The Great Album Diaries (Week 3)

Another week and another entry well received. It’s been really encouraging to read some of the positive comments people have been sending me. It’s especially heartening to hear that they have listened to a certain album on my recommendation or that I’ve mentioned an old favourite of theirs that they had long since forgotten about. I suppose that’s the whole point of this process really isn’t it? Discovering new favourites and re-discovering old ones. So without further ado, here’s how this week panned out….

Week 3 – February 14th 2016

alt-J – An Awesome Wave

A bit of a different start to this week’s proceedings as I spent the first couple of days in London sightseeing with Emma and our 2 kids Caitlin and James. After a hectic day traipsing around the capital it was a nice surprise to have this pop up to help me unwind back at the hotel and it was the perfect way to end the evening after watching Match of the Day and Liverpool’s 6 nil demolition of Aston Villa.
This album won the 2012 Mercury Music Prize so I was really looking forward to hearing it and I wasn’t left disappointed. Coincidentally when the band were touring this album they were supporting Wild Beasts who I mentioned in week one of The Diaries and there’s a similar sound to both bands.
Hailing from Leeds they got their name from the symbol you get (🔼) when you press the “alt” and “J” keys on an Apple Mac. It’s the Delta sign which, in scientific terms means change or difference.
The eye-catching album cover is actually a multi-layered thermal image of the Ganges River Delta in Bangladesh.
alt-J have been labelled as “Folktronica” which is a new one on me but it’s a perfect description of their sound. This is a really good album and beautiful in parts. A solid start to the week.
Rating: ☆☆☆
Listen To: Something Good

Iggy Pop – The Idiot

So good I listened to it twice. This was the soundtrack to my train journey back home to Liverpool whilst Emma and the kids had a nap and I enjoyed it so much I had to give it another listen just to be certain of how good it is.
This is Iggy’s solo debut and it’s so different to anything previous he had done with The Stooges. He described it as “a cross between James Brown and Kraftwerk”, which is a fantastic analogy, and it was also called “a funky robotic hell hole of an album”. Love it.
Released in 1977 it was famously co-written with David Bowie and was widely credited as being the starting point for the great man’s creative period upto and including what became known as his “Berlin Period” which produced his “Low” , “Heroes” and “Lodger” albums which later became known as his “Berlin Trilogy”.
On this effort Iggy takes the credit for writing the lyrics, with Bowie composing the music.
Straight from the opening track “Sister Midnight” this had me hooked and it also contains my favourite Iggy song “Nightclubbing” which he wrote after a night on the town with Bowie, and which also featured on the 1996 film Trainspotting. The drum intro for this tune was sampled by Oasis on the intro to “Force Of Nature”.
Also did you know that the Bowie classic “China Girl” was actually written by Iggy? I certainly didn’t. The original appears here and it blew me away.
I’ve nothing more to say on this except that I can’t believe it’s taken me all these years to listen to it for the first time. In fact, you could say I feel like a right Idiot for leaving it so long. The highlight of The Diaries so far.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Listen To: Sister Midnight

Michael Viners Incredible Bongo Band – Bongo Rock

From the sublime to the ridiculous. This was the first instrumental album I’ve had to listen to since we began and I have to say I enjoyed it immensely.
The Incredible Bongo Band was the brainchild of MGM executive Michael Viner who formed it when he was asked to provide the soundtrack to the 1972 B-Movie “The Beast With Two Heads”. The soundtrack was a success and a year later followed this, the first of two releases from them.
It’s gone down as one of the most sampled records of all time and if you listen carefully you can hear some famous bits and pieces that have been used by the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Massive Attack and Nas to name just a few.
There was no official lineup of band members as such, it was more of an amalgamation of whatever musicians Viner could call upon at any given moment. Jim Gordon of Derek And The Dominoes played on here and there’s even rumours that a certain Ringo Starr makes a cameo appearance on a couple of songs.
The most famous song here is of course “Apache” which is a rework of the 1960’s hit by The Shadows and which itself was covered by The Sugerhill Hill at the height of their powers during the Hip-Hop explosion of the early 80’s.
Listening to this album I was waiting for the novelty to wear off and the enjoyment to subside. It didn’t. It’s the funkiest thing I’ve listened to in a long time. And I listened to James Brown only last week! Great fun.
Rating: ☆☆☆
Listen To: Bongo Rock

Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On

From the funky fun of The Bongo Brothers to the sweet, sweet soul of Marvin Gaye. Here we have another album which is widely regarded as one of the classics and I was looking forward to hearing this for the first time, as his “What’s Going On?” album is a favourite of mine.
Released in 1973, two years after its predecessor, this sees Marvin in a departure from the more socially aware songs that were prevalent on “What’s Going On?” as he shifts into full on Funk-Soul Romantic, just as the title track of this album suggests, although it was very nearly not made at all as Marvin was suffering from a severe case of writers block at the start of the recording process. This was due to a variety of reasons such as moving to L.A. , the pressures of being the highest-earning black artist in the world at that time, and also coming to terms with the physical abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of his deeply religious father, which Marvin started to deal with during this period through a newly found spirituality.
All this transpired to create an album which flows just as smooth and seductive as Marvins voice. An absolute joy to listen to.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Listen To: Come Get To This

Babyshambles – Down In Albion

I forgot how much I really like this album. It must be years since I listened to it in its entirety. It’s the debut album from the band Pete Doherty formed during an enforced hiatus from The Libertines in 2003 after they kicked him out as a result of his heavy drug use.
On the night of his new band’s scheduled first gig, Pete was arrested for breaking into the flat belonging to his Libs band mate Carl Barât. He was charged and later served 2 months in prison as a result. On his release he rejoined The Libertines but in 2004 was again sacked as a result of his drug abuse. Babyshambles were reformed and just a year later this album was released.
Produced by the legendary Mick Jones of The Clash, songs like “Fuck Forever” , “Killamangiro” and the brilliant “32nd of December” still sound as fresh today as they did on release. Raw, spikey guitars and Pete’s unmistakable vocals. He gets a lot of stick over his voice does our Pete but he reminds me of a young Shaun Ryder on the early Mondays albums. Someone else who’s not blessed with the best singing voice but whose style just works perfectly in its own environment. Even Cocaine Katie herself, a certain Kate Moss, whom Pete was knocking about with at the time, guest vocals on the opening track “La Belle et La Bête”.
For me the highlight of this whole album is definitely the acoustic led “Albion”. It was a live Libertines favourite even before it appeared here and is allegedly the first song ever written by Pete, based on a poem he wrote when he was 16. It tells the story of a mythical England (Albion) and it’s various landscapes told via Pete’s delicate delivery and a vocal where his fragility really shines through.
Forget the drugs. Forget the tabloid headlines. Forget the supermodel girlfriend. Just listen to this for what it is – a cracking album. Love it.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Listen To: Albion

Kate Bush – The Kick Inside

The classic “Hounds Of Love” album is a favourite of mine but I can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to any other of Kate Bush’s albums so I suppose the best place to start would be here at her debut.
Kate was famously spotted by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour who recommended her to EMI and he actually co-produced some of the songs on the album, which contain songs some of which Kate wrote when she was just 13 years old.
Released in 1978 when she was 19 it contains the Brontë inspired “Wuthering Heights” which Kate wrote one evening after watching the TV series based on the novel of the same name. It went on to become the first song written by a solo female artist to reach Number One in the UK. Some feat.
Also featured on this is “The Man With The Child In His Eyes” which was also a commercial success, but for me the best song on the album is the final track, “The Kick Inside”, which brings to a close a hauntingly beautiful collection of songs. Another Diary highlight.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Listen To: The Kick Inside

Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden

Previous to listening to Spirit of Eden the only songs I knew from Talk Talk were “It’s My Life” and the brilliant “Life’s What You Make It”. Other than that I was curious to hear what the rest of their stuff sounded like. This album couldn’t be more different from either of those songs but that’s not such a bad thing as it was still a great listen.
Released in 1988 this is the fourth album from the band and it was seen as a departure from the more poppy, chart-friendly sound of their previous efforts. It wasn’t well received on its release and wasn’t a commercial success, but has since gained cult-status and is regarded as highly influential.
Recorded over the course of a year the band would often play in the studio in total darkness, improvising their playing to achieve an ambient, almost jazz-like feel to the album. The unmistakable vocals of Mark Hallis only adding to the mood. This is particularly so in album highlight “Desire” which in parts reminds me of John Martyn’s “Solid Air”, a song (and album) which I absolutely adore. I’m certainly now a fan of this band and look forward to hearing more from them.
Rating:☆☆☆
Listen To: Desire

The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers

What a week this is shaping up to be! I was wondering how long I would have to wait before I was treated to an album by Mick and his mates. And what an album. Some of the finest rock and roll songs ever made, some of the most famous riffs you will ever hear, all here together on one record, made by a band at the absolute height of their powers.
Released in 1971 it was The Stones’ first release of that decade and the first not to feature the late Brian Jones who tragically drowned two years earlier.
The original Andy Warhol-designed album cover featured a working zip on the jeans and a fake belt buckle. The inside artwork also featured the now famous “tongue and lips” logo for the first time, and it was voted “Best Album Cover of All Time” by VH1 in 2003.
There’s nothing more to add really except how can you not love a record that contains “Brown Sugar” , “Wild Horses” , “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” and “Sister Morphine” ?
Go ‘ed Mick.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Listen To: Sister Morphine

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Now I Got Worry

As I was listening to this absolute belter of an album I just assumed that this set of lads must have been mates with MC5 in the 60’s or went to school with Iggy and The Stooges, simply because of the raw, visceral sound that was coming out of my speakers. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this album of pure unadulterated rock and roll was actually released in 1996 and is the fourth album from this American trio.
I was slightly disappointed to learn that they weren’t named after the 1970s snooker player but in fact after their lead singer who goes by the same name. Ah well.
It was apparently recorded over the course of one week in February 1996 and as their band name suggests it really is an explosion of punky, funky, bluesy, rock and roll. It’s possibly about 5 or 6 songs too long to he deemed a truly great album but nevertheless, it’s a riot.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Listen To: Wail

Elvis Costello And The Attractions – Punch The Clock

Excuse the pun, but I’ve never really seen the attraction with Elvis Costello. And I feel slightly guilty saying that cos he seems like a dead sound fella doesn’t he? Also when I was compiling The Playlist I realised he has a helluva lot of albums in it so I need to be prepared for more of him in the future.
Released in 1983 this was his eighth album in just five years which is some going by today’s standards, but unfortunately this left a lot to be desired if I’m quite honest.
The opening track “Let Them All Talk” is a cracker little song, but after that I’m afraid I lost interest about halfway through. Hope his other stuff excites me more. Soz Elv.
Rating: ☆☆
Listen To: Let Them All Talk

Kanye West – Late Registration

Kanye, Kanye, Kanye. Despite my preconceptions about him (biggest divvy on the planet) I was more than willing to give this a try. I was reliably informed that this album is a belter and I would be pleasantly surprised by it. I’m glad to say this was certainly the case. I’m more of an old skool Hip-Hop fan – Eric B & Rakim, Public Enemy, Jurassic 5 – and the image Kanye portrays in the media really grates on me but I can honestly say this is one of the highlights of The Diaries so far.
I listened to this whilst getting ready for a night on the town with the lads and it certainly got me in the mood.
Songs like “Touch The Sky” and “Gold Digger” we all know but it was the song “We Major”, a collaboration with Nas, that really stood out.
He may be a divvy but he’s certainly a talented divvy.
Most enjoyable of the week.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Listen To: We Major

That’s it for another week. Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment below and also click on the Playlist of songs I’ve recommended. Next weeks entry will be posted a day earlier than usual – on Saturday – as I am off to Wembley next Sunday to hopefully see Jurgens Reds clinch the first silverware of the season. Up The Reds!
The Great Album Diaries – Week 3 Playlist