#426: Rage Against the Machine's The Battle of Los Angeles

Rage Against the Machine introduced themselves with just the formula of rock, rap and indignant left wing, well... rage, that a Reagan generation weaned on college rock arena tours and nostalgia for the snotty energy of the Ramones was, quite frankly, ready for. The uniquely visceral sound showcased on their astounding debut was carried on Zack de la Rocha's explosive vocal delivery and Tom Morello's economical yet aggressive riffs. They ventured on in much the same vein with their sophomore effort, Evil Empire, to a mostly successful end. By their third release, though, this could have become a tiresome schtick; one can, after all, only shock and awe for so long before offering something new, especially where Generations X and Y are concerned. While The Battle of Los Angeles doesn't exactly distinguish itself on uncharted territory, it does manage to stand on its own against its predecessors by bringing the individual elements into a somewhat more cohesive musical relation: Commerford's bass and Wilk's drums come to the fore, Morello for the most part keeps his testimony reserved while taking invigorating journeys into abstraction at just the right moments, and de la Rocha's spastic yell is toned down just an notch to, at turns, a syncopated howl and an urgent whisper. The result is a record that hints at an emerging maturity while honoring Rage's original mission statement. "Maria" is a standout, seeing Morello's alternating air-raid sirens and artillery hits, Commerford's skulking bassline and Wilk's relentless percussion bombs keeping pace with de la Rocha's indictment of coerced maquiladora labor (which, it has to be said, probably produced a significant proportion of the band's gear), while "Sleep Now in the Fire" is Rage Against the Machine at their anthemic best (check out the Michael Moore directed video here). Unfortunately, The Battle of Los Angeles would be their last set of original material.

Some other thoughts:

#427, The Ronettes' Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes: The lone studio release for three Spanish Harlem girls who, on the one hand, were made famous by Phil Spector, and on the other, made Spector's name as a producer. Interesting fact: The Ronettes were the only girl group that ever toured with the Beatles.

#425, David Bowie's ChangesOne: Bowie's first Greatest Hits compilation, ChangesOne documents his Glam and Thin White Duke periods. Much more to come from this cat on the list, so I'll just leave it at that for now.