Sloan Steady 2022

Sloan have made exactly two kinds of records. Good ones and great ones. This is one of the great ones.

What makes the difference? Mostly it is the songs themselves. On a great record with many great songs, an occasional merely good song sounds just fine. On a good record with only a few great songs, the merely good songs start to rule the day. And there you have it. In the case of Sloan, it is perhaps arguable that some of their good records suffered slightly from recording or production differences that their great records did not have to work through. But it's mostly the songs.

Sloan have all the essential elements associated with great bands. As I've mentioned numerous times before, great bands need a great drummer (Andrew Scott more than qualifies), a good singer (Sloan has four), and a good songwriter or two (again, Sloan has four). They have recorded thirteen original studio records, and none of them are less than good. But the great ones still stand out as records you can listen to from start to finish without even a whiff of disappointment.

There's a bunch of reviews online already that you can use to help you dissect this new record. But all you need to know is that if classic rock and power pop are your bag, Sloan firing on all cylinders is the obvious answer. Great songs, great harmonies, solid lyrics, melodies and hooks abound.

So which ones are great and which ones are "merely" good? The good ones are Smeared 1992 (a solid debut but still clinging to a post punk sound that gets tempered as they mature), Pretty Together 2001, Action Pact 2003, Parallel Play 2008, The Double Cross 2011, and Commonwealth 2014 (which suffers more from the concept than the execution). Most of their 2000s records just don't have the consistency of their 90s output, but there's room for plenty of opinions if you happen to be partial to one of these.

The great ones are Twice Removed 1994, One Chord To Another 1996, Navy Blues 1998, Between The Bridges 1999, Never Hear The End Of It 2006 (an amazing thirty songs in 76 minutes), 12 2018, and Steady 2022.

Any band that can rack up seven classics in thirty years is an impressive band. That the same four guys have been there the whole time is pretty amazing.

Zappadan 2022

Yes, it is Zappadan. December 4 - December 21, every year since 2006 when it was initiated as a blogswarm by The Aristocrats, a now defunct blog.

Of course, blogs are less popular now than in 2006. There's some Zappadan celebration on Twitter, and Facebook, there's Fred Handl's lovely work on YouTube, and Aaron Pryor is still at it on his blog. But it is getting harder and harder to find much excitement around the holiday like way back in 2006-07 when things were new and Fried Green al-Qaedas, The Aristocrats and Mark Hoback were on the scene.

I haven't acquired any more Zappa music this year. It will be interesting to see what happens now that the vault has been sold. Hopefully Universal Music Group will handle things with some small measure of decorum. 

I have many years of past Zappadan posts here, and a slightly longer list of Zappa related posts (including Zappadan) here. 

If you're planning to celebrate, remember the rules. There aren't any.

Christine McVie 1943-2022

Christine McVie passed away yesterday. McVie was an excellent songwriter with a feel for a pop/rock melody, a singer with a lovely contralto voice, and a fine rocking piano/keyboard player. 

She wrote many of Fleetwood Mac's biggest hits. On their 1988 Greatest Hits, McVie wrote eight of the sixteen songs. Her songs also helped keep the band afloat in the early seventies during the Danny Kirwin/Bob Welch years, when McVie's songs were frequent album highlights (Show Me A Smile, Spare Me A Little Of Your Love, Remember Me, Believe Me, Heroes Are Hard To Find, Come A Little Bit Closer). 

She retired from Fleetwood Mac in 1999 and mostly lived a quiet life in Kent, although she rejoined the band in 2014 and recorded and toured behind the Lindsey Buckingham Christie McVie album in 2017.

Even when the band was the fuel for personal controversies in the press, she kept her head up, never said bad stuff about anyone, and remained the consummate professional. 

A class act all the way. Godspeed Christine McVie.

Loggins and Messina Mother Lode 1974 Native Sons 1976

Loggins and Messina had a five year stint as a successful pop/rock/country duo in the early seventies. Over the course of five years they made five original studio albums, one covers album, and a two LP live set. More than just a duo, they were a solid band (assembled by producer/arranger Messina) that stayed together for most of their tenure.

I saw them live and they put on a good show. 

Jim Messina quit Poco to become an independent producer, and because he was tired of touring. That didn't last long when he was hired to produce Kenny Loggins' first solo record. To offset Loggins' penchant for soft folk, Messina wrote, arranged and sang so much of the record that it became Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In 1971. The follow-up was titled Loggins And Messina 1972, and included their biggest single the #4 hit Your Mama Don't Dance, and that was followed by Full Sail in 1973. I used to own all of their five original studio LPs, but those first three were purged from the stacks many moons ago. Loggins' syrupy ballads and Messina's light pop/rock just didn't hold up twenty or more years later. 

Recently I realized that their last two studio records were still in my collection, and I got them out to listen to them and see if they were indeed still worth having. 

The band included Messina on guitar and mandolin, Loggins on rhythm guitar, Larry Sims bass, Merle Brigante drums and percussion, Al Garth on violin and sax, and Jon Clarke on flute, saxes and horn. Their albums always included additional percussion and keyboards (Michael Omartin on the first three). If that doesn't sound like the line-up for a country band, you would be entirely correct. In fact, when they extended songs with lengthy instrumental breaks, they made some of their best moments.

Interestingly, Mother Lode 1974 was their highest charting album at #8. That seems right to me, as I feel it was their best record overall, even though the solid chart showing probably had more to do with the strong showing of their previous two releases. The record opens with Loggins' Growin', a snappy pop number that only got to #52 on the singles charts. Be Free is a strong pop number from Messina that features a lengthy instrumental section featuring flute, mandolin, violin and oboe. Changes is a syncopated rocker that shows off keys by David Paich (later of Toto fame). Brighter Days, a pretty Loggins ballad, and the jazzy rock of Time To Space round out side one.

Lately My Love is a mid-tempo rocker that features tasty lead guitar from Messina. Move On has another extended instrumental section that shows off some fine sax and more guitar. Get A Hold again features Messina's guitar, this time with chicken-pickin' wah wah style. Keep Me In Mind is a nice ballad sung by bass player Simms with another solid arrangement. Loggins' ballad Fever Dream rounds out the record with a good sax that almost saves it. With at least seven out of ten really strong tracks, it's a keeper.

Native Sons 1976, their swansong, comes sort of close to the quality of Mother Lode, but not quite. For this one, they added two more sax players, and Sanford and Townsend on back-up vocals and songwriting on two songs. But some of the songs are just not up to snuff. Both Loggins (My Lady, My Love) and Messina (Pretty Princess and When I Was A Child) toss out some too-sweet treacle, and Messina writes a good tune with insipid lyrics on It's Alright. Boogie Man is too lightweight, although the piano on the break is nice. The record is saved by Wasting Our Time, a solid pop tune from Loggins and John Townsend, Peacemaker, a political pop song with nice violin, sax and vibes, Fox Fire, the only song on the record featuring a sweet Messina lead guitar, and the opener Sweet Marie. So about half of it is good.

Messina went on to record quite a few mostly neglected solo albums, some of which featured his love of Latin music, and Loggins had a moderately successful solo career that benefited from a number of hits on movie soundtracks, including Footloose (the #1 title track, which he wrote) and Danger Zone (#2 on the singles charts) from Top Gun. They reformed for successful tours in 2005 and 2009, and hopefully they made a big wad of dough. Mother Lode might be a surprisingly fun find in a used record store.

Al Kooper Going Going Gone 2005

Al Kooper made a bunch of great music in the sixties and seventies. His solo records from the period are great finds in used record stores, and most of it is available on CD and streaming. I wrote about his work in a post about his 2008 outing White Chocolate. His finest solo work is probably Black Coffee from 2005.

Black Coffee contained Al's excellent Going Going Gone. I've been feeling nostalgic for the past lately, since the present seems so much, well, not so good as the past. Al summed it up pretty well with Going Going Gone. The YouTube video is here.

Going Going Gone

I went to put my old boots on this morning
They were cracked on the side and had a hole straight through the sole
I went downtown to the store where I first bought ‘em
They said Al, they don’t make any boots like that no more

And that’s the way my whole life seems to be goin’
Like the world is playin’ some big ass joke on me
You know they just tore down the theater where I saw my first movie
One day it’s there, next day you couldn’t tell where it used to be

Going Going Gone
The things we took for granted, that we always counted on
If you had a million dollars you couldn’t even try them on
Cause today you can’t find no boots like that cause there going going gone

I used to fall in love to that deep soul music
It was the voices of the angels and they never told you no lie
Now you got pimps, gangstas and big-time rappers
They make the whole damn thing disappear right before our eyes

Going Going Gone
The things we took for granted, that we always counted on
And now you only hear that music on some oldies marathon
Pretty soon it won’t even be there no more cause it’s going going gone

I used to think I had my whole life before me
And in some small way I could change things all around
But now I feel that most people just ignore me
I got one foot in the gutter and the other foot in the ground

Going Going Gone
The things we took for granted, that we always counted on
I’d rather play this old guitar than to strap some new one on
Guess I’ll play that song this way till I’m going going gone
Even that beat-up pillow I love to lay my head upon
Will someday be my tombstone when I’m going going gone

Spinning Vinyl - The Blues Edition

I'm certainly not a huge blues fan, but there's plenty to like when it wins me over. So a stroll through the stacks recently caught the theme and...

Alvin Lee is a bad-ass guitar player, and the band includes a driving rhythm section and a hot shot organist. Lee also has a fine bluesy scream and wrote seven of the eight tracks. Ssssh is a stomping blues-rock classic.

I listened to side 1, with Waitin' On The Bus and Jesus Just Left Chicago, my favorite ZZ Top moment. But I had forgotten how great the side ended with Hot, Blue And Righteous. I was getting into the blues for real now, so that meant it was time for Buddy Guy.

Guy's guitar playing isn't like anyone's, at least not anyone I've heard. His leads can seem to almost lose the rhythm, but it never really happens, and he leaves me stunned every time. This one from 1994 was the start of a string of strong outings from the indomitable Buddy Guy.

The harmonica drenched Too Many Drivers, Ronnie Barron's It's Getting Harder To Survive, Mose Allison's If You Live, and Bobby Charles' and Rick Danko's Small Town Talk make for one great side. The Better Days band was short-lived and always in the wake of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, but they had a nice organic sound and operated like a music co-op, with everybody getting some time, and making the most of it.

 

Southside Johnny has been through a fair bit, but he keeps doing it to death, and he's managed to produce more than a few solid albums since those first three classics between 1976-1978. Better Days 1991, Into The Harbor 2005, Pills And Ammo 2010, and this stone classic blues ball buster from 2000. Messin' With The Blues might be Johnny's best since those early days.

Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Vaughn was reverential, but he also came to play. King does Stormy Monday, and then Vaughn lights up Pride And Joy, on fat black 45 rpm plastic.

Bromberg's How Late'll Ya Play'Til? 1976 is another lost gem that more people should hear. A double album with one studio record and one live record, it might be the most stylistically sweeping statement of musical ability across genres available. On the live blues sides, the band is hot and Bromberg is having a ball.

These things have to end somewhere, and that somewhere this time out, is Savoy Brown, side one of Blue Matter 1969. The brief union of Kim Simmonds with Chris Youlden made for some fine blues from Savoy Brown. Youlden's solo career never really took off, and Simmonds has soldiered on impressively, but the two of them together were unique.

Frank Sinatra

 

As a teenager in the 1960s, I had little interest in Frank Sinatra. He was a singer from another time who was still around, doing the same thing he'd always done. He was a square from my father's generation. It didn't help much that his voice was beginning to change in a bad way, or that he tried in vain to seem hip by covering pop tunes of the day. I was listening to Beatles, Stones, and the whole raft of British Invasion groups, Motown and more gritty Southern soul, and plenty of American pop music from surf music to folk groups.

Later, as I got a bit older and began exploring jazz from the 1950s, I also began a reevaluation of some of the great singers of the 1950s, including Tony Bennett, Peggy Lee, Nat "King" Cole, and Frank Sinatra. And I began to realize that Sinatra was a singular vocal talent, a singer of enormous soul and depth, a man who could inhabit a lyric like no one else.

Of course the Sinatra catalog is a daunting thing of epic proportion, and he worked for several record labels that until more recently meant that a through overview was a challenge for the consumer. I'm not an expert on his work, and this is not the definitive buying guide, but I own a few CDs and a bunch of LPs that I mostly bought used, and some of them are really great. 

Sinatra first recorded for Columbia as the singer for the Harry James Orchestra in 1939-40, and for RCA with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra from 1940-42. He then began recording singles (78 rpm) under his own name from 1943-52 for Columbia. I have the 2 CD set Portrait Of Sinatra- Columbia Classics (1997) that covers this period, and it is some great stuff. His voice is strong and young, and he is already the nuanced singer that his work in the 50s and 60s reveals in detail. 

From 1953-1962 Sinatra recorded for Capitol Records, releasing a bevy of singles and a ton (23 actually) of LPs. This period, at least in my view, is the greatest era of Sinatra's career. His voice is still in great condition, albeit slightly lower in register than in the forties, and the material, arrangements, and recording technology are all excellent. And it is in this time that Sinatra records much of his most memorable material. One of the first "concept" albums, 1955's In The Wee Small Hours is well worth seeking out as either used LP or newly reissued LP or CD. It is themed around loneliness and heartache, and Sinatra's way with a ballad is as good as any singer, anytime. A single CD that might be almost all the Sinatra you need, Classic Sinatra His Greatest Performances 1953-1960 is worth having. It is the essence of Sinatra's greatness distilled down to twenty tracks, and every single one of them is superb.

 

 

 

 

Sinatra in the sixties is a mixed bag. Some of his most famous recordings happened in the sixties, and even if they weren't as great as his fifties work, there are still some fine performances to be had. When Sinatra went to Reprise, a label he owned, he produced some of his less well-reviewed records in the early sixties. But by 1965's September Of My Years, he was making a rebound. Strangers In The Night 1966 continued the hot streak. In the midst of all this came Moonlight Sinatra 1966. Released in March, by May, Sinatra's own Strangers In The Night made Moonlight Sinatra invisible. It may be the great overlooked Sinatra record. 

The late sixties and seventies were not kind to Frank Sinatra. His voice changed, and not really for the better. It's wrong to say he wasn't still a great singer, but his instrument was not what it had been. He was not to be the artist that ages gracefully in his voice, and he knew that mostly by the seventies, and his output waned significantly.

You might want to explore one of the single CD Reprise era collections, like Sinatra Reprise: The Very Good Years 1991 or Nothing But The Best 2014. But those fifties performances on Classic Sinatra will not be bettered, I assure you.

The Tutles Golden Hits 1967

If you've read this blog fairly often, you'll know I love a lot of sixties music and enjoy a good "best of" from the era. The Turtles seem like just the kind of thing I might really enjoy. But you and I would be wrong this time. 

The big hits are here, what there was of them. Of course Happy Together, their only number 1, is a classic of sunny and bright mid-sixties pop. She'd Rather Be With Me (think Cowsills or Buckinghams) got to number 3 itself, and is a good one. You Baby is OK in a Lovin' Spoonful sort of way, and Outside Chance, their rocking-est tune, is a b-side worthy of the Nuggets garage band compilation.

Most of the other songs managed to break into the high numbers on the hot 100 charts. So not really hits per se. So Goes Love is only so-so, and Let Me Be isn't terrible, and sounds like the Association. Grim Reaper Of Love, Is It Any Wonder?, Can I Get To Know You Better?, and You Know What I Mean are all just OK at best. Their first top ten hit, Dylan's It Ain't Me Babe, is a saccharine version of the song.

4 of 11 is not great numbers. And this one came out before Elenore, so their closest replica of Happy Together isn't here. There are better, more recent compilations, although I doubt that a CD with a lot more tracks is the answer. I'd look for the CD with the least songs. Or just download Happy Together, Elenore, and Outside Chance and be done with it.

Of course the post-Turtles story is pretty unusual, and unusually successful given the overall quality of their original material. Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman (as Flo and Eddie) went on to join The Mothers Of Invention for the least interesting era of that band from 1970-1971 (which, to be generous, was only partly their fault). They then sang back-up vocals on an unusual array of early and mid-seventies records, and recorded some comedy rock records as well. They managed to place their songs in movies with some regularity, and released several compilations of Turtles material. In the last 12 years, they've done the sixties oldies circuit with the mostly successful Happy Together tours, bringing many sixties acts of varying import along for the ride.

Van Morrison What's It Gonna Take? 2022

 

So let's say you come over to my place and sit in the good seat and I play you some of the new Van Morrison record. And after five songs you think, well, this isn't too bad. Maybe not his best work, but OK for an old guy making his 43rd studio album. Absolutely Positively The Most isn't bad, a quasi-spiritual tune that sneaks in a single reference to lock down. I Ain't No Celebrity and Stage Name are both just OK, but Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas and Pretending are actually pretty good ones from Van The Man. But those are the last five tracks, and the ten before those are all Van ranting about lock down, the government is lying (and the media, too), etc. etc. blah blah blah. Even if you agree with his politics, it's a difficult listen at best. I mean, in the past when Van would go on about the music business treating him so badly (his net worth is only 90 million), it got old, but it was only one song per record.

The good news is that the music is at least as good as Van's recent better work. Roll With The Punches, The Prophet Speaks, and Three Chords And The Truth were all pretty good, and musically similar to this, and Van is singing fine. But the lyrical content is just him ranting like the anti-vax, paranoid, I have to get out and play millionaire whiner that he has become. I enjoyed Van Morrison's work throughout his career, and stuck with him even through the lesser records. But this one is even worse than Latest Record Project Volume 1. Maybe not really worse- the ratio of decent songs that aren't ranting is about the same, but that was two CDs, and this is just one CD, so there's less redemption here.

Music is OK, singing is good, and again, the best way to enjoy this one is by being unfamiliar with the English language so you don't realize how much garbage he's spewing. I should point out that Van Morrison has made grants to Northern Ireland musicians that lock down has hurt much more than it has hurt him, so he's not all blather, and that's admirable. But now it's time to see if he could get back to what he does well. Make music we can all enjoy, with lyrics about idyllic nature, love, and the blues, without all the ranting and raving against Robin Swann.

Funkadelic Standing On The Verge- The Best Of Funkadelic 2009

Funkadelic were a fascinating band, starting as early as 1969, producing psychedelic soul music that you could dance to. A few years down the road, they focused more on the dance floor, putting out funk jams that dug a deep groove and rivaled James Brown and any other funketeer on the scene. And they also featured hot Hendrix-inspired guitar from the inimitable Eddie Hazel and later Michael Hampton. George Clinton's hallucinogen-inspired philosophical ravings add an element of strange/crazy/hilarious moments.

In my view, their records were somewhat less than perfect (only a few came close). For someone that just wanted to know what their best work sounded like, a "best of" or "greatest hits" would be a fine service to the music-loving community.

But there were problems with that idea. From 1969-1976, Funkadelic made eight records for the small Westbound label, and then went to Warner Brothers for four more records between 1976-1981. And for the next twenty-eight years you could get compilations that featured only one of those two record labels output. They made more music for Westbound, but a few of their biggest hits, including their biggest, One Nation Under A Groove, were on Warner Brothers. So finally in 2009, this compilation included music released on both labels, and allowed you to take in the sum of their best work. This record features three tracks from the Warner Brothers years, One Nation Under A Groove, (Not Just) Knee Deep, and Comin' Round The Mountain. The material was licensed to Ace Records in the UK and released under the Westbound/Ace nameplate.

It isn't perfect, but it is closer than any other single compilation. Most of the longer tracks are included here in their shortened single edits, so some of the more extended jams are cut short, and this reduces the amount of great guitar playing on some songs. So you don't get fifteen minutes of Knee Deep or seven minutes of One Nation Under A Groove. But you do get the entire ten minute version of Maggot Brain, the admired and inspired Eddie Hazel guitar showcase. And you get early material from the first three records, and plenty more from their later Westbound releases.

What don't you get? You'll miss out on Who Says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock?! (from One Nation...) and there is nothing from The Electric Spanking Of War Babies 1981, a record that is considered by some as rivaling their best work. It seems like adding just one from that release would complete the set in a nice way. Every other record they released from 1969-1979 is represented by at least one track.

Is there anything else? Well, yes. This is the first release anywhere of their early self-released single Whatever Makes My Baby Feel Good from 1969, which was credited to Rose Williams and Funkadelic. So if you have to have it all, there's that, and it is a good song that shows off their talents early on.

Who needs this record? Well, I'm happy with it as it features some cuts from the first two records, and adds a few good ones from some of their less fulfilling outings. So for a good overview, it rocks. I already own One Nation Under A Groove 1978, Uncle Jam Wants You 1979, Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On 1974, and Maggot Brain 1971, but I didn't feel like I needed it all, and some of their other records have only a strong track or two. You might seek out one of the many Westbound compilations, and then add One Nation Under A Groove and Uncle Jam Wants You (both on Warner Brothers, and excellent).

If you don't own any Funkadelic and want to hear what the fuss is about, or you want a taste of what you don't already own, this is the best choice for a single compilation.

Cassandra Wilson Another Country 2012 and Coming Forth By Day 2015

I've been catching up on some more recent Cassandra Wilson releases. Another Country 2012 features Fabrizio Sotti, an Italian guitarist. He assists Cassandra with songwriting, producing, and of course he plays guitar. Beautiful, expressive, perfect guitar. It is no surprise to hear Wilson collaborate with a guitarist as she is one herself, and her bands both live and in studio have featured guitar and percussion over piano or horns for her preferred sound.

I hadn't heard it since it wasn't just a Cassandra Wilson record, and I wasn't sure about "featuring" another artist. Let's put that to rest. This is a wonderful Cassandra Wilson record made even better with the addition of Mr. Sotti. These two are great for each other. All the things about her great Blue Note releases is here in spades, perhaps just a little sparser than usual, with a small combo of guitar, percussion, bass, and accordion. The songs are all co-writes except the opening Red Guitar by Wilson and a version of O Sole Mio that Wilson and Sotti arranged. If you like Wilson's work for Blue Note (1993-2010), you'll want to hear this.

Coming Forth By Day 2015, a tribute to Billie Holiday, should be exciting news, but instead it is an unfortunately flawed record. Song selection is fine with songs both written by and/or associated with Billie Holiday. But the overly "atmospheric" sound is just too much for my tastes, and the record never seems to leave the ground. What could cause this? Well, for starters, the record was produced by Nick Launay, producer for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, as well as countless pop-rock and punk records. Launay may have a fine reputation for the work he has done, but none of that work has been jazz. Additionally, he uses the bass and drummer from the Bad Seeds, and while they may be fine musicians, they aren't jazz pros, and they don't help. Bassist Martin Casey sounds especially wrong for these tunes.

On a few songs, and when there is some semblance of energy, there is moderate success. But the overuse of echo, looped guitars, ethereal, atmospheric sounds and too slow pacing makes this a better nap soundtrack than an engaging record. I should point out that several songs are made better with Van Dyke Parks' string arrangements as well as the work of The Section Quartet and their leader/arranger Eric Gorfain. At least if you're going to go languid, add some nice strings.

Wilson's singing isn't the problem, nor does it overcome the problem. The problem is too much ambiance and not enough energy. A major disappointment from a usually fine artist that has given us so many great recordings.

Bonnie Raitt Just Like That... 2022

Bonnie Raitt is having one heck of a late career surge. At 72, she has done it again, making the kind of blues/pop/rock/folk that she has always produced, and doing it as well as ever. With her last two releases, the 2012 career highlight Slipstream, and 2016's Dig In Deep, we now have the trifecta that eludes so many artists, three great ones in a row. Given the quality of her work over the years, it should not come as any surprise, and yet it is no less an impressive string of exceptional work.

All the elements are here. Bonnie is first a singer of great depth, one of those who inhabits a lyric. If you don't choke up when she sings a sad one, there's something wrong with you. Then there is her gifted way with slide guitar. Never flashy, and always perfect for the song. She also has an ear for great songs, and always finds some classics from a wide array of writers, plus she writes several strong ones herself. And she is once again using her touring band, and they are a very talented group. Ricky Fataar drums, Hutch Hutchinson bass, Kenny Greenberg guitar (long-time guitarist George Marinelli on two tracks), and new keyboardist Glenn Patsche. It is a well-oiled machine. Recorded and mixed by Ryan Freeland, who did similarly fine work on the two before this one.

The record kicks off with the upbeat Made Up Mind, which starts things off in fine style. Al Anderson's Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart has a laid back tempo and some tasty slide from Bonnie. Livin' For The Ones is a Stones-y rocker from Marinelli and Bonnie that rocks more than most and features hot guitars. Bonnie's own Just Like That is a tender acoustic ballad that tells an intense story of love and loss. When We Say Goodnight starts slow, then picks things up, and ends with a hot guitar/keyboards jam. 

Your Jones is always just around the corner is the message of Waiting For You To Blow, a funky workout featuring Patsche on the Hammond B3 and electric piano. Slow burner Blame It On Me has one of those killer close-miked Bonnie Raitt vocals, plus more fine slide guitar and B3. Love So Strong is a Toots Hibbert reggae tune that lets the band stretch a bit. More funky electric piano and slide light up Here Comes Love, and Bonnie's pen closes the record with the sweetly moving Down The Hall, a story of a prison hospice, played on acoustic guitar and organ, with another touching vocal.

If you've liked her recent work, this won't disappoint. If you haven't heard Bonnie since 1989's Grammy-winning  Nick Of Time, you've been missing out.

John Hiatt Bring The Family 1987

In The Absolute Sound magazine May/June edition, they updated and published their Super LP list, an extensive listing of LPs that have better sound than most. There's a lot of classical music entries, but there is also a pretty extensive list of great pop/rock and jazz LPs as well. One of those is John Hiatt's 1987 classic Bring The Family. The record is nicely recorded and does indeed sound great, and the band (Hiatt on guitar and vocals, Nick Lowe on bass, Jim Keltner on drums and Ry Cooder on guitar) is superb.

If you haven't heard it, you must. It is another record that should be on my perfect records list, every song is just plain killer. Hiatt has made several that approach its greatness, but he hasn't bettered it.

I listened to it not too long ago, but the featured list made me pull it out and listen again. Not only is the band unusually talented, but Hiatt brings one of the finest set of masterfully written, heartfelt songs ever recorded, and he sings the daylights out of them all. His vocals are close-miked and you can feel the choke in his voice on the sad songs. But it is certainly not all sad, with Memphis In The Meantime, Thing Called Love (made famous by Bonnie Raitt), Thank You Girl, and the humorous Your Dad Did.

But those ballads are strikingly beautiful. Have A Little Faith In Me is as perfect a love song as any ever sung. Learning How To Love You is right there with it, an ode to staying with the learning curve for the payoff. Lipstick Sunset is as melancholy and sweet as a song about imperfect love can be. Tip Of My Tongue tells the story of the man that said the wrongest thing ever, and paid the highest price.

I broke your heart
With the back of my mind
From the tip of my tongue
To the end of the line

 

You couldn't say how much it hurt you

And I couldn't see the damage I'd done
'Til I watched the greatest love I've known
All come down to a slip of the tongue

 

Well I'd take it back
But time won't let me
No, time just takes
You further away

 

I watched you pack
A house full of memories
Where did you go
Lord, what did I say?

 

I broke your heart
With the back of my mind
From the tip of my tongue
To the end of the line

Songwriters

I recently had a chat or two with my brother about songwriters. First it was an article about Carole King, and then it opened up to songwriters in general. He posited that Lennon and McCartney were the best because they wrote so many great songs and no two were the same.

Not too long ago Rolling Stone did one of their lists of the 100 Greatest Songwriters, and those lists they love so much are enough to drive just about anyone crazy. I was apoplectic by the time I read through the list, but I think they do it on purpose just to yank your chain. I was reminded of many great songwriters, and just aghast at some of the choices. 

So what is the criteria to be one of the greatest songwriters. Is it how many you write? Is it consistency of quality? Is it chart position or sales? Are a few absolutely amazing songs enough to qualify? Is it the variety of songs in different styles that sets a writer apart?

I have my own biases of course, but I've always said that bands are generally better with more than one songwriter, either when two work as a team or when two writers each contribute to a band's material. Things are just more varied this way, because any one songwriter only has so many song ideas and/or styles to contribute. Of course there are exceptions.

Rolling Stone listed Bob Dylan as #1, and then McCartney as #2, and Lennon as #3. I really think they should have listed Lennon/McCartney as a team at #1 or #2, rather than list them separately. Neither of them wrote as many consistently great songs after the Beatles than they produced together. So I guess the consistency thing is big for me. I can see going with Dylan as #1, but frankly, his work for almost twenty years between 1978 and 1997 includes many weak songs.

The list reminded me of Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Holland/Dozier/Holland for their work at Motown and beyond. In rock/pop, the Jagger/Richards team, Bruce Springsteen, Brian Wilson, Prince, Elvis Costello, John/Taupin and Ray Davies all deserve accolades. Singer/songwriters Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, and Lucinda Williams wrote plenty of great ones. But some of the choices Rolling Stone made seem designed to push my buttons. Stevie Nicks, Neil Diamond, Max Martin, Bono and The Edge? Oh, please.

The Beatles made something like 13 studio records. Not too many bands or artists have made as many, and as many solid ones, as Lennon /McCartney produced. There are a few artists that have come close over a longer period of time of course, but to me it seems they all put out a few stinkers along the way. Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Willie Nelson- they all seem to lose out in the consistency category at least.

Some people are naturally gifted. But even naturally gifted songwriters have to really work for it most of the time. I think it is reasonable to say that the song is more important than any other element. There's just not much you can do with a lousy song.

Ten Years After 1967-1974

Ten Years After were early English blues enthusiasts that, along with John Mayall, Yardbirds, Chicken Shack, early Fleetwood Mac, Cream, and others, took the American export and repurposed it for the rock market. Ten Years After had the lightening fast guitar hero in Alvin Lee, but the whole band were a talented group that could drive a blues riff into your head with sustained vigor.

They managed nine records in the UK top 40 (four top 10) and six in the US top 40. US sales improved after the release of the movie Woodstock, which featured Ten Years After's I'm Going Home in a smoking hot performance. They toured extensively and had one top 40 single in the US, the somewhat out of character I'd Love To Change The World in 1971.

Their eponymous debut from 1967 is a hot number that includes solid versions of Willie Dixon's Spoonful, Sonny Boy Williamson's Help Me, Al Kooper's I Can't Keep From Crying, Sometimes, and several good ones from Alvin Lee's pen. Keyboardist Chick Churchill gets a highlight on Adventures Of A Young Organ. It is a strong debut, showing off the bands many strengths and displaying just a bit more jazz influences than most blues-rock of the time.

Next up was the live Undead 1968. The live setting shows off Lee's hot guitar chops and snarling vocals, and the whole band cooks. A hot version of Woody Hermann's Woodchopper's Ball and the first recorded version of I'm Going Home (in a modest six-minute version) are highlights. The original's five songs are nicely augmented by four extra tracks on the 2002 CD reissue.

Stonedhenge 1969 is a studio album written entirely by Alvin Lee and the band members. Beside some strong songs from Alvin Lee, including the jazzy shuffle Woman Trouble, the slow blues of A Sad Song, the driving Speed Kills, and the rocking I'm Going To Try and Hear Me Calling, each other member gets a feature. Drummer Ric Lee does a drum solo version of Three Blind Mice, and keyboardist Chick Churchill and bassist Leo Lyons both perform solo pieces as well. It is almost there, but Alvin Lee's best songs are yet to come, and the solo band member's features could have made room for more rocking.

1969 also saw the release of Ssssh, one of their better records overall, and the beginning of their run of solid studio outings. I reviewed it here back in 2014. All eight tracks are strong, and Lee snarls out the vocals and plays lightening fast runs on the guitar while one of the best driving rhythm sections in blues-rock just push the songs into your ears. The rockers Bad Scene, Stoned Woman, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, The Stomp, and Woke Up This Morning never let up, while Two Time Mama features nice acoustic guitar, and If You Should Love Me is a strong mid-tempo ballad.

We are into the best period for the band, and Cricklewood Green 1970 continues and expands on the excellence of Ssssh. The rockers here are all solid, including organ and guitar driven Sugar The Road, the driving Working On The Road, the seven-minute showcase 50,000 Miles Beneath My Brain, the hit single, stomping Love Like A Man, and the slow burn of As The Sun Burns Away. Add to that the jazzy Me And My Baby, and one of Lee's better ballads, the haunting Circles, and you've got a sure winner. It is easy to see how it was their highest charting record.

1970 also saw the release of Watt. It is hard to believe that Watt came out between Criclewood Green and A Space In Time, two of their best records. The singing and playing are all fine, but the songs are just not as strong as either of those other two. It sounds like Alvin Lee needed more time to write some better ones, so these could have mostly been the bonus tracks on the reissue thirty years later. It's not terrible, but it is almost entirely unnecessary, especially compared to their best work. 

A Space in Time 1971 saw the band broaden their sound with more acoustic guitar, and even strings on Over The Hill. The single I'd Love To Change The World was their biggest hit, mixing acoustic guitar verses with searing leads on the chorus and breaks. It's killer, but not really like much else they had done, and was rarely performed live. And while the album features more ballads and mid-tempo material than usual, there's solid rock here too with One Of These Days, Baby Won't You Let Me Rock 'n' Roll You, I've Been There Too, and Let The Sky Fall. The record plays well, and is consistently strong.

1972 brought Rock And Roll Music To The World, and they continue to offer their driving blues-rock they had become known for by now. Strong songs include Standing At The Station, Choo Choo Mama, You Give Me Loving, and the boogie title track. Some of the rest feels less fresh, and the limits of Alvin Lee's songwriting shows up again as it did on Watt.

1973 saw Recorded Live, a respectable live recording with some questionable song selections, including the I Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes/Extension on One Chord jam that takes up all of side three. Everything is done to the nines, and yet the album doesn't feel all that cohesive. There's good versions of One Of These Days, You Give Me Loving, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Choo Choo Mama, and I'm Going Home (again).

Positive Vibrations 1974 was released just before the band broke up, and as such probably didn't receive much record company push. A mix of hard rockers and a few mid-tempo numbers, it's a pretty good one overall. Rockers Nowhere To Run, Going Back To Birmingham, It's Getting Harder, You're Driving Me Crazy, and I Wanted To Boogie are all quality Ten Years After, and most of the material holds up well. But Alvin Lee had one foot out the door, and the record only made it to #81 in the US, and didn't chart in the UK at all.

Alvin Lee continued on as a solo act and with bands Ten Years Later and The Alvin Lee Band. He made a dozen studio solo records between 1973 and 2012. In 1989, he reunited with the original members for About Time, a decent record with some good songs and some weak ones, and the band sounds good. It suffers from Lee's guitar sound, that over-driven, pure tone heard on Boston and Journey records of the same time period. Lee's guitar sound in the seventies was always a bit more organic. They toured together off and on until 2003 when Lee left and the band replaced him with Joe Gooch, with whom they recorded several more albums. Alvin Lee died in 2013 from complications from surgery.

When they were hot, they were hard to beat. They deserved more fame than they achieved. Their debut is a landmark given that it came out in 1967. Ssssh and Cricklewood Green are the bomb, the pinacle of their work, and A Space In Time is excellent. Positive Vibrations is a strong swansong, and should have sold better.

Marti Jones Match Game 1986

Marti Jones didn't make any bad records. Any and all of her releases are worth your coin, and most of them are excellent displays of carefully chosen, well-written folk-pop mixed with the best of Don Dixon's writing credits, and also Dixon's most attentive productions. After her 1985 debut Unsophisticated Time featured that exact formula to near perfect results and limited sales, they tried one time to make a rock record.

And what a record it is. Unlike any of her records (although the excellent Live At Spirit Square also rocks at times), Match Game is singular in it's rocking, and yet maintains the organic sound that Dixon applies to all of her recordings. This is especially important because it was 1986, and this record eschews the slick sound of the eighties (think Pat Benatar), and instead sounds like those fine Bowie and Mott analog recordings of the early seventies.

The record includes premiere songwriting throughout. Dixon brings his Be Myself Again, Touch Tone, and Inside These Arms, all solid efforts. And then there's Bowie's Soul Love (a wonderful version), Dwight Twilley's Chance Of A Lifetime, Elvis Costello's Just A Memory, Paul Rogers' Soon I Will Be Gone, Marshall Crenshaw's Whenever You're On My Mind, Liam Sternberg's Crusher, John David's It's Too Late, Reed Nelson's We're Doing Alright, and Robert Barone's Foolish Lies. The record is a study in great songcraft.

And then there's the guest list of musicians: Mitch Easter, Ricky Bird, Darlene Love, Vinnie Zummo, Treva Spontaine, Marshall Crenshaw, Robert Crenshaw, Paul Carrack, T-Bone Burnett, Micky Curry, Rick Ford, and of course Don Dixon. Every note is in place perfectly. And Dixon's production captures it all in vivid, analog glory.

Lest we forget, there's Marti's clear, beautiful alto voice and inspired use of said instrument to illuminate every lyric. More forceful (yet still somehow casual) on many of these songs than on much of her material, it brings out the best in her.

There is not another record quite like it. Not just in Marti's oeuvre, but anywhere really. I didn't remember it when I made a list of perfect records, but that was my omission, and a terrible mistake. One of my favorite artists in a singular moment early in her career.

The Grateful Dead

I suppose I should open with a disclaimer before I hear all kinds of noise from serious Deadheads. I'm not a serious Deadhead, or anything close, I don't own all their records, and there's many of them that I used to own that have been removed from the stacks. But I like some of their music a lot.

Overall I think of them as having a less than stellar recording career. I tend to like studio records more than live ones, and the Grateful Dead struggled to make the most of their studio time. More on that after I very briefly deal with their recorded live legacy.

The Grateful Dead made a lot of live records, and if you include the retrospective releases, the number is quite staggering. I know Deadheads that swapped tapes and talk about this show or that show as classics, but I just don't have the time to listen to three years of Dead shows to find the great ones. I like Live/Dead 1969 a lot, and the Dark Star/St. Stephen/The Eleven medley that takes up the first three sides is very fine. I also liked Grateful Dead (Skull and Roses) 1971, which included two sides of concise tunes that feature a super hot band and great songs. Europe '72 is a solid and sprawling 3-LP set featuring more acoustic guitar driven versions. After that I never felt like I needed more live material, although I do own a few of the retrospective releases on CD, and they document good shows. The trouble is finding the ones you might want in an overwhelming sea of choices.

Back to their studio work. The early records never quite did it for me. Grateful Dead 1967, Anthem of the Sun 1968, and Aoxomoxoa 1969 are all generally well regarded, but only Aoxomoxoa ever really impressed me. I'm not a huge blues fan, and much of their work is blues twisted around folk and psychedelia that just doesn't connect with me. Your results may vary. While I'm delving into their lesser studio work, let me just say that most of what they did in the studio is disappointing. They made a total of thirteen studio records (fourteen if you count Ace- see below) from Grateful Dead 1967 to Built To Last in 1989. Everything after 1976 is less than terrific- Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street, Go To Heaven, In The Dark, and Built To Last. These records aren't terrible, but there always seems like something is missing. The 2015 2-CD The Best of The Grateful Dead on Rhino is a fine collection that touches on all of their studio recordings, and is as good a sample as one could expect.

So which records are worthwhile? Well, 1970 was a good year, producing both Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, what I would say are their two best studio records. Both feature a lot of acoustic guitars and folk/country/blues sounds, and both include stellar songs. American Beauty had the hits with Truckin', Sugar Magnolia and Friend of the Devil, and also maybe their most beautiful song lyric, Ripple. Workingman's Dead is my vote for their best work, with Uncle John's Band, Casey Jones, Easy Wind, Dire Wolf, and Cumberland Blues, and not a single clunker. Consistently solid clear through. 

That just leaves 1972-1975 left to discuss. Both Wake Of The Flood 1973 and Blues For Allah 1975 have moments of brilliance. Both also see the band's sound branching out into jazz and world music influences, and both sold quite well. I bought them both when they came out, and purged them both many moons ago. They're not bad, but they're also not their best work. Two more from the early seventies do qualify with their best work. The first is From The Mars Hotel 1974. It contains many great songs and relatively upbeat performances with U.S. Blues, Scarlet Begonias, Unbroken Chain, Pride of Cucamonga, and Ship Of Fools. It is hard to believe that it came between Wake of the Flood and Blues For Allah, as it is a pretty straight forward rock record between two seemingly odd diversions. And that leaves only Ace 1972, Bob Weir's solo debut, but a Grateful Dead record in all but name only. And a mighty fine one at that. Packed with great songs Playing In The Band, the lovely Cassidy, the humorous Mexicali Blues, the rocking Greatest Story Ever Told, and frequent live staple One More Saturday Night.

So, here's my personal best of their studio work, ranked in this order: Workingman's Dead, American Beauty, Ace, and From The Mars Hotel. For live material, I'm partial to Grateful Dead (Skull and Roses) and Live/Dead (interestingly, their first two live releases).

There are no less than 165 (!) retrospective live recordings to choose from including the Dick's Picks series, the Road Trips series, the Dave's Picks series, and some seventy one-offs released between 1991 and 2022, not including six others released while they were still together. So if you're really interested (or crazy), you can fill your head with live performances from throughout their 20 year career, and decide for yourself which version of Dark Star is the best.

The Hollies The Hollies Greatest Hits 1973 and Hollies Live (Hollies Live Hits in the UK) 1977

Between 1966 and 1974 The Hollies had 6 top 10 singles in the US, and 12 in the top 40 (1966-1983). They were even bigger in the UK, where they had 18 top 10 singles and 29 in the top 40, between 1963 and 1988. As British Invasion groups go, they had a lot going for them. Lead singer Allan Clarke with harmonies from Tony Hicks and Graham Nash made them one of the stronger vocal groups, and the three were also quality songwriters, although they recorded many songs from other writers. The 1973 Greatest Hits contains all of their top 10 US singles except 1974's The Air That I Breathe (which was added to the 2002 reissue). So you get Carrie Anne, Bus Stop, On A Carousel, Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress, He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, Just One Look, Pay You Back With Interest, Look Through Any Window, Stop, Stop, Stop, and several more. It is packed with great songs, and spectacular harmony singing. Even when Nash left in 1969 to form CSN, Terry Sylvester was clearly up to the high harmony parts that Nash sang.

Hollies Live 1977 (with a different cover and titled Live Hits in England) is a very well recorded live album that includes several songs from the four years between these records. The Air That I Breathe is here as well as Springsteen's 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), Another Night, I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top, and I'm Down. There are seven songs that are on both records, so they are not nearly identical, and both have lots to recommend them. The original singles on Greatest Hits are all classics, and include Graham Nash's distinctive, slightly nasal high register that has a certain indisputable magic. But again, Sylvester can also hit all those notes, and the tight ensemble playing and more recent songs on the live set show a band that wasn't yet ready for nostalgia in 1977.

You can't go wrong with either of these. Both are currently available in vinyl and CD versions.

A Funk Excursion

A few weeks ago I fell into a funk.

Not the depression thing, but the musical kind.

It all started when I pulled out Disc 2 of James Brown's 4-CD box set Star Time from 1991. I still believe it is the best single artist 4 CD box set. And if you want the funk, here comes Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, I Got You (I Feel Good), Ain't That A Groove, Cold Sweat, I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me), Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose, I Got The Feelin', and I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself).

After that I had to find more. So I went to the LP stacks looking for P-Funk. And I found, and listened to in their entirety, Funkadelic's One Nation Under A Groove, Uncle Jam Wants You, and Parliament's Mothership Connection. All three of those are first rate, and not just for the famous tracks. That led me to Parliament Gold, a 2 CD compilation that hits the high spots in the Parliament oeuvre. Two CDs is a lot of Parliament, even for the devoted. Despite the two bands essentially being the same musicians, I tend to like the Funkadelic records more overall.

Since I had gone down this funky rabbit hole and wanted even more, I pulled out The Funk Box, another 4 CD box from 2000 that is almost flawless. Of course if you are a certified funketeer, it might seem like an introduction, but it includes a lot of great funk from across a wide spectrum of artists. From James Brown's Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine and Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady to Rick James' You And I and Zapp's More Bounce To The Ounce, the hits are here alongside some less well-known fare. One thing that is especially nice about this box set is that they consistently use the original 12" dance singles or the extended album versions and not the edited for radio singles that shorten the jams. Over the course of a few days, I listened to the whole thing. 

I'm not sure how I got into funk like I did. I always liked soul music, but I was defiantly anti-disco, and there are some clear links between disco and funk. I wasn't really into funk when it was happening in the seventies and eighties. Instead I came late to the party. It was probably that James Brown box set that got the whole thing started, just like it started this recent trip down funky memory lane. Tear the roof off the sucker!

Jackson Browne 1972-2021

Jackson Browne has had an interesting career, and has been willing to wear his heart (as well as his politics) on his sleeve, mostly quite admirably. His early records in the seventies set a romantic singer-songwriter blueprint that Browne has rarely followed since. His eighties output suffered not only from cumbersome political lyrics but tragic eighties "updating" of his sound and production, overusing all of the awful eighties trends of synthesizers and slick studio tricks. Since the nineties, his records have been a mixed bag of styles and lyrical focus, all professionally crafted, and if not quite the equal of his early work, certainly better than his eighties missteps.

It is hard for me not to think of his first five records as the pinnacle of his career, but in retrospect I find this opinion a little too forgiving. I love the debut, but For Everyman 1973 and The Pretender 1976 are not as strong as Jackson Browne 1971, Late For The Sky 1974, and Running On Empty 1977. 

Jackson Browne is very nearly perfect. Great love songs, tragic heartbreak, and even some light rockers. Introspection rarely comes off this well. It has aged remarkably well, thanks to the near-perfect production using only those elements required by each song. My brother, a professional bass player himself, remarked that "Leland Sklar gives a master class in how to play high register melodic, complementary bass lines". So there's another reason to pull it back out and listen again.

For Everyman 1973 comes very close. We didn't need another version of Take It Easy, and the trite take on pregnancy of Ready Or Not are not golden moments. I still can't decide if the rocker Redneck Friend helps things, but I suppose when you write so many slow songs, when you get one to move, you'd best record it. These Days, For Everyman, and most of the rest sound like a continuation of the magic of the debut. This is where Browne's longtime association with David Lindley begins. Lindley's steel guitar and violin will become hallmarks of Browne's sound for years to come.

For me at least, Late For The Sky 1974 is Browne's most fully realized work. It's a break-up record for sure (all of side one), but it also includes Browne's post-apocalyptic warning Before The Deluge, his tribute to a lost friend For A Dancer, and two of his better rockers The Road And The Sky and Walking Slow. Every song a winner, this doesn't happen very often no matter who you are.

Something happens on The Pretender 1976 that infects nearly all of his work to come. Mostly gone are the delicate acoustic arrangements in favor of a middle-of-the road soft rock. Browne's gift for melody is very real, but we can hear him reusing previous ideas and patterns. The lyrics are still good, and the title track is a classic song of acceptance (you can almost see the seventies hippies running out to buy SUVs), but the record's overall impact is slight, and it hasn't aged particularly well.

 Which brings us near the end of the seventies, and Running On Empty 1977. Recorded live on stage and in hotel rooms, backstage, and on the bus, the record is unique and special in several ways. A brilliant and casual record, it became the most successful record of his career. Solid rockers (the title track, You Love The Thunder) mix with introspection and road observations until the lovely The Load-Out/Stay medley ends the record on a high note. 

Enter the eighties, and Jackson Browne gets his sound brought up to the current (and dismal) eighties standard. Synths, ultra-clean (sterile) studio sound, big drums, and Browne's least interesting lyrics make for one tragic mess. That Hold Out 1980 is his only chart-topper is sad commentary. Lots of folks ran out and bought the studio follow-up to The Pretender, because it certainly wasn't the reviews that made it a hit.

Browne's next three records, Lawyers In Love 1983, Lives In The Balance 1986, and World In Motion 1989 all have similar if not equal flaws. All are guilty of some of Browne's lazy melody writing, and the political sentiments (especially on the last two) help to make for some awkward lyrical moments even if you agree with Browne's liberal politics. Lawyers In Love had several solid singles, and Lives In The Balance had a moment (In The Shape Of A Heart).

In 1993, Browne returns to the fragile heart with I'm Alive, equaling his best work from the seventies for the last time in his career. Inspired by his ugly break-up after nine years with Daryl Hannah, the record is just about perfect. The eighties sheen is gone from the sound, and Browne writes his most inspired collection of songs in a long time. Every song a winner. Not many artists do it, but with this one, the debut, and Late For The Sky, Jackson Browne does it three times.

Looking East 1996 finds Browne back at political observation for most of the set. The Barricades Of Heaven is good, and there's a few others that are worth hearing. It's an improvement on his eighties work, but that's a pretty low bar. 

2002 brought The Naked Ride Home, and although a mixed bag, it is mostly strong. Bookended by the killer title track and My Stunning Mystery Companion, what lies between is mostly solid. 

Next up is Solo Acoustic Vol. 1 2005. On this set, as on Solo Acoustic Vol. 2 2008, Browne returns to his catalog and does a fine job of selecting classics mixed with the better work from his more recent output to fine effect. With just Browne and either acoustic guitar or piano, it's an intimate affair. I prefer the more developed original arrangements (especially on his early work), but these are nicely recorded acoustic shows, and Browne's songs hold up well in stripped down versions. 

2008 also brought Time The Conqueror, another blend of political commentary and a few personal tales. The music is good, if not anything particularly new, and we can begin to feel like Browne has run out of new ideas, even if he's pretty good at recycling the old ones. Let's call it Looking East Volume 2.

Standing In The Breach 2014 doesn't rock the boat too much, but it still sounds better than he has in a while. The title track, The Birds Of St. Marks, The Long Way Around, and Here (a single from 2009) are all above average, so a pretty good one overall.

Finally, we have Downhill From Everywhere 2021. You can be impressed that he's still at it, and enjoy one that is better than anything since I'm Alive. It doesn't have that record's consistent theme, but it has his most inspired set of tunes in a long time, and a little bit of rocking with the title cut and the humorous My Cleveland Heart. The other songs find Browne working his craft and working hard at not sounding the same all the time.

You have to admire his tenacity at keeping it going, and his willingness to address political issues despite what that may have done to his sales over the years. His voice has never lost anything, and his convictions remain strong. As a songwriter, he has repeated himself more than a few times, but so has every other songwriter with as much output as his. His live shows remain popular, and there are plenty who will gladly listen to his newer material for a chance to hear him do his early classics. Not many artists have made as many perfect ones as Jackson Browne.