Kronos Quartet

The Kronos Quartet is certainly not your typical string quartet. For one thing, the four-person collective has chosen to eschew performing the works of traditional baroque and Romantic-era classical composers like Mozart, Vivaldi and Haydn, in favour of a more adventurous repertoire. Combining an extraordinary artistic vision with a ceaseless dedication to experimentation, the Kronos Quartet has performed works by artists as disparate as Philip Glass, Jimi Hendrix, Astor Piazolla and Howlin' Wolf, as well as commissioning new works by the more intrepid composers in the modern-classical scene. This has resulted in not just a dedicated worldwide following, but also in a slew of industry awards and nominations, including a handful of coveted Grammies. Check out one of their most aurally compelling works, a stylistically challenging rendition of the Hendrix standard 'Purple Haze'.

New Order: The Factory Years

Certified rock legends New Order’s first five studio albums, also their five sole records for the long-defunct Factory Records, were bona fide masterworks that have never been bettered by the band since they were originally released. While their latter-day albums for London Records were stately, polished-to-a-fault affairs, they certainly didn’t possess the same sort of artistic resonance as their predecessors. The Factory era also engendered some of the band’s most enduring singles, like ‘Blue Monday’, ‘True Faith’, ‘The Perfect Kiss’ and ‘Temptation’. These Factory works were remastered and reissued a couple of years ago (each augmented by a supplementary disc of classic non-album singles and vintage B-sides and remixes), and it is immensely worthwhile to have a brief gander at each of these masterworks and assess their indisputable merits.




MOVEMENT (1981)
A rather hesitant debut, coming after the dissolution of Joy Division, New Order’s previous incarnation, this still contains some promising tracks, and displayed a restrained authority that would fully blossom later. ‘Senses’, ‘Doubts Even Here’ and ‘Dreams Never End’ are all prototypical exercises in the burgeoning synth-pop genre, but the songwriting still needs some necessary structural improvements. The bonus disc contains two early New Order classics: the competent guitar-rocker ‘Ceremony’, and the deathless fan-favourite dancefloor filler ‘Temptation’.




POWER, CORRUPTION AND LIES (1983)
A real tour de force of a sophomore album, comprising some real crackers: the band also wisely infused a much-needed sense of humour into the proceedings. The propulsive, forceful ‘Age of Consent’, the blissful electronic ballad ‘Your Silent Face’ and the intentionally ramshackle, jangle-pop-influenced ‘Leave Me Alone’ are all confirmed New Order standards that benefited from more dynamic production values. The almighty technological wonder ‘Blue Monday’ and the synth-string-driven ‘Thieves Like Us’ are the bonus-disc highlights.




LOW LIFE (1985)
Riding high on the career-breakthrough high of the previous effort, ‘Low Life’ features more usage of electronics, and the bass lines also became more inventive and animated. The sweetly poppish ‘Love Vigilantes’ opens accounts, with the epic synth-pop masterpiece ‘The Perfect Kiss’ following. There are also moodier tracks like ‘This Time of Night’ and ‘Sunrise’ to leaven the upbeat mood, and ‘Elegia’ is a superior slice of instrumental electro-pop. The intensely cinematic extended version of ‘The Perfect Kiss’ and the rudely danceable ‘Shellshock’ are the standouts on the bonus disc.




BROTHERHOOD (1986)
A rougher-sounding proposition than ‘Low Life’, this still ranks as a proficient work that sets new hights for the band. Of course, the synth-pop classic ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ is the indisputable highlight, but other things like ‘Paradise’ and ‘All Day Long’ are also potent in their own ways. In terms of bonus-disc standouts, ‘Brotherhood’ contains arguably the most realised, archetypal New Order single, the powerful, highly assured chart-bound single ‘True Faith’, alongside other stonkers like ‘1963’ and ‘Touched by the Hand of God’.




TECHNIQUE (1989)
The final album for Factory thankfully has the band firing on all cylinders, making for one hell of an exit. Merging their basic, unique dance-rock template with a healthy dose of the then-burgeoning Balaeric house music craze, the band produced a remarkable endeavour that successfully captures the cultural zeitgeist of the late 80s. The collective authority of standouts like the high-energy acid-house stomper ‘Fine Time’, the percolating dance-pop number ‘Round and Round’ and the melodic riff-rocker ‘Run’ cannot be denied, while ‘Love Less’ and ‘All the Way’ show that the band can still rock out whenever they want to. The goofy but loveable 1990 World Cup anthem ‘World in Motion’ is the sole noteworthy track on the bonus disc.

Angel's Heap

Hailing from the remote coastal New Zealand hamlet of Te Awamutu, Neil and Tim Finn have well and truly made their impact on the modern rock era, through the course of more than three decades and membership in two of the most respected and revered bands of their generation: skewed new-wave geniuses Split Enz and renowned pop-rock combo Crowded House. While the Finns have periodically worked together in each other’s bands (Neil joined the Tim-led Split Enz in the late 1970s, while Tim moved into Neil’s Crowded House briefly for 1991’s brilliant 'Woodface' album), there has never been an official, full-length Finn Brothers collaboration, until 1995’s compelling eponymous record. 'Finn' was a virtuosic collection of stylish, if somewhat low-key, melodic compositions and the Finns’ inspired harmony vocals; in theory, it was as close to a perfect duo-collaboration album as possible. Check out one of the bona fide highlights from 'Finn', the blissful singalong 'Angel's Heap', presented here by the siblings in a typically virtuosic performance at Auckland's St James Theatre in April 2001.

Massive Attack

Bristol collective Massive Attack effectively ripped out the guts of the burgeoning British R&B-soul-reggae-hip-hop hybrid scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s, dragged them to their dingy mad-scientist laboratory, forcibly turned them inside out and added all manner of strange chemicals to the mix, resulting in something texturally deeper and decidedly more sinister.

Widely credited as singularly creating the much-maligned trip-hop strain, the Massive Attack sound is also uniquely contradictory. Categorised under dance but eminently undanceable, relying heavily on synth programming and drum machines, but surprisingly and supremely soulful, Massive Attack was one of the most innovative outfits to ever emerge, a genuine musical revolution in the highly confusing, shellshocked landscape of the late 20th and early 21st century. Here's a brief rundown of the group's studio works:



BLUE LINES (1991)
Arguably the ne plus ultra of their oeuvre, 'Blue Lines' rightfully evoked the appropriate responses of awe and respect upon its initial release. The impossibly epic 'Unfinished Sympathy' (bolstered considerably by Shara Nelson's strident yet measured diva performance) remains the indisputable highlight, but other tracks like the effortless rap vocal gauntlet ‘Five Man Army’, the quietly menacing urban nocturne 'Safe from Harm' (again with Nelson on board) and the spacey environmental anthem 'Hymn of the Big Wheel' (featuring reggaeton veteran and regular collaborator Horace Andy) are also dynamic examples of the group's nascent artistry.



PROTECTION (1994)
A more laid-back affair that smoothes out the rougher edges of its predecessor for a more polished, accessible finish: thankfully, this makes for a no less compelling listen. The melancholic yet cinematic title track (featuring Everything But the Girl's Tracey Thorn) is a brilliant study in urban desolation and private emotional psychosis, while 'Karmacoma' takes a sharp left turn into dub-reggae (which would be even more fully realised on 'No Protection', the Mad Professor's full-length, ghostly dark-side version). 'Spying Glass' (Andy's showcase here) introduces a healthy dose of paranoia to the proceedings, while 'Sly' makes wonderful use of enigmatic chanteuse Nicolette's sensual, neo-Billie Holiday vocals to construct an appropriate 21st-century torch song.



MEZZANINE (1998)
Adopting a more organic and earthier approach on this third masterpiece translates into a darker and murkier effort that managed to win the group the attention and admiration of otherwise conservative, hardcore rock purists. Basically turning the paranoia level up to 11 and letting it seethe there until the meters exploded in shards of fear, panic and loathing, 'Mezzanine' can boast of at least three indisputable classics: the highly foreboding, bass-heavy 'Angel' (the band has reaped a plethora of royalties from its licensed usage in a variety of media); the densely nocturnal, dread-inducing 'Risingson', a malignant and venomous rap duel; and the gossamer, lighter-than-ether lullaby 'Teardrop' (with the incomparable Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser helping out on vocals), which managed to evoke an otherworldly sense of dislocation.



100th WINDOW (2003)
Perhaps relying a bit too much on Pro Tools technology and analogue modelling workstations, '100th Window' still manages to stand out by virtue of its glacial beatscapes, which at times rival the icy, apprehensive aesthetic conjured by Radiohead's similarly natured 'Kid A'. The sterile, frosty sonic-lab ambiences of 'What Your Soul Sings' and 'Special Cases' are enhanced by suitably aloof vocalisations by rock rebel Sinéad O'Connor, while 'Butterfly Caught' is psychological claustrophobia personified, droning with mutated breakbeats and overlaid with threatening rap interjections.



HELIGOLAND (2010)
This long-simmering-in-the-studio fifth album eschews the brutally frigid soundscapes of '100th Window' for a more organically structured, but no less threatening sounding aesthetic that triumphantly recaps all the highpoints of the group's oeuvre. Opener 'Pray for Rain' is suitably ominous and edgy, awash with rolling-thunder piano chords, while 'Splitting the Atom' is gloriously mutated reggaeton filtered through a Kraftwerkian lens. Erstwhile Blur frontman Damon Albarn delivers a tetchy performance on the creeping, creepy 'Saturday Come Slow', the mockingly buoyant 'Paradise Circus' is awash with tinkly music-box melodies and interjected with hand-clap samples, and the industrial-tinged, menacing future-soul number 'Girl I Love You' is anything but the conventional love song that its title would suggest.

In Your Room

By the time the mid-1990s rolled around, premier synth-pop institution Depeche Mode looked to be a spent force, mentally, physically and emotionally. Having just completed the gargantuan 18-month 'Devotional' tour in support of then-current album 'Songs of Faith and Devotion', every member of the band was affected by the insanely long trek in one way or another. Martin Gore started experiencing seizures and had to be hospitalised, Andy Fletcher suffered a major nervous breakdown, Alan Wilder expressed his increasing dissatisfaction about how his contributions were under-recognised, and perhaps most damning of all, frontman Dave Gahan descended further into the throes of heroin addiction. Of course, they did make a volte face a few years later with the release of 1997's reasonably successful 'Ultra' (albeit minus the participation of Wilder, who left the group in mid-1995), but the way things looked at the time, it would seem that this was the end of Depeche Mode, what with all the intra-band turmoil that was happening. Therefore, it was no surprise that the video clip for 'In Your Room', the fourth single from 'Songs of Faith and Devotion', was a bit of a visual band retrospective, with long-time collaborator Anton Corbijn choosing to incorporate references from past Depeche Mode videos to none too subtly hammer home the point that this might be the last ever single from the band. Check out this historic promo, which is also the final Depeche Mode clip to feature Wilder as a full-time member.

The Carnival is Over

Dead Can Dance, during the course of their now-defunct career, purveyed a style of music that was like no other, defying preconceived categories and breaking down whatever generic boundaries there might be. Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry proffered an ethnic-fusion approach that took in diverse elements like sinister Goth-rock, stately medieval cantatas, swirling Middle Eastern cadences, propulsive tribal inflections and rustic Eastern European folk, making for a musical brew that is at once intoxicating, challenging, refined and cerebral. Inevitable charges of art-wankery might have prevailed, but there’s no denying the unique draw of their music. This particular, peculiar musical combination is neatly summarised in the dark-toned, ominous modalities of 1993’s ‘The Carnival is Over’, a brilliantly unusual synthesis of Joy Division’s post-punk angularity and traditional English-troubadour ballad sensibilities, ably supported by one of the most amazing, kaleidoscopic videos ever made in the 1990s.

Philip Glass

Philip Glass remains the foremost exponent of that rather amorphous category of modern classical music known as minimalism. However, Glass’s fundamental style does differ from other minimalist composers like John Adams and Steve Reich: instead of wanton experimentalism, he prefers to work with seemingly repeating, yet slowly developing, patterns, building up from a single compositional idea with processes like note additions and evolving time signatures. This makes for an understated but mesmerising approach that has resulted in acclaimed and award-winning works like ‘Einstein on the Beach’, ‘Akhnaten’ and the widely celebrated ‘Koyaanisqatsi’, not to mention innumerable soundtracks for films as diverse as ‘Kundun’, ‘The Hours’ and ‘The Illusionist’.

The 2007 compilation ‘Best of Philip Glass’ is a handy double-disc collection that acts as a more or less comprehensive introduction to Glass’s music, although the selections here seem to be randomly arranged, with no regard for chronological or thematic order. However, it’s still worthwhile to go through what’s available here, if only to give the greenhorn an initial sense of what comprises basic Philip Glass.

The tracks on ‘Best of Philip Glass’ can roughly be divided into two separate portions that make up the two main facets of Glass’ music. The instrumental segment takes in works like the cinematic, epic-sized ‘Facades’, the icy, elegant ‘Floe’, the sombre, piano-led ‘Dance 9’ and the deliberately arty, complexly syncopated ‘Rubric’. Mention should also be made of the optimistic, driving ‘A Gentleman’s Honour’, from the ‘Satyagraha’ opera, based on the early life of Mahatma Gandhi and his experiences in South Africa.

On the flip side, the vocal numbers are the more interesting tunes, with choices like the pulsating new wave-influenced ‘Lightning’ (with veteran session vocalist Janice Pendarvis), the pastoral, Douglas Perry-sung ‘Evening Song’, the dramatic ‘Hymn to the Sun’ with famed English countertenor Paul Esswood, and the Egyptian-flavoured ‘Funeral of Amenhotep’ from the ‘Akhnaten’ opera.

In short, ‘Best of Philip Glass’ is a solid, if rather incomplete primer to Philip Glass: for a better overall picture of his music, one is advised to get one of his full-length recordings, which are all still in print. The sort of classical minimalism that constitutes Glass’ stock in trade is certainly not something that can be consumed in bite-sized portions like what has been collected here, despite the best intentions of this primer’s compilers. An inspired, if not exhaustive, retrospective of Glass’s more well-known works, and a terrific inducement to seek out the rest of his extensive, impressive repertoire.