This is it, the first real landmark number, album number fifty. This marks that I am now 1/20th of the way though the 1001 project and aside from the occasional hyperventilation and headaches this has thus far been relatively painless. Personally it is a surprise that I made it past one month let alone to fifty albums, it makes you wonder why certain projects just fall flat after a few starting hurdles (and let’s face it there were a few of those in the early stages of this blog) while others really do have staying power. Maybe it’s because there have been some definite surprises and discoveries that have been made and as such has further cemented my love for music whilst simultaneously shaping my opinions. If that is truly the case then I can think of no artist more apt for this landmark number than Bob Dylan.
My experience of Bob Dylan previous to Bringing It All Back Home boils down to the album I have previously reviewed, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, and Modern Times which I gave a go two years ago and gave up after listening to two tracks. So my knowledge of his music was nothing if not underwhelming and rather different. This is why I can always appreciate when I hear a familiar track or two on his albums as it makes me feel more musically savvy than I am in reality.
When stacking up Bringing It All Back Home against The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan there is no contest for me, the former is better and here’s why. There has been a considerable improvement in his guitar and harmonica playing abilities, ok the voice hasn’t really got any better but I guess that’s part of his charm. Also there is a progression in the arrangement in the first half of the album with him employing a actual backing band, with there being an acoustic second half. It won’t take much to guess which of these halves I preferred.
That isn’t to say that the acoustic half isn’t good though, as Mr. Tambourine Man is by far the best song on the album and a bit reminiscent of the older Bob Dylan material, but the first half marks a new step in his sound. He continues with his self-named tracks in the form of Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream which is in essence a random surrealist flight of fancy regarding the discovery of America by a fictional character reminiscent to Captain Ahab from Moby Dick (here named Captain Arab).
Also worthy of mention, not just because it is one of ’those’ songs, is Subterranean Homesick Blues. This quick-fire opener is one of the reasons that you can tell that this is a step forward from his previous incarnation as the voice of acoustic folk rock protest. Here he still has some of the lyrics that one would come to expect from him but this time it is executed in a far smarter way by giving it the sheen of a fast-paced folk-rock number whilst still throwing in references to causes and struggles. The same can be said for Maggie's Farm, which was later used by protesters against Margaret Thatcher, as this once again utilises a hook and more fast-paced blues structure whilst still maintaining the heart of protest.
In the end Bringing It All Back Home is a very apt name for this album for as an artist this marks his maturation and his ability to tie all the loose ends together to make a cohesive album. With the exception of the overly long It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) this is a consistently long album which makes me look forward to the albums of his to come which are considered his masterpieces.
8.0/10
Fab Four:
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Maggie’s Farm
Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream
Mr. Tambourine Man
Let’s have a quick recap of the genres that have been covered so far. In no particular order we have had: jazz, blues, r&b, rock n’ roll, soul, pop, bossa nova, African music, folk, country and chanson. Not too bad a selection so far bearing in mind that not even 50 albums have yet reviewed, with the landmark occurring tomorrow. I like to think that through the meandering through these different genres, whether they be live or not, that I have been fair to each and every album without being that prejudiced. With that in mind it is time to add one more genre to the list with Here Are The Sonics being the first true punk album on the list.
When most people think of punk, myself included, it is hard not to first envisage the contorted face of John Lydon as he screams along to Anarchy In The U.K. Either that or the punk-pop, in the forms of Green Day and Sum 41, that pepper the airwaves. Well all of these acts have The Sonics to thank for the birth of punk, an act who went quickly into obscurity.
Punk isn’t a genre I can usually savour, Green Day’s American Idiot is usually as far as I go and that really isn’t punk, and I will also grant you that Here Are The Sonics isn’t true punk either. However, what we have here is what is referred to as protopunk meaning that these are the roots from which all future punk, whether it be Patti Smith or Blink-182, are derived from. As such this contains many elements of contemporary music, including many covers of rock n’ roll and blues standards, but the arrangements are now different. The music is louder, the lead singer screams, the drumming is primal and the guitars are almost turned up to 11.
What The Sonics have here is the makings of a very good album, the thing that lets it down are the covers, with some of these songs such as Roll Over Beethoven, Money and Good Golly, Miss Molly having all been on a few previous albums. While the first two of these aren’t songs I particularly like I can say with ease that their transition to protopunk isn’t an easy one with these covers sounding flat and uninspired. I draw special attention to Walkin’ The Dog where the incessant whistling got very old very quickly.
The real strength of the album lies entrenched in the original material, a particular favourite of mine being Strychnine. These are the songs where The Sonics are truly able to express their abilities as a band. These songs are bizarre and allow for the animalistic parts of the band to come out to shine. The opener of The Witch is a fantastic example of this random guitar solos, screams and all.
Personally, an album that greater embraced this primal side of the band without having to please the record company with the more mundane covers would have been greater appreciated. This is a band that really showed such great potential but with members running off to university this band died an early death which is a real shame. I guess I shall have to find solace in the punk children that I will encounter. Apart from John Lydon… I draw a line at him.
7.0/10
Fab Four:
The Witch
Do You Love Me
Boss Hoss
Strychnine
In Other News: Happy Birthday to me ^^
For the purposes of this review I would like you to use your imagination to put yourself in the shoes of Mr. Jerry Lee Lewis. This is just a little exercise in creative thinking that I would like to do. Right, your career is in tatters since you married your 13 year-old cousin and you have been essentially black-listed on the radio in your native country of America with your tour dates in Britain all being cancelled right before your eyes. Ok, while it can be appreciated that this is a very unusual set of circumstances this is exactly what happened to today’s artist. So what did he do? He went underground and made a highly influential live album.
His voice may sound like a more countrified Elvis but make no mistake ladies and gentlemen, what we have here is the second true rock n’ roll album on this list. This may be a big claim seeing that this is a genre that has appeared years ago in the guises of Elvis Presley and The ‘Chirpin’ Crickets but this is one I will stand by completely. Which was the other album I hear you ask? Well that honour belongs to none other than Here’s Little Richard which I reviewed well over a month ago. But why is Live At The Star Club, Hamburg a true rock n’ roll album while the first two I mentioned are simply pale imitations? Well this is a relentless live rock n’ roll extravaganza that immediately grabs your attention, shakes you around, might steal your wallet, place you back down and then makes you beg for more.
There is no point during this album where you are not in awe of the amazing piano-playing and general performance ability of Jerry Lee Lewis, as the voice is where the similarities to Elvis end. That and the fact that he tries his hand at some Elvis standards such as Hound Dog where he not only raises the bar but well and truly shows how this should be done.
As most of my reviews may have stipulated it is when albums go saccharin that I lose interest and start barraging my laptop with insults (see: Elvis Is Back!). But none of these qualms plague this album, in fact the almost complete absence of ballads is probably where Live At The Star Club, Hamburg derives it’s greatest strength for there is no real point where the momentum comes to a crashing halt. In fact this momentum just carries on throughout the entire run through the album leaving the listener breathless, so lord knows how either the audience, Jerry Lee Lewis or his backing band The Nashville Teens were able to cope with it.
If I were to pick out the highlight tracks of this album I think that the honour falls to the first two tracks of both vinyl sides. All four of these tracks (Mean Woman Blues, High School Confidential, Great Balls of Fire and Good Golly, Miss Molly) summarise brilliantly why this album succeeds, fire. There is such a passion in the performance of Jerry Lee Lewis that this has now eclipsed that of Sam Cooke's Live At The Harlem Square Club who I was highly phrasing not too long ago. Don’t feel too bad for Sam Cooke for this quick taking for the crown for he was all too quick to grab the highest rated album title from Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift For You.
I may be talking around in circles, I blame my cold, but this album is really that good. May in fact be the best live album that I have ever encountered. Maybe I am getting softer on the ratings as I go along, or maybe the albums really are getting better. As after a long list of albums where none have been given a full rating here is the third one in a short spate of time to garner such a rating. This is well worth it. It makes you want to dance even when you have a horrid cold that makes you dream about being stranded at an airport. I should know, that’s my current position.
10.0/10
Fab Four:
Mean Woman Blues
High School Confidential
Great Balls Of Fire
Good Golly, Miss Molly
While this entry is happily published the on the usual weekday following on from The Rolling Stones it is actually the best part of a week since I reviewed the previous album. Upon the conception of this blog I actually decided to do a large bulk of these reviews before I actually started publishing for the sheer reason that there are times where I would be unavailable to review the album, in this instance I was in The Netherlands visiting my boyfriend. The reason that I am mentioning this is that this review may not have the same flow as usual for this reason. For those who are interested as to how far ahead I am, the last review that has actually been published as I am writing this was Joan Baez’s album back at the dawn of the sixties.
There are certain times with this list that you can just tell that the majority of those deciding what has made it onto the list are American. This isn’t necessarily a criticism as the US is the largest exported of music, with the UK being second and Sweden being the third (yes that fact surprised me too). This isn’t to say that other voices can not be heard in the production of this list with Jacques Brel’s A L’Olympia 1964 being an example of this. However I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail is definitely one whose influence that could be deemed as solely-American. The reason for this, as I mentioned in a previous review, is the lack of country music success outside of the Americas. Since this is still a booming genre selling tens of millions of records a year the presence of such albums on this list is definitely understandable.
With the only apt reference of comparison, regarding to albums that I have thus far reviewed, being a mixture of Ray Price’s Night Life and Marty Robbins’ Gunfighter Ballads… I do find it hard to hard to find the need to say more about this album. This album takes the emotive ability of Ray Price and combines it with the musical styles of both the artists I mentioned before. As such this is a good album and is actually the first time that I have heard an echo of two artists that I know very well. The first of this is Emmylou Harris where such songs as Cryin’ Time resonated much like her work does, the other of this is a brief resemblance to the Robert Plant & Alison Krauss album Raising Sand. While the mentioning of such an album may be seen as a cop out, as the presence of Robert Plant actually made it more socially acceptable to listen to a country album in Britain, there are certainly echoes here. I am sure then when I tackle the works of Dolly Parton and Bonnie Raitt that more similarities will be rendered apparent.
One feature that is definitely worthy of note are the songs If You Fall Out Of Love With Me and The Band Keeps Playin’ On. In my opinion it is these slower songs that border on the edge of maudlin and almost saccharin that test how good an artist is. While lesser ones would make this sound whiney and depressing you have Buck Owens here who is able to walk the tightrope and make these songs very emotionally provocative without jumping into the deep-end. This isn’t to say that I can not appreciate the faster and more fun songs, as when it comes to country it is these that are my favourites and this album has it’s own fair share of them. The top ones here are Trouble and Me and Wham Bam both of which are toe-tapping and just make you want to smile.
Yes it is true that I do not have the greatest knowledge of country music but with albums like this being peppered around it makes me glad to think that I am getting some form of education in this area.
8.0/10
Fab Four:
Trouble And Me
Wham Bam
If You Fall Out Of Love With Me
The Band Keeps Playin’ On
On this list as a whole it is interesting to note the sheer volume of debut albums. So what is really that special about the debut albums? In some cases, such as PJ Harvey’s Dry, it is an album that is composed of tried and tested material that have been shown to gain the rapture of the crowd and so have earned their place. In other cases, such as Britney Spears’ …Baby One More Time, the album marks the start of an icon and as such it is included for the sake of posterity and as a means to gaze back at the origins of an artist. In the case of the debut album of the Rolling Stones, with the ever creative eponymous name, I do believe that a little bit of both may be in operation.
Coming from such a modern perspective and with very little knowledge of The Rolling Stones the type of album that this turned out to be was a great surprise. While I am obviously aware that you can not immediately go from the music of The Everly Brothers to (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in one fell swoop the different genre that was present on The Rolling Stones was astounding. While it is true that there are many remnants of sixties style rock n’ roll here the dominant feature here are blues covers. The reason for all these blues covers? Well this was material that had worked for them on the road and it does make some modicum of sense for the album to be as such. Also there were some apparent insecurities when it came to when it came to the quality of the Stones’ self-penned songs, although three of them managed to make their ways onto the album.
In my head one of the major reasons that The Rolling Stones made it onto the list is the icon-factor. When I judge this in relation to other albums that I have encountered thus far, especially the blues ones, there is definitely a progression in sound. The blues covers on here are louder, rawer and far more aggressive than any of the rock ‘n roll songs thus far. In such a way this album has already earned the kudos that should be required to be put on this list. But in the wake of such experimentation how does the album sound?
The old cliché hit and miss appears to be the best way to describe this album. There are occasions where this different approach works, with the opener Route 66 and Little By Little being examples of this. However these are almost in complete balance with songs such as I Just Want To Make Love To You where the attempt to sound revolutionary just sounds clumsy and a bit of a mess.
When rating this album I can not take into account how influential their later material is. As such this is, according to my scale, deserving of a middling rating. Also to take into account are that there are many sparks of what is to come on here, in the end they will just home their craft and I am sure that the next album of theirs that I have to review, Aftermath, will be a far better one which will garner a higher rating.
5.5/10
Fab Four:
Route 66
Now I’ve Got A Witness
Little By Little
Can I Get A Witness
Right, after the sheer annoyance factor that was Solomon Burke’s Rock ‘N’ Soul it is now time to shift the focus onto the next album. With the appearance of A Girl Called Dusty it is surely of note that this is the first album since Miriam Makeba’s eponymous album. That’s a total of 19 albums which equals about 4-5 years! Such a figure just makes the appearance of this album all the more remarkable, especially since it’ll take another 30 albums until I reach the next one. So considering this musical landscape that she inhabited, as well as spearheading the female contingent of The British Invasion, it is clear that Dusty Springfield is not to be taken lightly.
With all that being said what we have here may in fact be one of the first acclaimed female voiced pop albums as we would recognise it by today’s standards. Tracks on here range from breezy to power ballads all with the subtle tinge of soul and Motown. So while she was obvious an impressive woman to be able to get her foot in the door it is nice to know that there was a more playful side that was able to be show in tracks like Mama Said while maintaining the artistic prestige on Anyone Who Had a Heart. While she is also noted as being the voice that has become associated as the inspiration for the likes of Duffy it is fair to say that when it comes to this that there is no need to accept any imitations. Especially when they choose to caterwaul quite a few of their album tracks.
While I am quite aware that Dusty In Memphis was meant to be her masterpiece I would have to admit that this album comes mighty close to that status. In A Girl Called Dusty there are a nice variety of songs, granted they are all covers, but still there is plenty of variation in the material that she has decided to include. This is rather refreshing for this era, something which is now expected of major artists, since major albums could be made with little variation around the theme. An example of this in the albums that I have reviewed are the Frank Sinatra ones where both of them have an agenda as specifically specified in his titles and he rigidly sticks to them. Dusty, however, is here standing on her soapbox in her high-heels (due to being 5’3’’) and is proclaiming to the world that there is now a woman on the scene and she can play this pop-game better than any of the boys.
The production values here are also something to be noted. The productions here resemble Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound technique but are slightly muted in comparison as a means to completely showcase Dusty’s vocals. This can be witnessed on Will You Love Me Tomorrow where she sings as clear over layers of stings, percussions and backing singers.
This is an album that is truly knee-deep in classic songs. I would actually challenge anyone to go through this album and not recognise at least 3 songs from this, my personal count was six. When you listen to songs like Wishin’ And Hopin’ and Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa then consider that this was actually a debut album this effort becomes so laudable. This is also not touching upon the lyrical gymnastics that she appears to perform here that veer from one end to the other. Through looking at the song choices her on this album the image that is portrayed is a proto-feminist who will not be tied down and demands to be treated as she would want to treat her partner and as such remain her own woman (You Don’t Own Me) while still advocating smothering your lover with affection to show that you care (Wishin’ And Hopin’). Not so bad for a girl called Dusty is it?
With the listening of Sam Cooke’s Live At Harlem Square Club the bar was well and truly lifted, and Dusty doesn’t only clear this bar but she pole-vaults clearly over it. This is definitely the best album that I have listened to on this list. This is not only because of the sheer versatility of the artist but the guts for her to include such a song as You Don’t Own Me on a debut release and live to tell the tale. Not only that but have a long and successful career that resurfaced again and again with the help of contemporary artists such as The Pet Shop Boys. She was the dawning of a new breed of female artist, and it took 4-5 more years for the repercussions to be well and truly felt in the music business. Dusty Springfield, I salute you.
10.0/10
Fab Four:
You Don’t Own Me
Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa
Anyone Who Had A Heart
Wishin’ And Hopin’
Right, it’s midnight and I am slightly peckish so please excuse me that when I saw the album’s title Rock ‘n’ Soul I envisaged a great big steaming plate of fish and chips. Maybe it had one of those little china cups with tartar sauce on the side and was garnished with a lemon wedge. Anyway, we are not here to discuss my random food fantasies and if I have made you hungry I apologise greatly.
When it comes to writing the reviews the best albums that you get to write about those are either the very good ones or the very bad ones. It is in these albums where you can let your creativity flow and truly construct a great verbal account on the pros and cons and hopefully stimulate some form of debate. Naturally of course the worst type of album is one where little to no impression can be formed. This is ok on some albums as the artist is well known enough to you that you can talk about their other works, however for an unknown to the writer this makes the task irrevocably harder. This is the case with Solomon Burke’s Rock ‘N’ Soul.
It is very hard for me to describe how I feel about this album apart from the fact that it made thirty-two minutes completely drag. This is one chore of an album to make your way through. I do not actually understand why this appears on the list for there are many better albums that I have already encountered that make a better use of the rhythm and blues genre so I can not imagine it having as great an influence. For me there was little to no emotional connection between myself and Solomon Burke as his songs reeled out cliché after cliché after cliché.
While this may seem like a strange thing to take umbrage with but the presence of an album on the list but this is one that I actually can not understand. At least with the Charles Mingus and Count Basie albums there was a point to them no-matter how low a rating that they garnered. However, here is an album that is so generic in everything it does that has greater examples of the genre released before it that calls it’s placing here into question. It also annoys me as this album has caused me to right a cop-out of a review since there is very little to say apart from saying how deeply disappointing and boring it was.
3.5/10
Fab Four:
Cry To Me
… no that’s just about it
