BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J.
1973-COLUMBIA
Produced By MIKE APPEL & JIM CRETECOS
1. Blinded By The Light
2. Growin' Up
3. Mary Queen Of Arkansas
4. Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
5. Lost In The Flood
6. The Angel
7. For You
8. Spirit In The Night
9. It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City
World, meet Bruce Springsteen. On his debut album, Bruce was pegged as the next Dylan, a folk troubador, and a man with a great future. They got the last one right. And while Asbury Park is better than the entire careers of many artists, be aware...this does not stand up well next to what was to come over the next almost 30 years. Sure, there are some great songs ("Blinded By The Light", "Spirit In The Night", "Lost In The Flood", etc.), but Bruce hadn't yet caught up to his writing ability with his performances. It would not take long. But here, the Boss is just getting his feet wet.
I don't mean to to imply that Asbury Park is bad...it's not. But in comparison with what Bruce was to do next, and pretty much forever after, this does not rate as highly. This is still an important album...it's where it all got started, and it's got some great moments. If you're a fan, it's a must have. And if not, it's a good place to (carefully) start.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
PJ HARVEY
STORIES FROM THE CITY, STORIES FROM THE SEA
2000-ISLAND
Produced By PJ HARVEY, ROB ELLIS & MICK HARVEY
1. Big Exit
2. Good Fortune
3. A Place Called Home
4. One Line
5. Beautiful Feeling
6. The Whores Hustle And The Hustlers Whore
7. This Mess We're In
8. You Said Something
9. Kamikaze
10. This Is Love
11. Horses In My Dreams
12. We Float
Looking back at the early career of PJ Harvey, it was only a matter of time before she and her band of the same name recorded a masterpice. Stories From The City is that masterpiece. After flirting with greatness on To Bring You My Love and Rid of Me, Harvey comes back after a short hiatus to show a mature and almost happy side of herself. The songs are great...sometimes even breathtaking ("We Float" is amazing). She gets loud, she gets down, she gets introspective, and she even gets happy. This is a complete album, by far her best work.
She's still at it, having recorded 3 albums since, including the fantastic Let England Shake. The good thing about Harvey is that she won't make two records that sound alike, so Stories is a one of a kind. A great album. I knew she had it in her.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
RANK AND FILE
LONG GONE DEAD
1984-COLLECTORS CHOICE
Produced By JEFF EYRICH
1. Long Gone Dead
2. I'm An Old Old Man
3. Sound Of The Rain
4. Hot Wind
5. Tell Her I Love Her
6. Saddest Girl In The World
7. Timeless Love
8. John Brown
9. Last Night I Dreamed
10. It Don't Matter
Before you dismiss this as just another obscure entry, consider where it came from. Back in 1980, the Kinman brothers (Chip and Tony) ended their hardcore punk band The Dils and joined forces with the remnants of another punk band called The Nuns, which included Alejandro Escovedo. But before they recorded a note, they fell in love with country music...and alt country was born. With just enough of their punk roots left, they recorded two little heard but important albums: Sundown from 1982, and Long Gone Dead.
Depite Escovedo having departed after the first album, Long Gone dead is actually the better of the two. The album sounds like an Uncle Tupelo blueprint...strong vocals and experimental country with just enough rock edge to make it cool. There's not a bad song here, and it even includes a great cover of Lefty Frizzell's "I'm An Old Old Man". This album simply comes from nowhere and blows your mind every time you listen to it. Without Long Gone Dead, it's hard to imagine Whiskeytown. Or Uncle Tupelo. Or any of it.
The band recorded one more album (which was more metal than anything) before hanging it up in 1987. They are very much worth hearing, and this is one of the great lost albums of the 80's.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
ELMORE JAMES
THE COMPLETE FIRE AND ENJOY SESSIONS PART 1
1989-COLLECTABLES
Produced By BOBBY ROBINSON
1. The Sky Is Crying
2. Baby Please Set A Date
3. Held My Baby Last Night
4. Bobby's Rock
5. Dust My Broom
6. Rollin' & Tumblin'
7. Done Somebody Wrong
8. I'm Worried
9. Fine Little Mama
10. I Need You
11. Early One Morning
12. I Can't Stop Loving You
13. Strange Angels
This is part one of a four part set that was released in later years as a box set on both Collectables and Capricorn. Taken by itself, Part 1 is a great slice of one of the greatest blues players who ever lived. Elmore James has had a lot of classics, and there are enough of them here to make this single volume worthwhile. "Dust My Broom", "The Sky Is Crying", "Bobby's Rock"...and the rest are all great tracks. There isn't a lot of information about the package...the years, the musicians, the stories (although there are brief liner notes), but again, it James' music that pulls it all together.
James was the greatest slide guitarist who wver lived, and a legendary bluesman. You really can't go wrong with anything he recorded.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
ELMORE JAMES
THE COMPLETE FIRE AND ENJOY SESSIONS PART 1
1989-COLLECTABLES
Produced By BOBBY ROBINSON
1. The Sky Is Crying
2. Baby Please Set A Date
3. Held My Baby Last Night
4. Bobby's Rock
5. Dust My Broom
6. Rollin' & Tumblin'
7. Done Somebody Wrong
8. I'm Worried
9. Fine Little Mama
10. I Need You
11. Early One Morning
12. I Can't Stop Loving You
13. Strange Angels
This is part one of a four part set that was released in later years as a box set on both Collectables and Capricorn. Taken by itself, Part 1 is a great slice of one of the greatest blues players who ever lived. Elmore James has had a lot of classics, and there are enough of them here to make this single volume worthwhile. "Dust My Broom", "The Sky Is Crying", "Bobby's Rock"...and the rest are all great tracks. There isn't a lot of information about the package...the years, the musicians, the stories (although there are brief liner notes), but again, it James' music that pulls it all together.
James was the greatest slide guitarist who wver lived, and a legendary bluesman. You really can't go wrong with anything he recorded.
NEIL YOUNG
LIVING WITH WAR
2006-REPRISE
Produced By NEIL YOUNG, NIKO BOLAS & L.A. JOHNSON
1. After The Garden
2. Living With War
3. The Restless Consumer
4. Shock And Awe
5. Families
6. Flags Of Freedom
7. Let's Impeach The President
8. Lookin' For A Leader
9. Roger And Out
10. America The Beutiful
God bless you, Neil Young. Fed up with the war, and wondering why not one band or songwriter of the current generation had nothing to say about the state of the US foreign affairs in Iraq in 2006, Neil Young wrote the Living With War album in the hopes that seeing an old relic from the Vietnam era taking a stand would jump start the younger musicians into action. It did not work.
Living With War is an album about the mistreatment of our nation by President George W. Bush. Directly, and without any punches pulled. Neil attacks with lyrics like no one has since Bob Dylan, and he leaves a searing mark. "Living With War"and "The Restless Consumer" go straight for the throat, and the centerpiece, "Let's Impeach The President", speaks for itself. Lyrically, Neil is dead on.
Musically is where the album suffers. It was written and recorded over a nine day period, and unfortunately, it sounds like it. It's rushed, and many potentially strong pieces are covered in an unnecessary 100 voice choir. Had Neil taken the time to make this an angry, barely controlled and loud NY album, it would have been 1000 times more effective. As it is, you almost got it right, Neil. Almost.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
STEVE EARLE
COPPERHEAD ROAD
1988-UNI
Produced By STEVE EARLE & TONY BROWN
1. Copperhead Road
2. Snake Oil
3. Back To The Wall
4. The Devil's Right Hand
5. Johnny Come Lately
6. Even When I'm Blue
7. You Belong To Me
8. Waiting On You
9. Once You Love
10. Nothing But A Child
Country, meet rock. Only not in some paying homage to the Eagles way, but meet what you would sound like if you really rocked. The title track from Copperhead Road is everything that a perfect mix of country and rock could dream of. It's heavy, reckless, redneck, and a great story all rolled into one. The rest of the album isn't too bad, either. Earle was not yet seeing his career be destroyed by his heroin use, but you could hear it in his voice on this album. Which gives him a rough, sandpaper sound that suits the material well.
"The Devil's Right Hand", "Johnny Come Lately", "Snake Oil"...all highlights. This was Earle's first truly great album, and there would be more to come...after he cleaned himself up. But this is more than worthwhile if only for the power of the title track. Turn it up, boy! Feel the power of Steve Earle!
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
RANK AND FILE
LONG GONE DEAD
1984-COLLECTORS CHOICE
Produced By JEFF EYRICH
1. Long Gone Dead
2. I'm An Old Old Man
3. Sound Of The Rain
4. Hot Wind
5. Tell Her I Love Her
6. Saddest Girl In The World
7. Timeless Love
8. John Brown
9. Last Night I Dreamed
10. It Don't Matter
Before you dismiss this as just another obscure entry, consider where it came from. Back in 1980, the Kinman brothers (Chip and Tony) ended their hardcore punk band The Dils and joined forces with the remnants of another punk band called The Nuns, which included Alejandro Escovedo. But before they recorded a note, they fell in love with country music...and alt country was born. With just enough of their punk roots left, they recorded two little heard but important albums: Sundown from 1982, and Long Gone Dead.
Depite Escovedo having departed after the first album, Long Gone dead is actually the better of the two. The album sounds like an Uncle Tupelo blueprint...strong vocals and experimental country with just enough rock edge to make it cool. There's not a bad song here, and it even includes a great cover of Lefty Frizzell's "I'm An Old Old Man". This album simply comes from nowhere and blows your mind every time you listen to it. Without Long Gone Dead, it's hard to imagine Whiskeytown. Or Uncle Tupelo. Or any of it.
The band recorded one more album (which was more metal than anything) before hanging it up in 1987. They are very much worth hearing, and this is one of the great lost albums of the 80's.
i'm going to check this album out. between the cover artwork and your review, it looks like it's worth at least a spin or two. _________________ follow me on the bandcamp.
ELVIS PRESLEY
50 WORLDWIDE GOLD HITS VOLUME 1 PART 2
1988-BMG
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. Stuck On You
2. A Mess Of Blues
3. It's Now Or Never
4. I Gotta Know
5. Are You Lonesome To-Night?
6. Wooden Heart
7. Surrender
8. I Feel So Bad
9. Little Sister
10. Can't Help Falling In Love
11. Rock-A-Hula Baby
12. Good Luck Charm
13. Anything That's Part Of You
14. She's Not You
15. Where Do You Come From
16. Return To Sender
17. One Broken Heart For Sale
18. Bossa Nova Baby
19. (You're The) Devil In Disguise
20. Kissin' Cousins
21. If I Can Dream
22. Don't Cry Daddy
23. In The Ghetto
24. Kentucky Rain
25. Suspicious Minds
If this looks familiar, it's because I featured part 1 a while back. Part 2 picks up with the same lineup of stunning hit singles, only this volume is in stereo and features his "later" years...up through 1969. Just like Part 1, this is a stunning selection of great songs. And even the lesser ones sound great somehow. Go figure.
Both of these volumes can now be purchased as a single 2 disc package. It's still the best value for Elvis there is. This is the best way to experience how massive his body of hits was, without any of the filler that weighs down much of his later work. And you really should not be without any of these songs. They're that historically important.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BEASTIE BOYS
CHECK YOUR HEAD
1992-CAPITOL
Produced By BEASTIE BOYS & MARIO CALDATO JR
1. Jimmy James
2. Funky Boss
3. Pass The Mic
4. Gratitude
5. Lighten Up
6. Finger Lickin' Good
7. So Whatcha Want
8. The Biz Vs The Nuge
9. Time For Livin'
10. Somthing's Got To Give
11. The Blue Nun
12. Stand Together
13. POW
14. The Maestro
15. Groove Holmes
16. Live At P.J.'s
17. Mark On The Bus
18. Professor Booty
19. In 3's
20. Namaste
It usually takes a hip hop act about an album to run out of gas. It took the Beastie's three...although they would stage a later comeback. Check Your Head, after the huge successes of Licensed To Ill and Paul's Boutique, is a bit of a letdown. There's a lot of tracks here, but not really a lot of actual songs. The songs that are here are pretty good...particularly "Funky Boss", "So Whatcha Want", and "Finger Lickin' Good". Some great side trips and interesting samples...Bob Dylan and Ted Nugent, for example. But overall, not as strong as what came before it, and a bit thin sounding. And not as strong as what would come later.
The Beasties had a remarkable career. This is one of their lesser efforts, but it still manages to sound pretty terrific much of the time.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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