Frank Black and the Catholics, Frank Black and the Catholics

Frank Black and the Catholics, Frank Black and the Catholics (SpinART-1998)

Here is the worlds first album to be made available on the MP3 format. And fitting in that the low fi quality of the format fits so well with this album. Rumored to have been recorded on a two track and all played live. The record company at the time refused to release something so unpolished.

But Black Francis is not the sort of person to sit about and wait, he went on and done other work. This was almost slipped out to the public with no real fanfare. Shame as it is a really catchy album with amazing songs. It is simply a rock album, nothing fancy and with some nice slower acoustic numbers to help balance it all out. Where the Pixies could be for some a little to alt rock this is quite easy for all to like. More of a punk feel in some of the guitar work but that is due to the way it was recorded.

"All My Ghosts" kicks in with a great pop punk attitude, catchy lyrics that you instantly remember and sing along to. Some of the count ins are left in on the record 1, 2, 3, 4, "Back To Rome" shows how great at lyrics he can be. Keeping the music simple and the melody the main aspect in all songs it is one great tune after another. His voice suits it all perfectly. "Do You Feel Bad About It?" is my personal favorite, so easy to play and sing to. Even this crappy guitar player/none singer can have fun with this.

"Dog Gone" could have been a big hit if the record company had it there way. No need for a big producer and a 128 track machine. Few harmonies and an acoustic and the track sounds like five grand better than most pop acts.

The band are happy to indulge in other styles and "Sis Sixty-six" has a nice country feel to it. You could be fooled into tapping that foot. "Steak 'n' Sabre" has some nice slide sounding guitar work, the band love to play. There are plenty of great tracks on this album and all get you as bigger and better than most albums that cost £100,000 to make.

You really do not notice the album was recorded in such a raw way and that is testament to the songwriting and the skills of the band. Music like this now would be massive as so many of the big popular rock bands on Radio 1 are missing that catchy tune or as we have here tunes. Black Francis really never sat still after the Pixies and many fans of the former band have missed this one.

The record company made a big balls up here, missing out on one amazing album, many bands that came and went during the britpop era could only dream of making music this fast and easy. If the album was out in 95 I may not have needed to put it here. The album was held back by the company hoping something would happen in the mainstream to fit this in. But the album is timeless. Some press and live TV could have made this sell a truck load. Failing that plenty of church goers may have got it as a mistake. And there reward is a great rock n roll album.

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Anathema, Judgement

Anathema, Judgement (Music for Nations-1999)

This band established a very good following from the previous years Alternative 4 album. New record label and album number five is todays entry for an album missed.

Sadly this band have never really been taken up in anywhere but the metal press. More so in the UK where the press are so obsessed with giving everything a title. This was classed as a metal band and much of that time was put into a similar area as extreme metal.

Sadly with press like that you will never get a chance and they did deserve it as the previous album was a fantastic offering. With the band changing style some what it was considered by fans as experimental. That is out the window on this so called second experimental album.

Album opener is a great introduction to what is going on here "Deep" has all the elements that will follow in later songs. A catchy intro, nice melodic guitars and a full on orchestral sound. The band really do mix classical music and rock music so well. There has to be one thing that makes two things come together. Much like the lost 5th Irish province of Meath it has been placed into the history books and ignored by all the people now.

But this is not much of a relic and 1999 was many years after the rock bands done it in the 70s. Track two "Pitiless" helps show the new ideas the band have. A much louder track and bringing with it distorted guitars and a full on drum sound. But as always the great voice of Vincent Cavanagh echoing out the song slows down and outros with acoustic guitars.

The album was out pretty much at the wrong time for any real chart success as the likes of Evanescence hitting worldwide success in 2003 the band were and still are leaps above that band. They were more of a gimmick to me and I feel this album is just way more serious. You can feel the hard work on the album and not just in the performance, the whole album sound utterly fantastic and if you have a nice sound set up this will be a real treat for those speakers.

Every track has amazing passages of music or you could call them thumbnails as the really have been scaled down to fit on a CD. It is like a 5 hour performance in a theater. "One Last Goodbye" even contains an all out ballad with that well known sound that Bon Jovi fans love so much. A very much simple track with acoustic guitars but without the cheese. This band make music sound £500 better.

Lee Douglas comes in to "Parisienne Moonlight" the song for me that steals the show. When you think of rock/metal bands that do the female to male vocals you think of Lacuna Coil, get that out of your head now. This is nothing but 110% performance. The build up on this song is astronomical, you will be on the edge of your seat.

Music for Nations does not exist and for the band it was over, but they have still plugged away and have completed many a European tour. They seem to go down well in many of those countries. All I can say is they must have taste. But there is also the fact the UK and America has to put all music in its own category. If you have a CD collection like that you may need a new category, call it the one that is never cool to love.


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