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| The Pretty Things |
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| The Housemartins |
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| Jane Siberry |
As I'm sure you spend most of your free time obsessing on just how Jaybee picks an album to buy, I feel I owe you an explanation:
When picking my next album to buy, do I
- Research the f*ck out of every possibility
- Just buy something on a hunch or suggestion
Although I typically mention how I choose a given album, in general, I choose the first option (RTFOOEP). It has its shortcomings, but I've always believed it will produce better results in the long run.
Getting older does remind one, however, that we don't have as much "long run" as we used to. And recent events have shown I may have even less than I thought.
So, lately I've been making impulse buys, based either on the odd Quora comment (very dicey) or off-hand critic reference (also not without risk). The result has been albums that may not be pantheon-level but will likely satisfy something in me, even if it's mere curiosity. When I find myself saying I always wondered about that album I've decided - at least for now - to just cut to the chase. No more wondering, Jaybee, okay?
So, here are three artists I've had my eye on for some time. I was just waiting for the right recommendation to get me to try them out.
Jane Siberry: Bound by the Beauty (1989)
This Canadian singer-songwriter has twenty albums in her Allmusic Discography, so it was tough to figure out which one to try. I might have opted for a best of, but some rando on Quora answered a question about underappreciated artists, and included this album as an example. Since the same poster had mentioned numerous other albums I'd been a big fan of, he/she (let's face it - he. "She" is likely too busy adulting.) seemed like a good source, so maybe it was time to give Jane a try. Another post that same day also recommended the same record, and that was that. Never once did I ask myself Who are these people?
This record is a bit slick and a bit cute. Cute is fine, but slickness is unforgivable. Little touches like expert piano tinkling between lines or other gestures of virtuosity drive me nuts. (The jazzy reverbed guitar on "Hockey" is bearable, though.) It's like pop music for the old at heart. So my first impression was kinda negative. Mrs. Jaybee, who has less patience than I about such things, also gagged.
At first, I thought she sounded like the Cocteau Twins without all the reverb and echo, but then I thought of someone else.
"Sounds like Kate Bush," I said to Mrs. Jaybee.
"Kate Bush League, maybe," she replied.
After a couple of listens, though, two songs suddenly stood out as beautiful and distinctly lacking in either cute or slick. Suddenly, I needed to rethink this review. The singing is less mannered than it first appeared. The accompaniment, less fussy. Even "Everything Reminds Me of My Dog" sounds okay now.
But it's not quite enough to put it over. Perhaps a best of would have been best? Of?
B
The Housemartins: London 0, Hull 4 (1986)
I've had my eye on this record for a while, and the same rando I mentioned above recommended it highly, so I pulled the trigger. So not purely impulse.
These Brits are very tuneful. So tuneful in fact that one could miss the lyrics that are, shall we say, pointed? It's the Thatcher era, and since the band members are ACTUALLY CHRISTIAN, they take issue with the direction their country is heading. (Imagine that!) My favorite line is from "Freedom":
So this is freedom, You must be joking!
Paul Heaton is the main songwriter and singer, He's got a pretty, and pretty focused, soprano, which could wear over sixteen tracks. Luckily for us, he keeps the melodies coming.
Much of the musical attack is piano-based, so you're not getting raucous rock 'n roll here. Just sharp, precise pop.
Now, who would want to (re)visit England in the eighties? Not many. But who would want to hear an energetic and musical album that avoids all the crud (synths, nasally vocals, hair, etc.) from that awful decade, and sticks a knife into its false platitudes?
Most anyone with a brain, I'd say.
A-
The Pretty Things: Parachute (1970)
This long-lived British band has been many things - in 1965, blues-based rockers a la the Rolling Stones (and thought by many at the time to be better), and creators of possibly the first rock opera S.F. Sorrow, per Peter Townsend, a key influence on Tommy.
Was it Wikipedia that told me that Rolling Stone named this Album of the Year in 1970? No, it was probably another Quora answerer. Having read some of their old reviews, both in compilations and on one of my favorite websites, perhaps I should have held back.
But the record sounds pretty damned good! They have nice harmonies, good melodies, guitars that get the job done, and, when needed, a nasty rock 'n roll sneer when called for.
I don't hear anything innovative, but I do hear many AOR 70s rock motifs being deployed. Even knowing they'd be deployed elsewhere, and sometimes more skillfully, that just tells me how durable they are.
In the meantime, I enjoy them just fine right here.
B+
I don't know how long my randomish picks will continue. I'm just trying to say Yes, instead of Later. Later may end up being Never.
