Your last listen

[jammy395]

A fine album Nihil, and I dig yer Blue Techie......

[BillyBones]

Not played this CD in ages, classic..

[Nihil Sleighride]

A fine album Nihil, and I dig yer Blue Techie......

Cheers Jammy

[jammy395]

Tom Waits - Bone Machine..jpg (31.51 KiB) Viewed 2347 times

A great review.....Not by me.

Bone Machine, by Tom Waits, is an album as eerie, desolate, shambolic and claustrophobic as its title might suggest. Really, there is no adequate way of describing the songs, sound, style or production, without falling back on descriptions like rustic, desolate, gothic, bleak, worn, weary, rusted and disturbed, with Waits stripping away any lingering sense of the lounge-jazz veneer that permeated through the slumbering melancholy of his pre-Swordfishtrombones output, to instead, create something that is much more discomforting and menacing, in terms of sound and presentation. The songs are often quite minimal, featuring piano, guitars and a smattering of horns and solo strings, and that constant percussion, from the boners on the opening track, to the fierce clatter and cacophony of something like All Stripped Down, in which the percussions sounds like anything and everything from drum sticks on biscuit tins and heavy metal doors being violently slammed shut.
Lyrically, the album is as uncomfortable as the music and production, with the first song adopting the frantic perspective of cornball 50's sci-fi with the title 'Earth Died Screaming', to subsequent tracks like Dirt in the Ground, The Ocean Doesn't Want Me, Murder in the Red Barn and I Don't Wanna Grow Up, which seem to have an unhealthy preoccupation with old age, failure, death, bereavement, murder and decay. The album switches between loud, vibrant, carnivalesque tracks with a fuller band performance and robust, theatrical vocals from Waits, and more restrained numbers, which recall the late night minimalist misery of albums like Closing Time and Small Change. The reason that the whole thing hangs together so well, regardless of tempo changes or the odd stylist anachronism, is through the deft mixing and sequencing of the album, and through Waits' peerless production. The whole record sounds gargled and muffled, as if playing through an old transistor radio, whilst certain sources have claimed that the album was recorded in an old converted storage space... which is certainly apparent from the muffled claustrophobia of songs like Whistle Down the Wind, and the fantastic closing track, That Feel.
Waits's vocal delivery is quite often a major part of the song's style and atmosphere, moving further and further away from the crooning lounge style of his earlier work and often relying heavily on lower-register growls, sinister whispers, screaming, carnival-like announcements, and menacing spoken-word laments. The vocals compliment the music and the lyrical subject matter perfectly, capturing the surreal and slightly menacing feeling of backwoods Americana and lo-fi abandon that runs throughout these sixteen tracks. As the other reviewers have mentioned, there is no real standout, with the whole album feeling complete... moving from the more surreal and abrasive tracks like The Earth Died Screaming, Jesus Gonna be Here and In the Colosseum, to the wistful downers Dirt in the Ground, Who Are You This Time? and Whistle Down the Wind (ok, I lied, if I had to choose one standout from this album, then that would be it!!). Even the shorter tracks, which seem to be there only to link the longer songs (Such a Scream, Black Wings and Let Me Get Up On It) have a great atmosphere that contributes to the overall feeling that the album creates.
Bone Machine is one of Tom Waits' many musical peaks, offering a grungy and often quite grim record that looks at a number of bleakly beautiful subjects and runs them through this bizarre musical filter, which ends up splicing genres as disparate as backwoods blues, piano jazz, college rock and Weimar influenced cabaret!! The songs hang together perfectly, and despite the bleak subject matter and the buzzing dissonance of the overall sound and instrumentation, it never becomes a chore to sit through. Instead, it represents Waits at his strongest, crafting deep and meaningful lyrics that offer heart and emotion without sacrificing his trademark wit and wordplay, combined with a number of dazzling arrangements and performances from everyone involved. Bone Machine is an impeccable album, something that could easily be considered a modern masterpiece, and one to file away with Rain Dogs, Small Change, Blood Money and Alice as Waits at his absolute best.
( Jonathan James Romley )

[Fretless]

The Comsat Angels - Chasing Shadows 1986

One of my all-time favourites. This was a 'comeback' album from the Comsats after they were unceremoniously dumped by Polydor. Fellow Sheffield-icon Robert Palmer got them in touch with his label Island Records and joins the band for a cameo appearance on one track.

This is what the Comsat Angels do best - powerful, passionate, driving, rhythmic indie rock with distinctive guitar and great song-writing.

The latest news is that their two 'pop' albums 'Land' and '7 Day Weekend' are due for the remaster/reissue treatment later this year and the rumour mill is still putting out stories that they are recording new material. Now let's hope it is as good as the recent effort from the reborn Penetration.

[jammy395]

Still sounds fresh after all these years......

Dexys_Midnight_Runners_Searching_for_the_Young_Soul_Rebels.jpg (21.62 KiB) Viewed 2299 times

[terrybooth]

Following the review from Jammy for 'Bone Machine', discovered 'his' latest (actually various artists) - looked to good to miss, and is on order.



There are some Wait's track on it. This is one of them
John the revalator

[jammy395]

I think that would be cool Tel, let us know yer thoughts on it, once it arrives....

[slinger]

I've just discovered this lot, and they're absolutely bloody great (in my opinion of course) if you're a fan of proper R&B, Soul, and music that just plain grooves.

Vintage Trouble - 1 Hopeful Street

Faster
[BBvideo 425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ymT3g5imIU[/BBvideo]

Slower
[BBvideo 425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DMhwsPIPWI[/BBvideo]

and live at Glasto 2015 - Pure R&B energy, not like that diluted pap that calls itself R&B these days.

[BBvideo 425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvjMqxGyuDo[/BBvideo]

[fisherman]

fuckinhell slinger thats great thank u
great band great singer right out of the james brown school great suit great crowdsurfing dont think bono would try that
they always get a great sound at glasto dont they and
the vibe even comes across on the telly cant knock it really even if the headliners are usually shit best act ever was jack white last year (i think)
spent some of my youth at the early festivals floyd dylan zep etc but these kids seeemto have an awful lot more fun and they might actually remember it to