BETTER THAN EZRA
DELUXE
1993-ELEKTRA
Produced By DAN ROTHCHILD
1. In The Blood
2. Good
3. Southern Gurl
4. The Killer Inside
5. Rosealia
6. Cry In The Sun
7. Teenager
8.
9. Summerhouse
10. Porcelain
11. Heaven
12. This Time Of Year
13. Coyote
Better Than Ezra hit the big time with "Good", but the fame was not top of the charts long lasting. Deluxe is a cool little album that rocks just enough...but not enough to categorize it with grunge, or really anything else that was happening in the early 90's. Which is part of the charm. This band is melodic, pleasant, kinda cool, and if you don't pay attention, you won't even know you've ever listened to them.
In other words...the invisible band. But it all sounds really good. Kevin Griffin is a good singer, and a decent songwriter. This was the only album by the band to be certified gold, although they have soldiered on. Music because you just love making it...gotta respect that. A good, unspectacular album.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
RAMONES
1976-SIRE
Produced By CRAIG LEON & T EDERLYI
1. Blitzkrieg Bop
2. Beat On The Brat
3. Judy Is A Punk
4. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend
5. Chain Saw
6. No I Wanna Sniff Some Glue
7. I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement
8. Loudmouth
9. Havana Affair
10. Listen To My Heart
11. 53rd & 3rd
12. Let's Dance
13. I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You
14. Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World
15. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (Demo)
16. Judy Is A Punk (Demo)
17. I Don't Care (Demo)
18. I Can't Be (Demo)
19. Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue (Demo)
20. I Don't Wanna Be Learned/I Don't Wanna Be Tamed (Demo)
21. You Should Never Have Opened That Door (Demo)
22. Blitzkrieg Bop (Single Version)
The actual invention of punk as we know it sits right here, on this album. I must admit...I never really listened to this band beyond their singles, which on their own, I always found irritating and awful. But I've developed a new understanding and appreciation for the Ramones. Kinda cool after all these years.
The songs are all short, loud, fast, and without a trace of lead guitar anywhere. Entertaining? Hell yes. Confusing? Absolutely. Simple? Yep. The genius of the Ramones is that this was music without any frills...just the song, get it done and go the fuck home. The influence of this album on the punk that came afterward is staggering. And, if it weren't for the redundancy of the repeated bonus tracks, perfect. Buy the original, 14 track, 29 minute version. It's punk at its best...and it hadn't even been invented yet.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
TOM WAITS
BAD AS ME
2011-ANTI-
Produced By TOM WAITS & KATHLEEN BRENNAN
1. Chicago
2. Raised Right Men
3. Talking At The Same Time
4. Get Lost
5. Face To The Highway
6. Pay Me
7. Back In The Crowd
8. Bad As Me
9. Kiss Me
10. Satisfied
11. Last Leaf
12. Hell Broke Luce
13. New Year's Eve
Bad As Me is the 17th album by Tom Waits, and his first of new material in seven years. If you're a fan of Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs, then this is for you. A true return to form, Waits sounds like he is back on his barstool and the piano is drinking once again. His voice sounds better than it has in a long time, and the songs are all there.
Waits worked with longtime partner Kathleen Brennan with great results...as well as special guests Keith Richards, Flea and David Hidalgo. The ballads are beautiful, and the experimental stuff is as fine as he's ever done. Bad As Me represents a fine comeback of sorts for Tom Waits. He never really left, but the old Waits is back.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
LITTLE FEAT
DIXIE CHICKEN
1973-WARNER BROS
Produced By LOWELL GEORGE
1. Dixie Chicken
2. Two Trains
3. Roll Um Easy
4. On Your Way Down
5. Kiss It Off
6. Fool Yourself
7. Walkin' All Night
8. Fat Man In The Bathtub
9. Juliette
10. Lafayette Railroad
For their third album, Little Feet added three new members: guitarist Paul Barrere, bassist Kenny Gradney, and percussionist Sam Clayton, and a new sound that was more New Orleans inspired R&B than anything else. The results are fantastic: Dixie Chicken is not considered to be their best work, but it paved the way for their best albums. The title track is a funky, jumping great track, and songs like "On Your Way Down" and "Fat Man In The Bathtub" define the Little Feat sound.
The album does get a little too mellow in spots: even though "Roll Um Easy" is a great song, it's also a sleep inducer. But overall, Dixie Chicken is worth having, and Little Feat is more than worth remembering.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
MADONNA
LIKE A PRAYER
1989-SIRE
Produced By MADONNA & PATRICK LEONARD
1. Like A Prayer
2. Express Yourself
3. Love Song
4. Till Death Do Us Part
5. Promise To Try
6. Cherish
7. Dear Jessie
8. Oh Father
9. Keep It Together
10. Spanish Eyes
11. Act Of Contrition
Madonna may be guilty of creating the monster that is the musical princess...but out of the entire avalanche of followers she started, no one did it better than her. Like A Prayer is an album of what Madonna did best: she stays within the small confines of her vocal range, she touches on subjects that are a bit controversial, and she looks good doing it. Like A Prayer is her peak, the best way she could have ended the decade that she truly owned.
"Express Yourself", "Love Song" (with Prince) and "Spanish Eyes" are among her best songs, and the title track is the cap on her career. The musicianship is, as always, as good as it gets, and the album is stronger as a whole than any of her other works. She may have started the whole flood of pop tarts that we still have to deal with today, but on this album, she was better than all of it.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
SEX PISTOLS
NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS
1977-WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By CHRIS THOMAS & BILL PRICE
1. Holidays In The Sun
2. Bodies
3. No Feelings
4. Liar
5. Problems
6. God Save The Queen
7. Seventeen
8. Anarchy In The U.K.
9. Sub Mission
10. Pretty Vacant
11. New York
12. EMI
When this came out in 1977, I did not get it at all. The Sex Pistols represented a direct threat to the things in my musical youth that were sacred: the safely and perfectly produced sounds of bands like Supertramp and ELO. They were angry where I was not, and the people who did like them looked scary. So, I put this away for a long time. When I did revisit it, I finally got it.
Never Mind The Bollocks, the only real album the band made, is that rarest of things: a truly original one of a kind band making a one of a kind album. No one has ever duplicated this: not even them. Johnny Rotten sounds more obnoxious and pissed off than anyone has ever sounded in recorded music: Steve Jones plays all of the guitars and bass except for Sid Vicious on "Bodies" (Vicious never really could play). The songs are things that youth had never been able to come out and say to their elders before, and no one ever said them quite like this again.
Never Mind The Bollocks is a true classic album. One of the most stunning albums ever made. One of the only really true punk albums ever made. The list goes on and on.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
SEX PISTOLS
NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS, HERE'S THE SEX PISTOLS
1977-WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By CHRIS THOMAS & BILL PRICE
1. Holidays In The Sun
2. Bodies
3. No Feelings
4. Liar
5. Problems
6. God Save The Queen
7. Seventeen
8. Anarchy In The U.K.
9. Sub Mission
10. Pretty Vacant
11. New York
12. EMI
When this came out in 1977, I did not get it at all. The Sex Pistols represented a direct threat to the things in my musical youth that were sacred: the safely and perfectly produced sounds of bands like Supertramp and ELO. They were angry where I was not, and the people who did like them looked scary. So, I put this away for a long time. When I did revisit it, I finally got it.
Never Mind The Bollocks, the only real album the band made, is that rarest of things: a truly original one of a kind band making a one of a kind album. No one has ever duplicated this: not even them. Johnny Rotten sounds more obnoxious and pissed off than anyone has ever sounded in recorded music: Steve Jones plays all of the guitars and bass except for Sid Vicious on "Bodies" (Vicious never really could play). The songs are things that youth had never been able to come out and say to their elders before, and no one ever said them quite like this again.
Never Mind The Bollocks is a true classic album. One of the most stunning albums ever made. One of the only really true punk albums ever made. The list goes on and on.
Yes!!! Someone gets it! It's amazing to me how so many people who profess to like punk don't get that this is is one of of the PUNKest albums of them all. Great review, Roman!
JOE SATRIANI
FLYING IN A BLUE DREAM
1989-RELATIVITY
Produced By JOE SATRIANI & JOHN CUNIBERTI
1. Flying In A Blue Dream
2. The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing
3. Can't Slow Down
4. Headless
5. Strange
6. I Believe
7. One Big Rush
8. Big Bad Moon
9. The Feeling
10. The Phone Call
11. Day At The Beach (New Rays From An Ancient Sun)
12. Back To Shalla-Bal
13. Ride
14. The Forgotten (Part One)
15. The Forgotten (Part Two)
16. The Bells Of Lal (Part One)
17. The Bells Of Lal (Part Two)
18. Into The Light
The third album from guitar pyrotechnic guru Joe Satriani is a bit different: it's not ALL six string wanking. Satriani also plays banjo, bass, and harmonica. And on 6 of the songs, he also sings. At last, you think...the "Eddie Van Halen Is God" guitar gang finally shows some diversity!
And then it hits...this isn't a good thing. This is Satriani showing that not only can he play your ass under the table on guitar, but he can also do other stuff as well. Dammit. Will this guy ever show a weakness? Well, he really does...guy is one of the most average singers to ever appear on a major release. But his guitar playing is still exceptional. Even if you don't like the Big Squeal that Eddie and the 80's brought to life, you have to admit...Satriani was pretty much better and more tasteful than all of the others, which makes this really a good instrumental guitar album. Even though he sings. Am I rambling yet? I think so...
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE KILLERS
HOT FUSS
2004-ISLAND
Produced By THE KILLERS & JEFF SALTZMAN
1. Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
2. Mr. Brightside
3. Smile Like You Mean It
4. Somebody Told Me
5. All These Things That I've Done
6. Andy, You're A Star
7. On Top
8. Change Your Mind
9. Believe Me Natalie
10. Midnight Show
11. Everything Will Be Alright
So, yeah. I first heard The Killers playing “Somebody Told Me”, which was a huge mega hit for them and which made me think, at the time, that they were highly uncool. I realize now how rash that decision was. Hot Fuss, their debut album, is a throwback to the days of the old 45 minute album of the 70’s and 80’s, and it’s actually very, very good. Sure…”Somebody Told Me” was overplayed at every turn in 2004…but the rest of Hot Fuss makes up for it.
Tracks like “Andy, You’re A Star” and “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine” show The Killers for what they really are: a pretty terrific rock and roll band. And although they have never quite matched their debut, it’s understandable, because Hot Fuss really is a good album. One of the better popular albums of the last decade, and one you will be pleasantly surprised with if you, like me, dismissed them too quickly.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
Just out of curiosity... If "Somebody Told Me" was a "huge Mega hit", what do you call "She Loves You" or "Despacito"?
😎
#51 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 to me sounds closer to "minor hit".
--- Liked your Sex Pistols review very much, btw. _________________ When the stewardess is near do not show any fear.
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Romanelli
Repo
Liedzeit
