WILD COLONIALS
FRUIT OF LIFE
1994-GEFFEN
Produced By TCHAD BLAKE
1. Girl
2. Spark
3. Heaven & Hell
4. Philadelphia Story
5. Mission
6. Alice
7. Rainbow
8. Don't Explain
9. Victim
10. Dear Mike
Here's a treat for ya...pick this up if you can find it! Wild Colonials are not from Ireland, but were a loose project that became the house band at Molly Malone's in Los Angeles before landing a record deal in 1993. Fruit Of Life is their excellent debut, loaded with great songs, great violin (the intro from "Carmen" on "Rainbows" is superb), and the smoky vocals of Angela McCluskey. Not a big seller, the songs will have you humming for the rest of the day..."Girl", "Rainbows", "Philadelphia Story"...this is a disc full of really cool surprises. "Mission" is about Sinead O'Connor being famously booed off the stage at the Dylan show, and "Dear Mike" is an open letter to Waterboys leader Mike Scott.
The Colonials are still around, although they haven't released a lot of music over the years. Fruit Of Life remains their best work, and it's well worth hunting down.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
QUEEN
SHEER HEART ATTACK
1974-HOLLYWOOD
Produced By ROY THOMAS BAKER & QUEEN
1. Brighton Rock
2. Killer Queen
3. Tenement Funster
4. Flick Of The Wrist
5. Lily Of The Valley
6. Now I'm Here
7. In The Lap Of The Gods
8. Stone Cold Crazy
9. Dear Friends
10. Misfire
11. Bring Back That Leroy Brown
12. She Makes Me (Stormtroopers In Stilettos)
13. In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited
14. Stone Cold Crazy (1991 Bonus Remix)
Sheer Heart Attack, their third album and the predecessor to A Night At The Opera, is where Queen found their sound. Now, all they needed to do was couple that sound with consistent songwriting. The highs on this album are soaring..."Killer Queen" is an irresistible hit, and "Stone Cold Crazy" (later covered, but not topped, by Metallica) is Queen making metal sound easy. There are other flickers of brilliance, more than enough to make this a record worth having.
But, you will have to sift through what resembles a meek attempt at recreating the second side of Abbey Road. The album contains 3 tracks that clock in at less than 2 minutes, and several more that seem like they do but are actually longer. Lots of fragments that hadn't fully developed into full fledged songs yet. But it's also a great sign of what was to come, and it's still a lot of fun to hear this.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
GEORGE BENSON
THE GEORGE BENSON COLLECTION
1981-WARNER BROS
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. Turn Your Love Around
2. Love All The Hurt Away
3. Give Me The Night
4. Never Give Up On A Good Thing
5. On Broadway
6. White Rabbit
7. This Masquerade
8. Love Ballad
9. Nature Boy
10. Last Train To Clarksdale
11. Livin' Inside Your Love
12. Here Comes The Sun
13. Breezin'
14. Moody's Mood
15. We Got The Love
16. The Greatest Love Of All
Once upon a time, George Benson was a child prodigy poised to become the worlds greatest jazz guitarist. Didn't happen. What did happen was that Benson made some strange and often misguided musical choices...and a few pretty terrific tracks along the way. His version of "On Broadway" is worth the price of the (now) single disc package alone...it may just be the best version ever recorded, and it can still get anyone up and out of their seat. "Give Me The Night" is a tight, catchy dance tune, and "Breezin'" was one of the last great instrumental hits. And when he does play that guitar, you can hear how fluid and amazing his playing can be.
But then there's the strangeness. His choice of cover songs in particular is bizarre. "Here Comes The Sun" is an okay (yet very snoozy) take, but there's no explaining his jazz guitar instrumental versions of "White Rabbit" and "Last Train To Clarksville". Most of the rest is ho-hum disco lite, some forgettable duets with Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan, and "The Greatest Love Of All", which never sounded less appealing than when sung by Benson, who clearly doesn't have the pipes for it. But "On Broadway" is a winner.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
George is positively schizophrenic in his output. This is the result of his having the talent and chops to be one of the all time great jazz guitarists, and his innate ability to make a slick, popular commercial product.
The reason he isn't known first and foremost as the worlds greatest jazz guitarist is because someone discovered he could sing ... and could make more money singing! Also, like Wes Montgomery before him, he realized he could sell more albums by throwing in some jazz instrumental versions of popular tunes of the day (hence the likes of 'Last Train to Clarksville'). But to see George in concert is to know just how fleet fingered he really is. Dude is an absolute fretboard master and, for me, he's at his best when he keeps his mouth shut (although he is certainly a fine vocalist). As wonderful as his rendition of "On Broadway" is, it does little to show what he is truly capable of.
For those who don't know, 'Breezin' is, on the instrumental side, what 'On Broadway' is on the vocal side; his signature commercial piece. Although the seeds of "smooth jazz" had been sown well before 1976, George is generally credited with fully bringing it into its own as a genre with his 'Breezin' album. While jazz purists deride it for this reason, it is still far better artistically and technically than the typical bland commercial schlock that fills the smooth jazz airwaves. The title tune is still a classic.
George is positively schizophrenic in his output. This is the result of his having the talent and chops to be one of the all time great jazz guitarists, and his innate ability to make a slick, popular commercial product.
The reason he isn't known first and foremost as the worlds greatest jazz guitarist is because someone discovered he could sing ... and could make more money singing! Also, like Wes Montgomery before him, he realized he could sell more albums by throwing in some jazz instrumental versions of popular tunes of the day (hence the likes of 'Last Train to Clarksville'). But to see George in concert is to know just how fleet fingered he really is. Dude is an absolute fretboard master and, for me, he's at his best when he keeps his mouth shut (although he is certainly a fine vocalist). As wonderful as his rendition of "On Broadway" is, it does little to show what he is truly capable of.
For those who don't know, 'Breezin' is, on the instrumental side, what 'On Broadway' is on the vocal side; his signature commercial piece. Although the seeds of "smooth jazz" had been sown well before 1976, George is generally credited with fully bringing it into its own as a genre with his 'Breezin' album. While jazz purists deride it for this reason, it is still far better artistically and technically than the typical bland commercial schlock that fills the smooth jazz airwaves. The title tune is still a classic.
I agree...Benson is a monster on guitar. And I wish that this compilation had focused more on that aspect of his talent. I wish his career was more focused on it. But, yeah...sometimes you gotta go where the money is, and with Benson, all I ever remembered hearing from him was his voice over his guitar. And, admittedly, it's deterred me from diving in deeper and discovering more of his instrumental prowess. Maybe I'll seek out some of his more guitar oriented work and see how that goes. Man can sure as hell play! _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
UB40
LABOUR OF LOVE
1983-A&M
Produced By UB40 & RAY FALCONER
1. Cherry Oh Baby
2. Keep On Moving
3. Please Don't Make Me Cry
4. Sweet Sensation
5. Johnny Too Bad
6. Red Red Wine
7. Guilty
8. She Caught The Train
9. Version Girl
10. Many Rivers To Cross
This 1983 album was UB40's way of paying homage to their influences. The result is 10 covers of songs that were mostly minor reggae hits. The album did quite well in the UK, but in the US it failed to make much of an impression like the rest of the band's catalog. But in 1988, 5 years after its release, the Neil Diamond penned "Red Red Wine" became a sudden sensation in the States, giving new American life to the band and the album.
There are some other gems here as well...Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby", Winston Tucker's "Please Don't Make Me Cry", and the one song people may have recognized before the album's release, Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers To Cross" are all excellent. And as same sounding as UB40 can get, this collection remains more fresh sounding than anything else they've ever done. They did three more Labour Of Love volumes, but none beat the original. These guys aren't from anywhere near Jamaica...but, hey. Play the music you love.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
George is positively schizophrenic in his output. This is the result of his having the talent and chops to be one of the all time great jazz guitarists, and his innate ability to make a slick, popular commercial product.
The reason he isn't known first and foremost as the worlds greatest jazz guitarist is because someone discovered he could sing ... and could make more money singing! Also, like Wes Montgomery before him, he realized he could sell more albums by throwing in some jazz instrumental versions of popular tunes of the day (hence the likes of 'Last Train to Clarksville'). But to see George in concert is to know just how fleet fingered he really is. Dude is an absolute fretboard master and, for me, he's at his best when he keeps his mouth shut (although he is certainly a fine vocalist). As wonderful as his rendition of "On Broadway" is, it does little to show what he is truly capable of.
For those who don't know, 'Breezin' is, on the instrumental side, what 'On Broadway' is on the vocal side; his signature commercial piece. Although the seeds of "smooth jazz" had been sown well before 1976, George is generally credited with fully bringing it into its own as a genre with his 'Breezin' album. While jazz purists deride it for this reason, it is still far better artistically and technically than the typical bland commercial schlock that fills the smooth jazz airwaves. The title tune is still a classic.
I agree...Benson is a monster on guitar. And I wish that this compilation had focused more on that aspect of his talent. I wish his career was more focused on it. But, yeah...sometimes you gotta go where the money is, and with Benson, all I ever remembered hearing from him was his voice over his guitar. And, admittedly, it's deterred me from diving in deeper and discovering more of his instrumental prowess. Maybe I'll seek out some of his more guitar oriented work and see how that goes. Man can sure as hell play!
George's first great exposition on guitar (although it does have a few vocal tracks) is 'It's Uptown.' Some of his best guitar work can be found on 'The Shape of Things to Come' (although that one does have the underwhelming 'Last Train to Clarksville' cover) and 'Beyond the Blue Horizon.'
He also did exceptional work as a sideman on many other artists efforts. Of particular note are two great releases from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, 'First Light' and 'Red Clay.'
1. The Once Over Twice
2. We're Desperate
3. Adult Books
4. Universal Corner
5. I'm Coming Over
6. It's Who You Know
7. In The House That I Call Home
8. Some Other Time
9. White Girl
10. Beyond And Back
11. Back 2 The Base
12. When Our Love Passed Out On The Couch
13. Year 1
Bonus Tracks
14. Beyond And Back (Live)
15. Blue Spark (Demo)
16. We're Desperate (Single Version)
17. Back 2 The Base (Live)
18. Heater (Rehearsal)
19. White Girl (Single Mix)
20. The Once Over Twice (Unissound Single Mix)
One of the biggest saviors of music in the 1980's was X. Wild Gift, their second album, still stands as their best work, and it truly is one of the best albums of the decade...and maybe one of the best punk albums of all time. This is their best overall group of songs, and the strange interplay between John Doe and Exene Cervenka was never finer that here. The two singers sang in the strangest kind of harmony that should have never worked, but always did. And the songs! "Adult Books", "The Once Over Twice", "When Our Love Passed Out On The Couch", and "White Girl" take you places that no other punk band could have dreamed.
What X did the best, and especially on Wild Gift, was to make punk beautiful while still beating you between the eyes and rocking as hard as possible. In doing so, X became one of the most unique bands in rock, a pure joy to listen to and experience. Wild Gift is X at it's best, a perfect album.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
ADAM ANT
ANTICS IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE
1990-EPIC
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. Zerox
2. Whip In My Valise
3. Car Trouble
4. Kick
5. Kings of The Wild Frontier
6. "Antmusic"
7. Dog Eat Dog
8. Los Rancheros
9. Killer In The Home
10. Stand And Deliver
11. Beat My Guest
12. Prince Charming
13. Ant Rap
14. Desperate But Not Serious
15. Place In The Country
16. Friend Or Foe
17. Goody Two Shoes
18. Strip
19. Puss 'n Boots
20. Apollo 9
21. Vive Le Rock
The good news about Antics In The Forbidden Zone is that it contains pretty much all of the Adam Ant (and Adam & The Ants) music anyone could ever want. The bad news...who really wants 21 songs in one shot from this guy? Don't get me wrong...particularly the early Ants stuff ("Zerox", "Prince Charming", and the only rarity here, "Beat My Guest") is really good, and it's great to have it without the album filler...but this thing is just way too many songs. And the clunkers ("Puss n' Boots", "Vive Le Rock" and the horrendously embarrassing "Ant Rap") are bad. Really bad.
But, it is hard to forget the personality that Ant brought to rock. The guy dressed shamelessly like a pirate and played what was by far the heaviest of anything in New Wave. Marco Pirroni's guitar was always loud and menacing, and the tribal beats of the Ant songs was infectious...It's not bad bad stuff, and there is a place for it. Just not...so much of it at one time.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
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