The Monstular Audio Experiment smelled like sulfur

Bob Dylan – I love that Bob is still out there doing his thing, and this disc contains some good moments, notably the title track. However, there’s 4-5 weak tracks, and surprisingly, its mostly the up-beat stuff.  Also lots of clumsy one-liners that he tries to get by with because he’s “Dylan”.  Frankly, the voice is a problem as well.  He’s never been Roy Orbison, but the tones are so gravelly at times it’s a distraction.  The 5 star reviews it’s getting are silly.  This is miles away from “Love & Theft”.   3 stars

Ocular Audio Experiment – The 25 lowest rated discs in DYN history (per the website) have a common thread, namely that I didn’t submit a single one of them. Well, eventually DiMaggio took an 0-for, and Cal Ripken had to sit out a day.   One of my choices now proudly joins such treasures as “V is for Vagina”, “Power of Beef” and of course, “Wilson Sings Gershwin”. Truth is, I heard one track I liked (#2), paid $.50 on bandcamp and put it out there without listening to it.  The tempo drags a little, no? Apologies, and its nice to finally be in the club.  1 star

Allman Brothers Band – Greatest band I’ve never bought a single recording of.  Their combination of blues, rock, and a touch of jazz is a distinctively unique sound.  Love the dueling guitars, the omnipresence of the Hammond B-3 and Gregg’s growling vocals.  Just about the only “jam band” I can listen to for any length of time; 20 minutes of “Whipping Post” is just fine by me.  4.5 stars

Anti-Flag – Competent enough punk rock with good guitar work throughout.  Problem with this disc, like a lot of hardcore punk discs is that there’s just not enough variety, and around track 6 I lose interest because everything sounds the same.  An occasional song in a shuffle will suffice me, no reason I’ll ever listen to this start to finish again. 2.5 stars

The Cult – I’ve always been pretty ambivalent about The Cult, and this disc changed my opinion somewhat.  They’ve got more good stuff than I thought, although their best song (“Fire Woman”) was inexplicably left off this collection.  One of those discs where I had low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.  Some of it definitely had that late 80’s / early 90’s feel, but the “Beyond Good and Evil” tracks sounded great and current.

Discussion Question




The Ramones
Lucinda Williams
Bruce Springsteen
Two Cow Garage
Gaslight Anthem
Drive By Truckers
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Wilco
Son Volt
The Who


1. “Great Expectations”
2. “Just cause I don’t run my mouth don’t mean I got nothing to say.”
3. Standing 2 feet in front of Nels Cline and just shaking my head in amazement multiple times throughout the evening.
4. Turned me onto a style of music that I never stopped loving.
5. 1998, “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” bought it because of all the great reviews. Loved it & Lu ever since
6. I hated Bruce at first. Had to write a review of “The River” for my HS newspaper, and surprisingly, I liked it.
7. “135”
8. Three times, which is really twice more than anyone needs to see Son Volt….
9. “Hard Promises”
10. “The KKK Took My Baby Away” / "The Seeker" BOTH OF WHICH ARE VALID ANSWERS!!