PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.
SECOND EDITION
1979-WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By PUBLIC IMAGE LTD
1. Albatross
2. Memories
3. Swan Lake
4. Poptones
5. Careering
6. Socialist
7. Graveyard
8. The Suit
9. Bad Baby
10. No Birds
11. Chant
12. Radio 4
I do not have Metal Box...I have Second Edition, the 1980 reissue. After the implosion of The Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten made one thing perfectly clear with his new band, Public Image Ltd: the man most definitely, without a doubt, could not sing for shit. In fact, he may just be one of the most grating vocalists ever committed to record. However, Second Edition, which is viewed as an avant garde post punk classic, has in its favor a lot more than John Lydon (as he called himself after the death of the Pistols). Guitarist Keith Levene shows himself to be a strangely creative player, and bassist Jah Wobble plays some great lines. Lydon's vocals are not the main element (thankfully), and they sound eerie and strange against the almost jazz that the band lays down. Which is ultimately why this works.
Not all of this is listenable in the way that rock and punk is listenable. "Chant", for instance, might completely lose you. But taken for what it is...subversive, non pop, hell. Non ROCK, Second Edition holds its own as something different. But a warning: you might dig this. But the chances are pretty good that you'll absolutely hate this as well. Listen before buying. Cause if you don't get it, I don't want you blaming me for you having bought a crappy album. There is genius here, but it may hurt your traditional pop ears. Enter with an open mind.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
WARREN ZEVON
A QUIET NORMAL LIFE: THE BEST OF WARREN ZEVON
1986-ASYLUM
Produced by JACKSON BROWNE, WADDY WACHTEL, WARREN ZEVON, & GREG LADANYI
1. Werewolves Of London
2. Excitable Boy
3. Play It All Night Long
4. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
5. The Envoy
6. Mohammed's Radio
7. Desperados Under The Eaves
8. Johnny Strikes Up The Band
9. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
10. Lawyers, Guns & Money
11. Ain't That Pretty At All
12. Poor Poor Pitiful Me
13. Accidentally Like A Martyr
14. Looking For The Next Best Thing
Depending on how much you like Zevon, you'll either find this collection all you'll need or woefully incomplete. But either way, you can't deny just how excellent these songs are. And while this doesn't stand up for huge fans the way that the I'll Sleep When I'm Dead two disc set does, it's still an amazing set.
Even though there are no live tracks from Stand In The Fire, this does represent all of his earlier albums very well. If you have I'll Sleep, the only song you'll be missing from this is the fine "Play It All Night Long". But it is a great introduction for those who aren't already Zevon fans, so it does have its place. And as a single disc best of, it's hard to beat this one.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
SYD BARRETT
THE MADCAP LAUGHS
1970-CAPITOL
Produced By DAVID GILMOUR, ROGER WATERS & MALCOLM JONES
1. Terrapin
2. No Good Trying
3. Love You
4. No Man's Land
5. Dark Globe
6. Here I Go
7. Octopus
8. Golden Hair
9. Long Gone
10. She Took A Long Cold Look
11. Feel
12. If It's In You
13. Late Night
This is maybe the creepiest document in rock & roll. Syd Barrett had once been the guiding light and chief songwriter for Pink Floyd, but his excessive use of psychedelic drugs and the onset of what was likely mental illness as a result turned him into this. The Madcap Laughs is the first of his two solo albums. And while the songs are mostly from the early Floyd period, it's the performances that are a stunning picture of a man betrayed by his own sanity. His former Pink Floyd bandmates Gilmour and Waters help out, and the band that plays is mostly The Soft Machine...but this is mainly the sound of Syd falling apart.
There are some cool moments...particularly "Long Gone" which actually does manage to sound like Floyd. But more than anything, this is just disturbing. Important, but a tough listen.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
SYD BARRETT
THE MADCAP LAUGHS
1970-CAPITOL
Produced By DAVID GILMOUR, ROGER WATERS & MALCOLM JONES
1. Terrapin
2. No Good Trying
3. Love You
4. No Man's Land
5. Dark Globe
6. Here I Go
7. Octopus
8. Golden Hair
9. Long Gone
10. She Took A Long Cold Look
11. Feel
12. If It's In You
13. Late Night
This is maybe the creepiest document in rock & roll. Syd Barrett had once been the guiding light and chief songwriter for Pink Floyd, but his excessive use of psychedelic drugs and the onset of what was likely mental illness as a result turned him into this. The Madcap Laughs is the first of his two solo albums. And while the songs are mostly from the early Floyd period, it's the performances that are a stunning picture of a man betrayed by his own sanity. His former Pink Floyd bandmates Gilmour and Waters help out, and the band that plays is mostly The Soft Machine...but this is mainly the sound of Syd falling apart.
There are some cool moments...particularly "Long Gone" which actually does manage to sound like Floyd. But more than anything, this is just disturbing. Important, but a tough listen.
While I agree with the narrative and the background, I totally disagree with your assessment of this album. It's actually one of my faves! Will give it a relisten soon some I can make a better case, but to me this is one of the greatest psychedelic albums of all time. I consider both his solo albums essential listens. Not because it's a man falling apart., But because the music is so freaking amazing & unique. Opal, the pre-Mazzy Star band, essentially used the sound of these two albums to form a huge part of their of sound.
Anyways, as always I'm amazed by how you write these little great synopses every day!!! This blog is truly legendary on BEA. I just disagree with your perspective on this album, but I totally get it. I'm sure for most people this is a very disturbing album. I'm probably just a bit weird. lol
PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.
SECOND EDITION
1979-WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By PUBLIC IMAGE LTD
1. Albatross
2. Memories
3. Swan Lake
4. Poptones
5. Careering
6. Socialist
7. Graveyard
8. The Suit
9. Bad Baby
10. No Birds
11. Chant
12. Radio 4
I do not have Metal Box...I have Second Edition, the 1980 reissue. After the implosion of The Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten made one thing perfectly clear with his new band, Public Image Ltd: the man most definitely, without a doubt, could not sing for shit. In fact, he may just be one of the most grating vocalists ever committed to record. However, Second Edition, which is viewed as an avant garde post punk classic, has in its favor a lot more than John Lydon (as he called himself after the death of the Pistols). Guitarist Keith Levene shows himself to be a strangely creative player, and bassist Jah Wobble plays some great lines. Lydon's vocals are not the main element (thankfully), and they sound eerie and strange against the almost jazz that the band lays down. Which is ultimately why this works.
Not all of this is listenable in the way that rock and punk is listenable. "Chant", for instance, might completely lose you. But taken for what it is...subversive, non pop, hell. Non ROCK, Second Edition holds its own as something different. But a warning: you might dig this. But the chances are pretty good that you'll absolutely hate this as well. Listen before buying. Cause if you don't get it, I don't want you blaming me for you having bought a crappy album. There is genius here, but it may hurt your traditional pop ears. Enter with an open mind.
Yeah, again. Great synopsis! And a great warning to those expecting Sex Pistols Part II. This is sth completely different and is the perfect complement to the No Wave scene that happening in New York. I absolutely love Lyndon's voice on this and consider it an essential part of the album. This is also one of my all time faves. And your right, Jah Wabble & Keith Levene steal the show for the most part. But this is another essential listen in my book, and one of the most important albums of the 70s. I absolutely love this album and was addicted to it for months back in the 90s.
Tilly...Thanks. I appreciate your comments very much. I'd be frightened if everyone heard music in the exact same way that I did. And thanks for reading this. It's good to know that it's not just a bunch of pages piling up!
😁 _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
GRAHAM PARKER
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
1991-RCA
Produced By GRAHAM PARKER
1. She Wants So Many Things
2. They Murdered the Clown
3. Strong Winds
4. The Kid With The Butterfly Net
5. And It Shook Me
6. Wrapping Paper
7. That's Where She Ends up
8. A Brand New Book
9. Weeping Statues
10. Guardian Angels
11. Children And Dogs
12. Over The Border (To America)
13. When I Was King
14. Ten Girls Ago
15. The Sun Is Gonna Shine Again
Back in the late 70's, there were three angry young men of rock: Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson and Graham Parker. And although Parker came first, he is the least memorable of the three. He made some great albums in the 70's and 80's, full of acerbic lyrics and a huge snarl.
Struck By Lightning introduces the world to the Graham Parker of the 90's. He sounds content and happy, and there's not much of a snarl left. The result is an album of well played songs that aren't really very memorable, but that still sound really good. He gets his blood going a bit near the end with "Ten Girls Ago" and "When I Was King", but it's mostly tame by Parker standards. Most interesting is his use of guest musicians: Garth Hudson and John Sebastian help to spice things up musically. Unless you're a big fan though, stick with the earlier stuff by Parker.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
Tilly...Thanks. I appreciate your comments very much. I'd be frightened if everyone heard music in the exact same way that I did. And thanks for reading this. It's good to know that it's not just a bunch of pages piling up!
:D
Completely. I'm totally with you on this. Love debating albums among friends. Even my own viewpoints on albums are constantly changing. lol.
ALICE COOPER
GREATEST HITS
1974-WARNER BROS
Produced By JACK RICHARDSON, BOB EZRIN & JACK DOUGLAS
1. I'm Eighteen
2. Is It My Body
3. Desperado
4. Under My Wheels
5. Be My Lover
6. School's Out
7. Hello Hooray
8. Elected
9. No More Mr. Nice Guy
10. Billion Dollar Babies
11. Teenage Lament '74
12. Muscle of Love
For a short period of time, Alice Cooper was a great rock & roll band. After 1974, Vincent Furnier took the Alice name solo and has spent the last 37 years slowly soiling a good name by being a cartoon embarrassment of what he once was. But prior to 1974, no one did this stuff better. The fact that in 40+ years, Alice the solo artist could barely fill up a 12 song best of to save his life speaks volumes.
This collection is excellent in every way. The early Alice band was tight, heavy, scary, and very creepy...all at the same time. No one since has matched the skin crawling lines "What have I got/ That makes you want to love me?/ Is it my body?". Every song is a perfect example of how it was to be a kid in the early seventies, and they are all as excellent as they are weird. Alice the band was great..Alice the solo artist...not so much. Greatest Hits is one of the best of its kind, and really the best way to experience Alice. Stay away from most anything after this album...you're going to be severely disappointed. But by all means, own this!
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DRIVIN-N-CYIN
FLY ME COURAGEOUS
1990-ISLAND
Produced By GEOFF WORKMAN
1. Around The Block Again
2. Chain Reaction
3. Fly Me Courageous
4. Look What You've Done To Your Brother
5. For You
6. Let's Go Dancing
7. The Innocent
8. Together
9. Lost In The Shuffle
10. Build A Fire
11. Rush Hour
This is what the lower echelon of bands from Georgia sounded like. Drivin-N-Cryin even had a minor pedigree (drummer Jeff Sullivan played with the Robinson brothers before they were the Black Crowes), but although they survived a long time, they never really amounted to much. In fact, guitarist and singer Kevn Kinney's solo albums are all much better than anything he recorded with this band. And while Fly Me Courageous is by no means its worst album, there really isn't much to recommend it. The title track was a semi-hit because of the timing with the Gulf War, but not much else stuck.
Although still a band, they have recorded only one full length album since 1997. Not that many have noticed. The country pop-metal-rock whatever it is that they play has not endured well. Look for Kinney's solo albums instead.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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