RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK
1991 – WARNER BROS.
Produced By RICK RUBIN
1. The Power Of Equality
2. If You Have To Ask
3. Breaking The Girl
4. Funky Monks
5. Suck My Kiss
6. I Could Have Lied
7. Mellowship Slinky In B Major
8. The Righteous & The Wicked
9. Give It Away
10. Blood Sugar Sex Magik
11. Under The Bridge
12. Naked In The Rain
13. Apache Rose Peacock
14. The Greeting Song
15. My Lovely Man
16. Sir Psycho Sexy
17. They’re Red Hot
My opinion about this band has never been a popular one…but I stand by my words. Only thirteen studio albums in 20 years seems to suggest that when they do put one out, it should be a special thing. But what this band does has never seemed to click with me. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is their fifth album, and remains , for better or worse, their best album. And I know fans who drool at the mention of this record. It brought the band to the mainstream, and gave them hits with “Under The Bridge” and “Give It Away” and “Suck My Kiss”. New guitarist John Frusciante seemed to be the only guitarist in the bands history to understand the funk-metal-alternative thing that they were going for. And there are some fine songs here…as fine as they would ever put to album.
However, this album is almost twice as long as it should have been, and the band didn’t have nearly enough ideas to fill 74 minutes on a single disc. So it gets dull and same-sounding in spots. You could scrape about half an hour off of this and come up with a terrific effort. Songs like “Breaking The Girl” and “If You Have To Ask” are really good, and pave the way for bigger success (and lesser albums) in the band’s future. Once you figure out which songs to skip, this is a very worthwhile album. And it’s as close as they ever would get to making their brand of funkiness really work. If you’re a fan, then this is a must have. If not…it’s at least worth checking out for the hits.
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JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
SURREALISTIC PILLOW
1967 – RCA
Produced By RICK JARRARD
1. She Has Funny Cars
2. Somebody To Love
3. My Best Friend
4. Today
5. Comin’ Back To Me
6. 3/5 Of A Mile In 10 Seconds
7. D.C.B.A. – 25
8. How Do You Feel
9. Embryonic Journey
10. White Rabbit
11. Plastic Fantastic Lover
12. In The Morning
13. J.P.P. McStep B Blues
14. Go To Her (Version Two)
15. Come Back Baby
16. Somebody To Love (Mono Single version)
17. White Rabbit (Mono Single Version)
Before Jefferson Airplane began its long decline into the Starship cringeworthy world of Knee Deep In The Hoopla and “We Built This City”, long after Airplane artists like Marty Balin and Paul Kantner were replaced by the likes of corporate rock poster child Mickey Thomas, they were THE center of the counterculture of San Francisco in the late sixties. A conglomerate of artists, the Airplane was interesting and important and fun, and they could absolutely play. Surrealistic Pillow is seen as their masterpiece, but you have to dig into this one. It’s not all Grace Slick and “Somebody To Love” and “White Rabbit” (both exceptional tracks). There is depth to this album, and the contributions of the others are more than notable.
Marty Balin was always a master of ballads, and “Today” is maybe his best song. Kantner and Jorma Kaukonen and Skip Spence contribute also. The addition of Slick for this, their second album, was the missing link, and the pair of songs she brought with her put them over the top. But you also have gems like “She Has Funny Cars” and “Plastic Fantastic Lover”. Not everything has aged as well, but most of it has, and this is the best way to experience what was, for a few years, one of America’s best bands. This is what the big deal was in 1967 musically, and it’s beautiful stuff. Skip anything with the word Starship in it…this is what you would want to hear. Accept no substitutes.
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CRASH KINGS
2009 – CUSTARD / UNIVERSAL MOTOWN
Produced By DAVE SARDY
1. Mountain Man
2. 1985
3. It’s Only Wednesday
4. Come Away
5. Non-Believer
6. 14 Arms
7. Raincoat
8. You Got Me
9. Saving Grace
10. My Love
Crash Kings is an American rock band that has no guitar players. They were discovered by pop songwriter Linda Perry, and released their self titled debut album in 2009. The album is surprisingly heavier than you would expect (without guitars), as keyboardist and singer Antonio Beliveau utilizes a clavinet and other keyboard effects to simulate guitar. This also stands as the most interesting thing about Crash Kings. They came in like gangbusters, gaining a number one hit with “Mountain Man”, but subsequent singles did not fare as well. And before long, Crash Kings were all but forgotten. They’ve been called a cross between Ben Folds Five (for the piano) and The White Stripes (for getting loud, occasionally, I guess…). This album is nowhere as good as either band.
And while this isn’t your typical piano rock band (like, say, Folds or Keane), they also lacked the ability to hold much interest outside of “Mountain Man”. There was a second album…Dark Of The Daylight was released in 2013, and went nowhere. So, basically, this band hasn’t been really heard from in a decade, and even then it was quickly over. So, this is the best you’re going to get from them. “14 Arms” and “You Got Me” are pretty good, and there’s nothing here that’s actually bad…there just isn’t enough of what was good about them to make this a necessary album to have. The whole idea of piano without guitar in a rock setting seems a bit too gimmicky and limited to me anyway. This one is simply average.
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INXS
LISTEN LIKE THIEVES
1985 – ATLANTIC
Produced By CHRIS THOMAS
1. What You Need
2. Listen Like Thieves
3. Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)
4. Shine Like It Does
5. Good + Bad Times
6. Biting Bullets
7. This Time
8. Three Sisters
9. Same Direction
10. One X One
11. Red Red Sun
INXS had some hits from their first four albums…songs like “The One Thing” and “Don’t Change” and “Original Sin” showed that this was a band on the rise. We just needed to be patient with them. In 1985, INXS finally found their sound on their fifth album, Listen Like Thieves. And it starts off strong. “What You Need”. “Listen Like Thieves” and “Kiss The Dirt” are all excellent rock songs that showed what their future had in store for them. But then Listen Like Thieves suddenly, with “Shine Like It Does”, slips into the ordinary. From that point on, only “This Time” seems to have any kind of life to it. “One X One” comes close, but the rest is dull and lifeless. Fortunately, the wave of their future was in the better tracks.
What INXS did here was to get heavier. Singer Michael Hutchence grasped the reins on the more rock oriented tracks and started down the path to being one of the better frontmen of the eighties. This album led directly to their even bigger successes with the albums Kick and X, and began their chart dominance not only in their native Australia, but in the rest of the world as well. The roots of that huge success can be found here, on Listen Like Thieves. But you’ll want to keep your finger on that skip button, particularly for surprisingly weaker tracks like “Shine Like It Does” and the snoozy instrumental, “Three Sisters”. The hits here are all worth having…the other tracks are simply not. It’s okay. Bigger and better things were on the way.
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ENGINE DOWN
2004 – LOOKOUT
Produced By BRIAN MCTERNAN
1. Rogue
2. And Done
3. Control Group
4. Cover
5. In Turn
6. Long The Waiting
7. Too Much Of A Good Things
8. 101
9. The Walk In
10. Standby
11. Well Read
12. Etcetera
Engine Down came out of Richmond, Virginia in 1995. They were part of the post hardcore scene in Washington D.C. that included bands like The Dismemberment Plan and Faraquet. They were also considered an emo band. Guitarist and frontman Keeley Davis played for a time with the better known Richmond band At The Drive In, as well as with about a half a dozen other bands that released albums. Engine Down released four albums between 1997 and 2004 (this was the last of the four) before splitting up in 2005, largely unnoticed. There’s not a lot wrong with this self titled effort, but there’s also not too much that’s right, either. Were they out of ideas, or were they simply bored? It’s kind of hard to tell.
Engine Down does rock…and there are spots where they sound pretty great. But the songs, in the end, are ordinary. Nothing here stands out and makes you want to play that one again, but nothing will make you reach for the skip button, either. This record will grow on you, albeit slowly. Question is, do you have the patience for it? This is at least worth a listen, to see if the music works for you. But I don’t think that all the repeat listens in the world would make this one of your all time favorites. There’s just not enough to hang your hat on. I would recommend this to fans of the scene in D.C. where they came from. There have been no hints or rumors of a reunion, so this will likely remain their swan song.
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BOWLING FOR SOUP
A HANGOVER YOU DON’T DESERVE
2004 – JIVE
Produced By BUTCH WALKER, RUSS-T COBB, JARET REDDICK & CASEY DIIORIO
1. Almost
2. Trucker Hat
3. 1985
4. Get Happy
5. Ohio (Come Back To Texas)
6. Ridiculous
7. Shut Up And Smile
8. Last Call Casualty
9. Next Ex-Girlfriend
10. A-Hole
11. My Hometown
12. Smoothie King
13. Sad Sad Situation
14. Really Might Be Gone
15. Down For The Count
16. Two-Seater
17. Friends O’ Mine
43. Ohio (Reprise)
44. Belgium (Boy Band Remix)
Bowling For Soup comes to us from Wichita Falls, Texas, and are famous primarily for two things. They are often mistaken as the band that recorded the hit “Stacy’s Mom” (that was Fountains Of Wayne), and the big hit off of their fifth album, A Hangover You Don’t Deserve, “1985”. They are a Pop Punk band, a term that should not exist in a perfect world. They are a step below the songwriting abilities of Fountains Of Wayne, and a step above the crassness and juvenile content of bands like Jimmy Eat World. But just barely. They rhyme Texas with breastes, they sing almost exclusively about drinking and high school, and outside of the almost endearing nostalgia of “1985”, they have not much else to offer.
“1985” is their best song. It mentions Madonna and a bunch of MTV videos. They seem to be putting the subject of the song down for being stuck in the past while for the rest of the album, they look back and try to live in their adolescent past. It’s as deep as these guys get. The rest is bland pop disguised as punk behind loud guitars. There are some hooks…just don’t listen to closely to the lyrics. There are also 26 blank tracks after “Friends O’ Mine”, which I guess was supposed to be a cool thing to do. Bowling For Soup has continued on, but they don’t seem to have grown up much or added any depth to what they do, releasing albums called Sorry For Partyin’, Lunch, Drunk, Love and 2016’s Drunk Dynasty. Their latest? Pop Drunk Snot Bread. Ick. I suggest passing on this one.
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SURVIVOR
EYE OF THE TIGER
1982 – SCOTTI BROS.
Produced By FRANKIE SULLIVAN
1. Eye Of The Tiger
2. Feels Like Love
3. Hesitation Dance
4. The One That Really Matters
5. I’m Not That Man Anymore
6. Children Of The Night
7. Ever Since The World Began
8. American Heartbeat
9. Silver Girl
In 1982, Sylvester Stallone approached Survivor and asked them to write a song for the upcoming film Rocky III. The result was the song “Eye Of The Tiger”, which would prove to be the band’s biggest hit. They also recorded their third album with the song as its title, securing them their biggest selling album. You might think of Survivor as a one hit wonder, but they actually had a few hits during the eighties, and there were three other singles released from this album. But in the end, Survivor will always be remembered for the song that put them over the top…and for that same song that made them into the band that did that Rocky song. But the truth is, “Eye Of The Tiger” was, by far, the most interesting thing they ever did.
The other three singles here are not nearly as catchy as the title track, and for a hard rock band, Survivor comes across as somewhat bland. The weakest track here is the minor hit “American Heartbeat” (yeah…I don’t remember that one either), but nothing is actually bad. It’s just there. Still, this is their most popular album, and it’s their best one. They split at the end of the 80’s then regrouped, but have only released one album since 1988…they’re still touring, though. Also of note: original member and “Eye Of The Tiger” songwriter Jim Peterik was first a member of the band The Ides Of March who had a huge hit in 1970 with “Vehicle”. Peterik is back with the Ides, who have been at it since 1966.
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SUFJAN STEVENS
CARRIE & LOWELL
2015 – ASTHMATIC KITTY
Produced By THOMAS BARTLETT
1. Death With Dignity
2. Should Have Known Better
3. All Of Me Wants All Of You
4. Drawn To The Blood
5. Eugene
6. Fourth Of July
7. The Only Thing
8. Carrie & Lowell
9. John My Beloved
10. No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross
11. Blue Bucket Of Gold
Just…wow. Those who were expecting another electronic based album from Sufjan Stevens were in for a massive and beautiful surprise. Carrie And Lowell is his seventh album, and it’s an acoustic masterpiece. Loaded with lovely, sparse, emotional and personal songs, this lo-fi record is one of the best albums of the decade. Stevens was grieving over the loss of his mother (Carrie), and wrote the songs based largely on his memories of growing up with her and his stepfather (Lowell). His mother lived a tortured life. She was depressed, schizophrenic, and these pains left their mark on Stevens. Some of our greatest music comes from dealing with pain and loss. This is a perfect example of that.
These songs are painful and brilliant. The best tracks are “Should Have Known Better”, “Fourth Of July”, and especially “Death With Dignity”. There is not a weak one here. And there is not a moment that will fail to pull at your heartstrings. Carrie & Lowell is why Sufjan Stevens is held in such high regard. This is his masterpiece. It’s sad and melancholy and it’s simply tremendous. This is why I buy albums…to be taken in by works as deeply emotional as this is. Stevens has had a great career, but for me, nothing by him tops this album. If you think that there’s nothing worth hearing in this decade that leaves the classic rock generation behind, then I suggest you go out and find Carrie & Lowell. You are most welcome.
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CHRIS STAPLETON
FROM A ROOM, VOLUME 2
2017 – MERCURY NASHVILLE
Produced By DAVE COBB & CHRIS STAPLETON
1. Millionaire
2. Hard Livin’
3. Scarecrow In The Garden
4. Nobody’s Lonely Tonight
5. Tryin’ To Untangle My Mind
6. A Simple Song
7. Midnight Train To Memphis
8. Drunkard’s Prayer
9. Friendship
From A Room Volume 2 is the third solo album by Chris Stapleton, and his second of two From A Room discs from 2017. After leaving The Steeldrivers, Stapleton hit it big with Traveler in 2015, a record that I felt lacked the immediacy and the soulfulness that he had shown before. The From A Room records went a long way to restoring my faith in his career, however. And even though I still believe that his music severely misses the input of Steeldrivers fiddle player Tammy Rogers, it is evident here that he is finding his way back to that level of excellence. The songs here are, for the most part, much better, and Stapleton does more of what he does best…he cuts loose with that powerhouse voice of his.
The best parts of this are the moments where he cuts loose. He does so much more than he did on Traveler. “Hard Livin’” , “Scarecrow In The Garden”, and “Friendship" find him tearing through the instrumental tracks like the freight train that he can be, and while mellower, “Nobody’s Lonely Tonight” and the hit, the wonderful Kevin Welch song “Millionaire”, both work very well, the real highlight is when he goes back to the older days with a re-recording of the excellent Steeldrivers song, “Midnight Train To Memphis”. Stapleton is okay and soulful enough on the ballads, but truth be told, he needs to be able to tear it up more. This is a big improvement over Traveler. Hopefully, he will continue in this direction on future releases.
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EELS
ELECTRO-SHOCK BLUES
1998 – DREAMWORKS
Produced By E, JIM JACOBSEN, MICKEY PETRALIA & MICHAEL SIMPSON
1. Elizabeth On The Bathroom Floor
2. Going To Your Funeral Part I
3. Cancer For The Cure
4. My Descent Into Madness
5. 3 Speed
6. Hospital Food
7. Electro-Shock Blues
8. Efil’s God
9. Going To Your Funeral Part II
10. Last Stop: This Town
11. Baby Genius
12. Climbing To The Moon
13. Ant Farm
14. Dead Of Winter
15. The Medication Is Wearing Off
16. P.S. You Rock My World
Eels is the primary domain of one Mark Oliver Everett, known professionally as E. He formed Eels in 1995, and has remained the only constant member. Electro-Shock Blues is the second Eels album, and is another instance of tragedy and sadness resulting in a record of well made music. Electro-Shock Blues is an album about members of his family who had died or who were about to (his mother passed away during the tour for this album). His sister had recently committed suicide, and his father had died young when E was a boy. These factors, along with E’s own depression, serve as the inspiration here. Not gonna lie…this is mostly a sadfest, filled with difficult songs of dealing and healing.
But it’s the subject matter that keeps things interesting. And the music isn’t all down in the dumps (although E’s vocals mostly are). There are questionable tracks here like “Hospital Food” and “Baby Genius”, but what really makes this worthwhile are songs like “Elizabeth On The Bathroom Floor”, “Last Stop: This Town” and one of the greatest sad songs ever made, “Climbing To The Moon”. There’s nothing here that is really radio friendly, but it’s an above average, consistent record that, at its best, focuses on the subjects of pain and loss in an open and honest way. Sometimes, sad songs are needed. The can be healing, and this album has that music in spades. A worthwhile listen, and a near classic.
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