|
Written by Liberty Hardy
|
|
Thursday, 27 March 2008 |
|
by The Fiery Furnaces
2003, Rough Trade Records
the sound: You never get a
second chance to make a first impression, and with its debut album,
“Gallowsbird’s Bark,” The Fiery Furnaces hit the ground running,
injecting its unique sound into the indie rock scene. On the album’s
first track, “South is Only a Home,” singer Eleanor Friedberger
talks/sings/chants the lyrics over her brother Matthew’s driving guitar
and drum beat, while in the background it sounds like someone’s kitten
is running across the piano. Eleanor actually sing-speaks the lyrics
over many of the songs, her smoky voice narrating the cacophony of
sounds that her brother supplies. Matthew’s guitar riffs and piano are
often accompanied by static, zips and whistles. “I woulda had a asthma
attack / If I seen the shark bite back,” Eleanor states in “Asthma
Attack,” a catchy number with bluesy guitar and a bass line that sounds
like someone is randomly grabbing the strings. “Tropical Ice-Land”
would make for the coolest Bacardi commercial ever, and “Bow Wow” has
the Quaaludy-feel of a theme to a ’70s sitcom. “Crystal Clear” includes
a thump to rival The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” plus the added
bonus of the chant, “Filthy, dirty, cloudy, muddy, messy, mucky,
crystal clear.”
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Liberty Hardy
|
|
Wednesday, 12 March 2008 |
|
by Barry Louis Polisar
1982 Rainbow Morning Music
the sound: When was the
last time you dug out a Raffi album from your childhood, not because
you were feeling nostalgic, but because it genuinely still rocked?
We’re going to assume probably never, because “Baby Beluga” is for
babies, and Raffi sounds like a cartoon dog’s sneeze. But Barry Louis
Polisar is a man with a name like a truck driver and an attitude to
match, and “Stanley Stole My Shoelace” is an album of catchy children’s
songs you can still get behind. Think of it as “Anarchy in the Pre-K.”
The only instrument featured on this album is an acoustic guitar. But,
because it’s a children’s album, it’s really more about the words than
the music. Polisar has a strong voice with a slightly nerdy timbre, and
he uses it not only for lead vocals, but also to provide “backup
singers,” who sound like a chorus of crazy housecats. He also changes
his voice, à la “Peanuts,” to sound severe or admonishing when singing
the part of grownups. It makes them sound dopey, which works, because,
as all kids know, grownups are stoopid.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Alan Chase
|
|
Thursday, 21 February 2008 |
|
by Weather Report
1971, Columbia
the sound: Weather Report was a classic
early jazz fusion band that featured the super-charged Rhodes electric
piano of Joe Zawinul surrounded by the driving grooves of drummer
Alphonse Mouzon and percussionist Airto Moreia, as well as the incisive
bass work of Miroslav Vitous and the probing soprano sax work of Wayne
Shorter. The group’s debut album is a rich palette of musical colors
and textures, beginning with “Milky Way,” a Zawinul-Shorter duet that
utilizes soprano sax, acoustic piano and subtle recording manipulation
to create an eerie, spatial sound. Later comes the pulsating samba
groove of “Seventh Arrow,” followed by the lovely rock influenced
ballad “Orange Lady.” The record closes with the straight ahead swing
of “Eurydice.” Due to the open mindedness of the musicians and their
spontaneous, collective approach, the overall sound is cohesive without
sounding sterile.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Liberty Hardy
|
|
Thursday, 07 February 2008 |
|
by Harry Nilsson
1972, RCA Victor
the sound: Not a single song on “Son
of Schmilsson” is similar to another. Nilsson had a most impressive set
of vocal chops, which he used to wail one minute and purr the next, and
the album utilized almost every instrument in existence, plus a few
that were improvised. The album opens with “Take 54,” a jazzy,
sax-laden number that starts with Nilsson bemoaning the loss of a girl
he was trying to impress (“I sang my balls off for you, baby”) and ends
with a bizarre bit involving a creepy voice spooking a snoozing sound
technician. Following that is the lovely tune “Remember (Christmas),”
in which Nilsson waxes poetic about the past to the tune of violins and
piano. Later on in the album, he spoofs the saccharine sweetness of
“Remember” by again playing the intro and then belching loudly as he
bursts into “At My Front Door,” a guitar-riddled rock song.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Matt Kanner
|
|
Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
|
by Spirit
1973, Epic Records
the sound: In the sleeve of
Spirit’s self-titled debut album, the playing time for “Mechanical
World” is listed simply as “very long.” Actually, it’s five minutes and
19 seconds, which, by modern standards, isn’t that long at all. But,
when it was released as a single in 1968, songs that lasted more than
five minutes were exceptionally rare. “Mechanical World,” which appears
as the second track on “The Best of Spirit,” has a bizarre stop-and-go
sound, with distant lyrics that seem to drift surreally in the
background. “Death falls so heavy on my soul,” Randy California sings.
Later, the song builds to a climactic guitar solo that echoes the peak
years of psychedelia. The greatest hits disc also includes some peppier
rock songs that reflect the band members’ California roots, but all the
songs are lyrically loaded with literary references and social
messages. Both are exemplified in “1984,” the ominous homage to George
Orwell’s masterpiece that warns of a bleak future. Songs like “Morning
Will Come” and “Aminal Zoo” have a more light-hearted hippie sound,
while “Nature’s Way” is striking in its soft, almost mournful
eloquence. Throughout, the disc showcases a tripped-out, experimental
sound that, at first listen, might now sound like standard ’60s
psychedelic rock.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Liberty Hardy
|
|
Thursday, 10 January 2008 |
|
by The Monkees
1967, RCA Records
the background: In 1965, NBC brought
together musicians Davy Jones, Mike Nesmith, Mickey Dolenz and Peter
Tork to act and perform on its new nightly sitcom, “The Monkees.” The
show was a comic take on a hip, funny, struggling band with a look and
sound somewhat similar to The Beatles. Based on the popularity of the
first season in 1966 and the obvious talent of the actors, The Monkees
began actually recording music, releasing albums and touring—and almost
immediately butting heads with NBC. The band released three albums in
1967, and by the time “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.”
was released in November of that year, it was obvious that the
television producers had lost their control over the band. Trying hard
to break free of its “pre-fab four” description, The Monkees injected
the album with a more California-hippie influence, reflective of the
band members’ surroundings and lifestyles. (Unlike The Beatles, The
Monkees never hid the fact that they did drugs and loved to rock the
paisley hard.)
the sound: Nesmith, who the producers had chosen to be
the mature leader-type of the show, embraced the role and became a more
prominent presence on “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” A
fan of Frank Zappa and Tim Buckley and a seriously talented guitarist,
Nesmith sings on a few tracks, a job usually reserved for Dolenz or
Jones. He lets loose with his twangy country-blues style in “Salesman,”
the album’s catchy first track, and “What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round,” a
sweet banjo-infused love song. “Star Collector” proves ahead of its
time, with Jones singing about a girl who fits the description of a
star whore way before the label of “stalker” was given to obsessed
fans. “Goin’ Down” showcases Dolenz’s talent for jazz scat singing,
which he went on to display more of on later albums, and “Peter
Percival Patterson’s Pet Pig Porky” gives Tork a chance to show … well,
that he’s just plain weird. Sure, there are still some poppy songs
about girls, but on “Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.,”
they have a trippier sound and the lyrics seem a bit naughtier. While
“She Hangs Out” has a chorus sounding much like a Beach Boys tune,
Jones sings of someone’s Lolita-esque sister, and “Cuddly Toy” is about
a girl being used and discarded, all while a piano plinks prettily in
the background. It’s fun and sinister.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Liberty Hardy
|
|
Thursday, 27 December 2007 |
|
by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones
1998, Mercury
the sound: Formed in 1985 in Boston, the
Bosstones heavily reflect the influence of earlier 2-tone ska bands,
such as The Specials, Madness and Bad Manners. Comprised of all the
usual band elements, plus horns, the Bosstones turn out songs that
large, tattooed men are unashamed to dance around to. On its own, a
Bosstones album is lots of fun, but you can’t beat a live performance.
Singer Dicky Barrett has a voice like a rock tumbler, and he knows how
to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Boston fans are the most voracious in
the country. They love their city, and they love to hear it mentioned
over and over again. Simple, fierce drumbeats accompany thick bass
lines while Barrett snarls poetic.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Liberty Hardy
|
|
Thursday, 13 December 2007 |
|
by Belly
1995, Warner Bros
the sound: Belly’s first album,
“Star,” was pop with a twinkly, fairy tale spin. The CD made Belly a
huge hit on college radio and MTV and earned the band two Grammy
nominations in 1993. “King,” released in 1995, has a more mature,
thicker sound. Where “Star” sounds haunting and plinky, “King” grinds
and kicks out catchy, jangly tunes. Gone are lyrics about dolls and
squirrels and demanding frogs—replaced with a feeling of raw sexuality.
“Where should I not touch? / What should I not kiss?” purrs lead singer
Tanya Donnelly. You get the sense that Donnelly has outgrown her baby
doll dresses and now uses combat boots to pin her love to the floor by
the throat while she sings to him.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Matt Kanner
|
|
Wednesday, 28 November 2007 |
|
by Rahsaan Roland Kirk
1997, 32 Jazz Records
the sound: Saxophonist Rahsaan
Roland Kirk was a man of truly rare musical talents. His exceptional
gifts included playing up to three saxophones at once, using circular
breathing techniques to hold interminable notes, and playing flute with
his nostrils. All of these feats can be heard on the three-disc box
set, “Dog Years in the Fourth Ring,” which consists of 33 live and
studio tracks, including original material and covers. The first disc
begins with Kirk’s distinctive voice describing a whistling ring—a
vivid illustration of his lifelong fascination with wind instruments of
all types. He plays flute on the first song, introducing his
indefinable style. Listening to the music on all three of the discs, it
is not surprising to learn that Kirk drew much of his inspiration from
dreams he had while sleeping. At times surreal, at others intensely
passionate, and at others nearly unlistenable, the sound belongs
exclusively to Kirk, an eccentric mad scientist of jazz. Although it is
difficult to compare him to any other musician, Kirk paid frequent
homage to his influences, covering songs like Count Basie’s “Lester
Leaps In” and John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.”
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Matt Kanner
|
|
Wednesday, 21 November 2007 |
|
by Genesis
1974, Atlantic Recording Corporation
the sound: In the
first line of Genesis’ seventh release, lead singer Peter Gabriel
recites the album’s title with a tense buildup that kicks off an epic
hour and a half of music. “And the laaamb … lies dooown … on
Broooaaadway,” Gabriel sings in the title track. The double disc album
consists of 23 songs, ranging in length from 30 seconds to eight
minutes, each characterized by mounting whirlwinds of sounds and words.
Alternating between instrumental noise experiments and inspired
progressive rock songs, the two-disc album tells the story of a young
man named Rael, ostensibly based on Gabriel, who is swept into a
bizarre and schizophrenic world of introspection. With dense lyrics
that, at times, acquire Tolkein-esque qualities, the narrator invokes
vermillion snakes, ravens and “slubberdegullions,” but also references
controversial figures from pop culture, such as Lenny Bruce, Marshall
McLuhan and Howard Hughes.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Matt Kanner
|
|
Wednesday, 24 October 2007 |
|
by John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola and Paco de Lucía
1981, Columbia Records
the sound: About two minutes
into this live album’s first song, “Mediterranean Sundance,” guitarist
Al Di Meola unleashes a torrent of acoustic notes that leaves the
audience reeling. Listening to the CD, stripped of the visual aid of
actually watching him pick the strings, it is difficult to fathom that
one man is producing such a rapid expulsion of notes on a normal,
six-string guitar. Trying to imagine Di Meola’s fingers as they race
across the frets is like picturing a humming bird flap its wings. One
audience member eventually lets out a whoop of approval, and several
others follow suit, as if emerging from a hypnotized stupor. When it
comes time for Paco de Lucía to take his turn in the spotlight, it
seems unlikely that he will be able to match his partner’s intensity.
But, de Lucía manages, galloping through a lengthy improvisation while
Di Meola provides punctuating rhythm support. By the time the song ends
and legendary fusion guitarist John McLaughlin takes the stage to join
Di Meola for a follow-up, the crowd is in a state of elation.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Matt Kanner
|
|
Wednesday, 10 October 2007 |
|
by Velvet Underground
1988, Mercury
the sound: The opening chords of “Ocean”
fade in slowly, like a rising tide creeping up the shore, but soon
swell into a turbid sea of entrancing music that works on you like an
opiate. Lou Reed’s vocals skim precariously over the surface, sometimes
off key, but always with a mundane clarity that draws listeners into
the forlorn substrate of his words. The tone continues through the
second track, “Pale Blue Eyes,” although the background music is
simpler and less ambient. Guitarist Sterling Morrison, drummer Maureen
Tucker and bassist Doug Yule later open the flood gates to unleash long
noise experiments in the middle of songs like “Sweet Bonnie Brown,”
“White Light/White Heat” and “I Can’t Stand It.” The second volume of
Velvet Underground’s 1969 live recordings sounds, at times, like a
1950s rock ’n’ roll band playing on a tour bus as it crashes into an
industrial park.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Alan Chase
|
|
Thursday, 27 September 2007 |
by Cold Blood
1973, Warner/Reprise Records
the sound: From the funky opening guitar riff that starts this
album, listeners find themselves drawn into the sounds of the East Bay
area of Oakland and San Francisco. The sound reflects the rich
diversity of the area—a soulful gumbo of funk, blues, gospel, Latin and
jazz. The grooving rhythm section of Raul Matute on keys, Michael
Sasaki on guitar, Rod Ellicott on bass and Gaylord Birch on drums blend
seamlessly with the powerful horns of Max Haskett and Peter Welker on
trumpet and Skip Mesquite on saxophone and flute, lending burning
support to the dynamic vocals of Lydia Pense. The ensemble carries
listeners on a joyously funky ride through six covers and one original
song. Several additional horn players and the Pointer Sisters on
background vocals add muscle to the well-crafted arrangements, which
include a straight-up funk version of Jerry Ragavoy’s “Baby I Love
You,” a lowdown groove on “Feel So Bad,” a soft bossa-nova version of
Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” a gospel-tinged
version of The Band’s “Sleeping” and a funked out version of Bill
Withers’ “Kissing My Love.”
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Liberty Hardy
|
|
Wednesday, 12 September 2007 |
|
Pacific Pictures—Asbury Park Productions & Sony Music
1992
the sound: Like most soundtracks, the songs on
“Fathers and Sons” run the gamut of emotions. There’s noise, pop, blues
and ballads. Welsh rockers The Manic Street Preachers had just appeared
on the scene when they contributed the second track, “Stay Beautiful,”
a jangly, three-minute guitar-fest that may actually document the
moment in time when the music world’s tastes shifted from Great White
to Stone Roses. Indy darling Juliana Hatfield makes us forget how she
was pining away for Evan Dando with “Yeh! Yeh,” a fun, poppy song about
hanging out on the couch with a boy.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Matt Kanner
|
|
Wednesday, 29 August 2007 |
|
by Brian Eno
1974, E.G. Records
the sound: The jerky, loping guitar
part that opens the first track on “Taking Tiger Mountain (By
Strategy),” by Brian Eno, introduces listeners to a bizarre auditory
experience. The song, like the rest of the album, manages to be poppy
and catchy while maintaining an unusual and, at times, downright weird
sound. The first track, “Burning Airlines Give You So Much More,” is
probably the most radio-friendly song on the record, with vocals that
seem to glide along like the jet described in its lyrics. The second
track, “Back in Judy’s Jungle,” sounds like something off of Pink
Floyd’s groundbreaking “Piper at the Gates of Dawn.” “The Great
Pretender” features a stalking intro, supplemented by delightfully
trippy background music, ending with a resonant chirping that continues
long after the other instruments have died down.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Matt Kanner
|
|
Friday, 17 August 2007 |
|
by Mahavishnu Orchestra
1999, Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
the sound: The
cover art on Mahavishnu Orchestra’s “The Lost Trident Sessions” paints
a fitting picture for the sound of the music on the disc. Jagged
lightning bolts cut through a brilliant reddish-purple sky to strike
the surface of dark mountain peaks. In the foreground, John McLaughlin
plays a double-necked guitar while the rest of his five-piece band jams
around him. The album is crammed with electrified instrumental tunes
that produce a celestial lightshow in the firmament of the listener’s
mind.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Liberty Hardy
|
|
Tuesday, 07 August 2007 |
|
by Faith No More
1992, Slash Records
sound: Infused with more
background noise and general weirdness (accordions, organs and ...
cheerleaders), the beats on Faith No More’s 1992 album, “Angel Dust,”
are harder, the distorted hooks catchier and Patton’s screeching longer
than on the band’s previous smash hit, “The Real Thing.” Patton’s voice
stands out among the gorgeous chaos. It’s like there are three Mike
Pattons performing on the album, sometimes at the same time: Dirty
Uncle Mike, who will hit on your girlfriend if you bring her by the
house; screechy Aunt Mike, who is on the verge of losing her calm at
any moment; and Cthulhu Mike, who shrieks like he’s being slowly
disemboweled.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Written by Matt Kanner
|
|
Thursday, 02 August 2007 |
|
by Frank Zappa and The Mothers
of Invention
1970, Bizarre/Reprise Records
the sound: The opening
drum beats and trumpet blasts on Frank Zappa’s self-produced 1970
album, “Weasels Ripped My Flesh,” sound like a rhinoceros charging into
a crowded circus tent. The song, curiously titled “Didja Get Any Onya?”
sets the pace for a recording that spans an amalgam of jaggedly
stitched-together styles, often in a deliberately mocking tone, fused
with collections of random and sometimes irritating noise.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Home
News
Features
Music
Film
Art
Literary
Food
Stage
Outside
All Stories
