Morrissey - Viva Hate

 

I was a big fan of The Smiths, having six albums and quite a few singles so it was a sad day when they split up. Still, Morrissey had gone solo and "Suadehead", his first single, had been pretty good and a top 5 hit, and the the follow-up "Every Day Is Like Sunday" was even better, although it wasn't quite as successful but still reached the top 10.

At that point I purchased the album, but my memory is that although there were some good songs on "Viva Hate", it wasn't nearly as good as any of The Smiths albums I had. Despite that, it was a number 1 album in the UK.

I remember that "Bengali in Platforms" drew a lot of flak, with the line "life is hard enough when you belong here" being pounced on by the anti-racist brigade, but I thought it was more of a song about an outsider trying to fit in, which was something Morrissey could associate with. I thought it was one of the best tracks on the album, and was actually quite sympathetic and tender.

Looking at the track listing now, the only songs I recognised were the two singles, plus "Bengali In Platforms" and the seven minute plus magnum opus "Late Night, Maudlin Street".

Side One opens with  "Alsatian Cousin" which has a screeching guitar intro and also throughout most of the song. It sends a clear message that this isn't the joyous, uplifting guitar playing of Johnny Marr even if the lyrics could have been written for "Hatful Of Hollow". A bit of melody breaks out from the lyrics, but it's mostly noise.

"Little Man, What Now ?" then comes as a bit of a surprise with heavy, almost military drumming and the sad nostalgia of a forgotten TV star. "Friday nights 1969, ATV, you murdered every line. Too old to be a child star, to young to take leads, four seasons passed and they axed you". "Oh but I remembered you". It's less than two minutes long, but is really very good, and I was surprised I had forgotten it !

"Every Day Is Like Sunday" is a glorious tune, with a nice bass and breezy synth strings. In some ways this song has parallels with a lot The Smiths' material with a some miserable lyrics, in this case about a decaying seaside town, combined with some beautiful music. "This is the coastal town they forget to close down. Armageddon, come Armageddon, come Armageddon, come".

"Bengali In Platforms" is another of the stronger tunes, with a gentle acoustic guitar and a great riff under the "life is hard enough when you belong here" chorus. Musically it reminded me a little of "Well I Wonder" from "Meat Is Murder"

"Angel, Angel Down We Go Together" has some dramatic strings and has a vibe comparable to "Eleanor Rigby" or "Matthew and Son".

"Late Night, Maudlin Street" closes side One and features agreeable drumming/bongos, acoustic guitar and piano and becomes more hypnotic the longer it goes on. The ending is a bit disappointing though as the track just fades out when it deserves a big finish.

The big hit "Suedehead" opens side Two, with the bass and drum rhythm being the closest to take in the Smiths although the guitar is very different.

"Break Up The Family" is slow but has a pleasant refrain. "I'm so glad to grow older, to move away from those awful times. I'm in love for the first time, and I don't feel bad".

"The Ordinary Boys" has a slow piano intro, but is a bit of a dirge and easily the least interesting song on the album. It is hard to believe the cult mid-2000's band "The Ordinary Boys" took their name from this ordinary song !

"I Don't Mind If You Forget Me" has a buzzing guitar, then heavy drums before launching into a 1960s boppy tune. It's another good song I had completely forgotten..........

"Dial-A-Cliche" has pleasant, serene electric guitar playing over acoustic guitar, but personally, the "Dial-A-cliche" lines are a bit grating.

"Margaret On The Guillotine" is a dream about Margaret Thatcher being executed. The music is suitably dreamy despite the subject matter,  with gently strummed electric guitar to begin and plucked Spanish guitar for the outro. I can't say I sympathise with the lines "when will you die ?" and "make the dream real" but if I ignore the lyrics the music is melancholic.

Overall, "Viva Hate" sounded quite a lot better that I remembered it to be, and there were only two tracks that wouldn't want to listen to again.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Alsatian Cousin
2. Little Man, What Now ?
3. Every Day Is Like Sunday
4. Bengali In Platforms
5. Angel, Angel Down We Go Together
6. Late Night, Maudlin Street

Side Two :

1. Suedehead
2. Break Up The Family
3. The Ordinary Boys
4. I Don't Mind If You Forget Me
5. Dial-A-Cliche
6. Margaret On The Guillotine

Released 1988
UK Chart Position : 1

Singles :

Suadehead ( No 5 - 1988 )
Every Day is Like Sunday ( No 9 - 1988 )

 

Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers 'Live'

Following the chart success of the singles "Roadrunner" and "Egyptian Reggae" and the "Rock n' Roll With The Modern Lovers" album making the top 50 of the album charts and getting some critical acclaim, Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers toured the UK in 1977, and their record label decided to quickly cash in on their new found fame by releasing an album from their gig at the Hammersmith Odeon. I bought the LP not too long after its release and purchased an ex-jukebox copy of the single "Morning Of Our Lives" after it had left the charts.

I remember "Modern Lovers Live" getting panned by the New Musical Express, which was a little surprising given the positive review they gave to "Rock n' Roll With The Modern Lovers" but it merely emphasized that different critics like different music.

The general critique was along the lines of it might all have made perfect sense on a Saturday evening at the Hammersmith Odeon but made little sense in the comfort of your living room on a Sunday morning, and a comparison was made with William Blake's "Songs of Innocent and Experience".

On this live album Richman continued to give his playground vision of life, thinking he is an airplane, then a dinosaur, talks to insects, sings to his little Kookenhaken and goes on endlessly about the Ice Cream Man. The NME critic was clearly fed up by all of this, but I thought that they were quite nice tunes, as long as you didn't think too deeply about the lyrics.The album also includes several minutes of Richman's repartee with the audience, which again is mildly amusing the first time you hear it but you don't particularly want to listen to it time and time again.

"Modern Lovers Live" included three tracks from "Rock n' Roll With The Modern Lovers", two of the instrumentals, "Egyptian Reggae" ( where the guitar now sounded more akin to that from a spaghetti western ) and "South American Folk Song", plus an 8 minute version of "Ice Cream Man" with plenty of "one more times" leading to increasingly frantic repeats of the chorus, lapped up by the crowd. Just when you think they have finished, they start again..........

Other children's songs were the toe-tappers "I'm A Little Airplane" with a frenzied 1950s guitar solo and " I can fly late at night, it's OK I got my little red light", and the twee "I'm A Little Dinosaur" where everyone is happy when the Dinosaur returns after going away.

"Hey There Little Insect" & "My Little Kookenhaken" are either sweet, or an overdose of saccharine, depending on your disposition to Jonathan Richman.

The final two songs are more mainstream, with "New England" retreading some of the ground of "Roadrunner" in praise of the North-East region of the USA which includes Massachussets. With a chorus of "Dum-de-dum-de-dum-dum-da-dum-day, Oh-oh, New England" its quite catchy, but not to be confused with the Bill Bragg/Kirsty MacColl song !

Side two closes with "The Morning Of Our Lives" which lyrically is a song trying to cheer up someone who is feeling down, along the lines of "You've Got A Friend". It has a strong melody and is the outstanding track on the album.

Although the playing and production is much better than "Rock n' Roll With The Modern Lovers", it isn't nearly as much fun, despite trying really hard to be.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. I'm A Little Airplane
2. Hey There Little Insect
3. Egyptian Reggae
4. Ice Cream Man

Side Two :

1. I'm A Little Dinosaur
2. My Little Kookenhaken
3. South American Folk Song
4. New England
5. The Morning Of Our Lives

Released 1977
UK Chart Position :-

Singles :

The Morning of Our Lives ( No 29 - 19787 )
New England ( - 1977 )

 

Jonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers - Rock n' Roll With The Modern Lovers

 

Jonathan Richman had a surprise hit in the UK early in 1977, jumping on the Punk Rock bandwagon with a re-release of  Roadrunner ( Once ), backed with Roundrunner ( Twice ). The paean to Massachussetts Route 128 was was immediately heralded as a classic, and the B-side was a psychedelic version, with the organ playing of Jerry Harrison, later of Talking Heads, very much to the fore, and it sounded like The Velvet Underground. I subsequently purchased the single from a store that sold ex-Jukebox records cheap, and both sides are simply called Roadrunner, so it isn't obvious which side is which !

The quirky instrumental "Egyptian Reggae" was the follow-up single, and reached number 5 in the UK charts, aided by a famously cheesy dance routine performed by Legs And Co on Top of the Pops, with a fez wearing dancing pantomime camel, snake charming and Cleopatra outfits. It's brilliant and on YouTube !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv_I-6dJ9p8&list=RDBv_I-6dJ9p8&start_radio=1

The release of this album later in 1977 was a bolt from the blue, being totally different to Roadrunner, and NME described it as Rock n' Roll for the under  Fives. 

What you see on the cover is what you get.,with an upright bass and a bargain basement drum kit. You could say Richman invented Unplugged ten years before MTV. The production left a lot to be desired, but the record was apparently recorded in one take and with one microphone, and perhaps in a toilet as one critic suggested. Another said they sound like a garage band, and it sounds like it was recorded in a garage. The phrase lo-fi could retrospectively be applied to Rock n' Roll With The Modern Lovers.

Instead there were naive children's songs, folk instrumentals from different parts of the world, gospel, ska and one humourous classic in the mode of "Roadrunner". Musically, it was a throw back to the 1950s with doo-wop rock n'roll.

Charming and stupidly fun, with ramshackle playing as the Modern Lovers followed Richman's erratic directions for the backing vocals, for which they were gratefully thanked. I thought it was terrific, but not everyone got it, and you did feel a little bit for Richman's sanity. Despite a couple of songs being duds, the rest more than made up for them though.

Side One begins with "Sweeping Wind ( Kwa Ti Feng )", an achingly tender Chinese instrumental folk song, with a sweet acoustic guitar lead over a strummed guitar, a gong and coconuts for horse hoofs sounds

The tone changes with "Ice Cream Man" which Richman introduces with "Hi there everybody, we're the Modern Lovers, and we're gonna sing about the ice cream man for you" and Richman then sings about the joys of hearing the bells of the Ice Cream van. "Ice cream man upon my street. I heard your truck today, it was a-neat, a-neat, a-neat. Ice cream man upon my block, your chimes, your chimes, they reel and rock" The song ends with Richman requesting "one more time" and the verse is played again.

"Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns" rocks with vigour as Richman delights that the Leprechauns have come back to rock and roll, although it begs the question as to why they stopped in the first place ! There is a fabulous jive sax solo in the middle "A-dadda-dum-da-da-da-da-da-la-da. Hum-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-la.Hum-da-da-da-da-da-la. They've come back to rock 'n' roll"

The pace slows with "Summer Morning" with a spoken introduction over gentle guitar for nearly a minute and a half, and a mention of bees buzzing is followed by the guitar making a buzzing sound. Eventually it breaks into a tender song.

"Afternoon" has a Chinese style guitar intro before leading into flamenco beat. Richman's best add-lib here is "walk them home".

"Fly Into The Mystery" closes side One and is introduced by Richman as "a slow dance, ladies' choice". "It's 8 o'clock in Boston, and some boyfriend has just lost his girlfriend. Funny now, she was just here a minute ago. She must have gone away."

Side Two begins with the instrumental "South American Folk Songs" which can best be described as Richman flamenco before the doo-wop/rockabilly returns with "Roller Coaster By The Sea". When you need cheering up simply take a roller coaster. "Hey roller coaster by the sea, thank you for helping me. And roller coaster by the water, made me feel more as I oughtta"

The Chuck Berry style "Dodge Veg-O-Matic" is full of classic wit. "Well, the brakes are made of glass and the tyres made of vinyl. You want to take it back but find all sales are final, yep that's the way" and in typical Richman fashion "let's do another verse !"

"Egyptian Reggae" is a perfect description of how it sounds. There can't be many people unaware of it's bass line, and there are more horses hoofs ( or maybe Camels ! ) and gongs.

The Ska "Coomyah" is a cover of Desmond Dekker song, but "The Wheel On The Bus" is the children's song but with catchy "town now, town now" chorus. Richman also adds "the a monster on the bus says I'm gonna scare you." but at the end of the song happily boasts "we got rid of that monster, ha ha ha !"

The album finishes with the traditional gospel "Angels Watching Over Me" which is sung a cappella and accompanied with just hand-claps and finger clicks. Its fair to say its not Richman's best vocal on the album.

47 years later Rock n' Roll with the Modern Lovers still brings a smile to my face !

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Sweeping Wind ( Kwa Ti Feng )
2. Ice Cream Man
3. Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns
4. Summer Morning
5. Afternoon
6. Fly Into The Mystery

Side Two :

1. South American Folk Songs
2. Roller Coaster By The Sea
3. Dodge Veg-O-Matic
4. Egyptian Reggae
5. Coomyah
6. The Wheels On The Bus
7. Angels Watching Over Me

Released 1977
UK Chart Position : 50

Singles :

Egyptian Reggae ( No 5 - 1977 )

The Mission - Children

 

"Children" was the second album released by The Mission. I bought it because I had liked their first offering but the sticker shows I paid a special price of £2.99 in Our Price Records, which suggests I didn't rush out and buy immediately upon its release.

At the time I thought the album was very similar to God's Own Medicine, both musically and with the lyrical themes, but not quite as good. However, whereas I could remember nearly all of "God's Own Medicine", the track listing for "Children" was all a blank except for the single "Beyond The Pale". Whilst I recognised the other three titles on side one, I couldn't remember too much of how they went, but nothing on side two rang any bells.

The album begins with the nearly 8 minute long "Beyond The Pale". There are children playground sounds for over a minute accompanied by a sad violin, before the guitar gently plays the melody. Its two minutes twenty before the bass and drums join and the tempo increases, it is a contender for the longest ever fade in, and there is a slightly Indian vibe to the guitar riff. "Sell me down the river and out to sea. Cast me adrift and set me to sail. Just one last kiss before raising hell. Beyond the pale". For me it remains the best track on the album.

"Wing And A Prayer" has a typical crooning vocal and a killer chorus. "Well I never, but the devil may care. I'm coming in on a wing and a prayer". I was still humming this a day after listening to it !

The slow and mournful "Heaven On Earth"has an acoustic guitar intro and is sounds like there is some mandolin. There is another big chorus."You give me heaven, and I'll promise you the earth"

Another eight minute song closes side one. The first single from the album "Tower Of Strength" begins with acoustic guitar intro reminiscent to the first refrain in "Close To The Edge" by Yes but the main riff is very similar to Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir". After all, the album was produced by Led Zep bassist John Paul Jones ! Despite being a hit single I barely recognised it. It has some heavy drumming, synths and whilst it plods along, its all a bit dull.

"Kingdom Come" opens side two with a gentle guitar intro, then some synths. It's almost an identi-kit Mission song, with a driving beat, decent riff, strong vocal, a rising chorus and mystical lyrics. It was supposed to be the third single from the album but that plan was discarded. "And we close our eyes, to dream a while. And we close our eyes to dream a while. Dream a while, with bated breath for the Kingdom come".

"Breathe" is a slower ethereal number with a gentle electronic guitar and synths, and is less than 90 seconds long.

"Child's Play" sounds like a possible track from Echo And The Bunnymen's "Porcupine" album. Its OK, but is a bit of a filler. 

The insubstantial instrumental "Shamera Kye"has a Celtic vibe and is only 34 seconds long. It sounds like there is some violin and harmonica in the mix.

"Black Mountain Mist" is a complete change of style, being a Celtic folk song with acoustic guitar, a nice melody,  and female backing vocals. It's short at just under three minutes. I was surprised I couldn't remember it !

"Heat" is standard The Mission fare. It has a decent guitar solo and musically it reminded me a little of "And The Dance Goes On" from "God's Own Medicine", but some of the lyrics are almost what you would write for a Mission parody. "Save for the asking, fortune favours the brave. Let me take strength from the child in your eyes. And between the lines, we dance into the mirror. And a grateful embrace lays in wait for the sun to rise". Its ends with some children reciting the "Fe Fo Fi Fum" nursery rhyme.

The album closes with the dreadful "Hymn ( For America )". It starts pleasantly with 50 seconds of plucked electric guitar before a Led Zeppelin style monster riff comes in, reminiscent of that from "The Immigrant Song". There is again also an Indian vibe with what sounds like a sitar. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of Led Zeppelin's heavy rock so it is my least favourite track on the album, and the tune is instantly forgettable. It also also has some children backing vocals, and the like the intro to Beyond The Pale, the long outro is the sound of children playground noises. I would be quite happy if I never heard this song again !

"Children" is over 50 minutes long so it is fair to say you get your money's worth, although it would probably benefit from some editing, and even the omission of a couple of tracks. 

The best songs were "Beyond The Pale", "Wing And A Prayer"," Kingdom Come" & "Black Mountain Mist". "Hymn ( For America )" is best avoided.

 

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Beyond The Pale
2. Wing And A Prayer
3. Heaven On Earth
4. Tower Of Strength

Side Two :

1. Kingdom Come
2. Breathe
3. Child's Play
4. Shamera Kye
5. Black Mountain Mist
6. Heat
7. Hymn ( For America )

Released 1988
UK Chart Position : 2

Singles :

Tower Of Strength ( No 12 - 1988 )
Beyond The Pale ( No 32 - 1988 )

 

The Mission - God's Own Medicine

 

 

I purchased God's Own Medicine after "Wasteland" had become a hit single. I didn't know much about them, and had no idea that frontman Wayne Hussey had been in both Dead Or Alive and Sisters Of Mercy. The term Gothic Rock seemed to being applied to any group that predominately dressed in black so The Mission fitted that bill.

I really liked God's Own Medicine with its satisfying guitar patterns, the deep crooning vocals, and there were great well structured songs and melodies, although the flowery lyrics of love, death, rituals and religion were sometimes a little bit silly. It was consistently good, and there wasn't a bad track on it.

Looking at the track listing before playing again, I could remember all the songs, except perhaps ironically for "Stay With Me", the first hit from the album.

The album begins with the spoken line "I still believe in God but God no longer believes in me" before launching into the main riff and the great driving bass line of the mid-tempo "Wasteland", which has nothing to do with the TS Eliot poem. It has a searing guitar solo in the middle and a great chorus. The playing throughout is excellent and it is still a brilliant song. "You can touch, but please keep your distance. You're innocent and pure and with no shame. The spirit is willing, and the flesh is craved. You tease and you taunt with the pleasure of pain"

"Bridges Burning" is more frenetic but is spoiled for me by the screams and yelps over guitar for intro and screams at the end. The guitar intro reminds me of "She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult.

The pace drops with "Garden of Delight ( Hereafter )" which features violins and cello. "Take my hand and lead me to the Garden of Delight". Listening now, its the best song on the album

"Stay With Me" is not to be confused the Faces hit from 1970 and I immediately remembered it once it started with what I refer to a downward reverse chord sequence. "One to the floor at dawn with lips tied and drawn. Sleepless nights spent, with angels heaven sent. Stay with me, lay with me, lay down by my side"

"Let Sleeping Does Lie" closes side one and is another slow number, with some synthesizer and a mournful vocal.

The side two opener "Sacrilege" starts with some frantic guitar before launching into the main riff. "Sacrilege, burning on the funeral pyre"

"Dance On Grass" has a slower pace and sounds a bit like The Cure from around that era, especially the drumming, and "And The Dance Goes On" is another strong track.

The third single "Severina" features dramatic operatic female vocals from All About Eve's Julianne Regan. When I first heard the song I thought they were singing "Semolina" !

"Love Me To Death" is a great closing number, with a slow plucked guitar into but the tempo soon picks up. It has a great chorus.

In conclusion, God's Own Medicine remains a very good album, and there still is not a bad track on it.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Wasteland
2. Bridges Burning
3. Garden Of Delight ( Hereafter )
4. Stay With Me
5. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Side Two :

1. Sacrilege
2. Dance On Grass
3. And The Dance Goes On
4. Severina
5. Love Me to Death

Released 1986
UK Chart Position : 14

Singles :

Stay With Me ( No 30 - 1986 )
Wasteland ( No 11 - 1987 )
Severina ( No 25 - 1987 )

 

Mink DeVille - Return To Magenta

 

Mink DeVille had an unexpected Top 20 hit in 1977 with "Spanish Stroll". Riding on the emergence of New Wave it combined elements of soul, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, and a spoken word section in Spanish by bassist Rubén Sigüenza during the break adding a distinct Latin flavor to it. 

The album "Cabretta" received some critical acclaim in the UK music press, but the band then quickly vanished with barely a trace.

"Return to Magenta" was the follow-up album and although I remembered reading a favourable review of it in either Sounds or New Musical Express, it made few waves. I came across it some time later when browsing through the bargain bins, with the sticker showing it had already been reduced to £2.20 and then even further to just £1. With not much to lose I snapped it up, and was very pleased with myself as I thought it was an excellent album with a range of different styles.

I thought the tender ballads generally worked best and they were the tracks I most easily remembered, but there were also R&B, Latin, Motown, jazz and funk influences.

The album opens with "Guardian Angel", a gorgeous ballad with strings, gently strummed electric guitar, lyrical bass and a superb vocal. It is an outstanding song which should be much more widely known, and on its own was worth the £1 paid.  It's subsequently been described as The Righteous Brothers meet Phil Spector !

"Soul Twist" is an uptempo number with 1960s R&B Duane Eddy style guitar and saxophone, although the mood then changes back again with the gentle "A" Train Lady", which has a quasi-duet with guitarist David Forman, Drifters influenced Motown backing vocals and some seductive sax. It's another brilliant track.

It's back to R&B with "Rolene". Written by Moon Martin, who is perhaps more famous for writing Robert Palmer's "Bad Case Of Loving You ( Doctor, Doctor )", it has a Chuck Berry style guitar and 60's piano.

Side one closes with the upbeat fun Latin/Jazz of  "Desperate Days", with more saxophone to the fore.

Side two begins with "Just Your Friends" which has a slow, Latin beat and a long harmonica outro. The Bo Diddley driven "Steady Drivin' Man" follows and is perhaps the best of the R&B numbers here.

"Easy Slider" has a bluesy/funky rhythm, featuring piano and sax but "I Broke That Promise" comes next, another gorgeous soulful ballad, with a great vocal, strings and a Latin speak-over as per "Spanish Stroll"

The album concludes with "Confidence To Kill", a forgettable slab of R&B but thankfully it is short !

In conclusion, "Return To Magenta" easily falls into the "under rated" category, and has three memorable songs in "Guardian Angel", "A Train Lady", and "I Broke That Promise" and several more in the good rating.

 

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Guardian Angel
2. Soul Twist
3. 'A' Train Lady
4. Rolene
5. Desperate Days

Side Two :

1. Just Your Friends
2. Steady Drivin' Man
3. Easy Slider
4. I Broke That Promise
5. Confidence To Kill

Released 1978
UK Chart Position :-

Singles :

Just Your Friends ( - 1978 )
Guardian Angel ( - 1978 )
Soul Twist ( - 1978 )

 

Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining

 

Australian band Midnight Oil made their breakthrough in the UK in 1987 when "Beds Are Burning", a song highlighting injustices against Aboriginal land rights, reached number 6 in the singles charts and the "Diesel and Dust" album reached the top 20. 

Follow-ups were released in 1990, with "Blue Sky Mine" being the lead single from the "Blue Sky Mining" album. I thought "Blue Sky Mine" was a terrific song so I bought the album, paying £7.49 in Our Price Records. 

Midnight Oil were being described in one or two quarters as Australia's U2, with a series of anthem type songs, and the active promotion of good causes. Singer Peter Garrett certainly cut an impression with his bald head and unusual dancing as well as being the spokesperson for the band on its environmental and activist causes. He subsequently had a career in politics, becoming an MP in 2004 then being appointed Minister for The Environment, Heritage and Arts by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2007, and Minister for Education in 2010 by Julia Gillard.

I liked "Blue Sky Mining" at the time, thinking it to be a solid album with a couple of high moments but very few lows, so generally in the 3+ out of 5 category. However, looking at the track listing now, "Blue Sky Mine" was the only song I could properly recall, although I thought I should remember "Forgotten Years", and hopefully many of the others would come flooding back !

"Blue Sky Mine" opens side one and tells the tale of the health issues for workers at the Wittenoom blue asbestos mines in Western Australia. It starts with a despairing harmonica before an urgent rhythm, poignant lyrics and a catchy chorus. A few years ago I saw actress Genevieve Lemon perform the song as a piano and violin ballad at some Australian TV gala on YouTube, and that was brilliant as well.

"The candy store paupers lie to the shareholders, they're crossing their fingers, they pay the truth makers. The balance sheet is breaking up the sky", 

"Who's gonna save me ? Who's gonna save me ? I pray that sense and reason brings us in. Who's gonna save me ? Who's gonna save me ? We've got nothing to fear. In the end the rain comes down, in the end the rain comes down, and washes clean the streets of the Blue Sky town".

"Stars of Warburton" chugs on nicely and has a catchy chorus. The second verse says something about Elvis Presley and there are some chord changes for the middle 8.

"Bedlam Bridge" slows the pace but is another song with a strong middle 8 and chorus. "Up on on Bedlam Bridge someone is waiting, up on Bedlam Bridge I'm shot to heaven"

The toe-tapping "Forgotten Years" is next. It has an urgent beat and an anthemic chorus, and is probably the closest they got to sounding like U2. "The hardest years, the wildest years, the desperate and divided years. We will remember, these should not be forgotten years"

"Mountains of Burma" closes side one, and hearing it now I found it to be slow and boring. At nearly five minutes long it goes on far to long, perhaps it would have had more impact if it ended after around three minutes as the screams and screeching guitar for the outro was virtually unlistenable.

Matters improve as "King Of The Mountain"opens side two. It's a pretty standard energetic rocker with slashing guitars and a sing-along chorus. "Mountain in the shadow of light, rain in the valley below, Mountain in the shadow of light, rain in the valley. "Well, you can say you're Peter, say you're Paul, don't put me up on your bedroom wall. Call me, King of the Mountain.

The intro chord sequences of "River Runs Red" could belong in a Crowded House song but the melody isn't quite as good. At one point I expected it to merge into the chorus of Bedlam bridge........

"Shakers And Movers" has 1960's jangly guitars for the intro before leading into a solid but nothing special song, but I liked the guitar outro.

"One Country" is a slow acoustic folk song that goes on for nearly six minutes. With the accompanying piano and the repetitive acoustic guitar riff it is quite nice, as are the backing vocals

"Antartica" is slow and mesmerising and builds to a strong cresendo, "I'm a snow plough"

Overall, Blue Sky Mining has a few decent songs but only a couple of outstanding tracks, and the uptempo numbers are better ie Blue Sky Mine, Forgotten Years and King Of The Mountain, Generally, side one works better than side two,

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Blue Sky Mine
2. Stars of Warburton
3. Bedlam Bridge
4. Forgotten Years
5. Mountains of Burma

Side Two :

1. King Of The Mountain
2. River Runs Red
3. Shakers And Movers
4. One Country
5. Antartica

Released 1990
UK Chart Position : 28

Singles :

Blue Sky Mine ( No 66 - 1990 )
Forgotten Years ( No 97 - 1985 )
Kings Of The Mountain ( - 1990 )
Bedlam Bridge ( - 1990 )

Madonna - Like A Virgin

 

Madonna's second album "Like A Virgin" was the the one that made her a global international megastar. She had already notched up three hits from her debut album, namely "Holiday", Lucky Star" and "Borderline", but this album included 5 hits singles and the videos for "Like A Virgin" and "Material Girl" helped establish her image. Until then I had sometimes confused Madonna with Cyndi Lauper !

I was late jumping onto the Madonna bandwagon, only purchasing the LP after the fifth single had been released, which was the International re-issue with "Get Into The Groove" added as a bonus track. With five hits that I liked on the album it didn't really matter if the rest was rubbish ! The sticker on the back cover shows I paid £6.29 in W.H Smith, who were probably confused over what side was the front cover.... 

I subsequently bought a copy of "Holiday"when I saw it going cheap in the shop that sold ex-Jukebox records, but I was surprised to see a copy of "Like A Virgin" with a picture cover nestling amongst my singles collection, which implies I must have bought when it was in the charts !

At the time I liked all the tracks on the album apart from the pointless cover of Rose Royce's "Love Don't Live Here Anymore", which I thought was awful and didn't add anything to the original. It thought "Dress You Up" was the best track, closely followed by "Like A Virgin" and "Get Into The Groove".

Looking at the track listing now, I was unable to remember "Angel", despite it being a top 5 hit in the UK, and kept thinking of the Stevie Nicks song of the same name on Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" album. Similarly, "Stay" drew a blank, although I could remember songs by Jackson Browne and Kylie with that title, and even "Stay A While" by Rachel Sweet ! For "Over And Over" I thought of another song from "Tusk", Christine McVie's dreamy ballad.

I was also unable to recall "Pretender" whilst I only knew that "Shoo Bee Doo" was a slow number. I also had it in my head that Madonna had written or co-written most of the hit singles here so it was interesting to be reminded that she only had a hand in "Angel", with the other 4 hits being written for her. In total, Madonna has writing credits on 5 tracks on the album.

The bouncy "Material Girl" opens Side One. I like the funky bass and synth intro, the male backing vocals and the clever lyrics. "'Cause the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mister Right", & "Only boys that save their pennies make my rainy day". However, listening to it now I think it is spoiled by the shrill vocal which borders on the annoying, but it is still a good song.

"Angel" is enjoyable dance-pop song but the silly laugh in intro is a bit irritating.

"Like A Virgin" also features great bass and synth lines although they are remarkably similar to those on the The Four Tops "I Can't Help Myself". There is also some heavy drumming, a toe-tapping mid-tempo beat and a sing-a-long chorus. I love the vocal outro. "I made it through the wilderness, Somehow I made it through, didn't know how lost I was until I found you".

"Over And Over" is enjoyable 1980s hi-energy electronic pop but the side one closer "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" remains at best dull.

Side Two begins with two great numbers. Unlike in "Angel", the spoken intro "I am waiting" on "Get Into The Groove" is quite cute. The song again has more great bass and synths and there is a great groove to get into. "Only when I'm dancing can I feel this free. At night, I lock the doors, where no one else can see. I'm tired of dancing here all by myself. Tonight, I want to dance with someone else".

The joyous and upbeat "Dress You Up" remains my favourite track. Starting with tinny drums, then an electronic pulse before the synths play the melody. It has a  killer guitar solo from Nile Rodgers, who produced the album, and another great vocal outro. "You've got style, that's what all the girls say. Satin sheets and luxuries so fine. All your suits are custom made in London, but I've got something that you'll really like".

The last three tracks don't match the exceptional quality of the two before, but they are decent. Written by just Madonna"Shoo Bee Doo" is a slow five minute ballad with piano to the fore and a soulful saxophone solo in the middle.

"Pretender" is more electro-pop with chiming synths. "He's a pretender, yeah you meet him every day. He's a pretender, like the fish that got away"

The album closes with "Stay", which has a toe-tapping Motown style rhythm. It's another track with some spoken lines in the middle.

In summary, "Like A Virgin" remains a very good album, a high mark that Madonna didn't reach again in terms of overall consistency.

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. Material Girl
2. Angel
3. Like A Virgin
4. Over And Over
5. Love Don't Live Here Anymore

Side Two :

1. Get Into The Groove
2. Dress You Up
3. Shoo-Bee-Doo
4. Pretender
5. Stay

Released 1984
UK Chart Position : 1

Singles :

Like A Virgin ( No 3 - 1984 )
Material Girl ( No 3 - 1985 )
Angel ( No 5 - 1985 )
Into The Groove ( No 1 - 1985 )
Dress You Up ( No 5 - 1985 )

 

 

 

Madness - One Step Beyond

 

I first became aware of Madness after their appearance on Top Of The Pops for their single "The Prince". It's far to say I wasn't sure of what to make of them, and there was much discussion at school the following day as to who were those weirdos ?! We all had no idea who Prince Buster was, and Madness didn't exactly fit into punk or new wave, and the ska explosion was still to happen.....

However, that all changed with the release of the second single, "One Step Beyond", which bought the Nutty Boys into the mainstream, and the rest as they say is history !

It was shortly after this point I purchased their debut album, so was already familiar with "My Girl" and "Night Boat To Cairo" when they became further follow-up singles.

I played the album a lot a the time, and thought it was an evenly split mixture of two distinct different styles, with the ska influenced numbers eg "One Step Beyond", "Night Boat To Cairo", "The Prince", "Madness", "Tarzan's Nuts", "Rocking In A♭" & "Swan Lake", along side old fashioned, almost vaudeville, slabs of everyone suburban life eg "My Girl", "Believe Me", "In The Middle Of The Night", "Bed and Breakfast Man", "Land of Hope And Glory" and "Mummies Boy". 

Lee Thompson's saxophone playing dominated the album, along with Mike Barson's keyboards, despite vocalist Suggs and the shouts and dance moves of Chas Smash getting most of the media attention.

I thought it was a tremendous album, with maybe the only low moment being the throw-away "Chipmunks Are Go". Perhaps more importantly it was music for people who couldn't dance ( like me ! ), but could happily hit the dance floor without any hint of self-consciousness or embarrassment ! Madness songs were certainly very popular at student discos when I was at college.

Looking at the track-listing now I could remember just about all the songs, apart from perhaps being a little bit hazy on "Rocking In A♭", "Tarzan's Nuts" and "Mummies Boy".

The album begins with the classic "One Step Beyond" and the now legendary shouted intro from Smash. "Hey you, don't watch that, watch this.This is the heavy heavy monster sound, the nuttiest sound around.So if you've come in off the street, and you're beginning to feel the heat.Well, listen buster, you better start to move your feet, to the rockiest, rock-steady beat, of madness. One Step Beyond.............!" Apart from that, the track is virtually an instrumental, apart from the occasional shout of "One Step Beyond", and is notable for the its fabulous sax lines. It is impossible to not have to urge to get up and dance to it.

The mood changes with "My Girl", which has more great sax and a funky keyboard solo, but tells the tell of a guy having trouble with his girlfriend because sometimes he likes staying in and watching the TV on his own every now and then :

My girl's mad at me
I didn't wanna see the film tonight
I found it hard to say
She thought I'd had enough of her
Why can't she see
She's lovely to me?
But I like to stay in
And watch TV on my own
Every now and then

"Night Boat To Cairo" could be described as Egyptian Reggae but it is very different to the Jonathan Richman hit, with again the sax to the fore and the lyrics conjuring up images of Agatha Christie's "Death On The Nile", and the supporting video had the band dressed up in pith helmets and Army uniforms from the days of the empire in Egypt.

"Believe Me" is another song with jaunty piano intro and sax, and the lyrics have a man trying to persuade his girlfriend he wasn't unfaithful with a girl named Sue, despite all the rumours she might have heard.

"Land Of Hope And Glory" has a military drum intro, a strong bass line and the vocal from Lee Thompson being a cross between sergeant major and cockney, with the imaginary description of how the various band members might cope with conscription and National Service.

The tribute to Prince Buster, "The Prince" is next with its weird ska rhythms and sax instrumental break.

Side One closes with the instrumental "Tarzan's Nuts" with jungle drums, piano and a ska beat.

Side Two opens with "In The Middle Of The Night" which is perhaps my favourite song on the album. Beginning with some street vendor newspaper cries, it's a happy musical hall song but with dark lyrics. Like Pink Floyd's "Arnold Layne" it is about a clothes line underwear thief. "Isn't that in George on page one, difficult to tell from his photofits".

"Bed And Breakfast Man" is another jaunty musical song "He used to kip on my sofa, they used to call him a loafer".

"Razor Blade Alley" features dinky piano playing and has another vocal from Lee Thompson.

"Swan Lake" is a keyboard driven ska version of Tchaikovsky's classic. I'm not too sure of the point of it, but it is all fairly harmless.

"Rocking In A♭" is probably best described as ska rock n'roll. "Let's have some fun tonight".

"Mummies Boy" is another musical hall style number with jerky piano, and is about a man who lived with his mother for 40 years, and local folks said he must be queer. "In the pub about seven thirty, mother makes sure his face ain't dirty". It has a frantic sax outro.

Next is another Prince Buster cover, the merry ska "Madness" from which the band took their name, before the final track "Chipmunks Are Go", a short a-capella chant led with Chas Smith with the band joining in.

In summary, One Step Beyond remains a great album !

Track Listing :

Side One :

1. One Step Beyond
2. My Girl
3. Night Boat To Cairo
4. Believe Me
5. Land Of Hope And Glory
6. The Prince
7. Tarzan's Nuts

Side Two :

1. In The Middle Of The Night
2. Bed And Breakfast Man
3. Razor Blade Alley
4. Swan Lake
5. Rocking In A♭
6. Mummies Boy
7. Madness
8. Chipmunks Are Go

Released 1979
UK Chart Position : 2

Singles :

The Prince ( No 16 - 1979 )
One Step Beyond ( No 7 - 1979 )
My Girl ( No 3 - 1980 )
Night Boat To Cairo ( No 6 - 1980 )