The Rolling Stones Singles Collection: The London Years 1989

The Rolling Stones have made a zillion compilations, and they all hold some purpose, I suppose. This one is exceptional for several reasons. In no specific order, those reasons are:

1. This set is the collected singles (including quite a few rare B-sides) from 1963-1969, arguably the band's most interesting period of growth and change. The less familiar tracks are almost all good.

2. Although digitally remastered, the sound of the 4-LP set is excellent. I'm sure the CDs sound good, too. (The LP set goes for big bucks on the used market, so if you see one at a garage/boot sale, snatch it up!)

3. The set comes with a good book that includes lyrics and fairly complete recording information.

4. Brian Jones.

5. If you're a Stones fan, you need to own the four complete albums that came out right after this collection ends (Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile On Main Street). These four represent the pinnacle of their work. If you don't feel that you need the entirety of the earlier albums, well, that is exactly why this set is so perfect.

6. Everything after 1972 has been flawed in some way. I know there are some records that the faithful would claim equal to their first decade's output, but I would respectfully disagree.

7. Their early work is fascinating. They were the bad boys to The Beatles cuteness.

Looking Into You A Jackson Browne Tribute Various Artists 2014

Jackson Browne wrote and performed these songs the first time. This time, someone else gets a chance. That's the usual trip on these tribute projects, and it''s the same here. So, how does this one stack up, given the monumental bias against these things?

Only so well. If you generally think that these tribute records are a sorry excuse for the originals, you'll get no argument here. There are, of course, some fantastic versions of a great songwriter's repertoire. There has to be. So we can nit-pick the lesser works, or we can fall head over heals for the fine renditions. Score-wise, this set suffers, and there's more misses than hits, but the high points are probably enough for the faithful.

The big moments are: Don Henley's opening These Days, Indigo Girls' Fountain Of Sorrow, Springsteen's Linda Paloma, Ben Harper's Jamaica Say You Will, And Lucinda Williams' The Pretender. After that, there's eighteen more songs on the two-CD set. How many of those are needed?

I've been waiting for this release. I wanted it to be great. Too many stripped-bare versions soften the impact, and even the one Browne rocker, Running On Empty, gets slowed down for the version here. He may be the last great singer-songwriter, but come on, let's give him some energy. There are too many artists that just do a simple cover of Browne's original, and not enough chances taken. And then when someone has the moxie to reinterpret one of the songs, the result is again disappointing.

There are bright spots. Karla Bonoff puts out a fine Something Fine, and Venice delivers a breathtaking For A Dancer. Shawn Colvin's Call It A Loan is lovely. It's hard not to like Eliza Gilkyson's Before The Deluge, but is it even the equal of Browne's original? Not really.

Are there enough good ones to make it worth it? Not this time.

Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires of the City 2013

I should have been telling you how great this record is about a year ago when it first came out, but instead of just buying the thing, I decided to check out the samples on Amazon or iTunes, one of them.

If I had purchased the CD or the vinyl, I'd have told you that while the record seems to have less to offer than 2010's amazing Contra at first listen, it really grows on you after just a few more spins.

Like Contra, there's interesting, sometimes Afro-centric rhythms, and Ezra Koenig's bright high register and intelligent lyrics. Like Contra, there's great melodies, fine playing and arranging, varied tempos and ideas. They just seem so much smarter than the average bear. In contrast to Contra, there's just a little less pop sparkle. But it is replaced with deeper ideas that linger longer, and reward multiple listenings. It is a very fine piece of work, indeed. Five stars, ten stars, whatever the scale is.

I'd be telling you how great it is.

A year ago.

Instead, I just listened to the samples, and I didn't think much of the record.

So the moral of the story is don't trust samples.

The Both, Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, May 8, 2014

The Both are Aimee Mann and Ted Leo (and drummer Matt Mayhall on this tour), and it is an unusual, and unusually successful, meeting of musical minds. Mann, whose moody singer-songwriter work has pleased fans for years, hasn't rocked very hard since her second release, I'm With Stupid, way back in 1995. She continues to write fine songs, but one could argue that she's needed a kick in the pants for a while now. Leo, a talented writer, singer, and guitarist who has worked primarily in the punk/hardcore genre, could use some of the intelligent pop sensibility Mann brings to her writing. Voilà, the two make each other better.

They have collaborated on a new record, The Both, which was released just recently, and which shows how well they complement each other. The songwriting strengths of each assist the other, but the big surprise is how well they sing together. Vocally, it is hard to think of a better duet team. Their harmonies are spot on, and their vocal tones work especially well together. Ted Leo has a remarkably supple high register, and sometimes they produce that spine-tingling effect typically reserved for harmonizing sisters. It's special.

They performed the entirety (I think) of the new record, along with a couple of Leo solo tunes and a few of Mann's, including a version of Til Tuesday's Voices Carry during the encore. Leo is an interesting guitarist, and he gets some funky tones out of the instrument. His solos are quite good, even if they begin to sound the same after a bit. Mann's bass is always tasteful and precise, and Mayhall is a rock solid drummer. Mann clearly enjoys being in an actual band, and would run to center stage to do rock poses with Leo during his solos. It was cute.

The record is quite good, but it is a real collaboration, and not an Aimee Mann or a Ted Leo record. That's a good thing. The show was even better than the record, even without producer Paul Bryan's keyboard embellishments. They bantered quite a bit between songs, and there was too much time spent on this activity. But while it slowed the show's pace, it didn't take away from a robust and rocking good time. And they were occasionally funny.

The Beachland is a great room, intimate without being tiny, but the sound is often terrible. The guy at the soundboard for this show put out the best sound I've heard at the Beachland at a loud rock concert. Yes, the bass was overly hot, as usual, but everything was listenable (and audible), and the vocals were surprisingly clear and clean. Even at the end of the show, he didn't turn the volume up needlessly (a stupid pet trick that deaf sound mixers pull all the time). It was loud, but never painfully so, and the mix was good. Too bad this guy doesn't work for the Beachland Ballroom, because most rock and roll sound people are sonic imbeciles.

Simon Townsend Sweet Sound 1983

This is Simon Townsend's debut from 1983. I've never heard any of the five or six other ones he made after this, but on the evidence here, I won't be seeking out any additional Simon Townsend experiences.

Big brother Pete Townsend produced, and played on it. Simon is a passable singer, and he can cobble together a decent rock song with an occasional hook. It's got that eighties sheen on it, but that is just a mark of the times.

I'm not a big lyric guy, and sometimes I can barely make them out. No such problem here, the words are delivered with fine elocution. But they have to be some of the worst song lyrics I've ever heard. Some of the bands in Cleveland's high school rock-off have markedly better lyricists. I can't even begin to explain how bad they are. Here, try this out:

You can see thru the haze
On dull or sunny days
You can see anything
It's all up ahead, in your head...

Take escape from the maze
Living young and funny days
You can have everything
It's all up ahead, purple red

It only gets worse.

Continental Drifters Continental Drifters 1994

The Continental Drifters were a fabulous band that made multiple great recordings that somehow went largely unnoticed. There's no logical reason for it. They had several fine songwriters, three or four lead singers, former members of The Cowsills, The dbs, Dream Syndicate, and The Bangles, and a rich blend of rootsy Americana, New Orleans swamp rock, and intelligent pop songcraft.

This is their debut (an earlier 1993 recording wasn't released until 2003, and that was a different line-up), and it's shockingly good for the first time out. With five different band members writing songs, you get their best work, plus some very well selected covers.

They do Gram Parson's Song For You, Michael Nesmith's Some Of Shelly's Blues, The Box Top's Soul Deep (a great choice, and a perfect version), and Goffin-King's (and Dusty Springfield's) I Can't Make It Alone. It's a brilliantly esoteric mix, and they put a unique stamp on every one of them. The originals are all top quality, too.

Susan Cowsill and Vicki Peterson are an interestingly rough mix, and Cowsill is especially expressive in an raw, edgy, angry way that cuts right to the bone. Peter Holsapple and Carlo Nuccio are both good singers and songwriters. The band is all so talented and they work so well together, it had to be a huge hit. But of course it wasn't.

The band went on to make two more near-perfect studio records, Vermilion 1999, and Better Day 2001, and a Sandy Denny/Richard Thompson tribute called Listen, Listen (and you should), also in 2001, on the German Blue Rose label, that apparently is something of a collectable, gauging by the outlandish used CD prices.

I like them all, but none more than this debut.

Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Rubinoos, Cleveland, Ohio March 20, 1979

I was at the Cleveland Agora for this particular show. The Rubinoos opened the show with their perfect so-cal sunshine. They covered Beatles, Eric Carmen, and Tommy James. And their originals were terrific. Great power-pop, and they were a very tight unit. A great overlooked band for any Raspberries fan.

Costello and the Attractions were the most well-managed chaos I've ever seen. Spitfire songs pouring out for an hour at 3 minutes each. No chatting, no introductions, just in your face rock & roll, full steam ahead. Their latest was Armed Forces, so they did some of that and plenty from This Year's Model as well. And Alison of course. They were also an extremely tight band. And loud. I don't remember all the songs, but I remember loving all the songs. The period from 77-79 was very fertile ground for Costello, he was writing so well. The Attractions were blazing hot. I went with a musician friend of mine, and for us the double bill was Valhalla.

Anyone into a hobby or pastime tends to develop those dreaded best-of lists that simultaneously clutter and tidy-up the world of discourse. Anyone into music has a few shows, or maybe even a lot of them, that were magical nights when music, performance, history, attitude, timing, astrology, love, a sound guy that can still hear, harmonies and chiming guitars all came together at the just perfect moment. Top Ten Live Shows ever.