scaryblog

  So, we've made it though 2021 - was it a classic year at the top of the charts? Overall, I'd say "No" - pretty average at best.  The overriding take-away for me was the number of albums which came straight in at #1 and then (mostly) disappeared from view in a couple of weeks.  All in all, there were 42 albums that "debuted atop the charts" (as Wikipedia loves to put it for no obvious reason) - the days of such things being rare are long gone and it appears to be the norm these days.  I'm guessing it's a combination of loyal fanbases (often buying physical albums, which count for more) and "new release" playlists.  Of the weeks that weren't a new entry at the top, the vast majority were either Adele or Olivia - nice to see the ladies doing well. Looking at the top albums on the year-end chart Adele, Ed , Abba and Olivia are the obvious winners from this year (#1-4 respectively) - surprisingly, Olivia's offering was far and away ...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 01/01/21 :  Christmas - Michael Bublé Ah - a bit of Bublé!  I won't hear a word against the man or the album - yes, it's cheese but it's cheese of the highest quality.  If you don't know the album, then you ruddy well should (do people still say ruddy?) - but it's not one to play in March, I'd suggest. We're at #1 this week - the fourth week it's spent there, but the first since almost exactly nine years ago (when it was first released).  It generally gets a run of 8-10 weeks in the chart every year - you can probably guess which months this happens in.  I'm guessing Xmas week isn't the most popular time to release an album with no new entries in the top ten and only two in the top 100 with Playboi Carti at #17 and Lil Durk at #26 (and I don't feel the need to listen to either of them).  17 re-entries in the top 100 though as everyone takes the opportunity to listen to greatest hits alb...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 08/01/21 :  Evermore - Taylor Swift Taylor who?  Never heard of her.  Oh - that Taylor!  This is the fifth of her albums I've had the pleasure of listening to and was one of two that she unexpectedly dropped in 2020 and I quite liked Folklore when I met it, so I have reasonable hopes for this one. And well, it's perfectly fine but nothing more than that on first listen.  It's a collection of "nice" songs that I have no objection to, but can't really remember a thing about them - I think I liked one of them more than the others, but I couldn't tell you which one it was.  Which ain't all that useful now, is it? For a change, we're not at #1 with a new entry - we're still at #1 though!  This is her second time at the top - she dipped down to #2 over Xmas and the New Year and has managed 66 weeks on the charts in total so far.  There were no new entries in the top ten this week - amazingly, t...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 15/01/21 :  Greenfields: The Gibb Brothers Songbook (Vol 1) - Barry Gibb I'm aware of who Barry is, so I was assuming this was him recording some Bee Gee songs - can't say I was expecting too much from it... ...and well, there's a bit more to it than that, I can tell you.  He's recorded Bee Gee songs with country artists giving them a decidedly countryish/soft rock spin.  It's an interesting exercise which generally works surprisingly well although obviously it works better in some places than in others.  I can't say it's exactly my sort of thing but I did like "Too Much Heaven" with Alison Krauss and "To Love Somebody" with Jay Buchanan.  I can't say I'm a huge fan of Barry's voice, but it's not at all bad for a 75 year old.  I'll also say that the album made me want to listen to the original versions as well, so I guess it works doubly well for everyone. We...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 22/01/21 :  SUCKAPUNCH - You Me At Six I seem to recall You Me At Six are a bit like Bring Me The Horizon, but either a bit more or a bit less rocky.   But I couldn't be sure enough to tell you which... ...ah, yes - less rocky, but still pretty rocky.  In theory, this is more the sort of thing I like and I did find myself toe-tapping along at times.  But after a few songs, I did find it all blending together and, whilst I still liked it, I couldn't say I'd recognise any of it ever again.  Except for "Beautiful Way" with its amusingly child-unfriendly singalong chorus, which I liked a lot. We're at #1 in the chart this week with one of those amusing albums that spends one week at the top and then completely disappears from view.  Other new entries in the top ten are Sleaford Mods (#4 - glad I didn't have to suffer that one), Why Don't We (#5 - never heard of them) and Shame (#8 - I think I've ...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 29/01/21 :  POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR - Bring Me The Horizon I'm aware of BMTH and somewhat surprised they never popped up on my run through #AOTD.  They're not really my cup of tea - I don't mind the music but the "singing" tend to annoy me (yeah, yeah - OK grandad.  Go back to your gramophone). Either way, there's not really anything on here to convince me otherwise - although I did enjoy spotting the sample from Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares (which is an album I'll write up about some day, because it really was most peculiar purchase by a teenage me - but one I still love).  The BMTH album is fine when he's not shouty-growling at me (and I'd go as far as saying I liked "Obey"), but there's little danger of me revisiting it, I'm afraid.  I appreciated the tight 32 minute runtime though and "One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards ...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 05/02/21 :  Not Your Muse - Celeste I'm aware of Celeste and like her voice, but feel most of the tracks I've heard her on just seem to involve somewhat pointless warbling so I've struggled to engage.  So I'm pretty much expecting the same... ...but actually I quite liked it.  There's still a reasonable amount of pointless warbling on there but she does pick it up and run with it on some tracks.  She's certainly got a lovely voice, but nearly everyone does in this area - I can't help but feel her lovely hair helps her stand out from the crowd (but I'm not sure that comes across whilst listening to the album though).  If you like Arlo Parks, Corinne Bailey Rae and that kind of thing (which I do when I'm in the mood) then check this out - you're probably going to like it.  All you metalheads out there can probably give this one a swerve though... We're straight in at #1 this week - she ma...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 12/02/21 :  The Highlights - The Weeknd A greatest hits package - I'm expecting to recognise the big hits and find the rest of it bearable, but probably not interesting enough that I'll feel the need for 18 tracks over 76 minutes. And yeah, that's pretty much where we are although I was surprised at how quickly I grew bored of the whole thing.  The album is very front loaded with his recognisable (by me, at least) hits - after that it all gets very samey (and ruder!).  If you like The Weeknd, then I'm sure you'll like this but I don't think it feels very likely to create too many new fans. We're at #2 in the charts this week and the boy has been in the charts ever since - 58 weeks so far.  Which I suspect even Mr Weeknd would struggle to claim is particularly justified - I think there's some jiggery-pokery around "best of" albums and streaming playlists which means this happens, so I susp...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 19/02/21 :  TYRON - Slowthai A couple of years back, everyone went mad for Slowthai.  Everyone except for me, that is, because I was somewhat baffled by his popularity - I found it all just a bit of a shouty sonic mess.  So imagine my joy at finding this next in line - I was so happy that I chose to listen to Marillion first instead.  However, there's no avoiding my duty, so here we go... Yeah - my opinion has not changed.  I just don't understand the appeal, I'm afraid - whereas Ghetts seems to have something to say and thinks about how he wants to say it, Slowthai just sounds like he's doing some shouting about nothing over some random noises.  Some of the noises are slightly interesting, but as a total package it's just not for me.  No sir-ree!  I do like the album cover though. Straight in at #1, he managed four weeks on the chart before disappearing.  Other new entries in the top ...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 26/02/21 :  Conflict Of Interest - Ghetts I can't say I'm familiar with Ghetts' work, but I was intrigued to listen to this because it was one of the few albums that appeared on a lot of "best of 2021" lists without making it on to The Guardian list, so I haven't been made to listen to it yet (and yes, I could have just listened to the damn thing - but I think we know it doesn't work that way, don't we?). And yeah, it's an impressive piece of work - it reminds me of Dave or J Hus, but a bit more stripped back.  I suspect I only understood 10% of what I heard - if I'd paid attention I feel I might have upped that to at least 20%, but it's not really speaking to me about my lifestyle (and let's face it that would not make for an entertaining album).  But it flows along nicely with some impressive vocal work - very fast at times, but still expressive and it all sounds great over head...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 05/03/21 :  For Those That Wish To Exist - Architects I've visited Architects on my travels before and I remember initially thinking I liked them but then being somewhat taken aback by the (and I quote) "bloody awful racket" that greeted me.  So you can imagine what my thoughts on approaching this were... ...but - hold on a goddam minute.  This has all the ingredients of another b-a-r including the shouty-growly singing style, but I quite liked it.  What's happening to me?!?  I suspect they've just toned down the stuff I really object to - it's just some decent expansive rawk.  Yes, it takes itself far more seriously than is strictly necessary but there's a lot more variety across the album than I was expecting - all in all, it was a very pleasant surprise.  I particularly like "Animals" with its amusingly singalong but very child-unfriendly chorus.  And I like the album cover as well. Once...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 12/03/21 :  When You See Yourself - Kings Of Leon I don't hate KoL, but don't like your man's singing style which, since it's a major component of their music, is a BIT of a barrier to my enjoyment.  So I'm expecting some perfectly reasonable tracks featuring some jangly gee-tars which I can't ultimately get with. And we're not a million miles away, but his voice is slightly less annoying on some of the songs than usual.  If you like KoL, then I can't see any reason you're not going to like this but if you're not aware of them, there are better places to start - I don't really feel the need to say anything more than that. As usual, we're at #1 with a new entry this week - they hung around for six weeks before entirely disappearing from view.  The only other new entry this week is Gabrielle at #4 with a real blast from the past - I didn't know she was still at it.  Since there wa...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 19/03/21 :  Evering Road - Tom Grennan I think of Tom being somewhere between Rag'n'Bone Man and Lewis Capaldi, without quite possessing the talent or the ability to pique my interest of either.  So I'm expecting something which is well presented but pretty inoffensive. And, to be fair, I think there's a bit more of interest there than I was expecting - but not a lot.  It's fine if you like that sort of gravelly-warbly thing - I didn't mind it, but there weren't really any highlights to draw me back in (and I'm expecting Lewis Capaldi to do this all a lot better when I get to him sometime in the next year or so).  And what's going on the album cover - why would anyone wear a vest/jacket combination in a partially off-the-shoulder way?  Yes, I'm asking the important questions that need asking here... We're at #1 with a new entry again this week - he managed nine weeks before dropping out...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 26/03/21 :  Justice - Justin Bieber He's been hanging around there or thereabouts so I was wondering if I'd be subjected to this - but I saw he hadn't made it to #1 so was thinking I might escape.  But, here we are!  I would say I'm considering less sniffy about the guy than I would have been 5 years ago, but I wasn't sure I needed a whole album's worth. And no, I really didn't.  None of the tracks are horrible, but it's all a bit woo-hoo bland and blurs together over the course of a whole album.  There also sounds to be an awful of tuning/modulation going on with his voice - maybe it's just for effect, but it's somewhat overdone.  And the addition of rappy bits and preachy bits (I'm not sure MLK ever imagined he would end up here!) to make it relevant are just a bit dull really.  I do realise it's not aimed at me though - I'm sure it hits the spot for its intended audience (alt...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 02/04/21 :  Collections From The Whiteout - Ben Howard I think I'm vaguely aware of Ben Howard and don't think I'm overly impressed with him - but I could be mistaken, so I'm trying to keep an open mind... ...and I don't think it was Ben Howard I was thinking of when I wasn't impressed - but nonetheless I can't say I'm overly convinced by it.  It's singer-songwriter-folk by someone who's been listening to Radiohead or the like and so wants to play around with stuff - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  If I listened to it a few more times, I might get into it, but I'm not 100% sure I would.  I really didn't need 62 minutes of it though - it really started to drag towards the middle.. We're at #1 with a new entry again - he managed an impressive run of one week!  Straight in at #1 and then gone - a small but loyal fanbase or a large fanbase who didn't like it, I gu...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 09/04/21 :  Dancing With The Devil...The Art Of Starting Over - Demi Lovato Snappy title!  I am aware of Demi, but not sure exactly what they do these days - "grown up" pop, I'm guessing.  I'm expecting some nice enough singing on some nice enough songs, but not really to engage with it. And yeah, it's all fine and they've got a nice voice - they're working through some issues on this album (and the lass has some issues to work through).  I liked "Melon Cake" although I was slightly concerned as to what melon cake might be - fortunately even urbandictionary.com is unable to work out any rude connotations (and they ALWAYS manage to make things rude).  The term refers to when their management team used to give them watermelon instead of cake on their birthday to keep them thin - so it's not surprising they have some issues to work out, is it?  Their version of "Mad World" is als...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 16/04/21 :  Fearless (Taylor's Version) - Taylor Swift Wow - which version am I supposed to listen to?  Amazon has eight different versions of this - of which five are varieties of Taylor's version.  Too confusing!  I picked one that was definitely Taylor's version and had 26 tracks lasting 100 minutes, so I guess I must have got most of her vision, surely?  I was expecting it to be fine, but not the work of genius that everyone else seems to think her stuff is. And yeah, it all harmless enough, but I don't really understand the fuss.  I liked "Love Story" and didn't absolute hate any of the others but they all kinda blended into "tra la la - my/your boyfriend's great/not so great" to me.  And the length of it - jeez.  I appreciate that "Taylor's version" has to offer something different but 40 minutes would have been far preferable - amusingly the other four versions on A...

Continuing my trip back in time through the album charts 30/04/21 :  Surrounded By Time - Tom Jones I'm not entirely sure what I think of Tom Jones - I find him quite annoying, but I do appreciate that he has an amazing voice (for any age, let alone for someone at the tender age of 81), he has a musical interest and curiosity that has to be admired and he never makes any effort to hide his accent.  So I wasn't sure what I was going to make of this. And, having listened to it, I'm still not entirely sure.  It's an album of cover versions but you certainly couldn't accuse him of picking the obvious options - I only knew a couple of them (and I'm not sure I'd have recognised "This Is The Sea" if I hadn't been paying attention).  There's not really an over-riding theme to the songs - you get the impression that he's just recorded stuff he fancies.  Which would make it easy to describe it as a vanity project, but there's remarkably littl...