Dez's 5 Star Records: the J's

Marching right along through the J's. This one was tough for some reason, I had several records I really struggled with that were right on the cusp, but in the end I cut them off as strong 4 stars but not quite 5 stars. I really went back and forth with MJ's Bad, which is loaded with killer hits, but the filler is so filler that I couldn't do it in the end.

Michael Jackson – Off the Wall (1979): World, meet the grown-up Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson – Thriller (1982): It is hard to even judge the most successful album in history on normal terms, but “Billie Jean” might be the greatest pop song of all time. Maybe.

Mick Jagger – Wandering Spirit (1993): Mick felt somewhat constrained within The Rolling Stones’ latterday rock and roll formula, this solo record makes the argument that Jagger was the more daring and eclectic of the Glimmer Twins.

James – Laid (1993): Commercial peak for this great alternative pop band from across the pond, their collaborating with Brian Eno proves a perfect match.

Jefferson Airplane – Surrealistic Pillow (1967): The most overrated band of the late 60’s era, BUT this one record is outstanding and captures its time and place better than most anything else from the period.

Billy Joel – Songs in the Attic (live) (1981): No hits here, but this live document is full of excellent deep album cuts from his early days.

Dr. John - Gris-Gris (1968): The Dr. debuts as 'The Night Tripper' with this mysterious, groovy gumbo of New Orleans roots music and psychedelic trippiness, nothing else (including from him) sounds quite like it.

Elton John – Tumbleweed Connection (1970): The best of a series of outstanding Elton records from the early and mid-70’s, TC has an earthier feel than most of his other records.

Robert Johnson – King of the Delta Blues (1936-37): The almost mythical Johnson only participated in two recording sessions, and this collects most of the masters which quite simply lay the foundation for an entire generation of blues-rockers to come decades later. NOTE: Like with the Mississippi John Hurt selection below, these tracks were recorded before the LP era, but this can be considered an album as opposed to a compilation because they would have been released together as a record had the format been available at the time.

Janis Joplin with Big Brother & the Holding Company – Cheap Thrills (1968): Joplin’s force of nature, volcanic vocals were best complemented by the scrappy and rough-around-the-edges Big Brother & the Holding Company; the raw energy of these tracks will blow your hair back. NOTE: Technically, this should have been listed in the B’s, as Joplin was merely a member of the band at the time. But most people view this as a Joplin record in reality, not to diminish the substantial contributions of this band.

Stanley Jordan – Magic Touch (1985): Jordan’s unique approach to the jazz guitar has the danger of being a bit gimmicky (taking tapping to the extreme), but his astounding technique genuinely amazes and, for the most part, his playing is tasteful.

Journey – Frontiers (1983): Most listeners would probably give the edge to predecessor Escape, but for me, “Send Her My Love” and “Faithfully” are the definitive 80’s power ballads, and the tougher material here, for the most part, is also masterfully produced and delivered.

Judas Priest – British Steel (1980): Priest led the British New Wave of Metal, and BS was the album that really broke them through, as it deftly stays true to its metal roots yet makes it very accessible for the mainstream (“Breaking the law! Breaking the law!”)


ABOVE: Seems obvious in hindsight, what with the leather and chains motifs, but Judas Priest singer Rob Halford surprised many when he came out of the closet. It was a bit risky in the macho world of heavy metal, but Halford's vocals have always been so bad-ass, he is still rightly considered a metal deity.

The Game

Although I do not really follow college sports that closely, I have been enjoying the madness within March Madness over the Kentucky/Louisville Final Four match-up this Saturday. My father is from Louisville, and grew up a diehard U. of Kentucky fan with a childlike enthusiasm that has never left him. I've mentioned this before, but his fandom is legendary in our family. Before the days of iPhones, when he and my mother went out to eat with friends on nights when Kentucky was playing (even the relatively meaningless regular season games), he would often slip off to the restroom to check the score on his portable radio. If we were at home and a Kentucky game was on, forget about anything else as far as he was concerned.

Anyway, I have a link below to a fascinating article about the crazy history and psychological analysis of why the state of Kentucky is so basketball nuts. It is a fine analysis of the Kentucky / Louisville rivalry as well. Please read even if you have only a passing interest in college hoops. It is excellent, and has some hilarious anecdotes as to the lengths people in the bluegrass state will go to show their fandom.

Click HERE for the article.

Dez's 5 Star Records: The H's and I's

There are some real revolutionaries in this edition. Michael Hedges and Jimi Hendrix both changed the way acoustic and electric guitars, respectively, could be played. Herbie Hancock is a jazz giant who has been on the innovative forefront of the music since the 60’s, and blues masters Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin’ Hopkins were two early practitioners of acoustic blues who influenced generations. George Harrison was kinda important too.

Herbie Hancock – Head Hunters (1973): One of jazz fusion’s biggest records, Hancock and his band ride the everpresent groove throughout, which rests as much on funk and R&B as it does jazz.

George Harrison – All Things Must Pass (1970): George Harrison had the misfortune as a songwriter to come into his own within a band that also featured John Lennon and Paul McCartney; so it is not surprising that his first solo record is overflowing with great stockpiled tunes that had been unfairly dismissed by his former bandmates.

Colin Hay – Peaks and Valleys (1992): Men At Work’s former leader has forged a respectable if low key post-Men career, but his powers as a vocalist and guitarist are best exhibited in the solo acoustic setting.

Michael Hedges – Aerial Boundaries (1984): It is rare to find a guitarist who can truly revolutionize technique, especially this late in the game, but Michael Hedges did just that with the acoustic guitar.

Michael Hedges – Live on the Double Planet (1987) (live): This is the most accessible and entertaining introduction to Hedges and his revolutionary guitar playing, it is a fun mix of eclectic covers (from Dylan via Hendrix, where he makes one of the most tired and covered songs fresh again, to Sheila E.) and his stunning originals.

Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced? (1967): My candidate for the greatest debut record in rock history; any way you slice it, the American version, the British version or the current CD hybrid version, there is enough on this debut to outdo most full careers.

Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland (1968): Most double records are excessive and need trimming, but Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland is an exhilarating journey through styles and bold experimentation that defies mere mortals.

The Hold Steady – Boys and Girls in America (2006): This is probably the best record I’ve heard put out in the last decade or so, it is brimming with great hooks and fantastic lyrics.

Lightnin’ Hopkins – Lightnin’ (1960): Texan Hopkins’s brew of simple yet engaging acoustic blues is on full display on this near perfect blues album.

Mississippi John Hurt – The Complete Okeh Recordings (1928/1996): I simply cannot believe that these tunes were recorded in the 1920’s, they are full of interesting turns, stellar and complex acoustic guitar fingerpicking and witty lyrics that would still engage to this day. NOTE: 1928 was before “albums” were available, these recordings were all done in the same session or sessions and released as singles. So even though I generally do not include compilations on this list, this is an exception because in the album era (starting in the 50’s), these tracks would have been all collected and released as a full album.

INXS – Listen Like Thieves (1985): Follow-up Kick was the mega-seller, but I’ve always preferred this one, as it best demonstrates the charisma of Michael Hutchence as well as the band’s wonderful way with a dance groove and hooks.

Chris Isaak – Heart Shaped World (1989): Chris Isaak’s retro-50’s noir sound has changed little over the decades, and his commercial breakthrough from ’89 best exemplifies that sound and, to be honest, it bests many of his influences he is trying to emulate.


ABOVE: I’ve got some friends who swear that Hendrix’s sophomore effort is his best, Axis: Bold As Love. They are on crack. Are You Experienced? and Electric Ladyland are both far better. But we are talking Hendrix here, so it is kind of like arguing over which panel in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel is the prettiest.

Suicidal Thoughts

One of my wife's oldest friends killed herself this last week. Well, probably. It was an overdose of pills and she had been troubled and had discussed it over the years. I can't comprehend the depths of despair one reaches to make that decision. I like to think that I have been through some emotionally trying times where I also felt great despair, but suicide never entered my mind as an option. Even at my lowest point, which I remember well, I instinctively knew that it would eventually pass and things would get better. She isn't the only person I know who went down that path. I can think of two others that I knew fairly to very well, one of which was my aunt, who also chose to end things. One characteristic all three of these individuals had in common is that they were a bit crazy. I don't say that because of what they did at the end, I say that knowing all three for many years. So perhaps that explains it. Perhaps you have to be inherently irrational in some way to do that. Perhaps that prevents that instinct that always kicked in with me that realized that whatever was going on was only temporary and I'd get over it eventually and move on.

I don't think that I could ever do that in part because I have a healthy fear and uncertainty as to the Hereafter. I would categorize myself as an agnostic with a hope and openness to the possibility of a higher power. As a historian and teacher of history I have a natural inclination for study anyway, but part of why I have always loved reading about and discussing various faiths is because I still feel I am involved in an active search for my own beliefs. I've got good friends who are avowed athiests and I've got good friends who have strong faith in whatever their creed may be. Both groups seem somewhat irrational and a bit presumptuous to me. The only rational path is agnosticism. But at the same time agnosticism seems to be a holding pattern, a temporary stop until you can figure out a stronger position. I've been in that holding pattern for decades.

Faith (or lack thereof) is connected to the decision of suicide, I think. I don't know the faith positions of two of these people, but my aunt was brought up pretty strict catholic. My mother, her sister, left the faith awhile ago but has just rediscovered it and returned to the fold. I don't think my aunt went to church every Sunday, but I also don't think she gave up on her childhood beliefs. She was also an obsessive rule-follower. Hence her suicide was particularly perplexing. But she was the most nuts of these three people, so perhaps there is no understanding her thought processes. My aunt's was meticulously planned, while my wife's friend seemed more spur of the moment in a flood of emotion. In fact, my theory is that she half wanted to be saved, based on the text messages she sent out and the fact that she was very dramatic and craved attention.

I don't have any answers or great wisdom to share, I was just thinking about all of this stuff after this latest incident. But don't worry, back to the business of music soon, where I feel I am on much surer footing. RIP MKD, you were a firecracker of a woman with oceans of emotion, both up and down. I hope you found your peace.

Dez's 5 Star Records: The G's

You could subtitle this entry “The Peter Gabriel Edition.” Gabriel is involved in seven of the following 12 picks. It is no secret that I am a huge PG fan, notwithstanding the last 20 years of crap he has put out. This is where personal taste really does enter into the equation, his work just strikes a chord with me. That being said, I think that I can justify each of these picks. Gabriel is a respected artist and praise has been heaped on all of these records below. Also, the Genesis records where he is involved are not solely his work. Genesis, in the early days, really was a collective with each member contributing crucial elements. So the Genesis records are just as much about Steve Hackett and Tony Banks as they are about Gabriel. The much maligned but commercially successful Phil Collins-era of Genesis deserves (although, Collins was in the band during the Gabriel-era too) some critical reconsideration, even though none of those records make my 5 star list (Abacab came close.)

Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (aka ‘I’, aka ‘Car’, aka ‘The First One’) (1977): An artistic declaration of independence, Gabriel’s solo debut is bursting with genre experiments and ideas as he is released from the perceived shackles of Genesis’s progressive rock collective.

Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (aka ‘III’, aka ‘Melt’, aka ‘The Third One’) (1980): With the unbeatable combination of distinctive and experimental production (especially with the percussion) and Gabriel’s most powerful set of songs, his third record is the most rewarding.

Peter Gabriel – So (1986): Gabriel finally strikes a balance between musical experimentation and commercial sensibility and releases the hit record that people knew he was capable of making; on a personal note, this is one of those handful of records that really altered my musical perspectives and opened a lot of doors.

Peter Gabriel – Passion (1989): Passion serves as the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s controversial film ‘The Last Temptation of Christ,’ and is an intoxicating, mostly instrumental, blend of African and Middle Eastern music with Western technology and Gabriel’s layers of production and moody synthesizers.

Genesis – Foxtrot (1972): If I had to pick one record as the ultimate progressive rock masterpiece, I think I would have to pick Foxtrot; Gabriel’s multiple characters that he inhabits within a single song (“Get ‘Em Out By Friday” and the epic “Supper’s Ready”) is worthy of the stage.

Genesis – Selling England By the Pound (1973): The most uneven of the killer Genesis trilogy from ’72-’74, but the peaks are their highest (“Dancing With the Moonlit Knight,” “Firth of Fifth,” “Cinema Show” and “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” are all amongst the best Genesis has to offer.)

Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974): Gabriel’s incomprehensible double concept album swansong with Genesis still contains many moments of musical excitement and beauty, and credit really goes to the rest of the band.

The Grateful Dead – American Beauty (1970): A counterpart to the almost as great Workingman’s Dead the same year, this record has even deeper roots in folk American musical forms; rarely has an album title been so apt.

The Grateful Dead – The Grateful Dead (aka ‘Skull and Roses,’ aka ‘Skullf*ck’) (live) (1971): For Dead standards, this double record is a relatively concise but accurate sampling of the live Dead experience, with the spacey extended jam confined to one (very long) track, while the rest is filled out with the usual mix of excellent covers and new (soon to be standard) Dead originals like “Bertha,” “Playing in the Band” and “Wharf Rat.”

David Gray – White Ladder (1998): I’ll tread carefully since I know some of my readers are big Gray fans, but this is the only fully satisfying record that he has put out; a DIY bid for success that worked because of strong material and bold yet tasteful use of programming and synths mixing it up with his acoustic guitar.

Guns ‘n Roses – Appetite For Destruction (1987): Is this the last classic rock record?

Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): The only other holiday record on this list (after Nat Cole’s record), Guaraldi’s lovely, lilting jazz soundtrack to the perennial Peanuts television standard stands outside the cartoon as its own classic piece of holiday warmth and cheer.


ABOVE: Peter Gabriel’s first four records were all simply titled Peter Gabriel. He wanted his records to be identifiable by their distinct covers (the first four being Car, Scratch, Melt and Security), similar to different issues of the same magazine. The record company eventually nixed the idea after Security and forced him to start naming his albums.

Dez's 5 Star Records: The E's and F's

I can combine the E's and F's into one entry. I like this one, there is some real variety here. Jazz, bluegrass, funk, folk, atmospheric, pop and of course, some gritty rock and roll.

Duke Ellington – Ellington Indigos (1958): A minor entry in the Duke’s discography, I admit, but I have always loved the mellow and nostalgic mood (well, it feels nostalgic now, I guess it felt contemporary then) that he maintains throughout.

Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets (1974): The more obvious choice may be his classic Another Green World, but I prefer Eno’s more structured and rock-oriented yet just as adventurous debut, where he already shows a mastery of production and sonic texture.

Explosions in the Sky (plus Daniel Lanois, David Torn, Bad Company) – ‘Friday Night Lights’ motion picture soundtrack (2004): Limiting themselves to relatively concise pieces for soundtrack purposes makes the wide open and impressionistic instrumental music of West Texas’s Explosions in the Sky that much more potent (and the pretty acoustic Bad Company tune “Seagull” is a really nice touch).

Faces – A Nod Is As Good As a Wink…To A Blind Horse (1971): Sweaty, bluesy rock and roll from Rod Stewart, the Ronnies (Wood and Lane) and Co. that equals the Stones at their gritty best, with Lane’s gorgeous “Debris” standing out as the emotional highlight.

Fairport Convention – Liege and Leif (1969): This groundbreaking record is true folk (in this case English and Celtic)-rock, instead of merely being rock music with folk influences; both genres are strongly present for a true fusion of styles punctuated by the stellar guitar work from cult hero Richard Thompson and the glorious vocals of Sandy Denny.

Fine Young Cannibals – The Raw and Cooked (1988): This piece of bright 80’s pop is so intriguing to me, not only for Roland Gift’s impressive vocals but also for its fusion of 50’s (and early 60’s) and 80’s styles, as if the late 60’s and 70’s never happened, running 50’s simple pop and rock structure through 80’s synths, electronic drums and silky smooth production.

Ella Fitzgerald – The Cole Porter Songbook (1956): The definition of class.

Bela Fleck – Drive (1988): Fleck and his maestro friends perfect the modern instrumental bluegrass form, with the extended freak-out in “Sanctuary” being the highlight.

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones – Flight of the Cosmic Hippo (1991): The record that really broke Fleck and his Flecktones through to the relative mainstream; a dizzy and joyous amalgam of jazz, bluegrass and rock from a band with unparalleled chops and technique.

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours (1977): Out of soap opera comes one of pop-rock’s great masterpieces.

Funkadelic – Maggot Brain (1971): The stunning 9-minute title track/guitar solo from Eddie Hazel blows the mind, it is a peak for emotional, explosive electric guitar playing.


Legend has it that for the recording of Funkadelic's “Maggot Brain,” George Clinton locked guitarist Eddie Hazel (above) in a dark studio and instructed him to play “like you just heard that your Mama died.”

Now That Is (Was) a Sports Fan

Longtime readers of GNABB know that I am a fan of great obituary writing. A great obituary is a minor artform, not merely giving the stats of one's life, but really capturing something about the dearly departed in a relatively short piece of writing. Anyway, here is the first paragraph of a recent obituary that was in the news:

"James H. "Jim" Driver, 78, of Eagle, Colo., formerly of Columbia, passed away Monday, March 19, 2012, at South Hampton Place in Columbia after a brief illness. An avid Broncos fan, he abhorred (Peyton) Manning and evidently wanted out before a deal was done."

That's awesome.