#29 At Newport 1960 by Muddy Waters

I would like to start off this review with a retraction. Yesterday, in my review for Back At The Chicken Shack, I referred to today’s album as another in a long line of jazz albums. This is not the case as Muddy Waters’ At Newport 1960 is very much a blues album. Right, now that is out of the way, it is time to get started.

Again, the name of Muddy Waters was one that I have heard in passing. In fact the most poignant of these asides is the reference made to him in an episode of Family Guy where he is passing some kidney stones while backed up by his band. While this may not count as some form of definitive exposure it actually did mildly introduce me to the jazz riff from I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man so in some unusual way I guess it did contribute to my overall knowledge, however minutely.

Either way, whether or not it be a blues album it is also the third of the live albums to be featured on the list. Having flicked ahead I can see I have plenty more to come in the next few weeks so shall leave my rant until then. As for now what I can say about this that as live albums go At Newport 1960 is up there with Sarah Vaughan’s At Mister Kelly’s for the sheer fact that it knows when to have the artist and the emcee stop talking and allow the music to play.

Unlike Monday’s album this is one that produced an immediate positive impact whereby I found myself immediately transfixed with the artist and the music. While it is true that’s the advantage you gain by of starting off the set with a strong track such as I Got My Brand On You, but this just continues on throughout the album. Songs that follow such as Tiger In Your Tank and the two-part I’ve Got My Mojo Working just go on to further cement how good this album actually is.

The rating may seem low considering that this is almost a glowing review, however, there are some areas that to me are just missed. The largest of these is that this album is too short, being only 35 minutes long. I would’ve liked to have heard more. Now I know length of an album is one that I do use a lot, e.g. Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Gerswin Songbooks, but personally a few more blues numbers couldn’t hurt. Or maybe this is actually the rare art of live album editing in action here. Either way, I am going to need to do some digging into the Spotify available back catalogue. As for the other areas, they are more that of a feeling than of substance that can be articulated. While I am aware that this is in a way of a cop-out but there is a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ that prevents a higher rating.

Still, this is definitely an album that should be checked out as a great introduction to the blues as how they should be played.

8.0/10

Fab Four:
I Got My Brand On You
I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man
Tiger In Your Tank
I’ve Got My Mojo Working

#28 Back At The Chicken Shack by Jimmy Smith

So far on my musical odyssey through the ages, coming up to a span of seven years thus far, I believe that I am becoming increasingly well versed in jazz. With this knowledge now ranging from the great (Kind Of Blue) to the downright annoying (The Atomic Mr. Basie) I believe myself to have found a winning formula for jazz appreciation, at least for myself:

1) Do not truly judge until one track into the second exposure
2) Take no notice of the colourful artist and album names as they will only cause a distraction
3) Do not attempt to find a melody, let it just flow over you
4) Drink plenty of fluids

So what do I do? I completely avoid the first three steps of this procedure I have put in place and was immediately transfixed by the album cover and the use of ‘The Incredible‘ as to refer to the artist. Oh well, I have another jazz album to do next so maybe this will have been a lesson well and truly learnt.

On the first few notes of the first listen I was all too ready to write this off as a rather mediocre album that inspired neither elation nor misery. The use of the Hammond organ was also rather an odd sensation since the last time I was exposed to one was in the credits for an episode of Red Dwarf, and this wasn’t meant to be a positive reflection on the instrument. By the time I actually finished the first listen I didn’t really feel any hurry to start off the second listen. I actually began contemplating my latest project of forming a list of my Top 50 albums f the decade and thought of some methodologies to do so. It was only when I went to get myself a refill that I psyched myself up and decided to go in for another look.

So there I sat in complete complacency with this second listen being little more of a formality, and suddenly my foot begins to tap. This whole new laid-back attitude that was adopted purely by accident was actually a far more conducive atmosphere than on my first attempt.

On the whole Back At The Chicken Shack is a profoundly cool jazz album that definitely deserves more than a simple perusal but a good go. In the end, that is the only way that we truly get the greatest experience from an album, unless it is so shockingly awful that you get a migraine (yes Simba I am once again referencing you). In all seriousness though, this is a good jazz album that is definitely worthy of some time, whether you like the Hammond organ or not.

7.0/10

Fab Four:
There are two real standout tracks here, Minor Chant and Back At The Chicken Shack but since it’s a five track album, give it all a listen while you admire the noble chicken on the cover.

#27 A Date With The Everly Brothers by The Everly Brothers

With the exception of Wake Up Little Susie I have very little knowledge of The Everly Brothers, with the exception of the shocking fact that they were brothers. So when I was confronted with the title of A Date With The Everly Brothers there was an overriding temptation to start off the review as some form of crazed fan-girl who was extremely excited at the prospect of being on a date with these guys. What stopped me from doing this? Well I reasoned that maybe I should give the album a listen first before I made such a rash writing decision.

One thing I found very interesting about A Date With The Everly Brothers was that in the light of Elvis’s comeback this twosome felt the need to up their game in order to combat this renewed threat. If you have actually read my previous review of Elvis Is Back! you will probably understand why the idea of this album being a commercial threat actually had me in stitches. Still though, fair play to them in their need to maintain their crown as the dominant voices on the chart and hey a little bit of fair competition brings out the best in an artist.

What struck me as strange was how their version of one-upmanship could just sound so flat and uninteresting. There are songs on this such as Sigh, Cry, Almost Die that are so full of angst that it’s painful to listen to, granted I went through that period and kept that diary filled with ‘woe is me’ sentimentalities, but if you are really so angst-ridden don’t sound so bloody perky. Then we have Love Hurts whose sadness just leaves me thinking they should just go to a local diner and drown their sorrows in a vanilla malt. That is what teenagers did in the late fifties/early sixties right? Sad thing is that Love Hurts is actually one of the better songs on this album.

This is, however, not meant to undermine the vocals on this album. While I may not be one for male close harmony singing (or close harmony singing in general with the exception of The Mamas & The Papas) I can appreciate the purity of their harmonies. For me if these guys were given different songs I can see no reason why I could not be a fan. I mean, I actually really like Wake Up Little Susie as it is slightly more poppy, upbeat and downright catchy.

In summary, considering this was the music teenagers of this era would have been subjected to I consider myself fortunate. Personally the idea of sitting alone at the computer all angsty accompanied by Alizeé and the Sugababes is a far happier one than what previously existed in the form of teenage entertainment. Again none of this is meant to undermine the influence that this duo had on music, which their vocal stylings echoed in the works of later artists such as the Beatles, but for an album that doesn’t last more than half an hour I found myself deathly bored for the vast majority.

4.0/10

Fab Four:
Made To Love
Love Hurts
Donna Donna
Cathy’s Clown

#26 Miriam Makeba by Miriam Makeba

…and now for something completely different. For me it’s a touch strange how so far the list has been completely dominated by American acts. Seriously, if you read the book it rates the nationality of every act thus far as being from the USA. I noticed this a few reviews ago and so I made a bet with myself which would be the first other country to feature on the list. Seeing that I knew acts such as The Beatles and Dusty Springfield were liable to appear in the early sixties I assumed that the UK would be the first to break the Yankee streak… so appreciate my surprise when I found out the country to do so would be South Africa.

My first real exposure to African music was last year with the amazing album Welcome To Mali by Amadou & Mariam, an album I expect to be on the next edition of the list. While it may be a little unfair of me to lump all African music together with Welcome To Mali it’s probably a darn sight more accurate than lumping it all together with the soundtrack to The Lion King. While it may sound ridiculous to draw that as an example it is only because I have had several infuriating conversations with people saying that Disney provided a definitive look on African music (try your hand at Toumani Diabaté and then get back to me).

In the same vein as should be thought of The Lion King soundtrack this album taken as a whole is not exactly a definitive take on the African sound. I say on the whole as the first half of the album is frankly fantastic and filled to the brim with the songs that I had hoped for. This is epitomised by The Click Song (so called as the typical English speaker is unable to properly pronounce the title of Nguqongqothwane). It is of my opinion that there has not yet been a song that can match the sheer wow factor of The Click Song which is over far too quickly. Also in the amazing first half of the album is a more traditional arrangement of The Lion Sleeps Tonight (here titled Mbube) which is given new life when sung as it was originally meant.

However, you then flip over the record (yes it is that obvious where the break is) and suddenly all bets are off and Miriam unleashes The Naughty Little Flea. The logic of this latter half of the album doesn’t escape me at all. This debut album was meant to capitalise on her numerous plaudits from her performances on stage and was meant to catapult her into true stardom. However, when listening to her sing The Naughty Little Flea and One More Dance, which I can already say without doubt is beneath her talent, it drags this album towards mediocrity. Maybe I am being a bit harsh, as so many artists have to make crippling compromises on their major label debut before they can truly let themselves free creatively (such as Nina Simone or Christina Aguilera), but the gambit didn’t work too well.

Before I rate this album I do have to devote some discussion to the worst track on the album. One More Dance. Now here is a song where the logic of it’s inclusion escapes me completely. The constant laughing of whatever random guy they shipped in to perform this duet with her is so off-putting that to me it robbed this album of being given an eight. So if you are to try this album, do yourselves a favour and erase this track before you give the album a listen. It’ll definitely increase your enjoyment of an otherwise great album.

7.5/10

Fab Four:
Suliram
The Click Song
Mbube
Iya Guduza

#25 Elvis Is Back! by Elvis Presley

The phrase ‘comeback’ is thrown around rather liberally nowadays. If you have been touring for 2 years and then release an album a year after you are done it’s labelled as some great comeback. For me the casing point is I’m Not Dead by Pink who took great offence to having her fourth album being called a comeback as in her opinion she had never really been away.

So when I label Elvis Is Back! as a true comeback album consider that this was his first album since he finished his military service. I mean OK I am not sure if he really had much to do much apart from be garrisoned at some army station in Germany but he wasn’t touring or recording any new material while he was away so this really was time off for him. Also this ‘respite’ from his musical career marked the death of Elvis’s mother which was really the catalyst for his spiralling into sex, drugs and obesity.

So how does Elvis Is Back! measure up as a comeback album? Well he’s back there is no denying that. Apart from that the majority of this offering is the same stuff he had been recording back in the mid fifties. You would feel that when attempting to break your way to the top the charts after a long break the tactic would be to release something more revolutionary instead of more of the same shtick. Instead you get him crooning along to songs like The Thrill of Your Love which just leaves me cold and the sickly Soldier Boy that frankly leaves me with a slight uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not butterflies, the bad sort of uneasy feeling.

The shame is that, like his eponymous debut, Elvis Is Back! starts with a bang and I was feeling very hopeful that this would be a swinging good fun time album as promised by the titles exclamation mark. Make Me Know It is a toe-tapping winner of a song with so much promise that you can not wait for the next track. Next comes a cover of Fever that is so deliciously sultry that I actually believed that I had the first 10 on my hands. Third comes The Girl of My Best Friend, ok a slight decrease in quality but after the opening two tracks is forgivable. But still, two knock-out tracks in a row. Fantastic!

Then what does he do!? Croon after croon after croon. And this is how the album progresses apart from Such A Night and Girl Next Door Went A ‘Walking where the bopping of the shoulders returns once more. Maybe I was expecting too much but in the end this album is probably on-par with his debut. However, the wasting of Fever and Make Me Know It just made me plain angry. It is also true that there was a slight improvement in the latter half of the album. However, too high a proportion of the tracks in my eyes are so insufferable that as ratings go you have a perfect balance of the sublime and the ridiculous to give a middling rating. Sorry Elvis, I’ll see you again in Memphis.

5.0/10

Fab Four:
Make Me Know It
Fever
The Girl Of My Best Friend
Such A Night

#24 Joan Baez by Joan Baez

While I apologise for the Hairspray song it was not without good cause. It’s officially the first album of the sixties and I couldn’t be more excited to try out the works of The Who and Bob Dylan as well as some of the odder titled albums (Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band immediately springs to mind). Wait, I think I will take back the apology. In the end Hairspray is an amazing feel-good film and that is what the sixties was about, right? Hope, happiness and hair.

As for the first album of the decade I had a bit of a double take moment as soon as Silver Dagger began to play, for the resemblance between the Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell for me was rather startling. So for the rest of the album I tried to listen out for more of these similarities which cropped up again and again, such as in All My Trials which in places reminds me of My Old Man off of Blue. This got me to thinking as to how with out Joan Baez there may not have been as open a door for Joni Mitchell to walk though. This would have a cascade effect on many of the singers that I listen to, such as KT Tunstall, Amy Macdonald and Lene Marlin. For that I do feel a bit indebted to this album as a whole for giving me so much in influential listening pleasure.

But hey, this is all well and good but what do I think of the album as a whole? The short answer is that I really enjoyed it. The minimal orchestration works really well here and to my knowledge is the first album on the list to feature such a sparse arrangement. The majority of the songs feature only a woman with an impressive vibrato and her guitar. That’s it. Nowadays this doesn’t sound too breathtaking as women vocalists are on equal footing with men now and are equally armed in string instruments. In fact it‘s common place that a new musical revolution would be a kind relief. Back then though this was an oddity, think of At Mister Kelly’s and Lady In Satin where the women were backed by a full orchestra. Instead there is a series of beautifully executed folk songs with such emotional dexterity, the most emotion being placed behind her version of Mary Hamilton which made me cry when I started listening to the lyrics.

While it may sound in a way clichéd from me but this is just one of those albums where you can just faintly see the blueprints of a whole genre of music which inspires a future cohort of women to take arms (ok guitars) and play away. Needless to say that there probably won’t be a voice quite like Joan Baez… apart from Joni Mitchell. But that’s a mute point surely. I can foresee many more plays of this album in the future so it is definitely deserving of a high rating.

8.5/10

Fab Four:
Silver Dagger
Donna Donna
Little Moses
Mary Hamilton