This is real time machine music... as in I wish I had one so I could go back and see Louis and Lil live in their time.
Yes. These are the best recordings from that time that I have heard. And both volumes are equally as great. Louis was a tremendous player! _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
DR. DRE
THE CHRONIC
1992 – DEATH ROW
Produced By DR. DRE & SUGE KNIGHT
1. The Chronic (Intro)
2. Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’)
3. Let Me Ride
4. The Day The Niggaz Took Over
5. Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang
6. Deeez Nuuuts
7. Lil’ Ghetto Boy
8. A Nigga Wit A Gun
9. Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat
10. The $20 Sack Pyramid (Skit)
11. Lyrical Gangbang
12. High Powered
13. The Doctor’s Office (Skit)
14. Stranded On Death Row
15. The Roach (The Chronic Outro)
16. Bitches Ain’t Shit
I freely admit that my relationship with hip hop has not always been a peaceful one. Let’s just say that I understand really well how easy it is to blame the bad behavior of stepsons on the music they listen to. It took me a lot of years to remember that I grew up with that same attitude coming from my own parental figures. At the center of this were a pair of albums by Dr. Dre: 2001 and The Chronic. It’s a pretty easy road to go down, especially when you walk into a room and find the 12 year old listening to “Bitches Ain’t Shit”. That makes it difficult to appreciate what Dr. Dre was doing. It’s taken time to trust this album. But Dre (more a producer than a rapper) made what really is a great record. And it’s important to remember that the 12 year old me would have loved it…and would not have turned to a life of crime because if it.
The Chronic is actually the coming out party for Snoop Dogg, who appears on the first 11 tracks here, and on all but three. He, along with Dre’s production abilities, are what makes this record really work. You may not like what is being said here, but you can’t fault the way in which it’s being said. This is urban LA set to music…the streets, the people, the parties, everything. Dre as a producer proves to be among the best, and this album plays more like a great soundtrack than anything else. The lyrical content is frightening if you’re a parent, sure. But no one said that art has to be pretty and clean…it never has been the case, and it never will be. The Chronic is, after all these years, an album I can finally embrace and appreciate. It has not been an easy journey, but thankfully I still have enough of the young me in there to remember what albums like this are really about. It’s a classic. It’s great, and I’m as at peace with it as I can be.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1. Black Cow
2. Aja
3. Deacon Blues
4. Peg
5. Home At Last
6. I Got The News
7. Josie
Regarding my long and often tumultuous relationship with Steely Dan. I often blame them for creating adult contemporary music, yacht rock, and jazz rock. After their debut album, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen turned the band into a duo with a revolving door of sometimes up to forty studio musicians. Their sound became squeaky clean and overly perfected. And yet…here I am, giving praise to Aja, their sixth studio album. By this time, they had the whole production thing down…Aja is so perfectly recorded that it’s often been used as a demonstration album for high end sound systems. And damned if this record doesn’t contain a slew of perfectly crafted songs.
Rockers and smooth jazz enthusiasts love this album. Why? For starters, five of the seven tracks were sure fire hits. “Black Cow”, “Josie”, “Peg”, “Aja” and “Deacon Blues” have been all over the radio since 1977. All five are inescapably catchy and perfect and memorable. The tracks here are longer, with more jazz influence than ever before, while keeping Becker and Fagen’s pop sensibilities intact. So, how am I supposed to keep on disliking Steely Dan when records like Aja exist? It would be unfair of me to continue doing so, because the fact is, Aja is pretty damned terrific. You’ve caught me in your trap and made me believe. Well played, Steely Dan. Well played.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
FischmanRockMonster, JazzMeister, Bluesboy,ClassicalMasterProfile Land of Enchantment
1. Black Cow
2. Aja
3. Deacon Blues
4. Peg
5. Home At Last
6. I Got The News
7. Josie
Regarding my long and often tumultuous relationship with Steely Dan. I often blame them for creating adult contemporary music, yacht rock, and jazz rock. After their debut album, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen turned the band into a duo with a revolving door of sometimes up to forty studio musicians. Their sound became squeaky clean and overly perfected. And yet…here I am, giving praise to Aja, their sixth studio album. By this time, they had the whole production thing down…Aja is so perfectly recorded that it’s often been used as a demonstration album for high end sound systems. And damned if this record doesn’t contain a slew of perfectly crafted songs.
Rockers and smooth jazz enthusiasts love this album. Why? For starters, five of the seven tracks were sure fire hits. “Black Cow”, “Josie”, “Peg”, “Aja” and “Deacon Blues” have been all over the radio since 1977. All five are inescapably catchy and perfect and memorable. The tracks here are longer, with more jazz influence than ever before, while keeping Becker and Fagen’s pop sensibilities intact. So, how am I supposed to keep on disliking Steely Dan when records like Aja exist? It would be unfair of me to continue doing so, because the fact is, Aja is pretty damned terrific. You’ve caught me in your trap and made me believe. Well played, Steely Dan. Well played.
When I saw Aja in your thread title I was immediately curious as to what your take would be.
Not only was it an interesting take, it was creatively written. A Very enjoyable read. Enjoyable indeed.
Hey, thanks for that! A big part of being able to enjoy more music than when I was younger has been BEA. This place has taught me how to keep my mind open, even to music I thought I could never enjoy. _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
1. Shot Shot
2. Rex Kramer
3. Detroit Swing 66
4. In Our Gun
5. Even Song
6. Ruff Stuff
7. Sound Of Sounds
8. Army Dub
9. Miles End
10. Ping One Down
11. 1000 Times
12. Drench
13. Ballad Of Nice & Easy
Gomez is a British band that has been around since the late 90’s. Have you never heard of them? Shame. Gomez is kind of like what Journey was to the late 1970’s and early 80’s…the girls really dig Gomez, as they did Journey. And the guys listen to Gomez because they wanted the girls. The difference between Gomez and Journey is that Gomez is a hell of a lot more entertaining and a much better band. They have never made much of an impression (beyond the female audience) in America, which is too bad…Gomez makes terrific music. And they have a very impressive lineup of great songs. And albums. In Our Gun is the third record by Gomez, and while it failed to even dent the US charts, it was a top ten UK album. And for good reason.
Gomez has been fully intact since 1996, with three strong songwriters in Olly Peacock, Ian Ball and Ben Ottewell. In Our Gun features fine writing with “Shot Shot”, “Ping One Down”, “Detroit Swing 66” and “Sound Of Sounds”. Ball and Ottewell have contrasting vocal sounds, which gives each song a welcome variance. In Our Gun gets overlooked as it sits between Liquid Skin and Split The Difference, but it still stands as one of the better Gomez albums. Don’t know who Gomez is? Go take a listen. This is a fine, and very (in the US) underrated band. Tuneful, rocking, interesting, and highly entertaining. The men don’t know…but the girls…they always understand. Gomez is the real deal, and are a worthy discovery.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
RECKLESS KELLY
WICKED TWISTED ROAD
2005 – SUGAR HILL
Produced By RAY KENNEDY
1. Wicked Twisted Road
2. Dogtown
3. Seven Nights In Eire
4. A Lot To Ask
5. Motel Cowboy Show
6. These Tears
7. Sixgun
8. Nobody Haunts Me Like You
9. Wretched Again
10. Broken Heart
11. Stick Around
12. Baby’s Got A Whole Lot More
13. Wicked Twisted Road (Reprise)
Yet another gem that my musical brother Marlo turned me onto. He used to sing “Wicked Twisted Road” at almost every show, and I wondered where that gem of a song came from. It came from right here, Reckless Kelly’s fourth album. This Austin band (by way of Idaho) plays a mixture of country rock and Texas country that’s certainly easy on the ears…and when they get it really right, it’s really, really good. Wicked Twisted Road isn’t the band’s breakthrough…but it sure did set it up to happen on their next album, Bulletproof. They peaked between 2008 and 2010, and have remained as solid an alt country outfit as you’re going to find.
“Stick Around”, “These Tears” and “Baby’s Got A Whole Lot More” are fine, but the songs that really make this album worthwhile are the title track and the perfectly catchy “Seven Nights In Eire”, which features a young Irish girl with “hair as black as Guinness Stout”. “Dogtown” and “Sixgun” are also well worth your time. But that title track…what a beautiful and simple piece of songwriting. Maybe this band’s best song, it’s a list of surprising first loves…an angry painful song, a wild, sinful night, a castle in the sky, a wicked twisted road. This album is more than listenable, and it’s one of the many fine unheralded alt country records of the 2000’s. Well worth the time and money.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
KYUSS
BLUES FOR THE RED SUN
1992 – DALI
Produced By CHRIS GOSS & KYUSS
1. Thumb
2. Green Machine
3. Molten Universe
4. 50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)
5. Thong Song
6. Apothecaries’ Weight
7. Caterpillar March
8. Freedom Run
9. 800
10. Writhe
11. Capsized
12. Allen’s Wrench
13. Mondo Generator
14. Yeah
Before he formed Queens Of The Stone Age, Josh Homme was the founder and guitarist for Kyuss, a heavy stoner metal band that released four albums between 1991 and 1995. Blues For The Red Sun is the second of those four Kyuss releases, and while it may not be their most popular album (not even close), it may be their most important. Blues For The Red Sun was praised by critics, but sold less than 40,000 copies upon release. But it has survived to this day, kept alive by its influence on future stoner rock bands and by the fact that despite its poor sales performance, it’s one hell of a great heavy album. It’s been compared to the works of bands like Black Sabbath and Alice In Chains, and it holds up well alongside both of those iconic bands.
There were no hits here, but drummer Brant Bjork’s “Green Machine” could have, should have been. “Thong Song” and “Thumb” are also standout tracks. The album contains five instrumental tracks, with the nonexistent lyrics credited to singer John Garcia. (He is also credited with writing the last track, which is simply him saying “yeah”.) This record is deeply loud and heavy, and sits on several critic’s lists of greatest metal albums of all time. And it really is that good. So while the follow up, Welcome To Sky Valley, may be better known…Blues For The Red Sun is really where Kyuss made their mark. Homme has said there will never be a reunion, and that’s okay. He gets that for bands, you can pretty much never recapture that magic. I’m good with having this album around to remind me how great they really were.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
EASY STAR ALL-STARS
RADIODREAD
2006 – EASY STAR
Produced By MICHAEL GOLDWASSER
1. Airbag (Feat. Horace Andy)
2. Paranoid Android (Feat. Kirsty Rock)
3. Subterranean Homesick Alien (Feat. Junior Jazz)
4. Exit Music (For A Fil) (Feat. Sugar Minott)
5. Let Down (Feat. Toots & The Maytals)
6. Karma Police (Feat. Citizen Cope)
7. Fitter Happier (Feat. Menny More)
8. Electioneering (Feat. Morgan heritage)
9. Climbing Up The Walls (Feat. Tamar-Kali)
10. No Surprises (Feat. The Meditations)
11. Lucky (Feat. Frankie Paul)
12. The Tourist (Feat. Israel Vibration)
13. Exit Music (For A Dub)
14. An Airbag Saved My Dub
Easy Star is a successful reggae and dub label in New York City. Easy Star All Stars are the label’s house band, and have played on several of the label’s records. But these guys have made their mark by re-creating a handful of the greatest rock albums of all time. It takes confidence to tackle Dark Side Of The Moon and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but these guys did it. This one is just as ambitious. Radiodread is a remake (not a remix) of Radiohead’s classic OK Computer. And it works a lot better than you may think. The All Stars stay righteously true to the original compositions, and add some tasty guest vocals on each track. Don’t knock this until you’ve tried it.
Is it good? It’s been given rave reviews by those who matter most…both Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead are fans. The melodies are great for reggae, while the atmospheres of the songs are fantastic fits for dub. There are a few spots where there is some drag…but those don’t last long, and the novelty of hearing one of the greatest albums of all time remade like this doesn’t wear off. It’s all done without stepping on anyone’s toes, without making themselves bigger than the music, and it’s done with care and respect. I love OK Computer, and now Radiodread is, for me, a companion album. Very nicely done.
Link _________________ I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
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
Fischman
