HAYES CARLL
TROUBLE IN MIND
2008 – LOST HIGHWAY
Produced By BRAD JONES
1. Drunken Poet’s Dream
2. It’s A Shame
3. Girl Downtown
4. Bad Liver And A Broken Heart
5. Beaumont
6. I Got A Gig
7. Faulkner Street
8. Wild As A Turkey
9. Don’t Let Me Fall
10. A Lover Like You
11. I Don’t Wanna Grow Up
12. Knockin’ Over Whiskeys
13. Willing To Love Again
14. She Left Me For Jesus
If you don’t like country music…then you need to listen to Hayes Carll. Specifically, you need to listen to Trouble In Mind. The third album from this Texas native is one of the more underrated discs you will ever hear. It absolutely failed on every level of chart success…don’t believe the lack of hype. Trouble In Mind is a triumph. Carll shows that he is a great performer and a great songwriter…not just a drunk with a pen. In a perfect world, 12 of the 14 tracks here would have been hits, and rightfully so. Trouble In Mind is what every album should strive to be…completely listenable and enjoyable from beginning to end. His almost Dylan-like delivery is perfection, and his sense of humor is never wrong. This is, quite simply, a surprisingly perfect album.
“Drunken Poet’s Dream” is a great opener. Co-written by the great Ray Wylie Hubbard, this song indeed describes every drunken poet’s dream. “Girl Downtown” is a sweet and lovely song of young love and hope. “I Got A Gig”, “Bad Liver And A Broken Heart”, and “Knockin’ Over Whiskeys” are all pure country gold. “Wild As A Turkey” is hilarious, while “Beaumont” is beautiful. His cover of Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Want To Grow Up” becomes his own song, and “It’s A Shame” should have been a huge hit. But that’s not all. He saves the best for last…”She Left Me For Jesus” is pure genius. Carll plays the complete fool in a song where he actually believes he’s lost his girl to our Lord and Savior. Trouble In Mind is underrated, a great time, and it’s magnificent. What more could you possibly want in an album?
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BLAIR CRIMMINS & THE HOOKERS
THE MUSICAL STYLINGS OF
2010 – NEW RAG RECORDS
Produced By BLAIR CRIMMINS
1. Old Man Cabbage
2. Mean Mean Man
3. Intro (Auld Lang Syne)
4. This Modern World
5. Oh Angela!
6. Without you
7. The Lonesome Truth
8. Hookers On The Rag
9. Checked Out Early
10. Snakes In The Hall
11. A Demon Like Me
12. Waiting For The band
13. March Of The Hookers
14. Kitchen Rag
Blair Crimmins and his band The Hookers hail from Atlanta, and they were about a decade or two late for the swing revival. But that doesn’t stop them from bringing this wonderful sound from days of yore to your ears. The Musical Stylings Of is their debut album from 2010, and it’s a roaring good time. Crimmins plays many instruments (piano, guitar, banjo, ukulele, accordion, etc.), and the band includes both brass and woodwinds, including the most important clarinet. This music is jazz, and most of it sounds as if it were recorded long before you were born. The Hookers gleefully break out into Dixieland, ragtime and swing, and they do it with style. It’s too bad that this kind of music was not hip at the turn of the 2010’s…because we’ve all been missing out on some really cool sounds.
None of the individual tracks really stand out above the others…but the album as a whole is pretty terrific. That rolling piano, the perfect horns, and the excitement that this kind of music brings makes this as solid a debut as you will find. And if this works for you, then know that Crimmins and his Hookers are still at it…there are three more Hookers records out there, the most recent from 2021. This old time New Orleans sound gets a fair and well deserved tribute…and update from Crimmins, whose vocals are almost the only thing that sounds modern here. He’s been recognized as authentic by the jazz community, and his live shows are, reportedly, one hell of a good time. So, go out and check out the Hookers…this debut album is a great place to start.
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ELECTRIC WIZARD
DOPETHRONE
2000 – RISE ABOVE
Produced By ROLF STARTIN
1. Vinum Sabbathi
2. Funeralopolis
3. Weird Tales: Electric Frost / Golgatha / Altar Of Melektaus
4. Barbarian
5. I, The Witchfinder
6. The Hills Have Eyes
7. We Hate You
8. Dopethrone
9. Mind Transferal
If you like your metal deep, loud and as heavy as can be, then Electric Wizard is just the band for you. This British group has been pouring out the sludge since their 1994 self titled debut, and they have not stopped. But it was on their second and third albums, 1997’s Come My Fanatics…and 2000’s Dopethrone that Electric Wizard cemented their place of importance in the world of heavy music. The band was a trio at this time (only singer/guitarist Jus Osborn remains from the original lineup), and their powerful mix of stoner rock and doom metal is something to behold. Dopethrone is magnificent and loud, and is as great as any metal album of its time. Which is truly saying a lot. This is the record that put Electric Wizard on the map to stay.
This band isn’t afraid to stretch out instrumentally…four of the tracks here (including the bonus track “Mind Transferal”) run over ten minutes long, filled not with soloing, but with deep and powerful landscapes of terror and doom. Witchcraft and the occult are common themes here, and this record is, indeed, a frightening one. Osborn’s vocals are eerie and back in the mix instead of in your face…it’s the music that’s the star here. This is not a record with hit singles, and you won’t hear any of it on the radio, and I don’t think that these guys care about that at all. Dopethrone is a fantastic piece of metal that does not rely on speed or screeching guitar pyrotechnics. And you probably won’t ever be moved to sing along with it. But it’s a truly great metal album. A must have.
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MEAT PUPPETS
TOO HIGH TO DIE
1994 – LONDON
Produced By MEAT PUPPETS & PAUL LEARY
1. Violet Eyes
2. Never To Be Found
3. We Don’t Exist
4. Severed Goddess Hand
5. Flaming Heart
6. Shine
7. Station
8. Roof With A Hole
9. Backwater
10. Things
11. Why?
12. Evil Love
13. Comin’ Down
Meat Puppets have been pounding out loud and excellent music in almost obscurity since the dawn of the 1980’s. They were made famous briefly by Kurt Cobain in 1993, when he brought in Curt and Cris Kirkwood from the Puppets as guest musicians for the famous MTV Unplugged performance, on which a pair of Meat Puppets songs were performed. The next year, their eighth album, Too High To Die, became their best selling record. But the follow up, 1995’s No Joke!, fell flat, and the band the broke up for almost four years, plunging the band back to cult status. They are still at it, having released 15 studio albums to date, but they never have been, and probably never will be, stars. And they do not seem to mind that at all. They just keep on going.
Too High To Die is loaded with fast guitars and cool songs. This was their one real shot at making it big, and this disc almost got them there. “We Don’t Exist” is awesome. “Shine” is a melodic acoustic surprise, and “Flaming Heart” is all guitar goodness. Plus there is the hit “Backwater”, and “Lake Of Fire” is included as a hidden bonus track…it was one of the songs from the Nirvana show. Far from their straight up punk days of the early eighties, this album rocks, but it’s also very listenable and very good. The production by Butthole Surfers guitarist Paul Leary favors Curt Kirkwood’s playing in nothing but good ways, making this a fine guitar album. Meat Puppets have always been worth listening to…this is one of their finest moments.
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THE CECIL TAYLOR QUARTET
LOOKING AHEAD!
1959 - CONTEMPORARY
No Production Credit
1. Luyah! The Glorious Step
2. African Violets
3. Of What
4. Wallering
5. Toll
6. Excursion On A Wobbly Rail
Cecil Taylor is one of the most important…and difficult…innovators of jazz. He played the piano like no other, and brought complex and never before heard rhythms and sounds to music. In 1958, his quartet (Buell Neidinger, Denis Charles and Earl Griffith) recorded the amazing Looking Ahead!, which is exactly what this music does. There are no horns…the lead instruments here are Taylor’s piano and Griffith on vibraphone, both of which lend strongly to the rhythmic nature of the record. Taylor would go on to do much wilder and innovative things, many of which take some patience to listen to. But on this, there is still enough traditional jazz in Taylor’s world to make this one of his most listenable efforts. It’s creative, and it’s also a pretty fun disc.
While the rhythm section works as a wrecking ball, tearing through each song expertly, Taylor and Griffith trade back and forth at blinding speed. Griffith’s vibes are cool and melodic, while Taylor’s playing nearly flies off the disc. His keyboard is almost like having a second drummer. He plays quick short notes, but never loses sight of the melody. The best moments are when all four play together, where you can really hear the full genius of what’s going on here. Looking Ahead! is important on many levels…it not only showcases the great talent of this quartet, but it’s also the easiest way to hear the genius of Taylor. Because, as great as his future works would be, they would also be much more of a challenge because of the more free jazz approach he would later take. This one is a keeper…a great and often underappreciated gem of jazz.
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ENNIO MORRICONE
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)
1966 – EMI-MANHATTAN
Produced By ENNNIO MORRICONE
1. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (Main Title)
2. The Sundown
3. The Strong
4. The Desert
5. The Carriage Of The Spirits
6. Marcia
7. The Story Of A Soldier
8. Marcia Without Hope
9. The Death Of A Soldier
10. The Ecstasy Of Gold
11. The Trio (Main Title)
This is the soundtrack album for the film that made Clint Eastwood a star. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is a strange spaghetti western flick from 1966 that focuses on characters played by Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach. Ennio Morricone’s haunting soundtrack is maybe his best known work, which is saying something, considering he is responsible for somewhere near 200 film soundtracks. The main title was a big hit when it came out, and it remains his most recognizable track. You know it when you hear it. Like most soundtracks from this time, it loses something in the translation without seeing the film to give it context. But in its best moments, this album is strong and dramatic even without the visuals. Which, for this kind of album, is really saying something.
Aside from the main title, the best track by far is “The Ecstasy Of Gold”. It’s easy to hear that this was the most dramatic part of the film, and it works quite well. Morricone utilizes not just an orchestra, but there is also some pretty fine guitar work, some fantastic horn playing, and the percussion used is…haunting. Morricone gives you the soundtrack of a western, played out in the dust, and his use of a wordless chorus on top of it all just adds to the drama. The middle of this is a bit tame, but the first track and the final two more than make up for it. The music fills the vast emptiness of the scenes, and keeps the sometimes wide spaces between dialogue interesting. Morricone was a master of the soundtrack, and this is certainly one of his very best.
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BEASTIE BOYS
HELLO NASTY
1998 – CAPITOL
Produced By BEASTIE BOYS & MARIO CALDATO JR
1. Super Disco Breakin’
2. The Move
3. Remote Control
4. Song For The Man
5. Just A Test
6. Body Movin’
7. Intergalactic
8. Sneakin’ Out The Hospital
9. Putting Shame In Your Game
10. Flowin’ Prose
11. And Me
12. Three MC’s And One DJ
13. Can’t, Won’t, Don’t Stop
14. Song For Junior
15. I Don’t Know
16. The negotiation Limerick File
17. Electrify
18. Picture This
19. Unite
20. Dedication
21. Dr. Lee, PhD
22. Instant Death
Hello Nasty is the fifth album by Beastie Boys, and it was a huge hit. Mainly, it was a huge hit because of the single “Intergalactic”, but it also suffered from being over long (67 minutes), and from containing a bit too much filler. Lop off about 10 minutes of excess, and this could have been the Boys’ greatest record. There is also a lot of pretty terrific sounding music, which the Beasties were more than capable of creating. It had been four years since their last album, so the expectations were high…and “Intergalactic” most certainly delivered. So much so, that Hello Nasty was viewed as a huge triumph for the Boys. But was it? Did it stand up alongside their previous four releases?
The answer was mostly yes. Hello Nasty turned out to be the Beastie’s crowning achievement. And not just because of “Intergalactic”. “Three DJ’s And One MC”, “Body Movin”, and “Remote Control” were strong hits, but the Beastie’s also showed that they were adept in the areas of rock and reggae, and the instrumental portions of Hello Nasty were surprisingly good. And even most of the weaker tracks end up working pretty well. Sometimes, an album isn’t meant to be all great…but it’s more of a matter of whether all of the tracks fit together. In the case of Hello Nasty, that’s what happens. Is every track excellent? No. But…do all of the tracks work fit together as a whole? Yes. They do. So, even with its imperfections, this album is a winner for the Beasties. Don’t sleep on it. And be patient with it!
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NEON INDIAN
PSYCHIC CHASMS
2009 – LEFSE
Produced By ALAN PALOMO
1. (AM)
2. Deadbeat Summer
3. Laughing Gas
4. Terminally Chill
5. (If I Knew, I’d Tell You)
6. 6669 (I Don’t Know If You Know)
7. Should Have Taken Acid With You
8. Mind, Drips
9. Psychic Chasms
10. Local Joke
11. Ephemeral Artery
12. 7000 (Reprise)
Neon Indian is the brainchild of Alan Palomo, a Mexican born musician who relocated to Denton, Texas. This electronic music group has been at it since 2008, although they haven’t had much in the way of commercial success. They also haven’t been very prolific in the way of releasing albums. Psychic Chasms is their debut, and they’ve released only two more records since. Although known as a band (and live shows are played by a full lineup), Psychic Chasms is played almost exclusively by Paloma, joined only by a guitarist on a couple of tracks. This record was liked by critics, but it was not widely heard and sold modestly. There are no hits here to speak of, so its reputation has been based solely on how it has worked as a whole.
“Deadbeat Summer” is the best song here, and it was a minor hit in Mexico. The rest is interesting electropop, and for the most part, it’s very good, if not memorable. Psychic Chasms is relatively brief, clocking in at just 30 minutes, which actually works in its favor…you won’t walk away from this feeling like you’ve had too much. In fact, it leaves you wishing there was at least a bit more. If more is what you crave, then there is a special edition released in 2010 that contains the original album plus another nine remixes. Psychic Chasms is a good start for Neon Indian, and it’s a good example of electronic music that doesn’t try to beat you over the head with beats. Neon Indian did an EP with The Flaming Lips in 2011 that’s worth a listen, and their other 2 albums good as well. Worth checking out!
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VARIOUS ARTISTS
CHEF AID: THE SOUTH PARK ALBUM
1998 – COLUMBIA / AMERICAN
Produced By RICK RUBIN, MATT STONE & TREY PARKER
1. South Park Theme – Primus
2. Nowhere To Run (Vapor Trail) – Ozzy Osbourne, DMX & Ol’ Dirty Bastard
3. Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You) – Isaac Hayes
4. Brad Logan – Rancid
5. Come Sail Away – Eric Cartman
6. Kenny’s Dead – Master P
7. Simultaneous – Isaac Hayes
8. Will They Die 4 You – Mase, Puffy, Lil’ Kim & System Of A Down
9. Hot Lava (Feat. DJ Nu-Mark) – Perry Farrell & DVDA
10. Bubblegoose - Wyclef Jean
11. No Substitute – Isaac Hayes
12. Wake Up Wendy – Elton John
13. Horny – Mousse T vs. Hot ‘N’ Juicy
14. Huboon Stomp – Devo
15. Love Gravy – Rick James & Ike Turner
16. Feel Like Makin’ Love – Ned Gerblansky
17. The Rainbow – Ween
18. Tonight Is Right For Love – Isaac Hayes & Meat Loaf
19. It’s A Rockin’ World (Feat. Flea, Tom Morello, DJ Bonebrake, Benmont Tench & Nick Hexum) – Joe Strummer
20. Mephisto And Kevin – Primus
21. Mentally Dull (Think Tank Remix) – Vitro
I do enjoy some South Park. But I will also say that animated TV series should never put out albums. Predictably, this was assembled and released after a season two episode called “Chef Aid”, in which the character Chef (voiced by Isaac Hayes) has to raise money to stay out of prison. Ten musical special guests appeared, and several songs were used to create a “live album” of Chef Aid. Additionally, characters from the show also perform. It’s a mess. The episode is much better than the album, which fails on many levels…the biggest one being that South Park is simply not nearly as funny if you can’t see it. You would think we’d have learned after musical animated train wreck albums by the likes of The Archies…such is not the case.
The worst track here is, by far, Eric Cartman destroying the Styx song “Come Sail Away”, which is funny when taken in ten second bursts…but here, he warbles through the entire five minutes. The Hayes as Chef songs are alright, and adding “Kyle’s Mom Is A Big fat Bitch” at the end is good. But folks like Elton John, Rancid, Ozzy Osbourne, Devo and Joe Strummer shouldn’t be here. The character voices in between and during tracks does not help. The Chef Aid episode was fun, including the trial in which Johnny Cochran uses the Chewbacca defense, and basing Chef’s troubles on a song called “Stinky Britches” which was stolen from him by Alanis Morissette. The Chef Aid album is not fun: it’s tedious and unnecessary. South Park rarely gets it wrong…but they sure did here.
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PRODIGY
THE FAT OF THE LAND
1997 – XL
Produced By LIAM HOWLETT
1. Smack My Bitch Up (Feat. Shahin Badar)
2. Breathe
3. Diesel Power (Feat. Kool Keith)
4. Funky Shit
5. Serial Thrilla
6. Mindfields
7. Narayan (Feat. Chrispian Mills)
8. Firestarter
9. Climbatize
10. Fuel My Fire (Feat. Saffron)
I love it when dance music feels heavy. The Fat Of The Land is just that…it’s a loud, pulsing, non-stop dance record that’s deeply heavy. The best album from the English group The Prodigy is their crowning achievement, and it still sounds terrific more than 25 years later. Electronic music that rocks…and that will move you to dance. That’s the way I like it. Nothing repetitious here, nothing snoozy, and nothing boring. The Prodigy lay it all out here, and the result is a disc that oozes with awesomeness. It has hits, it has longer powerful instrumental passages, it builds, and it keeps an open mind so that you get a little bit of everything that was great about 90’s rock. Hell…you even get an L7 cover at the end. How badass is that? The Prodigy get it, and they do it right.
“Firestarter”, Breathe”, and “Smack My Bitch Up” are simply masterful dance tracks, and were hits for the band. “Climbatize” is a mesmerizing instrumental, and they were smart enough to utilize guest vocalists like Kool Keith, Shahin Badar and Crispian Mills, as well as adding guitars and drums on several tracks. And “Fuel My Fire” is just as heavy as the L7 original. It took seven years for them to follow this up, but they remained then and to this day one of the UK’s strongest electronic acts. Today, The Prodigy is down to the duo of singer Maxim and Liam Howlett, who does everything else except sing. But never sleep on this group, and don’t pass on their albums, especially the first three from the nineties. This is great stuff, and it never gets old.
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