646. Let Love Rule - Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz is an artist I feel I should know more about than I do. Whilst I, and many others, could happily sing along to three or so of his biggest hits, I have never actually heard any of his albums, despite having seen him live last year (two word gig summary: surprisingly compelling). Released in 1989, this was Lenny Kravitz's debut album, and was a big success in Europe following some modest sales in the USA. He scaled much higher heights five years later with "Are you gonna go my way?".

This album is what I expected musically, but with lyrical elements I did not foresee. I had assumed that Lenny's songs would be funky, and primarily written about the opposite sex. They are, for the most part, very funky; great bass lines on "Fear" and "Freedom Train" (the intro of which sounds fairly like American Woman) set a high bar. However, I was not expecting the religious elements that abound on this album, with Rosemary exemplifying this. There are also a large number of references to the racial tensions that Lenny is obviously familiar with, "Mr Cab Driver" being the obvious, but not sole, example.

Both Chloe and I did enjoy this album, but it didn't gain much as the week progressed. The song-writing is none-too-subtle, and whilst there are some very catchy songs, there are also a fair few that could be cut from the album without an overall loss, such as My Precious Love. There is variety, but in a formulaic manner - it's other a slow bluesy number, or a funky upbeat number. In trying to emulate Prince, Lenny shows that he is not really in the same league musically or lyrically.

Chloe's rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 5. I build this Garden for us
Olly's rating: 6
Olly's favourite track: 6. Fear

Next week - 754. Very - Pet Shop Boys. I don't think that'll be too subtle either...

579. Skylarking - XTC

XTC were not a band that we had ever come across, and, in a very shallow manner, I was not looking forward to it given a combination of the album cover, and the slightly bizarre name. I am always delighted to be proven wrong, and I was certainly wrong with this. 

Chloe and I both agreed that this was a very good album, that really grew over repeated listens. The album is quintessentially English, primarily in its lyrical content, which looks at everything from the countryside to the weather via a slightly cynical view about wedding days. The music is hugely varied, and the sound ranges from a Bond theme (The man who sailed around his soul) to a Ben Folds Five number (Season Cycle). It's a real range of new-wave and psychedelic pop music, and offers so much to the listener.

Dear God is that standout for me, and did fairly well as a single in the US reaching number 37, although only number 99 in the UK. The track was originally only a B side to 'Grass', but got picked up and put on the album after some radio airplay success. Todd Rundgren was involved in the recording of the album, and had a huge influence on the band, though his techniques were sometimes rather abrasive, including insulting the lead singer's voice.

The Swindon-based band were around for 23 years, and they actually have another album in the list, suggesting that they were better/more important (delete as appropriate) than I would otherwise have said. On the basis of this album, I'm very much looking forward to the next one.

Chloe's rating: 8
Chloe's favourite track: 8 Earn enough for us
Olly's rating: 8
Olly's favourite track: 15. Dear God

Next week - Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz from 1989. Funky.

814. Fun Lovin' Criminals - Come Find Yourself

The very first album where I knew some tracks on it, I was really please to get to delve beyond just the singles of this band. A fun album, that has some real highlights on it, and is head-boppingly catchy. However, there is a fair amount of filler, which dilutes it somewhat. The running time is 54 minutes and change, and frankly, you could comfortably take 15 minutes off that and have a better album as a result. An example of this is the surprisingly straight-up cover of We Have All the Time in The World, which serves no purpose at all, other than to irritate the listener. It's not original in any sense of the word, but nor is the strength of the vocals going to rival the original.

Passive/Aggressive is a satisfyingly angry track, which makes use of some nicely distorted guitars to give a very 90s feel. The opener is an absolute riot, and as soon as it started, it took me back to my late 90s days of taping songs off XFM. Scooby Snacks is a standout, and probably the best starting point for anyone who hasn't heard any of the bands' material before.

Huey Morgan now has a very successful BBC 6 Music Radio Show, and his range of musical tastes comes across in a formative sense on this album. Although the lyrical content runs along similar themes between the songs, there is a real variety in the backing tracks, riffs and samples used across the whole album, from the hillbilly touches of the opener, to the hazy, acoustic tones of Smoke em. 

Overall, a decent album, but the high points are slightly isolated amongst some fairly average tracks.

Chloe's rating: 6

Chloe's favourite track: 5. Smoke 'em

Olly's rating: 6

Olly's favourite track: 1. The Fun Lovin' Criminal

Next week's album is XTC - Skylarking. Sounds interesting...

332. The Dictators - Go Girl Crazy

This week we had the chance to listen to some very early punk (labelled proto-punk no less), which I thought would be pretty interesting. It is US style punk, and it doesn't sound much like punk to begin with; guitar solos, harmonies, themes about surfing - it's a far cry from Anarchy in the UK. However, that is no bad thing when the songs are as fun and well-crafted as these ones. 

The album is a real celebration of the craft of a punchy pop song, and is instantly accessible and puts a real smile on your face. It is hard not to sing along with the harmonies, and there are some real earworms in there too. Stand out tracks for us were California Sun, The Next Big Thing, Weekend, and Cars and Girls.

The only time we were unsure about this album was during the slightly questionable lyrics of Back to Africa. Whilst we agreed on reflection that it was more mocking of racism than anything else, a couple of the phrases are a bit close to the bone.

The band themselves never achieved real acclaim, which is a shame given how influential they appear to be. For example, Ross Funichello is clearly an excellent guitarist, and went on to appear alongside metal bands such as Dio and Manowar, showing a high level of technical expertise that is evident on this album too. Other members had less follow up success, with them primarily reforming the band under different names. 

Chloe's rating: 6
Chloe's favourite song: 6 - California Sun
Olly's rating: 7
Olly's favourite song: 9 (I live for) Cars and Girls