LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III
ALBUM III
1972-COLUMBIA
Produced By THOMAS JEFFERSON KAYE
1. Dead Skunk
2. Red Guitar
3. East Indian Princess
4. Muse Blues
5. Hometeam Crowd
6. B Side
7. Needless To Say
8. Smokey Joe's Cafe
9. New Paint
10. Trilogy (Circa 1967)
11. Drinking Song
12. Say That You Love Me
Word of advice regarding Loudon Wainwright III: do NOT let your first hit be a novelty song...you'll spend the rest of your career in obscurity trying to convince everyone that it was a fluke, and that you really are a serious artist. "Dead Skunk" is the price you pay for having a sense of humor. It's exactly what the title suggests...it's an ode to road kill. What a lot of people didn't get was that the rest of Album III is pretty good. Wainwright proves to be a pretty good songwriter: "Muse Blues", "Hometeam Crowd" and "Drinking Song" are all terrific.
"Dead Skunk" made him a novelty guy. But he's spent years making great music. Album III is a great place to start. And "Dead Skunk", as nasty as it is, is very good as well. But Loudon deserves to be known for more than just that song.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
SAM PHILLIPS
ZERO ZERO ZERO
1998-VIRGIN
Produced By T BONE BURNETT
1. Disappearing Act
2. I Need Love
3. Holding On To The Earth (New Version)
4. Signposts
5. Where The Colors Don't Go (Alternate Mix)
6. Animals On Wheels
7. Black Sky
8. Flame (Remix)
9. Ribot Tripping Over Gravity
10. Hole In Time
11. You Lost My Mind
12. Cruel Inventions
13. Fighting With Fire (Remix)
14. Lying (Alternate Mix)
15. Strawberry Road
Former Christian Rock singer Sam Phillips married T-Bone Burnett and embarked on a semi-successful career as a Beatles Revolver-era stylist. Zero Zero Zero is a compilation of the best of her first four non-Christian albums. And somehow, with as much great material as she had, it doesn't quite work. Why? First, her best songs (the ones that belong here) are the most Beatles influenced tracks. Without the balance of the other stuff, it sounds more like a Beatles tribute than anything else. Secondly, instead of giving fans a straight up best of, there are 5 tracks (all among her very best) that are replaced with alternate versions or inferior remixes.
So, even while zero Zero Zero sounds pretty good, you'll want to get the original albums for the good takes of "Fighting With Fire", "Lying", "Flame", and especially the criminally altered "Holding On To The Earth" and "Where The Colors Don't Go". Bummer. Because this could have been a much better disc than it is.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
ROY ORBISON
THE LEGENDARY ROY ORBISON
1990-CBS SPECIAL PRODUCTS
Produced By NICK SHAFFRAN
If you are a fan of Roy Orbison, then look absolutely no further than The Legendary Roy Orbison. This 4 disc box set contains a whopping 75 tracks, and pretty much every important song that Orbison recorded in his lifetime as a solo artist. One of the greatest voices in the history of rock & roll (particularly the earliest days), this is simply loaded with great material. It may cost you a bit of money, but if you're a fan of The Voice, it's all well worth it.
This will also render pretty much any other Orbison collection useless. That's okay...you won't need anything more. This is one of those rare times when a box set actually does the artist justice, and covers his entire career very nicely.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
RICHARD THOMPSON
MOCK TUDOR
1999-CAPITOL
Produced By TOM ROTHROCK & ROB SCHNAPF
1. Cooksferry Queen
2. Sibella
3. Bathsheba Smiles
4. Two-Faced Love
5. Hard On Me
6. Crawl Back (Under My Stone)
7. Uninhabited Man
8. Dry My Tears And Move On
9. Walking The Long Miles Home
10. Sights And Sounds Of London Town
11. That's All, Amen, Close The Door
12. Hope You Like The New Me
One of rock's great underrated guitarists, Richard Thompson began in the 60's with Fairport Convention, then made a number of amazing records with his then-wife Linda. He has since played in avant garde, obscure groups, and he has also carved out a very nice and very under the radar solo career. Mock Tudor came after a 3 year layoff, and remains a favorite of Thompson's loyal fans. And for good reason...the album rocks more than anything he'd done in a while, and it contains some of his catchiest songs. "Sibella", "Bathsheba Smiles", and especially the unbelieveably catchy "Crawl Back (Under My Stone)" should have made this a big record, but sales stayed where they normally did for Thompson...not very good. So much so that he was dropped by Capitol afterwards.
Again, too bad. While Mock Tudor is by no means perfect (it does drag in the middle before catching back on at the last song), it is a good record. And it opens and closes very strong: "Cooksberry Queen" is a romping good time, while "Hope You Like The New Me" is as creepy as it gets...in good ways. This is just over half of a really good album...skip over the lesser tracks and you'll be fine.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
BAYOU COUNTRY
1969-FANTASY
Produced By JOHN FOGERTY
1. Born On The Bayou
2. Bootleg
3. Graveyard Train
4. Good Golly Miss Molly
5. Penthouse Pauper
6. Proud Mary
7. Keep On Chooglin'
Hard to believe that in 1969, the four members of Creedence Clearwater Revival had been playing together for 10 years. Bayou Country is their second album, and the first of an incredible run of 3 in the same year and 5 albums between 1969-70. The band was basically over by 1971...but what a run they had.
Bayou Country is the home to "Proud Mary", a huge hit for the band, as well as one of their better songs, "Born On The Bayou". It also features 2 tracks over 7 minutes in length, "Graveyard Train", and maybe the best one chord song ever recorded, "Keep On Chooglin". The album shows considerable growth from the previous year's debut, and sparks of what was to come with their next four albums. Bayou Country is an important part of the CCR catalog, and a great example of why this band was so big...if only for a short period of time.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
IAN BALL
WHO GOES THERE
2007-DISPENSARY
Produced By WILL GOLDEN & IAN BALL
1. Sweet Sweet Sleep
2. Automatic Message
3. Failure
4. Your Move
5. The Elephant Pharmacy
6. Free Tickets To The Moon
7. Who Goes There
8. When We Were Cool
9. Batteries
10. I Knew You Were Trouble
11. Enzymes
Ian Ball is one third of the songwriting trio in the band Gomez. Who Goes There is his first solo album, somewhat surprising given that he has to share so much of his band's album time with other writers. And as you might expect with Ball, there are some moments of real catchiness here. "Sweet Sweet Sleep" is a strong track, and "The Elephant Pharmacy" (which, along with "Failure", was also recorded by the supergroup Ball was in called Operation Aloha) is as much fun as any Gomez track. It's great to hear him joyfully singing "Let's go shopping for drugs". Nice!
Who Goes There also has quite a bit of filler...it's one of those records that you put on and find yourself not remembering much of. The best moments are worthwhile...it would have been better if there were more of them, though.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
AMBITIOUS LOVERS
LUST
1991-ELEKTRA
Produced By PETER SCHERER
1. Lust
2. It's Gonna Rain
3. Tuck It In
4. Ponta De Lanca Africano Umamarauma
5. Monster
6. Villain
7. Half Out Of It
8. Slippery
9. Make It Easy
10. More Light
11. E Preciso Perdoar
Ambitious Lovers began as just that...ambitious. The plan was to release seven albums, each one built around one of the seven deadly sins. They giot through three of them...Greed, Envy, and their best album, Lust. The duo of Arto Lindsay and Peter Scherer split up soon afterward in favor of working seperately with bands rather than the studio musicians they hired for the Ambitious Lovers albums. But, for a minute, these guys were a unique musical voice that never quite found their footing.
The best tracks on Lust are highly danceable songs steeped in African rhythms and Portuguese lyrics. "Umbabarauma" was a club hit, and for good reason...it's a really infectious song. And there are a few keepers here: "Monster", "Tuck It In", and "Slippery" keep things moving quite well. The slower songs don't quite fit, but the rest makes for a worthwhile listen to one of the forgotten bands of the 90's.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
NANCI GRIFFITH
OTHER VOICES, OTHER ROOMS
1993-ELEKTRA
Produced By JIM ROONEY
1. Across The Great Divide
2. Woman Of The Phoenix
3. Tecumseh Valley
4. Three Flights Up
5. Boots of Spanish Leather
6. Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness
7. From Clare To Here
8. Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound
9. Do Re Mi
10. This Old Town
11. Comin' Down In The Rain
12. Ten Degrees And Getting Colder
13. Morning Song For Sally
14. Night Rider's Lament
15. Are You Tired Of Me Darling
16. Turn Around
17. Wimoweh
You've gotta love Nanci Griffith. And if you're going to record an album of covers, take a page from this book. The album title comes from the book she's holding on the cover, written by Truman Capote. The songs are ones that were hugely influential to her throughout her life. The result? One of the most impressive and touching covers records ever made.
Not only is everything recorded with loving care, but the song choices themselves show that Nanci has incredible taste in music. She hits everyone from Bob Dylan ("Boots Of Spanish Leather") and John Prine ("Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness") to Townes Van Zandt ("Tecumseh Valley") and Woody Gurthrie ("Do Re Mi"). Other songs by the likes of Kate Wolf, Janis Ian, Vince Bell, Tom Paxton, Gordon Lightfoot and Jerry Jeff Walker couldn't be more perfect. Even an 1877 Carter Family tune ("Are You Tired Of Me Darlin") and the traditional South African song "Wimoweh" are perfect fits.
Even better, she was able to get a bunch of the songwriters and other luminaries to play...so there are guest appearances by Prine and Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Leo Kottke, Iris DeMent, Chet Atkins, Bela Fleck, Emmylou Harris and Allison Kraus. This is one of the most perfect country albums of the last two decades. Once again, the underrated Nanci Griffith rules!
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
GOMEZ
ABANDONED SHOPPING TROLLEY HOTLINE
2000-VIRGIN
Various Producers
1. Shitbag 9
2. Bring Your Lovin' Back Here
3. Emergency Surgery
4. Hit On The Head
5. Flavors
6. 78 Stone Shuffle
7. We Haven't Turned Around (X-Ray)
8. Buena Vista
9. Shitbag
10. Steve McCroski
11. Wharf Me
12. High On Liquid Skin
13. Rosemary
14. The Cowboy Song
15. Getting Better
Odd that after only two albums, Gomez would already be releasing a collection of outtakes. So, while much of this collection is pretty unnecessary, there are moments...in particular, the song that first turned me on to Gomez ...the excellent "Buena Vista". The track is obviously the centerpiece here, and it's nine minutes of why Gomez is an awesome band.
There are other gems here as well, but about half of this could have stayed unreleased and no one (except for their hard core fans) would have known any better. The version of The Beatles' "Getting Better:" is nice, and there are alternate versions of better known tracks. Basically, this is an album of bonus tracks.
On the plus side, it came with the very early Machismo EP as a second disc, which is excellent.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
WILCO
YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT
2002-NONESUCH
Produced By WILCO
1. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
2. Kamera
3. Radio Cure
4. War On War
5. Jesus, Etc.
6. Ashes Of American Flags
7. Heavy Metal Drummer
8. I'm The Man Who Loves You
9. Pot Kettle Black
10. Poor Places
11. Reservations
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is the album where everything Wilco has ever done came together perfectly in one place. There's (a little) alt country, Jeff Tweedy's acoustic pop vision, the full strength of Wilco as a band, the element of noise that would dominate later recordings, and the acidic war between Tweedy and the now late multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett, not to mention a fallout with their record company and a mid-album lineup change.
The results are brilliant. Every experiment works perfectly, and the mixture of noise and pop is fantastic. Song after song fits exactly as it should. Easily the best Wilco album, and one of the best of the 2000 decade.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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