Classics Never Go Out Of Style — Issue #6: June
We’re halfway through the project! Can’t believe this is issue #6 of this series already. I really hope you’ve been enjoying following along on this journey; I’ve been having a blast intentionally changing my listening habits this year. I have also been listening to loads of new music too; so look out for my 30 favourite songs of 2025 so far piece in the next few weeks. In the meantime, check out with classic albums I dove into in June.
Oh and here is May’s edition if you wanted to catch up:
The guidelines:
- 8–10 albums each month from a longlist of albums based on both ‘widely accepted Classics’ and records I’ve always meant to check out.
- Nothing released after 2010.
- I have to properly digest each record; more than just 1 play through.
Guru — Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 (1993)
One of those familiar album covers/titles that I never consciously looked into before now. I went to a dinner party this month where we said we’d choose a record each to bring to play: I brought Pastor TL Barrett’s Like A Ship, one of the best gospel choir records of all time and sampled countless times in hip hop. One of the other albums in the mix that night was Jazzmatazz Vol. 1. Other than Guru’s work as part of Gang Starr, the only other person featured on the album I knew the name of was France’s MC Solaar — but I left a fan of every single personnel credited here. It’s mix of live jazz and rap music - the absolute sweet spot for me. I just wish more hip hop sounded like this still; I think I’d have loved living through this era first hand. I will definitely make this part of my regular rotation moving forward from here which just goes to show how great it is to share music with each other! But moreover, how much more fun it is to actually do it in person, playing the music to a group rather than just sending links to each other.
Favourite song: ‘Le Bien, Le Mal’ ft. MC Solaar
Frank Sinatra — In The Wee Small Hours
On the morning of 10th June my beloved Grandma passed away on her 91st birthday. Walking to and from her bungalow that week I felt completely hollowed out and had no idea what to listen to. Although we never really talked about Frank Sinatra; this was the kind of music I know she enjoyed, and I’d earmarked this album for June — so I stuck it on. I know she liked Nat King Cole so I figured she’d approve of this too. Despite it being a heartbreak record; the sonic grace of it suited the moment well; Particularly ‘Mood Indigo’ as Bamb’s favourite colour was purple. We’ll all honour her by wearing something purple at the funeral next month. Like the best music, my nan was an absolute classic; completely ageless and attracting new fans all the time. She was one of my very favourite people ever abd I hope one day I’ll be able to write more about her. But for now I’ll play this one again and focus on the love for her that I will always carry in my heart.
Favourite song: ‘In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning’
George Harrison — All Things Must Pass (1970)
I kicked off this series in January by listening to Paul McCartney & Wings’ Band On The Run so it only felt right that I should include another post-Beatles solo project. This month it was the turn of George Harrison; but I was surprised to find that Ringo played drums on the album and John Lennon and Yoko were also in the sessions too. But the stars didn’t stop there — Eric Clapton played guitars throughout, Bob Dylan co-wrote on it, Peter Frampton contributed acoustic guitar and the whole record was co-produced by Phil Spector. Talk about star studded! I was initially a bit daunted by the triple-album length but it’s only actually 1hr45mins, and half an hour shorter if you take out the Apple Jam improvised instrumental jam session at the end. But there’s so much to love here, I ended up thrilled with how music there was here to dive into. Way more so than Band On The Run, this really feels like a bonus Beatles album, in a really great way. It feels like being teleported into a kaleidoscopic hippy world of yesteryear where peace was still possible and music was gonna save the world. Fun dream!
Favourite song: ‘Isn’t It A Pity’
King Crimson — In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
Possibly the most instantly recognisable album cover on the list for me (bar maybe Dark Side of the Moon) this one just had to be included. I’d actually forgotten until I pressed play that the opener here was famously sampled by Kanye West on ‘Power’ and it was so good to hear it loud in its original context. Earlier this month the only near-cool car I’ve ever had died on me and I ended up buying a 7-seat Dad-wagon (because it was cheap and nearby) I had great fun riding around town with the windows down blaring this out, feeling like an absolute Gen-Xer. Jokes aside though, this whole album has such a powerful vibe — I feel like it’s the kind of album that could only come out of Britain at that point in history. I loved how the closing song ended with those creepy maypole-esque flutes! The prog rock freak flag is flying high and I can definitely hear its influence in the likes of black midi et al in today’s music.
Favourite song: ‘The Court of the Crimson King’
Paul Simon — Graceland (1986)
I remember becoming aware of Graceland back in 2008 with the release of Vampire Weekend’s debut album — and yes I know how tragically millennial that is. There was so much talk about how they were ripping this off and yes; I can definitely hear the influence but for me it doesn’t cross over into pastiche or anything similar. Looking back (I haven’t replayed the full album for years) I think ‘Blake’s Got A New Face’ is the biggest culprit but largely I think they were just the only band re-visiting that sound at the time. In terms of similarities, listening to this album made me think of Men At Work (‘Overkill’, ‘Down Under’) whose work pre-dates Graceland so who knows… anyway — this was the perfect album to usher in the gorgeous sunshine and it’s impossible not to feel chipper when it’s on. Viewed through a modern lens, some of it can lean to far into white saviour / ‘African Child’ territory — particularly songs like ‘Homeless’ where Simon’s unmistakably hokey Newark accent sits awkwardly against the South African male choir. But it all feels very good-hearted and genuine in its collaboration so I’m probably just being infected by 2020s cynicism. Great album
Favourite song: ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes’
Ray Charles — The Genius of Ray Charles (1959)
‘Come Rain or Shine’ was on a playlist made for me this month and it completely blew my mind. It feels like a song with absolutely everything — quivering flutes and lilting strings, gorgeous brass and tinkling piano. The moment where Charles sings “I guess when you met me / It was just one of those things” and you first get that ‘Ahhhh’ chorus that adds the jeopardy, along with the swooping orchestral stabs when he sings “Days may be cloudy or sunny / We’re in or are we out of the money?” …it’s just a non-stop thrill ride while still managing to be a waltz. Genius indeed. Weirdly the rest of the album didn’t fit the bill in the same way as that one song did for me at all. It’s Charles exploring Swing and Big Band arrangements which is lovely but personally not what I like about his music. Don’t get me wrong, some of it works really well, like ‘It Had To Be You’ because the man had exceptional talent. But I think next I will go back to the debut album to better experience his power.
Favourite song: ‘Come Rain or Come Shine’
Eminem — The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
It may shock fans of 2000’s hip hop, but the first full album by Eminem I ever listened to was 2018’s unpopular Kamikazee. My confession is that I never really like the rapper growing up — I remember ‘Stan’ coming out and enjoying that, but really just for the Dido sample. And when I bought the CD single my dad took it away! In later years his voice sounded too schoolyard, too grating and gaudy for me. Although I recognised how talented he was; it just never felt like his music was ‘for me’ And by the time I gave him a second chance he was releasing some pretty weak work. So it was important for me that he feature in this list, and the MMLP seemed like the place to dive in. Maybe it’s because I’m so much older now then when I first heard some of these songs but this time around I was really able to have fun with them. Non-singles like ‘Who Knew’, ‘Kill You’ and ‘Marshall Mathers’ offered more interesting insight into his output; not to mention the amazing production on a third of the songs here from Dr Dre being absolute belters. Yes, the homophobia is overwhelming and near-unpalatable — another reason why I never really got on board at the time. But if you don’t take the lyrics seriously (as I hope he intended) then the album still has merit.
Favourite song: ‘Marshall Mathers’
Carole King — Tapestry (1971)
I think going into this project I was expecting something akin to Joni Mitchell, but actually it struck me more as a female Randy Newman. I guess by that I mean it has this warm, rich and inviting quality to it; much like the iconic window seat and cat set-up of the cover art! Interestingly I think I was expecting something a bit more traditionally folk-orientated but really it’s a soft rock/pop album. I recognised the songs ‘It’s Too Late’, ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ and ‘Natural Woman’ immediately but had never really twigged that they were by Carole King so they were great to experience within the context of the LP. Some of the songs didn’t really fit in with the mood for me however, in particularly ‘Smackwater Jack’ which felt a bit silly. I absolutely loved the emotion in the title track but wish that it had been the album closer! I feel it would have made a lot more sense. I can totally see how this album is considered a classic and will revisit it plenty — also one I’ll be looking out for on vinyl for sure!
Favourite song: ‘Tapestry’
Tom Waits — Rain Dogs (1985)
When I was at uni back in 2010 I joined the Film Club where they screened movies on a big screen on campus for free and we’d sneak a few beers in and just chill out. The only one that really stuck with me though was Jim Jarmusch’s 1991 Night On Earth which was as much because of the Tom Waits soundtrack as anything else. I think in my mind I’d always assumed he was from New Orleans or at least Louisiana because of how Creole French his sound is to me; so I was surprised to find I was completely wrong. There’s something about his mix of marimbas, double bass, harmoniums and other instruments that conjures images of some Hoodoo ritual to me. Another surprise was realising I was very familiar with ‘Clap Hands’ via The Veils cover of it, which I never knew was a Waits song! But it’s not all eerie/spooky - the banjo pluck of ‘Gun Street Girl’ gives way to the raucous romp of ‘Union Square’ which could soundtrack a punch-up in an old saloon. But then there’s also a song like ‘Time’ which is the most gorgeous old-man blues song ever recorded by a man only in his 30’s. Incidentally, while becoming quickly obsessed with Waits this month I learned that he gave a very rare performance this year as part of documentary Ultima Fermata about homelessness in the US. Strange to see him now; his old face having caught up with his wizened vocals. What a guy.
Favourite song: ‘Time’
Back To The Future:
The picks of music released this month
Just to keep us up to date with new releases too; here are my 10 favourite albums released in June with my favourite one marked with stars. 30th May was a Friday last month so there’s a few included here from then.
- Birthing by Swans
- Magic, Alive! by McKinley Dixon
- Lotus by Little Simz
- Never Enough by Turnstile
- Crying The Neck by Patrick Wolf
- hopefully ! by Loyle Carner
- The Other 2/5ths or: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Trench Baby by Ghais Guevara
- Melanchronica by Bas & The Hics
- ☆ POCOMANIA by Isaiah Hull ☆
- A Tropical Entropy by Nick León
Join me this time next month to see what I dive into next. And please continue to send any recommendations! I’ve found so many favourites this way!
