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Post by berkley on Apr 29, 2024 11:19:14 GMT -5
More of my top albums of 1994 (and more British indie rock for Slam_Bradley to enjoy  )... #2 - Definitely Maybe by OasisOasis's debut album Definitely Maybe was a major shot in the arm for the British record industry in general and the indie rock scene in particular back in 1994. The songs on it absolutely upped the ante in terms of the songwriting quality that an indie album could or should feature. Right from the opening track, "Rock 'n' Roll Star", the band's musical manifesto is laid bare: noisy guitars, punk and John Lennon-influenced sneering vocals, and melodic, fiendishly catchy songs. Along with Blur's Parklife, which was my #5 pick, Definitely Maybe was the other key album of the early Britpop scene. It was an exciting time to be a UK indie music fan, as we watched the slightly niche scene that we had all followed so passionately for the past 3 or 4 years going overground and impacting on the mainstream. My one criticism of Oasis has always been that their lyrics are at best banal and at worst just sound like placeholder lyrics that were the first thing that came into songwriter Noel Gallagher's head. But griping about the lack of meaning in their lyrics misses the point when the material is as melodically strong as it is on Definitely Maybe. This is a collection of 11 life-affirming, fist-pumping indie songs. Sure, it's all basic meat-and-potatoes indie stadium rock, but Oasis never sounded as vital and exciting as they did on theis debut album. Here's "Live Forever", the third single taken from the album. Its simple, nursey rhyme-esque lyrics, sugary sweet melody, and swaggering punk attitude demonstrates exactly what it was that made Oasis so special in 1994…
My impression is that Oasis got way more airplay here in Canada than the other big in Britpop bands of the era - Blur, Pulp, Suede, etc. I assume that was true in the US too, since popular culture in Canada, like so much else, is almost totally under the American thumb. So I can't complain that I never had the opportunity to hear their music but for whatever reason I never really took to it at the time. I could hear that they had some nice tunes, but I've never really liked the quality of the lead singer's voice and the hype around them as the new Beatles was a turn-off. Also, a song from their next album or two that got a lot of exposure over here was Wonder Wall, which I actively disliked, so that kind of sealed the deal for me, at least for a few years.
I can pinpoint exactly when I started to think I should give them another listen: when I heard a song of theirs played in the 2006 movie Red Road. It fit really well with what was happening in the movie at that moment - a kind of sad, almost depressing "party" of maybe only five or six people drinking and trying to enjoy themselves, and this Oasis song bringing them to life for a few moments - and from that point n I started giving them a closer listen whenever I happened to hear something. I still haven't gotten around to buying any of their cds but I'll likely look for this first one now I've seen it here.
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Post by berkley on Apr 29, 2024 11:27:51 GMT -5
#1 - Second Coming by The Stone RosesIt took less time to fight the entirety of World War 2 than it did for the Stone Roses to release their second album. The band's self-titled debut had appeared in April 1989 and was a smart blend of unabashedly retro guitar sounds and current rave culture. It sounded something like the Monkees on ecstasy and it set the template for '90s indie music, influencing countless other bands. For about a year after that landmark first album, the Roses issued a handful of singles, the last two of which were not on the debut album and seemed to signal the imminent release of the band's second LP. Then…nothing. Silence. Embroiled in litigation with their record company for a couple of years, the band finally managed to escape their contract and retreated to the studio to work on their next album for almost 3 years. When it finally came out in December 1994, Second Coming was treated by UK indie fans as something of Biblical importance (in keeping with the record's cheeky title, of course). While some proclaimed it an instant classic, there was also disappointment and a palpable sense of anti-climax from some quarters. Myself, I thought and still think that, for the most part, it's a fantastic record – my favourite of 1994, in fact! Is it a faultless masterpiece like the Roses' debut? No, of course not. It's a tad overlong and there are a handful of tracks that feel a lot like filler. If the band had dropped 3 or 4 of the weaker songs, you would have had a much, much stronger, more concise album. But when Second Coming is good…my God, it's f*cking fantastic! Here's the video for the single "Ten Storey Love Song". This is an uplifting anthem, that metatextually refers to the process of writing the song itself as a demonstration of love. But while it might at first seem to be an unabashed love song, if you scratch below the surface, there's an unexpectedly darker lyric than you might at first discern. This is an epic song – damn, I wish I'd written it!
Stone Roses were another of the big British bands of the time that I was never exposed to enough to get a handle on. This song sounds great to me on first listen, for example, so I think I would have noticed if I had heard it back then. As I've mentioned ad nauseum lately, I'm just starting to get back into all things 90s in general, so I'll definitely be adding this to my list of stuff to look for.
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Post by berkley on Apr 29, 2024 11:37:46 GMT -5
1994.4
Monster - R.E.M.
I haven't read a lot of music journalism since the 70s so I could be off-base this but my impression is that this album was a little under-rated at the time, after the huge critical and commercial success of Out of Time and Automatic for the People. Still, they had a pretty big hit with What's the Frequency Kenneth, so maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, I think this is one of their best albums, very strong from start to finish with the songwriting still at its peak. I think the band did a great job of changing their style just a little, with a harsher, at times slightly distorted guitar sound, while not losing their basic sound and all the qualities I liked from their earlier records. I'll assume everyone knows What's the Frequency Kenneth so I'll go with a couple of other tracks as examples:
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 29, 2024 11:50:51 GMT -5
#1 - The Mavericks - What a Crying Shame
Ah yes, the Mavericks. They're one of those bands that a couple of my friends keep telling me I should check out, but for one reason or another I've never taken the time to get into them. I like the sound of these two tracks you posted. This album is a little earlier than the Mavericks that most folks here in the UK know. The band had a colossal hit over here in 1998 with "Dance the Night Away", which Wikipedia tells me is from the album Trampoline. But yeah, these two tracks sounds good. I noticed that when I was digging around, that Trampoline was pretty huge in the U.K. and in Europe in general. I'm not sure why, but that album was much bigger there than it was in the U.S. Favorite albums of 1994 #1 - The Mavericks - What a Crying Shame
I have this cd but, as with Johnny Cash's American Recordings, totally forgot it came out in 1994. Yeah, I remember liking this one at the time. Can't recall which song I heard that made me buy the cd now. In general I think I would have been even more of a fan of the Mavericks if they'd leaned a little harder into the Latin influences: I liked them but they were just a little too much on the straight-country side of things for me to become a loyal fan. All the same, nice album, great choice for your number 1 of 1994. The Mavericks progressively leaned more in to the Latin influences with each new album, to the point where they released a Spanish language album in 2020. That was the album they were touring in support of when I saw them. The same can also be said of Raul Malo's solo albums, which also tend to be more pop/crooner oriented. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 29, 2024 11:52:38 GMT -5
#1 - Second Coming by The Stone Roses More Indie rock showing just how far out of the mainstream that Slam Bradley is musically. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 29, 2024 12:08:40 GMT -5
Moving on to 2004, which I should be able to get done before heading to D.C. for a week.
Favorite albums of 2004
#10 – Slaid Cleaves – Wishbones
Cleaves is one of the better and more consistent Folk/Americana singer-songwriters. In a better world Cleaves would be as big as Sturgell Simpson. In a better time, he'd at least be seeing big names come in and cut his songs (as happened with Guy Clark and Townes) because he's a great songwriter. As it stands, he puts out an album every now and then, tours a bit, and...well a few of us pay attention.
This is actually not one of his strongest albums. It's fine, but it pales in comparison to to what he was doing in the early 90s. But on any album by Cleaves you're going to find very well written songs, mostly about losers. You could almost say that he's the David Goodis of songwriters. Still...there's plenty of good stuff here.
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Post by commond on Apr 29, 2024 15:08:46 GMT -5
1994.5 Mars Audiac Quintet - StereolabThis is a band whose sound I liked a lot at the time and listening to them recently for the first time in some years I still find them enjoyable. Perhaps they're at times stronger on overall mood and style than on songwriting but their sound appeals to me enough that I can overlook that weakness, if it is one. This track starts off sounding almost like pleasant background music but I always find myself listening more closely before it gets too far. Oh boy, once you go down the Stereolab rabbit hole, you don't come back for a while. I didn't get into them until a few years ago when I did a sweep of some other 90s indie rock/pop that I overlooked at the time like Teenage Fanclub, Silver Jews, Yo La Tengo, Belle and Sebastian, The Mountain Goats, and Modest Mouse. I immediately devoured all of Stereolab's back catalogue. |
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Post by berkley on Apr 29, 2024 21:16:03 GMT -5
1994.5 Mars Audiac Quintet - StereolabThis is a band whose sound I liked a lot at the time and listening to them recently for the first time in some years I still find them enjoyable. Perhaps they're at times stronger on overall mood and style than on songwriting but their sound appeals to me enough that I can overlook that weakness, if it is one. This track starts off sounding almost like pleasant background music but I always find myself listening more closely before it gets too far. Oh boy, once you go down the Stereolab rabbit hole, you don't come back for a while. I didn't get into them until a few years ago when I did a sweep of some other 90s indie rock/pop that I overlooked at the time like Teenage Fanclub, Silver Jews, Yo La Tengo, Belle and Sebastian, The Mountain Goats, and Modest Mouse. I immediately devoured all of Stereolab's back catalogue. I have a few more of their cds so I must have liked them quite a bit. I'm just in the process of re-introducing myself to the music I was into back in the 90s and also trying a few things I missed at the time, so I'll see how far I went with them or when I left off buying heir cds.
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Post by berkley on Apr 29, 2024 21:44:56 GMT -5
Moving on to 2004, which I should be able to get done before heading to D.C. for a week. Favorite albums of 2004 #10 – Slaid Cleaves – Wishbones Cleaves is one of the better and more consistent Folk/Americana singer-songwriters. In a better world Cleaves would be as big as Sturgell Simpson. In a better time, he'd at least be seeing big names come in and cut his songs (as happened with Guy Clark and Townes) because he's a great songwriter. As it stands, he puts out an album every now and then, tours a bit, and...well a few of us pay attention. This is actually not one of his strongest albums. It's fine, but it pales in comparison to to what he was doing in the early 90s. But on any album by Cleaves you're going to find very well written songs, mostly about losers. You could almost say that he's the David Goodis of songwriters. Still...there's plenty of good stuff here.
Haven't heard of this Wishbones band, or is that a typo for Wishbone Ash?
Just kidding, these two Slaid Cleaves songs both sound interesting: I like the low key mood and stripped down arrangements, but the songs themselves will probably need a few more listens to sink in. And I thnk this is the case with a few of the other artists you've posted that are new to me: I'd have to listen to a track or a cd more than just two or three times to see how I really felt about it, even when on first listen my feelings are mildly positive.
I certainly appreciate that there are guys (and I presume girls?) who are doing this kind of thing rather than the commercially-driven, mainstream country that I mostly find unlistenable, with a very few exceptions.
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Post by berkley on Apr 29, 2024 21:46:30 GMT -5
Ah yes, the Mavericks. They're one of those bands that a couple of my friends keep telling me I should check out, but for one reason or another I've never taken the time to get into them. I like the sound of these two tracks you posted. This album is a little earlier than the Mavericks that most folks here in the UK know. The band had a colossal hit over here in 1998 with "Dance the Night Away", which Wikipedia tells me is from the album Trampoline. But yeah, these two tracks sounds good. I noticed that when I was digging around, that Trampoline was pretty huge in the U.K. and in Europe in general. I'm not sure why, but that album was much bigger there than it was in the U.S. I have this cd but, as with Johnny Cash's American Recordings, totally forgot it came out in 1994. Yeah, I remember liking this one at the time. Can't recall which song I heard that made me buy the cd now. In general I think I would have been even more of a fan of the Mavericks if they'd leaned a little harder into the Latin influences: I liked them but they were just a little too much on the straight-country side of things for me to become a loyal fan. All the same, nice album, great choice for your number 1 of 1994. The Mavericks progressively leaned more in to the Latin influences with each new album, to the point where they released a Spanish language album in 2020. That was the album they were touring in support of when I saw them. The same can also be said of Raul Malo's solo albums, which also tend to be more pop/crooner oriented.
I was hoping you'd say that. It gives me a stronger incentive to look for more of the later stuff, solo and Mavericks.
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Post by berkley on Apr 29, 2024 21:58:30 GMT -5
1994.3
Hit the Highway - Proclaimers
These guys gave one of the best concerts I've ever been to in person a few years after this cd came out. This album itself would probably rank below Sunshine on Leith with most fans, maybe myself as well but I don't think it's far off. Lots of variety from up-tempo numbers to serious ballads, including a couple that deal with their Christian faith in a much more appealing and sympathetic way than that kind of thing usually strikes me. As an example of the faster tempo songs, I'll post the first one below, in which I think the words and music go together especially well:
and for a slower number, I think my favourite is this cover of These Arms of Mine, which before hearing I wouldn't have thought would be a match for their style, but it fits their voices beautifully, to my ears:
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Post by EdoBosnar on Apr 30, 2024 7:12:32 GMT -5
And I continue my discovery of new (to me) music by clicking on eye-candy album cover art; in this case, it's Sweetback, by Ivan "Boogaloo Joe" Jones...
Funky jazz guitar - definitely sweet, and so far my favorite of these algorithmic recommendations I've been getting from YouTube recently.
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Post by berkley on Apr 30, 2024 15:13:00 GMT -5
1994.2
No Need to Argue - Cranberries
This was a huge album here in Canada, and I assume everywhere else in the western pop music world too? I hadn't listened to it in years until a few days ago for this thread but when I did every song came back to me. Even the big hits that I've heard a million times haven't played themselves dead - that guitar line to Ode to My Family gets me every time. I was already a fan before this album came out, having bought their previous cd after hearing a couple songs on late-night CBC radio (Brave New Waves, if anyone remembers that show: that's where I heard a lot of the then-new stuff I ended up getting into). This album, while recognisably the same band, was very different in mood: the first one was softer, more smoothly flowing. There were three or four songs from this album that got a lot of airplay at the time, can't recall if the following was one of them or not as I heard the entire album so often at an Irish pub I used to got to lot back then.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 30, 2024 17:21:42 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 2004
#9 – Junior Brown – Down Home Chrome
Upon further review, this probably should have been #10 or possibly lower. I think I was just feeling the album when I initially made this list more than I am now. It's a very uneven album. Junior took risks and tried to do things that just weren't always successful. When he's being Junior Brown...you can't argue with it. And the guitar work is always amazing. But "Jimmy Jones" is just insipid. And I'm not convinced that Junior Brown should be covering Hendrix's "Foxy Lady." On the other hand, "Little Rivi-Airhead" and "Hill Country Hot Rod Man" are vintage Junior Brown. But this is a decidedly minor album for him and is absolutely not the place to start.
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Post by berkley on Apr 30, 2024 20:37:16 GMT -5
Favorite albums of 2004 #9 – Junior Brown – Down Home Chrome
Upon further review, this probably should have been #10 or possibly lower. I think I was just feeling the album when I initially made this list more than I am now. It's a very uneven album. Junior took risks and tried to do things that just weren't always successful. When he's being Junior Brown...you can't argue with it. And the guitar work is always amazing. But "Jimmy Jones" is just insipid. And I'm not convinced that Junior Brown should be covering Hendrix's "Foxy Lady." On the other hand, "Little Rivi-Airhead" and "Hill Country Hot Rod Man" are vintage Junior Brown. But this is a decidedly minor album for him and is absolutely not the place to start.
I have one Junior Brown cd, 12 Shades of Brown. I haven't listened to it for a long time but I remember liking it at the time.
I just had a quick look at wiki's 2004 in music page and I probably won't be able to come up with ten albums for that year, or for many years after the 90s. But there are two or three things that came out that year that I really like so I'll post them when the time comes.
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