David Bowie – “Let’s Dance” (1983)

My dad gave me this album for my birthday. Probably it was the year of its release, possibly the year after. In other words, I was 11 or 12 years old. I remember this birthday morning well. I was in Jämtland (in the northern part of Sweden) at my grandmothers place with the rest of my family. Of course I recognized the shape of the present and understood what was hidden inside. Let's Dance had been on my wish list, thanks to the hit Let's Dance, so you can believe I was surprised when I opened the present and looked down on the album in my hand. Sure, it was a Bowie album, but not Let's Dance. Instead, it said Hunky Dory on it. What was this? I will not deny that a certain feeling of disappointment appeared.

My dear father, whose interest in music was primarily focused on jazz and classical music, had a vague idea about modern music. Therefore, he had walked into a music store and simply asked for a Bowie album. I imagine that the business owner probably had a pretty good knowledge of music and thought Hunky Dory was the Bowie album to own.

Like my son today sometimes says he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings if he thinks he will make me disappointed, I had a feeling this birthday morning of not wanting to make my dad sad by refusing to accept the gift. He had meant well, so I said with concealed disappointment that this album was problably also good and that I could keep it. However, my other family members said I should change it to the album I actually wanted, and so it was.

Bowie had already at this time had a relatively long and interesting career with a long list of hits. The album Let's Dance must probably still be said to be the first truly commercial album he did. The album earned three big hits - the title track, Modern Love and China Girl (which Bowie wrote together with Iggy Pop and appeared on the latters album The Idiot, 1977). Bowie’s videos for the songs China Girl and Let's Dance also caught a lot of attention and were played heavily on MTV. Bowie had by this time become one of the most important video artists.

When I listen to the LP today, I think it’s a good commercial pop record, but there is some sort of twist, something that makes it a bit different from other commercial pop music - as if someone has tuned the music an inch to the left. Maybe it's Bowie's voice that evokes this feeling. I have listened to some of Bowie's other creations, most not as commercial, and perhaps this has led me to associate his voice with a touch of weirdness. He doesn’t always seem to have been the most uncomplicated person.

I liked this album as a child and still think it’s alright. I don’t know what kind of audience Bowie had in mind when he made this record, if he had any such in mind, but it’s impressive to make an album both a 11-year-old and a 38-year old can enjoy and discover quality in. I'm not listening to this LP today, since this kind of pop music is not what I now prefer, but would recommend it if you want a good pop record. All the songs are not good, some are a bit boring, but overall it’s an okay album. The production is quite timeless and is not suffering from a typical 80's sound, according to me. It can be mentioned that Stevie Ray Vaughan plays guitar on the album, he later got a successfull solo career of his own.

Although I give this album an OK, I think today that I should have kept the Hunky Dory album. What had my (musical) life looked like if I, as an 11-12 year-old, had been spinning that album on the turntable on a nearly daily basis? How would it have shaped my mind and my perception of music? Maybe I would have been a totally different person than the one I am today – I might have been successful, well liked and admired. On the other hand, I might not have understood anything of it, lose my belief in music and eventually become a bitter man. I guess there’s no idea to regret things in past. Let’s dance, baby!

Favorite Tracks

China Girl

Without You

Cat People

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Modern Love" – 4:46
2. "China Girl"  – 5:32
3. "Let's Dance" – 7:38
4. "Without You" – 3:08

Side B

1. "Ricochet" – 5:14
2. "Criminal World"  – 4:25
3. "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" – 5:09
4. "Shake It" – 3:49

 

Jerry Harrison – “Casual Gods” (1987)

As a fan of Talking Heads it was natural to buy a LP with Jerry Harrison, best known as keyboardist / guitarist in that same band. Especially as I found the album really cheap (I think it was around 3$) in a store selling used stuff. I was probably around 18 years old when I bought this LP, unfortunately I then had the questionable characteristic that I found it hard to really appreciate music I found so cheaply. Somehow I felt the music always sounded, well… cheap. Albums I paid full price for always sounded better. Most likely, this psychology is applicable to more than just records, something the commercial forces certainly use to maximize their profits. In other words, I have over the years always liked this album but because of the above reason, I have sorted it into the B-list anyway. Stupid? Very.

Before Jerry Harrison joined Talking Heads he played in the band Modern Lovers, this was in the beginning of the 70s. After Talking Heads broke up (1991) he mostly went into producing others acts, such as Crash Test Dummies, Live, No Doubt and others. He has made three solo albums, Casual Gods is the second of these. All were created during his time in Talking Heads.

When I now listen to the album, I feel it’s a record with some high peaks which consists of a few really good songs. At times Jerry manages to create quite a suggestive atmosphere, the album's closer, Bobby, is a good example of this. But there are, if not deep valleys, at least flat plateaus on the album too. These are some pretty bland, easily forgotten and somewhat boring compositions. Some of the songs can also suffer a bit of a typical 80's sound - somewhere you hear a drum machine, some syntheseizers feel outdated – but overall the recording sounds surprisingly fresh. The cover is also fascinating and can be further studied while listening to the music.

Jerry has produced the album and plays guitar, keyboards and sings. The music has a touch of Talking Heads even if it’s in no way a copy. During my younger years, Let It Come Down was always my favorite, thanks to the powerful chorus which opened the gate to a higher state of mind. For a long time this was actually my favorite chorus regarding choruses all together, an impression that has lasted. No doubt it’s on my top 5 list of greatest choruses ever.

Years have passed and the emotional / psychological connection to the price tag has disappeared. Now I can play the album and actually be able to fully appreciate what I hear. It doesn’t sound cheap anymore.

Favorite Songs

Man With a Gun

Let It Come Down

Are You Running?

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. Rev It Up 4:11

2. Song Of Angels 3:37

3. Man With A Gun 4:40

4. Let It Come Down 4:54

5. Cherokee Chief 4:44

Side B

1. Perfect Lie 4:30

2. Are You Running? 3:56

3. A.K.A. Love 4:25

4. We're Always Talking 4:55

5. Bobby 4:05

 

 

Pink Floyd – Atom Heart Mother (1970)

I remember clearly the first time I heard this record, it was in school at the age of 16 in a music class. Our substitute teacher played it while he spoke very philosophically about music for us. The music fitted very well with his words and he had certainly planned this carefully. I was in awe of the music and found it extraordinary beautiful. Afterwards, I heard him say it was Pink Floyd who were performing the music, a fact that made me surprised, I had heard The Wall and The Final Cut, but I had no idea that the band had done music like this. Or that they had done anything except those two albums. A new world opened up.

One of my classmates were equally charmed by the music and began to discuss music with the teacher after class was finished. After a while he decided to follow the substitute teacher home to check out some albums. In the teenager's world, there was only one interpretation of this and my classmate was for the rest of his school years looked upon as a might-be-homosexual and also got to hear this quite often (even though it was always said with a smile). It didn’t make things easier for him that he once also asked to borrow a mouth spray from a classmate with the words "Can I get sprayed in the mouth?".

Oh, sweet memories, but let’s head back to the album. In the music class we heard the album's A-side which consists of a 23-minute song divided into shorter sections, the piece I then found so wonderful. There are wind instruments, choirs and sections for orchestra. The band usually keep themselves in the background. The B-side contains four tracks where each member, except Nick Mason, has written one each. The final song is a collaboration between all four and again, is a long (instrumental) track divided into a few shorter sections.

It’s was always the A-side of the album that attracted me most. Largely because it offers some variation – there are bombastic parts mixed with very beautiful, almost fragile, parts. This was for a long time a favorite piece to listen to at bedtime, in bed with headphones and the lights turned off. Night Music.

The B-side contains more "normal" music and of the four different songs I prefer Roger Waters and David Gilmour's contributions (If resp. Fat Old Sun).

The album cover features a cow, the reason for this was that Pink Floyd were tired of the images that were associated with the psychedelic space rock which they had hitherto represented. Therefore, they wanted an ordinary plain cover. Storm Thorgeson, who designed the cover, went out to the countryside and photographed the first cow he saw, which then got be on the cover. The name of the album is from a newspaper headline on an article about a woman who had gotten a nuclear-powered pacemaker.

Pink Floyd actually did a tour where they brought a full orchestra and a choir to perform Atom Heart Mother. The tour of course lost money and they therefore scaled down the track for live performances - made it shorter without choir and orchestra. Pink Floyd performed Atom Heart Mother at concerts until 1972.

As I mentioned, I've always liked (and still like) this album. But not everyone does:

"Atom Heart Mother is a good case, I think, for being thrown into the dustbin and never listened to by anyone ever again!... It was pretty kind of pompous, it wasn't really about anything."

/ Roger Waters — Rock Over London Radio Station - 15 March 1985, for broadcast 7 April/14 April 1985.

"[Atom Heart Mother] was a good idea but it was dreadful. I listened to that album recently: God, it's shit, possibly our lowest point artistically. Atom Heart Mother sounds like we didn’t have any idea between us, but we became much more prolific after it.”

/ David Gilmour - Mojo Magazine - October 2001

"I wouldn't dream of performing anything that embarrassed me. If somebody said to me now: "Right...here's a million pounds, go out and play 'Atom Heart Mother'", I'd say: "You must be fucking joking...I'm not playing that rubbish!". 'Cos then I really would be embarrassed."

/ Roger Waters — interviewed by Richard Skinner - BBC Radio 1 - originally broadcast: Saturday 9 June 1984

But who cares what these men say?

 

Favourite tracks

Atom Heart Mother

Fat Old Sun

If

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Atom Heart Mother"  23:44

 

Side B

1. "If"  4:31

2. "Summer '68"  5:29

4. "Fat Old Sun"  5:22

5. "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast"  13:00

 

 

Paul Young – The Secret of Association (1985)

There are few records in my collection that are more associated to my early teens as this one. It was released the year I turned thirteen and if I remember correctly, I got it for Christmas the same year. I had hardly kissed a girl, had not tasted liquor and my criminal career had not gone further than shoplifting candy at the local supermarket. It was still the innocent time of life. It was the hits Everything must change and Every Time You Go Away that had attracted my attention. Paul Young was big in Sweden this year, and the year before Do the know it's Christmas (Band Aid) had been a big hit in which he also participated. It is with some feelings of nostalgia I listen to this album, for the first time since the time around my first teenage year.

It’s not so easy to disconnect from the feelings and memories that were attached to the songs for about 25 years ago, in other words, it’s impossible to listen to the album objectively and with an open mind. Some of the songs I've more or less managed to forget, while others are still sing-a-longs. But it’s interesting to observe if this album still has an attraction to me as an adult, or was it made for an audience below the age of 20? The spontaneous answer to this is that it probably still has something to offer me, even though it’s not completely to my taste as it is in 2011. And for some reason it’s difficult to let yourself fully enjoy an album that you liked as a child / youth, I mean, to really let yourself go and get into the groove without letting it just become a nostalgia trip.

The album isn’t suffering much from the typical 80's sound that I find hard to like – a lot of keyboards, drum machines, etc., instead it sounds relatively timeless. Could it have been published today? Maybe. Some of the tracks would of course need a touch of modernization but there is really not much to complain about. About half of the songs are covers, while Paul and Ian Kewley have written the others.

This was a very commercial album when it was released and compared to the commercial music that is offered today it seems to me that the Secret of association is better. Each song is unique and has a certain quality, no song feels directly as a filler.Was it better in the earlier days, or has it more to do with that I today don’t take much part in what’s being played on the radio and therefore don’t really know what’s going on? I played this album a lot the first few years it was in my possession, then I guess it wasn’t so cool to listen to Paul Young, so because of this and other reasons (such as the record collection was increasingly expanding), I stopped playing it. But I would argue that it actually is an okay album, and that maybe I should try to create an adult relationship to it. And isn’t fretless bass always fun to listen to?

Favorite Tracks

Everything must change

I was in chains

This means anything

 

Tracklist

Side A

1 Bite the Hand That Feeds
2 Everytime You Go Away
3 I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
4 Standing on the Edge
5 Soldier's Things

Side B

6 Everything Must Change
7 Tomb of Memories
8 One Step Forward
9 Hot Fun
10 This Means Anything
11 I Was in Chains

 

 

Frank Zappa - “Broadway the hard way” (1988)

The idea I have of Frank Zappa is that he is an artist I should like, but never really understood. I never know if I should take his music seriously or if it is a joke. At the same time I have very little experience of this man, except this album I’ve got Freak Out. Apart from that I’ve only heard a few songs on the radio. In the music world Zappa seems to be one of the most respected names and looking at his production he appears to be one of the most creative. Much of what he has done goes outside the usual musical framework and as a person, he seems to have been both funny and intelligent.Therefore I should like Zappa. But things are not always what they should be.

I got this LP for Christmas from my brother, probably 1988, so I was 16 years old. I think I was at least ten years too young to understand the music and the lyrics. The album is full of political satire that was completely wasted on me. Firstly I've never been the one who listens very carefully to the lyrics, secondly it was satire about people who were not too familiar to me, and thirdly I simply didn’t know it was satire. Instead, I thought it was quite unserious music, like an American Eddie Meduza (a Swedish musician who made not too serious music, to say the least). At the same time I knew already at this age that Zappa was a very respected musician, and these two ideas I had trouble getting into co-existence.

To really appreciate this LP, it is probably important to understand the lyrics since they have a greater importance here than usual. The music in the songs is not so amazing that it stands by itself all the way and for me, mainly listening to the music, listening to this record is a slightly strange experience. It reminds me of a circus or a Marx Brothers movie. The LP has been played some on my record player but I have never managed to create a closer relationship to it. When I listened to it before writing this post it was the first time for almost 20 years I heard it. Still I found it hard to groove to.

It should be mentioned that the songs are live recordings from Zappa's 1988 tour, his last with a band. I haven’t heard enough of Zappa to know if this album is representative of him or not. After this album and Freak Out, it has not become more Zappa for me. Have I missed anything?

Favorite Songs 

Elvis har just left the building

When the lie’s so big

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Elvis Has Just Left the Building" – 2:24
2. "Planet of the Baritone Women" – 2:48
3. "Any Kind of Pain" – 5:42
4. "Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk" – 9:15

Side B

1. "Dickie's Such an Asshole" – 6:37
2. "When the Lie's So Big" – 3:38
3. "Rhymin' Man" – 3:51
4. "Promiscuous" – 2:03
5. "The Untouchables"  – 3:05

 

 

Kate Bush – “Lionheart” (1978)

I should first clarify my relationship with Kate Bush - if I had not been married to my wonderful wife, I had probably been married to Kate Bush. Alternatively, Sandra Bullock. In the world of music, Kate has always been one of my favorites, her music has always been a bit of a challenge, but not too much. She has created everything from dreamy to mystical to sublime to playful to theatrical to dance-friendly music. I problably seldom get what the texts are about, but I like them nonetheless. The interviews I've seen with her give the picture of a gentle, wise and humble person. It doesn’t matter that there’s a 14-year age difference between us (she is older than me). I think there could have been love between us. Or what do you think?

With that said, I have given myself the right to continue in a bit more negative way. I bought this album in my late teens and I have always thought it was OK, but not more. I still feel the same, which is a bit unusual for a Kate Bush album. Most of Kate's records are inner journeys, sometimes beautiful and harmonious, other times dark and scary. This LP doesn’t get hold of me at all in that way and I have always thought this album as one of Kate's weaker creations. Kate herself agrees: "Bush has often expressed dissatisfaction with Lionheart, feeling that she needed more time to get it right." (Wikipedia). Apparently the record company EMI was stressed and wanted a quick sequel to her debut The Kick Inside. Lionheart was released nine months after the first album.

In comparison with other titles Kate has done the differences are spontaneously two. First, many tracks are simply a bit weaker than usual. Secondly, I get no sense of a wholeness concerning the album, something most of her other albums provides in a different (and better) way. Maybe it’s there the problem lies concerning my feeling of not being invited to an inner journey. The journey ends after each song and have to start all over again.

On the other hand, even a weaker Kate Bush album is better than a lot of other stuff being offered the musically thirsty man or woman. Sometimes it's difficult when you write about about an album - if you want to to compare the music, should one compare the music with the artist's other creations, or with other artists? In a way it feels kind of strange to write some negative words about Lionheart, this is done in comparison with other records Kate has created. Would I just have the average popular music played on radio in my head, I would probably praise Lionheart in a different way. (Or am I letting my feelings for Kate affect me right now?)

Kate was 20 years old when Lionheart was released. After the LP was out on the market Kate had to go on an extensive promotional trip and a longer tour (six weeks), the only long tour of her career. Because she was dissatisfied with how the recording had been done with Lionheart, she thereafter created her own music publishing company, Kate Bush Music, and her own management company. In these companies Kate and her family members were the board of directors. In this way Kate got total control over her creations and following recordings. After the time of Lionheart Kate began to spend increasingly more time in the studio and was for long periods invisible to the public eye.

Summary: This is a record that has regularly spun on the turntable and it contains some really good songs. But as mentioned, Kate can do better.

Favorite Songs

Hammer Horror

Kashka From Baghdad

In Search Of Peter Pan

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Symphony in Blue" 
2. "In Search of Peter Pan" 
3. "Wow" 
4. "Don't Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake" 
5. "Oh England My Lionheart" 

Side B

6. "Fullhouse" 
7. "In the Warm Room" 
8. "Kashka From Baghdad" 
9. "Coffee Homeground" 
10. "Hammer Horror"

 

 

Black Widow (1971)

Another one of all those albums I bought because I thought the cover was cool. Probably I also found it really cheap if I know myself right. This cover made me think that the music would be deep, psychedelic, mystical and overall kind of druggy. That turned out not to be quite the case, which made me a bit disappointed. For this reason, this album always pursued a relatively secluded life in my record collection. In a way, it is a pity, if I had only been able to listen to the album without these initial expectations, maybe I would have found it better than I did.

The British band Black Widow was created in 1969, this eponymous album was their second. Those who may remember this band will probably remember it as an occult devil worshiping band (oh, how I wish I could play in one of those). On their debut album Sacrifice, there was the song they are best known for, "Come to the Sabbath." On this second album you don’t hear much of this occult stuff going on. They had previously caused some alarm with their music and concerts in which part of the show included a staged execution of a woman. That may be one of the reasons that they shifted in focus - too much focus on other things in the media besides the music. Of course, the band has always been compared to Black Sabbath, but from what I have heard with these bands they differ in the music quite a lot.

It is difficult to define the music on this album, the word "rock" is what first pops into my head. The internet site allmusic.com describes the music as "... a half-baked amalgam of progressive rock, folk music, British blues, and - the least of all - A Few very tenuous notions of hard rock and proto-metal ...". The experts seem to perceive a wild mix of genres in it, in other words.

Frankly, the music on this album is not something extraordinary. It’s OK, but not more. It's fun that they throw in a flute in some of the songs since this instrument has always been one of my favorites in rock music. But otherwise it feels like a lot of the music could be created by any garage band at any time. As a younger man I liked some drug references that appear in some songs, like "The Journey" ("... the acid man is gonna take my hand ...") or "When my mind was young" which entire text, I suspect, is a long drug reference. That created a certain fascination for the music within the younger version of myself, for some obscured reason. Maybe it was the mystique and the reality-altering experiences that drugs could cause that created the thrill? As a youngster I was fascinated by everything that was out of our normal reality, such as religious ideas and experiences, spiritual journeys, or hallucinogenic adventures. Just looking at the cover convinced me that this band was involved in these kind of things. Now, I suspect that this is indeed the case, but I also believe that there is a possibility that the creator of the cover just thought it was a cool picture he’d made. Or maybe the fascination had its roots in the feeling (and admiration) of the rebellious in experimenting with drugs. To do things that goes outside of what the society thinks is acceptable. That takes some courage, perhaps a courage I always felt I wanted more of. I was usually the quite guy who did what he was told, and seldom dared to go outside the frame and the limits the surrounding society had created.

I have a feeling that this record will continue to keep a low profile in the record shelf. Maybe I’ll take it out once a year to dust off it, but there is much more exciting stuff to listen to.

 

Favourite tracks

Tears and Wine

When my mind was young

Mary Clark

 

Tracklist

Side A

1 Tears And Wine

2 The Gypsy

3 Bridge Passage

4 When My Mind Was Young

5 The Journey

 

Side B

1 Poser

2 Mary Clark

3 Wait Until Tomorrow

4 An Afterthought

5 Legend Of Creation