Californication - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

1999 saw the release of The Red Hot Chili Peppers seventh studio album "Californication", an album that brought loyal fans back to the fold after the mixed reaction to its predecessor "One Hot Minute", as well as winning the band armies of new followers. It has currently sold over fifteen million copies worldwide, making it the band's most successful album to date. More importantly it also saw the return of ex-guitarist John Frusiante, who had left the band in 1992 while the group were in the middle of touring 91's "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" release.
The record was a change of style for the Chili Peppers, especially compared to "One Hot Minute". Although "Californication" still contained elements of their once unique "punk funk" sound, it leaned towards more melodic riffs (for example, "Scar Tissue" and "Otherside") and focused on songs with structure rather than jam sessions.

1. "Around the World"
2. "Parallel Universe"
3. "Scar Tissue"
4. "Otherside"
5. "Get on Top"
6. "Californication"
7. "Easily"
8. "Porcelain"
9. "Emit Remmus"
10. "I Like Dirt"
11. "This Velvet Glove"
12. "Savior"
13. "Purple Stain"
14. "Right on Time"
15. "Road Trippin'"

Figure 8 - Elliot Smith

Released in 2000 Figure 8 was Elliot Smith's 5th Studio album and the last before his death.

Never the most upbeat of men, Smith manages on this album to smile his way through the melancholy. This may have more to do with the fine lush arangements and studio craftsmanship of the album than to any change in Elliots disposition.

Highlights include Son of Sam, Pretty Mary K, Everything Reminds Me Of Her and Wouldn't Mamma Be Proud.

It's as close to pop muisc as Smith ever came, and a sad reminder of what music and the world lost with his death.
Track Listing

"Son of Sam" – 3:04
"Somebody That I Used to Know" – 2:09
"Junk Bond Trader" – 3:49
"Everything Reminds Me of Her" – 2:37
"Everything Means Nothing to Me" – 2:24
"L.A." – 3:14
"In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach)/The Roost" – 4:32
"Stupidity Tries" – 4:23
"Easy Way Out" – 2:44
"Wouldn't Mama Be Proud?" – 3:25
"Color Bars" – 2:19
"Happiness/The Gondola Man" – 5:04
"Pretty Mary K" – 2:36
"I Better Be Quiet Now" – 3:35
"Can't Make a Sound" – 4:18
"Bye" – 1:53

"The Jungle Book" Original Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the 1967 Disney film “The Jungle Book”, about a feral child named Mowgli and based on stories from the book of the same name written by Rudyard Kipling, is a mixture of old-fashioned classical and jazz music and contains a number of much-loved songs, including “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wan’na Be Like You”.
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it was the last to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during the making of the film. Sterling Holloway provides just one of the many recognisable voices in his role as Kaa the python (he was also the voice of Winnie the Pooh in the Walt Disney featurettes), along with Bruce Reitherman, son of director Wolfgang. However, it is Phil Harris, the voice of everyone’s favorite hip bear Baloo, who steals the show with the slacker anthem, “The Bare Necessities”, but his scat match with legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Prima on “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” is also not to be missed.
Most of the songs featured in the film were written by the Sherman Brothers, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, whose other numerous Disney and non-Disney credits include “The Aristocats”, “The Parent Trap”, “Bedknobs & Broomsticks”, “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. Longtime Disney collaborator Terry Gilkyson was originally brought in to write the songs for “The Jungle Book” and delivered several finished pieces, but Walt Disney felt that his efforts were too dark and kept too true to Kipling’s book. The Sherman Brothers were brought in to do a complete rewrite, on the condition that they not read Rudyard Kipling’s book. The only piece of Gilkyson’s work that survived to the final film was “The Bare Necessities”, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1967 but lost out to “Talk To The Animals” from “Doctor Doolittle”.
The four vultures featured in the movie were originally based on The Beatles and were to be voiced by the band. However, due to problems with their schedule, this didn’t happen, but the moptop haircuts and Liverpudlian accents remained.

1. Overture
2. Baby
3. Colonel Hathi’s March (The Elephant Song)
4. The Bare Necessities
5. I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)
6. Monkey Chase
7. Tell Him
8. Colonel Hathi’s March (Reprise)
9. Jungle Beat
10. Trust in Me (The Python’s Song)
11. What’cha Wanna Do
12. That’s What Friends Are For (The Vulture Song)
13. Tiger Fight
14. Poor Bear
15. My Own Home (The Jungle Book Theme)
16. The Bare Necessities (Reprise)

With the re-released version also including;
17. Interview with the Sherman brothers
18. Baloo’s Blues
19. It’s a Kick
20. Brother’s All (Demo Recording)
21. The Song of the Seeonee (Demo Recording)

Cast:
Bruce Reitherman- Mowgli
Phil Harris- Baloo the bear
Sebastian Cabot- Bagheera the panther
Louis Prima- King Louie the ape
George Sanders- Shere Khan the tiger
Sterling Holloway- Kaa the python
J. Pat O'Malley- Colonel Hathi the elephant/Buzzie the vulture
Verna Felton- Winifred, Colonel Hathi's wife
Clint Howard- Junior, Colonel Hathi's son
Chad Stuart- Flaps the vulture
Lord Tim Hudson- Dizzie the vulture
John Abbott- Akela the wolf
Ben Wright- Father Wolf
Darleen Carr- the Human Girl

Let Love In - Nick Cave

“Let Love In” is the eighth studio album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released in April 1994. It contains all of the elements that make Cave and his band great; love, death, the blues, booze and murder, and yet it is also more accessible than some of their other work. Although several masterpieces of gothic imagery abound, this album, for the most part, focuses on love.
The two versions of “Do You Love Me?” star as the bread in this dark musical sandwich, a chilling look at child prostitution and reportedly based on what Cave observed while living in Brazil. The compulsory piano-led love ballad of course also features in the form of “Nobody’s Baby”. “Jangling Jack” is a cheerful tale of death and bar-room brawling. “Lay Me Low” sees Cave musing on his eventual end with his own unique irony and black humour. “Loverman”, with its demonic fury, is perhaps best known by many as one of the stand-out tracks from Metallica’s “Garage Inc.” covers album. The (nearly) title track, “I Let Love In”, paints a bleak picture of the darkness, pain and frustrations that often accompany the most overused word in any song; ‘love’. The album’s highlight is easily the creepily-catchy “Red Right Hand”. Cave’s songs have been sadder on some albums, or have been grubbier in production on others, but on the whole “Let Love In” hasn’t been bettered. Cave is on searing form both lyrically and vocally, and the Bad Seeds have never sounded this electrifying. Flooded with emotions, this album is hard-hitting, powerful and reveals all its charms and nuances after repeated listens. If ever there was a record that will lead you to pursue other releases in an artist’s catalogue, this is the one.

1. “Do You Love Me?” – 5:56
2. “Nobody’s Baby Now” – 3:52
3. “Loverman” – 6:21
4. “Jangling Jack” – 2:47
5. “Red Right Hand”– 6:10
6. “I Let Love In” – 4:14
7. “Thirsty Dog” – 3:48
8. “Ain't Gonna Rain Anymore” – 3:46
9. “Lay Me Low” – 5:08
10. “Do You Love Me? (Part 2)” – 6:12

Madness - One Step Beyond

Released in 1979 the début album by Madness does exactly what it says on the tin

Track Listing

1. "One Step Beyond" - 2:18 (Campbell)
2. "My Girl" - 2:44 (Barson)
3. "Night Boat to Cairo" - 3:31 (Barson, McPherson)
4. "Believe Me" - 2:28 (Barson, Hasler)
5. "Land of Hope and Glory" - 2:57 (Foreman, Thompson)
6. "The Prince" - 3:18 (Thompson)
7. "Tarzan's Nuts" - 2:24 (Barson)
8. "In the Middle of the Night" - 3:01 (McPherson, Foreman)
9. "Bed and Breakfast Man" - 2:33 (Barson)
10. "Razor Blade Alley" - 2:42 (Thompson)
11. "Swan Lake" - 2:36 (Tchaikovsky arr. Barson)
12. "Rockin' in A-flat" - 2:29 (Wurlitzer)
13. "Mummy's Boy" - 2:23 (Bedford)
14. "Madness" - 2:38 (Campbell)
15. "Chipmunks Are Go!" - 0:51 (Smyth)

There Goes Rhymin' Simon - Paul Simon

Released in 1973 a mere 16 months after his debut solo album, There Goes Rhymin' Simon was the best thing Paul Simon would do until Graceland in 1986.

There is a big rhythm and blues influence on the record with gospel singers performing on tracks such as Love Me Like A Rock and Tenderness.

St Judy's Comet is a beautiful lullaby while the big statement on the record is American Tune. Its Simon's very own state of the union address.

Kodachrome, Something So Right and of course Love Me Like A Rock all flesh out the very fine music on one of Paul Simon's best works.

All in all There Goes Rhymin' Simon is an upbeat, positive album, full of optimism and romance - all the things we have come to expect from a Paul Simon album.

Track List

1. Kodachrome – 3:32
2. Tenderness – 2:53
3. Take Me to the Mardi Gras – 3:27
4. Something So Right – 4:33
5. One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor - 3:44
6. American Tune – 3:43
7. Was a Sunny Day – 3:41
8. Learn How to Fall – 2:44
9. St. Judy's Comet – 3:19
10. Loves Me Like a Rock – 3:31

Invisible Touch - Genesis

Released in 1986, Invisible Touch went straight to number one and spent 96 weeks in the charts. I could waffle on about the significance of the album, and what it did for Genesis, however I feel its best to turn to fictional psychopath Patrick Bateman to more eloquently describe it for you all.

"I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. "

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

Track Listing

1. "Invisible Touch" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 3:27
2. "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 8:53
3. "Land of Confusion" (lyrics: Mike Rutherford) – 4:45
4. "In Too Deep" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 4:58
5. "Anything She Does" (lyrics: Tony Banks) – 4:07
6. "Domino" (lyrics: Tony Banks) – 10:42
   • "In the Glow of the Night"
   • "The Last Domino"
7. "Throwing It All Away" (lyrics: Mike Rutherford) – 3:49
8. "The Brazilian" (instrumental) – 4:49