THE ROLLING STONES
EXILE ON MAIN ST.
1972-ROLLING STONES
Produced By JIMMY MILLER
1. Rocks Off
2. Rip This Joint
3. Shake Your Hips
4. Casino Boogie
5. Tumbling Dice
6. Sweet Virginia
7. Torn And Frayed
8. Sweet Black Angel
9. Loving Cup
10. Happy
11. Turd On The Run
12. Ventilator Blues
13. I Just Want To See His Face
14. Let It Loose
15. All Down The Line
16. Stop Breaking Down
17. Shine A Light
18. Soul Survivor
What was so great about The Rolling Stones? THIS is what was so great about them. Exile On Main St. is the most classic of albums from the band that was the best in the world from 1969 through 1974. The Mick Taylor years. Exile was initially dismissed as being too underproduced and dirty sounding...exactly the things that were The Stones' best qualities. But there's a swagger on this record that you won't find anywhere else in rock...this is the sound of a band completely sure of what they were doing, and tearing the roof off doing it.
"Rocks Off" and "Rip This Joint" are a great 1-2 opener, and it just gets better from there. Great songs and performances are all over this album: "Tumbling Dice" and "Torn And Frayed" are among their very best songs: "Happy" and "All Down The Line" are great, and "Sweet Virginia" is not only one of the best alt country songs ever, but it's also one of the biggest the shining moments for Mick Jagger. Exile is a masterpiece, and you should not be without this album. Ever.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
JOHN LENNON
ACOUSTIC
2004-CAPITOL
Produced By YOKO ONO
1. Working Class Hero
2. Love
3. Well Well Well
4. Look At Me
5. God
6. My Mummy's Dead
7. Cold Turkey
8. The Luck Of The Irish
9. John Sinclair
10. Woman Is The Nigger Of The World
11. What You Got
12. Watching The Wheels
13. Dear Yoko
14. Real Love
15. Imagine
16. It's Real
God bless Yoko Ono. She probably really believes that she is doing the right thing by releasing every single scrap of music that her late husband recorded. But there comes a point where you have to really wonder if dead people cringe. Acoustic is a well meaning set of songs and scraps of songs recorded mostly solo and acoustic. The album shows many things. It shows that John as a solo artist really didn't do a lot. It shows that he was a capable rhythm guitarist. It shows that he really wasn't the greatest protest song writer (the chorus of "John Sinclair" should not be listened to with razor blades in the room).
More than half of these recordings were already released on the 1998 box set, and the rest were bootlegged for many years...so there's nothing new here. The interesting stuff is buried by the terrible stuff. "Cold Turkey" is one of the most annoying recordings ever made. Several tracks were recorded so badly that they're barely listenable. And many of the ones that sound great..."God", "Woman Is The Nigger Of The World", and "Well Well Well"...are cut painfully short.
John Lennon deserves better than this.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1. No Myth
2. Half Harvest
3. This & That
4. Brave New World
5. Innocent One
6. Disney's A Snow Cone/Bedlam Boys
7. Invisible
8. Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun
9. Big House
10. Battle Room
11. Evenfall
Yep. This is, indeed Sean Penn's little brother. And yes, the magic dust that seemed to bless the Penn children did not skip Michael. March is a strong debut album that came from nowhere to give us one of the more pleasant hit singles of 1989, the jangly acoustic "No Myth". What if I WAS Romeo in black jeans? But this wasn't just a one hit and a bunch of filler. March is actually a really good record.
The first 4 tracks are as strong a beginning of an album as you'll find. Catchy, melodic, and not a speck of cheese anywhere near it. "Brave New World" might be the catchiest song of the 80's that isn't buried in aquanet or new wave. And "Half Harvest", "This & That", and the awesome "Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun" are all just as good. (The last one, "Cupid", was actually partially recorded for my album...I almost covered it.)
March is not perfect...but it is really good. Definitely worth more than a spin, because this one does grow on you.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1. No Myth
2. Half Harvest
3. This & That
4. Brave New World
5. Innocent One
6. Disney's A Snow Cone/Bedlam Boys
7. Invisible
8. Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun
9. Big House
10. Battle Room
11. Evenfall
Yep. This is, indeed Sean Penn's little brother. And yes, the magic dust that seemed to bless the Penn children did not skip Michael. March is a strong debut album that came from nowhere to give us one of the more pleasant hit singles of 1989, the jangly acoustic "No Myth". What if I WAS Romeo in black jeans? But this wasn't just a one hit and a bunch of filler. March is actually a really good record.
The first 4 tracks are as strong a beginning of an album as you'll find. Catchy, melodic, and not a speck of cheese anywhere near it. "Brave New World" might be the catchiest song of the 80's that isn't buried in aquanet or new wave. And "Half Harvest", "This & That", and the awesome "Cupid's Got A Brand New Gun" are all just as good. (The last one, "Cupid", was actually partially recorded for my album...I almost covered it.)
March is not perfect...but it is really good. Definitely worth more than a spin, because this one does grow on you.
This album has certainly grown on me and to me it's just perfect all over: I can only confirm what Romanelli said: check it out and you won't be sorry.
JETHRO TULL
AQUALUNG
1973-CHRYSALIS
Produced By IAN ANDERSON & TERRY ELLIS
1. Aqualung
2. Cross-Eyed Mary
3. Cheap Day Return
4. Mother Goose
5. Wond'ring Aloud
6. Up To Me
7. My God
8. Hymn 43
9. Slipstream
10. Locomotive Breath
11. Wind-Up
For the most part, Jethro Tull and their catalog of what seems like 50 albums is pretty overrated. Their longevity can be mostly accredited to the fact that the lead singer plays flute. But they did also have a small handful of pretty good albums. Aqualung is the best of Tull's efforts, and there's a good reason why it has endured for going on 40 years now. Songs. "Locomotive Breath", "Hymn 43", Mother Goose" and the title track are really great songs. The rest, for the most part, isn't bad either, although "My God" and "Wind-Up" don't make the record any better.
Aqualung is half the story of a degenerate, and half about religion. The guitars sound terrific, and Ian Anderson snarls his way through the best songs, half playing his flute and half talking through it. The album is a great piece of the 70's, and again, the best Tull album you'll find. Although you don't want to listen too often, you'll want to have it in your collection.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1. Baba O'Riley
2. Bargain
3. Love Ain't For Keepin'
4. My Wife
5. The Song Is Over
6. Gettin' In Tune
7. Goin' Mobile
8. Behind Blue Eyes
9. Won't Get Fooled Again
Pete Townshend opens Who's Next with a blinding synthesizer lick that will live forever, and The Who never looked back. This is, by far, their strongest studio album, and their shiningest moment (with all apologies to Tommy). "Baba O'Riley" became an anthem for everyone stuck in teenage wasteland, while "Won't Get Fooled Again" became an anthem for anyone who'd been fooled before. And everything in between is simply excellent. Not a single weak track, not a single wasted drum fill from Keith Moon, not a wasted bass note from John Entwistle, and not a wasted scream from Roger Daltrey. And, of course, Townshend is on fire as always.
Who's Next is a must have for any serious rock collection. It's simply one of the best records of all time. And it still sounds just as amazing as it did the day it came out.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
GEORGE HARRISON
LET IT ROLL: SONGS BY GEORGE HARRISON
2009- CAPITOL
Produced By RAY COOPER, DAVE EDMUNDS, DHANI HARRISON, GEORGE HARRISON, JEFF LYNNE, PHIL SPECTOR & RUSS TITLEMAN
1. Got My Mind Set On You
2. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
3. Ballad Of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)
4. My Sweet Lord
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Live)
6. All Things Must Pass
7. Any Road
8. This Is Love
9. All Those Years Ago
10. Marwa Blues
11. What Is Life
12. Rising Sun
13. When We Was Fab
14. Something (Live)
15. Blow Away
16. Cheer Down
17. Here Comes The Sun (Live)
18. I Don't Want To Do It
19. Isn't It A Pity
For some reason, there seems to be a problem with getting an album of the best of George Harrison done the right way. Let It Roll is no exception, although it is the closest so far. Compiled posthumously by his wife Olivia, this contains a whole lot of right choices, some questionable ones, and a few what if's. The biggest knock is the inclusion of inferior live versions of his best Beatles songs. And while they may be his best known work, why not concentrate on his solo career rather than bring up already over documented songs, and inferior versions at that (including the version of "Something" at Bangladesh where he forgets the words).
There are also several missing songs, most notably from his time with the Traveling Wilburys. But the good news is, outside of the Beatles tracks, everything else is great stuff. Most of his biggest hits are here, and the album really is a joy to listen to. George may have turned out to be the likeable Beatle, and his music certainly reflects that. Let It Roll is a great looking collection with great liner notes written by former Del Fuegos guitarist Warren Zanes. It could have been better, but this is a sweet collection.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
VARIOUS ARTISTS
ELECTRIC SEVENTIES
1988-WARNER SPECIAL PRODUCTS
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. We're An American Band (Grand Funk Railroad)
2. Blinded By The Light (Manfred Mann's Earth Band)
3. Paranoid (Black Sabbath)
4. Midnight Rider (Gregg Allman)
5. Frankenstein (Edgar Winter)
6. Mississippi Queen (Mountain)
7. Black Magic Woman (Santana)
8. Easy Livin' (Uriah Heep)
9. All The Young Dudes (Mott The Hoople)
10. Smokin' In The Boys Room (Brownsville Station)
11. Eighteen (Alice Cooper)
12. Hocus Pocus (Focus)
This one came courtesy of my old friend David. Years ago, I went to his place for dinner and he gave me this cd. I've carried it with for for all these years. It's part of a series called Baby Boomer Classics, and it's basically songs you would here if you listened to a typical classic rock station for about 2 hours. It's just like a radio station without the commercials. I don't really listen to it much because the songs are everywhere, but it does come in handy if I need to learn a song from it.
So thanks, Dave. I don't have many things from the days when we kind of ran Redondo Beach with our guitars on the Strand, but I do have this. Kinda cool.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BILL WITHERS
GREATEST HITS
1981-COLUMBIA
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. Just The Two Of Us
2. Use Me
3. Ain't No Sunshine
4. Lovely Day
5. I Want To Spend The Night
6. Soul Shadows
7. Lean On Me
8. Grandma's Hands
9. Hello Like Before
10. Who Is He And What Is He To You
On the strength of "Ain't No Sunshine", 30 something Bill Withers became a star. His somewhat shaky voice was more than made up for by the coolness of songs like "Use Me" and "Lean On Me". He later hit really big with the sappy "Just The Two Of Us". Greatest Hits is one of several 10 song collections that suffer from the same problem: skimpiness.
And while it does contain his best known material, it also contains some stuff that you could really do better without. "Hello Like Before" and "Soul Shadows" on a better collection would be better, but something this small should give a better representation. If you're looking for a thin compilation with just those few big hits, you can probably get this (or any one of 4 others just like it) for cheap. The one collection that actually does Withers justice is Lean On Me: The Best Of Bill Withers from 1994. Much better than this.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
PINK FLOYD
WISH YOU WERE HERE
1975-CBS
Produced By PINK FLOYD
1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)
2. Welcome To The Machine
3. Have A Cigar
4. Wish you Were Here
5. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX)
Everyone has their own favorite Pink Floyd album...Dark Side, Animals, The Wall...my personal favorite is Wish You Were Here. The follow up album to Dark Side of The Moon (how do you follow THAT?) is even better. And while not as spacy and strange, Wish You Were Here contains the band's best songs.
"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a long, mostly instrumental song that was written for former Floyd guitarist Syd Barrett. The division of the different "parts" is not totally clear, but the song works well as a bookend for the album...and breaking it up keeps it from being too long. The three tracks in the middle are all very well known and fit together like pieces from a puzzle. The overall sound of the album is dark and spacious, melodic and complete. Wish You Were here is a simply great work...one of those albums that stands on its own as a whole. Must have this one!
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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Romanelli
dihansse
