SMASHING PUMPKINS
SIAMESE DREAM
1993-VIRGIN
Produced By BUTCH VIG & BILLY CORGAN
1. Cherub Rock
2. Quiet
3. Today
4. Hummer
5. Rocket
6. Disarm
7. Soma
8. Geek USA
9. Mayonaise
10. Spaceboy
11. Silverfuck
12. Sweet Sweet
13. Luna
Heavily influenced by 70's rock and, for a moment, the holder of the torch of rock in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death, Smashing Pumpkins were actually a very big deal for a very short time. They were incorrectly labeled a grunge band, unfairly compared to Janes Addiction, Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and ultimately, misunderstood. Siamese Dream is their second album, and thanks to the hits "Cherub Rock", "Today", "Disarm" and "Rocket", they were huge stars. And while Siamese Dream has some great moments and is a powerful album, it's also not as great as advertised. Siamese Dream was a great moment for this band and gave them their short lived success, but it doesn't come without its weaknesses.
The Pumpkins fell apart by the end of the 90's and were gone. They are kind of back together now, and are releasing an album one song at a time online. The story of their career continues...they just don't know when to say enough.
I think this is the album that made the biggest impact on me after my 25th birthday also because I saw them live at a fabulous concert on a Belgian rock festival soon after the album was released.
I still think it's one of the best and consistent albums ever made and to me they have never topped this highlight after that.
MARTIN ZELLAR
BORN UNDER
1995-RYKO
Produced By MARTIN ZELLAR & STEVE MCKINSTRY
1. Lie To Me
2. Something's Gotta Happen
3. East Side Boys
4. Falling Sky
5. Problem Solved
6. Cross My Heart
7. Lay This Down Gently
8. Summer Kind Of Sad
9. Force A Smile
10. Let Go
A quick look at your Smog Story posters will show that Martin Zellar played a minor yet important role in the formation of Golden Smog. Zellar was the leader of the Gear Daddies, a highly regarded Minneapolis band. Zellar went solo, and also played in a band called Take It To The Limit (Eagles covers with panchos!) with Gary Louris & Kraig Johnson, a group that later mutated into Golden Smog. ANYWAY. Born Under is the solo debut of Zellar, and it's very good, although it's also almost completely unknown. Dan Murphy helps out with "Lie To Me", and the rest is Zellar's alt-country storytelling that made the Gear Daddies favorites. Born Under is a solid effort, well played, well written, and more country than any of the bands Zellar has been compared to in his career, mostly for geographical than sound reasons (Husker Du, The Replacements, Soul Asylum).
Zellar's stint with Ryko was unsuccessful (sales & promotion), but he continues on. As country as Minneapolis gets. And good, underrated stuff. Well worth listening to.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND
EAST-WEST
1966-ELEKTRA
Produced By PAUL A ROTHCHILD, MARK ABRAMSON & BARRY FRIEDMAN
1. Walkin' Blues
2. Get Out Of My Life, Woman
3. I Got A Mind To Give Up Living
4. All These Blues
5. Work Song
6. Mary, Mary
7. Two Trains Running
8. Never Say No
9. East-West
The importance of the Butterfield Blues Band is somewhat buried in rock history, but it should be well remembered. This was not just a bunch of white guys with a love of the blues...this was an interracial band formed in the early 60's with credentials...these guys were bonafied! Their rythym section came from Howlin' Wolf, and Butterfield himself was a blues prodigy. The big guns were the guitarists, boasting at the time of East-West none other than Elvin Bishop and Mike Bloomfield.
The first 8 songs on East-West are good, but it's just a warm up. (Interesting note: "Mary, Mary" went uncredited on the record for years because the band refused to believe it had been written by Mike Nesmith of The Monkees). It's the title track, a 13 + minute instrumental, that is one of rock's most important songs (the late 60's San Francisco sound came from this one song). It's also the song that moved Bloomfield into the ranks of the guitar greats (he had already led Dylan into electric music on Highway 61 Revisited), and it's a truly remarkable song. (Bloomfield died in 1981.)
Don't forget this band. An underrated piece of the evolution of rock in the 60's.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1. Free Bird (Demo)
2. Junkie (Demo)
3. He's Alive (Demo)
4. One More Time (Original Version)
5. Gimme Three Steps (Original Version)
6. Trust (Original Version)
7. Comin' Home
8. Mr. Banker (Demo)
9. Down South Jukin' (Demo)
10. Truck Drivin' Man (Demo)
11. I Ain't The One (Demo)
12. Poison Whisky (Demo)
13. Tuesday's Gone
14. Things Goin' On
15. Free Bird
1. Sweet Home Alabama
2. Was I Right Or Wrong?
3. Workin' For MCA
4. Don't Ask Me No Questions
5. Swamp Music
6. The Ballad Of Curtis Lowe
7. The Needle And The Spoon
8. Call Me The Breeze
9. Saturday Night Special
10. Made In The Shade
11. Am I Losin'
12. On The Hunt
13. (I Got The) Same Old Blues
14. Double Trouble (Live)
15. Roll Gypsy Roll
16. All I Can Do Is Write About It (Acoustic)
17. Four Walls Of Raiford (Undubbed Demo)
1. Gimme Back My Bullets (Live)
2. Searchin' (Live)
3. Simple Man (Live)
4. Crossroads (Live)
5. T For Texas (Live)
6. Whiskey Rock-A-Roller (Live)
7. Ain't No Good Life
8. What's Your Name (Alternate Mix)
9. Georgia Peaches
10. What's Your Name
11. I Never Dreamed
12. I Know A Little
13. Honky Tonk Night Time Man
14. That Smell
15. You Got That Right
Simply put, an excellent and must have 3 disc box set from one of the two great Southern rock bands of all time. They recorded 5 albums in 5 years...something unheard of these days...and unlike most bands, even their outtakes and demos are worth hearing. This is what every box set should be...not too much music, not stuffed with filler, and a great tribute to the band. This is simply a must for any fan. A short and simple review for a big piece of work.
Disc one is mostly early demos, while disc 3 covers the Street Survivors period and lots of cool live tracks. You cannot go wrong with this!
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1.1999
2. Little Red Corvette
3. Delirious
4. Let's Pretend We're Married
5. Automatic
6. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
7. Free
8. Lady Cab Driver
9. All The Critics Love U In New York
10. International Lover
This was the true coming out party for Prince. It's almost like he's toying with us. This two record set starts with an almost "I'm showing off" set...3 radio ready pieces of pure hit single, including the ultimate ode to the turn of the century. After the hits are out of the way, the real fun starts. "Let's Pretend We're Married" is maybe the nastiest song ever recorded. "Lady Cab Driver" is not far behind. But it's all expertly played, written, and sang funk like only the Purple One can do. His first masterpiece, 1999 is one of the better albums of the 80's.
The only down side is that in order to fit this onto a single CD, they removed the excellent track "D.M.S.R." from the CD. 1999 is worth the price of 2 CD's, and the track being excluded is a crime. Still, this is an easy one to call...you should have this in your collection.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
SEMISONIC
FEELING STRANGELY FINE
1998-MCA
Produced By NICK LAUNAY
1. Closing Time
2. Singing In My Sleep
3. Made To Last
4. Never You Mind
5. Secret Smile
6. DND
7. Completely Pleased
8. This Will Be My Year
9. All Worked Out
10. California
11. She Spreads Her Wings
12. Gone To The Movies
Sometimes music just gets it wrong. Semisonic was a power pop band from Minneapolis. Feeling Strangely Fine was their second album, and the single "Closing Time" was a huge success. It was also the song that unfairly labeled the band as one hit wonders and caused their early demise. "Closing Time" is a terrific song, but what pretty much everybody missed was the fact that Semisonic was a terrific band. All 3 of their albums are worth having (this may actually be the weakest of the bunch). This band had more hooks than most bands can dream of...yet they sit in "one hit wonder" land.
If you like Feeling Strangely Fine, then go get their debut Great Divide and their last album, 2001's All About Chemistry. You'll be discovering a band that should have never become obscure in the first place. These guys were good. You just don't know it yet.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
QUEEN
NEWS OF THE WORLD
1977-HOLLYWOOD
Produced By QUEEN
1. We Will Rock You
2. We Are The Champions
3. Sheer Heart Attack
4. All Dead, All Dead
5. Spread Your Wings
6. Fight From The Inside
7. Get Down, Make Love
8. Sleeping On The Sidewalk
9. Who Needs You
10. It's Late
11. My Melancholy Blues
12. We Will Rock You (1991 Bonus Remix Ruined By Rick Rubin)
News Of The World marked the 3rd consecutive album by Queen named after a Marx Brothers movie, but the similarities between this and tits predecessors, A Night At The Opera and A Day At The Races pretty much end there. This album marks the end of Queen's outrageous creative phase as they move into more mainstream and straight ahead rock. They were so huge because of the 1-2 punch of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" that no one really noticed. And there are still some bursts..."Get Down, Make Love" is a play it loud hoot, and all those harmonies and guitars are still there, but this is a very simple album, and the blueprint for the Queen to come...the one Americans never cared much about.
News Of The World is still a very good album. The two opening hits are still rolling to this day, and the album is mostly heavy rock. "It's Late" is very underrated. The clunkers are the pedestrian "Sleeping On The Sidewalk", the even more pedestrian "Spread Your Wings", and the simply awful "My Melancholy Blues". Still, this is a major part of 70's music, and a major part of any Queen collection.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
LENNY KRAVITZ
CIRCUS
1995-VIRGIN
Produced By LENNY KRAVITZ
1. Rock And Roll Is Dead
2. Circus
3. Beyond The 7th Sky
4. Tunnel Vision
5. Can't Get You Off My Mind
6. Magdalene
7. God Is Love
8. Thin Ice
9. Don't Go And Put A Bullet In Your Head
10. In My Life Today
11. The Resurrection
There was never really any doubt that Lenny Kravitz would end up in show biz. It was what he ended up doing that was a surprise. He's the son of an actress from The Jeffersons, went to high school with Slash and Maria McKee, and married a Cosby kid...THEN launched his music career. Circus is his 4th album, the follow up to his big success Are You Gonna Go My Way?. His love of 70's rock is apparent, and tiring after a minute. Still, Kravitz is a talented guy. With the exception of guitarist Craig Ross (who is excellent, by the way), Kravitz plays all of the instruments here. The songwriting is solid, but unspectacular. This is about as good as a Kravitz album gets...average stuff at best.
"Rock And Roll Is Dead" was the hit, and pretty much sums up Kravitz as a whole. It's not really dead, but if it were, it might sound a bit like this.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE INNOCENCE MISSION
GLOW
1995-A&M
Produced By DENNIS HERRING
1. Keeping Awake
2. Bright As Yellow
3. Brave
4. That Was Another Country
5. Speak Our Minds
6. Happy, The End
7. Our Harry
8. Go
9. Everything's Different Now
10. Spinning
11. There
12. I Hear You Say So
Out of Pennsylvania came The Innocence Mission, a smart band led by singer Karen Peris. The songs are built around Peris' beautiful voice, perfect for setting the mood for tunes about childhood and reminiscing. The band is very good, and they got a big boost with "Bright As Yellow", a hit from the movie Empire Records. The rest of Glow is very good as well, and probably the best place to start with this band. They will not rock your socks off, but they will charm your ass off. This is a very good band, and Glow is a very good record.
The Innocence Mission continues on today with the original lineup, having released their 11th album in 2015. A great discovery.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BIG JOE TURNER
THE VERY BEST OF BIG JOE TURNER
1998-RHINO
Produced By BILLY VERA
1. Chains Of Love
2. Sweet Sixteen
3. Honey Hush
4. TV Mama
5. Oke-She-Moke-She-Pop
6. Shake, Rattle And Roll
7. Well All Right
8. Flip Flop And Fly
9. Hide And Seek
10. Midnight Cannonball
11. The Chicken And The Hawk (Up, Up And Away)
12. Boogie Woogie Country Girl
13. Corrine Corrina
14. You're Driving Me Crazy (What Did I Do?)
15. Midnight Special Train
16. Tomorrow Night
Any history of the early days of Rock & Roll that does not include Big Joe Turner is woefully incomplete. Turner was already a veteran, had been a star in the early 1940's, and was in his mid 40's when rock came around. But his recordings in the 1950's for Atlantic are some of rock's most important early pieces. The biggest, of course, was his 1954 take on "Shake, Rattle And Roll", still to this day the finest recording ever made of the song...and there have been many. Turner recorded the songs here between 1951 and 1959, and each one of them ranks at or near the top of rock in the decade. "Flip, Flop And Fly" was a hit, as was "Corrine Corrina", one of the first R&B songs to have crossover success in the pop charts.
This is a great collection, and Turner, who died in 1985, should be heard, and his contributions should not be forgotten. This is a big man with a big voice, and some great songs. Don't miss out!
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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