Author: jzb

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“Your Arsenal” by Morrissey (No. 66)

Album cover "Your Arsenal"

Album cover "Your Arsenal"When I first got my hands on Your Arsenal back in 1992, I knew from the first few notes of “You’re Gonna Need Someone on Your Side” that it’d be a winner.

No disrespect to Moz, but it’s tough to carry a band with vocals and lyrics alone. Johnny Marr’s guitar playing and musical contributions (as well as from Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, but Marr in particular) were essential to the band’s sound. The folks Morrissey gathered for Your Arsenal were up to the task.

Evolution in sound

Your Arsenal has a harder edge to it than Morrissey’s solo work immediately after leaving The Smiths. I might even argue that it’s a bit harder than most of The Smiths’ albums, but there are probably a few Smiths tracks where Marr and company match the band here.

As always, Morrissey’s lyrics are as biting as the guitar. It’s hard to see “We Hate it When Our Friends Become Successful” as anything other than a dig at Marr. It does, however, apply to many other situations as well.

[youtube https://youtu.be/1nRRu9WAA-k]

“Certain People I Know” is another dig in the direction of Marr, with a pretty direct reference about people who “break their necks and can’t afford to get them fixed.” For such a petty sentiment, it actually still makes for a decent song. Guitarists Alain White and Boz Boorer aren’t direct substitutes for Marr, but they have great chops nonetheless.

“You’re the One For Me, Fatty” is (I hope) tongue in cheek. It’s got a great hook and guitar solo about mid-way through. I should probably add that the bass on this one is top-notch as well.

[youtube https://youtu.be/GFDzQD-LR80]

Return to the Morrissey basics

It wouldn’t be a proper Moz album without at least one or two songs pining about loneliness and despair. “I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday” and “Seasick, Yet Still Docked” fill that nicely here. “Someday” doesn’t quite live up to some of the more substantive songs of this time from The Smiths, but it’s still a pretty good song.

“Tomorrow” closes out Your Arsenal, and it’s a rollicking and dynamic number. The album is full of intricate guitar work, but “Tomorrow” is at the top of the pack. It was, also, damn good live. I managed to see Morrissey in St. Louis at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on the tour supporting the album and it was damn good.

If you want an introduction to Morrissey as a solo artist, start here. I suspect even folks who might not dig the entire Moz catalog would enjoy this album, but if you’re prone to enjoying The Smiths and Morrissey, then this one is a do-not-miss.

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“Puzzle” by Dada (No. 67)

Album cover - Dada Puzzle

Album cover - Dada PuzzleThe early 90s were a great time for music. Not only were there a lot of really interesting bands putting out albums, it was the first time in my life that I actually had a fair amount of disposable income to drop on new music. Those factors combined meant that I found a lot of new bands between 1990 and 2000. Dada‘s Puzzle was one of those records that happened to appear on my radar and find its way into regular rotation.

Dada was another band that I was introduced to by MTV. Their single, “Dizz Knee Land” (hello trademark obfuscation!) was in heavy rotation on the music video channel while I had time to troll the channel for new music or hoping to catch a video I already enjoyed.

“Dizz Knee Land,” is a fantastic single. It’s got catchy as fuck hooks, sinewy guitar, and dexterous bass and drums that just absolutely worm their way into your consciousness.

[youtube https://youtu.be/daa9pZDxfIY]

No duds

Let me say, for the record, I wound up buying a lot of albums in the early 90s that turned out to be duds. One or two singles would be really damn good. Then I’d get the entire album home and be crushed by the sheer awfulness of the rest of the album. Yes, Blind Melon, I’m looking at you.

But, it turns out, “Dizz Knee Land” isn’t even the best track on Puzzle. “Dog,” for example, has a melody worthy of The Beatles and a chorus that will keep you humming for days.

“Posters” is one of my favorite songs of the 90s, period. The extended drum riffs and interplay with bass and guitar in the song’s intro are amazingly wonderful. By the time the song finds its grove, you’re already entranced. Lyrically it reminds me of nothing so much as a latter-day “Norwegian Wood,” but with twenty times the intensity.

[youtube https://youtu.be/IqPVZgALpPc]

And then there’s “Dim,” which is absolutely perfect. It’s got searing guitar, dexterous bass, perfect drums, and amazing harmonies. “No one told me, what trouble I was in, before my life went dim!” It’s the perfect post-breakup song, suitable for playing on repeat until you can face the world again. Dada manages to make heartbreak catchy and upbeat, but also lets you wallow in the pain with a cathartic release. “Can’t this car go any faster? Cause I can still see where I am!”

“Tim” is a latter-day “Eleanor Rigby,” but focused on an at-risk child instead of a lonely adult. Replete with strings and acoustic guitar, the band weaves a tale of a boy trapped in telling compulsive lies about his parents to cover for the fact that they’re really not present in his life in any real way. The music to this one is just hauntingly beautiful.

The best of the bunch

Frankly, every song on this album is perfect as far as I’m concerned. I’ve checked out other albums by Dada, and they are … OK. But this one is just frigging dialed in from start to finish. When I’m on long trips, I love to pull this one out because I know the next 55 minutes are going to sail by like the outside world doesn’t even exist.

If you haven’t heard it, I do recommend checking out Dada’s Puzzle. It truly is a masterpiece.

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“All of this and Nothing” by Psychedelic Furs (No. 68)

All of This and Nothing cover

All of This and Nothing coverThank goodness for Columbia House. The “12 cassettes for a penny” deals helped me build a healthy music collection back when I was a teen with minimal spending cash. That’s how I landed All of this and Nothing, the Psychedelic Furs compilation album that serves as a fairly comprehensive selection of their best cuts.

The Furs’ last studio album, World Outside was good enough to make the top 100, but it’s hard to beat a collection that has “The Ghost in You,” “Love My Way,” and “Pretty in Pink.”

All of this and Nothing is wall to wall 80s alt/rock/pop that (if you’re an 80s kid) you’ll recognize instantly. Richard Butler’s raspy croak shouldn’t work, but it does. The warbling saxophone shouldn’t work, but it does. The wall of bass and guitars should work, and it does.

Had I only enjoyed “Pretty in Pink,” it would have been worth snagging via Columbia House. But I also re-upped to buy the collection on CD after I’d worn the cassette to shreds, and took the time to rip the CD to MP3 for frequent playback.

But every single track is a treasure. All of this and Nothing has been one of my favorite albums for flights, long walks, and long road trips. You should be able to find it on any and all of the major streaming services, if you don’t have it already. I suggest you cozy up with it and let it work its way into your favorites too.

(Apologies for brevity, writing this post while at Flock and don’t have quite so many cycles to write the lengthy post I’d usually wish to.)

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“The Sound of Jacqueline du Pré” by Jacqueline du Pré (No. 70)

The Sound Of Jacqueline Du Pré cover

The Sound Of Jacqueline Du Pré coverFor nearly as long as I can remember, I’ve been a music junkie. The radio always seemed to be on the “oldies*” station when I was a young’un in the early 70s, and I got bit by the Beatlemania bug big time when I was a mere seven years old. But I’ll be the first to admit, my musical knowledge is spotty at best, and I have had little to no formal introduction to music appreciation. Which is to say, I feel a little self-conscious about today’s choice, but also willing to go out on a limb to recommend The Sound of Jacqueline du Pré. Continue reading ““The Sound of Jacqueline du Pré” by Jacqueline du Pré (No. 70)”

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“The Depths of a Year” by Ehren Starks (No. 74)

Ehren Starks "The Depths of a Year" album cover

Ehren Starks "The Depths of a Year" album coverToday’s album was discovered by rummaging through the Magnatune catalog. This one is The Depths of a Year by Ehren Starks.

Magnatune lists Depths in several categories: jazz, instrumental, neoclassical, piano, and cello. It’s the last one that grabbed me. I realized sometime in the early 2000’s that I really love the sound of cello. So I started seeking out classical and instrumental works that prominently feature cello.

Eventually, I caught wind of Magnatune – a record label with the motto “we’re not evil.” The company’s business model has changed over the years from individual CD sales to MP3 (and other format) downloads, to an “all you can eat” model. It was sometime after 2003 that I checked out Depths and loved it. It’s been in heavy rotation ever since.

[youtube https://youtu.be/qp7JxL4iBMw]

The album features Starks on piano, and Kate Gurba on cello. Listening to the album, you might think that this is a pair of musicians well into their careers. In fact, Starks was 19 when the album was written. Both were students at Kansas University when the album was recorded.

Unfortunately, neither Starks nor Gurba seem to be playing music any longer. Starks released a second album on Magnatune in 2005 called Lines Build Walls. It’s also excellent, but Depths edges it out in my book.

You can stream either album for free on Magnatune’s site, and Magnatune subscribers can share the music under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 1.0 license. If you follow the YouTube link above, you can listen to the entire album. Or you can listen on Magnatune’s site, if you don’t mind a short notice after each song by Magnatune’s John Buckman.