The Quiet Life
Japan
1979
Tracks
1. Quiet Life
2. Fall In Love With Me
3. Despair
4. In Vogue
5. Halloween
6. All Tomorrow's Parties
7. Alien
8. Other Side Of Life
I might jinx us here, but we are officially on a streak of amazing albums. Look at me, getting cocky. This album wasn't quite as good as yesterday's, but a four star album is nothing to sneeze (or do something equally gross) at.
Synth pop isn't exactly my thing and I expected to be overwhelmed at the band's pretension. Especially given their...image. But the music was actually very tangible and easy to tap into. I have to give it four stars because it does falter toward the end. Still, the beginning more than makes up for it.
I always sort of loathe the expression "ahead of their time" but the description kind of fits here. Tomorrow: Broken English.
RATING: 4/5
London Calling
The Clash
1979
Tracks
1. London Calling
2. Brand New Cadillac
3. Jimmy Jazz
4. Hateful
5. Rudie Can't Fail
6. Spanish Bombs
7. Right Profile
8. Lost In The Supermarket
9. Clampdown
10. Guns Of Brixton
11. Wrong 'em Boyo
12. Koka Kola
13. The Card Cheat
14. Lover's Rock
15. Four Horsemen
16. I'm Not Down
17. Revolution Rock
18. Train In Vain
Two five stars albums in a row? This might be unprecedented. Hopefully we can keep the streak going with Japan tomorrow. We have Neil Young and Elvis Costello coming up soon as well so I am optimistic.
Where to begin with one of the most famous albums of all time? I think we have all heard "London Calling" which is a great song, despite the fact that some might find it overplayed. I didn't know what to expect with the other tracks, but there is truly not a bad song on this album. It's smart too; as the songs cover a wide range of topics including unemployment, drug use, and, of course, how hard it is to adult. It does have punk roots, after all.
Really, what am I going to say about this album that hasn't been said before? There is so much talent behind this that it is almost overwhelming. Definitely something everyone should listen to before they die.
RATING: 5/5
The Undertones
The Undertones
1979
Tracks
1. Family Entertainment
2. Girls Don't Like It
3. Male Model
4. I Gotta Getta
5. Wrong Way
6. Jump Boys
7. Here Comes The Summer
8. Billy's Third
9. Jimmy Jimmy
10. True Confessions
11. She's A Runaround
12. I Know A Girl
13. Listening In
14. Casbah Rock
This is the first piece of writing I am doing today, so I promise you won't get the usually complaint that I am burnt out from writing movie reviews. This is largely because the movie I am going to watch today hasn't loaded yet, but hey. It still counts.
There have been some good albums lately but I have held back on giving any the full five star rating, mostly because I have commitment issues. This was absolutely fantastic, though, so I have to go all the way. It is odd that this is classified as punk, as it actually seemed quite poppy to me. I mean, there were songs about girls on it! They weren't even angry, which was refreshing. I love the song "She's A Runaround" as I found the lyrics particularly relatable, given my current situation. I also enjoyed "I Know A Girl," which was actually a really sweet song. Can I call a punk band sweet?
Overall, an amazing album. My only complaint was that it was so short ("Casbah Rock" was only 50 seconds), but I suppose it's not a bad thing to leave wanting more.
RATING: 5/5
Risque
Chic
1979
Tracks
1. Good Times
2. Warm Summer Night
3. My Feet Keep Dancing
4. My Forbidden Lover
5. Can't Stand To Love You
6. Will You Cry (When You Hear This Song)
7. What About Me
I think this may be the last disco album on the List, which is a shame as I was really getting into it. While I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous Chic entry, I still had a great time with this.
I am sorry if this seems a bit rushed, but I only have a short time to write this and I am so close to getting caught up on all my blogs. Once again, the album blog is shortchanged. Truly the middle child of the group. This is a fun album, although I didn't feel like every track was impressive like I did with C'est Chic. For me, the best track was "Warm Summer Night" but I know people are more familiar with "Good Times" (which I thought was merely okay).
Goodbye disco. It had a short, but memorable, life.
RATING: 3/5
Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division
1979
Tracks
1. Disorder
2. Day Of The Lords
3. Candidate
4. Insight
5. New Dawn Fades
6. She's Lost Control
7. Shadowplay
8. Wilderness
9. Interzone
10. I Remember Nothing
I put off writing the review of this album, as I was writing approximately 5906 movie reviews and didn't have time. I might have waited a bit too long, as the specifics of this one are kind of fading from my memory. Still, I really enjoyed it so I will do my best.
I was a bit wary of this one, as the band name is a bit...odd. Apparently, the band is named after the groups of Jewish women kept in concentration camps for the sexual pleasure of the Nazis. So is this just a deliberate attempt to be perverse? I am not sure I get it and even more unsure if I want to.
But, like I said, I enjoyed this album. It's certainly a depressing album, but it is not upsetting to listen to; in fact, some of the songs were downright catchy. My favorite was "She Lost Control" but really, there is no bad track in this album.
Almost to the eighties!
RATING: 4/5
Fear of Music
Talking Heads
1979
Tracks
1. I Zimbra
2. Mind
3. Paper
4. Cities
5. Life During Wartime
6. Memories Can't Wait
7. Air
8. Heaven
9. Animals
10. Electric Guitar
11. Drugs
It's hard not to be disappointed by a band that is as hyped as Talking Heads. While I wouldn't call it bad by any means, I couldn't help thinking when it finished: that's it? Maybe my expectations were too high after "More Songs About Buildings and Food."
My favorite song is easily "Air," which is basically a protest that people don't understand that even something as simple as breathing can be difficult for someone suffering from depression. Or, at least, that's what I got out of it. I was able to glean some larger meaning from that song, but I confess I was not as successful with the others (i.e. "Paper").
I am not sure how many more Talking Heads albums there are on The List, but I hope if there are more the lyrical quality will improve somewhat. Still, a perfectly fine album.
RATING: 3/5
Live at the Witch Trials
The Fall
1979
Tracks
1. Frightened
2. Crap Rap 2/Like To Bioxn
3. Rebellious Jukebox
4. No X-mas For John Quays
5. Mother Sister
6. Industrial Estate
7. Underground Medecin
8. Two Steps Back
9. Live At The Witch Trials
10. Future Pasts
11. Music Scene
Well, we are back to poor quality albums. My sister wasn't with me yesterday when I listened to the Police album, but she did end up hearing this. She didn't believe me that things had been bearable yesterday. As we have The Clash and Elvis Costello coming up, I believe things will change soon.
I don't really have too much to say about this one, as I have written about 132 movie posts today. It was post punk at its worst. Pretentious with seemingly no reason for being so. My sister said it felt more like talking than singing. I wouldn't have minded if the lyrics had any poetic quality, but unfortunately it failed in this regard.
Just completely forgettable and not worthy of its place on The List.
RATING: 2/5
