New reviews of old albums (1)

Maybe this will become a series, or may it'll be a one-off, but I've decided to write a short review of a couple of albums I finally got around to listening to in the last couple of weeks.  Back in Arlington, VA, the library system stopped buying music CD's a few years ago, but I've recently discovered the Dallas Public Library is pretty up to date when it comes to music (for instance, they've got the newest Disclosure album).  So I'm hoping to easily catch up on some releases without having to buy or torrent.

First up have been the last two albums released by Gil Scott Heron before he passed away in 2011.  In 2010 he put out "I'm New Here"and 2011 saw the release of "We're New Here", which was billed as a remix of the entire album by Jamie XX.  Both came out on XL recordings.  I'm glad that my lateness has meant that I've been able to hear both records back to back, as that's been an interesting experience.

I got "I'm New Here" a couple of weeks before the Jamie XX remix version.  Overall, it's a good album, and it really does work as an album.  To me it seems like a goodbye album, as if Scott-Heron knew it was going to be one of his final pieces of work and wanted to wrap things up.  He talks about his life and how he was raised, the people involved in him turning into the man he became.  It's a bit like the final Bowie album in that it seems like music from a person who knows things are drawing to a close.  But unlike "Black Star", "I'm New Here" is much more straightforward lyrically, very direct and comprehensible.

While listening to it I did wonder about the production and how much input Scott-Heron did or didn't have in that regard.  It's quite stark, with mostly minimal beats and bass highlighting the lyrics and Scott-Heron's cadence.  I can easily imagine the voice tracks being laid down and then the production happening around them completely separately; I believe production was handled by the head of XL Recordings.  On the one hand it all sounds quite fine, but on the other it's very of it's time and I have a feeling it won't age well -- it's very electronic, very 2010, and it already sounds a bit dated.  That's a shame as it stops the album from feeling very essential, even though lyrically I feel like Scott-Heron has a lot to say. The track I'm putting here is a bit of an anomaly as it's one of the few that isn't so electronic:


Well, that may not sound wholly positive, but I do think it's an album worth checking out.  That's not something I can say about the Jamie XX version. I'm not sure what went wrong with "We're New Here" but I found it very disappointing. The title, and the write-ups at the time, made it sound like some sort of joint effort between Scott-Heron and Jamie XX, but it really is a remix album, and not in a good way.  The remixes are similar to a lot of more modern remixes in that there is barely a hint of the original songs left.  This is basically a Jamie XX album with some Scott-Heron samples, and even then, most of the time, the samples are so far in the background that it could be anyone.  In fact, for some of the tracks, having no Scott-Heron at all would probably have been better.  It's a disservice to him to just have snippets of his voice mumbling away behind everything else.  It really is quite jarring at times -- there really seems to be no connection between the music and the lyrics at all, for instance, in album opener "I'm New Here".  My guess is that it has something to do with the fact that Jamie XX was very early into his solo work when he did this; it almost seems like a practice run, which is OK, except it got released and was even well-reviewed when it came out.


So, to sum up, I do recommend checking out "I'm New Here", at least if you have some interest in the work of Gil Scott-Heron.  It's a good album with mostly good songs, and even if the production is a bit 2010 it's still not bad.  As for the Jamie XX version though, there is really nothing to recommend it, other than the novelty of hearing something so wrong -- I really do feel that strongly about it.

Floating on NPR

 

Happy that spring is finally here in DC but I've been laid-low by a combination of hay fever and some sort of illness.  Hard to tell one from the other, but I do know that my head feels verrrryyy heavy, and everything aches.  Not nice, but NPR's got a couple of first listens up that I'm enjoying in my sickly state.  First up, an album by West Coast producer Teebs.  Found this to be really mellow music while I sat in my office and tried to will the pain away (and also read the paper).  Click here to see if it's still on NPR.

Next, a new East Coast rap group that I'm listening to right now.  It'll take a more in-depth listen for me to really decide how I feel about this but the fact that King Krule is on the album is a plus point.  Check out Ratking here.  They're on XL Recordings.  That makes sense.

While I'm at it, I may as well drop in something about a new mix up at Fact by Damon Albarn.  First mix I've ever heard by him and I must say I found it rather pleasant.  Not sure about the Tupac track but other than that, nice.  Can't embed so go here.

Alt Jai

Just heard about this fella today, I think.  Actually, let me put it this way -- I don't recall having heard of him before.  I'm talking about Jai Paul, a young producer out of West London (see pic above for exact location) who became prominent about two years ago.  I heard a track by him today in a mix by Four Tet and looked him up.  There's not much official by him out, but the few things I've heard have been pretty intriguing.  He's signed to XL now and hasn't really done much, but hopefully something'll come out soon (look around and you can find copies of leaked tracks online).

Here's the track that got him noticed, including being sampled by Drake:



And here's the track that put me onto him, as heard in the Four Tet mix:



Really like the vibe of his music, I have to say, I hope future things are as good as these two tracks are.  

Raving like it's 1986

Yes, 1986, cos the first video featured below is from way back then. Didn't know house music culture was so established so early but I'm guessing black kids in Manchester were ahead of the curve (massively ahead! Maybe the year is mislabeled?). Back then I was eight years old and listening to things my older family were into -- stuff on Top of the Pops and the radio basically, Michael Jackson, Abba, Dire Straits. Who knew this underground thing was bubbling up? There's quite a lot of nostalgia for that era going around; blogs like Class of 808, musicians like Calvin Harris, and the second video below attest to that. Not sure how I feel about it -- I love the tunes and the era but I was too young to truly be a part of it; at the same time the current fashion is forcing me to realise that all that is way in the past. Plus, when it comes to nostalgia for music and fashion, what's next? A Britpop revival featuring crap Liam Gallagher type haircuts? I hope not. I think the mixed feelings come from the fact that I'm a recent old skool revivalist myself (if you've seen my trainer collection this will come as no surprise) -- it felt good to be doing my own thing, now it's a current thing, soon it'll be a past it thing. That and the recognition that it is the past, and that it's gone now, replaced with thousands of new Mp3's a day but no proper new scene. Anyway, check out the vids and enjoy the moves, the gurning, and the blinding clothing.





The one right above is by Friendly Fires, yet another band I don't know too much about, but I can definitely relate to the lyrics here and what the band-member is saying at the end of the vid -- watch it all the way through and you'll know what I'm talking about. Closest I've come to a nice outdoor dancefest is the Movement festival in downtown Detroit, but sadly I'll be missing it again this year. There is something special about being outside and dancing with others. One more thing, that first vid is from a community centre in Manchester, England, in 1986 -- check out the crowd. It amazes me just how diverse the rave scene really was, and also how it never took off in the US like it did in the UK and Europe -- why is that? Especially keeping in mind that in the beginning most of the music was coming from America.

A boring post about other blogs (and an article about XL recordings)

Just wanted to highlight some decent blogs I've been looking at recently. First up is Class of 808, a superb throwback blog about the old sounds of Acid House and early Techno when it first took over the UK back in the late 80's. It's very frequently updated and posts up lots of great mixes -- I thought the sounds might seem cheesy 20-odd years on but they actually sound pretty great. It feels a bit sad to be nostalgic about music that's supposed to sound like the future but it happens to every scene eventually.

The other blog I've recently added to my "must check" list is Platform. Also out of the UK, the postings are Vice-style musings on various things but mostly music and pop culture related. I've not looked into the background of the site as I can't be arsed, but I've been getting a lot of links to new tracks and remixes through them (such as the Adele x Jamie XX one from not too long ago). Worth a look-in, I think.

Lastly, the Guardian had a good article recently about XL Recordings and how they're doing pretty well while the rest of the music industry is tanking. To me, XL is still rave music from the early 90's, but moved on pretty far from there. It's a good read, you can check it out here.