The Zombies - Odessey And Oracle
Welcome to psychedelia everyone. But the most beautiful, serene psychedelia you can imagine. The Zombies, originally famous for their 1964 hit She’s Not There, were perhaps behind only The Beach Boys when it came to mellifluousness in this era of pop music. But on Odessey And Oracle, one of the best albums of the 60s, the harmonies were bittersweet and the songs the same. Care of Cell 44, a tale of a lover’s impending release from prison, is a perfect example of the off-kilter songwriting pared with beautiful production that distinguishes this album. The other distinctive element that the Zombies introduced was the masterful keyboard skills of Rod Argent, who was also their main songwriter and added layers of character to the band’s sound. Originally recorded in 1967, Odessey And Oracle (the spelling in the title was due to a lack of funds to re-do the mistaken cover art) only saw the light of day in 1969 when Time Of The Season made its way to the top of the charts but the band themselves had long since split, the pressures of making this album taking their toll. In a sense, this album closed the door not only on the band themselves but also the end of the 60s and the end of an era. The turning of the season that makes it the perfect accompaniment to an beautiful autumn - warm and chromatic.
R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant
In the week that sees Michael Stipe, Peter Buck and Mike Mills call it a day after three decades it only seems fitting to pay tribute to them with a Sunday Sermon and perhaps one of their finest albums. Life’s Rich Pageant was originally released in 1986 but this is the Super Deluxe Mega Directors Cut With Extra Cheese Edition, released only a few weeks ago and containing a bunch of extra demos of some tracks that made the final cut and some that didn’t. What I love about Life’s Rich Pageant is that it acts as a bridge and crystal ball from the R.E.M. that first gained attention with their jangly melodic style and the slightly more hardened pop-rock that defined their most populist 90s period. So don’t lament the loss of a band that (despite this year’s enjoyable Collapse Into Now) hasn’t really been as good as this for a long time, but enjoy this and then trawl the archives to remember why we care in the first place.
Pelle Carlberg - In A Nutshell
Pelle Carlberg is a master of the story and master of the never-ending song title. Charming stories of procrastination, mis-spent youth, Smiths drummers and very, very occasionally love fill out this delightful album, originally released in 2007. Anyone who likes Belle & Sebastian for their dry wit and endearing music will love songs such as Clever Girls Like Clever Boys Much More Than Clever Boys Like Clever Girls and I Love You, You Imbecile…
Sebadoh - The Sebadoh
Even though it’s probably not their best album I have something of a soft spot for The Sebadoh. Back when Britpop had run out of steam and I’d got past a brief grunge phase, Sebadoh appeared on Top of the Pops (in an episode that, looking back, seems to perfectly capture the musical zeitgeist of the pre-millenium ages) and performed Flame. A dirty, driving song built around a single guitar riff and drums that pound in the background, this was my introduction to a whole world of slacker rock and lo-fi indie that quickly spiralled into Pavement, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo and more. On The Sebadoh, Lou Barlow and team are all contributing and whilst their songwriting is not at its most visceral, it is at one of its most catchy with Weird, It’s All You and ‘smash hit’ Flame. In a way, 1999 marked the end for witty, scrappy US college radio-friendly rock music as a tidal wave of average indie acts and nu-metal hit the turn of the century but for me The Sebadoh marked the start of journey.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
A relatively recent album to be indicted into the Sunday Sermons having been released in 2005, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! was not only a fantastic album but also something of a watershed moment. Back in the day when music blogs were still finding their feet in the mainstream music press, Brooklyn’s CYHSY! very quickly shot from nowhere to be one of the most talked about acts on the net all through the power of a few MP3s mailed out by the band. The strength of their lo-fi noodlings, Alec Ounsworth’s distinctively wailing voice and a sure sense of fun saw them break through the blog buzz cycle and garnered them underground support. Underground support that was soon to turn to more widespread critical acclaim as they became one of the first bands to receive and subsequently define a “Pitchfork moment”, scoring an impressive 9.0. For a band who had just been messing around creating songs this was a catapult and, embracing the slingshot effect, the self-released debut album went on to win over popular support through it’s whimsical and curious charm. Six years later, but a lifetime in modern music history, it still stands as one of the most interesting, important and best albums of the 2000s.
The band now find themselves with a record deal (V2) and putting out their third album, entitled Hysterical, on 20th September this year.
The Kinks - Face To Face
There’s perhaps no finer sound of Englishness than the Kinks who, between Ray Davies pen and the music hall rhythms, have inspired today’s breed of social-commentators with an independent voice and an ear for melody. It’s undoubtedly my favourite Kinks record (just pipping Village Green Preservation Society) and is one of the best of the 1960s, skewering the English class system through the voices of Ray’s many characters. Every song is a classic but it contains its share of their finest in Sunny Afternoon, Rosie Won’t You Please Come Home, House In The Country among others.
This post was supposed to cap English Week but due to some Tumbleasts it’s been ‘saved’ for today.
Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters
Last night I happened to find myself in familiar company at a Foo Fighters show in the middle of a forest in Berlin. Not having heard any of the last few albums I was curious how it would be. Turns out Dave and the boys can still rock. But it’s the earlier songs, those off this album and The Color And The Shape, that resonated most - hitting all the right buttons on my rock-nostalgiarometer. What made the first album so great was not that it was simply a fleeting post-Nirvana moment but it actually brought something unique and different to the table. Mostly a collection of home recordings by Dave Grohl that were subsequently filled out by a band, Foo Fighters’ debut album ably blended power rock with some lighter, melodic moments such as on Lemonheads-like Big Me or For All The Cows. Sixteen years later they’re still the pumping out the tunes but few with the catchiness of their early work.
What are Sunday Sermons you ask? I got your answers right here.
Dan Le Sac ft Scroobius Pip - Angles
DJ Dan Le Sac and MC Scroobius Pip’s debut album throws together hip hop, dance and rock samples in a surprisingly cohesive album and Scroobius Pip is desperate to tell the world how he feels about everything from relationships to the desperate state of the music industry. The Beat That My Heart Skipped includes a fantastic spoken word intro while Angles and Letter From God To Man showcase the breadth of genres they are willing to cover. The standout track though is the comical electro-beat lecture Thou Shalt Always Kill. Dan Le Sac, just a band.
This guest review came to you from the desk of Mr Phil Jones.
Tom Vek - We Have Sound
We Have Sound was the 2005 debut album of a young Londoner, Tom Vek, whose garage productions of disjointed, lo-fi electronic indie drew comparisons with LCD Soundsystem, Pavement and Beck. Sadly, we’ve heard nothing since (his website hasn’t been updated in years - proudly bearing an ‘Available on Compact Disc’ badge!) but that fails to diminish the record. It still sounds fresh and innovative, energetic and contemplative, equally driving and grooving. He was a one-man bedroom creator in an age before blogs were able to thrust such artists into the mainstream centre-stage. Compared to a lot of the unidentified trash that surfaced in the pages of NME in the mid noughties, We Have Sound sounds like something that could have been made today, or 30 years ago, and still been just as funky.
Hukwe Zawose - Chibite
I recently watched a documentary about the Zawose family and, in particular, Dr Hukwe Zawose: probably Tanzania’s greatest musician. Master of the ilimba (a large thumb piano), the izeze (a string instrument) and his most memorable and vivid tool, his voice, he went on to represent Tanzanian music on a global stage at the behest of Julius Nyerere, the newly independent country’s first President. He toured the world, sometimes taking his huge family in tow, put out records on the WOMAD label and set up musical schools in Dar Es Salaam to teach Tanzania’s next generation of musicians. In 2003, he sadly died of AIDS but his music - full of yelps and rhythm but mostly full of life - lives on.
Captain Beefheart - Safe As Milk
To mark the passing of the great Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, this weekend sees the return of Sunday Sermons. One of the true vanguards of rock music through the years, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band ripped apart blues, rock and psychadelia to create bewildering, befuddling and beguiling music ready to blow your brains out. From the surreal to the very real, his albums - Safe As Milk being the first studio album proper - were always mesmerising.
Jonathan Richman - Vampire Girl
When I find myself in times of trouble, Jonathan Richman calls to me, sending words of wisdom, yeah. There’s a soothing catharsis in hearing someone else’s tales of confusion, youth and exuberance and no-one, and I mean absolutely no-one, in rock and roll does that better than this guy. This might not be the best compilation of his work nor the most appropriate but it’s what I’ve got right here and now and it’s working it’s magic, as he always does. There’s a raw honesty and humour in all his work and if you don’t already worship Mr Richman, we might have to have words. Enjoy your Sundays…
Baaba Maal - Missing You
Something new for Sunday Sermons this week. I’ve been listening to Baaba Maal’s Television a lot recently - it’s a super-chilled out album, released last year. Despite being born into the ‘wrong’ caste (he ‘should’ve’ been a fisherman) in Western Senegal, he’s actually been making music since the 70s and put out his first solo release in 1989. This record from 2001 is an incredibly colourful and soulful piece of work that epitomises African music and Maal’s interpretation of it.
The Clash - London Calling
London Calling is not just The Clash’s greatest album, it’s one of the greatest rock albums of all time. By 1979, the spirit of punk was beginning to wane and with The Clash still trying to break the US (which first required them to convince their record label to put out their albums over there) and their manager stirring up tensions and factions within the group, they could’ve been forgiven for falling by the wayside like so many bands of that era. But instead they went into the studio and fused together all of their musical influences from traditional rock ‘n’ roll to reggae and from punk to jazz, coming away with a bold and brilliant double-album. The rhythm section of Topper Headon and Paul Simonon excels, displaying great versatility perhaps unexpected from a punk-rock band. And the songwriting of Mick Jones & Joe Strummer has never been better, as they astutely expound their political and sociological world views over incredibly diverse yet melodic tunes (such as Clampdown, Spanish Bombs or Lost In The Supermarket). Ultimately, it’s a record about anarchic revolution but with apocaplytpic reverence - the album art is a classic bastardisation of Elvis’s first album, aiming to signify the beginning and end of rock and roll. As they say, this was a Death or Glory record for The Clash… and boy did they nail it.
(This post was inspired by an excellent Sound Opinions podcast. Check it out!).
