The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project (aka Preachin’ about the Preachers if today’s selection sucks)

Lee Newman said:
2/7/24
View attachment 194714
Blondie - Parallel Lines



www.allmusic.com

Parallel Lines - Blondie | Album | AllMusic

Parallel Lines by Blondie released in 1978. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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“Heart of Glass” and “One Way or another” are two of my favorite songs from the 70s, and Debbie sells every second of them. Sadly I just don’t find myself drawn to the rest of the album as often. Easily a solid 4/5 mainly because Debbie is just so effortlessly cool that she can captivate no matter what she is singing.
 
Lee Newman said:
1/8/24
View attachment 194791
Neneh Cherry - Raw Like Sushi



www.allmusic.com

Raw Like Sushi - Neneh Cherry | Album | AllMusic

Raw Like Sushi by Neneh Cherry released in 1989. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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This is a really interesting pick, especially if you're a swede like me. I remember when this broke on MTV in 1989, and how proud everybody was because she was from Sweden. This was at a time when the only swedish act of any weight was Abba (Roxette broke through in the same year as Neneh though), and this was something completely different from that. This was both very accessible and commercial, but also caught the eye of the more hip crowd that was down the latest trends. It was a huge influence on many succesful swedish acts that followed in the 90s such as Ace of Base (which I detest) and Robyn (who I love). Neneh was also a key figure in the blossoming Bristol scene at the time and Raw Like Sushi was a not so slight influence on what would become trip hop too.
I expected this to feel a bit dated today, but this is actually pretty close to how a contemporary release by Charlie XCX or Janelle Monae sounds.

Some fun facts:

Someone mentioned Nenehs half brother Eagle-Eye Cherry above, and he is pretty great too, although he is working in a more traditional rock sound. This video with his biggest hit "Save Tonight" is pretty awesome:


Nenehs half sister Titiyo is also an artist, and has a successful career in Sweden ( I actually think that she's more well-known here than Neneh). This is one of her best songs:


As I mentioned before, Robyn has cited Neneh as one of her biggest influeces. Here's Robyn doing a cover of "Buffalo Stance", which also is pretty awesome (especially live, although I haven't found a good video of that):
 
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Whiteout75 said:
This is a really interesting pick, especially if you're a swede like me. I remember when this broke on MTV in 1989, and how proud everybody was because she was from Sweden. This was at a time when the only swedish act of any weight was Abba (Roxette broke through in the same year as Neneh though), and this was something completely different from that. This was both very accessible and commercial, but also caught the eye of the more hip crowd that was down the latest trends. It was a huge influence on many succesful swedish acts that followed in the 90s such as Ace of Base (which I detest) and Robyn (who I love). Neneh was also a key figure in the blossoming Bristol scene at the time and Raw Like Sushi was a not so slight influence on what would become trip hop too.
I expected this to feel a bit dated today, but this is actually pretty close to how a contemporary release by Charlie XCX or Janelle Monae sounds.

Some fun facts:

Someone mentioned Nenehs half brother Eagle-Eye Cherry above, and he is pretty great too, although he is working in a more traditional rock sound. This video with his biggest hit "Save Tonight" is pretty awesome:


Nenehs half sister Titiyo is also an artist, and has a successful career in Sweden ( I actually think that she's more well-known here than Neneh). This is one of her best songs:


As I mentioned before, Robyn has cited Neneh as one of her biggest influeces. Here's Robyn doing a cover of "Buffalo Stance", which also is pretty awesome (especially live, although I haven't found a good video of that):
Click to expand...

Interesting fact I just learned in the book. Booga Bear who co-wrote and produced this also produced Blue Lines.
 
I disagree about it sounding dated. It’s transitioning from the sound but is very much of the time that Soul II Soul, M/A/R/R/S and others were using crude drum machines to make their beats. It doesn’t sound bad by any means, but you can tell this is an 80s record from the sound.
 
Lee Newman said:
I disagree about it sounding dated. It’s transitioning from the sound but is very much of the time that Soul II Soul, M/A/R/R/S and others were using crude drum machines to make their beats. It doesn’t sound bad by any means, but you can tell this is an 80s record from the sound.
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Also that distinct Yamaha synthesizer piano sound on Inner City Mamma
 
Lee Newman said:
I disagree about it sounding dated. It’s transitioning from the sound but is very much of the time that Soul II Soul, M/A/R/R/S and others were using crude drum machines to make their beats. It doesn’t sound bad by any means, but you can tell this is an 80s record from the sound.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it definitely sounds like it's an 80's records, but I also feel that many of the hippest producers today are chasing that particular sound.
 
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