Listomania! - 1990

20 years ago. 1990 was 20 years ago. No matter how many times I say that, it just doesn't sound right. It was only 5 days into 1990 that I received the bad news. My Grandfather on my Mom's side, John Wesley Clark, had died of a heart attack at my parents' house. We kids called him Pop. He had shovelled the driveway and did the laundry that morning, as he usually did. The guy liked to keep busy and, even at age 75, nothing could slow him down, or so it seemed. He was a giant of a man, especially in the small town he lived in, my hometown of Capreol, Ontario. He stood about 6'2" and weighed about 250 lbs. I owe my size and much of my temperament to the man. Everyone in the family says I am a lot like him and I suppose I am. He was someone who had strong convictions and beliefs, pretty much dismissing anyone who didn't think things were black or white. My memories of him are quite fond. He and I spent a lot of time together in my childhood and he took me pretty much everywhere with him. He was the Town Foreman in Capreol, meaning he did everything from plowing roads to fixing sewers to digging graves. He literally knew where all the bodies were buried! He was a man from another time who had a million colloquial sayings that live on in our family to this day. He was an Orangeman who professed not to like Catholics, even though his best friends were virtually all French-Canadian and Catholic. He used to take me out to the cemetery when he had a grave to dig, always warning me to stay on the Protestant side of the cemetery and stay away from the Catholic side of the cemetery. It was his way of joking, highly politically incorrect nowadays, but he did have a fantastic sense of humour. He loved to tell ribald jokes and say things that he knew would shock. There were a group of 3 hobos who lived across the Vermillion River in Capreol and word got out that one of them had passed away. Pop took a canoe and paddled across the river to the old abandoned house they lived in. He knocked on the door and went inside. He saw 3 guys sitting around the table drinking cups of tea. His first words to them were, "Alright, which one of you fellers is dead?" because the 2 surviving guys had propped up the dead third guy at the table and placed a cup of tea in front of him. I have so many stories about him and I could fill pages of this blog with them, but let's just say that I'm very glad that he was my friend and Pop, and also that I think of him pretty much daily and will always cherish the years we spent together. Oh yeah, Pop, I do miss you lots too. Here's the list:

10. She Talks To Angels - The Black Crowes

These Georgia boys sounded quite out of place in 1990, with the charts still dominated by synth bands and pop like Paula Abdul and Madonna. The Crowes hailed from Atlanta and sounded like they were steeped in the tradition of bands like the Faces and Stones with their swaggering boogie grooves and dirty rock 'n' roll. This song, taken from their debut album Shake Your Money Maker, is a mostly acoustic ballad about a girl who appears to be a heroin addict and kind of a strange bird. Vocalist Chris Robinson channels the ghost of a young Rod Stewart here, all gravel-voiced and soulful. The element that makes this song for me is former Allman Brother Chuck Leavell's great organ playing, which weaves its way through the song. The guitars are brilliant too, with some very talented finger-picking going on. "She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket. She wears a cross around her neck. Yes, the hair is from a little boy, and the cross is someone she has not met, not yet." Hair of boy, eye of newt......

9. The Only One I Know - The Charlatans

This song is so groovy! The funky wah-wah guitar, the jumpy, driving bass, and the Jon Lord-Deep Purple organ tell my feet to get moving! I'm surprised that Deep Purple didn't sue these guys as this song is a dead ringer for Hush, with a bit less heaviness and more groove. This song is from the same Madchester scene that spawned The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays, but it is more exuberant and rocking than those other bands, who were more interested in crafting dance music with a laid-back stoner mentality. Tim Burgess sings in a smooth style, but the music is anything but, stomping along at breakneck speed. This band is still making music to this day and has a very loyal following, especially in the U.K. "The only one I see, has found an aching in me. The only one I see, has turned her tongue into me." But can she pull a rabbit out of a hat?

8. More - The Sisters Of Mercy

This tune is a tour de force. It features Andrew Eldritch and his bass voice that sounds at times like a wounded animal, at others like the devil himself. Dynamics are what this song is all about, starting off quietly with synth-strings and then blazing into a sonic maelstrom on the chorus. From the last Sisters record, Vision Thing, it was a return to a more guitar-driven sound, only this time the guitars were turned up to 11. Like the Floodland album, this song was co-written by Jim Steinman and features backing vocals by a gospel choir. The proper word for a song like this would be epic. "Some people get by with a little understanding, some people get by with a whole lot more." Capiche?

7. Halah - Mazzy Star

From their debut album, She Hangs Brightly, this song is like Hank Williams fed through The Jesus & Mary Chain. It is dark and laid-back, with strummed acoustic guitars that give it a kind of psychedelic, Southern Gothic feel. But the star of this show is singer Hope Sandoval. She is from Southern California, but there are no sunny sounds here. Her voice is gorgeous, drenched in echo and reverb, but what a set of pipes. She is not full of bluster or phony histrionics, but rather disengaged and oh-so-sultry. When she sings "Baby won't you change your mind" it makes me wonder what the hell the guy's problem was in the first place. "And close my eyes til I see your surprise and you're leaving before my time." No time left for you.....

6. Dig For Fire - The Pixies

This is Black Francis' stab at the sound of early Talking Heads. Taken from their 3rd album, Bossanova, the song is full of the usual strange lyrics which were Frank's trademark. The sound is bigger on this record though as producer Gil Norton has turned up the drums, really capturing the wallop of David Lovering, and the guitars are loud and rocking and really do sound amazing. The sound is cleaner alright, but it retains this band's signature sound and enhances the areas that made them such a gem in the first place. They were a huge fave of mine back then and I spent too many hours listening to them and playing, or hacking, along on my bass. "There is this old man who spent so much of his life sleeping that he is able to keep awake for the rest of his years." Still looking for the motherlode.....

5. There She Goes - The La's

Holy 1964 Batman! This would fit right in alongside any of your British Invasion stuff from back then, with its languid acoustic strumming and poppy melody. Frontman Lee Mavers has a steely quality to his voice here, especially when he growls for a bit of emphasis. Apparently, part of the reason that they made only this 1 album was that he was a perfectionist and notoriously difficult to work with, but what an album it was! They used 6 or 7 producers and scrapped them all, finally settling on Steve Lillywhite, albeit reluctantly. This is a song that eveybody knows and can sing along with, but it is brilliant in its simplicity. "There she goes, there she goes again, racing thru' my brain, and I just can't contain this feelin' that remains." Someone thought "remains" was "not today"......

4. Black Sheets Of Rain - Bob Mould

This title song from Mould's 2nd album is a return to the angry guy from Husker Du. The guitars are not melodic and acoustic here. Instead, they growl and snarl and howl, ably abetted by Anton Fier's brilliant drumming and Tony Maimone of Pere Ubu on bass. Mould sings about the environment being ruined and causing things like acid rain and he uses the metaphor to describe his mood in a very clever set of lyrics, among my favourite words that he has ever written. Some people have commented that they don't like the production on this album, but I think that he made the sound muddy on purpose to evoke his mood at the time. I am a cynic by nature and this song is a cynic's dream. "Checking in every morning to the sound of steam and caffeine. The sludge in the bottom of the cup, just like the sludge in the stream." One can eliminate coffee sludge by stirring it properly......

3. Blue Sky Mine - Midnight Oil

This is the factory / warehouse worker's anthem. I sang this at work too many times to count and never has a song captured the feelings of a group of people better. Peter Garrett gives a fantastic, impassioned performance on the vocals, all righteous indignation, frustration, and ultimately, hopelessness. This is such a catchy, driving beat, so one feels compelled to belt it out as it plays. I love when the guitar morphs into the harmonica solo around the 3:10 mark - so brilliant! It was written about the Wittenoorn asbestos mine in Australia, which was closed down in 1966 after over 25% of the people who worked there had contracted severe illnesses, despite the company's denial that any dangers existed. "And if the blue sky mining company won't come to my rescue, if the sugar refining company won't save me, who's gonna save me?" Good question.....

2. Vapour Trail - Ride

This may well be the best song ever done by one of the so-called Shoegaze bands. The melody here is just so gorgeous, surrounded by a big, busy, spacey sound. I love the swirl of the instruments as Andy Bell sings about this elusive girl. Bell played guitar in Ride, but switched to bass when he joined Oasis in their later years. I first heard this song when my ex-brother-in-law Craig made me a mixtape with all the cool songs of the day on it. It was love at first listen! It is taken from Ride's first and best album called Nowhere. The best part of the song is the mournful cello that comes in about halfway through and then, as the other instruments fade out, plays all alone to the end of the song. "First you look so strong, then you fade away. The sun will blind my eyes, I love you anyway." I'd rather go blind....

1. Then She Did - Jane's Addiction

Remember the great Ritual de lo Habitual album? Well, this is the best song from it, an 8-minute jaw-dropper of a tune. It's got great musicianship from bassist Eric Avery and guitarist Dave Navarro, before he became a reality TV and tabloid whore. Dynamics were popular in the '90s and these guys did it better than pretty much anyone else. I love this song so much, I really am at a loss for words in how to describe it. My advice would be to grab the headphones, find a copy of it and crank it up as loud as you can stand, then sit back and be transported. Singer Perry Farrell is a true artist, in the artsiest sense, a true weirdo - no playacting, Lady Gaga bullshit - and he pulls off one of his best vocals on this song. Genius! "She repaired legs like a doctor on the kitchen chairs we sat on. She was unhappy, just as you were." Whew!