CD Odyssey Disc 1484: Carolyn Mark

This marks the second album I’ve reviewed where someone has self-identified as royalty. Tami T takes on the mantle with her song “Princess” and Carolyn Mark takes things up a notch, going with Queen.

Disc 1484 is…. The Queen of Vancouver Island

Artist: Carolyn Mark

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? Maybe a camping trip? That would account for the forest, and a guitar for playing campfire ditties in the evening. It doesn’t explain the dress. I guess that plus the Crown is how you can tell she’s the Queen. Also that third way, for any Monty Python fans out there.

How I Came To Know It: It was my friend Casey who initially got me interested in Carolyn Mark’s music, but this album was just me buying her latest when it came out.

How It Stacks Up: Out of my five Carolyn Mark solo albums, “The Queen of Vancouver Island” comes in at #3, so right in the middle.

Ratings: 3 stars

Every Carolyn Mark album sounds like the best party you’ve ever attended. On “The Queen of Vancouver Island” she delivers yet another celebratory selection of songs, where even the sad subjects are sugarcoated by her quick wit and ready laugh.

The music is a mix of folk, old school country and even a bit of old-time vaudeville. Whatever the style, each song is buoyed by Mark’s bright and brassy voice. She sings with a playful lilt, tinted around the edges with grit. Think a bottle of sparkling wine where the cork broke and fell into the bottle. It is mostly sweet, but you’ve got to pay attention for those bits of regret floating in the glass.

The best example (and the album’s best song) is “Not Talk,” which has a lighthearted tune which belies the nasty breakup it depicts. Here (and later on “Nobody(‘s Perfect)” Mark uses imagery like a film negative, giving you a fresh perspective on well-worn topics of loneliness and heartbreak.

That said, “Not Talk” isn’t a heartbreak song so much as it’s a “get the hell out” song, as it demonstrates that some arguments are so pointless there’s no need to have them at all. My favourite lines are:

“Now you might say I have ‘issues with trust’
I mean, you might if we were still talking
But I don’t think that’s it
It’s just hard to trust someone so full of shit
But we can not talk about that later.”

Ouch! “Nobody(‘s Perfect”) is similarly situated in negative space, where Mark personifies her loneliness, turning the experience into a positive experience of realizing that your best company is sometimes yourself.

The record is downright ribald in places (Carolyn Mark feels like the kind of old soul that might appreciate being called ‘ribald’). There are two songs about whores, and both are sex positive. “Old Whores” is a sad song, but it is also a reminder that when you see someone down on their luck, that isn’t how they started. Everyone starts out with dreams of a great life. “You’re Not a Whore (If No One’s Paying)” is back to Mark’s playful but biting humour, as she opines,

“You’re not a whore if no one’s paying
You’re not a whore, it’s just an exchange
So strap on high heels
Don’t sell yourself short
If you’re enthusiastic, babies, nothing’s a chore”

The musicianship on the album is solid throughout, and every player, from lead guitar, to horn flourishes, to the backup singers is fully committed. There are even impromptu laughs and lascivious gargling. OK, technically the gargling is Mark herself, but whatever the role, every player is clearly having a blast. It made me wish I could’ve just hung out in the studio while they recorded it. Every unsung band member, backup singer, or studio musician should have at least one record where this much fun is had.

Mark is a local gal, and the record is replete with BC coast imagery – notably a lot of talk of the ferry (as it happens, I too live on Her Majesty’s Island). She used to do a lot of shows at a local pub called Logan’s and listening to “The Queen of Vancouver Island” made me more regretful than ever I never went and saw her there. Logan’s Pub has since closed due permanently, an economic victim of the pandemic.

Fortunately, Mark shows that music can always infuse a little light and humour into a sad situation, and this record gave me plenty of smiles over the past few days.

Best tracks: The Queen of Vancouver Island, Not Talk, Nobody(‘s Perfect), Old Whores, You’re Not a Whore (If No One’s Paying)

CD Odyssey Disc 1483: Tami T

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey! Let’s dig in, shall we?

Disc 1483 is…. High Pitched and Moist

Artist: Tami T

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? A painting of Tami T, sitting on a bed deep in thought. Based on the keyboard, I’m going to say she’s composing.

More interesting is the wide range of objects strewn around on the floor. We’ve got kitten figurines, a magazine, headphones, makeup, flowers. Oh, and a whole bunch of sex toys.

How I Came To Know It: My friend Patrick shared a song from this album a couple of years ago. I liked that as well as the full album. Unfortunately, it wasn’t released on my favourite format (CD) and a couple years ago I was still not comfortable purchasing music by download.

The pandemic helped me overcome that particular phobia by keeping me cooped up but still eager for new music. I eventually downloaded it a few months ago for around 100 Swedish Kroners (Tami T is Swedish). That’s about $15 CAD. Because I am a stubborn sonofabitch I burned it onto a CD and made a jewel case for it.

How It Stacks Up: Tami T only has one studio album that I know of, and this is it. Consequently there shall be no stacking up.

Ratings: 4 stars

“High Pitched and Moist” is a mix of sugar, sadness, and sex. Tami T’s particular blend of electronica and pop alternately makes you feel like you’re dancing in a club, being the heroine of an indie romantic comedy, or walking down a dark and dangerous street in a John Carpenter movie. And if you’re a wondering if the moistness in the title is from sex or crying, the answer is ‘a bit of both’.

The album is entirely electronic noises and keyboard, plus Tami T’s modulating voice that – like the cover – makes you wonder if she’s part anime character, or maybe an escapee from a video game.

This type of music is way outside my usual wheelhouse, but despite the artificial sounds (both music and voice) it held my attention in a way that most electronica albums do not; with the depth of emotion and honesty in its delivery. The music isn’t played on instruments, but the melodies still managed to pull on my heartstrings throughout. As for Tami T’s singing, it may sound artificial at a surface level, but her delivery and lyrics are heartfelt and poignant.

Tami T is trans, and throughout “High Pitched and Moist” she explores just what this means for her from the inside out. It is deeply personal, and powerful. It can also be filled with deep sorrow and even dread. On “Afraid” she recounts dark walks home, afraid of getting beat up again, with that “again” landing with a foreboding finality at the end of the line. On “Disgusted” she recounts the morning after a regrettable hook up with:

“Lucky you
I'm in this state
Low standards
Because of self-hate”

And on “Birthday” she has a drunken night out on the town, summed up with:

“Another year wasted on attempts at having fun
Another year of making mistakes you can’t undo
A sad birthday fit for a sad person like you”

Grim stuff, but it never feels self-indulgent, it just feels raw and real. Also, these moments are balanced well with songs like “Princess” that are filled with empowerment and defiance. On “Mucous Membrane” she turns the “Disgusted” theme on its head, reveling in the freedom of a consistently satisfying booty call where the two participants may not have much to say to each other but are still great in the sack.

“Face Riding” is a one of the album’s best moments, mixing an irresistible organ riff, well placed handclaps, and a dance club beat. There’s also a whole lot of consensual bondage and domination, in case you were wondering whether some of those objects on her bedroom floor were appearing randomly.

“Single Right Now” is the most danceable song on an album that has a lot of danceable songs. It also features a cleverly repeating chorus that characterizes the cycle of meeting someone, falling in love, finding out they are an asshole and then…doing it all over again. Like a lot of the songs on the record, it is a little sad, but a little playful as well.

My main issue with the record is that it needed to be edited down in the studio a bit more. There are 15 songs totaling almost an hour of music, and a number of them don’t need to be there, particularly dreary mood pieces like “Bad Temper.” I could also have lived without a couple of the aimless instrumental numbers (“Gullis”, “Den Ledsna Valen”). Tami T also employs a sound that mimics a Caribbean steel drum a few too many times for my liking.

The beats however are great overall. Danceable, groovy and organic enough that they still feel like complete compositions. Imagine something similar to that background music at a fashion show runway, only if it didn’t suck.

I often find electronica music comes up with a half-baked concept only to recycle it without ever completing the melody. Tami T has a good musical sense, and avoids this pitfall, making fully formed songs with beginnings, middles and ends.

I doubt I’m going to be converted to electronica music anytime soon, but I’m glad I was introduced to this little corner of that world.

Best tracks: Birthday, Princess, Face Riding, Mucous Membrane, Single Right Now, Disgusted, It’s Not Your Right To Know

CD Odyssey Disc 1482: Nick Cave

If you are looking for some handy music to accompany a good wallow, this next record is for you. Also, a final reminder that the “deliver to my email” feature is about to end, so save the link…

Disc 1482 is…. Skeleton Tree

Artist: Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Year of Release: 2016

What’s up with the Cover? None more black. Well, there is that white print. Few more black…?

How I Came To Know It: I am a devoted Nick Cave fan, and when he releases something I’ve learned it is a good idea to give it a listen.

How It Stacks Up: It has been almost five years since I reviewed a Nick Cave album, and at that time I owned 10. Since then he’s released three new albums, and I’ve bought them all. While I liked “Skeleton Tree”, Nick Cave’s discography is a tough field. I’ll put it at #11.

Ratings: 3 stars

It is hard to separate the darkness that engulfs “Skeleton Tree” from the knowledge that Cave lost his fifteen year old son to a tragic accident while recording it. Unsurprisingly, this record is black as night, looming over you with equal parts love, loss and menace. It could use a bit more melodic structure, but that would have been to oppose the very energy that Cave is trying to create.

Instead we are left with Cave’s starkest record yet, which, given just how morose he can get, is saying something. Heavy synthesizers reverberate through every song, filling the airwaves with thick, liquid emotion. There is piano tinkling here and there, but the overall effect of the synths in and around every note makes you feel like you are on the set of a horror film where the heroine has become lost in a misty wood, and something terrible is about to happen.

Howling out from this omnipresent drone, Cave’s voice emerges clear and distinct. He sounds like a madman preaching at you across a dark expanse of water with poetry that is so compelling you are left wondering whether it is he who is mad, or you.

The record is full of mystery and sadness, often to the point where I lost the plot and was just left with a collection of evocative imagery, as exemplified in this stanza from “Jesus Alone”:

“You're a young man waking
Covered in blood that is not yours
You're a woman in a yellow dress
Surrounded by a charm of hummingbirds
You're a young girl full of forbidden energy
Flickering in the gloom
You're a drug addict lying on your back
In a Tijuana hotel room
With my voice I am calling you
With my voice I am calling you”

Those last lines are repeated wit care and deliberation, delivered not like a prayer, so much as a ritual. Cave imbues them with such dire import you feel he could open a gate to the afterlife or another world through sheer force of will. Often on “Skeleton Tree” it felt like he was doing just that.

The lyrics are consistently strong, although I found the music served mostly as a moody backdrop to their delivery. It is a record that makes you feel a little lost, which is a powerful experience in places, but sometimes I wanted some flourishes, even if they were just dark gray, to help illuminate the shapes Cave’s voice conjures out of your mind.

The album’s penultimate song “Distant Sky” provides a small piece of respite from the thick atmosphere of sound. Danish baroque singer Else Torp duets here, floating in like Kate Bush, mysterious and filled with hope. The song falls well short of upbeat, but Torp’s voice does dispel some of the er…torpor (sorry) established earlier on the record.

Things end with the title track, where the piano, seemingly emboldened by Torp’s hopeful sound, bangs away just a little louder and brighter. Even Cave’s vocal climbs into something resembling if not joy, at least acceptance as he sings:

“And I called out, I called out
Right across the sea
I called out, I called out
That nothing is for free”

Before ending with the repeating prayer of “It’s all right…now.” “Alright” isn’t much of a balm after all the darkness the record unleashes earlier on, nor was I convinced it was remotely alright, but you get the sense that’s all Cave can muster at this point.

The record reminded me thematically of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s classic poem, “In Memoriam” which is a similar exploration of loss. Like “In Memoriam”, “Skeleton Tree” is a dark path, but one worth taking. If you get a little lost in the middle of that journey, I expect that’s what Cave intended.

Best tracks: Jesus Alone, Rings of Saturn, Distant Sky, Skeleton Tree

CD Odyssey Disc 1481: Lords of the Underground

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey, “Bruins eliminated from the playoffs” edition. Argh. Hockey is now dead to me for another year. In a few weeks, the automatic appearance of this blog in your email will also be gone, so remember to save to your favourites.

Disc 1481 is…. Here Come the Lords

Artist: Lords of the Underground

Year of Release: 1993

What’s up with the Cover? DJ’s DoItAll, Mr. Funky and Lord Jazz have their game faces on. This cover features way too many fonts, the largest of which should be known as “Unfortunate Tattoo Choice”.

How I Came To Know It: A former coworker Adrienne put me onto these guys, as part of an ongoing exchange of music recommendations. Technically, this one came originally from Adrienne’s partner, who put me onto a bunch of nineties rap acts through her.

How It Stacks Up: I dig two of the Lords’ four albums, but so far I only own this one. As a result it can’t stack up against anything, but I like its chances to finish at #1.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Here Come the Lords” has everything I like in a rap album; great flow, intricate rhymes and nice clean production to showcase the first two things.

The record is representative of rap at this time, by which I mean awesome. Rap was never better than in the early nineties, and while there is still great rap coming out today, this era is loaded with classic acts. Not that I would have known that at the time. I came to rap very late, and it wasn’t until my friend Spence piqued my interest in the early oughts that I paid it any attention. My gateway was a mixed tape Spence made of all the original versions of rap songs that Rage Against the Machine covered on their classic record, “Renegades of Funk”.

There were no Lords songs on that record, but there easily could have been. The Lords’ style hits hard and would have translated well to RATM’s rock/rap crunch. They variably reminded me of House of Pain and Cypress Hill (both of whom get referenced). With their talent for passing the mic from DJ to DJ, they also made me think of the Beastie Boys. While they don't directly reference the Beasties, the opening track has a lot of brass monkey references.

While all three DJs have their own unique flow, they all drop their lines hard at the end of the beat. I found when I was moved to groove along (which was often) their style had me throwing fingers down in front of my pelvis more than they inspired fist pumps in the air. It just feels like you are getting more and more down, but never falling off the edge of the funk.

Like a lot of rap bands there are more than a few jazz samples, but the Lords never let those jazz elements drag down the thump of the beat. Instead they provide musical flourishes that smooth out the tunes and give them depth. The samples are all well placed, and like a lot of great rap records I kept hearing hooks, beats and basslines that I knew from throughout the great history of music, all beautifully repurposed. Back in rap’s golden age, bands were more much more likely to stitch multiple samples into something entirely new.

In terms of highlights, the record has many. “Flow On” samples the awesome bass line from the Floaters “Float On” to great effect and also has some killer guest verses from associated acts Kid Deleon and Sah-B. “Chief Rocka” is the album’s biggest hit, and it is easy to see why. The flow is incredibly fast and complex, with a beat that is undeniable. Like most of the songs on the record, it is replete with clever references and rhymes. One of my favourites:

“I'm the, Chief Rocka, so I guess I am in charge
I freak it with a twist so you'll boom it in your cars
I'm the, one with the flow and the grip like G.I. Joe
I snatch, I grab, and then I grab the dough.”

While the record is a bit too long (15 tracks, and over 60 minutes) and does an imitation of Michael Jackson going “hee-hee!” at least one too many times, there isn’t a lot of bad things to say about this album. It is awesome. The Lords are not remembered as widely today as some early artists, making this record a discovered treasure to people like me, and a long-loved classic by those in the know.

Best tracks: From Da Bricks, Funky Child, Check It (rmx), Grave Digga, Flow On, Chief Rocka, Sleep For Dinner, What’s Going On?

CD Odyssey Disc 1480: Bob Dylan

After a game of questionable officiating, my beloved Boston Bruins are on the verge of elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, that is a test for tomorrow night. Tonight, let’s stick with music.

Disc 1480 is…. Slow Train Coming

Artist: Bob Dylan

Year of Release: 1979

What’s up with the Cover? Workers lay down track in front of an oncoming train. The train better be very slow moving indeed, or it is about to derail.

In the foreground there is a guy swinging a pick. That pick looks suspiciously like a cross as well. Wait a minute? This isn’t one of those religious Bob Dylan records, is it? Oh yes, my friends. It most certainly is.

How I Came To Know It: I was just digging through Bob Dylan’s back catalogue and bought this one hoping I’d like it.

How It Stacks Up: I have 19 Bob Dylan albums. That may sound like a lot until you realize he has 39 studio albums alone. After a bit of jostling in the middle of the lineup (albums 7-10 are all great, but pretty equal) I decided to slot “Slow Train Coming” in at #9, just below “Infidels” and just above “Bringing It All Back Home”.

Ratings: 4 stars

I am not a Christian, but you don’t have to be a Christian to stand in the nave of St. Paul’s cathedral and be in awe of the amazing art religion can inspire. Such was my experience with “Slow Train Coming,” the first (and easily best) of Dylan’s three Christian records. I didn’t feel the light of precious angels shining down on me, but I got a pretty solid artistic rendition of what that might feel like.

While I tend to think of Bob Dylan as a folk singer first, he has been through many musical phases in his life, and “Slow Train Coming” is principally a rock record, with a healthy does of blues and RnB. Other than the record’s final track, Dylan eschews soaring hymnal structures, and instead drops some solid groove. Sure he uses an organ, but on these songs, it tends to dig in rather than fly.

Dylan is helped considerably with the aforementioned groove by guest musician Mark Knopfler. Knopfler’s guitar is almost always the star of any show it finds itself in, but Dylan employs him artfully to add a sway and saunter to these songs. Sometimes you barely notice Knopfler is there beyond a general feel of “cool” emanating out of the speakers. On other occasions, (“Precious Angel”, “Slow Train”) his guitar is omnipresent and powerful. It is in the mix just enough that you revel in it when it arrives, but never rely on it showing up.

Topically, the record is very much about Dylan finding God and then telling his audience all about how you should too. However, never has a door-to-door preacher sounded so cool while delivering his message. “Gotta Serve Somebody” starts things off with a rhythm guaranteed to loosen up your lower back in the funkiest way possible. On “Gonna Change My Way of Thinking” Dylan is all blues and brimstone as he lets you know that Jesus is on the way, and the time to repent is nigh.

While the lyrics on “Slow Train Coming” is not as replete with clever phrasing as many other classic Dylan records, he still has his moments. One of my favourites:

“I got a God-fearing woman
One I can easily afford
She can do the Georgia Crawl
She can walk in the Spirit of the Lord”

In case you are wondering, the Georgia Crawl is a dance referenced in an old blues song from the twenties.

It is not all good, however. The risible “Man Gave Names to all the Animals” is a bunch of silly rhymes stitched together around a pseudo-reggae beat. It is often mentioned by those who would cast aspersions on the album as a whole, although I’d argue it is very much the outlier, and arguably the only truly bad song.

For the most part, you get an honest (albeit zealous) exploration of a man finding his faith. Great artists are perpetual seekers, and they aren’t afraid to throw themselves into their quest for truth. To wonder if Dylan found truth on “Slow Train Coming” is to miss the point. Instead, I suggest you climb to the top of the cathedral of sound he builds and look out. The view is fantastic.

Best tracks: Gotta Serve Somebody, Precious Angel, Slow Train, Gonna Change My Way of Thinking, When You Gonna Wake Up

CD Odyssey Disc 1479: Michaela Anne

Welcome back! I’m on holiday this week, doing my traditional mid-year recharge. Do I feel recharged? I’m getting there, and glad I took the time.

In other news, if you are getting this direct to your email, a reminder that Blogspot is cancelling that service in a few weeks, so put this page in your favourites before that happens.

Disc 1479 is…. Ease My Mind

Artist: Michaela Anne

Year of Release: 2014

What’s up with the Cover? Not quite the Giant Head cover, here we have the more corporately classical, “Head and Shoulders Shot” with the additional flair of…one arm raised! As H&S shots go, a raised arm is like an explosion of excitement.

This picture also reminded me how great it is to own a steamer to get the wrinkles out of my shirts. Assuming it wouldn’t damage Michaela’s homespun cred, she may want to invest in a steamer as well.

How I Came To Know It: I read a review of her most recent release, 2019’s “Desert Dove”. That got me digging through her back catalogue on Bandcamp and so…here we are.

How It Stacks Up: I have two Michaela Anne albums, with “Ease My Mind” coming in at #2.

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

Just looking at the cover photo above will tell you Michaela Anne’s career is just getting started. But while there is plenty of raw energy on the record, Anne’s debut album, “Ease My Mind” reveals that an old soul powers all that youthful glow.

My copy of this record is a Bandcamp download, where the tracks were labelled as “Americana/Roots”. Devout readers of my reviews will know I love this kind of music, but with its homespun wisdom, and a surfeit of pedal steel and harmonica, “Ease My Mind” is first and foremost a country record. Before you bemoan how modern country music is often about emotionally empty beers down on the pier and trucks out on the lawn, don’t despair; this record does not descend into such trite and obvious approaches.

That isn’t to say there aren’t touches of modern country here, because there are. However, Anne’s voice has an uncanny similarity to Suzy Bogguss, a country star who put out a string of records in the early nineties that don’t get the love they deserve thirty years later (never fear, dear reader, I’ll give them some love when I review them). Like Bogguss, Michaela Anne has a rich tone throughout her full register with a hint of pop sugar at one end and a dusty seventies ache at the other.

Mixed in with the nineties country vibe are touches of contemporary folk that reminded me of Mary Chapin Carpenter. At this stage of her career, Anne does not have Carpenter’s songwriting prowess, but few do. However, unlike Bogguss, Anne writes all her own songs on “Ease My Mind.” While they don’t explore a lot of new melodic territory, they are beautifully constructed, with a timeless quality that suggests they will hold up well.

The final influence is an urban country vibe that reminded me of Blue Rodeo. In fact, “When You Wanted Me” has a harmonica bit that was so similar, I dug up “Bad Timing” to see if she’d lifted the hook. Turns out it is similar, but very much its own composition. That said, I would not be surprised to learn that a mentor or parent in Michaela Anne’s past was a Blue Rodeo fan.

Lyrically, “Ease My Mind” features a lot of songs of yearning and heartbreak, to the point that it approaches full-blown break-up record status. On “Is This What Mama Meant” a couple work to push through hard patches of a relationship, and from there things mostly go downhill with love decaying on “When You Wanted Me” the infidelity on “The Haunting” and eventually the self-affirmation and rebirth of self on “Black and Gray”.

These are well-worn topics, and in places the imagery is obvious and cuts little new territory. Also, the first half of the album (“Side One” if you’re a vinyl enthusiast) is far superior to the second. However, the songs are collectively held up by the power and timeless quality of Michaela Anne’s vocals, some first-rate studio musicians, and a maturity that belies the age and experience of the artist.

I listened to this record a solid four times in a row before writing this review, and as it plays in the background right now, I don’t find myself at all tired of it. This is a good sign and has me looking forward to “Desert Dove” which I recall being even better.

Best tracks: Lift Me Up, Is This What Mamma Meant, When You Wanted Me, Black and Gray