A CD retrospective - Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds

Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
In the land of the LP the album sleeve is king. And so it was with The War of the Worlds.
As a child I spent a lot of time going through my parents LP collection, picking out and listening to albums purely because of what was on the cover - we can all agree the artwork on this particular cover is magnificent.  As was the rest of the image in the pamphlet of artwork inside the sleeve.  I spent many evenings listening and looking - I think I made my dad (who it belonged to) dislike it a bit as I listened to it so much.

I never knew who Richard Burton (who narrates and plays the protagonist) was before this, and haven't heard a voice quite like it since.  It oozes eminence.  The rest of the cast isn't too shabby either, featuring Justin Hayward (Moody Blues) and Phil Lynott (I don't need to tell you who he is).

Musically it's not bad either, some extremely tidy studio-rock sprinkled with synth, strings and...other sounds, slightly experimental synth.  Some of the guitar tones sound like I could drink them.  I wish more music was written like this, it's tough to find albums that sound so rich - the bass guitar is particularly enjoyable throughout as the parts are often as neat and catchy as the main guitar lick.

As if that's not enough, it also made me more interested in science fiction - and that can only have been a good thing, am I right?

A CD retrospective - Because of the Times

Because of the Times by Kings of Leon

This is one of the albums I own that I purchased as soon as it came out.  Something that can probably only be said of about 10% of my collection.

Mr K had introduced me to the KoL with Aha Shake Heartbreak (which I'll talk about on another day), On Call had been getting some airplay and I'd heard it a few times - I was cautiously waiting for the album so avoided listening to it as much as I could.

Because of the Times isn't Aha Shake Heartbreak, it's not even similar - really.  There's still plenty to like about it.  KoL seem to stagger around and bump into music that sounds like other artists, and that keeps me interested.  I read a lot of negative press after the album came out saying Because of the Times was just KoL running out of imagination, running out of energy, or just stroking their own egos - I disagree with any such assumption, Because of the Times sounds like a band who are developing together.  

KoL also had a big reputation for drug/alcohol abuse - so maybe this is just what they're like sober.  Either way, I like it.  It's not like Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak were without any hint of derivation, completely original or devoid of obvious inspiration.

Highlights for me would be McFearless, Black Thumbnail and Arizona.  The last track in particular, because regardless of how basic it's composition is - I think it's auditory bliss.

A CD retrospective - The Music

The Music
I rather randomly stumbled upon The Music whilst browsing play.com for things to buy - I can't remember exactly why I bought an album of theirs but remember the album spiel mentioning Led Zeppelin and electronic rock, so I thought I'd give them a chance.  Very unlike me.

Their debut album is one of the best I've ever heard, and sits along side a very select list of albums I just need in my life.
It's powerful from start to finish, balancing solid guitar riffs with electronics that occasionally border on techno.  It's impressive to hear done so well, it helps a great deal that the bass and drums have their own distinct parts which aren't just background noise and are kept high enough in the mix to be interesting all by themselves.  I find it just as entertaining to focus on the drums and bass as I do the guitar, vocals and electronics.  Which makes it all the more satisfying when you really listen to them together.

There are plenty of high points in the album, take the long road and walk it is layered to perfection, the main guitar riff in the truth is no words just kicks arse, so does the way the bass follows it throughout the song (particularly pre-chorus), and the getaway has me bouncing off the walls it's so energetic.

It's seriously well crafted, and not since I realised how old the members of Led Zeppelin were when they recorded Dazed and Confused have I been so jealous of youth and talent.

A CD retrospective - Absolution

I ended my (drinking) dry spell today with a Punk IPA and an Auchentoshan. Nice.

I thought I'd do another album as I supped my scotch.

Absolution by Muse
I don't appreciate Absolution like I used to.  It represented more than music for a long time as one of about 4 albums Mr K suggested I listen to in the mid 00's.  They were in truth probably the most modern albums I'd listened to (and enjoyed) in almost a decade and Absolution was the first.
If I may...can I distract you with the cover? The man standing there has a long shadow cast, but the bodies supposedly floating above him are symmetrical and correctly proportioned - which would absolutely not be the case if the sun were casting a long shadow.
Yes, I did just write that.

Absolution is a bit boring these days, Matt Bellamy has a vocal which grates on me.  Maybe I over-exposed myself back then and it's my fault.  Butterflies and Hurricanes remains the highlight of the album, it stops 3 minutes in and a tremendous classical piano solo steals the show before the song starts again.  It actually cuts pretty poorly before the end of the piano and the start of the rest of the song, I'd not noticed before.
It's still a good album, a lesson in how good simple guitars with the right effect/distortion can rule the sound - especially if filled out with a bit of synth and dotted with operatic dynamism.
If nothing else Absolution (with the help of Mr K and Mr O) taught me how achievable making music like theirs was, with the right idea and the right approach it wasn't mystical or magical.

A CD retrospective - School's Out

If an authority figure in my life hadn't illegally taped someone else's Alice Cooper vinyl I might not have spent large parts of my childhood listening to them.

School's Out by Alice Cooper

Despite the song being the most well known (with possibly the exception of Poison) and despite being classic rock gold - the album that shares the same name is really very different from the raw 'I've stabbed the amp with a knife' style of early rock you'd expect if you'd just heard the title track.
It's somewhat orchestral, sometimes jazzy, and sometimes as musically theatrical as you can get (the final track is entirely instrumental and belongs in West Side Story).
The jazz/cabaret bass in Blue Turk is entertainment all by itself, and musically pretty far from Schools Out.  Alma Mater perfectly captures the feelings of relief and sadness I got from leaving school.
My favourite track is Public Animal #9, not least because the title seems confusing - I mean, why #9?...It has a punchy beat to kick it off, a piano starts the melody before some nice guitar licks get things moving properly. There's also a very catchy choral "Hey-hey-hey" that punctuates each line of the verse.

A CD retrospective - Through the windowpane

I got extremely bored this evening, and as it's still January I couldn't alleviate my boredom with alcohol.  So I decided to listen to another album and write about it.

Through the windowpane by Guillemots

I was on a flight from London Gatwick to Orlando a few months after this album came out.  It was one of the albums available in full during the flight.  One of my friends spent the entire 8 hour flight listening to it on a loop.  I listened to it once but wasn't really as receptive as I could have been - I don't think I was in the mood for it.
I was familiar with one song, Trains to Brazil.  It's a song I always associate with my friends, and is the sort of thing we can shout/sing at any opportunity - the first few lines at least.

During a spell of unemployment in 2008 I picked the album up and I was far more appreciative of it.  There's an unusual path the album seems to take, sometimes it's bouncing, energetic, sometimes the vocals are thick with despair - it's a bit of a ride.  The 5th track on the album "come away with me" feels a lot like a trippy interlude and seems to carry with it a change in style for the rest of the album.
The highlight of the album for me is the last track, São Paulo.  It's over 11 minutes and has a brilliant orchestral weight behind it and some clever arrangement - there are strings, brass, wind and percussion all swaying in the mix.
The reason it's my highlight is the finale, the whole album swells and calms throughout - and São Paulo is when everything just gets too much, it's a last attack - it fizzes up to a near cacophony and then dies away brilliantly.

A CD retrospective - Everything Must Go

Since Christmas I've been umm'ing and ahh'ing about buying myself something nice.  I looked at laptops, tablets (not the medicinal kind), acoustic guitars and stereos.  As you should have been able to tell by the title of this blog I decided to buy a new stereo.

A new CD player and some nice-ish speakers.

I did my research, carefully considered my budget and decided to purchase a Denon DM39 and a pair of Tannoy Mercury speakers from Richer Sounds (whose customer service is exemplary).

I carefully considered the best locations for my speakers, rearranged my desk and in anticipation of my purchase chose the first album I'd listen to on it.  Turns out I decided to listen to my first CD album.
Then I decided why not go through my CD collection (it's only small, maybe 100 albums in total) and write a bit about each one, I'm sure my feelings about some of them are quite different now.

So, first up.

Everything Must Go by The Manic Street Preachers

I'm going to have a hard time not being biased about this album, it's got such a weight of nostalgia associated with it.
The Manics were the first band I saw live (during their tour following this release) and I spent many, many hours in a cocoon of childhood with Mr K playing Amstrad CPC 464 or Spectrum whilst listening to it.

I always forget how many albums The Manics have released and I've got my favourites, but Everything Must Go is without a doubt their best.  According to the many documentaries I've seen about it - JDB learnt to sing properly for the album (it shows), and said the recording experience was idyllic.  High praise for producer Mike Hedges, and I've nothing but high praise for the album - even without my nostalgia tinted view I think it's flawless.

Even my 17 year old copy has been given new life by my new Hi-Fi.
Or at least it had been until I got 18 seconds into No Surface All Feeling when I had to take the CD out and give it a good wipe with my sleeve.

The whole album is pretty stand-out, but my stand-out tracks are:
A Design for Life
Enola/Alone
Further Away.