Boy Krazy - Boy Krazy (1993)

Boy Krazy were a short-lived prefabricated pop group riding the hot Euro dance-pop sound of the early-90s (Although they were apparently assembled in New York). "That's What Love Can Do" was a decent-sized hit in the early-90s and an earworm fondly remembered by yours truly. And oh how I rejoiced with the knowledge that the entire Boy Krazy album was available for streaming! "That's What Love Can Do" was brought to you by the same writing/production team that gave us such classics as "Never Gonna Give You Up," and hey it still sounds pretty good! The rest of the album, however, not so much. Okay, the follow-up single "Good Times With Bad Boys" is a serviceable tune in a second-tier Bananarama song kind of way, but that's about it. I swear, at least half of the songs feature the EXACT SAME Eurotrash drum machine track. In short, the sole full-length album by Boy Krazy is sadly a disappointment. Sorry, Boy Krazy! But hey, having one good song is better than none.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0SY7lk9XHlnTP56d3bt2E5

The Chieftains - The Bells of Dublin (1991)

The holiday season album reviews continue! When you listen to a Chieftains album, Christmas-related or not, you probably know what you're getting into and this is no exception. Since I have little-to-no knowledge on traditional Irish music, I'll avoid embarrassing myself by going into too much detail here. This is an excellent record! The Chieftains mostly avoid the obvious holiday songs and tackle a nice mix of traditional carols, Irish tunes and some new originals.  Having guest star vocalists is usually a pretty lame gimmick, but the singers here are fine choices that fit in well with the Chieftains' style. The Elvis Costello tune, "St. Stephen's Day Murders", is undoubtedly one of the standouts (I know I'm probably biased but whatever). Marianne Faithful's guest spot on "I Saw Three Ships" is another highlight, but all the guests do a pretty good job overall. And the Chieftains themselves give a flawless and lively performance, with the album's production helping to create a very natural and energetic vibe. There's nothing stilted or forced at the way this album comes off, it feels like you're in the room hanging out and drinking with the band themselves and having a real good time. If you want to play a Christmas album the whole family can enjoy but don't want to endure listening to some shithead crooning about chestnuts roasting again, look no further here.

https://open.spotify.com/album/6aL012XfK6NSveMV9a3igc

Dwight Yoakam - Come on Christmas (1997)

Every Album on Spotify is back, baby! Since it's an opportune time to review Christmas recordings, I plan on posting a few on here in the oncoming days. Come on Christmas is both an excellent Christmas album and an excellent Dwight Yoakam album overall. This probably shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. Dwight has always been skillful at making records and he was at the top of his game, artistically and commercially, when this came out 20 years ago. What's impressive about this one is the eclectic diversity of his arrangements and how he's able to pull it all off convincingly. There are plenty of rockers and downtempo tunes as well as some intriguing left-turns. In particular, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" rides on a nice Al Green-style groove and "Silver Bells" sounds great with its Tex-Mex arrangement. You've probably already heard most of these songs a billion times before, but Yoakam is able to put in enough twists to make them seem new again. He even throws in a couple of new Christmas-themed originals ("Come On Christmas" and "Santa Can't Stay") that aren't too cloying and are actually pretty good. And as always he has that awesome hick singing voice to die for. A fun one!
https://open.spotify.com/album/4hXCM8vqLJnlFcuHoH3zVP

John Hiatt - Slug Line (1979)

Holy shit, was John Hiatt really trying hard to sound like Elvis Costello here? He had to be, there is no way it's a coincidence how much this sounds almost exactly like This Year's Model-era Elvis, right down to the lots of words and excess of att-i-tude. There's even the obligatory reggae song here four tracks in. But I mean, as far as fake Elvis Costello goes, this is pretty good. Stripped-down and punchy new wave arrangements with memorable melodies and snotty vocals. Hiatt's always been a solid craftsman, but it's a bit alarming to hear him struggling to find his musical voice on this album. I wonder if the stylistic change here was him just following his muse or the record company's idea. Either way, it's a good time overall.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5MOm6Cer1iv1VmyJp2ArLz

Popol Vuh - Affenstunde (1970)

Birds chirping kick this thing off and then quickly disappear and then there are underwater sounds and sonar beeps happening and then they combine with reverb-y echo effects so I think Popol Vuh wants the listener to feel like they're in a submarine or something and then the sonar beeps get more urgent and louder and fade in and out and honestly get kind of annoying while at the same time we hear the underwater keyboards rumbling away in the background and then after awhile the beepity boops fade away and we hear feedback-y stuff and what sounds like a Fender Rhodes malfunctioning and then the echoplex or whatever sounds get louder and then we hear more keyboard beepity boops and then a drum circle muscles its way into the foreground with this insistent cowbell and I'm all like "I really hope this drum circle thing doesn't go on for like a half hour or something because it's really going nowhere and I wish all these drums would at least all play to the same tempo or something" and then the drums fade out and we just hear whoosh-y air synth sounds and so we have these spooky abstract synth sounds wheezing in and out of focus and I swear I hear a faint conga drum in the background being randomly hit once in a while and anyway so we're floating on some spooky Moog synth business for a while but it's pretty cool so I'm like all "okay, I'll just chill with this for now and I'm honestly feelin it anyway," not like I'm on drugs or anything, just feeling the vibe, and then we hear a campfire crackling and then the drum circle comes back, but it's okay because the drums are actually following some kind of groove and a Moog is grooving along with it too and it sounds like it's all happening in a secluded cave somewhere and we hear these weird metallic sound effects too and then things get pretty tense with more spooky sounds that sound like a distorted singing saw and then the drums go away again and the heavy organ vibes come creeping in and then these loud drony synthesizers but one of the synths sounds like a pan flute or something and then the drum circle comes back fading in and out but it's all frantic-sounding now and it feels like the drums are fighting back and forth with the synths which are farting out endless streams of all these aimless noodly notes and this all goes on for a nice long time and then it's done and that's the end of the album. There's a bonus track too but it's quite different from the main album and is all choo choo train sounds and synth sprinkles and although the drum circle returns the track's a bit jarring and seriously disrupts the flow, maaaan.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2oCgi9J2jLo4LWHA7sZxZ9

Prefab Sprout - Protest Songs (1989)

As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to 80s British sophisti-pop bands, Prefab Sprout places pretty high near the top of the list. Vocally smoother on the ears than, say, the Style Council, but with a Smiths-like edge (early on at least) and a certain off-kilter approach that made them more exciting than some of their more overproduced peers. Not to mention also their impeccable sense of craft and lyrical wordplay. And yes I know that Prefab Sprout is still an ongoing concern and have made many albums since the 80s, just bear with me here. Protest Songs was apparently supposed to be their third album (recorded in 1986) but wasn't released until several years later for reasons I do not know. Soundwise, it's fairly similar to their first two albums, which might be why they held this one back. It also doesn't have any immediate standouts like "When Love Breaks Down." Don't get me wrong though, Protest Songs is still an excellent record. And "more of the same" when it comes to early Prefab Sprout is quite a nice thing to have. Start with Swoon or Steve McQueen (titled Two Wheels Good for us Yanks) first, though. Music like this with its fancy jazz chords and tasteful production certainly screams "Adult" and you'll likely either love it or hate it. In fact, I'm sure I would have been amongst the latter group if I heard this as a teenager. Funny how tastes change...

https://open.spotify.com/album/4vjS1kZVN3RkljV9KaG9M5

Grant Hart - Intolerance (1989)

Very sad news recently with the death of Grant Hart at age 56. I was too young to follow Husker Du when they were an active band, but I got into them in the mid-90s through being a fan of Bob Mould's subsequent band Sugar and going backwards through his catalog. The BMG Music Club had the Huskers' final album Warehouse: Songs and Stories at the time, so that one came first for me, then after not too long I found used vinyl copies of most of their SST records. Husker Du has been one of my favorite bands ever since, and I think my natural preference for distorted melodic music is most likely attributable to them. I've realized through the years that a lot of my favorite Husker Du songs were ones that Grant Hart wrote and sang. "Pink Turns to Blue", "Sorry Somehow", "Flexible Flyer", "Green Eyes"... holy shit, those songs are untouchable and will live on for a long time to come. While Grant Hart's post-Husker Du output, both solo and with the band Nova Mob in the 90s, was more erratic, it's a shame how overlooked his records are. Intolerance was the first solo record Grant made, shortly after Husker Du's breakup. I think I initially picked this one up in the Sam Goody 99-cent cassette bargain bin at some point in the 90s. I'm listening to it again in the wake of his death. Free of the limitations of the HD sound, Hart can do whatever he wants and that's certainly what he does here. It's often more of a folk-rock record than a rock record, but there is absolutely no compromising artistically. Grant goes beyond the sound of his former band to bring out his eccentricities and prove all of what he's capable of doing. Keyboards make a solid presence on many of the songs, but they are tastefully employed and work so well within the context of the songs. But for all that is going on musically, the arrangements have plenty of room to breathe and it's a very natural-sounding record. In fact, the production is so much better than the tinny, echoey sound of the last few Husker Du records it's shocking. Why do those final HD albums sound so bad?!? But what's most important are the songs themselves, and they're all excellent. "2541" is probably the most recognizable tune and a great singalong. "Now That You Know Me" is the closest to a Husker Du-style song here (listen to The Living End for an early live HD version). "The Main" and "She Can't See the Angels Coming" are both touching ballads. These are some of the standouts, but the album as a whole is well worth a listen or three. R.I.P. Grant. You will be missed.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5hTyhepxgW8r3UML8jqteh

George Strait - Strait from the Heart (1982)

George Strait's music has always been pretty dependable. He may have gotten schmaltzier over the years, but Strait never really abandoned the same neotraditionalist country style he started with. But what truly sets him apart from many of his peers is his effortless ability in finding and performing quality songs. Never flashy or too terribly exciting for that matter, his enduring popularity shows the importance consistently good songs can have in solidifying a lasting career. Strait from the Heart was his second album, and it's about as good as 80's mainstream country music gets. It's fairly diverse, going from honky tonk to ballads and more countrypolitan faire with a natural ease. Even the seemingly obligatory Texas swing song ("I Can't See Texas from Here") isn't bad. I'm sad to report that the lifeless digital production that unfortunately plagues most 80's country is fully in place on this recording. But thankfully the quality of the songs and George's solid singing are able to rise above the often anonymous musical backing. After all, "Amarillo by Morning" is on this album. You CANNOT fuck with that song.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3NB2cmFq9nyhHSVz0Zv08t

Gershon Kingsley - Music to Moog By (1969)

Early solo record by one of the true pioneers of electronic music (of Perrey & Kingsley fame). Although I could do without the couple of hokey Beatles covers included, this is some essential listening, especially if you're interested in the history of the synthesizer in popular music. Giving respect where respect is due, modern music would sound very different without the crucial efforts of Kingsley and his peers, integrating innovative synthesizer sounds and other experimental elements into a pop music framework. Not just synths are on display on Music to Moog By, however. Plenty of groovy drums and fuzz guitars and the occasional woodwind instrument are present as well. The original version of the instrumental Kingsley composition "Pop Corn" appears on this album, recorded a couple years before the top 10 hit version by Hot Butter. And while the hit version is great and all, Gershon's original has aged considerably better, with a spacey abstractness that is quite appealing and unique.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2b0eZQ5QbymtZEggxue5CX

Wovenhand - Star Treatment (2016)

I liked 16 Horsepower, David Eugene Edwards' previous band, quite a bit. This is my first experience with Wovenhand, even though they've been around for over 15 years. But I guess it's better late than never. Taking 16 Horsepower's heavy Appalachian-gospel-of-the-damned thing deep into desert goth rock realms, this is some seriously heavy music with crushing spiritual overtones. Edwards wails like a man possessed most of the time and the band follows suit cranking up some inspiring and powerful rock music. I would call it anthemic, but that would probably conjure up comparisons to some dull-ass band like the Arcade Fire or something. This is just great music, I'll try and leave it at that. And although I do miss the more idiosyncratic folk elements of Edwards' earlier music, there is undeniably a lot of potency to this stuff. For listeners of artists like Nick Cave, Gun Club, Swans, etc, it is so worth your time. If there were any justice in the world this band would be huge.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0Y2QdHxI2AOvUja9jrar2b

Earth, Wind & Fire - The Need of Love (1971)

A very different Earth, Wind & Fire than what one might expect. This is their second album, recorded shortly before vocalist Philip Bailey joined the group and they began their lengthy reign as the kings of funk/R&B. This record is rough and fascinating, its feel very much influenced by some of the sounds coming from the Chicago underground at the time (AACM and the Art Ensemble of Chicago both certainly come to mind). The bracing free jazz introduction to the first track, the 10-minute "Energy," might be off-putting to listeners expecting it to sound more in line with "Shining Star" or one of their other hits. It's great all the same, though. And while Earth, Wind & Fire made many excellent albums during their commercial peak, it's honestly a little unfortunate to think about the promise unfulfilled from an album like this. Their integration of funk/R&B with experimental elements was fairly seamless by this point, but how far could they have taken this free jazz/funk hybrid? That's not to say the entire album is an audacious experiment. The second track, "Beauty" isn't too far off from the direction they later took, but with significantly less polish. If EW&F's later albums are a little too slick for your taste, try this one on for size.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3EkU0XjJLHN6OBcxbFxgHB

B.B. King - Six Silver Strings (1985)

My local public library had this LP in their collection when I was growing up. I remember my dad checking it out once but had no recollection of anything else about it except him saying, "Yeah, this one isn't too good." And now I'm revisiting what the cover proclaims to be "B.B. KING'S 50TH ALBUM." (The sticker on the cover should be a giant warning sign of the lack of inspiration contained in the album right there.) So how is it? Well, turns out dad was right after all. The 1980s were not a good decade for most legacy artists and here's some solid proof. I will say, however, that on a few of these songs the keyboards are tastefully restrained and the drum sounds seem to come from a real non-electronic drum set. But then there's the rest of it, which practically screams "1985" and is as slick and phoned-in a production by a major artist as you can imagine. "Into the Night" sounded so ridiculously much like it was recorded for Beverly Hills Cop or something, until Wikipedia informed me it's actually from another 80s buddy cop film. The intro to the cover of "Big Boss Man" on here is hilarious, an obvious, limp-dick attempt to rip off "Billie Jean." And oh don't you worry, that's not the only cover song on this 8-song, 33-minute album. The version of "In the Midnight Hour" on here is about as uninspired and lame as you can possibly get. But perhaps most offensively, for an album titled Six Silver Strings and with a motherfucking guitar neck on the cover, it comes up considerably short in the area of actual guitars. Sure, B.B. (or somebody who was in the studio at the time at least) will throw us a bone with a brief solo or two a song, but that's about it. And all we're left with then are the robot drums and Jan Hammer synths to take us away to places we'd rather not go.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2SnuNYRUrn9MFDWT9FHbsL

Prurient - Frozen Niagara Falls (2015)

I've never heard this dude's music before, so why not get acquainted with a 90-minute album of harsh noise and "power electronics"? Thankfully, this is far more musical and varied than I had expected. Lots of minimal synth going on that is honest-to-god melodic and accessible. It starts out real ominous-sounding, reminding me of John Carpenter soundtrack music but with electronic tribal drums and extra squealy feedback parts thrown in. The second track sounds like that too but adds Al Jourgensen-style scary guy vocals to the mix that come and go throughout the album. I gotta admit, I was drifting in and out of paying attention to this while it was playing (hey I'm a busy guy), but most of it was pretty cool and interesting, no small feat for a 90 fucking minute noise album. The variation and pacing are the key here. I'm probably into the atmospheric synth passages the most ("Jester in Agony", "Cocaine Daughter", etc). After all, the scary guy screaming gets wearing after a while. A lot of thought and care seems to have gone into the production of this album, though. Two thumbs up.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5Pm2WvqxlDttK4hTx1vKe3

Loren Connors - Red Mars (2011)

Fittingly titled. Loren (Mazzacane) Connors totally owns this style, atmospheric instrumental electric guitar improvisations, at once both abstract and strangely accessible. This sort of thing should be dreadfully boring but there is a quality to it that makes it appealing as either background music or a more involved listening experience. Disjointed, atonal notes become beautifully melodic under Loren's playing, making a perfect sort of sense in their own unusual way. The music's presence is very inviting, and the atmosphere that Connors is capable of creating on this recording with only a guitar (using minimal effects) and amp noise is nothing short of astounding. This isn't the kind of music to intellectually analyze to death, it pretty much speaks for itself.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6FGwwUFJYZGFJZhumXhTU6

Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth (2005)

As much as I loved the early Oasis records, I've never really bothered with their output after Be Here Now (which I will bravely state is not that bad, seriously!) until I decided to give this one a shot. This penultimate Oasis album is decent enough Britpop, perfectly respectable if not always memorable. Hey guess what, it sounds like Oasis! By this point, Noel Gallagher wasn't writing all the songs anymore but it's not like anyone would be able to tell. Even (ex-Ride dude) Andy Bell's songs are fully conformed to the ossified Oasis style. But hey if it ain't broke, don't fix it, I suppose. We're at least spared Oasis making pathetic attempts to stay relevant by, I don't know, going grime or something. While there are no surprises whatsoever, there is a mac & cheese-style comfort food feel to releases like this one.
https://open.spotify.com/album/17ey4RhKTF2sqtr88d6Qfg

Blowfly - The Weird World of Blowfly (1973)

Blowfly was the legendary alter ego of soul singer/songwriter Clarence Reid (R.I.P.). The concept of Blowfly was pretty simple: filthy, X-rated parodies of classic pop and soul songs sung by a dude in a shitty superhero cape and mask getup, usually recorded "live" in a party setting. For example, "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" becomes "Shitting on the Dock of the Bay" or "The Thrill Is Gone" becomes "The Sperm Is Gone". If this sounds incredibly stupid and juvenile to you, well it most certainly is. But the offensiveness is pretty much the point, and I would be lying if I said this wasn't thoroughly entertaining. Calling The Weird World of Blowfly a comedy record is selling it a bit short. The musical content is quite good, with Blowfly's backing band particularly hot on this recording (especially the drummer's breakbeat segues in between the songs). And the audience is very energetic, interacting with the performers and helping make the whole recording a fun experience. It's a novelty concept on display here, but it withstands repeated listens after the shock content wears off.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5XqXefj93qNjfCMjaZuFNv

André Cymone - Livin' in the New Wave (1982)

Nothing screams early-80s electro new wave funk quite like using a Tron-style album cover background. André Cymone was part of Prince's crew in the early days until he broke off to go solo around the time of this album. Musically, it's pretty close to Dirty Mind-era Prince, with plenty of new wave guitars and squiggly synths to go around. So close, in fact, that it makes me wonder about how much Cymone contributed to the development of Prince's early sound. I've gotta say, though, a noticeable flaw of this album is that while Cymone is a serviceable vocalist, he lacks the personality or versatility of his former bandmate (or even Morris Day for that matter). The lyrics ain't too hot either, but I guess one doesn't listen to stuff like this for enlightening lyrical content. Fun record and worth a listen, though!
https://open.spotify.com/album/4JYsvke5iZxH5yXJfDAY2U

Caetano Veloso - Transa (1972)

Caetano Veloso is easily one of the GREATEST OF ALL TIME no matter what language you speak, and it's a damn shame that at the time of this writing a majority of his albums are unavailable on Spotify (in the US at least). Thankfully, however, this album is on here, recorded during the period in which he was exiled by the Brazilian dictatorship and living in London. While not necessarily representative of his work as a whole, Transa is probably one of the best introductions for a newcomer to Caetano's music, as well as one of his greatest albums. It's certainly an accessible record to get into, although the lyrics (mostly in English here) and mood can understandably get a little dour. The music is with a full band but pretty stripped down and spare, a welcome relief from the arrangements on some of his other records which can feel overstuffed at times.  A couple tracks on here ride out into these really cool trance-like repetitive grooves and they go on for like 7 or 8 minutes but you don't want them to end and then you get sad when they do end and then you start playing them again. A classic.
https://open.spotify.com/album/49cBF5iGpJ7nx6EAR8BLga

Herbie Hancock - Lite Me Up (1982)

At some point in the 1970's, Herbie Hancock decided he wanted to sing on his records, besides having little-to-no vocal talent. Have no fear though, he found a solution in robotically distorting his voice by singing through a vocoder most of the time. Lite Me Up is one of a number of sleek, vocoder-laden R&B/disco/funk albums he made. He even hired Rod Temperton, the songwriter behind a lot of Michael Jackson's hits, to write most of these tunes, making me think Herbie was gunning for some sort of Off the Wall/Thriller-style crossover hit. As a result, it's as much a Herbie Hancock album as it is a Rod Temperton one. Even considering the talent involved (hey, dudes from Toto played on this too!), this album comes off mostly as disappointingly generic. The VERY PROFESSIONAL-SOUNDING guest vocalists who sing most of the songs don't really do it for me, either. However, on the few times when Herbie takes over on vocoder, everything changes. The aptly-titled "Gettin' to the Good Part", yesssss that's more like it! And "Give It All Your Heart" is jaw-dropping, a romantic duet between Hancock and Patrice Rushen (of "Forget Me Nots" fame), both on vocoders and sounding like two robots very much in love. Was this inspired by the movie Heartbeeps?!? These tracks sound so much like the last Daft Punk album, you could probably fool most people into thinking they're new Daft Punk singles or something. Lite Me Up was the last album Herbie did in this style before shaking things up further and hitting pay dirt with "Rockit". Most of it sucks, but check out those vocoder tracks!
https://open.spotify.com/album/5LsdfUYg3pWMyjoyAnS3fE

The Impressions - Preacher Man (1973)

After Curtis Mayfield left the Impressions for a solo career in 1970, the band still kept going. This is the second album of the post-Mayfield era, although he was involved here in some capacity as the "Production Coordinator" (whatever that entails). I am pleased to report that Preacher Man is surprisingly excellent! No real surprises here, just epic early-70s soul with a shit-ton of strings and wah-wah guitars and topical "we've got to get together, people" and "we've got to make a better day"-type lyrics. If you're a fan of Curtis Mayfield's early solo records or Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, this is well worth checking out. The ambitious 10 minute "Thin Line" is the centerpiece of this short but sweet album. Did it have to be 10 minutes long? Maybe not. Does it still rule? Yes it does. The song's arrangement and steady buildup are top-notch and everything you would want from an over-the-top, socially-conscious soul epic. The album as a whole keeps a consistently high quality throughout.
https://open.spotify.com/album/3Rqc54B3gO2fUqWTH4J24n

Bloodrock - Bloodrock 2 (1970)

Oh man, Bloodrock is one of the best band names ever. With a band name and album cover like that, how could you go wrong? Well...it's not bad. A little heavy on the typical histrionic, vibrato-laden rock dude vocals of the day. For being what passed for hard rock at the time, though, I wish this stuff was heavier. It often just sounds like a less-good Grand Funk Railroad. And that's good enough, I guess. "D.O.A." is all-time, though. An 8 minute dirge sung from the point of view of a corpse, complete with tasteless ambulance sound effects. Even the worst album on earth would get a five star rating from me if it had this song on it. Wikipedia states that this album received gold certification from the RIAA in 1990. I can dig that.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5VwaK4Ip2MjhTLzQpD9cwa

Lou Reed - New Sensations (1984)

A disturbingly upbeat album from our man Lou. Hey, who said he isn't allowed to be goofy and fun sometimes? I certainly can't blame him for trying to get on 80's rock radio or whatever he's attempting here, and it sounds like he's having a good time. There is no confusion as to what era in which this album was recorded (the Phil Collins-esque gated reverb drums sound absolutely ridiculous on a Lou Reed record), but thankfully things don't get too synthed-out. It's still mostly guitar-bass-drums. "Doin' the Things That We Want To", that's a pretty classic-sounding Lou Reed groove. Not everything on this is too hot, though. "My Red Joystick" is terrible. This was released as a single?!? And who the fuck wants to hear Lou Reed sing about video games?!? A much better dumb song here is "My Friend George" (chorus lyrics: "Hey bro, what's the word?/I hear you're talkin' 'bout my friend George"). The album is mostly throwaways, but fun enough.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0H1QdJdBc1roGFZ6g2U9Dx

Chic - Real People (1980)

Chic steps into the 1980s, sounding a little different from their previous work, slowly moving away from their early disco-based sound and into a more modern R&B dance approach. This record is pretty good overall. Surprisingly lots of guitar from Nile Rodgers, too. I didn't care too much for the slower numbers and there didn't seem to be a lot of real standouts here, but this album as a whole flows quite nicely and feels like a real album conceived as such. Side note: While lyrics were never a strong suit for this band, a few moments on here when Chic gets serious are pretty cringeworthy. "I've got protection/From your infection", yuuuck.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6UfHHpUD6whnedHnApDtxo

Fred Schneider - Just Fred (1996)

Dude from the B-52's makes a punk album with an all-star cast. Steve Albini engineered it. Members from the Didjits and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and Six Finger Satellite all play in his backing band(s). While there is no mistaking Fred's voice for anyone else's, this album comes off pretty convincingly. It doesn't feel like a cash-in for relevancy. I think Fred just wanted to rock out and get way more unhinged than he normally does in his regular band. I have to admit however, his vocals are a bit too much to take in this setting after awhile. But there is no doubt he remains fully committed throughout. Interesting cover of Harry Nilsson's "Coconut" as well. Fun record!
https://open.spotify.com/album/5XdCm9Cfh93y8ZOcuvlFsg

T. Rex - Futuristic Dragon (1976)

Oh my is this album ridiculous. If the cover didn't already tip you off about that, just listen to the 2-minute introduction with such spoken lyrics as "Deep beneath an ancient shadow/...Dwelt the grinning Cyclopean pagan/Screaming destruction in sheer dazzling raiment/A thunderbolt master a 'lectronic savior/A gold galactic raver, the Futuristic Dragon." Right on! I always had avoided the late-period T. Rex albums since I wasn't too keen on the direction they started taking post-The Slider. Turns out that was a mistake! Holy crap, "Jupiter Liar" is so freaking good, just a classic-sounding T. Rex tune I had no idea existed until now. For a guy with a limited musical palate, Marc Bolan was certainly able to get a lot of mileage out of what he was able to do well. That's not to say there isn't much experimentation, there is a noticeable soul music influence here, but it's all handled quite skillfully. And most of the time it rocks, as most good T. Rex should. A lot of "oh yeah"s and "yeah yeah"s and "do it to me baby"s and whatnot throughout. Not the album I would recommend as an introduction to the art of T. Rex (Electric Warrior is still the best, sorry). But as an advanced studies course it gets an A.
https://open.spotify.com/album/7bxgqrql5oDIr4SVFB1bYN

Diesel Boy - Cock Rock (1996)

Full disclosure: The first all-ages punk show I ever went to was Diesel Boy and Goober Patrol at a Machinist Hall around the time this album came out. You might remember Diesel Boy as the band in the episode of Freaks and Geeks when James Franco's character briefly went "punk". Does this album hold up? It's honestly a bit hard for me to separate this band from the time period, when it felt like there were like 6,000,000 bands on Fat Wreck Chords/Honest Don's playing vaguely similar, slickly-produced pop punk seemingly tailor-made for skate videos. Consequently, it often feels too much like a nostalgia piece for my ears to make a correct assessment. It doesn't help that Diesel Boy don't really stick out much from the pack except for maybe having slightly snottier vocals than the others. And aside from "Punk Rock 101" and "Titty Twister" (two essential inclusions on any 90's pop punk mixtape if you ask me), the songs here aren't always super-memorable. But while they are certainly no Lagwagon, this album still brings the Fat Wreck-style pop punk goods if you're in the mood for it.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5CflWRJhHBqeZ4SZuPtDQd

Bert Jansch - Bert Jansch (1965)

I'm not going to pretend that I'm super-knowledgable on Bert Jansch at this point, but I like what I've heard from him as well as from Pentangle, the group he played in. This is his first solo album and it's pretty great. The sound is nice and spare, just guitar and vocals, mixing more traditional-sounding British folk with other idiosyncratic influences. The original version of "Needle of Death" is on here, which has been covered a lot over the years. Anal-retentive complaint: the song titles on tracks 6-9 are all incorrectly labeled.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6wCFGLrsiWuX4d06Tc0zuZ

Brooklyn Bridge - Brooklyn Bridge (1968)

The cover to this album kinda creeps me out, looking like a sea of disembodied heads. This is some solid late-60s vocal pop however, like if the Association had an over-the-top lead singer (who just happens to be the amazingly-named Johnny Maestro, former leader of the Crests of "16 Candles" fame), or a Gary Puckett and the Union Gap with less songs about pedophilia (although "Glad She's a Woman" rates pretty high on the creep scale). "Worst That Could Happen" was the big hit off this one, and if you liked that song you'll probably like the album too.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6zyjPfnlHQieKpARy2O7Xp

Ann McMillan - Whale-Wail, In Peace, En Paix: For Voice and Tape Structures of Whale and Other Animal Sounds (1986)

A few seconds here and there of recited poetry about whales interspersed with severely manipulated tape recordings of whale sounds. Yep. This was one of the last records Folkways put out before they closed up and sold off their entire catalog to the Smithsonian, under the condition that the label's entire catalog would be kept in print for all of eternity. So we can sleep well with the knowledge that this album will never go out of print. While I don't think I'll be in a hurry to re-listen to this one anytime soon, it certainly was interesting. The sound design was pretty cool and well thought out, and used enough sonic variation to not become tedious.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5wavVlOW7qYs5tbVfGJk19

The Doors - Other Voices (1971)

If you've ever wondered what the Doors would have sounded like without that goon Jim Morrison singing for them, here you go, the first of two albums they cut after he left the band. Most of this actually isn't half bad, but it should be no surprise that the vocals are the weakest link here. As much as it pains for me to say it, Jim Morrison really gave this band their identity and without him they're a perfectly listenable but generic rock band. "Ships With Sails" has some cool Allman Bros-style twin lead guitar vibes, though. Check that one out. I would also like to add that there is an absolutely terrible song on here titled "I'm Horny, I'm Stoned" with such brilliant couplets as: "I feel my mind is shaking out of place/I look like a truck ran over my face/The doctor says I'm not a hopeless case/I really want to join the human race".
https://open.spotify.com/album/6uhwVoXKDMzdXXjhTCH6Nk

We Five - You Were On My Mind (1965)

No one is going to confuse We Five for an edgy band, but I was a bit surprised by this one. Excellent folk "rock" with some pleasant harmonies that thankfully avoids sounding too sanitized and safe. Bonus points for the matching v-neck sweaters on the cover.
https://open.spotify.com/album/6DODxzDGUinwQpWem6HvBc

David Peel and the Lower East Side - The American Revolution (1970)

OK first of all, yes I know that this album is incredibly dumb. A bunch of NYC hippie scumfuck degenerates yelling about smoking weed and hating cops set to borderline-competent minimalist rock'n'roll. If I didn't know any better I would probably have assumed that this group was planted by the Nixon administration to scare the general public into voting Republican. But who cares, this album rocks anyway. And while I wouldn't put this on the same level as, say, the Fugs or the MC5, it's still excellent proto-punk.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0lnpG9UFDP3mXSSrpEuRRO

Larry Young - Larry Young's Fuel (1975)

Jazz keyboardist great jumps on the 70's funk-fusion train. Funky rhythms and seriously spacy synths abound. What sets this apart from most fusion of its time, besides the fact that it doesn't suck, is the wild, Linda Sharrock-esque female vocals on some of the tracks. I don't know anything about this vocalist except that Google tells me her name is Linda "Tequila" Logan and that sadly she's appeared on only a handful of albums. Things get pretty heavy on the last cut, "New York Electric Street Music", with some distorted riffy guitar laying it down while Larry himself takes a goofy turn of his own on the mic. And while he's no great vocalist, he's at least better and more interesting at it than other jazz musicians who have no business singing (Search: Tony Williams "Beyond Games"). This is one of the few fusion records I've heard that I would label as actually being "fun".
https://open.spotify.com/album/3iqXOXzS84CzSxCB9aNAbs

Willie Nelson - ...And Then I Wrote (1962)

Willie's very first album! Pretty standard Nashville arrangements of their time, but this album is very nice. At the time Willie was mainly a Nashville songwriter trying to make it as a performer on his own. And while his own versions of "Crazy", etc might not be as good as the hit covers, they still sound pretty impressive here. And even at the start of his career he had a great, unique voice. This is as good of an introduction to classic country for the uninitiated that I can think of.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2Bsr45EWfyrQEUDfGhJwyu

Various Artists - Uptown MTV Unplugged (1993)

An artifact of the 90's if there ever was one, R&B acts of the time reaching for the ultimate "authenticity" ring by performing live with a slightly stripped-down backing band to prove their chops. Jodeci kicks this off, oversinging within an inch of their lives and for some godforsaken reason jumping into covering "Give It Away" for a moment at the start of their second song. But their version of Stevie Wonder's "Lately" is pretty good even if it mostly just brings back memories to me of the classic parody In Living Color did at the time. And hey everybody, remember Father MC? No?! Mary J. Blige unsurprisingly steals the show by giving a great performance and actually showing some restraint. I'll admit I never heard of Christopher Williams before, who wasn't bad, even though his solo turns seemed to go on forever. Heavy D (R.I.P.) takes over at the end and unfortunately does not do "Now That We Found Love". The drums were really distracting to me throughout this, mixed so obnoxiously loud to make it sound like they were recorded in a sports arena or something. But I have to admit this album was mostly pretty enjoyable.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0CQcwTXgmXtXpMcORejZSM

Fairport Convention - Live in Finland 1971

Totally smokin' live set. Richard Thompson and Sandy Denny were already both out of the band but they were still going full steam ahead when this was recorded. Is this a bootleg? I can’t tell. The sound quality is pretty raw and sounds real good and exciting to my ruined ears. Bummer it's only 35 minutes long.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2VsYBPiP3dmKnuVyXfIf7q

Marcos Valle - Marcos Valle (1983)

OK first off, this album cover is totally hilarious. Second off, the song “Estrelar” is one hell of a sweaty dance floor jam. Third off, the rest of the album is a bit too 80s cheesy-town sounding for me. (The re-recording of “Samba de Verao”, barrrrf) But hey, if you’re into that sort of thing...

https://open.spotify.com/album/0FOAFmdS9StYdW3hrSnJCe

SIANspheric - There’s Always Someplace You’d Rather Be (1998)

Oh hell yes, this is more like it! Canadian space rock/shoegaze of the highest quality. I remember watching the video for one of these tunes on Muchmusic back in the day. Muchmusic in the 90’s was pretty much my Canadian music education at the time (SSSSSLLLLLLLOOOOAAAANNNNN!!!!!). Dig the variety in this band’s approach, Spacemen 3-like in one song, Low or Slowdive or whoever the next. Not the most original thing on earth but well-done and highly recommended.

https://open.spotify.com/album/4S7VTFRKLI3tyFZL36Y250

The Yardbirds - Little Games (1967)

The only Yardbirds album with Jimmy Page on guitar! Oh my god I gotta be honest, some of these songs are pretty lame, pop songs they were probably forced at gunpoint to write and/or record that make the Hollies sound like heavyweights (and I like the Hollies but c’mon). The instrumental “White Summer” is pretty cool though, an earlier example of the ever-popular “white rock dudes attempting to play Indian music” thing. I really like “Glimpses”, a nice moody dark psych tune. Some typical blues-rock choogles on here as well that are good but fall prey to the law of diminishing returns when it comes to this kinda stuff. A for effort, B- in execution.
https://open.spotify.com/album/4qUYoXCmJq9ucc6B7m69Mu