A batch of Cross Rhythms reviewers consider the merits of 25 mainstream albums
Continued from page 1
1990
Rock
Joe Ely
Live At Liberty Lunch
MCA
This may come as a
surprise, but a lot of live albums are not that live. Yes, even the
Christian ones. The band might be from one gig and the noise of the
crowd might be from another show, possibly with another band. As for
the music itself, it routinely gets "polished" in a studio (with lots
of overdubs and sometimes even lead vocals redone). 'Live At Liberty
Lunch' bucks this trend. It's authentically live and features one of
the great legends of American music, Joe Ely. The Texan troubadour is
famously the only man to have supported The Clash and lived to tell
the tale. By the late 1980s, he had honed his stage craft to such an
extent that his performances had taken on almost mythic status. This
CD was recorded over two nights at the famous Austen venue Liberty
Lunch and without wishing to overstate matters, both he and his band
are at the top of their game. Ely sings tracks like 'Dallas' and
'Where Is My Love?' as if his life depended on it, while his hard
rocking band swagger in the background. This really is essential
listening for anyone putting a band together and a masterclass in how
to hold an audience. From the honky-tonk of 'Are You Listening Lucky?'
to the wailing harmonica in the finale, 'If You Were A Bluebird' - it
never lets up.
Jamie Hailstone
1988
Hard
Queensrÿche
Operation: Mindcrime
EMI
Before
1988, Washington-based Queensrÿche had released a self-titled EP and
two well-received albums but despite their tendency to offer more
cerebral stimulation than most comparable heavy rock, the band seemed
at constant risk of getting lumped in with the numerous forgettable
'hair metal' outfits that dominated the scene at the time. That was
until 'Operation: Mindcrime' permanently established them as one of
the most important bands of the decade. A devastatingly impressive
release, 'Mindcrime' is a concept album, a rock opera even, that draws
from the best examples of the type whilst avoiding the indulgences
that had seen it fall from favour in the wake of punk during the late
'70s. Think Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' or The Who's 'Tommy' rather than
Yes' 'Tales From Topographic Oceans.' A concept album was a bold
career move for an American rock act, considering the only successful
examples in the 1980's had come from European groups like Iron Maiden
and Marillion. It was influential too, virtually inventing as it did a
new sub-genre that was later populated by bands like Dream Theater;
part-Rush, part-Judas Priest, 'Operation: Mindcrime' was dubbed
'progressive metal.' Queensrÿche penned a powerful, disturbing
narrative that follows a frustrated young heroin addict and would-be
political radical named Nikki, who is recruited by the shadowy Dr X to
join his eponymous "underground revolution." X and his subordinates
plan to undermine the socio-economic status quo by assassinating
allegedly corrupt political leaders, ushering in a new order. Nikki,
under the drug-enhanced influence of X's hypnotic suggestion, becomes
one of Mindcrime's operatives, murdering on command until he begins to
question his behaviour. Having outlived his usefulness he ironically
is set up for a killing that he didn't commit, leading to arrest and
committal to a mental hospital. Whilst this dark tale is not one that
would immediately seem to recommend itself to a Christian audience,
ultimately Nikki is a tragic, pathetic character whose motives are as
understandable as his actions are reprehensible, when confronted by
(as he sees it) overwhelming social injustice and institutional
hypocrisy ("Revolution Calling," "Speak," "Spreading The Disease").
Queensrÿche vocalist and chief 'Mindcrime' songwriter Geoff Tate has
spoken of the palpable combination of powerlessness and apathy he
perceived in American society during the 1980's, against which he
(through Nikki) felt inspired to rail. The worrying factor from a
faith perspective is Tate's determined inclusion of organised religion
(Christianity) in the list of suspect institutions (alongside "the
rich [who] control the government, the media, the law") that needed
their crowns torn down. Even in 1988 televangelism was a
well-established target for Nikki's condemnation; he equates it to
prostitution: "Religion and sex are power plays/Manipulate the people
for the money they pay/Selling skin, selling God/The numbers look the
same on their credit cards". In the course of the story, 'religious'
characters appear to emphasize further Queensrÿche's perception of
American Christianity's institutions as hypocritical and corrupt.
Priest Father William is a colleague of Dr X within the Mindcrime cult
as well as an abuser of Sister Mary. A former call girl "saved .from
the streets," Mary has become, in the guise of a Catholic nun,
variously Nikki's heroin supplier, his confidante, William's sex slave
and "a whore for the underground." Also, Operation Mindcrime's
horrendous activities are constantly couched in religious terminology.
Nikki calls himself the "new Messiah/Death angel with a gun." Regular
visits from Mary who provides heroin (and more?) to satisfy his
cravings are described thus: "I wait here for days longer/'Till Sister
comes to wash my sins away." William's regular assaults on Mary are
perversions of a sacrament: "He takes her once a week on the altar
like a sacrifice." Mary's understanding of her religious status has
been permanently warped by William's treatment of her: "The sins of
man are all I taste./I've no more want of any faith/The blood of
Christ can't heal my wounds so deep." It's clear that, with regard to
the personal and social challenges presented, religion is seen as part
of the problem, not the solution. Tellingly, however, Nikki's downfall
is hastened by the death of Mary, his only friend throughout the
entire scenario, and the loss of her affection leads to a
psychological breakdown ("Electric Requiem," "Breaking The Silence")
in which he finally declares "I Don't Believe In Love." It's clear
though that acceptance, forgiveness and, yes, love are what he
desperately needs when, in the finale, the sedated, demonised Nikki
gazes lifelessly at his reflection in the hospital mirror and sees
only the "Eyes Of A Stranger." The album's themes continued to
resonate with Geoff Tate until recently he felt the time was right to
revisit the story, leading to the release in 2006 of a well-received
sequel, the unsurprisingly-titled 'Operation Mindcrime II.' Despite
observers declaring it Queensrÿche's finest work for many years, this
conclusion to Nikki's sad tale seems destined permanently to be
overshadowed by its critically and commercially acclaimed predecessor
which, according to Metal Hammer magazine, "pushed forward the
frontiers of [heavy] metal."
Paddy Hudspith
1987
R&B
Prince
Sign 'O' The Times
Paisley Park
Musical geniuses are rare and even then like magnesium, they tend to
burn very bright for a short period and then burn out. Think about it!
'60s Beatles, '70s Bowie and '80s Prince. They all defined an era and
inspired countless imitations. The problem with it is that if they
stick around long enough, they'll leave their genius years behind and
produce enough pap to water down their legacy. That's certainly
happened with Prince. In the '90s when I was an inner city college
lecturer I would do a class debate with my students, "Michael Jackson
or Prince, who is better?" Without exception the class would always
argue for Jacko! But what's there to discuss? Prince can sing and
dance and is a compelling live performer but add to the mix that he's
a prolific song writer, plays all the instruments himself and produces
his own albums. In the '80s he created his own blend of rock, soul and
the kitchen sink to make a style that is uniquely Prince. There is
little argument against the truth that he is one of the most talented
musicians of his era and able to create a breathtaking breadth of
music. He has always been captivated by the twin obsessions of sex and
religion and just about all of his songs fall into those categories
subject wise. However this has led to problems for me when it comes to
admitting my love for his music since the subject matter for the songs
of His Royal Pervyness is likely to sour the milk at the vicar's tea
party, for many years (including ALL of the '80s) I kept my love of
his music as a sort of guilty pleasure. When it emerged as a talking
point amongst my church friends back then I'd sometimes quietly admit
a liking for an album or song but would face such a barrage that I
soon learnt to keep my mouth shut for fear of being perceived as
unspiritual! For me this album is the peak of what I'd describe as
Prince's golden period or maybe that should be his purple period that
stretched from 'Purple Rain' to 'Lovesexy' before he became a squiggle
or got into that artist formerly known as nonsense. It was a time when
it was felt he could do no wrong, re-inventing himself with every new
release and always impressing with new ideas, new songs and new
sounds. The sound of this album helped to define the sounds of '80s
R&B with its pulsating rhythms and '80s percussive sounds, drum
loops and production. Prince has always been the king of the funk so
tracks like "Strange Relationship", "Hot Thing" and the fabulous
upbeat jams of "Housequake" and the super funky "It's gonna Be A
Beautiful Night" setting the standard here. The latter two being a
tour de force in the live shows of the era. With sixteen songs, the
double album has very little in the way of throwaway material. Even
the hit single "U Got The Look" which features Sheena Easton is
blessed with more hooks than a fishing tackle shop. Even the nonsense
whimsy of "Starfish And Coffee" captivates with its innocent charm. At
the other extreme, he delivers an out and out rocker "I Could Never
Take The Place Of Your Man" which comes complete with another one of
those memorable choruses and a blistering guitar solo. By the way it
needs to be enjoyed in full on the album version rather than the
single release. It's pure genius! Another single from the album,
albeit in sanitised form was "If I Was Your Girlfriend". Prince always
has a gift for looking at things from a different perspective and this
song is probably the perviest of the set with some very naughty
suggestions at the close of the song. To be honest it's slightly less
unnerving now that I'm married but as a single Christian man, it
wasn't helpful to listen to! And that's always been the issue I've had
with Prince. He may manage to create art that swings from the
sublimely sensual to the ridiculously religious but I couldn't easily
settle those issues together in my mid twenties when this was first
released. Since embracing life as a Jehovah's Witness of all things,
Prince has himself turned his back on some of the more lewd lyrics
claiming his own embarrassment over what he'd penned earlier on.
Having said that, the album's closer "Adore" is about as soulful and
romantic as a song can possibly get. I'm still not sure that this
album is helpful to anyone trying to keep their thoughts and their
life pure. And I don't think it's possible to defend it from that
standpoint. However from an artistic point of view, it's amazing. For
me, there have always been two standout songs that have grabbed my
attention. Firstly there is the title cut with its timely cultural
criticism which seems as relevant now as it was then. Prince talks
about AIDS when the disease was first emerging into the public and it
wasn't a trendy thing to do. Blending together a series of apocalyptic
images over a stripped down sparse funk bed and still maintaining a
groove and melody is no mean feat. In the midst of all the despair,
the fear of nuclear destruction (which was still a reality in the mid
'80s) and the observation of the gangs and drugs and poverty, there
are splashes of hope in the song. Even in the midst of all the horror,
there's still his desire to father children. Even "we'll call him
Nate, if he's a boy" is a comment of optimism since Nate means birth.
And smuggled into the middle of the lyric, there's the observation
"some say a man ain't truly happy unless a man truly dies." The truth
of the gospel in 12 words! The most intriguing song in the set is "The
Cross" which set amidst all of the naughtiness in other songs caught
me completely off guard when I first heard the album. Like the album's
title cut, this once again balances the realities and hardships of
modern life and points the listener to the cross! "Don't cry, he is
coming, don't die without knowing the cross." The twin themes of
sex/lust and religion/spirituality are played out in the one album and
like Marvin Gaye before him and R Kelly more recently there's a
palpable struggle here to reconcile the two themes. The conflict has
led to thought provoking songs and great art if you can get past the
banal lewdness here and there. I long to see Christians step up to the
plate and help define the music of their era by making art as great as
this.
Mike Rimmer
1982
Pop
ABC
Lexicon Of Love
Neutron
The problem with pop
music is that nobody takes it seriously and because there's so much
rubbish around, pop usually gets tarred with a big bad brush by
snobbish critics. But, in truth, sometimes the musical soul just needs
something light, fluffy and fun and good pop music can give you a huge
buzz! After the punk revolution of the late '70s saw the music scene
dress down and put a serious expression on its face, the early '80s
saw pop dressing up once again. Bands like Duran Duran, Culture Club
and Spandau Ballet donned the eye liner and with high cheek bones
cutting their way through the pages of the glossy pop mags of the day.
Their videos helped to establish the fledgling MTV as they pouted
their way to the top of the charts. And they showed how it was
possible to have fun once again. My favourites, as you may have
guessed by now, were Sheffield band ABC who as part of a city wide
scene that included The Human League, Cabaret Voltaire and Heaven 17
hit paydirt with this, their debut album, in the year that I was
completing my studies at Leeds University. As I entered my final year
they released their debut single "Tears Are Not Enough" which promised
much but it wasn't until ABC hooked up with their producer Trevor Horn
that they really hit their stride musically. Horn had been a member of
The Buggles and would later find fame as the producer behind all of
Frankie Goes To Hollywood's huge hits in 1984. However for ABC's
singer and writer Martin Fry, he was the man who would make Fry's
musical vision happen. Instructing the producer that he wanted some
Frank Sinatra style glamour added to the songs, the whole feel of 'The
Lexicon Of Love' is of lush arrangements. It just sounds expensive.
The production is very precise and with help from future Art Of Noise
members Anne Dudley and JJ Jeczalik, the arrangements are perfect
mixing a Chic influenced funk with an edge that owes a little to the
punk music they had just transcended. There are tight funky bass lines
and fabulous bits of strings and the whole album works wonderfully as
a whole. The next single was the one that really put the band on the
map. "Poison Arrow" is still a radio hit 25 years later, playing
endlessly on Heart FM and the like. It's a perfect piece of pop from
Martin Fry's over dramatic histrionic vocals to the middle section
where the girl tells him "I care enough to know I will never love
you". As spring turned to early summer, the house I was sharing went
quite as we hid ourselves away top revise for our finals, meeting
every few hours in the kitchen to let off steam. And then came "The
Look Of Love", the band's third single and clearly the best so far!
Funnily enough Fry wrote the song after he was dumped by his
girlfriend but still managed to persuade her to add a vocal to the
song saying the word "Goodbye" just like she did in real life. It's a
wonderfully ironic gesture and perfectly in keeping with Fry's soul
searching, yearning lyrics. Again the histrionics are in place,
especially in the slightly camp spoken middle eight where he wonders
out loud if he'll ever find true love. I know it's only pop but
somehow even that sentiment touched my brittle 21 year old heart as
the biggest relationship of my life had broken up somewhere in the
months between their first and second singles. The album's opener
"Show Me" kicks off with a fabulous orchestral overture which breaks
out into a slap bass led funk drenched cut that sums up the
uncertainty of the early days of a relationship. "Many Happy Returns"
also maps out some of the politics of relationships but contains some
of Fry's brilliant witty lyricism. "Like a phoenix coming back from
the ashes / I Know what's good but I know what trash is." He had a way
of writing memorable couplets with images that just stuck out and
forced you to pay attention. Another highlight, "Date Stamp" was a
classy stab of funky pop that again seemed to suit the moment of my
fledgling romance with its chorus of "love has no guarantees". On the
album it is quickly followed by the band's fourth hit "All Of My
Heart" which has become another standard on Heart FM where Fry
describes giving his heart to a girl but ending up just as friends.
"What's it like to have loved but to lose her touch?" he asks. The
'80s had many fine pop albums but I'd like to suggest that this is the
best of the lot. The band spoilt it somewhat by trying to go gritty,
edgy and serious on their second album 'Beauty Stab' so that they
never repeated the glories of this perfect release. I can't think of a
better example of '80s pop than this one. Others came close but the
combination of songs so completely devoted to the subject of love and
the pop music so brilliantly carved out of the ether by Trevor Horn,
make this an outstanding release.
Mike Rimmer
1979
Pop
Buddy
Holly
The Complete Buddy Holly
MCA Coral
This
six LP box set brings together the works of one of the 20th century's
most influential yet short lived artistes in a way that was
chronologically lacking in the majority of the compilation releases
that followed Holly's untimely death in 1959 at the age of 22.
Although not complete in the sense that more of Holly's unreleased
works have been discovered since, 'The Complete Buddy Holly' is a
testimony to a man who challenged the musical norms of the time by
being a songwriter as well as a front man, dabbling in studio
experimentation and not being afraid to venture into different genres
of music. In addition, Holly influenced the Beatles, Rolling Stones,
Dylan and countless other musicians - perhaps more so than any other
artist of his time. The hub of this collection (records three and
four) chart Holly at his most successful and inventive. By this point,
Holly and his group the Crickets had unsuccessfully auditioned for the
Decca label but had been noticed by Clovis, New Mexico based producer
Norman Petty who, in exchange for a substantial share of any takings,
more or less let the boys have free reign in his studio under his
watchful eye. As a result, these discs contain a myriad of top quality
songs - each different from the other - and form the bedrock of not
only Holly's back catalogue but of modern music as we know it today.
Rock n roll standards such as "That'll Be The Day", "Oh Boy!" and
"Rave On" sit comfortably with the delicate "Everyday" and the
acoustic folk tinged song of defiance "Well.All Right". Elsewhere,
Holly delves into the world of pseudo gospel with Bobby Darin's "Early
In The Morning" before finishing up with four orchestra backed tracks
(including the stunningly poignant "True Love Ways" and "It Doesn't
Matter Anymore") that would signal the end of his studio recording
career. What made Holly's songs stand out from his contemporaries was
his willingness to include instrumentation and techniques that
wouldn't normally be found on the bog standard rock n roll release of
the time. Prime examples include the use of a celeste on "Everyday",
Jerry Allison pounding out a Bo Diddley beat on a set of cardboard
boxes on "Not Fade Away" and, of course, the iconic lead drumming of
"Peggy Sue." The remaining four parts of this box set are as
intriguing as the middle two are inspiring. Discs one and two document
Holly's pre fame days with rough demo recordings of country songs
written and performed with school friend Bob Montgomery before taking
us to a handful of rock n roll demos recorded with nothing more than a
reel to reel recorder in a front room. Unfortunately, these tracks
were unwisely overdubbed by session musicians under the supervision of
Petty shortly after Holly's death to make them more commercial - as a
result, a lot of the raw quality contained on the originals was
stripped away. Nonetheless, a couple of posthumous hits were
registered as a result of these overdubs - namely "Bo Diddley" and a
cover of Chuck Berry's "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" and evidently Holly
had something special from the outset. Disc two features the Decca
audition songs and these songs support the theory that Holly's
prospective label were aiming to water down his talent (compare the
pre audition version of band mate Sonny Curtis' rockabilly classic
"Rock Around With Ollie Vee" with the lacklustre arrangement of the
Decca demo as a case in point.) The remaining two records contain
songs from arguably Holly's most touching sessions. Newly married to
Maria Elena who was expecting their first child, Holly had been
starved of royalties from his now former manager Norman Petty. Holly
was forced financially to go on the lowly Winter Dance Party tour of
America in the cruelest of winter conditions that would see him board
a small aeroplane with the Big Bopper and Richie Valens in a desperate
attempt to get to his next venue early to pick up some mail and wash
some laundry. Tragically, the three men and their pilot never made
their destination, crashing in a field shortly after take off. Just
weeks before his death, Holly had chosen to record half a dozen new
songs (and his takes on other artistes' work) in his New York
apartment using his trusty reel to reel recorder. Such songs include
"Peggy Sue Got Married", "Crying Waiting Hoping" and "Learning The
Game" and, if once was not enough, the majority of these apartment
demos were then overdubbed by two different sets of session musicians
in order to increase sale-ability and cash in on Holly's death.
However, the real treasure in the trove is contained in the last
segment of this collection - simply called 'The Collectors Buddy
Holly.' Contained within are the untouched versions of some of Holly's
apartment recordings and there is an unmistakable poignancy and
eeriness as Holly strums out his last ever songs. As if leaving buried
treasure for the music world to discover, these songs point towards
Holly's burning passion to develop himself and write music no matter
the circumstances. The question remains of what this down to earth
Lubbock boy would have gone on to achieve had he been given the chance
to go in the musical directions he must have been mulling over
following his split from the Crickets. Although no collection can ever
truly be complete, what 'The Complete Buddy Holly' does is allow the
listener to gain perspective on the depth and breadth of Holly's work.
This, coupled with a fantastic pictorial book of unreleased photos,
extremely informative liner notes and recordings of live appearances,
session tracks and interviews, makes this one of the most important
releases in the history of popular music. Time for everyone involved
to get over their contractual differences and for this to be finally
released on CD.
Lins Honeyman
1977
Roots
Crosby,
Stills & Nash
CSN
Atlantic
Ever since
the 1960's popular musicians with something worth saying have tended
to work alone. It all began when Bob Dylan, Barry McGuire and Donovan
topped the charts and the press labelled them as protest singers. By
the end of the decade when Joni Mitchell and James Taylor hit the
airwaves they were more grandly known as singer/songwriters - a term
which has very much stuck right through to the present day. Of course,
ever since the Beatles writers in bands have also come up with
profound lyrics but, as John Lennon proved, they only tended to grow
as songwriters after going solo. To my mind, the one exception to rule
are Crosby, Stills and Nash. Already established as top musicians in
the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and the Hollies they came together as
the world's first supergroup in 1969 and, with Neil Young from time to
time on board, they have spent the past four decades touring the world
with their songs of social reform. Whilst Young's better work can be
found on his numerous solo projects the rest of the band have
performed better together - as their 1977 album CSN clearly show. It
includes "Just A Song Before I Go" which became their first
multi-platinum single, and their highest-charting track, reaching #7
on Billboard's Hot 100. Written by Graham Nash, the band's lone Brit,
it typifies his ability to write simple radio-friendly songs of love,
won and lost, with a dash of northern charm - West Coast music at its
best! Stephen Stills, oddly a Monkees' reject, and David Crosby wrote
the albums more mystical songs - probably inspired by the books they
read as they sailed the Caribbean on the schooner on the album cover.
They wrote of strange dreams and chance encounters. Crosby mocks his
own importance in "Anything At All" whilst Stills writes of the pain
of a broken relationship in "Run From Tears"'. Nash, on the other
hand, has always been considered the band's lightweight - probably
because he was responsible for chart songs like "Marakesh Express" and
"Our House". Yet, paradoxically he was the writer of "Teach Your
Children" which examines the generation gap and penned the immortal
words "Rules and regulations - who needs them?" Hence, it should come
as no surprise that Nash turns his attention to organised religion on
the song "Cathedral". Inspired by a visit to Winchester Cathedral he
contrasts the historic splendour with the ordinariness of the women
who clean the chancel and arrange the flowers. Then his mood changes
as he notices a statue of Christ and thinks of all the evils done in
the Saviour's name. This is compounded when he sees all the grand
memorials to soldiers who have died in battle across the centuries.
Small wonder that he declares that "too many people have lied in the
name of Christ that I can't believe it all." For Nash, the Cathedral
is a symbol of all that he despises in religion. Hurrying to leave he
declares faith to be an illusion. Although a pampered rock star, I
believe that Graham Nash speaks for many who simply cannot equate the
Prince of Peace with the militaristic pomp that is still part and
parcel of some parts of established religion.
Chris
Tozer
1975
Pop
Wings
Venus And Mars
Parlophone
This 1975 release from
Paul McCartney's post Beatles band saw Wings at the pinnacle of their
lifespan with the classic line up of Paul and Linda, Denny Laine,
Jimmy McCulloch and Joe English (the latter going on to become an '80s
CCM star of course). Recorded in New Orleans and noticeably influenced
by their musical surroundings, McCartney achieved in this album what
he failed to do in any of his preceding solo releases - a collection
of quality and entertaining songs with absolutely no filler. The main
reason for this was McCartney's natural ability to draw upon a myriad
of musical and cultural influences, spinning an artistic and
commercial success in the process. There are hints of his Beatle past
- the very nature of the opening two songs - the title track
documenting the anticipation of a fan in a sports arena prior to a gig
which leads into the appearance of a fictitious band in the raucous
"Rock Show" is reminiscent of Sgt Pepper whilst, in the Eastern tinged
"Love In Song", McCartney intriguingly draws on some George Harrison
influences and uses the type of beefy horns on "Letting Go" that
featured heavily on Harrison's early solo releases. There is a real
sense in 'Venus And Mars' that McCartney and company are on the crest
of a wave. Not only is their sound bigger than before (reflecting
their new found success on the live stadium circuit) but there is a
confidence contained within each song that backs up McCartney's belief
at the time that Wings could be even more successful than his former
band. Amidst the hype and the success, it is evident from this release
that things were starting to get out of hand. It would be six years
before McCartney would be incarcerated in Japan for possession of
marijuana and only four years before guitarist McCulloch would die
from a heroin overdose. Ironically, McCulloch penned a fine anti drugs
song for this album but there are several drugs references throughout
- "Rock Show" talks about "scoring an ounce" and "preparing to shoot
up with the city" whilst "Spirits Of Ancient Egypt" is a trippy piece
of post psychedelic rock. In McCartney's work before and after 'Venus
And Mars', there is occasionally a feeling that he believes in
something bigger than the here and now. However, despite the Roman
Catholic undertones of his upbringing and his Maharishi dabblings in
the late '60s, it is nigh on impossible to put a finger on where he
stands in terms of the bigger picture and there is a sense that
perhaps he doesn't even know himself. Confused theories emerge
throughout the album with reference to mother nature in "Letting Go"
and astrology in the title track whilst the hit single "Listen To What
The Man Said" continues the Beatles' theory that love itself is the
answer. The latter song could be seen to be pointing to a Christ-like
figure but in truth it never reveals who "the man" actually is -
perhaps due to McCartney's overriding agnostic stance on matters
concerning the existence of God. In the scheme of things, it is
surprising that the majority of these songs failed to lodge themselves
more in the public's consciousness given the inclusion of classics
such as the soulful "Call Me Back Again" and the Marvel Comics
inspired story song "Magneto And Titanium Man." This does not take
away from the fact that 'Venus And Mars' sees McCartney at the peak of
his post Beatles career.
Lins Honeyman
1969
Pop
The
Beatles
Abbey Road
Parlophone
Fresh from the
waking nightmare that was the filming and recording of the 'Get Back'
sessions (later to be repackaged as their final release 'Let It Be'),
the fab four set about getting back to basics and recording their
swansong with long term producer George Martin at the helm once again.
In many ways, it is miraculous that 'Abbey Road' sounds so cohesive
given the bitter implosion that was happening to the group amidst
their business, relationship and musical differences at the time but
their final work is nothing less than a celebration of what made
Beatles albums great - a collection of varied songs, recorded with
humour, love and creativity. 'Abbey Road' is very much a game of two
halves with the first side being a collection of what could well have
been solo releases by John, Paul, George and Ringo with the others
merely acting as backing musicians. The flipside is a collage of songs
written during the 'Get Back' and 'White Album' sessions, joined
together by both Lennon and McCartney in one last act of musical
unity. In truth, this album was very much about how the individual
Beatles were dealing with the oncoming separation. It seemed all
members wanted the band to end naturally with the exception of
McCartney who, at points, was desperately trying to find ways of
preserving the group he had joined in his teens. It is therefore
perhaps ironic that proceedings kick off with Lennon's "Come Together"
given the lack of accord in the band at the time. Nonetheless, this is
a classic piece of neo-swamp blues from Lennon before leading into
arguably one of the most celebrated love songs in history. It is
rumoured that Harrison's "Something" was originally a dedication to
Krishna but it is also widely thought that this is an ode to his wife
to be Pattie Boyd. If proof were needed, it showed that the quiet one
had almost reached the standard of his two heavyweight writing
contemporaries. McCartney checks in with a couple of lightweight
numbers ("Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Oh! Darling") and his
contribution doesn't really get into gear until side two. However, the
main surprise is the charming escapism of Ringo's "Octopus's Garden" -
written at a time when Starr was so disillusioned with all the
business wrangling that living under the sea seemed like a better
option. To close the first side, Lennon's guitar driven and minimalist
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" has the band at their tightest with
layered guitars and white noise acting out a requiem to the dying
band. Side two opens with the sheer optimism of Harrison's "Here Comes
The Sun" - a song of hope that their dark final days would soon be
over before. From then on in, it's an exhilarating rollercoaster of
unfinished and co-joined tracks largely dominated by McCartney's
songs. It is testimony to the Beatles' geniuses that many of these
songs were regarded as throwaways yet they still work within the
confines of perhaps the greatest band in history. The inclusion of
Lennon's frivolous caricature songs "Mean Mr Mustard" and "Polythene
Pam" hint towards his desire to shy away from the responsibility of
being in the Beatles whilst McCartney closes the album with the
poignant medley of "Golden Slumbers", "Carry That Weight" and "The
End." It seems a fitting end, not only to the album but also to the
Beatles' recording tenure, that McCartney should sing the lines "once
there was a way to get back home" signalling an end to a beautiful
relationship and a point of no return. Strangely, "Carry That Weight"
has the boys at their most interactive with Ringo's only drum solo and
Paul, George and John trading guitar licks in the way they would have
done before they were famous. The closing line on the album "And in
the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make" can either
be seen as one of McCartney's throwaway lines or as something
incredibly deep. Regardless of either point of view, it is symbolic of
their belief that love is everything and this theme runs through their
back catalogue from roughly 1965 onwards. As Steve Turner said in his
seminal book The Gospel According To The Beatles, the apostle John
declared that "God is love" but the Beatles attempted to turn this on
its head by saying that "love is God" ("Within You Without You" and
"All You Need Is Love" are prime examples of this theory) and
therefore implying that no saviour is needed if you can access "love"
directly. With the release of 'Abbey Road', the Beatles at least
achieved some closure and certainly rose to the occasion to ensure
that their last recordings together were memorable. In doing so, they
ended their careers as Beatles on a high note and with one of their
strongest albums ever.
Lins Honeyman
1967
Pop
The
Beatles
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Parlophone
The Beatles had been through a tough time:
John had said that they were more popular than Jesus. Then said, "I'm
sorry I said it," the Vatican accepted his apology, but the big US
Bible belt Baptist's (SBC) did not. Concerts were so rowdy and PA
systems so poor that it was hard to hear the band playing. Finally
after the band had been ignominiously expelled from the Philippines
during a contentious tour, McCartney decided enough was enough and
from that point on the Beatles became a studio only band. They set
about their next project with renewed relish and of course plenty of
time. 700 hours went into the recording sessions for 'Sgt. Pepper', it
was always going to be a masterpiece. Every song was strong, though
the concept theme of the Beatles playing as the alter ego band (title)
goes somewhat adrift as the album progresses. It revives towards the
end with the reprise of the first track, "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts
Club Band", which helped give the album its "show" feel, which was the
original idea of the LP. The art work for the cover has been the
subject of much speculation, not least the "Paul is dead" theory. Lots
of (what could be) mourners all standing round (what could be) a grave
with its flowers and what looks like a statue of the Hindu goddess
Kali the destroyer pointing at Paul. On the back cover Paul is the
only Beatle who is facing backwards, it was a conspiracy theorist's
dream, and they quickly said, "You can't see his face because he's
dead." Spirituality was part of the feel of 'Sgt. Pepper', Jesus was
part of the inspiration for George Harrisons' "Within You Without
You", which includes the lyrics "We were talking - about the love
that's gone so cold and the people/Who gain the world and lose their
soul." This was a time when it was suggested that God could be found
through drugs and references to drugs also seemed to be in the LP:
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", had LSD as an acrostic in its title
but (according to John) it was purely coincidental and the title of
the song is about a painting that John's four year old son Julian did
of his school friend Lucy; that's what John said and he stuck with his
story. Denying other references on the album isn't so easy, yet the
Beatles had a good go at denying them. Maybe Paul really was referring
to "Woodbines" as the smoke he had when he went into a dream ("A Day
In The Life"). Paul's bass playing is magnificent throughout the
recording, it's melodic yet punchy and holds the rhythm together. In
fact the bass was mixed 2dB higher than the other instruments which
was innovative at the time and helped push modern music to where it is
now. The cataclysmic song "A Day In The Life" has John's gritty
mean-edged vocals and lyrics complemented by Paul's bridge, which were
originally two different songs but juxtaposed for 'Sgt. Pepper'. The
songwriting is first class, I've sometimes wondered how much producer
George Martin added to the structure of the songs - maybe he hasn't
got named the fifth Beatle for no reason. 'Sgt Pepper' certainly
played its part in pushing popular music onto the next level.
Paul Poulton
1962
R&B
James
Brown
James Brown At The Apollo
King
When I
first heard the 1959 R&B million seller "Shout" by the Isley
Brothers I had what can only be described as a secular Damascus Road
experience. Here was a record and, as I soon discovered, a whole music
form which was so frenetically abandoned that it lifted the listener
to exciting heights like nothing I'd ever heard before. Bit by bit
over the following years I discovered that this music, by the '60s
referred to as soul music, was closely connected to black church
music. In fact more than that in terms of vocal styling, it was
identical to the hard gospel quartets of the '50s. But whereas that
music relied on an organ or guitar for an accompaniment, the secular
gospel acts like the Isleys and Ray Charles had whole, fat bands
behind them. And no band was fatter and hipper than the sassy combo
who played with James Brown & The Famous Flames. When this album
came out it hit me, hit me, HIT ME! (sorry, I'm just getting into the
vernacular) with all the impact of a baseball bat. Because of my
gospel music voyage of discovery I'd gotten used to singers who not
only sang melody and improvised endless grace-note extravaganzas but
screamed in unbridled frenzy. (I was already cutting my musical teeth
on the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi.) But when all this
barely-in-control emotional power and vocal theatrics were harnessed
to a pumping, braying band with a brass flourish for every grunt and
scream, a socking backbeat that never let up, and the Famous Flames
who coo'd doowop harmonies as a counterpoint as the "Hardest Working
Man In Show Business" went crazy, the effect was beyond excitement.
What put everything in its context was of course a live recording at
New York's famed ghetto theatre. Here was an audience which responded
with all the uninhibited joy of a storefront church congregation.
Growing up a British white boy, I wasn't familiar with James' "hits"
presented here ("Please, Please, Please" from 1956, "Try Me" from
1958, "Think" from 1959, "Bewildered" from 1961 and the pumping
instrumental-with-screams revival of Jimmy Forest's "Night Train").
But like that secular congregation on the record, I became part of the
audience, thanks to my bedroom record player, and was up there
(metaphorically) shouting my responses. I may not have understood all
the ghetto slang in the improvised monologues "I'm so tired, I'm so
tired, but I'm clean" was, I later learnt, to do with James' dapper
stage appearance rather than the singer emerging from the shower. But
the album was, and I believe still is, a stone classic which today
still retains much of its sweaty, abandoned, soul power.
Tony
Cummings
1962
R&B
John
Lee Hooker
The Folk Lore Of John Lee Hooker
Vee-Jay
Back in 1962, before most of my friends were
discovering the first fruits of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, I
was firmly on my own musical journey of discovery. Thanks to my school
friend Dennis Powis I'd stumbled across the heady delights of "rhythm
and blues" which back then was a term which covered everything from
the early church-based soul music of the Isley Brothers, the
sophisticated pop of Motown and, like this album here - the first John
Lee Hooker album ever to receive a British release - the broodingly
powerful blues. When I got this for a Christmas present from my
parents I was hardly prepared for its sheer, turbulent, raw, eerie
power. I knew John Lee's swaggeringly sassy "Boom Boom" as one of the
400 or so Brits who'd bought the single on Stateside, little imagining
that decades on a mass audience would be enjoying the track on TV
commercials. But the punchy boogie with John aided by the Motown
sessioners the Soul Brothers was one thing. But some of the raw,
primeval recordings here were something else with the droning one
chord improvisations of The Hook seeming to be music from another
planet, so strange and savagely intense. Each play though took me
deeper into its brooding internal world of bad women and bad whiskey,
where the Flood of Tupelo, Mississippi was a mystical metaphor for
man's misery, where "boogie" was revealed in all its stark, sexuality.
It became an album I played every single day. Whether the Detroit
bluesman sang with a socking band ("I'm Going Upstairs"), played with
an acoustic guitar ("Tupelo") or droned over that over-amplified
guitar which could fill a whole track by itself, this was music of
intense, cathartic power. 'The Folk Lore Of John Lee Hooker' was a
misleading album title. This was no bluesman, prettied up for the
recently discovered white folk audience. This was a bluesman who still
played small clubs to a black audience. The always opportunistic
Vee-Jay Records put the "folklore" bit in the album title when the
"hootenanny" folk craze was raging. Within a year or two John Lee was
embraced, not by the folksters but, of all things, by the youth of
Britain who momentarily put another of his endless supply of rolling
boogies, "Dimples" into the UK pop charts. And decades on of course
The Hook was acknowledged as one of the icons of rock with Rolling
Stones and everyone else lining up to play on his records and eulogise
him as a musical giant. In his own way John was a religious man (he
was a Jehovah's Witness). For me, now a Christian, his music will
always be uplifting. John's lyrical preoccupations of an unrelenting
libido, in truth, sometimes sit uncomfortably with me today. But
without him, and all the hundreds of other blues giants who came
before him, there would be no rock'n'roll and, I suspect, no Cross
Rhythms.
Tony Cummings
Really, a great read! I love CCM best but i also listen and buy secular music too.I would like to see this artical more often,the range of musical era's is a "fAB" idea (hee,hee).Please keep it going
Chippie