First Time Listen: Yes
Dr John's Prescription Gumbo. Take with food.
Impressions: Dr. John is one of those guys that you know for his cajun piano playin' voodoo image more than his songs. Okay, Doc, let's see what you got. Allons-y... Starts off with the oft-covered "Iko Iko" and it's distinct "bomp bomp bompbomp" rhythm. A decent enough song, but sort of been ruined to me by years of abuse by Grateful Dead cover … Continue Reading ››
"#434 Record" didn't have quite the same ring to it.Impressions: I don't care if this is indie-hipster bait, this album is amazing. I probably like it too much to look at objectively, but I'll try my best… "Feel" chugs in with a great riff building toward a '70s power-pop groove. It's super catchy, but still seems like the whole song is going to fall apart, just like Chris Bell vocal ( "I feel like I'm dyin!") After that, the gorgeous heart-rending Alec Chilton ballad "The … Continue Reading ››
Release Date: 1972
Previously Owned: No
First Time Listen: Yes
Impressions: In college, I had four roommates, so every one of us would get to choose one CD and throw that into the 5-disc changer for parties. Then we'd put it on uber-shuffle, lock the door and let it go all night without taking requests or having anyone mess with the music. A few of my roommates were big into War, so usually one of their CDs would make it … Continue Reading ››
Pictured are some of the young dudes, but not all.Impressions: A great Bowie album, without Bowie's voice (mostly). A cover of Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" is no-brainer slam-dunk, and although it doesn't dispell the weird feeling of imitation, it's beautifully done. Lead singer Ian Hunter has a lot of Dylan, a lot of Bowie, and a sharp sense of humor and self awareness. The band plays pitch-perfect glammy rock that doesn't get … Continue Reading ››
Release Date 1972 Previously Owned: No First time listen? Yes
Bonnie Raitt's for no manImpressions: Having always heard Bonnie Raitt in the context of admirable but moderately boring blues/rock on WXRT, I was not really psyched for this one. But this record sort of hung in there as an admirable, nicely-performed California soft-rock/bluesy/folk/soul brew that went down pretty easily. The songs are short and had enough surprises to keep me interested (mostly in the form of fun New Orleans-flavored horns on tracks like "Give It … Continue Reading ››
A guy tries to listen to every album on the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of all time list, and some other stuff
