I started my Top 100 albums in August last year - still 32 to go. I stumbled across this the other day and thought it was share worthy, as we lost 2 great artists in Prince and Tom Petty within just over 2 years and here they were doing a tribute to an absolute icon, note Prince on the guitar.
I have to say I’m not really one for the musicals, but I’ve been awaiting to see this one with anticipation, you wouldn't be a true music lover it you didn't appreciate the talent of Carole King. Okay so I might have turned into an elementary snob over the years "Front Row tickets again” (maybe bragger should be the operative word here) but it was yet again another life changing experience, an impact and yet another one that is going to be hard to top, why? It had such a great balance between theatrical acting (which is why I normally shy away from due to probably story lines and over acting), but this is a great story line which allowed the acting to be defined matched equally with power packed impeccable performances by everyone involved.
There is no doubt Carole King, Gerry Goffin and their nemesis couple Cynthia Weil and Barry Man had such an incredible back catalogue of music, but it was their stories, their human tales portrayed with perfection that made it even more enjoyable. Not only did it celebrate music in the 60’s and 70’s in my eyes it celebrated women in music, a mark that King and Weil should be prouder of even more than their inductions into music halls of fame.
“Beautiful” won the Helpmann award for the best Australian Musical this year and rightfully so it was a totally unforgettable Broadway hit that I am so glad to have seen.
| Number | Album | Artist | About | Song | Release |
| 38 |
Dummy | Portishead | I have a massive man crush on Beth Gibbons so I am going to try and give meaning and description to and about an album without mentioning her name again. As haunting as it was at the time I remember being caught by the emotive, yet almost angelic sound of Portishead and I was quite surprised to learn that they were basically only a three-piece band that used the same session musicians. Such a complicated sound yet it worked maybe because there is just no getting past the somewhat deep eerie lyrics sung with such an emotional intelligence which seems to just compliment their sound. At times, the scratch of the record from Barrow’s fingers and the crying of Utley’s guitar just put you into a musical trance, matched with Gibbons voice it’s like a three-piece choir with the whole three sounds just intertwining to produce brilliance. And if my words don’t convince you – watch Glory Box live (Roseland NYC) The only disappointing thing about all this is that they were never able to reach the heights of this album again, man what a talent, what a song, what an album. | Sour Times
Roads
My Pick-Glory Box
| 1994
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When two unbelievable artist's collaborate it can only lead to an epic fairytale...
| Number | Album | Artist | About | Song | Release |
| 39 |
Violent Femmes | Violent Femmes | This band was introduced to me in my late teens by someone that was a couple of years older than me that had only been living in Australia for 12 Months, perhaps the introduction was the start of my quest for more alternative music. Violent Femmes have such a big sound for a three-piece band and a different sound at that and there is no mistaking Gordon Gano’s voice. A very hip band but you could almost say that they were stuck between a few genres of music, hell Gano even made buck teeth look trendy and hip. Some catchy tunes on this album with Blisters in the Sun leading the way being played at every teenage disco that I attended, my least favourite now but there was a lot of other great songs on this album that kept me in there. There is also a great story behind them on how they were picked up – short story, they were busking, and Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders heard them leading them to be invited to play at one of their concerts. Violent Femmes was almost an underground alternative band but hey if you didn’t know any of their songs you weren’t hip – and no Blisters in the Sun doesn’t count, I’ll give you sometime to Add it up. Still one of my favourite scenes in a movie was when Ethan Hawke belted “Add it Up” out with his band in Reality Bites. | Please Don’t Go
Kiss Off
My Pick- Add it Up | 1983
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