STING: "...Nothing Like The Sun"

Original released on Double LP A&M AMA-6402

(UK 1987, October 5)

If "Dream of the Blue Turtles" was an unabashedly pretentious affair, it looks positively lighthearted in comparison to Sting's sophomore effort, "Nothing Like the Sun", one of the most doggedly serious pop albums ever recorded. This is an album where the only up-tempo track, the only trifle - the cheerfully stiff white-funk "We'll Be Together" - was added at the insistence of the label because they believed there wasn't a cut on the record that could be pulled as a single, one that would break down the doors to mainstream radio. And they were right, since everything else here is too measured, calm, and deliberately subtle to be immediate (including the intentional throwaway, "Rock Steady"). So, why is it a better album than its predecessor? Because Sting doesn't seem to be trying so hard. It flows naturally, largely because this isn't trying to explicitly be a jazz-rock record (thank the presence of a new rhythm section of Sting and drummer Manu Katche for that) and because the melodies are insinuating, slowly working their way into memory, while the entire record plays like a mood piece - playing equally well as background music or as intensive, serious listening. Sting's words can still grate - the stifling pompousness of "History Will Teach Us Nothing" the clearest example, yet calls of "Hey Mr. Pinochet" also strike an uneasy chord -but his lyricism shines on "The Lazarus Heart," "Be Still My Beating Heart," "They Dance Alone," and "Fragile," a quartet of his very finest songs. If "Nothing Like the Sun" runs a little too long, with only his Gil Evans-assisted cover of "Little Wing" standing out in the final quarter, it still maintains its tone until the end and, since it's buoyed by those previously mentioned stunners, it's one of his better albums. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

CHICO BUARQUE: "Francisco"

Edição original em LP RCA/Ariola 140.0001

(BRASIL, 1987)

   

 O DIA EM QUE CONHECI FRANCISCO "CHICO" BUARQUE

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: "Tunnel Of Love"

Original released on LP Columbia OC 40999

(US 1987, October 5)

Just as he had followed his 1980 commercial breakthrough "The River" with the challenging "Nebraska", Bruce Springsteen followed the most popular album of his career, "Born in the U.S.A.", with another low-key, anguished effort, "Tunnel of Love". Especially in their sound, several of the songs, "Cautious Man" and "Two Faces," for example, could have fit seamlessly onto "Nebraska", though the arrangements overall were not as stripped-down and acoustic as on the earlier album. While "Nebraska" was filled with songs of economic desperation, however, "Tunnel of Love", as its title suggested, was an album of romantic exploration. But the lovers were just as desperate in their way as "Nebraska"'s small-time criminals. In song after song, Springsteen questioned the trust and honesty on both sides in a romantic relationship, specifically a married relationship. Since Springsteen sounded more autobiographical than ever before ("Ain't Got You" referred to his popular success, while "Walk Like a Man" seemed another explicit message to his father), it was hard not to wonder about the state of his own two-and-a-half-year marriage, and it wasn't surprising when that marriage collapsed the following year. "Tunnel of Love" was not the album that the ten million fans who had bought "Born in the U.S.A." as of 1987 were waiting for, and though it topped the charts, sold three million copies, and spawned three Top 40 hits, much of this was on career momentum. Springsteen was as much at a crossroads with his audience as he seemed to be in his work and in his personal life, though this was not immediately apparent. (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

LUZ CASAL: "Quiéreme Aunque Te Duela"

Original released on LP Zafiro 30312068

(ESPAÑA 1987)

The ALAN PARSONS PROJECT Debut Album

Original released on LP Charisma CDS 4003

(UK 1976, May 1)

"Tales of Mystery and Imagination" is an extremely mesmerizing aural journey through some of Edgar Allan Poe's most renowned works. With the use of synthesizers, drums, guitar, and even a glockenspiel, Parsons' shivering effects make way for an eerie excursion into Poe's well-known classics. The EMI vocoder is used throughout "The Raven" with the Westminster City School Boys Choir mixed in to add a distinct flair to its chamber-like sound. Parsons' expertise surrounds this album, from the slyness that prevails in "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather" to the bodeful thumping of the drums that imitate a heartbeat on "The Tell-Tale Heart." "The Fall of the House of Usher" is a lengthy but dazzling array of musicianship that keeps the album's persona intact, while enabling the listener to submerge into its frightening atmosphere. With vocalists Terry Sylvester, John Miles, and Eric Woolfson stretched across each track, this variety of different singing styles adds color and design to the album's air. Without any underlying theme to be pondered upon, Alan Parsons instead paints a vivid picture of one of the most alluring literary figures in history by musically reciting his most famous works in expert fashion. (Mike DeGagne in AllMusic)
NOTE: You can find in the file the original mix (1976) and the 1987 mix, featuring the voice of Orson Welles in two tracks (A1 and B1)

DUNCAN DHU: "El Grito Del Tiempo"

Original released on LP GASA GA-177

(ESPAÑA, December 1987)

Con su segundo disco largo, ese que llaman el difícil, Los Duncan Dhu llegan a la cima, lugar del que no se bajarían en los pocos años que le quedaban a la década. Los motivos me parecen esquivos ahora. Cómo un grupo tan recoleto, tan poca cosa a simple vista, tan retraído, consiguió arrasar en las listas de este país y vender discos a mansalva, es algo digno de estudio. Claro que en la época eso nos parecía de lo más normal, porque la música era todo lo que teníamos y, simplemente, nos parábamos a escuchar. La música y las palabras. No quiero decir con todo esto que el disco sea lo más de lo más. Es bastante defectuoso en realidad, una depuración de su estilo, más efectista que otra cosa. Poco de originalidad, mucho de digestión bien hecha pero no tan brillantemente plasmada. Un disco que hoy sigue apelando a la nostalgia como hacía desde el momento de su edición. Sé que eso no parece posible, pero canciones como "En Algún Lugar", "Tu Sonrisa", "Al Caer la Noche", "Una Calle de París", "El Sentido de tu Canción" tienen algo muy atractivo, sin duda, pero también un pelín de tontería y una falta de garra que, ya lo sé, va en el ADN del todavía trío. Y si triunfan es porque están construidas sobre una masa de melancolía y morriña que las hace perdurables. Hasta cierto punto. "En Algún Lugar" no deja de ser problemático. Por mucho que me traslade a otros momentos. Por mucho que sus melodías sigan pareciéndome tan bonitas como el primer día. Lo que me cuenta ya no me dice lo mismo. Yo no soy el mismo y él sí. No sé, a veces creo que está más que superado, pero otras vuelve a llenarme de dudas. Dentro de lo que cabe, por supuesto, tampoco nos volvamos locos. (in RateYourMusic)

SUZANNE VEGA: "Solitude Standing"

Original released on LP A&M SP 5136

(US, April 1987)

The songs on "Solitude Standing", Suzanne Vega's second album, had years listed beside them on the lyric sheet, so you could see that some of them dated back to 1978. But that bold admission heralded the album's triumph - its diversity was what made it so good. Partially, that was because the old songs were the equal of anything on the first album - tunes like the a cappella slice-of-life "Tom's Diner" and the warmly romantic "Gypsy" simply wouldn't have fit thematically on the debut. On "Solitude Standing", however, they became part of an album of story songs set in a variety of musical contexts; many had band arrangements, and in fact, members of Vega's touring band often were credited as co-writers. Additionally, Vega had developed more as a singer without losing the focused intonation that had made her debut - one of many compelling elements which helped make "Luka," a character song about domestic abuse, a fluke hit. (William Ruhlmann in AllMusic)

"Lethal Weapon" (OST)

Original released on LP Warner Bros 1-25561

(US, March 1987)

         

SINÉAD O'CONNOR: "Sacrifice" (1987>>>1997)

GO GRAAL BLUES BAND: "So Down Train"

Original released on LP Schiu! SLP 014

(PORTUGAL, 1987)

JOHNNY CLEGG & SAVUKA Debut Album

Original released on LP EMI Bovema 1A 064-24 0733 1

(NETHERLANDS, July 1987)

This is a fantastic debut album, from Johnny Clegg & Savuka, a band formed in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1985 (they have recorded only 4 albums and disbanded in 1994). Someone  recommended me this album many years ago, after I had finished listening to "Graceland" by Paul Simon. I was not disappointed. "Scatterlings of Africa", "Ring on Her Finger" and "Asimbonanga (Mandela)" are trememdous, three of my favourite songs. If you like African rhythms, if you loved "Graceland" and "The Rhythm of the Saints", this album is for you. Sadly Johnny Clegg has passed away last July 16, after a four years battle to cancer. He was a guy of my age, just 66 years old.

The Singing Detective

Original released on CD BBC CD 608

(UK, 1987)

Highly original TV serial produced equally unexpected and eccentric soundtrack that collects ancient pre-WW2 hits and this music can easily be enjoyed and listened even on it's own. Bing Crosby, The Ink Spots, The Mills Brothers and early Ella Fitzgerald are just some of the names collected here and it all suits me fine, as I am familiar with this music. Famous cartoon artist Robert Crumb went several steps further and later released his own collection of similar recordings titled "That's What I Call Sweet Music" with now-forgoten artist of 1920s and 1930s so if you like music used for "The Singing Detective" you might like that compilation even more as it covers less mainstream gems. For some reason I always had a soft spot for these kind of old recordings and find them perfectly easy listening and soothing,in spite of old-fashioned recording techniques and this fact might actually give them magic charm missing from some newer music. No tricks,no computer gimmicks, just real musician playing live music in the studio. Besides,where else you can find original recordings by  Al Bowlly or Lale Anderson these days? Favorite (so far): "Dem Dry Bones" by joyous Fred Waring & His Pennsylvanians, whoever they might have been. It is a rousing gospel song that would fit perfectly in some early Disney movie sung by band of animated characters. (in RateYourMusic)

ROY ORBISON: "Black & White Night"

Recorded Live in 30 September 1987 at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove Nightclub, in Los Angeles, approximately fourteen months before Orbison's death.

Os TROVANTE Em Terra Firme

Edição original em LP Valentim de Carvalho 7487691 

(PORTUGAL 1987, Novembro 6)

Lembras-me uma marcha de Lisboa
Num desfile singular
Quem disse...
Que há hora e momento pra se amar?

Lembras-me uma enchente de maré
Com uma calma matinal
Quem foi, quem disse...
Que o mar dos olhos também sabe a sal?

(refrão):
As memórias são como livros escondidos no pó
As lembranças são os sorrisos que queremos rever, devagar.

Queria viver tudo numa noite
Sem perder a procurar
O tempo ou o espaço...
Que é indiferente pra poder sonhar.

(refrão)

Quem foi que provocou vontade e atiçou as tempestades 
e amarrou o barco ao cais?
Quem foi que matou o desejo e arrancou um lábio ao beijo 
e amainou os vendavais?

(refrão)