Janis Ian – Between The Lines (1975)

Janis had been a folk/protest singer in the Sixties with some small success.   But her fame came with her Seventh album which saw a complete change of sound and production; Janis became the ultimate confessional bedsit companion.  The album went to number one in America and sold well everywhere.  The songs are all hauntingly beautiful with her soulful voice at times no more then a whisper but rising at the climax of the tunes.  There is something almost magical about this album; it became a favourite with so many people and is still as relevant and modern sounding today as fifty years ago.  Janis managed to encapsulate that sense of sadness and yet each song seems to contain a grain of hope and she seems reconciled to the loss of lovers and time passing. Almost impossible to pick favourites – but we must include ‘At Seventeen’ and ‘Tea And Sympathy’ and ‘In The Winter’ – but even as I write this other selections come to mind.  The album needs to be listened to in it’s entirety, as it is a real concept album in the best sense of the word.  Although the songs are infused with sadness I find them strangely uplifting.

Goodbye Mr. McKenzie – Good Deeds and Dirty Rags (1988)

Well, was it the name of the band (a short novel written in the Nineteeen-Twenties by Jean Rhys) or the brilliant cover on the CD single ‘Good Love Child’?  But I bought the single anyway and was instantly a fan of this Scottish post-punk, who incidentally featured Shirley Manson as one of the singers who later was a founder member of Garbage.  The band had a great rocking sound, not quite like anyone else, and an energy and wit and ofcourse – secret ingredient – great songs.  They never enjoyed great success, but there you go – wrong place and wrong time I suppose.  Anyway this was another excellent debut, which they continued with a handful of great albums before they inevitably broke up.  Best track – The Rattler.

Those in the know will be aware that EmmyLou has been recording since 1969 – and I have a few of those very country albums.  But this record, produced by the great Daniel Lanois was a new departure, a real Americana gem – and it renewed and refreshed her career, bringing her plaintive distinctive phrasing and sumptuous voice to a whole new generation of fans.  There is a softness, a wash of sound, that Daniel achieves which allows her voice to drift over the top in an apparently effortless way; each song leading to the next, so that you really want to play the whole thing again.  The album was lauded by critics and is the best selling record of her career; all done at the age of 48 and after about twenty albums.  Not known as a songwriter she collaborated on the final track ‘Waltz Across Texas Tonight’ she would surprisingly go on to record a handful of self-written songs of great quality.  But on this (not really) debut she covered songs by Neil Young, Steve Earle and Bob Dylan and even Jimi Hendrix – and made each one her own.  Just a side note, she also sung brilliantly on ‘The Legend Of Jesse James’ a superb album written by Paul Kennerley, alongside Johnny Cash and others – one of my all-time favourite albums

Rupert Hine – Pick Up A Bone (1971)

Another lesser-known genius.  I first bought his second album ‘Unfinished Picture’ from a couple of years later, not realising he had made an earlier album.  I have struggled over the years to find this debut album.  Rupert became a brilliant record producer after these two albums, occasionally joining others to form the band Quantum Jump and another collaboration called Spin 1ne 2wo.  He also released a handful of solo albums in the Eighties with incredible lyrics by Jeanette Obdtoj, and then as a fictional band ‘Thinkman’ in the early Nineties.  His albums are always complex and strangely beautiful and often challenging but ultimately very rewarding.  He died in 2020 but I have managed to get all his known recordings and he has a special place in my collection.  This album, his first, is quite folky really.  Best tracks ‘Landscape’, ‘Me You Mine’ and ‘BooBoo’s Faux Pas’.  Not for everyone I must admit, but eclectic and quite brilliant.

Helicopter Girl – How To Steal The World (2000)

Jackie Joyce adopted the name ‘Helicopter Girl’ after being around a couple of unsuccessful bands at age 37.  She has a very unusual voice, almost a whisper with a hint of a rasp at the back of her voice.   This, her first (of four) albums is probably her best; the production of trip-hop and electronica matches her slow vocal delivery brilliantly.  Weird titles and even weirder lyrics mean she is not to everyone’s taste and has (so far) not troubled the chart compilers.  But I like her style, especially on this debut -she really should have been more successful.  Best songs ‘Glove Compartment’, ‘Escape Cloud’ and the wonderfully titled ‘Putin Circle Stockings’ – and yes, he has been around for at least that long. 

Groove Armada – Vertigo (1999)

Another ‘Dance Band’ introduced to me by my daughter Laura.  I missed their first album and this is their second, but on a new label – so maybe it still counts a s a debut.   This was the album which had the big hit single ‘I See You Baby’.  It is an incredible album, their masterpiece really.  Almost every track is brilliant, and it is very varied – with the sublime ‘At The River’ counter-balanced by the full-on ‘Chicago’.  As seems to be the way with Dance Groups; there is a core of musicians (two in this case) and lots of extra vocalists and mixers.  Still the results are pretty amazing really.  This is really more trip-hop than heavy dance and some of the melodies are simply awesome.  I was too old and stuck in my 70’s and before listening mode to really appreciate it at the time, but this stuff is quite hypnotic and addictive when you get into it.

Steve Harley – Hobo With A Grin (1976)

Steve was, of course, Cockney Rebel – who he dropped after a few albums to go solo.   But this was also a change of direction in many ways; gone were some of the histrionics and innovative sounds of his former band.  This was a more conventional album, no longer the glam-rocker, but a softer sounding singer-songwriter.  The songs are still excellent, of course – though not as instant (best is The Waves).  This is one of those albums that takes a bit longer to appreciate.   Steve took a break after one more album for a few years, and returned; sometimes as a solo artist, sometimes using the Cockney Rebel moniker.  A mixed second life really, still a large following form the Seventies.  I saw him back in the Seventies and again a few times in the two thousands – always a brilliant show.  Sadly, he passed away earlier this year – same age as me too. 

Gallagher and Lyle – Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle (1972)

Born out of the reasonably successful band McGuiness Flint, Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle decided to try their luck as a duo; they were the songwriting force behind the band – and had written for Mary Hopkins and others.  This first album was a very gentle ‘folk’ sounding record, produced by Glynn Johns who recorded their next three as well, it is gentle and lyrical and incredibly beautiful.  They have never denied their Scottish roots and until later in their very successful career allowed those Scottish accents to ring clear.  It is doubtful if a record like this could ever get released nowadays – no obvious singles and it’s just too quiet….which is, of course, why I loved them.  1972 was an incredible year, and I was buying albums every week; mostly far heavier than this, but somehow this has survived in my record collection where many of the others have faded from my memory.  Best tracks – opener ‘Mrs Canatelli’,  A Coat For The Spring’ and ‘Desiderata’ – but really every song is great.  A very underrated duo.