THE IKE REILLY ASSASSINATION
JUNKIE FAITHFUL
2005-ROCK RIDGE
Produced By ED TINLEY
1. 22 Hours Of Darkness
2. The Mixture
3. God And Money
4. Kara Dean
5. Farm Girl
6. Suffer For The Trust
7. Edge Of The Universe Cafe
8. Heroin
9. What A Day
10. I Will Let You Down
11. Devil's Valentine
12. Everything Is Gonna Be Alright
So, usually when I get word that someone someone knows made an album and I should check it out, I know I could be in for a bad hour or so. Not the case here. This band, from Libertyville, Illinois, is awesome. Junkie Faithful is their sixth album, and it's a hell of a ride. You know you're in for a good time before "22 Hours Of Darkness" is over, and it never ends. They're a bit dark, and the lyrics are the main focus. And the lyrics are good. This could easily be the soundtrack for a Pulp Fiction type of movie...it's hip and it sounds really good. Ike Reilly is now one of my greatest heroes.
In another time, this band would probably be huge. Junkie Faithful is about as strong an indie release as you will find. Very impressive stuff from start to finish, you'll be glad you found it...like I am. This is the album that introduced me to Reilly, and it's a fine place to start with him.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
SON VOLT
THE SEARCH
2007-TRANSMIT SOUND LEGACY
No Production Credit
1. Slow Hearse
2. The Picture
3. Action
4. Underground Dream
5. Circadian Rhythm
6. Beacon Soul
7. The Search
8. Adrenaline And Heresy
9. Satellite
10. Automatic Society
11. Methamphetamine
12. L Train
13. Highways And Cigarettes
14. Phosphate Skin
When this first came out, I was not a fan. Maybe because of the single, "The Picture", and it's use of horns. But as time has gone by, I have found that this is a really excellent album. Every time I hear it, it grows on me more and more. Jay Farrar is a genius, and his songwriting is a true gift. Aside from "The Picture" (which I still think is too horn heavy), this is a great collection of songs. And Jay Farrar has become a guy who I think can do just about no wrong. The Search is a fine album, with a new lineup (outside of Farrar) that works very well.
The Search is their 5th album. Seek out any of their others as well...Son Volt is simply a great band.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
WILLIAM SHATNER
HAS BEEN
2004-SHOUT
Produced By BEN FOLDS
1. Common People
2. It Hasn't Happened Yet
3. You'll Have Time
4. That's Me Trying
5. What Have You Done
6. Together
7. Familiar Love
8. Ideal Woman
9. Has Been
10. I Can't Get Behind That
11. Real
This album by Captain Kirk/Priceline Negotiator works exactly one time. On "Common People", a cover of the Pulp hit, Shatner is completely in his element. His spoken word style, strange as it is, fits the song like a glove. Aided by Ben Folds and Joe Jackson, the track shines and soars, even beyond where Pulp originally took it. "Common People" is a perfect track.
Unfortunately, what made the Shatner recordings of old so endearing is completely missing from the rest of the album. In other words...this album is too good and too perfect for Shatner. No one wants to hear his original songs polished to a fine shine by Folds...what would have made this a Godsend would have been a great selection of very unlikely cover songs. His own material is boring at best, and the other cover, Brad Paisley's "Real", is bad to begin with. Unfortunately, what Shatner tried to do was make a serious album. It fails miserably.
Has Been does, though, get points for "Common People". It's worth having on it's own, even if it is the only track you will ever play from the disc.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
RYAN ADAMS
HEARTBREAKER
2000-BLOODSHOT
Produced By ETHAN JOHNS
1. (Argument with David Rawlings concerning Morrissey)
2. To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)
3. My Winding Wheel
4. AMY
5. Oh My Sweet Carolina
6. Bartering Lines
7. Call Me On Your Way Back Home
8. Damn, Sam (I Love A Woman That Rains)
9. Come Pick Me Up
10. To Be The One
11. Why Do They Leave
12. Shakedown On 9th Street
13. Don't Ask For The Water
14. In My Time Of Need
15. Sweet Lil Gal (23rd/1st)
Heartbreaker is the debut album from Ryan Adams after the fall of Whiskeytown. And it could be his best. Adams is a prolific guy, and he does have a tendancy to let his lesser material onto his albums. In that regard, Heartbreaker is his strongest. There really isn't any filler here...just great songs. With help from Kim Richey, Emmylou Harris and Gillian Welch, Adams and his songs shine from start to finish. If you haven't been properly introduced to Adams yet, this is where you want to start.
"To Be Young" and "Come Pick Me Up" are highlights, but you really can't go wrong with any of it. This is Ryan Adams at his best, and his most consistent.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND
SHADES OF TWO WORLDS
1991-EPIC
Produced By THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND & TOM DOWD
1. End Of The Line
2. Bad Rain
3. Nobody Knows
4. Desert Blues
5. Get On With Your Life
6. Midnight Man
7. Kind Of Bird
8. Come On In My Kitchen
After having dissolved in the 1980's following a string of lesser records, the Allman Brothers Band regrouped in the early 90's and made 3 decent albums...Seven Turns, Shades Of Two Worlds, and Where It All Begins...before firing Dickey Betts and forever becoming a thing of the past. Shades Of Two Worlds is the least known of those three...and may be the best. With Betts teaming with Warren Haynes on guitar and Gregg Allman sounding his bluesy best, Shades is a good collection. Nothing too fancy, not too loaded with jamming. None of the songs really stand out, but nothing is awful, either.
The best track here is the acoustic "Come On In My Kitchen", with changing tempos and plenty of tasty slide guitar. This isn't the Duane and Berry era, but it's a pretty good outing by a band that had already been written off as finished.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
JOE JACKSON
BEAT CRAZY
1980-A&M
Produced By JOE JACKSON
1. Beat Crazy
2. One To One
3. In Every Dream Home (A Nightmare)
4. The Evil Eye
5. Mad At You
6. Crime Don't Pay
7. Someone Up There
8. Battleground
9. Biology
10. Pretty Boys
11. Fit
Joe Jackson's third album was where the music writers stepped in and pretty much destroyed him. After the successful 1-2 punch of Look Sharp and I'm The Man, Beat Crazy was beaten down by critics and sent to almost immediate oblivion. Which is too bad, because this is a jumpin', rockin' record. The snarling "Mad At You" was in MTV rotation for a bit, but there were otherwise no hits here. But "Beat Crazy", "The Evil Eye", "Biology", "Pretty Boys", and "Fit" are all radio worthy. Jackson is creative and rocks throughout, and even kind of tries his hand at rapping on "Battleground".
Jackson's bass player, Graham Maby, is exceptional. This lost and sometimes out of print album is a perfect example of how the critics can ruin a perfectly good record. Too bad. Beat Crazy is a gem.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
DAVE EDMUNDS
THE BEST OF DAVE EDMUNDS
1981-SWAN SONG
Produced By DAVE EDMUNDS
1. Deborah
2. Girls Talk
3. I Knew The Bride
4. A.1. On The Juke Box
5. The Race Is On
6. Here Comes The Weekend
7. Almost Saturday Night
8. Queen Of Hearts
9. Crawling From The Wreckage
10. Trouble Boys
11. Juju Man
12. Singin' The Blues
13. The Creature From The Black Lagoon
Between 1977 and 1980, Dave Edmunds teamed up with Nick Lowe and made four stellar albums on Swan Song (the Led Zeppelin label): Get It, Tracks On Wax 4, Repeat When Necessary, and Twangin'. None of these songs were actually hits for Edmunds, but this is a smart intro to his most productive period. His original songs are excellent, but he also has good taste in cover material: here he takes on Elvis Costello ("Girl's Talk"), John Fogerty ("Almost Saturday Night"), and Graham Parker ("Crawling From The Wreckage"), as well as the Juice Newton hit "Queen Of Hearts". Edmunds keeps it short and sweet: nothing tops the 4 minute mark.
The individual albums (with the exception of Twangin') are worth having on their own, but if you're not sure, this collection will work nicely. It's catchy stuff, and you'll want to have the rest.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
GUNS N' ROSES
APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
1987-GEFFEN
Produced By MIKE CLINK
1. Welcome To The Jungle
2. It's So Easy
3. Nightrain
4. Out Ta Get Me
5. Mr. Brownstone
6. Paradise City
7. My Michelle
8. Think About You
9. Sweet Child O' Mine
10. You're Crazy
11. Anything Goes
12. Rocket Queen
The debut album from Guns N' Roses is important in many ways. It's one of the better American hard rock albums of all time, it marked the beginning of the end of hair metal (no one was able to even come close to this album, so it peaked early), and it introduced us to one of rock's most annoying personalities in Axl Rose. Guns N' Roses went on to be a non prolific soap opera with a blown out voice and a revolving personnel door, but for one album, they were at the top of the entire game.
Appetite is lead by the stunning sound of Slash's guitar and some great songs. Axl had yet to become the whiny caricature of the coming years...he was a scary, out of control monster of a frontman (despite the Davy Jones dance). From the opening notes of "Welcome To The Jungle", the 80's were changed. Great songs like "Paradise City", "Sweet Child O' Mine", "It's So Easy", and "Rocket Queen" make this a classic. By the next year, they were unplugged, had no new material, and a singer without a voice. But in 1987-88, this was the album to have, and the 80's were rocking as they were intended to do...at least for this one, great album.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
THE FINN BROTHERS
EVERYONE IS HERE
2004-NETTWERK
Produced By THE FINN BROTHERS & MITCHELL FROOM
1. Won't Give In
2. Nothing Wrong With You
3. Anything Can Happen
4. Luckiest Man Alive
5. Homesick
6. Disembodied Voices
7. A Life Between Us
8. All God's Children
9. Edible Flowers
10. All The Colours
11. Part Of Me, Part Of You
12. Gentle Hum
When these two get together, only good things can happen. New Zealand brothers Tim Finn (Split Enz) and Neil Finn (Crowded House) combine for their 3rd collaboration. The first was on the classic Crowded House album Woodface. Here, the harmonies are exceptional, and the songs of excellent quality. "Won't Give In", "Nothing Wrong With You", and "Edible Flowers" are the standouts, but this is a great album altogether. As usual for the Finns. A great listen and a must if you love great harmonies.
Neil continues with Crowded House. There still has not been a follow up to Everyone Is Here...but hopefully soon. These guys just can't lose.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
THE VENTURES
WILD AGAIN!
1997-GNP CRESCENDO
Produced By NEIL NORMAN
1. Baja
2. Wham
3. Beethoven five-oh!
4. Quiet Village
5. Teen Beat
6. The James Bond Theme
7. Midnight In Moscow
8. Exodus
9. Happy Organ
10. Quicksilver
11. Ajoen, Ajoen
12. Petite Fleur
13. Rock Concerto In A Minor
14. Bongo Rock
15. The Lonely Surfer
16. Wipe Out (Live)
17. Caravan (Live)
18. Surf On Guitar Medley
19. Surf On Guitar Medley- Ryomei Shirai Mix
20. Interview With The Ventures
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame finally got it right in 2008 by inducting the most overlooked non members...The Ventures. The greatest instrumental rock group of all time has released well over 250 albums, and has influenced countless guitar players and bands. Wild Again! is a later period album (they'd been together for nearly 40 years) that shows how much old guys can rule. They never had a lead singer (their manager advised them not to, and they never wavered). But the instrumental prowess cannot be denied. Some of the early 60's themes are a bit aged sounding, but this band can still get it going after all these years. If you're a fan of surf guitar and instrumental rock that's not fusion or overblown flash, The Ventures are for you.
This band is still at it, 50 years after first forming. Rock & Roll loyalty, to be sure. _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
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