ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA
OUT OF THE BLUE
1977-JET
Produced By JEFF LYNNE
1. Turn To Stone
2. It's Over
3. Sweet Talkin' Woman
4. Across The Border
5. Night In The City
6. Starlight
7. Jungle
8. Believe Me Now
9. Steppin' Out
10. Standin' In The Rain
11. Big Wheels
12. Summer And Lightning
13. Mr. Blue Sky
14. Sweet Is The Night
15. The Whale
16. Birmingham Blues
17. Wild West Hero
Why was ELO so big? After the huge success of A New World Record, Jeff Lynne (who basically was ELO) went on a writing spree and came up with the two record monster Out Of The Blue, which turned out to be even bigger. "Turn To Stone", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Sweet Is The Night"...all adding to the fact that ELO was one hell of a singles band. Throw in songs like "Jungle", "Across The Border", and "Wild West Hero", and you've got a hell of an album.
But unfortunately, this is a double album, not a single. And with any ELO album, you can count on plenty of filler...so this one has twice as much. And the filler here is pretty below par. Songs like "It's Over", "Starlight", and especially the sleep-inducing "The Whale" can make what should be a great listen tedious. Throw in the Concerto For A Rainy Day (4 songs ending with "Mr. Blue Sky"), and you've got something pretty disappointing with a lot of great material in between. As well, it was the beginning of Lynne's paring ELO down from a string band to a synth band. And his writing was all downhill from here.
Difficult to be so hard on this album...this was my first real purchase when I had finally put together my first real stereo...this was the beginning of my music collecting. But there is just too much lesser material.
1. Your Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not
2. Johnny Hit And Run Paulene
3. Soul Kitchen
4. Nausea
5. Sugarlight
6. Los Angeles
7. Sex And Dying In High Society
8. The Unheard Music
9. The World's A Mess: It's In My Kiss
While an entire army of kids were forming the bands that would become the glam metal movement in Los Angeles after the success of Van Halen, X was leading the West coast punk scene forward. by the time of their debut in 1980, Los Angeles, the band was in full stride. Produced by Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and featuring a cover of that band's "Soul Kitchen", Los Angeles was the beginning of a stunning 4 album run of greatness.
What X had was the best lyrics in punk, the best drummer, the best vocals (John Doe and Exene Cervenka were singularly pretty bad...but together it was pretty amazing), and the most consistency of any band in the genre. Los Angeles is led by "Johnny Hit And Run Paulene", "Nausea", "Sex And Dying In High Society"....not a weak track to be found. This band gets overlooked a lot...time to rediscover them, and to remember just how good real punk was in the right hands.
Great review! I've always liked X, but love so many punk bands from that era far more. It seems like those that really appreciate classic rock like you tend to gravitate towards X as being one of the best. Have you noticed that?
Great review! I've always liked X, but love so many punk bands from that era far more. It seems like those that really appreciate classic rock like you tend to gravitate towards X as being one of the best. Have you noticed that?
I really never noticed that, but you may be right. I was also more of a west coast person, and I did live in LA for a number of years, so that may have had something to do with it as well. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
STEVE EARLE
GUITAR TOWN
1986-MCA
Produced By EMORY GORDY JR & TONY BROWN
1. Guitar Town
2. Goodbye's All We've Got Left
3. Hillbilly Highway
4. Good Ol' Boy (Gettin' Tough)
5. My Old Friend The Blues
6. Someday
7. Think It Over
8. Fearless Heart
9. Little Rock 'N' Roller
10. Down The Road
From the opening track of his debut album on, it was clear that Steve Earle was not going to be your typical country artist. And he's been proving that ever since. Earle has more twang than the most Southern of rock bands, and enough rock and roll to make his contemporaries in the country community cringe. Earle's songs are about real life, and his songs cut deep.
"My Old Friend The Blues" "Think It Over", "Good Ol' Boy (Gettin' tough)" and the title track are what made, and have always made him since, simply great. Guitar Town is a fine debut album, and a good starting point for a career that only got better and better.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E STREET SHUFFLE
1973-COLUMBIA
Produced By MIKE APPEL & JIM CRETECOS
1. The E Street Shuffle
2. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
3. Kitty's Back
4. Wild Billy's Circus Story
5. Incident On 57th Street
6. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
7. New York City Serenade
On his second album, Bruce Sprringsteen stretches out into longer songs, sheds the "New Dylan" tag, introduces The E Street Band, and lays the foundation for some of the best albums of the 70's. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" is the ultimate Bruce party track...it's just long enough, it's a hell of a lot of fun, and it translates live into even more than it is here. The song is surrounded by two of Bruce's most beautiful tracks: "Incident On 57th Street" and "New York City Serenade" set the stage for the entire Born To Run concept, and instrumentally (as well as lyrically), they are as good as anything else he's done.
A few of the tracks start to drag, and the full power of the E Street Band isn't quite there yet (Little Steven, Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg had not yet come on board), but this is a must have for fans of The Boss. That he would only get better from here is a scary and wonderful thing.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DAVE EDMUNDS
A PILE OF ROCK LIVE
1999-POOL
Produced By STEPHEN HAMMONDS
1. King Of Love
2. Standing At The Crossroads
3. Ju-Ju Man
4. Stop Messin' Around
5. Queen Of Hearts
6. I Hear You Knockin'
7. I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock 'N' Roll)
8. Lady Madonna
9. The Wanderer
10. Here Comes The Weekend
11. Sabre Dance
12. I'm Ready
13. Crawling From The Wreckage
14. Sweet Little Rock 'N' Roller
15. Let It Rock
This album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by my former lead guitar player and good friend Kenneth Skoglund. He also did the graphic design and layout. According to him...if you have this album in its American release (on Castle Records), it is a bootleg. This version album was released in Europe only, and with all of the proper credits intact.
A Pile Of Rock Live is Edmunds gleefully tearing up a club in Sweden with The Refreshments (not the American band) and Billy Bremner. This is everything you could possibly want an Edmunds show to be, with a rocking band and blistering guitar work. Definitely recommended if you can get your hands on it.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
NEIL YOUNG
DREAMIN' MAN LIVE '92
2009-REPRISE
Produced By NEIL YOUNG & JOHN HANLON
1. Dreamin' Man
2. Such A Woman
3. One Of These Days
4. Harvest Moon
5. You And Me
6. Hank To Hendrix
7. Unknown Legend
8. Old King
9. Natural Beauty
10. War Of Man
Part of the Neil Young Archive Performance Series that also brought us the incredible Live At Massey Hall 1971, Dreamin' Man Live '92 is actually a recreation of the Harvest Moon album. The songs are in different order, and it's not all from one show, but from one tour in various locations. But what it does do is put the Harvest Moon album in a different (and much softer) light, as the album is all Neil solo and acoustic, either on guitar, piano or banjo.
These performances are beautiful, although if you're listening to hear "Powderfinger" or "Down By The River", you will be disappointed. "Natural Beauty" is the centerpiece at over 11 minutes, and "Old King" sounds great on the banjo. And, of course, "Harvest Moon" is a great track regardless of how it's played. Dreamin' Man is a great companion to Harvest Moon. If you like the studio version, you will love this.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DRIVE BY TRUCKERS
SOUTHERN ROCK OPERA
2002-LOST HIGHWAY
Produced By DRIVE BY TRUCKERS, DICK COOPER & DAVID BARBE
1. Days Of Graduation
2. Ronnie And Neil
3. 72 (This Highway's Mean)
4. Dead, Drunk And Naked
5. Guitar Man Upstairs
6. Birmingham
7. The Southern Thing
8. The Three Great Alabama Icons
9. Wallace
10. Zip City
11. Moved
1. Let There Be Rock
2. Road Cases
3. Women Without Whiskey
4. Plastic Flowers On The Highway
5. Cassie's Brother
6. Life In The Factory
7. Shut Up And Get On The Plane
8. Greenville To Baton Rouge
9. Angels And Fuselage
The Drive By Truckers pulled no punches for their third studio album. Two discs, all about Lynyrd Skynyrd, George Wallace, life in the South, more Lynyrd Skynyrd, and a fictional band called Betamax Guillotine (a reference to the legend that what killed Ronnie Van Zandt was a VCR to the back of the head). But what it's really about is what all of those things really mean to those from the South. And it's a better told story than Pete Townshend could have ever dreamed of.
Not only that, but the songs themselves are powerful on their own. The importance of George Wallace is detailed in "The Southern Thing", "The Three Great Alabama Icons", and "Wallace"...the last told from the perpective of the devil with Wallace in hell. "Cassie's Brother" is a fine tribute to Steve Gaines, but the most moving piece of all is the finale, "Angels And Fuselage". It's a simple song about what it must be like to be on a plane that's going down. Beautiful, and maybe the scariest song ever recorded. Southern Rock Opera is a masterpiece.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE WONDER STUFF
HUP
1989-POLYDOR
Produced By PAT COLLIER
1. 30 Years In The Bathroom
2. Radio Ass Kiss
3. Golden Green
4. Let's Be Other People
5. Piece Of Sky
6. Can't Shape Up
7. Don't Let Me Down, Gently
8. Cartoon Boyfriend
9. Good Night Though
10. Unfaithful
11. Them, Big Oak Trees
12. Room 410
The Wonder Stuff was an English band who never gained any kind of success in America. Hup is an album that contains their signature power pop, but with a more psychedelic groove. They gained their first British Top 20 hit with "Don't Let Me Down, Gently", but it was on later albums that they found bigger successes.
This album is good, with solid songs like "Golden Green", "Unfaithful", and "Cartoon Boyfriend". There are plenty of catchy tunes...none of which you will recognize, which may be a good thing. The Wonder Stuff albums have all been out of print for years in the US, so if you see one, grab it. A largely overlooked band, at least in this country.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
NEBRASKA
1982-COLUMBIA
Produced By BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
1. Nebraska
2. Atlantic City
3. Mansion On The Hill
4. Johnny 99
5. Highway Patrolman
6. State Trooper
7. Used Cars
8. Open All Night
9. My Father's House
10. Reason To Believe
There are certain things in music that you can't argue with. The Beatles were a great band. Jimi was a great guitarist. And Bruce Springsteen is simply amazing. After the commercial breakthrough of The River, Bruce's newfound fans were dumbfounded by Nebraska, a true solo acoustic album by a guy who relied so heavily on one of the greatest bands in rock and roll. His long time fans understood. And that was all that mattered.
Nebraska is Springsteen stripped down to the bare bones of some of his finest songs. "Atlantic City" is one of his best love songs: "Reason To Believe" is beautiful: "State Trooper" is probably his most raw and frightening moment ever. Song after song is pure, raw nerve endings, the way that only Bob Dylan used to be able to do it. Nebraska is a must have album, and if you like even a fraction of what Springsteen has accomplished, you will love it. And even if you're not a fan, you have to love the beauty of Nebraska. A true classic.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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