Daylight Savings Vinyl
I spent the extra hour last night watching 'Zombieland' instead of listening to records, but at 2am the neighbors usually frown upon a loud stereo, so I decided to make last Sunday 'Record Day'.
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968) - Hailed as a classic, this is one of the most unique albums in rock's history despite also being one of the least rock albums. Jazz, folk, blues & classical are all better descriptions for the 8 tracks that make up this song cycle.
This is not one of those albums you'll get right away, it may stir emotions upon your first listen, but it needs to be listened to repeatedly as it unfolds.
Famously recorded in just three sessions with Van singing and playing guitar in a booth and the rest of the musicians playing live in the studio along with him. Only the strings and horns were added later.
Besides Van's stream-of-consciousness lyrics, its the upright bass of Richard Davis that stands out the most, especially on the epic "Madame George". Davis had played with Eric Dolphy and was the de facto band leader in the studio, and it shows. His free-walking, solid bottom lines keep Van from descending too deep into free jazz or just veering off the nearest cliff into the North Sea.
Easily a Top 100 album, it gets better with each play as I discover more and more of its hidden parts. My copy is borrowed and is on 180 gram, so it sounds fabulous.
Lou Reed - Rock & Roll Animal (1974) - One of the better live albums of the 70s, despite being just over 40 minutes long. That's one of the major factors that separates it from other live albums of this period, its brevity.
The rock of the 70s was bombastic, to say the least. So the live albums that sprung from this era were usually epic sets stretching across four (or more) vinyl sides rife with either drum or bass solos (I'm looking at you, Yes). Thankfully, Rock & Roll Animal contains neither of those. It does contain one of Reed's better bands and the twin guitar attack put an arena shine on the material. Four of the five songs are Velvet Underground songs, while only "Lady Day" is solo Reed.
The album opens with a drawn out "Sweet Jane" where the two guitarist solo around each other as the band warms up. When they finally do get to the song it speeds along with a power VU couldn't match. The other song on the side, "Herion" also has more life than the original. At a little over 13 minutes the band expands everywhere, dragging you in as they chase the dragon.
Fittingly, "Rock & Roll" is the album closer. It is the BEST song with "Rock & Roll" in its title, hands down. Fuck you Bob Seger. It, too, is given a spark by this band, who are playing the fuck out of their instruments. As it rumbles around to a close, the fans react the only way they should. Standing and cheering, hoping to be blown away some more.
A Top 200 album, and a top 10 live album, I bought this over 20 years ago for $3.49. There is only one big pop that lasts 3 or 4 spins before stopping, so its in good shape for being almost 40 years old.
Rush - A Farewell to Kings (1977) - The third best album by my first favorite band. (They are still in my Top 5). I've listened to this album so many times that I could write 4000 words on how great Neil Peart's woodblock work on "Xanadu" is compared to other woodblock songs.
But I won't, lets just say Top 100 album and there's a small skip on "Cinderella Man".
They Might Be Giants - Lincoln (1988) - Purchased new in Hartford in 1988 after I was expelled from the dorms. I had like 15 records, so this got played a ton, and it still sounds great today.
I bought this because I loved the "Ana Ng" single/video, the rest of the album is as poppy & hooky as anything TMBG would ever do again. "Purple Toupee", "Piece of Dirt" and the magnificent "They'll Need A Crane" show off the Brooklyn bands' strengths, hitting on all cylinders.
There is still plenty great quirk, from the springboard-cowpunk of "Cowtown" to "Snowball In Hell" where TMBG channel Phil Spector & Brian Wilson. "Santa's Beard" is a great lost Christmas song and "Shoehorn With Teeth" opens with the immortal line:
He wants a shoehorn, the kind with teeth
People should get beat up for stating their beliefs
He wants a shoehorn, the kind with teeth
Because he knows there's no such thing
Why would you not want to listen to this album? It would be their last release on the Restless record label before the jump to Elektra, where they would release their classic Flood in 1990. The record is still in great shape as its had just one owner.
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968) - Hailed as a classic, this is one of the most unique albums in rock's history despite also being one of the least rock albums. Jazz, folk, blues & classical are all better descriptions for the 8 tracks that make up this song cycle.
This is not one of those albums you'll get right away, it may stir emotions upon your first listen, but it needs to be listened to repeatedly as it unfolds.Famously recorded in just three sessions with Van singing and playing guitar in a booth and the rest of the musicians playing live in the studio along with him. Only the strings and horns were added later.
Besides Van's stream-of-consciousness lyrics, its the upright bass of Richard Davis that stands out the most, especially on the epic "Madame George". Davis had played with Eric Dolphy and was the de facto band leader in the studio, and it shows. His free-walking, solid bottom lines keep Van from descending too deep into free jazz or just veering off the nearest cliff into the North Sea.
Easily a Top 100 album, it gets better with each play as I discover more and more of its hidden parts. My copy is borrowed and is on 180 gram, so it sounds fabulous.
Lou Reed - Rock & Roll Animal (1974) - One of the better live albums of the 70s, despite being just over 40 minutes long. That's one of the major factors that separates it from other live albums of this period, its brevity.
 |
| Go on, find me a cooler looking band that VU. |
The album opens with a drawn out "Sweet Jane" where the two guitarist solo around each other as the band warms up. When they finally do get to the song it speeds along with a power VU couldn't match. The other song on the side, "Herion" also has more life than the original. At a little over 13 minutes the band expands everywhere, dragging you in as they chase the dragon.
Fittingly, "Rock & Roll" is the album closer. It is the BEST song with "Rock & Roll" in its title, hands down. Fuck you Bob Seger. It, too, is given a spark by this band, who are playing the fuck out of their instruments. As it rumbles around to a close, the fans react the only way they should. Standing and cheering, hoping to be blown away some more.
A Top 200 album, and a top 10 live album, I bought this over 20 years ago for $3.49. There is only one big pop that lasts 3 or 4 spins before stopping, so its in good shape for being almost 40 years old.
 |
| There are some woodblocks in there somewhere. |
But I won't, lets just say Top 100 album and there's a small skip on "Cinderella Man".
They Might Be Giants - Lincoln (1988) - Purchased new in Hartford in 1988 after I was expelled from the dorms. I had like 15 records, so this got played a ton, and it still sounds great today.
I bought this because I loved the "Ana Ng" single/video, the rest of the album is as poppy & hooky as anything TMBG would ever do again. "Purple Toupee", "Piece of Dirt" and the magnificent "They'll Need A Crane" show off the Brooklyn bands' strengths, hitting on all cylinders.
There is still plenty great quirk, from the springboard-cowpunk of "Cowtown" to "Snowball In Hell" where TMBG channel Phil Spector & Brian Wilson. "Santa's Beard" is a great lost Christmas song and "Shoehorn With Teeth" opens with the immortal line:
He wants a shoehorn, the kind with teeth
People should get beat up for stating their beliefs
He wants a shoehorn, the kind with teeth
Because he knows there's no such thing
Why would you not want to listen to this album? It would be their last release on the Restless record label before the jump to Elektra, where they would release their classic Flood in 1990. The record is still in great shape as its had just one owner.
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