Radiohead-Pablo Honey (1993)

Track Listing:
1. You
2. Creep
3. How Do You?
4. Stop Whispering
5. Thinking About You
6. Anyone Can Play Guitar
7. Ripcord
8. Vegetable
9. Prove Yourself
10. I Can't
11. Lurgee
12. Blow Out

Best Track: Creep

Anyone can play guitar apparently, but can THEY play it well...


It's very easy to look at Radiohead's debut album through modern (2011) eyes and think it looks pretty unremakable. Obviously Pablo Honey lacks the arty-experimental rock of the later albums but Thom Yorke and co. do produce quite a decent debut.

You starts off proceedings in a honest fashion, with some slightly heavy but not too heavy guitar-work dominating. Yorke's vocals blend in alright with this playing. Radiohead's first hit Creep is one of the highlights on the album, with the self loathing lyrics really biting down hard. The swearing fits in well with that idea, without coming out as just braindead songwriting ala The Sex Pistols. There is a grungey feel here as well with the quiet-ish verses before the harder chorus. And then appears that falsetto in the middle which, while not as good as what Yorke will do on later albums, is still quite effective. It forms a nice contrast to his singing earlier in the song. How Do You feels very punk (Maybe they were like The Sex Pistols...) but has a slightly depressed note to it at the same time. The start is good but the heavy distortion at the end seems a bit of a pointless and not very pleasing way to end proceedings.

Stop Whispering is weird for the band in that it has a lyrics that make you want to stand up for yourself, instead of wallowing in depression. The drumming here from Selway is quite good as it provides a nice framework for Yorke to deliver a strong hook (Stop whispeeerriinngg...) and the three guitar attack to riff hard. Thinking About You is a very Smiths-like semi acoustic love song, whilst Anyone Can Play Guitar echoes The Smith's melancholic style without Morrissey's emotional delivery. Yorke has a good crack but the hooks here aren't quite as well delivered as the earlier songs. Ripcord again displays Selways good drumrolls but the vocals get drowned out by the just slightly too heavy guitars. And there doesn't seem to be that quiet-loud grungey dynamics that there were on Creep and Stop Whispering. Vegetable addresses this deficiency and has a nice twisted distortion guitar sound over quite strong lyrics that aren't referring to your regular garden greens.

Grungey distorted guitars continue to be the word of the day with Prove Yourself, and I Can't features an attractive slightly choppy guitar based melody that hang around a more subdued but still strong rhythm section. I Can't also taps into that well trodden teen insecuritys/angst theme to a good effect. It's probably a minute too long but that doesn't ruin the song. Lurgee is a touch unremarkable but not horrid. The finale Blow Out goes against the flow of the whole album with it's quite mellow overtones, before entering a siren like section that seems to point towards the sonic exploration of their early 2000's albums. The thumping drums underneath keep it from total white noise though.

Mixing The Smiths with the in style (Grunge) at the time is interesting, but the fact is Radiohead were never a band to hang around with only the limitations of Grunge, and every album after Pablo confirms this. However if you like you're Radiohead  distorted guitar-heavy and angsty with a grungey flavour then Pablo fulfills that need. If you've just entered the world of Radiohead through this album however you've still got a long and throughly enjoyable ride to go. And yes, these guy's do know how to play guitar. ;)

11/15

Pink Floyd-A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)

Track Listing:
1. Signs of Life
2. Learning to Fly
3. The Dogs of War
4. One Slip
5. On the Turning Away
6. Yet Another Movie
7. A New Machine pt. 1
8. Terminal Frost
9. A New Machine pt. 2
10. Sorrow

Best Track: Learning to Fly

Well it's no Dark Side but it doesn't deserve it's bad rep either...

Pink Floyd seemed finished after the effectively Waters solo record that was The Final Cut, but instead Gilmour, Mason and to an extent Wright restarted Floyd to make Momentary Lapse. Considered by many Floyd fans to be horrid and an insult to the great Pink Floyd catalogue, this album tends to get a pretty bad wrap. But to be honest does it really deserve this criticism?

The first song is the instrumental Signs of Life. It opens with the flowing water at the start which then leads on to an ambient-ish synth part before ending in a subdued Gilmour guitar part. Quite a pleasant song, but probably not the best to open an album with. It's just a bit too unremarkable. Ideally you'd want the next song, Learning to Fly, to start off proceedings. Learning immediately hits with it's soaring slashes of guitar, which add to the effective and strong lyrics.

One thing about Momentary Lapse is that the record has energy with it. Even though The Dogs of War and One Slip aren't the best songs here at least they don't get bogged down. Dogs of War shows Gilmour trying to be all angry and demonstrative but really only Waters was ever good at that. On the Turning Away is another anthem like Learning to Fly, but it lacks the guitar slashes that predominate the latter. It instead relies on effective backing vocals which background Gilmours airy voice beautifully.

The worst songs on the album are the double whammy of A New Machine pt 1 and 2. The sound is harsh, too sudden and ugly, with the empty gaps between Gilmour's shrieks awkward and pretty useless. I'm not sure whether Gilmour and co. trying to revive the gritty atmosphere of Animals here but if they were they failed dramatically. And then just to rub salt into the wound (or ears rather?) they decide to just repeat about 40 seconds of it a second time. Not smart, not smart at all...

Mind you in between the two abominations there is the (second) lovely instrumental, Terminal Frost. Starting off with a nice piano line, assumedly from Wright, and a bit more soaring guitar from Gilmour, the instrumental then morphs into a superb saxophone solo. Truly brilliant, the sax solo is moving but not wanky like you sometimes get with solo's from this instrument. It's very close to best track here, which is rare as generally I consider most instrumentals filler to the vocal tracks (unless of course the artist goes by the name of Brian Eno )

So certainly by no means a bad album. Granted there a few poor tracks and only one or two true good ones but there really is no real problems here. It gave back Pink Floyd energy in their music as well as a bit more positivity after three generally dark albums. Certainly if you enjoyed stuff before Waters became too dominant then you shouldn't find this a bad album.


10/15

Peter Gabriel-Peter Gabriel 3-Melt (1980)

Track List:
1. Intruder
2. No Self Control
3. Start
4. I Don't Remember
5. Family Snapshot
6. And Through The Wire
7. Games Without Frontiers
8. Not One of Us
9. Lead A Normal Life
10. Biko

Best Track: And Through The Wire

Fucked up and disturbing...But I like it!

Peter Gabriel is one of the most gifted Art Rockers around because he can combine his arty experimentation with a sound that is appealing to the mainstream. (At least pre-1986) With PG 3 or Melt as I like to call it he manages to combine the two beautifully.

Intruder sets the scene of the album from the start. A disturbing synth background gives Gabriel plenty of room to sing in a very awkward and appropriate style, which fits in brilliantly. The lyrics perfectly describe what happens in the head of an intruder, and it just comes out so nicely. It's not what I'd call immediately accessible but it's a strong starter. No Self Control continues to touch on the mentally unstable feel of the album, but Start is a massive left turn. Lovely luscious sax dominated instrumentals? Is this Roxy Music's Avalon? This is definitely a very distinct song from the other tracks and it does represent a nice breather from the heavier (in lyrics and feel) songs around it.

The next few songs feel a touch more listenable for the more mainstream person. I Don't Remember has a strong and heavy vocal hook which interchanges nicely the guitar there, whilst Family Snapshot touches on the heartstrings with Gabriel incorporating a childish touch to his voice at the end when he's singing to stop his parents fighting. The character impersonating stuff is a throwback to his Genesis years but it certainly sounds a lot more emotional and serious here. Which in a sense is a good description of the whole album.

And Through The Wire is next, and it shows Gabriel putting his voice to good use again, with a nice very 80's sounding but also quite good guitar riff dominating around it. This combination makes it my favourite song here. The hit single Games Without Frontiers has strong anti-war lyrical content but isn't quite as atmospheric as the other tracks. Not One of Us is similar in musical style to I Don't Remember without quite as strong a hook. Lead A Normal Life has a very thick and effective atmosphere, with nice piano work just floating to the surface over it. It almost has an ambient feel at times, except towards the end where there is a flood of distortion again returning to the mentally unstable style again. Biko is another political song (about some South African anti-apartheid campaigner I believe?) with excellent use of African drums and choir. Gabriel is a big campaigner for World music and it is represented nicely here, even if it kind of sticks out from the majority of the album. It is still a quality song.

From the striking album cover to the striking songs Melt represents art rock at it's finest. Rarely had Gabriel ever reached this kind of brilliance, in or out of Genesis, and so it certainly deserves praise.


14/15

The Jam-All Mod Cons (1978)

 

1. All Mod Cons

2. To Be Someone (Didn't We Have A Nice Time?)

3. Mr. Clean

4. David Watts

5. English Rose

6. In The Crowd

7. Billy Hunt

8. It's Too Bad

9. Fly

10. The Place I Love

11. 'A' Bomb In Wardour Street

12. Down In The Tube Station At Midnight

Best Track: It's Too Bad

My Generation,circa 1978?


I'd never heard of The Jam until two weeks ago, when I decided to take the plunge on them when I saw one of their cds. This was All Mod Cons, which is a superb if a little derivative art-punk album.

The sound on this album is pretty standard for the Punk era; being guitar, bass and drums but that doesn't stop the individual tracks from being quality. The title track opener sets the scene for the majority of the album with it's gritty yet melodic guitar riffs, it's effective bass lines and Paul Weller's harsh and heavily accented vocals. I really do like Weller's vocal style, as it has that punk angryness in it but yet it also conveys a very attractive essence to it, which I find uncommon for vocalists of this era.

This album seems to have taken a lot of cues from The Who's My Generation. Certainly it combines the art punk style of My Gen whilst it also has srtikingly similar vocal harmonies. It's Too Bad sounds beautiful because of these harmonies, which seem to have been inspired by The Kids Are Alright. Down In The Tube Station also uses these harmonies to good use, but the real good stuff here is on the smart guitar riffs that blend in so well with Weller's literal and immediate lyrics that he sings in a quick and decisive style. Add a few typical "Tube" sounds and you get the best description of a late night bashing that you'll ever get.

Just to balance out the general feel of the album there is the touching English Rose. One would think it's acoustic guitar and quite sweet love lyrics would make the song stick out like a sore thumb, but the song is sung with a sincere enough feel to keep it tasteful. Certainly it feels like an island of tranquility in the sea of kitchen sink style (not quality ) lyrics and a largely non acoustic sound. David Watts is a nice Kinks cover that continues the My Generation era feel that parallels the more modern punk elements that are also present in the music. And The Jam certainly manage to combine the two rather nicely with no obvious real faults. Perhaps Weller's vocals can get a touch too gritty in songs like To Be Someone, but other than that there's not much wrong here.

The Jam have made a brilliant album that manages to combine the musical spirit of two eras, which is certainly a step up from most other punk albums in the era (even though this wasn't straight out punk). Certainly one to lend your ear to.

14/15

The Smiths-The Queen is Dead (1986)

Track Listing:

1. The Queen is Dead (Take Me Back to Dear old Blighty)
2. Frankly Mr Shankly
3. I Know it's Over
4. Never Had No One Ever 
5. Cemetry Gates
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again
7. The Boy With A Thorn in his Side
8. Vicar in a Tutu
9. There is a Light That Never Goes Out
10. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

Best Track: I Know It's Over or Cemetry Gates

Mid-80's British Indie Rock? hmmm....

Starting off with such a well regarded album was nice, but on first listen The Queen is Dead disappointed me a little. It seemed decent but at times muddled (Especially on the title track) indie pop/rock that seemed a bit bland as well. Everything seemed to be focused on Marr's guitarwork and it all seemed very one dimensional.

However on my second and later third listen the real quality shone through. Whilst the title track still felt very muddled and undefined in it's sound, the rest of the album started to pick up. The quaint but attractive melodies in Frankly and Cemetry Gates really caught my ear this time around. Perhaps it's that delicate sound that doesn't quite get picked up when your expecting a harder edged sound. Yes I'll admit never having never heard The Smiths before I had some preconceived ideas in my mind that they would rock a little harder, but it's all for the better that they didn't.

Morrissey really shows me why he's so well regarded for his beautiful and emotional singing delivery, as well as his sharp and witty but at the same time sombre lyrics. The best example is in I Know It's Over, with his depressed beauty shining through in his voice, and of course the lyrics (Oh Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my heaaaaddd....). His lovely vocal delivery is evident throughout, and he makes it all bond well with Marr's dominant yet again melodic guitar parts. Whilst the bass and drum influence feels more in the background, it's still solid enough I guess. To be honest with the excellent use of the guitar on, for example, Boy with a Thorn and Some Girls are Bigger Than Others it makes up for the lack of variation in the rhythm section.

If anything this album proves to me that multiple listens are needed before making judgements. With only two tracks that aren't superb (the title track and Vicar in a Tutu), it has to be a given a 13 or 14. For 1986 though this is brilliant!


13/15

Ratings 'n' Stuff

Technical Stuff: (Ratings)
My ratings system works as a score out of 15 for each album. I feel this provides a greater spectrum of quality then a score out of 10 and it also isn't ridiculously large like say a score out of 100.

What each number means:

15: Best of All Time, perhaps never to be topped. Defining albums in music.

13-14:Very Good-Excellent, Great albums but not quite timeless. Still brilliant mind you.

11-12:Above Average-Good, Quality albums but with some minor flaws.

9-10:Average, No shame in getting an album like this but the're not great either.

7-8:Below Average, Quality starts to wane around here. Not unlistenable but there are a number of bad songs.

5-6:Poor, The bad stuff is in the majority now. Usually one or two songs keep the album from getting a worse rating.

3-5:Bad, Genuinely crap music. Not much else to say really.

<3:DON'T GO ANYWHERE NEAR THIS IF YOU VALUE YOUR HEARING


Other Stuff:
Comments and feedback are greatly appreciated!
Any suggestions on new bands/albums to review are appreciated too!