Autumn Ear Candy for 2009
You know the score on this by now!
The leaves have fallen and so have a few packages through the letter box with new CDs in them!
Porcupine Tree - The Incident
Mr Wilson, where's your soapbox and your beer? Are you still looking for the perfect microwave?
I know, I know! That's supposed to be about Brian, but Steve is shaping up to become a creator of music with equally maddening vision that seems so far ahead of the pack. Every release from this band holds some treasure and this new album is no exception.
Broken into a 2 CD set, the first disk is a continuous "concept" piece of which I haven't fully got to the bottom of yet. I'm a it slow with that kind of thing, but I'll get there. It does sound great though with all the typical PTree flourishes and the production is marvellous. The performances are great and the album does engage the listener for the duration. Sometimes I do wonder about Wilson's vocals, but whenever it seems that the music will drown him out, he does manage to have enough lift to soar above the backing. That said, his voice does give the band an individual sound.
To be honest, since I got the Muse album on the same day, that album has kind of taken over and I've not heard this PTree CD a fair crack of the whip, but it's a good album and does continue the great work done on "Fear of a Blank Planet".
Maybe I should give it another week and write again...
Muse - The Resistance
The new one from Teignmouth's finest is here and it's all sounding fine here, although I've spun this through twice since I got it through the post this morning and I'm none the wiser to what's going on for the most part! I think it'll take a few spins to have this one sink in, although it's starting to sink in and grab hold after a day of living with it.
It all kicks off with the lead-off singe "Uprising" with it's Dr Who wrestling with Goldfrapp and the Glitter-Band stylings and then it's all go from there. There's the usual bits-and-pieces taken from lots of different styles of music all bolted together with the Muse twist to present the usual Proggish feel to the record. It's all a little less heavy than the previous outing, but there's plenty to get the pulse racing. "Undisclosed Desires" is a funky little number and the breaks in the following "United States of Eurasia" sound strikingly like themes from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". Then you get the intro to the magestic "Guiding Light" during which you expect that band to launch into "AHHHHHHHH VIENNA!" There follows strange operatic interludes, classical snippets, laid-back grooves and the rest. All fairly manic stuff, but engaging in that mad Muse kind of way.
The centre-piece of the album is three part symphony called "Exogenesis". Starting off all orchestral like and building slowly with Bellamy's vocals soaring over the top, it's not long before all hell breaks loose though after the initial calm. It's all very epic, although I've no idea if it can be classified as a "Symphony" or not, but who the hell am I to argue?
So, I've listening to this through a few times and I'm still wanting to hear it, so it can't be all bad. It's not as initially grabbing as "Black Holes and Revelations" was, but it's still a damn fine album full of stuff to get the old teeth into and I'd tell anyone to give it a go if they fancy something to chew on!
A Few Days Later...
Oh, bloody hell! It's been a couple of days and I think I've taken this CD out of the player only once or twice over those few days. I can't stop playing it and I keep hearing new things that I like in it on every spin... It's a gift that keeps on giving!
Voice of the Beehive - Honey Lingers
Another selection of bouncy numbers from the girls (and guys). This is a great slab of pop and great fun to listen to. It's also a good reminder that the band had more than just one hit single and could follow up "Don't Call Me Baby" with songs such as "Monsters and Angels", which I'd forgotten about until spinning this and I am pleased to say still sound pretty good after 18 years. There may be a few "stable" numbers on here, but it's a good collection on the whole and worth a spin.
Alice in Chains - Unplugged
The Seattle boys show us that their sound really does suit the quiet, acoustic approach on this live performance done for the MTV show way back when this sort of thing was trendy in the 1990s. The music sounds even more brooding with the considered arrangements that remove Cantrell's trademark churning electric guitar riffs and the rumbling bass and bring out a different level of misery with the slow picking and gentle percussion! The vocals on here sound great too, with those "twisted harmonies" right to the fore in the sound and sounding great. It's all good stuff and anyone familiar with the "Jar of Flies" release will be very aware of how this will sound and overall, it's pretty magnificent and well worth a couple of quid if you see it on offer.
Cliff - 50th Anniversary Album
Right then, this one was a bit of an impulse buy and a good way of getting copies of a few songs that I used to really like off a tape my mum had years ago that I used to play on me little mono tape player! Ignoring the dreadful stuff like "Millenium Prayer", the other xmas hits and basically anything from the mid-80s onwards, there's some great songs on here, but it helps to look nearer the start of this compilation which seems to take things in chronological order. Songs like "Travellin' Light" and "Move It" are timeless and, of course, Cliff never sounded so Metal as he did on the incredible "Devil Woman", a song so rocking that Shy covered it and I swear Ronnie James Dio could take a crack at it and it would sound as good as anything off "Rainbow Rising"! So for a cheapie punt, this is not bad, if only for the reason that it takes me back and I really do like some of those early rock and roll numbers...
Is that my Metal cred finally gone?
Mad Season - Above
One of the "supergroup" projects of the 90s featuring Mike McCready and Layne Staley, bringing their Alternative credentials to this highly palatable collection of numbers that sit nicely between the Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam camps nicely. It's got blues, the harmonies of Staley and some tidy songs. There are a few moments where the band go off on a jam, but it never really outstays its welcome. It's not exactly a party record, but definately a good one for the headphones on a quiet night.
Marillion - Less Is More
This is a selection of songs from the Hogarth era of the band revamped in a more acoustic sty-lee. It's all very laid back stuff and one to spin whilst listening on the headphones with the lights off, as seems to be the pattern with Marillion albums. It's all pleasant stuff and the new spin on some of the songs are really well done. It's always good to hear material like "The Space" and (personal favourite) "Out of this World" and the band have gone to great lengths to make this stuff sound fresh (not that it didn't before), even if I do find myself craving the originals. I think the favourite of this selection at the moment is the "hidden track" at the end of the album where the band funk up "Cannibal Surf Babe" and make the song sound just as wierd by removing the wierdness of the original! Great stuff. You've got to hand it to the band though, they're still producing interesting stuff after all these years and keeping it true to their personal vision... It can't be bad!
Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain
Again, another one I've had lying around on MP3 for ages waiting for a time where I can buy the CD proper cheap and keep the Double O collection going (apart from the shitty covers album which I will only ever pay pence and not pounds for). It's an OK album, but not what you'd call memorable. This is not "Blizzard of Oz" for sure. There's the usual stuff on here, songs about "Just being Ozzy", the inevitable rehash of "Goodbye to Romance" and a song that's a bit Beatlesy. It's not bad, just a bit "Stock" (That one was for Marky-Boy!)
Queensryche - Take Cover
Take Cover, indeed. There's a reason that the cover of this albums pictures five gasmasks, and it's probably due to the fact that this album stinks. That's a cheap joke I know, but listening to this album is literally painful. Cover albums (which this follows the current trend of) should be fun affairs and show some flair, but this offerering is typically poe-faced as per the last slew of releases by the once-great 'Ryche. Maybe I'm always too harsh on the band, but they used to be so fucking good and now they basically are consistently bad.
Anyway, if you want to hear really bad cover versions of magnificent songs like Queen's "Innuendo" or Buffalo S's "For What It's Worth", then this is for you. You do get a reasonably high-spirited cover of the Sab's "Neon Knights", but the rest is pretty bad.
So why did I buy this? Marky-Boy dared me... What can I say?!
Morrissey - Years of Refusal
Another fine addition to Morrissey's current run of very rocked-up albums that he's been producing over the last few years. Things kick off with "Something Squeezing My Skull" and after this, the album continues pumping out the numbers at a furious rate. I think that the band behind the man really shine on this record. They put in a furious backing which generally give the songs bite. Of course, the songs are all fine beats on this album. There's a good balance between the more powerful stuff and the more laid back numbers, although the general tone of the album never drops too far to the more sad stuff, Morrissey has kept the pace reasonable up-tempo.
It's all engaging stuff and possibly one to change the minds of those who only think of Mozza being "that depressed bloke from The Smiths". Sure, he still has his grumpier moments, but this is a fine album and a worthy addition to his latest great run of storming albums.
Joe Satriani - Flying in a Blue Dream
If Mega-Guitar Wizardry is your thing, then you don't need me to tell you that this album is for you. Joe blasts his way through an album of finger-numbing, but incredibly tasteful numbers and even sings on a few tunes. Needless to say, it's his guitar playing which amazes and takes the listener on a great journey. I always did prefer "Surfing With The Alien", but this follow-up has plenty to offer. Great stuff.
George Michael - Listen Without Prejudice Vol.1
Opening with the magnificent "Praying For Time", this album has got a great variety of songs all delivered by the incredible pipes of Mr Michael. The songs on here will generally be known by most people. Songs like "Freedom '90" have been standards for years and it's mad to think that this album is getting on for twenty bloody years old and it still sounds pretty fresh to my crusty old ears.
It's all pretty serious stuff on here, what with really weighty songs like "They Won't Go When I Go", but these are balanced out with lighter stuff like "Wait For That Day". It's not really what you'd call a "dancey" record. There's a good taste of the funk in there, but it's all stuff to sit and listen to on the headphones of an evening. It's all achingly good stuff and like I said before, Michael's voice just cuts right through and hits the spot every time.
So for a quid, this is a winner!
Loreena McKennitt - A Mediterranean Odyssey
This is a two album package released to commemorate McKennitt's Mediterranean tour is made up of a live album ("From Istanbul to Athens") and a compilation album ("The Olive and The Cedar") comprising of songs that have a Mediterranean flavour or theme from McKennitt's back catalogue. The stuff from the compilation is all great and there are plenty of favourites on there, but it's the Live album which is what makes this album worth having. There's stuff on there which wasn't on "Nights from the Alhambra" and there's the added bonus of the band being slightly different, not that most people would care that Clive Deamer is playing drums instead of Tal Bergman (I could tell the difference ;) ) but there are subtle performance differences which give this recording a fresh appeal.
The package is nicely rounded off with a photo booklet which shows off some of the places visited on the tour and leaves you wishing that Manchester had such great places for people to play music in. I mean some of those places in the photos make you really wish that you'd have been able to attend the gigs yourself.
So this isn't as an essential package as "Nights At the Alhambra" maybe, but it's a nice thing to have for sure and I'll usually give Loreena money for anything, even old rope, which is what she could be accused of here. I'd just like to say that the rope is damn fine!
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© 2006 Graham T. Ebbrell