LA DUSSELDORF
1976 – NOVA
Produced By LA DUSSELDORF & CONNY PLANK
1. Dusseldorf
2. La Dusseldorf
3. Silver Cloud
4. Time
From the important German bands Kraftwerk and Neu! came a gentleman named Klaus Dinger. Dinger played on one Kraftwerk track, then formed Neu! in 1971 with Michael Rother. In 1975, Neu! split up, and La Dusseldorf was born. Dinger enlisted his brother Thomas and keyboardist Hans Lampe for the new band. Their self-titled debut album came out in 1976, and has since remained an influential and important part of German music. Dinger had played percussion in his previous bands, but here, he’s the guitarist. By utilizing vocals more, and by being open to sounds outside of what Neu! had been doing, La Dusseldorf adds a mixture of punk and disco , both of which were in their early stages when this was released. Praised by both Bowie and Eno, this is not a pop record by any means, but it’s also not as far outside of the pop world as Neu! had been.
This album consists of three extended songs and the shorter (four and a half minutes) title track. Lampe’s keyboards sound almost dated, but the rest absolutely does not. The rhythms are tightly wound and exciting, and Dinger’s guitar is sparing but heavy. The singing is not very strong, but that’s okay…it works well within the songs. A three minute version (cut down from eight) of the instrumental “Silver Cloud” was released as a single and became the group’s big hit. La Dusseldorf didn’t last long. In 1983, after just three albums, the Dinger brothers went their separate ways, with the band not recording together again. Their final album, 1980’s Individuellos, was not successful. Klaus Dinger died of a heart attack in 2008 at age 61, ending the chances of a La Dusseldorf reunion. But for a moment…they were pretty great.
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LOS LOBOS
COLOSSAL HEAD
1996 – WARNER BROS
Produced By MITCHELL FROOM, TCHAD BLAKE & LOS LOBOS
1. Revolution
2. Mas Y Mas
3. Maricela
4. Everybody Loves A Train
5. Can’t Stop The Rain
6. Life Is Good
7. Little Japan
8. Manny’s Bones
9. Colossal Head
10. This Bird’s Gonna Fly
11. Buddy Ebsen Loves The Night Time
Los Lobos has had some great success in their long (more than fifty years) career. But they have also always been a band that has lived on the fringes of the big time. Their 1984 debut yielded the minor hit “Will The Wolf Survive”. They were included on a track from Paul Simon’s Graceland album in 1986, then topped the charts the following year with the title track from the Ritchie Valens pic La Bamba. Their 1992 album Kiko was a masterpiece…but Los Lobos remained an almost ran. Which is where they are today: highly respected, but always an opening act. Four years after Kiko, they released Colossal Head. Yeah…bad name, bad album art. But what the hell. Los Lobos were highly respected and revered, and yet, they were already on the way to being a one hit wonder on the heels of a traditional Mexican song that a 17 year old had covered thirty years before. Fair?
Well…the truth is, after Kiko, Los Lobos kind of slipped into the role of that what could have been band. Colossal Head is not a bad album. Neither is it a memorable one. These guys have always been able to play, and that’s not the issue here. But Colossal Head lacks songs, pure and simple. There is nothing here that will make you say wow, but it feels like it’s always close. And it’s been this way ever since. Los Lobos has been touring and has been seen as successful on the back of the music they made from 1992 and earlier. They’ve made nine studio albums since Colossal head, each one a bit less memorable than the one before it. They’ve also released at least seven live albums during this time, an indication of where their current success lies. Colossal Head is one in a long string of average records by a band that we all thought would have a much brighter career.
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COMMANDER CODY & HIS LOST PLANET AIRMEN
TALES FROM THE OZONE
1975 – WARNER BROS
Produced By HOYT AXTON
1. Minnie The Moocher
2. It’s Gonna Be One Of Those Nights
3. Connie
4. I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train
5. Honky Tonk Music
6. Lightnin’ Bar Blues
7. Paid In Advance
8. Cajun Baby
9. Tina Louise
10. The Shadow Knows
11. Roll Your Own
12. Gypsy Fiddle
The career of Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen didn’t last long, and it was mostly unspectacular while it was happening. But today, they are remembered as an early leading light of country rock and Americana music. Hailing from Michigan, their one hit wonder status was cemented in 1971 with their remake of “Hot Rod Lincoln”. Label executives tried to mold them into being a band like the Eagles, but they were never going to be that laid back and mellow. Led by George Frayne, aka Commander Cody, the Airmen did things their own way. By the time of their sixth album, Tales From The Ozone, they were beginning to break from each other. The album was produced by the great Hoyt Axton, and consists of mostly cover songs. Only “It’s Gonna Be One Of Those Nights” and “Gypsy Fiddle” were written by members of the band.
“Roll Your Own” was a failed single. “Minnie The Moocher” and “Cajun Baby” are familiar titles, and “I Been To Georgia On A Fast Train” is a good song choice. But unfortunately, the production here falls flat, and not enough of the performances sound particularly inspired. And their fast reducing number of original songs wasn’t helping them out, either. After this one, The Lost Planet Airmen were no more, and there were no reunions. Frayne continued on with the Commander Cody name, rolling on with a solo career that almost no one noticed until his death in 2021. Go for one of their earlier efforts that have more energy and better songs. The best thing about Tales From The Ozone is that you can definitely hear shades of what is known today as alt-country in their sound. They just couldn’t sustain it without any songs of their own.
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ROBERT CRAY
SWEET POTATO PIE
1997 – MERCURY
Produced By ROBERT CRAY
1. Nothing Against You
2. Do That For Me
3. Back Home
4. The One In The Middle
5. Little Birds
6. Trick Or Treat
7. Simple Things
8. Jealous Minds
9. Not Bad For Love
10. I Can’t Quit
At the dawn of the eighties, Robert Cray was beginning what would become a nice enough career. And then, Stevie Ray Vaughan happened. Blues guitar had been slipping away from hit radio as guys like Clapton, Page and Beck were starting to settle into safer musical waters. When Stevie Ray came along, the question seemed to be, were there any more blues guys out there? The answer, at least right away, was Cray. His fourth album, Strong Persuader, became a blues hit in 1986 on the back of “Smoking Gun”, and for at least the next few years, blues was alive and well. But Stevie Ray died in 1990, and Cray slipped into obscurity with everyone except blues fans. Which brings us to 1997, and his eleventh album, Sweet Potato Pie. After being a rising star in the eighties, he had become invisible in the nineties. This album is a perfect picture of why that happened.
Cray is here, as he has always been, a fine singer and guitarist. That’s not the issue. Neither is his band, which has always been good. The problem is that Cray had settled into ballads and somewhat lifeless tunes that make the album easy to ignore. Not even the Memphis Horns can save this set of lesser material from belonging in an elevator. The most interesting song is the only cover, Otis Redding’s “Trick Or Treat”. Cray stayed busy throughout the decade and since, but it’s obvious here that he’d already ran out of ideas. Not that he doesn’t try. Since Sweet Potato Pie, he’s released another nine albums, the most recent in 2020. He’s also usually on tour, doing what he loves best. Cray was an interesting almost star years ago. These days, unfortunately, his recordings don’t carry much weight. Stick with his output from the eighties.
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THE CULT
LOVE
1985 – BEGGARS BANQUET
Produced By STEVE BROWN
1. Nirvana
2. Big Neon Glitter
3. Love
4. Brother Wolf, Sister Moon
5. Rain
6. Phoenix
7. Hollow Man
8. Revolution
9. She Sells Sanctuary
10. Black Angel
The Cult had a strong three album run in the late 1980’s that briefly included success in America with the 1989 album Sonic Temple. They had some great ideas, but they were unfortunately also a band that seemed to be in a constant state of breaking up…something they did twice. The band has always been led by singer Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy. Outside of that, they have been cursed by a revolving door at the drummer and bassist positions. Love is their second album, and their UK commercial breakthrough. Astbury and Duffy were growing as a songwriting tandem, and there were enough hits here to make the future look bright indeed. Original drummer Nigel Preston (who died in 1992) was fired during the sessions, beginning the band’s revolving door rhythm section woes. But Love turned out to be a pretty good second effort.
“Revolution” and “Rain” may be Beatles titles, but these are definitely Cult songs, and hits at that. “She Sells Sanctuary” became their biggest selling single, matched later by only “Fire Woman” from 1989. “Nirvana” is also notable. Duffy shines on guitar throughout the album, and the promise of the next albums, Electric and Sonic Temple, is very present here. Love stands as one of The Cult’s best works to this day. After Sonic Temple, breakups and instability have made their work after the eighties a mere shadow of what once was. But they soldier on, with six albums released over the last thirty years. As far as Love goes...buyer beware. Depending on how much you worship this band, there are bloated versions out there. The best is the original single disc, but there are also releases with bonus tracks, a second disc of “extras” a third consisting of demos, and a live version of the album. One disc should be all you need.
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DAUGHTRY
2006 – RCA / 19
Produced By HOWARD BENSON
1. It’s Not Over
2. Used To
3. Home
4. Over You
5. Crashed
6. Feels Like Tonight
7. What I Want (Feat. Slash)
8. Breakdown
9. Gone
10. There And Back Again
11. All These Lives
12. What About Now
In their fifth season, American Idol got its chance to extend their reach to hard rock. And they jumped all over it. Chris Daughtry was a vocalist who had no issues with trying to make it in music by trying out for TV singing shows. He gave Rock Star: INXS a shot, but didn’t make it very far. But American Idol presented the chance for him to stand out in a sea of pop star wannabes, and he grabbed that bull by the horns. Unlike a lot of contestants, he had been in bands already, and had made a pair of recordings with his groups. He didn’t win Idol, but he did finish high, and was rewarded with a major label deal. He had even been offered the position of lead singer with Fuel, which he turned down. The band Daughtry was put together by him and his new label…the original band was gone by the time the recordings were done. Idol may have been a shortcut to the big time, but their presence wasn’t going to make it an easy time for him.
Daughtry (the album) was promoted heavily and was highly anticipated by his Idol fans. Daughtry (the band) was really a solo album, but it wasn’t presented that way. Of the twelve tracks, seven were released as singles, all of which charted well enough to make the album a success. On the plus side, Daughtry (the singer) absolutely has the voice for this. And this is as good as anything that has come from the Idol stable. But musically, this is pretty close to the Staind and Fuel and Nickelback sound, which isn’t exactly breaking any new ground, and which isn’t an easy area to win new fans. The band sounds capable but not very inspired, which is about what one might expect from hard rock, American Idol style. But give Daughtry (all of the above) credit: the band has been at it for almost twenty years now, and Chris has been able to make a good career of it. Good for him.
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MILES DAVIS QUINTET
WORKIN’ WITH THE MILES DAVIS QUINTET
1959 – PRESTIGE
Produced By BOB WEINSTOCK
1. It Never Entered My Mind
2. Four
3. In Your Own Sweet Way
4. The Theme (Take 1)
5. Trane’s Blues
6. Ahmad’s Blues
7. Half Nelson
8. The Theme (Take 2)
In 1955, up and coming star Miles Davis secured a record deal with Prestige by forming his original quintet. This band of jazz greats lasted just three years, until 1958. But in 1956, Davis and his group got together for two marathon recording sessions that became a stunning four album run that was released one at a time, and once a year, between 1957 and 1960. Workin’ is the third of the four albums, coming out after Cookin’ and Relaxin’, and before Steamin’. These records remain important documents to this day, and show what a force Davis and his band was at the time. This is truly a supergroup. The quintet features not only Davis, but also John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones. These guys were simply the best players of their time. And splitting the sessions into four separate albums was a pretty genius move.
“Four” is a song Davis had previously recorded in 1954, but this one has a more impressive band. “In Your Own Sweet Way” was written by Dave Brubeck in 1952. Davis had also recorded “It Never Entered My Mind” in the past…it’s from the 1940 Rodgers & Hart musical “Higher And Higher”. Coltrane brought in “Trane’s Blues”. In all, this is an excellent collection, and it will make you want the other three records as well. Garland and Jones left the Quintet in 1958, beginning a period of much change in the lineup. Coltrane was gone by 1960, as Davis began putting together his second great Quintet. The original didn’t last very long, but they did record some very memorable music. All four of the albums from those 1956 sessions are highly recommended, and can be found all in one place on The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions from 2006.
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KELIS
TASTY
2003 – STAR TRAK / ARISTA
Produced By ANDRE 3000, DALLAS AUSTIN, DAME BLACKMON “GREASE”, JAKE AND THE PHATMAN, THE NEPTUNES, ROCKWILDER, RAPHAEL SAADIQ & KELVIN WOOTEN
1. Intro
2. Trick Me
3. Milkshake
4. Keep It Down
5. In Public (Feat. Nas)
6. Flashback
7. Protect My Heart
8. Millionaire (feat. Andre 3000)
9. Glow (Feat. Raphael Saadiq)
10. Sugar Honey Iced Tea
11. Attention (Feat. Raphael Saadiq)
12. Rolling Through The Hood
13. Stick Up
14. Marathon
Yes. Her milkshake really does bring all the boys to the yard. And yes, it’s home is on the third album by Kelis, 2003’s Tasty. Yes, that song is one of the biggest earworms in pop history, and it’s still annoyingly quoted to this day. And yes, it’s mostly what Kelis is remembered for. But the truth is, “Milkshake” is a pretty great pop song, and Tasty is a much better album than you might remember it to be. Her first two albums had done little, and Kelis was in need of a hit. She got one, and there were three more hits on the album, albeit only in the UK. Still, Kelis had arrived, and it was justified. She had previously worked almost exclusively with The Neptunes, but here she branches out and collaborates with a variety of producers and artists. And for the most part, it works just fine.
Aside from “Milkshake”, there’s also a collaboration with Andre 3000 (OutKast) in “Millionaire”, “Trick Me”, and “In Public”, which was performed with Nas before they married and divorced in a flurry of abuse charges. The rest of the album is a strong mix of soul and fun pop tracks, showing that she does have a diverse talent. It’s an improvement over her previous efforts, but it’s also her commercial and critical peak. After Tasty, Kelis has released just three albums, the last being over a decade ago (2014’s Food). She has put out a handful of singles, but that’s been it. After her split from Nas, she remarried and had a second child, but her husband died in 2014 at just 37 years old. There may be more music from her eventually, but for now, Kelis lives fairly quietly in Kenya.
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PETER GABRIEL
US
1992 – REAL WORLD / GEFFEN
Produced By DANIEL LANOIS & PETER GABRIEL
1. Come Talk To Me
2. Love To Be Loved
3. Blood Of Eden
4. Steam
5. Only Us
6. Washing Of The Water
7. Digging In The Dirt
8. Fourteen Black Paintings
9. Kiss That Frog
10. Secret World
After four self-titled solo albums, Peter Gabriel started taking more time between releases. Part of that was due to soundtrack work, and part was due to his taking more time to develop his material. It took him four years to release So in 1986, which was his most successful solo effort. Six years later, the master of short album titles followed that up with Us. While not as strong as So, Us was still a success for Gabriel. It took nearly three years to record, and was highly anticipated. An album based on his personal relationships at the time, both good and bad, it showcases Gabriel’s use of world music rhythms alongside progressive ideas that made him successful for most of his career. Having Daniel Lanois as producer helped to make this a positive outing.
Us is not as consistent as So, but the high points are worthwhile. The funky “Steam” is reminiscent of “Sledgehammer”, and was a successful single. “Digging In The Dirt” is a winner as well. Two songs feature Sinead O’Connor (“Blood Of Eden” and “Come Talk To Me”) that are high points. “Kiss That Frog” was a minor hit as well. Things fall off a bit in the middle, but the album does recover and ends on a strong note with the seven minute “Secret World”. Unfortunately, the momentum of So and Us was stalled by a full decade before the release of Up and it’s big miss of a single, “The Barry Williams Show”, and then another eight year wait before the just okay Scratch My Back. Us is the last of Gabriel’s successful early album run, though it’s the weakest of his first six outings.
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DIXIE CHICKS
TOP OF THE WORLD TOUR: LIVE
2003 – COLUMBIA
Produced By DIXIE CHICKS & LLOYD MAINES
1. Goodbye Earl
2. Some Days You Gotta Dance
3. There’s Your Trouble
4. Long Time Gone
5. Tortured, Tangled Hearts
6. Travelin’ Soldier
7. Am I The Only One (Who’s Ever Felt This Way)
8. Hello Mr. Heartache
9. Cold Day In July
10. White Trash Wedding
11. Lil’ Jack Slade
1. A Home
2. Truth No. 2
3. If I Fall You’re Going Down With Me
4. Mississippi
5. Cowboy Take Me Away
6. Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)
7. Landslide
8. Ready To Run
9. Wide Open Spaces
10. Top Of The World
11. Sin Wagon
Just a few short months after Natalie Maines told a London crowd that she was ashamed that George Bush was from their home state of Texas, Dixie Chicks recorded their first live album during a successful American tour. The remarks had big negative effects on their record sales, but they were still drawing live audiences. The double album, which was taken from multiple shows on the tour, is good, but not great. A DVD version was also released, and is a much better take, and it includes behind the scenes footage as well as how the group dealt with the aftermath of Maines’ comments. There are plenty of hits here, as well as a few surprises, plus a slew of musicians. Given that the Chicks were blacklisted, it’s surprising that this sold as well as it did.
The album opens with the gleefully irreverent “Goodbye Earl”, a song about murdering an abusive husband. The second disc is more recognizable as they get closer to an encore, with hits like “Ready To Run”. “Cowboy Take Me Away” and the Stevie Nicks gem “Landslide”. Notable is a nice cover of Bob Dylan’s 2001 song “Mississippi”, Bruce Robison’s “Travelin’ Solder”, and the Chicks own ode to “mattress dancing”, “Sin Wagon”. They put out Taking The Long Way in 2006, then did mostly nothing as a group until 2020’s comeback album, Gaslighter. In the meantime, they changed their name to The Chicks, and watched a whole new era of political disrespect make their 2003 comment about the President seem pretty insignificant and tame. Good, but find the DVD.
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