Marillion – Misplaced Childhood (1985)

A leap of faith

I found “Misplaced Childhood” in a used records bin at Camden Market in London in 1985. I was stricken with the LP-cover right away. It seemed to talk to me, and I somehow knew the album would be great. The hit single “Kayleigh” would be known to most within a year, but I had never heard about Marillion at that point. It was a leap of faith. Something I hardly ever did or do.

Marillion became one of my favourite bands. It was a glorious era with Fish at the helm. When the band kicked him out in 1988 I felt personally betrayed. I gave the new singer one chance, but it didn’t work out between us, and I am not listening to new Marillion at all. It’s hard to explain, sometimes a vocie just don’t mesh with your inner sensibilities. Let’s file it under “it’s not you, it’s me”.

Luckily, the four albums with the original band have been re-released with extra content as well as numerous live recordings from the early years. I have something like fourteen live shows released and counting from the Fish era.

“Misplaced Childhood” is a concept album loosely based on Fish’s childhood experiences. It’s a magnificent album that in my eyes stands up to Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”. It’s a pity that (old) Marillion never got around to making a double album like Floyd’s “The Wall” or Genesis’ “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”. How glorious it would have been.

The intro of “Pseudo Silk Kimono” by a wall of synthesizers is forever connected to our living room in my childhood home in Skövde. When I got home from London I put the album on my father’s old Dual turntable. The sound was unlike anything I had heard. The melancholic intro is soon followed by two hit singles, “Kayleigh” and “Lavender”. They are great, but “Kayleigh” was somewhat over-played on radio and on a gazillion 80s compilation albums. Now, many years later when the fatigue has subsided, it is again a killer song.

The fourth song “Bitter Suite” is one of two long medleys on the album, we get one treat per side of the LP. The symphonic rock elements of Marillion shines here. Drum, guitar, bass and keyboard in beautiful concert. All the players are great, but my favourites are Steve Rothery on the guitar and Ian Mosley on drums, one of the best drummers I know.

The first side of the LP is closing with the third single, “Heart of Lothian”. It is a perfect live song with Pete Trewavas’ pumping bass and Ian Mosley’s drums backing Mark Kelly’s synthesizer and Steve Rothery’s guitar. Fish’s singing is as heartfelt as all over this album. The song is often sung with full lungs by the audiences.

The second side starts with the menacing “Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)” and all too soon it jumps into the brief “Lords of the backstage”. Suddenly, it’s only the fantastic ending of the album remaining. It starts with “Blind Curve” that clocks in at nearly 10 minutes. The drums are in the front. Fish’s voice is clear and his heart if full of longing. It is so eighties and so not eighties at the same time. Rothery treats us with a guitar solo as if they were a hard rock band with long fluffy hair.

Then the album gets even better. Twice! “Childhoods End?” is only not the best song because “White feather” is following it up. What a majestic finish to a superb album! Drums and guitar play heroes again. It’s classic Marillion, and solo Fish, to end with the best song. “Let’s end with a banger”. It’s often the most fan-friendly song that is at its best live. “White feather” has the peace message that is so typical of Fish’s lyrics. It has always been a very sweet song in my mind.

I can’t rate “Misplaced Childhood” without the nostalgic feelings from my own childhood, the years my taste in music was formed. To me it is a core building stone of the soundtrack to who I was, and am. It is just so hard to separate music and memories with an album like this. I won’t do it!

Rating: 10/10

Side A:
1. Pseudo Silk Kimono
2. Kayleigh
3. Lavender
4. Bitter Suite
5. Heart of Lothian

Side B:
1. Waterhole (Expresso Bongo)
2. Lords of the Backstage
3. Blind Curve
4. Childhoods End?
5. White Feather

Best songs: all songs are the best but some of my current favourites are “White Feather”, “Bitter Suite”, “Blind Curve”

Produced by: Chris Kimsey

Released: June 17, 1985

Media: 
Gatefold, vinyl, Germany, 1985
2-CD, Remastered, EU, 1998

Marillion - Fugazi (1984)

Where are the poets?

Absurdly enough I sold most of my vinyls in the early 90’s. I left my player at my parents house and switched to CDs. Ahh, these ugly small plastic discs with those silly small booklets. My old vinyl collection… Where did you go? How I regret it.

Luckily most of my favourite bands and artists have re-issued their discographies in very nice, however expensive, editions. For Marillion it is even better. They have by now released three out of four studio albums in very attractive vinyl boxes. Only Fugazi remain to be treated with such a nice thing. Restless I couldn’t wait, so I have bought the 2012 re-issue on 180 gram vinyl. The album is stellar, the sound quality is mostly really good, the cover is wonderful. 

Of all the albums I have played the most times ever in my life time, all of Marillion’s four albums are most probably in the top 10. I know these albums as the palm of my hand, as they say.

At live shows, Fish sometimes seems to get angry that fans want to hear the old songs. Sure, I can understand his point of view. He want to promote yet another new underwhelming solo album. But I don’t think he really understands how important these four albums have been in many fans lives. It has been the soundtrack to my life during many, many years.

So where does “Fugazi” stands among the four? Well, I think it is in a dogfight about third place. But all four are masterpieces and any given day anyone of them can be in the top. It depends on the mood of the day. But anyway, “Misplaced childhood” and “Script for a jester’s tear” are often in the top in front of “Fugazi”.

Marillion always ends their albums in the moste excellent ways, placing the most impressive song last. The title track “Fugazi” is the magnum opus of theirs, and a fan favourite for the live concerts. The song is a cry for peace, Fish’s main topic when he is not writing about personal experiences or relationships. The piano intro of the song is a favourite part. It feels like home to me.

However “Incubus” may be an even better live-song. “Incubus” has the best guitars solo part of all Marillion songs and Steve Rothery is the only one that can play it up to its potential. “…just like a greasepaint mask…” – cue one of the best guitar solos in rock history. Nice nod to Pink Floyd with a copy of “The Wall” on the floor of the jester’s bedroom. “Comfortably numb” of course has the best guitar solo all time…

“She chameleon” was an old track played even before the first album “Script” was released. The old version was completely different though. I heard it on bootlegs in my youth. Here for the second studio album it got a re-work and the result is a harrowing lament. It is slow and menacing with a great synthesiser melody in the background. Mark does a great job both in the beginning and even better when he gets to take centre stage. New drummer Ian also shows his skills on this track.

The first side of the album we get four slightly shorter songs. The first one is “Assassing”, released as a single and a song often played live. I have never been overly fond of it. Sure, it is great to jump up and down to, but it is lesser work when it comes to Marillion. For most other groups it would be the best song they’ve ever did.

“Punch and Judy” is another single, a fun romp with a great lyric. The best song on the side is lurking as number three. “Jigsaw” is marvellous. Oh, so good. Fish’s emtions runs high. Finally, the seldom played live “Emerald lies” ends the LP side.

This is a masterpiece and I know it by heart. The intricate musical jumble is forever printed in my brain.

My rating: 10/10

Side A:
1. Assassing
2. Punch and Judy
3. Jigsaw
4. Emerald lies

Side B:
1. She chameleon
2. Incubus
3. Fugazi

Best songs: “Fugazi”, “Incubus”, “She chameleon” and “Jigsaw”

Released on March 12th, 1984

Media: Vinyl, 2012 reissue, 180 gram, gatefold

Marillion - Script For A Jester's Tear (1983)

So here I am once more

Oh my, how I adore this album. Marillion’s debut album from 1983 may very well be the best debut album of all time. I mean which album could challenge? Maybe this is an interesting post someday, challenge to “Script”… Who? Bowie, Floyd, Kate, Beatles, The Cure…? There are so many to consider. But that’s for another day.

Let me start with the cover, a glorious gatefold cover. Just as with “Misplaced childhood” this cover makes me lose myself in fantasies about a strange world. The cover artist Mark Wilkinson gave the jester his own face. Wilkinson would follow Marillion until they split up with Fish, and then follow Fish all the way to the end of the road. But there are so much more, the painting of the scary lady, the albums on the floor (I see you Pink Floyd), the chameleon that wouldn’t turn up until the next album. Everything is so interesting!

Six long and beautiful songs. The title track was the last to be written, and what a late addition! “Script” is one of the classic Marillion tracks, andto me a challenger for the most important song of the album. Fish’s lyrics, melodies and singing are lifting the song to the heavens.

The rest of the songs were “old” tracks that they had played live until perfection. “He knows you know” is a heavy pumping accusation. Maybe influenced by Floyd's The Wall. He’s in deep in the quicksand of drugs, he can’t break free. It is powerful.

Don’t give me your problems!

“The web” is sometimes my favourite track on the album. At least so far. It is like the little brother to “Grendel”. Mick Pointer’s drumming is great, Fish is singing with an urgency seldom heard, Mark Kelly is a fucking genius on the keyboards. I love them all. 

Steve Rothery is one of my top three favourite guitar players. He has said that he doesn't like the sound of his guitar on this "old" album. I really don't understand what he is talking about. I love it. The guitar solo on “The web” is giving me chills up my spine. Sure the guitar may be more sophisticated on “Fugazi”, but there is something glorious with the raggedy edge to his playing on this record. The bass player, cool Pete Trevawas is also great. He and Mick on the drums make the backing comp heavy. And Mark Kelly, did I mention that geezer?

Decisions! Have been made! I’ve conquered my fears! The flaming shroud!

Let’s go, second side of the LP.

“Garden party” is like coming home. It is a fun romp, and if you have ever seen the promo video for the song you will for ever remember Fish and the boys dressed up as younglings pranking the Garden party. The melody is rather simple, isn’t it? Jolly fun anyway. Theatrical, engaging, rowdy. Yeah, I like it, but I like all tracks on the album. This is a crowd pleaser almost at the same level as “Market square heroes”.

“Chelsea Monday”…  A slower contemplative lament. It’s driven by the bass and the drums, with a urgent guitar, but not the bad shrieking kind. No, this is something completely different and I simply love the guitar solos on this album. Sublime! Saffron sunsets. Fulfilled yet forgotten. Fish is capturing the loneliness and longing in such detail.

The album captures a feeling of a specific time in my life, back in Skövde in the middle of the 80s. Listening to it unlocks a door in the back of my mind. There is a torrent of emotions crashing down on me. Memories of my youth, nostalgia, sadness of years lost, sweet memories of old friends all jumbled together. It’s like the old me watching down on younger me from above, it’s like a dream, a reflection of something forgotten.

Fish keeps saying “this is not a political song”… Yeah right! Bollocks. Of course it’s a political song! “Forgotten sons” is one of the most political songs I know. It brings tears to my eyes. Mother Brown has lost her child.

This is the grand track on the second side of the LP. It is like a story with peaks and valleys of music and moods. My emotions are all over the place when I dive into the world Fish is painting in my mind. The brutality of the first part, the stillness with guitar and spoken words, the drums, oh my god, the drums. And the bass line. I can see the military marching! This is so great I can’t put words to it.

Then a few seconds of bass only, thrown into furious anger. Verbal masturbation. Minster, Minister care for your children! Order them not to damnation! For whose is the Kingdom, the power, the glory? 

Amen...

Halt! Who goes there? Death. Approach friend.

Guitar.

Forgotten sons. Forgotten sons. For a second you’ll be famous. Forgotten sons.

Mother Brown has lost her child.

Mr Derek "Fish" Dick certainly has his ways with words.

My rating: 10/10

Side A:

1. Script for a jester’s tear
2. He knows you know
3. The web

Side B:

1. Garden party
2. Chelsea Monday
3. Forgotten sons

 

Best songs: “Script for a jester’s tear”, “The web”, “Forgotten sons”

Produced by: Nick Tauber

Released on March 13th, 1983

 

Media: 1983 original vinyl album, gatefold

David Bowie - Tonight (1984)

Believing the strangest things

A few years ago, me and my buddy Mr. Magic did a very small Swedish-speaking podcast where we discussed Bowie’s albums. In the very last episode, we ranked Bowie’s all albums from 28 up to number One. 

The bottom five in my list became a fierce dog fight between the two Tin Machine albums, “Pin Ups”, the first album named “David Bowie” and “Tonight”. With that I must say that this album is not great. 

“Tonight” was released the year after the smash hit “Let’s Dance”. The reason for the Record Company Man was of course to pull more gold out of the mine. For Bowie it seems to have been an after-thought altogether. He ditched Nile Rodgers as the producer, and the album looks like a support project for his friend Iggy Pop who ran low on cash at the time.

Bowie wrote two new songs with Iggy, Tumble and Twirl and Dancing With the Big Boys, and added three old Iggy songs from the seventies as well as two other covers, one Beach Boys and a Leiber-Stoller song. The rest was a mere two new songs, Loving the Alien and Blue Jean. This is not nearly enough I would say. Bowie continued to surprise his audience, ever the chameleon. He never took the easy way out.

Besides the low output of new "fresh" material, the production of the album is extremely weak. It reeks of bad eighties choices of instruments, mixing and overall “style”. As if that was not enough, many of the songs are done as reggae!!! Hate is a strong word when it comes to reviewing music, so let’s say I really, really don’t like reggae.

In the end only three of the new songs are interesting. “Blue Jean” has a funny music video that is so dated you can only smile with remembrance in your eyes. The best thing with it may be David’s make up. If you are to check it out, don’t miss to also have a look at the 20 minutes short film built around the song directed by Julien Temple.

“Dancing With the Big Boys” is like an early song from the “Never Let Me Down”-sessions. It is bombastic and fun in a way, but it’s not among Bowie’s classics. “Loving the Alien” is better. Reminds me about some of his work for soundtracks like “Absolute Beginners”.

Of the rest, most of them are unbearable to me. Sure, Bowie gives a master class in singing on the “God Only Knows” but I question the need for this song and this album to begin with. One part new stuff, one part covers and one part reggae versions of old Iggy Pop songs. Crazy. Like a “Kinder Surprise”, but without the chocolate.

Maybe I can give him that the album is eclectic at least.

My rating: 3/10

Side A:
1. Loving the Alien
2. Don’t Look Down
3. God Only Knows
4. Tonight

Side B:
1. Neighborhood Threat
2. Blue Jean
3. Tumble and Twirl
4. I Keep Forgettin’
5. Dancing With the Big Boys

Best songs: “Loving the Alien” and “Blue Jean”

Produced by: David Bowie, Derek Bramble and Hugh Padgham

Released on September 24th, 1984

Media: Box “Loving the Alien [1983-1988]”, 2018, reissue, remaster, 180g

Kate Bush - 50 Words for Snow (2011)

My vinyl records 00018

Melting in my hand

Kate Bush is evolving, slowly but still evolving. Her most recent album is breaking new ground. She has previously done concept albums, “The Hounds of Love” and “Aerial”, and now she has somewhat surprising given us a concept album about snow. Seven songs "set against a background of falling snow". The album title is inspired by the Eskimo people who have 50 words for snow.

This feels like such a mature album. Gone are the 4-minute pop songs from her earliest phase. Albeit high class, they are still “only” pop songs, you know. An evolution of the format was maybe not needed, but welcomed.

“50 Words for Snow” includes influences from experimental jazz and classical music like renaissance choir music. It has long complex songs that make me think about the seventies progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd and Genesis. How exciting!

The songs have haunting lyrics about snow and cold things. Those of us that are engaged and listen with full awareness are rewarded with a wonderful experience. The album is a marvel on the turntable. I listened to it with my head phones. It was like walking into a snowy meadow together with Kate. The mood of the album putted me into something like a trance.

The album has only seven songs, but with a total run time of 65 minutes there are songs running longer than ten minutes and the remaining are all at least six minutes each. Many songs are stripped bare, with voices only accompanied by a piano. We also get some jazz settings with voice, piano, bass and the jazz drum.

After some soul searching I am struck by the realisation that this album reminds me of Bowie’s “Blackstar”. Both give me a strange and eerie feeling, but in a slightly different way. David’s album is full of dread and death, Kate’s is more of longing.

Kate’s voice is mature, and I love the evolution. It is similar to the journey of David’s, from brisk and high singing voices to deeper and mellower matured. Their older voices are both more comforting to my ears.

The duet with Elton John on “Snowed In at Wheeler Street” is stellar. What a discovery! It has a great story about two souls that belong together on a journey through history. The song makes me sad and happy. A jumble of emotions as if from the movie “Brief Encounter”. Damn it, it may be her best song yet. Easily in the top five at least!

The song “50 Words for Snow” is so funny and a testament to Kate’s humour. Kate and the best Stephen Fry give us 50 words for snow for the Eskimo, some real and many made up and silly. Hilarious.

The last song “Among Angels” gives us Kate and a piano. Very nice indeed, it’s almost as if you were among them.

My rating: 8/10

Side A:
1. Snowflake
2. Lake Tahoe

Side B:
1. Misty

Side C:
1. Wild Man
2. Snowed In at Wheeler Street

Side D:
1. 50 Words for Snow
2. Among Angels

Best songs: “Snowed In at Wheeler Street” and “Misty”

Produced by: Kate Bush

Released: Released 21, 2011

Media: Remastered 180 gram 2 X Vinyl, gatefold, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl III)

Kate Bush - Director's Cut (2011)

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I can’t stop thinking

A whole album with remixed or re-recorded songs from two previous albums? Well, I guess it could have been great, but this album is somewhat disappointing to me in the end anyway. As it is a re-mix album with no new material, it doesn’t feel like a “full” album to me.

The songs aren’t any of the strongest to begin with, with some notable exceptions. All the vocals are re-recorded as well as the drums as I understand it. Some songs are even completely re-recorded and in fresh versions. The new production or “sound” is sometimes an improvement, but not always.

I do however love the more mature voice of Kate, especially when she is going all in with her singing. It’s like she is acting the songs out in her performance, with added colour.

We do find one new title in “Flower of the Mountain”. But this is actually “The Sensual World” with updated lyrics. Kate wanted to use lines from James Joyce’s “Ulysses” and now in 2011 she finally got the necessary permissions. It is a slight improvement, mostly due to Kate’s voice.

“Song of Solomon” is quite good, I just like the singing. 

“Deeper Understanding” is updated with a horrible result. The use of vocoder and modulation of the singing make this version unlistenable. It’s a pity really. Mercifully enough it is placed as the first track on one side, so I can skip it easily when playing the album (on vinyl).

One of Kate’s very best songs “This Woman’s Work” is a completely new re-recording and the song is now very different. The song is sung in a lower tone and slower with a dreamy ambient feeling. I like it, but I don’t love it 3000. Perfection is hard to improve upon, you know. It’s like a truly great song is hidden beneath the surface and it’s trying to get out. That great song is found on “The Sensual World”.

“Moments of Pleasure” has been re-recorded as a beautiful ballad with Kate and a grand piano. To me this version is even better than the original version on “The Red Shoes”. I really like the chorus humming instead of singing.

“Never Be mMine” is offered in a heavily remixed version. It’s stripped down, has jazzy drums and is more dramatic. The singing is in a lower and deeper tone, as on most of the versions on “Director’s Cut”. Quite a nice update.

“And So Is Love” has not been changed a lot in the re-mix but some of the lyrics have been updated which is exciting. In the original version she sings that life is sad, in the new one the lyrics are changed to “life is sweet”. One hopes that Kate was in a better place. The guitar play from Eric Clapton is still there thankfully.

The last song “Rubberband Girl” is re-recorded in a new version. This version is whacky, and I like it as I found the original version to be too boring and sounding like generic radio-pop.

Compared to an original studio album this is not up to par, but it should maybe not be viewed as such. We get three re-recorded songs, all new vocals from Kate and some updated lyrics which all is great. But “Director’s cut” is still “minor Kate Bush” in my book. An album only for the connoisseur.

My rating: 5/10

Side A:

1. Flower of the Mountain

2. Song of Solomon

3. Lily

Side B:

1. Deeper Understanding

2. The Red Shoes

3. This Woman’s Work

Side C:

1. Moment of Pleasure

2. Never Be Mine

Side D:

1. Top of the City

2. And So Is Love

3. Rubberband Girl

Songs improved; “Flower of the Mountain”, “Moments of Pleasure”, “Never Be Mine” and “Rubberband Girl”

Produced by: Kate Bush

Released: May 16, 2011

Media: Remastered 180 gram 2 X vinyl, gatefold, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl III)

Kate Bush - Aerial (2005)

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A Sea of Honey

Damn, what a relief! Already the first song and I feel calm. The opening song “King of the Mountain” is majestic, and I feel it in my bones that this album is superior to the last two efforts. The overall feeling is totally different. Twelve years of waiting, the previous studio album “The Red Shoes” came out in 1993, but now Kate is back in more ways than one.

“Pi” gives me large smile on my face, maybe because I’m a mathematician. And the third song “Bertie” continues to amaze me. It is so beautiful, and the love heard in Kate’s voice is so sweet. However “Mrs. Bartolozzi” doesn’t do it for me at all. It has somewhat bizarre lyrics. I do love the piano play though. 

The second side of the first LP is dominated by “How to Be Invisible”, a song about Kate’s need for privacy, one would guess, and if so Kate's favourite past time hobby. You can hear Kate herself in her voice singing the song, it seems to me to be a very personal song and the performance mirrors that. Kate is as we all know very careful with her personal life. She's actually almost invisible to the fans, tabloids and tv shows.

"I found a book on how to be invisible
Take a pinch of keyhole
And fold yourself up
You cut along a dotted line
You think inside out
And you're invisible"

Isn't this a damned great song or what?

A Sky of Honey

Now to the even more interesting stuff. The album “Aerial” is the first double studio album to date from Kate. It has a structure like “Hounds of Love” but doubled up. The first record has the stand-alone songs, some great, some passable. The second LP is like a full concept album hidden within “Aerial”. It’s called “A Sky of Honey”. For the classic album “Hounds of Love” from 1985 it was one side each, here we get one LP each. The concept album tells the story of two lovers who spend one day and night out in nature. It is very, very good.

Kate’s music covers many styles, and it is often close to classical music. This is especially true for this album with renaissance-influenced songs like “A Coral Room” and “Bertie”. And like with classical music the listener gets rewarded for listening to a full album. The music is like the ocean that comes in waves. Some slower or softer parts, some bridges or intermezzos, and when we finally get to the musical “pay off” it’s all out glorious.

Pink Floyd is well known to master the concept album perfectly, and many other progressive rock bands from the 70’s and 80’s have also done it. Some favourites of mine are old Genesis and old Marillion. Kate brings her own sensitivity and style to the table. Her concept albums are more about the emotions, the singing and the lyrics. For the bands mentioned above, the long instrumental parts and the performances of playing the instruments are more important, even though the personal touch of the lyrics from Roger Waters and Fish cannot be overstated.

“Sunset” is a fascinating song where she mix a piano ballad with modern jazz and Spanish guitars. It builds and builds and builds. Getting better end better until the glorious end. Fantastic, mature Kate of the highest standard. "In a sea of honey. A sky of honey." 

Feel free to listen to the song all the way through.

"Oh, sing of summer and a sunset
And sing for us, so that we may remember
The day writes the words right across the sky
They go all the way up to the top of the night"

“Nocturn” is majestical, the ocean swells are flowing with rhythms and breaks. Again a song showing us a mature Kate, her voice is hypnotic. 

"In a sea of honey, a sky of honey
A sea of honey, a sky of honey

Look at the light
At all the time it's a changing
Look at the light
Climbing up the aerial

Bright, white coming alive jumping off the aerial
All the time it's a changing like now
All the time it's a changing like then again
All the time it's a changing
And all the dreamers are waking"

The song is simple yet complex, I find no words to describe it. And it may be a candidate for her best song ever! Haha, well, ok, but almost!

Kate Bush’s first double album is stellar. One of her best work clearly.

My rating: 9/10

Side A:
1. King of the Mountain
2. Pi
3. Bertie
4. Bartolozzi

Side B:
1. How to Be Invisible
2. Joanni
3. A Coral Room

Side C:
1. Prelude
2. Prologue
3. An Architect’s Dream
4. The Painter’s Link
5. Sunset
6. Areial Tal

Side D:
1. Somewhere in Between
2. Nocturn
3. Aerial

Best songs: “King of the Mountain”, “How to Be Invisible”, “A Sky of Honey” with the highlights “Sunset” and “Nocturn”.

Produced by: Kate Bush

Released: November 7, 2005

Media: Remastered 180 gram 2 X Vinyl, gatefold, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl III)

Kate Bush - The Red Shoes (1993)

My vinyl records 00015

Don’t want your bullshit

Inspired by the movie “The Red Shoes” by British masters Powell & Pressburger this album was the last in many years to come. After this album Kate took a 12 years long siesta. She also raised her son Bertie during this break. 

So, was "The Red Shoes" big enough to fill the long hiatus for us fans? Well, I think the album is quite nice, sort of “okeyish”, but it lack her distinct signature mark from the first five albums. 

Instead I unfortunately get the same feeling from this album as from “The Sensual World”, something that is over-produced like many albums were in the eighties. Sure, Kate is playing with different types of instruments and vocals, and that may be fun for some, but it feels too stuffed to me.

Considering what she actually did with the “Director’s Cut” album eighteen years later (in 2011) when she re-recorded and updated song from this one and the previous “The Sensual World”, I am obviously not alone in thinking that these two albums are burdened by an overly eager production. “The Red Shoes” is better overall than its predecessor at least.

“Moment of Pleasure” is one of the songs that are graciously stripped down with focus on Kate’s voice and a piano. Unfortunately, it is padded with strings, which I think is unnecessary.

“The Song of Solomon” is also great, a slow and dreamy song where Kate’s voice is outstanding. The backing vocals by Trio Bulgarka is ok I guess. The structure of the music in the song is interesting. I prefer complex songs over simpler songs that try to compensate with an overstuffed production. I also like "Lily", a song that really grew into a great intro-song at her live shows in 2014.

“Top of the City” is great and kind of interesting. Kate is giving her all with the singing. Is the song about suicide? If so, it is a dark song. I can hear both despair and sorrow in her voice, but also something else. I guess she decided to live in the end.

“Constellation of the Heart” is a very odd song coming from Kate Bush. It is not a great production. It’s boring mainstream radio, borrowed from the worst sides of Peter Gabriel, Level 42 or Phil Collins. I guess there are fans of the song out there somewhere.

Of course the song “Why Should I Love You?” is remarkable. She worked with Prince on the song, the arrangement. Prince is playing instruments, most notably the guitar and singing in the chorus. The song has a perfectly fine “Prince” feel. Almost a little touch of R&B. It’s not my favourite, but it is memorable. Kate's demo before Prince's additions via the link above.

On the subject of collaborations Eric Clapton’s guitar work on the second song “And So Is Love” is also worth mentioning.

And just when you thought that this album is a little boring Kate surprises you with a power ballad of broken hearts! The closing song “You’re the One” is beautiful, a picture-perfect description of a break up. Been there, done that.

My rating: 7/10

Side A:
1. Rubberband Girl
2. And So Is Love
3. Eat the Music

Side B;
1. Moments of Pleasure
2. The Song of Solomon
3. Lily

Side 2:
1. The Red Shoes
2. Top of the City
3. Constellation of the Heart

Side D:
1. Big Stripey Lie
2. Why Should I Love You?
3. You’re the One

Best songs: “Moment of Pleasure”, “The Song of Solomon”, “Top of the City”, “Lily” and “You’re the One”.

Produced by: Kate Bush

Released: November 2, 1993

Media: Remastered 180 gram 2 X Vinyl LP, gatefold, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl II)

Kate Bush - The Sensual World (1989)

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Give me that little kiss

The album starts off with some bells in the distance. Knowing that David Gilmour is playing on two of the tracks gives me high hopes that this album will be influenced by his Pink Floyd. It isn’t, instead we get a too heavily produced album, her weakest album so far quite clearly. Have we come to Kate’s “Phil Collins” years maybe? To me, it feels less interesting musically and production-wise than the first five albums at least.

Kate is still drawing inspiration from books and films. The opening track “The Sensual World” is inspired by James Joyce’s Ulysses and the last song “This Woman’s Work” is taken from the John Hughes film “She’s Having a Baby”. It’s crazy that such a majestic song has that background. I mean I love John Hughes’ movies, but it feels like belittling for this major piece of music.

“Love and Anger” is an anonymous and somewhat generic song until the end when Gilmour’s guitar solo appears. Two songs, "The Fog" and "Reaching Out", about parents and children and love and longing is followed by a curios little gem “Heads We’re Dancing”.  It’s a darkly comical “what if” scenario where a stranger gets a dance with Kate if he wins a coin flip. I appreciate the levity of the song. And the ending part of the song is rather heavy.

The second side is opened with “Deeper Understanding” that makes me think about Spike Jonze’s movie “Her” from 2013. It is a bittersweet song about a lonely soul that find solace via a computer program.

Many songs on the album reminds me about the sound of late 80’s and 90’s Peter Gabriel.

The penultimate song “Rocket’s Tail” will wake you up in time for the finish. Great lyrics, nice heavy drums, Gilmour’s guitar and the perfect use of the Trio Bulgarka is all there. Kate’s singing on the album is sublime as always, but on this song, she also extends in a funny way on the home stretch.

The final song is “This Woman’s Work” and this is maybe her best song. Ever. It is so beautiful that I sometimes get tears in my eyes listening to it. It is bumping this album up a couple of notches. It’s so good.

However strong “This Woman’s Work” is, I have never fallen for this album. It even had me forgetting about Kate Bush for many moons. It is a tragedy. I have been aware of her newer stuff, of course I have bought them on cd, but I didn’t invest my time in her. The new music was basically uncharted territory to me. I did not give in, or my all. All this changed when I bought the four “Remastered in Vinyl” boxes. It was like a new spring, and thus I began to discover the second part of Kate’s career.

My rating: 5/10

Side A:
1. The Sensual World
2. Love and Anger
3. The Fog
4. Reaching Out
5. Heads We’re Dancing

Side B:
1. Deeper Understanding
2. Between a Man and a Woman
3. Never Be Mine
4. Rocket’s Tail
5. This Woman’s Work

Best song: “This Woman’s Work”

Produced by: Kate Bush

Released: October 17, 1989

Media: Remastered 180 gram vinyl, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl II)

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (1985)

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Somewhere in the depth there is a light

“Hounds of Love” is the album by Kate Bush for me. It’s the one I have loved over the years. Her magnum opus. Sadly, I was kind of disappointed by the follow-up album “The sensual world” and I lost track of Kate for many years. Kate’s music was not there any longer, the picture in my mind of her froze in time and in that picture “Hounds of Love” is number one.

The album is a tale of two sides. On side A we get the well-known songs, all the singles. The second side is however to me the more interesting. It’s an one-sided concept album. It should be listened to in one go. Kate calls it “The Ninth Wave”. It is glorious.

But the first side first. Opening with “Running Up That Hill”, a song maybe too well known for some connoisseurs, but I love it immensely. The song was used to perfection in the fourth season of “Stranger Things”, the hit tv show. I was amazed how they used it not only a mood setter but an integral part of the story. Funny how the song come to be number one on the charts some 37 years after it was released! 

“Hounds of Love” and “The Big Sky” are good but not my favourites even though the latter is quite heavy with drums that reminds me of Peter Gabriels sound.

“Mother Stands for Comfort” is oddly comforting. The song’s protagonist is the mother of a murderer, but she still loves and protects him. Like in a Pink Floyd production we have sounds from real life evoking feelings. The sounds of breaking glass are ominous and foretelling perhaps. The melody is outside-in but controlled by Kate’s voice comforting us.

“Cloudbusting” is the one with that music video, you know? You know! This is a damn good song, I must say. It just makes me happy.

“The Ninth wave” should be played on loud volume on your record player! I sat in my favourite chair and listened to it with my headphones. It is soo damned good. The story of a woman drowning after her ship went under. The woman is maybe saved, maybe she dies and is reborn again. As a lifelong sailor this “song” speak to me on multiple levels.

The music flows and builds up to a majestic ending. The last three tracks are the best; the “Jig of Life” with the Irish folk music influences, the dramatic “Hello Earth” with the marvellous singing by Kate, and “The Morning Fog” as a gentle soothing song to round the album off. “Hello Earth” is impossibly beautiful and I always feel like crying when I hear it.

We have a new leader in the club house. This is the best album in her catalogue. Will it keep the lead all the way?

My rating: 10/10

Side A: The Hounds of Love

1. Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)

2. Hounds of Love

3. The Big Sky

4. Mother Stands for Comfort

5. Cloudbusting

Side B: The Ninth Wave

1. And Dream of Sheep

2. Under Ice

3. Waking the Witch

4. Watching You Without Me

5. Jig of Life

6. Hello Earth

7. The Morning Fog

Best songs: “Running Up That Hill”, “Cloudbusting”, “The Ninth Wave” with highlights “Jig of Life”, “Hello Earth” and “The Morning Fog”.

Produced by: Kate Bush

Released: September 16, 1985

Media: Remastered 180 gram vinyl, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl II)

Stranger Things season 4 spoilers: Max's song (full scene)

All my music related reviews and posts are found on the blog within the blog, OneLouder.reviews.

Kate Bush - The Dreaming (1982)

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And though pigs can fly

I really thought that I really liked “The Dreaming” but now I find it quite harsh. She still draws a lot of influences from movies, but the music and the overall feeling of the album is of an experimental nature.

Yes, the album is experimental. Kate took the reins of the production and tried many different unusual instruments and techniques. She also experimented with vocoders for the singing, which I am not exactly sure I think is the best thing. It surely makes the album interesting at least.

“Sat in your Lap” is busy and “There Goes a Tenner” is silly in a not so funny way. For the third song, the anti-war hymn, “Pull Out the Pin”, Kate collaborated with David Gilmour who is singing backing vocals. Kate’s singing is interesting, her voice is breaking again and again in the chorus… I love life.

“Suspended in Gaffa” is totally crazy, but strangely entertaining. It’s vaudeville music in its full glory. “Leave It Open” is truly experimental with the sounds and effects applied on her voice. The ending is powerful. Must have been interesting in the studio, it feels like her creative mind ran amok. Anyway, “Leave It Open” is one of it’s songs that makes this album singular, a piece of art that can’t be dismissed. 

From the first side I like “Pull Out the Pin” and “Suspended in Gaffa” the most. But clearly the second side of the album is the stronger one…

The song “The Dreaming” is more interesting than good, hihihihi hahahaha… To be honest, I scratch my head.

But not to worry, friends, next up is “Night of the Swallow” and this song really picks the album up. I love her mixing it up with the Irish folk music style. The song is a very clear pre-vision of her next album “Hounds of Love”. It’s my favourite song on album clearly.

“All the Love” is a beautiful ballad, filled with feelings of something… lost? Any lyrics starting with The first time I died is something. This song is like a prequel to "Snowed in at Wheeler Street". Curiously, there is an angelic voice joining Kate in the background, and theatrically, we are treated to a Floyd-esque telephone call and a eerie little keyboard tune at the very end. Intriguing indeed.

“Houdini” is summing up the album and its theatrical tonality, flowing moods and strange voices in different corners of my mind. 

The last song “Get Out of My House” could be influenced by a movie like “Alien”. I am engaged, following the girl who is fighting all through the song. The lyrics is strange, at one point as it would be influenced by “The shining”, the next the perspective of a paranoid recluse. Kate sounds very angry. I would not want to be the ghost she shouts at! Get out of my house!

In conclusion this album is experimental and challenging. I love the ambition and balls of Kate. I think the album should be seen as one piece. The album is the unit, not the individual tracks. I also think that the album will benefit from frequent playing, some of the best albums I know were hard in the beginning. I am undecided, swaying between a feeling that it is better than, and that it’s the other. I am stuck in the middle, feeling lost, but then again maybe in the future: this is my favourite album of hers! The ambition level must always be rewarded…

The cover of the album is also spectacular, maybe the best thing with the whole damned thing!

My rating: 8/10

Side A:
1. Sat in Your Lap
2. There Goes a Tenner
3. Pull Out the Pin
4. Suspended in Gaffa
5. Leave It Open

Side B:
1. The Dreaming
2. Night of the Swallow
3. All the Love
4. Houdini
5. Get Out of My House

Best songs: “Night of the Swallow”, “Get Out of My House”, “Pull Out the Pin" and "All the Love"

Produced by: Kate Bush

Released: September 13, 1982

Media: Remastered 180 gram vinyl, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl I)

All my music related reviews and posts are found on the blog within the blog, OneLouder.reviews.

Kate Bush – Never for ever (1980)

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I’m coming honey

The cover of the album “Never for ever” shows us Kate in a dress standing on a small hill. Cascades of magical beings are shot out from under her skirt. There is a swan, a goblin, an angry bat, monkeys, a toad, a cat and many more fantastical creatures. Where do they come from? How long have they been there? Why did they leave?

Her third album is her darkest yet. Any record ending with such a dark song as “Breathing” is not a very light album. As taken pointers from Roger Waters, “Breathing” is an angry cry from a little child inside her mother’s womb for clean air to breath. It’s about the fallout from nuclear bombs, but the song may have a new meaning today with the pollution all around us, in the oceans and on the lands.

By this record Kate has taken over the main responsibility as the producer and she hasn’t left it since. I think it is glorious that she owns all important steps in the creation of her world.

The lyrics are dark and often inspired by films. The fantastic “The infant kiss” is inspired by the 1961 film “The innocents”. A governess suspects that the boy child in her care is possessed by a dead man. A fan-made film of shots from the film to the song was appreciated by Kate who said it was exactly those scenes she thought of when she wrote the song.

Almost as great, “The wedding list” is inspired by Truffaut’s 1968 film “The bride wore black” about a bride that avenge the murder of her dead groom. It’s a sad and dark song. It’s chilling.

“Delius (song of summer)” is inspired by the 1968 tv movie “Song of summer”. Sadly the song is not the strongest on the album.

The single “Babooshka” is a nice intro to the album. I love the singing, and the story is ironic and dark. The wife is sad and afraid that her husband is unfaithful. She sends him letters to prove he is in the wrong. He is attracted by the anonymous woman sending him letters, as she is reminding him of his wife before she got sad. In the end the relationship is destroyed by the paranoia.

“Blow away (for Bill)” and “All we ever look for” are also dark. “Egypt” is dreamy and a nice tune, one of the better songs on side A.

The first side of the LP is eerie and gloomy, but it is the second side of the LP that makes this album one of her greatest; four favourites “The wedding list”, “The infant kiss”, “Army dreamers” and “Breathing”.

I am not a big fan of the rocker “Violin”, I am not sure what she was thinking there. The sixth track is a short instrumental that prepare us for the majestic ending of the album. A nice touch.

The two last songs are very strong, “Army dreamers”, a sad lament over a dead son and the nightmarish “Breathing”.  Strong indeed.

Through the record Kate mostly sings with her early career high tones. I like them a lot, but you can hear her voice slowly maturing and I do love her older matured voice later in her life… Anyway, it narrowly beats out her debut album. Could it be Kate’s best album, ever for ever? Only time will tell…

My rating: 8/10

Side A:
1. Babooshka
2. Delius (song of summer)
3. Blow away (for Bill)
4. All we ever look for
5. Egypt

Side B:
1. The wedding list
2. Violin
3. The infant kiss
4. Night scented stock
5. Army dreamers
6. Breathing

Best songs: “Babooshka”, “Egypt”, “Breathing”, “The infant kiss”, “The wedding list” and “Army dreamers”

Produced by: Kate Bush, Jon Kelly

Released: September 8, 1980

Media: Remastered 180 gram vinyl, gatefold, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl I)

Kate Bush - Lionheart (1978)

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The anonymous second album

Only a measly nine months after the stellar debut was released, the second album was pushed out to the audience. Why the rush? I am sure the record company men wanted to make more money, but I can’t help but think that it was a tad too rushed. This note’s for you, Record Company Man. Bad!

Kate’s music is singular. This album is theatrical, autobiographical and even in one song quite erotic. I have a hard time to compare her to any other well-known artist. I may not have played this album that often, but it is such a delight to listen to it from start to finish at the time for this review.

Maybe it’s not so anonymous at all? Maybe it’s me, but I haven’t gotten a clear feeling for the record yet. The most important element is still here though. Kate’s voice is very much in the front of the mix and I do love her voice. We enjoy the high tone when she sings and get enthralled with her deeper throatier voice when she speaks (in the songs).

Themes and style from the first album “The kick inside” remain. The lyrics are influenced by literature and movies. And the lyrics are perhaps somewhat unexpected rather witty! 

The music is some sort of her own variant of vaudeville with songs that goes up and down in colour; sounds, tempo and different instruments. The quite funny song “Coffee Homeground” is a very good example of the complex song structure Kate seems to prefer. The song is about a paranoid cab driver Kate met, who thought someone was trying to poison him. It’s crazy how Kate sings the song. She is enjoying herself!

The second song is “In Search of Peter Pan”. Peter Pan in a song, that’s something! The picture of an astronaut searching for Peter Pan is dreamy and Bowie-esque. I love the piano, and as always, her voice.  The drums are also quite nice.

The third song, “Wow”, is the one I know best as it is on “The whole story” that I got before I truly understood Kate’s position as an artist. The singing on “Wow” is of course remarkable and well recognized.

I don’t love the fourth track “Don’t Push Your Foot on the heartbrake” but I really like the drums. And I can appreciate how she goes for it with the singing. Powerful.

The ballad “Oh England My Lionheart” is a nostalgic song about the old times. Music played only on the piano and the harpsichord. Baroque pop! Such an unusual mix of genres for a pop record. Listen on it with your headphones on.

The album cover is exciting! Kate as a lioness on a wooden box in an attic. And a lion’s head on the floor. I am not quite sure what to make out of it. A dream, a wish or just a mystery…

Turn over the LP, now it’s time for the second side. “Fullhouse” opens it up. A complex song that seems to tell an interesting story about paranoia and self-doubt. The feeling of the song is eerie, the piano in the background is making sound as out of a horror movie. Does Kate often meet herself in the rainy nights?

“In the Warm Room” is a simple ballad with Kate alone on the piano. The lyrics is grown up and as written to her male fans. It’s rather bewildering actually.

“Kashka from Baghdad” is a bittersweet song about two men in love. Written in 1976, before the debut album, as many songs from this album.

“Hammer Horror” rounds off the album. It’s an interesting song about an actor that replaces his actor friend in the lead role on the Hunchback of Notre Dame after the friend has died on set. The friend comes back and haunt the actor. Yet another very cinematic lyric.

This is of course not an anonymous album! Nevertheless it still feels like “minor Kate” to me. Seven of the ten songs were “old” songs, written before the debut album. They were leftovers, as a matter of fact. After “Lionheart” Kate got almost two years to make her third album, an album she also co-produced. This one is a part of her work, and as such it has its place in history, but there will come stronger albums down the road…

My rating: 6/10

Side A:

1. Symphony in Blue

2. In Search of Peter Pan

3. Wow

4. Don’t Push Your Foot on the Heartbrake

5. Oh England My Lionheart

Side B:

1. Fullhouse

2. In the Warm Room

3. Kashka from Baghdad

4. Coffee Homeground

5. Hammer Horror

Best songs: “Wow”, “Oh England My Lionheart”, “Coffee Homeground”

Produced by: Andrew Powell

Released: November 13, 1978

Media: Remastered 180 gram vinyl, gatefold, reissued in 2018 (part of Remastered In Vinyl I)

David Bowie - Diamond Dogs (1974)

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Bowie had a few themes he often returned to such as the outsider alien, mortality and insanity. In 1974 he took it one step further and released a concept album - "Diamond Dogs". Recorded less than a year after Pink Floyd's masterpiece "The Dark Side of the Moon" it is not hard to imagine that he might have been influenced by Floyd.

Bowie was at the time interested in doing a musical piece on George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four" but he was denied the rights by Orwell's widow. Instead "Diamond Dogs" became a story in a dystopian post-apocalyptic setting loosely based on "Nineteen Eighty-Four" as well as the writings of  William S. Burroughs.

 I like to listen to the album as a self contained unit, from start to finish. It holds fewer songs that pop up as stand alone pieces. Instead there are two powerful musical suites. The obvious is on side A with "Sweet Thing"/"Candidate"/"Sweet Thing (Reprise)". The second is the whole side B except for the first song: "We Are the Dead"/"1984"/"Big Brother"/"Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal family".

The "Sweet Thing" suite is presented as one long song on the 2008 release "iSelect", a rare best of album curated by David himself .

The album is to me the bridge between his glam rock days to the soul music of "Young Americans" and the lurking Thin White Duke in the shadows. The powerful ballad "Rock ' n' Roll With Me" could have easily found a place on "Young Americans". 

The intro with the short "Future Legend" mimics many conceptual albums. After the ouverture the album launches into the first of two rockers on the first side. "Diamond Dogs" and "Rebel Rebel" are up-tempo rockers and the latter is still a fan favourite at live shows. They are great as rockers, but to me I do like the more complex and slower songs on the album as much if not more. 

Deep in the suite on the second side we find the song "1984". I guess Orwell's wife couldn't stop David to call his song a general number! It is crazy! Just like a theme song to a cheezy seventies tv show about bandits and detectives.

So how good is it? Everything is super subjective of course, but to me it's a step down from the terrific "Aladdin Sane" from the year before. This album feels better produced but the best songs don't stand out to me as much.

My rating: 8/10

Side A:
1.    Future Legend 2.    Diamond Dogs 3.    Sweet Thing 4.    Candidate 5.    Sweet Thing (Reprise) 6.    Rebel Rebel

Side B:
1.     Rock 'n' Roll With Me
2.    We Are the Dead
3.    1984 4.    Big Brother 5.    Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family

Best songs: "Rock 'n' Roll With Me", the "Sweet Thing" suite, "Rebel rebel"

Produced by: David Bowie (in collaboration with Tony Visconti)

Released: May 24th, 1974

Media: 2016 remaster 180 gram vinyl, reissued in 2016 as part of the "Who Can I Be Now? (1974-1976)" box.

Encores

The "Rebel rebel" smash hit single, a sample of the mystery of "Diamonds dogs".

"Sweet thing" live in 1974, a sample of the mystery of "Diamonds dogs".

David Bowie - Pin Ups (1973)

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The rotten teeth

I really can't stand this album. I don't want to bring you down, but there it is. 

Bowie at the height of his powers and he wastes it on a covers-album? I fins it boring that he puts his time with second hand songs, in the peak of his creative flow. Maybe he needed to blow off steam? Maybe that could be an answer to the state of his mind.

Bowie apparently wanted to celebrate the bands he listened to in the sixties. I can relate, but put those song on b-sides of singles! Who is this album for? Older guys that experienced the sixties? I am not one of those.

I am not a big fan of British pop music of the sixties in general. I love The Beatles and Pink Floyd but no more. The Who is utterly boring, all too simplistic for my taste, but then again, I always loved a complex song like “Time” more than the simple rocker as “Rebel Rebel”, to reflect over two Bowie songs. This album is in the very bottom of my ranking of Bowie albums, I am sorry to say. 

There were apparently some plans to do a similar covers album with American artists from the sixties, a “Pin Ups 2”. That I would have been much more interested in. I can easily find many more interesting American bands from that decade, with Neil Young first in line. Yes, I know he is Canadian, but anyway. I like the California rock scene, outlaw country and mellow yacht rock from the era. Bowie didn’t follow thru on this idea, not the first or last time he didn’t complete a project, but he added songs on later albums that could have easily ended up on “Pin Ups 2”. One example is Neil Youngs “I’ve Been Waiting For You” from his debut album “Neil Young” from 1969 that we get on the 2002 album “Heathen”.

Back to the record we actually got. The only two songs I really can stand are Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” and The Mersey’s “Sorrow”. Both are quite nice.  But the best cover from the era is the b-side of the “Sorrow” single, “Port of Amsterdam” by Jacques Brel. The first time I heard it was on the “cash grab” album “Rare” released in 1983, as a follow up to the immensely popular “Let’s Dance”.  I love the port, the fish heads and the rotten teeth.

As a complete album on its own this is rubbish. I can’t imagine I will play it all through many times in my life again. Maybe never.

My rating: 4/10

Side A:
1. Rosalyn (The Pretty Things cover)
2. Here Comes the Night (Them cover)
3. I Wish You Would (The Yardbirds cover)
4. See Emily Play (Pink Floyd cover)
5. Everything’s Alright (The Mojos cover)
6. I Can’t Explain (The who cover)

Side B:
1. Friday on My Mind (The Easybeats cover)
2. Sorrow (The Merseys cover)
3. Don’t Bring Me Down (The Pretty Things cover)
4. Shapes of Things (The Yardbirds cover)
5. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (The who cover)
6. Where Have All the Good Times Gone (The Kinks cover)

Best songs: “See Emily Play” and “Sorrow”. But really "Port of Amsterdam".

Produced by: Ken Scott and David Bowie

Released: October 19, 1973

Media: Remastered 180 gram vinyl, reissued in 2015 as part of the Five Years (1969-1973) box.

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane (1973)

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Sigh like Twig the Wonder Kid

Listen to the album is such a treat. A few seconds into the first song “Watch That Man” and I get goose bumps running up my arms. I am flung back through time to my childhood’s summers out on the island Tjörn on the West Coast of Sweden. I am walking on the narrow sloping path through the gnarly pine trees towards the warm cliffs down at the waterline for yet another dip in the salty ocean. My friends close behind. In the trees the air is still and hot, like the inside of a sauna. Down at the ocean the air is fresh. 

It was the best of times. “Aladdin Sane” was played over and over again on the TDK AD cassette tape. On the flip side I had “Diamond Dogs” but we loved “Aladdin Sane” the most…

I love this album and it feels cemented in my mind. It’s such a treat to sit down and listen to it from start to beginning. Time slows down when I hold the large foldout cover of the LP and stare into Ziggy’s face. Truly one of his top 3 album covers.

“Watch That Man” is a straight forward rocker, not the most interesting song on the album but a great lead off track. It also, apparently, unlocks all that nostalgia. “Aladdin Sane” is a little bit of a challenge. It took me many years to love this complex song, the jarring experimental melody, the jazz piano almost progressive in nature. Nowadays, I really love it. The rest of side A is as good, borderline superb.

“Drive-In Saturday” may be the second-best song on the album but damned me if it is not my personal favourite. Again the strong memories from my childhood. It is somewhat melancholic but it packs a great melody. “Panic In Detroit”, the slow burning rocker with unrelenting drums. David almost sounds bored when he sings. “Cracked Actor” may be the ultimate Bowie song from the seventies with the edgy lyrics, the melody, the instruments, the singing. It’s a blast.

The second side is great but a little more uneven. “Time” must be the best song from the album. It’s dramatic and theatrical. David’s singing is among his best all time. It is getting better and better the more you listen to it. The song is of course brutally good live. A song that heavily influenced Swedish singer Magnus Uggla I would think. “Livets teater”!

“The Prettiest Star” is somewhat of a filler, but what a fantastic filler that is! But you can never go wrong with hand claps! And you must love the bap-bap by the backing singers. The only real miss on the album is the never to be missed cover song. This time it’s Stones’ “Let’s Spend the Night Together” that gives me the hives. No value at all to me. Why? How? Why?

“The Jean Genie” is a great slow rocker, a staple for live shows. Also a favourite of mine. One of many songs on the album with interesting lyrics. The last song “Lady Grinning Soul” is like a companion to “Aladdin sane” and “Time” with the flowing piano, the mysterious atmosphere and more advanced musical theme. A great ending to the album.

Song for song it may not be the best bunch of Bowie songs, stand alone, but collectively as an album it is up there among my top 3. Of course, it gets a bonus by force of nostalgia, but that is how it should be with music you have loved your whole life.

My rating: 10/10

Side A:
1. Watch That Man
2. Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?)
3. Drive-In Saturday
4. Panic In Detroit
5. Cracked Actor

Side B:
1. Time
2. The Prettiest Star
3. Let’s Spend the Night Together (cover of the Rolling Stones song)
4. The Jean Genie
5. Lady Grinning Soul

Best songs: “Drive-In Saturday”, “Time”, "Aladdin Sane", "The Prettiest Star", “Cracked Actor” and “The Jean Genie”

Produced by: David Bowie and Ken Scott

Released: April 13, 1973

Media: 2013 remaster 180 gram vinyl, reissued in 2015 as part of the Five Years (1969-1973) box.

Encore: A music video of Drive-In Saturday with song lyrics.

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)

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We move like tigers on vaseline

"Ziggy played guitar, jamming good…" “Ziggy Stardust” is an iconic album. It’s one of the best glam-rock albums ever and it’s on the short list for my albums that I have listened to the most in my life. It is filled with great songs, almost no weak points all through. All that said, I am still a little bit conflicted over exactly how great it is…

Maybe I have listened to it too much, but I feel it may have faded a little. When I rate albums the sense of  how much I urge to put it on the turntable is important. But then again, the other side of it is all the nostalgia. Ziggy has faded a little when it comes to eagerness, but it still rates high on the nostalgia. It was one of the first albums by Bowie I got, and it seems like it has always been there in my life. Now it is like a worn-out old friend.

As an album “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars” is a rather big step forward compared to “Hunky Dory” when it comes to production and ambition. It has a fuller sound and feels overall more cohesive. It feels like they were a band. Bowie in a band? Unfortunately, that’s something we later learned was a very bad idea…

Another change that comes with the band and the fuller sound is that there is much less focus on the piano. Rick Wakeman is almost gone, he may have played only on a song or two, and Mike Garson hasn’t joined the band yet. This, I feel, is on the not so positive side.

The album is said to be a concept album, but very loosely if so. It would be about an androgynous rock star who acts as a messenger for an alien being, at the time of the doom of our world. It is about space, aliens, apocalypse and insanity. All the usual subjects Bowie was interested in. Ziggy as a kind of Messiah? Yes, I am on board.

The first side is kicked off with “Five Years”. It is faded in, a great intro like “Space Oddity”, it feels earnest and David has a desperate tone in his voice. It’s a very good lead off song. “Soul Love” is the perfect companion to the sombre “Five Years”. A love song, it’s a little lighter and give us a slightly happier David.

The third song “Moonage Daydream” is the first of my favourites. "I’m a space invader." The song was used to great effect in a spacey scene in “Guardians of the Galaxy, vol 1”. I love the guitar in the intro. Now and then Mick Ronson got it right!

“Starman” is another classic. Do you see how impossibly dense this album is? Again with the sci-fi theme. Maybe we can see it as Ziggy’s “Life On Mars?”? It is one of my favs. The last song on the first side is the only filler on the album, the cover of the Ron Davies song “It Ain’t Easy”. Random curiosity to my ears.

What a stellar first side! But nevertheless, the second side is stronger! “Lady Stardust” is a softer melancholic song, “Star” the up-tempo rocker that was so fun live and “Hang on to yourself” is another fan favourite, this time with the fun lyrics and hand clapping. The typical proto-punk rock song.

“Ziggy Stardust” must be the most well-known song from the album. The guitar is classic, again well-done Mick Ronson. David’s singing is with clear eyes and a full heart. One of the best songs in David’s whole career. And it is almost equalled by the penultimate song “Suffragette City”. This is one of my favourites now when I am getting older. It was always a blast on the live stage.

The album is finished off with David’s early career magnum opus “Rock’n’Roll Suicide”, a song about depression and the fall from grace. It meant the end of the Ziggy era when he played it at Hammersmith Odeon on the last show of the Ziggy tours. It is a perfect ending, starting slow with an acoustic guitar and building up to a crescendo. Album ended.

The Ziggy album is like a box of chocolates. The pieces might all be wonderful, but you won't eat a whole box in one go. You want to savor a few pieces at a time. It may be the same with this album. How can it not be a 10/10? Maybe I feel full, and sometimes only a song here and there at the time is perfect… And the obligatory internal time travel to my youth. I still ranked “Ziggy Stardust” at number six in my latest Bowie albums ranking.

In the “Five Years” box it’s the Ziggy album that has got the “special treatment” with a second mix added. We get the 2003 mix by original producer Ken Scott. I have listened very hard to find the changes, the improvements. It is actually quite hard to hear any clear differences. I have even searched the Internets to read up on the changes, but most reviewers seem to say that there are very small differences between the mixes. If anything, David’s singing is a little clearer and pushed to the front, the drums are a little dryer and there’s maybe a fatter bass. I don’t even know if it is for real or only in my head! I can say though that the different mix doesn’t give me a different feeling from the album. It seems like the Bowie team will treat us with one album getting the "special treatment" per super deluxe box. This one might be one of the least necessary updates.

“Ziggy Stardust” will always be there. It is a part of the soundtrack to my life. But nowadays maybe I don’t put it on as often as I should?

My rating: 9/10

Side A:
1. Five Years
2. Soul Love
3. Moonage Daydream
4. Starman
5. It Ain’t Easy (cover of the Ron Davies song)

Side B:
1. Lady Stardust
2. Star
3. Hang On to Yourself
4. Ziggy Stardust
5. Suffragette City
6. Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide

Best songs: “Moonage Daydream”, “Starman”, “Ziggy Stardust”, “Suffragette City” and “Rock’n’Roll Suicide”.

Produced by: David Bowie and Ken Scott

Released on June 16th, 1972

My media: Remastered 180 gram vinyl, reissued in 2015 as part of the Five Years (1969-1973) box.

My 2nd media: the Ken Scott 2003 mix, included in the Five Years (1969-1973) box.

Encore:

A wonderful live version of "Rock 'n' roll suicide" live i Philadelphia in 1974. Video is a fan made montage. One of the best versions of this song out there.