When it comes to underrated artists there are several distinct levels of injustice. Steve Young sits at the very top. Despite his rare skill as a songwriter and singer, his best record is out of print and he's hardly known. (Adding insult to injury, none the All Music Guide's three different reviews of Seven Bridges Road are even linked to his main discography page at the site.) It's almost like unseen forces are trying to hide this guy's talent. [...]
Love - Signed D.C. ( buy ) From Heroin to Sister Morphine and from The Needle And The Damage Done to Chinese Rocks , there´s a lot of great junkie laments out there, but my fave has always been Love´s Signed D.C. Not the nice but just a tiny bit too sweet first incarnation on their debut mind, but rather the hard rockin´ remake from their ´69 Out Here album. ´My soul belongs to the dealer, he keeps my mind [...]
The Beat Farmers - Big Rock Candy Mountain ( buy ) This one's dedicated to our newest contributor, whose first post is still in the works. Welcome aboard! "In the Big Rock Candy Mountain, you never change your socks, and little streams of alcohol come a-tricklin' down the rocks."
The Bicycle Thief - Rainin (4am) [ buy ] "It's 4 am and I just got home and everybody's asleep So, I just keep listenin' to Irma Thomas sing It's rainin' and rainin' over and over again." The Bicycle Thief was Bob Forrest's first project following the de facto breakup/hiatus of Thelonious Monster and it allowed him to tap into his inner folksinger. From 1999's You Come And Go Like A Pop Song , "Rainin" pays tribute to the great Irma Thomas, the third consecutive Forrest release [...]
Irma Thomas - It's Raining ( buy ) Irma Thomas is the queen of New Orleans soul, but as AMG notes , she isn't as well known nationally as her contemporaries like Aretha Franklin or Etta James. I first heard this song in the soundtrack to Down By Law (great movie). Drip, drop, drip, drop...
? and the Mysterians - Smokes They don't make em like they used to . It kills me every time I read somebody describing these combos as "cheezy." Give me a break, stroke the keys and let it roar ya nerds.
Grant Hart - 2541 ( buy ) A bittersweet lament about the break-up of Hüsker Dü - the most amazing band of the eighties in my book - by its former singing drummer. 2541 was the house number of the power trio´s headquarters in Minneapolis. "Now everything is over, everything is done... everything's in boxes, at 2541..."
The Modern Lovers – Hospital ( buy ) Here is one of the all-time great "stalking" songs , complete with creepy organ courtesy of Jerry Harrison . Listen for many odd and interesting lines from Jonathon, like "I go to bakeries all day long...There's a lot of sweetness in my life," and "I'll take the subway to your suburb sometime...I'll seek out the things that must have been magic to your little-girl mind." Good for late night driving around the neighborhood.
Kinks - Sitting In My Hotel [ buy ] This has to be one of The Kinks' most underrated songs, a wistful, life-on-the-road tale that gorgeously sweeps and builds and swells, breaks down, and then starts all over again. Hmmm ... I wonder if Ian Hunter maybe heard this a few times? This is probably my favorite track from their 1972 album, Everybody's In Showbiz , a half-studio/half-live double album that delivers the goods way more often than not. Check out Robert Palmer's spot-on review for Rolling Stone [...]
John Simon- Davy's On The Road Again Producer extraordinaire John Simon (The Band's Music From Big Pink , Blood Sweat and Tears's C hild Is Father To The Man ) struck out on his own for this 1970 record featuring an all-star cast of backup musicians including Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Delaney Bramlett, Leon Russell, Jim Gordon, Bobby Whitlock, Carl Radle, Jim Price and Rita Coolidge among others. Here's a tune that Simon co-wrote with Robbie Robertson, "Davey's on the Road Again".
Swamp Dogg - Sal-A-Faster "SWAMP DOGG STYLE.."
The Flatlanders - Rose From The Mountain ( buy ) Another sister to Streets Of Baltimore ? The theme - big city life endangers relationship - sure is the same, but this angel gets saved before she falls. Back to the mountain a.s.a.p.
Doug Sahm - The Image Of Me [ buy ] You can find a version of this Harlan Howard classic on Doug Sahm & Friends: Best Of The Atlantic Sessions , but this take from the Crazy Cajun Recordings is definitive. Sahm delivers a superlative vocal, the Augie Meyer-George Rains-Jack Barber rhythm section locks into a great country groove, and Charlie Owens' steel guitar takes us straight to the bar. Anyone else hear this as a companion piece to Howard's other [...]
Buck Owens – Under The Influence Of Love ( buy ) This great Buck Owens recording of Howard Harlan's tune sounded soooo good this morning.
The Dominoes – Sixty Minute Man ( buy ) One of my favorite music-nerd discussions is to debate the question of the first rock and roll record. Nick Tosches has a good discussion on the topic in Country: The Twisted Roots of Rock 'n' Roll (a must-read book). Says Nick on page 32 of the paperback edition: "The Dominoes 'Sixty Minute Man' was not only the biggest rhthym-and-blues hit of 1951, but also the first rock-and-roll record to make the pop charts, which is especially surprising in light of [...]
The Left Banke - Pretty Ballerina ( buy ) The All Music Guide calls this one an evergreen (because it still doesn't sound dated after 40+ years). I agree. If it hasn't already been tapped for use in a Wes Anderson movie, it will be soon.
Mama Cass – California Earthquake ( buy ) When you think of "California" tunes sung by Mama Cass, this is probably not the first one that comes to mind, but it's pretty good. Best of all, it was written by John Hartford . They tell me the fault line runs right through here.
Augie Meyers - California Blues Track 4 from Augie Meyers' 2nd record is my jam for the week. A little sloppy but it's got the groove.
Doug Sahm - Groover's Paradise ( buy ) Too long in Detroit City, I can't hardly breathe no more. I need a whole lot of cold Pearl beer and a lovely Texas smile...
Groover's Paradise
Avicii – Two Million
Scissor Sisters’ “Baby Come Home” Video: Watch The Band Get Animated
Yellow Magic Orchestra edit from Chrome Canyon
Beck – I Just Started Hating Some People Today
