1991-20: 1991 in Music-Pt. 1: Introduction/The Year in Pop

Overview

1955, 1964, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1981, 1984, and 1987 were the years where popular music have an enormous impact around the world socially and musically. Since the dawn of rock n’ roll in 1955, the years saw new genres being formed and new stars arriving into the spectrum. When the 1980s became the 1990s, many were wondering what was about to change into the new decade. Particularly a decade that was known for decadence and the megastar. The 1980s was a decade where bigger was better as Michael Jackson sold more than 40 million copies of his 1982 album Thriller. In turn, megastars such as Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band, Phil Collins, and George Michael were putting out hit after hit selling large amount of albums.

It was the decade where rap music finally emerged into the consciousness of the mainstream as it would become a much bigger phenomenon as it was to enter the new decade. Rock music meanwhile, became more polished and more grandiose as the hair bands such as Motley Crue, Poison, and Bon Jovi were dominating the charts. Even as rock veterans like Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were also keeping rock alive. Yet, there was something in the underground that was emerging as it headed towards the 1990s.

For years, a growing music scene from the underground was starting to creep up towards the mainstream as bands like U2 and R.E.M. were starting to gain mainstream success. Even as other underground acts like the Pixies, the Replacements, Husker Du, and many others were getting critical attention. In 1990, both U2 and R.E.M. were in the process of reinvention. Even as metal/hard rock bands such as Metallica and Guns N’ Roses were also in the process of moving forward with their music.

When 1990 began, it became clear that not much was changing though it was evident that some things were on their way out. Hair bands were still ruling the rock charts along with a few rock veterans while pop music was becoming more polished with new acts like Mariah Carey, Wilson Phillips, and New Kids on the Block. Hip-hop and rap music was also becoming bigger and more refined thanks to the huge chart success of M.C. Hammer whose album Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em dominated the U.S. album charts for 21 weeks that eventually sold more than 18 million copies.

While it was a big deal for those who listened to top 40 radio or any kind of mainstream radio program. Not everyone was into it. While there was some new hope in Southern blues-rockers in the Black Crowes and alternative rock bands like Jane’s Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It wasn’t enough as pop, rock, and hip-hop was seemingly becoming more corporate than ever. Even dance music was becoming more redundant as it helped pushed album sales as it would emerge into the Soundscan era which would track albums sales in March of 1991.

While the U.S. was seemingly becoming more of the same with its control of what was cool on the radio and MTV. Britain was in a state of transition with this clash of established acts such as Tina Turner, Phil Collins, and other major label artists were going up against acts from indie labels such as the Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays, and New Order. Manchester was the capital of cool in Britain with its vibrant Madchester music scene that was spurred by acts like the Stone Roses, the Happy Mondays, the Charlatans, and Inspiral Carpets. Yet, that scene would be co-opted by knock-off acts such as Jesus Jones and EMF where they would have greater chart success not just in Britain but also the U.S.

When the year ended, the top-selling albums of those final weeks of 1990 and heading into the New Year were a representation of what the public was listening to. In Britain, it was a greatest hits collection by Madonna while in America; it was the major label debut album by a white rapper named Vanilla Ice called To the Extreme. Ice’s album sold 11 million copies worldwide with 16-week dominance in the U.S. album charts. Despite that success, Ice was marginalized by critics over his background while rap purists saw him as a low point of what hip-hop and rap music was becoming.

It wasn’t just hip-hop that was in danger of losing its edge but rock music as well as it was to head into the new year. The hair bands were definitely overstaying their welcome as groups like Nelson and Extreme were making huge hits on the pop charts with ballads. Even something that was supposed to be as cutting edge as electronic music was becoming more condensed as it churned out dance songs that were too cheesy for some listeners. It was as if the new year was going to be more of the same.

Fortunately, that wasn’t going to happen as there was a young audience that wanted something very different. They wanted something that they can relate and call onto their own. Something were there were bands that didn’t have big hair or wore leather pants. Acts that didn’t wear shiny baggy pants with big jackets and sported crazy hairstyles. Acts that weren’t manufactured by some producer or record company. In many ways, it was something that was going to shake-up the foundation of what was happening in popular music. Something that people will remember 20 years later.

1991 was the year everything changed dramatically. Not just popular music but rock music, electronic music, hip-hop, and even country music as well. It was as if, a new world had emerged and new artists were there to change the rules. Though not much has changed musically or socially in 2011, it would be a year where new rules were sets while artists and albums that emerged in that year would have a lasting legacy. If anything, 1991 was a watershed moment for popular music that would lead a new decade of exciting, vibrant art that would be remembered in the years to come.

Part 1: The Year in Pop & Dance

Pop music in 1991 was definitely a year in transition as such luminaries as Michael Jackson and Prince were set to return with new albums. Even as a mega-star like Madonna took time off that year to prepare for her next move as she released the documentary Truth or Dare about her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour. Another mega-star in George Michael was waging war with Sony Music over the lack of support for his 1990 album Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 despite selling 8 million copies worldwide.

Still, pop music was about the new stars of that year as leading the way were acts like New Kids on the Block, Mariah Carey, and Wilson Phillips. Yet, with the exception of Mariah Carey, the time for the new pop acts were becoming shorter. Even as artists were accused of lip-syncing and not really singing thanks to the Milli Vanilli scandal in late 1990 when it was revealed that the German pop duo didn’t really sing any of the songs from their album. Artists such as Paula Abdul was accused of not really singing any of her songs as she was set to release her sophomore album Spellbound in May of 1991.

Meanwhile, other new acts were emerging such as Gerardo whose Latin-rap song Rico Suave was a big hit that year. Still, it didn’t really seem like pop music by 1991 was going forward as everyone looked like a manufactured act. Even Mariah Carey was someone that was considered to be a studio act since she was reluctant to tour at the time. While many of pop’s newcomers were starting to struggle with the pressures to perform and to meet expectations. Notably in the wake of the Soundscan tracking system that tracks albums and singles sales in March of 1991. It was up to the veterans of pop music that would help the genre move ahead.

The big star of that year was Bryan Adams whose single (Everything I Do) I Do It For You from the film soundtrack for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and his own album Waking Up the Neighbours. The song went to number one in many countries including the U.S. for seven weeks along with a record-breaking 16-weeks in the U.K. where it would become the best-selling single ever until Elton John’s 1997 re-release of Candle In the Wind for Princess Diana of Wales. The song’s success was huge for the Canadian pop-rocker who found success with power ballads that would help remain successful worldwide in the 1990s.

Adams’ success also reached into the adult contemporary charts where he is joined by Sting, Simply Red, and Rod Stewart who all released successful albums that year. Notably Stewart who found his niche as an adult contemporary artist for the 1990s while Sting’s The Soul Cages album was a more personal record about the death of his father. Simply Red’s Stars became a massive hit in Europe and in its native Britain though the band’s U.S. success had already waned late in the 1980s. There was no artist bigger in that genre much to the disgust of critics in Michael Bolton.

Bolton who started off as a hard rock singer in the early 1980s switched gears to adult contemporary in re-creating soul classics. His 1991 album Time, Love, & Tenderness would become a huge seller that year selling 8 million in the U.S. and 16 million worldwide. Despite his huge success in singing soul classics to housewives all over the world, critics despised the singer for polishing songs made famous by Otis Redding, the Isley Brothers, and Percy Sledge. Though he would remain successful throughout the 1990s, his career would take a major blow thanks to a 1999 film called Office Space where a character with the same, unfortunate name decried him as a “no-talent ass-clown”.

One major pop artist who would make a return to the scene is Gloria Estefan. The Latin-singing star who headed the Miami Sound Machine in the 1980s went solo in 1989 as she was riding high on a wave of success. Then in March of 1990 on a cold, snowy day in Pennsylvania. Estefan was in a horrific accident that nearly paralyzed her as she had to have spinal surgery that took a year for her to recover and rehabilitate. Her return to the stage at the 1991 American Music Awards early that year proved to be a major comeback as her album Into the Light became a major hit.

Another female artist that had a great year was Natalie Cole whose 1991 album Unforgettable… with Love would be her greatest success. The album had Cole sing the standards that her later father Nat King Cole sang during the 1950s/1960s including a duet of the song Unforgettable with her late father with the use of modern technology. The album proved to be a major seller while winning the Grammy for Album of the Year in early 1992.

Another female artist who went big in 1991 came from Christian music singer Amy Grant whose album Heart in Motion became a massive crossover hit in both the pop and Christian music charts. Yielding five hits from 1991 to 1992, the album proved to be accessible to a pop audience while her Christian music audience were well in tact. This feat proved that anything could happen in the world of pop music as Amy Grant, Natalie Cole, and Gloria Estefan helped broaden the spectrum of what pop music could do for female artists.

Pop music in 1991 was also given a boost by acts from Europe who took American pop and hip-hop elements to techno music. It was part of a wave of Eurodance music that forged acts like Snap!, Technotronic, and Black Box. The Eurodance scene moved dance music away from the days of early 1980s synth-pop as it brought the house music that was coming from Manchester and Ibizia to the world of American pop music. While it gave people something to dance to in clubs all over the world. Not everyone was happy about the emergence of Eurodance.

One of the biggest criticism that the Eurodance trend had was that it was all driven by producers who remain faceless as they would have female singers or a rapper do parts as they represented the group. There was an even bigger controversy in the U.S. thanks to groups like C + C Music Factory and Black Box as they used models to sing for the videos and promotional appearances. Yet, it would be revealed that the woman that was singing these hit singles was former Weather Girls vocalist Martha Wash wasn’t given proper credit for her vocal contributions. Wash would sue both groups as the attention helped revive her career.

The Martha Wash controversy did die down as Wash would get her royalties and credit as the dance-pop music scene became more diluted by its sound and visual presentation. Artists like Cathy Dennis, 2 Unlimited, Rozalla, Londonbeat, Crystal Waters, and CeCe Peniston were creating dance hits that were big in nightclubs. Yet, critics found the music cheesy and lacking in any real sense of artistry as a lot of the music sound the same. While the group Enigma added a new age element to the music, it still felt cheesy for people that wanted something different from the world of electronic music. Particularly as the dance music of this period helped move units and gave ideas for some of pop’s veterans.

Throughout all of the new stars and trends that were happening. The world of pop music was awaiting the return of its mega-stars in Prince and Michael Jackson. Prince was in desperate need of a major hit following the commercial failure of his 1990 film Graffiti Bridge, a sequel to his 1984 hit film Purple Rain. His 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls was a major hit as he was backed by a new band, the New Power Generation. The album gave Prince a chance to win back the African-American audience he seemed to have ignored as the record was also a return of sorts to R&B. Though it would help Prince maintain his status as a mega-star, it would only be brief as he would move further into different styles of music along with an eventual war with his label Warner Brothers.

Then, there’s the King of Pop in Michael Jackson. Jackson was the biggest star of the 1980s as anticipation ran high for his return with a new album. In March of 1991, Jackson signed a $65 million deal with Sony Music that was considered to be record-breaking at the time. Jackson went to work with renowned producer Teddy Riley whose creation of the new jack swing sound had made him successful with acts like Bobby Brown and Riley’s own group Blackstreet. Jackson collaborated with Riley, under the suggestion of his old producer Quincy Jones, where the result would be Dangerous.

At 77 minutes with 14 tracks, it was Jackson proclaiming his status as the King of Pop when the album was finally released on November 26, 1991 led by the single Black or White weeks earlier. The album would become Jackson’s most successful record of that decade as his career would later freefall due to child molestation allegations and an addiction to painkillers. The album would also be Jackson’s last major success as he struggled to maintain his status as a commercial force in the 1990s and 2000s until his death in 2009 weeks before he was to hold a major series of comeback concerts in London.

The year in pop ended with Michael Jackson reigning supreme that year as he would head into 1992 maintaining his hold as the king of the charts. Yet, on the second week of that new year. A change would emerge where Michael Jackson would not only be knocked off the top spot. It would mark an indication that the music scene was changing as it would affect pop music for good.

1991-20: 1991 in Music: Pt. 2 - Pt. 3

1991-Indie: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4 - Pt. 5 - Pt. 6

The 50 Best Albums of 1991: 50-26 - 25-11 - 10-2 - Favorite Albums #1

© thevoid99 2011

St. Vincent-Strange Mercy

2009’s Actor by St. Vincent was considered one of the best albums of that year as it gave singer/multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark in her St. Vincent moniker lots of attention. The critical acclaim and a notable TV appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and The Jimmy Kimmel Show helped raise attention as Clark was one of the darlings of the indie music scene. After a break and few appearances for soundtracks and Beck’s Record Club show for the INXS album Kick with Liars, Clark returns with her most daring record to date entitled Strange Mercy.

Produced by Annie Clark and John Congleton with songs written by Clark, Strange Mercy is an album that pulls away from the fantasy world of Actor into a more thrilling world full of various themes and emotions. With the music taking Clark into an array of noises and strange sounds with guitars and keyboards, Clark also takes more chances as a vocalist on the record. Lyrically, the album delves into the manic emotions about a woman trying to find her identity. The result is an adventurous yet dazzling album from St. Vincent.

Opening the album is Chloe in the Afternoon that is led by swirling organs, fuzzy guitars, sputtering mid-tempo beats, and Annie Clark’s angelic wail. Featuring abstract lyrics filled with moments of anguish, it’s an opener that doesn’t play nice despite Clark’s somber vocals. The album’s first single Cruel is bopping, mid-tempo track with flourishing keyboards, buzzed guitar melodies, and Clark’s serene vocals. The lyrics describes the song’s theme with its esoteric imagery as Clark adds a droning solo to create chaos to the song’s more somber tone. Cheerleader starts off as a folk ballad with a soft, scratchy acoustic guitar that becomes more menacing with its charging electric guitar and soft keyboards. Clark’s calm vocals play with the song’s differing emotions to describe the disappointments of the world as a woman stops being the cheerleader.

Surgeon is a serene ballad with slow, warbling beats that is followed by layers of keyboards ranging from funk-driven to soothing as the latter plays to Clark’s hypnotic vocals. With its simple yet fantasy-laden lyrics, it’s a song that is filled with quirks but also an atmospheric quality that is unique in its presentation. Northern Lights is a driving, mid-tempo rocker led by its swift, washy guitar, fuzzy bass, and bopping beats. Clark’s soothing vocals play to the song’s ethereal tone to describe its dreamy lyrics that is often followed by warbling guitar solos. The album’s title track is a slow yet enchanting track with a steady back beat, a backdrop of ambient synthesizers, and electronic-sound guitar melodies. Clark’s hypnotic vocals is a highlight as it serves to the song’s strange yet entrancing lyrics filled with literary references.

Neutered Fruit opens with layers of vocals that follows Clark’s calm yet robotic vocals that is followed by slow, walloping beats, low keyboard warbles, and spurting guitars. Featuring lyrics that describes a mysterious fruit with strange powers, the song includes elements of funk in its keyboards and slight tempo changes from slow to more pulsating for its chorus. The ballad Champagne Year is a soaring yet ambient-inspired cut led by its waves of synthesizers and Clark’s mesmerizing vocals. The dark yet dreamy lyrics adds to the song’s ethereal quality as it’s a real standout cut that crosses This Mortal Coil and latter-day Leonard Cohen. Dilettante is a slow yet steady down-tempo track with calm beats and buzzing guitar drones that is followed by warbling sounds of bass and keyboards. Clark’s vocals ranges from calm to serene to play up the song’s abstract yet narrative-driven lyrics about waiting for a man named Elijah.

Hysterical Strength starts off as an upbeat yet electronic-driven track with pulsating beats and wavy synthesizer drones that then becomes a slow yet calm track as the tempo moves back and forth to Clark’s soothing vocals. Featuring lyrics that describes madness in esoteric terms, it plays up to the song’s manic tone that includes a charging guitar track. The album closer is Year of the Tiger, a track with swirling synthesizers, washy acoustic guitars, and tempo changes as Clark sings coolly to the song’s theme of nostalgia. With tempos ranging from slow to a more menacing, mid-tempo range, it provides what the song needs to close the album.

Strange Mercy is an outstanding album from St. Vincent that features a superb yet textured production from Annie Clark and John Congleton. Fans of St. Vincent’s album will enjoy the album for its quirkiness as well as Clark’s willing to experiment and take more chances musically and lyrically. While it may not have as many upbeat tracks as Actor, the album does features Clark’s best performance as a vocalist so far. In the end, Strange Mercy is one of the most intoxicating albums of 2011 to come from one of indie music’s most talented artists in St. Vincent.

St. Vincent Albums: Marry Me - Actor

© thevoid99 2011

The Cure-Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years)

Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities 1978-2001 (The Fiction Years) is a four-disc collection of the Cure’s B-sides and rarities the band made during their time with Fiction Records. Featuring nearly five hours of music, the box-set includes all of the band’s B-sides from 1978 to 2001 remastered along with soundtrack and compilation contributions and some rarities the band has made over the years. Through each of the four discs presented on the record, the box-set showcase the band’s evolution from post-punk upstarts to one of the most popular and influential bands of the alternative rock movement.

Disc 1 (1978-1987)

The first five tracks are B-sides from the Three Imaginary Boys era of 1978-1979 as it opens with the single 10:15 Saturday Night with its upbeat yet mid-tempo rhythm, washy guitars, and creepy lyrics led by Robert Smith’s calm vocals. The three B-sides for the single Boys Don’t Cry in its original 1979 release and 1986 re-release with the first being the swift, up-tempo Plastic Passion with its energetic punk-inspired performance. The fast-paced despair of Pillbox Tales and the reggae-inspired rhythm of Do the Hansa with its swinging guitar and melodic bass lines along with quirky lyrics. I’m Cold, the B-side to Jumping Someone Else’s Train, is another upbeat track with squealing guitars, bopping rhythms, and warbled vocals through dark lyrics that features Siouxsie Sioux on backing vocals.

The next three tracks are B-side from the 1980-1981 period of Seventeen Seconds to Faith with the first of those tracks being the B-side to A Forest in the fast-paced, guitar/bass-driven instrumental Another Journey by Train. The B-side to Primary in Descent is a chilling, down-tempo instrumental filled with low bass lines and swirling guitar drives while Splintered in Her Head, the B-side to Charlotte Sometimes, is a more rhythmic track filled with rumbling beats and eerie bass that also features Smith singing haunting lyrics. The next track is a rarity called Lament (Flexipop Version) is an electronic-driven track with pulsating beats, lush guitar and bass melodies, a swooning synthesizer, and somber vocals that was recorded specifically for a magazine called Flexipop back in 1982.

The next six tracks are B-sides that was made for the band’s 1982-1983 non-LP singles where five of those B-sides were collected for the 1983 compilations release Japanese Whispers. The first is Just One Kiss, the B-side to Let’s Go to Bed, with its rumbling rhythms, soothing guitars, and Smith’s soothing vocals that is filled with imagery-laden lyrics. The three B-sides for The Walk showcase the band’s progression into electro-pop with the synthesizer-warble of The Dream, the mid-tempo yet pulsating swoon of The Upstairs Room, and a re-recorded version of Lament that is driven more by its synthesizer and a broader production. The two B-sides for The Lovecats features the mid-tempo, jazz-piano inspired Speak My Language and the upbeat Mr. Pink Eyes that features swirling guitars, crashing pianos, and bopping beats.

The next two tracks are B-sides to The Caterpillar that includes the enchanting mid-tempo track Happy the Man and the more upbeat yet swanky Throw Your Foot that plays to the band’s fascination with psychedelic and new wave. The last five tracks on the first disc are material from The Head on the Door period that includes four B-sides and a track from the Half an Octopuss & Quadpus EPs. New Day, from those EPs, is a chilling yet bopping mid-tempo piece with layers of swirling synthesizers and wailing vocals. The two B-sides from Inbetween Days include the brimming The Exploding Boy, that features a saxophone, and the bombast yet synthesizer-driven A Few Hours After This with its orchestral layers of keyboards. The B-sides for Close to Me features the upbeat electro-warble of A Man Inside My Mouth and the more mid-tempo yet synthesizer-swank of Stop Dead that shows the Cure fully embracing pop in their own terms.

Disc 2 (1987-1992)

The first eight tracks of the second disc include six B-sides and two remixes made from the Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me era. A Japanese Dream, the B-side to Why Can’t I Be You?, is an upbeat yet rumbling track with hypnotic guitar swirls and exotic lyrics. The two B-sides for Catch include the evocative, fluid synthesizer-driven ballad Breathe and the down-tempo yet throbbing A Chain of Flowers with its rich guitars and somber synthesizers. The two B-sides for Just Like Heaven feature the mid-tempo Snow in Summer, with its driving guitar and rumbling beats, and the upbeat yet melodic-swoon of Sugar Girl that features a wonderful array of keyboard arrangements.

The next three tracks are remixes of album cuts from Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me that begins with a remix of Icing Sugar, from an orange vinyl bonus disc version of the album, that emphasizes more on saxophones and synthesizers rather than its rhythm. The extended 12” remix of Hey You!!!, a B-side to Hot Hot Hot!!!, features more beats and different placements on the instruments from the song. The Bob Clearmountain 7” remix of How Beautiful You Are…, from an album radio sampler, is a more polished yet shortened version of the song with more layers towards its keyboards. The rarity To the Sky, from a 1989 Fiction Records compilation Stranger than Fiction, is a lush mid-tempo track with rich arpeggio guitars, swooning synthesizers, and gorgeous vocals in tune with its dreamy lyrics.

The next four tracks are B-sides from the singles for 1989’s Disintegration with the first two tracks being B-sides to the U.K. single for Lullaby and the U.S. single for Fascination Street. Babble is an upbeat track with wailing synthesizers, driving guitars and bass, and snarling vocals. Out of Mind is an up-tempo, guitar-synthesizer heavy track with despaired vocals to play up to its dark tone. The two B-sides for Lovesong feature the lush yet pulsating 2 Late, that includes flourishing guitars, and the down-tempo yet guitar-driven Fear of Ghosts that features haunting lyrics sung quietly by Smith. The next three tracks are three different versions of the Doors’ Hello, I Love You, two of which were recorded for the Rubiyat album to celebrate Elektra Records’ 40th Anniversary. The first version is an unreleased version that is set in an eerie, down-tempo version while the second yet official version is a more upbeat, rocking version and the third is a punk-inspired, 10-second version.

The last two tracks are B-sides from singles for the 1990 Mixed Up remix album. The Never Enough B-side for the mid-tempo yet electronic-light Harold and Joe and a remix of Just Like Heaven, the B-side for the Close to Me remix single, that slows the song a bit for a smooth yet rhythmic take on the song.

Disc 3 (1992-1996)

The first seven tracks on the third disc are material made during the period for 1992’s Wish that includes six B-sides and a remix of an album cut. The two B-sides for High include the haunting yet ethereal mid-tempo track This Twilight Garden and the slight down-tempo yet gorgeous Play that are both supported by its rich production. The B-sides for Friday I’m In Love feature the swooning Halo, that includes gorgeous vocals and a wonderful bass line, and the up-tempo drive of Scared As You. The B-sides for A Letter to Elise contains the arpeggio-laden yet down-tempo The Big Hand and the mid-tempo bop of A Foolish Arrangement. The 12” Mark Saunders remix of Doing the Unstuck is a rarity that features more electronic flourishes and longer instrumental passages.

The next five tracks are contributions to compilations and soundtracks from 1993 to 1995. The first two tracks are different cover versions of Jimi Hendrix’ Purple Haze that was recorded for the 1993 Stone Free tribute album to Jimi Hendrix. The first version is an unreleased version that is more straightforward yet rocking while the second, that was for the tribute album, is a more electronic, mid-tempo version that is interesting but not as good as the other version. From the soundtrack to The Crow comes the exotic Burn that is truly mesmerizing while a cover of David Bowie’s Young Americans for an American radio compilation is a fantastic cover of the song that features a bass riff of Bowie’s The Wedding Song in the performance. From the 1995 soundtrack to Judge Dredd is The Dredd Song that is a slow yet lush electro-rock song that is a heart wrenching yet bombastic song.

The last three tracks on the third disc are B-sides to the single The 13th with the first being It Used to Be Me. The mid-tempo yet electronic-swirling song is a long but glorious B-side. The down-tempo Ocean, with its somber presentation, and the bopping yet swooning synthesizer-driven Adonais are also highlights where they prove to be better than some of the material from Wild Mood Swings.

Disc 4 (1996-2001)

The first three tracks on the fourth and final disc are B-sides to the single Mint Car with Home kicking things off that features lush strings and smooth mid-tempo rhythms. The down-tempo, guitar-drive of Waiting and the more brimming yet thrilling A Pink Dream are more indication of the material Smith could’ve chosen for the much-maligned Wild Mood Swings. The next two tracks are remixes that served as B-sides for different singles with the first being an electro-ambient mix of This Is a Lie, that appeared in the singles for the U.S. single for Strange Attraction and the U.K. single for Gone!. The second remix is for Wrong Number for its single that features more warbling vocals and pulsating beats that doesn‘t really go anywhere.

From the 1998 soundtrack to The X-Files film is More Than This, an electronic-driven ballad with melancholic lyrics and a throbbing electronic beats. From the 1998 Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses is a cover of World in My Eyes that continues Robert Smith’s exploration with electronic music as he creates an exciting yet faithful version of the song. The next four tracks are rarities related to the 2000 album Bloodflowers that starts off with the bopping yet electronic-driven rarity Possession. The remixes for Out of This World by Paul Oakenfold and Maybe Someday by Mike Hedges, the latter for a promo CD single, has Oakenfold’s remix is a subtle, throbbing mix while Hedges’ is a bit all over the place in its placements of instruments. Coming Up, a bonus track from the Japanese/Australian version of the album, is a walloping yet guitar/keyboard-driven track that is filled with haunting vocals and esoteric lyrics.

The next three tracks are material made specifically for the 2001 greatest hits compilation as the first two are for different versions for the song Signal to Noise, a B-side to the song Cut Here. The first is the acoustic version that is a simple, mid-tempo version while the official recorded version is a more bass-heavy, shimmering take on the song. The remix of Just Say Yes by Curve is an unreleased rarity filled with pulsating industrial beats and driving guitars. The final track of the box set is an unreleased 2001 remix of A Forest by David Bowie associates Mark Plati and Earl Slick. The electronic-heavy mix with Slick’s wailing guitar is truly superb for the way the song is re-invented as it’s a fitting close to the entire set.

Released on January 27, 2004, the box set was well-received by fans and critics for the B-sides and rarities that is compiled. The album helped generate great interest for the Cure just as the band was to return months later with their self-titled album in June of that year. Yet, the box set was part of Robert Smith’s involvement with his former label Fiction in the supervision of reissues of some of the band’s albums from Three Imaginary Boys to Disintegration as of 2011.

Join the Dots is an amazing box-set of material from the Cure that hardcore fans will want to have. Notably as it offers all of the B-sides and rarities that they could have that was largely unavailable for years during the band’s hey-day. It’s also something that casual fans should look into as it offers up some amazing gems that is very superior to some of their studio cuts. In the end, Join the Dots is a sprawling yet fantastic collection of material from the Cure.

The Cure Studio Albums: Three Imaginary Boys - Seventeen Seconds - Faith - Pornography - The Top - The Head on the Door - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - Disintegration - Wish - Wild Mood Swings - Bloodflowers - The Cure - 4:13 Dream

Compilations: Staring at the Seas/Standing on a Beach - Mixed Up - Galore - Greatest Hits

Live Albums: Concert: The Cure Live - Show - Paris

© thevoid99 2011

Bat for Lashes-Two Suns

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 4/26/09.

One of the newest artists emerging in the U.K. that doesn't fit around the mold of Amy Winehouse soul singers is Natasha Khan under her moniker Bat for Lashes. The half-Pakistani/half-English singer-songwriter has garnered some attention for her 2007 debut album Fur and Gold that's compared her to the likes of Bjork, Annie Lennox, and Kate Bush. A video release for the single What's A Girl To Do that featured Khan riding a bike with fellow people in costumes at night gave her some considerable attention. In 2009, Khan returned with her sophomore release that broadens her sound to new heights entitled Two Suns.

Written by Natasha Khan with production by Khan and David Kosten, Two Suns is an album filled with electronic music textures mixed in with folk and indie music. A conceptual record of sorts relating to the theme of duality, Khan brings in an alter-ego named Pearl to help exemplify her themes. Featuring members of Yeasayers as well as the legendary Scott Walker on a track. Two Suns is one of 2009's most surprising yet enchanting albums of the year.

The album opener Glass arrives with Natasha Khan's breathy, evocative vocal with descriptive, imagery-laden lyrics. With bass-pounding beats and washy guitar strums with chime-like percussions, it's Khan's vocals that drive the song with its dreamy vocals and wobbly bass line. With sputtering snare fills and Khan's wailing vocals, it's a song that sets the stage for all that is to come. Sleep Alone is a bouncy, mid-tempo track with twangy acoustic guitar riffs and warbling bass synthesizers. With Khan's swooning vocals and thumping bass beats with clapping beat accompaniments, the song is filled with lyrics of nighttime and loneliness. With a soothing synthesizer accompanying the chorus, it's arrangements and layered production help shape its sound.

Moon And Moon is a piano ballad with its somber, flourishing melodies performed by Khan as she sings in her breathy yet melancholic vocal tone. With its eerie, morose lyrics, it's accompanied by soft claps and backing vocals to help with its atmospheric yet dream-like tone. The first single Daniel arrives with soft, blaring synthesizers and smooth, pounding bass beats that accompanies Khan's evocative vocals filled with dreamy, romantic lyrics. With a bouncy snare beat and melodic, swooning synthesizers, the song's chorus led by Khan's enchanting vocals is carried through its production and a melodic guitar track that follows the chorus. Peace of Mind is a folky ballad with washy acoustic guitar strums with soft, warbling bass lines and pounding bass beats. With Khan's dreamy vocals with lyrics dealing with spiritual-laden lyrics and a backing choir on some parts. Its dissonant guitar performance and ethereal arrangements led by Khan's superb vocal performance makes the song a highlight.

Siren Song is a piano ballad led by Khan's haunting yet enchanting vocals with lyrics that are melancholic about day-to-day life and other thematic qualities. With the piano performance intensifying with droning bass textures in the background, it's Khan's vocals that shine in its powerful performance with siren-like performance. Even as the song returns to its somber tone with backing vocals accompanying her. Pearl's Dream is a rhythmic, bouncy track with sputtering beats, tingling percussions, and melodic synthesizers swoon. With Khan's seductive vocals with dark, worldly lyrics, it features a great chorus filled shimmering backgrounds and Khan's vocals accompanied by backing vocals with its layered yet hypnotic production. Good Love is led by a swooning organ with soft, synthesizer flourishes that play to Khan's raspy vocals. With soft, clapping percussions and Khan's swooning vocals filled with imagery, metaphoric-lyrics, it has Khan do a brief spoken word that adds a unique narrative while maintaining the song's slow yet unique arrangements.

Two Planets is a song with throbbing, pounding beats and percussion taps that accompany Khan's smooth yet ethereal vocals. With its dark, ominous lyrics and Khan's chilling vocals, its throbbing rhythm and arrangements intensify a bit, it's Khan's wailing vocals that take charge with its hypnotic approach and atmospheric production. Travelling Woman is another piano ballad with a thumping beat and swooning arrangements. With Khan's dreamy vocals and somber lyrics, it's a song that has a simple presentation while maintaining its soothing, atmospheric feel. The album closer The Big Sleep with Scott Walker is an enchanting piano-driven ballad that features Khan's ethereal vocals with Walker's more low-sounding, operatic vocal. With its droning textures in the background and mesmerizing, imagery-laden lyrics, it's a song that serves as a fitting closer to the entire album with its simple piano-ballad presentation.

Two Suns is a mesmerizing yet enchanting masterpiece from Bat for Lashes. Thanks in parts to its ethereal, dream-like production, rhythmic arrangements, and Natasha Khan's evocative vocals. With vocals reminiscent of the likes of Bjork and Annie Lennox along with music that is a style similar to those vocalists along with Kate Bush. It's a record from start to finish that grabs the listener and wouldn't let go until the end. Overall, Two Suns is one of 2009's most intoxicating records from Bat for Lashes.

Bat for Lashes Albums: Fur and Gold

(Bat for Lashes/Other Lives-8/17/09 Atlanta, GA the Loft @ Center Stage)

(C) thevoid99 2011

Bat for Lashes-Fur And Gold

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/26/09.

One of the most interesting new artists to come out of Britain, Natasha Khan who is known as Bat for Lashes is a singer-songwriter that is known for creating dreamy, esoteric music. With influences ranging from Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, and Steve Reich, Khan has been gaining critical acclaim in recent years for her esoteric sounds ranging from piano ballads to more world-music, electronic-driven pieces. In 2007, Khan released her debut album under the Bat for Lashes moniker entitled Fur and Gold.

Written by Natasha Khan and produced by Khan and David Kosten, Fur and Gold is a record filled with Khan's earthy, dream-like vocals and a musical presentation ranging from piano ballads, dreamy electronic pieces, and elegant arrangements ranging from Oriental to European. With lyrics filled with heartbreak, innocence, and other themes. It's a record that is haunting yet mesmerizing that showcased Khan's unique talents as Fur and Gold is a fascinating, well-crafted debut album.

The album opener Horse And I arrives with tingling melodies of string instruments and harpsichords for an Indian-like presentation. With its haunting string accompaniments, Khan's dreamy vocals arrive with dark lyrics filled with imagery-laden surroundings. The song is then accompanied by a cadence-like drum fill accompaniment as Khan's vocals carry the track. The album's second single Trophy arrives with a low-sounding bass line with thumping electronic beats and a hollow, striking piano accompaniment. With shaking percussions accompanying Khan's ethereal vocals, the song includes some very esoteric lyrics as growling guitars and clapping rhythms arrive. Tahiti is a folk-style ballad with flourishing piano accompaniments by Khan as she plays along to some plucking string instruments. With her descriptive, dream-like lyrics, it's Khan's vocals that really take shape for the song. Especially its chorus as she sings in an elegant, high-pitch vocal with tingling chimes in the background.

The fourth single What's A Girl To Do? is the album's standout track with hollow, thumping beats and flourishing harpsichord performance. With an accompanying electronic beat and Khan's smooth vocals filled with heartbreaking lyrics, it's the song's chorus with Khan's vocals that really add a haunting quality with its wonderful, layered production. Sad Eyes is a melancholic piano ballad with slow, somber melodies as Khan's dreamy vocals really shine. With its lyrics filled with lots of sadness and heartbreak, it's another cut that really stands out. The first single The Wizard arrives with a melodic piano solo along with a smooth bass line with tapping percussion beats. With a bouncy rhythm accompaniment, Khan's vocals filled with mystical lyrics is one of the song's highlights along with its unconventional presentation.

The third single Prescilla is a rhythmic track led by foot-stomps and claps with flourishing autoharp accompaniments and Khan's dreamy vocals filled with lyrics about a strange girl named Prescilla. With its chorus filled with tingling guitar riffs and clapping rhythms, it's a good song though a bit overdone in its presentation. Bat's Mouth is a piano ballad accompanied by soothing, somber string arrangements. With Khan's breathy, angelic vocals filled with melancholic lyrics, the song becomes intense with its broad string arrangements and high-pitch, windy sounds. Seal Jubilee is a dreamy ballad led by a melodic guitar track and Khan's dreamy vocals partially distorted in its production. With a flourishing accompaniment of vibraphones in the background, it's a song filled with esoteric lyrics and screeching violins in the background as it's a track that displays Khan's unique vocal performance.

Sarah is an electronic-driven track with thumping beats, warbling synthesizers, and hollow bass lines. With Khan's eerie vocals filled with dark lyrics, she is accompanied by other female vocalists with bouncy synthesizer tracks accompanying Khan's vocals. With its unique production and unconventional presentation of instruments on top of another, it's another standout cut on the album. The final track I Saw A Light opens with an array of voices with warbling electronic backgrounds that becomes a piano ballad. With Khan performing the track, it's a song filled with Khan's somber vocals and eerie lyrics as a momentum-building violin starts to screech in providing a fitting close to the album.

While it doesn't feature a lot of standout songs, Fur and Gold is still an excellent debut release from Bat for Lashes. While the follow-up Two Suns would show a fuller, more developed sound and presentation that would give Natasha Khan huge acclaim. Fur and Gold is worth listening to hear how Khan has grown from her debut to her now acclaimed follow-up release. Even as there's some songs that are brilliant, particularly the single What's A Girl To Do? that includes a great music video of her riding a bike with other people and doing tricks. In the end, Fur and Gold is a stellar, well-crafted debut release from Bat for Lashes.

Bat for Lashes Albums: Two Suns

(Bat for Lashes/Other Lives-8/17/09 Atlanta, GA the Loft @ Center Stage)

(C) thevoid99 2011

The Cure-S/T

After the release of 2000’s Bloodflowers and a greatest hits compilation in 2001, the Cure officially ended their relationship with their longtime label Fiction Records after a period that spanned for more than 20 years. During this four-year period between studio releases, the band went on the road for some shows including a two-night engagement in Berlin where the band played their famed trilogy of albums for Pornography, Disintegration, and Bloodflowers that was released for a DVD release in 2003. That same year, the band signed a three-album deal with Geffen Records as they began work on a brand new studio release with famed producer Ross Robinson, who had been known for his work with Korn, Slipknot, and At the Drive-In, for their twelfth studio release simply entitled The Cure.

Produced by Ross Robinson and band leader Robert Smith, the self-titled album has the Cure taking on a heavier sound filled with loud guitars and bombastic rhythm. Featuring a more livelier sound than in any of the previous albums due to Robinson’s desire to record the band as if they’re playing live in a studio. It’s a record that has the Cure going for something more intense performance wise while the lyrics has Smith continuing the dark themes he had explored over the years. The result is an excellent yet rapturous record from the Cure.

The album opener Lost starts off with Robert Smith strumming to a guitar as he sings “I can’t find myself” repeatedly into this heavy, mid-tempo track with Jason Cooper’s pounding drums and driving guitar and bass. The rest of the lyrics recalls dark lyrics of loss as Smith wailing through the song’s vocals. Labyrinth is a pulsating track led by shimmering keyboards, walloping beats, and swirling guitars as Smith sings through textured vocals. With its haunting lyrics filled with eerie imagery, it’s a song that exemplify the Cure becoming more intense musically and lyrically. Before Three is a mid-tempo track with driving guitars from Smith and Perry Bamonte along with bopping rhythms from Cooper’s drums and Simon Gallup’s loopy bass line. Smith sings in his tormented vocals to the song’s nostalgic-laden lyrics with elements of longing and anger.

The first single The End of the World is an upbeat yet mid-tempo song with pounding beats, soothing bass lines, and washy guitar riffs. Featuring heart wrenching lyrics filled with desperation through Smith’s soaring vocals as it‘s one of the band‘s best singles. Anniversary is a heavy, mid-tempo track filled with fluid keyboards from Roger O’Donnell with hollow yet rumbling rhythms and wailing guitar melodies. Smith’s vocals is calm for the song’s harrowing yet reflective lyrics as the song is carried wonderfully by its atmospheric production. Us or Them is an upbeat though intense rocker with pummeling beats and driving guitar riffs as Smith snarls through the song with his biting vocals to the song’s angst-ridden and confrontational lyrics.

The album’s second single Alt.end is an upbeat yet bopping track led by melodic guitars and bass with steady drum fills and Smith’s calm vocals. The lyrics feature themes of desperation and the desire to change as the song includes wailing guitar solos and a swooning keyboard in the background. (I Don’t Know What’s Going) On is a mid-tempo track with thumping beats, soothing keyboards and swirling guitar chimes as it features lyrics of confusion as Smith sings in his evocative style. The third single Taking Off is a soothing, upbeat track with washy acoustic guitars, fluid synthesizers, rumbling beats, and driving electric guitar wails. Smith’s vocals is presented in great form as it complements the dreamy yet adventurous lyrics.

Never is an up-tempo track with pummeling beats and sturdy bass line that is followed by swift yet driving guitar riffs as Smith sings the song’s lyrics about lovers trying to be something they couldn’t be for each other. The album closer is the ten-minute The Promise that opens with Smith’s screaming vocals and warbling guitar riffs. Featuring Gallup’s wobbly bass line, Cooper’s hard-hitting drums, and O’Donnell’s soft keyboards, the song is among one of the band’s darkest as it features devastating lyrics of heartbreak that serves as a fitting close to the album.

Released on June 28, 2004 to excellent reviews, the album was a modestly-successful album on a commercial scale proving that the band was still able to capture the attention of the music-buying public. With the band getting lots of attention by headlining the 2004 Coachella music festival and having their own tour called Curiosa with bands like Interpol, Muse, and the Rapture. The Cure was suddenly getting more attention than ever as they were also presented with a MTV Icon special for the band. Following the album’s release and Curiosa tour, Robert Smith decided to make some changes once again as guitarist Perry Bamonte and keyboardist Roger O’Donnell left the band in 2005. Smith decided to have the band become a trio for a while until former guitarist Porl Thompson returned to the group in June of 2005 as a four-piece for a series of festival tour dates in Europe.

The Cure’s self-titled release is a stellar yet captivating album from the band. While it’s a record that is among one of their finer, latter-day period releases with 2000’s Bloodflowers, it’s a record that fans can enjoy for its heavy sound and dark lyrics that is distinctive of the Cure. Yet, it’s a record that is flawed due to some of the production and mixing that drowns out some of the bass as well as its emphasis to be very heavy musically. Still, the Cure’s self-titled album is among one of their finer albums that might not live up to their hey-day of the 1980s and early 90s but provides enough moments for fans to enjoy.

The Cure Studio Albums: Three Imaginary Boys - Seventeen Seconds - Faith - Pornography - The Top - The Head on the Door - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me - Disintegration - Wish - Wild Mood Swings - Bloodflowers - 4:13 Dream

Compilations: Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea - Mixed Up - Galore - Greatest Hits - Join the Dots

Live Albums: Concert: The Cure Live - Show - Paris

© thevoid99 2011

Serge Gainsbourg-Comic Strip

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 7/22/04 w/ Additional Edits.

If France had one musician to call his or her own, it’s Serge Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg’s sexually charged music was tongue-in-cheek as well as controversial. With its subjects of sex, violence, and everything above, Gainsbourg was fearless in his songwriting and subject matter while presenting himself in controversial fashion to the public eye. Even recording a song in the 80s with daughter and acclaimed actress Charlotte called Lemon Incest when she was only 12, years before her acclaim in films like My Wife is an Actress and 21 Grams. While he wasn’t well known in the U.S., to Americans, he was most famous for an appearance on French television when he told a young Whitney Houston in English, “I want to fuck her”. Since his death in 1991, Gainsbourg has left a legacy of great music that is mostly used for sex. In 1996, Mercury Records released a compilation of Gainsbourg’s best work from 1966-1969 entitled Comic Strip.

Comic Strip is a twenty-track compilation of some of the dirtiest music ever recorded in pop music. While its sung entirely in French, the song’s sexually vibrant energy, seductive tempos, and Gainsbourg’s oozing, baritone vocals aren’t lost in translation. It doesn’t really matter what Gainsbourg is saying but what he’s suggesting is far more interesting. With duets with lovers and actresses Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin (mother of Charlotte Gainsbourg), the songs are just here to serve for your undying pleasure. Forget Nelly’s Hot In Herre, Gainsbourg just simply wants to you get on with the fucking. Everyone, take off your clothes for Serge Gainsbourg’s Comic Strip.

The first song Requiem Pour Un Con (Requiem For A Jerk) is an oozing song with Serge Gainsbourg’s thick French vocals as he sings the song in French. What drives the song into sexual overdrive is its smooth, menacing drum fills and thumping bass tracks that has a groove that is tempting. Whatever Gainsbourg is talking about in this song, he probably is singing about a jerk but a charming one, especially in something with a groove this sexy. Next is Bonnie & Clyde with actress Brigitte Bardot is a sweeping, acoustic romp with dangerous lyrics about Bonnie & Clyde. With a whooping voice background, Gainsbourg just gets into his dirty, demeaning tone as he is followed by Brigitte Bardot’s sexy vocals. The song’s fast, acoustic tone is filled with a lot of sexiness, no wonder Kate Beckinsale was stripping to that song for Frances McDormand and Alessandro Nivola in Lisa Cholodenko’s 2002 film Laurel Canyon.

Initials B.B. is a sweeping track filled with barreling rhythms, lush arrangements, and a fast, swooning tempo with a bluesy piano in the background as Gainsbourg sings about Madame Bardot. The song’s mix of blues and classical arrangements is filled with ambiguity and danger in Gainsbourg’s lyrics as he just goes into a seductive trance. Comic Strip is a kitschy, tongue-in-cheek pop song that is filled with a cabaret-like rhythm and piano filled with Gainsbourg’s dirty, sexual lyrics as each verse is followed by Brigitte Bardot singing, “Sha-bam, pow, blop, whiz” with its swanky guitars and playful format. It’s easily one of the album’s greatest standouts thanks to Gainsbourg’s dirty old man routine and Bardot’s sexual vamp. Chatteron is a strange song about a praise suicide that is given a swooning, upbeat feel with its wailing organs and power-hitting rhythms. Gainsbourg leads the charge with his snarling baritone vocals and his dirty lyrics that really sound like a strange black comedy yet its groove is catchy and groovy with its horns and rhythms.

Bloody Jack is a mid-tempo song where the song seems to be filled with violence but Gainsbourg’s ability to mix dark, strange lyrics with an upbeat accessible sound is remarkable. Sung with a female vocalist, the song sounds pretty dirty, especially with its pulsating rhythms and organ tracks. Docteur Jekyll Et Monsieur Hyde is a more sweeping, upbeat track with a bopping, fast rhythm and catchy lyrics about the story of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. The song is obviously about the two as it really serves as an example of Gainsbourg’s warped mind while female vocalists accompany him in this catchy pop ditty. Torrey Canyon is another strange song that is about oil spills where in French, Gainsbourg sings about its threat in his beloved canyon in this upbeat, pop-laden song with an accompanying female vocalist. The song is again another ambiguous pop song with horn arrangements, organs, and pulsating rhythms as he proves to be a champion of 60s pop music.

Shu Ba Du Ba Loo Ba is a fast, upbeat pop song with fast, bopping rhythms and swanky guitars with the female vocalists singing “Shu ba du ba loo ba” chorus in its catchy, irreverent song. Again with a sexual intensity, the song is catchy while having its dirty tone in Gainsbourg’s vocals. Ford Mustang is a 12-bars blues piano/acoustic driven song that is a change of pace to the catchy pop ditties of previous tracks. The song is mid-tempo but has a dark feel through Gainsbourg’s vocals and lyrics while being accompanied by a female vocalist and a lush but wailing string arrangement. The song must be something about Ford Mustangs and something bad about it but I don’t know, still it’s catchy. Black And White is a more upbeat but swinging song with a wailing guitar solo opening and a smooth, pulsating rhythm with its sexual groove and Gainsbourg’s dirty old man swagger. The lyrics are probably dirty but I assume he liked all kinds of ladies in this one.

Qui Est In Qui Est Out (Who’s In Who’s Out) is a catchy, bopping song with a group of female vocalists with Gainsbourg singing in his dirty demeanor and the question of who is willing and who isn’t? Is he suggesting an invite to an orgy? Hold Up is a more mid-tempo driven song with a nice, swanky groove with Gainsbourg leading the charge. Again with a 12-bars blues piano and a washy guitar accompanied by hard-hitting fills, the song is oozed with sexual power and it’s very catchy for its tone that is dirty but tongue-in-cheek. Marilu is more upbeat with its bopping organ melodies and barreling beats and Gainsbourg’s dirty lyrics and his amazingly thick but sexy vocals. Again playing the dirty old man, he just brings in a swagger that is very enchanting, especially as he’s accompanied by female vocalists. Un Poison Violent, C’est Ca L’amour (A Violent Poison, That’s What Love Is) is a duet with Jean-Claude Brialy in a song that was used for the movie “Anna”. With its swanky, bopping rhythm, the track features a lot of dirty, angry talk from Brialy with Gainsbourg playing the funnyman to Brialy’s straight man.

Sous Le Soleil Exactement (Precisely Under The Sun) is a smooth, seductive track with a lovely bass track and slow but seductive rhythms filled with dreamy guitars and organs. Gainsbourg decides to just play nice and asks for a nice old fucking under the sun to his then-girlfriend Jane Birkin in this 1969 album he recorded with the British actress, who you might know for an infamous, naked appearance in Michaelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 masterpiece Blow Up. This song along with the next three tracks is from Gainsbourg’s duet album with Birkin back in 1969. Soixante Neuf Annee Erotique (69 Erotic Years) is a swooning, dreamy track with a nice bopping rhythm and melodic bass lines with Gainsbourg singing sexually driven lyrics filled with his seductive bravado. In the chorus, Birkin sings the song with her soft, angelic vocals supported by a lush string arrangement as the two sing about themselves. Les Sucettes (The Lollipops) is a vibrant, pulsating track with a swanky, washy guitar track that just oozes to Gainsbourg’s swaggering vocals. With its dirty groove, the song is filled with that break-beating rhythm that Gainsbourg loves as he sings those dirty lyrics.

L’annmour (The Nonlove) is a smooth, swankier, mid-tempo song with a nice backbeat and bopping rhythms with Gainsbourg again, being the dirty old man in this strange little love song. With a lush string arrangement in the background, Gainsbourg seduces in his demeaning way with his French, sexualized lyrics in this nice, dreamy song. The album’s final track is Je T’aime…Moi Non Plus (I Love You… Neither Do I) with Jane Birkin. Gainsbourg biggest U.S. charting single peaking at # 69, this song is very naughty. With its smooth, swooning organ background and swanky guitars, Gainsbourg and Birkin just sing in their sexual, seductive manner with the two getting turned on as Birkin keeps saying “I love you” in French with her orgasmic vocals. The song then reaches its climax as she sings in her angelic vocals and by the song’s coda, if you listen very carefully, they’re actually fucking in the recording booth.

Well for folks who are sexually oppressed, Comic Strip by Serge Gainsbourg will get them out of that repression. It’s one of his most definitive compilations from the French singing legend. Plus, it’s one of the greatest records to simply fuck to. Alternative Press thought so a few years back and with its pulsating rhythms, swooning grooves, and dirty French lyrics, how can any not deny this? Throw away those crap Nelly albums and pick up some Gainsbourg. He’s the man that will get clothes off and everyone to commence the fucking! It’s not wrong to buy this just because for anyone that is American. It’s wrong to be denied some good shit from other countries. If no one picks up Serge Gainsbourg's Comic Strip, they'll be pretty damn lonely not just for lacking in taste but also for lacking the urge to be sexually adventurous.

(C) thevoid99 2011