Album of the Week - Vol.21

Queen of Denmark JOHN GRANT (2010)
Week: Wed 4th to Tue 10th August
Format: CD/iPod
Producer(s): Eric Pulido, Paul Alexander and John Grant
Track listing:
1. TC and Honeybear
2. Marz *
3. Where Dreams Go to Die *
4. Sigourney Weaver *
5. Chicken Bones
6. Silver Platter Club
7. It's Easier
8. Outer Space *
9. Jesus Hates Faggots
10. Caramel
11. Leopard & Lamb
12. Queen of Denmark *
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 51:16

It took me a while to really warm to this album. I first sought it out after Midlake shared a post on social media about it. Midlake are one of my favourite bands, having delivered one of my favourite albums ever, The Trials of Van Occupanther in 2006. So, I was keen to see why they were celebrating the ten year anniversary of this record's release and decide to have a listen. 

I discovered that Midlake were actually the backing band for Grant during the recording of this album, which took place at their studio in Denton, Texas. The record was born out of two lengthy sessions in mid-/late 2008 and mid-2009, possibly while Midlake were recording their third album The Courage of Others. I don't know for sure.

Grant used to be the frontman for a band called The Czars, who broke up in 2004. I've not heard any of their music, and I don't know how Midlake came to cross paths with Grant, but maybe they toured or played together at some point? Anyway, the recording of this album was a very cathartic process for Grant, and Midlake's help in getting it made might have helped him on more than one level. Shortly after the album was completed, Grant checked himself into hospital after grappling with suicidal thoughts. 

Struggling with alcohol and drug abuse for many years, Grant wrestled with the self-loathing he felt growing up as the only homosexual boy in a conservative Colorado high school. His mother passed away in 1995 having not reconciled with her son's sexuality. Born in Buchanan, Michigan, his family moved to Colorado while Grant was a teenager, stupidly hoping that somehow his gay feelings would stay behind. He released his fifth album this year, titled Boy From Michigan, which also revisits these feelings of accepting his own identity as a gay man.

Grant spent years being angry at himself for being so scared of who he was, living amongst many who used religion to convince him that he was going to hell. Working through traumatic experiences from his past and his parents' disappointment in him resulted in a lot of subject matter of this album. As I've delved into it more and more since that first listen, I've come to be very fond of what he and Midlake recorded together. 

I had actually heard one of the songs before, and I'd forgotten about it totally. Album highlight Sigourney Weaver also has some of the album's best lyrics, as Grant expresses how his family's move from Michigan to Colorado affected him:

"I feel just like Winona Ryder in that movie about vampires/

And she couldn't get that accent right, neither could that other guy"

The track's production is bang-on as well. The use of the harmony guitar lines in the chorus are fabulous and the excellent kitschy keyboard parts add to that 70s prog feel that permeates the album. Interestingly, this latter instrumentation that I loved on Midlake's ...Van Occupanter is sorely missing on The Courage of Others. I think if they'd embraced those fabulous synth-y sounds for their third album it would have been, um, better. He he he...now, that's unfair. It was always going to be hard to top ...Van Occupanther, but the pastoral production makes much of the material sound like a dirge. 

But I digress! I also really like Where Dreams Go to Die, which is quite mournful in tone, but manages to sound uplifting. The song laments the end of a relationship, and even regrets that it ever started, but there's a glimmer of hope in the finality of it all. The finally resolves of the chorus are quite gentle and beautiful, with some lovely violin lines courtesy of English musician Fiona Brice. 

Other big highlights for me include Marz (which is the name of a lollie store in Grant's Michigan hometown), the self-serving resignation of It's Easier and the wonderful Outer Space, a statement of awe and the failure to describe someone that the singer has become enamoured with. The stunning title track, and the album's final song, is another excellent offering. Apparently the tune has been covered by Sinead O'Connor, but I've yet to track it down to have a listen. I love that the song's last line, and ultimately the album's last line too, is "Who knows, maybe you'll get to be the next queen of Denmark".

One of the more explicit songs that deals with Grant's attempts to accept himself, and his sexuality, is the somewhat controversially titled Jesus Hates Faggots. The second verse starts off with:

"I can't believe that I've considered taking my own life/

Cos I believed the lies about me were the truth"

The opening lines possibly inspired the bizarre album cover as well:

"I've felt uncomfortable since the day that I was born/

Since the day I glimpsed the black abyss in your eyes"

But yes, the song does use potentially offensive language in getting its point across. That being that you can use religion to hate anything and feel justified. It is deceptively jaunty in its production and feel, but there is a deep pool of resentment bubbling underneath it all. 

While some of this album isn't an easy listen, as is the case with many cathartic releases, there is a lot to enjoy. I'm not the biggest fan of Chicken Bones or the unnecessarily overlong Silver Platter Club, but they're still easy to listen to. This has been an album that I've gone back to a lot lately, mainly because I got sucked into Grant's newest release, which I'm really enjoying.

Co-produced by Grant with Midlake's bassist Paul Alexander and now lead vocalist Eric Pulido this record is a nice step from ...Van Occupanther to The Courage of Others. Midlake's lead singer (and chief songwriter) during this period, Tim Smith contributes some lovely bits of flute, particularly on the strangely haunting album opener TC and Honeybear. This is an album that keeps revealing treasures after each listen, and I'm quite grateful to own a copy. I will no doubt dig a little deeper into Grant's other releases. Maybe. He he he...

What's the deal with Logan's Run?

There's something almost mythical about the seminal 1976 sci-fi movie Logan's Run. While it certainly enjoys cult status in this day and age, there's an air of excitement at the mere mention of its name. People who haven't even seen it could probably tell you the plot, or might have seen parodies/references in other forms of pop culture. 

One instance that comes to mind is Friends. The episode with Denise Richards as Ross and Monica's cousin Cassie (aptly titled The One with Ross and Monica's Cousin) somewhat overstates the film's appeal. While Ross struggles with his feelings for his cousin, his internal monologue shares this thought with the audience: "She was the one who wanted to rent Logan's Run, the sexiest movie ever." While it doesn't live up to that description, there is still a lot to like. And a fair sprinkling of naff stuff too. 

I can't remember what gave me the impetus to want to watch it again, but a recent search through various streaming services bore no fruit. 

Until a few Monday nights ago. 

I saw that it had landed on Netflix as I scrolled through their new additions. I did not hesitate, he he he, and started watching it straightaway, despite the late hour. After about forty minutes, I succumbed to the wave of sleep that was lapping at my brain. But, before that happened, I was enjoying being transported into the future. For those unfamililar with the movie, the year is 2274. You're presented with a seemingly utopian future wherein its occupants live only for pleasure, inside a bunch of geodesic domes. Cut off from the outside world, and history itself, people in this city are harvested rather than born. The idea of knowing your parents or being raised by them is a foreign concept. Each child has a crystal implanted into their palm, which are called 'life-clocks'. The colour of these crystals change as the person ages, and they also dress in clothes of the same colour. 

The life clocks start flashing red as you approach your Last Day, which is the age of thirty, and you must go through the ritual of 'carrousel'. This is a ceremony where those who have arrive at their Last Day are gathered in a circle before an audience and fired upon with lasers as they fly in the air. The all-seeing/all-knowing computers that run the city say that there is a chance of being re-born, and the onlookers at the events joyously chant "Renew!" as the thirty-year-olds of their population are summarily executed. 

Those unwilling to surrender themselves to the 'carrousel' ritual try to run. This won't do. So the city's computers recruit enforcers called Sandmen to hunt and terminate these runners. The titular Logan is played by Michael York and he is the former, a twenty-six-year-old Sandman enjoying all the pleasures this world offers. For those more familiar with York's work as Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers franchise, it may be quite jarring to see him so young, but still sound so Basil. 

Anyway, the powers that be decide that there are too many people unaccounted for. It is suspected by the computers that some of the runners may have possibly escaped the city and found the mythic 'Sanctuary', a place spoken of amongst the small movement of freedom fighters as an alternative to life in the domes. To verify this, Logan is selected to find this Sanctuary, but to create a plausible cover the computer alters his life-clock crystal to flash red, suddenly removing the four years he had left. 

The scene in which this happens is my earliest memory of this movie. I would have been fairly young...possibly six or seven. Maybe as old as nine or ten. I'm unsure. But during the time I lived in Morley with my family, I would very occasionally watch a late-night movie on Channel 9 during a house party on our street. Logan's Run was one of these films, and I think I came into it about five or ten minutes after it started. There's not much that really stuck, but those words Logan nervously uttered, "Question: Do I get my four years back?" certainly did. 

I don't know why that resonated so much with my young self. Maybe it was the panic in Logan's face. Maybe the idea of having your life shortened was slightly terrifying. The age of thirty would have felt like it was years away at that time, which, let's face it, it was! But, say, if I was 10, then one year would have been one tenth of my life. Now that I'm 45, one year is just one forty-fifth. And don't they fly by?!

I also had memories of the colourful sets and bright clothing, but I'd forgotten that it was Jenny Agutter in the role of Jessica. Logan happens upon her by chance, but ends up connecting with her over the need to find Sanctuary. Peter Ustinov also has a small role, and rising star of the day Farrah Fawcett-Majors appears briefly, complete with THAT hairdo.

But, getting back to my original question, and the title of this blog, what is the deal? What is the excitement that is attached to this movie? Considering this was only a year before the release of Star Wars, the model work is incredibly obvious. When the movie cuts to the monorail transporting characters from place to place it looks like an amazing high school science project, but you can tell it's not real. Interestingly, the film won an Academy Award for its visual effects, particularly the 'carrousel' sequence, which employed the use of wide camera angles and hidden wires. But some of the other practical effects have not aged so well, particularly the robot Box that Logan and Jessica happen upon. It is nearly fifty years old, after all.

There is that thrill of escape that might appeal to many. It's not uncommon in a sci-fi flick for the supposed utopia we are presented with to actually be revealed as a sinister dystopia. So, when the characters try to escape their fate, you're immediately on board. It's like Plato's cave. Once you're exposed to the light, and recover from the shock, you can see what else is around. There's a small measure of delight in seeing Logan and Jessica try and make sense of a world that they never knew existed. They're like newborns in that regard.

One of Logan's Sandman contemporaries, Francis (played by Richard Jordan), starts following Logan and Jessica on their quest to find Sanctuary. His intent to catch them becomes another main plot point, adding a chase element to movie. So there's certainly enough of a story to keep you engaged. You want to know the fates of the characters, and you want to know if Sanctuary exists.

But is that movie all that? I think there is a lot to like here, but ultimately it had the potential to be something quite special. I've not read the novel the movie is based on, but I understand there are a few changes. One being that life ends for the people in the city domes at the age of twenty one, not thirty. Apparently the reason behind that change was from a casting point of view. It was going to be too difficult to have a large number of young teenage actor onset. I don't think it takes away from the story though. The notion of 'carrousel' is unique to movie as well. In the book, people on their Last Day are required to report to special booths that sedate and kill them. Or something, he he he. 

While it's certainly not 'the sexiest movie ever', there are some titilating scenes involving brief nudity and in one moment, implied homosexuality, quite bold for the mid-seventies. York and Agutter are certainly nice to look at, and the costumes are a little racy, but possibly not as racy if the movie was made today. 

Whatever motivated me to want to watch the movie again, I'm glad that I did. It gave me some moments of nostalgia, remembering watching some moments as a kid, and wondering how the movie ended all over again. Being a seventies sci-fi film, the ending is somewhat ambiguous, of course, but that adds to its overall kitschy appeal. I seemed to remember the music score being more electronically dominated, but that wasn't the case either. Jerry Goldsmith's work does use orchestral elements mixed with electronic noises and keyboards for scenes set inside the domes, but once the characters get outside the score employs a full orchestra. Nice idea. 

Anyway, in summing up, I would recommend watching the film with an open mind if you haven't seen it before. Enjoy the slightly wooden performances and dodgy effects. Enjoy the thrill of the escape and the possibility of a new life. There is certainly more that could be written, but in the end, it's entertaining and that's what the movies are all about.

Album of the Week - Vol. 20

Dreamboat Annie HEART (1975)
Week: Sun 11th to Sat 17th July
Format: CD/iPod
Producer: Mike Flicker
Track listing:
1. Magic Man *
2. Dreamboat Annie (Fantasy Child)
3. Crazy on You *
4. Soul of the Sea
5. Dreamboat Annie *
6. White Lightning & Wine
7. (Love Me Like Music) I'll Be Your Song *
8. Sing Child *
9. How Deep It Goes
10. Dreamboat Child (reprise) 
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 40:02

This is the very solid debut album of the band Heart. Before they became a mainstay in FM radio power ballad playlists they were quite the gritty rock band. Not averse to a little bit of 70s synth work too. Their original lineup consisted of sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson, guitarist Roger Fisher, guitarist/keyboardist Howard Leese, bassist Steve Fossen and Mike Derosier on drums, although he only plays on two tracks here. 

The bulk of the album was written by the Wilsons, with Ann's outstanding lead vocals just one of the band's assets. The band wears its love of Led Zeppelin on its sleeve with Ann's voice seemingly channeling Robert Plant on occasion. This is especially on show during the Zep-esque Sing Child, which also boasts some Zep-like riffs and motifs, and interestingy is the only track co-written by Ann with Fisher and Fossen. The multi-layered vocals on the "sing, child, sing" lines are another appealing facet of the track. Nancy contributes an unexpected flute solo as well, but in a good way. There's some nice riffing and noodling on White Lightning & Wine too, and it might just get you yelling out 'more cowbell!'.

Nancy's amazing ability to get around an acoustic guitar is another massive factor in what makes Heart so great. Just listen to the intro of Crazy On You. It's crazy good. Add in Ann's crazy good vocals plus a most excellent guitar riff and you've really got something special. This is the album's absolute highlight, without a doubt. 

One of the more puzzling elements of this record is the inclusion of three different versions of the title track. There's no huge difference between them, as far as arrangement or lyric changes go. This isn't Another Brick in the Wall or anything. Did I miss something? Is this is a concept album? It's not that they're unpleasant to listen to though. The second version is certainly one of the album's better tracks, but it seems a little unnecessary to include two more takes. The first one has the parenthetical title of Fantasy Child and doesn't last much longer than a minute, whereas the reprise at the album's end nearly hits the four minute mark.  A single of Dreamboat Annie was released in late 1976, and that version is not any of the ones on this album either! Ahhh, the seventies... but I digress! The title track (no parenthesis) is my favourite of three as the banjos add a great, gentle gallop. 

Other songs I really like here are the lovely ballad (Love Me Like Music) I'll Be Your Song) and the punchy opener Magic Man. The latter is my second favourite track here in fact, complete with some seventies synth, cool guitar breaks and a fabulous lead vocal from Nancy. 

The weird thing with this album is that it was turned onto me by a former friend. The person in question shared quite a bit of music with me while we were friends. Some of that music brings a small memory of them, which I think we can all relate to. That little pang gets a bit smaller with each listen. It doesn't take away from the fact that this is a great album, and I'm glad to know it.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars

The album that catapulted David Bowie into super glam rock stardom celebrated its 49th anniversary a few days ago, June 16th - to be exact. In the years since its release, this record has lost none of its fervour or impact. 

On a personal note, this was the album that really kicked off my love of Bowie. I had been something of a casual fan before I was given this record on CD as a birthday present. It must have been early 2000s, methinks; the specific year I'm unsure of. The album was reissued on CD in 1999 as part of The David Bowie Series - 24 Bit Digitally Remastered range, and it's these editions that now dominate my Bowie collection. 

Furthermore, this album is also very special to me because it was the first one that I learned and performed in full to a live audience. In fact, the Wesleys just celebrated 7 years since we played this record for the then-Newport Record Club in Fremantle. Time, it marches ever on.

Having been released four years before I was born, I marvel at what a ripple this record would have sent through the world. Not only was there delicious candy for the ears to enjoy, but also a mysterious, androgynous figure delighting in blurring the lines between genders and sexuality. Someone who outsiders could identify with and take strength from. The sexual revolution of the 1960s had paved the way for experimental behaviours and with it, some sense of abandon and freedom. Before that freedom had a severe sting in the tail when the harsh consequences of unprotected sex hit in the early 1980s, this was an era were many felt they could find their true self and their own sense of identity. 

Bowie lit the way for many who felt they didn't belong anywhere, and in the creation of alien rock star Ziggy Stardust, he personified the ultimate outsider. Ziggy is lost in the rock n' roll lifestyle on a planet that only five years of life left. The opening song Five Years sets the scene beautifully with little vignettes of how different people react of this news. Not only one of favourite Bowie songs, I think it's one of my favourite album openers ever. Bookended by fading in and out drums, it's just brilliant. I love the slow build, I love the lyrics, I love the arrangements and production. What else can I say? It's tops.

Some of Bowie's best-known material from the early seventies are on this album. Starman, Suffragette City and, of course, the stunning title cut (kinda). One of the greatest Bowie songs to come out of the Ziggy era, Ziggy Stardust also has the distinction of being my wife's favourite song. Like, ever. The first time I heard the words "Now, Ziggy played guitar..." was on the TV advertisement for the new Changesbowie compilation album, around 1990. It was intercut with other snippets of songs; some I knew, some I didn't. I ended up buying a copy of it on cassette while my family and I were in Bali, and the songs from this album that appeared on that tape I then heard for the very first time.

One song from this album that has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in recent years is Moonage Daydream, after it featured in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Deservedly so, too; it's a cracker! It even found a home on 2014's Nothing Has Changed retrospective Bowie collection. Definitely a big highlight for me. Once the opening lyrics hit: "I'm an alligatorrrrr!", you're hooked and you jump on for the cosmic journey. Great stuff, with a suitably out-of-this-world guitar solo from Mick Ronson at the song's end.

Ronson would also add piano, organ, synth, backing vocals and string arrangements to this album. Along with the rhythm section of drummer Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey and bassist Trevor Bolder, Bowie had his backing band known as, you guessed it, The Spiders from Mars. A different line-up of the group without Ronson (or Bowie) released a self-titled album in 1976. Except for the uncredited harpsichord from Rick Wakeman and backing vocals from Dana Gillespie on It Ain't Easy, the whole record was the product of the Bowie and the three Spiders. 

It Ain't Easy is a bizarre choice to include on this album. Written by American songwriter Ron Davies, it sticks out like a sore thumb. It doesn't seem to fit with the album's loose narrative, and I'd have to say that it's the weakest track here as well. One wonders if it was chosen for filler, to bring the album to a decent length. But why was it picked over cracking tracks like John, I'm Only Dancing and Velvet Goldmine, which didn't find homes on an album? I think if you remove It Ain't Easy and replace it with either one or both songs this record would be even better.

Other big highlights for me include the ode to Marc Bolan, Lady Stardust and the anthemic stomper Hang On To Yourself. What a rockin' tune! Of course, another jewel in the album's crown is closing track Rock 'N' Roll Suicide, which ties every up in a neat little package. Bowie's rousing delivery of "Oh no, love, you're not alone" is one of his most iconic moments. When the strings signal the end of the song, and with it the album, you feel like you've gone on some kind of journey. Whether you feel thankful that you're not a dead alien rock star or not on a planet doomed to live for only five more years, you can certainly be thankful for the music.

I give this 4.5/5 and I will no doubt listen to it again. 

NEXT UP: Tonight - September 1st

(yes, quite the gap now, huh? I'll have to blog about something else in the interim)

Heathen

One of only four studio albums that Bowie released this century, Heathen turns 19 today. Seen by many as a return to form after 1999's meandering Hours..., this record boasts some of Bowie's strongest late-era material. It was Bowie's highest charting album in the US since Tonight in 1984. The cover artwork is quite striking as well, but good covers don't necessarily equate to good records. I'm looking at you, Aladdin Sane! He he he...

The album is bookended by two excellent Bowie numbers, Sunday and the title track, Heathen (The Rays). Both rely on creating unsettling sonic landscapes, and are fairly simple and unassuming...but effective. They were also regularly performed during Bowie's A Reality Tour in 2003/04. The record opener seems to be constantly leading up to some sort of crescendo, and when it finally arrives the track fades out. Interestingly, the song contains the lyric "nothing has changed" which was the title given to Bowie's 2014 compilation sets. 

There are three cover versions on this album, and I only really like one of them. I'm not much of a Pixies fan, and his go at Cactus does little to change that. The Legendary Stardust Cowboy song I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship also gets  an airing; an obvious tip of the hat to a hugely influential performer for Bowie (who inspired the name Ziggy Stardust). However, the track itself is underwhelming and comes across as album filler. The cover of Neil Young's I've Been Waiting For You is fantastic, and I love what Bowie and co. did with it. The original track appeared on Young's 1968 self-titled debut album, and while it had a quiet menace about it, this version puts that emotion front-and-centre. Understandably, the song was released as a single in Young's native Canada. Also, it has Dave Grohl playing guitar on it!

Heathen was produced in an era of CD dominated releases, so there was no real need to worry about its sides. Having procured the vinyl edition earlier this year, I was pleasantly surprised by how well the flipping of the record serves the album. Ending the first side with that Young cover is excellent. It's quite a good closer, but gives a great sense of 'we'll be right back'. The second side starts with I Would Be Your Slave, an almost deliberate juxtaposition in tone from the track proceeding it. In an interview with Michael Parkinson, Bowie revealed ...Slave to be his favourite cut on the album. While not my favourite, it's still a good one, benefiting from some excellent bass work from co-producer Tony Visconti.

Speaking of bass work, the wonderful Tony Levin guest basses on album highlight Slip Away. A great track that reminisces about The Uncle Floyd Show, an American variety/comedy TV program that ran from 1974 to 1998. Not something I'd ever heard of until this song came along, to be honest. That doesn't take away from the melancholic longing felt throughout the song though. 

Getting back to sides of the record, I feel that the second half is stronger. Aside from the aforementioned LSC cover, it's all killer. Two of my big favourites follow, 5:15 Angels Have Gone and Everyone Says 'Hi', and I rate them both as some of Bowie's best work of the 21st century. The former is a great showcase for Bowie's vocals and in the hands of other artists, the latter could have been written off as poppy schmaltz. The first time I heard it, I felt a big grin on my face. The song just makes me feel happy. Other highlights on this album for me are the first single Slow Burn (featuring Pete Townshend on lead guitar) and the penultimate 
A Better Future.

The bulk of the music is performed by Bowie, Visconti, guitarist David Torn and drummer Matt Chamberlain. Contributions also came from musicians who would go on to be in his band for the A Reality Tour, namely guitarist Gerry Leonard and drummer Stirling Campbell. The wonderful string arrangements are performed by The Scorchio Quartet, and the brass comes courtesy of The Borneo Horns. Old mate Carlos Alomar turns up on a couple of tracks, and session muso Lisa Germano adds some violin.

All in all, the good definitely outweighs the bad, and this album is one of the strongest offerings in Bowie's catalog. I give this 4/5, and I just listened to it again!

NEXT UP: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars - June 16th (ish)

Diamond Dogs

Bowie's eighth studio album turned 47 years old just a few days ago (24th May). It is the first record of his to not feature Mick Ronson since 1970's The Man Who Sold The World. Also absent are the other members of Ziggy Stardust's band The Spiders from Mars, bassist (and sideburn enthusiast) Trevor Bolder and drummer Mick 'Woody' Woodmansey. The rhythm section on Diamond Dogs consists of legendary session bass player Herbie Flowers and the excellent Aynsley Dunbar on the drums, who had played with Bowie the previous year on his covers album Pin Ups. Dunbar also played with Frank Zappa for much of the early 70s as part of the new Mothers line-up(s). Drummer Tony Newman also contributes and Mike Garson continues to keep his spot as Bowie's keyboardist. 

This album also sees Bowie handling all of the guitar duties. Something I was not aware of until quite recently. It was an offhand remark from a fellow behind the bar at a gig that made me dig out my copy and read the liner notes. Bugger me, he was right! Guitarist Alan Parker (not the film director) does splash some wah-wah magic onto the track 1984, and has also been credited with adding the last three notes to the riff of Rebel Rebel. In addition to the guitar, Bowie plays saxophone, Mellotron and Moog synthesiser as well. Except for Rock 'n' Roll With Me, which was co-written with Geoff McCormack (AKA Warren Peace), Bowie penned all of the album's songs.

I've never really held this album in high esteem, partly because I never really dug the title track, which initially put me off the record as a whole. While I like it a little more now, it's far from my favourite Bowie song. However, the record itself has grown on me considerably in recent years, partly because of my 'late-to-the-party' fondness for the Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (reprise) suite. The aforementioned wah guitar on 1984 certainly helps too. 

Diamond Dogs is the last glam rock album Bowie recorded, and the end of the Ziggy Stardust persona (despite a very Ziggy-esque looking human/dog hybrid appearing on the cover). A possible new character is revealed as Halloween Jack in the title track, but it's not someone who remains part of the album's loose concept. Bowie had intended to create a musical version of George Orwell's novel 1984, but was shut down by Orwell's widow. Some of the ashes of this project remain in the form of the songs 1984 and Big Brother. 

Similarly to the Ziggy Stardust album opener Five Years, Diamond Dogs begins with the brief mood-setting, and somewhat unsettling, Future Legend. Basically, it's an eerie monologue with creepy sounds and effects that gives way to the noise of a live audience and the famous shouted line: "This ain't rock 'n' roll...this is genocide!". After the semi-classic title track we are treated to, in my opinion, the best moment of the record, Sweet Thing.

What a song! It's become of my quintessential Bowie tracks. I love how it starts with a fairly slow musical build, adding to its theatrical feel. Bowie delivers the opening line in a lower register, teeming with quiet menace: "It's safe in the city/To love in a doorway", conjuring up images of depravity, and an ominous sense of what the futuristic metropolis where the album takes place must feel like. When Bowie jumps up an octave, it gives me goosebumps every time! That chorus gets stuck in my head from time to time too. Watching Bernard Fowler perform Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (reprise) on the livestreamed A Bowie Celebration in January this year was absolutely amazing. His rendition captured the spirit of Bowie, but he made it his own at the same time. That moment was my absolute highlight of the whole show.

While Sweet Thing works quite well on its own, the following Candidate and reprise don't so much. Repeating themes and lyrics from the former, they need to be heard as a whole suite to work. One wonders why it wasn't just one big track. Like when Silverchair had Those Thieving Birds pt1/Strange Behaviour/Those Thieving Birds pt2 as one song on 2007's excellent Young Modern album. If you have the Diamond Dogs album on your iPod or favourites playlist on a streaming service, it's a little jarring to hear Candidate away from the Sweet Thing(s). Minor quibble, but there you go.

The first side ends with the bonafide classic Rebel Rebel, delivering one of the most satisfying 'Side A's in the Bowie catalogue. Things get a little hit and miss from here on the flip side. Rock 'n' Roll With Me and We Are the Dead aren't anything sensational, with the former arguably being the least interesting track on the album. I do quite like 1984 and Big Brother though, and one wonders what Bowie would have come up with, had his Orwellian musical been able to reach fruition. 1984 has an almost pre-disco feel and the anthemic chorus sounds like it indeed belongs in a musical. 

The short final track Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family is not much more than repeated bursts of 'shake it up' or 'move it up' or 'brother/bro'. Maybe it was somehow tied to the 1984 narrative, but it's an odd way to end the album. Bizarrely, I find the song's title more creative and entertaining than the actual track.

Anyway, while the album's loose concept doesn't really come off, there is a sense of a dingy, apocalyptic world in the future. There is a lot to like here, and I will offer up the controversial opinion that it's more listenable than Aladdin Sane. 

So, I give this 3.5/5 and will be listening to some parts quite a bit in the future. He he he..

NEXT UP: Heathen - June 11th

Lodger

Bowie's 13th album Lodger was released forty two years ago last week, on the 18th of May. I was unable to get a-bloggin' about it then, so here is my a-blog now. Fair enough? The final offering of the supposed 'Berlin Trilogy', even though it was recorded in Switzerland and New York City. One of the big factors connecting the three albums (Low, "Heroes" and Lodger - for the uninitiated) is Brian Eno, who Bowie met in 1976. While Eno co-wrote several songs on these albums, they were helmed by multi-instrumentalist and frequent collaborator Tony Visconti, who produced the albums with Bowie. 

This record stands out from the three as arguably the weakest entry, and the only one not to feature any instrumental tracks. There's also a pop sensibility that permeates the music, despite some experimental sounds and Middle Eastern influences. Another difference is the addition of guitarist Adrian Belew, who Bowie had recently poached from Frank Zappa. Other contributing musicians include bassist George Murray, drummer Dennis Davis, violinist Simon House and pianist Sean Mayes. Frequent Bowie band member Carlos Alomar is also on guitar duties and co-wrote a couple of tracks as well. 

Wow, my thumb obscures the album's title - rookie move.
(Although you can make out 'Lodger' in four different languages below)

I must confess to not being the biggest fan of this offering, but there are a handful of songs I absolutely love. Seeing as it's been a fair few years since my last full listen, now seems like an excellent opportunity to remedy that. Let's go song by song: 

1. FANTASTIC VOYAGE
One of my favourite opening tracks from a Bowie album, and my pick of the songs here. Featuring an absolutely brilliant vocal performance from him, this would probably be in my Top 20 Bowie songs as well. Apparently the track has several overdubbed mandolin parts, three different musicians playing three parts each! Doesn't feel like that much mando, in fact, the song's production feels quite simple to my ears. I was stoked to see Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross do an understated performance of this song for the livestream event, A Bowie Celebration, early this year. It was included in Bowie's live document A Reality Tour as well, much to my delight. Short and sweet, I actually hit repeat twice before listening to the rest of the album. The song is also the first of six songs that were co-written with Brian Eno.

2. AFRICAN NIGHT FLIGHT
There's a lot going on here. Bowie's vocal delivery borders on annoying and there's too many lyrics to take in at times. I'm sure it's the product of Eno's bizarre 'Oblique Strategies cards', but it feels like noisy filler. Interesting Middle Eastern hook, but it's a bit of mess, for mine.

3. MOVE ON
Another song that's not that memorable. Some nice vocal harmonies and a pleasant enough listen, but nothing that sticks with you. 

4. YASSASSIN (TURKISH FOR 'LONG LIVE')
Not the greatest track here, but I do like the melody of the repeated 'yassassin' with the call and answer responses: "I'm not a moody guy/I walk without a sound". Almost a ska/reggae vibe on this one, complete with wobbly organ part. 

5. RED SAILS
Now, I don't mind this one. The vocal line is quite hooky and I found myself singing the "thunder ocean" bit repeatedly after my first re-listen. The melody-mirroring saxophone was provided by Stan Harrison, not Bowie himself. I do find it bizarre when he doesn't play the sax. Belew sounds like he was finally let off the chain a bit here too. The album itself starts to get a bit more interesting from this point on. 

6. DJ
One of a handful of songs that started to appear deriding the radio industry, the attitudes of those who helm the song choices and the decisions of what makes the airwaves. I first heard this track on the 1993 compilation Singles Collection Vol. 2, and took a while to warm to it. I dig it a lot more now, and it's certainly one of the album highlights. Co-written with Alomar, this song features a lot of guitar work from Belew and a memorable chorus line: "I am a DJ/I am what I play". 

7. LOOK BACK IN ANGER
Not a bad track, but doesn't really go anywhere. It seems like it stays in the same place without really moving forward, despite the galloping feel of the song. Bowie's vocal performance is terrific though, and the sound production of the band is pretty good.

8. BOYS KEEP SWINGING
Possibly the album's most renowned track, and another big highlight for me. The instrumentation and arrangement reminds me of early Roxy Music. I really love the bassline, which was re-recorded by Visconti after the experimental idea of the musicians swapping instruments didn't quite work. That's Alomar on the drums! He he he... I only just learned that this song also has the same chord progression as Fantastic Voyage. Now, I can't stop swapping the two songs around! 

9. REPETITION
A harrowing account of domestic violence, belied by the track's bouncy bassline. Bowie's near-emotionless vocals are especially chilling, as it would seem the song's narrator has no qualms about beating his wife. Not really an enjoyable listen, but an interesting one. 

10. RED MONEY
The album's final offering isn't too bad, and has Eno playing that synth sound throughout. Some nice crunchy guitar, and overdubbed vocals. Again, like some previous tracks, it feels a little meandering and comes across as filler. Its fadeout is almost merciful, as the song feels like it could just keep going. 

All in all, it's not brilliant, but has its moments. I give it 3 out of 5. Would listen to some of it again.

NEXT UP: Diamond Dogs. Eeep! This one was a little late...