Now we've got a little dose of the Beastie Boys, starting with second album, Pauls Boutique (1989). This is often regarded as the highlight of the Beastie's career, and it is a fantastic album, although I think that it's possibly worth bearing in mind that most of the work has already been done by the Dust Brothers before the Beastie's even met up with them to make the album. Musically it's a brilliant assemblage of random samples and newly recorded beats and guitar lines, and although the Beastie Boys put some interesting and unexpected lyrical material over the top, it's really a triumph for the often under appreciated Dust Brothers. In some ways I prefer fourth album Ill Communication (1994), because it's more eclectic, throwing in more of the band's real history as thrash punks and a much more open appreciation for all kinds of cultural ephemera. Besides all of which there are some brilliant songs here, 'Sabotage' and 'Sure Shot' being the most obvious examples. It's a great record and marks a leap forward I think. Sprawling compilation album The Sounds of Science (1999) covers their entire career to that point and includes some real highlights, and although being chronologically jumbled, makes clear just how sophisticated the band became and from what juvenile roots that sophistication grew.
Next up we have Beat Happening's third album, Black Candy (1989). Everything Beat Happening recorded is, of course, wonderful. It's as wonky, guileless, artless (in every sense) and refreshing as all their other albums, but there is a somewhat darker edge to Black Candy and at times it feels as if the late-night creepy, Cramps-y atmosphere that they seemed to be driving at is at odds with their more generally upbeat nature, and when it doesn't work, it really doesn't work ('Pajama Party in a Haunted Hive' for instance). But there are some really great songs given the typical hapless, lacklustre treatment ('Cast a Shadow' being the obvious highlight) and what continues to be remarkable about Beat Happening is that this should be so local-indie-club that it should utterly maddening, and in fact is completely uplifting. As an unreconstructed indie boy I have no idea why I don't have the rest of the Beat Happening albums.
However, I don't, so now it's on to the biggest, most absurdly show-offy British rock act of the 1970's, Be Bop Deluxe. I haven't got debut album Axe Victim, so we move straight on to second album, Futurama (1975). Virtuoso guitar work as part of some futuristic prog-metal anyone? That makes it all sound awful, but the Be Bop Deluxe were far from awful and are due a serious reappraisal in my book. Of course it goes with the territory that a lot of this stuff will be pretty bad, but when Bill Nelson was on form the stuff he came up with was fantastic. I don't think I'm saying that only because of his superb axe work, which is something so much more spectacular and so much weirder than just prog noodling - it's not surprising to me that he was one of punk's early record producers, I think punk bands heard something odd in his work. Futurama is not the best album, but it's got a couple of absolute barnstormers in 'Maid in Heaven' and 'Sister Seagull' (he makes his guitar sound like seagulls - like woooh). Their next album was the big one, Sunburst Finish (1976), which so many of us didn't dare buy because of the saucy cover. This is where all of the silly sci-fi preoccupations and the overblown songwriting and the massive riffage all properly coalesced into a magnificent, preposterous whole. The main thing though, besides the showy guitar work, is that the songs are really good this time round ('Fair Exchange', 'Ships in the Night', 'Blazing Apostles', they're all great pop songs despite being in a sort of prog rock setting).
Next is the Hot Valves 7" (1976) which was just used a showcase for the band, containing one song from each of the four albums released to that point. 'Bring Back the Spark' (from 1976's Modern Music) is a great song, but 'Jet Silver and the Dolls of Venus' (from 1974 debut Axe Victim) is not so great. Then we have 1977's Live! In the Air Age, which is a quite remarkable example of a live album, in that it improves on the studio versions of almost every song. 'Life in the Air Age' itself, which is surprisingly insipid in its original form, is transformed into an absolutely blistering showcase for Nelson's songwriting and guitar skills. The whole album really is great, and in some ways is the best they made.
Hold on to your hats because we're spending tomorrow being totally postmodern with a whole day of Beck.
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