American Slang - The Gaslight Anthem

A band that channel 70s era Bruce Springsteen via modern indie rock - that's the best way I can think of describing them. The result is a collection of soulful rock songs, earnestly sung (but genuinely, not in a histrionic and therefore annoying style) and raucously played. When I listen to it I think of classic Motown numbers, or even Dexys; that earthy blue-collar/working-class sound that cuts right to the bone, singing about love and loss. Great record with a great sound.

American IV: The Man Comes Around

 

The Man Comes Around is possibly the best opening track of any album. Johhny's now raspy voice delivers a chilling verse from the bible and then we're into a richer sounding music than the last album. Rick Rubin surrounds Johnny with perfect accompaniment without losing that close-to-the-mic quality that this incredible series of records has.

I think this album (IV) was made when Johnny was really ill, close to the end with cancer; as such, but I could be projecting here, you can't help but feel there's a desperate desire to record one last set of classics. The feeling turns what could be a mournful set of records into something beautiful while at the same time, and as you'd expect from Johnny, it has an edge. An edge that feels like Johnny is sticking two fingers up to death. Who else could turn a lame middle class self-hating narcissistic pile of tosh like Hurt into a joyous lament?

A perfect record from start to finish.

American III: Solitary Man - Johnny Cash

Cash's series of covers albums gave him a critical rebirth in the 90s and cemented his man-in-black persona. As the subtitle suggests, it's a pretty much stripped down affair of just Johnny, up close to the mic, and his guitar. His cracked leathery voice, like aged bourbon, is perfect for the selection of songs on here. No matter what he is singing it ends up sounding like a Cash record. Even the lumpen One by U2 is transformed. My favourite is I See A Darkness, the Bonnie Prince Billy record that Billy joins in singing, his cracked falsetto the perfect accompaniment to Johnny's end-of-the-earth voice. A warm and deep album to put on and sink into.

American Idiot - Green Day

I just couldn't bring myself to listen to it... not interested in this album at all anymore. Might come back to it later.

Alligator - The National

I think this was one of those records I bought because it had an interesting sounding review in a "best of the year" list in The Word. One of the things I was hoping to achieve with this structured walk through of my collection was to discover some gems I might not have given enough time to in the past and this is certainly one of them. The opening track, Secret Meeting, sets the tone for the album with beautifully layered guitars, deep vocals and the sort of lyrics that draw you in closer so you can try and crack their meaning.

The rest of the album keeps delivering great songs with great lines ("a ballerina on the table cock in hand" is one startling example). The music reminds me of Interpol but without that bands distanced and glassy chill; this album feels like a warm fireside number with a dark edge created by the slightly atonal vocals delivering half heard creepy lines. This gives it depth that rewards repeated listening.

Alien Lanes - Guided By Voices

 

Don't like this song? Never mind, another one will be along in a minute. Although stuffed with 28 tracks this is still a normal length album as the average track length is somewhere underneath 2 minutes. This creates a non-stop lo-fi trip through a massive range of sounds, ideas, styles, noises. Not all of them hit the mark but the overall effect is exciting enough for this to be a decent album to put on and bask in for the first half hour but then the experience can start to wear a bit thin as you start to yearn for some decent tunes. This means that it is not their best effort - some of the ideas sounds like little sketches in search of a decent melody or finish - but it is interesting enough.

Ain't That A Bitch - Johnny "Guitar" Watson

One of my favourite radio shows is the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 Music. 2 hours of the best soul music - the sort of stuff that makes you wish you had the knowledge, time and style to be able to track down this stuff in second hand vinyl shops yourself. In an interview a few years ago Craig Charles was asked what record would he save if his house was on fire and he chose this one. I'd never heard of it but I liked the show enough to make sure I got hold of it.

The cover got me straight away - not a cover I was particularly comfortable with lining up in my rack. Unfortunately the cover is a fairly accurate reflection of what is inside - over the top love/sex smooth-soul-jazz-funk (that was deliberate) wandering tunes. Lots of horns, a little bit of evidence of Johnny's previous incarnation as a mean guitar player - he was more Chuck Berry style (I have a best of CD of his from that period and it is much better than this), now he's more George Benson. There is also a lot, I mean a lot, of Johnny either serenading "the laydeez" or telling us how good he is at serenading them.

This is probably the first time I've seriously tried to get through the whole thing ... skippable (and should be deleted) naffness.