God's Weird/Obscure Music Reviews

[chamaeleo]

I have Camembert Electrique, it's OK but I never really listen to it.

I consider Camembert "proto-Gong". Try "You", it's got a Mayan pyramid on the cover (was also a poster on Rusty Venture's dorm room, Season One of "Venture Bros.").

I have about 26 albums

Nice! You should also check out Flo & Eddie's stuff, first 3 albums or Ryko's "best of". It's basically Zappa's post-dissolution 1971 Mothers, sans Zappa (confined to wheelchair after nutjob threw him into orchestra pit). Wonderfully twisted, funny, and skillful stuff.

Jean-Luc Ponty's (also in Mahavishnu Orchestra) "King Kong" is contemporaneous, with instrumental renditions using 20-piece band including Zappa and many from his band. Electric violin fusion at its finest.

[Pallantides]

A personal question for you.

Which band is in your opinion better?

Smashing Pumpkins or Manic Street Preachers?

Anyone who thinks SP is better than the Manics(Richey Era:Generation Terrorist, Holy Bible.) belongs in a mental asylum.

[God]

First review in a while.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ~ Let Love In (1994)
Alternative Rock

1994's 'Let Love In' is arguably Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' best album, and one of their most popular. The album melds the vicious angry rock style of his previous album, 'Henry's Dream' with the calm slow sound of 'The Good Son', while managing to retain a dark, gloomy and pessimistic mood throughout. The songs on 'Let Love In' focus on the topic of love, but it is never seen in a positive light. Nothing here ends with a happy ending but always with heartbreak and sorrow. The whole album can be summed up in the opening lines of the title track:

“Despair and Deception, Love's ugly little twins
Came a-knocking on my door, I let them in
Darling, you're the punishment for all of my former sins

I let love in”

The first song, 'Do You Love Me?', shows Cave at his very best, musically and lyrically. Although it has a more polished sound than the rawness of the songs found on 'Henry's Son', it still manages to build up a huge amount of energy with a fantastic bass line, catchy piano melody and densely layered structure. The more polished sound gives it a slightly more poppy edge but the dark sound and fantastic lyrics would have destroyed any hope of it becoming a big hit. There is a very sinister undertone to the quite cryptic lyrics, with vivid and grim imagery implying that the narrator could be a rapist:

“Ah, here she comes, blocking the sun
Blood running down the inside of her legs
The moon in the sky is battered and mangled
And the bells from the chapel go jingle-jangle”

This is followed by the complete opposite, a slow ballad, 'Nobody's Baby Now', which substitutes the anger of the previous song with sadness and depression. The rest of the album follows this formula, with fast angry songs mixed with slow haunting and sorrowful ones, usually with melodies played on piano or distorted guitar riffs, backed up by organ. Strings and violins also appear in some songs, such as the final track, 'Do You Love Me? (Part 2)', an acoustic remake of the first track and the most creepy song of the album with lyrics about a paedophile.

Nick Cave manages to sing well with all of the album's different styles with his excellent baritone singing, singing with the energy needed in the faster songs like 'Thirsty Dog' and always sounding believable even when the lyrics get very melodramatic, as they often do. Only Cave's dark sense of humour which occasionally shines through keeps the lyrics from becoming too gloomy.

The songs are all strong but do love some of the energy near the middle. 'Loverman', which was later covered by Metallica, starts off excellently but drags on far too long, as does 'Red Right Hand' which lacks the pace and ferocity of the other similar songs. This isn't too noticeable though, as they are both good songs, just slightly too long, and the album quickly regains it's energy.

Overall, apart from a few sections that drag slightly, there isn't a huge amount to criticise with 'Let Love In'. The whole album is filled with fantastic and memorable melodies and Nick Cave's excellent if slightly over dramatic lyrics. 'Let Love In' is a good mix of Cave's different musical styles and one of his more accessible albums, so is an excellent introduction to the band.

/5

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Do You Love Me?


Lay Me Low


I Let Love In

[vizi]

Excellent as always. Love Nick Cave.

[therussian]

Damn, thanks for reminding me. I've been putting of writing reviews for almost a month now.



I'll do some next week :laughing:

[Yaga Shu Ra]

Bohren & der Club of Gore ~ Sunset Mission (2003)

Jazz/Ambient

I've only just discovered this thread and started my journey traversing backwards through posting time... when suddenly; Shweng Bang! This slammed me.

Great!

[God]

I've only just discovered this thread and started my journey traversing backwards through posting time... when suddenly; Shweng Bang! This slammed me.

Great!

Glad you like it, great band

Camel ~ Rajaz (1999)
Progressive Rock

The late 70’s were a bad time for progressive rock music. After releasing a series of highly regarded prog albums (Mirage, The Snow Goose, Moonmadness), Camel suddenly found themselves struggling to evolve their suddenly outdated sound due to the punk movement. Moving between their prog style and a new more pop-influenced style Camel could never manage to reach the popularity or quality of their earlier albums, before breaking up in 1984.

The band would again resurface in 1991 with a different line-up, returning to their prog roots. However, by this time the damage had been done, and despite the consistently good quality of these later releases even many Camel fans ignore them and only listen to the 70’s albums. 1999’s Rajaz is arguably the best of these later albums.

The title of the album comes from the name of an ancient type of Arabic poetry that was sung when caravans travelled across the desert, and designed on a metre to follow the footsteps of the camels. As the title and cover (and band name…) suggest, Rajaz is heavily inspired by this and all of the songs are composed on the same metre. This gives the album a distinctive Eastern sound and atmosphere.

To help create this mood, most of the music has a slow pace and a loose structure that brings to mind images of vast desert landscapes. Most of the focus is placed on Andrew Latimer’s incredible David Gilmour-esque guitar playing which fit’s the desert theme perfectly, playing a perfect mixture of sweeping soundscapes and bluesy melodies. While Latimer could perhaps be dismissed as just a Gilmour rip-off, the guitar playing is so fantastic it really doesn’t matter at all, and could even be considered to be just as good. Latimer’s guitar work is always completely emotional, melodic and brilliantly composed. Some of the solos are incredibly beautiful and help create the epic feel needed. His acoustic guitar playing that appears in some of the songs, giving them a slightly folky feel, is also excellent.

Not only does Latimer play the guitar, he also adds to the Eastern atmosphere by occasionally playing flute and also plays keyboards that add another layer of depth to the sound, as well as adding extra melodies. The keyboards often stay in the background however and never sound at all cheesy or out of place, fitting in perfectly. Latimer also sings, but like much of Camel’s work a lot of the music is instrumental with little singing. Latimer has a good, if unspectacular, singing voice though and his melancholic vocals fit in with the music perfectly.

While being mainly instrumental allows the listener to focus on the atmosphere, it does mean that the album can drag at times and even get a bit boring if you don‘t get immersed in this atmosphere, especially as it’s quite a long album and played at quite a slow pace.

The other musicians are also excellent. Dave Stewart’s drumming is usually quite restrained and sparse but still effective in creating the vast desert effect and a cello also sometimes appears to add to the sombre acoustic folk songs. The bass playing is also good, balancing the soaring guitar perfectly.

Overall, Rajaz is an excellent album if you have the time to get lost in its atmosphere, but definitely struggles to remain interesting it’s entire running time. Most of the tracks don’t really work as stand-alone songs, and it really needs to be listened to in it’s entirety. If soaring guitars are your thing and you have time to get lost in the album though, Rajaz is highly recommended.

/5

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Lawrence


Lost And Found


Rajaz

[bomberboy]

Great reviews as normal but why didn't you check out my latest review?

[God]

Great reviews as normal but why didn't you check out my latest review?

Damn, I forgot. I was about too then had to go off somewhere and forgot to later, sorry. I'll give you review a look now.

[bomberboy]

Its alright I'm going to do New Order and B.R.M.C (black rebel motorcycle club). I'll do muse today.

[Henry of Grosmont]

Huh? Someone, besides me, remembers Camel? Not surprisingly, it's you, God.

[vizi]

From what I hear, Octy listens to Camel as well.

[therussian]

And I

[vizi]

No one likes Russians though...

[therussian]

Well, no one......no one likes the Visigoths either! So there!

[vizi]

We sacked Rome, so I am not surprised...

[Henry of Grosmont]

Are you two married?

[vizi]

We are separated at the moment. It is a touchy subject, thank you.

[God]

And I

Have you listened to 'Rajaz' though?

Second paragraph proved.

[therussian]

No. When it comes to Camel, I just have a compilation.


Before you crucify me, it's a very complete one.