Forward into the past! (music)

My old website has died, apparently w/o hope of recovery, so as of right now I Have No Past. Which on 1 hand is a drag, & on the other hand gives me a cheap Xcuse 2 recycle all that old stuff as new capsule reviews here.
& since this blog has bn a little musically-challenged lately, here's the music I reviewed during my 1st 8 mo's on-line, which some of U may not have Cn B4. These capsule reviews will B almost all new stuff, which is more fun 4 me than just doing a laundry-list/recap. & U know how I love 2 make lists.... (I'll get 2 the books I reviewed eventually....)
This may take awhile tho, so bear w/ me....
Some of those old reviews I'll miss, like the fictional review of SMILE & its made-up impact on the world, & the words on Nick Drake, Kate Bush, Fairport Convention, Gryphon, Providence, the reviews I did in memory of my Mom, the rant about Michael Jackson & CNN, the series of Great Lost Singles reviews (there's a list of them all elsewhere on this blog, so at least U can find out what they WERE), those long writeups on '70s radio, science fiction & my Record Store Daze -- but this ain't Great Art 4 The Ages NEway, & it's not like I can't regurgitate some version of it all if pressed. (Bsides, some of the off-the-wall attempts at humor R better-off lost in Internet Purgatory somewhere. ... I can't hear NEbody laffing out there. Is this thing switched on?)
So, another look back in2 the past, just 4 fun. Working my way backward, then....
* Bread: BEST OF's -- Timeless nostalgia from the early 1970's. Lotta the hits R pretty great, & summa the album trax R stunning, especially "Been Too Long on the Road."
+ Badfinger: THE VERY BEST OF & other best-of's -- Mosta the hits R pretty great, especially "Baby Blue," "No Matter What" & "Day After Day." But a lotta the rest is kinda 4gettable, Xcept 4 the brilliant, driving "In the Meantime/Some Other Time," "Meanwhile Back at the Ranch/Should I Smoke?," "The Name of the Game," "Apple of My Eye."
* Raspberries: GREATEST -- Mosta the hits really were GREAT, & the album trax reveal a whole diffrent side of the band (like the silly "Come Around and See Me"). I'm a sucker 4 "Overnight Sensation," "Let's Pretend," "Tonight," "Ecstacy." Great drumming & group vocals. They shoulda bn bigger.
+ Lobo: INTRODUCING -- Timeless rural nostalgia from '71. 1st album I ever bought.
+ Mary-Chapin Carpenter: COME ON, COME ON -- Some great stuff here, tho the moodier trax drag. Brilliant: "Passionate Kisses," "The Hard Way," title song.
+ Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks: BUCKINGHAM/NICKS -- From '73, B4 joining Fleetwood Mac. 1st side's great, especially the gorgeous, mournful "Without a Leg to Stand On," "Crying in the Night," & a better version of "Crystal" than the Mac did. All I remember from the 2nd side is the rousing "Don't Let Me Down Again."
+ Spirit: 12 DREAMS OF DR. SARDONICUS & +BEST OF -- Did they invent American art-rock? SARDONICUS has some great stuff, especially at the start & Nd; "Nature's Way" is a freakin classic. BEST OF includes the GREAT "I Got a Line on You," about 1/2 of SARDONICUS, the sorta weary Nd-of-the-Summer-of-Love # "Aren't You Glad?" & some other stuff that didn't grab me much.
*Bangles: DIFFERENT LIGHT, +ALL OVER THE PLACE, =EVERYTHING, +GREATEST -- I love female harmonies, I'm a big Go-Go's fan 2. DIFFERENT LIGHT is 1 of the best pop albums ever, tho it's not perfect -- but the 2nd side nearly is, especially "Let it Go," "September Gurls," "Angels Don't Fall in Love," "Following," "Not Like You." Tested repeatedly during LOTS of road trips. ALL OVER has more Attitude, & my fave Bangs song ever, "Dover Beach." The 2nd side's pretty gutsy, 2. EVERYTHING has 4 good songs, including the gorgeous "I'll Set You Free." GREATEST has mosta these titles + the GREAT "Everything I Wanted."
* George Winston: AUTUMN -- The only New Age album U'll ever need. Gorgeous solo piano.
+ Roxy Music: STREET LIFE/20 GREAT HITS, +GREATEST HITS, +FLESH AND BLOOD, +AVALON -- I love their later, mellower stuff, especially "Over You," "Same Old Scene," "Dance Away," "Oh Yeah (On the Radio)." But I needta educate myself more on their early outrage....
+ Joan Armatrading: ME MYSELF I, +TRACK RECORD, etc. -- The deep-voiced woman w/ the sensitive songs. There's some great stuff on all her albums. I especially love "When I Get it Right," "Persona Grata," "Temptation." & "I Need You" will rip you up....
* Steve Tibbetts: YR -- Jazz, Rock, New Age? Doesn't matter. Steve's melodic, flowing compositions & gorgeous guitar will make U a Bliever. & "Ur" will melt yr speakers....
* Alan Parsons Project: INSTRUMENTAL WORKS -- Predictable but gorgeous instrumentals from Parsons' 1st 1/2dozen albums. My fave is "The Gold Bug," but it's all pretty & hypnotic.
* Shoes: PRESENT TENSE -- Mostly gorgeous, breathy New Wave lovesongs. Best: "Too Late," "In My Arms Again," "Now and Then," "Every Girl."
* Split Enz: WAIATA, *HISTORY NEVER REPEATS/BEST OF -- Great songs, great silliness.
= Steely Dan: GAUCHO -- Most of it's lazy & lame Byond Blief, but the title track is a gorgeous lost classic, & "Third World Man" is pretty odd....
* Suzanne Vega: (1st) -- Pristine '80s folk w/ a crystal-clear production. I love almost all of it Xcept 4 that long fable about the princess & the soldier.... & the best stuff is amazing: "Cracking," "Undertow," "Knight Moves," "Small Blue Thing," "Some Journey," "Marlene on the Wall"....
+ Bruce Cockburn: DANCING IN THE DRAGON'S JAWS, +RESUME best-of -- DANCING has 2 brilliant trax, "Incandescent Blue" & "Badlands Flashback," & the rest is very pleasant. RESUME is intresting, especially 4 "Silver Wheels" & "Dance With the Devil."
* Partridge Family: ALBUM, =UP TO DATE, *SOUND MAGAZINE -- Why R U laffing? Everybody's gotta start somewhere, & I'm STILL a sucker 4 great group vocals, which these folks had. ALBUM is amazingly consistent 4 lite pop, DATE is a bit of a letdown but still has some great stuff, & SOUND MAG is their best album ever, a real step 4ward in punchiness, w/ 2 knockouts: "I'm on My Way Back Home" & "Love is All That I Ever Needed." Course if U can't take Keith's ego....
+ Rare Earth: ONE WORLD -- Some great songs, & pretty smooth. "If I Die" & "Underneath God's Light" R 4got10 classics, & the rest ain't bad....
* Go-Go's: TALK SHOW -- 1 of the other greatest pop albums ever. Punchy, great gtr, great drumming, & the vocals! They got no respect, but 1/2 of this shoulda bn on their best-of, especially "You Thought," "Forget That Day," "Capture the Light," "I'm With You." Also road-tested over MANY miles....
* Bare Naked Ladies: STUNT, +THEIR GREATEST HITS -- STUNT is amazingly good, solid, w/ great, often funny songs, sometimes-amazing gtr & other great instrumentation. Best: "Its All Been Done," "Light Up My Room," "I'll Be That Girl," the hilarious "Alcohol," "In the Car," "Who Needs Sleep?," "Never is Enough," "Some Fantastic." GREATEST I keep mainly 4 the live "What A Good Boy," which is an AMAZING per4mance. Also great: "Get in Line," "It's Only Me," Bruce Cockburn's "Lovers in a Dangerous Time," "Brian Wilson," "If I Had a Million Dollars."
= Coldplay: VIVA LA VIDA -- Summa this is actually starting 2 grow on me....
* Jordin Sparks: (1st) -- "Now You Tell Me," "Tattoo" & "Worth the Wait" R all brilliant, & the rest is at least solid & professional. & she can REALLY sing....
+ Tracey Ullman: YOU BROKE MY HEART IN 17 PLACES -- Great fun, & some of it's just great, period: "They Don't Know," "Breakaway," "I'm Always Touched By Your Presence, Dear," "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten." She coulda had a whole 'nother career....
+ Nik Kershaw: HUMAN RACING -- Him 2. He coulda bn Stevie Wonder's ghost-singer -- amazing impersonation on "Faces." But the amazing high point is the silly "Gone to Pieces," where (among other things) The Chipmunks make their 1st appearance inna recording studio since about 1964 -- & they sound great!
+ Pete Townshend: ALL THE BEST COWBOYS HAVE CHINESE EYES, *EMPTY GLASS, +PSYCHODERELICT -- CHINESE EYES needed more songs as good as "Slit Skirts," "North Country Girl," "Uniforms," "Somebody Saved Me," "Face Dances Part 2." GLASS is a classic, but good as "Rough Boys" is, I've always loved the softer but still passionate stuff: the marvelous "A Little is Enough," "And I Moved," "Jools and Jim," "Cat's in the Cupboard." & "Gonna Get Ya" is a screamer.... PSYCHO has 1 GREAT song, "Now and Then." The rest is an intresting Xperiment....
* ELO: TIME -- Raising filler 2 a fine art. "Twilight" is great & "The Way Life's Meant to Be" is almost perfect. Summa the rest is so silly U may wanna fling the disc across the room: "Yours Truly, 2095," "Here is the News"....
* Clannad: MACALLA -- Dark, w/o enuf variation in moods, but some great moody tunes nevertheless. Best: "Journey's End," "The Wild Cry," "Indoor," "Blackstairs," "Caislean Oir."
* Renaissance: LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL -- They could B stuffy in the studio, but here they relax a little & the orchestra sweeps them along. Best: "Can You Understand?," "Running Hard" & the GORGEOUS 1st 3 mins of "Ashes are Burning."
+ Blue Oyster Cult: AGENTS OF FORTUNE -- 1/2 great stuff, 1/2 real crap. Best: "Don't Fear the Reaper," "ETI," "Morning Final," "Debbie Denise."
* Police: REGGATTA DE BLANC -- The Rodney Dangerfields of New Wave, lotsa great comedy, especially on "Does Everyone Stare" & "On Any Other Day."
* Dire Straits: MAKIN MOVIES, +LOVE OVER GOLD, +LOCAL HERO SOUNDTRACK -- MOVIES is their most cinematic work, U'll C the videos in yr head on great songs like "Romeo and Juliet," "Hand in Hand," "Expresso Love," "Tunnel of Love." GOLD keeps the cinemagic 4 1 amazing track, the gorgeous 15-min "Telegraph Road." Title song's also pretty, & "Industrial Disease" is a dry-run 4 "Money for Nothing." HERO is pleasant soundtrack music w/ 2 great bits: the anthemic "Going Home" theme at the Nd, & Gerry Rafferty's vocals on the laid-back "That's the Way it Always Starts."
+ Philip Glass: KOYAANISQATSI -- Eerie, icy, mechanical, nightmarish, robot music w/ disembodied wailing voices. But parts of it R pretty....
+ Todd Rundgren: SOMETHING/ANYTHING?, +ADVENTURES IN UTOPIA, +VERY BEST OF -- All great pop. & why wasn't "Couldn't I Just Tell You?" a hit? Or "You Make Me Crazy"? Or "The Very Last Time"? Or "Saving Grace"? Or....
+ Keane: HOPES AND FEARS, -UNDER THE IRON SEA -- HOPES has 4 great songs; the lost classic is "Bend and Break." IRON SEA is the worst art-rock album I've heard in the last decade.
+ The Jam: SETTING SONS -- Angry, bitter, Dspairing New Wave concept album -- which still has lotsa songs U can sing along with! Best: "Private Hell," "Thick as Thieves," "Little Boy Soldiers," "Strange Town," "Eton Rifles," & the recorder hook on "Wasteland." + the WORST version of "Heat Wave" that U'll never wanna hear again....
+ Modern English: AFTER THE SNOW -- The great "I Melt With You" shoulda bn a bigger hit, now it's never gonna die, U can hear it in candy commercials. Whole 2nd side's high-quality, especially "Carry Me Down" & "Tables Turning." 1st side Dscends in2 arty quiet, but it's still intresting....
* Fairport Convention: FAIRPORT CHRONICLES best-of -- Best British folk-rock band ever. Great songs, amazing passionate singing by Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, Ian Matthews. Best: "Come All Ye," "Listen, Listen," "I'll Keep it With Mine," "The Way I Feel," "Tale in Hard Time."
* Gentle Giant: PRETENSIOUS best-of, +FREE HAND, +THREE FRIENDS -- PRETENSIOUS has some of their very best stuff off their 1st 6 albums, it's full of gems like "Advent of Panurge," "Schooldays," "Raconteur, Troubadour," "Pentegruel's Nativity," "Knots," "Edge of Twilight," "Cogs in Cogs." FREE HAND's worth it all 4 the gorgeous "His Last Voyage" & "Time to Kill." "Talybont" sounds like Gryphon.... THREE FRIENDS has the hushed "Schooldays" & the guys actually rocking on "Peel the Paint."
* Caravan: FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT, +CANTERBURY TALES (2-record best-of) -- GIRLS is 1 of the best prog albums ever, tho not perfect -- the great stuff is so good I 4give the coupla dead spots. The driving "Memory Lain/Hugh/Headloss" & "Be All Right," the charming "The Dog, the Dog" & "Surprise, Surprise," & the cinematic suite "A Hunting We Shall Go...." -- these guys were at their absolute best here. & Dave Sinclair is a 4got10 '70s master of keyboards.... TALES has mosta their best stuff & adds a gorgeous live take of "Virgin on the Ridiculous." (The 2-CD best-of under the same name has more early stuff & shuffles the resta the best, not a better package, but diffrent & Xpanded.)
* U.K.: (1st), =DANGER MONEY -- 1st album's a screamer, hardly a bad track on it, best R "Time to Kill," "Mental Medication" & the "In the Dead of Night" suite. DANGER is a big letdown, 2 Dcent tracks: "Rendezvous 6:02" & "Nothing to Lose." The last of these sounds like a dry-run 4 Asia....
+ Buffalo Springfield: RETROSPECTIVE best-of -- They shoulda had more hits, like "Bluebird," "Mr. Soul," "On the Way Home," "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing," "Rock and Roll Woman." & then there's Neil Young's kaleidoscopic "Broken Arrow"....
* Beach Boys: PET SOUNDS -- What can I say? Bn listening 2 it since I was 16 yrs old...
* Amazing Blondel: FANTASIA LINDUM, +ENGLAND -- British Folk concept albums, gorgeous vocals & tunes.
+ Kevin Ayers: ODD DITTIES -- Mostly failed singles & outtakes, Cn by some critics as his best album ever. Un4gettable: the silly "Connie on a Rubber Band," "Soon, Soon, Soon," "Lady Rachel." Guests include Soft Machine, Mike Oldfield, David Bedford, most of Caravan....
* Justin Hayward & John Lodge: BLUE JAYS -- Best stuff rivals the Moodies: "When You Wake Up," "Saved By the Music," "This Morning," "Remember Me, My Friend," "Maybe," "My Brother," "You," "Who Are You Now?"
+ Jefferson Starship: FREEDOM AT POINT ZERO -- I've always loved Paul Kantner's science-fiction chorales. Best: Title track, "Fading Lady Light," "Lightning Rose," "Just the Same," "Awakening," "Things to Come."
* Grace Slick: DREAMS -- Prog. Great gtr, orchestra, & the wailin lead singer herself. Best: "Full Moon Man," "Let it Go," "Garden of Man," "Face to the Wind," "El Diablo."
* Dan Fogelberg: THE INNOCENT AGE, *PHOENIX -- INNOCENT turns in2 soundtrack muzak by the Nd but there's some great stuff along the way, especially the gorgeous "Nexus" & "The Reach," "Stolen Moments," "In the Passage," "The Lion's Share," "Times Like These," "Same Old Lang Syne," title song -- I even like the mushy "Hard to Say." PHOENIX has some great stuff 2: title track, "Along the Road," "Wishing on the Moon," "Heart Hotels"....
+ Hawkwind: HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL -- Heavy metal space rock? Best is the great "You'd Better Believe It," but Lemmy & Mick Farren's "Lost Johnny" is killer, & some of the others R pretty cool. Intresting snyth-wash breaks Btween songs....
* Yes: YESSONGS -- So great U can drop at least 1 side & never miss it (the side w/ "Roundabout," "Your Move" & Wakeman's solo themes). "Close to the Edge" is so cosmic, "Starship Trooper" so stunning, "And You and I" so pretty, & "Siberian Khatru" has got some great chaotic stuff goin on....
+ Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays: AS FALLS WICHITA, SO FALLS WICHITA FALLS -- Title track is 22 fairly gorgeous mins of synth-wash & crystalline gtr, w/ a climax in which aliens touch down in their UFOs on a children's playground... or something. Only "Ozark" on Side 2 comes close 2 Bing as good....
+ Manfred Mann's Earth Band: CHANCE -- Intresting almost-robotic sounds, & "Stranded" is a lost art-rock classic. Manfred's version of Springsteen's "For You" is almost bombastic enuf 2 B ELP, & "Heart on the Street" is no slouch either....
* Kate Bush: THE KICK INSIDE, +LIONHEART, +NEVER FOR EVER, +THE WHOLE STORY best-of -- U'll get useta her voice quicker than U think. Whole 1st side of KICK is GREAT, especially "Saxophone Song," "Kite," "Strange Phenomena" & "Man With the Child in His Eyes." The other 2 have great trax here & there: LIONHEART's worth it just 4 "Wow." NEVER has the gorgeous "Delius," the outrageous "Violin," & a little revenge # called "The Wedding List." WHOLE STORY includes sevral of these, + the marvelous "Cloudbusting" & the sensual "Running Up That Hill." The 2-CD best-of THIS WOMAN'S WORK includes otherwise-unavailable greats like the stark "Empty Bullring," the beautiful "December Will Be Magic Again," & the heart-wrenching title song.
* Sally Oldfield: WATER BEARER -- Beautiful LORD OF THE RINGS-flavored prog.
* Nick Drake: BRYTER LAYTER -- Gorgeous. Almost every track's perfect. Great lyrics, guitar, vocals, & the backup is summa British Folk's best. Standouts: "Northern Sky," "Hazey Jane II," "At the Chime of a City Clock," "Fly," "Sunday."
= Soft Machine: THIRD -- "Slightly All the Time" & "Out-Bloody-Rageous" R pretty hypnotic, but I could never get past the 5 mins of feedback noise that opens "Facelift," & I thot "Moon in June" was just silly. The primitive, muddy production lets them down, tho it never stopped me w/ early Caravan....
= Hatfield & the North: (1st) -- Funny & busy-busy. Talented, but coulda used more tunes....
* Sky: SKY2, +SKY3 -- British all-instrumental prog band, kinda conservative. 2 is another double where U could throw 1/2 of it away & not miss it -- but the good stuff is REALLY good: "Vivaldi," "Watching the Aeroplanes," "Scipio," "Toccata," "Fifo," "Adagio," "Scherzo." Their relentless 4/4 robotics may bug U tho. 3 mellows w/ the loss of keyboardist/composer Francis Monkman -- nothing on it's as good as 2. Closest is drummer Tristan Fry's rather good "Connecting Rooms" & bassist Herbie Flowers' slowly-building "Meheeco."
* Beach Boys: SMILE -- Best prog album ever.
+ Brian Wilson: SMILE -- Brian's voice is shot, but the songs we haven't heard B4 R pretty great, especially "On a Holiday" & "In Blue Hawaii."
+ The Move: MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTRY -- The heavily-produced stuff (title track, "Do Ya," "Tonite") is pretty great, the rockabilly stuff is at least funny, & 1/3rd of it's 4gettable.
* Glass Moon: (1st) -- Xcellent Genesis-soundalike band from Fla. Turn Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" in2 a shoulda-bn-hit. Whole 2nd side's pretty strong. But the lost classic is "Sundays and Mondays," w/ a thunderstorm-like gtr solo by Jamie Glaser.
+ Camel: THE SINGLE FACTOR, +BREATHLESS -- SINGLE has a gold-plated 2nd side w/ overlooked greats like "Sasquatch," the angry "Manic," & the gorgeous "Heart's Desire/End Peace." BREATHLESS is just solid lite Ntertainment w/ the gorgeous title track, the soaring "Echoes," & a sorta British answer 2 Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good" in bassist/vocalist Richard Sinclair's "Down on the Farm."
+ Barclay James Harvest: GONE TO EARTH -- 3 great songs: The crashingly dramatic "Hymn," the gentle "Spirit on the Water," & "Poor Man's Moody Blues."
* Moody Blues: THE PRESENT -- Their best, most consistent album ever.
+ Be-Bop Deluxe: SUNBURST FINISH -- Bowie meets heavy gtr! Worth it all 4 the brilliant "Sleep That Burns." Whole 1st side's pretty strong.
* Group 87: (1st) -- 1 of the 2 best all-instrumental prog albums ever. I want the gorgeous, anthemic, life-affirming "One Night Away From Day" played at my funeral. Most of the rest is only a step down from that peak of brilliance....
* Happy the Man: CRAFTY HANDS -- Gorgeous Genesis-like instrumental melodies + rockin blowouts like "Wind-Up Doll Day Wind" & "Service With a Smile".....
* Fleet Foxes: (1st) -- Love "Blue Ridge Mountains," but think summa the lyrics elsewhere R kinda silly. Love the way it flows 2gether like prog albums of old....
+ Wigwam: NUCLEAR NIGHTCLUB -- Lite & folky in places, more streamlined & rockin on "Do Or Die," a little comedy on "Simple Human Kindness" & "Freddy Are You Ready?" & then there's the driving "Bless Your Lucky Stars," the ultimate vocoder song....
+ Rollers: ELEVATOR -- Growing-up on-stage, painfully. The former Bay City Rollers do themselves proud on the gorgeous Beatles-ish "Hello and Welcome Home," the nostalgic "I Was Eleven," the intense "Stoned Houses #2," & "Washington's Birthday."
+ Judie Tzuke: STAY WITH ME 'TIL DAWN -- Could almost B prog. Great songwriting, intense & sweeping musical backing -- whole 1st side's great. Best: Title song, "These Are the Laws," "Welcome to the Cruise," "For You," "Sukarita."
* King Crimson: THE GREAT DECEIVER/LIVE 1973-74, +THE POWER TO BELIEVE, *YOUNG PERSON'S GUIDE best-of, +COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING, +DISCIPLINE -- GREAT DECEIVER is the best live album I've heard since YESSONGS. POWER is impressive & super-efficient, but Xcept 4 "Level Five" & the hilarious "Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With," I couldn't find much that really grabbed me. GUIDE is summa Crimson's best from their 1st 6 yrs, shows their wide range, but doesn't include "21st Century Schizoid Man," "Great Deceiver," "Fracture".... COURT is 1/2 great, 1/2 crap; "Schizoid" will blow yr ears open, but the other 2 good songs sound like a heavy Moody Blues. DISCIPLINE starts intense & heavy, "Frame By Frame" is 1 of KC's best ever, "Indiscipline" & "Elephant Talk" Rn't far Bhind, but the 2nd 1/2 just drifts off....
* Providence: EVER SENSE THE DAWN -- Best Moodies-style album ever. Great singing, songwriting, strings. Lost classics: "Fantasy Fugue," "If We Were Wise," "Neptune's Door."
* Gryphon: RED QUEEN TO GRYPHON THREE, *TREASON -- RED QUEEN is the best instrumental rock album ever; "Lament" will change yr life. TREASON is a sorta kinder, gentler Jethro Tull album; "Spring Song" shoulda made these guys prog-rock stars.
= National Health: (1st), =OF QUEUES AND CURES -- 1 great song on each: The cosmic 15-min "Tenemos Roads" on the 1st, the hilarious 11-min "Binoculars" on the 2nd.
+ Incredible String Band: THE HANGMAN'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER -- Silly, spooky, even Deeply Serious. "Witch'es Hat" is my fave, but all of it's unique. 1nce U stop laffing, U'll B impressed w/ the structure, lyrics, instrumentation. These guys were in their own world, but they knew what they were doin....
= Caravan: CUNNING STUNTS, +BLIND DOG AT ST. DUNSTAN'S -- STUNTS is disappointing, only the side-long "Dabsong Conshirtoe" is up 2 their 4mer standards. The follow-up BLIND DOG is more like it, & closes w/ 2 gorgeous Caravan Classics, "Can You Hear Me?" & "All the Way With John Wayne's Single-Handed Liberation of Paris" -- 1 of the prettiest lovesongs U'll ever hear.
* Fleetwood Mac: TUSK -- Great atmosphere. My fave album ever 4 doing household chores. This isn't a putdown. Varied moods & sounds, & some of it'll just float U away. Best: The lost classic "I Know I'm Not Wrong," "Sisters of the Moon," "Brown Eyes," "Never Make Me Cry," "Never Forget," "Angel," "Beautiful Child," "Storms," "That's All for Everyone," "Walk a Thin Line," title song....
* Illusion: OUT OF THE MIST -- Best Renaissance-style album ever. Great songs, lotsa drama, Xcellent gtr & keybs, solid songwriting, & beautiful lead vocals by Jane Relf. Best: "Everywhere You Go," "Candles are Burning," "Roads to Freedom," "Face of Yesterday."
+ Keith Jarrett: EYES OF THE HEART -- Listen 2 the sound of Jarrett's quartet breaking up. Filled with anger, frustration & stress -- which adds a lot 2 the music, I think. If there were more actual tunes I'da given it a *.
+ David Sancious and Tone: TRANSFORMATION (THE SPEED OF LOVE) -- Sancious was sorta the Hendrix of the synthesizer, & both the side-long title track & the much-shorter "Play and Display of the Heart" R marvelous -- beautiful themes 2 go w/ the outrageous variations.
= Strawbs: JUST A COLLECTION OF ANTIQUES AND CURIOS -- Worth it just 4 the angry "Where is This Dream of Your Youth?," which includes some of Rick Wakeman's best playing ever.
= Gong: YOU, +SHAMAL -- YOU has 2 Dcent psychedelic jam tracks, "Master Builder" & "A Sprinkling of Clouds." The rest I'm still trying 2 figure out, but it's REAL silly. SHAMAL is from the later, slightly-more-structured jazz-rock band, & parts of it R pretty good, especially "Wingful of Eyes," the rest of the 1st side, & the title-track closer.
= Rare Bird: EPIC FOREST -- 2 Xcellent songs, the haunting 9-min title track & the driving "Birdman." The rest is almost completely 4gettable.
* Al Stewart: MODERN TIMES -- His best, most consistent album ever. 2nd 1/2 is brilliant: the rolling & silly "Apple Cider Reconstitution," the dramatic "Dark and Rolling Sea," & the great lyrics & solid gtr of the title track. 1st 1/2's lighter but still Quality Al. Alan Parsons' 1st production job 4 Al, followed by YEAR OF THE CAT....
* Stories: ABOUT US -- Great lost British pop-rock album, programmed sideways. Best: Lost classics "Please, Please" & "Love is in Motion," "Words," "What Comes After," "Darling," "Circles."
* Hollies: ROMANY -- Kinda arty, but lotsa great harmonies & strong if off-the-wall songs. Best: "Magic Woman Touch," title song, "Touch," "Words Don't Come Easy," the almost-rockin "Slow Down," "Won't We Feel Good," "Down River," "Blue in the Morning." Alan Parsons co-engineered.