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48 OCTOBER 2015
New Order
Music Complete
Two years in the making seems
to have paid off; New Order
(still sans ‘Hooky’) still feel just
as relevant as ever. As always
there’s a ‘clean air’ feel about
Sumner’s vocal delivery, and
an urgency in NO’s electronic
foundations. Plastic even offers
a Donna Summer-esque disco
groove amongst the never-
ending new wave overtones. As
is their shtick, the band endear
rather than annoy; even the
patchy Tutti Frutti wins you over
before you’re aware of your body
moving along to it. Expect this
album to work, and work big –
owning a superior dance floor
near you. Chris Murray
Bring Me The Horizon
That's The Spirit
Bring Me The Horizon have had
one of the most fascinating career
progressions the music industry
has laid witness to in the past
decade. Originally emerging with
an absolute assault of overeager,
heavily stylised metalcore bands
in 2003, they’ve made deliberate
and decisive progressions in sound
across each album thereafter,
and have eventually emerged in
2015 as comfortably one of the
biggest heavy bands on the globe.
Their integrity remains intact with
this solid new venture which is
so sonically stylish that they can
now add immaculate taste and
trendsetting to their list of enviable
talents. Emily Kelly
Robert Forster
Songs To Play
Songs To Play is a mundane title but a magical
album. I mean, how could you not love an
album that includes a song called I Love Myself
And I Always Have? Of course, one of Robert
Forster’s '10 Rules of Rock and Roll' states
that the second-last song on every album is
the weakest. But I Love Myself – complete with country coda – is a
standout. “I hold myself in high regard,” Forster declares, “and loving
yourself shouldn’t be so hard.” This is a record rich in irony. The opening
cut, rock anthem Learn To Burn, is a song about impatience. Forster
claims he’s waiting for no man, except maybe Dylan – though he has
made his fans wait seven years for this solo album. Another one of his
rock rules is: "Great bands don’t have members making solo albums.”
Fair point, though sadly the Go-Betweens’ career was curtailed by the
premature passing of Grant McLennan. You can hear how they have
influenced contemporary acts like Oh Mercy, Dick Diver and The Ocean
Party, but Songs To Play shows that Robert Forster remains the master.
Jeff Jenkins
Natty Dread (1974)
The earlier Catch A Fire and Burnin' albums
established an appealingly crude template of reggae,
but with this album – the first with the I-Threes and
without the earlier Wailers Peter Tosh and Bunny
Livingston – Marley stepped out as a solo artist with a band.
Although his count of originals looked low (just Lively Up Yourself
and Bend Down Low) he was behind No Woman, No Cry, Them
Belly Full, Rebel Music and So Jah Seh. The first classic Marley
album.
Rastaman Vibration (1976)
The presence of synths here was proof Marley was
musically curious and ready to push the reggae
envelope. It's still a classic reggae album (hard to
deny with Positive Vibration, Johnny Was, Crazy
Baldhead, Who The Cap Fit and War) but his music was expanding
beyond roots, and the lyrical inspirations were coming from real
life (Johnny Was), factory work and the Bible (Night Shift ), and the
words of Haile Selassie (War). Political, passionate and real.
Four cornerstone albums by brother Bob
Exodus (1977)
The mighty one. With new Wailers, Marley expanded
his musical palette further, divided his energies
between lighter material and his political mindset
(placing those tougher songs first however), and
in the title track provided the sound of a nation of Rastafarians
marching out of Babylon.
Kaya (1978)
Sometimes he was a lover, not a fighter, and this
mellow mood collection (celebrating ganja and love)
balances things. He would get back to the serious
business on Survival the following year but this one,
recorded at much the same time as Exodus, comes
like a breather. The essential summer Marley... which unwittingly
gave rise to Kiwi barbecue reggae?
FURTHER LISTENING
Want to spend large but all in one place? The four CD box set Songs Of Freedom
(1992) covers most of the essential ground.
For more from Graham Reid visit
Bob marley