Del Shannon -- Greatest Hits

  The original sarcastic bitter bear of Rock 'n' Roll, Del Shannon!  His lyrics speak to just about any dork whose been dumped or let down by women, but that's just the start, what Del really loved was subtle revenge, guiltless third party voyeuristic pleasure giving his Hat(s) Off To Larry.  The Musitron keyboard's strange sound helps set the bizarre mood for most of Shannon's numbers.  Unfortunately for Del, he faded into obscurity, dwindling away in alcoholism and eventually took his own life.  At least we'll always have Shannon's unique version of Rock 'n' Roll to help us feel not so alone when we're in the throws of a bitter break up.

Janis Joplin -- I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!

  As much as I am (wuz?) a Big Brother, Janis snob purest, I think, I'm not too too sure yet, I might like this album better.  What made it so great, wasn't just Joplin's mega voice, but the Kozmic Blues Band, especially the Otis Redding style horn section, which stole the show in my mind.  We all associate Joplin as the San Fransisco psychedelic Queen but on this record she transformed herself into the White Lady of Soul!!!

Lou Reed -- Walk On The Wild Side: The Best Of ...

  Yeah Yeah I know, "best of " ... really, but why the hell not ... it's Lou.  Side one is by far the better half of this set.  It's got the Zimmy sounding Wild Child, I Love You, Bowie-esque, Satellite Of Love (who's that singing in the background, listen closely), Rock composed masterpiece How Do You Think Feels, fun oddity New York Conversation, and last but not the least, Lou's biggest chart topper, I love watching the jock yuppies who have no idea what the song is about but sing it to girls in bars trying to get laid, Walk On The Wild Side.  The B-side is a punishing mix.  It starts with heavy metal guitared covers of old Velvet tunes from Rock And Roll Animal which I always hated.  The latter end of the album does get better, but not great with, Sally Can't Dance, Punky B-side Nowhere At All and poetic Coney Island Baby.  All in all the record is a great comprehensive of Reed's early solo career, his first three efforts were better than the rest, but anything is pretty good from our favorite Beat Poet musician.

Holly Golightly -- Laugh It Up

  Laugh It Up is a stellar collection of cover tunes stylized by Holly Golightly, like the Detroit Cobras Golightly takes old numbers and updates em' in true fashion, the songs are much smoother than the Cobra's style, but in the same idea.  Golightly has worked with some high profile underground luminaries, especially multi-talented impresario art guru Billy Childish, and Laugh It Up's cover is drawn by Mudhoney's resident artist Ed Fotheringham.  My only problem with this modern-day Classic record is the Vinyl itself, it pisses me off just to think about it.  Almost every song skips like its going out of style.  It used to play fine, but lately, forget about it, and no, it isn't scratched to sh*t.  What I notice about new Vinyl from the 2000's is that the grooves aren't cut very deep, they resemble surface scratches more than they resemble grooves ... I've got a Meters and Brian Jonestown with the same problem.  My paranoia kicks in, all I see is some dork listening to MP3's cutting my very record, doing a bad job of course while thinking why the hell do people buy these things when you could just download em' for free ... the only reason he got the job, he's the owners best buddy who took pity on his junkie friend whose hit some hard times, which us, the buying public get the tail end of -- shotty Vinyl or as this record label called themselves, Damaged Goods!  I'd love to stand up to these infidels, take back my record, and get the Vinyl I deserve, so Laugh It Up, Fuzzball, cause I'm coming for YOU!

Elevator Through -- Vague Premonition

  Lo-Fi Stoner Folk Punk mastermind Rick White makes another Indie Rock masterpiece.  Why his albums aren't completely revered, the answer eludes me; meaning everyone should listen to Rick White music, whether it's Eric's Trip, Elevator, his solo stuff or better yet all of the above -- maybe that's just my Vague Premonition ....

Joe Jackson -- Look Sharp!

  Look Sharp! is a mediocre unauthentic version of Elvis Costello mixed with some Jam, sorry but I don't find this guy to be believable at all!  The music itself isn't half bad, but as the record went on I kept thinking, this sounds like a Costello shticked cash grab, I'll give him points for the valiant effort, and to answer his question, yeah, she's really going out with him ... so get over it!

The Surfaris -- Wipe Out

  Not exactly the best Surf Rock band, but nonetheless a essential group for the genre.  As an album, an entire record of mediocre instrumental Surf tracks with some god awful covers can be a hard pill to swallow.  Being vocaless and restrained to one style, there isn't much diversity to explore, although The Surfaris aren't the best example, maybe I'd be singing a different tune (he ..he) if this were one of the Del-Fi acts -- but I'm not so suck it up!  Funny footnote story, and I'm sure you have one very similar.  There was this kid in grade school, his claim to fame was he could play the drum bit from Wipe Out.  I remember the first time the whole class saw him in action, executing the drum solo just like the song, he became the school yard God .... well for about a week, until something else came up ....