Rainy Day Music, The Jayhawks

Rainy Day Music, The Jayhawks, 2003, :50

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

This is the most boring alt-country album I have ever heard.  I nearly fell asleep listening to this in the car.  I like muscular music.  This music is a brain and nervous system lying on a cold dissecting table.  I nearly spasmed my own muscles cringing from the nerveless, watery songs "Will I See You In Heaven" and "You Look So Young."  Favorite tracks: I guess "Save It For a Rainy Day," and "Fools On Parade," which was not included on the original album (doubtless because they never got around to taking out all the catchiness and power from the song) but is on Spotify as a bonus track.

A Nod Is As Good As a Wink To a Blind Horse, Faces

A Nod Is As Good As a Wink... To a Blind Horse, Faces, 1971, :36

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

I've been a lifelong fan of Rod Stewart (but not his later, AOR shite) but have never ever heard anything by his early group, Faces.  Why?  Just a stubborn old codger, I guess.  Well, that was a mistake.  Some of Rod's strongest vocal work backed by a cracking band!  Ronnie Wood!  Youthful energy and leering innuendos!  It's just a superb example of early British rock.  I could do without the cover of Chuck Berry's "Memphis," as it adds nothing to the song and only proves that the lads aren't as rollicking as the king of rock.  Favorite tracks: "Miss Judy's Farm," "Stay With Me" (which I always knew only as a Rod track), "That's All You Need," the very solo-Rod-esque "Too Bad."

Have a Ball, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes

Have a Ball, Me First & the Gimme Gimmes, 1997, :28

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Fast punk-pop versions of classic songs.  That's what this group does, to the exclusion of all else.  So they're sort of a one-note joke band.  Now, I love punk covers, and I love fast songs.  But a little bit of this goes a long way.  And listening to this, I rarely got the sense that the band felt they were making the song their own, just doing a punk version.  When Lars Fredericksen covers Billy Bragg's "To Have And To Have Not," it's because they're coming from the same working-class hunger and resentment.  This album is not that.  So it leaves me unmoved for the most part.  And to top it all off, while I'm no expert, I thought audio-wise it had a very muddy mix.  Favorite tracks: "Leaving On a Jet Plane," "Mandy," "One Tin Soldier."

Weeds, Brewer & Shipley

Weeds, Brewer & Shipley, 1969, :30

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

No "One Toke Over the Line" here (that would come later), but this is a solid folk album.  With smooth vocals, close harmonies, and some country guitar licks, this album is a great example of the smooth late '60s/early '70s West Coast folk sound.  The probably anti-police "Pig's Head" shows that this duo wasn't just about the hippie dreams and the doobies.  To me this is one of those consistently very good albums that doesn't have a lot of super high points but is enjoyable throughout, thus earning four stars.   Favorite tracks: the album's closer, the hippie-dippy "Witchi-Tai-To" (a cover), is a standout; "Lady Like You," "People Love Each Other, "Pigs Head."

Minute By Minute, Doobie Brothers

Minute By Minute, Doobie Brothers, 1978, :37

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

The Kenny Loggins-written "What a Fool Believes" is a major hit that I've heard on the radio countless times, but I don't think I ever put together that it's by the Doobies.  Actually, I'm not that familiar with them and have never heard anything but the radio hits.  So I may not be the best judge of this, which seems to be to be super glossy white funk pop, like if Steely Dan were in love with funk instead of jazz.  Apparently their sound changed a lot over the years and this is their most commercially album.  It's a bit too AOR for me.  Favorite tracks: "What a Fool Believes," the bluegrass instrumental "Steamer Lane Breakdown," the almost actually funky "Dependin' On You."

Round & Round, Mike Clark & the Sugar Sounds

Round & Round, Mike Clark & the Sugar Sounds, 2013, :24

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Modern blue-eyed soul-rock.  Faithful to the classics, with all the requisite falsetto and whooping the genre dictates, yet fresh and full of modern energy.  However, it's not all dance party.  "Good Love" is a nearly a cappella hymn-like love song, and "Take a Chance" is an old school pleading song, Clark's voice vibrating with emotion as he begs his lady to try him out.  Favorite tracks: "Round & Round," "Summer Girls," "Burn You Up."

U.F.O., Jim Sullivan

U.F.O., Jim Sullivan, 1969, :29

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I never heard of this guy, but find from Wikipedia that "The album was unpopular upon release, but has gained a cult following in part due to the mysterious disappearance of Sullivan."  I found it rather unremarkable but pleasant.  Pleasant arrangement, pleasant voice, nothing exceptional.  It's certainly tempting to read more mystery and depth into the lyrics due to Sullivan's 1975 disappearance, but I found the lyrics, at least on the surface, to be fairly simplistic. Favorite tracks: "Roll Back the Time," "Sandman," "Jerome."

San Francisco Days, Chris Isaak

San Francisco Days, Chris Isaak, 1993, :41

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

I am reasonably sure that 99%, if not the entirety, of Chris Isaacs' oeuvre can be summed up in a single sentence: "I messed up my love life and now I bitterly regret it." His brand of laid back folk-soul rock doesn’t vary much. Brushes hitting the drums. That thick sound of the blue guitar. And of course that honeyed voice, that climbs to a falsetto wail of despair or comes down to an eerie haunted whisper. Phrases such as "I am still crying," "Sorry I made you cry," and "I’m thinking of you / I really love you" abound in his lyrics.  It's all very routine, but well-made.  He covers "Solitary Man," which is totally in his wheelhouse; sadly, "5:15" did not turn out to be the Who cover I hoped it would be.  Favorite tracks: "San Francisco Days," "Beautiful Homes," "Lonely With a Broken Heart."

Empty Glass, Pete Townshend

Empty Glass, Pete Townshend, 1980, :40

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I have known about this album since seeing it in a Rolling Stone list of best albums of the 1980s, but never got around to listening to it.  That ends today!  I was surprised to find some rather unambiguous homoerotic undertones in a few of the songs, particularly "Rough Boys."  The title song sound very much like a lost Who song.  All told, it's a very intriguing and rewarding collection by a master songwriter.  Favorite tracks: "Let My Love Open the Door," "Rough Boys," "Keep On Working," "A Little Is Enough."

Swing Lo Magellan, Dirty Projectors

Swing Lo Magellan, Dirty Projectors, 2012, :42

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I've never heard of this operatic, art-indie band; it's another stumbled-upon Spotify surprise.  Apparently this is their least ornate album.  These songs are indeed rather beat-heavy and lean toward the electronic, yet it still comes across as an honest and personal collection of songs.  The blend of male and female vocals creates a warm, inviting sound.  I'm not as much of a fan of the desultory, off-beat percussion noises.  Favorite tracks: "Gun Has No Trigger," "Impregnable Question," "Swing Lo Magellan."

Ride Me Back Home, Willie Nelson

Ride Me Back Home, Willie Nelson, 2019, :43

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

You know what you're getting with a modern day Willie album. The slow songs will be melancholic and wistful, the light songs will be silly and funny, there will be an unexpected cover made entirely his own (here it's Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are"), and the whole will be flawlessly executed with the skill and grace of a man who's been churning out classic songs his whole life.  Favorite tracks: "Come On Time" (not an exhortation to arrive early, but a gentle rebuke, in apostrophe form, to Time), "Ride Me Back Home," "Seven Year Itch, "It's Hard To Be Humble."

The Blue Mask, Lou Reed

The Blue Mask, Lou Reed, 1982, :41

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

After reading about this album many, many years ago, I had a vision of it grown to mythical status as it remained unfound by me.  The darkest Lou Reed album, full of terrors and the cruel sexual underbelly of a secret world.  Well, I finally listened to it, and it really isn't all that dark.  Yes, there's a song abut a dead friend, but it's a touching and celebratory one, not horribly bleak.  The title track is a litany of violent sex, but Reed has written about that before, and this has the ring of a confession rather than eroticism.  There's a song about JFK being shot, and some ragged songs about DTs and night terrors and alcoholism, but also a love song and some humor.  I mean: "Ooohhh-wheee / Son of a B."  And: "Average looks, average taste / Average height, an average waist / Average in everything I do / My temperature is ninety-eight point two."  Favorite tracks: "Underneath the Bottle," "Waves of Fear," "The Day John Kennedy Died."

Born Under a Bad Sign, Albert King

Born Under a Bad Sign, Albert King, 1967, :35

 
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The legend adds his guitar chops to some blues standards, adding in some soul and funk to the mix.  One surprising track is "The Very Thought Of You," which finds King crooning smoothly rather than moaning the blues while shredding.  "The Hunter" is a rather awkward metaphor in which Kind sets his sights on women with his "love gun."  This album probably doesn't hit as hard now in 2021 as it did when it came out, but it remains, I think, the epitome of blues guitar, with King's unusual, sharp guitar work front and center.  Truly the King is well-named.  Favorite tracks: "Crosscut Saw," "Kansas City," "Born Under a Bad Sign," "I Almost Lost My Mind."

When I Pretend To Fall, Long Winters

When I Pretend To Fall, Long Winters, 2003, :48

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

This is a regular indie album, played by a bunch of guys who play indie music.  A couple of the songs seem to be about a woman who left him a year ago and is now getting married, maybe?  I didn't find it engaging or interesting.  The lyrics are delivered with self-importance but are rather juvenile, and heavy on the choruses.  The most popular song on the album, "Cinnamon," is nice but marred by that reliance on the "chorus ad nauseam" approach.  Favorite tracks: "Scared Straight," "Blue Diamonds."

Déjà Vu, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Déjà Vu, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, 1970, :36

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Well-known as one of the seminal albums of the classic rock era that you must hear before you die, yet I never got around to it.  However, I think nearly every one of these songs is regularly played on classic rock radio.  The ones I didn't care for as much were, oddly enough (since he's probably the most creative one of the four), the Neil Young ones, like the draggy "Almost Cut My Hair."  Funny how four guys who sound do beautiful together and sing of peace and love could hate each other for so many decades, though.  Favorite tracks: "Carry On," "Helpless," "Teach Your Children," "Our House."

Ghosts Of West Virginia, Steve Earle & the Dukes

Ghosts Of West Virginia, Steve Earle & the Dukes, 2020, :30

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Ten beautifully crafted songs about West Virginia, specifically about coal miners and their dangerous, disappearing way of life.  Earle is a fantastic songwriter, of course, but here I think he surpasses himself, treating the subject with reverence and righteous ire (as when he howls the names of the 29 miners killed in the 2010 explosion on "It's About Blood").  An artist taking on the voice of a working man is always a tricky task, but for me I don't think he made a misstep on the album.  Earle's voice at this point is a raspy growl, which he uses to perfect effect.  Favorite tracks: "Heaven Ain't Goin' Nowhere," "Union, God and Country," "Black Lung," "The Mine."

Blind Melon, Blind Melon

Blind Melon, Blind Melon, 1992, :55

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Everyone knows the massive hit, and the tragic early death of Shannon Hoon (so much so that his name, though more or less unspoken for two decades, popped immediately into my mind).  But would Blind Melon have been just a one hit wonder, or would they have gone on to a lasting career if Hoon had lived?  I'm leaning toward the latter after hearing this album.  With Led Zeppelin-like yowls, some Near Eastern musical influences, and a variety of sounds, from hard rock to blues to folk rock, this band probably would have had legs.  Maybe another Soundgarden, even.  No way to know for sure, of course.  But I found myself pleasantly surprised at Blind Melon's chops.  Favorite tracks: "No Rain, "Paper Scratcher," "Tones Of Home."

Keasbey Nights, Catch 22

Keasbey Nights, Catch 22, 1998, :46

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Nasally-voiced, decent ska-punk band with a few catchy hooks but not much to say over these 14 tracks, leading to the sing-along choruses being repeated until they lose their appeal.  The jokey tone doesn't exactly help with their lack of gravitas.  That sounds harsh, but this isn't actually a bad listening experience.  It's just not very good.  Anyway, I'm sure they'd sneer at my old-man values.  As always, the horn section is the most talented bunch.  The song "Katrina She Don't Know I Exist" is a rather off-putting "nice guy" anthem.  Favorite tracks: "Keasbey Nights," "9mm And a Three Piece Suit," "On & On & On."

Blues And the Abstract Truth, Oliver Nelson

Blues And the Abstract Truth, Oliver Nelson, 1961, :36

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

On this short, six-track album, Oliver Nelson showcases his saxophone talent as well as a great ear for arrangements.  Since jazz doesn't usually have words, you have to try to listen for the ideas.  Sometimes I have no idea what the songs are trying to say and sometimes I do.  Some of these pieces, like "Yearnin',"  are a bit strident in their virtuosity.  But most of this album has you nodding and snapping along, until it grabs you by the shirt front and smacks you with a well-crafted solo.  This is the kind of music that sneaks up on you.  Favorite tracks: "Stolen Moments," "Hoe Down," "Cascades."

When I Was Born For the 7th Time, Cornershop

When I Was Born For the 7th Time, Cornershop, 1997, :54

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This is electronic stoner raga rock, with catchy rhythms aplenty. There are Indian and Middle Eastern sounds, there's a cover of "Norwegian Wood" in Punjabi, and there are some rather Beckian distorted beats. While there are several tracks on this album that just aren't what I'm interested in (electronic instrumentals and buzzy feedback), the amount of music here that is so irrepressibly, toe-tappingly catchy more than elevates this album to four-star status. Favorite tracks: "Brimful of Asha," "Sleep On the Left Side," the Belle and Sebastian-like duet "Good To Be Back On the Road Back Home," and the Punjabi "We're In Yr Corner."

The Humour Is On Me Now, Ronnie Drew

The Humour Is On Me Now, Ronnie Drew, 1999, :48

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The Dubliners member and growly singer of "Seven Drunken Nights" is ready to sing some traditionals. Not someone at a party you'd ask to sing because he's such a beautiful singer — his impressive voice is like gravel being crushed — but you'd ask him because he knows and can deliver a lot of great songs.  He doesn't sing so much as chant or recite these tunes; "Black Velvet band," normally jaunty, is turned into something a bit more grim and gritty just by the delivery.  In fact, he actually recites one track, a poem about Dublin called "Clearing a Space."  I think for most people this would be rated rather poorly, but to me it evokes my childhood and another world.   Favorite tracks: "The Humour Is On Me Now;" "Limerick Rake;" "The Dunes," apparently written by Shane McGowan, a haunting song about the piles of dead buried from the famine; "The Dingle Puck Goat." 

Shoot Out the Lights, Richard + Linda Thompson

Shoot Out the Lights, Richard + Linda Thompson, 1982, :38

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ 

I've heard a few of these songs before, and covers of them, but never the whole album.  I've been reading about it for decades as one of the greatest albums of all time.  That Richard Thompson sure is a great songwriter!  I vacillated a while as to whether this was a five star album for me.  I decided in the end that there are couple of tracks that just don't appeal to me (like "Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed," which I found too flat in both its imagery and delivery), so it's a strong four.  Favorite tracks: "Shoot Out the Lights," "Wall of Death," "Don't Renege On Our Love," "Man In Need."

Ursa Minor, Nana Grizol

Ursa Minor, Nana Grizol, 2017, :35 

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Another pleasant Spotify discovery!  This band sounds kind of like Mountain Goats, but gay and a little less riled up.  Excellent, earnest songwriting about making one's way in a very uncertain world makes this my cup of tea.  Is this band the next coming of Neutral Milk Hotel?  No.  But it is a more interesting Defiance Ohio.  Favorite tracks: "Mississippi Swells," "T.V. Song," "Tacoma Center 1600," "Window."

Let's Get Out of This Country, Camera Obscura

Let's Get Out of This Country, Camera Obscura, 2006, :39

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Have only maybe just barely heard of this band, but knew nothing about them before today.  It's a delicate Scottish indie pop band, like my beloved Belle and Sebastian!  There is a certain similarity.  Gander at these lyrics and tell me Stuart or Stuart wouldn't sing them: "Fed up of girls in pretty dresses / With boys who want to teach them a lesson / Sick of the sight of my old lover / Went under sheets and covers to get away from him."  Very Sebastianish.  They hate to be called twee pop, but it's just an apt description!  Vocalist Tracyanne Campbell has such an ethereal, beautiful voice as she sings of heartbreak, affairs, and infatuation.  Favorite tracks: "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken," "Tears For Affairs," "Come Back Margaret," "I Need All the Friends I Can Get."

Highwayman, the Highwaymen

Highwayman, the Highwaymen, 1985, :34

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

I've heard the title track a thousand times, of course, but never got around to the rest of this fine debut by the country supergroup to end all supergroups. Fun fact: The group wasn't named "The Highwaymen" on this album. On their this and their second album, they are credited as "Nelson, Jennings, Cash, Kristofferson." The official name which came to be widely recognized began to be used only in later years, and their last collaborative effort, The Road Goes on Forever, was already credited to "The Highwaymen." But I'm going with the now-common name. Also, I always assumed that the cosmic-reincarnation saga of the title track was some Willie Nelson weed-inspired dream, but it turns out it's a Jimmy Webb cover from 1977! Anyhoo, the rest of these songs — all but one covers — are excellent as well. Favorite tracks: "Highwayman," "Big River," "Against the Wind," and the bleak but jaunty-sounding account of a mental hospital, "Committed to Parkview."

A Little More Time with Reigning Sound, Reigning Sound

A Little More Time with Reigning Sound, Reigning Sound, 2021, :37

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The first Reigning Sound record I listened to (2002's Time Bomb High School) was, I thought, a refreshing blast of garage rock. This one is a stylistic leap ahead, shedding the garage label and settling into just damn fine pop-rock.  There are hints of the old garage sound, but also bits of country (like on "Moving and Shaking") and some jangle-rock as well.  Overall, it's more polished, which normally I don't use as a compliment, but it's the best way I can think of to describe how the songwriting has blossomed.  The vocals aren't as gritty and the lyrics are more worldly and plaintive.  Favorite tracks: "Let's Do It Again," "A Little More Time," "Just Say When," "You Don't Know What You're Missing."

Fight the Good Fight, the Interrupters

Fight the Good Fight, the Interrupters, 2018, :32

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

This punk band is Rancid reborn, with a talented female singer but all the same rockabilly-ska-punk licks, catchy sing-along choruses, confident positive energy in the lyrics, and Tim Armstrong's influence looming large throughout (the entire band features on one track).  Indeed, some of the lyrics, in their sentiment and even their turns of phrase, seem to indicate Armstrong's hand in the writing, but I can't find any songwriting credits to verify.  Anyway, I love this album; nothing wrong with taking a winning formula and repackaging it with a new youthful verve.  Favorite tracks: 'She's Kerosene," "Title Holder," "Gave You Everything," "Room With a View."

American Music, the Blasters

American Music, the Blasters, 1980, :46

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Rockabilly, old-style and pure. The six originals seamlessly blend with several covers from the '50s.  While I like this style of music just fine, a little goes a long way. This setlist of nineteen (including several bonus tracks released later) short, fast, rollicking songs would make a great set from a bar band but it's only a decent album. After a while the Bill Haley yowl and the rattletrap percussion all starts to sound the same. Favorite tracks: "Marie Marie," the covers "Barefoot Rock" and "Crazy Baby."

Carnavas, Silversun Pickups

Carnavas, Silversun Pickups, 2006, :56

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

This buzzy, shoegaze type of indie is really not my thing. This album was suggested by Spotify, which normally is a good source of new-to-me music that matches my tastes. But I found it to be a snorefest.  I guess I just can't get past that dead affect, low-fi buzz.  It works, most of the time, for Yo La Tengo.  But these guys sound like Elf Power on Xanax. On the plus side, "Checkered Floor" has a few rockin' moments. But the last song ends with 1:45 of fuzz noise. No thank you! Favorite track: "Dream at Tempo 119," which true to its title manages to speed up enough to sound awake, at least.

Rumor and Sigh, Richard Thompson

Rumor and Sigh, Richard Thompson, 1991, 1:01

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

At just over an hour, this album never feels overly padded.  It's filled with terrific musicianship, cutting lyrics, nostalgia, and gentle humor.  At times, the lyrics crackle with wit, with lines like "sitting on his lap / taking his dictation."  And the snarl of the anti-Thatcher screed "Mother Knows Best" is as surprising and agile as Dylan.  Other times, Thompson takes a darker turn, as in "Grey Walls," about a mental hospital.  What's impressive is how he keeps it catchy even while decrying the horrors of ECT. Musically, the songs showcase a wide variety of tempos and styles (the credits include some very obscure and archaic instruments), which keeps things interesting. Favorite tracks: "Read About Love," which chronicles a young lad's first exposure to sex in magazines; "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," a modern folk song centered around a coveted motorcycle; "I Feel so Good," narrated by a cad out to break some hearts; "Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands," about demanding be allowed a turn to play his Scottish reel records (Find a lap or find a chair / You can park it anywhere / Just don't rest your cheeks against my man!").

Ton-Ton Macoute!, Johnny Jenkins

Ton-Ton Macoute!, Johnny Jenkins, 1970, :48

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The debut of a blues musician who recorded only four albums, and the second one came 26 years after this one.  The title comes from the name of a Haitian boogeyman, also taken by Papa Doc's brutal police squad.  Duane Allman and Butch Trucks play on a few tracks because, fun fact, this was originally intended as a Duane Allman solo album!  Johnny just came by and recoded vocals over those tracks.   Favorite tracks: "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" is a rollicking, thumping toe-tapper; "Down Along the Cove," completely remade into a straight blues; "Blind Bats and Swamp Rats;" "I Don't Want No Woman."