Funny how a melody sounds like a memory

Continuing my trip up Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time...

#419 : Chief - Eric Church (2011)

Eric Church emerged in the mid-2000s as one of country music’s best new singer-songwriters, and his third album rolled all of his gifts into a tight package that was rock-influenced, rough around the edges, and catchy as hell. “Hungover & Hard Up” shows the North Carolina native’s abiding gift for drowning his sorrows in booze and melody, and on the classic “Springsteen,” he invokes Bruce’s music as a way to access the passion of youth. The songwriting is so confident, even the ballads swagger a bit.

I'd never heard of Eric, but my usual assumption that he's a country singer would have stood me in good stead here.  He's a good old boy and no mistake - and there's absolutely no doubt he knows how to write a catchy song.  I actually don't particularly like his voice, but found myself singing along on quite a few songs, particularly "Drink In My Hand", "Jack Daniels" and "Springsteen".  The latter in particular has a surprising amount of depth in the lyrics - all in all, it's a well put together song.

And that's pretty much all I have to say on the matter - Wikipedia gives the impression that he's a thoroughly decent bloke who's managed to stay married for 12 years (whereas some of his contemporaries seem to struggle to stay married for 12 days).  I also imagine that seeing him live would be an amazingly fun time.  "Customers also listened to" a load of people I've never heard of, but I suspect that songs about having a beer or two will feature heavily amongst their catalogues.  Overall, an unexpectedly pleasant diversion which isn't exactly going to convert me but I would be happy to come across it again and I've added "Drink In My Hand" to my general playlist.

#418 : Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits (1985)

Mark Knopfler started writing “Money for Nothing” when he overheard a New York appliance salesman’s anti-rock-star, anti-MTV rant. The song, of course, became a huge MTV hit, and this album shows off Knopfler’s incisive songwriting and lush guitar riffs on hits like “Walk of Life” and “So Far Away,” as well as hidden gems like the Dylanesque blues “The Man’s Too Strong” and “Why Worry,” where Knopfler’s clear, subtle playing flows by like a cool brook over slick pebbles.

Hmmm - tricky one, this one.  Despite it being completely uncool (because we know how much I care about cool) I absolutely love Dire Straits' stuff from before this album - "Sultans Of Swing" is one of my favourite tracks and Alchemy also one of my top albums (and I listen to it frequently).  But, I never really managed to get with this album - I didn't particularly like any of the singles and nothing else on the album really grabbed me.  So it was interesting to revisit it to see whether my opinion has changed - and the answer is...

...well, not really. I mean it's all OK and skilfully played, but I wouldn't swap it for the Dire Straits tracks I love.  I did find I liked the title track more than I remembered - it's got a good brooding intro to it and it slides by well.  However, I really don't like "So Far Away" and have no idea why anyone thought it was a good opening track (and first single).

 "Customers also listened to" Springsteen and Clapton which didn't surprise me and The Clash, which did.  Unsurprisingly, Wikipedia has a comprehensive entry on the album - the section about the critical reception is quite interesting because most of the UK music press hated it upon release.  Maybe that tainted my view at the time - who knows?  Wikipedia also points out that it's sold over 30m copies worldwide - I find the whole thing quite baffling, but I'm sure Dire Straits can live with that. 

#417 : The Shape Of Jazz To Come - Ornette Coleman (1959)

Ornette Coleman’s sound was so out there, one audience at an early gig threw his tenor sax over a cliff. He switched to alto and pioneered free jazz: no chords, no harmony, any player can take the lead. It’s still a jarring sound to encounter for the first time, but Coleman’s freedom was grounded in the cathartic release of the gospel and blues of his native Texas. On his first album for Atlantic Records, his music can be just as lyrical as it is demanding, particularly on the haunting “Lonely Woman.”

Wow - that's certainly a humble title for an album, isn't it?  Knowing next to nothing about jazz, I had no expectations for this.  And I'd say it's the sort of jazz I'd really like to like - lots of skill involved and not too jarring (I wasn't tempted to throw his sax off a cliff - which is lucky because we're really lacking in cliffs here).  But, whilst I didn't hate it, I also didn't dig it, man - it just passed me by pretty much unnoticed.  I'd probably appreciate it more live with a beer or two - back in the days when going out, listening to music and drinking beer were allowed to happen.

"Customers also listened to" a load of names I've heard of, but couldn't tell you anything about.  So I think we'll just have to leave it there - it's not something I feel qualified to form an opinion about.

In an totally unexpected state of affairs, I've given this round to Eric Church - he managed to give me some music I enjoyed, which was more than either of the other two managed.

#422-420 - Another plucky UK underdog taking on the US giants
#416-414 - Not exactly up my street