Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend is here...Father's Day weekend. I wish I could showcase a bunch of records that my father loved, but to be honest, my dad had terrible taste in music. It's one of the things that made him so endearing. He loved his disco, and as he got older, he loved that terrible new country. But he loved it with a passion, and that's respectable. So instead, I'm going to feature records by artists that played their part in my musical upbringing. These are albums that I've recently acquired, but by artists that shaped me in my youth. Enjoy.

Captain Beefheart - Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1966: Released on vinyl last year, this live recording is a glimpse into the pre-Safe As Milk era (the band's debut from 1967). The sound quality is surprisingly fantastic on this collection of blues classics. The band hadn't yet morphed into the freak blues sound that would take shape by the end of the decade, so this is far more accessible to straight blues fans. I cam across this on RSD at the local shop and picked it up. A splendid addition to the Captain collection.

Black Sabbath - Sabotage: The legendary metal band's sixth album came out in 1975, and is considered by most to be the last of their classic LPs (though I do enjoy 76's, Technical Ecstasy). This is right at the beginning of Ozzy's decent and the tensions that would follow, and that lingering chaos is what makes this album feel so dangerous and awesome. This album doesn't feature any of their classic tunes, but every song on here adheres to their classic sound that fuses metal riffs with swing-jazz synchronization. Another wonderful album from one of the best and most influential bands of all time.

KISS - Paul Stanely: Always masters of marketing way before marketing was the norm, KISS released solo albums by all four members back in 1978. I've had Gene's record for a long time, as I was always led to believe it was the best. However, I recently came by Paul's for the sweet price of $2 and picked it up, and it might be the better of the two. Granted, this is not high art by any means, just straight up feel-good-rock-n-roll.

Babes in Toyland - Spanking Machine: The 1990 debut full length album from one of the iconic rrriot grrrl bands is a early grunge essential. I first acquired this album on CD about three years after its release, but recently found a nice copy of the original vinyl and couldn't pass it up. This is an album that has aged well. The aggressive noise rock sound still connects and makes this one of the landmark albums of its time. Every track on here is blistering and I highly recommend it to any fan of 90's American punk. 

The Beatles - The "Let It Be" Rehearsals Vol. 3: I recently came across this Beatles bootleg on CD in the library and of course wanted to check it out, being both a fan of the band and a junkie for bootlegs. These recordings are taken from the infamously troubled sessions which, in my opinion, produced some of the bands best work. Each of the three songwriters were each reaching their creative peak, and each were moving in different directions. All of that is captured in these tracks. This volume focuses on the Dark Horse, and this was George at his best, right as he was reaching the full potential of his talent.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Up Your Alley: I had this album on CD when it came out in '88 but sold it long ago, probably in the early '90s. I've always dug Joan and thought this might be worth checking out again, thirty years on. It opens with the hit single (and still her best song) "I Hate Myself for Loving You," and continues with more solid hard rock stuff. The cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is great and shows her punk roots. This certainly isn't essential, but a fun record that is very much of the time.