Album of the Week - Opinion/Samples

Dr John - Danveetc recommendation

Also enjoyed the sampler from DJ.

I have his "Television" album, which is alright (esp. the "Thank you for lettin' me be mice elf" cover; which brings back the "Right Place/Wrong Time" groove that seems to be the only Dr. John song you hear on mainstream radio).

I like what I hear from the "Elegant" album more than the remainder of "Television" though. Fascinating to hear NwOrl funk reinterpretations of the Duke songs I'm familiar with (Don't Get Around Much, Don't Mean A Thing, Mood Indigo)

So much great stuff; so little money!!!

Ben Campbell -

Wish I had your particular problem (too much to listen to!). I was at a friend's last night, and I'd guess he has about 1500 CDs and purchases at least 3-5 a week. I'm sure his album collection (much judiciously acquired in yard sales) also numbers in the 1000's. BTW - he played a few tracks from the remastered "Freewheelin" - and yes - AMAZING presence in the recording.

Myself, I'd guess I had about 350-400 CDs, about 150 albums purchased in HS/college, and 100 or so tapes (mainly made in college). Not enough jazz or classical, or female vocalists. And yes - more than one good/great artist in my collection is poorly represented by a single "greatest hits" collection.

However, much as I wish that I had the money and time to satisfy my musical obsessions - it ain't going to happen.

That's why I thought this thread might be useful for the more typical music fan (not that I think Audiogon members are "typical" music fans). A personal recommendation of a single work (with the added bonus of hearing a few snippets) might actually sway me to buy an album!

I hope that this would become a living/ongoing thread that doesn't OVERWHELM the reader with a list of great artists/works, but instead offers a reasonable sampler of selected works that they may not hear from mainstream sources.

As an aside about music exposure -

I'm really enjoying my experience with Internet radio. The stuff I hear on BBC6 is such a fantastic change from the homegenized radio playlists here in the US. I'm in the Northeast and listen to WXRV and WBOS - which, at first, seemed refreshing - but now seem as repetitive and shallow as any other station. Their rotation seems to get narrower all the time, and their "deep" album cuts might actually hit the second most popular track on an album instead of the first. Blecch... I do listen to the local college radio on occasion, but you have to put up with a bunch of insufferable crap to hear some of the good stuff as well. So, I'm glad that I finally took advantage of the Internet connection at my workplace to start listening over the web ... get to hear a lot of artists with no/little US exposure, and the DJ's seem to have a lot more variety in their playlists. Yes - a few "current" tracks get a bit more play, but it's never seemed repetitive. Yesterday's playlist from the currently playing DJ is here.

Okay ... giving CPR to my own thread, my second AOW is the greatest hits compilation from my previously nominated underestimated artist/group - NRBQ. Yes - I have more of their albums:

NRBQ: Peek-a-Boo: The Best of NRBQ (1969-1989). The five tracks in the music sampler are some of their early works

You can listen most of the tracks from the second disk and some more of the first at the folowing MSN Link (the third album down) Note that the play list given on the web application is actually mixed up/wrong/repeats itself. Actual play order as you listen is as follows:

Me and The Boys / You Can't Hide/ Never Take The Place of You / Feel You Around Me / Cap'n Lou / Things To You / That's Alright / Rain at the Drive-in / Ridin' In My Car / Still In School / Crazy Like a Fox (live) / Here Comes Terry (live) / Every Boy, Every Girl / Whistle While You Work / Wild Weekend / If I Don't Have You / Little Floater / (repeats - MATB, YCH, NTTPY, FYAM, CL, TTY) /12 Bar Blues / (repeats RATD) / A Girl Like That / How Can I Make You Love (repeats HCT, EBEG, WWYW, WW, IIDHY, LF)

Unfortunately - Looks like this may no longer be in print, but it's well worth seeking out. I have several other of their albums (NRBQ, Message for the Mess Age, Boppin' the Blues with Carl Perkins) - but this compilation is as good as it gets.

Okay - what to say about NRBQ. One - as you can see, they've been around a LONG time. A few minor line-up changes, and one big one - when guitarist extrordinaire "Big" Al Anderson left. As noted in another thread - they play hard and tour hard (I'd guess at least 100 gigs a year STILL), have a rabid grassroots fan base, are probably the best "bar band" going, have all sorts of critical acclaim and peer musician respect - but have never reached the critical mass to turn that into top-40/major label sales. They are - above all - great and versatile musicians.

A little bit blues/R&B (hence their name - New Rhythm and Blues Quartet), little bit rock-a-billy/gras-roots rock, little bit power pop and pure pop, and a whole lot of fun (had a professional wrestler as a manager for a while!).

NRBQ has MASTERED the art of the 3 minute pop song - each one of the tracks on this greatest hits album is a short, hooky gem. For the "power" tracks, check out "me and the boys" and "wild weekend". And they're also capable of producing simple, knock-you-off your feet love songs. No fancy lyrics - just straight-ahead sweet declarations of love (listen to "feel you around me", "never take the place of you", or "if I don't have you"). Great driving in a car on a summer day music, too -

What else - they've got a great sense of humor (some songs are positively juvenile - like "Girl Scout Cookies" or "I Want My Mommy" or "Howard Johnson's (got his HoJo working)" - Great to see a band that doesn't take itself too seriously, despite its abundance of talent.

If you've heard OF them, but not TO them - give them a try. They're just one of those groups - like the B-52's - that can drive away a funk and make you glad to be alive.

JVC XRCD Dire Straits Brothers in Arms. Couldn't believe the improvements over the original Warner Brothers or even the better sounding Vertigo disks.

Album of the Week, 3rd selection

Okay - a more recent release

The Wondermints - Mind If We Make Love To You

First exposure to this group was from a friend-made mix tape, with the great song "Tracy Hide" on it. Took me five or six years before I bought their self-titled debut. Far too long!

The Wondermints might best be known for backing up the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson (they appear on Pet Sounds Live and Brian Wilson live at the Roxy Theater), but I assume he approached them based on comparisons of aforementioned "Tracy Hide" to the gorgeous harmonies of the Beach Boys.

Brian Wilson sings back-up on two songs of "Mind If We Make Love to You" ("Ride" and "So Nice"), and you can't help but listen to "So Nice" and hear the Beach Boys influence.

Yes - the Wondermints come off as a group that are 20-30 years too late, but their obvious affection for 70's pop is refreshing. Nothing wrong with gorgeous harmonies and sharp melodic hooks by any means.

Besides the Beach Boys, another influence that comes to my mind is Todd Rundgren (think "I Saw The Light", "Love Is The Answer") in such songs as "If I Were You".

Perhaps the favorite track is the more stripped down sound of "Time Has You" - reminds me of the Allman's "Melissa" more than anything - soaring guitar, with a little orchestration in the backround. Worth the price of admission for this song alone. The sort of track you hit the "back" button on (well - for those of us who are into the digital thing). Not like anything else on the album, but great.

Side Note - wow. The interesting thing about listening to music on the internet is that you can actually play two tracks simultaneously - a little disconcerting, but playing "Melissa" and "Time Has You" at the same time cements the comparison for me.

About the only semi-lame track on the album is "Something I Knew" - which comes across as a too-lite pop confection.

Anyway - if you sometimes wish that they still made 'em like they used to, give The Wondermints a try. Excellent stuff -

Other two albums (debut - "Wondermints", and second or third "Bali" are also terrific. Bali has more late 60's/early 70's pyschedlic influences. Hidden Bonus track at the end of Bali is an apparently rejected demo for a Coors Lite jingle (Tap The Rockies ... Coors Lite). Weird snippet.