STACK NZ May #73

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By Graham Reid

SONIC YOUTH

Sister (1987) They'd started life a decade previous as a noisy, post-punk No Wave outfit, but by the time they got to this, their fourth studio album, they'd moved to more subtle sonic textures and cohesive alt-pop- rock songs, with discordant twists of course. The template for much of what followed. Daydream Nation (1988) Generally considered their first great album (it was their last on an indie label before signing to uber-major Geffen, thus opening the door for Nirvana and so on), it only sold 75,000 in the US in its first year. In the days between the dying No Wave and emerging grunge scenes, they showed there were still possibilities in rock which were uncompromising, innovative and exhilarating. A defining album of the '80s. Goo (1990) Their major label debut sprung radio items in Dirty Boots and Kool Thing with Chuck D. It sold twice as many as Daydream Nation , but only just scraped into the US top 100. Pitched between alt, indie, experimental and emerging grunge, it's a real keeper. Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (1994) With mostly economically short songs, by dialling down a little and dealing with more personal issues (almost nostalgic for indie-days in places), they made their first – and only – commercially successful album. It sold about half a million on release. With their albums being reissued on vinyl it's timely to look at SonicYouth's catalogue; they were a band whose influence far outstripped their album sales. And also... Fans and casual listeners all have different favourites, so let's pitch in Washing Machine (1995) for the exceptional 20-minute Diamond Sea alone. Also their Whitey Album under the name Ciccone Youth from 1989 (with Minutemen, Firehose and more recently Stooges bassist Mike Watt) because it takes loving pokes at pop, Madonna and Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love . Don't ignore The Eternal (2009), their final album and first to crack the US top 20. They went out on a high.

Augustus Pablo This is Augustus Pablo In the mid-'70s the hypnotic sound of

Augustus Pablo pulled 95bFM listeners close to their radio, because host Duncan Campbell used a Pablo piece (the leisurely Up Wareika Hill ) as the theme to his groundbreaking roots

reggae programme. Campbell's show was appointment listening and if you heard it the memories will flood back with the reissue of this classic album from '73 where producer/guitarist Pablo's deep, old-school reggae grooves – with Ansell Collins also on keyboards alongside bass legends Aston Barrett and Lloyd Parks – get Pablo's gloriously quirky and tuneful melodica pasted over the top. Pablo's sound was that of gentle breezes, warm visions, sleepy moods and rolling melodies which – with the right personal medication – just took you away, and then even further. Pablo died in 1999, but do yourself a favour and latch onto this to either remember him or be sad about what you missed. Essential.

MUSIC

Various Artists Kinked! Subtitled Kinks Songs and

The Mint Chicks Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! Has it really been a decade since this fizzing crunch of rock, pop, electronica and metal was unleashed? With it, The Mint Chicks picked up Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Rock Album, Best Cover Art and even Best Music Video (for the title track) at the 2007 NZMAs. Now re-presented as a double vinyl (with download code), the lo-fi C?Y!D?N! still sounds like timeless adolescent enthusiasm, bottled lightning, raw'n'ragged pop-rock and more than the sum of its many influences. (The experimental, ambient 100 Minutes of Silence pointed in another direction.) An album which lived up to its title.

Sessions 1964-1971, this 26-song collection is Ray Davies' material in the hands of others after his publisher hawked them around (the best known is the throw- away musical hall/pop hit Dandy by Herman's Hermits). And what diverse artists/covers. Aside from Lennon-McCartney you couldn't imagine any other songwriter being covered by Goldie and the Gingerbreads, Peggy Lee, Leapy Lee, Petula Clark, the Pretty Things, the Knack, the Chocolate Watch Band, Marianne Faithfull… Some generic beat-era pop but also oddities and rarities. Fun, a spotlight on the past – but more for fans/obsessives.

For more interviews, reviews and overviews from Graham Reid visit www.elsewhere.co.nz

MAY 2016

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