Reviews by ikejiri

The Queen is Dead
Listening to the Smiths albums properly via this list, I’m constantly struck by how great Rourke and Joyce are, something I don’t think ever really registered when I listened to my Best Of back in the day.

And I can see why this is considered their best album, it is great from start to finish, whether they're the songs I already know, Frankly, Mr Shankly, Bigmouth Strikes Again, The Boy With the Thorn in His Side, There is a Light That Never Goes out and Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, or the rest, which I don’t (know).

It feels more joined up in tone than some of the other albums, even if it does vary musically from high tempo like The Queen is Dead, and Irish flecked folk-rock like Bigmouth, to the more whimsical music hallery of Frankly, Mr Shankly, to the rockabilly silliness of Vicar in a Tutu, to the moving and stately There is a Light, to more classically maudlin songs like I Know It's Over or I Never Had No One Ever.

They probably have better individual songs throughout their catalogue, but there’s not a weak track on here really, and melodically and vocally it's probably the most consistent of their albums we’ve had. Easy 5.
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Playlist submission: Bigmouth Strikes Again

Court and Spark
Although I know some of the songs in here, I've not listened to this album before. The opening bars of the title track, although I don’t think I’ve heard it before, are immediately warm and enveloping and comforting, she really does have the knack of making songs feel immediately familiar, as you’ve always known them. I do already know Help Me, but it also has that same feeling of always having existed, and being immediately comforting, like a kind of nostalgic warmth for something I’ve never experienced, even if the lyrics are more emotionally ambivalent by the end of the song.

The brilliance of those two songs continues on the rest of side 1, with the excellent Free Man in Paris, the pen portrait People’s Parties and brilliant piano-led The Same Situation with some lovely steel guitar sounds.

The 2nd side very slightly doesn’t quite match the quality of side 1, purely because the cover of Twisted doesn’t really do it for me, it has just a little too much forced jazz hands showtune energy for my taste. Outside that though the rest of the songs are again excellent. The soft rock adjacent Car on a Hill, with its spacey middle section, is great and Down To You is a fantastic song, the meandering piano line evoking the weariness in the words. Just Like This Train is another lovely track and although I wasn’t initially as keen on Raised on Robbery I came to very much like its shot of bluesy pop-rock. And Trouble Child is great, it has a nice Steely Dan-ness to it, and I presume the title and opening riff is an evocation of Trouble Man by Marvin Gaye?

Even with Twisted, it’s hard not to give this a 5. It's a brilliant album, combining her characteristic shuffling jazzy folkiness, with her idiosyncratic rhyme schemes and uniquely brilliant voice.
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Playlist submission: Down to You

The Renaissance
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this, I thought it might be a slightly dated post-career peak album, but I thought it was great. You can really feel the live atmosphere in the music, it's nicely augmented by some superb samples and interpolations and production touches, and it has a lovely, loose feel combining a 70s blue eyed soul jazz feel with an airy late 00s sound. And his voice is great too, still smooth and laid back, but with a nice older edge to it.

I don’t think there are any bad songs, but the first four songs and the three in the middle in particular are great. Johnny is Dead is an excellent opener, great organ stabs and bass and a nice, catchy chorus/hook. I really like the vocal hook on Won’t Trade and Gettin’ Up is superb, with excellent bass and piano. I love the groove of Official, with its sound effects and smooth feel.

We Fight/We Love has Steely Dan echoes in its feel, Manwomanboogie uses the Can bass and drums superbly, an irresistible groove, and J-Dilla brings his brilliant sampling and production skills to Move. And Norah Jones is really good on Life is Better, sounding a bit like Erykah Badu, with a lovely soulfulness, eschewing her normal blandness. Believe is great too, love the guitar and D’Angelo (RIP) is great on it. Shaka finishes it off nicely, with a reference to Stevie Wonder.

I think this ends up as a solid 4, I’ll definitely come back to it for some smooth, soulful, jazzy grown up hip hop.
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Playlist submission: Manwomanboogie

Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo
I liked this quite a bit, beyond just the fact that it's French Hip Hop and therefore comes from a slightly different angle, as musically it sits more conventionally and rather nicely in the jazz-funk, non-gangster lane, clearly inspired by Tribe. There are some great samples (Marvin on Armand est Mort), some excellent live sounding drums, beats and percussion and his flow is impressively articulate and speedy.

My French isn’t what it was, I could occasionally follow the gist, but I did get lost quite a bit. But that didn’t really affect my enjoyment, I like his slightly spiky enunciation mixed with some lovely smooth passages.

Occasionally it sails a bit close to acid Jazz dinner party music, A Temps Partial and Caroline for example, but there’s some great tracks elsewhere, like L’histoire de l’art, Armand est Mort, Quartier Nord, La musique adoucit les mœurs, the two Bouge de làs and La Devise.

I’ll say this just crosses into a 4, it is a little long, but there is some great music, and it's nice to hear any type of music in a different language.
☀️☀️☀️☀️
Playlist submission: Armand est Mort

Connected
One of my favourite ever festival memories is Stereo MCs playing the dance tent at about 3am at Fuji Rock Festival back in 2001. They were excellent, picking things up after James Lavelle had played a terrible DJ set, or had, more accurately, played a DJ set terribly.

With that, and with the presence of Connected and Step it Up, I went into this expecting to enjoy it, which I did. It definitely has a dated streak running through it, a very early 90s, hip-hop and electronica influenced jazzy sound, with strong notes of Soul II Soul, and his 90s rapping style, which can best be described as very white and very evocative of canal boats and those thick woven hoody things. While there’s nothing quite as good as the two big songs, and they seem to very much favour one particular drum pattern, the songs are pleasant enough, with a nice bass sound and laid back vibe, with some nice flourishes, the strings on Chicken Shake were very nice I thought

It's a fun, nostalgic listen, although there’s nothing quite as good as Connected and Step it Up. I think that makes it a solid 3.
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Playlist submission: Connected

Trout Mask Replica
(YT listen)
I have given this a few listens over the years. I’ve never really got into it in the way I have with Safe as Milk, but equally I’ve never really disliked it.

It is of course deliberately idiosyncratic, and the polytonality and abrasiveness of the sound is certainly grating on occasion, but I always felt it had a sense of sincerity to it, that the obtuseness isn’t performative and the music is a genuine artistic expression. Even if it can sometimes feel like they are all playing different songs at the same time in different sensory deprivation chambers.
Obviously it's not an album to kick back and listen to on a busy commute or after a stressful day, but it definitely has its own unique charm, even if as a full 80 minute listening experience it does feel pretty long and uneven. And it’s tricky to pick out individual songs listening on YT, apart from Moonlight in Vermont and maybe Hobo Chang Ba or Veteran’s Day Poppy, and there isn’t always a recognisable difference to many of the tracks, but I do like the bass tone, and there some excellent guitar parts strewn about, when at times they pick up a memorable hook (before invariably hammering it into submission with clarinets that sound like pigs). There are loads of great ideas too, although they are often followed up by things that sound like bad ideas too, but I think that is part of the singular, unpretentious charm.

Overall I’m very glad this exists as a distillation of someone’s musical vision, and there is some high class playing. I’ll definitely come back if I’m in the right mood, so I think it is a 3.
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Playlist submission: Moonlight on Vermont

Suede
I’ve never really jived with Suede, I do like a few of their songs but have never really found Brett Anderson a particularly interesting singer or lyricist, he’s always bit too Morrisey cos-play for me, and clearly in thrall to Bowie, but possessing none of his elan, panache or pizazz - viz the later rhyme of ‘Filmstar, driving in your car’.

Despite those reservations I enjoyed a lot of this and found myself warming to him, especially on something as affecting as She’s Not Dead or Sleeping Pills. And the big singles are very good songs, Animal Nitrate and Metal Mickey, and there is an overall, slowed down melancholic feel to much of it. But then for great stuff like that there is always something like Moving, where I find his vocal affectations a bit much.

I think the main reason though, that I enjoyed it is due to Bernard Butler’s stellar guitar playing. Whether knocking out chunky riffs or Ronson-esque lead lines or Stones Roses-esque shimmers or Byrdsian jangles, or a whole other host of sounds, it is a fantastic showcase of his skills.

On the edge of 3 and 4, I think I’ll go for a high 3, as I’m still not totally sure about Anderson, but I did enjoy it and I’m interested to revisit it in future.
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Playlist submission: She’s Not Dead

Hounds of Love
I’ve not listened to this nearly enough, it really is a fantastic album.

It's got to be up there for one of the best opening triptychs to any album, Running Up That Hill, Hounds of Love and The Big Sky are absolute bangers with brilliantly layered synths, percussion and rhythms, simultaneously expansive and intimate. Mother Stands for Comfort is also great, a slight change of pace and mood before the equally brilliant Cloudbusting.

The second suite isn’t as immediate as the first side, its more ethereal and dreamlike, and more of a musical journey, but it's also excellent, definitely rewarding repeat listens, and again it opens with three superb songs, And Dream of Sheep’s piano is lovely, the stabbing strings of Under Ice and creepily cool, before the pointed rhythms of Waking the Witch. Watching You Watching Me has slight echoes of Remain in Light, particularly the synth bass. Apart from the drums The Jig of Life seems to be all live instruments, which is a nice contrast to the songs before and after, and I love how The Morning Fog ends things on a sunshiney, optimistic, folk inflected feel.

Easy 5.
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Playlist submission: The Big Sky

Tapestry
I love this album, and as familiar as I am with it, and as globally popular and lauded as it is, it is genuinely remarkable just how many absolutely classic songs there are on here; I Feel The Earth Move, So Far Away, It’s Too Late, You’ve Got A Friend, Will You Love Me Tomorrow, (You Make Me Feel) Like A Natural Woman.

Whether they were new for this album or had previously been released by other artists that's a crazy hit rate, but even the ‘lesser’ known songs outside those are superb. Home Again’s careworn wistfulness and Beautiful’s optimism fit perfectly in the middle of side 1, and Way Over Yonder is yet another superb song, the loping piano and guitar fills are excellent.

I’ve always loved Where You Lead, yet again a great song. Smackwater Jack feels a bit of an outlier in its Dylan-esque story telling, rather than the personal more confessional subjects elsewhere. I like it’s shuffly feel, but it’s possibly the only misstep. And Tapestry is another beautiful track, and I love the electric piano hummering under the piano.

It’s one of those albums that really lives up to its critical standing. I love its simultaneously West Coast Sunshine and East Coast autumnal ambience, with the warmth of the piano and the overall inviting feel of the songs and lyrics.
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Playlist submission: I Feel The Earth Move

Crazysexycool
It’s a bit dated in places, and the r’n’b cheese works its way through the surface a little too often, the guitar on Red Light Special, the male rapping on Kick Your Game or Take Our Time for example, but for most part I enjoyed this.

The polished r’n’b production allied to some harder edged hip hop rhythms and percussion works really well, and there’s no doubt they are excellent performers, with some great harmonies and rapping and in Creep and Jason Waterfalls there are two absolute belters on here. Those are the two standout tracks, but they are supported by some solid r’n’b-hip-hop-pop like Diggin’ On You, the rhythmically interesting take on If I Was Your Girlfriend, Switch and the very good Sumthin’ This Way Comes.

But it’s not without low points, the aforementioned Kick Your Game, the skits (apart perhaps from the Busta Rhymes one, and I’m in two minds about the one where she shits in a bucket), the anodyne Let’s Do It Again and the rather cheesy Take Our Time.

I think that adds up to a solid 3, some undoubted high points, and even when it’s not great there are often interesting things happening rhythmically that make it something I would come back to.
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Playlist submission: Waterfalls

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
I enjoyed Selling England by the Pound, this one, not so much.

It feels all so very long and plodding, and despite there being some excellent musical moments and playing, and despite admiring the surrealistic ambition of it, I find the story itself rather self important and silly and not very interesting, and ultimately I think that just drags the whole album down.

Some bits that did stand out were title track, Fly on the Windshield, Cuckoo Cocoon, the synthiness of Back in NYC, The Chamber of 32 Doors and Lilywhite Lilith and The Lamia (where Rael bangs some snake ladies), but they are so wedded to the overall concept I’m not sure they really stand up as individual songs.

Maybe its me and I just don’t get it, but I don’t think this is for me.
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Playlist submission: Lilywhite Lilith

The Modern Lovers
Roadrunner is a classic, an absolute banger. I didn’t realise it was actually recorded in 1972, I always thought it originated in the early punk and garage rock period when it was released. Although 1972 does make sense, as you can see the connection with the Velvet Underground with its two chord driving rhythm and detached, stream of consciousness delivery.

That undoubtedly sets the formula for much of the rest of it, but it's a winning template for me - organs, driving, vaguely motorik drums, pulsing bass, drawling vocals and non-linear lyrics. While none of the songs quite match Roadrunner there are some excellent songs. Astral Planes has a nice bluesy boogie, Old World is very akin to Roadrunner but establishes a nice hypnotic sense, and the organ is excellent. Pablo Picasso adds a bit of The Doors to the Velvet Underground, and again has a great, insistent beat. She Cracked might be the most post punk sounding track, despite preceding punk by 5 years, with its scratchy guitars and drum pattern. Alongside Girl Friend, Hospital adds a slightly different shade, breaking the overriding rhythmic pattern, with Someone I Care About bringing back normal service in between, as does the fine closer Modern World, with its echoes of I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

I very much enjoyed this, a great 35 minutes of proto post-punk garage rock’n’roll, that was well ahead of its time. Solid 4.
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Playlist submission: Roadrunner

Tubular Bells
I’m sure I’ve listened to this in the past, but I can’t recall it a great deal, apart from the opening of Part 1, obviously. I do remember I had a period a while back where I was quite into Hergest Ridge, the album after this, but I’m not sure why.

Listening now, I can see why it was so popular, it is a great two pieces of music. Slightly pompous in a prog rock way of course, but with lovely passages and melodies. Apart from the piano intro (and recurring motif throughout) on Part 1, I love the bass riff that kicks in around 17.30, and the subsequent build of instruments and voices to the end with the delicate voices and acoustic.

Part 2 I’m not quite as keen on as Part 1, while there are some excellent moments, I’m not a fan of the yelling and howling, and it gets a little too prog, missing some of the subtlety and grace of Part 1.

I very much enjoyed this, it lands as solid 4.
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Playlist submission: Tubular Bells (Pt I)

Non Stop Erotic Cabaret
Sex Dwarf!

I really didn’t like Tainted Love in my childhood and teens, but now I love it. Obviously it’s a great song to begin with, but the synth pads and the hand claps at the end of each line are a remarkable work of earworming, taking the hint of them in the original, and turning them into a hook on their own. And there are hooks and earworms all over this, the bassline on Seedy Films, the pitch shifting on Sex Dwarf, the synth line on Entertain Me, the HI NRG pulse and chorus of Chips on My Shoulder, the synth bass again on Bedsitter. And I only really became aware of Say Hello Wave Goodbye after David Gray’s version, but it is a great track, with a naive but affecting melodramatic charm.

I love the palpable Punk/DYI ethos being put into synth music. It’s definitely a bit wonky in places, especially the vocals, belying the budget and time period, but a lot of it still feels very modern. You can definitely hear the commonalities with their contemporaries, Heaven 17, Depeche Mode, PSB, the Human League et al, but I like how this has an almost comical amount of seediness, playing around with glitz, squalor, escape and being trapped all wrapped up in melodramatic adolescent emotions. I don’t know how much is tongue in cheek, but there seems to be a bit of deliberate provocation, perhaps poking at moral panic, especially on things like Seedy Films and Sex Dwarf

It’s right on the edge of 3 and 4. It’s very catchy with a seedy, wonky, naive charm. Think it just about edges a 4.
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Playlist submission: Sex Dwarf!

If I Should Fall From Grace With God
I loved Rum, Sodomy & The Lash, and really enjoyed this, carrying the same sense of ramshackle, charming and exuberant celtic-punk energy, although the playing is perhaps a bit tighter on this one. I think his vocals are slightly better on this than RS&L too, they still have the idiosyncratic and characteristic slur, but they seem fuller and brighter, with a better sense of melody

Stylistically it's a bit more all over the shop, but in a nice way, even though whichever way they kick off a song, whether with middle eastern sounds on Turkish Song of the Damned or Jazz and Salsa on Fiesta it often just turns into a full-bore Irish stomp.

As on RS&L they manage to pull the same trick of putting heartfelt tracks next to the ebullient jigs and reels, eg Bottle of Smoke moving into the sourly tender Fairytale of New York, or Metropolis transitioning into the empathetic and brilliant Thousands Are Sailing, or Streets of Sorrow and Lullaby of London following Fiesta and the medley of The Recruiting Sergeant, etc.

I don’t think it's because of the presence of Fairytale of New York, but this feels like a wintery album, all hot, rammed, sweaty pubs and stumbling out into the cold and wet street.

I gave RS&L 5, so I think it’s fair to give this a 5 too. Although I think I might just about prefer RS&L this feels like a progression, while still maintaining the charm and excitement of that one.
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Playlist submission: It’s Fairytale of New York, even if it is now only really tied to Christmas.

Fifth Dimension
I love the loping drums on 5D, as well as the organ, they feel rhythmically and sonically like a confident step forward from Turn, Turn, Turn, adding a shade of psychedelia without passing into whimsy or silliness.

It seems to oscillate thereafter between reaching further into psychedelic infused folk rock and their more standard sound of previous albums, perhaps reflecting a bit of indecision following the loss of a songwriter as great as Gene Clark. When it all comes together, as on 5D and as on the fantastic 8 Miles High it is great, but it is undoubtedly a slightly uneven album in terms of overall song quality, and it certainly tails off after 8 Miles High with the version of Hey Joe, the throwaway Captain Soul and the slightly aimless 2-4-2 Fox Trot. Only John Riley really seems to work amongst these, the strings and bass are excellent.

Up to Eight Miles High there are some gems though, the version of Wild Mountain Thyme is lovely, the strings feel a bit overwrought at first, but they are lovely against the typical Byrdsian harmonies. Mr Spaceman is a great bit of catchy country-rock. I See You is an interesting combination of their ‘traditional’ sound with some psychedelic 12 string and a repeating Rain like chords in the verses - it’s a great track and a real grower, maybe aided in this instance by the slight feel of being caught between two stools. I quite like Crosby’s What’s Happening, although I think he did this sort of thing better on the solo album of his we had a while back. I like I Come and Stand at Every Door too, it’s a bit of a grower, the droning feel and thumped snare give it a mournful feel, and again it feels slightly caught between different ideas.

It’s obviously not their greatest album, but it’s probably one of their most interesting, and I think its a solid 4. It’s notable how early they were to sounds that would become more prevalent through 1966 and 1967, and you can really feel the influence of Rubber Soul - it’s funny how some tracks recall Rain, which was actually released between them finishing recording and then releasing the album. Maybe George slipped them an acetate or something.
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Playlist submission: 8 Miles High

Youth & Young Manhood
I remember really liking this when it came out, right after the Strokes and White Stripes, with the same garage punk sensibility, but with a more bluesy, southern rock feel, which very much appealed to me back then.

Listening now, it definitely still has a very appealing energy and directness, and the Stonesy riffs and licks still carry some charm, but overall it feels like it's missing some weight and substance. Whether it’s because we know what they kind of developed into, but it does feel a little insubstantial, the style is more of a veneer that something more profound
Still there are some enjoyable songs if you don’t really think too much about it; Red Morning Light, Wasted Time, Joe’s Head (love the Allman Brothers guitars on this one), California Waiting, Molly’s Chambers, Dusty are all fun.

I think this falls right in the middle of the 3s - some fun riffs and songs, a nice bit of nostalgic fluff but a confection that isn't all that satisfying.
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Playlist submission: Wasted Time

Hypnotised
Quite partial to The Undertones and I’ve always liked Fergal Sharkey’s voice, and like him more now that he campaigns to try and get chicken shit out of our rivers.

My Perfect Cousin and Wednesday Week are really the only songs I was aware of prior listening, but there are some gems on here. I presume the title of More Songs About Chocolate and Girls is a reference to More Songs about Buildings and Food, and it’s a great track, and a perfect example of them hitting that sweet spot of pop-punk that captures the yearnings and feelings and frustrations of adolescence, but with a smart, knowing viewpoint. It carries on much in that vein, There Goes Norman feels like it shares a kinship with My Perfect Cousin, and What’s With Terry, as a nicely drawn character sketch, See That Girl has Kinksy pre Britpop stomp, Whizz Kids is another great slice of power-pop-punk.

The Way Girls Talk and Wednesday Week add a lovely dose of lower tempo melancholy, but allied with their knack for melody, hooks and memorable choruses. My Perfect Cousin is of course a brilliant, brilliant song, I just love the way he pronounces University Challenge. Girls That Don’t Talk is another lovely power pop track with a great riff.

The only real misstep is the cover of Under The Boardwalk, which while fine, with its punkish reggae lilt, feels a bit superfluous, but it doesn’t detract from a great, fun album of fine. knowing punk pop. Solid 4.
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Playlist submission: My Perfect Cousin

Fear & Whisky
This feels a bit like Sandinista-era Clash, with an added dose of Don’t Stand Me Down era Dexy’s and a bit of Adam Ant, all filtered through a punk-country sensibility, and I like it.

I love the fiddle and percussion, there are some excellent guitar parts and runs and some nice harmonies and backing vocals, but I really like the bass playing, with its great tone and melodic rhythms. Chivalry is a great upbeat opener, Trouble Down South has a lovely offbeat sensibility, Hard To Be Human Again displays their scratchy post punk roots. Darkness and Doubt brings the fiddle back with some slightly atonal melodies, and some oddness carries on with Psycho Cupid, with it’s kitchen sink drama style narration and wailing backing. Country is great, it reminds me a bit of Big Audio Dynamite or Aztec Camera. Last Dance is great, I love the fiddle, chorus and guitars in particular. And the cover of Lost Highway is pleasingly charming, a bit punky, a bit ramshackle, capturing the wandering spirit of the song.

It's interesting reading about The Mekons that they, Delta 5 and Gang of Four all came from the same group of students

I’m very much into their loping, drunken take on country, echoing with punk, reggae and post-punk, and the sense that I wasn’t sure whether they are serious or taking the piss. Maybe that they fall somewhere between the two is why I like it so much. Solid 4.
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Playlist submission: Chivalry

Sunshine Superman
FYI I listened to the original US release.

I always enjoyed the Donovan Best Of I used to have, but have never really delved into any of his albums. This is an interesting listen, if a little uneven. The psychedelic and folkish-mystical whimsy occasionally pushing things off course for me, Legend of a Girl Child Linda, Guinevere and Celeste being the most culpable in that regard. I think it fairs better when it marries Indian Instruments to folk-ish guitars or is more folk-bluesy.

The double bass harpsichord combo on Sunshine Superman is excellent, it's obviously a great song, even if the recording sounds very very wobbly and the fade out is amateurishly abrupt. Three Kingfishers I really like, the folk guitars and Indian instrumentation work really well together. And it’s also the drinks order at an Indian restaurant, which nicely completes the yin and yang of time being a flat circle. I really like Ferris Wheel too, particularly the chorus. ert’s Blues probably edges too far into whimsy for me, the clarinet and harpsichord feeling a little too on the nose. Season of the Witch is the other obviously well known track and it is a brilliant bit of folky-bluesy- mid 60s British psychedelia, with some excellently toned bass. I like The Trip, powered by a nice bassline and some echoey guitars. I like the bass and sitars on The Fat Angel and the ‘far out’ lyrics man.

It’s interesting how it is held up as companion to Pet Sounds and Revolver, having been recorded before Revolver, and while it has its moments, and is far more interesting than a lot of contemporaries self consciously dabbling in psychedelic music, it just doesn’t have the consistency of songwriting and song quality as the Beatles and the Beach Boys, and sonically it sounds very rough in comparison.

I think that adds up to a high 3, it’s not quite something I will return to that often
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Playlist submission: Season of the Witch