The Album Review Club - Week #139 - (page 1815) - Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds

[Coatigan]

I do think (and in fairness to @stonerblue 's recent comments) that in my 'defence' of it, I've not focused on the fact that most of the time I just enjoy it for what it is and I simply find it good fun to listen to.

I think this album has a lot of humour (and warmth for the human condition) and many catchy moments. Mrs Spires knows this is the weeks pick and we have spent the last few days singing snippets at each other, not sure if I should be worried about how gleeful she is when she sings "go, get out of my house"; equally when I open the cupboard to find all the chocolate gone and I announce "I've got nothing, absolutely nothing" she considers this to be a juvenile but faintly amusing overreaction. I would argue in many places it's quite hooky albeit not in the conventional sense. I can highly recommend announcing "it was supposed to be so eeeeeeaassssy" as a way of dissipating your initial anger when something goes wrong

To run with your entertaining grand designs analogy, it might be an odd looking shape but in among some jarring features there's lots of fun and interesting ones too, and actually once you've lived in it for a while it's more liveable than the exterior might suggest.

Well a Grand Design don't come for free!

I get all that though. I suppose I should now go back and read your spolier-protected responses to others, the early comments put up and your initial write-up. As I have enough of a feel for this myself, with one listen still left to go. Leaving write-ups till the end is something I've been trying this round, incidentally. To see if I independenly come to similar conclusions etc.


What I have really enjoyed this week has been your ongoing engagement and responses to other posters. I honestly think it is something we don't do enough of, discuss things, argue them even. Is it a politeness thing, are we trying to come off as not being defensive? Sometimes it does feel like we put something forward, and then watch what happens, without challenging or adding to it. You have done it really well without it being a 'you're crap' defense of the album, it should be noted. I've found myself wanting to engage more, even say when I feel someone might be kinda missing the point, or maybe been to quick to compare this to another band they know and maybe that's where the engagement with an album seems to have stopped. Or just spend a bit more explaining the context or what it meant to me.

I've said it a few times, I don't really give much of a damn about the numeric score. I care if people 'got' it or not. My first couple nominations, I have to admit I didn't think people did, at least how I remember the feeling. Despite the 'scores' not being bad at all actually.

Rob recently brought up an observation that the scores as an average have been getting higher than some of the early rounds. Maybe that has to do with newer posters, maybe we have become more 'polite' to each other given the length of the thread. I do think though, and I base this on the more recent discussions more than the scores, we have collectively come to learn to listen to albums more for what they are, than what we are looking for out of them.

 

[threespires]

A quick update on the ‘age’ aspect of this album and whether it is more appealing to a younger audience - well, younger than me anyway!
I met up with my cousin yesterday who is 62 now and well into his music - as a broadbrush I’d say he has rock leaning tastes. I mentioned this thread and this weeks selection. His reaction was - great album, love the story behind it. It’s funny and sad in equal measure. His score - 8/10.
I’m not suggesting his vote is counted, but thought I’d mention it!
Still not one for me though lol

The age thing is interesting. My wife and I more than rack up a century between us but we've spent the last few days 'singing' this album at each other. My final little diatribe about this album will be about it's relatability or otherwise. I've never quite rumbled why it appeals to some and not to others which is part of its fascination for me.

 

[southamptonblue]

WTAF is this crap, is all I can say at the moment.....I've just lost a Sun afternoon of my life I can't get back ;( need a gallon of tea, and walk in the rain to regain my senses, then 'score' which seems an inadequate word....it.

 

[southamptonblue]

Right, with head cleared ;) I'd heard of the Streets, and presumed they were an indie type band, so when it was said 'rapping' I was a bit deflated...as my personal take is that rapping is what people who can't sing do!
However, this is not rapping in any sort of way, neither is it singing!!
It's simply talking!
There is no music whatsoever, me tapping my fingers on my steering wheel is more musical....and talented.
"Represents the times and feelings on the street"....baloney, it's no more than sitting in a pub, listening to your mate talking about a girl, whilst tapping the bar with his nails!
Fair play to the bloke for making money out of that.....but to me highlights the world today, in that it's full of sheep, who are easily led, and naive enough to give talentless people money, and believe any nonsense a government feeds them.
Anyway, each to their own as they say...
a very generous 0 from me.

 

[GoatersLeftShin]

I've really enjoyed reading the responses to this album - if nothing else, it's shook it up a bit from the norm and provoked some great discussions. I think this thread is at it's best when we get something unusual or different.

Ok, I know of The Streets more from the Original Pirate Material and thought when it came out that it was something a bit different.

After I listened to the album, I thought to myself "would I ever listen to this again?" and to be honest the answer is no. I don't dislike the album, there's definitely quite a few parts I do like. However, I find that once I've heard a couple of songs I know what's coming and it didn't surprise me. I did like the story, but I agree with someone who said some of the rhymes were pretty obvious and whilst parts were funny, it just have enough of anything for me to be honest.

I certainly think the album has it's merits - the story is interesting and you can hear he's put some thought into putting it together. I like his style and it's a rap album where you can actually hear the lyrics.

However, it got me thinking if there's -any- rap album I'd listen to and the answer was also no. I find that the backing music is either sampled or just too limited musically. If the music is limited then to keep my attention for a full album, you're gonna have to pump out some Dylan-esque lines to keep my interest. Then you have the problem of the general lack of melody and I just find rap albums are just too limited to my ears. However, I'm perfectly happy to listen to an hours worth of rap if the songs are by a variety of artists.

Scoring this is quite difficult. I won't listen to it again, but I'm glad I did and I'll definitely be happy to listen to a few individual tracks from it again...

5/10

 

[RobMCFC]

Right, with head cleared ;) I'd heard of the Streets, and presumed they were an indie type band, so when it was said 'rapping' I was a bit deflated...as my personal take is that rapping is what people who can't sing do!
However, this is not rapping in any sort of way, neither is it singing!!
It's simply talking!
There is no music whatsoever, me tapping my fingers on my steering wheel is more musical....and talented.
"Represents the times and feelings on the street"....baloney, it's no more than sitting in a pub, listening to your mate talking about a girl, whilst tapping the bar with his nails!
Fair play to the bloke for making money out of that.....but to me highlights the world today, in that it's full of sheep, who are easily led, and naive enough to give talentless people money, and believe any nonsense a government feeds them.
Anyway, each to their own as they say...
a very generous 0 from me.

Rounded up to 1, as well per rules.

 

[bennyboy]

Rounded up to 1, as well per rules.

Booooooo.lol.

 

[threespires]

Right, with head cleared ;) I'd heard of the Streets, and presumed they were an indie type band, so when it was said 'rapping' I was a bit deflated...as my personal take is that rapping is what people who can't sing do!
However, this is not rapping in any sort of way, neither is it singing!!
It's simply talking!
There is no music whatsoever, me tapping my fingers on my steering wheel is more musical....and talented.
"Represents the times and feelings on the street"....baloney, it's no more than sitting in a pub, listening to your mate talking about a girl, whilst tapping the bar with his nails!
Fair play to the bloke for making money out of that.....but to me highlights the world today, in that it's full of sheep, who are easily led, and naive enough to give talentless people money, and believe any nonsense a government feeds them.
Anyway, each to their own as they say...
a very generous 0 from me.

Not sure where the government comes into it but fair play to Skinner if he's managed to get himself a place at the shadowy globalist table. I think it's fair to say we are probably in agree to disagree territory and as you say each to their own.

I will however say that should you decide to back yourself and prove your greater talent then you will definitely get a pre-order from me. If you go one better and record it from within the confines of your car I will give you even more kudos because Skinner cheated and resorted to creating a studio in his bedroom to make his early albums :-)

 

[threespires]

Booooooo.lol.

I imagine Rob's thinking was "if I have to give the f**king thing 1 then so do you".

 

[threespires]

There is actually a potentially good playlist theme in this!

I seem to have accepted I am now reviewing this album in chapters, as opposed to in one post, so might as well say shit as and when ready and when relevant. And I'll do a bit of a Fog here and go on a massive tangent on something potentially completely unrelated, and you just have to read on to see if it might maybe at some point come back to refer to the album at hand. Might do, maybe not.

We have actually already had this discussion a couple times, so I won't repeat myself. But the short of it for me has always been that there is a fine line between 'not hiding your accent', and exaggerating the shit out of it as a cheap gimmick. Something a whole wave of Scottish bands were guilty of in the 2010s decade, in an attemmpt to emulate the success of a couple bands that did it well with a lot more subtlety. It got right on my tits, and put me off a few otherwise really good bands. Basically, I quite like an authentic accent, fucking hate an act.

That said, I have recently managed to conquer probably the greatest offender and my long term nemesis, the Twilight Sad. For ages people have been pushing me to persevere with them, as it should on paper be something I like. It just wasn't happening. One of the reasons, was his over the top accent. I mean, nobody in Scotland actually fucking speaks like that, not even Gerrard Butler when putting on a shit holywood scotsman.

Recently, something seems to have clicked. He seems to be using it as more of a musical effect, than a social/cultural stunt. Those rolling Rrrs that grated on me for so long are almost like an additional backing instrument, and there is a bit of thought behind their placement. Now that I can treat it as that, I am finding I can focus on their actual music a lot more.

Which, back to the topic, I think in some ways is what Mike does. With the accent to a lesser degree, but more obviously with his prosody. And maybe a touch with his deliberate lack of intonation.

First couple of listens, his stop start broken up rhyming was quite jarring, almost robotic at times. It was distracting, it was arguably covering up weaknesses of rapping or lack of power of voice. But the more I listened to it, the more it started to look like a deliberate musical effect. To some extent, makes it sound a bit of a clumsy reciting of poetry, over a track (hello Van Morrision). But what it also does, it simplifies the shit out of it, and as the whole idea behind this is 'relatability', it does make those simplistic stories that many can nod along to, that little bit more relatable and common sounding. Not that it makes me like it any more to actually listen to, but gives me something to appreciate with more to it below the surface.

Edit; on the subject of relatability, worth pointing out how almost 20 years later, the themes on this album still feel as relatable and as relevant as they did then, even with the noticeable changes to the world and society over that period.

Weirdly enough when I made my observation about accents it was with a number of Scottish acts in mind, quite a diverse bunch from the likes of Arab Strap to Eddie Reader, and specifically how I quite like the rolling of the r around the tongue. Like you say it hammers home the obvious but sometimes forgotten point that the voice is at one level simply another instrument.

Thinking about it, maybe not that surprising I thought of Scottish acts given the rich history of mouth music there.

Edit: completely forgot to say, double like for prosody.