Along with Kirsty MacColl, today’s band is my favorite discovery so far of my 1993 edition of the Decades series.
Madder Rose was an alt-rock band fronted by lead singer Mary Lorson, who co-wrote songs with guitarist Bill Cote. Their debut album, Bring it Down, was released in ’93, with three other albums following in the 90s. The band then went on hiatus for 20 years before reforming just last year to release a fifth album, titled To Be Beautiful.
This one was a disappointment. I don’t know much about the Ohio-based Afghan Whigs, but I have their 1998 album 1965 and really like it. It’s a muscular blend of soul and rock that hits on all cylinders.
So when I saw that 1993 was the release year of the band’s most celebrated album, Gentlemen, I was excited. Here was a chance to dive deeper into a band that had grabbed my interest already with a “lesser” work.
It seems there was a lot of band crossover in the early 90s. People jumping from one band to another, starting a new band while still playing in their first band, that kind of thing.
The Breeders is one such example. Formed in 1989 by Kim Deal (bassist for The Pixies), Tanya Donelly (Throwing Muses guitarist), and Carrie Bradley (vocalist/violinist for Ed’s Redeeming Qualities), the band was initially called Boston Girl Super-Group. They changed their name to The Breeders and recorded a debut album, Pod, which was cited by Kurt Cobain as a big influence on Nirvana’s sound.
While Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre were honing the West Coast sound over in Los Angeles, the Wu-Tang Clan pioneered a hardcore rap sound that led to the East Coast Renaissance. Artists such as Nas, Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G. drew inspiration from their work.
Wu-Tang’s debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), was produced by band leader RZA, who mashed up clips from kung-fu movies, old soul tracks, and dirty drum beats, creating a street-smart soundscape over which the band’s nine members could spit their rhymes.
These Decades weeks usually offer one of three kinds of artists. You have the big names that I just never got into (see Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana), the artists I’ve heard of but never really heard (see Kate Bush), and then my favorite: the ones who are completely new to me.
The third group, in turn, breaks down into two more groups. The ones I was just as well never hearing, and the ones I really like.
Kirsty MacColl is the latter.
Meet Me In Montauk 