U2's 'The Joshua Tree' album was released to the world 32 years ago in March 1987. It was an incredible album from a band that was still relatively early in their career, but was it the pinnacle or did they go on to bigger and better things? 'The Joshua Tree' was the band’s fifth album and they would again tap Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois up to produce it. It went number one in both the UK and US selling 25 million records and counting. It was nominated for four Grammys in 1988 winning two, one of which was the biggest prize Album of the Year. In reality, The Joshua Tree is the point at which U2 became the biggest musical act in the world. The album was the culmination of all the things U2 had worked so hard to accomplish and they did it their way and with integrity. The first three songs alone are jaw droppingly brilliant. “Where the Streets Have No Name” has to be one of the best album openers of all time with it’s goosebump producing guitar and drum. Throughout the album is a spectacular blend of ebullience, contemplation, anger and compassion. There is little that could be improved and it really is a masterpiece. And I must say, "With Or Without You" is one of my all time favourite tracks.
Never Bettered For me though, U2 never bettered 'The Joshua Tree'. Its follow up, 'Rattle and Hum' started them on the downhill spiral, it was always going to have the bad luck of following up Joshua Tree and in that respect I still think it does quite well. With the exception of 'Achtung Baby' which almost reaches the heights, subsequent albums were self-absorbed experimental forays with U2 overestimating their talent. The downhill curve really started to steepen with the release of 'POP', who had lots of the same topics and themes from their previous albums but just didn't quite deliver. In effect they fell off a cliff with 'POP'!! Some really long term fans say U2's last earnest album was 'War' and they sold out starting with 'The Joshua Tree' but I’m not having that. I know it's hard for fans that got into U2 after 'Achtung Baby' and later to understand that they’d already reached their peak but it's true. And don't get me wrong either, after getting used to the 'Achtung Baby' it turned out to be their second best album for me. But they really haven't done anything special since then. The nineties and noughties really were patchy decades, yes they had occasional highs, indeed ‘Beautiful Day’ probably saved their careers and their legacy when it came out. I won't say they were terrible because they weren't, but what U2 have done since 1993 just doesn't do it for me any more. Interestingly, when I now go back and listen to the albums I do love of theirs, such as 'The Joshua Tree', 'War' and 'The Unforgettable Fire' I still enjoy them a lot. Pinnacle For me, the peak U2 years were from 1983 to 1993. That doesn't mean everything after that has been crap, it's just that my enjoyment level hasn't been that consistent. I think 'War', 'The Unforgettable Fire' and 'The Joshua Tree' as a run of early albums was incredible for such a young band, always going up in big steps. The energy in tracks like "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Pride" and "New Year’s Day" is incredible. Just watch the video below and you'll understand.
Any critic or true music fan who doesn’t appreciate the mastery and impact of “The Joshua Tree” is simply not being honest with themselves or others. The album has had untold impact on the popular music scene for over thirty years. Whatever the consensus on the recent offerings from the band, “The Joshua Tree” deserves respect for what it was and has come to signify. I can therefore only reach the conclusion that yes, it was the band’s pinnacle.
Back in the eighties and nineties, Michael Jackson was the biggest music star in the world. A documentary that aired on TV this week, ‘Leaving Neverland’ left viewers with the opinion that he was also a predatory paedophile. On top of this, numerous radio stations around the world, including (allegedly) the UK’s biggest station Radio 2 have banned the playing of his records.
For me this brings up a number of issues: Guilty or Innocent? First off I’d ask the question as to whether it’s now trial by documentary and virtue signalling. Are you not innocent until proved guilty anymore? Michael was acquitted of these crimes in an LA court a number of times but I guess dead man don't sue and so there are opportunists who will make money from making claims. The mother of one of the men in the documentary has already called her son a pathological liar because he was never with Michael alone. But it seems these days the facts don't matter. There are a lot of unresolved issues with the complaints of these two accusers and their families. Not only the hush money that was paid by Jackson, but considering these relationships lasted years, other possible motives need clearing up. In many ways it’s scary how he was found not guilty. But the men who started this and featured in the documentary actually testified in court that he did nothing wrong, but now they say he did! So when did they lie? Then or now? This is the question that both these guys and their parents need to be asked. In this age of #MeToo these two guys who have made the accusations but said the opposite under oath in courts of law, are now being believed without question or evidence. You have to question the parent’s judgement and motives too. There’s nothing wrong taking young fans and parents to spend a day with a pop star, but sleepovers are completely another level. Let’s say back in the day Madonna had begged my parents for me to stay over for a full night, I know for sure they’d have said ‘No’. It’s a long way from normal for adults to have sleepovers with kids no matter if they famous or not. So what kind of parent in their right mind would seriously let their child go to a sleepover with a single adult male? Plus, you’d have thought that If anything did go on, there must have been changes in the child's behaviour when they got home, especially when they were asked to go back for another night.
I suspect we’ll never know 100% if he was guilty or innocent but I must admit that paying millions in hush money is not the actions of an innocent man nor is openly sleeping with children that aren’t your own – whether anything went on or not - what normal adult does that? Other Musical Paedo’s There is a certain hypocrisy over the media banning Jackson’s music. Yes, the likes of Gary Glitter have been rightly ostracised and punished for his heinous crimes against children and his work is no longer heard on the media, but it probably wouldn’t be heard anyway because it’s of its time, you don't hear much else of that glam genre now. What it does beg is the question of why Michael Jackson has been zeroed in for removal from the airwaves? Is it just he’s an easy target? What about all the other singers and showmen that targeted young girls and boys especially during the rock n roll era? Why are their legacies not being destroyed too? Why is Bill Wyman still hiding in plain sight? Mandy Smith has admitted numerous times she was underage when they first had sex. Are the media going to stop playing Rolling Stones records? Even Wyman himself has said she was 13 when he started a sexual relationship with her so I've never understood why he’s never had his collar felt by the police.
Others on thin ice include Jimmy Page and Chuck Berry. Then there’s Jerry Lee Lewis marrying his 14 year old cousin. There’s also John Peel who admitted in his book that he never asked the age of the girls he slept with in the early days, yet nothing happened to him or his reputation. R Kelly seems to be a different kettle of fish. He’s in court for kiddy-fiddling yet his music is still being played by the media. But will they ban his records when he’s found guilty? Watch this space! Climate of Abuse and Litigation In the whole climate of sexual abuse today, even just suspicion is enough to ruin someone. It's doesn't matter about guilt or not, especially in show business. I don't know if Michael Jackson did it or not, it's only suspicion and you can’t put a dead man on trial. As I’ve already said, paying hush money was not the cleverest thing to do, but I’d guess his legal advisors would have suggested it. That being said it still doesn’t prove anything. He was investigated, trialled and nothing was found, now he’s dead his accusers are changing what they testified in court, for what reason? Justice, or a payout? It does seem very easy these days for people to come out of the woodwork and say this happened or that happened yet there is no proof. And how expensive is it for these peoples to go to court to clear their name? How much did it cost Cliff Richard? Michael Jackson went to court on a number of occasions, each time he was found innocent, it cost him a fortune, did the people who accused him have to pay back the money? No, that was his loss, so why go to court unless you have to? These people say they lied on oath but now they have changed their minds. How do we know they aren't lying now? Genius or Weirdo? Michael Jackson was a musical genius and that should not be denied. I’d say music is music, I listen to the songs not judge who is singing or who wrote it. I can separate art from the artist and if the mood takes me I'll still listen to Michael Jackson. Let's face it he was a weird but very talented person and his music is still fantastic. Even if he was guilty, he's dead. He personally sees no benefit when his music gets played today. Meanwhile, all the other people who receive his royalties lose out. Not to mention Michael's children, yes, I know Paris has a knack for rubbing people up the wrong way, but the boys seem to legitimately be decent kids. Prince commented in an interview last year that he can't sing or dance, but would really like to do good in this world so why hurt them because of what their father may or may not have done? Music is about our own memories. I have no idea if Jackson did any or some of the stuff he's accused of and nor do the media. It's just another witch hunt, Michael Jackson is not here to defend himself. He was a brilliant musician, a seriously screwed up individual and in all honesty, I’m pretty sure he's guilty but there’s no proof and probably never will be. So move on folks. Enjoy his music for what it was and turn it off if you find him, his music or his legacy offensive.
Back in 1979, the ‘Two Tone’ revolution was for me, a great time for music. At the time I was never really into the political lyrics, it was all about the rhythms, the bass and the drums. Amongst this movement The Specials were almost godlike. So now move forward to 2019 and we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the formation of The Specials and the legendary Two-Tone label with the release of ‘Encore’.
‘Encore’ is The Specials first new music for 37 years. The ten track album was produced by Specials’ founding members Lynval Golding, Terry Hall, and Horace Panter alongside Danish producer Torp Larsen. It’s actually the first time Golding, Hall and Panter have recorded any new material together since the band’s legendary 1981 number one, Ghost Town. Notable as missing from the line-up is the original band leader Jerry Dammers. I understand from a recent Mojo magazine article that he attempted and failed to legally prevent the band from releasing new music, believing that it would smear The Specials’ legacy. Well let me say Encore enhances rather than smears the bands legacy. I loved the old-school Specials but this is not that same up-beat punky ska they used to produce, this sounds completely different. This is how a band should mature. It’s still very relevant to today without being stale in its sound. Like I say, it doesn't really sound like The Specials of the 80's, but then I wasn't expecting it to, after all we’re not in 1980 anymore! It is quite different, but the sound is still unmistakably The Specials. With its anti-racism lyrics, stuff about modern day society, social media etc, these are thoughtful songs about modern problems, albeit the same old problems. The songs on here have meaning. There’s funk, ska, reggae and some great piano and horn parts. Indeed some of it is actually a bit Clash-like. If you are looking for just an old-school ska album then this is not for you, go dig out The Beat’s recent new album if that’s what you want. ‘Encore’ is starkly relevant to 2019, and this is what it should be, not a nostalgic tribute to 2-Tone. The Tracks The album opens with a disco-style cover of The Equals’ ‘Black Skin Blue Eyed Boys’. It makes me want to stick on a Crombie, stone parallels and Royal brogues and go strutting down the road. In reality it’s actually one of the albums weaker songs, maybe it would have benefited from a more explosive opening? ‘Vote For Me’ largely picks up where ‘Ghost Town’ left us back in 1981. It's quite depressing to see how far Britain hasn't come since then, what with our politically and economically divided society. It all goes to prove The Specials are just as relevant today as they were back then. The lyric "You're all so drunk with money and power, inside your ivory tower, teaching us not to be smart", hits the nail firmly into today’s self-seeking politicians heads. The cover of the Fun Boy Three’s ‘The Lunatics Have Taken over the Asylum’ which follows ‘Vote For Me’ goes down a similar road and is perhaps a little too self-referencing, but in these Brexit times you can understand why they included it.
To me ‘Breaking Point’ sounds like a Tom Waites tune. Everything about it implies that he must have been a very strong influence. Another cover that is really well reworked is the old Valentines track, ‘Gun Fever’ now remade as ‘Blam Blam Fever’. Next up is ‘The Ten Commandments’, a song that expresses the female experience in 2019. Now this track is loosely based on a very sexist Prince Buster tune. What The Specials have done though is to spin the lyrics round to mean the opposite of the original. With some biting and fearless lyrics, there’s a very strong influence coming in from both women’s rights movement and in particular the 2018, #metoo stirring. Clever move too that Saffiyah Khan performs the vocal duties on this track. For those who don’t know her, Saffiyah Khan was the girl wearing The Specials T-shirt that faced off the EDL in Birmingham with a big smile on her face.
The final track, ‘We Sell Hope’ is very close to the original Specials work. It hits their emotional sweet-spot, doom-laden whilst anthemic at the same time. Its a solemn reggae ballad, that never actually feels like it’s trying too hard to recapture old glories. Terry Halls sings “do what you need to do without making others suffer”, indirectly acknowledging the best you can do in a world run by madmen is to be the common sense we all want to see. Is It Worth It? I must admit that on first listen I wasn’t too sure, but with each listen it has improved, and I would say definitely do not write it off, it’s worth it. Encore has ultimately proved my doubts well and truly wrong. The album is a brilliant, concise, cutting social commentary coalesced with some excellent music. To complement it, if you do want some old Specials, the "Greatest Hits Live" second disc is a very enjoyable bonus and may act as a small compensation for those buying this album for simply nostalgic reasons. I know some people will absolutely hate ‘Encore’, but I say keep an open mind. if you’re open to the fact that it's not completely the original line up and that over the years they were always going to evolve and have a slightly different sound to what you remember then you'll enjoy the album for what it is - without harking back to the 80's! Overall it's an uplifting, modern, extremely dark and moody album. Remove yourself from who is and is not in the band and listen to a mature sound and a very well engineered album. Admittedly, ‘Encore’ could equally be a Fun Boy Three album as a Specials album and would it have been any better if Jerry Dammers had been involved? I’m not sure!
Following on from last week’s blog identifying the new Trevor Horn album as a ‘marmite’ album well here’s another one. This is Genesis' marmite album, fans either love it or hate it, there’s no real middle ground which is a shame as it’s a decent album. Its different from other Genesis albums, but a good one anyway.
The album, released in 1997 was Genesis’ studio curtain call. At this stage in their career, Phil Collins had departed and Stiltskin (remember then?) front man Ray Wilson became the new vocalist. The album was musically very different to the previous couple of almost bubble-gum pop albums. The style and sound of Genesis changed. I do love the early Collins era, however from the late 80's onwards the quality of a lot of the tracks was ditched for the sake of singles success and radio airplay. Calling All Stations was easily their best album since 1983's rather good self-titled ’Genesis’. What we had was a much moodier and darker Genesis album than previous ones. You can still tell it's Genesis but with an added extremely refreshing roughness of Ray Wilson's voice that is very different from the pop-orientated style of Collins. The vocals are actually more akin to Peter Gabriel’s but without being as quirky. I must admit that it’s an album that doesn’t grab you on the first listen, but it does grow with repeated listens. Tracks For me the main strength of this album lies within the harder-edged and longer musical pieces like the title track; ‘Alien Afternoon,’ ‘The Dividing Line’, and the highly underrated ‘One man's fool’ which borders hard rock in places.
This doesn’t detract though from some of the shorter, slightly more commercial tracks like ‘Congo’; ‘Shipwrecked’ and one of my favourites ‘Not About Us’, a song which has the hallmarks of some of Oasis’ ballads like 'Talk Tonight' or 'The Masterplan', its got the feel of something Noel Gallagher might have written.
In my opinion, ‘The Dividing Line’ is up there with some of the best stuff that Genesis did, certainly post Duke, it hankers back to very early tracks such as ‘The Knife’. Following it is ‘Uncertain Weather’ a short, perfect little track that has lots of things happening in it. ‘Uncertain Weather’ surprises us with an unusual intro that goes on to be one of the most “un-Genesis” tracks on the album – to its benefit. One thing that did grab me was the drum sound, there’s a real raw energy about it. Nid Zidkyahu does sterling work here and there’s hardly a drum machine to be heard. I would dare to say Nid sounds even better than Phil Collins on some tracks. Just listen to ‘There Must Be Some Other Way’ if you don’t believe me, Ray Wilson also contribute a very ‘rock’ vocal to that track, especially on the chorus where he sounds not unlike David Coverdale. The only real turkey of a track on the album for me is ‘Small Talk’ which just sounds dated and out of place. Ray Wilson When Phil Collins left the band, his replacement Ray Wilson was picked out by Mike and Tony ahead of other more obvious candidates like Paul Carrack. This was off the back of Ray’s recent success with Stiltskin, achieving a number one single – ‘Inside’. Indeed it worth noting that apart from Phil, Ray is the only Genesis band member ever to have had a number one single! I really liked Wilson's vocals, they offer something different whilst still being a bit reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's. Personally I think Ray Wilson was completely robbed, and it's the one black mark I have against Mike and Tony, that they lost faith because of the moderate response to Calling All Stations. They should have stayed the course and followed it up. Indeed Ray has since stated he was contracted to make 2 albums. They really should have learnt the lesson from Marillion after Fish left by opening up fully to the influence of their new member. Whilst I don’t particularly like the Steve Hogarth fronted Marillion he did take then down new avenues that still go from strength to strength and I feel that Wilson could have done the same for Genesis. Ray is quoted as saying “I look at it as an unfinished job. We made a good start and then they gave up, that’s my view. When replacing someone as talented and famous as Phil, it’s going to take time and patience. However, I think we did a good album together, so that’s what really matters to me.” Brand Genesis In my view they would have been better releasing Calling All Stations under a different band name altogether. If you heard some of the tracks on the radio and didn't know who it was by, you'd probably rate them well above average. However, because they kept the name they were saddled with the legacy and with people saying "isn't that Phil Collins' band?" which killed the album from the start. Brand image was obviously more important to Mike and Tony than moving into a new, different musical territory. It's a real shame that they didn't stick with it. I think with a bit more input from Wilson and a bit more patience they could have built a new mature brand into something great, just maybe not so stadium-dominating as they had been. If they had chosen a new name and put Ray Wilson prominently at the front it would have had more chance of success. Brand-protection made them too risk averse I guess. A good ‘prog’ example of where recording under another name can bring some quality recordings is Icon, the moniker adopted by Asia’s John Wetton and Geoff Downes who produced a number of excellent albums of their own work with some Asia tracks inter-weaved into the live shows. Calling All Stations Calling All Stations is still intensely disliked and forgotten within some realms of the music business, media critics and fans a-like. I'm of the overall opinion that Calling All Stations is a slow burner, in-which the true architect and beauty requires time and patience in-order to appreciate the full all rounded musical experience. It’s dark, brooding, powerful and musically superb. As an album Calling All Stations largely succeeds on its own merits. Just don't approach it with unrealistic expectations that this is the old Genesis reborn, and you may well enjoy it. If you just dismiss it you’re missing on a good Rock album, it might not be a total Genesis classic but forget its actually Genesis and you’ll find its much better than you think and still stands out a few decades later. I truly think Calling All Stations is as good as any other Genesis work, just in an altogether different way. When seeing it mentioned among the band’s worst studio albums, I can’t help but raise my eyebrows in confusion. I’m sure I’m not the only who feels this way about it. My conclusion, Don’t be put off by the critics, this is a fine album. If you approach it with open ears and an open mind it's pretty good - It's certainly not the worse prog album I've ever heard.
It seems that these days issuing a straightforward compilation album isn’t good enough, you have to add an orchestra to the tracks, symphonic arrangements are all the rage. The latest to ride the wave of orchestral reinvention is Trevor Horn with his most recent album ‘Trevor Horn Reimagines The Eighties (featuring The Sarm Orchestra)’ which was released a week or so ago.
I’ve always liked Trevor Horn from his early career as part of The Buggles (Video Killed The Radio Star anyone?) through his work with Yes, their ‘Drama’ album being one of my favourites and on through his production years. We sometimes forget his involvement in so many classic hits. However!! This album is clearly a ‘Marmite’ album, I suspect most people will either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it with very little middle ground. Which is a shame because yes, there are some turkeys on it but there are also some sublime, inspired versions of some classic 80s tracks. It’s a covers album, but not what you’d normally expect of a covers album. I mean who wants covers that sound just like the originals - what’s the point of that? So this isn't just each track recorded with a few strings over-layed, this is a full rewriting of each song to make full use of the breadth and depth of the orchestra. And Trevor does make full use of that orchestra too. You do have to open your mind when you listen to this album, it’s not a bunch of straight covers. The track listing is: 1.Everybody Wants To Rule The World – ft. Robbie Williams 2.Dancing In The Dark – ft. Gabrielle Aplin 3.Ashes To Ashes – ft. Seal 4.Girls On Film – ft. All Saints 5.The Power Of Love – ft. Matt Cardle 6.Brothers In Arms – ft. Jim Kerr 7.Different For Girls – ft Steve Hogarth 8.Slave To The Rhythm – ft. Rumer 9.What’s Love Got To Do With It – ft. Tony Hadley 10.Owner Of A Lonely Heart 11.Take On Me 12.Blue Monday – ft. Jimmy Wood The album doesn’t get off to a good start as Robbie Williams proceeds to murder Tears For Fears’ classic 'Everybody Wants to Rule The World'. The dodgy tracks don’t end there though. Whilst it’s interesting to hear a bloke doing Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It?” I’m not sure Tony Hadley was really the bloke that should have been doing it. The version of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ is brutal, this is one of those classic tracks that really should never be touched. Trevor sings on on A-Ha’s ‘Take On Me’ himself and I’m sorry but it just doesn't add anything to the original. In fact it’s much worse! All Saints doing ‘Girls on Film’ doesn’t really work either, they’ve not ruined it but it just doesn’t work. So that’s all the negatives, what about the positives? I must say ’Brothers in Arms’ by Simple Minds is stunning. Trevor has given it more of a celtic feel with sweeping strings, Jim Kerrs unique vocals sounds fantastic too. This version is impressive and sits very well alongside the Dire Straits original.
Seal’s attempt at ‘Ashes to Ashes’ is brave and ultimately gives us a beautiful, different version. I think Mr Bowie would approve of this effort. There’s definitely room for both versions of this classic. Many of these tracks were originally defined by the voices that sang them, their character coming out in the song. This is painfully apparant on Joe Jackson’s ‘It’s Different For Girls'. A true new wave masterpiece from 1979, Marillion’s Steve Hogarth produces a decent enough vocal and does sound like he’s trying. Problem is the orchestra tends to overshadow his vocal leaving him very little room to get any feeling into the song. That said, I did enjoy this version. There are some great vocals from Rumur on what is a quite sublime version of ‘Slave To The Rhythm’. Similarly Matt Cardle’s attempt at Frankie’s ‘The Power Of Love’ is worth listening to. Trevor takes Yes' 'Owner Of Lonely Heart’ more into big band jazz territory. It’s a bit reminiscent of "The Symphonic Music of Yes" album from a few years ago and whilst not really adding to the original presents something quite different. For me though the highlight of the whole album is Gabrielle Aplin’s take on the great Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Dancing In the Dark’. For me the album was worth listening to for this one track alone. It does what a good cover version should do, it takes a song and then turns it back on itself. I must have heard this song 1000s of times without actually hearing the power of the lyrics. Trevor and Gabrielle have stripped away the rock element to create something slower and as a result much more special. The lyrics feel much more real when you can actually hear them. It certainly made me see the song in a whole new light.
So Should You Buy It? This covers album may not be for everyone but all I can say is that as an 80s teenager I enjoyed a lot of it. The vast majority of the tracks are so well known in their original form that it may take a few listens to get into it and as we’ve established there are a few turkeys in there. Trevor Horn is one of the greatest producers this the UK has produced and given the variety and quality of artists he has worked with over the years I think he knows how to make a hit record! That said, I do have a little niggle that he is just jumping on the symphonic band wagon to bolster his pension. The album does have some real musicianship on it which is so so rare these days! It is fairly laid back too, but there is nothing wrong with easy listening if it is done well which in general on here it is. ‘Reimagines The 80s’ is pretty ideal for late night listening or Sunday mornings. It’s not a uniformly awful album by any means. Like I say, some tracks are better than others, so maybe just download the good ones. I must say however that (with the exception of ‘Dancing In The Dark’ - the originals cannot be bettered
Driving in to work this morning The Stylistics, ‘I'm Stone In Love With You’ came on the radio. It’s a fabulous chunk of 70s soul music sung with a high pitched, falsetto vocal. It got me thinking - where have all the falsettos gone? From the 50s and 60s up until around ten years ago falsettos were common place, indeed some of the biggest world’s biggest hits were sung falsetto but now they’ve all but disappeared.
So what is falsetto defined as? Well, writing in the Guardian in 2011 David MacNamee wrote: “It's the vocal register occupying the frequency range above the one a voice naturally speaks or sings in. Normally associated with male singers (there's been a controversy for decades over whether falsetto is technically possible in female singers), you would recognise it as the point in soul or disco music where the singer's voice glides up from ‘regular’ singing into a testicle-clenching sustained yelp. It can be used equally for comedic purposes or dramatic effect.” Men singing like women? It's not natural is it? And "do women have falsetto?" That's an absurd question that is still argued to this day. To be honest MacNamee’s right, listening to blokes singing falsetto can be a bit like having your testicles squeezed very hard. Your eyes start to water and you want to jump backwards and adjust your trousers – but, it works and it has created some of the most successful tracks ever. What about this lot? •Betcha By Golly Wow! - The Stylistics •Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson •Emotional Rescue - The Rolling Stones •Fool To Cry - The Rolling Stones •Got To Give It Up - Marvin Gaye •Hey There Lonely Girl - Eddie Holman •Holding Back The Years - Simply Red •Kiss - Prince •Night Fever - Bee Gees •She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals •Smalltown Boy - Bronski Beat •Stay - Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs •Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees •Always - Erasure •Walk Like a Man - Four Seasons •Hocus Pocus – Focus •Don't Leave Me This Way - The Communards •Grace Kelly - Mika •I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness All household songs everyone knows. The Key Exponents Falsetto can be sad, vulnerable and poignant. It can be magic, adoring even mystical – or it can be an invitation to party. Falsetto is particularly prevalent in male R&B, with Eddie Holman, Phil Bailey, Eddie Kendricks and Smokey Robinson all being key exponents of the skill. Russell Thompkins Jr of The Stylistics based a whole career on his warm soaring register with 'Betcha By Golly Wow' a supreme example.
Another top artist who employs the falsetto is Neil Young on songs such as ‘After The Gold Rush’. Neil’s falsetto voice is in a total contrast to his visual image. This 6' tall wild haired giant can rock and roar, yet he can sing with such a sweet and tender voice. Prince was another regular proponent of the falsetto. The fantastic, ‘The Most Beautiful Girl In The World’ is almost entirely in falsetto except for the narration and bridge. He even covered 'Betcha By Golly Wow'. Oh and ‘Kiss’ anyone? Going way back in time I know, but is there a more famous falsetto vocal hook in pop music than Del Shannon’s Runaway? This is instant earworm stuff, and I've always love the structure of the song, the way it flips between dark minor key instrumental sections and the major key chorus, it's all a bit disorientating, a wah-wah-wah-wah-wonderful pop moment. Unlikely I know but reggae had a few exponents of the falsetto. Most notably Junior Murvin on many great songs like ‘Police and Thieves’. Then there’s the likes of Janet Kay with ‘Silly Games’ debunking the myth that women can’t sing falsetto.
The 80s was always happy hunting ground for the falsetto fan. ‘Take On Me’ by A-ha was pop perfection. With cultured lyrics, sumptuous melodies and an ear-splitting, but absolutely gorgeous, crescendo of a falsetto from Morten Harket. I've always loved ex-Supertramp Roger Hodgson's solo album The Eye of The Storm from the 80s. He uses falsetto to really great dramatic effect on ‘In Jeopardy’. Then there was Jimmy Somerville in both his Bronski Beat and Communards incarnations. I must admit that I like it when an artist takes a song normally associated with a deep voice and reinvents it with a falsetto. A good example of this is Bronski Beat’s version of ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’. It opens up new dimensions to the song and helps confirm a sense of esteem. So when is it not Falsetto? To be honest, I think falsetto is an entirely different voice for a singer to sing in. I think it's more than just octaves. k.d. Lang and Roy Orbison both have significant range but don’t necessarily sing in falsetto. Al Green was born with heaven in his vocal cords; everything he does has a touch of class to it. His upper register is in full effect singing the beautiful song ‘Still In Love With You’ from 1972, but it’s not really falsetto. Jon Anderson of Yes sings high and is to blame for the high singing of so many bands in the 70's but is he falsetto? I think not. Albeit one of his highest, loveliest songs was ‘I Hear You Now’ where his singing was eye watering, though not falsetto. But Who’s Still Doing It Today? Over recent years you can count the number of successful songs employing the falsetto on one hand. There’s a few that come to mind – but not many! First Up I’ve got La Roux’s ‘In For The Kill’. This was the second release off their debut album and peaked at Number 2. It’s an 80s inspired masterpiece of minimalist electro pop that features some icy, high-pitched woos from vocalist Elly Jackson to a pulse-pounding beat which make it sound just wonderfully modern and retro all at the same time. Not often you get falsettos in indie music but from 2010 we have Vampire Weekend’s ‘I Think Ur A Contra’ which is a fine exponent of the falsetto vocal. Ezra Koenig getting fairly high on this career high point (both musically and lyrically) break-up ballad. Next up is ‘Animals’ by Maroon 5. This is an amazing example of modern falsetto from Adam Levine. He can hit the highest notes on consistent levels and this isn't the only song he does it on either. Others include ‘Wasted years’ and ‘Love Somebody’.
My last example is the most recent having been recorded late last year and is ‘Suspirium’ by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. This was from the score of the remake of the 70s cult horror film “Suspiria”. Thom sings an ominous but very effective falsetto which is one of the high points of the whole soundtrack. It drifts along with practically no production, it’s a very creepy understated track which really works for the film.
And that’s it. Sure, there are elements of falsetto in today's music by the likes of Muse or Editors but I can’t recall any more recent, highly successful tracks like history has produced – So has this 50+ year - what is it a craze, a genre? died out or will it come back? Only time will tell I’m sure.
One of my favourite smooth soul artists, James Ingram has died this week at the age of 66. He had been battling a form of brain cancer for some time. James wasn’t really a house-hold name in the UK but, along with the likes of George Benson and Luther Vandross was unarguably one of the pioneers of 80’s RnB.
Born in Ohio in 1952, Ingram later moved to Los Angeles and began his career with the band Revelation Funk. He was then plucked out by the great Quincy Jones, who made things really start to happen by having James sing on his 1981, ‘The Dude’ album. James’ own ‘Its Your Night’ album followed in 1983. An album that takes me back to the happy pre mortgage and kids days of the mid 80’s with such classics as ‘Yah Mo B There’; ‘Whatever We Imagine’ and Try Your Love Again. All three tracks I particularly remember fondly, they remind me of how great the 80’s were for this type of music - I was in my late teens/early 20s and the sort of jazz-funk and soul that we had then was pretty quality stuff. My spirits always lift to hear those old songs. The years just melt away. This is smooth summer music with a capital ‘S’. If you like real class in your RnB music then buy this and cruise along, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. James Ingram became the go-to man for duets, doing two popular ones with Patti Austin, and winning his second Grammy with former Doobie Brothers frontman Michael McDonald for ‘Yah Mo B There’ in 1985. In 1987, he teamed up with Linda Ronstadt for ‘Somewhere Out There’ from the film An American Tail and scored a number-two hit. He’s also worked with other music notables like Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton and Ray Charles.
Gifted Songwriter Ingram was also a gifted songwriter, ‘Just Once’ was his original composition that first brought him to the attention of Quincy Jones. He also co-wrote ‘P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)’ for Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. As a writer, James Ingram was twice nominated for best original song at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards: in 1994, for ‘The Day I Fall in Love’ from the film, Beethoven’s 2nd and in 1995, for ‘Look What Love Has Done’ from Junior. His songs say and mean so much in regards to relationships. They called Barry White the master of romance, I’m sure if they had waited a few years before bestowing that title, James Ingram would have been in the running for it! His music defines a generation and his influence has made a great impression on all who followed. James Ingram was a vastly underrated performer! Just You-Tube him singing "Just Once" LIVE in Korea, 5 years ago, and you'll appreciate how fantastic this guy was. Now we have a bunch of untalented kids that can't sing for a toffee - even with the help of auto-tune.
In Memoriam I loved James Ingram's voice and his positive, pro-family stance. (Can you believe he had a 40 plus year marriage?). He seemed like a true gentleman who sang songs we could all enjoy. May you Rest In Peace James, I know I really enjoyed listening to your music and always got a sense that you were a good man, We need more people like you, not less, you are definitely a major loss to soul music.
