Bad Boys Get Spanked, Indeed....

Sitcom Neighbor – Reminded me a lot of Dr. Dog.  Better than average power pop, with the occasional clever lyric.   Doesn’t quite get to Fountains of Wayne level, but it’s an easy listen and one that I will no doubt go back to a few more times.  3.5 stars

Al Green – Long before Prince was mixing God and sex on albums, Al Green was.  “Call Me” is a great mix of secular, old school soul and gospel R&B.  Green has one of the most unique voices in music, and he uses it to great effect here.  Musically, its Stax 101, players find the groove and they stay in it.  Highlight for me is his cover of “Funny How Time Slips Away”, which is one of the rare covers that outshines the original (sorry, Willie).  4 stars

Pretenders – Because Pretenders II has the misfortune of being sandwiched between one of the greatest debuts ever recorded and “Learning to Crawl”, the band’s creative peak, its criminally overlooked.  While it falls a little short of both those records, it’s no slouch. The key of course is Chrissie Hynde, whose lyrics and vocals bridge the gap between the tough, sexy rocker of the previous album and the vulnerable but defensively independent woman of “Learning to Crawl”.  The band clicks on all cylinders, and is a reminder of what an absolute waste the subsequent OD’s of Honeyman-Scott and Farndon were. 4.5 stars

Ella Fitzgerald – No question that Ella is one of the greatest female vocalists of all time, and there is some great material on this disc, notably the stuff with Louis Armstrong.  Fearless Leader has put together a nice mix here.  The only problem I have is that I can only take so much scat singing in one sitting, and there’s waaaaay too much here.  That said, this is a keeper, and it will go great in a shuffle.

#1 – Favorite songs over 8 minutes long. Boy, was this a brutal cutdown….

1) “Like a Hurricane” – Neil Young
2) “Jungleland” – Bruce Springsteen
3) “November Rain” – Guns and Roses
4) “Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” – Elton John
5) “Dr. Jimmy” – The Who

#2 - Last 5 songs I deleted are whatever the last 5 songs on the Craig Finn solo disc are.  Not good

#3 – Guilty pleasures I’m embarrassed about –


1- The fact that I still love Billy Joel’s music and think late-career renaissance is not out of the question
2- The fact that I love the new Suzanna Hoffs disc, which is syrupy-sweet enough to send me into a diabetic coma
3- The fact that I crank up “The Boys of Summer” and “Summer of 69” every single time I hear them on the radio

#4  - Album I love that the rest of the world hates – Neil Young – “Everybody’s Rockin”

#5 - Definitely think spoken word and/or vocal effects can work. 5 best songs with spoken word vocals or intervals


1) “Dirty Blvd” – Lou Reed
2) “World of Hurt” – Drive By Truckers
3) “Boy Named Sue” – Johnny Cash
4) “Panama” – Van Halen
5) “Belong” - REM