Author: Michael

Posted in Album Reviews

David Bowie – Aladdin Sane (1973)

Posted on by Michael

The sixth studio album from David Bowie, Aladdin Sane, was released in the spring of 1973. The iconic lightning bolt album cover has been recreated countless times by fans and other artists, it also possibly more famous than a lot of the music contained within.  Having to follow-up two classic albums, Bowie wrote much of this album, a pun of “a lad insane”, in the US and has been referenced as “Ziggy (Stardust) goes to America”. A bit more rushed with a  glam rock stomp, the music of Aladdin Sane has a nostalgic yet futuristic feel, especially on second single and #3 UK single “Drive-In Saturday Night”.

The album can certainly rock – “Watch That Man” has horns and piano aplenty as Bowie recalls a night on the tiles in a stream of consciousness like lyrics.  Mick Woodsmansey’s drums add jungle beat behind Mick Ronson’s opening guitar lick on “Panic In Detroit”.  “Cracked Actor” is a violent, dangerous song of an actor meeting up with a  prostitute as Bowie sings, “crack, baby, crack/show me you’re real”.  Mike Garson’s piano adds a barroom feel to the cover of The Rolling Stone’s “Let’s Spend the Night Together” before the most famous song here, “The Jean Genie”, adds another flash of glam rock with a blinder of a chorus.

The harder hits can steal some of the thunder but it’s the slower tracks that really settle in.  The title track asks, “who will love Aladdin Sane?” on a song about bright young things being sent out to war. While the “The Jean Genie” is a belter, the closing track “Lady Grinning Soul” is a stunner. The atmospheric track may sound a bit like blur to 90s listeners.  It’s an incredible song once again built around Mike Garson’s piano that sounds classy and mysterious at the same time. Aladdin Sane would continue to see Bowie’s star rise with a set of songs that make it essential listening for fans of 70s rock and roll.

9/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Belle and Sebastian – A Bit of Previous (2022)

Posted on by Michael

As with many attempted recordings in the last few years, the pandemic tripped up the artist’s original intentions. Belle and Sebastian had originally planned to record in Los Angeles but instead recorded in their hometown of Glasgow for the first time in 20 years. “Young and Stupid” compactly captures some of the classic B and S sound with a nostalgic sounding tune while “Come On Home” is jaunty with an added organ. Several tracks such as “Prophets on Hold” add synths with more of a dance beat and here, band leader Stuart Murdoch sings “…and I close my eyes, to see you again”.

Stevie Jackson takes over the vocals for the country ballad “Deathbed of my Dreams” and charmer Sarah Martin sings the synth driven “Reclaim the Night”. A number of tracks on A Bit of Previous get wrapped up in religion like “Working Boy in New York City” where “everybody gets an even shot at making heaven”. Where it lacks is the clever Belle and Sebastian turn of phrase and memorable characters of past classic songs.  While A Bit of Previous won’t reach essential status, Stuart Murdoch and mates are “heir(s) apparent to the scene” who can still knock out a fine record 25+ years on.

7.5/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

Posted on by Michael

Released mere months after his last album, Bringing It All Back Home, 1965 saw Bob Dylan issue one of his seminal albums in Highway 61 Revisited. Though the album is not chock-a-block with Dylan hits, it is widely regarded as one of the greatest records ever made.  Recording took place in two blocks with the first being in mid June and the second in late July.  In between recordings is the infamous electric set that took place at that year’s Newport Folk Festival which was a signal of what was to come.

Recording with a band on virtually every track for the first time in his career, Hwy 61 often has the feeling of a great band swinging behind Dylan with their heads down while he presents his vignettes. With six verses in six minutes, “Tombstone Blues” is a sped up number where “mama’s in the factory, she ain’t got no shoes”. The mysterious and atmospheric “Ballad of a Thin Man” questions that, “something is happening here/but ya don’t know what it is/do you, Mr. Jones?”

With the accompanying band, organ and piano play a key role on several tracks. “Queen Jane Approximately” has great piano/organ lines courtesy of Al Kooper and Paul Griffin. While Hwy 61 references the road that travels from his old home in Minnesota through to New Orleans, “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” first line, “When you’re lost in the rain in Jarez” shows we’re not in Duluth anymore. The album is bookended by two epic tracks, the last being “Desolation Road”.  The eleven minute song is the only one delivered here acoustically and touches on historical figures of Einstein and Cinderella among a cavalcade of others. 

The most famous song on the album is the first track, “Like a Rolling Stone”. Introduced by it’s instantly recognizable drum shot from Bobby Gregg. The song is also musically notable for it’s improvised organ riff courtesy of Al Kooper. The celebratory chorus sees Dylan ask several times, “How does it feel?”.  It’s a song that is near impossible not to get swept away in. By 1965, Bob Dylan had already released a couple classic albums but in Highway 61 Revisited, he released an album that blasted him past rock and roll luminaries who had to quickly accelerate just to keep up.

10/10