Unpopular Opinion: Oasis

I'll begin with what the popular opinion is regarding Oasis. People say their first 2 albums were outstanding, as were the non-album songs from this period. They say the 3rd album was a let down and the albums that followed weren't a patch on their early work.

This seems evident from the setlist from their comeback tour which has just 1 song that was made after 1997. Their original run lasted until 2009 but how many people remember their final singles? I certainly don't.

We're all in agreement about album 3 and beyond then but my unpopular opinion is that I don't think much of their first 2 albums either. I say this as someone who knows most tracks on both albums despite never owning either such was their popularity at the time.

Part of me wishes I did like their music. I'm always interested in hearing what Noel Gallagher has to say and I often find myself nodding and agreeing with him. 

In particular I find Noel Gallagher refreshingly honest about the state of modern music. For example at a time when Adele was somehow selling a ridiculous number of albums he called it granny music, which it is. It's a shame I don't think Noel Gallagher's music is up to much either.

Even Liam Gallagher has grown on me in recent years. I didn't think much to him as a person in the 90s but these days I find his bluntness quite refreshing and often funny.

What's wrong with the music then?

Well in 1993 when I would have called myself a rock and metal fan the progression of my music tastes were getting into music that was heavier. When the dynamic amongst my peers shifted from American rock bands to British indie bands my issue was it was going in the wrong direction because the music was softer. That's what ultimately led me to getting into rave music instead.

That said, there were plenty of Britpop songs that I liked, just not Oasis ones.

The bigger problem I have with their music other than it being too soft is that it's too slow. The one thing that's drawn me towards music more than anything is beats. In the mid-90s I was listening to happy hardcore, a genre many said got too fast but I always saw that aspect as a good thing.

I'm not saying all slow music is bad, I have plenty of chill out music in my collection. Oasis aren't a chill out band though. Their music is made to be played out loud and for crowds of people to sing along to at the top of their voice. In that sort of situation I'd want music that's quick.

Don't get me wrong, I've been out and about and joined in a sing song of "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back In Anger" and that's fine for the 4 minutes or so the songs last for. 2 hours of that sort of thing would drive me up the wall though. 

The Temptations: Band Members

In 1965 The Temptations hit the big time with what they call their national anthem "My Girl". David Ruffin was on lead vocals and backing him up were Otis Williams, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin and Eddie Kendricks.

One has to go back to 1968 to find the last time that particular line up of the group performed together and the death of Paul Williams in 1973 ensured we'd never see this line up again.

40 years after we'd last seen that line up I went to see The Temptations in concert myself. I was asked how someone my age had heard of The Temptations, mostly by people who were too young themselves to remember them in their 60s heyday. Another reaction I got though was that these weren't the real Temptations, more like a tribute act.

By this point Otis Williams was the only member of the "My Girl" line up who was still alive and he was part of this new line up I was going to see. David Ruffin left in 1968 and Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams left in 1971 whilst Melvin Franklin remained with the group until his death in 1995.

The question is if the lineup of The Temptations I saw in 2008 wasn't the real Temptations then when did the real Temptations cease to exist?

I think we'd all agree it wasn't 1968 when David Ruffin left given the number of big hits they were still having and the fact his replacement Dennis Edwards was considered an important enough member to be part of their induction to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Some may say 1971 when they were down to just 2 original members but then that would be saying "Papa Was A Rolling Stone", one of their biggest hits wasn't by the real Temptations.

Maybe it was 1995 when they went down to just 1 original member. Then again current member Ron Tyson joined in 1983 and sang on their 80s comeback record "Treat Her Like A Lady", so that would be saying he was a real Temptation for the first 12 years but not in the 31 years since. In fact he was in the group with Otis and Melvin for longer than any of the other "My Girl" line up members were.

OK I get it, the line up in 2008 wasn't ideal. Whilst Otis Williams was always considered the group leader, from a singing perspective if you had to pick a member from the "My Girl" line up to be missing from the stage then he would be it.

Similarly whilst Melvin Franklin was a very talented bass singer he rarely took the lead which rightly or wrongly is what the audience are usually interested in. Without David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams or Dennis Edwards in the group it can be likened to a rock band with only the drummer from their heyday remaining.

Also in 2008 Dennis Edwards, Richard Street and Damon Harris were all still alive so it was still possible to be just 1 member short of the "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" line up. All 3 have since passed away so this is no longer possible.

All of this aside the fact is The Temptations have never been consistent in their line ups. The "My Girl" line up lasted just 4 years as did the "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" line up. The line up I saw in 2008 lasted 8 years and is currently the longest the group has ever gone with the same line up.

Ron Tyson has now been in the group for 43 years, longer than anyone but Otis Williams. Terry Weeks has been in it for 29 years, just 5 years less than Melvin Franklin was. You'd think after this amount of time they'd be considered proper Temptations now.

For some no Eddie Kendricks means no Temptations and if that's what they think then fair enough. The current line up though is the official continuation of the group so your choice is accept this line up and enjoy the show or accept you're never going to see The Temptations in concert.

Unpopular Opinion: David Bowie

This is the first in an occasional series of posts where I talk about music I seem to be in the minority for liking or disliking.

I begin with perhaps the most unpopular opinion I have. David Bowie is one of the most successful artists the world has ever seen. Some say when The Beatles called it a day he was the one to fill the gap they left behind. Yet I honestly don't see the appeal.

My music memories begin in 1987 and this was the year David Bowie released his "Never Let Me Down" album. The album was a flop and I have no recollection of the singles from it. This started a 6 year hiatus for David Bowie the artist and as such as we entered the 90s I'd still never heard of him.

When I became a Queen fan following the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991 I finally became aware of David Bowie thanks to "Under Pressure". My first impression of David Bowie was a positive one.

By the time of his comeback in 1993 I'd become more aware of David Bowie the person at least though not sure I knew too much of his music. Whilst my peers would give me stick for liking Queen mainly because they were old hate, David Bowie was considered one of the pioneers you should respect.

I don't recall too many people heaping praise on his 1993 singles and they were a bit of a non-entity for me. When Nirvana covered "The Man Who Sold The World" later on in the year this was seen as a David Bowie song you should like, and indeed it's not bad.

A lot of praise I was hearing for David Bowie in general was how he pushed the boundaries with his image rather than how groundbreaking his music was. I'd seen the pictures and knew of the Ziggy Stardust persona, I could imagine how strange that might have been in the 70s but don't necessarily see it as a good thing.

Into the late 90s the David Bowie I was seeing was an old duffer trying to be down with the kids. He teamed up with the Pet Shop Boys on "Hallo Spaceboy" and then did the drum & bass record "Little Wonder" which I thought was crap.

I can't place a point in time on this but I recall a TV advert for some greatest hits compilation of his and there was a clip of "Space Oddity" and "Starman". Both songs sounded quite good from the clips but after hearing in full they're not bad but not as good as the clips suggest.

At the same time this is as good as it gets when it comes to his music. He does have catchy numbers such as "Let's Dance" but I've always found that one irritating. The majority of his music is neither catchy or interesting in my opinion, it just sort of exists. It's almost like it's the image that does the talking and the music is secondary.

Yet the best song he's ever written is one he gave away to someone else. I'm talking about "All The Young Dudes" by Mott The Hoople. He knew how to write a good song then, but most of what he did write just isn't my cup of tea.

Music & Politics

On this blog I've given a lot of opinions to the extent you may have a good idea what I make think about some of the music I'm yet to comment on.

What you won't know from reading this blog alone are my political views. Why would you? this is a blog about music and the party I plan to vote for at the next election bears no relevance.

The big story in the music world at the moment is that rapper Macklemore has given a political speech whilst supporting Ed Sheeran in concert which has caused a stir. He's been removed from the Ed Sheeran tour as a result and now every support act has pulled out of the tour in support of Macklemore. Meanwhile Ed Sheeran has lost a fraction of his Instagram followers.

Musicians like the rest of us have their own political views, some are quite vocal about them whilst others stay quiet. At the end of the day though they're musicians not political commentators. 

It could be argued that the rave scene was political but the message here was quite clear. It was people from all walks of life uniting against the government because they wanted a party. Nobody was saying which way to vote, or which side to take in a war between 2 foreign countries.

These days though some of the DJs from back in the day are doing just that. Look at some of their social media pages and you'll find very little about music and a lot of airing their political views. Then there's the bickering between DJs at different ends of the political spectrum.

Peace, love and unity sounds great in theory but at the end of the day we all have different views and opinions political or otherwise. The reality is that when you gather thousands of people together at a music event the only thing that unites everybody there is the music.

That's the power of music, it alone unites people. Start preaching things that have nothing to do with music and you will inevitably divide them.

At the end of the day I go to a music event for the music. I've been at gigs where between the music the act I'm seeing gives a view or opinion and whether I agree or not I think just shut up and get on with the music.

RIP Top 40 Rap

I have a music quiz coming up. I'm confident I'll get most if not all 20th century questions correct but will struggle with the modern stuff. To help prepare I went to the current Top 40 on the Official Charts website where you can listen to a 30 second clip of each Top 40 hit.

It goes without saying that it was all terrible but one thing I noticed was there was no rap music.

In the last decade of so I've considered rap to be the silver lining in the Top 40. For the most part it's been the most prolific genre in the Top 40 to the point when I did my Top 40 Leaderboard posts I'd take a look at what percentage of the Top 40 new entries in the year so far were rap.

Not that I was a huge fan of the rap music that was getting into the Top 40 but more a case of it being after my time that anything else.

When you think of the main genres in the charts in years gone by there was always a mix of credible music and commercial fodder. Dance fans weren't into 2 Unlimited, rap fans weren't into Will Smith, R&B fans weren't into Destiny's Child etc. 

Somewhere along the way it was just your modern equivalents of 2 Unlimited or Destiny's Child charting from the dance and R&B worlds getting into the Top 40 but rap wise it went beyond your modern equivalent of Will Smith.

You had for example D-Block Europe who clocked up 30 Top 40 hits in the space of 5 years. Admittedly I couldn't name one of those hits top of my head and what I heard of them sounded rather boring but to their credit they didn't sound commercial in the slightest. 

Then again maybe I'm just old and out of touch. Maybe they were part of the problem of rap becoming too commercial and now we're seeing the inevitable backlash.

What is the music of the moment now then?

Based on the evidence I've just head I'm not really sure. Seemed to be mostly females with annoying voices so whatever genre that is.