Day 41 - All around the world and back

King Sunny Ade - Juju Music
I was sort of anticipating what this album would be all about, and it has matched up to expectation. There is a certain funky element to it, that stands out really well against the superb percussion playing - and unexpected guitar playing. There's a real depth to the music here, and traditional sounding African percussion and beats are married up with synth and guitar sounds very well. An enjoyable album, the vocals are easy on the ear, but there is certainly enough going on to keep you interested. It's quite uplifting - something I need today. Incidentally, Juju is a word that describes West African witchcraft - or more specifically objects associated with witchcraft, which is interesting.
Standout Tracks: Eje Nlo Bga Ara Mi, Sunny Ti de Ariya

Syd Barrett - The Madcap Laughs
Used to own a copy of this a long time ago, before I really understood psychedelia (and developed a passion for Pink Floyd). As a result I rarely listened to it, so its nice to go back now and have a look. It's quirky, wierd, full of imagination, and quite excellent! Songs disappear of in directions that you don't expect, and (sometimes) get brought back again. There are similarities to Roger Waters influenced Pink Floyd tunes (obviously), and listening to this it's easy to imagine that Floyd would have continued down this road had Barrett remained with them, instead of the Gilmour influence taking over. All in all, an eccentric but fun album to listen to (despite the utterly meaningless lyrics and random chord progressions).
Standout Tracks: Terrapin, Octopus, Long Gone

Basquiat Strings - with Seb Rochford
Wierd combination of classical stringed instruments, drums and upright bass. Dissonance and discord abound, in the jazz tradition, tension without resolution in many cases. In places it is quite epic, the soundscape created by the group wide and gorgeous - in other places it is frantic, chaotic, and drives your brain mad (in a good way). Reminds me of a stringified version of the Esbjorn Svensson Trio (also worth a listen if you have time!). In the end, the groove carries the album through, I can imagine the strings alone would get jarring after a while, but the album works and is an enjoyable listen.
Standout Tracks: Lonely Woman, Junk

The Beach Boys - Today
I'll admit to it, been dreading this one. The Beach Boys are one of my least favourite bands, but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised, if this album isn't full of all the cliches that I dislike about the band. The sad problem is, it is full of everything I dislike about the Beach Boys. Cheesy 12 bar arrangements with saxophones, those oh so Beach Boys harmonies, and songs about surfing and girls. Just really dull dreary stuff, that I imagine makes someone smile but not me. It's one of those few albums where I just spend each song wishing it would end, and I started with a relatively open mind! Sorry Beach Boys fans, this just isn't good, not good at all. It's saving grace is that hardly any of the tunes are more than 2 1/2 minutes long.
Standout Tracks: Didn't like any of them

Day 40 - Bad Plus Good

The Bad Plus - Give
I've had to listen to this one twice, as I lost my first review in a laptop switch (although my cool spreadsheet has a "love!" in the like/love/loathe/meh column!). Ah yes, it's ringing bells now. Laid back funky jazz with just a piano, drummer, and upright bass to keep things moving. It's jazzy in places, but in other places it's pretty epic piano playing over the top of a grooving bassline and drum pattern. Imagine some Rachmaninov thrown over the top of some 70s Miles Davis jazz funk and you get the idea. It's wierd, but cool, and different enough to make it stand out from the crowd. I like it, even includes a wierd concerto style interpretation of Black Sabbath's Iron Man as the last track. Bravo sirs!
Standout tracks: Iron Man

Gato Barbieri - Last Tango in Paris OST
One of a series of film soundtracks I have listened to, this one perhaps more orchestral in places than previous ones. Suitable tension, with dark undercurrents, that give way to a little 60s style groove on occasion. It's not the most unpleasant album in the world, but some of the organ noodling (that sounds wrong..) starts to do your head in after a while - keyboard jazz is not really my thing. That aside though, there is some rather cool and grooving latin style jazz on this record that rescues it from the turgid organ sounds. Parts of the soundtrack are eerily familiar, even though I have never seen the film (watched Last Tango in Halifax though, I imagine it's similar...), I suspect the music has been reused in adverts, or other such trite ways. Overall, the jazz bits are great, the orchestral bits not so much, it's sultry and sexy and pretty good.

Standout Tracks: Last Tango in Paris (Jazz).... both of them