'Welcome to the Human Race': Two Weeks with 'Out of the Blue'

Strong pop melodies often get a bad wrap. If a song is too catchy, too poppy or, heck, sometimes even too 'fun', the 'intelligent'-self-serious half of my musical mind is immediately suspicious. "Why yes, it is catchy...But is it 'real' music?" Then, hopefully, I tell that side of my brain to, "Shut up and enjoy the tunes." Electric Light Orchestra (ELO for short) represents a high-water mark in pop music for me. Their hit singles are a masters course in constructing effective, catchy, well-produced, and memorable songs. And for that reason, I often take them for granted and the rest of the world seems to as well. ELO holds the record for having the most US Top 40 hits (an impressive 27 singles) without ever reaching number 1. Many of their songs are radio standards, soundtracking commercials and movies, and I forget just how really, really good most of these songs are. So I decided to spend a couple of weeks getting to know the band's 1977 double album 'Out of the Blue' and dust these songs off and hopefully give them a fair shake.

Respect the hair.

Formed in 1970 out of the ashes of a few other groups, Electric Light Orchestra, spearheaded by singer and chief songwriter Jeff Lynne, aimed to give rock a more orchestral quality as well as "pick up where The Beatles left off". It took them a couple of tries but by their fourth album, 'Eldorado, A Symphony' in 1974 (featuring their first big hit, Can't Get It Out of My Head), Lynne and the group had struck a balance between solid melodious songwriting and grand orchestral arrangements. By 1977 and 'Out of the Blue', their 7th album, ELO had their formula down to a science and, lucky for us, delivered an expansive album chock-full of wonderful music.

Jeff Lynne is a man of singular vision and he records and produces ELO's music in an equally singular way. Everything is large. Very large. 'Out of the Blue' is absolutely full to bursting with sweeping and swirling strings, gloriously grand and over the top choirs, pulsing synths, playful background harmonies, shimmering guitars, and Lynne's vocals soaring over all of it (i.e. Standin' in the Rain and its excellent breakdown at 1:38). Lynne's cohesive, glossy sound is the first thing that struck me as I listened these past weeks. With so many sounds stacked on one another, you can always hear everything; it doesn't become muddled. Even on the tracks I don't love, there is always something interesting going on sonically and that is a testament to the grand feat of production that Jeff Lynne and company have pulled off. Can you possibly expect anything less with a cover like this?

In an album so jam packed with excellent songs, I'm finding it a little difficult to single out a few standouts.  Turn to Stone gets the album to a rollicking start; wasting no time in getting the party going. One of my absolute favorite ELO songs follows shortly thereafter: the gem that is Sweet Talkin' Woman. There is a lot of good here; an infectious chorus, playful strings, perfect background vocals, and one of my favorite musical moments on the entire record. At the the 3:13 mark most of the instruments drop out and only vocals and the beat remain and, man!, does it just get me every time. And the goods keep coming. Starlight's shimmering vocals and synths, Jungle's awesomely shamble-y nonsense chorus ('Chooka chooka koo la ley.' It's right up there with 'Ob-la-di Ob-la-da'), and Sweet is the Night's heartbreakingly gorgeous refrain prove time and again the ELO are a musical force to be reckoned with. And if all this wasn't enough, we still have Mr. Blue Sky waiting for us. Mr. Blue Sky is in a rare category of song that I never tire of hearing, I never tire of singing along to it, and even though I've heard it a hundred times, I still find new little corners in the production to explore. It's new every time and it's arguably the best song that Electric Light Orchestra ever recorded.

As with the great majority of double albums, there is some chaff amongst the wheat. With seventeen tracks there are bound to be some that just don't live up to the high standards of the songs surrounding them. Thankfully, no real clunkers are present, just a couple of tunes that don't really add anything special to the mix. The first, Across the Border, comes at the end of the first side and after the previously mentioned brilliant, Sweet Talkin' Woman. Though featuring some interesting production and horns, it's just a little too much of a paint-by-numbers rock number for me. The other bump in the road comes near the end of the record on the fourth (and overall weakest) side of the album. Birmingham Blues is another song that just plays it a little too safe for my liking; with a dime-a-dozen blues rock riff during the verses. But both of these songs are still a treat to listen to thanks to Jeff Lynne's production and instrumentation choices; always giving your ear something new to latch onto.

Hair. Hair everywhere.

If you are new to the wonders of Electric Light Orchestra, 'Out of the Blue' represents an excellent starting point, but also an excellent next step if you've worn through your greatest hits compilation. While perhaps too glossy and shiny for some, the wonderful songs found on 'Out of the Blue' are a strong argument for the importance of fun and whimsy in music. Big hair, big melodies, and big production may seem a tad silly or cheesy to some; but it is hard to care when it's all so goldarn fun. Grit and grime and gloom and doom have their places but sometimes the answer is simply singing along to the chorus of Mr. Blue Sky.

The Breakdown:
Stand-Outs: Turn to Stone, Sweet Talkin' Woman, Starlight, Jungle, Summer and Lightning, Mr. Blue Sky, Sweet is the Night
Let-Downs: Across the Border, Birmingham Blues
Rating: 9/10

Up Next: Moving from 1977 to 1986 for the next record selection. The Smiths are a band that I've been familiar with for a long time and even quite familiar with a number of their songs. But I'm confessing to you all now: I've never listened to their most acclaimed record 'The Queen is Dead' front-to-back before. I know. For shame. My musical cred is dropping by the second.  So I'm going to remedy this gross oversight by spending some quality time with Morrissey and Marr for the next two weeks. And as always, please feel free to comment with your thoughts and let me know if you have any record suggestions. See you in a bit!

A Dub Odyssey: A Week with 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown'

Reggae is so much more than Bob Marley. I don't mean anything snarky or antagonistic by this statement. Bob Marley is an one-of-kind artist who put the music of a third world country on the global stage to be enjoyed by millions, if not billions, of people. He is one of my favorite artists and has released some of my favorite albums of all time. His songs have become part of the musical tapestry of the world and he will endure in the minds of many people as a true legend and pioneer in music. He deserves it; Bob Marley completely and totally rules. But unfortunately for many people, reggae equals Bob Marley; full stop. And that is shame to me because some much more worthwhile and rich reggae music exists beyond the Marley-sphere. Bob Marley is a perfect and essential starting point in exploring reggae as a genre, but there is so much more out there as my own quest into reggae (and this week's record) has taught me. Whether its Peter Tosh or The Congos or Burning Spear or Culture or Toots & The Maytals or Black Uhuru, an embarrassment of riches exists within the genre and its always exciting when I discover another record that furthers my love of reggae.

'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown' is one of the those reggae records that really dug its claws into me this past week and made me remember why I love reggae so much (The record is also known as 'King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown' due to a misprint on the original sleeve adding that extra 's'). It also served as a nice introduction to dub music which is a sub-genre within reggae that I have spent much time with thus far. What is dub, you ask? Well, dear readers, in the late 60s dub began simply as instrumental versions of reggae singles placed on the b-side of those singles. Shortly thereafter, producers began doing more to the tracks than simply just stripping out the vocals and reducing the track to drums and bass. They started adding effects to these b-side dubs like echoes, delays, and reverb to give each track its own unique feel apart from the single, as well as to put their own producer stamp on it. These quickly caught on in dance-halls throughout Jamaica because it allowed the DJ of the night to add his own vocals ("toasting" they called it) over the dub track creating an entirely new experience from night to night. This "toasting" is seen by many as one of the many precursors that lead to the formation of rap & hip-hop in the late 70s. By 1973, thanks to pioneers on the mixing board like Errol Thompson, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Osbourne "King Tubby" Ruddock, and others, dub was a fully realized sub-genre within reggae. Producers became musicians themselves and the sound board was treated as an instrument; no longer relegated to straight forward sound mixing. Dub quickly moved from being confined to b-sides to having full length LPs of pure dub tracks. 

King Tubby

Though credited to Augustus Pablo, 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown' is a sort of meeting of the minds of a few big players in the reggae/dub world of the 70s; featuring all-star reggae players like Robbie Shakespeare on bass and Augustus Pablo himself who helped put the melodica on the map as a legitimate instrument in reggae music. Both Pablo and King Tubby handle producing/mixing duties on the LP and the results are simply magical; especially when you consider that this was made in 1976, completely analog and without any of the help that modern digital recording brings. It's a true testament to the record that the wonderfully foggy, nebulous, and bass-heavy production makes these songs seem effortless; as if they are simply popping into existence as I'm listening to them.

What struck me over and over again as I listened to the LP this week was just how well-crafted this record is and how well it works on multiple listening "levels". On the one hand, 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown' is a perfect album to throw on your choice of player, kick back, and just let the music and sounds wash over you. But alternatively, it's also a record that really rewards active listening with subtle production effects and sounds that you may not catch otherwise; like when you discover the weird, scraping-echoey-something on Skanking Dub is actually an extremely muffled, delayed, and distorted guitar strum. This only adds to the depth and re-playability of the album for me. The record is a totally immersive experience from the first bass thump and drum kick of the opening track, Keep On Dubbing, to the expansive closer Satta Dub; and at 31 brief minutes the record never overstays its welcome. As vocals echo and melodica melodies fade in and out and hazy rhythms are built, Pablo and Tubby display track after track the transportive power of music to really put the listener in another mindset. Truly awesome stuff.

As with all records after multiple listens, favorites begin to form in my mind as well as tracks which don't quite gel with me. 'King Tubby Meets...' is a record with very few flaws and the flaws that I find are mainly that of  my own personal preference.  Tracks like 555 Street Dub and Brace's Tower Dub No. 2 are wonderful in and of themselves but when held up to the high standards that surround them, I feel like Augustus Pablo and King Tubby could have pushed the production just a bit more and given them that extra edge. They just seem a little plain or even tame when compared to the out-there dub stylings of the stand-outs on the LP and they keep 'King Tubby Meets...' from being a truly perfect record in my eyes.

In a record full of stand outs, a couple tracks stand head and shoulders above the rest for me. The first being Each One Dub, which is one of the few tracks of the record to incorporate vocals into its production. But here they are used as merely another effect, another coat of hazy paint on Pablo's and Tubby's dub tapestry. My favorite moment on the whole record comes when the vocals, in one of the few intelligible lines, sing, "Tomorrow might not be the same-say-say-say-say-say" and that last half of the word "same is drawn out and reverb-ed into the stratosphere. Oooh, its great. The title track, King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown, is probably the best overall track on the record and probably the first place I would point someone interested in hearing first-hand what dub music is. It's an education all unto itself.

So if reggae is new territory to you, first, go out and purchase Bob Marley's 'Legend' and once you have worn that out, you could find few better albums to follow it up with than 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown'. Putting this record on and just letting my mind wander and relax has been an absolute joy and pleasure and I can only hope that a few of you will go out and seek the wonders that Augustus Pablo and King Tubby have brewed up for you. A truly, truly enchanting and out-of-this-world album that deserves its place in dub and reggae history along with a place on every music lover's shelf.

The Breakdown:
Stand-Outs: King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown, Each One Dub, Satta Dub
Let-Downs (but not really): 555 Street Dub, Brace's Tower Dub No. 2
Rating: 9.5/10

Up Next: We are heading into the present day this week with a 2013 release that I have been hearing nothing but positive buzz about: Chvrches (pronounced 'churches') debut album 'The Bones of What You Believe.' Time for some synthpop goodness!

'Lullabies in An Ancient Tongue': A Week with 'In the Court of the Crimson King'

I mentioned in a post earlier this week that the excellent 2006 movie 'Children of Men' first introduced me to King Crimson; their music providing a majestic backdrop to the action taking place on screen. So much so that I figured out what song it was from the credits, sought it out, and listened to the full track of The Court of the Crimson King many times over the following days. But I never got around to hearing the album that it belonged to. As life continued and I explored other musical horizons, King Crimson, and their progressive rock sound that had initially grabbed me, faded into the background of my mind. But every time I would look at a greatest-album-ever list, nine times out of ten, there would be King Crimson's 'In the Court of the Crimson King' waiting for me to give it a real listen.

Along with wanting to give this specific record a week's worth of listens, King Crimson has also given me an opportunity to start to explore the genre of progressive rock. Known for its complex song structures, long solos, diverse instrumentation, and fantastical lyrics, prog rock is a genre that I, for whatever reason, have never really listened to (probably because for a very long time I've dwelled firmly in the indie-music-culture camp where I always got the distinct impression that the vast majority of progressive rock was extremely lame). King Crimson's 1969 debut is considered to be a jumping off point when prog rock really got started and so it seemed like a perfectly good place for me to begin. 

The London band as they appear on this record are Robert Fripp on guitar, Michael Giles on percussion, Greg Lake holding down bass and vocals, Ian McDonald playing everything from saxophone to flute to mellotron, and Peter Sinfield penning the lyrics. King Crimson went through multiple line-up changes following this record, and basically every other record they would release, with Robert Fripp being the only constant member throughout their recording history. As I listened and as the days passed I found myself struggling to pin down just how I felt about the record as a whole. At 41 minutes and just 5 tracks, 'In the Court...' has a lot of music to process and the parts that I like I really enjoy, but hiccups along the way make other sections hard for me to digest and get past. So in tribute to King Crimson's grand nature, we are going to break it down into multiple parts. Let the saga begin!

Being Part One: The Good
The album gets off to a roaring start with 21st Century Schizoid Man. With heavy distortion on both guitar and Greg Lake's vocals, an absolutely wailing saxophone, and effectively disjointed/schizo lyrical images, King Crimson really kick things off with a barn-burner of a song (later sampled quite heavily in Kanye West's 2010 song Power). The song continues into an instrumental section sub-titled Mirrors which puts front and center the band's technical prowess on their instruments as they play start-stop bursts and melody runs in complete unison with each other. Their playing swells into a cacophony of crashes, squawks, and strums until it all comes tumbling down at the end of the song; very effectively evoking the track's "schizoid man". The powerful musical muscle displayed on 21st Century... is followed by the beautiful, soft, and flute heavy ballad I Talk to the Wind which provides the perfect juxtaposition to the opening track. With almost 60s-hippie lyrics and a gorgeous flute solo, I Talk to the Wind is one of the few relatively straight-forward songs on the record and also the shortest, clocking in at a respectable 6 minutes.

The peace and tranquility provided by the song is short lived as the album quickly moves into its third (and my favorite) track, Epitaph. Lyrically the doom-and-gloom-iest of all the songs on the record, Epitaph is a wonderfully sad, funeral march of a song. Dystopian lyrics of despair and confusion are backed with dirge-like instrumentation that expertly captures these themes while maintaing a monumental elegance. As the song reaches its musical climax Lake sings repeatedly, "Yes, I fear tomorrow I'll be crying," and it is a strong emotional climax for the record as well; serving as a prime example of the benefits that expanded instrumentation and complex, well-plotted song structures can bring. It's a wonderful, intricate song and a perfect way to end the first side of an already impressive record.

Another high point of the album comes with the closing track, The Court of the Crimson King; my first exposure to King Crimson. A bombastic mellotron-lead melody draws the listener in to another mammoth musical soundscape of cryptic lyrics and intricate production (The use of the mellotron, invented in 1963, was a relatively new thing in rock music, kicked off by The Beatles on Strawberry Fields Forever and really put on display by King Crimson on this record. It subsequently became firmly associated with prog rock until the use of synthesizers came about in the 80s). King Crimson again expertly interweave melodies and instrumental breaks keeping the song fresh and interesting throughout it's 9 and half minutes; always bringing any musical interludes back to that soaring, colossal, and central melody. Very epic, indeed.

Being Part Two: The Bad
Moonchild. Oh, Moonchild. You begin side two innocently enough with your soft and playful melody with beautiful instrumentation. But then you descend into nearly 7 minutes of wandering and aimless free improvisation. Oh dearest, Moonchild, what are we going to do with you?

Normally instrumental breaks in songs are no problem for me but the last two-thirds of Moonchild are a struggle for me to enjoy musically. The free improvisation gets a little too "free" with seemingly random cymbal hits and keyboard plonks. It just doesn't make much musical sense to me and, perhaps worst of all, it becomes a tad boring and tedious; which is a shame because the vocal melody in the first two minutes of Moonchild is one of my favorite on the record. About halfway through the week I learned that I was listening to the 40th anniversary remaster of the record which has 3 minutes of this free improv session cut out (by band-leader Robert Fripp no less) from its original run time of 12 minutes and 13 seconds. For me, the 9 nine minute Moonchild is plenty and this second half of the song really damages what is otherwise an extremely engaging and epically enjoyable album.

Being Part Three: Epilogue 
'In the Court of the Crimson King' deserves its place in music history as one of the greatest progressive rock records of all time. It is not without its faults and warts but the atmosphere and musical landscapes it does create more than make up for any detractions. Worthy of a listen and worthy of your opinion, King Crimson kicked off a movement in rock; leading the charge in showing that rock can be complex, intricate, and multi-instrumental while still maintaing a strong emotional connection. On this record they demonstrate that instruments that may have been considered to be firmly outside of the realm of rock, like the flute or clarinet, can be incorporated into its structure to provide fascinating results. And even if their ambition gets away from them at times on the record (lookin' at you, Moonchild), King Crimson are still very much a force to be reckoned with.


The Breakdown:
Stand-Outs: 21st Century Schizoid Man, Epitaph, The Court of the Crimson King
Let-Downs: Moonchild
Rating: 8.5/10


Up Next: We've got another reader request for this week! A reggae classic (a genre which I never tire of exploring): Augustus Pablo's 'King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown'. I'm very, very excited for this one! Some bass-heavy, spaced-out dub music! Let's all get excited!

A Jazz Education: A Week with 'A Love Supreme'

The whole reason I started this blog was to discover new music. I've always viewed myself as pretty knowledgeable when it comes to music, but I'm learning with every week how much more musical goodness exists for me to discover. And so it was with this past week. Jazz is a genre that I've been vaguely familiar with my whole life. I was in jazz band (briefly) in high school, where I learned the importance of rhythm and improvisation in jazz (I personally contributed some of the worst trumpet solos ever heard during my band stint). I know and have been told that jazz is an important genre in its contributions to the cultural as well as musical landscape, but I feel that for most of us jazz has been unfairly relegated to musical wallpaper. Jazz is something that you hear when you go out for coffee, eat at Panera, or watch old movies. Many times for me, jazz is music that I hear but don't listen to; sort of in one ear and out the other. I thought that this week I would give a jazz record a fair shake and listen to it with as much attention and repetition as I would a new rock or pop album. What follows is very much a layman's/I-don't-know-anything look at John Coltrane's classic 'A Love Supreme' so I apologize ahead of time to all jazz-ophiles out there if it is a tad reductive; but this was my week with 'A Love Supreme'.

Recorded in one session on December 4, 1964 with John Coltrane on saxophone, Jimmy Garrison on double bass, Elvin Jones on drums, and McCoy Tyner on piano, 'A Love Supreme' is essentially one long piece broken up into 4 parts. In liner notes and interviews, Coltrane said that this record is a very "spiritual album" about the struggle for purity and the recognizing of a higher power that gives him his talent and ability to play music. And while that is all well and good on paper, what is most impressive to me is that this is the message Coltrane actually conveys extremely well and powerfully through his music. 'A Love Supreme' is truly transportive album that takes the listener on a journey through its four suites; from excited awakening of Pt. 1: Acknowledgement to the peaceful and hymn-like finale of Pt. 4: Psalm. It is, without a doubt, one of the strongest and most moving pieces of jazz that I have ever had the pleasure to spend some time with; but it took me awhile to arrive at that opinion.

My first listen on Sunday was fairly disorienting (as I suppose it is for most jazz newbies). Jazz being jazz means that it doesn't follow conventional pop song structures; no verses or catchy chorus in sight. At first it's hard to pin down the trajectory of a song and I found I would automatically fall back into old habits and start to tune the record out, hearing it but not listening to it. Because I'm not a jazz listener, it was difficult for me to really appreciate everything that Coltrane and pals were doing on this record. So my first hurdle for the week was really just to do my best and actively pay attention to what I was hearing and begin to pick out moments and melodies that set this record apart. As I continued with repeated listens, 'A Love Supreme' went from being disorienting to truly engaging.

By Tuesday and Wednesday, I could recognize the development of motifs and themes within each movement. For example, The four note melody strummed by Garrison on bass at the very start of the record is the same one picked up at the end of the track by Coltrane; something that I'm sure is immediately obvious to well-versed jazz listeners but it took me a couple listens to make that connection. Or when Coltrane does arrive at that signature four note melody, each time he plays it there is a slight variation in his phrasing; tweaking a note here or pausing for an extra breath there. And yes, yes, yes, I know that's what the whole point of jazz is, but it was still extremely exciting for me to start to get it. To understand the skill, precision, and total command of an instrument you must possess to play at this level is truly amazing; combined with the fact that these four dudes banged this out in a day at the studio, makes these 33 minutes of music all the more impressive. 

Though Coltrane's name is the only one on the cover, credit must be given to the other three musicians on the record who provide an excellent foundation from Coltrane to build upon. I particularly enjoyed McCoy Tyner's piano playing throughout and would find myself trying to filter out the sax, bass, and drums just so I could try to concentrate on the amazing things he was doing. The drum work is also wonderful; heck, I even like the drum solo on this record. You could go on and on about each musician's playing because they are all exceptional; each adding their own flair and style into the mix. 'A Love Supreme' would not be nearly as impressive as it is if it was only Coltrane playing away on his saxophone. The quartet's playing as whole is what truly makes this record special.

Come Saturday I was firmly feeling the Coltrane. The high-point and climax of the record comes, for me, with Pt. 4: Psalm. Most certainly the most beautiful piece of jazz I've ever listened to, but also so strongly able to convey mood and meaning. The spiritual side of the record that Coltrane describes really comes across in these 7 minutes. His saxophone wails with such a peaceful assurance and the drums roll and cymbals wash like waves coming in and out on the sand; I never got tired of it. And that's kind of how it went with every track on the record; with each listen, I continued to uncover new details and new slight variations in phrasing and melody. 'A Love Supreme' is truly a gift that keeps on giving. All said and done (if my iTunes play count is to be believed) I clocked 22 complete listens of the record. What is truly great about this record is that I think I could carry on for another week and another 20-odd listens and still be finding new things to enjoy.  

Long story short, my week with 'A Love Supreme' was excellent. My time with this record became a real education on what can make jazz truly special, as well as the importance of a mental discipline to really, truly listen to something this intricate. I know I've done a lot of gushing in this review, but there is a reason it is considered one of, if not the best, jazz records of all time. Even if jazz is not your thing, I would recommend giving it another chance. Whether with this record or another (i.e. Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue'), jazz is a worthwhile landscape to explore. Before Panera and Starbucks were even blips on the radar, jazz was an important cultural and musical force and it has been a real pleasure this week connecting, just a bit, with part of that musical heritage.


The Breakdown:
Stand-Outs: Pt.2: Resolution, Pt.4: Psalm (but really the whole thing is rather great and all basically one piece)
Let-Downs: None
Rating: 10/10

Any jazz lovers out there? Any album recommendations for me?

Up Next: We are going to be staying in the 60s for this week, but with a very different type of record. A progressive rock classic (I'm told) King Crimson's 1969 album 'In the Court of the Crimson King' which I've only ever heard bits and pieces of. Should be fun! 

'I Feel It All': A Week with Rudimental's 'Home'

There is not much else in this world that I enjoy more than really good electronic music. Whether it's Kraftwerk, Daft Punk, Burial, Aphex Twin, or The Knife, something about electronic music has really always appealed to me. A lot of it may have to do with growing up in Asia in 90's where techno was playing just about everywhere you went. Whether in bowling alleys, malls, markets or taxi cabs, electronic dance music was omnipresent. From my younger years through today, electronic music and I have had an ongoing and burgeoning relationship and I'm always excited to see what is coming down the pipe next as the genre continues to evolve and change. 

When I first heard Rudimental's single, Feel the Love (a number 1 hit in the UK) late last year I was immediately hooked and excited for what they might offer next. But life happens and over time I forgot about Feel the Love and their following debut album until the nominees for this year's Mercury Prize were released. Rudimental's debut 'Home' was on the short-list and I thought that now would be a perfect opportunity to give the record a week (and 16 complete listens) of my time.

Rudimental are a drum and bass electronic outfit from London consisting of four members (Piers Agget, Kesi Dryden, Amir Amor, DJ Locksmith) all sharing songwriting/producing duties. They've said in interviews that they want to give anthems to their generation that celebrate who they are and the times they live in. 'Home' lives up to this statement by providing a sort of melting pot of popular trends in both pop and electronic music. Everything from dubstep warbles, to soulful vocals, to ernest lyrics, to group-sing-along chorus, and a reclamation of 90's R&B stylings and melodies can be found on this record. Rudimental wants to cram everything that they love about music onto one record and when it works it truly is a thing of beauty.

Rudimental do a lot of things right on this record. Rock solid production values are found on every track. The bass rumbles and the melodies soar; everything sounds great. Along with grabbing stylistic hints of this and that from popular electronic music, Rudimental brings their own unique flavor by adding horns to many of the tracks. From vocal accompaniment to trumpet solos, horns play a big role in making this record something new; they provide an extra edge to tracks like Feel the Love that really sets them apart. The vocal performances on the record are also excellent without a real misstep in the bunch. 'Home' does a wonderful job of pairing up-and-coming pop vocalists with tracks that really show off their strengths as singers. Rudimental balances all of these elements quite well from track to track, especially considering that this is their debut outing.

Stand-out tracks like Spoons and Baby feature inventive production (with Spoons featuring actual spoons forming the basis of the track), excellent silky-smooth R&B vocals from guest MNEK, and solid songwriting representing what is wonderful about groups like Rudimental. Waiting All Night (also a number 1 single in UK) is another high watermark for me. Its skittering beat and passionate vocals from Ella Eyre energize the track and keep it engaging for five minutes, which is no mean feat. An infectious exuberance permeates these energetic songs and makes them impossible not to enjoy and get caught up in. Rudimental are passionate about their craft and their energy is palpable in these tracks.

As with many records, 'Home' contains a few tracks where the grand synthesis of styles and ideas that Rudimental strives for doesn't quite gel. Hell Could Freeze contains a wonderful chorus, but the rapped verses feel disjointed; almost as though they belong to another song. More Than Anything suffers from a similar problem, its wonderfully-power-ballady-rock-your-socks-off chorus makes the verses that precede and follow seem like a bit of a letdown. While Not Giving In sounds like Rudimental treading water; ticking the boxes and painting-by-numbers but not really capitalizing on some of the ideas or vocal talent present in the song. None of these tracks are bad or even necessarily weak, but Rudimental could have done more with them to give them that extra zing! They could have been essential to the album rather than pleasant scenery along the way.

Needless to say, I'm excited for where Rudimental goes next. 'Home' proves that they have something to say and some exciting ways of saying it. If you have any interest at all in electronic-pop, I highly recommend giving Rudimental a whirl. Hopefully by the time album number two rolls around they will have been able to really pin down what makes them unique in the pop-electronic world (horns, excellent guest vocalists, exuberant production) and play to those strengths. For now we have 'Home', a perfectly delightful debut record that serves up the pop-electronic-R&B goods while showing ample room for growth and exploration in the future. Here's to a long and prosperous future.

The Breakdown:
Stand-Outs: Feel the Love, Spoons, Baby, Waiting All Night
Let-Downs: Hell Could Freeze, Not Giving In
Rating: 8/10

Up Next: I'm diving this week into another genre that I've never really (seriously) given the time of day: jazz (expect, you know, when eating at Panera). I thought I would select what is widely regarded to be one of the best jazz albums of all time: John Coltrane's 1965 LP 'A Love Supreme'. 

'Fairies Wear Boots, You Gotta Believe Me': A Week with 'Paranoid'

Heavy Metal is a genre that I struggle with. It is a genre, try as I might, that has never really clicked for me. And I've tried; on multiple occasions with multiple albums and I feel like I'm always missing something. Most of time it is the vocals, but weird and unique vocals in other genres don't usually prove as much of stumbling block to me as they tend to in metal. I'll pick up an album, try to like it, fail, and end up frustrated yet again. But I firmly believe that somewhere inside me lives a long-haired, axe wielding, blood-spattered, Nordic-named creature that really wants to like heavy metal. Really really. I have plenty of intelligent, well-spoken, and charismatic friends who will sing metal's praises all the live long day so there has to be something there, right? So I have once again decided to give the genre another shot and I thought that I would ease into it this time with one of the first releases dubbed as 'heavy metal': Black Sabbath's 1970 LP 'Paranoid'.

The first thing that struck me during my inaugural listen was how fresh this record still sounds. Despite being released 43 years ago (and only 7 months after their debut album), the guitars still crunch, the bass still rumbles, and the drums are still crisp. Everything sounds great and not at all dated. Though it may be more similar in many ways to the blues-heavy rock of Led Zeppelin than to what comes to mind when you think of heavy metal, it rocks pretty hard; even today (especially when I think about it in the context of its own release). Quickly looking through some of top 25 hits of 1970 gives you a glimpse of how different a trail Black Sabbath was blazing: Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, Carpenter's (They Long to Be) Close to You, B.J. Thomas' Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head, Jackson 5's I'll Be There, and so on. Looking at 'Paranoid' in view of the music that was around at the time really helped me to appreciate that what these four lads (Geezer Butler - bass & lyrics, Tony Iommi - guitar, Bill Ward - drums, and Ozzy Osbourne - vocals ) were doing was pretty bold and unique; not to mention totally rocking.

It all starts with a loud droning guitar strum. Drums and bass enter, followed shortly thereafter by a wailing air raid siren. The sound builds, then quickly drops out with two loud strokes of Iommi's guitar (Da-dun!) and Ozzy sings, "Generals gathered in their masses, Just like witches at black masses, Evil minds that plot destruction, Sorcerers of death's construction" and we're off. War Pigs (originally also the album's title) serves as the perfect opener to 'Paranoid'. Setting the tone both sonically and lyrical, it gets the album going in a grand fashion and begins the flawless (and perfectly paced) first side of this record. The song, Paranoid, comes in after the eight minutes of War Pigs and with its quick pace, heavy riff, and 3 minute run time serves as the perfect counterpart to the album opener. Planet Caravan arrives and slows things way down with a blurry psychedelic vocal filter on Ozzy's singing, bongos, and blues-y solo from Iommi. Iron Man then revs it back up with it's inescapable, wonderfully lumbering, guitar riff. Everything on this first side works so well together and each song is sequenced so perfectly that the first 20 minutes of the record flew by for me. With every listen, I found myself wanting to go back and listen to things that I hadn't caught the first time: the weird woop-woop-woop guitar delay sound on Planet Caravan or Geezer Butler's incredible bass work on Iron Man. Above all, they are just great tunes to get lost in, fist-pump to, and sing along with.

The goodness continues on the second side of the record with Electric Funeral and Hand of Doom; both serving up engaging riffs and melodies, and appropriately dour, war-horror filled lyrics as well as interesting time signature changes. And it all ends with the gloriously epic (and epic-ly titled) Fairies Wear Boots, which serves as a perfect summation of the album. It has it all. The classic riffs, great drum and bass work, strong singing from Ozzy, and one of the best choruses ever: "Fairies wear boots and you gotta believe me; Yeah, I saw it, I saw it, I tell you no lies". It rocks. And it's safe to say after a week and 14 listens, it is my favorite track on the LP. The only hitch on the record is Rat Salad, and it's a fairly inconsequential hitch. I'll get this out there now, and I apologize to all the drummers who might be reading this: I'm not huge on drum solos. In a live setting, I can understand them being awesome, tubular, and totally sweet but, on records, I rarely enjoy them. I'm sorry. And most of Rat Salad is a drum solo. It's not a bad one and the track is only 2 and half minutes long so it's gone quickly, but it doesn't really add anything to the record for me. Whenever I arrived at the track in my listening I couldn't wait for it to be done with so I could get on to the goodies in Fairies Wear Boots.

My few (and very minor) gripes aside, my week with 'Paranoid' was one definitely not wasted. Sometimes it's just nice to listen to record with heavy guitar, booming bass and riffs you can just sink your teeth into. I talked about a "pop sweet spot" last week and this week 'Paranoid' alternatively hit the rocking out-epic fantasies-head banging in my car-Vikings will always be totally awesome "sweet-spot". Even with lyrics of doom-and-gloom, Black Sabbath serve up a memorable and even fun journey full of amazing songs. This is Heavy Metal that I can get behind and thoroughly enjoy... this was not hard work.


Up Next: I thought I would bring it back to the present for this week and look at a record that has been widely acclaimed , widely popular (in the UK at least) and was just short-listed for the Mercury Prize; plus it's one I've been wanting to sink my teeth into for a while now, Rudimental's debut album 'Home'. Plus, anthemic, R&B-infused, drum & bass club-bangerz should prove a nice transition from Sabbath, yes? Hooray! Here's a taste of what is in store.

Also, to any metal-heads out there, what do you suggest I try next?

'Toned, Tanned, Fit and Ready': A Week with 'Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection'

This was a difficult album for me to write about. It was not because Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream' was awful or that I hated every moment spent listening to it. I think it was difficult for me to really think about why I liked the things that I liked and why I disliked the things that I did. It was a hard record for me to pin down in my head. But I would like to begin by saying that I'm not here to trash Katy Perry, her record, or the people that genuinely love her. What follows is simply some of the myriad of thoughts I had during my week and 10 listens of 'Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection'. It is just my opinion.

I'll begin with what I really genuinely enjoyed about the record: the singles. There is a good reason why these singles sold upwards of 30 millions copies in the U.S. (which is an insane number; especially when compared to the overall albums sales of 5 million). These are very catchy songs; they are fun, well-produced, and slick. Songs like Teenage Dream, California Gurls, and Firework, whether you love them or hate them, get stuck in your head and stay there. It's easy for me to appreciate and enjoy the auditory experience that is Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) on a pop level; with its syrupy bass line and (almost) Daft Punk-y repetitive riff, it's a good tune and it punches all the correct pop-pleasure center buttons. I'm sure most of you reading this can sing along with one if not all of the singles released from this album; they were everywhere. They are engineered to be blasted in your car while driving down the highway, singing along with your friends at the top of your lungs or dancing 'til you can't dance no more at wedding. They are light-hearted, enjoyable, easily digestible, and most of all, fun.

I like to think of the album itself like candy. Candy is wonderful in small doses and it hits a special spot that only candy can hit. I feel the same way about a lot of good pop music; it does something in my brain when I'm listening to it that no other kind of music does for me. I love the band Joy Division, but their music was not made for cruising down the highway and especially not for dancing at weddings. But I love them just the same and for very different reasons than I love a great 3-minute pop single. As I was listening to Katy this week, I realized it's not the kind of music that is meant to be sat and thought about; there's no subtext (and I don't really mean that as a criticism). Things are just to be fun and taken at face value which is a good thing sometimes. But after a week of 'candy', I'm ready for something more substantial.

The biggest gripes that I had with this record were with the non-single tracks. And I'm sure that's only natural seeing as this is a pop record and singles are were all the focus is placed. But it was in these tracks that listening to this record day after day became a bit of a burden. Lyrics are not Katy Perry's strong suit. She does write a lot of her own songs which is not the norm in pop music, so respect must be given for that; but sometimes it did get a little painful. Peacock could be a song about letting the greatness inside of you shine through, but it really just seems to be a song about wanting to see a guy's wiener. And the song, Pearl, has a very encouraging message about being true to who you are and getting out of abusive relationships but it's just overwrought and, unfortunately, just a little too hammy.

The worst offender on the album to me was the song Circle the Drain. It's about not wanting to stick around and watch someone throw their life away to a drug addiction. It goes for this edgy, hard vibe and it just really doesn't work. At all. The chorus contain's the line, "I want to be your lover, not your f*cking mother." It just hurts every time it comes around; not because I'm offended by the word but because it rings so false. Katy Perry isn't hard and edgy - I think the record struggles whenever it tries to play that card. There is a big difference between ernest and edgy. Katy does ernest really well; whether Firework or The One That Got Away, she is very good at balancing being positive and inspirational without slipping too much into cheesy territory. But edgy and confrontational does not work for her, so its good to see that she is playing to her strengths in her newest single, Roar.  I sure hope there is not another Circle the Drain on her upcoming record.

At the end of the day, I have also realized that I'm not the target audience for this record. I'm not a fifteen year old girl (or am I? Dun-da-dun!!!!). Songs like Pearl and Who Am I Living For? that seem a little overdone and cheesy to me, may totally hit the mark for others. Music has always been so exciting to me because we can all like different things and that's okay. There is always room to expand and explore and grow in music and that's what makes being a listener so great. Katy Perry is at her best when she is genuine and plays to her strengths. As listeners, I think the same principle carries over; we are who we are and your opinion is just as valid as mine. For a long time, I've felt the need to keep up with what's hip and new in music and to like the things that everyone else likes and hate the things that are cool to hate; but I'm trying to get away from that mindset. I enjoy the things that I enjoy and there may be artists and genres that, try my darn-dest, I may never like. If Katy Perry is your favorite artist, that is wonderful and your adoration of her is part and parcel of what makes music so great. For me, I'm glad to have spent the week with 'Teenage Dream' but I will be alright with simply buying the singles collection in a few decades and cranking it up while I drive down the highway, awash in nostalgia.


Up Next: Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid'. The godfather of all metal albums that I have somehow gone this far without ever (really) listening to.

'We Got the Jazz': A Week with 'The Low End Theory'

Hip-hop is largely unexplored territory for me. I'm familiar with a lot of stuff that's been on the radio for the past 20-ish years, and I've picked up the occasional album here and there, but as far as a working knowledge of what is good and great in the world of rap: I am at a loss. When I look at lists of all-time greatest hip-hop albums, I'm lucky if I've heard even one or two songs from those albums, let alone the records as a whole. So when it was suggested to make A Tribe Called Quest's 1991 LP, 'The Low End Theory' this week's album, I was excited to delve into what is considered one of the greatest hip-hop LPs of all time.

After a week with this record and 13 listens, I can honestly say this is the best hip-hop album I've had the pleasure to listen to (which to be fair isn't that many). I think what has proved to be a roadblock for me in the past with hip-hop is lyrics. For the majority of my listening life, I haven't been a lyrics person and with so much of the enjoyment of hip-hop being solely based on lyrics; it never really struck a cord with me. (Quick Aside: Spending time with and thinking about lyrics has been one of my favorite parts of The Locked Groove thus far. It's something that, for one reason or another, I never paid much attention to before and I'm really starting to enjoy this it). So spending a week listening to this record has really helped me appreciate that aspect of hip-hop, and I couldn't have asked for better album to do it with. 

A Tribe Called Quest (as they appear on this record) are Q-Tip and Phife Dawg, who handle rapping duties, and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad; along with various guests. Q-Tip and Phife have a wonderful vocal interplay that bounces extremely well off of one another. Q-Tip has a more mellow, laid back, and almost philosophical style ('abstract' as he calls it) while Phife is more energetic, straightforward, and down to earth. They both have tracks where they rhyme separately but when they are together, like Check the Rhime or Jazz (We've Got), that is when the group really shines. As far as content of their lyrics, it is a very positive record: all about being who you are, doing what you do, and not worrying about what others may think of you. Also girls. And shady record label executives. Going into the week I was expecting a more dour (or at least serious and "hard") record lyrically, but 'The Low End Theory' is a lot of fun; joyful even. It's a celebration of life and doing what you love and even though I grew up in different circumstances and I was 4 years old when it came out, I can relate to and appreciate a lot of the themes of the record.

Beneath Q-Tip and Phife's amazing rhyming is a rock solid production. A Tribe Called Quest's beats and sampling on this record are flawless. While many of the beats may seem quite simple at first, they reveal themselves to be a perfect foundation for some excellent rhyming. Loud crisp drum beats, great bass, and the jazz sample loops that Tribe use all combine perfectly into auditory experiences that are impossible not to bob your head along to. The use of samples on almost every track also helps Tribe to draw the line between the two musical forms of hip-hop and jazz. The album opens with Q-Tip rapping that his father says that hip-hop reminds him of "be-bop" and they use the rest of the record to illustrate that point; highlighting the importance of rhythm and improvisation in both art forms. Each track has intricacies that after multiple listens make you realize just how much work and skill it takes to make a record like this. The fact that Tribe make it seem like its no big thing is a testament to their skill. 

There really isn't a dud on the record. I suppose tracks like The Infamous Date Rape and Skypager (the only song that really dates the record seeing as it is an ode to pagers) aren't as rock solid as some others; but they serve their purpose in the flow of the record and it would be worse off with them missing. As far as standouts, I mentioned Check the Rhime and Jazz (We've Got) above and I will add Buggin' Out, with its outstanding opening verse by Phife, and What?, which has Q-Tip delivering hilarious one-liners over an awesomely funky beat. But for me all of these pale in comparison to the closing track, Scenario, which features guest verses from the members of Leaders of the New School (which includes Busta Rhymes). Members of Tribe and New School take turns delivering verses, each one full of great rhymes and rhythms; each building on the momentum of the previous one until it reaches Busta Rhymes' show-stopping verse in which he is both gloriously unhinged and totally in control of his delivery. Words can't really do it justice so, please, have a watch and listen; you'll be a better person for it.



I've enjoyed my week with this record so much more than I thought I would. With each listen, the familiarity builds with the rhymes and the hooks and I'm able to rap and bob along with my favorite parts. It has just become really fun to listen to; more fun than I ever thought I could have listening to a rap album. So whether hip-hop is uncharted waters for you or old hat, if you haven't given 'The Low End Theory' a listen; I highly recommend it. Even if rap is "not your thing", this record has so much to offer lyrically and musically that you'll find something to enjoy. I don't know if this will lead me to become a true hip-hop convert but I do know that this record will be entering regular rotation in my collection, and I hope you all are able to give it a spin and enjoy it as well. It's good. Real good. 

Up Next: My wife suggested that for this coming week I should pick a very popular artist. Somebody that everyone knows well or is at least familiar with; and form a real opinion either way about a legitimate POP star. So she suggested I go with one of the biggest albums of the last few years; a record that has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and produced 5 number one singles: Katy Perry's 'Teenage Dream'. I'm going to go with 'The Complete Confection' edition so we can get the full experience. In for a penny, in for a pound, right? It will be an interesting trip I'm sure.

'You're a Long Way Off from Yippie-yi-yay': A Week with 'Call of the West'

I started this week queuing up Wall of Voodoo's 'Call of the West' with no prior knowledge other than their song, Mexican Radio, before pressing play. And I feel that this is where knowledge of the band ends for most people. Unfortunately for the average listener, Mexican Radio, although a wonderful pop song, is not really a good representation of what 'Call of the West' has in store for them. It's probably why most people don't know who sings, "that Mexico radio song" (as one of my co-workers referred to it this week) and why Wall of Voodoo never really hit it big. That is a real shame because in 'Call of the West' they have delivered a real lost gem of an album.

As I listened to the LP, I was first struck by what an interesting sound Wall of Voodoo has conjured up on this 1982 album. Imagine if in the middle of one of Sergio Leone's great Spaghetti Westerns ('The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly etc.) all of its characters were magically given keyboards, drum machines, electric guitars, and a whole host of other interesting music-making devices and were set loose to jam away. It really is a sound that I can honestly say I don't think I've heard on any other album: a sort of synth-western. It has the jangle-ly epic guitar lines & wailing harmonica's that mark a lot of Ennio Morricone's western movie scoring alongside keyboards, drum machines, and angular melodies that mark a lot of 80s post-punk/new wave bands. And to my surprise it works really, really well. The instrumental track On Interstate 15 serves as a perfect summation of their style; featuring awesome Morricone guitar lines and strong synth presence working in beautiful harmony.

This interesting musical esthetic is combined with lead singer Stan Ridgway's lyrics that paint vivid stories throughout each of the record's tracks. I mentioned earlier that Mexican Radio is not really a good marker for the rest of the album; it is most obvious thematically. Comparatively, the rest of the record is kind of a bummer. Many of the tracks wrangle with a disillusionment of "the American Dream" and even, maybe to a lesser extent, the idea of American exceptionalism. The first three tracks on the album deal with these themes, all showcasing characters trying to make it big and then failing. The heartbreaking Lost Weekend has a couple dreaming of what their life could be, the businesses they could start, and the places they could visit only to lose their money time after time trying to catch that break. Factory details the life of a man stuck in his daily routine of getting up, going to work at the factory, coming home, eating, sitting in his chair, beating his wife, and going to bed; all for the sake of "a living" and a "little plastic pool for the kids to wade in".

The concept of "The West" represents opportunity, adventure, a final frontier, and a new start in American culture; even now. And in this record, Wall of Voodoo takes a hard look at those ideals and points out that maybe they aren't all they are cracked up to be. It says that maybe this constant striving to live "the life" and get that white-picket fence is what is causing many of the problems the characters in these songs face. The band creates an interesting juxtaposition with its Western-style instrumentation and melodies, and its lyrical content which many times are a critique of the very mythos that it is evoking. It is a true testament to the record that it can still be enjoyed just as much on this more deep, lyrical, and philosophical level as it can be enjoyed as a jangle-ly, synth-wave musical experience.

While I really do enjoy much of what Wall of Voodoo offers on this record, a couple of the tracks never really clicked with me in my week of listens. Look at Their Way and They Don't Want Me could never find that sweet spot as so many of the other songs on this album did. They struck me almost as place-holders in the midst of the really good stuff. The songs themselves aren't half-bad, but in comparison to some of the gems around them; they just don't stand up.

So where does this leave us, then? It leaves us with a really worthwhile album. 'Call of the West' is not a perfect record but it is a very good one and one that deserves to be heard and explored. With its quirky instrumentation and engaging lyrics it really is a great (lost) "American" record. Its themes are ones that are still relevant today; perhaps even more relevant than in 1982. They are ideas and concepts that I think are valuable for every person, American or not, to wrestle with. What is truly worth striving for? And is it worth what we may lose along the way? It's pretty heady stuff and the album doesn't supply many answers but it gets the ball rolling. This record won't change your life or ideals, but it does provide some valuable food for thought in a delicious new-wave, western-flavored package. It is so much more than just Mexican Radio. 

Up Next!: A Tribe Called Quest - "The Low End Theory" (by request!)

'Concentrate My Hurt Into a Gold Tone': A Week with 'Wakin on a Pretty Daze'

Kurt Vile is a musician and songwriter that I have been at least aware of for quite a while; living in a little room in the back of my mind with all the other musicians that I'll get around to someday. He's released 5 album's and 4 EPs in the last 6 six years, and with each subsequent release he's received more and more acclaim. The little Kurt in my mind was slowly growing and beckoning to me. 2011's album, 'Smoke Ring for My Halo', ended up on many end-of-year-lists and by the time this year's 'Wakin on a Pretty Daze' arrived to near unanimous praise, I knew that the time had come to give dear Kurt a listen. I've given his newest release about 15 listens this past week and I'm oh-so very glad that I did.

'Wakin on a Pretty Daze' sounds like an album out of time. Not necessarily an album from the past (though in many ways that could be true) but simply out of time; it sounds like its always been here and it always will be. As I listened to the album over and over throughout the week, I was struck just by how timeless and rock-solid many of the tracks on this record sound. This feeling of agelessness is only magnified by the sounds on the album itself. The whole thing is a beautiful, hazy, and very emotive album. Vile's guitar playing, his conversational lyrics, and the lush production make for a very warm and insular experience. A little 70 minute time-capsule that has been a pleasure to escape into.

Vile's casual and laid-back lyrics as well as his delivery also add to the warmness of the record. He's just hanging out, jamming, and kind of singing whatever comes to mind. And for the most part it works really well. There's not any sort of mystical depths to explore in his lyrics, no complex and vague metaphors; just straight-forward life experience and many times simple life philosophy. He wants to appreciate the world and the people around him for who they are, and contribute positively through his music. The whole of Goldtone lyrically is about him finding happiness in his music and being able to share that with others. He is striving to work out his stress and problems into "golden tones." Its a very positive record overall. There is a sense of hope brimming from it that made it a real pleasure to visit over and over again.

It is a long album and the average track length is about 6 minutes, but the majority of these tracks use their length to great advantage. The record is book-ended by the two longest (and best in my opinion) tracks: starting with Wakin on a Pretty Day and ending with Goldtone. Wakin... is easily my favorite track on the record. The guitar riffs, the wonderfully catchy melody, the way the drum beat changes halfway through to a more propulsive beat, that slide guitar, the slow crescendo of the song working toward an awesomely epic guitar solo, the low-farty synth/organ/feedback (?) in the background towards the end of the song, and perhaps best of all: it never gets boring in its almost 10 full minutes. That is a difficult feat, but both Wakin... and equally lush and beautiful Goldtone pull it off with aplomb. 

The track Too Hard was the only one that I felt wore out its welcome with its lack of melodic development and almost bored sounding delivery from Vile. Not to say that it is a terrible song. There is a perfectly great 4 minute song to be found, but those 4-ish minutes worth of awesome are stretched over 8 minutes on the album. It just goes on a tad too long and was the only real faltering point on the album for me. But this stumble is quickly rescued by the punchy and (relatively) short Shame Chamber that follows it; with its driving beat and great background vocal yelps. The rest of record is smooth and sunny sailing.

In 'Wakin on a Pretty Daze', Kurt Vile has delivered something very valuable: a genuinely optimistic experience. It wants to be enjoyed and to bring joy to its listeners. There are no grand political or socioeconomic machinations, no hidden deep, dark secrets. It just wants you to be happy. If you will allow me to climb up on my high horse for a minute, I think that focusing on the good we can bring to those around us can be a helpful thing. Doom and gloom has its place (especially in music) but I think that there is great value in occasionally, to borrow the phrase, focusing on the positive. Yes, the world is full of terrible things - horrible things happen everyday and at times it really does seem overwhelming. We can still affect change and bring joy to those around us even through something as simple as a beautiful song. 

Up Next: Wall of Voodoo's 'Call of the West' (by reader request!)

Your House is on Fire; Your Children Are Alone: A Week with 'Rain Dogs'

A Quick Aside:

I've listened to Tom Waits' album 'Rain Dogs' approximately 13 times this week: sitting at home, at work, in the car, and lying in bed at night. And on about day three it hit me that I can't remember the last time I did this with an album. There is just so much music out there, good and bad, that spending a week exclusively listening to the same thing seemed almost wasteful to me. Think of all the other new things I could be listening to! All the undiscovered horizons! The quest to discover the next big thing! I so often make snap judgements with music that to really delve into an album was more difficult than I thought it would be. I realized that it takes more than a cursory half-listen to really decide how I feel about an album. That music isn't simply 'good' or 'bad,' but a lot of little things that add up to how I feel about it and why. I learned that I can't really discover the ins and outs of an album and place it in the 'keep' pile or 'discard' pile so quickly. Not to get mystical or anything but focusing all of my listening energy onto a single cluster of 54 minutes of music, over and over again, made me really think about why I enjoy music and what I get out of listening to it. But I suppose that was the whole point. 

'Your House is on Fire; Your Children Are Alone': A Week with 'Rain Dogs'

I think it was about 6 years ago at college that I first gave listening to Tom Waits a try. I made my way down to the local library and checked out 'Rain Dogs' excited about listening to what I had read in many reputable sources was one of the best albums of the '80s. I made it about half-way through the first song, Singapore, before switching it off. What was this? This was terrible. I can sing better than that. This was the best album of 1985? And that's about as far as I made it into Tom-Waits-land until recently.   

I think my favorite description of Tom Waits' voice that I've read was that it sounded "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car." That's about right. And I think for many people, including myself, that first exposure to his signature growl is where the interest in exploring his work ends. That is a real shame because I've learned that our dear friend Tom has a lot to offer and that 'Rain Dogs' is one of the best albums I have listened to in a while.

'Rain Dogs' is almost a concept album of sorts. Each song is a different vignette of a down-on-their-luck character trying to scratch out a living in the damp, cold city they live in. Almost every song also jumps musical genres from blues to rock to jazz to pop to folk to gospel to country and even polka. And while this carnival ride of styles might sound like a recipe for disaster, I think it's a testament to Mr. Waits that the album works as well as it does. This circus of 19 tracks are held together by the ringmaster that is Tom. His voice (which while maybe not 'technically' good) is one of the most expressive ones I have had the pleasure of listening to. His cadence and style morph from song to song; from a huge, clunking roar on Big Black Mariah to a soft, hurt, and even beautiful whisper on Time. It's his voice that guides us along through the weird and wonderful journey of 'Rain Dogs.' What I found so unappealing a few years ago, I now find very expressive and engrossing.

This album also has a very strong sense of place; both in sound and lyrical content. It reeks of the city. Dim, dank, gin-soaked alleys. Washed-up people just trying to get by. Seedy characters carrying out dark deeds. Everything is just a tad left of center. The instrumentation adds to this feeling. The percussion on many of the tracks sounds like people just whacking wooden chairs or bashing trash can lids together . Bells, marimba, organ and other interesting sounds find their way onto the record adding a unique underpinning to many of the tracks. And while it may not be a 'fun' listen, 'Rain Dogs' is never a boring one. It's a ride that never lets up. Each track is a different journey, a different sad, lonely person to meet. Waits' lyrics are also vague enough to let the listener fill in some of the gaps and add their own spin to them; the lines being both somehow clearly drawn and open to interpretation at the same time. I've never been a master at figuring out what lyrics mean, but the weird and kooky world that Tom portrays in 'Rain Dogs' was one that I could follow and appreciate most of the time.

And as with any album there were certain stand-out tracks: Clap Hands, with its marimba infused beat and almost chain-gang style of lyrical repetition; Jockey Full of Bourbon, jammed with evocative lyrics and a wonderful, slinky guitar lead; Anywhere I Lay My Head, closing out the album with a beautiful horn-led snippet of a song where Tom's vocal soars with an astonishing level of growl. And Downtown Train. What a song! There is a reason Rod Stewart's cover found success. This is a wonderful song and it is probably where the whole thing clicked for me on the first listen. It is most likely because it's the pop-iest of any track on the album (if I learned one thing in the past few years of listening to music it is that 'pop' is not a dirty word). 

As you can see, I clearly enjoyed my time with this album very much; and I know that no matter how much I've enjoyed and tell you over and over again about it, for some of you Tom's voice will just be too much of an impasse. And that's ok. We don't have to like the same things. But if you are able to continue on and explore the wealth of goodies that 'Rain Dogs' has to offer I think you will find that Waits has a lot to give you beyond 'a weird voice.' Definitely a keeper, this one.

Til next week!

Up Next: Kurt Vile's 'Wakin on a Pretty Daze'