v/a- Trojan Nyahbinghi Box (2003, Disc One)- ****
v/a- Swing Easy (1969)- ****
(Short but sweet Studio One collection of rock steady and ska.)
Velvet Underground- 1969 (Kevin Gray Cut)- ***1/2
Kiki Dee- I'm Kiki Dee (1968)- ****
The Everly Brothers- A Date With...(1960)- ***1/2
Neil Young w/Crazy Horse- Zuma (1975)- ****
(Controversial opinion here, but this album would play so much better without "Cortez The Killer.")
MC5- Back In The U.S.A. (1970)- ***
Patti Smith- Wave (1979)- ****
XTC- Apple Venus Volume One (1999)- ****
Hudson- S/T (1972)- **1/2
The Hudson Brothers- Ba-Fa (1975)- ***1/2
(Fun record. Sometimes it's Badfinger. Sometimes the Bee Gees. Occasionally, the Raspberries. It's a whole lotta A.M. radio, and I say that in the best way.)
The Kinks- State Of Confusion (1983)- ****
(I've been very critical of The Kinks Arista years. But listening to this record tonight, one I was never kind to, it hit me that Ray made a pretty nice transition to the sound of the 80's. Yeah, these records are not what I want from The Kinks I loved in the 60's, but the records in the 70's weren't exactly what I wanted either and most of those RCA records really hold up. This record is light years ahead of some of the crap being played on MTV at the time. Saga, anyone?)
v/a- That Thing You Do O.S.T (1996)- ****
7 comments:
You have a point about Ray’s embrace of the 80s sound. State of Confusion was a step up from Give the People What They Want. I remember seeing them live on the tour for that album and someone holding up a sign that said “Remember Walter.” That seemed spot on to me.
I’m not ready to entertain your Cortez blasphemy at this time. I will offer that I finally worked up the nerve to listen to Talking To The Trees and was able to make it all the way through. It’s not a great album, but it’s better than the other recent ones.
"Cortez blasphemy"
What if I said this instead, "As great as 'Cortez' is, it's the one song on 'Zuma' that doesn't sound like all the rest.
Hmmm. Maybe. I always felt like the long Cortez intro was a key part of the Zuma vibe. Not sure where else he could’ve put sCortez if it weren’t on Zuma. Side one of Hawks and Doves?
Cortez The Killer has great music combined with a number of treacly lyrics about the noble savage. He’s not wrong about Cortez, though.
Best thing I listened to yesterday was Agnes Obel at the wonderful DR Koncerthuset. While the first hour was all new unreleased material, the gig was superb.
- Paul in DK
Ok, blasphemy may have been a little strong. But the more I think about it, Cortez would fit perfectly right after the Old Homestead on Hawks and Doves.
The Hudson Brothers deserve a reassessment. They have that kid's TV stain on them, but they made some solid records.. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to listen to State Of Confusion.
"That Thing You Do" is an amazing single. Imagine being asked to create an early 60s sounding song that MUST convince everyone it's a world-beating hit that will bring an unknown band to fame AND it has to work with just a guy and a guitar (or piano) and rock out into a great song with a full band AND you're going to hear it about a dozen times in various permutations throughout a movie and not get sick of it. And thats exactly what Adam Schlesinger delivered.
Post a Comment