Top Ten Of The Week-People Demand Good Music

Wal Mart continues to shrink their CD section, it's now down to aisle and half! They used to be four rows of cds five years ago. However, you can get the exclusive version of AC/DC Iron Man 2 cd which isn't that great. Stick with the original albums.

The last couple times I went out to Coralville/Iowa City I ran into Tim, one of my friends that used to hang at Relics when they were in business and dammed if I didn't run into him at Real Records. He's 42 years and still buys The Fall and he did pick up The Birthday Party Greatest Hits CD. Could have given him my copy if I known he wanted a copy. Betcha Tim will still be listening to The Fall when he turns 50.

This weeks songs of note.

1. Just Got Paid-ZZ Top 1972 Wally World continues to shrink their CD section and pretty soon there won't be anything cds there but they did quietly put a couple of classic albums in the five dollar bins, one of which was Rio Grande Mud, the last ZZ Top album I have yet to listen to. This was the B Side to La Grange and it got airplay on the underground stations in the mid 70s. Unfortunly, the WB reissue of ZZ Top's early albums have been colourized by 80s drums and processed guitar almost making the album damn near unlistenable. At least the 1978 Best Of ZZ Top still has the original mix to it.

2. Meat-Moe. 1997 Jam band that recorded two albums for Sony Music in the mid 90s made a EP called She Sends Me, a cut from No Doy and it got some airplay but not much. Anyway the next track is a 45 minite jam called Meat and Moe. collectors have said that this cut is great to jam out and toke up a joint with. Not much into toking myself but I'll take a nice tune to go driving with.

3. Mercy Mercy-Don Covay 1965 Covay was one of the forgotten soul singer of the mid 60s and had a couple hits on Atlantic and I think The Stones covered this on one of their albums but I had this on Sold Gold Soul, an compliation album that I bought years ago as a 9 year old and had for years till the album got wet after a flooding rain that seeped into the basement and got moldy so I had to throw it out. For somebody whose grown up on soul music I don't add enough soul music to my top ten and perhaps I'll add more in the future.

4. Can't You Hear The Cows-The Turtles 1968 B Side to Rock And Roll Music a failed 45, The Turtles always seem to use the B Side for interesting throwaways (remember Umbassa The Dragon? B side to Sound Asleep.) Each and every day/Eating all that hay/Moo Baby Moo Baby. The song can be found on the budget Laser Light comp Story Of Rock And Roll.

5. Edge Of The Century-Shades Apart 1999 Forgotten Power Punkers made four fair to meddling albums for Revelation and later Universal/Republic and you can find their albums in the dollar bins all across America but this song has always been a part of the R. Smith Sunday Night Show and still get requested from time to time. I remember previewing it at the old Tower Records in Tempe and then drove down to ZIA's for a promo copy for six bucks. Back then, there were so many CD stores in business in Phoenix that it was possible to find new releases used anywhere down there.

6. My Favorite Things-John Coltrane 1960 Yep it's jazz but I think it sounds more fusion than jazz and it goes on for more than 13 minites. J.C. was beginning to redefine jazz and music as we know it. Of course he was putting together his classic lineup of McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones although Jimmy Garrison wasn't in the band yet, it was Steve Davis on bass. J.C. would move on to greater heights with A Love Supreme and then go out of space with those free form avant garde jazz excursions. I think Coltrane may have pioneered grunge with Om. And it was recorded in Seattle.

7.  Karkadon-The Devil's Anvil 1967 Middle eastern rock and roll, this band featured Felix Pappalardi and Steve Knight who would later form Mountain with Leslie West. They were signed to Columbia Records and made Hard Rock From The Middle East; an album that got good reviews but died an ugly death when the Israel/Egypt 1967 war broke out and nobody would buy this. Collectibles Records reissued this along with The Freak Scene/Psychedelic Psoul album as a 2 on 1 CD. Yet another weird CD find at Half Priced Books.

8. Too Much Of Nothing-Bob Dylan/The Band 1975 From The Basement Tapes. Sometimes I think The Basement Tapes are a better 2 record set than Blonde On Blonde but that's just my opinion.

9. Maybe I'm Amazed-Faces 1971 Honestly, I have never liked Paul McCartney's version of this song and hated the Wings Over America version with a passion. In fact, it's a given that if this came on classic rock radio, I'd changed the channel. Faces did a live version of this song for the Long Player album and I think I perfer this version over Macca's anyday.

10. Two Heads-Jefferson Airplane 1968 B side to Ballad Of You and Me and Pooneil. Think I got this at Woolworth's in Webster City and it's one of my favorite Grace Slick's songs that she penned for the Airplane and kudos to Spencer Dryden for some nifty hi hat work. Taken off the hippy dippy After Bathing At Baxter's which Two Heads follows hippy dippy throwaway Spare Chaynge

And so endth this hippy dippy version of the top ten.