In The Wee Small Hours

Frank Sinatra
1955

The first concept album? Given what we now understand by the term, this doesn't really qualify. It doesn't even have a cover by Roger Dean, for goodness' sake, just a slightly odd painting of Frank looking lonely (although the picture did inspire a legendary advertising campaign, all by itself). It is, however, a wonderfully moody set of performances, which rather than having a little bit of everything for everyone, concentrates on the mournful. So there's a definite theme.

My guess is that something so downcast, without a sprinkling of livelier numbers, could only have been attempted by someone with Sinatra's commercial and artistic clout. It's unusual now and probably was at the time, men preferring to leave lovelorn ballads to women. Alpha males don't like giving the impression of vulnerability or of having been cast aside by a girl.

Full marks to all concerned then, because it is superb. Sustaining a melancholy mood without boring the listener must be a difficult trick; here the arrangements provide enough light and shade while leaving the vocals centre stage. And Sinatra is uniquely identifiable, of course, the sonorous, dolorous richness of his voice suiting the material perfectly. Somehow the album never drags, even though it is fifty minutes long and contains sixteen tracks.

It is a very solitary pleasure though. I can't really imagine having this on in the background while friends are over. Luckily I listen to a lot of music by myself. The tracks I'll come back to in particular would be "What Is This Thing Called Love", "When Your Lover Has Gone" and "This Love Of Mine", but really the album needs to be listened to as a whole. So maybe it does qualify as a concept album after all.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley
1956

So it's a classic from tip of its iconic cover to the bottom of its blue suede shoes (track 1 here). But by today's standards it sounds very tame, although the best tracks - "Blue Suede Shoes", "Just Because" - are, of course, vastly influential. There's a lot more of the slow crooners than you might expect if you just knew of the album's reputation as one of the first rock 'n' roll discs. The inclusion of covers of then-current hits like "Tutti Frutti" and "I Got A Woman" might have been cutting edge at the time, but now they just sound inferior to the now very well known originals.

My favourite Elvis songs are not on this album - although the CD version includes "Heartbreak Hotel" - and, really, I think anyone who isn't obsessive about Presley would be better off with a greatest hits collection. I've got The Fifty Greatest Hits and there is hardly any filler - something you can't say about this album.

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles
1959

I can't think of a better start to an album than "Let The Good Times Roll" - horns blaring, bass and drums swinging. OK, it's a straight copy of the Louis Jordan original but it is better recorded and performed, to my mind.

The rest of the album is a tiny bit of a let down after such an outstanding start. It consists primarily of standards and was presumably intended to showcase Charles' ability as a singer and interpreter of acceptable tunes. My guess is that, by the standards of the day, this was the best option in order to ensure a career in music. Rock 'n' roll was barely a toddler and the soul music that Ray Charles pioneered wasn't even out of nappies (metaphor being stretched). No-one expected that there was money to be made in these new forms of music. But a black Sinatra - Nat King Cole notwithstanding - well, there was mileage in that. Hence the choice of songs and the overblown album title.

That's not to say that it's not a very good album or that there aren't other excellent tracks on here. "Deed I Do" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band" are both very good. Both are from the first side of the album. The second half - side - is a bit syrupy, laden as it is with strings. But still, "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying" is very good - not for the arrangement so much as the singing, which is sublime.

Four Freshmen And Five Trombones

Four Freshmen
1956

A kind of barbershop quartet close harmony that actually reminds me of nothing so much as Ted's band in Scrubs. Excellent of its type, and famous for being an influence on The Beach Boys, but I find the constant harmonised singing to be a little wearing after a couple of songs. In particular, the high falsetto always sounds slightly flat - very annoying after a while.

In contrast, something like doo wop uses extensive harmonies but as a backdrop - another instrument, really - to a solo singer, and is more listenable as a result.

I think this style suits slower songs better, where it sounds lush and romantic. I particularly like "Angel Eyes" and "You Stepped Out Of A Dream", both very evocative of their time. Great for unusual compilations. Faster songs sound more like novelties.

Tragic Songs Of Life

The Louvin Brothers
1956

Apparently this is a pioneering work in the country and bluegrass category, but I found it something of an acquired taste. I can see the appeal; the voices are clear (if somewhat nasal), the harmonies pretty, the music upbeat and cheerful. The lyrics, on the other hand, are unremittingly depressing - although the album's title does offer a bit of a clue here, to be fair.

Some are just maudlin. "Kentucky" seems like a cheerful ode the beauties of, well, Kentucky, until you realise it's about dying. "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" is a curiosity that wouldn't happen today, I think. It's written from the perspective of a woman, who is watching the man she loves marry another. More to the point, it's sung from that perspective. Which makes it sound like the Louvin Brothers are gay. Whether they were or not is irrelevant, it just seems out of character for a very traditional genre.

Some songs are darker. "Knoxville Girl" is particularly unpleasant, describing as it does, in gruesome and extended first person detail, how a man murdered the girl he loved, although at no point does it offer an explanation. All this is set to a jaunty bluegrass beat and tune. Why this was considered suitable or even desirable subject material is beyond me, but clearly it has been very influential.

This isn't something I'd listen to regularly, or even ever again, to be honest. It sounds nice enough, but as soon as you start listening to the lyrics, it's really depressing - both because of the subject matter and that some people actually (presumably) enjoy such subjects. I'm pleased I know it but off it goes!

Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook

Ella Fitzgerald
1956

You shouldn't need me to tell you that Cole Porter wrote wonderful songs. Nor do you need me to tell you that Ella Fitzgerald was an amazing singer. So this album kind of recommends itself. If you're looking for classic performances of Porter's songbook, you really can't do better.

And yet ... this is beautifully sung, arranged and recorded, and truly timeless - and strangely bloodless. I was pondering the use of "definitive" in the previous paragraph, but the versions here are not. Partly I think this is because they are too polite and contain no passion. Despite the quality of the performances - and they really are all top-notch; this is a lovely album to listen to - I don't find they linger in the mind. There's nothing to catch my attention.

My introduction to Cole Porter was via the superb Red Hot + Blue album, which contains some wonderful reinterpretations of these songs. Contrast the upbeat swoon of Fitzgerald's reading of "So In Love" with k.d. lang's doom-laden resignation on the same song (possibly her finest single moment); or  her lightly swinging "Night And Day" with U2's dramatic, muscular take.

Books 2012

December

It Shouldn't Happen To A Vet by James Herriot (1972)

I've never read these books, although I seem to recall my grandparents had most of them. Why I should have skipped them I don't know. For some reason, this tatty copy in the book exchange at work appealed. Enjoyable, snack-sized vignettes of country life.

Summer Of Love: The Making Of Sgt. Pepper by George Martin (1994)

Despite buying this book several years ago, this is the first time I have read it. A fascinating record of what happened, and no-one can doubt its veracity. Apart from the bits he can't remember, as he himself points out in the introduction! Very interesting.

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003)

An excellent and understandably famous book. Although I'm not quite sure why it qualifies as a children's book. I won't be showing this to any of my kids until they're in their early teens.

The People's Music by Ian MacDonald (2003)

MacDonald's Revolution In The Head is definitive, but this collection of magazine articles is indulgent. Clearly a highly intelligent, widely-read, erudite and articulate man, MacDonald nevertheless consistently mistakes his own prejudices for objective truths and is a canonical example of a rock snob. There is much of interest here but too often MacDonald merely comes across as an overly verbose grumpy old man. The title piece is several thousand words long but could be summed up in five: "I don't like modern music."

Microserfs by Douglas Coupland (1995)

I first read this ages ago but now I actually work in software product development it makes more sense. (Not that where I work is like Microsoft or a start-up, really.) Very accurate about some details.

Thunder, Flush And Thomas Crapper: An Encycloopedia by Adam Hart-Davis (1997)

Amusing, mildly diverting and occasionally enlightening selection of snippets about toilets. Ideal for reading on the toilet. Although the fact that my copy is second-hand makes me wonder about how hygienic it is.

The Top Gear Story by Martin Roach (2011)

Ludicrously uncritical attempt to cash in on (new) Top Gear's success. Contains fleeting insights into the history, development and rationale behind the series but wastes too much space on simple recounting of old programmes. I'm not sure why I bothered or persevered, to be honest.

Reelin' In The Years by Mark Radcliffe (2011)

A characteristically witty and engaging book. The pop anorak in me likes the concept very much: a song for every year of your life, with added trivia. The reader in me finds the result a little fragmented.