Having a party

Sam Cooke - the Best Of Sam Cooke (1962) ****

Nominated by: Lew

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: Having A Party

Sam Cooke long ago entered into the category of legendary performer. His vocal ability is beyond criticism. What a voice! Literally peerless.  

The 'hit' songs have long entered the soul hall-of-fame (not sure if there is such an august body but there should be if there isn't).

There are classics aplenty on this one: You Send Me; (What A) Wonderful World; Bring It On Home To Me; Twistin' The Night Away; Only Sixteen; Chain Gang; Summertime and Another Saturday Night.

So, the question is more around how does this compilation stack up against the others?

My version is called 16 Most Requested Songs. It has all of the ones I've highlighted, plus an organ driven Little Red Rooster (sorry), and Never Can Change This Love. Two songs I love, although the latter does have those sweeping string arrangements so beloved of the fifties and early sixties.

Then again The Best of Sam Cooke has the wonderful Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha so I guess every compilation is going to have something different to recommend it.

It was lovely to return to these songs, thanks Lew. I'll be very interested in how ears younger and hipper than mine relate to something from another time and space altogether.

Carry on (Mel Parsons)

Mel Parsons - Slow Burn (2022) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Darkness

This is Mel Parson's 5th album apparently. None of her other albums have reached my ears. I guess because The Sound doesn't playlist her work, and there aren't any C'Mon/ Radio With Pictures/ Grunt Machine TV shows featuring music these days (I don't think - I no longer watch TV One/Two/Three).

Luckily, I have the WTWMC album choices to keep me up to date (Kevy is the hip one amongst us - in more ways than one).

NZ music has come a long way. Outside of Split Enz/Crowded House/Hamilton County Bluegrass Band I can't think of too many other NZ bands/artists who have done 5 albums. Back in the day, most bands flamed out or broke up after one or two albums.

So, good for her, Mel is sustaining a career, and is still going strong (Kevy reports that she's just released her sixth!) 

Slow Burn, the album, has a nice sound. Slow Burn, the song, is an early standout track with lovely piano and pedal steel (I think). She has a great, easy to listen to voice. No worries mate.

Generally things go swimmingly until the middle section - Headland sounds like she's aiming for a Florence and the Machine approach which I'm not that keen on and then Tunnel Vision is just a meh song.

Things immediately improve with the country rock Lone Justice style songs -Tired Of Being You and, even better, Darkness. Ordinarily, I'm a day person but there is a light and shade to the album that works well. On Darkness she carries of that trick of sounding perky but singing about something negative - in this case darkness crawling into 'your heart'.

Well done Mr Simms - a fine discovery!

The bird in the gravel.

Jane Siberry - The Walking (1987) ***

Nominated by: Tom 

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: The White Tent The Raft

I wasn't familiar with Jane Siberry before Tom nominated this one, outside of the discussion on The Album Years podcast. I bet they used the word 'beguiling' when outlining their review of The Walking.

They love the term, but it absolutely fits for Jane and this album.

She had me from The White Tent The Raft and it just got better from Red High Shoes onwards.

I was trying to think of other female artists that she reminded me of as I listened, and I didn't come up with much, apart from Kate Bush (which Tom suggested). Mind you I'm not sure what was happening musically in 1987 as we had two young children under 3 commandeering our time. I think this means she's a unique kind of talent. Actually, each track seems quite different from the one that comes before.

Remarkably for an album recorded in the late eighties it didn't seem to have any of the horror production tropes associated with that decade. I was actually a tad shocked when I saw it was from 1987 when I returned to Spotify to listen to it again.

Tom's preamble suggested this was her experimental album and I kind of see why - Goodbye appears to be an exercise in bravery, for instance.

All up - something of a stunner.

Favourite tracks: the first two, Lena Is A White Table, the title track (very Bush-ish). Actually - I couldn't find anything I didn't like (although 10 minutes of the Laurie Anderson style The Bird In The Gravel stretched my patience a tad).

Thanks for the introduction, Tom.

Smoke and mirrors

The Magnetic Fields - Get Lost (1995) ***

Nominated by: Alex

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: The Desperate Things You Make Me Do

My only previous experience with The Magnetic Fields, which is dominated by one guy - Stephin Merritt, is 69 Love Songs.

A colleague at the time, played it a lot and a couple of the songs burrowed into my brain. So, I bought a copy, in some ways to be hip and current, but it's not a triple CD that I love or play often, although I do love and applaud the fool's errand idea. A consistently high-quality triple studio album cannot be done. Even The Fabs didn't try to do that. A decent single vinyl album is in 69 Songs somewhere, but he'd need a new title which wouldn't be as school-boy naughty would it.

It certainly didn't prompt me to head off and buy other albums by them/him.

So, Magnetic Fields and Get Lost is a new experience and I wish I could be all gushy with my praise, but this one made me go back and relisten to 69 Songs, which it turns out I like more, for reasons that I'm still grappling with.

Second track, The Desperate Things You Make Me Do is a standout because it feels like a fully formed, thought out song, whereas some of the others feel lo-fi slapdash (the opener frinstance).

I did like With Whom To Dance because it's a simple little ditty, reminiscent of dashed off stuff on 69 Songs, that relieves the gluggy feeling built up to that point. But then he goes back to the opener sound with his vocals and he kinda loses me a tad. Does this one (You And Me And The Moon) remind anyone else of wildly un-hip eighties synth poppers like Kajagoogoo?

The variety of approach does my head in, in the end. By the time I get to The Village In The Morning I'm starting to check whether it's still Get Lost, or another of his albums. I really don't like that one, sorry (it's probably everyone else's favourite).

Last song, The Dreaming Moon, is my second favourite - like Desperate Things, it sounds like a real song rather than a sketch.

My opinions of bands/albums are often influenced by the vocals and Stephin Merritt often sounds to me like he's left that aspect to the last minute and then dashed off a take because he's run out of time. Or else maybe he's ambivalent about providing vocals (like that look on the cover)? Dunno.

Still, I'm glad I had a sustained go at this, so thanks for sharing Alex.

Having now read Tom's email, I'd have to agree - The Magnetic Fields are not really my thing either. But then again, there are tons of things I listen to that you'd all shake your heads at, I'm sure.

Medusa

Annie Lennox - Medusa (1995) **

Nominated by: Gregarious

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition: No More 'I Love You's'

Cover albums are tricky and notoriously hit or miss. It's usually hard for me to ignore the original song. Very rarely do I think the cover version improves on the original. If the song is obscure and I don't know the original, it's much easier.

I've written that paragraph without listening to Annie Lennox's Medusa.

I figure I'll rate each song on this scale:

• A - Improves on the original
• B - good because I don't know the original (at all or much)
• C - meh (doesn't improve on the original)
• D - yikes (not a pass mark)

But before then - more preamble: Annie Lennox is pretty much a household name. In the eighties she was leading the vocal line for Dave Stewart in synth pop band, The Eurythmics. I own their Greatest Hits collection, but none of their albums. They never did it for me, I'm afraid.

Unlike GK, I haven't felt the pull of her solo albums, so this is my first listen to Medusa. 

Okay. Got all that? Then, here we go...

No More 'I Love You's' - B+. Excellent start to the album. I think this one was a hit at the time (1995 I was in my first year teaching back at Mt Albert Grammar so, a tad too busy to keep up with the pop world)

Take Me To The River - C. Al Green did it originally and Talking Heads made it an A version. Annie's is pleasant and spirited, but that's it.

A Whiter Shade Of Pale - D-. Procol Harum are one of my favourite all time bands. She should have avoided this one, their original is incomparable.  

Don't Let It Bring You Down - D. Brave or foolhardy taking on Neil? He has such a distinctive voice and I love this song when he does it. She doesn't add anything and I'm not sure I believe her.

Train In Vain - D - Same as for the Neil Young. I love this as done by The Clash. Their one's the definitive version.

I Can't Get Next To You - B. Annie takes on Motown and does a good job via some almost falsetto Temptations like lead vocal. Good choice - it's a relatively obscure song.

Downtown Lights - B. Another good choice.

Thin Line Between Love And Hate - B. A catchy song perfect for Annie.

Waiting In Vain - B. Bob Marley is another good choice to cover. Actually, reggae generally seems to translate well to alternative versions. This one hasn't been over exposed so it works well.

Something So Right - C. Paul Simon seems an unlikely choice for the final song on the album (Thin Line would have been better IMHO). As with Procol Harum, Neil Young and The Clash, I've known this song only one way until now, and it's jarring hearing someone else doing it. I think the crux of the biscuit here is that the emotional heft of an original is honest in the writer's hands, whereas, when it's covered it's liable to be a counterfeit or, at worst, a pastiche. This version is well sung by Annie but Paul's original is the true one.

In summary - a mixed bag with weakest moment Whiter Shade Of Pale and strongest covers coming from the less well known ones, especially the first song.

Conversations

Harper Finn - Newcomer (2022) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Dark Side Of Summer

Harper Finn's father is Tim Finn, NZ music legend. That's a tough gig for a promising young singer-songwriter, working in the shadow of a legend. There are plenty of them now that rock'n'roll has reached that age.

If you are purely a musician like Elroy and Liam Finn then it seems to be a bit easier but a song like the recent Lennon McCartney cowrite/sung effort (that's Sean Lennon and James McCartney) just begs comparison.

Like Jakob Dylan, Harper doesn't sound much like his old man, but there are some vocal inflections in his songs where it's pretty obvious he's related to Tim.

This is an EP. As such it is something of a taster. It sounds to me like Harper is trying out sounds from various decades during these 7 songs.

So, along the way, we have eighties synth pop, sixties harmony pop, nineties dance music, 2000's Beyonce style pop, seventies pop.

It's almost like he deliberately tried for a different era for each song, which I like btw. Maybe he's a restless soul, maybe he's unsure of where to pitch his music.

I may be wildly off, but at times it sounded almost like an old school demo recording - something Bob Dylan or Neil Diamond might record to hawk their songs.

His best song on the EP is also the first, Dark Side Of Summer - an interesting and catchy pop single. The term dark side pops up a few times in his song lyrics but this is infectious, sunny pop music - right in my wheelhouse!

It will be very interesting to watch his progress - a full length album is just a matter of time for this talented musician.

Restless moon

Jenny Don't and The Spurs - Fire On The Ridge (2021) **

Nominated by: G 'Yee Har' K 

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Queen Of The Desert

I want to be charitable here and say that Gee Kay's slavish devotion to this record is because the lead singer, Jenny Don't, flashed her pearly whites in his direction, okay, okay - deliberately at him, during a gig (I'm assuming he was sober, but we all know about assumptions don't we).

Live (and with a few Budweisers on board) this outfit would be another thing entirely, I suspect. The sawdust on the floor, the spittoons, the spilt beer, Greg yee haring, the chicken wire fence in front of the band, the fist fights, and any number of loud American good ole boys would definitely add a certain je ne sais pas to proceedings. 

Unfortunately, all I have is the music to review. From that point of view, I have to say, at best, Jenny sounds like a gifted amateur and the band are competent. I'm no expert but she often sounds off key to me.

GK described this as cow punk music, but it doesn't sound like cow punk or outlaw country, in that it's not remotely dangerous or threatening. Actually, it's more like old fashioned country and western. At a push, I'll concede that the sound is retro country cowboy in that I picture males wearing Stetsons and arrowhead bolos and the gals all dressing like Jenny Don't.

Choosing a playlist addition was tough. The best impression of Ghost Riders In the Sky that they come up with on the album (there are a few contenders) would be Queen Of The Desert.

All up, this was a struggle, but I'm still glad I put a tentative toe in the sawdust. 

It's just not my sort of thing and it's good we all like different things. BTW: Kev will love it!