The G-Sphere Sounding Booth: Random Album Effect

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Random Album Effect - Memory

Here is another set of music from my Random Album Effect selection. I started this group by selecting the Paul McCartney album from 2007 and then let things run throughout the evening.

Becky and I both enjoyed the Paul McCartney. This recent album was recorded by McCartney when he was 64 and 40 years after Sgt. Pepper. He sounds like he has mortality on his mind but still with the gift for melody. He quietly takes stock in his life, his loves, his work and his accomplishments. It's a very satisfying album.

Memory Man is the third album from the English singer songwriter Matt Hales who performs under that name Aqualung. It is well crafted and very listenable. It followed nicely after Paul McCartney which is saying something. I have three of his albums and have really enjoyed his first one from 2005.

I've always been a fan of Bill Laswell and the band Material so when the title track to this 1981 album came on I was very happy. The fractured funk of this downtown NYC avant band is challenging and rewarding. Although I hadn't listened to this album in many years there were many familiar songs throughout.

The next album up was something I was unfamiliar with but found very interesting and listenable. Vaniish is a San Francisco band and there album was released in 2014. The sound is dark and very much like The Cure which was a good thing. Even the album cover looks like something from Joy Division. The album was into about the fourth song before I realized I wasn't listening to Material anymore. It just flowed right from that band into their own sound.

I was enjoying this session so I let it keep going and the next album that started playing after Vaniish was Boz Scaggs' 2013 album Memphis. Now that was a change in sound that was appreciated in a good way. This recent album is very Boz Scaggs smooth but with a roadhouse edge from one of the great blue eyed soul singers. This is a tribute album of sorts to the Memphis sound of Al Green and he covers lots of artists but with that distinct sound of the same studio where so much great classic music was recorded. This is a wonderful album.

Overall a very enjoyable evening of music from my collection.