Nick Lowe - "Labour of Lust" (1979)

As soon as the familiar drum rhythm to "Cruel to be Kind" played through my speakers, I knew this would be an album that I would keep. Sometimes it's nice not have to agonize over whether I should keep an album or not. Labour of Lust, Lowe's second album, primarily consists of three-minute pop songs with a tinge of 'pub rock,' which I suppose gets that designation because Lowe is British. If this album is a fair representation of pub rock, then I would definitely say that I prefer it to "bar rock," the American redneck equivalent. For eleven songs, Lowe keeps the hooks coming, and the production is immaculate. Unfortunately, I don't have his debut, Jesus of Cool, on vinyl, because I hear that one is even better. 

Van Morrison - "No Guru No Method No Teacher" (1986)

I still am not entirely sure if I like this record or not. On the plus side, considering the long, sordid history of artists who got their start in the 60s succumbing to 80s production trends, it was pleasant to turn the record on and not hear any synthesizers or drum machines. Instead, the music is a tasteful, classy mix of folk, Celtic, and rock music, complementing Van Morrison's impressive vocals and lyrics. Indeed, I am not extremely familiar with Morrison's discography, but based on what I have heard and read, the sound of this album is very similar to his work at his artistic peak, and I have to credit the man for staying true to his principles in the dark times of 1986.

But! (And you knew there was a but.) This record may also be the least melodic record I have ever heard. Every single song, without fail, is delivered in a rambling, hookless style that sounds as if the vocal notes were improvised on the spot. I am a lover of vocal melody first and foremost, so despite all the plusses of this album, I largely found it very boring to actually listen to. Morrison's backing band does provide instrumental hooks, but their task is to provide background accompaniment, not to be the central focus. One advantage that Van does have over most of his singer-songwriter ilk is that he is a legitimately great singer, with a powerful, belting voice, but most of the songs here range over five minutes in length, while saying all that they need to say in the first 90 seconds.

Ultimately, there were two main factors that made me decide to keep this record. One is that given the high level of artistic integrity that is apparent on the record, it is quite possible that it is one of those albums that simply can't be fully appreciated on first listen, especially for someone not familiar with Morrison's albums. The other is that although I am rarely moved by above-average lyrics, there are exceptions where the lyrics are so good that I can't help but be drawn in, regardless of the quality of the music. The centerpiece track of this album, "In the Garden," is one of those examples. As Van growls "no guru, no method, no teacher" and makes an excellent track based solely on atmosphere and dynamics, I begin to believe that this amelodic approach can work.  And indeed, the greatness of "In the Garden" has a lot to do with hearing the lyrics sung (especially since I could only digest such an openly religious song because of the passionate vocals). In conclusion, I've convinced myself over the course of this rambling review that this may be an even better album than I gave it credit for.

Duke Ellington - "The Brunswick Sessions Vol. 2" (1932-35)

This is another one of those random jazz records I own that I couldn't even find one decent review of. So it seems I will have to fall back on my own opinions yet again! Predictably, my opinion is that this is excellent jazz music. It's Duke Ellington, after all. With a full band behind him, he runs through 15 short songs over two sides, in a diversity of styles, the one consistency being that nearly everything is good. If I had to criticize (and I do), I would say that the tracks with vocals are less stirring than the instrumentals, and perhaps more importantly, this was a very early jazz record, so it does sound somewhat dated today in the way that (in my opinion) 'modern' jazz of the 50s and 60s does not. This is only relevant by way of comparison to Ellington's later work, with which I am not thoroughly familiar, but have heard enough of to confidently say that he did later surpass what he accomplished here. Thumbs up all around.

Elton John - "Breaking Hearts" (1984)

Believe it or not, Sir Elton still did possess some of his mojo in 1984. He was no longer innovating, and the 80s production values feel stifling compared to his 70s work, but Breaking Hearts is overall a decent album. For a lot of the record, I wasn't sure if it would wind up being one that I would keep. Although opening track "Restless" has a catchy riff and chorus, it is also terribly generic. Some of the lyrics are embarrassing and sexist (see "Slow Down Georgie (She's Poison)" with its admonitions to stay away from divorcees) and a couple songs come off flat. But ultimately, the consistency of the record won out on me, with the last three tracks ("Burning Buildings," "Did He Shoot Her?" and "Sad Songs (Say So Much") being arguably the best on the album, and reminding of Elton's ability to thrive with both ballads and rock songs. Setting the flaws aside, most of the material is good, and I can't really quibble with that.

Rickie Lee Jones - "Rickie Lee Jones" (1979)

The second of three RLJ albums that I own, I found this one easier to get into than I did Pirates. I don't know if that means it's more accessible or I am just becoming more accustomed to Jones' style regardless, but generally I found this to be a good one all the way through. I definitely underestimated Jones, as there is now no doubt in my mind that she has a unique style and vision. Admittedly, that style and vision is somewhat removed from my own intuition as to what great music should sound like. Her enigmatic vocal delivery and intelligent working-class oriented lyrics make her an inscrutable Springsteen or perhaps more accurately, a less approachable Joni Mitchell. But whatever the appropriate comparison, I found myself stirred by several songs here, and "The Last Chance Texaco" is flat-out great from an atmospheric perspective. I also found myself annoyed at times, so I can't give a glowing recommendation. But a good one, definitely.

Kansas - "Point of Know Return" (1977)

Now I like "Carry On My Wayward Son" as much as the next guy, but it doesn't change the fact that Kansas sucks. I went into this album with expectations based on George Starostin's reviews of the group, and these expectations were almost perfectly met. Kansas's schtick is basically a weird hybrid of bluesy bar-rock (i.e., the more generic rock songs on classic rock radio) and elements stolen from superior British prog-rock bands (Yes, Genesis, ELP). Most of the time, this is a bad, bad combination, culminating in the awful 7-minute "Closet Chronicles" that closes the first side with banal vocals and several minutes of frenetic organ soloing. I don't even like ELP's keyboard wanking, so why would I like this?

Still, Point of Know Return is not a totally horrible album. The title track is one that I have heard many times before on the radio without actually realizing who it was. It's still dorky, but actually not a bad synthesis of straight-ahead classic rock and prog, since it keeps things relatively simple and only uses the keyboards as accompaniment. So I guess it is possible for their sound to work, but every time they range out and get more progressive, the results are almost invariably bad, since the longer songs lack any real complexity.

Oh yeah, this album does have classic rock staple "Dust in the Wind" on it. "Dust in the Wind," being an acoustic ballad with strings, isn't representative of the sound of the rest of the album whatsoever. But it does still manage to epitomize Kansas. For about 90 seconds, I am able to find the song enjoyable, as the vocal melody moves me despite myself. But then the generic string parts come in, the vocals become more plaintive, and the result is that they way oversell it, thinking that the song is as good as "Yesterday" when it's really just a pleasant acoustic melody with generic soul-searching lyrics. My point is that their songwriting isn't inherently terrible, but it isn't great either, and when they consistently try to make more out of their songs than what they are, the results to me are worse than if they opted for a more simplified approach. So in the end, this is definitely a blue bin album.

Harry Nilsson - "Sandman" (1975)

Harry Nilsson's Sandman is a record that is moderately out of my comfort zone. I have been known to rail against singer-songwriters because of the near-inevitable focus on lyrics over melody. At least this late in his career, that maxim certainly holds true for Nilsson. Although the first few tracks hold melodic interest, the second side deteriorates in this regard, with the lowlight (at least from a musical perspective) being the near seven-minute "The Flying Saucer Song," the premise of which is a spoken-word conversation between two drunks in a bar (both voiced by Nilsson, of course) who narrate the tale of a flying saucer encounter. Although the lyrics are undeniably witty and even poetic in sections, seven minutes of dialogue over static instrumentation is a bit much for me to handle when I am primarily engaging with records for their musical value.

All that said, this album still rates as one to keep for me because of the overall diversity of his approach as well as some standout tracks (the string-led "Something True" makes excellent use of a crack backing band including Jim Keltner of Derek and the Dominoes fame and Klaus Voormann [the bassist on Plastic Ono Band AND the designer of the cover for Revolver]). (This section could really use some footnotes). I wouldn't recommend it highly, but I would recommend it, and if you are a fan of witty, literate singer-songwriting, this album would probably warrant a higher rating from you than it does for me.