The Turtles -- Happy Together

  Part of me wants to like their sound but honestly I don't like this music at all, it's just too hippie dippie and seems like it wasn't 100% thought out.  Feels like it could have been good but turned out bad, there were moments of greatness, but they were just too far and few between.  Nice try, sh*tty record.

Queen -- A Night at the Opera

  I'm not a big fan of the whole 70's Classic Rock genre or Queen in general, they've got some good tunes, but I don't love em' all.  A Night at the Opera is a sporadic pastiche of genres from Heavy Metal to Sgt. Pepper to Dixieland to Folk to Bohemian Rhapsody, which is the melting pot of cross genre-ing ... but nonetheless Rock 'n' Roll wouldn't be the same without em' or this album.

Gladys Knight and the Pips -- Pow!

  Bargain basement label Pickwick assembles another off the cuff compilation.  Pow! is an early collection of Gladys Knight and the Pips pre-Motown recordings.  Unlike the straight up Soul sound of Hitsville USA, this album drifts from the early Girl Group style to R & B to Doo Wop, it even includes Knight-less numbers.  Opening track It Hurts Me So Bad, takes the cake and eats it too!

Bobby Bland -- Two Steps From The Blues

  Here we go the scintillating Bobby Bland, as it says right on the record label, and what a album it is!  "Blue" Bland took what Sam Cooke was doing and gave is a shotgun blast with a horn section flavorizing the blues giving it a whole lotta soul.  The highlight, which there are many, so the megalight is the haunting cover version of St. James Infirmary.  These songs would have otherwise been hard to find, picking up 45's here and there, but you've got it all here from 58 to 62 ...

King Curtis -- Live at the Filmore West

  King Curtis is definitely the saxiest man in the world, and Live at the Filmore is a great showcase of his undeniable talent.  The album opens up with the best tune on the record, Memphis Soul Stew, where he introduces his killer band, including Billy Preston.  As the album moves forward there are moments of unagreeable muzak styled covers, Whiter Shade Of Pale, Ode To Billie Joe and Mr. Bojangles, were the worst of the bunch, but Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love was oddly good.  Sadly enough with his biggest hit solo album climbing the charts, Curtis gets killed in front of his brownstone by two junkies.  The Yakety Saxman lives on through countless recordings from his own to accompaniying greats like Buddy Holly, The Coasters, Aretha Franklin,  John Lennon etc ...

Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band -- Safe as Milk

  Like many great artists his influence spans further than his popularity.  Safe as Milk is a blues drenched, fuzzed out, experimental hot box of music and words.  His persona feels much like a mix of the Howlin' Wolf and Wolfman Jack, but in a avant-garde beat punk sorta way.  Put this album on, take a trip down the Yellow Brick Road, follow the Zig Zag Wanderer to the Plastic Factory before we've all Grown So Ugly.

The Hollies -- Stop! Stop! Stop!

  This record floats between good and bad music, especially the specially arranged tunes on side B.  The album's sound sits right in-between The Beatles and The Byrds, except one song, Tell Me To My Face, it's a Latin guitared bossa nova with steel drum, that might sound stupid, but it's by far the best number on the record.  Title track's, Stop! Stop! Stop!'s theme is a bit unorthodox, being about a man obsessed with a belly dancer, as she dances she gets closer and closer, he gets to the boiling point with his obsession torn between wishing she'd stop the dance or just jumping on stage to grab her, which he does, then he gets tossed in the street by his shirt collars, guess he should have Stop, Stop, Stopped!

U.S. Bonds -- Dance 'Til Quarter to Three With ...

  Yikes this is one strange album, don't be fooled by the cover.  Intendedly recorded to be gritty it comes off as raw as The Sonics.  He scored a # 1 hit record with title track Quarter To Three.  Even though it sounds like a overly dubbed tape, I wouldn't have it any other way, the U.S. Bonds brand of Rock 'n' Roll is so unique and unmistakable, that full weird sound, bizarre voice, Dick Clark said it best, "I wasn't sure if I was suppose to be looking for a Marching band or a Rock 'n' Roll group."

The Bluesbreakers Feat. Eric Clapton -- Steppin' Out

  The story goes ... Clapton leaves the Yardbirds to pursue bluesier projects so he joins forces with John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers, they make a couple singles and an album.  Steppin' Out is a compilation of those singles and most of the record, aka The Beano Album.  Unlike the Yarbird hard blues rave up style taken from the Howlin' Wolf, The Bluesbreakers take their inspiration from Chicago Blues, a smoother more flowing style of the music; these guys were so good at it that they even scored sessions with Champion Jack Dupree and Otis Spann, which are represented on this record.  In the end, yes the album is good, but there's something about it that sounds uninspired, it seems to lack that visceral blues feeling that only comes from within ... all the talent in the world can't teach you that!

Jerry Lee Lewis -- The Golden Hits of ...

  Recorded years after the scandal, for those of you who don't know he married his 13 year old cousin once removed, Jerry Lee signed to Smash Records.  They rerecorded all of his typical hits and covers as his opening album for his new label.  The renditions of the old material are great, maybe not Sam Phillips quality, but who cares because after this he stuck to the country ballads -- less killer, more filler.  Let's all remember the man for who he was, a wild entertainer and one hell of a piano player, trailblazing with his piano on fire way before anyone else could have muttered the very idea ...

Joan Baez -- 5

  Well to tell the truth I don't really like Joan Baez her voice drives me batty, the vibrato, the tone, the sound, all of it I file under yucky.  But she's so acclaimed, so there must be a good album in her entire catalogue, and it's definitely not this one!  I gave it the old college try, I only paid a buck for it, so I wasn't too sore that it sucked.  Honestly I couldn't even listen to it, the needle only touched a few seconds of each song, but alas I over came, turned it off, and gave up.

Sonic Youth -- Goo

  This might not be Sonic Youth's best album, but it's definitely their coolest.  These tastemakers not only have unique killer guitar riffs, but their own brand of tuning and their own style of guitar chord progression -- can it get better than that, answer, NO!  Goo has some of that Indie Rock sweetness with the punch-drunk love for Punk Rock, even going as far as getting their cover done by the man himself Raymond Petitbon.  Let's put on our Dirty Boots and go visit My Friend Goo who's a real Kool Thing!

The Stooges -- Fun House

  The Stooges second album is in my opinion their best, totally raw, totally loud and totally awesome.  Fun House is the symbiotic mix of the MC5 and the Doors with the beat down street primitivism of the Velvets.  What else can I say, but "welcome to the Fun House, Yow!!!!!"

The Temptations -- With a Lot o' Soul

  Pumpin' Motown Classic, man this album is a power house of hits and devotion!  Their sound is mostly taken from Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, whom was very involved with the Temptations early career and this record, but where the Miracles are more the smooth Soul, The Temptations are more of that hard edge thumpin' bass Soul.  The sound on this record is so big you'd think they had everyone at Motown working on it, a gang of producers/songwriters (Holland-Dozier-Whitfield-Robinson-Ivy Joe Hunter ... etc), full orchestrations and The Temptations.  What an effort it musta been, and wuz made With a Lot o' Soul!!!!!

America -- S/T

  Folk Rockin' hybrid love child of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.  Even though they could be considered a rip off band, c'mon you never thought that Horse With No Name was a Neil Young tune at some time or other, they can sometimes out do their contemporaries that they are ripping off.  

The Electric Chairs -- Blatantly Offenzive

  Punk Rock classic Blatantly Offenzive has such hits as F*** Off and Toilet Love, but the wonders of offensiveness don't end there, no no no!  Wayne, now Jayne, County the front man/woman is the hybrid between Joey Ramone and Jackie Curtis.  County used to wear outfits entirely made of garbage on stage, he took what the Dolls did and turned it right up to eleven, maybe even twelve.  This album is drenched in Rock 'n' Roll, grunts included, even covering Garage Rock classic Night Time by the Strangeloves.  The record is a great example of New York Punk, maybe less talked about than the Ramones or the Voidoids, but still important part of the scene, keeping the Warholian feel.  To quote the closing track, Rock 'n' Roll Resurrection, "Rock me Jesus, Roll me Lord, soaking in the blood of Rock 'n' Roll!"

The Detroit Cobras -- Mink, Rat or Rabbit

  The original sultry soul singer revival, forget those pop star imitators, the Cobras are the real deal.  These guys musta been diggin' deep in their 45' collections to find all these obscure tunes to cover.  But these aren't mere cover songs, like some wanna-be bar band, they made these tracks their own, and if you listen to this record there's no disputing it -- that's sure as sh*t!  You've got a good range of  ol', Country, R&B, and Soul, all Bluesely Garage Punkified to the up most perfection.  I'm so confident of their greatness that I once told a friend, right before I put the album on, "if you don't like this we're not friends anymore."  But I knew there wasn't a chance that anybody wouldn't like this record.  Mink, Rat or Rabbit, sure, but I'll take Cobra istead!

The Young Rascals -- S/T

  First of all check out those shirts and ties, yikes ... what were they thinking???  The Young Rascals self titled debut is at best ok, definitely proves Phil Spector's theory about the album, being pretty much why bother, 10 duds for 2 hits, makes allot sense for the early sixties.  Not that the tunes here are all that bad, it's good ol' American blue-eyed soul, mostly all cover songs, except for one, which isn't anything to write home about.  Even the number 1 mega hit single "Good Lovin'", is a cover of the Olympics, which they make it sounds almost the same as the original ... so no I'm not diggin' it.  The Young Rascals are a good band, just not worth the time, better off spending your dough on a Olympics album instead!!

Prince -- 1999

  This guy is one of the greatest rock star alien's since Bowie, bringing the mainstream to the dirty underground .... It all starts off with apocalyptic party tune 1999 and follow suit from there with his Minneapolis Pop sound.  The fourth side depicts Prince's best musical innovation, minimalist synth funk, these tracks are always his best work.  But "don't worry, I won't hurt, I only want you to have some fun," because, "life is just a party and parties weren't meant to last," so, "tonight I'm going to party like it's 1999," ... well not really ... those days for me are long gone, thank god!

The Clash -- London Calling

  The ultimate Clash album London Calling, some say they sold out, abandoning punk rock, I think that's a load of crap, unless selling out means you made one of the greatest records of all time?  The album is a mish mash of styles, but all Clash music, a sorta World Punk, making the movement accessible to everyone, speaking to them all in song, just like the greats, Dylan, The Beatles, etc, can do.  London Calling is such a good record that if you meet someone who doesn't like it, run away, because they're probably not from Earth!