Jim's Sneaky Classic Records

Mercury Rev – Yerself Is Steam (1991)

thescene — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:39:00 GMT

Mercury Rev’s debut album is probably the most impressive album the band ever produced, not to mention one of the most eccentric psychedelic expeditions since The Soft Machine’s Third twenty years prior. The sheer epic-scale of Yerself Is Steam is incomparable to the later work of Mercury Rev, who after several changes of band members managed to lose their most magical quality. Thankfully, their original brilliance can still be witnessed in this album, which is as accessible as it is extraordinary.

The album evokes a sort of grunge-ness, but not the kind you may expect to recognise. Unlike Dinosaur Jr or Sonic Youth, the album is not weighed down with grunge allusions; instead it is a reflection on loneliness, adventure, boredom and stardom, as interpreted by the truly unique soundscapes the band evoke. Each composition commences and concludes like a teenage memory, despite the band’s varying use of genre and style, which adds a playful spontaneity to the dreamy dynamics.

The opening track, Chasing a Bee begins as though everything has already concluded, but quickly establishes the Himalayan-sized scope of the album. Beautiful and harsh at the same time, it is a spiralling expression of superfluous energy, both personal and interplanetary. Syringe Mouth has the aesthetic of a punk song put through some kind of Hendrix-ian torture chamber, while Coney Island Cyclones has all the charm of a surrealist trip through the Bermuda Triangle.

The mind-bending tracks that remain will have to be discovered by listeners themselves, as they border on the indescribable. Nevertheless, the lasting impression Yerself Is Steam leaves on your subconscious, is a resounding sense of recovering something lost, or remembering something long forgotten. However you choose to interpret it, Yerself Is Steam is a significant contribution to the school of psychedelic rock as much as it is one of the most creative rock albums of the nineties.

Albert Ayler Witches and Devils (1964)

thescene — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:28:00 GMT

Albert Ayler’s Witches and Devils is probably as ambitious a jazz album you’ll ever subject your ears to. The music oscillates, intoxicated with a sort of fever that broods and shifts in the murky, limitless depths of free-jazz territory. Not very popular among casual Sunday-morning jazz listeners, Ayler’s approach was always something entirely new and exciting, and his albums, however challenging, are important documents of his unique and powerful vision.

No doubt, anybody listening to Witches and Devils for the first time will be overwhelmed with the drama of Ayler’s expression. I can’t offer an easy-to-swallow interpretation or explanation for what is meant by Ayler’s arrangements, however I offer this review as my best advice for appreciating him. Ayler’s jazz resembles a junkyard of shadowy figures that slowly reveal themselves to a listener that is both vulnerable to new ideas, and patient. Although some very bold sounds are operating in the foreground, it is the small, almost ignorable musical debris in the background, such as Sonny Murray’s epileptic drums and the haunting bass of Earle Henderson and Henry Grimes, which truly lift Ayler’s melodies to a dizzying height.

Not for the faint-hearted, the title track Witches and Devils is the musical equivalent of a failed exorcism; partly melancholy and partly insane, it sails into an abyss of uncertainty and regret, finding its resolve only in the cathartic climax of its initial melody. Spirits is comparatively busier, but no less focused. It evokes the feeling of being preoccupied with one’s own thoughts and wanderings. The lengthy composition Holy Holy is a sort of synthesis of the two before mentioned tracks, however more erratic and playful, it resembles a sort of dance music with amnesia. The climax is no less special, concluding the album with an arresting feeling of pensiveness that lasts long after the music has finished.

For the brave and the curious, Ayler has many dazzling tricks up his sleeve that grow increasingly fascinating with every listen. It won’t appeal to every taste, but then great music rarely does.

Pop Group's 'Y'

thescene — Wed, 16 May 2007 04:25:00 GMT

Pop Group’s debut album from 1979 came midway into the punk scene as an album that soared above and beyond the musical limitations of the punks. Often overlooked and forgotten due to the more well-known acts of the time, Pop Group was one of the most creatively charged bands of the era, and crafted some of the most interesting, dynamic and challenging music ever. Y is certainly of an experimental nature and integrates a range of musical genres and styles into compositions that are often at once touching, frightening, violent and beautiful. The aesthetic is comparable to a Samuel Taylor Coleridge psychosis, only with free-form jazz implementation, new-wave screeching, and esoteric dissonance where orphaned melodies play alongside funk-inspired baselines and abstract piano arrangements. Although the record is infused with the ideals many bands of the era were influenced by, they are expressed here with an intelligence and originality that far exceeds the output of those acts which would come to be remembered from this period. The opening tracks, She Is Beyond Good and Evil and The Thief of Fire establish the Pop Group’s powerful artistic vision, which in many ways references the futurist movement of the early twentieth century. Similarly to the futurists, Pop Group is concerned with the motion of form in relation to the repetitious rhythm of machinery. Society is symbolised as a mechanical force, endlessly producing and consuming, while the individual is capable of thinking freely and embracing radical expression. As an album of such a wildly original standard, Y is a testament to the doctrine of the futurists, the hypocrisies of modern society, and the nature of the human condition.

Soft Machine - Third (1970)

orange — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 07:44:00 GMT

Soft Machine’s third album appropriately titled Third is an epic journey to the edge of the universe that combines elements of jazz and rock together in a psychedelic experiment of originality and grace. Soft Machine went on to write over seven albums with the respective names of First, Second, Fifth, etc. however, it is their third effort that remains one of the most impressive psychedelic albums ever.

Third is probably one of the only largely instrumental rock albums that doesn’t sound like it lacks vocals. Each of the tracks are composed so dynamically that the music throbs and vibrates like a force of nature, catapulting the listener across the cosmos. Beginning with the nineteen-minute Facelift, jazz and rock become locked into a terrifying groove fusion that sets the dazzling aesthetic of the album. Slightly All The Time is reminiscent of a satellite distress beacon endlessly reverberating through space, while Out-Bloody-Rageous could almost be a soundtrack to the ambiguous climax of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Aside from these tracks, the grand centrepiece must be the heartfelt Moon In June, the only composition with vocals, where Robert Wyatt sings playfully and introspectively about the microcosm of his life. Touching and off-kilter, it informs the album with a perspective of the everyday that is amazingly effective in this instance. Light years ahead of their contemporaries, Soft Machine is one of the most original psychedelic outfits, and Third is their exceptional rock masterpiece.

- Jim Harris

Suicide - Suicide (1978)

orange — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 07:38:00 GMT

Suicide’s self-titled album Suicide is an album that marked a revolutionary step in the way keyboards were implemented in rock compositions. Inspired by the violence of the punk movement and the energy of rockabilly, the arrangements on Suicide are dangerous anthems of anarchy that encourage rebellion and evoke a Nietzschian sense of empowerment.

The fantastic punk rhythms of Ghost Rider, Rocket USA and Johnny are compositions that rebirth the iconic American rebel of the fifties. Martin Rev’s keyboard, backed up by Alan Vega’s ghostly vocals are together so intimidating that their arrangements can still sound frightening thirty years later. However there are also moments, such as Cheree, Girl, and Keep Your Dreams where themes of love and happiness are introduced very effectively.

Like a lot of albums from this period, the record climbs to a dramatic height on Frankie Teardrop, a story of a man who murders his wife and child. This is a composition illustrated so intensely that it is a testament to the power of Suicide’s music, and remains one of the most unsettling and disturbing aural experiences ever. Suicide is an excellent punk album, and one that will continue to intoxicate its listeners for decades to come. Note: The 2002 reissue of this album does not retain the original track listing, and also adds some bonus tracks. Make sure you remedy the song listing to the original 1978 version, as it makes a huge amount of difference.

- Jim Harris

Robbie Basho - Venus In Cancer (1969)

orange — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 07:34:00 GMT

Robbie Basho’s Venus In Cancer is an album of guitar compositions that are some of the most beautiful ever composed. Basho is little well known for his work, despite writing over six albums in his lifetime. Venus In Cancer is one of the greatest in the Basho discography and one of the most captivating guitar albums ever written. With supreme tenderness, Basho weaves rich tapestries that entwine like ivy.

His skill on the guitar is nothing short of spectacular, however his ability to evoke such powerful emotions from the one instrument is an even greater spectacle. The album develops with all the intricacy of a classical composition, as Basho’s sensitive arrangements reveal themselves as dreams, and then vanish.

Every second composition also sees Basho implement his incredible voice, which soars powerfully through the music with the intensity of a free spirit. The title track Venus In Cancer is an Eastern lullaby of delicate originality, while Kowaka D’amour and Cathedrals Et Fleur De Lis move like shadows on the sea, evoking feelings of undying love and passion. Basho’s guitar work is to rock music what Turner’s watercolour is to the world of art. Tender and passionate, beautiful and mysterious, Basho is simply a free-thinker in the grip of a romantic enlightenment, and Venus In Cancer is his crown.

- Jim Harris

David Thomas - The Sound of The Sand (1981)

orange — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 07:26:00 GMT

David Thomas is most well known as the enigmatic lead singer of Pere Ubu, but has sadly never received much acclaim for his own solo albums. Despite being quite difficult to locate, many of his recordings include some of the most interesting experiments in rock composition. Thomas’ major contribution to rock music is the way in which he effortlessly alternates between the playful and the nightmarish, and The Sound of The Sand sees his absurd musical ideas come to brilliant fruition.

Sometimes frightening, sometimes heartfelt, and sometimes sincerely deranged, the album leaps around with all the intensity of a hyperventilating child. The Birds Are a Good Idea, Crickets In The Flats, and Happy To See You are songs where Thomas’ enthusiasm borders on mild schizophrenia. Comparatively, tracks like Sound of the Sand and The New Atom Mine are melancholy odes to loneliness and nostalgia that envelope the listener in whimsy.

It all comes to a dazzling peak with the absurdist ear-shredding arrangement Crush This Horn Part Two, and the cathartic climax of Man’s Best Friend. It might seem a difficult listen at first, but you have to persevere to claim the reward. Despite its childish, maniacal, and frighteningly off-kilter pretences, The Sound of The Sand is a mysterious album that reveals its beauty with patience.

- Jim Harris

Sun Ra - Atlantis (1969)

orange — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 07:09:00 GMT

Sun Ra’s Atlantis is certainly not one of the most unlistened to albums; it ranks up with some of the greatest jazz recordings of all time. However, many who have never thought of listening to jazz, or had mistakenly thought that jazz was all fairly conventional in comparison to rock music, might be surprised by both the amount of rock music that has been inspired by Atlantis, and by the album’s complete unlikeness to anything you’ve probably ever heard.

For the beginner, Atlantis is not incredibly difficult to enjoy, or hard to appreciate. It is however, a flight of imagination into the far reaches of outer space that rivals any attempt by any other psychedelic jazz or rock artist ever. Employing hypnotic electronic keyboards and polyrhythmic African hand-percussion, Atlantis is an often terrifying journey into a hypnotic, hallucinatory world where metaphysics, consciousness, dreams, reality, physics, memory and the surreal unite in a vibrating synthesis.

The tracks Mu, and Yucatan are atonal compositions laced with traces of Eastern spirituality, while Lemuria and Bimimi are about as esoteric as weather patterns on distant planets. However, the peak of the album is undoubtedly the title track Atlantis, which develops over an incredible twenty-two minutes, and aurally details a frightening descent into the abyss of the lost city. As an introduction to Sun Ra, or as a way into jazz, Atlantis remains one of the boldest and most entertaining recordings ever made.

- Jim Harris