The 500 - #392 - Let It Be - The Beatles

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 392

Album Title: Let It Be
Artist: The Beatles
Genre:  Rock
Recorded: 1968-1970 Apple, EMI, Twickenham Studios
Released: May, 1970
My age at release: 4
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Two of Us 

Let It Be Album Cover - The Beatles (1970)

It is a testament to a band's greatness that a record forged in frustration, resentment, addiction, skepticism and even abandonment would find its way to The 500 Greatest Albums list. Such is the case with Let It Be, the twelfth and final studio release from The Beatles.  

In 1969, the glue that had kept the four Liverpool lads together for the previous nine years was beginning to come undone. Each member was now married, or in a relationship. They were exhausted from touring and, by 1967, had resigned themselves to be a "studio-only" band. Ringo and John were both battling addictions -- heroin for John and a combination of alcohol and cocaine for Ringo. 

Ringo with first wife, Maureen Cox  and
John with second wife, Yoko Ono (1969)

George had "left" the group, not formerly but certainly mentally and emotionally. A visit to the United States and time spent with Bob Dylan had helped him realize that music could be created communally. This was in contrast to the domineering style of Lennon and McCartney, who controlled most of the songwriting and the group's creative direction.

Harrison and Dylan (1968)

Additionally, the band had been rudderless since the suicide of their manager, Brian Epstein, two years earlier. Despite Paul's objection, Lennon had convinced the band to hire Allen Klein, who came with a tough, but dubious, reputation.

Allen Klein (center) signing The Beatles

In a final bid to help the band members bond again, Paul proposed that a film crew document their rehearsals and song-writing sessions. It was his hope that this would revive the positive energy of live performances without the tedium of touring. The experiment was short-lived and the experience was filled with acrimony. Harrison's suggestions were, again, ignored. Consequently, much of the material he wrote later appeared on his first solo album, All Things Must Pass (#433 on The 500 List). Clearly, this demonstrated that there was quality in Harrison's work.

Interestingly, many of the song ideas work-shopped by Lennon and McCartney would also appear on their solo efforts. It was clear that all of the members were in Beatle-break-up-mode. Lennon, deep in heroin addiction, was always flanked by his partner, Yoko Ono -- who is often blamed (unfairly) with breaking up The Beatles. Lennon was a shell of his former self and prone to loud arguments -- most often with Harrison.

John and Yoko (1969)

Ringo, who at the height of his addiction, consumed a staggering 16 bottles of wine a day. He was kept buoyant by what his former wife, Maureen, described as "mountains of cocaine". Ringo was unable to perform when drunk and unmotivated to perform when sober (which was seldom). It was a poorly kept secret that McCartney recorded some drum tracks himself. Ringo, also mired in addiction, pretended not to notice.

An uncompromising schedule and long hours in the studio began to take its toll on the four lads. It became apparent to filmmakers that they were documenting a band falling apart. The picture below, taken during these sessions and later parodied in an episode of The Simpsons, captured their emotional exhaustion.

The Beatles would not officially dissolve for another year due to financial obligations. The recordings from these sessions, and their live performance on the rooftop of Apple Studios, eventually found their way to sound engineer Phil Spector who overhauled the songs, adding his own orchestrations.

As Lennon put it: 

"Phil was given the shittiest load of badly recorded shit, with a lousy feeling to it, and he made something of it."

Despite all of this, the record was a commercial hit, going to number one on the charts. However, critical reviews were mixed in 1970 but over time it has been acclaimed and several songs have become Beatles' classics. In 2003, McCartney remastered the record and released it under the moniker Let It Be...Naked. This alternative mix removed Spector's embellishments and captured, according to McCartney, "the stripped-down aesthetic" intended by the group.

Let it Be...Naked album cover (2003)

As a teenager, I owned a copy of the original LP on vinyl and was unaware of the backstory behind it. I knew it was their last release and, like many, blamed Yoko for the group's dissolution. It was easy to make her a scapegoat without understanding that group dynamics are complex, particularly when creative frustrations and addictions are involved. 

I had a tough time deciding what to put on my Spotify "The 500 Playlist". In the end, I settled on Two of Us because of a lyric that always makes me think of my wife. 

"The two of us have memories, longer than the road that stretches out ahead."

Like all great poetry, it is a line that resonates with me, creating powerful and conflicting emotions. I wistfully reflect on 34 years with a beautiful lady who adores me, while being reminded that we'll share a limited time on the road ahead.

The 500 - #393 - Kala - M.I.A.

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 393

Album Title: Kala
Artist: M.I.A.
Genre:  Dance, World, Hip Hop
Recorded: 2006-2007 (Multiple Global Locations)
Released: August, 2007
My age at release: 42
How familiar was I with it before this week: Two songs
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Boyz

Kala by M.I.A. (2007)

In 2009, it was virtually impossible to escape the infectiously catchy single Paper Planes from Kala, the second studio release by British singer, songwriter, producer and activist M.I.A. Paper Planes first crossed my radar when I saw the trailer for the film Pineapple Express. The song began with a cleverly remixed sample from Straight to Hell, a 1982 single from The Clash.

EP single of Straight to Hell by The Clash (1982) 

The jarring chorus demands attention. Singing children are interrupted by three gun shots punctuated by the familiar ring of a mechanical cash register. A few months later, Paper Planes was featured prominently in the Academy Award winning film, Slumdog Millionaire and I wanted to learn more.  

In 2008, YouTube was still in its infancy. In fact, the free video sharing website was not yet showing commercials. "Surfing the Tube" became a popular pastime as viewers switched from televisions to computer screens for their entertainment. 

I was among the converts, regularly plugging in my headphones to allow my shift-working wife her much needed sleep. Hours were spent down this virtual rabbit-hole, watching videos or listening to music while simultaneously researching information on corresponding web pages.

It was on one of these auditory and informational explorations that I learned more about M.I.A. and her incredible journey from the Sri Lankan Civil War to refugee status in London, England, to global superstardom. Her music included powerful political messages about illegal immigration, poverty, capitalism and violence. All of this, cleverly hidden among catchy riffs, dance-hall beats and hip-hop-inspired melodies borrowed and remixed from a array of eclectic sources, including Bollywood film, punk rock, playground rhyme and even the Australian aboriginal wind instrument, the digeridoo. 

M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasm) 2013 

Summarizing the fascinating life of M.I.A. (born Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasm) in a short blog post is a challenge. However, there is one interesting snippet worth sharing.

Maya was born in London, England, in 1975 to Arul Pragasam, an engineer, writer and activist, and his wife, a seamstress, Kala, who is the namesake of this record. The family moved back to Sri Lanka when Maya was six months old. Her father became a significant figure in a militant organization struggling for an independent state for Tamils within Sri Lanka. His group was connected to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Logo for the LTTE

Eventually, the family were forced into hiding, assuming false identities. Maya, now eight, attended a Catholic school where she gravitated to the arts. Surprisingly, she recalls this as a "happy time", despite poverty, hunger and the ever-present threat posed by the Sri Lankan military. Students were trained to dive to the floor when passing soldiers were inclined to fire bullets through the school house windows. Her father visited sporadically, but to protect the family, he was introduced to Maya as an uncle. She was in her mid-teens when she learned that her uncle was, in fact, her dad.

Maya and her father Arul (2007)

In 1986, the family returned to London as refugees, living in a public housing project called Phipps Bridge Estates. The area was plagued by crime and, as one of the few Asian families living there, she faced racism daily. 

In an amazing quirk of fate, her mother secured employment as a seamstress with the Royal Family. Her duties included the intricate sewing required for medals which were worn by the Royals and also awarded to citizens.

M.I.A. receiving her M.B.E from Prince William

In 2019, Maya, was recognized with an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for her contributions to the arts. The medal presented to her by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, was hand-stitched by her mother. 

M.I.A. and her mother Kala following the MBE ceremony.

Maya, now 45, continues to make music and is involved in numerous charitable causes -- including efforts to bring justice to Tamils for alleged war crimes perpetrated during the decades-long Sri Lankan Civil War.

The 500 - #394 - Good Old Boys - Randy Newman

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 394

Album Title: Good Old Boys
Artist: Randy Newman
Genre:  Roots Rock, Country Rock, Satire
Recorded: Warner Brothers' Studio, Hollywood, CA (72-74)
Released: September, 1974
My age at release: 9
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Marie

Recently, the Canadian subscription channel Crave re-released Chappelle's Show, an early 2000s American sketch comedy program created by and starring comedian Dave Chappelle. The groundbreaking and critically acclaimed series challenged racial stereotypes through provocative and controversial satire. 

In one sketch, a spoof of the PBS news program Frontline, we meet Clayton Bigsby a blind, white supremacist who is unaware that he is black. In another, a parody of modern day professional sports drafts, various multiracial celebrities are "claimed" by a single race. Tiger Woods, who is African-American-Thai-Chinese, is drafted by The Blacks, while Jewish-African-American Lenny Kravitz is selected by a Hasidic Rabbi representing the Jewish Team.

Clayton Bigsby - Black White Supremacist (top)
and Racial Draft from Chappelle's Show

The show is not for everyone. It doesn't only push the envelope, it bursts right through it. This week's record, Good Old Boys, by Randy Newman does the same. Released in 1974, the record pulls no punches as it addresses issues including institutional racism, poverty and homelessness. It was originally intended to be a concept record, perhaps even a musical, about a character named Johnny Cutler, a regular guy from the deep south. However, only the "kernel of this concept" survived and the record featured a number of unrelated tracks.

Much like Chappelle's Show, no one is spared from Newman's satirical assault. On the opening track, Rednecks, his narrator, Cutler, lists the negative stereotypes regularly associated with men from the deep south. However, as the song continues, Cutler turns his attention to the hypocrisy of northern liberals who claimed to be racially enlightened -- a polite fallacy obscuring a reality of racial segregation, which occurred through practices such as redlining or the phenomenon of white flight. In either situation, caustic or polite, African-American communities are marginalized.

I have always loved satire. Blazing Saddles, Monty Python's Life of Brian, and Dr. Strangelove were among my favourite films before I was old enough to fully appreciate the full force of their satirical messages. They are that rare breed of film that could appeal to all ages, for entirely different reasons. They brilliantly blend simple, slapstick comedy with powerful social commentary. The uncomfortable but titillating thrill I got from those films was captured in a delightfully provocative 34 minutes of music from Newman on this, his first of three records on The 500.

  

The 500 - #395 - Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 395

Album Title: Sound of Silver
Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Genre: Dance Punk, Electronica, Indie Rock
Recorded: Long View Farm, Massachusetts
Released: March, 2007
My age at release: 41
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Someone Great 

Sound of Silver Album Cover - LCD Soundsystem

In music, the term Electronica casts a wide net over many styles. It is a genre that is difficult to define and one that comes with many labels, including ambient, house, techno, jungle, dub, chill and trance. Sound of Silver, is no exception. The sophomore release from LCD Soundsystem has been described by critics as dance-rock, art-rock, alternative-dance, and even post-punk-revival. Perhaps, it is best experienced and not labelled at all.

LCD Soundsystem was the brainchild of Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist and songwriter James Murphy. Formed in 2002, the band has become a performer's collective, recruiting a diverse group of musicians and producers to help create their unique sound. 

LCD Soundsystem performing in 2016

However, the core members include Murphy, drummer Pat Mahoney and guitarist/bassist Tyler Pope, as well as Nancy Whang and Ranya Russom providing keyboard and vocal support.

Typically, music from the world of electronic dance relies heavily on beat and melody. Lyrical content is often sparse, or simple and repetitive. After all, dance music is for dancing.

James Murphy - LCD Soundsystem

Sound of Silver, however, offers something different. Murphy was an English major. He even turned down a job as a scriptwriter for the seminal television program Seinfeld. Additionally, his musical influences include an eclectic assortment of new wave, punk and art rock acts, including The Talking Heads, The B-52s, David Bowie, Brian Eno, The Velvet Underground, and even the progressive rock band Yes. Consequently, mixed into the rhythmic electronic sound of this record are lyrics that are poignant and thought provoking.

In preparing to write this entry, I posted a picture of the record cover on my social media accounts with a simple question: "Any fans out there?"

A fellow educator, Viki Kotarba, responded, celebrating her love for the track Someone Great, a song full of tantalizing contradictions. It is both sleek and uncomfortably peppy. It bounces rhythmically while delivering a message that, although it seems to be about loss and grief, is ultimately inconclusive. 

"I wake up and the phone is ringing
Surprised, as it's early
And that should be the perfect warning
That something's a problem
To tell the truth I saw it coming
The way you were breathing
But nothing can prepare you for it
The voice on the other end."

At times, the speaker seems to be telling only part of a story. Consequently, there is plenty of room within the hypnotic music for the listener to fill in the blanks from their own experiences. Much like the genre of electronica, it's a song that defies simple labels. 

Over the past week, I have played this record many times. I've invested time with the lyrics, but I enjoy it most when I simply let it play in the background -- washing over me as I busy myself with everyday life.

   

The 500 - #396 - For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 396

Album Title: For Your Pleasure
Artist: Roxy Music
Genre: Art Rock, Glam Rock, Art Pop
Recorded: AIR Studios, London, UK
Released: March, 1973
My age at release: 7
How familiar was I with it before this week: Not at all
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Do The Strand

For Your Pleasure is the sophomore record for English experimental, art-rock band Roxy Music. The group's founder and lead singer, charismatic crooner Bryan Ferry, is the most recognizable member. However, it is another Brian, synthesizer and sound specialist Brian Eno, who may be the most interesting, if not for his songwriting then certainly for his flamboyant early 70's attire.

Roxy Music (1973) Brian Eno - far left Bryan Ferry - center

Those who have followed my blogs may recognize Eno's name from two records on The 500 list: the 1973 Album Here Come The Warm Jets at position #432 or Another Green World at #429. I wrote about both a few weeks apart last spring.

Throughout the production of For Your Pleasure, artistic temperaments were tested. Eno was increasingly interested in more experimental sounds, while Ferry was drawn toward the New Wave and Punk sounds emerging from London's underground music scene. Additionally, guitarist Phil Manzenara was somewhat shut-out of the writing process dominated by Ferry and Eno. Indeed, Eno left the band shortly after the record's release to work on the aforementioned Here Come The Warm Jets, released the same year. In Eno's absence, Ferry and Manzenara collaborated on six additional studio releases over the next nine years.

This was my first exposure to the record and I'll admit that, during the first two plays, I found it odd and cacophonous. I was not deterred. There are many records I have learned to love that I found jarring or inharmonious on first listen. For my third spin, I put on my headphones and found a quiet spot. As I suspected, For Your Pleasure began to grow on me. I immediately thought of my good friend Bill. Bill worked as an FM disc jockey and managed bands throughout the late 70s and early 80s. This seemed like a record he would love, so I reached out with a text to ask him if he was familiar and he shared the following:

"One of the most influential discs in my life. Good eye. I played it heavily on FM96 (a London, Ontario, radio station) and the band I managed covered two tunes from this album."

"Would you care to share some thoughts as a guest blogger?", I asked. He agreed, despite a busy schedule, and the following appeared in my message box shortly after:

"For Your Pleasure was Roxy Music's second album, coming out in 1973. The album cover had Bryan Ferry's then-girlfriend, Amanda Lear on the cover, and he was on the back. Not only was she a singer and model, she later became surrealistic painter Salvador Dali's confidant and muse."

Bryan Ferry on the back Cover to For Your Pleasure

"There is such a commotion of sounds on that record. It is glam, punk, pop, jazz and sometimes just noise. In the early 80s I managed a band called Second Thoughts. They did a cover of the opening track, Do the Strand, that never failed to pump-up the audience. This was a great experimental album which launched an extraordinary and eclectic band. It will always be one of my very faves."

The 500 - #397 - Blue Lines - Massive Attack

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 397

Album Title: Blue Lines
Artist: Massive Attack
Genre: Trip Hop, British Hip Hop
Recorded: Five Studios - including Abbey Road
Released: April, 1991
My age at release: 25
How familiar was I with it before this week: Somewhat Familiar
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: Unfinished Sympathy

This week, I am delighted to have another guest blogger, my friend Steve Monaghan. I met Steve in the early 2000s. We quickly bonded around our mutual love of sports, music and beer. It is fitting that Steve share his experience with this record because he was the person who introduced me to the band almost 20 years ago.

Blue Lines is the debut record, produced in Bristol, England, by Trip Hop pioneers Massive Attack. At the time of its release, the band consisted of four core members, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowels and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. My first experience with Massive Attack’s Blue Lines, was the song Unfinished Sympathy, rising out of my college-era stereo in 1991. I was roused from my studies and summoned to the sound being played by a friend who was, clearly, much cooler than I. It would play from that stereo for the next year at any time I thought fitting -- which was almost always. I recently discovered that the song would take a lofty perch on the Guardian newspaper poll as the 10th greatest song of all time.

Marc asked me to select one song from Blue Lines to be added to The 500 Spotify Playlist he is curating. There are several worthy candidates on this debut record and, as a dedicated fan, I gave it much thought. I like to believe, as a bigger fan than the occasional listener, that I needed to choose something other than the album's biggest hit. However, Unfinished Sympathy has a significance for me that goes beyond the sound itself. I resigned myself to the fact that it was impossible not to select.

Blue Lines, would mark the start of a musical evolution into a down tempo mix of hip hop, reggae and soul in a uniquely British sound, and Massive Attack was about to step forward as a driving force in the trip hop world. 

Massive Attack photographed while filming 
the video for Safe From Harm

This album features a number of tracks that I could argue for making Marc’s playlist. The opening track, Safe From Harm, is a great lead into what is to come. Both melodic and sharp, it’s an intoxicating mix of heavy funk and loving menace. 

“You can free the world, you can free my mind, just as long as my baby’s safe from harm tonight”.

Brilliant!

Five Man Army, with Tricky and Daddy G’s hypnotic verbal exchange leads the listener deep into a smoke-filled room replete with vague silhouettes just out of the listeners line of sight. It perfectly captures a dreamy downtempo vibe that lets one just lay back and float around the room, head swaying from side to side as the mind drifts along. It is a perfect setup for the instantly recognizable opening notes of Unfinished Sympathy, a song that topped the charts around the world in the spring of 1991. I would argue that it would still top the charts if it were released today.

I have loved every Massive Attack offering throughout the years, and although Mezzanine may be considered their best overall album, I don't think Blue Lines, with the intoxicating Unfinished Sympathy, has ever been bested by Del Naja and company.

For any music fan, this album offers tasty morsels in every track, be it a shout-out to George Harrison on the song Daydreaming, or the stripped down beat in One Love. Perhaps the Motown-inspired backing and ageless advice of Be Thankful For What You Got will strike your fancy. To this day, nearly 30 years since its release, every listen feels like a new stroll through some favorite old haunts.

As I get ready to hand this review over to Marc to take on the task of editing my rambling narrative, it seems fitting to be exiting the album with the final tune, which is the almost newcomer-to-the-party track, Hymn Of The Big Wheel. This song takes us out of our strangely sharp stupor and back to the world made a little cooler by this incredible first offering from Massive Attack. I think about Marc’s plight ahead while I put up my feet and open a beer,

“…the earth spins on its axis, one man struggles while another relaxes.”

Delicious.

Cheers, Marc. Thanks for inviting me onboard for one of my favorite albums, one that opened up so many wonderful worlds of sound for me.

The 500 - #398 - Eliminator - ZZ Top

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Album # 398

Album Title: Eliminator
Artist: ZZ Top
Genre: Hard Rock, Blues Rock, Synth Rock
Recorded: Ardent Studios
Released: March, 1983
My age at release: 17
How familiar was I with it before this week: Very familiar
Song I am putting on my Spotify Mix: I Need You Tonight

Eliminator Album Cover - ZZ Top (1983)

It is difficult to quantify how ubiquitous ZZ Top and this, their eighth studio release, was in 1983. It was the heyday of music videos and ZZ Top marketed perfectly to a teenage music base through television, particularly MTV and its Canadian counterpart MuchMusic.   

ZZ's videos complemented their undeniably catchy, blues-inspired guitar rock. Each provides and opportunity to escape into a fantasy world complete with heroes, villains, cool cars, beautiful girls and a dash of magic. Most importantly, there was always a "wink to the camera" comedy. The band, with their faux-fur-covered guitars were clearly having fun.

Although dated by today's standards, the video for Legs is still entertaining. Sure, one has to get past a simple, trope-fueled, fairy tale loaded with pejorative stereotypes - such as the ugly, overweight villainess berating the sweet-as-pie heroine. It is such a quintessential snap-shot of an early 80s decadent aesthetic.

Three, beautiful lace & leather clad angels magically appear in a lavishly restored 1930s Ford Coupe (aka: The Eliminator) to rescue a beleaguered fry-cook by transforming a meek shop-clerk, Cinderella-style, into a stunning beauty who takes him away to...paradise...I suppose. The ending is unclear. But, who really cared at the time.

Re-listening to this record after at least 30 years was a nostalgic trip. It was played at countless house parties and every garage band in my area played a version of Gimme All Your Lovin' or Sharp Dressed Man. 

In the end, I was most drawn to the more traditional sound of I Need You Tonight, which was more like the ZZ Top I had first heard and wrote about in my review of Tres Hombres back in March, 2019, when it appeared at #490 on The 500 List. 

If you are in the mood for a trip back to the fusion of blues-rock and synth-pop in 1983, give this record a listen. Better still, click on some of those video links and enjoy the cheesy decadence of a classic ZZ Top video.