THE RESIDENTS - STARS AND HANK FOREVER @ 35

 

October 21st marks the 35th anniversary of The Residents most unlikely commercial success, Stars & Hank Forever!, which was issued on this day in 1986. It was Volume II in their American Composer Series, which began two years earlier with the release of the George & James album. For this second volume, the composers were Hank Williams on side one and John Philip Sousa on side two. Though the American Composer Series was intended to span as many as 10 volumes over 16 years, the project was abruptly abandoned after this second volume due to various logistical difficulties. These, in part, involved rising costs for licensing fees and the incompatibility of the project’s structure with the emerging CD format. The American Composer Series was built around two composers per release occupying separate sides of an LP. With CDs usurping vinyl at the time as the dominant release format, the split side concept didn’t work anymore.

To say the album was commercially successful does not necessarily mean that it was critically or artistically so, though it does have certain moments. While the first volume, which covered works by James Brown and George Gershwin, offered a lot of giddy interpretations for the group to indulge in, their irreverent approach maybe didn’t serve the revered nature of Hank Williams’ legacy. However, their toe tapping take on Kaw-Liga, which mounted the familiar “Indian” lament atop a rhythm section lifted straight from Michael Jackson’s hit, Billie Jean, proved to be extremely club friendly and The Residents found themselves suddenly in the unfamiliar position of being DJ faves in the underground clubs of the mid 1980s. Releasing the track in an extended 12” remixed format helped drive its popularity even more. That hit aside, however, their versions of other Williams classics like Jambalaya may have been seen by some as disrespectful, though personally, I find the Williams side pretty consistently enjoyable.

The Sousa side, on the other hand, offers up a far more challenging listening experience. The bombast of parade and marching music makes for some pretty brittle listening and the arrangements, with their accompanying sound effects intended to recreate the ambiance of a live parade, leave the whole side long mix of songs sounding jarring and alienating. A remix of this material without the sound FX was later released separately, though I’ve not bothered to check out that version.

The saddest aspect of this album is the fact it contains the last recordings done with frequent collaborator and unofficial “fifth” Resident, innovative guitar genius Snakefinger, before his untimely and tragic passing. This fatal blow was something of a culmination to a turbulent time for the band, which had gone through a lot of struggle thus far in the decade. With the Mole Trilogy faltering and failing to resolve itself into a completed project, its accompanying live tour nearly bankrupting them and then the American Composer Series going off the rails after only two volumes, the loss of Snakefinger must have dealt a serious blow to the group’s resolve. It’s no wonder they’d turn their attention to the realm of faith and religion with their next major project, God In Three Persons. Though this represented the end of the composer series, they would do a collection of Elvis Presley songs a few years later in 1989 for The King & Eye album.

COUM TRANSMISSIONS | THROBBING GRISTLE - PROSTITUTION AT THE ICA @ 45

 

45 years ago today, on October 18th, 1976, The ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) in London England hosted the opening night of the infamous Prostitution exhibition by COUM Transmissions. Not only was this the culmination of the efforts of this transgressive multimedia arts collective, it was the official debut of their new alter-ego, Throbbing Gristle. In addition to the performance by TG, the exhibition included a series of framed pornographic images culled from member Cosey Fanni Tutti’s work in the adult publishing world, sculptures incorporating used female hygiene products and a burlesque performer.

Because of the use of public arts funding and its presentation in a government funded gallery, the press quickly took note of the exhibition’s controversial contents and started spinning a media frenzy around it, the likes of which was only surpassed just over a month later when the Sex Pistols swore a blue streak on British tea time TV. The public outrage over the show resulted in it being debated in the UK parliament where Tory MP Nicholas Fairbairn famously referred to the group as “wreckers of civilization” adding, "IT'S A SICKENING OUTRAGE! Sadistic! Obscene! Evil! The Arts Council must be scrapped after this!" In true meta-media form, COUM incorporated the show’s incendiary coverage into the exhibit by creating an evolving display of all the press cuttings published during the week the show was running.

As far as the career of COUM Transmissions was concerned, Prostitution is often considered the swan song of the art troupe, though a couple of minor actions & exhibits were undertaken afterwards. But for all practical purposes, the focus of the members shifted decisively to the activities of the new Throbbing Gristle project after this event. In retrospect, the ICA show was the perfect summary of COUM’s explorations of contemporary sexuality and cultural taboos. Cosey’s work as a professional pornographic model was central to this conception as she was able to work from the inside of the industry, clandestinely examining it and how sexual representation is manipulated by the media, even as it simultaneously stands in judgment against the so-called perversions represented by these illicit materials. The contradiction of availability and prohibition formed an essential dynamic in terms of how the materials were presented. The framed images, which had been intended to be openly displayed on the wall, had to be hidden away in a back room because of censorship so that people had to request to see them privately and flip through the works because they were not allowed to be shown openly in the gallery.

TG’s “debut” was, in fact, not the group’s first public appearance. They’d done something of a “soft launch” at a couple of brief shows in July and August of that year where they tested their legs a bit before the official launch of the group on October 18th. While the earlier shows offered up a somewhat tentative version of TG, the ICA show presented them in a completely realized form, fully prepared to confront a dazed audience who were hit with a sound and substance which subverted the structure of a “rock group” into a new kind of entity. They used familiar signifiers in a way which deconstructed the essence of the music. There was no drummer, the guitarist didn’t know how to play, nor really did anyone, though Chris at least had some mastery of the electronics which gave TG its signature sound. Where early COUM’s dalliances with music had been more acoustic based and akin to “hippy” freestyle jamming, TG offered up an electrified sound that, while bereft of any traditional musical technique, seemed laser focused on some as-yet undetermined objective. Genesis began the show with a desolate noise behind him while he described the post-industrial wasteland of the modern urban world, dog barking in the distance of a bleak landscape of alienation and anxiety. This was the moment when “Industrial Music for Industrial People” was born.

The aftermath of this exhibit left a lot of questions in the minds of the public and the press and it remains one of the most infamous and controversial shows ever put on by the ICA. Though COUM and TG were questionable at the time, they’ve since been recognized as creative pioneers with archives of their work officially acquired by by the gallery in recent years. They’ve also done retrospectives of the Prostitution show, including a 2016 40th anniversary presentation featuring readings by Cosey Fanni Tutti.

It’s far more difficult these days for artists to generate controversy and outrage to the extent that was possible back then. The public and the art world are much more jaded and familiar with attempts at transgression and these efforts usually come off as desperate pleas for attention rather than efforts to change the way people think or perceive their world. COUM & TG were equipped with a serious arsenal of cultural weaponry when they instigated these works, fortified by years of exploration and experimentation and an intent to impact the way people perceive and interpret the world. It wasn’t merely “shock value” self-indulgence, like so many who came in their wake. As such, there’s still a great deal that can be learned from their works and the artifacts to be found in their aftermath.

THE MONKEES - JUSTUS @ 25

 

October 15th marks the 25th anniversary of the release of The Monkees 1996 reunion album, Justus. It was instigated as a way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the debut of the group’s TV series, which aired for the first time on September 12th, 1966. It would be the first time all four members would record together since 1968, and the last time before Davy’s passing in 2012.

Like clockwork, The Monkees seemed to try some sort of reunion album every ten years. In 1976, the Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart album came together, though not officially under The Monkees banner due to the name being in legal limbo at the time. It was an album that was, overall, quite successful artistically, but failed to make much of an impact commercially. In 1987, on the heels of a hit single, That Was Then, This Is Now, which was spurred on by a revival of the TV show thanks to an MTV marathon in 1986, Micky, Davy & Peter put together the Pool It album, which was pretty much savaged by critics and is considered the group’s all time worst album by many. The next cycle brought them together in the summer of 1996 to begin work on Justus.

This time around, it was Mike who got the ball rolling. After playing his then fiancé, Victoria Kennedy, some tracks from the Head soundtrack, her enthusiastic response got him to organize a jam session with Micky on drums, Pete on bass and himself on guitar. The session went so well that they called in Davy to complete the group and began working with label Rhino to put together a reunion album. For this project, the group wanted to go back to one of the best times of their early career, when they’d broken free from the shackles of being a “fake” TV band and got control of their music to record their third album, Headquarters. They wanted to recreate that magic of it being only the four of them at the helm and they even decided to up the ante by writing all the songs themselves and producing the album on their own. As the label says on the tin, it was to be JUST them.

It was all set about with the best of intentions and approached with the utmost sincerity, but when it came to what was delivered, something about the sum of the parts didn’t end up adding up quite to what it should have been. For one thing, the primary influence of the era was the zeitgeist of the “grunge” movement, which drove the group to attempt to update their sound to that contemporary standard and the truth was that it wasn’t the best fit when they strayed into that territory. Anger and cynicism weren’t a good disposition for a group who were so strongly associated with fun and games. Not that they hadn’t offered up some cynical songs before. Pleasant Valley Sunday was a cutting commentary on suburban conformity, but it was wrapped in bubblegum pop sweetness to make its attack one of stealth rather than a full frontal assault.

The strength of the songwriting wasn’t quite up to par either. Though they’d all been able to deliver classic songs in the past, they didn’t seem to come up to scratch this time around. It’s not that the album is necessarily “bad”, but being “middling” is always a pretty weak form of praise. Many found the lack of Nesmith’s more country-rock influence and lead vocals another disappointment. Some better songs did brighten things up to a degree, particularly Davy’s pieces as they skewed towards a softer pop sound, but even at their best, the production still sounds dated today, especially when the songs try to push into edgier hard rock. The hollow sound of the vocals is particularly jarring on tracks like Regional Girl. It’s got a thin, brittle tone to it that doesn’t hold up to contemporary listening and begs for a modern remix to try to address the gutless feel that pervades the production.

Critically and commercially, the album failed to garner a lot of success or praise and lackluster reactions put a damper on the sense of achievement that should have been present for such a momentous reunion. The group did also manage to produce an hour long TV special in February of 1997 to help promote the album, but that too suffered from the same kind of unsatisfying results. Even with Mike, who’d pioneered the fusion of music and narrative with projects like his award winning Elephant Parts video, shepherding the script and handling the directing, somehow it didn't add up to what it should have. It all, on paper, should have been a marvelous rebirth for the group, but somehow the spirit and timing simply didn’t seem to jive.

It wouldn’t be until 2016’s 50th anniversary reunion album, Good Times, 20 years later, that all the pieces would fall into place to create an album which truly reignited the group in the right way. It’s an album that manages to bring their sound into the present without losing the essence of what made them so appealing in the past. Whereas Justus tried to bring them into a contemporary landscape where they didn’t seem to comfortably fit, Good Times manifested in the present without feeling like it needed to conform to the times to let The Monkees be what they were meant to be, a rebelliously fun escape from the traumas of the modern world. Justus, in the end, was an admirable and bold effort that was, sadly, not yet ready to bring the group to where they’d eventually end up in these late years of their career, but they would get there when the time was right.

THE MONKEES @ 55

 

Celebrating its 55th anniversary today, The Monkees debut album was released on October 10th, 1966. While it may have been a "manufactured image" at this time; a construct built for a fictional TV world, that didn't mean there weren't true creative talents working to put it all together.

First and foremost, there was the powerhouse duo of Boyce & Hart, who wrote most of the songs and provided their house band to perform a good chunk of the music. They forged a distinct, slicked up, jangling garage rock style that would be the foundation of The Monkees success. Their contribution of Last Train to Clarksville proved to be chart topping gold, even though it stealthily smuggled in an anti war message.

The album also featured songs from the likes of David Gates, Gerry Goffin and Carole King. And even though the band themselves were only ever intended to contribute vocals to the songs, Michael Nesmith was allowed to contribute a couple of his own compositions, which he co-produced at his own recording session. When it wasn't the Boyce & Hart boys playing the music, the legendary Wrecking Crew musicians were there to round out the album.

As a result, regardless of any criticisms of them being the "pre-fab four", the combination of expert musicians, inspired songwriters and the lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry and personalities of the Monkees themselves added up to a sum which has proven itself against the unforgiving tides of time. This album still holds its charms and power and has rightfully earned its place in the pantheon of classic pop music.

JOY DIVISION - STILL @ 40

 

Released 40 years ago today, on October 8th, 1981, Joy Division’s 3rd album, Still, would function as the headstone upon the tomb of this doomed, yet groundbreaking band after the tragic suicide of its lead singer, Ian Curtis.

The double disc set contained mostly studio outtakes from the Unknown Pleasures and Closer sessions on disc one, while the second disc contained the group’s final UK live performance. Its purpose was partly intended to thwart bootleggers looking to cash in on the band’s demise and infamy, but it also offered the opportunity to corral all the disparate bits of studio leftovers together into a convenient package for the band’s eager fans. Though the quality of the songs might not quite match up to the perfection of those contained on their prior albums & singles, there’s regardless some great songs to be found on the album, and some rarities for good measure.

The initial release of the album was elegantly packaged in a cloth hessian grey cover bound by a white silk ribbon, which gave it a kind of “memorial” gravitas as the final statement from the group after its termination following the death of Curtis. It certainly continued the visual aesthetic established by the group’s previous releases on Factory and took it to a natural extreme befitting of the somber nature of its existence. A subsequent CD reissue added a bonus disc of live and soundcheck recordings.

HAWKWIND - X IN SEARCH OF SPACE @ 50

 

Marking a half century since its release on October 8th, 1971 is the sophomore album by space rock legends, Hawkwind, with their first full blown excursion into the depths of the void, X In Search of Space.

While the album is not a concept album in the strict sense of offering a coherent narrative or theme for all the songs, the album’s elaborate die-cut fold out cover and accompanying “log” booklet ultimately imparted a lot of its conceptual weight. These were developed by cover artist, Barney Bubbles & poet Bob Calvert with input from sci-fi author, Michael Moorcock. Collectively, they go a long way in establishing a mythology around the group. Where their debut had hinted at these inclinations, their second album made their otherworldly predilections explicit. The use of fictional accounts of space missions and tales of lost civilizations added a sense of wonder and mystery to the group.

Recording of the album initially began at George Martin’s Air Studios, but that only lasted a week. The sessions were terminated after the band failed to get much done in terms of recording and the studio techs complained that friends of the band had broken into George’s liquor cabinet and pinched all his booze. There were also reports that the engineers found they’d been spiked with LSD, so things ended abruptly at that facility. From there, they were bundled off to Olympic Studios to do the rest of the album under a rather hurried schedule, no doubt with the hopes that a fast pace would keep them out of trouble.

The pace of production didn’t seem to hurt the material, however as the band managed to produce a solid album that would firmly set their course for their progress throughout the next few years. The sound became rooted in their driving rhythm section, which enabled the other players to spin off into the far reaches of improvisational acrobatics while being able to anchor themselves to the band’s relentless grooves. Taking a cue from “Krautrock” and its development of the “motorik” beat, the band were moving much closer to these new structures than traditional blues based rock.

Critical reception for the album was widely positive with Melody Maker comparing them to some of their German contemporaries saying that, while the Germans were more advanced on some musical fronts, Hawkwind’s use of electronics was without precedent. Gonzo reviewer, Lester Bangs, called it "monotone jammings with hypnotic rhythms and solos unraveling off into... well, space. The synthesizers warble, woof and scream and gurgle like barfing computers, the drums pound, and the singers chant Unknown Tongue rebops." Its legacy has placed it onto the platform of offering a definitive space rock statement, making it a foundation stone for the stoned who would trip out to its far-flung, far-out excursions.

Later CD & digital reissues added the seminal Silver Machine single featuring Lemmy Kilmister to the album to round out its greatness!

TOM TOM CLUB @ 40

 

Released 40 years ago this month, the Tom Tom Club’s eponymous debut set the world’s toes tapping in October of 1981. Conceived as a pressure release value by married Talking Heads rhythm section, Tina Weymouth (bass) and Chris Franz (drums), Tom Tom Club was concocted while on holiday in the Bahamas. With work on Talking Heads being so intense and demanding, the need for a lighter side project put the focus on the fun and joy of making music. Aside from Tina & Chris forming the rhythmic core of the group, the rest was filled out with a loose association of players and studio techs. Featured among these were guitarists Adrian Belew & Monte Brown, keyboardist Tyrone Downie, percussionist Uziah "Sticky" Thompson and Weymouth sisters Lani, Laura & Loric filling in the backing vocals.

The album doesn’t stray too far away from the funky dance territory staked out by Talking Heads, but goes for a much more playful, less academic disposition, something which caused Heads’ main man, David Byrne, to be somewhat dismissive of the project. While there are times when its “cuteness” verges on cloying, the album boasts one of the most infectious funk grooves ever committed to vinyl in the form of Genius of Love. Not only is the groove unstoppable, but Adrian Belew’s warped guitar solo is one of the strangest mutations of the instrument I’ve ever heard. The extended mix also served to bring some dub production to the radio top 40 charts! The single was extremely popular in both the US and UK, though it didn’t quite hit the top slot, but its impact would end up going far beyond its original form as its groove would be sampled and recreated over and over by rap, soul & R&B artists for generations after its release.