The Top 20 Albums of 2010 #6 The Black Keys: Brothers

The Top 20 Albums of 2010

#6 The Black Keys: Brothers

Words by Dirk Calloway 

Preface: This is a series that has been written, by and large, daily since mid-April. So far we've served up around 900 page views of it to a willing audience who's been giving me great feedback. If you're keen to catch up on some reading and Youtube vids, check this handy-dandy link out.

 

Owning this record was not a New Year's Resolution, but when 2010 began, this was on the top of my "Must Own" list. When it finally arrived I was like a kid in a candy store. Not only did I buy the thing on its release date, but I bought a new pair of headphones to go with it. Listening to it with earbuds was not going to cut it! This album changed how I listen to music. I rock out Sennheiser's at work and at home now, with the purest bass I can afford pumping out at all hours of the day. The sound is crazy precise, which is exactly what you need to appreciate a new Black Keys album.

For those that missed it, their previous record Attack and Release was a ready-made classic. That was in no small part thanks to their collaboration with super-producer Danger Mouse who pumped up the sound of a duo into a full-fledged world-class rock outfit. It was their White Blood Cells, their Revolver, their The Bends. Hyphenated-hyperbole abounded! This set the stage for a powerful victory lap. But could they deliver their equivalent of an Elephant, or a Sgt Pepper or an Ok Computer? 3 Grammy Awards (+ 2 extra nominations) and around 500,000 sales in the USA alone... I would say that they've finally hit The Big Time. Hell, check out their music video for Next Girl below, the scrolling text sums it up: "this is not the official video for The Black Keys' Next Girl, this is an attempt by their record label to attract attention to the band using a ridiculous dinosaur puppet." To have that damn puppet lip synching whilst a bikini-clad woman writhes orgasmically in the background... instant classic.

A nice send-up of 'alternative culture' whilst taking the piss out of mainstream music videos, no? I love it. The song's not half bad either. Just as you're tiring of the riffs and hooks, they switch it up midway through to launch into some half-time swing, then when they bring back the things you were bored of a few seconds earlier you're desperate to hear some more. It's a neat way of keeping your ears interested, clinging on, and they repeat the technique often. No song here is "static." If it appears at first like the song is simmering, you're wrong, it's moments away from reaching boiling point. The aforementioned record label has apparently taken notice of this and have really gone to town with the marketing of Brothers. The next music video up today is for a song called Tighten Up. It won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and was also nominated for Best Rock Song. In the video, you think the duo will burst into song, but instead it's their kids who take over. Suddenly we're in a playground romance, complete with a desperate love triangle and a decent fight scene. Clearly The Black Keys are determined to mess with your expectations:

But let's get to the reason this album is so high up the list. Everlasting Light, which opens the proceedings with a rock-solid keyboard part, is probably my favourite song of the year. Its lyrics are heartfelt, gentle and - more importantly - sincere. I won't paste them here, because in the cold light of day they seem too innocent to be genuine.  The overdrive-laden delivery by vocalist Dan Auerbach brings an adult touch to them that sounds like he's making a vow to his family. Patrick Carney lays down such an unshakable groove that it lends me to think about words like 'stoic' and 'strong.' Hotdamn these two are great musicians. I personally listen to this song whenever I wish to behave like a more grown-up man, the quiet and reserved type who stands tall when tough times approach. It's a beautiful track and I have played it more often than any song from 2010. I've probably heard it about 200+ times now. I can sometimes listen to it several times in one hour without causing any irritation. Gorgeous track.

So, why is Brothers not higher up in the list then? For one thing, they cancelled their gig in Wellington because they felt tired. I understand they'd been touring for most of the year, but that decision caused a loss of good-will for me. In addition to that blow, I have found that - with some months since its release - Brothers has one too many forgettable tracks for my liking. That's not to say those tunes are bad, mind. They just don't hit me like a sledgehammer in the way the next five albums' songs do. Everlasting Light though, boy, that one hit me like a freight train. I just wish more of the album had connected with me on the same visceral level. Make no mistake though, this is a measured and assured piece of work by a great group who deserve their moment in the sun, even if it causes them to squint and itch because they're outside of their natural habitat.

Tune in tomorrow for a review of Canada's greatest export since Celine Dion, Bryan Adams and Alanis.

The Top 20 Albums of 2010 #7 Nas and Damian Marley: Distant Relatives

The Top 20 Albums of 2010

#7 Nas and Damian Marley: Distant Relatives

Words by Dirk Calloway

Preface: you're reading a - mostly - daily series on the best albums of 2010. Check out the archives for April and May (you'll see them up the top-right of this here page) for more!

You're looking at royalty here. One of the princes of Hip Hop and the King of Reggae's heir. To fuse them together in the same record though... would fireworks result? Or just a soft fizzle followed by the smell of stale gunpowder? Turns out... neither! If we're sticking with explosion metaphors, and why shouldn't we, let's just say this is a self-contained slow-burn that sustains itself over many months. But it starts with a BANG:

As We Enter is the name of that first shot across the bow (ok really need to ditch this "explosion" thing). Its music video is, um, not my favourite, but at least it gives you a legal way to listen to the song. A few of the lyrics are censored, including "guns" and "ganga" of all things. Ironic that a country that fiercely defends its right to bear arms would also demand that we protect youngsters ears from a word like "guns." Sigh. Anyway, the song itself is carried by a groovy keyboard riff and feels like the two guys are letting loose and passing lyrics to each other with excitement. By no means does it sound like a track from two massive stoners! It's energised, alive and also serves as a fantastic way for them to open their live act. Here's a shot taken at the gig in Wellington I went to where I saw them perform live, including Nas in an All-Blacks shirt:

The look on Damian Marley's face above says it all. This is not an album by 'composers,' nope, it's an album by performers. Each line is part of the act. It's not a conceptual act though, it's just a conciousness that they have the limelight and will make the most of it while they're in it. Whether they're on a soap-box demanding "every child deserves to learn" or the quietly pleading album closure Africa Must Wake Up, these two are determined to grab your ears for as long as you'll listen. I'll take lyrics like this over most other hip hop any day: 

The black oasis, ancient Africa, the sacred

Awaken the sleeping giant, science, art is your creation

I dreamed that we could visit old Kemet

your history is too complex and rigid for some Western critics

They want the whole subject diminished

Rest assured, if any of the lyrics sound trite, they're done with the best of intentions. Indeed, a workmate of mine took umbrage at a rhyme with "ganga" and "Willy Wonka" and his reaction is justified. I guess my feeling about most rap albums (if you could call Distant Relatives rap) is that they generally have about 20% of lyrics that I either feel make no sense, or are downright offensive, or are voiced by thoughtless individuals. If I can defend this record against his thoughts, I'd propose that Distant Relatives' strike-out rate is much better than 80-20, and when they do fail to deliver the goods they do so while trying hard. I appreciate hip hop that goes to some effort. 

Distant Relatives goes beyond 'effort' though - it's rap's version of The Lion King or Paul Simon's Graceland. Choirs sing over tribal rhythms, tuned percussion clunk where you'd normally hear a synthesiser, all while violins play over the top. And that's just the second song. Many of the tracks on this record take you to places you never thought you'd hear from Nas. He's always had savvy arrangements, but this is a massive step up for him from his more recent releases. The great thing about it all though, is they're able to improve upon the sound when they play live! They've toured this year with a top-knotch band who can seriously rock out, adding flourishes on top of existing beauty, as if to prove that the song's foundations are sound and able to withstand any amount of renovation professional musos can throw at them. These aren't "samples," instead they are legitimate music that has been thoughtfully arranged.

I'm gonna wrap this thing up here, because either you're keen to give the record a go, or you're really not. You can let your prejudice against genre influence that decision if you like. Or... you could check out a genuinely original piece of music from two artists that work within played-out and usually trite "brands" of music and are innovating in a way that is truly exciting. Your call!

Tomorrow, we will review another album. It is by another duo. They would appreciate my phrasing here, as they replicated it in their publicity and cover art.

The Top 20 Albums of 2010 #8 Weezer: Pinkerton - Deluxe Edition

The Top 20 Albums of 2010

#8 Weezer: Pinkerton - Deluxe Edition

Words by Dirk Calloway
 

Preface: this was meant to be a daily series. I failed in that around Easter and then got writer's block for this review. Hopefully I can get back on the horse again! Sorry y'all.

So, I was going to write a review about The Kings of Leon's album Come Around Sundown, but I realised that, at best, it's a nice album to listen to late at night. At worst, it's cringe-worthy and reminds me of U2. This is not a good thing. Enter Weezer, with a re-release of an album from 1996...

Today's review will focus on a record that's part of the 'Deluxe Edition series' of Universal's. It's a collection that's been growing for some time now. Usually, the label re-releases an album in its entirety, accompanied by B-sides and rarities on a second disc that's packaged along with it. Sometimes, if you're lucky, the album is remastered so it blasts out of your stereo like never before. Pinkerton's Deluxe Edition has had its volume juiced up to 11, and is stuffed to the gills with extras. Its packaging is something to hold and treasure; crisp, thick card encases a wonderful book and the two discs, with the cover art seemingly also benefiting from a 'remaster' too. Perhaps it's just a case of printing techniques improving, and the shock of seeing the cover without 14 years of fading. 

I've owned a copy of Pinkerton for a long time now. I remember being told about its underground resurgence while I was at school. A guy from my class said that his favourite band was Weezer, and I was greatly intrigued. At this point, they'd not released anything for 3 years. Rumour had it they'd split up but not bothered to announce it. My memory of the band included the riff of El Scorcho and the fantastic video for Buddy Holly I remember watching over and over when it got bundled in with Windows 95. But now it was 1999 and this cool dude in my class was adamant they were the best band in the world. He was first-hand proof of the Pinkerton phenomenon that resurrected Weezer. At some inexact point, it had begun selling thousands of units per week, all over the globe. Met with apathy on its first release, the tide had turned and kids everywhere were paying $30 for an album that was four years old. Record stores were perpetually ordering it in, because stock was flying off the shelves whenever it arrived again. A massive groundswell of belief in this album surged the band onwards to their 'Green' album a wee while later, and the rest is history. Pinkerton destroyed the band, but resurrected it too. It's as stranger rock 'n roll tale as anything I've ever heard.

So, 14 years on, the record is now widely regarded as a classic. Rolling Stone retrospectively changed its original review from a '3 star' rating to a '5 star' one. Emo culture was born, proclaiming Pinkerton as the inspiration for tortured and sexually repressed white rock music over the course of an entire generation. Nearly a million copies later, it's therefore fitting that it's finally got the release it deserves. And it sounds great now. 

As mentioned earlier, Pinkerton's been remastered. These days a 'remaster' can either be a godsend or a dirty word. Many remastered albums have been so thoroughly compressed that though they sound 'louder' they also blow out the dynamic range available between 'quiet' and 'loud.' We need that range to hear nuance in music, so many afficiandos will complain that a 'digital remaster' ruins the soul of an album. Thankfully though, this is not the case for Pinkerton!

The above image shows you a sound-wave comparison between a few split seconds of music: the remastered version is on top and the original version is beneath. To explain what you're looking at, the yellow bumps represent the sound of the record in visual form. The higher the bump, the more noise you hear. The red box indicates the gap between 'maximum volume' and 'actual volume.' This is all just a long way of saying "the remastered version is louder, but not in an aggressive way." There's still plenty of room for this record to breathe. It often sounds like they've just cranked the low-end up a bit, so the bass growls and the vocals have a bit of extra punch. None of this has changed the way the album has crunchy guitars aplenty and heavy-hitting drums from Patrick Wilson. It's the most sensitive remaster I've heard since The Beatles' 2009 releases, so you'll find your old copy will go unplayed from this point forwards.

The extra tracks included are quite varied. There's the sublime You Gave Your Love To Me Softly, and the even better I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams. The latter is a castaway from the abandoned concept album the band had been planning, called Songs From The Blackhole. If its quality is anything to go by, that record would have been a sure-fire classic. In my opinion, its inclusion on this release justified the entire purchase. The female vocalist adds a sincerity to Rivers' lyrics that is almost childlike, and it's a nice fit for the sing-songy melody he's concocted. To be sure, it sounds like something from later in the band's career than the Pinkerton-era it was recorded in, but it's a breath of fresh air into their back catalogue and I'm glad it has an official home now. I'd had a fairly dodgy copy of it for many years, and it's relieving to have it in perfect condition now. Check it out:

Nice huh? The rest of the collection is of similar levels of quality. Whether they realised it or not, this was a band who was at the peak of their powers, and Pinkerton Deluxe Edition makes sure their live concerts, demos, B-sides and others document this legendary act forever more.

So why is this not higher up in the list? Hell, it was the highest ranked album of 2010 according to Metacritic. Simply put, I'm gonna give newer releases a fair chance by stashing this album lower down. If I didn't, Pinkerton would have taken top-slot. It's a corker. Get it by any means necessary!

Tomorrow we're reviewing a weird clash between a ruler of the rap world and Rastafari royalty.