The Byrds – The Notorious Byrd Brothers
Posted: February 19, 2012 Filed under: 60s | Tags: the byrds Leave a comment »
The Notorious Byrd Brothers – The Byrds
Released January, 1968
Well, wasn’t “The Notorious Byrd Brothers” an interesting album! Released in January ’68 in the States, and April of the same year in the UK, it only made it to #47 on the Billboard Top LP’s chart, but did a lot better in the UK where it reached #12, maybe due to the UK being more widely accepting of crazy prog rock, with other progressive bands like King Crimson and Pink Floyd emerging around the same time. The Notorious Byrd Brothers was all round well received by critics. My favourite press quote was from Rolling Stone magazine’s John Landau: “Their music is possessed by a never-ending circularity and a rich, child-like quality. It has a timelessness to it, not in the sense that you think their music will always be valid, but in the sense that it is capable of forcing you to suspend consciousness of time altogether.” And it’s dead right.
As much as it wasn’t my favourite album of afyccim, it definitely can make you lose track of time, with the fantastic sound effects blurring the gaps between tracks. There certainly was an awful lot going on! And I guess it makes sense when you consider that The Byrds lineup reads like a Bold And The Beautiful story line… Guitarists and drummers fighting, leaving, coming back, temporary musicians being hired, vocalists leaving, returning for a few weeks and leaving again! No wonder it sounded messy! There is a fair bit of DFN in this album, and they freely admit it! In ‘Artificial Energy’, they sing “I’m coming down off amphetamines, and I’m in jail coz I killed the queen”. Err… Right. The Byrds were famous for experimenting with guitar effects, and the first we hear of this is in ‘Natural Harmony’. Gratuitous use of flanging and phasing gives it a kind of weird ethereal feel, though I think it makes the song too busy. But, they were high, so…
Probably my favourite song on this album was ‘Wasn’t Born To Follow’, Carole King’s song. It’s a very simple kind of folk song, with lovely harmonies, AND THEN A CRAZY GUITAR EFFECTS SOLO!
Weirdly, I quite liked ‘Old John Robertson’. The fast country guitar, the organ solo in the middle, the Stetson hat, it all just worked. Now. ‘Dolphin’s Smile’. I don’t really understand what was going on. It’s all very airy fairy, and I guess musically it’s very pretty, but the lyrics! Verse two: “Wind-taut line split the sky/ curlin’ crest rollin’ by/ floating free aimlessly/ in a dolphin’s smile”. I wish that was out of context… ‘Space Odyssey’ is probably the most off it’s chops. There’s phasers galore! I just wonder why they say they venture to the moon in 1996, when the moon landing was only a year after this was recorded? Surely they knew it wasn’t that far away?
It wasn’t a bad album, but it was very cluttered and busy, and got kind of hard to listen to. I don’t think I’ll do it again…
Listening to The Byrds takes me to a completely different place. Their sepia-tinged music for some reason seems to recall summers past, great loves, and evoke childhood memories. Musically, the pure folk moments on “The Notorious Byrd Brothers” are what make it so right; the airy and dream-like 3-part vocal harmonies that have become synonymous with The Byrds, and the jangly 12 string guitar are its saving grace. Although I appreciate and respect the fact that the psychedelic and electronic experimentation employed on this album helped shape future styles of music, I think that they got a bit synth-happy in the studio. I didn’t really enjoy the sound of blaring synth horn sections, battlefield sound effects and seemingly out of place baroque style synth string solos. Having said all of that, the fusion of folk rock and country by mixing pedal steel with electric worked really well. In true folk style, the songs on the album are thematic and the lyrics cover issues current at the time such as the Vietnam War, freedom, peace, drug use and more. Standout tracks for me were the ones featuring all the good stuff – great lyrics, beautiful vocal harmonies, and simple instrumentation – including ‘Goin’ Back’, ‘Get to You’, and ‘Wasn’t Born to Follow’. It’s lucky we’re listening to this album with hindsight, because knowing that it was a highly prolific album to the evolution of folk and country rock is what made me persevere and follow through with my 6 listens. I think that “The Notorious Byrd Brothers” is an album that requires understanding to appreciate. Definitely worth a listen, and there are some really pretty moments. My advice – have a listen, and pick out the songs you like for your iPod playlist – cull the rest. That’s what I’ll be doing.
I was quite surprised that there were no Dylan covers on this record. Except for 1966′s “Fifth Dimension” each Byrds album up until this point had at least one – their debut effort “Mr Tambourine Man” contained four. They had become famous for taking a Dylan song and radically reworking it, adding lush harmonies and their trademark jangly electric guitars. They do, however, cover two Gerry Goffin and Carole King songs, ‘Goin’ Back’ and ‘Wasn’t Born To Follow’, the latter being my favourite track here. This record sees the band moving away from their folk/pop covers and writing more of their own songs, with a country and western flavour slowly creeping in. Some numbers benefit from some wonderful pedal steel guitar work, most notably ‘Change Is Now’ and the aforementioned ‘Wasn’t Born To Follow’. Opening track ‘Artificial Energy’ announces that this is quite a different Byrds album; the song’s dark message on the ills of amphetamine use is punctuated by a fanfare of blaring trumpets. Several songs employ a flange effect and most feature a guitar break or a chorus that changes feel or tempo or style…or all three! I think this approach marred what could have been a very good album, because there’s just too much going on here. The closing ‘Space Odyssey’ is a mess of a song featuring extensive use of the Moog synthesiser, which I feel takes away from the song. It is interesting to note that founding member and contributing songwriter David Crosby was fired from the group during the making of this album, as was drummer Michael Clarke. I believe the band were struggling for direction and eventually found it after the group dynamic significantly changed. This album is the sound of that struggle.
The Byrds are one of those bands who I was kind of familiar with but I had never really sat down with one of their albums, so I was excited to listen to “The Notorious Byrd Brothers”. I knew they were famous for their lush harmonies, the infamous 12 string Rickenbacker and some sweet pedal steel action. I’m a quite a big fan of all of these things. I was therefore surprised to find that whilst this album had those folky/rock elements, there was a lot of experimental, psychedelic stuff going on also. There were struggles in the band during the recording of this album, culminating in both David Crosby and Michael Clarke leaving part way through, and I feel this is evident in the final recording. It has moments of glory but overall it feels quite fractured and hectic. There isn’t a solid theme holding it together, rather a mismatch of songs and ideas. It’s one thing to take risks, but there is always the danger of it becoming self indulgent, and there does tend to be a lot of moments where it feels this way. I am however quite fond of the more folkier moments, particularly the tracks ‘Goin’ Back’, ‘Wasn’t Born to Follow’, ‘Get to You’ and the slightly rockier ‘Change is Now’. I feel that this album hasn’t dated as well as some of the albums we have already listened to. It sounds very much like it was made in the 60s. “The Notorious Byrd Brothers” is a polarising album. You either love it or hate it. Despite your opinion of it, it’s worthy of its place on this list. If it wasn’t for bands like The Byrds pushing the envelope and fusing what were quite static genres in the 60s, we wouldn’t musically be where we are today.
Every week we’d like to hear your thoughts on the album. Just click on one of the links below, or leave a comment here to have your say.
Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
Posted: February 12, 2012 Filed under: 60s | Tags: bob dylan Leave a comment »
Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
Released August, 1965
This album is the first of many transitions in the long career of Bob Dylan. His songs and albums have been woven into pop culture over the decades, and love him or loathe him you don’t have to look far to see his influence on popular music. Up until this point, Dylan had been making albums that were very sparsely produced; often just his voice, a guitar and a harmonica. He had been hailed as the saviour of the folk scene and found himself the unwilling spokesperson for a generation. He had brought out “Bringing It All Back Home” five months earlier, which featured a full electric rock band arrangement on all the songs on the first side. Although the second half of the album appeared to be his trademark acoustic folk/pop fare, he had moved away from the protest songs he had become synonymous with, favouring introspective and emotional themes. Shortly after that album’s release, Dylan performed a set at the Newport Folk Festival that saw several audience members boo him for playing an electric guitar, and having a full band. Many members of the folk scene mourned that he’d lost his way and betrayed them. Dylan just wanted to sing his songs, and not go out on stage by himself for the rest of his career.
‘Like a Rolling Stone’ is probably the most famous song on “Highway 61 Revisited”, regularly sitting at high positions on Greatest Song polls around the world. When Bruce Springsteen inducted Bob Dylan into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 he said that the song’s opening snare shot “sounded like somebody’d kicked open the door to your mind”. What a fitting way to start this album, and to finally signal the end of his time as a protest singer. The song also changed the blueprint of the radio hit single by exceeding the hallowed three minutes and coming in at over six. To call the song a classic is an understatement; most people upon hearing the first line will chime in with “didn’t you?”.
There are so many great moments here. The seedy sounding piano that opens ‘Ballad of a Thin Man’ makes the listener feel like they’ve stepped into the wrong saloon, especially when the ominous chorus line comes: “Because something is happening here/But you don’t know what it is/Do you, Mister Jones?” In the ramshackle rush of ‘Tombstone Blues’ Dylan threatens to leave the other musicians behind as several cues are nearly missed throughout the track. The wonderful ‘Queen Jane Approximately’ just might be my favourite Dylan song title and the rock chug of ‘From a Buick 6′ will get any foot tapping. The last song on the album is the only one without drums or an electric guitar, the beautiful eleven minute epic ‘Desolation Row’. What the song means is anyone’s guess, but the imagery is astounding. Dylan peppers the lyrics with many characters – fictional, biblical and historical – that drop in and out like tourists. The constant flourishes from Nashville’s Charlie McCoy on flamenco guitar adds to the beauty of this exceptional song. Arguably one of the best closing tracks ever recorded.
What Dylan did with this record was challenge his fans. Some turned their back, some came through the door kicking and screaming; others more willingly. I believe he showed other artists they could reinvent themselves, and acts like the Beatles, Bowie, U2 and Madonna took note. I saw Dylan at the Blues n Roots Festival in Fremantle last year and he performed three songs off this album. For an artist who doesn’t often look back, that’s a testament to his opinion of the record, and its enduring legacy.
Bob Dylan was, and still is, quite a prolific writer. In the 60s he released nine albums alone, of which a handful could have been included in this project. “Highway 61 Revisited” was recorded around the time the Dylan ‘went electric’, thus upsetting the folk kids. Those with an open mind saw it for the brilliance that it was. It is with good reason that two of Dylan’s albums feature in the top ten of Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘500 Greatest Albums of all Time’, with “Highway 61 Revisited” coming in at #4. For those playing at home the song ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ came in at #1 on their ‘500 Greatest Songs of all Time‘ list. Now, I want to talk a little bit about poetry. The term ‘high school poetry’ is one I’ve bandied around a bit. I use it to describe lyrics that whilst have good intentions come across a little forced and, dare I say it, pretentious. They are lyrics that try hard to be meaningful or clever but tend to be intellectualised rather than emotionally realised. Real poetry, to me, doesn’t need to be understood. It transcends the words and it’s something you connect to or don’t. It’s like good art or music. You don’t know why you like it, you just do. Do I understand the lyric “The sun’s not yellow it’s chicken”? No. Do I care? Not at all, because whilst I don’t understand it, I believe Dylan does. And this is where Bob Dylan, like so many of the great writers and poets, excels for me. This an album I’m very familiar with, so it was an absolute pleasure to revisit it all week long. I’m hard pressed to pick a favourite song as the album is so solid, but at a push I’d say ‘Queen Jane Approximately’.
Fun fact: one of my favourite things in the world to do is sing crappy pop songs in the style of Bob Dylan. Try it!
This is not the first time I’ve listened to this album. I’ve enjoyed it before. It kicks off with ‘Like a Rolling Stone’, which is a timeless classic. The song that was written after Dylan completed a long slog of a tour of England. It was never meant to even be a song, it was just Dylan channelling his anger on paper, until he read it at the piano. It changes the song a bit for me, thinking of it in its context. After that though, the whole album is a bit of a blur to me. Perhaps I’m the only one, but every song seems very similar. I did take particular notice of ‘Tombstone Blues’ though. It’s a pretty fun song, even if I had no idea what it was about. That brings up my next point: does anyone have a clue what Bob Dylan was on about? At all? Ever? Maybe it’s just too deep for me. ‘From a Buick 6’ is the track I think is the best musically, with a rock solid bass line, that typically jangly guitar sound, and a blazing harmonica solo. And why not, when you play blues harmonica like that! ‘Ballad of a Thin Man’. What an odd song. Wikipedia says that it’s the story of a normal bloke walking in to a room of “intentionally bizarre circus freaks”. Whatever it’s really about, there’s an awful lot of “and he said, and you said”. Also, points for using the words “one-eyed midget” in a song. If you’re a folk/blues fan, you probably dug this album. This time around, though, I just couldn’t get in to it.
Ok so if you’re like me and think that Bob Dylan is not for you, you’ll soon see the error in your ways, because, truth be told, Bob Dylan has something for everyone. Dylan’s style traverses many musical genres, including folk, rock and roll, blues, gospel, country and rockabilly. This album was quite revolutionary; it pioneered the blending of folk and rock, by utilizing a mixture of acoustic and electric instrumentation. I think that this gives the songs a really rich depth of sound and it makes it easier to distinguish the different timbres of the instruments, which I really like. I was transfixed by Dylan’s distinctive staccato vocal and vividly descriptive lyrics. He really is a bloody fantastic story teller and you find yourself waiting for the next verse, just to find out what happens next in the tale he’s recounting to you. I also found myself trying to figure out the hidden meanings behind what he was saying, particularly in tracks ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ and ‘Tombstone Blues’, which feature highly loaded lyrics. At times I felt as though the whole thing was about to fall over; on several of the tracks the lead guitar seems to drop out of sync with the percussion. And on others, the lead guitar is really out of tune (‘Queen Jane approximately’). Somehow it still works a treat! My stand out favourite track is ‘Desolution Row’, which is thought to tell the tale of the lynching of 3 rapists in Dylan’s home town. This song cleverly juxtaposes the unspeakable; a pretty ballad accented with a south-western style counter-melody, and is the only fully-acoustic song on the album. In fact this track epitomises everything that Highway 61 represents; beautiful and understated musicianship, poetry, and social commentary. A perfect conclusion to a truly iconic album that I can honestly say I wholeheartedly loved.
Every week we’d like to hear your thoughts on the album. Just click on one of the links below, or leave a comment here to have your say.
Big Brother and the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills
Posted: February 5, 2012 Filed under: 60s | Tags: big brother and the holding company (janis joplin) 1 Comment »
Big Brother and the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills
Released August, 1968
Big Brother and the Holding Company were formed in San Francisco in 1965. With a style best described as progressive psychedelic rock, fused with southern-style blues, the band was founded by accomplished country-blues guitarist Peter Albin, who teamed up with guitarists Sam Andrew, James Gurley and drummer Chuck Jones (soon replaced by jazz drummer Dave Getz). The band has seen many changes in line up over the years, the most famous being the addition of Janis Joplin who was lead vocalist from 1966-1968 and sang lead on their (not-so-popular) debut album and of course their second and much-anticipated album “Cheap Thrills”.
I spent about 80% of my listening time resenting this album. I felt really conflicted about “Cheap Thrills” and it certainly evoked a lot of emotions and thought, mostly ‘I hate this album and if I have to listen to it again I will stab myself in the eye’. It was at listen number 6-ish that I realised that I can’t hate an album that could make me feel so many different things within the space of about 30 minutes. Sometimes music can be like a good book or a movie or even a person. You might not necessarily like all of its traits, but if it makes you think, exposes you to new ideas or alters your outlook, then that is what makes it successful and ultimately worth pursuing. When I listened to the album not much of it seemed orderly or structured whatsoever and I actually made the mistake of thinking it was recorded live. Which was ironic because apparently the band originally planned to lay down the album live at an actual concert, but their new record label Columbia insisted they record the majority of the album in the studio. This was perhaps a saving grace as it seems to be a bit of a mess (albeit organized chaos) if this is the ‘polished’ version. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely detest over-produced albums that are impossible to replicate live, but at times the album was so muddy, that I had to take a break, as it was hard work to listen to!
Eventually I came to enjoy the grungy, gritty and funky style tinged with Janis’ sexy and raucous vocals. I didn’t know a lot about Janis Joplin but I did know that she is widely revered for her short yet influential musical feats. Big Brother and the Holding Company actually gave Janis Joplin the start to her career in mid 1966; before her debut with the band she had made several unsuccessful attempts at launching a singing career. I found it intriguing to learn that the band seemed slightly underwhelmed by Janis upon initial impressions and that the fans also struggled to accept the new ‘structure’ that this new singer brought to what had originally been an experimental and ramshackle operation. I personally think that there is absolutely no way this band would have made it on to Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list (it ranked at #338) or spent 8 weeks at #1 in the Billboard charts, if it weren’t for the addition of Janis Joplin, whose antics and sexually overt stage presence were compared to those of Jimi Hendrix and Aretha Franklin. I can see why so many women in the music industry – past and present – site Janis as an influence; what a fearless, spicy, rock ‘n’ roll flavor she brought to the music scene, an aura that lives on today in many of her contemporaries.
Sam Andrew was once quoted as saying that ‘Big Brother played from the heart and soul, with the goal of achieving a direct connection with the innermost feelings of the audience’. Well I most certainly made the connection. Eventually. This one is staying on the iPod, in the ‘Sunday afternoon wine-time’ playlist.
There is no doubt that female rock singers the world over owe a huge debt to Janis Joplin. Her raspy, Southern Comfort-coated voice has influenced many of popular music’s front women, including Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Tyler and Heart’s Ann Wilson. Janis’s vocal talents are not for every taste though, and some may liken her efforts to screeches, as my teenage self did. I now admire the range of emotions in her singing and you can hear them all on Big Brother & The Holding Company’s second album, even when she’s on background vocals. Coming from San Francisco’s psychedelic scene, the band takes a little bit from blues, rock, funk and soul. I forget that only a couple of tracks are recorded live as even the studio cuts sound like they’re onstage. From the frenetic, genre-hopping opener ‘Combination of the Two’ to their wonderfully bluesy arrangement of ‘Summertime’ from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess”, this album is full of great rock moments. ‘Oh, Sweet Mary’ sounds like early Black Sabbath performing a forgotten number from the “Hair” soundtrack and Janis’s fabulous ‘Turtle Blues’ proves that she could tone down when the occasion called for it. My favourite track is the hit ‘Piece of My Heart’, which is actually a cover of a song by Aretha Franklin’s sister, Erma. If the seven song tracklisting is too short, then check out the 1999 CD reissue which adds two studio outtakes and two live tracks, my pick of them being ‘Roadblock.’ This is a great album from a band that fleetingly achieved greatness.
“Cheap Thrills” by Big Brother and the Holding Company was the album that made Janis famous and put her on the ‘rock legend’ map. She was a big voice, with a big personality. I know of only two other people who can scream in tune, Robert Plant and Jeff Buckley. It’s important not to allow all of this to overshadow the work by the rest of the band, but as good as they were Janis is the real star here. Each song is different to the next and she owns every single one. “Cheap Thrills” was the perfect vehicle in which to bring that big voice to the world. She blazed a bright trail for those who would follow, leaving a legacy of women who throw up their middle finger at anyone who says they have to be or act a certain way. I happen to be one of these women, so thanks Janis! “Cheap Thrills” is an album that doesn’t take itself too seriously, as shown in the elaborate, cartoonish cover art by Robert Crumb of ‘Fitz the Cat’ fame, which came in at #9 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Greatest Album Covers”, in 1991. (Just quietly, this cover was way fun to recreate in MS Paint. Very time consuming, but fun). The strong tracks are undoubtedly the sultry “I Need a Man to Love’ and the anthemic cover of ‘Piece of my Heart’. “Cheap Thrills” starts strong but peters off a little too much into drug fuelled nonsense towards the end for me. When I listen to these albums I listen to them in a variety of situations. This one was its strongest for me driving along the freeway in the sun, with the windows down, singing along as loud as I could. Overall I found it to be more good than bad so it gets the thumbs up from me. I shall end this review with a haiku for you Janis:
i like how you scream
and wail and yell and bellow
and screech and shriek. yeah.
Anyone ever noticed how much Janis Joplin’s voice can get a bit Robert Plant-y? No? Just me? “Cheap Thrills” is Big Brother and the Holding Company’s second album and their last with Janis as the singer. And it gets off to a great start with promoter Bill Graham introducing them and the wailing guitars of ‘Combination of the Two’. It’s a good introduction song with Janis screaming that “we’re gonna knock ya, and rock ya, and sing at ya now!” Excellent. That is indeed what happens. The album also features a cover version of the Gershwin brother’s Summertime, an Aria that was written for the opera “Porgy and Bess”. I’m not familiar with any other version, and I’m not a huge fan of this one, if I’m honest. One of the appeals of Janis’ voice is the raw, unrefined nature of it, but I think she must’ve been off that day. It wasn’t one the live recordings on the album, why not re-record a good version? Perhaps I’m being too harsh… Now the ball tearing ‘Piece of My Heart’, which is my favourite. A very bluesy rendition, that Janis puts every bit of herself into to really sing it with everything she’s got, with quite an interesting guitar solo in the middle. Speaking of fun blues tracks, ‘Turtle Blues’ has some excellent blues piano work in it… It gets a little messy when the guitar comes in and plays over it, but I suspect there’s possibly a bit of DFN going on there, which is cool. It was the 60s. It appears by the second last track ‘Oh, Sweet Mary’, the bass player has woken up and his fingers are on crack, playing some crazy lines through nearly the whole song. It’s a suitably dramatic song, with the sharing of lead vocals between Joplin and Sam Andrew, and lots of backing vocals to make parts sound a lot bigger. Finally, the nine minute ‘Ball and Chain’, which became one of Joplin’s favourite songs for performing live. Gee it goes on for a while, but I guess there is that tendency with live tracks. It’s still a pleasure to listen to though. Overall, a great album, that Rolling Stone only ranked at 338 in their top 500 albums. I think it should’ve been higher. Much higher.
Every week we’d like to hear your thoughts on the album. Just click on one of the links below, or leave a comment here to have your say.
The Beatles – Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
Posted: January 30, 2012 Filed under: 60s | Tags: the beatles 3 Comments »
The Beatles – Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
Released June, 1967
This week’s main review is brought to you by Beatles fan Rosemary.
You can find her on twitter here.
It is said that if you remember the 60′s, you weren’t really there. However, the release of “Sgt Pepper” influenced a good many serious musicians to re-evaluate the way music was made, recorded, marketed and remembered. As a marker in the course of musical history, “Sgt Pepper” is arguably unrivalled. Released in Britain on the 1st June, 1967, “Pepper” combined musical experimentation, recording artistry and lyrical allusions that produced a shockwave through the industry, and took the ‘Summer of Love’ into a new phase.
The album introduced a fictional band fronted by Billy Shears (Ringo’s laconic style fit beautifully with the double entendre; ‘What do you when you turn out the light? I can’t tell you, but i know it’s mine!’). After the opening Sgt Pepper theme and Shears’ ‘With a Little help From my Friends,’ the psychedelic ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ introduced a swirling world of newspaper taxis, tangerine trees and kaleidoscope eyes. The eclectic images reflected in the lyrics led many to assume that the hidden code LSD (Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds) meant that the song was written under the influence, a claim that was rejected by both Lennon, his son Julian and the actual inspiration for the song, Lucy Vodden, who was a kindergarten classmate of Julian’s. However, this did not stop the sensitive BBC banning the song – just in case.
Following Lucy was Paul’s upbeat ‘Fixing a Hole’, followed another positive mantra in ‘Getting Better.’ Both Paul and John agree that the differences in outlook between the two of them were very obvious in this track. Paul, blithely warbling ‘It’s getting better all the time!’ is, somewhat cynically, replied to in John’s ‘Couldn’t get much worse!’ It seems odd, then, that the wistful ‘She’s Leaving Home’ should follow such positivity. George Martin, long time Beatles’ musical producer and collaborator, said in his book ‘The Summer of Love: The Making of Sgt Pepper’ (1994), ”She’s Leaving Home’ was a lovely song, but it was a bit downbeat…so I decided to place it after the more upbeat but less worthy ‘Fixing a Hole’ and ‘Getter Better.’ This beautiful juxtaposition took the listener on a journey from the happiest to the hauntingly pleading, in the space of 9 minutes.
The second side starts with George’s Indian classic ‘Within You, Without You.’ The result of his partnership with the legendary Ravi Shankar, this song seemed to fit nowhere within the theme of the album, yet it was crucial as part of the development and acceptance of non-Western musical styles and alternatives to the Judeo-Christian lyrical background. George’s ‘self deprecating’ laugh at the end provided a link into ‘When I’m Sixty Four’, a bubblegum track in the typical Paul style with a twist of sardonic prophecy. From the sublime, to the ridiculous!
George Martin recalls that ‘Lovely Rita’ was not one of his personal favourites, and he suggested it be placed alongside ‘Good Morning, Good Morning’ as a bit of ‘padding’ for the second side. However, the songs together show how wide the breach really was becoming in the way the band were thinking. ‘Rita’ played with the sexiness and naughtiness that was becoming a Sixties motif, whilst ‘Good Morning,’ with the defiant cock crow at the end, segued into the reprise of the album’s title song, bringing the listener back to ‘reality.’
The final song, ‘A Day in the Life’, satirised the traditional 9-5 workday habits – was it really a reefer Paul sang about in the middle? – as well as providing reviewers and conspiracy theorists with enough lyrical material to amuse themselves for decades to come. In fact, much of the song was influenced by newspapers John had been reading, including the death of Guinness heir Tara Brown in a car crash. The final, magical element – the crescendo of sound, based on an E chord, played by musicians wearing silly party hats and red noses and finishing in a note that – allegedly – only dogs could hear, sealed the album once and for all as one of the most adventurous, if not pretentious (Martin’s main worry), album ever to be released.
Some say that Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys went mad trying to ‘answer’ Sgt Pepper. How could anyone answer a question that we are yet to fully understand? “Sgt Pepper” remains one of the most influential albums in popular music history, and its influence can be heard today in music from pretty pop to grunge and metal. An eclectic, important and beautiful album.
Regarded by many as one of the first concept albums, “Sgt. Pepper” showed just what could be achieved in the studio. Astoundingly, this was recorded using only a four-track recorder, so a method of editing and mixing several tracks down to one was employed, freeing up the remaining tracks. While not a rock opera or story-based concept album, Paul’s idea of an alternative Beatles band only seems to be present on the titular opening song and the penultimate reprise. The other songs were supposedly either performed by this fictional band or other fictional characters; for instance, Ringo is introduced as Billy Shears before singing the wonderful ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’. It can be listened to as though the songs are part of a big concert where Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band open and close the show. There’s not much to link the songs together though, and most of them sound like them could be on any Beatles album. It’s hard to pick a favourite here, but I think I have to go with ‘A Day In The Life’ which finishes with that amazing scale climb by the forty-piece orchestra, followed by the E major chord being triumphantly banged out on the piano. My remaining highlights are ‘Getting Better’, ‘Lovely Rita’ and ‘She’s Leaving Home’. While I prefer other Beatles albums over this one, “Sgt. Pepper” is a remarkable piece of work that no doubt inspired other artists to dabble in studio recording techniques and to explore alter-egos and cohesive concepts.
Just like everyone has their favourite Beatle, everyone also has their favourite Beatles album, which becomes their go to whenever they need some of that Liverpool magic in their day. That go to album for me has always been “Revolver”. So whilst I had heard this album before and knew all of the singles from it, I had never really sat down with the album as a whole. It proved to be an interesting and worthwhile journey. If you look at the progression of albums from “Rubber Soul” through to “Revolver” you can see how The Beatles came to “Sgt Pepper”. All of the experimentation pays off in spades as they created an album that was not only great lyrically, but also musically. They hit the payload if you will! Whilst there are lashings of the Drug Fuelled Nonsense it is easy to forgive them because of the brilliance in the songs that make up “Sgt Pepper”. In this day and age it would be easy to write the album off as not being that special, much like our third week album “Pet Sounds”. It’s only when you really view it in the context of its time that it reveals itself as an album that took chances and as a result changed what was possible in music. All of this with a pop sheen making this style of music accessible to the greater public. By creating their alter egos in ‘Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’, The Beatles were able to break free from the shackles of expectation and take it to the next level. And gee whizz I’m glad they did. Just for the record, “Revolver” is still my favourite Beatles album and George will always be my favourite Beatle.
Ahh, “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. I still believe that this is The Beatles’ best album. I love the rocking, jangly guitar intro of the opening track and how it leads in to Billy Shears (who for a long time I thought was a real person… =\) singing ‘With a Little Help from my Friends’. A great song, which unfortunately has been tarnished for mine by Joe Cocker’s slurred version. I can’t pick a favourite song from this album, but ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ would be up there. The vivid imagery paints such an excellent picture of what John Lennon was seeing. The dynamics add a lot to the song too, very soft during the verses and building up to a big chorus. I’ll move on to ‘For the Benefit of Mr Kite’. Just by the by, I love how Wikipedia classes this as Circus Music… I guess it fits though, with the use of crazy carnival organ and chimes. I really dig the use of clarinets during ‘When I’m Sixty Four’. It’s a very simple song, but when you add the clarinets it makes it seem a lot bigger than it actually is. The song is a letter to McCartney’s lover, probably scaring her off with stories of saving for holidays and grandchildren Vera, Chuck and Dave. How oddly specific, given Paul was 16 at the time… I don’t really know what to say about ‘Lovely Rita’, except that he’s attracted to a parking inspector. Yeah. Hey, they’re the Beatles. They can do whatever they want. I’m going to finish as the Beatles did, with ‘A Day in the Life’. A song in three parts, the first and last are melancholy retelling of depressing newspaper stories, contrasting with an upbeat recounting of Paul’s apparently mundane morning. Every song is excellent on this album. It’s one of the few albums on the list that were already on my iPod. And there it shall stay. Love.
I’ve never owned a Beatles album. And for someone who has more than 700 days of music on their laptop, that’s saying something. I know that they are the biggest Pop band ever, but I’ve always rebelled from the Beatles thing. The first thing I learnt from this album happened at the CD shop, when I paid $27 for the digitally remastered EP. This fact woke me up to the fact that a) this album is a timeless classic and b) it’s still in demand 45 years after its debut. My first impression was that it’s beautifully presented – although I was disappointed that it didn’t come with cardboard cut outs of a moustache, picture cards, stripes and badges that were issued in the revolutionary and first ever gate-fold sleeve. Ang is probably having a hard time doing the MS Paint version of this cover – apparently the most imitated album cover and also the most famous of all time. Listening to the album, I really loved the different themes that were explored in the tracks; drug induced states, friendship, love, growing old and more! The thing that makes this album sound so good – for me- is that the they don’t seem like they are trying hard, it just flows effortlessly, it’s melodic and it’s fun. At times the lyrics are nonsensical, but they work, and are far from high school poetry (to borrow a phrase from Ang & Dann), with underlying messages. I can’t believe this album was recorded on just 4 tracks – every track is dense with layers of melodies and counter melodies, unconventional instruments and sound samples of roosters, bold brass, sitars and more. I feel a bit silly for rebelling for so long from something that could be so good. $27 well spent methinks.
Every week we’d like to hear your thoughts on the album. Just click on one of the links below, or leave a comment here to have your say.
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Posted: January 22, 2012 Filed under: 60s | Tags: the beach boys Leave a comment »
The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds
Released May, 1966
You’d struggle to find a non-Beatles album from the 1960′s as influential and acclaimed as “Pet Sounds”. It regularly tops favourite album polls of fans and critics alike, coming in at the number one spot in publications such as Mojo Magazine and New Music Express, while Rolling Stone placed it second in their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Poll in 2003. It is one of those albums that seems to be reissued every few years with another bonus track and/or unheard gem from the vault. There are several luxury editions available boasting different mixes, instrumentals and alternate takes. It is an album that is continually analysed and deconstructed by faithful followers, and each listen can reveal something new.
Band leader, chief songwriter and album producer Brian Wilson credits his inspiration for making “Pet Sounds” came from listening to the Beatles’ wonderful “Rubber Soul” record. He’d never before heard an album of songs that belonged together; all original compositions and none of it filler. Up until the mid sixties, singles were held in higher esteem by record companies as they made more money and required less financial commitment. Albums were used to collect several hit singles together and simply filled with hastily written tracks or covers to enable a quick release, cashing in on the act’s success. The idea of a cohesive group of high quality songs was a new concept and albums like “Pet Sounds” ushered in a new era of record-making.
This record contains some classic Beach Boys tracks, starting with ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’, a great adolescent anthem for wanting to grow up and be with the one you love. Gorgeous ballad ‘God Only Knows’ features a truly amazing arrangement of vocal harmonies, flutes, accordion, harpsichord, brass and strings on top of the band’s usual drums, bass and guitar line-up. The number of musicians on this recording was unprecedented, and the lush sound they created can be pinpointed as one of the first examples of baroque instrumentation in popular music, also known as chamber pop. Instrumental tracks ‘Let’s Go Away For Awhile’ and ‘Pet Sounds’ are further examples of this successful melding of musical styles. The song was one of the first non-Christian compositions to include God in its title and to allude to suicide at the loss of a loved one. My absolute favourite track is ‘Caroline, No’ which closes the album and features a fabulously tender, emotive lead vocal from Brian. Interestingly, it was originally released before the album as a Brian Wilson solo single, as no other Beach Boys feature on it.
I don’t hold this album to be the masterpiece many do; the meandering ‘That’s Not Me’ and the nap-inducing ‘Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)’ are real low points for me. However, there’s no denying the influence this has had on popular music. The unique instrumentation and groundbreaking production make this unlike any other Beach Boys record before it. I love how the tambourine is showcased, being used to accent and enhance a track, rather than just keep time or fill in sound. There many moments that make this album peerless: the bicycle horn sounding during the fabulous vocal outro of ‘You Still Believe In Me’, the passing train followed by barking dogs after ‘Caroline, No’ and the theremin solo on the great ode to outsiders ‘I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times’ to name a few.
“Pet Sounds” has everything that makes an album a classic along with an iconic, if somewhat daggy, cover.
It’s kind of hard to believe, but “Pet Sounds” was recorded entirely on an 8 track recorder, only then newly available in 1966. Initially the musical backing track was recorded on a 4 track which was then dubbed down to 1 track. There was 1 track used for little vocal and instrumental embellishments. That leaves 6 tracks for vocals. That right kids, count them. 2 tracks for music and 6 tracks for vocals. Brian Wilson may be a little crazy, but crazy in a genius way. I’d hate to think how many tracks would be used today to make this album. And this is where I think this album stands above most of its peers of the time. Overall it’s a very pretty album but it’s the risks that Wilson took creatively that makes it worthy of the acclaim it receives. It has its high points (‘You Still Believe in Me’, ‘God Only Knows’, ‘Caroline, No’) and low points (‘That’s Not Me’, ‘I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times’… both of which suffer a bit from the old ‘High School Poetry’), but overall it works because it’s the vision of a man who stuck to his guns and did it his way. And there are hundreds of artists who have gone on to benefit because of this. This isn’t the kind of album you can put on in the background. It demands your attention and, well, it deserves it your attention. “Pet Sounds” reveals itself a little bit more on each listen. Spend some time with it and you’ll understand why it makes so many ‘best of’ lists.
Ah, what a great album. I loved this album the first time I listened to it, and nothing’s changed. Interestingly, ‘Pet Sounds’ only made it to number 10 on the American Billboard 200. Although, really, number ten isn’t exactly awful. Although something changed for me this time around. After a few listens, I found myself moving away from the crowd favourites like ‘God Only Knows’ and ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ and leaning more towards ‘Let’s Go Away For A While’. I don’t know what it is, maybe my music tastes are maturing (not likely). Don’t get me wrong, the classic tracks are still genius, I just think with albums like this, there are usually hidden gems that people don’t take much notice of, and ‘Let’s Go Away For A While’ is one of them. One of my favourite aspects of “Pet Sounds”, and I guess all Beach Boys albums, are the excellent vocal harmonies we’ve now come to associate with ‘surf rock’ style. The Beach Boys really made the 60′s sound like a fun place to be! I also like the fact that all the tracks are quite short, which is excellent for someone with a short attention span such as myself, the longest track being ‘I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times’. I think The Beach Boys might have been hipsters before being hipsters was cool. Their instrumentation was creative to say the least. How rad are theramins? Bicycle bells, harpsichords, dog whistles, trains and coke cans were all used in recording. Come on, own up. Hands up if you didn’t hear a harpsichord? Shame on you. Just as an interesting side note, the Beach Boys released 15 albums in the 1960′s alone. Three albums in 1963. Take that, Guns N Roses.
Well, we’re 3 reviews in and I’m already realising just how naive I am, and how much more I have to learn about music despite having studied it for most of my life! I was surprised that apart from Track 1 (‘Wouldn’t it Be Nice’), the album seems to be somewhat of a departure from the carefree, sunny sound that I have come to associate with The Beach Boys. Before hearing “Pet Sounds”, I had only really ever heard what I would term the Greatest Hits, and I guess I’ve always thought that there’s a time and place for The Beach Boys, namely holidays and themed parties. I now have a greater appreciation for what The Beach Boys did for music (in particular studio recording) and today. I really enjoyed the experimentation with unconventional instruments such as bike bells, banjo’s and the baroque-style melodies, the clever use of organs, and of course the sophisticated vocal patterns and harmonies. Extra points for the bold and bright use of percussion, particularly on ‘I Know There’s An Answer’ (my fav track), and the successful use of dissonance between the vocal track and the instruments (‘Here today’). The word ‘influence’ tends to be overused in music reviews, but seriously, this band helped shape not only the sound of contemporary music, but also the way in which it was recorded. Just listen to it – at least once – you owe it to your musical education.
Every week we’d like to hear your thoughts on the album. Just click on one of the links below, or leave a comment here to have your say.
The Band – Music From Big Pink
Posted: January 15, 2012 Filed under: 60s | Tags: the band 2 Comments »
The Band – Music From Big Pink
Released July, 1968
Week Two of the Crash Course brings us The Band’s album, “Music From Big Pink”. It peaked at number 30 on the Billboard chart in 1968 and Rolling Stone Magazine has it as their number 34 in the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”. Frankly, I’m at a loss, because this is not the first time I’ve listened to it, and it’s still a hard slog to get through it. There’s no denying it’s influence, however, as Eric Clapton says the album is what inspired him to leave Cream and pursue his solo career, and as a rock fan, I’ve gotta be grateful for that.
I’ll probably upset a few people with this review, but I was not looking forward to writing it, let alone listening to “Music From Big Pink” again. The overuse of organ, the jangly guitars, and the GOD-AWFUL lyrics made it really hard for me to listen to. And really, the high-school poetry is back with a vengeance. Listen to ‘We Can Talk’. Really, The Band? “Did you ever milk a cow? I had a chance to one day, but I was all dressed up for Sunday”? Bob Dylan wrote three tracks on this album, why did you let him stop there? Many songs have lyrics thrown together just because they rhyme, not because they actually make sense.
I’ve said a lot of negative things about this album, but I think there are two good tracks on it. Well, tracks I didn’t mind listening to anyway. The first is ‘The Weight’. I think this is one of those songs that is ingrained in all our memories and we’re not really sure why. It did make it in the top 50 of Rolling Stone Magazine’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, so that says something. There’s nothing too out of order in it, it’s very neat, with quite a catchy chorus, and some quite nice piano work. (Coincidentally, Aretha Franklin did a sweet version of it.) The other is ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’. I like the bluesy feel to it. It’s one of Dylan’s songs that he recorded with The Band on the Basement Tapes, another album recorded at the Big Pink studio house. It was always a relief when the final track, ‘I Shall Be Released’ (a fairly apt title for the last song) finished. It meant I didn’t have to listen to it anymore. This won’t be an album retaining its spot on my iPod. If it was an eBay seller I would leave feedback of “Terrible seller, would not listen to again”.
Sorry if I’ve offended anyone*. I gotta review it like I heard it.
*not actually sorry
The first time I listened to Big Pink, I was cooking dinner and quite enjoyed grooving around the kitchen until about track 7, at which point it just began to sound like noise and I had to switch it off. Listen two – at work – was near on impossible. But I persisted and strategically planned out listen number 3; I was sure that there must be a good reason that The Band were listed at #50 in the Rolling Stone Magazine’s “100 Greatest Artists of all Time”; surely I had something to learn from the process. So I lay on my bed, turned off the lights, lit a candle and plugged into my iPod with no other distractions. In this ‘light’ I was able to enjoy the undeniable musicianship, the light and shade of the different vocalists and the understated harmonies. From listens 4-8 there was toe-tapping to my favourites, ‘To Kingdom Come’, ‘Caledonia Mission’, ‘This Wheel’s on Fire’ and ‘We Can Talk’. The licks of honky-tonk piano teamed with infectious drum beats and layers of organ, sealed the deal for me with Big Pink. The lowest point was undoubtedly the random synth harpsichord and almost-fugal intro to ‘On a Station’. Conversely, I really came to like the synth organ into that gradually builds into the slightly psychedelic ‘Chest Fever’. I must admit that I couldn’t really connect emotionally to “Music From Big Pink” as I couldn’t really get the nonsensical lyrics, but in the end I appreciated this album, the musicality was tops; I (probably) will listen to it again.
I’m quite conflicted with this album. It contains the classic song ‘The Weight’ and a wonderful version of ‘I Shall Be Released’ but there are some pretty average tracks here, namely ‘Lonesome Suzie’ and an unnecessary cover of ‘Long Black Veil’. However, this record has struck a chord with many people; Eric Clapton famously being one of them. I can see its merits, but I think it pales in comparison to their 1969 self-titled follow-up. One reason that might be is drummer Levon Helm only sings lead on a couple of tracks. Rick Danko and Richard Manuel have great voices, but there’s something about Levon belting out ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’ or ‘Up On Cripple Creek’ that defines what I think makes The Band great. Robbie Robertson’s songwriting certainly comes to the fore too. It bothers me that two songs on this record co-written with Bob Dylan, ‘This Wheel’s On Fire’ and ‘Tears of Rage’, are, in my opinion, quite boring. The intro on the former I find particularly grating. There is much to like here though, and the vocal harmonies are one of the group’s biggest assets. Tracks like ‘Caledonia Mission’ and ‘To Kingdom Come’ showcase the unique blending of the three vocalists and demonstrate how tight The Band play together, as well as their musical versatility. Garth Hudson’s fabulous keyboard opening on album highlight ‘Chest Fever’ pre-dates stadium rock by a few years. This album is a good introduction to the group, but they only get better from here. Watch Scorsese’s The Last Waltz, if you haven’t already!
Musically I get this album. I can understand why people would’ve got their panties all a twist over it. Dylan had a huge influence on The Band and is credited writing three of the songs on the album. And it’s a pretty and lush album. Pretty harmonies, but not in a sugar sweet way like The Beach Boys. Instrumentally it’s different, incorporating your standard guitar, drums, bass and piano with lots of synthesizer action and horns. It’s as if rock, country and doowop all met at a party and ended up in a drunken Menage a Trois. Who wouldn’t get excited about that? Every time I listened to it, my toes sure were a tapping along! My first few listens to “Music From Big Pink” were quite pleasurable. And then I paid attention to the lyrics. And therein lies the problem I have with this album. Now I understand that the 60s were a time of irresponsible excess and flamboyance (thanks Wikipedia). I’m aware that there were many successful artists of that time writing strange, and some would say somewhat drug induced, lyrics. But The Band? Well they take the cake when it comes to the plain awful lyrics department. It’s like reading bad high school poetry where words are being used just because they rhyme. Where rhyming couplets are there, but with no sense of pattern or structure. As much as I tried to enjoy it I just couldn’t get past it. I understand why people love this album, and power to them. I just don’t think I’ll be putting it on again for a while. ‘The Weight’ is tops though!
Every week we’d like to hear your thoughts on the album. Just click on one of the links below, or leave a comment here to have your say.
Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Posted: January 8, 2012 Filed under: 60s | Tags: aretha franklin 7 Comments »
Aretha Franklin – I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You
Released March, 1967
The first album up for the 60s is “I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You” by Aretha Franklin. And we’re off to a strong start with this one kids! In 2002, Rolling Stone magazine placed the album at #1 on their “Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums” list. In 2004 they placed Aretha at #9 in their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time“. In 2003, the album was ranked #83 on their list of the “500 Greatest Albums Of All Time“. Just recently they ranked Aretha Franklin as the #1 in the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”. And you know why? Because it’s all true.
These accolades didn’t come with ease though. “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You” was Franklin’s tenth release in as many as six years. She began her career with Colombia who never realised her full potential and had her sing jazz-influenced pop and later ‘girl group’ songs such as ‘The Shoop Shoop Song’ and ‘Mockingbird’. It took Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records giving her the freedom to just sing from her soul with the backing of her sisters Erma and Carolyn (known as The Sweet Inspirations) before we saw what Aretha was really capable of. As he stated at the time “we’re gonna put her back in church”. Not only did she co-write four of the tracks and played piano on the recordings, for the first time she had control of the arrangements. This coupled with the fact that Wexler had her record with southern musicians allowed Aretha to finally show her soulful, gospel side. This combination put her on the map and rightfully gave her the ‘Queen of Soul’ title. “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You” gave Aretha two hit songs in the title track ‘I Never Loved a Man (the Way I Love You)’ and the song ‘Respect’.
I first became familiar with the work of Aretha Franklin when I spent a year living in Sydney. I had a flat mate who would get up early to cook us all breakfast. It seemed in order to bring out his finest breakfast cooking skills, he required Aretha Franklin to be playing. Really loud. Lucky for him he cooked great bacon and Aretha Franklin is not too offensive as an early morning soundtrack. Because of this I was already familiar with some of the songs on the album. The more I listened over the week the more I found it hard to believe that this album was recorded when Aretha was just 25 years of age.
The album opens with the Otis Redding track Respect. By switching the gender roles Aretha not only created an anthem for all women, but it also become an enormously powerful song for blacks and the impending civil rights movement. Keeping with this theme she covered Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change is Gonna Come’, with the soulful croons making it seem somewhat more personal. For me it’s the soulful ballads that work best including ‘Drown In My Own Tears’ with its bluesy piano introduction. ‘Baby, Baby, Baby’ with its all too familiar theme of love gone wrong (and those vocal shrills at the end there? … Mariah Carey owes you her career for those). And not to forgot the stunning ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man’… ten years after first hearing this song I’m yet to find a better version. When Aretha is at her best there is something in her delivery that has you there with her every step of the way. Even in the more poppy, throw away moments you are still drawn in by the sincerity and depth which belies her young age. I dare you to listen to this album and not have Aretha make you fall in love with her.
“I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You” is a great album, and one of my favourite albums on the list. I was actually quite surprised to find out this was Aretha Franklin’s tenth album! From the upbeat ‘Respect’, to the soulful ‘Drown In My Own Tears’, Aretha doesn’t fail to deliver on any track. However, it does seem to rely quite heavily on the vocals and piano, as drums and guitar are almost non-existent. I’m not a huge fan of a Hammond organ, but it is a pretty integral aspect of the Motown sound, and it was used to full effect during the recording of the album. My favourite track from this album started out as ‘Respect’, but after a few more listens, ‘Good Times’ took that honour. It’s a song that really puts a smile on your face, and I defy anyone to not tap their toes to it. Another favourite was ‘Soul Serenade’, which I hadn’t taken much notice of before, but I woke up with it in my head one morning and it wouldn’t leave. I really enjoyed this album, and it’s one of the albums from the list that will be remaining on my iPod.
If you’d asked me a week ago ‘What is Aretha all about’ I would have answered with the obvious retort of ‘R.E.S.P.E.C.T”. But now I know what Cat Power was talking about when she sang ‘Aretha, sing a song for me’. This album really is the ultimate tribute to the female psyche. Listening to this album, I experienced a journey through the emotions that we as women feel from time to time; the vulnerability evoked by ‘Save me’, the ballsy ‘i-don’t-need-a-man’, in-your-face attitude of the notorious ’Respect’, and the sensuality of a woman in love (‘Baby, Baby, Baby’). Having never really listened to Aretha before, I hadn’t ever realised the profound influence she has had on her contemporaries and realised that I saw hints of her style in music in the likes of Beyonce, Duffy, and Adele. Aretha sings with such passion and her powerhouse voice just really cuts through you and leaves an indelible mark. I also felt that each time I listened to it, the songs took on different meanings depending on my mood at the time, or alternatively, how much wine I’d drank during the process! Overall, a killer album, so much fun to listen to and completely poignant for me since I’m just sorta kinda getting into this love thing. Absolutely loved it and to be honest was a bit annoyed at myself that I hadn’t heard it earlier. Highlights were definitely ‘Baby, Baby, Baby’ and the samba-esque ‘Don’t Let me Lose this Dream’, (must admit there was some couch dancing and a little bit of car dancing too) which has become a new favourite on the iPod. If loving Aretha is so wrong, then arrest me, I’m guilty of this crime.
This album kicks off with one of the best cover versions of all time. Legend has it that when Otis Redding heard Aretha’s take on ‘Respect’ he mourned that she’d stolen his song, possibly a mix of dismay and admiration. It’s an excellent reworking that has eclipsed the original, and no doubt fed many drunken karaoke sessions around the world. Although the album starts on such a high note, it doesn’t all go downhill from there, far from it. Swapping from soulful ballads to funky grooves with ease, Aretha is in exceptional vocal form. Armed with a great set of songs and a fabulous band this record is a true showcase of an artist at her peak. As wonderful as the supporting musicians are, make no mistake: this is Aretha’s album and every song highlights her ability to make it her own. Several times on the title track her voice almost threatens to break through the speakers. I must confess that I had only heard the Commitments’ versions of that song and ‘Do Right Woman, Do Right Man’ before listening to this – I know, I know, but I’m all Aretha-d up now. My other favourites were ‘Drown In My Own Tears’ and ‘Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business)’. This album is truly exceptional, and damn worthy of your ears.
Every week we’d like to hear your thoughts on the album. Just click on one of the links below, or leave a comment here to have your say.
