For their first album in the 2000s, The Charlatans initially decamped to LA to work with producer Danny Saber. As noted in interviews, the funk and soul sounds of LA combined with sunshine and copious amounts of cocaine influenced Wonderland. The first album with keyboardist Tony Rogers lets go of their organ sound and instead embraces electronica with throbbing basslines.
“You’re So Pretty – We’re So Pretty” shows this new sound right away. It is The Charlatans version of The Rolling Stones going disco or Primal Scream going to Memphis in the early 90s. On several tracks, singer Tim Burgess adopts a falsetto vocal with single “Love Is The Key” being the most successful as the band stomps along behind him. “I Just Can’t Get Over Losing You” is the track most overtly influenced by LA’s funk scene and includes terrific instrumental passages in the second half of the song.
Several songs like “And If I Fall” and “Wake Up” have really strong choruses that keep the album buoyant. “A Man Needs To Be Told” is a softer one with acoustic guitar as Burgess sings, “A man needs to be told/There is a world going on”. A bit on the nose with the childlike Burgess personality. Like the finest of white powders that rob a person’s soul, so too does it rob this album of the typical life affirming anthems that The Charlatans produced throughout the 90s. However, the band wanted to change things up which they accomplished on the mostly successful Wonderland.
Formed while going to high school in New York, De La Soul was a trio of Posdnuos, Maseo and Trugoy the Dove (RIP). Catching the attention of producer Prince Paul, the group released their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising in 1989, smack in the middle of the golden age of hip hop. The album as a kaleidoscope of styles using samples from jazz, funk, soul, psychedelia, and rock records. Collaborating with like minded groups A Tribe Called Quest and The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul introduced their sound called the D.A.I.S.Y age (Da Inner Sound Y’all) to the rap community.
Based on a Schoolhouse Rock! track, “The Magic Number” is an effervescent song where “De La Soul posse consist of three/And that’s the magic number”. “Eye Know” takes a Steely Dan sample from “Peg” and adds horns from a Mad Lads’ track and Otis Redding’s whistling for a new sound as bright as a sunny day. “Tread Water” sees the trio introduce members of the animal community with a beat that keeps the story moving before the Hall and Oates sampling “Say No Go” tackles the crack epidemic sweeping through their neighbourhood.
“Me Myself and I” was the band’s first and only top 40 hit, it’s the one that helped their tape make into ghetto blasters in high schools around the world. The track sees each member sing about their own unique personality and style, downplaying the hippie image that was attached to them at the time. “De la soul is from the soul/and in fact I can’t deny../and from me, myself and I”. On that hit single and throughout the album – the band along with Prince Paul revel in a sophisticated and experimental sound that keeps it light and youthful. The sample heavy album was held back from digital release for years as they worked out agreements to clear samples (or make slight changes) that Tommy Boy Records originally neglected to bother with. Regarded as an 80s classic album, an all time great rap disc, and included in the US Library of Congress – 3 Feet High and Rising is a cultural landmark recording.
They’ve been playing sold out shows in stadiums around the world for 30 years now but starting out, Metallica was an unknown metal thrash band based in San Francisco. After kicking out original guitarist Dave Mustaine due to addiction issues, the band added Kirk Hammett to the core line-up of drummer Lars Ulrich, singer/guitarist James Hetfield and bassist Cliff Burton. Hammet joined the band in New York for the recording of their debut album, Kill ‘Em All released on Megaforce Records in 1983.
Regarded as one of the key members of the big four of thrash metal alongside Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax – there are several hardcore songs on the debut including “Phantom Lord” and “Motorbreath”. Still, there is much to like for non-hardcore metal fans. Thundering drums and guitar start “Hit the Lights” and the simple chorus makes it an anthem about their fans. At almost 7 minutes, “Seek & Destroy” is just as anthemic with it’s heavy riffing and another anthem like chorus.
Mustaine’s hands can still be felt on the debut as he gets a co-writing credit on four tracks including the epic “The Four Horsemen”. It has a classic rock feel in parts with galloping drums and chugging guitars. “Jump In The Fire” sees Hetfield employ a seventies hard rock vocal with a circling guitar riff on one of the first songs the band ever wrote. It’s funny to think that as Michael Jackson, The Police and Men At Work tore up the charts – young metalheads nationwide were already banging their heads to Metallica and their classic debut – Kill ‘Em All.
18 months after she released her last solo album, Kristin Hersh returns with her band Throwing Muses for the cleverly titled Midnight Concessions. The album takes on a southern gothic, swamp like feel where the air is thick and heavy. Along with her usual bandmates, David Narcizo on drums and Bernard Georges on bass, the cello of Pete Harvey plays a big role on the album. Songs like the darkly atmospheric “Theremini” have the strings play a prominent role.
“Summer of Love” sees Hersh push the guitar into the forefront as she sings, “finally life as it should have been” which is in contrast to “South Coast” where she sings, “Go down without a fight/No dawn without a light”. On the second half of the album, “Sally’s Beauty” has a hazy, almost eerie feel whereas “Albatross” is more immediate and in the listener’s face where she implores us to “just survive”. While affecting in some spots, there is not enough of those moments on Moonlight Concessions to really make it a great record.
The last album that British trio The Police recorded is the one that sent them into the stratosphere. Released in 1983, Synchronicity is one of the classic albums of the 80s, with the chiseled jawlines of the band members appearing in videos, posters, magazines around the world. The album recorded at AIR studios in Montserrat by producer Hugh Padghan was fraught with infighting and the band recording their parts in separate rooms. In contrast to these well known stories, in interviews included in the CD booklet, the band is highly complimentary to what each member brought to the sound of the album.
Arguably one of the most backloaded albums in the history of rock music, Synchronicity starts with the tension of the title track (part I); a bit new wave, scientific, and a lot of energy. Carl Jung’s theory of synchronicity is never far away from Sting’s lyrical inspiration. “Walking In Your Footsteps” switches the sound to African percussion courtesy of drummer Stewart Copeland while singer/bass player Sting sings of the extinct dinosaurs. With Sting taking writing credits for most of the tracks on the album, Andy Summers is the writer on “Mother”, the most decisive track on the album. A screeching bit of a post punk that is at odds with the radio friendly sounds of the rest of the album.
The first side closes with part II of the title track that was released as a single and the best true rock moment on the album. “Synchronicity II” tells of a man living an anxiety ridden suburban existence that is juxtaposed with the image of a monster rising out of a Scottish lake. The next track is rated as one of the most played radio songs ever recorded. While on first listen, “Every Breath You Take” is a song of love, it is on repeated listens that the sinister side of a stalker emerges. Andy Summer’s guitar helps power the song that is one of the signature songs of the 80s.
Two more big hits follow on songs that would go top ten around the world. The piano driven tension on “King of Pain” is as unsettling as Sting’s lyrics about “a black spot on the sun today” and a “black hat caught in a high tree top”. “Wrapped Around Your Finger” is another song about control that makes many mythological references. The album closes with the tender band favourite, “Tea In The Sahara” while the CD version of the original album closes with the comparatively slight, “Murder By Numbers” which also appears here.
The second disc in this collection is a mix of B-sides, unreleased tracks, and live versions. A bit of a mix bag, the songs included are not exclusive to the Synchronicity era with songs like “Message In A Bottle” and “Walking On The Moon” appearing in live versions. The B-sides included are more straight up rock songs including Andy Summers’ “Truth Hits Everybody (remix)” with a terrific rumbling bass. Best are the backing track versions for “Roxanne” and “Every Breath You Take” that punches up the piano not as noticeable on the regular version.
The Light Appears 