It is these musicians, as much as the band themselves, who provide ‘The Car’ with the vivid textures that this record’s predecessor. It was here that an 18-piece string section recorded their parts for ‘The Car’, bringing to life the arrangements composed by Turner, producer James Ford and Bridget Samuels, whose credits include the 2019 psych-horror Midsommar. Decamping to La Frette – the studio-cum-mansion on the outskirts of Paris where they recorded much of ‘Tranquility’ – to capture Turner’s vocals, Arctic Monkeys then, most importantly, headed to RAK Studios in London. The band began recording the album last summer while reconnecting post-lockdown at a 14th century monastery in Suffolk, fitting in sessions amid England’s almost-glory at Euro 2020. If ‘Tranquility…’s monochrome palette boxed Arctic Monkeys in, here they’re flourishing in full colour. On ‘The Car’, though, Jamie Cook, Nick O’Malley and Helders are present and powerful guided by Turner’s songwriting and delicate vocal performance, but never ceding to it: ‘Body Paint’, a swaggering ‘70s-inspired epic, features the full band at their most ferocious-sounding in years. While growing in stature once the initial shock wore off and proving to be wildly entertaining live, there were still some nit-picks to be had with ‘Tranquility…’: perhaps it was too slow and one-note, perhaps the full band were under-utilised as performers, perhaps it felt more like a Turner solo record. Nevertheless, ‘The Car’ goes some way to addressing some of the last record’s flaws. The songwriter himself appears to make a sly reference to the fallout from the last album on ‘The Car’s brooding highlight ‘Sculptures Of Anything Goes’, bemoaning someone – or himself – who’s “ puncturing your bubble of relatability with your horrible new sound”. True to drummer Matt Helders’ words, the band “pick up where they left off” on 2018’s ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’, their masterful – and divisive – collection that traded razor-sharp riffs and stadium-sized choruses for loungey space-pop, obfuscating characters and a shady lounge lizard persona for frontman Alex Turner. For the old-heads, it’s a satisfying toast to those who’ve stuck by and matured along with the band, while for the newbies – arriving primarily via TikTok and streaming services – it is a remarkable place to start their Monkeys journey. While their peppy, game-changing 2006 debut ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ and 2013’s behemoth ‘ AM’ will provide greater lessons in assessing rock’s place in 21st century music, ‘The Car’ best summarises the Arctic Monkeys story so far: sharp songwriting, relentless innovation and unbreakable teamwork. Decoding the artwork for ‘The Car’, Arctic Monkeys’ seventh album, feels akin to attempting to get under the hood of the band themselves it’s mysterious, unusual and, crucially, all part of the fun. There’s no knowing how – or when – the saloon got there, what’s lurking in the trunk or the glove compartment, or whether it’s responsible for the screeching tyre marks nearby. The Rolling Stones and the Beatles, however, were completely subverting this: They’d both been at it for three years and showed absolutely no signs of slowing down, even if John Lennon’s “more popular than Jesus” line caused a bump in the road for the latter act.Atop a Los Angeles rooftop car park sits a lone white Toyota Corolla. The group was on a grueling British tour in October of 1966, often playing two shows a night, but during a four-day break they headed to Studio 5 at Wembley and taped a three-song set for Ready Steady Go!, sharing the stage with Eric Burdon and the Animals and Paul & Barry Ryan, an almost totally forgotten pair of twin brothers whose career lasted just about a year.Ī career path like Paul & Barry Ryan was the norm for a pop act at this time: a handful of hits before fading into complete oblivion. The Rolling Stones 1963-1969: Behind-the-Scenes Snapshots “Mother’s Little Helper,” “Lady Jane” and “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadow” also got a lot of airplay. Their fourth album, Aftermath, hit stores that April, and their sitar-infused single “Paint It Black” spent two weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 in June. The Rolling Stones were nearing their peak as pop hit makers when they appeared on Ready Steady Go! on October 7th, 1966.
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