'Funeral' by Arcade Fire

There are lots of average albums out there, and there are plenty of good ones. Every now and again, however, comes an album so special you wonder how music as a whole got by without it. ‘Funeral’ is one of those albums. There is nothing, literally nothing, I would change about this album. From start to finish, it’s utterly glorious. Shambolic, chaotic, energetic, rough around the edges but wonderful all the same.

I can remember listening to the album for the first time on my journey to work after buying it on the strength of a Jools Holland performance. As ‘Neighbourhood #1’ began, I was intrigued. By the time the tempo had noticeably started to accelerate, I was hooked. By the time ‘Neighbourhood #2’ had played out, with its shouty vocals and accordion riffs, I knew there was no way I wasn’t going to love what followed. Sure enough came ‘Neighbourhood #3’, ‘Crown Of Love’, ‘Wake Up’, and the utterly brilliant ‘Rebellion’ – track after track of goodness.

This is hardly a controversial view – Arcade Fire had nothing but praise from virtually the whole world when this album was released, and the positive reception lasted almost unscathed though the release of their follow-up as well, but no matter. There are no inherent points in thinking differently to everyone else. Sometimes, the hype is justified.

‘Fashion Rocks EP’ by David Bowie & Arcade Fire

Here’s a little curio that’s too short to get much attention. Recorded a couple of years ago at some glitzy fashion do, the ‘Fashion Rocks EP’ brings together two great acts over three short tracks.

It begins with ‘Life On Mars?’, performed by Bowie more-or-less alone, backed only by Mike Garson’s piano. It’s a tough one. Bowie’s voice is a long way off being able to hit those high notes now, and the songs transposition does rob it of a lot of its magic, but at the same time, it’s such a great song, it can’t fail to be good, and the songs re-arrangement makes the best of the job.

Arcade Fire join for the next two songs, their own ‘Wake Up’, and Bowie’s ‘Five Years’. Both of these are great, though it’s the latter that’s most interesting. Because the band are so big, and produce so much sound, Bowie’s contribution struggles to make much impact during ‘Wake Up’. They do, however, bring a ramshackle energy to ‘Five Years’ that complements Bowie’s part brilliantly.

The performance was released as a straightforward download, and in fairness, didn’t deserve anything more than that. Nevertheless, it’s a good listen for a fan of Bowie or Arcade Fire, so well worth hearing if you like both.

'Arcade Fire EP' by Arcade Fire

Released in 2003, then again in 2005 to follow the first proper album, this 7 track EP was the first release from Arcade Fire. You wouldn't expect a massive amount from it - recorded in a barn before the band had a record deal, it sounds a bit rough and ready, but it shows many of the hallmarks of Arcade Fire which they would go on to develop more fully. The instrumentation and the vocal signatures are all in place, and only the slightly ropey production lets it down. It's most notable for an early version of 'No Cars Go' which would later feature on Neon Bible in an almost identical form, which rather implies the band were happy with this record as it was - and fair enough, really. It's unlikely that many people would choose to listen to it instead of 'Funeral' which followed it, but it's a pretty good curio.