THE GODFATHERS
BIRTH, SCHOOL, WORK, DEATH
1988-EPIC
Produced By VIC MAILE
1. Birth, School, Work, Death
2. If I Only Had Time
3. Tell Me Why
4. It’s So Hard
5. When Am I Coming Down
6. Cause I Said So
7. The Strangest Boy
8. S.T.B.
9. Just Like You
10. Obsession
11. Love Is Dead
The 1980’s were the breeding ground for one hit wonders. Some of them were simply flukes, others were accidental. And then there’s The Godfathers. This London band spent their entire career being ignored in their home country, and gained a foothold in America on the strength of one great song. The title track of Birth, School, Work, Death was in rotation for awhile on MTV, and got the band a small audience. Trouble was, this band was nowhere near what people were listening to in 1988. Alternative rock was still just that, and it lived in bands like R.E.M., but there was nothing quite like The Godfathers sound. Britpop was still a few years away, and it no one seemed to be able to figure out this heavy and kind of angry band that was not new wave, glam metal, classic rock, punk or anything else that was happening at the time. In short, The Godfathers were out of time…and ahead of it.
Aside from the hit title track, which was a breath of fresh air in the sea of all the Duran Duran and Poison of the time, Birth, School, Work, Death also included great tracks like “When Am I Coming Down”, a great guitar track with spacey vocals, the anthem like “’Cause I Said So”, the hard driving “Obsession”, and the bouncy, almost punk of “Love Is Dead”. But, alas, the album had few takers. Their career dwindled down to festivals by the early 90’s, and although they’ve had just one hit (and none in their native England), they soldier on. This is one of the great ignored albums of the 80’s, a decade that could use a few more good albums to claim as its own. The band is clearly influenced by The Kinks, The Who and The Small Faces, and it shows in their music with a more modern take. Ahead of their time, they were. And when their time came, no one ever really uncovered them for what they were: a terrific band.
Link _________________ May we all get to heaven
'Fore the devil knows we're dead...
THE GODFATHERS
BIRTH, SCHOOL, WORK, DEATH
1988-EPIC
Produced By VIC MAILE
1. Birth, School, Work, Death
2. If I Only Had Time
3. Tell Me Why
4. It’s So Hard
5. When Am I Coming Down
6. Cause I Said So
7. The Strangest Boy
8. S.T.B.
9. Just Like You
10. Obsession
11. Love Is Dead
The 1980’s were the breeding ground for one hit wonders. Some of them were simply flukes, others were accidental. And then there’s The Godfathers. This London band spent their entire career being ignored in their home country, and gained a foothold in America on the strength of one great song. The title track of Birth, School, Work, Death was in rotation for awhile on MTV, and got the band a small audience. Trouble was, this band was nowhere near what people were listening to in 1988. Alternative rock was still just that, and it lived in bands like R.E.M., but there was nothing quite like The Godfathers sound. Britpop was still a few years away, and it no one seemed to be able to figure out this heavy and kind of angry band that was not new wave, glam metal, classic rock, punk or anything else that was happening at the time. In short, The Godfathers were out of time…and ahead of it.
Aside from the hit title track, which was a breath of fresh air in the sea of all the Duran Duran and Poison of the time, Birth, School, Work, Death also included great tracks like “When Am I Coming Down”, a great guitar track with spacey vocals, the anthem like “’Cause I Said So”, the hard driving “Obsession”, and the bouncy, almost punk of “Love Is Dead”. But, alas, the album had few takers. Their career dwindled down to festivals by the early 90’s, and although they’ve had just one hit (and none in their native England), they soldier on. This is one of the great ignored albums of the 80’s, a decade that could use a few more good albums to claim as its own. The band is clearly influenced by The Kinks, The Who and The Small Faces, and it shows in their music with a more modern take. Ahead of their time, they were. And when their time came, no one ever really uncovered them for what they were: a terrific band.
GREG KIHN
KIHNSOLIDATION: THE BEST OF GREG KIHN
1989-RHINO
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)
2. Jeopardy
3. Someday
4. Lucky
5. Reunited
6. Small Change
7. Can’t Stop Hurtin’ Myself
8. Any Other Woman
9. Happy Man
10. Testify
11. Sorry
12. Remember
13. For You
14. Madison Avenue
15. Rendezvous
16. In The Naked Eye
17. Anna Belle Lee
18. Love And Rock And Roll
Hard to believe it now, but there was at time when Greg Kihn was on top and could do no wrong. The Greg Kihn Band was one of the hottest acts as the 70’s turned into the 80’s. From the mid 70’s to the mid 80’s, Kihn was a major player with several known songs, and then he fell off the face of the earth, at least musically. As his music career suffered, he became active in radio and as a novelist, both of which he’s had success at. But musically, he’s now known for two songs: “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em”) was a huge hit in 1981, and really established Kihn as a major player. The “uh-uh-uh” chorus is still very well known. His other lasting track is “Jeopardy” from 1983, anchored by an infectious keyboard line and famous for it’s video portraying Kihn as having a nightmare wedding…and for Weird Al Yankovic’s famous take as having a nightmare day on the well known game show. Other than that, Kihn’s hits have faded into obscurity.
Kihnsolidation features a shot of Kihn in all his 80’s mulleted glopry, along with a whopping 18 tracks…more than he ever had hits. There are some great tracks here, but unfortunately, some were left off because they decided no more than two tracks per album. Sad, because albums like Kihnspiracy and Kihntinued (yeah…the pun got old quick) had tracks that deserved to be here. But there are still gems, like the great “Can’t Stop Hurtyin’ Myself”, and a nice cover of Springsteen’s “For You”. There’s also the curious “Remember” and the fun and bouncy “Madison Avenue”. Also of note is “Love And Rock And Roll”, which features a young Joe Satriani in his first released recording. It’s great to hear Kihn again, and while his individual albums may vary in overall quality and scarcity, this is a nice, although imperfect, place to start.
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DUANE ALLMAN
AN ANTHOLOGY VOLUME II
1974-POLYDOR
VARIOUS PRODUCERS
1. Happily Married Man (Duane Allman)
2. It Ain’t Fair (Aretha Franklin)
3. The Weight (King Curtis)
4. You Reap What You Sow (Otis Rush)
5. Matchbox (Ronnie Hawkins)
6. Born To Be Wild (Wilson Pickett)
7. No Money Down (Duane Allman)
8. Been Gone Too Long (The Hourglass)
9. Stuff You Gotta Watch (Arthur Conley)
10. Dirty Old Man (Lulu)
11. Push Push (Herbie Man)
1. Walk On Gilded Splinters (Johnny Jenkins)
2. Waiting For A Train (Boz Scaggs)
3. Don’t Tell Me Your Troubles (Ronnie Hawkins)
4. Goin’ Upstairs (Sam Samudio)
5. Come On In My Kitchen (Delaney & Bonnie)
6. Dimples (The Allman Brothers Band)
7. Goin’ Up The Country (The Duck & The Bear)
8. Done Somebody Wrong (The Allman Brothers Band)
9. Leave My Blues At Home (The Allman Brothers Band)
10. Midnight Rider (The Allman Brothers Band)
Following the tragic and untimely death of Duane Allman in 1971, Capricorn issued a pair of excellent anthology editions chronicling his work as a session player and with The Allman Brothers Band. The first edition included some of his work with Derek & The Dominos, and a larger number of Allman Brothers songs. This edition has a bit more focus on his session work, and also includes a pair of solo recordings sung by Allman. It is the weaker of the two, mainly because Volume I has the hard to beat “Layla”and the classic Boz Scaggs track “Loan Me A Dime”, which has his best recorded solo. But there is still enough great material on Volume II to make the two editions perfect companions. And, if you’re a fan of his playing, you know that there’s no such thing as too much Duane Allman.
Allman used to show up at Muscle Shoals studios and just sit in with whoever was recording. He was very often not credited, so it’s always been a task to figure out what exactly he played on. But the known material, like Wilson Picket’s Hey Jude album, and the Aretha Franklin sessions, produced some breathtaking moments. Also, much of the session work featured here has been long out of print by the original artists, so this is an opportunity to hear artists like The Duck & The Bear, Sam Samudio and Johnny Jenkins, whose work can be difficult to find. Overall, both volumes are a great tribute to a phenomenal guitarist who passed way too soon. Get the early Allman's albums…but these two Anthology editions belong rightfully next to them.
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WALL OF VOODOO
CALL OF THE WEST
1982-IRS
Produced By RICHARD MAZDA
1. Tomorrow
2. Lost Weekend
3. Factory
4. Look At Their Way
5. Hands Of Love
6. Mexican Radio
7. Spy World
8. They Don’t Want Me
9. On Interstate 15
10. Call Of The West
Wall Of Voodoo is one of the strangest and misunderstood bands of the 80’s. They were born in the exploding unk scene in Los Angeles in 1977, and gained notice from a strange cover of Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire”. Their first album, Dark Continent, had no hits, but is now considered the bands finest work…and has been out of print for years. The follow up, Call Of The West, made Wall Of Voodoo into that most common commodity of the decade: the one-hit wonder. “Mexican Radio” is one of those songs that wasn’t a massive hit, but you still hear people singing it 30 years later. The line about barbequed iguana is maybe the most memorable line of the decade. The song itself is a spooky and strange sounding trip through what sounds like a bad neighborhood, with Stan Ridgeway’s creepy and emotionless vocal leading the way.
The rest of the album is a strange trip through a nightmare of Hollywood past and present. This is a new wave band, but there is a distinctive layer of Morricone spaghetti western soundtrack sound throughout, which, coupled with the dry delivery of Ridgeway, makes this band sound like no other. “Tomorrow” and “Factory” are great songs, and it’s important to note that the entire album is not just like “Mexican Radio”. There are plenty of treasures here. There are also some tracks that are not as solid, which can make an entire listen seem long. But, overall, Call Of The West is a fine choice. The band broke up shortly after the 1983 US Festival, and regrouped without Ridgeway. He was sorely missed from then on…Wall Of Voodoo has been miles from airplay ever since.
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MILLA
THE DIVINE COMEDY
1994-SBK
Produced By RUPERT HINE RICHARD FELDMAN & MARK HOLDEN
1. The Alien Song (For Those Who Listen)
2. Gentlemen Who Fell
3. It’s Your Life
4. Reaching From Nowhere
5. Charlie
6. Baby Lane
7. Bang Your Head
8. Clock
9. Don’t Fade Away
10. You Did It All Before
11. In A Glade
It’s logical to think that if you see an album recorded by a supermodel, you should run as fast and as far away as possible. The biggest surprise about the debut (and so far only) album from Milla Jovovich is that it doesn’t suck. Actually, it’s pretty good work. Wisely choosing to use only her first name, and despite a title as ambitious as The Divine Comedy, she comes up with a good set of songs and a sturdy enough voice to pull it off. Considering that she was just 18 when she made this, it’s quite an accomplishment. She already had five films under her belt, and a modeling career to boot. There’s no sin in trying your hand at music, especially if you don’t suck at it. Milla actually has the talent to make it work.
The songs here are what you’d expect from an 18 year old girl, and they are wrapped very neatly into a package of exotic and great sounding instruments and arrangements. Her voice is good, and there’s nothing to indicate that she wouldn’t have continued to get better had she pursued this course. An album called The People Tree Sessions was released in 1998, but was unauthorized by Milla. Her only other musical excursions have been one off songs for singles and soundtracks. A talented girl, for sure, and an interesting (not great, but very good) excursion into music for a girl already blessed with multiple gifts. Pretty impressive.
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WILCO
A.M.
1995-SIRE
Produced By BRIAN PAULSON & WILCO
1. I Must Be High
2. Casino Queen
3. Box Full Of Letters
4. Shouldn’t Be Ashamed
5. Pick Up The Change
6. I Thought I Held You
7. That’s Not The Issue
8. It’s Just That Simple
9. Should’ve Been In Love
10. Passenger Side
11. Dash 7
12. Blue Eyed Soul
13. Too Far Apart
When Uncle Tupelo split up, Jay Farrar formed Son Volt. Jeff Tweedy formed Wilco…and got the rest of the band in the divorce. Tweedy was in a position to be like George Harrison on All Things Must Pass, or even like Stevie Nicks on Bella Donna: a player who had played second fiddle with minimal songwriting contributions suddenly able to burst out on his own with an amazing output. Tweedy has been pretty prolific since the breakup of Tupelo, but his first effort with Wilco, A.M., is hardly his strongest effort. The only truly alt-country album by Wilco, it has its moments, but it gets its butt kicked by Son Volt’s Trace, and it lacks the adventurous spirit of Uncle Tupelo, and especially of the later Wilco albums. A.M. is more of a breakup album than anything else, really…and you have to wonder if the songs are directed towards Farrar. The world of A.M. is very small…the world of Wilco would get a lot bigger in a hurry, as the band would give up on being a straight alt-country unit and explore many other great directions.
A.M. does have some really great moments. The 1-2 punch of “I Must Be High” and “Casino Queen”, complete with clanking bottles, is promising, but things come down from there. “Passenger Side” is one of Tweedy’s finest songs, and the John Stirratt penned “It’s Just That Simple” is lovely. Instrumentally, the band, particularly Brian Henneman from The Bottle Rockets, is excellent. The album sounds great, and the overall songwriting is strong, but it’s ultimately hard to listen to A.M. without making a lot of comparisons…all of which A.M. loses. Maybe, or maybe not fair, but that’s what it is. This album fails against the body of work of Uncle Tupelo and Wilco itself, and fails against its direct competitor, Trace. On its own, it’s a good, not great album, and it’s interesting to hear how Wilco started out.
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ELTON JOHN
TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION
1970-ROCKET
Produced By GUS DUDGEON
1. Ballad Of A Well-Known Gun
2. Come Down In Time
3. Country Comfort
4. Son Of Your Father
5. My Father’s Gun
6. Where To Now St. Peter?
7. Love Song
8. Amoreena
9. Talking Old Soldiers
10. Burn Down The Mission
Bonus Tracks:
11. Into The Old Man’s Shoes
12. Madman Across The Water (Original Version)
In 1970, the career of Elton John was only two albums in, with only one big hit so far: the somewhat annoying “Your Song”. So it was quite the undertaking (and quite the risk) for him to release Tumbleweed Connection, a concept album about the old west, filled with pop rock and soul songs. Much of the albums success was on the wave of “Your Song”, which had been released earlier in the year, but it does have plenty of merit on its own…minus that monster hit that all of Elton’s early albums seemed to have. The most notable tracks, “Where To Now St. Peter”, “Amoreena”, and “Burn Down The Mission”, are among his best songs, and give much more weight to the second half of the album. Side two also includes a rare cover, Lesley Duncan’s “Love Song”, and the early bonus tracks are actually interesting: “Into The Old Man’s Shoes” was a non album B-side for a release of “Your Song”, and the original “Madman Across The Water” is an interesting early take.
The A-side is weaker, with the strongest track being “Country Comfort”, later done much better by Rod Stewart. The rest of the tracks are well done, but there’s nothing outstanding. It’s still a solid effort, with Elton positioning himself for the monstrously successful run that would begin with his next album, Madman Across The Water, and last throughout the rest of the decade. Tumbleweed Connection also marked the original formation of his best rhythm section (Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson), and solidified the Elton John Band for years to come. His singing shows a growing confidence, and the songwriting partnership of John and Bernie Taupin, with flashes of brilliance, is becoming more assured. This is an important step for Elton John, and a definite step in the right direction. (Years later, “Amoreena was used famously in the opening scene of the Al Pacino hit “Dog Day Afternoon”.)
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EXIT 232
HIGHWAY OF LIFE
2003-EXIT 232
Produced By TOM COPEK
1. Fly Away
2. Face Down
3. Mystic Highway
4. Father’s Song
5. Ancient Words
6. Set Her Free
7. Grains Of Sand
8. The One
9. Drivin’ Blind
10. I Will Find You
Exit 232 is a local Colorado band that has played for many years. This album includes Mike Edmondson and Spencer Pyne, both of whom played with me in several bands, including The Legendary Hitchhikers, Roadside Attraction and Mariachi Static.
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ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILLION
2009-DOMINO
Produced By BEN h. ALLEN & ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
1. In The Flowers
2. My Girls
3. Also Frightened
4. Summertime Clothes
5. Daily Routine
6. Bluish
7. Guys Eyes
8. Taste
9. Lion In A Coma
10. No More Runnin’
11. Brother Sport
Of all the albums I’ve come across in this world, this is the one I am unable to understand the most. Considered a psychedelic band, the members met in school while still kids, and they record with an informal lineup that may include only part or all of the members. They truly are a collective. They formed in Baltimore in 1999, and have been a prolific and important band ever since. Merriweather Post Pavillion is their 8th album, and is widely considered to be their masterpiece. And I just don’t get it. The album spawned a trio of hits in 2009, the band has a wide audience that loves them, and they are constantly moving forward with regards to experimentation and songwriting. And I still don’t get it. It bothers me when I can’t find anything in the music of a band to identify with, and it’s very rare. And the more I try with this album, the less it clicks for me. Maybe…someday?
Part of the reason may be that the album was recorded without their guitarist (Deakin), so the reliance on sampling is much larger. There are some good songs here, but it’s hard to unravel them from underneath the constant wall of almost noise that blankets the album. Throughout most of it, there’s a feeling that there might just be two albums playing at the same time…albums that don’t mesh together. It seems as if there may be a mad, incoherent circus happening in the next room. In other words, this album is headache inducing noise to me. And yet, it’s considered to be one of the best albums of 2009, and one of the best of the new millennium. Maybe someday it will work for me…but maybe not. I feel like I may be missing out on something, but I can’t quite figure out what it is. Maybe someday. Maybe not.
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