Better Late Than Never...

Okkervil River – “I Am Very Far” is very far indeed.  Very far from the high bar set on “Black Sheep Boy” and “Stage Names”.  Very far from the great hooks of those records and very far from making a connection with this listener.  I hate the drum sound, and the lack of pop song structure makes Sheff’s vocals come off as whiny and annoying.  “We Need a Myth” is the lone standout. I apologize for submitting it, but I suspect 2 of you are drinking the Kool-Aid.   2 stars

10CC – “Things We Do For Love” is a classic.  The rest of it, not so much.  The clever humor on “Things” isn’t found on the other tracks; despite the way the band tries to force it in there.  The poppy stuff like “People in Love” is just nondescript, and when they try to put a little edge on songs, it’s unconvincing. 2 stars

Bad Brains – Neil’s been singing their praises since I’ve known him, but I didn’t get it.  The 8/4 tempo in every freaking song just exhausted me 4 tracks in, and the vocals were brutal.  The last 10 tracks might have been genius, but I’ll never know.  .5 stars

 

Notes and Scratches – A wild card indeed, this one needed multiple listenings.  Parts sound like Tom Waits fronting Titus Andronicus.  There’s a touch of Arcade Fire pomposity on some of the cuts as well.  I couldn’t get into all of it, but about half of the songs really stayed with me, notably “The Hours” and “Via Satellite”.  3 stars

 

Hoodoo Gurus – A really good collection from a band I had long ago forgotten about.  The post-“Blow Your Cool” stuff isn’t quite as good as the earlier stuff, but these guys certainly have the power pop formula down.  Should have been bigger here than they were.

Discussion Question

10. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend

9. U2 - Achtung Baby

8. Steve Earle - I Feel Alright

7. REM - Automatic For the People

6. Counting Crows - August & Everything After

5. Johnny Cash - American Recordings

4. Neil Young - Ragged Glory

3. Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind

2. Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

1. Uncle Tupelo - Anodyne

Note: If I could cherrypick the best tracks from GNR Use Your Illusion 1 & 2, that would be in the mix.

Cant go back and make a list as to what my top ten would have been back then, but I suspect Ten, Exile in Guyville & Ghost of Tom Joad would have been in there. My #1 disc was something I didnt discover until the 2000's, so it wouldnt have been on my list at all.