new introductory bit here.
This is a reviews page based on my own collection, which just keeps growing despite itself. If it isn't listed here, it's because I don't own it yet, or I haven't gotten around to it yet.
Also, bother your local "new rock" radio station and make sure they are playing "new rock" and not "Rock the Casbah," which is not new.
note: entries in red text indicate my pick for the artist's best available album. A gold numeral indicates the POPocalypse winner of the year's best album; second- and third-place winners are in blue. Green lettering indicates an obviously exploitative record company compilation without apparent artist input.
MERYN CADELL: Bombazine (1993, **)
The second album from the performance artist went straight to the cutout bins, so it's probably very hard to find a decade on. It lacks a lot of the fun that filled her debut, although "Curb" is still hilarious after a dozen plays.
NEKO CASE & HER BOYFRIENDS: Furnace Room Lullaby (2000, *****)
This is real country: the stuff they don't make anymore. Tacoma native Neko Case, formerly drummer with the punk outfit Maow, practices what the critics call alt.country, a term she dislikes. This is actually pure, bleeding emotion, free of the superficiality, the bright lights, the glitz and the Pepsi contracts that fuel 90s Nashville. Songs to destroy you include "Twist the Knife" and "We've Never Met."
JOHNNY CASH: At Folsom Prison (1968, UK #8, US #13, ****)
In 1968, after several annual shows for the inmates of Folsom Prison, Cash persuaded Columbia Records to record his one-hour concert. It's a remarkable show, and Cash growls through several of his hard-as-nails stories of murder and drugs and no-hopers, punctuated by a few love songs. He's joined by his future wife June Carter on a few songs, notably "Jackson," wherein she sounds more like a leopard than a person. The most recent issue of the album, on Columbia's subsidiary Legacy, is uncensored and includes the full concert; previous issues had dropped three songs to fit it into the 45 minutes that were the standard of old vinyl.
JOHNNY CASH: At San Quentin (1969, UK #2, US #1, ****)
Of the two prison shows, I am in the minority that prefers Folsom, but only by a hair. San Quentin is probably the better show, but it lacks the sense of angry desperation its predecessor chews upon. It does, however, have Carl Perkins tearing crystal-clean notes from his growling guitar. This CD issue adds eight songs that were left off the original LP, including three beautiful gospel spirituals.
JOHNNY CASH: Love God Murder (1999, ****)
Ah, man! What a great box set! Love God Murder contains three separate and individually labelled compilations with thematic packaging. One's full of love songs, one's full of spirituals, and one's full of outlaws and prison stores. Murder is, emphatically, amazing. These are songs of real hard men; none of the macho stupidity of today's gangstas. When Cash sings that he didn't like seeing his love suffer from the bullet he's just put into her, "but with a second shot, she died," you believe it. "Joe Bean" is incredible, with a real skin-crawling moment during the "birthday" section. "Mister Garfield," an arguably misplaced story about the president's assassination told from the perspective of a small lad who's keeping vigil as Garfield lingers, is a powerful and strange singalong. It's a potent and evil album, and while all three discs are stunning ("Belshazzar" on God broke me down), you'll have to gun me down and pry Murder from my cold, dead fingers...
CAT POWER: The Covers Record (2000, **)
One of the most hyped local releases of 2000, yet to my mind overrated, Atlanta's Chan Marshall should at least be commended for really trying something very unusual with this downbeat dirge of an album. With only the barest accompaniment, she strips several unlikely targets, such as "Satisfaction" and "Wild is the Wind," into slow, mournful pieces reminiscent of Nick Drake. Unfortunately, the trick becomes stale and repetitive after only a few numbers, and the total lack of tempo ends up damning the project in the end.
CATATONIA: International Velvet (1997, UK #1, ****)
Welsh rockers, led by Cerys Matthews, who found fame with their catchy near-novelty "Mulder and Scully." Far better are the rest of the tracks here, including the European hit "Road Rage." "I am the Mob" is fantastic, with an offensively catchy little sing-a-long: "Yeah, and Luca Brasi, he sleeps with the fishes..."
CATATONIA: Equally Cursed and Blessed (1999, UK #1, ***)
The band's third wonderful CD came out in 1999 in the UK, storming the charts and cementing their hard-drinking, take-no-prisoners reputation with 11 songs summing up their attitude towards late 90s British society and a hatred of London. A year later, Atlantic issued it in America, adding the earlier singles "Mulder and Scully" and "Road Rage" in a half-hearted effort. Among the best tracks: a priceless song for the newly dumped called "Shoot the Messenger."
CATATONIA: "Stone by Stone" (2001, UK #19)
This single preceded Catatonia's fourth album Paper, Scissors, Stone to an increasingly disinterested media. If the single is any indication, there was very little variation in their sound or style: another song with quiet, repeating verses and a loud, simple chorus. Cerys Matthews had spent much of 2000 looking glamorous and being seen in wine bars. No sooner was the album released than she entered rehab and the band split up.
INGRID CHAVEZ: Ingrid Chavez (1991, ***)
This 1991 issue is still the only album release from the former Prince associate who got screwed out of the songwriting credits of Madonna's "Justify My Love" and would later marry David Sylvian and work with some of his material. On her own, she created a smooth, danceable modern funk album that hasn't aged a bit. Some of the lyrics are still pretty dopey, but vocals and music are excellent. Guitar on "Wintersong" is stunning.
INGRID CHAVEZ: "Elephant Box" CD single
The album version and five strong remixes. Unintentionally monotonous, this would have benefitted from two fewer remixes and two more songs.
ALEX CHILTON: Cliches (1994, **)
If you're like me, you've probably heard more about Alex Chilton than you have actually heard his material. So when you see a Chilton CD for four bucks, you naturally grab it. If, however, that CD is Cliches, you should probably pass. This is an oddball covers album consisting of Alex, solo on an acoustic guitar, picking some hoary old pop standards like "My Baby Just Cares for Me" and "The Christmas Song." All it's lacking is "Love is a Many Splendored Thing." It's a remarkably strange idea, and one which almost works as a whole, which is even more remarkable considering that the individual songs were mostly dull affairs in the first place. Still, I'm keeping an eye out for some tunes he's written, since his cult legend didn't come from this record.
MELANIE C: Northern Star (1999, UK #4, ***)
Sometimes I hate being an American. The same culture that promotes and sells millions of N'Sync and Britney albums derides the Spice Girls and any of their solo projects, particularly this fantastic 1999 debut. It embraces many styles, with reliable contributors like William Orbit and Phil Thornalley. A great, convincing mix of rockers, ballads and dance songs, American success, or lack thereof, of this wasn't helped by Ms. Chisholm's rather questionable promotion (like that live cover of "Anarchy in the UK"...)
MELANIE C: Northern Star Sampler
But if you don't believe me, track down this 6-song album sampler, which contains all the singles.
MELANIE C: "I Turn to You" CD single (2000)
Among these British hits is this, her fourth solo top 5. This Australian version contains the video, four remixes of the song and "Never Be the Same."
CHRIS & COSEY: Trust (**)
Obscure dance band continues their run of well-crafted non-hits. The problem here is with the really long songs, which get a bit repititious.
CHRIS & COSEY: "Synaesthesia" CD single
Incredibly moveable ambient dance. The fourth mix ends with an out-of-place bit of thunder, but this is all quite listenable.
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM: Circulatory System (2001, ***)
In the months following the breakup of Athens' Olivia Tremor Control, all of its members except Bill Doss reconfigured as Circulatory System. Their debut picks up a few paces beyond where OTC left off, with ridiculously dense soundscapes packed into very strict forms. I don't know... this stuff, while very entertaining, is practically critic-proof. You can call it psychedelic and weird, you can acknowledge John Fernandes for being a very good bassist, you can play "The Lovely Universe," loudly, from balconies, but in the end, this sort of music either intrigues you or it leaves you cold. It all depends on how open-minded you are. (Note: I normally like to leave links to Georgia bands' home pages. Circulatory System's is here, but I couldn't make it do anything but provide odd animation.)
KIMBER CLEVELAND: High Drama (1999, ***)
Boy, I thought Athens had an enormous music scene... then I went to Nashville. Since 70% or better of the music there is country, mainstream America doesn't hear about the huge number of talented unsigned acts. Kimber Cleveland's indie 1999 debut (she didn't even create a record label...how indie is that!?) is a few paces off the cliched center of contemporary country. Her voice and lyrics are wonderful, although her session musicians know exactly how every country song is supposed to fade out, and "Extra, Extra" sounds like the "build-a-song-around-a-catchphrase" tune we've heard before. There's a lot of talent here, and the murderously tough country radio market could do worse than give this a try.
PATSY CLINE: Loved and Lost Again (*)
As compilations go, this one sets a new low. Ten tracks, not even 26 minutes, not including either "Crazy" or "Walkin' After Midnight," not with even a drop of liner notes. Avoid.
PAULA COLE: This Fire (UK #60)
Ms. Cole's been accused of being a tad pretentious, and when she writes a song called "Nietzsche's Eyes," it's hard to disagree. When she reins her bombast in, she manages some fine, if overplayed, material. The bass-free "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?" is mostly great, and the Dawson's Creek theme "I Don't Want to Wait" and the Peter Gabriel guest appearance of "hush, hush, hush" are both superb. Despite her comments in Entertainment Weekly, it is unlikely anyone bought the album for the poor n*de photography of the sleeve.
PAULA COLE: Hush (Los Angeles, 10/23/96, Barking Pig)
A KSCA radio broadcast of a show from Barking Pig Records, which shows Paula in fine, talkative form. "hush, hush, hush" is mislabelled "Nietzsche's Eyes." Definitely worth tracking down, if only to wonder about KSCA's fine when Paula said "fucking" live.
SHAWN COLVIN: Fat City (1992, US #142, ***)
Her second album of upbeat folk rock contains the beautiful Grammy-nominated "I Don't Know Why," which she had previously given to Maura O'Connell. I adore the upbeat and passionate "Climb On."
SHAWN COLVIN: Live '88 (**)
Released in 1995 on an indie label, this is a public offering of the nine song cassette that she used as a calling card to labels before she was signed, teamed with two songs from 1990. Solo on her guitar, she wrings a lot of emotion from "Shotgun Down the Avalanche" and "I Don't Know Why" and a lot of other songs that helped me a lot in college.
SHAWN COLVIN: A Few Small Repairs (1997, UK #100, ***)
Annoyingly dealing her best hand first, this opens with the absolute stunner "Sunny Came Home" and goes quickly downhill to the usual high standard of her career. Not bad by any means, but while it's a fine CD, opening with such a remarkable song (one of the best of 1997) makes the rest of the album seem poorer. "You and the Mona Lisa" is another minor peak.
COMBUSTIBLE EDISON: The Combustible Edison Mixer (***)
A nine-song sampler featuring several songs that were already pulled to appear in the film Four Rooms. Combustible Edison seem to exist at the exact point where swing, cocktail jazz and Neil Sedaka meet, and they're a joy in the studio, but far better live.
CONCRETE BLONDE: Bloodletting (*)
While this isn't necessarily an awful album, it might have been a palatable one if Johnette Napolitano could have read fewer Anne Rice books and avoided the multiple vampire metaphors. "Tomorrow, Wendy" is pretty good if a little long, and the drums by ex-Roxy Music man Paul Thompson are listenable.
COWBOY JUNKIES: The Trinity Sessions (1989, US #26, ****)
Their celebrated major label debut contains the slow, mournful cover of "Sweet Jane" that earned accolades from its writer Lou Reed and became a true college rock classic and one of the most-played videos ever on MTV's 120 Minutes. The rest of the album's strong, but not as stunning.
COWBOY JUNKIES: The Caution Horses (1990, UK #33, US #47, ***)
Only a tiny bit more upbeat than Trinity, the epic cover this time is of Neil Young's "Powderfinger," but the emphasis is more on the self-penned material, including the delightful single "Sun Comes Up, it's Tuesday Morning."
CRANES: Forever (**)
Pretty impressive goth offering hiding behind little-girl vocals. Wonderful dream music, not even remotely catchy. But damn this band for not including even a hint of credits so we'd know who they are!
CREAM: Wheels of Fire (1968, UK #3, US #1, ***)
Clapton, Bruce and Baker at the height of their powers, with one studio and one live disc. The live sides are the most intriguing, particularly on a monster called "Toad," wherein Clapton and Bruce take a 12-minute reefer break, leaving Ginger jamming onstage by himself.
THE CREATURES: Boomerang (1989, US #197, **)
Siouxsie and Budgie moonlight from the Banshees on their second album together (from 1989), and the first to come out in the US. This features a very strong Spanish --or more accurately, Andalucian-- influence that sometimes threatens to choke the songs. It's hard to see it for certain, but it does seem like some of the material just isn't suited for such a treatment. The worst offender is "You!," which features Siouxsie's voice distorted like a Doctor Who robot, and maracas just don't go well with that.
THE CREATURES: "Fury Eyes" CD single (1990)
Second single from Boomerang is represented by three mixes of the lead, a thunderous, ten-minute mix of first single "Standing There," plus two dull non-LP cuts.
THE CREATURES: Anima Animus (1999, UK #79, ***)
Ten years since the last Creatures LP, and four since the last Banshees, Siouxsie returns on her own label with a loud, furious sonic attack that totally lacks any hooks but remains one of her most solid pieces. A major chart failure worldwide due to radio's refusal to touch it, it has some great material like "Say" and "Exterminating Angel" that would have sounded great for evening rush hour. Oh well. Strangely, this album is mastered really loud, making it quite jarring for random play.
SHERYL CROW: Sheryl Crow (1996, UK #5, US #6, **)
Her eponymous 1996 second album features her first awesome single, "If it Makes You Happy," along with the beautiful "Every Day is a Winding Road." There's still a fair amount of flotsam, and it's at least three songs too long.
SHERYL CROW: The Globe Sessions (1998, UK #2, ****)
Her third album is her first wholly satisfying release. As much as I love "Every Day is a Winding Road," some of her earlier material didn't sway me, and frankly "There Goes the Neighborhood" here still doesn't convince me. Most of the rest is really good stuff though, well-played, written with no apology.
CROWDED HOUSE: Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House (1996, UK #1, ***)
A fair posthumous compilation, featuring 19 songs (three new) in random order with a good essay. Not all their singles are included, for instance the great "Chocolate Cake" is strangely absent, but this is a reasonable starting point.