Andrew W. K. - Mother of Mankind

In 2006, Andrew W.K. released his third full-length album – a surprisingly diverse platter of rock amusingly titled Close Calls With Brick Walls – but due to never quite explained contractual reasons, it only appeared in parts of Asia. Finally getting a global release, it has been packaged with a rather unique collection of rare and unreleased material.

The curiously titled Mother of Mankind contains a wealth of tracks from 1999 to 2010, displaying the very different sides to W.K.’s creative capacity. Some tracks beg the question as to why they’ve been hidden until now, others make it obvious why they haven’t seen the light of day and the rest are somewhere between nonsensically bizarre and genius. However, it is clear throughout that Mother of Mankind is only meant for the hardcore Andrew W.K. fan. Simply put, moments like the electro-ballad demotivational speech ‘Kill Yourself’ or the bass-laden reggae-rock boogie of ‘We Got A Groove’ don’t quite fit the tone of most of Andrew’s discography. But it is this variety that piques interest; AWKGOJ styled tracks like ‘I’ve Got No Fear’ and ‘Coming Bad’ show W.K.’s penchant for the grandiose whereas ‘Big Party’ shows off some of his more electronic-disco tastes. Other songs such as the peculiar ambient noise of ‘Young Lord’ or the pseudo-rap of ‘Kicks And Bricks’ show his willingness to experiment musically, even if the result is dubious at best.

As a bonus to the long overdue release of Close Calls, Mother is a fun collection of primarily ridiculous songs. It’s just a shame some of its best tracks hadn’t been refined and made in to a new album.

Andrew W. K. - 55 Cadillac

Anyone who has followed Andrew W.K. at all in the last three or so years is aware that he is a man of many talents. Having dabbled quite extensively with motivational speaking, Andrew went on to start production work on well established musicians such as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry before recently returning to his own music, initially releasing a covers album of J-Pop songs (don’t ask). W.K.’s most recent releases consist of an album dedicated to English versions of the themes of popular manga / anime series Gundam, and the long-promised solo piano album, 55 Cadillac.

55 Cadillac is a strange album to listen to if the majority of your Andrew W.K. experience is his anthemic good-time party rock. Although often touted between fans, it isn’t common knowledge that Andrew himself is a classically trained pianist and as such, is rather well versed at tinkling the ivories. 55 Cadillac is a collection of primarily improvised piano pieces of varying styles and quality. The album starts on a bit of a flat note with opener ‘Begin The Engine’ – a song completely bogged down in endless note trilling – but quickly picks up soon after. Track ‘Night Driver’ exudes a joyous sense of melody and is one of the few tracks on the album that is evocative of earlier Andrew W.K. material, with its bouncing chord progression. However, a common problem with the album is that of repetition. Frequently, a song will collapse into a mess of weird note patterns and trills that seem to cease any flow of the piece. Whilst usually the tracks do tend to pick up and begin forming a sense of melody again, these weird indulgent bits seem fairly ill-fitted - at several points it seems like Andrew is basically having a nervous breakdown via the medium of a piano. Thankfully, these moments don’t make up the majority of the album, which is sprinkled with a great sense of variety ranging from the almost Ludovico Einaudi stylings of ‘Seeing The Car’ to the upbeat and jazzy flair of ‘Central Park Cruiser’. ‘5’ is one of the more together pieces on the album, maintaining a solid progression throughout, whereas closer ‘Cadillac’ is definitely the most Andrew W.K. styled song on the album. Being the sole track to make a break from 55 Cadillac’s piano-only formula, ‘Cadillac’ allows some drum tracks and suitably epic guitar melodies to interrupt, eventually climaxing with the record’s only lyric - the ridiculously multi-layered declaration of “Cadillaaaaaaaac!”, guaranteed to bring a smile on the listener’s face.

Whilst perhaps not the best collection of piano pieces ever to committed to CD, there is a certain charm to 55 Cadillac. The actual theme of the album – that Andrew is inside of a ‘55 Cadillac and serenading you on a piano – is endearing. Whilst the songs are not always as brilliantly constructed as they could be, there are moments where Andrew’s penchant for writing catchy instrumentation and his great piano abilities really shine through. You can say a lot of things about Andrew W.K., but one thing that can never be doubted is his genuine commitment to everything he puts his name to. Whilst 55 Cadillac isn’t without its flaws, it is a great foray in to previously uncharted territory for W.K., who clearly is looking to broaden his musical horizons in each and every way possible.

Five albums that have had some vaguely profound effect on me

In a bit of a change to normal proceedings, I thought it might be worth detailing a few of my all time favourite albums so that anyone reading my reviews can better understand where my opinions might be coming from... that or quickly dismiss everything I write due to 'poor musical taste'. Either one.

System of a Down – Toxicity

I remember being given this by a friend who had grown tired of it when I was around 13. I was already a fan of System of a Down from a mixed CD someone had given me a while before, but I think this was the first proper album I’d ever had. Toxicity for me is associated with so many disparate and different memories, almost all of which were good, and consequently merely listening to the album is a huge nostalgia trip. I remember when I first got it, it didn’t leave my CD player at all for a week – it was all I listened to. System of a Down have always been a hugely energetic band and this record was probably their peak. Between Serj Tankien’s ridiculously versatile voice (frequently switching between violent shouting to wonderfully smooth and quiet in the space of a second) and Daron Malakian’s utterly bizarre and unconventional song-writing, Toxicity is certainly a unique album. Definitely not an album that would suit the taste of all, but one that really clicks when presented to the right listener.

Guns N’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction

Now this was the first album I ever bought with my own money and as such, will always have a special place in my CD collection like the sentimental geek I am. The song ‘It’s So Easy’ floored me from the start, with Axl Rose’s suave low vocals promoting rebellion, drink-driving and misogyny before eventually cracking in to an obscenely high-register declaration of how “fuckin’ easy” it all is. Bolstered by the amazing guitar interplay between Slash and Izzy Stradlin – probably two of rock n’ roll’s greatest guitarists – and all locked together by great rhythm section of Duff McKagan and Steven Adler, ‘It’s So Easy’ was only the start of what was to come. Every song on Appetite is brilliantly crafted, from the scratched rhythms of Izzy to Slash’s amazing leads, to the brilliantly wild vocals, everything is perfect. The tracks had clearly been honed to perfection and emanate a dangerous brilliance that would never be as rawly presented on consequent Guns albums. From the sing-along chorus of ‘Night-Train’ to the all time classic rock ballad ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ or the rhythmically sexy riffing of ‘Rocket Queen’, this was late 80’s rock debauchery caught on record.

Megadeth – Rust In Peace

This is the best thrash metal album in existence and will never be topped. Many have come awfully close (Testament’s The Gathering, Metallica’s Ride The Lightning and Master of Puppets), but they just don’t quite reach the bar set by Mustaine and co.’s masterpiece. Filled to the brim with bizarre and idiosyncratic riffs and literally face-melting solos from Marty Friedman and Dave Mustaine, this album is almost a completely perfect thrash platter. Often remembered for the singles such as ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due’ and ‘Hangar 18’, every track boasts some kind of accomplishment – be it in ridiculous speed and technicality of ‘Take No Prisoners’, the chilling lyrics and incredible solo of ‘Tornado of Souls’ or the utterly haunting nature of ‘Lucretia’, the album shines from start to finish. The only let down are Dave’s somewhat strained vocals, but even they are not without their charm, adding a quality of perfectly apt desperation to ‘Tornado of Souls’ or roaring like a monstrous being on both ‘Five Magics’ and more prominently so on the title track, ‘Rust In Peace’. Even weird filler track ‘Dawn Patrol’ seems to slot in rather well and provides an ominous break between the ferociousness of the rest of the album.

Andrew W.K. – The Wolf

I think my fanboyish obsession for Andrew W.K. found its feet the first I listened to his debut album proper, the beautifully titled I Get Wet. It was 35 minutes of over the top, full throttle, happy and energetic music. It was basically a party in music format with youthful enjoyment as the main subject matter of the entire record. W.K.’s second album, The Wolf, changed things a bit. Still there was the bombastic multi-layered instrumentation, the anthemic shouted vocals and the general good times of I Get Wet. But now there was some added versatility on the album, with songs ranging from surprisingly moving piano driven ballads about never giving up to raucous feel-good tracks such as ‘Long Live The Party’. As a whole, the lyrics were much less one more dimensional than on Andrew’s previous platter of music, with W.K. taking a far more introspective approach to his life. Whilst it’d be probably be an exaggeration to call them particularly deep, there was a wonderful simplicity to Andrew detailing his faults and how they made him more determined to go forth and rock hard. Whilst W.K. has been dismissed as little more than a gimmick musician to many a self-proclaimed muso, there seems to be a genuinely heartfelt and somewhat child-like passion in every one of his releases. I’ve always felt those who don’t get it really are missing out.

Devin Townsend – Synchestra

After discovering Strapping Young Lad, it only made sense to look in to the solo work of the Lad’s master-mind, Devin Townsend. My initial discovery was the single ‘Vampira’, which piqued my interest quickly with its Judas Priest-esque song-writing but I was left speechless when I listened to the album Synchestra in full. ‘Vampira’ actually seems quite atypical of the album with songs like ‘Triumph’ being versatile 7 minute romps laden with dense layers of instrumentation, ethereally harmonised vocals and completely off the wall musical changes. Bookended by the subdued acoustic opener ‘Let It Roll’ and the happy pop-rock of closer ‘Sunshine & Happiness’, this album is a brilliant exercise in musical pick ‘n’ mix. A few of the tracks aren’t so much songs as instrumental pieces with voices merely acting as another layer to the music, but this works in the album’s favour, helping to draw things together and creating an amazing flow to the album. It’s hard to describe the album to those unfamiliar with Townsend’s work as the man has a very unique sense of melody and style of musical production. That wall of sound that ‘Hevy Devy’ has become synonymous with is crafted to perfection on most of his solo albums, but somehow comes across as its best on ‘Synchestra’ with the layering on songs such as ‘Notes From Africa’ making the record utterly infectious.

Honourable Mentions;

It was extremely difficult to wittle my favourites down to merely five albums so here are a few that didn't quite make the cut but are as good as the aforementioned five.

Iced Earth – Night of the Stormrider
Furious triplets, ridiculously hell-bent concepts, a hugely ominous tone to the album and in general, just some mildly pretentious ball-busting heavy metal. This is a great album, even if not perhaps the best by Iced Earth overall. Tracks like the epic ‘Travel In Stygian’ make it a must listen for metal aficionados though.

Helloween – Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 1 & 2
Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath basically invented power metal with these two albums. Between their ferociously melodic guitar duelling and Michael Kiske’s incredible vocals, Keepers remains at the top of the genre it created.

Savatage – Ghost In The Ruins
Probably one of the greatest live metal albums in existence. As my first experience of Savatage, this live offering did everything right to keep me interested. Not only is every member of the band an amazing player, but this album showcases just how diverse and brilliant the song-writing of the Oliva brothers can be.

Skyclad - Prince Of The Poverty Line
Pioneers of the seemingly impossible amalgamation of folk and metal, classic-era Skyclad is fantastic not only for the Thin Lizzy meets Pentagle style music but for Martin Walkyier's insightfully bitter and cleverly written lyrics.

Extreme – Pornograffitti
Coming out at the tail-end of the glam / hair-metal insurgence of America, Extreme’s second album offered something very different to their somewhat typical hair band debut. Mixing funk rhythms with catchy hard rock and musical virtuosity resulted in one of the most danceable albums of the rock spectrum.