A bit of a sweep out of the magazine this week and what an eclectic bunch of pot pourri I've found lurking on the shelves: Plenty of nostalgia in more ways than one, some new rock, or nu rock, or post rock (I don't know what any of that means but I'm referring to The Foals), and some "modern" classical.
1. ELO - Out of the Blue
2. Simon and Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
3. UFO - Phenomenon
4. Public Service Broadcasting - The Race For Space
5. Takemitsu - Quatrain, A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden
6. Foals - Total Life Forever
First up ELO. They were my favourite band, and this was my favourite album when I was about 14 or 15 (when I first got into music). I remember buying my first real record. It was an EP of 4 tracks from ELO. I really wanted Out of the Blue but thought buying this EP would be ample consolation and I honestly wouldn't need any more records (reminds me of the story that my sister went to her first day at school thinking that was it, for her whole school career, one day!). A few years later after probably at least 50 album purchases my mother said "I think you've got enough records now" as if music collecting is a finite thing! Here I am 30+ years later with probably a four figure album collection.
The EP was excellent - from memory it contained Can't Get It Out of My Head, Ma Ma Belle, and a couple of other older tracks but... Out of the Blue was something else. Everyone loved it, it swept the awards season, spawned numerous hit singles, and came on blue vinyl in a luxurious gatefold sleeve and a cardboard spaceship apparently (I don't remember getting one of them).
I loved the blue vinyl. It looked so slick and clean compared to the black. I loved the cover which I pored over (I noticed there were 7 tiny figures on the inside sleeve corresponding to the band members. The music was amazing - great songs (apart from The Jungle which still annoys) peaking with Mr Blue Sky which remained my favourite song for ages. I loved the reprise part which my Dad told me had been done before by the Beatles. I didn't know what he meant until I heard Day In The Life (the "got up, dragged a comb across my head" section). I was proud to be an ELO fan and thought it especially cool that they had violins and cellos (I expect this was something to do with trying to impress my parents with "proper" musicians). I did a project on them for school which concluded with the unavoidable view that with their follow up albums of Discovery and Xanadu they had almost certainly declined from their 1977 magnificence. I did really try to like Discovery for a long time but it was a bit rubbish to be honest and tracks like The Diary of Horace Wimp just tried far too hard.
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| Jeff Lynne today - it could be 1977 |
Leader Jeff Lynne is still going strong still looking and sounding the same (witness his Glastonbury set last year). Why do so few of these long haired pop stars lose their hair in their later years?
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| ELO - Out of the Blue - Inside gatefold |
Lie la lie, lie la lie lie lie la la lie! (The Boxer) There are so many familiar tunes and lyrics on these amazing songs from the classic Bridge Over Troubled Water album. Many people have the Greatest Hits album which contains practically all these tunes plus some more but I always prefer to hear complete albums in their original context.
I remember these songs from my childhood as it was one of the few albums my parents had, and they played it a lot. When there wasn't such a choice in those days (60s, early 70s) it stands to reason that many households would have the same records. I also think the gatekeepers of quality were more discerning and only the best stuff got through (less so now when anyone with a laptop and an internet connection can get an album out).
Playing the album again it strikes me how melancholy a lot of the music is despite the number of upbeat songs like Cecilia, and the very Beatles / Beach Boys-esque Bye Bye Love etc. Bridge Over Troubled Water and The Boxer are pretty depressing. My favourite then and now is The Only Living Boy in New York.
I haven't followed Garfunkel or Simon in their solo careers. Art had the voice, and Paul had the songs, and together, like all good groups, they were greater than the sum of the parts. I saw Paul Simon on Jools Holland recently and he still sounded excellent and Art is still touring too. I can only imagine the fees they could command for a reunion.
Cover album this week is Phenomenon from UFO. A great little spunky rock band and this album has all you need to hear really. There's the famous Doctor Doctor Pleeeaaase! and Rock Bottom but the class is in the slower tempo blues tracks like Oh My, Too Young to Know etc. Also the cover is a classic. Look closely and you can see the UFO is the hub cap from the car - a picture I recreated rather well with a saucepan lid once! I understand guitar god Michael Schenker (where is he now?) was 17 when he recorded this album with UFO. Wow.
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| Michael Schenker - here he is, still going |
Public Service Broadcasting set samples of literally old public information films to music. It's been done before but rarely as well as this. For the full experience see some of their Youtube videos. I saw them live at a festival and they didn't have the video backdrop which was disappointing. But they were still great fun and don't take themselves too seriously. Favourite track from this album is the exciting Go!
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| The very geeky, the very eccentric Willgoose and Wigglesworth aka PSB |
I love this Takemitsu album. It's modern minimalist discordant classical music and makes for very interesting background ambient sound. I reference this to an aquarium I bought many years ago which coincided with having this album. I remember watching the orange platies against a lush green plant background with this otherworldly music accompaniment.
The Foals are one of the classiest of modern rock bands offering to my ear something a bit different (I'd stick them at the top of that modern prog rock league which contains contemporaries Coldplay, Elbow, and Muse). They have a great singer and an interesting melodic rhythm and vibes section. Key track on this album is Spanish Sahara.
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