Led Zeppelin -- III

  Forget the hits, this acoustic, written in a 18th century cottage, is Zeppelin's greatest effort, plus you've got the volvelle packaging, which makes this album a must have in every record collection ... no matter what's your taste!

Howlin' Wolf -- Chester Burnett Aka

  A trailblazer deluxe, a man who has been cited by Sam Phillips as his greatest discovery, Elvis being the second ... The Howlin' Wolf!  His persona was as big as his stature, and his sound was enormous, 60's music would have been a real boring if the Wolf didn't exist to influence all the kiddies, and show em' how it's really done!  I could waste my time and write about his countless accolades, performances and great songs, but that tells you nothing unless you've heard the music.  All this meaning, get some Howlin' Wolf ... he is one of the greatest artists of all-time!!

Pearl Jam -- Backspacer

  Jock Rock wanna-be's latest release is less sludgy than usual with a couple acoustic numbers, but as always very forgettable ... the kids like it (and I don't mean the youth of Today!!) ... so i say it's good!

A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records

  This is the best Christmas album of all-time, and unlike most, it isn't a joke!  I am sad to announce that I do not have this record!  I was going to buy it on e-bay, but I felt that the price tag was way too high, I thought there'd be millions of copies floating around, but being released the same day as JFK's assassination probably brought the album sales way way down, I might pay the hefty price after all ... I almost cheaped out and bought the dinky CD ... but why would I insult the artists and producer by doing that!?  As well as being the ultimate X-mas record, it is Brian Wilson's favorite LP ... which makes a must have into a ............. ME WANTEE!


update: MEEEE GOT-EEE!

Tommy James And the Shondells -- The Best of ...

  Total Bubblegum Rock 'n' Roll bananahead Tommy James and his Shondells.  As much as this music is like a cheese factory, these tunes are all recognizable, and you can't help but love 'em -- well most of 'em!

Patti Smith -- Easter

  Punk poet extraordinaire Patti Smith!  Her usual brilliance is, in my opinion, not present on this record.  Other than hugely offensive, Rock N Roll Ni**er, the album just sounds like sloppy Classic Rock ... it's not that I'm too offended by their use of the dreaded N word, I get the poetic shock Warholian outrageousness, but do they have to scream it over and over and over, it kinda looses it's power and becomes shock for shocks sake, and why does it sound so separate from the rest of the album ... the tune is a wickedly sharp punk number, reminiscent of the MC5, while the rest of the record is a Springsteened biblical diatribe, who co-wrote Because The Night, and rejected it for his own record ... yikes ... is that the caliber of songs we have here ... rejects?  I wish I had found Horses instead, this review would have been totally different, the hit song is good but the album is a miss ...

Miles Davis -- Kind Of Blue

  Mega cool, super smooth Miles Davis masterpiece Kind Of Blue.  I really don't know what to say that hasn't been said already, the accolades are endless ... point being, get this record and let the music speak for itself!

Chubby Checker -- For Teen Twisters Only

  The King of the Twist craze, and it's still my all-time favorite dance!  Man this record makes me laugh, it's like life according to the twist, Lose Your Inhibitions Twist, Love Is Like A Twist, and ultra ridiculous our skeletons where made to do one thing, Twistin' Bones, are just mere examples of how far Checker takes it.  Otherwise this album is great, like a nice watered down James Brown ... and remember, "Adults Twist At Your Own Risk!"

Kiss -- Dressed To Kill

  Yearrck!  Total over the top Rock 'n' Roll debauchery, Dressed To Kill.  Now I do have a guilty pleasure for Kiss style Rock music ... but is it actually good ... NO.  It seems to me this is exactly what Punk Rock was setting out to destroy, although some of the Punk sound and aesthetic is taken somewhat from these guys, but they stripped it down like a Dadaist and re-invented it.  Everyone likes the idea to Rock 'n' Roll All Nite, "and party everyday," but realistically if you did you'd be a brain dead moron wondering why someone won't C'mon And Love Me ...

The Animals -- Animal Tracks

  US release of Animal Tracks works more like a compilation than an actual album.  These Animals are hard edge Garage Blues royalties who certainly know their licks, my only real problem with the record is Burdon's sporadic opera tones he explores with his voice, which he turns up to eleven later in his career.  These guys definitely had a leg up on the Doors by a couple years, thanks to Alan Price's brilliant keyboard playing.  So just "Bury My Body, I don't care where they ...."

Screamin' J Hawkins -- Because Is in Your Mind (Armpitrubber)

  Totally bizarro boppin' Soul LP by Screamin' (I put A Spell On You) J Hawkins.  This guy has been drenched in weirdness since the start of his career.  I was very surprised to hear he might have been a tortured POW who killed his chief captor by taping a grenade in his mouth! YIKES!!  Hawkins on the back cover looks more like Malcolm X rather than his usual Blacula self.  The front cover is a great piece of Modern African style art, all this makes me think ... Black Panther Party??  Some say they don't like this  Hawkins record, but I think it's great, in a time of political Soul, Hawkins keeps up, stays current ... and sits on his throne ... as the King of Shock!

The Ink Spots -- S/T

  Jazzy pre-Doo Wop combo the Ink Spots.  These guys were ten years ahead of their time.  Unfortunately by the late 40's one gets drafted, one dies, they get replaced, and the rest end up feuding ... meaning they never got to be part of the era that they helped invent!

Mott The Hoople -- Rock and Roll Queen

  A collection of pre-success Mott tunes, released after their hit album All The Young Dudes, probably to generate interest in their previous albums.  The music is a not so bad mix of early Heavy Metal.  You can hear where Bowie saw some potential, but on it's own ... no thanks!

Diana Ross -- S/T

  Kinda bizarre Supremes-less debut album by Diana Ross.  The cover reminds me of a World Vision type photograph, is the message supposed to be the plight of the African people, while she is using her skinny American body to portray that image, which is used in Western culture to look chic, I'm not sure if I feel this is tasteless or an interesting juxtaposition.  Musically I'm torn as well, at first glance I find the album too busy, the songs shallow and an ungenuine Motown sound-a-like.  At the same time it might grow on me?  All in all let's just say I'm not sure!

Lou Rawls -- Live!

  Smooth as silk Jazzy Bluesman Lou Rawls's Live performance is filled with classy classic numbers.  Not only is the music great, but Rawls's hipster ramblings between tracks make the album even better; my personal favorite rant is part of the closing song, it's about a small time crook, who's hustler rags are thrift store specials, and he's about to enter a World Of Trouble.

Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs -- The Best Of....

  Southern Souled Garage Rock outfit Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs are primarily known for the goofball mega hit Wolly Bully, but their other numbers are just as good if not better than their chart topper.  Sam himself was a Navy man, then studied Classical music in college, he eventually ran out of money, dropped out and decided to give his Rock 'n' Roll combo a real go ... a black hearse touring van, a couple of turbans and a couple of number one hits later, I'm sure Sam realized he made the right choice. One Two Unos Dos Tres Quatro ... behm bahm behm behm behm ..........

The Mindbenders -- A Groovy Kind Of Love

  A surprisingly not bad album by The Mindbenders ... don't be fooled by the cheese ball mega hit, A Groovy Kind Of Love, these Machester British Invaders actually have some pretty good chops; especially shown is the Bluesy Seventh Son and trippy Little Nightingale.  They may not be on my top list of British Beat groups, but their lush Zombies-esque sound keeps this album around.

The Sex Pistols -- Never Mind The Bollocks Here's ...

  Not exactly the first Punk Rock record ever made, although some may say it is, clearly they're wrong ... but the Sex Pistols are one, if not the most, publicly notorious band of all time.  Their main mission statement, other than rattling the cage of politics, was to destroy, kill, maim, abolish Rock 'n' Roll music ... why ... because the music had become a pretentious bloated old fart who needed to die, and they were just the ones to do it.  Bodies is probably the most offensive song ever written, with the exception of GG Allin's entire catalog.  All that aside the album is good old Rock 'n' Roll, a healthy mix of the Who and Alice Cooper; a bit over produced, way too polished for Punk Rock but all in all a good record that hardly lives up the hype of the anti-everything band.

The Faces -- A Nod Is As Good As A Wink ... To A Blind Horse

  Not to be too rude but my impression of The Faces is like a poor man's Rolling Stones, there is hardly a difference, not that The Faces aren't good, but you can see why Ron Wood eventually went to the Stones, he finally got to be in his favorite band.  That aside A Nod is a great piece of Rock 'n' Roll, even if it is a copy cat, it's a good one.  My favorite tune, and their best, Love Lives Here, has their typical Stonesy sound, but it's got some Skynard-ish Americana tossed in there too.

Santana -- S/T

  I wouldn't call myself a real Santana fan, for the most part I find their music kinda cheesy, but their debut Latino-Psychedelic-Soul'd-Jam album is great, and check out that cover ... do I really need to say any more ... I don't think so ...

The Creeps -- Enjoy The Creeps

   These Creeps have got the look, the sound, the attitude of 1965 Garage Rock.  What I found surprising about the band is everything they did after this album, they changed their tune, got fun boy outfits, and started to play 80's-Eurotrashed-Funkytime.  I thought they were an entirely different band, but with the same name.  It's just hard to picture what used to be a group of 60's purest, throwing in the towel to become a bunch of party boys.  Although I did read that they won a Swedish Grammy in the 90's for the crap they were playing, which might make them feel like they made the right choice.  What erks me the most, even though I still like this record, is that you really can't believe this music to be honest, it may have been smoke and mirrors, but they do end up living up to their name, a bunch of Euro-Trash fun boy Creeps!

The Mummies -- Never Been Caught

  The Kings of "Budget Rock", underground untouchables, The Mummies.  These guys make me think of a mix of Mudhoney and The Sonics, with a little Surf -- I doubt there'd be a better way to put it.  These Garage Grunge luminaries, as you can see on the cover, wore mummy outfits as their uniform, and drove an old ambulance, as tour bus ... how great is that ... The Mummies proved that the early 60's are still very relevant and that 90's Punk Rock was taking a turn for the worst ... so it was up to them to fix it .. 'cause ... Your A** (Is Next In Line)!