Hooked

Hello Sailor - Hello Sailor  (1977) *****

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Blue Lady

At the time (1977), I was more a Split Enz/ Citizen Band fan (The Beatle influenced locals) than a dedicated follower of Hello Sailor (more in the Rolling Stones camp), so in my collection I only have this album and memories of seeing them at The Windsor Castle with Mike and Greg. Oh, and a bootleg cassette that Kevy's brother made at Westlake Girls.

 

This was the band's debut album and it distills all that is best about the band - Faces/Stones style guitar riff-a-ramas, attitude songs about the down and out underbelly of Auckland life, and in lead singer Graham Brazier they had a genuine rawk staaar. His vocals are immediately distinctive.

They were far from a one trick pony though as Dave McArtney and Harry Lyons were also talented singers, songwriters and musicians ('is' in Harry's case as he's still with us - McArtney and Brazier both died far too young). Ricky Ball (from Ticket - one of my favourite NZ bands) was also a key ingredient with his powerful drumming and Lisle Kinney added the meaty bass lines.

Interesting that Gutter Black (the lead off song on side one) has over 11 million listens on Spotify and Blue Lady only has 4 mill. Maybe that's because Gutter Black was featured in a NZ TV programme (Outrageous Fortune) but 7 million more plays? and Blue Lady is easily a better song.

The other songs are deeply ingrained in my musical consciousness. I've lived with these songs for a loooong time!

Five stars? Oh yes! A Nu Zild classic!

More of it

Leigh Nash - Blue on Blue (2006) ****

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Along the Wall

I have a case of deja vu all over again with this album. I feel like I've heard it before as one of GK's nominations. A quick search of this blog indicates that neither Leigh Nash nor her old band (Sixpence None the Richer) have appeared. Maybe it's Little Birdy or Macy Gray I'm thinking of?

GK is sure keen on those types of singers and all power to him and all who sail in him. I'm not so much inclined, but that's also hunky dory. 

I think it's the vocal inflections Leigh Nash uses from time to time - that kind of almost helium delivery that tends to creep in. It makes me think she's quite young (thanks to that and the cover image) but in fact she's closing in on 50 these days.

This one is her debut and it's a strong one too. The first three tracks - Along the Wall, Nervous in the Light of Dawn, My Idea of Heaven - are crackers (as Kevy would say). Thanks to that start, I knew I'd enjoy the album, but would I love it (or list it)? Would I love the album enough to buy a physical copy?

The answer, ultimately, is - yes - dammit - I may even love this album! The more I heard it, the more I leaned in that direction. Between the Lines sealed it and meant that despite my reservations about the vocal inflections at times, I became a fanboy.

Do I love the album enough to buy a physical copy? That would be a no, I don't love it enough to buy a copy. That said, I fully enjoyed the experience and I can confirm that she turned me around the more I listened to it. Nice one GK.

Pianos and mushrooms

Voom - Something Good Is Happening (2025) ***

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Crazy Feeling

I have Voom's previous album (Hello, Are You There?) which came out almost 20 years ago! Buzz Moller is the only original member left in a band that started in the early 1990s.

This latest album (only their third) is catchy and infectious as all get out for the most part. There are some weird moments that don't quite work as well (hello Nightmare Man, Pianos and Mushrooms).

I guess it's a bit hodge-podge, it must be said. Given the massive gap between albums, it's inevitable that some older material gets reworked. That's not ideal if the aim is a cohesive album that is recorded in one hit out, with the same musicians.

That said, it is what it is and, for the most part, this is a triumph in a lo-fi NZ number 8 fencing wire tradition.

Cold fact

Rodriguez - Searching for Sugar Man (2012) ***

Nominated by: GK

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Inner City Blues

I have the DVD of the film - Searching for Sugar Man. The basic idea is two South African super fans try to find out whether Rodriquez (who was a huge selling artist in SA) is alive and if so where he is. 

The soundtrack to the film is what we're all about here though. Here's an interesting idea for you (Schrödinger's cat style) - If Rodriguez was placed in a sealed box with his fate tied to the existence of Bob Dylan - could he also be considered to exist?

That is - if Bob didn't exist - would we ever have known about the existence of Rodriguez and myriads of other singer-songwriters. It's a dilly of a pickled paradox.

I'm not sure where the appeal for South Africans came from. Maybe in a country pretty much isolated from the rest of the world, they never heard any of Dylan's albums (or Neil Young, or James Taylor, or Cat Stevens).

Rodriguez's music is interesting - of its time (1970 - 1971) certainly, and his poetic sensibilities can be a tad off-putting at times but somehow his sincerity saves the day. So, although he sounds derivative, he also ends up sounding uniquely Rodriguez. It's another bizarre paradox.

The soundtrack is a combo of his two official albums, plus an unreleased third album, so it doesn't sound particularly cohesive and the stray moments where he mentions faggots are best skipped over. 

I tend to prefer the tracks from his 1970 debut - Cold Fact, even though it's not produced as well (another paradox).

Okay, back into that locked box for Sixto Rodriguez.

BTW - yes, he was alive and he was tracked down to his American home in Detroit. He passed away in 2023.

Adagietto

Mahler - Symphonie No.5 - Leonard Bernstein (1988) *****

Nominated by: Lewis

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: Adagietto

Go Lew!!

My eyes lit up when I saw his inspired choice for his round of MNAC. I have had a copy of Mahler's 5th forever - well since the eighties. No apologies necessary Lew - it gets a five star right off the bat (home run!).

It's a transformative experience listening to each movement  and it's full of drama, so it never drags - in fact the whole symphony zips by!

I love the horn charts - very prog! I'm sure bands like Gentle Giant and Emerson Lake & Palmer were huge fans of Mahler's work.

Hard to pick out favourite parts - the opening march grabs my attention every time (has to be listened to loud - I had it going through my outside speakers as I did some chain sawing of a tree in our western paddock and it was a perfect accompaniment). 

The beautiful second movement's waltz is another favourite - it's gentle and lyrical, but then the spritely third movement is all smiles before the fourth movement and that is amazing! That's all before the rondo finishes the symphony in style.

So, yes - impossible to separate out just one part.

Thanks Lewis - this has been on repeat at Maple Grove while I've been on term 3 study break. Jacky's always loved it as well so for once I didn't get any eye rolls or, "Can't we have some nice music?" comments. Nice!

So, yes - go Lewis!

Stand up

the feelers - Reimagined - Greatest Hits (2023) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: Stand Up

I have a lot of questions this week. Like why did they write their name in lower case? Inferiority complex?

the feelers Reimagined - I don't know their material well enough to judge whether these are better or worse than the originals. Did that song I've forgotten the name of come with all those strings attached (ha ha)? I wouldn't have thought so - sounds a bit weird in this setting, too. Why have they reimagined their songs? Wouldn't be a Taylor Swift scenario.

Did they maybe wake up one morning and say to each other - "You know - if we reimagined our back catalogue to sound more like Hootie and The Blowfish, we could shift a few units!" Why not just reissue the original songs as a compilation? Was there something wrong with them?

See - questions.

I did once own an album of the feelers. The one with Venus on it, because I really liked that one. When I got the album I couldn't hear anything as good as that song, so I flicked it off.

This album is also called - Greatest Hits. Aside from Venus - a bone fide hit, I only recognise one other song - Pressure Man. Was it a hit though? Were there other hits that passed me by? Quite possibly. A better name may have been 'Best of the feelers - Reimagined' methinks.

So, all up, I'm a wee bit non-plussed. My main issue with their songs other than Stand Up (a real standout and boy do they sound like Hootie on that one), Pressure Man and Venus, I struggle to differentiate the songs from each other (aside from the one with strings). Actually - even Pressure Man - I'm struggling to remember how it goes, as I type this. I also have no idea who was in the feelers. The singer sounds good - did he go on to have a solo career?

So, bottom line - it's all nice, pleasant, well played, slick, nineties rock. I know they are Kiwis but this material sounds like it was aimed at the American market (not that there's anything wrong with that). Maybe they were huge there? 

Oops - more thoughts: on reflection, this doesn't seem like Kevy's normal fare - i.e. it's a long way from low-fi obscure Flying Nun singles in a limited press of 10 copies. What's the appeal here Kevy?

Sorry to end on more questions. 

The last word

Reb Fountain - Reb Fountain (2020) ***

Nominated by: KS

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: The Last Word

Previously, I have reviewed the three Reb Fountain albums in my collection for the Goo Goo G'Joob blog, but this presents me with a great opportunity to reassess that three-star review and to compare my thoughts between then and now (without reading my previous review which you can find here and here btw).

The good news: she has a gorgeous voice - so much potential. There are elements of latter day Taylor, Lorde, even a bit of Lana Del Rey about her modern vocal style, but Reb is Reb for the most part.

My favourites are the first song - Hawkes and Doves and The Last Word.

In some ways it's a normal debut album in that it feels a little tentative in terms of her comfort levels around material and arrangements.

Lyrically, there is not enough succinctness for me. Too wordy, too obscure, too much obtuseness, too much detachment, apart from The Last Word. On that one she opens up more, and is more succinct in her lyrics.

These are all things she would work on for Holster and Iris (which is why I think that they are superior records).

Okay - that's my current thoughts. Now to compare to my previous review and see if I'm thinking the same things.

Turns out I was a tad brief in my impressions. However, I'll stick with my overall evaluations, based on my thoughts above.

In summary - this is a mighty fine debut, which she would build upon to reach even greater heights.