CHEVELLE
WONDER WHAT’S NEXT
2002 – EPIC
Produced By GARTH RICHARDSON
1. Family System
2. Comfortable Liar
3. Send The Pain Below
4. Closure
5. The Red
6. Wonder What’s Next
7. Don’t Fake This
8. Forfeit
9. Grab Thy Hand
10. An Evening With El Diablo
11. One Lonely Visitor
When people talk about power trios, Chevelle is a name that doesn’t come up very often. But, here we are. Chevelle was formed in 1995, and spent most of those years as a trio. Now a duo with a touring bassist, the band has been mostly a family affair. Brothers Pete (vocals & guitar) and Sam Loeffler (drums) have been the constants in a group that has also included brother Joe and brother in law Dean Bernardini. They play loud and fast and heavy rock, falling into the category of nu metal. Wonder What’s Next is their second album, and stands today as their commercial peak, thanks to their biggest hit, “The Red”. By 2010, Chevelle was back to being a pretty unknown band, but they have continued to soldier on, having released nine studio albums to date.
Pete Loeffler is the star here, playing not only all of the guitars, but also handling all of the lead vocals. He possesses a powerful scream that suits the material very well. Not only is “The Red” a great track, but “Send The Pain Below” and “Closure” are fine, too. But while Chevelle has a great sound, they have always been a bit weak when it comes to songs, and that’s what ultimately keeps Wonder What’s Next from being exceptional. The second half of the album suffers from lesser material, and almost fades out of interest. Which is what Chevelle did after this record…they have just been slowly fading away ever since. Wonder What’s Next is their best work, and if you have to have one Chevelle album, this would be the one to get. Good, but short of great.
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RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
STADIUM ARCADIUM
2006 – WARNER BROS.
Produced By RICK RUBIN
1. Dani California
2. Snow (Hey Oh)
3. Charlie
4. Stadium Arcadium
5. Hump De Bump
6. She’s Only 18
7. Slow Cheetah
8. Torture Me
9. Strip My Mind
10. Especially In Michigan
11. Warlocks
12. C’mon Girl
13. Wet Sand
14. Hey
1. Desecration Smile
2. Tell Me Baby
3. Hard To Concentrate
4. 21st Century
5. She Looks To Me
6. Readymade
7. If
8. Make You Feel Better
9. Animal Bar
10. So Much I
11. Storm In A Teacup
12. We Believe
13. Turn It Again
14. Death Of A Martian
Two discs at just under two hours from Red Hot Chili Peppers? My first reaction is no way. However, it’s important to understand when this album came out in the band’s history. It’s their ninth release, and is the follow up to 2002’s By The Way. Why is this a big deal? By The Way marked an abrupt and stunning change in the band’s sound from bass dominated funk punk to much more song oriented guitar music, led by John Frusciante. By The Way was a fantastic album, and with Stadium Arcadium, they were able to actually expand on that progress. Not only is this a masterful guitar exhibition from Frusciante, it also marks significant growth, both lyrically and vocally, by singer Anthony Kiedis, as well as a continued maturity from bassist Flea.
Still, two discs is a lot to digest. The result is a lot of filler, but not too much. Would this have been better as a single album? I believe it would be, but if you’re a fan, this could not be more perfect. The hits are here…most notably “Dani California” and “Snow (Hey Oh)”. “Tell Me Baby”, “Hump De Bump” and “Desecration Smile” are all top notch. The best thing about Stadium Arcadium is, by far, Frusciante’s guitar work, which raises these two discs above almost everything else this band has ever done. Frusciante left after this album, and the Chili Peppers predictably struggled to maintain their progress (but not their success, which has never waned). Cut this album in half and you’ve got a five star single disc, but you’ll want to hear it all at least once to appreciate the progress that this band who wore socks on their junk not that long before had made.
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MILLIE JACKSON
CAUGHT UP
1974 – SPRING
Produced By BRAD SHAPIRO
1. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right
2. The Rap
3. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want To Be Right (Reprise)
4. All I Want Is A Fighting Chance
5. I’m Tired Of Hiding
6. It’s All Over But The Shouting
7. So Easy Going, So Hard Coming Back
8. I’m Trying To Prove My Love To You
9. Summer (The First Time)
10. I’m Tired Of Hiding (Alternate Live Vocal)
11. I’m Through Trying To Prove My Love To You (Alternate Live Vocal)
12. Feel Like Making Love (Alternate Live Vocal)
13. A House For Sale
For two decades, it was hard to find a harder working artist than Millie Jackson. From Georgia, this soul, R&B and disco singer cranked out twelve albums in the seventies, and another nine in the eighties. Tough to fathom these days, when an album every 3-5 years is more the norm. But Millie Jackson isn’t quite like anybody else. She is known today as the Mother Of Hip Hop because she would frequently incorporate long spoken sections in her songs. She has never been afraid to put her personality out there, and she has never flinched at the opportunity to be a bit more raunchy than most (check out the album cover of her 1989 album Back To The Shit). But, more than anything else, Millie Jackson has more soul than most, and she does it as well as anyone.
Caught Up is her fourth album, and it is considered to be her best. For good reason. “If Loving You Is Wrong” is a golden take on the Luther Ingram hit, and includes an almost six minute spoken interlude. “I’m Tired Of Hiding” holds nothing back…it’s the story of an affair with a married man, which is the theme of the album. In fact, the first side is from a mistresses’ point of view, while side two is from the wife’s side. The end result is a masterful soul record, played by the great Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Millie Jackson never had a number one album or single, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a powerful force that deserves to be heard. After five more records in the 90’s, she has slowed to almost a halt as far as recording, but she’s still out there. Check this one out!
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While Ani DiFranco’s 15th album, Reprieve, sounds mostly beautiful, the fact is that this is not one of her greatest records. Released in 2006, DiFranco is accompanied only by bassist Todd Sickafoose (who also adds piano, organ and trumpet). She plays everything else, which is mainly guitar and keyboards. The songs are all acoustic, with the highlights being her playing and her unique vocals. The sound is mostly terrific, but this is not her best batch of songs, which is what keeps Reprieve from being one of her best works. There’s a lot of room left for more, but DiFranco chose not to make this a work crowded with multiple instrumentation. Keeping it simple works well a lot of the time, but not always. It’s a very good record, but it’s not great.
Reprieve sounds light, but it’s heavy and sad. Recorded before, during and after Hurricane Katrina, the songs reflect the sadness and struggle that fell upon New Orleans during that time. But while DiFranco’s playing is exceptional, the mood and the sparse nature of the music leaves you wishing there was more to this. Her better albums are notable because of her songwriting, and her ability to effectively fill the gaps…both of which are missing here in too many spots. Still, as with all of DiFranco’s discs, Reprieve is entertaining and interesting enough. It simply doesn’t hold up as strongly as her better recordings. Still, this is worth at least a listen, and it may grow on you. We are always better off with more Ani DiFranco in our lives.
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GORILLAZ
PLASTIC BEACH
2010 – PARLOPHONE
Produced By GORILLAZ
1. Orchestral Intro
2. Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach
3. White Flag
4. Rhinestone Eyes
5. Stylo (Feat. Bobby Womack)
6. Superfast Jellyfish (Feat. De La Soul)
7. Empire Ants
8. Glitter Freeze
9. Some Kind Of Nature
10. On Melancholy Hill
11. Broken
12. Sweepstakes
13. Plastic Beach
14. To Binge
15 Cloud Of Unknowing (Feat. Bobby Womack)
16. Pirate Jet
Virtual bands have sure come a long way from the days of The Archies and Josie & The Pussycats. Most importantly, Gorillaz isn’t a vehicle for empty headed pop designed to sell television cartoon shows and comic books. By their third album, Plastic Beach, Gorillaz had gained enough respect as a legitimate music project that it was almost not seen as a made up band. As usual, an impressive group of guest artists were brought in to the recordings: Bobby Womack, Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, and Mos Def all make appearances, along with a host of others. And although it was five years later, Plastic Beach serves as a fine follow up to their breakthrough album Demon Days. This record proved that Gorillaz could make magic happen a second time.
The best songs here make this worthwhile. “Stylo”, “On Melancholy Hill” and “Superfast Jellyfish” are great tracks, with “Rhinestone Eyes” and “Empire Ants” not far behind. The guest list helps keep things interesting, but the main winning ingredient is the songwriting. Gorillaz was created to never be boring, and they succeed here with ease. Plastic Beach does deal with the images of landfills filled with plastic, so the subject matter is not always the happiest, but I’m sure we can all deal with that. The main musical force behind Gorillaz is Damon Albarn, the frontman for the band Blur. The visual side is manned by Jamie Hewlett. Gorillaz continues to this day, with another five albums released. Always entertaining, never boring, and nicely unique.
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THE BABYS
ANTHOLOGY
1981 – CHRYSALIS
Produced By KEITH OLSEN, RON NEVISON, BRIAN CHRISTIAN & BOB EZRIN
1. Head First
2. Isn’t It Time
3. Midnight Rendezvous
4. Money (That’s What I Want)
5. Back On My Feet Again
6. Give Me Your Love
7. Turn And Walk Away
8. Every Time I Think Of You
9. If You’ve Got The Time
10. Sweet 17
These days, The Babys are remembered for…well, not a lot, really. Which is not completely fair. The Babys were formed in London, and during their five year career, they released some really fine singles that ended up on a group of five ultimately forgettable albums. They split up in 1981, disillusioned by their failure to make it big despite the quality of their songs. Anthology was released that same year, and it initially sold as below average as the rest of their catalog. But over the years, Anthology has endured. Because these ten seventies tracks are a whole lot better than anyone remembers the band ever having been. The Babys rocked, and were led by the exceptional vocals of John Waite. Their album tracks weren’t great…but these singles are terrific.
None of these songs are mainstream classic rock hits, but when you hear one of them, it shakes you, because you know that it’s good enough to stand alongside those bands that get criminally overplayed. “Head First”, “Midnight Rendezvous”, “Back On My Feet Again”, and the ballad “Every Time I Think Of You” are just as good as anything that was big from that time. But The Babys had a short career in which they were constantly overlooked. It’s not too late, folks. If you’re not a fan, check out The Babys. Anthology is the place to do it…it’s a top notch best of. Waite went on to solo success, Jonathan Cain joined Journey, and that pair along with Rickey Phillips formed Bad English in the late 80’s. The Babys live on with this album. Give it a listen!
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RODNEY CROWELL
GREATEST HITS
1993 – COLUMBIA
Produced By TONY BROWN, RODNEY CROWELL & LARRY KLEIN
1. Lovin’ All Night
2. Even Cowgirls Get The Blues
3. What Kind Of Love
4. I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried
5. After All This Time
6. Talking To A Stranger
7. She’s Crazy For Leavin’
8. Many A Long & Lonesome Highway
9. If Looks Could Kill
10. It’s Such A Small World
11. Things I Wish I’d Said
12. Standing On A Rock
You can’t talk about greatness in country music without at least mentioning Rodney Crowell. One of the genres’ best songwriters, he also makes some of the most well played albums in all of music. His solo career began in 1978, and he’s still going strong to this day. Greatest Hits is his second compilation album, and it covers his short stay with Columbia Records. Only three of his studio albums are represented here (Diamonds & Dirt, Keys To The Highway and Life Is Messy), but that was one of his more fruitful periods. It’s a showcase for Crowell as a songwriter, as a vocalist, and as one of country’s best artists. There’s not a song here that isn’t top quality, which is exactly what you expect from Rodney Crowell. It’s almost flawless.
But because this album covers such a short period of time, it does suffer from being quite short…it clocks in at less than 30 minutes. There are three new songs here, which are not bad by any means, but they are hardly among his greatest hits (those tracks are “Even Cowgirls get The Blues”, “Talking To A Stranger” and “Standing On A Rock”). But the hits are fantastic. “It’s Such A Small World” is a fine duet with Rosanne Cash. “What Kind Of Love” is a standout. And the magnificent “Many A Long & Lonesome Highway” stands as one of his more perfect songs. You can easily find longer and more complete Crowell compilations (there are several), but the truth is, you can’t go wrong with any of them. Some of the best from one of the true greats.
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FRANK SINATRA
IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS
1955 – CAPITOL
Produced By VOYLE GILMORE
1. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning
2. Mood Indigo
3. Glad To Be Unhappy
4. I Get Along Without You Very Well
5. Deep In A Dream
6. I See Your Face Before Me
7. Can’t We Be Friends?
8. When Your Lover Has Gone
9. What Is This Thing Called Love?
10. Last Night When We Were Young
11. I’ll Be Around
12. Ill Wind
13. It Never Entered My Mind
14. Dancing On The Ceiling
15. I’ll Never Be The Same
16. This Love Of Mine
Here's something that’ll wake you up. In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra is just one year shy of turning 70 years old. That’s right, kids. The years are creeping by and oldies are becoming actual oldies. But after nearly seventy years, Sinatra’s ninth album still holds up. A lot better than a lot of the music from the decade of the 1950’s. In an age where albums were not much more than a vehicle to sell singles, Sinatra was ushering in the concept album. In The Wee Small Hours is loaded with songs that deal with the sadder side of love. Loneliness. Failure. Depression. Melancholy. This wasn’t new territory for Sinatra. He’d been dropping concept albums for a decade already, and would continue to do so throughout his career. By this time, he was already pretty good at it.
Frank’s choice of material was always top notch. He was perfect at picking songs that were right for his voice. This is no exception: every track here sounds as if it were written just for Sinatra. They weren’t, but he made them feel that way. The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, as always, provides the perfect musical backdrop for Frank’s crooning style. He didn’t rock. He didn’t have to. No one could bring sad songs quite like Sinatra could, and In The Wee Small Hours is a perfect example of that. Almost every song here is now considered to be a standard, and these performances are the best representations of these songs. Sinatra in the fifties was at his peak, as records like this one prove time and time again. This is a must have, without question.
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VINCE GILL
WHEN LOVE FINDS YOU
1994 – MCA NASHVILLE
Produced By TONY BROWN
1. Whenever You Come Around
2. You Better Think Twice
3. Real Lady’s Man
4. What The Cowgirls Do
5. When Love Finds You
6. If There’s Anything I Can Do
7. South Side Of Dixie
8. Maybe Tonight
9. Which Bridge To Cross (Which Bridge To Burn)
10. If I Had My Way
11. Go Rest High On That Mountain
There is irony in the fact that the man who ultimately replaced Glenn Frey in the Eagles was a pure country singer. Frey had spent his entire career trying to become more rock and roll, but it’s Vince Gill who ended up taking his place. As a vocalist, Gill is quite the upgrade over Frey. And he has the long solo career to back it up. When Love Finds You is his sixth album. It was released a year after Gill had covered the Eagles “I Can’t Tell You Why” with Timothy B. Schmit singing backup for the Common Threads tribute album. So Gill was in full Eagles mode here. But enough of that…When Love Finds You was a huge success. More than half of the songs here were released as singles, making this one of Gill’s most impressive discs.
The star of the show is Gill’s vocals, as sharp and smooth as ever. He also plays some pretty slick guitar. And as for songwriting, every track here has Gill’s name on it. The hits are all memorable: from the soft ballad “Whenever You Come Around” to the more upbeat “What The Cowgirls Do”, Gill handles it all with ease. The slower songs tend to sound less country than they do a kind of R&B lite (and yes, there is a Michael McDonald sighting on “If There’s Anything I Can Do”), which is a bummer because Vince Gill is always better with some twang. Outside of that, When Love Finds You is pretty good Vince Gill, with more hits than you’ll know what to do with. An artist that you really can’t go wrong with, this is one of his solid efforts.
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VINCE GUARALDI
A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
1965 – FANTASY
No Production Credit
1. O Tannenbaum
2. What Child Is This
3. My Little Drum
4. Linus And Lucy
5. Christmas Time Is Here (Instrumental)
6. Christmas Time Is Here (Vocal)
7. Skating
8. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
9. Christmas Is Coming
10. Fur Elise
11. The Christmas Song
12. Greensleeves
Vince Guaraldi will forever be linked to the Peanuts cartoon, particularly the TV special from 1965 called A Charlie Brown Christmas. This soundtrack album was Guaraldi’s eight release, and it’s his most memorable. Guaraldi’s most famous moment is the track “Linus And Lucy”, which became the sort of unofficial Peanuts theme song. And yes…it IS technically a Christmas album, and here I am writing about it in October. Well…it’s not ALL about Christmas. Mostly, but not all. What you get here is a fine dose of what Guaraldi does best: simple yet beautiful piano arrangements with light bass and drum backing. But because it is recorded for a children’s TV special, there are children here, too. Lots of them, in spots, a choir, actually.
The children are used sparingly, thank goodness. Outside of their annoying inclusion (especially on the “Little Drummer Boy” soundalike “My Little Drum”), this is a really great and very listenable album, even when it’s not December. “Linus And Lucy” is, of course, one of the most popular jazz tracks of all time, but there are other gems here. Especially Guaraldi’s take on “O Tannenbaum”, which is simply a lovely piano take on the holiday classic. In the end, A Charlie Brown Christmas is listenable at any time because it doesn’t feel like a Christmas album. If you take away the three songs featuring the children’s chorus, this would be a perfect piano jazz album. As it is, it’s still very good, and folks like me can take it down in December and say, “See? I have Christmas music!”
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