Track Listing: 1. Needles in the Camel's Eye 2. The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch 3. Baby's on Fire 4. Cindy Tells Me 5. Driving Me Backwards 6. On Some Faraway Beach 7. Blank Frank 8. Dead Finks Don't Talk 9. Some of Them Are Old 10. Here Come the Warm Jets
These Brian Eno albums were supposed to be something I should have checked out yeeeeeaaaaaars ago, but assumed would be something I wouldn't care for...See, the Brian Eno I grew up with was some dude who was actively trying to bore us to death with music that was literally made to be ignored. When I vacuum the house, I don't want to listen to ambient music. I want something that will motivate me. I'll listen to DRI or the Bad Brains or something. I don't like to ignore music. So yea, I was in no big rush to dig through his discography.
But about five or six years ago I was on a serious Roxy Music kick and after I burned through all their records I was hungry for more moRE MORE!!!! So I picked up a cheap used copy of Brian Eno's first solo album, recorded shortly after his departure from Roxy, "Here Come the Warm Jets" and the minute the album started I was in freakin' love. I was surprised to find that I love the first four Eno albums even more than the Roxy albums. That's right, I said it.
If you haven't heard it, take a minute to listen to that first track, "Needles in the Camel's Eye"...I'll wait...
My God! Did you hear what I just heard? It sounds like the Velvet Underground tossing the heroin and mainlining pure fucking joy instead! No ambient here. Just a brilliant, seriously bent pop album. So much to hear and take in when this thing plays. Eno's famous "treatments" where he processes the shit outta regular, boring old instruments and turn them into swarms of buzzing hornets or in the case of "The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch," a couple of flapper robots from the 1920's flirting with each other.
If you listen to "Driving Me Backwards," you'll get to ride on a giant piano as it flies serenely through the clouds, slowly searching for the song in the distance where it originally came from. If you listen to "Baby's on Fire," you'll get to witness a shredding guitar attempting to shred itself while the bass and drums watch on in suspenseful horror. If you listen closely to "Some of Them Are Old," you'll get to see a barbershop quartet made up of dusty, nostalgic ghosts sing the alma mater of their old, long shuttered school...Who doesn't want to see, hear and feel these things?
There's nothing like this album, yet all interesting music that occurred since bears its stamp...My wife even swears that there's some Maroon 5 song that sounds like "Here Come the Warm Jets" title track...I don't know about all that, but I know I love this record. It's so alive and warped and warm. I'll wager that it'll still be blowing minds 40 years from now...
Listen, I got laundry to do...Let's listen to some music...Here's "Here Come the Warm Jets" by Brian Eno...Eno-joy...
Alright, here's all the miscellaneous English Beat shit I own:
The English Beat: What is Beat?
1983
IRS Records
Format I Own it on: Vinyl
Track Listing: 1. Mirror In The Bathroom 2. Twist & Crawl 3. Tears Of A Clown 4. Can't Get Used To Losing You (Remix) 5. Doors Of Your Heart 6. What's Your Best Thing? 7. Hit It 8. Save It For Later (12" Version) 8.Best Friend 9.I Confess 10. Too Nice To Talk To 11. Get A Job /Stand Down Margaret
Vinyl greatest-hits package from the early 80's. I can tell you that before "The Complete Beat" made this redundant, this record was essential shit. It contained 3 non-album singles, an awesome live take of "Get A Job /Stand Down Margaret" and a handful of remixes that weren't available anywhere else. Lots of fond memories of sitting on the floor of my room listening to this one. The three non-album singles: I believe I've covered "Too Nice To Talk To" elsewhere, but it really is one of my favorite English Beat songs. Darker and funkier than anything else they've recorded. I'm never really aching to hear "Hit It", since it doesn't have a great chorus that gets lodged in your skull (like so many of their other songs), but whenever it's actually on I find myself falling for its cool, angular funkiness. I like "What's Your Best Thing?" very much. It has such a bizarre mix that I seriously thought my speakers were missing a channel when I first heard it. It's like a dub version or remix of itself. The vocals are mixed very low, the drums really loud, then suddenly a big dry guitar or violin will appear at ear-splitting levels and overtake everything. The song is so sturdy that it bears out the interesting mix, at least. I still bust this out from time to time to listen to the rarities in a vinyl format and I often find myself just letting the whole thing play. Great comp. Let's listen to "Too Nice to Talk To"...
The English Beat: 12" & Dub Versions
2012
Shout Factory! Records
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
1. Hands Off... She's Mine (Extended) 2. Twist & Crawl (Extended) 3. Stand Down Margaret (Dub) 4. Too Nice To Talk To (Dubweiser) 5. Psychedelic Rockers (Dubweiser) 6. Doors Of Your Heart (Extended) 7. Drowning (Dub) 8. Hit It (Extended) 9. Which Side Of The Bed? (Extended) 10. Save It For Later (Extended) 11.What's Your Best Thing (Dub) 12. Cool Entertainer (Extended) 13. Jeanette (Extended) 14. March Of The Swivel Heads (Extended) 15. I Confess (Dave Allen Remix)
The minute they announced an English Beat box set, I whipped out my wallet . There was no way I wasn't getting this, and I went to the record store the day it came out. This was one of two bonus discs, a 78 minute monster packed with the band's dub versions and extended 12-inch mixes. And they certainly are...longer.
The thing with The English Beat, is that they took a very gentle approach with the dubs and remixes. The end of a vocal phrase echoed, an additional instrumental breakdown, some pushed up bass or subtle percussion. You almost forget that you're not just listening to a greatest hits comp. To the point where some of these appear on greatest hits albums and nobody bats an eye or says, "Hey! That's not the version of 'Save It For Later' I wanted!"
(For some reason I'm a huge fan of 70's and 80's dubs but despise 90's-current remixes. Why is that? Oh, yea! Cos 70's and 80's shit didn't just have a shitty, programmed techno "Oonce Oonce Oonce oonce" beat slapped haphazardly over everything. Look! You can dance to it now! It has an "Oonce Oonce Oonce" on it).
I listen to this quite a bit when I can't decide which Beat album I want to hear. A good mix of the big hits and more obscure numbers like "Psychedelic Rockers." Here's the extended "Save It For Later." One of my all-time favorite songs. No question.
English Beat: Peel Sessions & Live in Boston
2012
Shout Factory! Records
Format I Own it on: Compact Disc
Track Listing: Peel Session - November 5, 1979: 1.
Tears Of A Clown 2. Ranking Full Stop 3. Click Click 4. Mirror In The Bathroom 5. Big Shot Peel Session - September 22, 1980: 6.Too Nice To Talk To 7. Psychedelic Rockers 8. Monkey Murders 9. Walk AwayPeel Session - March 29, 1982: 10. Spar Wid Me 11. End Of The Party 12. She's Going 13. Save It For Later 14. Sole Salvation 15. Pato And Roger A Go Talk Opera House, Boston - November 19, 1982 16. Best Friend 17. Tears Of A Clown 18. Twist & Crawl 19. Get-A-Job/Stand Down Margaret
This is the second bonus disc (there was a different version that had a bonus dvd of the band playing the Us festival, but I don't have that version) featuring the various Peel Sessions the band did over the years. It also includes 4 live tracks from the same show that the version of "Get-A-Job/Stand Down Margaret" from "What is Beat?" originates. No huge surprises here. The English Beat live sounds pretty the same as English Beat in the studio. They're very skilled and polished live musicians, hitting everything dead on song-after-song. It's certainly impressive, but again I often forget that I'm not listening to a very interesting hits compilation. By the way, I fucking love Peel Sessions. Getting to hear good bands hashing it out in a live setting with studio quality. What's not to love? I kinda wish this set would have included the band's performance on the 1982 Kid Jensen radio show, where the band performed two new songs that could have probably appeared on their 4th album (which the liner notes tantalizingly discuss being tracked). Frustratingly, at the same time the box set was issued, there were deluxe import versions being sold that had these tracks, making this "The Incomplete Beat." Oh, well... Here's the "Sole Salvation" Peel session...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. I Confess 2. Jeanette 3. Sorry 4. Sole Salvation 5. Spar Wid Me 6. Rotating Head 7. Save It for Later 8. She's Going 9. Pato and Roger a Go Talk 10. Sugar and Stress 11. End of the Party 12. Ackee 1-2-3 CD Bonus Tracks: 13. What's Your Best Thing 14. March Of The Swivel Heads 15. Cool Entertainer 16. A Go Talk (Tappy Luppy Dub)
"Alright. John McLaughlin punk/ska/record-dork round-table discussion for today. Is 'Special Beat Service' a brilliant comeback and perfect swan song or a commercial sellout? Discuss."
"The English Beat make a total comeback from the morass of "Wha'ppen?" "Special Beat Service" is one of the greatest 80's albums ever. As soon as the album kicks off with "I Confess" you know they're back on track. Such a great, sophisticated, uplifting slice of catchy reggae soul-pop. Every song is an effervescent, infectious treat. E=MC2!"
"I disagree. Total sell-out, dude. Go back and listen to 'I Just Can't Stop It.' They don't come close to that original energy. And 'Wha'ppen?" at least took some chances. They play it safe. For MTV. Total sellout."
"Next question! Best song on 'Special Beat Service.' I say it's 'Save It For Later.' Which isn't only the band's best track, but the single greatest song of the 80's. Perhaps even overtaking 'Mirror in the Bathroom' as the band's signature song. A timeless confection so perfect that the band broke up rather than having to face topping it. Your opinion, Albert Einstein?"
"I agree. A rare example of an absolutely perfect single. I heard there's this random middle-aged guy on Earth named Jamin that listened to it no less than 10 million times. Although, I think we have to give props to the two Ranking Roger toasting tracks 'Pato and Roger a Go Talk' and 'Spar Wid Me.' Even folks who aren't into toasting will get into these due to the band's skill at turning everything they touch into sprightly pop."
"Don't over look 'Ackee 1-2-.3' You cannot play that song and not realize that life is great. Life is beautiful. Life is fleeting. Enjoy every moment. Do a conga dance around your apartment! Duh-duh-duh-duh-duh-DA!"
"Yes, yes. 'Ackee 1-2-3.' Great choice. Great choice. Jesus Christ?!"
"Rotating Head.' Cos it was on Ferris Bueller. Awesome flick."
"Well. I think the consensus here seems to be that 'Special Beat Service' is right up there with the band's debut in terms of sheer greatness. Is it different? Sure. The punk edge is mostly gone at this point, but what they lose in brute force they gain in shimmering hookiness. The best 80's pop/new wave album? Could be...Could be...Next question. How soon is too soon?"
Track Listing: Vinyl Version: 1. Doors of Your Heart 2. All Out to Get You 3. Monkey Murders 4. I Am Your Flag 5. French Toast (Soleil Trop Chaud) 6. Drowning 7. Dream Home in NZ 8. Walk Away 9. Over and Over 10. Cheated 11. Get-a-Job 12. The Limits We Set
CD Version: 1. Too Nice to Talk To 2. Doors of Your Heart 3. All Out to Get You 4. Monkey Murders 5. I
Am Your Flag 6. French Toast (Soleil Trop Chaud) 7. Drowning 8. Dream
Home in NZ 9. Walk Away 10. Over and Over 11. Cheated 12. Get-a-Job
13. The Limits We Set 14. Psychedelic Rockers 15. Hit It 16. Which Side of the Bed...?
Alright, today's discussion? Which 2nd wave British ska band put out the most disappointing 2nd album that you ended up liking 20 years later?
Again, this could turn into a pretty interesting debate if such record-gazing arguments are your thing. The English Beat put out a flat-ass classic with "I Just Can't Stop It" which is one of the most kinetic, catchy records ever made. Then they followed it up with the sloooow, dubby, all-over-the-place "Wha'ppen?" where the Beat drop the bpm's and expand their musical palette into areas like calypso, dub reggae, and conga. The whole things a little darker, paranoid and atmospheric. The snap and bite is taken out of the rockers and replaced with suspicion. You could almost imagine the band selling their souls to Satan himself for the albumful of hooks they produced with "I Just Can't Stop It." The hooks on "Wha'ppen?" are very human indeed. Why, it's the "Candy-O" of 2nd wave ska!
You almost get the feeling the album would totally sink if it wasn't for the beautiful recording, which is nice and snappy, yet low, rounded and boomy. Beautiful sound that sucks you into the dubbier stuff like "Drowning." The first dozen times or so I heard this album it just would quietly sneak past me without making much of an impression outside of a few head-nods. But slowly, I would recognize the woozy pop at the center of "Doors of Your Heart" and the nagging vocal hook on "Cheated." The recent CD reissue from Shout Factory remedies this a bit by making the great, rump-shaking, non-album single "Too Nice to Talk To" the opening track. Perfect. Can't believe the band didn't think of it. Something to get you going and after that track's nervous jitter, "Doors of Your Hear" feels like a huge, sweet relief.
Again, it takes awhile for this stuff to sink in. And a lot of folks have kids and lives and shit. See, I sit in a cubicle all day and have no children, so I have all the time in the world to listen to "Wha'ppen?" a gazillion times as "The Limits We Set" slowly morphs into a great song. Or maybe that's working against me? Maybe this album sounds better after you're able to manage 40 minutes away from the kids to luxuriate into the big, slow, warm bath that is "Drowning" and "Walk Away." I guess I could totally see the appeal in this case. If the debut is too frantic/punk for you and the follow-up is too pop, this might be just right...
The CD version I have is the one included in the 2012 "The Complete Beat" box set. It's a great disc because the band was churning out some pretty solid non-album singles and B-Sides around this time, such as "Psychedelic Rockers" which sounds like "Too Nice to Talk To" turned inside out. "Which Side of the Bed...?" would have been a highlight if they would have included it on "Wha'ppen?" I've never quite warmed up to "Hit It" but it sure does sound great tacked on to the end of the album, providing a bit of uptempo fun.
I'm drunk. Let's listen to some music...Here's "Doors of Your Heart" by The English Beat...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Mirror in the Bathroom 2. Hands Off...She's Mine 3. Two Swords 4. Twist & Crawl 5. Rough Rider 6. Click Click 7. Big Shot 8. Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margaret 9. Noise in This World 10. Can't Get Used to Losing You 11. Best Friend 12. Jackpot
If you're holding a drunken, record dork/McLaughlin Group-style round-table, a fun topic is always, "What 2nd wave British ska band had the best debut album?"
Do you go with The Specials dry and gritty debut? After all it is the one that kicked the whole thing off?
Or is it Madness' "One Step Beyond," with its superior musicianship and totally bonkers carnivalesque atmosphere that captured the manic fun of its time?
Or do you go with the crystalline, laser-cut pop of The English Beat's "I Just Can't Stop It?" The argument could be made that it's not just the best 2nd wave ska album, but possibly the best pop album of the 80's, with every song featuring a sharp hook gleamed to polished perfection. Or is this an argument against it? Are tracks like "Best Friend" more closely related to jangly power-pop than ska?
This is truly is one of those rare albums where you listen to it and go, "This is the best song! No, wait! This one is! No! This one!" Maybe that's a completely different, unanswerable question. What's the best track on "I Just Can't Stop It"? The paranoid, edgy "Mirror in the Bathroom"? The anti-Thatcher political track "Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margaret" which should be extremely dated due to the specificity of its politics. Fortunately, it sports a chorus chant so flawless and immortal that it'll be stuck in the heads of generations to come who accidentally encounter it digging thru their ancestor's dusty old vinyl...
Let me put it this way, look at any English Beat greatest hits disc and
count the number of tracks that originate on this album. Is it about
75%? Are they essentially "I Just Can't Stop It" with a few bonus
tracks?
Oh, and another argument for this being the best 2nd wave ska debut is the consistently sweet performances by Saxa, who is easily the most listenable sax player in the history of ska/rock. If you're thinking, "Hey, whatabout...?" The answer is "No." I'm someone who generally dreads the thought of a big, honking sax on a rock album, but Saxa's playing is so pleasant and blends with the music so perfectly that you almost don't realize he's there until you start trying to pinpoint what makes a particular track so great...
Yea, you know what? I'm convinced. "I Just Can't Stop It" is the best ska album. Hands down. Can you feel that sense of joy as they bid the listener farewell on "Jackpot." You actually feel a slight wrenching in your gut cos you're so sad to hear them go...Yea, I'm going with this album. Easy.
"But what about The Specials debut and their perfect album closer, 'You're Wondering Now'?"
Fuck...We're never gonna solve this one...Let's just listen to some music...Here's "Best Friend" by The English Beat...Enjoy...
Format I Own it on: Vinyl. It's the only format you should own this on...C'mon...
Track Listing: 1. Tarkus (Eruption/Stones of Years/Iconoclast/Mass/Manticore/Battlefield/Aquatarkus) 2. Jeremy Bender 3. Bitches Crystal 4. The Only Way (Hymn) 5. Infinite Space (Conclusion) 6. A Time and a Place 7. Are You Ready Eddy?
TARKUS
FREQUENCY: Very rare.
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 19
MOVE: 9"/24"
HIT DICE: 9"/30"
HIT DICE: 10-12
TREASURE TYPE: H,R,S,T U
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Shoots ping pong balls or something out of its nose
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: High
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good
Size: L (40' long)
CHANCE OF:
Speaking: 10%
Magic Use: 0%
Kicking Your Ass: 100% (unless you're a Manticore)
I can't think of a single album that presents a generation gap quite like "Tarkus." I have sat with young folks who burst into laughter at the album cover, the squirty/farty keyboards and the ponderous vocals. I have also sat with old folks (the album's original audience) and watched as they listened to the same music, stone faced, and declare, "Now this is real music."
Here was the rite of passage for people my age: As a kid, you dig through your brother's, uncle's or maybe your father's record collection. You come across a record that is both colorful and drab, with a huge fucking armadillo that's been turned into a tank. Wide-eyed, you crack open the gatefold and are greeted to a gigantic crudely-drawn scene of epic, bloody battles between machine/animal hybrids...
Here's the story as far as you can piece it together: First, you automatically assume that Tarkus is the name of the Armadillo/Tank. Tarkus is born of an egg shooting out of an erupting volcano in the kingdom of Eternia (or possibly Preternia). He then does battle with a Pterodactyl/Jet hybrid and wins. Then he fights an Iguana/Grasshopper/Robot monster and wins. Then he finally meets his match in the Manticore, who promptly scratches the cornea in Tarkus' left eye and he goes into a river to wash the blood out of his right eye. The end.
By the way, that Pterodactyl/Jet is rad. The Iguana/Grasshopper/Robot is a little too abstract. The Manticore is a little too dirty hippie-ish. But the Pterodactyl/Jet is on point. It looks sorta like a Dino Rider.
Still, it's Tarkus himself who's the real star. The most indelible image of the prog era (outside of maybe the King Crimson nostril guy). But as a kid, you have no concept of prog. This album can only be kick-ass heavy metal.
And this is where the lifetime of associating it with comedy comes in. Your heavy-metal boner is all primed and you're bracing yourself for the heavy guitar riffs. But here's the thing. There are no heavy guitar riffs. In fact, there are no guitars! Just bass guitar, the aforementioned squirty keyboards and ponderous vocals. The incongruity becomes hilarious and the outdated sounds are even funnier when tempered with the disappointment. This is what we call "Bat Out of Hell" Syndrome.
Also known as "Deceptive Bends" Syndrome...
Then a few years later, as a teen or young adult, you're digging through the local pawn shop and are once again face to face with the grim visage of Tarkus.
"Oh, yeaaaaa..." you say to yourself and decide to take the plunge and spend the $0.50. After all, it's a great conversation piece. Initially, you listen to it with your friends and laugh at the squirty/farty keyboards and the ponderous vocals but as decades pass your outlook on the album softens a bit...You now realize that it's both hilarious and kinda awesome.
The band has a reputation for being sterile and overly serious, but to my ears it's a bit brutish and sloppy. If you're having a hard time hearing this, compare it to a Yes or Genesis album, which are much tidier in comparison. Listen to the boogie-woogie parody "Are You Ready Eddy?" Hear how sloppy it gets? Then go back and listen to the rest of the album and you'll hear the same sloppiness (although less exaggerated), just applied to a more classical context. And the whole thing is just so relentlessly complex. Like if it sits still for a minute it'll die. This is what is sounds like: Skiddle-di-bump. Diddle doo, skiddle da bump. Skiddle da bump. Deedle deedle deedle....If you listen closely you can actually hear the flares.
Side one is where it's at. The side-long "Tarkus" suite, which includes the great "Stones of Years" section, which is ELP at their greatest and most ponderous. Ponderous not pompous. Greg Lake is dazedly pondering the vastness of the universe. The small, pettiness of mankind. And Keith Emerson's keyboards keep the cosmic wheels slowly, endlessly turning. Definitely one of my favorite side-long prog suites (just a few notches below "Supper's Ready" and "The Gates of Delirium" (wait, did I just rate "Gates of Delerium," higher than "Close to the Edge"? Fuckin'-A right). Wait, is "Atom Heart Mother" considered prog? If so, I rank that higher than "Tarkus" too!
Side two drops the suite for some serious diddle-dickin' around. There's novelty pop piffle like "Jeremy Bender" and "Ready Eddie." There's also the extended religious takedown of "The Only Way (Hymn)" which has an intro that outside of Rick Wakeman playing Brahms on the dorkiest keyboard ever, is the most pompous thing I've ever heard on record (keep in mind, there's a whole subsection of pompous progressive rock that I've never subjected myself too. Shit like Wakeman's "King Arthur on Ice" that I'm sure pomps the shit outta this). Close follow up, the sudden burst of pomp at that closes the "Tarkus" suite.
The band had a full-sized Tarkus built for their live shows that shot ping-pong balls or something into the audience!!! WHAT?!?!?!
HOW DO I GET ONE OF THESE?!?!? I'LL NEVER LOSE A BATTLE OF THE BANDS EVER AGAIN WITH A FULL-SIZED TARKUS ON MY SIDE!!!!!
This band received a bad rep after the punk scene singled them out for their self-indulgences, but I feel like that yin and yang is necessary. That's why last night when I listened to this, I immediately followed it with some Gang of Four and Exploited to restore the cosmic balance. The full picture only becomes apparent with these juxtapositions. Any record collection without "Tarkus" lurking in it is incomplete. Long may Tarkus blast away Manticores and robotic lizard insects...
Man, I've gotta cut myself off. I could talk about "Tarkus" all day. Let's listen to it instead. Here's the entire 20 minute "Tarkus" suite...Enjoy!!
