‘Holes In The Wall’ by The Electric Soft Parade

I must have bought this about eight years ago after seeing The Electric Soft Parade perform ‘Empty At The End’ on Later with Jools Holland. It was one of those pitch-perfect performances that grabbed me instantly – I won’t say I rushed out to buy the album the next day, but it was added to a mental list, and it didn’t take too long.

It’s a good album. I have no idea where the band are now, but this was a good enough to debut for me to buy the follow up a couple of years down the line. The band (I think, in reality, they were more of an augmented duo) wrote fairly straightforward indie-pop songs with good harmonies and played them well. They weren’t going to change anyone’s life, but the album rattles along nicely and doesn’t outstay its welcome. Even ‘Silent To The Dark’, with its extended coda, is over before you wish it wasn’t. An overlooked gem.

'Heathen' by David Bowie

When post-Tin-Machine Bowie albums were reviewed, they’d always be referred to as his best since ‘Scary Monsters’, only for their reputations to quickly slide down the scale a bit. Much of his work in the nineties and beyond was seen as interesting rather than good, but Heathen is generally seen as an exception to this, and rightly so. It’s a wonderful album – genuinely wonderful, and anyone who likes Bowie on any level should hear it if they haven’t done so.

I say this as a big fan of his later output. I think ‘1.Outside’ in particular is hugely underrated, and I enjoy ‘Hours’ and ‘Earthling’ a great deal as well, but I recognise that ‘Heathen’ is better on most levels than all of these. It’s an album which reflects Bowie’s age and status without being restrained by it making full use of the vocal register Bowie had at the time. It’s also a massive success for Tony Visconti, the quintessential Bowie producer who had been away from the fold for so long. Songs like ‘Sunday’ and ‘Slip Away’ ooze texture and warmth – ‘Slip Away’ in particular is a beautiful track, displaying a gentleness and melodic strength that runs through much of the album. A number of songs on the album contain more complexity than you pick up on first listen – ‘5.15 Angels Have Gone’ and ‘Everyone Says Hi’ in particular - but nothing on the album is inaccessible. Even the more experimental sounds of ‘I Would Be Your Slave’ and ‘Took A Trip On A Gemini Spacecraft’ are easy to listen to.

There aren’t really any true weak spots on ‘Heathen’. Only his version of ‘I’ve Been Waiting For You’ feels unnecessary (especially since it’s one of three cover tracks), but even this runs along in decent fashion.

Perhaps the best thing about ‘Heathen’ is how complete it sounds. It isn’t an album full of content which feels like it could have come from other Bowie albums. Even at this late stage in his career (he’s only released one album since, and there are precious few signs of any more on their way), Bowie could still create something worthwhile and special. That’s why he’s great.

'Have You Fed The Fish?' by Badly Drawn Boy

It’s funny how sometimes an album changes your view of an artist for reasons that turn out to be somewhat unjustified when they’re properly thought through. ‘Have You Fed The Fish?’ is one of those albums. I followed the career of Badly Drawn Boy not from the very beginning, but certainly from album number one. I enjoyed the debut, in spite of his lack of coherence, and I thought his ‘About A Boy Soundtrack’ was very strong, so I had high hopes for this, his third. In some ways, those hopes were met. In other ways, not nearly so much.

The instrumental beginning is a chirpily confident start, but the title track which follows is emblematic of all the album’s problems. There’s a good idea buried away within it, but it’s overblown, rambling, and full of lyrical strings that appear to have no meaning. The next few tracks are better – ‘Born Again’ has a real punch to it, ‘All Possibilities’ retains its sense of fun despite the best efforts of Comet’s advertising department. ’40 Days 40 Fights’ is an interesting one. It’s a good listen, but it’s also the track which put me off Badly Drawn Boy to an extent I’ve never quite recovered from. Not because of the album version, but because of the horrible leaden version he and his backing band of the time plodded out on Later as part of the album’s promotion. The pairing of ‘I Was Wrong’ and ‘You Were Right’ works well enough, though the latter hovers dangerously close to outstaying its welcome. The problem is compounded by the fact that the lyrics are reused later in ‘Tickets To What You Need’ which (almost) finishes the album in an unfortunate ‘will this do?’ fashion.

Elsewhere, ‘Counterpane’ is a nice instrumental which would have sat happily on ‘About A Boy’. ‘How?’ mixes gentle acoustics with stirring orchestrations quite nicely and ‘The Further I Slide’ and ‘Imaginary Lines’ have a playfulness which Badly Drawn Boy had seemed to excel at so well up to this point. ‘Using Our Feet’ does to, in a sense, though less successfully. ‘What Is It Now?’ is a perfectly competent, though unremarkable closer.

So all in all, ‘Have You Fed The Fish’ is by no means a terrible album, it just manages to be somehow far less than the sum of its parts, and I’m not sure why. The side effect of this is that although I own a copy of the follow up, I’ve barely listened to it over the years. If I ever reach ‘O’, I’ll give it a go.

'Hate' by The Deladoes

Where did this one come from? I honestly don't know. I remember hearing 'No Danger' on the radio, and liking it, but it's not on this album, which is the only Delgados album I own. I'm certain I bought it very cheaply - as in a pound, or so - but I don't know when, or where from, or even why. I've also barely listened to it since, so a pound (or so) well spent.

So I wasn't expecting this to be a big deal. However, I've been listening to it on rotation for a week partly because I'm not too fussed about the next album on the list, but mostly because it's actually really good. Good in a 'why have I not paid attention to this before' sort of way. Good in a 'look out for more albums' kind of way. Who knew? Not many people, it would seem - I don't the Delgados every achieved any real success.

So, to the album content. It swoops along with a certain amount of melancholy, but in the most enjoyable of ways. 'The Light Before We Land' is a stately and assured opening track. 'All You Need Is Hate' has a surprising title (which I assume is tongue-in-cheek) but is far nicer to hear than you'd expect from the title. 'Woke From Dreaming' and 'The Drowning Years' are delicately constructed with a hint of Mercury Rev about their arrangements. 'Come In From The Cold' would be a good Belle and Sebastian track. 'Child Killers' is a an expansive epic which entirely justifies it's 6:42 length. Similar adjectives would suit the rest of the album from this point on as it maintains its quality through to the glorious end of 'If This Is A Plan'.

This was the last but one Delgados album. I've no idea whether the others were this good or not, but I'll be looking into it. Wonderful stuff - I wish I'd paid attention before hand.

'Electro-Shock Blues Show' by Eels

As well as their regular album discography, Eels have released a whole collection of live albums via their website. This wasn't the first, but it was the first one I got, as a result of my brother's inadverdant criminality - he ordered an album, it arrived, it got hidden under a pile of stuff, he mistakenly asked for a replacement which ended up being mine.

'Electro-Shock Blues Show' was recorded in 1998 during the 'Electro-Shock Blues' tour, and released four years later. At the time, the Eels act consisted of only E, drummer Butch and and bassist Adam Siegel. This three piece version of the band leads to a very stark set of arrangements - bass, drums and organ or guitar. This gives the songs a real punch, but if anything, ups their intensity. It's great stuff. The vast majority of the songs are taken from 'Electro-Shock Blues', and Eels show no real sign of pandering to the crowd with the more popular stuff - 'Novocaine For The Soul' and 'My Beloved Monster' are both here, but in radically reworked form, and 'Not Ready Yet' is blown out to a hugely indulgent thirteen minutes. Seasonal track 'Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas' is hugley incongrous, but a welcome spot of light relief.

It's easy to see why this wasn't released in shops - a hard sell to the average consumer, but a good listen for the fanbase.

'Come Away With Me' by Norah Jones

Where did Norah Jones come from? In 2001, no-one had heard of her, and yet one year on, she was everywhere, and her debut album was virtually inescapable. All too often when this happens, it shouldn’t. Most artists that leap to that kind of instant fame don’t really deserve too, and either disappear as quickly as they arrived, or stumble through a career of diminishing interest. Norah Jones seems to have largely avoided falling into either of these traps. Admittedly, she’s been unable to repeat the all-out success of ‘Come Away With Me’ but since this album sold over 20 million copies worldwide, that would have been no easy task.

As for the album itself, it holds up well. It’s not the sort of record that’s going to change anyone’s life, on inspire a devoted level of fandom, but its 14 tracks of gentle piano led jazz-lite is a perfectly pleasant listen with just enough variety of texture to keep itself interesting. Jones herself has a good voice, and her band showcase it well – understated enough to let Jones be the star, but with enough flourish to sound like a band, not just a random collection of subservient session musicians.

'About A Boy' (soundtrack) by Badly Drawn Boy

When it was first announced that Badly Drawn Boy would be providing the soundtrack to 'About A Boy' it raised a lot of eyebrows. Critics found it inexplicable that a critically adored Mercury-Music-Prize-Winning maverick artist would want to ally himself to a major motion picture based on a Nick Hornby novel and starring Hugh Grant.

Well, they are all wrong. 'About A Boy' may only have been Badly Drawn Boy's second album, but it's his best. Written for a purpose, this album is more focused and less flabby than the albums released either side of this one. It has some fantastic singles - one very conventional, but great ('Something To Talk About'), and one slighlty more unusual, but still great ('Silent Sigh'). Most of the rest of the album is still song based - this isn't a collection of soundtrack friendly instrumental segments. 'A Peak You Reach' and 'Above You, Below Me' would have sounded perfectly at home on other albums, or even on their own, and tracks like 'File Me Away' and 'A Minor Incident', whilst quieter, are still good songs in their own right. The instrumental bits that are sprinkled through the album make musical references to the songs they are surrounded by, and help the album hang together extremely well. If only he'd kept it up!

‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ by Coldplay

Coldplay’s first album, ‘Parachutes’, was a big success. Lots of people bought it, and lots of people loved it, but there were some who didn’t. A number of critics dismissed the album, and the band as a whole as being a bit wet – too timid to achieve anything of note. ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ seems tailor made to dispel that argument.

The first two tracks make a very strong opening. ‘Politik’ is loud, and more importantly, big. It has no particularly memorable tune, but it certainly creates an impression (and sets a bit of a template for ‘Square One’ on the next album). ‘In My Place’, the first single, is custom built for stadium sing-alongs, and while it may not be especially deep or meaningful, it soars regardless. In just two tracks, Coldplay demonstrate a new found sense of scale.

‘God Put A Smile Upon Your Face’ ups the tempo and throws in some spiky guitar work. ‘The Scientist’ is a slower track which would have sounded at home on ‘Parachutes’, but which would have been a stand-out on it. ‘Clocks’ is like a distillation of everything Coldplay so far. Both these tracks indicate the increased importance of Chris Martin’s piano to the band, something which would continue to develop over this album, and subsequent ones.

‘Daylight’, again, points forward with piano and guitar parts that swoop around each other creating a dense mix of sound that would characterise following albums. ‘Green Eyes’ provides a welcome contrast as a more straightforward acoustic strum-along. ‘Warning Sign’ is glorious, and the best showcase for Martin’s voice so far. ‘Whisper’ is the loudest and densest track on the album, but probably the least essential all in all.

The album ends as well as it opens. The title track is a brooding epic in what could be considered textbook Coldplay style – downbeat verses contrasting with big swells of sound for the chorus. ‘Amsterdam’ is played as a virtual solo piece from Martin most of the way through – piano and vocals backed only with some quiet wordless harmonies. Then the rest of the band appear for the final section, throwing everything they have into the last few bars. Coldplay would remember this trick – they do almost exactly the same thing on ‘Miss You’ during the next album – but the impact is fantastic.

As an album, this was a giant leap forward on its release. You could argue over whether it was bettered afterwards, although you could make a good case for saying that it wasn’t. What seems undeniable, though, is that this is where Coldplay really worked out what they wanted to be. ‘X&Y’ and ‘Viva La Vida’ would, at times, differ considerably from this album, but little hints of structure and style can be traced right back to it, and listening to it now, several years down the line, it doesn’t sound like an early piece of work. A textbook second album. Brilliant.

'18' by Moby

Listening to this album was the sort of experience I was hoping for when I started this. It's one of those albums I bought on it's release, then listened to a few times, then vaguely forgot about. In my head, it wasn't that good, but today, I've very much enjoyed it.

It's 18 tracks long (hence the title), so longer than it needs to be, but stripping out a few of the weaker tracks wouldn't make much difference to the album as a whole. The variety in the songs is enough that it doesn't get boring, even though it clocks in at over an hour. The album is a mix of conventional pop/rock songs ('Extreme Ways' and 'We Are All Made Of Stars' in particular), dancier tracks, and more gentle ambient stuff. Not all of it sticks in your head, and that probably IS a consequence of it's length, but it's a pleasure to listen to, especially if you're using it as a soundtrack to whatever else you might be doing.