THE ROLLING STONES
TATTOO YOU
1981 – ROLLING STONES
Produced By THE GLIMMER TWINS
1. Start Me Up
2. Hang Fire
3. Slave
4. Little T & A
5. Black Limousine
6. Neighbours
7. Worried About You
8. Tops
9. Heaven
10. No Use In Crying
11. Waiting On A Friend
One of the most misunderstood and mis-rated albums in the history of ever. My personal opinion is that the Stones should have hung it up immediately after Some Girls in 1978. That album was followed up with the disappointing Emotional Rescue in 1980. In 1981, they were getting ready to tour, but had no album to promote. Their engineer put together a bunch of outtakes and song fragments and told the band they could make something usable out of those. The result was Tattoo You. Hailed as a return to form, it was really the band leaning back on their recent past, to a time when they were still on fire and writing productively. The album was a success, and it put on temporary hold the truth that the band was done as far as being a force in the studio. Yes, it has its moments…but it should not be ignored that this release was done with a lot of smoke and mirrors.
None of the songs here were written for Tattoo You…but many of them (not all) were finished for it. The big hit, “Start Me Up”, was mostly recorded during the Some Girls sessions. “Waiting For A Friend” and “Tops” were so old (1973) that they included Mick Taylor on guitar, and not Ronnie Wood. The album’s most underrated song, “Little T & A”, was from the Emotional Rescue sessions. Fact is, most of what was new for Tattoo You were Mick Jagger’s lead vocals and the sax solos by Sonny Rollins on two songs. And yet, Tattoo You has been hailed as one of their better albums. Probably because at the dawn of their decline, these songs shone much brighter than they should have, and gave a ray of hope that the Stones were still relevant. It does have enjoyable moments, but it’s most definitely not the great comeback studio album that many believe it to be. That album simply never happened.
I’d agree with your summation of the album and a really good write up. Does it have good moments, certainly, but it’s incoherent, forctge reasons that you have articulated. A decent enough listen but I can’t remember the last time I played it
DAVE MASON
ALONE TOGETHER
1970 – BLUE THUMB
Produced By DAVE MASON & TOMMY LIPUMA
1. Only You Know And I Know
2. Can’t Stop Worrying, Can’t Stop Loving
3. Waitin’ On You
4. Shouldn’t Have Took More Than You Gave
5. World In Changes
6. Sad And Deep As You
7. Just A Song
8. Look At You Look At Me
Dave Mason is viewed as a kind of underrated force in rock music. I do not share that opinion. Mason was a founding member of Traffic, with whom he wrote “Feelin’ Alright?”, and not much else. He left after one album, and was not well liked by the other members of the band. And yet, he’s in that Hall Of Fame thing as a member of Traffic. He released his best album and his solo debut, Alone Together, in 1970. It was carried by his other great song, “Only You Know And I Know”, and by the fact that he had plenty of famous friends to help him out with it. Having Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, Jim Capaldi and Carl Radle play on his album didn’t hurt him at all, and it opened the door for a decent enough career that has spanned more than six decades. His best work has probably been as a session player…his guitar skills far outweigh his songwriting.
The playing here is fine, and the opening track is definitely a keeper. But even this early on, Mason’s glaring weakness was in his songwriting. The other seven tracks on Alone Together may sound nice, but they won’t stick with you at all. And the record sets the stage for his upcoming forays into the dull world of adult contemporary music. And yes…by the end of the decade, he was cranking out mellow and forgettable albums like Let It Flow and Mariposa De Oro. His session work is much more interesting than his solo career, including a brief stint as Lindsay Buckingham’s replacement in Fleetwood Mac. Alone Together has been called a forgotten classic. It’s more like Mason was a guy who was more famous than he should have been who released an album with one great song that Delaney & Bonnie released a better version of that became a bigger hit than Mason’s version. Alone Together is good…but let’s not get carried away.
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WILLIE NELSON & FRIENDS
LIVE AND KICKIN’
2003 – LOST HIGHWAY
Produced By JAMES STROUD
1. I Didn’t Come Here (And I Ain’t Leavin’)
2. Night Life
3. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
4. Homeward Bound
5. Beer For My Horses
6. Crazy
7. To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before
8. The Wurlitzer Prize
9. She Loves My Automobile
10. Angel Flying To Close To The Ground
11. A Song For You
12. I Couldn’t Believe It Was True
13. Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning
14. Run That By Me One More Time
15. One Time Too Many
Hey, look. It’s yet another duets album. Seems like these are everywhere these days. Well, in 2003, Willie Nelson threw an all-star concert a few weeks in advance of his 70th birthday. Still a young pup, Willie got a bunch of super famous folks to come and sing with him at the Beacon Theatre in New York. It was filmed, and aired on television the following month. It’s since been available on DVD (with 25 tracks) which is going to be the best way to experience this. The CD version of Live And Kickin’ cuts it down to just under an hour, with fifteen tracks. As with pretty much every other multi guest duets album, there are some great matchups, and a few head scratchers. Shania Twain sounds bland, Elvis Costello, even with his wife Diana Krall, sounds out of place…happens a lot with these kinds of albums.
On the plus side, Willie is in pretty fine form. Duets with him can be difficult, because his voice is so distinct, but here, he sings quite beautifully. He often sings out of rhythm when singing harmony, but it also seems as if he never misses a note. He’s certainly no Art Garfunkel, but he still manages to make harmonizing with Paul Simon on “Homeward Bound” work. The best moment here (and it’s better on video) is “A Song For You”, with Leon Russell and a tired sounding Ray Charles. Of course, it’s Willie, and ultimately, he has the ability to make it all work out. The fact that it’s all live makes it better, as there’s no wondering if the duet partners were ever in the same room or not, and even though the songs all run together to sound like it’s all one long single take (it was not), there’s enough magic here to make it worthwhile. But get the video on this one.
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The debut album from Bon Iver was For Emma, Forever Ago. Released in 2009, it was an alt-country and folk album that came from nowhere to become one of the greatest albums…ever. So how do you follow that up? Justin Vernon, the main man behind Bon Iver, came out with this twice self-titled album in 2011. And as excellent as the first one was, this one is nearly as good. It’s taken some years, though. Bon Iver, Bon Iver was a departure for the band, bringing in multiple instruments and going for a much more full sound. Vernon is now praised for taking chances with this record, but early on, the album was dismissed simply for being different. Thankfully, this has survived its criticism, and is now seen as the masterpiece it truly is. If you heard this back in 2011 and dismissed it, I recommend that you give it another shot.
The songs are all about or based on places. “Holocene” and “Beth / Rest” are the most interesting songs here: the former is simply a great track, while the complexities of the latter, once they grow on you, make for a beautiful ending to the album. The first half is stronger, with “Perth” and “Minnesota, WI” being pretty irresistible, but the second half is, by no means, inferior. Many have mistaken the use of horns and other instruments as over production. Don’t be fooled by that. This album takes a great sound and expands it, something we should all be happy about when our musical heroes are brave enough to do. Bon Iver took some time off after this release, and has put out just three albums since this one. The first two are the ones to have, with For Emma getting the slight nod over this one. But both are excellent, and well worth having.
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THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS
EXIT PLANET DUST
1995 – ASTRALWERKS
Produced By TOM ROWLANDS, ED SIMONS & CHEEKY PAUL
1. Leave Home
2. In Dust We Trust
3. Song To The Siren
4. Three Little Birdies Down Beats
5. Fuck Up Beats
6. Chemical Beats
7. Chico’s Groove
8. One Too Many Mornings
9. Life Is Sweet
10. Playground For A Wedgeless Firm
11. Alive Alone
The Chemical Brothers are the English DJ’s Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. They originally called themselves The Dust Brothers, but were forced to change the name when the original Dust Brothers threatened legal action. Exit Planet Dust, their debut album, takes its title from that name change. The album is an early example of Big Beat, which was later made popular by the likes of Fatboy Slim and The Crystal Method. It’s a great example of 90’s electronic dance music, and sets the stage for the duo’s better and more complete album releases over the next several years. Exit Planet Dust is surprisingly still very listenable today, even though it’s pretty rough around the edges, and despite the fact that it contains almost no vocals. It’s simply a terrific dance album, and an important part of their history that has spanned now over 30 years.
“Leave Home” was a minor hit, memorable for the voice sample “the brother’s gonna work it out”. “Life Is Sweet” includes vocals from Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, and “Alive Alone” features a still unknown Beth Orton. Their first single (“Song To The Siren”), from their time as The Dust Brothers, is also included. The psychedelic sounds and the relentless dance beats make for a trippy and ultimately cool collection, which is helped by having the first six songs run continually without a break. The best was yet to come with this group: their next album, Dig Your Own Hole (1997), is their best work, with the next two, Surrender (1999) and Come With Us (2002) not far behind. Rowlands and Simons are still at it, with ten studio albums so far, although their popularity has faded in recent years. This is a good place to start with them, for sure.
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GLENN MILLER
20 BEST OF GLENN MILLER SOUND
2004 – MADACY
No Production Credit
1. In The Mood
2. Pennsylvania 6-5000
3. Little Brown Jug
4. Moonlight Serenade
5. American Patrol
6. Tuxedo Junction
7. String Of Pearls
8. Stardust
9. Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree
10. April In Paris
11. Song Of The Volga Boatman
12. Indian Summer
13. Serenade In Blue
14. Moonlight Cocktail
15. Bugle Call Rag
16. Kalamazoo
17. Johnson Rag
18. Sunrise Serenade
19. Chattanooga Choo Choo
20. Perfidia
For a short time, between 1939 and 1942, the Glenn Miller Orchestra was kind of the pre-rock & roll Beatles. While the second World War was brewing in Europe, Miller was enjoying a string of pop hits that made him one of the most popular musicians of his time. They toured and played radio shows almost non-stop, and although albums were not yet a thing, his top twenty singles numbered in the hundreds. And that’s not counting his hits prior to the Orchestra from 1926 to 1938. In 1942, Miller joined the US Army and led his Armed Forces Orchestra for two years. In December 1944, the day before the Battle Of The Bulge began, the plane Miller was on as he was moving his orchestra from England to France disappeared. Neither the plane, nor his body, has ever been found. Miller was declared dead a year later. He was 40 years old.
There have been hundreds of Glenn Miller albums released, all after his death. 20 Best Of Glenn Miller Sound (a strange title) was a one time Canadian release on the Madacy label, which specializes in compilations and older jazz albums. It’s a decent enough bargain collection, featuring many of Miller’s biggest hits from his most prolific period. “Moonlight Serenade” is the song he was best known for, and there are also #1 hits like “In The Mood”, “Tuxedo Junction”, and “Song Of The Volga Boatman”, as well as better known songs like “Pennsylvania 6-5000”. There aren’t any liner notes to speak of, so you’ll have to get your info on the tracks from elsewhere. Because of the volume of Miller’s hit output, twenty tracks is pretty small…there are large (and somewhat pricey) collections out there that will give a more complete picture of his career. This one is okay, a decent enough place to start.
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CELESTE KRENZ
EDGE OF THE STORM
1993 – EMERGENCY
Produced By BOB TYLER & CELESTE KRENZ
1. Nothin’s Easy
2. Baby Goodbye
3. Katie And Eddie
4. Charmaine
5. The Edge Of The Storm
6. Don’t Say Goodnight
7. Run To California
8. Good Thing Gone Bad
9. If I Gave My Heart To You
10. No Man’s Land
Celeste Krenz came to the Denver local music scene from North Dakota in the 1990’s. She sang country music in a gentle and pleasant voice. She released several albums over the years, some of them while in Colorado, before settling in Nashville. In 2011, she left the music business to concentrate on her family life and to open her own business, a healthy juice store. Edge Of The Storm is her debut album from 1993. It was released on the Denver label Emergency Records, which is no longer in business.
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LILA DOWNS
LILE DOWNS Y LA MISTERIOSA EN PARIS – LIVE A FIP
2010 – HARMONIA MUNDI – GLOBAL VILLAGE
Produced By PAUL COHEN & LILA DOWNS
1. El Relampago
2. La Linea
3. La Martiniana
4. Cumbia Del Mole
5. Paloma Negra
6. Minimum Wage
7. Justicia
8. Yo Envidio El Viento
9. La Cucaracha
10. Los Pollos
11. Naila
12. Arenita Azul
13. La Iguana
14. La Llorona
15. Perro Negro
Lila Downs was born to a Scottish-American father. But more importantly, her mother was an indigenous Mexican from Oaxaca. Her entire career, both musically and philanthropically, has been based on her Mexican heritage. She’s been making records for over 35 years now, mainly for the Latin market. Her music contains a lot of traditional Mexican instrumentation and rhythms, and she sings in many different indigenous languages. Because of this, she’s not very well known outside of Mexico, but she’s still had a nice career. In 2010, she released this, her second live album. It was recorded in front of an audience in Paris the year before, and there are versions that come with a DVD of the show. It wasn’t well promoted, but it was still a hit in her native country. It’s a fine showcase of Downs’ beautiful and amazing talents.
Her singing on tracks like “La Martiniana” is stunning, and the band is simply perfect. Her take on traditional Mexican music is as good as it gets, and her overall performance makes this one a must have. Downs shows why she’s loved in Latin circles. Her earlier studio albums like Una Sangre, La Sandunga and La Cantina are excellent, and this live set is fine as well…as unfortunately underrated as it is. Downs plays the traditional music (“La Cucaracha”), but she has moments where she can rock (“Perro Negro”), and she also incorporates hip-hop and folk music into her sound. “Cumbia Del Mole” is as close as she got to a hit in America…that’s here as well. Lila Downs is still at it, recording beautiful music (her last album, La Sanchez, was in 2023). This one is a definite hidden gem. Very much worth checking out.
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VARIOUS ARTISTS
A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS LIVE
1999 – A&M / INTERSCOPE
Produced By BOBBY SHRIVER
1. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Mary J. Blige & Sheryl Crow
2. Christmas In Hollis – Run-D.M.C.
3. Please Come Home For Christmas – Jon Bon Jovi
4. Christmas Blues – John Popper & Eric Clapton
5. What Child Is This? – Vanessa Williams
6. Christmas Tears – Eric Clapton
7. O Holy Night – Tracy Chapman
8. Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman & Eric Clapton
9. Merry Christmas, Baby – Sheryl Crow & Eric Clapton
10. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Jon Bon Jovi
11. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town – (all of the above)
I do believe in this…the best time to listen to Christmas music is any time, other than Christmas. These poor songs are absolutely driven into the ground throughout the month of December, to the point where I just want to set them all on fire. And so, I bring you this album of Christmas songs in October. A Very Special Christmas was a series of albums benefitting the Special Olympics that saw its first release in 1987. Live From Washington, D.C. is the fourth volume in the series (which finally ran out of gas in 2013). The album was recorded at a benefit party held by President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary in 1998. Hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, the show features ten Christmas songs by a variety of artists, and one non-holiday themed song by Tracy Chapman. The album was released in time for Christmas the following year, and was a minor hit.
The high point is Chapman’s non-holiday “Give Me One Reason”. Featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, this live version was a hit, but not a big one. Run D.M.C. brings their “Christmas In Hollis”: everything else is songs we all know from holidays past. Sheryl Crow is here, because, well…she’s everywhere. Mary J. Blige, Vanessa Williams, and Jon Bon Jovi all contribute, as does John Popper of Blues Traveler. Clapton plays on five of the album’s tracks. And then there’s the obligatory finale, in which everyone takes the stage to finish with “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”. This was probably a nice party if you were there: as an album, it's nice to play behind your relatives at Christmas dinner. But outside of the Chapman track, there’s just not much here to be excited about. Whether you’re playing it in December or October.
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DAVID BOWIE
LOW
1977 – RCA
Produced By DAVID BOWIE & TONY VISCONTI
1. Speed Of Life
2. Breaking Glass
3. What In The World
4. Sound And Vision
5. Always Crashing In The Same Car
6. Be My Wife
7. A New Career In A New Town
8. Warszawa
9. Art Decade
10. Weeping Wall
11. Subterraneans
David Bowie was a chameleon, and not just with his image. Along with his personas, he also evolved musically. 1976 saw him move from Los Angeles back to Europe to kick a cocaine habit and make music with Iggy Pop. After producing Pop’s album The Idiot, Bowie teamed up with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti to record the beginning of his Berlin Trilogy. Low is maybe his most misunderstood work, his most adventurous, and quite possibly his greatest. Low isn’t a pop album, which is what Bowie had been making for years. He took his music and turned it upside down, and made a record that even though a lot of people didn’t get it, is regarded as one of the best of all time, and that has influenced not just a lot of artists, but entire genres of music that came after it. Without Low, would there even be new wave, synth pop, post punk, or industrial?
Low isn’t a pop record. The first seven songs are kind of song fragments and ideas that he wasn’t afraid to keep incomplete and short. The last four tracks are opposite: longer ideas that are mostly instrumental. The album is both puzzling and amazingly cohesive at the same time. The drum sound has been maybe the most copied in the history of popular music. None of his biggest hits are here, and yet it was a hit. He had always shown his ability to look different: now he was playing the music that was in his head, regardless of what people wanted to hear from him. The influences here are German bands and Eno’s own solo work, and Bowie’s voice isn’t the most important thing here. It’s an artist separating himself from the sound of...himself. And it’s beautiful. Low is a masterpiece by a pop artist daring to be what his own career up to that point said he shouldn’t be, and pulling it off with ease. Low is simply brilliant. It’s also different, which makes it even better.
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