X
SEE HOW WE ARE
1987-ELEKTRA
Produced By ALVIN CLARK
1. I’m Lost
2. You
3. 4th Of July
4. In The Time It Takes
5. Anyone Can Fill Your Shoes
6. See How We Are
7. Left & Right
8. When It Rains
9. Holiday Story
10. Surprise Surprise
11. Cyrano De Berger’s Back
The first four albums by X are pretty tough to beat. X never came close to it. A four album run is pretty amazing for a rock band, and it was the change from Ray Manzarek of The Doors that started the free fall in this groups catalog. See How We Are marks the second album without Manzarek, but it’s also the first X album without founding guitarist Billy Zoom. See How We Are was actually an improvement over their previous effort, Ain’t Love Grand, which was an overproduced mess. For this one, the band replaced Zoom with Dave Alvin. The result is the most alt-country album of the band’s career, and while it’s not on the same shelf as Los Angeles, Wild Gift, Under The Big Black Sun or More Fun In The New World, this does, in some ways, hold its own. But Just barely. With the change in personnel, an unstable producers chair, the well of songwriting drying up, and the divorce of John Doe and Exene Cervenka, the fall was inevitable.
Still, a mediocre X album is still better than what a lot of bands could do. The best song here was actually written by Alvin, the classic “4th Of July”. There’s still some of the classic duet singing from Doe and Cervenka, but it was more sporadic, with one or the other often singing alone. The band sounds great, but the issues and the songs keep this from being a great return to form. And it’s tough to hear them like this, given their past victories. X never did anything else that was above the level of this album, but it never changed their legacy much. If you have the first four albums, you really have all the X you need. If you’re a big fan, you’ll want this. It’s pretty good…just don’t get your hopes up too high. X was a much better band than this album suggests.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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Of dying history
HEART
DOG & BUTTERFLY
1978-PORTRAIT
Produced By MIKE FLICKER, HEART & MICHAEL FISHER
1. Cook With Fire
2. High Time
3. Hijinx
4. Straight On
5. Dog & Butterfly
6. Lighter Touch
7. Nada One
8. Mistral Wind
I’ve always had a soft spot for Dog & Butterfly. In my younger days, I had a very difficult time falling asleep, but side two of this album always did the trick. The title track mellowed me out, and I’d be fast asleep by the middle of “Lighter Touch”. Worked every time. The album came out following Heart’s disastrous battle with Mushroom Records, which resulted in the unauthorized album Magazine earlier in the year. Dog & Butterfly was the intended follow up to Little Queen, and it’s not quite at that level. In fact, it’s about average, a level that Heart has never risen above since. They went through several different incarnations, including a glam metal phase, a power ballad phase, a folk duo phase, but nothing could hide the fact that despite their willingness to carry on, their songwriting chops had simply dried up early.
But there’s still some gas left in the tank here. The album is split evenly between “Dog” (rockers) and “Butterfly” (slower acoustic songs). ‘Cook With Fire” sounds live, but it’s been debated for years that it’s actually a studio recording with overdubs. “High Time” and “Straight On” got airplay, but it’s the under rated “Hijinx” that sounds the best. The “Butterfly” side is not as much fun, but as noted above, it WILL help you sleep. The title track was a hit, but the rest is just snoozy. The result of trying to divide the album like this is that it sounds uneven and inconsistent. More tracks like “Hijinx” could have made this a winner, but instead it falls in the “okay” pile. They went on to record one more album in their initial style (Bebe Le Strange) before trying their hand at 80’s glam. Dog & Butterfly is good, but you’ll end up knowing it could have been better.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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Of dying history
TH’ FAITH HEALERS
IMAGINARY FRIEND
1993-TOO PURE
NO PRODUCTION CREDIT
1. Sparklingly Chime
2. Heart Fog
3. See-Saw
4. Kevin
5. The People
6. Curly Lips
7. Everything, All At Once Forever
One of the easiest ways to get a garage band jamming is to start playing any kind of a cool guitar lick. The rest of the band will join in, and you have the makings of a 20 minute workout. This is the world of Th’ Faith Healers, a British band that made two albums in the mid 90’s based on exactly that premise. Part of what was known as the Camden Lurch scene (all music in the UK is apparently required to be part of a named scene), this band thrived on repetition. It was all about finding a cool groove, driving it around for awhile, and hopefully stopping before you beat it into the ground. Imaginary Friend is the Healer’s last album, and they mostly did a great job of keeping the listener engaged. The first six tracks are catchy, great sounding pieces of groove that are interesting and that work very well. In fact, had they come up with one or two more to run the album to about 40 minutes, this would easily be a five star entry.
Aaaand then we have track number seven. “Everything, All At Once Forever” is how the band rode into the sunset. The first six songs come in at a combined 32 minutes. This song is a repetitive, monotonous, and if you concentrate on it, almost unlistenable torturous 40 minutes long. It could have easily been a good song at about six or seven minutes tops, but they just kept going. And going. The best way to listen to Imaginary Friend is to just stop it when it starts eating your brain. Trust me…it doesn’t get any better. Which really is too bad, because the rest of the album is quite good. Particularly, “The People” has a great groove, which they ride to perfection. It’s understandable that they split up after this. And it’s too bad that they left us with such a stinker of a track at the end of this album. Again…listen to the first six songs, then turn it off when you need to.
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Of dying history
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
LIVE/1975-85
1986-COLUMBIA
Produced By JON LANDAU, CHUCK PLOTKIN & BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
1. Thunder Road
2. Adam Raised A Cain
3. Spirit In The Night
4. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
5. Paradise By The “C”
6. Fire
7. Growin’ Up
8. It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City
9. Backstreets
10. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
11. Raise Your Hand
12. Hungry Heart
13. Two Hearts
1. Cadillac Ranch
2. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
3. Independence Day
4. Badlands
5. Because The Night
6. Candy’s Room
7. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
8. Racing In The Street
9. This Land Is Your Land
10. Nebraska
11. Johnny 99
12. Reason To Believe
13. Born In The USA
14. Seeds
1. The River
2. War
3. Darlington County
4. Working On The Highway
5. The Promised Land
6. Cover Me
7. I’m On Fire
8. Bobby Jean
9. My Home Town
10. Born To Run
11. No Surrender
12. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
13. Jersey Girl
This was the most anticipated live album of all time for good reason. Bruce Springsteen’s live shows were the stuff of legend, often surpassing a full four hours of pure rock and roll energy. He had released 7 studio albums over the span of twelve years without a scrap of live material. Live/1975-85 was supposed to have been the cure, but it didn’t come without flaws. As a Springsteen live album should be, it’s long…originally released as a five record box set, it’s a monster at three cd’s. The biggest drawback is when it was released…on the heels of the Born In The USA album. As a result, the set is very heavy on that album, while better tracks from previous albums that would have been very special here are left off. Also missing are several non-album tracks that would have been more at home and would have been much more satisfying than, say “Darlington County”or “Bobby Jean”, among the weaker Born In The USA tracks.
The other downside is that while what is here sounds great, you kind of have to SEE Bruce. The performances are powerful, but that visual is missing…which is why his DVD’s work so much better today. Still, there’s enough to satisfy here. The title tracks Born To Run, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, The River and Nebraska are the real highlights, and you’ll find enough gems scattered throughout to keep yourself satisfied. In all, a great set of performances. Shave a little off the length, add companion DVD’s and better song selections and this would be an easy perfect album. Still worth having…get it for a bargain price if you can.
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Of dying history
1. Debaser
2. Tame
3. Wave Of Mutilation
4. I Bleed
5. Here Comes Your Man
6. Dead
7. Monkey Gone To Heaven
8. Mr. Grieves
9. Crackity Jones
10. La La Love You
11. No. 13 Baby
12. There Goes My Gun
13. Hey
14. Silver
15. Gouge Away
Hard to believe that the Pixies happened in the 80’s. Heavy influences on bands like Nirvana and Weezer, Pixies were a dynamic and exciting, albeit short lived band that set the standard for almost all of the indie rock bands that have followed to this day. Led by Black Francis, the band scored with two amazing albums, Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa, that remain classics to this day. By the time of Doolittle, however, cracks were beginning to show. The working relationship between Francis and bassist Kim Deal (known as Mrs. John Murphy) had deteriorated to the point of the band going on hiatus for a year after the album, then breaking up for eleven years in 1993. Doolittle is a very emotional album, and a very good album, although it is somewhat overrated in that it’s not of the same caliber as the first two releases. Influencial? Very much so. Perfect? Not nearly so much.
Doolittle was much bigger in the UK than in the States, a consistent throughout their career. “Here Comes Your Man” and “Monkey Gone To Heaven” are standouts, as are “Debaser” and “Wave Of Mutilation”, which worked much better later on in a slowed down version. The subject matter is pretty dark (death, torture, etc.) and the songs are vividly dynamic with the loud to soft to loud approach that Kurt Cobain later found huge success with. The album is haunted by the infighting between Francis and Deal, but despite some inconsistencies in the writing, it still sounds pretty great. The band never reached near this level again, as evidenced by the poor albums that followed. But, for a two year period, Pixies were a monster of a band. Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa and Doolittle are their important trilogy, and all three are worth having.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
TH’ FAITH HEALERS
IMAGINARY FRIEND
1993-TOO PURE
NO PRODUCTION CREDIT
1. Sparklingly Chime
2. Heart Fog
3. See-Saw
4. Kevin
5. The People
6. Curly Lips
7. Everything, All At Once Forever
One of the easiest ways to get a garage band jamming is to start playing any kind of a cool guitar lick. The rest of the band will join in, and you have the makings of a 20 minute workout. This is the world of Th’ Faith Healers, a British band that made two albums in the mid 90’s based on exactly that premise. Part of what was known as the Camden Lurch scene (all music in the UK is apparently required to be part of a named scene), this band thrived on repetition. It was all about finding a cool groove, driving it around for awhile, and hopefully stopping before you beat it into the ground. Imaginary Friend is the Healer’s last album, and they mostly did a great job of keeping the listener engaged. The first six tracks are catchy, great sounding pieces of groove that are interesting and that work very well. In fact, had they come up with one or two more to run the album to about 40 minutes, this would easily be a five star entry.
Aaaand then we have track number seven. “Everything, All At Once Forever” is how the band rode into the sunset. The first six songs come in at a combined 32 minutes. This song is a repetitive, monotonous, and if you concentrate on it, almost unlistenable torturous 40 minutes long. It could have easily been a good song at about six or seven minutes tops, but they just kept going. And going. The best way to listen to Imaginary Friend is to just stop it when it starts eating your brain. Trust me…it doesn’t get any better. Which really is too bad, because the rest of the album is quite good. Particularly, “The People” has a great groove, which they ride to perfection. It’s understandable that they split up after this. And it’s too bad that they left us with such a stinker of a track at the end of this album. Again…listen to the first six songs, then turn it off when you need to.
That would be Lido, right? I really dug their sound. I do wish they had done more. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
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Of dying history
THE ISLEY BROTHERS
THE HEAT IS ON
1975-EPIC
Produced By THE ISLEY BROTHERS
1. Fight The Power (Part 1 & 2)
2. The Heat Is On (Part 1 & 2)
3. Hope You Feel Better Love (Part 1 & 2)
4. For The Love Of You (Part 1 & 2)
5. Sensuality (Part 1 & 2)
6. Make Me Say It Again Girl (Part 1 & 2)
7. Fight The Power (Live)
The Heat Is On is the 13th album by The Isley Brothers, who had already been together for twenty years. Formed in 1954, this family act is still together today, with their amazing career now having spanned sixty years. The Rolling Stones pale in comparison. The Isleys have seen it all. They began as a gospel group, then switched to doo wop with the birth of rock and roll. They have changed with the times, playing R&B, soul, funk, rock…whatever direction the world has taken them in, they’ve done it well. In the 1970’s, the band turned to funk, and they had several hits during the decade. But they also made albums like The Heat Is On. This album is a departure for them, with longer and more spread out songs alternating between rock and smooth ballads. The contrast between the songs makes things a bit uneven sounding, but it also shows what the band could really do.
“Fight The Power” is the Isley’s at their fiery and most political best. This and the rest of the album’s upbeat songs are fueled by the stinging guitar of Ernie Isley, who was very obviously influenced by Jimi Hendrix. “For The Love Of You” is the best of the softer stuff, and shows that the brothers still have it in them to be tender when needed. While not as strong as their only other similar effort, 3+3, The Heat Is On shows why the Isley’s were at their peak in the early to mid 70’s. At only six tracks, the album is a bit short (the live “Fight The Power” is a 2001 bonus track), but it’s also an important part of the band’s impressive and long body of work. Despite slowing down in the 1990’s, they still have 30 studio albums to their credit, with not a clunker in the bunch. The Heat Is On is a fine example of what 70’s funk and soul was really about.
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Of dying history
THE JOHN BUTLER TRIO
SUNRISE OVER SEA
2004-JARRAH
Produced By JOHN BUTLER
1. Treat Yo Mama
2. Peaches & Cream
3. Company Sin
4. Betterman
5. What You Want
6. Damned To Hell
7. Hello
8. Bound To Ramble
9. Seeing Angels
10. There’ll Come A Time
11. Zebra
12. Mist
13. Oldman
14. Sometimes
The John Butler Trio has really been mostly John Butler and a revolving door of a rhythm section: since 2001, the trio has consisted of five different bass players and three different drummers (current drummer Nicky Bomba is on his second stint with the band). California born Butler makes good albums, but what he’s really known for are his great live performances. A blend of alternative, blues, funk, roots rock and bluegrass, the Trio is ultimately a jam band with Butler supplying fantastic guitar playing (mostly acoustic) through fast and exciting songs. His music has always translated to the stage easier than on his studio albums, which may be why he’s not a massive star by now. Sunrise Over Sea, their third album, is a perfect example of that. While it debuted at number one in Butler’s native country, he’s never gained a mass audience in the rest of the world. Proof that the stage is where Butler shines? He’s released only five studio albums since 1998…and four live albums.
Sunrise Over Sea contains many of the songs that work the best in his live shows. “Treat Yo Mama”, “Zebra” and “Peaches & Cream” are staples of his live repertoire, and “Betterman” is one of his better known tracks. On record, while the music sounds good, it’s missing that live element: the excitement that Butler brings onstage. But it’s still great to hear these songs in their original form, and the studio setting doesn’t hide the fact that butler can just flat out play. Sunrise Over Sea is the Trio’s best studio moment, and it’s highly worth having. But once you’ve experienced Butler live, the studio recordings just don’t feel the same. Onstage is where he’s the strongest, and where these songs really connect. Still, a very good album.
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Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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