WARREN ZEVON
EXCITABLE BOY
1978-ASYLUM
Produced By JACKSON BROWNE & WADDY WACHTEL
1. Johnny Strikes Up The Band
2. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
3. Excitable Boy
4. Werewolves Of London
5. Accidentally Like A Martyr
6. Nighttime In The Switching Yard
7. Veracruz
8. Tenderness On The Block
9. Lawyers, Guns And Money
The follow up to his self titled “debut”, Warren Zevon unleashed Excitable Boy onto the world, and we’re all better for it. Zevon was a nobody (even though his songs were being covered by many artists)until “Werewolves Of London” hit the airwaves. It’s by far the biggest hit of his career, with great playing from Mick Fleetwood, John McVie and Waddy Wachtel. This shows Zevon’s humor well, but it’s surrounded on the album by some pretty great material.
In fact, the first 5 tracks (and the last one) are as good as anyone has put to record. “Johnny Strikes Up The Band” is a perfect quickie opener. “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” is Zevon at his politically sharpest. “Excitable Boy” is the story iof a murderous crazy as only Zevon can tell it. “Accidentally Like A Martyr” is one of his prettiest songs. And “Lawyers, Guns And Money” is how we’ve always imagined Warren to have been. Three weaker tracks toward the end notwithstanding…Excitable Boy is a bad mutha of an album. An absolute must have.
If they had put Lawyers Guns and Money on side one, it would have been a perfect side. One of the most awesome sides ever as a matter of fact. They really front-loaded the album, but I think it's a good idea to have all the best songs all in a row.
Heh heh. And it's not like the second side is horrible or anything.
VARIOUS ARTISTS
HOMEGROWN VOL VI: LIVE AT THE SOILED DOVE UNDERGROUND
2008-99.5 THE MOUNTAIN
NO PRODUCTION CREDIT
1. No Reason (Rebecca Folsom)
2. 8th & Wrong Way (Zack Nichols)
3. Shadows In My Room (Savage Henry)
4. Skyline Drive (Angie Stevens)
5. Moonlight (John Common)
6. Fingerprints (Melanie Susuras)
7. Sorry (Beneath Your Ego)
8. Stumblin’ (Ten Cent Redemption)
9. Just Because (Chris Barber)
10. Lose Control (Hypnotic Fly)
11. Dougie (Yerkish)
12. Comparatively (Remember May)
13. Here Comes The Fabulous (King For A Day)
14. 49 Floors (49 Floors)
15. Spinning Around (Kim Jones)
16. Everything (Jason Vigil)
17. Imagine (Something Underground)
This is an annual album put out by Denver radio station 99.5 The Mountain. It consists of live performances by some of the area’s top bands, with the proceeds going to the Music In The Schools initiative. It’s about as good as a compilation like this can be…not every band is going to sound great. But there are some highlights: John Common, Angie Stevens, Yerkish, and several others are as good as their reputations in the Mile High city would suggest.
And, it’s all for a good cause. And it’s a good way to hear what you might be going to check out for the evening. Denver, from the playlist here, has some pretty good live music. If you can get your hands on it (you can actually get this at cdbaby.com), it’s a decent enough collection with just enough average stuff to keep it honest. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
AN EMOTIONAL FISH
1990-ATLANTIC
Produced By TIM PALMER
1. Celebrate
2. Grey Matter
3. Blue
4. Lace Virginia
5. Julian
6. All I Am
7. Change
8. Colours
9. That Demon Jive
10. Brick It Up
11. Move On
This is the debut album from Ireland’s An Emotional Fish, an unfortunately named and underappreciated band. The Fish were signed for this album to U2’s label and had some success with the singles “Grey Matter” and especially “Celebrate”, where they cracked the US college radio charts. The album sold poorly everywhere except for Ireland, and after 3 albums, they were to be found only in their native country.
Too bad. This album is loaded with great sounding songs, and a real gem: bass player Enda Wyatt. Wyatts playing is absolutely superb, and his bass lines carry each song. The band is instrumentally and vocally solid…but that bass is perfect. This is a lost should have been classic of the mid 90’s. Pick it up if you can find it. Bad name, fuzzy picture. Most likely has a hole in the artwork from being discounted. A fine album by a fine band.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
AN EMOTIONAL FISH
1990-ATLANTIC
Produced By TIM PALMER
1. Celebrate
2. Grey Matter
3. Blue
4. Lace Virginia
5. Julian
6. All I Am
7. Change
8. Colours
9. That Demon Jive
10. Brick It Up
11. Move On
This is the debut album from Ireland’s An Emotional Fish, an unfortunately named and underappreciated band. The Fish were signed for this album to U2’s label and had some success with the singles “Grey Matter” and especially “Celebrate”, where they cracked the US college radio charts. The album sold poorly everywhere except for Ireland, and after 3 albums, they were to be found only in their native country.
Too bad. This album is loaded with great sounding songs, and a real gem: bass player Enda Wyatt. Wyatts playing is absolutely superb, and his bass lines carry each song. The band is instrumentally and vocally solid…but that bass is perfect. This is a lost should have been classic of the mid 90’s. Pick it up if you can find it. Bad name, fuzzy picture. Most likely has a hole in the artwork from being discounted. A fine album by a fine band.
KING MISSILE
MYSTICAL SHIT/FLUTING ON THE HUMP
1990-SHIMMY DISC
Produced By KRAMER
MYSTICAL SHIT
1. Title Track
2. Rock-N-Roll Will Never Die
3. No Point
4. Gary & Melissa
5. Frightened & Freezing
6. How To Remember your Dreams
7. The Fish That Played The Ponies
8. Jesus Was Way Cool
9. Open
10. The Sandbox
11. The Neither World
12. She Didn’t Want
13. Cheesecake Truck
14. Equivalencies
15. Love You More
16. Fourthly
FLUTING ON THE HUMP
1. Lou
2. At Dave’s
3. Muffy
4. Take Stuff From Work
5. Sensitive Artist
6. Wuss
7. Heavy Holy Man
8. Fluting On The Hump
9. Dick
10. That Old Dog
This is a nifty two-fer from King Missile. The albums are Mystical Shit, tyheir third album, and Fkluting On The Hump, their first, and recorded while they were still known as King Missile (Dog Fly Religion). The band was born when open mic poet John S. Hall decided that simply reading his poetry was boring people, so he added guitarist Dogbowl to help spice things up. They added more musicians and landed a record deal. Fluting On The Hump contains classics like “Muffy”, “Wuss”, and the hilarious “Sensitive Artist”. Even early on, King Missile was at its best when they were funny.
They had plenty of that. Mystical Shit contains “Gary & Melissa”, “Cheesecake Truck”, and their best track, “Jesus Was Way Cool”. Both of these albums on one disc can be a bit long, but the beauty of CD’s is that you can skip over the more serious tracks and fly through the better songs. King Missile ended in 1994, and Hall went to law school. He graduated and reformed the band, but here have been no new albums since. A unique and crazy band, always worth checking out.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
LUCKY TOWN
1992-COLUMBIA
Produced By BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, JON LANDAU & CHUCK PLOTKIN
1. Better Days
2. Lucky Town
3. Local Hero
4. If I Should Fall Behind
5. Leap Of Faith
6. The Big Muddy
7. Living Proof
8. Book Of Dreams
9. Souls Of The Departed
10. My Beautiful Reward
In 1991, Bruce Springsteen had almost completed the Human Touch album. He went back into the studio to add one more song and ended up recording ten…and thus, Lucky Town was born. The albums were released on the same day (a tactic also used by Guns ‘N’ Roses with Use Your Illusion), and thankfully, the practice stopped here. Why is that a good thing? Well, I bought Human Touch first, and wasn’t nearly impressed enough with it to get Lucky Town as well. My loss.
The reality is that these are two very different albums, with material coming from two completely different places. While Human Touch is more an album of love songs, Lucky Town is Bruce getting back to what he does best: songs about LIFE. “Better Days” beats the entire Human Touch album on its own. The title track, “Leap Of Faith”, and “Living Proof” show that Bruce would heve been better served by releasing only one album that year…this one. And note that Bruce plays almost everything on the album. Former Steve Miller Band alum Gary Mallaber plays drums, E Streeter Roy Bittan adds some keys, and Randy Jackson, of all people, plays bass on “Better Days”. Other wise, it’s all Bruce. A comeback album after a slip of…one day.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
VARIOUS ARTISTS
O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? (SOUNDTRACK)
2000-LOST HIGHWAY
Produced By T-BONE BURNETT
1. Po’ Lazarus (James Carter & The Prisoners)
2. Big Rock Candy Mountain (Harry McClintock)
3. You Are My Sunshine (Norman Blake)
4. Down To The River To Pray (Alison Krauss)
5. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (Radio Station Version) (Soggy Bottom Boys & Dan Tyminski)
6. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (Chris Thomas King)
7. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (Instrumental) (Norman Blake)
8. Keep On The Sunny Side (The Whites)
9. I’ll Fly Away (Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch)
10. Nobody But The Baby (Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch)
11. In The Highways (Leah, Sarah, & Hannah Peasall)
12. I Am Weary, Let Me Rest (The Cox Family)
13. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (Instrumental) (John Hartford)
14. O Death (Ralph Stanley)
15. In The Jailhouse Now (Soggy Bottom Boys & Tim Blake Nelson)
16. I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow (With Band) (Soggy Bottom Boys & Dan Tyminski)
17. Indian War Whoop (Instrumental) (John Hartford)
18. Lonesome Valley (The Fairfield Four)
19. Angel Band (The Stanley Brothers)
One of my favorite films of all time. Also, one of the most consistently fine soundtracks you’ll find. The music assembled here by T-Bone Burnett fits perfectly into the depression era 1930’s. Old Timey music. As an album, it’s amazing, and as a soundtrack, it’s flawless. Great performances from the likes of Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, Ralph Stanley, and the rest are a perfect match for the film’s retelling of The Odyssey. Even Tim Blake Nelson, one of the film’s starts (he plays the born again Delmar) gives a fine performance on “In The Jailhouse Now”.
The central song is, of course, “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow”, represented here with 4 different versions. Which is okay, as the song plays a big part in the story. This soundtrack got a lot of people to discover this lost music, and brought some great forgotten songs back into public view. And again…a great film. A rarity when both the film and the soundtrack are top notch.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DEL SHANNON
GREATEST HITS
1990-RHNO
Produced By BILL INGLOT
1.Runaway
2.Hats Off To Larry
3. So Long Baby
4. Hey! Little Girl
5. Cry Myself To Sleep
6. The Swiss Maid
7. Little Town Flirt
8. Two Kind Of Teardrops
9.Kelly
10. From Me To You
11.Two Silhouettes
12. Sue’s Gotta BeMine
13. That’s The Way Love Is
14. Handy Man
15. Do You Want To Dance
16. Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow The Sun)
17. Stranger In Town
18. Why Don’t You Tell Him
19. Show Me
20. Sister Isabelle
American rock & roll was almost dead in 1961…but nobody bothered to tell Del Shannon. The death of rock was staved off by “Runaway”, a nifty rocker that featured the first use of a synthesizer in pop music. Shannon released several successful singles between 1961 and 1965, when his sound became outdated by the coming of psychedelic music and the main onslaught of British blues bands. Shannon recorded with limited success until his death in 1990 of a self inflicted gunshot wound.
His recorded legacy is of great value, and should not be forgotten. He possessed a great voice, and was even rumored to have been the replacement for Roy Orbison in The Traveling Wilburys. He was the first American to cover The Beatles (“From Me To You” in 1963), and he was an underrated songwriter. His legacy is assured with “Runaway” alone, but as the rest of this album show, there was a lot more to enjoy from Del Shannon. Some of the best from a very down period in American music.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
Thank you for this. Del was always my favorite singer. His covers are magnificent. (With the exception of From me to you.) He could add something to songs that you would think were perfect in the original version. Listen to him singing Running scared or Rag Doll! _________________ When the stewardess is near do not show any fear.
STEVIE WONDER
SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE
1976-MOTOWN
Produced By STEVIE WONDER
1. Love’s In Need Of Love Today
2. Have A Talk With God
3. Village Ghetto Land
4. Contusion
5. Sir Duke
6. I Wish
7. Knocks Me Off My Feet
8. Pastime Paradise
9. Summer Soft
10. Ordinary Pain
1. Isn’t She Lovely?
2. Joy Inside My Tears
3. Black Man
4. Ngiculela – Es Una Historia – I Am Singing
5. If It’s Magic
6. As
7. Another Star
8. Saturn
9. Ebony Eyes
10. All Day Sucker
11. Easy Goin’ Evening (My Mama’s Call)
Stevie Wonder was 26 years old when he released Songs In The Key Of Life in 1976…his 18th album. He had been as on top of his game as anyone could with his three previous albums, but no one expected what came in 1976. Songs in The Key Of Life was a double album with a bonus 7” album inside, and it remains to this day the crowning achievement in Stevie Wonder’s career. For a double album to sit at number one on the charts for 14 weeks…there’s got to be something to it. And there is. The album contains 3 of Wonders most perfect hits: “I Wish” is as funky as anyone ever got in the 70’s. “Pastime Paradise” influenced rappers years after its release, and the stunning “Sir Duke” .
“Sir Duke” is worth having this album for alone. A tribute to Duke Ellington, the song is blassed by the most perfect horn playing in rock or soul, and it jumps out at you every time you hear it. A perfect song. The rest of the album is Wonder showcasing his many considerable gifts on song after song. The greatest album in his great career, and truly one of the best albums ever made. Songs in The Key Of Life is a must have.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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