Given enough time even I can post a review.

Moody Blues

It was the summer between my junior and senior years of high school when this album came out.  I had heard of the moody blues and knew a couple of songs, but Long Distance Voyager was the first time I stopped and listened.  Let’s face it the Voice was being played everywhere and all the time.  Well I remember this being a great album and listening to quite a lot that summer, and opening me up to their catalog as whole which was great.  Now thirty plus years later I can’t tell you the last time I played anything by the moody blues.  The voice is still a great song.  So is Gemini Dream and 22000 days.  In fact nothing is bad here.  But like their catalog it’s nice to visit but nothing I would go out of my way to play.  The songs quickly disappear to an easy listening safe background that you may hum along or tap your feet to but also may not pay any attention to at all.  3

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

The only two albums that are better jingle jangle pop cd than this one are the first two REM albums.  This impressive debut has all the tools that made it great, should have made it huge and caused it to become a cult classic.  Great lyrics that make you think about the references dropped and places in life and space being described.  Great fluid guitar that create songs such as  Are you ready to be heartbroken, four fights up,  perfect ski n, forest fire and 6 other  near classics.  All the things that will get you played on small college radio stations and ignored everywhere else.  Also within forest fire the album contains one of the smoothest, guitar solos this side of comfortably numb.  This is Lloyd Coles best cd amongst a catalog of many a great pop tune, especially the period when after he dismantled the commotions in favor of a band that contained a pre girlfriend Mathew Sweet on bass.  An impressive debut that stands the test of time as all well-crafted pop tunes usually do 4.5

Hold Steady

Great another down your nose favorite that I know is just not my cup of tea.  Yes I have heard of and heard them, and no I have found no reason ever to play them.  That is until now.  Not sure why but this cd hit a chord with me.  Just some great rock songs sung/spoke in that tried but never true weary rock star voice that when called for can still rock.  The guitar work and the band as a whole seems to have really stepped up on this cd.  I read there was some new blood to the band but not being familiar with their catalog couldn’t tell you if it was the difference.  What I can say is this is a cd I enjoyed from the crashing guitar beginning to the drawn out solo at the end.

The Kinks

As with the moody blues there is one song that opened the Kinks to my musical library.  It was Rock and Roll Fantasy.  I was still listening to top 40 stations and just thought this song was incredible.  Then a few years later Low budget was released and I was hooked.  That is what I like about this collection.  It shows their early brit pop beginnings to where they became arena rock gods with Dave truly plugging in and showed off his chops. Its schoolboys in disgrace and after.  Yes I think the early stuff is great but if it was me take a couple of songs out before Disgrace add a couple from low budget and add Do It Again and State Of Confusion.  Still it’s the kinks and a couple of hours of that is never a bad thing.