Sunshine Hit Me - THE BEES

 

There are times when someone decides that an album deserves plaudits, laurel wreaths and all round backslapping because it's an auspicious debut recorded without the help of some guy with a ponytail in a big office. Well, far be it for me to pooh-pooh such laudatory behaviour but surely history tells us that you can count your chickens far too early? Whither Roni Size these days? The real joy to be found in a hand-tooled album like this is imagining what its siblings could turn out to be like if its creators are just left to get on with it.

And what a funky little curio this album is? Blessed with a running time polite enough to not overstay its welcome, it cuts a meandering swathe through a whole plethora of styles. The overall vibe is one of laid back summer ambience sprinkled with surreal lyrics that hint at a some definite herbal assistance.

 

Punchbag

 

 

This Town

 

 

Sunshine

 

 

Sweet Like A Champion

 

 

 

Straight Shooter - BAD COMPANY

Among the members of Bad Company, singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke witnessed the collapse of Free, guitarist Mick Ralphs witnessed the collapse of Mick Ralphs in Mott the Hoople and bassist Boz Burrell participated in King Crimson's stagnation. In the aftermath of their debut LP of the previous year, Bad Company appeared determined not to fall into the traps of any of those groups. While retaining all of the spontaneous combustion of the earlier album — which, like Straight Shooter, was recorded "live" by mobile units — they managed to refine their musical energy, give it sharper direction and came up with fistfuls of apparently innocuous but totally effective hard rock surprises.

Good Lovin' Gone Bad

 

 

Weep No More

 

 

Call On Me

 

 

Feel Like Makin' Love

 

 

Welcome To Mali - AMADOU & MARIAM

It would be all too easy to think of Amadou & Mariam as a kind of Afropop Peters and Lee. But while the ability to dispense feelgood vibrations from within a doubly reinforced stockade of blindness and domestic felicity has been a feature of their ever-widening allure, it is the spindly irresistibility of their music that is the most important thing about them.  Amadou & Mariam glide smoothly through gear changes that would strip the teeth of a less well-tuned musical motor.  They are the figureheads of African music's commercial upsurge, and deservedly so

 

Djama

 

 

Sabali

 

 

Magosa

 

 

Africa

 

 

 

 

Mr. Smith - LL COOL J

Released at a turning point in his career, James Todd Smith (in case you didn't know, LL Cool J stands for "Ladies Love Cool James") had become better known as a sit-com star than as one of the original old skool rappers. His previous album (his fifth) had been a commercial flop, so he and his producers searched for a sound that would retain his street credibility but also make the songs more radio-friendly.  What he stumbled upon was a sound that has been used as a template for all r'n'b and hip-hop acts since. Without this album, our music charts today would sound very different

Doin It

 

 

Hey Lover

 

 

Hollis To Hollywood

 

 

Loungin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day : MAN

Man were never a band to conquer the world. Hailing from Wales but with a San Francisco sound and with an ever-changing line-up, they failed to produce the one proverbial hit to propel them to national consciousness and, reputedly ever stoned, they were never going to get further than the 'B' list. Yet "Be Good To Yourself At Least Once A Day" recorded in 1972 remains a marvellous album that has worn its years remarkably well, whilst avoiding some of the excesses and indulgences of the time.

By 1972 British rock music was at something of a crossroads. It was the year the Stones released "Exile On Main Street", Bowie put out "Ziggy Stardust" and Roxy Music's first album emerged, the latter two heralding the glamour years. It was also the year that Yes and Emerson Lake and Palmer had some of their biggest hits and Hawkwind discovered that they had a "Silver Machine".

Man skilfully trod a middle way, probably without thinking about it. They were one of the few bands next to the Allman Brothers to be able to sustain an extended jam in an intelligent yet spunky way. On "Be Good To Yourself" their pieces, although often based round simple little riffs, featuring the interlocking guitars of Micky Jones and Clive John, are full of inventive musical touches (often thanks to keyboards player Phil Ryan).

The rhythm section with drummer Terry Williams, who went on to work with Dire Straits and many others, is 100% rock solid and above this foundation they periodically create floating textures akin to Pink Floyd. What makes the four tracks on this album so satisfying is the organic way they develop, always rocking, but always just that little something round the corner

C'Mon

Keep On Crinting

 

Bananas

 

Life On The Road

How Will I Know If I'm Awake : BRENT CASH

 

I love this album with a passion, and so will you if you like 60's and 70's era pop music, expertly crafted songs, and great melodies and hooks that have you singing the songs for the rest of the day.

 

One of the most refreshing things about this album is its honesty and unapologetic optimism. There's no biting commentary or cynicism or looking-down-your-nose at society here. Just a guy singing about life, love and the ups and downs that come along with it. Brent Cash is a great songwriter and he crafts these songs the old fashioned way - a way that doesn't go out of style - creating something that will be enjoyed, cherished, loved and listened to years to come. Give it a listen.

 

Everything That's Grey

 

 

This Sea, These Waves

 

 

When The World Stops Turning

 

 

 

Hypnotised : THE UNDERTONES

 

These days, The Undertones are probably best known for "Teenage Kicks" from their first album - John Peel's all-time favourite record - and their debut was, indeed, a gem.  Their second album, however, is an absolute masterpiece. Their first album caught the tail-end of the punk explosion but "Hypnotised" showed them to be that generation's prime purveyor's of pop perfection. This is an album that deserves to be called a classic!

 

Every song on Hypnotised are magically in focus; short but sharp, they are like a shards of broken mirror catching a bright flash of the sunlight ... "He's got a fur-lined sheepskin jacket. My Ma said it cost a packet"

 

This album proves that the chemistry of youth works better than any drug!

 

Tearproof

 

 

See That Girl

 

 

There Goes Norman

 

 

What's With Terry?

 

 

 

 

 

HMS Fable : SHACK

The tale of Shack is really the story of the Head Brothers, Mick and John. Originally the founders of ace indie band The Pale Fountains (criminally ignored by just about everyone), they formed Shack when their original band called it a day due to a complete lack of commercial success.

 

Their first album as Shack was similarly ignored.  They recorded a second album.  The studio got burned down with the masters inside. There was a copy on DAT but the producer left that in a hire car in the States. By the time they found it, their record company had gone bust.  The album eventually got released on a German label

 

Disillusioned, Shack disbanded and the Head brothers formed Michael Head and The Strands, recording the unknown classic "The Magical World of The Strands".  By this time, the brothers were both in the grip of heroin addiction and, again, the album was ignored by all except those who realised what a brilliant album it was.

 

Then they reformed Shack ... and released "HMS Fable" ... THE best album of 1999

 

The four influences on the album are easy to spot; the pop structures of The Beatles (the Head brothers are Liverpudlians), the strings familiar to all fans of Nick Drake, the fragility of psychedelic heroes Love, and heroin.  However, whereas The Strands album was about the negativity a drug problem brings, this album revealed a new found joi de vivre that were reflected in the songs. 

 

The band went on to make a couple more albums, but none topped this and its influence can be heard today in the songs of bands like Mumford & Sons  

 

Comedy

 

 

Beautiful

  

 

Lend's Some Dough

 

 

Captain's Table

 

 

 

 

CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY

Chicago are one of the biggest-selling bands of all time in the U.S.A. In the UK, they are known, if at all, for laid-back soft-rock, but their true voice was in the way they started out, as a big-band rock outfit.

 

This is the debut album of Chicago. Originally they called themselves "Chicago Transit Authority" but the real CTA, fearing possible confusion, ordered them to change the name.

A very impressive debut it was too. It is music-making of high standard, confident, brash and assertive. At the time, they were lumped together with Blood Sweat and Tears as "jazz-rock" but  the band were playing a hybrid of rock and soul music, with musicians of extreme talent who could carry it off.

Back in 1970, this was one of the very first records I bought. I still think it is one of the best I've ever bought. Catch Chicago when they were still an innovative cutting-edge outfit.

Introduction

 

Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?

 

 

Beginnings

 

 

Listen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Script of the Bridge : THE CHAMELEONS

 

Despite being unknown in the mainstream, The Chameleons gathered a large cult following and released a trio of albums that many of their fans considered all to be masterpieces and some of the best the 80's had to offer. The Chameleons' influence outweighs their popularity, especially with modern post-punk revival bands such as Interpol and Editors, who often accused of being  Joy Division clones when actually owing more of their sound to The Chameleons.

Script of the Bridge, arguably their best album, also shares many similarities with Joy Division. However, the band never merely mimic Joy Division's sound, but instead add enough of their own style to keep their music sounding original and unique. Like Joy Division, The Chameleons used quite simple yet catchy riffs and hypnotic drumming to create a gripping dark atmosphere and add to this style though by bringing in mellow dream pop influences and calming melodies, which gives the album a lighter mood than their fellow mancunians

 

Don't Fall

 

 

Monkeyland

 

 

Up The Down Escalator

 

 

Less Than Human

 

White Bread Black Beer - SCRITTI POLITTI

“His best material since Cupid? Indisputably. His best album, ever? Looking more likely with every listen.” —Simon Reynolds (author of the critically acclaimed post-punk history Rip It Up and Start Again)

 

“All that history is implicit as Gartside—simply ignoring the possibility of 1980s nostalgia—instead unveils a talent as unclassifiable and undimmed as ever.” —Nick Hasted, Independent (UK)

 

White Bread Black Beer, released in 2006, was the first new album by Green Gartside, the man who is Scritti Politti, since 1999. The album features tracks written and recorded solo by Gartside in a back room in his Hackney, London, home. He'd had hits in the 80s and was very popular in the States, but this is without any shadow of a doubt his best work. Filled with lush harmonies (with himself, multi-tracked) and the smoothest, silkiest, production, there is not one track even remotely imperfect

 

In fact, I'd go further ... this is one of the finest albums ever made!

 

Road To No Regret

 

 

No Fine Lines

 

 

Petrococadollar

 

 

Mrs Hughes