162. Let it Bleed - The Rolling Stones

An album I knew pretty well having owned a (reissued) copy of it for a couple of years, this was one that I'd always enjoyed. The first and last songs had always stood out a mile to me, so I was intrigued to see whether any of the others would rise to the fore with a more focused listen. I know that this album is regarded as amongst the Stones' finest, and is known for its capturing a time not at ease with itself.

The album was recorded around the same time as Beggar's Banquet and Sticky Fingers, and the initial idea was that the material would make up two albums. Let it Bleed was released in December 1969 following the US promotion tour, and reached number 1 in the UK, and number 3 in the US. The Robert Brownjohn designed cover art is probably more recognised than most of the songs off the album, with a then unknown Delia Smith providing the cake topping for the turntable. The working title of the album had been Automatic Changer, which would make more sense in the context of the sculpture.

Gimme Shelter is an absolute belter of an opening track, that builds, grows, and struggles to contain the emotive content that includes a damning indictment of the Vietnam War. Mick's voice sounds powerful, but its Merry Clayton's backing vocals that steal the show (she also appears on Lynyrd Skynyrd's  Sweet Home Alabama). Love in Vain is a bit too ploddy for my tastes, although the bluegrass elements are at least a novelty that doesn't entirely wear off. Country Honk  is a slower version of the original Honky Tonk Women single that was released a few months earlier, and doesn't quite match the single's catchiness, and would probably work better as a live experiment. Live With Me has some great moments, such as the horn solo halfway through, and the piano is compellingly intense. Let it Bleed is one of Jagger's strongest vocal performances, with his drawl running through the track, and Ian Stewart's brief return to the band on keys gives a strong basis from which the song can develop. Midnight Rambler, an account of the Boston Strangler's murder of 13 women, is a self-described Blues Opera, and works well as a narrative track. Richard's guitar is excellent on this, showing the vast range of his technique. You got the Silver doesn't add a huge amount to the album, but continues the album's folksy charm. Monkey Man speeds things up somewhat, and was a song I grew to really enjoy having previously overlooked it. It is a classic bit of Jagger-Richards magic, with an in your face riff and edgy delivery that fits in with the rest of the album. You Can't Always Get What You Want is utterly superb, with its angelic opening oft-copied, but never matched, however much the London Bach Choir tried to distance themselves from the "relentless drug ambience" of the rest of the album. The drumming performance, by Jimmy Miller rather than Charlie Watts, is outstanding, Al Kooper on piano is incredible, and the dischord at the end is a wonderful contrast to the structured beginning. It really is one of the best songs of all time in my opinion, and leaves a real glow over the rest of the album.

Overall, listening to the album again brought out a few extra elements to it, and I picked up more of the pessimism that runs through the record. At the same time, the tracks I've always loved remained the strongest ones in my opinion. It shows the range of genres that the band could confidently cover, and it takes the swagger of a band in their pomp to produce so many basic, bluesy numbers. However, when you compare that to some of the jaw-dropping things their contemporaries were producing, it makes it look a bit half-hearted at times. Still, it is a very strong record, and when it hits the heights, as on the first and last track, there are few bands who can come close.

Chloe's album rating: 6

Chloe's favourite track: 9. You Can't Always Get What You Want

Olly's album rating: 8

Olly's favourite track: 9. You Can't Always Get What You Want

Next week we will be listening to number 32. Jazz Samba by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd. You can't always get what you want indeed…

749. Dog Man Star - Suede

I've never known much Suede, the big hits aside, and I always viewed them with some scepticism as a poor mans Pulp. Whilst Brett Anderson has a very impressive vocal range, I thought I didn't like him, possibly for no other reason than his name. Whilst judgemental, tell me you haven't turned your nose up for lesser reasons. I had always enjoyed Beautiful Ones and She's in Fashion off those mid/late 90s Indie Compilations that I still own far too many of, so it wasn't like I'd completely shunned them.

Released in 1994, Dog Man Star was the band's follow up to their Mercury winning self-titled debut, which became the biggest selling debut album since 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome'. This success, inevitably, caused problems within the group, with Anderson wanting to make a very different statement, and move away from the commercial behemoth that Britpop had become. Butler, the lead guitarist, left the band during the recording of the album, to be replaced by 17 year old Richard Oakes. The album did reasonably well initially, but sales faded away quickly, and it was a while before it attained the status it now holds as the band's masterpiece.

Introducing the Band sets things off with waves of distorted guitars and a pounding rhythm section overlaid by samples and various instruments. It is quite a statement and not what I was expecting. We are the Pigs is more conventional, with an anthemic chorus and Anderson's vocals front and centre. Heroine didn't quite big the mark, being fairly forgettable, although not bad per se. The Wild Ones is a song I can't ever remember hearing, but did sound familiar. Further to that, it is catchy as hell - a quite brilliant ebbing and flowing record. Daddy's Speeding is a pretty dark opus of sorts, although I'm not sure exactly what the message is supposed to be. Use of phased effects can be pretty off putting, but this track manages to pull it off with a compelling vocal performance alongside the more subtle instrumentation. The Power reminds me of a slower "She's in Fashion", with Anderson using a similar, wavering delivery. The song overall is slightly meandery, especially when compared to New, Generation, which sounds like the Cast at their very best. The horn section really adds something to the chorus, and the classic quiet-loud verse-chorus indie routine works well. This Hollywood Life is a sprawling number that kicks off with a great sax and distorted guitar combo. The slightly mechanical backing vocals work well on the chorus, and whilst I'd be amazed if the falsetto works as well live, it is convincing in a recorded format. The 2 of Us stays just the right side of melodrama, ala Frankie Goes to Hollywood's The Power of Love. Black or Blue has moments of real brilliance, but is a bit too fragmented for me, with the chorus not quite fitting.  The Asphalt World was a slow-burner for me, as I only realised its brilliance near the end of the week. The organ adds an element of whimsy with a guitar riff that is pure White Album Beatles. Still Life is slightly weaker, relying too heavily on a play on the word 'still'. It's one of the few times that they sound overblown. Stay together (long version) works much better; by having a bit more pace in the delivery, the song sounds more convincing, and the prolonged collapse at the end seems a fitting exhale to the dying breath of this album. And then Whipsnade come along, leaving the album slightly outstaying is welcome.

The variety on this album really impressed me - I was expecting generic Britpop indie type songs, and instead was greeted with a real variety of songs from pop classics to arty epics. I should also apologise to Brett Anderson (like he'd care) as this record makes him sound a far less 2D character then I had labelled him.

Chloe's album rating: 5

Chloe's favourite track: 3. Heroine

Olly's album rating: 8

Olly's favourite track: 4. The Wild Ones

And coming up this week we have an absolute barnstormer - 162. Let it Bleed by the Rolling Stones. It turns out you do sometimes get what you want.

545. Treasure - Cocteau Twins

The Cocteau Twins are a group that many people have told me I would love, and having been given a couple of their EPs a year or so ago, I can see why. However, they are also a group who require investment, and I haven't given them the time they deserve to really get under their skin (a combination of this project, a busy job, and getting married will do that). So I was thrilled to get this album now, rather than in 14 years, so I could see just how well they align with my tastes.

The Cocteau Twins were Liz Fraser, Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde, a group from Grangemouth, Scotland who met through a shared love of Punk, and became a trio in 1979. The group's name came from the title of an early Simple Minds song, which is surprising given the nature of music they would go on to make. They had some success in the 80s, growing something of a cult following on the post-punk scene, and then gained mainstream acclaim with the release of Heaven or Las Vegas in 1990, which peaked at Number 7 in the UK.

Ivo is a soprano-laden lush garden of a song that sets the listener up for what to expect; multi-layered, multi instrumental waves of loveliness. Whilst it isn't the strongest track on the album due to it sometimes sounding a bit flimsy, it certainly does capture what the pair are about. Lorelei, on the other hand, is an outstanding piece of music. The circling guitars and the prolonged cymbals really drive the body of the track, whilst the otherworldly nature of the vocal work is truly hypnotic. Beatrix has an intriguing, slightly sludgy, feel to the music, primarily due to the haunting organ sound. It is on this track that Fraser most sounds like Kate Bush - high praise indeed.  Persephone has an urgency to it that is slightly lacking elsewhere, taking the best elements of Echo and the Bunnymen, and then adding even more oblique lyrics. Fraser's voice sounds like it could lose it at any moment, which adds a real thrill. Pandora (For Cindy) is a bit 80s and directionless, although not itself unpleasant. Amelia is slightly in the same vein; a bit like the backing to a fairytale, but without the compelling story. Aloysius is also very Kate Bush, and you can almost picture her in a long white floaty dress singing these sounds (they're definitely not words) in an enchanted forest. Cicely has a great bass line in it, alongside a real snap to the percussion that makes it all sounds more immediate. Otterley is a pleasant soundscape that should feature in a film scene in a midnight graveyard. Donimo sounds, in Chloe's words, like a Christmas Carol. The choir of angels that suddenly explode out of the ether add a real power to proceedings, and make you wish that they appeared on more of these songs. The layered voices, the exquisite guitar, and the ebb and flow of the song bring the album to a stunningly strong close.

I badly wanted to like the Cocteau Twins, as the cool people I know (few but significant) like them. At the same time, I take this project too seriously to artificially 'fluff' a score. Thankfully, I genuinely really, really liked this album, enjoying it whilst focusing on it, and as it drifted into the background. It's mid-season lull prevents it from scoring more highly, but it is a very impressive piece of work. It is one of those albums that is hard to label genre-wise; Dream-80s-synth-pop-elvish-rock would be my closest approximation. However it's labelled, it is simply gorgeous to listen to, and is definitely an unearthed, albeit slightly flawed, gem.

Chloe's rating: 7

Chloe's favourite song: 4. Persephone

Olly's rating: 8

Olly's favourite song: 2. Lorelei

Next week we will be listening to 759. Dog Man Star by Suede. Whilst I always thought of them as a budget Pulp, I'm always willing to give Britpop another chance.

174. Abraxas - Santana

I'm probably more familiar with Santana's Smooth with Rob Thomas than I am with any of his earlier, more seminal work - such is the nature of being born in the mid-80s. Smooth featuring the Matchbox Twenty singer was ubiquitous in 1998, and, catchy as it was, it never made me want to explore more of his back catalogue. My guitarist friends always spoke highly of Santana's melodic style, opting for tone rather than outright speed, and how influential he has been.

The album, Santana's second, was a monstrous success for the band, going 5 times platinum in the US, and Gold in the UK. It was selected this year to be kept in the US's National Recording Registry for its cultural and artistic significance. The cover art is pretty distinctive too; a 1961 painting by Mati Klarwein called "Annunciation". The album title comes from the Hermann Hesse novel Demian, "We stood before it and began to freeze inside from the exertion. We questioned the painting, berated it, made love to it, prayed to it: We called it mother, called it whore and slut, called it our beloved, called it Abraxas....".

Singing Winds, Crying Beasts sounds both (a) exactly as the title suggests and (b) exactly like a Santana instrumental should. It's full of subtle tones and textures, with the most cymbal rolls ever recorded in one place. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen is a Fleetwood Mac cover merged into Gabor Szabo's 1966 instrumental. It has a lovely Latin feel to it, all swaying bass and dancing lead guitar, and the intensity really steps up at the transition. Oye Como Va you may know from the Big Lebowski, and is obscenely catchy, with a great use of keyboard and guiro; there are so many things going on at any one time it takes a while to get a real feel for it, but when you do, it is hard to shake off. This track was also a cover - it was originally penned by Tito Puente. Incident at Neshabar is a delicate instrumental that has a lovely ebb and flow to it. Se a Cabo adds some urgency to proceedings, with some powerful, polyrhythmic drumming, and a guitar line that dances over the top. Mother's daughter kicks off in a remarkably similar way to Hendrix's Fire - no bad thing. It is powerful stuff, but doesn't quite match the urgency of the Hendrix song. Samba Pa Ti is another song you'll know, although it's a bit background-y for me. Hope You're Feeling Better kicks in with a great organ riff, and then there's some stirring drumming. The vocals are a bit affected, but also feel like they're delivered with conviction alongside an aggressive sounding guitar and a solo as good as I hoped more of them would be. El Nicoya is a slightly damp squib, its only remarkable feature being how forgettable it is.

Whilst I can only imagine the impact this album had on Western audiences when released, the diversity of musical influences currently around means that it is hard to experience that in the same way. I can hear the technical brilliance, and togetherness of the band, but it also doesn't really grab me unless I'm fully focused on it due to the complexities within it. It's an album I tried to appreciate, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.

Chloe's rating: 6

Chloe's favourite track: 6. Mother's Daughter

Olly's rating: 6

Olly's favourite track: 3. Oye Como Va

Next week is 545. Treasure by the Cocteau Twins. Don't know them well, but most people whose music tastes I trust love them, so looking forward to that.