Today 42 years ago, on 16 September 1977, one of the greatest British pop talents and rock performers MARC BOLAN (born Mark Feld) the then only 29-year-old artist was killed instantly when the car driven by his girlfriend, Gloria Jones, left the road and hit a tree in Barnes, London. To remember the eternal glam icon here are three of his timeless knockouts with his legendary band T.REX…
25 years ago this day, 16 September 1994, legendary Belgian rockers dEUS released their dumbfound debut album ‘WORST CASE SCENARIO’. What started as a bunch of music freaks sharing albums they liked the best, from Tom Waits to Captain Beefheart and some Frank Zappa insanity in between, turned into one of the best Belgian bands ever, led by charismatic frontman Tom Barman. ‘WCS‘ was the spectacular start of a (still ongoing)
phenomenal career with many baffling LP’s, several line-ups and tons of astounding live performances (of which I attented many). Eventually Worst Case Scenario sold more than 300,000 copies and dEUS scored better and more with every new release from then on.
ALL MUSIC wrote: “The five-piece spent its time exploring its own interesting rock zone, referencing back to classic rock influences and jazz pioneers as much as any of its many frazzled contemporaries. It’s a bit facile to say that if Tom Waits were a young guy in 1992 he might have formed this band, but there’s something agreeably impassioned and rough about Worst Case Scenario which calls to mind Waits’ own avant- garage jazz efforts in the mid-’80s… Tom Barman’s singing hits both loud, full-bodied shrieks, and low-and-slow as needed, while the band in general strike a great balance between straight-ahead performance and subtle studio trickery…” Full review here. Score 4,5/5
Artist: David Bowie Song: China Girl Note 1 : The song was co-written by Bowie and his pal Iggy Pop.
It already appeared on Pop‘s amazing 1977 album The Idiot Note 3: The late great Bowie included his version on
his triumphant 1983 album Let’s Dance Note 2: A year later, on 14 September 1984 – 35 years ago today –
he was the first artist to win the best video when MTV organised its
Awards Event for the very first time
At the last minute John Lennon & Yoko Ono with their Plastic Ono Band featuring Klaus Voormann, Alan White, and Eric Clapton, were announced and gave this festival a legendary status. Because of lack of decent rehearsals ahead of it and a lousy soundcheck minutes before the gig it’s a wonder that the band still managed to leave a iconic rough rock and crude roll mark (thanks mostly to John Lennon‘s highly committed and expressive presence).
Some journalists thought the POB sounded to messy! Oh yes they bloody did in a glorious rusty way. Check 4 of their handful raw performances of that night here…
– COLD TURKEY –
(first ever live rendition)
– YER BLUES –
(from ‘The White Album’)
– DIZZY MISS LIZZY –
(song written and recorded by Larry Williams in 1958
but a live classic on The Beatles early gigs)
40 years ago today, on 9 September 1979, THE RESIDENTS released ESKIMO. The
album was originally supposed to follow 1977’s Fingerprince, but due to all sort of problems it was not issued until 1979. The critics loved its experimentation, its clever weirdness and its satirical view of the American people’s nescience and maltreatment
of the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
ALL MUSIC wrote: “The most rewarding, the most difficult, and the most accomplished
of all the Residents’ albums, this was their departure into the field of imaginary ethno-musicography that they had begun on “Six Things to a Cycle” on Fingerprince. Ostensibly a musical documentary on the Eskimo, this is an album of icy atmospheres, poetic electronics, and imaginary landscapes, concocted around a loose narrative told in the liner notes… In any other group’s hands this would have been a pretentious disaster, but the Residents pull it off through spirit, humor, and sheer bravado.” Full review here– Score 4.5/5
20 years ago today, on 7 September 1999, British mega UFO obsessed supersonic rockers MUSE released their debut album SHOWBIZZ. It’s really amazing how this mind and soul-stirring first longplayer was actually the predetermined blueprint for all they achieved over two decades later. From bombastic and grandiloquent musical extravaganza to sweet and tenderhearted balladry. It made them superstars in the UK and Europe!
ALL MUSIC wrote: “The musical touchstone for the British trio Muse is obviously Radiohead
and that fact is crystal clear from the smoldering opening cut, “Sunburn.” Their John Leckie-produced debut, Showbiz, is strong on angst-filled vocals, esoteric lyrics, and dramatic shifts
in sonic dynamics.” Full reviewhere
40 years ago, on 7 September 1979, all-female DIY punk misfits THE SLITS, led by the late great charismatic Ari-Up (John Lydon‘s stepdaughter) released their wayward, kooky and utterly cool debut album ‘CUT’. A superb anti-arty-farty record made by non-professional musicians. If they had been proper instrumentalists/vocalists this LP wouldn’t have been half as entertaining nor exciting nor gloriously turbulent. Their funky punky reggae havoc sounded as nothing else before and inspired a million girls to pick up a guitar and form a band! The Slits were highly inspiring underground heroines for generations to come.
PITCHFORK wrote: “When the group first formed, they couldn’t play their instruments for shit. The songs on the album offer an amalgam of punk’s abrasive DIY WTF-ness and the spacious relaxed rhythms of dub reggae. This album is a keystone for any and all punk-based grrrl movements. And– though it goes without saying, it’s often said anyway– this album is terribly, terribly important in the history of the rock music and the grand scheme of canonical flippity floo flap.” Score: 9.3/10 – Full review here.
Three Top Tracks‘: Typical Girls / Instant Hit / I Heard To The Grapevine
* TYPICAL GIRLS
* INSTANT HIT
* I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE (cover Marvin Gaye)
This day 40 years ago, on 2 September 1979, innovative and influential post-punk legends WIRE released their third, highly acclaimed LP ‘154‘. A great piece of work which had not really much in common with the post-punk/new wave era it was made in, per se. It rather revealed a band that was moving on, on their own exploring and sonically haunting terms which resulted in probably their finest achievement ever although the group made some intriguing longplayers in their third musical life that started back in 1999 and still flourishes today.
Here’s what ALL MUSIC wrote: “Named for the number of live gigs Wire had played to that point, 154 refines and expands the innovations of ‘Chairs Missing’, with producer Mike Thorne’s synthesizer effects playing an even more integral role… The best tracks retain their humanity thanks to the arrangements’ smooth, seamless blend of electronic and guitar textures and the beauty of the group’s melodies… It’s difficult to believe that a band that evolved as quickly and altered its sound as restlessly as Wire did could be out of ideas after only three years and three albums, but such was the case according to its members, and with their (temporary, as it turned out) disbandment following this album, Wire’s most fertile and influential period came to a close.” – Full review here. Score: 4.5/5
British/American punk survivors MEKONS, formed in 1976, released their eight LP
titled ‘ROCK ‘N’ ROLL‘ back in September 1989, 30 years ago. A varied straight in
your face piece of work. Yes, rock ‘n’ roll, but the Mekons way. Both thrilling and
honest, both awe-inspiring and great fun!
ALL MUSIC wrote: “Loud, unruly guitars, pissed-off vocals, The Mekons have made an unregenerate, unapologetic punk rock record. This is a dark record, one that comfortably negotiates the dark recesses of rock & roll. They rip the messianic aspirations of U2’s Bono (“Blow Your Tuneless Trumpet”), sing a tale of substance abuse that is both cautionary and parodic (“Cocaine Lil”), all the while cranking up a sonic tar pit of guitar noise… ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ is one of those cathartic records that only righteously indignant, justifiably pissed-off, grizzled veterans could make.” Full review here – Score: 4.5/5
Welsh legends MANIC STREET PREACHERS released their third album, masterpiece ‘THE HOLY BIBLE’ on 30 August 1994, 25 years ago. To my fan ears, this dark LP is the Manics’ most absorbing, imposing and unpolished achievement of their brilliant career.
It was the unfortunate Richey Edwards‘ last record before vanishing mysteriously. His cutting and at times very introvert, controversial and angry lyrics clearly showed that Edwards‘ demons were taking over. Musically it’s an irresistibly dynamic and terrifically edgy exploit. A solid gold magnum opus that still resonates as staggering as back then!
NME wrote: “Like most works of genuine genius, it’s a world away from anything else its creators ever set their hands to. Born as a reaction to the failure of their early bid to become a Valley Guns N’Roses, its white, seething fury at absolutely everything meant they could never go to such terrifying depths again… Musically, ‘The Holy Bible’ is incredible, the result of James Dean Bradfield’s decision to rein the band back into a shitty studio in Cardiff’s red light district. Abandoning stadium dynamics and embracing new wave, industrial, art rock and goth, the likes of ‘Faster’ and ‘Yes’ stand up as furious mutant metal hybrids.” Full review here . Score: 5/5
Three (of the many) highlights…
– REVOL –
– FASTER –
– THIS IS YESTERDAY –
(live rendition – Glastonbury 2003)
