Elvis Costello "Brutal Youth" 1994***

I don't know who the writers of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die are, but they have a serious, and inexplicable, thing for Elvis Costello: 6 of his albums are in their list, - as many as by The Rolling Stones, more than by Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, or Pink Floyd. I mean, what's that about? Sure, Costello is quite wordy and occasionally ingenious in his puns and sarcastic/vitriolic observations. But, as a wordsmith, he's no Dylan. And, like Dylan, his voice isn't the most pleasant in the world - let's be nice and call it an acquired taste. He is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and distinctive songwriters of his generation, and he does have a few albums no-one would object seeing in this list (though Brutal Youth isn't one of them). But include them all just because they're similar? You might as well include all of the Ramones' 70's albums, since they're also interchangeable. Back in '94 Brutal Youth was hailed as a return to form because of the return of The Attractions as Costello's backing band. And while it can be said to be similar to the early string of great records they made together, it's far from being equally good. It's true that many of the rockier songs here (e.g. "Pony Street", "13 Steps Lead Down", "Just About Glad", "My Science Fiction Twin", "20% Amnesia") replicate the band's '70s new wave sound, which obviously delighted old fans, but the production is somewhat clattered and tunes aren't all that memorable, with the exception of the grungy "Kinder Murder" and 60's pop rock "Sulky Girl". Other standouts include the Beatlesy "This Is Hell", jazz/soul "Clown Strike", and ballads "You Tripped at Every Step", "London's Brilliant Parade", and "Favourite Hour". But despite having a number of agreeable songs (once you get used to Costello's voice),  Brutal Youth is far from being a Must Hear album. You have my permission to skip this one. Just 1000 more to go, then!

**** for Kinder Murder, Sulky Girl

*** for Pony St, 13 Steps Lead Down, This Is Hell, Clown Strike, You Tripped at Every Step, 20% Amnesia, London's Brilliant Parade, Just About Glad, Favourite Hour 

** for Still Too Soon to Know, My Science Fiction Twin, Rocking Horse Road, All the Rage

David Bowie "Tin Machine" 1989***

So much was made about David Bowie being a simple singer in a band of equals called Tin Machine, it seems absurd for me to attribute it to Bowie alone as if it was a solo album - but this is exactly how it appears on the CD reissue. Back then it was Bowie's way to re-invent himself once more, this time as a singer in a real rock band, as opposed to the pop star he had been during the 80's. But let's not kid ourselves, who were these other members? talented guitarist Reeves Gabrels and the rhythm section of Hunt and Tony Sales were (still are) unknowns, though the brothers had previously played in Iggy Pop's Lust For Life LP. So, naturally, Tin Machine is now only remembered as a phase in the David Bowie transformation saga rather than a group in its own right, and their albums has taken their place in the Bowie canon. And yet, they were much more than mere session musicians, as they contributed a lot to the songwriting, and Gables' guitar dominated the songs more than any other Bowie sideman, Mick Ronson included, ever did. The volume of distorted guitar poses the band's sound somewhere between classic hard rock and the alternative scene of the era (Bowie had at the time professed his love for the experimental guitar rock of The Pixies and Sonic Youth). Grunge was destined to merge the two styles very successfully a few years later, but at the time this move from new wave-y pop towards hard rock puzzled critics and audience alike. Not that Bowie could ever be considered a grunge forerunner - God, can you imagine him wearing flannel shirts and torn jeans?  Sound-wise Tin Machine's lean, mean, rock sound was an improvement over Bowie's last albums' commercial Top-40 sound - and while the songwriting was not impressive by Bowie standards, it topped everything he had produced since Let's Dance. Even that album contained a few great songs but was carelessly puffed up to full length with filler, while the whole of Tin Machine is obviously a work of love. "Prisoner of Love" is clearly the album's winner, a tune reminiscent of his late 70's albums, only rockier. Another highlight is the anti-fascist "Under the God" sounding a bit like Billy Idol, albeit with quality. "Working Class Hero" is an interesting reworking of this John Lennon classic - funkier, harder, but somewhat ill-fitting: who'd buy Bowie as an angry class fighter? "Amazing" is the album's (sappy) love song, while opener "Heaven's in Here" is classic rock in bluesy Clapton/Hendrix vein, and "Tin Machine", "Crack City", "Pretty Thing" and "Sacrifice Yourself" explore the band's aggressive noisy side. "I Can't Read", "Run", and "Baby Can Dance" are more typical of his 80's albums, but with a live rock feel instead of studio gloss. Overall, one can talk of a decent -rather than great- David Bowie album. His vocals are as good as always, less dramatic and more aggressive maybe but bearing his quality mark. The rhythm section's playing is faultless and occasionally inventive while the guitars, which are loud and all over the place, may divide opinion. I personally like them that way, but I can understand listeners who would have welcomed a more judicious use. Maybe, now that the artist's unfortunate death has lent him Pope-like infallibility, the time is right for this album's re-appraisal.

**** for Heaven's in Here, Prisoner of Love, Under the God, Baby Can Dance

*** for Tin Machine, I Can't Read, Working Class Hero, Run, Sacrifice Yourself

** for Crack City, Amazing, Bus Stop, Pretty Thing, Video Crime

   

Alestorm "No Grave But The Sea" (Deluxe ed.) 2017 ☠️ ☠️ ☠️

Uh-oh! Friday The 13th and no horror rock to post? Wait, here's Alestorm! Admittedly, they're funny rather than spooky, but they have tales of bloodthirsty pirates, a skeleton on the cover, they cuss worse than the demon in the Exorcist, and they can generally be quite horrible when they want to. They'll have to do!

Until about a couple of months ago I hadn't heard of Alestorm. Which isn't strange, seeing as metal is its own world only occasionally intersecting with the main body of rock music. I happened to see them live in the Lokerse Feesten festival in Belgium. I was there mostly to catch those 80's dinosaurs, Europe and -mainly- Scorpions, as well as Monster Magnet (who eventually cancelled). As luck would have it, Alestorm started playing just as I entered the festival grounds, and they were not only the best band of the night, they were the most fun I've had in a concert for a very long time! Afterwards I went to the merchandise stand, which didn't have any CD's but did sell some pretty cool piratically-themed T-shirts. So I had to order their CD's online, starting with their latest "No Grave But The Sea". I remembered some titles from the concert, most strikingly "Fucked With An Anchor", You don't easily forget thousands of people chanting in unison "Fuck you! You're a fucking wanker/We're gonna punch you right in the balls/Fuck you! with a fucking anchor/You're all cunts so fuck you all". Like most of Alestorm's songs, this is a heavy metal sea shanty, albeit with a big rude football chant-style chorus. While there is some stylistic variety, one can generally describe their music as The-Pogues-meet-Iron-Maiden. With songs about pirates and booze. Some of the faster songs (e.g. "Pegleg Potion") could also be mistaken for Dropkick Murphys or a similar Celtic Punk band. Onstage  they recreate the music with the help of a keytar and synths, but on the record one can discern brass, fiddle, tin whistle, and accordions - or good imitations thereof. Besides the Fuck Song, another highlight is "Alestorm", which combines an aggressive metal style with occasional death metal vocals and a ridiculously catchy chorus. "Mexico" is the "poppiest" song here. Adding some country, 80's video-game noises and quasi-ska rhythm to the mix, it's uncharacteristically light for the band but seriously catchy. "Bar Ünd Imbiss" sports a drunken chorus and the guitar solos one learns to expect from a metal album but are in short supply here, while opener "No Grave But The Sea" is closer to power metal. Ditto for mini-epics "To The End Of The World" and "Treasure Island" which find time for a more complex prog-ish structure. For those who doubted that Alestorm is the maddest bunch of buffoons in metal, they have included a bonus CD with alternate versions of all the songs for the album's Deluxe edition. No, they're not unplugged versions, or instrumentals, or demos, or live, not even dance mixes (though that would have been a bit mad, too). No, it consists of the whole album with barks instead of vocals. It's called No Grave But The Sea for Dogs. You can listen to a sample here, but I warn you: you can never un-hear it. And the scary part is... it sounds too natural, as if this is the way it was meant to be. Could this sick joke turn out to be the next big thing? First every new album comes with a dogs version, then they dispense with the human voices altogether?

Alestorm at The Lokerse Feesten 2019

**** for No Grave But The Sea, Mexico, Alestorm, Fucked With An Anchor

*** for Bar Ünd Imbiss, Pegleg Potion, Treasure Island

** for To The End Of The World, Man The Pumps, Rage Of The Pentahook

Les Shleu Shleu From Haiti "Shleu-Shleu" 1975(comp)****

I got this blind, as I didn't have any records from Haiti and wanted to fill this particular hole in my collection. Well, not completely blind, as a quick google search convinced me this was an important band from the area, and highly respected in "world music" circles. Apparently this style is called Kompa or Mini Jazz (Not referring to size but to the latest craze of their time, which was the mini skirt). Sung in Creole French, it's recognizably Latin/Caribbean music, based on percussion and rhythmically similar to rumba or merengue. But it's also different, characterized by swinging sax solos and simultaneously rhythmic and soloing guitars in the style of Congolese soukous. Virtuosos though these guys were, this was basically dance band, and a very popular one at the clubs of Port-Au-Prince. So successful were they at home that they set their sights on an international career, which they did achieve, basing themselves in New York under the name of Skah-Shah. Versions of the band, mostly headed by their original percussionist Smith Jean-Baptiste, seem to still be active. Their discography is extensive, rather jumbled, and mostly out of print. Very little has been re-released on CD. This Dutch compilation from 1975 was seemingly compiled with an eye to the country's sizable Antillean and Surinamese community and features the original band at their early best. Some of the tunes are more upbeat and danceable ("Plaisir Vacance", "Trois Forces", "Ceremonie Loa", "Evangeline"), others more nostalgic ("Reve", "Devin 'Pa' Ou"), while some are quite reminiscent of the world music phenomenon of the 90's Buena Vista Social Club ("Haiti & Shleu Shleu", "Sept Jours De La Semaine"). Elsewhere it's a New Orleans flavor that stands out thanks to the jazzy saxophone ("Ce La Ou Yé", included here in a live version). Mostly it's all these at once. A good place to start if you wish to immerse yourself in Haitian music.

**** for Ce La Ou Yé, Haiti & Shleu Shleu, Sept Jours De La Semaine, Ceremonie Loa, L'Evangile, Reve

*** for Devin 'Pa' Ou, Plaisir Vacance, Trois Forces

Doobie Brothers "Listen to the Music: The Very Best of the Doobie Brothers" 1972-1980(rec) 1993(comp)***

I thought of the Doobies yesterday while dancing at the Doors bar in Antiparos, the oldest and most rocking bar on the island. Music choices there alternate from classic rock to old-time-funk, and at some point ''Long Train Running'' started playing from the speakers, reminding me I have a relevant review in my drafts folder; of a compilation CD as it happens. I always start with a greatest hits album, when I want to get into a new group. If it grows on me, I'll buy the individual albums, starting with the most famous and working my way towards the less celebrated ones. This is what I did, for example, with Van Morrison, David Bowie, and Neil Young. Starting with compilations, I then got their essential classics, then the just good ones (20-something albums by each) and now I'm exploring the dark corners of their discography ("Trans" and "Never Let Me Down", your time has come). But it doesn't always work that way. Sometimes I just listen to a best-of and decide that it's enough. If one asks me whether I have anything by Doobie Brothers, I can just show him this CD. 

Re-listening to this one -maybe a decade after its original purchase- confirmed my initial reaction, which was that this was a blue eyed soul version of The Eagles. It's hard to find a fault with it, really. All the hits are here, and it's never anything less than pleasant. If anything, it's a bit too commercial. But what else can you expect from a Greatest Hits collection? Anyway, I'll tackle the songs chronologically like I usually do with compilations. Second album Toulouse Street (1972) is the first to be represented here, featuring the upbeat country pop "Listen to the Music", Creedence-like "Rockin' Down The Highway" and a funky version of a Christian song popularized by The Byrds "Jesus Is Just Alright". All feature excellent harmonies on the chorus, while the latter sports a slow and bluesy bridge with guitar and vocals reminiscent of Free. The two fantastic songs opening this compilation come from their next album The Captain and Me (1973). "Long Train Runnin'" is a Southern rocker with a great riff, catchy chorus, and cool harmonica break. It reminds me of the best 70's songs by the Steve Miller Band. A disco-fied remix closes the compilation. Usually I find dance mixes of rock hits to be abominations, but you know what? If I was still a DJ, this would be the version I'd play at a club. "China Grove" and "Without You" are a couple of Southern hard rockers penned by Tom Johnston and "South City Midnight Lady" an Eagles-like ballad by Patrick Simmons who wrote most of the slower numbers. What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (1974) is represented by only one song, country ballad "Black Water" with the fiddle giving it a nice cajun flavor. Stampede (1975) is likewise represented by only one song, soul cover "Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)". 1976's Takin' It to the Streets sees the arrival of  new member Michael McDonald who brought a more commercial soul/pop style with him ("Takin' It to the Streets", "It Keeps You Runnin'"). With the exception of soul cover "Little Darling (I Need You), the rest of the tracks here are written by him, in the same silky jazz/pop/soul style: "You Belong To Me" (from Livin' on the Fault Line, 1977), "Minute by Minute", "What a Fool Believes", "Here To Love You" (Minute by Minute, 1979) and "Real Love" (One Step Closer, 1980) have veered far from their Southern Rock beginnings into (then) contemporary R&B. They were pretty successful commercially, and pleasant-sounding enough, but any time I want to listen to smooth soul I'll go straight to the source: Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie Wonder etc. So for me this CD has two distinct halves: the first, between 1972-1975 yields some country rock gems, while the second (1976-1980) is rather indifferent to my taste. I may yet be convinced to pick up one of their early albums. But what if the only good songs are the ones included in the compilation? I guess I should choose between seeking the full albums out on youtube or taking a risk with one of their records. I say, let's live dangerously...

***** for Long Train Runnin', Listen To The Music, Black Water

**** for China Grove, Jesus Is Just Alright, Without You, Long Train Runnin'(Remix)

*** for Takin' It To The Streets, Rockin' Down The Highway, Take Me In Your Arms, South City Midnight Lady, It Keeps You Runnin', Little Darling (I Need You), You Belong To Me, Minute By Minute, Real Love

** for Here To Love You, What A Fool Believes