CD Odyssey Disc 1461: Ice Cube

This is the second straight album that my friend Spence introduced me to. Coincidence…or conspiracy? The first one. If you thought otherwise, stop visiting the wrong websites.

Disc 1461 is…. Amerikkka’s Most Wanted

Artist: Ice Cube

Year of Release: 1990

What’s up with the Cover?  Ice Cube fixes his angry glare on…you! “Do you wanna rap battle me?” he seems to be asking. Assuredly not, Mr. Cube. The mic is yours.

Also of note, that building in the background looks like it says “Fashion Blog.” It doesn’t (the ‘D’ just looks like an ‘O’) but if that bit of text brought you here by mistake, intending to read a fashion blog, here’s a great one. And to quote that sites’ author, I link because I love!

How I Came To Know It: Early on in my rap exploration I was mostly an East Coast guy, and didn’t give much stuff on the West Coast my time. However, my buddy Spence would often put on tunes by N.W.A. and Ice Cube. Recently I finally got into N.W.A. after watching a documentary, which naturally led me to Ice Cube. But none of that would have happened if Spence hadn’t planted the seeds. Thanks, buddy!

How It Stacks Up: I have three Ice Cube albums (I don’t waste any time once I like something). I am still exploring them, so it is hard to say how they stack up. “Amerikkka’s Most Wanted” and “Death Certificate” seem tied for #1 in my mind, and I wont 100% decide until I’ve reviewed both. For now “Amerikkka’s Most Wanted” takes the gold.

Ratings: 4 stars but almost 5

If “Amerikkka’s Most Wanted” seems nasty, crude and violent, just imagine how it sounded when it came out. It is a testament to the album’s uncompromising brilliance that thirty years later, it still hits you like a hammer.

Yes, Ice Cube has a lot of nasty things to say. The record is laden with violence, teen pregnancy, crime and unflinching observations on race relations in America. Ice Cube tackles these topics in a way that cuts through any attempt at polite discourse. He’s not interested in a veiled conversation on these topics. His lines are artful, but they are drawn with a boldness that dares his audience to step over.

There are plenty of angry rappers in the history of the genre, but it isn’t anger or strong opinions that make a great rap record. To do that you have to have incredible beats, timely samples, a great flow and a flair for storytelling. “Amerikkka’s Most Wanted” sticks the landing on every point, while providing an unflinching glimpse into life in the projects for good measure.

The beats and samples are a tag team effort of Eric Sadler (famous for his work with Public Enemy) and producer/rapper Sir Jinx. Together, they create songs built for head bobbing and slow rolling in a convertible with the top down. I succumbed myself to the groove, albeit I was in a Jaguar and wearing a suit at the time. I’ll be the first to admit it is quite a juxtaposition, but good music is good music.

Rap albums often feature spoken word skits which, done poorly, can run too long and sap the album’s energy. On “Amerikkka’s Most Wanted” the skits are tight, short, and run naturally into the next track in a way that gets you excited, rather than impatient.

The album is funny in places, as long as you don’t mind your comedy dark, raw and adult oriented. On “Gangsta’s Fairytale” Ice Cube stitches together old nursery rhymes, classic Disney characters and inner-city life experience to create an R-rated, expletive laden reimagined folk story. It ends with a sample of Andrew Dice Clay claiming carnal knowledge of Mother Goose. Why would Ice Cube sample shock comic Andrew Dice Clay you ask? He’s trying to shock you.

And while Ice Cube is a brilliant storyteller, weaving clever character-driven narratives seamlessly into his flow, he is also one of the greatest to grab a mic. Throughout the record he delivers his rhymes in multiple styles with equal brilliance, before ending the record with the furiously fast “The Bomb.” “The Bomb” is one of those rap songs that is so intricate and breathless all you can do is bow your head, groove, and try to keep out of the way.

For all this record’s brilliance, Ice Cube is not for everyone. If you are easily offended – hell, if you are just offended from time to time – this is a record you will want to avoid. But if you like old school gangsta rap from one of the genre’s best, and by some miracle you’re like me and are just stumbling on it now, it is worth your time.

Best tracks: What They Hittin’ Foe?, Amerikkka’s Most Wanted, You Can’t Fade Me, Once Upon a Time in the Projects, A Gangsta’s Fairytale, The Bomb

CD Odyssey Disc 1460: Budgie

It has been over eight years since I last reviewed an album by this next band. Welcome back, Budgie!

Disc 1460 is…. Self-Titled

Artist: Budgie

Year of Release: 1971

What’s up with the Cover?  Yet another depiction of a budgie-headed man riding a flying horse through the clouds. How predictable.

How I Came To Know It: My friend Spence put me onto this album – and the band generally. I can even remember where it happened. He played the song “Homicidal Suicidal” in his car. I even remember where we were, driving down Yates Street. I don’t remember the year, because years have all begun to bleed into one another as “Pre-Covid Times” but a long time ago – over ten years at least. I do remember he played it loud, which is how this record is best enjoyed.

How It Stacks Up: It has been so long since I reviewed my last Budgie album that I have added two more to my collection and now own seven. I had been saving first place for this record, but in the end it landed in third, just behind “In for the Kill” and “Never Turn Your Back on a Friend.”

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

If you are one of those people who praise an album with expressions like, “dude, it is so heavy” then this record is for you. While later Budgie could be thought of as a cross between Black Sabbath and Rush, their debut replaces the Rush in that equation with Cream. Gone are the proggy musings, replaced with even more sludgy riffs and a healthy dollop of acid-rock.

The record is blast after blast of six to eight minute hard rock awesomeness, with short little hippy guitar noodles that serve as a palate cleanser before the next song shoves your head back under again. The heaviness of the record should not be compared to the metallic crunch of later metal. Their sound is rounded at the edges, and very bluesy, while holding to that aggressive metal style.

Ray Phillips drumming lands with dull but powerful thuds, reminding me favourably of Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward. On “Nude Disintegrating Parachute Woman” Phillips delivers some of his best hits, the strikes coming slow and off-kilter, stumbling toward you like an artful drunk. The song also features some of guitarist’s Tony Bourge best work. Bourge is playing around with blues solos here, but he takes them into the land of psychedelia. “Nude Disintegrating Parachute Woman” is eight and a half minutes of your life you won’t get back, but you won’t want to either.

Oh, and if that song title inspired you and are wondering what it is about, the answer is…not much more than that image, possibly viewed through a drugged or alcoholic haze. Budgie sings about weird shit, but the lyrics are often less important than a general mood they’re trying to invoke. That’s the case here.

The album’s true masterpiece (and the song my buddy first hooked me with) is the album’s final track, “Homicidal Suicidal.” This song has the same brilliant riff/drum combo of Phillips/Bourge but the riff is even better. It is a riff that would be one of rock and roll’s most instantly recognizable if only Budgie had been just a little more famous. It is also the best work from vocalist (and Geddy Lee lookalike) Burke Shelley. This song is built for standing on the hood of a Camaro, arms outstretched and beer in hand, ideally with your shirt off. Make sure the Camaro owner is cool first, though. Camaros are a thing of beauty and not to be abused. But I digress…

Back to the album, which does have one significant drawback, that being the production. Budgie turned the sludge up to 11 and while this is deliberate, it can take away from some of the fabulous musicianship on display. The drums benefit a lot from the treatment, but the separation of sound suffers. If you really love sludgy production, this will hands-down be your favourite Budgie record, but I wanted a bit more definition.

Finally, like all these Budgie remasters in my collection, it has a whole bunch of superfluous bonus tracks that annoyed the hell out of me. While Billy Bragg has the good manners to put bonus material on a separate disc, Budgie loads it all in together, leaving me with three versions of “Nude Disintegrating Parachute Woman.” Eight and a half minutes of that song is a good time, but when it gets north of 20 minutes it’s too much.

Overall, I love this record and more than a decade after the first time I heard it, “Homicidal Suicidal” remains one of my all-time favourite rock songs.

Best tracks: Guts, Nude Disintegrating Parachute Woman, Homicidal Suicidal

CD Odyssey Disc 1459: Dream Wife

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey! After a very busy couple of months I’m taking a breather and having a long weekend staycation with my wonderful wife. I’ve bought some new shoes, visited my of-late neglected local pub and had a great dinner at Fiamo, Now…music!

Disc 1459 is…. Self-Titled

Artist: Dream Wife

Year of Release: 2018

What’s up with the Cover?  It’s the band, but only after someone has clicked the “rotate left 90 degrees” button in their photo editor. The reason for doing this is unclear but if the intent was for it to look better, it has failed.

How I Came To Know It: I heard about Dream Wife through their 2020 release “So When You Gonna…” I liked that and decided to dig into their back catalogue. Since they only have two albums, this did not take long.

How It Stacks Up: I have two Dream Wife albums. If you are reading along, you know which two already. Of those, I rank their self-titled debut at #2.

Ratings: 3 stars

Attention lonely middle-aged men looking for mail-order brides: your search has brought you to the wrong website. Please move along. However, if you came here hoping for some high energy pop-punk music, read on, because Dream Wife’s debut album may be uneven, but one thing it does not lack is energy.

At first I found myself marveling at how much sound a three-piece rock band can make when they put their mind to it. Alice Go’s guitar is appropriately grimy, and Bella Podpadec’s bass is the secret star of the band, selflessly holding the low end down when the guitars are wailing and making the songs more interesting when the barrage lightens up. The songs have a punkish simplicity, but the arrangements come in and out of “loud” mode in a way that keeps your ear interested.

Of course, they aren’t strictly speaking a three-piece, as every one of these tracks has a drummer (different ones depending on the track), and learning this my “wow, how loud” musings were significantly muted.

Speaking of percussion, the best song on the album, “Hey! Heartbreaker” has some dope handclaps featured prominently. As everyone knows, handclaps make any rock song better, and here Dream Wife deploy them with precision and enthusiasm. The song also showcases lead vocalist Rakel Mjoll’s voice at its best. She mixes a sweet coquettish quality in the verses with an angry rocker growl in the chorus. The juxtaposition is well suited to a song where the titular character is both a) sexually desirable and b) a jerk.

There are other moments on the record, however, where Mjoll’s vocals pulled me out of the moment. She’s great when she fully commits to the emotion of the song, but there are times on otherwise good songs (e.g. “Somebody”) when the phrasing is affected without purpose. The words curling playfully where she would be better served just committing to the tune.

There are a ton of influences on the record (a common and welcome trait with modern music made by kids that have basically had digital access to almost every song ever recorded for most of their lives). There is eighties pop, alternative nineties crunch, post-punk and just plain rock and roll. I like the way the record ranges around and tries on different styles like different outfits. Sure there were times when I would have toned down the “wall of sound”, but hell, I almost always feel like that.

The album ends on a high note, with “F.U.U.” which stands for “fuck you up”. The song launches with a distorted and menacing guitar riff, then drops down to a frenetic drumbeat (and some Podpadec’s best bass work). In this case, Mjoll’s slightly disassociated and whimsical delivery makes the song even nastier, suggesting an off-handed violence with no other purpose than for the sheer thrill of it.

The record grew on me with repeat listens, which is usually a good sign. It isn’t perfect, but it’s still worth a spin or two to decide for yourself.

Best tracks: Let’s Make Out, Hey! Heartbreaker, F.U.U.

CD Odyssey Disc 1458: Billy Bragg

I’ve had a pretty amazing day in music. My buddy Ross got one of my music idols (Eric Bloom from Blue Oyster Cult) to send me a personal video greeting. He even sang along to “Take Me Away”. Holy crap. Best gift ever. Thanks to Ross and to Eric as well.

Disc 1458 is…. William Bloke

Artist: Billy Bragg

Year of Release: 1996

What’s up with the Cover?  My copy of this album is part of a series re-issue, with a bunch of bonus content (more on that later). For this release they changed the cover and just put a typewriter. However, I’ve decided to honour the original cover which is [drum roll] a typewriter and a bunch of coloured bars. My assumption is that someone was playing the world’s most unwinnable version of tabletop Tetris (“another long bar that won’t rotate!!!”) and, losing their shit, dropped a typewriter on the game.

For those of you who would prefer just the typewriter, separate and safely apart from the angry Tetris bars, here you go.

You’re welcome.

How I Came To Know It: I come to Billy Bragg through my buddy Nick, but I’m not sure if he had this album, so it might have just been me burning through Billy’s back catalogue.

How It Stacks Up: I have nine Billy Bragg albums. Of those, I put “William Bloke” in at #2.

Ratings: 4 stars

Billy Bragg is constant in his exploration of social themes and political protest folk music, but over the years his sound has evolved considerably. With “William Bloke” he demonstrates some new tricks, while maintaining the qualities of his early work that fans will know and love.

Still present is Bragg’s signature guitar sound, which is big and bold, betraying his busker origins. This is particularly strong on “A Pict Song.” On the surface, it is a tune about the Pict resistance to Roman rule in England, but at a deeper level is the inevitable victory of the small and resilient over the overbearing and powerful. For a song ostensibly about a struggle over 1,500 years old, with lyrics over 100 (lifted from a Rudyard Kipling poem of the same name) it does an impressive job of infusing a dose of modern-day fist pumping. A big part of this is the language, which is gorgeous and evocative throughout, but the heavy-handed and authoritative chords on Bragg’s electric guitar are also a key part of the experience.

The album also ranges far afield from this traditional Bragg offering, adding the jump of a horn section here and there for emotional intensity. On “Upfield” those horns dig in and lift the song’s natural elation. On “Goalhanger” the horns play a minor key “wuh-waah” that makes it clear our main character is to be mocked and dismissed. “Goalhanger” is one of the best songs about upper class twits of the year you will hear. The horns set the mood, but Bragg’s lyrics do most of the damage. A sampling is in order:

“He's got the bonhomie of a game show host
And his handshake is so limp it's like meeting a ghost
His apologies are tired 'cause he uses them a lot
His excuses are so lame if they were horses they'd be shot
He lies through his teeth with impeccable grammar
In the game of life he's just a dreadful goalhanger”

A cutting ode about a guy we’ve all met at some point in our lives.

Bragg was approaching the age of 40 when he released “William Bloke” and songs about aging and changing perspectives are also in evidence. My favourite, “The Space Race is Over,” is a forlorn exploration of lost innocence. Bragg recalls his boyhood dreams of on day going to the moon. As he stands staring up at the sky with his son, the youthful enthusiasm comes back to him, but it feels pale and distant, knowing it is a dream that will never come true. Welcome to middle age, Billy.

As noted earlier, my copy of “William Bloke” is a re-issue that comes with a whole second disc of bonus content. It mostly consists of demo versions that serve to remind me (as demos usually do) that the final version is almost always better. There are a few good demos out there (Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘no cowbell’ version of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” comes to mind) but mostly, they should have stayed in the studio as a reference point to something better.

The bonus disc also has a cool version of the Smiths’ “Never Had No One Ever” and a few other odds and ends, but the best thing about it is that it is on a separate disc! I can’t stress this enough, people. If you want to include additional material on your CD reissue please put it on a separate disc, so I can choose to hear just the original album if I wish. Kudos to Billy Bragg for getting this.

Also, kudos to him for making one of his best records ever, which given his storied career is no small feat.

Best tracks: From Red to Blue, Upfield, A Pict Song, The Space Race Is Over, Northern Industrial Town, Goalhanger

CD Odyssey Disc 1457: John Prine

Another day in the ole pandemic. I have a feeling the boardgame is considerably more fun than the actual experience, but that would be a low bar to clear at this point.

Disc 1457 is…. Bruised Orange

Artist: John Prine

Year of Release: 1978

What’s up with the Cover?  “Where did you get that amazing haircut!?!” said absolutely no one who ran into John Prine that week.

I would be remiss not to also point out that this is a Giant Head cover, long a point of interest here at A Creative Maelstrom.

How I Came To Know It: I listened to a whole bunch of John Prine when I first got into him maybe 10 years ago and bought most of my CDs within a few months of each other. Not “Bruised Orange,” though. There was a used copy at a local record store for most of those ten years, but it sells for $39, and I always felt the price was kind of steep. The fact that they’ve never marked it down tells me they think otherwise. Fair do’s.

However, I am dogged when in pursuit of an album so everywhere I went I would diligently go the John Prine section of the local record store and take a quick look for it. I did this for years until finally, a couple months ago, there it was sitting pretty-as-you-please in another local record store, used, for $25. With the price point more to my liking I snatched it up and raced for the till.

Clever readers will note the cover “Compact Disc Available from Oh Boy Records.” I checked into this and to my chagrin, it is true. $11.99 US, plus S&H. D’oh!

How It Stacks Up: I have six John Prine albums (and have parted with a seventh). I feel like the top three of those are all pretty interchangeable, and I shift around a lot picking my favourite. Today, this one wins first place, but really you should be getting #1-3 for the full John Prine Experience. This being (at last) my final John Prine review, here’s the full accounting:

1. Bruised Orange: 4 stars (reviewed right here)
2. Sweet Revenge: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1311)
3. Self-Titled: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1444)
4. Aimless Love: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1169)
5. Diamonds in the Rough: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1434)
6. Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessings: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1042)
7. The Missing Years: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1026 and given away)

Prine had a lot more albums of course (18 total) and I’ve given every one of them a chance, but if you don’t see it on the list above, I didn’t like it enough to own it.

Ratings: 4 stars

John Prine is a funny guy, and a lot of his songs have a lot of wry and self-deprecating humour. “Bruised Orange” has its moments on this front as well, but as Prine albums go, it is more sad and world weary than most. The result may not cause you to laugh as much, but it does make for a solid selection of songs.

As ever, Prine’s vocals will never win a singing competition. He holds a tune, but his voice quavers with strain if pushed outside of about an octave and a half overall. I get this, having a pretty limited range myself, so no judgment. It doesn’t matter, because Prine is a brilliant songwriter and lyricist. Sure you could go looking for covers by better singers, (and I recommend you do), but pure, unvarnished Prine is well worth your time.

The first track, “Fish and Whistle”, gets us started in a relatively upbeat way. It features a lot of experiences Prine didn’t enjoy (being in the army, washing a parking lot) but he shrugs it off with a jaunty chorus of:

“Father forgive us
For what we must do
You forgive us
We'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other
Till we both turn blue
Then we'll whistle and go fishing
In heaven.”

I like the egalitarian nature of the relationship with God expressed here. You forgive us but also, we’ll forgive you. For Prine, forgiveness is a two-way street, even with the almighty.

It isn’t long before that aforementioned sadness starts cropping up, though. “If You Don’t Want My Love” a slow and somber number that will break your heart. Like “Fish and Whistle” it’s a song about reciprocity of love, only here that love is absent. Both tune and lyrics it will stop you in your tracks and make your eyes glisten.

“Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)” is another heavy song, as Prine further explores how the world can beat you down through the years. The tune here feels like it is constantly dropping down, and the end of every stanza falls in resignation. However, even here Prine’s innate optimism shines through with some good advice:

“You can gaze out the window, get mad and get madder
Throw your hands in the air, say, "What does it matter?"
But it don't do no good to get angry
So help me, I know”

There are a couple moments on the album where Prine descends to his “jovial uncle” personality notably “Aw Heck” which is filled with awkward metaphors redeemed in easy and natural rhymes. It doesn’t work for me, but it is one of the few songs on the record that doesn’t.

The record’s final track, “The Hobo Song” has Prine yearning for a simpler time, where hobos road the rails and life felt more free. The tune has a sad mosey, and while Prine mythologizes the experience, he ends sending a letter to his lover, after realizing he has been gone too long, and needs to find his way home again. It is just the right mixture of sadness and wisdom that makes “Bruised Orange” such a great record, and well worth my persistent efforts to add it to my collection. You know, even though I could have ordered it from the label years ago.

Best tracks: Fish and Whistle, If You Don’t Want My Love, That’s The Way That The World Goes ‘Round, Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow), The Hobo Song

CD Odyssey Disc 1456: Thunderpussy

I meant to write this review last night but ended up working late and falling asleep on the couch. I worked late again today, but this time I am determined to power through.

Disc 1456 is…. Self-Titled

Artist: Thunderpussy

Year of Release: 2018

What’s up with the Cover?  Rock and roll, that’s what. Giant snakes, an aggressive band logo and a band looking its audience dead in eye and shouting defiance. Like I said: rock and roll.

How I Came To Know It: I saw a video for “Speed Queen” and it got me intrigued. Then I saw an amazing live performance on KEXP and I was hooked.

How It Stacks Up: This is my only Thunderpussy album, so it can’t stack up against anything.

Ratings: 4 stars

Twee indie bands, please quake in your boots, for Thunderpussy has arrived to remind you that rock and roll is far from dead. The all-woman quartet from Seattle’s first full length album is a visceral shot across the bow, full of guitar riffs, big bold vocals, and (as the band name suggests) a boatload of sexual imagery.

The album’s opening track, “Speed Queen” sets the immediate tone. Starting with a couple bars of a lone foreboding drum (with plenty of high hat) and the sound of a powerful car engine rolling past, it tells you something exciting is about to happen. Then Whitney Petty’s guitars kick in and that promise is fulfilled. This is a song for taking corners too fast and giving your number to a stranger in a dive bar. It is rock and roll personified, from the sultry power of Molly Sides vocals all the way down to the gratuitous use of cowbell.

However, for all the Camaro rock power of Thunderpussy, they also have the ability to slow it down and deliver atmospheric blues numbers that are almost liquid in their easy flow. “Torpedo Love” is a languid number, meandering its way with an absent-minded power. There is still plenty of reverb guitar going on, but the song has moments reminiscent of the slow symphonic rise of a movie score. Molly Sides also shows her other side, trading in the growl of the open road, for a smooth croon. It is still 100% rock and roll, but now its rock and roll that takes its time.

This dichotomy is present throughout the record, often showing up within a single song. Whichever style they are playing in, Thunderpussy is always sexy as hell. On the title track, peaches get ripe, and lines like “come take a ride in my slide ‘n’ slide” leave little room for confusion. Sides can be rough and playful with her delivery in one moment, and then just stare you down and drop catcalls in the next. It is all very sex positive, but not for the bashful listener.

Right after this song they go right back to the warm bath of rock sound, with “Young & Pure” to close out the record. This features some of Sides’ best vocals, as she shows off a surprising sweetness, reminding you that we were all young and pure once, even unabashed rock goddesses like her.

In terms of sound, I can’t decide what side of the band I like the best, but fortunately I don’t have to choose. I can drift along on the slower numbers just as happily as I can headbang to the crunchier tunes. They have range to spare and fear no experiment. They do a rock take on a tango (“Utero Tango”) and even employ a theremin on the record somewhere, although I didn’t catch it on this listen. And while they play around with musical styles and tempos, they always tie it back to a core of hard rock.

The record has a consistent and visceral energy that signals how great they would be live (go check out the aforementioned KEXP show for living proof). Listening I felt a pang of regret having never seen them in concert despite their being based just across the water from me. When the pandemic subsides, Thunderpussy is one of the first bands I’ll be searching concert dates for. Until then, I’ve got the record to give me my fix.

Best tracks: Speed Queen, Fever, Torpedo Love, Velvet Noose, Thunderpussy, Young & Pure

CD Odyssey Disc 1455: Gary Numan

I realize it is still winter for a couple more weeks, but it is starting to feel like spring is around the corner. It could be the anticipation of a vaccinated world, or maybe just the effect of a longer day, but I’ll take it. OK – here’s some music.

Disc 1455 is…. The Pleasure Principle

Artist: Gary Numan

Year of Release: 1979

What’s up with the Cover?  Gary Numan looks askance at a glowing red pyramid. This cover invites us to wonder what exactly Mr. Numan is thinking. My best guess is “I should never have opened my neighbour’s Amazon package” or maybe, “This new intercom system is starting to make me wonder if we should have sold the firm to the undying pharaoh Nephren-Ka”.

How I Came To Know It: I know the album’s hit single, but it would never have occurred to me to check into Gary Numan if it weren’t for my buddy Nick. Nick is a big Gary Numan fan. You can tell a big fan because when you ask them which album is the best, they can never pick just one. When I told Nick I picked this album up, he was happy, but immediately said, “you need to get Replicas as well”. See? Big fan.

How It Stacks Up: Numan is still making music (he has 22 studio albums and another on the way this May). Despite this and ongoing exhortations from my mates, to date this is my only Gary Numan album. This means for now it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 4 stars

A quick scan of the bands I’ve reviewed so far will tell you that Gary Numan’s synthesizer New Wave weirdness is not my usual jam. But great music is always my jam, and this stuff is as wonderful as it is weird.

“The Pleasure Principle” is otherworldly. The synthesizers scream artificiality, and Numan’s vocals are deliberately robotic. Despite this, the album feels deep and emotional. There are a few reasons for this.

The first is that while these songs are reinforced behind a wall of fuzzy synth, at their core they are sneaky melodic. Sure it is played on synths, but a lot of these songs would sound just as dope on an electric guitar in a traditional rock arrangement. Some, like “M.E.” would even be great as acoustic folk – my mind even filled in violin for some of the synth bits from time to time. Good songs have good bones, even when those bones are made of metal and plastic, as they are here.

The second reason is Numan’s vocal performance. He has a quavering vibrato and stilted delivery to underscore the technology-forward sound and themes of the songs, but the human in him shines through. Or not human exactly, but more an AI that has learned to love. Kind of like the terminator in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which befriends John Connor, and saves his life, only to bid him a tearful “hasta la vista” and fall into a vat of molten metal. But I digress…

Lastly, I was surprised and impressed with the Tubeway Army drummer Cedric Sharpley. New Wave is not my go-to for great drummers. I tend to hate that artificial tinny sound that they default to, and the excessive use of drum machine over actual drums. Sharpley is a revelation, and the secret weapon that elevates this record above and beyond any style bias I might have had. His work on tracks like “Observer” and “Films” helps make the songs. He’s precise but intricate, dropping creative beats that fit right into the “we are all clones” vibe of the tunes but with a kernel of humanity at their centre. Sharpley died tragically of a heart attack in 2012, but he left us an amazing performance here that will ensure he lives forever.

I would be remiss not to mention the album’s big hit, “Cars” which is the only Gary Numan song a lot of people will know (certainly true for me for many years). “Cars” is a love song about our fascination with the automobile, but also an exploration of how part of that love is their ability to give us a “separateness” that we move through the world in. On a personal note, I recently bought a car and I can confirm that yes, it is a lot of fun driving to this song. The roar of the engine fits in nicely, like Numan planned it that way.

My copy of “The Pleasure Principle” is (of course) on compact disc, and it features a gratuitous seven bonus tracks. This pushes the album to a bloated 17 songs, and 68 minutes, some of which are just instrumental mood pieces. It is hard to complain, though, because the bonus tracks are all good. For example, if you ever want to experience the terror of a haunted insane asylum, I recommend “Asylum” which does it as well as any horror movie could. He even does a cover of “On Broadway” which is the first time I have appreciated that song. I think I would have liked these extra tracks less if I had the original studio albums they come from, but since that isn’t the case (yet) they were a welcome addition.

I feel like I’ve tried other Gary Numan albums before and moved on without buying, but listening to the brilliance of “The Pleasure Principle” I am motivated to dive in once again.

Best tracks: Metal, Films, M.E., Observer, Conversation, Cars

CD Odyssey Disc 1454: Howlin' Wolf

If there is a day of the week for the blues, then that day is Monday.

Disc 1454 is…. The Howlin’ Wolf Album

Artist: Howlin’ Wolf

Year of Release: 1969

What’s up with the Cover?  A cheeky disclaimer. Howlin’ Wolf did not like how this album turned out, so the record label went ahead and made that clear on the cover. I don’t know if that’s a blues move, but it is definitely a rock and roll one.

How I Came To Know It: I’ve got a couple of albums that feature famous blues singers paired with late sixties psychedelic rock, this one and Muddy Waters’ “Electric Mud”. My buddy Ross got me one of those (I think ‘Mud’), and it inspired me to go get the other one. Regardless of which came first, Ross is responsible for me having both records so thanks, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I have four Howlin’ Wolf albums, plus a selection of singles that aren’t associated with any LP. The singles are out, but I’m not sure if it is fair to rank this record with the other three either. It reimagines some of Howlin’ Wolf’s biggest hits meaning it gets to draw on his whole catalogue of awesome, which seems unfair. However, after some reflection I’m going to say…it counts. With this decision made, I rank it at #1.

Ratings: 4 stars

I’m not a huge blues fan but when I do feel the urge, Howlin’ Wolf is the first singer that crosses my mind. He’s got the grimiest vocals of any bluesman I’ve heard, and his songs are overflowing with clandestine sex and open drug use. Wolf is more than gritty enough on his regular blues records but paired with the psychedelic rock sounds of backing band Rotary Connection something magical happens.

For one thing, the record has a lot more oomph. Part of this are the production values. My other Howlin’ Wolf records are from the late fifties and early sixties. They sound pretty amazing, but they don’t have that depth of sound separation that this record holds. The riffs on “Spoonful” and “Evil” would be killer anyway, but the extra thump here gets deep down in your backbone and your guts.

What isn’t new, is Howlin’ Wolf’s instantly recognizable rasp. His voice is like cheap bourbon poured over sandpaper. He lurches from line to line in a way that might make you think he was in a semi-incoherent rage, except for the fact that his timing and phrasing are impeccable. He’s the town menace, and he wears his mantle with pride.

For all that nasty, Howlin’ Wolf always has the curve of a smile at the edges of that raspy snarl of his. On “Smokestack Lightnin’” and “Down in the Bottom” he throws in lascivious falsetto “ooh-hoo”s that are just the right amount of wrong. He is having too much fun to be just plain old mean.

These are all things you’d get on any great Howlin’ Wolf album, and a reminder that his traditional albums are well worth your time. However, Rotary Connection adds a whole new element to this record. Now you get dreamy fuzzed out reverb that floats into ambient guitar work. You even get hints of jazz flute and harmonica. Sometimes the band just sit in behind and lets Howlin’ Wolf hit his groove. Other times they walk the song off in weird and wonderful directions, while always staying within sight of the blues. “Evil” even has a funky Motown influence to the riff that makes it very different than the original version while being just as gloriously…evil.

The majority of these songs (seven of ten) are old Willie Dixon tunes, an artist that Howlin’ Wolf often reimagined, although he probably never thought he’d reimagine him this far. “Tail Dragger” is one such standout, featuring a funhouse of guitar sounds hanging all around the edges of Howlin’ Wolf’s vocal delivery like shreds of cloth blowing in the window of a shanty town cabin, giving the song movement and life.  

And while this album is more about the feel than the lyrics, I’d be remiss not to share some great lines from his cover of Dixon’s “Built for Comfort”:

“Some folk built like this, some folk built like that
But the way I'm built, a-don't you call me fat
Because I'm built for comfort, I ain't built for speed
But I got everything all the good girls need”

Near the end of the album you can hear Howlin’ Wolf pontificating on just what the blues are, and what they’re not. I’m sure he thought this album wasn’t the blues, but I couldn’t care less. Whatever it is, it’s awesome.

Best tracks: Spoonful, Tail Dragger, Built for Comfort, Evil