Monday, January 25, 2016

Offspring- Smash

Smash is Offspring's third album. It was released in 1994, two years after Ignition.

This is one of my all-time favourite albums, both for the individual songs and the stage of my life that accompanied this album. It is therefore too closely linked to many fond memories for me to have any hope of judging it objectively! So, here are some highlights:

- Bad Habit's menacing intro, irresistible energy and the amusingly obscene bridge (which was quite controversial back in the day, but it's not a patch on some of the profanity you hear in pop music these days!)

- The brilliantly catchy choruses of Gotta Get Away and Something To Believe In.

- Come Out And Play. Almost every element is a highlight: that distinctive drum intro, the irresistible guitar riff, etc. But even amongst all this greatness, the lyrics still stand out as the centrepiece; they deliver a very poignant message with great colour and emotion. Interestingly, I find many similarities between Come Out And Play and Pretty Fly For A White Guy (but obviously the former is a million times better!)

- Self Esteem is another masterpiece. Again, the lyrics take centre stage, but the unusual drum patterns also stand out as a highlight for me. The lyrics are powerfully humble yet sad, making for a soaringly drunk singalong and one of the all-time great rock ballads.

- The mindless energy of Killjoy Powerhead is thoroughly enjoyable.

- What Happened To You is part of the curious Offspring tradition of cringeingly bad ska! Perhaps it falls into the "so bad it's good" category?!

- The great message in Smash's lyrics.

(Sorry to finish with a whinge, but the recording quality is surprisingly poor... spanning from the weak bass to the muddy guitars to the high-pitched sounds being just noise.)

Favourite songs

Bad Habit, Gotta Get Away, Something To Believe In, Self Esteem, Killjoy Powerhead, Smash

I diggit?

Absolutely!

Jimmy Barnes- Double Hapiness

This series of duets was released in 2005. I dislike the vast majority of it.

However, there are a few highlights. Sit On My Knee is briefly enjoyable, thanks to the catchy pop riffs. And at a more meaningful level, Piece Of My Heart is wonderfully textured, perfectly complementing the passionate and tortured narrative. Plus the memorable chorus ties the song together nicely. But that is all.

Favourite songs

Sit On My Knee, Piece Of My Heart

I diggit?

No.

Friday, January 1, 2016

The Lovin' Spoonful- Greatest Hits

This Greatest Hits was released in 2000, and covers the bands releases from 1965-1968.

The hit song Summer In The City is the single-handed reason that I bought this album. That catchy yet wonderfully textured groove is as fresh today as ever. The highlights are that signature organ backing and lyrics which perfectly suit the swelteringly hot vibe of the instrumentals. It is a rare example of pop perfection.

But it doesn't make any sense, because that brilliance is completely lacking from the rest of the album. How on earth the other 25 songs are by the same band as Summer In The City is a complete mystery. They completely lack any of its wonderful texture, edginess and mood. Worse still, they're extremely "homely", to the point of being cringeingly saccharine.

The lesson here is that I gotta stop buying albums based on hearing only one song!

Favourite songs

Summer In The City

I diggit?

You couldn't pay me to listen to this album.

Devil Doll- Queen of Pain

Queen of Pain is the 2003 debut album by American band Devil Doll.

To get this out of the way early on, I must say that the recording quality is all over the shop. For example, 16 Days has a thin and strangled sound for the drums and horns; yet the very next song is wonderfully crisp and sounds great. Also, some songs have a lot of boomy low-frequency noise from the kick-drum and double-bass (as it they forgot to run a high-pass filter over it), which is messy and doesn't add anything to the musical experience. This noise also confuses the hell out of CD ripping software, so the resulting mp3/ogg files are frustratingly full of random clipping.

Anyways, St Christopher kicks things off with some great lyrics delivered with an appropriately snarly vocal style. I think the backing instruments are a bit lacklustre (perhaps due to the recording quality), but overall it's an enjoyable tale. You Are The Best Thing And The Worst Thing continues the attitude, with a latin influence nicely thrown into the mix.

The jungle-drum opening gave me high hopes for Heart-Sized Crush, but alas the deadpan vocal style kind of undermines it. Also, the abrupt jumps between sections feel a bit contrived.

It Was Raining takes things into a new direction, in the form of a beautiful and simple ballad. Here we see a much broader range in the vocals, as they brilliantly convey emotions ranging from hushed sorrow to angry shouting to howls of torment.

The moody instrumental setting introduces King Of Brooklyn perfectly. It paints a wonderfully rich landscape, especially the ever-haunting organ. To cap it off, the narrative and lyrics are incredibly powerful. Bourbon In Your Eyes follows a similar recipe, although doesn't quite hit the same heights.

Things You Make Me Do is a bit middle-of-the-road. But the rich instrumental sound, and the ebbs and flows throughout the song, makes for an enjoyable experience.

As for Faith In Love, Buffy The Vampire Slayer isn't my cup of tea. And it isn't rockabilly, so I don't like it!

Speaking of oddball inclusions, Driven To Distraction and Why work well to inject some variety into the album. Liquor Store has an interesting narrative, but I'm not a fan of the slick "jive" style of rock'n'roll.

Queen Of Pain is a great soft blues, absolutely brimming with style and emotion. You Put A Spell On Me would be the same, were it not for the silly distraction of the fast-tempo ending.

The other blues effort, If I Died In Your Arms, is an absolute cracker. There's some very strange audio artifacts at times and the effects are a touch overdone, but nothing can undermine the brilliance of this sparse, yet powerful, blues ballad. Spine-tingling.

Favourite songs

St Christopher, It Was Raining, King Of Brooklyn, Queen Of Pain, Union Square, If I Died In Your Arms

I diggit?

It's a bit hit-and-miss, but the "hits" definitely make it worthwhile.

The Hives- Lex Hives

Lex Hives is The Hives' fifth album. It was released in 2012, five years after The Black And White Album.

Looking at the "Favourite Songs" list below, it's quite well populated. In fact, it's every song of the album. So I'll just put together some quick bullet points on the particular highlights of each song.

But just a quick aside about the recording quality. I believe the songwriting of this album is perfect, so it's the only thing I can possibly pick on! Part of me thinks that a more polished and clean sound would make some songs sound "bigger" and more enjoyable. But another part of me thinks the rough sound (not as bad as Veni Vidi Viscious) is part of the cheeky garage-rock appeal. Hmmm, I dunno. Anyway... onto the songs...

Come On: A brainless and fun intro. If I may have (another) rant, normally it feels like a disappointing sell-out when a favourite song is used in an advertisement. Especially if said ad is for commercial gambling, which I am quite opposed to. However, the hedonistic attitude suits The Hives well, so somehow I don't have a problem with it in this case... in fact, I actually look forward to the ad, because it's a chance to listen to the song!
Go Right Ahead: Infectious mid-pace groove, ala Main Offender. Double hand-claps are the cherry on the cake.
1000 Answers: Vintage Hives attitude: stubborn and cheeky antagonism. 
I Want More: Awesome swaggering groove. Leads perfectly into next song.
Wait A Minute Now: Great lyrics. Builds wonderfully through each verse into the pre-chorus and contrasting chorus. As per all Hives songs, knows how to quit before things get stale.
Patrolling Days: Of all my favourite songs on this album, this is my favourite-est! Obscure, slightly non-sensical lyrics. Chorus is wonderfully singalong. I have no idea what it means, but damn I love singing along to it. And it gets even bigger and better throughout the song!!!11!!
Take Back The Toys: As per I Want More. Vocal recording style similar to Veni Vidi Viscious (eg distorted and a bit harsh)
Without The Money: Admittedly it's a pretty clunky effort. But it works perfectly as an oddball interlude for the album.
These Spectacles Reveal The Nostalgics: Blistering pace, as per early Hives. Infectious energy. Rounded out nicely by the final bridge
My Time Is Coming: Opening is wonderfully moody and set the tone. Love the hints of gospel and spaghetti western.
If I Had A Cent: Vintage high-energy Hives, nothing more, nothing less. Great lyrics, eg "I could always spot your friends by the daggers in your back"
Midnight Shifter: another brilliant groove. I think there's some cheeky homages to Mustang Sally? Either way, I totally dig it.

To finish things up, I'll leave you with some thoughts on satisfaction and consumerism by one Mr Howlin' Pelle Almqvist:

A healthy appetite 
Is good for one and all.
And I should be at peace with the world baby, but still I want some more.
A larger slice of pie, 
A bigger set of wheels,
A million sets of human eyes staring right at me come on!

I want shit that's made in India:
Incense, gold and myrrh.
Expensive wine and peace of mind,
A sail-boat 'n' dancing girls.
Cause I can't wait forever, no I just gotta have
Beg, steal, borrow, take, heist, nip, get or make; can I hear you say

Is it enough? No! 
Is it enough? No! 
Is it? No! Is it? No! Is it? No!  
I want more, I want more, I want more, I want more

Yeah that's the way get it, 
Any way I can.
Not a balanced sensible individual, not that kind of man.
You careful types with sorted lives 
Won't know what I mean.
When I speed through life like biblical locusts on a laser beam
Ain't gonna deserve nothing, 
No I just gotta have.
I am a man of much importance to me, I'm a much important man

Is it enough? No! 
Is it enough? No! 
Is it? No! Is it? No! Is it? No!
I want more.

Favourite songs

Come On, Go Right Ahead, 1000 Answers, I Want More, Wait A Minute, Patrolling Days, Take Back The Toys, Without The Money, These Spectacles Reveal The Nostalgics, My Time Is Coming, If I Had A Cent, Midnight Shifter

I diggit?

Umm, yes. In fact, it's one of my all-time favourite albums.

Gil Scott-Heron- Storm Music

This "Best Of" was released in 2009 and features songs recorded from 1971 to 1981.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is a) not actually a song, and b) the whole reason I bought this album. Spoken word doesn't usually appeal to me, but somehow this biting satire of pop-culture and consumerism hits the nail on the head for me.

As for the actual songs on this album... ummm... the lyrics of most songs are really irritating for me, often coming across as elitest jazz-snobs, who take the whole thing way too damn seriously. Worse than that, it's like a self-proclaimed illuminati who apparently decide what is "true jazz" or not, and look down with contempt at the opinions of the uncultured masses. Unfortunately, that's the overwhelming feeling I get from Is That Jazz and Lady Day And John Coltrane.

And, unfortunately there also isn't much musical enjoyment for me here either. The mournful ballad style of Pieces Of A Man and Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues aren't my cup of tea, however I do enjoy the seriously funky groove of Inner City Blues.

But... Jazz flute! Oh, yes. This rare delicacy makes Or Down You Fall an instant hit. It's a bit stop-start at times, but overall the instruments provide a wonderfully rich backing.

Another highlight is the title track, Storm Music (perhaps very predictably, due to the reggae influence...). With enough musical goodness to tune out the elitist lyrics, the groove and layering in the background make this song a treat.

To save me moaning about the rest of the album, I'll end this review here.

Favourite songs

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Or Down You Fall, Storm Music

I diggit?

I'm proud to own "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" as a cultural statement, but the rest of the album doesn't really appeal.