Michael

The Cars – Heartbeat City (1984)

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Michael

After the first two albums that went multiple platinum, Boston new wave band The Cars saw their fortunes start to sag. Neither Panorama or Shake It Up came close to selling their previous albums. For the first time, the band decided not to use long time producer Roy Thomas and instead used Robert “Mutt” Lange. Lange was fresh off massive credits with AC/DC and Def Leppard, here he adds a mainstream pop sheen to The Cars sound.

Heartbeat City plays like a greatest hits with six singles being released from it. Taking advantage of MTV, the band produced two memorable videos with their first singles. “You Might Think” is a staple of 80s nights where the video’s the camera trickery gained the band plenty of attention as it rose to #7 in the US singles charts. They followed it up with the guitar driven “Magic” before releasing their most popular international hit, “Drive”. The synthesized ballad sung by Benjamin Orr about someone either dealing with alcoholism or a mental condition struck a nerve that creates a tear jerker across shiny tiled floors under neon lights.

After the big hits are dispensed, “Why Can’t I Have You” is a computer generated song of love making the disappears in the chorus. “I Refuse” may be the song that best distills all the elements on the album. The up tempo track takes in synths with guitars and spunky vocals to make it a memorable rocker. The album closes with the title track. Like a dystopian “Boys of Summer”, the robotic yet warm soundscape lays a bed under the mysterious “Oh Jacki, what took you so long?” storyline. Using Mutt Lange was a stroke of genius as Heartbeat City album sailed into the US top 3 and went 4x platinum. It would have put a great cap on their late 70s/early 80s heyday, but instead they released another album 3 years later…

10/10

Album Reviews

The National – Laugh Track (2023)

Posted on November 5, 2023 by Michael

A surprise second album in 2023 from The National caught everyone off guard. Songs originally written/recorded around the time of the First Two Pages of Frankenstein album were later honed and further worked on during the band’s summer tour the recorded with producer Tucker Martine. The immediate difference between the two albums is the more extensive use of Bryan Devendorf on live drums vs the programmed drums on Frankenstein. This immediately brings life to songs like “Dead End (Paul’s In Pieces)” and “Turn off the House”.

A major talking point upon the release of Frankenstein was the writers block that Berninger suffered when trying to write lyrics for the album. That narrative doesn’t exist here, the album doesn’t sound as weighted down. Guests make appearances including Bon Iver on the very good “Weird Goodbyes” where “the sky is leaking/the windshield’s crying”. A return of Phoebe Bridgers who’s voice blends beautifully with Berninger’s on the title track, an album highlight.

The fussy strings and synths underneath “Alphabet City” add a layer of tension. The band extends tracks like “Space Invader” that turns into a helluva jam and album closer “Smoke Detector”, a menacing track filled with stream of conscious lyrics. Not all of it works, like the Roseanne Cash track “Crumble” but in the end, Laugh Track is a welcome addition to their 2023 releases. It works in tandem with Frankenstein and gives the band several more great songs to draw from.

7.5/10

Paper Chase

Q3 2023 Read It

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Michael

Delia Owens’ first novel, Where the Crawdads Sing turned into a sensation when published in 2018. The story follows Kya who is abandoned by everyone in her family as a child and lives alone in the North Carolina marsh. She survives through ingenuity and kindness of others including Jumpin’ who runs the boat shack and looks out for her. A second narrative follows the possible murder of local celebrity Chase Andrews when he is found dead from a mysterious fall. The straightforward story is quite the page turner and has the reader rooting for Kya throughout.

7.5/10

Jane Austen’s fourth novel Emma was first published in 1815 and follows that young lady through her genteel life while trying to play matchmaker for her friend Harriet. The lives of Emma’s friends and family are explored, mostly through the lends of who’s marrying who. Her devotion to her father and lack of romantic interest in others suddenly catches up to her as her feelings start to change. The callsi novel is a delightful read with many funny moments and clever writing.

9/10

Album Reviews

David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture Soundtrack (30th Anniversary Edition)(2003)

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Michael

Recorded just over 50 years ago, the soundtrack to the D.A. Pennebaker live concert, Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars: The Motion Picture, didn’t see release until 1983. The concert from the Hammersmith Odeon is famous for being the one where David Bowie announced to both the crowd and band that this would be the last ever show by his alter ego – Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

The album has several songs in common with Live Santa Monica ’72 including the guitar bursting “Hang on to Yourself” and of course “Ziggy Stardust”. The first sound of a blip gets a warm reception from the audience as the band plays, “Space Oddity” and Bowie again includes his cover of Jacques Brel’s “My Death”. “Suffragette City” ends the main set on a high note.

The album swaps out a few tracks from the Santa Monica concert. Instead of The Velvet Underground’s “Waiting For the Man” you get a joyous cover of “White Light/White Heat”. “Life on Mars” gets replaced by an abridged version of “Oh You Pretty Things” that appears in a medely with the Bowie penned “All the Young Dudes” and “Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud” that gets a big ovation from the crowd.

The 30^th Anniversary edition includes 5 songs not on the original including the full 16 minute version of “Width of a Circle” that sees the band let loose and jam. It also includes the symphonic introductions that sound like they are played on a small record player to a theatre full of Bowie fanatics. “Cracked Actor” from the recently released Aladdin Sane album is a highlight on both versions. The night closes with Bowie making his famous speech that the Ziggy band will never tour again before they play the fitting “Rock N’ Roll Suicide”. It was a historical rock and roll night that sees the band in electric form before the curtain closes and the rug gets pulled out from underneath.

7.5/10

Album Reviews

Slowdive – everything is alive (2023)

Posted on October 4, 2023October 4, 2023 by Michael

In 2017, the 90s band Slowdive had a very successful return with their self titled album that ranked high on our list of favourite albums that year. Five years on, the band return with their second release since reforming. Neil Halstead wrote all the songs and produced then mixed with Grammy award winner Shawn Everett. A darker, synthesized sound envelopes many tracks including first song “shanty”. “Skin in the Game” adds distorted guitar with a haunted voice. As Halstead sings, “skin in the game”, his voice sounds disembodied.

One of the hallmarks of the band is the vocals of Rachel Goswell who sings the opening lines on the warmer sounding “Alife”, a song that feels like sitting in a whirlpool when the jets come on. “Kisses” is more pop oriented, one that could fit on many indie dance playlists. “Chained to a Cloud” rides a synth arpeggio that is reminiscent of Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy” before the album closes with the intense “The Slab” and it’s buried vocals. everything is alive is not as immediate as it’s self titled predecessor, it shoots for inner rather than outer space. The oceans of guitar are a bit colder and darker on this return.

7/10