Fanny Live on Beat-Club '71-'72 2024

Fanny was the first all female rock and roll band to produce a major label LP, writing most of their songs and playing all of the instruments. Before Bangles, Runaways, Vixen, Go-Go's, and everybody else. They released five records between 1970-1974, and while those records aren't perfect, they are darn good, especially Charity Ball 1971, Fanny Hill 1972 and Mother's Pride 1973.

While never chart toppers, they had a few charting singles. The real surprise was what a great live band they were. June Millington was a hot lead guitarist, Nicki Barclay was an outstanding rock keyboard player, and June Millington (bass) and Alice de Buhr (drums) laid down a solid foundation. They could all sing. I didn't know they existed until I saw them live (twice) in Cleveland, and I was blown away. They were better live than any of their records.

Beat-Club was the premier German rock and roll TV show, and featured live music by a who's who list of artists of the day. It is a pretty good recording, and shows just how good they were live. An excellent addition to their studio records. It's out on CD or vinyl or streaming and much of it can be watched and listened to on YouTube.

 

Don Letts Presents The Mighty Trojan Sound 2024

I know there may not be a ton of reggae fans out there, and especially in the small number of visitors to this blog. But this is a fine way to explore the genre, and if you're a fan generally, this one brings together a bunch of great songs. 

There is no Bob Marley, Third World, Steel Pulse, or Black Uhuru, but there are early songs by the Heptones and the Maytals, and there are many other familiar and unfamiliar names. Importantly, the set is curated by Don Letts, famous as the DJ that brought reggae to the punks of the UK and later formed Big Audio Dynamite with Mick Jones of the Clash. Don knows his stuff and he has an excellent ear. The set is the bomb.

The 2 CD set includes one CD of songs with vocals and one CD of dub-style instrumentals (with occasional vocals). I didn't think I was going to like the Dub CD, but it is almost as killer as the vocal songs.

I can't really go into song by song detail because I'd repeat myself a lot. Reggae is a somewhat self-limiting genre, and it tends to sound "all the same" even though lovers of the genre realize that isn't really true. Sorta.

Anyway, if you love reggae, or if you have liked some reggae in the past, this set is hard not to love. If you have most of these songs, you've got one amazing collection. But even then you probably don't have all this stuff. It reminds me of the Dave Godin series of soul music in that there's a ton a great songs, and I don't think I've heard more than two or three of them.

Trust me. Or go stream it. If you don't love it, then I guess you don't love reggae (which, of course, is OK too).

The Lemon Twigs A Dream Is All We Know 2024

Power Pop. It has lots of definitions, and lots of examples, some of which I don't always agree should be included in the category/genre. But these guys are Power Pop by just about any definition you can come up with. And they're darn good to boot.

And they're young, two Long Island brothers that write and play fun-filled pop/rock that sounds like the era from the British Invasion to New Wave. They benefit greatly from those wonderful brotherly harmonies that seem to come so easily to people with similar vocal cord DNA. You know, Everly Brothers, Cowsills, Proclaimers, etc. 

And they write catchy, sometimes quirky pop songs that sound just like... In fact, that game can be played, but it's really better to just bob your head or dance around and enjoy a smart band that's fun. The ones that sound like the Beach Boys are the most obvious references, but these guys have been raised on all the best pop-rock music from 1964-1977, and they have taken it all in and made something that's new, and old.

The high energy opener, My Golden Years could be the Searchers. They Don't Know How To Fall In Place is solid pop with glowing harmonies and a nice keyboard solo. The title track is a jangle pop gem with a great hook for a chorus. I Should Have Known Right From The Start is good, and Rock On that closes the record is a great pounding rocker that comes close to a Raspberries hit.

The Beach Boys sound shows up in In The Eyes Of The Girl, which sounds like Brian wrote it, but  Ember Days and Sweet Vibration are only OK, except for the harmonies, which are lovely. A couple of the other ones have an awkward lyrical way with too many syllables for the melody, but that doesn't really ruin them.

They've made five other records since 2015. I hope they're close to this good. That would be a gas.

St. Vincent All Born Screaming 2024

I want to like this record, really I do. I have enjoyed all of her previous work, although she pushes the envelope more than most artists I enjoy. Her fourth, the remarkable St. Vincent 2014 and the follow-up, Massseduction 2017 showed an artist that had matured into a serious force. Then Daddy's Home 2021 leaned just a little more accessible, and while it was good to see a different side of her, it wasn't quite the tour de force of the previous two.

This time out she produces the record herself, and it's hard to think that Jack Antonoff or John Congleton would have done a better job. It has a consistent sound, and lyrical depth, and it rocks hard. 

The opener, Hell Is Near, is a slow, pulsing, spacey, ethereal opening with big synthesizers. Reckless is spare, sparse, and slow until the industrial ending comes crashing down. Broken Man is an almost Gaga-like pop song with loud synth and guitar bursts that are an aural assault. The obsessive (creepy?) love song Flea is another good rocker, and again, is instrumentally brutal at times. Then the electronica/dance pop of Big Time Nothing shows off her ability with a melody. Violent Times has a synth-driven James Bond theme song sound. 

The armageddon of The Power's Out is another synth and guitar industrial rocker. Sweetest Fruit has a quality guitar break. So Many Planets has a strong melody and a choral chorus that is excellent. Then the record closes with the title track, a light pop, almost Tom Tom Club opening that morphs into a huge noisy chorus on the way out.

Like all of her work, it is challenging. She can turn a great lyrical phrase. She has a way with melody that is impressive even when she's making big loud noises. She is a hot guitarist even when she makes it sound like anything but a guitar. She plays a mean synth, and she can sing. And she produced a cohesive personal statement. But for me, it veers too close to a NIN industrial sound a bit too often. I'm sure it is what she intended, but I've got to go four stars instead of five. Your mileage may vary.

Stackridge The Man In The Bowler Hat (Pinifore Days in the US) 1974

Question: What do you get when you crossbreed Fairport Convention with early Yes and a little Genesis? Answer: Stackridge.

Stackridge released five records between 1971 and 1976. Prog mixed with British folk-rock sounds well nigh impossible, but that is what they sound like. The Man In The Bowler Hat was their third. You can hear much of it on YouTube, and there are streaming options as well as lots of CDs and LPs at Discogs.

The band sported an unusual line-up of guitar, bass, drums, flute and violin. And they still sound like a rock band, and one of the more unique ones you're likely to hear. They cited both the Beatles and Frank Zappa as influences, as well as Syd Barrett, Beach Boys and the Marx Brothers. And it all gets into the mix.

I think you'll find them to sound quite like nothing you've ever heard, and mostly in a good way.

David Wilcox Guitar Shopping from What You Whispered 2000

David Wilcox is a more folky artist than I am usually drawn to, but his guitar playing, his mellow voice, and especially his songwriting really shine. He has a way with words that is impressive: sometimes playful, sometimes romantic, frequently insightful, always well-constructed. In his younger days he wrote about vehicles quite a bit. This one's available for streaming, and there's a YouTube of it, so you can follow along if you'd like. 

Guitar Shopping

There's a guitar here in the window
I'd like to play before it's sold.
It's such a classic, mint condition,
Great shape for one this old.
Now all these axes have their stories,
Of the gigs that they have seen
But when this one sold the first time
I was seventeen.

'Course back then I didn't want it
It was way too new for me.
I needed something old and righteous
With its own authority.

So the first guitar I ever bought
Was twice as old as me
'Cause its life was full of music,
As I dreamed that mine might be.

And I played that thing a thousand nights
And traded it away
For something slightly newer
That was easier to play.

But now lately I buy new guitars
They're shiny as a hearse.
I still like the look of road wear,
But the roles have been reversed.
And now this thing is a classic
That I still don't need to buy.
Yeah, the old one's have their stories
But by now,
So do I.

Kelly Willis, Melissa Carper, Brennen Leigh Wonder Women of Country 2024

Three talented country singers, songwriters, and musicians team up to capitalize on their combined talents. And it came out really well. The EP has six songs, including two Kelly Willis lead vocals on songs she wrote, several co-writes by Carper and Leigh, and one John Prine song.

They can all sing, and they harmonize wonderfully. Brennen Leigh is a hot guitarist and Melissa Carper is solid on upright bass. Kelly Willis plays fine rhythm guitar. And they write good songs. I'm a big fan of Kelly Willis myself, but all three have successful solo careers and sound great. Leigh's Fly Ya To Hawaii is big fun, Willis' Another Broken Heart and A Thousand Ways stand with her best work, and Carper's Won't Be Worried Long is a lovely classic country weeper with a positive spin. John Prine's I Have Met My Love Today gets a spare production and beautiful harmonies.

They're touring the midwest, south and even Massachusetts this spring. I know you'll have a good time. CD, vinyl and downloads available.