Rock ‘n’ Roll Farm Report: Collage, The Exploding Hearts, Los Straitjackets, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Paul Stanley (December 2006)

December 2006

The “Rock ‘n’ Roll Farm Report” was a short-lived review column that ran on our Alt.Culture.Guide™ website for almost a year until we closed the site, not due to lack of readers, but from lack of time and money to continue the project. Still, as these columns show, we reviewed a diverse range of music...

COLLAGE – Changes
Further proof that progressive rock is a worldwide phenomenon, Poland’s Collage is one of the most innovative and interesting bands in the genre. Formed in 1985 by students of the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, the band released its first album, Basnie, in 1990. It was with the release of their 1993 sophomore effort, Nine Songs of John Lennon, which features Collage re-imagining classic Beatles and Lennon solo songs as exotic prog-rock compositions, that the band really caught on with audiences from Europe to Asia. They followed up that album with the melodic, pop-oriented Moonshine in 1994.
    Originally released in 1995, Changes revisits Collage material circa 1985 through 1992 with new vocalist Robert Amirian (who sung on Moonshine), including re-recorded songs from Basnie and previously unreleased songs. Even with lyrics sung in Polish, there is no denying the power of the music. Guitarist Mirek Gil is an inventive and skilled six-string maestro, while the rest of the band weaves a dense, multi-textured tapestry of sound behind Amirian’s lofty and passionate vocals. More than merely prog, Collage produce art-rock of the highest degree, dreamy and mesmerizing music that demands that the listener pay attention. Highly recommended for fans of the Flower Kings or Spock’s Beard, Collage is guaranteed to provide the same thrill of musical adventure as those legendary bands. (Metal Minds/MVD Audio)

THE EXPLODING HEARTS – Shattered
One of the most exciting and promising young bands to hit the scene in a generation, the Exploding Hearts literally came and went in a flash. The band released its excellent debut album, Guitar Romantic, in early 2003, the disc showcasing a brilliant mix of ‘60s-styled garage rock and vintage ‘70s power-pop, influenced by ‘80s-era punk and UK rock. Guitar Romantic was well-received by both critics and the ever-critical punk community, and the Exploding Hearts became a big draw on the west coast club circuit. In July 2003, however, fate struck in the form of tragic accident that took the lives of band members Adam Cox, Matt Fitzgerald, and Jeremy Gage.
    In a fitting tribute to the band, Dirtnap Records has assembled the appropriately named Shattered from the odds and ends of the band’s too damn brief career. Shattered collects the band’s early (hard-to-find) singles, various demos, unreleased songs, and alternative mixes from Guitar Romantic under one roof. The album offers a glimpse at a band that had the potential to become really big, one that drew its influences from a myriad of impressive sources, forging a distinctive and electric sound that was entirely its own. Shattered stands well on its own merits as a highly entertaining rock ‘n’ roll collection; coupled with the essential Guitar Romantic, it bookends the legacy of this fine band. Discover them now, boys and girls, ‘cause you’ll be paying mucho dinero for these recordings in ten years or so when the Exploding Hearts become a much-coveted cult band. (Dirtnap Records)         

LOS STRAITJACKETS – Twist Party
Twenty-something years ago, when guitarists Danny Amis and Eddie Angel launched a surf-rock band called the Straitjackets and began playing the honky-tonks and rock clubs of Nashville, who would have believed that these guys would still be grinding it out here in the new millennium? Yet here they are, Mexican wrestling masks intact, hooking up with vocalist/saxmaniac “Kaiser” George Miller for Twist Party. Taking their inspiration from the early ‘60s dance craze, Twist Party finds Miller and the Straitjackets pounding out 16 infectious tunes, all with a “twist” dance theme.
    Of course, this is the kind of riff-driven, tremolo-fed, Dick Dale-inspired soundtrack that the band can really sink its teeth into. From the hilarious “Twistin’ Gorilla” and the soulful “Twistin’ Out In Space” to the B-movie horror-flick theatrics of “All Back To Drac’s,” these tunes rock with a joy de vivre that transcends the ultra-cool retro-rock vibe that is the band’s trademark. Twist Party comes packaged with a bonus DVD, providing visual dance lessons courtesy of the beautiful and, apparently, “world famous” burlesque trio the Pontani Sisters. Somehow, I think that Chubby Checker would approve… (Yep Roc Records)

ME FIRST AND THE GIMME GIMMES – Love Their Country
You’d think that after five albums that this joke would have gotten tired, run its course, and been discarded. Not on your life, pal! The premise is simple, really – punk rock royalty (members of NoFX, Lagwagon and No Use For A Name) get together in the studio to torture other people’s songs. To date, the Gimme Gimme boys have tackled show tunes, R&B classics, and pop music, and with Love Their Country, they give the punk treatment to Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and even the Dixie Chicks. Funny thing is, the gimmick still works ‘cause the guys have a genuine fondness for the material that they reinvent.
    This means that they have a hell of a lot of fun while punking up such inherently country songs as “(Ghost) Riders In the Sky” and Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” (tilting towards Celtic punk here). Other highlights on Love Their Country are the blazing cover of Dolly’s classic “Jolene,” a metallic interpretation of the Eagles’ “Desperado,” and an almost joyous reading of Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” Always good for a laugh or two and a half-hour’s entertainment, you can never go wrong with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. (Fat Wreck Chords)
 

PAUL STANLEY – Live To Win
The problem with Live To Win, Kiss frontman Paul Stanley’s first solo effort in nearly three decades, isn’t in the uber-slick production afforded these cheesy slices of nerf-metal composed with help from lite-rock scribe Desmond Child. No, the problem is in the high expectations afforded the legendary frontman of one of rock’s larger-than-life bands. Whereas Kiss managed to wrestle ‘70s metal from the grip of stoned proto-slacker adults and deliver it back into the greasy hands of stoned proto-slacker teenagers where it belonged, Stanley does little on Live To Win to challenge the sluggish new millennium musical status quo. The singer’s pipes are in fine form, Stanley’s vox on tunes like “Wake Up Screaming” and the title cut amazingly supple considering 30+ years of hard rock histrionics.
    Although Stanley would never be mistaken for, say, for Frankie Marino, his guitar playing is often underrated and overshadowed by standard Kiss theatrics; on Live To Win he delivers a passable performance as a modern rock axeman. What troubles me, perhaps, is that provided the opportunity (and budget) to create any sort of recording that his heart desired, Stanley chose to choke up the potential of Live To Win with creeping mediocrity and tortured cliché. When the album shoots for the moon – as it does with the anthemic “Bulletproof” or the soaring “Where Angels Dare” (with guitarist John 5) – Live To Win fulfills its promise. Otherwise, it’s mostly inoffensive and mildly entertaining filler. Kiss fans be warned…this Paul Stanley album has very little in common with his work in that great band, but it stands well enough on its own. (New Door/Universal)

The View On Pop Culture: Los Straitjackets, Witness U.K., Alice Cooper, Moses Avalon's Secrets Of Negotiating A Record Contract (2001)

V1.13

It’s an established fact among experts in these sorts of things that Los Straitjackets have long been the coolest psychotronic surf guitar band in the known universe. Clad in Mexican wrestling masks, these mutant offspring of an unholy marriage of Dick Dale and Joey Ramone have kicked out four incredible albums of surf-garage-rockabilly instrumentals since 1995. With album number five the fantastic foursome hit upon a novel idea – why not add vocals to the songs?

They do just that on Sing Along with Los Straitjackets (Yep Roc Records), enlisting the help of accomplished vocal technicians like Raul Malo of the Mavericks, Leigh Nash of Sixpence None The Richer, Dave Alvin, Allison Moorer, Exene Cervenka of X, and many others. The result is a glorious collection of cover tunes, Los Straitjackets providing the power and various singers contributing the finesse to classic rock, pop, and country material like Roy Orbison’s “Down the Line,” Jessi Colter’s “I Ain’t the One” and Scooter Davis’ “The End of the World.” Guitarists Danny Amis and Eddie Angel blaze like a house afire while beatmeisters Peter Curry and Jimmy Lester hold down the bottom line behind folks like the Rev. Horton Heat, Big Sandy and Nick Lowe. The hippest CD you could buy this year, Sing Along with Los Straitjackets cements the reputation of these maniac musicians as the baddest surf-rocking daddios ever!

The recipients of the biggest British music press hype since Oasis recorded their first demo tape, Witness U.K. have lived up to every compliment thrown their way. With their second album, “Under A Sun” (MCA Records) they seem to be poised to break through to a stateside audience unaware of the furor the band has created in their homeland. Treading the same introspective folk-rock vein as R.E.M., who Witness U.K. is often compared to, the band also incorporates influences as diverse as Tim Buckley, Van Morrison, and Neil Young into a distinctive sound. Beautifully crafted songs like “Here’s One For You” and “Dividing Line” feature singer Gerard Starkie’s powerful and engaging vocals. Delicious harmonies, multi-layered guitars and a dense rhythmic undercurrent match the band’s thoughtful lyrics. Radio-friendly, intelligent, and charismatic, “Under A Sun” shows that Witness U.K. is much more than the typical British pop band.

Rock legend Alice Cooper never really went away, you know – he’s been busy recording albums, performing live and inspiring dozens of lesser artists. Like many aging rockers, the major labels want nothing to do with Cooper, who still commands a sizeable following even if he can’t move the multi-Platinum™ numbers that a copycat like Marilyn Manson can. The five families’ ignorance is our loss, however, ‘cause with the indie effort Dragontown (Spitfire Records), Cooper delivers his best solo effort since Welcome To My Nightmare. Dragontown kicks off with the unrelenting “Triggerman,” an ultra-cool tune that, in a better world, would dominate FM radio. From there Cooper jumps into a collection of songs that portray a rock ‘n’ roll purgatory where Jim Morrison, John Lennon and Elvis Presley rub elbows with disgraced nuns and psychotic soldiers in tunes like “Sex, Death And Money” and “Disgraceland.” Cooper’s theatrical style and macabre vocals are perfectly suited for the nightmarish imagery of his lyrics while unrelenting instrumentation both cuts wide swaths of destruction and jabs precisely like some manic musical sword duel. After thirty-plus years, Alice Cooper still creates music that is both hypnotic and horrifying, Dragontown proof for young metalheads that the old dog still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Every youngster who has ever picked up a guitar or a drumstick has dreamed of achieving fame and fortune playing music – “following that rock ‘n’ roll star” as songwriter Threk Michaels has called it. Out of the thousands of bands that begin this sojourn, some will manage to make a name for themselves on the regional bar circuit while a mere handful ever get the chance sign a recording contract. Without exception, though, every single one of these superstar wannabes is at a disadvantage when dealing with even the smallest of labels. Secrets Of Negotiating A Record Contract (Backbeat Books), the second book by pseudonymous author Moses Avalon, shows that the label always holds all the cards.

An award-winning engineer and producer, Moses Avalon has a unique perspective forged by almost two decades experience in the music biz. If his excellent first book, Confessions of A Record Producer (Backbeat Books) blew the lid off the industry’s dirty little secrets, his latest effort deciphers the various pitfalls, loopholes and booby traps found hidden among the dense legalese used in the typical recording contract. Avalon offers segments of real contracts, explains what the provisions mean in real life and offers an analysis that is educated, informative and tempered by a great deal of experience and humor. Working with several music industry lawyers, Avalon has created the first blueprint available for musicians to negotiate their contract with knowledge and insight. Heed the Reverend’s warning – if you are a musician, no matter the genre – you should carry a copy of Secrets of Negotiating A Record Contract with you until you know it like you do your instrument. Get it now! You’ll thank me later... (View From The Hill, October 2001)

Short Rounds: Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite, The Hangfires, Kursaal Flyers, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, Toots & the Maytals (2020)

New album releases in 200 words or less…

Elvin Bishop & Charlie Musselwhite – 100 Years of Blues (Alligator Records)
Guitar maestro Elvin Bishop and harp wizard Charlie Musselwhite are both bona fide blues legends, and it’s a cryin’ shame that they’ve never made an album together until now. This pairing of two beloved bluesmen, both masters of their craft, is as much of a sure thing as you’ll find in these sorry times, and 100 Years of Blues doesn’t disappoint. The duo’s blending of blues and roots-rock goes down like honey mead, ol’ Charlie handling the heavy lifting on the hardcore blues tunes with his soulful vocals and fluid harmonica-play while ol’ Elvin tackles the humorous material with his usual aplomb, peppering every performance with gut-wrenching tone and texture. For instance, “Birds of A Feather” is an old-school blues jam with plenty of harmonica and guitar boogie; the pointed topical lyrics of “What the Hell” are delivered with Bishop’s slyly disarming vocals and Musselwhite’s instrumental counterpoint; and the instrumental “South Side Slide” gives both musicians a chance to shine while transporting the listener back to Chicago circa 1966. Much like Musselwhite’s recent recordings with Ben Harper, the collaboration of these two seasoned blues veterans makes sense, and if you dig either artist, you’re gonna love 100 Years of Blues! Grade: A   BUY!

The Hangfires – Curly Q (Underground Treehouse Records)
Former Georgia Satellite Dan Baird has played with fellow-traveler Joe Blanton in the Bluefields for a few years, developing an impressive musical chemistry and songwriting shorthand that reveals itself in the grooves of Curly Q. A Covid-quarantine project, the Hangfires is a studio amalgam featuring Baird and Blanton on guitars and vocals, with keyboardist Jen Gunderman and drummer Greg Morrow, all four recording remotely and swapping files online. The result is unbelievably cohesive, the talented foursome making a near-seamless album of joyful noise that blends the twang ‘n’ bang of the Bluefields with the Keef-inspired throwback sound of the Satellites. Unbridled rockers like “The Good Part” or “Mama Thinks I’m Alright” provide the cheap thrills we need in these dark times, with zealous vox and stinging six-strings, while the slower-paced “Wild Imagination” blends soulful vocals with lush instrumentation, slashing fretwork, and thoughtful lyrics. Not just another bunch o’ guitar-happy rawkers, the Hangfires bring hard-won wisdom and intelligence to their lyrics to go alongside their raucous musical soundtrack. R.I.Y.L. The Georgia Satellite, Jason & the Scorchers, Drivin’ ‘N’ Cryin’ Grade: A   BUY!

Kursaal Flyers – Little Does She Know (RPM Records, U.K.)
Pub-rock, that uniquely British sound, never grabbed more than a cult following stateside, with Brinsley Schwarz, Ducks Deluxe, and Dr. Feelgood getting all the love. But Southend’s Kursaal Flyers were one of the better bands of the era, as proved by Little Does She Know, a four-disc, career-spanning box. Including three studio and a live album circa 1975-77, plus the band’s 1988 reunion LP, the set throws in another seventeen bonus tracks, including live performances, that showcase the Flyers’ inspired blend of roots-rock, power-pop, and British R&B that was incredibly progressive at the time. The band’s guitarist, Graeme Douglas, would go onto success with Eddie & the Hot Rods, singer Paul Shuttleworth found solo success, and drummer Will Birch formed world-beating power-poppers the Records before becoming an esteemed music journalist. Pub-rock built the foundation for the punk-rock kiddies of ’77 before melting into obscurity, but the Kursaal’s timeless sound still echoes across the ages. Grade: A   BUY!

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets – Walkabout (Yep Roc Records)
On paper, the pairing of British rock legend Nick Lowe with Mexican wrestling mask-clad American rockers Los Straitjackets seems an odd couple but, in practice, it’s a match made in heaven. The guys in Los Straitjackets have the instrumental chops to capture the nuance and elegance of Lowe’s songs and, with a rock-solid band playing behind him, ol’ Nick can climb out on a limb now and then. Walkabout is a compilation album originally only released in Australia, collecting songs from Lowe’s recent EPs with the Straitjackets, including the swinging, jazz-tinged rockabilly swing of “Tokyo Bay” and a soulful cover of the Bee Gees’ “Heartbreaker.” Los Straitjackets strut their stuff with instrumental surf-rock covers of Lowe gems like “Half A Boy and Half A Man” and “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” A previously-unreleased live version of Nick’s “Heart of the City” closes out Walkabout with a bang! Grade: A   BUY!

Toots & the Maytals – Got To Be Tough (Trojan Jamaica)
Reggae legend Toots Hibbert passed away in September from that damned Covid, but he left us one helluva parting gift. Got To Be Tough is the first Toots & the Maytals album in a decade, but it’s an uncompromising, tough-as-nails collection of roots, rock, and soul that will make your speakers smile in ecstasy. Even at 77, Hibbert’s rough-hewn vocals have diminished little in power or subtlety, and his original songs showcase his underrated songwriting ability. “Drop Off Head” is a chainsaw rocker and the defiant “Just Brutal” matches hurricane-strength vocals with sassy horns and socially-conscious lyrics. The title track is a masterpiece of roots-reggae with empowering lyrics while the haunting “Stand Accuse” displays Toots’ ability to mix strength and vulnerability in a single verse. Produced with a deft hand by Zak Starkey (Ringo’s son), who also contributes musically alongside some of Jamaica’s most talented, Got To Be Tough is a fitting coda to an amazing career that spanned six decades. R.I.P. Mr. Hibbert. Grade: A+   BUY!    

Various Artists – Crawling Up A Hill (Grapefruit Records, U.K.)
Thanks to the good folks at Grapefruit Records, you can now do a deep-dive into the British blues boom circa 1966-1971 with Crawling Up A Hill. The three-disc, clamshell-boxed, 56-song collection offers plenty of the usual suspects – John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, The Yardbirds, Fleetwood Mac, Ten Years After, Alexis Korner, Free, Taste (w/Rory Gallagher), Status Quo, and Savoy Brown – among its wealth of entries. It’s between these grooves that the set really shines, Grapefruit plucking jewels from the lesser-known likes of Love Sculpture, Steamhammer Medicine Head, Stack Waddy, Black Cat Bones, Blodwyn Pig, Skid Row (w/Gary Moore) and Killing Floor to paint a brilliant picture of the then-thriving scene. There are a few notable exclusions, (Jethro Tull, Zeppelin?) due to licensing, but throw in often-surprising obscurities like Heavy Jelly, Red Dirt, Levee Camp Moan, and Dr. K’s Blues Band and you have a collection well worth the roughly $30 price tag. Grade: A   BUY!

 

Previously on That Devil Music.com:
Short Rounds, May 2020: The Burrito Brothers, Richie Owens & the Farm Bureau, Webb Wilder, Lucinda Williams & X

Short Rounds, April 2020: Datura4, Dream Syndicate, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, Bryan Ferry, Game Theory & Supersuckers

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

New Music Monthly: November & December 2019 releases

It's the end of the road for 2019, and record labels are emptying the vaults to try and grab their share of your Christmas cash. There's a wealth of vinyl reissues and pricey multi-disc box sets coming our way from artists like The Police, Queens of the Stone Age, Rick Wakeman, and Little Steven, among many others. If you've got the cash, there's plenty of great tunes to be had over the next six months! 

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!

NOVEMBER 1
The Bar-Kays - Gotta Groove [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Booker T. & the M.G.'s - Melting Pot [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Cold War Kids - New Age Norms 1   BUY!
Delaney & Bonnie - Home [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out of Nowhere   BUY!
Los Straitjackets - The Utterly Fantastic and Totally Unbelievable Sound of Los Straitjackets [CD & vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Los Straitjackets - ¡Viva! Los Straitjackets [CD & vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In NY [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
David Porter - Victim of the Joke? [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Simple Minds - 40: The Best of 1979-2019 [3-CD set]   BUY!
Johnnie Taylor - Who’s Making Love [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Uncle Walt's Band - An American In Texas   BUY!
Vetiver - Up On High   BUY!

NOVEMBER 8
Fats Domino - I've Been Around [12-CD box set]   BUY!
The Police - Ghost in the Machine [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
The Police - Reggatta de Blanc [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
The Police - Synchronicity [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta [vinyl reissue]   BUY!

NOVEMBER 15
The Band - The Band [50th anniversary edition]   BUY!
Julianna Hatfield - Julianna Hatfield Sings the Police   BUY!
The Pineapple Thief - Hold Our Fire [live]   BUY!
Various Artists - Send I A Lion [compilation w/the Mighty Diamonds, Gladiators, Wailing Souls & others]   BUY!

NOVEMBER 22
Leonard Cohen - Thanks For the Dance   BUY!
Junkyard - Old Habits Die Hard [unreleased 1992 LP]   BUY!
Harry Nilsson - Losst and Founnd   BUY!
Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Queens of the Stone Age - Songs For the Deaf [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
The Who - Who   BUY!

NOVEMBER 29
Various Artists - Land of 1000 Dances: The Rampart Records Complete Singles Collection   BUY!

DECEMBER 2
Rick Wakeman - Box Of Boots: Official Bootleg Series [10-CD box set]

DECEMBER 6
Gentle Giant - Unburied Treasure [Limited edition 30-CD box set]   BUY!
John Hiatt - Only The Song Survives [15-disc vinyl box set]   BUY!
Lee "Scratch" Perry - Heavy Rain   BUY!
Little Steven Van Zandt - RockNRoll Rebel – The Early Work [11-disc CD/vinyl box set]

DECEMBER 20
Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies To Paralyze [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Frank Zappa - The Hot Rats Sessions [deluxe 6-CD box set]   BUY!

Album of the Month: I dunno, it's really hard to choose from all the great archival material the labels are spitting out here in Q4, but if I had to choose, I'd go with Frank Zappa's The Hot Rats Sessions, a deluxe six-disc box set that provides the rabid Frank fanatic with everything they could want from the storied collection. Zappa's sophomore solo effort, from 1969, Hot Rats was the first album anywhere to be recorded on 16-track tape, and the Maestro used the expanded technology to his advantage. The set is said to include every song recorded during the sessions, as well as a "Zappa Land" board game. The Hot Rats Sessions includes 65 tracks, all but six of them previously unreleased.

New Music Monthly: October 2018 Releases

We're nearing the finish line for 2018, kiddies, and October promises another slobber-knocker slate of new releases that promise to tax your bankroll and please your soul. You got your new music from folks like Will Hoge, Graham Parker, Doyle Bramhall II, High On Fire, Elvis Costello, John Hiatt, Tom Morello, Ace Frehley, and many others as well as archive releases from Lindsey Buckingham, Permanent Green Light, Mott the Hoople, and R.E.M. among others. So, like I said, lots of tunes to spend your hard-earned coin on.

If we wrote about it here on the site, there will be a link to it in the album title; if you want an album, hit the 'Buy!' link to get it from Amazon.com...it's just that damn easy! Your purchase puts money 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!   

OCTOBER 5
Anthrax - State of Euphoria [deluxe 30th anniversary reissue]   BUY!
David Bowie - Live In New York 1987   BUY!
Doyle Bramhall II - Shades   BUY!
Lindsey Buckingham - Solo Anthology: The Best of Lindsey Buckingham   BUY!
Coheed & Cambria - The Unheavenly Creatures   BUY!
Hugh Cornwell - Monster   BUY!
Echo & the Bunnymen - The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon   BUY!
Electric Six - Bride of the Dead   BUY!
Kristin Hersh - Possible Dust Clouds   BUY!
High On Fire - Electric Messiah   BUY!
Will Hoge - My American Dream   BUY!
John Lennon - Imagine [deluxe box set]   BUY!
Cat Power - Wanderer   BUY!
Sari Schorr - Never Say Never   BUY!
Unicorn -  Laughing Up Your Sleeve   BUY!

OCTOBER 12
Martin Barre - Roads Less Traveled   BUY!
Lindsay Beaver - Tough As Love   BUY!
The Bottle Rockets - Bit Logic   BUY!
Elvis Costello  & the Imposters - Look Now   BUY!
John Hiatt - The Eclipse Sessions   BUY!
Peter Holsapple & Alex Chilton - The Death of Rock...   BUY!
Calvin Johnson - A Wonderful Beast   BUY!
Dave Keller - Every Soul's A Star   BUY!
Paul Kelly - Nature   BUY!
Tom Morello - The Atlas Underground   BUY!
Nazareth - Tattooed On My Brain   BUY!
Graham Parker - Cloud Symbols   BUY!
Permanent Green Light (Michael Querico) - Hallucinations   BUY!
Primal Scream - Give Out But Don't Give Up: The Original Memphis Sessions   BUY!

OCTOBER 19
Terry Callier - The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier [vinyl reissue]   BUY!
Sandy Carroll - Blues & Angels   BUY!
Neneh Cherry - Broken Politics   BUY!
Disturbed - Evolution   BUY!
Ace Frehley - Spaceman   BUY!
Marty Friedman - One Bad M.F. Live!!   BUY!
Handsome Jack - Everything's Gonna Be Alright   BUY!
Los Straitjackers - Complete Christmas Songbook   BUY!
Will Oldham - Songs of Love and Horror   BUY!
Yoko Ono - Warzone   BUY!
R.E.M. - R.E.M. At the BBC [box set]   BUY!
Soulfly - Ritual   BUY!
Various Artists - Stax '68: A Memphis Story   BUY!

OCTOBER 26
The Action - The New Action! [vinyl]   BUY!
Eric Bibb - Global Griot
Fifth Angel - The Third Secret   BUY!
Mott the Hoople - Mental Train: The Island Years 1969-1971 [box set]   BUY!
NRBQ - All Hopped Up   BUY!
Ty Segall - Fudge Sandwich   BUY!
Joe Louis Walker, Bruce Katz & Giles Robson - Journeys to the Heart of the Blues   BUY!

Album of the Month: Mott the Hoople's Mental Train is a six-disc box set that collects includes remastered and expanded versions of all four of the band's original Island Records label releases; an entire disc of unheard and unreleased material; and a full disc of live and BBC performances. Each of the original albums - Mott the Hoople, Mad Shadows, Wildlife, and Brain Capers - has been expanded by 8 or 9 tracks, adding single versions, demos, alternate takes, and much more. A fifth CD, The Ballads of Mott the Hoople, is subtitled "Unheard and Unreleased Music from the Island Archive." That's a lot of great music for the Hoople fan!

CD Preview: Los Straitjackets’ Complete Christmas Songbook

Nashville’s Los Straitjackets are everybody’s favorite Mexican wrestler mask-clad instrumental surf-rock band, hands down! The band has been on tour recently with British rock legend Nick Lowe as part of his “Quality Rock & Roll Revue,” but they’ve somehow found the time to compile a new album for the upcoming holidays.

On October 19th, 2018 Yep Roc Records will release Los Straitjackets’ Complete Christmas Songbook on CD and digitally; a vinyl version will follow on December 7th, which isn’t too late to add to your favorite fan’s Christmas list. Through the years, Los Straitjackets have released various Christmas albums and singles to near universal acclaim.

Los Straitjackets’ Complete Christmas Songbook includes the entirety of two previous LPs (2002’s ‘Tis the Season for Los Straitjackets and 2009’s limited-edition Yuletide Beat) as well as limited-edition singles, a song from Yep Roc’s Oh Santa! compilation disc, and a live performance of “Linus & Lucy” from the Straitjackets’ 2015 tour with Lowe. The album is now available for pre-order from Yep Roc and includes a six-ornament bundle that features each of the five band members’ masks on an ornament, and a sixth tree-hanger in the shape of a guitar. Check out the complete tracklisting below and either order the set directly from Yep Roc Records or head over to Amazon.com.

Los Straitjackets’ Complete Christmas Songbook tracklist:

1. Here Comes Santa Claus
2. It’s a Marshmallow World
3. Feliz Navidad
4. Jingle Bell Rock
5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
7. Frosty the Snowman
8. Christmas in Las Vegas
9. Let It Snow
10. Sleigh Ride
11. Christmas Weekend
12. Little Drummer Boy
13. The Christmas Song
14. Deck the Halls
15. We Three Kings
16. Que Verdes Son
17. O Come All Ye Faithful
18. Groovy Old Saint Nick
19. Silent Night Rock
20. Joy to the World
21. Close to Christmas (The First Noel)
22. Jingle Bells
23. Soul’d Lang Syne
24. Holiday Twist
25. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
26. Silver Bells
27. Linus & Lucy

Los Straitjackets meet the Jesus of Cool!

Those Mexican wrestler-masked instrumental madmen are back at it again! Following three tours that saw the band opening for British rock legend Nick Lowe, the members of Los Straitjackets wondered “what would Nick Lowe’s songs sound like as instrumentals?” On May 19th, 2017 we’ll all get to hear the answer to that profound question when Yep Roc Records releases Los Straitjackets’ What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets.

A thirteen-track collection that re-imagines some of Lowe’s most iconic songs, What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets was produced by Neil Brockbank, Lowe’s longtime producer and musical collaborator, and includes Lowe band member Geraint Watkins on keyboards as well as a cameo by Lowe himself, singing on an undisclosed track. The album also represents the recording debut of Royston Lowe on percussion.

“Recording these songs reminded me what a great melodist Nick is,” observes guitarist and co-found Eddie Angel in a press release for the new album. “Everybody knows that he writes great lyrics, but he doesn’t always get credit for his amazing melodies. The fact that the songs stand up as instrumentals is proof of that. And I think that we managed to bring something new to the songs, which is what you hope to do when you’re covering other people’s material.”

Comprised of guitarists Danny Amis, Eddie Angel, and Greg Townson as well as bassist Pete Curry and drummer Chris Sprague, the hard touring Los Straitjackets have been tearing up the highways and thruways for better than two decades now, and they’ll be hitting the road in June in support of What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets, performing with fellow traveler Marshall Crenshaw.

Each show will feature an instrumental set as well as vocal collaborations. The album’s first single, “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding” has been released and you can check it out below before making plans to catch one of these electrifying Los Straitjacket shows when the band hits your town!

Buy the CD from Amazon.com: Los Straitjackets’ What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets

What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Los Straitjackets track list:
1. Shake and Pop
2. All Men Are Liars
3. Lately I’ve Let Things Slide
4. You Inspire Me
5. Rollers Show
6. (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding
7. I Read A Lot
8. Half A Boy and Half A Man
9. Checkout Time
10. I Live On A Battlefield
11. Raging Eyes
12. Cruel To Be Kind
13. Heart of the City

Los Straitjackets w/Marshall Crenshaw June 2017 tour dates:
June 15th @ Cat’s Cradle Back Room, Carrboro NC
June 16th @ The Hamilton, Washington DC
June 17th @ Ram’s Head, Annapolis MD
June 18th @ Club Café, Pittsburgh PA
June 20th @ Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, Harrisburg PA
June 21th @ Capital Ale House, Richmond VA
June 22th @ World Café Live, Philadelphia PA
June 23th @ Daryls’ House, Pawling NY
June 24th @ Boulton Center For The Performing Arts, Bay Shore NY
June 25th @ City Winery, New York NY
June 27th @ The Penthouse at One East Avenue, Rochester NY
June 28th @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH
June 29th @ Southgate House Revival, Newport KY
June 30th @ The Ark, Ann Arbor MI