The Zombies -- The Best Of ...

 Part of the British Invasion, The Zombies didn't have the typical Invader sound, yes their first album has tons of R & B covers, like all the other British groups, but their originals have more in common with the Californian sunshine pop music.  We all know the typical Zombie Hits like Time Of The Season, She's Not There and Tell Her No, for the lush cool organ driven style.  They were definitely major pioneers, songs like Indication and Care Of Cell 44 were almost like premonitions of Indie Nerd Rock that came 30 years later. 

The Heartbreakers -- What Goes Around ...

  1975: Johnny Thunders quits the New York Dolls, Richard Hell gets tossed out of Television, both form a group with Jerry Nolan, ex Dolls drummer, and Walter Lure, called the Heartbreakers.  By 1976 Hell leaves the group to form the Voidoids and Thunders carries on with the Heartbeakers.  What Goes Around is recorded live in '75, mostly at CBGB's, with what sounds to be a crowd of ten people.  I have to admit that the record sounds like sh*t, would I have bought it knowing this, fu*k no, am I going to keep it as a document in punk rock history, fu*k yes!  What you have here is two rockstar ego's battling it out for center stage and artistic direction of the band, it's obvisous in the track listings; you've got Voidoids classics like Love Comes In Spurts and Blank Generation, as well as Heartbreakers classics like Pirate Love and Can't Keep My Eyes On You, a couple of years before they get released separately and officially.  One track that sticks in my mind, if any, from this album is So Alone a kinda sad slow ballad sung by Thunders, I think (?).  Thunders on this number sounds, and probably is, like a junkie who's ripped off all his friends and finally faces the sickness and loneliness he has much deserved, but nonetheless cries for sympathy after everything is all said and done, it's too late, all that there is left is What Goes Around ...

the Vaselines -- Dum Dum

  Heavily influential, garagy grunge shoegaze band The Vaselines.  They seem to pick up on anything and everything that's cool and toss it into their timeless sound.  They're one of those bands you wish were more popular, but are secretly glad they aren't because you are so hip that no one knows them except you, some of your friends, and a couple of rock stars.  I doubt they knew what kinda impact they have on the face of music at the time, but some of the best music was made that way.  I hope all the hipsters won't thrist for my blood, I just let the cat outta the bag, but don't worry the jock nerds never caught wind of them then (you know what year), I doubt they will now!  "MEEEOW!"

The Descendents -- I Don't Want To Grow Up

  If you grew up punk like I did there's no way you missed this group, they're definitely one of the best punk bands the 80's ever produced.  For those who don't know, this is the Descendents second release, and marks the return of Milo from college.  Personally do I think this record is better than Milo Goes To College, no I don't, but I Don't Want To Grow Up has in my opinion the best Descendents songs ever written, so it evens them out in awesomeness.  Side one tries to go where Milo Goes To College left off, silly, serious, angry, funny hardcore-ish punk rock, I can't say I'm too too crazy about it, it has its moments, but I feel blah about it.  Side two is where the real gems are, plus I find the sound production superior to the first half.  The song writing on the second side reached a new maturity for the band and had an influential writing style that spruced up again in the 90's Indie Rock. The numbers I hope to hear on classic rock stations when I'm an old man, if there's enough of us old punkers still alive to make it happen, would be Silly Girl and Good Good Things.  Not only are the riffs great, the sound is good and the cute girly lyrics are insanely relatable.  You know what, I Don’t Want to Grow Up either and if I keep listening to this record I probably never will!  YAY!

Johnny Nash -- Hold Me Tight

  Everybody knows him as the "I can see clearly now" guy Johnny Nash.  I bought this record solely because I thought his hit was interesting, totally over played, but I wanted to hear what the rest of his music sounded like.  Hold Me Tight is a full blown Desmond Dekker sounding Rocksteady album, keep in mind Nash is American and the first to export the sound, I couldn't believe it, it was great!  This album was recorded, apparently, in Jamaica, and has two numbers written by Peter Tosh, Love and You Gotta Change Your Ways, which are the best tracks on the record, especially Love, a cool Rockseady ballad.  Further footnotes, this album was released on his own record label JAD Records, and his label signed some of The Wailers luminaries, Bob included.  Also the cover and back cover have various pictures of Nash in a waterfall scene, not taken in Jamaica, but taken in the gardens of Hotel Bonaventure, Montreal.  What's strange about that is if the album was recorded in Jamaica, why have the pictures taken in the gardens of a hotel?  Musta been a Canada only release, with that specific cover?  Anyway I can see clearly that Johnny Nash is awesome now!

The Who -- Tommy

  Heavily ambitious, out conceptualizing the concept album, rock opera, Tommy.  Now first things first, do I think that Tommy out does The Who's previous efforts ... hardly!  As far as my overall opinion of this record, I can't say I loved it, I found the lyrics were over the top pretentiously juvenile ramblings of a young man with delusions grandeur and mental illness, I know it's suppose to be about enlightenment, but I'm not buying it.  Musically I feel the same way as I do about the lyrics.

  Album one is the most stable, well rounded, and Who sounding record of the set.  I don't really want to get into too many Tommy story details, I can safely assume if you are reading this you are aware of the tale. Otherwise it starts off from the beginning, birth, and then embarks into what is going to be Tommy's very strange existence.  I did like how they cleverly found a way to slip in a Sonny Boy Williamson cover, Eyesight To The Blind, to play into their theme.

  Album two, unlike the first record's clear song structure, they use snippet tunes to move the story along, which I found dumbed down the details of what was going on, for example, when Tommy was being molested by Uncle Ernie the descriptor was the band chanting, "fiddle about," which I guess would have been a young man's interpretation, but seemed to condescend a very serious moment in a boy's life, but at the same time what else could you say?  Then the, "deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball," c'mon give me a break, after all he's been through he becomes a Pinball Wizard, great tune musically with killer riffs, but cheesy as hell lyrically.  As Tommy's life goes on they determine that the problem is psychosomatic, there's some realization, a quote unquote Miracle Cure, and Tommy becomes a Sensation.  Sally Simpson, a story about a random follower/ fan, proves to be the most interesting element, I like the outsider perspective, it's about her struggles and tribulations in relation to Tommy's life, she gets a terrible gash on her face and marries a Californian rock star.  At the end of the album Tommy becomes a cult/ guru type figure, with his own cover your eyes and block your ears enlightenment pinball camp.

  My final thoughts on the album are that I find the records to be entities of their own, almost like they were recorded different years and could have been sold seperatly.  The first record has a Overture and an Underture with concise songs in the middle.  While the second record is a total mish-mash.  To me Tommy's camp sounds like Jonestown, through all his experiences and trials he becomes a narcissistic jerk.  And c'mon seriously a pinball enlightenment camp, with Uncle Ernie helping and exploiting Tommy ... bullsh*t!  But this mega classic is still great, it's a huge project to undertake, and is open to all kinds of analysis, just look how much I wrote and that was just scratching the surface, so even if my critique isn't all for it, not many albums are worthy of a four paragraph essay.  So Tommy I think I heard you!

The Blues Project -- Live At The Café Au Go Go

  Yikes!  What can I say, are they The Blues Project or just the sh#$ty Yardbirds!  I had bought this record when I was in my full blown everything from the 60's is cool phase, plus it had all the right blues covers for a good album, and in the end I hardly listened to it, as of last night I very much hear why.  Man, I don't know what these guys were doin', nothing was quite right about this record.  The guitar player sounded like he was just twiddling his fingers as fast as he could go, hitting the right notes I'm sure, but no rhythm, no blues, just sh#t!  If that wasn't bad enough, the lead vocals were a total sham, a kind of bad 60's I'm hip, but really a nerd campy crap, I don't think even the Monkees would have him ... thank god they ditched him for their next effort.  Now to get to the worst stinker on this stinkers album, a cover of Donovan's Catch The Wind, this pathetic excuse for a ballad is ear wretchedly awful, if the high pitch organ was any louder I would have had all the neighbourhood dogs at the door step barking, "TURN IT OFF."  As you can tell this Blues Project failed with, as Ricky would say from Trailer Park Boys, "flying carpets"!!  Better luck next time ... f*ckos!