Posted in Album Reviews

Bob Dylan – Planet Waves (1974)

Posted on by Michael

In late 1973, Bob Dylan entered the studio with old friends The Band to work on songs that would become Planet Waves. For the most part, gone are the voice of the generation songs that defined his 60s output.  Instead, “You Angel You” uses lyrical clichés on lines like “the way you walk and the way you talk” but is played with energetic country rock making it a winner. “Tough Mama” is a bit funky with some terrific organ work from Garth Hudson and opening “On A Night Like This” works as a country tinged uptempo folk song. 

Dylan’s ode to to one of his sons, “Forever Young” appears in two different versions with the slower version working as a lullaby. “Dirge” takes in a classic dirgy melody as he sings that he has “paid the price of solitude, but at least I’m out of debt”.  Album closer “Wedding Song” is a terrific acoustic song in the older Dylan style but replaces the politics with love. 

Surprisingly, this is the first Bob Dylan album to go to #1 in the US where it stayed for for four weeks starting in mid February, 1974.  His first release for Asylum Records after leaving his longtime Columbia home, Planet Waves is greatly benefited by the playing of The Band who help elevate an album of OK songs. Like 1970’s New Morning, this is another album of decent 70s singer songwriter tracks but nothing that could be called essential.

6.5/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Elbow – Audio Vertigo (2024)

Posted on by Michael

On Elbow’s tenths studio album, the band rides the groove on several songs including the swampy murk of first track, “Things I’ve Been Telling Myself For Years” where singer Guy Garvey sings of “kissing hands and shaking babies”.  “Her To Earth” uses mumbled lyrics as a sound bed with a bit of an 80s vibe while second single “Balu” sees synths dominate with some horns thrown in for funky effect. “Lovers’ Leap” uses vocal effects with a steady bass groove.

The second half sees the band sound like an older, wiser indie rock band.  Newest official member, drummer Alex Reeves provides the quick beats of “The Picture” where a hotel room provides the scene of a woman that is like “a slender elegant foot on the neck”. “Knife Fight” and “Good Blood Mexico City” provide two great rock tracks with Garvey singing “when the sun goes down/the night explodes in their eyes” on the latter.  It’s on those songs plus the closing “From The River” that lifts Audio Vertigo up a couple notches for yet another solid Elbow record.

7.5/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Oasis – Definitely Maybe (Deluxe Edition – 2014)

Posted on by Michael

1994 was a pivotal year for music. Artists who released notable albums include Green Day, Weezer, Hole, Soundgarden, The Beastie Boys, NAS, Notorious B.I.G., Jeff Buckley, Sloan, Nirvana, NIN, blur, Portishead, Manic Street Preachers, Suede, etc. On August 29th, one of the decade’s biggest albums was released by a new Mancunian band named Oasis. Lead by loudmouth brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, the band’s debut album Definitely Maybe would become the fastest selling debut in UK history and land at #1 on the UK chart.

Oasis in 1994 was a mixture of UK guitar based bands up until that point.  The base was 60s British rock, with a punk attitude infused with 1990s British lad culture.  First track, “Rock N Roll Star” laid down the band’s intent, the first of several songs that have lived on for 30 years through concert setlists. Noel has regularly said that the band’s first single, “Supersonic” is his favourite Oasis track.  “Live Forever” has long been a feature at the end of concerts for both Gallagher brothers on solo tours while fan favourite “Slide Away” shows a loving heart beneath the bluster. 

For its 20th anniversary in 2014, the band released a deluxe edition that features an additional 2 discs of b-sides, singles, live tracks, and rarities.  The Noel Gallagher acoustic track “Sad Song” appears, a song that had only appeared on the vinyl version of the debut.  The second disc contains one of the band’s fiercest early songs in “Fade Away” along with their live cover of The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus”.  The second disc closes with the single “Whatever” released in December 1994 and went to #3 in the UK singles charts.  The b-side “Half the World Away” is the last track – it would later go on to be the theme song to British show The Royale’s as well as covered in a popular John Lewis Christmas advert.

The third disc contains an acoustic version of the band’s second single, “Shakermaker” that cheekily adds a verse from the Coca-Cola 70s advert jingle, a soundalike song that landed the band in legal trouble. The psychedelic swirl of “Columbia (Eden Studios Mix)” appears with a snarling live version of “Cigarettes and Alcohol” before closing with the strings only mix of “Whatever”.  Thirty years on, Definitely Maybe remains one of the classic UK rock albums of all time. The deluxe edition is a must have reminder of how things were in 1994 as Britpop started to take flight.

Definitely Maybe – 10/10

Extra Discs – 9/10

Posted in Paper Chase

Monica Ali – Brick Lane

Posted on by Michael

Monica Ali’s first novel, Brick Lane, was published in 2003 and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The story follows Nazneen as she grows up in a village in Bangladesh before moving to London in an arranged marriage to someone double her age.  Chanu is a good man but full of bluster and certainly not the one she would have chosen for herself.  While raising two children, Chanu decides that living on the lower end of British society is not for him and wants the family to move back to Bangladesh.

The rest of the family is resistant, while Nanzeen looks for a life outside of the marriage.  Part of the book deals with Nanzeen’s sister who stayed in Bangladesh and lives a very different life. That part of the story that takes up sections of the book was not as compelling and at times took away from the main story. Overall, it is an interesting look into a world that some of us would not normally see.

7/10

Posted in Paper Chase

Greg McKeown – essentialism

Posted on by Michael

Originally published 10 years ago, Greg McKeown’s book essentialism is a New York Times bestseller and regularly shows up on productivity reading lists to this day. The book focuses on three main areas of evaluate, eliminate and execute.  Look at the core things in your life/job and concentrate on those few things that will see you get further rather than trying to do it all.  Ex – say no to meetings and assignments that will distract you from your core pursuits. Or, instead of having a closet full of clothes that you never wear, get it down to the basics of what you wear regularly and donate the rest.

Block out the noise, lose the Fear of Missing Out, enjoy doing less and not having to keep up with the Joneses. With social media, this does get harder to do and a person can often feel like they are not doing enough.  It is an interesting book and surely helpful to many.  As a person who can say no in many situations, except in buying too much music, I didn’t get quite as much out of it but it gets a slight bump in ratings as it is one that I will likely refer back to from time to time. 

7.5/10