Wire – “The Ideal Copy” (1987)

Once upon a time there was no Internet, at least not among the common man and in the shape it has today. It was in the second half of the 80's and I was in my mid-teens. I heard a really good song on the radio and as usual at that time you had to listen carefully when the song was coming to its end if you wanted to know who performed it. If you missed this golden moment you were done for, then you'd better hope that soon you would hear the song again and then manage to get the artist’s name. As a consequence of this, some songs had an almost mythical status, at least in my life. Songs that you’d heard only once, which were fantastic but you had no idea who performed them and therefore had no chance of getting. But that’s another story, in this case, I got the name of the band - Wire, a totally unknown band to me, but one that I decided to investigate further.

I visited the legendary music store Musikörat (the Musical ear) ear in Uppsala, Sweden, and asked to listen to The Ideal Copy. I soon realized it was the second track Ahead I had heard on the radio, a nice kick-ass song with a lot of energy on a record that was quite different from most other records I owned. Although there was not total love at first sight, I bought the album.

Wire was founded in 1976 in London and released their first album the following year. Initially, the band is considered to have belonged to the punk scene, but they developed their sound constantly, and on their second and third album, they had moved quite far away from the classic punk sound. Some call what they did in the 70s for art-punk, others believe that they can not be categorized. 1980-85 the band took a break and The Ideal Copy was their first full length album after this break (and thus their fourth LP). And as before, the band had developed a new sound.

Wires history was something I knew nothing about and was blissfully unaware of until much later in my life (thanks to the birth of Internet). As mentioned, it was not unconditional love at first sight, and it never was. Sure, it held a relatively strong attraction to me and I found quite a lot of joy in the album, but the great passion never appeared. There was always something in the music that made me a bit ambivalent towards it. I think it had something to do with the relatively dark sound of the record and the singer's voice, which for some reason raises a neurotic feeling inside me. I never got curious about Wire's earlier creations and let the band remain an unknown entity in my record collection. However, this album was played extensively during my teenage years although it has become increasingly less played as more years have passed by.

The feelings from my teenage years have persisted. There is still something in the sound and vocals that makes me a bit uncomfortable, although many tracks are quite enjoyable. I still like the earlier mentioned Ahead, Feed Me and Ambitious are other highlights. Side A has always been my favorite and I think the B-side, apart from the opening song, always have been relatively boring.

A difference today is that a curiosity has been awoken concerning Wire's earlier works. That I now know more about them is problably a factor in this. Thanks to the internet it’s now very easy to explore new music and at the top of my list are Wire's second and third album. It can be mentioned that Wire has released its twelfth album this year (2011).

Finally, it must also be mentioned that The Ideal Copy was the first album also released on the then new format DAT, so if not for anything else, it should go down in history for that. After listening through The Ideal Copy for the first time in many years before this post, I think it will get more playing time from now on.

Favorite Songs

Ahead

Feed Me

Ambitious

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. The Point Of Collapse 3:18
2. Ahead 4:52
3. Madman's Honey 4:23
4. Feed Me 5:50

Side B

1. Ambitious 4:00
2. Cheeking Tongues 2:02
3. Still Shows 4:00
4. Over Theirs 5:18

 

 

David Byrne – “Music For the Knee Plays” (1985)

As a teenager I listened a lot to Talking Heads, an interest which automatically led to the exploration of the individual band members and their solo efforts. David Byrne was the lead singer of Talking Heads and its main songwriter, while in the band he did some solo records, Music For The Knee Plays was his third.

The sad story of when I bought this album is unfortunately one that was repeated far too often. I found it in a record store, listened to it there and didn’t think it was any good. But because I liked Talking Heads, I had the compulsive idea that David Byrne's solo records also must be good. In addition, I dared not tell the staff at the store I wasn’t interested, what would they think? What if they were hurt or disappointed? So I put my own feelings aside, let my insecurity guide me and bought the album. There was perhaps also a feeling that I would win some respect from the store by buying an album with David Byrne, isn’t it kind of intellectual? In this way, I came home with a record I really didn’t want. The positive side on this coin is that my musical explorations were extended and I got to know some music I wouldn’t have come across otherwise. I was around 15 years old when I bought this LP.

Music For The Knee Plays is music Byrne composed for Robert Wilson's opera The Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down. Other composers in this opera included Philip Glass, Gavin Bryars and others. The opera was composed for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 1984. The idea was that six different composers from six different countries would compose the different musical parts of the opera. The various pieces would then be performed in each country and finaly be fused together in an epic performance for an entire day during the Olympics. For various reasons this ultimate performance was never done and still haven’t been done until this day.

The music on the album is inspired by The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, a brass band from New Orleans. In practice this means that there are only wind instruments and percussion on the record in addition to Byrne's voice, which sticks to talking (no singing). This was too unusual for me and I had a hard time get into the groove. I really tried to like the album but besides a few songs, it was not the easiest album to deal with. Allmusic.com describes the album as "brass-led marches that sound like an art school has landed on Bourbon Street." So you understand that a 15-year-old Markus had to struggle a bit. Byrne has written most of the songs, some are traditional and arranged by Byrne and / or others.

When I now listen to the album, I think pretty much the same. It's not really my kind of music and I probably woudn’t have bought it today (well, maybe if I found it for less than five dollars).The songs I thought were good as a teenager, I still like, the feeling is the same for those I didn’t like. Yet I’m glad I bought the album, maybe I can gain some respect by owning a vinyl album with David Byrne. Or do people just see me as a weirdo?

Favorite Songs

Tree

Theadora Is Dozing

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. Tree (Today Is An Important Occasion) 4:02

2. In The Upper Room 3:35

3. The Sound Of Business 6:15

4. Social Studies 4:52

5. (The Gift Of Sound) Where The Sun Never Goes Down 2:34

6. Theadora Is Dozing Trad 2:59

 

Side B

1. Admiral Perry 5:32

2. I Bid You Goodnight 2:51

3. I've Tried 3:24

4. Winter 6:11

5. Jungle Book 3:38

6. In The Future 6:35

 

 

Steve Hackett – “Till We Have Faces” (1984)

Another one of all those albums I bought because of a cover that attracted me (and a price that attracted me, SEK 19 (3 USD) if I remember correctly). As the reader can see the cover obviously promises music that can’t be anything but fantastic. In any case, I believed that when I, as a 15.year-old, bought this LP at the shop BK-records in Uppsala (Sweden). My expectation was simply great druggy music. A feeling of disappointment came over me immediately when I listened to the record the first time, the opening song was OK, but otherwise it was not at all what I had hoped for. The production and the songs felt cheap and I understood that the man named Steve Hackett must have been a nobody in the music industry that had never reached any fame. Till We Have Faces was probably the only album he had been allowed to do. At the same time this was a small source of joy and pride, it's always fun to own an obscure album with an equally obscure artist. This gives you an air of a connoisseur and inspires a certain respect.

Today I know the truth is entirely different. Hackett started his international career as a guitarist in the legendary band Genesis, where he was a member until 1977. Then he began his long and relatively successful solo career. Till We Have Faces was his eighth solo album and recently his 34th was released - Live Rails. He has also had time to play in the "super group" GTR. In other words, he was far from being a nobody that no one except me knew about.

The record is mainly recorded in Brazil with mostly Brazilian musicians. This has given it a certain (small) vibe of so-called world music, some even claim that Hackett with this record was the first to use such influences on a rock album. However, there were some other bands that had already done so (eg Police), nevertheless, he was one of the pioneers and thus must be said to have been relatively progressive in his musical adventures.

Perhaps the fact that I now know what an authority Hackett is affects me, but when I today listen to the album, I think it’s much better than I did as a teenager. Oh, you think it's because of my maturity as a human being and a greater depth in musical knowledge? Well, thank you, that’s a compliment. Still, some songs have a sound that I don’t like and which also seems a bit outdated. Myopia feels too much like bad heavy metal (although it happens some interesting things in the middle of the song), a drum machine ruins the song What's My Name and the blues ballad Let Me Count The Ways is just boring. In these songs the sound and production have too much an 80s feel over it, in my opinion. But other tracks have mysteriously changed character from boring to beautiful, from boring to jazzy, from boring to groovy or from boring to complex. It is not impossible that this album will make a comeback on my turntable, and maybe finally get the respect it problably deserves.

Finally, the album’s cover, which I today don’t particularly like, is painted by Hackett’s then-wife, Kim Poor. The painting is named Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats from a song by Genesis. Kim has painted most of Hackett’s album covers.

The opening song Duel used to be my favorite as a teenager, mostly thanks to the howling guitar / synth (I still don’t know if it’s only synth or both) but this has changed. Today's favorite song is the ballad Taking the Easy Way Out. I may have become romantic as a 38-year-old (even though I know my wife would just laugh at me if I said so).

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. Duel 4:50

2. Matilda Smith-Williams Home For The Aged 8:04

3. Let Me Count The Ways 6:05

4. A Doll That's Made In Japan 3:57

 

Side B

1. Myopia 2:56

2. What's My Name 7:05

3. The Rio Connection 3:24

4a. Taking The Easy Way Out 3:49

4b. When You Wish Upon A Star 0:51

 

Brian Eno – “Music For Films” (1978)

If there is any man who can wear the epithet Mr. Ambient it is Brian Eno. He has created a series of records containing this form of music, sound, art, atmospheres or however you’d like to define it. He is considered to be the man who coined the term ambient for “low-volume music designed to modify one's perception of a surrounding environment.". In practice - very quiet, music/sounds with a lot of silence that often is best used as a background.

His musical career began, however, as a member of Roxy Music in 1971. There he played the keyboard and was responsible for other electronical devices such as mixer decks and tape recorders. In 1973 he quit the band due to difficulties in the relationship with singer Bryan Ferry, another reason is also said to be that Eno was tired of the rock star life. Instead, he began a solo career that has included many of his own albums, but also a lot of production work for other artists such as Talking Heads, U2 or James. In addition, he has worked on a variety of albums with many different artists, an involvement which sometimes has been a collaboration. Such collaborations have been with David Bowie, John Cale, Robert Fripp and others. His career is no doubt impressive and Eno is considered to be one of the most important figures in the last decades of music. And yes, he is the man who composed the 3½ second song you heard when you started Windows 95. Despite that, his career is currently still ongoing.

I bought Music For Films when I was around 17 years old, I was familiar with the name Brian Eno thanks to my older brother who had a record or two with him. I had also heard an Eno album in school at a music lesson, in which a substitute teacher was preaching while some soft piano sounds could be heard in the background (yes, it was the same substitute teacher who had played Atom Heart Mother for us, for the reader with a good memory). I liked the atmosphere the music created but was not sure of its name, but I had understood that it was "music for" something. Off to the record shop and guess what I found if not Music for Films. I bought it (even though it was full price), went home and heard that it was not the same record that I had heard in the music class. Luckily, this was also in the same genre so my disappointment was eased significantly. I realized later that it was Eno's album Music for Airports that the teacher had played.

As a teenager, it happened from time to time that I listened through the whole album in my headphones, although I had a tendency to become very sleepy and frankly a bit bored. More often, I put it on as a soothing background sound when I for example made my homework. In fact, many believe that ambient music is not supposed to be focused upon, but should instead be somewhere in the background. In other words, my listening to it in headphones was the wrong way to go.

It's hard to write some short and easily understood words about the music because it is fairly amorphous and atmospheric. However, it can be said that the songs are relatively short on Music for Films, between one and four minutes. In addition, a lot of different instruments are used, not only synthesizers, tape loops and/or piano that seems to be the case in some of Eno’s more minimalistic ambient records. On these records the songs are also longer, sometimes one song fills the whole album. In this way, Music For Films differs from many other Eno creations within this genre. It can be mentioned that musicians like Robert Fripp, John Cale and Phil Collins participates on the album.

Some of the music on the album was recorded in 1976 and was sent to various film directors for possible use as soundstrack. When the album was released in 1978 Eno commented the new songs as a "possible use as soundtracks to 'imaginary' films '. In the end, a few tracks from the album do appear in some films; A Better Tomorrow, (Sparrow Fall (1)), Jubilee (Slow Water), Sebastiane and Breathless (Final Sunset), and Rock 'n' Roll High School (M386 and Alternative 3).

Today, I would become too bored if I would sit still and really listen to an album like Music For Films. But the album works well as a mean to create a calm and thoughtful mood, why not when you’re cleaning the house? The music has a tendency to neutralize all forms of stress, in other words, this kind of music must be good for your health. Who knows, one day you might get it prescribed.

Allmusic.com reveals the secret of the album:

“…and another film student who had tried out some of the cues: "this is the worst music for films ever. These cues don't synch to anything." However, the second filmmaker unintentionally discovered the essence of Music for Films -- the 18 pieces here are little films, stimulating the visual part of one's brain and thus fulfilling their promotional purpose.”

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. M386

2. Aragon

3. From the Same Hill

4. Inland Sea

5. Two Rapid Formations

6. Slow Water

7. Sparrowfall (1)

8. Sparrowfall (2)

9. Sparrowfall (3)

 

Side B

1. Quartz

2. Events in the Dense Fog

3. There Is Nobody

4. A Measured Room

5. Patroling Winte Borders

6. Task Force

7. Alternative 3

8. Strange Light

9. Final Sunset