Unit 2: Extracting Information from written sources

Bob Marley and the wailers.

Album Name: Catch a Fire

Producer: Chris Blackwell

Artist: Bob Marley and the wailers

Year: April 13, 1973

Genre: Reggae

Why is it Revolutionary?

            This album is revolutionary because it was the major label debut for Bob Marley and the Wailers, and was an international success upon its release in 1973, not only was it a success for them but it was also the first Reggae album to penetrate the rock market (1). Another reason it was revolutionary was because of its politically charged lyrics (2). The songs included lyrics about the despair at the ‘Grinding poverty of the urban ghetto’ in “concrete jungle”, the haunting opening for the album. Some songs also recall ‘slavery’s oppressive historical legacy’ in Tosh’s “400 years” and the wailing, menacing “slave Driver”. The Album even offers a solution to these problems in “no more trouble” saying ‘what we need is love’ (1). The Album was recorded in Kingston Jamaica, in 3 different eight-track studios. This was after Blackwell found them in London and paid for their flights back to Jamaica.  After they had finished recording the Album, Bob Marley flew back to London to present it to Blackwell, where he insisted it needed some more work in order to ‘achieve the degree of success he had in mind’ (4).  Blackwell then added overdubbed contributions from session guitarist Wayne Perkins and then tweaked arrangements and adjusted mixes, rolling back some of the heavier bass-end parts and generally moulding the sound into a shape that remained true to the bands roots (3).

David Bowie

Album Name: The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

Producer: David Bowie, Ken Scott
Artist: David Bowie
Year: 1972
Genre: Glam Rock

Why is it Revolutionary?

            The Reason this album is revolutionary is because David Bowie abruptly redefined what being a male rock star was all about, as he is depicted on the album cover as a skinny, crop-haired androgyne in a rain swept alley (5). Along with this, Ziggy is the only glam rock album to stand the test of time, with guitarist Mick Ronson’s crunching guitar riffs and soaring solos, helped to define the glam sound. The album also became a smash hit which immediately clicked with teenagers and critics alike with Rolling Stone giving it ‘At least 99/100’. Britain and America’s East and West coast fell deliriously for Ziggy, as did punks and new romantics later, with whom the characters sexual ambiguity and outrageous appearance struck a chord.

The album was recorded at Trident, a Recording studio in London, in about 2 weeks, with another 2 weeks for mixing. Nothing on the track was recorded 100% live as there were overdubs over every track. Like with most Albums, there were a lot of tracks recorded for Ziggy that did not make the final cut.

95% of Bowies vocals on Ziggy were recorded in a single take, like with most of his other albums. The exception to this was the first part of ‘Rock and Roll Suicide’ where David sings very quietly so in order for them to optimise the sound, the level of the mic was cranked up preamp, and then when he later on in the song when he becomes a powerhouse, the levels had to be readjusted to compensate for it. The song ‘Suffragette City’ uses an ARP 2500 synthesiser, which is mistaken for a sax section. The album did however, include orchestral arrangements that guitarist Mick Ronson put together, the orchestra consisted of 8 violins, 4 violas and 2 Chellos. He even added a brass section for ‘Rock and Roll Suicide’ which he comprised of 2 trumpets, two trombones, two tenor saxes and a baritone sax (6).

The Beatles

Album Name: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Producer: George Martin
Artist: The Beatles
Year: June 1^st 1967
Genre: Rock
Why is it Revolutionary?

            This album spent 15 weeks atop the Billboard chart and was still in the top 5 6 months later (7). Sgt. Pepper is seen as the most important rock & roll album ever made, an unsurpassed adventure in concept, sound, song writing, cover art and studio technology by the greatest rock & roll group of all time. The 13 tracks on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band are the pinnacle of the Beatles' eight years as recording artists (8).

The album began to take shape on the 1^st February 1967when they began recording the title track.  The session at EMI’s Abbey Road Studio Two ran from 7PM until 2:30AM, with the Beatles doing nine takes — two of which were complete — on the basic rhythm track, with Paul McCartney and George Harrison on guitars. McCartney tried something different with his bass. Rather than sticking a microphone in front of his amplifier, a box was built to send the signal right into the board, a process that they called “direct injection,” or DI. The Beatles overdubbed orchestral pieces over most tracks on the album and even overdubbed their voices as well. Because Lennon was famously insecure about his singing voice, Ken Townsend invented a process for automatically double-tracking (ADT), which re-records a sound, milliseconds apart and placing them on a new track to give it greater depth (9).

Bibliography

1. Dimary et al, RD, 2011. 1001 Albums you must hear before you die. 5th ed. London: Cassell illustrated. Page 290 

2. AllMusic. 2016. Catch a Fire - Bob Marley & the Wailers,Bob Marley | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.allmusic.com/album/catch-a-fire-mw0000196186. [Accessed 26 September 2016].

3. uDiscover. 2016. Bob Marley - Catch A Fire | uDiscover. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.udiscovermusic.com/essentials/bob-marley-catch-a-fire. [Accessed 03 October 2016].  

4. PopMatters. 2016. Bob Marley and the Wailers: Catch a Fire / Burnin' | PopMatters. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.popmatters.com/review/marleybob-catch/. [Accessed 03 October 2016].

5. Dimary et al, RD, 2011. 1001 Albums you must hear before you die. 5th ed. London: Cassell illustrated. Page 280.

6. Forbes Welcome. 2016. Forbes Welcome. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsinski/2016/01/11/the-making-of-david-bowies-ziggy-stardust-album/#49c0525b53a4. [Accessed 04 October 2016].

7. Dimary et al, RD, 2011. 1001 Albums you must hear before you die. 5th ed. London: Cassell illustrated. Page 100.

8. Rolling Stone. 2016. The Beatles, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' | 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | Rolling Stone. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band-20120531. [Accessed 05 October 2016].

9.t Ultimate Classic Rock. 2016. The Day the Beatles Began Recording the 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' Title Track. [ONLINE] Available at: http://ultimateclassicrock.com/beatles-sgt-pepper-song/. [Accessed 05 October 2016].