COLDPLAY
A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD
2002 – CAPITOL
Produced By COLDPLAY & KEN NELSON
1. Politik
2. In My Place
3. God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
4. The Scientist
5. Clocks
6. Daylight
7. Green Eyes
8. Warning Sign
9. A Whisper
10. A Rush Of Blood To The Head
11. Amsterdam
Coldplay gets a lot of heat these days. I’m not getting why, but people turned on them at some point. But in 2002, with their second album (A Rush Of Blood To The Head), this band emerged from that group of guys who did that “Yellow” song to the most likely heir apparent to the throne of Radiohead. And for good reason…this is one powerhouse of an album. You hear not only the lineage of Radiohead, but also the strong influence of bands like R.E.M. and U2. Led by frontman / pianist Chris Martin, Coldplay exploded with an album that was below…but not by a whole lot…the level of OK Computer. Loaded with great hits and layers of great sounding music, this was a band that was truly on the rise.
The best tracks here (“The Scientist”, “God Put A Smile Upon Your Face”, “In My Place”) are as good as anything that came out in the early 2000’s. And “Clocks” is a pure winner. Whatever sins Coldplay may or may not have committed against the world of music, the truth is, this is one of the best albums of the decade. There is no sophomore slump with this band…they, like Radiohead, got better the second time around. And the third as well…in fact, every single Coldplay album from this one forward has peaked in the top five in both the UK and America…no small feat. This is the album where the band got it together, and it’s a true winner from start to finish. Definitely one to at least give a listen to.
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1. Driving Wheel
2. Rainy Day Man
3. Drop Down Mama
4. Old man’s Song
5. Lullaby
6. These Days
7. Wild Child
8. Colors Of The Sun
9. Livin’ In The Country
10. Child’s Song
Tom Rush has been playing shows and making records for almost sixty years now. He was part of the early 60’s folk scene. His song “No Regrets” was made into one of the very first promotional videos in 1968. He was also the leader of the singer/songwriter era in the early 70’s. His career peaked between 1968 and 1974, after which he took an eight year hiatus. Someone with these accomplishments, you would think, would be more of a household name. His self titled album from 1970 is a surprise departure. A strong songwriter, this record is all cover songs by up and coming artists. Rush covers the likes of James Taylor (“Rainy Day Man”), Jesse Colin Young (“Lullaby”) and three songs by a still unknown Jackson Browne.
But while the list of writers he covers here is impressive, Rush misses the mark by not recording their better material. The best song on this collection is easily Browne’s “These Days”, which he wrote when he was sixteen. Rush also plays songs by Fred Neil, Murray McLauchlan, David Wiffin and blues legend Sleepy John Estes. It’s a great idea, but it ultimately falls short, mainly because of the songs. Rush is a fine singer and a good enough player, but he’s also too good a songwriter to have made an album with no original material. Other albums on which he features covers include better songs…this one simply does not. A pleasant, but ultimately forgettable slice of the early seventies pre-singer songwriter days.
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TEN YEARS AFTER
A SPACE IN TIME
1971 – CHRYSALIS
Produced By CHRIS WRIGHT
1. One Of These Days
2. Here They Come
3. I’d Love To Change The World
4. Over The Hill
5. Baby Won’t You Let Me Rock ‘N’ Roll You
6. Once There Was A Time
7. Let The Sky Fall
8. Hard Monkeys
9. I’ve Been There Too
10. Uncle Jam
Alvin Lee of Ten Years After was a monster guitar player. He became a phenom with a stunning performance at Woodstock, and his band became stars. In 1971, they released their sixth studio album, A Space In Time, which was much more acoustic than their previous efforts. It still contained rockers, and it also was home to their biggest hit, “I’d Love To Change The World”. But even though they seemed to be following in the footsteps of Led Zeppelin, the weaknesses of Ten Years After that had held back their first five albums were still present. The problem was never the musicianship…it was the areas in which Lee was never as strong in. The same things that had always kept them from becoming the next great thing.
Alvin Lee was never a great singer, and it shows, as always, all over this record. His lyrics were also still buried in the summer of love of 1967, which by 1971 had already become old news. And even though “I’d Love To Change The World” was a huge hit, it was also outdated the day it came out. As for the rest of A Space In Time…when Lee cuts loose on guitar, it’s a wonder to behold. Unfortunately, it rarely happens here. Their popularity declined quickly after this, and they broke up in 1975. A Space In Time is, unfortunately, a meandering mess, with weak songs and poor vocals. The playing of the band is fine, but it’s just not enough to make this hold up to the reputation its single gave it.
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JANE’S ADDICTION
NOTHING’S SHOCKING
1988 – WARNER BROS.
Produced By DAVE JERDEN & PERRY FARRELL
1. Up The Beach
2. Ocean Size
3. Had A Dad
4. Ted, Just Admit It…
5. Standing In The Shower…Thinking
6. Summertime Rolls
7. Mountain Song
8. Idiots Rule
9. Jane Says
10. Thank You Boys
11. Pig’s In Zen
Jane’s Addiction is a band that I have very mixed feelings about. First and foremost, there is pretty much nothing that I like about Perry Farrell. He screwed his bandmates over big time while they were recording this. His lyrics are weak. He has no sense of melody, and his voice is one of the worst I have ever heard on a famous singer. Then there’s the hit from this record…”Jane Says” is a two chord borefest that includes steel drums, which should be allowed in rock music only at Jimmy Buffett shows. However. Jane’s Addiction is also home to Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins. And these guys rocked the late eighties like no one else was doing it. The instrumental tracks, if you can get past the screeching and meandering vocals, are pretty much amazing.
The reason why this album gets a passing mark from me, and the reason why I recommend it has nothing to do with Farrell. At all. But listen to the ferocity that the rest of the band plays with. Without being a metal band…these guys were like the Red Hot Chili Peppers would have been if they hadn’t been so hung up on being a funk band. (Navarro, in fact, played with the Peppers for a time.) I would have rated this higher had it been an instrumental album…this is the direction I wish 80’s rock had taken, rather than the power ballad wielding hair metal guys. Nothing’s Shocking is good because the players make it that way. My opinion…if this band had formed with a different lead singer, their legacy could have been much different…and much greater.
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PETE YORN
MUSICFORTHEMORNINGAFTER
2001 – COLUMBIA
Produced By PETE YORN, BRAD WOOD, R WALT VINCENT, KEN ANDREWS & DON FLEMING
1. Life On A Chain
2. Strange Condition
3. Just Another
4. Black
5. Lose You
6. For Nancy (‘Cos It Already Is)
7. Murray
8. June
9. Sense
10. Closet
11. On Your Side
12. Sleep Better
13. EZ
14. Simonize
Pete Yorn has had several opportunities to become a big star…and it’s never happened. He’s worked with Scarlett Johansson, members of R.E.M., and he’s toured with Coldplay, yet his critically acclaimed work has never reached a mass audience. Why? Because as good a singer and instrumentalist he is, as a songwriter, Yorn is unfortunately barely above average. Musicforthemorningafter is his debut album, and while it showed promise, it was also as good as he was ever going to be. Yorn’s reputation sold a good share of albums in the future, but it was never a huge amount…and he never seemed to progress beyond the up and comer that he was in 2001. Too bad…because there really was a lot of promise.
Musicforthemorningafter features a whole lot of Yorn…he plays pretty much everything here. And he wrote all of the songs, and performs all of the vocals. It was viewed as a great start for Yorn, as his songwriting was expected to improve over time. But it really hasn’t, which is why this is probably the best album of his to have. It’s good, but it won’t grab you the way you wish it would. Everything sounds great, but the songs lack polish, and they lack that special something that would make them memorable. The best tracks here are “Life On A Chain” and “Strange Condition”, the latter finding its way onto multiple movie soundtracks. Pretty good is about the best Pete Yorn ever gave us. It’s worth a listen, for sure.
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SNEAKER PIMPS
BECOMING X
1996 – VIRGIN
Produced By JIM ABBISS, LINE OF FLIGHT, PETER COLLINS & FLOOD
1. Low Place Like Home
2. Tesko Suicide
3. 6 Underground
4. Becoming X
5. Spin Spin Sugar
6. Post-Modern Sleaze
7. Waterbaby
8. Roll On
9. Wasted Early Sunday Morning
10. Walking Zero
11. How Do
12. 6 Underground (Nellee Hooper Edit)
Trip hop in the 90’s was quite the thing, and Sneaker Pimps debut album, Becoming X, was right there with the best of them. Fronted by singer Kelli Dayton (later known as Kelli Ali), the band scored a pair of great hits, “6 Underground” and “Spin Spin Sugar”, as well as other fine tracks (“Post-Modern Sleaze”, “Tesko Suicide” and “Roll On”) that made their debut a success. But their momentum was short lived. After the album, Dayton was fired and replaced on vocals by guitarist and keyboardist Chris Corner, dramatically changing not only the sound of the group, but also the visual appeal that Dayton had brought with her. And so, Sneaker Pimps had to basically start over after their successful debut.
Thanks in large part to Dayton, Becoming X is still their most accessible and successful album to date. Subsequent releases (Splinter from 1999 and 2002’s Bloodsport, then Squaring The Circle from 2021) feature Corner on vocals, and have not fared nearly as well. Sneaker Pimps had feared being lumped in with the growing group of trip hop acts with female singers, but the truth is, as Becoming X proves, trip hop seems to work better with a female lead, and this group was no exception. They went on hiatus in the 2000’s, but there has been a reunion and a fourth album. Time will tell, but it will be hard for them to reach the heights of their best work, Becoming X. Dayton (now known as Kelli Ali) has had a much more prolific and successful solo career (not surprising at all).
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VANCE JOY
DREAM YOUR LIFE AWAY
2014 – LIBERATION MUSIC
Produced By RYAN HADLOCK, JAMES KEOGH, EDWIN WHITE & JOHN CASTLE
1. Winds Of Change
2. Mess Is Mine
3. Wasted Time
4. Riptide
5. Who Am I
6. From Afar
7. We All Die Trying To Get It Right
8. Georgia
9. Red Eye
10. First Time
11. All I Ever Wanted
12. Best That I Can
13. My Kind Of Man
Former Australian rules football player Vance Joy (real name James Keogh) was promising enough as a musician that he landed a five album deal with Atlantic Records in 2013, on the heels of an EP called God Loves You When You’re Dancing, which included his best known song, “Riptide”. That song was also the centerpiece of his debut album from 2014, Dream Your Life Away. Joy’s music is largely acoustic based folk rock, and he shows that even early on, he was developing into quite a songwriter. Along with “Riptide”, which was already a hit, this album features a number of solid tracks, including “Straight Into Your Arms”, “Mess Is Mine” “First Time” and “Fire And The Flood”. A nice way to get started, indeed.
Unfortunately, Joy has apparently decided to milk that five album deal for all it’s worth. It took four years before his follow up album, Nation Of Two, was released, and after four years, the momentum of the debut was gone. It was another four years before album number three. That’s his choice, I guess. But Dream Your Life Away is a pleasant and entertaining enough record. He was still growing as a writer here, but his better moments make it worthwhile. Hopefully we will hear from him again soon, and hopefully he’s continued his growth as a songwriter. In the meantime, there’s this, Nation Of Two and the aptly titled In Our Own Sweet Time to fall back on. A refreshing and interesting voice from down under, to be sure. Worth keeping an eye and an ear on.
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RAY WYLIE HUBBARD
DELIRIUM TREMOLOS
2005 – PHILO
Produced By GURF MORLIX
1. The Beauty Way
2. Rock And Roll Gypsies
3. Dallas After Midnight
4. Torn In Two
5. Drivin’ Wheel
6. This Mornin’ I Am Born Again
7. Dust Of The Chase
8. Roll And I Tumble
9. Cooler-N-Hell
10. Choctaw Bingo
One of my biggest country influences and heroes. If every country album sounded like a Ray Wylie Hubbard album, I would be the happiest country fan on the planet. He first gained fame in 1973 when Jerry Jeff Walker had a hit with his “Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother”, and his star and his legend has grown steadily ever since. He sings beautiful songs…and then he’ll scare you to death with some dark portraits of life you thought you’d never hear. Delirium Tremolos is Hubbard’s 12th album, and it’s about as perfect as can be. This is an outlaw country classic, filled with amazing tracks like “This Mornin’ I Am Born Again”, “Dallas After Midnight”, and “Cooler-N-Hell”.
And then there’s “Choctaw Bingo”, and eight plus minute journey to a family reunion of meth cookers and moonshiners. In other words…the outlaw country “Stairway”. This song alone is worth the price of the album, heavy, dark, hilarious and fully believable. It’s Hubbard’s crowning achievement, and the perfect cap to a perfect album. Ray Wylie is cruising in his seventies now, but his legend as a songwriter and performer continues to grow. Delirium Tremolos is deliciously perfect. And the players…he has guests like James McMurtry, Slaid Cleaves, Cody Canada, Patty Griffin, Ian McLagan and more. You can’t go wrong with anything by Ray Wylie, but Delirium Tremolos is truly exceptional.
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