NEW MUSIC EAR : Album Reviews

DEL AMITRI "WAKING HOURS" 1989     KISS THIS THING GOODBYE - I only heard this single after I had bought the album and instantly loved it.  It has a real live sound like every Del Amitri song, that pure sound where you can hear every instrument and vocal clear.  It was very like a Scottish folk song but rockier.     OPPOSITE VIEW - A kind of Genesis/The Cars hybrid.  Uptempo and twangy guitar solos and crashing drums abound, this track proved that the band could Rock out if they felt the need. MOVE AWAY JIMMY BLUE -  Was a gorgeous ballad in the style of hit single, "Nothing Ever Happens", minimal backing once again for Justin Currie's emotive, throaty vocals. STONE COLD SOBER -  A slower tempo ballad.  It reminded me a lot of The Police and The Cars, half British, half American 80s Pop Rock. YOU'RE GONE - A dark and mysterious track, based around guitar and drums, a slight Country Rock feel and again hard hittin

THE CORRS "FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN"   1995     ERIN SHORE - Traditional intro for 30 seconds, a sweet minimal Irish instrumental which seamelessly links into the drumbeat of the title track that follows. FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN -  haS that mystical medieval feel, Pop Rock with a hint of Celtic backdrop.     HEAVEN KNOWS - A more poppy track which reminds me of the singing group Wilson Phillips or early Bangles.  Great harmonies showcasing the girls' vocals. ALONG WITH THE GIRLS -  An instrumental that does what it says on the tin! The girls giving us a brief 50 second showcase of their prowess on various classic Irish instruments.   SOMEDAY - A real Pop Rock track, heavier drums than usual, catchy chorus,  lots of musical backing going on and it works brilliantly.  RUNAWAY - The debut single hit me like a ton of bricks.  A simple yet effectively emotive and cutely sung by Andrea Corr.  Loved this on first listen and prom

PALOMA FAITH "DO YOU WANT THE TRUTH OR SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL?"   2009       STONE COLD SOBER - Great debut single from Paloma, has a slight Country twang but is deep in Blues Soul, a bit of everything with some awesome vocals.  Gave us a teaser for what was to come from the fearless singer.     SMOKE AND MIRRORS - A kind of 60s Pop feel to this track, a more laid back vocal this time. BROKEN DOLL - A darkly soft ballad with a distinct Musical feel, Paloma again taking on different styles that has since become her trademark. A little Eartha Kitt or innocent quality of Marilyn Monroe. DO YOU WANT THE TRUTH OR SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL? - Pure Soul Pop on this title track.  A beautifully (no pun intended) sung and almost 60s era style. UPSIDE DOWN - A great Jazz/Soul hybrid, its fun, its slinky and delivered in the unmistakeable quirky Paloma Faith style.  Love this, its cool.  You can see the dancers sancing behind her in a vintage smoky bar.   R

THE CULT "LOVE"   1985       NIRVANA - This opening track, has all the Classic Rock elements and could have easily fitted in the "Hair Metal" of the 80s. BIG NEON GLITTER - Brilliant mash up of off tune vocals but with with a kind of Rolling Stones chorus and screeching guitars that reminded me a little of Big Country amidst some tiny specks of Progressive Rock.  Class song! LOVE -  The title track is superb, its kind of a Classic Rock/Punk hybrid with sounds like Adam And The Ants' "Kings Of The Wild Frontier" album, searing guitars and thumping drums.  Well I love it. BROTHER WOLF, SISTER MOON - Epic ballad that stretches to 6 and a half minutes.  I remember hearing this in headphones and the sounds are incredible, more instrumental than the previous tracks and proved the band could experiement with different sounds. RAIN - A fans' live favourite and is one of my favourites from the band.  A

ERASURE "THE INNOCENTS" 1988     A LITTLE RESPECT - Classic sing-a-long at many parties even now.  New Wave Synth Pop at its best.  Acoustic guitar parts add a little extra to the electronic backing.  One of the band's most famous and best songs.     SHIP OF FOOLS - Quite wonderful emotive song, "Ship Of Fools", one of my favourites and a brilliant Synth Pop ballad.     PHANTOM BRIDE - Perfect 80s electronic Pop, catchy, bright and breezy and a nice positive uptempo number. CHAINS OF LOVE - Almost Motown Soul in structure but with an Electronic backing, again another memorable catchy chorus! HALLOWED GROUND -  Sounds a little like "A Little Respect" backing slowed down a touch but with mysterious ambience and downbeat vocals from Andy Bell.   SIXTY FIVE THOUSAND - A Jazzy almost Art Of Noise type track which you would probably hear on a detective show theme, a little like Dragnet maybe? HEART OF STONE - 

THE KINKS "SOMETHING ELSE"   1967     DAVID WATTS - The opening track on this fifth album by the band is a mix of 60s Pop with what sounds like early Glam Rock snippets.  The lyrics sung by Ray Davies seem to lean towards admiration for a fellow popular schoolboy.  Upbeat and cool intro to this album.      DEATH OF A CLOWN - Named as "chamber Pop" this track is a kind of Folk Pop track with  haunting "la la" chanted segments.  Originally co-written by Ray Davies and his brother Dave (who released it as his first solo single).   TWO SISTERS - Harpsichord led laid back 60s Pop track, singing about two sisters Sybilla and Priscilla, both with contrasting personalities, similar to Kinks' brothers Ray and Dave!  Nice song. NO RETURN - An unusual minimal Acoustic style track with a kind of Bossa beat lightly drifting the song along.  A little eerie and not one of my favourites but very experimental. HARRY RAG - Cla

THE MONKEES "MORE OF THE MONKEES"   1967     SHE - The opening track sung by Micky Dolenz is a mix of Progressive, Psychedelic Rock and Beat Pop.  Great opening track, mid tempo and punchy and a memorable chorus.     WHEN LOVE COMES KNOCKIN' (AT YOUR DOOR) - Typical 60s Pop track sung by Davy Jones.  Written by superior songwriters Carol Bayer Sager and Neil Sedaka.  Its chirpy and bright and radio friendly. MARY, MARY - One of my favourite Monkees' tracks again sung by Dolenz.  Great guitar Pop Rock, simple hooks and chorus but it packs a punch. HOLD ON GIRL - Eerie and experimental, almost Folk Pop track sung by Jones with off key backing vocals and a Psychedelic keyboard solos. YOUR AUNTIE GRIZELDA - Another experimental tune, the first released song with Peter Tork taking on the lead vocals.  A persistent Rock keyboard leads the way through the song.  Its humorous, quirky and Tork makes a variety of sounds during the instr

ZZ TOP "ELIMINATOR" 1983     GIMME ALL YOUR LOVIN' - Ear opening track for me not familiar with too much Blue, something like I had never heard before.  That pumping drumbeat and twangy Country guitar solos with a sound that seemed like there were definitely more than two guitarists on the record, it was so big and loud.  Add the catchy chorus and it was an immense introduction to ZZ Top.  The video was the first in the classic "keyring and car" videos.     GOT ME UNDER PRESSURE - This was a classic fast Blues guitar driven track, searing guitar solos and the same pumping drumbeat that appeared on the first single.  Not sure why this wasn't accepted by the Brits in our charts, maybe the chorus wasn't as catchy or as frequent. SHARP DRESSED MAN - The old saying goes "if it ain't broke don't fix it" .  Same goes for this track, all the elements were re-invented from "Gimme All Your Lovin'".

THE MISSION "CARVED IN SAND" 1990     AMELIA - Opener to the album and is a great song albeit the subject matter is child abuse.  Superbly written lyrics about a Amelia being "daddy's favourite girl" and daddy telling her not to tell mummy about it.  Disturbing theme but brilliantly crafted to get the message across very bluntly.  Ends with the line "damn your daddy to hell".  Harsh lyrics but great song with a good message! INTO THE BLUE - Similar to the songs on the debut album "God's Own Medicine", a stripped back mid tempo rocker making the most of Wayne Hussey's superb vocals and some Classic Rock guitars. BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL - A great lilting Rock ballad delivered in Wayne's haunting, passionate vocal.  Emotional and epic.  One of my favourites from the band and a big dingle for them.     SEA OF LOVE - Starts with a very Eastern influence and merges into a similar vein to that of prev

SIMON & GARFUNKEL "PARSLEY, SAGE, ROSEMARY AND THYME" 1966     SCARBOROUGH FAIR/CANTICLE - One of the duo's many memorable songs and one of my favourites.  A really lovely, melodious atmospheric Acoustic ballad.  With its Folk style and almost medieval sound, a fabulously emotive song.     PATTERNS -  A Folk song with hints of Progressive Rock and a kind of tribal drumbeat and sounding like a native Indian old style camp fire number. CLOUDY - This is a really nice, easy going track with a little Psychedelic snippets but mainly a Pop Folk style. HOMEWARD BOUND - Another of my favourite tracks.  A more upbeat Folk Rock track, with melancholy lyrics as Paul Simon misses his new found love waiting at a Railway station in Widnes, Cheshire.  Top track.   THE BIG BRIGHT GREEN PLEASURE MACHINE - Reminds me a little of The Monkees.  More upbeat than the previous tracks.  A chirpy, bright and breezy 60s style hippie track. THE 59TH BRIDGE

STONEFIELD "AS ABOVE, SO BELOW" 2016   SISTER - The Aussie foursome of sisters Amy, Hannah, Holly and Sarah open up their second album with a bang.  It's an almost Gothic Progressive Rock track with its dark undertones and moody effects. Hannah does her best Ozzy doom and gloom vocals to good effect.   DREAM - Ironically this has a dreamy kind of vibe going on.  Its a 70s Psychedelic Rock ride with elements of 90s Grunge.   CHANGES - Love this track, it reminds me of Bangles with some great melodious riffs and sultry Susannah Hoffs-like vocals.  Great Pop Rock with some slightly heavier moments hidden in the track especially towards the end.  Super track and shows the girls' growing maturity and musical knowledge. LOVE - Another Bangles-type track, but a little more mellow than the previous track.  Really nice song and some pure guitar! The interplay between the guitar and keyboards is rather beautiful. STRANGER - Classic Rock track reminiscent of early Heart. 

MEN AT WORK "BUSINESS AS USUAL" 1981   WHO CAN IT BE NOW? - The debut single opens this first album by the Australian New Wave band.  Elements of Ska and Pop combine in this bouncy track, ironically about paranoia and seclusion! The saxophone by Greg Ham and singer Colin Hay's vocal interplay are masterful and ingenious.  Great track and should have been a bigger hit in the UK. I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR EYES - A typical New Wave Pop Rock song akin to the The Cars and The Police.  Some delightful guitar keeps this engaging. DOWN UNDER - The massive global hit, a number 1 in the UK and the USA and many other countries.  The quirky Reggae style and comical lyrical content plus the hilarious video made this a favourite on MTV.  An absolute classic 80s track and the most famous by the band.   UNDERGROUND - Another New Wave Pop Rock track that unlike "I Can See It In Your Eyes" doesn't need saving by guitar.  A great composition all round and brilliant track. HELP

  CHARLOTTE CHURCH "TISSUES AND ISSUES" 2005   CALL MY NAME - The first Pop album from the former Classical "voice of an angel".  I was disappointed she did not keep this style going for a couple of albums as I really enjoyed this one.  I am an admirer of the feisty Welsh lady with the wicked sense of humour, she says how it is which is alright by me.  This opening track is big, brash and extremely funky.  Charlotte's voice is well suited to this new style, this is an awesome toe tapping, thigh slapping delight.  One of four top 20 singles from this set hitting number 10.   CRAZY CHICK - The debut single and when I heard this I was surprised who it was.  A great catchy Pop Rock track which hit number 2 on the UK chart.  The video showed a cheeky, sexy rocker, a world away from her previous persona, Charlotte had grown into a bona fida "rock chick".   MOODSWINGS (TO COME AT ME LIKE THAT) - The tempo drops slightly for this track, a little jazzy, a li

TEXAS "SOUTHSIDE" 1989     I DON'T WANT A LOVER - With its thudding marching band beat and Country tinged twang slide guitars with a distinct American Rock vibe I was taken aback.  Thinking this was an experienced band from USA calling themselves Texas, surprising to find them Scottish!.   The voice of Sharleen Spiteri is just pure, soulful and effortless.  She is still one of my favourite vocalists today, a fantastic voice.     TELL ME WHY - Would have been a great single.  Similar in vein to "I Don't Want A Lover", same tempo and a range of soft and powerful vocals from Sharleen.  More Pop Rock than the singles and radio friendly.  Still the driving guitars and beat remains. EVERYDAY NOW -  One of my alltime favourite songs.  Sharleen's vocals get front and central and it is a beautiful lilting Blues/Soul ballad.  An absolute cracker of a song full of emotion.     SOUTHSIDE - A lazy, laid back Blues Rock instru

EAGLE EYE CHERRY "LIVING IN THE PRESENT FUTURE" 2000 BEEN HERE ONCE BEFORE - The opening track on Eagle Eye's second album is a laid back 60s style Pop mid tempo ballad.  Nice melody and harmonies on the vocals and although lacking in lyrical stature its a nice, easy going start to the album. ARE YOU HAVING FUN? - The fifth single and first from this album reached number 21 in the UK chart.  The best single since the debut "Save Tonight" in my opinion.  Its catchy chorus and uptempo almost New Wave Punk backing make this a great track.   ONE GOOD REASON - This is a really cool slow, dirty Blues track with almost whispered vocals from Cherry.  Should have been a single, one of the best tracks on this album. PROMISES MADE - The third single from the album which failed to chart here.  This is a slow, soft, melodious track that at times sounds like an old Folk shanty track.  It's string accompaniment gives it a nice lilting feel. BURNING UP - This track has