Flawless

The album is a great concept. Not a concept album but a great idea. A creation which allows you to immerse in an artist or composer.
I am a fan of collections, best of's but an album of songs recorded at the same time captures that moment. We all know bands who release a seminal album, one which all others lag behind. It often captures the point at which you first become interested in an artist. I have chosen five of what I regard as seminal albums. They have strength from beginning to end. They may not have a classic line up or be the best seller but they have for me, something extra. As ever, it is my personal top five albums where the content is consistently flawless.


The Who - Who's Next.

Released in 1971, this album followed on from the 1969 rock opera Tommy. It was born itself from a shelved rock opera, The Lifehouse Project. The album is much written about. It is often regarded as one of their finest studio albums. Tommy and Quadrophenia have received maybe more acclaim by wider audiences but those in the know see this as one of the finest rock albums ever made. I got my copy as a Christmas present in 1973. I instantly fell in love with it. It has a power, a violence, a tenderness rarely experienced by any other record I have ever heard. Townshend experimented with the use of synthesisers for the first time on this album. It is at times anthemic, playful, heartwrenching. 'Baba O'Riley' the opening number mixes hard rock and folk music to a crescendo. The instruments are introduced one by one which only serves to increase the expectation. The moment at which the guitar bursts through has always made me want to smash something up (anything to hand). It has a rare power and ferocity.
'Bargain' is a hard edged pop song with more movement. Keith Moon goes into orbit throughout with crash cymbals clattering in the background off beat.
'Love Ain't For Keeping' is a particular favourite of mine mixing acoustic and electric guitars. Daltrey's vocals are immense on this.

'My Wife', written and sung by John Entwistle is a great number with the added depth of a horn section. It shows the array of talent present in the band.

'The Song Is Over' a beautiful melancholy piece sung by Townshend and Daltrey with a the simple piano intro soars to a hugely powerful chorus. In old money this was the final track on side one. The perfect ending to the first part of a masterpiece.

The piano leads you into 'Getting In Tune'. It kind of takes off where 'The Song Is Over' leaves off.  Slow, as gentle as it gets on this album. The vocals are again superb, a mixture of raw power and soft and almost kind.

'Going Mobile' is a cheerful,, jaunty number which features Townshend on lead vocals. Keith Moons drumming is exemplary on this track with several changes of beat and intensity.

'Behind Blue Eyes' is a utterly beautiful song which tears at your heart with loneliness, sadness and despair. US band Limp Bizkit covered it but left off the the true genius of this track for it is a track of two halves. They failed to record the high tempo refrain which makes it the classic Who track anthem. It lifts you out of the sad self loathing to kick out and get angry.

'Won't Get Fooled Again' is almost the ultimate Who track. It has power from the start, great vocal harmonies, driving hard guitar, expansive bass and rocket fuelled druming. The track is a lengthy one for the band and is often played on the radio in an abridged version (a foolish mistake). This was the track I played along with on my Gibson copy through my Marshall amp. I emulated the windmill guitar style of Pete, completely immersing myself in the moment.

You will never hear a better album by The Who or probably in fact by anyone else!


Port Of Morrow - The Shins

Released in 2012, I have already written at length about this superb album. It is more than a collection of excellent pop songs penned by the maestro James Mercer. It is a positive journey through great music. The big single release 'Simple Song' is still on eom favourite tracks by any band. The video is a fabulous story perfumed by the band. A real story. Other highlights of the album are 'No Way Down' (regularly featured on homemade mix cd's), 'Bait and Switch' offbeat and upbeat,  'For a Fool' gentle floaty track with a beautiful Gretsch like guitar lead. It is so worth a listen all the way through. If you could only have one album by The Shins, this would have to be it.

Accelerate - R.E.M.

One of the later albums by the band from Athens, Georgia. Released in 2008, it had some chart success and was their second to last studio album. I have loved the band for many years and enjoyed their early and more commercially successful albums but this one is power, subtlety, and classic echoes of the former R.E.M. that conquered the charts in the late 80s early 90s. The opening track 'Living Well Is Best Revenge' is like being shot out of rocket into a brick wall then being dragged along underneath a wild stallion. It is a cracking opener!

Other tracks such 'Supernatural Superserious',"Horse To Water', 'Mr Richards', 'I'm Gonna DJ', are also as hard rock that the band ever got. They have an energy that is almost infectious. They contrast these with such gentler classics as "Houston' and 'Until The Day Is Done". 'Hollow Man' has that 'Song Is Over' quality of building to a crescendo which is in the classic mould of the bands bigger hits from yesteryear. Accelerate isn't as widely known as 'Out Of Time', Automatic For The People' or 'Green" but I feel it has more depth and power than any of these big hitters. 

Flaws - Bombay Bicycle Club

This 2010 acoustic album was their second studio release. It is a favourite of mine for many reasons. It is wonderfully gentle- handed production which allows the quality of the songs to shine through. The opening track 'Rinse Me Down' is cheerful and engaging. Tracks such as 'Many Ways', 'Ivy and Gold" have a feel of being recorded around a campfire in the woods. 'Flaws' and 'Word by Word' are lovely quiet night time tracks that stroke you to a calmness we all strive for on occasions. My favourite track however is the cover of the 1967 John Martyn song "Fairytale Lullaby". It is beautifully handled giving this song an added depth (which is hard to imagine but there you go!)
I have seen the band live but I understand they don't play any of it live anymore which is a real shame. I only wish I had the chance to see them play as an acoustic outfit! It is really a gem of an album.

Let Love In - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

The genius that is Nick Cave has recorded some remarkable albums over a thirty year career. "Murder Ballads', "Abattoir Blues', "No More Shall We Part' and his most recent 'Skeleton Tree". The 1994 release "Let Love In' is what I suppose you would say a classic Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album. 'Do You Love Me' has a brooding menace for a possible love song? The hugely well known "Red Right Hand' (which has been enhanced thanks to the TV series Peaky Blinders) and 'Loverman' are dark, moody storytelling masterpieces. My favourite track "Nobodys Baby Now" is gentle, fullsome and almost sensual. 'Jangling Jack' is a violent, psychotic and entertaining attack spread over 2 minutes 47 seconds. "Thirsty Dog' almost harks back to the Wild West with Nick Cave at his frenzied best. It is a strong album throughout and requires you to hear it all in one sitting. It will take you this way and that, shake you up on occasions.  The band have managed to reinvent themselves many times and I'm sure Nick Cave will continue to produce thought provoking, challenging and above all beautiful music for years to come.