top ten of the week-Days are numbered
A couple things on my mind. This year will be the final year that I will review new music on a regular basis. After 2009, I'll stick with the music that I grew up with and I'm sure I'll continue to find them at the pawnshop and thrift stores across this fair city. I can no longer continue to review crappy new music that I seldom play after playing it the first time. Yeh, I'll find some new stuff to review in 2010 but if you care about hearing any Fall Out Boy or Taylor Swift or what passes for new rock, let somebody else pay the 10 to 15 bucks per CD to review it.
Number 2, The My Space top ten will conclude on the last week of December. Seven years has been a long time for keeping some sort of top ten going and since 2003 I have managed to do that,keep a top ten going. But with the departure of Brooksie, and despite help from some of y'all out there, I've never sustain the groove and feel of the times of Brooksie, and some of the stuff she posted even rival my finding of the lesser knowns. And of course there's supply and demand, if there's too much supply and not enough demand then people move on to other things. Kinda like buying cds from outdated stores such as Hastings in Ames or Tower Records. But i have made the committment to continue this to the EOY. Starting next year I'll be doing playing of backtracking to put together the R Smith Review Consortium, to which I will do reviews of past artists and rate their albums according to plan but will move it to a more reliable website than My Space.
A top ten is a top ten from anybody that can tempt you into checking out new tunes. I only threw in suggestions left and right. I love music and will continue to do so but there's a new Crabb format on the horizon. And where it leads, even i don't know.
The Top Ten Of The Week.
1. I'm Not A Number-Gary Myrick & The Figures 1981 Gary Myrick has finally got his Epic albums reissued (with bonus tracks) from Wounded Bird Records and how and why they beat The Brains to the reissue department is a pox upon Andy McKaie. Had this record once and found a cheap copy at the Ankeny Goodwill on my illfated Ames/DM trip of last week and found that Living In A Movie sounds better this time around then it did when I originally reviewed it. Produced by Geoff Workman (Queen, Journey, I Love You). Uselss music fact: drummer Jack White (no relation to White Stripes Jack White) used to be married to Katy Segal of Married With Children and Sons Of Anarchy fame.
2. Pictures Of Home-Deep Purple 1972 From Machine Head. A lesser known track that I used to play quite a bit when I was in high school. Deep Purple could jam out and people consider Machine Head to be the ultimate DP. Of course, I could have just put on Smoke On The Water instead but I'm trying my best to promote the lesser known stuff.
3. Life In London-Pat Travers 1977 Classic rock seems to never pay much attention to PT and neither did I till I went to see him in concert at 3rd Avenue Live in 1992 thereabouts and got to shook the man's hand (and Peter 'Mars' Cowling) and the drummer I think and became a big fan afterwards. PT still looks like he did thirty years ago. Great song with drums by Nicko McBrain who later would bang the drums for one Iron Maiden.
4. Run Like Hell-Devin Hill 1994 Hill used to be the lead vocalist for the long gone Dangtrippers till he went solo and made two albums for the indee pop label Big Deal Records. Very catchy song too bad it's only a minite and half long.
5. Scumbag Blues-Them Crooked Vultures 2009 The supergroup featuring Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and surprise! They actually made a pretty good album that stands on its own merit. I always perferred Grohl's drum playing over his guitar work for the Foos and the Foos tend to bore me at times but when he plays drums, we rock. If anything this record reminds me of the Queens' Songs For The Deaf when Grohl filled in and we're spared of the antics of Nick Ovelitti that dragged that album down. Of course when you get a legend such as John Paul Jones on bass you are talking serious shit here. Gives me hope for rock n roll of the future.
6. This Diamond Ring-Gary Lewis And The Playboys 1965 Overplayed oldies classic I know but I did find a Gary Lewis Best of and it seems that some of the lesser known songs are really quite good despite Lewis' one dimentional songwriting. Of course Gary's arranger of songs was none other than Brother Leon Russell.
7. Made In England-Elton John 1995 The 90s may have treated EJ pretty good although you wouldn't notice that with all the EJ albums that are in the buck bins at HP Books so I decided to check out this forgotten album. It owes a bit to the past with Paul Buckmaster doing the strings like he did on Madman Across The Water. Actually, Made In England might be the best 90s album that EJ did. Perhaps I'll take another look at his much mellower The Big Picture when I find a dollar copy at some thrift store. But then again I have always been a EJ fan (but not to the point of getting his 1979 discoesque Victim Of Love though I was suckered into buying his crap Single Man album of 1977).
8. Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin-Journey 1979 Live version from a British 45 EP. This version is much more livier than the one found on Captured and KRNA played this in regular rotation but never did tell us where to find a copy till I found one at BJ's in IC around 1983 I believe. This song was my first introduction to Journey and Steve Perry believe it or not. Got the edited 45 version which pissed me off. Early CD editions would find the song end and go right into City Of The Angels.
9. Good Way-Monsters Of Folk 2009
10. Funny How Time Slips Away/Crazy/Night Life-Willie Nelson 1976 From The Sound Of Your Mind, Willie revisits his three biggest hits for other people back in the 60s. Seems like every year Willie would record about 10 albums per year and most had moments. I recall my mom bought this record for the old man but I think he used it more as a ashtray then playing it. But then again My Dad never took care of his records like I do mine. In fact my Dad scratched up my mom's Bee Gees Best Of CD to which took me forever to find a replacement copy for her. She was ready to kill him. But anyway everybody should have at least three or four Willie Nelson albums in their collection.
