#417: The Jam - All Mod Cons (1978)

Zack: I think this album was more interesting than it was good. It sounds like a remaking of the British music scene of the 1960s, just with some slight updates. It’s sort of like taking The Birds and reproducing it beat-for-beat but with better graphics (which is, shockingly, a thing that is possibly happening). Sure, I get why you might do that, and it’s cool to introduce the sound to a younger audience who might not encounter the original source or would find it dated. But there isn’t anything terribly original there (I’m trying real hard not to mention The Force Awakens right now, and apparently failing.). And I don’t really find the original source all the interesting to begin with, so without a substantial unique contribution I was predestined to find this album to be lacking. As is, All Mod Cons exists mostly as a thought experiment of what would happen if the bands of 1960s London actually came out in the late 70s. And that just wasn’t enough for me.

Favorite Tracks: English Rose; Mr. Clean; Down in the Tube Station at Midnight

Emily: Everything old can be new again if you wait long enough. Fashion, food, TV, movies, music - if you loved something in pop culture 20+ years ago, you can be that a revival is imminent. Sometimes it takes even less time, before nostalgia can even set in (looking at you, Spiderman movies). The best revivals are those that take the old trend and update it for a new era, changing it just enough to still be familiar while still having a new impact. The worst ones, though, merely repeat the same beats without an understanding of why those beats are there. The late-70s Mod revival attempted by The Jam on All Mod Cons fell into the latter category for me. For one, this revival came less than 15 years after the original mod movement, while its revolution remained relatively fresh in the minds of pop music and culture consumers. And even with this in mind, the band doesn't really do anything to revive or reinvent the sound of that era. The result sounds more like a cover band than a fully realized revival - it's something everyone has already heard, but hasn't had enough time to forget. They would've been better off moving forward, like many of their punk-minded peers, than sounding stuck in their not-so-distant past.

Favorite Tracks: In the Crowd; All Mod Cons; Fly

#416: Tricky - Maxinquaye (1995)

Zack: We had this album down as electronic, and I guess that’s sort of right. It’s a trip-hop album, which is a pretty weird subgenre that resides somewhere in the vicinity of hip-hop, electronic, psychedelic, and soul music. Honestly, I’ve never been that much of a fan. I’ve tried to get into trip-hop a few times, and the only artist that really connected with me was Flying Lotus. But Maxinquaye certainly had its moments. There were a couple of tracks on here that I legitimately just found amazing, almost on par with Never Catch Me off of You’re Dead! Others I just found repetitive and boring. But those handful of solid songs may be enough to get me into this album. It definitely is the type of album that requires a few listens to really appreciate, and now we’ll see if I can muster the energy to do that.

Favorite Tracks: Hell is Around the Corner; Overcome; Brand New You’re Retro

Emily: The only times I had heard of Tricky before listening to this album were when he (who knew it was a he?) was mentioned on a podcast Zack and I listen to called The Watch. The podcast mostly covers TV, but also delves into music and movies from time to time. The guys that host it came of age in the mid-'90s and were/are huge fans of some off-the-beaten path music (in fact, that's how they became friends back in the day). They've mentioned Tricky and Massive Attack as artists they really enjoyed back then that bridged the gap between alternative and hip-hop, and they were really excited when Tricky released new music last year. Their discussion alone wasn't enough for me to check Tricky out on my own, but now that I've listened to Maxinquaye I understand their fervor and fandom. The music was chill and rhythmic, but not so much that it faded into background noise. I also really liked the female vocalist featured throughout the album, Martina Topley-Bird, who sings with a dreamy quality that seems to float effortlessly over the music and production. This wasn't necessarily my favorite album that we've come across, but I certainly enjoyed it. Maybe I should take music recommendations from The Watch more often.

Favorite Tracks: Overcome; Black Steel; Abbaon Fat Track