Mend

Granny said, of broken things
Don’t dispose - make do and mend!
Does it work for hearts?

Nowhere by Ride

One of the interesting things with this project is the opportunity to compare and contrast albums from different eras, and trace the inspirations from generation to generation. I was slightly perturbed to realise that this album was closer to the 60’s that 1990 is to 2026 at the time of listening though!

In this case, this album owes a lot to the psychedelic 60s sound of Jefferson Airplane as well as the unique Fripp/Eno guitar sounds on Bowie’s Berlin trilogy. Ride take these elements and view them through a shoegaze lens into something quite interesting. The album does suffer a little from the need that some bands felt to fill up CD releases with exactly 72 minutes of music. This could easily have been trimmed down to 40 minutes of bangers, but I suppose they thought it was value for money.

https://album.link/gb/i/884059844

My Generation by The Who

This album is something of a mixed bag, opening with a mix of styles and genres, ranging from R&B to rock and even including a James Brown cover before the band finally found something that caught the energy of their live set with the explosive My Generation. Hearing this is still an electrifying experience, with Daltry’s stuttering, amphetamine fueled vocals, Moon’s pounding drums and Townshend’s blistering guitar handing off to Entwhistle’s bass solo. 

Flipping the album over leads into the jangly West Coast inspired Kids are Alright, another anthem for the young people of 1965. There are some more covers and R&B numbers, before the improvised freak out of The Ox, also featuring the great session musician Nicky Hopkins on piano. 

Is this a great album that must be heard? Maybe not, but it’s certainly a snapshot of The Who at a formative point in their career and a pointer to where they would be going.

https://album.link/gb/i/1443123252

Warmth

I long for the warmth
Of a breezy summer’s day
Under endless skies

Barley

We watch from afar
As the wind shakes the barley
Good folk take their stand

Pictures At an Exhibition by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

It’s impossible to listen to this without imagining a group of long haired musos sitting down with a besuited record exec and saying “Listen man - we’re PROPER musicians - we play CLASSICAL music now”.  

It’s ok, I guess, with some interesting use of early synthesisers, but it’s not that much more sophisticated than those novelty records with classical pieces played on a Bontempi organ with a disco beat. On the positive side it made me want to go back to listen to Mussorgsky with more conventional arrangements. 

https://album.link/gb/i/1528524485

Grove

A row of houses
Where once stood an ancient grove
Just the name remains