I don’t care what Back to the Future says: rock n roll was not invented by Marty McFly. It was invented by Mr. Charles Berry, who here offers newly recorded versions of his previous hits.
Author: Nathaniel FitzGerald
Record #263: American Football – American Football (1999)
Time for another confession: I never listened to American Football until this year.
Record #262: Imperiet – Blå Himlen Blues (1985)
In Stockholm, there is a record store called Pet Sounds which is listed on numerous “best record shops in the world” lists. It was at this shop that I asked the man working there for something distinctly Swedish. He told me of a Stockholm based punk band called Ebba Grön who broke up and became a post punk band called Imperiet, and suggested this record, translated as Blue Heaven Blues. I took him at his word, and did not return void. Were their lyrics in English, it’s doubtless that Imperiet would have been canonized among New Order, Psychedelic Furs, Duran Duran, and other post punk/new wave patron saints.
Record #261: ABBA – Super Trouper (1980)
Sorry for the lack of updates: my wife and I were in Sweden visiting family. Luckily, Sweden isn’t as saccharine sweet as their primary musical export. But can anyone real hate ABBA? All the reasons to hate them—the melodramatic cheesiness of their delivery, the Swedish simplicity of their songcraft, the squareness of the whole thing—are the same reasons they are adored so widely. So whatever. Thanks, Sweden, for the discocheese.
Record #260: Glassjaw – Worship and Tribute (2002)
I’m not sure if there has ever been a record quite like Worship and Tribute. People talk a lot about bands trafficking in loudness and softness, but nobody ever did it quite like Glassjaw did here.
And while their heavy tracks are among the best in the biz (see: the first three tracks, “Pink Roses,” “Radio Cambodia”), the ballads on this album are absolutely unforgettable. “Ape Dos Mil” and “Must’ve Run All Day” pack just as much of a punch at a fraction of the tempo.
And at the end of the day, I’m not sure which is more impressive: that Daryl Palumbo’s keeping up with the band’s fury, or the band matching his mania. But I do know (from singing along in the car as a teenager: this album was essentially my Advanced Vocal Techniques class) that Palumbo’s performance is one of the most physically demanding around.
Record #255: Electric Light Orchestra – A New World Record (1976)
I’ll admit: in the several years I’ve owned and loved it, I never realized that Out of the Blue was not ELO’s most acclaimed record. Longest, most ambitious, and most impressive, undoubtedly. But best? This is a question I never knew I had to ask before, but A New World Record, their breakthrough, is bringing that to the forefront.
Record #254: Electric Light Orchestra – Face the Music (1975)
Strange that as long as I’ve loved ELO’s Out of the Blue, I’ve never considered looking into any of their other albums. What a fool I have been! While not as refined as the symphonic pop of Out of the Blue, Face the Music showcases a Jeff Lynne with an absolute mastery of pop songcraft in a variety of genres.
Record #253: Beck – Morning Phase (2014)
To say that Beck is one of the most celebrated artists of the last twenty years is a bit of a misnomer. Beck is in fact three or four separate artists fighting for power. You have the hip hop ironist (Mellow Gold, Odelay, The Information), the rock & roll archivist and experimentalist (the Record Club, the Song Book), pop classicist (Guero, Midnight Vultures), and space-bound, heart-rending singer-songwriter (Sea Change). Of all of Beck’s faces, his earnest face has always been my favorite. Sea Change is one of my favorite records of all time, its tender ballads paired with Nigel Godrich’s ambient production. And as much as I love The Information, and Guero and the like, I’ve long wished for a return to Sea Change’s earnestness. This year, Mr. Hansen delivered.
Record #252: Jefferson Airplane – Crown of Creation (1968)
I’ve never heard After Bathing at Baxter’s, the album between Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow and Crown of Creation, but I hear that it was a marked departure from the folksy noodling on Surrealistic Pillow in favor of for straightforward rock. But, one rock album must have been enough for them, because Crown of Creation is nowhere near the acid rock fest you might expect from Jefferson Airplane’s reputation (or the album cover–they’re inside of a nuclear blast! Come on!).
Record #251: Count Basie – …Plays his Hits of the 60s (1966)
In the fall of 2004, I was a guitarist in an emo band that somehow made it onto my school’s advanced Jazz Band. The first sheet of music handed to me was “Basie Straight Ahead” (which is not on this album), and I quickly realized how in over my head I was. And it wasn’t just me–it took the entire band five months to be able to play the entire song through.