Day 5 - Beatles, Badu ... Bee Gees with no Disco?

The Beatles - Rubber Soul
Let me say from the start I have never been a fan (despite being from Merseyside!). Always thought they were never that talented, just in the right place at the right time, like the Spice Girls, or Westlife or something. But that said, here's to listening with an open mind! There is something comfortable about this album, presumably because I have heard most of the tracks so many times before. The music itself is uncomplicated in a way that Sgt Peppers never is, which kind of adds to its appeal. Just a rock and roll 60s feel to it (missing the psychedelia of Kevin Ayers and Syd Barrett thankfully!). Beep beep and beep beep yeah! The crazy stereo thing they got going on is sometimes disconcerting. Its as though the Beatles figured out how to put some things in one ear, some things in the other, and then thought "lets really mess with peoples heads and splash it all over the album!". All in all, fairly enjoyable, but nothing on there to change the opinion of the Beatles that I started out with. Respect for what they did, like I said, right place, right time. Although I will say one thing, the harmonies in the vocals are excellent, and its easy to see where my favourite band (Kings X) in part got their vocal inspiration from.
Standout Tracks: Nowhere Man, What goes on, Girl, In My Life





The Bee Gees - Odessa
Well this is wierd. No flares, no big hair, no falsetto. Where is all the disco! This album predates the disco days and sounds like a spaced out 60s album. Not as psychedelic as some I have listened to, but still has that wonderful, I would say innocent, vibe to it. There is no cynicism in this music, it sounds like the Bee Gees just producing music for the love of producing music. Sounds nothing like you imagine the Bee Gees to sound however ... where is John Travolta! Lyrically they have lost me, although "Edison" is pretty straightforward - an homage to Thomas Edison, that inventor chap. Musically, it's alright, but its not exactly setting my world on fire - it's almost a hybrid between early 60s style music and late 60s music. Vocally there is a ton of reverb on the mix, lending it an olde worlde feel, but the music and arrangement is distinctly late 60s. It's pretty epic in scope though, with ambitious orchestration and vocal arrangements, that the lads do manage to pull off from time to time. Rounds off with a very nice piece of music, The British Opera.
Standout Tracks: Odessa, Edison, Lamplight, Give your best (for the intro .. which is a nuts coincidence with the names they use), I Laugh in your Face, The British Opera





The Avalanches - Since I Left You
This album is tagged as "Electronica", which doesn't bode well, but here goes. So far this album seems to be composed completely of samples of other albums, I just recognised a part from Holiday by Madonna, and the funny squealy part from Jump Around by House of Pain. There is no consistency here, this is a jumbled up series of samples of music with no thread running through individual tunes, never mind the album as a whole. Around the middle of the album though it all gets a bit chilled and jazzy, and it's better than the opening sequence of tracks. Although that being said there is some humour on this album, and some tracks are quite fun (Frontier Psychiatrist for example, I do like the Western feel to it). On a side note, this record is full of samples that (I guess) were taken of old crackly LPs. I like that ... it's a trip down memory lane to when all records sounded like that. On the whole, I didn't really enjoy this record, although there were some parts that made me smile - it's a happy record, just not my thing.
Standout Tracks: A Different Feeling, Frontier Psychiatrist





Erykah Badu - Baduizm
I was expecting RnB bobbins when I loaded this one up but I'm pleasantly surprised that's not what I am getting. Its a lot more soulful, with real Jazz influences, brush stroked drumming and fretless bass abounds everywhere. Badu's voice is pretty distinctive, with the right amount of emotion when needed, at other times effortlessly gliding through soulful, thoughtful jazz based tunes. It's very laid back and easy to listen to. A little too easy as you arrive at a point where the song sounded the same as the last one, and you wonder if this album is going to go anywhere else. It's not that it's a bad album, its just every song is more of the same, and after around three or four tunes it begins to get a little boring. Not bad background music for a dinner party or something, but as an album to listen to on its merits ... I am not sure. Some real nice jazz/blues parts in there though, it could be worth getting through the mundane to arrive at the soul.
Standout Tracks: Afro, Certainly