THE REMBRANDTS
L.P.
1995 – EAST WEST
Produced By DON SMITH
1. End Of The Beginning
2. Easy To Forget
3. My Own Way
4. Don’t Hide Your Love
5. Drowning In Your Tears
6. This House Is Not A Home
7. April 29
8. Lovin’ Me Insane
9. There Goes Lucy
10. As Long As I Am Breathing
11. Call Me
12. Comin’ Home
13. What Will It Take
14. The Other Side Of Night
15. I’ll Be There For You
The Rembrandts almost 30 year career has been mostly silent and invisible, void of hits and very low profile. Except for one little thing. Decades from now, when people tune in to TV Land, they will hear The Rembrandts singing the theme song to the sitcom “Friends”. The Rembrandts were kind of forced to record it after R.E.M. refused to allow the show to use “Shiny Happy People”. The Rembrandts, a duo featuring Danny Wilde and Phil Solem, then expanded the theme to a 3 minute song and included it on their third album, L.P. The song became their only real hit, and L.P. became their only platinum album. The song is heard by anyone who watches “Friends”, and will be until the end of time. And that is, in a paragraph, the story of The Rembrandts.
The “Friends” theme is the catchiest thing on this album. They play guitar driven power pop with nice harmonies that sounds fine, but they just don’t have a single song to compete with their one megahit. The best moments are ”Drowning In Your Tears, “This House Is Not A Home”, and “Don’t Hide Your Love”…none of which set the charts on fire even while they were firmly in the spotlight. And so has gone the rest of their career. They have released three more albums with barely any notice, sales, and not a single hit. As for L.P., you’ll probably always be able to find a copy if you want it, because they have a song that will never die…even if it does become old after the first verse. This is the only album you could ever need by The Rembrandts…but if you miss out on it, it’s no big deal.
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WILLIE NELSON
SPIRIT
1996 – ISLAND
Produced By WILLIE NELSON
1. Matador
2. She Is Gone
3. Your Memory Won’t Die In My Grave
4. I’m Not Trying To Forget You
5. Too Sick To Pray
6. Mariachi
7. I’m Waiting Forever
8. We Don’t Run
9. I Guess I’ve Come To Live Here In Your Eyes
10. It’s A Dream Come True
11. I Thought About You, Lord
12. Spirit Of E9
13. Matador
This is the album that I had always wished Willie Nelson would make. It’s not like the typical Willie fare. There’s no full band, no rhythm section, no string section, no backup vocals, no frills, and no hits. This is what it would be like if Willie came to your house with a couple of his friends and played in your living room. This is a Spanish sounding album with lots of classical influence, and some really terrific playing. Willie’s lead guitar work is heartfelt and perfect, and he plays more than he sings. The only other musicians here are his sister Bobbie on piano, Johnny Gimble (fiddle), and Jody Payne (rhythm guitar). It’s sad, completely acoustic, sparse and a really lovely record. This is proof that Willie Nelson really can do anything he sets his mind to.
Spirit begins with “Matador”, a short instrumental Spanish guitar piece that sets the tone for everything else. Willie sings sadly, but his vocals are strong, all of these original songs fit perfectly. Bobbie Nelson’s piano is a special thing as well…it sounds like it’s being played in an old dusty saloon somewhere in the old west. And Gimble’s fiddle touches are masterful…especially on “Spirit Of E9”. Spirit was Nelson’s 44th studio album, and yet he was able to do something he hadn’t really done before with this one. This is an almost perfect offering from an absolute legend, showing why he has remained important for as long as he has. Spirit isn’t one of his more popular efforts, but it is one of his most interesting, and definitely one of his best.
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STEVIE WONDER
SONG REVIEW: A GREATEST HITS COLLECTION
1996 – MOTOWN
Produced By STEVIE WONDER & HANK COSBY
1. Part Time Lover
2. I Just Called To Say I Love You
3. Superstition
4. Sir Duke
5. My Cherie Amour
6. I Was Made To Love Her
7. Overjoyed
8. Hey Love
9. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours
10. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
11. Ribbon In The Sky
12. Master Blaster (Jammin’)
13. Living For The City
14. Uptight (Everything’s Alright)
15. Lately
16. Do I Do
1. Send One Your Love
2. Ebony And Ivory
3. All I Do
4. That Girl
5. For Your Love
6. I Wish
7. You Will Know
8. Boogie On Reggae Woman
9. Higher Ground
10. These Three Words
11. Stay Gold
12. Love Light In Flight
13. Mister Kiss Lonely Goodbye
14. Hold On To Your Dream
15. Redemption Song
Song Review is the first career spanning compilation from Stevie Wonder, and it’s a beast. Released well after his long career peak that covered all of the sixties, all of the seventies and half of the eighties, this two disc set is loaded with great songs and massive hits, and shows why Wonder is one of the true giants of popular music in the 20th century. It’s kind of mind boggling that one man could have recorded so much amazing music, but Wonder did just that. This is great…but it also serves as a reminder that no matter how many hits he had, Stevie Wonder was an album artist above all. Those albums, especially from the seventies, changed the way that all popular music was made, and showed that the album was truly an art form. In that regard, Stevie Wonder is the king.
But strangely, Song Review went almost unnoticed in America. It reached Platinum status, but didn’t crack the album charts here. And while the first disc is absolutely an incredible wall of hits and great songs, the second disc cools off fast. To the point where it might have been a better idea to have gone with a single disc (it was reissued later as just that). One of my compilation pet peeves exists here, as the songs are in no kind of chronological order. Disc two appears to have been thrown together from mostly soundtrack songs and lesser hits. Unless you have to have tracks like “Ebony And Ivory” (with Paul McCartney), I would recommend grabbing just the first disc and tossing the second. Disc one is amazing, disc two is not.
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DANNY O’KEEFE
O’KEEFE
1972 – SIGNPOST
Produced By ARIF MARDIN
1. Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues
2. Shooting Star
3. The Question (Obviously)
4. Honky Tonkin’
5. The Road
6. Grease It
7. An American Dream
8. Louie The Hook Vs. The Preacher
9. The Valentine Pieces
10. I’m Sober Now
11. Roseland Taxi Dancer
12. I Know You Really Love Me
Danny O’Keefe (from Spokane, Washington) has had a mostly quiet career, even though he’s released seventeen albums since 1966. Highly respected as a songwriter (his songs have been covered by a very long list of artists), his albums go unnoticed and ignored. Except for his third album, 1972’s O’Keefe. This is where O’Keefe scored his only real substantial hit with “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues”. This laid back single sounded amazing coming out of the radio in 1972, and was one of the earliest hit songs that I remember from my childhood. O’Keefe is the definition of the 70’s singer songwriter, and this album positively shines. It could have been bigger, but O’Keefe is a bit more country overall than pop radio would play more than just one song from.
O’Keefe is more than just “Good Time Charlie”. “The Road” became the centerpiece of Jackson Browne’s live album Running On Empty in 1977. “Honky Tonkin” is a rollicking Hank Williams song. He also rocks (“Grease It), and there are enough beautiful tracks like “The Valentine Pieces” to make this one of the best and most diverse albums of its kind. It’s sad that this record, which has aged surprisingly well, isn’t better known. And not just the album…Danny O’Keefe deserves a better fate as well. His latest album, Circular Turns, was released in 2023…and almost no one noticed. O’Keefe has a lot of music out there, and he’s worth listening to. This album will probably be the easiest to find because it has his only real hit song on it, but if you see his name, snatch it up. You won’t be sorry.
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THE DOORS
ABSOLUTELY LIVE
1970 – ELEKTRA
Produced By PAUL A ROTHCHILD
1. House Announcer
2. Who Do You Love
3. Alabama Song
4. Backdoor Man
5. Love Hides
6. Five To One
7. Build Me A Woman
8. When The Music’s Over
9. Close To You
10. Universal Mind
11. Petition: The Lord With Prayer
12. Dead Cats, Dead Rats
13. Break On Through #2
14. Lions In The Street
15. Wake Up
16. A Little Game
17. The Hill Dwellers
18. Not To Touch The Earth
19. Names Of The Kingdom
20. The Palace Of Exile
21. Soul Kitchen
Absolutely Live is the only live album released by The Doors during the lifetime of Jim Morrison, and the only one released during the active career of the band. It came out in 1970, between the albums Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman. There are some real positives here. Absolutely Live showcases the instrumental abilities of guitarist Robby Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek, and it features a handful of songs not on their studio albums. It also includes the full performance of “Celebration Of The Lizard” (tracks 14 through 20). And there are spots where Morrison sounds great. But there are also places where he sounds like he couldn’t care less about what was going around him. And, of course, as goes Morrison, so go The Doors.
Producer Paul Rothchild has said that there are around 2000 edits on this album. He would have to sometimes piece together one song from multiple shows because he couldn’t get complete takes that were solid enough. The idea was to get the ultimate Doors live experience, but that doesn’t seem to be what they honestly got. Truth is, Absolutely Live is at it’s best when Morrison isn’t singing…or talking, or screaming (the lead vocal on “Close To You” is actually by Manzarek). “When The Music’s Over” is the high point, with Morrison interacting with the crowd perfectly and the band in a complete frenzy. Absolutely Live is, ultimately, a hit and miss affair. Great one moment, flat the next. It’s a live rollercoaster, interesting and important because of who it is. Not their best work, but worth at least a listen.
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DIANA KRALL
LOVE SCENES
1997 – IMPULSE!
Produced By TOMMY LIPUMA
1. All Or Nothing At All
2. Peel Me A Grape
3. I Don’t Know Enough About You
4. I Miss You So
5. They Can’t Take That Away From Me
6. Lost Mind
7. I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You
8. You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me
9. Gentle Rain
10. How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky)
11. My Love Is
12. Garden In The Rain
Probably the last place you’d expect to find a crooner of standards in a world formerly dominated by the likes of Sinatra and Bennett would be a Canadian female pianist like Diana Krall. And yet, here she is. Fifteen albums of mostly jazz classics and crooner hits and still going strong. Krall is not only a warm and wonderful vocalist, she also handles the piano as the lead instrument on her recordings. Love Scenes is her fourth album, and it’s the one that really got her noticed in the jazz world. The first of her nine platinum albums, this laid back and very smooth record showcases Krall’s strengths very well. There’s no orchestra here. This is a bare bones trio setting, with guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Christian McBride joining Krall’s piano and vocals. That’s all she needs.
Krall’s song choices here are fine. Her subdued vocals on tracks like “I Miss You So” and “Peel Me A Grape” set the mood perfectly. The album doesn’t stray from this mellow formula, which can be a little tiring, but the playing is magnificent, and Krall’s vocals are flawless as always. She gives much of the instrumental spotlight to Malone and McBride, and deservedly so. When your playing is this good, you don’t need anything more. This is an album made for romance, be that in private or a nice dinner with a loved one in a quiet restaurant with a martini or two. Krall sets a perfect mood here, and she doesn’t make any abrupt changes to it. Her career has been very successful for a jazz musician in this day and age, and we can hope for more great music from her in the future.
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CRASH TEST DUMMIES
THE GHOSTS THAT HAUNT ME
1991 – BMG / ARISTA
Produced By STEVE BERLIN
1. Winter Song
2. Comin’ Back Song (The Bereft Man’s Song)
3. Superman’s Song
4. The Country Life
5. Here On Earth (I’ll Have My Cake)
6. The Ghosts That Haunt Me
7. Thick-Necked Man
8. Androgynous
9. The Voyage
10. At My Funeral
Crash Test Dummies is known for one thing…that song that goes Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm that’s called “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”. They have that lead vocalist who sings bass. And no one seems to like them very much. Well, this Canadian band isn’t as bad as you may remember, and they did make more than just the one album with just the one song on it. The Ghosts That Haunt Me (with its delightfully dark album cover) is their debut album from 1991. And ya know what? In their home country, this band is NOT a one hit wonder. They had eight top twenty hits in Canada in the nineties, including one from this album, “Superman’s Song”. This is more upbeat (by a lot) than the album that made them big stars for a moment in 1993, and it contains a lot more interesting moments than you might think.
Brad Roberts has a deep voice, but on this more upbeat material, it’s not as noticeable. “Superman’s Song”, the biggest hit, is also the biggest downer. “Here On Earth” is downright chipper, And how can you fault anyone for covering The Replacements (“Androgynous”)? Not saying that this is greatness by any means, but there are moments that might indicate that this band deserves a better critical fate than they have been handed over the years. The title track is also pretty great. Crash Test Dummies have gained a reputation as being smug (not completely undeserved), but on this record, they sound like they just might be having some fun. And it wasn’t yet all about how low Brad Roberts could go. This is actually a pretty good debut album. Worth a listen at least.
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DEVENDRA BANHART
CRIPPLE CROW
2005 – XL RECORDINGS
Produced By DEVENDRA BANHART, ANDY CABIC, NOAH GEORGESON & THOM MONAHAN
1. Now That I Know
2. Santa Maria Da Feira
3. Heard Somebody Say
4. Long Haired Child
5. Lazy Butterfly
6. Quedate luna
7. Queen Bee
8. I Feel Just Like A Child
9. Some People Ride The Wave
10. The Beatles
11. Dragonflys
12. Cripple Crow
13. Inaniel
14. Hey Mama Wolf
15. How’s About Tellin’ A Story
16. Chines Children
17. Sawkill River
18. I Love That Man
19. Luna De Margarita
20. Korean Dogwood
21. Little Boys
22. Canela
Devendra Banhart is a trip of an artist. Born in Houston but partially raised in Venezuela, he follows his own path when it comes to his musical influences. His albums have been described as freak folk, New Weird America and psychedelic folk. The description is quite accurate. He sings in English and Spanish, and his music is mostly acoustic. Cripple Crow is his fifth album, and marked the beginning of a high point in his career. His three albums in the late 2000’s are considered to be his best. On this album, he began using more instruments and filling out his sound more, which was an effective move. Banhart plays almost everything here, and he shifts from style to style with ease. Vocally, he’s quite dramatic, but never overbearing.
This is an entertaining album, for sure. Lots of Venezuelan sounds, short songs, longer ones, and some in between. The Sgt. Pepper like album cover is great, and tracks like “Chinese Children”, “I Feel Just Like A Child”, and “Heard Somebody Say” are terrific. His voice may take a little getting used to, but it’s pretty obvious just how talented this man is. This psychedelic Spanish folk music is unique and worthwhile, and definitely deserves at least a listen. His later albums, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, What Will We Be and Mala, are also noteworthy. Definitely not a mainstream artist or album, but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? By the time this album is over, you may want to play it again because it’s so wonderfully different. That’s a pretty good sign.
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THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
JOHN HENRY
1994 – ELEKTRA
Produced By PAUL FOX & THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
1. Subliminal
2. Snail Shell
3. Sleeping In The Flowers
4. Unrelated Thing
5. AKA Driver
6. I Should Be Allowed To Think
7. Extra Savoir-Faire
8. Why Must I Be Sad?
9. Spy
10. O, Do Not Forsake Me
11. No One Knows My Plan
12. Dirt Bike
13. Destination Moon
14. A Self Called Nowhere
15. Meet James Ensor
16. Thermostat
17. Window
18. Out Of Jail
19. Stomp Box
20. The End Of The Tour
They Might Be Giants began as a duo (John Flansburgh and John Linnell) and a drum machine. Strange, quirky, and humorous, they have never been very popular…their biggest hit was 1990’s “Birdhouse In Your Soul”, which is just as odd as the title suggests. In 1994, the duo expanded to become a full band for their fifth album, John Henry. But as clever and tuneful as they may be, John Henry is a very hit and miss record. Sometimes, we’re just not in on the joke (“Meet James Ensor” is about a very obscure Belgian painter)…sometimes the cleverness works (“Why Must I Be Sad?” references only song titles by Alice Cooper). Instrumentally, songs like “Extra Savoir-Faire” are puzzling and overly strange. It’s a tough nut to crack, for sure.
The single was “Snail Shell”, and was expected to be as successful as “Birdhouse”. It was not. In all, John Henry, while a creative step forward, marked as high as this band would ever go commercially. It’s entertaining and well played, but it’s also confusing and tough to pin down (instrumentally, what ARE they doing on “Spy”?). They Might Be Giants have never given up. They’ve released 23 studio albums to date, including a number of children’s albums. They’re admirably brave, unafraid to try literally anything musically. Their albums are either fine or just too out there…this one sits squarely in the middle, which actually makes it one of their best. Recommend this one and its predecessor, Flood. But if quirky is for you, then you might just love this.
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PETER CASE
SIX-PACK OF LOVE
1992 – GEFFEN
Produced By MITCHELL FROOM & PETER CASE
1. Vanishing Act
2. Deja Blues
3. Dream About You
4. When You Don’t Come Home
5. Never Comin’ Home
6. It’s All Mine
7. Why Don’t We Give It A Go?
8. Why?
9. Last Time I Looked
10. Wonderful 99
11. I’ve Been Looking For You
12. Beyond The Blues
13. It Don’t Matter What People Say
Peter Case has been around the block a few times. He was in one of the earliest American punk bands in the late 70’s (The Nerves ), who first recorded the Blondie song “Hanging On The Telephone. He was also in The Plimsouls, who had a hit with “A Million Miles Away”. He also played with Gurf Morlix and his then wife, Victoria Williams before going solo in the mid eighties. His solo career has been long and never amazing, but give him credit…he never gives up. Six-Pack Of Love is his third solo album, and it’s kind of a mess. Producer Mitchell Froom fleshes out Case’s songs with blasts of instrumentation, burying the songwriter’s work in most cases. It’s not a bad album by any means, but it’s also not one you’ll be reaching for very often.
The best tracks here are “Dream About You”, which was almost a hit. “Wonderful 99” was written with John Prine, and it’s as strange a song about superheroes as you will ever hear. It includes a line where the heroes “grimace like Tom Cruise”. “Beyond The Blues” is a solid ballad, while “Why Don’t We Give It A Go?” (co-written with Billy Swan) is an upbeat winner. But the rest becomes forgettable fast, and Case seems to be mostly just trying to be heard above everything else that’s happening. And that’s about the story of his solo career, which is now closing in on forty years without any sizeable hits. He’s a good singer, and his songs are good, but Six-Pack Of Love is not the best way to experience Peter Case. Average stuff at best.
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