World Wide Woozle episode #472

Hi everyone, here we go again! Plenty to read this time and, as always, more than the recommended daily intake of music.

I'm still scarred by the Bon Iver album I reviewed in the last episode. I have a fairly open mind when it comes to music so it's unusual to find such little enjoyment in a long player. I did go back for an extra listen just in case but my previous comments stand. As a result, I cheated a little bit this time around and selected two records I was more familiar with from the list of "100 albums you should own on vinyl". Here we go...

Album 11/100 - Guns 'n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (1987)

Everything possible has already been said and written about this album. It's the biggest selling debut long player of all time and that's despite lukewarm initial reviews especially in the USA. The record had five singles released from it with four of them going Top 10 in the USA. So, what is it about this album that's so good? Well, for 1987, it was something quite different. Rough, raw and bluesy rock that quite clearly lacked the studio gloss that permeated the airwaves from chart topping bands like Def Leppard, Starship and Heart. Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet" also came out in 1987 but, whilst it's a great hard rock record in its own right, Guns 'n Roses were simply more dangerous, explosive and hungry.  "Appetite for Destruction" bristles with menace; with gritty guitars, insistent drumming and a unique vocal style that all fit together perfectly. They could play fast, they knew how to bring it down for one of the best ballads of all time but most of all Guns 'n' Roses were doing their own thing. If you fast forward to today and look what the band became it's almost a parody of itself, but in the late 80s they were the best hard rock band on the planet bar none.

Guns 'n' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine - https://youtu.be/1w7OgIMMRc4

Guns 'n' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle - https://youtu.be/o1tj2zJ2Wvg

Album 12/100 - Dire Straits - Love Over Gold (1982)

Like most people of my age, other than hearing "Sultans of Swing" on the radio, our first real exposure to Dire Straits came with the release of their album "Brothers In Arms" in 1985. It heralded the new medium of the Compact Disc as well as recordings done purely on digital equipment. But "Love Over Gold" is by far my favourite Dire Straits album. It's the one I asked the music shop to let me test my new speakers with a few years ago. All I need to hear is the first few guitar notes of "Telegraph Road" and I know if a sound system is set to my liking. I guess if you were looking for classic radio hits in 1982 then this wasn't the album for you. The first song is just over 14 minutes long and the one that might be great for radio, "Industrial Disease", almost comes in at 6 minutes. That's an eternity in popular music. But Mark Knopfler and the band stuck to their guns it seems and put out the record they wanted to make. I'm sure it was a gamble to put this album out but you should be glad they did. Knopfler can't help sounding like no-one else on his electric or acoustic guitars. And no-one talk/sings like him either. The rest of the band do more than exist to complement their guitar anti-hero, they create a level of sonic ecstasy rarely heard. The album has parts of spit and bile as well as moments of tender reflection as well as humour. I have to say that I really like the cover photo as well; for me it links in well with the song "Telegraph Road". I will admit though that I only recently gave thought to the title of the album and listened more carefully to the track of the same name. Have a think about it yourself sometime; what's worth more? Money or integrity?

Dire Straits - Telegraph Road - https://youtu.be/jhcY6uUsStA

Dire Straits - Love Over Gold (live) - https://youtu.be/nKCpMDpSP8M

The Grammys were held in the past few days. Who cares? Usually I couldn't give a hoot. Since they decided that Jethro Tull deserved an award for Best Hard Rock/Metal over Metallica I've not paid attention. But this time around the winner of Album of the Year is a bit interesting. Kacey Musgraves is a country artist. Her album sold far fewer units than her competition for Best Album but it still won. Why? Well I hope it's because the judges realised that a good album is more than an impressive sales chart. She's new to me as well but on the strength of what I've heard so far I'll listen some more.

Kacey Musgraves - Merry Go 'Round - https://youtu.be/GZfj2Ir3GgQ

Kacey Musgraves - Wonder Woman - https://youtu.be/jYm0g2oxdUw

DJ iRob is compiling a playlist of the best in music from those born in Scotland. There's a heap to choose from and I was pretty chuffed that he asked me to play along. So...here's a few Scots artists. In all fairness, the criteria was that the band had to have someone Scots in it, not just be all from north of Hadrian's Wall!

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Midnight Moses - https://youtu.be/7PorTxFQKRY

Eric Bogle - Shelter - https://youtu.be/xc6GAFmXxAM

Marillion - Heart of Lothian - https://youtu.be/9pkyZhlK8Q0

Sheena Easton - Strut - https://youtu.be/uSp0kO-NBWw

Elvis Costello released a new album towards the end of 2018. Burt Bacharach is back as a co-writer on some of the tunes. Who can forget the epic moment of them playing together on screen in an Austin Powers movie? Anyway, this is Costello's first album since 2013 and he rarely fails to please. Give it a spin and tell me what you think. It's been on my playlist for a little while and shows no signs of being removed.

Elvis Costello - Under Lime - https://youtu.be/xMKkQtH75R8

Burt Bacharach & Elvis Costello - I'll Never Fall In Love Again - https://youtu.be/6sbNQoGwXGg

Thinking back to Mark Knopfler, I wanted to play this next song. It's one of Pink Floyd's best known but apart from it being just a superb piece of music, the David Gilmour guitar solo is just awesome. Legions of guitar nerds have spent years and years trying to replicate this tone. Fish around on YouTube sometime and that's a wormhole you will find it hard to escape from. I've chosen this version on purpose as Gilmour sounds as good now (well, recently) as he did back in 1979. He's selling that black Strat too...amazing.

David Gilmour _ Comfortably Numb (live) - https://youtu.be/LTseTg48568

One of my school friends was lucky enough to go and see Do Re Mi play last week. For those of you unaware of the band; they were big in Australia in the 80s. If you enjoy music with a soul/funk/new wave beat coupled with strong female vocals then this is for you. I believe that Deborah Conway (vocals) is also doing a solo tour this year; certainly one to look out for.

Do Re Mi - Man Overboard - https://youtu.be/bDO5KwDBgy8

I had a bit of a listen to Ruby Fields last year. Then she slipped off my radar. Recently I heard/saw her doing a cover of The Church's "Unguarded Moment". Whilst I didn't really like the cover, I did go back and check out some of her original stuff. This is pretty cool I think.

Ruby Fields - Dinosaurs - https://youtu.be/l_s-AHJ7Rqg

That'll do. DJ ZedBoots is home tomorrow for a short spell so I'll see what she's been listening to. Fun times. I've also got some guitar licks to record for H and the band to go with a track we started recording in 1893.

Thanks for staying until the end...thing got a bit out of hand! Tune in next time for more.

Rob

"No sweeping exits
No Hollywood endings
Flowers and football tops
Don't mean a thing.", Flowers and Football Tops, Glasvegas, 2008