My Listening Hours: The Rest of October–November

The Byrds, Fifth Dimension
I'm not sure why it took me so long to pick up Fifth Dimension. Back when I first realized how much I liked the Byrds I went on a downloading spree, and everything I picked up from this album was excellent—"Mr. Spaceman," "5D," "Hey Joe," and of course "Eight Miles High," arguably (and a great argument it'd be) the best song the band ever did. Unfortunately my expectations were dashed when I finally picked up the album. Turns out this is the most inconsistent of the Byrds albums I've heard (i.e., all the albums prior to Roger McGuinn taking sole ownership of the band). There were a couple of great tracks to be had in addition to those I already owned, especially David Crosby's songwriting debut, "What's Happening," but otherwise Fifth Dimension probably has the largest quantity of questionable tunes—particularly the ghost-of-Hiroshima-narrated "I Stand at Every Door" and the nosediving trio of tunes closing out the album, "Captain Soul," "John Riley," and "The Lear Jet Song."

That this album could have some of the band's best work as well as some its worst is interesting to me. This is the first album without Gene Clark, who was the primary songwriter on the first two releases. For most bands this would have been a bigger blow, but the Byrds' overall sound was too strong.  This goes back to my post from last month, "the song vs. the sound." I was watching a documentary about 60s bands on VH1 Classics the other day and McGuinn explained the Byrds' vocal sound on the first two records: although Clark wrote most of the originals, he and McGuinn would double the lead vocal. Crosby was the only one singing harmony, but he did so in a way that he floated between thirds and fifths, not sticking to one harmonic area as, say, a Beach Boy would. Thus what was essentially a two-part harmony sounded much fuller. It makes sense then that Clark's absence, sonically, is barely noticable on Fifth Dimension, but that 5D is also the weakest of the Byrds albums in terms of songwriting (it's worth noting that "Eight Miles High" is chiefly Clark's song, too—though it's McGuinn who's playing that brilliant guitar solo, which sounds like the aural equivalent of scribbling crayons). On the other hand, since the Byrds had always loaded their albums with covers, most of which were interpreted by McGuinn, they ultimately survived Clark's departure, apparently, without too much trouble. (And on their next album, Younger Than Yesterday, bassist Chris Hillman, who'd been there all along, suddenly blossomed into the best songwriter of the bunch!)

Gene Clark, No Other
As Gene Clark was the first Byrd to go solo, it seems right that his should be the first solo album I check out. Based on a lot of good things said at ILM, I assumed No Other was the place to start. Settling in to hear some post-Byrds folk rock, I was surprised to find that this was more along the lines of bloated 70s MOR rock—full band replete with a bevy of backup singers, meandering seven-minute epics mostly concerned with rivers and ravens; even a near-Vangelis closer. There are a few songs I like—the opener, "Life's Greatest Fool," for instance (the end kinda reminds me of Bowie's backup vocals on Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love")—though most of the album is just average. My error was assuming that this was an early Clark album. In fact he'd done four albums prior to this one—two folky solo albums and two country-influenced albums with Doug Dillard. Based on the strength of his contributions to the Byrds, I'm not done with Clark; I just need start over, in chronological order.

Dennis Wilson, Pacific Ocean Blue
Speaking of 70s MOR... I had a twofer this month. I had a few songs from Dennis Wilson's out-of-print Pacific Ocean Blue lying around my iTunes, but after reading this Popmatters article I sought out the rest. Don't believe the hype: this album isn't bad, but it hardly deserves to be mythologized. It's ambitious, it's not commercially viable, it's by a troubled Wilson lad—the one who died, no less—but it's just not that good. There are some serious bright spots—"River Song" for instance—but POB also suffers from too much navel-gazing, no real hooks, and Wilson's gravelly, often downright shitty voice. It's actually hard to believe that this voice belongs to a Beach Boy. I'm glad I heard the entire album, especially because I do like a handful of the tracks, but there's nothing truly illuminating here.

Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks
What does it say about me that I'm a huge Byrds fan yet I’ve never found my way into Dylan? Something about him—maybe it's his voice, maybe his delivery, maybe the way his cultural importance has been forced on me since I was a child—has kept me from enjoying his work. A few years ago my wife bought Blonde on Blonde and I just couldn’t feel it. Thinking it was time to try again, I picked up Blood on the Tracks. For a few minutes there—“Tangled Up in Blue”! “Idiot Wind”!—I thought I might have finally found my point of entry. Alas, after a few days the urgency calmed down and I haven’t really gone back to digest this album any further. It made a dent—I don’t dislike Dylan—but I’m still not crazy for him.

Fleetwood Mac, Rumors
I want to like Rumors more, but the fact is many of the songs here simply don’t belong to me. “Don’t Stop,” “Go Your Own Way”: these belong to my parents and their generation. They belong to Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. They belong to a bunch of assholes who think they don’t make music like they used to, cluelessly not understanding that a lot of their music sucks. What gets me about Fleetwood Mac though is that they do just enough songs that I like—usually thanks to Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham is really the saving grace of this band; songs like "Second Hand News" and "Never Going Back Again" are interestingly crafted pop songs. I’m curious to hear the Buckingham/Nicks album that preceded their joining FM, though it’s out of print. And in the comments to yesterday's post I'm told by blckdgrd that Buckingham's post-Mac albums are also worth checking out.

Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, s/t
Spiritualized, Lazer Guided Melodies
Pink Floyd, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
I can say the same thing about all three of these albums: they're all great, each in their own way. I know that I will go back to each of these albums continually. They're the kind of records I'll just keep putting on when I'm not in the mood for my personally more obvious choices. But in the meantime—maybe because I just had too much other stuff to listen to—these ultimately didn't stick to my iPod as much as I'd expect. I recognize that I like them but I'm not running out the door to tell my friends about them (anyway, my friends already know about them). I do intend to pick up more albums by each band, though (not Pink Floyd, but Syd Barrett).

Big Star, Radio City
Sorry Radio City, I just couldn’t stop listening to #1 Record long enough to give you a chance. And when I tried, I spent most my time wishing you were as good as #1 Record.

R.E.M., Around the Sun
I am a fan of post-Berry R.E.M. albums, honest. I think Reveal is vastly underrated and Up gets a little draggy toward the end but is still a worthwhile album. Thus I didn’t approach Around the Sun with the assumption that it would be total crap, as most mentions of this album would have me believe. In fact this album does have some very nice moments; it starts strong and has a compelling final third ("The Ascent of Man" plods a little but I like it anyway), but the middle of this album… ugh, it really does hit some of the lowest points in R.E.M.’s history. “The Outsiders,” with special has-been Q-Tip, has got to be the most misguided songs—certainly the laziest—in the band’s discography. It’s almost bad enough to ruin the entire album. As a completist, I’m glad to finally get this album, though I don’t feel bad for taking two years to pick it up. It is easily their worst album. Unlike a lot of other naysayers, however, I feel like this is an aberration in an otherwise strong catalogue, not further evidence of a steady decline. I remain optimistic for the next one.

Beirut, The Flying Cup Club
Despite my first impression, The Flying Cup Club turned out to be a fine album. It is certainly the best thing Beirut has done thus far in his brief career, and I remain optimistic for his next album, provided he heeds my advice.

Radiohead, In Rainbows
Here’s something weird. I listened to In Rainbows pretty much nonstop for two weeks straight. And then one day, I stopped. And I don’t feel the need to listen to it again. And I don’t foresee myself needing to listen to it again in the future, either. [previously: my full review]

Iron & Wine, The Shepherd's Dog
I have little to say about this one right now, as I just picked it up a day ago and haven't really digested it yet. I will say that it's immediately obvious that this is Iron & Wine's best album, and that it will likely make my end of the year list.

Comments

[Richard]

From what I gather, it's Clark's first couple of solo albums that are the best, but I haven't yet heard them (though I really want to!).

Rumours is basically a perfect album. Even "You Make Loving Fun", which I sort of hate, is great. But it can be hard to hear past the 30 years of overplaying. Of course, I grew up on it... (it was one of the few good records my mom had). It's a shame that the Clinton campaign used "Don't Stop", hence ruining it for many people. It's a great, great song, with a nice guitar solo from Buckingham.

I love Dylan, but frankly all of his great albums have been growers for me. On Blood on the Tracks (my favorite), yeah, "Tangled Up In Blue" and "Shelter from the Storm" were songs I immediately loved, but it took me a long time to get into the rest of it. Same was definitely true with Blonde on Blonde; outside of "Visions of Johanna", I had a hard time with it for a while... but now I love it.

I still haven't heard In Rainbows, and I don't care if I ever do. Is that wrong??

[Scraps]

Keep going back to Radio City. It's pretty much as good as #1 Record, in my opinion, in the same way. (I dislike Third.)

I guess it's hard not to be sick of the hits from Rumours, and maybe I'm resistant to the idea that Buckingham's songs are best because he always gets the lion's share of the credit from the hipsters. His songs only sound fresher to me because they haven't been overexposed; McVie's songs sound fresher than Nicks's because Nicks's were bigger hits, too.

Anyway, try (if you feel inclined) giving "Go Your Own Way" a close listen. The rhythms in the verse part between the guitar and the drums are weirdly herky-jerky, deliberately avoiding straightforward propulsion, yet it was a hit.

Up has slowly become my favorite R.E.M. album.

[Richard]

I'm going to have to echo Scraps on "Go Your Own Way". Also, I absolutely love McVie's "Songbird".

About that Modern Lovers record... is that the debut? Their music has been recombined into so many different releases, it's hard to tell. I have the original released version (not to be confused with The Original Modern Lovers>, which I believe is the rougher tracks before John Cale produced them or something), and it doesn't have Richman on the cover (I think it was just called The Modern Lovers, too). Anyway, that record I like a lot, but I go hot and cold on it, listening to it incessantly for weeks, then not again for months on end....

[scott pgwp]

I've yet to get on the McVie bandwagon, I find her songs on Rumours and on Tusk to be utterly boring.

I'm sorry to hear I'm going with the grain on Buckingham, but what are you going to do? He is the best thing about the band. As far as Nicks goes, I like her best when she and Buckingham sing together, regardless of who sings lead. I think their voices complement each other wonderfully.

As for the Modern Lovers album... I always thought the album simply called The Modern Lovers (purple cover with type, no image) was the debut, but this one I picked up is from 1976, so I'm not sure. It has "Abominable Snowman in the Market" and a lovely version of "Amazing Grace," if that helps.

[Scraps]

I think Buckingham was the catalyst of the band: the guy who could take other people's songs, better than his, the treatment they deserved. They really did all make each other better. I've done my best to like Buckingham's solo stuff, but beneath the production and the craft, the songs are boring.

McVie's peak is on Fleetwood Mac, but I still like her songs on Rumours. De gus.

I think the peak of Buckingham in the band is the amazing arrangement of the late single "Big Love" (which also had a great video).

[Scraps]

Oops. Sorry about the messed up tag.

[scott pgwp]

fixed it for you.

[the wife]

Ok, Scott. I know you pretty well (ahem), and I really don't think you will ever be able to like "Big Love" in earnest or otherwise if you EVER watch the video. But you NEED to watch the video. Because, well, wow. Please make sure you watch it all the way to the very end. ASAP. Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxfg_qe5J_E

(Sorry for the veto, Scraps.)
(Also of note: Stevie's excellent skirt swishing. Thank goodness for that!)

[the wife]

Somehow, despite knowing this song all my life, I didn't realize this was them!?!? another AMAZING video - love the 80's prairie fashions...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLfpian_dCQ

[the wife]

ok, a million comments... but this is a good song.
hold me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcqrQg0lFwQ

and here's a taste of the buckingham/nicks stuff, pre fleetwood mac:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRBB8Aecg7Y

ok, that's all.

[scott pgwp]

Whoa! 80s overload! I don't think I can follow FM to their final destination...

[Richard]

Yeah, Tusk is where it really ends for Fleetwood Mac. Here, McVie's songs, in my opinion, ARE boring as hell, though I love a few of Nicks' ("Storms" always gets me; "Sara" is great). But Mirage is forgettable, and by the pseudo-comeback Tango in the Night, Buckingham was definitely the only thing good going on (Nicks' songs on that album are truly awful, and her voice was shot), but not quite good enough. I still like "Big Love" though.

On Tusk, you might be interested in checking out this old piece from Simon Reynolds (a listener who had definitely ignored the Mac when they were big, what with punk and everything).

[Philip Trapp]

Do you have the second album, "Pure Phase", by Spiritualized? I enjoy both of their first two records but "Pure Phase" seems more fully-realized to my ears. To be quite honest, when I put on "Lazer Guided Melodies", I put on "Pure Phase" after and listen to them back-to-back like one huge album

[scott pgwp]

Hey Phil! No, I've never heard Pure Phase. The only other Spiritualized album I've really heard is Ladies and Gentlemen.... I'll have to look for that one.

[Philip Trapp]

Hey, Scott. Sorry I never sent you those Solo Project discs. I've kind of disowned that stuff in my own mind, even though that's no excuse for not returning your favor--I still listen to the Half Visconte EP and LP, but I listen to "Should We Rest" and "In The Kenneth Room" a million times more. I miss having a Scott Tennent in the local 'scene'

[sroden]

if you want to get into dylan i'd start with john wesley harding... i think his best all around record and was the one that really killed me. the main problem with dylan is in mp3 format, the harmonica is so piercing it can make you sterile.... and am i reading correctly a bunch of people younger than me talking about fleetwood mac positively???!!!!???!!! am in not getting some kind of irony here? have you all lost your minds????? with dylan, i'd say keep trying, but man, put down the fleetwood mac records (and whatever substance you are ingesting that is making you even want to like them) and run like hell! this confuses me almost as much as you trying to like the band america...what's next? average white band... ugh!

[scott pgwp]

hehehehe... steve, I was wondering if you'd show up. Now this comments thread is the embodiment of the voices in my head--"I want to like Fleetwood Mac!" "What??? No!!!" "Yes!" "No!" "She's my sister!" "She's my daughter!" ...er, something like that.

Cut me some slack on that America album, man! I owned up to my error immediately! That said, every time I buy an album from the 70s, a little voice in my head says "steve would loathe this..."

[scott pgwp]

Phil - no sweat on those CDs. Drop me a line if you're ever in LA.

[Hugh]

I firmly believe that Rumours is one of the best albums of all time, so I can't agree with your not liking Don't Stop. ;)

Buckingham/Nicks is widely available on vinyl (I have six different pressings :P) - check eBay. Passable-quality mp3s are available here: http://www.buckinghamnicks.net/bn/slmedia.html

:)