Pay The Devil - 2006There not without a reason they call Van Morrison "The Belfast Cowboy". Now his latest album release 'Pay The Devil', that good reason has resulted in a great new album. From the start, the deeply soulful sounds of the American South helped inspire Morrison to one of the most enduring and consistently impressive careers in music history. For decades he's drawn upon the greats of Rhythm & Blues to create his own unique and influential blend of soul and Celtic influences. On 'Pay The Devil', Morrison explores his inner cowboy more than ever before -- recording a compelling mix of his favorite country compositions as well as a few equally strong originals that more than earn their place among such distinguished company. Those who have been following Van Morrison for years might praise him for his remarkable range in taking this turn down a country road. To listen to 'Pay The Devil', one might naturally think that Morrison has traveled to Nashville and handed himself over to Music City's finest players and producers. Remarkably, Morrison has done nothing of the sort - recording 'Pay The Devil' in Ireland with the same wonderful musicians who have been playing with him for years now with exceptional results. Even more remarkably, it turns out that Morrison has never even been to Nashville before. Regardless of that, he has made a classic album that sounds like Nashville at its finest and stands as tall as anything that's come out of the town in recent years. 'Pay The Devil' is not just great country music, it's great music - whatever country you happen to come from. And that's just the sort of expectations we have from this great musician.
Back In Black - 1980After the death of band member Bon Scott, the australian hard rock band AC/DC had their future in much doubt. But in an unprecedented move, the band employed Brian Johnson from Geordie and then proceeded to make undoubtably the best album of their career. These guys have always been riff based with great beats and choruses, and they take those elements to another level here, while Johnson gave the band a unique new screecher who if anything had an even more distinctive voice than Bon. Johnson fit right in with the band, who, in a fittingly tasteless toast to their fallen friend, lovingly wrote “Have A Drink On Me,” which brought them criticism but which Bon almost certainly would’ve loved had he lived. Besides, since when did AC/DC ever try to please anyone but themselves and their fans?Their blues-based thunder, endearing bravado, and knowing humor come across more powerfully than ever on this landmark release. In addition, Mutt Lange’s production is phenomenal and every song on the album is distinguishable from the next, quite a feat for an AC/DC album. “Back In Black,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” and “Hells Bells,” are all certified hard rock classics, but amazingly, lesser known album tracks such as “Shoot To Thrill,” “What Do You Do For Money Honey,” “Rock n’ Roll ‘Aint Noise Pollution,” and “Let Me Put My Love Into You” are also outrageously good. Sure, "Shake A Leg" recycles the riff from "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" far too closely, and "Given The Dog A Bone" is cartoonishly unsubtle even for them, but these are minor quibbles about what is definitely a major hard rock album. Simply put, at this point in time AC/DC (not The Clash and certainly not The Rolling Stones) was the best band in the world.
Urban Hyms - 1997A curious album of many musical styles, with the ultra-soulful voice of Richard Ashcroft making this one of the stand-out albums of Britpop.The album starts off with the aptly titled, 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' - a big track for The Verve, and costly, too! Whatever, it's an inventive sampling of the old Stones track, 'The Last Time'.This is an album of searing intensity, with Richard Ashcroft revealing a wide vocal range - from the raucous 'Rolling People', to the bewitchingly beautiful melancholy of the 'The Drugs Don't Work' (surely one of the greatest songs of the '90s). It's The Verve's best song, and ideally suited for Ashcroft's voice, as he wrings out every piece of emotion. 'Lucky Man' is another high quality ballad, with a superb, subtle arrangement which sweeps you up.Other eminent tracks are 'Sonnet' - a classy song, with quality guitar work and a tight rhythm; 'One Day', 'This Time', 'Velvet Morning', and 'Come On' - a loud, vertiginous, in-your-face track - ideal for anyone in a monster bad mood.Even the track I didn't like - 'Neon Wilderness' - I found myself humming subconsciously. On this album The Verve prove themselves to be a proficient band - skilful in their carrying off of so many moods and sounds - encompassing heavy rock, psychedelia, indie, folk, soul, blues (dig the wah wah!), but ultimately having a unique sound. Never was a band more appropriately named.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - 1967The Beatles took four months, 700 hours and $100,000 to conceive what was...and still is the standard to which all rock recordings are compared. If you're not familiar with it and you're thinking, "What's this special about this Beatles album, 30 years after it was released? No one listens to 'them' anymore!" But if you dismiss it just because it's 'old', you're missing a classic, an album that has been described by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as 'the apotheosis of rock'.At the time of its release in 1967, it immediately changed the idea of what a rock band could achieve, not only in the rock community but also in the mainstream, which had previously dismissed the genre as child's play. Rock music before this was little more than an excuse for musicians to let their larynx loose and their hair down. Sgt. Pepper's however took rock music to the next plane, taking it from the frivolity of its early years to an incredible fusion of musical expression, drawing from R'n'R and R&B, from Dylan and the poets, from thoughts and music from India. Challenging reason and warming the heart, it contained songs that would be forever fresh and would set the standards for newcomers to compare themselves. The title track, in which the Beatles pose as the fictional Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and invite you to 'sit back and let the evening flow' is a perfect example of the Lennon/McCartney duo's ability to combine their radically different styles of music - Lennon being the essential rocker, McCartney the more melodic tunesmith. McCartney somewhat dominates the album in terms of compositions (Getting Better, Fixing a Hole, She's Leaving Home, When I'm Sixty-four, Lovely Rita, and the title track) and he sets the tone for the album. His earlier works were more light-hearted and somewhat trite, but in Sgt. Pepper's his sense of rhythm and devious arrangements come to the fore. George Harrison's sitar also finds space in this album with the track Within you, without you which combines the strains of rock with Indian classical music! Lennon's contributions however, are few and far between, but a few of his gems are evident. With a Little Help from My Friends (the theme song for The Wonder Years was based on this song) is a friendly, bluesy pop song that hides some genuine Lennon anguish, a la Help! The notorious Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds remains one of the touchstones of psychedelia, thanks to its inventive arrangement. The title of the song, which has lent itself to much speculation was actually based on a drawing by his young son Julian. Lennon is also the mastermind behind most of A Day in the Life, the song that brought a monumental close to an already stunning album and the centerpiece of Sgt. Pepper's... A haunting number that skillfully blends Lennon's verse and chorus with McCartney's bridge, A Day in the Life is surely one of their greatest recorded musical achievements ever, the orchestral crescendos alternating with the compelling piano chords, a perfect example of his genius.It is possible that first-time listeners may find Sgt. Pepper's a little disappointing, in the light of its reputation and years of being force-fed hype that claims it is the greatest album of all time. They may find it quaint or antiquated, rather than charming, and its few flaws may stand out larger due to the hype. After all, they have grown accustomed to the innovations that were pioneered here. However there are no albums quite as historically important as this. After Sgt. Pepper's..., there were no longer any rules to follow, no clear boundaries of genre - rock and pop bands could try anything, for better or worse.Ironically, few ever tried to achieve the sweeping, all-encompassing embrace of music as the Beatles did here. Don't dismiss this album because of it's age...because if you do, you're not missing out on a rock band, you're missing out on a 20th century phenomenon. The Beatles don't just represent an era of music, their music is timeless - they represent a genre, one which they defined themselves. They represent, in the words of Derek Taylor "the 20th century's greatest romance".