TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
ECHO
1999 – WARNER BROS
Produced By TOM PETTY, MIKE CAMPBELL & RICK RUBIN
1. Room At The Top
2. Counting On You
3. Free Girl Now
4. Lonesome Sundown
5. Swingin’
6. Accused Of Love
7. Echo
8. Won’t Last Long
9. Billy The Kid
10. I Don’t Wanna Fight
11. This One’s For Me
12. No More
13. About To Give Out
14. Rhino Skin
15. One More Day, One More Night
Echo, the tenth album by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, is a strange sort of transitional album…something they didn’t have a lot of in their career. This was the first album with drummer Stan Lynch completely gone and replaced by Steve Ferrone. Touring member Scott Thurston was included in the recording for the first time…and they were in the process of sadly losing bassist Howie Epstein to his demons. Things were getting so bad with Epstein that when he failed to show up for the photo shoot for the album cover, Petty went ahead with it anyway, which is why Epstein is not pictured. This would be his last album before he died in 2003. But Petty & The Heartbreakers still managed to make a pretty good album. Not one brimming with immediate hits, and not perfect. But Echo is a sleeper. It’s deep and smart, and hold some of Petty’s finest songs.
The biggest hit was “Room At The Top”, a fine opener. “Free Girl Now”, “This One’s For Me”, and “Accused Of Love” are all very good. But for me, Echo wins simply because it contains my favorite Petty song of them all, “Swingin’”. It’s perfect, right down to Epstein’s hook of a backup vocal. Echo also contains the only Heartbreakers song that Petty does not sing lead on…it’s Mike Campbell singing “I Don’t Wanna Fight”. Ron Blair would be back for The Last DJ to replace Epstein, and Ferrone would be all settled in as well. When you think of all the great hits and moments of this band, Echo doesn’t usually come up. But it’s a real underrated gem of an album. By one of the greatest American bands. I very highly recommend this one. Don’t let it pass you by.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
THE KINKS
ONE FOR THE ROAD
1980- ARISTA
Produced By RAY DAVIES
1. Opening
2. Hard Way
3. Catch Me Now I’m Falling
4. Where Have All The Good Times Gone
5. Intro: Lola
6. Lola
7. Pressure
8. All Day And All Of The Night
9. 20th Century Man
10. Misfits
11. Prince Of The Punks
12. Stop Your Sobbing
13. Low Budget
14. Attitude
15. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
16. National Health
17. ‘Till The End Of The Day
18. Celluloid Heroes
19. You Really Got me
20. Victoria
21. David Watts
Had it on vinyl. Back in the day…got it as soon as it came out. After my record collection was stolen, I always knew it was out there…but there were other priorities. Finally, not long ago, I picked up a CD copy of this. Pretty excited, as I remembered being stoked to have had it before, and that I had gotten to see The Kinks at Red Rocks in the late 70’s. So, when the reality of One For The Road sunk in this time around…I was pretty disappointed. This is a double live album from one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Recorded while they were still relatively young. What could go wrong here? How could a live album from this band at this time not be absolutely brilliant? An album with this amazing dream setlist? What happened?
It seems like almost every track is rushed. Energy? Maybe…but you can play with energy without having to fly though each song. The interaction between Ray Davies and the audiences is grating at best. There is far too much audience participation. And, this was 1980. There is pretty much no way to prepare yourself for how shrill and terrible the keyboards on this record sound. What keeps this from being simply terrible is the setlist (even though this was recorded at multiple locations over the space of a full year). So many great songs…and to be fair, the version here of “Celluloid Heroes” is magnificent. This is a live album that I truly want to love. I really do. There just isn’t enough of what makes The Kinks great here to make that happen.
I will tell you an embarrassing secret. When All Day And All Of A Night from this album was played on national radio I didn't know the song although at the age of 17 I was familiar with most of their other hits. And I really thought I had understood that this song was performed by a hardrock band named the Kings (I know this was stupid from me but I also only discovered the Beatles when I was 14 when I saw Help the movie).
I quickly understood who really performed it when I read a raving review of this live album and bought the cassette (I didn't really buy albums at the time) but since then I'm a real lover of this live album which also introduced me to a number of their then more recent songs which weren't hits from the sixties like 20th century Man, Low Budget, Misfits and Celluloid Heroes, and I all loved them and became for me the definitive versions of these songs. This is an album I will always defend as one of the better live albums ever made because of... well the energy. I suppose the difference is that for me it's really connected with youth sentiment, and also with that funny fuck up with All Day And All Of the Night.
THE KINKS
ONE FOR THE ROAD
1980- ARISTA
Produced By RAY DAVIES
1. Opening
2. Hard Way
3. Catch Me Now I’m Falling
4. Where Have All The Good Times Gone
5. Intro: Lola
6. Lola
7. Pressure
8. All Day And All Of The Night
9. 20th Century Man
10. Misfits
11. Prince Of The Punks
12. Stop Your Sobbing
13. Low Budget
14. Attitude
15. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman
16. National Health
17. ‘Till The End Of The Day
18. Celluloid Heroes
19. You Really Got me
20. Victoria
21. David Watts
Had it on vinyl. Back in the day…got it as soon as it came out. After my record collection was stolen, I always knew it was out there…but there were other priorities. Finally, not long ago, I picked up a CD copy of this. Pretty excited, as I remembered being stoked to have had it before, and that I had gotten to see The Kinks at Red Rocks in the late 70’s. So, when the reality of One For The Road sunk in this time around…I was pretty disappointed. This is a double live album from one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Recorded while they were still relatively young. What could go wrong here? How could a live album from this band at this time not be absolutely brilliant? An album with this amazing dream setlist? What happened?
It seems like almost every track is rushed. Energy? Maybe…but you can play with energy without having to fly though each song. The interaction between Ray Davies and the audiences is grating at best. There is far too much audience participation. And, this was 1980. There is pretty much no way to prepare yourself for how shrill and terrible the keyboards on this record sound. What keeps this from being simply terrible is the setlist (even though this was recorded at multiple locations over the space of a full year). So many great songs…and to be fair, the version here of “Celluloid Heroes” is magnificent. This is a live album that I truly want to love. I really do. There just isn’t enough of what makes The Kinks great here to make that happen.
I will tell you an embarrassing secret. When All Day And All Of A Night from this album was played on national radio I didn't know the song although at the age of 17 I was familiar with most of their other hits. And I really thought I had understood that this song was performed by a hardrock band named the Kings (I know this was stupid from me but I also only discovered the Beatles when I was 14 when I saw Help the movie).
I quickly understood who really performed it when I read a raving review of this live album and bought the cassette (I didn't really buy albums at the time) but since then I'm a real lover of this live album which also introduced me to a number of their then more recent songs which weren't hits from the sixties like 20th century Man, Low Budget, Misfits and Celluloid Heroes, and I all loved them and became for me the definitive versions of these songs. This is an album I will always defend as one of the better live albums ever made because of... well the energy. I suppose the difference is that for me it's really connected with youth sentiment, and also with that funny fuck up with All Day And All Of the Night.
I've been disagreed with a lot for my take on this record. I loved it when I was younger, but now it just doesn't work for me. And I love The Kinks. I did see them a couple of years before this was recorded, and I just remember them as being so much better then than this album.
But hey...I could have it all wrong, too! _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
BIBIO
AMBIVALENCE AVENUE
2009 – WARP
Produced By STEPHEN WILKINSON
1. Ambivalence Avenue
2. Jealous Of Roses
3. All The Flowers
4. Fire Ant
5. Haikuesque (When She Laughs)
6. Sugarette
7. Lover’s Carvings
8. Abrasion
9. S’Vive
10. The Palm Of Your Wave
11. Cry! Baby!
12. Dwrcan
Bibio is Stephen Wilkinson, a British DIY musician who makes lo fi electronic folk music. Sound intriguing? It is. Ambivalence Avenue is his fourth album, and his first on Warp Records. His first three releases had been mostly acoustic guitar albums with a few electronics and a bit of singing. But with Ambivalence Avenue, Bibio made big changes. He started incorporating all of the music that he had been ingesting his entire life…hip hop, rock, ambient, house…you name it, it was all a part of his kitchen sink. Which made him very interesting, indeed. And he was able top do so without becoming too loud or too busy. His music continued to be understated and warm, and this direction still serves him well to this day. It’s a pretty cool ride, for sure.
The title track is maybe the most important track of Bibio’s career. He plays everything himself…Bibio is a true solo project. There’s so much that he touches here. Brazilian guitar. Hiphop beats. Bibio’s true talent, it seems, is his ability to blend so many different cultures into a single set of songs. He’s still figuring it out here, but you can tell just from this beginning of his musical odyssey that he’s onto something special. The ability to not just play, but to fuse all of these styles together is truly artful. Sometimes, this can be more background music than it should be, but it’s mostly a statement of how to be brilliant without bringing the house down. And he’s prolific as well…ten albums in and still going strong. This is well worth taking a listen to.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
ALICE IN CHAINS
FACELIFT
1990 – COLUMBIA
Produced By DAVE JERDEN
1. We Die Young
2. Man In The Box
3. Sea Of Sorrow
4. Bleed The Freak
5. I Can’t Remember
6. Love, Hate, Love
7. It Ain’t Like That
8. Sunshine
9. Put You Down
10. Confusion
11. I Know Somethin’ (Bout You)
12. Real Thing
It was 1990. It was a full year before Nirvana and Pearl Jam changed the face of Seattle music with Nevermind and Ten. Soundgarden had already released a pair of albums when Alice In Chains put out their debut, Facelift. They were not grunge yet…Alice In Chains was marketed as metal, and they played on tours with metal bands. Nobody outside of Washington knew what grunge was. But people were learning who Alice In Chains was. Mostly on the strength of “Man In The Box”, this debut was a success for the band on Columbia Records. Their sound hadn’t quite come together yet…guitarist Jerry Cantrell hadn’t yet become a second lead vocalist with Layne Staley…the vocal style that would become their trademark. But they were really close.
“Sea Of Sorrow” and “Bleed The Freak” are standouts, but it’s “Man In The Box” that rules this record. Cantrell’s guitar work is exceptional here, and there are glimpses of what was to come from them on the next two records before Staley began to crumble under drug addiction. The roots of “Rooster” and “Down In A Hole” are here. Facelift is a strong and promising debut by a band that, for a couple of years, would hold their own alongside the best of the bands that would emerge from Seattle. Staley is at his best here, Cantrell proves himself a beast of a guitarist, and Mike Starr was still strong on bass. Drummer Sean Kinney famously played drums on the entire album with a broken hand. AIC continues to this day without Staley and Starr, but it’s the early albums you’ll want to hear. Including this one.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
TOM WAITS
MULE VARIATIONS
1999 – ANTI
Produced By KATHLEEN BRENNAN & TOM WAITS
1. Big In Japan
2. Lowside Of The Road
3. Hold On
4. Get Behind The Mule
5. House Where Nobody Lives
6. Cold Water
7. Pony
8. What’s He Building?
9. Black Market Baby
10. Eyeball Kid
11. Picture In A Frame
12. Chocolate Jesus
13. Georgia Lee
14. Filipino Box Spring Hog
15. Take It With Me
16. Come On Up To The House
Where did Tom Waits go for six years? Mule Variations is his thirteenth album, but it was his first since 1993 (The Black Rider). And half of that album was recorded in 1989. The last REAL Waits record was 1992’s Bone Machine. Mule Variations was his most successful album to date, a dark and bluesy affair. It’s long…it was a 2 record set that fit on a single cd…but is there really such a thing as too much Tom Waits? This stands as one of his truly finest albums, bringing together under one jewel case all of his best parts. He borrows from each corner of his great career, and his songwriting (along with his wife of over 40 years Kathleen Brennan) is at a level that is simply greatness. His voice is pure grit, his music is ramshackle. And it all works like a fine timepiece.
Mule Variations is so much fun…right down to strangely asking the question “What’s he building in there?”. Like all of the best work of Waits, this disc is simply a great time…it’s an adventure that you wish would never end. Tom Waits has the ability to be strange and quirky and distant, yet he always stays entertaining. This is, along with Rain Dogs, Swordfishtrombones, Closing Time and Bone Machine, must haves from the Waits discography. Sadly, he has hit another stretch of inactivity…the last album from this man was more than twelve years ago, and there doesn’t seem to be anything new on the horizon. Here’s hoping that he will be back with more…but in the meantime, we have gems like Mule Variations to keep us company in his absence.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
RADIOHEAD
A MOON SHAPED POOL
2016 – XL
Produced By NIGEL GODRICH
1. Burn The Witch
2. Daydreaming
3. Decks Dark
4. Desert Island Disk
5. Ful Stop
6. Glass Eyes
7. Identikit
8. The Numbers
9. Present Tense
10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief
11. True Love Waits
The Band That Can Do No Wrong. By the time of A Moon Shaped Pool, their ninth studio album, Radiohead bore absolutely zero resemblance to the band that introduced themselves to us thirteen years earlier with “Creep”. This is, in absolutely no way, a rock album. It’s a dreamy, distant and largely electronic work with a string orchestra. And Radiohead pulls it off. It’s simply brilliant. This band changes and grows constantly, and they stay relevant through it all. With the same personnel…and with the same producer album after album. This came after a five year wait after The King Of Limbs. They take five years off from recording and still come back better. It’s just not fair, man. It’s simply just is not fair. But it’s Radiohead. This is what they do.
A Moon Shaped Pool is such a lovely album. That this rock band has grown and matured to the point of being able to make music like this is nothing short of astounding. Not one track stands out above the others, but the album as a whole is just a marvel. The string section is a stunning addition to their music, and the female chorus in the spots it’s used is a perfect touch. This is unlike any other Radiohead album, except that it’s yet another masterpiece. You won’t find hits here, and you won’t hear any of it on the radio. It doesn’t matter. This is brilliant. Since this record, Radiohead has put out a couple of re-issues, but it’s now been eight years without a new album. Let’s hope there’s more, and let’s hope that it shows continued growth from a band that seems to have no limits.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
PAUL WESTERBERG
EVENTUALLY
1996 – REPRISE
Produced By LOU GIORDANO & BRENDAN O’BRIEN
1. These Are The Days
2. Century
3. Love Untold
4. Ain’t Got Me
5. You’ve Had It With You
6. MamaDaddyDid
7. Hide N Seekin’
8. Once Around The Weekend
9. Trumpet Clip
10. Angels Walk
11. Good Day
12. Time Flies Tomorrow
After the end of The Replacements, frontman Paul Westerberg embarked on his solo career. His debut, 1993’s 14 Songs, was a terrific batch of tunes, and Westerberg sounded right at home without his old band. The follow up to 14 Songs was Eventually. The album was started with producer Brendan O’Brien, who left the producer’s chair with only part of the record done, mainly because Westerberg didn’t have songs ready to record. Lou Giordano helped finish the album, but it sounds kind of like what it is…parts of two different projects that don’t have great energy to them. The songs here are not as sharp as they were on 14 Songs. Westerberg sounds, at times, tired. The production seems ragged, and more slick than it maybe should be.
The best track here is “Love Untold”. It’s the only thing that really seems solid and complete. Westerberg is more laid back here than what we’re used to, and while the songs sound good, there’s just not really enough to keep it interesting. This was the beginning of Westerberg becoming disenchanted with working in big studios with big name producers. After one more album, he switched gears and started recording for himself at home. The results from those albums are mixed, but at least Westerberg sounds more like he’s in his element than he does here. Eventually has good intentions, but in the end, it simply fails to deliver. It’s not a terrible disc by any means, but it most certainly is less than what you would hope to get from Paul Westerberg.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
WIDESPREAD PANIC
BALL
2003 – SANCTUARY
Produced By JOHN KEANE & WIDESPREAD PANIC
1. Fishing
2. Thin Air (Smells Like Mississippi)
3. Tortured Artist
4. Papa Johnny Road
5. Sparks Fly
6. Counting Train Cars
7. Don’t Wanna Lose You
8. Longer Look
9. Meeting Of The Waters
10. Nebulous
11. Monstrosity
12. Time Waits
13. Travelin’ Man
The jam band capitol of the world is my hometown of Denver, Colorado. And the kings of the jam bands in Denver is Widespread Panic. Panic shows are a huge deal. They will sell out multiple days at Red Rocks. They encourage taping, which helps them gain their audience, and they never play the same set twice. They are designed to be a live band. Since 1986, they have released just 12 studio albums. Alongside eleven live records, which is quite a lot…in addition to the uncountable tapes that are circulating. Ball is their eighth studio album, released in 2003. And to their credit, they did this one differently. Instead of recording songs that they had been playing live, Panic wrote these songs specifically for the album. They were going after a true studio album of new material.
Did it work? It actually works pretty well. Jam bands are not known for making great studio records (even Grateful Dead had only a couple). This is not great by any means, but it does have its moments. There are no hits, of course…you don’t get that with this band. But “Don’t Wanna Lose You” has a great piano hook. The more acoustic numbers sound fine, and they show that they are certainly capable in the studio. Vocals are not a priority here, and they are thin at best when there aren’t harmonies going on. The songwriting is good, never great. This album shows Widespread Panic to be what they really are. Good musicians with decent songs who play together well. No Widespread Panic studio record is going to set the world on fire. But this is a good way to catch what they can do without a stage.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
VANESSA CARLTON
BE NOT NOBODY
2002 – A&M
Produced By RON FAIR
1. Ordinary Day
2. Unsung
3. A Thousand Miles
4. Pretty Baby
5. Rinse
6. Sway
7. Paradise
8. Prince
9. Paint It Black
10. Wanted
11. Twilight
In 2002, if your pop music loving teen was listening to Be Not Nobody by Vanessa Carlton, you may have been a better parent than you thought you were. And if your kid still has that cd laying around in a closet somewhere, do yourself a favor. Pick it up, dust it off, and have a listen to the most non pop star album ever released by a pop star. This was Carlton’s debut album. She was 22 at the time, and yes, “A Thousand Miles” spent almost a full year on the Billboard charts. Which meant that you were probably hearing it nonstop for about that long. Don’t be fooled. “A Thousand Miles” is a pure pop song. One with a pretty excellent piano hook, but it’s made for teen radio nonetheless. However…the rest of the album? That’s a completely different story.
“Ordinary Day” is also pretty pop. After that? Hang on. On “Unsung”, Carlton abruptly switches gears and…rocks. “A Thousand Miles” is next. The rest of Be Not Nobody is smart, mature, deep and really good, borrowing from rock and progressive rock, layered with a lot of beautiful music built around Carlton’s fine piano playing and her strong and expressive voice. It’s nothing like what the hits lead you to believe it is. She even pulls out a really good straight up rock version of the Stones’ “Paint It Black”. This is not just a pretty face and a hit single. This is a serious album by a young woman who was made a pop star. Her career since this has been an effort to stay as far away from the pop star that the industry tried to turn her into as possible, and she’s made, as a result, some really good records that go almost completely unnoticed. She’s worth hearing. Don’t let the pop label fool you.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
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