Bill Nelson Chimera

Bill Nelson Chimera

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Originally planned as a mere stopgap release between albums, Chimera turned out to be a welcome showcase for Bill Nelson at his peak, commercially and creatively. Following the triumph of his 1982 album The Love That Whirls, the British guitarist built Chimera in the same vein, setting his romantic and erotic poetry to the sort of synthesized settings favored by his younger pop peers. However, where much of Nelson's previous output had been a virtual one-man show, the six songs that form the original album benefit from his new desire to collaborate, most notably with Yellow Magic Orchestra drummer Yukihiro Takahashi (whose band Nelson had produced). The result is the elegant dance music of "Everyday Feels Like a New Drug" and "Glow World"; the latter song also features the rubbery fretless bass of Japan's Mick Karn and is perhaps the best of all the attempts at this sort of oriental funk made by Karn's bandmates, Gary Numan, and several other artists. The guests don't seem to have sparked Nelson's desire to return to his Red Noise, guitar-hero days (although he does crank out some jagged, Robert Fripp-style leads in "The Real Adventure"), but the focus here was on balancing Nelson's instrumental and theoretical fights of fancy with the demands of modern pop, a job performed with aplomb. [Some reissues add two songs apiece from the previous albums Quit Dreaming and Get on the Beam and The Love That Whirls.]

Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart Without Judgement

Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart Without Judgement

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Following his split from P.I.L. in the early '80s, bassist Jah Wobble was more likely to be found sweeping tubeway stations than performing on stages, and by the middle of the decade, his musical output had all but ground to a halt. It was not until 1986, when Wobble met guitarist Justin Adams, that his creative juices began flowing again. The two hit it off musically, and began experimenting with a diverse palette of pop, dub, Middle Eastern, and North African influences. This laid the foundation for what would eventually become their new group, Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart. Keyboard/percussionist David Harrow and Urban Dance Squad drummer Michel Schoots joined soon after, and the quartet began earnestly working on new material. By 1987, the band had worked out a polished live set and decided it was time to take the show to the Netherlands (where Wobble still had an avid following), do a tour, and record. The result was JWIOTH's debut album Without Judgement. Pieced together from live, two-track DAT recordings made during performances in Holland, the album managed to sound relaxed, free, and spontaneous while maintaining an air of calculation and precision. Unlike most live albums, the fact that Without Judgement was, indeed, recorded live was not immediately apparent. The only crowd noise present occurred during the fade-out of the last track and the album itself was edited together in such a way that full songs found themselves placed among snippets of instrumental interlude and sound atmospherics. This unconventional approach may have seemed like a recipe for disaster, but in the talented hands of editor Step Parikian, the flow between musical ideas was tasteful, seamless, and, above all, interesting. All of the influences that would later define Jah Wobble's style could be found on Without Judgement, in their raw forms. Wobble's characteristically simple, catchy, and repetitive bass-hooks were just coming into maturity, and served as the main driving force throughout the album. Typified by tunes like the menacing-but-groovy "What the Problem Is" and the Bowie-esque "What Will You Say," Jah Wobble's bass mantras proved to be as creative as they were insistent. His songwriting was also maturing and subject matter ran the gamut from the spiritual ("Good Ghosts") to the satirical ("Burger Bar"). The North African and Middle Eastern influences (which permeated all of Wobble's later work) could be found peppered throughout Without Judgement, and were most apparent in Justin Adams' psycho-arabic guitar solos and David Harrow's ethnic-tinged samples. With all of these fresh elements, raw guts, and polished execution, Without Judgement still shines as the toughest album Jah Wobble has made under his own name. Fans of his later, more ambient work (mid-'90s and beyond) may find this record's aggressiveness alarming; but longtime fans will agree, although not representational of Jah Wobble's entire body of work, Without Judgement is absolutely essential.

Mudhoney Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Mudhoney Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

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In mid-1991, grunge was poised to make its entrance into the spotlight of global popular culture as Nirvana's Nevermind was being readied for release. But Mudhoney didn't know that as they began work on their second album, and they were starting to tire of the monolithic hard rock/metal side of their sound. Taking a detour back into the garage rock and early punk influences that meant as much to them as Blue Cheer, they booked time in Conrad Uno's cozy eight-track recording facility Egg Studio, and soon emerged with Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, a proudly stripped-down and wiry effort that appeared two months before Nevermind. If 1989's Mudhoney seemed a bit short of inspiration as the band figured out where to go after the Superfuzz Bigmuff EP, EGBDF was leaner, meaner, and a great deal more enthusiastic, and "Let It Slide," "Into the Drink," and "Who You Drivin' Now" took the noisy report of "Touch Me, I'm Sick" and gave it a good bit more snarl and rattle, which worked strongly in their favor. EGBDF also sounded like Mudhoney were having more fun than on their first long-player; the lo-fi organ accents fit this music just right, Mark Arm's vocal howlings are gleeful snottiness personified, Steve Turner's gloriously dirty guitar solos were paeans of scuzziness from deep inside the soul, and Matt Lukin and Dan Peters were the perfect rhythm section for this music. The songwriting was also considerably stronger than on their previous LP, and just as the rockers at once stomped harder and seemed lighter on their feet, slower tunes like "Broken Hands" and "Check Out Time" dug deeper into their bluesy side and revealed how strong their ominous alter ego could be. Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge was Mudhoney's declaration that they didn't need grunge to survive, and if their timing proved to be a bit off, their musical instincts were faultless, and it's one of their very best albums.

The Psychedelic Furs Talk Talk Talk

The Psychedelic Furs Talk Talk Talk

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This time working solely with Steve Lillywhite, the Furs introduce a brighter, poppier side to their underground rock edge, with smashing results throughout. The group produces some powerful songs, even more rough-edged than before. Especially striking is "Dumb Waiters," with its queasy, slow-paced arrangement that allows both Kilburn's sax and Ashton's guitar to go wild. However, the six still create some undeniable pop classics. Most well-known is the lead track, "Pretty in Pink," inspiration for the iconic John Hughes film years later and re-recorded as a result. The original is still where to go, though, with Butler's catchy description of a romantically unsure woman matched by a killer band performance. Similarly lighter numbers on the record call to mind a rockier version of Roxy Music's output in later years: elegant, romantic angst given a slightly rougher edge in both music and vocals. "She Is Mine" is especially fine as a gently swinging number with some of Butler's best, quietly ruminative lyrics. Straight-up anthems abound as well, the best being the amazing "Into You Like a Train," which mixes the blunt desire of the title with a sparkling Ashton guitar line and a fast rhythm punch. Talk Talk Talk ends on another high with "All of This and Nothing." A soft, acoustic guitar-sax-rhythm combination introduces the song, then fades away for the main section to begin; Butler details bits and pieces from a lost relationship over a sharp full-band performance, and a final drum smash leads into a reprise of the start -- a fine way to end a fine record.

Cinerama This Is Cinerama

Cinerama This Is Cinerama

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Conveniently and thoroughly, the compilation wraps up the band's first four singles (which thankfully includes both sides of the vinyl-only Pacific single), adding a kitschy Valvola remix of "Ears." Anyone wild enough about Cinerama to have bought the singles can tell you that the B-sides are just as good as the album material, and the two singles that were released between Va Va Voom and Disco Volante and not included on either are equally splendid. "Crusoe," from the band's first single, is one of David Gedge's finest ruminations on romantic frustration. An elegant-as-ever, strings-at-just-the-right-moment heart stopper, Gedge punches in with his umpteenth quotable: "You can't get a phone call like that and not tell me/You can't lay with him in a bed and not smell me." The best moments arrive courtesy of the three-song Manhattan single, which showcase the band's surprising range. "Manhattan" is a mid-tempo ode to near-adultery, and "Film" shows off their more aggressive side, without losing melodic sense. But, what makes This Is Cinerama truly worthy of your ownership is a drop-dead impressive rendition of the Smiths' "London." Rather than do a straight-up take, the storming original is slowed down to a languid pulse (the length is doubled), with Gedge and Sally Murrell doubling up on vocals. Indie and chamber pop aren't known for slinkiness, but the standard is nonetheless set here. Though collections of singles and extras regularly cater to diehards, This Is Cinerama should impress the merely interested, and it's just as value-packed as Va Va Voom.

Crowded House Woodface

Crowded House Woodface 

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Though less commercially successful than their eponymous debut, Crowded House’s second LP, 1988’s Temple Of Low Men, nonetheless went gold in the US and made a big splash in Oceania, where it topped the Australian chart and peaked at No.2 in New Zealand. Post-release, the band toured in both Australia and Canada (where Temple… also received a platinum disc), with their core trio of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour, and Paul Hester augmented initially by former Split Enz keyboard player Eddie Rayner and then by ex-Supertramp alumnus Mark Hart. Following the tour’s Canadian leg, frontman and primary songsmith Neil Finn embarked on a fruitful period writing new songs with his brother (and Split Enz founder) Tim, the pair’s newly minted co-written songs intended for an album to be recorded as The Finn Brothers. However, after Crowded House’s label, Capitol, rejected most of the demos the band had prepared for their mooted third LP, Tim Finn agreed that Neil could instead record some of the pair’s songs with Crowded House, providing he too could join the band. Tim has since stressed this wasn’t a serious proposition, but whatever the truth of the matter, when Crowded House reconvened with producer Mitchell Froom for their third LP, Woodface, they’d morphed into a quartet featuring Tim as a full-time member. When Woodface was eventually released, in July 1991, it wasn’t hard to hear why Neil had been keen to utilize eight of the mooted Finn Brothers songs, as they were among the most melodic, infectious tunes he’d had a hand in to date. Most of them featured the brothers sharing lead vocals, though Neil sang the elegant, melancholic “Four Seasons In One Day,” while Tim took the lead on the filmic, string-assisted ballad “All I Ask.” The Finn Brothers were also dually responsible for two memorable, radio-friendly staples courtesy of “It’s Only Natural” and the ridiculously catchy “Weather With You”: the latter of which provided the band with their first UK Top 10 hit. Elsewhere, however, Neil self-penned several of Woodface’s perennials, including the affecting “Fall At Your Feet,” the edgy, voyeuristic “Whispers And Moans” and the energized, Squeeze-esque “Fame Is.” Curiously, despite presenting a feast of beautifully crafted, airwave-friendly pop, Woodface received mixed reviews from the critics and, surprisingly, stalled at No.83 on the US Billboard 200. However, this blow was cushioned by Crowded House’s burgeoning popularity in Europe, where the album went Top 30 in half a dozen territories and peaked at No.6 in the UK, yielding double-platinum British sales for the band into the bargain.

The Jam Setting Sons

The Jam Setting Sons 

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The Jam's Setting Sons was originally planned as a concept album about three childhood friends who, upon meeting after some time apart, discover the different directions in which they've grown apart. Only about half of the songs ended up following the concept due to a rushed recording schedule, but where they do, Paul Weller vividly depicts British life, male relationships, and coming to terms with entry into adulthood. Weller's observations of society are more pointed and pessimistic than ever, but at the same time, he's employed stronger melodies with a slicker production and comparatively fuller arrangements, even using heavy orchestration for a reworked version of Bruce Foxton's "Smithers-Jones." Setting Sons often reaches brilliance and stands among the Jam's best albums, but the inclusion of a number of throwaways and knockoffs (especially the out-of-place cover of "Heat Wave" that closes the album) mars an otherwise perfect album. [The Super Deluxe Edition of the Jam's Setting Sons greatly expands the half-hour album from 1979, adding the non-LP singles surrounding the album's release, a CD's worth of alternate takes and demos, plus a Peel Session from 1979, a full concert at the Brighton Centre, and a DVD that combines the album's promotional videos and BBC appearances on Top of the Pops and Something Else. The singles -- the A-sides "Strange Town," "When You're Young" and "Going Underground," along with their flips (highlighted by "The Butterfly Collectors" and "The Dreams of Children") -- are familiar but there are 14 unreleased tracks on the second disc, mainly demos that range from solo Paul Weller works ("Thick as Thieves" cuts a lasting impression with its swirling phased guitar) and full-band run-throughs. The Jam sound cool, tight, and efficient on their Peel session but the true keeper is the furious Brighton performance, where the bandmembers appear to be sprinting each other toward the finish line on every performance.]

New Model Army Thunder And Consolation

New Model Army Thunder And Consolation

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NMA proved that they were well worth waiting for. Thunder and Consolation begins grandly, keeping the keyboards from "White Coats" on "I Love the World," an anthem filled with bittersweet irony and sarcasm. Self-produced, the album never falters, and the single "Stupid Questions" made an impression on American college and modern-rock radio, especially when working visas were granted to the band and they were allowed to tour the U.S. Violin was added by Ed Elain Johnson to further fill out the sound and give it an "Irish Folk" quality on epic songs "Green and Grey," and "Vagabonds." The band uses samples on "225" and "Green and Grey" to further enhance the flavor of the album