10 Elemental Connections: Earth and Air

Thursday, 22 December 2011 17:56

Following on from Fire and Water, here are the final two elements: Earth and Air. Let's see what pot pouri of elemental musical magic we can conjure with connections to the ground beneath our feet, and the winds above us

1. WindPower (Thomas Dolby)

Mr Dolby tells us about the advantages of renewable energy from his 1982 album The Golden Age of Wireless. Branded “synthpop” there’s actually a lot more going on- Let’s get those wind turbines up and running people!

 

2. Earth Song (Michael Jackson)

 

Written by Michael Jackson in 1995, "Earth Song" was accompanied by a lavish music video shot in four geographical regions. It was about the destruction and rebirth of Earth and went on to receive a Grammy nomination in 1997. The song was a top five hit in most European countries. In the United Kingdom, it remains Jackson's best-selling single and was the country's 1995 Christmas number-one single.

 

3. My City Was Gone (The Pretenders)

Chrissie Hynde sings about the evils of land use and zoning. Her voice drips with sarcasm and disgust for a “government that had no pride” that allowed her city’s downtown to be hollowed out, filled with nothing but desultory parking lots, even as the suburbs sprawled inexorably outward: “The farms of Ohio had been replaced by shopping malls, and muzak filled the air from Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls.”  Shame on us all as we shop for those last minute bargains at the Mall…  It was on the B-Side of the single “Back on the Chain Gang” released in November 1982.

 

4. One Sweet World (The Dave Matthews Band)

 

Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991.  This song has the lyrics:

Nine planets round the sun /Only one does the sun embrace /Upon this watered one /So much we take for granted /So let us sleep outside tonight /Lay down in our mother’s arms /For here we can rest safely

 

5.  Airships (VNV Nation)

Aaahh bring back the golden age of dirigibles, those vast whales of the sky floating around! This is one of many VNV (Victory Not Vengeance) tunes about looking after the environment, and putting back what we’ve taken out.

 

 

6. Mother Earth (Neil Young)

Here are some of the lyrics from Neil Young’s sad song to his Mother Earth: Oh, Mother Earth/With your fields of green/Once more laid down/by the hungry hand/How long can you give and not receive /And feed this world/ruled by greed. Then he climbed into his Pontiac Firebird and roared off to the airport to jet to his next gig. To be fair, he has done a lot of benefit gigs for US farmers- as can be seen in the video.

 

 

7. Hurricane (Vow Wow)

 

At the top of the Beaufort scale, the Hurricane is one of the most destructive of Mother Earth’s powers. Here are the Japanese Band Vow Wow, giving a whirlwind performance of their song Hurricane. Note the pint-size singer’s voice: he has a vibrato to die for and it sounds like it’s coming from someone who should be built like a Brick Factory rather than a Yellow Lego Wendy House!

 

8. Earth is not Room Enough (The Groundhogs)

 

The Mighty Groundhogs try to save the world with this album full of field-friendly frolics. Unfortunately they also stuck on the end of the album an absolutely appaling instrumental version of Amazing Grace. Enough to want to make you holiday at a vulture-speckled land-fill site in the height of Summer. MMmm breathe in those fumes!

 

9. Heavy Horses (Jethro Tull)

A song and album title from Ian Anderson’s merry men , here extolling the virtues of turning one’s back on cars and petrol and returning to the idyllic days of heavy (ie Shire) horses ploughing English fields under a tumbling sky. A whimsical treat, and quite appropriate for a band named after the inventor of the Seed Drill during the English Agricultural Revolution.

 

10.  Desert Wind (Banco de Gaia)

 

The very eco-conscious Toby Marks formed his band Banco de Gaia: World Bank- but more accurately Bounty of Mother Earth, in 1989. Lots of Middle Eastern and Arabic influences in the electronic and chill-out tunes.  Here the band have Ofra Haza’s distinctive singing, like, well… like a desert wind I guess!

 

 

 

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10 Elemental Connections: Water

Thursday, 22 December 2011 17:14

The next element up for musical examination is the one used to extinguish Fire, H20- water.  So don your sou' wester, turn up your collar and let's stride out to embrace our wet friend with a tune or two!

1. After the Flood (Van Der Graaf Generator)

Our English Prog Rockers tell us a cheery tale about the ice caps melting and drowning mankind. Sound a familiar tale about global warming? Well this was written in 1969, and appears on VDGG’s second album “The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other” which comes from the quote “We're all awash in a sea of blood, and the least we can do is wave to each other’ (by the English painter, John Minton). Cheerful bunch of chaps!

2. Cry Me a River (Justin Timberlake)

A great song from Timbers, the video has lots of atmospheric rain in it, and was a big hit. He says it was not about the break up of his relationship with Britney Spears.   The music video depicts him exacting revenge upon Spears- sorry.. not Spears-  by breaking into her house and filming himself with another woman kissing passionately, and watching as she returns to find the video playing on her television.

 

3. Down by the Seaside (Led Zeppelin)

The song was originally written as an acoustic piece by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant at Bron-Yr-Aur, the cottage in Wales where the two went after their 1970 concert tour of the United States. It was then recorded in 1971 as an electric arrangement and was intended for release on Led Zeppelin IV but was held over and eventually placed on Physical Graffiti. It was never performed live, but is a great little song.  There’s an interesting version of the song on the 1995 Led Zeppelin tribute album Encomium. Percy Plant sings a duet with Tori Amos.

 

 4. Green River (Credence Clearwater Revival)

With water in their name, it was only right that John Fogerty should have a hit single with a simple but catchy little guitar riff. It was also the name of their third album.

 

5. Water (Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come)

After two and a half minutes of the band mucking around, this becomes a beautiful song, sung with real feeling by our Arthur. I saw this band at the London School of Economics, Houghton Street, off Aldwych in Central London in 1971. Arthur was dressed as a set of traffic lights, and later as a massive galleon. He also sung and “played” a really early version of the Drum Machine, nicknamed Ace Bentley after the name of the machine- the Ace Tone Bentley Rhythm Ace.  His was the first rock band to use electronic percussion live.

 

6. Many Rivers to Cross (Jimmy Cliff)

This song was written and recorded by Jimmy Cliff in 1969. It has been covered, both well and woefully, by many artists including Cher, UB40, Desmond Dekker, the Animals, Linda Ronstadt, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Joe Cocker and Annie Lennox.

 

7. Orinoco Flow (Sail away) Enya

The Orinoco River flows across South America. It is about 1,300 miles long and goes through parts of Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. However the song's title refers to Orinoco Studios in London, in which this and the rest of Enya’s Watermark album was recorded. Released as a single this was Enya's first hit. It got a lot of exposure and was released as a single after getting airplay on The Steve Wright Show on BBC Radio One in the UK.

 

8. Sea Cruise (Frankie Ford)

I hope you’ve got your sea legs because we’re heading out on a "Sea Cruise" oo-wee baby! This is a song written and sung by Huey "Piano" Smith. The song was initially covered by Frankie Ford in 1959. The record sold over one million copies, gaining gold disc status. It was later covered by Herman’s Hermits, the beach Boys, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, John Fogerty of CCR, and Status Quo.

 

9. (Just) Take a Pebble (and cast it to the sea) ELP

From Emerson Lake and Palmer’s eponymous first album (1970), this track takes up the bulk of the first side- and is (if truth be told) rather a long and rambling affair. More three hours in a leaky row boat on a small stagnant pond than a powerboat trip up the Thames. But it features some nice dripping water sounds from Keth Emerson’s Series 1 Moog Synthesiser (see pic). I saw them at Lewisham Odeon, South East London in the early seventies, and they had no fewer than 6 large fans around the Moog to keep it cool and in tune!

 

10. Songs of the Humpback Whale

Ok, you may argue that this is gone too darn tree-hugging far (or maybe seaweed hugging?) but I would argue that the Humpback whales do “sing” and therefore are legitimately included!

 

 

There are a number of ambient albums blending the sounds of the whale with natural instruments:

http://www.newearthrecords.com/downloads/samples/whaleSong/t3.mp3

Or maybe you just find the whole thing too fishy. And yes, I do know that whales are mammals. And Porpoises are insects.

 http://www.oceanmammalinst.org/songs/hmpback1.wav

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Keep it in the Family! 10 Musical Connections

Wednesday, 14 December 2011 15:48

Here we look at familial musical harmony, be it brothers, sisters, dads and daughters, or the entire family. While some brothers may fight, some sisters bite 'n scratch, and some parents act as dictatorial impresarios bending their offspring to their musicbiz wills, there’s no doubt that some mighty fine music has grown out of blood being thicker than water, and tighter than a snare drum skin.  

And there’s a joker in the pack. One of the 10 contains people who are NOT related- can you guess which one?

 1. Kim and Marty Wilde

Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) burst onto the music scene in 1981 with the number 2 UK Singles Chart new wave classic "Kids in America". In 1987 she had a major hit in the United States when her version of The Supremes' classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On" topped the charts. Her father, Marty Wilde, was a leading British rock and roll singer of the late 1950’s, along with Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard. Kim and Marty recorded a number of songs together, including Elton John’s song “Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word.” Marty still tours with his daughter and Kim’s younger sister, Roxanne.

 

2.  The Jackson 5

Arguably the most famous family group ever! Can you name all five shown here (answer at foot of list) and no, there’s no LaToya or Janet!

The Jacksons were very influential in their day, but it was Michael Jackson who went on to become a mega star until his untimely and preventable death in 2009.

 

 3. The Kinks

Brothers Ray and Dave Davie were the core of the quintessentially English group the Kinks, who formed in 1964 in Muswell Hill, London. The Kinks had many hits including All Day and all of the Night, Lola, Waterloo Sunset, Sunny Afternoon and You Really Got Me, which some argue was the birth of heavy metal and others, the first punk single! The brothers used to fight regularly both on and off stage, but they both were hugely influential.

 

 

 4.  The Walker Brothers

The Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens), and Gary Leeds (eventually known as Gary Walker).  So you see, none of them were related- all adopted the surname Walker! After moving to Britain they had a number of top ten albums and singles in the mid 1960s, including the No 1 chart hits "Make It Easy on Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)", both of which did better in the UK than in the US.

 

 

 

 

5. The Ronettes

The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with seminal producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector); her older sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley. The group began singing as teenagers in Spanish Harlem, where they grew up. They had big hits with Be My Baby and Walking in the rain. It is said that Amy Winehouse’s fashion style and some of her vocal arrangements were influenced by the Ronettes.

 

 

 

6. The Osmonds

With sales of over 100 million records worldwide, this family of devout Mormons from Utah, USA, had many hits and for a while gave rise to Osmondmania in many countries. At the point of their greatest success there were 5 brothers in the band- Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Donny and Jay. Later little Jimmy Osmond had a solo hit in the UK with the truly appalling “Long Haired Lover from Liverpool” while Marie Osmond had a hit with the single Paper Woses, sorry Roses!

 

 

 

 

 7.  Sparks

A highly influential band who never seem to get the full recognition they reserve, the Mael brothers, Ron and Russell are skilful composers and musicians and Russ has a flexible and distinctive voice. Their first hit was “This Town ain’t Big enough for the Both of Us” in 1974, which reached No 2 in the UK. They have been through a number of musical genre changes, including glam pop, power pop, electronic dance, mainstream pop and most recently chamber pop! Versatile or what? Sometimes compared to The Pet Shop Boys.

 

 

 

8. AC/DC

 Angus (left) and Malcolm Young, are the brothers from down-under who formed AC/DC. While Angus is the diminutive lead rocker on stage with his velvet schoolboy’s outfit, duck walk dancing and wild solos, it’s his brother Malcolm that is the Band’s foundation, not only playing a solid rhythm, but coming up with nearly all of their song riffs. Strewth, Bruce, they be a couple of real Rockin’ Cobber-brothers!  

 

9.  The Beach Boys

Formed in 1961 in surf-torn California, the band initially contained three of the Wilson brothers: Dennis, Brian and Carl. Need I say they were huge and hugely influential? And don’t forget sometimes experimental- “Good Vibrations” featured one of the earliest electronic instruments, a Theremin, later used by Led Zeppelin on Whole Lotta Love.

 

 Here they are performing Barbara Ann live on a US TV show, in their trademark black and white striped shirts!

 

 

10. Mel & Kim

 Mel and Kim were the British pop duo, born of Jamaican parents, comprising sisters Melanie and Kim Appleby. They achieved success between 1986 and 1988 before, very sadly, Melanie succumbed to a cancer-related illness in 1990. They had some great tunes and moves, including Respectable and That’s the Way it is. All their UK singles hit the top 10.

 

Here are the sisters looking very respectable indeed on Top of the Pops:

 

Finally-

Jackson Five members (see 2 above)

Did you get them all right? The Jackson Five were: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and of course, Michael.

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10 Worst Album Sleeves

Wednesday, 07 December 2011 20:54

There's no shortage of album sleeves that make you cringe, wince or utter the words ''Oh Please!''  One wonders with some of them whether they were genuinely making an effort to attract sales, or frighten people away. Some of course were out to shock, such as the legendary album sleeved planned in the Mockumentary “Spinal Tap” for the band’s come-back album, “Smell the Glove”. That ended up with a ‘more black than black’ plain album sleeve. So here you go, get yourself a stiff drink, roll up your sleeves and prepare to have your sensibilities de-sensitised!

1. Life in a Tin Can: The34 Bee Gees

 This was a 1973 release and the Bee Gee’s eleventh album just as they were moving their base from England to Los Angeles. It was musically and lyrically downbeat, and pretty dull. But the sleeve? I would love to hear the ideas man explaining this one to the CEO… “well it’s like you open up a can.. and inside are the Bee Gees, smiling, meaning that… well I guess they’re canned!”

 

2.  Toe Fat: Toe Fat

A 1969 rock band fronted by ex- RebelRouser Cliff Bennett, the band went with a sleeve to stand out from the crowd. The band contained two pre-Uriah Heep members (Ken Hensley on keyboards and drummer Lee Kerslake, and bassist John Glasscock (known as BrittleDick) who would join Jethro Tull some years later. One reviewer claimed he was physically sick on seeing the sleeve. We’re made of much sterner stuff these days!

As for the actors who posed for the sleeve and were told they would be famous… what a Thumber! What's the lamb doing there ? See what was on the original sleeve here...

 

3. Tom Jones: A-Tom-ic Jones

Ok ok… it was early in the Boy from the Valley’s  career, but it looks like he’s in pain because some prankster has set off a small nuclear device between his legs. Or he’s got a flatulence issue. And the dreadful pun in the album title caps it all off. The album came out in January 1966. It was Tom’s third album and contained the hit Thunderball- the theme for the James Bond movie of the same name. But joking aside this live clip of him singing Thunderball shows what an awesome voice he had, and arguably still has!

 

 4.  NOFX: Heavy Petting Zoo

 

The Cowboy looks a bit sheepish as he shears away- but wait! There’s no shears!  This is Lamb-Love! NOFX was and still is a Californian based Punk band.  Formed in 1983 they have released 11 albums, some to a modicum of commercial if not critical success. The track here is the excellently titled “Separation of Church and Skate”. 

 5. Smoke Smoke Smoke: Tex Williams

The title track of the album, Smoke Smoke Smoke (that cigarette) is described on a Wikipedia as a Western Novelty swing song”. It was recorded in 1947, a time when lung cancer scares were still a couple of decades away. Looking like some Marlboro Freddy Kreuger, Tex gives us a mixed message that while there’s no health issue in smoking, it interrupts things when people stop for a cigarette. Bizarre.

 

6. Millie Jackson: Back to the s**t

Containing the songs ‘Muffle that Fart’ and ‘Love Stinks’, this was Millie Jackson’s 22^nd album release. The American R&B/soul singer-songwriter and comedienne is shown in a pose sponsored by Sennapods the Sewage Farm industry. She could be soulful, raunchy, sexy, and outrageous- and was an inspiration to Li’l Kim.

 7.  Ken Snyder: By Request Only

A God-Squadder whose tunes have had a renaissance largely because this album cover being featured on almost all “Worst Album Covers of All Time” lists. Must be bad to have a top ten worst album cover of all time when there’s only your face on it- difficult to blame anyone else… If I didn’t know that Adobe Photoshop was some 30 years away I’d swear that hair was spray-on.

 8.  The Faith Tones: Jesus Use Me

 

 Strange that a clearly religious outfit have hairdo’s from Hell. One of them is really a bloke- but which one? Tricky eh?

 9. Heino: Leibe Mutter

Heino was born in 1938, Düsseldorf, as Heinz Georg Kramm. He is a German singer of popular music (Schlager) and traditional Volksmusik. His music has found a wider audience through the sheer awfulness of this album cover.

The title, loosely translated means “Dear Mother, a bloom will never wilt”. So clearly the Warhol Wannabe has an Oedipus complex, as well as having X-Ray specs. I had nightmares for weeks after seeing this for the first time, but cured myself by booking a week in the Bates Motel.

 10. Black Sabbath: Sabotage

Now be honest! What strikes you first about this cover? Not the clever mirror reflecting their backs rather than their fronts. Not Ozzy Osbourne wearing a dress and high heeled Glam boots. Not Tony Iommi’s white flares.  Go on- you know what it is. Drummer Bill Ward’s red tights trouser lump. It’s worse than a fashion faux-pas it’s a 9/11 in the lower limb department. 

I use this album cover to scare the children when they say they want money for new expensive trendy clothes. “Uncle Bill wanted money to go and be fashionable in Tights-R-Us, and look what happened. Be warned my sons!”

 

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