13. Mary Coughlan: Under The Influence (1987): Intoxicating As Well...

This album is a classic showcase of the young record buyer under the influence: In 1987, I had never heard of Mary Coughlan, and consequently never heard any of her music. Then I read a raving review in the Soundi magazine - my musical bible through the eighties and nineties - and bought it from Levymyynti, THE record store in my then hometown Turku if you were looking for something that wasn't on the charts - and fell in love. Afterwards I have bought half a dozen more of Mary's albums, but none of them measure up to this collection.

What is it that makes it so great? Stylistically, it's quite varied for popular music - there's a sound foundation of jazz-influenced pop - from the stunning starters "The Laziest Girl" and "Ice-Cream Man" to the broadly sweeping yet emotionally charges "AWOL", sprinkled with sounds from the theatre stage such as the tragically tender "Fifteen Only" and folk influences such as the chanson-more-than-Celtic "My Land Is Too Green" and the simply gorgeous remake of the McCarthy-penned Christy Moore-staple "Ride On". 

This song is the centrepiece of the album for me - its message comes across just as strongly as in Moores haunting version, but the upped tempo and Davey Spillane's uileann pipes in a eightyish soundscape make this the most obvious example of the mega-hit that never was that I can think of.

Overall, the production is timeless rather than time-bound - and spot-on, since it creates the perfect stage for the most important feature of the album, Mary's voice.

From what I've read about her life and career, the feeling she conveys of having lived through the pains and pleasures she sings about seems all the more real, and her alto, her sense of nuance and drama and her Irish accent make for one of the most unique musical experiences I know. I daresay she would have made a great rock interpreter in the style of Maggie Bell, and she´s up there with Mavis Staples and Millie Jackson for the soulfulness - but in fact the stylistic variation and rather open soundscape make for an even better setting. She may have been under the influence, but whatever substance did it for her works through the music, because I find it intoxicating.

12. Elvis Costello and the Attractions: Get Happy! (1980): The Angry And Prolific Young Man At Work

Among the "winning streaks" of constantly good to great records from my favourite artists, I rank Elvis Costello's first ten albums of originals, from 1977 to 1986, among the highest, not the least because the sheer number of songs he wrote for them. It's hard to single out the best of these albums, but "Get Happy!" is a strong candidate, perhaps partly due to the fact that it was the first EC album I bought. It also contains no less than eighteen of his self-penned songs, which must be close to a record on a single album - augmented by a scorching cover of the old soul tune"I Can't Stand Up (For Falling Down)".

The number of songs allows for great variety - from the tempo and urgency of said cover version or "High Fidelity" to the acoustic swirl of "New Amsterdam", from the athmospheric soundscape of "B Movie" or "Secondary Modern" to the suggestive beat of "Black And White World". There may be no real standouts on the album, but on the other hand the staggering wealth of the arrangements and the absence of prolonged fades or filler make for a breathtaking musical trip of three quarters of an hour. Most pop songs would be fine if restricted to three minutes each - but Elvis makes do with two.

The band has to be mentioned - these tunes are executed with a minimal setup of drums, bass, guitar and keyboards, yet nothing is lacking. Especially the keys are allowed to shine - listen to "Motel Matches" as a good example. And then there's Elvis - not the greatest singer in the world, but a great interpreter of his own songs as well as those borrowed. In my opinion, he's sometimes stretched beyond his abilities - but that has been in later years; here he still is simply an angry young man, who understands to vent his feelings through other means than shouting.

If I have an objection, that would be the lack of printed lyrics, especially since the artist obviously has something to say - but that lack doesn't diminish the enjoyment of playing this record.

11. Jethro Tull: Songs From The Wood (1977): The Revenge Of The Mad Flutist

"Songs From The Wood" was the first Jethro Tull album I ever heard, back in 1982 when I borrowed it (and "A") from a classmate at school. Thus, I have been hooked by the Mad Flutist Ian Anderson and his troops för 37 years now - and counting.

What was it that made this album so great? Well, firstly, the songs - inventive, melodic, driving, with lyrics full of everything from environmental awareness through myth to wistful romance and even sexual innuendo. Secondly, the way they were played - from a capella folk to classic hard rock and back, sometimes within the same song; if nothing else, the arrangements were unique. And thirdly, the way they were sung. I really like Ian Anderson's voice, just as much as his songwriting and head for arrangements. I did like "A" as well, but that's another of a line of stories I'll be coming back to.

This is one of the precious few records I have heard that are classics almost song by song. I won't boe you with all of them, but rather just state that the A-side of the album is great - from the hymn-like title track and the mischievous "Jack-In-The-Green" to the rather rollicking "Hunting Girl" - but the B-side is even better, containing no less than three timeless Tull classics.

First, "Velvet Green" is a blend of a hauntingly beautiful melody, a story of a secret romantic alliance - interspersed with a rather frantic instrumental section pulling out all the stops, then coming round full circle. "Pibroch (Cap In Hand)" is similarly built but even more intricate - the verses are pure blues, Martin Barre's guitar expressing the anguish - and once again, the mad flutist and his mery men butt in with another frantically folksy part, stanging out in even stronger contrast but somehow not breaking the air of sorrow - the narrator, seeing the strange boots in the hallway and the slippers by the fire, putting his cap back on and walking away.

And then comes the finale, "Fire At Midnight", a sweet little tale of coming home after the working day, a lovely tune carried by an exquisitely down-toned arrangement literally lovingly played. A modern classic of less than three minutes, in my books.

Whence the revenge? Well, after a first brace of well-received classics such as "Aqualung", "Benefit" and "Thick As A Brick" by 1972, Ian Anderson seemingly lost his way among ill-conceived thematic works, abandoned album sessions and brawling with critics, and some of JT's mid-seventies work perhaps wasn't really good - but this record reinvented the band and put them back on top, where they belonged.

10. Billy Bremner: Bash! (1984): The Man With The Voice - The Third Rock In The Pile

Rockpile never got round to make more than one album under the band name, but I reckon I have more than albums of good music in my collection, made by one or more members of the group. Nick Lowe heads the pack in numbers, Dave Edmunds takes second place, but this Billy Bremner album (one of two I own) just may be the best of them all. His later catalogue, much of it recorded in Sweden with Swedish musicians, may sound a bit tired to my ears - but not so this gem.

I like the sheer power and rolling ease of the band, the production that sounds natural for 1984 - a little Rockpile, perhaps a touch of Squeeze, and I like the songs. Some of them may be rather average, but most have a clear hit potential. Most of all I like his voice - its warm yet powerful, at best it kind of soars above the music like a bird, without losing any of its grit and earthiness. Ah, I can't find the right words for what makes it so good - you have to dig out the album and listen for yourselves.

Among the musical highlights I especially want to mention the Elvis Costello-penned matrimonial drama "Shatterproof", the amusing Drifters-wordplay pastiche "Tired And Emotional (And Probably Drunk)", the nostalgically wistful "The Boat That's Sunk A Thousand Ships" and "Losing My Touch" - especially the latter one is a great showcase for that voice. And it has to be said, that most of the songs sound like they were written just for him - those long vowels that he can wrap himself around to great effect - but on the other hand, the style and soundscape are varied enough to make this a perfect pop record anyway, covering a lot of styles but tying them together in one entity.

Thirtyfive years later, the man is still active - in fact, he played in two of my hometowns just a month ago, but I was of course abroad just then - but nothing he has done since this album measures up to what he came up with here and as a member of Rockpile. To add insult to injury, my own copy, bought straight upon its release, is the only actual copy of this album I have ever seen. I know that it's been re-released on CD, and you can find it on Spotify - and I would love to see more people boast and brag about having it. So if you find a copy somewhere, buy it at once! 

9. Rockpile: Seconds Of Pleasure (1980): Fine Fine Fine

My first encounter with the fine gentlemen in the group Rockpile must have been seeing them in the Concerts for Kampuchea show, then buying the soundtrack and realizing that the Beatles weren't the only band around relying on more than one brilliant singer/player/somgwriter - and all of this resulted in "Seconds Of Pleasure" becoming one of the first records I even bought quite soon after its release. I remember being a bit underwhelmed at first listen, but also that repeated play made me recognize and appreciate the fineries that filled this splendid helping of rock music.

What's so good about it, then? Well, the playing is plain delicious - the wacka-wacka of the guitars, the relentless drive of Terry Williams' drums, the sometimes slighly quirky yet always swinging arrangements. The singing is also a treat - Dave Edmunds is a good rock singer, yet only my third choice in this line-up behind the more melancholy and versatile pipes of Nick Lowe and above all the spine-tinglingly soaring voice of Billy Bremner at his best.

And the songs are simply great - from basic fast numbers like "Teacher Teacher" and "Fool Too Long" and the spectacular "Heart" and "(You Ain't Nothing But) Fine Fine Fine", ornamented by Billy's vocals, to the clever wordplay of "When I Write The Book" and the heartfelt "Now And Always". There are no two songs alike, yet the album is a distinctive entity as a whole. As a bonus, the twelve tunes clock in at classic album length, somewhere aroung the 36 minute mark. No chance to ge bored - rather, short and sharp enough to be spun another round on the fly.

Rockpile never got round to releasing another album as an official band - but I soon learned there was plenty of music to be found involving the same gentlemen, and at least two more albums that in practice were Rockpile even though they were released as solo efforts. I will get back to those at another time - for now, I'll pick this album off the shelf and play it another time.
And BTW, this is one of the hidden gems you can't find on Spotify. Buy it instead!

8. The Kinks: Sleepwalker (1977): The Champion of Commentary Strikes Again

Looking back at the history of rock music, one could argue that quite a lot of it actually was invented by Ray Davies and the Kinks, even though the style originates from the blues and its' derivatives in the US. The Kinks were prime movers in hard rock ("You Really Got Me", anyone?), satirical social commentary (basically any Kinks track with a title that goes ".... Man" among others), thematic albums, and fusing styles from music hall nostalgia to punk. Even though I don't claim this to be the only true interpretation of rock history, I do believe one can be pretty sure that the Kinks mostly were ahead of the field when looking at and jumping into new styles and effects.

I also think that some of the earlier Kinks catalogue carried fairly ham-fisted musical results, but the sometimes mediocre musicianship was more than outweighed by the wit of the writer - for 50 years and counting Ray Davies has been doing three-minute snapshots of the oddities of life today in an identifiable and inimitable manner.

Sometimes the results have carrried the whole album - and by the late 70's the musicianship had been brought up to par as well. Thus, "Sleepwalker" stands out among the latter part of the Kinks catalogue as a nearly complete collection of modern popular music. I'm not sure exactly how the record fared on the charts, but 1977 was a tough time for the establishment - but I believe Ray Davies was one of the most revered old guys still around at the time. 

The songs speak for themselves. The coming to age of the boy in "Life On The Road", the contempt for the former friend who made it big in "Mr. Big", the themes of mental turmoil and disturbances in the title track, "Sleepless Night" and "Full Moon", the comforting ending with "Life Goes On" - in fact each one of the album's nine tracks is worth a mention on its own merits. Ray Davies may not be the greatest singer in the world, but he is a great interpreter of his own lyrics. And even though some of the songs suggest a character not totally happy and content, there is still a glimmer of hope at the end.

Add to this the beauty and dynamism of the arrangements, with their beautiful interplay between acoustic and electric guitar, the keyboards - and the deceptibily easy flow of the melodies, and you have a near-perfect end product. Some of the later Kink albums showcase almost as good a set of songs as this one, but not quite - and at times, the old power-chord overdepemdence takes them down a notch. Not this one, though - "Sleepwalker" is a jewel in the crown of the Champion of Commentary.

7. Radio Kings: Money Road (1998): The Blues Is Alive (Part 2)

One of the best things about popular music from a fan's viewpoint is its abundance. Just when you thought you knew most of the names worth to know, somebody comes along and widens your horizon. Today this is easy - just lean back and browse Spotify - but back in the good old days my favourite way of finding something new was to go to the library and pick up something I didn't know.

That's how I found Radio Kings - an American white boy blues band, who apparently have recorded at least one more album alongside this one, but who never quite made the big time as far as I know. Their relative obscurity cannot be explained by a lack of quality - this album has all the most inportant traits to make it into a favourite. A good singer, adequate players as far as I can judge, good and varying tunes (which isn't a given thing in the world of contemporary blues) and a nice, lively and breathing sound palate.

Three of the songs have a special place in my heart; the slow blues "My Day Of Reckoning (Has Finally Come)", which combines a forceful vocal with quite fresh chord and melody lines, the rolling midtempo starter "I Can't Win", which is another tour de force for singer/harpist Brian Templeton - a man with a blues voice and presence in the Kim Wilson/Sugar Ray Norcia mode, and "The Shelf"; another slow blues, perhaps a bit more conventional, but which has well written and eloquent lyrics on the theme of being cast aside.

That doesn't mean that the rest is filler. As I write this, I'm listening to "Money In Her Pocket", an easy-rolling midtempo number built on Templeton's voice and harp - all ingredients are traditional, but the mix is fresh. The overall feeling of this album is that it by and large avoids the clichés of the genre, the band has a pleasantly warm yet firm sound, the solos are kept in moderate fashion, and the tunes are great examples of how the blues is so much more than twelve bars of whining about lost love and opportunities.

On the other hand, as the world looks today, it's no wonder that the blues is alive and well...