VARIOUS ARTISTS
8 MILE: MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY THE MOTION PICTURE
2002 – SHADY / INTERSCOPE
Produced By EMINEM, CHUCKY THOMPSON, DANTE ROSS, DJ PREMIER, GURU, JEFF BASS, JOHN GAMBLE, J-PRAIZE, KELLIN MANNING, LUIS RESTO, MARTIN PRADLER, MEL-MAN, MIKE ELIZONDO, MR. PORTER, NAS, RED SPYDA & SHA MONEY XL
1 Lose Yourself – Eminem
2. Love Me – Eminem, Obie Trice & 50 Cent
3. 8 Mile – Eminem
4. Adrenaline Rush – Obie Trice
5. Places To Go – 50 Cent
6. Rap Game (Feat. 50 Cent) – D12
7. 8 Miles And Runnin’ (Feat. Freeway) – Jay-Z
8. Spit Shine – Xzibit)
9. Time Of My Life – Macy Gray
10. U Wanna Be Me – Nas
11. Wanksta – 50 Cent
12. Wasting My Time – Boomkat
13. R.A.K.I.M. – Rakim
14. That’s My Nigga Fo’ Real – Young Zee
15. Battle – Gang Starr
16. Rabbit Run – Eminem
Following the Purple Rain blueprint, in 2002 Eminem released a somewhat autobiographical film called 8 Mile. In which his character (Rabbit) struggles to overcome challenges with his family, his girl, and most of all, his art. Like Purple Rain, the movie is entertaining enough, with surprisingly well done acting by Eminem, as it was with Prince before him. But where Purple Rain and 8 Mile become different is on the soundtrack. Purple Rain was all Prince. 8 Mile features the first 3 tracks and the final song by Eminem…and he lets others have the rest of the album. So it’s loaded with tracks by the likes of 50 Cent, Nas, Macy Gray, Jay-Z and a bunch of others.
The result is an interesting and listenable compilation. There are some not great moments, but this ends up being worth the time and money. Of course, the hit came from Eminem…”Lose Yourself” is one of his better songs, and opens things up nicely. There are more great tracks from the special edition bonus disc (which I do not have), and there was a full second edition called More Music From 8 Mile. It ends up being a lot to handle. For me, this single disc does just fine. It’s a good companion to the film, but it also stands up well on its own. Another jewel in the crown for Eminem, and the joy of having their own Purple Rain for a different generation.
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THE MICROPHONES
THE GLOW PT. 2
2001 – K RECORDS
Produced By PHIL ELVERUM
1. I Want Wind To Blow
2. The Glow Pt. 2
3. The Moon
4. Headless Horseman
5. My Roots Are Strong And Deep
6. Instrumental
7. The Mansion
8. Untitled
9. (Something)
10. I’ll Not Contain You
11. The Gleam Pt. 2
12. Map
13. You’ll Be In The Air
14. I Want To Be Cold
15. I Am Bored
16. I Felt My Size
17. Instrumental
18. I Felt Your Shape
19. Samurai Sword
20. My Warm Blood
Just…wow. The Microphones main career was fairly short, between 1996 and 2003. The Glow Pt. 2 is their third album, and has grown in stature to be one of the best albums of its decade…and of all time. Phil Elverum is the main songwriter and central member, and he makes music that is nowhere near ordinary. Get ready for this one…strap yourself in, and take your time (it may take a bit to click for you)…this is one hell of a wild ride. This album has everything. It’s lo-fi, indie folk, noise, ambient, soft, chaotic, amateurish and ultimately independent. This record covers more ground than any album I have ever heard, and it does so almost effortlessly. This is simply masterful.
The best tracks are the first three…what an incredible start to this! But there isn’t a significant drop off. Everything here is an adventure. A journey. Unhinged yet excellent, massively flawed yet perfect. There’s more hiss on this than on the amateur tapes I made with my guitar as a teenager…and you’ll forgive every second of it. Because what makes The Glow Pt. 2 special is that absolutely everything works. Copies of this are not easy to come by…if you see one, snatch it up. Take your time. Let things like the shocking difference between “I Felt Your Shape” and “Samurai Sword” sink in. This album is a work of art. A massively underappreciated classic, and one of the greatest albums in the history of ever. Just…wow.
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BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS
STRATEGEM
1994 – GIANT
Produced By ANDY TORRI & BIG HEAD TODD & THE MONSTERS
1. Kensington Line
2. Strategem
3. Wearing Only Flowers
4. Neckbreaker
5. Magdelina
6. Angel Leads Me On
7. In The Morning
8. Candle 99
9. Greyhound
10. Poor Miss
11. Shadowlands
Big Head Todd & The Monsters had some hits and were fairly popular for a minute in the early nineties…unless you happen to live in their home state of Colorado. Let’s just say that living here, this review alone might get me thrown out. They always have been big here, not so much everywhere else. Strategem is their fourth album, and is the follow up to their biggest success, 1993’s Sister Sweetly. The sound is bigger, having been recorded in an empty theater, and moves away from the commercial sound of the previous record. But there isn’t much to recommend here…the band seems to have run out of gas less than halfway through this.
Strategem starts off with a bang. “Kensington Line” is a sharp and fine rocker. The next pair of tracks are pretty good…but by the end of “Neckbreaker”, there isn’t much worth hearing. The only other sign of life is the far too short “Greyhound”. Everything else is pretty much lifeless and tuneless filler, which make this album very hard to be excited about. The Monsters seem to have simply run out of ideas…and energy. Maybe they needed some time to write more songs, and to get some rest. I don’t know. But after “Kensington Line”, there’s really nothing much here. There actually hasn’t been much since…but don’t say that in Colorado…
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JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP
THE LONESOME JUBILEE
1987 – MERCURY
Produced By JOHN MELLENCAMP & DON GEHMAN
1. Paper In Fire
2. Down And Out In Paradise
3. Check It Out
4. The Real Life
5. Cherry Bomb
6. We Are The People
7. Empty Hands
8. Hard Times For An Honest Man
9. Hotdogs And Hamburgers
10. Rooty Toot Toot
It’s often overlooked in his discography, but it’s hard to argue against The Lonesome Jubilee being John Mellencamp’s best work. This is the follow up to 1985’s Scarecrow, for which he and his band toured for an extensive period of time. It shows him veering away from his previous classic rock sound into a world filled with fiddles and mandolins and, of all things, accordions. And man, does it work. This is where he really got tagged as a “heartland” rocker, and this is where his songwriting got really sharp. This band (including Kenny Aronoff on drums and Lisa Germano on fiddle) simply cooks, and Mellencamp sounds quite happy to not be playing hard rock music.
Three of Mellencamp’s best ever songs are here. “Paper In Fire” is as good as he’s ever been, and the band is on fire. “Cherry Bomb” is a slice of nostalgic heaven…and “Check It Out” contains his greatest hook. Most importantly, this is where Mellencamp became fully grown. The maturity and confidence that he displays on this record is beyond anything he had done before, and he proves that he is a pretty terrific songwriter. And remember how long that road was for him…a decade earlier, he was being marketed as a teen idol named Johnny Cougar. He would finally lose the Cougar name after his next album, and he was, starting right here, finally being taken seriously. This may be the most necessary Mellencamp album of them all.
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METALLICA
KILL ‘EM ALL
1983 – MEGAFORCE
Produced By PAUL CURCIO
1. Hit The Lights
2. The Four Horsemen
3. Motorbreath
4. Jump In The Fire
5. (Anesthesia) – Pulling Teeth
6. Whiplash
7. Phantom Lord
8. No Remorse
9. Seek & Destroy
10. Metal Militia
Metallica starts right here. The main lineup was in place for barely a month when they started recording Kill ‘Em All, their first album. Dave Mustaine had just been fired and replaced by Kirk Hammett, and bassist Cliff Burton hadn’t been around much longer than that. Megaforce Records was barely breathing when the band recorded this. Four of the tracks are co-written by Mustaine (now of Megadeth), and secured Metallica’s place as leaders in thrash metal. It’s amazing how precise this album is, given how little time they had to work together as a band. This album is heavy, it’s fast, it’s exciting and it’s cool as hell.
The best tracks here are “The Four Horsemen” (one of the songs co-written by Mustaine) and “Seek And Destroy”…the track that really defined the future of the band. Burton’s genius is shown on his “(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth”, a four plus minute bass solo that’s absolutely listenable. James Hetfield snarls throughout this record, and Lars Ulrich shows why he is maybe the best metal drummer there is. Metallica just got better, though. Master Of Puppets, Ride The Lightning & And Justice For All built and improved on what they did here. This is an essential album by what may be metal’s most essential band.
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GOLDEN SMOG
ON GOLDEN SMOG
1992 – CRACKPOT RECORDS
Produced By PAUL PACIFIC
1. Son (We’ve Kept The Room Just The Way You Left It)
2. Easy To Be Hard
3. Shooting Star
4. Back Street Girl
5. Cowboy Song
I do not care what you say. Golden Smog is the greatest supergroup in the history of ever. Ever. Why? Because they have never taken themselves seriously. Because they don’t care that membership in the group is fluid. And because they do it all with a sense of humor that music should have a lot more of. On Golden Smog is an EP. It’s only 22 minutes long, and it consists of only cover songs. The band members all use fake names, and the lead vocals on the last track are by a roadie. And it’s cool as hell. The lineage of Golden Smog is as impressive as anything in rock, and the fact that they really don’t seem to care if you’ve heard of Golden Smog or not seems to make it all the better.
The first track is from an unknown band called Michaelangelo. “Easy To Be Hard”, from Hair, is sung by Gary Louris of The Jayhawks. Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum handles Bad Company’s “Shooting Star”. “Back Street Girl” is a Stones cover. And bringing in a Soul Asylum roadie to sing Thin Lizzy’s “Cowboy Song” is just awesome. It’s cool, but not perfect…there would be so much more great music from these guys, but On Golden Smog is the most fun you will ever have with a supergroup. Players here are from The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, Soul Asylum, and The Replacements. The recurring theme is that they’re Minneapolis bands. Imperfect as it is…you should know Golden Smog. Because they are fun, and they make music…just because.
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GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS
MOBILIZE
2001 – ROUNDER
Produced By GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS & CARMEN RIZZO
1. See America
2. Humankind
3. Love’s A Mystery
4. Sadness Soot
5. We All Get A Taste
6. Spring Released
7. Lazily Drowning
8. Like A Lover
9. Mobilize
10. Beautiful Dreamers
11. Sleepless Lake
12. April Chimes
Mobilize is the second solo album by Grant-Lee Phillips (the Grant-Lee of Grant-Lee Buffalo). A true solo album, Phillips is all you hear. He plays every instrument, and every voice is his. Critically, this has been viewed as a good thing. But sometimes, too much of one musician might just be that. Phillips does not play drums, so a drum machine is used throughout. A drum machine, unfortunately, can only take rock music so far. Which brings us to the central issue with Mobilize: it barely rocks at all. It sounds lazy and uninspired at times, and the songs seem to be begging for an actual band to play them. Now, there are talents who can pull this kind of an album off. Prince. McCartney. Grant-Lee Phillips just isn’t that guy.
There are some pretty terrific songs here, most notable the surprisingly upbeat “Spring Released”. And Phillips is an incredibly talented guy. But his move towards less rock, at this point, sounds somewhat hollow. Extremely well played, but not quite all there. He tries to make things interesting by using electronic sounds, but it doesn’t add much. The band Grant-Lee Buffalo was always more listenable and engaging. This will work if you’re looking to chill, but otherwise, there’s not enough here to hang you hat on. Which may be why Phillips has never gotten past cult status…his fans are true, but there just aren’t enough of them to make him a star. Stick with the earlier band recordings. This is good, but just a bit too bland.
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ELTON JOHN
GREATEST HITS
1974 – MCA
Produced By GUS DUDGEON
1. Your Song
2. Daniel
3. Honky Cat
4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
5. Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
6. Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long Long Time)
7. Bennie And The Jets
8. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
9. Border Song
10. Crocodile Rock
11. Candle In The Wind
This was one of the essential albums of my youth. Elton John has been a huge star since what seems like the dawn of time…but his best songs came in the first half of the 1970’s. And this greatest hits collection from 1974 explains it all. Elton was everywhere back then, and he had the songs to back it up. This compilation is flawless, and every song was huge in its own right. Elton made some stunning albums back then, but these were the inescapable hits…and they were all cool. In the world of greatest hits album, this one is right up there with the first one by the Eagles in 1976. There have been many since, but this is truly the one to have.
After this run of perfection, Elton still had hits, but they weren’t of this caliber. And the many packages released over the years are going to have songs you don’t particularly want. But this one is just perfect, just right. It’s also out of print, because his later hits albums had more recent material. So if you see this one, snatch it up. It’s short, to the point, and as great as a compilation can be. Mine is the DCC Compact Classics Gold Disc, which is why it includes “Candle In The Wind”. Hopefully, one day, this will be re-issued, because it truly is the ultimate best of from Elton John. Compilations just don’t get better than this one.
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BJORK
MEDULLA
2004 – ELEKTRA
Produced By BJORK & MARK BELL
1. Pleasure Is All Mine
2. Show Me Forgiveness
3. Where Is The Line
4. Vokuro
5. Oll Birtan
6. Who Is It
7. Submarine
8. Desired Constellation
9. Oceania
10. Sonnets / Unrealities XI
11. Ancestors
12. Mouth’s Cradle
13. Miovikudags
14. Triumph Of A Heart
You may not be a fan of Bjork, but you can never fault her creative drive. In 2004, our favorite Icelandic wonder released her fifth studio album, Medulla. Outside of a few spot instruments, this disc is completely a cappella. Imagine what an avant-garde record with only voices would sound like from an artist who is very melodic and eccentric, and you have an idea of what this turns out to be. The tracks go from beautiful and sparse to crowded, edgy and confusing in a heartbeat…and Bjork somehow makes it all come together. This is a bold and risky and experimental work of art from one of the more creative and unafraid artists in music. And it’s simply brilliant, and almost perfect.
The highs here are breathtaking. “Triumph Of A Heart”, “Oceania” and “Who Is It” are wonderful. At times, she sings in Icelandic. There are choirs, moans, beatboxing, throat singing and even Mike Patton from Faith No More, alongside moments of sheer vocal beauty. There aren’t many who could pull of an album like this one. Bjork is just that artist. It’s entertaining because the songs are good, and she includes so many different elements of vocals into them without ever going completely off the deep end. It’s always exciting to hear what Bjork is going to do next. With this one, she really made a left turn, and she made it work like a charm. As she always seems to do.
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EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS
UP FROM BELOW
2009 – VAGRANT
Produced By AARON OLDER, EDWARD SHARPE & NICOLO AGLIETTI
1. 40 Day Dream
2. Janglin’
3. Up From Below
4. Carries On
5. Jade!
6. Home
7. Desert Song
8. Black Water
9. Come In Please
10. Simplest Love
11. Kisses Over Babylon
12. Brother
13. Om Nashi Me
Not gonna lie. My first impression of this band was “I bet they don’t smell very good”. They looked and kinda sounded like dirty hippies. But even though I may have been right about that, their debut album Up From Below has some really great high moments, and some truly great musicianship. It does sound like a collective of hippies…because it really is just that. There is not an actual Edward Sharpe…Alex Ebert takes on that fictitious name with the band as their front man. And there is some real charm that comes with this group. And no, the cd case does not smell of patchouli. But it wouldn’t be a surprise if it did.
This large 10+ piece band puts together some great moments. “Home” is the centerpiece, and the best song here. “40 Day Dream” and “Kisses Over Babylon” are also highlights. But there is also a lot of filler here, and the Zeros use what feels like a lot more horns and busy miscellaneous instrumentation than is needed. A lot of this music seems crowded and over played. 4 guitar players, horns, massive percussion…it gets hard to keep in line. They released three albums after this, with the next two faring much better before their last disc failed to make an impression. This band has some great ideas, but they just seem to fall short in executing most of them.
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