Album Review: The Jesus and Mary Chain - The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities

In 2008 the Jesus and Mary Chain released a 4 CD box set of B-sides.  It's wonderfully packaged in a book-like case, full of notes and photographs.  You have to ask yourself though: does anybody need nearly 4 hours and over 80 tracks of this?

The answer is, of course, yes.  The first CD contains early demo Up Too High, the extraordinary assault of their first single Upside Down and many, many more. The hilarious, deadpan, expletive-laden Cracked is included here, but on the other hand, there are acoustic versions of some of the Psychocandy material, for those who can't take the feedback.

The second CD is almost flawless, full of exuberantly bored tracks like Kill Surf City, Everything's Alright When You're Down and TWO versions of the Beach Boys' Surfing USA.  The late 80s/early 90s covered on CD3 saw some dodgy synth & drum machine experiments, though they still found time for the triumphant Something I Can't Have.

On the final CD the preponderance of acoustic-based Primal Scream-style strums (Little Stars, New York City, Taking It Away), along with covers of the Pogues (Ghost of a Smile) and Prince (Alphabet Street) sound like a band running out of steam.  However, the material remains of high quality across this hugely comprehensive collection, sure to provide months of enjoyment for the Jesus-heads amongst us. 

Album Review: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Lyre of Orpheus

In 2004 The Lyre of Orpheus was released as a double album with its hairier companion Abattoir Blues.  It opens with the funereal stomp of the title track, with Nick Cave singing the most visceral lyrics ("Eurydice's eyes popped from their sockets and her tongue burst through her throat").  It's a highlight of the set.

After that we get softer tracks like the almost David Gray strum of Breathless and the twinkling piano of Babe, You Turn Me On.  Better are the yearning Easy Money, and the solid Spell.  The skittering Supernaturally doesn't really work, and towards the end the choir prevalent on Abattoir Blues returns for Carry Me and O Children.  It's all very... tasteful and the songs are all of decent quality but it's not hugely... exciting I'm afraid.

Album Review: Cheatahs | Cheatahs

Review for www.meg.ie

http://www.meg.ie/cheatahs-cheatahs/

Album Review: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds released a double album in 2004, which in fact had two separate titles for each one.  The so-called 'harder' album could be deduced from its title - Abattoir Blues.  In reality, it's not a balls-out rave-up by any means.  There are two Cave-patented rabble-rousers on the album, Get Ready For Love and There She Goes, My Beautiful World but I have little to say about these type of songs.  They seem as strong as any previous efforts in this vein but they do very little for me. 

So what of the rest of the album?  Far from savage, abattoir evoking stompers, Cannibal's Hymn is a kind of loping, creeping grind that gradually gets heavier, while the likes Messiah Ward, Let The Bells Ring and the title track are taut, slinky numbers.  Hiding All Away is an almost gospel call-and-response track with some very fruity lyrics ("He opened his oven wide, he basted you with butter babe and made you crawl inside"), before Cave roars "there is a war coming".  The melody of Nature Boy is highly reminiscent of Cockney Rebel's Come Up And See Me, Make Me Smile, it's hard not to think of this song once you make the connection.

None of it is particularly hard, and none of it is amazing either.  I wouldn't put any of this on a collection of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' best, or their worst either.

Concert Review: Leonard Barry at Whelans

Review for www.meg.ie

http://www.meg.ie/leonard-barry-at-whelans/

Album Review: Dirty Three

Dirty Three's self-titled second album, released in 1995, opens with an absolute epic, the 10 minute blaster Indian Love Song.  It's fairly atypical in that it's less reliant on Warren Ellis' violin, instead providing a showcase for some serious guitar work by Mick Turner.

 

Following a peak like this is not easy.  Better Go Home Now is a gloriously heavy guitar and violin workout, all done in less than 4 minutes!  Odd Couple is moodier, Ellis swapping violin for accordion.  Kim's Dirt is the centrepiece, a long, almost ambient, trance-like piece where not an awful lot happens. 

 

After the violin swoops and squalls of Everything's F**ked, The Last Night saddles up with harmonica and heads off to the dusky outback before the final track, the blood and thunder of Dirty Equation, where the band really cut loose.  It's stuffed full of pounding drums, frenzied guitar and crazed violin and is utterly brilliant.  This album is definitely a good place to start with this band.

EP Review: Hiatus | The Crossing

Review for www.meg.ie

http://www.meg.ie/ep-review-hiatus-the-crossing/