Mission Of Burma -- Vs.

  Killer (no pun intended, you'll get it if you're cool) debut release, unfortunately their best tune isn't present, Vs. by Mission Of Burma.  Their sound is the next logical step that had started with Television, went to Pere Ubu, then Burma took over ... it seemed like the torch almost got passed on again through the years, but it was only when Fugazi came out that this sound picked up again.

Yo La Tengo -- I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One

  Yo La Tengo are the masters of multi-genre-ing without making it sound weird or out of place.  They seem to be influenced by everyone who's worth influencing, they do have their moments of being hit or miss, but their hits out number their misses, so who the hell cares!

Sister Rosetta Tharpe -- Gospel Train

  Sister Rosetta Tharpe is known as the Godmother of Rock 'n' Roll music, and I have to full heartily agree.  He distinct style of Blues infused Gospel inadvertently invented the modern style of guitar soloing, which was perfected by Chuck Berry ... meaning put this on your must hear list, as in right now!!! 

Green River -- Dry As Bone/ Rehab Doll

  Green River turned out to be the archetype for the Seattle sound.  What you have here is Mark Arm basically backed by Pearl Jam, thank god there isn't a hint of jock Rock in their music, it actually sounds like Mudhoney, just crunchier and amateur, but this band was a good start to what was to become a world movement!  

Charley Patton -- Founder Of The Delta Blues

  Robert Johnson might have been the prolific Bluesman, but Patton was the pioneer.  Charley is the type of character that his life is shrouded in a cloud of mystique and legend, but his reputation proceeds his raw, deep and boisterous Delta Blues, to the point that he even undertook a young apprentice ... the soon to be Howlin' Wolf ... point is, music as we know it would not be the same without these trailblazers at the root to our culture! 

Arthur Alexander -- You Better Move On

  Completely underrated to the point he drove a bus up until his potential comeback, then died of a heart attack ... damn Rock 'n' Roll, taking it's casualties whenever it wants.  Alexander sounds to me like a poor man's Ben E. King, and I don't mean that knocking him in anyway, he wrote some majorly famous numbers, that other artists staked big time fame covering, none other than The Beatles (Anna) and The Rolling Stones (You Better Move On) for starters.  So the next time you pop on a bus, get some street meat, or in my case visit a jewellery store, what you see isn't always what you get!   

The Dirty Fences -- Too High To Kross

  Power Punk'd debut full length release Too High To Kross by The Dirty Fences.  I really liked this album, but is it a version of this kind of music I have never heard before ... let's just say I'm happy I got the CD rather than the record!

JFA -- Valley Of The Yakes

  F*ckin' way rad pioneering skate Punk outfit JFA.  What can I say about this Hardcore album other than it makes me wanna take my deck out, slam on the concrete, throw my bloodied broken teeth in your face and yell Jodie Foster Army!

Washed Out -- Paracosm

  Man oh man, I really like this synthy-dream-gazer album ... not to trash talk this kinda music, because I feel like it's about time that the Shoegaze trailblazers get the recognition they deserved, but if every new Indie band goes this route it won't sound so original anymore, meanwhile Washed Out nailed it!

Alt J -- An Awesome Wave

  Alt J are a mix of Mogwai meets later period Radiohead with hints of TV On The Radio.  Their Dreampop tunes rule on this album otherwise I find the rest to be pretentious and lame.

Elastica

  Definitely the most Punk Rock of the 1990's Britpop bands, to the point that they even got sued by Wire for stealing the riff to Three Girl Rhumba for their smash hit Connection.  Although I have a soft spot for this album I can't help but file it under 90's British bullshit ... sorry but when it comes to that era of music, I'm pretty pro America!

Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan -- The Exotic Sitar And Sarod

  I can't say I am able to fully understand this music, all the beats and complex changes have a Jazz like spontaneity.  These men are magical masters at their instruments, where music is their religion and they are the priests.

Wanda Jackson -- Right Or Wrong

  Here we go, the undisputed Queen of Rockabilly, Wanda Jackson.  Right Or Wrong cuts itself down into two camps, side one is "sentimental" Country music, and the flipside is full on Rock 'n' Roll.  This may not be her best album, and there might be the lack of the Jackson growl, but it does showcase her as a serious singer, where her voice matches her beauty.  

Sonny & Cher -- Look At Us

  Drenched in super campy 60's kitch, this piece of crap debut album doesn't have much to write home about, unless you are talking about the Bluesy Garage Bo Diddley romper You Don't Love Me, otherwise stay the hell away from this one.

Sublime -- 40oz. To Freedom

  Yes Yes I'm so sorry he's passed on but this group is up there with Jock Day, Jockspring and Jockvana for killing Punk ... I'm not entirely sure which derogatory jock term I should use for this painfully bad band: Jocklime, Jocklame, or better yet because they mixed Ska with Punk Jockperation Ivy ... oh and thanks guys for sh*tting on my favorite Descendents song ... poseurs!

Chavez -- Gone Glimmering

  A healthy mix of Pop Punk and Post Math Rock.  Can't say that this album blew my mind, not that it was bad, but I found it slightly boring ...

Bauhaus -- The Sky's Gone Out

  Goth Punk pioneer's third Lp The Sky's Gone Out ... I like this album but honestly, did it knock my socks off??  Not really ... there are some killer moments, but the record feels scatterbrained, like they weren't sure what they wanted.

Peter Tosh -- Legalize It

  After becoming increasingly hard to deal with, due to a car accident, Tosh leaves The Wailers to release his debut solo effort Legalize It.  To be honest there aren't too many surprises here, it's pretty much a run of the mill Reggae record, but I have to agree with Tosh, it must be legalized, has anyone done anything bad after a joint??  I doubt it, unless you consider buying some chips and take out a source of evil, booze has done way more to worsen society but everyone does that, we'd all be better off if we could just mellow out on jazz cigarettes!

Air -- Moon Safari

  Mega chill, downtime atmosphered Electro duo Air's debut album Moon Safari, it's got a mellow 60's kitch groove with Gainsbourg's Melody Nelson's sophistication and Kraftwerk-esque vocoded robotics ... there was nothing like being a 19 years old boy dancing with a beautiful young woman watching her lips mouth the words to Sexy Boy while looking straight into my eyes, goddamn, that sh*t melted my heart and ego into a smooth pool of cool butter!

Dead Boys -- Young Loud And Snotty

  The title almost says it all but I would have named it raw, mean and sleazy.  The Dead Boys were the next logical step after The Stooges and The New York Dolls, continuing the tradition of f*ck everything, including you Rock 'n' Roll.   No matter of how lewd this all sounds the album is pure Punk and is a force to be reckoned with ...

Gwar -- Hell-o!

  What happens when you bring to life Kiss's puke from a gargantuan amount of speed, coke, heroin, lsd, liquor and mix it with 80's Hardcore Punk ... Gwar's Hell-o! 

Le Tigre

  Man I can remember when this album came out, I was blown away by it's awesomeness, albeit this Dance Punk Electroclash by Bikini Kill's master of ceremonies was the perfect soundtrack to living in Montreal on drugs, clubs, women and booze ... ahhh the good old days, although I say that now, I was probably miserable, cold, hungover and lonely most of the time, so I guess nothing much has changed ... kidding, I'm much nicer now, which is a spooky thought!