Deep Purple -- Shades Of... & The Book Of Taliesyn

  I did these two together because they are basically the same disc, and was on a grandiose search of what could be their next great song of this period other than Hush, which by the way is their best tune, but my results came back nil.  What I did discover is a mix of the bad sides of Cream and The Doors all intertwined making two albums of complete over the top 60's garbage.

  Both albums feature some cheeseball originals, tasteless Beatles covers, and a couple of horrendous renditions.  The main offender is their version of Hey Joe, which they take full song credit for, and by the way isn't written by Hendrix either, but did he say, "that's mine", I don't think so, although Deep Purple did.  In order not to ruin my day with this stream of negativity, I won't go on about the Camelot references, or the annoying keyboard playing, etc ... Hush is a great hit, and if anyone wants these albums I'll let go of the pair for a couple dollars, at least there's one good song!

The English Beat -- I Just Can't Stop It

  Ska/ New Wave outfit The Beat are one of the best of the revival bands that came out of England.  Now I'm not just tossing them into New Wave gang because they're from the 80's, I have evidence to support my case.  Exhibit one, the song Best Friend is a basic New Wave song and is almost completely Skaless; exhibit two, is the large use of flange guitar which goes hand in hand with the New Wave Sound.  This record is filled with wall to wall classics, form the start, Mirror In The Bathroom, to some cool covers, including my personal favorite track, the most authentic Ska sounding tune, Can't Get Used To Losing You.  Plus they have a resident Sax virtuoso Saxa who is a luminary player from the old days in Jamaica playing with the greats, Buster and Dekker, just to name a few.  Call up the Special Beat Service 'cause Hands Off ... She's Mine!

Black Sabbath -- Master Of Reality

  I'm not sure what reality they are the masters of, but it certainly isn't the one that any of us live in (hopefully), who gives a f*ck if the lyrics are juvenile this guitar Grunge Sludgefest is goddamn great!  Here you've got the best riff based Heavy Metal tunes that screwheads are still worshiping.  They include weird little ditties, keeping the album interesting, for example the Lo-Fi Indian styled Embryo and the prettily vocaled Solitude.  I really liked the fact that they mix in juxtaposing elements to show their varied musicianship while keeping their fans on their toes.

Gene Loves Jezebel -- Desire

  This five song EP is the cross between The Bauhaus and The Cult ... I kinda thought I'd hate it once I put it on, but I didn't, it wasn't so bad, although it wasn't so good either.  Title track Desire was by far the best tune on the EP, you can definitely hear some Jane's Addiction roots buried in all these songs, and that's about all there is to say about it!

The Dictators -- Bloodbrothers

  I usually like the Dictators, but this 1978 release stinks.  Bloodbrothers sounds like the equivalent of British Pub Rock mixed with arena Kiss style anthems.  There wasn't much to like about the record other than the fact that it's from The Dictators.  Stay With Me is the album's only saving grace, but it simply wasn't good enough.  Otherwise these guys are a great band, their first release is irreplaceable, but this one is a total write-off!

Little Richard - Live! 10 Super Hits

  For starters this record is not a live album, it's got 10 of Richard's early Super Hits!  Every song on this short record is through the roof awesome!  I can't get over his poignant, matter of fact shout singing, with the R & B back-up which are borderline Funk by 50's standards.  Richard went on to be a preacher and made some pretty bad music later on in his career, but his beginnings are nothing short of sheer brilliance, Rock 'n' Roll wouldn't be the same without him, a pure artist.

Squeeze -- Argybargy

  What a piece of sh*t!  I tried to listen to this record but had to turn it off after a couple numbers, although I did check to see if there were any hidden gems -- no dice!  I feel bad for all the good New Wave bands out there who have been roped in the same category as these jokers.  I did hear that their next release is quite good, I might give it a try at the right price, but if it was left up to Argybargy would I ever buy another Squeeze album ever again, no chance in hell!