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.
I saw this LP at an Amsterdam record store a few weeks ago; I think it was the first time I came across an album by Fandango. I knew them by name as being Joe Lynn Turner's first band, before Rainbow, but was never curious enough to actively seek them out and listen to their music. Then I got this record in my hands, and knew I had to have it. Why? Maybe I have a strange sense of humor but I couldn't stop laughing when I realized that Fandango's guitarist (and co-writer of most of their songs) was... Rick Blakemore! Get it? Turner started his professional career next to Rick Blakemore and got famous singing for Ritchie Blackmore! What are the odds? Apparently Blakemore also convinced Lynn Turner to change his name - his real name was Joe Linquito. So if someone asks you who was Rainbow's Italian-American singer, don't immediately say Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald Padavona). There were two of them! Sandwiched between the two Italians, Englishman Graham Bonnet didn't last long; supposedly his voice was not a good fit for a hard rock band, but I think the main reason was that his hair was too short (more about hair later). Serendipitously, Blackmore went looking for a new singer just when Fandango called it quits; not only they had had four albums without a hit, they were also in desperate financial state when their tour van, along with all their equipment, was stolen from them. This specific compilation was released in 1981, alongside the first Rainbow LP with Turner, Difficult To Cure. It shamelessly capitalizes on the Rainbow connection, featuring the singer (in three poses!) on the front cover, and giving him equal billing with the band as "Fandango-Joe Lynn Turner lead singer Rainbow". The compilers start with 3 songs from the band's fourth and last LP, Cadillac (1980). Not surprising, as these are most similar to the commercial pop-metal hybrid of late-era Rainbow. "Blame It On The Night" is a radio friendly opener with some disco touches production-wise. "Rock 'N Roll You" and "Hypnotized" feature nice guitar riffs and prominent keyboards reminiscent of... well, Rainbow, while "Stranger" is a more laid back piece, again with some disco elements. 1979's One Night Stand is even less hard rock and more Foreigner-style AOR. The guitar is still prominent but the emphasis is on the harmonies and synths; songs here include ballad "I Would Never Leave", synth-heavy rockers "Thief In The Night" and "Little Cherie", and the more Southern rock oriented "One Night Stand" - despite the fact that they originally came from New Jersey, Fandango are sometimes mentioned as a Southern rock band. I don't hear it a lot, but probably that was less because of the music, and more because they often played in support of Southern rockers like The Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker Band. From 1978's Last Kiss we get the smooth eponymous track and "Feel The Pain" - the latter is almost spoiled by an extremely long synth intro but gradually morphs into a pleasant rocker a la Reo Speedwagon. For some reason, the compilation completely omits the band's 1977 eponymous debut. - according to allmusic.com, that one sounded as if it was inspired by Boston and The Eagles in equal measure. Oh, and the bit about the hair: I was amazed to learn that Joe Lynn Turner, one of the stars of the so-called "hair metal" scene of the 80's, had actually lost his hair from alopecia at the age of 3, and had been wearing wigs all his life - until he finally came clean in 2022. Can you imagine spending all your life trying to keep a secret like that, fearing it could ruin your career? Not that anyone would notice in 1980; look at the back cover, don't they all look like they're wearing wigs? Anyway, about Fandango: I find their sound quite pleasant to listen to; it's obviously geared towards commercial radio: slick harmonies, melodic keyboards and skillful guitar solos, all polished to perfection. It's a wonder that they didn't have a hit when their songs sound so similar to the chart toppers of the day. Maybe what stops me from giving them a 4th star is a sense that they'd been trying too hard for a hit, mimicking all the successful FM radio bands instead of developing a style of their own. If nevertheless you feel nostalgic for the AOR sounds of the mid-70s/early 80's, if you can't get enough of Boston, Toto, Starship, Foreigner etc., then Fandango will be right up your alley.
*** for Blame It On The Night, Rock 'N Roll You, Hypnotized, Thief In The Night, Feel The Pain, Last Kiss, One Night Stand
** for I Would Never Leave, Little Cherie, Stranger
I wrote in a recent post about The Stones' latest LP that Andrew Watt seems to be the current go-to person for 80-year old rockers trying to regain their mojo. That was not exactly true: Iggy and Ozzy were "only" 75 when they teamed up with Watt. In any case, all these albums were very well received, so it seems like Watt is on his way to be the new Rick Rubin - remember when everyone from Adele to Johnny Cash to Metallica to Mick Jagger used to turn to Rubin in order to revive their career? Nevertheless, whoever the producer is, it all boils down to the songs. In the case of The Stones, I had the nagging sense that those lacked inspiration, that they could have been written in "Rolling Stones style" by an imitator. But if there's one person who is completely inimitable, that would be Iggy Pop. Who else could have started a record by singing "I’ve got a dick and two balls/that’s more than you all"? Maybe Turbonegro, but then they wouldn't be able to pull off the rest of Iggy's feats here. "Frenzy", the foul-mouthed opener of the album, is the first of a number of hard-rocking punk anthems here. Others include the Stooges pastiche "Modern Day Ripoff" and storming satirical "Neo-Punk" featuring Travis Barker of the quintessential neo-pop-punk band Blink182. Iggy's convincing return to the aggressive style of his youth despite his 75 years is impressive, and it's what most reviewers focused on. Not taking into account the Stooges reunions, it's been 20 years since he'd played so loudly, and those albums (Beat' Em Up and Skull Ring) aren't fondly remembered by anyone. What makes a difference here is that, instead of a second rate metal band, he's backed by an all star cast including Watt himself as well as members of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns 'N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Jane's Addiction, Foo Fighters etc. Thankfully though, it's not all pedal-to-the-floor metal; instead we get something in the style of every period of Iggy's career, including his collaborations with David Bowie and his 1990 return to form Brick By Brick, which many think -and I'm inclined to agree- is the album most resembling Every Loser. Hard rocker "All the Way Down" for example reminds me of "Home", especially in the chorus. A more 80's new wave vibe permeates tracks like "Comments" and "Strung Out Johnny" which are nevertheless better in every way than anything Iggy produced in the 80's - with the obvious exception of "The Passenger". "Strung Out Johnny" is easily the highlight of the album, a vivid portrait of addiction sung in Iggy's classic baritone featuring melodic synth lines and an upbeat chorus. "Morning Show" is melancholic and poetic, reminiscent of "Livin' On The Edge Of Night" (again from Brick By Brick). "New Atlantis" is an atmospheric love song to his adopted home town of Miami, while there are also two jazzy spoken word interludes ("The News for Andy" and "My Animus"). Closer "The Regency" also starts off like an a moody ballad but quickly gathers steam turning into an angry new wave rocker reminiscent of his Bowie years. Lyrically, despite the occasional silliness and profanity, Every Loser is full of wit and astute observations informed by experience - the unique experience of being Iggy Pop: taking every drug known to man, ignoring propriety, always giving in to your primal urges instead of following conventions, and being rewarded for all of that with the admiration of your peers and a devoted fan base. "Every loser needs a bit of joy" he sings; he may not be a loser but he sure sounds like he's having a whole lot of joy rocking out, refusing to grow old, and just being true to himself. That's the secret of his success; unlike The Stones who delivered a meticulously crafted record that was years in the making, all Iggy needs is a sympathetic band and some nice production touches, and there he is, at 75, with one of the best albums of his career.
***** for Strung Out Johnny
**** for Frenzy, New Atlantis, Modern Day Ripoff, Morning Show, All the Way Down, Comments
*** for The News for Andy, Neo Punk, My Animus, The Regency
Another surprise choice by random selection that forced me to re-appraise this band I hadn't initially given proper due. Even before buying this CD, I've had this 7' single which I bought Lord knows when or where but it must have been really cheap because I'm not really into buying singles. Anyway, that 7' had "House Of The Rising Sun" B/W a cover of Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel". I was drawn to the novelty of hearing these hard rock versions of overfamiliar oldies, and even though I later bought the CD reissue of Frijid Pink's debut I put it aside and played the single instead, since that already contained the two songs that stood out on first listen of the CD. That was a mistake, albeit a rather common one - Frijid Pink (according to a former band member, the name meant to convey "cold excellence") were condemned to one hit wonder status: their version of "House Of The Rising Sun" made the Top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic selling more than a million copies, but subsequent releases either just made the Top 100 or failed to chart at all. Certainly, their version of the song falls short of the classic one by The Animals; but not by that wide a margin. Singer Tom Beaudry gives a formidable performance, and Gary Ray Thompson's heavy guitar is dominant throughout, but to me the hero of this version is drummer Rick Stevers who drives the song as surely as Carmine Appice did with Vanilla Fudge covers of contemporary pop classics. The problem being with FP's most famous song sounding too similar to VF, a band renowned for covering other people's music, when in fact FP were much more original. Actually, the rest of the album consists of original compositions, while "House Of The Rising Sun" was an afterthought, recorded at the studio as a filler to bring the album duration up to the usual LP standards. The arrangement is too good to be an on-the-spot thing, so I guess it must have been part of their live repertoire; every band has these covers they play live but rarely include in their albums, but such was the quality of this specific accidental recording that it became the band's signature tune. But what of the rest of the album? Well, most of the songs are blues based: "I'm on My Way" is a rockabilly boogie, while "Drivin' Blues" sounds like a heavier John Mayall or maybe Savoy Brown, and "Boozin' Blues" is a slow blues number with great guitar and lots of piano, reminiscent of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. This blues influence had me convinced that FJ must have been British; when I looked up their bio for the purpose of this review I was really surprised to learn they actually came from Detroit, Michigan. But then, that also makes sense: Detroit at the time produced some really loud and heavy rock bands like MC5, Stooges, SRC, Amboy Dukes, Grand Funk etc. The more garagey tracks with loud drums and distorted fuzz guitar certainly belong to that family: "Crying Shame", "Tell Me Why" and "End of the Line". Somehow FP aren't committed to history as paragons of the Detroit sound like the aforementioned bands. They must have been quite popular at the time, though, as apparently visiting bands like Led Zeppelin actually used to open for FP when they played in Detroit. Opener "God Gave Me You" is a soulful quasi-ballad with a bit of a Southern rock feel, while, at 7,5 minutes, "I Want to Be Your Lover" is the longest track here, a heavy blues jam a la Free or indeed Led Zeppelin. The CD reissue adds two bonus tracks, previously released on 7' single only: "Heartbreak Hotel" is an exciting hard rock rendition of the old Elvis chestnut, and "Music for the People" a soulful Southern rock-style ballad with a gospel-like chorus. All in all, this would make for a fine addition to one's record collection - that is, if one's interested in that late 60's-early 70's heavy blues/prog sound; Frijid Pink is very good, but very much of its time all the same. The band went on to produce a few more albums which I now realize are quite respected in psychedelic/prog rock collectors' circles. So not a "one hit wonder" at all, as I thought they were. I'll investigate them further, and let you know of my findings...
***** for House of the Rising Sun
**** for I'm on My Way, Drivin' Blues, Tell Me Why, End of the Line, Boozin' Blues, Heartbreak Hotel, Music for the People
*** for God Gave Me You, Crying Shame, I Want to Be Your Lover
I recently saw Fontaines D.C. live for the first time at Amsterdam's AFAS stage - a sold-out two-day event, as befits one of the best new (or the most hyped, take your pick) bands of the last decade. Their dynamic performance lived up to my expectations, especially cocky kilt-wearing frontman Grian Chatten who was shouting the lyrics while jumping and prancing up and down the stage. Not a great communicator; he hardly spoke a few words to the audience, but he did try to get them to shout "Free Palestine" during his performance of "Too Real" off the band's debut. A risky move, seeing as this was at the time a touchy subject in Amsterdam, after the ruckus with the street fights between Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans and pro-Palestine youths a few days prior to the concert. To make their feelings more clear, the band also hang a big Palestinian flag onstage in front of their console. Since that fact wasn't mentioned in any of the reviews of previous day's concert, I suppose they had just become aware of recent events, and that -true to the fighting spirit of their lyrics- they spontaneously decided to ignore possible backlash and come out in support of what they believe to be a just cause.
If I'm not mistaken, Skinty Fia found the band living in London instead of their native Dublin. Not that it's in any way an English album: if Dublin was the protagonist of their debut Dogrel, this one deals with Ireland from an expat's point of view. Don't expect any jigs and reels, though - the closer they get to old-timey folk is the accordion on the forlorn ballad "The Couple Across the Way". But they do, for the first time, include songs with Gaelic titles: apparently "Skinty Fia" is an odd swearword that translates as "the damnation of the deer"; the title track has a pure 80's goth intro with low bass, dancefloor beat and sharp guitar bursts. The second Gaelic-titled track is opener "In ár gCroíthe go deo"(meaning "in our hearts forever"). It was inspired by a recent story Grian read about; a British woman of Irish heritage was to be buried with a gravestone bearing this phrase but the Church of England prohibited it, because any use of the Irish language was considered "too political". The meaning of the lyrics isn't perfectly clear to me, but the song is defined by a beautiful and somewhat rueful chorus, including nice harmonies. The band's sound is usually described as "post-punk", which sounds correct if somewhat vague. There are similarities to 80's bands like Joy Division, The Cure, and The Fall - the latter because of the half-sung half-spoken vocals. The band also acknowledge a debt to My Bloody Valentine and their shoegaze brethren; this is more evident in this specific album, which comes off as more atmospheric and less punky than its predecessors. Not forgetting some electronic and hip hop elements, as well as a Pogues influence - at least concerning the lyricism, poetic mood, and everpresent underlying Irishness. My favorite tracks here also include the Smiths-like single "Jackie Down the Line" as well as "Roman Holiday" and "I Love You" - like Cure in one of their relatively sunnier days. I'm less impressed by their hazy atmospheric pieces "Bloomsday" and "Nabokov", though they work well as closers of each LP side. I rarely come across a recent album which I can tell will stand the test of time, but Skinty Fia has, in my opinion, "future classic" written all over it.
**** for In ár gCroíthe go deo, Big Shot, Jackie Down the Line, Roman Holiday, Skinty Fia, I Love You
*** for How Cold Love Is, Bloomsday, The Couple Across the Way, Nabokov
Now, I know y'all have been waiting for more than a year to read my review of The Rolling Stones' latest album. Is it worth buying? Well, I guess that by now its price has dropped significantly, so that may well be the case. You know what? when I'm listening to this on my stereo, I'm thinking to myself "this isn't half bad", basically it's way better than anyone could reasonably expect from a bunch of geriatric rockers. But afterwards this simile came to my mind: you know how there are tricks one can use to make stale bread edible again, delicious even? (If you don't, just ask Marina). Well, that's how it feels: like I just ate some stale bread and enjoyed it. Just how was this miracle achieved? First of all, it's the raw materials: Jagger's ageless vocal, Keef's riffs, the underrated Ron Wood. Sure, Charlie has left the planet, but there's a substitute for everything nowadays, isn't there? Just look at your supermarket aisle: vegan "cheese", "chicken" nuggets, "steaks" etc (no disrespect meant for Steve Jordan, but he's a hired hand, not a Rolling Stone). In the end, it's all a matter of finding the right cook: enter 33-year old Andrew Watt, who graduated effortlessly from producing popstars like Justin Bieber and Rita Ora to 80-year old rock legends like The Stones, Ozzy, and Iggy Pop. One may doubt his credentials, but one thing's evident: the guy is like a great forger; one who may not be able to paint a masterpiece but has studied Van Gogh's technique well enough that he can produce a new version of "sunflowers" and pass it up as an original work by the master himself. Case in point, opener "Angry": a typical Stones rocker reminiscent of classics like "Start Me Up" or "You Got Me Rockin'". Some may call this a "return to form", others "self-plagiarism". Same difference, really. It sounds good, but I have the nagging feeling that it could have been written by an AI with access to a Rolling Stones greatest hits compilation. I much prefer the attempts to slightly modernize The Stones' sound: "The Whole Wide World" and "Mess It Up" remind me of British90's indie bands - let's say Ocean Colour Scene and Franz Ferdinand, respectively. It sort of takes me back to Bridges To Babylon; not among The Stones' best albums, but the last one in which they tried to sound contemporary. "Bite My Head Off" is reminiscent of another time The Stones tried to follow the spirit of the age, albeit with better results: back in '78, they wrote a number of punk-inspired songs for Some Girls. They rocked OK, but didn't sound entirely convincing then, and sound even less convincing now. The best part of this punkish tune is a distorted bass guitar solo played by... Paul McCartney - the Beatles vs. Stones antipathy always was a media myth, Paul's on good terms with The Stones, he's even the one who suggested they use Watt as a producer."Live By The Sword" is another unconvincingly aggressive hard rocker. It nevertheless has the distinction of reuniting Mick and Keith with The Stones' original rhythm section for the first time in decades. Not only is it one of two tracks here featuring Charlie Watts on drums (recording sessions started in 2019, when he was still in good health) but Bill Wyman also briefly rejoins the band on bass after 30 years of absence. To top it all up, Elton John makes a cameo on piano. "Get Close" and "Driving Me Too Hard" are a couple of mid-tempo rockers that fall under the previously mentioned self-plagiarizing category. Recognizable as The Stones, yet utterly forgettable. Ballads include "Depending On You", the obligatory Keith Richards lead vocal "Tell Me Straight", and acoustic country "Dreamy Skies" - nice slide guitar and harmonica here. Which brings us to the undisputed album highlight "Sweet Sounds Of Heaven". A gospel-style tour de force sounding like a (heavenly, indeed) cross between "Wild Horses" and "Gimme Shelter". Jagger delivers his most soulful vocal in ages, while famous guests rise to the occasion: Lady Gaga on vocals channels the spirit of Aretha, while Stevie Wonder on keyboards channels... well, himself; what more can one ask for? The album closes with a faithful acoustic cover of Muddy Waters' "Rolling Stone Blues", the song that gave the band their name. It's their most honest song here, and among the most satisfying - just as their previous blues covers album was among their best of the last 40 years, an obvious labor of love instead of yet another attempt to resurrect old glories. If "Rolling Stone Blues" turns out to be The Stones' last song on their last LP, it'd be taking them full circle and make for a perfect career closure. That's nevertheless probably not the case; according to Jagger, there are many more songs left at the cutting room floor, waiting to be re-worked and polished until they sign as brightly as the ones included in Hackney Diamonds. As there should be; after all the band hadn't made an album of new material in 18 years, they're bound to have written more songs than these. The question is: do we really want to hear the ones that didn't make the initial cut? When it took so much time and effort, famous guests and hotshot producers, to make a simply decent album from the top-tier of the available songs? Or is it time to quit? Well, people have been asking that last question for 40 years, and the answer has always been NO. My guess is it'll continue to be the same, at least as long as Mick and Keith are still physically able to sing and play guitar.
***** for Sweet Sounds of Heaven
**** for Angry, Whole Wide World, Mess It Up, Rolling Stone Blues
*** for Get Close, Depending on You, Bite My Head Off,Dreamy Skies, Live by the Sword, Driving Me Too Hard, Tell Me Straight
Once more we get to the most unpleasant task of the year, the one where we get to list musicians who left the world in the last year. Why do I do it, if it gives me no pleasure? It started early in 2016, when we lost a lot of my favorite artists in a period of a few weeks. Each death took me back to the artist's records, listening to them, and eventually presenting some of them in this blog. But after awhile the deaths kept piling up, and I decided to commemorate them all collectively in a special post. Since then, it seems unfair not to repeat this tiniest of tributes for other worthwhile artists, so here we are now. This year's list doesn't include any death as shocking to me as the first months of 2016 did (David Bowie and Prince were among the heavier and more unexpected ones) but it does include some of my favorites: the father of British blues John Mayall is one of them - but then again the man was 90, he was productive until the very end (his latest, critically acclaimed, album was released just two years ago) and venerated as a veritable blues institution. Who wouldn't like to go out like that? Someone else I'd like to make a special mention of: this year we lost the last two surviving members of MC5, Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson - but not before they completed Heavy Lifting, the first new band recording in more than 50 years! See?Silver linings! I see many other favorite names here, too, and probably you do too - so let's take a minute to read through the list and give them all a mental farewell.
Thank You For The Music,
January 2, Chris Karrer (Amon Düül, Amon Düül II,
Embryo) 76 January 4, Glynis Johns (Actress and singer), 100 January 4, David Soul (Actor and singer), 80 January 5, Gene Deer (Blues guitarist and singer) 59 January 5, Del Palmer (Audio
engineer, Kate Bush bassist) 71 January 6, Iasos (New-age musician) 76 January 7, Tony Clarkin (Magnum) 77 January 9, James Kottak (Drummer for Scorpions, Kingdom Come, Warrant) 61 January 10, Audie Blaylock (Bluegrass musician) 61 January 12, Bill Hayes (Actor and singer) 98 January 19, Marlena Shaw (Jazz and soul singer) 84 January 19, Mary Weiss (The Shangri-Las) 75
January 19, Luis Vasquez (The Soft Moon), 44
January 21, Cynthia Garrison (The Three Degrees) January 23, Melanie (Singer-songwriter) 76 January 23, Anders "Dagger" Sandberg
(Rednex), 55 January 23,Margo Smith (Country singer-songwriter) 84 January 26, Dean Brown (Jazz guitarist) 68 January 31, Paul Brett (rock guitarist) 76 February 2, Wayne Kramer (MC5) 75 February 2, Derrick McIntyre (Jamiroquai) 66 February 3, Aston "Family Man" Barrett (Bob
Marley and the Wailers) 77 February 5, Toby Keith (Country singer) 62 February 6, Donald Kinsey (The Kinsey Report) 70 February 7, Henry Fambrough (The Spinners) 85 February 7, Mojo Nixon (alt-country singer) 66 February 9, Damo Suzuki (Can) 74 February 9, Jimmy Van Eaton (Rock and roll drummer) 86 February 11, Randy Sparks (The New Christy Minstrels)
90 February 13,Kerry "Fatman" Hunter (New
Orleans Nightcrawlers) 53 February 14, Ian Amey (Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick
& Tich) 79
February 16, Dexter Romweber (Flat Duo Jets), 57
February 16,Cynthia Strother (The Bell Sisters), 88 February 19, Bobby Tench (Singer, Jeff Beck Group, Van
Morrison) 79 February 20, Vitalij Kuprij (Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
49 February 22, John Lowe (Pianist for pre-Beatles band
The Quarrymen) 81
February 22, Roni Stoneman (bluegrass banjo player, Hee Haw), 85
February 25, Peter "Peetah" Morgan (reggae
band Morgan Heritage) 46
February 28 Cat Janice (American singer-songwriter), 31
March 1, Don Wise (R&B saxophonist) 81
March 2, Jim Beard (Keyboardist, Steely Dan) 63 March 2, W. C. Clark (Blues musician) 84 March 3, Brit Turner (Blackberry Smoke) 57 March 4, B. B. Seaton (The Gaylads) 79 March 5, Pavel Zajíček (DG 307) 72 March 10, Paul Nelson (Rock and blues guitarist) 63
March 10, T. M. Stevens (bassist, The Pretenders), 72 March 10, Karl Wallinger (The Waterboys, World Party) 66 March 11, Eric Carmen (Raspberries) 74
March 12, Russell Wilson (Junkhouse) 62
March 13, John Blunt (drummer, The Searchers)
March 13, Dick Allix (Drummer, Vanity Fare) 78 March 14, Angela McCluskey (Wild Colonials) 64 March 17, Steve Harley (Cockney Rebel) 73
March 18, Jimmy Hastings (Caravan), 85
March 18, Kevin Toney (The Blackbyrds) 70 March 19, Greg Lee (Hepcat) 53 March 20, Gene Elders (Ace in the Hole Band) 80
March 24, Dennis Schiavon (The Rezillos), 63 March 25, Chris Cross (Ultravox) 71 March 26, Zero a.k.a. Clare Elliott (Suburban Reptiles)
66 March 29, Gerry Conway (Jethro Tull, Fairport Convention) 76 April 1, Michael Ward (The Wallflowers, School of
Fish) 57 April 4, Keith LeBlanc (drummer, Little Axe), 69
April 4, Graeme Naysmith (English guitarist, Pale Saints), 57 April 5, C. J. Snare (FireHouse) 64 April 7, Clarence "Frogman" Henry (Rhythm and
blues singer) 87
April 8, Jon Card (Canadian drummer, SNFU), 63
April 9, Max Werner (Dutch singer/drummer, Kayak), 70
April 12 Lucy Rimmer (British vocalist for The Fall)
April 14, Ben Eldridge (The Seldom Scene) 85
April 15, Eugene Wolfgramm (The Jets), 57 April 16, Arthur Tavares (Tavares), 81 April 16, Rusty Gauthier (New Riders of the Purple
Sage), 73
April 16, Gavin Webb (The Masters Apprentices), 77
April 18, Jack Green (T. Rex, Pretty Things, Rainbow), 73
April 19 Eddie Sutton (Leeway singer), 59
April 20,Tony Tuff (Reggae singer, The African Brothers), 69
April 21 Jean-Marie Aerts (Belgian guitarist for TC Matic), 72
April 22 Chan Romero (Rockabilly singer "The Hippy Hippy Shake") 82 April 24, Mike Pinder (The Moody Blues) 82
April26 Robin George (British guitarist, singer and producer), 68
April 26 Frank Wakefield (Bluegrass mandolin player), 89
April 30, Duane Eddy (Rock and roll guitarist) 86 May 1,Richard Tandy (Electric Light Orchestra) 76
May 2, Gary Floyd (The Dicks, Sister Double Happiness), 71
May 7, Steve Albini (Big Black/Shellac, record
producer) 61 May 8, John Barbata (Drummer, The Turtles/
CSN&Y,/ Jefferson Airplane) 79 May 8, Dennis Thompson (MC5) 75 May 12, David Sanborn (Saxophonist) 78 May 14, Jimmy James (Singer) 83 May 15, John
Hawken (Renaissance, Strawbs) 84 May 16, Randy Fuller (The Bobby Fuller Four) 80 May 17, Charlie Colin (Train, The Side Deal) 57 May 18, "Spider" John Koerner (Folk and blues
singer) 85 May 18, Jon Wysocki (Staind) 53 May 24,Mark Gormley (Singer-musician) 67 May 24, Doug Ingle (Iron Butterfly) 78
May 29, Mansour Seck (Senegalese singer), 69 May 30, Doug Dagger (The Generators) 56 May 31, Ed Mann (Keyboardist and percussionist, Frank Zappa band) 69
June 2, Colin Gibb (Black Lace) 70 June 3, Brother Marquis (2 Live Crew) 57 June 11, Françoise Hardy (French Singer-songwriter) 80 June 11, Arthur "Gaps" Hendrickson (The
Selecter), 73 June 18, James Chance (James Chance and the
Contortions) 71 June 24, Shifty Shellshock (Crazy Town) 49 June 26, Kinky Friedman (Country singer-songwriter) 79
June 28, Betty
Veldpaus (Pussycat) 72
July 1, Laurie Lindeen (Zuzu's Petals) July 2, Tom Fowler (The Mothers of Invention, It's a
Beautiful Day) 73
July 6, Joe Egan (Stealers Wheel) 77 July 9, Joe Bonsall (The Oak Ridge Boys) 76 July 10, Dave Loggins (Singer-songwriter) 76 July 16, Bernice Johnson Reagon (The Freedom Singers,
Sweet Honey in the Rock) 81 July 17, Pinche Peach (Brujeria) 57 July 19, Toumani Diabaté (griot, kora player) 58 July 20, Jerry Miller (Moby Grape) 81 July 20, Sandy Posey (Country singer) 80 July 21, Evelyn Thomas (Disco
singer) July 22, Duke Fakir (Four Tops) 88
July 22, John Mayall (John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers) 90 July 24, Bill Crook (Spiritbox, Living with Lions) July 26, Jason Clark (50) , Kelly Nelon Clark (64),
Amber Nelon Kistler (35) July 27, Danny Clarke (The Meditations) 72 July 27, Pat Collier (The Vibrators) 72 July 28, Martin Phillipps (The Chills) 61 July 28, Mick Underwood (The Herd, Episode Six,
Quatermass) July 29,Joey Gilmore (Guitarist for James Brown, Etta
James) August 2,Nicu Covaci (Transsylvania Phoenix) 77 August 3, Shaun Martin (Snarky Puppy) 45 August 5, Maurice Williams (The Zodiacs) 86 August 7,Jack Russell (Great White) 63 August 9, Carl Bevan (60 Ft. Dolls) 51 August 9, Carl Weathersby (Guitarist for Albert King,
Billy Branch) 71 August 13, Greg Kihn (The Greg Kihn Band) 75 August 15, Joe Chambers (The Chambers Brothers) 81 August 16, Bobby Hicks (Bluegrass fiddler) 91
August 16, Tore Ylwizaker (Norwegian keyboardist for Ulver), 54
August 17, Johnny "Dandy" Rodríguez (bongo player for Tito Puente), 78
August 21, Russell Stone (Brotherhood of Man) 77 August 23, Catherine Ribeiro (French folk psych singer,
The Alps) 82
July 27 Mísia (Portuguese fado singer), 69 September 5, Herbie Flowers (Blue Mink, T. Rex, Sky) 86 September 5, Sérgio Mendes (Bossa nova musician) 83
September 6, Screamin' Scott Simon (Sha Na Na) 75
September 6, Mark Moffatt (The Monitors) 74
September 7 Jimmy Gilmer (The Fireballs), 83
September 8, Zoot Money (The Animals, Humble Pie) 82 September 10, Frankie Beverly (Maze) 77 September 13, Chalmers Davis (Keyboardist for Little
Richard, Johnny Cash) 73
September 14 Gerry Robinson (The Purple Gang), 76 September 15, Kenny Hyslop (Simple Minds, Slik) 73 September 15, Tito Jackson (The Jackson 5) 70 September 15, Roli Mosimann (Swans, Wiseblood) 68 September 17, JD Souther (Singer and songwriter) 78 September 18, Juan Brujo (Brujeria) 61 September 18, Dick Diamonde (The Easybeats) 76 September 18, Nick Gravenites (Big Brother and the
Holding Company, The Electric Flag) 85 September 21, Eddie Low (Country singer) 81 September 21, Roger Palm (Drummer, ABBA) 75 September 23, Freddie Salem (Outlaws) 70 September 24, Cat Glover (Prince's band) 62 September 27, Pit Passarell (Viper) September 28, Kris Kristofferson (Country songwriter
and singer) 88
September 29, Martin Lee (Brotherhood of Man) 77 September 30, Dave Allison (Anvil) 68 October 2, Ken Tobias (Singer and songwriter) 79
October 5, Mimis Plessas (Greek composer and pianist), 99
October 5,Nell Smith (The Flaming Lips collaborator), 17
October 7, Cissy Houston (Singer, mother of Whitney
Houston) 91 October 16, Liam Payne (One Direction) 31 October 20, Barbara Dane (Folk Singer, activist) 97 October 21, Paul Di'Anno (singer, Iron Maiden, Battlezone) 66 October 23, Linda LaFlamme (It's a Beautiful Day) 85 October 23, Jack Jones (Singer), 86 October 25, Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead) 84
October 28, Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal (Buena
Vista Social Club) 91
October 30, Richard Andrew (Underground Lovers drummer) 58
November 3, Quincy Jones (Record producer, songwriter,
and arranger) 91 November 3,Andy Leek (Dexys Midnight Runners) 66 November 4, Tyka Nelson (Singer; sister of Prince) 64 November 9, Lou Donaldson (Jazz alto saxophonist) 98 November 9, Ella Jenkins (Folk singer) 98 November 12, Roy Haynes (Jazz drummer) 99 November 14, Dennis Bryon (Bee Gees,
Amen Corner) 75 November 14, Peter Sinfield (Lyricist, King
Crimson) 80 November 13, Shel Talmy (producer, The Kinks, Who)
November 18, Colin Petersen (Drummer, The Bee Gees) 78 November 20, Andy Paley (The Paley Brothers, The Modern Lovers) 72 November 20, Mike Pinera (Blues Image, Iron Butterfly)
76
November 21, Willy Quiroga (Argentine musician for Vox Dei), 84
November 22, Harry Williams (Bloodstone) 80
November 22, Toni Price (country blues singer), 63 November 24, Bob Bryar (My Chemical Romance) 44 November 29, Will Cullen Hart (Olivia Tremor Control)
53
December 16, Steve Lewinson (Simply Red) 58 December 16, Ruth McArdle (Belgian singer, Lords of
Acid) December 17, Alfa Anderson (Chic) 78 December 17, Mike Brewer (Brewer & Shipley) 80 December 18, Slim Dunlap (The Replacements) 73 December 20, Helena Zeťová (Black Milk) 44 December 20, Sugar Pie DeSanto (R&B Singer) 89 December 21, Casey Chaos (Amen, Christian Death) 59 December 25, Dulce (Mexican Actress and singer) 69 December 29, Eric Carlson a.k.a. Sickie Wifebeater (The
Mentors) 66
As (any possible) regular readers would know, every December I buy music magazines for their end-of-the-year-retrospectives and publish the respective best albums lists on this blog. It used to be Q, Uncut, Mojo, and Classic Rock. Unfortunately, the former publication has closed, while I stopped buying the latter ever since it stopped giving away sample CD's; I do publish CR's list nevertheless because it has a singular focus that distinguishes it from the rest. This year, I noticed that the website albumoftheyear.org also publishes an aggregate list that draws from many different publications across many different genres, so I'm including the Top 20 albums from that list, too, for a more nuanced approach: So since my own focus is on classic and/or alternative rock, I would have completely bypassed Charli xcx's Brat which apparently is Metacritic's highest-rated album of 2024. I remember reading about the word "brat" being a big trend this year, and about the artist endorsing Camala Harris' presidential race (for all the good it did her), but had never listened to the music. So I had to go to youtube and seek the album's lead single, "Von Dutch", and was completely amazed.
Amazed that people can write about this shit as if it's important stuff! Like, people who actually write about music in magazines, not just 14-year old girls who follow whatever's the latest trend on tick tock. Seriously, what's to like? I mean sure, the singer is kind of cute, but she's got no voice, her "rebel girl" antics in the video are just pathetic, and the music is just generic beats which could have been written by an A.I. Thankfully, Fontaines D.C. are on number 2; a bunch of talented young men with a rebel attitude that's only partially rock star posing. Romanceis their 4th album (I haven't got it yet, but I have the previous 3, all great). They performed almost all of it when I saw them live lately; lead single "Starbuster" almost brought the house down during the encore.
On No.3, The Cure's long-awaited returnSongs of a Lost World.That's more like it! I'm about to receive this as a Christmas present, and haven't listened to it yet. For the purposes of this presentation I checked lead single "Alone" on youtube: total antithesis to the previously mentioned, upbeat, tracks: a return to the elegiac tone of 80's albums like Pornography and Disintegration that may well spawn yet another generation of emo kids.
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As for the rest of the list, well of course there's a lot of commercial stuff I'm not particularly fond of: pop, hip hop, modern R&B etc. The inclusion of the latest Nick Cave album Wild God isn't so much an indication of its worth (it's an above average Nick Cave LP, so of course it's great) as much as of an indication of the artist's growing acceptance by the mainstream: it took them 40 years, but the world is finally catching up. Another pleasant surprise is the inclusion of Jessica Pratt'sHere in the Pitch; another artist in this Top 20 that I got to see recently- low key, but absolutely deserves all the plaudits
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AGGREGATE LIST (ALL GENRES, ALL PUBLICATIONS) TOP 20: 1 Charli xcx - BRAT2 Fontaines D.C. - Romance 3 The Cure - Songs of a Lost World 4 MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks 5 Beyoncé - COWBOY CARTER 6 Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood 7 Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee 8 Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT 9 Kendrick Lamar - GNX 10 Tyler, The Creator - CHROMAKOPIA 11 Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch 12 I Got Heaven - Mannequin Pussy 13 Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet 14 Mk.gee - Two Star & The Dream Police 15 Kim Gordon - The Collective 16 Clairo - Charm 17 Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future 18 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God19 English Teacher - This Could Be Texas 20 Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
MOJO's No.1 is the new Jack White, No Name. This album appeared out of nowhere when customers at White's Third Man record stores were given a mystery LP as a present, which of course turned out to be his latest album. Generally hailed as a return to The White Stripes' garage rock heyday; I've only heard the two tracks included in the two magazines' Best Of 2024 samplers but tend to agree.
MOJO MAGAZINE:1. Jack White - No Name 2. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God3. Beth Gibbons - Lives Outgrown 4. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - Woodland 5. Bill Ryder-Jones - Iechyd Da 6. Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More 7. Fontaines D.C. - Romance 8. The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know 9. Jane Weaver - Love In Constant Spectacle 10. Kim Gordon - The Collective 11. John Grant - The Art of the Lie 12. Shabaka - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace 13. The Smile - Wall of Eyes 14. Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Destroyer 15. English Teacher - This Could Be Texas 16. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Loophole 17. Paul Weller - 66 18. David Gilmour - Luck and Strange19. Peter Perrett - The Cleansing 20. Lady Blackbird - Slang Spirituals 21. Gruff Rhys - Sadness Sets Me Free 22. Mdou Moctar - Funeral for Justice23. Richard Thompson - Ship To Shore 24. Mercury Rev - Born Horses 25. St. Vincent - All Born Screaming 26. Dirty Three - Love Changes Everything 27. The The - Ensoulment 28. John Cale - POPtical Illusion 29. Charles Lloyd - The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow 30. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood 31. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World32. Pet Shop Boys - Nonetheless 33. Ezra Collective - Dance, No one's Watching 34. Amyl and The Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness 35. Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future 36. Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch 37. Common & Pete Rock - The Auditorium Vol. 1 38. Leyla McCalla - Sun Without the Heat 39. Arooj Aftab - Night Reign 40. Brittany Howard - What Now 41. Laura Marling - Patterns in Repeat 42. Michael Kiwanuka - Small Changes 43. The Black Crowes - Happiness Bastards 44. Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement 45. Nubya Garcia - ODYSSEY 46. The Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstasy47. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Glasgow Eyes48. Nick Lowe - Indoor Safari 49. Joan As Police Woman - Lemons, Limes And Orchids 50. Lee "Scratch" Perry & Youth - Spaceship to Mars 51. IDLES - TANGK 52. Richard Hawley - In This City They Call You Love 53. Public Service Broadcasting - The Last Flight 54. MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks 55. The Bug - Machine 56. Nadine Shah - Filthy Underneath 57. Johnny Blue Skies - Passage du Desir 58. Naima Bock - Below a Massive Dark Land 59. Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling & Andreas Werliin - Ghosted II 60. The Hard Quartet - The Hard Quartet 61. Oisin Leech - Cold Sea 62. Hermanos Gutiérrez - Sonido Cósmico 63. Floating Points - Cascade 64. Hamish Hawk - A Firmer Hand 65. Cassie Kinoshi's Seed - Gratitude 66. Khruangbin - A LA SALA 67. Ghost Dubs - Damaged 68. Julia Holter - Something in the Room She Moves 69. The Harlem Gospel Travelers - Rhapsody 70. Kelly Finnigan - A Lover Was Born 71. The Bevis Frond - Focus on Nature 72. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Flight b741 73. Tindersticks - Soft Tissue 74. Pom Poko - Champion 75. Field Music - Limits of Language.
Quite low at the list, but still a kind of vindication after decades of cultdom, Nick Saloman a.k.a. The Bevis Frond. Not just a psychedelic legend, but a vastly underrated songwriter as well.
Uncut features Nick Cave on the top spot, and real-life couple Gillian Welch & David Rawlings on No.2. Somewhat expected, seeing as Uncut has a soft spot for Americana music. This is the couple's first album under both names, usually they release albums under either one or the other. Both magazines rate the return of the Kims quite highly: years after leaving The Pixies and Sonic Youth respectively, Kim Deal and Kim Gordonprove they have always been an artistic force to be reckoned. K-pop wunderkind Kim Jong Un doesn't make an appearance this time, but Former Portishead Beth Gibbons does, at both magazines' lists, at No.3.
UNCUT MAGAZINE:1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God, 2. Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - Woodland,3. Beth Gibbons - Lives Outgrown,4. Arooj Aftab - Night Reign, 5. Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch, 6. Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future, 7. The Smile - Wall of Eyes, 8. MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks, 9. Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee, 10. Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood, 11. Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Destroyer, 12. Julia Holter - Something in the Room She Moves, 13. Fontaines D.C. - Romance, 14. Mdou Moctar - Funeral for Justice, 15. Jack White - No Name, 16. Bill Ryder-Jones - Iechyd Da, 17. Johnny Blue Skies - Passage du Desir, 18. Shabaka - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, 19. Peter Perrett - The Cleansing, 20. Hurray for the Riff Raff - The Past Is Still Alive, 21. John Cale - Poptical Illusion, 22. Alan Sparhawk - White Roses, My God, 23. High Llamas - Hey Panda, 24. Phosphorescent - Revelator, 25. Nala Sinephro - Endlessness, 26. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band - Loophole, 27. English Teacher - This Could Be Texas, 28. Jake Xerxes Fussell - When I'm Called, 29. Oisin Leech - Cold Sea, 30. Kim Gordon - The Collective, 31. Mabe Fratti - Sentir Que No Sabes, 32. Mabe FrattiBeak> - >>>>, 33. Willie Nelson - The Border, 34. Rosali - Bite Down, 35. Brittany Howard - What Now, 36. Myriam Gendron - Mayday, 37. Shellac - To All Trains, 38. Dirty Three - Love Changes Everything, 39. Brown Horse - Reservoir, 40. Grandaddy - Blu Wav, 41. Paul Weller - 66, 42. Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More,43. Richard Thompson - Ship to Shore, 44. Christopher Owens - I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair, 45. Laura Marling - Patterns in Repeat, 46. Charles Lloyd - The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow, 47. Sarah Davachi - The Head As Form’d In The Crier’s Choir, 48. David Gilmour - Luck and Strange, 49. Still House Plants - If I Don't Make It, I Love U, 50. Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin - Ghosted II, 51. Chuck Johnson - Sun Glories, 52. Basic - This Is Basic, 53. Bonny Light Horseman - Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free, 54. Kaia Kater - Strange Medicine, 55. Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor, 56. Fievel Is Glauque - Rong Weicknes, 57. Jlin - Akoma, 58. Linda Thompson - Proxy Music, 59. Charli XCX - Brat, 60. Nadine Shah - Filthy Underneath, 61. Idles - Tangk, 62. Kamasi Washington - Fearless Movement, 63. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Glasgow Eyes, 64. Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft, 65. Tindersticks - Soft Tissue, 66. Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us, 67. John Canning Yates - The Quiet Portraits, 68. Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department, 69. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World, 70. Arab Strap - I'm Totally Fine with It Don't Give a Fuck Anymore, 71. Beachwood Sparks - Across The River Of Stars, 72. Laurie Anderson - Amelia, 73. Nick Lowe - Indoor Safari, 74. Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore - TexiCali, 75. Pye Corner Audio - The Endless Echo, 76. Personal Trainer - Still Willing, 77. Kali Uchis - Orquídeas, 78. Wadada Leo Smith & Amina Claudine Myers - Central Park's Mosaics of Reservoir, Lake, Paths and Garden, 79. Yasmin Williams - Acadia, 80. Leyla McCalla - Sun Without the Heat.
Rather low at No.63, we find the return of Jesus and Mary Chain with Glasgow Eyes. Just like with The Cure (here at No.69), they sound as good as they did in their heyday 4 decades ago!
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Classic Rock's choices are usually wildly different from the others; this time, not so much: The Black Crowes' Happiness Bastards(No.1) and David Gilmour's Luck and Strange(No.3) have received unanimous praise. Recent reviews focus on Gilmour embracing a simpler, less proggy, production approach. To me, it'll always come down to the voice and guitar of Pink Floyd: I'm happy that Gilmour and Roger Waters still make great music, 40 years after the bitter divorce. Just don't ask me to choose between Mommy and Daddy.
CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE1. The Black Crowes - Happiness Bastards, 2. Judas Priest - Invincible Shield, 3. David Gilmour - Luck and Strange, 4. Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project, 5. Black Country Communion - V, 6. Pearl Jam - Dark Matter, 7. Ian Hunter - Defiance Part 2: Fiction, 8. The Black Keys - Ohio Players, 9. Deep Purple - =1, 10. Gary Clark Jr. - JPEG RAW, 11. The Cure - Songs of a Lost World, 12. Myles Kennedy - The Art Of Letting Go,13. Jack White - No Name, 14. FM – Old Habits Die Hard, 15. Massive Wagons - Earth to Grace, 16. The Quireboys - Wardour Street, 17. Blackberry Smoke - Be Right Here, 18. Orange Goblin - Science, Not Fiction, 19. Von Hertzen Brothers - In Murmuration, 20. Bad Nerves - STILL NERVOUS, 21. Big Big Train - The Likes of Us, 22. Sebastian Bach - Child Within the Man, 23. The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know,24. IDLES - TANGK, 25. Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks - TRUE, 26. Magnum - Here Comes the Rain, 27. Moggs Motel - Moggs Motel, 28. The Hot Damn! – Dancing On The Milky Way, 29. Slash - Orgy of the Damned, 30. Royal Republic - LoveCop, 31. Terrorvision - We Are Not Robots, 32. Green Day - Saviors, 33. Fantastic Negrito - Son Of A Broken Man, 34. Hawkwind - Stories From Time and Space, 35. Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts - Rogue To Redemption, 36. Blues Pills - Birthday, 37. Gun - HOMBRES, 38. The Virginmarys - The House Beyond The Fires, 39. MC5 - Heavy Lifting, 40. Opeth - The Last Will and Testament, 41. Joanne Shaw Taylor - Heavy Soul, 42. Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown - Electrified, 43. His Lordship - His Lordship, 44. Saxon - Hell, Fire And Damnation, 45. Peter Perrett - The Cleansing, 46. Nightwish - Yesterwynde, 47. The Cold Stares - The Southern, 48. Sweet - Full Circle, 49. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Wild God, 50. Bon Jovi - Forever.
Other artists that managed to draw praise from all three magazines include veterans Jack White, Nick Cave, and The Cure, as well as younger bands like The Lemon Twigs and Idles. The most surprising name included in all three lists is that of Peter Perrett formerly of The Only Ones. Where has he been since he wrote "Another Girl, Another Planet" 45 years ago? Further, I'm not surprised that the other magazines ignored albums lauded by CR by bands like Judas Priest and Deep Purple. I am nevertheless very surprised that no-one else acknowledged the release of new albums by Pearl Jam and Green Day. Have they already become the kind of nostalgia act that fills stadiums while their new release goes unnoticed?Let's hope that the new Trump presidency will inspire another masterpiece, the way George W Bush did with American Idiot. Besides, Trump did inspire Green Day's new single "The American Dream Is Killing Me" with its allegoric "zombie apocalypse" video:
