Midlife Metal Crisis - Top Ten Heavy Metal Albums of the 1980's #5 Anthrax - Among the Living

Midlife Metal Crisis - Top Ten Heavy Metal Albums of the 1980's #5 Anthrax - Among the Living (1987)

Anthrax released their third album in 1987, catipulting them into the big four of Thrash of the 1980's (the other four being  Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth). They had already had an underground hit album with their previous effort - Spreading the disease and expectations were high for this by the New York outfit. We were not disapointed. It was preceded by the single I am the law, an ode to Judge Dredd from 2000AD, music didn't get any better than this and to top it off you could get 7" picture discs like this:

The sound on this is clean and straight up avoiding all the eighties production clichés, probably why it has aged so well. The singles (I am the Law and Indians) sound great and the opening title track still sounds epic. Caught in the Mosh captures the intensity of what it was like in those mosh pits when those thrash bands were playing. What Anthrax had that the other bands of the time didn't was a sense of melody. They could swing sharply from a hardcore shouty scream to quite a melodic chorus and back again and still sound sincere in their delivery. A real hard trick to pull off.

They would be accused of selling out the metal fraternity with how they looked, dressed and championed hip hop acts, they wore Bermuda shorts, def jam t-shirts and baseball caps no studs or bullet belts. They would invent Rap-rock on the throw away in-joke  B side of I'm the Man (later released on its own merit) and go on to set the standard with their collaboration with Public enemy on Bring the Noise. Leading the young and impressionable away from the metal road and into new areas of music.

Anthrax and Public Enemy

Guided by Voices - Human Amusements at Hourly Rates

Guided by Voices - Human Amusements at Hourly Rates

Robert Pollard was the driving force behind American underground champions Guided by Voices who can be reasonably described as pretty prolific during their time. Quality control however, was never on GBV's radar and their back catalogue can be a minefield for the newcomer or casual listener. Human Amusements at Hourly rates cherry picks the power pop, Beatles inspired psychedelic majesty of GBV on one cheap as chips disc. This really is a must own!

Neil Young-Decade

Neil Young - Decade

The decade in question is 1966 to 1976, arguably the best ten years of anyones career ever. this collection includes the hits, misses and unreleased tracks.compiled by the man himself and originally released as a triple album, Decade is the template for all box sets and anthologies to follow. There was a single Cd greatest hits release recently but it does no justice to the mans career.

The Doors - The best of the Doors

The Doors - The best of the Doors

Everybody goes through a Doors phase(do they still?). Mine was a result of the Oliver Stone film in 1991. I swallowed up everything, every album, Soundtrack and live box set. Then listening to An American Prayer, an album of Jim Morrison's poetry set to music by the Doors, you have what an alcoholic calls a "moment of clarity". God this is shit! Cringeworthy GCSE  poetry aside, the Doors did record some great tunes and they are all collected here in this 1985 set. All you need. Seriously.

Bob Marley - Legend

Bob Marley - Legend

Originally released in 1984, Legend all but ignored the early releases of the Wailers to concentrate on Bob Marley's later chart friendly output. I'd argue that you can discover the older stuff at your leisure, the immediate accessibility of Legend is what has contributed to almost 3 million copies sold in the UK alone. Legend is the party savor for the music snob, there is a pretty good chance you will find this at most house party's and there is normally little resistance to replacing whatever cheese is on the stereo.

Beastie Boys - The Sound of science

Beastie Boys - The Sound of science

This 1999 collection of Beastie Boys tracks features Greatest Hits, B sides and unreleased material. Sequenced together this double album fits perfectly and they even begrudgingly include tracks from the generally disowned Licence to ill Days. Altogether this is proof of the three shouty white blokes contribution to the Hip Hop Genre with great liner notes and artwork.

 

Neil Young - Le Noise

If the hype for this album stated it was just Neil, his guitar and a bunch of new songs and some old unreleased songs there would have been hordes waiting to pick it up. The fact that its just Neil Young a distorted electric guitar and a strange sonic sounding production by Daniel Lanois (previous works include: U2's The Joshua tree and Bob Dylan's Time out of Mind) led to shorter queues at the tills. There has been some good stuff written about this album and equally some terrible things, one critic called it unlistenable and the reviews on Amazon are of equally divided opinion. I think that after over 40 years of producing music the fact that a new release from Neil Young even divides his own fans is a great thing. I loved this album, his recent releases have been a little hit and miss for me but as soon as I played this I found it the most exciting thing he'd done since ragged glory or sleeps with angels. The songs stripped back to just a fuzzy guitar and echoey vocals highlight the strength of the song writing here with new tracks coupled with some older songs left unrecorded (the hitch hiker shares a verse with like an Inca from Trans).

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Neil Young

1. "Walk with Me" – 5:05


2. "Sign of Love" – 3:58


3. "Someone's Gonna Rescue You" – 3:29


4. "Love and War" – 5:37


5. "Angry World" – 4:11


6. "Hitchhiker" – 5:32


7. "Peaceful Valley Boulevard" – 7:10


8. "Rumblin'" – 3:39

Listen on spotify

Chris Bell - I am the Cosmos

As I rule I don't take film recommendations from my Daughter. She enjoys films like twilight and romantic comedies with Sandra Bullock or Jennifer Lopez in. so it came as a suprise to watch one that had slipped me by and was a genuine indie gem. Nick and Norah's infinite play-list is a pretty enjoyable coming of age kind of film with Michael Cera playing the agreeable teen that he always is (and no doubt is in real life) and is definitely worth a watch. The main draw for me was the soundtrack and over the opening credits it took me a while to realise that it was Chris Bells Speed of sound that was playing and the next day I returned to what is undoubtedly a lost gem of an album.

Chris Bell for those not in the know was one half of the songwriting partnership of Big Star. After the undisputed classic first album came out to across the wall rave reviews it tanked due to label problems and distribution issues. The band imploded, after all what was the point of writing a classic album if nobody listened to it or bought it. He left the band in true rock n roll style with tantrums and fisticuffs. He then spent the remainder of the seventies recording, touring and trying to get a record deal whilst struggling with depression and drug abuse until he was tragically killed on the brink of a come back in a car crash near his home in Memphis in 1978.

He released a 45 with 'I am the cosmos' and 'you and your sister' shortly before his death but the remainder of his recorded output remained unreleased until 1992 when a collection of his solo songs were released as 'I am the Cosmos'. There has since been an expanded, deluxe release of this with more demo's and alternative takes but remains an expensive purchase. Heartbreaking vocals and sparse guitar lines on the title track and 'look up' are highlights with 'you and your sister' getting no less than three different outings. His skills in the studio shine through on some of the tracks and although many are not the finished article the sense of a great talent lost stays with you at the end.

Track Listings
1. I Am The Cosmos
2. Better Save Yourself
3. Speed Of The Sound
4. Get Away
5. You And Your Sister
6. Make A Scene
7. Look Up
8. I Got Kinda Lost
9. There Was A Light
10. Fight At The Table
11. I Don't Know
12. Though I Know She Lies
13. I Am The Cosmos
14. You And Your Sister
15. You And Your Sister

Buy at Amazon

Badly Drawn Boy - Hour of the Bewilderbeast

My favourite album of the last decade was glaringly missing from all the 'best albums of the decade' yawn fests that I had scanned over toward the end of 2009. It is the Hour of the Bewilderbeast by Badly Drawn Boy (Damon Gough). Winner of the mercury music prize in 2000 (where he famously lost the cheque) and one of the most under rated albums of the last ten years. Featuring label mates Alfie and backed by Manchester band Doves on some tracks the album covers many genres with acoustic ballads reminiscent of Nick Drake(the shining), all out rockers(everybodies stalking and funky seventies disco rock (Disillusion). At first listen it is difficult ot pick up the flow as things drift along in a seemingly random order. After a few rewarding listens, everything clicks and makes sense.

He went on to soundtrack the film of Nick Hornby's - About a boy with similar creative flourish and some of his biggest hits. This however will always remain my favourite and one that I don't think he'll ever match.

Listen on Spotify

1. "The Shining" – 5:18


2. "Everybody's Stalking" – 3:39


3. "Bewilder" – 0:48


4. "Fall in a River" – 2:17


5. "Camping Next to Water" – 3:50


6. "Stone on the Water" – 3:58


7. "Another Pearl" – 4:27


8. "Body Rap" – 0:45


9. "Once Around the Block" – 3:44


10. "This Song" – 1:32


11. "Bewilderbeast" – 3:30


12. "Magic in the Air" – 3:43


13. "Cause a Rockslide" – 5:55


14. "Pissing in the Wind" – 4:19


15. "Blistered Heart" – 1:50


16. "Disillusion" – 5:19


17. "Say It Again" – 4:41


18. "Epitaph" – 3:50

The Beta Band - The three EP's

The three Ep's does exactly what it says on the tin. Released in 1998 it collection the the first 3 Ep's by the Beta Band, these being Champion Versions, The Patty Patty Sound and Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos. Each EP has quite a distinctive sound but together delivers one of the best albums of the 1990's. They never really had the success they deserved although they were name checked in John Cusacks High Fidelity film right before playing Dry the rain in his record shop, although he did call them the "Bay-ta Band" I often revisit this album, kick the arse out of it and then leave it for a while. Every time I return it's like being greeted by an old friend.

Champion Versions

"Dry the Rain" – 6:05
"I Know" – 3:58
"B + A" – 6:35
"Dogs Got a Bone" – 5:58

The Patty Patty Sound

"Inner Meet Me" – 6:20
"The House Song" – 7:15
"Monolith" – 15:48
"She's the One" – 8:21

Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos

"Push It Out" – 5:22
"It's Over" – 3:50
"Dr. Baker" – 4:08
"Needles in My Eyes" – 4:32



Listen on Spotify

Voice of the Seven Thunders - Voice of the Seven Thunders

Rick Tomlinson's previous incarnation Voice of the Seven Woods is regularly played in our house so when I found out about this new project release earlier in the year the expectation was pretty high. It doesn't disappoint, the eastern influenced acoustic tones of seven woods are cranked up to 11 to create a wall of sound that just gets better and better with each listen. Supposedly recorded in a couple of days with no real rehearsals its an astounding piece of work. Reminiscent of 70's psych rock with Pink Floyd and velvet underground influences, a very unique sound. You can listen to samples and buy straight from the Tchantinler website.

1. Open Lighted Doorway 0:15
2. Kommune 3:41
3. Out of the Smoke 2:16
4. Third Transition 0:28
5. The Burning Mountain 2:59
6. Dry Leaves 3:35
7. Dalälven 3:24
8. Cylinders 7:00
9. Set Fire to the Forest 8:35
10. Disappearances 3:01



Listen on Spotify

Voice of the Seven Thunders - Voice of the Seven Thunders

Rick Tomlinson's previous incarnation Voice of the Seven Woods is regularly played in our house so when I found out about this new project release earlier in the year the expectation was pretty high. It doesn't disappoint, the eastern influenced acoustic tones of seven woods are cranked up to 11 to create a wall of sound that just gets better and better with each listen. Supposedly recorded in a couple of days with no real rehearsals its an astounding piece of work. Reminiscent of 70's psych rock with Pink Floyd and velvet underground influences, a very unique sound. You can listen to samples and buy straight from the Tchantinler website.

1. Open Lighted Doorway 0:15
2. Kommune 3:41
3. Out of the Smoke 2:16
4. Third Transition 0:28
5. The Burning Mountain 2:59
6. Dry Leaves 3:35
7. Dalälven 3:24
8. Cylinders 7:00
9. Set Fire to the Forest 8:35
10. Disappearances 3:01



Listen on Spotify

The birth of Surf - Various Artists (Ace records)

Ace records do a fantastic job of collecting the best of instrumental surf classics. If you know nothing of the genre then this is the place to start. My first brush with reverb soaked surf classics was when Quentin Tarantino laced his Pulp Fiction (arguably one of the best films ever made) with a number of surf classics. Some of Tarantino's choices are on this collection The lively ones Surf Rider and the Tornadoes Bustin Surfboards. The real treats however are the ones you have never heard Eddie Duane and the rebels, Johnny and the hurricanes and other wonderfully named bands from the late fifties early sixties. Of course which surf album would be complete with out the Surfaris Wipeout and the king of surf guitar Dick Dale and the over used Misirlou.

Wet suits are of course optional.

1. Ramrod - Eddy, Duane & The Rebels
2. Crossfire - Johnny & The Hurricanes
3. Bulldog - Fireballs
4. Moon Dawg - Gamblers
5. Lullaby Of The Leaves - Ventures
6. Mr Moto - Bel-Airs
7. Jack The Ripper - Wray, Link & His Ray Men
8. Latin'ia - Sentinals
9. Bustin' Surfboards - Tornadoes
10. El Toro - Surfmen
11. Miserlou - Dale, Dick & His Del-Tones
12. Pipeline - Chantays
13. Wipe Out - Surfaris
14. Surf Rider - Lively Ones
15. Latin Soul - Original Surfaris
16. Jezabel - Illusions
17. Baja - Astronauts
18. Earthquake - Aki Aleong & The Nobles
19. Beaver Patrol - Blazers
20. Squad Car - Eddie & The Showmen
21. Fibreglass Jungle - Crossfires
22. Gypsy Surfer - Avantis
23. Let There Be Surf - Chevells
24. El Gato - Chandelles
25. Penetration - Pyramids
26. Surf Creature - Hafner, Bob

There isn't a preview of this buit you can get it through Amazon

Neil Young - Trans

There is a lot said about Neil Young's 1982 experimental album Trans, some good, some bad. I can imagine his fans taking the record home one sunny day in 1982 putting it on and thinking "what the fuck is this?". The electronic theme of the album is carried through with synthesizers and vocoder affected vocals in a majority of the tracks. Listening to it now it does sound rather dated but there is magic there that shines through. One of the things I admire the most about NY is his desire to try new things and experiment and this is one of his most famous experiments. The pretty standard opener Little thing called love lulls you into a soft rock sense of security before the synth heavy track computer age brings you up to date and the feminine sounding vocoder vocals take you straight back to the eighties. The vocoder heavy track transformer man and the classic sample and hold are fantastic. I read once on a classic rock blog about someones hatred for the electronic version of Mr Soul included on the album. I don't know what he's talking about for me it's the definitive version.

Although the most eighties thing about Trans is probably the album cover.

"Little Thing Called Love" – 3:13
"Computer Age" – 5:24
"We R in Control" – 3:31
"Transformer Man" – 3:23
"Computer Cowboy (aka Syscrusher)" – 4:13
"Hold On to Your Love" – 3:28
"Sample and Hold" * –  8:03
"Mr. Soul" – 3:19
"Like an Inca" * –  9:46

The Joy Formidable - A balloon called moaning

Technically a mini album with eight tracks self released from their website through Pure Groove records the Joy Formidable are building up quite a following with their amazing live performances. A new album is due out this year but in the mean time get your hands on this independent classic before they are household names. A three piece from Wales fronted by Ritzy who is one of the best guitarists I've seen in Years. Spiky pop punk with big choruses great riffs. At the moment you can download three of the best tracks off this album Cradle, Whirring and Austere for free from their website.

1. "The Greatest Light Is the Greatest Shade"   5:20
2. "Cradle"   2:47
3. "Austere"   3:05
4. "While the Flies"   3:41
5. "Whirring"   3:34
6. "9669"   2:49
7. "The Last Drop"   3:25
8. "Ostrich"   4:37

On Itunes

Embryonic

Flaming lips - Embryonic was released late last year and was as far removed from the critically acclaimed albums of soft bulletin and Yoshimi battles the pink robots as they were from the early lips albums. The guardian ran an article  asking if the lips had released a career killing album? It is hard work sometimes and I'll admit that it's not background music but when you are in the right frame of mind and open to the different sounds it is a glorious thing. Long live the lips.
Convinced Of The Hex
The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine
Evil
Aquarius Sabotage
See The Leaves
If
Gemini Syringes
Your Bats
Powerless
The Ego's Last Stand
I Can Be A Frog
Sagittarius Silver Announcement
Worm Mountain
Scorpio Sword
The Impulse
Silver Trembling Hands
Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast
Watching The Planets



Listen on Spotify

Bruce Springsteen and the E street Band - Live 1975 to 1985

It's a little strange that the first Springsteen album I bought was a second hand 3 cassette live box set in about 1987. I wasn't really drawn to him as I was currently only interested in heavy metal and what I had heard was his mid eighties Born in the USA phase which had to many keyboards in for my 13 year old liking. In the end it was because nothing else took my fancy that week in the second hand shop and this box set looked great value for £6 or whatever it was. My introduction to the boss is still where I recommend people to start. Its now a 3 disc set and is just awesome. Spanning early dates and ending with stadium filling eighties commercial peak dates.

Disc 1

"Thunder Road" – 5:46
"Adam Raised a Cain" – 5:26
"Spirit in the Night" – 6:25
"4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" – 6:34
"Paradise by the "C"" – 3:54
"Fire" – 2:51
"Growin' Up" – 7:58
"It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" – 4:39
"Backstreets" – 7:35
"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" – 10:00
"Raise Your Hand" (Steve Cropper/Eddie Floyd/Alvertis Isbell) – 5:01
"Hungry Heart" – 4:30
"Two Hearts" – 3:06
Disc 2

"Cadillac Ranch" – 4:52
"You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" – 3:58
"Independence Day" – 5:08
"Badlands" – 5:17
"Because the Night" (Springsteen/Patti Smith) – 5:19
"Candy's Room" – 3:19
"Darkness on the Edge of Town" – 4:19
"Racing in the Street" – 8:12
"This Land Is Your Land" (Woody Guthrie) – 4:21
"Nebraska" – 4:18
"Johnny 99" – 4:24
"Reason to Believe" – 5:19
"Born in the U.S.A." – 6:10
"Seeds" – 5:14
Disc 3

"The River" – 11:42
"War" (Barrett Strong/Norman Whitfield) – 4:53
"Darlington County" – 5:12
"Working on the Highway" – 4:04
"The Promised Land" – 5:36
"Cover Me" – 6:57
"I'm on Fire" – 4:26
"Bobby Jean" – 4:30
"My Hometown" – 5:13
"Born to Run" – 5:03
"No Surrender" – 4:41
"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" – 4:21
"Jersey Girl" (Tom Waits) – 6:30



Listen on Spotify

Eels - End Times

Everything was beautiful and free...in the beginning

End Times is the 8th Studio album from the Eels and the second release in 12 months as Mark Everett AKA E goes through a creative lo fi high point. The latest offering charts the breakdown of his marraige and is a deeply personal record. So personal in fact that he is refusing to do interviews about the album and on rare promotional appearances hasn't played anything off it. The break up theme is consistent through out and the way it's dealt with in a manner befitting someone who has lived, loved and lost a number of times. Highligths a re a line in teh dirt and little bird. I read on an Eels fan blog that the sooner E gets out of his basement and into a studio the better but I would completely disagree, this prolific period is yield some fantastic stuff (see Hombre Lobo). E may never get the recognition he deserves as an artist but you only have to look at his output over the last 10-15 years and name another artist who has delivered as consistently.

Listen on Spotify.

Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen we are floating in space

The first thing that strikes you about the 1997 masterpiece that is Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen we are floating in space is the package it is delivered in. Packaged in a pill box and boasting a prescription sticker, the cd itself in a plastic pill blister to be popped open and the instruction booklet listing the benefits and Side effects of Spiiritualized. "Spiritualized is used to treat the heart and soul."

Once popped the album itself is one of those defining albums of a time. The history of this album is almost as famous as the packaging with Spiritualized's Jason Pierce and Kate Radley forming two sides of Brit indie love triangle with the Verve's Richard Ashcroft. The pairs break up resulting in an album that is a genuinely astounding piece of work. The opening track Ladies and gentlemen builds layers of vocals and orcestration, the recent reissue finally has the elements of Elvis Presley's Can't help falling in love with you added. The twelve tracks on the album include hazy pop songs, psych rock and distorted orchestra's and in some places are far from an easy listen. As the closing track Cop shoot cop ends a mere 17 minutes after it started you feel deeply affected. By what, depends on you. Ladies and Gentlemen we are floating in space is the answer to those that say modern music is not an art form.

Listen on Spotify.

Wall of Sound

A recent sort out and retreaval of my CD collection from the loft has brought with a reappraisal of my music collection. I have been sifting and sorting, selling and trimming, relistening and reloving. I have collected music since 1986 in all various formats over the years, records, tapes, minidiscs, Compact discs. I've even dabbled with buying MP3's if I know for sure that there isn't a physical format available. Hopefully I shall be revisiting them all at some point and if I find the time and inclination I shall scribe a few words about them here.