A thousand races into space
Continuing my trip up Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time...
#467 : BLACKSummers'night - Maxwell (2009)
Maxwell was a successful Nineties neo-soul crooner who went on an eight-year hiatus between 2001’s Now and this 2009 release. BLACKSummers’night betrays no anxiety about the time off; in fact, it ranks among the great comeback records. Maxwell sang about post-breakup desperation as he navigated plush, complicated grooves with jazz players like Keyon Harrold and Derrick Hodge giving his arrangements extra zip. The album’s ecstatic triumph is “Pretty Wings,” a keening, chiming lullaby.
I was vaguely aware of Maxwell from some of his stuff in the Nineties, but I wasn't aware that he'd gone away, let alone come back. Wherever he was, I was expecting this album to be some kind of generic croonfest that would wash over me and leave no lasting impression. But, whilst it's true that there is indeed a fair amount of crooning on there, I found I very much enjoyed this album despite it being really not my sort of thing at all - I think at least part of the reason for this is that there was more variety and changes of pace than I was expecting. No tracks particularly stood out as highlights (if anything, I enjoyed the "ecstatic triumph" of "Pretty Wings" less than some of the others) but I went back for a second listen, which isn't something I've done too often so far. My one major complaint is that "Phoenix Rise" is an instrumental - it feels like it's building up to a cracking vocal and then just ends.
Like a few albums that I've been reluctant to describe as bad due to my lack of familiarity with the genre in question, I'm not entirely sure I can claim this is good (let alone great). "Customers also listened to" a lot of people who look to make music in a very similar vein so I could do my research, but it feels unlikely that's going to happen - I can however definitely say that I would never have listened to this album normally and I enjoyed it. Weird title though! (but a cool album cover)
#466 - It's The Beach Boys Today! - The Beach Boys (1965)
“I only tried surfing once, and the board almost hit me in the head,” Brian Wilson told Rolling Stone in 1999. But Wilson turned his fantasies into a California dream world of fast cars and cool waves — a world that might even have room for a scared misfit like him. Yet even in this early phase, Wilson was writing yearningly complex tunes — “She Knows Me Too Well” feels like Greek tragedy translated into doo-wop harmonies and surf guitars.
The Beach Boys hold a special place in my heart - and not, as some might suspect, because I remember their heyday from when I were a lad. However, in one of his many cars in the 70s, my Dad had a 8 track player (complete with obligatory huge cardboard box to hold the cartridges, taking up half the boot space) and one of the albums he had was (I think) The Best Of The Beach Boys. And there were some proper tunes on there! However, (whisper it softly) I'm not all that impressed with Pet Sounds (which I suspect we'll be seeing a bit later on) so I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this. Would the content be as good as the splendidly punctuated name or the superbly cheesy cover photo?
Well, generally I'd say "No". You obviously know what you're going to get and it totally fits the mould, but doesn't really scale too many heights, with the exception of "Do You Wanna Dance?" and (particularly) "Help Me Rhonda" which is a track I absolutely love. There are some very odd bits on the album as well - "Bull Session With Big Daddy" is just a recording of an extremely Sixties California conversation and "In The Back Of My Mind" which features some very odd "harmonies". Allegedly, this album helped The Beach Boys transform their reputation from a singles group to that of an album group (so maybe it's to blame for Pet Sounds?) but personally I struggle to see it.
I don't really have a lot more to say about the album, apart from the fact that it has a huge Wikipedia entry with each song getting its own write-up - Manu Chao must be jealous. "Customers also listened to" Brian Wilson and Jan & Dean - so no surprises there! Overall, there's unfortunately very little here to transport me back to the halcyon 8-track days - hopefully we'll have better luck next time (because we totally know there's going to be a next time). To celebrate those days, let's include some lyrics from "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)".
Will I look for the same things in a woman that I dig in a girl?
Will I settle down fast or will I first wanna travel the world?
<..>
Will my kids be proud or think their old man is really a square?
When they're out having fun yeah, will I still wanna have my share?
I wonder if that's what I was thinking back then?
#465 : The Best Of The Classic Years - King Sunny Ade (2003)
Some of the sweetest, stickiest jams ever recorded, cherry-picked from the Nigerian juju master’s work from 1967 to 1974, years before he got marketed as “the next Bob Marley.” King Sunny’s slow-roll guitar stretches out toward the horizon, rippling over verdant grooves to create a spellbinding vibe even (or especially) when a song saunters on for 18 minutes. Talking Heads and Phish are just two of the bands who’ve proudly cited the sound of Adé’s music as a guiding influence.
I knew exactly what I was expecting from this - and my mood was not improved by the description above saying "when a song saunters on for 18 minutes". I know I have overly generalised previously when I say I don't get along with African music, but I'm quite happy to be more specific and say I really don't get along with King Sunny Ade's music.
And "unfortunately", Amazon Music didn't have this album - only the second time this has happened (and the first time was a 4 album boxset which I was never going to listen to anyway). I did have a bit of a dig around and found a couple of the tracks, but I don't think it's fair for me to comment on this album unless I got to hear it in all its glory. Oh go on then - I hated it. I might like it more if I saw it played live, but I'm really not convinced so I think we'll just leave it there - sorry, Sunny!
Maxwell was most definitely the winner this time around - a very pleasant surprise.
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