Manfred
Mann
Classic
Masters
EMI
/ Capitol
http://www.manfredmann.co.uk/
The Classic
Masters series from EMI / Capitol can be, in some cases, an excellent way of
producing a best-of collection for an artist with very few albums to their
credit and, generally, even fewer hits. In
virtually every case where the artist already has an existing greatest-hits
disc, however, the Classic Masters
disc for said artist really has no reason to exist, except to maybe sucker a few
completists into making sure they really do have everything that artist has ever
released.
It’s true for Corey Hart, it’s true for the Motels,
and, by God, it’s true for Manfred Mann as well.
So let us take a moment and examine Manfred Mann’s Classic
Masters disc from the point of view of content.
It opens, as any good compilation of
the band’s early years should, with “Do Wah Diddy Diddy.”
It’s a song that everyone and their mother have heard a thousand times
over...but, of course, that’s because it’s a classic. Still, it wasn’t the band’s first significant hit in the
UK; that honor goes to “5-4-3-2-1” (also included here), which came about
when the band was asked to write a new theme song for the British pop music
show, Ready, Steady, Go!
“Do
Wah Diddy Diddy” and “Sha La La,” which followed “5-4-3-2-1” in
success, were actually covers of songs by girl groups: the Exciters and the
Shirelles, respectively. “Do Wah
Diddy Diddy” topped the charts in the US, and “Sha La La” followed it into
the top 20; “Come Tomorrow” and “Pretty Flamingo” were lesser hits for
the group. (A cover of Bob
Dylan’s “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” was also a big hit for the band in the
UK.)
Although Love produced the more
memorable version of the Bacharach/David composition “My Little Red Book,”
it was Manfred Mann’s version that received Burt’s seal of approval, which
is why it appears on Rhino Records’ box set retrospective of Bacharach
material...and why Love is nowhere to be seen.
It’s interesting to note that, on
this disc, the only songs that the band had any hand in composing,
“5-4-3-2-1” and “The One In The Middle,” are extremely self-promoting,
reference the band’s name within the lyrics.
Of the collection’s twelve tracks,
only one, “Sticks and Stones,” has never been released in the States before.
It even says it in the liner notes:
“Previously unissued in the U.S..”
This, EMI / Capitol would surely argue, is the big selling point for
Manfred Mann fans to buy the Classic Masters disc.
The only problem is that, even though the song may never have been issued
in the US, it’s pretty easy to come by on various UK compilations of the
band’s material. As such, it’s a safe bet that the kind of people who’d
buy a disc by a band just to get one song are also the kind of people who’d
plunk down the money for one of those pre-existing import compilations, which
means they probably already have it by now.
Honestly, there are half a dozen more
comprehensive anthologies of the band’s work out there, perhaps more, and many
of them hover at approximately the same price as this Classic
Masters disc.
In fact, EMI themselves put out a disc in 1992 entitled The
Best of Manfred Mann: The Definitive Collection, with 25 tracks plus an
11-minute interview with the band.
The
Manfred Mann story continued well beyond their days with EMI / Capitol, of
course, and the band’s sound expanded far beyond the blues-based rock of the
early years. If you’re looking
for a few companion pieces to Classic Masters, your best bets will be Chapter Two: The Best of the Fontana Years, which includes “The
Mighty Quinn”), and 1999’s The Best of
Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (which
has “Blinded By The Light”).
If you don’t have any Manfred Mann
in your collection at all and you spot this Classic Masters disc on sale
somewhere for a nice price, you could certainly do worse.
Just don’t forget that, equally, you could do a whole lot better...and
you wouldn’t even have to leave the EMI / Capitol catalog of releases to do
it.
The
Marigolds
Wild!
Zip
Records
www.ziprecords.com
When discussing Australian pop legends of the
‘80’s, such names as the Hoodoo Gurus, the Lime Spiders, and the Stems
invariably pop up. A name that
unjustly appears far less often, however, is that of the Marigolds.
Hailing from Perth, the Marigolds took their love of jangly ‘60’s
pop, threw in more than a hint of garage, wrote some songs of their own, and got
Dom Mariani, a pop legend in his own right, to produce much of their stuff.
Wild! is a 19-track compilation
of their best material, with 11 tracks appearing on CD for the first time.
“Shame On You,” “Cindy, and “Chains” are definitely
‘60’s-styled highlights, but those are just random picks, really; most
everything here is ‘60’s-styled. It’s
pretty obvious that these guys were familiar with the sort of bands that appear
on the Nuggets compilations; there’d be no doubt of that even if they had
left the cover of “Little Black Egg” off this disc.
The Marigolds might not’ve gotten anything resembling a fair shake on
these shores (did they manage a single release in the US?), but Wild!
is the perfect opportunity for curious types to investigate their legacy.
Like the Chevelles and the Innocents, this is just another good reason to
keep an eye on Zip Records.
Paul
McCartney
Driving
Rain
Capitol/MPL
If Run Devil Run
was Paul McCartney’s proof that Linda’s death hadn’t left him without the
ability to rock, then Driving Rain is
equal confirmation that he’s still working through the loss of the woman who
stood by his side for so long. Rather
than a depressing melange of “woe is me” sentiments, however, it’s more as
if Macca is saying, “I won’t
forget you, but I’ve still got to live my life.”
Take, for instance, “From A Lover To A Friend,” which appears to
speak to Linda’s memory (“Take your own advice/Let me love again”), as
well as song titles like “Back In The Sunshine Again.”
The return to said sunshine was obviously in no small part due to his new
love, the inspiration for the track “Heather.” Driving Rain
isn’t as immediately accessible as, say, Flaming
Pie. Save perhaps “Tiny
Bubble” and the unlisted “Freedom” (the latter debuted at last month’s
NYC charity gig), there are no obvious hit singles to be found.
It’s definitely a transitional album, and to call it “a bit of a
grower” would be safe enough, but it shows McCartney pointing in the right
direction, which can’t help but be a good thing.
Paul
Melancon
Camera
Obscura
Daemon
If you’ve picked up International Pop Overthrow, Vol. 5 (and if you haven’t, you
really should), you’ve probably already heard Paul Melancon’s tribute to
ELO’s main man, appropriately entitled “Jeff Lynne.”
That song also appears on Camera
Obscura, Melancon’s new album, which, after a few good listens to let it
sink in, begins to reveal itself as a seriously strong, multi-layered pop
record. Reminiscent of
Matthew Sweet’s In Reverse with
hints of David Mead, Michael Penn, and, sure, let’s make the obligatory
reference to Jellyfish; it’s certainly apt in places, particularly on the
sparkling production. This purported concept album (centered around a fictional
amusement park; I’m not sure exactly how Jeff Lynne fits in there) shows that
Melancon’s ready to play with the big boys.
P.S. It’s not listed, but
be sure to stay tuned for track 11, a loving cover of the Beach Boys’
“You’re So Good To Me.”
Mello
Cads
Soft
As A Rock
Franklin
Castle
With its cover a parody of the movie poster for “In
Like Flint” and a guest appearance by ‘60s/‘70s songsmith Paul Williams
trumpeted on the back cover, it appears that Soft As A Rock, the debut album by the Mello Cads is intended as a
tribute to lounge-pop music. But
since it’s set up as a cross between a concept album and an episode of
“Playboy After Dark,” with inspiration taken from various members of the Rat
Pack (not to mention Jack Jones), it’s a bit hard to tell how firmly frontman
David Ponak has his tongue placed in cheek.
Ponak certainly has enough
high-profile friends in the Hollywood / Los Angeles pop community; the album was
produced and conducted by Linus of Hollywood (who also contributes vocals and
instrumentation to the disc), and several songs were co-written and performed
with the help of members of the Wondermints and Chewy Marble.
Ponak’s vocals occasionally sound
as though he’s trying to channel Bill Murray’s “Saturday Night Live”
character, Nick the Lounge Singer, but the music’s outstanding, which helps
things considerably. The album’s
best track is a cover of the Paul Williams’ song “The Drifter”; as noted
above, Williams himself pops up to sing a verse.
If you get the joke, you’ll love
it.
The
Miggs
Anyway
Selfishmusic
www.miggsband.com
The Miggs’ website indicates that frontman Don Miggs
brings to the table with him musical sensibilities “influenced by a range of
artists such as U2, Elvis Costello and the Replacements.”
By the time one listens to the album all the way through, though, one
begins to get the sensation that, although ol’ Don may own and enjoy the work
of those folks, something’s getting lost in the translation.
Frankly, it sounds a lot more like he’s being influenced by a range of
artists such as, say, Matchbox20, Vertical Horizon, and Train.
That observation having been made, Anyway
isn’t a bad album at all. The
opening track, “Lie To You,” is a pop song, plain and simple;
“Between The Lines” has a bit of a Jellyfish feel, perhaps a
spiritual cousin of “Baby’s Coming Back.”
“Hello World” chugs along nicely for about 2 minutes, then does a
cool little 30-second tempo change before getting back to business.
It’s just that, on tracks like “To Be Alone,” “Wish,” and the
aforementioned “Anyway,” Miggs noticeable resemblance to that recent crop of
mainstream rockers makes much of Anyway
feel a bit too dispensible.
The
Mission UK
Aura
Metropolis
http://www.themissionuk.com
As unlikely as it might seem, Wayne Hussey and the
Mission UK are back in top form with their latest release, Aura.
Apparently, all Hussey needed was a
little resurrection.
That’s Resurrection
with a capital “R,” by the way...as in the title of the Mission UK’s
previous studio album. Released in
the US through Cleopatra Records, the album was subtitled Greatest Hits, but what it found the band doing was re-recording
their old songs. At the time of its
release (1999), it seemed on the surface to be a last, desperate gasp from the
Mission UK, with the band apparently trying to score a few more sales and a
couple more dollars through the songs that made them famous.
If nothing else, however, it apparently served to put the group back on
track.
The band’s previous two studio
albums, Neverland and Blue, were veritable snoozefests, sorely lacking in the sort of epic
goth-pop that brought the band to prominence in the first place.
Hussey, as a former member of the Sisters of Mercy, used to know how to
blend melody with gloom, but, somewhere along the line, he lost sight of the
trail he’d been following, and the magic seemed to depart rather abruptly when
Neverland
was released.
(Some argue that Hussey started to
wander off the path with Neverland’s
predecessor, Masque, but this writer
ain’t one of ‘em. Masque features
co-writing credits from the Wonder Stuff’s Miles Hunt, as well as the
Waterboys’ Anthony Thistlethwaite; it’s the least pretentious and most
stylistically-varied album of the band’s career.
Plus, it features a fair amount of fiddle, which is rarely a bad thing.)
With Resurrection,
however, Hussey revisited the songs that made him famous:
“Wasteland,” “Severina,” “Beyond the Pale,”
“Deliverance,” and “Butterfly on a Wheel,” to name a handful.
The arrangements were a bit different, with some adjustments in
production, but the strength of the songs shone through.
Hussey’s
voice was still a force to be reckoned with, but, when the Mission UK popped up
the following year with the second live album of their career rather than a new
studio album, fans no doubt began to fear that new material might be a thing of
the past.
But then came Aura.
When “Evangeline,” the album’s
opening track, kicks off, there’s no question that the combination of Resurrection and Ever
After (the aforementioned live album) resulted in some serious
songwriting reinvigoration in Hussey. The
track is unquestionably a spiritual sibling of “Severina”; that it was
released as the Mission UK’s first single in six years is unsurprising, since
it’s as classic a pop track as anything in their back catalog.
Indeed, anyone who enjoys the
band’s back catalog will find nothing but pleasure in Aura.
While some of the tracks are musically reminiscent of the group’s
earlier glories, better they should crib off God’s
Own Medicine and Children than
their later work. Actually, a
better reference point for most of the album is Carved
In Sand; the bombastic arena-rock arrangement of, say, “Lay Your Hands On
Me,” would fit nicely beside “Deliverance.”
“Happy” is a none-too-distant cousin of Grains
of Sand’s “Hands Across The Ocean.”
Even the fun side of Masque is
briefly revisited, courtesy of “Burlesque.”
In fact, the only real throwaway track on the entire disc is “To Die By
Your Hand,” which blends a decidedly gothic lyric to an odd dance beat, but,
since it’s less than a minute and a half in length, it’s gone before it does
too much damage.
Sure, occasionally, the
“borrowing” from the band’s previous material is a little too noticeable.
Case and point: the undeniable similarity of Aura’s “Dragonfly” to Carved
In Sand’s “Butterfly On A Wheel.”
But it’s just as easy to chalk that up to the fact that Hussey’s
dramatic delivery tends to sound similar from song to song, anyway.
Even with that caveat, Aura is unquestionably the most consistent Mission UK album since Carved
in Sand. While it technically
may not find the band breaking any new ground, it at least finds them treading
familiar soil for the first time in many years, doing it just as well as they
ever did.
Peter
Murphy
Dust
Metropolis
http://www.petermurphy.org
When a former member of Bauhaus, arguably one of the
greatest goth bands of all time (certainly the most-cited when it comes to
naming a goth band at random, anyway), releases a new album, it’s never a safe
bet to go in anticipating that you’re going to get music for shiny, happy
people. As such, to find that Peter
Murphy’s new release, Dust, isn’t
exactly upbeat…well, it isn’t exactly a surprise.
But to find that it’s thoroughly
and consistently slow, morose, and, at times, downright sleep-inducing…well,
that’s a bit depressing, actually. Moreso,
even, than the music itself.
Peter Murphy has never been the
cheeriest of sorts. Solo hits like
“All Night Long,” “Indigo Eyes,” “The Sweetest Drop,” and “Cuts
You Up” were far from smile-inducing, but they were catchy in their own way,
and you remembered them long after they’d left the confines of your CD or
cassette player. It’s ironic,
then, that Dust begins with a song entitled “Things To Remember,” as none
of its songs particularly stick with you after they’re over.
Indeed, in many cases, some inspire the listener to wonder they’re even
finished, “Holy crap, when is this song going to end?” Once you’ve looked at the track listing and the length of
each track on the back of the disc, you’ll understand why one might wonder
this; the shortest track is over six-and-a-half minutes long. (The longest, for the record, is two seconds short of nine
minutes.)
Described at one point in its press
release as “part trance, part alt-prog-rock, part classical, (and) part
pop,” Dust doesn’t go anywhere
near the traditional definition of “pop,” lest you be misled. It does, however, contain some serious Middle Eastern
influences, likely the result of recording portions of the album in Istanbul
with the aid of Turkish musicians. Checking
back in with the press release, we find that the album is “neither glaringly
Western with pasted-on bits of ‘authentic world music,’ just as much as it
is not a traditional or classical world music album, nor is it straightforward
rock or pop. It is, however, an
authentic and heartfelt album that combines the influences of Peter’s creative
outpouring and highlights his acumen for lyrical depth and imagery. In its entirety, Dust
is the culmination of Peter’s life and experiences straddling two cultures of
both East and West.”
Murphy is coming off a rather nice
two-disc live album (2001’s Alive Just
For Love), where he stripped down his hits and presented them in a decidedly
delicate fashion. (“Just For
Love,” a.k.a. the aforementioned shortest song on Dust,
made its debut on the live album, in fact.)
Murphy takes the concept of delicacy and implements it throughout Dust;
the unfortunate bit is that he forgot that the reason it worked on Alive
Just For Love is that it highlighted the underlying melodies in those older
songs.
There are no particular melodies to
highlight on Dust, however, and, as a
result, it’s just one long drag.
Occasionally, there are moments that
leap out. “Girlchild Aglow” has
a Celtic lilt to it, in particular. And
it’s worthy of note to Murphy fans that Dust
closes with re-recordings of two tracks from earlier solo albums: “My Last Two Weeks” (from Love
Hysteria) and “Subway” (from Cascade).
The latter, with the parenthetical addition of the word “Epilogue” to
its title, contains a final verse not found in its original incarnation.
It may not come as too much of a surprise that these two tracks blow away
anything else on the album. It
could be because of their familiarity, but, somehow, I don’t think so.
I think it’s simply because
they’re better songs.
Dust
is easily as dry as its namesake…and that’s a real shame.
Peter Murphy’s been responsible for some legitimately classic albums in
his time, and he may yet have more to spring on the world (both east AND west),
but this ain’t one of ‘em. This
is just one big gloomfest, and, to the album’s detriment, Murphy never once
opts to crack a smile.
Mushroomhead
XX
Universal
If the concept inherent in the phrase “don’t judge
a book by its cover” were put into play with Mushroomhead’s “XX,” then
the applicable rule of thumb for anyone picking up the disc would have to be,
“Don’t put on this album and expect the band to sound like Slipknot, even
though they clearly share the same tailor / mask designer.”
Yes, it’s true; to look at ‘em, Mushroomhead don’t deserve to be
taken any more seriously than Gwar. Surprisingly,
though, taken with an open mind and a tolerant ear, it turns out that there’s
a bit more on “XX” to be found than one might expect.
It’s an odd blending of styles that the band brings to the table.
On the vocal front, there’s more hoarse hollering than you can shake a
stick at, but, surprisingly, there’s a more than occasional resemblance to
Faith No More throughout the album; in fact, during the chorus of “Solitaire
Unraveling” and “Never Let It Go,” you’ll swear you’re hearing a
graduate of the Mike Patton School of Vocals.
The album contains some unlikely instrumentation as well; “Bwomp”
ends with strings, “These Filthy Hands” begins with piano that continues
plinking along throughout the track, and both instruments pop up on “The
Wrist.” There’s even a cover of
Pink Floyd’s “Empty Spaces.” So
is “XX” actually a good album? Do
Mushroomhead deserve your respect? Let’s
say this: if you like the current
crop of metal, you could do a hell of a lot worse.
Scott
McCarl
Play
On...
Titan!
The more I look at the cover of Scott McCarl's solo
debut, Play On..., the more I think it's a good idea that they added the word
"ex-Raspberries" underneath his name.
At first I wasn't sure; it just
seemed like the guy was coasting on his reputation, resting on his former band's
laurels. Then, when I thought about
it a bit more, I remembered that Scott McCarl isn't exactly a household
name...and after a few listens, I decided that anything that'll help sell copies
of this album can't be a bad idea.
Play On... is really two albums in
one: 10 new recordings, plus
7 bonus tracks of historical note, taken from the various stages of McCarl's
career. Most important among the
bonus tracks is "Don't Make Me Sad," the 1972 demo which inspired Eric
Carmen to invite McCarl into the roster of the Raspberries; also interesting are
the songs "Somewhere" and a cover of "I Wanna Be Free," both
performed by Yellow Hair, McCarl's first band.
The new songs indicate that McCarl is
still a devout student of the Beatles' catalog, especially the McCartney tunes;
both "I'll Be On My Way" and "Run For The Sun" could easily
have been recorded by Paul himself. And
the loving, note-perfect cover of "Yes It Is" proves that McCarl has
no problem acknowledging his influences..and it also shows that he can do a very
credible John Lennon impression as well. The
last of the new tracks, "Same Ol' Heartache," was written by Kyle
Vincent and Tommy Dunbar.
A pop masterwork with its heart
located squarely in the '60's, Play On... puts Scott McCarl back into the major
leagues...and it's about time.
Mayfield
Mayfield
Zerodisc
When the name Curt Smith pops up in conversation...and
to be realistic, it almost never does...it's usually to refer to him as
"the other guy from Tears For Fears." a.k.a. the one who didn't carry
on with the band's name but instead went solo and met with little success.
"Little success"?
Talk about your understatements. Hell,
his first solo album, Soul On Board, didn't even warrant a US release by
Polygram. (Too bad; it was quite
enjoyable, if not consistently memorable throughout.)
You can't keep a good British pop
star down, though; Smith is back on the scene, having moved to New York City and
teamed up with guitarist Charlton Pettus and others to form Mayfield.
After having experienced his more
mainstream side on his debut, Smith returns to something closer to what Tears
For Fears were doing during his last days with the band; "What Are We
Fighting For?," the opening track on Mayfield's self-title debut, resides
in the same neighborhood as the title track of The Seeds Of Love, with blatant
Beatle-isms practically bouncing off the walls by the end of the song.
Ironically, the song "Mother
England" is co-written by Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning, who, as members
of Jellyfish, served as the opening act for Tears For Fears on their first
Smith-less tour. "Sun
King" is a lyrical reaction to ex-partner Roland Orzabal's attack on Smith
in his song, "Fish Out Of Water."
Mayfield is a return to form for
Smith, but its commercial success is doubtful, considering it seems to have been
released on the band's own label. Still,
with enough media exposure, perhaps it'll be picked up by a major; if it isn't,
it won't be for lack of quality.
Moonbabies
The
Orange Billboard
Hidden
Agenda / Parasol
http://www.moonbabies.nu
Doing little to disprove the theory that Sweden pumps chemicals into
their drinking water to encourage the creation of pop hooks, Moonbabies return
to record stores with The Orange Billboard, following up their 2000
debut, June And Novas. Though
this sophomore effort lacks a damn-that-kicked-my-ass opening track like its
predecessor (“I’m Insane But So Are You” being the asskicker in question),
the disc as a whole shows the band easing into a more focused sound.
The harmonies and alternating male/female lead vocals of Ola Frick and
Carina Johansson are still the group’s signature.
Though the album is consistently strong, in particular, “Crime O’ The
Moon” is as brilliant a pop concoction as anything the band’s ever recorded.
The Orange Billboard shows Moonbabies to carving their own unique
niche in the field of Swedish pop: a
little acoustic, a little electronic, and rather a lot of strong material to
work with.
(originally
appeared in Amplifier Magazine)
The
Mountain Goats
We
Shall All Be Healed
4AD
/ Beggars
http://www.themountaingoats.net
Predominantly (though not exclusively) the work of singer/guitarist John
Darnielle, the Mountain Goats spent years defining lo-fi, their songs recorded
on a boom box then released exclusively on cassette.
With their 2002 release, Tallahassee, however, they entered the big
leagues (insofar as independent labels go, anyway), seeing it released on 4AD
Records, with proper production and a more, shall we say, mature sound.
We Shall All Be Healed, their latest released on the label, is
more of the same, with the acoustic guitar still serving as the driving force
behind each song. Darnielle’s
voice sounds like an amalgam of Mike Scott (the Waterboys), Brian Molko
(Placebo), and Robyn Hitchcock, with the latter’s musical stylings a suitable
reference point, though, lyrically, Darnielle is often decidedly darker.
Song highlights include “Home Again Garden Grove,” “Quito,” and
“The Young Thousands.” Not for
everyone, but fans of eccentric pop will be right at home.
(originally
appeared in Amplifier Magazine)