Headhunters. I once wrote the lyrics for a (so far) unreleased blues song titled ‘Mr Watermelon Man’ possibly while trying to learn the harmonica.. (Sample verse: ‘Mr watermelon man/Mr watermelon man/The Klan killed his mother/the cops shot his brother/now he’s left with no other/friends but his watermelons’). It sounded nothing like track two of this four track album.
Opener Chameleon starts of as a solid chunk o’funk which could easily have been the theme tune for a 70’s cop show but at almost 15 minutes long it loses its way a bit in the middle. Herbie’s take on Watermelon Man is more of a dinner party vibe than my version (especially if the main course was jazz funk noodles) and Sly is also a bit…. ‘backgroundy’ although both are good grooves. The promisingly titled Vein Melter doesn’t do what it says on the tin. Could have been edited a bit more tightly (Hancock’s half hour?)
Way Over Yonder in The Minor Key is ok. And I like Natalie Merchant’s vocal on Birds and Ships. But too much of this is plodding, b-grade alt folk or featureless Americana or Keir Starmer country. Background music for eating a rack o’ribs at a mid-price smokehouse chain. I remember seeing Billy Bragg performing To Have and to Have Not on The Tube (the TV show not the underground railway) back in the day and he was so angry he could barely get the lyrics out. Yeah, we’re all older now but that’s no excuse for mid-Atlantic twanging.
Thirty years old and could easily pass for a new release (in a good way) – the (to me) strongly Bowie influenced and (imho) best Radiohead album. Definitely the one with my all time favourite Radiohead track (Black Star). All killer, no filler. Listening brings back a weirdly specific memory of driving to work as a Shropshire Star reporter, along the Bridgnorth to Telford road, with this album on heavy repeat on my car cassette player. Four (black) stars!
Absolute banger for track 1 (title track obviously) - but the rest is a bit of a let down. Either slight rehashes of Green Onions, or groovy instrumentals ideally suited to Austin Powers montages of him trying on increasingly fanciful outfits before finally turning to the camera with a 'yeah baby'
Among the many pleasures of listening to this album, possibly the greatest is hearing The Who’s legendary drummer Keith Moon giving it absolutely full beans on pretty much every track. Then there’s the fact that the track listing includes an ‘Underture’ as well as an ‘Overture’. And the opening to Pinball Wizard? One of the greatest rock intros of all time…. Ok – all the trigger warnings: Contains murder, physical and sexual abuse of a child, strong drug references, religious extremism and PTSD. But what’s a rock opera without tragedy? This original album lacks the guest performance highlights of the later soundtrack (Elton John, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Oliver Reed and Ann Margaret all brought something extra) but for inventiveness, innovation and some banging tunes the ’69 version still bags three stars on its own merits – with a bonus star for ‘Moon the Loon.’ RIP Keith
Before this opportunity, I’d never really listened properly to a Tom Waits album, despite numerous recommendations from people whose tastes have a lot in common with mine.
If I’m honest I’d always suspected there was a bit of ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ about his music. Going into this I nearly tripped over my own prejudices and fell at the (admittedly challenging) first hurdle with the opening track The Earth Died Screaming.
And yet, and yet….. After a couple of false starts, with headphones on, and taking Bone Machine as my soundtrack for a heavy gym session (Waits and weights?), I ended up listening to the whole album, back-to-back, twice. And loved it.
What helped? Well, being a Nick Cave fanboy definitely helps get you tuned to the Tom Waits vibe (A Little Rain, and Whistle Down the Wind have particularly Cave-y moments). And I suspect if I found myself in a Tom Waits gig, as well as a smattering of Bad Seeds t-shirts there’d also be plenty of middle-aged men who would pick Stewart Lee (wilfully inaccessible) as their favourite comedian. We like a challenge, especially one that puts us in what we can tell ourselves is a position of intellectual superiority.
But there are some great moments on this album – from the raspy melancholy of Who Are You to the consumptive blues of Jesus Gonna Be Here. Even the slightly unhinged cabaret stylings of In the Colosseum grew on me after a second listen. In truth there’s a track on this album for all moods. Including the (relatively) happy clappy singalong of I Don’t Wanna Grow Up. Pay attention and you notice all the emotional subtleties and tonal nuances in what might at first seem not much more than a novelty act channelling some mad tramp in a dive bar.
Tom Waits – because he knows the lost sheep will all return to his fold eventually. Will definitely be seeking out more.
I tried, I really did. And Marvin’s undoubtedly got a great voice, and the opening title track is a stone cold classic. But after that, I found it impossible to listen without switching off and drifting away. Even if I’d been earning £1 for every time I heard the phrase ‘get (or getting) it on’ I don’t think I could have stayed focused. Maybe that’s a good thing but it’s all a bit samey from one track to the next. Lush strings, amazing vocals, but I couldn’t help feeling I was giving sugar lumps to a one trick pony. Which is a shame, because the first track Spotify grew up when the album finished was What’s Going On which shows a much different (better?) side to Mr Gaye.
Yeah, it's a good listen. But maybe I've heard the songs too many times?
*I'm* the real Slim Shady
An uplifting burst of cerebral quirk-funk/rock. Once in a Lifetime obviously one of the highlights but also found myself tapping my feet vigorously to The Great Curve (not overly wise when driving). Have I caught up now?
A potentially high score here - some intriguing and original samples, some (ahem) dope beats and proper old school scratching. Plus Shad already has a lot of goodwill from me for his collaboration with De La Soul on Rocket Fuel. But despite some interesting stops along the way (eg Organ Donor) it's a bit too meandering and drawn out to be a really enjoyable end to end listen.
