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

Socrates "Plaza" 1983***

Once again I'm in Greece at the end of the holiday season, posting from my drafts folder. It's almost worth it to be the last to leave, so that you can post photos from your holidays while everyone else is back at work. Well, not everyone apparently, the beaches here in Naxos are still full. I guess, like most of my foreign friends, you're thinking "Naxos? Why does that name sound familiar?" Well, I don't know. To us Greeks, it's mostly known for the nice beaches and some local products, especially cheeses (graviera, arseniko, xinomizithra etc). Naxian potatoes are also quite famous. The old emery mines, and some mentions in ancient history and mythology are also interesting, even if not as well known. But, judging from the number of tourists (lots of French, but also Germans and Italians) this late in the season, Naxos doesn't need any more advertising. Nevertheless it is a big island, so next to the popular places there are always some quiet beaches to be found, if you don't mind the lack of amenities. And the food is usually amazing!

It was only a few days after Greek websites reported the death of Socrates' guitarist Yannis Spathas, that I came across this LP at a Dutch record store. I took it as a sign, and bought the album although it isn't generally considered to be among their best. Despite never becoming a household name -not even in Greece- Spathas was one of the forefathers of the Greek rock scene, and a legendary guitarist often compared to Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page, although his single biggest influence was Jimi Hendrix. After recording a couple of garage rock singles with Piraeus' Persons (1966-1969) he formed Socrates Drank The Conium (later shortened to Socrates), a progressive/hard rock band which released 7 historic albums, and came close to having international success. As it happened, the only Greek rock band that achieved that goal was Aphrodite's Child, whose keyboardist Vangelis produced and played in Socrates' Phos (1976). That LP received a U.S. release and serious college radio play, prompting the band to seek an international career. Plaza was their last effort to that effect. They had been contracted by Virgin Records, which brought them to London to record with Vic Coppersmith-Heaven (producer of Τhe Jam, but also engineer in The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed and Black Sabbath's Volume 4). For the English lyrics they enlisted the help of Elton John's lyricist Gary Osborne, while the core trio (Spathas, singer/bassist Tourkogiorgis and drummer Antypas) were augmented by top studio musicians and backup vocalists. As a result, it is the band's most professional-sounding LP, sporting a shiny commercial AOR sound similar to contemporary albums by, say, Asia or Toto. Like most albums of that age, though, it hasn't aged well and doesn't hold the cult status of their earlier work. The synths and backing vocals are especially outdated, while the production is ultra clean and lacks punch. Nevertheless Tourkogiorgis lays some of his best vocals ever, and Spathas' solos are excellent as always, although he's holding back which is a pity. The compositions are pleasant but ordinary. Probably the nadir of the record is new wave closer "F F F F F Fashion" and the "funky" "Living in a hot town" which reminds me of the worst Rolling Stones tracks of the 80's. "Sky Ride" reminds me of 80's Eric Burdon - similarly the artist's low point, but at least this one rocks. "Love like dynamite" is another rocker, which sticks out because of some Latin-tinged percussion and nice chorus. Other nice tunes include the ballad "For every clown" and three semi-hard rockers, "Backroom baby", the Journey-like "Baby I'm leaving", and "Stray dogs" which is a bit like Joe Lynn Turner-era Rainbow. Billed as Plaza, Socrates toured the album in support to headliners UFO, gaining sympathetic reviews. They got the desired offer for an international contract, but it meant relocating to the U.S. with conditions more suited to young up-and-comers than to veterans with a 10+ years of discography behind them. So they decided to dissolve the band and follow a more relaxed and lucrative career as session musicians for the elite of Greek singers and composers, especially of the éntekhno variety. They reunited for a live album and sporadic concerts, and are always fondly remembered as pioneers of Greek rock. Plaza has a strange place in their discography: on one hand it's their most accessible and technically best produced LP, while on the other the move from underground blues and prog towards the mainstream alienated fans and sacrificed some of the band's originality. If nevertheless 80's AOR with a touch of prog is your kind of thing, you'll find a lot to like in this half-forgotten LP. Interesting note: although it remains the band's only album never to have been re-released and never to see a CD release, original vinyl copies can still be found for reasonable prices.

**** for Stray Dogs, Baby I'm Leaving

*** for Backroom Baby, Sky Ride, Love Like Dynamite, For Every Clown

** for Burning Stage, Jump Into The Fire, Living In A Hot Town, F F F F F Fashion

Meat Puppets "Classic Puppets" 1981-1989(rec) 2004(comp)****

A couple of months ago, I saw the Meat Puppets live at the Paard van Troje club in The Hague. To be honest I hadn't quite followed their career for almost 30 years, and didn't know what to expect. I wasn't even aware they were still going strong. For me they were always an 80's band, despite their coming to prominence in the 90's after a guest spot on Nirvana's gazillion-selling MTV Unplugged. A worn-out cassette of Meat Puppets II and this CD comp of their early years is all I knew of them. Well, apparently they've got a new album out in 2019, it's called Dusty Notes and judging from what I heard at the Paard not much of a departure from their indie psych country days. On concert, one could hardly guess the band's roots in hardcore punk, except maybe from the gruff vocals and long feedback/noise conclusion of many songs. The country streak was more obvious, from the song structure to their mountain men appearance, beards and all. This compilation taking a chronological approach though, we're greeted with two short sharp bursts of hardcore noise: "Foreign Lawns" from their debut In A Car EP 1981 and "H-Elenore" from the Keats Rides A Harley compilation, both from 1981. These got them noticed and signed to California's SST Records, home to the likes of Black Flag, Minutemen and Hüsker Dü. From their first long player Meat Puppets (1982) we get "Blue Green God" and "Walking Boss" which show some progress in the former's supercharged guitars and, especially, the latter's espousing of country music. Meat Puppets II (1984) presents a leap forward for the band as well as American alternative rock in general. The band expertly mixes punk, hardcore and psychedelia to create a new genre. "Lost" is a jaunty cow-punk hybrid, "The Whistling Song" is REM-like indie with winsome whistling, "Lake Of Fire" a psychedelic sludgefest and "Plateau" a folk ballad - the latter two were covered by Nirvana in their Unplugged album. 1985's Up On The Sun continued the band's slow trek to (a kind of) mainstream. "Up on the Sun" and "Two Rivers" are sunny, mid-tempo, psychedelia with sluggish vocals replacing their former throat shredding style. "Swimming Ground" and "Enchanted Porkfist" are reminiscent of The Byrds' country rock, despite the latter's metallic guitar intro. From 1986's Out My Way EP we get 3 tracks, the almost funky title track with its scorching southern rock solo, cow-punk "On The Move" and a more or less straight country cover of Wayne Kemp's "Burn the Honky Tonk Down". Their next albums never quite reached the same heights, which is reflected in the amount of songs sampled for this collection. We get 2 tracks from 1987's Mirage: the Byrdsian country of "Confusion Fog" and indie folk of "Get On Down" with some great guitars solos proving the guys have something more in common with ZZ Top than just the beards. Another 2 tracks here come from Huevos (1987), the Long Ryders-style garage folk of "Look At the Rain" and mid tempo REM-style indie of "Sexy Music". We get nothing from their last album of the 80's (1989's Monsters), but there are two alternate versions of songs that appeared in it, indie mid tempo "Light" and an energetic live workout of "Meltdown" with fiery guitar licks. More rarities include a live cowpunk version of Woody Guthrie's "Dough Rey Mi", and a demo of indie rocker "Strings On Your Heart". The CD closes with an unreleased 1998 song by Curt Kirkwood's band, then going by the name of Meat Puppets but containing no other original members. Classic Puppets makes for a great introduction to the band's best period, as it contains essential tracks from all their 80's albums throwing in some rarities for the older fans. The chronological sequence also helps track their progress, even if it means starting off with some uncharacteristically extreme hardcore. But if you really wants to experience the band in its peak, and see why bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Dinosaur Jr, and Red Hot Chili Peppers consider them a major influence, you should seek out their their 2 best albums, Meat Puppets II and Up On The Sun.

***** for Lost, Plateau

**** for Lake of Fire, The Whistling Song, Up on the Sun, Swimming Ground, Enchanted Porkfist, Two Rivers, Out My Way, Get On Down, Look At the Rain, Sexy Music, Dough Rey Mi, Meltdown

*** for Walking Boss, On the Move, Burn the Honky Tonk Down, Confusion Fog, Light, Strings On Your Heart, New Leaf

** for Foreign Lawns, H-Elenore, Blue Green God,

Richard Thompson "Mock Tudor" 1999***

I was just reading a piece on Richard Thompson on the latest issue of MOJO. I was immediately struck by the beginning of the article, as it starts off with an unexpected scene: former bandmate Sandy Denny's funeral. Sandy died tragically at 31, after drunkenly falling down the stairs. Apparently everyone present commented on the singer's premature death and unrealized potential, but Thompson thought differently: she had glowed brightly for a while, but had nothing else to give as her creativity was stifled by her alcohol and drugs consumption. You may call him insensitive or just a realist. He made his opinion public anyway, on the spot as well as, much later, in this song: "That's All, Amen, Close The Door" on 1999's Mock Tudor.

After reading the article, I had to go back to the CD and hear for myself. Could the song be as cold and cynical as it sounded? In truth, no. It's rather sympathetic in tone, acknowledges its subject's (no-one specific is mentioned, but in retrospect it does fit Denny well) contribution to the world and expresses, above all, resignation in the face of death: "That's all, that's all there was/Say amen, close the door/She gave as much as she had to give/Please don't ask for more". Musically, it's a bluesy mid-tempo ballad, as blandly agreeable as can be expected from a middle-aged singer-songwriter. Closer "Hope You Like The New Me" is acoustic and desolate sounding as would befit a deeply emotional song - only the protagonist is as callous a bastard as one can find in Thompson's discography. After listening to the album's penultimate and last tracks, I took it from the beginning: opener "Cooksferry Queen" is a much better introduction, being a gem of a blues rocker with harmonica and electric guitar reminiscent of Dylan circa '65. It sets the pace for the first third of the album (which is clearly divided in three parts) entitled Metroland: the songs are a bunch of upbeat folk rockers revolving about different women - not all of which as wonderful as the the "queen" of the first song, though. "Bathsheba Smiles" sounds a bit like Tom Petty, "Two-Faced Love" rolls on rockabilly-style, and "Hard On Me" even borders on hard rock a la Pearl Jam. Not what I expected from a former Fairport Convention folkie. But then this is Thompson's "American" period on Capitol Records. It proved to be his last album for a major label, as it sold badly despite the great reviews. Part 2, entitled Heroes in the Suburbs, displays more "Englishness" as exemplified by "Crawl Back (Under My Stone)" which chugs pleasantly with a ska rhythm and satirizes British social class separation. The next three songs ("Uninhabited Man", "Dry My Tears And Move On", and "Walking The Long Miles Home") are more typical folk rock balladry - the latter with a distinct country flavor. The 3rd part is entitled Street Cries and Stage Whispers and starts off with "Sights And Sounds Of London Town", featuring a parade of Dickens-like characters living hard lives under the skyscrapers of The City at a time of booming stock markets and golden real estate deals. It is, at last, the traditional English folk song needed to justify the album's title. It's embellished with mandolin, acoustic guitar and upright bass - and all the social astuteness and satirical bite of a Ewan McCall to boot. Not that I didn't enjoy the rockier songs of Part 1, mind you. On the whole the album is a nice listen and displays a lot of wit and good musicianship - it's easy to see why critics liked it. If I was a critic, I'd also give it a glowing review. But, while there are no bad or even indifferent songs here, there's very little that's really memorable - maybe 3 or 4 songs I'd care to revisit. Don't be dissuaded by the 3* rating, though, give it a listen - it certainly is worth listening!

**** for Cooksferry Queen, Hard On Me, Crawl Back (Under My Stone), Sights And Sounds Of London Town

*** for Sibella, Bathsheba Smiles, Two-Faced Love, Uninhabited Man, Dry My Tears And Move On, Walking The Long Miles Home, That's All Amen Close The Door, Hope You Like The New Me