sleepy jack

this is the thread where I talk about underrated pop geniuses and the badass albums they made. Read, listen, love.

Richey James Edwards


Yes we know when the Manics formed he could barely play guitar and even three albums down the line he still was far from perfect but genius can be measured in many other ways. Now when the Manics first came onto the mainstream music scene with "Motown Junk" they were good but nothing special and the two albums following that (Generation Terrorists and Gold Against the Soul) were okay but subpar releases that sounded like a combination of Guns and Roses lite metal and The Clash, with pretty interesting lyrics but not enough to really redeem them. Richey had virtually no musical control over this album, at the time the lyrics were half his half Nicky Wires and the music was controlled by James Dean Bradfield and Sean Moore.

By the release of the Holy Bible though Richey was in control of the musical direction of the band and wrote nearly all the songs except for Ifwhiteamericatoldthetruthforonedayit'sworldwouldf allapart and This Is Yesterday. The album was very far from their originally very light releases, it was a testament to Richey's declining mental state and the political themes on it were much more powerful than ever before and seemed a lot less like a gimmick, they were more fierce, dark and introspective than ever before (or after). The lyrics dealt with depression, nihilism, self-mutilation, eating disorders, misanthropy, the holocaust, censorship and full of literal references and historical references. Musically it was frantic, odd and hectic. James wasn't having trouble achieving the sound he wanted but adapting Richey's poems to music often resulted in weird guitar lines and unusual melodies however the result was one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

Suggested Songs: 4st 7lb, Of Walking Abortion, Faster, Die in the Summertime, Yes

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ObiSobi

^ Good stuff. Believe it or not, I think the Monkees are one of the most underrated pop groups out there. Not that they didn't enjoy success, just that they are often left out of the 60's pop scene, where bands like The Byrds, the Beatles and The Beach Boys endure fame for the way they shaped music.

People often bag on the Monkees for not always playing their instruments, and having song writers write their songs. But years later, it was revealed that the Byrds followed simular practices.

redelfshotthepotion

I like the Monkeys a lot. They just have the bad rep of being Beatles wannabes.

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sleepy jack

If the Beatles had stopped before Rubber Soul and if the Beach Boys had stopped before Pet Sounds they both would be looked at in the same light as the Monkees. The reason they're so acclaimed especially in comparison to the Monkees is because they did something new, they did it on their own and were innovative. The Monkees are fun pop music sure but nothing more, thats why they're often left out.

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Urban Hat€monger ?

The stories are hard to believe, yet however strange, they are true. A flat on Holloway Road containing a home-made studio, above a leather goods store. A procession of musicians would clamber up the stairs carrying drum kits, guitars and dreams of making the hit parade. People bang their feet on the stairs to accent a bass drum sound. The string section is in the kitchen and the singer in the bathroom. Joe was known to the few as the first recording engineer to form his own studios and record label. Triumph would last little over a year, but its status as the first truly independant label remains. Joe Meek would be the first independant producer, under the name RGM Sound, recording the artists himself then licensing / selling the results to the major labels. Meek is rarely credited for the full contribution he made during the sixties. Innovations such as backwards recording, compression and echo techniques among others were pioneered by Meek years before becoming common-place. His was a Britain of the fifties, he'd been brought up when we still had an empire and music hall ruled surpreme. He was also homosexual, and whilst being in the music industry was perhaps one of the best places for a homosexual to safely earn a living, let us remember both Meek and Brian Epstein would end up taking their own lives. Meek had an inferiority complex that resulted in control freak tendencies in the studio. It was either recorded his way or no way. Perhaps he turned down The Beatles not because he didn't like them, as is often stated, but because they had a little too much independence? It's hard to imagine John Lennon and the guys ever toeing the Meek party line or recording in a kitchen, although many others did and enjoyed chart-topping status for their efforts.

He produced three UK number one hits in three different styles, quite something. The first was 'Johnny Remember Me', a dramatic 'death-disc' epic with a galloping rhythm and fine, soaring vocals from Johnny Leyton, an actor-turned singer. The 2nd number one was the most famous Meek recording of all, The Tornados 'Telstar'. With a spooky electronic lead melody line, that same galloping rhythm amidst outer space sounds, 'Telstar' became the first single by a British group to hit number one in America. Numerous sound-alike follow-ups were recorded by Meek, one merely using the same tune over which vocals were added. Something about a 'magic star' and lyrics mentioning being lonely. The third and final Meek number one would be 'Have I The Right', a hit right in the middle of the beat-boom. With those floorboards well and truly stomped, with a female drummer that directly inspired Karen Carpenter to take up the drums, The Honeycombs were a great act that unfortunately failed to repeat their intial Meek produced success.

February 3rd 1967, Meek took a shotgun and summoned his long suffering landlady upstairs and blasted her to death before turning the gun on himself. All the funds from 'Telstar' were held up in a court case, it claimed Meek had stolen the melody. By the time the case was settled in his favour, it was all too late. By 1967 Meek was facing eviction, facing financial ruin although with an offer on the table from EMI to become one of their in-house producers. He felt the walls closing in on every front, feared he would be held up over a then recent and unrelated homosexual murder. No doubt his mind wandered back to his first four years on this earth, brought up by his mother as a girl. A fascination with radios and record players, which he'd take apart led to him building his own electronics and becoming a budding DJ around his local area. Taken on by IBC studios as an engineer circa 1953, he learned the ropes. Joe would try to stamp his own personality and sounds on recordings whether the studio and artists wanted him to, or not. Often termed the first ever concept LP, his 1960 effort 'I Hear A New World' was pressed as a stereo-demonstration disc. Never actually released until 1991, it has since been hailed as a visionary classic, inspiring many different artists, electronic act Orbital among them. Kind of like a brother to Aphex Twin forty years too early.

Despite comments Meek never progressed with the times once The Beatles swept all before them, recordings Meek made 1964-1966 showed he had a growing knack for recording beat-music after all. The likes of the sizzling, barely containable frenzy of The Syndicats 'Crawdaddy Simone' effectively predated acid, garage and psychedelic punk by a good two/three years. Nobody much noticed at the time. For a man perceived as being square and out of fashion, for a growing cult to surround his life and work is fascinating. At a time where the perceived cannon of classic rock and pop music is seemingly fixed in stone and you almost have to mention The Beatles somewhere in any conversation concerning the Sixties, more and more youngsters are turning to the weird and out-there music of Joe Meek for what they perceive to be a more authentic, alternative view of The Sixties.

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sleepy jack

Very interesting, I'd never heard of him before this. That song is great.

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cardboard adolescent

Scott Walker!

sleepy jack

4<333333 I was planning on doing something about him but I figure Urban could do it better. I'm doing Patrick Wolf next.

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Seltzer

Scott Walker is great - I was quite impressed by the Drift.

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cardboard adolescent

this is pretty interesting: