thanks, hayden. Love the recs. I listened to little bit of the orchids album and the Close Lobsters, and i liked them. I will try to get back to them before moving on from 1989. _________________ -Ryan
I am planning on listening to each album on my chart, overall chart that is, and writing a little about them. I put my chart in chronological order, so the first album on the chart is Blind Lemon Jefferson's classic comp.
So I am listening for the 3rd time today, and I just wrote a little note on it... here it is...
In late 1925, a 32 year old Blind Lemon Jefferson left Texas for Chicago to do what few (if any) solo singer/guitarist had ever done. He went to record himself playing Gospel Blues with just his haunting, ranging voice and his spry, active guitar. In that first session he went by the name "Deacon L.J. Bates". A few months later in spring 1926 he returned and recorded, under his own name, his more representative straight Blues music. From there he made history and became the most commercially successful solo blues artists of the 1920s. From 1926 to his mysterious death in winter 1929, Jefferson recorded over 100 tracks for Paramount which defined Texas and Country blues for decades to come.
A full 3 years before Charley Patton went into the studio and laid down the tracks which would define the Mississippi Delta sound, and 4 years before Son House contributed to the same Delta legacy, Jefferson had become the first ambassador and representative of the Deep/Country Blues. The low down, tactile, deep blues. The sound of the struggling blacks of the american south.
The music presented on this set is stunning in its vibrant reality, its daring guitar phrasing, and its at times other-worldly marriage between the most morbidly sad vocals with the stirring and somber and frightening lyrical allusions to depression, death, and evil forces at work in the world.
The pattering tinkle of these 90 year old recordings, for better or worse, color the whole atmosphere of these songs. For me, there is something deeply affecting about the persistent scratch, like sound of rain falling in the foreground between you and B.L. Jefferson. The space which these old records impose between me as the listener and Jefferson makes me feel like I'm listening to him busking, lonesome across the street, reaching me through spaces of space and time.
This compilation is a magnificent introduction to Jefferson, to Texas Blues, and to Deep Blues in general. Some of the most iconic and brilliant moments the genre ever produced are featured here. The daring, almost jazz-y guitar lines in "Corrina Blues" the starkly scary/sad classic "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean", the earnest frustration of "Prison Cell Blues", and everything else, there is no better way to spend an hour getting into the deep soul of the American Blues tradition than this set.
The one irksome aspect of this comp is the absence of Jefferson's greatest moment - and maybe the greatest track in all of the deep blues - "Black Snake Moan". I am not sure the details of why that was left off this compilation. Nonetheless, the rest of the compilation is stunning, dark, brooding, inspired, and surprisingly affecting even after these 90 years have passed.
Other essential listening/similar excellent records:
Complete Recordings in Chronological Order Volume 1 (11 August 1927 to 15 November 1928) by Texas Alexander
The Complete Blind Willie Johnson
"Ragtime Texas": Complete Recorded Works - 1927 to 1929 in Chronological Order by Henry Thomas
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and here is that "irksome aspect" of omission which I mentioned:
continuing this adding notes to my chart, I did one for Painkiller and here it is. I feel i may take too long genertally going into context on albums. But whatever, I suppose I just like knowing when and how and so forth on the making of music I love. Anyway, here it is.
There is no greater "statement album" than Judas Priest's Painkiller. Right from the machine gun blast of rhythmic virtuosity which starts the album's Legendary opening title track, its clear you are getting started on a masterpiece from a band on a mission to absolutely demolish and wipe out the entire metal world. To remind the world who the King is.
From 1976 to 1984 Priest released a whopping 7 metal classics. That's 7 classics in 8 years. They were easily the greatest band of the era, this era which predated the explosion of the next generation of more rowdy, fast, loud and brazen bands (with all due respect to Maiden, who were also in the running for greatest pre-thrash metal band). Then on January 24th, 1984, Priest released their last of this string of classics, Defenders of the Faith. Within literally months of the release of DotF, the 22 year olds which made up Metallica released Ride The Lightning, which was a game-changer in every way. Then Priest's closest competitor for the crown, Iron Maiden, released arguably their greatest album Powerslave. This was followed, rather rapidly, with the rest of the next gen speedsters, releasing a slew of crunchy, even more intense, albums in early to mid 1985 (Hell Awaits by Slayer, Bonded By Blood by Exodus, To Mega Therion by Celtic Frost, Spreading The Disease by Anthrax, Seven Churches by Possessed, Walls of Jericho by Helloween, etc). By as early as mid 1985, it was clear that the young were leaving the old in the dust.
Priest followed up Defenders of the Faith with a couple albums, one in 1986, one in 1988, which were not as well received and memorable as any of their previous classics the decade prior. The sound of those 2 albums were not remotely on the same level, intensity-wise, as what the Thrash crowd were releasing. And now Death and Black Metal, as well as a more brutal and intricate and FAST slew of classics were being released every year Priest seemingly rested on its laurels. Game Changers such as Master of Puppets, Reign In Blood, Among The Living, Altars of Madness, Under The Sign of the Black Mark, Blood Fire Death, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Peace Sells..., and many more were coming out on the regular. And Maiden didn't miss a beat with several classics released between 84-88. Judas Priest was old news and clearly was incapable of keeping up with this new influx of musicians.
Then they released Painkiller. Painkiller. My goodness. This album makes me sweat as I listen. Its the metal equivalent of Nolan Ryan's 16 strikeout No-Hitter at age 44. This is the speed metal equivalent of Barry Bonds eating more spinach over the offseason or something and hitting 73 homeruns at 36. This is the album which basically said "Okay, young bucks, you know this shit you've been doing these last few years? Well, We've been doing it for years and we can do it better. Listen to THIS."
There is no fat on this album, no ballads (good or bad, and Priest's ballads are some of the best ever, but anyway I digress), this album is a clinic on how to create a detailed, intensely heavy, fast, devilish record which showcases the full-throated power of Halford better than maybe any album, as well as illuminating the iconic ax work of Tipton and Downing, and the bone-crushing and rock solid rhythm section of Ian Hill and new drummer Scott Travis.
And for all its pure, unbridled aggressive explosions, Priest also takes the time all throughout this album to detail the sound with eerie keyboard parts, or vacillating vocal parts, or ebbing and flowing guitar dynamics which makes every track sound crystalline, worked over, perfect.
The songs are almost uniformly show stoppers, starting with Painkiller, which is in the hall of fame of metal songs and is right there with Angel of Death, Fight Fire With Fire, Invaders, and Ace of Spades as the most ball-grabbing "welcomes" to any metal classic ever. Listening to Painkiller is, for me anyway, a transcendent experience. It doesn't hold back its speed, power, and intensity even a little. It pulls you right in and puts you prisoner to the awe-inspiring sound of maybe the greatest metal/hard rock band of all time, in their finest hour.
What proceeds from there is just hit after hit, hurricane of intense metal fury after another, with every song from track 1 to 10 kicking your ass.
Finally the end of the album is a much deserved break from the breakneck speed metal of the preceding 10 tracks, "Living Bad Dreams". This is the closest this album comes to a power ballad. But its such an epic triumph for all involved, especially Rob Halford, that you are just on some sort of zen cloud of righteousness as you listen. Then the album ends. Your viewpoint on life has changed. Priest has supplanted God in your soul, and you are won over to the dark side.
Hyperbole naturally follows in this album's wake. Its a masterpiece. And its the greatest example I can think of of a band or artist from the old guard coming back and giving the youngsters an ass whoopin' or at the very least a wake up call. Best comparison's in music I can think of (did a couple baseball examples earlier) would be...Social Distortion's "White Light, White Heat, White Trash", or maybe the Exodus album "Another Lesson In Violence", or Rancid's 2000 self titled album, etc. None of those albums quite does it for me as blissfully as this album.
Other Faves by this band/artist: include:
Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976)
Stained Class (1977)
Screaming For Vengeance (1982)
Similar albums which I also love:
Rust In Peace by Megadeth (1990)
ThunderSteel by Riot (1988) _________________ -Ryan
continuing this adding notes to my chart, I did one for Painkiller and here it is. I feel i may take too long genertally going into context on albums. But whatever, I suppose I just like knowing when and how and so forth on the making of music I love. Anyway, here it is.
There is no greater "statement album" than Judas Priest's Painkiller. Right from the machine gun blast of rhythmic virtuosity which starts the album's Legendary opening title track, its clear you are getting started on a masterpiece from a band on a mission to absolutely demolish and wipe out the entire metal world. To remind the world who the King is.
From 1976 to 1984 Priest released a whopping 7 metal classics. That's 7 classics in 8 years. They were easily the greatest band of the era, this era which predated the explosion of the next generation of more rowdy, fast, loud and brazen bands (with all due respect to Maiden, who were also in the running for greatest pre-thrash metal band). Then on January 24th, 1984, Priest released their last of this string of classics, Defenders of the Faith. Within literally months of the release of DotF, the 22 year olds which made up Metallica released Ride The Lightning, which was a game-changer in every way. Then Priest's closest competitor for the crown, Iron Maiden, released arguably their greatest album Powerslave. This was followed, rather rapidly, with the rest of the next gen speedsters, releasing a slew of crunchy, even more intense, albums in early to mid 1985 (Hell Awaits by Slayer, Bonded By Blood by Exodus, To Mega Therion by Celtic Frost, Spreading The Disease by Anthrax, Seven Churches by Possessed, Walls of Jericho by Helloween, etc). By as early as mid 1985, it was clear that the young were leaving the old in the dust.
Priest followed up Defenders of the Faith with a couple albums, one in 1986, one in 1988, which were not as well received and memorable as any of their previous classics the decade prior. The sound of those 2 albums were not remotely on the same level, intensity-wise, as what the Thrash crowd were releasing. And now Death and Black Metal, as well as a more brutal and intricate and FAST slew of classics were being released every year Priest seemingly rested on its laurels. Game Changers such as Master of Puppets, Reign In Blood, Among The Living, Altars of Madness, Under The Sign of the Black Mark, Blood Fire Death, Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Peace Sells..., and many more were coming out on the regular. And Maiden didn't miss a beat with several classics released between 84-88. Judas Priest was old news and clearly was incapable of keeping up with this new influx of musicians.
Then they released Painkiller. Painkiller. My goodness. This album makes me sweat as I listen. Its the metal equivalent of Nolan Ryan's 16 strikeout No-Hitter at age 44. This is the speed metal equivalent of Barry Bonds eating more spinach over the offseason or something and hitting 73 homeruns at 36. This is the album which basically said "Okay, young bucks, you know this shit you've been doing these last few years? Well, We've been doing it for years and we can do it better. Listen to THIS."
There is no fat on this album, no ballads (good or bad, and Priest's ballads are some of the best ever, but anyway I digress), this album is a clinic on how to create a detailed, intensely heavy, fast, devilish record which showcases the full-throated power of Halford better than maybe any album, as well as illuminating the iconic ax work of Tipton and Downing, and the bone-crushing and rock solid rhythm section of Ian Hill and new drummer Scott Travis.
And for all its pure, unbridled aggressive explosions, Priest also takes the time all throughout this album to detail the sound with eerie keyboard parts, or vacillating vocal parts, or ebbing and flowing guitar dynamics which makes every track sound crystalline, worked over, perfect.
The songs are almost uniformly show stoppers, starting with Painkiller, which is in the hall of fame of metal songs and is right there with Angel of Death, Fight Fire With Fire, Invaders, and Ace of Spades as the most ball-grabbing "welcomes" to any metal classic ever. Listening to Painkiller is, for me anyway, a transcendent experience. It doesn't hold back its speed, power, and intensity even a little. It pulls you right in and puts you prisoner to the awe-inspiring sound of maybe the greatest metal/hard rock band of all time, in their finest hour.
What proceeds from there is just hit after hit, hurricane of intense metal fury after another, with every song from track 1 to 10 kicking your ass.
Finally the end of the album is a much deserved break from the breakneck speed metal of the preceding 10 tracks, "Living Bad Dreams". This is the closest this album comes to a power ballad. But its such an epic triumph for all involved, especially Rob Halford, that you are just on some sort of zen cloud of righteousness as you listen. Then the album ends. Your viewpoint on life has changed. Priest has supplanted God in your soul, and you are won over to the dark side.
Hyperbole naturally follows in this album's wake. Its a masterpiece. And its the greatest example I can think of of a band or artist from the old guard coming back and giving the youngsters an ass whoopin' or at the very least a wake up call. Best comparison's in music I can think of (did a couple baseball examples earlier) would be...Social Distortion's "White Light, White Heat, White Trash", or maybe the Exodus album "Another Lesson In Violence", or Rancid's 2000 self titled album, etc. None of those albums quite does it for me as blissfully as this album.
Other Faves by this band/artist: include:
Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976)
Stained Class (1977)
Screaming For Vengeance (1982)
Similar albums which I also love:
Rust In Peace by Megadeth (1990)
ThunderSteel by Riot (1988)
I remember being surprised when Rob Halford said he was gay, but then I thought about all the outfits he used to wear, and I wondered why it never crossed my mind sooner. Lol.
Its a really speedy and intense and killer power/heavy/speed metal album. The guitar work is consistently brilliant and the vocals are great. I really like it. Its not as overwhelmingly heavy as Painkiller, but itt is similar enough that i think fans of Painkiller will like it a lot. _________________ -Ryan
I have had a chance to listen to this a couple times and now I have a bit clearer of an idea of what I like about it. It does have some slick, very "80s" sounding production. and the vocals aren't my fave, but they do work at making me pay close attention to what is being said. They are always clear and unobstructed by the music.
The lyrics are what gets most of the attention. Reading up on the reviews for this album, its clear that the general impression of the songs is that they are songs about the lost and forgotten and struggling of LA. The people on the margins, living their lives of small details and little games.
And I can hear that to a degree, but Idk, there is no point where I'm bowled over by the stark beauty of the lyrics. The whole package, not the individual shining examples, is what comes through as a detailed look at life in the sprawling city on the west coast.
The real MVP of this album is the cinematic quality of the production at times. Especially the opening instrumental, the rockin' yet strange music of "Goin' Southbound". The dreamy intro to "Peg and Pete and Me" followed by the more atmospheric incisive track with the story of a sad love triangle. Also the dreamy quality which plays behind "Can't Complain''s talkin blues kinda lyrical delivery. Sounds like a Tom Waits track.
Now that I think of it, this reminds me of a less radical Tom Waits album. Waits had a similar interest in chronicling the lost of LA, with strange back stories etc. But I'd say Waits is a much more evocative and brilliant songwriter.
Idk, in closing I suppose I didn't particularly love this album. As a set of songs, its an interesting batch of stories with some good and some not so good production with consistent lyric quality, and some very bland (to my ears) vocals. I have never heard any wall of voodoo music and i have never heard any other Ridgway solo stuff.
I'll say this was a solid album I'm glad I heard.
okay, that is all for this half assed review. someday I may reappaise it. _________________ -Ryan
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