|
 -
but will you agree?
In my final year at uni, I wrote a weekly Classic Album column
for The Cambridge Student newspaper. The brief - 220 words celebrating
an album of my own choosing, and make sure it's in by midnight on
Monday, or else. This freedom of choice went to my head, and the
following rather unusual selection of albums were featured. The
text appears as originally published - I've resisted the temptation
to make changes!
Please note this content is strictly copyright Sam Holloway 2001 with
exclusive licence to The Cambridge Student newspaper 2001 and may not be reproduced
elsewhere without prior written permission.
Tubeway
Army - Replicas
| The 1970s had seen so many changes in pop music that by the end of the
decade, no-one who’d been through it all had any idea
about the current situation, let alone the future. Then at the
start of 1979, Gary Numan’s band Tubeway Army released
an album that had mastery of both. The New Wave had been; the
New Romantics were coming, and that’s exactly where the
music lay. But the concepts were years ahead of the competition;
the landscape painted by the tracks is a bleak, electronic future
where ‘machines’ roam the streets terrorising the
human natives. Buyers were treated to a cover showing Gary standing
in a bleak room (stripped pine windows and bare light bulbs
– very Changing Rooms), heavily made-up in his trademark
black and white. And yet somehow it all seems quite pleasant
listening, as soaring guitars strum their way across layers
of throbbing, buzzing synths, creating catchy but dark pop tunes
such as ‘Are Friends Electric?’ that managed to
reach the very top of the singles chart. The rest of the album
is full of veritable early electronic anthems, even if the titles
do sometimes go too far (‘I Nearly Married A Human’,
anyone?). Although the concept may now seem quite clichéd
and silly, at the time it was the original, and the music still
sounds great today. |
Buy now
|
The
Divine Comedy - Casanova
| By the time The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon made this
his third album in 1996, his band had already found a cult following,
chiefly amongst the arts students and indie kids of the time.
But it was with ‘Casanova’ that they reached the
masses, spawning two Top 20 singles and establishing themselves
as real chart contenders. Contenders with a real musical and
lyrical edge, too. Despite many of the tracks boasting full
orchestral arrangements, the music retains an elegant simplicity
and, above all, a beautiful and memorable quality that just
glues the tunes inside your head. Viewers of ‘Father Ted’
have already heard this in action as the theme music is adapted
from the track ‘Songs of Love’. Lyrically, it’s
plain daft all the way, with Hannon’s bass baritone crooning
through anything from classic cinema (‘Alfie’) to
Radio 4 continuity announcements (‘Theme from Casanova’).
And although elements of all these styles can be found on other
Divine Comedy albums, it is here where the combination is best.
Their earlier records miss the depth and feeling, while more
recent collections lack the essential humour, making this a
truly unique mix of ingredients. With ‘Casanova’,
Neil Hannon showed that it was possible to be deliciously silly
and yet still retain an impeccable level of musical style and
sensibility. |
Buy now
|
Genesis
- Genesis
| During an early visit to a record shop at the age of four,
this became the album that started my record collection (along
with Now 1) and a brief glance at the cover indicates why it
was so appealing at the time. But what’s in it for the
more mature listener? It’s very much a record of two halves,
neatly reflecting the status of Genesis as a group at the time.
Throughout the previous decade, they had been famous for their
prog-rock style tracks with long, meandering guitar/synth solos
and rather random lyrics. This is still represented in tracks
such as the two-part epic ‘Home By The Sea’, featuring
an immensely powerful instrumental of the sort that art film
directors dream about. On the other hand, the rest of the album
comprises shorter, more restrained tracks with real radio-friendly
pop credentials. It was a change that threatened to alienate
old fans and hinted at the direction the band would take with
future albums and singles. This balance between the old and
the new makes for great listening that doesn’t tire with
self-indulgent fantasies or extended guitar ramblings. ‘Genesis’
is the perfect accompaniment to an evening’s work and,
what’s more, a fine document of the undergoing transition
from artistic rock to serious pop that was such a feature of
its time. |
Buy now
|
Liza
Minnelli - Results
| Most famous for being the daughter of Judy Garland (and for
playing Dorothy in the sequel to the Wizard of Oz), Liza Minnelli
is no stranger to showbiz. So if you saw an album by her, what
would you expect? Mushy movie music and booming Broadway ballads?
Well, those who bought this record in 1989 were in for a surprise
as they discovered it contained a set of perfectly formed catchy
electronic pop/dance tunes. The clue is on the back –
“Produced by Pet Shop Boys” – and it’s
this mix of traditional stage ‘n’ screen being dragged
into the modern age with layers of keyboards and pulsating drum
machines that makes for great listening. PSB fans will be right
at home, as Liza covers some of their songs and tries her hand
at new Tennant & Lowe compositions, giving each one a thoroughly
different twist. Sometimes the producers bring out her showbiz
upbringing; the version of ‘Rent’ is a very simple
but effective orchestral arrangement. Then things go the other
way, as traditionally slow tunes such as ‘Twist In My
Sobriety’ get the full dance treatment, with breaks, bangs
and beats. Very much a missed classic (and essential for PSB
completists), it’s a treat from start to finish for every
pop fan. ‘Results’ – it does exactly what
it says on the tin. |
Buy now
|
The
Crickets - The Chirpin' Crickets
| When this record was first pressed over forty years ago, the
word ‘album’ had a much more literal meaning - a
collection of songs. LPs were often no more than a few hit singles
padded out with tracks deemed unworthy of solo release; the
interest and money to create ‘proper’ album tracks
was simply not there. So what is it that makes ‘The Chirping
Crickets’ more than the sum of its parts? There are three
things that stand out : simplicity, originality and star quality.
Here, all are provided by Buddy Holly, the lead singer and guitarist
for The Crickets. Buddy was the oldest member of the group,
despite being just 21 at the time, and it is really his vision
and talent that shine all over this record. Co-writing most
of the songs with legendary Sun producer Norman Petty, there
are no fewer than five classic Holly hit singles featured, including
‘Oh Boy!’ and ‘That’ll Be The Day’.
The playing sounds young and fresh without being immature, but
it is the songs themselves that make this record special. The
template for practically every rock, ballad and pop song for
the next ten years can be found here. Never before had one group’s
sound and vision been so significant in shaping the future of
music. |
Buy now
|
Pink
Floyd - Wish You Were Here
| When a group produce so many albums that are widely regarded
as classics, it is quite difficult to single out just one. Early
Floyd albums are regularly hailed as masterpieces of 60s psychedelia
and their 70s works still sell millions today. This particular
selection was recorded in 1975 and represents the band in the
most mature and purest phase of their career. Following up from
the phenomenal success of ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’,
‘Wish You Were Here’ realises the full potential
of the LP format by continuously bombarding the listener with
sound, the only silence occurring in the original gap between
record sides. In five tracks, Roger Waters’ lyrics cover
just two subjects : former band member Syd Barrett (now living
as a recluse here in Cambridge) and the Floyd’s growing
wariness of the music industry - a subject that would dominate
future albums. But the range and warmth of the music is immense.
The combination of Dave Gilmour’s effortless guitar riffs
amd Waters’ pleading vocals, plus innovative electronic
whooshes and tape samples hold the listener in a strange but
welcoming alternate sonic world. ‘Wish You Were Here’
manages to be both frighteningly complex in the way tracks link
together and yet amazingly simple in its message and its music;
something that only few albums have ever achieved. |
Buy now
|
Leonard
Cohen - I'm Your Man
| Put this album in your CD player, and the first words that
greet you are “They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom.”
Hardly the most inspiring way to start a record - especially
for someone like Leonard Cohen, whose reputation for depressing,
maudlin music is legendary. So on hearing the opening to his
eighth studio album, many cynics assumed nothing was new in
Cohen’s world. His favourite themes of death, war, revolution
and lost love can be found throughout every track, and they’re
all sung in a deep, grating rasp. What is it, then, that saves
this album from keeping the Samaritans busy? Listen carefully
and repeatedly and you’ll hear that these aren’t
the usual collection of downbeat, miserable Cohen tunes. There
is an undeniable message of hope and freedom in every one –
the title track is nothing but a classic love song, and tracks
such as “Ain’t No Cure For Love” show a much
happier outlook to life. The instrumentation is modern but sparse,
featuring simple synth and strings backing most tracks, which
adds a further lightness to the set. Much to the dismay of his
critics but to the delight of his fans, “I’m Your
Man” gave Leonard Cohen a worthy comeback album and showed
a new optimism for the future. |
Buy now
|
|
