I'm in the process of re-listening and re-evaluating my record collection, in no particular order. I'll be sharing the results of my evaluation and thoughts on the music in this blog.
Citizen Kane my ass! Blade Runner is the best movie ever produced in the history of the medium! It renewed film noir and science fiction and stands as an unsurpassed landmark in both genres. And its influence stretches beyond film to other visual arts, design, advertising and literature: the Cyberpunk movement was SF's reaction to the unprecedented mix of high tech and low life, the twin reality of the gleaming Tyrell Corporation towers and crumbling Los Angeles ghettos. And although it didn't stick very close to Philip K. Dick's original story, its version of the future shared the writer's pessimism: No leisurely living thanks to the machines, at least not for everyone: While the rich enjoy the fruits of android slave labor, the bulk of humanity scrapes a living under the domination of huge corporations and police oppression. Murderous as these replicas are, you can't help but sympathize with them in their quest for...meaning? freedom? revenge? I suppose it's different things for each one. The film's music was no less revolutionary in its mix of jazz noir, electronic and symphonic music. Composer Vangelis Papathanasiou (known outside his native Greece just by his first name) was a veteran of the Greek pop scene, starting with his invention of the popular Yanka dance craze in the early 60's. He shot to international fame after his collaboration with Demis Roussos in the prog-pop Aphrodite's Child and had since become a pioneer of proto-electronic music. His music for the film "Chariots Of Fire" had already won him an Oscar and he deserved another one for "Blade Runner", but fell victim to the Academy's contempt for science fiction. Sounds improbable that an iconic film like Blade Runner would go on to win 0 (zero) Academy Awards, but there you have it. Despite the obvious appeal of the film's music, there was no official soundtrack release until 1994 - which is how this album came to being. Entitled Blade Runner - Orchestral Adaptation Of Music Composed For The Motion Picture Soundtrack, it's a recreation of some of Vangelis' original music from the film. For many years it served as O.S.T. for us fans and I must admit that, although I clearly heard that it wasn't exactly the same as the film, I hadn't realized it was a completely different work until recently. Which doesn't render it useless at all. It still displays that revolutionary mix of jazz and electronic music and it still conjures up scenes from the movie - which is a secondary but important function of film soundtracks. The opening "Love Theme" is an orchestral piece with late-night sax, romantic but thankfully not as corny as would be expected by its title. "Main Title" is another mellow tune featuring an orchestra, synthesizers and subtle acoustic elements like small bells. The next song entitled "One More Kiss, Dear" is the album's only vocal track and sounds like a 30's jazz tune, only it's not an original one. It was composed by Vangelis for the film but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference just by listening to it. "Memories Of Green" is an older Vangelis piece included in his See You Later album, a delicate piano tune with an orchestral backdrop. "End Title" and "End Title (Reprise)" are big electronic synthesizer music. Pretty much of their time, yet classic all the same. "Blade Runner Blues" is a melancholic jazz piece with a lonely sax playing over atmospheric synths and "Farewell" is another mellow orchestral/electronic mix, with a slightly oriental flavor. It may not be the best track in the album, but it always moves me because it reminds me of android Roy Batty's unforgettable farewell speech in the film: "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die"
***** for Memories Of Green, End Title
**** for Love Theme, Main Title, One More Kiss Dear, Blade Runner Blues, End Title (Reprise)
*** for Farewell
I wrote the above review in 2015. At the time I only had the CD of the NAO version of Vangelis' music for the film. Later, I bought the vinyl reissue of the real 1994 O.S.T. This was originally released in CD only, finally becoming widely available on vinyl in 2015, while there's one more version (the final word?) released as a triple CD under the title Blade Runner Trilogy.
For now, though, we'll focus on the 1994 O.S.T. and its differences with the NAO CD I presented here more than a decade ago. Obviously these are two very different records, the NAO one being a more orchestral work, and the original score a more electronic/synthesizer-based one. Opener "Main Titles" starts with a minute-long intro including spoken word followed by Vangelis' imposing synths, exactly what the opening sequence of the movie demanded with its futuristic cityscape, flames, and first glimpse of the Tyrell Corporation pyramid. Thaks to the absense of electronic instruments, the song "One More Kiss Dear" is the closest match between the two albums, although the OST vocal probably gives off a more vintage feel. "Memories of Green" (originally from 1980's See You Later LP) is a fragile piano-based piece, without the classical dimension of the orchestral version. The romantic "Love Theme" sounds superior here, with the sax providing the necessary smoky noir element to complement the atmospheric synths. "Blade Runner Blues" on the other hand is more ambient, and less jazzy, than the NAO version, and "End Title" (which was previously split in two) is presented in its whole, a majestic classic of early electronica. The NAO LP contained 7 tracks, of which only "Farewell" does not appear here. But, even though there's still a lot of the actual film music missing, we do get 6 tracks absent from the NAO version: "Blush Response" (complete with dialogue from the film) takes us back the first meeting between Deckard and Rachel, "Rachel's Song" features some gorgeous female vocalizing, and "Damask Rose" some cello-like synth emulating what sounds to me like a traditional Greek mountain village melody. "Wait For Me" is another atmospheric electronic piece incorporating film dialogue while "Tales Of The Future" contains a distorted vocal reminiscent of traditional Asian music. Closer "Tears In Rain" features some of the film's best dialogue with a suitably emotive instrumental backing. All in all, although the NAO version still sounds quite good, being orchestral it's curiously more like conventional film music than the actual OST. Vangelis' original music is way more interesting, with its futuristic synths, smoky jazz feel, and dialogue excerpts conveying the right atmosphere for this seminal sci-fi noir cinematic masterpiece. Most of the music could work well as a standalone piece of electronica, but combined with the stunning cinematography of Blade Runner, it makes for one of the greatest soundtracks of all time - in my opinion even better than Vangelis' Oscar-winning Chariots Of Fire.
Unbeatable, really.
***** for Love Theme, Blade Runner Blues, Memories Of Green, Blade Runner (End Titles), Tears In Rain
**** for Main Titles, Blush Response, Wait For Me, Rachel's Song, One More Kiss Dear
Strangely enough, after 10+ years, I haven’t yet reviewed a single R.E.M. album among the 20 or so in my collection (all of their studio LPs, plus some live albums and comps). I guess random selection can make mistakes, so it’s time to fix one of those. For that reason, I chose 1998’s Up. It may not be one of my favorites, but it reminds me of the first time I saw the band live in Athens—not their hometown of Athens, GA, but mine: Athens, Greece. The date was July 23, 1999. The support act, chosen by Stipe and co. themselves, was a Greek folk-rock band called Pyx Lax—hugely popular at the time, although I hadn’t seen them before either. I had my doubts about that choice, but they proved to be a good fit. Could R.E.M. outshine the local heroes? Everyone loved “Losing My Religion,” but their recent albums weren’t all that popular - in particular Up, with its more experimental sound. In the end, there was no contest; the opening trio (“Lotus,” “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” and “The Wake-Up Bomb”) may not have been anyone's favorite songs, but they were played with such energy that the crowd got carriedaway. Here’s a description from remtimeline.com: “At the front it was bedlam and although it never got dangerous, a couple of people made their way out of the mosh pit even before R.E.M. had begun the second verse... the crowd continued to replicate the energy displayed by the band... they continue to rock with all the vigour of the so-called ‘youthful’ bands emerging today and then some. Forty thousand Greek fans singing along word for word can’t be far wrong.”
As I said before, Up was never among R.E.M.’s most popular albums. It sold well enough, but that was mostly on the strength of the albums that preceded it. It was a strange time for the band; drummer Bill Berry had just quit, and they chose not to replace him, opting instead to experiment with various analogue synths and drum machines. The end result sounded very contemporary given the popularity of trip hop at the time, but not very R.E.M.—at least until the vocals were added at the very end of the creative process. Peter Buck's guitar, especially, is conspicuous by its (near) absence. “Airportman” is certainly an alienating opener for fans of the band, an understated ambient piece (is the title a nod to Eno’s Music for Airports?). Then “Lotus” comes in to hook listeners back; there may be no guitars, but it’s still an upbeat tune with a strong melody and a hooky chorus. “Suspicion” is a slow elegant piece, while “Hope” picks up the pace again, featuring electronic percussion and new-wavey synth lines, culminating in a noisy outro. “At My Most Beautiful” is an exquisite piano ballad, followed by “The Apologist,” which builds on a hypnotic, quasi-threatening rhythm and endless repetitions of “I’m sorry” that somehow sound less than sincere. “Walk Unafraid” is another relatively upbeat piece with ’80s-style electronic effects and melodic synth lines. “You’re in the Air” is atmospheric and string-laden, while “Why Not Smile” reminds me of their cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” years earlier. Together with “Suspicion,” “Daysleeper,” and the closing trio (“Diminished,” “Parakeet,” “Falls to Climb”), they could almost make for a trip-hop Automatic for the People. Tempo-wise, at least—only the lyrical “Daysleeper” could effortlessly fit into their 1991 masterpiece. Maybe they could have pushed further in that direction and released a whole album of slow ambient electronica. Or, alternatively, trimmed some of the moodier pieces to create a more sonically balanced record with poppy highs and atmospheric lows. But this was the late ’90s: with CD capacity nearing 80 minutes, anything shorter than an hour would feel like cheating the buying public. In any case, Up didn’t really signal a new direction for the band; if anything, they would rein in their experimental tendencies, releasing poppier, sunnier albums (Reveal, 2001) as well as angrier, punkier ones (Accelerate, 2008). Up remains an outlier in their discography—it almost sounds like a different band with Michael Stipe on guest vocals. Still, it makes for great listening: a few outstanding songs, and no real missteps.
**** for Lotus, Hope, At My Most Beautiful. The Apologist, Walk Unafraid, Why Not Smile, Daysleeper
*** for Airportman, Suspicion,Sad Professor, You're in the Air, Diminished, Parakeet, Falls to Climb
I remember finding this CD in the clearance bin of the Metropolis record store in Athens. It was almost 30 years ago, and I was with a friend who advised me to buy it. He was into epic/power metal, but this was, according to him, a "folk" CD, which he was sure I would like. Now how could he possibly have known about folk albums, especially ones that I had never heard of? I had my doubts, but it was cheap enough for me to take the risk. At the time there weren't any streaming platforms, youtube and whatnot - if one wanted to know whether a record was good enough to buy, they'd have to wait until they heard it on the radio, or ask a record store clerk to play it for them (not too likely), or rely on the opinion of others, either friends or music critics.
My friend must have heard it on some kind of metal radio show, seeing as Pazuzu (not to be confused with the newer band Oranssi Pazuzu from Finland) were a side project of Austrian Black Metal band Summoning. Summoning's lyrics was heavily Tolkien-inspired (sample titles from their discography: Minas Morgul, Dol Guldur) and Pazuzu (named after an ancient Messopotamian demon) deal in similar themes, while their music is of an appropriately medieval nature: one can imagine a song like the upbeat "Bal Of Thieves" playing at the Prancing Pony, while revelers dance merrily and, at one corner, Thorin the dwarf enlists the help of the grey wizard in his daring scheme to reclaim the stolen dwarven gold from a certain winged serpent. Now this isn't the story behind this CD, but it might as well be; after all there is a dragon here, too, and he is awakened. The music belongs to a genre I'm not really familiar with: people call it dark ambient or dungeon synth. Very much inspired by medieval folk, but darker and more atmospheric, making heavy use of synths often emulating the sound of traditional instruments like the harpsichord, as in "The Five Emperors". The song "Pazuzu" has a Dead Can Dance-like oriental melody, while "King Of Vermin" is the only track that reminds me of Black Metal because of the guttural "demonic" vocal. There are, of course, also lighter songs like the sea-shanty-like "In A Tavern" and the elegant "Royaume Des Rèves (Baronnesse Chap. II)" which features a female narrator speaking in French. "Outro" is a strangely ill-fitting new wave instrumental, while "Verfal" has a German (male) narrator using a theatrical but rather normal voice. Mostly, though, the narration employs a more sinister tone. The main narrator reminds me of Laibach's Milan Fras - especially when he talks in German, as in the appropriately funereal-paced "Im Mondschein (Die Tragik Des Todes)". Another similarity to the Slovenian band lies in the military-style drumming and heavy Wagnerian synths; but while Laibach have achieved cult recognition, Pazuzu are laughed at outside a very small circle of "dungeon synth" fans. I guess the main reason is that their subject matter and medieval fantasy obsessions are perceived as "silly". On the other hand, if you're a Dungeons & Dragons fan, you may have just found the perfect soundtrack for your role-playing games. Not that I am; after all, Dungeons and Dragons players are notoriously nerdy. Unlike, for example, Heroes Of Might And Magic. If I'm not mistaken, Part II of that video game came out around the same time that I bought Awaken The Dragon; I spent many hours playing HoMM2 with this CD on repeat. Listening to it again after all these years, I can't help but feel nostalgic for the days that I could afford to waste countless hours on silly stuff like that without remorse.
*** for Awaken The Dragon - Millennium Two, The Five Emperors, Bal Of Thieves, Royaume Des Rèves (Baronnesse Chap. II), Until The Sun Returns, In A Tavern, Pazuzu, Outro
** for The Messenger And The Spiritwind, The King Of Vermin, Verfall, Im Mondschein (Die Tragik Des Todes)
Some people call this "the worst album ever made". But then again, they've said the same for Dylan's Self Portrait, and it's not that bad - it's just not genious, like most of his work up to that point was. It makes sense now, even if it didn't at the time. Could Cut The Crap be a similar case? I had some songs on cassette at the time; later I also bought the CD for completeness' shake, but hardly ever listened to it, so my memories of that album are more from hearing it on cassette in the late 80's. I remember I liked some of the choruses; the synth-heavy production didn't alienate me that much, since I was used to it from mainstream pop and rock of the time. But as I got deeper into garage rock and classic punk, it started to annoy me so much that I didn't listen to it again. Until now. But before reviewing the music, one first needs some background information: in 1982, The Clash had their biggest hit with Combat Rock. It contained such classics as "Rock The Casbah" and "Should I Stay Or Should I Go", and was their first to get into the Top 10 in the US (as well as No.2 in UK). But it wasn't the album the band had in mind; Mick Jones had initially delivered a double album with longer, dancier mixes. Strummer wasn't happy with it, and neither were their management and record company, so they hired experienced producer Glyn Johns to remix it. He edited some of the songs and left others out, coming up with a leaner, better, version. The commercial appeal of the finished product proved him right, but it drove a wedge between the two principal songwriters, while drummer Topper Headon 's dismissal dut to his uncontrolled heroin habbit further unbalanced the band. Instead of enjoying their success, they started bickering with each other, leading to Strummer and manager Bernie Rhodes taking control of the band. Jones left, as did Topper's replacement, Terry Chimes. Strummer co-wrote a new bunch of songs with Rhodes, and went into the studio to record them with the new band, which included bassist Paul Simonon and three new members on guitars and drums. Rhodes then took over the production and mixing process, which is where -according to general opinion- everything went horribly wrong: he removed the bass and drums, replacing them with drum machines, and added layer over layer of synthesizers, fake horns, and all kinds of effects. Opener "Dictator", for example, is full of samples of people speaking unintelligibly in Spanish. Many years later, Manu Chao would use the same trick with success - but sparingly, not throughout the whole song! It's this excess that completely destoys Cut The Crap; less synths, and it'd just sound dated, now tracks like "Dictator" are rendered almost unlistenable. "Dirty Punk" is an improvement, a classic punk song with loud guitars and a nice chorus. "We Are The Clash" ("No you aren't" said most fans and critics) is a passable song with a big chorus which is reminiscent of football chants. The album is full of those; they are in fact -along with the synths and drum machines- one of its defining characteristics. People object to those, too, but I certainly don't mind. I think that these football chant-style choruses are part of Strummer's vision rather than Rhodes'. I've seen his interviews of the time, and all he talked about was about how bad the political situation in Britain was (remember, it was the height of Thatcher's dismantling of the welfare state, and of the great miners' strike) and how much the original fighting spirit of punk was needed. So yes, Strummer's mohawk hairstyle and Oi!- style choruses were a stylistical and musical regression for The Clash, but there was a reasoning behind it. On live bootleg recordings "Are You Red...Y" sounds like one of the funkier tracks on Sandinista! The proto-techno production doesn't do it any favors, but neither does ruin it completely. If it lost the chorus and electronic effects "Cool Under Heat" would fit well in one of Strummer's later albums with the Mescaleros. "North And South" is another Mescaleros-like song, a Latin-tinged semi-ballad. "Movers And Shakers" benefits from a great chorus (even if it's repeated a bit too often), but is ruined by this atrocious Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass-emulating synth part. Thankfully we now come to the good part: "This Is England" is, according to Strummer, the last great Clash song. His vocal is upfront instead of buried under a cacophony of electronic sounds, the chorus is anthemic, and the lyrics paint an insightful and eloquent picture of Thatcher-era Britain. It's followed by the second-best song of the collection, the ska-punk "Three Card Trick". With better production, it'd fit perfectly in London Calling. "Play To Win" and "Fingerpoppin'" unsuccessfully try to experiment with Latin and hip hop elements, while "Life Is Wild" starts off promising but quickly gets drowned in a cacophony of samples, electronic effects, and backing vocals all playing simultaneously. Normally the album ends here, but my CD adds the B-side of "This Is England", "Do It Now". It's quite mediocre, but thankfully not messed up too badly by Rhodes. Why did Joe Strummer allow him complete controle over the mix of this album is a mystery. Or why Rhodes decided to take it to the polar opposite of the band's declared intention to return to the simplicity and energy of original punk. It may have something to do with Strummer being distracted due to family problems (his father died suddenly, and mother was simultaneously diagnosed with terminal cancer), Rhodes' famous stubborness, or the record company's insistence to deliver the album (for which they had already paid in advance) as soon as possible. But, then again, couldn't they see it was crap? Couldn't they get someone like Glyn Johns to save it? More importantly, might it still be saved? Many fans, myself included, think there are some good songs here. Given a sympathetic production, it would still be The Clash's weakest album, but not the embarassment it is now. For some mysterious reason, noone has gone back to the master tapes to make a radical remix that might salvage it. Some fans have tried; a German musician under the pseudonym Mohawk Revenge tried to isolate the vocals and re-create the instrumental part playing all the instruments himself. The result has been released under the title Cut The Crap Rebooted, and it's already better than the official version. Imagine how much further it could be improved if someone like e.g. Tim Armstrong from Rancid had access to the master tapes, was able to remove all the synths and other added-on crap, reinstate the bass and drums, and play some judicious overdubs where needed. I believe that we'd have a solid punk rock album in our hands, instead of a failed experiment.
**** for This Is England, Three Card Trick
*** for Dirty Punk, We Are The Clash, Are You Red...Y, Cool Under Heat, Movers And Shakers
** for Dictator, Play To Win, Fingerpoppin', North And South, Life Is Wild, Do It Now
I think I first heard this album blasting from the speakers of a music bar on a warm evening in Tokyo (I think it was Bar Rockaholic? It was directly above a record store I visited for my record stores of shibuya post). The songs sounded like The Clash with Japanese lyrics; I remember there were a few customers shouting the lyrics at the top of their lungs. They seemed quite drunk even though it was still early. Later, I found in second hand shops some LPs by this punk band called Anarchy, and decided to take a couple together with me to The Netherlands - I've always been a sucker for non-English language rock.
The band's self-named debut アナーキー (1979 or 1980? my sources do not agree) does sound a lot like The Clash , which makes me think they must have been the same band I heard play at the Shibuya bar that night. Three songs are more-or-less direct Clash covers: "東京イズバーニング [Tokyo is Burning]", "ホワイト・ライオット [White Riot]" and "アナーキー [Anarchy]" (A.K.A. "Safe European Home"). "3.3.3." is a cover of Stiff Little Fingers' "Suspect Device", and "ジョニー・B・グッド" is Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode", while the band took their name from Sex Pistols' "Anarchy In The UK". Other songs sound familiar too, but I couldn't place them - in any case, the aforementioned bands should give an indication of their influences. I must say that this is exactly my favorite punk rock style: short, fast, aggressive, but still somehow melodic. In general, Anarchy seem to be closer to the English punk school rather than the American one. If you think about it, there are quite a lot of similarities between England and Japan in the 70's: former empires in decadence, ages-old society structures with an emphasis in decorum, repression and self-restraint, the institution of monarchy - Anarchy's disparaging attitude to the Imperial Family caused as much a backlash as Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen" did. The lyrics form, apparently, a rejection of modern Japanese society, attacking consumerism, conformism, and the "worker ant" ethos. More in-your-face than the sarcastic British school or fun-loving American one. Vocals are aggresive, words spat out rather than sung, and tempos fast. Half the songs clock well under 2 minutes, the rest between 2' and 3'. Song structures usually follow the same pattern: Short intro→Verse→Chanted chorus→Short solo/noise break→Final chorus→abrupt ending. The guitarwork is relatively basic (power chords, minimal chord changes), but then again, that's punk; in any case, the guitarist sounds rather more profficient than his counterparts in classic English punk bands. On the other side, there's less variety in the music, at least in this debut lp: no reggae/funk influences like The Clash, or hard rock ones like Sex Pistols. Despite a certain sense of sameness, the urgency and short duration of each track here ensure the listener won't get bored at any point. There are no weak tracks here, on the contrary there are a lot of highlights e.g. the repetitive chant of "Not Satisfied", melodic guitar break of "Aburamushi", rockabilly guitar in "Mou Out", call-and-response vocals of "City Surfer" etc. As I said previously, many of these songs here are either covers of, or partly lifted from, contemporary Western punk rock. Yet, there's also something distinctively Japanese about this LP - other than the obvious, which is the language. It turned out to be hugely influential for the local scene and is listed at No.16 of Rolling Stone Magazine's All Time-Greatest Japanese Rock Albums list. Is the music here derivative? Yes, absolutely. But so is Green Day's, and they are one of the most popular -and therefore important- punk rock bands, ever.
***** for ノット・サティスファイ [Not Satisfied], あぶらむし [Aburamushi], 3・3・3, シティ・サーファー [City Surfer], 団地のオバサン [Danchi no Obasan], アナーキー [Anarchy]
**** for ジョニー・B・グッド [Johnny B. Goode], 東京イズバーニング [Tokyo's Burning], 缶詰 [Kandume], もうアウト [Mou Out], 季節の外で [Kisetsu no Soto de], ホワイト・ライオット [White Riot], 教室の中で [Kyoushitsu no Naka de]
Eighties music always gets an awfully bad rep; I guess that's to be expected if one judges from the era's hit parade and dominant production techniques. But to me, a teenager of that era, it was a time of exciting musical discoveries; yes there was very little of value on the MTV, but we had pirate radio - until the late 80's when the state monopoly of the airwaves was lifted, that is. Rock FM 969, the first station dedicated to rock music, was established in 1989. Until then, our main sources of musical education were pirate radio, music magazine pop + rock, and above all the mix tapes we exchanged with friends. The music bars around Exarchia also introduced us to some great bands: staples of the time included the Violent Femmes, Gun Club, Fuzztones, as well as some of the groups featured in this compilation. I started building my record collection in the mid 80's; I bought very few new LPs, only those by bands I absolutely wanted to have; instead I bought slightly older "nice price" releases or used vinyl - since information was scarce, my record buying habbits were largely guided by instinct and price: if I had read or vaguely heard about a band that sounded up my alley, and the price was right, I'd risk buying their record. Album covers played a big role; paisley or psychedelic designs, or fonts similar to 60s psychedelic, would always catch my eye. Certain record companies, too: Bomp, Voxx, Dionysus, Skyclad, Midnight Records, German indie Music Maniac: all these released a slew of garage/neo-psychedelic records. All through the late 80's and early 90's I collected everything garage/psych- relatedI could get my hands on, either the original 60s stuff or neo-psychedelic revival. A lot of them disappeared during the great vinyl purge, but a relatively big chunk (compared to vinyl of other genres) has stayed with me, to this day.
A month or two ago, I read about this release in Mojo Magazine. I've always had a soft spot for paisley underground bands, so, knowing that Cherry Red Records has done a great job anthologizing other periods/genres, I ordered the box set from Amazon. It consists of three CDs in a sturdy clamshell box. Each CD has 20+ tracks, making up a total of 67. There's a mix of relatively well-known songs and rarities, some by future stars and some by others who went unnoticed at the time. As it turns out, I already had many of the songs in my collection, mostly on vinyl, but hadn't listened to them in a while. It's nice to hear them again now, in this kind of mixtape situation. The same goes for some LPs that I sold when I had to radically downsize my vinyl collection in the early 00's. I now have to re-evaluate my choices; I probably shouldn't have parted with The Rain Parade's Emergency Third Rail Power Trip. The two songs included here are ("What She's Done To Your Mind", "This Can't Be Today") are fine examples of Byrds-y neo-psychedelia with beautiful harmonies and jangly guitars. I guess that at the time I thought it was a bit too tame; I prefered bands that were louder, and more faithful to 60s garage as evidenced in the Nuggets, Pebbles, etc. compilations. There's a healthy dose of those here, and it's telling that most of these albums have stayed in my collection: The Tell-Tale Hearts, Prime Movers, Yard Trauma, Cynics, Mod Fun, and others. Plan 9's "White Woman" (1984) is a Seeds-like garage rocker, while The Vertebrats' "Left in the Dark" (1981) was one of the highlights of the classic Battle Of The Garages comp.
The Last's "She Don't Know Why I'm Here" is the oldest track here (1977), and the one that opens this (more or less chronologically ordered) comp. The Last came out of the L.A. punk rock scene, but played in a more melodic, 60s- influenced, style. Chris Bell's 1978 "I Am The Cosmos" probably doesn't belong here; Big Star's co-founder may have influenced some of these bands but belongs to a previous generation. R. Stevie Moore's "I Go Into Your Mind" (1979) is a dreamy keyboard ballad, The Fans' "True" (1980) is power pop, and The dB's 1981 demo "Nothing Is Wrong" is a trippy ballad influenced by Big Star. As Californian post-punk bands began to embrace a softer garage sound, often embellished with country brushstrokes, a localized 60's revivalist movement appeared which was inspired by West Coast flower power rather than the punkier 60's sounds from Michigan or the Northwest. It became known as the paisley underground (PU), as these musicians favored vintage 60's gear and clothing. A typical example is Action Now, whose song "Try" was recorded for a compilation curated by influential DJ RodneyBingenheimer. It had all the PU hallmarks, but wasn't a hit, which led to guitarist/songwriter/backing vocalist Paula Pierce to leave and start her own, all-female, group: The Pandoras' gutsy music and Paula's snarly delivery evoked the bands that reigned in the Sunset Strip club scene circa 1966, like The Standells and Chocolate Watch Band. They made two amazing 60's sounding LPs and an ill-advised pseudo-metal one, before Paula tragically died of an aneurysm at the age of 31. Another all-female PU band had much better luck: The Bangs, led by Susana Hoffs and the Peterson sisters, also started out playing garage rock; softer than the Pandoras, their 1981 debut "Getting Out of Hand" is a playful garage pop single with Beatles-inspired harmonies. Legal action by another group obliged them to change their name, initially to The Bang-less, and then The Bangles. We get one more 60's-sounding track from their same-named EP (1983); already they had gotten more professional and commercial-sounding with the help of Blondie producer Craig Leon. Pretty soon they'd become one of the bigger pop groups of the era, leaving the PU scene behind. From the same year, sisters Kristy & Kelly Callan-fronted Wednesday Week offer more upbeat and melodic garage pop.
On the more psychedelic/experimental side, we get "Office Skills" (1980) and "Euphoric Trapdoor Shoes" (1983) by Plasticland, True West's Tomorrow/Pink Floyd sounding "Steps To The Door" (1983), and the ghostly "Nothing Is Saving Me" (Translator, 1982). Now that I think of it, the latter also has similarities to early Cure. Other songs giving off a mysterious/horror vibe are "Sheez Wycked" (The Twisted) and Human Expression cover "Every Night" (The Suburban Nightmare). Both songs feature fuzzed out organ and tortured Cramps-likevocals - in the latter case by Blag Dhalia, later to find notoriety with The Dwarves. Bands with a more contemporary new wave sound include Wire Train, Darius And The Magnets, and Al Bloch; his "Hanging Around" shares more than a title with The Stranglers. My favorite PU band was The Dream Syndicate; I must have seen Steve Wynn, either solo or with Dream Syndicate ten times. Their music wasn't as sunny as other bands of the scene; there was a definite influence by Velvet Underground and Neil Young & Crazy Horse. The two tracks included here ("Sure Thing" and a cover of Young's "Mr. Soul") were recorded Live at KPFK Radio in '82, a nice bonus for fans like me who already own their official discography. Green On Red's "Death And Angels" comes from their 1982debut album recorded when they were still based in Tucson AZ. Later they'd move to California and adopt a more country-ish sound, although drummer Van Christian stayed behind and co-founded Naked Prey, who are represented here by the half-spoken heavy blues "The Story Never Ends" (1984). A similar path was followed by The Long Ryders: "And She Rides" (1983) is more garagey, while next year's "Too Close To The Light" signifies a move towards country rock. Sid Griffin of the Long Ryders as well as Yard Trauma's Lee Joseph started out, together with singer Shelley Ganz, as The Unclaimed. Their 1980 track "Deposition Central (The Acid Song)" is mid-tempo psychedelia; not what I expected, as I have a mini LP from a later incarnation which took a more frantic garage punk approach. That later incarnation featured Rich Coffee on guitar, who would soon also leave to form his own band, Thee Fourgiven. A1985 track by them is included here; it's a somewhat more muscular garage rock with Doors-like vocals and a 13th Floor Elevators drone. Back to the sunnier sounds often associated with California, bands utilizing jangly Byrdsian guitars and Beatles-like harmonies include The Point (1983's "Magic Circle" features a baroque harpsichord break a la The Left Banke), Tommy Keene, The Reverbs, Dreams So Real, The Impossible Years, Dumptruck, and 28th Day. Another band with a jangly guitar sound whom you wouldn't initially think of bundling with the rest here, were Athens GA's REM - yet "Gardening At Night" from their debut EP fits very well with the rest.
Other bands one does not normally associate with the PU sound because of theirpunk/hardcore pedigree are Redd Kross (here with an excellent cover of The Stones' "Citadel"), Hüsker Dü, and The Meat Puppets, whose second album is a pre-grunge/country/psych masterpiece. Nirvana covered no less than 3 songs from Meat Puppets II (1984) in their MTV Unplugged LP, including "Plateau" which also appears here. The Droogs are also a band apart; formed in 1972 they kept the garage-psych flame alive, existing at the margins and only releasing thir first LP Stone Cold World in 1984. I will never forget seeing them at a beach festival in Athens around 1990; they had flown in late the same night, and when they reached the festival grounds they expected it all to be over. Instead, everyone was still there and in high spirits; the band went onstage around 3:00 in the morning and played almost until dawn. The Eyes Of Mind's discography consists of a sole mini-LP (Tales Of The Turquoise Umbrella, 1984) which is still in my collection. "With You Again" is a melodicpiece reminiscent of UK popsike circa '68. The Three O'Clock are quite similar, but for some reason I sold their LP during the Great Vinyl Purge. I seem to remember thinking it was too poppy, sound too clean, vocals too sweet."Her Head's Revolving" (which is included here) proves me wrong: it's rocking a la early Pink Floyd, with nice psychedelic guitar effects. According to the booklet, Prince was a fan of the band; his composition "Manic Monday" was inspired by Three O Clock; he gifted the song to The Bangles, providing them with a huge international hit. Disc 3 of the compilation covers the second half of the 80's; it opens with The United States of Existence's "Welcome Tomorrow, Goodbye Today", a song that reminds me of the band Tomorrow, with its swirling organ and sitar. The Flaming Lips peaked around the turn of the millenium, but they've been around for a long time. "With You" from their 1986 debut alternates acoustic folk psych with loud distorted guitars. Camper Van Beethoven's "Circles" employs classic experimental tricks like backwards vocals, psychedelic effects, and exotic sitar. Atlanta's Drivin' N Cryin' later found fame with a heavier Southern Rock sound, but "Count The Flowers" (1986) is a powerful 60's-style pure garage/psych rocker. At the other end of the musical spectrum, Game Theory's "Regenisraen" is an elegant acoustic ballad with Simon and Garfunkel-like harmonies.
LA's The Things ("You Can't Deliver", 1986) walk in the footsteps of 60's bands like Love and The Byrds, while Flying Color ("Dear Friend") and Winter Hours ("Hyacinth Girl") bridge the 60's with the contemporary indie folk of The Smiths and Stone Roses. The Steppes, fronted by Irish singer-songwriter brothers John and David Fallon, relocated to LA, joining the local scene and therefore earning a place in this, US-only, compilation. They're one of my favorite bands of the era, reminsing me of early Pink Floyd and UK 60's band The Kaleidoscope. The Green Pajamas are another favorite; I own a few of their albums as well as a solo one by Jef Kelly. Kelly's voice reminds me of Donovan, Marc Bolan, and Paul Roland. "Kim The Waitress" is a nice piece of romantic psychedelia, dominated by distorted sitar. The only track hailing from 1987 is The Inn's "What's It Like", a garagey folk rocker. The final 5 tracks all come from 1988: Absolute Grey's "For Some Reason" is alt-rock with trippy vocals, The Cynics' "Took Her Hand" is pure 60s-style garage punk, while The Sneetches' "Home Again" is Kinks-like 60s pop. Dead Moon, as I've mentioned before, are the band that, to me, perfectly embody the spirit of authentic rock and roll; "Graveyard" evokes the 13th Floor Elevators, with 60's veteran Fred Cole proving an equally good screamer to Roky Erickson. The box set closes with Ultra Vivid Scene's "Mercy Seat", dreamy hypnotic psychedelia that seems to presage the 90's shoegaze genre. All in all, this is a hearty compilation that embraces all the facets of the neopsychedelic/paisley underground 80's phenomenon with meaningful detours into classic garage punk, mainstream alternative rock, jangly indie pop, and new wave. For myself, it's both a trip to memory lane and an educational introduction to music that aligned to my taste but had escaped my attention at the time. At 67 tracks, This Can't Be Today offers an embarassment of riches for what is nowadays the price of a single new LP.
***** for The Vertebrats - Left in the Dark, R.E.M. - Gardening At Night, The Long Ryders - And She Rides, The Rain Parade - This Can't Be Today, The Pandoras - It's About Time, Meat Puppets - Plateau, The Tell-Tale Hearts - Come And Gone, The Steppes - Sky Is Falling, Dead Moon – Graveyard
**** for The Last - She Don't Know Why I'm Here, Plasticland - Office Skills, The Bangs - Getting Out of Hand, Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos, The Fans - True, Green On Red - Death And Angels, The Unclaimed - Deposition Central (The Acid Song), The Dream Syndicate - Sure Thing (Live at KPFK), Translator - Nothing Is Saving Me, Al Bloch - Hangin' Around, Wednesday Week - Sad Little Dog, The Rain Parade - What She's Done To Your Mind, True West - Steps To The Door, The Point - Magic Circle, Wire Train – Everything’s Turning Up Down Again, Darius And The Magnets - Saturday At 3:00 P.M., Plan 9 - White Women, Redd Kross - Citadel, Droogs - For These Remaining Days, Naked Prey - The Story Never Ends, Bangles - The Real World, The Long Ryders - Too Close To The Light, The Three O'Clock - Her Head's Revolving, The Eyes Of Mind - With You Again, The Impossible Years - Flower Girl, Thee Fourgiven - Anything, The Romans - Vicki Seventy, The Prime Movers - True To Me, The Suburban Nightmare - Every Night, Yard Trauma - Must've Been Something I Took Last Night, The United States of Existence - Welcome Tomorrow, Goodbye Today, 28th Day - 25 Pills, Dumptruck - Back Where I Belong, Hüsker Dü - Hardly Getting Over It, The Flaming Lips - With You, Game Theory - Regenisraen, Drivin' N Cryin' - Count The Flowers, The Things - You Can't Deliver, Flying Color - Dear Friend, Winter Hours - Hyacinth Girl, The Green Pajamas - Kim The Waitress, Mod Fun - Hope It's Today, The Inn - What's It Like, Absolute Grey - For Some Reason, The Cynics - Took Her Hand
*** for The dB's - Nothing Is Wrong (Demo), Action Now – Try, Tommy Keene - Mr. Roland, R. Stevie Moore - I Go Into Your Mind, Plasticland - Euphoric Trapdoor Shoes, The Dream Syndicate – Mr Soul (Live at KPFK), The Reverbs - Picture An Eye, The Twisted - Sheez Wycked, Dreams So Real - Everywhere Girl, Thin White Rope - The Three Song, Camper Van Beethoven - Circles, The Sneetches - Home Again, Ultra Vivid Scene - Mercy Seat
Yes, I know that "Britpop" was a stupid label, but somehow it stuck. The British press needed a counterpoint to the onslaught of grunge, and bundled together a bunch of young and talented UK groups, investing them with a patriotic aura, and relentlessly trying to sell them as the "next big thing" in music. Suede were the band that kicked it all off - that Select issue with Brett Anderson and the Union Jack on the cover under the title Yanks Go Home! is often cited as the birth moment of the "movement". The were also the only band of the so-called "Big Four" (the other three being Oasis, Blur, and Pulp) which I hadn't seen until recently. A few days ago I learned that they'd play at 013 Poppodium, and we decided to make the trip to Tilburg to see them, for old times' sake. And I'm glad we did, because the guys still got it: Brett Anderson is a great performer, and the setlist was a mix of classics and pretty strong new material. Brett's delivery was less melodramatic than in the records, but his stage presence was energetic, and music louder - closer to post punk than "Britpop" - whatever that is.
Suede closed last week's concert with their latest single "Dancing with the Europeans". My initial impression is that it was a politicized song, an anti-Brexit reaction. Then I remembered that they had expressed similar sentiments three decades ago, when such a possibility was unthought of: “Europe Is Our Playground” was a wonderful synth-driven ballad celebrating young love and freedom of movement in the EU. One of their strongest Coming Era tracks, it was surprisingly relegated to a single B-side. Sometimes these decisions show lack of faith for a song, but in this case it signifies a show of force on part of the band: when others fill their single releases with covers and live versions, Suede wanted to impress that they've written so many great originals that they can waste them, hiding them in the B side of their singles. Or maybe they did it to elevate their singles to the level of a short but memorable release; a few other British bands of the era did the same - Belle and Sebastian come to mind. Certainly this was the case for the opener of this CD "My Insatiable One" a flamboyant glam-rocker opener with obvious commercial potential. This logic paid off when the band gathered all their B sides in this compilation; achieving equal status to their regular albums, it garnered rave reviews and climbed to UK Top Ten. It covers the 1992–1996 era, containing material from Suede, Dog Man Star, and Coming Up - related singles. Most of Disc 1 covers the Bernard Butler era when he and singer Brett Anderson worked closely as a songwriting duo; these songs are dark, romantic, and decadent. Anderson's theatrical and melodramatic vocal is the band's hallmark, though their ability to create dreamy, atmospheric soundscapes should not be underestimated. Disc 1 highlights also include haunting goth ballad "My Dark Star", semi-acoustic "The Living Dead", the nocturnal horns of "The Big Time". There's some nice distorted guitar on the fatalistic "He's Dead" and glam punk “Killing of a Flash Boy”; "Whipsnade" sports a rare new wave rhythm with reggae-fied bass and Spanish guitar influences. An underrated song that differentiates from their usual style, it reminds me a bit of Simple Minds. The last track here featuring Butler is a melodic and romantic pop song called "Modern Boys". It also signifies the brighter, poppier, direction the band would take on their next album, Coming Up. It's followed by the upbeat "Together", co-writen by new guitarist Richard Oakes. Disc 2 opens with the melodic pop of "Every Monday Morning Comes" and new wavey "Have You Ever Been This Low?" followed by brooding ballad "Another to One" and dramatic rocker "Young Men"."The Sound of the Streets" celebrates London's nightlife, while "Money" displays the band's punkier side and "W.S.D." is more experimental, almost funky. "These Are the Sad Songs" is one of those melancholic epics that Suede excel at, while the album closes with a trio of ballads; "Sadie" is a gentle and acoustic, "Graffiti Women" has a psychedelic flavor, and "Duchess" is atmospheric, organ-based, new wave. People often remark (and I can't help but agree) that Sci-fi Lullabies may well be the best "odds and ends" compilation since The Smiths' Hatfull of Hollow (I'd probably add Oasis' The Masterplan). Disc 1, especially, would have made for a great standalone LP; together with the two Butler-era studio albums they form a trilogy of sorts. While it still doesn't contain any bad songs, Disc 2 is slightly inferior, meaning that some songs actually feel like B- sides i.e. not bad but somehow redundunt if you get my drift. In general, there's a definite shift towards a brighter, more optimistic sound, while stylistic detours as in "Money" and "W.S.D." give it a patchier feel. But, then again, that's what B-sides are about, experimenting with different styles without disrupting the flow of your regular albums. I'll say this: the overlong (2+ hours) duration of this compilation is probably its only downside, as it makes hard to swallow in one sitting; the existence of some more upbeat numbers like "Flashboy" and "Money" is a welcome change in pace. All in all, I'd say this is an essential compilation for fans; it also somehow signified the end of the band's prime as I feel they went somewhat downhill after that, finally calling it quits in 2003. When they reformed in the 2010's it was to relative indifference; for most people (myself included) they were part of the Britpop phenomenon of the 90's. I, too, went to the concert to hear their hits of that period. They didn't disappoint me in that respect, but I also liked the newer material; a bit less glam and more gothic, I thought - a good direction for them. People should give them another chance.
**** for My Insatiable One, To the Birds, He's Dead, The Big Time, High Rising, The Living Dead, My Dark Star, Killing of a Flash Boy, Whipsnade, Modern Boys, Europe Is Our Playground, These Are the Sad Songs, Money
*** for Where the Pigs Don’t Fly, Together, Bentswood Boys, Every Monday Morning Comes, Have You Ever Been This Low?, Another No One,Young Men, The Sound of the Streets, W.S.D., This Time, Jumble Sale Mums, Sadie, Graffiti Women, Duchess
