The Romanelli Music Diary: Eventually

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Bone Swah


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  • #1431
  • Posted: 06/19/2021 22:31
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1138


The Trinity Session by Cowboy Junkies

COWBOY JUNKIES
THE TRINITY SESSION
1988 – RCA
Produced By PETER MOORE

1. Mining For Gold
2. Misguided Angel
3. Blue Moon Revisited (Song For Elvis)
4. I Don’t Get It
5. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
6. To Love Is To Bury
7. 200 More Miles
8. Dreaming My Dreams With You
9. Working On A Building
10. Sweet Jane
11. Postcard Blues
12. Walkin’ After Midnight

Cowboy Junkies may be the most depressing band ever…and that’s saying a lot. Three siblings and a pal from Canada, The Trinity Session is their second album, and the one that has their only real hit, a cover of “Sweet Jane” by The Velvet Underground. Their depressing, lo-fi almost alt-country sound was unique at the end of the eighties, but it’s proof that the genre was quite alive at that time. The Trinity Session was recorded in a church, in the round, live. It’s not their best work (that would be 1992’s Black Eyed Man), but it’s close, and it’s a great snapshot of what the band was all about. Outside of their native country, this was their most successful album, and contains many of their best original songs, along with some fine covers. “Sweet Jane” is the obvious highlight, but there are several other reasons to make this album your own.

Their take on the Hank Williams classic, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”, is somehow even sadder than Hank’s version. “Blue Moon Revisited” mixes the old standard with an original composition, and “Walkin’ After Midnight” was a hit for Patsy Cline in 1957. Most of the rest are original compositions, which has never been the Junkie’s strength. No bad songs, but nothing that really stands out. The vocals of Margo Timmins are haunting and downright depressing, and the mood never really varies from the low and lonesome. Still, this album has become highly influential over the years, and has been championed by artists like Ryan Adams and Natalie Merchant. It’s overall a very good album, well played and highly interesting to be sure. Just make sure, before you listen, that you have hidden all of your razorblades.


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Romanelli
Bone Swah


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  • #1432
  • Posted: 06/20/2021 19:16
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1139


Icky Thump by The White Stripes

THE WHITE STRIPES
ICKY THUMP
2007 – WARNER BROTHERS
Produced By JACK WHITE

1. Icky Thump
2. You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You’re Told)
3. 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues
4. Conquest
5. Bone Broke
6. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn
7. St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)
8. Little Cream Soda
9. Rag And Bone
10. I’m Slowly Turning Into You
11. A Martyr For My Love For You
12. Catch Hell Blues
13. Effect And Cause

The White Stripes were the great hope for what remained of blues rock throughout most of the decade of the 2000’s. A strange duo, they were once married (although the rumor was that they were siblings) with Jack taking Meg’s last name. When the Stripes got famous, they were already divorced, and although they were officially a band for over a decade, they always seemed doomed to split. Icky Thump was their sixth album, and although they didn’t break up until four years later, it was also their last. Widely considered to be a lesser work than Elephant, White Blood Cells and De Stijl, this album has enough to make it stand as right up there with their best work. Jack and Meg worked extremely well together, and Jack’s talent as a singer, arranger, writer and especially as a guitarist shines boldly through on this album. It’s powerful stuff.

The title track is amazing…but so is a lot more. “Rag And Bone” ranks among their best songs. “You Don’t Know What Love Is” and “300 M.P.H.” are great as well, and Jack’s guitar playing on songs like “Catch Hell Blues” is exceptional. Some different instrumentation spots the album, and they take chances on some tracks with unique sounds and fun takes on the blues. Icky Thump is an album that could have been made in the 70’s…and if it had been, it would have been a classic. It still is, although it is overshadowed a bit by previous albums. Don’t believe the lack of hype…Icky Thump is as good as anything the band ever did. It took four more years, but they broke up after this album, mainly due (according to Jack) to a lot of indifference about the band from Meg. Regardless, The White Stripes were excellent from start to finish, a rarity in the later rock world. This is a classic.


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Bone Swah


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  • #1433
  • Posted: 06/21/2021 19:43
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1140


Strangeways, Here We Come by The Smiths

THE SMITHS
STRANGEWAYS, HERE WE COME
1987 – SIRE
Produced By JOHNNY MARR, MORRISSEY & STEPHEN STREET

1. A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours
2. I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish
3. Death Of A Disco Dancer
4. Girlfriend In A Coma
5. Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before
6. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
7. Unhappy Birthday
8. Paint A Vulgar Picture
9. Death At One’s Elbow
10. I Won’t Share You

The question is…how phenomenally good would this album have been had The Smiths not been breaking up while recording it? Strangeways, Here We Come is their fourth, and unfortunately, final album. Morrissey and Johnny Marr, the two creative forces in The Smiths, were drifting apart faster than they could create the music for the album, and the result is a potentially fantastic set of songs being somewhat lost in the murk of a bad breakup. Too bad…because there is some stuff here that is great…and some tracks that could have been great. Morrissey’s lyrics are as excellent as they have ever been. And the playing of Johnny Marr is perfect, as usual, including some saxophones and synth work that marks a departure and growth for the band. Of special note are the tracks “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me” and “Unhappy Birthday”, which stand up against any of the best of the band’s works.

What keeps this from being among their best albums is what seems to be a lack of knowing exactly where the songs should go, something that they had always done well in the past. As a result, there are periods on the album where you find yourself just waiting…for…what? Sometimes, they just seem to be lost and waiting for someone to tell them where to go. Nothing here is bad, at all. It just seems to lack that assuredness, that confidence, that The Smiths had always had before. Maybe that was the impending breakup talking. But, whatever it is, it drags the album by a substantial amount, making parts of it difficult to listen to. The high points, however, make it well worth the effort. The band was already broken up by the time this album came out, and there has never been another one. Even though it’s not as strong as their best work, it’s still worth having.


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kokkinos





  • #1434
  • Posted: 06/22/2021 17:33
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Romanelli wrote:
The question is…how phenomenally good would this album have been had The Smiths not been breaking up while recording it?


That's definitely one way to look at it, though for me the even bigger question is how good would theirnext album have been? There seems to be some kind of consensus among their fanbase that it would have been their best, completing the transition that is already apparent here, as they showcase an extremely promising willingness to experiment and explore new paths. But then again, romanticising anything related to The Smiths is admittedly our strong suit, the truth is we'll never know.

Anyway, once more I had a great time reading your review, few things I enjoy as much as reading/writing/talking about The Smiths, not to mention listening to them.
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Bone Swah


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  • #1435
  • Posted: 06/22/2021 19:59
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kokkinos wrote:
That's definitely one way to look at it, though for me the even bigger question is how good would theirnext album have been? There seems to be some kind of consensus among their fanbase that it would have been their best, completing the transition that is already apparent here, as they showcase an extremely promising willingness to experiment and explore new paths. But then again, romanticising anything related to The Smiths is admittedly our strong suit, the truth is we'll never know.

Anyway, once more I had a great time reading your review, few things I enjoy as much as reading/writing/talking about The Smiths, not to mention listening to them.


That's an excellent point. It would surely have been a most interesting follow up. But we will never know...and yes, we can always dream!

Thanks again for reading!
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Bone Swah


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  • #1436
  • Posted: 06/22/2021 20:02
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1141


Already Free by The Derek Trucks Band

THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND
ALREADY FREE
2009 – COLUMBIA
Produced By DEREK TRUCKS

1. Down In The Flood
2. Something To Make You Happy
3. Maybe This Time
4. Sweet Inspiration
5. Don’t Miss Me
6. Get What You Deserve
7. Our Love
8. Down Don’t Bother Me
9. Days Is Almost Gone
10. Back Where I Started
11. I Know
12. Already Free

Derek Trucks may not be the son of drummer Butch Trucks of The Allman Brothers Band, but being his nephew is more than enough. The talent pool in the Trucks family runs deep (he is also related to former Major Leaguer Virgil Trucks), and Derek Trucks ended up with a whole lot of it. Widely considered to be one of the greatest guitar players in the world, Trucks has always kept himself busy, with his own band plus long stints with his wife in the Tedeschi-Trucks Band and with the Allmans until they hung it up in 2014. The Derek Trucks Band began in 1997, and Already Free is their ninth album. Influenced heavily by Elmore James and Duane Allman, Trucks plays up a storm here, but he doesn’t overdo it like he had in the past. He wanted this album to be more about songs than guitar flash, and he did succeed in that.

Trucks does not sing lead, so most of the vocals here are handled by the excellent Mike Mattison, with Doyle Bramhall II (“Maybe This Time” and “Our Love”) helping out, along with Susan Tedeschi on “Back Where I Started”. Trucks is a tasteful player, as Duane Allman was, and his slide work on “Maybe This Time” and “Sweet Inspiration”, in particular, is hypnotic. By 2009, this brand of Southern rock/blues was not going to sell very big with the kids, but Trucks, to his credit, hangs in there and does what he does best, and makes an album of a musical style that had supposedly run its course long ago sound fresh and new. Some of the songs lack punch, but Trucks breathes life into them whenever he plays. Overall, a sharp, well executed guitar album with some lesser material that Trucks valiantly attempts to save with his exceptional playing. Not quite great, but definitely worth taking for a spin.


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Romanelli
Bone Swah


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  • #1437
  • Posted: 06/23/2021 19:14
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1142


Transformer by Lou Reed

LOU REED
TRANSFORMER
1972 – RCA
Produced By DAVID BOWIE & MICK RONSON

1. Vicious
2. Andy’s Chest
3. Perfect Day
4. Hangin’ ‘Round
5. Walk On The Wild Side
6. Make Up
7. Satellite Of Love
8. Wagon Wheel
9. New York Telephone Conversation
10. I’m So Free
11. Goodnight Ladies

In 1972, Lou Reed might not have been a true star yet, but he was most certainly already a legend. After leaving the Velvet Underground with the release of Loaded in 1970, his first and self-titled album had consisted of Velvet’s leftovers, and, while very good, got about as much attention from listeners as his former band’s albums had. But, his legend status was already firmly in place, so it was not difficult to land David Bowie and Mick Ronson to produce Transformer at the height of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust persona. The result is Reed in the most glam of settings, and while it was not a path he would continue to follow, it was the one that made him a real star. Specifically, it was the album’s centerpiece, “Walk On The Wild Side”, that put Reed over the top. And deservedly so…”Wild Side” is the most unique and catchy song of his career, and it makes Transformer all worthwhile.

While there are some Velvet’s era songs here, Reed was starting to write for his own solo career. “Satellite Of Love” and “Andy’s Chest” were from the Loaded era, but the new songs, like “Wild Side” and “Vicious” stand up well on their own. The album has, understandably, a huge Bowie feel to it, with Ronson playing a large part of the instrumental tracks. It’s a setting that Reed doesn’t seem completely comfortable with…for the next album, Berlin, he went to a much heavier sound with Alice Cooper producer Bob Ezrin. Transformer is ultimately just that. It’s Reed transforming from the Velvets into his own performer and songwriter, and while it has its flaws, shows Reed emerging as a true star and not just that guy who sang “Sweet Jane”. Historically, a fine album. Not Reed in his most familiar setting, but an important piece of his career.


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Bone Swah


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  • #1438
  • Posted: 06/24/2021 20:27
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1143


The TV Album by "Weird Al" Yankovic

“WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC
THE TV ALBUM
1995 – ROCK N’ ROLL
Produced By AL YANKOVIC & RICK DERRINGER

1. Bedrock Anthem
2. I Can’t Watch This
3. Frank’s 2000” TV
4. Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies
5. Ricky
6. Talk Soup
7. Here’s Johnny
8. The Brady Bunch
9. Cable TV
10. I Lost On Jeopardy
11. UHF

“Weird Al” Yankovic has several career passions: music, humor, food and television. Historically, he has been at his best when working parodies about food (“My Balogna”, “Fat”). His songs about television, collected here on this album, have been mostly less successful. And when you work in comedy, your margin for error is slim. The songs on The TV Album show just how true that is. When he hits, he hits big, as on parodies “I Lost On Jeopardy” (of Greg Kihn’s “Jeopardy”), the I Love Lucy spoof “Ricky” (of Toni Basil’s “Mickey”) and “I Can’t Watch This” (of MC Hammer’s “You can’t Touch This”). But there are just too many lesser songs here to work over a full compilation, making this release, while thankfully short, not strong enough to stand on its own, as its counterpart The Food Album does. Too many channels with nothing on.

The low point of The TV Album are the four Yankovic originals. “Weird Al” takes himself seriously, but he has never been famous for his own compositions. You will want to have your finger on the trigger to skip over “Frank’s 2000” TV”, the tedious “Talk Soup”, “Cable TV”, and his failed movie theme “UHF”. The rest is hit and miss, depending on your comedic tastes…but singing the theme to The Beverly Hillbillies to the music of Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing” is just not “Weird Al” at his best. Nor is The Brady Bunch theme over “Safety Dance”. The great stuff, as always with Al, is great stuff. But there is just not enough of it here. Of course, there are many who disavow the need or importance of Yankovic in popular music…this does nothing to fight those arguments. Stick to pretty much any other compilation of his work…they are all better than this one.

(Yankovic pretty much controls his music videos on youtube, and doesn't allow them to be played on other websites. The song below is experienced much better with the video, which you can find on youtube.)


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Bone Swah


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  • #1439
  • Posted: 06/25/2021 20:15
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1144


Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles

THE BEATLES
SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
1967 – PARLOPHONE
Produced By GEORGE MARTIN

1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4. Getting Better
5. Fixing A Hole
6. She’s Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite
8. Within You Without You
9. When I’m Sixty-Four
10. Lovely Rita
11. Good Morning Good Morning
12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
13. A Day In The Life

After The Beatles retired from touring in 1967, they took three months off before hitting the studio with the idea of making an album about a fictitious band and the music they might make. Not as complicated as it sounds. The first two songs recorded for the album, “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane”, were released early because their label was pushing for new material, so they were not included. What did make the final album, every second of it, is the stuff of legend, and shows why this band is widely considered as the greatest of all time. Free from having to play live shows and free to experiment in the studio without having to worry about how the music would work on stage, (and with the genius of George Martin on their side), they made the best music of their career. Maybe the best album ever made by anyone. Ever.

Not much to say other than that. Paul McCartney, who came up with the idea, contributes the title track (a favorite of Jimi Hendrix), “Fixing A Hole”, and the lighter moments like “When I’m Sixty-Four” and “Lovely Rita”. George Harrison gets his one song…the brilliant sitar workout “Within You Without You”. The best songs come from John Lennon. “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite”, and the still amazing “A Day In The Life” show John at his creative peak. The songs all work. The sound is cohesive, and there had never been an album quite like this before. And it all still stands up today. The best work of their career. The best album of the 1960’s, and maybe the best album ever made…certainly one of the most influencial of the rock era. You have to have this album.


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Bone Swah


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  • #1440
  • Posted: 06/26/2021 19:30
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1145


Sky Blue Sky by Wilco

WILCO
SKY BLUE SKY
2007 – NONESUCH
Produced By WILCO

1. Either Way
2. You Are My Face
3. Impossible Germany
4. Sky Blue Sky
5. Side With The Seeds
6. Shake It Off
7. Please Be Patient With Me
8. Hate It Here
9. Leave Me (Like You Found Me)
10. Walken
11. What Light
12. On And On And On

It’s hard to believe the overall change in the sound of Wilco’s music between Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Sky Blue Sky. But, it’s all right there for you to hear (including A Ghost Is Born sandwiched in between the two albums). After experimenting with noise and other effects, they moved away from that in an extreme way, with Jeff Tweedy quoted as saying “I got nervous about the technology on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. If you need a certain amp or pedal to make a song what it is, it isn't a song.” So, Sky Blue Sky is more about songs and traditional rock instrumentation, and less about effects and noise and musical experimentation. The results are interesting. Not so much better, but it is a new direction for the band, as they continue to move away from their alt-country roots and into yet more strange territory.

Sky Blue Sky is pleasant enough, but it doesn’t necessarily work. You’ll find a surprisingly large amount of guitar soloing here, which sounds great, but not such a great fit for 2007. Tweedy’s vocals sound strained, as if he’s singing outside of his range and his comfort zone. “Impossible Germany” is the high point, although the guitar work by Nels Cline on tracks like “Side With The Seeds” and “You Are My Face” is excellent as well. But overall, Wilco seemed to be a band floundering, in search of a real identity, and trying maybe a bit too hard to be relevant and finding their true sound. Wilco has never really stuck with a sound from album to album. This may be a good thing in some ways, but it can also make them seem lost and unable to establish who they really are. Sky Blue Sky is pleasant, but not a whole lot more than that.


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