Gemacht in Deutschland

Gemacht in Deutschland. Some of the BEST music from the Europe of the 1970s was made in Germany. Being a self confessed Krautrock enthusiast, the spectrum of bands to talk about is ultimately too diverse, as is their music (I'll post other Krautrock favorites in the future). For all of the genres that have been documented and declared, Krautrock is one of the most diverse of all. The range of styles and sounds ranges from the fluid synthesized sounds of Tangerine Dream to the Musicique Concrete inspired sounds of Can to the highly electronic experimentation of Manny Neumauier of Guru Guru, Klaus Dinger & Neu! or Rolph & Florian of Kraftwerk. I truly enjoy all of this music and I continue to seek out more. One such Krautrock band that I have admired the most were the one band that had more directly in common with the Western "hippie" counter culture than any of the other Krautrock acts of the time.

Amon Düül II's commune lifestyle and musical integration almost collapsed under its' own weight, and then ultimately re-surface as 2 separate bands under the near same name, Amon Düüll and Amon Düül II. The latter went on to more international critical acclaim and cult status, while the former version disbanded after just a few records. Their various recording including Phallus Dei, Yet, Carnival In Babylon and Wolf City, all display such large canvasses of sounds, wild arrangements and near transcendental passages and jams. Some of the music was LSD fueled and other times their music bore influences of western styles ranging from country to rock n roll to the blues, mixed with their own European inspired experimentation. Wildly psychedlic album covers graced each release.

However, American acceptance and success eluded them. A short lived deal with Atlantic Records sub label Atco (Home of Genesis in USA), delivered their highly regarded yet most misunderstood album Made In Germany.

Originally it was a double album when released in Germany in 1975, but in North America it was issued as a single LP and less songs. Only recently, thanks to SPV Records in germany, has the original sprawling double LP of music made it way onto compact disc.

For this album, and unlike previous releases, the band reached back into their own Germanic roots for theme and style. The German LP cover picture had the bands dressed in 18th & 19th century bavarian costumes.

Made In Germany is an essential album for any AD II fan and one that deserves investiagtion for any young or old music fan that digs Space Rock from the 1970s. Less deranged sounding than their English counterparts Hawkwind and not as "commercial"sounding as Pink Floyd, Amon Düül II found an interesting median sound that, for me, was every bit as enjoyable.

Since there are near 20 tracks spanning this double LP, I'd like to highlight just a few and leave the rest to those who are adventurous to challenge their tastes in Rock music.

My favorite tracks, off the top, include the surf rock-ish number with the sluggish rhythm - the beautiful instrumental "La Krautoma". The dreamy vocals of "Ludwig" and the spacey "Blue Grotto" are exceptional highlights of the record, as is the temptingly imaginative "Loosey Girls". Lastly, I would be obliged to mention the violin flavored "Dreams" with its incessant beat driving it. These tracks alone are worthy of any "Best Of" compilation and guarantee a much more expansive journey when you listen to the entire album.

I loved this album went it first came out in 1975 and it still ranks as one of my more listened to Amon Düül II albums. I found this clip on youtube from another fan. It includes "La Krautoma". Enjoy.

Iggy's NEW "Preliminaires"

Wow. The new album by Iggy Pop is much better than I expected and not at all what I expected. Maybe that is what has been so appealing to me since I received the Limited Edition Virgin France version this week (It comes with a Limited Edition 7" single).

The first single and video "King Of The Dogs", was a post here near a couple of weeks ago. If you have not yet seen the interactive video, check it out on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/iggypop

My favorite tracks so far - "Les Feuilles Mortes", "Nice To Be Dead" (One of the more uptempo songs), "Party Time", "I Want To Go To The Beach", "Spanish Coast"

This is NOT like any other Iggy Pop album. It sounds NOTHING like The Stooges or any of Iggy's previous solo recordings. Preliminaires sounds like it is completely free of any restrictions - personal or professional. It sounds like it is an unabashed expression of passion. It croons. It weeps. It is bold. It is confident sounding. It is spectacular! June 9th is the street date. Buy it. Check it Out.

You will NOT be disappointed.

Album Of The Week - "For Your Pleasure"

So many times, we armchair critics of music often label 'this' album a "Masterpiece" and 'that' album a "Masterpiece". Most often it is justifiably warranted and sometimes it is just a strong personal opinion. There have been many, many times I have considered a particular album a masterpiece and then find my opinion is shared by just a few others. We've all been there.

My 'Album Of The Week' choice here, Roxy Music's For Your Pleasure, falls neatly in between. I have heard from many people how much they love this album and consider it, as well, a masterpiece. Then again, I have encountered a number of those people who simply "do not get it". What a pity for them.

March, 1973. Possibly, a moment and time that marks what might have been the apex of the Glam Rock movement in Great Britain during the early 1970s.

Roxy Music had just blasted onto the scene the year earlier with their eponymous titled debut album, Roxy Music. They had already spent the better part of the past year on the UK singles charts with "Virginia Plain". Yes, while they did not pay their dues like other bands, becoming instant stars, I think we were better off for it. No one was a virtuoso by any stretch at this point but this did not hold them back from creating interesting, groundbreaking music.

Roxy Music was a band that gelled in chemistry and the result was spell binding music. Of course, Rock history and legend has firmly documented the fact that there was a growing ego clash between lead singer Bryan Ferry and keyboardist Brian Eno, who happened to be capturing a lot of the spotlight in the UK Music press as well (More on him in future logs). Unfortunately (or fortunately), For Your Pleasure would the final Roxy Music album to feature Brian Eno.

To begin with the album artwork was classic 1970s and one of their best, featuring model Amanda Lear holding back the sleek, black panther in front of the long black limousine with Ferry standing, smiling, with the passenger door open. The inside photo of the band is, yet another, calssic shot, with each member sporting their best Glam fashion attire (Eno is the BEST looking) and each member strumming a guitar of choice. Inside and out, the cover art was simply...dreamy.

The album opens with the UK Top 10 single "Do The Strand", a jumpy driven number that makes for a perfect opening song. The next 4 songs are the defining tracks for the album. "Beauty Queen" - I have always loved the lyrics in this song and the way Ferry sings lines like "Oooh the way you look/Makes my starry eyes shiver" and "Your swimming pool eyes/In sea breezes they flutter".

Track 3, "Strictly Confidential" , is a very good song but such depressing content. It breaks my heart just listening to it, the same way the song "Chance Meeting" does/did from their first album. "Editions Of You" is another song that struts much in the same vein as "Do The Strand". Energetic, with a corruptive backbeat courtesy of drummer Paul Thompson (the rivet in the band) and the bridge features all the members with their respective mini solos , one after another (Eno steals the spotlight on this one again).

Now before, I come to the final song on Side 1, I just wanted to mention the final three songs from Side 2 - "The Bogus Man", "Grey Lagoons" and"For Your Pleasure". Apparently, they are left over songs from the first album, but no less better than the more recent songs from Side 1.

On the "The Bogus Man" there is the 9:15 constant beat and if you listen carefully, mixed into the background rhythm is Ferry quietly making the constant sound into the microphone... "chicka". Of course it is looped, but the finality of the song gives one the impression he has been doing this for near 9 minutes straight, as the song gracefully closes with just him making this repeated sound until finally he gasps for breath a couple of times. Great stuff.

"Grey Lagoons" and then the title track, "For Your Pleasure" are both really good songs, however they are both appropriately placed at the very end of the album.

So, now I go back to the last song on Side 1. This is the epic song that virtually every original Roxy Music fan adores. I have never met anyone who claimed to be a fan of this album, make anything less than a gushing, bold statement about the sheer beauty of this song. It is truly a "Masterpiece" of a song. A fan favorite and a show stopper live. In part, the lyrics speak of opulent lifestyle excesses and also, perverted love. No one, other than Bryan Ferry, has made a love song about a vinyl inflatable female doll more exotic, more inviting and more psychotically romantic. The song opens with the brooding church organ and guitar of Phil Manzanera, both treated by Eno. This continues for what seems like an endless cycle but really for just over 3 minutes, all the while Ferry laments words of sexual frustration and the sheer boredom of a decadent lifestyle. This frustration has its own moments of tenseness thanks to the flavored bursts of Andy MacKay's saxophone and more of Manzanera's warped sounding guitar. Then, at 3:07, the unforgettable line "I blew up your body/ But you blew my mind" is delivered as the band stops playing for an instance. Immediately, the band comes crashing back in highlighted by the psychotic guitar solo of Phil Manzanera, Eno on Organ and Paul Thompson's thundering drums (complimented by some studio phasing). This intensity continues to fade out, only to rise again in the reprise that closes Side 1.

In every dream home a heartache
And every step I take
Takes me further from heaven
Is there a heaven'
I`d like to think so
Standards of living
They're rising daily
But home oh sweet home
It's only a saying
From bell push to faucet
In smart town apartment
The cottage is pretty
The main house a palace
Penthouse perfection
But what goes on
What to do there
Better pray there
Open plan living
Bungalow ranch style
All of its comforts
Seem so essential
I bought you mail order
My plain wrapper baby
Your skin is like vinyl
The perfect companion
You float my new pool
De luxe and delightful
Inflatable doll
My role is to serve you
Disposable darling
Can't throw you away now
Immortal and life size
My breath is inside you
I'll dress you up daily
And keep you till death sighs
Inflatable doll
Lover ungrateful
I blew up your body
But you blew my mind
Oh Those Heartaches
Dreamhome Heartaches

For any younger readers of this blog, if you TRULY want to hear something spectacularly different that ANYTHING you have heard in your short life, then PLEASE check out Roxy MusicFor You Pleasure. You will not be disappointed.

The Cockney Rebel Rules!

Glam Rock. You've heard of it, right? Sure you have...David Bowie, T. Rex, Mott The Hoople, Roxy Music, Slade, Gary Glitter. Glam Rock was all the rage in the UK and select parts of North America between 1972 and 1974. To be frank, those are the names of acts that immediately spring to mind when Glam Rock is mentioned and, hopefully, you have heard something from all of them. However, there were other performers and groups that were categorized as Glam Rock-Some rightly so and some not.

There is one band that, musically, were easily enough shelved with the rest of the Glam acts, but this group displayed more than just run-of-the-mill Glam rock.

Cockney Rebel, led by the one and only Steve Harley, released 2 albums that outshined most all of the others. 1973's Human Menagerie and 1974's Psychomodo, captured the essence of Glam while elevating it higher. The production is top notch, especially on Psychomodo, which was co-produced by Alan Parsons (Dark Side Of The Moon, Alan Parsons Project, The Beatles)

For me, the 2nd album is the best. When I hear the songs "Sweet Dreams" "Psychomodo" and "Mr. Soft", not only am I taken back in memory to my "Glam" trip to the UK in 1973 when I was first introduced to Cockney Rebel, but after all the Glam records I have heard, I cannot help but think that this band and their 2 albums were so much better than the average Glam act (screw Gary Glitter) and just as important and just as high in quality as anything by T. Rex or David Bowie, at the time.

It's true, that the albums did not fair as well, as subsequent record released by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (as they were referred to as post 1974) - check out sometime Best Years Of Our Lives, but these 1st two albums were a unique snapshot into the world of Glam Rock in 1973 & 1974. BTW - 3 of Steve Harley & Cockney Rebels' songs were included in the 1998 film Velvet Goldmine.

Truly, if you are looking for something kaleidoscopically enetertaining and sounding, then you really must search out these 2 albums. They were both just recently re-issued in Japan on the coveted Mini LP CD, and once again thanks to the Japanese, the sound is immeasurably good.

If you find these records, I really hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Hey Star...Turn Me Black n' Blue

Right about now, back in 1975 (which was a great year for music), The Rolling Stones were rehearsing for their upcoming North American tour, beginning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 2 weeks previous they had performed on the streets Manhattan on the back of a roaming flat bed truck, as a publicity stunt to announce the upcoming tour in support of their newest album of the day, Black And Blue, their first with Ron Wood as a permanent member.

It's interesting to note that around the same time rock critics and the evolving punk scene were now referring to them as "dinosaurs", even though they had only been around since the early 60's, so less than 12 years.

Nowadays, yes, I would concur - The Stones are dinosaurs. In fact, musically, they are spotty at best with the material they have released since Voodoo Lounge. Some really good songs, especially those sung by Keith, but the majority of their output in the past 15 years has been forgetful. I really could not give a shit about the Stones now (except if Keith put out another solo album, then my interest would pique again)

But the 60's and the 70's, primarily, were the decades for the Rolling Stones. I especially love the early Blues influenced records like Out Of Our Heads, 12 x 5, Aftermath, Now! and December's Children and then the 1st 6 studio albums of the 1970s - Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main Street, Goat's Head Soup, It's Only Rock n' Roll, Black n' Blue and Some Girls. These are the most essential albums of any collection. Bar none.

In fact, these albums are so essential, that I cannot bother to comment on any of the albums or tracks. They are all just that good. Ok. Maybe, just one song and the lyrics. My all time favorite song by the Stones from my all time favorite Stones album. Ladies and Gentlemen..."Star Star" from Goat's Head Soup

Baby, baby, I've been so sad since you've been gone
Way back to New York City
Where you do belong
Honey, I miss your two-tone kisses
Legs wrapped around me tight
If I ever get back to Fun City, girl
I'm gonna make you scream all night

Honey, honey, call me on the telephone
I know you're movin' out to Hollywood
With your can of tasty foam
All those beat up friends of mine
Got to get you in their books
Lead guitars and movie stars
Get their tongues beneath your hood

Yeah! You're a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star
Yeah, a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star
A star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star

Yeah, I heard about you Polaroid's
Now that's what I call obscene
Your tricks with fruit was kind a cute
I bet it keep your pussy clean
Honey, I miss your two tone kisses
Legs wrapped around me tight
If I ever get back to New York, girl
Gonna make you scream all night

Yeah! You're a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star
Yeah, a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star
A star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star.... yes you are, yes you are, yes you are

Yeah, Ali McGraw got mad with you
For givin' head to Steve McQueen
Yeah, you and me, we made a pretty pair
Ballin' through the Silver Screen
Honey, I'm open to anything
I don't know where to draw the line
Yeah, I'll make bets that you're gonna get
John Wayne before he dies

Yeah! You're a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star
Yeah, a star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star
A star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star
Yes you are
A star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star Yeah!
A star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star Oh yeah!
A star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star Woo!
A star fucker, star fucker, star fucker, star fucker star (yes you are)...,
Starfucker starfucker, starfucker starfucker starfucker yes you are, yes you are!... Oh yeah! Woo....

Oh-Yeah - Oh! Give us a kiss
With a twist
Ball me girl

10ccs of My Love

That's right, more than the average male. One cc more, to be exact, and that's what made the band that much more...potent. Lol Creme, Kevin Godley, Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman were more than just a "band", too. 10cc comprised a unit of 4 excellent musicians, whose songwriting abilities together mixed for a incredible potion of various musical sounds and styles. They seemed like the one band that took all of their Beatles influences' and mixed them with just about every other genre of music that they had been exposed to in their lives. Every album contained passages of music that flowed effortlessly between Rock n' Roll, Pop, R&B, Cabaret, Country, Psychedelia, Hard Rock, Jazz, Euro Pop, Reggae, Folk, World...

Like the Beatles, they toured little and kept most of their activity confined to the studio of their choice, Strawberry Studios. There they made some of the most delicious sounding albums of the 1970's - the eponymous debut album, Sheet Music, The Original Soundtrack, How Dare You!, Deceptive Bends and, yes, even Bloody Tourists!.

Most of all (for me), the production was simply some of the best of the 1970s, as well. 10cc were one of the bands from the seventies (like Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Rush, Alan Parsons, etc.) who made good use of their studio time and technology of the day to maintain near perfect sounding music. Of course, with the digital remastering technology today, their original recording is even more captivating to listen to.

If one is a beginner of 10cc, then I would sincerely suggest you try the double best of. If you are brave enough to plunge deeper into their pool of work, then the obvious first 2 albums to indulge in would have to be The Original Soundtrack and How Dare You!. Others might suggest Sheet Music, but that would the 3rd suggestion from me.

Combined, The Original Soundtrack and How Dare You!, you have the zenith of creativity between the 4 original members, for after How Dare You!, Creme and Godley would leave the band for their own ventures (Remember "Cry"?). The other 2 remaining albums from the 1970's - Deceptive Bends and Bloody Tourists! were the first 2 albums under the new wings of Stewart and Gouldman. Deceptive Bends contained the classic hits "Good Morning Judge" and "Things We Do For Love" but also the finer "You've Got A Cold" and "Honeymoon With B Troop". It really was an overall great album with nothing to lose on it. Most 10cc judges out there believe Bloody Tourists! to be a mediocre effort by Stewart and Gouldman but I disagree. "Dreadlock Holiday" is the sure fire hit (and was), but the real beauty in the album is in the songs "Tokyo", "Last Night", "Take These Chains" and "Shock On The Tube". IMHO they all stand up to near anything from the previous 4 albums.

However, on The Original Soundtrack and How Dare You! is where the magic of 10cc lay. The Original Sound track and it superb Hipgnosis designed LP cover was home to their #1 Hit single "I'm Not In Love" (#2 in USA) and some of their best songs written ever. Side two was the real charmer with the blazing rocker "The Second Sitting Of The Last Supper" (check out the dueling piano and lead guitar in the last minute) with its religiously challenging lyrics. Side two continued merrily with more top notch songs - "Flying Junk", "Brand New Day" and the brilliantly sarcastic & philosophical number "Life Is A Minestrone". Side One had not only the #1 hit, but elegantly started off with the very European sounding classic cabaret inspired epic operetta "Un Nuit en Paris". One of the most challenging compositions by a rock band, next to maybe Something by Frank Zappa. No one else was recording & releasing anything quite like it.

How Dare You! may not have had a replica Intl. #1 song, but they did make another Top 10 impression on the UK charts with "I'm Mandy Fly Me" and "Art For Art's Sake" (two amazingly great songs!). Even serious depth songs from the band like "Rock n' Roll Lullaby", "Head Room" (hilarious song about learning about sex) and "Don't Hang Up" showed the breadth of their abilities as musicians. Again, Hipgnosis dedicated some more memorable artwork for the gatefold cover.

There is no question, listening to 10cc requires some thinking (just like Zappa's music does), especially when venturing beyond the hit singles. The music of 10cc was cerebral. It challenged your sense of humor and your sense of music tastes. The fact that they weren't more popular than they were is a catastrophic injustice in the view & perspective of most any music critic, but the truth lies in the music.

If you can stretch your own musical tastes and boundaries, appreciate great lyrics with humor and emotion... Oh yeah, and love good Pop Rock with a high IQ, then 10cc will astound and delight you in ways you may never have known.

I would have posted an original video by the band but Universal Music has blocked any attempt to embed the bands videos.

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Fans at the alter of The Sensational Alex Harvey Bandcan only pray for the late Alex Harvey's eternal life after peace in the Rock n' Roll Heavenly skies. For they & the Lord only know how much blood, sweat, tears and life Alex Harvey gave to his craft as a professional musician, songwriter and entertainer. Since his untimely death of a heart attack just one day shy of his 48th birthday, in 1982, the legend of Alex Harvey has grown in a stealth like fashion. There have been and still are Sensational Alex Harvey Bandcover bands and then there was the short lived original SAHB lineup reunion in 2004 (sans Alex, of course and now guitarist Zal Cleminson who quit the reunion despite the apparent appeal and success). Even Canada's Paul Hyde & Bob Rock dedicated their 1982 album No Stranger To Danger to the memory of Alex. The web is abound with hits of Alex Harveydedicated websites and plenty from Youtube available (See Below)

I got turned on to the SAHB when I made a trip to Glasgow, Scotland with my Dad back in 1973. I hadn't yet turned 15 years old. I saw SAHB on the Old Grey Whistle Test doing a cover of Jacques Brel's classic "Next". The song itself was captivating, as I had never heard any Brel before, but watching Alex on the TV was equally as mesmerizing. All I remembered was this mop of hair, griselled face and theatrical flair. Then there was the guitarist, Zal Cleminson, with the evil clown makeup. The whole group was dead on the money for my entertainment value. Later that year, when I returned to Nova Scotia, I received for Christmas from my cousins in Glasgow, the newly released Vertigo UK LP of Next. The cover differed from N.A. latter versions, where the black stripes on the LP cover were actually reflective silver stripes on the UK version. I played that album faithfully for a year solid and couldn't wait for their next release, 1974's The Impossible Dream.

Released in September of '74, The Imposible Dream was SAHB at their creative best and at the top of their game for showmanship live. Unfortunately, after that album is when eveything started to unravel. While I still enjoy a great number of SAHB songs post Impossible Dream, like "$25 For A Massage", "Dance For Your Daddy", "Snakebite", "Soul In Chains" , "Who Murdered Sex?" or "Boston Tea Party", for me the pinaccle of SAHB enjoyment was 1973 and 1974. Which is the sole reason for devoting this blog to 2 SAHB albums - Next and The Impossible Dream.

Next. A brilliantly crafted and sounding album (their second LP as SAHB) and helped launch the band into the growing wave of Glam Rock in Great Britain during 1973. The albums' lead off track "Swampsnake" just sets the tone and attitude right away, with its' sexy guitar groove. That was just the precursor to "Gangbang" (Imagine today a song titled that being released w/out PRMC control). What a rollicking good song and only Alex could paint the imagery with his vocals especially on the opening line of the 2nd verse. "The Faith Healer" was another great song with an infectious hook off the top with Hugh McKenna's synthesizer. The UK/European TV performances of this song had a great effect of any number of the emerging musicians in the UK from the Clash to the Cult (who did their own version in the 1980s). "Giddy Up A Ding Dong" was another barrel rolling rock n' roll number followed by the introspective and passionate rock version of Jacques Brel's "Next" (I enjoy this version better than Scott Walker's or Gavin Friday's). The album's closer, "Vambo Marble Eye" was so high energy for a final song on an LP. No rest for the fans, the song blasts through the speaker with another great Zal Cleminson guitar hook, this one fashioned with a quasi- funky groove a la Shaft. The song begins the concept story of the anti-hero Vambo, Alex Harvey's alter ego in performance. The story was just beginning to infold.

The Impossible Dream. Released just 11 months after Next, this was the album that captured the band at their career peak. The gatefold sleeve of the LP had shots of the band live, in character for the Vambo story. The lyrics on the right side sleeve told the story. (After all, those were the years of the "concept" album").

The Vambo story picks up right away with "Hot City Symphony". First impression is the theatrical style of Harvey's vocals. He is truly playing the part of Vambo. With "The Man In The Jar", the mystery of Vambo picks up speed. This song rivalled anything by by Bowie, 10CC, Roxy Music, Mott The Hoople with its' dramatic flair and delivery. It evoked images of Pulp fictions and Humphrey Bogart movies mixed with its own apocolyptical storyline. Besides, any song with a bridge that includes the sing along vocals "Zaba zaba zaba da ba baba da za zaba da ba" is okay by me. "River Of Love" and "Long Hair Music" were a couple of great glam-ish rock songs that essentially filled the gap until Side one's closing ditty "Hey"...

I knew we had

to say goodbye

When I felt that warmth

against my thigh

Ha Ha Ha Ha... Hey!

Is that you pissing on my leg?

Side 2 again brings back the nostalgic melody with "Sergeant Fury". "Weights Made Of Lead" sounded like another great late-Glam number. The real gem of side two laid with"Money Honey/The Impossible Dream". Any band that can combine a Drifters number and a show tune from Man Of La Mancha is deserved of anyone's attention & a worthy listening. What a fantastic medley. "Tomahawk Kid" almost gives the listener a idea of what to expect on the next album Tomorrow Belongs To Me. Unlike Next, The Impossible Dream closes on a much sofetr note with the closer "Anthem". To me, these albums are timeless and a unique snapshot into the world of mid-1970s Rock music. Vastly under rated, still, but with some hope, the music of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band will fall onto appreciative ears.

Album Of The Week - "Through The Looking Glass"

One might wonder why I have elected to blog about a covers album rather than something from the original canon of work by my band of choice this week, Siouxsie & The Banshees. Well, first off I loved their version of "Dear Prudence" from their album Hyaena & because I like cover songs and I adore albums dedicated to cover songs. I was a big fan of David Bowie's Pinups, Bryan Ferry's Let's Stick Together, Booker T & The MGs McLemore Ave, you name it...if it was a cover song, I was more inclined to listen more attentively. Don't ask me why, I just do. When it comes to Through The Looking Glass by Siouxise & The Banshees, it is a most excellent covers album to listen to any number of times. Never one of my favorite bands (maybe thats why I never chose one of "their" albums), but their choices of songs and album title resounded like a classic to me. It still is, as far as cover albums go. I wish there were more of them. The bands of today might learn more of their craft by covering more older material. That's how the old school rock bands did it and they still do the covers. Cheap Trick did some great ones, so did Eric Clapton, Brian Eno, Neil Young, Todd Rundgren, Roxy Music, Nazareth, The Doors, Yes, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Nirvana, John Lennon, The Who. I am not even going to short change the multitude of other bands from the past 20 years who have done the odd cover song. But, I do miss the days when a cover song or two was a staple inclusion on just about any album and by just about every group or artist.

Of course, the unique attraction of a cover song would have to be the recording bands' distinctive interpretation of the chosen song. In a nutshell, they have to leave their fingerprint on the song and its' new version (I never really liked covers that were a note for note version).

In regards to Siouxsie & The Banshees' Through The Looking Glass, they get full marks for interpretation and even higher marks for material chosen. The album kicks off with "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us", my all time favorite songs by Sparks. An immediate nod to that bands influence on the Punk musicians. Then the hall of fame choices go even further back in time with Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit", Jimi Hendrix's "Hall Of Mirrors" (also covered by Chrissie Hynde & The Pretenders on their album Get Close) and The Band's "This Wheel's On Fire" (which is possibly also a nod to Bob Dylan since he co-wrote the song w/ Rick Danko). What a fantastic selection. The only question I had was why "Trust In Me" from Disney's Jungle Book?

Side Two of the album kicked off with another nugget from the 60's with the Doors "You're Lost Little Girl". Back again to the punk roots of the 70's with Iggy Pop's "The Passenger", John Cale's "Gun", Roxy Music's "Sea Breezes". Every single song neatly captures the essence of the original and distinctly portrays Siouxsie & The Banshees more "mature" side. Thats the best way I can describe it. I somehow had more appreciation for the band and their musical capabilities when I first heard this record. Their showed respect and earned it, in one fell swoop with me. And that was before I heard the last & final track.

The song that proved that Siouxsie, Budgie, Steve Severin had some serious underground tastes in their circles - Tom Verlaine & Television's rare 45 rpm single "Little Johnny Jewel". For me, their version comes pretty close to capturing a similar angst to the original and yet able to take the angst to another level. Slightly more disturbing, too. Through The Looking Glass is one album to check out if you are into cover songs like me. (4/5)