An Album a Day: First Album, Second Act
Featuring New Order, Kelly Rowland, Freddie Mercury, and others
My friend Ken and I decided to listen to an album every day this year. Each week is themed. At the end of each week, we rank what we listened to. To be clear, we aren’t ranking every album that fits the theme. We are only ranking what we chose to listen to during the last seven days.
This week’s theme is “first album, second act.” I think an example will be more illustrative than an explanation. Justin Timberlake got famous as a member of NSYNC. He then left NSYNC and released a solo album, Justified. First album. Second act. You get the point.
#7 Movement by New Order (1981 - Previous members of Joy Division)
Given my infatuation with New Order’s song “Age of Consent,” I’ve been meaning to dive into their discography. Because New Order was formed by members of Joy Division after Ian Curtis committed suicide, this prompt felt like the perfect time to give them a try.
I was really disappointed. Not as disappointed as Ken. I still want to give some of their later albums a listen. I think Robert Christgau’s review of Movement sums up my feelings succinctly:
For months I’ve sworn to concentrate on the lyrics and be done with this goddamn record, but it ain’t gonna happen. The singing isn’t literally inaudible, but it is literally unprojected, much less noticeable than the surrounding drum, guitar, and synthesizer rhythms/effects. Very atmospheric—the spaceship as sepulcher, with a beat. And as long as I literally don’t have to hear their doomy doggerel, not a bad way to go. B+
#6 Poison by Bel Biv DeVoe (1990 - Previous members of New Edition)
A few years after Bobby Brown split from the prototypical boy band New Edition, members Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe decided to team up for a record. That record, Poison, is quintessential new jack swing. The problem is that the vocals are lacking and lyrics are sometimes illegal: “Would you mind if I look at you for a moment before I make sweet love? / Backstage, underage, adolescent.”
#5 Simply Deep by Kelly Rowland (2002 - Previous member of Destiny’s Child)
Beyoncé is the most famous member of Destiny’s Child. Kelly Rowland is the second most famous member. And while Beyoncé’s career studio output has outclassed nearly everyone on planet Earth, her debut wasn’t that much better than Rowland’s.
Kelly Rowland has a nice voice, but her problem is that she needed better songwriters. Many of the concepts seem half-baked. Nevertheless, what most shocked me about this album is how much of it seems influenced by rock music that was on the radio in the early 2000s.
“Stole,” the lead track, illustrates all of this. It’s a socially conscious song filled with lyrical cheese (e.g., “She could’ve been a movie star / Never got the chance to go that far / Her life was stole, oh”) that could have been a Hoobastank throwaway.
#4 Mr. Bad Guy by Freddie Mercury (1985 - Previous member of Queen)
“Why on the first track,” Ken asked me, “did Freddie include a guitar solo that sounds like an imitation of Brian May?” This is ultimately what holds Freddie Mercury’s solo effort Mr. Bad Guy back. It mostly sounds like Queen outtakes from the mid-1980s. And I don’t really like Queen from the mid-1980s. But Freddie Mercury still has a great voice, and the man likes to have fun!
The highlight of the album is “Living On My Own.” The production is boilerplate 1985, but the tasteful piano solo paired with Freddie scatting is delightful. Oh, yeah, the chorus is also an earworm.
#3 America’s Sweetheart by Courtney Love (2004 - Previous member of Hole)
Though it didn’t receive positive reviews when it came out, the solo debut of former Hole frontwoman Courtney Love is worth a listen. The production is pristine, the songs are well constructed, and the vocals are invigorating.
I understand why people didn’t really like this when it came out, though. As Ken noted, many of these songs sound like they were made with Sheryl Crow in mind rather than Courtney Love. If you’re looking for the gnarly punk of “Violet,” you’re not really going to get that here.
#2 First Issue by Public Image Ltd. (1978 - Former member of Sex Pistols)
Whereas I was disappointed by Movement by New Order because I was expecting “Age of Consent” and didn’t get that, I was expecting First Issue to be more new wave. It was not new wave. It was more in the punk/post-punk universe. And I’m okay with that. First Issue was incredible. The riffs were circular and hypnotic. The vocals were impassioned and nearly out of control.
My favorite track on the album was “Public Image.” Interestingly, this adhered closer to what my expectations were. It seems that “Public Image” heralded the direction that the band was headed. Some of their later releases were more in the alternative rock/new wave direction.
#1 Gorillaz by Gorillaz (2001 - Former member of Blur)
Blur frontman ditches Britpop and teams up with artist Jamie Hewlett to form a virtual band that pulls from genres as far afield as Latin and trip hop. The results—outside of a few snoozy instrumentals—are astounding.
What’s funny about this record is that while Damon Albarn handles most of the lead vocals, the songs rise to another plane when he hands the microphone to someone else, like Del The Funky Homosapien or Miho Hatori.
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Did Ken enjoy any of these albums?