You know the night's magic seems to whisper and hush

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

#121 : This Years Model - Elvis Costello (1978) 

His second album and first with his crack backing band, the Attractions, This Year’s Model is the most “punk” of Elvis Costello’s records — not in any I-hate-the-cops sense but in his emotionally explosive writing (“No Action,” “Lipstick Vogue,” “Pump It Up”) and the Attractions’ vicious gallop (particularly the psycho-circus organ playing of Steve Nieve). Many of the songs rattle with sexual paranoia, but the broadside against vanilla-pop broadcasting, “Radio, Radio” (a U.K. single added to the original U.S. vinyl LP), better reflects the general, righteous indignation of the album: Costello versus the world. And Costello wins.

Elvis is another of those artists that I know and (generally) love the singles, but haven't ventured into the albums - except for last time, when I was "why would I bother with this over his greatest hits?".  So would this album, coming as it does 309 places higher (and 3 months and 12 days later - lordy!) make more of an impression?  Was it worth the wait?  Well, no not really.  I mean it's fine, but again I recognise the singles and the rest just washes over me.  Maybe if I gave it a few more listens and learned the lyrics, I'd love it but let's be honest, I'm just going to stick to the greatest hits album, aren't I? (which is a particularly fine example of such things)

Wikipedia has remarkably little to say about the album, except for this story from the photographer for the album cover - "Just as we were about to start shooting, Elvis asked me if I had "Hotel California" by The Eagles, and could I play it? I was puzzled by his choice – until he told me that he loathed the record, but wanted to look really pissed off and angry in the shots!".  His cuddly uncle routine these days makes you forget he was a somewhat spiky individual back in the day - his entry tells us that he was banned from Saturday Night Live for 12 YEARS for playing "Radio Radio" - which they'd specifically told him not to.  There was also "the Ray Charles incident", which wasn't possibly the wisest career move in the US but I also suspect if everyone had the worst thing they'd ever said whilst drunk printed in the papers, then there wouldn't be a lot of people with careers left.

"Customers also listened to" Nick Lowe, Pretenders, Squeeze - 70s fans really don't venture far from what they like!  I think it's a fine example of "that sort of thing" but personally would struggle to make much of an argument for its inclusion on this list.

#120 : Moondance - Van Morrison (1970) 

“That was the type of band I dig,” Van Morrison said of the Moondance sessions. “Two horns and a rhythm section — they’re the type of bands that I like best.” Morrison took that soul-band lineup and blended it with jazz, blues, poetry, and vivid memories of his Irish childhood, until songs such as “And It Stoned Me” and “Caravan” felt like lucid dreams. In the title hit, Morrison turns the words over and over in his mouth, not scatting so much as searching for the sound of magic. “Into the Mystic” serves as an apt summary: To listen to the album is to get your passport stamped for Morrison’s world of ecstatic visions.

Goodness gracious me, Rolling Stone really do write a load of old rubbish sometimes, don't they?  I really like this album (although I can't say I'd listened to it in years) but if I'd come to it fresh reading the description above, I'm not sure I'd have been in the mood for it.  Part of the problem is that it's not an easy album to describe, but if they'd stuck with "Morrison took that soul-band lineup and blended it with jazz, blues, poetry" that would have been just fine.  If you only know "Brown Eyed-Girl" then it's more relaxed than that - it's nicely mellow and melodic throughout and well worth a listen.

Wikipedia has a lot of text on the album which I've read through a few times, but somehow there doesn't seem to be a lot of worthwhile content in there. To be honest, I think I was probably somewhat distracted by the fact that his wife at the time was called Janet Planet - although, of course, Google had to ruin it all by telling me her actual surname was Rigsbee.  The only other fact I took away from the album is that Whitney Houston's mum sings on a couple of the songs.  At the time, it was generally viewed as waaaay better than his previous album (the now critically re-evaluated Astral Weeks) but didn't sell masses immediately, but has sold steadily ever since and has passed over 3 million copies sold in the US.  

The man's Wikipedia entry is massive - he's recorded 52 albums over the years covering an "interesting" range of genres.  He lived in Bath when I was at uni there and was seen a few times on park benches in, shall we say, a "relaxed" state - and I prefer to think of him that way rather than his recent pronouncements on social distancing.  As the NI Health Minister put it "We expected better of him".  "Customers also listened to" Dylan, Young and The Band and I'd take this over most of their output any day - I like it a lot.

#119 : Stand! - Sly And The Family Stone (1969) 

Stand! is party politics at its most inclusive and exciting — Sly Stone at the top of his funk-rock-soul game. A DJ and producer in San Francisco during the Dawn of Hippie, Stone rides the bonfire momentum of the civil rights movement in motivational-soul sermons such as “Stand!” and “You Can Make It If You Try” without denying the intrinsic divisions that threatened civil war (“Don’t Call Me Nigger, Whitey”). There was also the uplifting pure-pop beauty of “Everyday People” as well as the R&B ecstasy of “I Want to Take You Higher” and the swirling black psychedelia of “Sex Machine.” It makes Stand! a greatest-hits album in all but name.

Our second visit with Sly and his family, but last time was a greatest hits, so I was looking forward to be allowed to properly rate them.  And overall, it's not too bad and a lot better than I was expecting - quite hard to describe (maybe soul-funk-rock?), it sounds quite ahead of its time.  "Everyday People" is a fine song and I won't hear a word against it - although I would say it's not entirely representative of the whole album and at 2:21 could have been longer (and how often do I say that?).  "Sex Machine" is quite impressive, but boy does it go on - all 13:45 of it!  "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" is unsurprisingly somewhat challenging but I get the impression that's pretty much the point to it.  I don't feel like I've really done the album justice here - sorry.  I tried, at least :-)

Wikipedia seems like it has the same problem as me - there's not a lot on the album's entry other than noting its commercial success and also its social and cultural importance.  I quite liked Robert Christgau's comment that "Sex Machine" "wah-wahs on a bit" (believe me, it wah-wahs on a lot) and I also learned that "Everyday People" popularised the phrase "different strokes for different folks" - what you talking about, Willis?  ("Eh?" say the kids - and by "kids" I mean anyone under 45).  The band's Wikipedia entry tells me that the success of this album gained them a slot at Woodstock, where they played one of the best shows of the festival in the early hours of the morning.  And after that, it all went a bit wrong - "Sly Stone carried a violin case filled with illegal drugs wherever he went" might give you some idea why.

"Customers also listened to" Wilson Pickett, Booker T and Aretha - all close, but not quite in the same area.  On our two visits with Sly and his family, I've liked them more than I was expecting - I can't say I'll be rushing back often but it's an interesting historical diversion.

Only 8 years covering these three albums - and if you came to them blind (deaf?) and had to put them in time order I think it would be a tricky ask.  I liked all of them in places, but the one I liked in more of the places was Moondance - and I'd go as far to say I liked it in most places.  So this round goes to Van The Man!

#124-122 - noise, more noise and a lot more noise
#118-116 - Were you missing Kanye?