Alternative Classix Podcast

Album Review of the Week: Suede "Suede (Self-Titled Album)"

In 1992, the UK was stuck in a bit of musical wasteland with the end of Madchester and the drug-fueled dance scene. The United States was coming into its own with the rise of grunge and the world domination of Nirvana.

It was also the year that Suede’s first, self-titled album was released, marking the beginning of the Britpop/Cool Britannia movement and a new sound embraced by the British public and hipsters who wished for the death of grunge.

Suede’s first official single (a previous album was held back from release due to legal problems with their label) ,"The Drowners," provided an amazing calling card. It managed to clearly announce the band's interest in glam rock idols like David Bowie and T. Rex, their complete distain for grunge style and lyrics and even hinted at singer Brett Anderson's roots in Manchester (where he attended college for a hot second) by musically alluding to the style of the Stone Roses.

It took awhile to get to their first single to come to fruition in 1992. The band were together in other incarnations that included Anderson's then girlfriend Justine Frischman (who would go on to front Elastica and dump Anderson for Blur's Damon Albarn) and a fill-in drummer named Mike Joyce from a little band called The Smiths. It wasn't until Suede found Bernard Butler that they really discovered their sound. Once the line-up was finalized and their single released, the band was embraced by the frantic British music press and lauded to no end.

And that was all before their first album came out.

Happily, Suede lived up to all the promise and spawned glammed out singles like "Animal Nitrate", "Metal Mickey" and "So Young". Each seemingly bigger than the next and the overall forming what would become known as Britpop. In 1993, the band were asked to perform at the BRIT awards, but only at the last minute and after much campaigning and disparagement of the BRITs by the New Music Express. They ended up stealing the show in the eyes of music journos and the youth of Britain. The gentlemen would then go on to score a 1993 Mercury Prize for their much adored album and proceeded to absolutely not feud with Blur, no matter how hard they were egged on by the press.

Today, some blame the demise of Suede on Anderson's unsociableness. While Blur, Elastica, Menswe@r and the lot were cohering together into a British cause (and party scene), the members of Suede were nowhere to be seen. In a flurry of tempers and drug abuse, Anderson and Butler's relationship imploded and he left the band in the course of their second album.

Suede never truly recaptured the magic or timing of their first album. But they did make an album that, unlike the majority of Britpop output of the era, stands the test of time from front to back and is still a fantastic listen today.

Courtney

Album Review of the Week: Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love"

Kate Bush is arguably the most important solo female artist from England in the past 25 years and Hounds of Love is roundly viewed as her most popular and best album.

Released in 1985, Hounds of Love helped break Bush in America and provided her a rebound from disappointing reviews of 1982’s The Dreaming in the UK. The album - the first produced completely by Bush herself - is a masterpiece in the sense that it is both commercially viable and musically experimental. It is an album of two parts, the first half containing a series of singles, including the wildly successful "Running Up that Hill (A Deal With God)", "Cloudbusting" and the album's title track. The album's second half is a series of songs about a woman lost at sea and facing death. The album, quite ingeniously, ends abruptly and unexpectedly; conveying the idea of death’s arrival when it is least expected, but imminent.

Among the great artistic expressions to come from Hounds of Love were Bush’s music videos. She notoriously declined to tour in support of her albums, so from 1979 onward, the main way fans got to see her perform was through her videos. Bush made a small film for "Cloudbusting" featuring actor Donald Sutherland (the modern day equivalent would probably be Cate Blanchette), also attempting what she later told MTV was her first try at acting. The video (and song) are based on Daniel Reich's account of his father’s life, controversial psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich.

Bush also created memorable clips for "Running Up That Hill" (an impeccably choreographed male/female dance routine set to a stark background) and "Hounds of Love" (where a man and woman are handcuffed together in extreme circumstances as a literal interpretation of their love – and btw – it's got better cinematography than most movies of the time) as well as a less memorable clip for "The Big Sky."

Hounds of Love is one of Bush’s most focused and structured works. In a brilliant artistic move, she managed to create both a pop and concept album by splitting the difference and giving each side it's own theme. She also gave the masses accessible art that did not require dumbing down her lyrics or musical content.

Public response to Hounds, plus later acceptance for The Dreaming in America, provided her with greater support than that received from her record label, EMI, who put together a strong marketing push for the album.

Courtney

Album Review of the Week: Depeche Mode "Music For The Masses"

Where 1986's Black Celebration was their first step away from a more electronic sound to an industrial/rock hybrid, Depeche Mode's Music for the Masses is known as the album that established the modern sound of the band. Featuring classic songs like "Strangelove" and "Never Let Me Down Again", the album became a staple of the burgeoning alternative music radio genre in America at the time.

The album's release was also accompanied by Depeche Mode's largest American arena tour to date - including a Rose Bowl appearance that drew 90,000 fans - proving that they truly did make "music for the masses." Being able to pull together a large scale tour while still only charting at #50 in the United States (with the remixed version of "Strangelove '88") was a pretty gangster move, of the sort usually reserved for classic rock acts making a comeback. It sent a message to the music industry that radio alone was not an indicator of a band's viability.

In addition to the well known songs on Masses, there are some amazingly intimate tracks that make one feel as if lead singer David Gahan is whispering in your ear with every listen. The mid-album trio of "Little 15," "Behind the Wheel," and "I Want You Now" gives a slow, sensual lull that rolls into a final nod to their electronic roots on the album's final three tracks. Depeche Mode manages to touch on every aspect and incarnation of their sound on the album, ensuring it provides something for all fans.

After the release of Music for the Masses, "the Mode" would go on to make a live album and DVD called 101, documenting their masses tour. The DVD is mainly shown through the eyes of fans who were handpicked to tour with the band, but it also features interviews with Depeche Mode where they pose the rhetorical question: "is this the pinnacle of our careers?"

It was - of course - not, as the 1990 album Violator would go on to feature some of the band's biggest hits, including "Personal Jesus" and "Policy of Truth". Violator also became the largest selling album in their catalogue.

Courtney

Album Review of the Week: R.E.M "Fables of the Reconstruction"

Fables of the Reconstruction is admittedly a strange album to review, as it is openly known as the band's least favorite from their catalogue. As the years have passed, however, it’s become apparent to critics and fans alike that some of R.E.M.'s best songs come from this odd album.

R.E.M. quickly became the most notable band in the newly formed college rock and "jangle pop" genres of the mid-'80s, alongside other Southern bands like The dB's and Let's Active. In fact, Mitch Easter of Let's Active produced R.E.M’s first two albums. For Fables, however, R.E.M. deliberately chose to break the mold they'd set with their previous studio works and recorded in London with noted folk producer Joe Boyd who had previously produced and shaped the sound of multiple Nick Drake albums and would also helm 10,000 Maniacs’ The Wishing Chair, which was released the same year as Fables.

Boyd's dark folk influence can be felt most strongly on "Driver 8" and "Maps & Legends." Lyricist Michael Stipe has been quoted as saying that R.E.M.'s early songs lyrically had no meaning, but the theme of Southern fables and characters can be detected throughout the album. Even a casual listener can note what era of R.E.M. they're listening to by observing guitarist Peter Buck and in these early years, it is easy to hear the influence of straight forward chords influenced by The Cure.

Fables is perhaps R.E.M's most depressing and dark album, which is a reflection of the time they spent recording in London. One cannot help but think they were also inspired by the tenor of 1984's UK hit songs such as The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?" and Depeche Mode's "Everything Counts”

Courtney

Album Review of the Week: Echo and the Bunnymen "Ocean Rain"

Thanks to the featured placement of "The Killing Moon" in the recent ‘80s alternative-centric soundtracks for Donnie Darko and Grosse Point Blank, Echo and The Bunnymen’s Ocean Rain has experienced a revival.

My original introduction to Liverpool, England’s Echo & the Bunnymen was through "Bring On the Dancing Horses" on the Pretty In Pink soundtrack, but my introduction to Ocean Rain came much later courtesy of Pavement's cover of "The Killing Moon" on the Major Leagues EP. Stephen Malkmus does his best Ian McCulloch while mixing in lyrics from "The Yo-Yo Man" and "Thorn of Crowns." The quirkiness of Malkmus’ delivery aside, he and McCulloch aren't so different as lyricists.

Upon the release of Ocean Rain, the band - no doubt under the direction of noted boaster McCulloch - declared it the best album ever made and critics to this day agree it was at least the band's best work. Previous albums had highlighted an interplay between Will Sergeant's guitar and McCulloch's vocals that would become the template for the Morrissey/Marr relationship of The Smiths, but Ocean Rain plays down Sergeant's function and highlights lush orchestration from Adam Peters and new duties for drummer Pete DeFreitas on the glockenspeil and xylophone. The band dips into the dark (or as the press deemed it at the time, gothic) influences present in their previous albums, but are clearly influenced by Bath and Montmartre where much of the album was recorded.

By the time the Bunnymen recorded (in no less than three locations), released, promoted and toured in support of their fourth album in four years they had grown tired of each other and the road. They released "Bring on the Dancing Horses" in 1985, which was picked up for the Pretty In Pink soundtrack in 1986. But by then, McCulloch was releasing solo material. The band would take an extended break until 1987, when they released an eponymous album that would become their biggest U.S. hit.

The Rhino Records reissue of Ocean Rain includes b-sides and demos from the Life of Brian sessions (so named for Brian's Diner, where the band are said to have sopped up many hangovers with a full English brekkie). The sessions feature a cover of "All You Need Is Love" by that other famous band from Liverpool. The expanded CD also has live recordings from the A Crystal Day television feature on Channel 4.

The album's cover photo (pictured) was shot by Brian Griffin on the largest lake inside the man-made Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall that, interestingly enough, was once used by the British Royal Navy to store rum during WWII and in 2001 was transformed into an auditorium featuring live music.

Courtney