SUPERTRAMP
BREAKFAST IN AMERICA
1979-A&M
Produced By SUPERTRAMP & PETER HENDERSON
1. Gone Hollywood
2. The Logical Song
3. Goodbye Stranger
4. Breakfast In America
5. Oh Darling
6. Take The Long Way Home
7. Lord Is It Mine
8. Just Another Nervous Wreck
9. Casual Conversations
10. Child Of Vision
On their first five albums, Supertramp had established themselves as a kind of progressive rock lite band. When the concept for Breakfast In America went out the window, they decided to just record a collection of fun songs, a decision that worked well. There are a number of very catchy hits here: “The Logical Songs”, “Goodbye Stranger”, “Take The Long Way Home”, and the title track were all monster hits for the band, and made them the big thing of 1979. That rolling piano was everywhere on the album, and Supertramp had achieved the point of the album nicely: it was a fun record.
But the problems on this album were insurmountable. Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson had found it impossible to work together. “The Logical Song” was sounding outwardly pretentious. The band had reduced itself to being a keyboard band…there is almost no guitar on Breakfast In America, a huge no no for 1979. Worst of all, Hodgson ‘s voice had gone up what seemed like two octaves: his singing here is so high as to be just past borderline ridiculous. After the shine of the hits wore off, what we were left with was a wreck of an album by a wreck of a band. Hodgson left after one more less successful album and became an insignificant solo artist. Supertramp broke up in 1989 and have had two unnoticed reunions, both without Hodgson. The band has released 5 albums since this one…to a silent and empty auditorium.
To me it's clear that Hodgson was a much better songwriter than Davies, regardless of having become an "insignificant solo artist".
Look at the Supertramp albums after Hodgson left. All the tunes have left too. It's blatant with the first single without Hodgson : Cannonball.
Sure, Rick Davies had good songs when he was with Hodgson, but I have the impression that it was precisely for this reason (just a theory)
As for the Logical Song, why do you find it sounding pretentious? The lyrics are simple but meaningful ("There are times when all the world's asleep, the questions run too deep, for such a simple man") and the sound is big, like in the rest of the album (hmm that Wurlizter piano..). Yet I agree that the "Please tell me who I am, who I am" part is overdone.
LITTLE RICHARD
THE GEORGIA PEACH
1991-SPECIALTY
Produced By BILLY VERA
1. Tutti Frutti
2. Baby
3. I’m Just A Lonely Guy
4. True Fine Mama
5. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
6. Slippin’ And Slidin’ (Peepin’ And Hidin’)
7. Long Tall Sally
8. Miss Ann
9. Oh Why?
10. Ready Teddy
11. Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey
12. Rip It Up
13. Lucille
14. Heeby-Jeebies
15. Can’t Believe You Wanna Leave
16. Shake A Hand
17. All Around The World
18. She’s Got It
19. Jenny Jenny
20. Good Golly Miss Molly
21. The Girl Can’t Help It
22. Send Me Some Lovin’
23. Ooh! My Soul
24. Keep A Knockin’
25. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
Seventeen of the 25 songs here made the Billboard Top 100. Almost all of them were top 10’s, and three went to number one. He also appeared in three films, and was one of the biggest stars on the planet. What’s impressive is that Little Richard accomplished all of this in just two years. And then he walked away from it all for a life as a minister. The impact that Little Richard had on rock & roll in such a short period of time cannot be overstated. He brought raw energy, sexuality, and the high male voice along with faster songs and a sense of danger…all of which are important staples of rock to this day.
The Georgia Peach is compiled only of songs from 1955-1957. And it’s just as full as artists with 25 year careers. His biggest hits are here…”Tutti Frutti”, “Lucille”, “Good Golly Miss Molly”, “The Girl Can’t Help It”, as well as a ton of songs that defined him as a great artist. The Georgia Peach is a perfect compilation, with basically everything you need from his best period. Richard made several comebacks later on, but never with the impact of these fine two years. A must have.
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JOHNNY CASH
THE GREAT LOST PERFORMANCE
2007-MERCURY
Produced By CLARK ENSLIN, JOHNNY CASH & BOB HARRIS
1. Ring Of Fire
2. Life’s Railway To Heaven
3. A Wonderful Time Up There
4. Folsom Prison Blues
5. Sunday Morning Coming Down
6. What Is Man
7. Forty Shades Of Green
8. Come Along And Ride This Train
9. Five Feet High And Rising
10. Pickin’ Time
11. A Beautiful Life
12. Hey Porter
13. Ragged Old Flag
14. Tennessee Flat Top Box
15. Ghost Riders In The Sky
16. Jackson
17. The Wreck Of Old ‘97
18. I Walk The Line
There isn’t much information available about this album. There are no liner notes other than listing the musicians and technical support involved, and there seems to be very little known about why the performance was “lost”, or who found it, or when. What is known is that the album was recorded at The Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, NJ on July 28, 1990. Cash had a full 6 piece band and four female singers, including his wife June Carter Cash. And, for 1990, this is a pretty exceptional show by Cash, who had fallen into some fairly bad music at that time…this was more like a show from 25 years before 1990. Cash is in fine vocal form, and in good spirits. June, funny as always, is a hoot as well.
The album begins with a spirited “Ring Of Fire”, then hits a couple of gospel tunes before sliding into “Folsom Prison Blues”. Several of the songs in the middle are short and work as a medley. Closing the show particularly strong, Cash burns through “Tennessee Flat Top Box”, “Ghost Riders In The Sky”, then brings out June for the next two before closing with the classic “I Walk The Line”. This is a fine posthumous release, but it would have been nice if someone had taken the time to give us some background about it. Otherwise, very very good.
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ASS PONYS
SOME STUPID WITH A FLARE GUN
2000-CHECKERED PAST
Produced By BRAD JONES
1. Pretty As You Please
2. Astronaut
3. Fighter Pilot
4. Love Tractor
5. Your Amazing Life
6. Sidewinder
7. Swallow You Down
8. X-Tra Nipple
9. Magnus
10. Casper’s Coming Home
11. Kitten
12. Between The Trees
For a decade, Ass Ponys was one of the coolest and strangest bands on the planet, but most people didn’t know that. They were an indie sensation who signed a major deal in 1994, released one incredible album (Electric Rock Music) which cost about 50 grand to make, then a fairly uptight album (The Known Universe) that cost much more to make but sold much less. They were then dropped from A&M Records and made the mostly excellent but unheard Some Stupid With A Flare Gun, which is a pretty high standard of an album for a band on the way down. But, from their name on out, there was never really much that was conventional about this band.
The obvious high point here is “Astronaut”, which would have been a huge hit in a perfect world. From its mention of Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd to the unbelievable catchiness of the chorus, “Astronaut” is why the Ponys were so great. And, like the rest of their best work, the album features weird snapshots of what we think of as unimportant moments in life. The band is loose and playful here, and they even jam things out some. There’s a lot of fun to be had…songs about Scatman Crothers and Frank Langella having extra nipples and robots coming through the corn, all on an album that takes its name from the best line in “Smoke On The Water”. The Ass Ponys are gone, saluted, and never forgotten.
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NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE
AMERICANA
2012-REPRISE
Produced By NEIL YOUNG, JOHN HANLON & MARK HUMPHREYS
1. Oh Susannah
2. Clementine
3. Tom Dula
4. Gallows Pole
5. Get A Job
6. Travel On
7. High Flyin’ Bird
8. Jesus’ Chariot (She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain)
9. This Land Is Your Land
10. Wayfarin’ Stranger
11. God Save The Queen
In which Neil Young reunites with Crazy Horse for the first time in 8 years to record an album of…1800’s folk music? That’s mostly what Americana is, with a handful of early to mid 20th century tunes thrown in. Is it strange to hear these songs done by Young? Not really…Neil has always had an experimental side to him, and has shown in the past that he’ll try anything once. Is it strange to hear songs like “Oh Susannah” and “Wayfarin’ Stranger” given the full heavy Crazy Horse treatment? Yep. Did Neil maybe go a bit overboard in his interpretation of these classic songs? Quite probably yes.
According to Young, his intent with Americana was to shed new light on these songs, to bring out the darker and more forgotten verses, and to make them not as lighthearted as they had become over many years. He certainly does succeed in doing some of that…but at the same time, do songs like “She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain” and “Tom Dula” (Dooley) really need to be stretched into grungy five plus minute sloppy Crazy Horse jams? Unlike Bruce Springsteen’s We Shall Overcome album, Americana tosses aside the traditional feel of these classics and tries too hard to make them into 90’s grunge songs. Young could have made his point by making a more acoustic album with varied instrumentation…and then written a new album to rock out with Crazy Horse. But, if nothing else, Americana is one highly interesting work.
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MODEST MOUSE
THE LONESOME CROWDED WEST
1997-UP
Produced By CALVIN JOHNSON, ISAAC BROCK & SCOTT SWAYZE
1. Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine
2. Heart Cooks Brain
3. Convenient Parking
4. Lounge (Closing Time)
5. Jesus Christ Was An Only Child
6. Doin’ The Cockroach
7. Cowboy Dan
8. Trailer Trash
9. Out Of Gas
10. Long Distance Drunk
11. Shit Luck
12. Truckers Atlas
13. Polar Opposites
14. Bankrupt On Selling
15. Styrofoam Boots/It’s All Nice On Ice, Alright
For those of you who think that the only bands that came out of the Seattle area during the early 1990’s were grunge outfits like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Modest Mouse would like to have a word with you. Maybe the quirkiest band on earth had as many hits on their second album, The Lonesome Crowded West, as they did on their first…zero. And everyone seemed pretty fine with that, because that meant that Modest Mouse was still a well kept secret for their fans. On later albums, the band would embrace a more polished sound (still quirky), and would even have themselves a it in “Float On”. But not just yet.
On The Lonesome Crowded West, things are still very rough around the edges, and that’s just fine. “Trailer Trash” was the closest they got to a hit, and it wasn’t very close…but it was still terrific. The centerpiece turned out to be “Truckers Atlas” (“I’m going to Colorado to unload my head), a sprawling and desolate ten minute piece of beauty. The Lonesome Crowded West is a fine album, and there was still, hard to believe, even better things to come from Modest Mouse.
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SANTANA
SANTANA III
1971-COLUMBIA
Produced By SANTANA MUSICIANS
1. Batuka
2. No One To Depend On
3. Taboo
4. Toussaint L’Overture
5. Everybody’s Everything
6. Guajira
7. Jungle Strut
8. Everything’s Coming Our Way
9. Para Los Rumberos
10. Batuka (Live)
11. Jungle Strut (Live)
12. Gumbo (Live)
This is the third album by Santana, the last one to feature the Woodstock lineup, and maybe their best overall album. In fact, the first three Santana albums are essential, showcasing the enormous talent of Carlos Santana on exciting sets of songs. Santana III was the bands last #1 album until Supernatural in 1999, and features nine great tracks. “Everybody’s Everything”, “No One To Depend On”, “Everything’s Coming Our Way”, and the underrated “Guajira” are the standouts, but everything else is great as well. This is simply a great album by a band at their peak.
After Santana III, the band (and their sound) splintered. Santana soldiered on with a new lineup and voyaged into more of a jazz fusion sound. Guitarist Neal Schon (who, at 17, made his debut on this album) and keyboardist Greg Rolie formed Journey. Santana went a record 28 years between number one albums, but the playing of its namesake never faltered. Today, the first three albums (Santana, Abraxas, and III) still stand as an amazing achievement by one of rocks most exciting and creative bands.
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SANTANA
SANTANA III
1971-COLUMBIA
Produced By SANTANA MUSICIANS
1. Batuka
2. No One To Depend On
3. Taboo
4. Toussaint L’Overture
5. Everybody’s Everything
6. Guajira
7. Jungle Strut
8. Everything’s Coming Our Way
9. Para Los Rumberos
10. Batuka (Live)
11. Jungle Strut (Live)
12. Gumbo (Live)
This is the third album by Santana, the last one to feature the Woodstock lineup, and maybe their best overall album. In fact, the first three Santana albums are essential, showcasing the enormous talent of Carlos Santana on exciting sets of songs. Santana III was the bands last #1 album until Supernatural in 1999, and features nine great tracks. “Everybody’s Everything”, “No One To Depend On”, “Everything’s Coming Our Way”, and the underrated “Guajira” are the standouts, but everything else is great as well. This is simply a great album by a band at their peak.
After Santana III, the band (and their sound) splintered. Santana soldiered on with a new lineup and voyaged into more of a jazz fusion sound. Guitarist Neal Schon (who, at 17, made his debut on this album) and keyboardist Greg Rolie formed Journey. Santana went a record 28 years between number one albums, but the playing of its namesake never faltered. Today, the first three albums (Santana, Abraxas, and III) still stand as an amazing achievement by one of rocks most exciting and creative bands.
GREEN DAY
AMERICAN IDIOT
2004-REPRISE
Produced By ROB CAVALLO & GREEN DAY
1. American Idiot
2. Jesus Of Suburbia
3. Holiday
4. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams
5. Are We Waiting
6. St. Jimmy
7. Give Me Novacaine
8. She’s A Rebel
9. Extraordinary Girl
10. Letterbomb
11. Wake Me Up When September Ends
12. Homecoming
13. Whatsername
Man. I really wanted to hate this album. I mean, why on earth would a punk band that had seemingly lost their way all of a sudden decide they were The Who and make a freaking rock opera? Well, that’s what Green Day did. After the failure of the album Warning, they recorded Cigarettes And Valentines, only to have the master tapes stolen. They started over instead of re-recording the album, and American Idiot was born. The album marked the beginning of what has remained an extremely prolific period for the band, and although this is most definitely a Green Day album, it marks a new direction as far as their approach to songwriting.
American Idiot is the story of Jesus Of Suburbia. Along the way he meets St. Jimmy and a girl named Whatsername. The album is about rage versus love, and ends in a kind of tragedy. The fact that it ws later turned into a Broadway play is irrelevant: the story is passable, and there is enough catchy music here to keep you interested to the end. The title track, “Holiday”, “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams”, “Wake Me Up When September Comes”, and the two longer pieces, “Jesus Of Suburbia” and “Homecoming”, are all excellent. And as catchy as anything the band has ever done. The result is a really damn fine and listenable album. Green Day has proven with this album that they are nothing if not ambitious, and you’ve got to respect that in a climate where one album every four years is now the norm.
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AEROSMITH
GET A GRIP
1993-GEFFEN
Produced By BRUCE FAIRBAIRN
1. Intro
2. Eat The Rich
3. Get A Grip
4. Fever
5. Livin’ On The Edge
6. Flesh
7. Walk On Down
8. Shut Up And Dance
9. Cryin’
10. Gotta Love It
11. Crazy
12. Line Up
13. Amazing
14. Boogie Man
After the great Aerosmith comeback was completed with the release of the album Pump in 1989, the band entered a new era in 1993 with Get A Grip. Unfortunately, this new era consisted mainly of trying way too hard to be accepted by everyone, including the deteriorating pop mainstream. This direction has been useful to Aerosmith ever since, and it’s something they have been quite successful with. As for Get A Grip…with the grand trio of power ballad hits from the album (“Cryin’”, “Crazy”, and “Amazing”, the last of which is actually a pretty good song), one wonders if there should have also been one more called Suddenly.
For example, suddenly, Aerosmith has to rely on the top pop songwriters of the time to get a hit (well, exactly half of the songs on the album were released as singles)? Suddenly, Joe Perry needs to take a vocal (the exasperatingly dull “Walk On Down”…this is what Aerosmith sounds like without Steven Tyler…no thank you!)? Suddenly, Aerosmith is the king of breaking new young actresses via video (Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler)? And suddenly, Aerosmith sounds like they are going through the motions when doing what they do best…rocking. There are exactly three good songs here: “Amazing" (despite being a power ballad with strings, it’s still a really good song), and the rockers “Shut Up And Dance (co written by Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw?) and “Livin’ On The Edge”. Otherwise, a sad farewell to the best part of Aerosmith, and a hello to their pop star alter egos, who have unfortunately never left us.
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