333. Greetings from L.A. - Tim Buckley.

Not often is a sequel better than the original, but in the case of the Buckleys, it does seem that Jeff burned brighter in his too short years. However, that is coming from a place of knowing pretty much nothing about Tim, so perhaps I'm being too harsh. 

This album is about as sexual as one can imagine an album from the mid-70s being. The opening few tracks are sleazy as hell, with particular mention going to Move with Me, which glamourises, or at least attempts to, infidelity like few other songs. The instrumentation is great, but let down slightly by Buckley's try-hard voice. Get on Top is much more lightweight, sounding like an early Eagles track, which is never a good thing in my book. I struggled to pull much out from the rest of the album, with just the odd element of Nighthawkin' really lodging in my consciousness.

Overall, the album was OK - there are some nice touches, and nothing overly offensive about it (although Chloe would probably disagree as she found some of the imagery it conjured vomit inducing). It is the type of album that I'm sure would be more compelling live, but as a studio album, it lacks some of the dynamism and is certainly less captivating.

Chloe's album rating: 4
Chloe's favourite track: 6. Hong Kong Bar
Olly's album rating: 6
Olly's favourite track: 1. Move with Me

Next week's album is 111. Cheap Thrills by Big Brother and the Holding Company

781. Tical - Method Man.

Our third solo project from Wu Tang, I was intrigued to know what this would bring, having enjoyed the other two albums.

Tical, a supposed reference to marijuana or standing for 'Taking Into Consideration All Life', depending on which article you read, was produced by RZA, and was the first solo album from the group after the success of 36 Chambers. 

The beats and samples are deliberately hazy, with a grittiness not present on Liquid Swords, and only hinted at on Fishscale. The sound is distinctive, with a filter seeming to appear between the listener and original sound, but one that adds an element of darkness to the sound. In terms of content, there is less humour, fewer skits, and it lacks the obvious singles of the other albums. 

I was slightly disappointed overall with the album, having read such universally positive reviews prior to hearing it. It isn't bad, and I really enjoy the production, although it does end up being a bit samey, but there aren't enough stnad out songs to make me want to put it on. Indeed, I can't really imagine any of these making my hip-hop playlist, which is a pretty damning indictment, given my lack of depth in that particular genre.

Chloe's album rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 3. Bring the Pain
Olly's album rating: 5
Olly's favourite track: 11. Mr Sandman

Next week is 333. Greetings from L.A. by Tim Buckley. 

304. Blood on the Tracks - Bob Dylan

Our second Dylan album in quick succession, this one is always considered right up there amongst the troubadour's impressive back catalogue. Knowing it reasonably well, I was anticipating a week of sumptuous lyrics and cutting, heartbroken observations.

And I was not disappointed. There are some utterly superb examples of songwriting here, including the sublime Tangled up in Blue and stellar Idiot Wind. However, for me, it is the Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts that is the real work of art for me. Whilst songs this long can often fail to hold your attention, I've always found it impossible to tear myself away from the narrative, picking out a new aspect on each listen. The detailed observations of human movement, along with the crystal clear caricatures, make for a short story few novelists can surpass.

I don't know enough on Dylan's full catalogue as I'm (a) not that into folk and (b) have a life. However, by cherry-picking the great albums, I've ended up with just the highlights, and this is about as high as those lights get. I'm not sold on Buckets of Rain, and folk is still not my favourite genre (although this album doesn't completely sit within that genre, admittedly), but it is pretty peerless nonetheless.

Chloe's album rating: 9
Chloe's favourite track: 9. Shelter from the Storm
Olly's album rating: 8
Olly's favourite track: 7. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.

Next week is 781. Tical by Method Man.

825. Millions Now Living Will Never Die - Tortoise

I've only recently started getting into post-rock, and this has mainly been through the medium of Mogwai. To find out that this album, by a band I'd never heard of, was a massive influence on that group, was thus pretty exciting.

The album instinctively looks unbalanced, with an epic opener, followed by significantly shorter remaining tracks; over 50% of the running time is that first track. However, it doesn't feel unbalanced when listening to it, with the tracks rolling together in a very organic manner.

Organic is a surprising word to use when describing such an electronic album, but it really does have a natural feel to it. The sounds seem to grow and merge off each other in a fairly inevitable way, certainly after a couple of listens. Whilst it sometimes lacks a bit of drive, something Mogwai would never be accused of, it has a self-assuredeness not often found in such experimental bands.

Overall, I liked the album, but didn't love it. I was impressed by the scope of it, but never astounded by it. I can see why it was so influential, yet prefer the outcome of that influence to the influencers. Still, part of me thinks it is one album that will keep chipping away at me, and may become a part of my regular ouevre. 

Chloe's album rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 1. Djed
Olly's album rating: 7
Olly's favourite track: 1. Djed

Next week is 304. Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan.

774. Snivilisation by Orbital

Things I know about Orbital: they make some form of dance music and were quite big in the 90s. 

Things I learned about Orbital upon us picking this album: they have at least one album with a terrible title.

Things I learned whilst listening to the album.

1. I quite like spoken word samples taken out of context played over modern dance music.
2. I don't like this approach being repeated on most of the albums' songs.
3. A dance track without a decent drop isn't much of a dance track.
4. Orbital are not a fan of basslines, preferring very technical treble to dominate.
5. Philosophy by Numbers is an interesting track, which I enjoyed, but would love it to have a proper horn section rather than the electronic equivalent.
6. The piano loop on Kein Trink Wasser is great, but doesn't really go anywhere.
7. I am not going to rush out and listen to any more Orbital albums.

Chloe's album rating: 6
Chloe's favourite track: 4. Crash and Carry
Olly's album rating: 5
Olly's favourite track: 6. Philosophy by Numbers

Next week is 825. Millions Now Living Will Never Die by Tortoise.

496. Black Metal - Venom

I was not particularly looking forward to this album - "the album that founded and named the Black Metal scene" is not a label that I would personally take great pride in receiving, nor experiencing.

The first listen through, I really, really struggled to find any merit at all. The guitar was too fuzzy, the singing was both overblown and poor, and there was no real variety at all, with the songs seeming to merge into one long dirge. However, after a few rounds, I started to pick out some more impressive moments, such as the stacatto drumming on Raise the Dead, the intro guitar on Don't Burn the Witch, and the crude yet engaging narrative underpinning Teacher's Pet.

There are disappointing moments (the "get your tits out" break down on Teacher's Pet being one). The guitar is too often overly distorted, the levels make elements of the band hard to hear, and the subject matter is repetitive. However, if you appreciate that the band were performing with their tongue in their cheek, and no small talent, it makes the album a much easier one to enjoy.

It's hard to listen to this sort of album with modern ears and fully appreciate its impact, especially when you are fairly familiar with the Metal genre. With repeated listens, you can hear the embryonic sounds of Iron Maiden, Metallica, and certainly Black Sabbath and the Black Label Society. I'm not going to listen to it many more times, but I don't doubt I'll hear echoes of it in many other albums.

Chloe's album rating: 4

Chloe's favourite track: 9. Countess Bathory

Olly's album rating: 4

Olly's favourite track: 1. Black Metal

Next week is 774. Snivilisation by Orbital.