The Reverend's Guide to Record Store Day 2026

For those of you who celebrate the holiday, Record Store Day is rapidly approaching, and if you haven’t scanned the list of available hot wax at least a dozen times by now, what sort of record collector are you? It’s shaping up to be one of the best RSD events in recent memory – sure, there are a bunch of major label retreads, reissues of albums you didn’t want to buy when they were new, and gimmicky picture discs and 3” records (really…this is something we needed?) – but this spring’s sale also includes a bunch of previously-unreleased studio and live gems worth your time and money.

What follows below is the Reverend’s carefully-curated list of Record Store Releases that I’ll be spending my hard-earned coin on buying. There are other titles of merit on this year’s list – your tastes may vary – as well as more than a few albums that I already own on vinyl and/or CD and see no reason to part with a dollar to get the newest and hottest version of such. The below-listed flapjacks are those that I think will provide the most bang for your buck, and to buy every LP here will run you a cool $300+ so if you haven’t been saving your pennies (do they still exist?), well, shame on you… 

Marshall Crenshaw - The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw: 1984-87 (Yep Roc Records)
    Crenshaw is a helluva songwriter and performer, so The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw: 1984-87 promises to be a real banger. Marshall personally dug through his archives to assemble this special vinyl release, which includes unreleased recordings, demo tapes, and live takes recorded during the noted time period that resulted in acclaimed LPs like Downtown, Mary Jane & 9 Others, and Good Evening. The 14-track album includes a bunch of original tunes as well as covers of Gene Pitney’s “Town Without Pity” and Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day,” recorded with Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg of the E Street Band. Fun fact: Crenshaw portrayed Holly in the 1987 Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba, performing Holly’s “Crying, Waiting, Hoping” in the movie and on the soundtrack album. 

The dB’s - Cycles Per Second: US Tour 2024 (Propeller Sound Recordings) 
    Peter Holsapple and the dB’s have enjoyed a modicum of “rediscovery” these past few years, and justifiably so…the band’s power-pop flecked, old school indie rock sound is unique to the dB’s, one of the finest bands from the 1980s ‘college rock’ era. Propeller Sound Recordings reissued the band’s first two albums – 1981’s Stands for deciBels and 1982’s Repercussion – a couple years back, which resulted in a 2024 reunion tour featuring all four original band members (yes, even Chris Stamey!). Cycles Per Second is a document of that tour, a baker’s dozen of classic dB’s tunes including fan faves like “Black and White,” “Love Is For Lovers,” “Lonely Is,” and the scorching “Amplifier.” The album has been pressed on ‘firework splatter’ vinyl for RSD and includes a full-color inset of tour photos.

The Dream Syndicate - Sketches For Medicine Show (Fire Records)
    The Dream Syndicate released a wonderful, deluxe four-CD box set of the band’s 1984 sophomore album Medicine Show late last year, and fans thought that was about all that the archives held for that period of the band’s history. Come Record Store Day 2026, however, a new chapter will be written with Sketches For Medicine Show, a collection of rare recordings circa 1983-84 that includes a handful of rehearsal recordings and live tracks including the band’s unique version of Bob Dylan’s “Knocking On Heaven’s Door” and Bonnie Dobson’s anti-war folk classic “Morning Dew.” Syndicate frontman Steve Wynn has assured fans via social media that none of the seven tracks on Sketches were included on the deluxe box set, so this LP offers all new munchies for your ears. This may also be the rarest of this year’s RSD releases, with only 600 copies distributed regionally.

Freddie King - Feeling Alright: The Complete 1975 Nancy Jazz Pulsation Concerts (Elemental Music)
    There aren’t that many blues releases on this spring’s RSD slate, but this triple-disc Freddie King live set should make up for the lack of quantity with a collection of unparalleled quality. Capturing the legendary blues guitarist performing before 50,000 fans at France’s Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival in October 1975, the album is previously unreleased. Produced by award-winning reissue wizard Zev Feldman, and sourced from original ORTF (Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française) recordings, the discs are pressed on 180-gram vinyl and the title is authorized by King’s estate. The release includes appreciations of the artists from his daughter Wanda King and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons as well as extensive liner notes from music journalist and historian (and a friend of mine) Cary Baker. If a three-LP set is a bit too rich for your bank account, budget-friendly CD and digital versions will be released on April 24th. 

Ngozi Family - Gate Crash ’78 (Now-Again Records)
    This Zamrock stuff scratches a 1970s-era rock ‘n’ roll itch you didn’t know you had, and everything I’ve heard from the Ngozi Family, Paul Ngozi, Chrissy Zebby Tembo, Witch, and other bands from Zambia’s ‘70s rock scene is of uniformly high quality and high energy. Gate Crash ’78 is a long-lost Ngozi Family/Chrissy Zebby Tembo album that was test-pressed but never released back in the day. This is number one on my RSD hit parade, and once you’ve heard guitarist Paul Ngozi, it’ll be high on your list too. Now-Again Records has done an admirable job in documenting this obscure corner of rock ‘n’ roll history, and Gate Crash ’78 carries on the tradition with an eight-page booklet featuring rare photos and details on the Ngozi Family’s amazing history.

The Ramones - Live In San Francisco (Rhino Records)
    Another year and another live Ramones disc hits the shelves – and we have Rhino Records to thank! The tracklists on all these authorized live hubcaps, as well as most of the recent glut of bootleg vinyl, don’t vary by that many songs and, well, they’re the Ramones, so they mostly all deliver the same electrifying tightrope walk of sound. But we fanatics buy ‘em up anyway, like good little lemmings collecting baseball cards, and since this is a long overdue authorized release of the band’s 1979 City Hall Plaza show in San Francisco for the End of the Century tour, we’ll probably buy this one as well. Often bootlegged (notably as City Hall by Bad Joker Records and Live 1977 & 1979 by Live Wire Productions), the legit release offers up 27 songs on two LPs pressed on 140-gram ‘neon pink’ vinyl. 

Runt w/Todd Rundgren - The Necessary Cosmic Frenzy (Rhino Records)
    This is another title high on my “buy” list, the first ever solo performance by rock legend and innovator, Todd Rundgren. Runt was Rundgren’s first band after the Nazz – it was really a solo joint to begin with – and he’d be billed under his own name soon after the release of the lone, self-titled and excellent Runt album in 1970. This live performance from Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios took place on June 30th, 1971 and was broadcast by WMMR-FM radio. Rundgren was backed for the occasion by his future Utopia bandmember “Moogy” Klingman, bassist Stu Wood, guitarist Tom Cosgrove, and drummer Norman “N.D.” Smart. Rundgren would leave Runt in the rearview mirror with the release of the expansive Something/Anything? two-album set in 1972 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Thin Lizzy - Live In Cleveland 1976 (UMR/Vertigo Records)
    After several years spent treading the boards, British hard rock band Thin Lizzy, fronted by an Irish singer, songwriter, and bassist – the musical genius that was Phil Lynott – broke through to stateside audiences in 1976 with a pair of acclaimed albums, Jailbreak and Johnny the Fox. This FM radio broadcast was originally included as part of 2024’s six-disc 1976 box set, broken out here as a stand-alone 2-LP set pressed on transparent vinyl. The May 1976 concert, broadcast on Cleveland’s WMMS-FM, includes most of the songs from Jailbreak as well as a handful of earlier tunes. I have personal knowledge of the depth of WMMS’s tape archives, and if they’re starting to produce these live shows for vinyl reissue, we collectors are in for a treat!      

Honorable Mention (i.e. other groovy RSD releases to consider): Dr. Feelgood’s Oil City Confidential, the soundtrack to director Julien Temple’s 2009 film about the influential 1970s British R&B band; The Gits’ Etcetera, an odds ‘n’ sods collection of rarities and live tracks from the ill-fated but influential punk rock band; The Mooney Suzuki’s People Get Ready, a 25th anniversary reissue of the Detroit sound-adjacent rockers’ classic album with a bonus 1999 concert disc; John Prine’s BBC Sessions, a nine-song collection of material from the acclaimed singer/songwriter’s first two albums, performed live on BBC radio; Terry Callier’s At The Earl of Old Town, a cool live show from the 1970s-era folk/jazz/blues guitarist (who found a modicum of fame in the 1990s in the U.K.); and SRC’s Milestones, the Detroit rocker’s acclaimed sophomore album, a masterful mix of hard rock, prog, and British Invasion influences. 

Archive Review: Steve Wynn & the Marvelous 3’s …tick…tick…tick (2006)

Former Dream Syndicate frontman Steve Wynn has enjoyed a lengthy, distinguished, and sadly uncommercial solo career over the past couple of decades. Unfortunately, critical acclaim doesn’t put food on the table, you can’t wear your good reviews on your back, and making great records won’t necessarily put a roof over your head. Wynn has refused to give up, however, continuing to write and record at an impressive pace, haunting the dark corners of the indie-rock world with his sonic experimentations.

While most of his solo efforts have involved virtual pick-up bands of friends and admirers, for …tick…tick…tick Wynn has pieced together a talented outfit that enjoys a real band chemistry, the trio serving as the perfect foils for Wynn’s ever-wicked artistic vision. With “The Marvelous 3” in tow, Wynn has attempted to “convey the sensation of post-millennium panic” (his words, not mine).

Steve Wynn & the Marvelous 3’s …tick…tick…tick

All in all, I’d say that Wynn accomplished what he set out to do. The songs and performances on …tick…tick…tick are at once both hauntingly beautiful and darkly alluring, the band capable of moving from a whisper to a scream at the speed of a heartbeat. Guitarist Jason Victor’s six-string wails like a wolverine caught in a trap while bassist Dave DeCastro and drummer Linda Pitmon serve up a barn-burning beat behind Wynn’s fluid (and often-echoed) vocals.

The effect is both disconcerting and undeniably charismatic, Wynn and crew masterfully blending anarchic rock ‘n’ roll, chaotic rhythms, jangling psychedelica and folk-influenced lyricism to a powerful conclusion. Wynn’s nuanced wordplay plays across the artist’s usual noir landscapes, dark-hued story-songs and bleak confessional poetry inhabited by loss and confusion, betrayal and frustration in a world of reckless betrayal and helpless romanticism.

It’s heady stuff, to be sure, but Wynn has pulled off this delicate lyrical balancing act more often than not. With a young, hungry band behind him to assist in shaping his unique vision, Wynn has delivered in …tick…tick…tick his best work, arguably, since the Dream Syndicate days. Damn near every song here would sound great on the radio, and if there was any justice in this cold, cruel world (hint…there ain’t none), Steve Wynn & the Marvelous 3 would enjoy massive CD sales and constant radio airplay to go along with the almost-guaranteed critical accolades.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Ready for his coronation, …tick…tick…tick cements Wynn’s status as indie-rock royalty, an artist ripe for rediscovery and appreciation by an audience thirsting for real rock ‘n’ roll cheap thrills. (Down There Records)

Review originally published by Alt.Culture.Guide™, 2006

The Reverend's Favorite Reissues & Archival Albums of 2025

As a child of the '70s, although my musical tastes didn't calcify after the decade like so many of my contemporaries, the exciting and adventuresome music I heard during my teenage years left an indelible imprint on the development of my musical preferences. My purchases of archival and reissue albums tend to be of the classic rock and blues genres, which is why the following list of my favorites in this category for the year tend to lean towards albums released during the 1970s, '80s, and '90s...

A lifelong curmudgeon, I bitch and moan and avoid pricey box set reissues that load multiple discs down with demo tracks and alternate takes...there's a reason why a lot of this stuff remained unreleased for decades and they largely bore me to tears. In many cases, unless a reissue provides a sonic upgrade on the CD or vinyl that I already own, or the value-added inclusion of an unreleased live set, I'll spend my money on graphic novels or music bios instead. But show me a long-lost rock or blues LP from the '60s and I'm all in. 

This year provided a wealth of archival releases, as well as a few surprises like the Dream Syndicate Medicine Show box and previously-unreleased live performances by Galaxie 500, Hüsker Dü, The Meters, and The Ramones. Here are my favorite reissue and archival albums of 2025...

Dream Syndicate - Medicine Show: I Know What You Like box set
Galaxie 500 - CBGB 12.13.88
Buddy Guy - This Is Buddy Guy!
John Lee Hooker - The Standard School Broadcast Recordings
Mississippi John Hurt - Today!
Hüsker Dü - 1985: The Miracle Year
Iron City Houserockers - Blood On the Bricks
Lonnie Johnson - Blues & Ballads
Furry Lewis - Back On My Feet Again
Mississippi Fred McDowell - I Do Not Play No Rock 'n' Roll
The Meters - Live At Great American Music Hall
Montrose - Live 1973-KSAN Radio Session
New Order - Low Life
The Ramones - Live at CBGB, 1977
The Replacements - Let It Be [deluxe]
The Rolling Stones - Black & Blue [deluxe]
Salem 66 - Salt
Sex Pistols - Live In The U.S.A. 1978
Sly & the Family Stone - The First Family: Live At Winchester Cathedral 1967
Spirit - Sea Dream import box set
Talking Heads - Live On Tour 1978
Chrissy Zebby Tembo & The Ngozi Family - I’m Not Made of Iron
Various Artists - Motor City Is Burning: A Michigan Anthology 1965-1972 box set
Various Artists - Rollin' & Tumblin' box set
War - Live In Japan

Links are to That Devil Music album reviews...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CD Review: The Dream Syndicate's Medicine Show 40th Anniversary Box Set (2025)

Dream Syndicate frontman Steve Wynn has been a busy lil’ rock ‘n’ roller over the past couple of years, publishing the first volume of his autobiography (highly recommended!), releasing albums by the Baseball Project (2023’s exquisite, Mitch Easter-produced Grand Salami Time!) and the sublime 2024 solo LP Make It Right. With a little help from producer Pat Thomas, Wynn even found the time to work on this nifty, four-CD deluxe 40th anniversary box set of Dream Syndicate’s 1984 album, Medicine Show that includes everything a Syndicate fanatic might want and/or expect from this period of the enduring band’s career.

Dream Syndicate’s Medicine Show

I’ve always felt that Medicine Show was vastly underrated and too-often overshadowed by the band’s raved-about, Velvet Underground-inspired debut, The Days of Wine and Roses. Medicine Show was Dream Syndicate’s sophomore effort, but also their major label debut, represented here by disc one. Originally produced by Sandy Pearlman (best known for his work with Blue Öyster Cult), Medicine Show was slagged by critics and fair-weather fans alike for being too, well…different sounding (*gasp*) than the band’s debut. Too slick, too well-produced, too, too…you get the picture. 

Never mind that damn near every album Pearlman produced was unfairly assaulted by the music media at the time for some damn reason or another (especially the Clash’s Give ‘Em Enough Rope). Critics disregarded the uncomfortable fact that Pearlman coaxed some pretty good performances from his wards, shining them up for commercial FM radio and doubtful label execs, but leaving enough jagged edges that the listener risked cutting themselves. Aside from the nearly-perfect first three BÖC albums, Pearlman-produced gems include the aforementioned second Clash album, the Dictators’ excellent Manifest Destiny and Bloodbrothers LPs, and Pavlov Dog’s pioneering Pampered Menial and At the Sound of the Bell.

John Coltrane Stereo Blues

The same creative vision that Pearlman brought to the aforementioned titles carried over to Medicine Show, which comes out of left field, cranks up the guitars, and delivers a dense, discordant, and sometimes challenging listen that pushed against the preconceived barriers inherent in ‘80s-era rock ‘n’ roll and opened the door for ‘90s grunge and alternative bands to stroll through with enough street cred to grab major label deals of their own. Sure, it took Wynn’s Velvet Underground obsession to darker, gloomier, and doomier environs, but by unleashing his musical id, it reconfigured the band’s sonic footprint laterally to the left-hand path, but it also expanded his songwriting palette in much the way that I expect that Lou Reed felt after the first VU outing.

I’ve always considered Medicine Show to be Dream Syndicate’s “noir” album and, over the years, have probably listened to it as much or more than any of the band’s other efforts. There are some real bangers in these grooves, songs like “Still Holding On To You,” “Armed With An Empty Gun,” “Bullet With My Name On It,” “The Medicine Show,” and the squonky, wonderful guitar jam “John Coltrane Stereo Blues.” The disc includes three bonus tracks, including both a live version and a studio outtake of “John Coltrane Stereo Blues” as well as a cool solo acoustic performance of the title track. 

This Is Not the New Dream Syndicate Album…Live!

No, the band didn’t hit every bullseye with Medicine Show, and some of their efforts fell short of critics’ expectations, but they took a chance and even if it didn’t sell much at the time, there are many good reasons why we’re still talking about the album 40 years later. It sounds unlike just about anything else released during the decade, and that’s a good thing! The second disc of Medicine Show’s 40th anniversary box includes an expanded version of the band’s This Is Not the New Dream Syndicate Album…Live! five-song EP, also released in 1984, and recorded during the Medicine Show tour. 

The band was more comfortable with the new tunes, and it shows, the box presenting the full WXRT-FM concert in Chicago with two additional tracks, including a killer live take of “The Days of Wine and Roses.” Several other bonus tracks beyond that concert offer various live (1984) versions of “John Coltrane Stereo Blues” (not a problem, as every performance provides new dimensions), “Bullet With My Name On It,” and “Witness” as well as a lo-fi rehearsal outtake of “Weathered and Torn,” a bluesy, Stones-adjacent romp that is easy to imagine Mick singing.

What Is And What Should Never Be

Disc three really amps up the excitement with “The Road To Medicine Show,” a previously-unreleased live set from CBGB’s in NYC circa 1983 that offers pre-Medicine Show workouts of several songs that would feature on the LP as well as a muscular, feedback-drenched cover of the last good Eric Clapton song, “Let It Rain,” that sounds absolutely Goth. Wynn’s vocals here more closely resemble Robert Smith than ol’ “Slowhand,” the song also offering up some tasty guitarplay. A reverent take on Bonnie Dobson’s folk classic “Morning Dew” starts out with just Wynn’s plaintive vocals before the guitars razorblade their way through the dense mix to noisily punctuate the song’s lyrics. Disc four, “What Is And What Should Never Be,” is an odds ‘n’ sods collection of previously unreleased live tracks from 1983/84 and includes a couple of rehearsal tapes with fan favorite bassist Kendra Smith. 

There are some surprises here, but only a few that truly excite, and the sound quality varies from venue to venue. A somber cover of Dale Hawkin’s “Susie Q” is a little too staid for my tastes, but the band’s take on “Evil Ways” incorporates jazzier vibes than the band’s usual fare, falling somewhere in-between Willie Bobo’s 1967 original and Santana’s better-known recording a couple of years later. BÖC’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper” is a cheeky choice in cover songs, considering the band’s (then) future association with Pearlman, but the performance’s revved-up and cacophonic delivery (Austin TX version) is both fiercer and punkier than the original. Their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Born On the Bayou” is swamp-blues at its finest – dense, murky, unpredictable – you can almost smell the Spanish Moss growing on the Cypress trees. 

  

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

My feelings about Medicine Show aside, the album’s 40th anniversary box provides a lot of bang for your buck – four CDs and 42 songs, including two discs of completely unreleased Dream Syndicate material – all for less than $14 per CD (with shipping from Bandcamp), which is a heck of a better deal than Springsteen’s recent Tracks II box set (seven CDs, $231 on Amazon, $33 per CD?!!). Packaged in a hardback book with liner notes, band commentary, and lots of photos, it’s truly a “deluxe” presentation. 

For the dedicated Dream Syndicate fan, Steve Wynn and Pat Thomas have done an impressive job of documenting the band’s history circa 1983-84 with this expansive collection of studio and live recordings, their efforts resurrecting an underrated album from potential obscurity and extending the band’s growing legacy with a wealth of electrifying live tracks. The Medicine Show 40th anniversary box is what all retrospective reissues should aspire to… (Down There Records, released September 17th, 2025)   

Buy the Medicine Show box set via Bandcamp!

 

 

Short Rounds: Datura4, Dream Syndicate, Drivin' N' Cryin', Bryan Ferry, Game Theory & Supersuckers (2020)

New album releases in 150 words or less…

Datura4 – West Coast Highway Cosmic (Alive Records)
Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t dead, it’s just been hiding “down under” in the form of Australia’s electrifying Datura4. Fronted by the legendary Dom Mariani (DM3), the band’s fourth long-player continues Datura4’s pursuit of the hard rock Holy Grail, a soaring blend of modernized psychedelic-rock with jagged veins of blues, boogie, and throwback ‘70s-inspired sounds delivered with all the subtlety of an angry Tsunami. The Moog-storm that opens the title track deceptively leads into a droning rocker with prog overtones while “A Darker Shade of Brown” is a delightfully bluesy bit o’ dinosaur-rock with plodding rhythms and screaming guitar. The guitar-driven “Rule My World” is a greasy slab o’ booger-rock and the chiming guitars and spry keyboards of the melodic “Give” deliver a superb rock ‘n’ roll listening experience. Rather than sit and pine for those classic rock days of yore, pick up on what Datura4 is laying down right now! Grade: A   BUY!

Dream Syndicate – The Universe Inside (Anti- Records)
Steve Wynn and his ‘Merry Pranksters’ have delivered a masterwork with The Universe Inside. Really just a single, lysergic-fueled performance “cut-up” a la Burroughs into “songs,” the album redefines the quantum possibilities of psychedelic-rock for the modern age. These aren’t songs so much as magickal incantations. The low-fi vibe provided the mesmerizing “The Regulator” belies the overall karmic weight of the 20-minute jam while “The Longing,” at seven-and-a-half minutes the shortest song here, offers a dreamy pop experience that will have you skipping on clouds. “Apropos of Nothing” is a delightful Gregorian-chants-meets-Indian-raga trip while the rumbling bass lines and exotic rhythms of “Dusting Off the Rust” provide a whirling dervish-level ecstasy. Album-closing “The Slowest Rendition” is a peyote-tinged fever-dream of instrumental cacophony and muted vocals. The Universe Inside is comprised of aggressively beautiful music hiding in plain sight beneath your consciousness, offering hours of discovery of its many sonic landscapes. Grade: A+   BUY!

Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ – Live the Love Beautiful Live (Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ Records)
The only thing better than a new Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ album is a new LIVE D’n’C album! The Atlanta-based Southern rock lifers released Live the Love Beautiful, their first full-length LP in ten years, in mid-2019. Live the Love Beautiful Live documents an onstage performance of the album, including a smokin’ cover of the Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” released as a digital single with proceeds going to the family of the late Jeff Wall of Guadalcanal Diary. D’n’C stalwarts Kevn Kinney and Tim Nielsen have kept the band going for 30 years, and you either get ‘em or you don’t…Kinney is an imaginative songwriter with an unusual voice, and the band’s eclectic mix of rock, country, folk, and blues is on full display here. As such, this live set is unlikely to attract many new listeners, but represents a welcome addition to the band’s catalog for longtime fans nonetheless. Grade: B+   BUY!

Bryan Ferry – Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 1974 (BMG Music)
There was a time I would have paid to hear Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry sing the phonebook; this vintage live recording dates back to those days. Recorded in December 1974, months after the release of Ferry’s second solo LP, Another Time, Another Place, this set includes a handful of songs from that album and a few from his 1973 solo debut, These Foolish Things. Roxy Music was still very much an ongoing thing, and Ferry is backed here by bandmates like guitarists Phil Manzanera and John Porter, multi-instrumentalist Eddie Jobson, and drummer Paul Thompson, and if they only revisit a single Roxy cut (“A Really Good Time”) they collectively have a lot of fun on raucous covers like “Sympathy For the Devil” and “Tracks of My Tears.” Ferry’s voice is an acquired taste, especially on “standards” like “The ‘In’ Crowd,” but if you dug him then, you’ll dig this now! Grade: B+   BUY!

Game Theory – Across the Barrier of Sound: Postscript (Omnivore Recordings)
Having restored the catalog of beloved ‘80s indie-rock darlings Game Theory with a series of bonus-packed CD reissues, Omnivore Recordings rewards fans with a big fat kiss in Across the Barrier of Sound: Postscript. Comprised of studio recordings from the final incarnation of the band (which included Michael Querico of the Three O’ Clock) along with Scott Miller’s home recordings, live performances, and demos, Across the Barrier of Sound boasts of nearly two-dozen unreleased tracks in providing the final word on Game Theory. Although Miller’s songwriting genius was clearly influenced by touchstones like the Beatles, Big Star, et al songs like the buoyantly folksy “Idiot Son” or the whimsically beautiful “Inverness” display an originality and maturity of vision that Miller would take with him into his second chapter with the Loud Family (reissues, please?!). Covers of the Fab Four, Todd Rundgren, Big Star, and Eno only sweeten the pot here. Grade: A   BUY!

Supersuckers – Play That Rock ‘n’ Roll (Acetate Records)
Play That Rock ‘n’ Roll, the turbocharged new slab o’ red-hot wax from Eddie Spaghetti and his droogs in Supersuckers, reminds of bands of yore like Zodiac Mindwarp and Hanoi Rocks. Songs like “Ain’t Gonna Stop” and “You Ain’t the Boss of Me” evince the gonzo energy of the Love Reaction while “Bringing It Back” and “Die Alone” perfectly capture the ramshackle sound of Finland’s favorite sons (meanwhile, “Last Time Around” channels Motorhead). Spaghetti’s a rock lifer, so he manages to imbue each performance with his unique, Zen-like dedication to blowing the roof off of every studio, rehearsal space, and concert hall he conquers. Eddie’s six-string razor cuts and burns like a laser while the band crashes and bashes behind him with reckless abandon, creating a joyous din. There’s nothing in these grooves but pure, unvarnished rock ‘n’ roll, greasier than a chicken wing and crackling with high-voltage cheap thrills. Grade: B+   BUY!


Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, March 2020: The Bluefields, Dave Clark Five, Marshall Crenshaw, Gwil Owen, Gary Moore & Watermelon Slim
 
Short Rounds, February 2020: Beach Slang, The Bar-Kays, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Delaney & Bonnie, Mott the Hoople & Television Personalities
 
Short Rounds, January 2020: The Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dana Gillespie, Manfred Mann, Mick Ronson & An A-Squared Compilation
 
Short Rounds, December 2019 (Holiday Gift Suggestions): Cindy Lee Berryhill, Black Pumas, Alice Cooper, Robyn Hitchcock & Andy Partridge, Handsome Dick Manitoba, The Muffs, Harry Nilsson, The Rosalyns & Bobby Rush 

New Music Monthly: April 2020 releases

Hope that everybody has been staying safe, staying indoors, and listening to a bunch of music! The pandemic crisis has impacted album release dates and distribution, so while the list below is current it could change at any moment and you might have trouble finding some of these titles on their release date. There's a lot of great new music, too, including albums from Dream Syndicate, Lucinda Williams, Thundercat, the Strokes, and many more! No matter your taste in music, there's something here for everybody... 

Release dates are subject to change and nobody tells me when they do. If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy!

APRIL 3
The Claudettes - High Times In the Dark   BUY!
Gentle Giant - Acquiring the Taste [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Gentle Giant - Gentle Giant [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Gentle Giant - Octopus [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Gentle Giant - Three Friends [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Steve Goodman - Live '69   BUY!
The Monkees - The Mike & Micky Show Live   BUY!
Thundercat - It Is What It Is   BUY!
Various Artists - Stone Crush: Memphis Modern Soul 1977-1987   BUY!
Rick Wakeman & The English Rock Ensemble - The Red Planet   BUY!
M. Ward - Migration Stories   BUY!

APRIL 10
Ayreon - Electric Castle Live and Other Tales   BUY!
Dream Syndicate - The Universe Inside   BUY!
The Gladiators - Serious Thing [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Joe Satriani - Shapeshifting   BUY!
The Strokes - The New Abnormal   BUY!

APRIL 17
Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous   BUY!
Danzig - Danzing Sings Elvis   BUY!
The Nighthawks - Trying To Get To You   BUY!
Ron Sexsmith - Hermitage   BUY!

APRIL 24
The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form   BUY!
Brendan Benson - Dear Life   BUY!
Robby Krieger - The Ritual Begins At Sundown   BUY!
Trivium - What the Dead Men Say   BUY!
Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels   BUY!

Album of the Month: Not just one album this month, but rather four long overdue vinyl reissues of the first four albums from prog-rock legends Gentle Giant! The British band was right in the fray of early '70s progressive rock, and if they didn't get the respect of King Crimson or sell as many platters as Yes or ELP, these four LPs – 1970's self-titled debut, 1971's Acquiring the Taste, 1972's Three Friends and Octopus – were nevertheless innovative, ground-breaking works that set the standard for prog-rock during the decade and introduced the rock world to the immense talents of guitarist Gary Green, keyboardist Kerry Minnear, and the skilled multi-instrumentalist Shulman brothers (Derek, Phil & Ray). These albums have gone in and out-of-print on CD through the years, but these deluxe vinyl reissues are a welcome addition to the prog fan's collection!  

New Music Monthly: May 2019 Releases

April showers are history, and May is gonna break the bank with more hot new music than you can shake your debit card at! Rockers can rejoice with albums by Bad Religion, Dream Syndicate, Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul, Sammy Hagar, Sebadoh, and a whole lot more. Fans of blues, soul, and R&B music will find a lot to like with new music by talents like Mavis Staples, Southern Avenue, the Cash Box Kings, Jimmie Vaughan, Duke Robillard, and Albert Castiglia as well as a red-hot live set by Joe Louis Walker and an archive release by Johnny Shines...and don't forget to check out the debut album from blues newcomer Christone "Kingfish" Ingram!

Like reggae/dub? Then check out the Adrian Sherwood-produced LP by the legendary Lee "Scratch" Perry and a new set from Steel Pulse. Throw in archival releases like a deluxe multi-disc version of British rock legends Be-Bop Deluxe's Futurama album, a multi-platter Traffic vinyl box set, and more affordable releases by Lee Moses and D.O.A. and May is going to be a great month for music lovers! 

If you’re interesting in buying an album, just hit the ‘Buy!’ link to get it from Amazon.com...it’s just that damn easy! Your purchase puts valuable ‘store credit’ in the Reverend’s pocket that he’ll use to buy more music to write about in a never-ending loop of rock ‘n’ roll ecstasy!

MAY 3
Bad Religion - Age of Unreason   BUY!
Be-Bop Deluxe - Futurama [deluxe box set]   BUY!
Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes - End of Suffering   BUY!
D.O.A. - 1978 [singles & unreleased tracks]   BUY!
Dream Syndicate - These Times   BUY!
Editors - The Blanck Mass Sessions   BUY!
L7 - Scatter the Rats   BUY!
Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul - Summer of Sorcery   BUY!
Carla Olson & Todd Wolfe - The Hidden Hills Sessions   BUY!
Johnny Shines - The Blues Came Falling Down, Live 1973   BUY!
Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride   BUY!

MAY 10
A.A. Bondy - Enderness   BUY!
Clinic - Wheeltappers and Shunters   BUY!
Daddy Long Legs - Lowdown Ways   BUY!
Sammy Hagar & the Circle - Space Between   BUY!
Meat Beat Manifesto - Opaque Couché    BUY!
Southern Avenue - Keep On   BUY!
Mavis Staples - We Get By   BUY!
Joe Louis Walker - Viva Las Vegas Live [CD & DVD]   BUY!

MAY 17
Cash Box Kings - Hail To the Kings!   BUY!
Paul Gilbert - Behold Electric Guitar   BUY!
Imperial Wax - Gatswerk Saboteurs   BUY!
Interpol - A Fine Mess EP   BUY!
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram - Kingfish   BUY!
The National - I Am Easy To Find   BUY!
Duke Robillard - Ear Worms   BUY!
Steel Pulse - Mass Manipulation   BUY!
Traffic - The Studio Albums 1967-1974 [vinyl box set]   BUY!
Jimmie Vaughan - Baby, Please Come Home    BUY!

MAY 24
Black Mountain - Destroyer   BUY!
Albert Castiglia - Masterpiece
Adam Holt - Kind of Blues
Morrissey - California Son   BUY!
Lee Moses - How Much Longer Must I Wait? Singles & Rarities 1965-1972   BUY!
Sebadoh - Act Surprised   BUY!

MAY 31
Duff McKagan - Tenderness [w/Shooter Jennings]   BUY!
Lee "Scratch" Perry - Rainford [produced by Adrian Sherwood]   BUY!
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - And Now For the Whatchamacalit   BUY!
Soundwalk Collective & Patti Smith - The Peyote Dance   BUY!

Album of the Month: There can only be one "album of the month," and while May offers up lots of choices for this honor, the Rev has to go with Little Steven's Summer of Sorcery. It's the E Street legend's first collection of new music in two decades. Summer of Sorcery features a dozen Van Zandt originals, including one song revisited from his Revolution album, an outtake from the Lilyhammer score, and ten new songs written during Little Steven's Soulfire tour. Van Zandt was joined in the studio by his road-tested touring band and you can get a taste of Summer of Sorcery via the videos below...

Short Rounds: Tommy Castro, Gary Clark Jr, R. Stevie Moore, Jason Ringenberg, 3x4 (2019)

New album releases in 150 words or less…

Tommy Castro & the Pain Killers – Killin’ It Live (Alligator Records)
Twice-named “B.B. King Entertainer of the Year” by The Blues Foundation, Tommy Castro is one of the most popular artists on the blues scene today. The man’s immense talents as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist are the primary reason for his success, but every aspect of Castro’s music comes alive onstage with each electrifying, crowd-pleasing performance. Castro and his band the Pain Killers kick out the jams with Killin’ It Live, their first live disc, a ten-track barn-burner with a setlist spanning Castro’s lengthy career that delivers a red-hot selection of blues, rock, soul, and R&B. Castro commands the spotlight, but individual band members also get a chance to shine on songs like “Make It Back To Memphis,” “Calling San Francisco,” and a deft cover of Buddy Miles’ classic “Them Changes.” Nothing’s as good as witnessing Tommy Castro perform in person, but Killin’ It Live is the next best thing. Grade: A   BUY!

Gary Clark Jr. – This Land (Warner Bros. Records)
I’ve long been a fan and critical supporter, but I find Gary Clark Jr.’s This Land somewhat of a disappointment. Clark has rightfully been considered a musical visionary, pushing beyond hidebound blues traditions to incorporate elements of soul and hip-hop into his genre-busting sound, Clark’s masterful performances boosted by his incendiary guitar playing and evocative vocals. When it works – as with the title track’s powerful anti-racism screed, the throwback soul of “I Got My Eyes On You,” or the rollicking, rocking “Gotta Get Into Something” – Clark’s muse serves him well. But far too often here, Clark’s blustery, inventive fretwork just isn’t enough to balance out the stretched-too-thin experimental songwriting and awkward artistic flirtations with jazz, funk, and cod-reggae mixed among his modern blues and old-school soul jams. For the first time in his stellar career, the misses far outweigh the hits on Clark’s This Land. Grade: C+   BUY!

R. Stevie Moore – Afterlife (Bar None Records)
Lo-fi pioneer and rock ‘n’ roll lifer R. Stevie Moore has been as prolific as one person could possibly be, releasing literally hundreds of albums over the last 50+ years, both D.I.Y. efforts and through independent labels worldwide. Moore ventured into a professional studio to record Afterlife, an inspired collection of new treasures and well-worn gems all delivered in his indomitable and unique pop-rock style. Moore is joined by fellow travelers like Ariel Pink, Jason Falkner, and Lane Steinberg and long-time friend Irwin Chusid co-produced Afterlife, but it’s entirely Moore’s show. Songs like the breathless “Irony,” the Beach Boys-styled pop-psych of “Here Comes Summer Again,” or the skewed-melodicism of “Too Old (To Fall In Love)” showcase Moore’s lofty vocals, underrated guitar playing, and sly songcraft. Too eccentric for the big leagues, Moore’s poetic lyricism and visionary musicianship has created a legacy that will nevertheless influence artists for years to come. Grade: A   BUY!

Jason Ringenberg – Stand Tall (Courageous Chicken Records)
After a productive songwriting residency at Sequoia National Park in 2018, Jason & the Scorchers’ frontman Jason Ringenberg recorded Stand Tall, the singer’s first solo album since 2004’s critically-acclaimed Empire Builders. Wandering around the Sierra Nevada Mountains may have sparked Ringenberg’s restless creative muse, but the raucous instrumentation provided breakneck rockers like “God Bless the Ramones” and “John the Baptist Was A Real Humdinger” are pure vintage Jason. Longtime fans will love songs like the Civil War tale “I’m Walking Home” or “John Muir Stood Here,” a tribute to the naturalist’s contributions to the American landscape, and the singer’s cover of Dylan’s “Farewell Angelina” is spot-on with its wistful delivery. The raucous, Celtic-tinged instrumental title track may set the stage for Stand Tall, but it’s Jason’s whip-smart, erudite storytelling and rowdy country-rock soundtrack that drives the sound of the album. Grade: A   BUY!

Various Artists – 3x4 (Yep Roc Records)
The concept is simple but brilliant – the cream of the 1980s-era L.A. “Paisley Underground” bands (The Bangles, The Three O’Clock, The Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade) – each record 3 songs by their counterparts (3x4, geddit?). The results are every bit as good as you might have hoped…the Bangles bring fierce gravitas to Steve Wynn’s moody “That’s What You Always Say” and Dream Syndicate return the favor with an otherworldly take of the Bangles’ “Hero Takes A Fall.” Rain Parade shines with their shimmering, psych-drenched reading of Michael Quercio’s “As Real As Real” and the Three O’Clock knocks it out of the park with their harmonic caress of Rain Parade’s “What She’s Done To Your Mind.” There’s really not a fumble in the bunch, proving just how talented and creative these bands were in the first place (and remain). Some 30+ years down the road, these bands are still making heavenly music. Grade: A   BUY!


Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, February 2019: Pete Berwick, Big Star, Ted Drozdowski, Walter Trout & Watermelon Slim
Short Rounds, January 2019: Badfinger, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Billy Bremner, Dave Davies & Midnight Oil
Short Rounds, December 2018: Doug Deming, Tom Guerra, Handsome Jack, Tom Morello, NRBQ & Unicorn

Steve Wynn reissues coming from Omnivore Recordings

For much of the decade of the 1980s, Dream Syndicate was the leading light of the “Paisley Underground” scene in L.A. Fronted by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Steve Wynn, the band were critical darlings, and although they released but a handful of albums during their first run at the brass ring (The Days of Wine and Roses being a bona fide classic of the indie-rock era), they would be a major influence on bands to follow.

When the band broke up in wake of the release of 1988’s Ghost Stories, Wynn set out on a solo career that is still going strong some 30+ years later. Wynn launched his career with the release of 1990’s critically-acclaimed Kerosene Man album, following it up a couple of years later with the equally-excellent Dazzling Display. Both albums have been in-and-out-of-print over the years, but on April 27th, 2018 Omnivore Recordings will reissue both discs as deluxe expanded editions.

Kerosene Man offered suffering Dream Syndicate fans eleven new original songs, which Wynn recorded with a little help from friends like Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano, D.J. Bonebrake of X, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, and former Dream Syndicate bandmate Mark Walton. The album introduced Wynn as a significant solo artist and displayed new facets to his songwriting and performing skills. The album has been expanded with six live tracks culled from the rare promotional LP Straight to the Swapmeet: Legendary Authorized Bootleg.

Wynn writes in the new liner notes for Kerosene Man, “sure, I was nervous. I had spent most of my adult life making music with the Dream Syndicate – a very good, successful band, with musicians I still considered very good friends. Bands break up because the members hate each other, or because nobody cares, or because someone in the band joins the Rolling Stones, or something. That wasn’t the case with us. I just wanted to try something different. I wanted to play different kinds of music, make new sounds, play with new people. I wasn’t running away from anything. I was just running towards something new.”

Released two years after his solo debut, Wynn’s Dazzling Display also featured talented friends like Vicki Peterson of the Bangles, Peter Buck of R.E.M., and Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of the Turtles and the Mothers of Invention). The expanded edition of the album also includes five rare live bonus tracks. The reissue versions were both overseen by Wynn himself.

Writes Wynn, “I’ve had the chance to revisit Dazzling Display in the course of writing these liner notes and putting together this reissue and, as is often the case, time has brought its merits into focus. Here’s the bottom line. It’s a really fun record. It was made with a fan’s enthusiasm as a reflection of the things that made me happy and got me excited in 1991. It may not have been the right record for its time and it may not have been the right record for this particular recording artist. But it sure feels good to listen to it now.”

Buy the CDs from Amazon.com:
Steve Wynn’s Kerosene Man
Steve Wynn’s Dazzling Display

Kerosene Man track listing:
1. Tears Won’t Help
2. Carolyn
3. The Blue Drifter
4. Younger
5. Under The Weather
6. Here On Earth As Well
7. Something To Remember Me By
8. Killing Time
9. Conspiracy Of The Heart
10. Kerosene Man
11. Anthem
12. Younger *
13. Something To Remember Me By *
14. Graveyard Train *
15. Tell Me When It’s Over *
16. Burn *
17. The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Alter *

Dazzling Display track listing:
1. Drag
2. Tuesday
3. When She Comes Around
4. A Dazzling Display
5. Halo
6. Dandy In Disguise
7. Grace
8. As It Should Be
9. Bonnie And Clyde
10. 405
11. Close Your Eyes
12. Light Of Hope
13. Kool Thing *
14. Boy In The Bubble *
15. Conspiracy Of The Heart *
16. Watching The River Flow *
17. Crazy Feeling *

* Bonus live tracks