OKKERVIL RIVER
BLACK SHEEP BOY APPENDIX
2005 – JAGJAGUWAR
Produced By OKKERVIL RIVER
1. Missing Children
2. No Key, No Plan
3. A Garden
4. Black Sheep Boy #4
5. The Next Four Months
6. Another Radio Song
7. A Forest
8. Last Love Song For Now
One of the more consistently cool American indie bands. Okkervil River takes their name from a Russian short story, and they have been making music on their own terms since being discovered at South By Southwest in 1998 and recording their debut in an actual garage. The consistent main member is Will Sheff, who has seen a slew of bandmates come and go over the years. This EP actually works as a companion piece to their third album, Black Sheep Boy…the pair are often sold together as a package. Appendix contains reworked songs from Black Sheep Boy, as well as unfinished material and a pair of unrelated tracks. Both discs are pretty bleak…Black Sheep Boy was inspired by the late Tim Hardin and his heroin addiction, as well as the fact that Sheff had found himself homeless trying to keep his band afloat because of low album sales. Yeah.
Taken on its own, Appendix holds up well. It’s dark and endlessly interesting, with lush orchestrations, soft effects, and an outright rocker in “Another Radio Song”. It’s short (it is an EP) at just over 25 minutes, but consider it as a taste of what you’ll get with the more complete and full Black Sheep Boy. Some things here sound incomplete…because they are. Much of it is very solid, and it turns out that the inconsistencies give it an unexpected charm. Okkervil River is never boring, a band with many twists and turns in their music. They backed psychedelic music legend Roky Erikson on an album in 2010, but haven’t released anything since 2018. Hopefully there will be more from this band. Appendix is not perfect, but it’s very good. I would say get the twofer to get the full effect of the project…you can likely find it at a discounted price these days.
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Of dying history
ALICE COOPER
LOVE IT TO DEATH
1971 – WARNER BROS.
Produced By JACK RICHARDSON & BOB EZRIN
1. Caught In A Dream
2. I’m Eighteen
3. Long Way To Go
4. Black Juju
5. Is It My Body
6. Hallowed Be My Name
7. Second Coming
8. Ballad Of Dwight Fry
9. Sun Arise
There are two Alice Cooper careers. The biggest and longer of the two is Alice the solo artist. Alice by himself made a lot of pretty silly music, and quickly became a parody of what Alice the band was so great at. Love It To Death is the third album by Alice Cooper the band. After a pair of psychedelic albums that sold very little, the band came back with a sound that, along with early seventies Black Sabbath, made metal a force to be reckoned with. Love It To Death is a beast of an album, and may be the single most underappreciated early metal record of all time. It’s not as heavy as what Sabbath was doing at the time…but it is as loud and scary as you could want your metal to be. Songs at the tail end of flower power about insanity and angst and the awkwardness of being a teenager seemed out of place. It was also the beginning of so much of what came afterward.
Love It To Death is magnificent, and oh so influential. Track by track…this is as good as the Cooper name ever got. Every song speaks to the misfits in the teenage all of us. “I’m eighteen, and I don’t know what I want”. The entirety of “Is It My Body”. The sheer insanity of Alice screaming “I’ve Got To Get Out Of Here!!!!” in the delicious horror story of Dwight Fry in a straightjacket. The band is gleefully tight, and the lyrics are as good as they would ever be. There is not a wasted track here…and even the surprisingly optimistic and bright closer “Sun Arise” works on every level. Alice Cooper the band broke up a few years later, giving birth to the solo Alice, who has never lived up to the promise of albums like Love It To Death, Killer and School’s Out. Buy this…it’s one of the best heavy early seventies albums you’ll find. A gem that should be a lot more appreciated than it is.
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Of dying history
DANGER MOUSE & SPARKLEHORSE
DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
2010 – PARLOPHONE
Produced By DANGER MOUSE & SPARKLEHORSE
1. Revenge (Feat. The Flaming Lips)
2. Just War (Feat. Gruff Rhys)
3. Jaykub (Feat. Jason Lytle)
4. Little Girl (Feat. Julian Casablancas)
5. Angel’s Harp (Feat. Black Francis)
6. Pain (Feat. Iggy Pop)
7. Star Eyes (I Can’t Catch It) (Feat. David Lynch)
8. Everytime I’m With You (Feat. Jason Lytle)
9. Insane Lullaby (Feat. James Mercer)
10. Daddy’s Gone (Feat. Mark Linkous & Nina Persson)
11. Man Who Played God (Feat. Suzanne Vega)
12. Grim Augury (Feat. Vic Chesnutt)
13. Dark Night Of The Soul (Feat. David Lynch)
Interesting album, this one. Producer and musician Danger Mouse teams up with filmmaker David Lynch and the band Sparklehorse, and then they all teamed up with a variety of singers and musicians to make what ended up being the last album completed by Sparklehorse leader Mark Linkous before his 2010 suicide. The results are very good…but there are questions that remain. Linkous was a more than capable singer…why bring in guests to sing on each track? Instead of a cohesive album, it comes across more like a compilation, and a sometimes disjointed one. Why take the risks involved with multiple vocalists? Not every track works, because not every singer is a good fit for the material. And despite the dark nature of the project, why treat it as something as celebratory as a compilation? We will likely never know.
Dark Night Of The Soul is not bad, by any means. The music is haunting and beautiful, and when the singer is a good fit, it works wonderfully. The vocal contributions by Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, and surprisingly Lynch work very well. The dark tones of this album are magnified by the fact that both Linkous and Chesnutt had committed suicide before its release. Despite this, it’s not a hard record to listen to at all…for the most part, it stays entertaining. Had they not made the decision to bring in such a wide array of guest singers, this may have ended up as a true classic. It falls short of that, but it’s still worthwhile. Danger Mouse continues to record and produce, and has had a very successful career. Sparklehorse ended with the death of Linkous in 2010.
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And crashing through the walls
Of dying history
OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW
TENNESSEE PUSHER
2008 – NETWERK RECORDS
Produced By DON WAS
1. Alabama High-Test
2. Highway Halo
3. The Greatest Hustler Of All
4. Methamphetamine
5. Next Go ‘Round
6. Humdinger
7. Motel In Memphis
8. That Evening Sun
9. Mary’s Kitchen
10. Crazy Eyes
11. Tennessee Pusher
12. Lift Him Up
13. Caroline
Old Crow Medicine Show has always been an impressive group. Their first two albums, O.C.M.S and Big Iron World, are filled with hits and fine songs. Tennessee Pusher is their third effort, and it’s more serious than the first two. It features more slow material, and the subject matter is heavier than what they had released previously. But it all still suits their country folk and old timey sound. There are still fun moments here…”Humdinger” is a hoot, while “Alabama High-Test” is rollicking good time. But there are darker moments. “Motel In Memphis” recalls MLK, while “Methamphetamine” and “Tennessee Pusher” show that Old Crow can be very good with slower and sadder material. This is a more mature version of Old Crow Medicine Show. Still very good, but not as much fun as before.
Part of the change may be in replacing producer David Rawlings with the less country Don Was. Also, guitarist, singer and banjo player Critter Fuqua provides only backup vocals, being replaced by newcomer Gill Landry. But there’s still enough here to make Tennessee Pusher worthwhile. “Crazy Eyes”, “Mary’s Kitchen”, and the seven minute “The Greatest Hustler Of All” stand with the aforementioned tracks to make this a good listen. The playing is exceptional as always, and the Old Crow vocals are as fine as ever. It’s different from the first two, but it’s also a pretty good album. This is a group that’s hard to go wrong with, and they’re still at it, making music that recalls classic country and old time music in ways that keep the music from yesterday, thankfully, alive and well.
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SLEATER-KINNEY
THE HOT ROCK
1999 – KILL ROCK STARS
Produced By ROGER MOUTENOT
1. Start Together
2. Hot Rock
3. The End Of You
4. Burn, Don’t Freeze
5. God Is A Number
6. Banned From The End Of The World
7. Don’t Talk Like
8. Get Up
9. One Song For You
10. The Size Of Our Love
11. Living In Exile
12. Memorize Your Lines
13. A Quarter To Three
I was late to the party, but I do love me some Sleater-Kinney. From the quirky and shrill immediacy of Corin Tucker’s vocals to Carrie Brownstein’s guitar playing to the power of their songwriting, this all female trio simply rules (there is no bass player!). They took an extended break from 2006 to 2014, but they are one of the most important American indie bands to have emerged in the 90’s. Hailing from Olympia, Washington, they have been riot grrrls, punks, strongly feminist and smartly political. The Hot Rock is their fourth album, and marked a change in their sound to a more melodic and relaxed sound. Fortunately, Tucker and Brownstein have the songs and the smarts to make the transition seamless…it works very well. While this may not have the bite and snarl of their first three discs (Sleater-Kinney, Call The Doctor and Dig Me Out), it’s still very good.
The best songs here are “A Quarter To Three” and “Get Up”, but there is plenty more to love. “Living In Exile” recalls their earlier work…quirky, powerful and melodic. And like their previous records, The Hot Rock is entertaining, rocking and very listenable. Sleater-Kinney has always been high on the cool end of indie rock, and this one definitely holds up against their best work. Tucker and Brownstein have released a pair of albums since they got back together, as well as solo work and recordings with other bands…not to mention Brownstein’s excellent comedic turn with Fred Armisen in Portlandia. This is a band that’s always worth hearing, so if you see a Sleater-Kinney album, do yourself a favor and pick it up. You will not regret it.
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VANESSA CARLTON
HEROES & THIEVES
2007 – THE INC.
Produced By IRV GOTTI, LINDA PERRY & STEPHAN JENKINS
1. Nolita Fairytale
2. Hands On Me
3. Spring Street
4. My Best
5. Come Undone
6. The One (Feat. Stevie Nicks)
7. Heroes & Thieves
8. This Time
9. Fools Like Me
10. Home
11. More Than This
She’s a pop singer who doesn’t follow the pop formula, does things her own way, and doesn’t allow others to make her sound like anything other than herself. Vanessa Carlton became a big star with her debut, Be Not Nobody. The second album was a battle, and Heroes & Thieves, her third disc, ended up being a commercial failure…and a critical victory. Her relationship with producer and Third Eye Blind singer Stephan Jenkins had ended, but they still worked together on the album, which helped to create an edge of tension. Sales were woefully slow, but the album has a charm and some pretty fine tracks. Carlton’s piano driven sound and her strong vocals carry the record, making it one of the surprises of 2007. She was no longer a big pop star, but that doesn’t seem to matter much to her.
The first two tracks were minor (very) singles. “Nolita Fairytale” and “Hands On Me” got some airplay, and could have been bigger, but the Be Not Nobody crowd just wasn’t buying it, and it seemed everyone else had written her off. “The One” includes a guest vocal from Stevie Nicks, who years later officiated at Carlton’s wedding. “Home” shows off her vocal range, and the rest is pleasant enough, showing that she still had the chops and the songs and the smarts. Four years later, her fourth album, Rabbits On The Run, sold even fewer copies than Heroes & Thieves, and by 2015, her discs were not charting at all. Vanessa Carlton doesn’t seem to mind. She’s still at it, and she’s still making music on her own terms. Good for her. And just because her records don’t sell a lot doesn’t mean that they are not good records.
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ANI DIFRANCO
NOT A PRETTY GIRL
1995 – RIGHTEOUS BABE
Produced By ANI DIFRANCO
1. Worthy
2. Tiptoe
3. Cradle And All
4. Shy
5. Sorry I Am
6. Light Of Some Kind
7. Not A Pretty Girl
8. The Million You Never Made
9. Hour Follows Hour
10. 32 Flavors
11. Asking Too Much
12. This Bouquet
13. Crime For Crime
14. Coming Up
It’s hard to not be a fan of Ani DiFranco. She has been, since the dawn of the nineties, relentlessly prolific, unapologetically political and personal, and has never given in to those who could have made her a bigger star than she will ever be on her own. On her own is exactly what she’s always been. 22 plus studio albums, all on her own label, and it’s a pretty sure bet that she’ll never sign with anyone. Not A Pretty Girl is her sixth album, in as many years. She plays everything here except for drums, and it was released at the moment when she was starting to really gain an audience as a recording artist. She jumps from genre to genre effortlessly, plays guitar as if possessed, and sings like an angel, like a demon, and everything in between.
DiFranco is not always an easy listen, but she is wildly entertaining. Not A Pretty Girl is the last of her stripped down acoustic albums…she would later start utilizing electric instruments and horns. “Light Of Some Kind” is a stunning track, while “Shy” garnered her a Grammy nomination…quite a feat for a 100% do it yourself artist. Her excellent guitar work is on display, as is her lyrical gift. This is an artist to be truly admired. She has done it all, and she has done it on her own terms, in her own way, and without the help of the corporate side of the music industry. She has never sold out, and her dedication to not only her craft and her career, but also to the causes she holds dear is beyond respectable. Not A Pretty Girl, like the rest of her work, is worthwhile for all of these reasons.
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LUCINDA WILLIAMS
LITTLE HONEY
2008 – LOST HIGHWAY
Produced By ERIC LELJESTRAND & TOM OVERBY
1. Real Love
2. Circles And X’s
3. Tears Of Joy
4. Little Rock Star
5. Honey Bee
6. Well Well Well
7. If Wishes Were Horses
8. Jailhouse Tears
9. Knowing
10. Heaven Blues
11. Rarity
12. Plan To Marry
13. It’s A Long Way To The Top
Early in her career, Lucinda Williams was elusive. She would go six, sometimes eight years without releasing an album. That changed with the turn of the century. She made 5 records between 1979 and 1998…she’s cranked out twelve plus since 2001, not counting six editions of Lu’s Jukebox. Fortunate for us…Lucinda Williams is almost always great. Little Honey is the follow up to 2007’s West, and it finds her in fine voice and with a great batch of songs. It’s not as fine as albums like Car Wheels On A Gravel Road or Sweet Old World, but you’ll still be happy with this one. “Real Love” was the single here, with backup vocals by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. Elvis Costello is on board for a duet on “Jailhouse Tears, while other fine voices like Jim Lauderdale and Charlie Louvin are here as well.
One of the more pleasant surprises is “It’s A Long Way To The Top”, which is, yes, a cover of the AC/DC song. Lucinda does it her own way and rips through it gleefully, and it actually works. Not even “Real Love” stands out as an absolute great track, but most of what is here is very good. Lucinda has, even having ramped up her recorded output, been consistently good in the 2000’s and beyond, just not quite reaching the heights she did on her earlier work. But her songwriting, her Louisiana drawl and her sound will always keep you coming back for more, and as long as she keep cranking out records, I’ll be happy to listen. Lucinda Williams is one of those artists that you can simply never go wrong with. Little Honey is no exception…a very worthwhile album.
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FLEETWOOD MAC
MIRAGE
1982- WARNER BROS.
Produced By FLEETWOOD MAC, RICHARD DASHUT & KEN CAILLAT
1. Love In Store
2. Can’t Go Back
3. That’s Alright
4. Book Of Love
5. Gypsy
6. Only Over You
7. Empire State
8. Straight Back
9. Hold Me
10. Oh Diane
11. Eyes Of The World
12. Wish You Were Here
People remember Fleetwood Mac as being an absolute hit machine in the latter half of the seventies. The truth is, Fleetwood Mac was formed in 1967, and has actually spent most of their history as an average band with a handful of hits. But for that two album burst in 1975 and 1977, this group ruled the world. By 1982, they had taken a year off after the Tusk tour, and Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had both launched successful solo careers. In short, the Fleetwood Mac momentum was over. Mirage came three years after Tusk, and after the solo successes of Stevie and Lindsey. It never reached the levels achieved by the self titled ’75 album and Rumours…but this does have its magical moments. The talent in this band, regardless of how fractured they could be, was undeniable.
Fleetwood Mac has had 11 official guitar players…not counting those who were touring members only. Lindsey Buckingham is the man here, and he is excellent, as always…and he’s backed away from his experimentation that guided Tusk into the strange forays he led them into. The highlights here are easy…Nicks has a pure hit with “Gypsy”, a song that would have fit perfectly on Rumours. And Christine McVie’s “Hold Me” is everything that this band was great at with this lineup. The rest lacks the punch that the Buckingham Nicks lineup used to deliver…it’s good, but it won’t have you begging for more just like it. The closest they come to a third great track here is Buckingham’s UK hit “Oh Diane”, which is really pretty average after what had come before. Mirage is good. But it also signals the end of the great Mac years as we knew them.
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3 DOORS DOWN
2008 – UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC
Produced By JOHNNY K
1. Train
2. Citizen / Soldier
3. It’s Not My Time
4. Let Me Be Myself
5. Pages
6. It’s The Only One You’ve Got
7. Give It To Me
8. These Days
9. Your Arms Feel Like Home
10. Runaway
11. When It’s Over
12. She Don’t Want The World
American rock band 3 Doors Down were signed on the strength of their live performances, and had a string of hits in the 2000’s, starting with their biggest one, “Kryptonite”. Since 2000, this band has slogged along for over 20 years, releasing only six albums and slipping slowly and steadily away from the public eye. The problems with 3 Doors Down are simple. They don’t have great songs, they never have enough good material to make an album worth hearing in its entirety, and they gained a big enough fan base in the early 2000’s to keep them around for much longer than they should have. This self titled album is their fourth effort, and it’s typical of what you’re gonna get from 3 Doors Down. It’s heavy, it’s loud, it has enough power balladry to make even the most popular 80’s glam band envious, and it’s instantly forgettable.
There are hits here. Five tracks were released as singles…the only one of those worth mentioning is “It’s Not My Time”, which surprised many by staying on top of the charts for three weeks. Outside of that, the songs sound pretty much alike. The vocal harmonies are good, and there’s plenty of heavy guitar. But, unfortunately, there’s nothing else to hang your hat on here. As stated above…3 Doors Down just doesn’t have the songwriting. Which may be why, in the 15 years since this came out, they have only mustered two more releases, neither of which has sold enough to go gold. This album did go to number one in the States (thanks largely to “It’s Not My Time”), but we all know that sales don’t necessarily define the quality of an album. For the die hard fans of this band only…you’re not missing out on much here.
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