PHIL OCHS
THE WAR IS OVER: THE BEST OF PHIL OCHS
1988 – A&M
Produced By LARRY MARKS, VAN DYKE PARKS & ANDREW WICKAM
1. Tape From California
2. Flower Lady
3. Half A Century High
4. The Scorpion Departs But Never Returns
5. The War Is Over
6. One Way Ticket Home
7. Rehearsals For Retirement
8. Chords Of Fame
9. Gas Station Women
10. Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends
11. Pleasures Of The Harbor
12. Kansas City Bomber
13. White Boots Marching In A Yellow Land
14. Jim Dean Of Indiana
15. No More Songs
16. I Ain’t Marching Anymore (Live)
Interesting collection, this. Phil Ochs was a well known and quite prolific folk singer whose best known songs were acoustic protest songs…most famously about the US involvement in Vietnam. But starting in 1967, Ochs began a radical shift towards a more baroque pop style, incorporating orchestrations into his songs, which became less about protest and more about love and life. Can’t blame the guy for doing what he wanted…but the results were iffy. And yet…there’s something compelling about this odd collection of the music that Ochs was NOT famous for. This compilation, released twelve years after his death, has been out of print for years. But if you can find it…
The songs here are from albums he recorded between 1967 and 1970. His final album was 1970’s Greatest Hits, which contained only new material. There’s also a single from 1973 (“Kansas City Bomber”), and one live acoustic protest song, “I Ain’t Marching Anymore”, which is more of what Ochs is remembered for…but which feels strangely out of place here. But this is oddly attractive…not just because it had been unavailable for over 18 years, but because it shows Ochs in a strange transition that would lead to his unfortunate suicide. His story is one of the saddest in popular music, and despite efforts by his family to keep his legacy alive, Ochs is an overlooked figure today. This isn’t great…but it’s worth hearing as part of his legacy.
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PHIL COLLINS
…HITS
1998 – ATLANTIC
Produced By PHIL COLLINS, HUGH PADGHAM, BABYFACE, LAMONT DOZIER, ARIF MARDIN & ANNE DUDLEY
1. Another Day In Paradise
2. True Colors
3. Easy Lover
4. You Can’t Hurry Love
5. Two Hearts
6. I Wish It Would Rain Down
7. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)
8. Something Happened On The Way To Heaven
9. Separate Lives
10. Both Sides Of The Story
11. One More Night
12. Sussudio
13. Dance Into The Light
14. A Groovy Kind Of Love
15. In The Air Tonight
16. Take me Home
This is a valid question. In the 80’s, when everything was about good looking people who looked great on MTV…how in the world did this guy who had been in the background as the drummer for the prog band Genesis as early as 1970 become one of the biggest stars of the 80’s? The rise of Phil Collins is an interesting one, indeed. Much of it has to do with his voice…Collins could absolutely sing. The fact that Genesis was becoming more of a pop band than a prog band helped…the opening track of his first solo album made it reality. “In The Air Tonight” was one of the creepiest and greatest hits of the 80’s, and it opened many doors for Collins. And the hits just kept on coming.
…Hits is his first compilation. It contains most of his hits from the period that is mostly in the 80’s. There are some great moments, like “In The Air Tonight”, his duet with Philip Bailey on “Easy Lover”, and a previously unreleased cover of the Cyndi Lauper hit “True Colors”. But know this…there are also a lot of ballads that have not aged well. And this collection is practically buried in 80’s synthesizers that sound even more dated. If you dig the hits like “Sussudio”, “Against All Odds”, and his somewhat misguided covers of “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “A Groovy Kind Of Love”, then this is for you. But this would have been better had it contained, say, the excellent “I Don’t Care Any More”, or more tracks like it. The …hits are here if you want them. Could be better.
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SQUAREPUSHER
HARD NORMAL DADDY
1997 – WARP
Produced By TOM JENKINSON
1. Cooper’s World
2. Beep Street
3. Rustic Raver
4. Anirog D9
5. Chin Hippy
6. Papalon
7. E8 Boogie
8. Fat Controller
9. Vic Acid
10. Male Pill Part 13
11. Rat / P’s And Q’s
12. Rebus
Squarepusher is the name used by British electronic artist Tom Jenkinson. Hard Normal Daddy is his second album under this moniker, and it’s simply brilliant. This is not an album to dance to…the music here falls into the category of IDM (intelligent dance music), which means it’s more suited to listening at home than in a club. This highly interesting and inventive album is closer to jazz fusion than anything else, and also brings to mind the instrumental work of Frank Zappa. Jenkinson proves himself to be quite the skilled instrumentalist, and his music engages you by going from smooth and controlled to being almost out of control…and back again at a moment’s notice. And this is a good thing.
You can almost imagine adding layers of saxophones and trumpets, guitars and vocals on top of this, giving you an extra added dimension of imagination. What’s here is enough, though. Jenkinson’s masterpiece album remains solid and highly listenable more than 20 years after its release. Jenkinson is still at it, with sixteen albums and numerous EP releases, but Hard Normal Daddy should be your starting point. If you’re used to electronic music that drones on and on with the same beat non-stop, and want to hear someone take some real chances, then check this out. You will be pleasantly surprised.
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SONIC YOUTH
SISTER
1987 – SST
Produced By SONIC YOUTH
1. Schizophrenia
2. (I Got A) Catholic Block
3. Beauty Lies In The Eye
4. Stereo Sanctity
5. Pipeline / Kill Time
6. Tuff Gnarl
7. Pacific Coast Highway
8. Hot Wire My Heart
9. Kotton Krown
10. White Kross
11. Master=Dik
The long and amazing journey of Sonic Youth began with their 1983 debut album, Confusion Is Sex, and the wave of what became known as alternative rock had begun. But it wasn’t until their fourth album, Sister (1987), when everything for this band fell into place. Sister is their first masterpiece, and it’s thought by many to be their greatest album…even over the follow up to this, the amazing Daydream Nation. So what makes Sister so great? With this album, Sonic Youth was showing a more cohesive approach to songwriting, while their endless wall of guitars kept sounding better and better. In its day, Sister sold very poorly (ahead of its time?), but it has since been hailed as a must have Sonic Youth release.
“Schizophrenia” is one of the greatest Sonic Youth songs of all time, and sets up the rest of the album beautifully. “Beauty Is In The Eye” and “Stereo Sanctity” are great as well. The stabilized band (Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo & Steve Shelley) would remain together until they split up in 2011, but their strongest period was always the 1-2 punch of Sister and Daydream Nation, both of which helped to usher in the changes to rock music in the nineties. At a time when the synthesizer was king, Sonic Youth reminded us that you could always make great experimental rock with a pair of electric guitars. This one’s a classic.
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QUEEN LATIFAH
NATURE OF A SISTA’
1991 – TOMMY BOY
Produced By NAUGHTY BY NATURE, LUIS VEGA, SOULPOWER PRODUCTIONS, K-CUT, NEVELLE HODGE & QUEEN LATIFAH
1. Latifah’s Had It Up 2 Here
2. Nuff Of The Ruff Stuff
3. One Mo’ Time
4. Give Me Your Love
5. Love Again
6. Bad As A Mutha
7. Fly Girl
8. Sexy Fancy
9. Nature Of A Sista’
10. That’s The Way We Flow (Feat. Safari Sister Swatch)
11. If You Don’t Know
12. How Do I Love Thee
Queen Latifah’s debut album, 1989’s All Hail The Queen, gave notice that this woman was up and coming, and that she was the real deal. And then she took a bit of a detour. On her second album, Nature Of A Sista’, she sought to expand her sound and to explore different styles of music. It was a bold move, and it was a move that did not equate to success. There’s still a lot of hip hop here, but her moves into jazz, reggae, R&B and house music don’t always work…and it gives the album a disjointed feel to it. Experimentation is good, but it doesn’t always culminate in a great album. Which is exactly what happened here…while it’s not bad by any means, this is Queen Latifah’s sophomore slump.
Nature Of A Sista’ is saved mostly by Latifah’s lyrics, which are as strong as ever here (although we get that she has rapping skills already). Three singles were released, the best of which is “Fly Girl”. This album did not sell well, and its lack of success led to her being dropped from her label. She signed with Motown and got things back on track commercially, but she has said that this was an important record for her to make. It is an ambitious work, and it’s an interesting listen. But it doesn’t quite hold up alongside her better albums. You’ll want to hear it, as it is an important part of her journey as an artist. Just don’t get your hopes up to high.
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AZTEC CAMERA
HIGH LAND, HARD RAIN
1983 – ROUGH TRADE
Produced By JOHN BRAND & BERNIE CLARKE
1. Oblivious
2. The Boy Wonders
3. Walk Out To Winter
4. The Bugle Sounds Again
5. We Could Send Letters
6. Pillar To Post
7. Release
8. Lost Outside The Tunnel
9. Back On Board
10. Down The Dip
11. Haywire
12. Orchid Girl
13. Queen’s Tattoos
Aztec Camera was originally a Scottish band, although later it became more of a solo project for guitarist and singer Roddy Frame. In twelve years, Aztec Camera released six albums, the best of which was the first, High Land, Hard Rain from 1983. In a landscape being dominated by synthesizers or loud punk, Aztec Camera played catchy, smart and refreshing guitar pop. Frame listed his guitar influences as Joe Strummer and Wes Montgomery, and plays a different guitar on each song. You can hear this difference from track to track, which keeps things interesting. This is a band that was doing their own thing, outside of what was popular at the time. Which is where this gets most of its charm.
“Oblivious” was a hit, and rightfully so. It put Aztec Camera on the map and paved the way for future victories. This band has success…but they were never a huge band. They were also never boring, especially in this album. After this, players started leaving and leaving quickly…in its twelve years, Aztec Camera used over forty different musicians, with Frame being the only constant. Which also meant that the sound was always changing, making it hard for them to establish a solid fan base. But going back and listening to Aztec Camera’s past shows that Frame always had his eye on making good pop music, and he succeeded more times than not.
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DEF LEPPARD
HYSTERIA
1987 – MERCURY
Produced By ROBERT JOHN “MUTT” LANGE
1. Women
2. Rocket
3. Animal
4. Love Bites
5. Pour Some Sugar On Me
6. Armageddon It
7. Gods Of War
8. Don’t Shoot Shotgun
9. Run Riot
10. Hysteria
11. Excitable
12. Love And Affection
Def Leppard had once been a strong up and coming British metal band from the same scene as Motorhead and Iron Maiden. And then they crossed paths with the future Mr. Shania Twain (Robert John “Mutt” Lange), and the future of pop metal was squarely in their corner. Lange had produced their previous two albums, but the goal with Hysteria, as stated by Lange, was to create a hard rock version of Thriller...every song could be a hit single. The album took three years to record, and it was a massive success. During that time, drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car accident, and this metal band basically rewrote “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies (“Pour Some Sugar On Me”), and actually sang as tough men “You got the peaches, I got the cream”…
But damned if this album doesn’t work. It’s still heavy even though it’s the most pop metal album of probably all time. The songs are strong, and the production is flawless, which means that this is an album you can’t help but like. And damned if that guitar lick between the vocals in the chorus of “Love Bites” isn’t one of the greatest moments of the 80’s. Hysteria is impeccably recorded, the vocals are picture perfect, and the goal of every track being a number one hit was as close to being realized as possible. This is the height of what Def Leppard had allowed itself to become. In terms of metal, sure it’s a sellout. But it also made Def Leppard what we all at one time or another dream to be…big, big stars.
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NEU!
NEU! 75
1975 – BRAIN
Produced By CONNY PLANK & NEU!
1. Isi
2. Seeland
3. Leb’ Wohl
4. Hero
5. E-Musik
6. After Eight
Neu! was formed from the ashes of the first lineup of Kraftwerk. While Kraftwerk changed its sound from krautrock to electronic music, Neu! became one of the great models of German rock. In their brief five years together, they released three very important albums…the most stunning of which was the last one, Neu! 75. The band was led by drummer Klaus Dinger and guitarist Michael Rother, who were headed in very different musical directions. Neu! 75 plays as 2 separate solo albums. Rother’s A side is more ambient and keyboard driven, while Dinger’s second half is heavier guitar rock. The differences between the two halves is stunning, and makes for a more than interesting album. It also led to the band disbanding after this was recorded, seeing that they had little left in common.
And while none of Neu!’s music ever sold well, it’s recognized today as being simply groundbreaking. The song “Isi” was released as a single and went nowhere, and the album didn’t dent the charts. But this is still available after all these years for good reason…Neu! 75 is simply a masterpiece. It’s not pop. But it is a blueprint for so much that came after it. “Hero” was a huge influence on punk, and David Bowie spoke highly of this album. The music here is timeless. It doesn’t sound like 1975 at all, but much more modern. Neu! 75 is a masterwork and high water mark in the history of German rock. And it still sounds amazing.
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NO DOUBT
TRAGIC KINGDOM
1995 – TRAUMA
Produced By MATTHEW WILDER
1. Spiderwebs
2. Excuse Me Mr.
3. Just A Girl
4. Happy Now?
5. Different People
6. Hey You!
7. The Climb
8. Sixteen
9. Sunday Morning
10. Don’t Speak
11. You Can Do It
12. World Go Round
13. End It On This
14. Tragic Kingdom
Remember when No Doubt was an up and coming Southern California ska band? Remember when Gwen Stefani was hot, yet looked as though she might just kick your ass? Long before she sold her soul to The Voice and became tabloid fodder because of her oh so public romance with the Anti-Hank Blake Shelton, she was the face of this band that helped put a world of punk, ska and alternative music on your radio. Tragic Kingdom was their breakthrough album…third time’s a charm. Stefani was showcased as a power ballad singing Madonna look alike, and it worked like a charm. But there’s a lot more to this album than that. This is actually a pretty adventurous disc, featuring an array of styles from ska, dance, electronic, rock…this band could do many things pretty well.
The best track here is “Just A Girl”, a bouncy and terrific Cyndi Lauper-ish anthem. “Don’t Speak” was the big hit, and “Spiderwebs”, Sunday Morning” and “Hey You!” showcase just how versatile No Doubt could be. Stefani’s voice doesn’t always work, and can cause your hand to lower the volume at times, but there’s enough here to make this their best album…and a positive part of the 90’s. They would go on to make some decent records before finally ending in 2015, but this is the one you’ll want the most. Before Gwen became a pop tart with a fashion line and a life in the tabloids. This was once a pretty terrific band, and she deserves credit for being part of that.
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JIMMY REED
THE BEST OF JIMMY REED
1973 – GNP CRESCENDO
No Production Credit
1. High And Lonesome
2. Boogie In The Dark
3. You Don’t Have To Go
4. Take Out Some Insurance
5. Ain’t That Lovin’ You baby
6. You Got Me Dizzy
7. Down In Virginia
8. Honest I Do
9. Found Love
10. Goin’ To New York
11. Baby What You Want Me To Do
12. I Ain’t Got You
13. Big Boss Man
14. Tell The World I Do
15. Bright Lights, Big City
16. Aw Shucks Hush Your Mouth
17. Laughin’ At The Blues
18. Shame, Shame, Shame
19. Baby What’s Wrong
20. I’m Goin’ Upside Your Head
Jimmy Reed was one of the most influential of the early bluesmen. His sound can be heard though The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and pretty much every other blues rock outfit that came up during the 60’s and 70’s, and beyond. Born in Mississippi, Reed’s career success during the 1950’s and early 60’s coincided with his time at Vee Jay Records. The Best Of Jimmy Reed was released as a two record set in 1973, and fortunately, it was reissued on CD in 1987. Twenty tracks deep, this contains Reed’s most important songs from the Vee Jay period. It shows why the early blues rockers were drawn to him, and shows why he was a star during this decade. Reed was a fine singer, guitarist and harmonica player, and a fine songwriter as well.
Many of these songs are still known today. “I Ain’t Got You”, “Big Boss Man”, “Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby” and more were not just covered with much respect by many rock bands, but Reeds versions also stand the test of time. This compilation is great from start to finish, and although there isn’t a lot of info to go along with it, it’s still pretty much perfect. When Vee Jay shut down in the early sixties, Reed’s days as a hitmaker went down with them. A severe alcoholic, he died in 1976, just short of his 51st birthday. But his songs…THESE songs…have lived on. This album hasn’t been reissued since 1987, but look and you might still find a copy if you’re so inclined. Well worth the search.
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