New stuff!

OK, new music! Well, new to ME, anyway. Mostly.
* John Fahey -- The Fahey Sampler. From BEST OF VOLUME 2. Crystal-clear acoustic guitar. Pretty. Hypnotic. Thin repeating melody that gains strength, speed and interest as it goes along. I think there's a limit to how much of this anyone can take, but I got all the way through its 13 minutes without drifting off too far. Pretty good waking-up music, which Ghod knows I need this morning....
* Justin Hayward and John Lodge -- Blue Guitar. Bonus track from the BLUE JAYS CD. The album itself is worth four stars, an absolute MUST for Moody Blues fans. But this 1975 single is a little too languid and laid-back, which was always the weakest side of the Moodies. There's no drama, there's no drive. No wonder I've been able to ignore it for all these years. The album-closer "When You Wake Up" is WAY better....
* Camel -- Flight of the Snow Goose (alternate single edit). Bonus track from THE SNOW GOOSE. Released as a single in England in 1975. Driving but melodic, with lots of swirling synthesizer from Peter Bardens, and not quite enough Andy Latimer guitar. Opening and closing are drawn-out a little more than on the original album. Maybe not a sure thing for radio, though this is the most immediately-catchy tune on the album. This version seems somehow flatter, less dramatic than the original version I'm used to. Is that just the CD remastering? Or is it my ears?
* Richard Thompson -- Don't Sit on My Jimmy Shands. From RUMOR AND SIGH. Hilarious! Great oom-pah sound, funny lyrics. Where'd that accordion come from? Strange, it sounded much rock-ier in the CD store....
* Richard Thompson -- I Misunderstood. Also from RUMOR AND SIGH. This is more like it. Richard being his usual grim self. Sounds like actor Alan Rickman with a guitar. Great, brutal lyrics, excellent hypnotic choruses. And great guitar, of course. Pretty quiet for the dramatic lyrics. Restrained. Intense.
* Richard Thompson -- Mystery Wind. Nice brooding atmosphere, vocals, lyrics and guitar, but it doesn't seem to go much of anywhere.
* Richard Thompson -- Backlash Love Affair. Very "Arabian Nights"-ish opening. Richard gets overcome by a Nazi dominatrix? Trashy! And catchy. Charming by the second chorus. Some nice screechy guitar, too.
* Polyphonic Spree -- Have a Day/Celebratory. From THE BEGINNING STAGES OF... Well, they look like a bunch of Moonies, chanting in long white robes. But they don't SOUND like that, exactly. They sound vaguely like Yes! Vocally, at least. And they're definitely chanting the same lyrics over and over. Light and cheery, gaining in complexity. And then the choir kicks in. And the horns! This is too silly to be real, but it works. And I can't help smiling.
* Polyphonic Spree -- It's the Sun. Whatta choir! There's like 36 of them, so no wonder they make a huge sound. This is like a hippie musical, or like Up With People or something. Positive, so positive it's loopy. Arty, but the lyrics are silly. The horns and strings really work, and the mass-choir vocals are impressive -- but they'd work better with better lyrics. Still, it makes me smile. What the hell IS this? OK, that's enough. Before I get addicted. Maybe more later. But definitely Different.
* Camel -- Three Wishes. From RAJAZ. Now this IS The Arabian Nights. Andy Latimer's usual languid, pretty guitar mood-music. Picks up intensity later. Latimer's pretty reliable for good tunes. This could be off of MIRAGE or MOONMADNESS or even BREATHLESS. OK tune with lotsa quick changes, pleasant, diverting, standout guitar solos.
* Tangerine Dream -- Coldwater Canyon. From ENCORE/LIVE. "Monolight" is the unforgettable, melodic stoner classic on this former two-record set now on one CD. I picked THIS because it supposedly has Edgar Froese's longest guitar solo ever. Most of this is metronome-like trance music, though OK if you're in the mood to trip-out. Pretty simple sounding, now. Some undersea whale-song-like stuff later. Apparently lots of the themes used in these live concerts were sort of recycled from the Tangs' soundtrack for the movie SORCERER. I always preferred the drift of their non-soundtrack work, though their soundtracks could get pretty intense -- try "Igneous," the guitar-meltdown piece on THIEF.
BY THE WAY, while I have a chance, the Tangs have a best-of box set, TANGENTS, that covers their '70s output on Virgin Records. Bought it used (but pricey) last spring and expected to spend months listening to it. Big disappointment -- half the tracks were remixed or re-recorded by Edgar Froese and sound nothing like the originals. A beautiful package, but avoid at all costs. Extra bonus review, no extra charge....
* Motorhead -- Killed by Death (live). From ENCORE/EXTENDED VERSIONS. Wow, Lemmy sings in a higher pitch here than on the original. You can hardly hear him over the guitar and drums. How did he hit those high notes? He's hoarse! Shut up! Luckily, the rotten sound doesn't cover up the killer guitar, and whoever's bashin' the drums is doin' a helluva job. This sumbitch MOVES. Later, Lemmy croaks like a frog! And then he gets even worse! Hilarious! Great rock and roll comedy! I always loved these guys....
* Motorhead -- Born to Raise Hell (live). Great choruses, the rest of the lyrics are mush. And Lemmy's voice is SHOT. He sounds like he's 95 years old, probably using a cane. To beat you to death with. Hilarious. More great guitar and drums. Screaming down the freeway this'd probably sound pretty freakin' great. This isn't as funny as the original, but.... This stuff is damn hard to turn off.
* Motorhead -- Ace of Spades (live). My Ghod, can't understand a WORD. Except for the title-chorus. Maybe that was Lemmy's Songwriting Secret. But this stuff will sure as hell WAKE YOU UP. And the guitarist and drummer (whoever they are, the CD package doesn't say) flat burn it UP. OK, that's enough. I might even keep it.
* Meredith Brooks -- What Would Happen? From BLURRING THE EDGES. Heard this a few times back when, but didn't pay real close attention. She pretends she can't sing until the choruses, which are hypnotic and intense and really work. Course this sounds really quiet compared to Motorhead....
* Meredith Brooks -- Bitch. Sounds like Michelle Branch. Or was it Avril LaVigne? ... Oh, NOW I recognize this. I thought this was done by somebody else, like Berlin or somebody. Hate the choruses. I'm done.
* Faces -- Ooh La La. From THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION. This is pretty charming, and it sounds great. Coulda been a hit, especially if they'd used that "Wish I knew then what I know now" tag-line more often. Ends too soon. Sorta put together backwards. Nice, though. Don't know who's singin', but it ain't Rod Stewart.
* Faces -- Memphis Tennessee. Sorta boozy, wobbly version of the old Chuck Berry tune, with Rod Stewart singing a not-very-inspired lead. Lotsa nice guitar and piano. If I didn't know Johnny Rivers's version this'd be OK I guess. But I'm an old square, so....
* Sinead O'Connor -- Troy. From THE LION AND THE COBRA. My Ghod. This just in: She howls, she screams, such melodrama! Is THIS what critics were freaking out about, back in the day? It's funny and it's scary, and it's freaking great! And unfortunately she could almost be Alanis Morissette ... screeching about her man leaving the toilet seat up. If anything it's over with too quick. But Wow.
* Sinead O'Connor -- Jerusalem. A little bit too much whooping, but this bounces along nicely, could have been a hit. Edgy, but not as harrowing as "Troy."
* Sinead O'Connor -- I Am Stretched on Your Grave. From I DO NOT WANT WHAT I HAVEN'T GOT. Whatthehell, I feel brave, why not? Maybe shouldn't have -- an eerie funeral dirge. Her intense vocals don't save it.
* Beatles -- The Word. From RUBBER SOUL. Yeah, this is mildly familiar. I know the choruses, love the vocals on the choruses. Simpler and rockier (and SHORTER) than I expected. And what are they getting at with their use of "Spread the word"? As if I didn't know. Good thing they were so damn lovable and clever or they never would have gotten away with it.
* Beatles -- You Can't Do That. From A HARD DAY'S NIGHT. Pretty simple, though John sounds fairly angry. Good thing there were 10 (other) classic songs on this album....
* 'Til Tuesday -- Are You Serious? Bonus track from VOICES CARRY. Placed on the CD between the melodramatic greats "Maybe Monday" and "Don't Watch Me Bleed," this must have been the B-side of "Voices Carry" or something back in the day. Pleasant choruses, but that's about all -- I can see why it wasn't on the original album. I always thought these folks had potential, but judging by the one Aimee Mann solo album I tried to listen to awhile back, she hasn't stopped me in my tracks since the eight above-average songs on VOICES CARRY....
* Van Morrison -- Blue Money. From HIS BAND AND THE STREET CHOIR. Way light and relaxed. Sounds like this was tossed off in the studio, and the backing vocal is silly. An outtake from that album of children's songs that Van's always wanted to do....
* Van Morrison -- Call Me Up in Dreamland. More structured, with nice sax from Jack Schroer and relaxed group-vocal choruses. The lyrics are still kind of silly.
* Van Morrison -- Street Choir. Even more structured, but still kind of an anti-climax, even at the end of a relaxed, lighter-than-air album.
* Beatles -- Rain. Wow, this jumps right out of the speakers. Super-saturated sound. Sparkling guitars and vocals. Does this slow down as it goes? Or is it just me?