GRATEFUL DEAD
AMERICAN BEAUTY
1970-WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By GRATEFUL DEAD
1. Box Of Rain
2. Friend Of The Devil
3. Sugar Magnolia
4. Operator
5. Candyman
6. Ripple
7. Brokedown Palace
8. Till The Morning Comes
9. Attics Of My Life
10. Truckin'
The Grateful Dead may be know for their live shows and their place at the top of the list of jam bands, but what a lot of people don't realize is that in 1970, The Dead made two really great albums: Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. With nothing over 5 and a half minutes, this is all about the songs that made them a captivating live act. Taking an obvious clue from The Band, the songs are down to earth and loaded with great harmonies. Every track here is exceptional. The Dead proved that they were excellent writers and could make a studio album as good as anyone else could do. Not a single weak track, not a single weak moment. This is as good as you'll ever hear The Dead.
They never matched their 1970 output. But the two albums from that year should be a part of every collection, even if you're not a fan of their live shows. It's simply great music. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
LYNYRD SKYNYRD
SECOND HELPING
1974-MCA
Produced By AL KOOPER
1. Sweet Home Alabama
2. I Need You
3. Don't Ask Me No Questions
4. Workin' For MCA
5. The Ballad Of Curtis Loew
6. Swamp Music
7. The Needle And The Spoon
8. Call Me The Breeze
Bonus Tracks
9. Don't Ask Me No Questions (Single Version)
10. Was I Right Or Wrong (Demo)
11. Take Your Time
Second Helping was the much anticipated 2nd album from Lynyrd Skynyrd. So how, exactly, do you follow up "Free Bird"? Second Helping was huge, thanks to the forever to be covered anthem "Sweet Home Alabama", "Workin' For MCA", and a cover of JJ Cale's "Call Me The Breeze", featuring some of the best rock piano playing you'll ever hear. There are some weaknesses here. "Don't Ask Me No Questions" is not strong enough to warrant two versions, and "Swamp Music" and "The Ballad Of Curtis Loew" are certainly not up to the standard set by this band's great songs. The album is also really very short. But when they are on, they sound terrific. Second Helping is not a bad album by any means. It's a southern rock classic, and shows strong growth from the first album. And, if you're not burned out on Sweet Home from watching KFC commercials or seeing every cover band in the history of the world screw it up, then it's worth having for that alone.
Skynyrd struggled a bit on their next two albums before the amazing Street Survivors. But Pronounced, Street Survivors, and this one are the Skynyrd albums to have. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN
GOD FODDER
1991-COLUMBIA
Produced By JESSICA CORCORAN & NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN
1. Kill Your Television
2. Less Than Useful
3. Selfish
4. Grey Cell Green
5. Cut Up
6. Throwing Things
7. Capital letters
8. Happy
9. Your Complex
10. Nothing Like
11. Until You Find Out
12. You
13. What Gives My Son?
Ned's Atomic Dustbin is known for exactly two things. The fact that they actually had two bass players, and the song "Kill Your Television", which was a minor hit in 1991. Other than that, this is a band that faded faster than they rose. God Fodder, their debut album, is actually their best work. Lots of fast guitar, and, of course, lots of bass. "Kill Your Television" is pretty good, but there's nothing else that really grabs you here. It's not bad to listen to, but it's not very memorable stuff, either. Nothing here will make you pause and say, who was that? Nothing here will really make you pause, period.
The Dustbin broke up in 1996, and nobody noticed. They got back together again in 2009 to perform this album live. I didn't really hear about that. I'm not surprised. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
JOHN LENNON
THE JOHN LENNON COLLECTION
1989-CAPITOL
Produced By JOHN LENNON, YOKO ONO, PHIL SPECTOR & JACK DOUGLAS
1. Give Peace A Chance
2. Instant Karma!
3. Power To The People
4. Whatever Gets You Through The Night
5. #9 Dream
6. Mind Games
7. Love
8. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
9. Imagine
10. Jealous Guy
11. Stand By Me
12. (Just Like) Starting Over
13. Woman
14. I'm Losing You
15. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)
16. Watching The Wheels
17. Dear Yoko
18. Move Over Miss L
19. Cold Turkey
This album was originally released in 1982 with a much different track list, both in the UK and the US. It was the first Lennon release after his death. The first half is much of what appeared on Shaved Fish, and the second half is mostly Double Fantasy without the Yoko tracks. A lot of his best solo stuff is here, but there's also proof that Lennon was not the same without The Beatles. I mean, really...can you honestly say that you enjoy listening to all of "Give Peace A Chance" if you don't live in a drum circle? Does "Dear Yoko" really do it for you? I don't think so. For all of John's great songs here, the tracks could have been chosen better. If you have it, great. There's enough good stuff here to make it worthwhile. If you don't have it. go for Lennon Legend instead. Or better yet, make your own.
"Move Over Miss L" and "Cold Turkey" are bonus tracks not included on the original release. "Happy Xmas", "Love", and the overrated version of "Stand By Me" were not on the original US release. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DEPECHE MODE
CATCHING UP WITH DEPECHE MODE
1985-SIRE
Produced By DANIEL MILLER, GARETH JONES & DEPECHE MODE
1. Dreaming Of Me
2. New Life
3. Just Can't Get Enough
4. See You
5. The Meaning Of Love
6. Love In Itself
7. Master And Servant
8. Blasphemous Rumours
9. Somebody
10. Shake The Disease
11. Flexible
12. It's Called A Heart
13. Fly On The Windscreen
If it weren't for Depeche Mode, there would have been not nearly as much cool about new wave as there was. And while the early material has the cheesiest keyboard sound on the planet, they still wrote some really cool songs. Catching Up is a compilation released in the US only to give people a taste of what the then up and coming band had done on their first 4 albums. The songs are good...in particular, "Master And Servant" and "Fly On The Windscreen". Depeche Mode had more substance and staying power than their contemporaries...this album shows why.
The Mode is still at it today. They got darker after this was released, and they are considered electronic music pioneers. But they did also have some really great songs as well. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE B52'S
TIME CAPSULE
1998-REPRISE
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. Planet Claire
2. 52 Girls
3. Rock Lobster
4. Party Out Of Bounds
5. Strobelight
6. Private Idaho
7. Quiche Lorraine
8. Mesopotamia
9. Song For A Future Generation
10. Summer Of Love
11. Channel Z
12. Deadbeat Club
13. Love Shack
14. Roam
15. Good Stuff
16. Is That You Mo-Dean?
17. Debbie
18. Hallucinating Pluto
This compilation came out just in time for a B52's reunion in 1998. It's a good way to get the cool songs from them without having to skip over their lesser album tracks, although this has a couple of songs it could have done without ("Deadbeat Club" is a weak song, and "Roam" and "Is That You, Mo-Dean?", while hits, could have been excluded). The last 2 songs are new ones, with "Hallucinating Pluto" being very good. A little too much Cosmic Thing and not enough Whammy! But overall, a nice collection.
"Debbie" is a tribute to Debbie Harry of Blonide. Foreign versions substitue a live version of "Quiche Lorraine" and also include "Meet The Flintstones". _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
Totally agree on your Dead assessment. Ripple and Truckin' are some of their best works.
I kinda feel this is the height of their career as well. I'm not a huge dead head and don't know that much about em, but working man's dead, american beauty, and their Europe '72 are my favorite albums of theirs all kinda around the same time.
COUNT BASIE
ONE MORE TIME
1991-ROULETTE
Produced By TEDDY REIG & RUDY TRAYLOR
1. For Lena And Lennie
2. Rat Race
3. Quince
4. Meet B B
5. The Big Walk
6. A Square At The Roundtable
7. I Needs To Bee'd With You
8. Jessica's Day
9. The Midnight Sun
10. Muttnik
There isn't a lot of information out there about this album. I do know that it was recorded in 1958 and 59, and that the songs were all written by Quincy Jones. I don't know about the original release. What I do know is that this is Basie, and Basie was a true master. While this is far from his greatest work, it's still a satisfying collection. Basie's piano is a thing of beauty, as always, and his band, always loaded with the best players available, nails everything in sight. It would be a career topper for a lot of artists...but this is Basie. So, not so much. But it's a great listen, and well worth having.
Basie, who died in 1984, continued to tour through the 60's and 70's. He also appeared in several films, including 1974's Blazing Saddles. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
ARTO LINDSAY TRIO
AGGREGATES 1-26
1995-KNITTING FACTORY WORKS
Produced By ARTO LINDSAY
1. Be Great
2. Recognize
3. In Love
4. Gtr. Drums #2
5. Stitches
6. Imbue
7. Tap Gtr.
8. Tap
9. Absurd Children
10. Noise
11. Flag Of Friendship
12. Venus
13. Looks Like You
14. Flourish
15. Awfully Short
16. Voice & Lips
17. Gtr. Bass
18. Founder
19. Two
20. 3
21. Four
22. Bag Pipes
23. Drug Finger
24. Gtr. Drums #1
25. Head In A Paper Bag
26. Very Good
Arto Lindsay played with DNA, Lounge Lizards, Golden Palominos, and Ambitious Lovers. His music usually reveals his Brazillian roots, but not here. This album with a stripped down trio (which includes the bassist from the Rollins Band)is as straight and to the point as you can get. Almost half of the tracks here are under a minute long, and stands as some of the most non-pop work of his career. This is one I found unlistenable at one point...now it's a breath of fresh air, an album that seems to never stop growing on me.
Aggregates is the high point of Lindsay's solo career, a kind of anti-pop, anti-rock statement of quick bursts of jazz experiments. It works. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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