The Travelling Wilburys – Volume 1 (1988)

Well, believe the completely accidental version if you like, but I suspect there was more to this group than meets the initial eye.  Concocted by Jeff Lynne and George Harrison during the recording of the latters’ comeback album ‘Cloud 9’, the vital ingredients were the inclusion of a pretty washed up (at the time) Dylan and one of George’s heroes Roy Orbison, who he had met and toured with in the Sixties; the inclusion of Tom Petty (just off the back of touring with Bob and being produced by Jeff too) completed the best Supergroup in the world.  George had mostly already written ‘Handle Me With Care’ and the band, instantly gelling, contributed to the few fragments each brought to the party and so compiled a superb debut album.  Burying their ego’s and superstar persona was key as they adopted the fictitious name and released the new band’s debut.  Of course it was an open secret and an instant success; how could it not fail.  Then disaster struck as Roy died of a heart attack.  Maybe they should have left it there, but a second album, ‘Volume 3’, came out a couple of years later (after all they probably needed the money – hahaha) to less success – but like all Beatles records it sold pretty well. 

Tin Machine – Tin Machine (1989)

A moment of madness or a touch of genius – take your pick.   David Bowie had already gone through more ch-ch-changes than most other Artists; sometimes losing fans, sometimes gaining new ones.  After the relative disappointment of 80’s albums ‘Tonight’ and ‘Never Let Me Down’ David decided to form a group, where like McCartney he would be just one of the boys, but in reality would always be concentrated and eventually implode around his own personality.  Well, after a fanfare in the press we settled down to this album.  By any other start-up band this would have been quite a good debut – but expectations always exceed reality with Superstars.  Listening again after a few years and you can begin to appreciate both the writing and the performances.  Guitarist Reeves Gabreel was instrumental in the new harder sound, along with brothers Tony and Hunt Sales as the rhythm section, this was a pared back almost garage sound.  The songs were short and the lyrics quite ordinary but, as if by osmosis, quality has a way of seeping through like ink through blotting paper.  I find that now it is indeed a vast improvement on the previous two solo albums.  Best songs; ‘Heaven’s in Here’, ‘Amazing’ and ‘I Can’t Read’.  A second album and a live effort helped squeeze the last drops of patience and money from his fans (though a few still hail this as his golden period) before calling it a day and returning to a more creative but somehow more boring Superstardom.

Tanita Tikaram – Ancient Heart (1988)

There are some artists who slowly grow on you – and others, like Tanita who you love on first hearing.  She was born in Germany but raised in England and despite her Fijian heritage she is really very English and sings with clear diction and a warm breathy voice which I fell in love with at first listen.  I am not sure if I heard her first single ‘Good Tradition’ first or had already bought the album.  She was only 18 when she recorded this album which was produced by Rod Argent and Peter Van Hooke.  All the songs were self-written and are sometimes naïve but somehow worm their way under your skin.  The first 2 singles were hits, especially ‘Twist In My Sobriety’ which has so far notched up over 75 million streams and has been her most successful release.  As sometimes happens with instant success her subsequent albums sold less well, although they are all pretty good, they maybe lack the immediacy of ‘Ancient Heart’.  I was besotted by her and continue to buy her quite rare releases to this day; in fact I have just pre-ordered her newest, which will be released in October.  Her voice still captivates me, it has a depth and warmth missing in so many other girl singers who often sound shrill and shouty – Tanita sings quietly and seems to whisper her way round the words. Best on this debut are ‘Cathedral Song’, ‘World Outside Your Window’ and ‘he Like The Sun’.

Texas – Southside (1989)

I don’t know much about this band, except of course the brilliant Scottish singer Charlene Spiteri.  It is apparently a small three piece formed in 1986; Charlene was a hairdresser at the time.  But although they made albums mostly in the Nineties there sound was timeless, these songs could have been written and recorded anytime from the Seventies onwards; they are a gentle blend of Americana and timeless rock and soul – the production leaves plenty of room for Charlene’s sumptuous vocals.  This album was a big hit upon release but the next two didn’t fare so well.  Their fourth ‘White on Blonde’ had been their most successful along with it’s follow-up ‘Hush’.  They have been pretty inactive this Century – a malaise that seems to have infected many Artists, with longer and longer gaps between albums and tours.  May be the rampant music industry deperate to feed so many hungry music fans of the Sixties and Seventies demanding at least one album a year wasn’t so terrible after all; all this studio time and little pressure may not be so good really.

10cc – 10cc (1973)

The band members had all been trying to breakthrough for a few years under various combinations and were friends working in Strawberry Studios in Stockport.  Eric Stewart had been in ‘The Mindbenders’ and Graham Gouldman had written hits for ‘The Yardbirds’, ‘The Hollies’ and ‘Hermans Hermits’ while Godley and Crème had hits with ‘Neanderthal Man’ under the name ‘Hotlegs’.  Working together on cheap American releases under various names they finally settled on the name 10CC and having written and recorded a pastiche of 50’s doowop ‘Donna’ they approached various record companies.  Eventually the weird and self-promoting Jonathon King took them on and released it as a single on his UK records label.  It was an instant hit and went to number 1.  The album was written by all four members who were all exceptional writers as well as performers and had 3 hit singles on it.  It is varied and quite brilliant too with Beatles influences and is pure early Seventies ‘pop’, although the band would morph into a more Arty style before Godly and Crème split in 1976 to form their own highly successful duo.  Gouldman and Stewart continued the band through the Century and Gouldman still tours the band as the only founding member.  Best songs on this debut are ‘Rubber Bullets’, ‘Headline Hustler’ and my favourite ‘The Dean and I’. 

James Taylor – Sweet Baby James (1970)

This was James second album, his first released by Apple in 1968 is quite difficult to get on CD except in a Japanese release which is pretty expensive.  But he fell into a bad drug habit after leaving London for New York and was in a pretty bad state before being rescued by his father who drove him back to his North Carolina home for recuperation.  He then had an motorbike accident breaking both hands and feet.  It seems almost a miracle that he ever got back to playing and singing and releasing this splendid album on new record label Warner Brothers.  One result of his Apple days was meeting Peter Asher, girlfriend of Paul’s then girlfriend Jane – he became James’ manager and record producer and life-long friend.  This album was a huge success reaching number 3 in America and he was one of those artists promoted by Noel Edmunds on his Sunday afternoon show.  James has a laid-back style and mostly soft, soothing vocals which belie his skillfull songwriting and guitar playing.  This album is simply sublime from opener ‘Sweet Baby James’ to closer ‘Suite for 20g’ (which refers to the pay he would receive from Warners on the album release as he cobbled together the last song) he doesn’t put a foot wrong.  Favourites are ‘Steamroller’, ‘Blossom’ and of course ‘Fire and Rain’.  The rest is, as they say, History.

Tangerine Dream – Phaedra (1974)

The group has had many personnel changes but founder member Edgar Froese had been a constant until his death in 2015; the group continues.   Formed in 1967 they were largely unknown outside their native Germany until signing with Virgin; this was their breakthrough record.  Influenced by Terry Riley ‘A Rainbow in C’ and possibly Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells Tangerien Dream were leaders and innovators in what became known as Electronic Music and was mostly entirely instrumental. They have released over 100 albums (rivalling even Frank Zappa) many are film soundtracks, the most famous maybe being ‘Sorcerer’ and ‘Force Majeure’.  But Phaedra and it’s follow up ‘Rubycon’ remain their most successful.  I saw them, or rather I saw banks of electronic cabinets and a couple of heads appearing occasionally from the stacked keyboards, once at North London Polytechnic.  The sound was amazing, complex and slowly weaving in and out strange slow melodies.  Hard to pick out even phrases and the music drifts by while your mind wanders onto other things.  Still, a remarkable record, and quite hard to conceive that this sort of thing would even get a release today, or be successful. 

Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings And Food ( 1978)

Actually their second album, but my first of theirs, this is a very different sounding record.  Pretty rocking but combining a feeling of punk and rebellion, but also and especially in the vocals a sense both of paranoia and ordinariness.  It is Social Comment too and reflects a dissatisfaction with the boring lives of most Americans.  The band had met at Art college and became the pioneers of ‘New Wave’ music in the late Seventies and Eighties, combining all earlier forms of ‘pop’ music into a new and remarkably melodic form; catchy tunes and most important quite meaningful lyrics.  Vocalist Davis Byrne had a deadpan expression but just as important were Chis Frantz on drums and Tina Weymouth on bass and guitarist Jerry Harrisson.  The band were always innovative and looking for new sounds.  This album was their first to be produced by Brian Eno and he was an instigator and collaborator as much as a producer.   This was their breakthrough album and my favourite of theirs; it has a wholeness and fifty years later it still sounds fresh.  Best songs are ‘The Girls Want To Be With The Girls’, ‘Take Me To The River’ and @The Big Country’.

The Sutherland Brothers – The Sutherland Brothers Band (1972)

Born in Scotland the brothers Iain and Gavin, both incredibly talented singers and writers and musicians, were in a couple of local bands before securing a record contract with Island records, who at the time were in the forefront of discovering many great Artists.  I am not sure if I bought this album before or after their Masterpiece ‘Lifeboat’ released later that same year.  I saw them in ’73 with their new backing band Quiver and have been a solid fan ever since.  Mixing rock with folk they wrote all their own material and released 5 albums as The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver and one final album in 1979 on their own.  I don’t know why they stopped recording but like many artists maybe they found the treadmill of writing, recording and touring just too much after 8 years.  They have both released a handful of very acoustic solo albums since they split up, and Iain died aged  71 in 2019.  Best tracks on this lovely debit are ‘Medium Wave., ‘Where In The World’ and ‘The Pie’ – but during their whole recorded career they never released a poor song.