Comatised - Leona Naess

Track list:

1. Lazy Days
2. Charm Attack
3. Chase
4. Lonely Boy
5. Anything
6. Chosen Family
7. Comatised
8. All I Want
9. Northern Star
10. Earthquake
11. New York Baby
12. Paper Thin

Running time: 58 minutes
Released: 2000

This album was a favourite of mine for a while back when it first came out. Another blind punt that paid off for a bit. I somehow doubt that my older, wiser, self will be as struck by it but we'll see.

I didn't know what to put for the nationality tag here, so I left it blank (first time for everything, so they say). Pan-Scandinavian parentage, London upbringing, US base. I think it's probably fair to say that the latter is the single biggest influence on her sound, but the title is spelled properly (i.e. with an s).

The opening track lives up to its name. Lazy strumming gives a very laid back feel. I am not really feeling the nostalgia though. The chorus brings with it some more life and a bit more to like, but it's all a little too low key to be really engaging. When I picked this up I was on a real kick for female singer-songwriters and quite obnoxious about it. Some of the things I picked up as a result of that mild obsession have stood the test of time for me, others have certainly not. Lazy Days suggests this might be in the latter camp, but I am pretty sure that there are better tracks than this one to come.

Like Charm Attack, for instance. This was the single and it shows immediately. There is more drive, more snap. The vocal is almost disinterested, too cool for school. It's not a sound I appreciate so much now but it was more inviting to younger ears.  There is again a bit more engagement with the chorus. It's fluffy pop-light stuff but it also has a nice tempo and a decent enough change up to make me see why I liked it. That said, the closing of the track is awful, chucking out the nicest bits of the sound to build to a "big" finish.

Looking down the track list I can hear a few of them coming back to me before we get there. Some definite snorers there, but also 3-4 that I am genuinely curious to hear again.

I am fitting this in mid-morning, with a chile cooking in the oven, clothing and bedding ordered and washing done. Later in the day I will be lugging unwanted crap to the tip as part of my regime of getting stuff done during my "vacation" so this is a little interlude of calm. I am struck by how the first three tracks all have a different sound, a sequence broken when Lonely Boy returns to the overly laid-back style of Lazy Days, though it does build on it a bit more. No, scratch that. The rhythms are different here - faux Hawaiian. It really doesn't work, especially at the points where the vocal goes all strident suddenly. Any appeal this track had for me must have been based on relating to the subject of the song because musically it does not hold up at all. It feels like a melding of two things that should have been kept far apart.

I am more hopeful for the quicker, angsty, Anything. I'd rather like this one to hold up, even if there are no illusions about it being a great track.

The pace is there, as is a grungier guitar. Then when her voice goes lighter on the chorus it offsets it nicely. This, more than the preceding tracks, does indeed match my memories of the song, and I still find myself rather charmed by it. It's schlocky and daft, but the punchy tempo and the guitar work are mass-appeal, lively and fun. It's not a great song, but it is an enjoyable one.

It's a pity that pace doesn't carry forward. There is a horrible bit of casual homophobia in the opening lyrics of Chosen Family that is really jarring to hear in 2017. Combine that with the dull and soporific cadence and this song is a slow-motion car crash. The title track is still soporifically slow, but it is at least more positive in outlook. Slow tempo is not necessarily a sign of dullness, but if a track is going for a low energy approach then it is on the performer to bring something else to keep you interested. Here there is a swirling background that just about wraps me up, but the saving grace for the track is that brighter sound... rather than being slow and down, it is slow but soaring. The vocal goes a bit girl-group pop in places which is a turn off, but it just about works. The contrast between these two tracks is interesting because the pace is similar, but the overall effect and outcomes are completely at odds.

I almost get the feeling that Naess was holding back on some of these tunes. I certainly feel they would be a bit better with some more gusto. There are clear moments of crescendo in a few of the songs, but they are not followed through - it rises a bit, but doesn't commit. Take All I Want - the rise of the track suggests that she is about to cut free and thrash a statement but it doesn't dare go there, settling instead for restraint and mediocrity. It wouldn't have had to go much further to work - say to the level of Anything, which is still constrained but has enough room to run and bounce that energy around.

I guess at this point, now that it is clear that her work hasn't held my interest in the same way as some of the other artists I got into at around the same time, I should try to contrast Leona Naess with those that have, but I find that kind of thing difficult. The two names that jump out at me are Thea Gilmore and Heather Nova. These two still work for me for very different reasons. Gilmore is more incisive, wittier and a far better songwriter, but Heather Nova feels like she occupies the same sort of space as Leona Naess - woman with guitar singing mostly love songs with different twists. Nova added an edge though, more emotion transmitted through her notes and lyrics; Naess feels cold, message received but not felt, by comparison.

New York Baby is understated but it has an appealing riff, and is one of the better moments on the album. The running time of the disc is inflated by a 10 minute counter on the final song, which smells of Hidden Track Bullshit... I seem to recall that the track hidden is another version of this song, with less interest. Before we get there we get the waffle of Paper Thin.

Waif like vocals over an arty and sparse piano. Neither aspect of the song are strong.

I have found myself not getting on with Naess' voice on this listen. It's tighter, less full than I remember it and it feels genuinely weak in places. Paper Thin shows this up more than anything that went before as a result of the arrangement choice. I just don't think she has the chops for that kind of wandering tune. Happily the hidden track is not actually buried after tonnes of silence. A crowd hubbub comes in within a few seconds of the closure of the album proper, then an understated take on New York Baby does indeed strike up. Actually I find this stripped back approach to the song works surprisingly well, especially given what I just wrote about her voice not working in the lighter-touch arrangements. The key here is that this recording does convey emotion in spades, there's a longing inherent in the arrangement and the long notes. The blue sax might be taking it too far though - especially as the already stripped sound goes to the improv. percussion only after that.

Overall, well... there are some nice points and some dross to clear out. More of the latter. Fundamentally have my tastes shifted? Yes, I am listening to more folk and jazz than I was 17 years ago for a start, but I haven't entirely moved away from women with guitars. I am certainly more discerning these days, however.

Blur: The Best of - Blur

Track list:

1. Beetlebum
2. Song #2
3. There's No Other Way
4. The Universal
5. Coffee & TV
6. Parklife
7. End of a Century
8. No Distance Left to Run
9. Tender
10. Girls & Boys
11. Charmless Man
12. She's So High
13. Country House
14. To the End
15. On Your Own
16. This Is a Low
17. For Tomorrow
18. Music Is My Radar

Running time: 77 minutes
Released: 2000

I was never a fan of Blur during the Britpop years, not them, not the other lot, nor the horde of wannabe copycats that peddled indie guitar music of various degrees of blandness. I did fall for Embrace briefly though - as mentioned here. I warmed to them retrospectively, though Damon Albarn's other work (I have a trainwreck of an album from Graham Coxon too). Not enough to acquire actual albums, but enough to pick up the best of. I haven't re-engaged with their reformation either.

It's been an odd week; although I've been at home all evening for the last 4 days, only yesterday, Friday, was completely clear and then I was just so washed out from work (an attempt to get away early failed) that tucking into this was not an option. I am doing so now instead of Christmas shopping or a plethora of other things that maybe I ought to do today. Oh well. Beetlebum has a scuzzy feel to it - appropriate for my low mood and layabout levels of success today - but largely washes over me without much in the way of serious consideration. It seems to me to be a bit of a strange choice to open the collection with - not particularly catchy, not a stand out for good or bad, and possessed of a long outro that makes it feel more like a closer. The polar opposite of the tight and punchy Song #2 in that regard. This is a Marmite track - not because you either love or hate it, but more specifically I can love or hate it depending on when I hear it. It suits certain emotions, situations and contexts better than others. Today's context is actually rather neutral.

We finally get to something a bit catchier; there is something about Albarn's vocal on There's No Other Way which validates the laziness I feel right now, and a reassurance about the riffy composition. I don't feel a strong connection to the track though, and I suspect this is going to be one of those really annoying posts where my dominant mood blunts interaction with the album I am consuming in any meaningful sense. Its as if I am more filling out an hour than really listening to this disc.

Overuse in adverts has not spoiled The Universal though. I never connected the tune, and thus those ads, with Blur at all at the time, because they never used the voice and I wasn't familiar with the song. OK, so Albarn's voice is kinda annoying on the chorus and the lyric leaves a lot to be desired but the core tune is so solid that it has a timeless quality to it, those iconic strings setting the whole thing up. I have been toying with the idea of another crappy project... some kind of micro-blog of all the plentiful bad ideas and stream of consciousness rubbish that my head fills up with when I am on my own - which is most of the time. I have an unquiet mind, and it drives me crazy. Sharing that madness with an uncaring world could release the pressure valve that generates such nonsense. Or not. Won't happen though - no smartphone so no access to post when my mind is at its worst - i.e. when trapped, solo, nothing doing.

I am not feeling this at all. Coffee & TV slides by like traffic outside behind a closed curtain - I am aware it is there but only dimly so. I think I don't like the song, and the occasional use of discordant sounds or effects make it worse. Be gone! Parklife slides past too, which is a more reliable barometer of my engagement level. This is another Marmite tune. I appreciate its attempt at peppiness - the clean snap and hard edges to the riffs give it a liveliness that is welcomed, but beyond that... not today.

I do dislike winter; its not been cold yet this year but the wind has been so constant, rattling around in the chimney, and the whole getting dark mid-afternoon thing is interminable. Its not a time of year I want to have to go out and traipse around shops as we are expected to do in the run up to Christmas. This year my mind and energy levels are balking even at the idea of online shopping. Bah humbug and all that. Working 2 more weeks yet; it all feels a fair way away still. I don't recognise No Distance Left to Run at all, but I like its rather downbeat air, subdued, more in tune with how I feel right now. Its down, but there is brightness there in spots - very high, very soft, keyboards giving nice clean tones. It is just enough of a sprinkle of optimism to stop the lead weights pulling it down.

Tender is... I am not sure it is likely to survive the day. It is a mix of a nice cadence with a tuneful, if muted, singing, and horrible harmonies, really annoying lines and alternate vocalists. Listening now, the tune just does not work. When Damon is singing on his own in the verse, there's a nice little semi-country feel to the music, the rest of the time there is some presence or other that sets my teeth on edge. Oh, and then there is the fact it goes on for 7 minutes 40 seconds, slowly spinning round between the shorter pleasantries and the longer stretches of needling. I don't think I can put up with that again. And that, (absent) ladies and gentleman is only half way.

I am grateful for the staccato and electronic sounds of Girls & Boys mixing things up. It is a complete palette cleanser after the tedium of Tender. Its not a song to hang much cogent discussion on (though to be honest the paras above probably prove I am not up to cogent discussion!), and you can definitely criticise it for its uniformity and lack of change up once it establishes itself, but in the context of the rest of the album, it's a really well placed number, stirring this listener, ending in good time and giving way to a tune that I completely fail to recognise until the words hit my ear. I think I generally prefer Blur when they inject some kind of catchiness, which here is provided by the nah-nah-nahs and the bass hammering note after note.

I didn't recognise She's So High at all, passed me by. Country House next, its not a good song but it has that catchy rhythm which makes it far more engaging than several better tracks and I find myself enjoying its breeziness up until the point that they inject a slow sad sound in the middle of it. That passes quickly but the mindless magic has been punctured by the abrupt nature of the switch in tempo and mood and I find myself wishing it over before it finishes. The final quarter of this disc is made up of track titles I don't know, but unsurprisingly To The End is more familiar once it starts, if only in the chorus. I like the more open sound of this track, the greater arrangement - with the core band part being relatively small or simple, though the drums get a bit too repetitive for my liking. The soaring strings my favourite touch, though Albarn's more open singing helps too. Ah yeah. Should have recognised On Your Own as a title - never mind. No, this one I don't like, maybe I had blanked it. Rhyming psycho killer and gorilla sums it up. Oddball. I don't see anything in this.

I feel like I should be near the end, but the last three tracks are all over 5 minutes long so there's almost half an album to go by the measure of some recent listens. The first of those three is a distant song - music seeming much closer to the ear than vocal. It feels muted or matured somehow, more rounded. I rather like the way the zenith points seem to have the guitars rebelling against that maturity rather than working within it, making their mournful cries heard and carrying more weight for it. The song rather peters out, which is a shame but it was a nice little surprise for me. Whilst I did not recognise This is a Low even after it started, I do recall For Tomorrow now I hear it. I don't think much of it as it seems to be caught between two (or even three) stools. Catchiness, poppiness, and the rounder more mature sound. There are bits and bobs from these three approaches sprinkled over this track and it manages to satisfy none of the aims. The la-la-las in the chorus feel out of place in the open arrangement, likewise the Madness-esque trumpets are a giant WTF in context. Its a mess, really. I'm sure people that very much enjoy Blur can find more to like amidst the different elements here but for me? Trying too much, managing nothing, overstaying its welcome.

The last track starts really... well, contrary to any expectations I had. This is not one I was ever familiar with and it sounds like it has rocked up here from another album and another band. It develops nicely though, an underlying groove that I can appreciate. And just as I type that it gets interrupted by what sounds like a long loud fart. Like Country House earlier, this sudden intrusion breaks any sense of connection to the track and snaps me out of the groove. Now I hear it from the outside it doesn't feel like it has enough craft to draw me back in... until I suddenly am recaptured by a pivot point. This is a really frustrating track and it will have to go... too much mediocrity built around a couple of very solid patterns. I don't like being sucked in and spat out; I'd prefer to be kept at arms length throughout, able to appreciate it from outside, than constantly be readjusting my position on something like this.

As the surprise wears off, and the silence (laptop fan background noise) returns as the dominant sound in my ears I find myself feeling... not a lot. There are some tracks on here that I really like, there were a few I really didn't, and a bunch that I recognise mostly as the background sounds to my teenage years - no strong feelings. It's alright, I guess, but Albarn has done much better since.

Black River Falls - Cathal Coughlan

Track list:

1. The Ghost Of Limehouse Cut
2. Officer Material
3. The Bacon Singer
4. Black River Falls
5. Payday
6. Dark Parlour
7. Out Among The Ruins
8. God Bless Mr X
9. Frankfurt Cowboy Yodel
10. NC
11. Whitechapel Mound
12. Cast Me Out In My Hometown

Running time: 51 minutes
Released: 2000

Ah, now I get to revisit a real gem, a true favourite. Black River Falls might be 15 years old now but its been in my life a bit less than that. I've written briefly on Big Sleeping House about how I stumbled on Cathal Coughlan and his fantastic singing as a result of a cover version on a special edition I bought because James Yorkston is one of my favourite ever music people (even if his most recent work drifts out of my interest more than I would like). Coughlan absolutely nailed his cover of Tender to the Blues and so I just had to go find more of his material. Whilst I love Microdisney as a result, it is this album as my perceived pinnacle of his solo work that shines brightest and longest, and it has a timeless quality to me.

It is from here I took the title for my Albion game - Out Among the Ruins - and from the very opening thrum of The Ghost of Limehouse Cut through to the sinister sounds of Cast Me Out In My Hometown it is a magnificent aural journey we make, traveling on the back of that rich and emotion-filled voice. The first number is an example of crime that doesn't pay, a nice tempo, a threatening riff, real darkness in the construction. This post is coming 3 days later than planned after evenings wiped out by bad circumstance. A pity, as I was really looking forward to to doing it Wednesday evening. Now it's Saturday and I am just about starting to feel human again. Coughlan's acerbic vocals are perhaps not what you might think of as relaxing, but there is a warmth in there too. Somehow he manages to be both welcoming and dismissive at the same time.

Officer Material has a very different feel, wistful, and more melodic. I really like the lilt of this one, gently rolling with a much slower pace to the song and open and accessible passages, not closed off and tense as in Limehouse. The piece degenerates a little in its closing but not enough to make me think anything other than fondly of it, before a driving percussion and stand-up (I reckon) bass combination comes in to drive The Bacon Singer. This tune was never the favourite others here are and I am forever thinking this track is actually on Foburg rather than Black River Falls. It moves at a clip, which I rather like, but it is the chorus that falls slightly flat for me. I do love the mic-drop at the end though, and the way that gives way to a really tense acoustic guitar opening for the title track.

Black River Falls gives Coughlan ample license to show off his vocal talents. Light little guitar, haunting strings, melody floating up and then diving down, there is drama in this telling. It feels like a performance or a tale to be shared rather than a simple song, the atmosphere dripping off it is just fantastic, mournful and compelling without being overpowering. I am hard pushed to call a favourite tune from the disc because it is filled with moments like this, and the next tune up is no different. A really solid base, with a nice little melody layered on it, then expression galore from Cathal's voice. Payday is a dark song, dark and slightly crazy. I think my love for these songs can be tied up nicely with my appreciation of the dark, thematic aspects of  urban fantasy/modern occult stories. They share that atmosphere and tension, yet with moments of lightness that surprise you. The capacity of music to create vivid imagery never fails to astound me. A strong lyric can help a song build a really clear picture but it is far from required. 

I am but half-way through but it feels like it will be over too soon, cocooned as I am in wonderful swirling melody and most pertinently the highs and lows of Coughlan's vocal. Out Among the Ruins is another real favourite, again combining a light touch composition with air and space with expression that goes from intense to soaring. There is a line in there that mentions Opus Dei that makes me long to run a conspiracy game, but it was the title itself (also a chorus lyric) that flooded to mind when I was thinking about how I might structure a game in Albion - a post-environmental apocalypse Britain where modern life has returned to renaissance-level technology, even though the song itself does nothing to speak to that. 

The next couple of songs are probably the weakest on the disc, but I would still choose to listen to them over much else that I have waded through in recent posts. At the risk of becoming repetitive, which even the best creators do sometimes (and I am not that!), it is all in that voice. There is no end of expression in there, depth and range that gives us tenderness, sadness, tunefulness and anger, oh my the anger. This is not screaming mindlessly. No, this is rage enunciated and delivered with precision and disdain. I am fond of a little bite in my music... the principled angst that appears on early Thea Gilmore records was one of the main draws for me. Coughlan takes that to another level. Where conveyance of that bite is often reliant on sharp and witty words, lest the song not carry a tune well, here I get the impression he could make a child's bedtime story sound like the world's worst insult whilst still keeping impeccably in tune and building an audible pleasure.

I am mildly distracted by both hunger (I am snacking on crackers, not great for me, but tasty!) and the closing moments of the first quarter final of the Rugby World Cup where Wales are just edging South Africa somehow. I think part of my problem is that I am very familiar with these tunes - the disc has been in my automotive selection for as far back as I can remember and it regularly gets pulled out of the 50 or so offering to serenade me as I make my way to work. As the disc winds down (in concert with the Rugby where the Springboks have just taken the lead at last) we are treated to a slow, descriptive number with menace present in the cleverly used guitar. I am struck by how much atmosphere is smashed into these tracks with relatively little instrumentation. A few well-chosen notes are all that is needed to create that tense, gloomy and oppressive sound - as typified by the final number. This sort of composition is simply made for Coughlan's voice and it delivers time and again on this record. So there, a true favourite, and one that I would heartily recommend anyone who likes broody atmospheric songs, performed with an unmatched aplomb and which manage to enthrall rather than overwhelm.

Animal Magic - Bonobo

Track list:

1. Intro
2. Sleepy Seven
3. Dinosaurs
4. Kota
5. Terrapin
6. The Plug
7. Shadowtricks
8. Gypsy
9. Sugar Rhyme
10. Silver

Running time: 44 minutes
Released: 2000

A firm favourite now, going back to when I first picked it up. This album was one of the reasons I started buying up electronica for a while. I am interested to see how it stands up to the passage of time and to a listen through in full. I know I still love these tracks when they show up in rotation (as Terrapin did on 1 November) - and the fact I remember that 2 weeks on says something.

The intro can be disregarded in shuffle, but in long form, it... no, it does not set things up well - there's too much dead space on the end before track 2 starts. With Sleepy Seven starts the love. The chimes and the beat already hit that laid back tone before the main themes kick in and then: relaxation. I get excited about this album because it is so immensely unexcitable, a paragon of chill-out. Yes, it is a style that deservedly takes a lot of flak for not really doing anything, but I do not feel that is a fair criticism of early Bonobo (I like his later work less, I have to say). There is a lot going on in this track, voice samples, chimes, beats, the theme, pattern breaks; there is always something to actually listen to whilst disengaging from your daily stresses and strains.

I am less fond of Dinosaurs; the rhythm grabs me less, and the drone-like quality to the theme is so-so, but the sampled muted trumpets I like. The track builds though, and improves as it goes a little before fizzling out. Kota always felt like token ethnicity as a title, not sure why, but as the layers build up over the looped string sample it does work to relax me - or maybe that's the booze. Finally got some long-awaited shelves up today; celebrating a much more spacious and clearer kitchen and hall. I think I like the melodic breaks in this track more than its staple pattern.

Terrapin is the tune that makes the album for me. As much as I adore Sleepy Seven, it is this track that will forever define Bonobo for me. Something about the structure of the main loops, call and answer, and then the up-and-down of the backing just really clicks for me. The vocal samples do not fit so well with the general ambiance but otherwise this is pretty much the perfect bliss out track for me. Things going on, really melodic, slow pace and just brought together perfectly with a light touch. The mood is maintained nicely by The Plug, where the clarinet (?) line is a particular joy but it is more fleeting and less prominent than I remember. The vocal sample is much better integrated though and the whole track simply carries on the wonderful mood that has been established already.

Shadowtricks changes that mood, but slooooows everything down, maintaining the relaxation that way. The titter of high notes occasionally sounds like something is about to fall over and need catching, but the introduction of a jazz trumpet sample quashes that or rather translates it to your eyelids. Unfortunately Gypsy is a little too repetitive and dull to maintain the nice detachment from reality, it breaks the spell a little, snapping me out of the trance. It has a darker theme, continued in the next track and whilst this is still pretty good at sloughing away the stresses and strains of the day, it does not give me the same emotional response that the first half of the album does.

Thankfully Silver is more in tune with that melodic approach seen earlier. It is lighter, using strings and more trumpets to create interest over a bustling bass. It is a nice closer, reaffirming my faith in the album. One thing this project seems to be teaching me is that I ascribe favourites based on emotional memories, but very often the albums that I give that tag do not stand up well, rather one or two really strong tracks stand out and inform my overall opinion. I often feel that if an album has 3 great tracks on it that it has been a good buy, which when you stop and think about it is often a terrible hit rate. I am also coming to the conclusion that my ability to enjoy the album as a long-form work has been undermined by so many years of shuffling everything. Yes, the car always gave me room for disc-based appreciation, but fundamentally when driving I am always concentrating on something else, so I can miss whole swathes without realising it.

I guess I am just frustrated that so many of these listens generate negative copy, even on the ones I really like. I would not be being honest if I held back the less positive thoughts when listening but I think I need a more affirmative way of phrasing things when there is good to communicate.

Animal Magic remains a favourite for its ability to create and maintain overall mood. There are only a couple of stand out tracks, but the others serve purpose in keeping you attuned to the downtempo, chilled ambiance. I think it is Bonobo's best record.

Abandoned Shopping Trolley Hotline - Gomez

Track List:

1. Shitbag 9
2. Bring Your Lovin' Back Here
3. Emergency Surgery
4. Hit On The Head
5. Flavors
6. 78 Stone Shuffle
7. We Haven't Turned Around [X-Ray Mix]
8. Buena Vista
9. Shitbag
10. Steve McCroski
11. Wharf Me
12. High On Liquid Skin
13. Rosemary
14. The Cowboy Song
15. Getting Better

Running time: 49 minutes
Released: 2000

So into proper titles now, but still flying back nearly 15 years.

The first thing I note looking down the track list is more profanity in titles; at least it is just profanity this time. Not clever but not mean spirited or offensive to me.

I remember hearing Gomez first on Later... around the time of the Mercury nod for their debut (the Mercury Prize will crop up a few times as a discovery point) and finding their evolution of Britpop more palatable than what had come before. This album, a couple of years later, was a collection of unreleased material, live recordings and B-sides from their early life. It is, therefore, quite hit and miss - more-so than albums tend to be anyway,

The opener is just an intro, then we get into an upbeat number that seems to me to be pretty typical of their more radio-friendly songs. Emergency Surgery, however, completely changes the tone (not in a good way in my book). Sparse sounds and an oddly delivered vocal line. It is an interesting combination, but not a song to really listen to. Hit On the Head continues that theme, but with a different vocalist. That's actually one of the things I liked about Gomez when I got into them, different singers for different songs (or parts of songs) because that was worked for the track.

Flavours is a hybrid of the style introduced with Emergency Surgery and the more established guitar-based sound. I actually really like this track because it shifts that latter point enough to create interest without going too far down the former route to lose musicality. It is not groundbreaking, just a good mixture of styles. 

78 Stone Wobble from Bring It On was the first Gomez song I remember hearing. I thought, at the time, that the live version here (titled 78 Stone Shuffle) instead is a superior track. Not sure whether this is just the live rendition or if there was more to it than that. However on this listen, I find myself tiring of the track pretty quickly and I cannot quite put my finger on why. I would rather it did not give way as it did though; this mix of We Haven't Turned Around I find very poor. I think that song was my favourite on Liquid Skin but the rendition here has none of the charm or easy sounds. Musically it is... challenging for my ears, and I find the vocal a lot harsher and less appropriate as a result. It is, however, much shorter. Thankfully.

So I am doing this listen as I waffle on whether to get outside and do some gardening. It looks a nice day, but I am fighting the great beast of "cannot be a***d" after what was a very busy week. I thought this would be a nice distraction.

At points it is. Buena Vista is my favourite Gomez song despite the length (I seem to be contradicting my stated preference a lot, eh?). The build, the song and the bluesy orchestration all work for me, there are echoes of Floyd in some of the playing in the first half and I find it a very easy listen. It could easily finish on a good length, but unlike some songs where the continuation feels like a bridge (or chorus) too far, the long lead out on this track feels appropriate. It helps that it is similar enough to feel at home with the opening, but different enough to sound like a change. Listening now, I think it has strands of The Stone Roses about it. The outro is too long though. The song should wind up at about the 7 minute mark, but there is still 2 minutes of less interesting wind-down to go. Yes, it is another change of tone, but it is so evidently lead-out that it may as well not be there. It does not destroy my love of the earlier part of the song though.

Unfortunately the rest of the album is very much less interesting. Shitbag actually crams a lot into its 1 minute run time, especially given the vocal does not start for 25 seconds or so; it is more pleasant than the name, but not of real interest. Steve McCroski is unpleasant, Wharf Me is too sparse for most of the track - only bursting into life sporadically. High On Liquid Skin could be interesting by construction, but frankly I find the actual musical lines uninteresting; what goes where has me paying attention but what I pick up makes me yawn. I was all set to be disparaging about Rosemary too - saying it was too slow, but I was allowing my fingers to get ahead of my ears and my memory to inform. Listening I find that my memory is a harsh critic - the tempo of the verse is fine; the vocal in the chorus could be a bit more lively though, and there is an extra minute of outro on the track that would be better excised.

The Cowboy Song is a funny little interlude before the album closes with a cover of the Beatles' Getting Better. I am not a Beatles fan, never have been; I can appreciate their role in the history of music without appreciating the music they produced as a group. In fact at the time I first heard this I did not even realise this was a Beatles cover. I think it is probably a good cover, though. At least I like the song I hear here. The structure suits the vocal talent, there's a good twang on the guitar and it closes the album well, although again the last minute could probably be removed with little loss.

Its coming up to lunchtime; gardening has been successfully delayed until after food, at least.

400% Dynamite - Various Artists

Track List:

1. Bongo Herman - Chairman of the Board
3. Prince Buster - Girl Why Don't You Answer
4. Barrington Levy - Under Me Sensi
5. Lloyd Robinson - Cuss Cuss
6. King Tubby - King Tubby Dub
7. Dennis Alcapone - Cassius Clay
8. Honey Boy Martin - Dreader than Dread
9. Toots and the Maytals - 54 46 Was My Number
10. General Degree - Pot Cover
11. Paris Connection - Who's That Lady
12. U-roy - Stick Together
13. Lyn Taitt - Soul Stew
14. Granville williams Orchestra - Hi life
15. Cimarons - We Are Not the Same

Running time: 44 minutes
Released: 2000

A compilation which I can only assume must have been a gift at some point. Missing track 2 (Tenor Saw & Buju Banton -  Ring The Alarm Quick) for some reason. Ho-hum.

54 46 Was My Number becomes the first track to feature twice in this play-log, which is probably going to be the most noticeable thing about this post.

I suspect casualties here before I begin, and the first track confirms that will be the case. It is just not my cup of tea. I am hopeful of find something worth keeping in the midst of this somewhere though.

I am not sure that I can find anything interesting to add about this - good nor bad. I have already spilled a few of my feelings on reggae when listening to Toots and the Maytals, so I do not want to re-cover that ground. My opinion of the music is not that low so there are no interesting rants, negative dissection or similar to share, and I am not positively enough engaged to generate commentary. That said, I quite like Under Me Sensi - it presents with a more engaging style and whilst it is a little too repetitive for my case, the "woah" vocal has a charm.

When that song ends, I get a surprise. The ordering of tracks in my library is not as per the list in the caption here (which was pulled from Amazon) but I am not about to rearrange it now. Maybe the tags got screwed somehow. 

I am pleasantly surprised by what I am hearing though, and 5 tracks in, only 2 are for the chop. 54 46 will get added to this (I can no reason to keep a second version) but the album is shaping up better than expected. I recognise King Tubby Dub from plays that came up on library shuffle previously and it is another keeper. I think the bass is slightly lighter than on most of the Jamaican music I have been exposed to over the years, and it makes for a more pleasant sound in my book. Personal taste, and all, but apparently enough for me to have previously "loved" it on LastFM. I cannot say the same for Dreader than Dread, which I just find dull, or Cassius Clay which feels bland somehow for a track about one of history's greatest sporting icons.

In my minds eye Pot Cover would be so much better if it was actually a cover of Pot by The Phoenix Foundation (from Buffalo) - that would be one hell of an interesting song to see done in different styles but keeping the charm.

It seems that the Amazon listing even gets a track name wrong. "Soul Stew" should be "Soul Food". I feel that I should change this, but if I do I would also feel compelled to sort out the ordering too and frankly I cannot be bothered with that faff so I will instead leave the error there.

As the album draws to a close I feel that actually it worked in general. Compilations are actually pretty decent windows on styles when you are not familiar with them, and shifting from artist to artist tends to make each track sound different. Comparing this listen to 20 Massive Hits it comes out favourably, as the Maytal's best of ended up feeling much more samey. I have kept 8 tracks in the end, discarding 6. I am happy with this paring down.

20 Massive Hits - Toots and the Maytals

Track List:

1. 54-46 That's My Number
2. Dr Lester
3. One Eye Enos
4. Alidina
5. Pressure Drop
6. Sweet & Dandy
7. Bam Bam
8. Night and Day
9. Monkey Man
10. Monkey Girl
11. Peeping Tom
12. Gold & Silver
13. Sun, Moon And Star
14. She's My Scorcher
15. Pee Pee Cluck Cluck
16. Do the Reggay
17. If You Act This Way
18. It Must Be True Love
19. Time Tough
20. Funky Kingston

Running Time: 62 minutes
Released: 2000

The first "best of" in this list. A considered "I should widen my exposure in this direction" buy. Reggae is not necessarily a genre I have a huge amount of time for (though there is more than just this album in my library) so this stands out a bit in that regard.

That reminds me of a Meta post I might make in a few entries time about how useless genre-typing can be in music, and therefore why I have refused to use any in the labels. For another time.

I am quite glad most of the tunes are short. As I launch into the listen it strikes me that too long of any one groove here might cause me to lose interest. However if each song is over before the repetitive nature of the backing track gets too old that problem goes away, and there is definitely a magic quality to Toots' voice even if a lot of what he is singing appears to be nonsense on first contact. This feels born of is place and time... it is not sunny here at all and it feels like this album would be better accompanied by a strong sun and lazy day. Alas; 1 of 2 is not sufficient.

I reckon that as the tracks go by I will recognise a lot more musically that I do by name - either from random plays in my history or through exposure in wider media. At the moment though, I find that listening is not prompting much in the way of intelligible thought to commit to type. It is pleasant enough but not engaging me... it feels like maybe there is an element missing in many of the tracks; something to sit over the groove and encourage tuning in rather than tuning out. I cannot quite put my finger on it.

Reading up on their LastFM biography, I had not realised that the Maytals were around for the birth of reggae as a term, if not as a style. Of course, that could be half-truth or outright lie for all I know.

Ah, Bam Bam... this is familiar though I can't think what it is that sampled it, for I am certain it is a sample that I recognise not this rendition. Food for thought; it may annoy me. I suppose I could Google it but I do not like admitting a failure of my recollection when "I'll get it, I just need a moment". Hah!

Night and Day is a very different sound, and hey there is more going on too, or maybe it just seems so because the relative levels are different. Either way it is a much more interesting listen, though paradoxically also less pleasing a track.

Whilst I can see the appeal of this music as an accompaniment to chilling, it does not quite do it for me. Trying to articulate why: the patterns are repeated pretty reliably and consistently. This is great for helping you zone out and lay back. However I personally find that most of the time the strength of the bass (a great plus-point for many fans, I am sure) is just a touch too much for comfort. Meanwhile the staccato nature of the melodies I find to be less conducive to relaxation than a smoother sound that flows over me.  That would be fine if it encouraged an "active" attention in that chilling - but as mentioned above, in most tracks here there is not enough going on in those melodies to make my ears stand to attention. This deconstruction is more about what I look for in a relaxation tune than a critique of the style and it goes some way to explaining why this listen is not really working for me. I suppose the other side of that is that I am not even trying to relax, really, since I am typing this. Maybe I should leave the keys for a bit.

I think I picked the wrong time to do that... the chicken crowing at the start of Pee Pee Cluck Cluck (what were they thinking?) was an unpleasant call to attention. ... Nah, sitting back is not helping; wrong music/wrong mood to relax - though It Must Be True Love is much more suitable for that.

I do not expect to clear Toots and the Maytals from my library. I think that if I was to hear the odd tune now and again I would appreciate it more than now, listening to 20 back-to-back. I do not dislike it, I just do not find an hour of it either stimulating or relaxing. I can hear the differences between each song well enough (and for that it is certainly better than, say, The 5th Exotic) but there is a sameness to proceeding through this collection that transcends that and that I find hard to communicate.

That trend is bucked a little bit at the end of the album somehow - I think it may be down to more recognisible songs - but not enough to dispel the overall impression.