time tends to not be there for the more regular updates here. some might say this is not particularly bad, and that perhaps (maybe) i should give it up all together, look you see. well, no. just what would i do with what time i get free, and where else would i write so?
right then, music. vibes. tunes, if you will. up to now it feels like i haven't really purchased all that much in respect of "new" records this year. mostly this would be down to the U2 one being overpriced and awful sounding, with the Depeche Mode one being overpriced. and James doing the acoustic thing just held no appeal either. so, October brought not one, not three (that i am aware of) but two (2) records that (which) i had some interest in.
for clarity, they are Danse Macarbe off of Duran Duran and Hackney Diamonds off of Rolling Stones. those who(m) are interested in provenance may be interested to know that i purchased them off of wha has become my favourite vibes merchant, Sister Ray down in Soho. should chance permit i would strongly endorse or otherwise recommend a visit.
exactly how interested was i in either or both of these releases? being honest, not that much. my basic rudimentary knowledge of each, discussed a bit more in respective comments below (rather than above) did not suggest any compelling reason for them to actually exist. certain good intentions lurked, to be sure, especially around the DuranX2 one. but then, they just had a new one out (i think last year?), and as for the Stones, really?
well, anyway, here we are, and both exist. having played each of them at least four or five times, i feel relatively ready to pass comment on them. mindful, of course, that at time of writing each record is now north of a month old, and so in this ever prone to disposal world many shall already have forgotten about them.
starting with the one i played first, with a sense of "best get it out of the way", as picture above that would be Danse Macarbe off of Duran Duran. i had heard whispers that it was "not great". bit sh!t was one review i saw. oh dear. well, they have done plenty of records dismissed as such, and i have disagreed. and so i gave it a go.
difficult to see this (with its impressive and lavish packaging) as an album, rather more a collection of songs. there are some new ones, some (partially brave) cover versions and then some "re-imagining" of previous works. which at least are not just awful acoustic versions (refer U2). mostly it feels like an excuse for them to get together with some friends. former member Andy Taylor being an obvious important one, but it is really, really nice to see Warren invited to be part of it.
considering that an album of covers, Thank You, very nearly (and unfairly) sank them close to thirty years ago, it's quite interesting to see them return to this. i gazed upon the selection of songs what they decided to cover and i feared the worst. should you play the album and find their cover of Ghost Town is awful, well, relax - the next track, Paint It Back, gets even worse. and as for Super Lonely Freak, not quite sure what they were hoping to achieve with Super Freak samples that MC Hammer had not, but this is Simon le Bon we are talking about. you know, a man who will sometimes wake up, think you know what, i (Simes) am going to sail around the world, and then actually do it.
oddly the cover of Bury A Friend off of that lass what did Glastonbury (Billie Eilish, i think) works really well, but then i am not all that familiar with the original. i really (really) did fear the worst ahead of the Talking Heads cover, but surprisingly their take on Psycho Killer works very well.
not really an album feel to it, as mentioned. rather more a case of "Simes and chums having some fun and determining it being of a quality to release". with the latter somewhat debatable. at first, as in on my first listen, i was like, ok, exactly how many times do i need to pay this to feel like i got value for money, then put it in a corner and forget it? yet it has grown on me. no way shall this get played as frequently as, say, Medazzaland, but it will get a few more spins.
moving along, then, and the "surprise" return of The Rolling Stones. who never went away. and when they released the (oddly not on this album) single Ghost Town in the midst of that plague thing some 3 or so years ago, they did make it clear an album was "on the way". but, still, the narrative dictates that actually Hackney Diamonds is a surprise return album.
partially it was so that i wasn't entirely confused by a new album off of them, just a little sad. for a remarkable, shall never (ever) be repeated career, it did feel like Blue & Lonesome from a few years ago was the perfect (studio based) bookend to it all. just them (and friends) playing the songs which started them on a phenomenal journey. but, for whatever reason, behold a new album. yes, it (very much) is a bad name for a record, Hackney Diamonds, but when you look at their catalogue, more often than not they have come up with a poor name for an album. Exile On Main Street and Sticky Fingers of course being massive exceptions.
is the (actual) album any good? yes. no, it is not brilliant, nor is it their "best and most important album since....." stuff. well, when i say not brilliant, actually the two (2) lead singles, which got a proper release as singles, Angry and Sweet Sounds Of Heaven, are such. both have had very heavy airplay, particularly on Radio 2, who(m) no doubt like to be nice to the Stones on the off chance they can get one of them to guest.
speaking of which, to draw guests and the one song together, Sweet Sounds of Heaven. this is a record, or album (tape, even) overloaded with guests. one suspects Mick has a slightly better address book that Simes, for the likes of Sir McCartney of Paul, Sir John of Elton and the Wonder of Stevie features. as does former member Bill Wyman, but no Mick Taylor. oh. anyway, all of those guests are only ones you are aware of by reading the liner notes. which is to say they bring nothing that dramatic or different to the sound. not so with Ms Gaga, who truly does deliver one of those great vocal tracks which remind one of how much they love music and why.
just about all the reviews of Hackney Diamonds have decided to go for that "oh isn't it amazing that they are still going and doing this" approach, which is a shame. there isn't a bad track here, with even one that appears to have Keith on vocals being not bad. rather perplexingly one review focused on how it had the perfect running time length, but never mind. it, this album, has sold huge amounts, and it would be nice to think it has done so on the basis of the quality of songs as much as the brand name.
quite soon i am going to have to consider thinking about a "best" of the year thing. no idea at all what shall go for the album of the year. i am not sure either of these should qualify, but the only other new music i can recall off of the year what i actually got was the "difficult" second album off of Inhaler. oh well, i shall give it a think. both of these albums are fairly decent, then.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment