The Clash- London Calling

It seems The Clash were a punk-rock hit from the moment they were born. Following two highly successful and grunty albums predominantly featuring angry guitars, the band mixed things up greatly for this 1979 album. With a more sophisticated sound, it features influences of jazz, ska, soul, funk and pop.

Cutting to the chase, I rate London Calling as the best album I have ever heard. So let's break it down:

Surely opening with such a classic song as London Calling is raising the bar impossibly high for the rest of the album? It's a gutsy move, but this album pulls it off with aplomb. The song itself is rock perfection; with a catchy groove throughout and inspired lyrics, this song is pure bliss for me.

Brand New Cadillac is a great grunty rock version of the Vince Taylor blues song. It wonderfully oscillates between overflowing passion and cool restrained style.

In isolation, Jimmy Jazz probably isn't much to write home about. But it fits in perfectly on the album, to add another dimension in this series of landscapes of late 1970s London. Towards the end, it does feel like it could use some more lyrics and that it is a bit drawn out. As a wierd soul/jazz/punk hybrid, Hateful somehow works brilliantly. While it is quite eclectic, it is held together nicely by the chorus.

As a modern interpretation on the ska classic A Message to You Rudie, the song Rude Can't Fail works well to combine reggae and soul with the gritty Clash feel. The Right Profile is similar, with a strong connection to Madness, however I feel it isn't as cohesive as Rudy Can't Fail.

Said gritty feel is toned down for the gentle interlude that is Spanish Bombs. The soft folk-rock instrumentals contrast nicely with Strummer's bitter lyrics. And the Spanish lyrics in chorus are a great touch.

Lost in the Supermarket has a great infectious motif throughout the song and sounds like a big influence for the band Pulp. The poetic storytelling is also fantastic, such as the start of the first verse: "I wasn't born, so much as I fell out".

Clampdown sees a return to a gritty rock rock feel. I really like the staccato style, with snappy offbeat hits. The start of the bridge doesn't really fit, however the end of the bridge leads perfectly into the following verse. Death or Glory is quite similar, and features a fantastic singalong chorus. Interestingly, the bridge of Death or Glory has the same strengths and weaknesses as Clampdown.  

Kola Kola is also a similar style. While Kola Kola doesn't fit together as well as the other two songs, the contrast of Strummer's bitter vocal style with the Beatles-esque backing vocals is fantastic. Like any good punk band, The Clash weren't afraid to cause a stir with some obsceneties! However, the different is that their is more thoughtfulness behind it than usual. The following line must have raised some eyebrows back in 1979:
He who fucks nuns
Will later join the church

The Guns of Brixton brings in the reggae influence to create a gritty reggae-rock masterpiece. The false opening of Wrong 'Em Boyo is a nice lighthearted touch. Once Stagger Lee has wound up, the restart brings a fantastic happy bouncing ska tune.

Things get very serious and intense again with The Card Cheat. This song has an incredible sense of scale, interesting chords and a great bassline holding it all together. The piano and trumpet parts are not tacky addons, actually they are perfectly integrated and add to the drama.

Lover's Rock is horrid. A messy cruise-ship song with funk influences and terribly banal lyrics. And Revolution Rock seems to me like uninspired generic reggae. Train in Vain does a much better job at a non-punk pop song, although I must admit that I prefer The Clash when they have some spit in their eye. I'm Not Down is such a song- a great mashup of funk, soul and rock.

Four Horsemen is a great throwback to the style of their earlier albums, although the ending is a complete mess.

You may have noticed I've spared this album a lecture on recording quality. In short, it's definitely adequate... and audiophile-quality recordings would give a punk-rock album zero credibility...

Favourite Songs

London Calling, Brand New Cadillac, Jimmy Jazz, Hateful, Rudie Can't Fail, Spanish Bombs, Lost in the Supermarket, Clampdown, The Guns of Brixton, Wrong 'Em Boyo, Death or Glory, The Card Cheat, Four Horsemen, I'm Not Down

Worthwhile?

Best rock album ever. I must thank you for the opportunity to listen to it again!

Ramones - Anthology (disc 2)

This is the second disc of the Ramones Anthology review. See here for the review of the first disc.

This summary of Ramones' later stages of their career kicks off with The KKK  Took My Baby Away, a simple song very much in their early style. With tongue-in-cheek lyrics and a lot of great little hooks, it is catchy pop-punk bliss. She's a Sensation continues this trend, as a signature 1960s all-girl group tune but with distortion guitars and torn jeans. Four albums later, they returned to this style with Garden of Serenity, albeit with a heavier sound.

Their "new" style starts with We Want the Airwaves, which features nicely sophisticated composition (ok, relatively speaking!) and a much more polished sound. Fear not that they have sold out, because the lyrics are still wonderfully inane! Somebody Put Something in My Drink is quite similar, and a huge hit in my book. Sure, it's trashy (reminding me a bit of Twisted Sister), but it's the perfect drunken pub rock singalong.

Another style often visited later in their career was slower riff-driven cock-rock. Psycho Therapy (which has a terrible drum sound), Too Tough To Die and Mama's Boy are all examples of this. In my opinion, the choruses of these three songs are all a bit awkward. Mama's Boy is my pick of this style, featuring good recording quality (although the bass guitar is MIA) and a great swagger.

The tempo is further slowed for the great moody sound of I'm Not Afraid of Life and She Talks to Rainbows, the latter is a favourite for me. Poison Heart is somewhere between these two styles and is a solid "late Ramones" song.

They also had a few attempts at a style similar to The Cure for songs such as Howling at the Moon (again, a terrible drum sound), Something to Believe In (which feels contrived and has a really cheesy synth sound), I Wanna Live and Pet Semetary. The execution is generally passable, but if I want to listen to The Cure, then I'll listen to one of The Cure's CDs...

Now, back to the immature stuff! It's Not My Place is probably quite weak objectively, with cliched name-dropping in the lyrics and not much going on musically. But the lyrics still seem to appeal to the inner teenager in me! Endless Vacation is terrible, like a bunch of untalented and stoned teenagers throwing something together for a Battle of the Bands. Similar to It's Not My Place, Merry Christmas is a generic song that's made very enjoyable for me purely due to the lyrics.

My Brain is Hanging Upside Down is incredible. It is one of my all-time favourite songs. For many years, I thought the lyrics were a random collection of interesting phrases without any meaning. But then I learned that it was a  political protest (about President Regan's visit to a Nazi cemetary) and my appreciation grew even further. The way the lyrics obscurely and poetically form a political protest about dancing with the devil for capitalist gains is incredible. The sophisticated songwriting deserves praise in its own right, it smoothly grows through the verses, pre-chorus, chorus etc. Like any good Ramones song, the good times are over before you know it, but the beauty of this song is that it makes 4 minutes disappear just as quickly and enjoyably as their early 90 second blasts.

Lastly, the tempo is cranked up for Tomorrow She Goes Away, I Don't Wanna Grow Up and R.A.M.O.N.E.S. All three are great songs. Tomorrow She Goes Away is simple, catch and fun punk-rock. The lyrics on I Don't Wanna Grow Up (originally by Tom Waits, by the way) are a highlight for me. On the surface, they're totally immature, but when you think about it, they actually are quite insightful:
I'm gonna put a whole in my TV set,
I don't wanna grow up.
Open up the medicine chest,
I don't wanna grow up.

Lastly, R.A.M.O.N.E.S. is a fantastic moshpit singalong. Just bouncing around like a lunatic for the hell of it- vintage Ramones!

Favourite songs

The KKK Took My Baby Away, It's Not My Place, We Want the Airwaves, Mama's Boy, My Brain is Hanging Upside Down, Somebody Put Something in My Drink, Merry Christmas, Tomorrow She Goes Away, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, Merry Christmas, She Talks to Rainbows, R.A.M.O.N.E.S.

Worthwhile?

As per the first disc: yes. In fact, this might be sacrilegious but I actually prefer the added polish of their later songs. So disc 2 is the pick of this anthology for me.

Kasey Chambers- The Captain

No-one ever would ever expect to see the Australian country music singer Kasey Chambers listed next to Ramones! But it turned out to be there perfect breather from the onslaught of 90 second pop-punk. Kasey shot to commercial success with her second album, thanks to the song Not Pretty Enough. This is her debut album as a solo artist, and it was released in 1999.

I must admit that country music isn't generally my cup of tea, but somehow Kasey Chambers is an exception, perhaps due to the folk influence? Then again, folk music isn't my thing usually, so there goes that rationale!

Let's start slightly in Ramones' spirit (ok, perhaps that's drawing a long bow!) with Last Hard Bible and We're All Gonna Die Someday. These upbeat tongue-in-cheek bluegrass hoedowns (??) are great fun, reminding me a bit of the Violent Femmes in its whimsical attitude. For example:
They can all kiss my arse, Lord.They can all kiss my arse.
If they wanna kiss my arse,
They'd better do it fast,
Cos we're all gonna die someday 

Last Hard Bible gives the fantastic impression of a barn party where Grandad has drunk too much moonshine and jumped up on stage with a banjo! The slightly discordant vocals are perfectly executed, which becomes obvious in the vocal-only outro.

At the other end of the spectrum, These Pines is a wonderfully lonesome acoustic guitar song. The vocals are perhaps on the verge of sounding whiney, but I think it is the perfect balance. And the lyrics themselves paint a rich emotional picture. The Captain is a bit less sparse, and uses a simple yet catchy guitar motif to tie the song together. Again, the lyrics are a highlight, with the gentle style used perfectly complementing the beautifully humble poetry of the story. It is deservedly the title track, and one of my all-time favourite songs. This Flower goes a bit too far with the flowers-in-the-hair hippy style, almost sounding like Christian folk. Personally I find the male backing vocals annoyingly lacking in any strength.

Returning to the "whiney" comment for a moment, I appreciate the vocals are polarising. There is definitely an element of whininess in there... but somehow I like her whining! The situation is exaggerated by the vocals being a bit too loud compared to the instruments. Otherwise, the balance between instruments is very good, also with sweet sounding cymbal and a range of great guitar sounds.

Finally, to the main style of this album: country rock, as heard in Cry Like a Baby, You Got the Car, Don't Talk Back, Mr Baylis and The Hard Way. All are very enjoyable songs. The lyrics in the chorus of Cry Like a Baby are a bit cliched, but the verses make amends for this. You Got the Car is a bit like The Captain with a nice dash of rock venom thrown in, and with fantastic storytelling in the lyrics. Normally I'd find the lyric "All the kings horses and all the kings men / Couldn't put me back together again" totally cringeworthy, somehow this genre makes it work perfectly! Don't Talk Back is quite similar, and is my favourite song in this style. While the chorus lyrics are a bit monotone, the rest of the song is fantastic. The background guitar and organ in Mr Baylis are a highlight, and somehow the simple and uplifting folk-rock style reminds me of the band The Eels. Meanwhile, The Hard Way feels derivative and uninspired by me, like "Country Style #8" was plucked off the songwriter's bookshelf and some generic lyrics were thrown in to fill in the blanks.

If this review is sounding harsh, that is unintended. Many of my criticisms are probably due to not appreciating the genre very well. It is very impressive that despite this ignorance on my behalf, there are many enjoyable moments on this album for me.

Favourite songs

The Captain, These Pines, Don't Talk Back, Mr Baylis, Last Hard Bible, We're All Gonna Die Someday

Worthwhile?

Yes. Even though country music isn't really my thing, it makes a wonderful backdrop in this case. The lyrics are also fantastic, and the songs cover a huge range of emotions- from timid ballads to country rock to whimsical bluegrass.

Ramones- Anthology (disc 1)

History's perspective of this pop-punk band is a strange one. Certainly their stripped-back style was a much-needed antidote to 7 minute prog-rock naval gazings of the era, and the band are cited as influences by a lot of successful artists. But as "pioneers of punk", it seems they get mixed up with the very politically and socially serious punks such as The Sex Pistols and The Clash. When, really, Ramones are just a bunch of guys who formed a band to play simple, loud fast music, just because they were bored of the long-winded ramblings most others were playing at the time.

Hmmm... I'm ranting already, and the review hasn't even started yet! Anyway, this is their double-CD Greatest Hits, released in 1999. To try to cover all 58 songs in one go would be death by 3 chords... so I'll do separate posts for the two discs. 

Trouser Press described one of their albums as "junky '60s pop adjusted for current tastes", to me this hits the nail on the head. It's just catchy fun tunes (like The Beach Boys or early Beatles), rather than rioting to try to change the world. Modern equivalents include The Hives and Guttermouth. Case in point with The Beach Boys comparison are Ramones' surf songs: California Sun, Surfin' Bird and Rockaway Beach. While the latter feels like an uninspired rehash, California Sun and Surfin' Bird are nice feelgood pop-punk tunes.

Recording quality? Pretty poor. It lacks any form of the Hollywood polish that give modern rock albums their "big sound". Arguably this sound is a defining characteristic about the band, so I'd best stop whingeing about it!

Many of their signature style songs are very similar, and at 33 songs long, one has to pick favourites. Looking through my list of favourites, it seems that whether a song made the cut or not often comes down to very subtle factors, due to the similarity of all the songs. My picks are Blitzkrieg Bop, Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue (due to the wonderfully immature lyrics, musically the song is a bit of a mess), Swallow My Pride (great creative annunciation of the title, and yay for handclaps!), Carbona Not Glue, Sheena is a Punk Rocker (drawing on the Beatles influence), Teenage Lobotomy (the title sums up the band!) and I Wanna Be Sedated (my favourite song on this CD).

Away from their bread-and-butter style, the results are mixed. The ballad I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend sounds to me like a contrived attempt to cash in on the teenage girl market. Although it's nice to hear a forth chord added to the mix, and the inclusion does break up the monotony of the album. Their other attempt at a ballad, I Remember You, feels much more genuine, even if it does feel like they'd run out of musical ideas after about 90 seconds...

The less said about the awkward acoustic songs Needles and Pins and I Want You Around, the better. And Rock'n'Roll High School feels like a cash-cow ripoff of California Sun, even complete with terrible materialistic lyrics. The country music elements in the verses of You Don't Come Close are a noble attempt at trying something new, unfortunately I don't think they quite execute it  convincingly though.

On a happier note the psychodelic influences in the verses of 53rd and 3rd are a great addition. And I Don't Care pulls off the "Ramones, but slower" style excellently. Glad to See You Go sticks to their strengths of fast, catchy and fun, but adding a bit more sophistication in the structure, to create an excellent song. Strangely, the recording quality seems a lot better than most other songs from their early albums. Commando uses a fast-paced riff-rock style, which is executed quite well. More than any other song, it would have benefited from better recording quality though.

The following is probably shameful in the eyes of a serious Ramones fan... but I quite like Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio. Sure it's full of unnecessary Hollywood fluff, but it provides some welcome variety to the album.

The last few songs on this CD are from the End of the Century album. Danny Says is okay once it hits its stride, but the opening is quite strange and the song is long-winded (oh, the irony! I blame Phil Spector...). Chinese Rock is the standout of the hard-rock style songs, with the drums in the chorus being a particular highlight.

Not knowing a lot about Ramones, it was only after reading the liner notes that I learnt this compilation is in chronological order. Previously, I'd assumed it jumped around the albums, since the more mature/commercial songs seem to be scattered throughout. But it turns out that throughout their career, the band mixed up the more varied styles with their trademark immature three-chord pop punk. For me, both aspects are highly enjoyable, although each in moderation.

Favourite songs

Blitzkrieg Bop, Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue, Glad to See You Go, California Sun, Swallow My Pride, Carbona Glue, Sheena is a Punk Rocker, Teenage Lobotomy, Surfin' Bird, I Don't Care, I Wanna Be Sedated, Do You Remember Rock'n'Roll Radio, Chinese Rock

Worthwhile?

Due to the thin sound, it took me many years to appreciate the Ramones. But the long list of Favourite Songs above shows that I'm now totally hooked!

The Offspring- Consiracy of One

The Offspring's 27 year (and counting) career has seen them transition from a darker, heavier punk-rock sound to a more radio-friendly pop-punk style. This album, released in 2000, is the follow up to Americana, which was hugely successful and debuted the more pop-friendly style.

For me, The Offspring's bread and butter is catchy pop-punk tunes, courtesy of the happy-go-lucky surfer guys in the band (perhaps a modern day version of The Beach Boys?). So the howls of protest at the alleged "selling out" of these later albums doesn't ring true for me. Having said that, there are still some fine moments when the lyrics of strong emotion and poignant lyrics hidden amongst the catchy riffs.

The mood is established perfectly by Come Out Swinging, and while its chorus is much better suited to a moshpit than critical listening in an armchair, it remains a solid effort. In many ways, it is similar to the closing track, Videos. The other "moshpit thrash" styled song is Conspiracy of One, of which the highlight is the great power chorus.

However, there are also some lowpoints on the album. Obviously, the "oo-ga-cha-ga" chorus in Special Delivery ruins an otherwise good song. Which is a real shame, because the bridge's refrain ("You can't kill a man when he's got no hope") is fantastic. One Fine Day's has a great Dropkick Murphys-eque high-energy style for the chorus. However the rest of that song, especially the verses, is cringingly amateur-hour. Finally, the ballad Denial Revisisted reminds me a lot of the clunky mess that is Blink-182's Adam's Song. On the plus side, Denial Revisited's chorus, although cliched, is very engaging.

Sadly, the audio quality is also often in the "gripes" department. Often the bass guitar and drums get messy in the chorus, both with a woofly bottom end and cymbals which sound like a badly compressed mp3. The bass guitar seems to drift in and out of some songs, and at times is quite boomy. The guitar sound is much better, and cuts through wonderfully. While the high-pitched lyrics are probably polarising, personally I really like them, especially after seeing them live and realising how much intensity is required to punch them out in real life. Listening to singers like this on CD, one perhaps becomes blase about the intensity required for this style of vocals, however it really is impressively hard work to maintain throughout a set.

Did I forget to include Original Prankster in the lowpoints paragraph above? Actually, no. Sure, it has a cheesy pop style which sounds similar to Pretty Fly For a While Guy (a ditty we've all heard a million times). But it's actually a catchy tune with some interesting lyrics. Speaking of the band's transition to the radio-friendly sound, it's a philosophical question: do they deserve praise for trying something new instead of churning out the same stuff year after year, or do the cheesy add-ons deserve criticism? I'll sit on the fence here, with Original Prankster falling into the former category, but Living In Chaos doesn't work for me at all. Then again, I've never really been a fan of the Linkin Park rap-punk combination, so perhaps that explains it.

Another slower song, Vultures, brings us back to the philosophical ponders of whether a band should seek to explore new styles. Vultures could perhaps be described as a reheat of Gone Away, which means I really like it. (Perhaps this means I was too harsh in my judgement of The Police for doing the same! However, The Offspring are less highbrow than The Police, so it would matter less for them...) Anyway, Dammit I Changed Again is also similar to their early albums, in its perfect combination of introspective lyrics and "tough guy" punk-rock musicality.

Now for my two favourite songs on the album: Want You Bad and Million Miles Away. These are both fantastic power pop-punk tunes with huge rock energy and fantastic choruses, somehow reminding me of Pennywise. A minor gripe is the weak guitar solo in Million Miles Away, however the guitar riff is fantastic, as is the beauty in their simplicity (ie just soaring rock'n'roll, without any fluff attached). And the way Want You Bad builds up through the bridge into the final chorus is a masterstroke.

Favourite songs

Want You Bad, Million Miles Away, Dammit I Changed Again, All Along, Vultures

Worthwhile?

This was an album that I thought I'd "grow out of", but it seems I'm actually warming to it more than ever. So, at this stage, the answer is still a resounding "yes".

The Superjesus- Jet Age

The Superjesus are an Australian band of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and Jet Age is their second album, released in 2000.

As for their genre, I challenged myself to avoid the cop-out description of "chick rock" (why is it that a female singer defines the genre of a rock band??). It turns out that being more specific than "rock" is quite tricky. Wikipedia says "post-grunge", which really could mean anything. Pandora provides a lot more detail: "electric rock instrumentation, punk influences, minor key tonality, a vocal-centric aesthetic and electric rhythm guitars", which is a technically correct if questionably useful description!

Enough pigeon-holing, onto the album. For their more stadium-rock tracks, The Superjesus feature big guitar riffs, interesting drum patterns, and creamy vocals. Over to You, Gravity, Enough to Know and Secret Agent Man are examples of this. When in rock-ballad mode (eg Second Sun and Fall to the Rescue) the gentle and flowing verses are a highlight.

The recording quality is pretty generic late 90s rock. The cymbals can be harsh at times, on the plus side the female vocals have nice subtle chorusing, which isn't over the top.

Kudos to the drummer for the unusual drum patterns throughout the album, I really enjoy the unusual style, especially on Over to You, Enough to Know and the way Everything Turns has swapped the rock styles typically for the verses and chorus. Another unique aspect is the use of minor keys, which works especially well as gentle verses of Secret Agent Man to contrast the big chorus.

Safer Emergency sits halfway between their "power" and "ballad" styles, and manages to walk the line very well. Checking In moves to a more electronic sound, ala Pulp, somehow reminding me of the film Mission Impossible. So Lonely is a solid rock effort, albeit a bit rough at times. The big guitar riff in Holy Water is fantastic, making it one of the standout songs on the album for me.

As for my challenge to not categorise them based on "rock band with female singer"... well I was trying to think of similar bands with which to compare them. Unfortunately the only ones that come to mind are Garbage and Magic Dirt. D'oh!

Favourite songs

Over to You, Gravity, Enough to Know, Secret Agent Man, Second Sun, Everything Turns, Safer Emergency, Holy Water, So Lonely

Worthwhile?

Yes. In fact, it's a hidden treasure.

The Killers- Hot Fuss

Ahhh, this is much easier! You may have noticed my procrastination with the review of The Police's CD. It took me quite a while to get into it, and in the back of my mind was the idea that if I didn't like such a highly respected band's Greatest Hits, then I'd better have a damn good reason for it!

Anyway, this is the debut album from the American synth-rock band The Killers. Has it really been almost 10 years since I saw the video clip for Somebody Told Me on Video Hits (similar to MTV) and was instantly hooked on the band? Yikes!

Sooo... how does it stack up these days?

Firstly, there's some gripes to get out of the way. Firstly, the "retro sound vocals" curse strikes again... Since this fad has long passed, it just sounds really thin these days. While the stories and imagery is often fantastic, the vocal delivery itself (distorted and often monotone) is something I need to turn a blind ear to, in order to enjoy the songs. Secondly, in general the recording quality is a dog's breakfast, with the variety of styles across the album translating into a frustrating variety of flaws. It's like each song was mixed by a different person, and means that trying to compensate for it via EQ settings is a fruitless task. On a brighter note, Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll is really well recorded (aside from overly processed vocals, but that seems like a necessity to compensate for the weak lead vocals), with great balance, punch and sizzly cymbals.

The big "power synth" sound is used to great effect on Somebody Told Me and Midnight Show, which both remind me a bit of Franz Ferdinand, perhaps due to the disco influences. Even after hearing it so many times, Somebody Told Me remains a fantastically infectious song, with many pleasing elements. From the cheeky lyrics to the interesting background fill in the verses to the great power chorus, it is a super-slick combination of many great ideas. Midnight Show is also superbly executed, with the synth elements leading to a great sci-fi feel.

... But even though the band was best known for this style, these songs are actually in the minority. The majority of the album is slower and more introspective, like Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, Smile Like You Mean It, All These Things That I've Done, Andy You're a Star, On Top and Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll. I find it strange that Jenny Was a Friend of Mine is the first song, to me it somehow feels more like a mid-album track. Smile Like You Mean It and On Top are solid executions of this style, but without any real highlights for me. Similarly, the verses of Andy You're a Star are a bit ho-hum, but things improve dramatically with the cracking chorus.

I started writing gushing praise for All These Things That I've Done, but eventually I realised that the first half of the song is merely passable, similar to the songs described above. Much of the enjoyment is anticipation of the bridge. It feels the whole song is leading up to the fantastic refrain of
I've got soul,
But I'm not a soldier
which is truly uplifting. This leads into a massive final chorus and outro, which maintain the energy and bring the song home.

Similarly inspiring is the rock ballad Glamerous Indie Rock & Roll. With some nice variety thanks to the piano, it contains many great ingredients: intricate verses, a great singalone chorus and the epic sense of scale throughout. In my opinion, there is a heavy influence of Oasis in this song. The icing on the cake for me is the wonderful layering of vocals in final chorus. Wow.

Everything Will Be Alright sounds to me like the 1980s "new romantics" style. Not my cup of tea.

Mr Brightside is somehow a hybrid of the band's power synth and rock ballad styles. Ignoring the terrible recording quality of the bass guitar, the swirling synth sounds throughout the song are very interesting. Finally, the story of the lyrics is also told with great illustration, making for a great song.

Favourite songs

Mr Brightside, Somebody Told Me, All These Things That I've Done, Glamerous Indie Rock & Roll, Midnight Show

Worthwhile?

Yeah, I totally dig it. A quirky pop-rock gem with great substance.

The Police- Greatest Hits

With their debut album in 1978 containing the massive hits Roxanne, Can't Stand Losing You and So Lonely, The Police burst onto the scene in a massive way. Far from being a one-album wonder, their career continued with many further hits right up until they disbanded in 1984.

This compilation album was released in 1992 and features most of their singles in chronological order.

Due to this track order, it is interesting to see the band's development over the years. Throughout their career, they seemed to alternate between trying new approaches and pandering to the masses with songs very similar to their early hits.

As far as recording quality goes, the band's signature sound consists of high-pitched vocals, light-touch bass guitar and sparse lead guitar in the verses. While it may be sacrilegious to criticise this characteristic sound, many of the songs off the first two albums (eg Roxanne, Can't Stand Losing You, Message in a Bottle, Walking on the Moon) do suffer due to the lack of a punchy bottom end. I wouldn't normally describe myself as a "bass head" but I found these songs much more enjoyable after a clockwise twist of the bass knob.

Roxanne is a timeless classic classic in my book. The sparse verses with twangy reggae guitar perfectly contrast the catchy upbeat chorus. And while the upbeat mood of the music doesn't really suit the sad tale of the lyrics, they work together brilliantly to create an artwork which is both enjoyably and poignant.

This fantastic recipe is repeated, with just enough variation to keep things interesting, for Can't Stand Losing You, So Lonely (adding some punch to the bass guitar and kick drum- hallelujah!) and Walking on the Moon.

Don't Stand Too Close to Me would have been on the above list, if it weren't for the very creepy Lolita-esque lyrics. While I'm whingeing, De Do Do Do is spoiled by woefully inane lyrics for the chorus and Spirits in the Material World smells strongly like a cynical crowd-pleasing rehash of their early style.

Message in a Bottle is one of my favourite Police songs, due to the stronger "pulse" in the verses. I get the feeling the chorus is a bit tacked on, although perhaps it's more that the song jumps around a bit in general.

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic is also a highlight of this album for me. In isolation, it's probably a bit twee, but within this brooding album its chirpy nature provides some great feelgood contrast.

Invisible Sun and Tea in the Sahara show a sparse, industrial sound used towards the end of their career. These songs are a bit dark for me, but on the other hand, Synchronicity II is brilliant. I find it has a great balance of pop accessibility and interesting experimental bits. Also, the lyrics have great imagery yet remain nicely obscure. For example, the following leitmotif scattered throughout the song:
Many miles away
Something crawls from the slime
At the bottom of a dark
Scottish loch
I have no idea how this relates to the other scenes described in the song, but this tale of Scottish evolution certainly brings a grand scale to the song!

At 16 songs long, there's certainly plenty of material here. Still, it's interesting to note the omissions of the title tracks Synchonicity (with it's interestingly upbeat tempo) and the instrumental Reggatta de Blanc. But these are no great loss, in my opinion.

Finally, Every Breathe You Take is absolutely brilliant. Where other Police songs venture into creepy territory with the lyrics, somehow they made the stalker-esque lyrics not seem creepy at all, rather a beautiful tale! A classic rock ballad.

Favourite songs

Roxanne, Can't Stand Losing You, So Lonely, Message in a Bottle, Walking on the Moon, Synchronicity II, Every Breathe You Take

Worthwhile?

I can appreciate the band in a historical context, and their unique style is definitely a great counterpoint to the saccharine pop charts. But, on the other hand, I don't think I've ever thought "I'd really like to listen to The Police right now".

The Living End- Modern Artillery

Welcome to my favourite band's worst album! This third album- released in 2003- is a bit of a black sheep, perhaps due to a perception that it was dumbed-down in an attempt to crack the US market. Its cause isn't helped that it followed the richly layered and highly complicated Roll On.

Firstly, some gripes. The recording quality isn't great, often sounding a bit muddy and without any punch to the kick-drum or vocals. On the plus side, the grunty guitar sound is great and the sound is wonderfully enveloping at times.

However, the big gripe is often the lyrics; despite telling interesting stories, the rhyming can be simplistic and lazy. A particularly cringeworthy example is in So What: "You're really somethin' /  I'm nearly jumpin' ". Urgh. Also afflicted by this problem are Who's Gonna Save Us, Jimmy, One Said to the Other and Maitland Street. In the End is ruined for me by poor rhymes, which is a shame because it's quite interesting musically.

Speaking of musically, despite the album's reputation as dumbed-down, songs like Jimmy, In the End and The Room wouldn't be out of place on Roll On! At the other end of the complexity scale, What Would You Do is a pop-punk ditty opener with great energy but not a lot of substance. Who's Gonna Save Us is a favourite for me, thanks to its description of Australian political situation at the time (lack of a credible opposition to the conservative government). But without those rose-tinted glasses it turns out to be an awkward stew of a song with some weak sections. However, it has a great singalong chorus.  

One Said to the Other also has a great chorus, catchy verses and my favourite element is the pre-chorus. It is quite "radio-friendly" and formulaic, but I like it. Similarly, the distorted opening to Short Notice is a bit contrived, but overall I find it an enjoyable pop-rock ditty with a nice bite to the lyrics. Hold Up cranks up the silliness to Guttermouth levels. The simple rhyming lyrics suit this song well, making it a bit of a throwback to the simpler Prisoner of Society days.

The Eagles-esque easy-listening style of Maitland Street, Putting You Down and So What was a shock to many fans, but I think they're interesting and well-executed songs. Maitland Street would make a great theme song for a TV show. And if you drop the notion that The Living End are meant to be an angry punk bank, Putting You Down is an interesting ride, especially the subtle guitar parts in the background. So What adds a relatively rebellious chorus to remind us they haven't completely abandoned the punk style...

I've saved the best till last: my three favourite songs on the album. Tabloid Magazine has a fantastic grunty guitar opening and chorus. Some might say its at odds with the pop-friendly verses, but I prefer to focus on the brilliant build-up to the final chorus. In the punk tradition, it highlights an important social issue but in a more sophisticated musical style.

End of the World. Wow. Brilliant. From the guitar frantically scratching in the background, to the contrasting smooth and snarling lyrics, this is an all-time favourite song of mine. The guitar solo and instrumental breakdown are also brilliant. The very notion of the end of the world is a pretty epic concept, and if you listen to this song in the dark at maximum volume, you'll find the song lives up to this promise and makes you feel like you're actually there!

Like Bohemian Rhapsody, 8 minutes disappears very quickly when listening to The Room. Some of the transitions are as subtle as a sledgehammer, but the sections themselves are brilliant. Like The Godfather movies, sometimes it is slow moving with very little happening, but the genius is that you never feel this is the case and are happy to be along for the ride. The lyrics beautifully tell the tale, a particular highlight of mine is:
If I lent my arms to you-
Would you hold me and embrace me?
Or replace me?

Favourite songs

Tabloid Magazine, Who's Gonna Save Us, End of the World, One Said to the Other, Maitland Street, Putting You Down, Short Novice, So What, Hold Up, The Room

Worthwhile?

From the perspective of a wannabe pretentious music critic, it must be noted that Modern Artillery is a pretty simple album. So should we appreciate that there is beauty in simplicity? Or is it just dumbed-down? Actually, I really don't care either way! Because, despite a few flaws, over 70% of Modern Artillery's songs appear in my favourites list below. This makes it an excellent album in my book.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals- Live From Mars (disc 2)

This is the second disc of Ben Harper's massive double-album. (disc 1 review here)

Regular readers of this blog (hi, Mum!) might have noticed my procrastination posting a review of this 2nd disc. So maybe it isn't a surprise announcement that it's not to my taste at all. Best not read on if you're a Ben Harper fan...

The instrumental elements work well, but I'm not a fan of the vocal style. To me, it feels weak and defeatist, both in the words and their delivery. For example, Please Bleed sounds like a castrated Nirvana- curling up and crying in the corner rather than thrashing around in anger. Maybe this is more of a reflection of my preferred mode of misery than anything else!

The Drugs Don't Work is my most favoured song on this disc, but it's still faint praise. The Verve's original is such a fantastic song that this version is still enjoyable, despite Ben's vocal style.

Favourite songs

None, sorry.

Worthwhile?

Nope.