Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell (1993)

Some sixteen years ago, an unknown vocalist by the name of Meatloaf, fresh from a stint with Ted Nugent's mid-70s "Free-For-All" band, hooked up with a songwriter named Jim Steinman and recorded what was destined to become an American rock classic: the Bat Out Of Hell album. Critics hated it with a passion, but to an American audience sick of watered-down rock & roll, disgusted with Disco and unfamiliar with the punk stirrings a continent away, Bat Out Of Hell – with its bombastic, guitar-driven tales of young lust, alienation and romance – was bigger than life. The album has been a consistent best seller since its 1977 release.

After a much publicized and highly public split, Steinman went on to write a handful of hits for artists like Bonnie Tyler, while Meatloaf recorded a bunch of albums (some good, some not-so-good) in a battle against obscurity. To the benefit of an audience still starved for the real rock thing, the duo has reunited to create a sequel to one of the most enduring albums in rock music history.

Slapping Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell onto the CD player is like being nineteen again. This is the elusive pulse of rock & roll, that hard-to-capture spirit of the music and all of its promise that makes Bat Out Of Hell II and its predecessor work so well. It's like trying to tell a stranger about rock & roll – if they don't get it, chances are, they never will. This disc is loud, overblown and exaggerated, but it's also got more hooks than a Bassmasters' tournament and it rocks like a house afire. Even as history repeated itself and critics slagged Bat Out Of Hell II, it shot straight up to number one upon its release.

The world is a different place than 1977, though, and this sequel reflects the urgency and identity of the decade. The cynicism of Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back, the erotic fantasies of Out Of The Frying Pan (And Into The Fire), the confusion of It Just Won't Quit all play to a different time and place. It's the two key cuts here, however – the idealistic, decade-old Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through and Wasted Youth/Everything Louder Than Everything Else – that serve as the youthful anthems around which all else revolves. It's the energy, the hope provided by these songs, and in rock & roll, that attracts the audience. It's what Meatloaf does best. It may be better to burn out than to fade away, and I'm glad that Meatloaf captured the chance to burn brightly again. (MCA Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Bat Out Of Hell II from Amazon.com)

The Yardbirds - Ultimate! (2001)

One of the truly legendary bands in rock music, it's nevertheless been very difficult for the average music fan to assemble any sort of coherent Yardbirds' collection. Back in the '60s heyday of the band, the original British versions of their albums were sliced and diced, mixed and matched and then retitled for release stateside. Cut-out during the '70s, collectors paid premium prices for rare copies of the Yardbirds' vinyl. During the CD era, albums disappeared and reappeared with unpredictable reliability and "greatest hits" collections, often slapped together by unscrupulous fly-by-night labels, proliferated. A lot of great music got misplaced, until the recent release of Ultimate! by Rhino Records.

For younger music fans that want to know what all the brouhaha over the Yardbirds is about, look no further than Ultimate! The two-CD, 52-track boxed collection includes an enormous booklet filled with rare photos, song credits and comprehensive liner notes and history provided by late musician/collector/authority Cub Koda. It's the music that does the talking on Ultimate!, however, the Yardbirds kicking out an original and groundbreaking mix of blues and riff-oriented blues-rock during their five-year lifespan. The band was blessed during its brief existence with not one but three – count 'em – three superstar six-string talents. Eric Clapton contributed guitar duties for one of the earliest incarnations of the band, leaving after a year and a half to be replaced by Jeff Beck. Jimmy Page joined the band as a bass player; later moving to guitar in a twin-guitar version of the band before taking over solo duties upon Beck's departure.

Ultimate! pieces together a chronological history of the Yardbirds, beginning with early Clapton-led singles and other material recorded under the direction of original manager/producer Giorgio Gomelsky. The Gomelsky "era" stretches across the first disc and includes some of Clapton's legendary original contributions to the band. Highlights include covers of John Lee Hooker's Boom Boom and the Ernie K-Doe hit A Certain Girl as well as live tracks taken from the band's debut album Five Live Yardbirds. The classic hit single For Your Love proved to be Clapton's swansong, the guitarist leaving the band in a huff over the song's commercial sound.

When Clapton departed to pursue a purer shade of blue with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Jeff Beck was recruited and joined the Yardbirds as his replacement. It proved to be a match made in heaven – Beck's improvisational six-string wizardry found a perfect chemistry with frontman Keith Relf's passionate vocals and inspired harp playing. This would be the most successful period of the band's career, as they cranked out chart-topping hits like Heart Full Of Soul,
Shapes Of Things and Over Under Sideways Down. There were plenty of other great tunes, though, such as the rollicking B-side instrumental Jeff's Boogie or a raucous cover of The Train Kept A Rollin' recorded at Sam Phillip's Recording Service in Memphis. Beck's maniacal use of feedback, distortion, echo and fuzz created a trademark sound for the band and paved the way for a thousand-and-one late-60s garage bands to delve into psychedelica, heavy metal and endless instrumental jams.

Bassist and "musical director" Paul Samwell-Smith left the Yardbirds in 1966 to pursue a successful career as a producer, working with talents like Cat Stevens and Jethro Tull. Jimmy Page was brought in to play bass, taking over six-string duties on tour during a Beck absence. The Beck/Page line-up only recorded a couple of singles, most notably Stroll On from the movie Blow-Up and the single Happenings Ten Years Time Ago, which also featured future Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul.

The Page-led Yardbirds kicked out some interesting tuneage, working with new manager Peter Grant and superstar Britpop producer Mickey Most, moving into a less bluesy and more complex psychedelic-influenced era. Page's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor was a fascinating slice of pop-rock while the acoustic-instrumental White Summer was an energetic artistic predecessor to Led Zeppelin's experimentation with British folk and Middle Eastern melodies. The Harry Nilsson composition Ten Little Indians is a chaotic delight while Drinking Muddy Water sounds like the Chicago blues as filtered through London's Marquee Club. Ultimate! also adds three solo recordings from Yardbirds' vocalist Keith Relf.

Over the course of seven albums, the Yardbirds earned a legacy as one of the true seminal bands in rock & roll history. Their musical contributions to the genre still sound alive and vibrant thirty-five years after the fact. The band also served as an important predecessor to the formation of Led Zeppelin, arguably the most important and successful rock band of the '70s.

If I had one complaint with this set, it is in the lack of material from the band's collaboration with blues giant Sonny Boy Williamson, an inspired album that predated the superstar-laden London Sessions albums by Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf by a decade. Ultimate! nonetheless provides a fine history of the band, an important collection that should please both hardcore collectors and new listeners alike. (Rhino Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Ultimate! from Amazon.com)

Wetton-Manzanera - Wetton-Manzanera (1998)

As the driving instrumental force behind Roxy Music's biggest hits, Phil Manzanera developed a reputation as a top-notch axeman. Bringing a fluid, melodic musical current to play beneath Bryan Ferry's often bittersweet lyrics, his contributions to that band were acclaimed critically but sadly overlooked when the pundits were crowning the next big guitar hero. As shown by this decade-old effort with fellow Roxy alumni John Wetton, Manzanera is a superb pop songwriter.

The Britpop tunes collected on Wetton Manzanera are full of the sort of wonderful six-string flourishes that the guitarist brought to Roxy Music's material. Manzanera's clean lines and flowing chords breathe life into Wetton's light-hearted romantic lyrics, providing a musical backbone for the material. A small part of the legacy of one of rock's most accomplished guitarists, the reissue of this self-titled collaboration is worth another look if only for a glimpse of the soul and talent of Phil Manzanera. (Renaissance Records)

(Click on CD cover to buy Wetton-Manzanera from Amazon.com)

Meatloaf - The Very Best Of Meatloaf (1998)

Okay, I'll admit it – I'm a Meatloaf fan. Have been, ever since Bat Out Of Hell pissed off my fellow critics so badly those two decades ago. Sure, Meatloaf's best work, i.e. the Steinman- penned songs, is overblown, bombastic and exaggerated. Then again, so is most rap music, but you don't see the big-league rock crits waxing negative over N.W.A. or 2-Pac, do you? When the 'Loaf reunited with Steinman on Bat Out Of Hell II a few years back, there had to be more than a few heart attacks at the Rolling Stone writer's retirement home. Especially considering that the carbon-copy sequel CD hit it big, scored multi-plat and provided the erstwhile Mr. Aday with another 15 minutes of fame.

"So," ask fellow Meatloaf fans, "what's the skinny on this new two-disc The Very Best Of Meatloaf set?" Well, your humble Reverend always provides his readers with the straight 4-1-1 with every review. On this subject, I can honestly say that if you're a true-blue, died-in-the-wool Meatloaf fan, then use the coin you'd spend on this turkey to dig up a copy of the 2-CD live set on Tommy Boy instead. Why? Because there's nothing really new here to attract the marks, much less satisfy the hardcore faithful.

The Very Best Of Meatloaf offers eighteen tunes, broken down as follows: there's five cuts (out of seven) from the original Bat Out Of Hell, including the title track, the hit Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad and the still-hilarious-after-all-these-years Paradise By The Dashboard Light. There are four cuts from the Bat sequel, including Life Is A Lemon And I Want My Money Back, although the producers here have ignored the Bat Out Of Hell remake from that MCA album. You've got a couple songs from the Dead Ringer LP, including the title track – a spirited duet with Cher – and you've got the obligatory Midnight At The Lost And Found, the title track from Meatloaf's best non-Steinman album.

Continuing, there are a couple of songs from the misguided Welcome To The Neighborhood (we're up to 14 now) and the rocking Modern Girl from Bad Attitude. There's nothing from the limpid Blind Before I Stop, and they've ignored hot songs like Razor's Edge from Midnight or Wasted Youth from Bat Out Of Hell II. That leaves three songs that don't come from a Meatloaf album, proper – two Andrew Lloyd Weber compositions with Steinman lyrics and Is Nothing Sacred, easily the worst song Steinman has written in eons. All three tracks are real snoozefests, certainly not representing the "very best" of Meatloaf.

The upshot here, true believers? If you've got Bat Out Of Hell and it's sequel, then you've already got half the songs available on this set (and a few more). There are no real rarities here, no creative programming – why nothing from any of Meatloaf's unavailable import discs, or perhaps his inspired Hot Patootie from the Rocky Horror soundtrack? If you just discovered Meatloaf with Bat Out Of Hell II a couple of years back, then buy the original disc. If you have that and still want to know more about the 'Loaf, then dig up copies of Midnight At The Lost And Found, Bad Attitude and Dead Ringer, if only for the Cher duet. You can score all three for about twice the price of The Very Best Of Meatloaf and end up with three times as much music, tunes that really represent the "very best" of this underrated vocalist. (Sony Legacy Recordings)

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Very Best Of Meatloaf from Amazon.com)

The Dictators - Bloodbrothers (1999)

Maybe they didn't create punk rock, but the Dictators – one of the greatest lost rock & roll bands of the '70s – certainly helped to define the genre. Hitting the streets running in 1973 with their debut, The Dictators Go Girl Crazy! the Dictators bucked the musical trends of the time with a stripped-down, hardcore rock assault that was equal parts garage band fervor and metallic overkill. Owing more to the MC5 and the Stooges than to the singer/songwriter
trend that dominated the mid-70s commercially before the onslaught of punk, the Dictators made three great albums before the members moved onto other challenges.

Sadly, only the first of the band's trio of hard rocking elpees remained in print – until now. Since the labels that originally issued these gems had no interest in putting the other two Dictators albums out on CD, the band took it upon themselves to grab the rights to Bloodbrothers, their third (and best) album and reissue it their own damn selves.

Bloodbrothers is full of great songs. Faster & Louder is hardcore punk stripped bare, more an affirmation of the band's musical philosophy than an attempt at cultural documentation. The Minnesota Strip lyrically visits that infamous section of New York City, known for its youthful population of runaways, junkies and whores of both genders. Punctuated by the razor-sharp twin guitars of Ross "The Boss" and Scott "Top Ten" Kempner, the song is as haunting as the
dark streets it evokes. Stay With Me is the sort of harmony-filled pop/rock ditty that the Del Lords would later perfect (remaking this song on their last album). The band ends the disc with as much energy as they started it, burning through a savage rendering of the Flamin' Groovies' Slow Death. All told, Bloodbrothers simply bristles with energy, an album made by a band shooting for the big time with absolutely nothing to lose.

Although Kempner would go on to found the Del Lords, and most of the rest of the Dictators would reunite as Manitoba's Wild Kingdom for an album with lead singer "Handsome" Dick Manitoba, the work that these guys did with the Dictators is priceless, straight-ahead classic rock straight from the streets. Dictators Forever, Forever Dictators! (Dictators Multimedia)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Bloodbrothers from Amazon.com)

Down By Law - Punkrockdays (2002)

When the members of Down By Law decided to assemble a career retrospective, they didn't just do it themselves; they brought their fans into the process, asking them to vote for their favorite DBL songs on the band's web site. The highest scoring tunes appear on Punkrockdays, the band's "best of" compilation. The resulting song selection may not be the best representation of the band's talents – it shortchanges much of their more political material – but it is certainly representative of the songs the band's audience is listening to.

Formed in 1990 by former Dag Nasty/All vocalist Dave Smalley and members of the Chemical People, Down By Law were one of the trailblazing bands in the field of melodic punk, that is hardcore roots paired with pop influences. True, the movement has led to atrocities like Sum-41 and most of the Drive Thru label roster, but it has also yielded some fine bands in Green Day and the Offspring. DBL were there at the beginning, though, and Punkrockdays chronicles the first decade of the band's career, drawing material from all five of the band's Epitaph label albums (no songs from their rock hard 1999 Go-Kart release are included here, tho').

The quality of the songs on Punkrockdays varies, since the band's players have changed frequently through the years, the line-up not really gelling until adding guitarist Sam Williams III for DBL's breakthrough third album, punkrockacademyfightsong. None of the songs here are bad, just that some – like Radio Ragga, Independence Day and No Equalizer – stand out as really good tunes. Smalley is an exceptional punk rock vocalist and a solid, accessible songwriter, his lyrics nailing the concerns and hopes of his audience. Williams has the best chops of the band's different guitarists, outshining even Dag Nasty's Brian Baker, who appears on Goodnight Song. Williams shows a better chemistry with frontman Smalley, covering his vocals like a comfortable wool blanket. DBL is also quite well-known for their cover performances, and readings of the Proclaimers' hit 500 Miles and Big Country's In A Big Country are played straight and are actually quite fun, DBL showing the pop side of its roots and influences.

Down By Law is still going strong – a Dag Nasty reunion album notwithstanding – the band continuing to appeal to new fans and increase its audience with electric live shows and songs like those showcased by Punkrockdays. For any punk fan unfamiliar with Down By Law, this is the place to begin listening, discovering the charm and talent that have made DBL a household name in fine punk rock homes everywhere. (Epitaph Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Punkrockdays from Amazon.com)

Richard Hell - Time (2002)

Young punk rockers that would like to find out more about the roots of their passion should seek out the wellspring from which punk first bubbled forth. In this case, I'm referring to Richard Hell, one of the most underrated and overlooked of the punk godfathers. An important member of not one, but three, seminal punk outfits, Hell's influence on rock music, punk attitude and street fashion should not be ignored. The odds-n-sods collection Time is a long overdue career retrospective for Hell, delivered, appropriately enough, in glorious lo-fi rock & roll sound.

Born Richard Meyers in Lexington, Kentucky, Hell grew up in the sleepy Bluegrass State listening to British Invasion rock and Southern soul. He found a kindred spirit in Tom Miller (ne Verlaine), and the pair would soon end up together in New York City. They would form the Neon Boys in 1971, a proto-punk outfit inspired by the Stooges and Velvet Underground, with Verlaine on guitar and Hell picking up the bass. The Neon Boys would evolve into Television and become an integral part of the mid-70s NYC music scene growing up around the CBGB club and including bands like the Ramones and Blondie.

Chafed at his role in the band, Hell left Television before they recorded their classic debut, Marquee Moon, hooking up with former New York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan to form the Heartbreakers. Hell would again leave the band before recording, this time striking out on his own. Fronting a band that included guitarists Robert Quine and Ivan Julian and future Ramones drummer Marc Bell, Richard Hell & the Voidoids recorded what is arguably the most important song in the punk rock canon, Blank Generation, for their 1977 debut album of the same name. With his torn clothing, nihilistic lyrics and snotty attitude, Hell became the blueprint of punk rock to follow. The Voidoids would record only one more album – 1982's Destiny Street – but the band's influence on a generation of punk rockers was set in stone. Hell would later play in other bands, write poetry and in 1996 issued his first novel, Go Now, but he would never again pursue music with any sort of ambition.

The first disc of the two-CD set Time pairs a previous, cassette-only collection, R.I.P. The ROIR Sessions, with a number of unreleased tracks, including the original version of the Richard Hell/Dee Dee Ramone ode to heroin, Chinese Rocks, performed here by the Heartbreakers. Four Heartbreakers demos kick off Time, including Love Comes In Spurts, which would be revisited by Hell on the first Voidoids disc. Two early Voidoids' demos follow, each song featuring the individual virtuosity of guitarists Quine and Julian. A different Voidoids line-up is featured on half-dozen tracks from 1979, drummer Bell having left to join the Ramones. The highlights of this middle passage include Hell's philosophical take on life revealed by an obscure alternate take of Time, the Dylan cover Going Going Gone and the live at CBGB's song Funhunt, taken from the ROIR Records release. Another live track, capturing a 1983 Atlanta performance of I Can Only Give You Everything, showcases a later-day Voidoids roster while the disc closes with what are possibly the final Voidoids demo recordings, made in 1984 in New Orleans. The sound quality throughout disc one is spotty, befitting the homemade status of most of these recordings.

The second disc of Time, collecting unreleased live performances by the Voidoids, is what has punk collectors salivating. The first half-hour plus set includes raw performances of Blank Generation era Voidoids from a 1977 performance at London's Music Machine. All the band favorites are thrown out here, including Love Comes In Spurts, Liars Beware and Blank Generation. A cover of I Wanna Be Your Dog includes Hell's barks and Quine's scorched earth six-string riffs. An angry cover of the Stones' Ventilator Blues, was chosen to piss off a confrontational audience, as explained by Hell in the extensive liner notes. The sound quality of these live tracks equal that of a mediocre bootleg, but the passion and fire of the performance is priceless. The last four tracks on disc two of Time, taken from a 1978 benefit for St. Mark's church held at CBGB, include an original take on The Kid With The Replaceable Head (later recorded for Destiny Street) and You Gotta Lose, featuring Elvis Costello on vocals and guitar. Time closes with another Stones' cover, Shattered, performed by the Voidoids just this one time. The sound of these four tracks, taken from an FM radio broadcast soundboard, is markedly improved over the earlier live performances.

The significance of Richard Hell's influence on punk rock cannot be overstated. An innovator and pioneer who matched literature and poetry with angry, aggressive music in much the same way as his contemporary Patti Smith, Hell is often overshadowed by the bands that he helped create (Television) or influenced (the Sex Pistols, the Clash). While other punks have been incarcerated in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Time shows that Hell's place is on the street, his music and defiant spirit ready to inspire a generation of rockers to come. (Matador Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Time from Amazon.com)

Steve Earle - Sidetracks (2002)

As explained by Steve Earle's excellent liner notes, the songs on Sidetracks aren't outtakes, but rather "stray tracks" that were previously unreleased or saw the light of day only on soundtrack or tribute albums. Much like Bill Lloyd's excellent All In One Place compilation album, Earle's Sidetracks confines these stray songs to a single package, providing extensive musician credits and song-by-song commentary. The resulting album is every bit as remarkable as any title in Earle's impressive catalog, a vital collection of original songs and inspired covers that illustrates Earle's talents as a songwriter, performer and bandleader.

Steve Earle's career has always been plagued by misconceptions, his early Nashville albums dismissed by ignorant Music Row hacks for being "too rock & roll," while mainstream rock audiences failed to embrace Earle as "too country." The truth lies somewhere in between, perhaps, but I believe that Earle is too enormous a talent to be confined by one style or genre, a fact illustrated by Sidetracks. A roots-music traditionalist who has had a tremendous influence on the alt-country scene, Earle has nonetheless flirted with hard rock, reggae and Celtic music as well as country, folk and bluegrass throughout the span of his nearly twenty-five year career.

Johnny Too Bad, recorded with Knoxville, Tennessee roots rockers the V-Roys, redefines the Jamaican classic with a harder edge while the Irish-flavored instrumental Dominick St, recorded with the Woodchoppers in Dublin, extends Earle's love affair with Celtic music. A powerful cover of Nirvana's Breed showcases Earle's rowdy rock side, tho' maybe not as well as Creepy Jackelope Eye, a lively collaboration with Eddie Spaghetti and the Supersuckers. An alternative version of Ellis Unit One performed with the Fairfield Four achieves an eerie spiritual edge lacking in the solo version used in the film Dead Man Walking. The folkish Me And The Eagle stands in stark contrast to much of the material on Sidetracks, while a twangy, bluegrass-tinged reading of Lowell George's Willin' captures the spirit of the oft-covered original.

Not everything on Sidetracks clicks, most notably a cover of the Chambers Brothers' classic Time Has Come Today. A technologically crafted duet with Sheryl Crow that was recorded in Nashville with Crow in LA, the performance may have seemed a good idea at its conception, but it suffers in execution. Crow's vocal contribution is lackluster and the band fails to achieve the manic (drug-fueled?) energy of the original, although the Abbie Hoffman vocal samples are pretty neat. This minor cavil aside, Sidetracks is an extremely worthwhile addition to your CD collection, a significant compilation and a revealing look "backstage" at the multi-faceted talents of Steve Earle. It's telling that by collecting his various cast-offs and rarities, Earle has cobbled together an album that still stands head and shoulders above most of the country and rock music that will be released this year. Though other artists should probably hang their heads in shame, Earle fans can rejoice in Sidetracks. (Artemis Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Sidetracks from Amazon.com)

Living Colour - Vivid (2002)

When they came along in the late-90s, Living Colour was an anomaly among hard rock bands. First of all, the members were all young African-American men with musical backgrounds in jazz, R&B and improvisational avant-garde music. Rock & roll at the time was sheer whitebread, dominated by longhaired white boys, the cultural diversity of the late-60s/early-70s overthrown by corporate homogenization. Living Colour didn't fit into MTV's nerf metal demographic, but damned if they didn't rock harder than half a dozen Motley Crue clones. The band seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the summer of 1988 with the release of its debut album, Vivid, but New York City fans knew differently. Living Colour had been banging around town for a couple of years, refining their sound and stage presence with residencies at clubs like CBGBs.

The release of Vivid would break through the barriers of race in rock, opening the door for multi-cultural '90s hard rock bands like Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down. This breakthrough was accomplished mostly on the strength of a single song, the blistering Cult Of Personality, the accompanying video dominating the MTV playlist well into 1989 and breaking the band with a white audience. It was apparent from the video for Cult Of Personality that Living Colour wasn't kicking out the same old shit. Vernon Reid wasn't just another heavy metal guitar god, but a world-class six-string wizard who had earned his bones as a member of the experimental Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoder Society. The rhythm section of bassist Muzz Skillings and drummer Will Calhoun provided as big a beat as a band could ever want while frontman Corey Glover – largely untrained and with little experience as a singer – perfectly complimented the band's funky, unpredictable groove with his rough-hewn, soulful vocal style.

Listening to the remastered reissue CD of Vivid shows that the album held much more great music than the celebrated hit single. Living Colour incorporated many styles and influences into the band's sound, placing disparate elements of freeform jazz, funk, soul, heavy metal and guitar pyrotechnics into a hard rock framework. While songs such as Open Letter (To A Landlord) and Funny Vibe showcased the band's social consciousness, visiting themes of poverty, homelessness and race, songs like the hedonistic Glamour Boys or I Want To Know were pop-influenced rockers with an almost new wave sound. (This was the '80s after all!) When the band hit a metallic groove, however, as with Cult Of Personality, Middle Man or What's Your Favorite Color? there were few other bands around who could match Living Colour's powerful and innovative sound.

The CD reissue of Vivid includes five bonus cuts culled from 12" singles; most of which have never appeared on compact disc before. A hip-hop remix of Funny Vibe by Prince Paul includes cameos from rappers like Daddy-O and Chuck D and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy. A red-hot cover of the Clash's Should I Stay Or Should I Go and a live version of Middle Man appeared previously on the Biscuits collection. A Keith LeBlanc remix of What's Your Favorite Color? adds to the funk quotient while a live performance of Cult Of Personality closes Vivid and blows the roof off the mutha! One of the most important albums in rock history, Vivid sold over a million copies and earned the band a Grammy™ Award. More important, though, is the influence the album and Living Colour would have on those that would follow. With Vivid, Living Colour literally changed the face of rock & roll. (Sony Legacy Recordings)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Vivid from Amazon.com)

Junior Wells - Live Around The World (2002)

Junior Wells was a legitimate giant in the blues world, contributing as much as any other artist towards defining the famed Chicago sound. With a career that stretched across five decades, Wells was a workhorse that kept busy until his death in 1998. Born in Memphis at the tail end of the Delta blues period, Wells was taught his first notes on the mouth harp by Junior Parker at the tender age of twelve.

After emigrating to Chicago like so many bluesmen before him, a youthful Wells made his mark as part of a band called the Aces. Greater opportunities struck in 1952, however, when Wells replaced the legendary Little Walter as a member of Muddy Waters' band. Solo albums for a myriad of labels sealed Wells' rep during the '60s, the harp player often collaborating with his friend, guitarist Buddy Guy.

Live Around The World collects various performances from the last year, year-and-a-half of Wells' life; the artist's worldwide touring taking him to Germany, Norway, Japan, England and points in between. The songs chosen for Live Around The World are fairly representative of Wells' milieu, signature pieces like Hoodoo Man offered alongside blues standards like Willie Dixon's Little Red Rooster. Junior's harp playing is straight from the Sonny Boy Williamson/Little Walter school of the blues, Wells developing his own distinctive style and adding his own peculiar flourishes through the years.

What set Wells apart from the aforementioned influences, however, are his vocal talents and skills as a bandleader. Wells developed a soulful, R&B-tinged singing style that was both emotionally expressive and powerful. Wells also played with some of the best bluesmen on the planet throughout the 40+ years of his career, but he was almost always the focus of attention, a strict bandleader who pulled the most out of his players.

Unfortunately for Live Around The World, the band assembled to back-up Wells on his last hurrah are no match for the Chicago gangs the diminutive harp player used to front. On many of these performances, the musicians are simply overshadowed by the dynamic Wells, a powerful player and performer who was always more at home on stage than in the studio. The resulting
songs are slick and professional, but lack the smoke and sweat and soul inherent in the best Chicago blues. Junior Wells is always a joy to listen to, though, and he gives his best to Live Around The World. Whether tearing through cuts like the lively Got My Mojo Working, the blues-tinged rave-up Help Me or the funky James Brown-styled strutting of Messin' With The Kid, Wells knocks 'em down with passion and precision.

There are precious few live recordings of Junior Wells available, which makes Live Around The World important from a historical perspective, the disc providing a rare glimpse of Well's talents, admittedly in the twilight of his career. (Legacy Recordings)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live Around The World from Amazon.com)

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Tracks (1999)

I remember all too well the first time that I heard Bruce Springsteen. It was in the spring of 1975 and the song was "Born To Run." I was lying in bed, ready to go to sleep when I heard the opening chords of the song drifting up through the heating duct from my sister's radio. It was unlike anything that I had ever heard, and I quickly tuned in my radio to the song. The power of the music, the lyrics spoke to me in a way that I had never felt. This was rock & roll with teeth and I couldn't get enough of it.

I ran out the next day and bought all of the Springsteen albums that I could find, but neither of them had that magic song. Sure, they were great, and they grew on me as time passed by, but I'd have to wait until the fall of that year to buy Born The Run the album. It proved to be well worth the wait. Born To Run was a grand artistic stroke, Springsteen's "make-it-or-break-it" album and it soon became the one constant on my turntable. Although it was to be almost another year before I'd see Springsteen perform live, like many others in the autumn of 1975, I'd become a die-hard Bruce fan.

Almost twenty-five years have passed since then, and all of us – Bruce included – have gotten a little older. Bruce's fans have literally grown up with him, passing through marriage and parenthood into middle age along with our artistic touchstone. I've personally seen Springsteen perform live over a dozen times during the years, own every legitimate album (and more than a few bootlegs), videos, fanzines and a lot of the other flotsam and jetsam that go along with a lengthy and successful career. It's for folks such as myself – the life-long, die-hard Bruce fan – that the four CD compilation Tracks was released.

It's become almost chic the past few years to dis Bruce, dismissing him as a relic of the eighties, a commercial artist that never achieved the hipster status of the rising tide of "alternative" artists. Fan interest in Bruce has remained high through the years, however, and if his work in the nineties hasn't sold on par with his 1984 blockbuster Born In The U.S.A., well, what other artist's work has held up as well as Bruce's? Prompted, perhaps, by the unquenchable thirst of Bruce fans for new music (or, at least, unheard music), and certainly pushed by the recent twelve disc bootleg The Lost Masters series, Tracks collects 66 demos, outtakes, B-sides and assorted rarities and places them in a nice neat box for the Bruce fan.

It's a nice collection, a fine reflection of where Springsteen has been and where, perhaps, he's headed with his music. Always a prolific songwriter who is said to throw away four or five songs for every one that makes it onto an album, Springsteen's rejects are famous for becoming hits for other artists. Although the collection is a little light on the early period of Bruce's career, Tracks nonetheless covers in some detail the important, ground-breaking 1977 to 1983 period that led up to Born In The U.S.A. and subsequent superstardom.

Disc one begins with several tracks from Springsteen's initial 1972 demo session with Columbia Records and John Hammond, the great label A & R man that signed him. The first four tracks on the disc eventually made it onto Springsteen's debut album in vastly superior versions than those offered here. From here the disc jumps around, mixing early (i.e. 1973-74) songs with Darkness On The Edge Of Town outtakes (1977-78). The Born To Run period seems to be pretty much glossed over entirely, with only a couple of (deservedly) rejected songs placed here. There's still some good stuff on the disc, though, such as the live studio cut of "Rendezvous" (a minor hit for Greg Kihn, done better by Bruce), "Iceman" and Bruce's equally-wonderful version of the Southside Johnny chestnut "Hearts Of Stone."

Although many scribes have tagged disc three as their favorite, I personally like the material provided on the second disc. Representing the post-Darkness, pre-River era Bruce, the second disc in Tracks is almost a classic album in its own right. Take the first thirteen songs, throw away the somber "A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Pittsburgh)" and "Wages Of Sin" and you've got the core of The Ties That Bind, a legendary unreleased and often-bootlegged
Springsteen disc that has taken on almost mythical proportions. Many of these songs are from the 1979 Power Station sessions and there's some great material here.

"Roulette," an almost forgotten B-side is one of Bruce's most powerful songs, a cautionary tale of what – nuclear holocaust? environmental disaster? Whatever, it's a hard-rocking song with aggressive lyrics. Dismissed as an example of Springsteen's penchant for "frat rock" (and what's the problem with that? Many of rock's great one-hit-wonders achieved their popularity on the frat circuit), "Where The Bands Are" is a great rock & roll tune, a love song wrapped up in an ode to the power of rock music. "Loose Ends" and "Be True" are also fine songs, rollicking numbers with solid performances. "Ricky Wants A Man Of Her Own" is a humorous tale of teen rebellion and "Living On The Edge Of The World" rings with the chime of Danny Federici's farfisa.

Not to downplay the material provided on the third disc of Tracks. "My Love Will Not Let You Down" is a fine example of Springsteen's heartfelt romanticism, a gentle song with a tasty guitar break. "This Hard Land," Springsteen's populist parable is familiar from its placement on his greatest hits albums. "Frankie," a rare live favorite from the Born To Run era finally sees the light of day here along with another throwaway hit, "Pink Cadillac" (popularized by the Pointer Sisters).

The story-song "Brothers Under The Bridges ('83)" serves as a bookend to the same-named closing track on the fourth disc, the earlier song showing the characters as kids, the later song offering its protagonist as a no-longer innocent adult. Much of the fourth disc is low-key ruminations on love and life, similar to Tunnel Of Love. Not that the songs are completely without charm here: "Part Man, Part Monkey" is kind of funky, a hilarious send-up of humanity
while "Back In Your Arms" is a lovely love song similar to many on Human Touch.

Many have pointed out that Tracks features many songs that Springsteen didn't think were good enough for inclusion on an album, using that excuse as a reason to lessen impact of the collection. Nonetheless, more than a handful of the songs here have been hits for other people or have proven themselves as live favorites. Some are among the best songs that Springsteen has ever written, and just because they didn't find a place on a certain album doesn't mean that they're no good. True, Tracks isn't the kind of collection that's going to win over new fans – Springsteen is too well known, his music too acutely documented to offer many surprises. For the long-time fan, however, wanting to compliment their knowledge of Bruce's evolution, I'd easily recommend Tracks as a fine starting point.

(Ironically, although many thought that the release of Tracks would dampen the parade of bootleg Bruce CDs, less than a month passed before enterprising 'leggers had raided the vaults with several releases of studio material not found on Tracks. If Bruce really wants to stay a step ahead of these gray area CDs, he'd be better off taking his cue from Frank Zappa, King Crimson or the Grateful Dead and release his own official "bootlegs." Dig into the vault, Bruce, and start putting out collections of individual live performances. Not only would die-hard fans buy them up, but new converts would also flock to your door.) (Columbia Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Tracks from Amazon.com)

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - Live In New York City (2001)

Bruce Springsteen has sold a lot of records during his career, but it has always been his live performances that have drawn the lion's share of the acclaim. I've personally seen Springsteen perform eight or nine times during the past 25 years and can honestly say that out of the 300+ shows that I've seen during my critical career, his shows dominate my top ten. Whether with the full E Street Band or solo with just a guitar and a harmonica, Springsteen is a dynamic and charismatic performer, a fact that has made him second only to Led Zeppelin as one of the most bootlegged rock artists of all time.

All of which makes the 2-CD Live In New York City a mixed blessing. Culled from the last two nights of a remarkable year-long "reunion" tour with the E Street Band, the set offers some wonderful performances from what, by all accounts, was a powerful pair of shows. Springsteen and crew revisit some old classics, reinvent some obscurities and even introduce a couple of new songs. Much as with the previous Springsteen live box set, however, all of the rough edges have been removed from Live In New York City.

The production team of Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin (with input, no doubt, from manager Jon Landau) has sonically sanitized the performances, leaving the listener with only part of the strength of the original performances. Bootlegs of these NYC shows – and, truth be told, of most of the tour – present the band warts and all, as one of the tightest and toughest rock & roll outfits to ever grace a stage. Although the sound quality of many of the bootlegs may not be as pristine as this legitimate release, the honest depiction of the performances is more compelling.

That minor cavil aside, Live In New York City is still a fine collection of performances. The album opening "My Love Will Not Let You Down" is a soaring, transcendent rendering of an otherwise overlooked entry from the Springsteen songbook. "Atlantic City" is offered with full band backing that, while removing the stark quality of the original studio version nevertheless shows a hidden power to the lyrics and the story told. The arrangement of "The River" is completely changed; transforming an already potent and dark-hued tale of lost dreams and desperation into a masterful modern blues song. Clarence Clemons' mournful sax opens "The River," leading into an acoustic passage and, eventually, Springsteen's sadness-tinged vocals. The song's sparse arrangement and incredibly delicate performance is superior to the studio version and breathes new life into one of Springsteen's more memorable pieces.

Afforded a full band performance, "Youngstown" rises above its acoustic roots to become a stormy maelstrom of rock & rage. One of the most powerful protest songs ever written, "Youngstown" is a fine example of blue collar blues, a chilling documentation of the decline of America's industrial heartland that ends with a wicked six-string battle courtesy of Springsteen, "Little" Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren. Springsteen's lively introduction of the band members during "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" echoes the "Boss" of old, crowning the E Streeters with various titles and honors to the delight of the audience. "Land Of Hope And Dreams," one of two new songs showcased on Live In New York City, is a throwback to The River era, a beautiful affirmation of faith in the face of adversity.

The other new song is the controversial "American Skin (41 Shots)." Inspired by the murder of an immigrant by overzealous NYPD officers, it is another powerful musical statement. Featuring a quiet instrumental undercurrent, the focus is on Springsteen's vocals, his questioning lyrics and the phrase "41 shots," repeated over and over by the band. A lengthy and appropriate silence follows the song, leading into the six bonus tracks tacked on at the last minute to make this a 2-CD set. The seldom-played "Lost In The Flood" sounds good in a live setting, guitars clashing and wailing behind the vocals. "Born In The U.S.A." is reinvented as a bluesy dirge while the album-closing "If I Should Fall Behind," another overlooked Springsteen gem, is offered as a quiet prayer. With vocals from Bruce, Patti Scialfa, Nils Lofgren, Little Steven and Clarence Clemons, the song is transformed from a folksy tale of love and loyalty into a spiritual wonder.

In our society's rush to unquestioningly embrace youth culture, it's become trendy, even required, to dismiss anything older than last week to the dustbin of history. In an era where even the Clash aren't considered "punk" enough by today's cultural standards, Springsteen – whose greatest commercial successes were a decade and a half ago – is considered a rock & roll dinosaur. As a year long, sold-out tour and this 2-CD live set prove, however, there's still plenty of life left in Springsteen and crew. The E Street Band plays with a joy and fury that musicians half their age will never equal, Springsteen's new songs show a skill, concern and relevancy lost to modern rock bands. Spoon-fed corporate pabulum by the music biz, today's youth don't realize that true musical giants still walk this planet. To paraphrase an old blues song, what the kids don't know we old geezers understand. (Columbia Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live In New York City from Amazon.com)

Entombed - Unreal Estate (2005)

They have been the forefathers of stoner-tinged grindcore, offering their dark, Sabbathesque vibe to the overtones of Napalm Death relevant glory, but nobody ever thought that Entombed (or any hard-edged group for that matter) could have influenced and helped create what is hard to believe – a ballet. Yes, I said it, literally a performance of about 30 dancers doing a routine to "Entombed" music.

What we get with Unreal Estate is a live recording of a performance at Sweden's Royal Opera Hall, with the music speaking for itself. There is a dark vibe found within the record with complete grinding thrusts of tracks such as "Say It In Slugs," "Mental Twin" and "In the Flesh" offering the classic sound of Entombed. This is a typically tight musical performance from these guys, but that is only the audio portion...it's hard to imagine what the dancing was like, being that there is no DVD included. Normally you would think of slam-dancing or moshing among the thick cloud of pot smoke at an Entombed show, but not in this case. Even for a live record, the crowd is fairly subdued; the only applause you hear is at the end.

A very strange feat for Entombed, which began as an idea by choreographers who were fans of the band that decided to try something unique, and unique this is. When looking at this recording, it's not like you have to think that the band has the balls to do something like this. It's more like the band has to have discrete and precise musicianship, similar to an orchestra (by the way there is no orchestra, just the band themselves). So it remains an honor that Entombed was chosen to create the musical mastery behind such a different approach to the world of the dancing arts. (Candlight Records)

Review by Tommy "Hashman" Hash, copyright 2005

(Click on the CD cover to buy Unreal Estate from Amazon.com)

Southside Johnny - Live At The Paradise Theater (2001)

I don't know what dark closet or dusty vault shelf that somebody dug up this vintage Southside Johnny performance from but I'm sure glad that it's been brought into the light of day. Taken from a December 1978 show at the Paradise Theater in Boston, this collection shows the band in their prime. Electric and exciting live performers, only Springsteen's E Street Band or the Iron City Houserockers could come close to touching the Asbury Jukes in 1978. Since live Southside Johnny albums (legitimate or bootleg) are scarcer than good songs on a Backstreets Boys' album, Live At The Paradise Theater is a welcome addition to the Jukes canon.

Drawing from the band's classic first three albums, Live At The Paradise Theater features Southside Johnny Lyon's soulful vocals on a handful of songs donated by former Juke "Miami" Steve Van Zandt and Asbury Park legend Bruce Springsteen. There are also inspired covers, including a rave-up rendition of Sam Cooke's "Having A Party" and the Leiber/Stoller gem "Santa Claus Is Back In Town." After all this time, Jukes classics like "This Time It's For Real," "Love On The Wrong Side Of Town," "Trapped Again" and "I Don't Want To Go Home" still sound as fresh and heartache-inspiring as they did twenty-something years ago. With a horn section hand-picked by Van Zandt and some finely-crafted guitar playing from Billy Rush, the Jukes run through a fourteen song set that evokes the passion and fire of the Rhythm & Blues revues of the fifties and sixties.

Although Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes continue to tour and blow the roof off every venue they're asked to demolish, the band was always too reverent in their roots to break through to a mainstream audience. That leaves Live At The Paradise Theater for us long-time fanboys, the hardcore legion who feel that the unique blend of roots rock, soul, R&B and blues kicked out by Southside Johnny transcends time and trends. In this light, Live At The Paradise delivers the cheap rock & roll thrills we crave. (Phoenix Rising Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Live At The Paradise Theater from Amazon.com)

Rare Earth - The Best Of Rare Earth (2001)

They might have well been the funkiest bunch o' white boys to come out of the Motor City, kicking out the jams with a hybrid of Motown soul and hard rock & roll. Much like Rodney Dangerfield, however, Rare Earth never gets any respect. Critics trashed them, the record buying public forgot them shortly after the last notes of their handful of hits had rung and, well, quite frankly, history hasn't looked down favorably on the band. The Best Of Rare Earth, a 7-track compilation released from the Motown vaults as part of the "20th Century Masters Millennium Collection" proves that these guys were ahead of their time by almost two decades.

Although they weren't the first funkmeisters to mix rock & roll with R & B roots in the sixties – hometown heroes the MC5 did it a couple of years earlier – Rare Earth had greater success with the sound. Cuts like "Get Ready," "Hey Big Brother" and "I Just Want To Celebrate" proved to be large hits for a relatively undistinguished bunch of players, and the songs hold up well even after thirty years. Rare Earth foreshadowed the jam bands of the nineties with extended instrumental passages filled to the brim with funky rhythms, rock riffs and jazzy interludes that stretched three-minute pop songs into fifteen or twenty minute compositions. Sometimes tedious, sometimes exhilerating, it was nonetheless unique.

At their best, Rare Earth exemplified the sort of musical experimentation that made the late sixties/early seventies an exciting time for music. Anything might happen, with adventuresome bands throwing elements of country, blues, jazz and R & B music on top of their basic roots rock sound. When they were good – as on the handful of hit singles featured on The Best Of Rare Earth – the band was very good. Honestly, however, those moments were few and far between. Rare Earth's more typical fare consisted of hackneyed R & B covers (like their slaughtering of Ray Charles' classic "What'd I Say"), which is what earned them their reputation with critics and historians. For those listeners wanting a taste of one of rock music's more obscure bands, I'd heartily recommend the budget-priced The Best Of Rare Earth as a low-cost sampler that features the band's four big hits, which is all anyone really wants to
hear anyway.... (Motown/Universal)

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Best Of Rare Earth from Amazon.com)

Modern English - Life In The Gladhouse (2001)

It's hard for a pop band to be all things to all people, and most satisfy their creative egos by merely finding a singular groove and flogging it to death. Modern English were one of the few outfits who managed to blend together many disparate influences – punk roots, new wave sensibilities, Goth ambiance and industrial attitude – into creating an entirely unique and highly experimental body of music. Best known for their infectious 1982 hit "I Melt With You," which has become a staple on classic rock radio, Modern English had an identity beyond MTV and movie soundtracks.

Life In The Gladhouse 1980-1984 presents the Modern English in the band's halcyon days, warts, pretensions and all, and the collection of album tracks and 'A'-side singles shows a band at least a decade ahead of their time. Masterfully blending the aforementioned musical styles and influences, Modern English created songs that were atmospheric, emotional and intelligent. The band has much more in common with obvious creative predecessors like Roxy Music than with the legion of new wave bands that glutted MTV in the early eighties. Modern English sculpted sound and abstract lyrics in the creation of musical art that sounds as fresh and exciting today as it did twenty years ago. If you're looking for a new musical thrill, want to hear something that is both familiar and yet intellectually challenging, look no further than Life In The Gladhouse 1980-1984. If you know nothing more of Modern English than "I Melt With You," prepare to have your conceptions gladly shattered. (4AD Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Life In The Gladhouse from Amazon.com)

Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies (2001)

By 1973, Alice Cooper was one of the hottest bands in rock & roll. Featuring the flamboyant on-stage antics of lead vocalist and band namesake Cooper and a sound that was a cross between metal-edged blues, hard rock and camped-up show tunes, the band struck gold with their fifth album, 1972's School's Out. By the time that they would enter the studio to record what would become their masterpiece – Billion Dollar Babies – the band was on the verge of breaking up. Suffering from tensions created by constant touring, the ever-growing complexity of their stage shows and problems created by the extreme overuse of alcohol, the band nonetheless put together ten songs that would become the keystone of the Alice Cooper legacy.

Remixed by producer Bob Ezrin and reissued by Warner Archives and archival experts Rhino Records, Billion Dollar Babies was originally released in 1973 to overall critical acclaim and great commercial success. It became the band's best selling album, it led to one of the largest-grossing and spectacular tours in rock history and it inspired a legion of hard rock, punk and heavy metal bands to follow. Today, nearly thirty years after its release, it stands out as a landmark of rock music. Cuts like "No More Mr. Nice Guy," "Hello Hooray" and the vastly underrated and oft-overlooked "Generation Landslide" stand as rock icons. "Elected" is every bit as funny and relevant in the new millennium as it was in the Nixon era while lesser-known tracks such as "Raped And Freezin'" and the macabre "I Love The Dead" did their best to launch the Goth and death metal genres.

Released by Warner/Rhino in two versions, those who merely want a taste of one of rock's most unique and influential bands can go for the single-disc reissue of Billion Dollar Babies. For long-time fans or the curious, the "deluxe edition" of Billion Dollar Babies includes a second disc of live tracks and outtakes that is well worth the few extra dollars to buy. Featuring eleven songs taken from two Texas shows in April 1973, it offers killer performances of "Elected," "Hello Hooray," "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Billion Dollar Babies." It also includes live versions of older Alice Cooper faves like "I'm Eighteen," "My Stars," and "I Love The Dead" as well as a handful of outtakes from the Billion Dollar Babies sessions.

Two years after the release of Billion Dollar Babies, Alice Cooper the band would break-up and Cooper the individual would start a lengthy and productive solo career that continues to plod along today. Along with his contemporary Ozzie Osbourne, Alice Cooper has been granted "rock godfather" status by today's heavy metal kids. Through the years that followed, however, Cooper and his bandmates would never again make rock & roll as primal, vital and energetic as they would with these ten tracks. (Rhino Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Billion Dollar Babies from Amazon.com)

Magic Sam - The Essential Magic Sam (2001)

During the halcyon days of the Chicago blues scene, a number of nimble-fingered axemen graced the West Side clubs with a style that was born of the Delta but influenced by the hardness of big city life. Muddy Waters is perhaps the best known of the new breed of bluesmen that the '50s would give birth to. Other talents, such as Luther Allison, Eddie Clearwater and Freddie King would also attract fans of their own in the competitive Chicago blues scene. Lost in the legacy of the Chicago Blues, however, is a little-known six-string wizard by the name of Samuel Maghett. Known to blues aficionados as "Magic Sam," this skilled guitarist played with a uniquely distinctive style and sang with great passion that foreshadowed the great soul music of the late-50s and early-60s.

During the '50s, blues musicians in Chicago made their bones on stage, playing six and seven nights a week in West Side and South Side clubs while working day jobs to pay the rent. Records were made as a promotional tool, designed to get bodies into the club at a dollar or two a head. Much as the original Delta Blues legends did during the '20s and '30s, popular blues artists would record "sides," laying down three or four songs at a time in the studio that would subsequently be released as singles. The Essential Magic Sam collects material from the first couple of chapters of the young Magic Sam's too brief career, presenting recordings he made for the Cobra and Chief record labels between 1957 and 1961.

The material on The Essential Magic Sam can be broken down into two significant periods. The '50-eras material, recorded for Cobra under the supervision of the legendary Willie Dixon, is performed in the electric blues style of the time. Sam's first Cobra single, "All Your Love," features a nifty recurring riff and mournful rhythm playing that underscores Sam's tortured vocals. The B-side, "Love Me With A Feeling," rolls with a foot-shuffling beat, Sam's rapid-fire vibrato driving the song along like a Chuck Berry rocker. Other highlights from the '50s sessions include the rollicking "All My Whole Life," which includes an impressive guitar solo, and "21 Days In Jail," a turbo-charged rockabilly tune with slick fingerwork and Sam's staccato vocals.

After a brief stint in the Army, Sam returned to Chicago in 1960 and signed with the Chief record label. Here Sam's work would turn away from the traditional blues-based material towards a soulful, slicker R & B sound. Sam's guitar playing remained the primary driving force behind songs such as "My Love Is Your Love" and "Blue Light Boogie." A strange pair of instrumentals – "Square Dance Rock, Part One" and "Square Dance Rock, Part Two" – would skew closer to cornpone country, featuring Sam in a six-string duel with slide master and Chief labelmate Earl Hooker.

Magic Sam would continue to play Chicago's West Side throughout the '60s although he wouldn't record his first full-length album until 1967's classic West Side Soul for the Delmark label. A consummate bluesman and major influence on '60s soul and '70s funk, Sam Maghett has never received the respect that he deserved. According to Bill Dahl's excellent liner notes for The Essential Magic Sam, a dynamic performance at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival would prove to be the artist's swan song. He would die shortly thereafter of a heart attack, just as he was reaching a new and potentially larger audience. The Essential Magic Sam preserves the early history of one of the greater talents of the blues. Coupled with his two late-60s Delmark releases, they offer a portrait of the evolution and artistry of this tragically unknown musical giant. (Fuel 2000 Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Essential Magic Sam from Amazon.com)

Against Me! - As The Eternal Cowboy (2003)

As mainstream audiences embrace bands of dubious punk rock merit like Blink-182 and Sum-41 and other alpha-numeric ciphers, the real punk rock kiddies are getting their cheap thrills from old school masters like Rancid, Bad Religion and Pennywise. For music lovers seeking new musical challenges and hardcore jollies, however, the Reverend recommends Against Me! This Gainesville, Florida foursome has been kicking around on the fringes for a while, recording some solid material for their hometown label No Idea and earning a following the old-fashioned way – by playing their collective asses off with no major label financing and little press coverage.

All of that's about to change, methinks, with the release of the band's As The Eternal Cowboy on the larger and well-respected Fat Wreck Chords label. The album is certain to raise the brand's profile and, considering the quality of music on As The Eternal Cowboy, might just spark a bidding war among major label A&R drones with dollar signs in their eyes. Your humble scribe doesn't think that the temptation of filthy lucre will be enough to lure Against Me! away from the band's indie rock roots, tho'. Affirmed leftists with a thinly veiled lyrical agenda, Against Me! are old-fashioned rocking radicals with a new-fangled sound. As The Eternal Cowboy moves the band past notions of three-chord punk, bringing elements of roots rock, blues and even alt-country to play in support of a solid collection of songs guaranteed to blow the dust from your speakers.

Against Me! walk a lyrical barbed-wire tightrope between rock and rhetoric, Tom Gabel's intelligent lyrics adding a personal feel to tried-and-true socio-political polemics. "Turn Those Clapping Hands Into Angry Balled Fists" is a clever take on consumerism and conformity, the average person embracing mediocrity in order to avoid confrontation. The anthemic "Cliche Guevara" is a spirited call for a new revolution, the band crying "there's a lot of things that should be said, so we're hammering six strings, machine gun in audible voices, this is the party we came for" with a violent fervor. "Mutiny On The Electronic Bay" takes its cue from Noam Chomsky, spotlighting fashionable wartime chic for the hypocrisy that it is, concluding that "when an invasion can bring a country to its freedom, then unconsciousness it true happiness..."

"Slurring The Rhythms" mixes metaphors, a traditional rock & road song with stinging guitars and an upbeat tempo standing as a thinly-disguised commentary on the fleeting nature of progress and the brevity of life, the song trailing out with the haunting words "we are never going home." Against Me! handle personal relationships with several songs here, most notably the rapid-fire "You Look Like I Need A Drink" and the country-flavored "Cavalier Eternel," Gabel bringing a fresh perspective to the "beautiful loser" persona that is legend in rock & romance. Throughout As The Eternal Cowboy, Against Me! play like their very lives depend on it, the band tilting at windmills with reckless abandon, guitars screaming and rhythms crashing like hurricane-fueled waves on the shore. Recorded at the legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, the birthplace of rock & roll, As The Eternal Cowboy is a significant musical statement from one of the most exciting young bands in the punk rock world. You'd have to be a real twit to pass this one by on your way to the Good Charlotte section of your local record store. (Fat Wreck Chords)

(Click on the CD cover to buy As The Eternal Cowboy from Amazon.com)

Anti-Flag - The Terror State (2004)

Anti-Flag has never been hesitant about wearing its left-leaning political tendencies on their collective sleeves. Frontman Justin Sane brings a folkie's sensibilities and lyrical sense to the band's musical onslaught, Anti-Flag eschewing empty political rhetoric in favor of a good, old-fashioned, meat-and-taters anarcho-leftist perspective. The Terror State, the latest broadside by the working class heroes from Pittsburgh, hits with all the impact of a high-octane Molotov cocktail looking for a match.

It would be no stretch of the imagination to suggest that Sane and crew won't be voting for Bush next election day, a notion reinforced by The Terror State's opening track, "Turncoat." A sort of "Emporer's New Clothes" recounting of the President's many crimes against humanity, Anti-Flag brand 'W' as a "turncoat, killer, liar, thief." With dynamic vocals and incendiary lyrics backed by three, maybe four explosive chords and a monster beat, the song sets the stage for that which follows. "Rank-And-File" is a call-to-arms for the working man and woman while "Post-War Breakout" is an eerie reading of Woody Guthrie's prophetic tale of a returning soldier. The powerful "Wake Up," its lyrics supported by a fast-n-furious wall-of-sound, is an attempt at shock treatment for the ignorant and uninformed that might just be too damn late to help. "Death Of A Nation" is an anthemic obituary set to scorched earth instrumentation, Sane's passionate vocals bringing an Orwellian clarity to this hardcore dirge.

Free-trade treaties, the war in Iraq, the loss of civil liberties, immigration, corporate welfare and social policies that further the interest of a wealthy minority, all subjects that provide fuel for Anti-Flag's poetic fire. Unlike many political punks, however, Anti-Flag provides justification for their rage, offering suggested reading and contacts to get more information on the issues they sing about.

Musically, Anti-Flag are unabashedly punk, punctuating Sane's intelligent lyrics with a no-frills blend of the Clash and Minor Threat. The Terror State was produced by Rage Against The Machine's guitar wizard Tom Morello, an artist who knows something about mixing politics, protest and powerful music without getting burned. Morello's skilled work on the board adds more punch to Anti-Flag's songs, bringing an undeniable jackhammer dynamic to the band's sound.

It's a dangerous combination, to be sure, mixing erudite, anti-authoritarian lyrics with flammable hardcore punk rock, a tightwire walk that Anti-Flag does well. You can bet that if George W. has an "enemies list" (and do you doubt for a moment that an administration as paranoid as this doesn't have a list?), Justin Sane and crew are marked in red right near the top. With The Terror State, Anti-Flag has drawn a line in the sand and marked its territory with characteristic fire and fervor. There's more to punk rock than Good Charlotte, Hot Topic and cool T-shirts. Raise your I.Q. several notches with Anti-Flag.... (Fat Wreck Chords)

(Click on the CD cover to buy The Terror State from Amazon.com)

Balzac - Out Of The Grave And Into The Dark (2005)

The Japanese punk-rock outfit Balzac, formed in Osaka in 1992, owes a considerable debt to those early Misfits records released by Caroline back during the golden age of punk. The band pursues a familiar horror-rock aesthetic, the members wear their hair in the ubiquitous "devil's lock" style and even have an eerie band logo similar to the Misfits' grinning skull. Balzac has formed a long-standing friendship with the Misfits and has even toured with the band. That being said, however, Balzac is no mere Misfits tribute band, nor are they overly derivative in their musical style. These Osaka crazy men have forged out a distinctive style that is entirely Balzac in nature, and have actually eclipsed their original influence in both number of albums and singles released and in the scope of the music created.

Precious little Balzac music has hit these shores to date, a situation happily rectified by Out Of The Grave And Into The Dark, released