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Textbook 
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Joined: October 08 2009 Status: Offline Points: 3281 |
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 Posted: October 28 2010 at 05:30 |
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Rip The Jacker
by Canibus
13 tracks, 44 mins
"If you think that you can find a better flow
I can find a dinosaur on the Galapagos archipelago"
"f**k ya'll, you don't impress me and no one can match me,
an emcee so ill I got AIDS scared to catch me" That is not dead which can eternal rhyme...
One of the greatest lyricists of all time, Jamaica's Germaine "Canibus" Williams has not had the greatest career of all time. First coming to attention in the late 90s with a series of electrifying guest spots, the wheels quickly came off when his first two albums, hyped up as blockbusters, sold poorly due to poor production and Canibus' rhyming being too intense and complicated for most mainstream markets. A career hurting feud with the much more popular LL Cool J, and the fact that his third album actually did suck, did not help either.
With his fourth album, 2002's Mic Club, Canibus seemed to abandon his dreams of mainstream success and decided to take his formidable lyrical skills to a more hardcore approach, deliverying conceptual tracks with elaborate scientific content.
But it was 2003's Rip The Jacker where Canibus delivered his masterpiece. The key ingredient actually was not him- he had already been and would be afterwards, a phenomenal MC, able to spin off minute after minute of complex, head spinning, refreshing and jaw dropping rhymes. What was different about RTJ is that Canibus had excellent production on board, meaning for once that the album *sounded* good and wasn't just brilliant lyrics delivered in a humdrum way. All beats were handled by Stoupe from Jedi Mind Tricks and his haunting, sinister sounds are the perfect match for Canibus' academic and intense approach.
After a short intro which introduces the concept of The Ripper, the dark side of Canibus' personality, he creates the rap universe on Genabis. Love that music too, beautiful yet chilling. (Spot the Phillip Glass sample!)
Over the course of the album Canibus uses elaborate and dense wordplay, continually leaping from topic to topic, as the listener's mind races to catch up with him. They're the kind of lyrics you can appreciate for months or years as there are always new things to realise about what he's saying. This is 21st century poetry. Stoupe's gothic beats are the icing on the cake, whether using Eastern flavours and a Cirque du Soleil sample on Levitibus or going in for Feta Kuli and an epic, sweat inducing string melody (with some Fela Kuti in there too). From the nightmarish Psyche Evaluation to the oddly affecting No Return where Canibus rapidly weaves three detailed scenarios for his own death, it's quality all the way, but a real highlight is the absolutely crushing Cemantics, a lyrical masterclass with an EXCELLENT beat.
Of course the elephant in the room is the closing track, Poet Laureate II. Poet Laureate was a track on Mic Club where Canibus attempted to write the most advanced lyric he could. It was mildly successful but the following year when working on RTJ he felt he could outdo and came up with Poet Laureate II. An example of the still-in-its-infancy progressive rap/hip-hop, it is not simply Canibus's 7 minute lyrical rampage where he spits 100 bars of the most demanding lyrics on the album without a pause that puts it in this category but Stoupe's decision to have three different musical sections before returning to the opening beat for the finale that makes it resemble a prog rock song in structure. It also displays Canibus' talents to not just write these lyrics but deliver them with excellent intensity and cadence and to twist words so they rhyme when you might not expect them to. It is unstoppable.
After hearing these tracks you are officially forbidden from complaining that all rap is about bitches and drugs ever again.
Though Canibus has continued to push even further in his astonishing lyrical power, he has never made an album that *sounds* this good since as he seems to have an iffy ear for beats, making this the one to own, though those who find themselves getting hooked on his lyrical style should also pick up Mic Club, C Of Tranquility, For Whom The Beat Tolls and the 50 minute 1000 bar monstrosity that is Poet Laureate 2's successor, Poet Laureate Infinity. (Canibus, 2000 BC and Melatonin Magic are good too, but best avoid C True Hollywood Stories, Mind Control and Hip Hop For Sale, albums on which he either lyrically misfired or really dropped the ball on the beats.)
Canibus is hardly the only rapper to push rap lyrics to such advanced places but he is one of the best and deserves respect from anyone who enjoys seeing the English language pushed to its limits.
5/5
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Catcher10
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VIP Member Joined: December 23 2009 Location: Emerald City Status: Offline Points: 18006 |
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Posted: October 20 2010 at 15:46 |
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Sticking with R&B
Artist: Earth, Wind & Fire
Album: All n' All (1977)
Genre: R&B
 Track Listing:
1. Serpentine Fire 3:50 2. Fantasy 4:37
3. In the Marketplace (interlude) 0:43
4. Jupiter 3:11
5. Love's Holiday 4:23
6. Brazilian Rhyme (interlude) 1:21
7. I'll Write A Song for You 5:24
8. Magic Mind 3:39
9. Runnin' 5:51
10. Brazilian Rhyme 0:53
11. Be Ever Wonderful 5:06
Non rock, Earth, Wind & Fire are my most listened to and without a doubt my favorite group....All due to this album. This their 9th album, show cases the amazing musical creativity of Maurice White. After the group took a long trip to Brazil and I also believe Egypt, they were inspired by the sites and sounds of both. This album has many musical references to Brazil, the album artwork is directly related to Egypt with futuristic references in the artwork too. It started with the pyramids and then ends with space flight....
In my desire to keep these short I will just highlight the album.
Serpentine Fire starts the album and sets the bar very high. The slow beat of drums, percussion, cow bells and rhythmic motion helps this one get the album going. Maurice's singing is some of the best here, and ofcourse the EW&F horn section is at its best on this one.
Fantasy, the megahit of this album. About a man who takes a ride on a spaceship to find his dreams, finds the place of Fantasy. Verdine White's bass playing is so tight, sets the pace on this one clearly and Phillip Bailey's amazing voice...just superb.
Then we get one of the many "interludes" of this album, which is kind of a EW&F trademark. This first one features Maurice playing his kalimba, which is an African finger piano, as he plucks it to make the distinctive African sound, again this becomes a trademark sound of EW&F.
Jupiter continues their theme of space/fantasy travel and features Al McKay's great rhythm guitar work and some of my favorite EW&F horn work. The whole group shows off their vocals on this one.
Earth, Wind & Fire are known for many things, on this album they solidified one long standing attribute of the group.....the funky, hot, mesmerizing love songs. Back in the 70's in Jr high and High School, I soooo remember doing the thang on the dance floor with that cute girl to the tunes of Earth, Wind & Fire. To this day if I play a bunch of their slow songs, the wife knows what comes next!
This album has three of the most amazingly written slow/love songs in R&B
Loves' Holiday, I'll Write A Song For You and Be Ever Wonderful.
The 2nd one features Phillip Bailey at his best vocally, so smooth in his falsetto voice...also some great 12 string acoustic work by Al McKay.
Maurice White sings lead on the other two, but Maurice and Phillip together is vocal harmony, literally.
Magic Mind, a quick funky tune featuring all the singers at their best, catchy chorus keeps this one afloat.
Runnin' (instrumental) just showcases the groups high level of instrumental talent, starting with a nice keyboard/synth entry by Larry Dunn. Much Brazilian musical influence on this one, percussion, horns, drums and the trademark EW&F vocal harmonies.
EW&F encompass all that is good about music....Jazz, Fusion, Blues, Rock and World musical influences. This album has it all. A perfect place to start if you have any interest in one of the most influential R&B groups of the 70' and 80's......I have seen them live 6 times, their shows are amazing, you will not sit down, your feet, body, head are moving the whole time. Back in the 70's they incorporated a lot of magic in their shows. Disappearing performers, hidden doors, floating band members, both magicians Doug Henning and David Copperfiled produced the on stage magic portion.
Rating:
 Prog Appeal: (1) maybe 2 but only interest would be in the use of alternative instruments ie Kalimba and lyrics based on fantasy and the instrumentals. The album abounds with full string accompanyment on a lot of songs..
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Catcher10
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VIP Member Joined: December 23 2009 Location: Emerald City Status: Offline Points: 18006 |
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Posted: October 16 2010 at 13:57 |
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This is cool!....just found this thread. I'm a huge funk/R&B listener as that pretty much is where my music life began.....I will only review non-prog related albums. I will try to keep them short and pretty.
Here's my first one......
Artist: Parliament (1977)
Album: Funkentelechy vs The Placebo Syndrome
Genre: R&B/Funk
 Track Listing:
1. Bop Gun (Endangered Species) 8:32
2. Sir Nose d'Voidoffunk 10:10
3. Wizard of Finance 4:32
4. Funkentelechy 10:55
5. Placebo Syndrome 4:20
6. Flashlight 5:46
Well what can you say, George Clinton the master of funk and just plain weird stuff on the R&B side...the man has an imagination for sure (I'm sure helped along by some marij
 ).Anyhow arguably Parliaments best album. The funk just runneth over on this one.....(BTW it is a concept album)
Bop Gun...nice little guitar diddy and beat, then turns into a fullfledge party, bop gun sound effects and addictive chorus. The Horny Horns section doing their thing on this one also.
Sir Nose...the title says it all. Voice alterations galor (vocoders)....the story sets Sir Nose as the all-time public enemy #1 in the Parliament world, in this case its Starchild fighting the fight.
Both are on the album cover, ofcourse Starchild operating the "Bop Gun". The song is setup to start slowly then just buildup to a frothy funk fest. Sir Nose will never dance...
Wizard of Finance..nice doo-wop slow song, change of pace from the first 2. The sax in the begining gives it a throwback feel, sing along chorus...Sly Stone influence here?
Funkentelechy..a monster of a song! Clinton uses witty lines and humor to tell us how the funk can rid us of those trying to control us. Using lines that refer to commercials of the day "you derserve a break today" and the classic " would you trade your funk for what's behind door number 3?"
Placebo Syndrome..slowest song on the album, cool chorus and vocals. Describes how we should not be strayed in the Syndrome....I think its a jab at the Disco clubs.
Flashlight...the most sampled song in the Parliament catalog. This is a beast of a song, clearly Parliaments signature track. Just a great synthbass beat, infectious guitar groove thru the whole song, Bootsy Collins' drumming sets the pace for this song. Listen closely you can pull out the battle between Sir Nose and Starchild......the bop gun sounds. Will Sir Nose finally dance?
"everybodys got a little light under the sun...." says Clinton signaling that we can all overcome fear.
Without a doubt an album which still to this day influences many in the world of R&B and probably the hip/hop world too.
Rating:
1/2 (4.5). A Funk classic....Prog Appeal: (2) it certainly has a historical prescence. The nature of the long songs, story line/concept may lend some interest to the Prog world.
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JJLehto
Prog Reviewer 
Joined: April 05 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Status: Offline Points: 34550 |
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Posted: October 06 2010 at 03:19 |
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I've done a good bit of non prog reviews.
I really like your format actually. I shall use it in the future when I review more non prog albums on PA. Too lazy to re write my old ones though  |
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rogerthat
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2006 Location: . Status: Offline Points: 9869 |
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Posted: September 12 2010 at 03:56 |
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Right, I will do this somewhat 'prog-related' review. It's not prog at all, of course, but has prog artists. Annie Haslam - Annie in Wonderland (1977)  Tracklist: 1.Introlise/If I Was Made of Music 2.Never Believed in Love 3.If I Loved You (cover) 4.Hunioco 5.Rockalise 6.Nature Boy (cover) 7.Inside my life 8.Going Home (cover) While it's understandable that an album, as I will shortly point out, which is not particularly great would not be much sought after among music fans in general, I don't really understand why even among Renaissance/Annie Haslam fans, this one doesn't get much attention. Even Still Life and Blessing in Disguise seem to have been received more favourably. Its inconsistency, which I will address, is most definitely an issue. But, this is also the only one of Annie's solo albums recorded at her peak in the 70s and it shows. For the moment she gets some music to bite into, she is able to make something unique with it. Further, sure, it's a pop album but really, if you are a fan of Renaissance, you don't really mind Annie Haslam singing pretty pop songs all that much, surely? The difference between Captive Heart (from the same year on the Novella album) and If I Loved You is certainly not like night and day. If anything, I would argue Annie sounds even better on the latter, which is the case whenever this album hits the spot. I am sure the artwork hurts too, but again, Renaissance aren't exactly renowned for that either, are they? However, I will address the inconsistency first. This album was produced and largely written by Roy Wood (who also played many of the instruments) during the brief interval when John Tout needed a rest and the band (Renaissance) were neither recording and touring and it does seem a bit hastily put together. Songs like If I Were Made of Music seem to have potential which however hasn't been brought to fruition. Never Believed in Love and Hunioco are throwaway. Inside my life, penned by Camp, only foreshadows the blandness to come in future Renaissance efforts (salvaged by some good guitar from Wood in the coda). The material is also so eclectic that there is no sense of unity or a cohesive personality in the album. This perhaps also works to its favour in a certain sense because it lets you cherry pick what you want. Now, the things that do work, in ascending order. Nature Boy...the singing on the verse is pretty good but we swiftly realize this is not quite Annie's forte. Watch out for the stunning jazz vocalizations though, she's more versatile than she's credited to be. And some of the excursions, particularly a swiftly descending run right at the end, slay! It's also interesting how well her voice blends with jazz guitar here and with organs and violins in Renaissance albums, all when she's vocalizing, mind. If I Loved You may be 'just' a cover of an old pop song but I would suggest you to ignore the genre and take in the singing. This must be hands down the best version of this song. It certainly wipes the floor with Barbara Streisand's cold and loungey take on the song. By now, Annie's singing craft appears to have matured and peaked - contrast this with the relatively flat, emotionally, that is, singing on Let It Grow. Four years from there, she's become an even better singer. I haven't mentioned Roy Wood's arrangements yet but I will start now - it's absolutely gorgeous here, very dreamy and romantic, which already gives this version a headstart over the bland (imo) original even before Annie's singing kicks in. Paul Mc Cartney was apparently in the studio when this was recorded and said her voice sent shivers down his spine. I am inclined to agree. Going Home, of course, is a traditional funeral song based on Dvorak's New World Symphony. Once again, beautiful arrangements, this time sparse and sombre. The song is also paced in a very unhurried way, giving all the time in the world to Annie to lay down the mood. And once again, she is able to come up with a very distinct and powerful interpretation of a song much sung. There is no affectation in her singing nor any of the angst and bitterness that often comes through in rock's takes on death. There's a solemn acceptance of fate that is yet very touching. To my mind, this is already a better showcase of Annie's singing than any classic Renaissance song and I haven't got to Rockalise yet! Rockalise is in my opinion the best Annie has ever sung in the studio. I am quite baffled how this song is mentioned so less in fan circles. On the surface, it might come across as exhibitionism - high pitched operatic singing without lyrics and with the refrain repeated several times, with drums stepping in in the second half of the song. But pay close attention to Annie's singing and you cannot fail to be moved. We live in times where musicians get slammed for being technical. Well, here's an example of how to be very technical and still do it very elegantly and with feeling. She demonstrates how to hit the soprano C off both the head voice and whistle voice but there is clearly the underlying purpose of evoking a lighter shade of voice in doing so which dispels any notion of technical exhibitionism. Further, her vocalizations are so precise, even in terms of the exact degree of attack she puts behind every note, that it almost sounds like an instrument playing some music rather than a voice. Above all, it is very touching and when hitting such stratospheric notes, she sounds unexpectedly vulnerable and fragile (again, a quality I have not really come across much in her singing with Renaissance). I would particularly pinpoint the 'variation' at 2:10 thereabouts - very delicate. I am not too fond of opera singing (and I don't know if I can call this opera, so I will stick to saying it is sort of operatic) but Annie with her magnificent technique executes it very beautifully and effortlessly. Instead of describing the song in so much detail, maybe I should have summed it up in one line: if you haven't heard Rockalise, you haven't heard Annie Haslam, period. In summary, Annie In Wonderland, while not strictly a solo album because Annie doesn't write her own music, presents an interesting side to her singing which could have been explored further. But I guess they didn't know then that Renaissance would slide after A Song For All Seasons. Heaven knows this kind of pretty and polite but sincere and soulful music may not have found much favour in the 80s even if she had worked with Roy Wood. But there's tantalizing potential here for a different direction which still remains true to the quintessence of her singing (unlike say Camera Camera). As for the rating, I would rate it 4.5/5 for the peaks but barely 2-2.5 for the lows. I will give a three star on balance but would highly recommend it to fans of this singer. If there's any solo work of Annie Haslam you need, this is the one. Edited by rogerthat - September 12 2010 at 04:01 |
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catfood03
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Joined: May 24 2009 Status: Offline Points: 785 |
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Posted: August 18 2010 at 21:45 |
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Here's one of the above listed...
  Various Artists - Warp20 (chosen)When Warp first announced it's 20 year anniversary collections I was hoping for something a bit more inclusive for a tracklist. Many of the fascinating artists that I became hooked onto Warp as a label are absent from this 2 disc set. It would take more real-estate to house them all onto one collection and even with the deluxe box-set that this release is culled from it would be a monumental task. There is simply too much good music from this one label. As far as the selections are concerned there is little to debate about. The first CD's tracklist, determined by an open voting poll, represents mostly the "greatest hits" from each of the ten artists voted on. Warp built it's name and reputation on the strength of it's electronic artists during the 90's so its not surprising there is a heavy tilt towards that facet of the label's history. These tracks are all strong, from the sleazy vibe of Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker", the thumping tempo of Battles' "Atlas", the classic sleek sounds of "LFO", and the spastic freak-out of Autechre's "Gantz Graf". My only wish is that, at only 48 minutes, the first disc could have room for 5 or more "runner-ups" from the voting list. The second disc is even more curious, with all selections chosen by one individual, Warp co-founder Steve Beckett. Again, these are all good choices, most of which were new to my ears upon first listen. I would not have nessecarily chosen the Broadcast or Squarepusher selections here as the best from each respective artist, but overall this disc has the fun and sense of discovery of receiving a mix-tape from a good friend. (I know I just aged myself with that last comment.) This CD runs well over an hour. In short, this is an excellent overview of Warp's impressive 20 year run and a great sampler for the curious. |
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catfood03
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Joined: May 24 2009 Status: Offline Points: 785 |
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Posted: August 18 2010 at 21:38 |
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I've made lots of non-prog reviews on my Amazon profile. Perhaps I'll post some from this list... Prince - Controversy Various Artists - Warp20 (chosen)
Sparks - Whomp That Sucker Yello - Solid Pleasure KMFDM - Xtort
Simple Minds - Early Gold Midnight Oil - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Food for Animals - Belly Clark - Turning Dragon
KMFDM - Tohuvabohu Andrew Weatherall - The Bullet Catcher's Apprentice
Front 242 - Geography Diagram of Suburban Chaos - Status Negatives Erasure - Live: Sheffield 03/10/05 Autechre - Untilted
Autechre - Oversteps Severed Heads - Haul Ass Anthony
Petraeus - Mutant Theater Beans - Now, Soon, Someday B52's - Nude on the Moon Deftones - Diamond Eyes Mira Calix - Skimskitta Ministry - The Last Sucker
Bibio - The Apple and The Tooth Gus Gus - 24/7
Anti-Pop Consortium - Flourescent Black Yvat - Gliae Two Lone Swordsmen - The Fifth Mission Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care
Autechre - Quaristice
Depeche Mode - Construction Time Again
Depeche Mode - A Broken Frame Various Artists - Fullmetal Alchemist (Complete Best) Ratatat - Classics
Skinny Puppy - Bites Ladytron - The Witching Hour The Cure - Faith Erasure - Cowboy
Aphex Twin - Drukqs
KMFDM - Don't Blow Your Top Mike and Rich - Expert Knob Twiddlers Matmos - Rat Relocation Program
LFO - Sheath 
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AtomicCrimsonRush
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Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 02 2008 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 14258 |
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Posted: August 14 2010 at 05:00 |
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Bump
someone post a cool non prog review
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AtomicCrimsonRush
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Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 02 2008 Location: Australia Status: Offline Points: 14258 |
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Posted: July 30 2010 at 19:56 |
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OK I got to get into this non prog reviewing. I have some on metal archives but this is a perennial favourite!
HIT AND RUN - GIRLSCHOOL
genre: NWOBHM
year: 1981
lineup:
Enid Williams (Bass, Vocals)
Kim McAuliffe (Rhythm Guitar, Vocals)
Kelly Johnson (lead guitar, vocals)
Denise Dufort (drums)
  CD version
Tracklist1. C'mon Let's Go (3:36)2. The Hunter (3:14) 3. (I'm Your) Victim (2:40) 4. Kick It Down (3:01) 5. Following the Crowd (3:07) 6. Tush (2:14) 7. Hit and Run (3:07) 8. Watch Your Step (3:19) 9. Back to Start (3:30) 10. Yeah Right (3:19) 11. Future Flash (4:25) 12. 1-2-3-4 Rock 'n' Roll (3:31) 13. Furniture Fire (2:58) 14. Take It All Away (3:43) 15. Midnight Ride (3:16) 16. Race With the Devil (2:49) 17. Play Dirty (5:02) 18. Emergency (2:49) 19. Breakout (Knob in The Media) (3:20) 20. Flesh and Blood (2:13) 21. Bomber (3:36) 22. Nothing to Lose (3:13) 23. Live With Me (3:18) 24. Like It Like That (3:26) Total Time: 78:58 *****
I have all the Girlschool releases from the 80s and I can say without reservation that “Hit and Run” was the best thing they ever did. Every song is killer metal with innovative lead breaks and wonderful singing from Enid, Kim and Kelly. This is the best material that Kelly would contribute to Girlschool before her departure from the band. I saw a lot of these tracks played in a TV concert on a late night rock TV show and the next day I was in the record store buying the vinyl album. I had been waiting for an all girl band to kick some serious butt with distorted guitars and melodic singing; it was the ideal band in my teen years. I had grown up with the raucous legend Suzi Quatro and the less heavy The Runaways who were pioneers of girl metal. Girlschool took it to the next level with intense riffs and shout out loud choruses. Kelly was a master on guitar and her voice was sultry but defiant. It was love at first sight for me when I saw her on that mini special with leopard skin top and low slung axe around her hips. The band were in their best line up on this second album; Enid Williams was a bassist but had a turn at the softer vocals when needed; Kim McAuliffe was the rhythm guitar who sung some songs but took over later as lead vocalist when Kelly departed; Denise Dufort stayed hidden behind her drums but was a real rebel off stage; and the incomparable lead vocalist, lead guitarist, Kelly Johnson, was always at her best during these early years of the band. The album begins with the glorious chugging guitar that sounds like a car engine starting up and then revving into high gear and then the drums pound in and we are on our way with a grinding Motorhead style riff. Kelly is extraordinary, singing with attitude and with clean female vocals that hit you like a ton of bricks; “Speeding down the motorway, Let slow life pass us by, Another mile another day, some action in our lives, We're on our way, Living for today, C'mon let's go (Let’s go!)” The chorus, as was the trademark for the band, was raucous shouting designed to rev up any crowd. There is a crunching scratchy guitar rhythm that mimics the drum patterns as the guitars continue to rev like motorcars. The second verse is pure 80s metal, aggressive and focussed on pressing the pedal to the metal; “Engines screaming red hot rage, We're gonna reach an all time high, Speed crazed racer rip my mind, 'Cause you know you're gonna hit the sky” Kelly’s vocals are divine when she tears out these rockers. Denise is drumming her heart out throughout this metal banging classic. Brilliant. Kelly was also capable of softer vocals such as on ‘The Hunter’ that was always a highlight on this album. It features a ‘Born to be Wild’ style riff and tempo. The lyrics are suggestive and sultry; “Tracking her down, with a dream kind of smile, Moving up closer....but something doesn’t feel right, touching her skin... you wonder if it’s all right and how did this begin, The Hunter...” The chorus is sung in whispers with an echo. The lead break is Kelly burning it up with very bluesy lead licks and some driving bass rhythms. Other highlights are ‘Following the Crowd’ with a very strong drum beat and hypnotic groove. The title track is the powerful hit single with some awesome verses that stay in the head; “I was out in the cold, Alone in the night, How could I carry on? Felt so empty inside, All you gave me were promises, Nothing better than lies, Hit and run!” The single charted fairly well but they were never a singles band, though it did better than a lot of their previous singles it is fair to say. I was always a fan of ‘Back to Start’ which is the slowest track but it has some fabulous guitar licks and one of the best lead breaks on the album. The lyrics are more thoughtful and sung with clean vocals from Enid; “Looking forward for my future, never could refuse, trying to find my motivation... nothing left for me, all I’m able to see, is I need some time, because I made up my mind, I’m back to start”. Love the way she sings this with depth and feeling. ‘Kick it Down’ is a fun song that just rocks along at a moderate pace with very distorted guitars crashing keeping a driving beat. The lyrics are again about standing up to the system and people who are against you; “Tired of people telling you what to do, Kick down the door still I gotta prove to you, I got the safe on my own, but I must get off my pride, You must keep on going till you reach the other side, Tell you what I'm going to do Kick it down!” The lead break is very good again with some fret melting licks. ‘Tush’ is a fun rocking cover version of the classic that many bands have covered and this sounds like the ZZ Top version. 'Im Your Victim' has some good melodic metal passages. 'Watch Your Step' has a memorable chorus and very cool metal guitars in the lead breaks. There is not a bad song on this. One of the most popular Girlschool tracks is the raucous crazy ‘Yeah Right’ that always appeared in concert. The filmclip even featured Motorhead’s drummer appearing in ladies clothing, waving a rolling pin in the spoken section that mocks parental advice, with the standard teenage answer, and goes like this; “And don't forget, don't stop out too late again tonight... (yeah right)... I'm warning ya’...(yeah right)...And don't drink too much....(Yeah Right!)” The shout on the last part obviously means Girlschool are planning to do the opposite of the motherly advice. It is fun and has some very heavy guitars. Enid sings it very well and she is great on bass on this too. The verses basically explain the theme of rebelling against parents; “Hanging round the bar never getting very far, gonna let my sorrows drown, Leaning on the wall, 'till I start to fall, gonna get the vodka down, Better understand, gotta get it while I can, gonna have some fun tonight, I've done it all before but I still want more, gonna carry on til it's light, And they're always telling me, You can't do that, you can't do that...” This would be a running theme of Girlschool echoing the distrust and misery of their childhood years driving them to the rock scene, similar to The Runaways in many respects who also sung about leaving home despite parents pleading not to (listen to them on ‘Born to be Bad’ for a heart wrenching look at teenage runaways). I think Girlschool just wanted to have fun and rock hard and they did it without listening to what they should or should not be doing. The last track on the vinyl version is the brilliant ‘Future Flash’ with a relentless guitar riff and Kelly beautifully elegant on vocals; “like a fish out of water, a scaly skin... don’t believe what they tell you, it’s only a lie, but you shouldn’t have to fight, live and let die, out to get you, they’re coming our way, out to get you!” I always loved these lyrics and I think many teens like me in the 80s, could relate to them. The lead break is scorching where Kelly performs hammer ons and speed licks to perfection. The refrain is interesting with Kelly whispering, “rock and roll rat race... they lower their voices to make us feel sad...” The ending of the song is backmasked vocals and it sounds bizarre and compelled me to play the vinyl backwards to try and hear what they are saying; and they are singing to Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’ song; “we are Siamese if you please, We are Siamese if you don’t please.” As the ending continues with strange screaming guitars and choral harmonies there is another backmasked message. I checked it out and it’s Kelly saying, “and there’s only one thing I can say about all this and that’s bollocks!” well, I tend to disagree, Kelly, this album is far from that. It is a lot of fun to listen to on a Friday night cranked up to 10. Every track is fantastic with some of the best girl metal I have ever heard. The Cd version now has a plethora of extra tracks that are part of the greatest collecton found on most compilations including the quintessential "Girlschool Collection" anthology, such as 'Take It All Away', 'Midnight Ride', 'Race With the Devil' and 'Emergency'; all hugely popular for the band. In conclusion, it is brilliant 80s metal from the NWOBHM. Girlschool did everything right on this classic. PROG? not a sceric, unless you count the strange structure of 'Future Flash', the ending was a lot of creativity or it may have just been to fill up the album, in any case I hold this album dear to my heart. sadly other Girlschool albums lacked the creativity and dynamism of this album.
RIP guitarist: Kelly Johnson Heres a final clip put to the hilarious vision from Grindhouse Death Proof
Edited by AtomicCrimsonRush - July 30 2010 at 20:15 |
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AtomicCrimsonRush
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Posted: July 30 2010 at 19:33 |
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^^^ you guys are into Australian iconic bands! I am impressed. Midnight oil are awesome i have all their albums, best ones being Blue Sky Mining, 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 and Red Sails in Sunset
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catfood03
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Posted: July 26 2010 at 21:26 |
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I also love Redneck Wonderland, despite the abundance of electronic elements that seemed trendy at the time, I think the songs are really strong on it. The early albums aren't that bad either with Head Injuries being my fave from that period. |
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TheGazzardian
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Posted: July 25 2010 at 23:40 |
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The Oils released a lot of good records - I'd say Red Sails in the Sunset and Blue Sky Mining are both the top contenders against 10, 9..., but Deisel and Dust (and Earth and Sun and Moon) aren't very far behind.
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SaltyJon
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Posted: July 25 2010 at 22:55 |
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Really? I loved playing trombone in high school, and I still like playing it on occasion. |
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catfood03
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Posted: July 25 2010 at 20:58 |
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Good choice! For me it's a tie between this and Diesel and Dust as fave Oils album.  |
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The Truth
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Posted: July 21 2010 at 22:29 |
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Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited
 A real treasure, this one. Bob put his valuable (to everyone but himself) folkie reputation on the line by releasing an almost entirely rock album (Desolation Row is obviously still folk). But wow he created something great and really influenced modern music with it. Thanks to this lovely album we learned that rock songs could have inquisitive lyrics and that was a major step closer to prog. But the songs themself all sound raw (a lot of the instruments not properly tuned) and wonderful at the same time. Bob's nasally voice that others have a hard time agreeing with I immeadiately fell in love with and that was in large part why he is one of my favorite artists ever.
Not a good review really but still...
5 golden stars
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Alitare
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Posted: July 21 2010 at 22:21 |
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< ="-" ="text/; =utf-8">
Tom Waits Bone Machine (1992) An album made by the spirits of everything dead or dying. Album Rating: 9 Overall Rating: 13 Best Song: It's a complete journey, but for personal reasons, I DON'T WANNA GROW UP. Tom has channeled most every dark emotion a body can experience, at this point. He's usually tackled tons of varying emotions all in one package, oft times with a bare-bones central theme, such as in Closing Time, or tied together by a coherent atmosphere, like with Small Change, but never before has he so thoroughly, so hauntingly, so f**king sincerely channeled the aura of death and dying than on Bone Machine. Where his singing is normally dirty as hell, and rough like drinking hot ash, here it's almost as if he's taken it to a new level, with a sort of despairing gospel howl. Atmospherically, it's like walking across a desert wasteland, littered with animal bones and decaying husks, all littered about, just barely visible with your eyes.
It's not that he just shoves DEATH in your face as if you have to accept it all, whether you want to, or not. No, he puts the big D right under your nose, so you get the actual urge to look for it, thinking it might be some hidden desert treasure, but when you uncover it, i's just more DEATH, same as everywhere else. Upon uncovering said bone gems, you might let out a frenzied shriek similar to how Tom belts out the chrus to the opening track. It's almost this dreary spoken word piece about all manner of bleak imagery, then from out the bowels of hell he roars with pure anguish. It's creepy, 'cause you can sing along with it.
As usual, he packs the album with loads of shorter songs (barely over two or three minutes, on average), so there are plenty of ideas present. All of 'em got the cold rub of the grave over them, but there's diversity here, dammit. You'll get a few tracks that could have fit snugly on Small Change, such as Who Are You, with the somber and melancholy piano lines bleeding under his weepy moan. The greatest positive element of having all these songs at such short running times is, as usual, to keep the listener from getting bored, because in all honestly, the songs here aren't too complex or varied, but good god, what an atmosphere!
As with most later Tom Waits records, you'll get the melancholy ballad pieces, the pseudo-spoken word poetry beat sessions, the jazzy, gruff rockers, and the big fusion of differing rootsy styles, all drenched in the disturbing percussion that, fitting well with the album's title, sounds exactly like a bone machine. You'll get your religious rebukes, odes to murder, and ghstly images of rot and ruin. Amidst this is a song that instantly hits my heart, and takes me to my emotional knees. I Don't Wanna Grow Up hs to be the most upbeat song here, but for some reason it feels like the most bleak and depressing to me. It feels like the most sincere rejection of the horrors of adulthood, from the eyes of either some poor kid who doesn't want to grow up, or, more even more frighteningly, someone who has already grown up, and reaches into his deepest soul to try and fight back the pain, knowing that it's futile in the end.
The melodies are all haunting. Some are low key, ohers are right visible, but most folks will still have to dig pretty deep to see the beauty of this record, and believe me, it's truly beautiful when you look at the topic like he does. For those of you who think this is all just a little too much darkness, the guy has the decency to include one of his notable "uplifting" tracks, as the finale, which acts as a sort of internal coping method for all the oppressive musical hollows. I happen to think it fits everything, masterfully, and only a guy like Tom could pull it off so convincingly. If this collection lacks anything, it's real rich diversity, and a couple of the linking tracks start too feel a little too much like filler. Still, I've yet to find such a grim depiction of death and decay in music. ***** |
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octopus-4
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Posted: June 30 2010 at 11:32 |
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This could be a good idea, but scrolling down the post is not easy and there's no possibility to search for a specific artist or album. On the other side, this is PA, so there's no sense in discussing about Bob Marley or Patti Smith here. Should anybody create www.rockarchives.com I'll be happy to join.
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I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution
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Niv
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Posted: June 12 2010 at 12:26 |
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 Hospice is The Antlers' third album, released in 2009. It's a concept album, and the story is about a man who falls in love with a depressed and abusive cancer patient at the hospital he works in. The patient ends up dying beside him, and he is stricken with grief and regret. The music itself is a beautiful melancholy, packed with raw emotion and sorrow. The main features are the powerful use of piano, Peter Silberman's beautiful echoing voice and the band's soft instrumentation and use of distortion. Hospice is the most emotional album I've ever listened to, and is quickly becoming one of my all time favourites. 1. Prologue - It starts with a haunting piano, and horror movie-ish background noise. Ghostlike whistling leads into the next track. 2. Kettering - (Named after the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre) The background noise is gone, and there is only piano, such solemn, heartwrenching piano, and a soft high voice. All the emotion is spilled out in a depressing minimalistic style. The drums and guitar come in, but the piano is still at the forefront, preaching the sad message. And the song finishes with a lone whispering voice, howling silently into the night. 3. Sylvia - Starting with distorted bleeping background noise, the vocals are as emotional as the previous track, until the introduction of guitar. Everything bursts into life, it briefly turns into a rock song with melody for the chorus then back again to a slowly building verse, before another chorus. It finishes with soft acoustic guitar and an even softer voice. 4. Atrophy - More piano/vocal introduces this song, and slowly, gradually builds up, with a few lightly tapped cymbals adding to the tension. Helicopter blades and bells are introduced before ending with an acoustic/vocal verse. 5. Bear - Piano/vocal theme again, it's incredible how such a simple method can produce such an effect, it's just one of the wonders of good music. The acoustic guitars come in briefly and the vocals pick up, constantly changing the song's tempo and structure, swinging back and forth from minimal emotion and melodic rock, similar to Sylvia. 6. Thirteen - Merging seamlessly from the end of Bear, Thirteen starts with an echoing, ambient sound and moves into an undescribable and grand piece of music.It ends with a high, long drawn voice and slow paced piano 7. Two - Starts with an acoustic/vocal arrangement again, but a more delicate sound, that is until the electric instruments come in. The voice picks up too, with a hint of anger and a few cusses accentuating that. And so it continues through the rest of the song, making this one of the more upbeat songs on the album. 8. Shiva - Shiva starts with piano, but quickly moves to acoustics and has a warmer feel than the previous songs. A glimmer of hope, even. There's some brass in the background, and it finishes as it started with piano and acoustic guitar. 9. Wake - Distortion and a solemn howling set the tone back for the penultimate track, and the first few verses are sad ones. The soft thud of a bass drum starts a slow buildup, the howling all the while casting a bleak yet beautiful portrait. An intermission of piano leads into another verse, and the music builds up, and builds up, and builds up into a chorus of anguish, raw emotion and power. The sound is absolutely massive in scale, and it is a grand force of a song, before it slowly fades into silence. 10. Epilogue - An acoustic/vocal only reprise of Kettering with different lyrics, which ends in a simply haunting distorted piano riff. What better way to finish, then with a chilling rendition of the best song on the album. Rating: 5 stars. This piece of music impacted me emotionally more than any other music has done, and for the sheer effect, I personally feel it's earned full marks. Prog Appeal: Although it's a concept album, musically it's not very progressive. Although I don't know much about time signatures, it's got a pretty slow paced tempo. The most noticable feature would be the use of various bells, effects and distortion. |
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Textbook
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Posted: May 30 2010 at 16:08 |
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Funny how you listen to an album for two years and suddenly get a different interpretation of a song. I just wrote how I think The Sky Is Falling is about Israel/Palestine but I was just listening to the album again and I all of a sudden realised it's actually about Hurricane Katrina, or at least the lyrics make a lot more sense with that interpretation. Ties into the air theme a lot better too.
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Textbook
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Posted: May 30 2010 at 04:57 |
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About to do something odd here- that is, to review an album that was never actually released in this form. I've created my own version for review. Read on to the review itself for an explanation :)
 The Alchemy Index
by Thrice
16 tracks, 63 mins
PROG INTEREST ALERT
In 2007 and 2008, alternative rock band Thrice released a series of four EPs, each one containing four songs that, lyrically and sonically, explored each of the four elements. There were flashes of brilliance but attempting to combine all four into one mega-album, I found the weaker songs continually irritating and that the 94 minute length was just too much. More than half the time Thrice were hitting it out of the box, but the times they weren't were enough to drag it down.
So I kicked out the two weakest songs for each element and made my own The Alchemy Index album, with sixteen of the original twenty-four tracks. I think it works really well and is a great listen and really feels like a complete album. If you're already into Thrice, let me know what you think of my playlist, or even get a few tracks off Itunes and see how you feel.
Tracklist
Fire
1 Firebreather
2 Backdraft
3 Burn The Fleet
4 The Flame Deluge
Water
5 Digital Sea
6 Open Water
7 Lost Continent
8 The Whaler
Air
9 Broken Lungs
10 The Sky Is Falling
11 Daedalus
12 Silver Wings
Earth
13 The Earth Isn't Humming
14 The Lion And The Wolf
15 Come All You Weary
16 Child Of Dust
(Note: Each of the final songs in each element is a sonnet set to music from the element's own perspective. The same tune is used for each, but the production/delivery is entirely different. The exception is water- water's sonnet, Kings Upon The Main, plods on and on and I had to cut it for the stronger water songs.)
And now, finally, the review!
Fire
As you might expect, the fire songs are the most volatile and rocking of the bunch, closest to Thrice's hardcore roots before they began to head in more progressive directions.
Firebreather begins with fire sirens before chunky guitars kick in and Dustin Kensrue's smouldering vocals fill out the sound. The lyric is a little hard to catch, but I believe it is about cremation, a great but unexpected angle to take in a song about fire. Firebreather is perhaps a bit musically simple but it is good fistpumping stuff and the bit where the choiral vocals kick in near the end is fantastic.
Backdraft, one of the more sinister songs Thrice have released, is a literal reference to the movie/phenomenon of Backdraft, where a seemingly out fire is reignited when you open a door and the oxygen comes in. Cleverly, the song makes this a metaphor for a dysfunctional relationship that keeps dying and flaring up destructively. Musically, the quiet, creepy verses (which demonstrate how much Kensrue sounds like Thom Yorke when he sings quietly, despite his loud voice sounding nothing like Yorke at all) explode terrifically into a chorus that feels a bit emotionally unhinged. Much like backdraft itself where the danger seems to have passed and then BOOM!
Burn The Fleet is next, the lyric a speech from a commander telling his soldiers to destroy the ships that took them to the foreign land they intend to conquer- retreat will be impossible so they will fight that much harder. This has happened several times, but apparently Kensrue was thinking specifically of Tariq Ibn Zayid. One of my favourite lyrics on a pretty lyrically impressive album and it is cheesy in just the right way to give it that epic, heroic flavour.
The fire section closes with the first sonnet, The Flame Deluge. WOW. The incredible RAGE and FURY the band unleashes here. It's almost unlistenable in its intensity and I'm sure that's quite intentional, though it does destroy the lyric, though it's fire talking about how ashamed it is of the way humans keep using it for destruction. This is about the closest I can imagine to what it would sound like if a volcano made a rock album.
Water
Ghosts of Radiohead again, as Digital Sea begins like it's going to turn into Everything In Its Right Place. However it turns out to be a lot more straightforward than that, a nice, cool piece of chilled electronic pop, which sets the tone for the sound of the water section. Digital Sea uses drowning as a metaphor for how we find ourselves being surrounded in technology which takes our lives over. "I am tangled in nets" etc.
Open Water mines similar territory sonically, though perhaps the tone is a bit more menacing. However, this time we get a big pop payoff in a lush, rich and catchy chorus that rises up like a wave. Lyrically, I think Kensrue is comparing the ocean, mysterious, cruel but the source of life, to god, bringing new meaning to "between the devil and the deep blue sea".
Next is Lost Continent, one of my favourites, corny though the sound and concept may seem to some. A very timely lyric, an obvious Atlantis reference, works as a comment on today's world. Like the Atlanteans, we are blind to the warnings as the water rises, soon to obliterate us all, until today's civilisation is just a legendary myth of a super-society that the descendants of the survivors doubt ever existed at all. I'm not saying I or Kensrue actually believe that will happen, but it's a very rich thought for poetry.
The last water song included is The Whaler, oceans as a metaphor for the divisons between people, the whaler out at sea and seperated from his family for years. An old timey feel is blended with a modern drumbeat for an interesting sound and the vocal parts are quite haunting.
Air
The air section is different from all the others in that it doesn't have a set sound. Whereas fire rocked, water was electronic/sleepy and earth will be rootsy and folksy, air (whether a creative accident or to deliberately suggest its capricious nature) is varied. Proceedings begin with Broken Lungs, Thrice's 9/11 song. Some will take exception to the lyric which indicates an American government conspiracy, but then Matt Bellamy's overt statement of the same belief doesn't seem to have hurt Muse's career much. The music for Broken Lungs goes from a quiet, pretty verse to an amped up chorus before a raging conclusion. "We want justice, we want the truth!"
The Sky Is Falling is a more conventional rocker, one of the pacier songs on offer, but the tense production and airy chorus keep it away from the mainstream. Lyrically, I think it's about the Israel/Palestine conflict- Kensrue doesn't take sides, but speaks about how the constant fear that death may fall on you from above eats away at your life.
Daedalus is of course about the legendary inventor and architect and is a retelling of the Icarus myth from his perspective. It is also a highlight of the entire album. Kensrue nails the lyric while guitarist Teppei Teranishi gets it just right, using his instrument to evoke the isolation Daedalus feels at the start, their ascent into the air and Icarus' fatal fall. The part where Daedalus cries "Oh gods why is this happening to me?" often brings a lump to my throat.
Silver Wings feels musically similar to some of the water music with its electronic vibe, but the breezy, whispery production really suits the element, and it is one of the prettier things on offer. Lyrically air wonders that it keeps everyone alive but is so abused by mankind's pollution in return.
Earth
To get a more earthy feel, the final segment finds Thrice putting the amplifiers and digital manipulators around, resulting in a more folksy sound. The Earth Isn't Humming is not actually an original, but a cover of a Frodus song. I must confess I have not heard the original and could not find it but I understand Frodus were a punk band so I imagine this is quite different. The bass is very insistent and gives the feel of things inevitably ticking along towards doom- tying into the lyric's concern that the earth is out of balance and the piper will have to payed.
The Lion And The Wolf I don't really get lyrically but I do like the creepy atmosphere the song creates. Nothing else on The Alchemy Index sounds quite like this. Whatever it's about, it's not particularly happy. I think perhaps it is about earthly concerns and animal instincts getting the better of us and leading to personal destruction.
Come All You Weary may appear depressing- it is a message to all the unwanted and downtrodden that when they die, the earth will receive them- but it is done in a very rootsy, raw way so that rather than being gloomy, it is oddly uplifting, a reminder that no matter how bad things are, when you've done all you can, eternal rest awaits you.
The closer, the final sonnet, Child Of Dust, is devestating as the earth, seeming to represent god, speaks of how it gave Eden but it was not enough for man's greedy grasp, who has proceeded to wreck everything around him. "And though I only ever give you love, like every child you've chosen to rebel..." But in the end, in death, man will return to Earth and perhaps his soul to god. At the song's conclusion, the sound goes funny because the microphone was actually placed in a coffin, sealed up and buried while it continued to record.
That was a cool idea, but I wish they'd done the same for all four sections, having a mic consumed in fire while recording remotely, sunk into the ocean in a bubble and perhaps let free into the air on a helium balloon to end each of the other sections.
Anyway, what we end up with is a very diverse and lyrically strong set of music that stimulates the brain, provides a bit of rock and pop and really pulls you in which is about the complete package. Yes, I did condense 4 EPs and prune eight songs (some are not so bad, such as the post-rock instrumental Night Diving- only water had an instrumental, perhaps they should've done one for each element- but some are definitely not worthwhile such as the interminably boring A Song For Milly Michaelson) so this is not what Thrice intended to present to its audience, but you know what they say about most double albums making one good album. While this makes one excellent album and I hope you check out the tunes that intrigue you.
Please let me know if anyone gives my imaginary album tracklist a go in its entirety ;)
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AtomicCrimsonRush wrote:
