CAKE
FASHION NUGGET
1996-CAPRICORN
Produced By CAKE
1. Frank Sinatra
2. The Distance
3. Friend Is A Four Letter Word
4. Open Book
5. Daria
6. Race Car Ya-Ya's
7. I Will Survive
8. Stickshifts And Safetybelts
9. Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
10. It's Coming Down
11. Nugget
12. She'll Come Back To Me
13. Italian Leather Sofa
14. Sad Songs And Waltzes
Fashion Nugget is the second album from Sacramento's CAKE (the spelling is officially capitalized). The band is the domain of singer John McCrea, whose droll and dry delivery makes the band something unique. That, and having a full time trumpet player. The album was jump started by "The Distance", but it also contains other fine songs. "Frank Sinatra", "Stickshifts And Safetybelts", and "Open Book" (You think she's an open book/But you don't know which page to turn to) are all excellent. The band also has a varied and smart taste in cover material. This features Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" in down and out deadpan glory, and Willie Nelson's "Sad Songs And Waltzes". Not everything works, but more than enough of it does.
CAKE had more success, but they never matched this album. It's the best of their career, and well worth having. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
TYPE O NEGATIVE
BLOODY KISSES
1993-ROADRUNNER
Produced By PETER STEELE & JOSH SILVER
1. Machine Screw
2. Christian Woman
3. Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)
4. Fay Wray Come Out And Play
5. Kill All The White People
6. Summer Breeze
7. Set Me On Fire
8. Dark Side Of The Womb
9. We Hate Everyone
10. Bloody Kisses (A Death In The Family)
11. 3.0.I.F.
12. Too Late: Frozen
13. Blood & Fire
14. Can't Lose You
Are you really into vampires? Do you think you ARE a vampire? Then this is the album for you. The third album from Type O Negative (also known as The Drab Four) is one dark, gothic album...but it's also pretty damn funny. Peter Steel sings like he's dead...it's downright creepy. The album is loaded with lyrical gems like "Little wolf skin boots/And clove cigarettes/An erotic funeral/For witch she's dressed...Loving you is like loving the dead" from "Black No.1". They take on the once sweet and innocent Seals & Crofts hit "Summer Breeze" and turn it into a song of doomsday. These guys may be dark, but they're also entertaining.
The problem is, not every song is exceptional, and the album runs ridiculously long at 74 minutes (a later version toned it down to 9 songs and may be better: a still later version added a bonus disc. Really??). As weird and fun as this can be, it can also get excruciating. Look for the shorter version, pick out the better tunes and put them on your iPod. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
Maybe a subject on the Music Forum about the non-musical (emphasis mine) side of this?
And musical tbh. The whole "back to Africa to find innocence and inspiration again" ethics is a disquieting matter to me. But yeah, you're right: it could make for a good music forum discussion.
meccaleccaVoice of ReasonProfile The Land of Enchantment
Maybe a subject on the Music Forum about the non-musical (emphasis mine) side of this?
And musical tbh. The whole "back to Africa to find innocence and inspiration again" ethics is a disquieting matter to me. But yeah, you're right: it could make for a good music forum discussion.
LIVING COLOUR
TIME'S UP
1990-EPIC
Produced By ED STASIUM
1. Time's Up
2. History Lesson
3. Pride
4. Love Rears Its Ugly Head
5. New Jack Theme
6. Someone Like You
7. Elvis Is Dead
8. Type
9. Information Overload
10. Under Cover Of Darkness
11. Ology
12. Fight The Fight
13. Tag Team Partners
14. Solace Of You
15. This Is The Life
Don't let the one hit wonder status of Living Colour fool you...Jimi Hendrix is a one hit wonder, too. After the huge success of their debut album Vivid and it's monster hit "Cult Of Personality", they followed up with Time's Up. It's actually a better album, and the best in the band's catalog. Vernon Reid is maybe the unsung guitar hero of the period, and Corey Glover is a bad ass on the vocals. "Love Rears Its Ugly Head" should have been a hit, and excellent tracks like "Elvis Is Dead", "Type", and "Fight The Fight" make it a solid album.
Living Colour broke up in the mid 90's, but they have come back since. They naver matched their first 2 albums, though. This one is well worth having. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
RoundTheBendI miss the comfort in being sadProfile Ground Control
Yeah. The whole apartheid thing. I'm not going to be drawn into a whole negative spiral about this, because that's another road...maybe a topic for the music forum. I will say this about Graceland: Simon went against the wishes of a lot of people in making this album. Those wishes had everything to do with politics. I don't agree with the way Simon went about everything that had to do with making this album. He has taken a load of shit for it, some of which I agree is deserved.
As for Graceland itself, I happen to think it's a fine album. As music. "The Boy In The Bubble", in particular, was a huge influence on me as a songwriter. Simon's phrasing is really exceptional, especially on that track. He was more inspired lyrically than he had been in years...lines like "She comes back to tell me she's gone / As if I didn't know that / As if I didn't know my own bed" (from "Graceland") are really great. Paul Simon was a guy who was dying artistically and personally, and who needed to reach outside of his own world to find his way. Graceland is the result of that. I'm not putting this up here because of any of the political baggage that went along with it...I have this album and I listen to it because I enjoy the music on it, I enjoy the songwriting, the songs, the atmosphere, and the way the music makes me feel. Without Graceland, I couldn't have written lines like "I'm on my way to Arkansas to see my only son / And I can't close my eyes and go to sleep / No matter how hard I try" and made them work in the context of a song.
My bad for mentioning only the Los Lobos incident. I agree that Simon could have handled things differently, and that he should have taken some of the advice others were giving him at the time. But I do enjoy this album a lot, not because of what happened around it, but because of what's there to listen to.
Maybe a subject on the Music Forum about the non-musical side of this?
I guess someone's always going to find the negative.
ANTHRAX
PERSISTENCE OF TIME
1990-ISLAND
Produced By ANTHRAX & MARK DODSON
1. Time
2. Blood
3. Keep It In The Family
4. In My World
5. Gridlock
6. Intro To Reality
7. Belly Of The Beast
8. Got The Time
9. H8 Red
10. One Man Stands
11. Discharge
Anthrax got serious for their 6th album. They had previously been kind of the comic book heroes of metal, showing a sense of humor and not taking themselves too seriously. They got all dark on our butts for this one, though. It contains "Keep It In The Family", "Belly Of The Beast", and a great cover of Joe Jackson's "Got The Time". But something seems to be missing...oh, yeah. A sense of humor. Even so, this may be their best album on some levels. Not great by any means, but a decent piece of thrash.
This was also the last album with singer Joey Belladonna for awhile...he's been back twice since, and seems to be the most solid of the eight lead vocalists they have had. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
I guess someone's always going to find the negative.
Not meaning to bogart Romanelli's log with more talk about something he's already suggested should have its own thread, but are you serious? "Find the negative"? He broke the U.N. boycott which was put in place to prevent any celebrities (artists or sports stars, mainly) giving a corrupt, morally bankrupt, semi-fascist government any credence. I don't necessarily think he meant to do anything wrong, but he was at the very least extremely naive, or - more likely - just embarrassingly arrogant. The boycott was put in place for a reason, and for an artist of his stature to break it seriously undermined the efforts of the anti-apartheid movement. But yeah, I guess someone is always going to find the negative. (And this is separate to the issue of his questionable cherry-picking of African musicians to help 'flavour' his work, which Norman alluded to.) _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
CHICK COREA
PIANO IMPROVISATIONS VOLUME 2
1972-ECM
Produced By MANFRED EICHER
1. After Noon Song
2. Song For Lee Lee
3. Song For Thad
4. Trinkle Tinkle
5. Masqualero
6. Preparation 1
7. Preparation 2
8. Departure From Planet Earth
9. A New Place
Keyboardist Chick Corea has always been at the front of the jazz fusion movement, from the 60's with Miles Davis to his days with Return To Forever and various other bands. But this 2 part series is just what the title implies...solo piano, no other instruments. It's actually a beautiful recording, with Corea taking center stage by himself. Jazz is not something easily done by yourself, but he pulls it off. These 9 pieces are simply great.
Corea continues to work in many areas, including as revised Return To Forever lineup, and is still playing fusion. The Piano Improvisation series is a great way to hear just how talented he really is. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
SINEAD O'CONNOR
THE LION AND THE COBRA
1987-CHRYSALIS
Produced By SINEAD O'CONNOR
1. Jackie
2. Mandinka
3. Jerusalem
4. Just Like U Said It Would B
5. Never Get Old
6. Troy
7. I Want Your (Hands On Me)
8. Drink Before The War
9. Just Call Me Joe
You can say whatever you want to about Sinead O'Connor...but she is one talented individual. Years before her huge hit with Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U", and her controversial ripping of the Pope on SNL, her debut album, The Lion And The Cobra, shows a 20 year old O'Connor as a major musical force. The album houses minor hits with "Mandinka", "Troy", and "I Want Your (Hands On Me), but is a powerful album throughout. O'Connor's voice is the reason...she's a great, emotional singer who can lull you to sleep and scare the bejeezus out of you within seconds. This album made her a star in the making, long before she became a walking controversy. Easily one of the best debut albums of the 80's, it's too bad that her later actions would cloud her musical abilities. But you can hear the best of them here.
O'Connor continues to record, and she also continues to be controversial. She was never better than on this album, though. It's easy to forget just how good she can be...this album preserves that.
Also...the above album cover is the least attractive of any used for this album. Any one of the other pictures used would be better...this one is just awful. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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Romanelli
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