Tim Brough's Black Leather Bookshelf

The Tin Men Find Their Hearts
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Talk about a departure. "Random Access Memories" retros the old EDM sound of previous albums and plants its flag squarely in the heart of 70's disco. So much so that Giorgio Morodor and Nile Rodgers are here in the flesh. Modern popster Pharrell Williams and Julian Casablancas of The Strokes are on board for what is a pretty wild ride on the wayback machine. Turns out the Robots (as Pharrell kept calling Daft Punk as they racked up Grammy Awards) have a heartbeat that pulses to "Le Freak."

This is some sunny, happy poptunes. "Get Lucky" (featuring Rodgers and Pharrell) was one of the best summer jams this or any year, inescapably warm and funky. "Give Life Back To Music" rides the same kind of funkiness and uses the autotuned vocals that you'd probably expect from Daft Punk in the first place. Yet there are those cameos that reveal the true memories of the duo. "Giorgio By Morodor" has the legendary producer giving a brief biography of his creative life while Daft Punk recreates some old school Munich disco straight off of the "Midnight Express" soundtrack. (I'm of the mindset that this is one of the collabs that didn't quite work.)

But for pure seventies oddballishness, you get 70's syrup-meister Paul Williams on the crescendo-ing "Touch." Paul Who? You may ask? Williams is a 70+ songwriter who can count among his credits Barbra Streisand, Helen Reddy and Kermit the Frog among his clients. When Daft Punk went mining for that pure 70's sound that "Random Access Memories" obviously was looking for, the boys did their homework.

Pure DP fans will still find traces of their old heroes on "Memories." "Motherboard" is a strictly instrumental piece that jitters with some interesting drum lines. The "Contact" finale, a six and a half minute opus featuring DJ Falcon, uses found sound and newsbites to muse about UFO's and aliens among us. It's a rollicking space ride worthy of standing next to everything else on "Random Access Memories." Daft Punk may have done a massive shift for this album, but it's a satisfying one and may have made this their masterwork.

Dance With me Mika
3 Out Of 5 Stars

For his third album, Mika does an about face and lunges face first into dance pop. This is more a Pet Shop Boys departure than a George Michael, gilded electronically and laced with precision beats. His unique voice still stands head and shoulders above all the production and auto-tuning (hey he really didn't need this much of it, thanks), and the songs are still catchier than a tackle-box. Once again, Mika borrows heavily from the classic pop songbook; if you don't think of The Buggles during "Love You When I'm Drunk," you're missing the point.

But there's something missing, which the delightful "Lola" points out. When Mika isn't being dancified or vocoded half to death, he's a stunningly original artist. Great songs like the title track and "Make You Happy" are gossamered to the point where the beauty of what was so apparent on "Life In Cartoon Motion" and "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" is nearly buried. Mika is in a new phase of his career, and he still excels. Just be prepared that, if you're coming off those first two albums, "Origin Of Love" is a different animal entirely.




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The Best of the Available Donna Summer Collections
4 Out Of 5 Stars

The passing of Donna Summer has given her work a much needed critical review, with mention now of finally inducting her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after many years of snubs. This double CD "Gold" collection is a great overview of her multifaceted and multiple label career, hitting time with all three major labels as well as additional latter singles. The glory days of Casablanca take up all if disc one, the her resurgence on Geffen and comeback on Mercury, finalized by the surprising return to the top ten on Atlantic.

Granted, her pairing with Georgio Morodor gave her that first taste of success with the orgasmo-"Love To Love You Baby," but you can also see that she was on Casablanca's hit-making treadmill for the first few songs. Summer was blessed with a choirgirl voice, which makes the mediocrity of "Could This Be The Magic" or "Love's Unkind" bearable, yet it was when both Summer and Morodor made a quantum leap in style that the duo hit stride. Morodor's electronic pulse and Summer's coo made "I Feel Love" a song that was decades ahead of the curve, and from that point on, the hits kept coming.

Summer and Morodor tweaked the conventions of disco in ways that made Summer's diva-tendencies sparkle, like the ballad-intro to the dynamic "Last Dance," or the inventive recasting of McArthur Park" into a plaintive dance-floor wail. They were also among the first to fuse rock to their thumpes, with Steely Dan/Doobie Brothers Jeff Baxter laying down that burning solo that made "Bad Girls/Hit Stuff" irresistible. And how could anyone fight off the dynamic pairing of Summer and the other reigning 70's diva, Barbara Streisand on "No More Tears"?

However, this was about the time Casablanca collapsed under it's own weight, and Summer became one of the first artists to sign with the fledgling Geffen label (whose company at the time included John Lennon and Elton John). Disco was in its death throes, and Summer knew it. Disc Two begins with a turn towards danceable pop. It also marked a cold spell for Summer, as only "The Wanderer" and "Love Is In Control" made the top ten after a string of continuous big hits. Some of the material holds up quite well, like her version of "State of Independence" and the Quincy Jones helmed material. Still, things looked like Summer was going to fade like so many of the other 70's disco mavens.

However, Mercury Records claimed that a contract dispute following the collapse of Casablanca meant they were owed an album. Rather than phone in a quickie, Summer responded by turning in "She Works Hard For the Money," driving her back to the dance-floors and into the top ten once again. The follow-up single with one-hit Wonders Musical Youth ("Unconditional Love") is also a winner. Momentum back in her corner, she made another run at Adult Contemporary pop with Geffen that gave a great single (written by Brenda Russell) "Dinner With Gershwin" and a fine version of "There Goes My Baby." But it looked like diminishing returns were coming back to haunt her.

That is, until the pop production powerhouse of Stock Aitken Waterman convinced Summer to hook up. Having established a sound with hits by Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley, SAW set Summer up with "This Time I Know It's For Real," and lightning hit one more time. The titular album and the follow-up, "Mistaken Identity" are criminally out of print, as are the Geffen sets, which makes the second disc the best place to get some under appreciated songs. of the rest, "Carry On" is a deliciously retro-reteam with Morodor, while "You're So Beautiful" has a deep vibe to it. There's also "Dream-Alot's theme" recorded specially for "The Journey" but missing is "The Power Of One" from Pokemon. All around, though, this is as good as it will get until the inevitable reissue of the OOP albums with bonus tracks and remastering takes place.



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Break Out those White Polyester Suits
4 Out Of 5 Stars

It's hard to not rate this double CD with a fifth star, as it contains some of the most sublimely perfect dance pop of the seventies. As it is, "Greatest" covers a mere five years of a career that went through four distinct phases, and this was basically phase three. Starting with Main Course and going to Spirits Having Flown, it misses out on their 80's comeback and the Beatlesque years in the 60's and early 70's.

But when you listen to these songs, they earmark a period of music. The landmark Saturday Night Fever album and the Bee Gees' three number one hits from that record breaking period are all here and have aged better than most of us who wore "Disco Sux" shirts back in the day would have ever predicted. The Miami-sound that producer Arif Mardin coaxed them into actually predates that album, with the number one "Jive Talking" and top ten "You Should Be Dancing'" being irresistible even before the white suits and gold chains.

Those white suits overshadow the brilliant vocals that the group had developed at this stage. Barry Gibb's falsetto had developed into an instrument unto itself, yet Robin and Maurice had their own leads along with extraordinary harmonizing abilities. "Children Of The World" probably best displays that interplay the brothers shared.

Originally that was the last track on the double album, but the remastered CD drops some bonus cuts. For me, the only real plus is the B-Side "Warm Ride," the rest are 12-inch remixes. Only the re-mix of "Staying Alive" on disc one is from the disco era, the others are new to this CD and superfluous. "He's A Liar" or the live Top 30 "Edge of The Universe" would have been a better pick. Maybe the upcoming 50th anniversary re-issues will have more for us. Still, "Greatest" is prime stuff.

Other Bee Gees collections:



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To Go With What You Know
4 Out Of 5 Stars

I haven't had much interest in a new Erasure album since the string that started with "Other People's Songs" in 2003. They seemed to be coasting for a spell, until "Tomorrow's World." After some lackluster albums and a batch of live sets, Vince and Andy made a vital change and handed their music over to an outside producer, Frankmusik. He pulls the duo into the new century with some timely production, putting some much needed carbonation in Erasure's sound. "Tell me that you want me," Andy Bell calls out as the album opens. For a change, the answer is yes. Erasure has (since "Light At The End of The World," at least) matured into a consistency that puts them into a pocket.

There are plenty of songs here to remind you why you fell in love with Erasure back when their first album came out in 1986. "When I Start (To Break it All Down)" is the kind of questioning love song they've always specialized in, as well as dance floor pumpers. Both "Fill Us With Fire" and the auto-tuned inflected "Then I Go Twisting" are itching to get remixed, as are several other songs on the CD. Even the band knows that they're no longer the kids they used to be.

"Then I go inside, bored of this modern town
Sick of this techno, monophonic sound
Turning the lights down, modern life's so dull
More of the same stuff."

...And Andy is singing this over a popping synth groove. It's nice to listen to Erasure who are not only making good music again, but that they recognize where they (and we) are. "Tomorrow's World" is their 14th studio album, and it fits in well with many of their other albums.



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Hot Space Is Pretty Cool After All
4 Out Of 5 Stars

After being adamant about being a rock band with "No Synthesizers," Queen picked up the Prophet on The Game. When that album launched two of their biggest hits, it seemed like the band would become unstoppable. "No Synthesizers" was once a point of pride for Queen. But you know what they say goeth before the fall?

The result of that fall is "Hot Space." While it most certainly can't be considered a Hot Mess for trying to be a clone of any prior Queen album, the songs are so off expectation that I remember wondering at the time of its release if it was meant to be a Freddie Mercury solo album. The hallmarks of Queen (and the other band members) are notably absent from "Hot Space," including the fact that rock steady drummer Roger Taylor is barely on the album at all, replaced by machines.

"Hot Space" took Queen's glorious arena rock and ditched for a predominance of blue-eyed soul. Mercury, as usual, shines, and that is especially true on "Cool Cat," easily the most soulful falsetto he ever put to record. This is also the album with one of Queen's classic singles, the David Bowie duet "Under Pressure." In fact, it is such a perfect song that it underscores how mediocre the bulk of the material on "Hot Space" is.

The best of the rest after "Under Pressure" includes Taylor's "Calling All Girls" and the deep funk of "Body Language." While "Body Language" was an obvious attempt to capitalize on the mammoth success of "Another One Bites The Dust," the slippery synthed-out bassline was - like the best of Queen's experiments - completely unlike anything the band had tried before. It's one of my favorite Queen moments, even if many fans deride it. Dave Grohl and The Foo Fighters liked it so much that they made a parody video of it to announce the FF 2011-12 tour.

The final highlight is "Life Is Real." Written in the aftermath of John Lennon's assassination, it is an affecting ballad that sound natural (something the keyboard driven first half of the album doesn't). Had this been the first single instead of "Pressure," "Hot Space" might have been remembered a bit more fondly than as just the Queen album that derailed the band. The band atoned for this nicely with The Works, but they never really regained their US audience afterwards. The bonus disc underscores the material's strengths, with live versions of "Staying Power" and "Calling All Girls" besting their studio versions, and bringing the album's rating up by a full star.

Back to the 90's.
3 Out Of 5 Stars

If you long for the days of Everything But The Girl's techno moments, or St Etienne's late night whispery cool, you'll probably get a big kick out of Ivy's "All Hours." Husband and wife team Andy Chase and Dominique Durand, along with Fountains of Wayne dude Adam Schlesinger mix the sound of 80's old school synths with the 90's trip-hop and Durand's sweet if somewhat undistinguished voice. As usual, Schlesinger brings his knack for memorable melodies (even though the writing credits are listed as the entire band), and all the songs pop along as expected.

However, Ivy has shown a greater knack for memorable songs that were more up-front than dreamy background. "All Hours" could have easily been titled "After Hours" for all its lack of energy. The muted chill of "All Hours" might have been a treasure; to me it sounds like something that dropped out of a 1997 lockbox.

A Not So Immaculate Collection
4 Out Of 5 Stars 

If you want to look at a history or road map to the pop landscape of the 80's and 90's, Madonna's "Celebration" is a perfect place to go. Madonna was the first 80's female star to take control over her image and fashion her career accordingly, something that often overshadows her accomplishments. However, has it just been a voice and a hook, everyone from Stacy Q to EG Daily would still be stars. Madonna was savvy enough to feed on the trends in music but somehow always manage to be about a half-step ahead of everyone else. It's a skill that evaded almost every other star of the period and makes Madonna one of the most influential female singers outside of Dianna Ross.

"Celebration" (I'm speaking mainly of the 2-Disc edition) compiles all these trends and moments with varying degrees of sucess, and I will leave it to better minds to argue over things like what was or wasn't included, whose mixes should have been here or what LP Vs Single edits were dissed by their inclusion or not. But the music overall silences these discussions. Madonna's evolution from such fluffy dance fare like "Everybody" and "Burning Up" to the sex-charged "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl" to the maturation of "Like A Prayer" and "Papa Don't Preach" show a talent that never stood on past laurels. She embraced pop, club, new wave, techno and showtunes while finding the producer to best suit her and her desires of the moment. Some of the collaborations were as fearless as they were over the top; she was writing with Bjork and William Orbit when most folks had no idea what these artists were doing.

Maybe my only gripe is the sequencing; hearing the thickness of Timbaland's work on "Four Minutes" makes the thin 80's dance pop of "Hoilday" too much of a clash for me. Putting the songs in chronological order would have made this more interesting. The number of songs not here could have gone to a super-deluxe three disc set and still left off significant hits. So when's the singles box set going to arrive? Don't be surprised, as this album wraps up Madonna's contract with the WB. Comprehensive as "Celebration" may be, I'll guess there's more to come.

Gonna Take a Ride on The Disco Schtick
5 Out of 5 Stars

When one makes machine-pop, where every song is made by the same batch of producers and writers, it is a mighty feat to make yourself stand above the crowd. Lady Gaga, who follows the long tradition of everyone from Yma Sumac to Madonna, elevates herself over the mundanities of popular music by sheer force of personality. Add that she's a prodigy and an expert musician, and you get a sense that "The Fame" is more than just a run-of-the-mill pop album.

It took me a considerable amount of time to warm up the Lady Gaga. The songs on the fame are all state of the moment dance music, and her flamboyance often overshadows just how good these songs are. As co-writer of all the songs here, Gaga is also a step up the creative ladder. She knows a good ear-worm when she pens one, which is why tricky lines in "Pokerface" or "Lovegame" just don't leave your head. Gaga also knows that titillation is just as good as the best hook, so a touch of naughty is as infallible as the best hook. That may be the best lesson she copped from Madonna, but "The Fame" holds its own musically after repeat listens.

She also has enough change-ups to knock aside thoughts that Gaga is nothing but a dance-diva. "Brown Eyes" is the kind of song Gwen Stefani wishes she could still write, and "Eh Eh, Nothing else I can Say" is genial pop. It's clear that Gaga is concerned about the craft of her work, but she also loves the spotlight. It's tough not to invoke Elton John or David Bowie, performers who reinvented their daily life as wild, over the top characters, but Gaga does so repeatedly in her music (of course, in her shows as well). She wants it all, both the fame and the cred, even as she approaches it from the outside in. "The Fame" is, like her or not, the birth of the decade's first serious pop-diva.