Decade: More Fun in the Old World

Last time out I gave you some lame post about the decade in genres. It was really just my way of putting off compiling my Actual Best of the Decade List(s).

Well, I’m doing it again. I will persist in my procrastination by now providing you with a couple of lists that almost by definition are about music from prior decades, but the point is that they happened to me in this decade.


Best Throwbacks:

These are albums I’m somewhat familiar with but never got around to actually owning until now. I don’t like judging them against records that I’m hearing for the first time because, on the one hand, they’re somewhat better for having been around this long. But, weirdly, they sometimes contain filler - the parts you didn’t hear on the radio, and the good parts are a bit played out - and that makes them mortal. I don’t want to overreact to those flaws.

Because of these ad/disadvantages, I’d rather just judge them now by how much fun they provided me this time around:

1. Rolling Stones - Singles Collection  This could easily have ended up on top of the list below, but I’m familiar with so much of it already, that wouldn’t have been fair. This is great for long car trips.
2. Joni Mitchell: Court And Spark  (1974) A fantastic album. The songs I hadn’t gotten into before are almost all great.
3. The Who - Live at Leeds (Expanded Edition)  This expanded edition gives a fuller picture of the Who than the original. They were a POP band, people!
4. Harry Nilsson: Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) Harry comes through big time on his less well-known songs.
5. The Kinks: Lola  (1970) Ray does, too. And Dave.
6. The Monkees: The Best of  What can I say? Of course the version in my head is better, but so is yours.
7. Brian Eno: Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (1974)  The sound on the CD isn’t much better than the original vinyl but that’s okay. Time may have finally caught up to this deeply weird record.  🌶🌶 
8. Tom Verlaine: Tom Verlaine (1979)  It’s not Television but it’s very good.
9. Jefferson Airplane: The Worst of  I really needed to hear this, even after having chipped away at it with Volunteers and Baxters. A very consistent record from a very good, but I’m not convinced, great band.
10. And tied for 10th: 
• Aretha Franklin: I Never Loved a Man Like You, Or Lady Soul, or Aretha Now. The experience is much the same. Some filler but mostly galvanic.
• Yes: Fragile/Close to the Edge  My first 8 Track tape, and just so much fun.
• Traffic: John Barleycorn Must Die (Expanded) (1970)  Great album, lousy live songs on the extended version.
• Graham Nash: Songs for Beginners (1971) As lovely a record as I remember. Joni must have run over him like a truck. His loss. Our gain. Thanks, Joni!
• David Crosby: If I Could Only Remember My Name (1971) A lot of people hated this record when it first came out. I liked it then. I like it now. What’s NOT to like, I wonder. He didn’t even have a gun then.

Compilations:

1. Belle and Sebastian: Push Barman to Open Old Wounds So fragile, so beautiful.
2. Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians: Greatest Hits The album that proves this alleged weirdo should have been an FM staple.
3. The Chills: Kaleidoscope World  Ah, if only the internet was around then, these super melodic, chiming songs would have gone viral. 
4. James Brown: Star Time This is daunting for an old white guy but worth the effort. If you think it all sounds the same why do you like the Ramones?? 
5. Brian Jonestown Massacre: Tepid Peppermint Wonderland  If you can forget what a narcissistic junkie asshole the guy leads the band is you can really enjoy this late sixties-style psychedelic rock 'n roll.
6. Various Artists: Ocean of Sound Yeah, weird as hell. I love it but know what you’re getting into!  🌶🌶🌶 
7. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Lovely Creatures Another purported British weirdo who does some pretty straightforward, passionate rock 'n roll.
8. Leonard Cohen: Essential   A lot to take in one sitting but great for studying.
9. Various Artists: American Epic  Basically another version of An Anthology of American Folk Music, but with better liner notes and sound.
10. And tied for 10th: 
• Taj Mahal: The Best of 
• Blur: Best of 
• Robert Forster: Intermission 
• The Chantels: The Best of 
• Grin: The Best of 
• King Sunny Ade: The Best of the Classic Years  🌶
• Franco and Le Tpok Jazz: Francophonic  🌶

Okay, so much for genres, compilations and throwbacks. Next time it gets real(er).

Aretha Two: And the Title Goes To...

Lady Soul

Such was the impact of I Never Loved a Man… that no one batted an eye at the title of this follow up album.

After the white hot vocals of I Never Loved a Man… she dials it back ever so slightly here. The rhythms are dialed back a bit, too. Not a problem. If anything she might be even more focused, and the band really cooks.

The material, though, is slightly weaker. (The best songs lead off and end each side (if you remember what a “side” is, that is) I think she senses this. Yet she doesn’t overplay her hand by oversinging. Pretty smart, if you ask me.

Her covers compete with the originals: I think I prefer her version of “Money Won’t Change You” to James Brown (but I’ve still got that mountain to climb). “People Get Ready” is fine but not quite on the level of the Impressions.  “Come Back Baby” is up there with Ray Charles’ (and let’s not forget Hot Tuna’s!). “Groovin” is okay but I’m not sure it gives her room to add much to it.

Of course “Natural Woman” is one of the greatest pop songs ever recorded (Thank you again Carole King!) with a an utterly transcendent bridge (starting at 1:45) and perhaps the greatest use of strings on a pop record ever.  A great to be alive record.

“Since You’ve Been Gone” is just So. Damned. Insistent. Whew, I need to sit down.

And there's little old Eric Clapton showing up as a guest on “Good As I Am To You”, but you could easily miss it because of how Aretha wails. Who’s the idiot who said she was dialing it back?

The closer, “Ain’t No Way” tries to match this intensity of “Natural Woman”, and actually has a better vocal, but the song itself comes up short, but that just means instead of it being great it’s merely damned good.

As is the album overall. So I give the edge to I Never Loved a Man…, which is a little more consistent and has more songs. But if you want to be entertained, and amazed by that voice, and you can’t find your copy of that record, this one will do just fine.

B+

“Natural Woman”

My 2007

Around now, a lot of young people are reveling in the year-end best-of reviews of music and pop culture in general. Debating siblings and friends about what album was the best one released in a given year is a fun way to participate in the culture. It used to be for me, at least.

But at my advanced age, I can’t possibly keep up with all of the musical developments of the year. There are just too many artists to keep track of to be able to weed out the great from the merely worthwhile. And the term “worthwhile” takes on an added urgency when you realize that you don’t have many “whiles” left as you used to. So the things you spend it on – musical or otherwise – better be, well, worth it.

So I’ve left 2007 pretty much alone, letting the dust settle on it before jumping in. Instead, I’ve begun to dip into 2006, along with any other pretty colors that may have momentarily attracted my limited attention span.

So I have to define the musical year differently. My 2007 is not based on what was released this year. It’s based on what I either bought or was given. So it couldn’t be anything like yours.

Anyway, here’s mine:

Loved Them:

I’m not yet sure if either of these CDs is hall of fame material yet, but the Go-Betweens go deep and Polly Jean has a high on base average.

Oceans Apart-The Go Betweens (2006)
Beauty, pain, death, tears, and maybe forgiveness. Guitars, too. Never heard of them? Don’t get me started…

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Now playing: The Go-Betweens - Darlinghurst Nights
via FoxyTunes

Stories of the City, Stories of the Sea-PJ Harvey (2000)
I’ve gotten two of her earlier albums: “Rid of Me”, which is like knocking off a bottle of scotch on a Saturday night with a psychotic/nymphomaniac, and “To Bring You My Love”, which is like spending Sunday morning with her, after she’s found religion. Both can be bracing experiences, but aren’t my idea of fun. Here, you get hit with the chiming guitars right out of the gate, and she’s telling you how she’s got to get away from the violence. So she moves from England. To New York. Before 9/11. So her timing's not great, but the important thing is that she’s upped the tune factor, and cut back slightly on the histrionics. The result is bracing, but in a fun way.

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Now playing: PJ Harvey - You Said Something
via FoxyTunes

Really Good:

These are very entertaining records that might yet move up to Love over time.

Pink Moon - Nick Drake (1972)
This is sparer than “Five Leaves Left” – no strings, just Nick and his guitar - maybe because he’s closer to the end.

Solo Monk - Thelonius Monk (1964)
If you don’t know what a great composer he was, you could mistake him for a Scott Joplin for the 60s. You might even think he’s hitting the wrong notes, but he’s just re-writing things as he goes.

Still Getting My Ears Around:

Egypt - Youssou N’dour (2004)
This is the guy (yes, the guy) who sings at the end of “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. He’s a superstar in his native Senegal, and I quite liked his album “Nothing’s In Vain”, but I’m not even close to getting to the bottom of this very pleasant mixture of Middle Eastern and African music.

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case (2006)
This is pretty and spooky at the same time - like a country music soundtrack to “Twin Peaks”. And when spread out over a humongous playlist in Windows Media Player, each song stands out. I’m just not yet convinced that all the individual parts add up to a great CD.

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Now playing: Neko Case - Hold On, Hold On
via FoxyTunes

The Discount Bin, or Hey, at $6.99, how can you go wrong?

Aoxomoxoa - The Grateful Dead (1969)
The songwriting is beginning to strengthen, and they never sounded so muscular in the studio. Only one laughable track. (Hey, they were on drugs at the time.) And the bonus jam tracks are very good.

Disappointments:

Neon Bible - Arcade Fire (2007)
Actually quite good, just not as powerful as it’s trying to be. And a letdown after "Funeral".

Live at the Apollo - James Brown (1962)
I really shouldn’t complain. It is James Brown live after all. But it’s short, so a greatest hits collection (like “30 Golden Hits”, or the 4 CD box set “Start Time” would be better. Definitely not bad, but sometimes live albums make you feel like you had to be there.

Return to Cookie Mountain - TV on the Radio (2006)
It’s got tons of sound, and is occasionally striking, but too often is just a lot of noise. And the singing isn’t good enough. But I’ll keep trying.

What I Got for Christmas:

This amounts to a subset of “Still Getting My Ears Around”. This is where I ask for gifts that I’d feel too guilty just getting for myself. There’s usually some experimentation here, which can be cause, during the cold winter months, for joyful immersion or deep depression as I ask myself just what kind of weird music I’m getting myself into. But as our use of the word “weird” is merely a reflection of our own provincialism, I carry on proudly, feeling superior to all around me. And isn’t that the point of life?

So I won’t know what I’ve got until at least March.

Spring Hill Fair - The Go Betweens (1986)
Will this be yet another classic from the Australian band of the 80s? Yeah, you heard me. You can keep your INXS, Men at Work, etc.

John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton – (1966)
Bitchin’ blues guitar from a post-Yardbirds and pre-Cream Clapton, and crappy singing from Mayall. Next year, I’ll go back to the originals that are covered here.

Brazil Classics, Volume 4: The Best of Tom Ze (1970s)
Gentle, but strange Tropicalia.

The Rough Guide to Youssou N’dour and Etoile Dakar (1980s)
A long vacation in Senegal.

I suppose that I ought to have a “Bad” category, but I rarely feel like I’ve gotten something that falls into that category. This may seem like the denial of a grim reality – bad music – but I guess I’m just too pig headed. I’ll force myself to listen to something over and over until I get it. Sometimes I never do. It’s great!

I got fourteen CDs altogether this year, and by my rough count, they average out to about 20 years old each. This gives the lie to my blog’s description, which refers to “current pop music”. But let’s face it, you don’t think in terms of years anymore, anyway. You think in terms of decades. Ouch!

It was an average year. I wish that there were a few more “Love”s. The great years are the ones where I get a truckload of music and five or six Loves rise to the top. I find that, unlike most things, more music is better.

Well, that was my 2007. How was yours?