#478 LL Cool J - Radio (1985)

In 1985, I bought my first jam box.  In that same year, some kid a year older than I released his first album that would go on to sell a half million copies in less than five months.  Sadly my jam box and his album would never cross paths.  That other kid's name was James Todd Smith--later to be known as LL Cool J (Ladies Love Cool James).  With a gift of $2,000 from his grandparents, he bought two turntables, an amplifier, and a mixer.  Similarly my parents bought me an accordion.  A Squeeze Box, a Jam Box, same thing right?  Let's see where I went wrong.

I Can't Live Without My Radio-  Normally I'd be bored by the sparseness.  It's just rapping, beats, a sample or two, and a dash of scratching.  The lead single of the album has my attention to the end of LL's rapping, but loses me soon after when it's just drum beats.

You Can't Dance-  The new school of hip hop was replacing the old school.  New school was brash, abrasive, and often hardcore.  "They should drop kick you in the neck, and drag you off the floor."
Dear Yvette- Wow, OK yeah I remember this song.  And I'm sure anyone named Yvette never forgot this 4 minute non-stop cut down letter.  It accuses her of sleeping with everyone from The Three Stooges to the entire boys locker room.  "Her reputation got bigger, and so did her gap"  This would indeed sound great on that old jam box of mine.

I Can Give You More-  The second single released from the album, uses piano notes along with drum beats in a rhythmic way.  It's a love-ballad delivered through hip-hop.  If the hook of this song was set any deeper, I'd be compelled to play it again.  LL's rapping is really great on this, almost hypnotic; maybe it's because a girl's affection is on the line.

Dangerous- A song about his DJ Cut Creator.  I'm impressed by LL's lyrics, but not so much by CC's mixing and scratching.  Frankly it's a little sloppy and seems to miss beats.  Yes I know it was all done by hand, but it's been done so much better.

El Shabazz-  A hidden track to end side one of the album.  A Capella and it is "sweet like pie."  I can't tell if it's LL doing the rap with someone else, or himself via recording?  Either way its all charisma and all fun.  It's where the Beastie Boys got their "Three the Hard Way"

Rock the Bells-  was the song that J himself sampled for Mama Said Knock You Out some 7 years later.  He references Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Michael Jackson, in this self promotional song that uses samples lifted from AC/DC as well as Chic(the Good from Good Times).  I still think Cut Creator's work is sloppy, even for the time.

I Need a Beat-  This is a remix of the original single that was released by LL a year before Radio was released.  There's too much going on in this remix: ring-modulation, syncopation, delay.  To my ear, it's a departure from the album, which isn't produced by Rick Rubin, it's "Reduced".  Give him credit for the minimalistic production style that highlighted LL's charismatic rapping.  Blame Jazzy Jay for the remix cacophony.

That's A Lie-   opens up with the horn part from Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes.  That's Russell Simmons making all the boasts about wealth and fame.  Ironic that as one of the founders of Def Jam records and now one of the richest people in hip hop,  his net worth of over $340 million today makes many of these Lies seem tame.

You'll Rock-  was the least successful single released from the album.  I'm not a fan of the ill placed samples.  It's got plenty of break for the b-boys and b-girls to dance to, but not a lot of anything else.

I Want You-  Cool J is again using his hip-hop skills to woo a girl.  It's another rap ballad and recognized as one of the first of it's kind.  There's just something that works when you take the hardest rockers (whether it's metal, rap, punk) and channel that energy into a ballad.

While it's probably obvious to both aficionados as well as haters of hip hop and all shades in between, I'll go on record to say rap isn't my genre of choice.  Having said that, I have yet to find a genre that I can't appreciate when it's done well.  LL Cool J is a very gifted rapper, and was influential to the rise of Def Jam records.

Whether that gift was bestowed upon him (by his God or his Grandparents), or whether he earned it living a hard life, on hard streets, and doing hard work; well the answer to that question might give you the key as to why one guy in his 40's is hosting the Grammy's tonight, and the other one is hosting a blog.

Next up #477 Fugees- The Score (1996)

#479 Richard and Linda Thompson- I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974)

I feel it needs to be chronicled that Whitney Houston died last night.  Her 1984 debut album placed #254 on this list...at the rate I've been going lately, I'll be reviewing it around July 31st, 2014 (put down the calculator, I already did the math).  Maybe it's a simple function of supply and demand, but we all tend to value things, people, art more after they're gone.  For those of you old enough to remember when television stations actually signed off at the end of the day, I feel this is the only suitable goodnight for Miss Houston.

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My first introduction to the genius of Richard Thompson came as I was nosing my way through the CD collection of a girl I dated shortly after college.  I borrowed an album that took me many months to return, and then only after purchasing my own copy.  That was 1992.  Twenty years later I'm married, that girlfriend is now a dear friend of ours both,  but I still keep Rumor and Sigh on heavy rotation.  The album I'm about to listen to was written twenty years before that, when Richard was married to Linda.  It's the first of six albums, two of which make the 500 list, that were released by them before their break-up.  I can't claim to have listened to any of them full through, so this seems a good place to start.  I wonder if Richard and Linda are dear friends now too?

When I Get to the Border-  It's like seeing a picture of a friend when he was much younger and lankier.  I can hear the youth in his voice, but his playing was just as brilliant then.  This song seemingly about heaven, has this endearing ending section of what I can only explain as a parade of instruments going by with Richard and guitar leading: concertina, dulcimer, krummhorn, penny-whistle.

The Cavalry Cross-  The drone organ intro behind his guitar playing sounds like a bagpipe.  The backing vocals are so thick and warm...was this really recorded in '73?  Also loving the hard tremolo.  Is this a song about drugs or religion?  His metaphors are loose and open for interpretation.

Withered and Died-  Linda's voice is very Natalie Merchant sounding in its pureness. The song is a heart breaking account of the loss of dreams, love, and general loss of one's way.  Richard's guitar solos are unmistakable in any decade.

I Want To See the Bright Lights Tonight-  The title song seems a complete 180 degree turn from the last song.  The double tracked vocal of Linda now sounds like Blondie, both sonically and in attitude.  The song could have come from the 80's that is until the flugelhorn of the Manchester Brass Band kicks in.  Perhaps the brass represents the stuffy old-fashioned English town the singer is trying to escape, if only for the weekend.

Down Where the Drunkards Roll-  Dulcimer and Electric Piano... who would have known such a pairing would sound so sweet?  It's another song about escape, but this time via bottle vs. train.

We Sing Hallelujah-  The krummhorn's nasally signature sound transports me to old-world England.  The song is a collection of wonderful similes, all describing the futility of a man's life.  We're all just rolling along awaiting death... yeah I know sounds depressing, but the music's great.

Has He Got a Friend For Me-  Linda sings this song of loneliness, despair, and desperation.  Knowing Richard's singing style so well, it hits me how similar her phrasing and style is to his.  I'm not sure who influenced whom.

The Little Beggar Girl-  Folk-rock has gone almost completely Irish folk-traditional here.  Linda turns on the cockney and thumbs her nose at the rich of pocket, and poor of heart.  "Oh the poor they will be rich, and the rich they will be poor, That's according to Saul when he wrote down the law, and I'd much rather be rich after than before."

The End of the Rainbow-  Wow, they don't make songs much more depressing than this.  "Life seems so rosy in the cradle.... There's nothing to grow up for anymore"  To me, the song isn't just the song, it's the story of the singer.  The song itself is pure despair, but I believe our interpretation of what has happened to the protagonist, the singer and how he has gotten to this point; that's the art.

The Great Valerio-  Whoa, metaphor 3 levels deep.  This song is about a tight-rope walker who symbolizes IMHO those that completely risk their hearts and/or do not fear death.  Or maybe the song is about those of us on the ground who are afraid, and our fascination with them above.  The name Valerio is derived from the Latin verb "valere" which means "to be strong."  Based on Erik Satie's Sports et Divertissements, Richard's ending guitar work mimics the man walking the wire, until it just stops.  Did he fall or make it to the other side?

After listening, I try to imagine these songs sung by Richard instead of Linda.  While I can't explain it, I feel much more empathy for Linda's desperation, longing and sorrow than I think I would have if Richard had sung these songs.  Is it a form of sexism, in which men are meant to be the rescuers and women the rescued?  Or is it some social programming that women more readily share these feelings and men don't?  I'm probably barking up the wrong tree here.

What I have listened to is a joint effort; a beautifully sorrowful album rich with folk instrumentation, emotive heartbreaking singing, and genius guitar playing.  All this built on the writing of a 24 yr old Richard Thompson--the album seems to have come from the vantage point of someone who's tired and broken from carrying the world on his back, someone 40 years his senior.

Next up #478  LL Cool J- Radio (1985)