Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy (Elton John) – Album Review

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The Cover Of "Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy" Was Drawn by Graphic Artist Alan Alrdige

The Cover Of "Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy" Was Drawn by Graphic Artist Alan Aldridge

Notwithstanding all his successes, even by 1975 Elton was a somehow enigmatic figure. Many doubts were to be dispelled when this record was released. It was an autobiography of sorts, chronicling Elton and Bernie’s early stint as paid writers (“Bitter Fingers”) and the eventual forming of a true brotherly bond, culminating in the recording of the “Empty Sky” album.

The music is uniformly good, with Elton backed by his best ensemble ever (the classic band plus Ray Cooper on percussion). His voice was never sharper, and his piano skills shaped the melodic contour of the record with his usual fire.

It is also the one “classic” Elton John album whose lyrics meet with unanimous approval. Bernie did an excellent job here, painting vignettes about ennui (the Queen lookalike “Better Off Dead”, the orchestrated “Wake Me When The Whistle Blows”), the decadence of the rock & roll scene (“Tower Of Babel”) and a moving reflection on intent and dreams named “Curtains”. Continue reading →

The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 – Album Review

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The Traveling Wilburys' First Album

The Traveling Wilburys' First Album

The Wilburys were to release two albums of original compositions during their brief time together. While both are clearly more than a respectable listen, the first one is unanimously hailed as the Traveling Wilburys album.

Topping and tailing the record are the two tunes in which every member sings something at a point or other of the song. These are the Harrison-penned “Handle With Care” and the country-happy “End Of The Line”. The former seems like a combination made in heaven, as Harrison basically sings the lead during the verses, and then Roy Orbison sings a bridge that leads into a sing-along chorus by the rest of the band. Orbison’s contribution (a quavering plea) is a moment which moves me personally, and I bet many of those who listen to the song feel the same way. On the other hand, “End Of The Line” is a very uplifting way to close the record, and its message of optimism is all the more compelling because it feels incredible genuine – even Dylan sings like he truly means it. And those might as well have been his darkest years, keep that in mind.

Speaking of Dylan, he contributes a narrative which resembles “Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts” in terms of content and “Hurricane” in terms of structure. It is named “Tweeter And The Monkey Man”, and some fans go as far as to call it one of his best songs from the period. The song is the penultimate track on the album, and it is the one and only composition that goes over the 5.00 mark. The rest all clock at 3.00 on average. Continue reading →

Month In Review – October 2009

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This month I did manage to review some artists I am very fond of: Emmylou Harris and Billy Joel. Another distinguished addition to the current list was that of the Traveling Wilburys, a band I greatly admire.  Their first disc is being reviewed this week.

Other albums which I am glad I did finally review were XTC’s “Skylarking” and The Clash’s “London Calling”. And I also reviewed two great compilations albums:  America’s and Dr. Hook’s.

Moreover, I was lucky enough to interview Jake Chen from Musefy the week he launched his startup. I likewise interviewed Andy Bull from We Love Festivals – my compliments to him as well.

Continue reading →

The Definitive Pop Collection (America) – Compilation Album

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America: Dan Peek, Gerry Beckley & Dewey Bunnell

America: Dan Peek, Gerry Beckley & Dewey Bunnell

I always had the feeling America would be the kind of band I connect with in no time at all. I was only familiar with the big hits “Sister Golden Hair” and (of course) the one about the nameless equine. When coming across this 2-disc set at a negligible price, there was no thinking twice. And Bunnell, Peek and Beckley did not fail to deliver in any sense.

As a band, America blends a hefty dose of pop and piano ballads with some country stylings (mainly courtesy of Dan Peek, the one member that left the band in the year 1977). I was surprised by how many songs did ring a bell upon listening to them – “Ventura Highway” and “Today Is The Day” were two that had me exclaiming “¡Ah! ¡It’s that song!”. And they were not the only ones. Continue reading →

The Who By Numbers – Album Review

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John Entwistle Drew The Cartoon. Try Connecting The Dots - It Works!

John Entwistle Drew The Cartoon. Try Connecting The Dots - It Works!

In the ’70s, music was characterized by an inner conflict that tore at ideals and hurled them against the blackest confines of the human psyche. As a seeker of truth, Pete Townshend surely would have a lot to say. The Who was always – always – there in times of need. The album The Who were to release after Quadrophenia was to expose Pete’s vulnerabilities like nothing else. It was him who needed someone. And the horrible realization that he was not finding that person or people within his band was what listeners were to come across on “The Who By Numbers”.

The setting in which the album was conceived was as troublesome as the ones in which “Who’s Next” and “Quadrophenia” came to the world. This time, Roger and Pete were playing verbal ping pong on the press, and their views on The Who (as entertainers and as artists) were never painted in such black and white terms before or since.

Pete’s already-manifested impression that the band was caricaturing itself had entrenched by this point. His new set of songs dealt with that in a tortured way. The one jovial tune on offer was to be “Squeeze Box”. It was to become a Top 20 hit, in fact. That was certainly disheartening – something truly akin to another brick in the wall of vacuity.

A sense of futility populates the album: Pete questions the relationships with his fans and friends at every turn, and the facades he always studied were becoming far, far too brittle. Everybody could see through disguises by this point. Continue reading →

Gutterflower (The Goo Goo Dolls) – Album Review

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Gutterflower's Front Cover

Gutterflower's Front Cover

“Gutterflower” was to be the first album the Goo Goo Dolls released after the acclaimed “Dizzy Up The Girl”, the CD that gave us “Iris” and “Slide”. This time around the tone is much starker because John Rzeznik was going through a divorce, and broken sentiments surface at every turn. Leaving aside these songs about disillusionment and loyalty lost, there are two songs that describe the way he felt when moving from Buffalo to LA. They are the single “Big Machine” and “What A Scene”.

The other singles were to include “Here Is Gone”, the closest to the hit formula they had established in the previous record, and “Sympathy”. “Sympathy” is one of the few all-acoustic songs that they were to release as a single, and it is equally enticing on the album as it is when listened to on its own. The song treats disenchantment like the remaining tunes within the album, wondering in which measure the failure of a relationship is down to each person. The conclusion seems to be that both are equally to blame, yet they are incapable of admitting it. Nietzsche used to say that the one who loves the most is the most damaging person since he or she tends to request impossible thing from his/her loved one at every turn. And the majority of songs on offer here (“Think About Me”, “What Do You Want”, “Truth Is A Whisper”) do nothing but bring that to mind time and again.

On the other hand, Robby offers up 4 songs. They mostly reinforce the overall mood of the album (“You Never Know”), yet he also contributes the uplifting “Up, Up, Up” and “Smash”. But on the whole, the album feels like Johnny’s show. Robby songs are also shorter, and it is John the one who closes the album with “Truth Is A Whisper”. Continue reading →

The World Won’t Listen (The Smiths) – Album Review

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The World Won't Listen

The World Won't Listen

This was the second compilation of A-sides, B-sides and rarities the Mancunian outfit released in its career. As you know, the first one was “Hatful Of Hollow“. In this case, the compilation has something of a broader appeal as there is a fair slice of non-album singles featured, and these include the crucial “Panic”, “Ask” and “Shoplifters Of The World Unite”. The single version of “The Boy With The Thorn In His Side” is part of the compilation, too. And there are no radio sessions this time around.

Something that you can find here that was absent from “Hatful Of Hollow” is a handful of instrumental tracks. There are two of them: “Oscillate Wildly” and “Money Changes Everything”. Continue reading →

London Calling (The Clash) – Album Review

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London Calling's Cover Was Shot By Pennie Smith. The Photo Would Eventually Be Voted The Best Rock & Roll Image Ever By Q Magazine.

London Calling's Cover Was Shot By Pennie Smith. The Photo Would Eventually Be Voted The Best Rock & Roll Image Ever By Q Magazine.

A single, seemingly innocuous event might modify the way people approach something forever.That is something nobody could avoid thinking when reviewing “London Calling”, The Clash’s third album. As everybody knows, this album was named the greatest record of the ’80s by Rolling Stone magazine. That is all the more interesting if only because it came out in 1979, not 1980. But that is a different story…

The fact is that there are many people who swear by it owing to that. That couldn’t be avoided, but fans of The Clash are constantly irked by such a situation. It gives their best-loved band popularity alright, but not the kind of popularity that could conduce to a critical analysis of their music and its true merits.

And the music found on London Calling deserves as much of an objective overview as possible. The album (which was a two-record set that retailed at the price of one) marked the moment The Clash started experimenting and letting in more influences into their basic sound.

In actuality, there is only one “punk” song, and that is the title track. It is a masterpiece of sustained tension – the bass is apocalyptic, the guitars emulate a siren near the end, Joe wails his head off… It is one of their better-known songs, and deservedly so. Continue reading →

Completely Hooked (Dr. Hook) – Compilation Album

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"Completely Hooked" Is One Of The Many Dr. Hook Compilations Available

"Completely Hooked" Is One Of The Many Dr. Hook Compilations Available

Originally known as “Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show”, this band had a truly eclectic career. Their output can be divided in three main groups: 1) Comedy numbers, 2) Disco songs and 3) Ballads. All of these genres are impinged with a country sensibility, and this is one of their many compilations. It was released in 1992, and the 20 songs on offer map out these three genres more than adequately, stopping in each one for long enough without ever going too far.

The comedy numbers are mostly penned by Shel Silverstein, and they are absolutely hysterical. Located mainly at the beginning of the disc, they include “The Millionaire”, “Everybody’s Making It Big But Me” and the popular “Cover Of The Rolling Stone”. What many people don’t realize is that in addition to composing these comedy numbers Silverstein did also come up with many of the band’s ballads, such as the excellent “More Like The Movies” and “A Couple More Years”.

The disco songs included on this compilation are “Walk Right In”, “You Make My Pants Wanna Get Up And Dance” and “Sexy Eyes”. They are entertaining and to-the-point, but I would say that both the ballads and the comedy songs are more endurable. Continue reading →