Sleep - "Dopesmoker"

 

Danette is on a two week cruise with her mother and friends, so in her absence I have resumed what is now a tradition when she's gone: listening to Sleep's "Dopesmoker" on repeat while doing things around the house. This is an LP I've recommended to many friends and colleagues now, so I guess I should blog about it. 

Sleep is a stoner/doom band from California, and I'm not 100% certain how I first heard of them.  They're in the same circle as Earth and Sunn O))), so perhaps I learned of them from Butch.  Or maybe I just read about them online -- it's all appropriately fuzzy, given the cannabis connection.  

The story of this LP is a little bit complicated.  Recorded in 1996, their record label at the time did not want to release it because, among other things, the "album" is just an hour long single song.  In 1999, an unauthorized edited version of the LP was released as "Jerusalem", with six different tracks, all named "Jerusalem".  In 2003, a version was released as "Dopesmoker" with a single eponymous track, and in 2012 another version was released (the 2012 version on Southern Lord Records is the one I have).  

One of the best things about the doom metal genre is that they don't shy away from their Black Sabbath roots, and this LP is no exception. I mention this only because many bands seek to deny or obfuscate their influences, but doom metal is perhaps the only genre that can agree the canon is dominated by the first six Sabbath LPs. The production is cleaner and heavier at the same time (these production dimensions are often in conflict) than the early 70s Sabbath, but the through line from "Master of Reality" to "Dopesmoker" is obvious. 

So yeah, slow, plodding, detuned guitars are what you get. There are vocals, and they're borderline Cookie Monster, but not distractingly so.  They do obscure the lyrics, which is fortunate because apparently there's a story about the "Weedians" or some such; I've made it a point to not look up the lyrics because I'm sure they'd only disappoint.  Cisneros's voice works well as another instrument, and exactly what he's saying isn't important.

Regardless, it all comes together in a hazy, hypnotic, slowly evolving repetitive swirl that has to be considered a high point of the genre.  Despite, or perhaps because, being a single hour track, it holds up to listening to it on repeat all afternoon.*

Standout tracks: "Dopesmoker" 

Skip 'em tracks: The 2012 release comes with a bonus live version of "Holy Mountain", which is not necessarily bad, but clearly doesn't not fit the original artistic vision of the LP itself. 

Score: 10/10. Again, it's absolutely central to the genre, but before you listen, you've got to buy into the conceit of a single track that's 63 minutes long. 

* "Repeat all afternoon" works best when your spouse is not home.

Iron Maiden - "Killers"

We heard today that Paul Di'Anno, the first singer for Iron Maiden, died recently.  While he had a number of health problems through the years, it was still a surprise ("66" doesn't seem as old as it once did).  Almost 10 years ago, I reviewed their debut LP "Iron Maiden" and detailed my fondness for the first two Iron Maiden LPs over the rest of their extensive discography. By nearly any metric, Bruce Dickinson is a "better" vocalist, but I -- and others, apparently -- just love Di'Anno's raspy, punk growl.  

Their second LP, 1981's "Killers", is an extraordinary LP with no weak moments and several that are simply transcendent.  "Killers" finds them settling into their classic sound: guitarist Dennis Stratton was replaced by Adrian Smith, who combined with Dave Murray to solidify the "Iron Maiden dual harmony" sound that would define their career.  In addition, "Killers" was the first LP to have their long-time producer, Martin Birch, which resulted in a slightly fuller if muddier and heavier sound than their first LP.  

As I said in my review of "Iron Maiden", I enjoy the first two LPs without the crutch of nostalgia or a hint of irony (cf. my recent review of "Too Fast for Love"). They were right to fire Di'Anno in late 1981: he was a troubled addict, and Iron Maiden would never have become "Iron Maiden" had he stayed at the helm.  But the first two Iron Maiden LPs are special. 

Standout songs: "Ides of March / Wrathchild", "Murders in the Rue Morgue", "Killers", "Prodigal Son", "Purgatory" (Full LP)

Skip 'em songs: none. 

Final rating: 10/10.  A NWOBHM masterpiece. 

Bonus link: my review of "Live at the Rainbow", a 1980 concert with Paul Di'Anno. 

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "F♯ A♯ ∞" (LP Review)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian musical collective that I first learned of from Herbert, probably 20 years ago.  Their genre is broadly "post-rock", but "atmospheric" and "soundtrack" are equally descriptive as well.  I listened to their 1998 debut LP "F♯ A♯ ∞" (F-sharp, A-sharp, Infinity) again recently, and no matter how often I listen to it, I'm always moved by its power and scale.

I could try to describe it further, but instead I'm going to steal a line from Gordon Krieger, who described the LP as a "slow soundtrack of regret and desire, equal parts morose and expectant."

Stand out songs: All.  There are individual tracks, but listen to the entire LP for the full effect.

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 10/10.  This is a genre-defining LP.

Mazzy Star - "She Hangs Brightly" (LP review)

David Roback died just over three months ago.  Roback was a central figure in the Paisley Underground scene of the 80s,  but is best known for being the guitarist and founding member of Opal and then Mazzy Star.  Over 30 years, Mazzy Star built a limited but rich discography: four studio LPs and a handful of singles & EPs.  Of those, their first LP, 1990's "She Hangs Brightly", is probably still my favorite.  Even including LPs from his other bands, like "Emergency Third Rail Power Trip" and "Happy Nightmare Baby", "She Hangs Brightly" is probably the best of David Roback's canon.

David Roback was a private man, and I don't know much about him outside of his music.  But he managed to conjure a unique sound that combined some of the best elements of blues, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, and even occasionally Black Sabbath.

The first song, "Halah", is transcendental and in my opinion is even better than "Fade Into You", their most popular song.  "Blue Flower", although a cover, is an amazing song which they make their own (and was the song Danette and I chose for our wedding).  The Doors influence is especially noticeable on songs like "She Hangs Brightly" and "Free", "I'm Sailin" reminds of Pink Floyd's "Mademoiselle Nobs" from "Live at Pompeii", and "Ghost Highway" sounds most like "Opal" (channeling Black Sabbath), Roback's prior band (of note, this is the only song on this LP Roback wrote without Hope Sandoval).

During the intermission between Mazzy Star LPs, Hope Sandoval formed her own band, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, and while it lacked Roback's signature guitar sounds, it mined a lot of the same territory that Mazzy Star did.  Indeed, over time the membership of the bands converged, with Suki Ewers and Colm Ó Cíosóig sharing membership in both bands.  David Roback will be missed, but hopefully Hope Sandoval and friends will carry on.


Standout songs: "Halah", "Blue Flower", "She Hangs Brightly", "Give You My Lovin", "Be My Angel", "Ghost Highway", (see also: Playlist for the full LP)

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 10/10. Your collection needs this LP.

Judas Priest - "British Steel" (LP Review)

I was speaking with Drew last week and he was reflecting on how many songs from the 1980s dealt with the threat of nuclear war.  One of the examples he mentioned was Judas Priest's "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" ("One last day burning hell fire / You're blown away / If the man with the power / Can't keep it under control"), from their 1984 LP "Defenders of the Faith".  He offered other examples, of course, but the mention of Judas Priest unleashed from me a torrent of commentary, probably far more than he cared for, in which I pontificated that "Defenders" was really the beginning of the end for Priest, and their best LP is 1980's "British Steel", a landmark in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).  I probably went on for about 10 minutes about "British Steel" (and honorable mentions "Sad Wings of Destiny", "Sin After Sin", and "Screaming for Vengeance") while he laid the telephone down and did something else. 

In HS, the cost of purchasing LPs was distributed among a network of friends, and Robert Gordick bought most of the Iron Maiden and Judas Priest (with the rest of us tape trading to complete our collection).  I do have British Steel on vinyl (and eventually I filled out my collection with their early catalog), one of the first LPs I bought myself (first 10 maybe?).  I won't pretend this doesn't have a significant nostalgia component for me, but I listened to it again after my discussion with Drew and was surprised at how well it held up.  LPs like "Killing Machine" (1978) and "Point of Entry" (1981) had good songs, but they weren't necessarily good albums.  "British Steel" is where they hit the sweet spot of commercial accessibility (the singles "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight") without compromising their heavy sound (which began to erode on "Defenders"), with just a hint of their 1970s progressive rock origins (e.g., "The Rage").

The lyrics have certainly helped the LP age well.  I'm not going to tell you they're great metal lyrics (cf. "Morbid Tales"), but they are missing the puerile, misogynistic lyrics common to many metal bands of the era and that in itself is a big step*.   For example, the lyrics to "Metal Gods" are basically the synopsis to "The Terminator" some four years before it was released ("Hiding underground / Knowing we'd be found / Fearing for our lives / Reaped by robot's scythes").

There are no bad tracks, and at a trim 36 minutes the LP doesn't bog down and meander.  "Screaming for Vengeance" was their real breakthrough, and that's still a fine LP, but "British Steel" is truly their best.  Whether it was a permanent fixture on your turntable in the early 80s like it was for Robert and me, or if you're new to it like Drew, you owe it to yourself to give this LP a (re-)listen.   

Standout songs: "Rapid Fire",  "Metal Gods", "Breaking the Law", "United", "Living After Midnight", "The Rage", (entire LP). 

Skip 'em songs: none

Final score: 10/10.  Don't just take my word for it, read this retrospective and look at its #3 position on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Metal LPs of All Time".




* Of course, I didn't realize at the time that Rob Halford wasn't really interested in singing about women.  I remember Danette laughing heartily at me when I told her about the "Blue Oyster" scenes in "Police Academy" and me thinking "I don't get it, they're just dressed like Judas Priest".  Of course it seems obvious in retrospect, but my sheltered HS self didn't know about that. 

James Brown - "Funky Drummer" (LP Review)

After completing my previous blog post about an obscure source of hip hop samples, I just learned of the death of Clyde Stubblefield, the original "funky drummer" and the source of what is probably the most popular -- almost to the point of cliche -- hip hop sample. 

"Funky Drummer" is a non-LP single released in 1970 by James Brown.  At 7+ minutes, the song itself was split over the A- and B-sides but it really should be heard as one song.  Then skip to about 5:34 in the track: it might not be the first breakbeat, but it's probably the most sampled.  Even when the breakbeats are from other songs, they pretty much all owe a debt to the Wilhelm scream of hip hop: "Funky Drummer" and Clyde Stubblefield. 

In the immortal words of James Brown, "give the drummer some!"

James Brown - "Funky Drummer" (break at ~5:34)

Final score: 10/10

DJ Shadow - "Midnight in a Perfect World" (LP Review)

David Axelrod, another artist who nicely illustrates the difference between influential and popular, died earlier this month.  You probably haven't heard of him, but he is a popular source of samples for hip hop heavyweights such as DJ Shadow, Lauryn Hill, and Dr. Dre.  I have David Axelrod's eponymous 2001 LP, but instead of that I'm focusing on my first introduction to his music: DJ Shadow's "Midnight in a Perfect World". 

"Midnight in a Perfect World" is the lead single and arguably the best song on his seminal 1996 LP "Endtroducing...." In fact, "Midnight in a Perfect World" was almost the name of this blog, which should convey the depth of my feelings about this haunting yet substantive song.  DJ Shadow samples many artists in the song, but the prominent piano sample is from "The Human Abstract", of Axelrod's 1969 William Blake-themed LP "Songs of Experience".

As is typical for Mo' Wax releases, there are several versions of this single.  My version is the 1998 US 5 track CD single with:

1. "Midnight in a Perfect World" (LP Version)
2. "The Number Song" (LP Version)
3. "Red Bus Needs to Leave" (non-LP track)
4. "Midnight in a Perfect World" (Gab Mix)
5. "The Number Song" (Cut Chemist Party Mix)

They're all great tracks, and it's a shame that the Gab Mix (technically a DJ Shadow remix featuring Gift of Gab) for "Midnight in a Perfect World" is relegated to an obscure B-side.  I won't say it's better than the original, but rather it illustrates the best elements of a remix in that it incorporates an alternate but necessary perspective on the original.  That's probably also true for the Cut Chemist mix of "The Number Song" (which is an even more radical transformation), but that track has appeared on so many releases it hardly still qualifies as a B-side.

I'm breaking from my standard LP review format by linking the DJ Shadow songs above, and the David Axelrod song below.  To fully understand "Midnight in a Perfect World", you really need to listen to "The Human Abstract".

David Axelrod - "The Human Abstract" ("Songs of Experience" Full LP)

Final score: 10/10

Laurie Anderson - "Big Science" (LP Review)

In much the same way as Julee Cruise's "Floating Into the Night", Laurie Anderson's "Big Science" was a prominent feature in the soundtrack for my senior year of college.  One of my roommates (Jason, Terry, or Frey -- I don't recall) had the CD and we all loved it, so it was on heavy rotation.  Prior to living with those guys I had not heard of her before, so when I moved out I quickly got a copy of my own. 

"Big Science" is Anderson's 1982 debut LP (not counting earlier contributions to compilation / joint artist LPs), and its genius lies in finding the oh-so-difficult intersection of legitimate art and pop appeal.  This is the minimalist, electronic, art rock LP for people who would otherwise recoil at the description of "minimalist, electronic, art rock".  You may have heard "O Superman", the center piece of the LP (if not quite the "hit single"), but there is much more to this LP.  Rather than continuing to throw words at this LP, I urge you to just listen to this perfect LP:

1. "From the Air"
2. "Big Science"
3. "Sweaters"
4. "Walking & Falling"
5. "Born, Never Asked"
6. "O Superman (for Massenet)"
7. "Example #22"
8. "Let X=X"
9. "It Tango"

Of the above links, only "O Superman" is an official video (which is excellent).  Otherwise I've tried to link to fan videos, so keep in mind they are other people's interpretation of Anderson's work, not her own. 

Skip 'em songs: none

Standout songs: all (see above; here's the full LP in a playlist).

Final score: 10/10

Weezer - "Weezer (The Blue LP)" (LP Review)

Recently my posts have primarily been in reaction to artists' deaths, but today I'm going to move on to something more joyful: Weezer's eponymous 1994 debut.  On one hand, it's hard to believe that this LP came out 22 years ago since it still sounds fresh and engaging.  On the other hand, it's sometimes hard for me to believe that this LP was released three years after I was in college since it so completely captures the late 80s / early 90s zeitgeist.  The patter at the beginning and middle of "Undone - The Sweater Song" could have been recorded at any number of college parties that I attended.  I was 22 when I graduated college, and this LP is now 22 years old as well, so perhaps it is fitting that I review it now.

As I mentioned in my review of "Pinkerton", most serious Weezer fans think "The Blue LP" pales in comparison to "Pinkerton".  While I've come to appreciate "Pinkerton" more than I used to, "The Blue LP" is not just Weezer's best LP, but one of the best power pop LPs of all time.  They celebrate and synthesize so many influences that it is almost an encyclopedia of American pop music.  First, there is the unabashed, non-ironic celebration of 70s arena rock: Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Kiss, etc.  In particular, they work to perfection the Van Halen formula of heavy music tempered with sing-song choruses.  On songs like "Surf Wax America" and "Holiday", they prove that they've listened to more than their fair share of The Beach Boys as well.  And there's Black Sabbath-esque (perhaps via the Pixies) heavy crunch to songs like "Only in Dreams".  The songs are clever, funny, disturbing, and all the while retaining their alt-cred.  As I've mentioned in previous Weezer reviews, you have to credit producer Ric Ocasek for capturing a heavy-but-crisp sound that effortlessly straddles pop and alternative genres. 

The LP was well-received when it came out and it's stature has only grown over time.  Throw this LP on when you're in a mixed group but don't want forego your alternative status.  They'll love "Buddy Holly" and "The Sweater Song" (and their respective Spike Jonze videos), but you'll also enjoy "My Name is Jonas", "Say it Ain't So" (my personal favorite), and "Only in Dreams".

"Did you here about the party after the show?  Ah man, it's going to be the best.  I'm so stoked.  Take it easy bro!"

Standout songs: "My Name Is Jonas", "Buddy Holly", "Undone – The Sweater Song", "Surf Wax America", "Say It Ain't So", "In the Garage", "Only in Dreams", (the full LP).

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 10/10.  I never get tired of this LP. 


Bonus link: A kindred soul who also understands that "The Blue LP" is better than "Pinkerton" (although I think he's off base on "Pink Triangle", which is dead clever). 

Balam Acab - "See Birds" (LP Review)

Balam Acab, aka Alec Koone, released his first EP, "See Birds", to critical acclaim in 2010 (for example, the Pitchfork review).  Herbert turned me on to this a few years ago and I had to get my own copy.  It's tempting to discount this EP because Koone wasn't an established artist (and arguably still isn't), but I have to give it my highest possible score because it was a shocking eye opener for me, sounding nothing like what I was used to.  Created with "found" (on the Internet) music samples, Koone creates a rich, subtle, and surprisingly warm sound.  I can't help but compare it to, say, "What Does Your Soul Look Like" ca. 1994.  Another stylistic comparison would be The Caretaker's "Persistent Repetition of Phrases", but with different source material.

Apparently the "new" sound of which he was a part earned the label "witch house", which was applied at least partially in jest.  I'm not going to argue for or against that label, but I will say this is a compelling new style of music that demands a listen.   Unfortunately, while his 2011 full length LP "Wander / Wonder" is good, it fails to continue the magic introduced on this EP. 

Standout songs: all:  See Birds (Moon), Regret Making Mistakes, Big Boy, Dream Out, See Birds (Sun); all five songs as a playlist. 

Skip 'em songs: none

Final score: 10/10

Andy Stott - "Luxury Problems" (LP Review)

For a while I've been searching for the words to describe Andy Stott's 2012 release "Luxury Problems".  His two 2011 EPs, "Passed Me By" and "We Stay Together", are darkly mesmerizing but "Luxury Problems" represents a significant step forward.  There's still the vast, rich, looming soundscapes that Stott paints that only occasionally veer into the realm of conventional song structures (the title track being perhaps being the closest thing to a "song"), but the thing that really sets this LP apart is the expert sampling of Alison Skidmore's vocals that give this LP a Julee Cruise / Elizabeth Fraser aesthetic while at the same time crafting a unique sound.  The result is an angelic touch to an otherwise menacing, bleak movie soundtrack where Skynet is the hero instead of the villain. 

The professional reviews are more eloquent (Pitchfork, Allmusic, Tiny Mix Tapes), but words are ultimately insufficient. 

Standout songs: all of them. 

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final Score: 10/10, including the rare "beyond music" label. 

Iron Maiden - "Iron Maiden" (LP Review)

Although Budgie is typically credited with inventing the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), perhaps the most well-known and successful example is Iron Maiden, whose self-titled 1980 debut LP is the subject of today's post.

I really liked Iron Maiden growing up although perhaps not as much as Robert Gordick, my friend & neighbor who was a super fan.  But I always held a minority opinion: I prefer the vocals of Paul Di'Anno to that of Bruce Dickinson.  Di'Anno only appears on the first two LPs (this one and 1981's "Killers") while Dickinson is far more well-known and appears on the classic line up (which, more or less, has been reformed & active since 1999).  I don't dislike Dickinson, and I'll be the first to admit that Dickinson is technically a much better singer, but I just prefer the gravelly, growling punk style of Di'Anno.  While I have most of the classic-Dickinson LPs on tape somewhere (recorded from Robert Gordick's collection), I only felt compelled to buy the first two LPs on CD later in life.  When I was in HS, I preferred "Killers", but over time I've come to prefer "Iron Maiden".  Today, I still enjoy both LPs, even without a hint of irony or nostalgia.

What makes this LP so enjoyable to me is the range of songs & the tight production (this is the only LP in their early years to not feature super-producer Martin Birch).  "Killers" has an arguably heavier sound, but it is a bit muddy where "Iron Maiden" is pretty crisp.  Bassist & primary song writer Steve Harris (he & guitarist Dave Murray are the only ones to appear on all Iron Maiden LPs) is clearly the centerpiece here, effectively playing bass as a lead instrument (esp. on "Phantom of the Opera").  "Strange World" is a standout while being barely a metal song (without being a sappy ballad), and "Remember Tomorrow" is a rich and complex song as well.

Di'Anno was kicked out of Iron Maiden in 1981 for substance abuse problems, something I'm not sure he ever really got past.  He sang in a lot of bands afterwards but with little critical impact.  Of course, post-Di'Anno Iron Maiden went on to become one of the world's most successful and long-lived bands, with the kind of loyal fan base that other artists envy.  Iron Maiden probably would never have achieved their success had they stayed with the unstable Di'Anno, but I still think the first two LPs are their best.

Standout songs (contemporary live versions): "Prowler", "Remember Tomorrow", "Running Free", "Phantom of the Opera", "Transylvania", "Strange World", "Iron Maiden"

Full LP (use these for studio versions): original 1980 tracklist,  remastered 1998 version with bonus tracks

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 10/10.  While Iron Maiden did not get big in the US until "The Number of the Beast", this is probably the first really big NWOBHM LP.  While the classic "Iron Maiden Sound" wasn't fully developed yet, you can hear it emerging on this LP. 

My Bloody Valentine - "Loveless" (LP Review)

I had been resisting reviewing "Loveless" because it is just too obvious: there are innumerable reviews proclaiming the excellence of this LP (e.g., Allmusic, Wired, Pitchfork, Drowned In Sound).   But with My Bloody Valentine's out-of-print EPs collected on "EPs 1988-1991" and *finally* a new LP,  "m b v", I've decided to include it.

I first heard this LP in 1999, ordering it at the same time as DJ Shadow's seminal "Endtroducing.....".  They don't sound anything alike, but they are similar in that once you listen to them, you'll never hear music the same way again. 

Rather than throw hundreds of words at this LP, the eccentricities and innovations of Kevin Shields, or how the cover art matches the sound, instead I'll offer my initial, visceral reaction from 1999:

Dying Swan Music*.

Yes, that's the best I can do, courtesy of Tennyson:

But anon her awful jubilant voice,
With a music strange and manifold,
Flow'd forth on a carol free and bold;
As when a mighty people rejoice

Standout songs:  All, and it really should be consumed as a whole, start to finish (Youtube playlist).  If forced to pick three, I'd go with: "To Here Knows When", "Sometimes", "Blown A Wish"

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final Score: In addition to "10/10", this LP earns my very rare "beyond music" label; "music" is just too limiting a concept to describe it.

Bonus links: official videos for "To Here Knows When" and "Soon" (radio edit).  I'm pretty sure most of the "official" videos for MBV are the same footage used over and over again, but how else would you do it?



* = Listen to "Touched", a sort of intro to "To Here Knows When", and then get back to me when you come up with a better description.

Slayer - "Haunting The Chapel" (LP Review)

I had been meaning to review this one for a while, but once again a recent death has influenced the order of reviews:  Jeff Hanneman, a founding member of the seminal thrash metal band Slayer, died on May 2.   While their contemporaries Metallica achieved more commercial success, Slayer arguably has the stronger, more consistent discography. 

While Slayer's 1983 debut LP "Show No Mercy" was a strong, heavy LP, it was their 1984 three song EP "Haunting the Chapel" that really defined the genre.  Especially influential was the double bass work of drummer Dave Lombardo, after this EP came out if you didn't have that double bass sound, you weren't a serious thrash band.  Of the three songs, the one you really must listen to is "Chemical Warfare".  Nearly 30 years after it was released this is still one of the heaviest songs I've ever heard.

Jeff Hanneman shared lead guitar duties with Kerry King as well as writing or co-writing most of their songs.  Although he had been sidelined for a few years due to a spider bite, everyone believed the worst was behind him and he was writing new material for their next LP.  Slayer had always been one of the more stable bands (with only Dave Lombardo leaving and rejoining a few times), so it will be interesting to see if they carry on without Jeff.

Standout songs: "Chemical Warfare", "Haunting The Chapel", "Captor of Sin"

Skip'em songs: none

Final Score: 10/10.  This EP points the way to "Hell Awaits" and "Reign in Blood", as well as reminding me of my tape trading days w/ Scott Kinkade et al.  Honorable mention to the late Bob Muldowney, publisher of Kick*Ass Monthly, for describing the importance of this EP back in the day.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - "Time Out" (LP Review)

I've been meaning to include some jazz classics in the blog, but I've always been intimidated: 1) I'm a jazz dilettante, and 2) is there any genre of music with a greater ratio of "words written" to "minutes recorded"?  And since "What Michael Doesn't Know About Jazz" is a pretty long book, what could I possibly say that hasn't been said before?

I had been thinking about "Kind of Blue", "Sketches of Spain", or "Blue Train", but Dave Brubeck's passing today made the choice of "Time Out" an easy one.  If you want to read about why this LP was such a leap forward and how it became a universally accepted classic, read the Allmusic review or the Wikipedia page.

Instead, I'll tell you my involvement with this LP goes back to an early teenager rifling through my father's LPs and ultimately commandeering it for my collection.  If I recall correctly, he got this LP from one of his brothers; Jack is older, but Douglas was the family audiophile.  Even as a teenager (knowing even less about jazz than I now do) I was captivated by "Blue Rondo a la Turk".  Much later in life I read about the rarity of 9/8 time, but ~30 years ago I just knew it sounded unlike anything else I had heard.  It was even later in life when I realized that the LP's real masterpiece is the smoky, cool "Take Five".  That's not to slight the other songs on this LP, but you haven't really heard jazz until you've heard these two.

This is one of the few LPs that I have on both vinyl (from the early family collection) and CD.  It might have been soon after college when I purchased the CD (I'm not entirely sure, but I probably had to have had a job to afford the luxury of purchasing a CD for something I already had on vinyl), but I still recall my first time hearing the vinyl.  50+ years later, this LP still sounds modern.

Stand out songs: "Blue Rondo a la Turk" (live 1962), "Take Five" (live 1966)

Full LP: YouTube playlist, grooveshark

Final Score: 10/10

The Magnetic Fields - "69 Love Songs" (LP Review)

It has taken me a while to get my head around just how remarkable "69 Love Songs" is, but the iTunes play count doesn't lie.  I've wanted to review it for a while but I've been intimidated by its scale.  Released in 1999, "69 Love Songs" is a triple LP from NPR-indie-rockers The Magnetic Fields.  I'm not sure "NPR-indie-rockers" is a legitimate music genre, but think of it is as 80s college radio all grown up with kids and a mortgage. 

"69 Love Songs" is, at first blush, a relatively simple concept LP: literally 69 songs about love.  No big deal, right? -- most songs you hear every day are about love in one way or another.  But this isn't really 69 songs celebrating love, this is 69 songs celebrating love songs.  A love song to love songs, if you will.   In fact, the entire LP can be summarized with these lines from the song "The Book of Love":

The book of love has music in it
In fact, that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb

Although TMF is a band with a relatively stable lineup, Stephin Merritt is the unquestioned leader, primary lead singer,  and sole songwriter for TMF.  This LP is his "book of love", covering the entire spectrum from "transcendental" to "really dumb".  Every imaginable aspect of romantic love is covered (gay, straight, unrequited, celebration, prurient, mature, etc.), along with a full range of musical styles (Celtic, world, folk, country, punk, jazz, electronic, surf rock, and surely other sub-genres that I'm forgetting).  Doing a cross product of "types of love" and "types of music" is how you get to a triple LP with 69 songs.  When you begin to appreciate the ambition and scale of the project, you wonder how he can fit it in only 69 songs.

Ok, so Merritt wrote a lot of love songs... what makes this collection work is that Merritt is a wickedly clever lyricist and songwriter (I will not spoil the several laugh-out-loud gems sprinkled throughout the LPs).  This simple concept would not work in the hands of someone less expert, in which case the songs would be closer to parody than celebration.  Some reviews (e.g., The Independent, July 2000) considered the question of the "authenticity" of Merritt covering far more experiences than any one lifetime could support, but that presupposes that personal experience is the only source for songs.  But if you accept this is a celebration of love songs, then I suppose that is actually what has happened and why this LP resonates so strongly: we've all heard these kinds of songs and from transcendental to really dumb, they are the stuff of life.

I'm going to deviate from the normal LP Review structure.  There are no bad songs on this LP, and there are too many great songs to cover.  I'm going to choose an arbitrary limit of four songs from each of the three volumes, but don't read too much into this list because I'm sure it would vary each time I rewrote it.

Volume 1:
"All My Little Words"
"I Don't Want To Get Over You"
"The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side"
"The Book Of Love" 

Volume 2:
"(Crazy For You But) Not That Crazy"
"Washington, D.C."
"Papa Was A Rodeo"
"I Shatter" 

Volume 3:
"I'm Sorry I Love You"
"Acoustic Guitar"
"Yeah! Oh, Yeah!"
"The Night You Can't Remember"

By my count, 11/12 of the videos linked above are from aspiring video directors, art students, fan boys, and just one is the song uploaded with a static image.  I think that says something about 1) the inspirational quality of the music, and 2) the kinds of people it inspires.


Final Score: 10/10

Perfume Tree - "Tides' Out" (LP Review)

Perfume Tree's 1997 EP "Tide's Out" was a sign of things changing for the band. For one, up until this point they had followed the standard formula of releasing an LP, and then a remix EP to complement that prior LP. "Tide's Out" is not really a remix EP for 1996's "A Lifetime Away" (that LP never received a remix release (edit: I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that; 1995's "Fathom the Sky" was the remix EP for "A Lifetime Away")), but is actually a remix EP for the "Feeler" LP that was released in 1998. More importantly, this EP signals an almost complete shift toward electronic music, a shift that "Feeler" would complete. Previous releases had always retained an organic feel, but that is almost entirely gone on this release.

In my prior review of "A Lifetime Away", I covered the story of Perfume Tree, their members, and their unfortunate lack of the success they deserved. Vancouver-based radio DJs, toiling in obscurity on the small label "World Domination Recordings", and prior to that the even smaller "Zulu Records", their sound is as fresh today as it was in the mid-1990s. The CDs are out of print, but most can be found used for decent $ (right now "Tide's Out" is going for less than $5 on Amazon).

I actually think the songs here are stronger than on "Feeler". The EP features 6 tracks (~55 minutes), but really only 3 distinct songs: 2 versions of "Blink", 3 versions of "Saturate", and "Too Late, Too Early" (which would be significantly reworked as "Too Early, Too Late" on "Feeler"). "Blink" is a rather fast, up beat song compared to most by the band. The "Black and White" version actually rocks pretty hard, complete with a hammond organ sound that the original version lacks. All three versions of "Saturate" are good, with the "20,000 Leagues" sounding, well, like it is under water. The "Full Steam" version is appropriately titled as well, driving almost as hard as "Blink (Black and White)". All six tracks are amazing.

"Tide's Out", like "A Lifetime Away" the year before, showcases the band at its creative peak. As before, the band is great, but Jane Tilley's vocals really separate the band from its peers. No connect-the-dots, formulaic electronica here. You owe it to yourself to hunt a copy of this EP, as well as the rest of their canon.

Standout songs: "Blink", "Saturate", "Too Late, Too Early", "Saturate (20,000 Leagues)", "Blink (Black And White)", "Saturate (Full Steam)"

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final Score: 10/10.

Cowboy Junkies - "The Trinity Session" (LP Review)

I was recently extolling the virtues of this LP to Herbert, and I've given/recommended it as a gift several times before so I decided I should go ahead and review it. Simply put, the Cowboy Junkies 1988 sophomore LP, "The Trinity Session", is one of the best LPs of all time. The story of the actual recording session is now legendary: on a shoestring budget, the group rented the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto (they're Canadian) for one day and recorded the entire LP live with one mic (ok, technically they forgot to record the a capella "Mining for Gold" during the weekend and recorded it a few days later in the church during the lunch break of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's recording session). The warm acoustics of the church, the intimate, spare production, the lonely, hazy songs -- it all combines to transport you to the session itself, like you helped the band move their gear and watched and listened to the LP unfold.

But what is less well-known but more interesting to me is that this LP is a love letter to & reinterpretation of country music. On the band's website they have extensive notes about their experiences touring the American South in support of their previous LP and being introduced to country music:

[W]e had spent a lot of time in the Southern States, especially Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas. ... Those were the days when having to spend a night in a hotel room would mean the difference between eating the next day or paying for the gas to get us to the next town, so we spent a lot of our time sleeping on the floors of friendly promoters, fans, waitresses and bartenders. One of the best part about being "billeted" was that each night we were exposed to a new record collection and each night we'd discover a new album or a new band or a whole new type of music that was springing up in some buried underground scene somewhere in America. ... A style of music that we were heavily exposed to at that time was country music. It wasn't like everyone we ran into was a country music freak, but growing up in the South, most people had been exposed to a lot more of it than we had growing up in suburban Montreal. There would inevitably be in every collection one or two great country music records that had been lifted from their parents as they moved out. Sitting there between the latest Death Piggy single and Coltrane's Giant Steps would be something like Waylon Jennings' Honky Tonk Heroes, or Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits, The Louvin Brothers, The Carter Family, Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and the list goes on. We drank it up.

Sometimes you don't really understand something that you take for granted until it is processed and presented to you by someone from another culture or background (cf. my discussion of Robbie Robertson's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"). In doing so, the Junkies helped revitalize/define the genre of alt country, infused from their lo-fi, hazy, barroom blues sound from their first LP, "Whites Off Earth Now!!" (see also: "Me and the Devil Blues").

On this LP, the CJs don't simply cover country songs, but reinterpret them, and let the attitude infuse their other songs as well. For example, they do a slow, aching version of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" that I think Hank Williams would approve of. Ditto a six minute blues jam version of Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight". They also strip down "Dreaming My Dreams With You" by Waylon Jennings, and do a surprisingly upbeat version (for them) of the traditional song "Working On a Building".

They go beyond straight covers with their version of "Blue Moon", mixing an original song with the Rodgers & Hart standard to yield "Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis)". The result is genius; acknowledging the presence of Elvis without overshadowing the rest of the collection.

Despite my high praise for the above songs, the star of the show is without question their rolling, relaxed cover of The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane". One doesn't normally associate the Velvets with, say, Patsy Cline or Hank Williams, but the CJs figured out how to make it work. Lou Reed himself has said that the Cowboy Junkies version of "Sweet Jane" is "the best and most authentic version I have ever heard" -- you're not going to find higher praise than that.

Although I've spoken mostly of their covers, the LP features a handful of originals like "Misguided Angel" (a disturbingly beautiful song about an abusive relationship) and "200 More Miles" (a road song that appropriately namechecks Willie Nelson) that are excellent songs worthy of their placement in the LP. There are a few missteps on the LP, for example Jeff Bird's harmonica on "I Don't Get It" and "Postcard Blues" is a little too shrill for my tastes, but these flaws are easily forgiven.

Conventional wisdom on the Cowboy Junkies is that "The Trinity Session" was their creative high point. I have most of their other LPs and I would agree that this is their best (though the others are quite good), but whereas many other critics blame them from not deviating from the formula they introduced on this LP, I think their fortunes waned when their sound became more polished and mainstream. I don't normally wish for bands to miss out on financial and critical success, but I kind of wish that it had avoided the CJs for a while longer and they could have made a few more LPs like this.

Standout Songs: "Mining for Gold", "Misguided Angel", "Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis)", "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", "200 More Miles", "Sweet Jane", "Walkin' After Midnight". (The entire LP at grooveshark.com).

Skip 'em Songs: n/a

Final Score: 10/10. Perfection.

Bonus Links:

Elvis Presley - "Blue Moon"
The Velvet Underground - "Sweet Jane"
Patsy Cline - "Walking After Midnight"
Waylon Jennings - "Dreaming My Dreams With You"
Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys - "Working on a Building"
Hank Williams - "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"

Julee Cruise - "Floating Into the Night" (LP Review)

To most people, Julee Cruise will remind them of the TV series "Twin Peaks", but I didn't watch much TV in college when the series was on. But this music does remind me of my senior year of college, when I and my roommates Terry, Jason, and Frey would stay up all hours of the night drinking beer and playing Hearts and Spades. It didn't do much for our studies, but we became expert at shooting the moon and going under with almost any hand. Of course we'd listen to music as we played, and this LP was a constant favorite for all four of us. Individually we all had substantial CD collections and together we had maybe 15 linear feet of CDs, which was quite a lot at the time. I'm not sure who had this CD (Jason?), but I quickly purchased my copy after moving out.

Simply put, "Floating Into the Night" is one of the best LPs of all time, featuring the perfect collaboration between Julee Cruise (vocals), Angelo Badalamenti (composer), and David Lynch (lyricist). Badalamenti has composed many soundtracks for Lynch, and the collaboration with Cruise actually began with the song "Mysteries of Love" for the film "Blue Velvet". That song lead to them recording a full LP's worth of songs, culminating in the 1989 release of "Floating Into the Night", prior to the release of Twin Peaks (90-91).

If you're familiar with Lynch's films, you know that they are surreal, dream-like, and often deal with dark, disturbing themes and images. Badalamenti's dream/lounge arrangements perfectly complement Lynch's imagery but the real surprise is Lynch's lyrics, which depict scenes which are best described as bittersweet, bucolic, Rockwellian, nostalgic, and child-like. The lyrics juxtaposed with the foreboding soundscapes makes the entire experience that much more powerful. Consider the closing lyrics to "Rocking Back Inside My Heart":

Do you remember our picnic lunch?
We both went up to the lake
And then we walked among the pines
The birds sang out a song for us
We had a fire when we came back
And your smile was beautiful
You touched my cheek and you kissed me
At night we went for a stroll
The wind blew our hair
The fire made us warm
The wind blew the waves
Out on the lake
We heard the owl in a nearby tree.
I thought our love would last forever.

Simple enough, but when combined with the music they become quite unsettling in an unexpected way.

With the possible exception of "Swans", all the songs on this LP are perfect, memorable, and distinct: the horn riff on "Floating", the bass on "Falling", the 50s-era "shu bops" at the end of "I Remember", the swing sound of "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart", sweeping sounds of "Mysteries of Love", the musical surprise at ~3:28 of "Into the Night", the horns of "I Float Alone", the vocals of "The Nightingale", the solemnity of "The World Spins". "Swans" is not bad, but at 2:33 it does not add much to the LP.

Cruise, Badalamenti, and Lynch would all work together again on 1993's "The Voice of Love", and while that is not a bad LP it does not come close to capturing the magic of "Floating Into The Night". Danette says I'm too generous with my perfect scores, but this LP clearly deserves it. Whether it is evokes late nights playing cards, Twin Peaks, or simply nostalgia viewed through the twisted prism of David Lynch, once you've listened to it this LP is not easily forgotten.

Standout songs: "Floating", "Falling", "I Remember", "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart" (live), "Mysteries of Love", "Into the Night", "I Float Alone", "The Nightingale", "The World Spins" (live).

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 10/10.

Bonus links: Entire LP.  Some of the live versions are from the concert film "Industrial Sympony No. 1".

Perfume Tree - "A Lifetime Away" (LP Review)

Perfume Tree might be the best defunct band you've never heard of. Formed by three Vancouver-area radio DJs and active during most of the 1990s, Perfume Tree compiled a significant discography that went criminally unnoticed, by both the radio and the critics as well. The former is not surprising, but I'm not sure how the critics so completely missed out on this band either (e.g., allmusic.com reviews only one LP from their discography, and completely whiffs on that review, giving it 3/5 stars).

Their third full-length LP, 1995's "A Lifetime Away" is probably the strongest LP in their canon. Whereas their first first two LPs were focused on a more organic sound, and their fourth and final LP as Perfume Tree was decidedly more focused on electronica. And while there are no bad releases from Perfume Tree, "A Lifetime Away" finds the perfect balance in their shifting musical influences.

Trying to describe their sound is difficult and frustrating, in part because their sound transcends music. By that I mean the sound is so mesmerizing and so unlike anything else, I actually forget that I'm listening to music. Off the top of my head, only The Orb's "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" also has that effect on me. Labels like dub, trip hop and downtempo come close, but fail to really capture the sound. The allmusic review quotes another review comparing them to Bjork, but that is simply wrong; I don't dislike Bjork, but she only wishes she could make music this beautiful. I'd suggest that Perfume Tree is somewhere between Portishead, My Bloody Valentine, and Cocteau Twins.

The strength of the band (and the source of the Cocteau Twins comparison) is Jane Tilley's ethereal vocals. Pete Lutwyche is responsible for the beats, which are great, but never really overpower the more atmospheric aspects of the songs (and thus separating Perfume Tree from most of the trip hop artists on a label like Mo' Wax, for example). Bruce Turpin (samples & mix) rounds out the band.

The LP has a wide variety of sounds: "Virgin" & "See Me Smile" have a driving, organic beat, "Contact" has the distorted guitar that suggests the MBV influence, "Never Pass This Way Again" is nearly ambient, and "The Nightmirror" & "Crystal Tips" have a soundtrack quality to them. But my favorite song on this LP is the closing track "Late Light", with a strong beat and focus on Jane's vocals.

"A Lifetime Away" was originally released on the tiny label of Zulu Records in 1995, but was then re-released in 1996 on the only slightly larger (and ironically named) World Domination Recordings, making them label mates with Seattle's Sky Cries Mary, who are similar in aesthetic if not quite sound. Since it was released on World Domination it is not too hard to find, but the earlier releases on Zulu are difficult to find: if you see a copy of one, pick it up. (I actually had to email the band ca. 1998 for their help to replace lost CDs, but that's a story for another time...)

Perfume Tree eventually morphed into Veloce, who released one LP and then the various members seemed to drop out of the music business. There is a Perfume Tree myspace page, as well as a historical page hosted at Minimum Records (a label the band members started), but little information otherwise. ectoguide.org also has a nice, simple summary page for the band.

In a perfect world, Perfume Tree would have received the recognition they deserved. I'll eventually make my way through the rest of their catalog, but "A Lifetime Away" is their strongest release and a good place to start.

Standout songs: "Virgin", "So Far Away" "See Me Smile", "Contact", "Never Pass This Way Again", "The Nightmirror", "August", "Crystal Tips", "Late Light".

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 10/10.