I still have four speakers placed optimally around my office and I listen to it LOUD and the effects are phenomenal. "Axis" is not bad in that vein, but only "Electric Ladyland" comes close to matching it.

 

UMPIRE2's OCCASIONAL SOAPBOX EDITORIAL #2


OK, when I'm wrong, even partially wrong, I must admit it. So here goes.

Lady Gaga is not as bad as I have made her out to be.

I have, in the past, referred to her as "Lady Gagme" and "Lady Ga-rbage", but, in a round-about way, I have adjusted my opinion.

So, I watched American Idol this season and, without commenting on the merits of the contestants, the "superstar" guests left much, MUCH, MUCH to be desired.

I would not attest to remembering all of the shit that crossed that stage during the season, but Puffy/Diddy/Dirty/Smarmy (whatever his current name is) has NEVER been able to sing, or rap and songs he chooses (and he is SUPPOSED to be a 'great producer' and should now better) are always as boring as 10,000 years in hell. Pitbull is a total nothing. Katy Perry stunk up the stage...

I know personally that Beyonce is a great person, sweet as can be AND she has talent, but she has been totally misdirected into using too much electronic shit and sings the most God-awful songs imaginable. I can only stand the fact that she makes a fortune BECAUSE she is such a nice person.

Jennifer Lopez' two performances were total trash. Those three young Italian guys with 'O Solo Meo' were just weird. Great voices, but I still can't imagine anyone who has dipped a toe out of the boring side of the 1950s would buy it.

The former contestants all appeared with boring, BORING material.

Zakk Wylde's appearance was a shining moment, but he only performed as a sideman.

And then we have Lady Gaga.

Her two appearances were actually pretty good. Now I'm not standing on my head with praise---she is generally mediocre (I have now taken the time to listen to her collective output), but she occasionally comes up with some pretty good songs and, surprise, surprise, most of the time she just SINGS rather than using all the ridiculously annoying special effects that most 'popular' artists (read: multi-million sellers) currently use.

Standing alone, within the big picture, over time, Gaga is at best an OK artist----but in the current musical scene, she DOES come off as a genius.

There, I've said it.

As far as popular artists (NOTE: 'popular', as in 'Pop'----top-of-the-charts stuff-----NOT in comparison to all the really good stuff that is out there that no one buys) today go, Gaga is about the best you are going to get.

It is pretty sad, that.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Lady Gaga. I love the spectacle of her, the theatre of her as an artist, but her music... well, it's not really me.
I went to see her live and thought her voice was very weak, but I did enjoy the showmanship and would consider going to see her again.

When the charts are so full of bland, inoffensive, mass-produced bilge, she does stand out. I admire her for that if nothing else.

 

Thanks for the input!

 

NUMBER 490:

"Humans"---Bruce Cockburn (1980)

From the sound of sneaking tiptoes illustrated by the pizzicato in 'Grim Travellers", through the nearly reggae of 'Rumours Of Glory' and the full reggae of 'What About The Bond'; the psychological take on the fear that exacerbates prejudice that is 'You Get Bigger As You Go'; the kind of Lou Reed-meets-Bob-Dylan folk of 'How I Spent My Fall Vacation' to the sweet and pensive 'The Rose Above The Sky' all show the too-barely discovered genius of this Canadian artist.

The brilliance also includes the excellent 'Guerrilla Betrayed' twists the inability to really trust the untrustworthy...; 'Fascist Architecture' compares a confining and jealous love to the insular and ultimately self-destructive nature of extreme right-wingism...and 'Tokyo' which captures a scene that Cockburn witnessed in song...

Too good to miss.

 

NUMBER 489:

"Clouds"---Joni Mitchell (1969)

Speaking of phenomenally talented Canadians...

The sophomore effort by Joni Mitchell is not as completely satisfying as her debut, but there are no weak tracks on "Clouds" and it also contains two of her most well-known songs, 'Chelsea Morning' and the frequently covered 'Both Sides Now'.

Also included is one of the greatest folk-pop songs ever written and rarely heard, 'I Don't Know Where I Stand'.

'Tin Angel', 'That Song About The Midway', 'Roses Blue', 'The Gallery', and 'Songs To Aging Children Come' are more great tracks therein.

 

Number 488:

"Deep Sea Skiving"---Bananarama (1983)

When I first heard Bananarama singing on Fun Boy Three's debut, I was smitten (well, I was smitten with BOTH Fun Boy Three---having been a Specials fan---AND Bananarama, but I thought the girls were much hotter...).

I tried to find out who these lovelies were for about seven or eight months until I came across a cassette in an out-of-the-way music store that said BANANARAMA: DEEP SEA SKIVING on it. I had no idea what 'skiving' was, but I was ready to dive in.

I wore that cassette OUT in my car (my first) and bought the album on LP to compensate several months later...about the time I picked up the girls second LP, the self-titled "Bananarama".

"Deep Sea Skiving" is chock full of great tunes, starting with 'He Was Really Sayin' Something', wherein Fun Boy Three returned the favor by chipping in background vocals. 'What A Shambles' is my favorite on the album, but 'Young At Heart', 'Hey Young London', 'Shy Boy', 'Cheers Then' and 'Boy Trouble' are also very, very good.

The girls produced a fine cover of Steam's 'Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye' as well.

Don't like Bananarama?

Well, taste is not universal.

 

Bananarama? Couldn't be more surprised if you'd included Bros!
I so wanted to be Siobhan Fahey; I was gutted when she left and somehow they were just never the same.

 

Good choice with Bananarama and the Fun Boy Three.

 

I've got a couple of Shakespeare's Sister, too...

 

Thanks, Rich! I appreciate the comment!

 

NUMBER 487:


"Mystery To Me"---Fleetwood Mac (1973)

A really nice album mainly written by Bob Welch (6 self-penned songs and 1 co-written) and Christine McVie (4 songs). A set that balances ballads, medium and up-tempo songs; balances pop, rock and a bit of folky-blues.

Christine McVie does her best on the two ballads she offers ('The Way I Feel' and 'Why'). Her two bouncy pop numbers ('Believe Me' and 'Just Crazy Love') are OK, but not in any way exceptional.

It really is Bob Welch who carries this album on his shoulders and delivers several great songs, including my favorite Fleetwood Mac song, 'Hypnotized'. Welch's 'Emerald Eyes' is also a great medium tempo pop/rock piece; his 'Keep On Going' and 'Miles Away' are very good rockers and 'The City' is a nice blues/folk bit and 'Somebody', also by Welch is a fine uptempo rocker.

'Forever', co-written by Welch, lead guitarist Bob Weston and bassist John McVie is more poppy, and not as interesting, but the band also gives out a top-notch cover of Graham Gouldman's 'For Your Love' (originally done by the Yardbirds').

One of the most outstanding of the post-Peter Green Fleetwood Mac.

 

NUMBER 486:


"The Head On The Door"---The CURE (1985)

Robert Smith simply has the knack of making simple progressions sound interesting and more complex than they actually are. He works a lot with scales, which are about as rudimentary as you can get (examples in 'Kyoto Song' and 'Six Different Ways'), but his talent with melodies brings out a brilliance that can only be heard, not well explained.

The flamenco-ish guitar work on 'The Blood', is as well, very basic, but it sounds very cool. The opener, 'In-Between Days' and the first side closer 'Push' are lively, pulse-raising stingers that frame the first three referenced songs.

'The Baby Screams' is a really cool kick in the ass to begin Side 2 and is followed by the soft 'hits', 'Close To Me' and 'A Night Like This'---again, just great melodies.

The album concludes with 'Screw', a snappy little piece that bops along and the moody, crawling 'Sinking', which is darkly fantastic.

I never want a cure for The CURE....

 

NUMBER 485:

"BACK IN BLACK"---AC/DC (1980)

I will keep this fairly short, since this album is so well known (with nearly 50 MILLION units sold, it is the 2nd highest selling album of all time as of January, 2011)...

The first effort with Brian Johnson replacing the deceased Bon Scott as lead singer, AC/DC comes up with its best written collection yet. Some might complain that "Back In Black" is too polished, and not as raw as their first five albums, but 17 million fans obviously don't think so (my math is based solely on my own experience: purchasing the album 3 times----wearing out 2 LPs and now working on a CD version) and "BIB" is as powerful as any other of the earlier releases.

Fans born after 1980 (and there are plenty of them) could be excused for thinking "Back In Black" is some kind of 'best of' set. There aren't many 'greatest hits' collections that have as many great songs on them: 'You Shook Me All Night Long', 'Hells Bells', 'Shoot To Thrill', 'Given The Dog A Bone', 'Let Me Put My Love Into You', 'Shake A Leg', 'Rock 'N' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution' AND the title track are all killers.

Wake up and smell the current!

 

NUMBER 484:

"A Maid That's Deep In Love"---Pentangle (1989)

In 1989, Shanachie Records put out this combination of some of the best tracks from Pentangle's two low-selling albums from 1970 and 1971 ("Reflection" and "Cruel Sister"). Purists complain that this album is not as good as the two original releases, but I disagree. "Reflection", particularly, is the band's weakest release, and taking the five best songs from that set and adding them to the four best tracks from "Cruel Sister" (only eliminating the good, but over-long track 'Jack Orion'), you have an excellent offering.

I particularly like 'Omie Wise', 'Rain and Snow', 'Cruel Sister', 'Wedding Dress' and 'A Maid That's Deep In Love'.

 

NUMBER 483:


"Outlandos d'Amour"---The POLICE (1978)

At 14, I was READY for The POLICE.

When I first heard 'Roxanne' on the radio, I was thrilled. I already liked reggae, and this was reggae-ish, but also different in a more hard-edged way. This was not about funky fun on ganja, it was a darker, back alley in the mist reggae that was so cool it burnt my ears.

I can still remember the dampish, almost moldy smell of the record store the day I entered soon after and walked out with a bag containing "Outlandos d'Amour". When I got it home, I spun it and was consumed by the songs, one after the other (except for 'Be My Girl---Sally', which disturbed me and still does).

Rating them (and I don't think my opinion has changed in 33 years):

'Next To You': A
'So Lonely': A+
'Roxanne': A+
'Hole In My Life': B+
'Peanuts': B
'Can't Stand Losing You': A+
'Truth Hits Everybody": A-
'Born In The 50's': B
'Be My Girl---Sally': C
'Masoko Tanga': A

Average grade: B+ (without 'Sally', A-).....

To the ISLAND!!!

 

NUMBER 482:

"WHITES OFF EARTH NOW"---Cowboy Junkies (1986)

One of the greatest, if not THE greatest bass-driven, blues-drippin' sets I have ever heard.

Formed in Toronto, Canada by Margo Timmons, Peter Timmons, Michael Timmons and Alan Anton (BASSIST), the Cowboys Junkies recorded "Whites Off Earth NOW" in late 1985 and early 1986 and BANG! It went nowhere....charted nowhere.....sold nothing....AND IS ONE OF THE MOST FANTASTIC ALBUMS YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD!!!!

'Scuse me---I get excited (I'm listening to it right now...)

The album contains only one original tune ('Take Me' by Margo and Michael Timmons), but the arrangements of the eight covers are so exceptionally well-done that most of them you would never recognize from the originals.

The covers range from two Robert Johnson numbers, 'Me & The Devil Blues' and the more familiar (but not in THIS incredible version) 'Crossroads' and three John Lee Hooker masterpieces, 'Decoration Day', 'I'll Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive' and 'Forgive Me' that are RE-MASTERPIECED in this amazing set---to Bruce Springsteen's 'State Trooper' (one of the only good bits from the Boss's boring "Nebraska" album).

The band also does a great turn on Lightnin' Hopkins' 'Shining Moon' and tricks out Joe Williams' 'Baby, Please Don't Go' in a version that could easily make you forget The Yardbirds, Them and just about everybody else that ever did it.

This album is so freakin' good it is scary....and no one's heard it.

Oh, CANADA...

 

Number 481:

"Soul Bossa Trio"---Soul Bossa Trio (1995)

Big in Japan, I don't know much about these guys except that they are too good for mere words. They lay down a groove so solid that a nuclear missile couldn't scratch it.

Fantastic cuts like 'A Holiday in South Zone' and 'Cha Chita' get the hips moving and I've never heard a better version of 'Tin Tin Deo'.

There is a hint of Sergio Mendes and Brazil '66 in vocal tracks like 'Bayu Bayu' and a terrific cover of Bill Withers' 'Ain't No Sunshine'.

Not a weak track here.

 

The 1,000th post....







NUMBER 480:

"DIARY of a HOLLOW HORSE"---CHINA CRISIS (1989)

I remember hearing 'St. Saviour Square' and 'Sweet Charity in Adoration' once each on the radio and then never hearing them again over the airwaves, but I loved both so much that I hunted down the album (on CD) and from the first time I listened to it through, I was totally happy with my decision.

Other really nice tracks on this smooth Pop album are 'Day After Day', 'Stranger By Nature', 'Singing the Praises of Finer Things', 'Red Letter Day', 'All My Prayers' and the title track.

After listening a number of times to this album by a band I really knew nothing about, I went out an found their previous release, "What Price Paradise", which is very good, but not up to the level of sophistication that "Diary" presents. Still enjoying the band, I later bought (at the same time when I found them together) their first and third releases: "Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms: Some People Think It's Fun To Entertain" and "Flaunt The Imperfection", both of which disappointed me. I never looked for the two remaining China Crisis albums, but rather stuck with my fav, this: "Diary of a Hollow Horse".

Founded by guitarist Eddie Lundon and vocalist/keyboard player Gary Daly, China Crisis achieved some moderate success in Great Britain between 1982 and 1989, but never made the slightest splash in the U.S.