Top 20 Albums of 2007

1. Babyshambles Shotter's Nation - This guy always seems to be balanced on the precarious edge of near death, so I probably sucked on this album like the last drag on a cigarette stocked with the knowledge I might not have one for a litle while. It's also gotone of my favourite songs of the year, that maybe not so coincidentally mentions cigarettes as well. Addictions are great.

2. Pride Tiger The Lucky Ones - I love Thin Lizzy, and the relentless comparison to that band may either help or harm Pride Tiger. In my case, it was the former. This is pure rock and roll, and the title track is one of the most genuinely fun singles I've heard in a good ten years. And the album cover is doubly good.

3. Izzy Stradlin Miami - An iTunes only release. Has it really come to this for Izzy Stradlin'? After reading Slash's autobiography recently it became pretty apparent who Guns 'N Roses really was: Izzy, Slash and Duff. Axl is, and always was, a sideshow. A terribly unfunny joke. Izzy plays the soul of rock and roll, the same spirit that bled through the Stones and Faces. He even takes one of the best songs on here to nearly 10 min, with the majority of it being a slow, reggae jam that feels like Keith noodling and nodding around Black and Blue'. This album, this artist deserves more than an iTunes only releases.

4. John Doe A Year in the Wilderness - A shockingly great return from an artist I've come to know more through his film and television appearances than his music as of late. He plays a great badass. Also he was Mr. Amber Waves. But here he's just classic.

5. Deadstring Brothers Silver Mountain - I love this group. You mix in some Dead, Exile-era Stones, The Band...what more would you want out a group like this? Well, for this guy I heard Road Apples era Tragically Hip which pretty much solidfies it as one of my favourite albums of the year. Few albums are so immediately appealing. They lack the sinisterism of the Stones, the spirituality and fragile beauty of The Band, and come into a sweeter niche all their own.

6. Spoon GaGaGaGaGa - Somehow every song on this album became my favourite at some point. I try to keep the Spoon love on the down low, at the risk of them becoming something unspeakable. This week it was "Ghost of You Lingers", it echoes in my brain at the earliest and latest hours. I'm going to be crafting my Last Will and Testament in the next few weeks as a New Years Resolution. Lately when I listen to that song I consider the ultimate narcisstic act of what songs would be cool to hear at your own funeral. I decided the 'Ghost of You Lingers' is one of those songs.

7. Patti Sciafla Play It As It Lay - Mrs. Bruce's albums is one of those easy-going, loose albums that seem most appealing first thing in the morning. She's got a wonderful voice, and this music pairs with it so well, a loose bluesy vibe that is a genuine pleasure to listen to. This was love at first play with me. This isn't important music, it's utterly unpretentious and sung with a playful vibe that reminds me of drunk, fallen off the wagon Bonnie Raitt at times.

8. Kings of Leon Because of the Times - I think it's pretty ballsy to open their third album with a 7 min song mid-tempo song. I think 'Knocked Up' is the first person perspective of 'The Deeper In' by the Drive By Truckers, and also sounds like something I might have heard on FM radio in the middle of the night. It took me awhile to warm up to this album, but when it clicked, it was firing on all cylinders.

9. Bruce Springsteen Magic- So where does this fall in the Bruce canon? I think this is one of those 'time will tell' kind of things. Someone with a shadow as long as Bruce Springsteen is doomed to suffer with a new release, particularly with his old backing band. Neil Young is the same with Crazy Horse. Sometimes you get Sleeps with Angels sometimes you get Broken Arrow. Now this Springsteen album is nowhere near as middling as that latter-day Crazy Horse album. I think Magic will be judged fairly well; In fact, it's got some of the better songs I've frankly heard this year. I really love 'Girls in their Summer Clothes' .

10. White Stripes Icky Thump - I think the White Stripes are one of the best rock and roll bands in the world. This definitely has a rawer feel than anything since White Blood Cells, but spun with a mariachi dream weave. The title track is fucking great too. I'm nearing the point where I'm willing to listen to whatever Jack White puts out.

11. Ike Reilly We Belong to the Staggering Evening - This album worked its magic on me nearly immediately. Frankly, I'm quite glad it happened because I was starting to wonder what the fuck was wrong with me that I couldn't hear the genius of Ike Reilly. Everyone I knew, who's music tastes nearly always jive with mine always when it comes to artists like this, LOVE Ike Reilly. And was lost on me. Outside of a couple of singles, I just. didn't. get. it. And it was frustrating because all the elements are there, like sticking the bun, burger, cheese and bacon and having it not taste right. IT MADE NO SENSE. Obviously the problem has been fixed, because this is my go to 3rd album of the night when I've got people over. Sometime I'm going to have to write about the art of the album order.

12. Steve Earle Washington Street Serenade - I got scared when I first heard the beats because I didn't know what to make of it. The first time I heard this, my dad, the missus and myself were on the road to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump. We were listening to Steve's show on Sirius, and well, "Satellite Radio" came on. It insinuated myself in the brain, but frankly not in a good way. It seemed a little hokey and would clearly be horribly dated in a manner of years. I mean, when I think classic, I don't think of tunes about CB Radio. But fortunately for us, the rest of the album isn't hokey and it has an awesome version of the theme to 'The Wire'.

13. Neil Young Chrome Dreams II - A new Neil Young cd, with (relatively) new material should by all accounts rank higher on my year end list. Alas. I like the album a lot, but it's flawed. When the first song is an outtake from 'Old Ways', well you know you're not going to be in for some 'On the Beach' level songs. I'd say it would be closeminded to go in with a bad attitude, that an outtake from one of his weakest albums opens Chrome Dreams II, an album that has little resemblence in tone to the unreleased album it is supposed to be a sequel to. Well, 'Beautiful Bluebird' is sickly sweet. You know when you take a swig of Coke, it's refreshing and sweet, right? After, for me anyway, it doesn't sit as well. It's just too sweet and full of empty calories. Also it leaves a grit on my teeth that I don't care for. The first song is like that. The second track 'Boxcar' isn't much better, frankly. But then, the album picks up steam and redeems itself with one of his greatest unreleased songs, that while lyrically dated, is pretty fucking great. Whenever I hear it it echoes in my head the rest of the day, and fortunately, the rest of the album does likewise. Although I still have to deal with what seems to be a choir leftover from 'Living with War', but the song is better than the choired songs found on there.

14. Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings 100 Days and 100 Nights - I like this album a lot. It's obviously music that doesn't really get played much anymore. Truly classic music from a by-gone era. The Dap-Kings get in the groove here and don't pull out for 30 min. Sharon sounds fantastic too. It makes me wonder why I don't play some old girl group stuff more often. Probably because I'm a lazy jagoff.

15. Bettye Lavette The Scene of the Crime - Bettye is new to me. When I first heard this I didn't even know about the Drive By Trucker's association. It just sounded like something I hadn't known I was even missing in my listening. Like when I first discovered that I like bbq ribs, but slightly less messy and delicious.

16. Chuck Prophet Soap & Water - This is a cool album. It makes me feel good. Actually this album is the auditory equivalent of a Jack and coke with a Marlboro light. It's a 2 drink buzz.

17. Arcade Fire Neon Bible - Enough hyperbolic nonsense has been written about the Arcade Fire to make me not want to like them. But then I listen to the actual music and I end up liking it anyway. I'm noticing that few blogs and music sites have ranked this very highly. Frankly I'm not sure why. I think it's just as strong as Funeral, but a tad less melodramatic. I even like the closer 'My Body is A Cage' and 'Keep the Car Running' is one of my favourite songs of the year.


18. Black Francis Bluefinger - I'm not certain of what this album was supposed to be being that it's released by "Black Francis" and not "Frank Black". Are we supposed to view this as a more valid Pixie-like release? I don't really care actually, because the voice is still the same and the music is still great. In short, it's a Frank Black solo album. I feel the same way about this as I feel about Neil Young when he flips his bands around so the sound and ultimately, attitude, flips as well. There's certainly more energy here than on his last two albums, although FastMan/Raiderman still gets more play.

19. Sister Vanilla Little Pop Rock - This record was the slowest one to work its way in. Featuring the Jesus and Mary Chain's Reid brothers and their sister, who was apparently labelled Sister Vanilla by the brothers. This is one of my favourite pop records of the year. It really reminds me of an album that would have been released in the late 90s for some reason. I'm thinking 1997, but that'snot to say there are hallmarks of late 90s production or style (no trip hop for the sake of) but for some reason this feels like a record I heard 10 years ago, pulled out after a long absence and am feeling wonderfully nostalgic for some late evening.

20. Nicole Atkins Neptune City - This is not normally my music. It's got a bit of Tin Pan Alley pop, with some soulful singing by Nicole. Her voice has been described as Stevie Nicks-ish, but with a much, much, much better range. The first time I heard this I was reminded of Rufus Wainwright actually. That might sound like a horrible recommend but I like Rufus. Probably not the best parting comment to be making but it's my list. Anyway, great album. The first time I played Neptune City I ended up hitting the repeat button 3x.

Show a Little Faith, There's Magic in the Night...

There's not much one one can say about Born to Run that hasn't already been said a million times before. This is Born With Nothin' In Hands - Remastered Born To Run Outtakes. The first track is a spare 'Thunder Road' reminiscent of the live version that opens Live at the Hammersmith. I really like hearing these slightly altered versions of songs you've heard a million times before. Even 'Born to Run' with it's female chorus soars like the original. And its kind odd to hear him sing about Chrissie rather than Mary in the second version of 'Thunder Road'. According to recent information, 'Walking In The Street' was only played and recorded the one time, and the master tape could not be found for the release of Tracks, it may be lost. I'm gonna let the speakers bleed this album all day long.

01 Thunder Road
02 Night
03 Born To Run
04 A Love So Fine
05 Backstreets
06 Walking In The Street
07 Lonely Night In The Park
08 Jungleland
09 Linda Let Me Be The One
10 Thunder Road
11 She's The One
12 Backstreets
13 The Heist
14 Thunder Road

Badlands, You Got to Live it Everyday...

Continuing what is becoming a Springsteen outtake series, is American Madness: The Remastered Darkness on the Edge of Town Outtakes. I don't know why, but I probably listen to the original album the least from Bruce's 70s/80s classic albums. It's not that I consider it weak in any which way. I was just thinking that when I feel like hearing him it's not the one I typically grab. And then when I play it, I wonder why the fuck I don't listen to it more often. This set is fairly extensive over four discs. A lot of these songs weren't available until the Tracks box set was released a few years ago. Sound quality again is pretty great, considering the source. The only downside of listening to these songs is the intense desire to hit the road for a long, long ride.

Disc 1:
01 Don't Look Back
02 Prove It All Night
03 Candy's Room
04 The Promised Land - w/o guitar solo
05 Badlands
06 Something In The Night
07 Factory
08 Racing In The Street
09 Prove It All Night #2
10 Darkness On The Edge Of Town
11 Spanish Eyes
12 Sherry Darling
13 Streets Of Fire
14 Candy's Room #2
15 Prove It All Night*

Disc 2:
01 The Promise
02 Badlands
03 Adam Raised A Cain
04 Something In The Night
05 Prove It All Night
06 Down By The River (Say Sons)
07 Taxi Cab (Taxi Driver, City At Night)
08 Factory
09 Streets Of Fire #1
10 Because the Night #1
11 The Iceman
12 Preacher's Daughter
13 Crazy Rocker
14 Drive All Night #1
15 The Way #2
16 The Fast Song (instrumental)
17 Someday, Tonight (instrumental)
18 Racing In The Street

Disc 3:
01 The Promise
02 Hearts Of Stone
03 One Way Street
04 Candy's Boy #1
05 Endless Night (English Sons)
06 Spanish Eyes
07 Streets Of Fire #2
08 Factory
09 Loose Ends
10 Independence Day
11 Drive All Night #2
12 The Way #1
13 Racing In The Street
14 Don't Look Back (instrumental)
15 Badlands (instrumental)
16 Castaway (The Ballad)

Disc 4:
01 What's The Matter Little Darling
02 Get That Feeling #2
03 Get that Feeling #1
04 Candy's Boy #2
05 Rendezvous
06 I Wanna Be With You
07 Don't Look Back
08 Ramrod
09 Frankie
10 Because The Night #2
11 Sherry Darling
12 Outside Lookin' In
13 I'm Goin' Back
14 Fire
15 The Fast Song
16 Break Out
17 Talk To Me (instrumental)
18 Racing In The Street

You're Messin' with Murder Incorporated

Another snag from usenet, this time it's Unsatisfied Heart - Remastered Born in the USA Outtakes. This set seems especially cool, in that it's a qualitatively different album that eventually begat Born in the USA. From the text notes that accompanied this set: "By July 1983 Springsteen was in the final stages of mixing and track selection for the album. There was talk of a pre-Christmas release. There was certainly no shortage of outstanding material to pick from. A document exists from mid 1983 revealing Springsteen’s selection for the album, as well his selections for b-sides. (reproduced below)"

Born in the USA never gets as much love or respect as Born to Run or his other 70s albums. I blame MTV and videos in general. You can't help but lose some mystique when you start playing dressup and lip-syncing in front of a camera, not just Bruce, but any of them actually (except, of course, "Bastards of Young"). If you flipped this album back 10 years it might be considered as great as some of the others.

Date: 1982 - April 1984
Location: The Hit Factory / The Power Station, New York City, NY

Disc 1:
01 Born In The U.S.A.
02 Murder Incorporated
03 Downbound Train
04 Glory Days
05 This Hard Land
06 My Love Will Not Let You Down
07 Johnny Bye Bye
08 Frankie
09 I'm Goin' Down
10 Working On The Highway
11 I'm On Fire

b-sides:
12 Sugarland
13 Follow That Dream
14 Dont Back Down
15 One Love
16 Little Girl

Disc 2:
01 None But The Brave
02 Murder Incorporated #2
03 (Drop On Down And) Cover Me
04 Janey Don't You Lose Heart
05 My Love Will Not Let You Down #2
06 Cynthia
07 Darlington County
08 Protection
09 TV Movie
10 County Fair

Solo:
11 Shut Out The Light
12 Richfield Whistle
13 Fugitives Dream
14 Delivery Man
15 The Klansman
16 Unsatisfied Heart

Now You're Gonna Have a Good Time...

Another usenet find from last night is just too great not to share. From the same group that Stones set came from is this Springsteen bootleg A Tear Must Fall - Remastered The River Outtakes. All credit to the guy who remastered and put this together. Quality is fairly good, and it's a generous set at 3 discs. We've got alternate mixes, different takes, demos, song sketches, in short, the whole works. The third disc contain some tracks from the early to mid-70s. I've only listened to this once, so I'd imagine there are further aural nuggets to be gleaned but I think it's a great historical snapshot of an amazing album.


Track List

Disc 1:
01 The Ties That Bind
02 Sherry Darling
03 Restless Nights
04 Cindy
05 Independence Day
06 Hungry Heart
07 Out In The Street
08 Crush On You
09 You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
10 I Wanna Marry You
11 The River
12 Point Blank
13 Cadillac Ranch
14 She's A Rocker
15 Fade Away
16 Stolen Car
17 Ramrod
18 The Price You Pay

Disc 2:
01 Roulette (acoustic)
02 Roulette
03 White Lies
04 Take 'Em As They Come
05 Be True
06 I Wanna Marry You
07 Cindy
08 You Gotta Fight (For What You Want)
09 Mr. Outside (Looking For Number One)
10 Chevrolet Deluxe
11 Stolen Car
12 Ricky Wants A Man Of Her Own
13 From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)
14 Mary Lou
15 Where The Bands Are
16 Held Up Without A Gun
17 Roulette
18 I Wanna Be With You
19 Loose Ends
20 Hungry Heart (instrumental)
21 I Wanna Marry You
22 The Price You Pay

Disc 3:
01 Train Song
02 Goin' Back To Georgia
03 Guilty
04 Song To Orphans
05 Song To Orphans (Live)
06 If I Was The Priest (piano)
07 If I Was The Priest (guitar)
08 Two Hearts In True Waltz Time
09 Winter Song
10 Janey Needs A Shooter
11 Evacuation Of The West
12 Wild Zero & Blind Terry (instrumental)
13 Janey Needs A Shooter

Did Everybody Pay Their Dues?

I was browsing one of the usenet groups the other day and came across a multi-volume set, seven in all, called The Rolling Stones Unsurpassed Masters. One my favourites recently is Unsurpassed Masters Vol 3. Near as I can tell, after doing a bit of poking around, it's compiled and was 'remastered' by someone apparently called JWB in the accompanying notes. Some of the tracks appear on other Stones' bootlegs, such as Black Box, but after reading feedback about the set, some of these songs haven't been heard at all, or at the very least, in a long, long time. The quality is actually quite good and the songs are goddamn remarkable. I'd never heard some of these before and it's like hearing the Stones for the first time on some tracks. "Blood Red Wine" is one of the best I've heard from the Stones, sinister and lovely, I first heard it recently on the bootleg Unplugged (It can also be found on a number of bootlegs listed here). "Still a Fool" appears on the Black Box set and is 10 min of blues heaven; the alternate take of "Memo for Turner" actually improves upon the original. There's an guffaw during that song when Mick utters the words 'faggy little leatherboy' that just makes it. And then of course, 'Did Everybody Pay Their Dues?', which is 'Street Fighting Man' set to a completely different set of lyrics. My buddy Dave over at Egg Noodles and Ketchup thinks Street Fighting is the worst Stones song ever, so I'm curious what he thinks about this one. It's hard to hear this without thinking about 'Street Fighting Man', but this one is starting to work its way in so I'm barely thinking about commm-pro-mize sal-ooo-shunnnn....

All the braves and squaws and the maids and the whores

Did everybody pay their dues?

Thanks, I'll Eat it Here...

Lowell George was the former leader of the band Little Feat. So the proposition of a solo album by this guy might not exactly strike desire into the heart of well, most people I would guess. But there's a special sub-population at whom this music still caters to. You know who you are, so I won't spell it out. But the word 'degenerate' does come to mind. Anyway, he released only one solo album after leaving Little Feat titled Thanks I'll Eat It Here, a rollicking mix of country, blues and just straight rock and roll. Sadly, we only got this one release from this monster before he shuffled off at the age of 34, dead of a massive heart attack in 1979. Oh, and I like this picture a lot.

Whatever Happened to Fun?

Until a short while ago, I only knew Gilby Clarke as (a) the guy who replaced the irreplaceable Izzy Stradlin' in Guns and Roses and (b) the guy in Rock Star: Supernova. Frankly I was never really impressed by his performances in either and thought in the Rock Star show the guy had an attitude not befitting a minor footnote in rock and roll history. Then I came across this album on Usenet by Candy, Whatever Happened to Fun? I looked up the band and lo and behold, on of ol' Gilby Clarke's first bands. And he began as a replacement guitarist here as well.

"Candy were a band featuring the future Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke. Original members were lead vocalist Kyle Vincent, bassist Jonathan Daniel, drummer John Schubert, and guitarist Geoff "Rexx" Siegel. Clarke replaced Siegel after 6 months.Their only album, titled Whatever Happened To Fun, was released in 1985, when the band toured the United States opening up for Rick Springfield and later Corey Hart.Later that year, Gilby Clarke replaced Kyle Vincent as lead vocalist, and guitarist Ryan Roxie joined the lineup. After Gilby left, the rest of the guys joined up with new lead vocalist Shane and became the Electric Angels. (More detailed biography here).

I can't speak to the talents of "Rexx" Siegel, so I don't know how Gilby stacks up. But he sounds pretty great on this record. It really is a fun album of guitar pop which probably will sound bloody fantastic in the summertime. Today, the only people who make music like this are from Sweden (Sahara Hotnights, The Sounds). I'd imagine it sounded very out of place around '84-85, and probably today as well. We're only half-way through, but I can't imagine I'll hear a better song than 'American Kix' this week.

"Tomorrow Belongs to Us..."

The Forgotten Rebels were my favourite band in high school, and well, still are one of my faves. I've seen them live a bunch of times and they never disappoint. For whatever reason, in one of my hometowns this band was incredibly popular. They even played the high school. Firstly, how in the fuck did this band get a play to perform at a high school? (Sample lyrics, Surfin' on Heroin: I'm so fucked up I can't remember my name/Tried it once, I'll never feel the same/I'm swimming in a sea of puke/Lend me a quarter, play myself on the juke/Got my kid brother hooked yesterday/Pimping him pays for my habit today). Let's just say god bless the 80s or something because only in an alternate universe would that happen today. But play they did. And they came back and played an outdoor show in '87 where I helped them set up their gear. For that I got to sit on the side of the stage and a t-shirt to boot. Pretty nice for a bunch of degenerate drug addicts. I've still got the t-shirt.

The last time I saw the band was at Laurentian University in 1992 when they played the Pub Down Under, which I guess is a clever name for a bar located underground. Anyway, I decided since the band was so popular, I better hit the pub early, like noonish. I also decided it would be prudent to start drinking early, like about 9ish, you know to save money, and not have to drink as much all afternoon and early evening until the band came on at 7pm. To take the edge off, right? Well, as far as bright ideas go, it wasn't one of my best. I was pretty well knee walking by mid-afternoon, passed out at in the bar at some point as well. How I didn't get bounced remains a mystery but I think my roomate helped. The entire afternoon was pretty hazy, but things perked up after it seemed there might be Rebel action occurring. And it did happen, and rock and roll did occur.

The show was brilliant, as I remember. I got up and jumped around like an idiot. One of the last coherent thoughts I had was being cracked and seeing my sunglasses flying, looking up and seeing Mickey DeSadist wearing them during 'Time to Run'. Seeing him wearing my shit, I jumped up onstage and grabbed at it. Well, Mickey cracked me good and I ended up with my shades, still present by the way, and on my ass. After that, I ended up getting my ass kicked six ways from whenever with the pogoing. Particularly when the signature closers 'Fuck Me Dead' and 'Surfin' on Heroin' came on. I honestly don't remember much after that. But I've got photographic evidence that will be posted shortly.

All I've got of this band on CD is their debut In Love with the System (1979) and The Pride and Disgrace (1986). Sadly, I lost my LP of This Ain't Hollywood in when my parents initiated the Great Vinyl Purge of '96. Now when I want the latter album, Boys Will Be Boys or Surfin' on Heroin I have to go to a dubbed cassette tape that is literally 22 years old as of this writing. I'm frankly afraid to play it. If anyone has those albums, a vinyl rip would be my holy grail. I'll probably end up buying the LP again on ebay even though I won't be able to play it. After writing this, I'm probably gonna have to go and dig up the dub and play it on my old Walkman.

This version of 'Surfin' on Heroin' isn't as good as the original on This Ain't Hollywood, but it's still pretty great. 'Time to Run' is just nasty. Think a punkier version of 'She's Just 14' by John Philips.

Surfin' on Heroin

Time to Run

There are times when I wonder if I still love this band for purely nostalgic reasons. Then I play the music and it's still pretty awesome.

First post, first song...

Yeah, this is it, my first blog, and the first post on it. My number one has got to have the best song I heard today, which was stolen from another blog, of course. Mind you he probably stole it from where so I guess we're even, or at least nearly balanced. I'm not gonna reference that blog because I don't want to draw undue attention to it via the thousands of folks who will soon descend up White Russians are For Saturday Afternoons.

So the best song I heard today? Probably 'Time Race' by Ray Paul and RPM. It came my way after a malcontent told me about this blog hosting rare power pop albums. On it was this band's 1980 album Go Time. The album cover is as great as the music.


















'Time Race' isn't a a classic by any stretch of the imagination. At 5.03, it's probably at least 2 min too long. It's vaguely Springsteenish with an 'epic tune' feel, and with a beginning that kind of reminds me of 'Thunder Road' and a latter third suggesting they invited Clarence to come on in to make it even more so. But the chorus stayed with all day long and I kept wanting to play it again.

Time Race

I've been working my way through all these albums and some startling realizations began to occur. I really am starting to care less and less about new bands when these forgotten greats still have some life in them. These blogs are like the slogan from The Canadian Blood Service, "Blood. It's in you to give", except it's "Jail rock from 20 and 30 years ago, it's in you to keep it alive and corruptable." By continuing to steal from others with more inspiration and better ideas, I'll try to do so. In addition, I'll also be sharing interesting cooking ideas, non-specific commentary and current science news. And plenty of drinking, of course.