BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
BORN IN THE U.S.A.
1984-COLUMBIA
Produced By BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, JON LANDAU, CHUCK PLOTKIN & STEVE VAN ZANDT
1. Born In The U.S.A.
2. Cover Me
3. Darlington County
4. Working On The Highway
5. Downbound Train
6. I'm On Fire
7. No Surrender
8. Bobby Jean
9. I'm Going Down
10. Glory Days
11. Dancing In The Dark
12. My Hometown
The biggest seling and most successful of Springsteens albums is also my least favorite. Not that it's bad...it's not. Maybe it's because before this album's 15x Platinum, Grammy winning, 7 top ten singles, Courteney Cox and MTV oversaturation of The Boss, being a fan of Bruce was something special...kind of like a really cool secret that no one else knew about. There seem to be 2 views of Bruce. If you were a fan of his first 6 albums, you were a fan for life. If you discovered him on Born In The U.S.A., you just didn't seem to get it.
As much as the album was obviously designed to make Springsteen a huge pop success, the album also contains some brilliant songs. Lyrically, the songs are powerful and visionary in the way only Bruce can do it. And there are hooks everywhere you turn. The synthesizers sounded bad in '84, and they still do. It sounds and feels like a sellout, but it's not.
I still wish it wasn't Springsteen who had made it. It is a great album. But I'll still take almost any of his other work over this.
Yeah I pretty much 100% agree with this assessment. Never really understood why it was considered among his (if not his) best
meccaleccaVoice of ReasonProfile The Land of Enchantment
Yeah I pretty much 100% agree with this assessment. Never really understood why it was considered among his (if not his) best
I think it's kind of a matter of purism. His best work has always been more raw and subtle, where Born in the USA was pretty polished and blunt. I has mixed feelings in regards to placement among his best because the songs are incredible. Love what Romanelli said: "I still wish it wasn't Springsteen who had made it." I think this sums up the feeling of Springsteen fans not wanting his most acclaimed work to be something that really isn't as representational of his work as a whole as many of his other records. _________________ http://jonnyleather.com
It's weaker than everything that came before (with the possible exception of the debut), and stronger than everything that came afterwards. Still great. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
ALANIS MORISSETTE
JAGGED LITTLE PILL
1995-MAVERICK
Produced By GLEN BALLARD
1. All I Really Want
2. You Oughta Know
3. Perfect
4. Hand In My Pocket
5. Right Through You
6. Forgiven
7. You Learn
8. Head Over Feet
9. Mary Jane
10. Ironic
11. Not The Doctor
12. Wake Up
Before she became the biggest thing in 1996, Alanis Morissette was the Debbie Gibson of Canada. She made 2 dance pop albums at 17 & 18, but by 1993, she found herself in LA without a record deal. She met Glen Ballard and signed to Maverick, then recorded Jagged Little Pill. Expectations were very low. Then a DJ at KROQ started playing "You Oughta Know", and the album sales skyrocketed. Jagged Little Pill stayed in the top 100 for over a year, one of only 4 albums to do so. All of a sudden, the door was blown wide open for artists like Tracy Bonham, Meredith Brooks, and later Pink.
Alanis has a strange hiccup in her voice that gives her a unique sound, and she sounds royally pissed off through most of the album. With sparse yet heavy instrumentation (only half the tracks are played by an actual band), angry and sometimes weird lyrics, and hooks all over the place, the album was in the perfect place at the perfect time. Dave Navarro, Flea and Benmont Tench are notable guests. It was everywhere you turned in 1996, and everyone ate it up. Who would have thought? It figgers. It remains listenable today, although the desire to hate it grows a little every year. The CD features a hidden track...an alternate version of "You Oughta Know" (the only real difference is that you can't hear Navarro's guitar as well), and a creepy a capella stalker track called "Your House". These days it sounds more like an attempt at relevancy than a true rock album.
Alanis has failed in leaps and bounds to follow up. She became wordy and confusing, with albums that lack the immediate shock and punch of this one....bringing the annoying qualities in her voice to the front. She released another widely ignored album in 2012, and has been working as an actress as well. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
JONATHA BROOKE
10 CENT WINGS
1997-MCA
Produced By ALAIN MALLET
1. Secrets And Lies
2. Crumbs
3. Because I Told you So
4. Blood From A Stone
5. Glass Half Empty
6. The Coice
7. Last Innocent Year
8. Shame On Us
9. Genius Or A Fool
10. Ten Cent Wings
11. Landmine
12. Annie
Jonatha Brooke came out of Boston with the duo The Story in 1990. They made great but not popular music until 1994, when Brooke went solo. Her 2nd solo album, 10 Cent Wings, was an attempt to bring her to a bigger audience. Recorded with her husband Alain Mallet, they tightened up the arrangements, toned down a lot of her jazz influences, and made a pop album that is filled with great melodies. The production is muddy in some places, but the songs are excellent, and Brooke's voice is powerful. "Secrets And Lies", "Blood From A Stone", "Glass Half Empty" and "Last Innocent Year" will stick in your head, and the crunchy electric guitar on "Crumb" makes you wonder what's coming next. This album should have been bigger, and Jonatha Brooke should be much more known than she is.
MCA dropped Brooke in mid tour. She has recorded independently since. Her lack of commercial success is a sad thing...she is a top notch singer and performer. This album, her last major label effort, is well worth checking out. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
WARREN ZEVON
SENTIMENTAL HYGIENE
1987-VIRGIN
Produced By WARREN ZEVON, ANDREW SLATER & NIKO BOLAS
1. Sentimental Hygiene
2. Boom Boom Mancini
3. The Factory
4. Trouble Waiting To Happen
5. Reconsider Me
6. Detox Mansion
7. Bad Karma
8. Even A Dog Can Shake Hands
9. The Heartache
10. Leave My Monkey Alone
After the commercial failure of The Envoy, Zevon was dropped from his label and went into musical hiding for 5 years. Sentimental Hygiene is his comeback. Utilizing the band R.E.M., the sound is heavier and much more lively, and relies less on that horrible 80's keyboard sound he had adapted on his 2 previous releases. The guest list is impressive: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Don Henley, Flea, Mike Campbell and Brian Setzer all contribute. Now sober, Zevon's songs are on the money for the most part. He sings about his rehab on several tracks, takes a stab at being Springsteen on "The Factory", and flat out nails the albums best song, "Boom Boom Mancini".
Although his next album would be nowhere near this, it was a strong comeback for Zevon. It was during the recording of this album that most of the Hindu Love Gods material was done as well. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
JONI MITCHELL
COURT AND SPARK
1974-ASYLUM
Produced By JONI MITCHELL
1. Court And Spark
2. Help Me
3. Free Man In Paris
4. People's Parties
5. Same Situation
6. Car On A Hill
7. Down To You
8. Just Like This Train
9. Raised On Robbery
10. Trouble Child
11. Twisted
Joni Mitchell's 6th album is her masterpiece. She introduced elements of jazz into the album, which would dominate her later work. But this one balances her folk rock style of the past with jazz perfectly. Her songwriting is as strong as ever...there's not a single weak track. With help from David Crosby, Graham Nash, Robbie Robertson, Jose Feliciano...and even Cheech & Chong, it's almost completely perfect. This is a must have album.
Mitchell went further into jazz after this album and saw her popularity wane with each album. She still records, but concentrates more on her painting (she did the album cover). _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE DRIFTERS
LET THE BOOGIE WOOGIE ROLL: GREATEST HITS 1953-58
1988-ATLANTIC
Produced By KIM COOKE & BOB PORTER
1. Lucille
2. Money Honey
3. The Way I Feel
4. Let The Boogie Woogie Roll
5. Gone
6. Such A Night
7. Warm Your Heart
8. Don't Dog Me
9. Bip Bam
10. What'cha Gonna Do
11. Honey Love
12. White Christmas
13. Bells Of St. Mary's
14. If I Didn't Love You Like I Do
15. There You Go
16. Some Day You'll Want Me To Want You
17. Try Try Baby
18. Everyone's Laughing
19. Hot Ziggety
20. Three Thirty Three
1. Honey Bee
2. No Sweet Lovin'
3. Adorable
4. Your Promise To Be Mine
5. Steamboat
6. Ruby Baby
7. Drifting Away From You
8. I Should Have Done Right
9. Soldier Of Fortune
10. Honky Tonky
11. Sadie My Lady
12. I Gotta Get Myself A Woman
13. It Was A Tear
14. Fools Fall In Love
15. Yodee Yakee
16. I Know
17. Hypnotized
18. Souvenirs
19. Drip Drop
20. Suddenly There's A Valley
The Drifters have been around for over 60 years now, with more than 60 different members. It's become over the years more of a corporation than a group, but their employees are all really good. This collection goes back to the very beginning, before the years of Ben E. King. It's one of the more impressive collections of 50's doo wop you'll ever find. The first disc covers the time of Clyde McPhatter, a Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer who is maybe the best singer from that time. Disc 2 covers the years leading up to King.
McPhatter's vocals are angelic, and the rest of the group's harmonies are just as good. You'll be hooked by the end of the first line on "Lucille". Disc 2 is almost as good. Also included are good (but very small) liner notes. If you're a fan of music from this period, it's as good as it gets. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
JASON ISBELL
SIRENS OF THE DITCH
2007-NEW WEST
Produced By JASON ISBELL & PATTERSON HOOD
1. Brand New Kind Of Actress
2. Down In A Hole
3. Try
4. Chicago Promenade
5. Dress Blues
6. Grown
7. Hurricanes And Hand Grenades
8. In A Razor Town
9. Shotgun Wedding
10. The Magician
11. The Devil Is My Running Mate
Jason Isbell joined the Drive By Truckers in 2001, and played on 3 of their albums before leaving for a solo career in 2007. His presence with the Truckers gave them a formidable 3 guitar, 3 writer lineup. He is an excellent songwriter...you only need to hear the excellent "Danko/Manuel" to know that.
Sirens Of The Ditch is his solo debut. His songs, as always, are great. The performance sounds tentative at times, and the album is less rocking than his work with DBT. "Brand New Kind Of Actress" (which is supposedly about the death of Lana Clarkson at Phil Spector's mansion), "Dress Blues" and "Hurricanes And Hand Grenades" are highlights. Not a bad album, but his next effort was much stronger. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
JOE JACKSON
LAUGHTER & LUST
1991-VIRGIN
Produced By JOE JACKSON & ED ROYNESDAL
1. Obvious Song
2. Goin' Downtown
3. Stranger Than Fiction
4. Oh Well
5. Jamie G.
6. Hit Single
7. It's All Too Much
8. When You're Not Around
9. The Other Me
10. Trying To Cry
11. My House
12. The Old Songs
13. Drowning
Joe Jackson emerged in 1979 as one of England's 3 angry young men along with Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. Jackson was not very press friendly, which has led to much of his better music being unheard and underappreciated. Which is too bad, because Jackson is one of rock's more adventurous artists. He's done pop, punk, jazz, classical, and even did a sort of a rap song in 1981. By 1991, Jackson's sales were on an unstoppable slide. Laughter & Lust finds Jackson starting out in great form, taking on the music industry on "Obvious Song" and "Hit Single" Also notable is an interesting, percussion heavy version of Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well", and the album's best song, "Goin' Downtown".
Unfortunately, the second half is not nearly as fun and starts to drag by "Trying To Cry". But the 1st half is a good reminder of what made Jackson so fun to begin with.
The album failed commercially, and Jackson would not record another rock record for 12 years, concentrating on movie scores and classical experiments. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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meccalecca
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