The Cramps Review / The La's Preview (Album 23)

(Cramps preview here) So. The Cramps...is exactly what my ears had after listening to this. No, not really. I don't think that your ears can cramp. That's a little harsh too, but seriously. I was not terribly impressed with it. That's the thing, I'm not terribly impressed with many of the albums in this book. Which makes me sad. Only a couple of albums have really stuck out to me or are things I would listen to again. This was kinda weird, it reminded me of noise rock. Just sounds, and mediocre sounds. It's ok. I probably won't ever listen to it again. I did like on of the remakes that they did. But nothing really stuck out. You need the kind of songs that people will want to do remakes of. But then again, this was supposed to be a pretty experimental album. So... experiment a success? They were active up until about 2009 (according to Wikipedia), which I find interesting because I have never heard of them. They also changed members over 20 times. So I'll let that speak for itself. Maybe we will see them again.

Favorite Songs:
     Fever (Cover)
     TV Set
     I Was A Teenage Werewolf

Album: The La's

Artist: The La's

Release Year: 1990

"So with a mass of critical acclaim and strong sales in their favor, why did The La's release only one album and then fade away? Well, by most accounts, lead singer and songwriter Lee Mavers always was a surly perfectionist, and maybe a touch unstable with it. The band took four years to make The La's and burned through at least as many producers before the label finally lost patience and insisted they release the version piloted by Steve Lillywhite. Soon after, when Lee Mavers was asked to describe the album to NME he replied, "I hate it, it's the worst. A pile of shit. There is not one good thing I can find to say about it." Definitely the minority opinion, there, Lee." - Rob Morton

01 - Son Of A Gun

02 - I Can't Sleep

03 - Timeless Melody

04 - Liberty Ship

05 - There She Goes

06 - Doledrum

07 - Feelin'

08 - Way Out

09 - IOU

10 - Freedom Song

11 - Failure

12 - Looking Glass

Streaming: Radio3.net

iTunes: The La's

Spotify: The La's

My god there are a lot of albums in this book.

~mfm

Spirit Review / The Cramps Preview (Album 22)

(Spirit preview here) So I was kinda impressed with Spirit, in a general sense. They weren't overly impressive, but it was kinda cool to hear about this band that did pretty well during the 70's that I had never heard of before. Maybe that's why it was special. It was rocky, with a sort of 70's calmness to it. Maybe there were drugs involved. I wouldn't doubt that at all, but that doesn't change anything. I doubt that this will hear any play on my iPod, but I do really like the cover art, if it was a bit bigger. Throwback to basic photo manipulation.

Favorite Songs:
     Animal Zoo
     Street Worm

Album: Songs The Lord Taught Us

Artist: The Cramps

Release Year: 1980

"Songs The Lord Taught Us celebrates the trashiest elements of twentieth-century Americana. The Cramps' debut chewed up rockabilly riffs, punk rebellion, and B-movie imagery, andspat it out a gloriously primeval gob of rock'n'roll noise... Songs The Lord Taught Us should have been a smash. Critics raved, but problems in the band nixed any chance of success. During a 1980 tour in the United States, guitarist Bryan Gregory drove off with a van full of their equipment - sold to fund his growing drug addiction - and was never seen by the band again." Theunis Bates

01 - T.V. Set

02 - Rock On The Moon

03 - Garbageman

04 - I Was A Teenage Werewolf

05 - Sunglasses After Dark

06 - The Mad Daddy

07 - Mystery Plane

08 - Zombie Dance

09 - What's Behind The Mask?

10 - Strychnine

11 - I'm Cramped

12 - Tear It Up

13 - Fever

Streaming: Radio3.net

iTunes: Songs The Lord Taught Us

Spotify: The Cramps

Sounds very strange. Sounds very 80s. Hopefully it's awesome.

~mfm

The Everly Brothers Review / Spirit Preview (Album 21)

(Everly Brothers preview here) So The Everly Brothers was probably what I was expecting. Sounds like early Beach Boys and  Simon & Garfunkel  and other vocalists like that. After a brief look around the internet, I don't think that their other stuff sounds like this. This album comes from before they turned into a "country-influenced rock and roll" performance. But that's alright. Maybe we will see some more of them in the future. I doubt that any of this will be staying on my iPod. Maybe I'll make my grandpa sit down and listen to it and see if he knows it. That would be cool.

Favorite Songs:
     Made To Love
     Baby What Do You Want Me To Do

Album: Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus

Artist: Spirit

Release Year: 1970

"Feelins could not have been worse when Spirit recorded Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus. Luckily, David Briggs [producer], who worked with Neol Young, managed to harness all the animosity into Spirit's masterwork. The album was enriched with meaty horn arrangements ("Morning Will Come"), imaginative vocal harmonies ("Nothin' To Hide") and a structured approach to psychedelic studio trickery such as stereo panning and tapes run backwards...Oh, and "Dr. Sardonicus?" It is the nickname Spirit coined for the mixing desk at the studio." - Jamie Gonzalo

 01 - Prelude - Nothin' To Hide

02 - Nature's Way

03 - Animal Zoo

04 - Love Has Found A Way

05 - Why Can't I Be Free

06 - Mr. Skin

07 - Space Child

08 - When I Touch You

09 - Street Worm

10 - Life Has Just Begun

11 - Morning Will Come

12 - Soldier

Streaming: Radio3.net

iTunes: Spirit

Spotify: Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus

This sounds pretty cool. I've never heard of them before, but here's to hoping.

~mfm