FEATURE:
National Album Day
National Album Day rolls around again. There are cynics that ask what the point of the day is. After all, should we dedicate a day to albums? Wouldn’t it be best if we celebrate albums all year round instead? There is a case regarding the perennial nature of album, yet I think most of us sort of skip through tracks and it is quite rare we appreciate the fullness of records. Consider how many of us still buy vinyl. I think there are a lot of people who buy vinyl and never play them; maybe they do not investigate the material as much as possible, so it means you have all these records piling up. We do not buy C.D.s as much as we did and, when it comes to streaming, I do think most of us are handpicking tracks and not really digging that deep. I know there are people who still play albums in full but, on Saturday, make sure you dedicate some time to listen to at least one album in full. The theme of this year’s National Album Day is ‘don’t skip’; albums you listen to without missing a track. I will end this feature by mentioning five albums I will be playing on Saturday and one of them, Graceland by Paul Simon, is one I listen to without missing a beat. There are lots of great events happening to celebrate National Album Day, and I encourage you to do what you can. Whether it is something as simple as streaming an album or buying that vinyl you have always wanted. I have set aside five albums to play on Saturday – details are below – and it will be fun to dig into them. Have a think of the albums you’ll play and, before Saturday, get them set aside and…
Release Date: 25th August, 1986
Producer: Paul Simon
Label: Warner Bros.
Standout Track: Graceland
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/6WgGWYw6XXQyLTsWt7tXky?si=qBG5C6ndQMG-4QQIDaGllw
Review:
“With Graceland, Paul Simon hit on the idea of combining his always perceptive songwriting with the little-heard mbaqanga music of South Africa, creating a fascinating hybrid that re-enchanted his old audience and earned him a new one. It is true that the South African angle (including its controversial aspect during the apartheid days) was a powerful marketing tool and that the catchy music succeeded in presenting listeners with that magical combination: something they'd never heard before that nevertheless sounded familiar. As eclectic as any record Simon had made, it also delved into zydeco and conjunto-flavored rock & roll while marking a surprising new lyrical approach (presaged on some songs on Hearts and Bones); for the most part, Simon abandoned a linear, narrative approach to his words, instead drawing highly poetic ("Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"), abstract ("The Boy in the Bubble"), and satiric ("I Know What I Know") portraits of modern life, often charged by striking images and turns of phrase torn from the headlines or overheard in contemporary speech. An enormously successful record, Graceland became the standard against which subsequent musical experiments by major artists were measured” – AllMusic
Amy Winehouse – Frank
Release Date: 20th October, 2003
Producers: Commissioner Gordon/Jimmy Hogarth/Salaam Remi/Jony Rockstar/Matt Rowe/Amy Winehouse
Label: Island
Standout Track: In My Bed
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/3kGbxqlVl3LqjifxlubtcT?si=ogXJF1L7SY2v7hN9cXd0Sw
Review:
“Winehouse sounds as if she has performed a thousand times in smoky jazz clubs. So it comes as some surprise to learn that she is just 19 and was raised in north London.
Sitting somewhere between Nina Simone and Erykah Badu, Winehouse's sound is at once innocent and sleazy. She claims that she can only write about what she has already learned, but she makes some starkly candid and humorous social observations on the fun-poking Fuck Me Pumps and the brazen single, Stronger Than Me.
Standout track Take the Box is a stunningly soulful tale of returning an ex-lover's possessions and You Send Me Flying does just that, thanks to a colossal vocal talent.
October Song, meanwhile, forges uplifting jazz out of the death of a pet canary. There are contradictions - but it's hard not to hear the honesty and soul that resonates throughout this album” – The Guardian
The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour
Release Date: 8th December, 1967 (U.K.)
Producer: George Martin
Labels: Parlophone (U.K.)/Capitol (U.S.)
Standout Track: I Am the Walrus
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2BtE7qm1qzM80p9vLSiXkj?si=6WQgnFoTSLifK8elCpSEPw
Review:
“Of the three singles, the undisputed highlight is "Strawberry Fields Forever"/ "Penny Lane", John Lennon and Paul McCartney's tributes to their hometown, Liverpool. Slyly surreal, assisted by studio experimentation but not in debt to it, full of brass, harmonium, and strings, unmistakably English-- when critics call eccentric or baroque UK pop bands "Beatlesesque," this is the closest there is to a root for that adjective. There is no definitive Beatles sound, of course, but with a band that now functions as much as a common, multi-generational language as a group of musicians, it's no surprise that songs rooted in childhood-- the one experience most likely to seem shared and have common touchpoints-- are among their most universally beloved.
The rest of the singles collected here are no less familiar: Lennon's "All You Need Is Love" was initially completed up for an international TV special on BBC1-- its basic message was meant to translate to any language. Harrison's guitar solo, producer George Martin's strings, and the parade of intertextual musical references that start and close the piece elevate it above hippie hymn. Its flipside, "Baby You're a Rich Man", is less successful, a second-rate take on John Lennon's money-isn't-everything theme from the considerably stronger "And Your Bird Can Sing". It's the one lesser moment on an otherwise massively rewarding compilation” – Pitchfork
Kate Bush – Never for Ever
Release Date: 7th September, 1980
Producers: Kate Bush/Jon Kelly
Labels: EMI (U.K.)/EMI America (U.S.)
Standout Track: Babooshka
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4MYtX4Kta7FL4NVUE0FYws?si=Mvfz8bUwRLaECwLg3ot-sQ
Review:
“Never for Ever has Kate Bush sounding vocally stable and more confident, taking what she had put into her debut single "Wuthering Heights" from 1978 and administering those facets into most of the album's content. Never for Ever went to number one in the U.K., on the strength of three singles that made her country's Top 20. Both "Breathing" and "Army Dreamers" went to number 16, while "Babooshka" was her first Top Five single since "Wuthering Heights." Bush's dramatics and theatrical approach to singing begin to solidify on Never for Ever, and her style brandishes avid seriousness without sounding flighty or absurd. "Breathing," about the repercussions of nuclear war, conveys enough passion and vocal curvatures to make her concern sound convincing, while "Army Dreamers" bounces her voice up and down without getting out of hand. "Babooshka"'s motherly charm and flexible chorus make it one of her best tracks, proving that she can make the simplest of lyrics work for her through her tailored vocal acrobatics. The rest of the album isn't quite as firm as her singles, but they all sport a more appeasing and accustomed sound than some of her past works, and she does manage to keep her identity and characteristics intact. She bettered this formula for 1985's Hounds of Love, making that album's "Running Up That Hill" her only Top 40 single in the U.S., peaking at number 30” – AllMusic
Steely Dan – Can’t Buy a Thrill
Release Date: November 1972
Producer: Gary Katz
Label: ABC
Standout Track: Midnite Cruiser
Buy: https://www.discogs.com/Steely-Dan-Cant-Buy-A-Thrill/release/1580493
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4Gh6pRaXqXTtJx4plAJbBw?si=z105nj3HQ5iTAMITHi1rmw
Review:
““Reelin’ in the Years” is a great jam all-around – piano, bass, drums, vocal harmonies and, of course, guitars led by New York session man Elliott Randall – it is a true classic rock classic. This became the second hit song from Can’t Buy a Thrill. Becker’s dryly sarcastic lyrics and thumping bass line made it one the most overtly sharp and heavy tunes in the Steely Dan catalog.
The rest of side two contains lesser known songs which are solid nonetheless. “Fire in the Hole” contains a nice choppy piano by Fagen and pedal steel guitar by Baxter. “Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)” is the second song to feature Palmer on lead vocals and should be considered a great soft rock classic with a bouncy bass line by Becker. “Change of the Guard” is another pop-oriented song with great electric piano and a definite late 1970s Billy Joel vibe, while “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again” is like a mini-prog rock song with good extended lead parts and interesting effects. This last song is also notable as one that contains co-lead vocals by Becker, a rarity.
Can’t Buy a Thrill was the first of seven top-notch albums by Steely Dan that extended through the rest of the decade into 1980, the pinnacle being 1977’s Aja. Although the group ceased from touring altogether in 1975, they still produced enough critically acclaimed albums and radio hits to make them one of the top acts of the 1970s” – Classic Rock