LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
SOUND OF SILVER
2006 – DFA / CAPITOL
Produced By THE DFA
1. Get Innocuous!
2. Time To Get Away
3. North American Scum
4. Someone Great
5. All My Friends
6. Us V Them
7. Watch The Tapes
8. Sound Of Silver
9. New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down
I really like this band. LCD Soundsystem seems to be unafraid to try anything. They play dance music. Electronic. They play guitars. And they have songs that are cool as hell. Sound Of Silver is their second album, and it’s their best work, although you can’t really go wrong with any of their other four studio efforts. Led by multi-instrumentalist and singer James Murphy, they are best known as a dance band…but there is so much more to what they do. Sound Of Silver contains tracks that are easily addictive, and the sound is very accessible. This band will never bore you, and they will never beat you over the head with what they want you to like about them.
Five of the nine songs here will win you over. “North American Scum” is righteously infectious, as are “Someone Great”, “All My Friends”, and “Time To Get Away”. Pick a favorite…you will not be wrong. Also of note is the closer, “New York, I Love you But You’re Bringing Me Down”. As a whole, this album is pretty terrific…and pretty underrated, despite its being nominated for a Grammy in 2007. LCD Soundsystem broke up in 2011, but got back together four years later. They haven’t released an album since 2017, but hopefully there will be another…these guys always put out a good effort. This one is the best so far.
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FATBOY SLIM
HALFWAY BETWEEN THE GUTTER AND THE STARS
2000 – ASTRALWERKS
Produced By FATBOY SLIM
1. Talking Bout My Baby
2. Star 69
3. Sunset (Bird Of Prey)
4. Love Life (Feat. Macy Gray)
5. Ya Mama
6. Mad Flava
7. Retox (Feat. Ashley Slater)
8. Weapon Of Choice (Feat. Bootsy Collins)
9. Drop The Hate
10. Demons (feat. Macy Gray)
11. Song For Shelter (Feat. Roland Clark & Roger Sanchez)
Over the years, I’ve been able to be open to more and more music. Apparently, I haven’t gotten to the point yet where I can fully appreciate the work of Fatboy Slim. Quentin Cook has been successful doing remixes for several big acts, and he’s made fine music with David Byrne. On his own, he released four solo albums between 1996 and 2004 (none since). Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars is his third record, and marks something of a downward slide for big beat, the type of electronic music that Fatboy Slim helped make popular in the late nineties. Musically, this is a big sounding thumper of an album, loaded with cool beats.
Where Fatboy Slim loses me is vocally. The vocals are not his…they are mostly sampled bits, with a few guests (most notably Macy Gray), and the best way to describe them is repetitious. To an absolute fault. He has a penchant for taking a single line and driving it so deep into your brain that you might consider surgery to get it out. “Song For Shelter” contains actual dialogue before ending with a senseless loop of “you’d better just keep it rollin’”, while Gray’s spot on “Demons” is one of the album’s highlights. And if you like big beat, this sounds really good. If you can look past the vocals, most of which add nothing to the songs, then this will work fine. But the vocals ARE there…
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AIMEE MANN
LOST IN SPACE
2002 – SUPEREGO
Produced By MIKE DENNEEN, RYAN FREELAND & MICHAEL LOCKWOOD
1. Humpty Dumpty
2. High On Sunday 51
3. Lost In Space
4. This Is How It Goes
5. Guys Like Me
6. Pavlov’s Bell
7. Real Bad News
8. Invisible Ink
9. Today’s The Day
10. The Moth
11. It’s Not
Even though her biggest success came in the eighties as the singer for ‘Til Tuesday, Aimee Mann has maintained a solid solo career since her debut album, Whatever, came out in 1993. She’s since put out ten studio albums plus a soundtrack, all of which are worth hearing. Lost In Space is her fourth album, and marks a mellowing out for Mann, in a good way. Lost In Space is surprisingly quiet, and not a very upbeat album. That’s okay, because the best part of this is Mann’s beautiful voice, which makes up for the record’s lack of diversity and punch. What you’re apt to discover here is that you could be happy listening to Aimee Mann sing, regardless of everything else. She has the melodic sense, the lyrical smartness, and the voice to make that work.
While her previous three albums (and the Magnolia soundtrack) are stronger, with better songs, this is still a fine effort. “Pavlov’s Bell” and “Humpty Dumpty” are the better tracks, but while there isn’t a single song that will wow you, the album as a whole is engaging enough to be satisfying. While not loved critically, her fans understand. To date, Lost In Space is her biggest selling solo album, and became the first of her three top 40 releases. Except for “Voices Carry” in the eighties, Aimee Mann has never been, nor will she likely be, a household name. And that’s okay. She can make a disc like Lost In Space and make it work because of her strengths, and because with a voice like hers, you can pretty much make whatever record you want to. Which, thankfully, she does.
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VARIOUS ARTISTS
COMMON THREAD: THE SONGS OF THE EAGLES
1993 – GIANT
Produced By JAMES STROUD, CHRISTY DINAPOLI, DOUG GRAU, KEITH STEGALL, SUZY BOGGUSS, TONY BROWN, MONTY POWELL, GARTH FUNDIS, LYNN PETERZELL, BILLY DEAN, JERRY CRUTCHFIELD, DON COOK, SCOTT HENDRICKS & RICHARD LANDIS
1. Take It Easy – Travis Tritt
2. Peaceful Easy Feeling – Little Texas
3. Desperado – Clint Black
4. Heartache Tonight – John Anderson
5. Tequila Sunrise – Alan Jackson
6. Take It To The Limit – Suzy Bogguss
7. I Can’t Tell You Why – Vince Gill
8. Lyin’ Eyes – Diamond Rio
9. New Kid In Town – Trisha Yearwood
10. Saturday Night – Billy Dean
11. Already Gone – Tanya Tucker
12. Best Of My Love – Brooks & Dunn
13. The Sad Café – Lorrie Morgan
Common Thread began as part of Don Henley’s quest to raise money for the Walden Woods Project. This tribute album helped with that cause…it was also the spark that led to the Eagles reunion in 1994. That began when Travis Tritt talked all five Long Run era members into appearing in his video for “Take It Easy”, which marked the first time they had all been together since leaving the stage acrimoniously in 1980. That is the most noteworthy part of this album. The list of country artists who participated in this is impressive, many of whom openly expressed the influence that the Eagles had on their own music. The tracks are mostly hits from the earlier and more country period of the band, although there are a small number of later tracks. And the performances are all very well done.
Unfortunately, you won’t hear a single chance taken, as not a single one of these artists put their own stamp on the recordings. Nothing strays more than a little bit from the original versions, which kind of makes the whole thing pointless. And the only song here that even kind of rocks is “Already Gone”. Nobody took on their heavier and faster material like “Life In The Fast Lane”, “Hotel California” or “Victim Of Love”, and outside of Billy Dean’s “Saturday Night”, you won’t find a single song deeper than the surface of their greatest hits. So, no “Those Shoes”, “On The Border”, or “Midnight Flyer”. In short, what is lacking here is imagination and a willingness to take any kind of a chance. The result is artists doing Eagles songs the Eagles way, which suggests that you’d be just as well served to play your Eagles hits compilations than this.
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SARA BAREILLES
THE BLESSED UNREST
2013 – EPIC
Produced By SARA BAREILLES, MARK ENDERT, JOHN O’MAHONY & KURT UENALA
1. Brave
2. Chasing The Sun
3. Hercules
4. Manhattan
5. Satellite Call
6. Little Black Dress
7. Cassiopeia
8. 1000 Times
9. I Choose You
10. Eden
11. Islands
12. December
Sara Bareilles is a pop star. She sings pop songs…but she is more than just that. She’s also a pretty good piano player, and she writes her own material. Her big break was “Love Song”, a powerful and confident mega hit from her second album, Little Voice. The Blessed Unrest is her fourth album, released in 2013. It’s also her third straight top ten album, and is highlighted by “Brave”, her biggest single since “Love Song”. Her records continue to sell well, despite her not having a lot of hits compared to other pop stars. Bareilles tends to be a more serious artist…her songs may sometimes touch down on the side of adult contemporary, but her obvious confidence in what she does always shines brightly. Her music is always piano based, and her vocals are always the centerpiece.
Because she is less…fun…than other pop artists, she is sometimes overlooked. That’s okay. It keeps her from being overexposed. The Blessed Unrest comes off as maybe her best work, even though it takes fewer chances than one would maybe like. But that’s not the reason to buy a Sara Bareilles album. You want this because of how solid and professional she is…her self assurance is a huge plus, and you feel better just listening to this album. Never mind that outside of “Brave” and “I Choose You”, there isn’t much that will stay with you in the way of songs. What stays with you is her voice, her playing, her style, and her grace. Even her sadder songs are somehow uplifting, which speaks volumes about her belief in herself. The Blessed Unrest is a fine album, underrated in that she isn’t supposed to be cool…but somehow, she always is.
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THE HIVES
VENI VIDI VICIOUS
2000 – SIRE / BURNING HEART / EPITAPH
Produced By PELLE GUNDERFELT
1. The Hives – Declare Guerre Nucleaire
2. Die, All Right!
3. A Get Together To Tear It Apart
4. Main Offender
5. Outsmarted
6. Hate To Say I Told You So
7. The Hives – Introduce The Metric System In Time
8. Find Another Girl
9. Statecontrol
10. Inspection Wise 1999
11. Knock Knock
12. Supply And Demand
Punk has taken some pretty brutal hits since its first wave in the late seventies. So many bands claimed to be punk because they played fast and loud, but they missed the whole idea of what punk was meant to be. The Hives, a Swedish band, came close. They went as far as creating punk names for themselves: Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist. Nicholaus Arson. Vigilante Carlstrom. Chris Dangerous. And Dr. Matt Destruction. Did we finally have a throwback to the days of the Sex Pistols and The Clash and The Damned? Well…almost. Vidi Vidi Vicious is their second album, and it’s closer to what punk was originally created to be than most of what claims to be punk from the eighties forward. And for that alone, this deserves a whole lot of credit.
The Hives lack a lot of the anger and angst that punk was built from, but you have to remember…they ARE from Sweden. But what they may lack in the way of lyrical venom, they make up for instrumentally. They may not actually BE pissed off, but they sure manage to sound like they are. “Hate To Say I Told You So”, “Supply And Demand”, and “Main Offender” are the best songs here, and there’s enough angsty material to bring back memories of punk’s real heyday. This clocks in at a less than desirable 27 minutes, but they make the most of their limited time. And because it takes its influences from the original punk rockers instead of the latter day punk pop bands, this record is a surprisingly cool set of songs. The Hives did it as right as they could here, and it deserves to be heard.
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My wife is really into Bareilles and played this for me the first time just the other day. Funny to see it pop up again so soon, and it's hard not to agree with your assessment. Some of the songs are plain, but I really appreciate her ability to avoid leaning into pop tropes and just writing honest songs.
GEORGE STRAIT
TROUBADOUR
2008 – MCA NASHVILLE
Produced By TONY BROWN & GEORGE STRAIT
1. Troubadour
2. It Was Me
3. Brothers Of The Highway
4. River Of Love
5. House Of Cash
6. I Saw God Today
7. Give Me More Time
8. When You’re In Love
9. Make Her Fall In Love With Me Song
10. West Texas Town
11. House With No Doors
12. If Heartaches Were Horses
Twenty five albums into his amazing career, and George Strait still has it here. He’s actually never lost it. Strait has had 23 plus number one albums, and a whopping 61 number one singles. While he’s never been one of the outlaw country singers, his steady path has kept the spirit of the old honky tonk country artists alive. His greatest weapon is his voice, a warm and always reassuring instrument that reminds us all daily that no matter how out there mainstream country music gets, you can always turn to George Strait. Troubadour shines from every angle. While Strait is not a songwriter, he is a masterful interpreter, and his choice of material is excellent as always. Troubadour is notable in that it earned Strait his very first Grammy Award, a traditional country artist winning in a sea of newer artists who don’t always seem to understand where their music came from.
“I Saw God Today” was a #1 hit, Strait’s 43rd at the time. “River Of Love” and “Troubadour” were also hits. “House Of Cash” is a duet with Patty Lawless about Johnny and June, while “West Texas Town” pairs Strait with Dean Dillon on a Robert Earl Keen song. There’s plenty of twang here, and enough feel good material to keep you smiling throughout. But the best, as always, is Strait’s vocals. He understands what he does best, and he does not stray from that formula…not once. Which is okay, because George Strait is never boring. He’s a successful artist who never sells out, never strays from his roots, and never compromises. I came a bit late to the George Strait camp, but it’s never too late to start. This music is always rewarding, and it’s always worth your time. God bless George Strait.
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DOLLFACE
CORVETTE SUMMER
1994 – CRACKPOT
Produced By BRIAN PAULSON & DOLLFACE
1. Kick The Ball
2. Timi Yuro Song
3. Half A Chance
4. Opportunities
5. Valentine’s Day
6. No Duh No Doi
7. Astronaut
8. Toulouse Lautrec
9. Angeline
10. Oahu
11. Heaven Scent
12. Gun Or A Lover
13. In Spite Of Everything
There are a few bands around the world called Dollface. This one came from Illinois, and were a regional favorite that never made it outside of their initial fanbase. Which is too bad, because these guys were actually pretty great. They rock hard…they actually sound like the second coming of mid-seventies Cheap Trick. Which is what I would think every midwestern rock band has wanted since the dawn of Cheap Trick themselves. Dollface made a pair of terrific albums in the mid-nineties…Corvette Summer, (named after a strange seventies film starring Mark Hamill & Annie Potts), and the follow up, 1996’s Dollface Lights The Pilot!!!. After those two discs failed to gain the band national attention, Dollface faded into obscurity. Well, here’s your chance to discover one of rock’s hidden gems.
Had Cheap Trick played their cards right, instead of becoming pop stars, this is what they may have ended up sounding like. “Opportunity” is a sadly should have been hit, along with “Kick The Ball” and “No Duh, No Doi”. Hell…take your pick here, because it’s all good. Sharp guitars, great harmonies, a close relationship with punk, a sense of humor…what more could you want? In a perfect world, Dollface would have come out of central Illinois and ruled the world. But the world is not perfect, which is why bands like this make albums. Leave your mark on the world, son, and someone will hear it. I heard it, I dig it, and I’m doing my part to make the power pop world a little bit brighter by telling you that you should check out this fine forgotten band. You can find them on vinyl, too…their two discs were finally reissued in 2014.
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BOZ SCAGGS
SILK DEGREES
1976 – COLUMBIA
Produced By JOE WISSERT
1. What Can I Say
2. Georgia
3. Jump Street
4. What Do You Want The Girl To Do
5. Harbor Lights
6. Lowdown
7. It’s Over
8. Love Me Tomorrow
9. Lido Shuffle
10. We’re All Alone
I was a teenager when Boz Scaggs became a big thing. He was cool enough…he had been an original member of The Steve Miller Band, and had been there for his cool early records. When Boz went solo, he released one of the most awesome solo discs of the early seventies. His self-titled debut included not only a wonderful version of Jimmie Rodgers’ “Waiting On A Train”…but it also had one of the greatest guitar solos ever by Duane Allman on “Loan Me A Dime”. Silk Degrees was his seventh album, even though it most certainly didn’t feel as if he’d been around that long. It was his commercial breakthrough, and his best-selling album ever, his biggest hit as an artist, and his absolute peak as an artist. I got to see him at a very young age at Red Rocks on tour for this record, and I can guarantee that even though it did not rock, I knew every single word from Silk Degrees.
“Lowdown” and “Lido Shuffle” made Boz a star, and rightfully so. These tracks also cemented his legacy as a massive figure in the world of what is now known as yacht rock. This is one of the earliest discs that led to the world of adult contemporary, smooth rock, and all the things that your parents would listen to that ended up being oh so not cool. But the reality is this: Boz Scaggs is hugely talented, and this is by far his best work. These songs, even at their schmaltziest (I just invented a word there), are pretty damned terrific. Silk Degrees may be the ultimate adult rock disc, but it’s also a pretty great album. And I can tell you from experience…in 1976, this was great, even for a 16 year old rocker. And it has aged really well. In all, Silk Degrees is a winner, and a great piece of seventies music history.
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