CHRIS BELL
I AM THE COSMOS
1992-RYKO
Produced By CHRIS BELL
1. I Am The Cosmos
2. Better Save Yourself
3. Speed Of Sound
4. Get Away
5. You And Your Sister
6. Make A Scene
7. Look Up
8. I Got Kinda Lost
9. There Was A Light
10. Fight At The Table
11. I Don't Know
12. Though I Know She Lies
13. I Am The Cosmos (Slow Version)
14. You And Your Sister (Country Version)
15. You And Your Sister (Acoustic Version)
If you're a Big Star fanatic, then you probably know all about this record. Chris Bell was a founding member of Big Star, but left after the band's first album, #1 Record. He began recording solo material, but the album was not released...and Bell was killed in an auto accident in 1978 (Bell is a member of the 27 Club). The album lay untouched until his brother got it released in 1992. And while by no means perfect, I Am The Cosmos shows that Bell was a major force in Big Star, and that he had more songs in him than just what he contributed to #1 Record.
The highlights are obvious: the title track is a beautiful song, and "You And Your Sister" (which features Alex Chilton on harmonies) is just as good as any Big Star song. Bell gets a bit religious at times, and his depression shows through a lot, but it's a pretty good album. I'm sure he would have wanted it polished up a bit, but it's still a nice piece of the Big Star puzzle, and a good look at Bell, who is kind of an unknown outside of the Big Star circle.
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THE BEATLES
REVOLVER
1966-PARLOPHONE
Produced By GEORGE MARTIN
1. Taxman
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. I'm Only Sleeping
4. Love You To
5. Here, There And Everywhere
6. Yellow Submarine
7. She Said She Said
8. Good Day Sunshine
9. And Your Bird Can Sing
10. For No One
11. Doctor Robert
12. I Want to Tell You
13. Got To Get You Into My Life
14. Tomorrow Never Knows
The album in between Rubber Soul and Sgt. Pepper, Revolver is maybe the best album of all time...certainly in the conversation. Following the more folk feel of Rubber Soul, Revolver gets louder and rocks harder, and introduces more of the studio innovations that the band was getting into. It's also a landmark album as far as songwriting goes...no one had ever heard anything from a rock band like "Eleanor Rigby" or "Tomorrow Never Knows" anywhere before. Highly influential, expertly entertaining, maybe the band's best work.
George Harrison flexes his songwriting with three songs, while Lennon and McCartney trade some of their best work. Even the Ringo vocal on "Yellow Submarine" works. This was a band that could do no wrong, and Revolver is right in the middle of that period. This is a classic, no brainer, must own. A masterpiece.
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AEROSMITH
ROCKS
1976-COLUMBIA
Produced by JACK DOUGLAS & AEROSMITH
1. Back in The Saddle
2. Last Child
3. Rats In The Cellar
4. Combination
5. Sick As A Dog
6. Nobody's Fault
7. Get The Lead Out
8. Lick And A Promise
9. Home Tonight
So, the question is this: what's the greatest American hard rock album of all time? You might say it was something by Van Halen, or Guns 'N' Roses, or Nirvana...I say it's Rocks by Aerosmith. Sure, this band has since committed pretty much every sin a band can dream up (drug use to the extent of not being able to make decent music anymore, singing with Brittney Spears, co writing with the devil herself, Diane Warren), but don't forget that for a two year period in the mid 70's, this was the best band in rock & roll. Rocks is the follow up to Toys in The Attic, and it's even better than that album. "Back In The Saddle" and "Last Child" are among the best songs of the time, and "Nobody's Fault" is by far the best Aerosmith ever did. There's not a stinker here, not a speck of filler, and this rocks as hard as anything else released by an American band.
Want more? I'll stand by my argument with the documented facts that both Slash and James Hetfield are on the record as saying that Rocks was the album that got them started on guitar. And Kurt Cobain was a big fan, too. Rocks may be the forgotten gem in the Aerosmith catalog, but there's still time to rediscover it. You'll be glad you did!
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THE BYRDS
MR. TAMBOURINE MAN
1965-COLUMBIA
Produced By TERRY MELCHER
1. Mr. Tambourine Man
2. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better
3. Spanish Harlem Incident
4. You Won't Have To Cry
5. Here Without you
6. The Bells Of Rhymney
7. All I Really Want To Do
8. I Knew I'd Want You
9. It's No Use
10. Don't Doubt Yourself, Babe
11. Chimes of Freedom
12. We'll Meet Again
Bonus Tracks
13. She Has A Way
14. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better (Alternate Version)
15. It's No Use (Alternate Version)
16. You Won't Have To Cry (Alternate Version)
17. All I Really Want To Do (Single Version)
18. You And Me
The Byrds were a great band only for four years...but they were quite prolific years. The band is still written off to this day as a Bob Dylan cover band, and to be fair, they did cover him a lot (4 times on this album). But, especially on the first two albums, The Byrds had a secret weapon...Gene Clark mostly stood onstage and wobbled a tambourine for most of his two year tenure with the band, but his songwriting dominated the Byrds output early on. He wrote "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" and "You Won't Have To Cry" and "I knew I'd Want You", and several others on the second album. The Byrds, early on, had plenty of their own material.
Mr. Tambourine Man is one of the better debut albums in rock. It gave Dylan his biggest hit with the title track, and started the whole folk-rock movement. They had great vocals, with Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Chris Hillman and Clark, they had McGuinn's jangly 12-string guitar, they had songs. By 1969, The Byrds were only a shadow of what they once were, but in 1965, there was not a whole lot better.
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LED ZEPPELIN
BBC SESSIONS
1997-ATLANTIC
Produced By JIMMY PAGE
1. You Shook Me
2. I Can't Quit You Baby
3. Communication Breakdown
4. Dazed And Confused
5. The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair
6. What Is And What Should Never Be
7. Communication Breakdown
8. Travelling Riverside Blues
9. Whole Lotta Love
10. Somethin' Else
11. Communication Breakdown
12. I Can't Quit You Baby
13. You Shook Me
14. How Many More Times
1. Immigrant Song
2. Heartbreaker
3. Since I've Been Loving You
4. Black Dog
5. Dazed And Confused
6. Stairway To Heaven
7. Going To California
8. That's The Way
9. Whole Lotta Love (Medley)
Boogie Chillun
Fixin' To Die
That's Alright Mama
A Mess Of Blues
10. Thank You
For the longest time, the only live Led Zeppelin you could find that wasn't from a crappy bootleg was the somewhat tired The Song Remains The Same. They fixed that with How The West Was Won, and to a lesser degree, BBC Sessions. The sound quality is brilliant, but the song selection is limited (disc one was record in 1969, disc two in 1971). There are also several repeated tracks (3 versions of "Communication Breakdown alone on disc one?).
The really good stuff is terrific, and it's cool to hear them play the fourth album songs fresh out of the studio. There's plenty to recommend this, and if you're a fan, this is a must have. A look at the band in its early heyday...a nice piece of rock history.
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THE KINKS
THE KINK KRONIKLES
1972-REPRISE
Produced By SHEL TALMY & RAY DAVIES
1. Victoria
2. The Village Green Preservation Society
3. Berkeley Mews
4. Holiday In Waikiki
5. Willesden Green
6. This Is Where I Belong
7. Waterloo Sunset
8. David Watts
9. Deadend Street
10. Shangri-La
11. Autumn Almanac
12. Sunny Afternoon
13. Get Back In Line
14. Did You See His Name?
1. Fancy
2. Wonderboy
3. Apeman
4. King Kong
5. Mr. Pleasant
6. God's Children
7. Death Of A Clown
8. Lola
9. Mindless Child Of Motherhood
10. Polly
11. Big Black Smoke
12. Susannah's Still Alive
13. She's Got Everything
14. Days
Released in 1972, Kronikles captures the best of the best era of The Kinks...the late 60's and very early 70's. And because of that time period, it's still the best Kinks collection you'll find. Sure, the individual albums are mostly excellent, but how can you argue with having songs like "Waterloo Sunset", "Lola", "Apeman", Deadend Street"...so many great tunes, all in one place!
There are a couple of clunkers here ("Holiday In Waikiki", "Mr. Pleasant"), but this is still a great set. If you want a good sampling of one of the more underrated bands of the time, then get this.
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So, the question is this: what's the greatest American hard rock album of all time? You might say it was something by Van Halen, or Guns 'N' Roses, or Nirvana...I say it's Rocks by Aerosmith. Sure, this band has since committed pretty much every sin a band can dream up (drug use to the extent of not being able to make decent music anymore, singing with Brittney Spears, co writing with the devil herself, Diane Warren), but don't forget that for a two year period in the mid 70's, this was the best band in rock & roll. Rocks is the follow up to Toys in The Attic, and it's even better than that album. "Back In The Saddle" and "Last Child" are among the best songs of the time, and "Nobody's Fault" is by far the best Aerosmith ever did. There's not a stinker here, not a speck of filler, and this rocks as hard as anything else released by an American band.
Want more? I'll stand by my argument with the documented facts that both Slash and James Hetfield are on the record as saying that Rocks was the album that got them started on guitar. And Kurt Cobain was a big fan, too. Rocks may be the forgotten gem in the Aerosmith catalog, but there's still time to rediscover it. You'll be glad you did!
THE ALARM
CHANGE.
1989-IRS
Produced By TONY VISCONTI
1. Sold Me Down The River
2. The Rock
3. Devolution Workin' Man Blues
4. Love Don't Come Easy
5. Hardland
6. Change II
7. No Frontiers
8. Scarlet
9. Where A Town Once Stood
10. Black Sun
11. Prison Without Prison Bars
12. How The Mighty Fall
13. Rivers To Cross
14. A New South Wales
The Alarm began as a punk band from Wales, then became a kind of an acoustic U2 lite. For their fourth album, Change, the band went with a louder electric sound, and scored their biggest US hit, "Sold Me Down The River". From that song, it's a slight downhill run. The Alarm was never a great band, and while "Devolution Workin' Man Blues" and "Love Don't Come Easy" were hits in the UK, there isn't much else to recommend this record. It's not bad: it won't make you run to change it, but after track four, nothing will really stick in your head.
The Alarm made one more album, then called it quits for ten years in 1991. Mike Peters is active as Alarm MM++ today...although it's doubtful that many really care. An average album by an average band.
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THE WHO
QUADROPHENIA
1973-MCA
Produced By KIT LAMBERT, GLYN JOHNS & THE WHO
1. I Am The Sea
2. The Real Me
3. Quadrophenia
4. Cut My Hair
5. The Punk And The Godfather
6. I'm One
7. The Dirty Jobs
8. Helpless Dancer
9. Is It In My Head?
10. I've Had Enough
1. 5:15
2. Sea And Sand
3. Drowned
4. Bell Boy
5. Doctor Jimmy
6. The Rock
7. Love, Reign O'er Me
Quadrophenia is the second rock opera by The Who, and their last gasp at greatness before slipping into the ordinary with The Who By Numbers and Who Are You. And while it's musically stronger than Tommy, the concept is significantly weaker...a guy with four personalities, based loosely on those of the actual band members. It never comes across, and whatever story there is in the songs is hard to follow...in fact, pretty much impossible.
But some of the band's best music is here. "Love, Reign O'er Me" is a stunning piece of work. "The Real Me" and "5:15" keep the beginnings of each disc strong. As with Tommy, there is some filler, but it's an overall fine work. Well worth having, and an important part of The Who's discography.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
The Alarm began as a punk band from Wales, then became a kind of an acoustic U2 lite. Mike Peters is active as Alarm MM++ today...although it's doubtful that many really care. An average album by an average band.
lol. completely! I forgot all about them, but owned a few of their early albums. Great review, Rom!
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