Well, it's the beginning of post-a-day fortnight (or maybe longer. Or shorter. Or I might give up tomorrow. I'll probably give up tomorrow) and that means 3 Songs. Let's get started:
Song #1: Hunter's Theme by The Herd (An Elefant Never Forgets, 2003, Track 7)
I just love trying to talk about music where there are no vocals. Makes reviews so fucking easy, with all the elements I most enjoy analysing cut out. Now, I've talked about The Herd before, and I've talked about this album before. The one thing you really have to know about this album going in is that The Herd as they are today, or even as they were in 2005, did not exist. Instead of a unified hip-hop group, they all were making separate tracks under a single name. The best word to describe this album is awkward. Now, considering I've only heard solo albums by three members of The Herd (Urthboy, Ozi Batla and Unkle Ho), and this song clearly does not contain the vocals of Jane Tyrell, I'm going to presume this song is mainly the work of world-music mixer Unkle Ho. I certainly do recommend the work of Unkle Ho, both in The Herd and in both of his solo albums, but this track is not good, by any stretch of the imagination. I have several problems with this track, and I'll break them down. Firstly, it goes for 5 minutes and 20 seconds, 3 seconds short of being the longest track on the album. I listen to music mostly for lyrics and vocals. This is only a few steps above 5 minutes of silence for me. Secondly, it is incredibly repetitive. I guarantee this song would be just as good in half the time. Finally, it just does nothing. This is tied into repetitiveness, but the song just goes nowhere. You keep thinking it's going to speed up, slow down, introduce something new of just stop, but it keeps on going. That's pretty much all I have to say. The title is interesting, but I can't draw any real connection with the title and the song.
Song #2: Apeman by The Kinks (Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, 1970, Track 11)
The phrase "no contest" springs to mind. In comparison to the previous song, this song is a masterpiece, being a fantastic song in it's own right. Musically, this song is fantastic. There are exactly as many instruments as strictly necessary, with no sound in the song which screams "I'm a bad idea!". The music speeds up, strengthens and changes to match the pace of the lyrics and vocals, which is exactly how I feel music should behave, rather than having lyrics crafted around it with vocalists attempting to keep up.
Vocally, Davies is not the best singer of all time, but his flawed, very human style really matches with the message of the lyrics, as this song can only really work if the vocalist is believable as an every-man. I have no complaints regarding the vocals, but no real compliments. Flawed, but solid.
Lyrically, "Apeman" discusses the singers frustration and disgust at the world around him, claiming that man has created all their problems, eventually coming to the conclusion that to really live his life like he feels he needs to escape the city, living as an 'apeman', stripped of all but the barest of what makes him a human. Compare and contrast with "All U Can Eat" by Ben Folds and consider how in 40 years, we are still having the same problems. A fantastic, easy to enjoy look at society.
Song #3: Michael Praytor, Five Years Later by Ben Folds Five (The Sound of the Life of the Mind, 2012, Track 2)
Firstly, this is legitimately the random song my MP3 player gave me. I'm not just trying to put Ben Folds Five's new album in every single post I do. It just seems to go that way. Anyway, music. Now, this track has the usual Ben Folds fare, a legendary piano sound at every turn, but as with Ben Folds Five, there is the fantastic bass hissing around behind it. You can also notice some fantastic drumming especially near the end of the track. One thing I have to say in comparison with the previous song is that the music moves at it's own pace, dragging the vocals along with it. I can't say I'm a real fan of that, but it doesn't really affect the song that much.
Vocally, there isn't much to say beyond "Ben Folds". Oh, and "Five". Fantastic, lilting, perfect lead vocals, with backing vocals of easily the same calibre.
Lyrically, the song's concept is very strong, but the execution is somewhat lacking. The idea is that the narrator and a friend from school, Michael Praytor, meet up every five years, watching each other's lives go downhill, until finally meeting Praytor living in hi car after his wife kicked him out. What I would have much preferred is a longer song detailing each and every meeting, dropping subtle hints about the next, but I suppose at least the idea was interesting. Not bad, by any means.
Winners:
Musically, "Hunter's Theme" is out instantly. Between Folds and The Kinks, a great deal of the decision is made of personal taste. I've got to go with The Kinks, due to the music following, rather than leading.
Vocally, Folds. Done. Davies is decent, but Folds is magic.
Lyrically, this is once again tough. Although The Kinks are using a rather tired topic whereas Folds is inventing a new topic, the execution of The Kinks song is superior to Folds, thus they win.
Conclusion:
1. Apeman by The Kinks
2. Michael Praytor, Five Years Later by Ben Folds Five
3. Hunter's Theme by The Herd
Conclusions:
I must make several comments on this post. Firstly, I apologise if this article sounds rushed. It is. I wanted to see if I could write an entire article in an hour. I got up to the "Folds is magic" line under winners as I left, the rest being added after the fact. Secondly, the comparison of the songs to represent the bands is unbalanced, and I would like to emphasise that I am not comparing the groups by any means. I compared one of The Herd's weakest songs with one of The Kinks strongest songs and a rather average BFF song. Also, three different countries. You don't see that every day.
Feedback welcome, and you don't need to suffer through the mediocrity that is "Hunter's Theme" to have an opinion on all three songs.
H. Rourke
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