jukeboxcommandos

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: Chaos in the City of Angels and Devils -- Punk in Los Angeles 1977 - 81. I have visited several of these Punk 45 compilations in the past, but for new readers I'll explain: The Punk 45 series from Soul Jazz is geographical, the releases examine a scene and put together a nice collection comprised of band's that outgrew the scene and bands doomed to obscurity.

Punk kind of passed me by back in the day, truth be told I was a bit young for the era these albums hit, and my exposure to the genre happened well after the fact. These Punk 45 albums are an excellent primer for fans both hard-core and curious, this LA collection is no exception.

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NOW SPINNING: Photographs and Memories - His Greatest Hits -- Jim Croce. It's odd the things we carry with us through life. I have had this album (though not this same copy) in my life as long as I can remember, various sisters and brothers owned it about every format, I've bought, traded or sold a few copy myself. I'm so familiar with this album that sometimes I forget what a great collection it is. The album slips and slides between his uptempo tunes (which usually lean towards novelty tunes) and moving balladry. Truthfully, I don't know how many of these tunes were actually hits, or if this was hastily assembled to cash in on Croce's death -- it doesn't matter, because, again, I've heard these songs for most of my fifty plus years on earth -- the only song I don't like here is his biggest hit "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".

Speaking of "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and the novelty feel of Croce's more upbeat songs -- could this be the reason he is a forgotten man in rock music history? Maybe it's ballad heavy and folks just associate Croce with 70's AM Gold or Light FM? For whatever reason the Croce songbook hasn't really translated to younger generations, nor do many of the songs appear in other media. Maybe Croce needs a highly fictionalized film about his life so that these songs can reach a new audience? Who knows, I can only write my humble music nostalgia blog, and hope somebody reads this and maybe picks this album up (it shouldn't be expensive, and it's available on every format ever) and give it a spin (hell, younger listeners may not have had to hear "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown" seven million times and they'll even like it) and find something new.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ODl1BMcwaK9gOXQQiCWloviM2s6Dw41

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: Soundproof-- Ferrante & Teicher. I have a buddy named Matt who is a fellow vinyl collector and dabbler in thrift store archaeology. Once we were discussing those artist who always seem to take up rack space at the Goodwill when Ferrante & Teicher came up -- I was dismissive but Matt championed this 1955 long player. It took me years to find a copy, and I didn't miss it because the duo didn't put their name on it, this album has a seriously cool cover. Recently a reissue presented itself and I had to do it.

Soundproof is an interesting listen, while it doesn't make me want to sell my Who albums and become a Ferrante & Teicher completest, it is entertaining enough.

https://youtu.be/kSqPEx8AEyA

[jukeboxcommandos]

SOUNDTRACK SUNDAY (Monday Edition): Rattle and Hum -- U2. If Rattle and Hum (the soundtrack to the documentary of the same name) had just been the follow up to The Joshua Tree, a single disc of new recordings, it would surely have classic status. Likewise, a concert album from a tour where they became kings of all they surveyed would have been a sure crowd pleaser. Even a limited EP of some of the experimental misfires would have captured the imagination of their faithful fan base. Instead, we are given a big, sprawling, messy double album that's execution never quite equals the ambition.

Don't get me wrong, the things that work make this album worth owning. I originally owned Rattle and Hum on CD, and the advantage of the "skip" button would help as the album goes.

The problem may just be that U2 had taken their sound as far as it would go, and when it came time to release the career defining opus that would define them for generations, we were treated to a few tracks of growing pains to accompany the moments of brilliance. This marked the end of U2's early sound -- they would take a few years off and comeback with the darker, more brilliant Achtung Baby. Despite multi platinum sales, Rattle and Hum now just seems to be a place holder LP, good, but not essential.

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THE RYAN ADAMS THING. Jimmy Page had a fourteen year old girlfriend, who he was very cruel to, that same girl lost her virginity to David and Angie Bowie when she was thirteen. Chuck Berry video taped the ladies room at a restaurant he owned. John Lennon beat his wives. The Grateful Dead kept releasing the same album over and over. Elvis was into some kinky stuff. Billy Joel is notorious for drinking and driving, and he released "We Didn't Start the Fire", the greatest atrocity visited on mankind in the last half century. I don't have the time to talk about Rick James, he did some bad things. We really have to go back to Jerry Lee Lewis to see an artist have a career derailment to match the Ryan Adams thing.

When I first heard that Adams was using his influence in the music industry to extort sex, I just figured he was a guitarist from North Carolina. At first it just sounded like he was being a douche bag, and the music industry is lousy with douche bags, I imagine that you can't throw a dead owl in the Grammy awards without hitting five. Then the allegations of underage Skype shenanigans came out and the ship was abandoned, Adams has lost sponsorship deals, his upcoming trilogy of albums has been pulled from the schedule and I doubt he'll be playing Kimmel this week.

I don't expect an artist to share my values. If an artist screws up, I don't throw the albums out or burn them. I've always maintained that Jukebox Commandos is about the art not the artist, and I like a lot of Adams' music. I probably won't be posting any of his songs on the page for awhile. Adams has his fans, if he doesn't go to prison (the aforementioned Skyping with a minor), they will still be here when this is over. Maybe not as many of them, but he'll have an audience. Hopefully he'll treat the women in his life a little better... and quit doing Taylor Swift albums.

[jukeboxcommandos]

IF YOU GET A CHANCE, check out the Sammy Davis Jr documentary on PBS American Masters series. Titled "I've Gotta Be Me" (After one of Davis' trademark songs), it celebrates what an extraordinary talent he was, from his vaudeville beginnings at age 3 up until his death at a surprisingly young 64. Some of the more tawdry elements of his life are skipped over, the focus being on his seemingly limitless talent and his odd place in black culture, being both one of the biggest African American stars ever, while being mostly ignored by that community until late in his life.

When I was growing up, Davis was a staple of the talk show circuit and the occasional Mark IV Productions guest star...oh and "The Candy Man". It wasn't until I was older that I realized that he was one of those guys that starred in every type of entertainment. "I've Gotta Be Me" is a lovingly produced tribute to just how big a star he was.

While "I've Gotta Be Me" didn't make me want to revisit his work (though it did give me a new appreciation) I came away thinking Davis may have been the greatest party guest ever! Every time they focused on him telling a story, any story, he turned it into the most interesting story ever. Combine that with the facts that he knew nearly everyone in showbiz, could sing, play a multitude of instruments and could drink us all under the table... and he was a great fast draw.

Check it out.

https://youtu.be/L6aNzFYHyz8

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: Von -- Sigur Rós. It's hard for me to believe that the first Sigur Rós  is twenty years old, but that's the release date on Wikipedia, June 1997. This album went relatively unnoticed at first (selling only 313 copies in their native Iceland and pretty much nothing internationally) but then their next two albums (Ágætis byrjun and ( )) proved to be internationally successful and people went back and picked up this 71 minutes of ambient post rock pleasure. While Von isn't the album to put on to pack the dance floor, it does have a quirky charm. Even though the sound is state of the art, it actually has rather low rent origins -- reportedly, the band payed for studio time by painting the studio. Von is a hard album to categorize, and that makes it kinda great. Drop the needle, give it a listen, lay back and dream of Iceland, you may dig it.

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NOW SPINNING: Nuggets. Come to the Sunshine, Soft Pop Nuggets From the WEA Vaults. OK, while I’m not familiar with most of the songs on this album, the artists are a who’s who of AM Gold from the late 60’s and early 70’s – The Association, The Monkees, The Vogues, Dino, Desi & Billy, and many other artists that were swimming in a pool made up of folk, pop and psychedelia. Heavier than the light rock the Carpenters would pioneer during the same period, but too light and too many studio fingers in the pie to be taken seriously by the FM crowd of the same period, the music on this compilation is a pleasant, well produced, reminder of the sunnier side of pop of that era. As the liner notes say, “dark days were ahead and rock became adult”, and while this album won’t make me give up my Punk 45 LPs, I will say the twenty four songs contained in here are just so bright and fun that I’m contemplating being nice to people… I’ll get over it – but for fans of fussy production and a certain time period, this Record Store Day 2017 release is worth tracking down. This brings me to a question about our music collecting habits. I used to have a compulsive need to aquire all of the “classic albums” (the stuff Rolling Stone or classic rock radio plays the hell out of), now it seems like my music collection is made up more of cult failures and curiosities, I don’t think I own a proper Beatles LP (I own the red “best of” and Yesterday…and Today) and I’m not looking to ad to that, but the biggest piece of crap that Harry Nilsson recorded will, eventually, find a home in my collection. I would walk past a stack of free Eric Clapton albums to pay for the couple of Cars albums I’m missing. So the question is: Do we all start to dispense with the classics? Not because they are over-rated or just no damn good, but because they’ve informed our tastes enough that they can guide us down our own personal rabbit holes. Don’t let my Beatles statement fool you – I do not for a moment believe this album I’m listening to could have happened without their influence, but if I want to hear the Beatles they are almost impossible not to hear, so why take up valuable record collection space that the Grip Weeds or that really sharp copy of the Bee Gees’ Odessa LP could occupy? A quick recap: Come to the Sunshine is a great listen and It’s making me think I shouldn’t swear at the stupid S.O.B. that will pull out in front of me on my way to work. While we may not love the classics themselves, we must admit that they inform stuff we may like. I’d like to end this on some sort of positive note or good advice… How about “Avoid the clap”? I can think of no better advice.

A Whole Lot Of Rainbows: Soft Pop Nuggets From The WEA Vaults: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlXdK1-6CD6a5ZDbsl8V-z-KH2jhD3Gjz

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: The Signal -- Wojciech Golczewski. Well now, this is just a gorgeous bit of electronic music by Polish composer Wojciech Golczewski. This is his second release on the (Mondo distributed) Death Waltz records. I loved 2015's Reality Check so much that I had to order this the day it became available, and it doesn't disappoint -- the soundtrack to a great science fiction film that has yet to be made.

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: The Duke -- Joe Jackson. I'm a Joe Jackson fan, but I thought about letting this one by, I just wasn't into it. Then I heard him interviewed on Alec Baldwin's "Here's the Thing" podcast and he spoke so lovingly of this album I was soon scouring eBay for one at a non crazy price -- four days later it was in my possession. This isn't just a faithful rehash of Ellington classics -- Jackson has created a dynamic series of arrangements that are a sonic feast, using this formula: Nothing's sacred and anything can be rearranged or reinvented. While Jackson produced and arranged every track, he uses several different vocalists, such as the late Sharon Jones and the surprisingly stIll living Iggy Pop. The musicians are a mixture of folks that have played with Jackson as far back as Night and Day and new collaborators like ?uestlove, Steve Vai and Christian McBride. I will admit the album is uneven, but I do think it does the job it set out to do -- reimagine the Ellington catalog and introduce it to a new audience. This probably didn't get much love from Jazz purists, but who cares -- they only listen to jazz to be snotty at parties anyway. If you are a fan of Jackson's post I'm the Man catalog, this album sets nicely beside Night & Day and Body and Soul.

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NOW SPINNING: I Just Can't Stop It -- The English Beat. I don't know if the writing shows it, but I'm not in a happy place these days, for many reasons, but mostly because I'm getting old. I was all prepared to listen to and review the new Glen Campbell LP, but that just doesn't seem like something I want to do while in this frame of mind. So I decided to go a while other way, by listening to a 37 year old ska album. I was going to listen to it for the last NOW SPINNING, but my copy was warped pretty badly and an upgrade had to be obtained. I ended up convincing my wife to have lunch a few counties over so I could pick up this very cherry copy at Dead Wax. This may be the perfect ska album for beginners, as the music has a toe or two firmly in new wave. In fact, I Just Can't Stop It is considered one of the great albums of the Two Tone Ska Resurrection. I know it's impossible to have a bad time while it's coming through the speakers -- and that's the real test. Thirty-seven years after being released, this album puts the listener in a relaxed, happy frame of mind.

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: Katy Lied -- Steely Dan. I've stated several times that I grew up listening to Steely Dan's Aja, and that's true, but this is the album that made me a Dan Fan. First off, this album is as close to lyrically direct as Steely Dan ever gets, and while they still keep the audience at arm's length, it's just arm's length. This is also a rock and roll album -- in case anyone reading this is a record store clerk worried about Steely Dan's jazz qualifications, this album is pure yacht rock. Taking these things into consideration, I don't know why this album gives me such joy. It starts with the menacing,doomsday ditty "Black Friday" and then goes into what may their most fun tune "Bad Sneakers" but the album stays buoyant despite such an amazing 1-2 punch to open. The rest of the songs are filled with the losers and creeps that populate every Steely Dan album, beautifully played and pristinely recorded, but there's just a little looseness here the later albums lacked. There is a palpable sense of fun, almost as if they were occasionally winging it. However, what brought me to my weathered copy of Katy Lied today (seriously, I need to upgrade this one) was "Any World (That I'm Welcome To)", the next to last tune in the LP. I've been a little down lately, one of those times when I seem to be totaling up my losses, thinking about the paths not taken, compiling my enemies list, telling G. Gordon Liddy who I need offed (scratch that last couple, sometimes -- when I'm not sleeping enough I think I'm Nixon) and this song is the musical version of my ultimate fantasy: pack up the wife and the cats, tell the boss off (though not my current boss, he's ok), drop the house keys off and go somewhere and be anonymous, maybe DJ a late shift at a public radio station and indulge my artistic side. Soon "Throw Back the Little Ones" will be over and I'm a middle age man waiting for the roofers to go to work on my place. I'm fine with that.

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby. My composition professor recommended this album to me, based on a paper I wrote about Al Green, he also recommended Hunter S. Thompson to me... looking back Terry Simmons deserves both credit and blame for a lot of stuff. This is still an amazing debut album, so amazing D'Arby never came close to duplicating its success, either commercially or critically. This album is a party, it draws you in with huge, chunky bass lines, and then those Al Green meets James Brown vocals snare you. None of this works if the songs aren't any good, but Introducing... is a well written LP also -- I don't think there's a weak track on here. This album had many critics thinking that Prince had a competitor for reigning genius in the R & B world. It didn't really work out -- though D'Arby made some excellent music in his career, he has yet to do another album this consistent -- with grooves for the dance floor, but tunes that were radio friendly. Though none of it that matters when you put the needle on the record or push "play" on Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby -- it's 1987 and he is still the future king of R & B.

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: Sticky Fingers -- The Rolling Stones. It's Friday, my work week is done, time for a refreshing beverage and a Rolling Stones album. Sticky Fingers is a classic, and thus review proof. This is the first time my favorite Stones line up did the whole album together (yes, I think Mick Taylor may be the best Stones guitarist). Anyway, I'm going to sit in my ugly/comfy chair and dig this. Have a good weekend. Commando Mike.

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: High Life High Volume --The Forty-Fives. I have always loved bands that sound like they formed over their mutual love of the first Nuggets compilation, bands that don't have time for rubbish like "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite". Which brings me to the third LP by Atlanta's own The Forty-Fives, High Life High Volume. These guys play a fast and loose style that is probably just a tad more polished than a garage act. In fact the songs run like a good live set -- side one is all hammer down, while side two breathes a little more, with an (almost) slow one ("Too Many Miles") and a country tinged blues tune ("Bicycle Thief") just to give the audience a chance to get more beer before the pace picks back up. Most importantly, it's a fun 12 songs, presented with swagger and heart, that probably should have a coupon for a modestly priced pitcher of domestic macrobrew, served by a waitress with a life story that's more cautionary tale than anything. I don't know if The Forty-Fives are still together -- this album was released in 2004 -- but I hope they are, and I hope that tonight their make a bunch of folks dance their asses off.

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: Another Summer of Love -- Gospel Beach. Alive! Natural Sound is quickly becoming my favorite record label, not only are all of there records a quality listen, they also look pretty damn cool. When they Tweeted about this insane package I knew it would be worth the money, but most importantly, Another Summer of Love is a beautiful piece of Laurel Canyon style pop, reminding me of Jesse Colin Young, The Byrds and a touch of Tom Petty, mostly it sounds like 1975, and I mean that with the wide eyed wonder of an eight year old who considered the radio his best friend. The album is aptly titled, this is a summer album -- the music brings to mind long, lazy days with the top down (unless you've never owned a convertible... I guess just hang your head out like a cocker spaniel... that's right, your a good boy) but repeated listens reveal a beautifully layered and well played set of songs. I cannot recommend this enough, and you don't need to buy the big deluxe package to enjoy Another Summer of Love, this would sound great on an 8-Track player.

[jukeboxcommandos]

NOW SPINNING: Singles -- Original Soundtrack. This was released last week, just one day after Chris Cornell's death, and it makes this morning's listen a touch bittersweet. I've waited for the vinyl release of this album for years, This album is the grunge Saturday Night Fever -- it crystalizes this music of the early 90's, and if the listener was unfamiliar with the Seattle scene in any way, this was a good primer, respect is paid to Seattle legends Jimi Hendrix and Heart (performing as The Lovemongers) and to grunge godfather Paul Westerberg (his songs on this album were his first post-Replacements releases) but the real stars are a few Seattle bands that hadn't found a mainstream audience -- Alice in Chains, Soundgarden (and Chris Cornell who performs solo on here as well), Pearl Jam, Mother Love Bone, Mudhoney, and Screaming Trees along with Chicago band The Smashing Pumpkins. Looking at it now, it reads like a NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL GRUNGE compilation, but this platinum album actually helped open the door for the Alternative format that ruled the airwaves of the early 90's. I'd like to throw another name in the mix, the film's director and the soundtrack's Co-producer, Cameron Crowe. Before beginning his directing career, Crowe worked for Rolling Stone when it mattered, and the soundtrack's to his films always feel like the hippest cat you know has gave you a mix tape. Oh and the film is cool too, there are some great performances, great concert footage and Xavier McDaniel gives the best advice any man could get. Even with all that going for it, I'm afraid Singles the film works best as a delivery system for Singles the soundtrack. I won't get to listen to it this morning, but I need to mention the album comes with an 18 track CD featuring more of the artists listed above along with (what I believe to be) the CD debut of Citizen Rock's "Touch Me I'm Dick"... I hear they we're huge in Belgium. Anyway, those of us of a certain age can put this album on and remember simpler times, others can drop the needle and hear what they missed and, hopefully, there will be some who come to this for the first time and see a beautiful snapshot of one of the great music scenes of the twentieth century.