CD Odyssey Disc 1256: Nilufer Yanya

I’ve bought 15 albums released in 2019 so far, but this is the first one I’ve reviewed.

Disc 1256 is… Miss Universe

Artist: Nilufer Yanya

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? I believe this is intended to look like an early webpage, with the pixelated graphics, grey background and awkward photo inserts. Someone should have told Nilufer that the reason we don’t have webpages like this anymore is because they looked terrible. As it stands, it makes me wonder if she has a MySpace page.

How I Came to Know It: I read a review of the record and checked out a couple of the songs. It wasn’t my usual thing but it sounded pretty good so I took a chance.

How It Stacks Up:  I only have one Nilufer Yanya album, so there can be no stacking up.

Ratings:  3 stars

For the second straight review I have encountered an album that I admire critically but isn’t a great match for me. Nilufer Yanya’s “Miss Universe” is the impressive full-length debut from a British pop singer who has a bright future ahead of her.

“Miss Universe” is a brave album that pushes the edge of modern pop music, including sizeable helpings of both hip hop sass and seventies Motown. The songs tend to be mid-tempo yet they have a groove that makes you want to dance. These are party songs for later in the party. You’re either swaying over by the speaker or chilling on the couch watching stage smoke swirl when this comes on.

That sensibility is aided heavily by Yanya’s sultry club-style voice. She has great phrasing, coming in with tension and urgency at the right times, and giving the club beats equal time to catch your attention. It isn’t my usual style for a vocalist, but she does it well and keeps it interesting.

The record has a LOT of production and plenty going on in every arrangement from the first notes. Ordinarily this lush production would bother me, and it certainly interferes with my usual habit of listening to the lyrics. Here it all works well, with a good balance between vocals and music, where the hooks are equally likely to be a synthesizer, a bass guitar or Yanya repeating some line over either. There is even jazz saxophone on “Melt” and to my surprise I kind of liked it.

The more I listened to it, the more I liked it, aided by the fact that there is a lot to unpack musically. My ear had lots of places to explore. Yanya’s vocals have a surface tension quality to them, popping out of her with equal parts force and fluidity. All in all, this should be a winner.

And yet…I’m going to surprise myself and part with this record. I’d like to blame it on the fact that it has 17 tracks, and that certainly doesn’t help. 17 tracks is at least three too many, and five of them are short skits or song fragments. This includes several goofy routines where Yanya pretends to be a phone tree computer voice for a mythical help phoneline called “WWAY Health”. Neither these nor the other snippets add an inordinate amount of length to the record (a tasteful 51 minutes), but they don’t add anything of value either. Maybe they are intended as a framing device, but I found Yanya’s unique style does a fine job of that on its own.

A better criticism is the vibe I get that in addition to "late night party" this record has that background feel of an uncomfortable dinner party. It has the energy needed to keep the mood up, but not any striking melodies or moments that distract you from the table conversation. I want my music to be a little more distracting.

But most of all, I think this is just a case of a record that is very good, but just not being my thing.  There are a couple of great tracks – notably the frenetic “In Your Head” and the clever deconstruction of church music built into “The Unordained” and even the songs I like less I still admire. I just don’t think this sound is my jam, and I’m not going to play it enough to justify the shelf space.

That said, Yanya has a fresh new sound that speaks of a promising career to come and I fully expect to regret my decision. For now, though, I’m going to move on.

Best tracks: In Your Head, Angels, The Unordained, Heavyweight Champion of the Year

CD Odyssey Disc 1255: Jethro Tull

I’m nearing the end of a very relaxed weekend and will shortly be meeting up with some wonderful people. I’ll be walking there, so I’m squeezing this review in now so I can listen to something new on the way over.

Disc 1255 is… Stand Up

Artist: Jethro Tull

Year of Release: 1969

What’s up with the Cover? The band, re-imagined as leprechauns. No wait - after looking at a photo of the band in the liner notes I can confirm…this is what these guys look like.

How I Came to Know It: I think my friend Chris introduced me to this album. I can’t remember if he also bought me the CD as a gift or if I picked it up independently. I think the latter (Chris did get me two other Jethro Tull albums as a gift, so you can understand my confusion).

How It Stacks Up:  I have five Jethro Tull albums. Of the five, I must reluctantly place “Stand Up” in last place.

Ratings:  3 stars

I really like Jethro Tull’s eighties synthesizer-heavy period, but my relationship with their earlier stuff is…complicated. “Stand Up” is very early Tull, and while I admire the talent, I can’t always go where this album wants to take me.

First the good stuff. This record has some exceptional musicianship. The songs are complex, but the talent is so high everything remains crisp. Also, guitarist Martin Barre delivers some killer rock guitar throughout the record.

The album is of its time and has that late sixties hippy vibe which works well with Ian Anderson’s vibrato vocals. The mix of folk and rock elements works well in places, particularly on “Back to the Family” that blends pastoral imagery with stoner guitar in ways that shouldn’t work but does. Even the jazz flute works here.

The record is also funny in places. “Fat Man” is the whimsical consideration of a slender Ian Anderson of what sort of challenges he’d face if he were fat. Among them, “People would think I was just good fun.” I guess being considered jolly and nothing else would grate over time.

However, even on the songs I liked on “Stand Up” it just felt like too much was going on. I don’t mind some progressive rock, but I would have preferred a little bit more focus. And as for those cool Barre guitar licks, there just aren’t enough of them. I had a hard time concentrating and when I did concentrate it often felt like work.

Also, despite this being rock music there is a lot of jazz going on with this record, and I’m not just talking about all that flute business either. There is jazz in the drums, jazz in the bass, jazz in the melodic structures. This record has jazz lurking around every corner.

“Bouree” sounds like Dave Brubeck was kidnapped by faeries. Brubeck is one of my favourite jazz musicians, but I don’t want him mucking about with my folk music like this. At least “Nothing Is Easy” provides a warning the title that the song is going to feature all manner of crazy arrangements that are both brilliant and annoying. You know, like jazz.

My copy of the record has four bonus tracks which are OK but pushes the album to 51 minutes but felt even longer. By the end, I was just feeling fatigued from the busyness of it all.

“Stand Up” is music for music nerds, which means I should like it. I definitely want to like it, and I’m even a little ashamed that I don’t, but there it is. I’m going to acknowledge I’m objectively wrong about how good this record is and give it 3 stars. That said, I’m not going to keep it.

Best tracks: Back to the Family, Fat Man, Look Into the Sun

CD Odyssey Disc 1254: James McMurtry

Game 1 of Bruins/Blue Jackets goes to the Bruins. All that excitement left me exhilarated, but a little drained. I’ve got enough left in the tank to pilot the Argo through another review in this CD Odyssey.

Disc 1254 is… Complicated Game

Artist: James McMurtry

Year of Release: 2014

What’s up with the Cover? Floorboards! Looks like a piece has been cut out just in front of the standing figure. What could someone be hiding in there? Stolen loot? A treasure map? The tell-tale heart?

How I Came to Know It: I discovered James McMurtry just a few months ago through his 2008 album “Just  Us Kids”. This precipitated a deep dive into his back catalogue. Five of his albums made the cut but “Complicated Game” wasn’t one of them.

Then I introduced my friend Mark to him. Mark liked it a lot and sent me “Copper Canteen”. It was a great song but I couldn’t find it on any of the five albums I had decided to get. A bit more digging found it on “Complicated Game”. I’d decided against that one after one listen, but this provided a second chance. This time I liked it a lot more, so thanks to Mark for this one!

How It Stacks Up:  I have five James McMurtry albums (I’m still on the hunt for “Childish Games”). I bought them all in the last few months and I don’t feel qualified to stack them up. I’ll guess it is in the middle and put it 3^rd, but don’t hold me to it – I just started on my James McMurtry journey.

Ratings:  4 stars

James McMurtry is down-home wisdom, served up through the lives of blue-collar heroes, scarred inside and outside, but soldiering on. The mix of Americana folk and traditional country on “Complicated Game” is the perfect delivery system for tales like these.

In terms of singing style, McMurtry sits solidly with Guy Clark and Steve Earle, with a splash of Warren Zevon on the songs with a rock edge. Like all those artists, McMurtry doesn’t have a massive vocal range, but he writes songs for the sweet spots in his voice, and he has a gravelly tone that is well-suited to storytelling.

McMurtry is sneaky-good on guitar, which he plays like he sings; raw and unhurried. His strum is strong and determined and sounds like it is being played on an old back porch or the end of a pier.

The record is replete with rural imagery that had me thinking back to my small town roots. The album starts you off with a jolt with these lines from “Copper Canteen”:

“Honey, don’t you be yellin’ at me when I’m cleanin’ my gun

I’ll wash the blood off the tailgate when deer season’s done.”

This could sound grim or threatening, but in the context of the song it’s just a little cantankerous. The narrator isn’t a murderer, and there’s no threat here either; he’s just taking care of his rifle and being careful about it. Later he gets out and shovels the walkway and chops firewood. Not sexy or dangerous, just important. That said, he really ought to wash the blood off the tailgate before it dries…

“Copper Canteen” shows an edge that is common to many of the characters you’ll encounter on “Complicated Game.” On “Carlisle’s Haul” poachers drop their nets illegally and are caught in the end by the warden, with McMurtry noting that tough times fall on criminal and cop alike in depressed resource towns. On “South Dakota” an ex-military man tries to make an honest life out of ranching, only to find his cattle frozen dead from a flash blizzard. Like “Carlisle’s Haul” the story ends with the arrival of the law, this time with the sheriff serving an eviction notice.

Even on the album’s love songs, things are complicated. “Copper Canteen” has a couple that has settled into mild disgruntlement, and “She Loves Me” includes a love affair, a divorce and a dream of reconciliation where you can’t tell if it’s based on deserved confidence or wishful thinking.

Through it all, McMurtry has a deep appreciation for the power of the specific in telling a story. These lines from “Long Island Sound” evoke an entire life in one small scene:

“I had a tire run low so I dug through the glove box

I needed the manual to locate the jack

I found a couple old picks and a 20-guage shot shell

Left from a dove hunt a couple year’s back.”

“Complicated Game” is an apt title for an album with so much uncertainty, but McMurtry draws a thick line of character through every track that makes you root for every rancher, rogue and romantic you encounter.

Even though this was my first deep dive into a James McMurtry album it felt like I was in the company of an old friend. I look forward to the rest of the journey. I might even give all those rejected albums a second chance in case they end up being as good as this one.

Best tracks: Copper Canteen, Ain’t Got No Place, Carlile’s Haul, South Dakota, Long Island Sound, Cutter

CD Odyssey Disc 1253: Frank Turner

I just watched my beloved Boston Bruins win Game 7 of their first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It feels great. Go Go, Black and Gold!

Disc 1253 is… Love, Ire & Song

Artist: Frank Turner

Year of Release: 2008

What’s up with the Cover? Frank in a suit and tie, his traditional concert attire.

How I Came to Know It: This was just me drilling through Frank Turner’s back catalogue once I liked him.

How It Stacks Up:  I have seven Frank Turner albums. Of those seven, “Love, Ire & Song” is second.

Ratings:  4 stars but almost 5

“Love, Ire & Song” holds a lot of hope and just the right amount of bravado. It is a record that reminds you that while you can’t stay young forever, you should never forget the feeling.

Frank was only 26 when he made this record, but he already has a nuanced appreciate of the human condition. “Love, Ire & Song” is an exploration of a man coming to terms with the growing weight of experience and determined to not let those experiences dull the joy of life.

My only regret listening to this record was only discovering it five years after its release – it would have made a great live show. Hell, all Frank’s live shows are great. As it is, it is still an early classic record that continues to stand up as some of his best work in a career that has plenty of greatness to choose from.

Turner’s signature folk rock sound is already firmly in place on “Love, Ire & Song” albeit a bit more stripped down than later releases. The record has a bevy of songs so brilliant that they continue to muscle into latter-day live shows and plenty more deep cuts that have every right to the same space.

Frank doesn’t just write songs, he writes anthems. These are songs you memorize and sing along; songs that make you feel like you are part of something greater. Turner has tapped into the rebellious spirit of punk rock but converted this to an English folk-rock feeling.

Don’t look for complicated music making here. Lots of basic guitar chords, hand claps and Frank belting out his truth. That truth is reflected in songs that invite you to revel in life’s struggles. His audience is the inner outcast in all of us. The songs begin with calls to action like “We’re lovers and we’re losers/We’re heroes and we’re pioneers,” “You’re not as messed up as you think you are” and “Well I guess I should confess that I am starting to get old.”

However, what’s important in all his music is the willingness to soldier on. Everyone’s got problems, Frank preaches, but if you’ve got something to say, then say it. Or as he puts it on “Photosynthesis” (the most anthemic of all these songs):

“I won’t sit down, and I won’t shut up

And most of all I will not grow up”

Turner’s lyrics are so clever it would be tempting to quote them all, but I’ll stick with this rarely quoted line from the deep cut “To Take You Home”. The song is about dating a Parisian girl and Turner can’t resist with a little musical allusion:

“And she doesn’t like my songs but she’s still my mademoiselle

And ‘it goes to show you never can tell.’”

It is too cute by half, but in the context of the song, it works.

The title track is a five-star song. Over the course of an evening “Love, Ire & Song” captures the cynicism of watching youth and idealism fade, the casting about for what went wrong and – ultimately – an appeal to man the barricades one more time. The song is narratively framed around what is a bit of a drunken bender, but when confronted with having to choose between what part of the evening’s experience had a lasting value, siding with ideas over excess:

“Leave the morning to the morning, pain can be killed

With aspirin tablets and vitamin pills

But memories of hope and glorious defeat

Are a little bit harder to beat.”

Any time I am feeling a bit world-weary, or not sure I am making a difference I can put this song and recharge my batteries. What’s more, the song – and the record as a whole – doesn’t fill you with false hope. It acknowledges there are plenty of battles in life you’re going to lose. It just reminds you to make all your defeats glorious.

Best tracks: I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous, Reasons Not to be an Idiot, Photosynthesis, Substitute, Love Ire and Song, To Take You Home, St. Christopher Is Coming Home

CD Odyssey Disc 1252: Lucius

Another day, and some new albums to add to my collection. Today’s additions were:

• Three albums by James McMurtry (“It Had to Happen”, “Walk Between the Raindrops” and “Saint Mary of the Woods”). These span his career from 1997-2002.
• The Honey Dewdrops “Silver Lining.” Another husband-wife folk duo.
• Applewood Road’s self-titled debut, which features Emily Barker collaborating with fellow folksters Amber Rubarth and Amy Speace
• Molly Tuttle “When You’re Ready”. Her latest release is an early favourite for my 2019 top ten albums list.

I’ll talk about all those when I roll them, but for now let’s discuss an album that I overlooked on my 2018 Top Ten list, but I’m now correcting that mistake.

Disc 1252 is… Nudes

Artist: Lucius

Year of Release: 2018

What’s up with the Cover? What’s better than a Giant Head on an album cover? Two Giant Heads of course! Lucius thought so highly of these two giant heads that the CD comes with a fold out poster about 18” square in case you would like these two faces staring across a room at you. I do not, and so have left the faces – beautiful as they are – safely stowed inside the CD case.

How I Came to Know It: I read a review of this album last year and it intrigued me enough to take a listen. I discover a lot of my music by just reading a lot of music reviews and keeping an open mind. The former is only good for finding music, but the latter is good for everything.

How It Stacks Up:  I have three Lucius albums. I like them all but “Nudes” is the best.

Ratings:  5 stars

Sometimes more is less, and in 2018 two acts proved this true, baring it all to create masterpieces.

Like St. Vincent’s “MassEducation,” (reviewed back at Disc 1207) “Nudes” uses nudity as a metaphor. St. Vincent posed nude for her album cover, and for Lucius it is the album’s title. In both cases, a band known for their electric prowess unplugged, baring the bones of their songs for all to see.

I’m often wishing that an artist would strip a song down. Sometimes all that production is hiding some other deficiency, but often it is just getting in the way of the tune. Neither St. Vincent nor Lucius are guilty of those offences, but I still enjoyed getting a chance to hear their music in a different format.

While the effect gives “Nudes” a folksier feel than Lucius’ early releases, this music remains pop at its core. Amazing pop, in fact, with melodies that soar and dip like a seagull enjoying a strong shore breeze.

It helps that Lucius’ co-leads Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig have such beautiful voices. Either could sing these songs on their own, but together they create sublime harmonies, fitted together so close it feels like a single unearthly vocal. They reminded me of the Staves or the Wailin Jenny’s, but with a pop seventies a.m. radio vibe. It is like the Carpenters were crossed with the Supremes.

As noted earlier, “Nudes” is an acoustic effort and Lucius uses the opportunity to reimagine old songs (three tracks), write new ones (four tracks) and even throw in a few covers (three tracks). Despite the varied source material, the cohesive approach to both the production and arrangements makes the album a cohesive whole.

The change in style inspires Lucius to new heights, and while the overall sound is consistent, the individual songs show incredible range, taking established structures from a variety of genres and twisting them slightly into something fresh and new.

The original version of their 2016 song “Something About You” is pure indie pop, but the cover on “Nudes” has a delightful swing that is reminiscent of sixties Motown. They take their 2013 song “Until We Get There” and pull it from pop into contemporary folk with no ill effects.

New tracks “Neighbors” and “Woman” are every bit the equal of the remakes. “Neighbors” has the bass-driven gallop of a Western combined with bluesy-pop, perfectly suited to its feeling of alienation from someone in a new city, uncertain of their surroundings and relationships alike. “Woman” is dream pop crossed with a romantic ballad from some early seventies psychedelic rock record. The record seamlessly reaches across genres, coopting multiple influences into something fresh.

Two of the three covers are masterpieces. On the second track Lucius tackles the Gerry Rafferty classic “Right Down the Line.” I love the original and went to Youtube to remind myself of it. After a few listens between the versions I could not pick a favourite.

Lucius also tackles Tame Impala’s “Eventually” and here it was no contest. Lucius takes Tame Impala’s fuzzy mess of a song, polishes it off, unplugs it, converts it to their own style, and makes it great. It almost made me want to give Tame Impala a second chance. Just kidding, no it didn’t.

The only slight stumble on the record is the last track; a cover of the traditional folk song “Goodnight, Irene” which they undertake with what sounds like a half-cut Roger Watters. I forgive this a little because Wolfe and Laessig’s vocals are so good. Also, “Goodnight, Irene” is meant to have a bit of barroom sway to it. The biggest sin here is that song isn’t a masterpiece like the nine that precede it.  

In the end not only does this record land on my list for Top 10 Albums of 2018 (now updated) it makes it all the way up to #3. I’m going to go back and repost that corrected list because it troubles me to think that people are out there might look at a Top 10 list that doesn’t include “Nudes”.

Best tracks: All of them except maybe “Goodnight, Irene”

CD Odyssey Disc 1251: Thin Lizzy

Today as I was heading into a 7-11 a homeless man stopped me and complimented me on my style. “Hey, man – are you a DJ?” I assured him I was just a dude. He replied by saying “You look like…you know who you look like? Like that guy…that guy…” he almost faded away completely before his mind fired the memory, “You look like Ted Nugent!”

He actually looked more like Ted Nugent than I did, but what the hell. The weirdest part was that earlier in the day I had been listening to a killer live version of “Hibernation.” Listen to that here. I told him this and the synchronicity of it all blew his mind.

I’ll talk about my Ted Nugent album when I roll it. For now, let’s talk about what I did roll.

Disc 1251 is… Self-Titled

Artist: Thin Lizzy

Year of Release: 1971

What’s up with the Cover? I think this is some chrome on a car, reflecting another car. Neither car is what collectors would call “cherry”. Also featured on this cover…an annoying graphic advertising all the exciting content you’ll get in lieu of having a proper cover photo.

How I Came to Know It: This was one of my first Thin Lizzy purchases, and I bought it in the glow and excitement of realizing how much I liked them.  My friend Spence had also sang its praises.

How It Stacks Up:  I have ten Thin Lizzy albums. Thin Lizzy is a great band, but someone had to finish last, and their eponymous debut is it, landing in 10^th spot.

Ratings:  2 stars but almost 3

Thin Lizzy’s first album is a bit weird. It isn’t annoyingly weird, or obsessed with its own cleverness, it’s just all over the map and hard to get a handle on.

This is an album by a band with enormous talent and no fear. All the things that make Thin Lizzy great –rich guitar riffs, funky basslines and Phil Lynott’s smooth flowing vocals – but it is all organized a bit haphazardly. The band has all the elements it is going to need for success, but it hasn’t learned how to get out of its own way. The result is a complicated brilliance that I could always appreciate but couldn’t always groove to.

There are great moments on the record. “Honesty is No Excuse” is like a seventies FM radio hit (I say ‘like’ with purpose – this album yielded no hits). It is heartfelt and honest, the kind of song you play for your girl on your car radio as you feel her thigh through the thin jean of her bell-bottoms.

The album also has great Lynott ramblings. “Diddy Levine” is a rambling tale of love, regret, class warfare, and I don’t know what. Frankly, it was hard to follow, but fun to try. Interspersed with this rambling tale of various star-crossed lovers we get some killer guitar work from Eric Bell. It is a great song even if I was never sure exactly what it is trying to tell me.

“Diddy Levine” is representative of the feel of the whole album. Bell’s guitar draws you in with its groove, but the song as a whole is a complex meander that requires a lot of attention to appreciate.

At times, it feels like Thin Lizzy is trying to play sixties psychedelia, and at other times seventies rock but what is really happening is that they are exploring a plethora of sound and seeing what fits them best.

My biggest gripe with this record are the 9 bonus tracks aggressively advertised on the cover. This includes a bunch of A Side singles, the “New Day” EP and four 1977 remixes. The best thing in there is a kitschy song called “Old Moon Madness” but it didn’t make up for a lot of extras that just detracted from the original album.

The musicianship on this record is stellar whatever the band is doing. Listening to Lynott sing and Bell play guitar is a joy regardless of how many times they decide to change the plot or musical style. That brilliance is what decided me on keeping this record, even though when I started writing this review I had consigned it to banishment. Sure, it is unfocused and wild, but when you play this good, you get allowances.

Best tracks: Honesty is No Excuse, Diddy Levine, Remembering (Part One)

CD Odyssey Disc 1250: Devo

I recently watched a documentary about WLIR, a radio station in Long Island, New York that popularized New Wave and other alternative music in the late seventies through the mid-eighties. The documentary was called “New Wave: Dare To Be Different” and if you have an interest in music (which since you’re here, you clearly do) I recommend it. It is a great story about a bunch of fellow music lovers making a difference, and a fun trip down memory lane.

One of the bands noted on the documentary also happens to be my next review!

Disc 1250 is… Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo!

Artist: Devo

Year of Release: 1978

What’s up with the Cover? A drawing of Mark Mothersbaugh (I think). This picture makes me think of Hunter S. Thompson, with his newspaperman hat and jaunty grin.

How I Came to Know It: I first knew Devo from their cover of “Working in a Coal Mine” and from there they came casually in and out of my music life. My friend Nick has brought songs over in the past, a couple of which are on this record.

What drove me to give “Are We Not Men?...” a full listen was an article on Paste detailing the Top 30 albums (to them) from 1978. Devo landed at eighth. If I ever complete the Odyssey or find some extra time I’ll do my own “best of” list for 1978, but for now Paste Magazine’s gave me a few good leads, including this one.

How It Stacks Up:  I only have this one Devo album. I checked out some more of their stuff but nothing grabbed me, at least for new.

Ratings:  4 stars

Devo is not my usual music. As much as I enjoyed the documentary featuring so much New Wave, a quick run through of what I’ve reviewed at “A Creative Maelstrom” will show you it isn’t my scene. “Are We Not Men? We Are Devo!” proves that none of that genre bumpf matters when you deliver music this good.

Devo’s debut release sounds fresh and experimental by contemporary standards. It is hard to imagine what people made of it back in 1978. A weird mix of showtunes, punk rock, New Wave pop and proto-electronica, this record does whatever the hell it wants, waits for you to catch up, and then switches gears and does a totally different version of whatever the hell it wants.

Long-time readers will know my aversion to critical darlings that are innovative for their own sake but are otherwise unlistenable. Devo could easily have fallen into this category. Instead, Mark Mothersbaugh’s genius builds a musical maze out of a hundred impossible angles and then makes it a pleasure to walk you through it.

What’s the record about? Hell if I know. If you are approaching the album looking for complex metaphors and literary allusion you are barking up the wrong tree. Here it’s all about the music – the words are just some extra bit of paint on an already crowded canvas. Devo wisely keeps them simple and visceral.

There is lots of strange percussion, organ and early synthesizer and staccato guitar licks that sound like the guy playing is having a fit of palsy. Or at least that’s how it would seem if you tuned in for 20 seconds and turned the radio dial. However, this music is sneaky clever, with all that banging, droning and riffing all blending together into songs that are a joy to listen to. Most of them are downright danceable.

The opening track “Uncontrollable Urge” has a classic guitar riff that could be the intro to some blues rock song, until Mark Mothersbaugh starts singing a frantic run of  “yeah yeah yeah-yeah-ye-ye-yeahs jumping the beat, and some kind of Broadway chorus comes in where I think the bridge should go. Also, there are beeps and chirps. It all works.

The second song is a cover of the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” which takes the classic rock song and makes it sound like funk reimagined through the Mos Eisley Cantina band in Star Wars. Except awesome. Mothersbaugh’s frantic delivery on this song are exceptional, converting the unfulfilled longing of the original into something that captures the growing sense of future shock and hurry of modern life.

“Come Back Jonee” isn’t a cover of Johnny B. Goode, but it is inspired by it, using faint echoes of the original tune and lyrics before soaring off into bizarre Bowie-like organ space odyssey. Once again, it isn’t just clever, but also fun and infectious.

This record feels heavily before its time. “Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)” has the dreamy alternative sound of the Cure a year before they released their first record. “Praying Hands” theatrical rock would be at home in the 2001 rock opera “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

There times when “Are We Not Men?” loses me, like someone trying to see the impossible angles in a Lovecraftian witch house. While this takes me out of the music emotionally, I still appreciate what Devo are trying to do. The mistakes on the record are few, and they are always made with the best intentions.

My copy of the CD is also a reissue with a whole bunch of live tracks that are good, but had me wishing they were on a separate disc.

Other than that, there isn’t much to complain about. I checked a few more Devo albums out but nothing compared with the sheer brilliance and bravado of “Are We Not Men…”. Some bands just get it right the first time.

Best tracks: Uncontrollable Urge, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Praying Hands, Mongoloid, Jocko Homo

CD Odyssey Disc 1249: Lucinda Williams

For almost three years now I’ve been alternating random rolls out of albums that are “new to me” and albums I’ve known for years. I love hearing new music, but there’s also something pretty special about hearing a record for the 100^th time and still feel it hit you right in the solar plexus. That’s the case with this next review.

Disc 1249 is… Sweet Old World

Artist: Lucinda Williams

Year of Release: 1992

What’s up with the Cover? Lucinda shows off her heart-worn, ragged beauty. Also, her arms.

How I Came to Know It: This was my first Lucinda Williams album. I bought it after I heard her sing a duet with Steve Earle on his 1996 album “I Feel Alright.” This was the first record that was available when I went searching for her stuff at the local music store.

How It Stacks Up:  Turns out I started out pretty well. I have 12 Lucinda Williams albums and this one comes in solid at #4.

Ratings:  4 stars but almost 5

“Sweet Old World” is 45 minutes of raw emotion, a journey through the twisted, shadowy alluring labyrinth that is Lucinda Williams’ mind.

Williams’ vocals are rich and bittersweet; a warbling confessional reciting the dreams and fears of the many rich characters she inherits. She defines vulnerable and there are times where you’d feel guilty about looking into her inmost heart, if only it weren’t so damned beautiful.

The record is full of longing and loss. Characters stand alone and pine across distances. Sometimes their goal is only six blocks away, and sometimes they are separated by death itself. I felt myself listing from side to side, caught in the uncertainty of the world, only to be drawn safely through by her siren’s call. If she makes you scrape dangerously on a few rocks on the way to harbor, that isn’t malice, it’s just her nature.

The arrangements are a beautiful mix of the blues and old school country, over which Williams lattices a vocal that holds both traditions simultaneously. There was a lot of excess ambient sound and production in the early nineties, but “Sweet Old World” steers clear of those pitfalls. Each instrument is deliberate, and well placed and Williams’ singing style allows for them to shine alongside her, rather than sit unnoticed in the background.

It helps that the record has some amazing musicianship on it. The electric guitars are handled jointly by Duane Jarvis and the fantastically named Gurf Morlix. Both play with big, bluesy notes that fill all the space that needs filling but no more. Williams has secured the organ playing services of Heartbreaker Benmont Tench. As usual, Tench sprinkles magic on everything he touches in the same way Emmylou Harris selflessly knocks out a background vocal.

As I listened to “Sweet Old World” I kept having the urge to quote some of Lucinda Williams’ poetic brilliance. I’d hear the words and then flip through the CD liner notes (take that, downloaders) to find the perfect line. Every time I found the source of my inspiration it felt dead on the page. Without all that restrained glory of the players and Lucinda’s hurt-filled tones it felt two-dimensional.

This isn’t an indictment of the writing. On the contrary, this record tells stories and paints characters with equal grace. Rather, “Sweet Old World” is a reminder that to make a great record it requires all these disparate elements – words, theme, skill and heart – to come together and create a visceral experience every time you hear it.

The only song that isn’t an original is the final track, a cover of Nick Drake’s “Which Will.” The song is a masterpiece of walked-down chords, rainy days and the pensive wanderings of the mind. Drake’s original is a masterpiece, but once you hear Williams do this cover, it belongs to her.

“Sweet Old World” missed a 5-star grade by the narrowest of margins. There really isn’t anything wrong with this record, and the fact that it only lands 4^th in my Lucinda Williams odyssey is just further testament to the overall brilliance of her body of work.

Best tracks: 9 of 12: Six Blocks Away, Something About What Happens When We Talk, Sweet Old World, Little Angel Little Brother, Pineola, Prove My Love, Sidewalks of the City, Which Will

CD Odyssey Disc 1248: MAOW

I know I shouldn’t, but I am again watching American Idol. I am not proud of this. I realize I am only getting 40 minutes of music for every two hours I waste on this stuff, and 30 minutes of it I don’t enjoy, but I can’t help myself. I like watching these kids give it a go and pursue their dreams and a few of them (usually the ones who don’t win) are pretty amazing artists. Also, there is Katy Perry. She gets me through watching Lionel Ritchie awkwardly applaud people.

Most people don’t get their start on American Idol. Hell, most people on American Idol don’t get their start on American Idol. Those people bounce around a few bands before they hit it big. So it was with Neko Case, and this next review is one of those bands.

Disc 1248 is… The Unforgiving Sounds of…MAOW

Artist: MAOW

Year of Release: 1996

What’s up with the Cover? Our band stages what appears to be the worst boxing match in recorded history. This cover combines the amateur qualities of your typical folk music band photo without any of the earnestness that makes those covers forgivable. Sorry, MAOW.

How I Came to Know It: I knew that Neko Case had been in MAOW so gave them a shot.

How It Stacks Up:  MAOW made two albums but this is the only one I have so it can’t really stack up.

Ratings:  2 stars but almost 3

“The Unforgiving Sounds of…MAOW” is raw and uneven, but it has a joyful delivery that lets you forgive its faults and celebrate the fun of it all.

Fresh from drumming for Cub in 1993, three years later our heroine Neko Case was now drumming and singing in MAOW alongside co-vocalist/guitarist Tobey Black and bassist CC Hammond. While this is the second consecutive all girl trio based out of Vancouver, MAOW has a different sound from Cub – actually it has a couple of sounds.

The band is half pop-punk, with those songs tending to be sung by Black. Whereas Cub’s version of punk has a cute melodic core, MAOW is all about the raw energy of a garage band. They do the sound well, reveling in rough-edged topics. “Mommie’s Drunk” explores alcoholism and poor parenting, and “Woman’s Scorn” is about doing violence to a (presumably) deserving man.

Even when they’re dark, though, MAOW has a tongue in cheek, particularly when they are exploring sexually explicit topics, which they do often. “Wank” is a woman teasing someone she’s rejected and imagining him going home to masturbate to her memory.  “One Night Stand”, a song about telling that man you slept with to clear out and stop making such a big deal of it. She was drunk, and you were there. The rhymes are obvious but visceral:

“When I was drunk you really turned me on

But now I’m sober and I wish you were gone

Either go get me a six pack of beer

Or just grab your shit and get out of here.”

Nice to know there is still at least one way back into her heart…

These are the Tobey Black songs, but they only represent half of the album’s sound. “The Unforgiving Sounds…” is just as much rockabilly as it is punk, particular on songs where Neko Case takes the lead. Case even does a cover of rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson’s “Mean Mean Man” with good results. Case’s country vocals also juxtapose well with Black’s punk growl. Case never unloads the full power of those pipes, but on “Very Missionary” you can hear the first hints of the big brassy vocals that would come fully into their own a year later on her first solo album, the classic “The Virginian.”

“The Unforgiving Sounds…” is no Virginian, and I wished I could hear Case just fully belt out one song, but it is cool to hear her starting to find her voice.

Overall, you can feel the punk seeping into the rockabilly songs and the rockabilly songs seep into the punk ones. The tracks are short and it sometimes makes for a toxic marriage, like two ex-lovers living in a house too small for their anger. Other times that tension makes the songs even better. “Showpie” is a good example of both, awkwardly fusing what feels like two totally different songs. It is disjointed but you forgive it because the two songs involved in the unholy union are both good.

I like MAOW’s bravery, and the album has an undeniable energy. At 16 songs and only 20 minutes long I would have preferred a few fewer songs that lasted a bit longer, but hey – that’s the nature of this style of punk. Get in, get on it, and get out. I didn’t do that as a listener, though. The record was so short I gave it about 8 solid listens over the last two days. Despite the repetition, the record held up well so I’m giving it the honour of some shelf space in my collection after all.

Best tracks: Wank, Sucker, Rock ‘n’ Roll Boy, Very Missionary, Showpie, One Night Stand

CD Odyssey Disc 1247: Ice-T

I had a successful CD shop this weekend, finding five albums on my wishlist and a sixth that I took a chance on. Here's what I came home with:

• Julia Jacklin – Crushing (2019)
• Yola – Walk Through Fire (2019)
• Nilufer Yanya – Miss Universe (2019)
• The Be Good Tanyas – Blue Horse (2000)
• 10CC – Deceptive Bends (1977)
• Cub - Box of Hair (1996)

The Cub record was the chancy one, but I really liked their album "Betti-Cola" (reviewed back at Disc 1240) and it was only $4.95. I'll talk about each of those records when I roll them.

Disc 1247 is… O.G. Original Gangster

Artist: Ice-T

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover? Two sides of Ice-T. We have suave debonair Ice-T dressed up for a black tie event in front of a big house, and we have gangster criminal Ice-T showing off his pythons as he shuffles off to the Big House.

Much like the decision to include two photos, this album seems uncertain on what to call itself. O.G. Original Gangster seems superfluous. Kind of like ATM Machine, or Stargate SG-1. But I digress…

How I Came to Know It: I am not 100% certain. I know I first gave Ice-T a proper listen at my friend Chris’ house many years ago through the “Freedom of Speech” album. It might have been my friend Patrick who put me onto this particular record, or maybe my friend Spence. I guess I’m lucky to have a lot of great friends introducing me to music. If it was someone else, and you’re reading this then I apologize for the oversight but thank you for the recommendation all the same.

How It Stacks Up:  I have four Ice-T albums and I like them all, but “Original Gangster” is the best. Since this is the final review of those in my collection, here’s a recap:

1. O.G. Original Gangster: 5 stars (reviewed right here)
2. Power: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 639)
3. The Iceberg: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1031)
4. Rhyme Pays: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 969)

Ratings:  5 stars

 “Original Gangster” is rap at its finest, combining the raw danger of West Coast rap with all the laid back groove of the East Coast.

On his earlier records, Ice-T’s best quality is his furious flow, snapping his rhymes down on the end of the bar with exquisite timing, in a sparse environment of simple beats and rhythms, well employed. On “Original Gangster” he elevates his already impressive flow and throws in a lot more samples and rhythms. Despite this, the record never feels busy or disjointed. Everything Ice-T adds is to give the songs more groove.

This record breaks one of my main rules by being too long (72 minutes) with too many tracks (24). The vinyl edition apparently only has 16 tracks, which you would think I would prefer but I can’t imagine what 8 tracks I’d remove to make that happen. No matter what you deleted – even the little skits interspersed throughout – it would be wrong.

As you might expect from the title, the record has many gangster rap elements, and on the title track and “New Jack Hustler” he paints a picture of gang violence in LA that is compelling and visceral. However, the record covers traditional “I rap better than you” themes brilliantly as well, and on “Fly By” his furious style is at Rakim-level brilliance.

Rap has a long tradition of decrying hypocrisy and falsity, and few rappers do it better than Ice-T. On “Bitches” he calls out stool pigeons, freeloaders, and double-talkers, and making it clear you’ll find these kinds of cowards in every walk of life.

When he wants to, Ice also gets political. Free speech is a longstanding theme in Ice-T’s work and on “Straight Up N____” he takes it a new level. I can’t quote the song, but that’s partly Ice-T’s intent. He gets to call himself what he wants and define himself how he wants, delivering some cutting social commentary in the process.

The record even introduces us to Ice-T’s rock side, as he debuts “Body Count” one of the songs from his rap-metal crossover band of the same name. In 1991 the divisions between rock and rap were much more severe and zealously defended than they are today. Ice-T was one of the first people to recognize the foolishness of that approach, saying in a short interview at the beginning of the track:

“…as far as I’m concerned music is music. I don’t look at it as rock, RnB, and all that stuff. I look at it as music…I do what I like, and I happen to like rock and roll and I feel sorry for anyone who only listens to one form of music.”

Truer words were never spoken. The album “Body Count” (reviewed back at Disc 665) LINK would come out a year later and is yet another five star record, proving what an incredible run Ice-T was on in these two years.

Back to “Original Gangster,” which is a fierce, honest unrepentant record that gives you full appreciation for the many facets of Ice-T. His rap influences, his rock influences, his personality and his political views are all wrapped up into a record that is authentic, raw, and groovy as hell. It is simply one of the best rap records ever made.

Best tracks: All tracks. Less so, all those little skits and partial songs, but they also add to the album’s charm.

CD Odyssey Disc 1246: Bad Cop Bad Cop

My brain is a bit tired tonight, and I’m also not feeling 100%, but this album gave me a much needed burst of energy. Besides, the Odyssey must sail on if it is going to get back to Ithaca.

Disc 1246 is… Not Sorry

Artist: Bad Cop Bad Cop

Year of Release: 2014

What’s up with the Cover? A female luchador, arms akimbo. She looks like she could kick your ass and not apologize after. Get it? Get it? Man, I crack myself up.

How I Came to Know It: I saw them open for Frank Turner on his last tour. At the Vancouver show I went to their merch table and bought both this record and 2017’s “Warriors” (reviewed at Disc 1187) at the same time

How It Stacks Up:  I just have the two Bad Cop Bad Cop albums and of the two I put “Not Sorry” in at…second. Last isn’t so bad when it is also second.

Ratings:  3 stars

“Not Sorry” is energetic pop-flavoured punk. It isn’t all punk snarl but it does has have a healthy dollop. It also has a solid amount of melody and thoughtful songwriting. If this bothers you then I have two words for you – The Clash.

Are Bad Cop Bad Cop as good as the legendary Clash? No, but they come in the same tradition that punk is founded in the spirit of rebellion, not in some wrongheaded notion that you shouldn’t be able to play your instruments correctly or have to record your album in a tin can.

Lead singer Stacey Dee snarls with abandon as she sings songs that are often confessional and intensely personal. Dee has a heavy case of the feels and she’s not afraid to show tough and vulnerable at the same time but make no mistake – tough wins out. Guitarist Jennie Cotterill also sings, and the band makes some unexpectedly pretty harmonies for a punk band.

On my earlier review I noted that the band reminds me favourably of Green Day, and that is true on “Not Sorry” as well. “Old Dogs” is a bit too much like Green Day, but as Bad Cop Bad Cop are clever songwriters, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were punking me in that other way by doing that. If so, kudos but I still didn’t love the song.

Fortunately, there were plenty of others to love, notably “Here’s To You” a song about losing a loved one, and “Sugarcane” a song about an abusive relationship. These are heavy topics, and on both BCBC demonstrate how to draw positive energy and agency out of bad experiences.  

“Sugarcane” is particularly powerful with the opening line:

“She went back to the guy that beat her

That publicly called her a whore”

Telling you the story is going to be dark, but with Dee willing to both stand up for her friend singing:

“I’d use a fucking hammer on his face

Yeah I would do that for her”

And, just as importantly, encouraging positive action from her friend with an anthemic chorus of:

“Get up, get out, get on!

Get a new life, one you’d be proud of!”

It is touching, empowering and yes, it rocks the fuck out.

The album has a surprising amount of range. The crunch of punk on songs like “Support” blend well with the pop anthem qualities of “Like, Seriously”. The reggae beat structure that leads off “I’m Alright” doesn’t fit quite so well, but hell – it worked for the Clash so you can’t blame them for giving it a go.

BCBC is a force of nature live, and I recommend the experience if you have the opportunity. Their studio albums are a lot more polished, but just as enjoyable in another way. On the albums the lyrics are easier to pick up, and worth noting. What’s more, they preserve most of the energy they bring to their live shows, which isn’t easy to do.

Overall, while I prefer their follow up album “Warriors,” “Not Sorry” is a quality record that is going to get airplay in my collection for years to come.

Best tracks: Nightmare, Here’s To You, Joey Lawrence, Sugarcane, Like Seriously, Support