Yeah thanks for reminding me/giving me a heads up on that Germano album. I have mostly spent all my Lisa Germano time with Happiness (both versions) and Geek The Girl. Actually, scratch that, as those are all I’ve heard which is weird because I live those 2. So yeah I’ve added this 1996 album to my queue.
Great to check in on and read your running diary as always. _________________ -Ryan
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.
Hey, thanks, Carl! I hope I can help you find someyhing you'll like. And I'm glad you like this one! _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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Yeah thanks for reminding me/giving me a heads up on that Germano album. I have mostly spent all my Lisa Germano time with Happiness (both versions) and Geek The Girl. Actually, scratch that, as those are all I’ve heard which is weird because I live those 2. So yeah I’ve added this 1996 album to my queue.
Great to check in on and read your running diary as always.
Thanks, Ryan. I appreciate it, and it's always good to know that these things get read. I hope you enjoy this album! _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS
BRIGHTER THAN CREATION’S DARK
2008 – NEW WEST
Produced By DAVID BARBE
1. Two Daughters And A Beautiful Wife
2. 3 Dimes Down
3. The Righteous Path
4. I’m Sorry Huston
5. Perfect Timing
6. Daddy Needs A Drink
7. Self Destructive Zones
8. Bob
9. Home Field Advantage
10. The Opening Act
11. Lisa’s Birthday
12. That Man I Shot
13. The Purgatory Line
14. The Home Front
15. Checkout Time In Vegas
16. You And Your Crystal Meth
17. Goode’s Field Road
18. A Ghost To Most
19. The Monument Valley
So, how did Drive-By Truckers survive losing their up and coming songwriting star Jason Isbell? They went back in the studio and recorded a double album, that’s how. And while this album may not have the immediacy and power of previous albums like Decoration Day, A Blessing And A Curse and The Dirty South, it does stand up very well on its own. The band returns to a more country oriented sound here, and the songs are a bit simpler, but there are plenty of gems to be found. Mike Cooley, in particular, steps up and helps fill the shoes left vacant by Isbell. He makes the most of his seven contributions to the album, and his best lines are classic: “Bob ain’t light in the loafers/He might kneel, but he never bends over” (from “Bob”), and “Skeletons ain’t got no place to stick their money/Nobody makes britches that size” (from “A Ghost To Most”). “Self Destructive Zones” and “Perfect Timing” are high quality, as is the refreshing “Lisa’s Birthday”.
Patterson Hood’s highlights include “Two Daughters And A Beautiful Wife”, about musician Bryan Harvey, who was murdered with his family in a home invasion: “Daddy Needs A Drink”, and “You And Your Crystal Meth”. Bassist Shonna Tucker brings three songs herself, including the fine “The Purgatory Line”. There’s a bit of filler here (a double album was certainly an ambitious idea), but Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is a nice transitional album for the band, a return to their roots, and a glimpse of what was to come in the future. And they have stayed busy: since this album, they have released six studio efforts, five live albums, and a pair of compilations. Drive-By Truckers have always released listenable records, and this one is certainly no exception. Always consistently good…this is one of those bands that you just can’t go wrong with. Carriers of the torch for Southern rock, for damn sure.
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RUFUS WAINWRIGHT
RELEASE THE STARS
2007 – GEFFEN
Produced By RUFUS WAINWRIGHT & NEIL TENNANT
1. Do I Disappoint You
2. Going To A Town
3. Tiergarten
4. Nobody’s Off The Hook
5. Between My Legs
6. Rules & Regulations
7. Not Ready To Love
8. Slideshow
9. Tulsa
10. Leaving For Paris No. 2
11. Sanssouci
12. Release The Stars
The talent runs deep in Rufus Wainwright: his parents are Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle. His sister is Martha Wainwright, and he is the nephew of Anna McGarrigle. He not only records popular music albums, but has also written an opera and has set Shakespeare sonnets to music. Release The Stars, his fifth album, was originally intended to be a simple piano and vocal album, but quickly became a full blown affair with over forty musicians being credited, plus a full orchestra. The result is an incredibly lush sounding album of complex and highly melodic and smart music. There are heavy string tracks…and then, out of the blue, a song like “Between My Legs” trots out the electric guitars and rocks surprisingly well (and includes a spoken cameo from actress Sian Phillips). However, Release The Stars is missing some key ingredients that ultimately keep it from being great, or even close to it.
Wainwright is obviously passionate about what he does. The care he takes in building the musical tracks is testimony enough of that. And Wainwright is a good enough singer. But the missing ingredient here seems to be, strangely enough, Wainwright himself. Given everything he puts into the tracks instrumentally, it’s surprising to hear how little of himself seems to have been otherwise infused into the album. His songwriting, while capable, doesn’t seem to creep much above only average. But it’s his vocals that finally keeps this album down. For all of the lush (and, at times when needed, bare and simple) and complex instrumentation, when he sings, he sounds almost bored. Almost as if it was the end of the day, everything else was done, and he added vocals at the last minute and was too tired to but a lot into it. This ends up being a big thing, as Release The Stars has a ton of promise, but ends up being more forgettable than anything else.
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MUSE
ORIGIN OF SYMMETRY
2001 – WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By DAVID BOTTRILL, JOHN LECKIE & MUSE
1. New Born
2. Bliss
3. Space Dementia
4. Hyper Music
5. Plug In Baby
6. Citizen Erased
7. Micro Cuts
8. Screenager
9. Dark Shines
10. Feeling Good
11. Megalomania
Make no mistake…Muse is very much a band. But know, also, that Matt Bellamy is a wall of sound unto himself. Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard are a powerful rhythm section, but the rest is all Bellamy. And there’s a lot to go around. Bellamy is not only the lead singer, he also provides all of the guitars and all of the keyboards (and there are a lot of those in the music of Muse) This is not a man who goes easy on the volume, nor is he a musician who believes in any way that less is more. The band’s first album, Showbiz, was only slightly successful. Then came Origin Of Symmetry, and Muse was suddenly on the fast track to being one of the biggest bands in the world. This album barely made a dent in the US…American success would come later. But in their native UK, Origin took off like a rocket, boasting four hit singles and making the band a household name. Muse would certainly capitalize on that, boosting their popularity with a string of great albums and a legendary live show.
Bellamy nearly shatters glass with his powerful vocal on the excellent “Plug In Baby”. “New Born”, “Bliss” and “Hyper Music” showcase what really makes Muse so appealing: a huge wall of music from a little three piece band. This is the first of a great four album run that also includes Absolution, Black Holes And Revelations, and The Resistance. Bellamy’s songwriting is exceptional, as are his vocals and his…well, everything else. And the other two guys are pretty good as well…the bass and drums positively churn underneath (and often alongside) everything that Bellamy is doing. Sure, there are shades of mid 70’s prog in everything that Muse does, but that’s actually part of the charm, and they make it work to their advantage, keeping things compact rather than trotting out 10 minute long tracks of pointless noodling like Yes used to do. Muse is an exciting band, and Origin Of Symmetry is a great place to start.
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THE STROKES
IS THIS IT
2001 – RCA/ROUGH TRADE
Produced By GORDON RAPHAEL
1. Is This It
2. The Modern Age
3. Soma
4. Barley Legal
5. Someday
6. Alone, Together
7. Last Night
8. Hard To Explain
9. When It Started
10. Trying Your Luck
11. Take It Or Leave It
In 2001, The Strokes went from playing dive bars and falling off stage drunk to giving rock a whole new life for the entire decade to come. Everyone who was bemoaning the unstoppable death of rock music at the turn of the century was wrong, and it was The Strokes who made them that way. Their debut album, Is This It, quite simply kicks ass. The guitar interplay between Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi is perfection, and the rhythm section is a beast. But it’s the in your face vocals and lyrics of Julian Casablancas that ties everything together. Has there ever been a more rock and roll lyric than “Life is unreal/Can we go back to your place”? Doubtful. Is This It has everything that a great rock album should have…energy, angst, frantic danceability, and music made with the joy that only a hungry rock band can muster. You may think I’m exaggerating, but this has to stand as one of the greatest debut albums ever made.
The American album cover above is the one Casablancas preferred (it’s a psychedelic picture of a subatomic particle) over the British black glove on bare ass cover that the rest of the world knows. I prefer the American cover. But what’s really important is the music inside. “Last Night” put them on the map, and is a perfect song. “Hard To Explain”, “Someday”, and “Soma” are all excellent, and the opening title track lets you know right off the bat that you’re in for something special. The band has made some good albums since (Room On Fire is pretty great), but they haven’t been able to match the excellence of this debut effort. You can’t really blame them for that…Is This It is a once in a lifetime album, and The Strokes were fortunate that they got to make it. This is one you should definitely have…one of the best debuts ever, and a simply great rock and roll album. Rock isn’t dead…it’s right here.
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GREEN APPLE QUICK STEP
RELOADED
1995 – REPRISE
Produced By NICK DIDIA & STONE GOSSARD
1. Hotel Wisconsin
2. Ed #5
3. No Favors
4. T.V. Girl
5. Underwater
6. Dizzy
7. Alligator
8. Los Vargos
9. Tangled
10. Lazy
11. Space Cocksucker
12. Bonus Track
Kind of strange that a band that formed in Seattle in 1992 would be labeled as Post Grunge. But that’s where you’ll find Green Apple Quick Step, a short lived band that released just two albums. Reloaded is the second album, and was co-produced by Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam. Maybe it was that they were a few seconds late to the Seattle game dominated by Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, etc., but the music of this band never really stuck. This was, by no means, a hit making machine, but they did have a few songs that were worthy of notice. In particular, “Dizzy”, which was used in the soundtrack for The Basketball Diaries, is pretty great stuff. But the lack of commercial success makes this album a nice little surprise…it’s loaded with tracks that are alternately heavy (“Ed #5”, “T.V. Girl”) and nicely trippy pieces (“Hotel Wisconsin” and the beautiful “Underwater”). There’s a lot more good stuff here than you might think.
But it may have been their connection with Pearl Jam that ultimately led to their early demise. Along with having Gossard produce Reloaded, Pearl Jam also once played a club show in Seattle under the name Green Apple Quick Step to avoid having a massive turnout. The band recorded a third album that has still, to this day, never seen a release. They broke up in 1998, and reformed as a live act in 2010. Unfortunate, as there may have been some good albums in their future. Reloaded is far from perfect, and drags in spots…but the good moments make this an album (and a band) worth hearing and remembering. Not everything that came out of Seattle in the early 90’s turned to gold, and some good bands, like Green Apple Quick Step, have been long since forgotten. This one is worth a spin. You just might find something you like here, especially if this part of the 90’s is to your musical liking.
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SIMPLE MINDS
GLITTERING PRIZE 81-92
1992 – VIRGIN
Produced By JIMMY IOVINE, BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN, TREVOR HORN, STEVE LILLYWHITE, PETER WALSH & STEVE LIPSON
1. Alive And Kicking
2. See The Lights
3. Don’t You (Forget About Me)
4. Promised You A Miracle
5. Sanctify Yourself
6. Belfast Child
7. Stand By Love (7” Edit)
8. Up On The Catwalk (7” Edit)
9. Let There Be Love
10. All The Things She Said
11. Someone, Somewhere In Summertime
12. Waterfront
Simple Minds was born out of the ashes of a band called Johnny & The Self Abusers…but you wouldn’t get that from their music. Led by Jim Kerr & Charlie Burchill, they have been around since 1977, and have released 18 studio albums to date. Glittering Prize is their first almost career spanning best of, and it covers the period mentioned in the title…1981 through 1992. This means that their first three albums are omitted, but that’s okay. This is the band’s most successful and creative period. They have always been successful in the UK, but American success has been much more fleeting. What finally broke them here was the track “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” from The Breakfast Club soundtrack. This was followed by the big hit “Alive And Kicking”, followed by their slow slide off of the US charts. But in the rest of the world, Simple Minds remained a vital hitmaking machine, with several fine singles and albums.
So, while only a couple of the songs here will be familiar to American listeners, and while Simple Minds may seem like a flash in the pan here, they have had a most successful career. And Glittering Prize is a fine representation of their most productive period, although it does leave out a huge chunk of their early career. But you do get some great songs that you probably didn’t hear in the States, like “All The Things She Said”, “Belfast Child”, and “Waterfront”. And, while Simple Minds does tend to sound a lot like other bands at times (U2, Tears For Fears, ABC), the run of hits between 1981 and 1992 is an impressive one. And between a string of fine albums, the big break that The Breakfast Club afforded, and Kerr’s marriage during this period to Chrissie Hynde, this was a relevant enough band with enough great music to warrant being revisited. They are still together, but this is the period in their history that you want to hear.
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MILES DAVIS
STEAMIN’ WITH THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET
1961 – PRESTIGE
Produced By BOB WEINSTOCK
1. Surrey With The Fringe On Top
2. Salt Peanuts
3. Something I Dreamed Last Night
4. Diane
5. Well, You Needn’t
6. When I Fall In Love
On two dates in 1956, Miles Davis and his band went into the studio and recorded enough material to flesh out four future albums: Relaxin’, Cookin’, Workin’, and Steamin’. Of the four, Steamin’ concentrates more on the improvisational dynamic of the group, and is the least desirable of the four. This does not mean that this is a bad album by any means…it just means that it’s the only one of the four that is not flawless. After all, Davis isn’t maybe the most important recording artist in history for no reason. He’s a giant, and he is because he made more great music than pretty much anyone else could ever even dream about. The Quintet of these 1956 sessions is bolstered not only by the legendary Philly Joe Jones, Red Garland and Paul Chambers, but also by the power of saxophonist John Coltrane. The interplay between Davis and Coltrane during this period is exceptional, laying the groundwork for the future growth of jazz is so many ways.
The weakest moment here is Dizzy Gillespie’s “Salt Peanuts”. A great song is a great song, but overdone is overdone. “When I Fall In Love” is simply beautiful, with Davis and Red Garland taking sweet turns on the solo. But the best of this period, and of this album, is the pure joy of having Davis and Coltrane in the studio together. Coltrane plays on 4 of the album’s six tracks, and his presence makes a huge difference. Steamin’ is notable for being the last album released by Davis on the Prestige label, and despite the fact that it’s often overshadowed by his more famous records (‘Round Midnight, In A Silent Way), it’s definitely a piece of beauty, and deserves to be heard just as much as anything else he was doing during this period. Coltrane eventually went on his own, but died of cancer at age 40 in 1967. Garland, Jones and Chambers all moved on by 1962, and Davis continued his incredible run. Steamin’ is another in a long line of fine Davis moments.
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