It’s Immaterial – “Song” (1990)

Melancholy. Sadness. English desolation. Thesa are spontaneous associations listening to this album. Song was It's immaterial second album, a few years earlier they had released their debut LP Life's Hard And Then You Die with the hit Driving away from home on it, after that not many people heard from them again. Personally, I can thank my abilitiy to track down cheap albums that I own this vinyl. I don’t remember what I paid for it, but it was cheap, and because I liked their first album I bought it with not so much hesitation. It was not even in a store for used albums.

It's immaterial’s existence can be said to have been in the 80s. From the beginning there were four members of the band, but from 1984 they were a duo consisting of John Campbell and Jarvis Whitehead. Their debut album sold well while the sequel didn’t receive much attention. Maybe four years of waiting between the debut and the follow-up was too long? The album got good reviews but people chose other records to buy.

I was a little disappointed with this album at the time of the purchase. I found the atmosphere too melancholic and it happened too little in the songs, although I thought it was well written songs. But it just didn’t suit me, I felt the album was a bit boring. There were too few ‘hooks’ in the songs and they were hard to sing along to, I also felt the songs were pretty much alike. At the same time I had the feeling that it was an album of quality, an album I should like - it was almost as if it was hiding a secret to discover. Compared to their debut album (which I liked) I thought Song, looking at it objectively, in many ways was better - the duo seemed to have matured, there was greater depth in the songs and the music felt both more ambitious and more serious. Maybe it was too serious for me, maybe I needed to mature to fully enjoy the music?

When I now listen to the LP, I still think it maybe happens too little in the songs and that the atmosphere sometimes get too melancholic. But compared to my previous experiences, I find the album much better now. I can more clearly see the beauty in the songs and it’s easier to see each song’s own character. Probably, I will listen to it more in the future than I have in the past.

According to John Campbell there is a third album with It's immaterial recorded, House for Sale. But no record company was interested since they found it too dark. So if there’s someone out there with the ambition of starting a record company, make us a favor and release this third album. OK?

Tracklist

Side A

1. New Brighton

2. Endless Holiday

3. An Ordinary Life

4. Heaven Knows

5. In The Neighbourhood

 

Side B

1. Missing

2. Homecoming

3. Summer Winds

4. Life On The Hill

5. Your Voice

 

 

Genesis – “And Then There Were Three” (1978)

Is there something that makes two people connect more than admiration of, or even love for, Marillion - probably the world’s most underrated band? I can’t think of anything. I found myself at a party in Lund (in the south of Sweden) during the last of my years as a student there, when the host (whom I knew from before) and I suddenly got a deeper relationship. We discovered that we both had a deep admiration for this band. The conversation of course continued in the field of music, and among other things the host told me about the album that is today’s theme - "Genesis best album", according to him. Since Marillion lovers share a strong trust in each other and have a great respect for each other’s musical knowledge, I bought this album as soon as I got the chance. This was probably around the turn of 1998/99.

At this time Genesis was a relatively unexplored concept for me and I had therefore no specific expectations of what I would hear. The first few times I heard the album I did not think it was anything special, it was not bad, but nor left any larger footprints. But as it often is, the album grew for each listening and I began to see the beauty of it and all its hidden jewels. Finally, it became one of the favorites among my vinyl records, top 10 no doubt, and it’s one of the LPs that have been played most during my adult years.

As the record's title suggests, Genesis consisted at this time of three persons - Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. Guitarist Steve Hackett had just left the band. Genesis continued as this trio until 1996, the longest period with an unchanged line-up for the band. Many people think this was Genesis first step towards the more commercial and easily digestible pop they created in the 80s, but that they still had one foot in the progressive genre they belonged to during the earlier years in the 70s. I think that’s a description that fits quite well -  it’s not a "difficult" album with odd arrangements, strange time signatures, unusual musical instruments or songs that are 20 minutes long. At the same time it’s not a straight forward and simple pop record, most songs contain details or arrangements that makes them different from a lot of other music and you can often hear echoes of the epic suites Genesis created in their earlier years. The songs are usually 4-5 minutes long, yet I find many of them, yes - epic (no, don’t ask me to define that word, thank you).

Most songs are really good and unique in there own way, there are a few rather boring and uninteresting tracks, but overall it’s a very strong line-up. One thing that brings down the experience half an inch is that I have never really liked Phil Collins’ voice, he sings on all tracks. Although I really like the album, Phil Collins voice together with something in the sound, makes me feel a little bit down when I hear the album, it leaves a slight sense of hopelessness. I don’t know, maybe I had a difficult experience in my childhood.

The song Follow You Follow Me became a hit and helped the record sales. And Then There Were Three became Genesis first gold album in the U.S. (later also platinum). There’s nothing to say about the production and sound quality, in my opinion. It could have been recorded today. All three members contributed to songwriting, Phil Collins is the one who hasn’t written any songs on his own.

I like a lot of progressive music but can sometimes feel it is too "difficult", therefore this album fits me well - a mixture of "light progressive" and pop. That many choruses are bombastic and sweeping makes me even happier. So is this Genesis best album? I don’t know if I want to go that far, much of what they did earlier in the 70's is really good, but it’s a good record and I am glad that I bought it. The sense of hopelessness as mentioned above, is weak in comparison to the beauty the music exhibits. Markus recommends.

Favorite Songs

Undertow

Burning Rope

Scenes From a Night’s Dream

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Down and Out"  – 5:26
2. "Undertow" – 4:46
3. "Ballad of Big"  – 4:50
4. "Snowbound"  – 4:31
5. "Burning Rope"  – 7:10

Side B

1. "Deep in the Motherlode" – 5:15
2. "Many Too Many"  – 3:31
3. "Scenes from a Night's Dream" – 3:30
4. "Say It's Alright Joe"  – 4:21
5. "The Lady Lies" – 6:08
6. "Follow You Follow Me" – 3:59

 

Nick Mason’s Fictitious Sports (1981)

Most people associate Nick Mason with handling the drums in Pink Floyd. No one can claim that he’s been a particularly intense songwriter in that band, in addition to his own side on Ummagumma he only pops up as co-writer on a few songs. Imagine then my surprise when I one day in my youth, as always on the lookout for cheap second-hand records, came across this LP. A solo album by Nick Mason? I had never thought such a thing could exist. Curiosity and admiration for Pink Floyd made me buy the album without much hesitation. What, you think that the cheap price tag also affected the decision? Tsk, tsk, now you disappoint me.

It should directly be made clear that it’s debatable whether this really is an album by Nick Mason. Sure, it bears his name and he sits behind the drums, but have perhaps not really contributed with much more. All songs are written by Carla Bley and she has also co-produced the album (with Nick Mason). Robert Wyatt sings on all songs except the opening track, some of you may remember him as the drummer of Soft Machine, he has also had his own long solo career as a singer. The album was released in 1981 but was recorded as early as 1979, for various reasons its release was delayed.

When I got home and listened to the album, I spontaneously found it very strange and didn’t like it. And then I never listened to it again. You want to know what's really strange? It is that my memory of the album is that it’s full of strange drumming on various mysterious percussion and extremely difficult to access. When I now listen to it, it's not like that at all, far from it even. As mentioned in a previous post, I don’t know much Frank Zappa, but the spontaneous comparison I want to do is with this man. I get the idea that many of the songs are creations that Zappa could have done, or at least something in that direction. The texts are, for example, about cars that don’t want to start or a skeptics meeting with a flying saucer. Isn’t that Zappa? No?

My guess is that I was rather suspicious of the album the first time I listened to it. Mason's side on Ummagumma is not a favorite of mine, and this gave me almost certainly an expectation that this album would be something similar. This expectation created then the memory I have carried with me through life. I have surely also confused Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports with his side on Ummagumma, a creation that I think is more consistent with the memory at hand (although I have rarely had the patience to listen to this part of Ummagumma). My life has been a lie, dear friends, but the lie has finally been exposed.

Today, I find this album quite easily accessible and to some extent pleasurable. Just as my idea of Zappa, I feel this music is not very serious but rather humorous. Generally I have a hard time with humorous music, I do not know why, but memories of Eddie Meduza always come up and I find it hard to take seriously. Texts may in itself well be fun, but in combination with "funny" music I lose interest easily. Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports balances on the edge but manages to stay just on the right side.

Conclusion: An OK album which I will probably begin listening to more, but not a must-have in your record collection. If someone expects anything like Pink Floyd, this person will be disappointed.

Favorite Songs

Can’t Get My Motor To Start

I Was Wrong

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Can't Get My Motor to Start" – 3:39
2. "I Was Wrong" – 4:12
3. "Siam" – 4:48
4. "Hot River" – 5:16

Side B

1. "Boo To You Too" – 3:26
2. "Do Ya" – 4:36
3. "Wervin"' – 3:58
4. "I'm a Mineralist" – 6:16

 

 

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