Log #193 - Rainbows Rising

After hearing a respected punter select In Rainbows as one of his Top 10 favourite records of the last decade (or was it ever?) I thought I better give it a spin.

It could be a dog's dinner but the whole sits together beautifully as a unit.

Indeed it's an excellent listen. The band hit it big early with The Bends and OK Computer but to be fair they developed a lot after those early records. OK Computer I've always thought a bit overrated; the following Kid A and Amnesiac developed their sound much further, and In Rainbows continues that trend into more electronically produced sounds (brilliantly produced by the way), interesting rhythms and glitchy effects, string drenching, distorted bass, and jazzy flavours (especially Greenwood's guitar). The instrumentation is excellent - the band presenting their gentler side most, but also riffing out occasionally (Bodysnatchers, Jigsaw Falling Into Place). It could be a dog's dinner but the whole sits together beautifully as a unit. If only I could stomach Thom Yorke's miserabalist moanings a bit better I'd love it.

Boris Salchow - Stars

Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972

Kodomo - Tape Pieces Vol. 1

Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert

Radiohead - In Rainbows

John Martyn - One World 

The Radiohead leads nicely into Tape Pieces Vol. 1 from the fervent imaginations of sound engineers Micah Frank and Chris Child (the latter I believe aka Kodomo). Engineers of Sound? Sound artists? Musicians? Music producers? It doesn't really matter. Many "creatives" (Brian Eno amongst them) are now merging art and music in  their "installations" for example. Just a mini elpee this one, it presents as four experimental soundscapes. The thing is, these are not developed into songs as such like the Radiohead (obviously) although they are all of significant length and do hold one's interest over those lengths. They are essentially sounds and atmospherics drawing on lots of (as the title suggests) analogue tape flutters and distortions. This sort of music has more dynamics than conventional ambience having more in common with musique concrete or "found sounds". The results are endlessly fascinating - but like I say don't expect conventional song structures. It's all about the subtle changes of texture.

From the same stable we have LA based German Boris Salchow with his album Stars. This is a lovely work drawing on samples of treated pianos which are often rendered in beautiful melodies over sharp beats. I've played this one a lot.

A strange hybrid that lives somewhere between the digital and material realms.

I'd previously passed over Tim Hecker somewhat but Ravedeath, 1972, will change my mind. A much celebrated sound engineer/artist, I knew I must have been missing something and this dark forbodeing album of disintegrating hums is the best of his I've heard. Recorded in an old church in Reykjavik, Iceland "the result is a strange hybrid that lives somewhere between the digital and material realms, and it's remarkable how seamlessly the two are combined." (Pitchfork).

I don't know what the 1972 refers to. At first I thought it the year of the record but that was actually 2011. Hecker was only born in 1974.

A friend nominated me to do one of those facebook 10 (or 20 in this case) album cover postings of favourite records, or albums that have meant something to me. I'll probably list them all here at some point but for now for Day 4 I alighted upon Keith Jarrett's legendary Koln Concert from 1975. I posted that it was the most beautiful piano playing I'd ever heard and the opening riff sends tingles down my neck. Hopefully this will encourage a few more people to hear it. 

I fully expect John Martyn's One World to appear in that 20 album list at some point, and for now it retains its place in the player (this time the original album of the 2 CD Deluxe set): again, like Radiohead 30 years later, amazing sounds ahead of their time.

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Log #178 - Black Budgie

Sometimes one needs a complete change and following some relatively light folk over the last couple of weeks I just wanted to blow some cobwebs away with some heavy rock for week #178. 

Radiohead - Kid A

Black Keys - Attack & Release

Black Sabbath - 13

Black Sabbath - Never Say Die

Budgie - The Best Of

AC/DC - High Voltage

The Black Sabbath listening has been part of my research for my latest ranking article which you can find here >>

Over the last couple of weeks I've played 24 Black Sabbath albums which has been an illuminating experience. I already knew the first 8 albums well (the vintage Ozzy years), plus the first couple of Ronnie James Dio albums. I also had a copy of the 2013 comeback album 13 which I last reviewed favourably here >>

13 is a powerful album that doesn't sound dissimilar to some of the band's '70s albums. Never Say Die! (Ozzy's last album before the comeback) ain't too shabby either and was also favourably reviewed here >>. Unaccountably it gets a bad rap from Sab fans.

What was most interesting though was hearing the "more recent" albums - post 1982, mostly for the first time. Most are relatively anonymous to be fair but there were a few that stood out from the bunch >> The Devil You Know (2009) and Dehumanizer (1992) fared fairly well in the ranking.

The period was fraught with a revolving door of band members, many only staying for one record, many quitting and returning (Dio himself came and went 3 times) - the one constant member, guitarist Tony Iommi, firing and hiring at will forever seeking a return to the glory days. However for the most part his band became followers of the heavy metal fashions of the '80s and '90s rather than the innovators they once were.

Reaction on Twitter was concerned...

Welsh rockers Budgie imo were a very underrated band. I don't think the band name helped:

I loved the idea of playing noisy, heavy rock, but calling ourselves after something diametrically opposed to that.

Burke Shelley

I must admit I haven't heard many of their actual albums and this Best Of is ostensibly their best stuff, and it is cracking good rock full of exciting guitar riffs. They remind me a bit of Rush actually, and actually even look like Rush physically. Much of the iconic Budgie artwork was designed by Roger Dean.

Budgie

You know what you are getting with AC/DC, ie. basic good riffing rock. Most their songs start off with an Angus Young riff, before a one note Cliff Williams pumping bass comes in, followed by crashing Phil Rudd drums, and then a squawking Bon Scott or Brian Johnson singing about birds and booze. Great stuff! This album, High Voltage, was their first international release in 1976 combining tracks from two albums that had had limited release in their home country Australia only.

So I was expecting basic rock, but not this basic. This album is a lot more bluesy than subsequent albums I have heard.

It's also got the classic It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll) made famous by the Jack Black School Of Rock film.

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Log #124 - Introducing Gas and Fennesz

Radiohead - Amnesiac

Gas - Pop

Neil Young - Tonight's The Night Live At The Roxy

Fennesz - Endless Summer

David Bowie - Black Star

Bear's Den - Islands

A couple of albums here that I now consider near the best of the particular artists in question: David Bowie's final album Black Star and Radiohead's Amnesiac. 

With it's jazz honkings and strident bass and drums Black Star couldn't really be more different to Bowie's heyday albums of the early 70s, except for the ever distinctive voice which remained strong to the end. A very powerful final statement from an amazing artist. 

Amnesiac is probably not many Radiohead fan's first choice for favourite album but I much prefer it to the celebrated Ok Computer. 

More detail on Black Star here from an earlier log >>

More detail on Amnesiac here from an earlier review>>

Also two albums from the ambient/electronic genre which I've been reading a lot about - Gas and Fennesz. 

Gas is the stage name for German electronic musician Wolfgang Voigt. Pop (2000) is the third in a trilogy of albums he produced with 1997's Zauberberg and 1999's Königsforst. The instrumental music is heavily layered mostly without beats or perceptible changes. The dense soundscape of repetitive loops and drones reminds me of the William Basinski albums I've heard, particularly The Disintegration Loops, although this is much more easy listening. It's actually very peaceful to listen to - hypnotic, and yes, I would say, beautiful. I think I'll play this album a lot. 

I think the boundaries between "musical" and "non-musical" are in a state of flux. Otherwise, I do not really care about any "musicality" related to GAS. Emotions, structure, aesthetics are more important to me. Melodies in the classical sense are not supposed to be in GAS, although they exist, as hidden and over-layered as the chord changes. But you have to notice them.

Christian Fennesz is an Austrian musician whose modus operandi is heavily treated guitar. Endless Summer is his third album released in 2001, and his most critically acclaimed work. The music is more demanding than Gas and at first I found it quite grating but am now starting to warm to its appeal.

A grainy, blissful album that resembles easy-listening music coming through on the broken broadcast of a distant star.

Mike Powell, Pitchfork

Again, some of the looped droney pieces like A Year In A Minute remind me of Basinski whereas a more melodic piece like Shisheido with it's pleasing chord changes reminds me of the brilliant Four Tet or Blue States. The final and longest track is a fast keyboard loop over loud static from the Terry Riley/Philip Glass school of minimalism. It gradually begins to distort like My Bloody Valentine, or, yes, again Those Disintegration Loops. Like the Gas I have a very strong feeling I'm going to be playing this album a lot this year.

The clip below should be (youtube have changed their software again) a playlist for a couple of tracks from both Fennesz and GAS (capitals applied this time):

Retaining it's place in the player the Tonight's the Night Live album is proving very popular at Bamyasi Towers. With the title track occurring twice on the album the catchy bass riff and vocal chorus seems to be getting more than it's fair share when the player is on random repeat. Members of the Bamyasi family have even started repeating: Tonight's the night, tonight's the ni-ni-ni-ni-night...

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Log #116 - Before Billy Became Bonnie

Mouse On Mars - Vulvaland

Radiohead - The Best Of

Palace Brothers - Days In The Wake

Griffin Anthony - The Refuge

Tangerine Dream - Encore

Death In Vegas - Trans- Love Energies

The Radiohead compilation was released in 2008 but actually only contains selections from the band's first 6 albums up to Hail To The Thief (2003). No surprises it's mostly early period biased with 6 tracks from their second album The Bends (1995) and only one from the excellent Amnesiac (2001). The tracks are not sequenced in chronological order which actually works well, helping make it quite a good coherent standalone album (or double album in old money with 17 tracks). I'm only just rediscovering Radiohead and don't have all their albums but this would seem an excellent summary either for a new fan wanting to discover more, or someone who only feels the need for one Radiohead album.

1. "Just" (from The Bends, 1995)
2. "Paranoid Android" (from OK Computer, 1997)
3. "Karma Police" (from OK Computer, 1997)
4. "Creep" (from Pablo Honey, 1993)
5. "No Surprises" (from OK Computer, 1997)
6. "High and Dry" (from The Bends, 1995)
7. "My Iron Lung" (from The Bends, 1995)
8. "There There" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003)
9. "Lucky" (from OK Computer, 1997)
10. "Optimistic (Radio edit)" (from Kid A, 2000)
11. "Fake Plastic Trees" (from The Bends, 1995)
12. "Idioteque" (from Kid A, 2000)
13. "2 + 2 = 5" (from Hail to the Thief, 2003)
14. "The Bends" (from The Bends, 1995)
15. "Pyramid Song" (from Amnesiac, 2001)
16. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" (from The Bends, 1995)
17. "Everything in Its Right Place" (from Kid A, 2000)

Lots of tracks is a frequent bugbear I have with CDs (quantity winning out over quality). This is fair enough for the Tangerine Dream live album Encore as it was originally a double vinyl album. The single CD contains 4 "side long" pieces with evocative titles in keeping with the tour's location (the album was recorded during the band's North American tour of Spring 1977):

Cherokee Lane, Monolight, Coldwater Canyon, and Desert Dream.

Like most of TD's live concerts the tracks are generally originals but variations on the studio tracks do weave in and out of the performances.

The Death In Vegas album is also a lot of listening - over 100 minutes in my version which contains the bonus CD. The very first track is entitled Silver Time Machine but then weirdly it is the second track Black Hole that sounds like a cover of Hawkwind's Silver Machine. There are indeed a lot of influences in this music - krautrock, electronica, grunge, industrial, techno, 80s synth and indie. Definitely a candidate for the music map:

I have to say this map looks a bit sparse (the programme is based on users' preferences so I imagine there isn't much data on Death In Vegas). I certainly don't get the Up Bustle and Out reference.

Initial standout track is the ravetastic Your Loft My Acid:

Much more to discover on this band and album for sure. What fun.

Over staying a welcome is not an accusation that can levelled at our next two miniatures: the Palace Brothers and Griffin Anthony albums are a very manageable in both length and structure - a return to the basics of acoustic instrumentation and old fashioned song writing after (it has to be said) Eddy has been a bit "off on one" in recent posts.

Will Oldham is a confusing artist in terms of the names he goes by. Palace Brothers was his first moniker way back in 1993. Even more confusing this album (his second) originally had no title. In fact my copy is not titled (in keeping with the very understated music the cover of the album shows the singer in blurred silhouette against some net curtains). Later versions were given the Days In The Wake title although this was still not printed on the cover. The Palace Brothers name was then replaced by Palace Music before Oldham settled on his most famous stage name Bonnie "Prince" Billy which he has largely stuck with since 1998, just occasionally releasing an album under his real name.

The primary purpose of the pseudonym is to allow both the audience and the performer to have a relationship with the performer that is valid and unbreakable.

He has also revisited his back catalogue and in 2004 released Sings Greatest Palace Music where he re-recorded his solo Palace era music with a country band. About half of the tracks on Days In The Wake reappear in their more up tempo band setting on Sings Greatest....I love the album of reworkings although I have read original fans didn't like it and it received a bewilderingly scathing review in Pitchfork. Perhaps it was significant I heard Sings Greatest...before the originals. True, the versions are very different. They are almost different songs. But so what, Dylan and Young have been reworking their songs for years.

Palace period Will Oldham before he became Bonnie "Prince" Billy

One thing that is constant is Will Oldham's weak and fragile voice which literally cracks under the slightest of pressure. I love it. It may be weak in the traditional sense but it is packed full of emotion and is perfect for his songs.

He's also not afraid to stop when he's said enough. This album is small and perfectly formed with it's 10 tracks clocking in at a remarkable 27 minutes. Not the only time Oldham has served up a very short album (the delicious Master And Everyone springs to mind).

A weak voice is not an issue with country maverick Griffin Anthony who has one of those effortlessly laid back drawls synonymous with easy going country music. His Refuge is a pure and simple album which sounds like it was recorded in your front room. I guess with a bunch of crack Nashville sessions players too. Sure it's country (with a generous sprinkling of contemporary "alt" and "americana") and the lyrics confirm this - old tales of war vets, goldrush prospectors, and god fearing, hard fighting, working men fallen on hard times. But Griffin isn't afraid to rock out too - Only Hope Remains could be a stadium filler, or even get funky in places - On The Level with it's stuttering guitar strum sounds like Bill Withers. Nicely done.

***

It's that time of year when the year end best of lists start to emerge. I think many years ago there would be some degree of consensus in the press. There was less music around and a more focused genre of music attached to each era. Now anything goes and anyone can make a record.

One of the best lists around is produced by Brighton's local Resident Records. If you are in the area it is worth picking up a free copy of their Annual - actually I think the nice boys and girls there will send you one (or possibly add one to any online orders). It is worth a read and you're sure to discover new music. You can view online here too:  The Resident Annual.

I'll be doing my own 2018 review in the next week or so.

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Log #115 - Vital Music For The Human Condition At The Dawn Of The New Millennium

Some new procurements this week with a Suede charity bin pick up, the debut album from German electronic duo Mouse On Mars, and a deep dive into minimalism with New York composer William Basinski. Radiohead's excellent follow up to Ok Computer retains an entry as does Ricochet from Tangerine Dream. The ever reliable Holger Czukay from Can makes a return with his very down tempo Moving Pictures album.

Mouse On Mars - Vulvaland

Radiohead - Kid A

Holger Czukay - Moving Pictures

Suede - Coming Up

Tangerine Dream - Ricochet

William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops III

I've been very impressed with the post Ok Computer offerings from Radiohead. Both Kid A and Amnesiac were pleasant surprises, taking the band far beyond what I expected after that album. Straight from the off with the gorgeous organ introduction to Everything In Its Right Place you realise Kid A is, again, going to be something new. This is quite an achievement for a band that could so easily have rested on its laurels after the critical success of the previous album. In fact many "best of" lists rank Kid A above "Ok" as the top Radiohead album.

Throughout the record Radiohead mine new ground, from the Tangerine Dream/Kraftwerk like electronics on the opener, through Efterklang glitches and crackles, Daft Punk vocal distortions, and bubbling percussion on the gem of the title track which packs a huge amount into its 4:44 running time. National Anthem has an insistent distorted bass and goes all out jazz fusion. The fourth track How To Disappear Completely recalls the more usual miserabilist Thom Yorke singing and unremarkable acoustic strumming but there are lush strings in support. The ambient instrumental Treefingers is a super little track, up there with the best Aphex Twin and Brian Eno compositions (sorry Thom, sometimes the band don't need you). Optimistic and In Limbo are again a bit more standard Radiohead but I love Idioteque with it's Aphex Twin like backing percussion. Morning Bell is probably my favourite track - seeming to perfectly mesh the old rock and new electronic Radiohead.

I was also very impressed with the Mouse On Mars album. It is a bit more ambient and down tempo than Autoditacker which featured in Log #109. I was amazed to discover the record was released in 1994 - it sounds so contemporary.

The CD that requires most explanation in this selection is William Basinski's haunting 9/11 elegy Disintegration Loops.

One of the most pre-eminent American artistic statements of the 21st Century.

To indicate the power of such music consider that I had three other people in the room while playing this album. One said they liked it, the other two asked me to turn it off - one because they simply found the music distressing, and one, who initially managed the music ok, became distressed after I told them the story behind it's conception. 

For a piece of music, or any piece of art actually, to have such a profound effect on people (positive or negative) I think is impressive. In fact maybe it is (or should be) the point. The only other piece of music I recall having such a strong physical effect on listeners was 6 Pianos by Steve Reich.

The most important minimal compositions of the past decade.

The effect is however surprising. Not least as it is ambient music and very very ambient music at that. It is so background it would have seemed almost inaudible to a casual listener.  Except it wasn't!

I got a bunch of tape decks and tape, some scotch tape and scissors and started fooling around and recording everything and mixing and playing around.

The loops are literally loops (very short ones). The music repeats every couple of bars creating a hypnotic effect. On each cycle the music literally deteriorates ever so slightly (as Basinski's source tapes gradually disintegrated on playback) eventually leaving only fragments and flickers of the original buried beneath distorted rumbles and echoes which sound like the roll of distant thunder or perhaps even the falling of the Twin Towers themselves - solid at first, before cracks form and spread, eventually leading to an accelerated tumble into dust and rubble, and then finally nothing... blackness, death, silence, peace.

Basinski grapples with his tapes

It is interesting how you listen to these pieces. Your expectant and conditioned mind inevitably fills in the gaps as the actual music falls away. Something similar occurs when you read a passage where olny teh frsit adn lsat ltetres of ecah wrod are in teh rhigt oedrr. Experiments have shown that our sight can be unreliable with our mind making up images that are expected but aren't actually there. 

Stunning. This is vital music for the human condition.

But what is the effect? Is it sickness, or depression, or boredom, inquisitiveness, or horror or indifference? I doubt the latter would be the case for most listeners. This type of hypnotic music generally does something to your consciousness reaching parts of your brain usually left untouched and this piece particularly packs a powerful emotional punch. It's hard to remain neutral. Is a negative effect more valid than no effect at all? Is this piece of music the equivalent of a giant black canvas by Rothko? 

Is it any good? How do you define good? And does it matter? Is it a massive con? Or is the effect the important thing? Does the music stand up alone or is the back story essential? I have to admit once I knew the context it became very hard to extract the music from it's surroundings. The two are inextricably entwined and whether by chance or design the music is a startlingly vivid soundtrack to a momentous historical event.

I would argue that it is the personal effect a piece has on you that is important, above any cold technical analysis, and that's why the sticker on the cover of the CD has the above quotes [or is that part of the conspiracy? Ed].

The cover shots were taken on the evening of 9/11

Some other initial thoughts: This CD (part 3 containing Loops 4 and 5) is one of a series of 5 albums (over 6 hours of music). But I don't think I need to hear any of the others, not any time soon anyway. I'm not sure I will play this one that often to be honest - maybe just when I'm in the mood - I figure it could be useful when drifting off to sleep or when unable to sleep (if it doesn't give me nightmares - perhaps it wouldn't be wise to listen to this in the dark). Actually I didn't play it all that soon after purchasing it as I felt I knew what it sounded like already having sampled a couple of clips.

Interesting isn't it...?

After the events of 9/11, everything changed. The whole world changed. The context of Disintegration Loops changed. And I felt, with my experience being in New York at the time, and what I went through and what I saw my friends go through, I wanted to create an elegy.

As for the subject matter I would prefer to think of it as a homage in honour to all those who lost their lives or were affected by the terrible events of 9/11 but I can understand those (including one of my fellow listeners above) who consider it an unnecessary and macabre reminder or even an opportunistic or unethical endeavour? Personally I think it is a valid and important document which arose by genuine chance and random timing without contrivance or manipulation. For many that may find the work distressing there will also be others who find it comforting and cathartic.

Finally it has just occurred to me that The Disintegration Loops has some parallels with Kid A - the Radiohead album was released a year before 9/11 and it's songs of disconnection and alienation could equally be considered vital music for the human condition at the dawn of the new millennium.

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Log #114 - Lowlight, Highlight, Midlight, and Sunlight Over The Atlantic

Highlight this week is Klaus Schulze's Audentity double album. But cover topping is provided by the Sunlight of Tangerine Dream's Ricochet 'cos it's just gorgeous (it's a shot from a beach on the west coast of France). Lowlight is the Arcade Fire album which was disappointing to be polite. Midlight we have two very interesting Radiohead albums.

Arcade Fire - Everything Now

Radiohead - Kid A

Radiohead - Amnesiac

Tangerine Dream - Ricochet

Klaus Schulze - Audentity CD1

Klaus Schulze - Audentity CD2

In the words of Phil Mogg of excellent UK rock outfit UFO: "Oh My", this was a surprise, but not in a good way. The pappy pop of Arcade Fire's Everything Now reminds me of... ugh Vampire Weekend and Noah's whatever... Or Mercury Rev (and even a bit of Prince* which is fine btw but not what I was expecting)... or any number of similar anaemic watered down independent US guitar pop bands. [Ed: they are Canadian].

*The Prince like stuff surfaces on the funk/disco of Good God Damn. We Don't Deserve Love has some interesting whirly synths but generally there's far too much keyboards and fey singing for me.

Now, why was I "not expecting"? Well, it's because I've heard the band much revered, at least in the past - probably around the time of The Suburbs (2010) - but was that album any different? I probably won't bother to find out anytime soon after hearing this insipid effort.

Talking of "not bothering to find out" something similar happened to me when I heard OK Computer. I got it when it came out in 1997. Unfortunately I didn't join in the universal praise for the album and that was a real shame in retrospect as it put me off following up with any Radiohead for many years consequently missing out on some albums that appear to be better.

Having now heard the two follow up albums listed here (from 2000 and 2001 respectively) I am left with a renewed admiration for a band never afraid to push the boundaries.

I don't really think Kid A deliberately tossed aside the OK Computer blueprint. It's just an intelligent band naturally developing something new 3 years later. So we have interesting electronics, distortions, motorik rhythms, and lots of chilled electronica, both of the dancey beats kind and most surprisingly of the ambient Enoesque kind too - Treefingers is straight off Eno's Apollo album!

There are even glitches and scratches. I'm hearing the gestation of Efterklang in this sound (Efterklang formed in 2000). In fact if I'd heard the title track from Kid A out of context I would have guessed it came from Efterklang's Tripper/Springer sessions.

Amnesiac followed suit - the albums could have made a double they are so similar in atmosphere. I guess it won't be long before I make a visit to other critically acclaimed Radiohead albums like the ones that followed this pair - Hail To The Thief and In Rainbows.

Hats off to the boys.

One criticism I can't quite round out though is Thom Yorke's singing. I don't think it quite works somehow, especially on the less than straight forward non-rock stuff. This probably represents a huge sacrilege to the band's legions of fans but I have to say I prefer the instrumental passages (or at least the vocals when heavily distorted, as they are for the most part on Kid A). The backing music is never less than interesting and it's obvious the drummer, bassist and the Greenwood fellow on guitar are consummate musicians (I'm not surprised Jonny G has composed film soundtracks).

Continuing my interest in ambient/electronic/sequencer/berlin/motorik/komische/ whatever you'd like to call it, I supplemented my collection with a couple of TD **/Schulze purchases. I had Ricochet many years ago on cassette. I've never heard Audentity before.

** I was admonished for using the abbreviation "Tan Dream" on a facebook fanatics group a few months' back. Apparently TD is acceptable but don't mention Klaus Schulze.

Ricochet followed on from Rubycon (which I have not heard yet in it's complete form although I have one half on a compilation) and the celebrated Phaedra album and, as with the Radiohead examples above, it's quite a change of direction. Phaedra was on the ambient side - Ricochet heralds in a new rockier sound with heavier rhythms TD would develop on albums like Force Majeure. Recorded live (although that does not mean much in the context of this sort of music albeit there is some crowd noise in between "songs") the album consists of two "side" long tracks.

There are a lot of Schulze albums out there. Over 50 apparently! I've only heard two or three of his albums so turned to social media to canvas some opinion on where to start. There was little consensus aside from one or two of his 70s albums like Timewind which I will visit at some point in the future.

Audentity had mixed reviews from the social media crowd but I'm pleased I picked it up. It seems to me to contain some of his best, most consistent, and interesting work. There are real strings (of the sawing cello type rather than the lush chordal synth type) and lots of avant garde effects and twists and turns. But the most pleasing tracks are the extended modular/sequencer synth workouts where the backing track locks into a tremendous groove and Schulze does his random stuff over the top.

This is evident in the 25 minute album opener Cellistica but the highlight is the second half of CD2. Some issues refer to a 58 minute bonus track entitled Gem. On my copy we have a 12 minute Gem but the real meat of the bonus is within the 4 following tracks starting with Tiptoe On The Misty Mountain Tops that merge imperceptibly into one 47 minute masterpiece. I've had this playing through headphones on loud repeat (ipod battery allowing) and it's a tremendous experience! If you purchase your own copy of the album make sure it contains these bonus tracks.

 

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Album Review: Amnesiac by Radiohead

Eddy never really dived fully into the Radiohead waters after being left slightly underwhelmed by the fabled Ok Computer album which unfortunately heralded in a personal moratorium on most of the band's subsequent output. However after catching footage of the band's groundbreaking Glastonbury set last year Eddy had to concede that his indifference had been proved both premature and over extended. In particular the twin follow ups to Ok Computer - Kid A and Amnesiac - represented both innovative and surprising developments in not only the specific Radiohead sound but in rock music generally.

Here guest reviewer Raphael Gouin Loubert plugs that important gap in Eddy's listening and revisits the second of these albums with a piece by piece critique of Amnesiac. 

Radiohead would never plunge as deeply into electronic music again.

The follow up to the album of the decade Kid A (2000), Radiohead's Amnesiac was in fact recorded at the same time but not released until June 2001. With its eerie guitar and deep bass sounds the album has a dark soundscape and heavy atmosphere making it one of Radiohead's most powerful statements.

Packt Like Sardines In A Crshd Tin Box (spells this way)

Heavy bass, Can like electronic beats, and omnipresent guitar feedback define the album opener.

Pyramid Song

This is a beautiful piano piece with, again, lots of feedback and out of this world sounds near the half way point. Guitarist Johnny Greenwood uses a violin bow in this song in live performances.

Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors

My favourite of the album and one of my favourite all time Radiohead songs with huge amounts of bass and electronic sounds. Thom Yorke’s vocoded voice speaks of different kinds of doors as a metaphor for the state of mind. This complex song was probably too hard to reproduce on stage and has never been played live.

You And Whose Army?

A slow and soft song with a nice chord progression. The piano half way through adds a lot of emotion to the song. It is perhaps the closest the band, and especially singer Thom Yorke, come to sounding like their OK Computer days.

I Might Be Wrong

This one is a dark but beautiful song, with Thom Yorke’s distant vocals and repetitive distorted guitar and bass rhythms. Simple but efficient.

Knives Out

A catchy rhythm with intriguing guitar but not the most memorable song. The track lacks a little something, which is why this is probably the weakest song of the album.

Morning Bell/Amnesiac

A slower version of Morning Bell from the Kid A album. This song references materialism and divorce, with the powerful lyrical ending "cut the kids in half ".

Dollars and Cents

Again a repetitive modulated guitar rhythm but this time with some synthesizer and eerie electronic sounds. There is a nice crescendo near the end where the drums go a little wild, which adds intensity to the song.

Hunting Bears

This instrumental is a sort of continuity of I Might Be Wrong. It doesn’t add much to the album but still offers a nice conclusion to the previous song.

Like Spinning Plates

The soundscape of this song is amazing. Short but very deep lyrics on war and politics. Again, the band never played this electronic track live, but they did perform a piano version on the live album I Might Be Wrong. Another of my favourite songs from Radiohead.

Life In A Glass House

The conclusion of the album has a slow piano rhythm with a lot of, probably improvised, jazzy wind instrumentals, much like The National Anthem from Kid A. I think Like Spinning Plates would have  been a better choice to close the album, but still a good song.


Overall, an excellent and timeless album, Radiohead really pushed the boundaries of rock/indie music at the beginning of the millennium. It sounds like it could have been composed yesterday, while it’s actually been 18 years since the release.

After Amnesiac, Radiohead never plunged as deeply into electronic music again as they did with this album and Kid A. Faithful only to themselves, these guys still impress to this day and are, for me, one of the greatest band alive!

Raphael Gouin Loubert

Our guest writer this week is Raphael. A huge fan of Krautrock and 60-70’s rock Raphael also enjoys more contemporary artists like Radiohead, Godspeed You Black Emperor, White Stripes, and Half Moon Run. He hangs out at the Krautrock Facebook Group and his reviews can be found on www.progarchives.com .

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Log #42 - Who is Jill Scott, Anyway?

...an American singer-songwriter, model, poet and actress. Her Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 was her debut album released in 2000.

1. Ravi Shankar - Towards the Rising Sun
2. Jill Scott - Who is Jill Scott?
3. The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
4. Radiohead - Best Of
5. Funk Soul Brothers - Compilation
6. Beatles - The Red Album

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Log #41 - Funk Soul Brothers

1. Ravi Shankar & Friends - Towards the Rising Sun
2. David Bowie - Black Star
3. The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
4. Radiohead - Best Of
5. Funk Soul Brothers - Compilation
6. Beatles - The Red Album

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Log #40 - Ravi Shankar

1. Ravi Shankar & Friends - Towards the Rising Sun
2. David Bowie - Black Star
3. The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
4. Radiohead - Best Of
5. Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
6. Led Zeppelin - III

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Log #39 - A Rediscovery of Radiohead

1. Matthew E White - Fresh Blood
2. David Bowie - Black Star
3. The Whitest Boy Alive - Dreams
4. Radiohead - Best Of
5. Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
6. Led Zeppelin - III

A rediscovery of Radiohead this week on account of their televised set at Glastonbury. I haven't heard them since the much acclaimed OK Computer which I didn't like much actually, but the set at Glastonbury showed they have matured very nicely over the years although I still struggle with Thom Yorke's very depressing wail.

Cover shot is from Matthew E White's second album with fave track Rock N Roll is Cold. He is appearing locally in a few months and a few months ago I would have jumped at the opportunity but having committed too early to a few recent gigs which have turned out to be slightly disappointing (Gilles Peterson, The Orb, Arbouretum) I'm keeping my powder dry.

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