Weekend Music Roundup

The weekend is here and it's been an exciting two weeks in my house musically. I was given an extremely generous gift of a crate of amazing records. A friend had held onto his records from the '70s and early 80's despite not having a turntable...because that's what we do with music, we cherish it. A good bunch of the records were from bands that I'd heard, or heard of, some of which I'd foolishly written off for no real reason 20-25 years ago. So the theme for this week's list are records that I should've been listening to for a long time, but hadn't because of preconceived notions. Always revisit...always stay flexible...always listen with open ears. Enjoy.

Ian Hunter - Ian Hunter: After Mott the Hoople disbanded in 1975, Ian released his first solo record the same year. Of course, he snatched Mick Ronson to play lead guitar, making this a seamless extension of Mott's glam legacy. Being the mid-70s, it is also a record that is evolving into that bar blues sound tailored made to coke use, but still keeping his Bowie-esque flair. "Who Do You Love," "Lounge Lizard," "3,000 Miles From Here," "It Ain't Easy When You Fall," and the epic "Boy" are standouts on this true masterpiece of an album.

The Kinks - Misfits: Very few bands had the longevity, influence, or success enjoyed by Ray and Dave Davies. I've always considered them the third pillar of the British Invasion along with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Like the Stones, the Kinks carried on through the 70's and continued to evolve. This album was released in 1978 and is an introspective rock album, though it doesn't contain any of their hits (unless you count "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy"), it does contain many of great tunes. This reminds me of the kind of music John Lennon was writing at the time, however the Kinks always stayed in touch with that working class audience and these are the songs for the working class lads of the 60s that have grown older and are staring down middle age. "Black Messiah," "Live Life," "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" and the title track are standouts on this late era album by one of the best rock bands ever. 

The Felice Brothers - The Felice Brothers: This is the 2008 album from the Hudson Valley heroes. Though they hail from my area, I wasn't introduced to their music until the album after this one, which was decent but nothing that really surfaced to the top for me. They are a mainstay on the local indie radio station and my thing about these guys is that the songs I hate, I REALLY hate. But this was their breakthrough record so I finally got around to listening to it, and now I understand why people around here have invested so much love in these guys. This album is fantastic indie folk rock. After the next album, the one brother, Simone, would leave and go on to being more a producer, and his input is missed on later releases. Here, it shines, and it balances Ian.

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense: The 1984 live album the New York post-punk new wave band is a classic live record. This is a band that I've been familiar with since childhood, as they dominated the airwaves and MTv, but it's a band that I never got into as a fan. Over the past few years, having listened to the radio at work, something I hadn't done since childhood, I became more intrigued by this band and found this album at the library. This is like a greatest hits album, but a live version so that the songs have a different interpretation. Though I usually like to get into deep cuts, this is a great re-introduction to this band and one that I've been enjoying. 

Little Feat - Sailin' Shoes: The second album from the L.A. blues rock band came out in '72 and is probably their best known record. In L.A. at that time, there was a growing movement of southern rock and country influences going around. Gram Parsons was another artist finding inspiration there, as was this band. The blues are still dominant here, making this sound a bit like a mix between early Allman Brothers meets Led Zeppelin. This was one of those bands that I never exactly avoided, but just never bothered to explore, so I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed this record. I should have been listening to this for past twenty years.

The Moody Blues - Long Distance Voyager: Released in 1981, this UK prog-pop rock band's eleventh album. It opens with the well-known "The Voice" which is a nice combination of synth and pop rock that feels a bit like Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason. It's 80's rock before 80's rock became a mainstream sound, which means it maintains a foot in the sound of the 70's, just enough that it makes this album stand out from what would follow. "Gemini Dream," "22,000 Days," and "Veteran Cosmic Rocker" are my personal favorites.