Best Ever Albums

Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Thu, 2 Apr 2026 18:45:14 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 04/02/2026 22:45

2403

Gangsta's Paradise (1995) by Coolio

COOLIO
GANGSTA’S PARADISE
1995 – TOMMY BOY
Produced By COOLIO. CHRISTOPHER HAMABE, DEVON DAVIS, DOUG RASHEED & BRYAN “THE WINO” DOBBS

1. That’s How It Is
2. Geto Highlites
3. Gangsta’s Paradise
4. Too Hot
5. Cruisin’
6. Exercise Yo’ Game
7. 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)
8. Smilin’
9. Fucc Coolio
10. Kinda High Kinda Drunk
11. For My Sistas
12. Is This Me?
13. A Thing Goin’ On
14. Bright As The Sun
15. Recoup This
16. The Revolution
17. Get Up, Get Down

The song “Gangsta’s Paradise” remains as one of the greatest hip hop tracks ever made. It’s also pretty much the only real reason anyone ever heard of Coolio. His first album, It Takes A Thief, had a hit with “Fantastic Voyage”, but it was the second release that made him huge. The title track is a monster. It’s built around the Stevie Wonder song “Pastime Paradise”, and it played a big part in the popularization of hip hop. It graced the film Dangerous Minds, and was in heavy rotation on MTV. The song won Coolio a Grammy and a bunch of other awards. The song also opened the door to another pair of hits from the album: “1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New)” and “Too Hot” made it look like Coolio was here to stay. But the truth was, hiding behind all of those heavy samples was a long and sometimes tedious set of songs that, unfortunately, was a foreshadow of what was to come.

Gangsta’s Paradise, as an album, isn’t bad, but it’s also a bit typical of the short shelf lived rappers of the nineties. One huge hit, a pair of okay ones, and fourteen songs that rode in on the coattails of the better songs. In all, this album scores as slightly above average…and that’s in large part due to its one great song. And predictably, Coolio’s next album didn’t come close to this, after which he fell into a long career of musical obscurity. It didn’t help matters when he blasted “Weird Al” Yankovic for doing a parody of his biggest hit. He ended his career with five straight albums that went nowhere, recorded for five different labels. Thank God he had an eye for TV, which kept his name in the news and his face out there up until his death in 2022. This is worth having, but it’s mostly for that one really great song.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:54:28 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/31/2026 18:54

2402

The Commitments (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (1991) by The Commitments

THE COMMITMENTS
THE COMMITMENTS (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
1991 – MCA
Produced By PAUL BUSHNELL, KEVIN KILLEN & ALAN PARKER

1. Mustang Sally
2. Take Me To The River
3. Chain Of Fools
4. The Dark End Of The Street
5. Destination Anywhere
6. I Can’t Stand The Rain
7. Try A Little Tenderness
8. Treat Her Right
9. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
10. Mr. Pitiful
11. I Never Loved A Man
12. In The Midnight Hour
13. Bye Bye Baby
14. Slip Away

I believe I may have hoarding tendencies. I refuse to get rid of albums. This one, in particular. Welcome to The Commitments. Someone actually made a movie about life in a cover band. This cover band is from Dublin, and they are actually a white tribute band playing songs from 1960’s African American soul. They are a ten piece cover band (the money came from WHERE?) of less than interesting kids (kinda like Fame) that somehow squeezes a decade worth of drama into a small handful of shows. We’re supposed to believe that this unknown group misses singing onstage with Wilson Picket by a whisker, then breaks up over it. Cool. Movies that glamorize things like life at the very bottom of the musical food chain are movies I do not need. But, The Commitments became a big thing. And the soundtrack sold a gazillion copies, giving us the likes of Andrew Strong (the “breakout” star who seems to think he’s Joe Cocker) and The Corrs.

The Commitments set the tone by turning “Mustang Sally” into a song that musicians worldwide dread playing. They gleefully tear through unnecessary versions of songs by everyone from Aretha to Otis to Al Green and a bunch more. Of course, these tracks are well produced and sound nothing like a bottom rung cover band that would have needed years to sound this polished. The singers are competent enough, but in the end, this is nothing more than an album that no real cover band would ever make, used to tell a story that makes zero sense in the real world. In the film, the performance of Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour” silences a bigger crowd than this band would have been able to get on, what, their fifth gig? I get that some found the film entertaining. That’s cool. But millions in sales for the soundtrack? A simple yikes will do. Even worse...a year later, they released a second volume that thankfully fell as flat as the first one should have. Bleah.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 13:42:43 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/28/2026 17:42

2401

Rocket To Russia (1977) by Ramones

RAMONES
ROCKET TO RUSSIA
1977 – SIRE
Produced By TONY BONGIOVI & T. ERDELYI

1. Cretin Hop
2. Rockaway Beach
3. Here Today, Gione Tomorrow
4. Locket Love
5. I Don’t Care
6. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
7. We’re A Happy Family
8. Teenage Lobotomy
9. Do You Wanna Dance?
10. I Wanna Be Well
11. I Can’t Give You Anything
12. Ramona
13. Surfin’ Bird
14. Why Is It Always This Way?

Never mind the Sex Pistols. Ramones were playing punk shows in America as early as 1974. While the first wave of British punk albums were just coming out in 1977, Ramones were releasing their third disc. Rocket To Russia is a blast, and had it not been for the surge in popularity of the Pistols and The Clash, this would have probably been THE punk album of the seventies. The British bands were all about being pissed off and looking overtly dangerous. And yeah…there was a place for that in the seventies. What Ramones brought was a dark take on The Beatles, heavier and yet almost as catchy. With the thing the UK acts really missed out on…a sense of humor. The band’s first two albums were cheap affairs, rushed to release with almost no budget. Here, the band had some money and some time, and a desire to make music better than what the Pistols were doing. And it worked.

The fact is, Rocket To Russia was never a big seller. The Ramones never were, period. But this album’s importance is bigger than the word platinum. Fourteen songs, and not one of them is as long as three minutes. They gleefully bash their way through the classics “Rockaway Beach” and “We’re A Happy Family” and “Teenage Lobotomy”, and especially “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”. At the height of America’s obsession with what is now classic rock, Ramones were presenting a true alternative. It’s not mentioned as often as it should be, but this is truly one of the greatest rock records of the seventies. This is a good as they ever got, as this was the last record with the original lineup. Sad to think that the four guys who made this album have all been gone for more than a decade. It’s punk, man. Live fast, die young. Gabba Gabba Hey.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:02:46 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/26/2026 18:02

2400

Rum Sodomy & The Lash (1985) by The Pogues

THE POGUES
RUM SODOMY & THE LASH
1985 – STIFF / MCA
Produced By ELVIS COSTELLO

1. The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn
2. The Old Main Drag
3. Wild Cats Of Kilkenny
4. I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day
5. A Pair Of Brown Eyes
6. Sally MacLennane
7. A Pistol For Paddy Garcia
8. Dirty Old Town
9. Jesse James
10. Navigator
11. Billy’s Bones
12. The Gentleman Soldier
13. The Band Played Waltzing Matilda

It’s The Pogues. This Irish folk punk band is actually from London, where they enjoyed their biggest successes in the late eighties and early nineties. But before that, they released their best album, Rum Sodomy & The Lash, in 1985. This is where Shane MacGowan became a great songwriter, and this is where the most fun moments of The Pogues live. This is their most memorable lineup, their best set of songs, and their best work. They were good on their debut (Red Roses For Me), but here, they fully come into their own. This is music to drink to, and music to celebrate to…even when the songs are sad. Mostly, if you want to turn someone on to The Pogues, it’s this album you’ll play for them. Produced by Elvis Costello, his idea was to let the band be themselves and not overproduce anything…and it works like a charm.

The album starts strong, but really hits its stride in the middle. Two MacGowan originals, “A Pair Of Brown Eyes” and “Sally MacLennane” are excellent. (“A Pistol For Paddy Garcia” is a strangely placed bonus track on my later version…it was a single B-side.) A fine cover of Ewan MacColl’s 1949 song “Dirty Old Town” is next. “Jesse James” was written in 1887. Finally, the 1971 Eric Bogle war song “And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” is a perfect closer, running just over eight minutes. The band almost fell apart after this, then they came back to achieve their biggest commercial successes before MacGowan’s drinking became a problem, and the revolving door of band members became too much. The Pogues split up in 1996 after a bad final album. There have been a couple of reunions, but no new music in 30 years. Rum Sodomy & The Lash remains their best work.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:36:05 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/25/2026 00:36

2399

Astro Creep: 2000 - Songs Of Love, Dest...ite Zombie

WHITE ZOMBIE
ASTRO-CREEP: 2000 – SONGS OF LOVE, DESTRUCTION AND OTHER SYNTHETIC DELUSIONS OF THE ELECTRIC HEAD
1995 – GEFFEN
Produced By TERRY DATE

1. Electric Head Pt. 1 (The Agony)
2. Super-Charger Heaven
3. Real Solution #9
4. Creature Of The Wheel
5. Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)
6. Grease Paint And Monkey Brains
7. I, Zombie
8. More Human Than Human
9. El Phantasmo And The Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama
10. Blur The Technicolor
11. Blood, Milk And Sky

Because there are so many of them, there are several pockets of rock music that I simply missed out on while they were happening. A perfect example of that is White Zombie. This band spent just over a decade evolving into a deeply heavy and dark hard rock and metal band with industrial leanings and a love of horror movies. That didn’t quite jive with my much mellower singer songwriter leanings in the late eighties and nineties. I was always aware of White Zombie…I just never paid them much attention. It’s always strange discovering a band later in life that you never gave the time of day to as a younger man. But here we are. Astro-Creep: 2000 is the fourth and final White Zombie album. It’s the final settlement of their sound, which was once aptly described as “white trash on acid metal”. In other words, this is not music for the masses. But if you like it heavy and dark, it might just be for you.

Astro-Creep: 2000 is dark indeed. The down-tuned guitars are anything but happy, and the songs about pleasantries like Satan, murder, zombies and the like make this music you will not want to play while making sweet love down by the fire. But that doesn’t equate to bad. “More Human Than Human” is the band’s best song, with “Super-Charger Heaven” and “Electric Head Pt. 2” not far behind. The movie dialogue snippets between songs don’t hurt, either. What we have here is a band that seemed to have finally found their sound at the same moment they were over. And then they simply toured themselves to death. White Zombie broke up in 1998, and they have never been even remotely close to reuniting. This band is over, and we’re left with Zombie’s not as satisfying solo career. This is the best album of White Zombie’s career.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Sun, 22 Mar 2026 10:24:33 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/22/2026 14:24

2398

Mountain Soul (2001) by Patty Loveless

PATTY LOVELESS
MOUNTAIN SOUL
2001 – EPIC
Produced By EMORY GORDY JR.

1. The Boys Are Back In Town
2. The Richest Fool Alive
3. Daniel Prayed
4. Someone I Used To Know
5. Out Of Control Raging Fire
6. Rise Up Lazarus
7. Cheap Whiskey
8. Pretty Little Miss
9. I Know You’re Married (But I Love You Still)
10. Sorrowful Angels
11. Soul Of Constant Sorrow
12. You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive
13. Two Coats
14. Sounds Of Loneliness

Patty Loveless was a star in the nineties. No doubt about it. Between 1988 and 1997, she released seven big albums that kept her in the country music eye non-stop. The turn of the century marked her beginning to be less popular, giving way to a new breed of Nashville singers. In 2001, she released her eleventh album, Mountain Soul, which announced that while she wasn’t reaching as high on the charts as she once had, she was also not done making good records. This album became her very first to not have any charting singles, but don’t mistake that for the songs being not up to snuff…they most definitely are. Her strengths are still very much alive. Her voice of course. Her exceptional taste in material (she’s not really a songwriter). And her musical partnership with her longtime husband, Emory Gordy Jr. It’s all good.

There are three notable duets here, two with Travis Tritt (including “Out Of Control Raging Fire”) and one with Jon Randall (“Someone I Used To Know”, which had been a hit for Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner). “The Boys Are Back In Town” (not the Thin Lizzy song) is excellent. The high point, though, is the great Darrell Scott number, “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive”. Mountain Soul wasn’t a big hit, but it easily could have been. It’s just that sometimes, time passes us by. Loveless revisited this theme in 2009 with Mountain Soul II, which has turned out to have been her final album (she retired after that). Always a voice worth hearing, and unfortunately underrated outside of country circles. Another fine effort from one of country’s best and steadiest voices. This one ranks alongside her very best works from the nineties.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 13:15:10 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/18/2026 17:15

2397

Trailer Park (1996) by Beth Orton

BETH ORTON
TRAILER PARK
1996 – HEAVENLY
Produced By VICTOR VAN VUGT & ANDREW WEATHERALL

1. She Cries Your Name
2. Tangent
3. Don’t Need A Reason
4. Live As You Dream
5. Sugar Boy
6. Touch Me With Your Love
7. Whenever
8. How Far
9. Someone’s Daughter
10. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine
11. Galaxy Of Emptiness

The first Beth Orton album was actually a 1993 collaboration with William Orbit that saw only a limited release in Japan of 5000 copies. Her first true solo album was three years later. Trailer Park showcases this British singer as a folkie with an ear in the sixties and seventies blending her songs into trip hop and electronica. The result is a mellow and cool album that is quite good, but never really finds that big audience. She had spent her earlier career working with Orbit and The Chemical Brothers, and those elements are quite present here. And it sounds great. Orton possesses a fine voice, and her songwriting is adequate. There are enough high points on Trailer Park to keep this one close by. It, along with her next album, Central Reservation, is a high water mark in her career. But nearly everything she’s done is worth hearing.

“She Cries Your Name” is a remake of a song she previously did with Orbit. “Tangent” is an extended trip hop song that is mostly fine, but has a few too many out of place electronic noises. “I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine” is a surprise Ronettes cover. The real centerpiece here is “Touch Me With Your Love”, which showcases all of Orton’s strengths over seven and a half minutes. On the downside, the album could have been better without the dull “Don’t Need A Reason” and the minor hit, “Someone’s Daughter”. Orton has always been an interesting one, but she never made records better than she did in the late nineties. She’s had a couple of adult contemporary hits, and she’s collaborated with many artists, including Ryan Adams, Beck and particularly Bert Jansch. She may be mellow, but she’s always entertaining.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 15:05:37 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/15/2026 19:05

2396

Magic And Medicine (2003) by The Coral

THE CORAL
MAGIC AND MEDICINE
2003 – DELTASONIC
Produced By IAN BROUDIE & THE CORAL

1. In The Forest
2. Don’t Think You’re The First
3. Liezah
4. Talkin’ Gypsy Market Blues
5. Secret Kiss
6. Milkwood Blues
7. Bill McCai
8. Eskimo Lament
9. Careless Hands
10. Pass it On
11. All Of Our Love
12. Confessions Of A.D.D.D.

Welcome, friends, to yet another edition of Bands That Are Adored In The UK, But Not In America. The Coral is a group that was formed while its members were still in high school, and they’ve been together now for thirty years. Their self titled debut album from 2002 was a success, and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Released a year later, Magic And Medicine was a UK hit as well. The album was more acoustic based than their debut, and had a number of successful singles. But it was also a kind of a step back for the band. Where the sound of the debut had been fresh and new, this time around, they seemed to be simply imitating music and bands they liked the sound of…particularly, sixties psychedelic music. Comparisons to bands like The Animals are inevitable here, and there are other obvious sources.

The better tracks here are worth hearing. “Pass It On” was quite successful as a single. “Secret Kiss” and “Don’t Think You’re The First” are fine as well. “Bill McCai” was written prior to the first album. In all, The Coral on Magic And Medicine sound like a band that was already running out of ideas of their own…and they still had another ten albums plus to release in their career. They never gained footing in the US, despite several efforts and multiple American television appearances. Their popularity in the UK began to fade at the dawn of the 2010’s, but that hasn’t stopped them from soldiering on. The best album from this band is clearly their debut. From Magic And Medicine forward, it’s been a long slow decline. There are may British bands that are more interesting than this one. Worth a listen, but you won’t likely go back to this one.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 21:15:54 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/14/2026 01:15

2395

Don't Believe The Truth (2005) by Oasis

OASIS
DON’T BELIEVE THE TRUTH
2005 – BIG BROTHER
Produced By DAVE SARDY & NOEL GALLAGHER

1. Turn Up The Sun
2. Mucky Fingers
3. Lyla
4. Love Like A Bomb
5. The Importance Of Being Idle
6. The Meaning Of Soul
7. Guess God Thinks I’m Abel
8. Part Of The Queue
9. Keep The Dream Alive
10. A Bell Will Ring
11. Let There Be Love

By the end of the nineties, the world knew that Oasis was not the second coming of The Beatles. Everyone, that is, except for their home country. In the UK, Oasis released seven albums in just over a decade, each one of which went multi-platinum and shot straight to number one. They had 22 consecutive number one UK hits. Outside of the UK, they were big for awhile, but their long term mania level of success was almost purely regional. In America, after their third album, the most interesting thing about Oasis was whether or not Noel and Liam Gallagher had killed each other yet. In 2005, a full decade after Definitely Maybe had become a sensation, they released their sixth album, Don’t Believe The Truth. It became a top ten hit in almost every country, but the feeling that this band was maybe the best ever was fading. And this album proved that in spades.

Noel wasn’t writing all of the songs anymore. And while it seemed to be a good thing, it showed that maybe what made Oasis a great band was Noel’s songwriting. Sure, it was nice that Liam and the other two guys were contributing, but the truth is, the best songs are Noel’s. “Lyla”, “Let There Be Love”, and “The Importance Of Being Idle” are easily the best of this lot…and they’re all written by Noel. This album has been called a “comeback” album…really, it’s barely a notch above average. The energy that carried them through the nineties was now tarnished. That didn’t stop this from being highly overrated, with rabid fans calling it underrated. Truth be told…Don’t Believe The Truth is truly average, and compared to the best work this band has done, it’s actually close to inferior. Oasis made one more record before finally imploding four years later.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 21:15:03 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/14/2026 01:15

2395

Don't Believe The Truth (2005) by Oasis

Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Mon, 9 Mar 2026 19:58:09 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/09/2026 23:58

2394

Sap (1992) by Alice In Chains

ALICE IN CHAINS
SAP
1992 – COLUMBIA
Produced By ALICE IN CHAINS & RICK PARASHAR

1. Brother
2. Got Me Wrong
3. Right Turn
4. Am I Inside
5. Love Song

American bands never quite got the idea of using the EP to their advantage. The exception to that was Alice In Chains. This Seattle band ruled the first half of the nineties with the release of three studio albums, a successful unplugged live album, and three extended plays. The first, 1990’s We Die Young, served as an introduction to the band before their debut album, Facelift. And, of course, their third EP, Jar Of Flies, became the first to ever debut at number one on the Billboard charts in 1994. This is their second EP, Sap. After their first album’s success, they got studio time to record “Would?” for the Singles soundtrack. They used that studio time to make a large batch of demos, which included all five of the songs that would end up on Sap. The EP was not promoted, but it became a hit on the heels of the success of Nirvana’s Nevermind album, which was out at the same time…and while grunge was becoming a phenomenon.

Now, Sap isn’t great by any means. And it’s only 21 minutes long. But it IS an interesting disc. While not the best material by Alice In Chains, the songs are not bad. What makes it fun is that Ann Wilson of Heart appears on two tracks, “Brother” (guitarist Jerry Cantrell’s first lead vocal with the band) and “Am I Inside”. “Right Turn” is credited to Alice Mudgarden, because it features Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Even more fun is that on the hidden track “Love Song”, everybody in the band switches instruments, with the drummer Sean Kinney taking the lead vocal while singer Layne Staley plays drums. The EP also serves to precede their best album, Dirt. Alice In Chains went to some dark places later on, but Sap is a reminder that they were once a pretty damn fun band.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Fri, 6 Mar 2026 09:57:20 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/06/2026 14:57

2393

MBV (2013) by My Bloody Valentine

MY BLOODY VALENTINE
MBV
2013 – MBV / DOMINO
Produced By KEVIN SHIELDS

1. She Found Now
2. Only Tomorrow
3. Who Sees You
4. Is This And Yes
5. If I Am
6. New You
7. In Another Way
8. Nothing Is
9. Wonder 2

My Bloody Valentine made a pair of exceptional albums in the late eighties and early nineties…and then they didn’t do anything for 22 years. The band fell apart, they couldn’t get their shit together, Kevin Shields went into an extended period of writers block, and when they did get back together in 2006, it took another seven years to finish MBV, which was started a decade earlier. The anticipation for the promised new album turned to hype, then turned to rabid overhype, and when the record did finally come out in 2013, it was predictably hailed as a second coming and blindly viewed as a truly great work. The truth is this: when you end a band, the last thing you should do is put it back together. It pretty much never works. My Bloody Valentine is no exception. MBV is exactly what one should expect after a 22 year hiatus: it’s simply okay.

The understandable love by critics and fans of their second album, the great Loveless, led to MBV being placed way to highly on best ever lists, which is too bad. It’s not a bad album at all…nor is it anywhere near great. Shields’ struggles with his songwriting (most of these songs really did take over a decade to complete) are evident. The songs are uniformly non remarkable, saved only by how cool the band sounds. Because of this, twelve years later, MBV has been slowly slipping into oblivion. The best description I can give is that it’s an okay record that was way over hyped when it came out, not because of the content, but because of who the band is. And their struggles continue. Since MBV, it’s now been another thirteen years (which includes yet another extended hiatus) with no new album. Loveless was fantastic. But don’t let this band get your hopes up again.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Tue, 3 Mar 2026 15:44:35 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/03/2026 20:44

2392

Kicking A Dead Pig: Mogwai Songs Remixed (1998) by Mogwai

MOGWAI
KICKING A DEAD PIG: MOGWAI SONGS REMIXED
1998 – EYE Q
Produced By MOGWAI

1. Like Herod (Hood Remix)
2. Helicon 2 (Max Tundra Remix)
3. Summer (Klute’s Weird Winter Remix)
4. Gwai On 45 (Arab Strap Remix)
5. A Cheery Wave From Stranded Youngsters (Third Eye Foundation Tet Offensive Remix)
6. Like Herod (Alec Empire’s Face The Future Remix)
7. Mogwai Fear Satan (Surgeon Remix)
8. R U Still In 2 It? (DJ Q Remix)
9. Tracy (Kid Loco’s Playing With The Young Team Remix)
10. Mogwai Fear Satan (Mogwai Remix)

1. Mogwai Fear Satan (U Ziq Remix)
2. Mogwai Fear Satan (My Bloody Valentine Remix)

The more time goes by, the more I grow as a fan of post rock music. And the more I like post rock, the more I appreciate Mogwai. This Scottish band formed in 1995, and has been turning out mostly instrumental excellence for thirty years now. Their very first album (and still their best work), Mogwai Young Team, came out in 1997. The following year, a small budget label called Eye Q assembled Kicking A Dead Pig, a collection of Mogwai remixes by various artists. Eye Q almost immediately went out of business, leaving this collection out of print for a few years. Mogwai’s label, Chemikal Underground, got the masters and re-released the album with some changes from the original. All of the songs are from Mogwai Young Team except for two, with “Helicon 2” coming from an early single, and “Gwai On 45” previously unreleased.

The problem with this is that it in no way eclipses the quality of Mogwai Young Team. It also doesn’t help that this version contains 4 remixes of “Mogwai Fear Satan”, which total forty minutes, and another 12 minutes of two versions of “Like Herod”. Not rare for this to happen on a remix album, but that doesn’t make it not tedious. What we end up with is a two disc thing that is going to be of value mainly to the Mogwai completist...and not to many other people. There really isn’t a reason to spend for these two discs when you can get the single disc original album, which is much better. The music here is great, yes. But is it essential? Is it a cost worthy alternative? Does it put the original into a brand new light? The answers to all three are no. There’s really no good reason for this to exist. If you’re going to spend, buy the debut album. Not this.

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Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Johnnyo — Mon, 2 Mar 2026 09:49:42 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 03/02/2026 14:49

Romanelli wrote:

2391

Maria McKee (1989) by Maria McKee

MARIA MCKEE
1989 – GEFFEN
Produced By MITCHELL FROOM

1. I’ve Forgotten What It Was In You (That Put The Need In Me)
2. To Miss Someone
3. Am I The Only One (Who’s Ever Felt This Way?)
4. Nobody’s Child
5. Panic Beach
6. Can’t Pull The Wool Down (Over The Little Lamb’s Eyes)
7. More Than A Heart Can Hold
8. This Property Is Condemned
9. Breathe
10. Has He Got A Friend For Me?
11. Drinkin’ In My Sunday Dress

Wrong place, wrong time. That’s quite simply the story of Maria McKee. Her country rock band Lone Justice became the talk of the town in Los Angeles in the mid and late eighties, in the midst of the rise of that city’s glam metal movement. The band was championed by the likes of Tom Petty and Dolly Parton (who once called McKee “the greatest girl singer any band could ever have”), and were brought to the attention of David Geffen by Linda Ronstadt. Their great first album found no audience, and by 1987, they were gone. McKee embarked on a solo career that has contained some great recordings, and very few album sales. Her 1989 self titled solo debut turned critic’s heads and sold very little. Why? Does 1989 seem like a good time to be releasing country rock albums out of Los Angeles? I didn’t think so.

There is much to like about this record, but there are also flaws. McKee has always been a top notch vocalist, and her songwriting here is pretty strong. And she gets plenty of help…most notably from Richard Thompson and Steve Wickham, along with some of LA’s best session players. However, the production style of Mitchell Froom doesn’t quite match the music here, leaving many of the songs sounding old and tired instead of new and fresh. The best songs are “I’ve Forgotten What It Was…”, “To Miss Someone” (later a minor hit for Feargal Sharkey), and “Nobody’s Child”, which was co-written by Robbie Robertson. “Breathe” is fine as well, featuring some nice guitar from Thompson. But the rest falls flat, particularly the second half. And so has gone the rest of McKee’s career…always underrated and never quite finding her niche.

Link

That is just spooky. I've just posted on the Women's History Month thread about this album and then saw your post straight after

I think that this is a superb album. I sort of get what you are saying about the production but everything else is top draw for me. It's an exquisite pice of work IMO.

Great write up by the way

Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Fischman — Sun, 1 Mar 2026 15:06:19 GMT

Author: Fischman

Posted: 03/01/2026 20:06

Romanelli wrote:

Great review. I had always hoped for better for her, but it just never panned out.

Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Sun, 1 Mar 2026 10:29:45 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 03/01/2026 15:29

2391

Maria McKee (1989) by Maria McKee

MARIA MCKEE
1989 – GEFFEN
Produced By MITCHELL FROOM

1. I’ve Forgotten What It Was In You (That Put The Need In Me)
2. To Miss Someone
3. Am I The Only One (Who’s Ever Felt This Way?)
4. Nobody’s Child
5. Panic Beach
6. Can’t Pull The Wool Down (Over The Little Lamb’s Eyes)
7. More Than A Heart Can Hold
8. This Property Is Condemned
9. Breathe
10. Has He Got A Friend For Me?
11. Drinkin’ In My Sunday Dress

Wrong place, wrong time. That’s quite simply the story of Maria McKee. Her country rock band Lone Justice became the talk of the town in Los Angeles in the mid and late eighties, in the midst of the rise of that city’s glam metal movement. The band was championed by the likes of Tom Petty and Dolly Parton (who once called McKee “the greatest girl singer any band could ever have”), and were brought to the attention of David Geffen by Linda Ronstadt. Their great first album found no audience, and by 1987, they were gone. McKee embarked on a solo career that has contained some great recordings, and very few album sales. Her 1989 self titled solo debut turned critic’s heads and sold very little. Why? Does 1989 seem like a good time to be releasing country rock albums out of Los Angeles? I didn’t think so.

There is much to like about this record, but there are also flaws. McKee has always been a top notch vocalist, and her songwriting here is pretty strong. And she gets plenty of help…most notably from Richard Thompson and Steve Wickham, along with some of LA’s best session players. However, the production style of Mitchell Froom doesn’t quite match the music here, leaving many of the songs sounding old and tired instead of new and fresh. The best songs are “I’ve Forgotten What It Was…”, “To Miss Someone” (later a minor hit for Feargal Sharkey), and “Nobody’s Child”, which was co-written by Robbie Robertson. “Breathe” is fine as well, featuring some nice guitar from Thompson. But the rest falls flat, particularly the second half. And so has gone the rest of McKee’s career…always underrated and never quite finding her niche.

Link

Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:31:13 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 02/27/2026 23:31

2390

Chapter And Verse (2016) by Bruce Springsteen

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
CHAPTER AND VERSE
2016 – COLUMBIA
Produced By BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

1. Baby I
2. You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover
3. He’s Guilty (The Judge Song)
4. The Ballad Of Jesse James
5. Henry Boy
6. Growin’ Up
7. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
8. Born To Run
9. Badlands
10. The River
11. My Father’s House
12. Born In The U.S.A.
13. Brilliant Disguise
14. Living Proof
15. The Ghost Of Tom Joad
16. The Rising
17. Long Time Comin’
18. Wrecking Ball

When the Bruce Springsteen autobiography, Born To Run, came out in 2016, I had no idea that there was an album to go along with it. They were meant to compliment each other, but I don’t think it really mattered. The presence of Chapter And Verse would not have made a difference to me while reading the book, which was, by the way, excellent. As for Chapter And Verse (which I only discovered in 2025), it’s a pretty good, but incomplete overview of his career. It starts with a most interesting bang. The first five tracks are very early, pre record deal recordings made between 1966 and 1972. “Baby I”, by the way, is the very first song he recorded, with the early band The Castiles. There’s also one each from his groups Steel Mill and The Bruce Springsteen Band. “Henry Boy” and “Growin’ Up” are early solo demos.

After that, though, Chapter And Verse suddenly becomes a game of “if you could choose just one song per album”. The choices are made by Bruce himself, and are mostly the right picks. But one song per album from an artist like Springsteen just isn’t going to work…especially from his earlier albums. You get “Born To Run”, but that means no “Thunder Road”. It does get a bit frustrating. But this is an artist who has always been light on the compilation side. Of his five hits collections, only one (The Essential Bruce Springsteen, from 2008) is anywhere near comprehensive. If you’re a die hard, then you know that the individual albums are the way to go, but for the casual fan, the pickings are slim. Chapter And Verse gets points for the previously released tracks, but otherwise, it’s just like most of the rest of them.

Link

Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:02:11 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 02/23/2026 17:02

2389

Journal For Plague Lovers (2009) by Manic Street Preachers

MANIC STREET PREACHERS
JOURNAL FOR PLAGUE LOVERS
2009 – COLUMBIA
Produced By STEVE ALBINI & DAVE ERINGA

1. Peeled Apples
2. Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
3. Me And Stephen Hawking
4. This Joke Sport Severed
5. Journal For Plague Lovers
6. She Bathed Herself In A Bath Of Bleach
7. Facing Page: Top Left
8. Marlon J.D.
9. Doors Closing Slowly
10. All Is Vanity
11. Pretension / Repulsion
12. Virginia State Epileptic Colony
13. William’s Last Words

Richey Edwards disappeared into thin air in 1995. But you can’t really talk about his mysterious life without including Journal For Plague Lovers, the ninth album from his former band, Manic Street Preachers. Edwards, who sang little and played even less guitar, was the band’s lyricist, and was an important part of their first four records, including their very best one, The Holy Bible. After he was gone, the band continued on (as it does today) as a trio. In 2008, Edwards, who has never been found, was declared legally dead. In 2009, Journal For Plague Lovers was released. All of the lyrics here are written by Edwards…the only Manics album on which he wrote all of the words. Before he was gone, he gave a notebook of lyrics and poems to the band’s bassist Nicky Wire. They felt that this was the right time to pay tribute to him and share his final words.

The timing certainly worked for them. Since the dawn of the 2000’s, the band had seemed to be running out of gas…and ideas. Journal For Plague Lovers didn’t light up the charts, but it did mark something of a return to form for them. It’s a highly emotional album, and it shows just how important Edwards really was to the Manics. It serves as a reminder of how vital and relevant he was, and of how the band loved him and depended on his words. There were no singles released from this disc, and it does fall short of their best work…but it does show that they do still have some fire and spark in them. The first half is stronger, particularly the first two songs, but ultimately, this is an underrated winner. The band still puts up an empty mic stand on stage for Edwards…you can hear why they do that on this record. A fitting tribute to a lost friend.

Link

Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 11:33:03 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 02/19/2026 16:33

2388

When Fallen Angels Fly (1994) by Patty Loveless

PATTY LOVELESS
WHEN FALLEN ANGELS FLY
1994 – EPIC
Produced By EMORY GORDY JR.

1. A Handful Of Dust
2. Halfway Down
3. When The Fallen Angels Fly
4. You Don’t Even Know Who I Am
5. Feelin’ Good About Feelin’ Bad
6. Here I Am
7. I Try To Think About Elvis
8. Ships
9. Old Weakness (Coming On Strong)
10. Over My Shoulder

It’s unfortunate that outside of country music circles, artists like Patty Loveless go largely ignored. Make no mistake: this woman is a bona fide star. And deservedly so. She began her rise in the late eighties as part of the neo-traditional movement that ruled the country airwaves through much of the eighties and nineties, gaining a reputation as a gifted singer often compared to the likes of Emmylou Harris and Loretta Lynn (her distant cousin), and as an interpreter of songs written by others. After five albums with MCA, she signed with Epic in 1993. Her career peaked in 1994 with the release of When Fallen Angels Fly, which was named the CMA’s Album Of The Year. She’d had success with singles before, but this album showed that she could maintain excellence over an entire album. It really is a fine record.

Produced by her husband Emory Gordy Jr., When Fallen Angels Fly is loaded with great tracks. The best is “I Try To Think About Elvis”, with Jim Lauderdale’s “Halfway Down”, “Here I Am”, and You Don’t Even Know Who I Am” not far behind. All four became top ten singles for Loveless. The rest is mostly strong as well…Loveless shows her excellent voice and taste in material on what is her most successful and admired album. Pretty good, considering that Loveless has
had a lot of high points. She made a switch to bluegrass in the early 2000’s, and has been mostly retired (except for a few live performances) since 2009. She has three albums that could be considered essential: 1988’s Honky Tonk Angel, her 2001 effort Mountain Soul, and When Fallen Angels Fly. Patty Loveless deserves to be heard outside of her country audience. A truly fine musical voice.

Link

Re: The Romanelli Music Diary: Gangsta's Paradise

Romanelli — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:22:51 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 02/17/2026 23:22

2387

Easy Wonderful (2010) by Guster

GUSTER
EASY WONDERFUL
2010 – AWARE / UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC
Produced By GUSTER

1. Architects & Engineers
2. Do You Love Me
3. On The Ocean
4. This Could All Be Yours
5. Stay With Me Jesus
6. Bad Bad World
7. This Is How It Feels To Have A Broken Heart
8. What You Call Love
9. That’s No Way To Get To Heaven
10. Jesus And Mary
11. Hercules
12. Do What You Want

Guster went from an underappreciated alternative band from the nineties to being a cult band known for their crazy and exceptional live performances in the 2000’s, to jam band companions and also rans in the decades since. This band has a fiercely devoted following for good reason: they have always been better than almost everyone thinks. Guster hit their stride at the end of the nineties with their third album, Lost And Gone Forever. 2003’s Keep It Together and 2006’s Ganging Up On The Sun complete the trilogy of must have Guster albums. After that, in 2010, came their sixth offering, Easy Wonderful. Although it’s the group’s highest charting disc, it’s also seen as a step back for them. As the title suggests, it’s more light hearted than the ones that came before it. And is there a religious theme here? Song titles hint at yes, but it’s tough to tell.

The highlight here is “Do You Love Me”. Not far behind are “Architects & Engineers” and “This Could All Be Yours”. Guster always sounds pretty great, so the true measure of the quality of their albums is in the songwriting. In that regard, Easy Wonderful stands high in the Guster discography, right below the three album peak mentioned above. It’s not perfect, but it is a pretty great album. One that should not prove to be a disappointment. Since Easy Wonderful, Guster has managed just three studio albums in the last fifteen years, but there have been a slew of live discs, and they continue to please their fanbase with plenty of touring. In all, Guster is a below the radar band that rarely lets you down. Easy Wonderful is worth tracking down, as are most of their other releases. This band is a pretty safe bet.

Link