Now Playing: August 2009

[CortezTheKiller]

[PopTodd]

[GtrPlyr]

[dustbowler]

[CortezTheKiller]

[brianjeremy]

[bleedorange]

[cooperissup3r]

 

i think this wins for my favorite record of the year. the more listens i give it, the more cohesive it becomes. one great song after another.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

[PopTodd]

 

The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man

The Move - The Best of The Move

Super Furry Animals -Radiator

Super Furry Animals - Outspaced

Brinsley Schwarz - Brinsley Schwarz/Despite it All

[cryptique]

Brinsley Schwarz - Brinsley Schwarz/Despite it All

I picked this up on vinyl over the weekend -- 1978 repackaging of those albums as a two-LP set.

 

This morning I'm returning to old favorites. First up:

 

[PopTodd]

I picked this up on vinyl over the weekend -- 1978 repackaging of those albums as a two-LP set.

 

It's not their best albums, by any means. Although "Country Girl" and "Love Song" are both pretty excellent tunes.

If you're looking for the best Brinsleys stuff for your collection, you really need these:

Silver Pistol isn't the definitive pub rock album, but it is the first great record to surface from the scene. Like much of the first wave of pub rock, Silver Pistol is quiet, laid-backm and low-key -- with its warm, rustic sound and a gentleness that infuses even the rockers, this is the closest to the Band that the Brinsleys got. There are some major differences, most of them coming from Nick Lowe. That's not to denigrate new guitarist/songwriter Ian Gomm, since his four numbers (particularly "Dry Land" and "Range War") reveal a fine songwriter with a keen sense of melody and a knack for synthesizing country, rock, and folk into something distinctive, but Lowe really hits his stride with this record. This is in to some degree due to the influence of Jim Ford, a renegade American roots-rocker who Brinsley Schwarz backed on an unreleased and subsequently lost 1971 album. The group covers two of his songs, "Niki Hoeke Speedway" and "Ju Ju Man," on Silver Pistol, and these numbers reveal the appealingly off-kilter sense of humor and pop hooks that would form the foundation of Lowe's style. Those sensibilities are just beginning to creep into his songwriting on Silver Pistol, on the Beatles-meets-Band "Unknown Number," the lovely "Nightingale," the wonderful pop tune "The Last Time I Was Fooled," and the epic "Silver Pistol." His other two songs are sturdy country-rock numbers a notch below Gomm's best on the record, but still very good, and it all adds up to an endearing low-key roots rock album that doesn't just find Brinsley Schwarz coming into their own, it stands as one of the most appealing records of its kind.

 

Silver Pistol wrote the blueprint for Brinsley Schwarz's pub rock, but Nervous on the Road perfected the group's sound, helping Brinsley to become the definitive pub rock band in the process. Nervous on the Road has a fuller, more detailed production than its predecessor, as well as a looser feeling -- even with the smooth production, it sounds like the band was captured on a good night at the Tally Ho. But what really makes the record is its excellent selection of songs, almost all of which were written by Nick Lowe. "Happy Doing What We're Doing," "Surrender to the Rhythm," and "Nervous on the Road" are all great rock & roll songs about rock & roll, spiked with an off-kilter sense of humor. "Don't Lose Your Grip on Love" is Lowe's first great ballad, while Ian Gomm's "It's Been So Long" is one of his best songs. And the covers of "I Like It Like That" and "Home in My Hand" are wonderful pub rockers, giving the album the feeling of an excellent concert. Nevertheless, what makes Nervous on the Road such a fine record is the combination of empathetic performances, unpredictable songwriting, and charming unpretentiousness, all of which help make the album one of the great forgotten rock & roll records.

 

With their final album, Brinsley Schwarz turn in their most pop-oriented record, filled with infectious gems like "The Ugly Things," "Trying to Live My Life Without You," and "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." Lowe's songs were the best he had ever written and show that his ambitions were beginning to conflict with those of the rest of the band. Nevertheless, there isn't a weak song or uninspired performance on New Favourites, making it an excellent farewell album.

 

And this is one of my favorite live documents ever:

Cruel to Be Kind is the second installment of Brinsley Schwarz's BBC recordings released by Hux, following What IS So Funny About Peace Love & Understanding? by three years. This gathers most, but not all, of the BBC performances that didn't make the first volume, following the same mix-and-match sequencing as that collection, so sessions from 1971 alternate with those from 1973 and songs from a particular session are split up. Some collectors may complain about such non-chronological sequencing, yet it's ultimately nitpicking, since the chosen track sequence gives the collection momentum as an album, not as a concert. Plus, it's simply a joy to have this material officially released, since it captures the Brinsleys at a peak, whether it's on the laid-back roots rock that comprises the first two-thirds of the record, which is primarily material from Nervous on the Road and earlier, or the poppier songs from Please Don't Ever Change to their disbandment in 1975. While the first part of the album is excellent, it's fairly familiar, similar in tone and feel to the BBC sessions on the first Hux collection (sometimes they're even culled from the same date), with the only surprise being a nice, relaxed 1973 cover of Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" and the previously unreleased, wonderfully titled "Do the Cod (The Thirty Pounder)," an enjoyable instrumental. What's really noteworthy is the final stretch of the album, which contains no less than four newly released Brinsley songs (three of them previously unheard) and a dynamite, shambolic cover of the J. Geils Band's "Wait." This constitutes the missing link between the pub rock of Brinsley Schwarz and the rowdy, new wave rocker of Nick Lowe's Jesus of Cool -- songs that grew from the laid-back rock & roll roots of pub rock, but are filled with shiny, clever pop hooks, witty words, and a wild, slyly subversive spirit. Chief among these is the first version of "Cruel to Be Kind," which later became Lowe's biggest hit, here taken a little faster with Bob Andrews' careening organ taking a prominent role, but not far behind is the deliriously catchy "We Can Mess Around With Anything But Love," which could have easily fit onto Labour of Lust, and "Give Me Back My Love," a delightful fusion of the ringing guitars of the British Invasion and the trashy organ-fueled sound of the Sir Douglas Quintet. These songs, along with the other unheard original, "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," help make Cruel to Be Kind more than just another collection of BBC recordings, and turn it into necessary listening for fans of straight-ahead rock & roll and pure pop. It's terrific.

[GtrPlyr]

 

Harry Nilsson - Knnillssonn

[dustbowler]

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

 

The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man

The Move - The Best of The Move

Super Furry Animals -Radiator

Super Furry Animals - Outspaced

Brinsley Schwarz - Brinsley Schwarz/Despite it All

Fuck yeah!!!

Another SFA fan on the board?

 

I'm going to avoid fanboy-esque gushing here, but the Furries are easily my favorite band. Radiator is wonderful, wonderful stuff. But so is their whole catalogue...

[PopTodd]

Fuck yeah!!!

Another SFA fan on the board?

 

I'm going to avoid fanboy-esque gushing here, but the Furries are easily my favorite band. Radiator is wonderful, wonderful stuff. But so is their whole catalogue...

 

Oh yeah.

Saw them a couple of times, even. Once at the club that was owned by Sue Miller (Tweedy) -- Lounge Ax. And again at another small club in Chicago. Also, Radiator is my favorite album of theirs and one of the best of the 90's, IMO.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Oh yeah.

Saw them a couple of times, even. Once at the club that was owned by Sue Miller (Tweedy) -- Lounge Ax. And again at another small club in Chicago. Also, Radiator is my favorite album of theirs and one of the best of the 90's, IMO.

I've only seen them once so far, but I'll be seeing them in NYC on 9/11 this year. Pretty psyched.

 

Radiator might be their best. I really do love all their albums, though. But Radiator is definitely a special record. It should definitely be put right up there with all the big Britpop albums of that time. The lack of critical attention they get in the US is baffling.

 

I've seriously considered incorporating those bears into a tattoo. I love Pete Fowler's artwork for SFA.

[Synthesizer Patel]

I've only seen them once so far, but I'll be seeing them in NYC on 9/11 this year. Pretty psyched.

 

Radiator might be their best. I really do love all their albums, though. But Radiator is definitely a special record. It should definitely be put right up there with all the big Britpop albums of that time. The lack of critical attention they get in the US is baffling.

 

I've seriously considered incorporating those bears into a tattoo. I love Pete Fowler's artwork for SFA.

 

they don't get that much attention really in the uk either. to me they are better than any of the britpop bands - all the other bands sound dated now (besides maybe supergrass, and some of the blur stuff) - i'd say their albums actually stand up to the very best of british music from any period of time. maybe not quite revolver or village green standard, but only a little below that - and especially when you look at their whole back catalogue, they are as inovative and progressive as the top bands need to be. the good thing is that they are still doing it - gruff can basically do no wrong, he just seems to have the midas touch right now - and long may it continue.

 

np.

 

 

(you might wanna check this out - if you haven't already. it's very very good)

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

they don't get that much attention really in the uk either. to me they are better than any of the britpop bands - all the other bands sound dated now (besides maybe supergrass, and some of the blur stuff) - i'd say their albums actually stand up to the very best of british music from any period of time. maybe not quite revolver or village green standard, but only a little below that - and especially when you look at their whole back catalogue, they are as inovative and progressive as the top bands need to be. the good thing is that they are still doing it - gruff can basically do no wrong, he just seems to have the midas touch right now - and long may it continue.

 

np.

 

 

(you might wanna check this out - if you haven't already. it's very very good)

Well said. They do get mentioned a bit in the British press, but not often these days. But the US just ignores them completely. I think the reason they haven't exploded as a hig blogger's band is because they've never released anything but great records. So another wonderful album isn't really cause to take notice. Which is a shame, since they're still releasing incredible music that more people should hear.

 

But you can just tell that the band couldn't care less. I have so much respect for that. They know they have a small, but devoted audience, and that's fine by them.

 

I know I'm biased here, but every SFA album, and all the B-sides are just glorious. I honestly consider them the best band I've ever heard. The way they pull influences out of nowhere, like the middle eastern shit Gruff seems fascinated by lately (such as The Very best of Neil Diamond, and Into The Night) is fascinating to me.

 

I think Gruff, and the rest of the guys, are easily among the most creative musicians around these days. I think history will be very kind to them.

[Synthesizer Patel]

[Synthesizer Patel]

this gives an idea why they are still so good - Huw Bunford looks so unbelievably stoned, and they are just laughing at his playing. not many bands have this much fun in the studio.

[brownie]

 

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful album! I have been known to listen to Ever Since You've Been Gone for hours on end. Definitely one of my all time favorite Nick Lowe songs.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Agreed. It's SO obvious that they have fun with their music. I think that gets them misconstrued as a joke band. Gruff has a wonderful sense of humor, and it comes through in his lyrics, but if you pay close enough attention, you can tell that he takes it so seriously, and he's really putting his heart into what he writes. It's a hard balance to strike, but he does it so well.

 

Gruff's two solo records, and the Neon Neon album are all well worth checking out, too, if you haven't already. The man knows how to put together a good pop song.

 

I put Gruff up there with the all-time greats in terms of melody and lyricism. The fact that he has such a mastery of wordplay in the English language is mind boggling to me. Some of the puns he uses are so incredibly brilliant, yet so hidden that it takes a bunch of listens to even find them.

 

Long story short, I idolize Gruff Rhys, and don't understand how the band has been so fucking good for such a long time.

[CortezTheKiller]

[cryptique]

Me too. Continuing my "returning to old favorites" day.