The 4th Five of my Top 25

The Big Shot Chronicles - Game Theory
Well, it's kind of a cheat to put a record on this list that I play on, but this is the record that truly changed my life. The circumstances behind the scenes were quite unusual, to say the least. It was recorded in the middle of a national tour at Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studio with a brand spanking new line-up in 1985. At the same time, I was going through some severe emotional stuff regarding my personal life which required me to fly back to the Bay Area immediately after I laid down my drum tracks. After one or two days of that supremely gut wrenching adventure, I flew back to Winston Salem. (there was a very cool little field trip upon my return that involved some of us driving to Durham with Faye and Angie to see the dB's!). I think the album was all completed (including mixing?) in about a week, and then we were off again to finish the tour! But the results were sweet - Mitch put us all at ease, gently coaxed great performances out of us and I think this is Scott Miller's greatest and most concise pop album.


End Of The Day - The Reivers
Pure and unadulterated comfort-pop for me, featuring twanging guitars, evocative, slightly melancholic lyrics (Star Telegram) and the soaring vocals of one of my favorite singers of all time - Kim Longacre. She absolutely tears up Lazy Afternoon, and John Croslin rips a great guitar solo to match her performance. Austin Texas had a lot going on around this time and I found myself taken by another mixed sex band - Glass Eye (for some reason I seem to favor that particular type of line-up, dunno why really, but I guess I just prefer a bit of estrogen to balance out the usual rock and roll testosterone!) But it's all about Ms. Longacre here, and it's her vocal prowess, (along with Croslin's writing) that can bring tears to my eyes.


About Us - The Stories
Though recorded in 1972, it wasn't until around 1989 that I discovered this amazing band, thanks to Michael Quercio who either mentioned them or played some tracks during a van ride in the short lived but very fun Miller, Quercio, Becker and Ray version of Game Theory. Of course I had heard the mega-hit Brother Louie a million times on the radio back in the day, but that song has very little to do with what The Stories are really about. For starters, Michael Brown's writing is rich and rewarding (I'm hard pressed to name a more beautiful pop song than The Left Banke's Pretty Ballerina !), and he continues writing gems in this band. Love Is In Motion is wonderful with a very pretty, and unique melody. The boys can rock hard when called upon, with strength and obvious talent. The arrangements are powerful and at times tricky (Darling and Hey France are real standouts).
While Ian Lloyd's voice my be an acquired taste for some, I think it fits perfectly in here and he can nail some difficult parts.



Nonesuch - XTC
I've loved XTC from the get go. When I was just starting to get into punk and new wave, their early LPs fit in comfortably with my prog-rock leanings with their quirky, fast and jagged rhythms. Over the years they have smoothed out much of that (though rhythmically they can can still get very adventurous) and have become possibly the finest pop band on their sweet earth. I say their sweet earth because they have such an earthy, organic root that conjures up olde - time England and pagan rites. But don't underestimate Andy's nasty snarl when he finds it appropriate to tongue lash a crooked politician, or a society that allows injustice. The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead is clean and perfect pop, driven by the band's always slashing and driving guitar parts. Moulding's My Bird Performs is one of my wife's absolute fave pop tunes and it nicely balances out some of the hectic tendencies Partridge provides. Dear Madam Barnum is more spot-on pop from Andy, and well...I could go on (God! How about Dave Mattacks' drumming! This band has never had a bad drummer!), but Dexter is attacking the keyboard, but I will say that these guys make damn near perfect music.


Vortex - Christmas
This recording just seemed to have appeared at a record store one day, without me hearing a word about it. Frankly, I thought they had broken up by 1993, and I was already well on my way to being a big fan of Michael Cudahy's ultra-fantastic ultra- lounge core band Combustible Edison , but fortunately I was wrong! Christmas is a strange band that can get way out there with epic arrangements, but still have the smarts and the gifts to make drop-dead beautiful melodies fit in with their expansive style of writing along with their kick-ass live shows. I was lucky enough to witness one of their shows with my pal Robert at the Berkeley Square and was outright floored by Michael's frantic and huge stage presence. And holding it all together was Liz Cox, who not only impressed me with her navigation around some very tricky tunes, but her ability to sing, and sing well while playing! The cut to seek out here is Almighty. Featuring sublime twists and turns, and a perfect vocal by Ms. Cox, it reminds me of the pure pleasures to be had from just listening.

Danger: Mike Patton!

One of my very favorite films is Italian director Mario Bava's 1968 cult classic Danger: Diabolik. One of my very favorite film soundtracks is Ennio Morricone's music for the same film. Imagine my surprise when I was alerted of this video by Tim Lucas of Video Watchdog magazine, featuring one of the main themes sung by no other than Mike Patton who I knew of primarily from Faith No More and Mr. Bungle - (whose LP's we cannot keep in stock at work)!

It's a stunning performance with full orchestra and chorus in Amsterdam. It is glorious and Mr. Patton can flat out sing (in two languages!). (Techni)color me impressed!



He is one suave shut yo mouth!

The 3rd Five Of My Top 25

Lark's Tongues In Aspic - King Crimson
Ok, now we can definitely talk influential. If there was ever a drummer that would influence me throughout my drumming, from my teenage years on, Bill Bruford would be the guy. First heard him with Yes and fell in love with his smart drumming and cracking snare drum sound. This was his debut with King Crimson and his playing is awesome. At this stage, Crimson was primarily a players band, improvising their way through tricky and dark material conjuring up the devil. It's frightening how good they are and I think this LP shows them at their very best. So good it's spooky.

Bookends - Simon and Garfunkel
My big brother had this record when I was a kid, and that is how I first heard it. Gorgeous and evocative songs displaying beautiful vocals, masterful songwriting and amazingly haunting production (check out Save The Life Of My Child). America isn't too shabby, either. Matter of fact, it's one of my favorite songs ever! (of course, being the prog-head that I am, I have to admit I was really disappointed in Yes' version!) Oh yeah, it would be crazy if I didn't mention that Art Garfunkel's voice is the voice of an angel. Just lovely.


Juliet Of The Spirits - Nino Rota
This is the soundtrack to my favorite film of all time - Fellini's Juliet Of The Spirits. I took an understanding Foreign Film class in college and this is the one that spoke to me. The soundtrack does the same thing. Wistful, playful, full of fantasy (some good, some terrifying), this is a perfect marriage of music and film. Performed by a relatively small ensemble, the music is rich and unique. Fortunately, Rota and Fellini worked many times together, producing magical works that really touch my soul. This is the music I want to take with me.





Repercussion - dB's
It was a toss-up for me - Stands for deciBels or this one...I went with this one being in a serendipitous mood. Stamey and Holsapple are an amazing one-two punch. Stamey's Happenstance had to have influenced Scott Miller with it's tuneful and adventurous...sneering whine, and Ask For Jill is just downright scary with a top notch arrangement handled effortlessly by the band. This song could easily have been on West Side Story. On the "yang" side of things, Peter Holsapple's Neverland is just flat out fab pop with another heady arrangement the guys handle with ease. (Damn that Will Rigby...have you ever tried to learn one of his parts? I had to learn Tearjerkin' on the last Loud Family tour and it humbled me very thoroughly - Jeezus Christ!). Nothing Is Wrong is just plain gorgeous. Heartbreaking. One of the most beautiful songs I've ever had the pleasure to listen to. "I'm just thinking about you..". Quite a feat for an American indie band to debut with the equivalent of Rubber Soul and Revolver. Really.


A Legend In My Time - Don Gibson
Even though I grew up in the South, I didn't become a fan of country music until the mid 80's, while living in California. My workplace exposed me to all sorts of music and this North Carolina singer/songwriter caught my ear in a big way. Gibson was a hit machine responsible for Oh Lonesome Me (I fell out of my tree when I realized this was the same song Neil Young covered!), I Can't Stop Loving You, and Sweet Dreams. Chet Atkins produced most of these, and while he may have taken some of the grit out of them, the writing and Don's rich, deep voice shine through. I highly recommend this - it's on Bear Family and they set the standard for quality reissues.

Bill Me Later

Probably the most influential drummer from my late teens until..well, forever, has been Bill Bruford. Primarily known for his stints with prog-gods Yes and King Crimson, his unique style of effortlessly handling the most difficult pieces with frightening precision and cutting edge sound and tonal innovation spoke directly to my drummer's heart.

And his snare drum sound is stuff legends are made of! Cranked tight, it produced a *crack!* that has sent many young drummers over the edge of sanity desperately trying to duplicate it. To me, it was my gorgeous major 7th chord applied to the drums. Just plain beautiful.

Bruford just released his autobiography and in the forward he states that he is officially retiring from public performance. Good for him! I like that he's going out on his own terms, and I really like that he's not retiring because he's dead!

So, here's to you, Bill Bruford. Thanks.

The 2nd Five of my Top 25

The White Album - The Beatles
OK...I guess there's no "take backs" on lists such as these...but I chose it, so that's that. It has been in my adult head for many years that this is the Beatles album I would want on a desert island, but now, looking at the tracks, I guess there are about 5 other albums that could serve that purpose. Oh, well.... the sleeper here is the fantastic musical arrangement on Martha My Dear. Not sure if George Martin had a heavy hand in this, but it's brilliant

Ball - Iron Butterfly
I hate the phrase guilty pleasure. I love this album and play it all the time. It's strange and baroque and contains Soul Experience which is an all-time fave. It also contains Lonely Boy which is absolutely awful, but it's easy to skip. Is it better than Fragile by Yes? Hell No, but I play it more.




Songs For A Tailor - Jack Bruce
This is Jack at his very best. His writing has depth, adventure and musicality. His voice is at it's peak and it's one of the finest voices I've ever heard. The musicians he employs here are nothing to sneeze at either: Chris Spedding, Jon Hiseman, Felix Pappalardi and crazed sax-guy Dick Hecktall-Smith. George Harrison is listed as guitarist on the first cut - Never Tell Your Mother She's Out Of Tune, but for the life of me I cannot hear any guitar anywhere on this song! Stand out tracks are Theme From An Imaginary Western, Rope Ladder To The Moon and a very mash-up freaky cool song called Boston Ball Game.



The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren - Runt
This is an easy one for me. I think it's Todd's best album, combining deft musicianship and cracking good song writing. After this one, Todd started mixing brilliance with self-indulgence, which is ok as long as you still get the brilliance, but for me, this is pop perfection. Having the Sales Bros. on board doesn't hurt, either.



the Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - David Bowie
An outright classic. I remember reading about this before I ever heard it, and the descriptions in the press were very intriguing. Once I heard it, I immediately fell in love with it, and Bowie. It was otherworldly and a bit frightening to me, but a top rate concept, just right for it's time. The songs rock (not a clunker on it), the band is fab and Bowie's voice is really...weird. Sounds like he's from Mars to me, and it all works perfectly. The whole gender-bending thing was fresh and exciting, but also strange and a bit creepy. A huge influence on me at the time, and I think it holds up just fine.

First 5 of My Top 25

Recently on facebook I was asked to do this:

Think of 25 albums that had such a profound effect on you they changed your life or the way you looked at it. They sucked you in and took you over for days, weeks, months, years. These are the albums that you can use to identify time, places, people, and emotions. These are the albums that no matter what they were thought of musically shaped your world. When you finish, tag 25 others, including me. Make sure you copy and paste this part so they know the drill.

***This is not about being cool. Which albums have you actually listened to thousands of times?***

A tough assignment for sure, and even tougher for an old guy like me that is also a musician. My brain keeps wanting to separate this into 2 groups - influential and favorite, so I decided to mix it together.

Being a drummer, there are a ton of albums that influenced me, but I left those off the list. It might be fun for me to share that list at some time but for now, here it is in a very rough order reflecting the chronological order that they came into my life with little regard to release date:

Rolling Stones - Between The Buttons
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
Blue Cheer - Outsideinside
Jethro Tull - This Was
Cream - Wheels Of Fire
Beatles - The White Album
Iron Butterfly - Ball
Jack Bruce - Songs For A Tailor
Runt - The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
King Crimson - Lark's Tongues In Aspic
Simon And Garfunkel - Bookends
Nino Rota - Juliet Of The Spirits
dB's - Repurcussion
Don Gibson - A Legend In My Time
Game Theory - The Big Shot Chronicles
Reivers - End Of The Day
Stories - About Us
XTC - Nonesuch
Christmas - Vortex
Ennio Morricone - Canto Morricone The 70's
Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
Judee Sill - Heart Food
John Vanderslice - Cellar Door

Whew! That was harder than I thought it was going to be! I'm sure it's pretty nebulous too - my list could probably be different on any given day. I guess that's a typical problem coming up with a list like this after living and breathing music for about 42 years of concentrated listening (which started when I was around 10 yrs. old).

Here are the first 5 with a few comments.

Between The Buttons - The Rolling Stones
I got this record as a kid and to this day I think it's my fave Stones LP. I was old enough to know that The Stones were indeed bad boys and I loved staring at the cover and being a bit freaked out at how tough they looked (and cold!). Musically, the U.S. version contained Lets Spend The Night Together and Ruby Tuesday which I already had as a 45 and liked very much. Even at that tender age, I was more enamored with those songs after seeing them performed on Ed Sullivan, with Mick rolling his eyes when he sang a cleaned up version of Spend The Night on the show! Connection is a very cool song and while being creeped out by doctors giving injections and the like, I really love the guitars and vocal harmonies. And being a bit of a cheat, I'm going with the U.K version to add that Back Street Girl (first heard on the LP Flowers) as an all-time favorite Stone's song, regardless of that one dang guitar string that's not quite in tune!

Are You Experienced?- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
I had been initiated into psychedelic music primarily by Cream's Disraeli Gears and The Vanilla Fudge's first album, but this one really knocked the psychedelic sound out of the ballpark. A strong LP from top to bottom featuring just out right blistering guitar and some of the best rock drumming ever recorded. Effects heavy production that in no way overshadows a very high energy band. This record also brought into my life the first racially integrated band I had ever owned a record of. Love the cover photo with all those 'fros, and again, these guys looked tough and mean!

Outsideinside - Blue Cheer
My dad bought me this album at a drug store a long time ago. This was back in the days when drug stores used to carry a rack or two of LP's. He told me to pick one out and I chose this one. I was somewhat familiar with the band due to their single of Summertime Blues that I heard on the radio. This record could be one of the heaviest and hardest rock albums ever recorded. A power trio pummeling the grooves with Marshall stacks and the biggest drum set I had ever seen! The artwork was intriguing with its druggie references and a strange gatefold type cover that opened up with a giant live shot of the band. Musically, a real powerhouse, mixing psychedelia and power chords with one of the strangest mixes I've ever heard. This was so different than what San Francisco bands were putting out at the time. Standout tracks for me are Just A Little Bit, Come And Get It and the sign-of-the-times tune titled Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger!

This Was - Jethro Tull
My best friend had a big brother that worked at a music distributor in Charlotte, and he had a drool-worthy record collection to my young eyes, and this one really caught my eye! Weird cover with the already strange looking band made to look even stranger dressed as old down-and-out homeless dudes with a bunch of mangy dogs! But it was the music that really grabbed my attention. Relatively straight-ahead British blues mixed with rock, jazz and folk performed masterfully. Ian Anderson hadn't put on his tights and codpiece quite yet, and he displays his skill as a very unique singer and flautist. The rhythm section of Glenn Cornick and fab drummer Clive Bunker handle everything thrown at them, but for me, it's guitarist Mick Abrahams that steals the show. Adept with any style (but preferring blues), he remains one of my very favorite guitar players. Check out the lead-off track - My Sunday Feeling !

Wheels Of Fire - Cream
This may have been my very first 2 LP set I ever owned. Cream was also my very favorite group and I couldn't wait for this one to finally show up in my mailbox after I had ordered it from the Record Club Of America. With mind-blowing artwork, side one featured new studio tracks, while side two contained live recordings. With the exception of their live version of Crossroads (some of Clapton's fiercest playing ever), I was immediately drawn into the studio stuff. White Room was a huge hit and I already had the 45, so it was the songs I had never heard that drew me in so enticingly. Specifically, it was Jack Bruce's songs that were now showing a remarkable depth and musicality (along with Felix Pappalardi's unique production) that sends me reeling. There are few iconic rock riffs as great as Politician, which is about as heavy as can be, but the stand-out cut for me is As You Said , which seemed kind of..eerie to me with strange chords, great vocals and a wonderful cello part that was something very new for me to hear on a rock record. It's hard to think of a much stranger song than Ginger Baker's odd but beautiful Pressed Rat And Warthog, and I've got to say (regardless of what Rolling Stone magazine thought), I love Cream's version of Born Under A Bad Sign ! The reviewer (whose name I have long since forgotten) hated the herky-jerky feel of Ginger Baker's uber-syncopated drumming, but not me! It's one of the most unique grooves I've ever heard and I still can't figure the damned thing out.

f***booked.

Excuse the rant, but I recently signed on to facebook and it's freaking the hell out of me.

There are some good points for it - I have made some long lost connections that brighten my heart, and some of the ever-present list-tag thingies have made me think about stuff that interest me from different angles. It's also giving me some satisfaction in my hermit lifestyle, in being a tiny bit connected with friends that I just don't get around to actively making the effort to spend an evening with in the flesh.

That ain't enough. Especially for the younger generation.

I fear there is no going back - human relationships can now be crunched down to witty one-liners typed quickly and instantly disposed of. While it may make one feel that there is a connection (after all, some connection has got to be better than no connection), it's lulling us to sleep. Now, life seems to be not much more than just staring at an ever evolving and shrinking piece of technology that we buy and keep re-buying to have the most, in the smallest format possible.

Life's too short to avoid real human contact with people you like and love. I will probably stick with facebook for a while (my next post will deal with one of those list thingies) but I will do my best to change some bad habits. I think much more of my friends than what facebook can ever offer. I will make an effort.