Category: 30/30
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betty davis – betty davis (1973)
This is a voice that tells you everything going on in the mind informing it. Every one of Betty Davis’ desires are catapulted through her vocal chords—few singers could have such a volatile expression and almost none have put on a performance that bounces off its own excess so well. Even on the relatively serene […]
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lou reed – berlin (1973)
After noting a lack of proper endings in Reed’s songs, producer Bob Ezrin questioned the fate of a couple in track #5 from his debut album. Soon after, a rock opera of addiction sprouted and withered in front of united mainstream critics and horrified label suits. ‘Berlin’ is impressively tragic and in a mirthless 70s […]
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lucinda williams – car wheels on a gravel road (1998)
With not a component out of place, CWOAGR unveiled the Southern world in which its singer loved and lived. The record was not made through the seamless beauty with which it arrived: it was hard-fought, re-thought, and endured. With a spiky purr, Lucinda spoke of life plainly and perfectly, while the colourful imagery she planted […]
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steely dan – aja (1977)
It is a dialogic movie trope to have two middle-aged men arguing light-heartedly over dinner about Steely Dan’s credentials: one claims musical mastery, the other claims soulless boredom. I fear people who do not like Steely Dan and who would not like this record. Their world bewilders me. On ‘Aja’, the duo of Walter Becker […]
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sylford walker – lamb’s bread (1988)
‘Lamb’s Bread’ was recorded through the mid-to-late 70s, but had to wait ten years before being released due to promotion and cash flow issues. When the record arrived on the reggae market in 1988, it was received as a grainy snapshot of 70s roots—fossilised from a sombre, fundamentalist past. To the buyer, this was far […]
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