COL. BRUCE HAMPTON & THE AQUARIUM RESCUE UNIT
MIRRORS OF EMBARRASSMENT
1993 – CAPRICORN
Produced By JOHNNY SANDLIN
1. No Ego’s Under Water
2. Lost My Mule In Texas
3. It’s Not The Same Old Thing
4. Too Many Guitars
5. Gone Today, Here Tomorrow
6. Shoeless Joe
7. Lives Of Longevity
8. Memory Is A Gimmick
9. Dead Presidents
10. Trondossa
11. Swing
12. Payday
Jazz fusion is music for musicians to listen to, and basically no one else who isn’t directly related to the players. Are there exceptions? Yes. Jeff Beck made some interesting fusion records. Miles Davis originated what is known as fusion with groundbreaking albums in the late sixties and early seventies. And then there is Col. Bruce Hampton. He played in several bands from the early seventies until suffering a fatal heart attack onstage at his own 70th birthday concert in 2017. It was his short stint with the Aquarium Rescue Unit that cemented his legacy in jazz rock music. Not a jazz singer, Hampton brought a strange kind of southern and jam band style to the band, as they made music that defied boundaries. With Hampton, the Rescue Unit made just two albums: a self titled live album in 1992, and Mirrors Of Embarrassment.
The live album is where they shined: live is where this kind of music is better. Mirrors Of Embarrassment is surprisingly good, in large part due to Hampton’s presence, but also to the deft and interesting playing. Jimmy Herring brings pure expertise on guitar, and Matt Mundy proves to be an absolute wizard on the mandolin. Guest playing from Bela Fleck, Chuck Leavell and John Popper as new levels, and the oh so not jazz singing of Hampton helps keep things honest. There’s a song about baseball (“Shoeless Joe”), southern life (“Lost My Mule In Texas”), and money (“Dead Presidents”). The accessible nature of this album makes it a pretty essential fusion disc, and it showcases a great and underrated band being led by Hampton at his peak. A pretty cool recording.
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THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE
LIVE AT MONTEREY
1986 – GEFFEN / UME
Produced By JANIE HENDRIX, EDDIE KRAMER & JOHN MCDERMOTT
1. Introduction By Brian Jones
2. Killing Floor
3. Foxy Lady
4. Like A Rolling Stone
5. Rock Me Baby
6. Hey Joe
7. Can You See Me
8. The Wind Cries Mary
9. Purple Haze
10. Wild Thing
This is the historic introduction to America of The Jimi Hendrix Experience at Monterey in 1967. Most of the show was filmed (except for “Can You See Me”) and released as a soundtrack album in 1986 by Reprise Records as Jimi Plays Monterey. In 2007, the album was re-issued by the Hendrix estate with new artwork, a new title and the same track list as Live At Monterey. The reissue does add a short introduction by Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones. The special edition which includes the DVD also adds four bonus tracks from a live show in Chelmsford. One of the cool things about this recording is that it includes all of the between song banter from Hendrix…introducing songs, the band, tuning, giving a not usually seen look at the personality of the artist.
The show was performed shortly after the release of their first album, Are You Experienced. Only half of the songs are from that album…the rest are covers like “Killing Floor”, Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone”, B.B. King’s “Rock Me Baby” and The Troggs “Wild Thing”. For 1967, the quality of this live show is pretty excellent. And Hendrix and the band are in fine form. This show has been well documented, so if you can grab a copy of this with the DVD, that’s the best way to go. But just the album of this single set will do. The entire Monterey festival from 1967 was historic, but it was Hendrix, as he did later on at Woodstock, who really shined. A massively important part of the history of rock, and the history of one of the greatest guitar players of all time.
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THE BAND
MUSIC FROM BIG PINK
1968 – CAPITOL
Produced By JOHN SIMON
1. Tears Of Rage
2. To Kingdom Come
3. In A Station
4. Caledonia Mission
5. The Weight
6. We Can Talk
7. Long Black Veil
8. Chest Fever
9. Lonesome Suzie
10. This Wheel’s On Fire
11. I Shall Be Released
12. Yazoo Street Scandal
13. Tears Of Rage (Alternate Take)
14. Katie’s Been Gone
15. If I Lose
16. Long Distance Operator
17. Lonesome Suzie (Alternate Take)
18. Orange Juice Blues (Blues For Breakfast)
19. Key To The Highway
20. Ferdinand The Imposter
The Band was coming off of a famous tour as the supporting band for Bob Dylan. They had moved into Big Pink, a house in New York and recorded The Basement Tapes with Dylan before recording what would become their debut album. Like the early records by The Byrds, Music From Big Pink is drenched in the influence of Dylan, who wrote or co-wrote three of the songs here. But the dynamic of The Band was also different here internally. Robbie Robertson, who is generally known as their main songwriter, actually splits writing duties equally with Richard Manuel, who is also the lead singer on seven of the eleven songs. Manuel was definitely a main force on this album…a role that would sadly begin to diminish on the next self titled album.
Music From Big Pink is, without question, a masterpiece of Americana music. It’s loaded with classic recordings that can still be heard on radio today. “The Weight” may be Robertson’s best song. “Tears Of Rage” (written by Dylan and Manuel), the Lefty Frizzell cover “Long Black Veil”, Garth Hudson’s showcase “Chest Fever”, and Rick Danko’s take on Dylan’s “This Wheel’s On Fire” are all bona fide must haves. The best is Manuel’s haunting vocal on Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released”, one of the greatest singing performances of the rock era. This is one of the greatest albums of all time, not just from a musical standpoint, but also historically. It’s also Manuel’s shining moment, and sets The Band for it’s short but amazing run as one of America’s greatest groups. This is a no brainer, an absolute must have.
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LYLE LOVETT
JOSHUA JUDGES RUTH
1992 – CURB / MCA
Produced By BILLY WILLIAMS, GEORGE MASSENBURG & LYLE LOVETT
1. I’ve Been To Memphis
2. Church
3. She’s Already Made Up Her Mind
4. North Dakota
5. You’ve Been So Good Up To Now
6. All My Love Is Gone
7. Since The Last Time
8. Baltimore
9. Family Reserve
10. She’s Leaving Because She Really Wants To
11. Flyswatter / Ice Water Blues (Monte Trenckmann’s Blues)
12. She Makes Me Feel Good
Beyond talented, unbound by any genre, and woefully underrated. That’s Lyle Lovett. Originally a country artist, Lovett quickly began expanding his sound to include jazz, blues, and many other types of music. By the time of Joshua Judges Ruth (3 books in the Old Testament in the order they appear), Lovett was doing whatever he fancied. This album was confusing to listeners, who didn’t quite know what to make of it. But for those who took the time to listen, this album is a treasure. Lovett’s songwriting is so very good here, and even though there’s nothing close to a hit, it’s a fine album. He alienates his country audience on this, and it doesn’t seem like he’s too concerned about that. He’s making music on his own terms, which is ultimately the best thing about him.
“You’ve Been So Good Up To Now” is a blues burner. “North Dakota” features harmonies by Rickie Lee Jones. “Church” is pure gospel, “All My Love Is Gone” is pure jazz, and “She’s already Made Up Her Mind” is just plain gorgeous. Joshua Judges Ruth is a lost gem of an album, filled with perfect songs and perfect playing, and it has something for everyone. Lovett is an artist who has always been a well-kept secret. He’s made just eleven albums since 1986, and his personal life, after his marriage to Julia Roberts in the 90’s, has remained silent. He just makes great music, at his own speed, on his own terms, and when you do get an album like Joshua Judges Ruth, then it’s your lucky day for sure. This is one you never hear about, and it’s one you should definitely hear.
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SISTER HAZEL
FORTRESS
2000 – UNIVERSAL
Produced By RALPH SALL & RICHIE ZITO
1. Change Your Mind
2. Back Porch
3. Thank You
4. Champagne High
5. Beautiful Thing
6. Surreal
7. Shame On Me
8. Your Winter
9. Strange Cup Of Tea
10. Save Me
11. Give In
12. Out There
13. Elvis
14. Fortress
Sister Hazel is a southern rock band based on geographical origin only. Hailing from Tom Petty’s hometown of Gainesville, Florida, this band owes its success more to taking on the sound of the California band Counting Crows than anything else. In 1997, they had their biggest hit from their second album …Somewhere More Familiar with “All For You”, which marked the band’s early peak. Fortress is the follow up to that album, and it’s more of the same. It’s pop alt rock, no more and no less. The songs are upbeat, the harmonies are fine, the writing is average, and singer Ken Block does his best to not be annoying. Since “All For You”, Sister Hazel has settled into being average at best, a status they have parlayed into enough of a career to survive.
“All For You” got them a soundtrack song in “Change Your Mind” from Bedazzled. It’s as good as Fortress gets. “Beautiful Thing” and “Champagne High” were failed singles, and they were soon relegated to the “also rans” bin. They have since released seven more albums, each with not a lot to recommend them and no hits to speak of. Fortress was their one chance to back up a big hit with a winner of an album, but this is not that winner. They will always be known as that band that sounded like Counting Crows, were a bit better than Deep Blue Something, and were never quite as good as you think they were. Sister Hazel’s music falls into the same category, song to song, album to album…average and nothing more than that.
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THUG ENTRANCER
DEATH AFTER LIFE
2014 – SOFTWARE
Produced By RYAN MCRYHEW
1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV
5. V
6. VI
7. VII
8. VIII
9. Ready To Live Pt. 1
10. Ready To Live Pt. 2
Death After Life is one of those albums that I cannot figure out, for the life of me, when and why I bought it. Nearest I can tell, I got this about 2018. I will say that I’m happy I did. Thug Entrancer is the name used by Ryan McRyhew from my hometown of Denver. He had moved to Chicago by the time he made this, his first album. It’s techno, it’s dance music, and it is NOT boring. The music is all instrumental electronic, with no vocals at all. Tracks run between four and nine minutes, with nothing more than numbers as titles. The creativity here is in the music. It can be a challenge to hold my interest with techno, but he does it here with ease. McRyhew layers his songs nicely, showing a fine ability to make dance tracks that don’t get stuck in repetition.
I’ll take that all day. And because of the minimalistic packaging, there are only two themes given here: death after life, and ready to live. Everything else is left to your imagination. And if you can be open to that, there are endless possibilities. This is electronic music made not just to get you to dance…it also gets you to think. The trick is to be open to the paths that Thug Entrancer shows you. If you think in terms of this is just dance music, it may not turn you on. But in many ways, Death After Life is like jazz. Open your mind and it can take you anywhere. There is a second album called Arcology out there, and McRyhew has also been in the duos Hideous Men and BDRMPPL. He’s a mysterious guy, which is what makes getting to know him so much fun. I recommend this…if you can be good with techno.
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JEFF TWEEDY
TOGETHER AT LAST (LOFT ACOUSTIC SESSION I)
2017 – DBPM RECORDS
Produced By JEFF TWEEDY & TOM SCHICK
1. Via Chicago
2. Laminated Cat
3. Lost Love
4. Muzzle Of Bees
5. Ashes Of American Flags
6. Dawned On Me
7. In A Future Age
8. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
9. Hummingbird
10. I’m Always In Love
11. Sky Blue Sky
After the breakup of Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco in 1994. He has remained at the head of that band, as well as spending time in side projects Loose Fur and Golden Smog. But it took until 2017 before a true Tweedy solo album was released. He had contributed to the Chelsea Walls soundtrack, and made an album with his son Spencer…but this was his first real solo effort. The songs here are all solo acoustic remakes of songs from his bands (except for Uncle Tupelo), and if you have ever seen Tweedy play a live show by himself, then you know how needed this disc is. By himself is a setting he’s used to and comfortable with, so there aren’t any jitters here. It’s the first in what is hoped will be a series called the Loft Acoustic Sessions, but this is the only one so far.
Together At Last is mostly just a boy, his guitar and a harmonica. Other instruments pop up on “A Future Age”, but it really is a solo album. It’s great to hear stripped down versions of “Via Chicago”, “Muzzle Of Bees” and “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart”. It shows that the best part of those band albums was always the songs. Four of them were written with the late Jay Bennett, who was an important part of Wilco during the early years. Tweedy has gone on to make three more solo discs, which do include new songs. Together At Last is great to have, as it gives the warm solo touch that Tweedy has always had to some of his more memorable band songs. Here’s hoping that there will be a second volume to this someday. Because more Tweedy is always a good thing.
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STEVE EARLE & THE DUKES
EXIT 0
1987 – MCA
Produced By TONY BROWN, EMORY GORDY JR & RICHARD BENNETT
1. Nowhere Road
2. Sweet Little ‘66
3. No. 29
4. Young Angry Man
5. San Antonio Girl
6. The Rain Came Down
7. I Ain’t Ever Satisfied
8. The Week Of Living Dangerously
9. I Love You Too Much
10. It’s All Up To You
Early on in the career of Steve Earle, he was a straight up country artist. That was about to change after his second album, Exit 0, but for now, Earle was all about the twang. And he did it quite well. His debut album, Guitar Town, had been quite a success. Exit 0 was hailed as another victory for Earle, but it did not sell as well as the first album. His band, The Dukes, were a tight outfit, and Earle was already a fine songwriter. But what Exit 0 lacked was the exciting energy of Guitar Town. He would soon get that back with his more rocking third album, Copperhead Road. Not to say that Exit 0 lacks energy…it was much more upbeat than most Nashville artists were doing at the time. But it does feel like a transitional album, with Earle moving slowly away from straight country to his eventual home in country rock.
The best song here is “Nowhere Road”, one of Earle’s best songs ever. Also notable are the lovely “The Rain Came Down” and the memorable “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied”. “Sweet Little ‘66” is fine as well. But, as is the case with many of Earle’s earlier albums, there is some filler. Still, this is a good look at Earle in his early career and his songwriting skills. He has, of course, gone on to huge success, with twenty more studio albums…some with The Dukes, some without. He’s an important figure in alternative and outlaw country, as well as being very outspoken politically. Exit 0 is not his finest work, but it is an important part of his discography. Steve Earle is always relevant, so this is at the very least worth a listen or few. A good but not great record.
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KAISER CHIEFS
OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
2008 – B-UNIQUE / UNIVERSAL MOTOWN
Produced By MARK RONSON & ELIOT JAMES
1. Spanish Metal
2. Never Miss A Beat
3. Like It Too Much
4. You Want History
5. Can’t Say What I Mean
6. Good Days, Bad Days
7. Tomato In The Rain
8. Half The Truth
9. Always Happens Like That
10. Addicted To Drugs
11. Remember You’re A Girl
This is the third album from Kaiser Chiefs from Leeds. Gone are the na-na-na-na-na type choruses from the first two albums, and in is a new more mature sounding band. They still rock, and they still have hooks for days, but they also have a newfound love for great keyboard sounds and more complete songs. Their lyrics are smarter and they seem to be moving ever upward. Off With Their Heads didn’t sell nearly as well as their first two releases (Employment and Yours Truly, Angy Mob), but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a success for the band. They would misstep with their next record (The Future Is Medieval), but since then, they have been just as good and consistent as they are on this album. They have become a band you can always count on for a good set of songs.
The best track here is “Never Miss A Beat” (a direct nod to The Replacements), which was the last big Kaiser Chiefs hit, ranking right up there with the earlier “I Predict A Riot” and “Ruby”. The second single, “Good Days, Bad Days”, went nowhere and isn’t nearly as strong. “Addicted To Drugs” is quite clever, and “Half The Truth is fine as well. They are not as rambunctious as they once were, and songs don’t jump out at you the way they did on the first two albums, but they are still very good and well worth listening to. A very British band, they have never quite caught on in the United States, but they have always been big in their home country. Again…how do they seem to get so many good bands that Americans miss out on? Who knows…but Kaiser Chiefs are always worth hearing.
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KING’S X
GRETCHEN GOES TO NEBRASKA
1989 – MEGAFORCE
Produced By SAM TAYLOR & KING’S X
1. Out Of The Silent Planet
2. Over My Head
3. Summerland
4. Everybody Knows A Little Bit Of Something
5. The Difference (In The Garden Of St. Anne’s-On-The-Hill)
6. I’ll Never Be The Same
7. Mission
8. Fall On Me
9. Pleiades
10. Don’t Believe It (It’s Easier Said Than Done)
11. Send A Message
12. The Burning Down
One of the most overlooked heavy albums and bands of the twentieth century. Gretchen Goes To Nebraska is the second album by the American band King’s X, and it’s better than anyone remembers…the few that actually do remember, that is. This power trio has always had multiple assets, even early on in their career. Gretchen Goes To Nebraska has everything that makes King’s X great. The songs are solid, they rock, and the lyrics are as intelligent as anyone in progressive metal has ever written. They are amazing players, and those vocal harmonies are to die for. Building on the vast promise of their debut album (which, reportedly, Dimebag Darell of Pantera couldn’t stop listening to), this is where King’s X put it all together.
If only anyone actually knew about them. Despite how good they were, King’s X was not widely known, and they were pigeonholed as a Christian band because they weren’t afraid to sing about Christian themes. Too bad, because Gretchen Goes To Nebraska is a pretty great album. “Summerland” and “Over My Head” are the best tracks here, but you also get their critical take on televangelism (“Mission”) and the 16th century burning of Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno (“Pleiades”). All while sounding more like a six piece band than a trio. That they have always been cast as a Christian band is unfair, and has kept them from a much larger audience (they have only cracked the US Top 100 Albums chart twice in forty years). Take a listen to Gretchen Goes To Nebraska. It’s really great.
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