First up is 'Mojo presents Trojan Explosion 20 Reggae Classics' which was a free CD given away with Mojo Magazine back in 2002, the guys at Mojo did a fantastic job picking the tracks for this CD, Ali Baba, Pressure Drop, Liquidator, Dollar in the Teeth, Tighten Up, 007, Hard Road to Travel ... it has all the classics that I know and love. I haven't looked on ebay but I'm sure you could pick this up for next to nothing as most Trojan fans will have all this stuff already on the many excellent Trojan boxsets, but for someone with just a passing interest or wants to hear what the whole Trojan records sound was about you can't really go wrong with this. I've been playing this a lot since I got it with the magazine and has become one of my favourite albums. I've bought other reggae/ska albums since but none of them are as good as this to my ears... very recommended for a sunny day.
What can I say about Leatherface's Mush?, a real classic melodic British punk album from 1991 and adored by many, including myself. This always seems to be going in and out of print but it is currently available to buy as a download if you can't find a CD or LP. I never get tired of listening to this album, it sounds something like a cross between Husker Du and Snuff with Lemmy from Motorhead singing and the only sad thing is, to me anyway, is that this album was the band at their peek, I don't really listen to their other albums at all. That says more about this album though than the others. The two guitars are panned hard left and right in the stereo image and it's always interesting to listen to each guitar on their own by turning the balance all the way left or right, only then do you really hear what each guitar is playing and it's often suprising. That's where this album really shines, the fact that 99% of the time each guitar is playing something different really creates a massive guitar sound when combined, it sounds amazing through good headphones too. Play Loud!
Fluf are a band I really like (that seem to be somewhat unknown and unloved) Waikiki from 1997 is their best. The opener 'Skip Beat' crashes in like something from Seattle circa 1990, In fact the whole album sounds like a cross between Nirvana and Leatherface (see above) it's like Grunge with added Melodic Punk, there isn't a bad track on this album and I suspect that if it was released 6 years before it would have enjoyed more success. The first time I listened to it was one of those "Holy ******* ****" moments, it really blew me away with not only just it's power but with it's melody and stonking guitar riffage. I listen to this all the time, it's such a great album, it should have been massive.
Last up is one of my 'relaxing' albums, I've become a big Eels fan over the last 10 years and while I also love their other albums this is the one that I always come back to. E's ability to craft such beautiful melodies and unique lyrics time and time again never ceases to amaze me. 'A Daisy Through Concrete' is a highlight for me as well as 'Something is Sacred' and "I Like Birds" is just... well, weirdly amazing :) ..... but really, it's all up there with Eels best. I always get the feeling listening to this that every line in every song has some meaning I've yet to understand. Put on your headphones, close your eyes and drift of into the magical world of Eels.
Finally here's a bit of Eels, not on 'Daisies of the Galaxy' but one of favourite tracks from 'blinking lights and other revelations' .. I don't quite know what this song does to me but it does something quite profound.... must be those minor chords! :D
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