1001Albums August 2024

Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg 1998 ***** 01/08/2024

Woody Guthrie was an amazingly prolific songwriter, leaving a collection of over a thousand songs in a box after his death. Apparently Bob Dylan went looking for them in the late 60s but it took another 40 years before Guthrie’s daughter uncovered the trove and passed the works over to Billy Bragg and the band Wilco to set some of them to music. The end result is inspiring, uplifting and thoroughly enjoyable, and the politics are as relevant as ever.

The Last Broadcast by Doves 2002 *** 02/08/2024

I enjoyed the first album from Doves and this one moves on slightly from the previous shoe gazey sound with nods to prog alongside some bouncy, radio friendly numbers. The highlight is M62 Song which takes elements of Moonchild by King Crimson layered with traffic noises recorded under a motorway flyover in the middle of the night.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill 1998 ***** 05/08/2024

This is arguably one of the greatest albums of all time, hitting home on just about every level. It opens with a school register being taken and the theme continues with a young woman figuring out life, love and everything, drawing from diverse musical influences and producing something that sounds almost effortlessly perfect. This was Hill’s only solo album but it stands as a genre defining achievement for all time. 

Red Headed Stranger by Willie Nelson 1975 **** 06/08/2024

Somehow Willie Nelson has managed to fit a whole Western tale of love, betrayal and revenge into 15 songs and 34 minutes without ever feeling rushed or constrained. This is evocative music, recalling dusty mesas and smoky saloons, a million miles away from the shmaltzy strings and glittering rhinestones of Nashville. Western music for outlaws!

Underwater Moonlight by The Soft Boys 1980 *** 07/08/2024

This album came out at exactly the wrong time. It’s psychedelic beats and sitar breaks were ten years too late, the indie rock energy  and quirky production were ten years too early and the actual release date fell in the middle of a printers strike so the album didn’t get reviewed in Melody Maker and NME. This is a shame, because there’s a lot to enjoy here, with the highlight being the full on rock freak out of Insanely Jealous of You. 

Supa Dupa Fly by Missy Elliott 1997 *** 08/08/2024

After an oddly misjudged introduction from Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot steps up to show the boys how Hip Hop is done. This is a highly accomplished debut album with a lot of depth and some surprising twists. The highlight is probably an unexpectedly cheeky cover of Pass the Dutchie which becomes a song about the joys of smoking dope. 

Scum by Napalm Death 1987 **** 09/08/2024

If nothing else, Napalm Death certainly pack a lot into this album whether they are being paid by the song or the note. Twenty eight song songs in just over half an hour has to be some sort of record, with You Suffer clocking in at just 4 seconds. Genuinely amazing

Listening to this is like standing on top of a cliff in a howling storm screaming into the wind and just as bracing. I’ve listened twice today and just put it on again for a third go.

Nevermind by Nirvana 1991 **** 12/08/2024

Every new decade brings something that kicks against the excesses of the previous one. By the end of the 80s we’d grown tired of shoulder pads and overproduced corporate rock, so this album in 1991 was like a breath of slightly whiffy air. It still holds up (mostly) although in retrospect the references to guns on this are painful. It defined a genre, but we’ve yet to see a grunge revival. Anyone who doesn’t like this is a lamestain cob nobbler!

The Number Of The Beast by Iron Maiden 1982 ***** 13/08/2024

This album was my introduction to heavy metal, and what a great introduction it was too! Nerdy references to cult sci-fi like Children of the Damned and the Prisoner, songs about marauding Vikings and Wild West battles, occult spookiness and a suspiciously detailed knowledge of the price list of infamous brothel madam Cynthia Payne. The music is top notch all the way through, with galloping drums, virtuoso guitar, solid bass , and Dickinson’s soaring vocals.

69 Love Songs by The Magnetic Fields 1999 **** 14/08/2024

Apparently Magnetic Fields frontman Stephen Merrit was sat in a gay bar in New York listening to Stephen Sondheim songs played on piano one day and set himself the challenge of writing 100 love songs. He scaled back the original target to 69 songs (fnarrr, fnarr) but this is still a monumental achievement. These are songs about love in all its varieties, each one in a different style with the three album set lasting just shy of three hours. Amazing stuff!

If You're Feeling Sinister by Belle & Sebastian 1996 *** 15/08/2024

I think that I avoided this one at the time because I assumed that it was just slightly twee French pop. Turns out it’s actually slightly twee Scottish pop, but it won me around with a mix of light, summery tunes and lyrics ranging from the wistful to some pointed jabs at religion. I particularly liked the second track “Seeing Other People” which reminded me of Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown theme music with a bouncy, jazzy feel. Lovely stuff.

Smash by The Offspring 1994 ** 16/08/2024

To a teenage pop-punk fan in 1994, this probably sounded like the most important album in the history of the world, ever! In retrospect, it’s full of sound and fury, signifying nothing, sung by people whose greatest fear was that someone might call them a trendy asshole. It’s at its most fun on the middle eastern themed ‘Come Out and Play’ and the bouncy ska of ‘What Happened to You?’

1984 by Van Halen 1984 *** 19/08/2024

There comes a time in the life of every rock band when someone discovers a synth in the corner of the studio and wonders what happens when they start randomly twiddling the knobs. In Van Halen’s case this gave us the worldwide monster hit Jump but it’s clear on this album where the rest of the band pushed back for more traditional rock songs about women’s legs and hot teachers. It’s no surprise that they broke up with ‘musical differences’ a year later.

Murmur by R.E.M. 1983 **** 20/08/2024

Some cities have a distinctive sound, and Athens, Georgia is one of them. REM were one of the bands that defined that sound - solid bass, punchy drums, jangly guitars and laconic vocals with lyrics ranging from the esoteric to the surreal. Michael Stipe has said that he still doesn’t know what Pilgrimage is about and he wrote it. Highlight is Radio Free Europe which one of my Athens friends sent me on a mix tape of local music back in the day.

Headquarters by The Monkees 1967 ** 21/08/2024

When the Beatles started going weird, someone at NBC television had the bright idea of creating a family friendly boy band from scratch for a tv show, and maybe put out some records as well. The Monkees were duly assembled and released two albums, before rising up and seizing the means of production to record their own songs. This album is mostly harmless, but not particularly memorable. Highlight is a snarky song about the Beatles called “Randy Scouse Git”.

Here, My Dear by Marvin Gaye" 1978 ** 22/08/2024

Romantic meal, candles lit, now for some music. Whatever you do, don’t put this album on. It starts with a song about a child custody battle and goes on to anger, jealousy, self pity and the unfairness of paying attorney fees. After a bitter divorce, Gaye was contractually obliged to produce an album and give his ex 50% - he delivered this, which takes petty revenge to a whole new level. Save this for if you get dumped and want to know how not to respond.

Autobahn by Kraftwerk 1974 ***** 23/08/2024

It never ceases to amaze me that an album released 50 years ago, recorded using instruments made from spare electronics and tin foil, held together with string and duct tape, still sounds fresh and startlingly modern. The highlight is the title track, recreating a trip on an Autobahn through the medium of motorik beats and painstakingly crafted sound effects. This is a genre defining album, influencing artists from Gary Numan to Afrika Bambaataa. Stunning

The Gershwin Songbook by Ella Fitzgerald 1959 **** 26/08/2024

For a couple of hours this morning, I felt like I was in a 1960s Mad Men style Manhattan appartment, drinking a martini and listening to this box set on my Radiogram. Some of the best classic songs of the early to mid 20th century, sung by one of the very best vocalists, ranging from ragtime to jazz with a touch of soul thrown in. Apparently the original deluxe edition of this came in a wooden box for $100 (well over $1000 now). Totally worth it.

Maggot Brain by Funkadelic 1971 **** 27/08/2024

This album does exactly what it says on the tin. It starts with an ominous voiceover (“I have tasted maggots in the mind of the universe”) before setting off on a musical journey spanning acid rock, funk, soul, prog and even a bit of gospel in case y’all need churchin’ up. The highlights are the title track and the closing ‘Wars of Armageddon’ both clocking in around 10 minutes. Truly funkadelic!

Music for the Masses by Depeche Mode 1987 ** 28/08/2024

This was supposedly the album that marked the transition from fay electro pop dweebs to stadium friendly behemoths, but it’s not quite there for me. There’s nothing that grabs me in quite the same way as Enjoy the Silence or Personal Jesus on their later album Violater. The best track is probably the opener “Never Let Me Down” but the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to this. 

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got by Sinead O'Connor 1990 ***** 29/08/2024

This is a heartbreaking classic of an album. While Nothing Compares 2 U is the best known song, other tracks have an equal or greater impact with howls of despair and anger, as well as more upbeat and joyful numbers. The only misstep is ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’ which is a clunking protest song about Margaret Thatcher, but it was 1990 so we can probably let this one slide.

The Rise & Fall by Madness 1982 *** 30/08/2024

When I was a kid growing up in the 80s a new song (and video) from the ‘Nutty Boys’ was always a treat, but I’ve never listened to a whole album. On this, their fourth album, they find a different tone, delving into nostalgia for childhood and family life, and tackling darker topics like depression and the aftermath of the Falklands War. This was originally a concept album but it drifted slightly (and let’s not mention the misstep of New Delhi and the cover)