Posted in Album Reviews

John Lennon – Imagine (1971)

Posted on by Michael

Just under a year after releasing John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, John Lennon’s Imagine arrived.  The sophomore album has several hard hitting songs but is not as stark as it’s predecessor. “Gimme Me Some Truth”, also the name of a recent greatest hits compilation, starts with no introduction and speaks about the liars on all sides of the political and media spectrum. “I Don’t Want To Be A Soldier” has a jam feel to it with similar lyrics repeated throughout.  At nearly six minutes long, “How Do you Sleep” is an edgy track that digs into former bandmate Paul McCartney while mentioning Sgt Pepper, “Yesterday”, and the Paul is dead rumours. It’s hard to notice the music when for 50 years most have only focused on the lyrics.

Produced along with Phil Spector and Yoko Ono, it’s not all savage critiques and offers some beautiful moments. “Oh My Love” co-written with Ono, is a lovely piano lead track that offers a clean sound with no strings added as Lennon sings, “oh my love, for the first time in my life/my eyes are wide open”. “How” sees Lennon question which direction to go before the sunny pop of “Oh Yoko!” ends the album on a bright note.

The two most well known songs arrive on the first half of the album. “Jealous Guy” started as a track originally written during The Beatles album before being left off then repurposed with new lyrics. The chorus of “I didn’t mean to hurt you/I’m sorry that I made you cry” is still devastating and the apologies likely don’t make up for the regret.  Just one track in, the title track is the album’s highlight.  One of the most well known songs throughout the world, “Imagine” mixes spirituality without religion, no country borders, a dash of communism, and a lot of love. The song is one of those that seems to have been around forever and is one of the most powerful in the rock and roll canon.  Both the Imagine song and album are among John Lennon’s greatest achievements.

10/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)

Posted on by Michael

The history of Pink Floyd is a vast one that regularly gets repackaged and reissued along with astronomical prices. Considering their legacy, their mostly Syd Barrett written debut from 1967, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is an interesting starting point. Known for their deeply psychedelic shows at the UFO club in London, Pink Floyd were a main attraction on the exploding UK music scene.

The first four tracks on the debut are astonishing. The spacey, experimental “Astronomy Domine” starts with what sounds like distorted astronaut reports with computer blips that add a tension. The song is earthbound with it’s guitar riffing and steady drumming of Nick Mason. “Lucifer Sam” has 60s spy noir thriller feel with lyrics about Barrett’s Siamese cat. Mostly sung by keyboardist Richard Wright, “Matilda Mother” has a more hazy, cloudy feel to it that is repeated on “Flaming”.

The album is broken up by the nearly 10 minute instrumental track, “Intersteller Overdrive”.  Credited to the band, the unsettling track adds a swirling effect that switches the sound from side to side. The last four tracks are Barrett written 60s pop songs including “Chapter 24” that sounds similar to The Beatles’ experimental tracks – a childlike playfulness mixed with Chinese philosophy.  One of Barrett’s most popular songs closes out the set with “Bike”.  The stomping track with carnival organ speaks of Barrett trying to impress a girl that fits into his world. The track would later be chosen to close out the band’s best of album, Echoes.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is quite the ride for those whose Pink Floyd knowledge is mostly confined to the Roger Waters dominated Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. It’s a whole other world of mostly Syd Barrett’s making, that is technicolour and full of (unsettling) wonder.  Sadly this would be the only full album that Barrett would make with the group before the dark side effects of psychedelic drugs took over. He would soon be replaced by the sympathetic David Gilmour.  Piper is widely regarded as a psych rock masterpiece and one certainly worth a deeper dive beyond the band’s mid-late 70s output.

9/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Yard Act – The Overload (2022)

Posted on by Michael

The four member band from Leeds saw their debut zip to #2 in the UK charts when released in January. Their groove based political rants take in the spirit of the No Wave Movement of early NY as well as the pop of Art Brut and politics of Sleaford Mods. The title track comments on the state of the youth before giving out some free band advice. The chorus uses punk rock harmonies that make it pop.  The peppy, “Witness (Can I Get A?)” flies by at just 82 seconds but manages to declare, “I’m suing your God for the ice on my step/stepped outside, nearly broke my neck”

A number of songs take a laid back, bass groove and ride it such the “bababa” laden “Land of the Blind”. “Tall Poppies”, the longest track here, is a character study of the handsomest lad in the village who lives and dies there.  “Pour Another” is a joyous tune of drinking while the world burns before ending on “100% Endurance”. The final highlight that sees the band questioning life, saying that “it’s all pointless” before asking for “some of that good stuff, that human spirit”. On The Overload, Yard Act are able to mix their politics with humour and on the final three tracks, a wealth of human emotion.

8/10