The Strokes- Is This It

Here we have the highly successful debut album from The Strokes, which was released in 2001. The timing of this debut album from the New York band was perfect, as it shot to worldwide success in the garage rock revival around the turn of the millennium. Along with bands such as The Vines and The White Stripes, the magazine Rolling Stone made the retro sound of The Strokes flavour of the month.

Trainspotters will note that this is the Australian version of the CD. The music industry gods somehow granted Aussies an early release, the "glove on ass" cover and the song New York City Cops (which was cut from the worldwide release, due to the September 11 attacks occurring in the meantime).

From my perspective, hopefully 12 years is long enough to get over all the pretentiousness associated with this album! The opening song Is This It kicks things off perfectly. It gets you into the mood of the album, without "wasting" a great song while you acclimatise.

The recording quality needs to be discussed. It sucks! By design, though. As part of the garage rock revival, it was compulsary to have a thin sound, especially with distorted vocals that sounded like they used a 1970s Tandy "build your own microphone for $2" kit. It might be part of the style, but I don't really like it. The Modern Age and Hard to Explain take good advantage of it though, with very distorted verses leading to the "relief" of a fuller, smoother chorus.

In fact, one of The Strokes' greatest skills are their choruses, they are very catchy and enjoyable. The other highlight of the band for me are the lyrics. Illustrative yet obscure enough to leave some mystery; my favourite style of lyrics.

New York City Cops is my favourite song on the album. It feels more unrestrained and energetic, like they dropped their guard of calculated and too-cool-for-school for this song. Trying Your Luck is great for the opposite reasons: gentle, cruisy verses which always make me think of summertime road trips. It would be the perfect finale for the album, however there is actually one more track to go. This means that Take It or Leave It, while being a decent song in its own right, always feels like one encore too many.

While it's a fun album, it'll be interesting to see whether history remembers it. I suspect it will end up in no-mans land: rock purists will prefer the original bands who inspired The Strokes for this album, and pop fashions will have moved on to the Next Big Thing.

Favourite songs

Barely Legal, Someday, Last Nite, Hard to Explain, New York City Cops, Trying Your Luck

Would I buy it again?

I like the songs, but not the concept! I guess in the end, the songs should win out though...

Manu Dibango- Wakafrika

Manu Dibango is a musician from Cameroon who combined his native music with funk and jazz. His first album was released in 1968, and Wakafrica was released in 1994, with countless other albums in between.

Generally, funk and African music are not my cup of tea, so I'm totally the wrong audience for this CD! I would happily listen to it as background music, but it's not something I would actively listen to. Despite this, I still rate this as a great CD. The funk, jazz and African influences are brilliantly combined, with a great variety of styles used throughout the album.

The recording quality is fantastic- always crisp (the cymbals are wonderful) and a great sense of power when required.

The final song, Ca Va Chouia, is the sole reason I bought the album and remains the standout song for me on this album. This song has all the epic-ness of orchestral rock done right, for me it has similar impact to Climbatize by The Prodigy. Like Sympony and Metallica, this is an orchestra and band playing as if the world is about to end. It's stunning. There are so many voices, so many great musical ideas, so many contrasting sections, and they're all blended together brilliantly. My favourite passage is the trumpet solo in the middle, where after the allotted time, it seems the backing instruments slowly increase their intensity to politely hint that the solo should wrap up. But the trumpeter is not done yet, so he/she matches the ever-rising intensity in a wonderful combination of trying to drown each other out while making incredible music together at the same time. Exhilarating.

Favourite songs

Emma, Ami Oh, Jingo, Ca Va Chouia

Would I buy it again?

Ca Va Chouia is an all-time favourite of mine, instantly making this an album worth owning.

The Eagles- The Very Best Of

Yeah yeah, another compilation from a very iconic pop/rock band. The Eagles' brand of country easy listening rock was hugely successful in the 1970s. This compilation was released in 1994.

(Since I'm one of those pretentious wankers who takes offense at "easy listening" soft rock, here's hoping this review doesn't get ugly!)

Actually, it's all about how you label it. As a rock album, I'd criticise many of the songs for lacking the venom and energy that gives rock its edge. But as country songs, they work really well as philosophical reflections on the strange lives led by both country and city folk. Case in point is Take it Easy, not the best song on the CD in my opinion, but a great way to start getting into the mood of the album.

The CD avoids getting bogged down in country ballads with a range of styles such as the husky-yet-haunting sound of Witchy Woman. Other songs keeping things varied are the funky beat of One of Those Nights, the catchy disco-rock of Life in the Fast Lane (almost sounding like a Kiss song) and James Dean (although to me this song somehow feels like a Wierd Al Yankovic parody of itself).

Hotel California is rightfully a classic song. It takes a while to build momentum, but the vivid storytelling throughout is wonderful, even after hearing it a million times. The guitar solo at the end is also a favourite of mine. Lyin' Eyes is a bit of a combination of two Eagles hits: the storytelling of Hotel California with a similar musical feel to Tequila Sunrise.

Heartache Tonight does well to seamlessly combine a raucus hedonism musical style with a depressive lyrical style. Finally, The Long Run is totally cheesy, but also very catchy.

The recording quality is very good. Special mention goes to the crisp acoustic guitar sound; also the bass guitar sound has great character, which is quite rare for a pop record.

Favourite songs

Take It Easy, Witchy Woman, Tequila Sunrise, Lyin' Eyes, Hotel California, Life in the Fast Lane, Heartache Tonight, The Long Run

Would I buy it again?

Yes. The hit songs remain accessible and enjoyable to this day. And with a slight appreciation for country music, much more of the album reveals itself to be highly enjoyable.

Van Morrison- The Best Of

Beginning in 1967, Van Morrison has enjoyed a prolific career in which he has produced over 30 albums. This 1990 compilation was successful in its own right and provides a sample of the broad range of genres spanned by Morrison.

The styles vary from rock'n'roll in the style of The Animals to Bob Dylan-esque protest folk to "celtic soul" (Van's fitting description of his style). By far my favourite song is the rhythm and blues song Gloria, the combination of raw energy and somehow smooth yet tortured hammond organ is fantastic.

Moondance and Brown Eyed Girl are also good songs, but they have been played to death on the radio for me.

End of review.

Van Morrison fans best not read the following! So, why such a short review for a 21 track album that sumarises a long and highly successful career? Ummm... well... I... errr... don't like the rest of the songs. The song Gloria has single-handedly saved this CD from being thrown in my garbage bin! Personally, I find most of the songs to be fundamentally bland tunes which hide behind over-production and superfluous instruments (eg tacked on violins). Sorry...

Favourite songs

Gloria, Moondance, Brown Eyed Girl

99% Fat- Two Percent Brains

99% Fat were an Australian 3rd-wave ska band who formed in the late 1990s and released two albums. This first EP was produced very early in their career...

...therefore it is quite "raw". That is immediately obvious in the recording quality and lack of finesse, which will put many people off. The vocals, guitar and bass are thin, the horns are often out of tune and the drums sound like a plastic toy. But the charm is in the energy and irreverence- for example the opening track combines Also Sprach Zarathustra with Kentucky Fried Chicken and a tongue-in-cheek story about obesity!

Musically, the songs vary from simplistic ska/punk ditties (The Chode, Ode to My Mullet, New Shoes, Today Like Yesterday) to more inventive styles (Why Carrot, Eat the Meat, Sultans of Skank). It often reminds me of Australian Crawl's classic Boys Light Up, with the combination of reggae and Australian pub rock. The more polished songs feature some very intricate layering of horn parts, much more than you would expect of a ska band. Good stuff.

My personal favourite is Captain Manboob which blends a catchy song with a silly tale of a superhero(ine).

Favourite songs

The Chode, The Colonel, Why Carrot, Eat the Meat, Sultans of Skank, Captain Manboob

Would I buy it again?

It's so silly and immature- so of course the answer is yes! But I do also think there's also some innovative and refined ska, which gives the album substance.

The Prodigy- Fat Of The Land

Fat Of The Land is The Prodigy's third album. It was released in 1997, three years after Music For A Jilted Generation. It was also a hugely successful album, responsible for the band's transition from an obscure rave band to international superstars.

The term "electro-punk" was invented to describe The Prodigy, and I think it sums up this album perfectly. It is an album to take you out of your mundane daily life and transport you to a lawless warehouse of underground wonder.

When turned up loud (as one must for The Prodigy!), the recording quality reveals itself to be fantastic. There are many great electronic samples swimming around in a wonderful interplay, and stereo effects are very well executed. Surprisingly, the bass doesn't actually extend very deep, but nonetheless there's still plenty there to get the walls shaking...

However I have always found the album hit and miss. The "miss" parts are mostly songs which are more drum'n'bass or rap influenced, which isn't really my cup of tea.

But Breathe and Climbatize are outstanding songs; they are among my all-time favourites. Breathe perfectly conveys the lawless insanity of an underground warehouse rave. The layering and flow of Climbatize is brilliant, throughout the song the alien sounds drift in and out yet somehow it all sounds perfectly natural. I have no idea what the message or scene of the song is, but whatever it is sure is epic!

Two of the songs have grown on me in recent years. I now really enjoy the spiritual influence to Narayan. And I used to think that Funky Shit was just the poor cousin of Breathe. While the vocal sample is cheesy and it doesn't hit the same heights as Breathe, Funky Shit is still enjoyable in its own right.

Favourite songs

Smack My Bitch Up, Breathe, Narayan, Climbatize

Would I buy it again?

Yes. Nearly 20 years on(!), this album has turned out to be a timeless classic.