In-Car Entertainment

Change of blog address

2006-10-02T08:06:00.000+01:00

Please note : the address of my blog is changing to http://samholloway.livejournal.com.

(I currently have two blogs: this one here and one at LiveJournal. The two carry the same content. Because I just use them for LastDJ updates, it's not worth maintaining the two. So I'm dropping this Blogger one and in future will only update the LJ.)

Please update any links on your pages.

See you over at LJ!

The Last DJ - Show 27

2006-10-01T22:49:00.000+01:00

The 27th episode of The Last DJ (the fantastic music podcast that you simply can't miss) has actually been available for the last few days (from here), but I just forgot to update this blog (it's been a busy few days!). There's plenty of great music (Alison Moyet, the Proclaimers, Leonard Cohen and more) and, unlike this blog, a complete lack of superflous brackets (like these ones). Go on, listen now (and tell your friends)!

The Last DJ - number 26

2006-09-07T00:24:00.000+01:00

Another installment of The Last DJ is now available for you to listen, at www.lastdj.com. I'm trying to get back into doing them every other week. Well, we'll see how long that lasts!

On the show this time: U2, The Divine Comedy, Erasure, your requests, your guilty pleasures, the connection competition and much more!

Quarter-century for The Last DJ

2006-08-22T11:45:00.000+01:00

Twenty-five episodes and still going strong! Unofficially the web's fastest growing (and forever delayed) music-based podcast, The Last DJ returns with his latest episode - get it here.

On the show this month : Velvet Underground, ELO, the Rakes, a snippet of ABBA and many more! And of course there's your requests, competitions and sundry other messages.

Hope you enjoy it!

Only, 24 episodes, of The Last DJ

2006-07-26T10:03:00.000+01:00

The long wait is over. Yes, they're meant to come out every other week, but it's been nearly a month since the last The Last DJ. I blame the heat; it's been too hot in the studio.

So with fans set to maximum, we brave the heat and try to lower the temperature with the coolest tunes around. They're like the ice cubes in your pink grapefruit squash: tracks from Fleetwood Mac, Billy Ocean, Tony Joe White, The Who and many more! And of course there's your requests, messages and dedications.

Have a listen now - you'll find it all at www.lastdj.com. Either click straight away to download and listen, or if you're all podcast-capable, then you can do the RSS thang, too.

The Last DJ - 23, and availability issues

2006-07-02T20:33:00.000+01:00

Two announcements from The Last DJ this time:

1) The new episode (number 23) is now available at www.lastdj.com - another action-packed podcast with music from Madness, David Bowie, Starship and plenty more. We've now been going for just over a year - thanks for all your support, e-mails, requests and so on! There'd be no point doing it without you.

2) Having said 'is now available', you may find that the website is down. The server which hosts the site is having Issues owing to the current high temperatures. I'm told all will be well within a couple of weeks, as the racks are being moved to a new air-conditioned building, but in the meantime, you may find you can't listen to the show. Just try again later (mornings and evenings are better when it's cooler!).

The Last DJ - quack quack!

2006-06-13T08:26:00.000+01:00

(Two little ducks, 22 - episode 22, you see - oh, never mind)

The latest installment of the Last DJ podcast is now available. Free, fun, forty-five minutes of feisty, firey, fantastic music. You'll hear Supergrass, Billy Preston, The Animals, The Cult, and many more!

Go on - give it a listen!

The Last DJ - twenty-one today!

2006-05-24T23:36:00.000+01:00

Actually, it was yesterday - I'm a tad late with my post here. Anyway, there's another thrilling episode of everyone's favourite musical podcast now available from The Last DJ. Plenty of great tunes on this one as usual : Jimi Hendrix, Incubus, Joe Brown, 10CC and many more! Have a listen and let me know what you think.

The Last DJ - episode 20

2006-05-09T23:21:00.000+01:00

The latest episode of The Last DJ is now available.

Forty-five minutes of great music from the 60s to today (well, actually, the closest I get to 'today' in this episode is about 2001), including Ultravox, Bad Company, Chuck Berry, and even Phil Collins! Requests, competitions, all the usual features - how can you resist it?

Head over to the site now and have a listen; just click on the link and off you go. No adverts, no registration, no fuss, no problem!

The Last DJ : N-N-N-Nineteen

2006-04-19T23:21:00.000+01:00

Now why didn't I play that Paul Hardcastle track? Instead, you'll find great music from the likes of Kraftwerk, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, Bryan Ferry and many more! It's all available now at The Last DJ!

Lyric quiz - answers

2006-04-07T17:45:00.000+01:00

Here's the ones you didn't get.

1) Bryan Adams "Run To You"
2) Carole King "(You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman"
3) Simon & Garfunkel "Wednesday Morning 3am" (quite surprised that didn't go)
4) Gloria Estefan "Don't Want To Lose You Now" (not surprised that didn't go)
5) The Vapors "Turning Japanese"
7) Gorillaz "19-2000 (Soulchild Mix)"
12) Blink 182 "What's My Age Again?"
13) Clint Boon Exprience "White No Sugar) (not at all surprised that didn't go)
18) Roxette "The Look"

Over on Livejournal, they got all the ones you got, plus 7 and 13. Feel ashamed!

Normal Last-DJ-only service will be resumed next week.

Lyric quiz!

2006-04-05T23:46:00.000+01:00

In a change to the published schedule, we now present a lyric quiz. Same sort that's been doing the rounds recently - I stuck my MP3 collection on random, and these are the first lines of the first 20 songs that came up. (Well, just about; I skipped a couple of really obscure ones, and the instrumentals!)

Your job is to identify. Post title and artist if possible in your comments. No cheating with Google!

1) She says her love for me could never die
2) Looking out on the morning rain, I used to feel uninspired
3) I can hear the soft breathing of the girl that I love
4) Sometimes it's hard, to make things clear
5) I got your picture, of me and you
6) ~~I blame you for the moonlight sky and the dream that died~~ Tasmin Archer "Sleeping Satellite" Omally
7) It's the music that we choose, it's the music that we choose
8) ~~Everyday I hear a different story, people saying that you're no good for me~~ Wham! "Freedom" Miss Sixty
9) ~~What do you get when you fall in love?~~ Bobbie Gentry/Deacon Blue "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" SimonG
10) ~~Some people call me the space cowboy~~ Steve Miller Band "The Joker" Paul
11) ~~I want to run, I want to hide~~ U2 "Where The Streets Have No Name" Omally
12) I took her out; it was a Friday night
13) Don't sit around, you're gonna put it on your waistline
14) ~~I can't light no more of your darkness~~ Elton John "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" Miss Sixty
15) ~~She calls out to the man on the street~~ Phil Collins "Another Day In Paradise" Fluffy
16) ~~Hey you! Don't watch that - watch this!~~ Madness "One Step Beyond" Paul
17) ~~Wise men say, only fools rush in~~ Elvis Presley "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" SimonG
18) Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer
19) ~~Ooooh, the closer you get, the better you look, baby~~ Jackie Wilson "I Get The Sweetest Feeling" Paul
20) ~~Here I lie, in a lost and lonely part of town~~ Bee Gees "Tragedy" Omally

Good luck! (Note that this is running simultaneously on my Blogger and Livejournal accounts - I'll try to cross post answers from each account. I'll try...)

The Last DJ's 18th birthday!

2006-03-29T23:13:00.000+01:00

Finally the Last DJ comes of age. On the 18th show, you'll hear Blondie, the Gorillaz, Elvis - and the exciting finale of the Story Of Apache! Plus your requests, the connection competition and much more!

Head over now to The Last DJ podcast!

The Last DJ - episode 17

2006-03-13T23:29:00.000Z

Seventeen episodes. Gosh. And I bet you still haven't listened to any of them.

Tsk tsk. Rectify the situation now. Come on over to The Last DJ and listen. You don't need any fancy programs. You don't have to pay anything. There's no advertising at all. I pay for all of this out of the goodness of my own heart.

You click on a link and you get 45 minutes of music. And me, of course. That's allegedly the interesting bit. From ABC to OMD and everything in between, it's all here! Plenty of requests, too - you can send those whenever you like to sam@lastdj.com.

Go on. Give it a go! You won't regret it.

Sixteeen Last DJs

2006-03-01T07:54:00.000Z

There's an old theory that says square-numbered episodes of the Last DJ are always great. But then, so are all the rest. Anyway, music this time from Sparks, Cake, Eric Clapton, Justin Hayward and many more. Give it a whirl today!

Guess what? More Last DJ!

2006-02-15T22:53:00.000Z

The sixteenth installment of the Last DJ is now available from the usual location. Music comes this time from the likes of Hot Chocolate, Lou Reed, Peggy Lee and The Presidents Of The USA, so don't miss it!

The Last DJ - episode 14

2006-02-01T22:32:00.000Z

The latest Last DJ episode is now available from the usual address.

Featuring music including Marillion, the Super Furry Animals, Them and the Rockin' Berries, you're bound to find something you like! Oooh, and there's a guest appearance by William Shatner. And, no, it's not from his 1960s LP...

Keep the comments and requests coming to sam@lastdj.com. If you've never listened before, go on, give it a whirl!

Thirteen - unlucky for some...

2006-01-17T22:21:00.000Z

...but not for you! The latest Last DJ episode is now online, and is positively bulging with great music : Pilot, the Editors, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and many more! Plus we take a look at your idea of Musical Hell!

Head over now to The Last DJ to check it out!

New Year, New Last DJ

2006-01-05T00:35:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

Episode 12 of the Last DJ is here. Bigger than ever before (well, 46 mins instead of the usual 45), and packed full of records from Elvis Presley, the Thompson Twins and the Divine Comedy. Head over to www.lastdj.com and listen now. And don't forget to tell your friends!

All comments, requests and the like are welcome to sam@lastdj.com.

The last Last DJ of 2005

2005-12-20T09:38:00.000Z

It may well be December, but the Last DJ manages to avoid Christmas (just). Dodge the turkeys and tuck in over at www.lastdj.com for a feast of tracks from U2, Roxy Music, Echo & The Bunnymen and other assorted acts.

The Tenth Episode of The Last DJ

2005-11-28T22:40:00.000Z

We've reached double figures! Following the overtly lengthy gap between episodes 8 and 9, the tenth Last DJ is delivered ahead of schedule, and featuring my new mixing desk (gives me an excuse for shouting towards the end).

Music from Prince, the Stranglers, They Might Be Giants, the Kinks and many many more! Plus lots of requests from you lot.

Listen at www.lastdj.com and feel free to e-mail me on sam@lastdj.com!

Last DJ IX

2005-11-16T22:17:00.000Z

These podcast things are getting further apart, it seems. Still, despite technical problems with the studio here (hopefully to be fixed in the next week), the ninth episode of The Last DJ is now available.

For those of you who've listened before, you know the score by now : all sorts from David Byrne (the bloke out of Talking Heads), via the Primitives, Turin Brakes and even Scatman John!

And if you haven't listened, what are you waiting for?

Head on over, and don't forget to let me know what you think.

Eighth Time Lucky

2005-10-21T07:55:00.000+01:00

The new Last DJ episode is now ready, for your delight and delectation. Just click here! Featuring ELO, REM, and a few bands that have more than three letters in their name, it's guaranteed to delight.

The Seventh (yet still Last) DJ

2005-09-28T21:59:00.000+01:00

New episode, folks - pop over to The Last DJ to get it. Deep Blue Something, the Wonderstuff, Stevie Winwood and many more, competitions, connections, a TV theme tune - they're all there!

Even more of The Last DJ

2005-09-12T22:42:00.000+01:00

It's the internet's fastest-growing internet radio experience (possibly)! The Last DJ returns, and this week you'll find me playing Level 42, XTC, Eels, a couple of Mercury prize nominees and many more! All crammed into 45 mins of loving audio, presented just for you. Go on, give it a whirl - and let me know what you think. Head over to www.lastdj.com and all shall be revealed.

Last DJ 5 - Regular Blog 0

2005-08-25T22:13:00.000+01:00

I am pleased to announce that the fifth exciting installment of The Last DJ is now available from www.lastdj.com. Featuring music from The Monkees, Deacon Blue and many blue! There's a special tribute this week to synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog. Hear me mispronunce his name many, many times...

Tranche 4, of The Last DJ

2005-08-08T21:35:00.000+01:00

I'm probably going to stop posting this everytime I do a new episode of The Last DJ (although it has really become my 'blog'), partly because if you head over to www.lastdj.com, you can leave a message after the beep and be notified of future episodes directly. You'll also be able to hear another cracking set of tunes from The Human League, Bill Withers, The Pixies, Queen and many more!

Go on, give it a whirl! And please let me know what you think - comment here, or sam@lastdj.com will do nicely, too.

The Last DJ - episode 3

2005-07-29T13:38:00.000+01:00

I've had exciting webhosting issues recently. The Last DJ has been more popular than I thought it would be. Not screamingly popular - still in the tens of downloads rather than the thousands, but a lot more than I had planned for. As a result, I quickly outgrew my existing webhosting package, and they shut me off.

However, things are now back to normal, with new web services that should give me ample room for all those downloads. So now there's no excuse not to listen! Head on over to www.lastdj.com. There's plenty of great music in this episode, including Godley & Creme, Dire Straits and some very deep southern US soul. Enjoy!

The Last DJ - episode 2!

2005-06-27T23:19:00.000+01:00

The second (exciting, of course) installment of The Last DJ is now available - head over to www.lastdj.com and get stuck in!

All comments (and requests for future shows!) most welcome - leave a message here or e-mail me on any of my usual addresses.

The launch of The Last DJ

2005-06-07T18:15:00.000+01:00

I've decided it's about time I dipped my foot into internet radio again. But this time I'm doing it completely on my terms. So if you head over to www.lastdj.com, you'll find half-an-hour or so of great music with me sandwiched in between.

The idea is that I'll produce something along these lines every week or so. I'd love to hear your feedback, so let me know what you think. It's all experimental at the moment, so we'll see how it develops as time goes on. What would you like to hear?

R.E.M. - Around The Sun

2005-05-24T18:29:00.000+01:00

I've been putting off listening to this album for a while. When you've enjoyed previous records by a group, and then you hear on the grapevine that their latest effort is receiving unfavourable reviews from critics and fans, it's not an encouraging sign. The CD sat in my "to be listened to" tray and other newer purchases passed it by. Was it really that bad?

Finally today it made it to the car. There's a strong start: 'Leaving New York' has received considerable radio play (especially on the sort of station I listen to), and it's easy to hear why. A strong message, catchy hook to the chorus, nicely arranged - all present and correct. The second track 'Electron Blue' also made it to the airwaves, somewhat surprisingly considering its rather grating synthesised start (befitting of a radio edit, I'd say). But again, a gentle love song, very much in the new R.E.M. keyboards-not-guitar style, does the job, wouldn't hurt anyone.

And then you realise, that's the problem. The whole album is like that. Bizarrely, too, because Stipe's message is often political: 'Make It All Okay' being an anti-Iraq war protest, but sung almost in the style of a restrained letter to The Times. There's no real zest or zing here. The whole thing moves along perfectly happily. I got stuck in a traffic jam on the way home, but didn't get at all agitated, thanks to this CD. But should R.E.M. really be producing mood music?

In some ways, you feel as if the band are trying to get back towards Automatic For The People. They've been commercial, they've been experimental, they've been through all that. Reveal was great, I thought - solid tunes, but no sell-out, R.E.M. do a Radiohead and live to tell the tale. So to receive this perfectly servicable but unfortunately rather bland album is rather a let down. After more than a quarter of a decade in the business, I'm afraid we expect more than good enough. And I'm happy to believe it's there, waiting for the next album release.

Jimmy Nail - Ain't No Doubt

2005-04-15T23:08:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I don't feel like reviewing a whole album. As a collector of 7" singles, I'm more used to hearing music in one-at-a-time-sized chunks. And so I thought I'd take a foray into writing a few words about my favourite songs. I'm not going to make any attempt at keeping it fair or unbiased; these are tunes I love.

And where better to start than Jimmy Nail? Look, already you're laughing and running away. Faux North-Eastern country, you think. He's emulating Mark Knopfler, who in turn is trying to be some cotton-pickin' blues legend from the delta swamps. Hardly the most solid musical lineage. Yes, I can hear you sneering now.

But let me tell you why Ain't No Doubt is one of the most perfect pop songs you'll find. Most critically, it follows the Golden Format to the letter: intro, verse, chorus, second verse, chorus, break, double-length chorus and fade. (I refer the interested reader to Bill Drummond's The Manual, written over 15 years ago and still hugely relevant today.) All the best pop songs stick to this prescription; I could base an entire blogging career on those adhering to the template and still you'd not get bored.

All the other classic requirements are there: lost love and lies, the sing-along retalliation in the chorus, a slight twist of humour (the video had Jimmy Nail singing from a callbax to Mercury telephone operators, I seem to remember) and a great melody. It's got the perfect radio intro - exactly the right length for Smashy & Nicey to talk over, and with the fade at the end, perfect for back-announcing, too.

But best of all, it's by an artist with zero musical credibility, who can't sing a note, and yet whose attempts at becoming a country & western star succeeded more than anyone could ever realise. Did you know that the Crocodile Shoes album went triple-platinum? And yet, do you know anyone who owns a copy? Exactly.

Missed the show? No worries!

2005-04-04T14:37:00.000+01:00

If you missed what was surely the greatest radio event of the century, don't worry! You can get an archive stream of it right here. (This will stream the show from CUR1350's servers in RealAudio format.)

Back on the radio!

2005-03-31T23:17:00.000+01:00

OK, this is a blatant plug, but hey...

For one night only, I'm back on the radio. This Saturday, April 2nd, from 6-8pm, on my old student station, CUR in Cambridge.

You can listen online at www.cur1350.co.uk. If you're in the area, 1350AM on a real radio will work, too!

Go on, tune in!

Elbow - Asleep At The Back

2005-02-17T16:31:00.000Z

In the period leading up to the 2002 Mercury Music Prize, Amazon had a huge sale of albums by previous Mercury nominees. I can't remember how much they were (they seemed really cheap at the time, but this was pre-Fopp, remember) but I remember being sufficiently piqued into ordering around fifteen albums. I used it as an excuse to try out a few bands I knew nothing about.

The plan backfired slightly: because all this music arrived at once, I never got a good chance to become acquainted with it all, and hence I mentally bracket it all together as 'those CDs'. Which means when I pick one out and it turns out to be quite good, I'm always pleasantly surprised.

That's what happened with Elbow. Only a couple of minutes into the first track and I was thinking, hey, this is pretty strong. It's a downtempo album, with dense synths punctuated by bright acoustic guitars - quite proggy in places, really. There's definitely plenty of instantly accessible stuff here, though - unlike so many similar albums I've heard. The arrangements are free from plodding and self-indulgence, plus there's some real emotion. We're almost in Radiohead's territory, just not quite as polished or pompous.

Accessible it may be, but then I'm struggling to recall precise details of specific tracks. There's a lot of emotive indie around these days; without a snappy riff or a hook-laded chorus, it's difficult to lodge in the mind. So I'll make a point of listening to Asleep In The Back again soon. That way, something might start to stick.

Music Quiz - The Answers

2005-02-15T14:21:00.000Z

A long time ago in a blog posting not far away (just below this one, in fact), I posed a musical quiz. Here are the answers:

1 Spiller - Groovejet
2 Madonna - Into The Groove
3 Cranberries - Linger
4 Pulp - Something Changed
5 Supertramp - The Logical Song
6 Stereo MCs - Step It Up
7 Jocelyn Browne - Somebody Else's Guy
8 Kriss Kross - Jump
9 Tammy Wynette - D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
10 Bill Withers - Just The Two Of Us
11 Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
12 Roxette - Joyride
13 Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis
14 Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug
15 Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
16 Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces

How did you do?

Music quiz!

2004-12-15T19:57:00.000Z

With the absence of any recent reviews, how would you like to try out the music quiz I made for the lucky people at work? Sixteen snippets of tunes, all lovingly blended together. You just need to name the artist and title for each one.

Download it from here : Sam's Latest Music Quiz. Please download it once and do the repeat listening on your own PC, for bandwidth sanity reasons.

When you've got your answers, send them to me. There might even be a prize for the winner!

More catching up

2004-10-21T09:44:00.000+01:00

OK, this isn't quite going as planned. To make matters worse, I'm not going to be around for the next week or so. So how about I fill you in on what's been on the car CD player in the last week or so, and then we'll rethink the whole thing on my return? I'm wondering whether a weekly post with brief reviews of most things but a longer, detailed review of one thing might be the way forward.

First up is a 1993 solo album from Blondie's head-honchess, Deborah Harry. As you might expect from an album of that era, the pop tracks on Debravation are quite housey: lots of ding-ding-ding-dong-dong piano riffs and squelchy basslines. The odd thing is when you find towards the end of the album that Debbie returns to her roots and tries out more Blondie-sounding rocky tracks. An odd mix, really - they're not particularly strong songs, but then Harry is an esteemed showgirl and doesn't disappoint with her vocals. Her long-term partner Chris Stein unsuprisingly pops up to lend a hand. As far as I can tell, this CD isn't currently in print, so you'll just have to imagine it (or hunt on eBay).

I then had an aborted attempt to listen to Enigma's second album, Cross Of Changes. More chanting monks, synth pan-pipes and slightly Gallic-sounding female vocals - you know the score. I only remember listening to the first half, though; perhaps I gave someone a lift on the way home and so only caught the first few tracks?

Ah, yes, that's right, because then the next day I had a sudden urge to listen to the Kill Bill Vol 1 soundtrack, possibly caused by watching both Vols 1 & 2 a couple of nights earlier. I remember at the time being really disappointed with this CD, partly because I'd so loved Jackie Brown's soundtrack (to the point of it inspiring me to discover lots more about soul, funk & blaxplotation music) and partly because I found I just couldn't get into the strange mix of tracks. Like the film, it's a case of East meets West: a mixture of Japanese and country & western. However, my disappointed was entirely due to one thing : I hadn't seen the film when I first heard the CD. Listen to it again after watching it and it's like a whole different ballgame. The pieces take on meanings, conjure up images from the film - it's a very powerful set.

The musical highlight of the weekend was listening to the Top Gun soundtrack in appropriate surroundings. By which I mean, we played Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" whilst driving a Peugeot 309. It was on cassette! I haven't dealt with cassettes for a long time. I'd forgotten how wobbly they sound.

Back in my car and the luxuries of a CD player, next came Bob Dylan's Blood On The Tracks. If you read my earlier Dylan review, you'll know I'm scared of critiquing big albums. My job was made easier here, though, because I really got into this record. It's so easy: Dylan has produced an incredible collection of tunes. Yes, tunes: not something I can always associate with his other albums. As one of the all-time classic 'break-up' records, you can clearly hear Dylan's personal involvement with the songs. Perhaps that's why there's more emphasis and feeling in his singing than on his other works?

And finally in this round up, we move from one great non-vocalist to another. Probably my all-time favourite male solo artist, yes, it's Leonard Cohen. Don't laugh! 1993's The Future saw the most polished and produced Cohen-sound ever. His anthems of doomed youth and political corruption are all present and correct; his voice grating smoothly out of the speakers, like black treacle with lumps in. But, what's this? A lounge cover of Irving Berlin's "Always", and an attempt to usurp Barry White with "Be For Real". Leonard, you're having a laugh! And there's nothing wrong with that - all of Cohen's works have a wry smile to them; it's just more obvious here. His latest album is due out very soon - I can't wait.

Lambchop - Nixon

2004-10-11T23:33:00.000+01:00

Getting us back on track with vaguely-daily reviews, here's a very strange offering from a very strange group. They're very large, too: I can count thirteen members of the band in the sleeve photo. Standing at the front is lead vocalist and maestro Kurt Wagner. He's in his rightful place, too - it's quite odd how a recording from such a large collective can sometimes sound like a Wagner solo album. (Indeed, the follow-up to this album, Is A Woman, is so stripped down that Kurt's about the only person you can hear.)

Let's tackle the lyrics first. I'd recommend a good, strong rugby tackle: one where you slide around in the mud, get dirty and then the ball bounces away from you at the last second. It often sounds like you're listening to a stream of consciousness on this album, although I'm told that it's much more coherent than Lambchop's earlier recordings. Gosh... Apparently there's a lyrical theme loosely based around President Nixon's career, but I'm pushed if I can find it. I'm not alone, either - a quick scour of the web will reveal that most critics found the references equally oblique.

Musically, we're in a strange world. This album gets filed under alt.country, but there's only hints of Nashville feeling for the Nashville band. For there's a traditional rock four piece, then a string section and, oooh, there's some brass and wind instruments. I'm just listening again to the first track, "The Old Gold Shoe", and on headphones (or speakers better than the ones in my car) you can hear all sorts of background noises going on, too. It sounds like it's been recorded in a cafe. Other tracks take on more of a Philly soft 70s soul sound, with the strings and muted brass to the fore.

For the first time since I first heard Nixon, I listened properly to Wagner's singing. I'm afraid I couldn't make out most of the vocals (don't worry, though - they're all in the CD booklet, together with a biography on Nixon himself). Wagner starts off on pretty solid ground, but suddenly towards the end of "You Masculine You", he slips into a startling falsetto for one line. Then a few tracks later, he tackles an entire piece in a frail, breaking, high voice. I listened hard and this time I felt it sounded completely wrong. Last time, though, I'm sure I liked it.

I think that's probably the idea. You get the impression that Lambchop know exactly what sound they want and aren't afraid to foist it upon the masses. This is certainly not the easiest album with which to get to grips, but if you've got an open mind and a slightly twisted musical sensibility, you should enjoy it.

Various Artists : Catch-up!

2004-10-07T20:35:00.000+01:00

Hello again. As you may have noticed, the promise of daily record reviews has been broken; I've been somewhat remiss recently. This all started when I went home to visit parents, didn't write anything up, got a backlog, never cleared it, got further behind, and so on and so forth.

The good news is that I intend to start again soon. The bad news is that means you miss all the wonderful things to which I've listened in the meantime. Of course, that's no big deal, because I'll surely get round to listening to them again (although I do have quite a few CDs which have only had one outing and have then been subsequently ignored, for various reasons). But you're in for a treat: I'm going to attempt a brief summary of the highlights from the interim!

While at home, I sampled Emmylou Harris's concept album The Ballad Of Lucy Rose, a set of songs she wrote based around fictional characters, but openly based on her relationship with country-rock godfather Gram Parsons. It's an intriguing set, with some very short punctuation pieces, and unless you know a bit of the background, it makes very little sense indeed. Read the sleevenotes before listening! Also featured that weekend was Tony Joe White's new album The Heroines, which as the name suggests is a series of duets with female country and rock stars alike. This is a remarkably crisp sounding set - the backing is superb, and Tony's on great form himself. He even manages to upstage Emmylou on their duet: a feat not often achieved!

On the way home I dug out Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon, about which millions of words have been written and so for now I'll add no more. Then it was Funk Drops Vol 3, the latest in the fantastic series that trawls the Warner archives for lost funk-soul gems. I wasn't quite as impressed with this volume as the previous two, but it's still quality material none the less.

That week, I randomly chose the second disc of an Elvis Presley hits compilation - featuring everything from 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' onwards. That must have put me in the mood for something more serious (Elvis's 70s antics sound great but are hardly the most sincere pieces of music ever), for the next day out came Leonard Cohen's 1984 album Various Positions. I'm a huge Cohen fan, have listened to his work countless times and yet I still find something new in each listen. "Hallelujah" has been reworked in, of all places, the Shrek soundtrack, and so it's great to hear the original in context.

The weekend journey to Peterborough had a Motown Beatles covers compilation on the way there (varied: some are great, most aren't), and the highly alliterative Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens on the way back. Stevens is a singer-songwriter currently growing in reputation. I was very impressed with the sound: these are works of considerably beauty. I can't possibly do justice here, so a further listen and full write-up will follow in the next couple of weeks.

That just about brings us up to date, via Sly & The Family Stone's patchy effort Fresh (ignore, and try their earlier stuff first) and yet another Blue Note 'rare groove' jazz sampler. Oh, look, it's Richard "Groove" Holmes - again! OK, you've probably never heard of him, but when you've got tens of compilations along similar lines, even his Hammond organ can grind.

I'll leave you with that horrendous pun. Normal service will resume shortly!

The Beatles - The Beatles (The White Album)

2004-09-23T19:33:00.000+01:00

This is another one of those mighty albums, made all the more mightier by its size, for it is one of those rare treats - a double album. I realised when I bought it (£10 in Fopp - mispriced, surely - bargain of a lifetime!) that Id' need more than my regular commute to work to give it a full listen. So it's sat waiting to be played until now: a journey back home to Durham.

There's a nice analogy here. The drive to Durham is nearly all on the A1, but it's one of those roads that varies from roaring four-lane motorway, through bustling urban dual-carriageway, through winding rural stretches. In the same way, this album is all The Beatles, but the number of bases covered is vast. Today, such genre-hopping is more common place; then, it was virtually unknown. The White Album certainly broke a few musical taboos.

The first disc presents 17 tracks, which even on its own was a huge number for a single album. This is permitted mainly because most of them are short pieces (I thought of the word 'vignettes' in the car) covering blues, Beach Boys parodies (the opening 'Back In The USSR') and Britain, mining the rich seam of song the Kinks visited so often. I was quite surprised: I'd actually never heard most of these tracks (you think you know it all...), and yet they still seem familiar because of that essential Beatles sound. You even get 'Glass Onion', a neat summary of several previous Beatles story songs.

So onto album two. With fewer tracks, there's more space to breath, and the jaunty pace is slackened somewhat. The pieces are more consistent in style, with the roomy 'Mother Nature's Son' given time to find its sound, and rock anthems 'Helter Skelter' and 'Revolution 1' extending over four minutes. Each of The Beatles contributes to the songwriting - although, of course, Lennon and McCartney's compositions are always co-credited. There's plenty been written on their writing talents that's far more authorative than anything I can say here, so suffice it to say that all four are on form, although you'll have to have an open mind to appreciate some of the more esoteric pieces.

And then we have 'Revolution 9'. This is a track that you'll either love or loath, consisting of over eight minutes of random 'found audio'. I thought I'd hate it, but having now heard it in context, it really is something of a revolution. Again, sound collages are now common (the Avalanches have made an entire career out of it), but this surely must stand as one of the earliest examples of such an audio composition reaching mainstream music. It's one of those things where even if you don't appreciate the content, you've got to respect the art.

As the album draws to a close with Ringo crooning his way through 'Goodnight' (I mean, come on - Ringo - whose idea was that?), you realise that The White Album is a truely great work. Not necessarily something you'll listen to often, not necessarily something you can sit back and enjoy, not even necessarily something you'll call music. But it is quite some achievement in itself, and well deserving of its classic status.

Tubeway Army - Replicas

2004-09-22T19:09:00.000+01:00

Readers (fans?) of my main web site will know that, back in my student days, I wrote a Classic Albums column for one of the uni papers. It was great fun: they entrusted me with selecting a choice cut each week, and providing the text and a scan landed on the music editor's inbox by midnight on Monday, no questions were asked. Hence I instantly picked out a handful of my favourite albums that no-one else seemed to care about much, and foisted them upon the unsuspecting student masses.

Tubeway Army's Replicas was the first to be featured, and to be honest, you might as well go and read the review on that page, because not much has changed in my opinion since. Oh, go on then - I'll bring you up to date a bit. Three years on, and now on a remastered CD (I originally reviewed from a vinyl copy), it's still sounding startlingly crisp. What's more, Gary Numan has been lauded by a whole host of dance and electronica artists, as well receiving more than a few praises from less synthesised genres. Can it be that this album is now cool?

Listening to it again for the umpteenth time, I tried to pin down what's so good about these early electronic sounds. The blend of traditional and new is key: it's a simplistic setup, with punky guitars and bass, a few layers of mono synths and real acoustic drumming. I think that's it, the real drumming - it blends you from new wave to electronic and keeps some soul and variability in the recording that a drum machine would lose.

I'm less sure about the instrumentals now. Are they there to help you reflect on what you've just heard, or to demonstrate the new exciting sounds, or merely to pad out Side 2? I'm surprised they've never appeared in an advert for, say home insurance. Or fridges. The remastered CD contains a host of bonus material, but I ignored that - I'm generally not a fan of extras on reissues (with the exception of including non-album singles so they can have an official CD issue).

There's some lovely moments on this album, as the Minimoogs drift out of tune as each track goes on, or a few wrong notes are hit (listen to the instrumental towards the end of the title track, Replicas). It suddenly gives all the talk of machines and electronics an unexpected edge - a fragile, human touch. A few years later, everything would be digital and precise, but for a brief moment in 1978, you could believe that the future was wobbly sine waves and white hair.

Various Artists - Trojan Soulful Reggae (Disc 1)

2004-09-21T18:56:00.000+01:00

This daily reviewing lark isn't something to be taken lightly. Only a couple of weeks in and already I'm woefully behind with my vignettes of recent listenings. So, as Henry Kelly would say, I'm playing catch up, and my topic is reggae reworkings of soul classics.

Trojan was the mightiest of all the reggae labels that spread its releases from Jamaica to the UK in the late 60s and through the 70s. The label name and rights to their huge archive of recordings, many barely known since their release, are now owned by Sanctuary. Through a vast series of lovingly-crafted box sets, the Trojan catalogue is now showing its true depth, covering everything from mod classics to skinhead rock-steady.

This three-CD set looks at the soulful side of Trojan. I'm only covering the first CD here (daresay the latter two will work their way onto this page one day), as each disc is quite neatly a self-contained package of tunes around a theme. Here, we're treated to seventeen reggae-styled covers of Motown hits. You can play a fun game as you listen: as soon as the intro starts, try to guess what each one is. For any Motown fan worth their Funk Brothers instrumentals bootlegs will know every single one of these - but not quite as they sound here.

Particular treats include several tracks from The Chosen Few, most notably "I Second That Emotion", which lends itself superbly to the reggae sound of off-beat emphasis and shuffling guitar scratching. Ken Boothe does good work on Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" (which, hang on, wasn't a Motown track - hey, what's it doing here?), and Mike Dorane's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" takes all the pace out of the original, while leaving the soul intact.

Some of the reggae reworkings are amusing; a couple are plain bad, and should be left alone. Another problem is that the sound is quite similar from track to track, and an entire CD is quite a chunk to sit through; let alone three discs of the stuff. Still, if you like your Motown all sunshined up, and you don't mind exercising a bit of your own quality control, it's a fun set of covers that'll have you smiling and singing at the same time.

Chic - C'est Chic

2004-09-20T13:02:00.000+01:00

It's 1978, disco is booming and New York's Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards have worked out its secret. Like all classic pop trends, disco has a magic formula. There's one recipe for a floor-filler, one for a good-time party jam and another for a slow number. A good disco album has two of each, one on each side, forming two sets with the same emotional curve. Rodgers & Edwards realised that, and so they created C'est Chic.

This album is more than just disco-by-numbers, though. Chic's classic rhythm guitar, heavily-sampled bass lines and subtle string sections provide subtance to the structure. This wasn't lost on the record-buying public; the LP quickly went platinum, as it captured the perfect disco mood at exactly the right time. Dancers wanted to take home the essence of the club, and here they could do exactly that (much in the same way that Ibiza compilations sell today).

How does it sound today? You've got to push past the enormous hit of "Le Freak", with its pulsating groove and promises of cheap beef ("aahhhh, free cow!") - it sold over four million copies, making it Atlantic Record's biggest selling single ever. Also familiar is the Side 2 floor filler, "I Want Your Love", complete with tubular bells. That leaves the come-down ballads, which wouldn't sound much on their own, but work well against the upbeat tracks that precede them. The same can be said of the remaining tracks, which are more formulaic and less intrinsically exciting.

Nonetheless, this is the perfect example of a disco album; probably the best of its kind. Everything is there - just look at the cover, resplendant in faux European charm. Trashy but not tacky; exactly how disco should sound.

Pulp - Different Class

2004-09-19T22:49:00.000+01:00

I remember a phase when I was at school, where everyone fell into two camps: Blur or Oasis. C'mon, which were you, and where was I? Correct answer - neither! I'd like to say I was following the Third Way, the One True Path, and listening to Pulp. However, I was still going through my Mike Oldfield/Pink Floyd/Fleetwood Mac/Dire Straits phase, and all three largely passed me by.

A big shame, really, because it meant that I missed out on Different Class the first time round. This is a truly excellent album. Jarvis Cocker's songwriting is top-drawer. His themes of teenage angst, the day-to-day worries of working class British life and hedonistic parties are ones which have been handed down through the ages, from The Kinks, to Ian Dury, through Billy Bragg, and thence to Jarvis. (It's why we can rightly hail The Kinks' Ray Davies as the Godfather of Britpop.)

Everyone knows 'Common People' and 'Disco 2000'; if anything, they're now a bit too well known and detract from the rest of the works on offer here. Instead, enjoy the other tracks. A few made it out as singles; others linger here. But they're all good. In particular, 'Something Changed' with its universally uplifting theme of finding love - plus it shows The Verve how violins and Britpop can mix tastefully.

You've got all the standard Pulp touches: tight backing, Jarvis' all-knowing voice and the litle notes in the sleeves banning you from reading the lyrics whilst listening to the recordings. The band's other albums are good, but this one must take pride of place as the foundation of the thinking man's Britpop collection. I'd forgotten just how good it is.

Sparks - Kimono My House

2004-09-17T19:36:00.000+01:00

"What an odd title!" you're thinking. That's OK; it's quite an odd album. From quite an odd group, too. Sparks, largely a vehicle for the extraordinary talents of brothers Ron and Russell Mael (Russell with the hair, Ron with the moustache), have been making bizarrely inexplicable music for over thirty years now. Not that you'd notice; I was quite surprised when I found 1974 was the release date for this album. It seems so much more recent.

Although it does have roots in the glam rock era (some of the more jaunty numbers are strangely reminiscent of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel gone mad), the sound of Sparks is firmly their own. You will never have heard anything quite like the opening track (and lead single from the album), "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" - once describedly quite rightly as a singularly singular single. A wailing keyboard line, alternately subtle-then-pounding drums, tight guitar lines and, above all, Russell's voice.

A voice that deserves a new paragraph. It swoops and dives between barks and croons. It's probably what gives early Sparks their unique sound. Although, over an entire album, it can begin to tire. These songs are so unique that the uniqueness can seem samey. Get under the skin and into the lyrics, though, and the distinctness returns. The album shows its LP roots, with a first side of staunchly separate pop songs, and second featuring more smoothly-flowing, melodic tracks. A useful trick; you'd get tired if the pace of the first half was continued all the way through.

Sparks have made a variety of albums over the years, covering glam, disco, pop and, most recently with Li'l Beethoven, symphonic dance music. Some work; some don't. This is definitely one of their best, and a good place to start if you're looking for something rather different.

Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled His Feet

2004-09-16T19:47:00.000+01:00

I'm a dirty great stopout, you know. Stayed over at a friend's last night, following a supposed "lads' night out". Except you could tell that we weren't real lads any more : 1) too many couldn't make it because their wives wouldn't let them, 2) the food was pizza, but Pizza Express own brand and 3) real lads wouldn't know where the apostrophe should go. It was most fun, but it meant that the latest review comes a day late as the second half was only listened to this evening.

This was one of those albums that everyone at university seemed to own; I suppose it was only a matter of time before I picked up a copy, too. You might know one of the tracks: the impossibly-titled "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm", with its tales of three rather unfortunate children. (Although a parody version by another uni favourite - 'Weird Al' Yankovic - was possibly more famed when I was studying.) But the rest you're unlikely to have heard in the UK - unless you were one of those album-owning students, of course.

The songs are generally reflective, but not on the usual subjects of love 'n' lust. These concentrate on life, where we came from, and where we're headed. Lead vocalist Brad Roberts bellows his way through tracks such as "Afternoons & Coffeespoons", an anthem to growing old gracefully, and "Here I Stand Before Me", which seems to be all about going to the doctors. Perhaps 'bellows' wasn't quite the best word, but it's hard to sum up Brad's voice - deep, resonant and rubbery.

The wry writings find themselves against a firm band backing, with piano and female backups in prime places. It fits the themes well - jaunty and serious at the same time. You even get a final piano solo, aptly named 'Untitled', although I'm not sure why. Still, it rounded off proceedings well, and when journeying home after a delicate day, I wasn't complaining.

I have a feeling that this album is passing its time for me, though. The more I tried to get out of the songs, the more I found the sentiments a tad cloying, and the introspection a little more detailed than necessary. Or perhaps I'm getting too old for quintessential student listening.

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

2004-09-14T22:10:00.000+01:00

It was a horrible day on the roads around Cambridge today. A ghastly accident on the A14 blocked the main routes, and so traffic was helplessly squeezed into byways and back lanes in the vain hope of getting to its destination. And yet I managed to escape the worst, with a run to work not much worse than the usual rush-hour peaks. I could tell from the unusual queues in unusual places that something was up; it wasn't until I got to the office that I discovered exactly what had happened.

My companion through the queues was Wilco's fourth album, a selection made on the basis of several appearances in the end-of-year album reviews for 2002. I discovered that the band had gone through various shifts in identity and personnel, even during in the recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I also learned that when Warners heard how the album was proceeding, they deemed it uncommercial and declined to release it. The band had to buy back the rights to their own music and put it out themselves. Contracts, eh?

It's easy to see how a major label wouldn't like what they hear here. But then again, always remember that this is world in which even the most experimental mainstream albums - e.g. Radiohead's Kid A - can sell well. There are a still a couple of classic 'pop' songs, most notably the instantly accessible 'Heavy Metal Drummer', with its feel-good beat and summery sounds. But the majority of music on this album is much more progressive in nature.

The opening and closing tracks, for instance, feature a noise like strumming the strings of a piano, as well as plenty of static and samples gleaned from the airwaves. (Wilco have just forked out in royalties from lifting a monotonic 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' repeating voice from a record compiling miliary 'numbers stations'.) They may not be 'songs' (how about 'works'?) but you'll still find a sense of melody and structure, as well as a smattering of abstract poetry.

Prog in the 00s sounds very different to its 1970s counterpart. Gone are the rambling indulgent guitar solos, and in come lengthy swooshes and a few beeps. So next time you're stuck in a jam, try it for size. You won't get there any quicker, but you won't mind.

Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde

2004-09-13T20:38:00.000+01:00

When I first thought about writing this blog/daily review column, I realised that there would be a few difficulties. In opening my thoughts up to the whole world (albeit an admittedly small subset), my opinions and musings on a record might be perceived as carrying some weight. Which means that when covering certain 'mighty' artists or albums, I'd be letting myself in for arguments. So before I continue, let me clarify : it's just a blog, a few of my thoughts, and if you disagree, tough!

Bob Dylan is certainly perceived as one of the mightiest artists around. Still touring and releasing new material, his back catalogue is one of the most intensively studied of all solo singer-songwriters. And
Blonde On Blonde is frequently held up as his greatest recording. A double-album set, it was considered a true epic on its release in 1966, even though now in the CD age its size is not so remarkable.

Inside, you'll find a remarkable collection of songs. Dylan's lyrics are zany without being stupid, and with four sides of vinyl at his disposal, he can easily afford to spread out and hit the listener with verse after verse of calculated nonsense. From the plain bizarre "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35", through the lovingly sneering "Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat" (where fashion comes first), to the closing epic folk ballad of "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands", the sheer amount of poetry in song is impressive. No wonder the album has the mighty status that it does.

Given that all the songs have been analysed to death by countless others, and given that this page is meant to offer a review with a personal slant, you're right to be wondering at this point precisely what I think of today's choice. Well, I can appreciate the quality of the songwriting. I can smile at the jokes and enjoy the snide comments. I'm able to find Dylan's playing and voice slightly comical in itself (never has the word 'singer' been used so loosely).

But can I come to terms with the majesty of the occasion? Not quite. Until I know the words off by heart (and through tinny car speakers with road rumble, it's not always easy to tell, although the quality of the remastering on these new releases is startlingly good) and have managed to decipher the meaning of at least some of the twisted imagery, Dylan's masterpiece will remain a mystery. Then again, that's always how he's liked things to be.

Various Artists - Kill Bill Vol 2 OST

2004-09-10T22:55:00.000+01:00

Yeah, yeah, I'm slipping behind with getting reviews done on time. I know! I've decided, though, that the date on the blog will be the date the CD was reviewed. So even though this is being written on Monday, it's dated last Friday. OK? It doesn't make much sense in the short term, but it's easier in the long term. Right...

Soundtrack time, and where better to start than with a Tarantino feature? One of the many remarkable traits of Quentin's films are the soundtracks they feature, delving into the more obscure (but not too obscure) and digging up all sorts of delights. It was the music accompanying Jackie Brown that opened my eyes (ears?) to a whole new world of soulful and funky music - I owe a large chunk of the direction of my collection to that one film.

So here we are with the latest release. For a film largely set in the American West, the music is unsurprisingly consistent. There are three Ennio Morricone tracks, all taken from previous westerns. The instant you hear these, you're there - stetsons, gunslingers and large cacti. Morricone's touch with a score is nothing short of genius: the track L'Arena (taken from the film 'Il Mercenario') is excellent, with an incessant, measured build that other soundtrack writers would die for. Similarly, there are Spanish and Mexican themed workouts.

Staying firmly in the USA, we have Johnny Cash tackling an old country standard, "A Satisfied Mind". In common with most of his latter-day recordings, the rawness and fraility in his voice is overwhelming. And then there are some more urban tracks, including an usual reworking of The Zombies "She's Not There", plus a slight return to the oriental themes of the first film.

Tarantino's use of existing film music is both an interesting musical journey and a fitting tribute to the films (and their soundtracks) that have gone before. The obligatory dialogue snippets included are fun the first time, but ultimately not hugely relevant to the musical proceedings. Despite looking like it's all spaghetti westerns, Kill Bill Vol 2 has a broad soundtrack that just manages to work without the film to keep it company.

Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album)

2004-09-09T23:18:00.000+01:00

I've been giving people lifts again, so the second half of this album is currently playing in my headphones as I sit at my PC typing away. Which is interesting; it keeps the whole thing fresh in my mind. It also means I can't quite follow the lyrics and write at the same time. More practice required!

Apologies to long-time Weezer fans for the rest of this paragraph; I know it annoys them. There's a good chance that if you're of a similar techy disposition to me, you discovered this group through a freebie video clip of the song "Buddy Holly" included on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. Oh how we smiled at the antics of the band as they placed themselves in an episode of Happy Days (whilst admiring Microsoft's latest video compression codec. Or was that just me?). Some of us found ourselves hooked to the melody, too. I was one, so I went out to buy this CD.

You can see why true Weezer fans hate this; their group is forevermore associated with an operating system. And yet, somehow, that's quite fitting. After all, this is group for which the term 'geek rook' was invented. Four guys, still going through uni (the band's tours were put on hold while lead vocalist Rivers Cuomo finished his studies at Harvard), and not the most slick-looking bunch you've ever seen. Look at the album cover. I work with people who dress like that.

The songs cover geeky themes, too: most notably "In The Garage", an anthem to hiding away in the comfort of your den, with only your Kiss poster collection for company. We also have what I believe rates as one of the greatest break-up songs, namely "Undone - the Sweater song", in which a guy already torn with his recent split says "hey, you've ruined me, you might as well ruin my jumper". It's rather wry stuff that works well.

A mid-90s heavy guitar post-grunge sound prevails throughout, with many a riff borrowed from 70s metal bands (like the aforementioned Kiss). Every time I play this album, it always surprises me how thick and loud the sound is. Surely I don't normally listen to that sort of thing? Then the vocals kick in: soft harmonies, very reminiscent of The Beach Boys, with catchy melodies, and that's what keeps me coming back.

The Blue Album stands alone in the Weezer section of my collection; I've never opted to try more from the group. Perhaps I should. Or perhaps I'm attached to this specific set of tunes for silly, geeky reasons. Hey, I can admit it - it's great fun!

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton

2004-09-08T23:07:00.000+01:00

It's only just occured to me that this could be tricky. There are many albums I have that I know very little about - they've just been recommended to me or I've bought them on impulse. This is particularly true with some of my earlier purchases, when I was starting to broaden my horizons and I'd vaguely heard that such-and-such would be a worthy purchase.

So Bluesbreakers found its way onto my shelves. I'm not even a huge fan of blues music. I mean, I don't dislike it, but it's not something I actively collect or rave about, either. It's just passed me by, that's all. But that's no excuse for not being able to present a quality album, and even a non-blues fan can see that this is a very fine selection indeed.

This record is frequently cited as the finest and most influential British blues collection of all time. It's not difficult to see why; the first-class line up, the quality of their musicianship and the soul with which they play are all so evident. In tackling a mixture of standards and self-penned works, John Mayall's group show effortlessly that white men can play the blues. British white men at that, too. It proved an eye-opener to many budding artists in this country at the time.

For me, the interest lies with the addition of Eric Clapton. The album slotted in between Clapton's first stint with the Yardbirds and his progression with Cream. It was the key stepping stone in his career. His guitar playing is so effortlessly smooth and soulful, it's difficult not to smile. And when he takes on vocal duties on "Rambling On My Mind", you can clearly see how he went on to achieve the status he did.

So there you go. No in-depth lyrical analysis, no critique of the musical progressions in Clapton's riffing, no argument, really. Pure and simple statement of the fact - just like the music.

Kirsty MacColl - Tropical Brainstorm

2004-09-07T20:24:00.000+01:00

We're currently enjoying something of an Indian summer; August's storms and torrential rain have been replaced by hot, dry and rather humid days. Well, when I say 'enjoying', I mean tolerating. The aircon in the office today wasn't even up to its usual inefficiency, and worse still, it smelt funny. Not good.

Still, the balmy weather makes it the perfect time to enjoy a few late summer sounds. Kirsty MacColl's final solo CD fits perfectly into this category. Hugely influenced by the sounds of Brazil, Mexico and Cuba, the balmy music, instrumentation and rhythms make it ideal. In fact, 'influenced' doesn't really do it justice; large portions of the album were recorded in Brazil with Brazillian musicians, so it's genuine South American product.

She's been through it all over the years, and that doesn't leave a person unscathed. The feeling on this album is definitely optimistic and empowering, but many of the tracks carry leering lyrics laying into the men in her life. As a listener, you're left in no doubt who's in charge. 'Us Amazonians' paves the way for a matriarchal society and 'Designer Life' dismisses the men who follow exactly that. But then there's the brilliance of 'England 2, Columbia 0' in which Kirsty likens her recently discarded character to the disappointed team.

A postdated review of this album cannot escape from the fact that, shortly after its recording, Kirsty was killed in a boating accident. You're left wondering what might have been. Eight years had elapsed since her previous solo release (the dark and bitter Titanic Days) and it seemed as if she'd just found her voice again. Try not to linger on that fact; instead, enjoy what's there for what it is.

Various - Blow Up A Go-Go!

2004-09-06T23:10:00.000+01:00

Is there anything in the rules that says I can't do various artist compilations? I suppose it might move the focus away from albums, in the purist sense, but hey, what's wrong with a little pick 'n' mix? Without compilations, we wouldn't get the opportunity to sample so many different artists (or for that matter, own 42 copies of A Whiter Shade Of Pale).

This CD comes to you courtesy of the Blow Up club night, which currently hangs around The Metro on Oxford St. Not that I've ever been there - my interest in their range of CDs stems from student radio days, when I was eager to get my hands on any slightly esoteric-sounding instrumental tracks for the purposes of jingles, beds and the like. This took me through a phase of dodgy easy-listening compilations, some of which may well yet crop up on this page, but after I while I discovered the joys of library music, and I found it with Blow Up's Exclusive Blend series.

However, this particular compilation is slightly different, featuring commercially-released recordings: the sort of music played on their club nights. Hence there's a whole range of things, from 60s soul, 70s funk, some 90s sampled beats, jazzy pieces - you name it. I have several collections of similar styles and I like them to varying degrees. This one was easily one of the better ones.

Particular stand-outs include "Watts Breakaway", a superb funk workout by the Johnny Otis Show (who? exactly!), and the French-language soul of Jacques Dutronc's "Le Responsable" (apparently his name crops up in the lyrics to 'Brimful of Asha'...). The compilers suceed with their inclusion of unusual songs by mainstream acts; something that so often can mar a selection. So we get The Kinks, Georgie Fame and the Spencer Davis Group - oh, and even Andy Williams. Nothing you'd really know, but nothing that's obscure for the sake of it. That would get tedious very quickly.

An enjoyable and exciting compilation, all in all. Trouble is, it'll now go and join the ranks of similar CDs, and I'll quickly forget which good tracks were on which discs. Perhaps I need to make myself a compilation of the compilations?

Elliott Smith - Figure 8

2004-09-05T22:54:00.000+01:00

You won't always get the added excitement of a weekend review. I tend not to make sufficiently lengthy car journeys on my own on a weekend - except for when I go to do my shift on hospital radio on a Sunday evening. That's a journey slightly longer than my usual work run, and so the perfect time to sneak in an additional record!

I don't remember buying this album. I think it must have been a freebie from radio days, or suchlike. I don't really recall listening to it, except for the lead track 'Son of Sam', and then that's probably for egotistical purposes. Still, there it has sat amongst the other Ss in the rack, and it was through a completely random choice that it got listened to this evening.

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Elliott Smith only really emerged from the obscure indie masses after one of his songs was used on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack, receiving an Oscar nomination. That attention gave him access to major label finances and allowed him to dabble with more complex and detailed arrangements for his later works. Yet the theme here proves less is most definitely more.

This album from 2000 finds us firmly in singer-songwriter territory. The tracks fall into two broad categories. Most are sparse, some solely with Elliot's voice and acoustic guitar, others adding only a simple piano accompaniement. The doubling-up of his own singing and playing makes for an interesting effect; if you can imagine Simon & Garfunkel but with two Paul Simons, you won't be far wrong. Another familiar reference is the more laid-back pieces from Badly Drawn Boy (although of course, this album came first).

The remaining tracks are more dense, with drums, electric guitar and strings. One or two of these work quite well, but I feel others are rather out of place. Indeed, at 16 tracks, this is quite a long album, and a small amount of editing could have worked well. I found on the journey home that I began to lose attention with the closing tracks. There's certainly a great lyrical depth, intense and rather dark in places, but I didn't find myself compelled to pay attention throughout.

I think this one's a slow grower. Play it once and you'll only latch onto the opening track. But give it a few loving listens and I reckon you'll start to see hidden depths. I get the impression this could be an album that crops up on future 'unsung classics' lists; for now, though, it needs time to mature.

The Beta Band - Hereos To Zeros

2004-09-03T18:11:00.000+01:00

Thought it was about time I tried something new, so on the way out this morning, I delved into the new music basket. (I'm so fond of buying a few CDs in the sales - especially from Fopp - that I tend to have a backlog of unlistened-to music. These go in a separate pile to ensure they don't get lost and find their way into the main CD racks without first receiving some attention.)

I'm a sucker for a new musical idea. One day I'd love to go through my collection and work out the influence that caused me to buy each artist : a friend's recommendation, a review, hearing it in a shop, parental choice... My attention was first drawn to the Beta Band through the film High Fidelity (and presumably the book, as well), in the scene where Rob puts on their Three EP's album specific to sell five copies. "Who is that?" a customer asks. "The Beta Band," replies Rob. "It's good!". "I know." Perfect. 'Dry The Rain's' catchy muted trumpet caught his customers, and it caught me, too.

Back then, the band were true rock experimentalists; you wouldn't go as far as to class most of their tracks as 'songs'. But Heroes to Zeros finds the Edinburgh foursome continuing their steady transition away from pure sonic doodling towards a more coherent sound. It's alienated more than a few of their fans, but I'm enjoying the change. There's only so much randomness you can take!

And I've taken to this album straight away. The opening few tracks showcase a powerful sound, with noticeably more guitar in the mix. A range of guitar sounds, too - I was thinking of U2, 60s pysch-fans Traffic and various grunge groups as each new piece started. But that doesn't mean we're darting around; it meshes together pretty well.

Favourite track was "Out-Side" - definitely borrowing more than a bit from the Monkees' "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", but hey, what's wrong with that? And pleasingly, it's not a long dirge of an album; the second half returns to a more experimental sound, but it's restrained and doesn't outstay its welcome. An interesting transition, then, as the tracks start with solid pieces but gradually fade away - from Hereos to Zeros, you might say.

The Divine Comedy - Liberation

2004-09-02T23:25:00.000+01:00

Album two, and already I'm hitting problems. People keep wanting a lift in my car, and keeping them company rather precludes serious listening. (Besides, we were listening out for the awful top-of-the-hour jingle on Classic FM.) As a result, I'm still listening to the last couple of songs on today's selection as I type.

I've been a fan of The Divine Comedy ever since Simon at school included 'The Frog Princess' on a compilation tape he'd made for a long car journey. It was so deliciously silly: the orchestral arrangement, the subject matter and Neil Hannon's resonant baritone voice. I bought the album (Casanova) and it quickly became a firm favourite. And then I did the natural thing of stocking up on the back catalogue.

Liberation was the band's first proper album (there's an earlier one which has never been reissued, and Neil's keeping it that way). The music is rather sparse in comparison with the later outings; a small string section on some pieces contrasts with the full orchestra found on Casanova. I think it works rather well - it provides a refreshingly clear sound that allows the lyrics room to breathe and be heard.

And what a range of lyrics there are. From the opener dealing with the life and times of Mr Benn, through metaphorical joyriding ("We took your Daddy's car/And wrapped it round a tree/We didn't know what for/We didn't feel like driving any more"), hayfever, and finally a spot of Wordsworth on 'Lucy'. It can be light and deep at the same time, managing to stay just on the right side of cloying.

I've not enjoyed the more recent Divine Comedy stuff quite as much as these earlier albums (although that's mainly owing to Radio 2 overplaying a few key tracks and then the rest of the world making comparisons with Scott Walker). Don't get me wrong; it's still good. It just lacks a certain carefree innocence found here, and for me that's where the charm lies.

Air - 10,000Hz Legend

2004-09-01T23:13:00.000+01:00

So then, where to start: a famously 'classic' album, an old favourite, or brand new cutting-edge release? Well, it's none of those really. The first CD that grabbed me as I passed the rack on the way out to the car was this one, so I grabbed it and off we went.

French band Air wormed their way into people's heads when their first proper album, "Moon Safari", made a hit with advertising executives and posh drinking establishments the world over. Suddenly you couldn't move without hearing one of their tunes on an advert for some luxury car, or find a bar that didn't feature Air on their sound system. TV chef Gary Rhodes liberally pinched a few to back up his latest trendy cookery efforts. (Even I got in on the act - on my very first show on student radio, I played an Air track. But hey, it was unknown then!)

So there were big hopes for their second album: more laid-back pieces to prop up your dinner party! Instead, buyers of "10,000Hz Legend" were in for a bit of a shock. Air had taken things in a rather arty, self-indulgent direction. Gone were the subtle melodies that effortlessly washed over you, and in came jagged tracks demanding attention.

It was too much for most, and the album received a few unflattering write-ups. I felt the same; I'd eagerly awaited its arrival, and was rather let-down when I first listened. There was nothing quite so pure or so beautiful as on the first CD.

However, something odd has happened. Listening to it again this morning, I couldn't see why everyone had made such a fuss. All I could hear was Air. New directions and new tricks, maybe, but at the heart of it, it was the same clean, electronic spirit, just with some exciting new twists. Another favourite of mine, Beck, even pops up to lend a hand, and it all seems so 'right'. It works!

Now Air have gone on to release "Talkie Walkie" and things are a little more back to basics. "10,000Hz Legend" seems trapped in the middle; an odd attempt at striking out away from the lounge. But I think it's a real grower. Sure, it's complex, but just give it some time. You'll get there in the end.

Disc 1, Side 1, Track 1

2004-08-31T21:20:00.000+01:00

I've succumbed. "Get a blog!" they all said, where 'they' means 'the entire world, everyone who's anyone, and his dog'. And so I have. And here it is. Shiny, isn't it?

However, if there's one thing I can't stand, it's people who set up blogs to tell the entire world about their pet gripes. There'll be none of that here. (I'm also not too keen on paradoxes.)

Nor will you find intimate details on my life, my lunch or my laundry. I believe blogging should reward the reader with something emotional, interesting, educational and maybe even informative. Whether I succeed, well, you can decide!

I love music. All sorts of music. My CD collection is frequently described as anything from 'eclectic' to 'bizarre'. And every day or so, I grab a random CD as I leave for work and play it. The round journey by car is generally long enough for an album, and listening to something old and familiar or new and unexplored is a great way to pass the time.

So here's the plan : my blog is going to be based around a review of each album. A few words on what it's about, where it sits, why it's good (or bad!) and whether I'd recommend it.

A laudable aim. Let's see how it goes! C'mon, it'll be a laugh...