Howling At The Moon - The Punk Panther's Album Reviews

As we now know, I-Roy  was another of the great  DJ-toasters  who chanted-growled-semi-sung their lyrics over backing dub-style rhythms.  His contemporaries were  Prince Far I ,  Big Youth  and  U-Roy , to name but three from a burgeoning mid to late seventies genre.  I-Roy’s toasting is more tuneful and easy on the ear than Prince Far I’s croaky, growling, deep spoken preaching. I Roy is semi-singing, his voice is higher in pitch and more mellifluous. He is far more similar to U-Roy, but with a more attractive, appealing voice (only slightly, I must point out). Casmas Town  is a classic of the genre - packed of “riddim”, wonderful rim shots, skanking rhythms coming and going and an instinctive vocal that interacts perfectly with the music. I find I-Roy’s lyrics and delivery far less “fire and brimstone” and “preachy” than Prince Far I’s. His concerns are  Rastafarian  ones, but he diversifies considerably and rambles on about all manner of things (admittedly often incomprehensible!). 

I haven't covered it in detail, but the boys' 1988 album Blow Up Your Video is bloody good too, mate.  You'd never guess - but it rocks! Particularly Heatseeker and That's Way I Wanna Rock'n'Roll. Stick them on and revel in that power riffage blasting your speakers into next week!  I could enjoy pretty much any of the group's seventeen albums without feeling the need to analyse them. Australians don't bloody well analyse , do they?

Finally, in the trilogy that includes Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs comes   this,   an album I remember buying back then and feeling somewhat underwhelmed by it. Have I changed my opinion?  Yes and no.  It is an intriguing, grower of an atmospheric album like Swordfishtrombones, for sure, but it still has little bit of a shapelessness to it (not nearly as much as there was on Swordfish, though. I like this album better).  Overall, however, I guess I am just not as sold on the eclectic Waits as I am on the bluesy one.  Anyway - I'm shapelessly rambling myself - the highlights are the rumbling  Hang On St. Christopher , the slow ballad  Yesterday Is Here , the rumba shuffles of  Temptation   and  Straight To The Top (Rhumba)  along with the Germanic barroom ballad  Innocent When You Dream  but overall the album, intended as a mini-opera, just doesn't really convince, remaining as a bit of a curio.