Listening to Metallica

I’ve been listening to a lot of Metallica recently and in the past week I’ve played every album at least once.  Maybe it’s the winter gloom or maybe it’s some recent work stress getting me down, but I find pounding out some heavy music on the way into work gets me fired up and ready for the day and when things get hard during the day the extra aggression and oomph keeps me going.

It’s pretty much acknowledged amongst metal fans that whilst Metallica may still be metal giants, they have gone off the boil on recent albums.  The latest album, ‘Death Magnetic’, is a solid album, but it’s nowhere near as good as ‘Master of Puppets’ or even the lack lustre (and unfairly maligned) ‘Load’ and ‘Reload’ albums.  After the heights of the ‘Black’ album they have steadily declined and I find myself going back to their early albums again and again when I need that Metallica fix.

Master of Puppets

The main difference in the early and later albums is the song length.  The early albums had songs with more punch and immediate impact.  They’d run in, smack you in the face and run out again before you knew what had hit you.  Don’t get me wrong, the early albums had long songs as well, but they had structure and built to a crescendo.  The later albums have lots of long songs, but they plod aimlessly along and I often find that a decent riff or song idea is killed by it’s overblown length.  I’m not the only one to think this and a friend of mine always says if Metallica stopped their new songs after 4 minutes then each song would be a solid affair, but the extra 3 minutes ruins it.  As a music fan I love a long album from an artist or band I like, but only if it warrants it.  Quantity doesn’t equate to quality.

One thing I always hope for is a remastered version of ‘…And Justice for All’ where Jason Newstead’s bass work is given a decent production and the album sounds less muddy.  This is one of my favourite albums of theirs and I think it would benefit from a remaster and I’d happily snap it up if they ever did one.

...And Justice for All

If you are new to the band then I’d suggest you start with the early albums and the ‘Black’ album is their biggest selling for a good reason, but make sure you give ‘Master of Puppets’ a try soon after.  Their album with the San Francisco symphony orchestra, ’S&M‘, is also an accessible introduction to the band and is the closest you’ll get to a ‘best of’ at the moment.  If you want to hear them interpret some other bands work then seek out ‘Garage Inc’ which is an excellent double covers album.  And if you’ve already heard ‘St Anger’ and it turned you off then give another album a try, you may be pleasantly surprised.

It’s been great fun revisiting all of Metallica’s albums this week and each one has something to offer and whilst I have my favourites and some are obviously better than others, on the whole they still offer up a decent body of work.  Their music has certainly helped me get through this past week, who knows maybe I’ll be doing it all again on Monday!

Embraced by Johnny Cash.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Johnny Cash recently.  Digging out old albums, buying up some new ones and watching some old documentaries I have of him.  I have always liked Cash, but I am particularly feeling his music at the moment and I love both the humour and humanity in his lyrics, as well as the emotion in his more introspective songs.

I have been playing his American Recordings a lot and love the intimacy of the music on offer.  Whether it’s just Johnny and a guitar or whether he is backed up by another one of my favourites, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, his music speaks to me and there is a message to take away from every album somewhere.

Although his music has a gospel quality to it and he has said he wanted to add at least one gospel track to each American Recordings album, you don’t feel as if he is preaching or trying to convert.  Instead you just feel the sincerity of his faith and the comfort he receives from it.  This is a lesson some evangelists or doorstep missionaries could learn!!!

The American Recordings are another Rick Rubin project and he gave Johnny a free reign to create the music he wanted to in the last years of his life.  Rubin recognised Johnny’s place in music history and wanted to honour that and the music they created together is a lasting and fitting legacy.  There are some wonderful covers like Nine Inch Nails ‘Hurt’ which Cash makes his own, U2’s ’One’ and later on in the series he covers Sheryl Crow’s ‘Redemption Day’ which is a wonderful rendering of this already amazing song.  I heartily recommend these albums and if you see them at the right price snap them up quick.

Unchained.

I am also particularly enjoying the prison recordings and both ’At Folsom Prison’ and ’Johnny Cash at San Quentin’ have been played a lot.  I love the atmosphere of these albums.  The inmates whooping and hollering and Cash cajoling and encouraging them adds to the music on offer.  The songs are often based around crime and prison life and this resonates with the inmates, who react, which then resonates with the listener.  It is very potent.  The songs are great stories as well and some are gruesome, some are sad and some are just downright funny.

I also like how in between songs you can hear prison announcements being read out or spoken over tannoy systems and how when wardens step onto stage the crowd boo and jeer, only for Johnny to calm them down again and start into the next song.

If you haven’t heard these albums I can also heartily recommend them.

No doubt in a few days or weeks I’ll be fixated on another artist or album and that’s often how music works for me.  I get a feeling for a particular artist or sound and hold it in a tight, intimate and passionate embrace before letting it go.  I’ll then come back to it now and then over the years to renew my love and relive happy memories.  Each time I do this I learn more and feel different things and it’s never the same experience twice.  I’m sure there are other ways to enjoy music, but this is the way that works for me.  Johnny Cash’s embrace has been especially comforting this time round and I’ve loved finding some new music of his, as well as enjoying some of my old favourites. 

Music List Challenges

There’s an app on Facebook that I have been using lately called ‘Music List Challenges’, which as the title suggests is a selection of music lists where you can tick off songs and albums you own and rank yourself against other users on a global leaderboard.

Maybe it’s the inner geek in me, but there is something satisfying about being able to tick those little boxes and see just how much music you really know and own.   From Classical lists, to Metal lists to specific years and specific artists and peoples own personal collections, there is a range of lists to suit most people and I am pleased to say I have been able to tick at least one of two boxes in each list.

Interestingly it has also shown up some gaps in my musical collection.  Specifically the 70’s as a decade of music.  I have a lot of the metal from this era, but I am missing a lot of the glam and disco from this era, although I do know most of it.  Maybe a few compilations and greatest hits collections can help me here and I’ll look into this soon.

I’ve also been adding my own lists to the app and it is good to see when other people use the list and how they compare.   It’s a nice way to interact online about music without some of the back biting and bitching I’ve read on other music forums.  There’s none of the ‘my band is better than yours’ malarkey that you see, it’s just a case of tick your boxes and compare your score.  Maybe it’s a bit insular, but it also preserves my ego from someone telling me my taste in music is dire.  Hmmm, sadly my feelings of self worth may be that tied into my music!

Anyway, it’s an interesting way to spend the odd moment online and it’s nice to see myself climb the ranking as I work my way through the lists.  If you like this kind of thing then take a look, it’s a bit of light hearted fun and if you add your own list then maybe I’ll be ticking your little boxes and comparing my collection to your own.

Music as Christmas gifts.

At the risk of sounding shallow and foregoing all the family time and festive goodwill, what’s the best thing about Christmas?  That’s right, the new music you receive as gifts.  Whether it’s an actual CD someone buys you, or the voucher so you can run off and choose your own, Christmas is often a time for some extra new albums and I rub my hands with glee at the thought.

I can’t help myself and often start loading up my basket at a certain online retailer well before Christmas day is upon us.  My wife insists I don’t buy anything from my wish list in the run up to Christmas in case she has already bought them, so if I spot some bargains I feverishly hope they last until after Christmas in the instance I don’t receive them as gifts!

Then once the presents have been unwrapped and vouchers have been counted I turn on the computer, scan my basket and add or delete any CD’s as required and then after a few clicks I eagerly start to await their delivery.

In the mean time, on Boxing day, I head off out to the high street and browse the sales to see if I can snap up any music bargains with the cash I have.  The great thing with smart phones these days is that I can compare prices online as I shop to ensure I get the best price and more often than not I am heading home with a bag of musical goodies eager to load them onto the computer and my ipod.

This ritual applies to birthdays as well and I know that at these two times of year I am more able to buy some extra music than my budget normally allows.  The bumper Christmas crop gives me something to look forward to and enjoy in the coming dark winter months and you can’t beat some new music as you settle into the new year and get back into the work schedule.

Of course Christmas is about a whole lot more than just the presents, but when you know the odd voucher is on it’s way or there are some CD shaped presents under the tree, you can’t help but get a little excited.  So, how many days is it until next Christmas?  ;)