Happy Mondays - Freaky Dancin' Live

Happy Mondays are truely the pinacle of the 'Madchester' scene which emerged in the late eighties/early nineties, combining the alternative/punk method with hippy psychedelic ideals all mixed in with the emergence of Exstacy in the UK's club scene, it caused a total media storm. With naive politicians and ultra-conservative media pundits blasting the genre for being some kind of drug cult (which it clearly wasn't), the bands stood through it all and emerged as many of the nineties best loved bands. Happy Mondays really advertised the hedonistic lifestyle and their psychedelic grooves just captured the listener's imagination. Today's review is a 12" debut single, Freaky Dancin' (Live).

Freaky Dancin' (Live) counts us into a nice trippy repetative groove, almost as if someone had spiked neu!'s drinks. This groove will flow throughout the whole track, and sounds really warm and funky. The singing comes on over the top kinda hazy and un-refined. It's clearly a live recording. However what's really important is the upper of the music, and that damn fine groove going on and on, makes you move your body in time. It's so chill. It carries on to the end, not a single down note, all positive.

The Egg is the B side, opening up with some psychedelic Syd barrett-lite guitar plonks over a laid back stalking beat, before getting into it's groove where it sounds very eighties, and very cool. the music just develops over time, before we get to some amatuerish singing, taking nothern soul and mixing it with a total druggy stoner feel. It's a neat mixture of psychedelic with eighties pop (yes, including those heavily reverbed snares) that really shows the Happy Mondays as a band still finding it's feet, escaping from the Joy Division sound by it's own accord. After grinding to a halt, we get the second track of the B side, Freaky Dancin', the studio version. A more refined and polished sound, which doesn't obscure the amazing groove and just upbeat sound, almost dreamlike and totally chilled out peaceful like. It's definately Bez singing here, that's for sure.

It's a shocker of a top quality single here, and I love it.

David Bowie - Where Are We Now?

So, yes, after ten years, Bowie releases a new single. Becomming centre stage in the music media once again by just releasing a sudden new song without any fanfare or social media wankery. Also there is the news of a new album(!!!!) due out in March, which I am so looking forward to. With so many rumours buzzing around Bowie's health and other issues, it's kinda hard not to follow through on the media bandwagon a bit, and suddenly proclaiming to be an oracle of David bowie knowledge (though I will point y'all to a post last year about his classic album, Low) Anyways this new song unfortunately, is not on 7", so you're treated to a review of it on youtube...

The song has been said stylistically to be going back to his Berlin Trilogy, however while there is a distinct element of that sound (in particular, Lodger), the thing is that, that's just the Bowie sound, and every album he's done post Tin Machine, has been accused of returning to the Berlin feel, though in this case, it may be to connect the soft and fragile music with it's likewise fragile lyrical content. Some have compared this track to Robert Wyatt, and yeah, it's noticable, but in the way that Bowie has always had a similar sound to the likes of Wyatt and Ayers. That kinda artistic pop that still sounds timeless.

It takes us in with a slow rhythm, kinda airy and dreamlike before Bowie start singing in a melancholic fashion, about being amongst everyday people walking through Berlin. The chorus doesn't really pick up pace but just ups the emotion a bit. It really works with the surreality of the music. The drums later pick up tempo, keeping this nice groove going on with an almost frippatronic guitar sound via excessive delays (Fripp of course also retired, but Tony Visconti surely picked up a trick or two), and the song fades to silence. The references to places around Berlin strike a chord with me, having visited there during a rough point in life (and stayed in a hostel not too far from where Bowie lived whilst there) so it also brings back a kinda sentimentality to me as well.

Despite being educated in the visual arts, I won't discuss the video much here as it seems that people are focusing more on that than they are the song itself. Which is a total shame, as it's a great song and shows that he's still got it.

NOTE: Would have done a post about this on Tuesday but been at work past two days, grr.

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights

Kate Bush is something of an abnormality. A female pop singer, with artistic integrity and an ability to avoid the celebrity lifestyle! Kate Bush burst onto the scenes in the late seventies with her trademark high-pitched voice, combining pop music with prog style pretensions. Needless to say, she's great!

Wuthering Heights is Bush's most well known release, put out there in 1977. A piano opens the track up, with Kate's vocals soaring overhead, passionate and high pitched. The track builds up, we get a nice slow beat for the chorus and remainder of the song. Her voice is almost ghostly in this track, kinda hovering above the music, it totally carries the track though. This song really struck out from the usual disco/rock that were taking the lead at the time, bringing a beautiful melody to the public's ears, the guitar solo at the end reflecting it and fading out.

The B side is Kite, using a lighthearted playful beat and a more unconventional vocal approach to Bush's singing. There's something child-like about this song, which recalls Kevin Ayers or early Syd barrett, and again reflects prog rock in it's dense instrumentation, and it's ability to avoid a definate genre, whilst certain rythmic motiffs recall seventies fusion.

This really is a great little single, two solid tracks and a remarkable singer. It's definately one that I'd recommend for any music fan.

Eddy Grant - I Don't Wanna Dance

Eddy Grant is one of them living music legends. A Reggae superstar, fine fine songwriter, producer, owner of his own label and political activist, the man's like a beast. Grant was the frontman for early Reggae/pop group The Equals in the sixties, and despite a solo career throughout the seventies, it wouldn't be until 1982, where he would get his big smash hit, I Don't Wanna Dance.

It opens up with the chorus over a really chilled and sweet reggae beat embeleshed by some eighties synthy. It follows this standard rhythm throughout, keeping it subtle and not building up for the chorus, letting you just stay with the groove. There's a pretty cool short fuzz guitar solo, reminding me of those in Kevin Ayers' albums. The track trails off with a repeating of the song's title. All in all, it's a short sweet song over a nice chill beat.

For the B side, we get an accapella rendition of I Don't Wanna Dance, which is a bit misleading, as it includes percussion, echoed production. It's more kinda like a dub-lite version to be honest, and it still stands strong as a good track, aided by the shortness of the song, it does work.

Basically, I love Reggae, and I love Eddy Grant, so I also love this. Even if I didn't, I'd still like this, it's just one of those songs that you can't fault. Simplistic yet utterly enjoyable.

Michael Jackson - Black or White

The crowned prince of pop, Michael Jackson has had... let's just say... a little bit of a successful pop career. He's become one of the most famous figures in the world, and his face is perhaps the most easily unidentifiable (for many obvious reasons). Tracks such as Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller... the list is endless even when we don't include his hits in the fantastic Jackson 5!) In the years before his death, Jackson was plagued with allegations that he was a card carrying member of the Gary Glitter fan club, but this blog is not here to discuss somebody's perverse sex life, it's here to talk about the hypocrisy of releasing a song stating 'It Doesnt' matter if you're black or white' whilst selecting your own skin colour from a Dulux paint chart.
Ok, ok, It's not! I'll just talk about the song. Happy now? Got it.

Side A is Black Or White, starting with some sound effects before locking into the Prince-like groove, a funky beat and Michael comes in singing. It repeats itself, like, it's quite a boring song to be honest. The groove is not enough to carry itself over constant repetitions like a P-Funk groove. We get a bit of a harder electric section and rap by Bill Bottrell, but it's all superficial, and just feels like jumping on the trend. This really is a sign of the times, where jacko had become a parody of himself, and this song really doesn't hold well when compared to tracks like Beat It or Thriller.

Side B is an instrumental version, and to be honest, it just really emphasises how musically boring this track is, and without a proper solid groove, it's even hard to dance to. Nothing more to say really.

This is Michael Jackson trying to take Prince on, but without the intelligence or carisma of the man's music. It comes out as shallow, superficial and just extremely boring. Jacko had achieved such great heights in the eighties, but after you reach the mountain's peak, the only way is down, and Jacko seemed to have banged on a couple of rocks on his way down(musically speaking... though it would explain away his need for surgery!) I would say it's one of Michael's worst songs... but then I remember The Earth Song, and (shudder) Scream, and I think again.

Gary Numan - We Are Glass

Electro pop would be forever relegated to the zone of 'geeky post-punk curiosity' without Gary Numan. The man came out of nowhere, took the style and brought it kicking and screaming into the mainstream world, whilst still never leaving his integrity behind. Numan would continue to play around within the music, creating intricate sounds and pieces which are so perfectly balanced that they would shatter like glass if even the slightest sound were changed. So it's kinda right for my first Numan review to be We Are Glass.

The A side it We Are Glass, it takes us in with a repetitive beat, and a cool alien symth sound, with Numan comming right in with the lyrics virtually bouncing around the music. The track has a more energetic and liquid feel compared to Cars, a more standard tune really boosted up by it's synths which add a real energy to it, and along with the galloping rhythm guitars, help propell it forward into the future.

The next is a cover of Erik Satie's Trois Gymnopedies (1st Movement), using the synth to give Satie's trademark dissonant melodies an even more ghostly and haunting feel. This reminds me very much of Mort Garson's early electronica. I'm quite a fan of Gymnopedies (learning it on guitar :D , so this track really speaks to me, and it's just so cool that Numan decided to have it as the B side, like, polar opposite of the first track. It carries such emotion and alienation with it.

So here we have two solid tracks on one solid piece of plastic. A great single from a great songsmith!

Fine young Cannibals - Johnny Come Home

Born out of Two Tone ska legends, The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals (or FYC if you're lazy like me) managed to combine rock, ska and soul together to form a unique sound which fortunately proved successful. Their music has a very down to earth and real feel, providing a true example of British life, everyday life. Johnny Come Home was FYC's debut single, and a suprise hit. It's also a damn good song.

The A side, Johnny Come Home, revolves around a guy running away from home to start a new life, but things don't always turn out well. A bouncy beat and a jazzy trumpet solo take us into the track, and Gift's voice takes us in. The chorus is quite early in the song, it's a very moody yet bouncy soul-like chorus. The verses are very ska, showing a connection to The Beat, and we get treated to a jazz soloette before returning to the verse. Like I said, damn good song.

The B side is called Good Times And Bad, a running drum beat takes us into the track, a nice rhythm, with voice samples over the top, combining dub stylings with a pop-rock sensibility, similar to what Fun Boy Three did on Funarama. It's got a good head moving beat, yet still melancholic. Kinda out of place, yet working, some violin appears towards the end, giving it an epic feel before it fades to silence.

As you can guess, this is a remarkable single and much recommended. I got it in a charity shop in a bundle of 10 singles for £5, so it's proof that you've gotta keep your eyes peeled!

COMPILATION SPECIAL #2!

ok, so here's three more groovy compilation albums, today with a more electic taste. I think we can say that these compilation specials occur when I wake up with a hangover! I need proper focus for a regular review, but these are short and sweet.
Today's involve Daevid Allen, Funkadelic and Miles Davis:

Daevid Allen: The Man From Gong The best Of Daevid Allen

Daevid Allen is widely regarded as a musical genius, and rightfully so. From Soft Machine to Gong to a successful solo career and collaborations with Acid Mothers Temple, Daevid has never stopped experimenting and playing with his own unique world of music. This little CD serves as an excellent introduction to the man, with highlight tracks such as Floatin' Anarchy (with Planet Gong), Why Do We Treat Ourselves Like We Do, and the post-punk excitement of Pearls and Bananareggae, you'll get a glimpse at an eccentric genius from another planet. His discography is vast, and you should all dive in!

Funkadelic: You Got The Funk We Got The Funk

2 CDs of pure Funkadelic, what can go wrong? Featuring trademark tracks One Nation Under A Groove, Electric Spanking Of War Babies and Maggot Brain, you know this disc is for true funksters only. George Clinton propelled Funk into a new territory during funkadelic's early albums in the seventies, and this sampler shows us the more refined P-Funk sound of the second half of that decade, grooves in total control, and an excellent tightness in the playing, whilst still staying true to the mothership. Also included are two instrumental versions of previously mentioned tracks, which are just perfect for sampling or backing tracks for jams. A good introduction to these crazy mothas.

Miles Davis: The Very Best Of Miles Davis The Warner Bros. Sessions 1985 - 1991

It's a widely held (and widely inaccurate) opinion, that Miles Davis' eighties work is cold, clinical and lacks the emotion and skill of his previous work. This is a total fallacy. Here we have a true artist going against the contemporary jazz scene (which became dominated by the 'mouldy figs' such as Wynton Marsalis, during the eighties, and still stays true to this day) and carrying on experimenting. Hip Hop production techniques brought Davis down to a real street level, enigmatic playing brought a new unease to his music, and his rendition of Time After Time turns a good pop song into a truely emotive jazz standard, and one of my favourite recordings of all time. Pure emotion that literally brings me to tears everytime I hear it. Tracks such as Chocolate Chip, Mystery, Amandla and Summertime show how Miles took jazz in new and exciting directions whilst also creating new interpretations of classic standards. A great introduction to a much misunderstood period of a great musician.

So here you go, three good compilation albums which can expand your musical understanding. The Miles Davis disc (the first of his I got) had such a profound influence on me as a young guitarist that I still try to model my playing on his horn blowing. I'd say get em all.

Grace Jones - Slave to The Rhythm

Singer, Model, Actress, Gay Icon(I don't know either!?) Grace Jones is a pretty big figure, and an example of what was good about eighties fashion, even her amazonian beauty graced Roger Moore's last bond movie as the unforgettable Mayday. Her music is on the dance spectrum of all things, however is decent enough to listen on it's own without being in a club!(unlike modern dance music and dubstep, but I'll moan about that another time)

Track 1 starts with a nice chord sequence followed by Jones' deep voice, Slave To The Rhythm, before we get to a nice funk beat, with her singing pretty seductive. The chorus is pretty, I don't know, epic? is moves well with the song, and has an uplifting kinda density to it, which contrasts yet compliments the verses. Originally, this track was written for Frankie Goes To Hollywood, and is stylistically similar. All I can say though is that Grace Jones' voice is utterly powerful, and the music is electro-funky. It's a really good song, and you should give it a check.

The B Side is Annihilated Rhythm, starting with a clicking beat and just grooving along motorik style, the bass comes in, and we get some spoken word sections, and a chorus of one word, SLAVE! As a dance track, it carries on this beat and rhythm, as is pretty cool to listen to, like great background music.

So yeah, a good little single, and I'd say give it a try!

Robin Scott's M - Pop Muzik 1989 Remix

At the turn of the eighties, synthpop was taking over. David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy had lit the paper, and the subsequent explosion of electronic groups would create a trend and style which continues to this day. Synthesisers allowed music to become impersonal, allowing the creation of truly synthetic music. A beat, a groove that people could dance to, and that became all that matters (something Bowie himself would revisit in Let's Dance). In 1979, Robin Scott's M released Pop Muzik, which was a chart smash, in 1989, they would release a remix of it, let's see how both compare, as the A side is the remix, and the B Side is the original!

Fanfare opens up to the 1989 Pop Muzik remix, followed by it's trademark beat and chorus, taking us into the rap-like voice. The beat stays the same throughout the track, we get slight moments of synth plodding and twinkling and processed backing vocals. The track is definitely danceable, but that seems to really be it. Also the beat sounds very much like that of the Ghostbusters theme. The lead singing shows an almost comical lack of caring, it's just some fun.

Side B is the original Pop Muzik, opening up with a digital fanfare as opposed to the remix's one. The beat is more synthetic and synthy, the vocals exactly the same, the beat the same, just the track sounds flatter, due to the more earlier synth sounds. Again it's danceable and that's really it. Why they included this as the B side makes no sense, as very little has changed between the two versions.

So, All in all, a dance track and nothing more. I can imagine it was fun to bounce to back in it's day, but lacks the mega-compressed bass of modern dance tracks, so I doubt it would work well in today's nightclubs, unless it had megabass and the same dirty synth chords which're used on every track. In short, don't get it, it's dull.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax

A song perhaps as famous for it's controversy than for it's... well, being a song. Banned by the BBC after a radio DJ pulled the song off from his playlist, Relax began a steady climb to the top of the charts, becomming THE song of 1983. The band's open homosexuality and sexual edge was a key point in the advertising and promotion, and this song's quite obvious sexual theme entered (ooh err) musical legend. But despite all of the controversy and press, was this song good?

Relax starts with some dreamy electro chords and a throbbing rhythm, before comming to the chorus. We get a dancing beat, the chorus repeats, and we get that funky bass lick. Holly Johnson's singing is on top form throughout. We get some more instrumental sections which focus on the beat and rhythm, the vocals basically repeating the chorus. The synth sounds are very eighties, yet work with the music, which while keeping the same beat, is keen to frequently change the melody and has quite advanced dynamics for a pop song. Indeed, the music holds this up really well as a solid track worth listening to.

Track two, One September Monday, opens with general chitchat, stylistically recalling The Beatles, when a beat emerges over the top. It stays this way, effects occasionally effecting the vocal sound of the conversation. Aparently it was recorded while Paul and Holly were resting after a hard day in the studio. Making it a very interesting and weird track to feature on such a popular single. There's also something of Throbbing Gristle in this as well, how it creates this sickly other world and creates a sense of voyerism, in that we're listening in to a conversation we perhaps shouldn't be.

All in all, this is a good single, a classic A Side, and a unique B Side. It surpasses any media circus caused by the controversy, and survives on it's own as a little piece of music history. A good buy.

Duran Duran - Is There Something I Should Know?

 Before I begin, I'd like to apologise for the lack of updates recently, I've got some serious personal matters to deal with, and so naturally, the blog has taken a back seat, but I figured I need to get back on with it so...

Duran Duran, one of the most successful pop groups of the 80's, achieved a constant string of chart toppers, and even managed to sing the music for that James Bond movie, A View To A Kill. All while being named after a character from Barbarella. They're a stylish bunch of guys who managed to outlive the eighties and carry on, still writting good tunes. Is There Something I Should Know? jumped straight into the charts on release, but popularity is one thing, what about quality?

A synthy echoey eighties drum and chorus introduce is to the track, we're then taken for a ride via guitar and rhthym. We get some nice fat synth chords during the chorus, lyrically it's fluff, but it's kinda fun fluff, though Simon Le Bon carries it well. It's very very eighties, but you can tell it's influence on modern pop groups. The instrumental break slows the track down a bit, but carries on with the usual sounds, the chorus returns with more added synth goodness. As you can imagine, it fades to silence at the end. All in all, a fun pop track, nothing more.

More echoey drums take us into the instrumental track Faith In This Colour. It's a pretty damn cool track, a heavier synth focus, elements of Kraftwerk are brought in, and we get a kinda haunting sound mixed with dance sensibilities. One of the great things about these synth pop groups as that they would do lots of instrumental numbers, it was afterall, totally new music. We get lots of textures played over the repetative electric snare beat. It's a really good track.

So yeah, it's a neat little single and worth picking up.

David Bowie - Low

Low was a real watershed moment for popular music, would electronic music really work on a mainstream audience? Critics were confused, even his record company refused to let it count as part of his contractual obligation, yet it caused a storm on it's release, and ushered in a new age of a new kind of music, electronic pop. Low is one of the greatest and most important albums ever released, born out of desperation and alienation, it is Bowie's definitive artistic statement, and although many people consider it's follow up, Heroes, to be the better album, they're wrong. Heroes expands on what Bowie achieved on Low, and combined it with his more familiar sound, songs were fuller and more formed, but on Low, we had pure emotion. Snippets of information presented to us, lyrics presenting us with the essential facts and nothing more. A sense of bravery and experimentation flows throughout. This is the start of Bowie's 'Berlin Trilogy', and what a way to kick it off!

Bowie was at his end, having just starred in The Man Who Fell To Earth, he was addicted to cocaine and alcohol, he was empty and stressed, his marriage was in ruins and his career was over. Moving to Berlin with Iggy Pop in tow, to escape from his vices and renew himself, Bowie fully submerged himself in the Krautrock scene, Kraftwerk, Can, Neu! and so forth, and this was to inform his last chance, creating an album that's natural yet synthetic, inwardly depressive yet optimistic. With weird stories involving conflicts and confusion with his band, and a collaboration with the artistic Brian Eno, this album really shines and is in some respect a miracle. Mojo magazine has done numerous articles on the creation of and background to Low(including one in this month's issue!), so I'll leave it at that, and go just review the album. As you may have already guessed, I really like it!

Side A is mostly conventional music, starting with the instrumental Speed Of Life,  a motorik beat, repetitive rhythm, and a lead guitar really take us into alien territory, the lead synth gives us a hopeful melody. This is a decent upbeat song, combining Bowie's pop sensibilities with a noticeable Krautrock influence. The short and sweet nature really contrasts with the opening song of his previous album, Station To Station. A funky yet robotic bass guitar and an almost out of tune guitar take us into the second track, Breaking Glass, with lyrics inspired by a fight Bowie got himself in, we're told a story in snippets, and an acknowledgement of his own flaws. We get a neat synth sound throughout in places. It's a great, short, well written song which fades out, taking us into What In The World. With lyrics about 'a little world with grey eyes', this sounds the most 'Bowie' track on the album, with some great guitar, and the repetitive motorik beat still carrying on. The lyrics tell a story, yet still feel somewhat abstracted, and some occasionally out of time singing overlapped works brilliantly.

The hit single Sound And Vision takes us in with a pleasant guitar riff, funky bass and the same motorik drum beat. In true Krautrock style, it opens with an extended instrumental section, synth patterns and so on. It's a very upbeat piece involving sometimes undecipherable lyrics. He starts singling with the chorus and we're treated to some true abstract lyrics, this song is perhaps the true turning point on how the music is lifting out of his solitude and into a new world of colour and optimism. The next song is Always Crashing In The Same Car, which like Breaking Glass, is a very straightforward lyrical theme. Again, the same motorik beat, and some nice lead guitar work, some bubbling synths in the background over an instrumental section. Bowie really lets the groove work itself out here, the upbeat music contrasting his rather subdued and melancholy singing, but it just really works out. The solo is excellent in the psychedelic/prog style, really fitting into place. Next Bowie asks someone to Be My Wife, a cry for help during his fractious marriage which is disintegrating before his very eyes. The guitar is distorted and out of tune, the beat the same as before, the music dramatic. Our man's isolation and loneliness really comes out here, showing a search for belonging, a quest for love. A romantic way of dealing with a gruelling divorce case.  Again the guitar solo really kicks it in the bag, with equal melancholy and upbeatness. The first side ends with the instrumental A New Career In New Town, opening up with a sombre beat, and ghostly synth chords, it then kicks it up a not, bringing back the motorik beat from before, an upbeat melody and a true uplifting feel, Bowie is crawling up from the depths of desperation. As the title suggests, this instrumental track represents the new found hope he felt during his move to Berlin, and his adoption of a more electric style, free from the excesses of conventional rock. There's hints of Kraftwerk and Neu! on this track. Notably, the studio this album was recorded in was situated opposite Kraftwerk's legendary Kling Klang studio. The track fades out into upbeatness. A thoroughly enjoyable first side, nice upbeat music, and a real solid drumbeat throughout.

Side B opens with Warszawa, a track which inspired Joy Division so much that they were initially called Warsaw (Spandau Ballet were also so enamoured with this album that their name comes from an area of Berlin). starting with a moody piano beating over a subtle synth, the track opens up with a haunting melody reminiscent of Wendy/Walter Carlos' Clockwork Orange soundtrack. The piano beat becomes more synthy, emphasising a sense of isolation and yet wonder at the newly developing futuristic landscape, it's exploration not just of music, but of this brave new world. It's a sad track, and it allows itself to fully develop and emotional feeling throughout. Yes, it's sad, but it's a bittersweet sadness, one laced with silent hope. This side of the album is the one which really changed popular music, combining Brian Eno's idea of musical soundtracks for visions, with Bowie's amazing writing abilities, music of the most experimental nature! The track cools down, leading Bowie into some tribal style chanting over this haunting beat, suggesting a future world. The melody slows right down before returning to it's main motif, that of exploration. I close my eyes and this track brings forth visions of steel and glass, a clinical clean world of magic. The next track is Art Decade, featuring a moving synth melody, somehow playful yet haunting over a steady beat. Futuristic sound effects flow around, but this track really feels like isolation, loneliness, walking alone in the futuristic world and taking in the sights, sounds, atmosphere. a total synth track, this serves as the counterpoint to Kraftwerk's Autobahn, the fun of driving slows down, and we are now in a place to take in all the details of the surrounding view. The chords build up, and overtake the melody as the track fades away.

The next track is Weeping Wall, vibes enter the scene, creating a constant beat, as a harsh synth takes the lead, the beat dictated by synth. The lead melody is playful yet again somewhat haunting, but the beat ups the pace compared to the previous two tracks. A distorted guitar emanates a sense of melancholy, while the rest of the track is upbeat. Is this our man bowie coming to terms with himself? chanting returns, crying, while then repeated by the synth melody. It's a track which feels lonely, yet also feels alive. It's got concealed hope, like most tracks on this album. The melody is utterly sublime, and at the end some heavy chords take over before it fades into silence. The album closes with Subterraneans, which greets us with some more alien chords, and some reversed sounds, it's a melancholy sound, describing again this strange futuristic world. To a man coming out of isolation/addiction, the world around him must have seemed strange and alien. The melody is haunting, based upon swells of sound, heavenly yet haunting. Bowie's chanting makes a return, following the melody, and suddenly the chord swells feel less melancholic, the melody less haunting, yet the track is still ghostly. A saxophone now comes in, an almost filmic sound, playing over the backing , flowing like liquid into Bowie's chants which're again both upbeat and downbeat, the track brings back the sax as it draws to it's close, Sax over chanting over synth, it's that sense of bittersweetness, that carries the album onwards, with more melodies overlapping, building a sensation before fading into silence forever.

To say this album is a MUST HAVE is a total understatement, it is truly one of the most amazing experiences that your ears can receive. A totally new world unleashed on an unsuspecting public. I think that everyone should get a copy of this album, regardless of taste, you'll find something amazing inside. A mixture of conflicting emotions, new sensations and unbeatable writing. I first heard this album at the age of seventeen, and seven years on and hundreds of listens later, I am still finding new things, new sounds, new feelings. This isn't just Bowie's finest hour, but popular music's finest hour!

I have Low on CD and Vinyl, as well as the single Sound And Vision on vinyl, and I do have to say, the CD version has more clarity of the sounds, it is very precise, yet lacks the air and volume of the vinyl release, which feels far more spacious. The CD is like a high definition photograph, highly detailed yet flattened, while listening to it on Vinyl is like being there and taking it all in. Both are of high quality, and so I'll leave it to you to make your mind up, I prefer the vinyl LP due to it's sense of space and density.

Kylie Minogue - Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi

Generally speaking, a singer is judged by their voice. Kylie on the other hand is judged mainly on her bottom and her good looks, which is a shame, as she is one of the better bubblegum pop singers. She does sexy in a way Rhianna can only dream of. Though back in the eighties, this was different, her songs were more playful, and have this quirky eighties charm which throughout the nineties, lost it's character, and evolved into the kinda bland electro beat which plagues modern pop music, though Kylie still somehow shines. In contrast to most singers, Kylie has shown a level of determination in her craft that can stagger belief, back into the studio/touring straight after recovering from breast cancer, and taking in a variety of influences, her modern sexual edge giving her something of artistic credibility in a genre not renowned for it..

Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi takes a nice arp section and then comes into a christmassy sounding chord/plonky section. Kylie's singing is allright, high pitched and sweet. Lyrically it's fluff, harmless love pop, and her voice hits the note but has the level of emotion you'd expect from this music, which is to be expected, it's harmless music to dance to. The beat is allright, plods along a bit. We get a small instrumental break before returning to the verse/chorus then ending. All in all, it's like the Ronseal of music. Does what it says.

Made In Heaven is the B Side, and it is total 'gay disco'. A more lively dancing tune than the previous song, cheesy eighties string effect synths and plinky plonkyness. The vocals come in constantly with little breaks, the typical 'girl next door'pop. There's nothing else to really say about it. Like literally.

If you like pop music, then get this. If you don't like pop, don't get this. This kinda music can't really be judged on the same criteria as The Specials or Miles Davis, and so I'm not going to critique it on that level. It is just very average, it is a singer finding her footsteps and while not really getting there yet, it's still dancable pop music, which is all it needs to be.

Procal Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale

A Whiter Shade Of Pale (now referred to as AWSOP for lazyness reasons) is one of those songs where, it's hard to appreciate how important it was. It's widely regarded as changing almost everything during the sixties because of it's unique sound and musicality. Kick starting prog rock, and becomming a main inspiration for the UK's style of psychedelic music. It's questionable authorship and claims of plagiarism has been in the news the past few years, (but then, the track's always known to be based on Bach anyways) have kinda sullied it's reputation a bit lately, but it's a cracking tune. Let's check it out!

Side A is quite obviously AWSOP, the sublime organ riff takes us into a dreamlike state, and Brooker's voice comes in with the defining opening line "We skip the lights fandango" and carries on singing throughout. The first verse jumps in with a more sweeping Organ playing, and we get the intro melody as well. There are also guitars and stuff as well in the background, but (rare for a rock group) they let the organ take centre stage and get mixed down a bit. An RnB style Bach track is such a weird thing, especially one about a very poe-faced relationship. The track fades out before letting the instrumentalists get carried away. It is a very enjoyable song, and obviously a very important one, but however, it has not aged as well as some sixties tracks have. It's a problem with being ahead of the crowd, it's so easy to become dated unless you're a genius like Frank Zappa or Dave Brock.

For our second side, Side B if you will, we have Lime Street Blues, a more straightforward sixties rocking track. Bouncy beat and melody, trivial lyrics. It's a great fun track to counterbalance the sombre mood of AWSOP, but it does lack the former track's individualistic spark. The neat instrumental bridges show off the band members' fine musical abilities, and show them as solid players, a nice blues boogie. The organ playing during the chorus is neat in the Strawberry Alarm Clock kinda way. Typical sixties.

So, we get two tracks here, one of pop music's all time classics, and a fun little Rock'n'roll number. I'd say that it's a great 7" single and the two tracks play off each other excellently with their contrasting moods. Opposite faces of a coin indeed. This kinda thing really shows what my generation is missing out on when it comes to what a single is, and can be. They're damn fools. It's a great single!

Ultravox - Vienna

Ultravox, fronted by Midge Ure are a new wave pop group fronted by Midge Ure (one of the key men behind Live Aid) who managed to combine an experimental and interesting take on electronic music with proper solid pop sensibilities. Their classic 1981 hit, Vienna, helped secure the future of electro-pop.

Side A first, Vienna. a ghostly note, an echoed kick and Ure sings, sombre and moody. The melody is haunting, dancing in the back ground. Then an organ and piano come in with the chorus 'it means nothing to me...' bringing the bassline with it, and a neat piano melody. The second verse with more synth effects and piano plonks. I love the chorus of this track, it really stands out as powerful and cinematic, different from the coldness that electronica was associated with. We get a neat instrumental section, repeating the rythm and then speeding up with violin sounds in a faux-orchestrial style. Again, very cinematic, heading for a conclusion, the chorus. It splashes out with some cymbal crashes and a slow grind to end. It's a great song, enjoyable and musically interesting. Plus the textures of those synths just melt the ears.

The B side is called Passionate Reply. Can it live up to the first track? We get a funky Kraftwerk style beat comming in, beefed up with some guitar. Ure does his best Phil Oakey style singing here. This track kics up a steady beat, doesn't change up much but again the use of synth textures keeps it pretty fresh. Repetative can be good afterall. We are treated to a nice instrumental break which sounds like an 80's pop version of Frippatronics. A neat soundscaping made of distorted and merged tones, just with more distortion here. The track begins to speed up as we approach the end. All in all it's quite good, but it's no Vienna.

So then, we have one amazing song and one good song. All in all, a single worth picking up. It's good music.

Marillion - Kayleigh

Having grown up in Aylesbury, Marillion are something I've been exposed to for quite some time. Their track Market Square Heroes is about the town's local market (where I've brought many records), which is in total decline these days. Kayleigh takes place during their concept album Misplaced Childhood, which is pretty good, it has moments of well written music and moments of psuedo-Phil Collins pop (which kinda let it down, though are still better than anything that baldy mustered up). We have to remember, Prog was in a very weird place in the eighties, punk had supposedly signalled it's death knell (despite the punk musicians being massive proggers anyways), but in reality, it was still going strong. It still had a massive following, but fifty minute xylophone solos representing dragons in fuedal era Japan are hardely MTV material. Luckily, a bunch of prog bands with pop sensibilities come into play, Marillion at the forefront, and achieved major success, keeping prog in the limelight until grunge and alt rock would finally remove it's mainstream recognition (again irony being that those who killed off prog were massive fans of it themselves)

Kayleigh starts off with some jangly guitars and plinky plonky eighties keyboard, Fish comes in asking if we remember, and apologises for breaking Keyleigh's heart. It's a sappy love song, yes, about trying the fix a breakup. It doesn't really build up for the chorus, just get plinky plonkier until we get a kinda allright guitar break before returning to plinky plonky land. And repeats. This track is one of those psuedo-Collins songs, and was a massive hit, still playing regularly on radio. It's not good, but it's not terrible, it's just kinda... there. Trapped in a void of the eternal eighties.

A reverbed drum beat draws us in over a light synthy chord sequence, we are now listening to Lady Nina, the B side. We are more in prog territory here, I mean, it's still very eighties pop, but is more musical. We have a fairly good guitar solo for quite a while. Kinda playing down the usual guitarist cliches though. The chorus is bouncy and suits Fish's voice, and as the song begins to wind down to a close, we get a synth solo over the top. This is more prog for sure. Then it fades out, when you'd expect it to carry on to another verse/chorus. Oh well.

All in all, Kayleigh is without a doubt, a true sign of it's times. It is inoffensive, played safe and overly polished. It's not a bad single to get, just it's not very good either. Lady Nina is a stronger track, but again there isn't really anything there that warrents a proper listen. Marillion were an albums band, and in the suites of music, they would litter these little commercial tracks. And that's all they really are, commercial tracks.

Whitney Houston - I will always love you

Whitney Houston was perhaps the most famous female singer on the planet, who influenced several generations of popular music and whose impressive vocal range will live on. She managed to combine gospel and soul into an operatic wagnerian bombastic voice, virtually creating a genre unto itself, she scaled unsurpassable heights. We love our heroes tragic, we have to raise them up, in order for them to fall, but Houston dealt with a deal (in many cases, quite literally), dealing with constant legal issues, drug problems and more. But when all is said and done, does this superfluous, the music is what matters, and is it any good? Houston's voice inspired virtually every female pop singer around today, and ended up creating the 'plastic white-girl soul' voice which everybody uses today. But we can't hold her account for that, just like we can't blame Lightnin Rod for 50 Cent, or The Dead Kennedys for Greenday.

For the A Side, we have Houston's immortal cover of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You. After an Acapella introduction, the lushly produced backing music fades in under Houston's eternally warbling voice. The notes are being hit, and the force of the voice pushes it past the bland territory into the field of meaning. There's heart in here, but it's kinda hidden under the warbling. We get traces of 80's saxaphone and electric piano plinky plonks, and Houston's amazingly over-extended vowels, tretching out so that words like 'I' and 'You' last around six seconds each. Her voice is kinda like soft honey, it's very silky smooth. I haven't seen The Bodyguard, and have no intention to, so how this plays out in a filmic sense is something I will never know, but I do know that she really punches out those words. In the end, the track kinda bubbles away to silence after the real big chorus.

Church Organs and plonky eighties pianos introduces us to the lounge gospel stylings of the B side, Jesus Loves Me, which is one of the least remarkable songs I've heard. there is nothing really to talk about it, it's a gospel track, but lacking the oomph and passion found in many black gospel choirs. The sterile production does nothing to help either.

Now, this really isn't my kind of music, I must admit, but music is made to be listened to, and listen to it I did. I can't say I like it, but I can appreciate I Will Always Love You, and understand why it's a classic, but the B side is just wallpaper music, total filler.

Bananarama (with Fun Boy three) -Really Sayin' Somethin'

Ahh, Bananarama... remember the eighties? When some pop music was not manufactured, sweets were a penny, and we could cycle to town and pick them both up from woolworths. Well, not me, because I am too young for all that. I guess like most people my age, my perception of Bananarama is somewhat tainted by their later tracks such as Venus, hard to believe that these girls were pretty post-punk. In the early days of their career, they did some interesting work with Fun Boy Three (a fantastic group formed from the ashes of ska legends The Specials), and this little single is produced by that band. Remember how kinda hazy and dream-like Ghost Town sounds? Imagine that production on a girl group single. Yes.

Really Sayin' Somethin' was originally an old Motown R'n'B track, here perverted into a post-punk pop tune, the doo-wop elements sound almost like parody. The Fun Boy Three's rythm pounds an almost animalistic beat down, a strong groove going on, and then Bananarama jump in with the vocals, all together, high pitched and high precision. It's pop, but not as we know it. I guess, would stoner-pop be a suitable term? Because that's the only real way of describing it. Previous collaberations between the two have also had this surreal quality to the sound. Ultimately, it's a catchy song and expertly produced.

For the B side, we have the instrumental Give us Back Our Cheap Fares, Which can only really be described as the german group Can remaking Ghost Town. It's a krautrock-y repetative beat, laid over a two-tone groove, with hazy dreamlike music over the top and a delicious amount of vocal ahhh-ings giving a somewhat surreal vibe to it. The pipe riff is so haunting, check it out. It is a fun number, and really gets the groove locked down, and provides a nice ambience.

Before I knew of their work with Fun Boy Three, I was dismissive of Bananarama, but I really enjoy this little 7" and am glad I decided to give them a chance. Pick it up if you can, it's a fun collaboration between two-tone legends and pop legends.

The Turtles - She'd Rather Be With Me

 
The Turtles were a popular 60's band, playing your popular 60's music in popular 60's venues for popular 60's boys and girls. They were also quite good, with songs including Elanore, and more famously, Happy Together. The singers, Mark Voleman and Howard Kaylan would achieve comic fame as Flo & Eddie, the comical music duo. However this was after their stint in Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention.

She'd Rather Be With Me is a classic sixties pop tune, lyrics about love, a swinging beat, vocal harmonies, it's got it all. Where The turtles excell is by bringing in a variety of instruments at once, letting the song build up and simply enjoy itself. The beat really holds the track in place, it's almost Motorik, while the organ tinges it with a lovely sunshine flower-power sound. The bridge itself is an excellent harmony where the track really comes together, allowing it to end after repeating the chorus. A typical song, a typical structure, but hey, it's fun!

The Walking Song is more 'psychedelic' pop, combining about 4 styles of pop into one, in a way not dissimilar to The Small Faces. From Pop to pub sing-along to Beach Boys style harmonies, with slight tinges of The Mothers hidden in cracks beneath the surface. The playful nature of this song keeps it as an interesting listen, and I'd say, get it. I picked this 7" up for 99p off eBay, however it doesn't seem to be on there often, so keep your eyes peeled!