The B52's - Cosmic Thing

1989 saw the release of The B52's fifth studio album, Cosmic Thing. Funky and fun and everything you would expect from this wacky pack of musicians. Not only is it arguably their best album, its also their greatest commercial success.

Their guitarist Ricky Wilson died in 1985 and many had written off the band as a result. Especially after the release of the previous album Bouncing off the Satellites which was universally panned.

The album is non stop fun and even has a rare reflective tune in The Deadbeat Club. Cosmic Thing contains a bunch of massive hits,Channel Z, Roam and of course their biggest hit Love Shack.

Track Listing

1. "Cosmic Thing"
   
2. "Dry County"
   
3. "Deadbeat Club"
   
4. "Love Shack"
   
5. "Junebug"
   
6. "Roam"
   
7. "Bushfire"
   
8. "Channel Z"
   
9. "Topaz"
   
10. "Follow Your Bliss"
    

David Bowie - Hunky Dory

Hunky Dory, David Bowie's fourth album released in 1971, has all the elements of his future career meshed into one fine recording.

It's got two of Bowie's classics on it, Changes and Life On Mars plus some of his very best album tracks in particular Oh! You Pretty Things, Quicksand and Andy Warhol.

One of the greats great albums for your pleasure this week.

Track Listing

1. "Changes"
   
2. "Oh! You Pretty Things"
   
3. "Eight Line Poem"
   
4. "Life on Mars?"
   
5. "Kooks"
   
6. "Quicksand"
   
7. "Fill Your Heart" (Biff Rose, Paul Williams)
   
8. "Andy Warhol"
   
9. "Song for Bob Dylan"
   
10. "Queen Bitch"
    
11. "The Bewlay Brothers"
    

Little Shop Of Horrors OST

Feed Me!

Feed Me NOW!

Track Listing

1. Prologue (Little Shop of Horrors)

2. Grow (Downtown)

3. Da Doo

4. Grow For Me

5. Somewhere That's Green

6. Some Fun Now

7. Dentist

8. Suddenly Seymore

9. Feed Me

10. Suppertime

11. The Meek Shall Inherit

12. Mean Green Mother From Outerspace

13. Finale (Don't Feed The Plants)

Daft Punk - Homework

Released in 1997 Homework is the debut album by French electronic duo Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo AKA Daft Punk was a global phenomenon.

Originally only released on a limited 50,000 CD run in France. However due to the overwhelming sales of Homework the album appeared in 35 countries throughout the world and sold over two million copies in a few months from release.

It bridged the gap between the clubs the street and the radio and brought the French techno scene to the world.

Track Listing

1. Daftendirekt
2. WDPK 83.7FM
3 . Revolution 909
2. Da Funk
5. Phoenix
6. Fresh
7. Around the World
8. Rollin & Scratchin
9. Teachers
10. High Fidelity
11. Rock and Roll
12. Oh Yeah
13. Burnin
14. Indo Silver Club
15. Alive
16. Funk Ad

Critical Junction Michael Jackson Bad

The Track listing says it all!

"Bad"
"The Way You Make Me Feel"
"Speed Demon"
"Liberian Girl"
"Just Good Friends" (duet with Stevie Wonder)
"Another Part of Me"
"Man in the Mirror"
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (duet with Siedah Garrett)
"Dirty Diana"
"Smooth Criminal"

Critical Junction - The Pixies - Surfer Rosa

1988 saw the release of The Pixies debut album Surfer Rosa and it's this weeks critical Junction.

It may have not arrived in the US to much hype and fanfare but its had a lasting impression on music. Without it and indeed with out The Pixies grunge most certainly would not have been what it was.

Track Listing

"Bone Machine" – 3:02
"Break My Body" – 2:05
"Something Against You" – 1:47
"Broken Face" – 1:30
"Gigantic" (Francis/Kim Deal) – 3:45
"River Euphrates" – 2:33
"Where Is My Mind?" – 3:53
"Cactus" – 2:16
"Tony's Theme" – 1:52
"Oh My Golly!" – 2:32
"Vamos" – 4:18
"I'm Amazed" – 1:42
"Brick Is Red" – 2:00

Figure 8 - Elliot Smith

Released in 2000 Figure 8 was Elliot Smith's 5th Studio album and the last before his death.

Never the most upbeat of men, Smith manages on this album to smile his way through the melancholy. This may have more to do with the fine lush arangements and studio craftsmanship of the album than to any change in Elliots disposition.

Highlights include Son of Sam, Pretty Mary K, Everything Reminds Me Of Her and Wouldn't Mamma Be Proud.

It's as close to pop muisc as Smith ever came, and a sad reminder of what music and the world lost with his death.

Track Listing

"Son of Sam" – 3:04
"Somebody That I Used to Know" – 2:09
"Junk Bond Trader" – 3:49
"Everything Reminds Me of Her" – 2:37
"Everything Means Nothing to Me" – 2:24
"L.A." – 3:14
"In the Lost and Found (Honky Bach)/The Roost" – 4:32
"Stupidity Tries" – 4:23
"Easy Way Out" – 2:44
"Wouldn't Mama Be Proud?" – 3:25
"Color Bars" – 2:19
"Happiness/The Gondola Man" – 5:04
"Pretty Mary K" – 2:36
"I Better Be Quiet Now" – 3:35
"Can't Make a Sound" – 4:18
"Bye" – 1:53

"The Jungle Book" Original Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the 1967 Disney film “The Jungle Book”, about a feral child named Mowgli and based on stories from the book of the same name written by Rudyard Kipling, is a mixture of old-fashioned classical and jazz music and contains a number of much-loved songs, including “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wan’na Be Like You”.
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, it was the last to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during the making of the film. Sterling Holloway provides just one of the many recognisable voices in his role as Kaa the python (he was also the voice of Winnie the Pooh in the Walt Disney featurettes), along with Bruce Reitherman, son of director Wolfgang. However, it is Phil Harris, the voice of everyone’s favorite hip bear Baloo, who steals the show with the slacker anthem, “The Bare Necessities”, but his scat match with legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Prima on “I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)” is also not to be missed.
Most of the songs featured in the film were written by the Sherman Brothers, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, whose other numerous Disney and non-Disney credits include “The Aristocats”, “The Parent Trap”, “Bedknobs & Broomsticks”, “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. Longtime Disney collaborator Terry Gilkyson was originally brought in to write the songs for “The Jungle Book” and delivered several finished pieces, but Walt Disney felt that his efforts were too dark and kept too true to Kipling’s book. The Sherman Brothers were brought in to do a complete rewrite, on the condition that they not read Rudyard Kipling’s book. The only piece of Gilkyson’s work that survived to the final film was “The Bare Necessities”, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1967 but lost out to “Talk To The Animals” from “Doctor Doolittle”.
The four vultures featured in the movie were originally based on The Beatles and were to be voiced by the band. However, due to problems with their schedule, this didn’t happen, but the moptop haircuts and Liverpudlian accents remained.

1. Overture
2. Baby
3. Colonel Hathi’s March (The Elephant Song)
4. The Bare Necessities
5. I Wan’na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)
6. Monkey Chase
7. Tell Him
8. Colonel Hathi’s March (Reprise)
9. Jungle Beat
10. Trust in Me (The Python’s Song)
11. What’cha Wanna Do
12. That’s What Friends Are For (The Vulture Song)
13. Tiger Fight
14. Poor Bear
15. My Own Home (The Jungle Book Theme)
16. The Bare Necessities (Reprise)

With the re-released version also including;
17. Interview with the Sherman brothers
18. Baloo’s Blues
19. It’s a Kick
20. Brother’s All (Demo Recording)
21. The Song of the Seeonee (Demo Recording)

Cast:
Bruce Reitherman- Mowgli
Phil Harris- Baloo the bear
Sebastian Cabot- Bagheera the panther
Louis Prima- King Louie the ape
George Sanders- Shere Khan the tiger
Sterling Holloway- Kaa the python
J. Pat O'Malley- Colonel Hathi the elephant/Buzzie the vulture
Verna Felton- Winifred, Colonel Hathi's wife
Clint Howard- Junior, Colonel Hathi's son
Chad Stuart- Flaps the vulture
Lord Tim Hudson- Dizzie the vulture
John Abbott- Akela the wolf
Ben Wright- Father Wolf
Darleen Carr- the Human Girl

Madness - One Step Beyone

Released in 1979 the début album by Madness does exactly what it says on the tin!

Track Listing

1. "One Step Beyond" - 2:18 (Campbell)
2. "My Girl" - 2:44 (Barson)
3. "Night Boat to Cairo" - 3:31 (Barson, McPherson)
4. "Believe Me" - 2:28 (Barson, Hasler)
5. "Land of Hope and Glory" - 2:57 (Foreman, Thompson)
6. "The Prince" - 3:18 (Thompson)
7. "Tarzan's Nuts" - 2:24 (Barson)
8. "In the Middle of the Night" - 3:01 (McPherson, Foreman)
9. "Bed and Breakfast Man" - 2:33 (Barson)
10. "Razor Blade Alley" - 2:42 (Thompson)
11. "Swan Lake" - 2:36 (Tchaikovsky arr. Barson)
12. "Rockin' in A-flat" - 2:29 (Wurlitzer)
13. "Mummy's Boy" - 2:23 (Bedford)
14. "Madness" - 2:38 (Campbell)
15. "Chipmunks Are Go!" - 0:51 (Smyth)

Critical Junction Paul Simon There Goes Rhymin' Simon

Released in 1973 a mere 16 months after his debut solo album, There Goes Rhymin' Simon was the best thing Paul Simon would do Until Graceland in 1986.

there is a big rhythm and blues influence on the record with gospel singers performing on tracks such as Love Me Like A Rock and Tenderness. St Judy's Comet is a beautiful lullaby while the big statement on the record is American Tune. Its Simon's very own state of the union address.

kodachrome, Something So Right and of course Love Me Like A Rock all flesh out the very fine music on one of Paul Simon's best works.

All in all its an up beat positive album, full of optimism and romance all the things we have come to expect in a Paul Simon album.

Track List

1. Kodachrome – 3:32
2. Tenderness – 2:53
3. Take Me to the Mardi Gras – 3:27
4. Something So Right – 4:33
5. One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor - 3:44
6. American Tune – 3:43
7. Was a Sunny Day – 3:41
8. Learn How to Fall – 2:44
9. St. Judy's Comet – 3:19
10. Loves Me Like a Rock – 3:31

The Cure - The Head On The Door

In 1985 The Cure released their 6th studio album The Head on The Door. It was a bit of a departure from their previous albums especially the darker side of things.

This is when The Cure finally become hit makers. The stand out tracks Close To ME and In Between Days are still dance floor classics.

Screw, Kyoto Song and The Blood all have the dark lyrics and playful inventiveness that so typifies the cure.

It was on this album that the cure finally found what they were looking for, and indeed what The Smiths and The Pixies both found as well. That perfect eighties blend of dark lyric and danceable music that set a tone for a generation.


Track Listing

1. "In Between Days" – 2:57
2. "Kyoto Song" – 4:16
3. "The Blood" – 3:43
4. "Six Different Ways" – 3:18
5. "Push" – 4:31
6. "The Baby Screams" – 3:44
7. "Close to Me" – 3:23
8. "A Night Like This" – 4:16
9. "Screw" – 2:38
10. "Sinking" – 4:57

Invisible Touch - Genesis

Released in 1986, Invisible Touch went straight to number one and spent 96 weeks in the charts. I could waffle on about the significance of the album, and what it did for Genesis, however I feel its best to turn to fictional psychopath Patrick Bateman to more eloquently describe it for you all.

"I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. "

Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

Track Listing

1. "Invisible Touch" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 3:27
2. "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 8:53
3. "Land of Confusion" (lyrics: Mike Rutherford) – 4:45
4. "In Too Deep" (lyrics: Phil Collins) – 4:58
5. "Anything She Does" (lyrics: Tony Banks) – 4:07
6. "Domino" (lyrics: Tony Banks) – 10:42
   • "In the Glow of the Night"
   • "The Last Domino"
7. "Throwing It All Away" (lyrics: Mike Rutherford) – 3:49
8. "The Brazilian" (instrumental) – 4:49

Electric Warrior - T-Rex

For this weeks Critical Junction we are getting dressed up!

Glam rock never sounded or looked so cool as it did in 1971 when T-Rex released their sixth studio album, Electric Warrior.

Glam Rock is often seen as disposable, bubble gum pop with a few guitars thrown in, not so here. Electric Warrior has stood the test of time, partly due to Toni Visconti's careful production and the back to basics song writing of Mark Bloand.

There are a couple of big hitter on the album, Get It On, Jeepster and Cosmic Dancer however it holds little gems inside too such as Rip Off, Monolth and Girl.

The album sleeve was designed by British art design group Hipgnosis is pure cool, and years ahead of itself.

Electric Warrior is the beginning of the dark party of the seventies distilled in an album, Get it On? Don't mind if I do!

Track List

1. "Mambo Sun" – 3:40
2. "Cosmic Dancer" – 4:30
3. "Jeepster" – 4:12
4. "Monolith" – 3:49
5. "Lean Woman Blues" – 3:02
6. "Get It On" – 4:27
7. "Planet Queen" – 3:13
8. "Girl" – 2:32
9. "The Motivator" – 4:00
10. "Life's a Gas" – 2:24
11. "Rip Off" – 3:40

Critical Junction

This weeks Critical Junction is Amy Winehouse's Back to Black.
For more info have a look at www.criticaljunctions.com

This weeks Critical Junction!

It's Depeche Mode's Violator, find out more here!

Critical Junction

This weeks Critical Junction is The Blues Brothers soundtrack.

For more info go to criticaljunctions.com

Dance The Devil

It's this mornings Critical Junction and you can find out more here!

Fitting, we thought, as The Frames are this weeks Fartist