EARTH, WIND & FIRE
THE BEST OF EARTH, WIND & FIRE VOL. 1
1978-COLUMBIA/LEGACY
Produced By MAURICE WHITE & CHRIS STEPNEY
1. Got To Get You Into My Life
2. Fantasy
3. Can't Hide Love
4. Love Music
5. Getaway
6. That's The Way Of The World
7. September
8. Shining Star
9. Reasons
10. Sing A Song
From 1973 to 1978, Earth, Wind & Fire had the stage show and the hit songs to make them the premier soul/funk act of its time. Led by Maurice White, Verdine White and Philip Bailey, the run this band went on culminated in one of the most enduring Best Of packages of the 70's. Starting off with their stunning cover of The Beatles' "Got To Get You Into My Life" (from the horrible film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band), this is one great track after another. "That's The Way Of The World", "Sing A Song", and the funk almighty "Shining Star" make this a must have.
The band, a nine piece behemoth, continued on but never matched what they did in the 70's. The best of it is right here, and is a great document. The two bonus tracks are just a taste of what's on the record. This is great stuff.
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Of dying history
DONNIE IRIS
KING COOL
1981-MCA
Produced By MARK AVSEC
1. Sweet Merilee
2. The Promise
3. Pretender
4. Love Is Like A Rock
5. That's The Way Love Ought To Be
6. My Girl
7. Broken Promises
8. King Cool
9. Color Me Blue
10. The Last To Know
Donnie Iris is my guilty pleasure artist. He was born Donnie Ierace, and was a one hit wonder with the band The Jaggers in 1970 ("The Rapper"). He then joined Wild Cherry...AFTER their one hit ("Play That Funky Music"). He went solo and became a 1 1/2 hit wonder. His album Back On The Streets (one of my favorites) contained "Ah! Leah", which made Iris a star. King Cool is the follow up, and while not as good as Streets, it still has some great moments. His 1/2 hit came with "Love Is Like A Rock". Iris rocked plenty hard, but he also had a thing for the cheesiest keyboard sounds of the time which makes even his best material sound dated today.
Too bad...because King Cool (again, the lesser of the two from this period) contains not only the romping hit, but also the highly tuneful "Pretender", "Broken Promises", "Color Me Blue", and the fine title track. It actually gets better as it goes along. You won't find many people who love this, but you'd be surprised how many will remember it once they hear it. Me, I dig it. Go figure.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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ERIC MCFADDEN TRIO
JOY OF SUFFERING
2005-TERMINUS
Produced By DAN RATHBURN & ERIC MCFADDEN TRIO
1. Put It Down
2. Bury Our Sins
3. Long Way Up
4. Miranda
5. Memories Can't Wait
6. The Rise Of King George II
7. Is The Morning Safe For Waking?
8. The Ghost-Maker
9. The Ghost Of Saint Patrick
10. Never Gonna Burn
11. Fill My Cup
12. Limitations
Just when you think that record store days are better left in the past for Amazon sprees, an album like this pops up to remind you that there's nothing quite like making a great discovery at a discounted price in the cut out bin. I was not familiar with the work of Eric McFadden, and I took a chance on this low priced disc. Turns out I had picked me a winner. McFadden, a stunning guitarist who had made a name for himself playing with George Clinton, and his band, a crazy good rhythm section, tear their way through 11 originals and a sharp cover of Talking Heads "Memories Can't Wait".
The songs are excellent, and McFadden shows that not all guitar viruosos have to sing like crap. This is powerful, yet catchy stuff. Even the Spanish punk workout "Miranda" will have you rocking and singing along. Joy Of Suffering is guitar hero country funk rock...the best way I can put it. This is great stuff, and shouldn't be ignored. If you see it laying around, pick it up. Well worth the purchase.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
BABY 81
2007-RCA
Produced By BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB
1. Took Out A Loan
2. Berlin
3. Weapon Of Choice
4. Windows
5. Cold Wind
6. Not What You Wanted
7. 666 Conducer
8. All You Do Is Talk
9. Lien On Your Dreams
10. Need Some Air
11. Killing The Light
12. American X
13. Am I Only
With their name coming from an old movie, this group of Americans who try so hard to sound British (their drummer is, anyway), aren't nearly as hard and tough as their name suggests. They had retooled their sound for their previous album Howl, and proved here that you really can't go back. The sound is remminiscent of their very good debut album, but without the songs, or the energy.
What you end up with in Baby 81 is a career lull. And maybe the lesson that trying to sound British doesn't work very well if you also don't sound very good. This band has recorded much better records...this is the one you'd probably want to avoid the most. Not terrible by any means, but not up to the standard already set by BRMC.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
ADAM & THE ANTS
KINGS OF THE WILD FRONTIER
1980-EPIC
Produced By CHRIS HUGHES
1. Dog Eat Dog
2. "Antmusic"
3. Los Rancheros
4. Feed Me To The Lions
5. Press Darlings
6. Ants Invasion
7. Killer In The Home
8. Kings Of The Wild Frontier
9. The Magnificent Five
10. Don't Be Square (Be There)
11. Jolly Roger
12. Physical (You're So)
13. The Human Beings
So weird, you can't make it up. Adam Ant dressed up like a pirate and sang songs about pirates and bugs. And for a few years, he was huge. Kings Of The Wild Frontier is Ant's shining moment, with some catchy weirdness...but what really saves the day is the heavy guitar work of Marco Pirroni. Somehow, the mixture of Ant's strangeness and the fuzzed out guitars makes it all seem to work.
There are some moments that this could have done without, but for the most part, it's catchy, odd 80's fun. The Ants without Adam went on to become Bow Wow Wow around a 14 year old barely clothed lead singer, and Ant himself went on to just get weirder. A great piece of the 80's.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND
NIGHTINGALES AND BOMBERS
1975-MANN
Produced By MANFRED MANN & THE EARTH BAND
1. Spirits In The Night
2. Countdown
3. Time Is Right
4. Crossfade
5. Visionary Mountains
6. Nightingales And Bombers
7. Fat Nelly
8. As Above So Below (Live)
Bonus Tracks
9. Quit Your Low Down Ways
10. Spirits in The Night (Single Version)
Welcome to one of the most severely underrated albums in rock. Keyboardist Manfred Mann had previous success with a cover of Bob Dylan's "Quinn The Eskimo", but his Earth Band had been below the radar for some time. That would change...but not until the album after this one. Too bad, because Nightingales And Bombers is a stunning album. Led by Mann in name, the real leader of this band was guitarist and singer Mick Rogers, who lays down some of the best sounding (and most unheard) playing of the decade. The album also introduces audiences to then unknown American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen (the full version of "Spirits In The Night" with the Rogers solo intact must be heard). Also, Joan Armatrading is covered ("Visionary Mountains") before she made it, and another Dylan cover ("Quit Your Low Down Ways") was on the American release only.
The album alternates between songs with vocals and instrumentals...but it's never boring. And as close as the band was to progressive and jazz, it never spills over into either. The songs are kept short enough for the most part, and this may be the best stoner music...again...that you've never heard. Rogers left to pursue jazz after the album (he did provide backup vocals on the next record), and although he would return later, the results would never be the same. He was replaced by Chris Thompson for The Roaring Silence, who would sing the Springsteen cover that became a big hit for the band, "Blinded By The Light". The album title came from a recording of nightingales made during World War II that accidentally included bombers flying overhead, which is heard on the album. This was out of print for many, many years in the US...you can find it as a UK import. Do so...it really is amazing.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
EVERCLEAR
SPARKLE AND FADE
1995-CAPITOL
Produced By AP ALEXAKIS
1. Electra Made Me Blind
2. Heroin Girl
3. You Make Me Feel Like A Whore
4. Santa Monica
5. Summerland
6. Strawberry
7. Heartspark Dollarsign
8. The Twistinside
9. Her Brand New Skin
10. Nehalem
11. Queen Of The Air
12. Pale Green Stars
13. Chemical Smile
14. My Sexual Life
Everclear was never Nirvana: and they were never quite grunge (they were from Portland, not Seattle). And when their first single hit, Art Alexakis was 34 years old...ancient in grunge years. But what their 2nd album, Sparkle And Fade, did show, was a band with a future that knew its way around a good song. "Santa Monica" was the one that put them over the top, and for good reason. And while the rest of the material here may not stick in your head for very long, it's also pretty damn good stuff.
So Much For The Afterglow, the follow up album, made them huge until the death of grunge. But Sparkle And Fade is a bit better, with better songs and guitars. And "Santa Monica". And tracks like "You Make Me Feel Like A Whore" and "Heroin Girl". a forgotten band that deserves a bit better.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BILLY JOEL
AN INNOCENT MAN
1983-COLUMBIA
Produced By PHIL RAMONE
1. Easy Money
2. An Innocent Man
3. Uptown Girl
4. This Night
5. Tell Her About It
6. The Longest Time
7. Careless Talk
8. Christie Lee
9. Leave A Tender Moment Alone
10. Keeping The Faith
Billy Joel is a talented guy. He's also one who, the more he tried to not be the Piano Man and be a rocker (or the more he tried to be Elton John), the more annoying he became. Joel can come across very brash, as one you'd imagine as a loud, bothersome guy in a bar. But not always. He had his moments.
An Innocent Man is one of those. Breaking away from his usual self, Joel spends this album paying tribute to the music of the 1950's with fresh original material that, a lot of which, would have fit right in. It doesn't hurt that he was newly in love with supermodel Christie Brinkley. Some of it hasn't aged very well ("Uptown Girl", "Christie Lee", "Easy Money")...but the stuff that has still sounds terrific. Even more so, given how scarce it is now to hear anything close to this kind of music. Joel doesn't sound like he's pumped up to please, he sounds like he's having a good time. Which makes tracks like the a cappella doo wop tune "The Longest Time", the title track, and "Keeping The Faith" work so well.
This album actually works better than most of his records. If you're a fan, this should be right next to your copy of The Stranger and Greatest Hits...most of the Billy Joel you should ever need.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
GERRY RAFFERTY
CITY TO CITY
1978-EMI
Produced By HUGH MURPHY & GERRY RAFFERTY
1. The Ark
2. Baker Street
3. Right Down The Line
4. City To City
5. Stealin' Time
6. Mattie's Rag
7. Whatever's Written In Your Heart
8. Home And Dry
9. Island
10. Waiting For The Day
After the sloppy breakup of his band Stealer's Wheel ("Stuck In The Middle With You") and the legal battles that followed, Gerry Rafferty released his 2nd solo album, City To City, after what could have been a disastrous 6 year hiatus. The result was the saxophone solo heard round the world. "Baker Street" was a huge hit, and was followed by "Right Down The Line", the biggest 1-2 punch not related to disco of the year. But City To City has been, over the years, in the shadow of those two songs and that sax solo. Wrongfully so.
City To City always was a great album. Rafferty was a pent up songwriter who let it all out here. These songs will stay in your head, and are all very well written and sung. And yes, Rafferty does rock. The title track, "Home And Dry", and "Waiting For The Day" all are worthy rockers, while songs like "The Ark" and "Stealin' Time" are beautifully done. The album, and Rafferty, have not fared well over the years. Not fair.
Rafferty had more success with his next album, Night Owl, but not on the same level as City To City. He hated playing live, hated the music industry, had severe alcohol problems, and became a recluse. He died of liver failure in January 2011. City To City remains a great and yet forgotten album. It deserves to be rediscovered, and not just for that sax solo. It's all good.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
GERRY RAFFERTY
CITY TO CITY
1978-EMI
Produced By HUGH MURPHY & GERRY RAFFERTY
1. The Ark
2. Baker Street
3. Right Down The Line
4. City To City
5. Stealin' Time
6. Mattie's Rag
7. Whatever's Written In Your Heart
8. Home And Dry
9. Island
10. Waiting For The Day
After the sloppy breakup of his band Stealer's Wheel ("Stuck In The Middle With You") and the legal battles that followed, Gerry Rafferty released his 2nd solo album, City To City, after what could have been a disastrous 6 year hiatus. The result was the saxophone solo heard round the world. "Baker Street" was a huge hit, and was followed by "Right Down The Line", the biggest 1-2 punch not related to disco of the year. But City To City has been, over the years, in the shadow of those two songs and that sax solo. Wrongfully so.
City To City always was a great album. Rafferty was a pent up songwriter who let it all out here. These songs will stay in your head, and are all very well written and sung. And yes, Rafferty does rock. The title track, "Home And Dry", and "Waiting For The Day" all are worthy rockers, while songs like "The Ark" and "Stealin' Time" are beautifully done. The album, and Rafferty, have not fared well over the years. Not fair.
Rafferty had more success with his next album, Night Owl, but not on the same level as City To City. He hated playing live, hated the music industry, had severe alcohol problems, and became a recluse. He died of liver failure in January 2011. City To City remains a great and yet forgotten album. It deserves to be rediscovered, and not just for that sax solo. It's all good.
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