CHIRP: The Chicago Independent Radio Project

Michael Bennett writes

Friday iPod/MP3 Shuffle -- Happy Birthday Geoff Barrow Edition

While his face isn’t known, Geoff Barrow of Portishead has been an extremely big influence on music over the past 20 years or so. He was a producer/engineer who was working on a Massive Attack album, when he took advantage of some studio time to start formulating the ideas that were the foundation of the pioneering trip hop act. Once he got the band together, including the amazing Beth Gibbons, great records started coming out. Slowly. But the wait has always been worth it, as songs like “Sour Times” and “The Rip” were instant classics. And Portishead recently proved that they are a great live act, enthralling a sold out crowd at the Aragon. Moreover, Barrow is involved in numerous other projects. Let’s celebrate his birthday by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle, and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.

1. Resonars — If He’s So Great (Bright And Dark): This retro psych-pop band, which is basically the work of Matt Rendon, hits on a number of influences, but the one that shines through above all is The Hollies. The harmonies are fine (but who could be as good as The Hollies?), but it’s more than that — it’s the feel of these pop songs that sound like lost ’60s treasures. This is a swell jangle pop number.
2. Jawbox — LS/MFT (For Your Own Special Sweetheart): The third Jawbox album is generally agreed to be their best. Leaving Dischord for Atlantic did not tame their sound, and producer Ted Nicely captured the explosiveness of the band, and its mix of angular guitars, pithy melodies and overall rock awesomeness. On this song, the guitars swarm, the drums gallop, the tension released in a melodic chorus.
3. Fats Domino — Be My Guest (Fats Domino Jukebox): This is a swinging rock and roll tune from the New Orleans legend. This is a Domino number that had a big influence on ska in Jamaica, as the rhythm of the tune is pretty close to what you hear on the earliest ska records (and Jamaican musicians have noted Fats as an influence).
4. The Lightning Seeds — Imaginary Friend (Dizzy Heights): Ian Broudie produced a lot of key records in the late ’80s and early ’90s, and had a hit with “Pure” on The Lightning Seeds’ first album. But I prefer this later effort, where Broudie’s songwriting is well within the Britpop tradition, while his production is superb. He layers keyboards and guitars, making all of the songs so colorful, and his arrangements add punch to the tunes. This song is full of nifty production tricks.
5. Jim Croce — New York’s Not My Home (50th Anniversary Collection): While some of his bigger hits were up tempo bluesy folk songs, I think Croce’s true strength was on the more classically singer-songwriter stuff. With his friendly and expressive voice, pithy lyrics and outstanding melodic gifts, he made pop songs that packed some real emotional punch, such as this one.
6. The Gun Club — Eternally Is Here (Las Vegas Story): On the band’s penultimate album, Jeffrey Lee Pierce and crew became a tad more accessible, and while the swampy blues sound of earlier records is still evident, it was mixed with some guitar sheen that one might associate more with bands like X or Jason and the Scorchers. This wasn’t a bad thing, as the added gloss just added brightness without sacrificing the emotion and power of Pierce’s songs. Indeed, on a swelling song like this one, it gave Pierce a greater canvas on which to emote.
7. Atlanta Rhythm Section — Neon Nites (The Best of the Atlanta Rhythm Section): This Southern band wasn’t really a Southern rock band, but due to location, they got lumped in with the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the rest. These guys were studio pros, some coming from the ’60s pop band Classics IV. They had a mellow bounce that incorporated blues and even some jazz licks, while the songs usually had solid hooks. This song is a strong example of their style, which has a relaxed soulfulness that I find appealing.
8. The Missing Links — You’re Driving Me Insane (Nuggets II): A solid garage rock tune from the second Nuggets box set. I think this band was Australian, but I’m too lazy to look at the liner notes now.
9. Michael Carpenter — Kailee Anne (Hopefulness): Happy songs are harder to write than sad songs, in my opinion. Very few songwriters write them as well as Michael Carpenter, the talented Australian power popper. This song is pure jangle pop bliss.
10. James Brown — Papa’s Got A New Bag (The 50th Anniversary Collection): This is the first James Brown song I think I ever heard. It was on one of those K-Tel albums they used to advertise on TV all the time. The more I listen to The Godfather of Soul, I really focus on the arrangements on his songs, and the way his band played together. Here, you have the chicken scratch funk guitar and the subtle bass line at the foundation, with song setting up the big blasts of horns. It’s deceptively simple and insanely catchy.