Dean's favourite albums #12 - The Living End - The Living End

January 1999. My first overseas trip. After a tiring flight, I arrive at my hotel in Los Angeles, and put the radio on – the first song I hear is “Save the Day” by the Living End, I didn’t even know it was a single, and I didn’t even know it had made it to LA, but I felt an immense amount of national pride to hear this. (I don’t think the radio was tuned to a mainstream station, but why let facts like that get in the way).

 

Released in October 1998, this brilliant album of high energy music is great listen, but it actually took me a while to purchase it. When I was living at home with my parents, my sister had a copy so I just used to play hers. Naturally when she moved out, she took it with her, and I had plenty of other music to listen to, it I went a number of years without having a copy at all. Then when I decided that I wanted to listen to it again, I couldn’t find it in the shops, so it took me quite some time to track it down.

 

The album contains rock rebellion anthems like “Prisoner of Society”,”Growing Up (Falling Down)” and “Save the Day”, but there is a significant amount of diversity that makes it a whole lot more than just another punk rock album. It ventures into rockability, it ventures into ska, as well as being loyal to its rock roots. I think another thing worth mentioning is the lyrics – covering all sorts of topics like the Dunblane massacre (see “Monday”), the overdevelopment of cities leading to the disappearance of heritage buildings (see “All Torn Down”) and the clashing of the different classes (see “West End Riot”, today’s link). It even closes with an instrumental, “Closing In”, which I have always thought would make one hell of a TV theme song, not that I would actually want that to happen though.

 

Like a few other albums  on my top 25 list, despite the fact that I really love this album, it is the only Living End album that I own – I never really took the time to explore them more than this. I can’t really explain why, perhaps I just thought they would never be able to top this effort.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twPZDLNzEXI

 

Coming up at #11 – another hugely successful debut album from the Antipodes

Dean's favourite albums #13 - Mermaid Avenue - Billy Bragg and Wilco

This is another album that I would not have forecast to make it this high on the list, but after making my list and checking it twice, I decided its spot is well deserved. A bit of background, the daughter of folk singer Woody Guthrie asked Billy Bragg to take some of Woody’s unheard lyrics and put them to music. Bragg accepted the challenged and roped in Wilco to assist him. The results were “Mermaid Avenue”, and a subsequent follow up “Mermaid Avenue Vol 2”.

 

It took me a bit of time to get into this album. Some tracks, the standouts in my opinion immediately stood out like “Walt Whitman’s Niece” (see link) and “Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key”, but the remainder of the album took a little while to unravel.  Eventually though, they started to work their way into me, and now I can say that the whole album is great with the catchy tracks like “Hoodoo Voodoo”, “She Came Along to Me” and “I Guess I Planted” stacking up nicely with the slower ones like “Ingrid Bergman”, and “At My Window Sad and Lonely”

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhe9tVARzCk

 

At #12 – we crank up the volume for a brilliant Aussie debut rock and roll album

Dean’s favourite albums #14 – What Rhymes with Cars and Girls – Tim Rogers

With a gap between You Am I recordings, frontman Tim Rogers decided he wanted to make a solo record. At the same time he was going through a breakup, and was able to draw on some of these emotions in the songwriting for this album. A low budget, simple album, Rogers moved away from the energetic rock and roll of You Am I, and created an album that leans more towards country sounds (although I have read reviews where Rogers states that it is not a country album).

 

I just find this album so accessible, and such an enjoyable listen, with highlights all through it, such as the catchy tracks “You’ve Been So Good to Me So Far” (see link), “You Just Don’t Do it For me Friend”, and “Arse Kicking Lady from the North West”. Then when you think it is just that sort of album, Tim throws in some wonderful ballads like “The Songs they Played as I Drove Away”, and a tale of relationship troubles in “Twenty Eight”.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feH37zr-c7g

 

Coming up next time - #13, we are off to fight the fascists with folk music!

Dean's favourite albums #15 - One Nil - Neil Finn

“One Nil” is the second solo album by Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.  The review of this album on Allmusic.com describes it as a straightforward album where“the songs are gently insinuating, slowly working their way into the subconscious.” I can certainly understand where this review is coming from, although it didn’t take me long to get into it, I was hooked right from the first listen, with the rockier track “Hole in the Ice”, the catchy “Don’t Ask Why”, and  first single “Rest of the Day Off” . But the more you listen, the more some of the other tracks to reveal themselves – the lovely “Last to Know”, the experimental “Elastic Heart”, and the acoustic opener, “The Climber”, for example. The highlight of the album though in my opinion is the stunning track “Turn and Run”, have a listen via the link.

 

This album was released in 2001, and interestingly enough, Neil has only just released his next solo album, “Dizzy Heights”, this month (not that he has been quiet, with Crowded House albums, Finn Brothers albums, Pajama Club album, Seven Worlds Collide albums etc made in that time). Its still early days with that one, it hasn’t quite grabbed me yet, although it has enough there to make we want to keep persisting.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bceT_mXlTjM

 

Next time on Dean’s favourite albums countdown - #14 – an unheralded classic, low budget album with just a tinge of country

Dean's favourite album #16 - Hourly, Daily - You Am I

For You Am I fans, the choice between their definitive album usually comes down to “Hi Fi Way” or “Hourly, Daily”, and fans usually plant themselves in one or other of the camps. Indeed in the book “ The 100 best Australian Albums”, “Hi Fi Way” came in at 8, “Hourly, Daily” at only 55. I have never really got into “Hi Fi Way” in a big way, so the choice for me came down to “Hourly, Daily” or “Dress Me Slowly”. You won’t see “Dress Me Slowly” on too many lists of great albums, but I like it, and it brings with it a lot of great memories or growing up, and I have to say, its often the album I will turn to if I am a bit low and need a pick me up. As important as that album is to me, I can’t really rate it above “Hourly, Daily” for one reason alone – “quality”.

“Hourly, Daily” is a classy album, sort of a concept album that creates a host of little sub stories about suburban life. The opening sequence of eight songs, being with the acoustically led wonderful opening title track, is about as good as any sequence of songs you will get on any album, as it moves though the ode to breakfast radio “Good Mornin”, the catchy “Mr Milk”, the underrated tracks of “Soldiers” (see link), “Tuesday”, the story of young lovers in “If We Can’t Get it Together”, the taxi driver ode “Flagfall $1.80” and “Wally Raffles”. But don’t think the album is done right there, there is still another half to go, and each of those tracks I could talk about as being solid too, including the song about “..dental work that puts fear in twelve year old’s faces” (ie braces) in “Please Don’t Ask Me To Smile”.

 

If you don’t know the album and read a review of it, I am sure that bands like the Who, the Kinks and the Small Faces would be likely to be compared. Sure, all great bands, and no denying some similarities, but You Am I’s sound is distinctively theirs and this makes a great listen.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1SV4v_qtBI

 

Coming up next – for #15 we head across the Tasman for an extremely talented singer/songwriter whose inclusion on this list I am sure would come as no surprise to those who know me.

Dean’s favourite albums #17 – The Whiff of Bedlam – James Reyne

 

As lead singer of Australian Crawl, James Reyne was the quintessential rock star. He then went onto an impressive solo career, which is showing no signs of slowing down. His popularity was at its peak in the 80’s, his debut self titled album in particular was very successful. Although those 80’s albums have great moments on them, they have dated a little, and I think you need to do turn to the 90’s and even the 2000’s to hear his best work. Albums like “Design for Living”, “Speedboats for Breakfast” and “Every Man a King” are all great and certainly could have pushed for selection on this list.

I have however chosen 1994’s “The Whiff of Bedlam” as my top James Reyne album. A mature album, it opens with a wispy electric piano led track, “Who the Hell do Think You Are” and then there is not a dud track on the album. Some of my favourites are “Red Light Avenue” (see link), the catchy “Uptown Ruler”, “Goin’ Fishing”, “Poor Man in the Penthouse” and the great closer “A Day on the Sun”, which grows on me more and more with every listen.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDlB5zcMEj0

 

Next time – we reach #16, and some alternative Aussie rock and roll from the 90’s!

Dean’s favourite albums #18 – Basement Birds – Basement Birds

Possibly the most controversial selection on my list – not so much because it’s a bad or controversial album, but more because it was simply a side project for a number of musicians (namely Kav from Eskimo Joe, Bob Evans/Kevin Mitchell, Josh Pyke and Steve Parkin) who really recorded it for a bit of fun. I suspect a lot of you are probably thinking “what the?” at this point. Its not going to win any awards for being innovative, but this Aussie “supergroup” if you like has carved out a lovely album laden with harmonies and nice enjoyable music. Its possibly the album I have listened to most over the past few years. There are highlights everywhere, as the album cruises along, from the whimsical jangly pop of “Bus Stop” (featuring a cameo appearance by Julia Stone), to the catchy pop/rock of “Not the One” (today’s link) and a number of country folk esque numbers in between.  “Waiting for You” and “Cinnamon and Smoke’ also rank up there as some my favourites on the album. Well worth a listen if you are unfamiliar with this album.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKLyzmxvpzU

 

Coming up at #17 – another favourite musician of mine, an Aussie well known for his work as lead singer of a band, but one that I feel really came into his own as a solo artist

Dean’s favourite albums #19 – Sheryl Crow – Sheryl Crow

I am a Sheryl Crow fan. Her first four albums (“Tuesday Night Music Club”, “Sheryl Crow”, “The Globe Sessions” and “C’mon C’mon”) are all brilliant, then came “Wildflower” which was OK, “Detours” which was good, “100 Miles from Memphis” which was disappointing, and then last year her first venture into country music with “Feels Like Home” which is good.  “Tuesday Night Music Club” is the critically acclaimed and Grammy award winning album that you are meant to like, but for me, it has always been a toss up between “Sheryl Crow” and “The Globe Sessions” for my favourite one. I was pretty certain that “The Globe Sessions” would make this list, but  at the last moment, I have switched, and decided to go with her second album, the self titled one.

 

This one contains radio friendly tracks like “If It Makes You Happy” (see link), a  great rock song, and “Every Day is a  Winding Road”, an enjoyable pop/rock track, but then its got a number of great ballads like “Home”, and “Sad Sad World”, one of my favourite Sheryl Crow tracks. Sheryl even moves into a bit of funk, on “Love is a Good Thing”. “Redemption Day”, a stunning piece of songwriting, would go on to be covered by Johnny Cash.  I think its always a mark of a good album when each time you listen to it, a different track jumps out at you and impresses, and that is exactly what happens every time I listen to this album.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyihQtBes1I

 

coming up at #18 – another self titled album, this time from 2010.