The Romanelli Music Diary: It's My Life - Music Diaries

Kool Keith Sweat

I'd consider myself a fan of Blind Melon (they were my first favorite band along with Rage Against the Machine) and, if I had to create a compilation, then I'd include these songs, in no order:

Tones of Home
Change
No Rain
Galaxie
Vernie
Skinned
Toes Across the Floor
Car Seat
Lemonade
The Duke
Mouthful of Cavities
Soup
The Pusher
Soul One
Swallowed
Life Ain't So Shitty

Doesn't get rid of the problem of too many songs (those last three could be cut), but I think it perfectly encapsulates what they were about, more so than the compilation you listed. Would have to really work on that ordering though. P.S. The documentary Letters from a Porcupine is really great, and largely provides the track list I've given

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

Kool Keith Sweat wrote:

I'd consider myself a fan of Blind Melon (they were my first favorite band along with Rage Against the Machine) and, if I had to create a compilation, then I'd include these songs, in no order:

Tones of Home
Change
No Rain
Galaxie
Vernie
Skinned
Toes Across the Floor
Car Seat
Lemonade
The Duke
Mouthful of Cavities
Soup
The Pusher
Soul One
Swallowed
Life Ain't So Shitty

Doesn't get rid of the problem of too many songs (those last three could be cut), but I think it perfectly encapsulates what they were about, more so than the compilation you listed. Would have to really work on that ordering though. P.S. The documentary Letters from a Porcupine is really great, and largely provides the track list I've given

I have not seen Letter From A Porcupine...will definitely check it out. Your list is good as well. I've been warming up to them over the years...I think Hoon was a great frontman and had a golden voice...I just think that the rest of the band had a tendency to sound a bit uninspired.

I do look forward to seeing Letters...thanks for that one!

15

Five Men In A Hut (A's, B's, & Rari...) by Gomez

GOMEZ
FIVE MEN IN A HUT: A'S, B'S & RARITIES 1998-2004
2006-EMI
Produced By Gomez

1. Whippin' Piccadilly (Turbo Version)
2. Best In The Town
3. Catch Me Up (Edit)
4. Ping One Down
5. Tanglin'
6. Bring It On (Radio Edit)
7. Champagne For Monkeys
8. ZYX
9. Step Inside
10. Blind
11. Pop Juice
12. 78 Stone Wobble
13. Royalty
14. Old School Shirt
15. Air-Hostess Song
16. Sweet Virginia
17. Mississippi Boweevil Blues
18. Old China

1. Rhythm And Blues Alibi (Pre-Mellotron Version)
2. Silhouettes
3. Silence
4. Butterfly
5. Get Myself Areested
6. Dire Tribe
7. We Haven't Turned Around
8. So
9. Shot Shot
10. Chicken Bones
11. Flight
12. Pick Up The Pieces
13. Big Man
14. Sound Of Sounds (Single Version)
15. Pussyfootin'
16. Coltrane
17. M57
18. Diskoloadout

Gomez has been pretty much ignored in the US. And we've been really missing out. Gomez is a machine. They have 3 strong and distinctive singers and writers, and they are loaded with great hooks. 36 tracks is a lot, but it's not a tiring listen. This is a compilation from their first 4 albums, and if you want to get hooked on a band, see them live and then buy this. You'll be an instant fan and you'll wonder why you've never heard of them. The band crosses genres and isn't afraid to play any instrument that happens to be laying around, their vocals are excellent and they sound like a band you'd love to play in. Gomez should have had hits all over the US, and you'll find many of them here. You'll want to hear more and more of them. Really.
_________________
May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

16

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Tonight's The Night by Neil Young

NEIL YOUNG
TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT
1975-REPRISE
Produced by David Briggs, Neil Young & Tim Mulligan

1. Tonight's The Night
2. Speakin' Out
3. World On A String
4. Borrowed Tune
5. Come On Baby Let's Go Downtown
6. Mellow My Mind
7. Roll Another Number (For The Road)
8. Albuquerque
9. New Mama
10. Lookout Joe
11. Tired Eyes
12. Tonight's The Night Part II

Tonight's The Night was recorded in 1973 and released 2 years later. Young dedicated the album to Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten and roadie Bruce Berry, both of whom had died of overdoses. (Whitten sings and plays on "Come On Baby", which was recorded live in 1970.) Although it didn't have any big hits, the album is considered by many to be Young's best work. The title track, "Roll Another Number", and "Tired Eyes" are standouts, but the album as a whole is raw and powerful. Definitely recommended. A great album!
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'Fore the devil knows we're dead...

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

17

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The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hi...ing Stones

THE ROLLING STONES
ENGLAND'S NEWEST HITMAKERS
1964-ABKCO
Produced by Andrew Loog Oldham

1. Not Fade Away
2. Route 66
3. I Just Want To Make Love To You
4. Honest I Do
5. Now I've Got A Witness
6. Little By Little
7. I'm A King Bee
8. Carol
9. Tell Me
10. Can I Get A Witness
11. You Can Make It If You Try
12. Walking The Dog

Unlike The Beatles, The Rolling Stones started out by recording mostly cover songs. England's Newest Hitmakers is the US version of their debut, which was self titled in the UK. The differences are in the album cover, which in England had no text on the front, and the US version substitutes Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" for Bo Diddley's "Mona".

The album does feature 3 original songs. "Tell Me" is credited to Jagger & Richards, and "Now I've Got A Witness" and "Little By Little" are by Nanker Pheldge, the name the Stones used for group compositions early on. Phil Spector and Gene Pitney make appearances as well. The album shows the Stones as a strong cover band playing safe material, and they sound very capable and confident doing so.

The UK version, The Rolling Stones, has been out of print since 1987.
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'Fore the devil knows we're dead...

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

18

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Great Days: The John Prine Anthology by John Prine

JOHN PRINE
GREAT DAYS: THE JOHN PRINE ANTHOLOGY
1993-RHINO

1. Illegal Smile
2. Spanish Pipedream
3. Hello In There
4. Sam Stone
5. Paradise
6. Donald And Lydia
7. The Late John Garfield Blues
8. Yes I Guess They Oughta Name A Drink After You
9. The Great Compromise
10. Sweet Revenge
11. Please Don't Bury Me
12. Christmas In Prison
13. Dear Abby (Live)
14. Blue Umbrella
15. Common Sense
16. Come Back To Us Barbara Lewis Hare Krishna Beauregard
17. Saddle In The Rain
18. He Was In Heaven Before He Died
19. Fish And Whistle
20. That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round
21. Bruised Orange (Chain Of Sorrow)

1. Sabu Visits The Twin Cities Alone
2. Automobile
3. Killing The Blues
4. Down By The Side Of The Road
5. Living In The Future
6. It's Happening To You
7. Storm Windows
8. One Red Rose
9. Souvenirs (with Steve Goodman)
10. Aimless Love
11. The Oldest Baby In The World
12. People Puttin' People Down
13. Unwed Fathers
14. Angel From Montgomery (Live with Bonnie Raitt)
15. Linda Goes To Mars
16. Bad Boy
17. Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness (Live)
18. It's A Big Old Goofy World (Live)
19. The Sins Of Memphisto
20. All The Best

Yes, this is a lot of songs. And John Prine is worth every one of them. This anthology covers his career through folk, country, rock, country rock, some really funny songs, and a lot of really great songs. Prine is one of America's great songwriters. His early material is well represented, and the best songs from his weaker later albums are well represented. If you're a fan of Prine's, this is a great compilation to have. If you're not, this is a great place to start.
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'Fore the devil knows we're dead...

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

19

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Hernando by North Mississippi Allstars

NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS
HERNANDO
2008-SONGS OF THE SOUTH
Produced by JIM DICKINSON

1. Shake
2. Keep The Devil Down
3. Soldier
4. Eaglebird
5. I'd Love To Be A Hippy
6. Mizzip
7. Blow Out
8. Come Go With Me
9. Rooster's Blues
10. Take Yo Time, Rodney
11. Long Way From Home

Hernando is the 6th album by NMAS. It has the sound of a band that may be trying to spread itself too thin. They've done an album and tour with John Hiatt, they play with Robert Randolph and John Modeski as The Word, they have a side project called Hill Country Review, and guitarist Luther Dickinson had been playing with The Black Crowes since 2007. So maybe that's why Hernando sounds so tired. The songs are, for a band that jams, short and quick (only 2 of them top 5 minutes, none of them reach 6). The lead song, "Shake", is strong, but the album runs out of steam pretty quickly, and seems to have a hard time staying on track with the blues, where they sometimes sound like ZZ Top on a slow day. "I'd Love To Be A Hippy" is kinda dumb, and the album even ends on a hurried note...the end of "Long Way From Home" sounds like they just stopped, put down their instruments and went home.
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'Fore the devil knows we're dead...

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

20

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Unhalfbricking by Fairport Convention

FAIRPORT CONVENTION
UNHALFBRICKING
1969-HANNIBAL
Produced by Joe Boyd, Simon Nicol & Fairport Convention

1. Genesis Hall
2. Si Tu Dois Partir
3. Autopsy
4. A Sailor's Life
5. Cajun Woman
6. Who Knows Where The Time Goes
7. Percy's Song
8. Million Dollar Bash

Fairport Convention formed in 1967, and are still playing today. There have been many personnel changes, which has hampered their popularity and consistency (only one original member remains today). Unhalfbricking is their 3rd album, featuring guitarist Richard Thompson, singer Sandy Denny, and fiddler Dave Swarbrick, who would be the main players in their next and greatest album, Liege And Leaf.

Unhalfbricking features 2 Thompson songs, 2 Denny songs, a traditional tune, and 3 by Bob Dylan, whom the group became enamored with after hearing the unreleased Basement Tapes. "Si Tu Dois Partir" is Dylan's "If You Gotta Go" sung in French. The album is a classic without a single weak track as Fairport were becoming England's greatest folk-rock band. You can't lose with this one.
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Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

21

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Weezer (The Blue Album) by Weezer

WEEZER
1994-GEFFEN
Produced By RIC OCASEK

1. My Name Is Jonas
2. No One Else
3. The World Has Turned And Left Me Here
4. Buddy Holly
5. Undone-The Sweater Song
6. Surf Wax America
7. Say It Ain't So
8. In The Garage
9. Holiday
10. Only In Dreams

There are 3 self titled albums by Weezer...the green one, the red one, and this, the blue one. Their debut album, (they played their first gig opening for Dogstar, Keannu Reeves' horrible band), is a gem. Four geeky looking guys flat out rocking. "The Sweater Song" and "Buddy Holly" were great hits, and the rest is pure power pop. Weezer was like a breath of fresh air in 1994, and it looked like they were going to be huge.

They never matched the success of this album, though. They have gone through personell changes, infighting, legal battles over the title of their second album, and a 5 year hiatus between the 2nd and 3rd release. But the first Weezer album is a package of romping, heavy, funny, melodic good times. Highly recommended.
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zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

Romanelli wrote:

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Weezer (The Blue Album) by Weezer

Such a great album. That fall, after the album blew up, they did a series of shows as the headliner. They played the gym at my local tech college, which was unheard of. No one played our town, ever. I swear the entire high school went to that show. It was amazing.

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

22

14 Songs by Paul Westerberg

PAUL WESTERBERG
14 SONGS
1993-SIRE/REPRISE
Produced By Matt Wallace & Paul Westerberg

1. Knockin' On Mine
2. First Glimmer
3. World Class Fad
4. Runaway Wind
5. Dice Behind Your Shades
6. Even Here We Are
7. Silver Naked Ladies
8. A Few Minutes Of Silence
9. Someone I Once Knew
10. Black Eyed Susan
11. Things
12. Something Is Me
13. Mannequin Shop
14. Down Love

After the breakup of The Replacements, singer Paul Westerberg, an early influence for Kurt Cobain, released 14 Songs, his solo debut. It's a very cohesive and listenable album. "Knockin' On Mine" should have been a hit, but no one seemed to want Westerberg without the rest of The Replacements. There are acoustic songs and punk raves here, and the lyrics are great. Westerberg has been recording solo since, but his album sales still pale in comparison to his old band. 14 Songs is a treasure you probably haven't heard, and it's well worth a listen.
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'Fore the devil knows we're dead...