U2 – Boy (1980) An Irish band formed in ’76 by Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton started as a quite edgy post-punk band but went on to incredible World-wide fame and are regarded as one of the most influential of Groups of the late 20th Century. Their sound was always dominated by The Edge’s ringing and rhythmic guitar and Bono’s passionate vocals but they incorporated the blues, heavy rock, disco and even jazz into what was usually a recognisable U2 sound. They would go on, especially after their great Live Aid set to become one of the biggest bands of the last Century. Best on this debut are ‘I Will Follow’, ‘The Electric Company’ and ‘Shadows and Tall Trees’
I don’t know much about this Scottish group formed in the mid-nineties, except that the lead singer is Fran Healey. They seem to have come out of nowhere and similarly disappeared – but that belies a truth; they had been knocking around for almost a decade with a couple of name and personnel changes before the huge success of this, their second album actually, arrived. Their next was almost as huge and subsequent albums have sold well – though none as huge as this one. I stopped following the charts in the early 90’s and reading magazine such as Uncut, and Mojo a good decade ago, so only occasionally to do I get a whiff of ‘Popular’ music. Like millions I bought this record with it’s huge single ‘Why Does It Always Rain On Me’ – which has become a staple of MOR radio. I bought the follow-up too – but then for some reason stopped; maybe my attention span was too short, or other more obscue artists took over; I do have a tendency to move on when Artists achieve commercial success. Best on this are ‘Wriring To Reach You’, ‘Driftwood’ and ‘As You Are’. Relistening reminds me how very good they actually were.
The Turtles – Present The Battle of The Bands
(1968)
A secret pleasure of mine has always been the perfect ‘pop song’ and few have been able to match the brilliance of this band who were far bigger in America than here; in fact in ’68 they outsold The Beatles over there. They ran into legal problems in 1970 and were forbidden to release music under their own or the band’s name. Lead singers Mark Kaylan and Howard Volman became Flo and Eddie and joined Zappa’s Mothers for a couple of years before releasing a handful of great albums as the duo. This album by the group, not their first – but hey, is I think their best. It is a pastiche of talent contests and the band play all the songs in different styles and by different groups. Not really a concept album but a great idea. As well as the big hit ‘Elenore’ my favourites are ‘Food’, ‘You Showed Me’ and ‘Oh, Daddy’. Playing this record always makes me happy – which is always worth doing.
Not their first album – but the first one I bought, after seeing them perform it live, plus a few other songs back in 1972 itself. I had heard of them but never really was that intrigued to buy them – too many other brilliant albums to buy I suppose. But I went to see them, at Hammersmith Odeon I think, and loved them. The impish figure of Ian Anderson standing on one leg playing his flute and the occasional descent into pretty hard rock interspersed with almost medieval semi-classical and lyrical tunes. A great contrast and all really the creation of Anderson. I went and bought the album the next day and discovered that it was actually a complete newspaper purporting to celebrate the epic poem by twelve year old Gerald Bostock. There were bizarre stories and even sports reports – a complete ‘Monty Pythonesque’ skit. It made no sense and was never intended to; I think it was Anderson’s response to the in-vogue ‘concept album’ – as both album and cover had no concept. The music itself, and it is largely instrumental is complex and brilliant. But you either loved it or dismissed it as prog-rock excess. It has remained a personal favourite of mine. I have bought quite a few Tull albums, but none quite compare to ‘Brick’.
KT (Katie) is a Scottish singer songwriter very much in the traditional mode; she would have been just as at home in the 70s or 80s as in this Century – which is probably why I like her. No flashy production, no dance grooves, no bursts of rapping or guest singers – just plain but good quality playing and songwriting – not a bad voice either. I bought her first three albums starting with this classic. Apparently a last minute cancellation led to a surprise debut of the song ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’ on Later with Jools Holland – which was an almost instant success and came just as this album was being released. The album went to number three in the UK and has sold well ever since -the most popular of her records. Never seeming to seek fame, and quite outspokenly critical of the state of modern music she has solidly ploughed her furrow. Best on this are opener ‘Other Side Of The World’, ‘Universe and I’ and ‘Suddenly I See’ – great songs.
I didn’t even have a record player when this was released, I listened to the radio and caught glimpses of my musical heroes on TOTP or Ready Steady Go. This band were all in local Birmingham groups, most famous was singer and guitarist Steve Winwood who had been in ‘The Spencer Davis Group’ who had already had a few hits. Formed in April ’67 the band recorded this debut in the Autumn and released it just before Christmas of the same year. Things moved fast back then, recording was quick and most bands released at least one album a year. Incredibly the album didn’t contain their three big hit singles released over that Summer of Love – ‘Paper Sun’, ‘Hole In My Shoe. And ‘Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush’. This was quite common in those days, as it was considered to be a rip-off to make fans buy the same song twice. But the album was simply brilliant anyway, best songs were ‘No Name, No Face, No Number’, ‘Coloured Rain; and ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy’. This band along with the Beatles were really the English psychedelic phenomenon of that famous Summer. The band had a string of albums, best of which was ‘Welcome To The Canteen’ until Steve finally left in 1974, though he had tried leaving before in ’69 when he formed ‘Blind Faith’. The band folded but had a brief reunion. For those of us who lived through that summer this band were fantastic. My fondest memory was dancing with Jane Sarginson to Mulberry Bush at a youth club dance which ended in a kiss and a sexy walk home. Ah memories…
The Who were always a volatile mix; originally the band was Daltreys but Pete became the main songwriter and driving force during the late 70s. Strangely Pete was quite happy, or so it seemed to let Roger sing his songs, he obviously had that powerful voice and didn’t write songs himself. Going through a rough patch in 1970 and 71 Pete was drifting into alcohol and drugs and was struggling with his next concept album ‘Lifehouse’, which has never really been achieved. He had sought spiritual contentment in the teachings of an Indian mystic Meher Baba. Many of the songs Pete had conceived for ‘Lifehouse’ were completed by the band and released as the brilliant ‘Who Came First’. But Pete decided to release some demos and a handful of other tracks on his first solo release, cleverly titled ‘Who Came First’ and featuring a photo of Pete suspended over a layer of eggs, and dedicated to his guru. And what an album it was, very different, much gentler and actually Pete has a good voice himself. Opener ‘Pure and Easy’ is a demo which became a huge number performed by the band; here it is a much folkier song – but still awesome. There is a cover of ‘There’s A Heartache Following Me’, a country classic popularised by Jim Reeves – because Pete says it was Baba’s favourite song. But strangely it sits comfortably here. My personal favourites are ‘Content’, ‘Evolution’ and the prayer ‘Parvardigar’. A strange and haunting record which mystified the Who fans but I loved it; I have bought a few Townshend albums over the years, they are all excellent.
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.
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.
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’.
