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.