The four hundred and fifty-third album: #453 The Specials - The Specials
Although still heavily influenced by ska, The Specials brings a bit more to the table than that. They are angrier, full of energy, with the usual laid back ska style replaced with the anger we've gotten with rock music. Punk is a clear influence, although the fusion with ska really puts it in a different place. It goes between ska filtered through punk and punk filtered through ska, depending on the mood the track is going for, and it's an explosive mix because of those contrasts. Rather than staying on a single emotional level, which can get quite wearing in both of these genres, they combine here to create a flow that becomes more engaging rather than being exhausting.
The one hundred and sixty-second classical recording: #175 Luigi Cherubini - Medee
As always, it's difficult to get the full breadth of an opera when you're listening without a translation of the lyrics. I know the rough story, but the opera's music doesn't give me enough to hold on to to really follow it. What really stands out though is Medea's role, which feels like a real tour de force for the performer and, in this version, is Maria Callas' role for a reason. Her voice is strong, emotional and keeps its depth. It's an amazing story to listen to, even without as much of the context.
The four hundred and fifty-second album: #452 Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle
We've got an album here that's both predictable in what it covers - Numan's style is one I've covered in the reviews of his songs before - but also gives it variety while staying recognisable. The new wave melodies differ between the songs, but the underlying drum beat is always there and always feels the same, while there isn't much variety in his vocals. That works to create the atmosphere and feeling though, creating a strong throughline that's assuring in its own way.
The four hundred and fifty-first album: #451 The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette
I'm always surprised at how good it feels to get a good, old fashioned punk rock album in, rather than the more experimental post punk offerings. Machine Gun Etiquette has its anger, its loose sound, but also the harmonies that show there's more going on here. The album is short, but it's an explosion of energy and anger that thrives so well here.
The one hundred and sixty-first classical recording: #677 Joaquin Turina - Danzas Fantasticas
Turina's dances are full of energy, with even the more lamentful parts bursting with energy even if the middle section isn't as excited as the other two. It's a welcome burst of energy in the morning.
The four hundred and fiftieth album: #450 Michael Jackson - Off the Wall
Off the Wall is a good disco album, with some good funk songs and some great ballads in there, with Michael Jackson's voice as impeccable as you'd expect. All that's missing, compared to what I expect I'll hear in Jackson's later albums on the list, is the production and breadth of sounds - at this point, it still sticks to the disco sound he became famous with, but the real progress that I believe created his legacy is still on the way - lurking, but I know it's going to step up. As an album, it really works best to show off his early work.
The four hundred and fourty-ninth album: Public Image Ltd - Metal Box
Metal Box becomes a post-punk mess at times, a collection of sounds that feels thrown together without much of a thought. The album was improvised, and that's clear from the different directions the tracks take, but it's done with a level of skill that keeps it listenable - as much as it may seem like a cacophony, it's one that draws you in with its ideas rather than becoming off putting. There's not much of an identity to the album, but the different parts are interesting to listen to with each song its own new turn.
The one hundred and sixtieth classical recording: #591 Arnold Schoenberg - Five Orchestral Pieces, op. 16
There's something threatening about these five pieces. Wikipedia describes it as partially referencing madness, but there's more menace in the pieces, with the dark tones really creeping up through the works, sometimes overtaking an otherwise pleasant and friendly piece until it's warped by it. Haunting but lovely.
The four hundred and fourty-eighth album: #484 Pink Floyd - The Wall
As I said yesterday, this is a double album with a plan. There's a story to the songs, with tracks being brought back in different interpretations and parts going back and forth. As a listener, this becomes very satisfying - you pick up on the flow of the track and can follow along with everything that's going on, picking up on a story that's not too complicated and adds a bit of flavour to the various tracks. It's all fairly effective and I quite liked the rock album.
The four hundred and fourty-seventh album: #447 Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
There are two options, it seems, for the contents of a double album. One, which we'll see tomorrow, is a coherent set of tracks that really seeks to tell a story. The other is today's Tusk, which is a mix of styles (almost divided based on the different band members writing them), where it feels more like the band is doing their best to get their different ideas out. While staying on the calmer side, with some of the rock tracks getting into pop ballad territory, it's hard to pin that down as the definite evolution. It's not as folksy, not even as upbeat, but there's a really reassuring flow to the album that makes it lovely to get immersed in.