QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
SONGS FOR THE DEAF
2002-INTERSCOPE
Produced By JOSH HOMME, ERIC VALENTINE & ADAM KASPER
1. You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire
2. No One Knows
3. First It Giveth
4. Song For The Dead
5. The Sky Is Fallin'
6. Six Shooter
7. Hangin' Tree
8. Go With the Flow
9. Gonna Leave You
10. Do It Again
11. God Is In The Radio
12. Another Love Song
13. Song For The Deaf
14. Mosquito Song
Josh Homme formed Queens Of The Stone Age after leaving Kyuss in 1995. The band has had a revolving door if members, and each album has had many guest musicians. Songs For The Deaf is their 3rd album, and their most accessible. Dave Grohl, a long time fan, put Foo Fighters on hiatus so he could join and play drums on this album...he left shortly afterward during the subsequent tour.
"No One Knows" is a monster of a song, as about exciting as hard rock has been in a long time. "Go With The Flow" and "First It Giveth" are also outstanding. The album is loaded with Homme's "stoner rock" grooves, and it's very good...kind of new metal for old school metalheads. The constant interruptions by radio DJ's is kind of annoying, but the idea is that you're driving through desloate California changing stations. A very good, crunching, great driving album. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
FRANK ZAPPA
APOSTROPHE (')
1974-RYKODISC
Produced By FRANK ZAPPA
1. Don't Eat The Yellow Snow
2. Nanook Rubs It
3. St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast
4. Father O'Blivion
5. Cosmik Debris
6. Excentrifugal Forz
7. Apostrophe'
8. Uncle Remus
9. Stink-Foot
For all of the albums Frank Zappa released, this was his only Gold record. It's also his most accessible, thanks in large part to the whole yellow snow bit. The first two tracks are pure genius, Zappa at his comedic best. The story of Nanook rubbing pee snow in a furtrappers face is classic. The album falters after that...the next 4 tracks are a blur, and not as good as the joke wears off.
The best track on the album is actually "Apostrophe'", the only instrumental. It's a six minute workout between Zappa and former Cream bassist Jack Bruce, a pure rock jam. "Uncle Remus" is fine, followed by the classic ender "Stink-Foot", featuring the classic line "Poodle bites, poodle chews it". The best place to start with Zappa, who sizzles on guitar throughout. Skip the middle tracks and you've got a pretty good album. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
Yeah, this one would be right there with Apostrophe. It certainly did sell more, and leans on the comedy, which was always the more popular aspect of Zappa's recordings. But I think that Sheik Yerbouti lags a bit these days due to the topical nature of the humor (disco and Peter Frampton parodies)...also, it's a live album, and it's really long (73 minutes). And, while "Bobby Brown" was big worldwide, it never caught on in the US...mainly because it was banned on radio and most people never heard it here. I think that Over-Nite Sensation would be a closer pick to rival Apostrophe in terms of accessibility, at least in the US. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE
1968-CAPITOL
Produced By NICK GRAVENITES, HARVEY BROOKS & PETE WELDING
1. Pride Of Man
2. Light Your Windows
3. Dino's Song
4. Gold And Silver
5. Too Long
6. The Fool
Once upon a time, The Grateful Dead and The Jefferson Airplane were challenged for San Francisco supremacy by this band. Their live shows were supposedly as good or better, and they could jam more proficiently than the Dead could. Trouble was, they just didn't have songs that translated to record like the Dead and the Airplane did...hence, one of the 60's forgotten bands.
This is their 1968 debut. The best songs are "Pride Of Man" and "Dino's Song" (written by founding member Dino Valenti, who was in prison on drug charges when this was recorded). They are also the shorter songs. The long ones are more jam oriented, and while good, just don't translate as well. "Gold And Silver" is a version of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five". Their talents show here, but so do their shortcomings. Later personnel changes and lackluster albums shoved them into obscurity. But they were interesting while they lasted. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
Yeah, this one would be right there with Apostrophe. It certainly did sell more, and leans on the comedy, which was always the more popular aspect of Zappa's recordings. But I think that Sheik Yerbouti lags a bit these days due to the topical nature of the humor (disco and Peter Frampton parodies)...also, it's a live album, and it's really long (73 minutes). And, while "Bobby Brown" was big worldwide, it never caught on in the US...mainly because it was banned on radio and most people never heard it here. I think that Over-Nite Sensation would be a closer pick to rival Apostrophe in terms of accessibility, at least in the US.
OK, if you mean the actual sales in the American market. I was thinking more of accessibility as a general feeling you get that certain album is easy to listen to (or relatively easy, when we talk about Zappa 😁 ) _________________ Always shouts out something obscene
Last edited by Grzywa on 02/11/2016 20:25; edited 1 time in total
DAN ZANES
COOL DOWN TIME
1995-PRIVATE
Produced By MITCHELL FROOM
1. Tested
2. No Sky
3. Rough Spot
4. Cruel Cold Feeling
5. Darkness Before Dawn
6. Little Blue Suit
7. All Time Girl
8. No Sense Of Time
9. If You Live
10. Carelessly
11. Tic-Tac
12. Treasures Of Love
Dan Zanes is the former lead singer of The Del Fuegos, who broke up after their 1989 album Smoking In The Fields. Zanes, who has gone on to become a Grammy winning childrens artist, recorded one real solo album, Cool Down Time, in 1995. Surprisingly, it's better and more consistent than any of the Fuegos albums. It has a stripped down sound and more of a sense of humor, with some Jamaican feel to it. Every track is great, with Zanes tore up vocal actually never sounding better. There's a sense of humor here and a batch of great songs.
So why didn't this album sell, and why did Zanes never follow it up? Maybe because his previous band was never a big commercial hit, the album was ignored. Too bad for that. It took me a long time to find this, but it was worth the wait. He may never again record outside of the children's genre, but if he does, if he can make a record half as fine as this one, I'll buy it. Cool Down Time is under heard and under appreciated. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
"WEIRD AL" YANKOVIC
THE FOOD ALBUM
1993-VOLCANO
Produced By AL YANKOVIC & RICK DERRINGER
1. Fat
2. Lasagna
3. Addicted To Spuds
4. I Love Rocky Road
5. Spam
6. Eat It
7. The White Stuff
8. My Bologna
9. Taco Grande
10. The Rye Or The Kaiser (Theme From Rocky XIII)
Kurt Cobain called him a musical genius. Yep. Weird Al started sending homemade tapes to the Dr. Demento show in the 70's, but it was "My Bologna" that got things started for him. Knack lead singer Doug Feiger loved it and got him a record deal, and the rest is history. Weird Al has made a living doing high profile song parodies ever since...and where would rock & roll be without him to keep things funny? He's done a slew of great parodies, and been turned down for some I'd love to hear (Paul McCartney turned down "Chicken Pot Pie" ("Live And Let Die", and James Blunt refused "You're Pitiful" ("You're Beautiful"). But he gets some really good ones.
The Food Album is all about the subject Yankovic excels in...food. A good compilation, it skips his original material which bogs down his studio albums. Hitting everyone from Michael Jackson ("Fat" & "Eat It"), Rico Suave ("Taco Grande", and R.E.M. ("Spam"), this is all classic Weird Al. It's better with the videos, and it's best in small doses, but Weird Al is the comic prince of rock. Oh-Oh Oh Oh Oh. The white stuff! _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
KARA'S FLOWERS
THE FOURTH WORLD
1997-REPRISE
Produced By ROB CAVALLO
1. Soap Disco
2. Future Kid
3. Myself
4. Oliver
5. The Never Saga
6. Loving The Small Time
7. To Her, With Love
8. Sleepy Windbreaker
9. Pantry Queen
10. My Ocean Blue
11. Captain Splendid
So, check out Kara's Flowers. Recorded while they were in high school, The Fourth World is a set of surprisingly well played power pop. These kids have chops, and musically, the songs are very well written. Lyrically...well, they were still in high school. But this was a band with a lot in front of them, young, talented, a record deal, huge energy, and lots of room for growth. This is a very promising debut album, but...
The album sold nada, and the band almost broke up. A couple of them went to college, and when they made their comeback, they were molded into something completely different. Squeeky clean, overproduced, mega pop with none of the emotion of their debut and sounding nothing like the band they started out to be. Once their second album took off, they became huge stars, winning Grammys and selling millions of albums.
The Fourth World is a rocking, fine debut album, and the only one recorded under the name Kara's Flowers. They have since become Maroon 5 and have introduced the world to their own brand of pop. But there was a moment in time... _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
SAM PHILLIPS
A BOOT AND A SHOE
2004-NONSUCH
Produced By T BONE BURNETT
1. How To Quit
2. All Night
3. I Dreamed I Stopped Dreaming
4. Open The World
5. Red Silk Five
6. Reflecting Light
7. Infiltration
8. Draw Man
9. I Wanted To Be Alone
10. Love Changes Everything
11. If I Could Write
12. Hole In My Pocket
13. One Day Late
Not to be confused with the producer with the same name, Sam Phillips began her career as Christian artist Leslie Phillips. Once known as the Christian Cyndi Lauper, she ended her Christian career and changed her name with the release of The Indescribable Wow in 1989. She's never been a chart topper, but she's recorded consistently since 1983. Having T Bone Burnett as a husband and producer hasn't hurt.
A Boot And A Shoe is her 10th album, recorded while she and Burnett were divorcing. It's stripped down, with the bass and drums at the front, and a very mature album. Phillips' knack for excellent hooks is here ("All Night" should have been a hit), and her slightly quirky style works very well. The album flows beautifully, and is a haunting work. Not as rocking as her previous albums, it's ultimately the songs and the voice that carries it, and it's extremely well done. One of her best albums overall.
Phillips continues to record regularly...she's released multiple albums since without Burnett, handling the production herself. An underrated and prolific artist. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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