Last time on Record Store Tales, we talked about Andy and Ashleigh and the discovery of great rock bands such as Rush, Max Webster, and Van Halen. Andy was even more curious now about what great rock was out there.
Rock music is about so much more than just the songs. There’s the concerts, the live experience. There’s the history of the bands, the stories and the context. And there were the music videos. How could one possibly talk about a great band like Van Halen without mentioning groundbreaking, defining music videos that they made? Since a picture is worth 1,000 words, I decided the best way to explain these things was to have a Rock Video Night at my place.
90% of my video collection was from the Pepsi Power Hour. Back in the days before YouTube, a channel like MuchMusic would have an hour or two a week devoted to the heaviest videos in rock, and I tried to record the show every week. I had amassed a large collection of VHS tapes, probably about 120 hours of music videos, interviews and concerts altogether. That’s not including the hundred or so officially released video tapes that I bought over the years. We had a lot to watch so I had to hone down the set list for the evening.
Since I am and always have been OCD about my music collection, I had a meticulously typed list of every track on every video that I made. I carefully planned the evening’s entertainment. There were some videos that I know these kids had to see. They were all one musical generation younger than me. They grew up on videos like “Jeremy” and “Fell on Black Days”, not “Jump” or “Go For Soda”. I had to make them understand my time, when it was OK to have sword fights and dwarves and laser guns in your videos.
Ash and Andy arrived along with my other employees Braddy D and Chris P. The set of videos that I chose to share with them that evening included:
SAVATAGE – “Hall of the Mountain King”. Summary: Dwarf seeks Mountain King’s gold. Must try to steal it without waking him, while band is playing in the same caverns. Not sure why the King doesn’t hear Jon Oliva singing. (below)
VAN HALEN – “Oh Pretty Woman”. Summary: Lady in distress has been kidnapped by two dwarves. A hunchback in a treehouse (David Lee Roth) telephones a samurai (Michael Anthony), Tarzan (Alex Van Halen), a cowboy (Eddie Van Halen), and Napoleon Bonaparte (David Lee Roth) to save her. (below)
ARMORED SAINT – “Can U Deliver”. Summary: Band driving a Buick with armor and an anti-aircraft cannon seek a glowy sword. Band plays concert in front of rocker dudes and scantily clad babes while wearing leather armor. (below)
GRIM REAPER – “Fear No Evil”. Summary: Band drive a DIY armored APC on a quest to free long-haired slaves from an evil half-man half-something with Wolverine claws. (below)
MIKE LADANO, BOB SCHIPPER and DAVE KIDD – “Nothing But A Good Time”. Summary: A highschool video I made, lip synching to “Nothing But A Good Time” by Poison.We had our English teacher do the schtick at the beginning where he plays the prick boss who gives the kid a hard time before the song comes on. We made it in ’89 and it was our school’s selection to send to the annual regional Film Awards! (below)
Rock Video Night was a great success in many regards. The kids had a great time finally seeing David Lee Roth doing the splits in “Jump”. Ash was still not won over by the rock, but that’s OK. What wasn’t OK is that I had really sour stomach issues that night! I tried so hard to be a good host, and I kept excusing myself, but…they tell me the smell was wafting down from the upstairs bathroom.
So, Rock Video Night ended on a rather stinky note.
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and always a salute to the ones that are gone too soon!
RECORD STORE TALES Part 205: Dad Rock
When Ashleigh started at our store she became the resident hippie. Everybody loved Ash, she was one of the best. I teased her a bit about hippie things, and called her Crunchy Granola. This was all done (and hopefully taken) in fun, because she is really a great person. If you needed to know anything about Simon & Garfunkel, the Dead, Ani DiFranco or Dave Matthews Band, she was the one to ask. She knew it all.
There was a generational thing between us, and I remember this was obvious when we were setting up a Father’s Day display. We were looking for CDs and movies that “typical dads” would like for Father’s Day gifts. I would say things like “Dads like World War II movies,” while she said, “Dads like Kim Mitchell.”
“What?” I said incredulously. “Dads do not like Kim Mitchell. My dad thinks Kim Mitchell is a girl.”
Ash gave me a patient look. “Dads do like Kim Mitchell. That’s what dads listen to now.”
“Cool people listen to Kim Mitchell,” I responded quietly.
I slowly absorbed all this new information. Dads liked Kim Mitchell? But Kim Mitchell was one of my highschool idols. My dad had no interest in doing his “Rock N Roll Duty”. This must have meant that people of the Kim generation were dads themselves now…and had kids as old as Ash! Jesus!
Kim’s dad is in this video!
A little later on, Ash start socializing with this guy named Andy. At first I was skeptical of Andy because of his large gauge piercings and dreadlocks. He didn’t talk much.
Turns out Andy was just shy. Ash approached me one day.
“Andy thinks you’re cool. He wants you to make a mix tape for him. Would you be willing to do that?”
Taken aback, I said “Seriously? Sure! He thinks I’m cool? What kind of music does he want on here?”
Ash paused. She took a deep breath.
“Dad rock. Stuff like Kim Mitchell and Van Halen and David Lee Roth.”
Once again, I paused to absorb all this new information. Ash was with a guy who liked “dad rock”. This was awesome. I started laughing. I gasped for breath, as my face turned red.
“Oh…my…God! Andy likes Kim Mitchell! You’re going to have to listen to Kim Mitchell with him aren’t you?”
“Possibly,” she mumbled.
“This is awesome. This is awesome. This is awesome. I can’t wait to get started. Seriously, I already have ideas. Right on. This is going to be an awesome mix tape.”
Good as my word, eventually I furnished a custom mix tape, with liner notes and carefully selected music to entertain and hopefully enlighten. I wish I had kept a copy. Unfortunately, I didn’t. So in lieu of the actual track list, here’s the mix tape I would make today given the exact same circumstances. Let me know what you think!
Side One:
Van Halen – Eruption, Runnin’ With the Devil
Kim Mitchell – Kids In Action
Max Webster – Hangover
Talas – NV43345
David Lee Roth – Shy Boy
Van Halen – Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
Max Webster/Rush – Battle Scar
Rush – Tom Sawyer
Dream Theater – Pull Me Under
Side Two:
Rush – 2112 (Side One)
Kim Mitchell – Lager and Ale
Van Halen – Hot For Teacher
Rush – Subdivisions
Max Webster – Toronto Tontos
Kim Mitchell – Sudbury Saturday Night
This is not the last of Andy’s exploration of the greatest music of all time either…stay tuned for…
KIM MITCHELL – I Am A Wild Party (Live) (1990 Alert)
Kim Mitchell’s solo career has been pretty spotty, but I think most fans own this live album. Personally, I would rank it as a must-have. If only it wasn’t so damn brief! What is this, an EP? Even by 1990 standards, when cassette was a primary format, 38 minutes for a live album from a musician with a career as rich as Kim’s…?
I Am A Wild Party (Live) kicks off with the title track, which was one of two “new” songs recorded at rehearsal. It’s actually an older song from the sessions of his 1986 album; the chorus ends with the line “I’m shakin’ like a human being.” This is now a Kim klassic, the kind of fun summer party rocker that he is known for. The other new song is “Deep Dive”, a good hard tune with some greasy guitar groove.
Live highlights include the old Max Webster classic “Battle Scar”. As you may remember, that was Max Webster’s team-up with Rush. Here, bassist Peter Fredette (a great singer in his own right) takes Geddy Lee’s vocal. He does it extremely well, too. Elsewhere on this album, Fredette sings the high parts on the ballad “All We Are”, which many fans consider better than the original studio version from Akimbo Alogo.
“That’s the Hold”, “Lager and Ale”, “Rock & Roll Duty” all rock harder than their album versions, let loose from the sterility of a studio, with Fredette wailing away in the background. These are great live versions, with not a lot of crowd noise to distract from the actual musicianship and volume!
I think the album could have been 10 or 11 songs. When the party sounds this good, you don’t want to leave.
Anthrax have recorded some of the most entertaining covers of the last 30 years. Many of them have appeared as hard to find B-sides or bonus tracks. Anthems is Anthrax’s new covers EP, readily available, and a welcome addition to a metal lover’s collection.
As if they needed to show off how well they could play, the EP kicks off with “Anthem” itself, a Rush cover, and a stunning one at that. Joey Belladonna’s voice strains to reach the highest of notes, but he hits ’em. This is one dead-on accurate Rush cover, not an easy thing to execute. And it’s heavy as balls.
“T.N.T.” is a blast. Again, this is not an easy song to cover, because it is so indelibly linked to AC/DC and Bon Scott. Incredibly, Anthrax do so with as much accuracy as they did Rush. Joey sounds perfectly in his element paying tribute to Bon. Up next is “Smokin'” as performed by Boston. Like a chameleon, suddenly Joey is in Brad Delp’s shoes. As great as the entire band is on Anthems, at this point, it is Joey that is blowing me away the most! What’s also cool about “Smokin'” is that the lengthy organ solo is intact, performed by Canadian Fred Mandel (ex-Alice Cooper). An extended keyboard solo with Anthrax? Smokin’! (No kidding though, it’s great. Like it or lump it!)
We all know Joey Belladonna is a huge Steve Perry fan. It is a joy to hear him having a chance to pay tribute to his hero on “Keep On Runnin'”. Scott Ian proclaims in the liner notes that “On paper, Anthrax covering Journey may seem weird,” but he reminds us that “the song just fucking rocks”. Charlie Benate ensures this with surgically inserted blasts of drum fury.
“Big Eyes” is a Cheap Trick song I had somewhat forgotten about. It has a monster groove and yet another fantastic lead vocal. Anthrax bring the song to its knees.
“Thin Lizzy is arguably the most underrated and under appreciated band of our time,” says Scott in the liner notes. Amen brother! But he also points out their paradoxical great importance and influence. Scott reveals he’d like to do an entire record of Lizzy covers. Phil Campbell of Motorhead plays the solo, as per the Live and Dangerous version. I love hearing Joey do the “Hey you, good lookin’ female! Com’ere!” line. So much more menacing than Phil Lynott!
From Anthrax’s most recent record, Worship Music, comes “Crawl”. I am on the fence with this song, as all I can think of is Soundgarden. “Fell On Black Days”. Can you hear it, there in the first minute of the song? (Maybe it’s their Soundgarden cover, eh?) Also on the EP is the remix of “Crawl”, which was previously only available on the Japanese version of Worship Music. So this purchase worked out well for me. I had been putting off buying Worship Music until I could find a reasonably priced Japanese import. I prefer to get all the bonus tracks, so with Anthems now in hand, I can just pick up the domestic Worship Music and be done with it!
As a nice touch to collectors, Anthrax released this EP with six different covers. I pre-ordered this thing from Amazon, so I didn’t get the luxury of picking my cover art. If I did, I might have chosen the Rush or Journey versions. What I got was the Cheap Trick cover, but I think I like it best anyway.
The characters: Me, a guy who looked like Jim Carrey, and his buddy
Taken straight from my journal, here’s the story:
What, is today Stupid Person Day?
This last guy that was just in, I can’t tell if he was for real, or if he was Jim Carrey. Is Jim Carrey tall? Could have been him. This guy was Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy: Same hair, same voice, same mannerisms.
He tried to sell me a Rush CD that had obviously been used as an air hockey puck. And he didn’t understand why I wasn’t going to buy his ruined CD. “You didn’t advertise that you wouldn’t take it scratched!” Well, no, because that much should be obvious.
Jim Carrey left with his buddy, remarking that it was so cold his “balls were frozen”. Yeah! You go, Jim!
I really hope it was just Jim Carrey playing a character for fun, because nobody should be this lame!
RUSH – Moving Pictures (2011 Anthem remaster with 5.1 blu-ray)
The great musical academic, Tom Morwood, once called Moving Pictures “the greatest album of the 1980’s”. I think he has an arguable position. Besides the obvious “Tom Sawyer”, you get such classics as “Red Barchetta”, “YYZ”, “Limelight”, and of course “Vital Signs”. This is back in the day when 7 or 8 songs made an album, and Moving Pictures’ 7 songs are a hell of a concoction.
Although the Rush catalogue was last remastered back in ’97 (or there ’bouts), this was the first Rush deluxe edition to hit the shelves. Unlike most deluxe editions, this one contains no “bonus tracks” per se, at least none in CD form. Disc one is Moving Pictures, in stereo, and disc two is the entire album in hi-def 5.1, plus three music videos. Disc one has been remastered (yet again!), but don’t fret — unless you’re an audiophile, you don’t need to worry about that. The 1997 CD edition sounded fine, as does this. You’re buying this for the 5.1, and if you can’t play 5.1 just stick with the original CD which sounds pretty much the same to the average Joe Listener. (There’s also a “96k PCM stereo” with “256 times more resolution than a CD” on the blu-ray disc.)
If you don’t own this album yet, then what are you waiting for? You couldn’t find a better CD to start with. Although Geddy had brought the keyboards out, this album still represents the perfect mix of Alex’s guitar and Ged’s keys — not fighting for space in the mix, but sharing it equally and powerfully.
Do I really need to talk about “Tom Sawyer”? It’s Rush’s most recognizable riff. I can think of few other songs where the drum part carries just as many hooks as the other instruments. But that’s Rush, that’s the Professor. That’s part of their genius.
“Red Barchetta” is a futuristic tale. The Motor Law has been passed, banning cars. Romance for the old vehicles still exists in some, who seek the thrills. I always felt the subject matter was similar to the movie The Last Chase, which didn’t come out until the following year. Musically, the song twists and turns like the roads it’s about.
“YYZ” is perhaps Rush’s best known instrumental, a slammin’ piece of polyrhythmic madness. It’s stuff like this that Rush is best known for, and “YYZ” is one of the best examples of it. Alex’s guitar work is nothing short of stunning, meanwhile Geddy’s bass licks are perfect.
Meanwhile, “Limelight” represents the simpler pop side of Rush that the band were interested in exploring at the time. It is still anchored by a solid riff, but with Geddy’s vocal melody enduring. A song like this is an appropriate lead-in to “The Camera Eye”, a more complex piece featuring Geddy’s synth. It’s over 10 minutes long, and perhaps the kind of thing people expect from Rush.
“Witch Hunt” is a shorter one, but ominous and dramatic. Alex’s riff is the main focus, although Neil certainly throws in plenty of interesting accents. The final track, “Vital Signs”, is my favourite. Finding words to describe it is difficult. It’s perfect — an amalgam of incredible playing with interesting influences and complex arrangements. There is a clear reggae vibe, as they had been listening to a lot of The Police. It’s also extremely memorable. Neil’s drum work on this is stunning.
And that’s the album! Seven songs done and dusted.
The 5.1 mix, done by Toronto’s own Richard Chycki (he’s been doing Rush and Triumph remixes for years now) is pretty damn good. It’s different. Listen to “Vital Signs” for example. It’s different, the balance of instruments and vocals. Considering the original stereo mix was perfect, and you can’t fairly compare to perfection, I will just say the mix is different. It’s definitely a great listen on a good system, I liked what Chycki did. Again, listen to “Vital Signs”. What he did there just creates this amazing field of sound. There’s a great separation of instruments. Moving Pictures was a great choice to mix in 5.1, you can really hear the individual playing.
The music videos are old, and don’t look so hot, even on blu. I have always loved watching the “Tom Sawyer” video, Neil bashing his kit in Le Studio with that big glass window behind him in the dead of winter. Geddy with those big glasses. My best friend Peter, he loves Geddy’s glasses! There’s also “Limelight”, which is seen less frequently. The “Vital Signs” video, from the same taping, is previously unreleased.
The liner notes are by David Fricke, and are quite different from the who-played-what-when notes in previous deluxe editions. Fricke’s don’t go into great detail regarding the making of the album nor the 5.1 mix, as previous deluxe editions do. However, it’s David Fricke, and therefore a good read. Enjoy while immersed within this album, in sublime hi-def 5.1.
GEDDY LEE – My Favourite Headache (Atlantic, 2000)
I have owned this album twice now. I bought it when it first came out, then a couple years later Lemon Kurri Klopek hooked me with up with a copy autographed by Ged himself! As a diehard Rush fan, this album is one of my prized possesions.
I just don’t enjoy it as much as Geddy’s Rush discs.
The title refers to Geddy’s love of music — a source of satisfaction and frustration, his “favourite headache”. Personally, I was disappointed by the album. I thought the songwriting was not up to standard, treading familiar waters already crossed on Test For Echo. The playing is competant enough. I mean, you can’t go wrong with Matt Cameron and Jeremy Taggart on drums, can you? Ben Mink is a fine multi-instrumentalist, but there is no shredding like you’re used to on Rush albums. (Geddy also plays guitar himself.)
Can a listener separate Geddy as a solo artist from Rush? It is very difficult to do. Whatever Geddy writes, sings, and plays is going to automatically sound something like Rush. But without Alex and Neil, of course it won’t sound exactly like Rush. And that is more the fault of the listener (me) than the artist (Geddy). I personally cannot separate the two.
There’s some monstrous playing here — just listen to that opening bass on “My Favourite Headache”. There’s also some decent riffs (“The Present Tense”). There’s some passion (“Working at Perfekt”) but very little that stands out as memorable, as classic, or something you just crave to hear again. In general the songs here are all pleasant, solid rockers (with a few slower tunes). Geddy’s lyrics are weak at times (“Home on the Strange”) but his singing is good and the production is excellent.
Best tune: The final one, “Grace to Grace” which is the only one that really cooks.
The cover art is pretty disappointing. I’m sure it meant something to someone along the way, but to me it’s just a generic cover that could have been on any album in the faceless morass of the 1990’s.
I’ve worked with a lot of accountants over the years. I like accountants. I seem to get along with accountants, don’t know why. The coolest accountant I ever worked with was Jonathan. I like to describe Jonathan’s appearance as being a dead ringer for the actor Romany Malco:
Jonathan always made me laugh. Check out this journal entry:
Date: 2004/06/17 14:09
It was really amusing walking into the office today, and seeing Jonathan singing “Lick It Up” by Kiss.
Very un-accountant like behaviour!
Jonathan was good people. He took a pay cut to work with us, because he wanted to do something he was passionate about. He taught all us knuckle-draggers on the store floors about cash flow vs. profit. He helped us out a lot on the financial side, and he was smart. Plus he loved music.
One time when my mom came into the store to visit, I introduced her to Jon. He said to my mom, “You brought up a good son, Mrs. Ladano.”
I used to drive Jonathan home from work once or twice a week, and it was always good to talk to him. He used to give me advice every time. He encouraged me to better myself. He used to call me “Lifer”. He said, “You’re never going to get out of here. You’re going to work here forever.” But he did it to rile me up, to get me looking for work elsewhere, because he knew the CD store was a dead end for me. He had respect for me, when he called me “Lifer” he meant it to motivate me.
I’d talk to him about girls I liked. There was this girl that worked at the Money Mart next door, but I was too shy to walk in and talk to her. So Jonathan did it for me! Witness these journal entries:
Date: 2004/05/21, 10:08
The one girl at the Money Mart next door is really cute, and I see her out there all the time having a smoke. When Jonathan goes out to have a smoke, he talks to her, give her a light, whatever. I mentioned to Jonathan that I thought the one girl was real cute yesterday. Then today, I TOTALLY got busted staring at her through the window! THEN Jonathan went out to chat it up with her, right after I got busted, to tell her all about me, ask her if she wants to go out on a date with me…Jesus Christ!
Date: 2004/05/22, 09:52
Cheap Trick – Authorized Greatest Hits
Alice In Chains – Jar of Flies
KISS tribute – Kiss My Ass
The Goo Goo Dolls – Gutterflower
Rush – Vapor Trails
Nice thing about working the day alone with no bosses around is that you can listen to whatever the hell you want!
I don’t think Money Mart Girl, who I learned from Jonathan is named Jessica, is working today. So I couldn’t say hi to her even if I worked up the guts!
In the end, Jonathan had to split. He had three kids and being an accountant for a CD store wasn’t going to cut it anymore. He took an offer he could not refuse, and bid us farewell.
I’ll always remember good times working with Jonathan, a true character, and the guy who got me thinking about my future.
And make no mistake, Meat wrote every word. No messing around from me. Enjoy!
PET SOUNDS– THE BEACH BOYS (1966)
When The Beatles released Rubber Soul in 1965, Brian Wilson heard something that inspired him to try and make his own masterpiece. The result was Pet Sounds, which saw The Beach Boys discard their typical surf-inspired ditties and create an album that will always be a classic. I remember when I first heard this album I was completely blown away that it was a 1966 album. The overall sound of it is so full and rich, and it’s funny how everyone thinks The Beatles main influence for Sgt. Peppers was drug-related, and I am sure it was, but that classic would never have been without this classic album first. Do yourself a favour and re-discover The Beach Boys by checking this out.
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE (1998)
There are a lot of people that think that the QOTSA album Rated R, is the band’s first release. In all reality it is their third release if you count the Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age EP. However, it is a shame that this album has been somewhat overlooked. I think it is by far their best album. To gauge just how much I got into this album could never be measured. For years, I stated that this album was my favorite album ever with distortion. Now trust me I realize the exaggeration in that statement (I have since relented) but it doesn’t take away how brilliant I believe this album truly is. This is a true collection of groovy rock songs, so much so that QOTSA could have titled this album exactly that. I have not been a fan of the last few QOTSA albums, and frankly I wish they could harness this approach once again. Check out the included track “Avon”. An absolute air-drumming seminar at its finest!!
ROXY & ELSEWHERE – FRANK ZAPPA & THE MOTHERS (1974)
One of the albums previously on this list, Joe Jackson’s Big World, was a live album containing new material. Considering the content of this particular album, that format was never more impressive or more challenging than Zappa’s album Roxy & Elsewhere. From beginning to end, it’s hard to believe the complexity of what was happening onstage during these recordings. From the colourful vocals of Napoleon Murphy Brock, to the guitar-fueled madness of Zappa himself, this is my personal favorite of all of Zappa’s recordings. Songs like “Pygmy Twilite” and “Village of the Sun” are absolute genius. The concert film of these recordings is STILL in limbo for whatever reason. Included is a clip of the song “Montana”, recorded during these sessions but not included on the album itself.
SCENES FROM A MEMORY-METROPOLIS 2 – DREAM THEATER (1999)
I simply couldn’t do a list like this without including Dream Theater. I like heavy music and I like progressive music. This band combines those two qualities perhaps better than any band ever has, and on this album its done to perfection. This is your classic “concept album” and tells an interesting story that needs to be experienced. But the true experience of this album is that it is a piece of song-writing and musical brilliance. If you have seen Rush’s biopic Beyond The Lighted Stage, you might recognize the now-familiar voice of long-time Rush producer Terry Brown (who also produced the vocals on this album). The album sees John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy at their monster best and requires many listens to truly appreciate. I am not a “Rolling Stone” magazine guy myself, but it does say something that in 2012 they named this album as the Number One all-time progressive album, beating out Rush’s 2112and Yes’s Close to The Edge.
THE ACTION IS GO – FU MANCHU (1997)
This album starts off with a bang, it also ends with a bang and actually this album is just one big resounding rhythmic bang. After a few good, but not great albums (in my opinion), new drummer Brant Bjork was brought into Fu Manchu. This would result in one of the greatest “Stoner-Rock” albums of all time. This is literally the perfect driving album. Sometimes you find yourself emulating driving just sitting and listening to it. You can hear a huge Sabbath influence on this album, at least in the sound of the instruments and the driving low end. Sometimes the vocals can leave a bit to be desired, but it is not really singing in the first place. Almost sounds like a dude talkin’ to himself, which adds to the coolness of this album. One of my favorite albums of the 1990’s indeed.
WELCOME TO SKY VALLEY – KYUSS (1994)
Somewhere around early 1995, I walked into a Sunrise Records where Tom (Tom has been mentioned many times in Mike’s blogs) was working. At this point Tom and I only really knew each other from local concerts we would run into each other at. The second I walked in he begged me to check out this Kyuss album on the listening station. I remember the look on his face when I didn’t instantly “get it”. Years later I had to bow to him and thank him for trying to open my eyes earlier. No one knows how to set a mood quite like Kyuss. The last album listed was Brant Bjork’s first album with Fu Manchu. This album is the last Kyuss album featuring Brant Bjork on drums. No coincidence here. This man knows how to wash songs with a subtle intensity. Check out the song “Demon Cleaner” sometime, with Josh Homme singing and see how Queens of the Stone Age were born. This album has been listed as a major influence for many of the heavy metal greats of the day.
WHALE MUSIC – THE RHEOSTATICS (1994)
The Rheostatics are definitely one of my favorite bands of all time, and the artist I have seen live the most in my life. Any band that calls their first album Greatest Hits obviously has a good sense of humour. There really is no album that quite captures “Canadiana” quite like Whale Music. Not to be confused with the later-released official soundtrack of the same name, this album ranges from the sweet to the insane. Take the song “Queer” for example. “Well the screen door is still broken, since you kicked your Kodiaks through it” and “I scored a hat trick on the team that called you a fuckin’ queer”, are lyrics that paint a Canadian portrait of everyday life. I love this album and frequently re-visit it only to find it gets better with age. Notable appearances on this album are Neil Peart on a song called “Guns” and The Barenaked Ladies (credited as The Scarborough Naked Youth Choir). Included here is the amazing opening track. Check it out eh ….
WHITE PEPPER – WEEN (2000)
Simply put, this is my favorite “Pop” album of all time. I am not a Ween fan per se. I cannot say I have actually connected strongly with any of their other albums. But when this album was introduced to me, it grabbed a hold of me and it will never let go. First of all, the sound on this album is absolutely wonderful. Second of all, the melodies on this album (with sprinkles of Ween weirdness of course) are something very reminiscent of The Beatles. I have always tagged this album as their “Beatles tribute”, and it was pointed out to me by a friend that “The White Album? Sgt. Peppers? White Pepper?”. Now I have not read that in fact that is what the name truly means, but I think that is a very good guess. I have played this album for a few musician friends of mine and the result is pretty much the same across the board. White Pepper simply “hooks” you in, it is that simple. Check out the Trey Parker and Matt Stone directed video for “Even If You Don’t” included here.
UNCHAINED – JOHNNY CASH (1996)
I was working at the “Record Store Chain” Ladano blogs about when I was first introduced to this album. It was instantly a revelation of what I do actually like about Country Music, and was the reason I became a fan of the older-style albums of the genre. Not enough can be said about the genius of Rick Rubin. The man who changed the careers of Slayer, The Beastie Boys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers got a hold of Johnny Cash and re-introduced him as the icon he always was. Hiring Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers as the backing band for the second American Recordings Johnny Cash release was a stroke of brilliance. The opening track “Rowboat” sees Cash cover a Beck song and make it his own. “Sea of Heartbreak” is a melodic ass-kicker. Everyone by now knows of the genius cover of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage”, so good in fact that for a long period of time Chris Cornell refused to play it live stating “It’s not our song anymore. It’s Johnny’s now”. No album of this genre has ever sounded bigger, if not any genre. A must have album.
VS. – PEARL JAM (1993)
This album had to be included on this list. I understand that everyone looks at Pearl Jam’s first album as this massive crowning achievement, but frankly I didn’t get it then and I really still don’t. Their second album I think is the best album of their career and probably my favorite “Grunge” album ever. Every song on this album is a classic to me and it does seem weird to call an album that was a Number One album on Billboard for five weeks straight “underrated”. But I truly do feel this album gets overlooked and that’s a shame. I find Ten to be kind of boring and redundant to be honest. This album is still fresh to me. I hope when it’s all said and done that this album is what truly defines them.
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