ELVIS PRESLEY
LOVING YOU
1957 – RCA VICTOR
Produced By STEVE SHOLES
1. Mean Woman Blues
2. (Let Mer Be Your) Teddy Bear
3. Loving You
4. Got A Lot Of Livin’ To Do
5. Lonesome Cowboy
6. Hot Dog
7. (Let’s Have A) Party
8. Blueberry Hill
9. True Love
10. Don’t Leave Me Now
11. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
12. I Need You So
13. Tell Me Why
14. Is It So Strange
15. One Night Of Sin
16. When It Rains, It Really Pours
17. I Beg Of You (Alternate Master)
18. Party (Alternate Master)
19. Loving You
20. Got A Lot O’ Living To Do (Finale)
In 1957, Elvis Presley had not yet gone into the Army. He had appeared in the film Love Me Tender in a supporting role the year before. But Loving You was his first starring role, and this was also his first full soundtrack album. The first of seventeen, all released between 1957 and 1968 (Speedway). Presley’s films were rarely much above vehicles to sell more records, a tactic that worked well for a decade. The end of his film career marked the beginning of his Vegas performer years, which lasted until his death in 1977. The original album contained twelve tracks, seven from the film and five non soundtrack songs. It ran just 26 minutes, and most of the songs, while well produced, were pretty forgettable. That was okay…that album had a pair of hits, which made it a success.
The hits here are “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” and “Loving You”. Both were substantial enough to make the album and the film big. Elvis was in fine voice, but the material was, overall, below what his previous work had been. When it was re-released on CD in 1995, Loving You contained an additional eight songs. Only three of those were previously unreleased, but all were recorded around the same time as the original album. Loving You marked the beginning of a long stretch of soundtracks for films that were iffy at best, supported by albums with a sizeable hit and a bunch of other forgettable songs. It wasn’t put together with any kind of cohesive thought: the final five were added only to make it long enough. But it was 1957, and he was still the king. Not great, but better than you might think.
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TALKING HEADS
SPEAKING IN TONGUES
1983 – SIRE
Produced By TALKING HEADS
1. Burning Down The House
2. Making Flippy Floppy
3. Girlfriend Is Better
4. Slippery People
5. I Get Wild: Wild Gravity
6. Swamp
7. Moon Rocks
8. Pull Up The Roots
9. This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)
For their fifth album, Talking Heads went at it without producer Brian Eno, with interesting results. Speaking In Tongues turned out to be their breakthrough album, boasting hit singles and fine dance beats throughout. Strangely enough, the cassette version was the one to have…it’s six minutes longer with extended versions of the better songs. The LP and CD versions are shorter, but that’s okay…this is still a pretty fine album. David Byrne is at his quirkiest, Jerry Harrison plays some really funky guitar, and the rhythm section of Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz is as tight as can be. There are also a lot of synthesizers, but to their credit, they don’t crowd the album and the sound is not your typical eighties cheese. Leaving plenty of room for groove.
And groove is what Speaking In Tongues does. The first three songs are glorious, made up of everything that made this a great band. “Burning Down The House” is an irresistible dance hit. “Making Flippy Floppy” is weird and amazing as the title suggests, and “Girlfriend Is Better” is just a fantastic song. But that’s not all there is to this. “Swamp” is all quirky goodness, and “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)” is one of their very finest songs. But there’s a significant drop after that…the other four songs, while upbeat and danceable, are also pretty forgettable. Their previous album, Remain In Light, was a tough act to follow, and they did a pretty good job of that. The live Stop Making Sense was next, and things started to slowly unravel…Talking Heads were done five years later. This is one of their better albums. Quirky, imperfect, and glorious.
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BRIGHT EYES
I’M WIDE AWAKE, IT’S MORNING
2005 – SADDLE CREEK
Produced By MIKE MOGIS
1. At The Bottom Of Everything
2. We Are Nowhere And It’s Now
3. Old Soul Song (For The New World Order)
4. Lua
5. Train Under Water
6. First Day Of My Life
7. Another Travelin’ Song
8. Land Locked Blues
9. Poison Oak
10. Road To Joy
Reason number 8 million to love alt country. Bright Eyes is led by Conor Oberst, a fascinating lyricist and a shaky voiced singer who blurs the lines between folk and country with ease. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning is the band’s sixth album, and it’s their very best. Oberst is best described as misunderstood: his literary sense of lyric writing is often mistaken for pretentiousness, and his less than smooth vocal delivery is at times dismissed as not on key. But make no mistake: this guy is the real deal, and this band delivers. And this album is the whole package. Of course it’s underrated…that’s a big part of its charm. I’m Wide Awake, I’m Dreaming is a record you can happily lose yourself in. It’s beautiful, smart, and it’s alt country on the fringe at its best.
This album was their first taste of commercial success, which they haven’t had a lot of. “Lua” was the breakthrough hit, with “First Day Of My Life” having some radio play as well. It absolutely does not hurt that Emmylou Harris shows up on “We Are Nowhere And It’s Now”, “Another Travelin’ Song”, and “Land Locked Blues”. There’s just enough twang to keep your alt-country side happy, and just enough upbeat material to keep you from drifting away. This turns out to be one of the nicest surprises and better albums of 2005, and if you can enjoy this blend of alternative styles, then you’ll be quite pleased. Bright Eyes split in 2011, but came back a decade later, and has a new album out in 2024. This one is absolutely recommended.
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JACK BRUCE
SONGS FOR A TAILOR
1969 – POLYDOR
Produced By FELIX PAPPALARDI
1. Never Tell Your Mother She’s Out Of Tune
2. Theme For An Imaginary Western
3. Tickets To Waterfalls
4. Weird Of Hermiston
5. Rope Ladder To The Moon
6. The Ministry Of Bag
7. He The Richmond
8. Boston Ball Game 1967
9. To Isengard
10. The Clearout
11. The Ministry Of Bag (Demo Version)
12. Weird Of Hermiston (Alternate Mix)
13. The Clearout (Alternate Mix)
14. The Ministry Of Bag (Alternate Mix)
Following the breakup of Cream in 1968, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker formed Blind Faith with Steve Winwood and released a highly successful debut album. Bassist Jack Bruce went a different route, embarking on a solo career. Songs For A Tailor is his first solo album. The songwriting was shared by Bruce and lyricist Peter Brown, who had also worked with Cream. Mainly because of Bruce’s recent stint with that band, the album was successful as far as sales, but was not very well received by critics. It certainly has its moments, and Bruce is, for the most part, in fine voice. Outside of his old power trio, Bruce embraces having more musicians available, including brass and wind players. At times, things sound cluttered, but most of what’s here works well enough.
The album opens with “Never Tell Your Mother She’s Out Of Tune”, which includes guitar work from George Harrison. “Theme From An Imaginary Western” was later covered by the heavy rock band Mountain. The better songs here are the most stripped down. Particularly, “He The Richmond” and “To Isengard” are acoustic numbers that give plenty of space for Bruce’s voice, which was always a great asset. And “The Clearout” is basically a two minute bass solo, serving as a reminder that Bruce could also really play. The rest may sound strange at first, but the more you let this one sink in, the better it gets. “Weird Of Hermiston” and “The Clearout” are songs he wrote for Cream that were rejected for the Disraeli Gears album. Bruce made another 13 albums before his death in 2014.
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PRIMAL SCREAM
XTRMNTR
2000 – ASTRALWERKS
Produced By BRENDAN LYNCH, PRIMAL SCREAM, JAGZ KOONER, DAVID HOLMES, HUGO NICOLSON, THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, KEVIN SHIELDS, TIM HOLMES & DAN THE AUTOMATOR
Relentlessly cool and as danceable as rock has ever been, Primal Scream is much more than their best known album, Screamadelica. XTRMNTR is their sixth release, and it simply burns. The beats here are relentless, the songs are cool as hell, and the band is on full throttle. Primal Scream is augmented by the presence of Gary “Mani” Mounfield (The Stone Roses), Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), and Bernard Sumner (New Order). The Chemical Brothers are here as well. This album got the decade of the 2000’s off to a roaring start…it’s not quite at the same level as Screamadelica, but it’s pretty close as far as impact. While Screamadelica was more trippy, XTRMNTR is in your face dance music, but definitely not the brainless kind.
“Swastika Eyes” is the definite highlight here. It’s an unstoppable dance track that will wear you out. “Kill All Hippies” and “Accelerator” are excellent as well, but the truth is, there’s not a moment’s rest here, and you won’t find a bad song anywhere. Primal Scream are survivors, having existed for well over forty years, and always on the lookout to grow and expand their sound. XTRMNTR is a time for the band that found them in a creative and powerful place, and this album is most definitely a highlight of their discography. They are still together, and have an upcoming album in late 2024…their first in over eight years. Primal Scream is at their best when they are really cutting loose…and that’s exactly what you get with this album. A must hear that will win you over.
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CULTURE
HARDER THAN THE REST
1978 – HIGH NOTE
Produced By S.E. POTTINGER
1. Behold
2. Holy Mount Zion
3. Stop The Fussing And Fighting
4. Iron Sharpening Iron
5. Vacancy
6. Tell Me Where You Get It
7. Free Again
8. Work On Natty
9. Love Shine Bright
10. Play Skillfully
Always remember that Jamaican music has always been so much more than Bob Marley & The Wailers. One of the memorable Jamaican bands has always been Culture, which has survived for nearly fifty years now. They have always been a trio, with now only Albert Walker as the only original member. They made a huge noise in Jamaica with their song and album Two Sevens Clash from 1977, which famously predicted that the apocalypse would happen on July 7, 1977. The album was exceptional, and the original trio would remain intact until 1981. Their third album was Harder Than The Rest from 1978, and it shows the original lineup starting to run out of steam. Their second of three albums from the year (the third, Africa Stand Alone, remains unreleased to this day), it shows that while they may have been prolific and hard working, they were also already starting to run short of ideas.
Joseph Hill is the lead singer here, backed by Walker and Kenneth Paley. The famous Jamaican duo of Sly & Robbie are here on bass and drums. The grooves are all air tight, and the playing is great. But the melodies sound tired more often than not. The album was a hit in the UK, riding on the heels of the success of Two Sevens Clash. But there are no singles from Harder Than The Rest…the album simply doesn’t have a hit on it. And truthfully, for thirty albums and 48 years, Culture has been chasing the impact of their debut. Hill died in 2006 and was replaced by his son, and they haven’t had any album releases since. Harder Than The Rest is far from great, but it’s still not a bad album from one of the brighter lights of reggae from the seventies.
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FLATT & SCRUGGS
FOGGY MOUNTAIN JAMBOREE
1957 – COLUMBIA
Produced By DON LAW
1. Flint Hill Special
2. Some Old Day
3. Earl’s Breakdown
4. Jimmie Brown, The Newsboy
5. Foggy Mountain Special
6. It Won’t Be Long
7. Shuckin’ The Corn
8. Blue Ridge Cabin Home
9. Randy Lynn Rag
10. Your Love Is Like A Flower
11. Foggy Mountain Chimes
12. Reunion In Heaven
Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were members of Bill Monroe’s band, The Blue Grass Boys, in the mid to late 1940’s. They left Monroe and began performing as a duo in 1948. They continued together until 1969, when they split over creative differences…Scruggs wanted to embrace newer music by people like Bob Dylan, while Flatt was a staunch traditionalist. They released many singles, but their first album was this 1957 compilation. Foggy Mountain Jamboree contains songs released as singles between 1951 and 1955. The songs are all short…the longest track clocks in at 3:01, and so the album doesn’t even make it to thirty minutes. But the quality of the music here more than makes up for it. Flatt & Scruggs were simply one of the best American groups ever.
Flatt (guitar) and Scruggs (banjo) worked with some of the finest bluegrass players in history. Fiddler Paul Warren is a legend. As are Curly Seckler (mandolin), Uncle Josh Graves (dobro) and Jake Tullock (bass). Their better known songs are not on this album, but that’s okay. Workouts like “Flint Hill Special”, “Shuckin’ The Corn” and “Reunion In Heaven” are all worthwhile, and the album is a lesson in just how intricate, well written and well played American music from the south has always been. Flatt & Scruggs will forever be remembered for “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”, the themes for The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, and the Martha White flour jingle. But Foggy Mountain Jamboree is a classic, a truly great document of one of the greatest bluegrass bands ever assembled.
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BUDDY HOLLY
FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES
1985 – MCA
Produced By NORMAN PETTY
1. That’ll Be The Day
2. Oh, Boy!
3. Not Fade Away
4. Tell Me How
5. Maybe Baby
6. Everyday
7. Rock Around With Ollie Vee
8. It’s So Easy
9. I’m Lookin’ Fort Someone To Love
10. Peggy Sue
11. I’m Gonna Love You Too
12. Words Of Love
13. Rave On
14. Well…All Right
15. Listen To Me
16. Think It Over
17. Heartbeat
18. Reminiscing
19. It Doesn’t Matter Anymore
20. True Love Ways
Buddy Holly was just 22 years old when he was killed in that famous plane crash in 1959. He released just three studio albums during his lifetime, but he has remained one of the most popular recording artists of all time. How can that be? Well, just take a listen to this 1985 compilation. Pretty much every song here should be at least familiar to anyone who listens to rock and roll. In other words…twenty bona fide hits. All recorded between 1956 and 1958. And remember…he was just 22 when he died. He was a rock & roll pioneer, and his hitmaking ability rivaled that of Elvis himself. After he died, his music remained so popular (especially in Europe) that virtually every scrap of music he recorded was issued in the decade that followed. So much so that in 2009, a six CD compilation called Not Fade Away was released.
The number of compilation albums from Holly numbers in the hundreds…a ridiculous number. But that has not diminished his importance at all. From The Original Master Tapes came out in 1985, and it’s as good as any Holly collection…meaning that it has the twenty TRULY important Holly tracks. The only minus is that it has no liner notes…but I’m pretty sure we all have Wikipedia by now. These are his best tracks, and they were very tastefully remastered (no tricks) by Steve Hoffman. This is a no frills compilation that is actually what it says it is…remastered from the originals. There are a lot of compilations with Holly’s name on them that have inferior demo recordings, poor quality live tracks, and things that were meant for the trash can in the studio. This one is of fine quality, and is worth having.
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SWEETJUICE
SWIM
2009 – NUMBER ONE
Produced By ADAM & KRIS
1. 24-7
2. Some Other Time
3. Beautiful
4. Stay Off The Ice
5. Drowning
6. Me, Myself And I
7. Cross And Crown
8. If You’re In Love
9. Go!
10. I Don’t Know When
SweetJuice is the band of Kris Deelane and Adam West, who played in my neighborhoods on the same circuit as myself as a duo in the 90’s in the Los Angeles South Bay area. They moved to Portland, where Kris continues to play regularly. You can find Kris Deelane and her band The Hurt on social medias, and you always purchase one of her fine albums online.
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LISA LOEB & NINE STORIES
TAILS
1995 – GEFFEN
Produced By JUAN PATINO & LISA LOEB
1. It’s Over
2. Snow Day
3. Taffy
4. When All The Stars Were Falling
5. Do You Sleep?
6. Hurricane
7. Rose-Colored Times
8. Sandalwood
9. Alone
10. Waiting For Wednesday
11. Lisa Listen
12. Garden Of Delights
13. Stay (I Missed You)
Lisa Loeb made it cool to have a crush on that librarian looking bespectacled girl whom we all knew in the nineties. She had come from what seemed like nowhere to stardom. What happened was that she happened to be friends with actor Ethan Hawke, who gave a copy of her song “Stay (I Missed You)” to Ben Stiller, who was directing the film Reality Bites. He put it in the movie, and Loeb suddenly became the first artist to have a Billboard #1 hit without having a record deal. After signing to Geffen, Tails became her major label debut. It’s her only album to be credited to the band Nine Stories, and it’s her only really successful album. “Stay” was tacked onto the end, and sales went predictably platinum. The future looked bright for Lisa Loeb.
“Do You Sleep” was a lesser hit, and while “Taffy” and “Waiting For Wednesday” were good, Loeb had already reached as far as she was going to go. Tails is decent enough pop rock in a world where Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette and plenty of other girl rockers with better songs kept it from being a springboard…rather it ended up being a curiosity. And sure enough…her next album had a minor hit (“I Do”), and then Loeb slipped off the charts for good. She’s made six more studio albums plus another six children’s records, none of which have gained her a hit of any kind. Tails remains her best work, especially because of “Stay”. She will always be a remembered piece of the nineties, and a big part of Reality Bites. But nothing really more than that.
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