From New Wave to the 'NOW', experience the thrill of NEW WAVE from it's beginnings in the late '70s to the modern bands so obviously influenced by it! So, if you grew up in the '80s and still enjoy discovering new sounds as well as rediscovering old favorites, then read on!
PUNK! POWER POP! SYNTH POP! NEW WAVE! POST-PUNK!
Can you name one song by David Courtney? If not one that he recorded under his own name, can you name a tune he wrote for someone else?
If the answer is 'NO' then that's a real shame because Courtney was (and still is) a gifted British songwriter that deserves your attention. He's written tracks for many artists and has remained a songwriter first, although he released some mighty fine albums under his own moniker. While he did have great success by discovering and co-writing much of the early Leo Sayer material, his name, so far, has only been remembered by those who pay attention to liner notes and have a knowledge of rock's more obscure artists. And lets be honest, we know that a good portion of bands on those obscure lists can be loads more talented than the bands that had a substantial commercial breakthrough.
Apart from working with Sayer, Courtney is responsible for co-writing all of Who vocalist Roger Daltrey's first solo album, Daltrey, in 1973 either with Sayer or with British pop star/actor Adam Faith.
Speaking of Adam Faith, Courtney was responsible for getting the British icon back into the studio after nearly 20 years away. The album that they worked on together, I Survive (1974), was worlds away from Adam's teen pop recordings from the the early '60s. I Survive was the work of two artists intent on creating a new image for Faith, one which would show that he was a serious musical artist and not one that lived on past glories. More like Ronnie Lane's earthy recordings or perhaps The Kinks and David Bowie's more acoustic-based '70s work, I Survive was an eclectic showcase for all involved. The album featured guest appearances from Paul & Linda McCartney, Ritchie Blackmore, Russ Ballard, Bob Henritt and Martin Birch. I Survive wasn't the commercial success that everyone hoped for, but the album received positive reviews and has withstood the test of time. The 2010 reissue on Angel Air Records features two additional bonus tracks.
As for David Courtney's own solo releases, he may not have been prolific but the handful of titles released under his own name are well worth any music fan's time. The early Kinks and Bowie references can be applied here as well, but there's also a tip of the musical hat to Bob Dylan, music hall, '60s pop, tin pan alley and so many other genres that weave in and out of each song. While they are certainly the work of the same artist, Courtney's albums don't stand in one place too long.
David Courtney's First Day was his 1975 debut solo album and is a wonderfully unique release that features loads of great tunes that are filled with more musical ideas than most artists' entire career. The orchestral opening ("Silverbird") makes way for the Spector-esque production of "Don't Look Now" followed by the Bowie-goes-Country vibe of "Everybody Needs A Little Loving". And that's just the beginning... The album works because Courtney is a great songwriter who knows his way around a hook but prefers to do things his way and doesn't always conform to the standard songwriting or arranging formula. With musical assistance from David Gilmour, Tony Burrows, Russ Ballard, B.J. Cole and many others, David Courtney's First Day is thinking man's Pop Rock. The album received great reviews and made an impression in the Pop charts as well. The Angel Air Records reissue adds seven additional tracks.
When it came to following up such a monumental release, Courtney went back into the studio in 1976 with most of Argent and cut his second solo album, Midnight Madness. The album was completed and ready for release but Courtney felt it wasn't worthy of being the follow-up to First Day so he shelved the entire project. Four years later, he went back into the studio and recorded the Shooting Star album (named after the hit single he wrote for the pop duo Dollar). Shooting Star was a synth-laden affair yet it still managed to retain all the charm of his previous output. Sadly, he chose not to release the album and shelved it as well. He eventually released the albums in limited quantities but they were extremely difficult to get ahold of. Thankfully, Angel Air Records has compiled both albums on one CD and that release is due in January 2013.
In 2012, Courtney released the album The Show Must Go On, which was a musical journey through his long career and contains new recordings of songs he did with Sayer, new material and some classics from the albums listed above (including a few from Adam Faith). While not a 'hits' collection. The Show Must Go On is both an introduction to the man's great work and a step forward while looking back. Like all his releases, it's top notch and contains songs that will make you wonder why on earth he has remained in the background for so long.
When the average music listener thinks of Prog Rock, most likely the bands Yes, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer and King Crimson spring to mind first. The more 'educated' music fan (ie: geek) will probably throw in names like Van Der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant and maybe some more modern acts like Marillion and Dream Theater. But, like any music scene, things get exciting when you look beyond the U.S. and UK shores and start digging deeper into bands from other countries like Italy, Germany and Poland. While English lyrics may grace most of the releases, some of the bands do sing in their native tongue. But isn't it the music and musicianship that matters most?
Metal Mind Productions is a Polish label and one of the finest Rock/Prog/Metal labels in the universe. Whether you love Thrash Metal, Death Metal, classic Heavy Metal, AOR or Prog, Metal Mind has something you'll slobber over. Yes, they did sign a band by the name of Anal Stench (insert your favorite 'stink' joke here) but they also handled some amazing reissues by AOR and classic Metal bands like Giuffria, Boulevard, Lillian Axe and Tank. In fact, their catalog is so varied that its always exciting to see what they release next. You may not love everything on the label, but there's something for everybody to love.
Some may love to scan the radio dials and look for something 'new' to listen to. Others may want to read Rolling Stone or Pitchfork to stay on top of the latest musical trends. Me? I just love to hear as much as possible in any way that I can. And yes, I am very blessed to be able to listen to a lot of different things each week, whether they are new artists or reissues. With that being said, Metal Mind is a label I'll always pay attention to. I don't like all of it, but I appreciate the fact that they exist and they are great at doing what they do. With each of their releases that I'm lucky to get a hold of, I listen and I learn.
Being a relative newcomer to their catalog, I was over the moon when they released a batch of 2CD sets that contained a pair of albums by some of Poland's greatest Prog Rock artists: SBB, Collage, Satellite and Believe. These 2CD sets are reasonably... no, make that incredibly... priced and should be snapped up by anyone wishing to expand their musical horizons, Prog Rock or otherwise.
SBB
SBB are one of Poland's longest-lasting Prog bands, originally forming in 1971. While they did split up in 1980, they've reformed a few times over the years and made that reformation semi-permanent in 2000. Metal Mind has released two separate double disc sets: Iron Curtain/ Memento Z Banalnym Tryptykiem and Nastroje/Ze Slowem Biegne Do Ciebie. Both sets provide a great overview of the band's later work and offer up a plethora of great Prog moments.
COLLAGE
For anyone into the '80s and '90s Prog Rock scene, Collage were one of the best of the best. Like a mixture of both Fish and Hogarth eras of Marillion, Collage's sound mixes the lush and moving sounds of classic '70s bands with clean, well-produced modern Prog shine while tossing in loads of stunning melodic hooks. With great vocals and musicianship, Collage sound just as wonderful today as these nearly 20 year old recordings sounded when first released. My current favorite is the Moonshine album, which contains many 'wow' moments. Metal Mind has released two different double CD sets, both of which are pretty amazing: Changes/Moonshine and Basnie/Safe.
BELIEVE
While Collage may have broken up, the band's members have gone on to create more great Prog. Believe was formed by former Collage guitarist Mirek Gil, who takes the band in a similar lush direction. The playing is superb, the production is warm and open and the songs are top notch. Sometimes, it's hard to understand why a band from Poland can't make waves in the U.S., but I suppose there is always time. The double CD set World is Round/Yesterday Is A Friend offers up some magnificent music that is as moving as it is melodic.
SATELLITE
Continuing with Collage offshoots, Satellite was formed by that band's drummer, lyricist and co-writer Wojtek Szadowski. With the help of new bandmates and some of his Collage pals, Satellite's music picks up where his old band's Moonshine album left off. Mesmerizing melodies drift in and out of expertly arranged Prog movements, never sounding old and tired. Frustrating as it seems, Satellite are constantly compared to Collage, although they do tend to travel above and beyond the musical boundaries that he helped create nerely two decades ago. The two double disc sets include the albums A Street Between Sunrise And Sunset/Into The Night and Evening Games/Nostalgia.
DICK JENSEN is arguable the greatest music entertainer to hail from the Pacific paradise islands of Hawaii. Immersing himself on native Hawaiian sounds and the Pop, Soul, Country and Rock music he heard on radio, it wasn't long before this Blue-Eyed Soul vocalist began to catch attention across the music world. After spending the '60's and early '70's wowing crowds from Las Vegas to Mexico City and his native Hawaii, where he supported The Rolling Stones on their 1966 US tour (his exuberant dance moves were likened to James Brown and Jackie Wilson), and releasing a number of well received records on various labels Jensen found himself signed to the legendary Philadelphia International Records in 1972. The following year, backed by the insatiable PIR house band MFSB, Jensen released this debut with the label to an initially muted response. It is now considered a long lost classic.
With liner notes by Discussions Magazine's Stephen SPAZ Schnee!
David Cross, the actor, writer and stand-up comedian known primarily for his work on Arrested Development and HBO's sketch comedy series Mr. Show, is now available as a Throbblehead.
This figure of David, mid-scream, live on stage is limited to 1000 numbered units, stands at 7 inches tall, and is made of polyresin.
David is accurately sculpted right down to his signature glasses and bald head.
This figure was made in an exclusive partnership with Fun Fun Fun Fest 2012.
"Wow! What a true honor to be amongst this line-up of some of my personal heroes," said Cross. "I personally have a G.G. Allin and Tesco Vee Throbblehead sitting on my shelf at home, as well as a copy of 'Henry and Glenn Forever' that I bought for a poet friend of mine. This should make a great stocking stuffer, should anyone care to have their stockings stuffed. And keep in mind, 0% of the proceeds go to charity!"
(An edited version of this interview appears in Discussions Magazine)
Though he is best remembered in the U.S. for his massive 1972 hit “Alone Again (Naturally)”, Irish-British singer/songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan does not deserve the ‘one hit wonder’ tag that he has been laden with on these shores. To begin with, he actually scored THREE bona-fide hits in the U.S. in the early ‘70s (“Clair” and “Get Down” were the other two). And unlike most of his contemporaries, he’s never stopped recording and touring. He may not be as prolific as he was in the early ‘70s, but Gilbert continues to release albums every few years, none of which has seen U.S. release. In fact, apart from a few ‘best of’ collections (including a best seller on Rhino Records), Gilbert has not released an album in America since his ‘70s heyday, which is an absolute shame.
Often said to be a mixture of the whimsical side of early solo Paul McCartney and the moody, observational style of Randy Newman, Gilbert’s unique songwriting style is probably closer to early Harry Nilsson than those two artists. Then again, Gilbert’s love of pre-Rock ‘n’ Roll songwriters like Cole Porter is evident in his material as well. He’s a mixture of music hall, Pop, Broadway, Folk and just about any other song-based genre you can imagine. The important thing to remember is that, to this day, he continues to write songs that are just as good as anything in his back catalog, if not better. His love of songwriting is apparent in everything he has recorded and he has never released anything that he doesn’t sound passionate and spirited about. Gilbert does not rest on his laurels and he refuses to live in the past. He is proud of his back catalog but remains dedicated to the craft of songwriting. And unlike almost all of his contemporaries, he hasn’t lost the ability to write great melodies and stunning lyrics.
Over the course of 2012, Salvo/Union Square reissued remastered and expanded editions of Gilbert’s first seven albums (Himself, Back To Front, I’m A Writer Not A Fighter, A Stranger In My Own Back Yard, Southpaw, Off Centre and Life & Rhymes) as well as a career-spanning Very Best Of, which covers his entire career up through Gilbertville. Listening to songs like the gorgeous “Dear Dream” or the 9/11 tribute “All They Wanted To Say”, it’s amazing that some of the best songs here were written and recorded some 20, 30 and even 40 years after his so-called ‘heyday’. Seems that Gilbert may not have reached his peak yet!
The album reissues are sound amazing and look great, which is a trademark of anything that Salvo/Union Square does. Each of the seven albums, which were released between 1971 and 1982, are truly stunning collections of pop confections. His hit singles only tell part of the O’Sullivan story: the albums fill in the blanks with some truly amazing musical musings. There may be a dated production gimmick here or there, but the songs withstand the test of time and each release is highly recommended.
Stephen SPAZ Schnee was able to have a chat with Gilbert, who was gracious enough to talk about the reissues as well as his new material, his love of songwriting and more…
SPAZ: Your back catalog has been remastered and Salvo/Union Square have released your first seven albums in their Singer And His Songs reissue series. You’ve also been promoting your latest album, Gilbertville. How are you feeling about things right now?
GILBERT O’SULLIVAN: I’ve given my catalog to Union Square, who are a very good company. They will release everything worldwide. But the reason that I work, the reason I’m on the road isn’t because of my back catalog. Of course I’m very proud of it, but it’s because I release a new album every couple of years. Europe gets those, but you don’t get those in America. To me, my future depends on what I do new, but I’m conscious that it interests you because you don’t get the new material. But Union Square will release the back catalog, the early albums, in your territory so therefore, it makes sense to talk about it. But I’m very happy with it. They do a good job; they’re a very good company. It’s the firsy time I’ve given away the rights for a period of time to another company.
SPAZ: Being that you are still promoting Gilbertville, is it difficult to look back and talk about your old recordings?
GILBERT: I get offers all the time to do TV shows around the world and they just want me to do an old song. I always turn them down, but what I accept is when I can do a new song and an old song so I never mind that. For me, it has to combine the new and the old. I’m not one of those artists that is just sitting in the past. There’s nothing wrong with that. There are people that don’t make records any more, don’t write any more and they’re very happy to live with their back catalog. I’m proud of my back catalog, but I balance that with what I’m doing now. I like to think that people are interested in what I’m doing now as well as the interest they have in my past.
SPAZ: While there have been reissues of your albums in the past (notably in Japan), why did it take so long to finally do it properly with remastering and bonus material?
GILBERT: The Japanese did a good job over there. In America, apart from a Rhino Records ‘best of’, they did put out a limited box set (through Rhino Handmade), which was really nice. I’ve had offers from American companies to do a best of but I’ve turned them down. I’ve had offers from other parts of the world to do a best of and I’ve just resisted that. With Union Square, I talked to them and it took 2 ½ or 3 years before I agreed to it. Based on what I’ve seen, the work they’ve done with other artists, I felt comfortable that they would do a good job, so I think we’re in good hands there.
SPAZ: Were you actively involved in putting the reissues together?
GILBERT: Totally. Absolutely. Of course, talking with the journalists about the songs (for the liner notes), agreeing with what was put on it, approving the artwork… I’m very, very careful about how it’s handled and who handles it.
SPAZ: Judging by the demos on your debut album, Himself, it seems that you had worked out your sound early on. Has it been difficult to maintain your individuality in the midst of constant musical changes over the years?
GILBERT: I was never really conscious in terms of individuality: I just sounded like I sounded. In the beginning, if you listen to my demos, I was very Dylan influenced. Dylan is a vocalist and Lennon & McCartney are a catalyst for songwriting. So, if you put those two together, you get me. I don’t have a great voice: I have a distinctive voice, I have a good voice. Obviously, I’ve gotten better as a singer as the years have gone by. For example, on earlier albums, I did a lot of double tracking. It’s interesting: when you don’t have a really strong voice and you double track, it sounds really good. But when your voice starts to get better, double tracking doesn’t sound so good.
SPAZ: Each of your albums are filled with timeless songs that are just as relevant and exciting today as they were 40 years ago. Did you ever think that you’d be sitting here, talking about the album four decades later?
GILBERT: I’m very, very ambitious, very determined and very enthusiastic about songwriting. I love songwriting. Everything I do is based around songwriting. Without the song, there’s no artist. It’s a love I have for that. I’ve never sat here and wondered what makes something a big success or not. Or what makes a hit record or what is it people like about me. I just get on with it. It’s blinkers on. As long as you concentrate on what it is that has got you to where you are…
SPAZ: Do you have any particular memories of recording your debut album, Himself?
GILBERT: Some of it was recorded in Las Vegas because Gordon Mills, my manager, was with Tom Jones in Vegas. In those days, you did two songs in three hours. Everything on that album was done in three hour sessions. We’d go into Decca studios and do two songs in three hours, come back and do string arrangements and then I’d put a vocal on in another small session. There was never a period in those days where you’d have a whole day in the studio, where as now you can take a week to put the drums on.
SPAZ: Your recording career actually began a bit before your debut album. Do you remember when you first realized that something special was happening?
GILBERT: The very first session with Gordon Mills was an extremely memorable one. Up to that point, I’d been serving my apprenticeship with record companies. On CBS, the first record I made, I didn’t like it and so I got them to release the demo of “Disappear” as a single because I didn’t like the records I was making with Mike Smith, who was the producer for The Love Affair and The Tremeloes, who was usually successful. I didn’t really care much for what they were doing but I was the new kid on the block and who was I to tell them what I wanted? So, I moved from CBS to Major Minor. I had a really good song written about the death of Bobby Kennedy called “I Wish I Could Cry”. I was really proud of that song. But they ruined that for me so I left them. So, I decided that I needed a manager to help me. When Gordon came along and he liked my songs, the first session with him was a revelation. I was working with great musicians and we did were “Nothing Rhymed” and “Independent Air”, the first two songs in the three hours. Forget the fact that I had no idea if “Nothing Rhymed” was going to be a success or anything. But those two songs were the first time that I’d made a record that I really loved and felt really proud of. I didn’t even care how it was going to be received by anybody. Those are the sort of things you remember. In a sense, from there on in, working with Gordon when we were in the studio was great fun because he produced the records. He wrote songs himself, so he understood the process.
SPAZ: In many of your songs, you sing from a point of view other than your own. Have you found it difficult when critics or fans confuse the issue and assume that you are expressing your own personal feelings? When I was a kid, I truly did feel great sympathy for the singer in “Alone Again (Naturally)”….
GILBERT: I don’t mind. It’s not based on my experiences: it’s based on an understanding of someone in that situation. What’s the criteria for a good lyricist? What the criteria for good fiction? Situations that you believe in. I like dark subjects. They interest me. If I don’t have the experience of being stood up at a church or attempting suicide, I like to think that when I get into the lyric, I get into what somebody in that situation is going through. That’s what interests me. That’s where the love of being a lyricist comes from: the fact that you envelope yourself in those situations. I am very comfortable with people who THINK it’s me. I don’t mind that, there’s nothing wrong with that. Once the song is out there, if your take on what it’s about is very different than what mine was, I would say that you’re absolutely right because it’s your song. Once it goes out there, then its yours so whatever you think it’s about is acceptable to me. I would never criticize anybody who has a different explanation to a lyric of mine than what I actually meant it to be.
SPAZ: You’ve often been compared to Paul McCartney, Randy Newman and, to these ears, Harry Nilsson. What were the main influences that helped create your unique sound?
GILBERT: As a 17-18 year old starting to write songs, I had Ella Fitzgerald Sings Cole Porter. I had Ella Fitzgerald Sings Rodgers &Hart. I was interested in songwriting. It’s like being an artist. I was an art student for four years and when you study art, you go through the history of art: the classics and contemporary art. In musical terms, what do we do? We listen. People would say to me, “How do you write songs? You don’t read music.” Well, none of my contemporaries from 1960 onwards read music…. Maybe Goffin & King did read music… certainly Bacharach did. But Lennon & McCartney didn’t. Ray Davies doesn’t. I don’t think Billy Joel reads music. None of my contemporaries read music. Why? Our ability to write songs comes from a love of what we hear on the radio. It’s the love of music that we hear that makes it slightly different to what people hear: it seems to resonate deeper. Because we’re writing songs, what happens is, in the beginning, you write exactly like what you hear but eventually, you write something that you hope is an original idea. For me, it’s always about songwriting. There’s never a moment when I feel that ‘I love you’ is a boring subject to write about. I always feel I’m learning as a songwriter. I still think there’s loads of ways to write about the same subject that you’ve written about for 40 years. It never fails to excite me when I sit down with a blank notebook, and I haven’t got a melody that I’m going be working on. People say that “Alone Again (Naturally)” is a depressing song. OK, it might be depressing, but I was very happy when I wrote it. People say “Well, you wrote about unwanted pregnancy and getting rid of the baby.” Well, I’m not for abortion, but you put yourself in the situation of a working class family with a daughter who gets pregnant. Does she get rid of it or does she have it? It’s very easy for me to write about these things because it’s real life. As a lyricist, those kind of subjects and areas interest me.
SPAZ: Your latest album, Gilbertville, is yet another great collection of fantastic tunes. Songs like “Missing You Already”, “All They Wanted To Say” and ‘Private Eye” are just as great as anything you’ve done before. Since you don’t release albums as prolifically as you did before, how many completed songs did you have to choose from in order to come up with the songs that made the album?
GILBERT: I’m a disciplined writer. I sit down five days a week, four weeks a month. I just stay there. It’s never a waste of time. All you’re looking for is a tune, a melody. When you get something that you like, you move on, you do more. You just keep collecting melodies. And the key is this: if it’s a good melody, it will survive 5 years, 10 years, 20 years…. Never finish a lyric. If you end up finishing a lyric and not recording it, the lyric could become dated. So, what I do is I try to come up with melodies. When I sit down for the next project, I have enough melodies. There’s no lyrics, not titles, just a collection of melodies. Very important. The melody is that important to me. So, that’s how it will work: I’ll sit down with the first melody and I’ll have no idea what lyrically it is going to be about. But each album will be based around that particular approach.
SPAZ: So, that’s how Gilbertville came about?
GILBERT: For Gilbertville, I always wanted to do an album in Nashville. But I don’t like Country songs. I like Pop songs. We were working with Nashville musicians in a really good studio. It was an exciting project. I think it’s a danger, no matter how good you are, if you use the same musicians every album and you’re the same writer, no matter how different you might think the songs are, there’s going to be a certain sameness about it. The way to avoid that is to vary it, to go somewhere else to do it… to give each album a slightly different aspect to the one before it. That’s very important I think.
SPAZ: Has your routine changed over the years or is it pretty much the same?
GILBERT: It’s exactly the same. I have lots of technology that I buy to supposedly help me to record stuff but, nah, I throw that all away and I go back and stick to the cassette. It’s a comfort zone for me. As a lyricist, I think that there is something in you that allows you to be able to use words. But I think musically, you have to be influenced. There’s a great danger for contemporaries of mine that we lose the melodic touch simply because we don’t like what we hear now and we’re not that bothered by it. I try to avoid that because I’m conscious of what could happen in that area. I try to be as melodic as I can because I feel that it is vitally important. I’d hate to think that I would be dependent on a song that had a lousy melody but a good lyric. To me, they’re equally important.
When The Jam announced their split in 1982, they were the most popular band in the UK. The news shocked the music industry because the band had continued to go from strength to strength and were finally beginning to make waves in the U.S. ("Town Called Malice" received more radio play than any other track in their catalog). The trio had outlived Punk, Mod and New Wave and were more successful than any of their contemporaries apart from The Clash, who had successfully cracked the U.S. market.
The band's final album, released the same year as their split, was The Gift, a release that ditched the sometimes cold and clammy production of longtime knob-twiddler Vic Coppersmith-Heaven and replaced it with the more focused and spacious sounds of producer Peter Wilson. The Gift went on to become one of the band's most popular albums. It includes "Town Called Malice" as well as it's funky b-side "Precious" alongside "Happy Together", "Running On The Spot", "Ghosts" and other songs that are now considered Jam classics.
Paul Weller and The Gift 2012
December 2012 sees two expanded versions of the album hitting the shelves as The Gift celebrates it's 30th Anniversary...
The two CD DELUXE edition of The Gift (pictured at the top of this page) includes the remastered version of the album plus 10 bonus non-album A and B-sides on Disc One. The second disc is made up of 15 remastered demos and alternate tracks, 13 of which are previously unreleased.
The SUPER DELUXE box (pictured below) contains three CDs, a DVD, a hardback 72-page, full-color book including new interviews with Paul Weller, a new essay by John Harris and a forward by Paul Weller. a set of postcard prints and a replica 1982 tour program. Disc One and Two have the same content as the two CDs in the DELUXE edition. Disc Three contains Live At Wembley December 1982. The complete concert from the last ever Jam tour (previously unreleased), featuring 23 remastered tracks. The DVD includes promo clips ('Town Called Malice', 'Precious', 'The Bitterest Pill'), Trans-Global Unity Express tour live tracks from Birmingham show, Danish TV special (DR) The Gift album live in small studio with audience and Top Of The Pops performances of 'Town Called Malice' and 'Precious'.
By the looks of it, society has changed so much that there is very little you can get for free nowadays. Sometimes, if you are lucky, you can buy one of something and get another one of those things (of equal or lesser value) for free, but even that deal seems to be dwindling away.
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2012 album from the Rock supergroup, the third studio album since the original quartet reunited in 2006. Consisting of John Wetton, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes, Asia were one of the commercial success stories of 1982. Their debut album was the best-selling album of the year and remained on top of the Billboard chart for nine weeks. Now, 30 years later, the band release an album that has been called their best full-length album since that debut. The album's original artwork is by famed artist Roger Dean, who was also responsible for the first album's cover.
Digitally remastered and expanded two disc (CD + NTSC/Region 0) edition of this classic 1980 live album from the British Blues rockers. Nine Below Zero’s debut Live At The Marquee notoriously captures a hard-working, constant-touring London blues band at the peak of their powers and highlights just how intense and electrifying the atmosphere at one of their gigs was. Originally released as a 14-track vinyl LP and without the 7 bonus tracks featured here as the encore the show has never before been available commercially in its entirety. All 21 tracks have been newly remastered in partnership with the band. The package also includes a very special bonus DVD featuring live footage from their incredible Marquee show again, none of which have been previously released commercially. The booklet includes sleeve notes from various band members and others associated with Nine Below Zero as well as a selection of exclusive and very rare photographs.
Electronic music is constantly evolving. The moment technology advances, so does this ever-growing genre of music. There is no way to stop it, nor is there any reason to. The excitement of Electronic music reverberates through the industry, sometimes causing ripples but mostly making waves. Back in the ‘80s, when Synthpop was at its height, many older bands would start adding keyboards or Linn drums to their sound, hoping that they could seem hip and current. Most of the time, they failed miserably. But today, it’s not about keeping up with the Joneses anymore: it’s about keeping up with technology.
Forward thinking musicians like Dutch DJ/producer Junkie XL (real name: Tom Holkenborg) remain ahead of the game because their creativity anticipates the changes in technology and they stay at least one step ahead of the game. Take a listen to any Junkie XL release over the last 15 years and you’ll be hard pressed to pinpoint which year it was released. Whether its one of his artist albums or one of his remixes (the most famous being “A Little Less Conversation” by Elvis Presley in 2002), Junkie XL’s music never sounds dated. It’s as if it’s always been there, yet is still fresh and exciting.
Since 2008, when Junkie released his last artist album, Booming Back At You, a lot has changed in the world of technology and, judging by his latest release, Synthesized, he has remained at the forefront of the Electronic music genre. With a mixture of influences, the album title seems less about Synth music and more about the many different styles he manages to mix together to create a unique and utterly fascinating listening experience. With guest appearances from Datarock, Curt Smith (Tears For Fears), Isis Salam, Tommie Sunshine and even Timothy Leary, the album is like taking 12 separate musical journeys, all arriving at the same destination.
Synthesized is an awe-inspiring album that looks towards the future for motivation but is unafraid to embrace the past for inspiration. There’s always something interesting happening on Synthesized, whether it’s the Rock crunch of “Love Machine” (featuring Tommie Sunshine) or the dreamy-pop of “When Is Enough Not Enough” (featuring Curt Smith). The album is purely Electronic yet has heart and soul. Even the Ambient/Chill tracks that open and close the album are warm, melodic and atmospheric and worlds away from the often cold and lifeless Ambient tracks that have been released over the years. There’s not a boring moment on the album because it never stands still long enough to overstay its welcome.
Stephen SPAZ Schnee was able to catch up with Junkie XL to discuss Synthesized, the state of Electronic music, soundtracks and so much more…
SPAZ: Your new album, Synthesized, is just about ready to drop. How are you feeling about this project and the reaction you’ve received so far from it?
JUNKIE XL: When a record is done, you always look differently on it than when you are actually working on it. But I am happy with it. You always have things that you would have done differently. It’s a record that I made in a completely different way than all my previous ones. All the older records, I’d basically lock myself up in a studio for six or seven months and then I would open up the door and pass on the CD to the record company: “Have fun with it. This is it!” This time, I wanted to do It differently and I wanted to work with an A&R person who would constantly give me feedback on the music that I did. So, I found this guy, Joost Van Bellen, who is a Dutch guy. He’s like 10 years older than I am but he introduced House music in Holland, so that was a major deal. He still throws these really interesting parties with cutting edge new Electronic acts and DJs. He’s the type of guy that booked Lady Gaga when nobody knew who she was. And J.U.S.T.I.C.E. And Daft Punk. So, I wanted to collaborate on this album with somebody like that and I’m really happy with how it worked out.
SPAZ: The album itself is made up of little musical journeys that all take different paths yet the album, as a whole, is extremely cohesive. What was your mindset when going into to record the album?
JUNKIE XL: Thanks for that. I see that as the ultimate compliment because that is what I wanted to achieve with this record. I’m looking to my right in the studio and I have this wall of records: these records go back to the ‘50s. And my idea was that if I were to kick that record shelf and all the records would start falling out, let’s see what records land on top of one another and lets see if I can do something with that, figuratively speaking. A ZZ Top album would land on an Abba album… would land on top of the first Underworld album… would land on top of some ‘50s sci-fi stuff…. And I’d make a track with these elements. What made this music great to begin with and can I do something with that?
SPAZ: The album is very modern, yet you don’t hesitate to add reminders of the past into the songs. Do you feel that in order to move forward musically you really have to understand and embrace all that has come before?
JUNKIE XL: Maybe we would say that, but I’m sure there are a lot of younger producers out there that don’t feel like that at all. I am massively interested in what happened in the past. When I started Junkie XL, when I started producing, that past would maybe go back to the ‘60s or something. But now that I’ve moved to L.A., which I did 10 years ago, and I got more and more into film scoring, I started to get more interested in music that happened before that. I got more into experimental classical music that started in the ‘20s or ‘30s of the last century but even the whole baroque era and even choir work from the 13th and 14th century. It’s interesting to see that the rules of pop music haven’t really changed since the 1800s. I have a four year university course in Holland. It’s called Music & Media. There are kids coming in, 17 and 18 years old, and I had a video conference with the freshmen a few days ago. They rarely know what went on 10 or 15 years ago. They have no clue. If you hear what they are making, they are all on this path of fairly experimental Electronic music. Some of them have the ambition to go into film scoring, others want to be Electronic producers and others want to use Electronic music as an art form. But they have no idea what went on the last five decades. Its funny that, as an older guy, you keep saying, “Guys, it’s important to know what happened 50 years before!” And they just look at you and say “No, I don’t. And I don’t want to know.” I think that’s one of the reasons why certain styles keep coming back. It’s interesting.
SPAZ:Synthesized features melodies that can be quiet beautiful yet they are offset by a brooding darkness buried deep within the beats at times. Do you like this juxtaposition of emotions in your songs?
JUNKIE XL: Yeah, I really do like that. I go more towards film, which has been my biggest passion for the last 10 years. I work a lot with Hans Zimmer. For example, let’s take a movie like The Dark Knight Rises. It’s the same thing. You’re talking about a bunch of really dark characters but its offset by other things that happen at the same time. Now, we’re working on Man Of Steel. You’re talking about a person who, in heart and soul, is a really good person but it’s offset by all the dark stuff. Maybe those two are very commercial forms of that, but it’s still about the same thing. It’s the same with music, especially the concept albums that have been released, but unfortunately, they’re not being made anymore. Pink Floyd is a good example. On Dark Side Of The Moon, great things are offset by dark things.
SPAZ: You’ve collaborated with many different types of artists over the years and on this album, you have a nice variety of people including Datarock, Tommi Sunshine and Tears For Fears’ Curt Smith. How do go about choosing who you want to work with?
JUNKIE XL: It comes down to making a shortlist of people who have done really interesting things. You hope that person is willing to take a shot at a collaboration with you. Secondly, is that magic going to happen again with that artist without knowing them? It becomes harder and harder when you work and live in L.A. and all of these people live all around the world… to get together in one studio for a week and a half without anything from the outside world coming in and trying to distract you. It’s impossible. The only way you can do it nowadays is you send tracks over, you talk on the phone and e-mail, and that person records at their studio… That’s pretty much the only way it works nowadays. Everybody is busy doing whatever they love doing. When I was younger, I always used to look up. “Oh, I’d love to work with Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode. I’d love to work with Chuck D…. Gary Numan… this band, that band.” Now, as I’m getting older myself, I’m just looking down primarily and looking at the younger kids that are doing great stuff but aren’t necessarily well known.
SPAZ: When you collaborate with an artist, do you have a track that you feel he/she would be perfect for? Or did you send them a few songs to choose from? And do you provide the lyrics or does the collaborator have free reign?
JUNKIE XL: Sometimes, I’ve worked with vocalists where me and my friends would write lyrics and the melodies and we’d have somebody who had the right voice come in and sing it. Primarily, I love to work with people have their own strong identity and you send a demo with just a few bars of music to them and see if they feel a vibe. And then you continue working and you actually collaborate. Then you get the best results out of it. It happens so much in Electronic music where a track is completely done by a producer and then it goes to a vocalist that does some Pop lines on top of it. To me, that’s not where the fun is.
SPAZ: Do you feel that, being an Electronic/Dance artist that you come from a whole different mindset when writing your material than a standard rock musician would? Or do you feel that your music can be interpreted as cerebral as well as danceable?
JUNKIE XL: Luckily, we don’t have to have a discussion right now that making music with computers is not making music. I had those interviews 20 years ago in the ‘90s: “You’re actually not making music because the computer is doing it!” We went through a process of explaining that a computer is not going to do anything for you. You have to see it as a hammer and a saw: you still have to make the table. Luckily, that discussion is gone. But still, even when the Electronic music industry is bigger than it’s ever been, people look at Electronic music and they put it in one big pile and call it Techno or whatever they call it. They still look at it with a demeaning look and say “We really can’t take that seriously, can we? That’s drug music for rave kids!” Having said that, the big commercial Electronic music styles went through a massive change: some of them got totally uninteresting and others got more interesting and have more depth to them than they ever have. Now, we have this whole league of bands, producers, musicians… God knows how to describe them but they have so much Electronic elements in their music. Radiohead’s Kid A… is that an Electronic album or a band album? There’s so many bands like that: MGMT, Hot Chip, Cut Copy, Empire Of The Sun…. these are all bands that have so many Electronic elements in their music, but still they are considered Pop bands, Alternative Rock… but its really hard to describe what that is. The cool thing with all those bands is that they all want to write songs and they all want to probably end up write up writing something like The Beatles’ “Yesterday”, but do it with an Electronic background so that it becomes this classic song. The possibilities are endless….
SPAZ: The album opens and closes with tracks that are soothing slices of ‘chill out’ music that compliments everything that came between. Did you initially envision these as the beginning and end of this particular musical journey?
JUNKIE XL: It’s not a concept album, lyrically, but it does have a musical concept. Commercially, the album is dead, but as an art form, its very much alive. Most musicians scratch their heads and try to figure out how to create something over 80 minutes, whether it’s a concert, a DJ gig or an album. Most of the people I talk to, that’s what they are really fascinated by. It’s the same reason people love films. People love a film that is 2 or 3 hours long and love how it moves you, makes you emotional or tense. Musically, I did that on purpose. I have been a big fan of the cool Ambient music that is out there, whether its from the ‘70s or ‘80s. Especially, when the Orb started with their first release. For some people, it’s really hard to draw the line between good Ambient music or horrible New Age music.
SPAZ: I’ve been a fan of Dutch music for years: Gruppo Sportivo, The Nits…. Have you ever thought about working with any of them?
JUNKIE XL: Traditional Rock music in Holland, apart from these really unique examples including Shocking Blue, there’s not that much interesting going on in Dutch Rock. When you listen to it, it feels like a terrible copy of what has been going on in other countries. I did get approached to remix “Radar Love” by Golden Earring and I rejected it because, to me, its too much of a classic song. If it’s a real classic song, I won’t touch it. Then people say “Why did you remix Elvis then?” And I say it wasn’t a classic song. It was a b-side, nobody cared.
SPAZ: What’s next for Junkie XL?
JUNKIE XL: I’m probably going to do 4 or 5 big festivals around the world next year to promote the album, and it’s fun to do so. In the near future, I’m working with Hans Zimmer on Man Of Steel. I’m doing my own movie that I’m not allowed to talk about yet. I’m also writing a symphony that’s being performed in late April next year in Holland. So, its going to be busy.
SPAZ: What are you currently spinning on your CD, DVD and record players?
JUNKIE XL: That’s really funny. Let me tell you what I played this morning. I was asked by Hans and Ron Howard to look for a track for a movie that Ron is working on. I started listening to some stuff from the ‘50s and I got completely caught up in the vibe because I remembered these tracks from when my dad would play when I was really young. One of the tracks I played this morning was The Dreamweavers and the song is called “It’s Almost Tomorrow”. (He proceeds to play it over the phone).
Thanks to Junkie XL
Special thanks to Robert Greenwood and Jason Croke
So, where's the respect and love for that motley Rock 'n' Roll band we call The Doobie Brothers?
There's no denying the majesty of their string of early hits including "Listen To The Music", "China Grove", "Long Train Runnin'" and "Black Water". The band created a perfect blend of Southern Rock, Pop, Country, Blues, Soul and Rock 'n' Roll and sounded like nobody else.
So, why aren’t they on top of every Classic Rock ‘favorites’ list, year after year? Their songs rival anything from the catalogs of their ‘70s contemporaries like Black Sabbath, Boston, The Eagles, Steely Dan, Aerosmith and Deep Purple. They sold millions of albums and singles. They became one of the biggest bands of their era. Even with all of their achievements over the years, they don’t receive the respect they so rightly deserve.
Now, don’t get me wrong: people LOVE the Doobie Brothers. Almost everyone I know can name at least a few Doobie songs quicker than they can name a Sabbath tune… and they can usually sing the chorus to those songs as well. The problem I have is that the Doobs deserve more. They deserve to be immortalized in bubblegum cards, iPhone apps and viral YouTube videos and they definitely deserve to have have highways and hoagie sandwiches named in their honor.
And “Listen To The Music” needs to replace “The Star Spangled Banner” as our national anthem.
Forget about their appearance on What’s Happening (“Which Doobie you be?”). Forget that Michael McDonald eventually shed his Classic Rock and Soul roots and became more of an adult contemporary artist. Forget all the nonsense and just imagine a bunch of extremely talented friends smoking a few joints, plugging in their guitars and creating some of the greatest Rock music of our generation.
During a 24 month period that saw a new album (World Gone Crazy), the untimely death of drummer Michael Hossack, reissues of their back catalog and more general activity than usual, along comes this fantastic documentary that will hopefully earn the boys a lot more respect.
Containing rare and unreleased footage plus interviews with all the key surviving members (including Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, Tiran Porter, Jeff Skunk Baxter, Michael McDonald, etc.), Let The Music Play is the perfect re-introduction to a band that we all know and love. For us fans, it could have been an hour or two longer, but I’m not going to complain because it actually does answer some questions that have roamed the halls of my brain for ages, so it definitely delivers.
Well, apart from when they skim over the severity of Tom Johnston’s illness in the mid ‘70s. Perhaps I was temporarily mummified during this part of the documentary and missed it, but they talk about TJ getting ‘sick’ and make references to it, but its not really explored as well as it should have been. Maybe it’s a private issue and nobody wanted to talk about it, but it’d be nice if they discussed it a little more. But that’s a minor complaint.
Interestingly enough, many of the people interviewed seem to view The Doobs with Tom Johnston and The Doobs with Michael McDonald as two separate, but linked, identities and not merely a continuation of an ever-evolving band. This way of thinking makes total sense in hindsight, but I’ve always thought of them as one and the same. I just preferred the Tom Johnston years over the MM years. But there’s no denying that McDonald’s “What A Fool Believes” (amongst others) is an amazing tune….
And what do you mean you have no idea what I’m talking about when I mention the Tom Johnston era and Michael McDonald era? Perhaps you need to sit down and watch this. NOW!
Perfect for music fans. Perfect for Doobie fans. Perfect for Michael McDonald fans. Perfect for Classic Rock fans.
Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the British Synthpop duo's debut album (which was later rejigged and retitled Naked Eyes in the U.S.). Burning Bridges featured singles that charted on both sides of the Atlantic. Their cover of the Bacharach & David classic 'Always Something There To Remind Me' peaked at #8 and its follow up 'Promises Promises' reached #11 - both in the U.S. Hot 100 chart. This special edition contains 12 tracks from the original album plus six essential bonus tracks. The bonus material features two 12" versions of 'Promises Promises' including Jellybean's extended version featuring his - then unknown - girlfriend Madonna on backing vocals. Tony Mansfield's American Remix of 'Always Something There To Remind Me', the US 7" remix of 'Promises Promises' and two b-sides 'Pit Stop' and 'Sweet Poison'. This release has been made with the full co-operation of Pete Byrne - the surviving member of the band.
