Day 235: Mais si tu dois partir, va-t'en...

Album 809/1031

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash (1969)

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"	Stephen Stills	Stills	7:25
2.	"Marrakesh Express"	Graham Nash	Nash	2:39
3.	"Guinevere"	David Crosby	Crosby with Nash	4:40
4.	"You Don't Have to Cry"	Stephen Stills	Stills with Crosby & Nash	2:45
5.	"Pre-Road Downs"	Graham Nash	Nash	3:01

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Wooden Ships"	David Crosby, Paul Kantner, Stephen Stills	Crosby with Stills	5:29
2.	"Lady of the Island"	Graham Nash	Nash	2:39
3.	"Helplessly Hoping"	Stephen Stills	Stills with Crosby & Nash	2:41
4.	"Long Time Gone"	David Crosby	Crosby	4:17
5.	"49 Bye-Byes"	Stephen Stills	Stills	5:16

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crosby,_Stills_%26_Nash_(album)

Golf's verdict: Gorgeous three part harmonies but lacking the bite that Neil Young added when he joined for the next album,

Máire's verdict: Pleasant listening.

Album 810/1031

Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime (1994)

All tracks written by Drive Like Jehu.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Here Comes the Rome Plows"	5:44
2.	"Do You Compute"	7:12
3.	"Golden Brown"	3:14
4.	"Luau"	9:27
5.	"Super Unison"	7:24
6.	"New Intro"	3:32
7.	"New Math"	4:06
8.	"Human Interest"	3:24
9.	"Sinews"	9:12

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yank_Crime

Golf's verdict: Really liked this. It reminded me a little of one of my favourite bands, Alice Donut. Don't worry, you're not expected to have heard of them either.

Máire's verdict: Okay but no more than that. Unsure what makes this album stand out so much that it appears on the challenge.

Album 811/1031

Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking (1969)

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Genesis Hall"	Richard Thompson	3:41
2.	"Si tu dois partir"	Bob Dylan
3.	"Autopsy"	Sandy Denny	4:27
4.	"A Sailor's Life"	traditional, arranged by Denny, Thompson, Simon Nicol, Ashley Hutchings, Martin Lamble	11:20

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Cajun Woman"	Thompson
6.	"Who Knows Where the Time Goes?"	Denny	5:13
7.	"Percy's Song"	Dylan	6:55
8.	"Million Dollar Bash"	Dylan	2:56

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unhalfbricking

Golf's verdict: Featuring a great version of Dylan's 'If You Gotta Go, Go Now', sung in French for some reason.

Máire's verdict: Not as good as Liege & Leaf but still an enjoyable listen.

Album 812/1031

Liars - They Were Wrong, So We Drowned (2004)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Were_Wrong,_So_We_Drowned

Golf's verdict: Very challenging and ultimately exhausting and unrewarding. And I have VERY broad tastes. This makes Sleepytime Gorilla Museum sound like Britney Spears. Apparently it is a concept album about the 'ducking' of women to detect if they were witches. Who knew?

Máire's verdict: Hmm, what to say about this album? Oh, I know: it's shite.

Day 234: Look up here, I'm in heaven...

Album 805/1031

Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)

All music composed by Black Sabbath (Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne). All lyrics written by Geezer Butler, except for "Fairies Wear Boots", written by Ozzy Osbourne. 

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"War Pigs"	7:57
2.	"Paranoid"	2:48
3.	"Planet Caravan"	4:32
4.	"Iron Man"	5:56

Side two
No.	Title	Length
5.	"Electric Funeral"	4:53
6.	"Hand of Doom"	7:08
7.	"Rat Salad" (Instrumental)	2:30
8.	"Fairies Wear Boots"	6:15

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoid_(album)

Golf's verdict: Features what I understand may well be Ozzy's only attempt at lyric-writing, "Fairies Wear Boots". Imagine what Black Sabbath may have turned out like if he'd held the pen for their career, rather than the more war and black magic focused Geezer Butler! Features three of their best and most well known tracks in 'Iron Man', 'Paranoid' and 'War Pigs', though I have now concluded that the latter has now been usurped by the superior cover version on Epic by Faith No More.

Máire's verdict: I have a soft spot for 'War Pigs', particularly the Dresden Dolls version. The rest of the album sounds exactly as you'd expect.

Album 806/1031

David Bowie - Blackstar (2016)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"★"	9:57
2.	"'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"	4:52
3.	"Lazarus"	6:22
4.	"Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" (Bowie, Maria Schneider, Paul Bateman, Bob Bharma)	4:40
5.	"Girl Loves Me"	4:51
6.	"Dollar Days"	4:44
7.	"I Can't Give Everything Away"	5:47

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstar_(album)

Golf's verdict: HIDDEN GEM! I confess I listened to this with trepidation. Though I sampled it when it was released last year, the shock of Bowie's death 2 days later and then the subsequent tsunami sized wave of classic hit after classic hit that dominated TV and radio for many weeks following, did relegate this album to an afterthought. Additionally, having had rather a Damascene moment of realisation during the month or so after his death (always a fan of some of his stuff, like Heroes, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes (first 7" single I ever bought), it was only upon exposure to some of the album tracks from his 70s albums that I really began to realise what an utter genius he was. But, whilst he was consistently great for a period longer than the life of most bands, he was not without his failures - and I did not want to listen to Blackstar and conclude that this - final - album, despite being lauded as a classic, was amongst them. It would not have been unusual, even forgivable in the circumstances. So I put it on whilst making dinner and was almost immediately put at ease. It's actually nothing like any of his other records, showing significant signs of inspiration from jazz and hip-hop, but it IS unquestionably all David Bowie and one of his best albums. I've now played it about 5 times and expect to have a long and happy relationship with Blackstar, just as I do with 'Ziggy Stardust', 'Low' and 'Station to Station'. 

Máire's verdict: I found this tough going today. May have to listen to it again in the future in order to re-assess.

Album 807/1031

Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Motherless Children"	Traditional (arrangement by Eric Clapton · Carl Radle)	4:55
2.	"Give Me Strength"	Eric Clapton	2:51
3.	"Willie and the Hand Jive"	Johnny Otis	3:31
4.	"Get Ready"	Eric Clapton · Yvonne Elliman	3:50
5.	"I Shot the Sheriff"	Bob Marley	4:30

461 Ocean Boulevard — Side 2[27]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I Can't Hold Out"	Elmore James	4:10
2.	"Please Be With Me"	Charles Scott Boyer	3:25
3.	"Let It Grow"	Eric Clapton	4:47
4.	"Steady Rollin' Man"	Robert Johnson	3:14
5.	"Mainline Florida"	George Terry	4:05

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/461_Ocean_Boulevard

Golf's verdict: Pleasant enough selection of blues standards and covers, plus the odd original by a master player. Not really attention grabbing though.

Máire's verdict: 'I Shot the Sheriff' is the stand-out track but the rest was perfectly pleasant. 

Album 808/1031

Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill (1991)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Pigs"	2:51
2.	"How I Could Just Kill a Man"	4:16
3.	"Hand on the Pump"	4:03
4.	"Hole in the Head"	3:33
5.	"Ultraviolet Dreams"	0:41
6.	"Light Another"	3:17
7.	"The Phuncky Feel One"	3:28
8.	"Break It Up"	1:07
9.	"Real Estate"	3:45
10.	"Stoned Is the Way of the Walk"	2:46
11.	"Psycobetabuckdown"	2:59
12.	"Something for the Blunted"	1:15
13.	"Latin Lingo"	3:58
14.	"The Funky Cypress Hill Shit"	4:01
15.	"Tres Equis"	1:54
16.	"Born to Get Busy"	3:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypress_Hill_(album)

Golf's verdict: I am not a huge fan of the weed-obsessed wing of hip-hop, but this was a pleasant enough listen. Not one I'll be racing back to though.

Máire's verdict: That was rather fun and more melodic than I was expecting.

Day 233: Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band...

Album 799/1031

ZZ Top - Eliminator (1983)

All songs written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Gimme All Your Lovin'"	3:59
2.	"Got Me Under Pressure"	4:00
3.	"Sharp Dressed Man"	4:13
4.	"I Need You Tonight"	6:14
5.	"I Got the Six"	2:52
6.	"Legs"	4:35
7.	"Thug"	4:17
8.	"TV Dinners"	3:50
9.	"Dirty Dog"	4:05
10.	"If I Could Only Flag Her Down"	3:40
11.	"Bad Girl"	3:16

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliminator_(album)

Golf's verdict: My Mum and Dad gave me this on cassette tape as a present when they came back from holiday one year. Not sure where they'd been. At the time I remember being blown away by how old they must be as my Dad had a book featuring them in their early '70s guise. Still going (reasonably) strong over 30 years later, but this is surely their opus, ably assisted by some crackingly memorable MTV videos as I seem to recall?

Máire's verdict: Good fun to listen to.


Album 800/1031

Soul II Soul - Club Classics Vol.1 (1989)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Keep on Movin'" (featuring Caron Wheeler)	Trevor Beresford Romeo	6:00
2.	"Fairplay" (featuring Rose Windross)	Romeo, Nellee Hooper, Rose Windross	5:55
3.	"Holdin' On"	Romeo, Simon Law	4:13
4.	"Feeling Free" (Live Rap)	Romeo	4:13
5.	"African Dance"	Romeo, Law	6:00
6.	"Dance"	Romeo, Law	3:40
7.	"Feel Free" (featuring Do'reen)	Romeo, Hooper	5:00
8.	"Happiness" (Dub)	Romeo, Hooper	5:30
9.	"Back to Life" (Accapella) (featuring Caron Wheeler)	Romeo	3:12
10.	"Jazzie's Groove"	Romeo, Hooper	3:12

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Classics_Vol._One#Track_listing

Golf's verdict: Thankful for Caron Wheeler who ably provides some cracking vocals on the two most familiar tracks. On the others we largely make do with Jazzie B, who may have been the production maestro, but lacks much of a singing voice. 

Máire's verdict: Didn't annoy me as much as I was expecting it to. In fact, I actually quite liked it but not enough to listen to again in a hurry.

Album 801/1031

Run DMC - Run DMC (1984)

Side A
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Sample(s)	Length
1.	"Hard Times"	Jimmy Bralower JB Moore Russell Simmons Larry Smith William Waring		3:52
2.	"Rock Box"	Darryl McDaniels Joseph Simmons Smith		5:30
3.	"Jam-Master Jay"	McDaniels Jason Mizell J.Simmons	"Scratchin'" by Magic Disco Machine	3:11
4.	"Hollis Crew (Krush-Groove 2)"	McDaniels Mizell J.Simmons R.Simmons		3:12
5.	"Sucker M.C.'s (Krush-Groove 1)"	Nathaniel S. Hardy, Jr. McDaniels J.Simmons Smith	"Live at the Disco Fever" by Lovebug Starski	3:09

Side B
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"It's Like That"	McDaniels J.Simmons Smith	4:50
2.	"Wake Up"	J.Simmons Smith R.Simmons Daniel Hayden	5:31
3.	"30 Days"	Daniel Simmons Smith Moore	5:47
4.	"Jay's Game"	J.Simmons Smith Mizell R.Simmons	4:25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run%E2%80%93D.M.C._(album)

Golf's verdict: HIDDEN GEM! Although history largely places the fusion of rock and rap breaking through on their next album, when they used Aerosmith's 'Walk This Way' to create one of the most influential tracks in pop music, this proves they were ahead of the pace even on this debut. 'Hard Times' and "Rock Box' are based around some great guitar riffs. 'It's Like That' was resurrected by Jason Nevins more or less unchanged about 15 years later and gave them another well deserved hit.

Máire's verdict: 'Hard Times' reminded me of Salt n Pepa's 'Push It' and then all I wanted to do was listen to that song. 'It's Like That' brought me back 😀.

Album 802/1031

Television - Marquee Moon (1977)

All songs were written by Tom Verlaine, except where noted.

Side one No. Title Length 1. "See No Evil" 3:56 2. "Venus" 3:48 3. "Friction" 4:43 4. "Marquee Moon" 9:58 Side two No. Title Length 1. "Elevation" 5:08 2. "Guiding Light" (written by Verlaine and Richard Lloyd) 5:36 3. "Prove It" 5:04 4. "Torn Curtain" 7:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquee_Moon

Golf's verdict: HIDDEN GEM! The duelling guitars of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd make for a unique sound that the band never bettered than on this 'bottled lightning' debut. The title track is a timeless guitar classic in every budding guitarist rite of passage.

Máire's verdict: Thoroughly enjoyable.

Album 803/1031

Dexy's Midnight Runners - Don't Stand Me Down (1985)

1. "The Occasional Flicker" (Kevin Rowland) – 5:49
2. "This Is What She's Like" (Billy Adams, Helen O'Hara, Rowland) – 12:23
3. "Knowledge of Beauty" (O'Hara, Rowland, Steve Wynne) – 7:01
4. "One of Those Things" (Rowland) – 6:01
5. "Reminisce Part Two" (Rowland) – 3:31
6. "Listen to This" (Adams, Rowland) – 3:19
7. "The Waltz" (Rowland, Torch) – 8:21

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Stand_Me_Down

Golf's verdict: HIDDEN GEM! The extreme of Máire's and I's musical taste. I consider Dexy's to be massively under-rated and a band forever, unfairly, tied to an association with dungarees and that song about Eileen*. Maire just hates them. This is their best album and it nearly killed them off completely, leading to nearly 20 years in the wilderness for Kevin Rowland. For me, this is what the band The Commitments in the film of the same name were striving to be. It is a matter of some confusion to me that even with something as near perfect as 'This Is What She's Like', my lovely wife: she still don't like it ;-)

Máire's verdict: This isn't quite as irritating as previous offerings ('Common On Eileen' could well be my most hated track) but I still don't like them. Very happy there are no more of their albums on the list.

* Golf: The actress who portrayed 'Eileen' in the video and record cover is Siobhan Fahey of Bananarama's sister, Máire Fahey. Not sure if Máire knows this...

Album 804/1031

Elton John - Madman on the Water (1971)

All music composed by Elton John, all lyrics written by Bernie Taupin.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tiny Dancer"	6:15
2.	"Levon"	5:22
3.	"Razor Face"	4:44
4.	"Madman Across the Water"	5:56

Side two
No.	Title	Length
5.	"Indian Sunset"	6:45
6.	"Holiday Inn"	4:17
7.	"Rotten Peaches"	4:56
8.	"All the Nasties"	5:08
9.	"Goodbye"	1:48

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_Across_the_Water

Golf's verdict: HIDDEN GEM! Starts with one of our favourite karaoke tunes and never lets up. First time for me, but I have added this to the 'must buy' list.

Maire's verdict: HIDDEN GEM! Well that cleared out the ears after the shite that is Dexy's. I love 'Tiny Dancer' and the rest of the album didn't disappoint.