Another week in and another group of selections spanning the decades of music history. Let’s get straight into it and see what came up this time….

 


Week 19 – 4th July 2016

Queen

A Night At The Opera


A new week, a new month and what a place to start, with one of Queen’s most famous albums. It’s an album that contains several of their finest singles including (arguably) the greatest song ever recorded.

I’ve stated previously on here that I wouldn’t class myself as one of Queen’s biggest fans – and by that I mean I don’t actually own any of their studio albums. I can however fully appreciate just how good Freddie and the lads were at their very best and that’s certainly illustrated here on this, their fourth album.

Released in 1975 it came hot on the heels of its predecessor “Sheer Heart Attack”, which came out a year earlier and one which we talked about way back in Week 11 of these Diaries. It takes its name from the Marx Brothers film of the same name which the band used to enjoy watching in between recording sessions for the album and at a cost of around £40,000 was the most expensive record ever made at the time of its release.

It opens with a song that, during live shows, Freddie would dedicate to “A real motherfucker of a gentleman”, and although there’s no real hint in as to whom Freddie is actually singing about, the song “Death On Two Legs” was widely regarded at the time to be about Queen’s ex-manager Norman Sheffield, who they claimed mistreated the band during his role from 1972-75. He later sued Queen a few years later and settled out of court, thus confirming the rumour that it was indeed aimed at him.

One of the most famous Queen songs on here is the ever-so-catchy “You’re My Best Friend”, and it was the first single released by the band written solely by bass player John Deacon who wrote it for his wife Veronica and it gained the band a Top 10 hit here in the UK. He composed the track on the Wurlitzer Electric Piano that he was learning to play at the time, although Freddie had a complete disdain for the instrument, calling it cheap and tinny, and would refuse to play it live, instead substituting it for a grand piano during their shows. Typical Freddie!

Another one of my favourites on here is the beautiful ballad, “Love Of My Life”, which Freddie wrote about his girlfriend at the time Mary Austin. It’s a song where Freddie’s classical piano influences such as Beethoven and Chopin come to the fore as he plays piano throughout this studio version, with Brian on the harp. It was later adapted by Brian for their live shows and he would play an acoustic version of the song using a 12-string guitar.

It became such a live favourite amongst Queen fans that Freddie would often just sing the first verse and chorus during their shows and then let the crowd take over for the remainder of the song. It’s one of the standout tracks on their “Live At Wembley” album from 1986 – the only Queen album I own- and Freddie’s spoken “I still love you….”, still gets me every time.

There’s only one place to end on this quintessential Queen record and that is with the beautifully overblown, not-too-serious, pseudo-operatic, bombastic monster that is “Bohemian Rhapsody”. If ever one song summed up an entire album, nay, an entire band then it’s this. And no matter how many times you’ve heard it, I guarantee you will find something new on every listen, especially when listened to on headphones. It’s just majestical isn’t it. That’s before we even mention the scene in Wayne’s World!

According to a friend of Freddie’s the song was in its infancy during the late 60’s when he would play the opening part of a song he called “The Cowboy Song” which contained the line “Mama….just killed a man….etc” and it was based on on a Roy Orbison B-Side called “Mama”. 

Brian May said they knew the song simply as “Fred’s Thing”, as it was a personal project of his that he would constantly revisit during the years that followed. It’s a song borne solely out of what he was hearing in his head and whenever he would play the different sections separately he would say things like, “And this is where the opera bit comes in….”.

It took approximately three weeks to record and has around 180 different overdubs on it, making it the most expensive song ever recorded at the time, although the actual amount has never been disclosed.

The meaning behind the lyrics is rumoured to be about a man who kills someone, sells his soul to The Devil but then prays to God for forgiveness. The band have always maintained the lyrics were deeply personal to Freddie although he himself once said, “I think people should just listen to it and make their own minds up about what it means to them. It didn’t come out of thin air. I done my research but it was tongue-in-cheek and it was mock-opera. Why not?” 

It went straight to Number One, became the first song to get to Number One twice, the first song to become Xmas Number One twice and is the third biggest selling UK single of all time, behind “Candle In The Wind ’97” , and “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”.

Why not indeed Fred. 

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Listen To: Bohemian Rhapsody 

Click Here to Listen.

Merle Haggard

Down Every Road

Now this was a challenge. Regular readers of these Diaries will know that Country Music is not very high up on my list of favourite genre’s. Nobody’s fault, I just don’t like it. So I can’t say I was best pleased to see this pop up on Tuesday morning this week, and imagine my horror when I discovered that it was actually a whole box set of recordings containing no less than one hundred songs!  Rules are rules though so I set about my task in the hope of finding something positive to say about it.

As is becoming the norm when looking into these kind of artists, I discovered for myself that Merle Haggard was another fascinating character who lived a rich and varied life. Born in Oildale, California in a 1937, he was forced into working as a bookkeeper to support his family after his father died from a brain haemorrhage when Merle was just 8 years old.

He was given his first guitar at the age of 12 and taught himself to play by listening to Hank Williams records but it wasn’t long before he turned to crime and after a series of minor theft offences his mother sent him off to a juvenile detention centre to try and straighten him out. Merle ran away from home at the age of 14 and ended up in Texas, hitchhiking through the state and riding freight trains.

He returned home a couple of years later and began working a serious of menial jobs but it wasn’t long before he was back in the juvenile centre after an attempted burglary went wrong. After his release he travelled to see one of his heroes Lefty Frizzell in concert and managed to sneak backstage and play a couple of songs for Lefty himself.

He enjoyed the youngster’s playing so much that he refused to go on stage until Merle was allowed to perform before him. The audience lapped it up and it was here that Merle decided that a career in the music industry was for him.

Trouble was never far away though, and he was sent to San Quentin prison in 1958 after he tried to rob a Bakersfield roadhouse. It was here that he got to see a performance from the legendary Johnny Cash that same year and it inspired Merle to join the prison band and finally turn his life around.

He went on to become one of the most successful and most-loved Country artists of all time and this box set is an extensive collection of his career from the years 1962-1994. For anyone wanting to know just what Merle was all about then I would say this is the definitive place to do so. Although for me personally I found it a struggle at times and it took me about 2/3 days to get through it all. It’s an exhaustive collection to say the least, especially for someone who’s not into Country music in the slightest, bar for the odd Johnny Cash number!

Having said all that I can fully appreciate Merle as an artist and there was the odd song or two that I found enjoyable.

After his third wife divorced him in 1983 he spiralled into what he called his ‘male menopause’ period. He started smoking marijuana heavily, spent $2000 on cocaine and partied for five months solid before admitting to himself he was on a path of self-destruction and changed his ways.

He continued recording and touring throughout the 90’s and 00’s despite suffering from lung cancer and various other ailments, eventually succumbing to complications from pneumonia at his home on April 6th of this year. His 79th birthday. RIP Merle.

One hundred songs though…..nah.

Rating: ☆☆

Listen To: White Line Fever

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Animal Collective

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Previous to listening to this album, the only thing I knew about Animal Collective was that their lead singer Panda Bear had a guest appearance on Daft Punk’s 2013 album “Random Access Memories”, sharing vocals with the Robots on the excellent “Doin’ It Right”. I absolutely love that song so was eager to get started on this in the hope it lived up to my expectations.

Formed in Baltimore,  Maryland in 1999, this is actually their eighth album, released ten years later in 2009. It’s also their most commercially successful and is considered by many to be their most accessible. I’d have to agree with that shout as I found it an absolute joy to the ears as soon as first track “In The Flowers” started proceedings.

The second song on here, “My Girl”, I had in fact heard before. I seem to remember a nice remix of it doing the rounds a few years ago so it was a pleasant surprise to hear it in its original format here. The opening bars of it are strikingly similar to the Frankie Knuckles & Jamie Principle classic, “Your Love”, but then it transcends into a dream-like piece of Psychedelic Pop featuring harmonies that the Beach Boys themselves would be proud of.

The rest of the album follows a similar blueprint and as I listened to it I felt as though it’s one of those rare albums that you could listen to both unwind to and  also to get in the mood for a night out. Dancey yet ambient in parts.

The artwork for the album cover is a piece of illusory motion, which is a type of optical illusion and it’s based on the works of Japanese psychologist Akiyoshi Kitaoka. If you stare at it then it looks like it’s moving. Go on, try it now. See what I mean!

I really enjoyed this album and it’s made me want to discover more of their stuff. A new favourite and one I’ll definitely be going back to.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Listen To: My Girls

Click Here To Listen.

Blur

Blur

It seems like an age ago – 18 weeks to be exact – since we listened to Blur’s “Parklife” album way back in the very first week of these diaries so I was delighted to see this favourite of mine pop up here.

Released in 1997 this is the eponymous fifth album from Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave and in all probability I’d think I’d have to say this is my best album from them and the one I listen to most out of all theirs.

After previous album “The Great Escape” failed to live up to expectations and ultimately lost out to Oasis’s “(What’s The Story?)Morning Glory” in the whole Blur v Oasis media circus, it caused some friction in the band which led to Graham Coxon suggest the band head in a new direction musically. 

Influenced by the lo-fi sound of American artists such as Pavement and Sonic Youth, this record seen the band step away from the chirpy, happy-go-lucky sound of previous years. Graham had a lot to do with this move but it also happened to coincide with Damon changing the style of his songwriting to a more personal point of view as opposed to writing about other people and characters like he had on he majority of their earlier albums. 

This is none more prevalent than on album opener “Beetlebum”, which is all about the shared drug experiences Damon and his then girlfriend Justine Frischmann of the band Elastica were going through during this period. The title is a reference to the phrase “Chasing The Beetle” which is another term for “Chasing The Dragon” AKA smoking heroin. 

The most famous song on here is without doubt the wild and wonderful “Song 2”, which has gone on to feature in a shed load of Films, TV Shows and even Computer games down the years. It’s also been adopted by several sports teams all over the globe, most notably by cult German football team St. Pauli of Hamburg who blast the song over their P.A system whenever a goal is scored at their home games. Originally intended as a parody of the Grunge scene, it went in to become the bands biggest hit over in America, with the intro in particular being labelled by some observers as Graham Coxen’s finest moment”.

Speaking of Graham I think I’d have to say he’s responsible for my favourite track on the whole of ‘Blur” and that is excellent “You’re So Great”, which he wrote the lyrics to and also sings lead vocals on. A first for the band. It’s been called the “Most American sounding Blur song”, and even the “Most un-Blur-like of all Blur songs”. Either way I love it. 

Honourable mention must also go to the great singalong that is “On Your Own” which I love and it’s a song that Damon has frequently named “the first ever Gorillaz song”, which is surprising because if anything I would say the equally fantastic “Death Of A Party” would be the one that’s got all the hallmarks of a Gorillaz tune. 

For some reason I’ve always thought the image on the front cover was a blurred image of someone pushing a piano. Don’t ask me why, I just never paid much attention to it I suppose. So I was surprised to learn it’s actually an image of somebody pushing a patient on a hospital bed down a corridor. Apparently it’s meant to signify “chaos yet calmness”. Well I never knew that!

I’m delighted to have rediscovered this for myself once more as I’d forgotten just what a great listen it is. An old favourite. 

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Listen To: You’re So Great 

Click Here To Listen.

The Soft Boys

Underwater Moonlight

Another album from a band I’d never heard of and another album cover that scares the bejesus out of me. How creepy is that! 

Formed in Cambridge in 1976 by Robyn Hitchcock, their sound was one of Post-Punk guitar hooks whilst at the same time including the Psychedelic elements and humour of Robyn’s favourite artists, most notably The Beatles, The Byrds and Syd Barrett. 

After their debut flopped they recruited guitarist Kimberley Rew to join them for the recording of this, their second album which came out in the Summer of 1980.

On first listen I’d have to say this was really easy to get into and some of the songs were stuck in my head all day which is always a good sign. Songs like “I Wanna Destroy You”, “Insanely Jealous Of You” and “Old Pervert” have a raw New Wave feel to them but without taking themselves too seriously. None moreso than on my favourite track, “Queen Of Eyes”, and it’s this element which endeared The Soft Boys to me more than anything. 

Initially unsuccessful on its release it’s since been cited as a hugely influential album by the likes of R.E.M, The Pixies and even The Stone Roses. 

Unfortunately this album signalled the end of the road for The Soft Boys as they went their separate ways later that same year, although they did reform for a short period and toured in 1994.

Robyn Hitchcock still records and tours and has released 15 studio albums to date whilst Kimberley Rew went on to form 80’s Power Pop band Katrina & The Waves and it was he who wrote their biggest hit, “Walking On Sunshine” and also their Eurovision winner “Love Shine A Light”.

Another great little album that I wouldn’t have touched had it not been for these Diaries. Terrible album cover though isn’t it!

Rating : ☆☆☆☆

Listen To: Queen Of Eyes

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The Saints

Eternally Yours

From the Post-Punk of The Soft Boys we head Down Under to Brisbane, Australia to a band who released a Punk single even before the likes of The Sex Pistols and The Clash. 

Inspired by MC5 and The Ramones, these lads were the first band from outside the U.S to release a Punk record. 1976 to be exact, with their debut single “I’m Stranded”. I’ll be honest with you, until they popped up on The Playlist this week I’d never even heard of this lot but I discovered for myself that they’ve been labelled as one of the most influential bands of that whole era, with the likes of Kurt Cobain even naming this very album amongst his Top 20 of all time. 

Released in 1978, this is The Saints second album, and it seen the band expand their sound somewhat with the introduction of a horn section on several songs and I have to say I loved every second of it. 

It opens with the foot stomping, brass – heavy, Soul-inspired “Know Your Product”, which is a cynical dig at mass consumerism and one which guitarist Ed Kuepper called “The distant cousin to ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”. It’s also been described as “One of the greatest Australian singles ever made”, although on its release it caused some confusion amongst fans and critics alike as they were in agreement that horns shouldn’t be heard on a Punk song. What do they know! 

Another great song on here is “Memories Are Made Of This” and on hearing this I was instantly reminded of The Chocolate Watch Band ‘s cover of The Kinks’ classic “I’m Not Like Everybody Else”, which is another favourite of mine. 

From what I’ve said so far on this you would be forgiven for thinking this didn’t sound like a Punk album at all and to a certain extent I suppose that’s true. It’s not like anything else I’ve listened to in that genre but it just works, and from what I read about The Saints this album was kind of a stepping stone as to how they would sound on future releases, ditching the buzzsaw guitars and playing more middle of the road Rock and they sound unrecognisable to what we get to enjoy on this album. 

If you don’t believe me listen to this album and then listen to their 1986 song “Just Like Fire Would”, which is a great song in itself but you wouldn’t dream it was by the same band that produced this corker of an album. Bruce Springsteen also does a great version of that song if you wanna look it up.

Front man Chris Bailey is still touring under the name of The Saints but by the sounds of it he’s a million miles away from what he gave us here. Excellent album. 

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Listen To: Know Your Product

Click Here To Listen.

Jamiroquai

Emergency On Planet Earth

From Punk to Funk! I’ve always enjoyed listened to Jay Kay and his band but I’m more of a Greatest Hits kind of fan as opposed to the more in depth listener of their albums. 

Jamiroquai were formed by Jay Kay after he failed an audition with fellow Acid-Jazz funksters the Brand New Heavies and they take their name from two sources – firstly from the phrase “To Jam”, and also the word “Iroquai”, which is the name of a Native America Indian tribe. This is their 1993 debut album and it’s one I was listening to for the first time. 

Like I said I’ve got a copy of their Greatest Hits so I was already familiar with a couple of tracks on here, with the didgeridoo-inspired “When You Gonna Learn?” getting things under way in fine style.  Like a lot of songs on here its a socially conscious track focusing in particular on environmental issues and hearing it here for the first time in ages I forgot just what a good song it is. 

Also on here is the single “Too Young To Die” which is more of a political song expressing fear of death and war but it’s also got one of the catchiest hooks imaginable if you remember it – “Dooo-doodoo-dooo….” Anyone? Just me then? Fair enough. 

The now iconic “Buffalo Man“ image which appears on the front cover became synonymous with the band and it’s actually taken from a self-portrait sketch Jay Kay drew based on the Greek Fable “Thesus And The Minotaur” which he said he identified with. 

There’s a couple of instrumental numbers on here which I could only describe as self indulgent Jazz-Funk but that aside, at its best, this record is as good as anything Stevie Wonder has released since his golden period of the mid to late seventies. And I don’t say that lightly. It’s even been called by some “The Best UK Soul Album Of The 90’s”, which is also a good shout. Love it.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Listen To: Too Young To Die

Click Here To Listen. 

Otis Redding

The Dock Of The Bay

So from the UK Soul of Jay Kay we head across the Atlantic to the sweet sweet Soul of the late great Mr. Otis Redding and an album which was released in the wake of his tragic death in a plane crash in December 1967, aged just 26. 

Produced and co-written by legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, he was left with the unenviable task of piecing together the various tracks and recordings in order to release the album and in what was originally supposed to be an exciting new phase in the career of Otis, sadly became his epitaph and it became the first posthumous album to reach No.1 on both sides of the Atlantic. 

It opens with quite simply one of the greatest songs ever recorded, the iconic “(Sittin’ On)The Dock Of The Bay”, a track he first wrote the lyrics to whilst on a rented houseboat in Sausalito, California in the Summer of 1967. Always hesitant to include himself in his songs, it was left to Cropper to include the line,“I left my home in Georgia….headed for the Frisco Bay”, which is a nod to Otis having to leave his hometown in order to succeed as a singer in San Francisco some years previous. The most famous whistle in music history which fades out with the songs end was actually improvised by Otis as he forgot the word’s to an outro he had planned to put at the end of the track. Cropper liked the whistle so much he decided to leave it in the finished version. He also added the sound of the seagulls and the waves crashing whilst mixing the album at the request of Otis, who put the finishing touches to the song literally days before his death.

 As a result of this, it’s understandable there’s nothing else quite like it on the rest of the album as he never got the chance to follow it up with anything else, so what we get is a collection of earlier recordings and even some B-Sides that Cropper deemed fit enough to go on the album.

That’s not to say he didn’t do a good job with his selections. Far from it. Although from a personal point of view, I reckon Otis could sing the contents of the Yellow Pages and still make it sound better than most, and that’s certainly the case here. Songs like “I Love You More Than Words Can Say”, “Don’t Mess With Cupid”, and “Tramp” – which he duets with Carla Thomas – make this one of greatest Soul albums I’ve ever listened to and it’s yet another Diary highlight. Perfect.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Listen To: (Sittin’ On)The Dock Of The Bay 

Click Here To Listen.

Björk

Debut

The last album in this week’s entry and it’s from an artist I’ve never really taken the time to listen to down the years so I was a bit in the dark as to what this had in store for me. She’s a strange one is Bjork isn’t she, bless her, but it’s hard not to like her so I was looking forward to hearing this, her 1993 “proper” solo debut release.  

As lead singer of 80’s Icelandic band The Sugarcubes, Bjork was already a respected artist before she decided to go her own way shortly after they opened for U2 on their “Achtung Baby” tour in 1992, and influenced by the UK House Scene, notably in Manchester and London, she teamed up with Massive Attacks producer Nellee Hooper. 

Moving away from the Alternative Rock sound of her previous band, what we get here is a melting pot of genres and sub – genres and I was actually surprised just how much I enjoyed listening to it. Dance, Jazz, Alternative, and everything in a between. It’s all here and it fits together perfectly.

Album opener “Human Behaviour” is one of the more well – known tracks on here and it’s a song that Bjork said she got the idea for as a child. Inspired by the David Attenborough wildlife documentaries she used to watch, its told from the point of view of the animals and it’s all about conflict in the natural world between animals and humans but ultimately the animals win in the end. 

Despite Bjork carrying off various styles so well – the Trip Hop of “Aeroplane”, Jazz flavoured “Like Someone In Love”, Ambient classics “Venus As A Boy” and “Play Dead” – it’s the more upbeat Dance orientated songs on here that make it for me. “There’s More To Life Than This” for instance, was actually recorded live in the toilets of The Milk Bar nightclub in London, whilst “Crying” is also another highlight.  

The standout song for me though is the excellent “Big Time Sensuality” and it’s here where Bjork’s playful vocals really shine through. Despite the title of the song it’s actually all about friendship and the “Fluke Remix” of the track went on to become one of the most popular Dance songs of 1993.

A great tune and a great album. A surprising new favourite. 

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Listen To: Big Time Sensuality 

Click Here To Listen.

That’s it for another week. Thanks for reading. Feel free to click on the links under each piece to listen to every album mentioned. I hope you find something you love. See you next time….