TANITA TIKARAM Debut Album

Original released on CD WEA 2292-43877-2

(GERMANY 1988, September 13)

Singer/songwriter Tanita Tikaram's debut album, "Ancient Heart", stands as one of the most underappreciated albums of the 1980s, and she, along with Tracy Chapman, preceded the 1990s' onslaught of female singer/songwriters by almost a decade. Tikaram, who was only 19 when this album was released, created a melancholy and wistful work, mature beyond her years, of startling originality and honesty. While this album may be considered folkish and artsy, it never stoops to the clichés that dominated those styles of music in the later Lilith Fair years. Her near perfect signature song "Twist in My Sobriety" is a stark, sinuous, desperate torch song that managed to garner a bit of radio and video airplay in its day and sounded like nothing else then or since. Other highlights include the lovely and more upbeat "Cathedral Song," "World Outside Your Window," and "Good Tradition", as well as the jazzy "For All the Years" and the haunting "I Love You" and "Valentine Heart" - the latter being one of the album's true highlights. "Ancient Heart" is a smoky, world-weary album, that, years after its initial release, does not sound one bit dated and has effortlessly stood the test of time. The definite highlight of Tanita Tikaram's career. (Jose Promis in AllMusic)

SADE: "Stronger Than Pride"

Original released on LP Epic OE 44210

(US 1988, May 3)

After two LPs with little or no energy, Sade demonstrated some intensity and fire on her third release. Whether that was just an attempt to change the pace a bit or a genuine new direction, she had more animation in her delivery on such songs as "Haunt Me," "Give It Up," and the hit "Paradise." Not that she was suddenly singing in a soulful or bluesy manner; rather, Sade's dry and introspective tone now had a little more edge, and the lyrics were ironic as well as reflective. This was her third consecutive multi-platinum album, and it matched the two-million-plus sales level of her debut. (Ron Wynn in AllMusic)

The TRAVELING WILBURYS Collection

Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne. That's quite a lineup. The kind of lineup you might expect something truly epic from. Not at all what you would get, thankfully. The Traveling Wilburys was all about its band members having a really great time. It was a mythic jam session that got well out of control and went platinum. Why perform under a bunch of fake names and make up some elaborate silly backstory about a nomadic tribe of musicians when everybody is well aware of who you are and you make absolutely zero attempt to hide it? Well, because it's fun to make stuff up. That is the entire ethos of this group - a bunch of extremely talented people, legends in their own time, just kicking back without any ego and having a great time with their friends. I can get behind that. It really comes through in the songs, it really does sound like they're having a great time. Dylan's crazy improvisation of "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" is still hilarious. Likewise George Harrison's concept of random words picked out of magazines for the closing section of "Dirty World". "Handle With Care" and "End of the Line" are still oddly touching.

TRAVELING WILBURYS VOL.1

Original released on LP Wilbury Records 25796-1

(US 1988, October 25)

TRAVELING WILBURYS VOL.3

Original released on LP Wilbury Records 26324-1

(US 1990, October 23)

The second album (Vol. 3, another instance of them just playing around) is hurt a bit by the loss of Orbison. I can't say exactly what it is, but there just seems some spark missing. It's still sounds like good times with friends though, if rather than a mixture of their styles, it comes off more like a series of songs that could be outtakes from the albums each of the members were working on at the time. The stabs at political consciousness don't really help (like "Inside Out"), although it still sounds like they're just messing around, and there is still much to enjoy here (I especially like "Cool Dry Place"). The DVD included in the set contains a bunch of footage from the original recording sessions, which is pretty illuminating, showcasing just how much of a 'hanging out with friends' project the whole thing was. Also all the original videos which are all pretty basic and charming if wonky, with "The Wilbury Twist" featuring John Candy dancing, and "End of the Line" (having been made shortly after Orbison's death) genuinely affecting with an empty chair with a guitar on it standing in for Orbison. No, it isn't genius, and lord help us if that's what they'd been going for, because it would have been a disaster. This is old-timey rock and roll and that's all it needed to be. With a group of great songwriters just having a fun time writing songs to entertain themselves and each other, the result is pure entertainment, a great party album. The collection adds an interesting DVD, four pretty good bonus tracks (three of them previously unreleased plus non-album track "Nobody's Child") including a cover version of Dion's "Runaway", a bunch of postcards and photos from the sessions, and a book detailing the real history of the band, a fake history of the nomadic Wilbury family, and a guide on how to do "The Wilbury Twist". Class act. (in RateYourMusic)

PINK FLOYD: "Delicate Sound Of Thunder"

Original released on Double LP EMI 79.1481.1

(NETHERLANDS 1988, November 22)

 

 

 

 

In one respect, it's hard to fault David Gilmour for retooling Pink Floyd as a neo-oldies act with "Momentary Lapse of Reason", since Roger Waters took the band over the brink with his obsessive, nonmusical "The Final Cut". Fans were eager for an album that sounded like classic Floyd, which is what "Momentary Lapse" was. But what they really thirsted for was a live spectacle from Floyd, where they could hear the old tunes and see all the old stunts. That's what they got on the 1987/1988 Pink Floyd world tour, which is documented on this double-disc set "The Delicate Sound of Thunder". Gilmour's reunited Floyd was intent on recreating the sound and feel of classic Floyd, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the oldies feel like the classic records, only with Gilmour taking each vocal. He and Floyd deliver well, but this is a recreation that makes less sense on record than it did on-stage, where the nostalgia was justified. Here, it feels passable but never compelling. This is professional, competent, and, often, even enjoyable music, yet, like many souvenirs, it never once feels necessary. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

NOTE: The files were directly transfered from the remastered vinyl album, with some improvements in digital software, to obtain the best possible sound. Enjoy!

ENNIO MORRICONE - Cinema Paradiso (1988)