GREG GARING
ALONE
1997 – PALADIN / REVOLUTION
Produced By DAVID KAHNE
1. My Love Is Real
2. Safe Within Your Arms
3. Say What You Mean
4. Alone
5. Dream Too Real To Hold
6. Walk Away From Me
7. How The Road Unwinds
8. Where The Bluegrass Grows
9. Don’t Cry Baby
10. All My Stars Are In Your Eyes
11. Fallen Angel
The question is easy. Who the hell is Greg Garing? The answer is not so easy. Greg Garing grew up in Pennsylvania, and by way of Bill Monroe, discovered a love of country and bluegrass music. By the 90’s, he was an up and coming country star. More than that…he was seen by some as the future of country. He put together a kick ass band, and was on the verge of being signed and shot to stardom. And then…Garing was floored by the music of Garbage. The band with Shirley Manson. He suddenly found his musical direction shifted dramatically. Garing gave up Nashville to pursue his new found love of electronica and rock mixed into his bluegrass roots. The result is Alone. Never the debut album that Garing was supposed to make. And Garing, as a result, never became a star. But here it is…world, meet Garing.
The results are interesting. You can very much hear his country background, but this is, in no way, a country record. The title track is a solid dance groove with a fiddle swirling around it. “Dream Too Real Too Hold” is a straight country song, twisted by electronics into something strange and unique. Garing’s vision is a solid one, and when this works, it’s pretty amazing. But it doesn’t always work. Alone has moments of greatness, and it has moments of pure misses. Had this been a consistent album, it might have been viewed as great, and it may have been the start of something new. As it is, it’s an interesting and fairly twisted soup of country, rock and electronica. Kudos to Greg Garing for trying this, and for making it succeed as well as it did. A strange oddball of an album that’s worth at least a listen.
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FIONA APPLE
TIDAL
1996 – COLUMBIA
Produced By ANDREW SLATER
1. Sleep To Dream
2. Sullen Girl
3. Shadowboxer
4. Criminal
5. Slow Like Honey
6. The First Taste
7. Never Is A Promise
8. The Child Is Gone
9. Pale September
10. Carrion
Remember that girl in high school…the one who sat by herself all the time and never smiled? The one who was always writing things and staring you down like you were the scum of the earth? The one who was kinda hot, but who also kinda scared the crap out of you? Ever wonder what became of that girl? Here she is…she made a record. Fiona Apple was only 17 when she wrote these songs, and 19 when Tidal, her debut album, came out. Her talent is undeniable. She’d already been playing piano her whole life, and she’d been writing songs since long before puberty kicked in. Tidal is a beast of a debut. The promise in this is massive, and its best moments are thrilling. The comparisons to her fellow angry female stars Alanis Morissette and Tori Amos are undeniable. And unfortunate…because in the end, Apple may be the most talented of the three. And the one who came out the least on top.
The best songs here are amazing. “Criminal” announces that she’s been a bad, bad girl…and you have no choice but to believe her. “Shadowboxer” and “Sleep To Dream” were also hits, and made her a household name. Probably well before she was ready for it. The downside of Tidal is that it’s pretty depressing stuff without a whole lot of upbeat material to offset it. You can only be stared at and scowled at for so long before it starts to get uncomfortable. But Tidal is, in the end, a fine album. You’ll like it in smaller doses, and you’ll want to hear her better (and much more mature) follow up, When The Pawn…, where she actually smiles for the cover. Tidal is powerful yet tiring, entertaining yet unrelentingly dense. It’s the best way to become acquainted with the queen of all things sullen. The best description I’ve ever heard of Tidal is “sullenly miserable”. You’d better believe it.
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GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPORER
F♯A♯∞
1997 – CONSTELLATION
Produced By DON WILKIE, IAN ILAVSKY & GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPORER
1. The Dead Flag Blues
2. East Hastings
3. Providence
How incredible this band is cannot be overstated. This album (the title is pronounced F Sharp, A Sharp, Infinity) is the first by this Canadian band, and it is, simply, breathtaking. Post rock is mostly the use of traditional rock instruments in making experimental, non rock music. This album makes that happen in ways that will leave you stunned. There is a lot of the spaciousness that Pink Floyd was able to capture in their longer pieces on Wish You Were Here and Animals, and they are actually able to expand on those ideas. This is mainly instrumental music…there are no traditional vocals here. There are landscapes, and plenty of audio scenery. If you are ever in need of an album to chill out to with headphones on, this would be the one to do that with. The music here is dark, and it is, at the same time, lovely.
The three tracks here are long…the shortest (“The Dead Flag Blues” is over 16 minutes, and “Providence” clocks in at just under the 30 minute mark. Each track consists of multiple movements, and each is perfect. Along with bass, drums and guitar, the album also features the use of strings, banjo, and French horn. “The Dead Flag Blues” opens with a cryptic spoken word intro, and plays in the same way as “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”. The middle section of “East Hastings” breaks out and rocks before easing back into a spacious and wondrous collage of sound. And “Providence” is just masterful…the cello solo alone is perfection. The original vinyl version is very different from this, the considerably longer CD release, but either one is essential. Want a perfect introduction to the world of post rock? This would be the place.
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BLAZE FOLEY
LIVE AT THE AUSTIN OUTHOUSE
1989 – LOST ART
NO PRODUCTION CREDIT
1. Oh Darlin’
2. Clay Pigeons
3. If I Could Only Fly
4. Small Town Hero
5. Blaze Intro: Media And Dead Fish
6. New Slow Boat To China
7. Our Little Town
8. Officer Norris
9. Christian Lady Talkin’ On A Bus
10. Picture Cards Can’t Picture You
11. Blaze Intro: Regarding Planning Calendars
12. Election Day
13. Faded Loves And Memories
14. Blaze Intro: Looking For Ed
15. Oooh Love
The history of country music is filled with stories of bigger than life characters. Blaze Foley is one of the most legendary and lesser known of them all. A great songwriter, he was friends with Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams, and revered by the likes of Merle Haggard. His first album was lost when it was taken in a bust by the DEA. His second album was stolen from a station wagon he had been living in, and his third was lost for years before being discovered in an old car. He slept on couches, and he played this show on a borrowed guitar. Done mostly solo, this set is a stunning and beautiful document of the talent that Foley possessed. A little piano, a little fiddle, some harmonies…the rest is all Blaze Foley. There’s not a weak song to be found, and despite the less than great packaging, it’s a definite keeper.
“If I Could Only Fly” was a hit for Haggard, and “Clay Pigeons” was later recorded by John Prine, and “Election Day” by Lyle Lovett. But these live versions from 1988 are really the ones to have. They give a small hint of the career that Foley could have…should have had. But it was not meant to be. Four weeks after this album was recorded, Foley was shot to death by a man trying to steal a friend’s government entitlement checks. He was just 39 years old. This album is almost all that remains of his recorded legacy. This is as outlaw as country gets, and as alt as it will ever be. Blaze Foley was one of the greats, tragically unheard and unknown, even in death. Live At The Austin Outhouse was supposed to have raised money for the homeless…instead, the proceeds were used to pay for Foley’s funeral. Buy it now, and the money goes to where Blaze originally wanted it to go. A true hidden gem of an album.
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THE NATIONAL
ALLIGATOR
2005 – BEGGAR’S BANQUET
Produced By PETER KATIS & PAUL MAHAJAN
1. Secret Meeting
2. Karen
3. Lit Up
4. Looking For Astronauts
5. Daughters Of The SoHo Riots
6. Baby, We’ll Be Fine
7. Friend Of Mine
8. Val Jester
9. All The Wine
10. Abel
11. The Geese Of Beverly Road
12. City Middle
13. Mr. November
This is kinda how it’s supposed to work. The National came out of Cincinnati, which is one of the quirky music capitols of the US, with a pair of self released albums that did little as far as sales, but got the attention of Beggar’s Banquet Records. And so it came to be that this indie, alternative, post punk and folkie little rock band recorded and released Alligator, which marked the beginning of a great run of success for The National. Alligator is a great place to start with this band, as it sets the stage for the albums that would follow quite nicely. Matt Berninger is a quirky enough singer, but you’ll warm up to him quickly enough. The guitars are played by brothers Aaron and Bryce Dessner, and the rhythm section consists of brothers Scott and Bryan Devendorf. Very much a family dynamic, which has so far served them very well.
Alligator is highlighted by songs like “Secret Meeting”, “Lit Up”, and Abel”, but the rest is also quite fine. It sometimes gets lost in the shadow of the next album, Boxer, and the one after that, High Violet, but it really shouldn’t. Alligator stands up just fine on its own, a great bridge from an unknown band to one that would quickly become a critical and fan favorite. This is the album that made all of what The National has done since possible, and so while it may have a flaw or two, it’s well deserving of your attention. So, yeah…this is kinda how it’s supposed to work. A good and promising band develops its way via songwriting and recording into a great band. That’s The National. Which makes them, in my book, quite a success story. They also sound great, and you never get tired of them. Rock on, National. Rock on.
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KODE9 & THE SPACEAPE
MEMORIES OF THE FUTURE
2006 – HYPERDUB
Produced By STEVE GOODMAN & STEPHEN SAMUEL GORDON
1. Glass
2. Victims
3. Backward
4. Nine
5. Curious
6. Portal
7. Addiction
8. Sine
9. Correction
10. Kingstown
11. Nine Samurai
12. Bodies
13. Lime
14. Quantum
When dubstep was born in the UK in the late 1990’s, Kode9 (Steve Goodman) and The Spaceape (Stephen Samuel Gordon) were at the forefront. Memories Of The Future is the first of two collaboration albums from the pair, showcasing their strengths and combining two of the most respected styles and sounds in electronic music. The teamwork here is intriguing. Goodman provides the music, which is sparse and mostly not dance music, which is good. Gordon supplies the vocals, all spoken word. At times he raps, but he mostly just speaks over a spooky musical landscape. And that works, for the most part, very, very well. Dubstep is not droning dance pop with a never ending beat…the drums are sparse, making more room for instrumental experimentation. These two elements make room for great possibilities…
…which this pair mostly delivers. The better tracks here (“Correction” is a great example) are the ones which Goodman plays dark, almost scary, and uncluttered music, and Gordon supplies a spooky, low and less than wordy narrative. This pair tries it in several different ways, many of which work. Some of which does not, but it’s more satisfying than it isn’t, more excellent than frustrating. And while this album does work as a whole, it actually works a lot better taken in single track doses. But, overall, this is a good pairing. Kode9 has the tracks…the musical know how. And The Spaceape has some really interesting vocal ideas. He drones a little, but not too much. Overall, this is a good gateway into electronic music. It’s not all beat it to death techno, after all. The Spaceape (Gordon) died of cancer in 2014.
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TRAVELING WILBURYS
TRAVELING WILBURYS VOL. 3
1990 – WILBURY
Produced By SPIKE & CLAYTON WILBURY
1. She’s My Baby
2. Inside Out
3. If You Belonged To Me
4. The Devil’s Been Busy
5. 7 Deadly Sins
6. Poor House
7. Where Were You Last Night?
8. Cool Dry Place
9. New Blue Moon
10. You Took My Breath Away
11. Wilbury Twist
When Roy Orbison died after the first Wilbury’s album, something was truly missing from this supergroup. Actually, a lot was missing. The songs here are faster, leaning more towards a 50’s style of rock and roll than the first album. But the songs seem to lack the personality that was there before. Also seemingly missing is George Harrison. His lead guitar is there in spots, but you rarely hear his vocals here. The bulk of the lead singing and songwriting falls on Bob Dylan, with Tom Petty taking a small handful of turns late in the album. The four remaining members (Harrison, Dylan, Petty and Jeff Lynne) play and sing easily together…but it seems to be just not quite the same without Orbison, to whom the album is dedicated. It makes Vol. 3 kind of a sad affair…which I’m pretty sure was not their intention at all.
Vol. 3 is their second album, by the way (Harrison thought Vol. 3 would be a great name). “She’s My Baby” (which features Gary Moore on guitar) and “Inside Out” were the hits, and the highlights. Dylan shines with four lead vocals: his songs fit very nicely with the group. But much of this just seems to lack the magic of that first record. Aside from Dylan, they didn’t seem as interested in making this work. The Lynne-Harrison production is fine, and the album has a bright and cheery sound. But it’s just not the same. It seems to be heart. And the fact that there’s nothing here as great as “Handle With Care” or “End Of The Line”…or even “Tweeter And The Monkey Man” or “Last Night”. Hits, baby. They seemed to know that the real magic was gone. The Wilburys never recorded again, and with the deaths of Orbison, Harrison and Petty, it’s pretty safe to say that we’ve heard the last of one of the most fun supergroups of all time. This is good stuff. It’s just not great.
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ANNA NALICK
WRECK OF THE DAY
2005 – COLUMBIA
Produced By ERIC ROSSE, CHRISTOPHER THORNE & BRAD SMITH
1. Breathe (2AM)
2. Citadel
3. Paper Bag
4. Wreck Of The Day
5. Satellite
6. Forever Love (Digame)
7. In The Rough
8. In My Head
9. Bleed
10. Catalyst
11. Consider This
Singer / songwriter Anna Nalick grew up in California, and was getting ready for college when her demo tape was given to Christopher Thorne and Brad Smith, who were now doing production after the end of their band, Blind Melon. The newly discovered singer was signed to Columbia, and her debut album, Wreck Of The Day, became a modest adult contemporary hit. Her one big shot at fame was “Breathe (2AM)”, a soft and safe hit song that almost made the American top 40, but was big on the AC charts. Two more songs were released as singles, “In The Rough” and “Wreck Of The Day”, but neither had the impact of “Breathe”, and Nalick began her Blind Melon-esque journey to one hit wonder status. Her next album took six years and a change from a major to a smaller label to come out, and her momentum was gone. Nothing from her for yet another six years, and now she’s a member of the “who was that?” club.
But Wreck Of The Day is not a bad album. It’s not great by any means, but, thanks to her rocker producers, there’s some life in many of the songs. The best parts of this album actually are more upbeat more than her hit, and even though she doesn’t rock so much herself, it does have a few moments. Trouble is, just when the album picks up momentum, it’s killed by a soft and safe ballad. And Nalick as a songwriter just doesn’t have the chops to pull it all off. The end result is that Wreck Of The Day, and Anna Nalick, are ultimately not very memorable. The album sounds okay, but it doesn’t really stick with you. And it doesn’t really leave you wanting more from her, which is probably why her career stalled so quickly. Nalick almost made it. She did, indeed, have a hit that made it to numerous TV shows and films, and saw 2 releases, but it wasn’t enough to bridge the gap to much of anything else.
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AGENTS OF GOOD ROOTS
NEEDLE AND THREAD
1998 – ATO RECORDS
Produced By STEVE FISK
1. Gotta Move
2. Jakob
3. Radio King
4. Meet Me On Main Street
5. What I Need
6. Innocent Days
7. Shotdown
8. The Blinds
9. Beautiful Genius
10. John Brown
11. Everyday
Agents Of Good Roots was on the fast track to become one of America’s great answers to the success of the Dave Matthews Band. And for good reason…their two independent releases showed plenty of promise, and the major label debut, One By One, was a joy of an album, showcasing the band’s fine chops and songwriting, even incorporating a cool Black Crowes reference. Needle And Thread was a highly anticipated follow up, expected to be the disc that made the Agents a household name. Alas…this record completely failed to deliver. So much so that the band never recorded another album, and were broken up by 2006. They went from big time promise to nowhere in the span of the time it takes to listen to Needle And Thread all the way through one time. So, the question would then be…what the hell happened?
The band found the most inopportune time to run out of its most valuable commodity…songs. While One By One was loaded with clever and catchy tunes, Needle And Thread contains not a single song that will make you remember them. The playing is fine…the songwriting is not. Some of the tracks, like “The Blinds”, will make you feel almost sorry for them. The band sounds so uncomfortable performing this material that you can’t really blame them for calling it a day. Where they once rocked, now they plod and jam. Where once the lyrics flowed easily, now they sound forced. And even the lead vocals vocals sound forced and uncomfortable. The best track here, “John Brown”, would have fit well on One By One, but the rest is just not up to the standard they set previously. Too bad, because this was once a band worth keeping an eye on. Unfortunately, it never came to fruition for them.
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THE WATERBOYS
FISHERMAN’S BLUES
1988 – CHRYSALIS
Produced By MIKE SCOTT, VINNIE KILDUFF, BOB JOHNSTON & JOHN DUNFORD
1. Fisherman’s Blues
2. We Will Not Be Lovers
3. Strange Boat
4. World Party
5. Sweet Thing
6. Jimmy Hickey’s Waltz
7. And A Bang On The Ear
8. Has Anybody Here Seen Hank
9. When Will We Be Married
10. When Ye Go Away
11. Dunford’s Fancy
12. The Stolen Child
13. This Land Is Your Land
Gotta give a bit of a prelude on this one. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, but it’s kind of slipped below my radar for way too long. Listening to this brings to mind the realization that in the last 20 some plus years, I have been in only 2 relationships. Both were women I married, and both of whom I have divorced. Through my second marriage, I realize that I did not listen to this album in its entirety even one time. The girl before those two…I sadly don’t even remember her name…was a tall, sweet girl from New Zealand with an amazing accent and the most wonderful wild long curly hair in the universe. I remember two other things about her. That I can’t remember why we didn’t work out. And that she turned me on to Fisherman’s Blues.
But, enough about my love life. Fisherman’s Blues is the fourth Waterboys album, and marks a complete change in sound from straight ahead rock to a wonderful mix of traditional Irish and Scottish music, folk, country, and a little rock edge thrown in for good measure. And it’s truly a perfect endeavor. From the intro on the title track, when the fiddle swoops in with one of the greatest riffs of the decade, to the ending snippet of the band singing Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” with their own local places inserted, this album is perfect and special. The title track alone is worth having…but then you have the added bonus of songs like “Sweet Thing” (An Astral Weeks Van Morrison cover), “World Party” (co-written by former member Karl Wallinger, the title of which became his own band’s name), and joyous romps like “And A Bang On The Ear” and “When Will We Be Married".
The Waterboys had plenty of material to choose from. Mike Scott’s claims that they had over 100 songs available is proven by the stunning overkill of the 7 disc Fisherman’s Blues Collector’s Edition from 2006. What eventually made the album is all great stuff. It’s one of those discs that will always bring a smile, and that you’ll always welcome hearing. It sounds terrific from start to finish, and it will never disappoint you. This is a classic, must have album from the eighties. The band (which has always been Scott and a revolving cast of players: there have been more than 70 members) is still active today, either as The Waterboys or as Mike Scott. And they have made a lot of really great music over the years…but Fisherman’s Blues is a one of a kind, special album. So, I thank you, my long lost girl from New Zealand. I will always be in your debt for the gift of Fisherman’s Blues.
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