CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN
KEY LIME PIE
1989-VIRGIN
Produced By DENNIS HERRING
1. Opening Theme
2. Jack Ruby
3. Sweethearts
4. When I Win The Lottery
5. (I Was Born In A) Laundromat
6. Borderline
7. The Light From A Cake
8. June
9. All Her Favorite Fruit
10. Interlude
11. Flowers
12. The Humid Press Of Days
13. Pictures Of Matchstick Men
14. Come On Darkness
Key Lime Pie was Camper Van Beethoven’s final album before breaking up in 1990. It’s also their most successful, and the one with the least amount of world music influence. Maybe because the band, always known for their sense of humor, finally sound like they aren’t taking themselves too seriously. The centerpiece is the great cover of Status Quo’s “Pictures Of Matchstick Men”, with the signature guitar line played on violin. “When I Win The Lottery”, “Sweethearts”, and “Jack Ruby” are also excellent high points.
The band broke up after Key Lime Pie, with singer David Lowery forming Cracker. They have since reunited, with 2 albums out since 1999 and a third on the way in 2012. Key Lime Pie is one of the bands finer moments, and is always worth a listen. If for no other reason…”Pictures Of Matchstick Men” is a certifiable hoot.
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QUEEN
LIVE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM
1992-HOLLYWOOD
Produced By QUEEN
1. One Vision
2. Tie Your Mother Down
3. In The Lap Of The Gods
4. Seven Seas Of Rhy
5. Tear It Up
6. A Kind Of Magic
7. Under Pressure
8. Another One Bites The Dust
9. Who Wants To Live Forever
10. I Want To Break Free
11. Impromptu
12. Brighton Rock Solo
13. Now I’m Here
1. Love Of My Life
2. Is This The World We Created
3. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care
4. Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)
5. Tutti Frutti
6. Gimme Some Lovin’
7. Bohemian Rhapsody
8. Hammer To Fall
9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
10. Big Spender
11. Radio Ga Ga
12. We Will Rock You
13. Friends Will Be friends
14. We Are The Champions
15. God Save The Queen
16. A Kind Of Magic
17. Another One Bites The Dust
18. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
19. Tavarszi Szel Vizet Araszt
This live album was recorded in just one night (except for the last four songs, which are bonus tracks) at Wembley Stadium in 1986 during the tour for the album A Kind of Magic. A DVD of the show was released in 2003, and is obviously the best way to experience Queen…a very visual band. Because the show was played in the mid 80’s, there’s more emphasis on whart was then their more recent material, and less on the music from their more interesting period, the 1970’s. But there are still songs from that time like “Tie Your Mother Down”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, and “Seven Seas of Rhye”, among others.
The band is better here than on their earlier live album, Live Killers, but they play, as it seems they always did, way too fast much of the time. The newer material is not as likable for American fans, and Freddie Mercury always seemed to insist on doing some sort of 50’s rock medley, which isn’t really what we came for. But being able to experience Freddie live again is always worthwhile, and many of the performances are very strong, even though Mercury, as always, shows his vocal limitations on stage. This is solid, not perfect, and a lot of fun. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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NEIL FINN
TRY WHISTLING THIS
1998-PARLOPHONE
Produced By TCHAD BLAKE & MARIUS DE VRIES
1. Last One Standing
2. Souvenir
3. King Tide
4. Try Whistling This
5. She Will Have Her Way
6. Sinner
7. Twisty Bass
8. Loose Tongue
9. Truth
10. Astro
11. Dream Date
12. Faster Than Light
13. Addicted
Maybe the greatest thing to have ever come from New Zealand is the music of Neil Finn. After playing with his brother Tim in Split Enz from 1977 to 1984, and then fronting the great Crowded House for over a decade, Finn finally released his solo debut, Try Whistling This, in 1998. The first of his two solo studio albums, this one is a firm departure from the sound of Crowded House, more experimental, and very accessible. He brings in session musicians to play mostly drums and bass (including his son Liam), while handling almost all of the guitars and vocals himself.
The highlights here are “Sinner”, “She Will Have Her Way”, and “Last One Standing”, all featuring great Finn trademark harmonies and fine hooks. Try Whistling This is what you get from anyone named Finn: a great sounding product with mostly good songwriting, nothing standing out too much in the way of outstanding material. Finn is an artist you can’t really go wrong with, whether it be with one of his bands (Crowded House has since reformed), or his work with brother Tim, or his solo ventures. An album worth investigating, especially if you’re a fan.
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BILL MILLER
RAVEN IN THE SNOW
1995-REPRISE
Produced By RICHARD BENNETT
1. River Of Time
2. Brave Heart
3. In Every Corner Of The Forest (Part 1)
4. Listen To Me
5. Red Bird, Yellow Sun
6. After The Storm
7. Raven In The Snow
8. Pile Of Stones
9. In Every Corner Of The Forest (Part 2)
10. The Final Word
11. Eagle Must Fly Free
12. This Kind of Love
13. In Every Corner Of The Forest (Part 3)
I can yell to the mountaintops about how good Raven In The Snow is for days, and it will never be enough. Bill Miller is a Mohican, born on a reservation in Wisconsin. He plays a lot of Native American flute music, but he’s also an excellent guitarist and can rock. His big break came when he was asked to open a tour for Tori Amos after she heard his album The Red Road. Raven In The Snow is the follow up to that album (it’s Miller’s 7th), and it’s his most rock album. It won Miller a nice cult following, but it should have been more.
Miller is a passionate and angry man, and both show all over this album. “River Of Time” is a beautiful opener, and his mixture of rock and Native rhythms is stunning. “Brave Heart”, “Raven In The Snow”, “Eagle Must Fly Free”…all exceptional tracks. He keeps the traditional Native sound intact with the three part “In Every Corner Of The Forest”. This is a great album. It’s one of my all time favorites, and it’s one album that can always move my soul in ways that other music just can’t do. Discover Bill Miller…this album in particular. You’ll be happy you did.
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NEIL YOUNG
SUGAR MOUNTAIN: LIVE AT CANTERBURY HOUSE 1968
2008-REPRISE
Produced By NEIL YOUNG
1. Emcee Intro
2. On The Way Home
3. Songwriting Rap
4. Mr. Soul
5. Recording Rap
6. Expecting To Fly
7. The Last Trip To Tulsa
8. Bookstore Rap
9. The Loner
10. “I Used To…” Rap
11. Birds
12. Winterlong (Excerpt) & Out Of My Mind Intro
13. Out Of My Mind
14. If I Could Have Her Tonight
15. Classical Gas Rap
16. Sugar Mountain- Intro
17. Sugar Mountain
18. I’ve Been Waiting For You
19. Songs Rap
20. Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing
21. Tuning Rap & The Old Laughing Lady Intro
22. The Old Laughing Lady
23. Broken Arrow
This is the third in the Neil Young Archives series, but the earliest recording chronologically. It was recorded at Canterbury House in Ann Arbor, Michigan, two weeks before the release of his debut solo album. The recording is very simple: Neil’s voice on one side, his guitar on the other, no band. The setlist is loaded with songs from Buffalo Springfield, and from his new album…songs that no one had heard yet. And a number of songs that he wouldn’t play much afterward. It’s interesting to hear obscure songs from his debut like “The Last Trip To Tulsa” and “I’ve Been Waiting For You” while they were still fresh and new.
The album also features a lot of onstage banter from Young which is interesting, particularly his account of a job he had at a bookstore, which he lost because he was too up and down on speed. The album is also sold as a CD/DVD set, with the DVD being an HD version of the album (no video) that sounds excellent. The version of the title track was previously released on the compilation album Decade. This is a fine show, sounds great, and of great interest because of when it was recorded. Another winner from the Archive series.
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VARIOUS ARTISTS
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER: THE ORIGINAL MOVIE SOUNDTRACK
1977-POLYDOR
Produced By BILL OAKES
1. Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees)
2. How Deep Is Your Love (Bee Gees)
3. Night Fever (Bee Gees)
4. More Than A Woman (Bee Gees)
5. If I Can’t Have You (Yvonne Elliman)
6. A Fifth Of Beethoven (Walter Murphy)
7. More Than A Woman (Tavares)
8. Manhattan Skyline (David Shire)
9. Calypso Breakdown (Ralph McDonald)
10. Night On Disco Mountain (David Shire)
11. Open Sesame (Kool & The Gang)
12. Jive Talkin’ (Bee Gees)
13. You Should Be Dancin’ (Bee Gees)
14. Boogie Shoes (KC & The Sunshine Band)
15. Salsation (David Shire)
16. K-Jee (M.F.S.B.)
17. Disco Inferno (The Trammps)
If you were a rocker in the late seventies, this was maybe the most terrifying thing in your universe. Disco. The anti-rock. The thing that changed rock stages into DJ booths. Truth is, disco was actually much closer to funk and soul music than most of what followed in its wake. And the genre’s best group, the Bee Gees, were no slouches. But, a lot of the music was also pretty empty and pointless…except for the message of get up and dance. And then there was this movie which made it all bigger than it ever would have been on its own.
Saturday Night Fever as a movie was awful. As a soundtrack, this is what 1977 to the early 80’s was all about. Led by 6 Bee Gees tracks, this album is simply the best of disco. Even the score music gets it right, and songs by Kool & The Gang, Tavares, KC & The Sunshine Band and The Trammps make it a hell of a party. You may have not liked disco, but you have to admit it…this is one hell of an album. Disco burned itself out really fast, and most of it is deservedly forgotten. This is the best of the whole thing, and as an album, it’s pretty damn good. SNF is the ultimate time capsule. Don’t hate. Disco can’t hurt you any more.
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HUFFAMOOSE
WE’VE BEEN HAD AGAIN
1997-INTERSCOPE
Produced By HUFFAMOOSE & ERIK HORVITZ
1. Wait
2. Enigmatic
3. James
4. We’ve Been Had Again
5. Like A Weed
6. Shattered
7. Such A Good Look
8. Speeding Bullet
9. Snapshot Family
10. Buy You A Ring
11. Take You With
I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I bought this album at least 10 years ago, and listened to it for the first time yesterday. Huffamoose was a Philadelphia jazz band that decided to play rock. The results are, like the rest of their 10 year career, solid, pretty good, and unspectacular. Having a definite Dinosaur Jr. influence, the band turns it all into a much catchier music than anything about them (including their name) would indicate. “Wait” was their biggest hit, and is a great example of what they were capable of. “James” is also very good, as are most of the tracks here.
“Buy You A Ring” was used in a JC Penney commercial, and contains the interesting lyric: “What a sorry song/What a stupid idea/I write the songs that make the whole world think/About absolutely nothing”. See, this is the type of thinking that will get you not very famous. And it worked. They released one more album, the sorely titled I Wanna Be Your Pants (the album cover was frightening), before calling it a day in 2001. We’ve Been Had Again is the best of the lot, and it’s worth checking out.
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THE SMITHS
1984-SIRE
Produced By JOHN PORTER & THE SMITHS
1. Reel Around The Fountain
2. You’ve Got Everything Now
3. Miserable Lie
4. Pretty Girls Make Graves
5. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
6. This Charming Man
7. Still Ill
8. Hand In Glove
9. What Difference Does It Make?
10. I Don’t Owe You Anything
11. Suffer Little Children
Sometimes , looking for some good music from the 80’s can be a chore. And then this band reminds you that there was plenty. Their self titled debut was released less than a year after R.E.M.’s Murmer, and marked the beginning of alternative rock in England. In the midst of an endless wave of bad hair and synthesizers, The Smiths were a definite departure: guitar driven songs with strong lyrical content. Led by lead singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, The Smiths were a welcome alternative to New Wave, especially in 1984.
The album was not a hit, but it does remain one of the most influential albums from the decade. The Smiths went on to bigger success in 1986 with The Queen Is Dead before breaking up a year later. Strong tracks like “Reel Around The Fountain” and “This Charming Man” serve as reminders of how good this band was, and how strong a frontman Morrissey really was. One of the two very strong albums they made in their short career, The Smiths is a debut worth having.
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SUBLIME
1996-MCA
Produced By PAUL LEARY & DAVID KAHNE
1. Garden Grove
2. What I Got
3. Wrong Way
4. Same In The End
5. April 29, 1992 (Miami)
6. Santeria
7. Seed
8. Jailhouse
9. Pawn Shop
10. Paddle Out
11. The Ballad Of Johnny Butt
12. Burritos
13. Under My Voodoo
14. Get Ready
15. Caress Me Down
16. What I Got (Reprise)
17. Doin’ Time
Sublime was a punk band from Long Beach that played exceptionally well at the game of dub and ska, but had very little to recommend themselves in the way of songs. That was until they began recording their third album, which was also their major label debut. Singer/guitarist Brad Nowell found his muse, and the quality of songs for this album increased dramatically. The recording was finished in May of 1996, but unfortunately Nowell died of a heroin overdose shortly after, and two months before the album was released, ending the band as their greatest success was yet to come.
There are some gems here. “What I Got” was inescapable in 1997, and for good reason: it’s a catchy and fun breath of fresh air. “Santeria” and “Wrong Way” are just as good, and there are plenty more. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great coming out party for a band that was over before its release. They’ve since added a new singer and tried again, but there’s no substitute for this album: everything else should probably be avoided…even if you’re a fan. But, this always has done nicely enough.
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QUEENSRYCHE
EMPIRE
1990-EMI
Produced By PETER COLLINS
1. Best I Can
2. The Thin Line
3. Jet City Woman
4. Della Brown
5. Another Rainy Night (Without You)
6. Empire
7. Resistance
8. Silent Lucidity
9. Hand On Heart
10. One And Only
11. Anybody Listening?
12. Last Time In Paris
13. Scarborough Fair
14. Dirty Little Secret
Queensryche was born in the midst of the death throes of bands like Kansas and Styx, and became the torch carriers for what was left of prog rock. What they did that was different was to bring the element of metal into the equation. If that doesn’t sound like a formula for massive success, you’re right, although they influenced a whole generation of bands from Seattle who came along in the 90’s. Queensryche was a band with a cult following for years until the power ballad “Silent Lucidity” came along, making Empire an immediate hit, and the band was suddenly a power ballad wielding member of the hair set. Too bad, because the best song from the album (“Jet City Woman”) was buried in the buzz, and no one took them seriously pretty much ever again outside of their loyal fanbase.
Empire is their fourth album, released at the height of hair metal. And in all fairness, Queensryche was not a hair metal band. But, neither were their albums great. This was the follow up to the numbing concept album Operation Mindcrime, and it’s better, but not by much. Empire is over an hour long, and it’s loaded with filler and art rock, not to mention a completely awful version of Scarborough Fair as a bonus track.. Only when they get up and rock out (again…”Jet City Woman”) do they sound great. Otherwise, much of this album is like listening to the extended death throes of 70’s prog rock. A band that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Queensryche is still going, by the way…there are two different versions of the band: one with singer Geoff Tate, and one with the other three original members. And neither version has yet to make a really good album. It’s probably not going to happen.
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