The four hundred and fifty-fifth album: #455 Dexys Midnight Runners - Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
There's a mix of influences at play in this album, with a heavy punk feel on what's notionally a (blue-eyed) soul album, with some hints of ska and other influences that I can't always make sense of. It's mostly a pleasant listen, if one that doesn't always have as much of an impact - it just feels difficult to connect to all of these, perhaps because I don't know where these match my tastes.
The one hundred and sixty-third classical recording: #129 Joseph Haydn - Symphony no. 45, "Farewell"
You don't always hear gentler pieces come from symphonies, but in Farewell it happens - like a drawn out goodbye, it's slow, sad in places and while it has some moments of excitement in it, there are also many others where it stays restrained. It's clearest at the end, where the musicians gradually leave the stage, leaving just the violins to play the end - it's a theatrical move that fits the themes well, with an appropriate downbeat ending that follows through on all those themes. As abstract as the music can be, it feels amazing how much more on point it is now.
The four hundred and fifty-fourth album: #454 Adam and the Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier
Adam and the Ants bring new wave with a punk attitude to the music - loose, rocky and fairly open, the repetitive guitars overlaid on more interesting tunes. It's a bit distracting, but it works most of the time - I just don't think it makes for the most compelling album, with even something like Jolly Roger feeling a bit too loose to work in their style.
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.