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 ...

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.