Hidden Charms : Willie Dixon’s aptly titled final CD

Willie Dixon’s 1988 Hidden Charms was one of the first non-compilation blues CDs I bought and I have a great fondness for the album. Although a prominent bassist and producer at Chess Records, Dixon is more remembered as the composer of many blues classics like I Can’t Quit You Baby, Little Red Rooster, Hoochie Coochie Man, I Just Want To Make Love To You and many more tunes covered by late 1960s bands from Led Zeppelin to the Rolling Stones (check out Wikipedia’s article on Willie Dixon).

Generally not considered an essential or great blues album by diehard blues fans, the music on Hidden Charms is nonetheless very listenable and won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Recording in 1988. The songs on the album aren’t of the more popular blues rock variety but all the tracks offer a groovy sound. Featuring an all star band of Chess session musicians Dixon had worked with from the 1950s and 1960s mixed with some newer talents like Sugar Blue (on harp), the performances on the songs are understated but very tasteful. In particular, one can hear great rapport between guitarist Cash McCall, pianist Lafeyette Leake and Sugar Blue on I Cry For You (the highlight of the CD for me) and I Do The Job.  Jazz bassist Red Callender provides classy bass lines that provides tracks like Don’t Mess With The Messer and I Don’t Trust Myself with an old school swinging big band sound.

It is also worth mentioning that the sound quality on the Hidden Charms CD is excellent. Highly recommended.

Gothic metal version of 將冰山劈開

Sandra’s In The Heat Of The Night was a big hit in the 1980s – the Cantonese version of the song 將冰山劈開 was sung by Anita Mui and was extremely popular in Hong Kong. Recently I came across a cover of the song by a Finnish gothic metal band called To Die For. Enjoy.

Watchmen trailer song from Batman and Robin!

For those interested – the song featured on the Watchmen trailer is actually an alternate version of The Smashing Pumpkin’s The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning. The original version of the song features a faster tempo, rocks harder, and was used in Joel Schumacher’s film Batman and Robin. The alternate cut of the song slows down the tempo to create a much moodier and depressive atmosphere.

Both versions of the song can be found on the soundtrack of Batman and Robin, but NOT on the Watchmen soundtrack CD.

Boy Child : excellent introduction to Scott Walker

After years of deliberation, I finally bought Boy Child, the compilation CD of Scott Walker’s late 60s music. Even on the first spin of the disc, I immediately came to love the music – I can even say this is the most interesting AND listenable CD I have bought in a very long time.

Scott Walker has a great reputation as a singer-songwriter musicians’ listen to and cite as influences. Often this means the music is not very accessible. But Scott Walker’s early albums covered in Boy Child is an odd mixture of 60s pop that sounds like pop yet is more. Walker’s baritone vocals remind me on Tom Jones, and so does the orchestration of strings that create the unique atmosphere of much of his music. Yet, the music is not quite as timid or chart friendly as this makes it seem.

As this is my first Scott Walker CD, it seems I will definitely be acquiring more of his catalogue – probably Scott 4, Tilt and The Drift.

Verdict : highly recommended!

Swamp rock perfected on CCR’s Bayou Country

For the longest time, the only Creedence Clearwater Revival album I had was their greatest hits album Chronicle, Vol. 1 – this excellent disc contained their hit singles and the songs are mostly tight and staples of classic rock radio.

I was aware of John Fogerty’s reputation as an outstanding guitarist, but there are only glimpses of his fretwork on Chronicle, Vol. 1. So a few weeks ago, I went out and bought the band’s first 2 albums.

CCR’s self-titled debut album finds the band still performing cover songs – the band already sounds tight but lacks the confidence that emerges on their second album, Bayou Country. CCR finds it definite sound on Bayou Country and the mixture of hit singles with more adventurous extended jams makes it one very enjoyable album. On these 2 albums, Fogerty’s guitar work is looser and more creative than on the later albums, where he focuses on creating more simple but catchy songs at the expense of musical experimentation.

I heartily recommend Bayou Country as an top notch late 60’s classic rock album!

Axl Rose releases Chinese Democracy in Dec 08

Chinese Democracy was never going to live up to the all the media hype – but one can hear Axl Rose trying hard to do something different, branch out and incorporate newer elements into this album. So the irony is that most of the tracks sound very much like the bombastic epics on the Use Your Illusion albums. I’m not convinced the fret-shredding guitar work compliment the songs, and to be honest, on the ballads, Buckethead even sounds like Slash (I’m referring to the guitar tone).

Oddly, while I really would not call this album superior to any of Guns N Roses’ previous releases, I find myself listening to it quite often. I wouldn’t call Chinese Democracy great, but it isn’t bad either. While nowhere near the greatness of Appetite for Destruction, it nevertheless presents itself as a solid rock album.

A solid but not exceptional hard rock album Probably too many ballads. Still, recommended for fans of Axl Rose.

Is Metallica’s Death Magnetic any good?

Once the most respected metal band on the planet, Metallica went mainstream in 1991 with their blockbuster black album. Since that breakthrough, they have struggled to come up with a decent follow-up – partly, this was because grunge took over the music landscape in the early-mid 1990s, and Metallica had to evolve to survive. But what were they going to evolve into? Since 1991, they have tried to remain relevant (Load is sort of like alt-metal) but ended alienating themselves from fans (suing Napster), and ended up producing St. Anger (generally regarded as one of the crappiest albums ever made) in 2003.

Metallica’s latest album was marketed as a return to their roots. Essentially, this means Metallica failed to evolve into something more modern, more relevant and decided to return to their classic sound. Now, there is nothing wrong with this – sometimes we just want more of the same. But does Death Magnetic measure up to the high standards of Metallica’s first 4 albums?

In my opinion, not really. Sure, Kirk Hammett gets to play many guitar solos as if in compensation for the lack of solos on St. Anger. The tracks on Death Magnetic all hark back to the suite like epics of their glory days – tunes shift midway, tempos change, Hammett’s solos cut in, more aggressive riffing from James Hetfield . . . but for me, the riffs aren’t striking, aggressive or have enough attitude to them. Same for the solos, they seem to go on and on, but they fail to keep me interested.

Death Magnetic isn’t bad – it just isn’t exceptional either.

Thumbs up for David Gilmour’s Live In Gdansk!

David Gilmour’s latest CD Live In Gdansk consists of the entirety of his most recent studio album On An Island and fan favourite Pink Floyd tunes. I bought the plain 2CD version but apparently there are multiple options, some containing a DVD of the recorded concert. The band featured on the discs include Pink Floyd’s recently deceased founder and keyboard player Richard Wright as well as Roxy Music guitar virtuoso Phil Manzanera.

I am very impressed with this live album. These live versions of songs from On An Island sound more energetic – if there was one criticism I had of that studio album was it felt too lethargic. The live versions improve on the originals by concentrating less on lush textures and more on the tunes themselves; tempo of songs are less plodding and the guitar interplay between Gilmour and Manzanera is enjoyable.

Regarding the versions of Pink Floyd songs included in Live In Gdansk, I also believe they are worth owning. Firstly, the versions of Time, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Wish You Were Here (nice piano fills) and a riveting Astronomy Domine all sound different enough from previous Pink Floyd live sets to make them worth listening to. More importantly, these versions of Fat Old Sun and Echoes are scorching hot!! David Gilmour’s guitar playing sounds re-vitalized and fresher than it has been in years – maybe the result of including an accomplished guitarist like Manzenera in the band as competition. The quality of music here is not of a cynical veteran going on tour to make a quick buck.

I wholeheartedly recommend Live In Gdansk for good song selection,  great sound quality and excellent guitar playing.

CD1 (Duration – 1:09:25)
01 : Speak To Me
02 : Breathe
03 : Time
04 : Breathe (Reprise)
05 : Castellorizon
06 : On An Island
07 : The Blue
08 : Red Sky At Night
09 : This Heaven
10 : Then I Close My Eyes
11 : Smile
12 : Take A Breath
13 : A Pocketful Of Stones
14 : Where We Start

CD2 (Duration – 1:19:45)
1 : Shine On You Crazy Diamond
2 : Astronomy Domine
3 : Fat Old Sun
4 : High Hopes
5 : Echoes
6 : Wish You Were Here
7 : A Great Day For Freedom
8 : Comfortably Numb

Portishead’s Third : Cold but engrossing

Portishead took over a decade to come up with their third proper album, dully titled Third. In 1994 when they burst onto the scene, Portishead sounded unique and surprisingly their songs received a fair amount of airplay. In fact their songs were even used (and blatantly plagiarized) in many TV commercials. It seems Portishead want to distance themselves from the sound that made them famous and their subsequent music has been progressively more abrasive, cumulating in this latest album.

Third distinctly sounds like a Portishead album, but gone are the more accessible melodies. In its place are bursts of cold and harsh synthesized chords with layers of distorted guitars. Beth Gibbon’s vocals are more jagged and nuanced than previous albums as well. Make no mistake, the music is oppressive and depressing.

Listening again to the album last night, sonically Third reminded me of the spartan and detached production of Martin Hannett’s Joy Division albums. Adrian Utley’s guitar playing is more aggressive and angular and in some songs, it reminded me as well of Joy Division’s guitar driven songs. I also thought some of the keyboards owe a debt to Kraftwerk.

I highly recommended this album to serious music fans of somber (and depressing) music. Third is a album of very high quality and demands more than a  few spins to appreciate.

Outstanding tracks : We Carry On, Machine Gun, Small

Aztec Camera’s Love revisited : still sounds excellent

Aztec Camera’s 1987 album Love is perhaps the band’s least loved by critics. But while certainly not the band’s strongest effort, Love gets played frequently on my iPod. Fronted by Scottish singer-songwriter Roddy Frame, Aztec Camera offers a unique sound; I haven’t really come across anything similar to the band’s blend of light guitar sound, alt-rock sensibility and smart lyrics. And like I wrote before, it is an amazing album for a breezy summer afternoon!

The songs on Love are probably less quirky or striking than the ones on their debut album High Land, Hard Rain – but the music is sweet, light and pleasant. Roddy Frame’s understated but tasteful guitar solos are highlighted in many of the better songs. Production sounds a bit sterile as 1980s pop tends to, but is not over-produced like their 2nd album Knife (which was produced by Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler). Somewhere In My Heart – the rocking hit single that made me a fan of Aztec Camera and Roddy Frame – is still one of my favourite tracks by the band. Other outstanding titles include medium paced ballads Deep Wide and Tall, How Men Are, More Than A Law, and Killermont Street.

Love failed to transform Aztec Camera into a major pop rock act as it was undoubtedly supposed to. But it nonetheless delivers an excellent collection of tender and smart love songs. Highly recommended.

Alvin and the Chipmunks : Witchdoctor

I came across this clip of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Reminds me of my childhood – Dad owned one of their records! This scene features the Chipmunks singing The Witchdoctor!

Black Rain adds nothing to Ozzy legend

Based on a few decent reviews, I bought Ozzy Osbourne’s latest album Black Rain. Ozzy has become a household name with his reality show, but despite this the reviews I read claim that his new CD delivers decent if not groundbreaking music. Obviously, Ozzy has lost the energy he put forth in his prime solo albums and while the riffs by Zakk Wylde are OK, nothing here is too striking.

I gave the disc a full spin today and my initial impression was that Black Rain the album sounds very much like a pop-metal offering from the late 1980s / early 1990s. Nothing here is horrid but neither are the songs impressive.

Verdict : inconsequential metal music

Karajan in 1966 : Beethoven’s 5th on YouTube

This Karajan clip was recommended to me today. In this rather dramatic 1966 recording, he is conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. The clip contains the 1st and 2nd movements. I especially like the zoom in on Karajan’s hands!

Furtwangler’s famous 1942 performance

I recently heard Furtwangler’s performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 on MP3. His rendition of the 3rd movement is very slow – over 20 minutes compared to Karajan’s 16:50 on his 1977 DG recording. The sound quality was not as bad as I thought. I then did a search on YouTube and found this amazing clip!

I’m impressed by the performance and might have to acquire the CD someday.

Aztec Camera’s Love : perfect for a hot summer day

What music should I play to this rather hot weather? That’s the question I asked myself this afternoon. Somehow, Chicago blues doesn’t work when the temperature is above 25 C. So, today, I searched my Foobar album list for something that suited this heat – and I came out with one of my favourite summer albums, Aztec Camera’s very breezy mid 1980s album Love. Although generally derided as being lightweight and inferior to their debut album High Land Hard Rain, I have a particular fondness for many songs on the CD. Much of this has to do with my associating the music with the summer when I graduated from secondary school. I liked the lyrics then, don’t really mind them now, and Roddy Frame plays some of the best guitar solos and fills among my pop albums.

Standout tracks : #1 Deep Wide & Tall, #2 How Men Are, #4 More Than A Law, #5 Somewhere In My Heart, #9 Killermont Street

Rediscoveries : Chris Rea’s La Passione

I bought this album maybe 10 years ago. Back then, the disc’s laid back music and failure to meet my expectations of a Chris Rea album made it a disappointing purchase. I was expecting somewhat bluesy songs with nice guitar work – but instead the album offered plenty of string arrangements, more than a few instrumental pieces, and little overt guitar work (i.e riff based songs).

Listening the La Passione today, I was much more impressed with the music. As a film soundtrack, the CD manages to create very moody textures yet remain listenable as an album. I find that with many soundtracks, composers repeat the themes too often and it becomes a bore to listen to the entire CD. Not so with La Passione. Despite not being a pop or rock album, the disc lives up to repeated listening and is much more than incidental background music. A few songs feature vocals by Shirley Bassey, and Chris Rea’s unique guitar work is present although not prominent in the mix. Although La Passione will remain a curiosity in Chris Rea’s canon, I quite like it as a late night piece.