‘TIL TUESDAY
EVERYTHING’S DIFFERENT NOW
1988 – EPIC
Produced By RHETT DAVIES & BRUCE LAMPCOV
1. Everything’s Different Now
2. Rip In Heaven
3. Why Must I
4. J For Jules
5. (Believed You Were) Lucky
6. Limits To Love
7. Long Gone (Buddy)
8. The Other End (Of The Telescope)
9. Crash And Burn
10. How Can You Give Up?
‘Til Tuesday came out promisingly enough with their debut album, Voices Carry, in 1985. The video of the title track ends with one of the more memorable moments of the musical decade…Aimee Mann standing up in a concert hall singing that “He said shut up…” at the end. That was the peak, unfortunately, for the band. Their second album, Welcome Home, was well received but sold poorly, followed by Everything’s Different Now, their final album in 1988. Based around the breakup of the relationship between Mann and Jules Shear (who co-wrote the title track), this effort was once again critically hailed, then sank like a stone on the charts, prompting this once promising band to break up at the end of the decade.
While not perfect, this album does have its high points. First of all…you get Aimee Mann, which is never a bad thing. “Rip In Heaven” and “(Believed You Were) Lucky” (also co-written by Shear) are the best tracks here. The title track is fine, and Elvis Costello co wrote and sang on “The Other End (Of The Telescope)”. Everything’s Different Now is good, but it’s pretty clear that this was not a band that was going to be climbing the charts any time soon. The band split, although Mann kept the name alive for a while before settling into her more successful solo career. All three of the ‘Til Tuesday records are good listening, all worth hearing. And it’s a good view of how Mann got started.
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METALLICA
RIDE THE LIGHTNING
1984 – MEGAFORCE
Produced By METALLICA, FLEMMING RASMUSSEN & MARK WHITAKER
1. Fight Fire With Fire
2. Ride The Lightning
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
4. Fade To Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping Death
8. The Call Of Ktulu
I was going to say that this was a very transitional album for Metallica…but one of the great things about this band is that pretty much everything that they do is transitional. Ride The Lightning is their second album. It’s the last to include songs co-written by Dave Mustaine, the first with writing from Kirk Hammett, and the album with the most input from bassist Cliff Burton. Burton’s influence is most responsible for the growth here…his musical knowledge was the cornerstone of the changes they made for this record. Their sound was already beginning to expand from the savage thrash metal of Kill ‘Em All, and you can hear early remnants of the sound that would be more prevalent on their self titled album seven years later.
This is an excellent album, but three songs really stand out. “Fade To Black”, “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, and “Creeping Death” are what makes Ride The Lightning essential, but the other seven tracks are not filler. Hammett finds his place in the band here, while this is the essential Burton album. What Metallica has always done is not only learn from their mistakes…they also learn from their triumphs, which is why their music has always continued to grow and change. They are, already here, literate both musically and lyrically, and the growth from the first album to the second is exhilarating. The first five discs from Metallica are all essential metal, and Ride The Lightning holds its own against the other four with ease. Great stuff.
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FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
METALLICA
RIDE THE LIGHTNING
1984 – MEGAFORCE
Produced By METALLICA, FLEMMING RASMUSSEN & MARK WHITAKER
1. Fight Fire With Fire
2. Ride The Lightning
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
4. Fade To Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping Death
8. The Call Of Ktulu
I was going to say that this was a very transitional album for Metallica…but one of the great things about this band is that pretty much everything that they do is transitional. Ride The Lightning is their second album. It’s the last to include songs co-written by Dave Mustaine, the first with writing from Kirk Hammett, and the album with the most input from bassist Cliff Burton. Burton’s influence is most responsible for the growth here…his musical knowledge was the cornerstone of the changes they made for this record. Their sound was already beginning to expand from the savage thrash metal of Kill ‘Em All, and you can hear early remnants of the sound that would be more prevalent on their self titled album seven years later.
This is an excellent album, but three songs really stand out. “Fade To Black”, “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, and “Creeping Death” are what makes Ride The Lightning essential, but the other seven tracks are not filler. Hammett finds his place in the band here, while this is the essential Burton album. What Metallica has always done is not only learn from their mistakes…they also learn from their triumphs, which is why their music has always continued to grow and change. They are, already here, literate both musically and lyrically, and the growth from the first album to the second is exhilarating. The first five discs from Metallica are all essential metal, and Ride The Lightning holds its own against the other four with ease. Great stuff.
I usually find your reviews interesting, especially since I don't always know where you're going to be coming from.
This may have been the least interesting yet.... cuz' it could just as easily come straight from my keyboard... pretty much verbatim.
I guess there's some coolness in that, too 😎
METALLICA
RIDE THE LIGHTNING
1984 – MEGAFORCE
Produced By METALLICA, FLEMMING RASMUSSEN & MARK WHITAKER
1. Fight Fire With Fire
2. Ride The Lightning
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
4. Fade To Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping Death
8. The Call Of Ktulu
I was going to say that this was a very transitional album for Metallica…but one of the great things about this band is that pretty much everything that they do is transitional. Ride The Lightning is their second album. It’s the last to include songs co-written by Dave Mustaine, the first with writing from Kirk Hammett, and the album with the most input from bassist Cliff Burton. Burton’s influence is most responsible for the growth here…his musical knowledge was the cornerstone of the changes they made for this record. Their sound was already beginning to expand from the savage thrash metal of Kill ‘Em All, and you can hear early remnants of the sound that would be more prevalent on their self titled album seven years later.
This is an excellent album, but three songs really stand out. “Fade To Black”, “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, and “Creeping Death” are what makes Ride The Lightning essential, but the other seven tracks are not filler. Hammett finds his place in the band here, while this is the essential Burton album. What Metallica has always done is not only learn from their mistakes…they also learn from their triumphs, which is why their music has always continued to grow and change. They are, already here, literate both musically and lyrically, and the growth from the first album to the second is exhilarating. The first five discs from Metallica are all essential metal, and Ride The Lightning holds its own against the other four with ease. Great stuff.
I usually find your reviews interesting, especially since I don't always know where you're going to be coming from.
This may have been the least interesting yet.... cuz' it could just as easily come straight from my keyboard... pretty much verbatim.
I guess there's some coolness in that, too 8)
I'm gonna take that as a compliment. But hey...some albums just review themselves! 😄 _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
R.E.M.
RECKONING
1984 – I.R.S.
Produced By DON DIXON & MITCH EASTER
1. Harborcoat
2. 7 Chinese Bros.
3. So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)
4. Pretty Persuasion
5. Time After Time (Annelise)
6. Second Guessing
7. Letter Never Sent
8. Camera
9. (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville
10. Little America
There was nothing like R.E.M. on the rock landscape in 1984. They were practically inventing alternative rock while the masses were into New Wave, hair metal, and the death throes of what is now known as classic rock. Their first album, Murmur, was a hit with critics and the people who took notice of this odd band from Georgia. With Reckoning, R.E.M. not only further solidified their sound, but they also began to reach a wider audience, thanks to a pair of hits in “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)” and the almost conventional rock of “(Don’t Go Back To) Rockville”. The jangly guitars of Peter Buck, the wandering basslines of Mike Mills, and the almost indecipherable lyrics from Michael Stipe made for exciting and ultimately cool music.
Reckoning is loaded with great moments from the band. “Harborcoat” opens the record with everything that makes R.E.M. great, and still stands as one of their greatest songs. “Pretty Persuasion” and “7 Chinese Brothers” are exceptional as well. R.E.M. was considered to be “college rock” at the time, a label they would soon outgrow as they became more famous. This is a band that has had multiple great albums, and Reckoning is definitely one of those. The growth of alternative rock and R.E.M, in the decade of the eighties is one of rock’s most important and interesting excursions. A band and an album you can’t go wrong with.
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CARPENTERS
THE SINGLES 1969-1973
1973 – A&M
Produced By KAREN & RICHARD CARPENTER & JACK DAUGHERTY
1. We’ve Only Just Begun
2. Top Of The World
3. Ticket To Ride
4. Superstar
5. Rainy Days And Mondays
6. Goodbye To Love
7. Yesterday Once More
8. It’s Going To Take Some Time
9. Sing
10. For All We Know
11. Hurting Each Other
12. (They Long To Be) Close To You
Karen Carpenter had one of the most beautiful voices ever committed to record. Her brother Richard’s attempts to choose songs that made the best of her voice were sometimes misguided, but often enough, he chose the right material and the right instrumentation. They released five studio albums in five years leading up to this collection, and if you know the music of this duo, then you can see by simply looking at the track list how successful they were. Even “Sing”, a song that was written for Sesame Street, became a big hit for them. These songs all work for one huge reason: Karen Carpenter sang them straight into your heart. An amazing ability for any singer.
Richard Carpenter made some questionable choices for this compilation, however. All on the first half of the record. “We’ve Only Just Begun” strangely opens with a false start of “Close To You” that adds nothing to the song. “Top Of The World” and their cover of The Beatles’ “Ticket To Ride” were re-recorded for the album, not sure why. And “Superstar”, “Rainy Days And Mondays” and “Goodbye To Love” were run together to play as a medley…with the last two of the three sped up in order to fit the idea…which is unnecessary and adds nothing. Had this been a straight- ahead compilation without Richard’s tinkering, it would be the ultimate Carpenters disc. It’s still a fine listen…after all, it is Karen Carpenters voice.
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Even “Sing”, a song that was written for Sesame Street, became a big hit for them.
Huh, I had no idea! As a kid I loved that song on Sesame Street, and always assumed they were covering the Carpenters (as the Muppets often cover or pastiche others), not the other way around.
Interesting write-up of this compilation. Seems like a stretch to release a collection of singles when many of them have been substantially edited from the versions that became hits. _________________ 51 Washington, D.C. albums!
Huh, I had no idea! As a kid I loved that song on Sesame Street, and always assumed they were covering the Carpenters (as the Muppets often cover or pastiche others), not the other way around.
Interesting write-up of this compilation. Seems like a stretch to release a collection of singles when many of them have been substantially edited from the versions that became hits.
Yeah! It was written by a Sesame Street writer 2 years before the Carpenters recorded it. It was actually first covered by Barbra Streisand.
It really is a strange album...not sure why he did it that way. Guess he was trying to do something unique. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
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Of dying history
RADIOHEAD
AMNESIAC
2001 – PARLOPHONE
Produced By NIGEL GODRICH & RADIOHEAD
1. Packt Like Sardines In A Crushd Tin Box
2. Pyramid Song
3. Pulk / Pull Revolving Doors
4. You And Whose Army?
5. I Might Be Wrong
6. Knives Out
7. Morning Bell / Amnesiac
8. Dollars And Cents
9. Hunting Bears
10. Like Spinning Plates
11. Life In A Glasshouse
Amnesiac, Radiohead’s fifth album, was actually recorded during the same sessions as their previous album, Kid A. They had considered releasing the two as a double album, but then decided that Amnesiac was different enough and could stand on its own. And Radiohead rarely makes mistakes. So one year later, Radiohead had another new album on the shelves. This is barely a rock record if it is at all, but it is highly interesting and continues their never ending growth. Radiohead has proven to be quite good at making their experiments and musical changes entertaining. Amnesiac is that kind of album, for sure. It’s more electronic than rock, more ambient than danceable, and yet another winner.
The best tracks here are the ones that are closer to where they had already been. “Knives Out”, “Pyramid Song” and “I Might Be Wrong” are excellent, and prove that once again, Radiohead had made a turn in the right direction. The album stands out from Kid A, even though they were recorded together. It also sets the table for their next work, 2003’s Hail To The Thief. There are classical and jazz influences present here, and they used Auto Tune not to fix Thom Yorke’s vocals on a couple of songs, but to distort them. Amnesiac may not be the most accessible Radiohead album, but it’s exciting to listen to them change and incorporate more non-rock music into what they do. This is a thousand miles from OK Computer…and a million miles from “Creep”. And that’s actually a good thing.
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RECKLESS KELLY
UNDER THE TABLE & ABOVE THE SUN
2003 – SUGAR HILL
Produced By RAY KENNEDY
1. Let’s Just Fall
2. Nobody’s Girl
3. Desolation Angels
4. Everybody
5. I Saw It Coming
6. Vancouver
7. Willamina
8. Mersey Beat
9. Set Me Free
10. Snowfall
11. You Don’t Want Me Around
12. May Peace Find You Tonight
Reckless Kelly knocked around central Idaho and Oregon in the late 90’s before settling into the Austin scene, They were a perfect fit…as country rock as they come. After a pair of albums that did very little, Under The Table And Above The Sun didn’t exactly set the charts on fire…but it did, for the first time in their career, make at least a dent there. The band would have mild successes in the 2010’s, but for now, this was the stepping stone that they needed…their next album contained their best song, “Wicked Twisted Road”. But this record, while not great, gives you an idea of what this band is could do.
The best song here, by far, is “Vancouver”. It shows that Reckless Kelly is capable of being more than just a bland alt-country outfit, and sets the table for their next record nicely. Under The Table & Above The Sun is pleasant enough, but there’s nothing here that will make you turn your head and say that this was a band on the verge of something big…something that they are still waiting for. But this is by no means a bad album. It’s worth having for “Vancouver” alone, and add to that songs like “Nobody’s Girl”, “Snowfall” and “I Saw It Coming”, and you have yourself a nice little gem of an record. Again…this is not greatness. But it’s a good listen, and worthwhile if you stumble on it.
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