Grateful Dead - "Reckoning"

Bob Weir, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, died earlier this month.  And since I'm far behind on my posting, I'll just this entry to cover bassist and founding member Phil Lesh, who died just over a year ago, and vocalist and former member Donna Jean Godchaux (1972-1079), who died just a few months ago.  The only original and long-time members still alive are their two drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart (an inverse Spinal Tap, if you will). 

I liked them well enough, even though I was never the biggest Grateful Dead fan, but many of my friends were, and given the time and place of my birth, they were an ever present force in my cultural peer group.  Everyone I knew liked them to some degree or another; it was just a question of "how much" and not "if".  To that end, I have three personal stories from back in the day involving the Grateful Dead.  

The first was in High School (maybe early college? looking at this list, it could be any of the 1986--1989 shows) and involved standing in line at a music store to get wrist bands for the opportunity to stand in line to buy tickets for a Grateful Dead tickets.  Or maybe even a spinoff band, like the Jerry Garcia Band, or a Grateful Dead pseudonym, like The Warlocks.   The whole experience was arranged by someone more in the know than me (Robert Dempster?), but Muriel and I went along with Terry, Drew, and others and got the first stage wristbands.  They were designed so that you could not take them off, but we got them off anyway and were able to sell them for $20 or so.  Again, not for a ticket, but for a wrist band that would allow you the chance to buy a ticket.  Not a bad haul for an evening's work in the mid- or late-80s.  

The second story involves my inability to sync with Drew to see the Grateful Dead for one of their two 1992 shows in Hampton. I was graduated and working at NASA at the time, and Drew, still at UVA, had picked up an extra ticket and called me to say he was coming down and if I was interested in seeing the show.  I was absolutely was, and we made plans by phone several days before the show to meet by the fountain in the Hampton Coliseum parking lot.  We both knew the place and this would be an easy rendezvous point.  Unfortunately, because it was the Grateful Dead, they had "grately" expanded the perimeter with fencing, and the fountain was far inside the and given the crush of people, not in line of sight view.  I arrived at the appointed time, but with no means of communicating with Drew (no cell phones in 1992!), I just walked around the perimeter and then went home -- there really was nothing else that could be done.  I often tell this story to "younger" people who don't remember a time before cell phones -- synchronizing with your friends used to be difficult.  Jerry Garcia died in 1995, and I never had a chance to see the Grateful Dead again.  

The third and final story explains why I chose this LP to mark Bob Weir's passing.  I was at Terry's place at JMU, either late 1991 or early 1992, and we came back after partying all night (it may have been the same evening as the described in the "Cactusland" post).  He put on a tape of "Reckoning" as we drifted to sleep, and it was the perfect late evening listening, and I was touched by the beauty of the songs, especially "It Must Have Been The Roses".  Right before I passed out, I told Terry "I'm going to steal this tape."  And the next morning, I did just that.  I eventually bought the CD and returned the tape a couple of years later (he had completely forgotten the event), but this LP was my go to sleep music nearly every night that I lived in Seaford.  

Released in 1981, "Reckoning" was the acoustic live LP, with "Dead Set" as the electric companion released in the same year.  Judging the quality of Grateful Dead shows and ranking the versions of individual songs is far beyond my Dead expertise, but I've gathered that the 1980 shows that these tracks are selected from are considered exemplars of that era.  The CD version that I own has "Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie" omitted, which is unfortunate because it's one of the better songs.  

Of course, hardcore fans listen to soundboard recordings of individual shows, not live LPs.  But this is a "grate" starting point for casual fans, and it's perfect for late night listening.  

Standout songs: I have a special affinity for the first five (CD) or six (tape) songs, after which I was generally asleep: "Dire Wolf", "The Race Is On",  "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie", "It Must Have Been the Roses", "Dark Hollow",  "China Doll"

Skip 'em songs: "Monkey and the Engineer" (for me, this song breaks up the flow of CD/tape)

Final score: 9/10.  You can make this a 10/10 by deleting a couple of songs and adding back "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" 

Bonus links:

Merging my professional and personal interests, the Internet Archive hosts the definitive Grateful Dead archive.  Via the Internet Archive, here are some of the shows that were used to make "Reckoning":

• 1980-09-26 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-09-30 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-07 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-07 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-11 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-13 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-14 Warfield Theatre
• 1980-10-25 Radio City Music Hall
• 1980-10-26 Radio City Music Hall
• 1980-10-27 Radio City Music Hall
• 1980-10-30 Radio City Music Hall

The I would have made if cell phones existed in 1992: Grateful Dead at the Hampton Coliseum: 1992-03-05 (IA), 1992-03-06 (IA)

Jag Panzer - "Ample Destruction"

Last fall, I attended "Nosferatu with Radiohead" at the Naro Cinema (the local art house theater).  It was excellent, and it reminded me of how fun the word "N-o-s-f-e-r-a-t-u" is to say -- it just rolls off your tongue. Then I was reminded of a HS-era metal song that incorporated "Nosferatu" into the lyrics, and then I disappeared into a rabbit hole digging up an LP I probably haven't listened to in over 30 years.  After some digging through the haze and cobwebs of time, I was able to remember the song, LP, and band. 

Courtesy of Scott, I had a taped copy of Jag Panzer's 1984 debut LP "Ample Destruction".  Taping each other's LPs is how we could build a large music collection without having $$$ (a tremendous amount of our HS budget went to music, in a way that "the kids today could not understand", but that's a discussion for another time).  What I didn't realize some 40 years ago is how rare "Ample Destruction" was; this was only revealed after reading some of the reviews at Encylopaedia Metallum.  It wasn't a complete surprise, since Scott was (and still is) the most plugged in person to the metal scene that I personally know.  

Combining the best -- and worst! -- parts of Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate, and Manowar, "Ample Destruction" is a perfect blend of NWOBHM and the emerging Power Metal scene of 1984.  With the LP title itself,  the mispronounced/misspelled WWII "tank destroyer" (Jagdpanzer) reference, and song titles like "Symphony of Terror", "Harder Than Steel", "The Watching", and "Reign of The Tyrants", the LP is 3 parts teenage awesomeness and 1 part unintentional Spinal Tap.  

It's not really possible for me to listen to this LP in 2025 and be completely removed the nostalgia from 40 years ago, but I'm still pretty sure this is an objectively great LP.  Listening to it makes me feel like a teenager again. And to be fair, I think all of them were still teenagers when they made recorded this LP.  Conklin's vocals are distinctive and powerful (far better than King Diamond, as far as I'm concerned), the music is legitimately good, and they earnestly commit to the bit. You really can't ask for more. 

Stand out tracks: All are good, but my favorites include: "License to Kill", "Symphony of Terror", "Reign of the Tyrants", "The Crucifix".  

Skip 'em tracks: none.

Final score: 9/10.  I probably would have gone 10/10 back in the day, but I'm trying to account for my nostalgia lens.

Bonus links: the 1983 four song EP "Tyrants" (sometimes self-titled), which is included in some reissues of "Ample Destruction". 

Sleep - "Dopesmoker"

 

Danette is on a two week cruise with her mother and friends, so in her absence I have resumed what is now a tradition when she's gone: listening to Sleep's "Dopesmoker" on repeat while doing things around the house. This is an LP I've recommended to many friends and colleagues now, so I guess I should blog about it. 

Sleep is a stoner/doom band from California, and I'm not 100% certain how I first heard of them.  They're in the same circle as Earth and Sunn O))), so perhaps I learned of them from Butch.  Or maybe I just read about them online -- it's all appropriately fuzzy, given the cannabis connection.  

The story of this LP is a little bit complicated.  Recorded in 1996, their record label at the time did not want to release it because, among other things, the "album" is just an hour long single song.  In 1999, an unauthorized edited version of the LP was released as "Jerusalem", with six different tracks, all named "Jerusalem".  In 2003, a version was released as "Dopesmoker" with a single eponymous track, and in 2012 another version was released (the 2012 version on Southern Lord Records is the one I have).  

One of the best things about the doom metal genre is that they don't shy away from their Black Sabbath roots, and this LP is no exception. I mention this only because many bands seek to deny or obfuscate their influences, but doom metal is perhaps the only genre that can agree the canon is dominated by the first six Sabbath LPs. The production is cleaner and heavier at the same time (these production dimensions are often in conflict) than the early 70s Sabbath, but the through line from "Master of Reality" to "Dopesmoker" is obvious. 

So yeah, slow, plodding, detuned guitars are what you get. There are vocals, and they're borderline Cookie Monster, but not distractingly so.  They do obscure the lyrics, which is fortunate because apparently there's a story about the "Weedians" or some such; I've made it a point to not look up the lyrics because I'm sure they'd only disappoint.  Cisneros's voice works well as another instrument, and exactly what he's saying isn't important.

Regardless, it all comes together in a hazy, hypnotic, slowly evolving repetitive swirl that has to be considered a high point of the genre.  Despite, or perhaps because, being a single hour track, it holds up to listening to it on repeat all afternoon.*

Standout tracks: "Dopesmoker" 

Skip 'em tracks: The 2012 release comes with a bonus live version of "Holy Mountain", which is not necessarily bad, but clearly doesn't not fit the original artistic vision of the LP itself. 

Score: 10/10. Again, it's absolutely central to the genre, but before you listen, you've got to buy into the conceit of a single track that's 63 minutes long. 

* "Repeat all afternoon" works best when your spouse is not home.

Iron Maiden - "Killers"

We heard today that Paul Di'Anno, the first singer for Iron Maiden, died recently.  While he had a number of health problems through the years, it was still a surprise ("66" doesn't seem as old as it once did).  Almost 10 years ago, I reviewed their debut LP "Iron Maiden" and detailed my fondness for the first two Iron Maiden LPs over the rest of their extensive discography. By nearly any metric, Bruce Dickinson is a "better" vocalist, but I -- and others, apparently -- just love Di'Anno's raspy, punk growl.  

Their second LP, 1981's "Killers", is an extraordinary LP with no weak moments and several that are simply transcendent.  "Killers" finds them settling into their classic sound: guitarist Dennis Stratton was replaced by Adrian Smith, who combined with Dave Murray to solidify the "Iron Maiden dual harmony" sound that would define their career.  In addition, "Killers" was the first LP to have their long-time producer, Martin Birch, which resulted in a slightly fuller if muddier and heavier sound than their first LP.  

As I said in my review of "Iron Maiden", I enjoy the first two LPs without the crutch of nostalgia or a hint of irony (cf. my recent review of "Too Fast for Love"). They were right to fire Di'Anno in late 1981: he was a troubled addict, and Iron Maiden would never have become "Iron Maiden" had he stayed at the helm.  But the first two Iron Maiden LPs are special. 

Standout songs: "Ides of March / Wrathchild", "Murders in the Rue Morgue", "Killers", "Prodigal Son", "Purgatory" (Full LP)

Skip 'em songs: none. 

Final rating: 10/10.  A NWOBHM masterpiece. 

Bonus link: my review of "Live at the Rainbow", a 1980 concert with Paul Di'Anno. 

Motley Crue - "Too Fast for Love" (LP Review)

I recently watched "The Dirt", the 2019 biopic based on the 2001 book of the same name, which tells the story of Motley Crue.  Although I had not read the book, I was familiar with most parts of the story, since Motley Crue was a contemporary band form my musical education, and was briefly very important to me in early HS.  The cultural context for this LP and Motley Crue itself is important.

Like most people, "Too Fast for Love" wasn't the first Motley Crue LP that I heard.  Originally self-released in late 1991 and then later released on a major label in 1982, this LP was eclipsed by their much larger and more successful 1983 LP "Shout at the Devil".  In 1983 & 1984* (my freshman year of HS), heavy metal was enjoying an unprecedented level of mainstream success and exposure, regularly appearing on the radio and MTV.  I was young, with an insatiable desire for anything loud, angry, and offensive, and Motley Crue's "Shout at the Devil", along with Dio, Twisted Sister, Iron Maiden, Quiet Riot, Ozzy, etc. were a salve for middle class, suburban, teenage ennui. Finding out about new music in the 80s was difficult and expensive, and you needed to have a tape trading network to explore and push the boundaries.  It was Chris Miller, my first HS metal connection, that recorded the first two Motley Crue LPs on tape for me. Even though "Shout at the Devil" is arguably heavier of the two LPs, its imagery was a conflict for me: I dug the satanic trappings, but they glam and camp was off-putting in a way that I could not articulate at the time.  Though it was "Shout at the Devil" that drew me in, it was "Too Fast for Love", with its KISS / Aerosmith sound and attitude that I found myself replaying over and over. 

Though they were a gateway band, Motley Crue was not important to me for long.  Via Matt McClure and Scott Kinkade, I soon learned of Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Venom, Celtic Frost, and various other "true" metal bands.  They were faster, heavier, darker, and generally more engaging, and "Shout at the Devil" seemed insincere, clumsy, and clownish in comparison.  And in a division that make both the Judean People's Front and the Peoples Front of Judea proud, I saw the metal scene divided between "real metal" and "false metal", played by poseurs.  By my sophomore year in HS I had firmly embraced thrash, black, and death metal... but I kept playing "Too Fast for Love".  

Its production is raw, like a garage band, but still crisp and not muddy like many low budget recordings of the time. There's a youthful urgency to the songs, accentuated by having almost no dead air between the tracks -- as if the band simply could not wait the two seconds normally employed to separate, for example, "Live Wire" and "Public Enemy #1".  There's the commitment to use some combination of a guitar flanger, cowbell, or vocal reverb/echo/delay for every single song.  Vince Neil sings like a chipmunk, and while they're not punk levels of sloppy, unlike most metal bands, there's no real virtuoso.  Mick Mars is a good enough guitarist, but he couldn't play for your average thrash metal band.  However, the song writing is excellent, and what they lack in talent they make up for with energy and attitude.  

Curious as to how it would hold up today, I listened to "Too Fast for Love" all the way through after finishing "The Dirt".  It held up surprisingly well, and even the weaker of the songs ("Merry-Go-Round", "Take Me to the Top", "Piece of Your Action") still had redeeming features.  And the best songs?  They still rawk, still produce a physical reaction, and transport me back to HS. 

By the time "Theatre of Pain" came out in 1985, Motley Crue was unspeakably uncool in my circle, and they became worse with each successive LP.  But even without the veneer of nostalgia, "Too Fast for Love" is a legitimately great LP.  If you can somehow ignore what they'd eventually become, and pretend like it's 1982(-ish), this is still a fun LP.

Standout songs: "Live Wire", "Public Enemy #1", "Starry Eyes", "Too Fast for Love", "On with the Show" (full LP)

Skip 'em songs: The songs from their first single, "Stick to Your Guns" and "Toast of The Town", were included on the 2003 release but left off the 1981 self-release and the 1982 Elektra release, and for good reason.  

Final score: 8/10.  I would have scored it 9/10 back in the day, but I think I can still defend a "8/10" now. 

* Seriously, a lot of good debuts as well as bands at their peak in 1983 & 1984:

Gogmagog -- "I Will Be There"

With all of the good backlogged music I have, why am I taking time to talk about this best forgotten metal history footnote from 1985?  It's actually fascinating, in that it illustrates why supergroups often fail, and why each group needs a strong, primary songwriter.  Imagine having a metal supergroup with this pedigree: 

• Paul Di'Anno (former Iron Maiden)
• Pete Willis (former Def Leppard)
• Janick Gers (former Gillan and future Iron Maiden)
• Neil Murray (former Whitesnake and future Black Sabbath)
• Clive Burr (former Iron Maiden)

And releasing something that's really, really bad? Not just "not good", but something that sounds more like show tunes than metal?  The musicians listed above formed Gogmagog, a supergroup that existed for about a minute in 1985.  To be fair, this project was really the brainchild of BBC impresario Jonathan King*, and not really a "band" in the conventional sense of the term, and we really should limit how much blame we place on the participating musicians.  King wrote two of the three songs Gogmagog recorded, and hired gun Russ Ballard wrote the third.  And therein lies the problem: while this lineup's pedigree appears impeccable, there's not a primary song writer in the bunch, no Ian Gillan, Steve Harris, nor David Coverdale to shoulder the load.  The ones with the most songwriting credits to their names, Paul Di'Anno and Pete Willis, were both kicked out of their original bands for substance abuse and as a result past the prime of their careers.  For all practical purposes, Di'Anno, Willis, and Burr never really did anything of note after this, Murray continued as a journeyman bassist, and Gers is the only one whose career improved after Gogmagog.  

I know there's a trend for the hip folks to try to rehabilitate objectively bad LPs (e.g., "Wild Honey", "Crazy Horses"), and "I'll Be There" sometimes is spoken of similarly.  But don't let the novelty and your love of these artists in their former bands distract you: this EP's obscurity is well-deserved.  

Standout tracks: none

Skip 'em tracks: all (yes, all of them).

Final score: 2/10 

* And as it turned out, BBC pedophile.  And no, not that BBC pedophile, King is yet another one.  

Pink Floyd - "Animals"

I listened to Pink Floyd's 1977 LP "Animals" this weekend, something that I'm not sure I've done in 25+ years.  I certainly listened to it enough during and immediately after college, but it was an LP I never acquired on vinyl or CD.  Despite not having listened to it in so long, it's an LP that I think of frequently.  More on that later.

To begin, it's arguably Pink Floyd's most "forgotten" LP, if normalized for the status of the band at the time.  Sandwiched between landmarks of 1973's "Dark Side of the Moon" and 1979's "The Wall", and even 1975's slightly lesser masterpiece "Wish You Were Here", with no singles released and song running times of "1:24", "17:04", "11:28", "10:20", and "1:24", "Animals" is a singularity in their canon.  You could make an argument for "Obscured by Clouds" or "More", but those were movie soundtracks and probably should not count.  Even "Atom Heart Mother" had radio-friendly"Fat Old Sun", and "Meddle" had concert favorite "One of These Days".  Maybe "Ummagumma"?  But it doesn't feel right to compare Pink Floyd ca. 1969 to Pink Floyd ca. 1977 -- they were two very different bands in the space of about 8 years. 

This not to say the LP was not consequential -- in addition to providing an iconic cover (for example, see The Orb's 1993 tribute), did well on the charts, and generally had a cultural impact, if for no other reason than its associated tour providing the inspiration for "The Wall".*   It's just this: when's the last time you listened to this LP?  Even though you probably also quite like it?  

Why do I think of "Animals" more than I listen to it?  The reason is a theory that I hope to pursue further in future posts: "Animals" is the kind of LP that rounds out and strengthens a band's discography.  While every band wants to have a run of "Dark Side of the Moon", "Wish You Were Here", and "The Wall", most bands need more "Animals".  And you know who has released several "Animals"-level LPs?  Radiohead.  Not to belabor the Pink Floyd -- Radiohead analogy too much, but I would argue that their last three LPs, "In Rainbows", "The King of Limbs", and "A Moon-Shaped Pool", are all "Animals"-quality: important LPs that round out and strengthen the Radiohead discography, while still being obscured by LPs like "The Bends", "OK Computer", and "Kid A".  Think about it. 

Standout songs: All, but with special mention to "Dogs". (Full LP)

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final Score: 9/10

* Also, the lyrics give us a preview of "The Wall": It's the same "stone" in both "Dogs" ("Who was dragged down by the stone") and "Hey You" ("Hey you, would you help me to carry the stone?").

Soundtrack from Twin Peaks (LP Review)

 

Angelo Badalmenti, soundtrack composer extraordinaire, died last month.  You've probably never heard of him, but you probably have heard his music: in addition to doing nearly all of David Lynch's films, as well as other art films (e.g., The City of Lost Children), he also did some mainstream films, like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  He also composed the opening theme of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Despite these and his many other accomplishments, he would be a favorite of mine if all he had ever done was collaborate with Julee Cruise and David Lynch in the Twin Peaks milieu. 

I've long ago reviewed Julee Cruise's "Floating into the Night" LP; it is impossible for me to overstate how important that LP is for me.  Not because of Twin Peaks -- I've never seen the TV series -- but because of the otherworldly soundscapes the three of them conjure, and the time and place where I first heard them.  

To mark Badalamenti's passing, I thought about reviewing Cruise's 1993 LP "The Voice of Love", but then it occurred to me that I should showcase where their oeuvre gained significant public attention: the Twin Peaks soundtrack, released in 1990.  Since eight of the 11 songs are instrumentals (the other three feature Julee Cruise), it seems more fitting to commemorate Badalamenti with a mostly instrumental soundtrack.  And to be fair: if this was the only LP that Badalamenti/Cruise/Lynch had created, it would be a standout.  But as much as I like it, this LP is forever in the shadow of Julee Cruise's "Floating into the Night", released in 1989.  They share a lot of material, both directly and derivatively (for example, "Twin Peaks Theme" is just an instrumental version of "Falling") and perhaps it's not fair to compare a proper LP to a soundtrack, but once you've heard "Floating into the Night" start to finish, you can't really go back.  The feel is slightly different, with the soundtrack focusing slightly more on a cool jazz feel than "Floating into the Night", but the distinction is slight.  

I think the Badalamenti/Cruise/Lynch collaboration came to an end in 1993, with pairs of them working together after that, but never the three of them again.  And while it tempting to be greedy and wish they had done more together, we should celebrate what they did accomplish. 

Standout songs: the ones with Julee Cruise, obviously: "Falling", "Into the Night", "The Nightingale"; (Full LP)

Skip 'em songs: none

Final Score: 9/10

(And yes, somehow I've failed to mark Julee Cruise's passing in June, 2022.  I'll rectify that soon).

Van Halen - "Diver Down" (LP Review)

Eddie Van Halen died just over a week ago.  Without exaggeration, he's one of the greatest rock guitarists to ever live, if not the best.  I realize there were others before him, and it's hard to compare different generations, and anyone starting out in the 70s would have the benefit of Clapton, Hendrix, Iommi, Blackmore, and other seminal guitarists.  Having acknowledged all of that, my opinion is that Eddie was indeed the best rock guitarist to have ever lived.  

Of course, I have to admit my own bias: Van Halen was probably the first band that for which I made a conscious decision to call myself a "fan".  By that I mean not just liking some songs that you heard on the radio or saw on MTV, but recognizing and identifying with the unique sound and image of the band and their entire canon.  At that time I could not have told you why Eddie Van Halen was special; the best I could do is say that he made the guitar "laugh" and it sounded like no other guitarist I had heard.

So why would I mark Eddie's passing with "Diver Down", probably the least regarded LP of the "classic era"?  If my memory serves me correctly, this is the first LP of theirs that I bought, probably at the K-Mart in Denbigh (see also: "Flirtin' With Disaster").  In 1982, the price of an LP represented quite an investment for a middle schooler, and I remember playing this LP to death: in part because I was a budding fan, and in part because my personal collection consisted of only a few LPs.  I loved it at the time, but later in life came to recognize its shortcomings.  The others?

• Van Halen - this was the first and probably their best, sounding nothing like what other bands were putting out ca. 1978
• Van Halen II - is a solid sophomore effort, but probably the one that I played the least at the time, in part because I never warmed to the opening song, their cover of "You're No Good"
• Women and Children First - while I can't say this is better than their debut LP, I can say this is my favorite of theirs now; if I were going to play a VH right now, this is the one I would reach for
• Fair Warning - undoubtedly their darkest and heaviest LP, with no party songs, TIC blues covers, or general screwing around; this would probably be the second one that I reached for now
• 1984 - while their most commercially successful LP, it is without a doubt my least favorite LP of this era; while there are some decent songs on 1984, the unnecessary keyboards and a Michael McDonald co-writing credit are just too much for me to swallow 

I'm not going to try to convince you that Diver Down is a great LP, but I can better contextualize it.  Apparently the original plan was to release "(Oh) Pretty Woman" as a non-LP single, but based on its success their label wanted an LP.  The result was a short (31minutes), 12 song LP that featured five covers,  three instrumentals, and one song adapted from their 1977 demos.   Clearly this was a stop-gap LP, released mainly to satisfy Warner Brothers.  

Still, there are some really good songs on this LP.  "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?" is a great cover (I've written elsewhere that all bands should cover songs by The Kinks), "Hang 'Em High" has a great riff, "(Oh) Pretty Woman" is a perfect song for David Lee Roth, and "Little Guitars" is a fun song.  

So this isn't the best LP from their classic era, but in my book it's still 10X better than 1984.  Diver Down means less to me in 2020, but it was very important to me in 1982, and so for nostalgia reasons I'm marking Eddie's passing with "Diver Down".  

Standout songs: "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?", "Hang 'Em High", "Intruder / (Oh) Pretty Woman", "Little Guitars (intro) / Little Guitars", "Happy Trails"

Skip' em songs: "Dancing in the Street" (not because it's a bad cover, but I detest all versions of this song)

Final score: 7/10

Random liner notes fact: Jan Van Halen, father of Eddie and Alex and an accomplished musician in his own right, plays clarinet on "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)".  In the liner notes he's listed just as "Jan Van Halen", and knowing nothing about Dutch names in 1982 I just assumed "Jan" was Eddie and Alex's sister.  It was later in life that I learned the truth.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "F♯ A♯ ∞" (LP Review)

Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian musical collective that I first learned of from Herbert, probably 20 years ago.  Their genre is broadly "post-rock", but "atmospheric" and "soundtrack" are equally descriptive as well.  I listened to their 1998 debut LP "F♯ A♯ ∞" (F-sharp, A-sharp, Infinity) again recently, and no matter how often I listen to it, I'm always moved by its power and scale.

I could try to describe it further, but instead I'm going to steal a line from Gordon Krieger, who described the LP as a "slow soundtrack of regret and desire, equal parts morose and expectant."

Stand out songs: All.  There are individual tracks, but listen to the entire LP for the full effect.

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 10/10.  This is a genre-defining LP.

Bob Mould - "Workbook" (LP Review)

We're nearing the end of Pride Month and the LP I'm choosing to mark this year's with Bob Mould's first solo LP, 1989's "Workbook".  I haven't listened to this LP in I'm not sure how many years, but I was  recently reminded of it when Bonnie was showing me something on her phone (some kind of photo collage function or something) and the built-in sound effect was the instrumental "Sunspots", the first song on this LP.

I was a huge Husker Du fan in college, but they broke up in 1988, not long after I learned of them.  I purchased his second LP, 1990's "Black Sheets of Rain", while I was still in Blacksburg, but it wasn't until the mid 90s that I bought his debut LP at Plan 9 Records in Richmond.  Conventional wisdom is that "Workbook" is almost folk, whereas "Black Sheets of Rain" was a return to the heavier sound of Husker Du.  As I listen to "Workbook" in 2020, I think the lighter, folk influence, while present, is over emphasized.  Yes, there's a cello and acoustic guitar, but this is still a heavy, angry LP.   It might not be as good as SST Husker Du, but it's arguably better than Warner Brothers Husker Du.

Even though I have it on CD, the first five songs (presumably, side 1 of the LP) are extraordinary, but the second half of the LP is less distinguished.  There are no bad songs on the LP, but it just doesn't close as strongly as it opens: "Sunspots" (a simple yet beautiful instrumental), "Wishing Well" (great riff, solo), "Heartbreak a Stranger" (perhaps my personal favorite on this LP?), "See a Little Light" (pure pop magic), and "Poison Years" (his diss track for Grant Hart).

So what's the connection to Pride Month?  It's now well-known that Bob Mould is gay, but I probably did not know this until the mid or even late 90s.  His homosexuality is not necessarrily part of his musical identity, but I bring this up as an example of how things have changed about how much we know about the artists we follow (as well as our changing attitudes regarding sexuality: I can understand why a gay man in a punk/metal band in the 80s did not want to be out).  In the 80s and into the 90s, if friends introduced me to the music and I liked it, I bought the LPs.  I never really spent much time with Rolling Stone, Spin, or other music magazines, so when Spin effectively outed him in 1994, I missed it.  Now, with Wikipedia, social media, etc., for better or worse, the distance is reduced between artists and their artistic output.  Today, I know more about the personal details of artists I don't like than I knew in the 80s about artists I loved.

I have only a fraction of his considerable post-Husker Du discography, but rediscovering "Workbook" has been a joyful experience for me.  If you're not familiar with it, you should check it out.

Standout tracks: "Sunspots", "Wishing Well", "Heartbreak a Stranger", "See a Little Light", "Poison Years", "Compositions for Young and Old", "Dreaming I Am", "Whichever Way the Wind Blows"

Skip 'em tracks: none

Final score: 8/10

Mazzy Star - "She Hangs Brightly" (LP review)

David Roback died just over three months ago.  Roback was a central figure in the Paisley Underground scene of the 80s,  but is best known for being the guitarist and founding member of Opal and then Mazzy Star.  Over 30 years, Mazzy Star built a limited but rich discography: four studio LPs and a handful of singles & EPs.  Of those, their first LP, 1990's "She Hangs Brightly", is probably still my favorite.  Even including LPs from his other bands, like "Emergency Third Rail Power Trip" and "Happy Nightmare Baby", "She Hangs Brightly" is probably the best of David Roback's canon.

David Roback was a private man, and I don't know much about him outside of his music.  But he managed to conjure a unique sound that combined some of the best elements of blues, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, and even occasionally Black Sabbath.

The first song, "Halah", is transcendental and in my opinion is even better than "Fade Into You", their most popular song.  "Blue Flower", although a cover, is an amazing song which they make their own (and was the song Danette and I chose for our wedding).  The Doors influence is especially noticeable on songs like "She Hangs Brightly" and "Free", "I'm Sailin" reminds of Pink Floyd's "Mademoiselle Nobs" from "Live at Pompeii", and "Ghost Highway" sounds most like "Opal" (channeling Black Sabbath), Roback's prior band (of note, this is the only song on this LP Roback wrote without Hope Sandoval).

During the intermission between Mazzy Star LPs, Hope Sandoval formed her own band, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, and while it lacked Roback's signature guitar sounds, it mined a lot of the same territory that Mazzy Star did.  Indeed, over time the membership of the bands converged, with Suki Ewers and Colm Ó Cíosóig sharing membership in both bands.  David Roback will be missed, but hopefully Hope Sandoval and friends will carry on.


Standout songs: "Halah", "Blue Flower", "She Hangs Brightly", "Give You My Lovin", "Be My Angel", "Ghost Highway", (see also: Playlist for the full LP)

Skip 'em songs: none.

Final score: 10/10. Your collection needs this LP.

Gil Scott-Heron - "I'm New Here"

It's near the end of African-American History month (AKA Black History Month), and I've realized that I haven't posted anything acknowledging it.  I decided Gil Scott-Heron's 2010 LP "I'm New Here", his final LP before his death in 2011, was a good candidate.  I reviewed his cover of "Me and the Devil Blues" in 2011 and said I'd review the LP "later", so I guess it's time to get around to it.

As I stated in 2011, prior to this LP I didn't know that much about GSH other than his "hits" ("The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" & "Whitey On The Moon").  "I'm New Here" was his first LP since 1994 ("Spirits"), and his prior LP to that was 1982 ("Moving Target").  This means that while he was dormant, a lot happened in music, and his 1970s experimental jazz sound would have sounded dated in 2010.  Instead, his LP was produced by Richard Russell (of XL Recordings), who gave him a menacing and minimalist electronic soundtrack, arguably a "Witch house" sound (though that label is often disputed).  The shrill saxophones have been replaced with thin, dark drone, which to my ears is a perfect complement to GSH's weathered and weary voice.  On songs like "Me and the Devil", the combination is simply amazing.

How you feel about this LP will largely depend on how you feel about "songs" that are mostly spoken word with limited actual singing.  On the other hand, if you like Lou Reed and songs like "Dirty Boulevard", well... you should revisit Gil Scott-Heron.

Standout songs: "Me and the Devil", "On Coming from a Broken Home" (Parts 1 and 2), "I'm New Here", "Your Soul and Mine", "New York Is Killing Me", "Where Did the Night Go"

Skip 'em songs: none

Final score: 9/10

Black Sabbath - "The Eternal Idol" (LP Review)

Yesterday I was texting with Scott about "Family Favorites", a bonus EP of covers from Entombed and the subject eventually turned to different versions of Black Sabbath, where we both agreed that "Vol. 4" is probably our favorite LP, and both Ozzy Sabbath and Dio Sabbath are great, but we treat them like separate bands and don't compare between them.  I even stated that I'm a big fan of Gillan Sabbath (Scott may have agreed on that, it's not clear), but certainly "Born Again" should be enjoyed separately and not compared with the Ozzy or Dio.  Although we did not discuss it last night, I've stated before that I even kind of liked "Seventh Star", mostly because I appreciate Glenn Hughes's bluesy vocals. 

This discussion made me recall that my interest in Black Sabbath came to an abrupt end with 1987's "The Eternal Idol".  I still have the vinyl packed away somewhere, one of the last vinyl LPs I ever bought new.  If I remember correctly, I bought it in my freshman year of college and I'm pretty sure I haven't listened to it since.  Clearly I didn't like it, but I couldn't quite remember why.

I've since read that Tony Martin-led era of Black Sabbath (of which "The Eternal Idol" was the first LP) has developed a cult following.  Had I missed something?  My interest in metal was waning in college, so perhaps I did not give it a fair listen?

With that in mind, today I re-listened to the LP (via YouTube -- I did not dig up my vinyl) for the first time in ~30 years, and the verdict is... it's awful.  Tony Martin is not a good singer, he's not even interestingly bad: he's just bland, generic, and would be right at home at your local bar in a Queensryche cover band.  There are spots where Tony Iommi's playing still shines through, but the vocals (and the simplistic lyrics) sometimes make it difficult to even locate, much less enjoy, Iommi.

The next LP in the Tony Martin era, "Headless Cross", receives a lot of praise but I'm in no hurry to listen to it.  In 2010, the demo version of this LP with Ray Gillen singing was released, and after a few spot checks Ray might be a bit better than Tony Martin, but not enough to matter.  Neither Gillen nor Martin bring an interesting vocal interpretation like Ozzy, Dio, Gillan, or even Hughes.  The most interesting part of the LP is the cover, with a live model reenactment of Rodin's sculpture "The Eternal Idol" (for which the models were both hospitalized because the bronze paint was toxic; further expanding the suffering caused by this LP).

Standout songs: "Scarlet Pimpernel" (it's an instrumental)

Songs that appear: "The Eternal Idol" (this would be vastly better as an instrumental)

Skip 'em songs: the rest (full LP playlist).

Final score: 3/10.  Maybe I'll revisit it again in another 30 years.

Tranquility Bass - "They Came In Peace" (LP review)

In celebration of Apollo 11, today I'll feature one of my favorite songs that's relatively hard to find.  "They Came In Peace" by Tranquility Bass first appeared in 1991 on the "They Came In Peace" EP.  I don't actually have that EP, but I have the title track on both on the Mo' Wax "Headz" compilation (1994) and the 1993 Exist Dance sampler "Transmitting From Heaven".  The former is excellent (I have Herbert to thank for first introducing me to "Headz"), the latter less so, but here I'll feature the original four song EP.

I've always said that we can forget velcro and Tang, the real benefit of the US space program was its providing endless samples for electronic music.  I'll eventually get around to The Orb's "Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld" (see also: "Rival Dealer"), but for now the most literal recognition is Tranquility Bass (get it?) and their looping of Buzz Aldrin saying "they came in peace for all mankind" over a languid beat and crickets.  I realize that sounds weird, but this is an excellent track and you should give it a listen.  The other three tracks on the EP are representative of electronic / trance music ca. 1991, and they're neither bad nor good. 

1. "They Came In Peace"
2. "They Came In Peace (Lunar Dub)"
3. "Lucifaze"
4. "Lucid Beats"

I'm giving the EP a score of 6/10 -- I'm not sure the EP is essential, even though the title track is.


Bonus link: "Cantamilla" from 1994's "Broadcast Standard Issue No. 1" is Tranquility Bass's other essential track. 

The Head and the Heart - "The Head and the Heart" (LP Review)

SXSW is underway, and at this time of the year I always think about Lee Dirks and my trip there in 2012.  Lee and I always talked music, and one the recommendations he gave me at SXSW and repeated in email was about Seattle-based The Head and the Heart:

... They burst on the scene in 2010 and then full-on exploded in 2011.  If you listen to their stuff, I think you'll definitely pick-up the multiple style similarities.  Their album is awesome - well worth picking up.  I'm clearly biased towards them as I saw them in small clubs here long before they blew up...and I told friends to watch out for them, as I *knew* they were going to blow up.   I'd like to think I had some great sense or insight here, but it was pretty obvious they were head and shoulders above the other local bands on the scene.   Check them out...

Based on his recommendations, I picked up their 2011 self-titled debut LP.  Official reviews are mixed, for example the Pitchfork review is rather unforgiving ("Conceptually, they're close to Mumford & Sons: opportunistic in their borrowings, yet entirely unimaginative in the execution. Theirs is a thoroughly timid, tentative take on Americana: roots music without the roots.").  My assessment of the LP is more in line with Lee's than Pitchfork's: I find the execution inspired and grounded.

I'm also choosing this LP to kick-off Women's History Month.  The band had six members for their fist LP, and while I don't wish to minimize the contributions of the other five members, the secret weapon here is violinist and vocalist Charity Rose Thielen.  They have three primary singers (and other other three sing backup), but my enjoyment of their songs is directly proportional to how much she is a featured vocalist.  The LP starts off mildly, but the last half closes strongly, and Charity is a big part of why. 

Standout songs: River and Roads (exemplary live version), Honey Come Home (live KEXP), Lost in My Mind, Winter Song (live version), Sounds Like Hallelujah, Heaven Go Easy On Me (live version).

Skip 'em songs: none

Final score: 8/10.  Thanks Lee for turning me on to these guys.



Bonus connection: Dog-n-Burger, a local dining institution, is closing next week after 50 years in the same spot.  DnB reminds me of various BBQ places Lee took us in Austin, and the Redwood Smoke Shack that will replace it is a Texas-style BBQ place.  They're thinking about adding live music, so maybe we can catch the next up-and-coming indie-folk band there. 

Sun Mahshene - "Drones That Don't Kill" (LP review)

A year ago yesterday, Terry, Drew, and several other of us saw the Irish band Sun Mahshene at a bar in Dublin, Ireland.  We were there for Terry's bachelor party and Terry had researched where we could catch some live music close to where we were staying.  We listened to some of their stuff on Youtube and decided to arrange our schedule so we could catch them performing that Saturday.  They put on a great show and we were able to purchase one of their last copies they had with them that evening of their 2016 EP "Drones That Don't Kill".

Their web site describes their sound as:

Lead by Nathan Henderson, Sun Mahshene is a collective of musicians from Dublin Ireland. Their melodic hooks mixed with fuzz and grit delivers a sonic wall of sound.

This brings up a recent conversation Danette and I had last week: I stated that I thought 96X was no longer as alternative as they used to be, to which Danette countered that perhaps the definition of alternative had changed.  I thought about it some and decided that probably at least part of it, because I prefer my "alternative" to stick mostly to modern interpretations of 80s and early 90s alternative music.  Sun Mahshene certainly does that: a shoegazing sound with heavy influences from "Darklands"-era The Jesus and Mary Chain and "Bad Moon Rising"-era Sonic Youth.  So, yeah, it's new music, but there is a clear line of sight back to what for me (and presumably for Danette, Terry, Drew, et al. as well) is real alternative music; the aural equivalent of what we in the car world call "new old stock" (see also the video for "No Control", which is reminiscent of Terry's light shows back in the day...).

The streaming EP has four tracks, but the CD has a hidden fifth track ("I Love You").  It's just a few bucks and it would be a great addition to your collection.  And keeping with the theme of this post, I'm happy to have the actual CD in my collection.

Standout songs: "No Control", "In the End" (with a great guest vocal from Lydia Des Dolles that would make Hope Sandoval proud), "You", "I Love You" (hidden track)

Skip 'em songs: n/a

Final score: 7/10

Bonus links: Review on Primal Music, Review on GoldenPlec

Bonus pic:

May 27, 2017, at the correct bar (Sin é, IIRC), but after the band was done -- who thought to take a pic of Sun Mahshene performing?

Update (bonus bonus pic): Drew sent me this image and "reminded" me that he was smart enough to take a pic of the band performing...

Allan Holdsworth - "Metal Fatigue" (LP Review)

Although it was nearly a year ago, I only just recently learned that Allan Holdsworth died.  You probably haven't heard of him, but he was a guitar players' guitar player, venerated by  Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, et al.

The only reason I know of him was because his LP "Metal Fatigue" was reviewed in metal fanzine Kick*Ass Monthly* shortly after it came out in 1985.  I recall Bob Muldowney saying in his review something to the effect of "I don't really understand this LP or why I was asked to review it."  For whatever reason, Holdsworth had switched to Enigma Records, which primarily had metal bands, and this LP was sent for review to KAM.  I was in search of the next "Rising Force", so despite the cautionary review I ordered this LP from Slipped Disc.  For the first 25 seconds I thought I had found the next "Rising Force", but then at 0:26 it became clear that this was jazz fusion, or perhaps what fusionists think a metal LP should sound like. 

But I didn't dislike it, and it stayed in low rotation; it even grew on me enough that in college (I think?) I picked up his 1982 LP "I.O.U.".  Then I got his 1986 LP "Atavachron", where he fully embraced the "SynthAxe", and my revulsion was so strong that my Holdsworth period was mostly done (think Eddie Van Halen switching to keyboards on "1984", but much, much worse). 

My musical horizons were expanding by the time I hit college and I became more knowledgeable and appreciative of jazz.  But this LP still occupies a weird place in between metal and jazz.  I won't go so far as to say it's a necessary LP, but it's certainly a good LP that nicely showcases Allan's challenging style, even if it sounds like it was written for fellow guitarists instead of regular listeners.  I should revisit his extensive discography and forgive him for his SynthAxe dalliance. 

Standout songs: "Metal Fatigue", "Home"  (full LP)
Skip 'em songs: "In the Mystery"
Final score: 6/10


* See my "Haunting The Chapel" review for a note about Bob Muldowney and Kick*Ass Monthly.  

Celtic Frost - "Tragic Serenades" (LP Review)

"Lend me your steel-bearing hand
So I may reign the Jewel Throne
My soul feels the gods' demand
As the lost kings uphold my side

Blood and sand
Mark their way
The usurper's tears
Guide my sword"

As I've discussed before, I'm surprised at how well Celtic Frost early material has held up some 30+ years later.  The music was always ferocious (even if, or perhaps because, the production is so raw), the Tolkienesque lyrics (e.g., the opening stanzas from "The Usurper" above) are still engaging, and the result is that CF is one of the few metals bands that I now appreciate even more than I did back in the day.  Furthermore, I recently discovered CF's 2006 reunion LP, "Monotheist", as well as the material from the post-CF band Triptykon, and I find they exhibit a peerless progression of complexity, depth, and execution of their vision, which first surfaced in 1984's "Apocalyptic Raids". 

So I was sad to discover a month ago that bassist Martin Eric Ain died.  Ain was a long-time collaborator with Thomas Gabriel Fischer (aka Tom G. Warrior), participating in the last half of Hellhammer and most of Celtic Frost, and in the process they substantially influenced many sub-genres within metal.  Their up-and-down relationship mirrors that of Bob Mould and Grant Hart: compare Bob's note about Grant and Thomas's note about Martin.

To mark Martin's passing, I'm choosing Celtic Frost's 1986 EP "Tragic Serenades" for several reasons.  First, it's the only CF release I have on vinyl (the rest of their early material I taped from Scott Kinkade).  Second, the existence of this EP is due to Martin leaving Celtic Frost prior to 1985's "To Mega Therion", then returning in 1986.  This EP re-records two songs from TMT, "The Usurper" and "Jewel Throne", but with Martin on bass.  It closes with a "party mix" (?!) of  "Return to the Eve", first seen on "Morbid Tales".

So it's a three song EP, all of which are re-recordings of existing songs -- certainly this is only necessary for completists and its release didn't really advance their musical journey past the source material.  On the other hand, this EP exists because of Martin and his difficult relationship with Thomas, and as such is a fitting tribute to his passing.

Standout songs: "The Usurper" and "Jewel Throne"  (full EP).

Final score: 7/10  Ultimately, this is just an interesting footnote in the CF canon. 


Bonus link: Martin sings lead on 2006's "A Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh".