Category: Album Reviews

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Bjork – Post (1995)

Posted on by Michael

As most of the UK alternative music fans were in the throes of Britpop, Bjork released her second album of the 90s with Post. Immediately, “Army of Me” comes in like a bomb, flying through the air and crashes into a throbbing bass line.  A personal song, Bjork is defiant as she tells another to stop complaining and get to work. The deep bass weaves itself through most of the album and on the Nellee Hooper produced “Hyperballad” adds a jittery beat as Bjork sings of the little battles we have in relationships that our partners know nothing about. The protagonist throwing objects off a mountaintop before her boyfriend wakes, “I go through all this before you wake up”.

Sixth single, “I Miss You” is a propulsive Howie B produced track that projects horn stabs and tumbling drums as Bjork sings of her next love. “Isobel” feels cinemantic with strings and jungle drums.  The cinema is drummed up even more with “It’s Oh So Quiet”.  The memorable Spike Jonze directed video sees Bjork dance through the streets while the song is an inspired remake with hushed verses and explodes into colour for the chorus. In contrast, “Possibly Maybe” starts with the sound of a computer connecting to make a data transfer. She remembers an old love, the beat taking over in spots, trip hop from Bristol bringing a dark melancholy beat.

Remembered as one of the finest albums of the 90s, Post is definitely of it’s time but remarkably does not sound dated.  It’s a testament to Bjork’s songwriting/producing that she standouts among other 90s artists, inhabiting her own world.  Darker than her Debut album, the colourful album art makes Post look cosmopolitan as Bjork takes in sounds from all over the streets of the UK.

9/10

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Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Council Skies (2CD Deluxe Edition) (2023)

Posted on by Michael

With the new release of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ album, Council Skies, the singer embarked on a new round of media arguing with other singers. This time the foe is Matt Healy of the 1975 who responded with the brilliant retort, “The difference between me and Noel is I do a series of interviews to promote an album, whereas he does an album to promote a series of interviews.”  And while the statement may have truth in it, the interviews have been great and the album is a good one.

Guitarist Johnny Marr appears on first single, “Pretty Boy”.  The electronic beat underlays the gender bending lyrics of “there was a girl like me/there was a boy like you”. “Open the Door, See What You Might Find” adds strings and bells ringing to a belter of a chorus.  The title track is a midtempo number who’s string section makes it sound vaguely like a James Bond theme whereas the horns kick in on “Love is a Rich Man” on that track’s easy spirit while adding joy, and lightness.

The album really shines on second single “Easy Now”.  The stellar anthem of a chorus sees the Chief sing, “I’ll be there/I’ll wait for you I swear”.  The verses and chorus dovetail into one another, producer Paul Stacey adds a guitar solo on one of Gallagher’s most uplifting post Oasis songs. With the announcement of Noel’s split from his wife of 12 years, the dreamy ballad “Dead to the World” takes another meaning as he sings, “I’ll bend over backwards for love”.  On Council Skies, little by little Gallagher continues to stretch his sound with additions to his repertoire that result in a solid album for the 56 year old.

The 2CD deluxe version adds an additional 14 tracks made up of new tracks, radio sessions, instrumentals, and remixes. “We’re Gonna Get There In the End” and “Flying on the Ground” continue the lightness of touch.  Remixes by Pet Shop Boys and David Holmes adds a spacey club dimension to the sound before Robert Smith adds his touch to “Pretty Boy”.   The second disc closes with a radio session version of Oasis classic, “Live Forever”. Thankfully Gallagher’s recent airing of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is not included.

Council Skies – 8.5/10

Deluxe Edition Extra Disc – 7/10

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Bob Dylan – Self Portrait (1970)

Posted on by Michael

The first Bob Dylan album of the 1970s continues his leftfield turn that he took with both John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline.  Self Portrait is made up of four sides of six songs per side, mostly two-three minute songs vs the epics he released through the 1960s. A mixture of new material, live tracks, and covers – it is an eclectic mix of songs that has confused and confounded fans and critics alike for over 50 years.

One of the most striking and memorable songs is the lead track, “All The Tired Horses”.  Using female singers, the song creates a hypnotic groove as they sing the same lines over and over again – “All the tired horses in the sun/How am I supposed to get any riding done?”. The only single released from the album is “Wigwam” that sees Dylan sing along “La dah dah dah” to a horn section that rises and falls. The live version of “Minstrel Boy” on the other hand is a chore to get through.  Other live versions include a laidback take on his own classic, “Like a Rolling Stone”.

“Days of 49” is one of the most Dylanesque tracks here, the midtempo song takes in storytelling over six verses. Dylan tackles a Gordon Lightfoot song in “Early Mornin’ Rain” then on side two, a country sounding version of a song made popular by The Everly Brothers’ “Let It Be Me”.  The sentimental “Blue Moon” makes an appearance but the most memorable cover is his version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Boxer”.  Sung as a duet with himself in two different singing styles, it is difficult to make out if it’s a tip of the hat to his contemporaries or a parody of one of their most beloved songs.

For listeners coming to Self Portrait for the first time, expectations will be low as the album has been maligned for years.  While certainly not a lost classic, there are several songs that are worthy of repeated listens.  It would have been hard at the time to make sense of what Dylan later described as a joke album and saying that the album is a pleasant background listen when it’s made by the voice of a generation is faint praise.  But all these years later, Self Portrait does indeed make for a pleasant listen.

6.5/10

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Janis Joplin – Greatest Hits (1973/1999)

Posted on by Michael

Sadly, Janis Joplin is one of the founding members of the tragic 27 club of musicians who passed away at that young age.  Her heroin overdose sent shockwaves through the music community that is still felt today. Leaving behind just 4 studio albums, Joplin is nonetheless still regarded as one of the finest rock and roll blues singers to have come out of the psychedelic era.   The Greatest Hits collection starts with the anthemic “Piece of My Heart” that was recorded when Joplin was the singer with the band Big Brother and Holding Company. The guitars of Sam Andrew and James Gurley standout along with the raspy, whiskey-soaked Joplin vocals as she sings, “I’m gonna show you baby, that a woman can be tough”.

The Greatest Hits collection does a fine job of showing the many styles of Joplin including the funky soul of “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)” complete with upbeat horn stabs. “Bye Bye Baby”, also recorded with Big Brother and Holding Company, takes in a sound from 1920’s vaudeville before the thump of drums and guitar announce the arrival of “Move Over”.  One of three songs written by Joplin that appear here, “Move Over” is a supercharged blues track that takes the sound to Vegas.

Released after her death, the Kris Kristofferson penned “Me and Bobby McGee” is Joplin’s only #1 US single and her most popular track. The country tinged song is added to by the organ playing of Ken Pearson as Joplin sings the devastating line, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”.  The 1999 remastered disc adds two tracks including the acapella “Mercedes Benz” from the posthumously released Pearl album.

Janis Joplin’s Greatest Hits has sold 9 million copies in the US and has gone platinum in Canada. It was one of those ubiquitous albums of the 70s that made its way into nearly all rock and roll collections.  Joplin’s singing embodies the spirit of each song she tackles here, and she sings them like her very soul depends on it.  A true original, Joplin is a one of a kind maverick who can convey strength and vulnerability in just one verse.  Her music still deserves a spot in every home.

9/10

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The National – First Two Pages of Frankenstein (2023)

Posted on by Michael

While the band has not released anything since 2019’s I Am Easy to Find, members of The National have been busy with solo albums and working extensively with other artists. Anytime the band gets back together is a reason for high anticipation.  And so arrives First Two Pages of Frankenstein with much talk about the writers block that singer Matt Berninger suffered through during the process.

Like their younger colleagues, this time around The National brings in a slew of guest vocalists including Sufjan Stevens, Phoebe Bridgers, and world conquering Tayler Swift. Stevens helps on the minimal album opener, “Once Upon a Poolside” but neither Bridgers tracks really hit.  Swift’s appearance is more memorable as she sings lines back to Berninger and adds her own style on lines like “The last thing you wanted/It’s the first thing I do”.

When it’s just Berninger, the songs tend to lean heavily on relationships moments.  “Eucalyptus” sees a couple splitting up their possessions during a break-up including the records. “New Order T-Shirt” has a cascading beat laying the bed for “split second glimpses and snapshots and sounds”.  This new release sees the band quiet and introspective, what’s missed is the band rocking out especially when they have a stellar rhythm section of brothers Bryan and Scott Devendorf.  They are only truly unleashed on “Tropic Morning News”.   Instead, the band opts for electronics that all start to blend into one another as the album continues.

7.5/10