THE PRODIGY
MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION
1994 – XL / MUTE
Produced By LIAM HOWLETT & NEIL McLELLAN
1. Intro
2. Break & Enter
3. Their Law (Feat. Pop Will Eat Itself)
4. Full Throttle
5. Voodoo People
6. Speedway (Theme From Fastlane)
7. The Heat (The Energy)
8. Poison
9. No Good (Start The Dance)
10. One Love (Edit)
11. The Narcotic Suite: 3 Kilos
12. The Narcotic Suite: Skylined
13. The Narcotic Suite: Claustrophobic Sting
The Prodigy is a techno group from England who describe their sound as electronic punk. And that’s pretty accurate, for the most part. Music For The Jilted Generation is their second album, their first number one album in their home country, and the prelude to the group’s biggest success, 1997’s The Fat Of The Land, which went number one worldwide. Jilted Generation is mostly instrumental (even though they have a vocalist), with most of the music being played by Liam Howlett. Also, the British group Pop Will Eat Itself performs on “Their Law”. The beats here are interesting, as they are closer to rock beats than what you typically hear in the electronic world. This marked the beginning of great success for The Prodigy…success that was well earned.
This album is quite political in nature…it stood as a protest of the British government’s crackdowns on raves and rave culture. It’s also adventurous and quite listenable, and it never strays into being overly repetitive. The best tracks here are “Poison” (with vocals by Maxim), “No Good (Start The Dance)”, and “Voodoo People”. Despite The Prodigy having five members, only Howlett and Maxim contributed to this record, with Maxim appearing on only one track. The next album is the one to have by this group, but it doesn’t hurt to have this one as well, as it foreshadows the excellence of what was to come. They have released five albums since this one, each a chart topper in England (while only The Fat Of The Land was successful in America). Electronic music you can actually listen to.
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N.W.A.
STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
1988 – RUTHLESS / PRIORITY
Produced By DR. DRE & VELLA
1. Straight Outta Compton
2. Fuck Tha Police
3. Gangsta Gangsta
4. If It Ain’t Ruff
5. Parental Discretion Iz Advised
6. 8 Ball (Remix)
7. Something Like That
8. Express Yourself
9. Compton’s N The House (Remix)
10. I Ain’t Tha 1
11. Dopeman (Remix)
12. Quiet On Tha Set
13. Something 2 Dance 2
Above all else…Straight Outta Compton is one of the catchiest albums you will ever hear. It also scared the shit out of white people everywhere, and gave a view of what was going on in the streets of Los Angeles. “Fuck Da Police” predates the recent protests against police violence by decades, and the FBI took notice of the violent nature of the lyrics…which only helped the group. Is this about encouraging gang violence and enticing the youth of America to live lives of crime? You tell me. But this album was eventually noticed as an important enough document to be included into the Library Of Congress. Musically, it’s pretty upbeat and danceable, and it helped launch the careers of Easy E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre. And it includes an impressive number of really terrific samples.
N.W.A. at the time was seen as a huge threat to the youth of America…but it’s music, people. And it’s honesty. This is what people were living in the inner cities of LA during the late 80’s, while the rest of us were digging Madonna and hair metal and our fancy 80’s clothes and MTV. Straight Outta Compton is what art SHOULD be…these guys are expressing what their lives were like. Their message makes you feel uncomfortable…as it ought to. This is honesty, this is their lives on display, for the rest of us to see the real truth. Musically, it’s appealing to a vast audience, which gives the message a louder voice than you would think it would get. It’s controversial, it’s listenable, it’s honest, it makes you feel uncomfortable, and it’s important. And it’s really well made.
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WILLIE NELSON
ALWAYS ON MY MIND
1982- COLUMBIA
Produced By CHIPS MOMAN
1. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
2. Always On My Mind
3. A Whiter Shade Of Pale
4. Let It Be Me
5. Staring Each Other Down
6. Bridge Over Troubled Water
7. Old Fords And A Natural Stone
8. Permanently Lonely
9. Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning
10. The Party’s Over
The year was 1982, and Willie Nelson was on fire. His image as a pot smoking renegade outlaw was fully engaged, but Willie was not just a crazed country singer. Willie was doing whatever he wanted, and he was winning at every turn. In just six months during 1982, Nelson released six studio albums. SIX. A pair of solo records (one of which was, of all things, standards from the 1940’s), and three collaborations with Roger Miller, Webb Pierce and Waylon Jennings…while recording another album with Merle Haggard. “Always On My Mind” was brought to Merle while they were recording the Pancho & Lefty album. Haggard wasn’t interested…and Willie jumped all over the song. It became the centerpiece of his best selling album of the decade, and one of his signature songs. This release, his 27th, was a triumph.
The rest of this album is loaded with covers…and fortunately, Willie has always known a great song to record when he hears it. Aretha’s “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man”, Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, and even Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” (with Waylon) work surprisingly well, and helps to keep this disc interesting. He also remakes a pair of his own songs from the sixties, ending up with a solid, but overall not spectacular effort that was a massive hit…it stayed on the country charts for nearly five years. He’s in fine voice here. The main attraction is the title track, which is one of his most successful singles, but the rest is worth taking at least a listen to. It’s not his best work, but it is one of his most important albums.
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TOBY KEITH
SHOCK’N Y’ALL
2003 – DREAMWORKS
Produced By JAMES STROUD & TOBY KEITH
1. I Love This Bar
2. Whiskey Girl
3. American Soldier
4. If I Was Jesus
5. Time For Me To Ride
6. Sweet
7. Don’t Leave, I Think I Love You
8. Nights I Can’t Remember, Friends I’ll Never Forget
9. Baddest Boots
10. The Critic
11. The Taliban Song
12. Weed With Willie
Toby Keith is a talented guy, and he’s had a long and successful career in country music. He’s written some great songs, and he’s been as solid as can be. He’s also had a tendency to be a bit…overly patriotic with his music, and he’s made some questionable moves in that area. Shock’N Y’All is Keith’s eighth album, and was his second of many number one country albums. Along with its predecessor, this was his best selling record at his early 2000’s peak. This album boasts three number one singles in “I Love This Bar”, “Whiskey Girl”, and “American Soldier”. His continued inclusion of songs about soldiers can be off putting (this includes the live bonus track “The Taliban Song”), and that this came on the heels of his ridiculous “feud” with the Dixie Chicks, in which he showed a doctored picture of Natalie Maines with Saddam Hussein, is deeply unfortunate.
When Toby Keith leaves his somewhat confused politics and military posturing behind, he’s really very good. “I Love This Bar” is a fun hit. “Whiskey Girl” is a fine track, and most of the rest is very good country music. Despite the political album title, this is mostly a good and entertaining record. He’s made 21 studio albums to date, most of which have been very successful. He’s also had 65 charting singles. Keith is an enjoyable performer, and his albums are entertaining…just never superb. He’s still at it, and he’s still selling albums by the boatload. Just don’t expect too much. His low points are when he decides to be a political voice and trying to show his patriotism by posturing for the military. When he leaves his politics at home, he can be as good as anyone.
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CIRCA SURVIVE
JUTURNA
2005 – EQUAL VISION
Produced By BRIAN MCTERNAN
1. Holding Someone’s Hair Back
2. Act Appalled
3. Wish Resign
4. The Glorious Nosebleed
5. In Fear And Faith
6. The Great Golden Baby
7. Stop The Fuckin’ Car
8. We’re All Thieves
9. Oh, Hello
10. Always Getting What You Want
11. Meet Me In Montauk
Circa Survive came out of Philadelphia in 2005 with their debut album Juturna, inspired in part by The Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Important to know about Circa Survive: they do not have a female singer, despite what listening to them will tell you. The lead singer is Anthony Green, who absolutely sounds female, but is not. Juturna is an interesting album, heavy and well played, but what it lacks are songs that are memorable. It has become a big record in the world of post hardcore, and the layers of guitar from Brendan Ekstrom and Colin Frangicetto are impressive. Green’s high vocals fit in nicely, making this a great sounding disc. But, despite the creative song titles, it’s the writing that holds this album back from being a lot better than it is.
Juturna (the Roman goddess of fountains, wells and springs) shows a lot of promise, but also shows how difficult they can be. The songs seem to all blend into one another, which is not a great thing. The best tracks here are “In Fear And Faith” and “Act Appalled”. The connection to Eternal Sunshine is interesting, and carries over to the rest of their career. This album is their least successful in terms of charts and sales…they have shown some growth since then on their six subsequent releases. You will probably not recognize any of their songs, but they are interesting to listen to…the just won’t have you singing along with them. Overall, Juturna is a well played album with songwriting flaws that hold it back…but with enough going for it instrumentally to make it worth at least a listen or two.
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A FINE FRENZY
PINES
2012 – VIRGIN
Produced By KEEFUS GREEN
1. Pinesong
2. Winds Of Wander
3. Avalanches (Culla’s Song)
4. Riversong
5. The Sighting
6. Dream In The Dark
7. Sailingsong
8. Sadseasong
9. They Can’t If You Don’t Let Them
10. Dance Of The Gray Whales
11. It’s Alive
12. Now Is The Start
13. Untitled (Grasses Grow)
A Fine Frenzy is Alison Sudol, an American singer, songwriter, actress and video director. She’s appeared in a number of films and TV shows after deciding to retire her music career in 2015. She made three albums as A Fine Frenzy, the last of which was Pines. As with her other efforts, the main focus is on Sudol’s voice…a lovely instrument indeed. She never ventures into the world of pop, instead keeping a light grip on the borders of adult contemporary…her music is safe yet interesting, never exciting but also never dull. Her songwriting shows some growth here, and the end result is an album that’s more than pleasant to listen to…just not the most memorable thing you will hear. Sudol’s voice is, in reality, what ultimately saves the day.
The high point is the lovely “Now Is The Start”, a fine single that should have done much better than it did. Her decision to concentrate on her acting career meant that she wasn’t going to build on Pines…which is too bad, because it would have been very interesting to hear what she would have done next. But we do still have her trio of A Fine Frenzy discs. And she has a new album out from 2022, Still Come The Night, which she released under her real name. In the end, Alison Sudol is a fine musician, and it’s always a pleasure to hear that voice of hers. She’s a wonderful talent on all levels, and here’s to the hope that she does more on the singing end of her career in the near future. All three of the A Fine Frenzy albums are worth a listen…you might just fall in love with what she does.
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THE CARDIGANS
GRAN TURISMO
1998 – STOCKHOLM
Produced By TORE JOHANSSON
1. Paralyzed
2. Erase / Rewind
3. Explode
4. Starter
5. Hanging Around
6. Higher
7. Marvel Hill
8. My Favourite Game
9. Do You Believe
10. Junk Of The Hearts
11. Nil
This Swedish band took a bit of a departure for their fourth album, 1998’s Gran Turismo. Prior to this disc, their sound had been lighter and easy, which took a back seat on this record. The darker and more serious sound of Gran Turismo works well, and it was a winner with their fans, selling well over 3 million copies. The vocals of Nina Persson, as always, are the focal point, and the band does a great job of tightening things up more here than they had ever done before. The album produced a pair of very nice hits in “Erase / Rewind” and “My Favourite Game”, propelling the album to the first of three consecutive Swedish number ones, with moderate success across the rest of the world. This was the band’s peak, as the next two efforts sold considerable fewer copies.
Unfortunately, The Cardigans chose to call it a day in 2006. They did regroup for a few years in the 2010’s, but they didn’t release any new material. They didn’t continue in the direction of Gran Turismo, choosing instead to release the more country rock flavored follow up Long Gone Before Daylight, which was five years after this came out. The band did themselves no favors in the way of momentum after being a most promising act earlier in their career. But Persson is always worth listening to…a truly bright voice in the world of alternative rock, and there are enough good songs on this record to make it worth listening to. The Cardigans could have, and maybe should have, had a more successful career, but I guess we’ll have to settle for what they were able to give us.
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J DILLA
DONUTS
2006 – STONES THROW
Produced By J DILLA
1. Donuts (Outro)
2. Workinonit
3. Waves
4. Light My Fire
5. The New
6. Stop!
7. People
8. The Diff’rence
9. Mash
10. Time: The Donut Of The Heart
11. Glazed
12. Airworks
13. Lightworks
14. Stepson Of The Clapper
15. The Twister (Huh, What)
16. One Eleven
17. Two Can Win
18. Don’t Cry
19. Anti-American Graffiti
20. Geek Down
21. Thunder
22. Gobstopper
23. One For Ghost
24. Dilla Says Go
25. Walkinonit
26. The Factory
27. U-Love
28. Hi
29. Bye
30. Last Donut Of The Night
31. Welcome To The Show
Donuts was recorded by producer J Dilla when he was 31 years old. Almost all of the album was made in a hospital room on a 45 rpm record player and a sampler, where the artist was being treated for an incurable blood disease and lupus. It was released on the day he turned 32, and he died three days later. And it is a masterpiece. The album is instrumental hip hop, with all of the vocals coming by way of samples. It’s known as one of the most important hip hop albums of all time, and is the ultimate guidebook for how to utilize sampling in music. It’s all completely entertaining and listenable...it’s obvious that Dilla had mastered the art of piecing music together like no one else has been able to do. There is not a wasted moment on this disc…it’s simply brilliant.
Dilla’s reputation as a producer dates back to the 1990’s, when he worked with Janet Jackson and A Tribe Called Quest, among others. His first solo album was 2001’s Welcome To Detroit, but it was on Donuts where he got absolutely everything right. Since his death in 2006, there has been a lot more J Dilla material released than when he was alive, but the one you really must hear, and must have, is Donuts. You’ll hear snippets of Zappa, The Jackson 5, Mountain (!), and an absolute who’s who of R&B and hip hop in the impressive amounts of samples here. It‘s simply a one man album, built piece by piece from a determined man building one hell of an impressive collage, and going out with an absolute bang. Donuts is an absolute classic.
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DANNY GATTON
CRUISIN’ DEUCES
1993 – ELEKTRA
Produced By DANNY GATTON & BILLY WINDSOR
1. Funhouse
2. Sun Medley: Mystery Train / My Baby Left Me / That’s All Right
3. Harlem Nocturne
4. Thirteen Women
5. Sky King
6. Beat Of The Night
7. So Good
8. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore
9. Puddin’ & Pie
10. Tragedy
11.Cruisin’ Deuce
12. Satisfied Mind
The king of the Telecaster? Danny Gatton was the man. You don’t believe me? Just listen to Cruisin’ Deuces. Gatton was incredibly gifted, and his playing was as good as guitar has ever been. This is his fifth solo album, and the second to last before his stunning death by suicide only a year later. Cruisin’ Deuces is, above all else, a tribute to the early days of rock and roll. Unlike other guitar player albums of the day, Gatton isn’t afraid to utilize singers when the song calls for it. Delbert McClinton sings the fine Sun medley, and Rodney Crowell takes on Buddy Holly on “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”. And he isn’t afraid to give solos to the likes of sax player Bill Holloman (check out “Puddin & Pie”). But, of course, the real star here is Gatton, and his always tasteful and excellent guitar work.
On most guitarist albums, what you get is a minimal band and non-stop soloing from start to finish. Gatton lets his band have their moments, and it’s the best move. When he does take the spotlight, it’s never over done…it’s always just right. His feel for the older music is done with care and the greatest feel. He understands this music, and never tries to plow his way through it. Which is what makes Cruisin’ Deuces such a gem. Gatton isn’t just a great guitar player…he understands what makes this music shine, and he never puts himself above the song. His tragic suicide in 1994 was a huge loss for the music world…you have to listen to how this man spoke with his guitar, and how smooth and precise he was without ever losing that great feel. This is a GREAT record. Without question.
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1. Untitled
2. Archangel
3. Near Dark
4. Ghost Hardware
5. Endorphin
6. Etched Headplate
7. In McDonalds
8. Untrue
9. Shell Of Light
10. Dog Shelter
11. Homeless
12. UK
13. Raver
Burial is the moniker used by British electronic artist William Bevan, who’s long career has relied more on EP releases than on albums. Untrue is his second full length studio album, and he hasn’t made another in the seventeen years since. Which does not mean he’s been inactive…at all. Untrue is widely known as a huge step forward in the worlds of dubstep and ambient music, still gaining critical acclaim to this day. He uses a lot of R&B vocals samples, many of which are manipulated, and he has a great ability to create dark and highly emotional soundscapes. There is nothing thin or tinny about Burial’s music…these tracks are deep, layered, and often very complex. You can always hear something new in his songs, and the journey is never a dull one.
The best tracks here are “Raver”, “Archangel”, and “Near Dark”, and “Ghost Hardware” was released as a single from the album. And even though his beats tend to be somewhat choppy, they still absolutely work. Untrue is an album that rewards multiple listens, and is one that doesn’t sink in right away. But if you can be patient, the rewards here are numerous. He’s since moved on to making longer tracks, and he works well with artists like Thom Yorke, Kode9 and Four Tet. All of his work is worth hearing, but his two early studio albums, this one and his self-titled debut, are a great place to start. Burial is an important part of the history of electronic music…if it’s the kind of music you enjoy, then you will definitely want to hear Untrue.
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