Top Ten Of The Week-End Of The Month

And now...the end of June. YEAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH THANK GOD GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDENCE TO THIS SHITTY MONTH. FU FU FU!

I wouldn't be such a crank if it didn't rain every other day around here. For the fourth straight year in June, we had above normal rainfall, over ten inches of the wet shit. Hard to imagine that I made a week up to Michigan and not come home to a wet basement, it waited three days later.

I did managed to go up to Cedar Rapids on Sunday and do my trail walking. Had to use the downtown trails since the C Street trail out to Highway 30 is full of gnats and ticks and skeeters. Uptown had the US Marine Rock And Blues Band which was a collection of servicemen and women playing some old tunes from the past. From Beginnings to Vehicle and of course Soul Man these folks had a good time playing them. Plus its not my way to slam our defenders of freedom to play the overplayed, I actually enjoyed hearing them. After a half hour, went back on the trail back to the Bar B Q Roundup and hearing some unknown band do AWB's Cut The Cake. But didn't see the need to pay five bucks just to enter and then overpay on overpriced Bar B Q so went to LaSiesta on First Avenue for their famed stuffed burritos. Strange to see the place empty while the Los Glorias across the street was packed but the burritos was good and they gave me tons of rice and beans to the point I couldn't eat it all. But then again what's a day without having some methhead popping out of nowhere needing change for a sandwich, so gave him about 75 cents. Next time I need to bring out the rags and maybe just maybe they'll leave me alone.

Anyway, this week brings us yet another top ten of songs on my player. It might be easier just to do a Friday Five, but I believe in overkill so I'll do a Wednesday Ten instead. Cause there's so much more out there then just five tunes. No Michael Jackson songs to bore you with although one year ago I was down in Arizona and at that place and time a year ago I was in Tucson if memory serves me well. Should be back in the Valley Of The 110 Degree Temps two months from today if the planets align just right.

1. Drop The Gun-Kings Of The Sun 1990 I can't believe it's been 20 years that RCA put it this long lost classic hard rock burner from this much lamented Aussie band. Like their first album but loved their second Full Frontal Attack, it remains a lost classic. Imagine AC/DC with Keith Moon on drums bashing away and you'll get a glimpse of how they sound. This did get some MTV airplay believe it or not and made me camped outside a record store till BJ's in Iowa City had it on sale. Think I played this about three times in a row. Unfortunly, the record didn't sell enough and RCA dropped them and they made a third album to which I have yet to see.

2. My Guardian Angel-The Pistoleros 1997 This band came from Tempe, same as Gin Blossoms and they too had the late great fate that was Doug Hopkins who also got bounced from this band when he couldn't control his booze. And they had a sound that was like the GB's only more darker. This band was led by the Zubia Brothers and the rhythm section was once part of Chuck Hall And The Brick Wall, a blues band if you can believe that. Anyway, they got signed to Hollywood Records and made Hang On To Nothing which they got some help from the likes of Radney Foster, Pat Dinizo from The Smithereens and Gary Louris from The Jayhawks. This song was rumoured to be the last song that Hopkins wrote before he took his life. Alas, the album bombed and Hollywood Records dropped them. But it can be found fairly cheap in the cutouts at your local thrift store. Think I got mine copy from Blockbuster Music (and yes kids, Blockbuster actually had their own music store for about five years in town, two doors down from Barnes & Noble).

3. Waiting For The Rapture-Oasis 2007 They have more best ofs in the last five years than actual albums. In fact there's a new 2 CD best of Oasis out if you care. Basically I think Stop The Clocks works just fine for me but the album sandwiched between the best of was Dig Out Your Soul, and like the preceeding one Don't Believe The Truth was one of the harder rocking albums the Gallagher Brothers put out. Then they got in a big fight and now the band is history but as they say...never say never.

4. Angels Tonight-The Gin Blossoms 1991 The Gin Bunnies go all the way back to 1992 when I first saw them at Chuy's in Tempe (for further explaination check out the Gin Blossoms blog at The R. Smith Review Consortium at Blogspot.com) and they just played the Bar B Q Roundup Friday Night here in town. Heard it was a good time for everybody. One of many songs written by the ill fated Doug Hopkins.

5. Clone Information/Family Clone-Johnny Guitar Watson 1981 In the late 70s, one of the best funky guitarist out there was Mr. Gangster Of Love himself who had a few hits in the 50s on King Records. But on this effort, Johnny plays everything and what starts of a funky beginning becomes more jazzier. Soon after the album got released, his label went bankrupt and Johnny G would record three more albums before suffering a heart attack on stage in Japan in 1996. Shout Factory reissed the album, with two bonus cuts.

6. Tell Someone Who Cares-The Poor 1994 Another band from down under, making AC DC straight ahead rock, in fact the drummer was either a nephew or cousin of Angus and Macolm Young. One of the managers was the drummer for Angel City, the other major band from Down Under so on paper they should have been ready for stardom. Sony signed them and stuck them on the dead end 550 Label and this was a one and done deal. The album was called Who Cares and I guess nobody did. Produced by Paul (Asia, Rush) Northfield who polished things to a sonic shine that clashed with the music. Another album you can find in the dollar bins across America although some Amazon reviewer says that The Poor are recording a new album. And nobody still cares!

7. Anything That's Rock And Roll-Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 1976 Okay okay, this is my final Tom Petty track for a while and it's off their first album. I remember our old lead singer tried to get us to learn this song but we didn't. I wonder if the old fool has this for a karoke song.

8. I Want To Take You Higher-Sly & The Family Stone 1969 Half Priced Books had a copy of The Woodstock Experience to which one had a classic album (which was Stand! and the other was the actual live performance from Woodstock). Took Epic about 40 years after to issue it and since it has 5 songs from Stand! they thought better not to issue it. But you know judging from what I heard from Woodstock, Sly & The Family Stone put on a excellent show and may have been the best of the batch. Stand!, the album remains one of the definite albums of the late 60s although the 13 minite Sex Machine jam is one track I hit the skip button. But everything else still holds up (although Don't Call Me Whitey N Word, like Sex Machine gets a bit tedious with that talk box that Sly does thoughout both songs). Side note: I remember getting Stand! on vinyl for three bucks at the old Marion TV & Records on Ridiclous Days and my ex GF Janice giving me funny looks about me buying that and Best Of The Hollies (on UA records) that day. Told her it was a Crabb thing and she wouldn't understand. And she didn't.

9. I Don't Mind At All-Bourgeois Tagg 1987 One hit wonder from a band that sounded a bit like Squeeze and Utopia (probably of the fact that Todd Rundgren produced the album Yoyo). The hit didn't sound anything like the album, since it was mostly acoustic guitar and sounded a bit like The Beatles. The followup bombed and the band broke up, Brent Bourgeois went gospel and had some success over there. Michael Urbano, the drummer who later play drum for John Hiatt and later, Smash Mouth.

10. Been Down A Lot Lately-The Ocean Blue 2001 Band from Hershey PA, made three good to great albums for Sire and one for Mercury before going independent and making Davy Jones Locker. When I first started doing the top ten of the week, I had a friend that was into The Ocean Blue and made me all the albums that I didn't have (but would via thrift stores and pawnshops) and I guess they sound a bit like a US version of The Smiths or Flesh And Blood era Roxy Music which is a compliment. Although Dave Schelzel is the main songwriter, this song was written and sung by Rob Minning and is my favorite on this album. I think this song also pretty much sums up my feeling for June and the highway of storms and way things have been going. Hopefully next month will be better eh?