On the mp3 player today.....RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES - Daft Punk

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES (Japanese Version)
DAFT PUNK
2013
DAFT LIFE/COLUMBIA

It's Friday night & after a hard week in work I'm feeling the need to loosen up a little. So, with the little one tucked up in bed I kick off my shoes & get comfy before hitting the play button.





And what pleasant tones float into my ears as the track 'Horizon' begins. A nice way to start the album I think.......but then I realise that I've got the iPod (other mp3 players are available folks!) set to shuffle.
No matter - this track is just what is required to unwind. Lovely warm tones cuddle into you then give you a gentle neck rub. Oh yes - this is nice!

Once that track is over I decide that I really should listen to the album in the order that the artist intended me to hear it. We begin with 'Give Life Back To The Music'. Theres no doubt that i'm listening to Daft Punk here. I'm pretty sure that its impossible to listen to this track without a gentle bit of head rocking, or toe tapping. It's very catchy - the main riff reminds me a little of 'Rappers Delight' by the Sugarhill Gang.

Now, I've heard Daft Punk albums before & I know that they all have this but for some reason the robotic sounding vocals are really grating on me. Noooo! Now i'm all tense again.
I've come to the conclusion that I would love this album a whole lot more if it was instrumental, with the exception of tracks with 'human' vocals.

Julian Casablancas

On reading a little about the recording of this album I found the reason behind why I feel that this album is warmer than the previous albums.  The duo demoed the album using electronic gadgetry and samplers but didn't like the sound. So, this album has been recorded using a live band and various guests you may well know such as Julian Casablancas, Nile Rodgers & Pharrell Williams.

Nile Rodgers

Giorgio Moroder

'Giorgio By Moroder' begins with a 2 minute interview from Giorgio Moroder. To be honest, after looking at the screen & seeing that this track was over 9 minutes I was very tempted to skip. But hey, I wouldn't have done that if I was listening to vinyl, so I persisted. I'm sort of glad that I did. I kept being reminded of the synth bass loop from Donna Summers 'I Feel Love' which Giorgio created in 1977.

More robotic vocals over what sounded to me like a rejected track by Air. I'm getting a little bored now but then Pharrell Williams saves the day. I have to say that I do like a lot of this guys work. Obviously, you are bound to know the massive single 'Get Lucky', which was the reason I got the album to be honest - even though when I first heard the first minute of the song on the radio, I thought Cliff Richard was on vocals!

Pharrell Williams

Unfortunately Pharrell Williams features on only 2 tracks. The Julian Casablancas collaboration is okay. It's probably only saved by the fact that guitars are prominent in the mix & by track 5 my ears were yearning to hear an axe.

'Touch' features Paul Williams, the award winning American songwriter. Now fair-dos, this guy is now 72 - but Jeez, that's one awful singing voice - someone make it stop!!!

Paul Williams

Now I've never heard of 'Panda Bear'. I hope I never do again, for he is responsible for the other lowpoint of this album.



The highlights of this album are 'Lose Yourself to Dance' & 'Get Lucky' (Pharrell Williams). Also, 'Fragments Of Time' (Todd Edwards) which I first thought sounded like Hall & Oates mixed with Fleetwood Mac (Tango In The Night era). Finally, the track I heard first, 'Horizon' which is how this Japanese version of the album closes.

This album has hit no1 in the charts in all but 9 countries in the world. Critics have given it an average rating of 87/100. I really don't think it should score as high as that. I will say that it is fairly diverse & so it should be with so many guests. I feel that the album would've benefitted from being shorter. It's almost 80 mins long & just as self indulgent as some 70's prog rock. However, where it's good - it's great.

Listen to previews or buy the album from iTunes