PERE UBU
STORY OF MY LIFE
1993 – IMAGO
Produced By AL CLAY
1. Wasted
2. Come Home
3. Louisiana Train Wreck
4. Fedora Satellite II
5. Heartbreak Garage
6. Postcard
7. Kathleen
8. Honey Moon
9. Sleep Walk
10. Story Of My Life
11. Last Will & Testament
Since 1974 (with the exception of a five year break during the mid eighties), Pere Ubu has been one of music’s most steady and consistent bands. Singer David Thomas has been the only constant member through it all, and it’s been quite a career for him and his revolving cast of bandmates. It all began with the 1975 single “30 Seconds Over Tokyo”, which branded the band as punk pioneers. Over the years, they have made several albums, none of them bad, each with something memorable to offer, and each with just enough filler to keep them from being great works. Story Of My Life is their ninth album, and falls squarely in the middle of that list.
In order to appreciate Pere Ubu, you have to be able to work with Thomas’ voice, which was once described as being like James Stewart trapped inside of an oboe. When it works, it’s great. Tracks like “Wasted”, “Louisiana Train Wreck” and “Story Of My Life” are perfect vehicles for Thomas, while the band’s trips into noise (“Postcard”) can be rough going. What ultimately saves Pere Ubu is Thomas’ ability to write interesting songs, and there are enough of them here to keep it from falling apart. Story Of My Life was out of print for many years, but it was finally reissued in 2007. This is a band that will either make you fall in love or that you won’t be able to listen to much. But either way, it’s a band that’s always interesting.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
THE SIMPSONS
GO SIMPSONIC WITH THE SIMPSONS
1999 – RHINO
Produced By ALF CLAUSEN, MATTHIAS GOHL, CHRISTOPHER TYNG & BILL INGLOT
The average lifespan of an animated series is 2 years. The Simpsons is signed through 2022, which will make thirty four seasons, not counting its initial three seasons as a short on the long gone Tracey Ullman Show. If you’ve never seen The Simpsons, well, you may be missing the entire world. And part of the massive excellence of this series is the music that has happened over the years. Go Simpsonic is actually the second of three soundtrack albums produced for the series, and it’s surprisingly great stuff. 53 short tracks fill this CD, a great audio glimpse into the genius that is, and has always been, The Simpsons.
The 53 tracks here are mostly from the period between 1995 and 1999. The opening theme song is included, as are short tracks contributed by the likes of The Ramones, Sonic Youth and Hank Williams Jr. and many more guest stars. It does help if you’re a fan of the show…if not, it’s hard to envision exactly what’s going on. And it may be difficult to take an album by animated yellow characters if you’re not in an animated state of mind. But if you get The Simpsons, this will be pure gold for you. The end is coming someday for The Simpsons, but after 33 years, the legacy is pretty solid and permanent. It’s even worth hearing on a cd, which, for a cartoon, is saying a lot.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
TOMMY TUTONE
TOMMY TUTONE 2
1981 – COLUMBIA
Produced By CHUCK PLOTKIN & GEOFF WORKMAN
1. 867-5309/Jenny
2. Baby It’s Alright
3. Shadow On The Road Ahead
4. Bernadiah
5. Why Baby Why
6. Which Man Are You
7. No Way To Cry
8. Steal Away
9. Tonight
10. Only One
11. Not Say Goodbye
If you’re one of those bands that is only going to get one shot at lightning in a bottle, you’d better do it right. Tommy Tutone got the one shot, and they made the absolute most of it. A one hit wonder that still inspires people to make prank phone calls to this day, “867-5309/Jenny” may be the greatest once in a lifetime hit of all time. As much as the song is known, so little is known about the band…Tommy Tutone is the name of the band, not the singer. They formed in 1978…and have never broken up. They have released five albums, and one of The Cowsills (John) played percussion and sang harmonies on “Jenny”.
As for their aptly named second album, it’s pretty much the entire Tommy Tutone story in eleven tracks. “Jenny” is here, which makes it worth having…after 35 years, it’s still a monster song. As for everything else…it’s all well played, well sung, perfectly produced, good power pop, and it’s all ultimately forgettable. There’s a reason why this band had only one hit in what is now going on four decades. While they are fine musicians, they only had the one great song in them. That’s okay. There’s a place in this world for the Tommy Tutones. There’s definitely a place for “Jenny”, and while this album won’t wow you, it’s good to know that it’s out there. Not bad, not great.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
CAKE
COMFORT EAGLE
2001 – COLUMBIA
Produced By CAKE
1. Opera Singer
2. Meanwhile, Rick James…
3. Shadow Stabbing
4. Short Skirt / Long Jacket
5. Commissioning A Symphony In C
6. Arco Arena
7. Comfort Eagle
8. Long Line Of Cars
9. Love You Madly
10. Pretty Pink Ribbon
11. World Of Two
There are two things that once made Cake (or CAKE) a good and fun band. They rocked, and they had a sense of humor. Both of these things made Fashion Nugget a success. The lack of both of these things make Comfort Eagle more of a bore than anything. They do step up and make “Short Skirt / Long Jacket” a fine track, but beyond that, there’s not a whole lot to recommend this one. Singer John McCrea sounds bored, and seems to have forgotten his sense of melody much of the time. The charm of having a trumpet player in the band (Vince DiFiore) seems to have been lost as well, as his instrument is used more sparingly than ever.
More than anything else, though, the band sounds like they want this to be over already. Which works to your advantage, because maybe the best thing about Comfort Eagle is that it’s barely 35 minutes long. When inspired and on point, this is a fun band to listen to. When they are neither of those things, the result is a flat effort like Comfort Eagle. Even crafty song titles can’t save the tracks from being so so, and the singles “Arco Arena” and “Love You Madly” failed for good reason. If you like Cake, you should stick to the earlier stuff. Comfort Eagle has none of that magic, and it’s disappointing to hear a band that can have the energy that they have had in the past sound so flat and out of it.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
ERIC CLAPTON
SLOWHAND
1977 – RSO
Produced By GLYN JOHNS
1. Cocaine
2. Wonderful Tonight
3. Lay Down Sally
4. Next Time You See Her
5. We’re All The Way
6. The Core
7. May You Never
8. Mean Old Frisco
9. Peaches And Diesel
Before he settled into his solo career in the early seventies, Eric Clapton earned his reputation as one of rock’s elite guitarists in bands like The Bluesbreakers, The Yardbirds, Cream, and Derek And The Dominos. After that, he discovered the work of J.J. Cale, and became a somewhat mellow singer songwriter guy who could still play a mean six string. And his recorded output throughout his long solo years has been, to put it nicely, sporadic. With a couple of notable exceptions. 461 Ocean Boulevard is well worth having, and a couple of others are steady enough to hold up. But maybe the best album of his career is 1977’s Slowhand.
This may be because Slowhand is simply the best set of songs Clapton has released. Cale’s “Cocaine” is here, along with “Wonderful Tonight” and “Lay Down Sally”, two of Clapton’s most memorable songs. “Next Time You See Her” is fine but a little weird, and both “The Core” and “Mean Old Frisco” contain enough fine guitar work to keep his 60’s fans happy. But this album, as with much of the rest of his 70’s and beyond career, is more about Clapton the singer than it is about his fretwork. Which is fine…it’s just the lesser of his two instruments. Other Clapton solo albums have come close, but this is his most consistent work. If you have to have just one, this would be it.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
BLUR
PARKLIFE
1994 – SBK
Produced By STEPHEN STREET, STEPHEN HAGUE, JOHN SMITH & BLUR
1. Girls & Boys
2. Tracy Jacks
3. End Of A Century
4. Parklife
5. Bank Holiday
6. Badhead
7. The Debt Collector
8. Far Out
9. To The End
10. London Loves
11. Trouble In The Message Centre
12. Clover Over Dover
13. Magic America
14. Jubilee
15. This Is A Low
16. Lot 105
The career of this very British band has been an up and down affair…mostly, for me, anyway, down. They were struggling and poor after the release of two lackluster Stone Roses copycat efforts when they changed their direction and released the biggest up of their career, Parklife. Parklife helped to usher in the mid-nineties era of Britpop, and along with Oasis, Blur became the torchbearer for the British music scene. And it’s easy to see why. Parklife is a jangly, uplifting pop rock album, with some very catchy material. “This Is A Low”, “Parklife”, “Girls & Boys”, “End Of A Century”, “To The End”, and “Tracy Jacks” are all highlights, making this the high point of Blur’s career.
But even though Parklife (and every Blur album since) reached number one on the British charts, it did not chart at all in America. Why? Blur proudly wears their Britishness on their sleeves, more than any other band since The Kinks. Which makes the album a strange listen to many American ears…to the point where it sometimes comes across as a distraction. Additionally, Blur engaged in a silly and pointless public feud with Oasis, which many found off-putting. And even though they remained hugely popular in the UK, the quality of their albums has been quite a bit lower than that of Parklife, making it tough for them to gain an American foothold. Parklife is very good, but it does have its flaws…like most of Blur’s career.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
THE DIRTY SOUTH
2004 – NEW WEST
Produced By DAVID BARBE
1. Where The Devil Don’t Stay
2. Tornadoes
3. The Day John Henry Died
4. Puttin’ People On The Moon
5. Carl Perkins’ Cadillac
6. The Sands Of Iwo Jima
7. Danko/Manuel
8. The Boys From Alabama
9. Cottonseed
10. The Buford Stick
11. Daddy’s Cup
12. Never Gonna Change
13. Goddamn Lonely Love
If you ask me what my favorite album is, I can’t answer that. If you ask me what my favorite song is, I’ll put on “Danko/Manuel” by Drive-By Truckers and tell you that this is as close as it gets. In fact, if you’re going to be in a band with me, being willing to play this song is the first test. The Dirty South, the Truckers fifth album, is as good as they get…and that’s pretty damned excellent. Having a songwriter like Jason Isbell limited to just four songs speaks volumes about how loaded the Truckers really were. A loose concept album about the downside of Southern living, The Dirty South marks the peak of the career of this excellent Southern rock and alt-country giant. It’s all good here.
Mike Cooley delivers some of his most memorable material in “Where The Devil Don’t Stay”, “Daddy’s Cup”, and the brilliant story song “Carl Perkins’ Cadillac”. Patterson Hood brings “Puttin’ People On The Moon”, about people driven down by environmental pollution. “Tornadoes” and “The Sands Of Iwo Jima” are excellent, and “The Boys Of Alabama” gives you the “other side of the story” of Buford Pusser and Walking Tall. And Isbell, along with the perfect “Danko/Manuel”, brings the rollicking “Never Gonna Change”, and closes things with this perfect lyric: “I’ll take two of what you’re having/I’ll take all of what you’ve got/To kill this Goddamned lonely, Goddamned lonely love”. This is a great album. Please go buy it.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
STYX
THE GRAND ILLUSION
1977 – A&M
Produced By STYX
1. The Grand Illusion
2. Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
3. Superstars
4. Come Sail Away
5. Miss America
6. Man In The Wilderness
7. Castle Walls
8. The Grand Finale
Wanna have some fun? Take out that old, dusty copy of The Grand Illusion that you haven’t listened to for the last ten years or so, put it on, and turn it way up. You will swear that this is the single greatest album in the history of mankind, and wonder why you haven’t played it in the last ten years or so. Then…play it again. You will understand why you haven’t played it in the last ten years or so. Then put it away and take it out again in ten years or so. Repeat. Styx is a strange band…they had a small string of prog-lite hits in the seventies, and were semi-energized by the addition of the oh so dreamy Tommy Shaw in mid 1975. Their third album, The Serpent Is Rising, has been called by members of Styx the worst recording in the history of rock.
So, in 1977, The Grand Illusion made them “Superstars”. It is, by far, their most consistent and best album. With Shaw settled in as a full member, his main contribution to the album, “Fooling Yourself”, made them big…but it was Dennis DeYoung, he of the annoying voice and most bombastic keyboard sound this side of Keith Emerson, who hit huge with “Come Sail Away”, the big anthem that finally, after 7 dreary albums, put Styx on the map to stay. The album also contains what may be their best song, James Young’s rocker “Miss America”. It’s true…if you listen to this album once in a great while, you will be amazed…but then put it away. Because that repeat listen will show just how thin and not great it really is. It’s fun…just on rare occasions.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
LISA GERMANO
EXCERPTS FROM A LOVE CIRCUS
1996 – 4AD
Produced By PAUL MAHERN, LISA GERMANO & BILL BOTTRELL
1. Baby On The Plane
2. A Beautiful Schizophrenic/”Where’s Miamo-Tutti” By Dorothy
3. Bruises
4. I Love A Snot
5. Forget It, It’s A Mystery
6. Victoria’s Secret/”Just A Bad Dream” By Miamo-Tutti
7. Small Heads
8. We Suck
9. Lovesick
10. Singing To The Birds
11. Messages From Sophia/”There’s More Kitties In The World Than Just Miamo-Tutti” By Lisa And Dorothy
12. Big Big World
Lisa Germano’s roots are in classical music, which later moved towards country as she got older. Her violin playing was impressive enough to get her a job playing for John Mellencamp, which afforded her the opportunity to record her own music. Excerpts From A Love Circus is her fourth album, and the follow up to her breakthrough effort Geek The Girl. By now a multi-instrumentalist, Germano plays almost everything on the album, which has little to do with her classical and country background, and more to do with Liz Phair, dreamy pop, and somewhat psychedelic folk. Her shy and understated vocals complete the picture, as Excerpts floats on at a strange and surreal pace.
“Lovesick”, “Small Heads”, and “I Love A Snot” are the best tracks here, which is indeed a lesser album than Geek The Girl. It’s interesting enough to hold up on its own, though. Germano comes across as a free spirit, even featuring a trio of interludes that are recordings of her cats. She seems to be at her best when singing a sweet ballad like ”Singing To The Birds”, and her violin pops up at the most opportune times to sweeten things even more. She began to lose her audience with her next album, Slide, and now records independently (but not since 2013). Her output from the 1990’s is recommended…she was a most interesting and most listenable artist during that time. Geek The Girl and Happiness are her best works, but this one is not too far behind. A solid, though imperfect, effort.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
LISA GERMANO
EXCERPTS FROM A LOVE CIRCUS
1996 – 4AD
Produced By PAUL MAHERN, LISA GERMANO & BILL BOTTRELL
1. Baby On The Plane
2. A Beautiful Schizophrenic/”Where’s Miamo-Tutti” By Dorothy
3. Bruises
4. I Love A Snot
5. Forget It, It’s A Mystery
6. Victoria’s Secret/”Just A Bad Dream” By Miamo-Tutti
7. Small Heads
8. We Suck
9. Lovesick
10. Singing To The Birds
11. Messages From Sophia/”There’s More Kitties In The World Than Just Miamo-Tutti” By Lisa And Dorothy
12. Big Big World
Lisa Germano’s roots are in classical music, which later moved towards country as she got older. Her violin playing was impressive enough to get her a job playing for John Mellencamp, which afforded her the opportunity to record her own music. Excerpts From A Love Circus is her fourth album, and the follow up to her breakthrough effort Geek The Girl. By now a multi-instrumentalist, Germano plays almost everything on the album, which has little to do with her classical and country background, and more to do with Liz Phair, dreamy pop, and somewhat psychedelic folk. Her shy and understated vocals complete the picture, as Excerpts floats on at a strange and surreal pace.
“Lovesick”, “Small Heads”, and “I Love A Snot” are the best tracks here, which is indeed a lesser album than Geek The Girl. It’s interesting enough to hold up on its own, though. Germano comes across as a free spirit, even featuring a trio of interludes that are recordings of her cats. She seems to be at her best when singing a sweet ballad like ”Singing To The Birds”, and her violin pops up at the most opportune times to sweeten things even more. She began to lose her audience with her next album, Slide, and now records independently (but not since 2013). Her output from the 1990’s is recommended…she was a most interesting and most listenable artist during that time. Geek The Girl and Happiness are her best works, but this one is not too far behind. A solid, though imperfect, effort.
Something about her voice bring tears to my eyes, esp in "Geek The Girl", which is probably slow-core perfection, but I love this one as well. Here, she feels more relaxed and laid back and less threatening. "A Beautiful Schizophrenic" is my favorite track.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Romanelli
