It's All 'Appenning

From next weekend, I'm going to "mothball" this blog (I hope I have the terminology right) to concentrate on doing some other things. Such as contributing to Stuck Records, and to do some proper jobs for a bit. Expect a few more posts including the rest of the R'nB Girls posts by the weekend (I knew I wouldn't manage a post a day for two weeks!), and see you about.

Corrections and Clarifications

"Control" is Janet Jackson's third album, not her second. Her first was "Janet Jackson" (1982), and her second was "Dream Street" in 1984.

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Pop Thought For The Day

Janet Jackson "Control" (1986)

Released: March 1986
Label: A&M
Produced by: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Highest UK Chart Possition: 8

1. Control
2. Nasty
3. What Have You Done For Me Lately
4. You Can Be Mine
5. The Pleasure Principle
6. When I Think Of You
7. He Doesn’t Know I’m Alive
8. Let’s Wait Awhile
9. Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)

“This is a story about control/ Control of what I say/ Control of what I do/ And this time I’m going to do it my way…”

“Control” was Janet Jackson’s second album, though you could be forgiven for thinking of it as her debut. Her first album, which was released in 1984, was a bit of a flop. So as an exercise in getting back in the saddle after an initial setback, “Control” is exemplary. This was the first collaboration between Janet and Jam and Lewis, and it really represents the best work of everyone involved. Seven of the album’s nine tracks were singles in the UK. “What Have You Done For Me Lately” was the first, reaching number three in March ’86. It’s a stroppy electro-rock tantrum, reminds me of Gwen Guthrie’s “Ain’t Nothing Goin’ On But The Rent” which was a hit around the same time. Even The Pussycat Dolls’ current single (“If your dude be telling you that he broke, you tell him he got to go”) strikes a similar tone. There are lots of great spoken bits to listen out for on “Control”. One of the best bits arrives during “Nasty”, where Janet says “I love this part!” as if she’s as caught up in the record’s glorious groove as the listener is. It’s probably also a telling moment in that Janet can seem like a bit of a spectator here at times, just because Jam and Lewis’ work is so extraordinary throughout the record. Not that I mean to diminish Janet’s contribution at all you understand. The first minute or so of “When I Think Of You” sounds like it could be used in a masterclass on how to write a pop song. You hear all the layers building up bit by bit and your attention is drawn to the bits of magic you probably wouldn’t think up if you were attempting to write a smash hit yourself. Sometimes it’s just the tiny little details here that impress me most, like “The Pleasure Principle”’s opening line: “You might think I’m crazy, but I’m serious…” It’s not clever in a very obvious way, but it’s just attention grabbing enough. I always marvel at writers who strike that sort of balance. And the record does feel serious and grown-up. Although it’s a dance record it feels like a mature piece of work. In many ways it feels like the blueprint for Nelly Furttado’s dramatic re-invention around the time of the “Loose” album; it’s bold and harsh and attention grabbing. “Control” is now 23 years old and Janet Jackson hasn’t managed to better it since.

Tomorrow: Nelly Furtado "Loose"

Diana Ross "diana" (1980)

Released: May 1980
Label: Motown
Produced by: Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers
Highest UK Chart Position: 12

1. Upside Down
2. Tenderness
3. Friend To Friend
4. I'm Coming Out
5. Have Fun (Again)
6. My Old Piano
7. Now That You're Gone
8. Give Up

If "Southern Hummingbird" is one of my "top ten albums this decade", then this would be in my all-time top ten. I don't care how Nick Hornby-ish that sounds. This is the best disco album there is, in my view. Despite having been recorded by an ostensibly mainstream, clean-cut singing star, it's gritty, "street" (on the sleeve her hair is wet, she's wearing jeans and just any old t-shirt, she's supposed to look like the sort of kids who would be going out to buy the album. This is world-famous diva Diana bloomin' Ross we're talking about, it's difficult to imagine her travelling on public transport let alone "getting down wiv 'ver kids") and the whole enterprise is totally cutting edge. And I'm talking about the 1980 release version when I say all that. That's to say nothing of the original, legendary, "Chic mix" which finally got a release in 2003. I'll post some tracks from that version along with some other extra tracks at the weekend. Diana Ross making a disco album should have been a bit of a rubbish idea. Other established artists' forays into disco were often so embarrassing: The Beach Boys' "Here Comes The Night", Mike Oldfield's "Guilty", I could go on. But I've run out of examples. "diana" (I'm not sure why it's always written lower case but there you go), isn't just a high watermark in Ms Ross' career, it's also about the best thing Chic ever did. And when you consider the records Diana was involved in both as a solo artist, in duets and with The Supremes, and Chic's productions for other people as well as their own records, that's saying a lot.

In "Upside Down", it opens up with one of the best singles ever. I say that, but then when I was a kid I always preferred "My Old Piano" (and I still love the line "his international style exudes an air of royalty", which always makes me think of Walter Gropius or someone sitting on a throne, wearing a crown). But what a way to start of an album, that scratchy choppy guitar at the very beginning, you know immediately that Chic (specifically Nile Rodgers) has a hand in it. "Tenderness" keeps it upbeat, lovely backing vocals, the lyrics and lead vocal are pitched perfectly as is the case with just about everything on this record. "Friend To Friend" might seem to upset the mood a little but it is a nice bit of ballady respite. Then it's onto "I'm Coming Out" which is remarkable in several ways - not least because Diana Ross apparently was unaware what connotations the phrase "coming out" would have to the gay community (I mean did she seriously think the song was about emerging from a wardrobe or something?). The juddery beat and rhythm guitar together make up one of the oddest disco riffs imaginable. It's the bravest of all of the Chic productions in that regard. "Have Fun (Again)" also has its notably brilliant moments, like the drop-out false ending, and the repetition as the song wears on. I also include an mp3 of "Now That You're Gone" because it just has one of those arrangements that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

"diana" is an album which will never get boring. Some people think of disco as this faddish thing from the late 70s, part of some weird mating ritual your parents were somehow involved in. But the best disco records (and this is certainly one of them) still sound as fresh-as-a-daisy/bright-as-a-button today. And oh you might not realise it yet but you DO want to go and buy the 2003 Deluxe Edition of "diana" because it's one of the best cultural artifacts there is; the full Chic mix of the album is included - and that's a long story I haven't time to get into right now so you'll enjoy Nile Rodgers' sleevenotes - alongside Diana's best 70s disco records, "Love Hangover" and the rest.

Tomorrow: TLC "CrazySexyCool"

Tweet "Southern Hummingbird" (2002)

Released: May 2002
Label: The Goldmine Inc./ Elektra
Produced by: Nisan, Jubu, Craig Brockman, Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, Timbaland and Charlene “Tweet” Keys
Highest UK Chart Position: 15

1. So Much To Say (Intro)
2. My Place
3. Smoking Cigarettes
4. Best Friend
5. Always Will
6. Boogie 2Nite
7. Oops (Oh My)
8. Make Ur Move
9. Motel
10. Beautiful
11. Complain
12. Heaven
13. Call Me
14. Drunk
15. Southern Hummingbird (Outro)

This follows on from the late night soul of Janet Jackson’s “Lonely” and the gentler corners of Anita Baker’s “Rapture”. “Southern Hummingbird” is a seriously laid-back record. It might seem odd to draw comparisons between it and the Blue Nile, but listening to things like “Always Will” and “Beautiful”, I’m always reminded of the Blue Nile’s “Hats” album: both are sparse and electronic, snail-paced at times, frequently moving and naggingly catchy. It sounds great at the dead of a particularly balmy night in the summertime. Sometimes it’s so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop while it’s playing. Call it a weird synaesthesia or leap on my part, but while listening to “Southern Hummingbird” I picture traffic lights changing on deserted city streets at 4am. Even the most uptempo, dancey track here – “Boogie 2nite” which, brilliantly, was covered by Booty Luv – has a lazy loping groove. “Oops (Oh My)” was the lead single – a brave record (alluding to female masturbation) which made the Top 10 in the summer of 2002. The best tracks here are to be found on what I suppose they used to call side two. “Motel”, “Beautiful”, “Heaven”, “Drunk” and even the slightly more danceable “Call Me” are all ambient r’n’b wonders. The overall effect is to lead the listener into a world which you can really feel lost in. This sort of restrained, modern, post-electro, post-millennial soul represents the most forward looking pop of our time. Equal effort seems to be spread between writing cracking witty lyrics, dreaming up lovely melodies and building sound collages to rival those of Brians Wilson and Eno. “Southern Hummingbird” is certainly one of the ten best albums I’ve heard this decade. Such a simple album, so unfussy, so addictive and beautiful. The five mp3s I post here are all great but there are a lot more where they came from here, so I urge you to buy this album. Seriously.

Tomorrow: Diana Ross "diana"

Anita Baker "Rapture" (1986)

Released: April 1986
Label: Elektra
Produced by: Anita Baker and Michael J. Powell
Highest UK Chart Position: 13

1. Sweet Love
2. You Bring Me Joy
3. Caught Up In The Rapture
4. Been So Long
5. Mystery
6. No One In The World
7. Same Ole Love
8. Watch Your Step

Of the records I intend to put up over the next two weeks, this one strays deepest into big, gospelly, belting-voice territory. I don’t know how much influence “executive producer” Anita Baker had over the sound of this record, but with the aid of Michael J. Powell, she cut this unsurpassable album in 1986 (her second album, her debut was released to great acclaim in 1983). Anita Baker is a proper singer if you know what I mean. She does astonishing things with her voice here. In fact “Rapture” is the sort of record you hope Leona Lewis or Alexandra Burke might make one day. Baker’s voice reminds me of Mary J. Blige at times, but is richer still. Let’s cut to the chase: the Voice is the main attraction here. The songs are usually amazing too. “Sweet Love” (probably the best thing here in fairness) is still a staple of daytime radio and VH1 Classic. Anita co-wrote that one too (she also wrote “”Been So Long” and “Watch Your Step”). Eleven songwriters are credited on the album in total, including Rod Temperton of Heatwave and “Thriller” fame, who offers “Mystery” - one of this album’s highlights. “Caught Up In The Rapture” was a sizeable hit too, and sounds a bit like something Steely Dan might do when they’re feeling poppy (think Rosie Vela’s “Zazu” album). It’s easy to imagine (Steely Dan backing vocalist and Doobie Brother) Michael McDonald singing most of the songs here actually. Anita has had one of those “long and distinguished” careers which hasn’t furnished her with many hits, so she’s often thought of as a one-hit wonder by people on the eastern side of the Atlantic. She had a minor hit with “Giving You The Best That I Got” in 1988 and that was great too, but she’ll probably be best remembered for, even become synonymous with, “Rapture”, a record which oozes adult sophistication. It’s like the soul equivalent of reggae’s “lovers rock”. I’d describe it as “music to hump to” if that didn’t sound so ghastly. Besides this music doesn’t deserve to be backgrounded, you’ll want to lose yourself in its lusciousness. Get caught up in the rapture, indeed.

Tomorrow: Tweet "Southern Hummingbird"

Janet Jackson "Rhythm Nation 1814" (1989)

An album a day from Monday-Friday for the next two weeks. Think I can manage it? I'll try. High time I updated this blog and got into the swing of things. So let's have the first of 10 great female r'n'b LPs...



Released: September 1989
Label: A&M
Produced by: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with Janet Jackson and Jellybean Johnson
Highest UK Chart Position: 4

1. Interlude: Pledge
2. Rhythm Nation
3. Interlude: TV
4. State Of The World
5. Interlude: Race
6. The Knowledge
7. Interlude: Let’s Dance
8. Miss You Much
9. Interlude: Come Back Interlude
10. Love Will Never Do Without You
11. Livin’ In A World They Didn’t Make
12. Alright
13. Interlude: Hey Baby
14. Escapade
15. Interlude: No Acid
16. Black Cat
17. Lonely
18. Come Back To Me
19. Someday Is Tonight
20. Interlude: Livin’…In Complete Darkness

This is a rather serious album, much like Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Goin’ On” and Stevie Wonder’s “Innervisions” – it does get rather preachy in places, but unlike those earlier records here the “voice of social conscience” is rather an irritation, more than a source of inspiration. The album’s silly interludes can become a bit cloying: “We are in a race between education and catastrophe” – sorry but…what!? Thankfully after a couple of ultra-didactic tracks things move on. The seventh track sums it up really: “Get the point? Good. Let’s dance.” You might find yourself thinking “thank Christ for that, I was almost expecting an exam to be set at the end to check the listener had been PAYING ATTENTION”. It’s a wonder the last track isn’t called “You May Turn Your Papers Over Now”. But hectoring aside, “Rhythm Nation 1814” is an absolutely brilliant dance record. And like “Control” three years previously it is a showcase for Jam and Lewis’ (Prince, S.O.S. Band, Human League, Alexander O’Neal) spellbinding productions. They’re reminiscent of Scritti Politti’s “Cupid and Psyche 85”, all techy and digital, full of shuddering percussion and with melody pushed into the background. “Rhythm Nation” sounds like a hundred Kraftwerks playing at once. “Escapade”’s pretty melody is pierced by a massive reverby rhythmic crunch which I don’t think my words can do justice to. “Lonely” and “Come Back To Me” are exquisite late night soul – the pop equivalent of Belgian chocolate; rich, textured and irresistible. I couldn’t really hazard a guess at how Jam and Lewis managed to create these lush soundscapes - if I thought I could replicate them I’d be off down to a recording studio pronto. But you can hear their continued influence in Britney Spears’ more daring records (like “Toxic” and “Piece Of Me”) on 90s r’n’b records like TLC’s “CrazySexyCool” and in the work of Timbaland, Tweet and Nelly Furtado. “Black Cat” (produced by Jellybean Johnson) has a big stadium rock sound, calling to mind her brother’s album “Bad”. Listen to it on headphones and you’ll be noticing fiddly little details in the mix for months. While not being quite as strong an album as “Control”, “Rhythm Nation 1814” nevertheless feels like a big statement on two levels: Janet saying “We can do anything we put our minds to, eradicate racism and poverty and live happily together”, Jam and Lewis saying: “Whether we can bring about world peace or not, we can do anything we put our mind to musically, because we have the talent; we’re red hot producers at the peak of our powers, so step to THIS pretenders…!” And I can’t help but find the latter statement more persuasive.

Tomorrow: Anita Baker "Rapture"

Bella!

Further to yesterday's post, here's an italo-disco stonker from Raf...



Laura Brannigan's cover of that was a smash hit, but Raf's original version is even better. Now, if Self Control's not going round in your head for the remainder of the day, then I'm an Italian. My name is DJ Giuseppe Pepsicola - might I interest you in the latest "waxing" of my vampy piano tinklings? (Get out - Ed.)