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Nitzer Ebb is a band I discovered listening to Depeche Mode. They released this album on Mute in 1987 and opened for Depeche Mode in 1988 during the European leg of their "Music For The Masses" tour. They weren't able to open on the US leg from what I hear, but I was aware of them because of this. But it wasn't until much later that I actually bought some of their material. Lead singer, Douglas McCarthy, performed on Recoil's second album and that's where I actually heard him for the first time. I then picked up some of their records because Alan Wilder was producing their stuff. Depeche Mode are well known for embracing the industrial element of German electronic music. They were able to create a melodic sound incorporating this often heavy electronica. Nitzer Ebb goes a completely different direction. They don't develop melodies. The electronic beats are heavy and McCarthy delivers his vocals as a shouting chant. His raspy vocals certainly compliment the industrial sound of the music, but it also serves to make the songs sound incredibly similar. The repetition of the musical motifs make each track a drone with very little variation or progression. Still, they are enjoyable enough that I keep going back for more.
There's re-occurring themes in the music. This album continually pushes themes of physical strength, youth, bodily pleasure and hard work. There's a militant look and feel to the album; another reason Nitzer Ebb are considered industrial. The first track hits like a brick. The simple arrangement frames the shouted vocals describing a very physical coupling between two people. He doesn't specify gender in any way, just the drive to mate and how overpowering it is. Very intense. 'Violent Playground' picks up where 'Fitness To Purpose' leaves off; with a frenzied beat and a sinister invitation to join them on their "violent playground" where everyone plays for power. 'Murderous' asks the question, "where is the youth?" and then kicks a funky beat while we ponder the question. 'Smear Body' is another track in the same vein. It's got a fairly aggressive drum beat with some shouted lyrics over minimal instrumentation. 'Join In The Chant' is the first song that starts off with the instrumentation playing before the beat kicks in and pummels you. Here's another song that equates muscle with machine. Can you say, "Arbeit macht frei?" 'Alarm' starts off sounding like a rousing game of laser tag. McCarthy really gives this one a shouting treatment by literally screaming the lyric. The punching laser sounds are backed with percussion sounding similar to an assembly line in a factory with bells ringing and drills screwing things in. 'Let Your Body Learn' is the closest track to something you would consider a traditional pop song. It has a definite chorus with verses. This is one of the best tracks on the album. 'Let Beauty Loose' starts off with a heavy synth line that reminds me of Juno Reactor. It follows the standard make-up of Nitzer Ebb material on the album thus far. 'Into The Large Air' features the most lyrics of all the tracks. McCarthy really branches out from his usual shouted repetitious delivery to an almost rap-like hollering. This track ends the track list for the record.
The last three tracks are made up of two mixes and an instrumental version. The first is 'Join In The Chant (Metal Mix)'. It features heavy industrial clanging like hammers hitting steel. It's an almost literal description of the sound engineered for the mix. Instead of the screaming guitars you would associate with the word "metal" you get the EinstΓΌrzende Neubauten aggressiveness through unusual percussion sounds. 'Fitness To Purpose (Mix Two)' uses some live drum sampling to round out the rhythm on this mix and they minimize the synth sounds by using softer less harsh sounding sound patches. Personally, I quite like this mix and in ways find it superior to the original version. 'Murderous (Instrumental)' is just that... The instrumental backing track of the song without McCarthy's vocals.
Nitzer Ebb were in many ways, the anti-heroes to the sound Depeche Mode were creating at the time. The downside is the lack of poetry in the lyrics and the philosophical, more complex themes explored in the subject matter of their songs. They would later develop more in this area but for the start, their music was aggressive and easy to dance to. They were an alternative to the light fluffy pop of the 80's. My final word: HIGH ENERGY INDUSTRIAL DANCE ALBUM.
NITZER EBB - THAT TOTAL AGE
01. Fitness To Purpose
02. Violent Playground
03. Murderous
04. Smear Body
05. Join In The Chant
06. Alarm
07. Let Your Body Learn
08. Let Beauty Loose
09. Into The Large Air
10. Join In The Chant (Metal Mix)
11. Fitness To Purpose (Mix Two)
12. Murderous (Instrumental)
My reason for buying this little item is fairly obvious if you know your Prince history. Deborah Allen is a country singer who never really topped the charts. She developed enough of a following to garner a string of albums in 80's and she had some success as a songwriter. Janie Fricke, LeAnn Rimes, Tanya Tucker and Patty Loveless are some of the artists that have recorded her songs. Personally, I consider her a minor musical figure at best. Although she's been able to capitalize on the success she's had, Allen's never been what I would call a musical genius. I find the majority of her work mediocre. I actually feel kinda sorry for this review because I like her as a person. She seems nice. But if I'm to be honest in my critique I can't pull my punches just because she's a nice lady.
This disc usually sells on Ebay or Amazon anywhere from $26 to $60 dollars. I'm sure there's a few reasons for the demand for this record. First, most of Allen's earlier material never surfaced on compact disc. She had releases on Cassette and Vinyl, but when the change to compact disc occurred, Allen's material wasn't re-released. In addition, her 1987 album "Telepathy" didn't rate a compact disc version even though that year was the first year CD became the standard format. For many Allen fans, this is a chance to have a digital copy of so many of her songs. The other reason I suspect this album commands such a high price is the inclusion of 'Telepathy'. Although the version released here is an edit of the full length album version, it's the only place you can find the track in any form on CD. Most of the competition I've seen for this CD happens between Prince fans rather than Allen fans.
The disc starts off with three tracks recut by Allen as a duet between herself and the late Jim Reeves. The songs are ok. The most interesting aspect of the tracks is that they are more in the vein of 1960's popular music, but they sound right at home with popular country at the time. It seems country is becoming more and more like rock and roll as time goes by.
Even though she has good ideas now and again, the majority of Allen's material is run of the mill. There's not a lot going on here that isn't happening on 50 kazillion other songs. I used to have a friend who wanted to be a famous song writer. He recorded a couple of CDs and used to talk about how interesting he thought he was as a lyricist. He would go on and on about his ideas and yet none of it was anything I hadn't heard a million times before. I couldn't point it out to him because he just didn't want to hear it. He was totally convinced of his own genius. Sadly, I think that's what's happening with Allen. She doesn't develop unique ideas or offer anything music lovers haven't heard a thousand times before. 'Telepathy' is the one exception on this record and is easily the stand out track.
If you're a casual country music fan, you can certainly find better songs. And better singers. Allen has a strong voice, and there is a lilting quality to her sound, but her delivery is always so technical and attempting to deliver a flawless performance that you don't get a great deal of soul or emotion. In my opinion, she doesn't have the chops to handle the leading spot. Of course I've never seen her perform live. It makes it hard to judge her true quality. In the end, however pricey this disc is, it's true value is best determined by Prince fans rather than country music or Allen fans. You're not going to find this disc circulating at an affordable price and it's hardly worth the effort unless you're specifically looking for the material on it. My final words: TREAT IT LIKE VINYL AND SKIP IT.
DEBORAH ALLEN - ANTHOLOGY
01. Don't Let Me Cross Over
02. Oh, How I Miss You Tonight
03. Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me
04. Nobody's Fool
05. You (Make Me Wonder Why)
06. You Look Like The One I Love
07. After Tonight
08. Baby I Lied
09. I've Been Wrong Before
10. I Hurt For You
11. Heartache And A Half
12. Let Me Be The First
13. I Can't Stand It
14. Rockin' Little Christmas
15. Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby
16. Telepathy
17. Undeniable
18. Rock Me (In The Cradle Of Love)
19. If You're Not Gonna Love Me
20. Break These Chains
21. Cheat The Night
This amazing album is a 2 disc set surprisingly... That will make sense as I get more into the review. Essentially, this disc is two separate albums though only the second really fits in with the artwork and album concept. The first disc is an odd collection of songs that range from the mundane to brilliant; from highly personal to highly perceptive. 'King Of The Mountain' starts the album off on a rather sombre note. The song seems to target Elvis Presley and the pursuit of happiness. She wonders if fame and fortune really brought him happiness in life.
"why does a multi-millionaire,
fill up his home with priceless junk?"
She then points out the wind is whistling through the house implying that even though it's full of stuff, it's empty and lonely. She then wonders if Elvis were alive, would he be out there happy having shed all the crap he accumulated in life. 'Pi' is an interesting if not unusual track about a man who's primary obsession is the calculation of Pi. Once again, Bush takes an unusual subject and gives it breath in this musical portrait. 'Bertie' sounds like an old English piece and one can tell the instruments used are period pieces. This track is Bush's ode to her son. 'Mrs. Bartolozzi' is a song about a cleaning woman. I realize there's probably more to this song then I give it credit for. Bush uses people and situations as metaphors, but truthfully, I'm not drawn to the track. It's probably my least favorite on this disc. The next song, 'How To Be Invisible' is a song that would do better on the second disc. However, even though it has an interesting idea and starts to develop in the first verse, it never really pays off. The music is compelling enough to keep listening, but you get the sense she wasn't sure where to take the tune once she started writing it. As a songwriter myself I can tell you this happens quite often. You start writing something that sounds amazing and then you don't know how to finish it. 'Joanni' is a song about Joan of Arc. It's interesting but once again, it's not moving you in any certain direction. 'The Coral Room' seems to deal primarily with Bush's mother. This is a lovely number.
The overall impression I have of the first disc is not really negative, but not exactly positive either. The songs have little or nothing to do with each other and seem highly self indulgent. But when you consider the strength of the second disc... This disc is certainly a wonderful addition, but should have been the second disc rather than the first. Now let's talk about the second disc...
The cover is a golden sunset photograph showing a sky and the ocean below. There appears to be islands running along the horizon, reflecting in the water, but in actuality, the image is a waveform of birdsong. The word "Aerial" is defined as "of, relating to, or occurring in the atmosphere; existing or growing in the air rather than the ground or water; fanciful, ethereal". Whether you take this as a literal definition or a metaphorical one, Bush delivers. The songs on this disc feature birdsong. 'Prelude' begins with birdsong and Bush's son telling his parents, "the sky is full of birds and it sounds like they're saying words." From this moment on, the music is interwoven with sky themes. She draws us a beautiful picture of a 24 hour period where we experience the heavens and the splendor of nature. 'Prologue' sets the stage with Bush confiding the morning light has lost its way from Italy and has found her creating a feeling of magic. She senses the day will bring many wonderful things and as the lovely afternoon approaches, she invites us to visit the song of the oil and the brush. This "song" called 'The Architect's Dream' is a painter who is attempting to capture the changing light. He continues the theme of Aerial by drawing inspiration from the air around him. He captures a non-corporeal spirit lingering around him and creates a masterpiece. My favorite line from this song is where Bush says,
"that bit there
it was an accident
he's so pleased
it was the best mistake
he could make
and it's my favorite piece
it's just great"
She describes his style as full bodied. His brush strokes begin in his hand and flow down through his whole body. She likens his movements as making love. She describes his lines and strokes as an "Architect's dream". We finally learn he's painting on the pavement and a sudden afternoon rain storm begins to wash his painting away. 'The Painter's Link' describes this event by saying all the colors run. They become the sunset. 'Sunset' picks up there and describes the afternoon shower fading away to reveal a colorful sunset. Again, you get descriptions of birds and the colors of the evening sky. It starts as a gold and becomes red before finally becoming the deep blue of evening. The song takes an odd twist about halfway through and becomes a Flamenco tune. Throughout she describes the black bird singing his song of color as the sun sets. 'Aerial Tal' features this bird song with Kate vocalizing along with it. Interspersed throughout is the sound of her son laughing.
'Somewhere In Between' begins the triumphant culmination of this disc. She sets the stage in the half light of early evening. The sun is gone, but there's still enough light to see shadows play. She's walking along with her lover experiencing this majestic time. You get the feeling, she's deeply moved by nature and the incredible moment she's found herself in. The story continues as the night deepens with 'Nocturn'. She and her lover go to the ocean and swim in the water. She describes the stars as diamonds reflecting in the water. She experiences a physical escape from life in the act of swimming in the sea that looks like the night sky and compares it to the escapism of dreamers all around who are sleeping. Dreamers who touch the Aerial and find inspiration in their airy dreams. The build is magnificent. At first, the song is quiet and peaceful. But as the night moves into morning, there's a building crescendo. The light starts to change again climbing in the sky. Suddenly, the sun bursts over the horizon and the song explodes, like white light. 'Aerial' moves back into a peaceful sound. The delicate and soft explosion of morning. But there's an urgency to it as well. Kate is ready to get up and move into the day. Once again, the sound of birdsong fills the sky, along with laughter. Mother and child. You're left to wonder if maybe 'Nocturn' was just a dream. If you have the disc on repeat, it simply moves right back into the first track and you start the new day over.
She covers so many themes on this disc and they all deal with different aspects of the term "Aerial". She describes the basic movement of the heavens with the transition from night to day. She also covers the spiritual aspect of inspiration and dreams coming from thin air. She sings about those things associated with the sky, like stars, clouds, birds... She discusses the power of nature as it plays out in the sky. This is one of the most creative and singular pieces of conceptual music I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. I enjoy it thoroughly. It's almost impossible to believe these two discs were created by the same person. Much less that they have this album in common. They are as different as light and dark. As happy as I am to have the songs on the first disc, they don't begin to equal what Bush has created on the second. Each line seems to be meticulously planned to fit together in this complex tapestry. It is without a doubt, singularly brilliant. I can't praise it enough. My final words: CONFLICTED; STUNNINGLY BRILLIANT!
KATE BUSH - AERIAL
A SEA OF HONEY
01. King Of The Mountain
02. Pi
03. Bertie
04. Mrs. Bartolozzi
05. How To Be Invisible
06. Joanni
07. A Coral Room
A SKY OF HONEY
01. Prelude
02. Prologue
03. An Architect's Dream
04. The Painter's Link
05. Sunset
06. Aerial Tal
07. Somewhere In Between
08. Nocturn
09. Aerial
I had an old cassette of their first album, "All Over The Place". I loved it. Especially 'Hero Takes A Fall'. So I was well aware of the Bangles before Prince donated their first top 40 hit, 'Manic Monday'. This is an example of how finely tuned my ear was for Prince compositions. I knew nothing about this song, but the first time I heard it, I knew it was one of his. I was telling people it was his before I had any confirmation or read the credits on the album. Of course, that's not the only reason I bought the record.
One thing the Bangles did well was arrange the opening track. 'Manic Monday' is obviously written by Prince, but doesn't have his trademark sound. The Linn Drum machine is absent and the heavy synth melodies are more light and subdued on the Bangles arrangement. All of the singles from this record feature Susanna Hoffs on lead vocals. However, on the rest of the album, the band spreads lead vocal contributions between the entire group. Vicki takes lead vocal for the second track, 'In A Different Light'. It's an ok song and I quite like it. It's not the most complicated track, but it is the title track. It's followed by 'Walking Down Your Street' with Susanna Hoffs on vocals. This was another top 40 hit for the band and it sounds more like something from their first record.
The 4th track, 'Walk Like An Egyptian' with Hoffs once again manning the reigns as lead vocalist, was the band's first #1 hit and their largest chart topper to date. This one landed them all over MTV. 'Standing In The Hallway' features lead vocals by Debbi. She also takes lead on the final track, 'Not Like You'. Vicki sings lead on 'Return Post' and 'Angels Don't Fall In Love'. Michael sings lead on 'September Gurls' and 'Following'. The entire band shares vocals on 'Let It Go'.
I don't feel like going into detail about the individual songs. Instead, I'll focus on the songs I really like. 'Return Post' is an interesting song. I think they picked the best songs for singles. I'm not a huge fan of 'Walk Like An Egyptian', but it's a decent track. My favorite number on the record is actually 'Following'. Unlike other bands Prince has donated music to, the Bangles have strong material, solid background in performance and his song isn't the only good one on the record. As great as 'Manic Monday' is, 'Following' is a truly sincere and bizarre number. It focuses on a high school crush a few years after graduation. It's about dealing with those first feelings of love that you never really satisfy. More than any other song on this record, I can relate to this one. And it is powerful.
Because she is featured on the singles released by the band, Susanna Hoffs got more media attention than any of the other members and she became the center of attention. It wasn't intentional, but it did cause some friction in the group. She has the most interesting voice of the band members, but never seemed to want the limelight. She eventually released a solo record, but returned to the group and has been a stalwart member ever since.
I guess my interest in the band peeked with this record as I never purchased any more of their material. Although they record solid music, I've find it somewhat choppy. In my opinion, the band members each pull the group in different directions on different songs. I would normally find this interesting, but the lack of a common thread makes listening to the Bangles kinda like listening to Fleetwood Mac. There's the Lindsey Buckingham songs, the Stevie Nicks songs and the Christine McVie tracks. Every once in awhile you get a number that seems to be a group effort but for the most part, you're jostling between one of the three singers and their style. The Bangles are very similar. You can't fault them as each of the women are talented vocalists, but that all over feeling can be difficult to get into. Especially when there's a visual presence like Susanna Hoffs. In the end, I think this is a solid record with great tunes. It's definitely one of the most important records of the 80's. Not just because it helped solidify women as strong capable musicians and songwriters, but because much of the music featured so heavily in the everyday lives of so many young people. My final words: AN 80'S CLASSIC!
BANGLES - DIFFERENT LIGHT
01. Manic Monday
02. In A Different Light
03. Walking Down Your Street
04. Walk Like An Egyptian
05. Standing In The Hallway
06. Return Post
07. If She Knew What She Wants
08. Let It Go
09. September Gurls
10. Angels Don't Fall In Love
11. Following
12. Not Like You
This delightful mix was released during Prince's transition from Prince to the d symbol. He received an award of merit at the American Music awards and he performed a medley of as yet unreleased songs from "The Gold Experience". As part of the performance and prior to his appearance, dancers performed to this new purple medley. A video for the medley was later shown on television during the "Love 4 1another" special. The interesting thing about this medley is that although it incorporates samples of his older material the majority of the music seems to be newly recorded. Prince had discussed re-recording his older albums, updating them and selling them to his fans directly since Warner Bros. owned the masters to these recordings. This medley makes me think he had actually started the process. But some of the tunes he'd re-recorded for this record were fairly recent. Like a couple years prior; which makes me also wonder if it was just done for this medley.
The songs played over the course of the 11 minute medley are as follows: 'Batdance', 'When Doves Cry', 'Kiss', 'Erotic City', 'Darling Nikki', '1999', 'Baby I'm A Star', 'Diamonds And Pearls', 'Purple Rain', 'Let's Go Crazy', 'Sexy Dancer', 'Let's Work', 'Irresistible Bitch', 'Sexy M.F.', 'I Wanna Be Your Lover', 'Alphabet St.', 'Thieves In The Temple', 'A Love Bizarre', 'If I Was Your Girlfriend', 'Raspberry Beret', 'Little Red Corvette', 'Cream', 'Peach' and then a coda of jamming with crowd noises for about a minute... The jam sounds like something the New Power Generation was doing at the time.
The 'Edit' of the medley clocks in just over 3 minutes and basically is the same as the full length version, it just ends right after 'Let's Go Crazy'. 'Kirk J's B Sides Remix' is the final track and includes the following songs: 'Pop Life', 'Housequake', 'When Doves Cry', 'Head', 'Shockadelica'. 'Tell Me How U Wanna B Done'. Unlike the 'Purple Medley', this track seems to be made of new music with the original vocal tracks. Kirk Johnson was given free reign to sample the vocal tracks and produced some great, more hip hop inspired beats for the songs he used. Oddly enough considering the title of the track, only two of the songs used were b-sides of the singles they were attached to and only one was a non-album b-side.
In the end, despite poor sales I think Prince made a smart move in releasing this record. Professionally, it helped him put Prince to bed by creating a tribute of sorts and it also satisfied his fan base by releasing a medley his fans would've bootlegged and discussed on end privately. He would do well to continue to release these things as they happened. My final words: AN EXCITING MEDLEY OF GREAT HITS!
PRINCE - PURPLE MEDLEY
01. Purple Medley
02. Purple Medley (Edit)
03. Kirk J's B Sides Remix
