Magazine has some amazing songs, but unfortunately they have not succeeded in making a perfect album that would astonish from the beginning to the end. I think Secondhand Daylight comes closest though. Post-punk and more traditional rock riffs come together in catchy pop-melodies. Some synth-sounds bring original touch to some of the songs. Rhythm of Cruelty has guitar riffs, that sound a bit like Manic Street Preachers. Cut Out Shapes looks forward to the 80's new wave songs. The Thin Air is like a forefather of post-rock. Magazine's first album had really great individual songs, but this second album is better as a whole. I hope I will find this jewel on vinyl somewhere soon. Believe That I Understood is in my opinion the best song. Listen to the album on Spotify.
For some reason I have never before really listened to Elvis Costello. It could be due to me being first introduced to his 80's albums, which are not that good. In the late 70's Costello's music is exceptional. his music has influences from the punk movement, but the melodies are pretty complex in comparison to punk. The melodies are, however really catchy and the albums are full of pop songs. On Armed Forces we hear really skilful playing and songs that get stuck in your head. There are slight influences also from disco and funk, but the songs are really classy. Costello handles beautifully both emotional quiet singing and high rock screams. I have a feeling that I am going to get hooked on Elvis Costello. These melodies and sounds remind me of so many great artists I've listened to, that it's a shame it took me so long to find Elvis. Listen to the album on Spotify.
The Undertones are mainly known for their amazing hit song Teenage Kicks. This hit song wasn't for some reason included in the first issue of their debut album, but fortunately the album is still full of great songs. The Undertones are deep in the first wave of punk, when it comes to their songwriting, but the sounds are a bit cleaner and there's a bit more skill there than with the Pistols for example. The closest comparison is probably Ramones. The band is the only Northern Irish band that comes to my mind right at the top of my head. I bet there are others though. There's not much variation between the songs, but there really doesn't need to be, since this concept works so beautifully. I can only imagine how great the atmosphere must have been on their gigs! Listen to the album on Spotify.
The Cure's first album is completely different from the rest of their albums. The sounds are really minimalistic and instruments sound clean with no extensive effects. The two best songs from this period, Boys Don't Cry and Jumpin' Someone Else's Train are not on the album. There's a unique menacing feel to the album. The guitar work is not professional, but still they get quite original sounds from the guitars. This music must've sounded really unique at the time of its release. The album cover is a mystery to me. What are these household objects doing on the pink background with this kind of beautifully haunted music? I don't think anyone could've imagined at the time that The Cure would become one of the biggest bands in the world. This sound is much closer to regular punk than the later albums. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Patti Smith was one of the most unique artists in the punk scene. Her music was never as simple as the rest of the punk movement. Her songs have influences from disco and rock and the melodies are actually really beautiful compared to most punk. When I listen to this album I don't really consider it punk at all. Smith's vocals are terrific, full of emotion and recognisable. You could almost say that Patti Smith is the most charismatic female rock artist ever. No one else can make such an impression on me at least. I haven't listened to this album much yet, but I just bought it a while ago and it's becoming one of my favourites from this era, so this album might lift its position in my mind in the future. Dancing Barefoot is an amazing song! listen to the album on Spotify.
Madness' first album is one of the best ska-punk albums of all times. The upbeat songs, with wild saxophone solos sound absolutely brilliant! The melodies are sometimes beautiful, sometimes wild and sometimes happy. The work with the organ is also really great. The beginning of the album is amazing. By the end of the album the quality of the songs does not stay as strong, but all in all, the whole album is pretty great. The album cover is famous and has been copied in many places over the years. The melodies have Balkan influences and in recent years I've seen the rise of some new bands that use the same kind of sounds, notably the Finnish band Poutatorvi. Madness is really skilful when it comes to instrumentation, so in that way it's far from snotty punk bands of the time. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Blondie was one of the best bands in the late 70's. Their music mixes punk, rock, pop and disco in a beautiful way. Eat to the Beat is one of the best albums from the band. It's not as astonishing as their previous Parallel Lines, but some of the songs are just as good. Atomic was in fact the song, that introduced me to the band years ago. Sleeper was playing a version of it in the film Trainspotting, I got interested and found out the original song. Eat to the Beat's only problem is that it is more of a collection of songs, than a coherent album. Like many contemporaries, Blondie experiments with many different musical styles on Eat to the Beat. this experimentation sometimes sounds a bit unnecessary, but most of the album serves great pop songs with the right kind of attitude. Listen to the album on Spotify.
Joy Division's brought something completely unique and brilliant to the music world. The industrial sounds are cold and represent bleak Manchester of the time. This band is definitely not about the skills of the individual players, but the songwriting and especially the production. Already on their second album some of the brilliance of these sounds was gone. unknown Pleasures is a unique album full of classic songs. The album cover is among one of the most iconic album covers and you can still see the pattern in T-shirts, posters and other merchandise. I have a feeling though, that not all who wear these symbols are actually even fans of the music. Joy Division is one of the most iconic and influential bands of all times even though they existed only few years before Ian Curtis decided to take his life. Listen to the album on Spotify.
The whole 1970's can be described as a decade of concept albums and huge stadium concerts. Pink Floyd's The Wall is among the most well known works of art in both categories. The album describes the band leader Roger Waters' alienation from his fans spiced up with themes of war, commercialism and human nature. There are a lot more theories about the meanings of this album, than there was supposed to be. On the tour of this album, a wall was built in between the band and the audience to represent, how the musicians and fans are separate from each other on huge stadium concerts. There's also a brilliant artsy film of this album. The most important thing though is that these songs are absolutely amazing! Making of this album and touring eventually led to the breaking up of Pink Floyd, since the albums made after this one never succeeded to impress. Listen to the album on Spotify.
This is one of the most iconic and well-known albums of all times. It's also sold staggering amounts of copies. This is amazingly good for a punk double album. London Calling was a step out of the punk's first wave towards the post-punk movement. The easy simple riffs are gone and what is given in return are amazing songs with even more amazing sounds. the producer of the album wanted to get the sounds more aggressive so he started banging things in the studio with a piece of ladder almost hitting the band members while they were playing to get them fierce. It's appropriate that the album cover is a version of early Elvis Presley album, since I think this album has had almost a similar kind of impact on rock n' roll as Mr. Presley had in his time. This is absolutely one of the best albums of all times! Listen to the album on Spotify.
No comments:
Post a Comment