Arcade Fire - Funeral

Now here is an album that you positively must own.

I don’t care what genre or type of music you like, be it Death Metal, Soul or Classical. This is one album that transcends music. It is a beautiful piece of artwork and music at its best.


The Arcade Fire released their debut album 'Funeral' in 2004. It was given its title because several band members had recently lost members of their families: Régine Chassagne's grandmother died in June 2003, Win and William Butler's grandfather in March 2004, and Richard Reed Parry's aunt in April 2004. This is certainly not the focus of the album, but along the way it does deal with with death, sorrow and loss but also with new life, love and celebration. It is a highly emotive piece of work, both musically and lyrically.


Throughout Funeral, the band augments its five-piece line up with string sections, weaving near-cinematic, folk-influenced indie pop that is continually working towards a crescendo, songs bursting into life with emotional honesty and sheer joyousness. These songs have a way of manipulating your feelings - listening to this album is a journey.

The song writing is varied, there are vast, goosebump inducing anthems ('Neighbourhood #1', 'Wake Up') catchy indie pop ('Neighbourhood #2', 'Haiti') and straight ahead indie rock ('Neighbourhood #3', 'Rebellion (Lies)'). Throughout it all, there's an astonishing variety of instrumentation. Sure there's your basic guitar/bass/drums line-up, but it's tempered with pianos, keyboards, xylophones, cellos, violins and even an accordion.

Funeral kicks off with four of the first 5 songs titled Neighbourhood.  Starting with 'Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)' - snow buries the houses and our narrator and his lover tunnel out and make their way to the middle of the town. This goes on over a gorgeous piano and xylophone twinkling, but the drums are building and the song just gets better and better. The second neighbourhood tune, 'Neighbourhood #2 (Laika)' is emotionally driven and resonating beyond this realm, with talk of vampires, the accordion appears here (French sounding?) leading into the mellow, half French piece "Une Annee Sans Lumiere," - darkness enveloping the neighbourhood for a year and hiding things (at least this what i am led to believe from my French translations.......) This is one of the most amazing songs on the album. The French mixed with English lyrics are laid back as Win Butler duets with his wife and co-songwriter Régine Chassagne, and the finale explodes with guitar driven energy.

We then move to 'Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out)' which seems to confirm my French to English translations about darkness and hidden meaning, but with a much heavier edge to it. The neighbourhood tale is concluded with 'Neighbourhood #4 (Kettles)' - a pensive realisation about the circle of life - talk of the elderly and babies - "Time keeps creepin' through the neighbourhood, killing old folks, wakin' up babies just like we knew it would".

These thoroughly well written, highly emotive, deep and meaningful lyrics are over a stunning backdrop of ever changing musical styles that that enhances the whole experience. Nearly all of the tracks are forever building into something incredible, with finales that will keep you replaying the song over and over again.

Then we move to the second half of Funeral.

'Crown of Love' is dark ballad about love, held firmly together by a power driven string section. Butler constructs a complex piece here - brilliant music, brilliant lyrics. It builds up over and over to a huge ending with a a great dance beat. 'Wake Up' is a extraordinary song, heavy guitars with an underlying orchestral arrangement makes it beautiful and very moving and yet absolutely rocking at the same time. I loves it.

‘Haiti’ is a love ballad to the homeland of Regine Chassagne that "she'll never see". She sings of "unmarked graves where flowers grow" and promising that "all the tears and all the bodies will bring about our second birth.", a real reminder about the terrible past of Haiti that is extremely poignant now with the recent events there.

'Rebellion (Lies)' is one very cool song. Very catchy, nice use of just two piano notes. I'm not even sure how they do it sometimes. Listen to the piano.... Two notes.... Drums.... Three beats.... Simple chords.... And yet, it's so dynamic, deep, and emotional. This song just further highlights the artistry of Arcade Fire.

The album closes with ‘In the Backseat’, Female vocals again with an almost ethereal Chassagne pondering the outside world from the backseat of a car. The music builds and becomes heavier as the song progresses, relying on heavy drums and powerful guitar chords. Building is a theme on the album, all the songs build up to something - this song though is just another masterpiece; a triumphant piece of music. It's the perfect closer for the perfect album.

When it ends, if feels like you've just finished some incredible experience - and you will want to start over! I have lost count of the number of times i have played this back to back. A true sign of a great album is that it gets better with every listen, you love it start with and it keeps getting better. Musically and lyrically it is sublime.

Overall, the Arcade Fire manage to collect a life's worth of images and emotions and fit them into a ten track album. From Bitterness and hope to love and solitude, this dark toned album is uplifting as it progresses through its countless stages.

This is an indie-rock epic that in my opinion is the best album made 2000-2009.

Enough said?

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Miles Davis - Kind of Blue

A great many things in life are over-hyped, especially things that were huge and revolutionary for their times. There is an expectation that these pieces of 'art' are masterpieces and a widely held belief that there is something wrong with you if you don’t like it - be it music, film or literature. We have all been let down before by the classic film that was just boring, the classic book that you didn't finish or the classic album that you found pretentious or an affront to your ears. Did your friends call you unsophisticated? Uneducated? Did they tell you that you just did not get it?

That's alright – Kind of Blue is one of the few celebrated works of art that lives up to the hype and then goes far beyond it.


There's not a thing I could tell you about this masterpiece that hasn't been written before. This album is absolutely essential for anyone even remotely interested in music of any kind. You have certainly heard this album before at some point in your life whether you were aware or not. That is unless you suffer agoraphobia and don’t listen to music or watch television. Chances are you are probably not reading this right now


The background:


Miles Davis is renowned as one of the most important and innovative musicians of the 20th Century. As a bandleader, he led nearly every important jazz musician of the post-war period at some time, including: John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Cannonball Adderley, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Dave Holland, Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett.
Miles is credited as being the instigator of a number of styles in jazz. Cool Jazz, Modal Jazz and Jazz-Fusion are all his doing. He had already released over 20 albums and been a band leader for over 10 years when Kind of Blue was released in 1959. Miles has planned for Kind of Blue to be a masterpiece before the first note was played.

He picked the perfect cast to execute what was a fundamentally liberating idea. Until this point the dominant style of jazz was bebop and within this the improvisation was based on chords and chord changes. On this album Davis chose a completely different direction for the music - he called it 'Modal Jazz'. The entire album was composed as a series of modal sketches, in which each performer was given a set of scales that defined the parameters of their improvisation and style rather than the musicians being given a set of chord progressions. This provided a platform for improvising on each chord compared to conventional jazz tunes and standards.

Sounds like boring rhetoric?

If you are not up with the nuances and technicalities of music (especially Jazz music) I will make it more simple

This changed everything...........

The band itself is extraordinary. Two of the most celebrated men to ever pick up a saxophone appear - John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley - both who went on to become renowned in their own right. For the large part Bill Evans is on piano (with Wynton Kelly playing on one track) and Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums make what is the tightest ever rhythm unit that I think I have ever heard on any kind of music.

To put this in perspective, Miles Davis assembled a quintet that contained musicians who are widely regarded as some of the finest to ever pick up their respective instruments. (Although I am not sure Gil Evans ever picked up his piano – they are heavy). Almost a supergroup!
Coltrane's sharpness on tenor is countered by Adderley's funky alto, with Davis on trumpet moderating everything and changing with the mood. Bill Evans conjures up a brilliant sound on piano, a platform for the solos of Miles, Coltrane and Adderley. Meanwhile, the rhythm partnership of Cobb and Chambers underpin the whole thing with timing that is just impeccable - for me it almost proves the existence of God. I could write another whole piece just on the bass playing of Chambers and the Jimmy Cobb drum fills.
Every musician gets his time to shine, everyone has solos and ever note is to perfection - even with improvisation.

Miles and his band created an album with outstanding mood & melody, where all the notes ebb & flow and where all the musicians get to strut their stuff without stepping on each other. There's no instrumental ‘noodling’ to be found anywhere on Kind of Blue. If that is your impression of Jazz - you need to try again. The album has a great cohesiveness to it, where every improvised note you hear makes perfect sense. Miles Davis knew that musical magic could be achieved through spontaneity, as long as each piece had a basic "setting" for the musicians to work within.

From the classic opener "So What," to the concluding "Flamenco Sketches," the music is wonderful, melodic and breezy, but most of all, cool. It's amazing to think that this classic album was finished in a mere two sessions, with every track except one nailed down in a single take ("Flamenco Sketches" took two takes to complete).

"So What" is just the quintessential Jazz track, it is exciting and brilliant, "Freddie Freeloader" takes on a faster bluesy beat driven by Wyn Kelly on piano (It is Evans on the rest of the tracks). "All Blues" is my favourite above all other jazz songs, i close my eyes and i can almost hear all 11 minutes, that particular track has seeped into my consciousness and frequently plays itself in my head as i go to sleep.

It is a work of pure genius by a bunch of improvising musicians at the height of their powers. This is probably the album that has turned more people onto jazz than any other. It is said that this is the cornerstone of any Jazz collection, it is the highest selling Jazz album of all time, it is the most important and influential Jazz album of all time. But i think it should be viewed as the cornerstone of any record collection.

Even those who don't appreciate jazz should appreciate this album for its musicality and virtuoso performances. Yet it is so easily accessible. But if you only have one jazz album then this is the one to get, though I would suggest that this recording will be used as a launching pad into the world of jazz.
Kind of Blue is pure and majestic throughout - it is the most beautiful Album I have ever heard.

There are other fantastic Jazz Albums that you probably don’t own but really should, Giant Steps and A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley's Somethin’ Else, Time Out by Dave Brubrek - I could go on and on, but I am not trying to sell this as a Jazz album - im selling this as possibly the best album I own.

The only valid reason I can think of to not own this, is that you own the Miles Davis/ John Coltrane Complete Columbia Recordings 6 CD Box Set which includes this album in its entirety.

If you have it - great, i am certain you will concur.
If you don’t own it - get it.
If you don’t like Jazz - get it.
Get it.

You will never Ever regret it. It may change the way you to music listen forever - as it has with me.

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2009 Albums of the year......

1. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear.

More often than not music is referenced by other bands "it sounds like......" or "..... so is the new ......" Somehow Grizzly Bear has managed to sidestep these labels and create it's own music without falling into the pit of preconceived notions that genres create. In attempting to classify the album i though that a whole lot of adjectives would do the job, with none of it giving you any idea what was actually going on.

Call it Lo-Fi indie if you want a broad classification, but it is so much more than that. This is one amazingly crafted album and it is important to note - a whole album experience. Don't just download one song from iTunes - it will be good, but it will not do the whole thing justice. The album flows through movements taking you on a journey through moods and sounds. Every second of each song is in exactly the right place. The production values are sublime. The Album is dense and textured and yet somehow sounds so sparse and simple in other places. Veckatimest is complex and yet easily accessible. The ambition of the album is grand and the band have obviously pursed perfection - and in my eyes it is almost attained.

In a word it is quite simply stunning. What's so amazing about this album is that the attempts by most artists at achieving their lofty ambitions of perfection are inevitably ruined by a misplaced sense of what actually sounds good. This is usually caused by a combination of overproduction (name any number of moderately successful artists here who have delusions of grandeur, lets begin with The Killers), pretentiousness (Coldplay & Axl Rose spring to mind there) and of course the need for instant gratification (The Kings of Leon in the forefront of my mind there....) As Alex Turner of The Arctic Monkeys once sang "There's only music so that there's new ring tones". Anyway back to Grizzly Bear - there is no overproduction and no pretensions. Veckatimest is just so damn good. You keep coming back for more and more and strangely enough it keeps getting better and better. It sounds so familiar and yet you keep hearing more and more within the songs.

While you wait for the others is certainly one of my favourite songs of the year, but the album is full of brilliant tunes. Two Weeks, Dory & Cheerleader are highlights, while the pair of songs that close I live with you and Foreground finish the album on a splendid note.

If you have not heard it -get it. If you have it - make sure you see the magnificent film clips for Two weeks and while you wait...

This is one hell of an album, my best for 2009.

2. Fits - White Denim

Astonishing.

Fits is an extraordinary album, not just because it is so good, but because of the way in which this three piece from Texas write songs. Strap yourself in and hold on tight for 37 minutes of some of the most versatile and creative music you have every heard. White Denim are basically a Garage Rock band. Well maybe a caravan rock band, they recorded this album in drummer Josh Blocks caravan, either way that is just a starting point. Like Grizzly Bear, White Denim are hard to categorise (so why try) but basically the joy is in the sonic intensity that encapsulates your head and leaves you wanting more!

So we have Guitar, Bass & Drums as a starting point with wah wah pedals, psychedelia, ethereal harmonies, punk, jazz, prog rock, dub, soul, organs, sing along and some stoner rock thrown in, sometimes all in the course of one song.

Confused?

You should be.

It is like nothing you have ever heard before, but I have to say there is not an album out there that i have had more fun listening to than this - well flight of the conchords was fairly funny, but fun derived from music...... The chemistry between the members makes what really should not work a very cohesive album. Songs change halfway though and become something completely different, they speed up slow down, timing changes abound (Josh Block is an exceptional drummer). These guys are certainly very handy musicians and multi instrumentalists. Pianos, Organs, Saxophones and christ knows what else make appearances.

The songs are just so enjoyable. I start to run gets in my head and makes me want to dance (or run). Sex prayer is the most awesome organ driven dub rock turning to trippy psychedelia song i have ever heard. Although it could well be the first. El Hard Attack DCWYW is latin punk, Regina Holding Hands is beautifully acoustic, Radio Milk, How Can You Stand It thrashes around masquerading as a punk song before coming up bluesy. Syncn closes the album and makes you want to start it all over again.

There is a psychedelic weave throughout the album and this, combined with the rambunctious energy, has the whole thing teetering on the verge of combustion. However the absolutely stunning songs on Fits always manage to hold together and work themselves out with exciting, engaging results.

This is what bedlam sounds like.

And i like it.

3. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures

Supergroups scare me.

They should scare you as well. The general equation would be to take good musicians and songwriters out of great groups and put them together and the sum of all the parts = musical gold. However this is almost never the case. The equation actually spits out something far worse than any of the individuals would ever imagined, instead of getting Voltron, you get the mighty morphin power rangers. Think Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, Zwan, The Highway Men, TheTravelling Wilburys (in their defence Roy Orbision did die........) all just bad - especially when compared to from where they came - Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, Guns N Roses, Stone Temple Pilots, The Smashing Pumpkins, Slint and individuals such as Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and George Harrison. Anyway, you get the message, all supergroups are bad and the only exception that i can make with any conviction is for Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young).

But...........

Dave Grohl, the man who found himself in two of the biggest bands in the world of the last 20 years Nirvana and the Foo Fighters has made a habit of side projects. Grohl has worked with Queens of the Stone Age, Tenacious D and Probot among others - he likes it, says it is fun. His good mate Josh Homme has done the same - The Eagles of Death Metal & Desert Sessions. So to be clear, when you are still in a band (Foo Fighters or QOTSA) working on a side project, you are not in a supergroup. Therefore, it is OK to team up with your mate (Grohl and Homme) and find some old fellow who you happen to worship because he was in some band called Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones) and form a band.

Now that i have proven that Them Crooked Vultures are a side project and not a Supergoup I can stop being scared and get on with loving the album.

What would you expect from Grohl (rock) Homme (mega rock) and JPJ (more rock than rock itself). Ah - heavy guitars and drums and rock. yep. rock.

Guess what. This album rocks.

Firstly, thank God that Dave Grohl has got back behind a drumkit. This is where he belongs. He really is one hell of a drummer and with JPJ on bass showing he has lost nothing in the 30 odd years since Led Zeps untimely demise, the album is very tight. The timing is particular noticeable and this allows Homme a fantastic platform for some guitar work that we have not heard from his since, funnily enough, he last worked with Grohl on the Songs for the Deaf album (Queens of the Stone Age) This is one formula that works here. Homme shows his voice has continued to improve as it has on each Queens album, the man has a great vocal range, certainly along way removed from Feelgood hit of the summer ('Nicotine, Valium, Vicodin, Marijuana, Ecstasy and Alcohol C-c-c-c-c-cocaine) if you had forgotten. To most mainstream commercial radio listners he would be the least known of the group, but really he is the guitars and vocals and if anything many of the tracks are Queens of the Stone Age sounding - but - there is so much more. as you would expect from Grohl and JPJ, they are not going to take a back seat.

That is one of the highlights for me. The album actually works. Its better than anyone expected. The musical talent on show throughout is as phenomenal as you'd expect - Grohl plays drums like a man possessed - the cymbal work, drum rolls and timing changes throughout the album are brilliant. JPJ is the master producer. He made Led Zep sound that good as well as every other band he ever produced.

It's thrilling just to hear these three men play together, you can almost hear the guys having fun, Homme and Grohl getting to live out a boyhood fantasy. However if there can be a criticism, that is probably born out of this very point. There are drums solos, guitar solos, bass riffs galore. I mean galore. Its packed. It is fantastic - but at times it is a bit meaty.

In the end it is what i paid for though, i wanted a big album with screeching soaring guitar solos, big riffs, pounding drums with roll after roll all topped with a voice that moves between a shot and a croons.

In this case the sum of the parts were never going to be greater than the original bands from whence they came (except the Foo Fighters of course with apologies to their second album the colour and the shape), however them crooked vultures have put themselves right up there with a phenomenal debut.

And for christs sake lets call it a Side Project.

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