Zoot Allures, Frank Zappa

The alphabet of albums comes to sputtering, unsatisfying end. Z is for zany, I guess?

Zoot Allures, Frank Zappa, 1976, :42

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

One of Zappa's perhaps less fully fleshed-out projects.  The funky jazz-rock is fine, but the subject matter is typical Zappa shock schlock (example: "Find her finer, sneak up behind her / Unwrap like a mummy 'til you finally unwind her / Find her, blind her, see who designed her / Act like a dummy 'til you finally grind her"). "Wonderful Wino" is told by a bum, lyrically and vocally like a lost Tom Waits track. "Ms. Pinky" is catchy, but it's about a sex doll, the lyrics made even creepier by Zappa's oily crooning whisper.  I could do without hearing the ten-minute death knell of "The Torture Never Stops" ever again.  But "Zoot Allures" is a very pleasant instrumental, and I generally have little patience for rock instrumentals, the genre being so rife with monotony.  Favorite tracks: "Wonderful Wino," "Wind Up Workin' in a Gas Station."

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco

Getting close to the end of the alphabet of albums now! Y is for Y go on?

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco, 2002, :51

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

This album is often held up as the Holy Grail by alt-country-pop hipsters who think Wilco is the greatest thing since white bread. It's a fine pop album, and superb in places, but certainly not without its flaws. "Radio Cure" is languid and self-important and boring, finally bothering to work itself up into an actual song in the final minute of its five-minute length.  The seven minute number "Reservations" is a quiet unassuming song, with four full unnecessary minutes of ever-quieter beeps and drones and hum at the end. I like the horns in "I'm the Man Who Loves You," but dislike the strained guitar noises at the end. Likewise, "Poor Places" is a fine song, but ends in awash of irritating white noise and found sound.  Noise isn't Art, it's just noodling. Favorite tracks: "Jesus, Etc," the rollicking "Heavy Metal Drummer."

X&Y, Coldplay

Getting close to the end of the alphabet of albums now! X is for extremely lugubrious.

X&Y, Coldplay, 2005, 1:02

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

This is U2 without as much talent. Overlong, self-consciously Arty, droning and uninspiring. Pass. Okay, now for the bright spots. "Fix You" is a great song, but I actually prefer it in other people's hands; even the geriatric cover band Young@Heart did a punchier version. The semi-acoustic "Till Kingdom Come" actually has some rhythm to it.  I kind of like "Speed of Sound," but does everything have to be so long and windy?  Favorite tracks: "Till Kingdom Come," "Fix You."

Waiter: "You Vultures!", Portugal. The Man

Getting close to the end of the alphabet of albums now! W is for what the heck is this?

Waiter: "You Vultures!", Portugal. The Man, 2006, :52  

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Experimental (?) rock band from Alaska's debut album. They're a good band, but the songs don't seem to be about anything. See: "Lay my face back in the sleep finds me lazy / (A fear's friendly fed when you're free to be resting) / Birds in the sky and the rain won't soon call in / (Gravel laced sunsets foaming through my belly)."  Or: "Pears and peaches and Doctor Hippo / Met for a drink in those marshmallow clouds / Shout at pavement that’s sprouting up turnips."  Or: "Sharpened tongues fair painted divers / Forearms rest in streams of silver / Golden people pass in silence."  Well.   Look, I can only listen to so much unalloyed gibberish. And of course the album ends in five interminable minutes of buzzing and plinking and random voices and feedback. Ugh.  Doesn't anyone want to just make an album of songs any more?  Favorite tracks: "How the Leopard Got its Spots," "Waiter."

Velocity of Sound, Apples in Stereo

Continuing the alphabet of albums, V is for vroooom!

Velocity of Sound, Apples in Stereo, 2002

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I like the Apples a good bit, and I think their best album is A Discovery of a World Inside the Moone.  In comparison, this album has much more fuzzy, buzzy guitar and rapid tempo.  The vocals are rapid-fire and high pitched.  While this is a rollicking albeit unadventurous good time, all the songs are pretty much the same, with the variation mostly being in the level of distortion ("I Want" being fuzzed to the max).  It's nice, but it's more background fuzz than a melody to catch and enjoy.  Although the bonus track, "She's Telling Lies," is basically a Beach Boys song written for fuzzy guitars.  Favorite tracks: "Baroque" with its "ba ba ba" harmony, "Better Days" with its noodling, wavy organ lines, "Rainfall" with its nearly punk beat.

The United States of America, The United States of America

Getting near the end of the alphabet of albums, U is for unusual.

The United States of America, The United States of America, 1968, :37 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The only studio album by an avant-garde, experimental, leftist band. It utilizes found sound and electronic sounds as well as straight rock and traditional singing styles by Grace Slick-like vocalist Dorothy Moskowitz. "Stranded in Time," for example, is basically a lost Beatles track from their experimental period.  There's also shades of Vaudeville, ragtime, Dixieland jazz, even medieval chorale.  It's basically a treasure trove of Americana filtered through a progressive lens.  There's a lot of ideas here and you have to admire the array of styles tackled, but I think a little cohesion would have actually helped the project.  I think the band's politics would be better served by a more unified vision and less of a "everybody pitch in with whatever sounds they want" vibe.  It's too bad they never got a second chance to hone their talents and make a second album.  Favorite tracks: "Stranded in Time," "Coming Down," "The Garden of Earthly Delights."

Temptin' Temptations, the Temptations

Continuing the alphabet of albums, T is for a little tenderness.

Temptin' Temptations, the Temptations, 1965, :33

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Old school R&B!  Smooth, baby, very smooth.  On just their third album, these guys are very talented, with powerhouse Eddie Kendricks taking a lot of the lead vocals.  There's maybe a little bit too much falsetto pleading for me to truly love this album, but when the songs have a little muscle to them, everything clicks just right.  Favorite tracks: "Since I Lost My Baby," "You're the One I Need," "You've Got to Earn It."

Something/Anything?, Todd Rundgren

Continuing the alphabet of albums, S is for sly sad soft pop.

Something/Anything?, Todd Rundgren, 1972, 1:28

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

An undoubtedly impressive feat, this double album.  Rundgren wrote the songs and played all the instruments on this double album (except for the last few songs). I'm coming to this backwards, because I only know Rundgren from his later, more experimental stuff. Based on the material on this album he's been called "the male Carole King," and it really is an apt epithet. Frank ballads, sort of AOR-pop, with just a little bit of the mischievous imp here and there (like on the song "Slut").  It's an assured, intelligent, well-made and even beautiful album, but not my style.  Favorite tracks: "Wolfman Jack," "I Saw the Light."

Radio City, Big Star

Continuing the alphabet of albums, R is for referring to this record in revered tones.

Radio City, Big Star, 1974, :36

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

This album has been spoken of in hushed whispers for decades as a perfect pop album, a forgotten gem, a massive cult icon, revered and imitated by pop practitioners in the know.  To me it's just some nice, buzzy power pop. It's… fine. Very skillfully done. But is it something for a million hipsters to flip their fedoras over?  I just don't hear it.  I'm really not trying to put it down; "Mod Lang" rocks in garage throwback way; "What's Going Ahn" has languid, beautiful vocals; "Life is White" as a sort of hangdog Rolling Stones-as-sung-by-Beatles vibe; "She's a Mover" is neo-Byrds.  It's pretty, but I'm missing the soul and the muscle.  Maybe this is the type of album that I need to hear a few times before it sinks in.  Favorite tracks: "O, My Soul," "She's a Mover," "September Gurls."

Quickies, Magnetic Fields

Continuing the alphabet of albums, Q is for quite brief songs.

Quickies, Magnetic Fields, 2020, :46

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Like TMBG's Nanobots and Elvis Costello's Get Happy!!, this album features a lot of very short songs. There are 28 of them, to be exact, the longest one at 2:35. While I'm a devotee of Stephen Merritt's songwriting, I think his strengths are palatial, cleverly rhymed torch style songs. To me, his wit and his storytelling need room to present themselves fully. So he's challenging himself on this album, and that's a fine thing, but it isn't his best work. "The Biggest Tits in History," one of the longer songs, is basically a dad joke, and "The Day the Politicians Died" is similarly one-note. Some of the others are pretty good verses from songs that didn't get fully written. However, the bright spots are very good. "The Best Cup of Coffee in Tennessee" is a story song that would have fit well on 69 Love Songs. I think, however, overall I'm disappointed because the moments of sweeping melody and catchy refrains are few and far between. Favorite tracks: "The Best Cup of Coffee in Tennessee," "My Stupid Boyfriend," "When the Brat Upstairs Got a Drum Kit."

Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin

Continuing the alphabet of albums, P is for pickin' on Zep.

Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin, 1975, 1:23

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

One of two LZ albums I haven't heard all the way through, the other being Coda.  I see a lot of people citing this as Zep's masterwork, but to me it's a fairly lightweight entry in their catalogue.  Yes, it's got some nice diversions like the rollicking "Boogie with Stu" and the quintessential Zep stomper "Kashmir," but I fell like it doesn't rock as hard as the name albums.  It's a melodic, less crunchy set of songs.  That's not bad — it's super fun to hear Led Zeppelin Unplugged like on "Black Country Woman" — but I'm not sure this is their masterpiece.  Favorite "Houses of the Holy," "Night Flight," "Down by the Seaside."

Obscured by Clouds, Pink Floyd

Continuing the alphabet of albums, O is for old school Pink Floyd.

Obscured by Clouds, Pink Floyd, 1972, :40

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Pink Floyd, before they became the Wall of Bleakness.  Could these young lads be... hippies?  "The Gold it's in the.." sounds like an early version of "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey." This is the Pink Floyd album that people who don't particularly care for Pink Floyd (me, really) will like. Comparatively brisk songs, with acoustic guitar and standard 1960s rock arrangements, melodic almost, and less of the throaty intoning and ponderous solos that mark much of their later work. "Free Four" is a '60s folk-rock in the style of "Spirit in the Sky," fuzzy guitars and handclaps.  The instrumental "When You're In" is not bloated, but lean and crunchy, and mercifully short. "Stay" is like a lounge singer from 1977 tried to write a Pink Floyd song: it's vaguely Pink Floyd, but more accommodating, with a warm, inviting jazzy riff.  You know, this may not be the best Pink Floyd album but I think I have found my favorite Pink Floyd album.  Favorite tracks: "Free Four," "Childhood's End," "What's… Uh the Deal."

Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen

Continuing the alphabet of albums, N is for nothin' out there for miles. 

Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen, 1982, :40

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I can't say anything new about this collection of bleak demos that marked a turning point in Springsteen's songwriting themes.  It's hailed as a masterpiece; I have been reading about this album for years but never got around to listening to it through.  Well, today's the day!  It's... a bit of a downer, innit?  I like the story of "Highway Patrolman," but things that are unrelentingly bleak like "Nebraska" and "State Trooper" aren't my favorite thing. Not even in St. Dylan's hands, such as "Ballad of Hollis Brown," are such things I seek out or return to.   So I have a preference for the more rollicking tunes.  Or at least the tunes leavened with a bit of optimism.  "Used Cars" is a perfect blend of melancholy and hope, an apparently autobiographical tale of his father buying his first new car. Favorite tracks: "Open All Night," "Atlantic City," "Johnny 99."

Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon, Status Quo

Continuing the alphabet of albums, M is for moanin' the blues. 

Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon, Status Quo, 1970, :42

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I knew absolutely nothing about this album or, indeed, the band when I put this on. It's bluesy rock. I'm not really a fan of this type bluesy rock with its sluggish guitar and wah-wah sound. But they do it well. Still, I only need to hear the nine-and-a-half minute jam "Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home" once.  "Daughter" sounds like early Black Sabbath. But then "Everything" kind of sounds like the Rutles. So it's a mixed bag!  Favorite tracks: the straightforward "Spinning Wheel Blues," the kind of Blue Oyster Cult-ish "Need Your Love."

Ladies of the Canyon, Joni Mitchell

Continuing the alphabet of albums, L is for lush vocals. 

Ladies of the Canyon, Joni Mitchell, 1970, :44

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Beautiful soaring jazzy pop-folk, with Mitchell's vocals the star of the show.  Her voice soars and trills, gets raspy and back to luscious again.  Her songwriting is no slouch, either.  Dylanesque lines like "He stood looking through the lace / At the face on the conquered moon" kept popping up to delight and bemuse me.  Clarinet and horns complement her piano to create that ephemeral, jazzy sound that was thought then to be "experimental."  Favorite tracks: "Circle Game," "Big Yellow Taxi," "Morning Morgantown."

Kinda Kinks, the Kinks

Continuing the alphabet of albums, K is for kinda good.

 
Kinda Kinks, the Kinks, 1965, :27

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

As with many albums of this era, there are different track listings for the UK and US releases. The extra tracks not on the original UK album like "Set Me Free" and "Who'll Be the Next in Line" are better than the stuff they left on. On the other hand the US version leaves off "Tired of Waiting For You," which is just nuts. The lesson here is, record companies never know anything and they should trust the artists to know their material. In any case, for the most part this is pleasant, if typical, garage-Britpop of the era, with only a few glimpses of Ray Davies' later sporadic genius. "I'm in love, and you shouldn't be sad, yeah yeah." That sort of thing. Three and a half stars? I guess I rounded down.  Maybe it could have gone the other way if this buzzy Britpop sound weren't so tired at this point in 2021.  Favorite tracks: "Tired of Waiting For You," "Don't Ever Change," "So Long."

Just Enough Education To Perform, Stereophonics

Continuing the alphabet of albums, J is for Jones.

Just Enough Education To Perform, Stereophonics, 2001, :55

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I know these guys from one or two songs that I enjoy, notably "Pick a Part That's New."  So, for this album I had a good idea what to expect.  A ragged cigarette and whiskey rock and roll voice over slick rock guitar and drums.  Some albums are three stars because they have some pleasant unforgettable songs pretty much all the way through. This is the other kind, one with several four-star songs and several kind of meh songs. "Handbags and Gladrags" is an unassuming and very faithful cover, but doesn't really add to it.  Overall, the last four tracks kind of drag the album down.  Favorite tracks: "Nice To Be Out," "Mr Writer," "Have a Nice Day."

i, Magnetic Fields

Continuing the alphabet of albums, I is for interaction! 

i, Magnetic Fields, 2004, :41

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Just as his magnum opus 69 Love Songs was mostly about an outsider's view of love — broken hearts, truck stops, unrequited pining — this set of songs arranged around the letter "i" (but also I, as in the self) is mostly about how the narrator of each song relates to other people. Whether he's pining after a lost love, anxious he isn't enough for his perfect boyfriend, identifies as a clown rejected by society ("I Looked All Over Town"), or lost in love ("I'm Tongue-Tied"), this "i" is really about "them." It's not a flaw, just an interesting observation. Even if the narrator is perpetually self-effacing, the fun charm of the Magnetic Fields' songwriting is engaging as hell. I mean, "I had a dream and you were in it / The blue of your eyes was infinite" Come on, that's a gem. "And, true, for you I'd move to Ecuador / But I don't really love you anymore." Only Stephen Merritt still writes 'em like that. I especially like it when he veers more toward the clean, pretty, lounge style here and not the distortion and synths he also loves. Favorite tracks: "I Don't Believe You," "If There's Such a Thing As Love," "It's Only Time."

Honky Chateau, Elton John

Continuing the alphabet of albums, H is for Hits! 

Honky Chateau, Elton John, 1972, :48

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This is another album that I actually have heard and even own but that deserves a solid listen front to back a couple times in a row. The bloated and somewhat ridiculous (but of course damned catchy) "Rocket Man" dominates, so I tend to miss stuff like the absolutely gorgeous "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters," and the rocking "Honky Cat." But what of the hidden gems that aren't classic rock staples?  Favorite tracks in addition to the hits: "Susie (Dramas)" hits hard, "Salvation" is beautiful, and the funky blues "Amy" would have gotten a lot more attention were it not on an entire album of brilliant, bewildering, rocking songs. This might be John's best album.

The Game, Queen

Continuing the alphabet of albums, G is for glam rock.

The Game, Queen, 1980, :35

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 

This is an interesting album. The first five tracks by themselves would make one of the best rock EPs ever. The last half… doesn't live up to the promise of the first.  They're not bad songs, just to be tolerated among such greats as the opening tracks.  Contemporary critics were not impressed with this album upon its first release, but it's really hard to see what they could have objected to.  Minor carps, at best.  "Rock It (Jive)" sounds like a bad Rod Stewart imitation. "Don't Try Suicide" is a very noble sentiment but with an earnest, literal delivery that comes off as goofy.  Favorite tracks: what a lineup!  "Play the Game," "Another One Bites the Dust," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Need Your Loving Tonight."

La Folie, the Stranglers

Continuing the alphabet of albums, F is for foot-tapping New Wave.

La Folie, the Stranglers, :1981, 41

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I knew absolutely nothing about this band, but have since discovered that there's a sort of continuing argument amongst critics and the musicognescenti whether they are "punk" or "post punk" or "New Wave" or what. To which I say, I could not imagine a less interesting topic to talk about when discussing the band. I find it to be New Wave cool.  Maybe it's the technical skill of the playing that makes it less punk in my mind.  But that's as stupid a line to draw as crying "sell-out," and I don't really care to classify anyway.  There are some glossy synths and a bit too much shine on some parts (I'm not a big fan of the beeps and boops of "Pin Up") but the skill, and humor, and catchiness of the album overall make it a winner.  I like the deadpan urgency on "Let Me Introduce You to the Family." The very New Wave "Ain't Nothing to It" sounds like a more assured, less nerdy Devo.   Favorite tracks: "Non Stop" (a jaunty tune about a nun's lack of sexual frustration), "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead," the '60s-ish throwback "Golden Brown."

England's Newest Hitmakers, Rolling Stones

Continuing the alphabet of albums, E is for English blues appropriation.

England's Newest Hitmakers, Rolling Stones, 1964, :31

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The American edition of the originally eponymous debut of the Rolling Stones.  The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band is here, inchoate, a rather inessential blues cover band. "Route 66" and "I Just Want To Make Love To You" are fine, but not exactly remade in new blazing glory. The remake of Berry's "Carol" is pretty good, though the handclaps are bit distracting. People fall all over themselves praising this album in retrospect, but to me it's a pub band covering and imitating great songs, and adding very little of value.  Favorite tracks: "Not Fade Away," "Can I Get a Witness."

Diamonds and Rust, Joan Baez

Continuing the alphabet of albums, D is for Dylan's orbit.

Diamonds and Rust, Joan Baez, 1975, :41

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

An album with several references to Baez's relationship with Bob Dylan, plus some covers. The references to his blue eyes, bluntness ("my poetry was lousy you said"), songwriting, ("thank you for writing the best songs / thank you for righting a few wrongs"), and vagueness in his personal life paint a picture of a man who didn't so much as break her heart as puzzle it. Her weird Dylan imitation in the middle of his own "Simple Twist of Fate," between verses sung in her natural voice, I found off-putting. I like the John Prine cover "Hello In There," about the loneliness of the elderly, but I found 'Children And All That Jazz," a jazzy little number about the wonder of kids, out of place on the album. Favorite tracks: "Diamonds and Rust," "Winds of the Old Days," the Allman Brothers cover "Blue Sky."

Can't Buy a Thrill, Steely Dan

Continuing the alphabet of albums, C is for cool jazz-pop.

Can't Buy a Thrill, Steely Dan, 1972, :40 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This debut is one of the only albums left from their 70s run that I hadn't listened to in its entirety, and often (the other being, I think, Katy Lied). It's weird hearing that one-shot singer on a few of these tracks, before Fagan decided he wasn't too shy to sing. Other than that, this is all glossy pop, jazz flourishes, and cryptic lyrics, Steely Dan as usual. "Kings" is a fairly subtle dig at Richard Nixon ("we've seen the last of good King Richard") and "Only a Fool Would Say That' mocks the optimism of John Lennon and his '60s ilk. But "Dirty Work" is as pop as pop gets, so there's a sort of balancing act between the subversion and commercial success here.  Favorite tracks: "Reelin' in the Years," "Do It Again," "Midnight Cruiser."

Beat the Champ, Mountain Goats / Blast From the Grassed, Hayseed Dixie

Continuing the alphabet of albums, we have a B twofer.

Beat the Champ, Mountain Goats, 2015, :45

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

A concept album about wrestling, and very specifically so, with references to cage matches, spectators in the rafters, faces turning to heels, and even name-checks of specific wrestlers. But also, an album very much about people and the choices they make and the connections and spaces between them. The song "Animal Mask," for examplw, is a very clever blend of a description of a wrestling match and a rumination on singer John Darnielle's new baby son, and "Unmasked" uses the metaphor of the wrestler dropping his character to explore how accurately we seen each other in general. The album is best when straddling these two worlds. Favorite tracks: "Foreign Object," "Choked Out," "Heel Turn 2."

--

Blast From the Grassed, Hayseed Dixie, 2020, :41

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The world's best bluegrass cover band takes on a dozen songs from various decades. I love pretty much anything these guys do, but I especially like it when they get goofy and fast. They've toned down the "dumb hillbilly" image a bit since their debut, but still can whoop it up. Favorite tracks: "You Need to Calm Down," "Take On Me," "Dancing Queen."

Atomic Mr. Basie, Count Basie

It's an alphabet of albums!  First up: A.

Atomic Mr. Basie, Count Basie, 1958, :39

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Originally called Basie, also known as E=MC2 and reissued in 1994 as The Complete Atomic Basie. Also, although probably not ever offered as the actual title, "E=MC²=Count Basie Orchestra+Neal Hefti Arrangements" is written on the cover under the credit "Basie." So there's some titling issues here.  Whatever you call it, this is swinging jazz with bebop influences. Muted horns and some pummeling drumming on the first half or so give this some rocking swagger. I prefer the rocking stuff, but more languid numbers like "Lil' Darlin'" have a lot of mood too. The horn solos on "Flight of the Foo Birds" and "Whirly-Bird" are exceptional. Knowing almost nothing about Basie, I was surprised to find out that the Count wasn't a composer or arranger at all, and some guy named Neal Hefti wrote all the songs on this and other Basie albums. Favorite tracks: "Splanky," "Whirly-Bird," "Flight of the Foo Birds."