|
Van Morrison |
071 |
| His Band And The Street Choir |
1970
Warner Bros.
UK: -
US: 32
Producer: Van Morrison |
| Morrison had moved away from the jazz inflected folk of his landmark Astral Weeks album, with the more straightforward soul of Moondance. Released the same year His Band And The Street Choir continued in a similar vein; the pulsating horn-driven rhythm and blues of opening track, and UK top ten single, ‘Domino’ set the tone for much of the album. However, it was the emotive balladry of the two closing tracks ‘If I Ever Needed Someone’ and ‘Street Choir’ which really displayed Morrison’s strengths; ‘Street Choir’, showcasing a longing, soulful vocal with gospel inflected backing vocals, assured horn parts and understated organ, must rank as one of Morrison’s finest ballads. The album would fail to chart in the UK despite the success of its two singles, the aforementioned ‘Domino’ and ‘Blue Money‘. Morrison followed this effort with the country-tinged Tupelo Honey and the impressive Saint Dominic’s Preview, which in places hinted at the freeform jazz folk and stream of consciousness narrative of Astral Weeks, marking a golden period in Morrison’s musical output.
Track Listing: Domino / Crazy Face / Give Me A Kiss / I’ve Been Working / Call Me Up In Dreamland / I’ll Be Your Lover, Too / Blue Money / Virgo Clowns / Gypsy Queen / Sweet Jannie / If I Ever Needed Someone / Street Choir.
|
|
Grateful Dead |
072 |
| American Beauty |
1970
Warner Bros.
UK: -
US: 30
Producers: The Grateful Dead |
| Previous album Workingman’s Dead had made a concerted move away from the psychedelic freak-out jams of the Grateful Dead’s 1960s work and American Beauty continued their move into harmony laden country rock. Opening track ‘Box Of Rain’ was a delightful, lilting country influenced number with Jerry Garcia’s refined pedal steel playing and the group mastering a Crosby, Stills and Nash vocal harmony style, albeit a little more relaxed and rough around the edges. Their new found love of harmonies was used to particularly dazzling affect on ‘Attics Of My Life’. Other highpoints were the energetic ‘Till The Morning Comes’ and the gentle grace of ‘Ripple’ where lyricist Robert Hunter’s rich imagery was particularly charming. The Grateful Dead would follow this release with two decent live offerings, and would be beset by financial difficulties, line up changes and inconsistent studio offerings for the rest of the 1970s, with American Beauty remaining a highlight of their late 60s/early 70s peak.
Track Listing: Box Of Rain / Friend Of The Devil / Sugar Magnolia / Operator / Candyman / Ripple / Brokedown Palace / Till The Morning Comes / Attics Of My Life / Truckin.
|
|
AC/DC |
073 |
| Highway To Hell |
1979
Atlantic
UK: 8
US: 17
Producer: Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange |
| AC/DC’s last album with singer Bon Scott, due to his drink related death early the following year, Highway To Hell was very much a continuation of the group’s previous releases, although the band benefited from a simple and refined production courtesy of Mutt Lange, merging their distinctive primal rock and roll with their impressive melodic talents. Much of the group’s appeal was down to their melodic blues rock without a reliance on frills or overdubs, with the simple but effective rhythm section driving the guitars of brothers Angus and Malcolm Young. Lange’s commercial instincts would bring them their first top ten album in the UK and the album would also perform very respectably in the US. The highlights of the album where the two singles, the title track and the tongue-in-cheek ‘Touch Too Much’. Lange would remain at the helm for the next couple of albums and with Brian Johnson on vocals the group would scale new heights of commercial success, especially with the multi-million selling follow up Back In Black.
Track Listing: Highway To Hell / Girls Got Rhythm / Walk All Over You / Touch Too Much / Beating Around The Bush / Shot Down In Flames / Get It Hot / If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) / Love Hungry Man / Night Prowler.
|
|
Killers |
074 |
| Hot Fuss |
2004
Lizard King / Island
UK: 1
US: 7
Producers: Jeff Saltzman & The Killers |
| The melodic talent and sense of urgency of The Killers was evident from the opening track ‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’ with its prominent bass riff and the new wave synthesisers courtesy of singer Brandon Flowers. The band’s influences were very much evident in their mixing of post punk and new wave styles, but it was soon clear that the groups ambitions extended to so much more, from the raucous indie of ‘Mr Brightside’ to the gospel influenced epic ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’. Hot Fuss was met with critical acclaim and considerable commercial success; the group would move away from the British new-wave influences of their debut and look to their home country and the likes of Bruce Springsteen for the follow-up Sam’s Town, with an emphasis more on Dave Keuning’s guitar than on the synthesizer melodies that had dominated the likes of ‘Smile Lie You Mean It’ on this very impressive debut.
Track Listing: Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine / Mr Brightside / Smile Like You Mean It / Somebody Told Me / All These Things That I’ve Done / Andy, You’re A Star / On Top / Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll / Believe Me Natalie / Midnight Show / Everything Will Be Alright.
|
|
Ray Lamontagne |
075 |
| Till The Sun Turns Black |
2006
14th Floor Records / RCA
UK: 35
US: 28
Producer: Ethan Johns |
| A follow up to the impressive debut Trouble, this 2006 release has established Lamontagne as a songwriter and singer of great talent. Mixing soul and folk influences with his emotive and recognisable raspy vocals, Till The Sun Turns Black is an uplifting and heartfelt collection despite the inherent sadness in its lyrical content and its sweeping orchestral arrangements. With Ethan Johns once again on production duties, and playing a variety of instruments, the arrangements are a lot grander and dramatic than the sometimes sparse instrumentation of his debut, but nonetheless Lamontagne’s voice always dominates. While there was nothing as immediately accessible as the ‘Trouble’ single from his debut, the melodies were no less as engaging, especially on the likes of ‘Can I Stay’ and ‘Lesson Learned’. However, it was on the two closing numbers, the epic title track and the Lennonesque ‘Within You’, that Lamontagne’s exceptional gift was truly realised, with a bold string and horn accompaniment and poignant vocal slowly building to finish on the refrain ‘war is not the answer - the answer is within’.
Track Listing: Be Here Now / Empty / Barfly / Three More Days / Can I Stay / You Can Bring Me Flowers / Gone Away From Me / Lesson Learned / Truly, Madly, Deeply / Till The Sun Turns Black / Within You.
|
|
Buffalo Springfield |
076 |
| Again |
1968
Atlantic / Atco
UK: -
US: 44
Producers: Charlie Greene, Brian Stone, Richie |
| The group’s second album following their eponymous debut, Buffalo Springfield Again was dominated by the song-writing talents of Neil Young and Stephen Stills. The album included ‘Bluebird’, one of Stephen Stills’s finest compositions and apparently written for Judy Collins, with banjo parts performed by Charlie Chin. Richie Furay would contribute the gentle country rock of ‘A Child’s Claim To Fame’ and ‘Good Time Boy’ and the heartfelt ballad ‘Sad Memory’. However, it was Young’s efforts that were perhaps the most significant, the ethereal ‘Expecting To Fly’, with sweeping string arrangements courtesy of Jack Nitzsche, and the grand ambition of the closing song ‘Broken Arrow’, hinting at the promise that Young’s imminent solo career would bring. Unlike their debut album, Young’s confidence in his voice had improved to the point where he now felt comfortable singing his own songs; indeed the fact that the band could boast three great singers, Young’s lonesome wail, Furay’s country soul croon, and Still’s bluesy tenor, made Buffalo Springfield such a great attraction during their impressive, although fleeting, time as a group.
Track Listing: Mr. Soul / A Child’s Claim To Fame / Everydays / Expecting To Fly / Bluebird / Hung Upside Down / Sad Memory / Good Time Boy / Rock & Roll Woman / Broken Arrow.
|
|
Badly Drawn Boy |
077 |
| Hour Of The Bewilderbeast |
2000
XL Recordings / Twisted Nerve
UK: 13
US: -
Producers: Badly Drawn Boy, Ken |
| Winner of the 2000 Mercury Music Prize, Hour Of The Bewilderbeast is Damon Gough’s most engaging work to date. The multi-instrumentalist’s debut was both ambitious and charmingly heartfelt bringing the Mancunian modest commercial success and huge critical acclaim. The endearing and laid back tone of the record was set in the graceful cello and horn parts, courtesy of members of indie band Alfie, of the opening song ‘The Shining’ that recalled Nick Drake in parts. Gough’s melodic gifts were present throughout the album, none more so than in the singles ‘Another Pear’, Disillusion’, ‘Once Around The Block’ and ‘Pissing In The Wind’. Success was mainly due to the subtle melodies and Gough’s understated, sincere vocals and his effortless ability to mix various music styles from the Stone Roses influenced ‘Everybody’s Stalking’ to the funky ‘Disillusion’, on which he was backed by members of the Doves. Badly Drawn Boy’s next effort About A Boy would hit the top ten in the UK and subsequent releases would also meet with commercial success, but none were a match for his impressive debut.
Track Listing: The Shining / Everybody’s Stalking / Bewilder / Fall In A River / Camping Next To Water / Stone On The Water / Another Pearl / Body Rap / Once Around The Block / This Song / Bewilderbeast / Magic In The Air / Cause A Rockslide / Pissing In The Wind / Blistered Heart / Disillusion / Say It Again / Epitaph.
|
|
The Stone Roses |
078 |
| Second Coming |
1994
Geffen
UK: 4
US: 47
Producers: Simon Dawson & Paul Schroeder |
| One of the most highly anticipated albums ever following several years of inactivity due to legal wrangles, Second Coming wouldn’t quite meet the expectation but it was an impressive effort nonetheless. It had been over five years since the release of their debut when the first single from Second Coming was released; it was clear that John Squire’s influence was prevalent on the song-writing front as ‘Love Spreads’ provided nearly six minutes of impressive Led Zeppelin-esque riffs. The album was also dominated by Squire’s guitar and he was the sole writer on nine of the twelve tracks. Despite this the driving rhythm section of Mani and Reni was still very much intact as where the ethereal vocals of Ian Brown. Signed to the Geffen label and clearly looking to capitalise on the plaudits heaped upon their debut, the Stone Roses were certainly stretching themselves on this release: none more so than on the sprawling ambition of the epic opener ‘Breaking Into Heaven’ and the chiming guitar and irresistible melody of ‘Ten Storey Love Song‘. Squire would leave the band within 15 months of the release of Second Coming, with the rest of the group limping on for another six months before calling it a day.
Track Listing: Breaking Into Heaven / Driving South / Ten Storey Love Song / Daybreak / Your Star Will Shine / Straight To The Man / Begging You / Tightrope / Good Times / Tears / How Do You Sleep / Love Spreads.
|
|
Fred Neil |
079 |
| Fred Neil |
1967
Capitol
UK: -
US: -
Producer: Nick Venet |
| Fred Neil’s contribution to folk music has been largely understated probably due to his lack of commercial success, although other artists would have significant hits with his compositions and he would act as mentor to many of the 1960s' greatest song-writing talents in their formative years. Indeed, Neil’s influence spread far and wide amongst the 1960s singer-songwriter movement in the US, his style would influence the likes of Tim Hardin, Stephen Stills, David Crosby and Tim Buckley. Roy Orbison’s cover of ‘Candy Man’ and Harry Nilsson’s cover of ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ would provide Neil with considerable income over the years, allowing him the freedom to release his own unpretentious offerings. His deep baritone was particular effective on this, his third album, particular on the dramatic opener ‘Dolphins‘, covered in great style by Tim Buckley, and the emotive ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ addressing his own nonchalant attitude to the machinations of the music industry. Neil would follow this release with two disappointing efforts before withdrawing from the music scene in the early 1970s.
Dolphins / I've Got a Secret (Didn't We Shake Sugaree) / That's the Bag I'm In / Badi-Da / Faretheewell (Fred's Tune) / Everybody's Talkin' / Everything Happens / Sweet Cocaine / Green Rocky Road / Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga
|
|
Tim Hardin |
080 |
| 2 |
1967
Verve Folkways
UK: -
US: -
Producers: Charles Koppelman & Don Rubin |
| An ex-marine and a key figure of the Greenwich Village folk music scene, Hardin would struggle in obscurity for most of his career, with acts such as Rod Stewart, the Four Tops and Bobby Darin enjoying huge success with covers of his songs. This collection had followed on from his debut released the previous year, and it was more of the same: reflective balladry with Hardin’s subtle folk style mixed with tinges of jazz and soul in his vocal delivery. ‘If I Were A Carpenter’ and ‘Lady Came From Baltimore’ captured perfectly his sense of melody and distinctive brand of melancholia, often accompanying himself on finger-picked guitar or gentle piano chords with the minimum of instrumentation. Other highlights were the soulful ‘Black Sheep Boy’ and the world-weary homage to his hero on ‘Tribute To Hank Williams’. Hardin would continue to release records well into the 1970s but a heroin addiction and his dislike of playing live continued to hamper his creative spirit, finally succumbing to a drugs overdose in 1980.
Track Listing: If I Were A Carpenter / Red Balloon / Black Sheep Boy / Lady Came From Baltimore / Baby Close Its Eyes / You Upset The Grace Of Living When You Lie / Speak Like A Child / See Where You Are And Get Out / It’s Hard To Believe In Love For Long / Tribute To Frank Williams.
|
|
| THE GREATEST ALBUMS
EVER 71-80 |
|
|
|
|
