossible at first. But, with an open mind, this band and this album have plenty of gems to offer. They’ve released two albums since this one, Contra and 2013’s Modern Vampires Of The City, both of which debuted at number one on the charts. The kids like them a lot…and I’ve learned a couple of things in life: one of them being that we were once the kids who shaped the music world with what we listened to, and everyone thought we were crazy, too. Vampire Weekend is light years from Justin Bieber and Rhianna, and it’s not as bad as you might think. In fact, pretty good stuff. Take your time with it.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE BLACK KEYS
BROTHERS
2010-NONESUCH
Produced By THE BLACK KEYS, MARK NEILL & DANGER MOUSE
1. Everlasting Light
2. Next Girl
3. Tighten Up
4. Howlin’ For You
5. She’s Long Gone
6. Black Mud
7. The Only One
8. Too Afraid To Love You
9. Ten Cent Pistol
10. Sinister Kid
11. The Go Getter
12. I’m Not The One
13. Unknown Brother
14. Never Gonna Give You Up
15. These Days
Minimalist blues rock band The Black Keys formed in 2001 in Akron, Ohio, and performed in relative obscurity until their breakthrough album Brothers. Their sixth effort, the album was released in 2010 on the strength of the single “Tighten Up”, and the band has never looked back. Consisting of only two members, guitarist and singer Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney had almost broken up in 2009 following the Attack And Release album, and had even gone through an extended period of time without speaking to each other. When they did finally start talking, they realized how important the project was to both of them, and they began recording this album. The title is their felling about each other: they see each other as brothers. Cool story, bro.
Brothers is a fine album, and is the culmination of their years of experience together. “Tighten Up” is great, but so is the follow up single, “Howlin’ For You”, and the rest of the album is fine as well. Auerbach’s guitar work is great, sometimes with effects that bring back surf music and older electric blues. Carney is a fantastic drummer, and the songwriting pulls everything together nicely. With 15 tracks and no filler, Brothers is easily their best album, and more importantly, and opening to the new decade stating that rock & roll is doing just fine in the new century, thank you very much. This is the best place to start with this band, and if you do like them, there are plenty of other treasures to be found in their discography. But this is the one to have.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE SHINS
WINCING THE NIGHT AWAY
2007-SUB POP
Produced By JAMES MERCER & JOE CHICCARELLI
1. Sleeping Lessons
2. Australia
3. Pam Berry
4. Phantom Limb
5. Sealegs
6. Red Rabbits
7. Turn On Me
8. Black Wave
9. Spilt Needles
10. Girl Sailor
11. A Comet Appears
12. Nothing At All
13. Spilt Needles (Alternate Version)
Hailing from Portland, Oregon by way of Albuquerque, The Shins, led by James Mercer, released their third album (and their last on Sub Pop), Wincing The Night Away in 2007. It had been four years since the follow up, Chutes Too Narrow, and it would be another five years before their next effort, 2012’s Port Of Morrow. It’s not that they take that long to record (Wincing was done in a year), but they just don’t seem to be in any kind of a hurry. And while Chutes Too Narrow sounded like a band hungry for the next level, Wincing The Night Away sounds more like a band content with having reached it. The album is still very good, although a bit more uneven than the previous two, and its best songs stand up well alongside the best of the bands work.
The high points here are easy to spot: “Phantom Limb”, “Australia”, “Turn On Me”, and “Sea Legs” are very strong, as is the bonus track “Nothing At All”. On the other hand, tracks like “Pam Berry” and “Black Wave” can be annoying, and give the album its uneven quality. Still, The Shins are a great sounding band, and while Wincing The Night Away is not as strong as Chutes Too Narrow or Oh, Inverted World, there’s still enough here to recommend it. On their current pace, they may not release another one until the end of the decade, at which time no one will remember them anymore, but The Shins have been a bright light in the rock world, and their work has been strong enough to make them a favorite of the new millennium. (The last four tracks are Japanese bonus tracks.)
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
QUEEN
GREATEST HITS
1992-HOLLYWOOD
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. We Will Rock You
2. We Are The Champions
3. Another One Bites The Dust
4. Killer Queen
5. Somebody To Love
6. Fat Bottomed Girls
7. Bicycle Race
8. You’re My Best Friend
9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
10. Now I’m Here
11. Play The Game
12. Seven Seas Of Rhye
13. Body Language
14. Save Me
15. Don’t Stop Me Now
16. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
17. I Want To Break Free
In the world of compilation albums, this may be the biggest mess of them all. Originally released in 1981, Queen’s Greatest Hits was a pretty accurate picture of the band’s history in hit singles from the beginning through 1980 and Flash Gordon. But over the years, a change in labels and a misguided attempt to appease every market turned the album into a wreck. For starters, there is no chronological flow at all, making things hard to follow. Songs were added, taken off, and even a “companion edition” called Classic Queen was released to help make up for the confusion. It didn’t work. So what’s wrong here? The only thing you really have to take notice of is that the bands most successful song, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, is nowhere to be found. Red flag? You bet.
What saves this is the fact that all of the songs that ARE here are excellent. Even without “Rhapsody” or “Tie Your Mother Down” or their first hit, “Keep Yourself Alive”, the list is strong, and the listen is entertaining, if not confusing. This is the version that was released in 1992 by Hollywood Records. If you wanted to, you could search out the eight different versions of this and find the one that suits you best. Of course, if you have all of the band’s early albums, you won’t need to do that. Which is probably best, being that in addition to the eight versions of this, there are 14 other Queen compilations out there. Be very afraid.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
MANIC STREET PREACHERS
THE HOLY BIBLE
1994-EPIC
Produced By MANIC STREET PREACHERS & STEVE BROWN
1. Yes
2. Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit’sworldwouldfallapart
3. Of Walking Abortion
4. She Is Suffering
5. Archives Of Pain
6. Revol
7. 4st 7lb
8. Mausoleum
9. Faster
10. This Is Yesterday
11. Die In The Summertime
12. The Intense Humming Of Evil
13. P.C.P.
Manic Street Preachers have always been bigger in the UK than in America. Much less punk than their image or behavior would suggest, this band from Wales continues on to this day as the same trio they started as back in 1986. But they are best known for the mystery surrounding rhythm guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards. After joining the band in 1989, his depression grew, and the band had its biggest success with their third album, 1994’s The Holy Bible. A political and angry album, there are also several references to what many believe was Richey’s state of mind at the time. “Faster”, “Revol”, and “She Is Suffering” are the standout tracks, with the band musically going back to a more punk sound than before…something they say they achieved by not listening to any more American music. Edwards wrote the majority of the lyrics, and the rest of the band sounds inspired.
But The Holy Bible will be forever remembered for what happened afterwards. In February of 1995, Edwards disappeared. He has never been found, and he was declared officially dead in 2008. The band released an album with lyrics he left behind in 2009, and the legend of Edwards has become bigger than the band itself. They carry on, but to this day, the best place to hear Manic Street Preachers is The Holy Bible. It’s far from perfect, but it’s also as emotional a document as you’ll find in rock. And even though American success has eluded the band and the album, both are well worth hearing, and both are important in the development of the British music scene. It might take a little time to get the groove, but it’s worth the patience it takes.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DAVID GILMOUR
ON AN ISLAND
2006-COLUMBIA
Produced By DAVID GILMOUR, PHIL MANZANERA & CHRIS THOMAS
1. Castellorizon
2. On An Island
3. The Blue
4. Take A Breath
5. Red Sky At Night
6. This Heaven
7. Then I Close My Eyes
8. Smile
9. A Pocketful Of Stones
10. Where We Start
On An Island is David Gilmour’s third solo album, and his first in 22 years. It was released on Gilmour’s 60th birthday in 2006, and has done surprisingly well, considering that he had spent the previous decade following the final breakup of Pink Floyd in relative silence. It was so anticipated in the UK that it entered the charts at number one there, although it did not fare nearly as well in the rest of the world. Gilmour recorded much of the album on his houseboat, and enlisted some great players to help him out, not only on the recording, but also on the subsequent tour. David Crosby and Graham Nash add their unmistakable harmonies to the title track, and Phil Manzanera, Jools Holland, Georgie Fame, and Robert Wyatt help out as well. Former Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright is here, as well as a surprise appearance by pre-Pink Floyd guitarist Rado Klose (the predecessor of Syd Barrett).
As for songs, Gilmour does what he does well. The songs are open spaces with lots of room for his simple and spacey guitar work, which still sounds excellent. What would be better, though, would be if it were live…which is why you would want to also have Live In Gdansk, a cd/dvd companion to this that really brings these songs (and others…including Barrett’s “Arnold Layne”) to life. The studio version here comes close, but as great as Gilmour can be, he sounds at times a little too new age for the ears of someone used to hearing him rock. And while the songs are good, there’s nothing that really stands out or is memorable. This is a must for Gilmour fans…but you have to include Live In Gdansk as part of the deal…otherwise, it falls just short of what you want.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
IAN HUNTER & MICK RONSON
YUI ORTA
1989-MERCURY
Produced By BERNARD EDWARDS
1. American Music
2. The Loner
3. Women’s Intuition
4. Tell It Like It Is
5. Livin’ In A Heart
6. Big Time
7. Cool
8. Beg A Little Love
9. Following In Your Footsteps
10. Sons ‘N’ Lovers
11. Pain
12. How Much More Can I Take
13. Sweet Dreamer
Ian Hunter was best known as the lead singer for Mott The Hoople, and as the writer of “Cleveland Rocks” and the Great White hit “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”. Mick Ronson was the musical director and lead guitarist for David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars, and played with everyone from Elton John to Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. The two had worked together in the past, and the unfortunately named YUI Orta was supposed to have been a grand reunion. Unfortunately, their label did no promotion for the album and dropped them soon after its release. Any follow up or self promotion was derailed when it was discovered that Ronson had liver cancer, which he died from three years later. Hunter has been in poor health for years, but is still active to this day. The below the radar release of this album, along with its subsequent disappearance, is sad…the album turned out pretty good. Too bad not many have ever heard it.
“American Music” is a fine opening anthem, and it sets the stage nicely. Most of the material was written by Hunter, but Ronson’s guitar work is strong throughout. Rockers like “Women’s Intuition”, “Beg A Little Love”, “How Much More Can I Take”, and especially the rollicking “Big Time” could have been hits in 1989. There are also two fine ballads, “Livin’ In A Heart” and “Following In Your Footsteps”. In all, the album is very good, but not perfect. It was re-released with bonus tracks in 2003, so it should be fairly easy to find if you want it. YUI Orta is a fine late period classic rock album by two of the legends of the genre, light on hits and innovation, but a pretty fun record with some catchy songs and great sounds.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF…
1992-CHRYSALIS
Produced By SPEECH
1. Man’s Final Frontier
2. Mama’s Always On Stage
3. People Everyday
4. Blues Happy
5. Mr. Wendal
6. Children Play With Earth
7. Raining Revolution
8. Fishin’ 4 Religion
9. Give A Man A Fish
10. U
11. Eve Of Reality
12. Natural
13. Dawn Of The Dreads
14. Tennessee
15. Washed Away
16. People Everyday (Metamorphosis Mix)
In 1992, Atlanta based Arrested Development exploded out of nowhere with their incredibly successful debut, 3 Years, 5 Months And Two Days In The Life Of…(the amount of time it took them to get a record deal). In what was a sea of increasingly negative gangsta rap, this group, led by Speech, had a message that was positive and a sound that was infectious and upbeat, and the album was the beginning of what is known as Southern hip-hop. For a year, Arrested Development ruled with 5 top 100 hits, including 3 top 10’s. “Tennessee”, sung by Dionne Farriss (who went on to solo success with “I Know”), is their biggest success and an undeniably great song. They also scored with “Mr. Wendal” and a reworking of Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everyday People” (“People Everyday”). The album was loved, important, and a huge hit. Still sounds great today, and is loaded with great sounding gems.
So, what happened? After a so-so live album and work on the soundtrack for Malcolm X, AD made a second album that did nothing, then they broke up in 1996. When they got back together in 2000, they were already forgotten by pretty much everyone. They have been together since, without a trace of a hit or a blip on the public radar. But in 1993-94, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing this band. This album. As disappointing as the career of Arrested Development has been, they did make one hell of a debut album. It’s sad that something this good has been so forgotten for so long. This is one where you rediscover it and remember just how good it really was. Check it out again…maybe the finest moment there ever was for inspirational hip-hop.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1. Machismo
2. Do’s And Don’ts
3. Touchin’ Up
4. Waster
5. The Dajon Song
The year 2000 was a strange one for the British band Gomez. After releasing only two albums, they put out the odd compilation of B sides and unreleased material, Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline. They also released the Machismo E.P., a twenty-six minute blast of five songs that strangely enough remains the band’s most successful disc to date. It’s hard to find by itself these days, but it’s usually included as a bonus disc with either Shopping Trolley or their 1999 album Liquid Skin. Machismo steers the band into more experimental territory, using loops and samples on the title track and varying the sound from track to track to make the disc very much a chameleon.
Machismo, like the rest of the early Gomez catalog, did very well in their native country and Austrailia while being almost completely ignored in the United States. Too bad, because this is a very American sounding band. As time has passed, they have slowly gained a foothold in the US while slipping in the UK. But, there’s really nothing conventional about Gomez, which is part of their appeal. The Machismo E.P. is a nice bridge between Liquid Skin and In Our Gun, and deserves more recognition as an important piece of their discography. You’ll especially feel that way after chilling for all 13 minutes of the excellent closer, “The Dajon Song”. If you find this gem hidden in a full Gomez album purchase, you really have scored.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AND 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF…
1992-CHRYSALIS
Produced By SPEECH
1. Man’s Final Frontier
2. Mama’s Always On Stage
3. People Everyday
4. Blues Happy
5. Mr. Wendal
6. Children Play With Earth
7. Raining Revolution
8. Fishin’ 4 Religion
9. Give A Man A Fish
10. U
11. Eve Of Reality
12. Natural
13. Dawn Of The Dreads
14. Tennessee
15. Washed Away
16. People Everyday (Metamorphosis Mix)
In 1992, Atlanta based Arrested Development exploded out of nowhere with their incredibly successful debut, 3 Years, 5 Months And Two Days In The Life Of…(the amount of time it took them to get a record deal). In what was a sea of increasingly negative gangsta rap, this group, led by Speech, had a message that was positive and a sound that was infectious and upbeat, and the album was the beginning of what is known as Southern hip-hop. For a year, Arrested Development ruled with 5 top 100 hits, including 3 top 10’s. “Tennessee”, sung by Dionne Farriss (who went on to solo success with “I Know”), is their biggest success and an undeniably great song. They also scored with “Mr. Wendal” and a reworking of Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everyday People” (“People Everyday”). The album was loved, important, and a huge hit. Still sounds great today, and is loaded with great sounding gems.
So, what happened? After a so-so live album and work on the soundtrack for Malcolm X, AD made a second album that did nothing, then they broke up in 1996. When they got back together in 2000, they were already forgotten by pretty much everyone. They have been together since, without a trace of a hit or a blip on the public radar. But in 1993-94, you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing this band. This album. As disappointing as the career of Arrested Development has been, they did make one hell of a debut album. It’s sad that something this good has been so forgotten for so long. This is one where you rediscover it and remember just how good it really was. Check it out again…maybe the finest moment there ever was for inspirational hip-hop.
I think you'll find the Geto Boys and 2 Live Crew had already achieved national success with a Southern sound, and were far more influential on Southern hip-hop as a whole, sonically and thematically, than Arrested Development, who instead kinda feel removed from Southern hip-hop, seeming more like a cross between PM Dawn (though nowhere near as bad) and A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul (though nowhere near as good). Whilst you could potentially argue that the Goodie Mob's genre-hopping, global experiments were in some way a successor to Arrested Development (though I think it's a bit of a reach), the likes of UGK, Three 6 Mafia, Eightball & MJG, E.S.G., the aforementioned Geto Boys, and slightly later the likes of TRU/Master P or Mannie Fresh were far more important in terms of the evolution of a distinctly Southern hip-hop sound. Arrested Development were fine - impressive, ambitious, conscious rap music that has lots going for it, even if it hews a bit too overtly Christian for my taste - but they were neither one of the earliest nor one of the most influential hip-hop artists to emerge from the South. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
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Romanelli
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