Dez's Favorite Rock/Pop Records, #'s 65-61

I try to avoid this, but every once in awhile I'll have the "representative pick." This is a rather strange species where a band's output may be so consistent that you could put one of several of their releases in a spot. It usually occurs where the band's sound doesn't really change from record to record, but at the same time a lot of their catalogue qualifies as greatness. In that instance, it makes more sense to pick the very best representative vs. picking two or three records that, while great, are fairly repetitious of each other in sound and feel. #62 below is one of those. It doesn't happen much, in fact, #62 is the only one that immediately comes to mind, but it is possible it happened a couple of other times.

65. The Mermen – The Amazing California Health and Happiness Road Show, 2000
The Mermen are San Francisco’s premiere nouveau-surf band. I know that might not sound too impressive, but there are a surprising number of surf bands that come out of the Bay Area. It is surf music meets psychedelia meets raga meets lounge cool meets…whatever. I played this disc for a friend one time, and he commented that the music is so vivid that it is like a score to a film. I couldn’t agree more. Jim Thomas and the band open things up with the appropriately titled “Unto the Resplendent”, and then move deftly through a dizzying array of styles and genres, such as “White Trash Raga” (raga), “Sway” (moody ambience), “Emmylou Rides Clarence West and Then South” (country rock), “To Be Naked and French Is Always Hard” (Ennio Morricone-like noir), “Bare White” (lounge/psychedelic hybrid), “Little Stinky Kitty” (hard surf). When you are dealing with instrumentals, you can always be a bit more creative with song titles! The highlights come at the end, though. “Heart Beatitude” is stark and gorgeous, with an interplay between acoustic and electric guitars playing repetitive yet slowly developing intertwined lines. Finally, “Burn” rocks on for 15 epic minutes. It is what I mean by this music being cinematic. As I listen to this song, I can see a story unfold of the surfer out alone in the midst of a hurricane swell, catching the ultimate wave, then falling, deeper and deeper…and then he either drowns and comes out in another dimension or makes it back to the surface (with a reprise of “Unto the Resplendent” at the end). Now, I have no idea if this story is accurate or not, after all this is all instrumental music, but the point is that the music is so vivid that you can create your own storylines and images to go along with it. Unfortunately #65 is hard to find these days in hard copy, it is out of print and the cheapest used copy on Amazon was going for over $50.00 the last I checked. Although, you can download it at their website. A close runner-up is the brutal A Glorious Lethal Euphoria.


64. Bob Dylan – Blood on the Tracks, 1975
Along with Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love and Beck’s Sea Change, this is my favorite album that addresses relationships, and particularly their untidy end. Here Dylan turns his unmatched songwriting to matters of the heart, and he delivers a wonderful set of songs featuring his acoustic guitar on top of a solid yet loose band. He is alternatively bitter and tender throughout this set, often within the same song. Listening to these heartbreaking tunes, you are tempted to call #64 the most personal album in his entire repertoire. But Dylan being Dylan, he has always maintained that these songs are not autobiographical. But even his own son, singer Jakob Dylan, asserts that #64 is about Dylan's separation from his wife. In “Idiot Wind”, Dylan’s invective is palpable:

“Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your mouth
Blowing down the backroads headin’ south
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe
It’s a wonder you still know how to breathe”

But he does not save himself from the same harsh analysis:

“Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats
Blowing through the letters that we wrote
Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves
We’re idiots, babe
It’s a wonder we can even feed ourselves”

On the flip side, in “If You See Her, Say Hello”, he shows regret and understanding when remembering a lost love:

“If you get close to her, kiss her once for me
I have always respected her for busting out and getting free
Oh, whatever makes her happy, I won’t stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make her stay”

A song of remarkable emotional understanding, he is heartbroken yet admits that sometimes it is worse to stay together than it is to part ways. On top of all of that, my favorite Dylan song, “Tangled Up In Blue,” opens the record.

ABOVE: Blood on the Tracks is one of Dylan's most cohesive records

63. INXS – Listen Like Thieves, 1985
#63 was their first hit in the States, although they were already a favorite in their homeland of Australia. INXS perfected dance-style rock, and although they used synthesizers, they were still primarily a guitar/bass/drums outfit. Frontman Michael Hutchense was possibly the most magnetic persona in 80’s pop/rock. This record is full of their typical mix of seductive hits, like the funky single “What You Need” and the uplifting “Shine Like It Does”. My favorite INXS tune is “Kiss the Dirt”, which epitomizes that sexy, mysterious yet accessible feel that they did so well. A superior 80’s pop/rock record, and better than the more celebrated follow-up, Kick.

62. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory, 1970
John Fogerty and his band were ridiculously great and productive in the late 60’s. From 1968 through 1970, CCR released an astounding six (!) records, all of which are tight as hell and full of rock classics (I generously don’t discuss 1972’s dismal kiss-off Mardi Gras, aka “Fogerty’s Revenge,” which Fogerty sabotaged on purpose to spite his estranged bandmates. A great rock story in its own right.) On a different day, I might have slipped Green River, Willy and the Poor Boys or Bayou Country in this slot. Although they emerged from San Francisco at the same time as many other legendary late 60’s bands, CCR immediately stood apart from their hippie and psychedelic brethren with a focus on tight singles and an Americana vision that owed more to the bayous of Louisiana than the psychedelia of the West Coast. In many ways, Fogerty was a throwback to an earlier era. He sounds like he would be more comfortable chillin’ in Sun Studios with Elvis and Johnny Cash in the mid-50’s vs. hanging out with hippies in the Haight. Sure, they gamely tackled the occasional extended jam that was requisite for any self-respecting 60’s rock band, but you can tell that the heart of CCR is more in the perfectly crafted three and a half minute radio rock and roll single. In that arena, John Fogerty had no equal in the late 60’s. #62 opens with the blistering jam “Ramble Tamble”, then moves right into a set of tight rocking covers (“Before You Accuse Me”, “Ooby Dooby”). It also features a sprawling 11-minute jam on Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” where Fogerty flexes his guitar muscle. But it is really six tunes (three singles and their accompanying b-sides) that make the heart of #62: the boogie of the screaming “Travelin’ Band”, the blazing riffs of “Up Around the Bend”, the bayou gloom and doom of “Run Through the Jungle” (a favorite that Springsteen often covers onstage), the back porch stomp of “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”, the social commentary of the pretty “Who’ll Stop the Rain” and the haunting closer “Long As I Can See the Light”. For what it’s worth, author and respected music superfan Stephen King declares that #62 is the greatest rock and roll record ever made. CCR was basically John Fogerty (as Fogerty will often tell people, trying to minimize his bandmates' contributions as much as he can), but you really can’t underestimate the grooviest rhythm section around at the time in brother guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford.

61. The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema, 2005
A Canadian supergroup of sorts, the Pornographers are a collection of notable Canadian indie artists who come together to record and occasionally tour in various combinations. The most involved members are Carl Newman (who seems to be the chief songwriter and de facto leader), Dan Bejar and New Country chanteuse Neko Case. The sound is firmly in the genre of power pop, with sweeping melodies, catchy hooks and singalong choruses. This is not to say that the music lacks substance; the lyrics are often interesting, the musicianship is uniformly superb, the arrangements tricky, and the vocals varied and engaging (especially whenever Neko takes the mic). This is one of those records where, to paraphrase the immortal words of Spinal Tap manager Ian Faith, “every track could be a hit!” Modern power pop does not get much better than this.