468 : Elton John : “Elton John”

Released: 1970
Label: DJM Records

So I’ve been away from the blog for a while, no excuses, let’s get back into it. I’m starting with one that I actually listened to a while ago, so I’m going by notes instead of actually remembering the album that well. We’ll see how it turns out.

Anyway, Elton John. It’s not like I came into this with no preconceived notions, like some of these albums I’ve reviewed. Like most people, I know a lot of hits by him and have a pretty clear idea of the Elton John style. Piano-driven rock ‘n’ roll/ballads, with a distinct “stomping” feel (I’m think of “Benny and the Jets” as the archetypal Elton John tune).

Which made listening to this, his self-titled album released early in his career, so strange. There’s a minimum of what I think of as typical Elton John songs, and a lot of really swords-and-sorcery, dungeons-and-dragons feeling stuff. “I Need You to Turn to” has a really medieval-sounding harpsichord, and ditto with “Your Song”‘s flute part. Going further into the album, he indulges in King Crimson-like prog rock bombast (“The Cage”) and faux-classical influences (“Sixty Years On,” “The Greatest Discovery”). Basically the cheese factor here is overwhelming; this is not a record that has aged particularly well.

However, there are a few piano-based songs that resemble his later and more famous works. And the hooks are definitely there throughout the album. Unfortunately, the arrangement choices make it hard to slog through as a listener in 2011; it definitely shows its age with a lot of late-’60s/early-’70s trends on display here. In the end, there are a couple of gems here but overall the album is hard to recommend.

Tags: elton john, rolling stone

469 : Public Image Limited : “Second Edition”

Released: 1980
Label: Warner Brothers

John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon formed Public Image Limited after the implosion of the Sex Pistols in 1978, and they went on to be considered one of the forerunners of the post-punk movement. Now, before I get into this review, I need to say one thing. Taken at face value, this album is absolutely awful. Repetitive bass and drums drone in the background while tuneless singing and random off-rhythm shards of guitar noise create a cacophony on top. I actually became alternately tired and angry during the course of listening to this musical mess. At one point during the song “Albatross,” vocalist Lydon sings “You are unbearable.” No, Mr. Lydon, you’re unbearable.

However, to judge this album by its melodic qualities is to completely miss the point. Rather, this is a recording designed to be thought-provoking and challenging to its listeners. And to that end, I have to begrudgingly give it some respect. I mean when you get past the fact that it sounds really bad, it’s kind of strangely interesting. Lydon’s off-key caterwauling and guitarist Keith Levene’s bizarre ugly rhythmless guitar noodling combines with the rhythm section’s consistent almost funk-like pulse to create something that really sounds completely unique. Listening to this album really does make you think about what makes music music.

But is it good? That’s a matter of opinion. I personally am not sure. While, as I said, I have a begrudging respect for a band that was really trying to do something different, in the end I would respect them a lot more if they did it while sounding good. In the end, I feel about this the same way I feel about the more extreme examples of performance art. Like a woman rubbing her own feces on herself while singing nursery rhymes; this music is sort of perversely interesting, but I don’t want to be around when it’s happening.

Tags: lydon, metal box, public image limited, rolling stone, second edition

470 : R.E.M. : “Document”

Released: 1987
Label: I.R.S.

R.E.M. … a band I never gave a real chance to. Maybe it was their artsy affectations. Maybe it was their echoes of post-punk influence. Maybe it was Michael Stipe’s weird looking head. Or maybe it was the fact that, in the ’90s, my tastes ran to the heavier end of the spectrum. For possibly all those reasons, I always considered them a band I wasn’t really into, and (inasmuch as it was possible) kind of just ignored them.

And now here we are at “Document,” R.E.M.’s commercial breakthrough. And it’s good. Really good. Everyone knows the singles “It’s the End of the World…” and “The One I Love”; and there are a ton of other high points, like the Hüsker Dü-influenced “Fireplace” and the hard-rocking “Lightnin’ Hopkins.”

There’s an anger here, as opposed to the melancholy I had heretofore associated with them, and it lends the songs a dark intense tone. The rock guitar riffs don’t hurt either. You can definitely hear the band bridging the gap between post-punk and grunge with this album, mixing hard rock guitars and fiery anger with new-wave gloom and doom.

Not every song on here is a hit, but there are enough high points to overshadow the low points. In short, an excellent effort from a young band in the ’80s that would go on to superstardom in the ’90s.

Tags: document, rem, rolling stone

471 : Echo and the Bunnymen : “Heaven Up Here”

Released: May 1981
Label: Rhino/Warner Bros.

To anyone who’s reading these posts: Don’t say I never did anything for you. Because I actually sat through this album so I could tell you about it. Twice even! Okay, so it’s not that bad, but it is pretty bad.

So Echo and the Bunnymen were a pioneering post-punk/new-wave band, and this was their most experimental album. Less concerned with hooks than on other albums, as the tracks progress they intently pursue gloomier and gloomier soundscapes. As I listened, I grew a sort of begrudging respect for the band, so singularly devoted as they are to atmospheric gloom and doom. You feel that they were really giving this terrible music their all.

And terrible it is indeed. It sounds sort of like a bad jam where there are good musicians involved but they’re really tired. And then a really terrible singer comes over afterward and just wails over the music with no ability to follow a rhythm or even really care about melody very much. The result is strange, dark, and unintentionally comical.

And monotonous. A few times I forgot I was listening, and multiple songs went by without notice. And I think that’s the worst thing about this album, in the end. For all its weirdness and attempt to be different, the songs are on the whole indistinguishable and boring. And that’s the worst insult you can give to any piece of music.

Tags: echo and the bunnymen, heaven up here, rolling stone

472 : Def Leppard : “Hysteria”

Released: 1987
Label: Mercury

I’d actually been sort of excited for this review, because I saw Def Leppard among a lot of stuff I didn’t really know or wasn’t into. I thought, sweet, some rock is coming up. I wasn’t totally familiar with the album, but I knew the hits (“Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Love Bites,” “Animal”) and figured it would at least be a fun listen, if not impressive.

Ugh, what a fucking snoozefest.

Here’s the thing. I knew that it’s poppy hard rock. I knew that it’s cheesy and inoffensive. I knew that Def Leppard were probably the lightest of the hair bands. However, spread out into album length; the plodding beats, “oh baby” lyrics, and faux-emotional guitar leads really wore on me. It just got so boring with the same beats, the same sound, the same melodies, with not much variation.

And, although I knew the album was on the light side, I wasn’t quite prepared for some of the schmaltz present here. “Armageddon It” has an intro that could be a Huey Lewis song, and it contains possibly the cheesiest solo ever put to wax. And the album-closing combo of “Hysteria”/”Excitable”/”Love and Affection” is a veritable cheese factory that could rival Vermont’s Cabot Cooperative.

This album’s biggest problem is perspective. In 1987, this kind of album was par for the course, and it must be said that Leppard are adept at creating memorable hooks. However, listening in 2011, its slothlike ballads and predictably soaring guitar leads just do not hold up.

Tags: def leppard, hysteria, rolling stone

473 : Coldplay : “A Rush of Blood to the Head”

Released: 2002
Label: Capitol

So… what’s goin’ on? I’ve been MIA for a couple months due to wedding-related activities, but I’m back and ready to return to demeaning the best albums of all time. Let’s go!

All right, so anyone who knows me is waiting for me to just shit all over this one. I’ve often listed Coldplay among my least favorite bands of all time, and for good reason. It’s boring slow music that got over-hyped, and that typically gets my seal of disapproval.

However, actually giving the band a listen, I found that my opinion was exactly the opposite. Granted, I am never going to listen to this band on a regular basis. Their music is slow, and low-key, and doesn’t really get me excited. However, as a budding songwriter, I was impressed with their surprisingly complex melodic sensibility.

And even more so, their ability to play many different styles convincingly. They tackle an old time country feel on “God Put a Smile on Your Face”; delve into ’60s psychedelia on “Daylight”; and ’70s hard rock on “Warning Sign.” Which was all the more surprising to me given that all of their singles I’ve heard were very standard U2-aping brit-rock.

Even the aforementioned singles, I ended up being impressed with despite myself; especially the overplayed “Clocks.” Yes it’s been played to death, and I was never a fan; but listening to it with an objective ear, it really is a fucking great track. The main piano motif is a great part, I love how the bass in the chorus foreshadows the outro, the whole song is really great. To my wife: Yes, this is me writing this. Yes, I’m giving Coldplay props. There’s no way around it; there is some good quality songwriting on here and I’ll give the devils their due.

Of course, there’s a reason why I’ve never really liked this band, and it’s the formulaic U2/Radiohead fanboyism. While the songs are well-written, stylistically they rely heavily on the plodding overwrought brit-rock sound. And I think that’s the real weakness of the album, that while the songs themselves are often very well written, the band fails to interpret them in a very dynamic way. As I mentioned earlier, they seem adept at pulling off different styles convincingly; unfortunately they choose to explore said styles very rarely, which leads to the album feeling very long despite its 11-track length. Overall, I was surprised at how much I liked “A Rush of Blood to the Head”; however, I do feel that there were many opportunities to be original that the band completely ignored.

I’m going to try to get back into the groove with these posts, so stay tuned. In the meantime, feel free to check out my wife’s new blog, “Vicky Bites.”

Tags: a rush of blood to the head, coldplay, rolling stone

474 : Otis Redding : “Live in Europe”

Released: 1967
Label: Volt

Legendary soul singer Otis Redding. The Olympia Theatre in Paris, March 1967. A concert that would be immortalized as Redding’s “Live in Europe” album. Listening to this live record, you can almost feel the electricity in the building as Redding tears into hits like “Respect,” “My Girl,” “Satisfaction,” and “Try a Little Tenderness.” The crowd is whipped into a frenzy, the singer’s vocals creating a feverish intensity in the upbeat songs, and wringing every last emotional drop out of the ballads. His voice seems perfectly tuned to enrapture his audience.

And, ultimately, that’s why for me this recording fails as an album. While Redding’s tendency to sacrifice melody for intensity in this record seems to have played out well live, it doesn’t play out as well on record. These songs are legendary, and I don’t feel that this concert document does them justice; with this kind of music, small vocal inflections and such are crucial, and those are pretty much steamrolled over here. I’m sure many will disagree with me, but I just couldn’t get into  this one.

Tags: live in europe, otis redding, rolling stone