MIDNIGHT OIL
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
1982 – COLUMBIA
Produced By NICK LAUNAY & MIDNIGHT OIL
1. Outside World
2. Only The Strong
3. Short Memory
4. Read About It
5. Scream In Blue
6. US Forces
7. Power And The Passion
8. Maralinga
9. Tin Legs And Tin Mines
10. Somebody’s Trying To Tell Me Something
Said it before, and I’ll say it again…Midnight Oil is one hell of a great band. After three decent and unspectacular albums, The Oils exploded in 1982 with this countdown titled disc, and it still stands as one of their best…if not the best. This band can be tuneful, and they can be heavy at the same time. Peter Garrett is a beast of a singer, and his passion for what he does shines through, especially when he has a cause. Even with a decade off in the 2000’s, their career has been long and fruitful, even if their albums are sometimes inconsistent. That’s not a problem here, though. This album starts off with a bang, and it never lets up. The first two songs…”Outside World” and “Only The Strong”, were not songs you would hear on the radio, but they are masterful tracks, showcasing everything that has always been so great about this band. This album is lesser known in the States, mainly because of its lack of hits.
So, while fine albums like Diesel And Dust and Blue Sky Mining are better known in the US because they do contain songs that got radio play, just as good or better discs from The Oils like this one have gone largely ignored. They are huge in Australia for good reason…this is a great band. And just because this album wasn’t popular here doesn’t mean that it’s not loaded with great songs. The keyboards are very 80’s in places…and that’s the only flaw on this record. Otherwise, Midnight Oil is in their finest form here, letting their political voice, their ability to be heavy and funky and tuneful, and their outright musical excellence be heard. They have always been a little bit on the lesser known side, being as political as they are, and by their deep Australian roots…but don’t let that hinder you. You should hear Midnight Oil, and you should definitely hear this album.
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BLUES TRAVELER
FOUR
1994 – A&M
Produced By MICHAEL BARBIERO & STEVE THOMPSON
1. Run-Around
2. Stand
3. Look Around
4. Fallible
5. The Mountains Win Again
6. Freedom
7. Crash Burn
8. Price To Pay
9. Hook
10. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
11. Just Wait
12. Brother John
Remember that really huge guy who played harmonica and sang real fast? That was John Popper, and the band was Blues Traveler. And for one album, and two songs, they were as big as their front man. The album was Four, and the two songs that put them on the map in 1994 were “Run-Around” and “Hook”. But hits for this band were a rare thing. In part because you can only take so much of a harmonica being played at lightning speed, and because this kind of blues rock was becoming less appealing to the masses on an almost daily basis. Blues Traveler (a pretty dull name for a band) is competent enough…guitarist Chan Kinchla is a fine player with a great sound, but these guys lack the most important element…songs. Over the years, Blues Traveler has released more than a dozen albums, all of which are no better than average, and no worse than just slightly below average.
“Run-Around” put them eternally on the map, and is, by far, their finest moment. And if you hear it more than a few times a year, it will likely annoy the hell out of you. “Hook” was their second, lesser, and last hit. It’s an overly clever song about how the “hook brings you back”, and pretty much cemented the band’s future as somewhat recognizable also rans. “Stand” is a fine track, but after that, it’s all forgettable stuff. The band has been at it ever since, though. Bassist Bobby Sheehan died in 1999, and was replaced by Kinchla’s brother Tad. Popper had heart surgery the same year, and lost a very large amount of weight. Otherwise, Blues Traveler has not changed a bit since their two hits clogged the airways in 1994. They are somewhat popular on the jam band circuit, and nowhere else. There just isn’t an audience for what they do, and they don’t do it exceptionally well enough to be bigger than they are.
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BON IVER
FOR EMMA, FOREVER AGO
2007 – JAGJAGUWAR
Produced By JUSTIN VERNON
1. Flume
2. Lump Sum
3. Skinny Love
4. The Wolves (Act I & II)
5. Blindsided
6. Creature Fear
7. Team
8. For Emma
9. re: stacks
Bon Iver is known as a band, but for the first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver was Justin Vernon. He plays all of the instruments (except for a drummer on one track and two horn players on another), sings and writes all of the songs, and singlehandedly sets the tone for the career of Bon Iver. They would turn into a full band by the next album, but here, it’s Vernon solo. And it’s exceptionally good stuff. This is what the kids call indie folk, which is actually a great description of what this sounds like. Vernon is from Wisconsin, and his songs have what you could call…a chill to them. There are lots of vocals here (all Vernon) and some horns, along with a lot of acoustic guitar and not a whole lot of everything else. The results are stunning. Songs that sprang from depression, written at a remote hunting lodge, played with the heart and soul of a truly tortured artist. Vernon was making an understated masterpiece.
“Skinny Love” was the first single, and while it was not huge, it is a lovely song. “Flume” is a simple track that features a nice ringing guitar string and perfect vocals. “re:stacks” could have been a hit but wasn’t. But songs like these led to Vernon forming a touring band and later recording with other musicians, and a more full Bon Iver sound. Me, I prefer this album and its acoustic beauty. This is a bare bones, perfect and sad little album that will attach itself to your soul. It’s chilly yet warm, soft yet powerful, and gets better with each listen…after several listens. Vernon has led Bon Iver through three more albums…four is not a lot for a decade and a half, and the two that followed this one have been far more successful. But for me, this is the Bon Iver album to have. It’s a smaller sound, but its heart is so much larger than anything he’s done since. And to me, that’s something special to have.
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THE JAYHAWKS
RAINY DAY MUSIC
2003 – AMERICAN
Produced By RICK RUBIN & ETHAN JOHNS
1. Stumbling Through The Dark
2. Tailspin
3. All The Right Reasons
4. Save It For A Rainy Day
5. Eyes Of Sarahjane
6. One Man’s Problem
7. Don’t Let The World Get In Your Way
8. Come To The River
9. Angelyne
10. Madman
11. You Look So Young
12. Tampa To Tulsa
13. Will I See You In Heaven
14. Stumbling Through The Dark (Reprise)
The Jayhawks were a hugely influential band in the Minneapolis music scene in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They were a guiding light for bands like Uncle Tupelo and The Gear Daddies. Their career was just beginning to take shape with the wonderful album Tomorrow The Green Grass (which unfortunately sold little), when co-founder Mark Olson left to be with his new wife, Victoria Williams (and to be in a band with her). The Jayhawks struggled behind Gary Louris for years, and it seemed that the magic had left with Olson. And then…out of nowhere came Rainy Day Music. The Jayhawks had slowly strayed from their country rock roots after Olson departed, but here, Louris brings it all back with a vengeance. The result is one of the most beautiful albums of the 2000’s, and a call back to bands like The Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, and the early work of the Eagles. This is an amazing comeback…and this is an amazing album.
A very acoustic album with amazing hooks and perfect harmonies. Louris co-wrote “Stumbling Through The Dark” with Matthew Sweet, and it never wavers from there. Former Eagle Bernie Leadon lends his banjo to “Tailspin”. Tracks like “All The Right Reasons”, “Eyes Of Sarahjane”, “Don’t Let The World Get In Your Way” and “Save It For A Rainy Day” would have all been hits in a perfect world. As it is, Rainy Day Music is a quiet and under-appreciated masterpiece by a band that always should have been bigger than they were. If you haven’t yet discovered the joys of The Jayhawks, start here. If you loved what Gram Parsons, Poco, Eagles, and every other country rock band before them did, then you will love The Jayhawks. They went on hiatus after this album, ending their new found momentum quickly, but there have been reunions…even one with Mark Olson. But this is the shining moment for this band. And it should not be missed.
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1. The World Around Me
2. Prisoner
3. The Big Picture
4. Lost In Germany
5. Chariot Song
6. Ooh Song
7. Not Just For The Dead
8. What I Know About Love
9. Black Flag
10. Dream In My Life
11. Silent Wind
King’s X has been around since the end of the 70’s, making powerful hard rock and progressive metal that should have made them much bigger than they ever have been. Think Rush, only without the pretentious sci fi themes and vocals that are thousands of times more listenable than anything Geddy Lee has ever dreamed of doing. King’s X is a trio, but they sound much larger than that. Part of the reason why they have never reached the upper level of success is that they have been unfairly labeled as a Christian band, something that they most definitely are not. This self titled effort is their fourth album, released during the hair metal heyday of the Hollywood era. And, man…is this thing front loaded. Guitarist Ty Tabor is a beast, plain and simple, and deserves much more credit than he has ever received as a player. The vocals are powerful, with all 3 members singing in fierce harmony through songs that are surprisingly melodic.
And songs…this album has enough of them to keep you interested through the first half for sure…it’s as solid a first half as you will ever find on a heavy album. It’s tuneful and it rocks hard. And on “Chariot Song”, they sing the line “Are you going my way” with more conviction than Lenny Kravitz would ever have. The seconds half lags…more than just a little bit. This album is definitely top heavy and uneven, but man, when they are on, these guys can bring it. And sing it. They’re smart, serious, questioning their own spirituality (hence the erroneous Christian tag), and they are exceptional players. With bands like this, it always comes down to songs, a test that King’s X passes exactly half of the time. A ratio that, unfortunately, should be higher. Their better albums (Gretchen Goes To Nebraska, Faith Hope Love and Dogman) are better because they are more consistent. But if you’re a fan of this kind of rock, you’ll enjoy this one for sure. When it’s good…it’s really good.
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TURNPIKE TROUBADOURS
DIAMONDS & GASOLINE
2010 – ONWARD MUSIC
Produced By MIKE MCCLURE
1. Every Girl
2. 7 & 7
3. 1968
4. Down On Washington
5. Kansas City Southern
6. Whole Damn Town
7. Leaving & Lonely
8. The Funeral
9. Diamonds & Gasoline
10. Shreveport
11. Evangeline
12. Long Hot Summer Days
A short time ago, we covered the third album by Turnpike Troubadours, 2012’s Goodbye Normal Street. That album was something of a breakthrough album for this red dirt country-ish band from Oklahoma. Diamonds & Gasoline is the album that set the stage for Goodbye Normal Street, and it’s a fine effort as well. This one is a bit more country than the band’s later work, and is not as heavy…but it does contain more fine moments that make this a memorable band. The standout tracks here are “1968” (which references the Martin Luther King assassination), the lovely acoustic title track, and the fine closer, “Long Hot Summer Days”. This one lacks the immediacy of Normal Street, and lacks the overall balance, but the truth is that if you listen to Nashville country these days, you won’t find much of anything near this quality. These guys are country…but they are true to what country music is and what it should be.
That alone makes Diamonds & Gasoline worth your time. You’ll find Goodbye Normal Street more satisfying, as it has better songs and a lot more energy. But take the two together, and you have a more than respectable one-two punch by one of country’s more promising bands. The songwriting on this album is still developing, but you can hear the exciting roads they would soon go down. Singer Evan Felker is country without sounding cliché, and the band can play whatever type of song they throw at themselves. Diamonds & Gasoline is good, not great, promising but not quite there yet. Still a fine listen, and especially the better songs will have you wanting more. This is not only a band to check out, but also one to keep an eye out for in the future. If they continue to improve, then the world of country music will have no choice to take notice of this little band from Tahlequah. And that will be a fine day.
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The name Vampire Rodents brings to mind a punk band. This is, most definitely, not punk. At least, not in the direct sense. The music of Vampire Rodents is huge, industrial, and pretty complex, with huge drums, keyboards, even guitars, and angry, intense vocals. Along with a Zappa-esque sense of jazz, and strings. Collage is what it’s called, actually, and collage is a great description. Vampire Rodents is the domain of Daniel Vahnke, a Canadian who recorded a number of albums between 1991 and 1996. Lullaby Land is the third of six Rodents albums, and it may be their best work. The album is long at 72 minutes (as was the norm in the early days of cd releases), and the songs are moderately short, although some clock in at over five minutes. Some songs, like “Crib Death”, are guitar heavy, while others rely on some of just about anything Vahnke could get his hands on.
The results are a most ambitious and powerfully full sounding set of songs that never sound the same. This goes from an explosion of classical music to sounding almost exactly like Joy Division to snippets of old vintage songs from the 30’s to powerful industrial dance music…all in the blink of an eye. Vampire Rodents is not going to be for everyone, by any means…and some will find it tedious. But if you find the idea of collage to be interesting, you can find a lot of treasures in this album. It’s been called one of the best industrial albums of all time for good reason, but it’s also much more than that. Lullaby Land is an adventurous work, and one that should at least be given a chance. As for Vahnke, he released three albums after this and then disappeared in 1996, without any new material from him since. He’s been hinting around a little, but no major projects from him at all. Lullaby Land, though, is a fine album. Worth a spin.
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THE MAGNETIC FIELDS
69 LOVE SONGS
1999 – MERGE
Produced By STEPHIN MERRITT
1. Absolutely Cuckoo
2. I Don’t Believe In The Sun
3. All My Little Words
4. A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off
5. Reno Dakota
6. I Don’t Want To Get Over You
7. Come Back To San Francisco
8. The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side
9. Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits
10. The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be
11. I Think I Need A New Heart
12. The Book Of Love
13. Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long
14. How Fucking Romantic
15. The One You Really Love
16. Punk Love
17. Parades Go By
18. Boa Constrictor
19. A Pretty Girl Is Like…
20. My Sentimental Melody
21. Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing
22. Sweet-Lovin’ Man
23. The Things We Did And Didn’t Do
1. Roses
2. Love Is Like Jazz
3. When My Boy Walks Down The Street
4. Time Enough For Rocking When We’re Old
5. Very Funny
6. Grand Canyon
7. No One Will Ever Love You
8. If You Don’t Cry
9. You’re My Only Home
10. (Crazy For You But) Not That Crazy
11. My Only Friend
12. Promises Of Eternity
13. World Love
14. Washington, D.C.
15. Long-Forgotten Fairytale
16. Kiss Me Like You Mean It
17. Papa Was A Rodeo
18. Epitaph For My Heart
19. Asleep And Dreaming
20. The Sun Goes Down And The World Goes Dancing
21. The Way You Say Good-Night
22. Abigail, Belle Of Kilronan
23. I Shatter
1. Underwear
2. It’s A Crime
3. Busby Berkeley Dreams
4. I’m Sorry I Love You
5. Acoustic Guitar
6. The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure
7. Love In The Shadows
8. Bitter Tears
9. Wi’ Nae Wee Bairn Ye’ll Me Beget
10. Yeah! Oh, Yeah!
11. Experimental Music Love
12. Meaningless
13. Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin
14. Queen Of The Savages
15. Blue You
16. I Can’t Touch You Anymore
17. Two Kinds Of People
18. How To Say Goodbye
19. The Night You Can’t Remember
20. For We Are The King Of The Boudoir
21. Strange Eyes
22. Xylophone Track
23. Zebra
Ambition. Let’s talk about ambition for a bit, shall we? 69 Love songs is, indeed, 69 songs. Not actually about love, but about love songs. There is a huge difference. Stephin Merritt settled for 69 songs (the original idea was 100), and he made it happen. This could have easily been a horrible beast, but it is not. Merritt wrote 69 songs indeed, but there’s nothing tedious about it. He touches so many genres (pop, rock, country, and everything pretty much else) that the three discs never hit a rut. Some of the songs seem shaky and weak when taken on their own, but as part of the entire collective of 69, it all somehow works. The key to this three disc behemoth is that Merritt knows when to switch things up. Just when his voice starts to get tedious, the lead vocals suddenly switch to drummer and pianist Claudia Gonson. Switching genres at lightning speed helps as well, as does the wide variety of subject matter that the concept allows for.
If you want to take the position that three discs is too much to take in at once, I won’t argue with that. This album clocks in at just under three hours. No one should be expected to sit through that much of one album. But try it one disc at a time…and you’ll be pleasantly pleased and amazed at just how good this whole thing is. Some of the songs are snippets that clock in under a minute, some are fully realized stories. The Magnetic Fields has had a unique career…never a big hit, they released one album consisting of song titles that began with “I”, and a trilogy of albums with no synthesizers…followed by an album with all synthesizers. They are always interesting, and always pushing the boundaries of what is normal for a pop band. 69 Love Songs, despite its daunting length, is the band at its most accessible, and at its very best. You’ll be stunned, and pleasantly surprised.
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SLADE
OLD NEW BORROWED AND BLUE
1974 – WARNER BROS.
Produced By CHAS CHANDLER
1. Just Want A Little Bit
2. When The Lights Are Out
3. My Town
4. Find Yourself A Rainbow
5. Miles Out To Sea
6. We’re Really Gonna Raise The Roof
7. Do We Still Do It
8. How Can It Be
9. Don’t Blame Me
10. My Friend Stan
11. Everyday
12. Good Time Gals
13. I’m Mee I’m Now And That’s Orl
14. Kill ‘Em At The Hot Club Tonite
15. The Bangin’ Man
16. She Did It To Me
17. Slade Talk To “19” Readers
If you grew up in America in the 70’s and 80’s, you can be forgiven if you didn’t know who Slade was. They were huge in Britain, and unknown in the States until Quiet Riot put them on the US radar by covering two of their songs: the unfortunately titled "Cum On Feel The Noize” and “Mama Weer All Crazee Now”. Even then, their fame here was short lived, and by the time Nirvana came along, their entire catalog was out of print stateside. The truth is, Slade is as heavy as their name sounds…and as pop as hard rock can be this side of Def Leppard. Singer Noddy Holder sounds like Quiet Riot’s Kevin DuBrow, only a lot closer to the microphone and deeper inside your ear canal. The truth is, this band is the birth of 80’s Hollywood hair metal, which means that they were highly influential. I’m not saying that this is a good thing, but it is a thing. They were actually more glam than metal, more pop than metal, and more British than most American listeners can usually stand.
Old New Borrowed And Blue is their fourth album. It was released in the US as Stomp Your Hands, Clap Your Feet minus the British hit “My Friend Stan”. This version is the 2006 release, which is the original British version plus some bonus tracks. One listen to “My Friend Stan” is all you need to know why they never were big here. This album is pretty much divided between overly campy tracks like “Stan” and heavy rock tracks featuring Holder’s more than annoying screeching. The other UK hit, “Everyday”, is piano driven soft rock that would have never been big in the states. Ultimately, Slade, now together for over 50 years, simply doesn’t work in America. It’s okay…let the British have this one. Because of hair metal and MTV, we know who they are…and that’s enough. As for this album…it’s bearable, but ultimately not memorable at all. My advice…pass if you can.
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BLIND MELON
NICO
1996 – CAPITOL
Produced By BLIND MELON, ANDY WALLACE & MIKE NAPOLITANO
1. The Pusher
2. Hell
3. Soup
4. No Rain (Ripped Away Version)
5. Soul One
6. John Sinclair
7. All That I Need
8. Glitch
9. Life Ain’t So Shitty
10. Swallowed
11. Pull
12. St. Andrew’s Hall
13. Letters From A Porcupine
Nico is listed as the third studio album by Blind Melon…but that’s not really what it is. Lead singer Shannon Hoon had died of a cocaine overdose in 1995 while the band was touring for its second album, Soup. Nico is actually scraps, outtakes, alternate takes, and stuff that wasn’t good enough to make the first two albums. Which were not that great to begin with, so you can imagine what the outtakes are like. On the plus side, and to their credit, the surviving band members donated all of the proceeds from the sale of this album to Hoon’s infant daughter, Nico’s, future college fund, and to help musicians struggling with drug addiction. Good for them…and a nice way to end the band. But the reality is this: Blind Melon was a one hit wonder (“No Rain”) with a great sounding singer and an average band with mostly below average material. And a front man with a fatal drug problem.
The version of “Soup” here is nice, as is “Soul One”. After that…you have to be a real hardcore fan to need the rest of Nico. The version of “No Rain” is pointless and just flat out terrible. It lacks everything that made the song likeable…its hippie, bouncy, whimsical sweetness. “John Sinclair” is a John Lennon cover…of what just may be John Lennon’s worst song. And it’s even worse than Lennon’s version. The Pusher is a bland Steppenwolf cover. The rest? I’ve always had a theory about material like this…if it was sent to the cutting room floor, that’s where it should have stayed. And it was sent there for a reason, dammit. Blind Melon was never a great band. An album of scraps by a band that barely recorded material above that level can only be a bad thing. If you love Blind Melon (and good for you), then this may be interesting to you. Musically, it’s pointless at best. For hard core Melonheads only.
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