LISTENING POST

Recently I've been revisiting 'Swagger' by The Blue Aeroplanes. I saw the band on a few occasions around the time of the album's release in 1990. Onstage the band was some spectacle, with guitars, plenty of them too, riffing every which way, resident dance artist Wojtek Dmochowski (predating Bez) with arms flailing and Gerard Langley spouting his beat/surreal prose right there in the midst of it all, seemingly trying to keep that night's performance under some control, but, I feel, secretly revelling in the sweet musical chaos being created.
What about 'Swagger'? I did have my doubts at first as to what I'd make of it, this being the band's debut for a bigger label. There were a few other bands I liked making the leap from indie to major at this time (R.E.M., Rain Parade, The Triffids, The Long Ryders) and I'll admit to feeling a little possessive about losing them to the big boys. I feared the worst for the music, but 'Swagger' was just perfect, apt title too, a very confident effort. Produced by Gil Norton, the guitars still sounded big, but now easy to distinguish between and Gerard Langley, a tad higher in the mix also had some of his best writing so far. One only has to hear the opening track 'Jacket Hangs' for proof. Ah, 'Jacket Hangs', still sounding amazing even after all this time, '...pick a card, any card, wrong!...', and that cyclic guitar pattern, just wonderful! '...Pick 19th century twin-set pearls in a new clasp, brass neck, collar me, right! We need a suit, we press a suit, so collar me, Siamese cat drapes, roughneck honey...' Phew, where'd all that come from? Who cares, just surrender, the way he delivers 'roughneck honey', I just love that!
'World View Blue', 'Weightless', '...And Stones', 'Love Come Round' follow one after another, all subsequent live favourites, but then of course sounding wilder. Michael Stipe adds backing vocals to 'What It Is', but you'd have to press your ear firmly against the speakers to even hear him. Final highlight is 'Cat-Scan Hist'ry', all Eastern sounding, but intense with it. The menacing chant contained within '...burn land, drought land, animals sink, animals stand...', a prophecy perhaps? Looking around now, I think so. 'Swagger' remains more than I ever expected from The Blue Aeroplanes. Thank you (for the days)!



'Synesthesia' is an album unashamedly rooted in early 70s UK prog (though not the silly stuff) and crafted by the talents of Peel, Palmer, Tausig & Gould. An in-house supergroup for FdM? Firstly, I really like the colourful artwork for the album. It immediately put me in mind of images of the West Coast based Charlatans and also perhaps a little of the sleeves for the first Moby Grape and Group 1850 albums. I realise these observations are nods to the 60s, but isn't this 70s influenced album titled 'Synesthesia'? I'm obviously getting into the vibe straight away here, right? The concept is (thankfully) simple, just four ten minute pieces, which for someone generally wary of prog is most welcome. After a few plays the overwhelming impression I have is that this is indeed a group effort, with no-one overplaying. The steady and unfussy rhythm section solidly underpins the guitar and keyboards which are then free to exchange lines or mingle to reach whatever the music requires. These four jams are not aimless either, there's not enough time for any of that and I appreciate their conciseness. The opening 'Coral Correlation' features some neat guitar playing and the piece even resolves too. Uh-oh, have I spoken too soon? The beginning of 'Superpurplesunshine' has me a little worried right from the start, it's a bit fast/erratic and I'm beginning to recall nightmares of hearing ELP etc. Eventually things settle down and once the halfway point is reached, it becomes all quite dreamy, so I'm prepared to forget about what happened earlier, as long as it doesn't happen again. It doesn't. 'The Ochre Cobra' is quite uplifting, with more subtle guitar/keyboard interplay. There's no raging battle in the name of musical proficiency here, this is once more tastefully delivered. Less is more, and that's understood on 'Synesthesia'. It's my favourite piece, rather grand, groovy even! Guys, I salute you! The final track 'The Turquoise Shards Of Atlantis' has to be a title Jimi missed, surely? He must have had a rare day off. This piece has a lovely 'Wish You Were Here' feel to begin with and, is that a little wah-wah back there that I hear? You see, there had to be a hint of Hendrix about this track! 'Synesthesia' is prog I trust! A keeper.

Mellow Drunk's second album, 2003's 'Before & After Then' finally appeared on vinyl late last year, with a slightly rejigged track sequence and bolstered with extra tracks taken from contemporaneous EP's. Although titled 'Never Sleep At Night' when it initially appeared on the Ochre label, I think the band has always preferred 'Before & After Then' as the title. It's the one the band used on their own promo CD for the album back in 2003. Thanks to the Tip Top label once more for this expanded double set and its continued support for both Mellow Drunk and solo Leigh Gregory. 'Before & After Then' saw the arrival of Ricky Maymi on guitar, quite an asset, just check out his credits pre- and post -Mellow Drunk! Yup, Ricky is all over 'Before & After Then', adding spark to the faster songs and tasteful enhancements to the slower. Leigh's songwriting had developed fast too, since 2001's 'Always Be Drunk', so Ricky was definitely the right guy at the right time for these new songs. Listening again now, I'm still impressed with the writing, playing and arrangements on 'Before & After Then'. Ricky gets to cut loose on 'Never Sleep At Night' and the lengthy psych-tinged 'A Different Color On My Door', but he's also completely in tune with the needs of Leigh's trademark reflective ballads, enhancing the loneliness of 'Mellow Drunk', the shadow over 'Queen Of The Night' and foreboding of 'Very Strange Times'. However, it's on 'Dead Sea Fruit' where Leigh and Ricky compliment each other perfectly. This song is heartbreaking, one of Leigh's best, '...while others are renowned, their spoils assure their fame, in the history before you, I am the one without a name...' and '...suddenly life slips on by, the familiar seems so strange, and there's no mercy for eternity, when ghosts keep calling me...'. Haunting listening, but beautiful too. I hope this time around, more people hear this album, it's been hiding for far too long.

There's something about Kula Shaker. Right from the beginning, the name of the band, the Indian iconography and the psych era Beatles influences, particularly those of George, immediately grabbed my attention. I suppose I was an easy catch, well, you only have to read my file don't you? Shortly after the band became popular I realised that I'd seen them in the very early days, at a pub gig in Kingston (Surrey). I went along to support a band on the same bill that a friend of mine was in. My memory of that evening is becoming slightly hazy now, but I do recall taking enough notice of 'Kula Shaker' (although I believe they went under another name that night) to be able to remember a couple of faces later. I enjoyed their set , but it was another local gig, one of many I went to at the time and I thought no more about that particular evening until the early singles and debut album 'K' appeared and then, oh, I remember them...!
The recent 'Wormslayer' album is the band's eighth. Eighth! Blimey! Of course, I picked up a copy, why break the habit? The band continues to mature well. I like the 'folkiness' that's become a feature of songs on the last few Kula Shaker albums. It compliments the band's 'rip it up' moments that sometimes can be a little overbearing, so what of 'Wormslayer' then? Crispian has been keeping an eye on recent events. 'Charge Of The Light Brigade' and the title track hint at ongoing world conflicts. I like the idea of sending in a 'Light' Brigade, very poetical, and more appealing than the image of a 'Wormslayer', but I suppose, needs must. The inclusion of the sacred Rama Taraka Mantra ('Sri Rama, Jaya Rama...') in this latter song lends grace, as well as divine protection. 'Broke As Folk' is a lament for the cost of living. Beginning with a mid 70s Floyd feel, the song then evolves into a Doorsian groove. I hear Floyd again in 'The Winged Boy', a song that's part of a mini rock opera threading through a few of the songs on the album. Based on a story written by Crispian's grandmother, it's about a boy named Shawnie who after suffering persecution grows wings to escape the cruelty. Both 'Shawnie' and 'The Winged Boy' are pleas for his return now the hard times are over, while the lullaby, with a dash of Dylan, 'Day For Night' offers even further assurance. These songs are touching, but the story feels fragmented here, perhaps the whole song cycle will emerge eventually? 'Be Merciful' is the anthem on the album, nothing wrong with that, but it feels 'by numbers'. I can already picture the light show for the song when played live, but this is just a minor gripe. This album is very good, in particular the inspiring closing track, 'The Dust Beneath Our Feet', with lyrics taken from a prose piece by W.B. Yeats.
I'd not come across this work before, but a quick search informs me that the source of the lyrics is 'The Teller Of Tales', found in Yeats's collection of Irish folklore 'The Celtic Twilight'. 'The Teller Of Tales' is a tribute to Paddy Flynn, a man who kept the Irish oral tradition of storytelling alive and provided Yeats with several of the tales that he included in the book. According to Yeats, Flynn possessed...'a by then, rare, unspoiled imagination that seamlessly blended heaven, hell, and the spirit world into everyday life'. 'The Celtic Twilight' is now on my 'to read' list...
The following lines from 'The Dust Beneath Our Feet' quote directly from 'The Teller Of Tales', '...Let us go forth, the tellers of tales, and seize whatever prey the heart longs for, and have no fear. Everything exists, everything is true, and the earth is only a little dust under our feet...'. These lines really chimed with me. When Crispian sings his own '...Everything exists, everything is true, everything is real and waiting for you...', they become a mantra. There should be a place for imagination in our lives. It's eternal, not temporal ('...the earth is only a little dust...'). The lines emphasise further to me the need for literature, music, art and film too. Despite the title of the album and it's not one of their better ones, 'Wormslayer' has proved itself a rewarding listen. There's something about Kula Shaker.