The Undead: Dawn of the Undead

The Undead were formed shortly after Bobby Steel left the Misfits in 1980. While The Undead definitely show their roots, they remain distinct from the Misfits. The Undead are great for fans of the Misfits that want the same kind of thing, without listening to a copycat band.
Dawn of the Undead is a compilation of tracks recorded between 1981 and 1986. It is a great collection of music that covers the bands best material.

The Way We Behave


When The Evening Comes

Les Négresses Vertes: Mlah

I first heard the name Les Negresses Vertes when I was young and adventurous. All it took for me to buy this album was to hear them compared to Mano Negra somewhere. Knowing nothing else about them I picked up this great album. It has been in my collection and in rotation ever since, well over 15 years now.
Les Negresses Vertes are a French band that formed in 1987. They took their name from an insult shouted at them at one of their first concerts. Their name translates to "The green black women". Mlah is their debut album. It is exciting and fast moving, and can best be described by listening to it.

Voilà l'Été


Zobi la Mouche

Merle Haggard: If Only I Could Fly

If Only I Could Fly is a 2000 album by Merle Haggard. I came across this in a discount bin, but it is by no means a discount album. Twelve songs almost all written or co-written by Haggard. Kicking off with "Watching while some old friends do a line/Holding back the want to end my own addicted mind/Wishin’ it was still the thing even I could do/Wishin’ all these old things were new", the album continues with nostalgic and retrospective songs.

Willie Nelson: Moonlight Becomes You

Moonlight Becomes You is a collection of standards released in 1994. As Willie describes in a spoken bonus track, it was released on indie label Justice Records because the major labels thought it wouldn't sell.
This gem would be really easy to overlook in the vast Willie Nelson collection. Nothing about it really makes it stand out until you listen to it. Then you hear the arrangements, which are just great. The selection of songs works really great with the small line-up of players that recorded this with Willie.

Motorhead: 1916

1916 is the ninth studio album by Motorhead. Recorded with the line-up of Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Wurzel, and Phil Taylor, 1916 is one of only six studio albums to feature a four peice line-up. The album starts strong with One To Sing The Blues, and ends with the haunting title track about the Battle of Somme during the first World War. Other notable tracks include R.A.M.O.N.E.S. and Going To Brazil. The production on this album sounds great. Everything is clear and loud. Definitely one of my personal favorite Motorhead albums.

The One To Sing The Blues



No Voices In The Sky


1916

Philip Glass: Hydrogen Jukebox

I came across this CD at Goodwill one day. Without knowing anything about it except the names Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg I plopped down my two bucks and bought it. I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up Passages by Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass so I thought I was in for a similar experience. Upon first listen, I didn't really get it. Hydrogen Jukebox came off as weird and I just couldn't get into it. Months later I put it on and instantly reversed my earlier assumption. What at first sounded weird and hard to listen to quickly becomes captivating. I suggest putting the CD on from track one and just giving it time to sink in.
Hydrogen Jukebox is essentially a chamber opera piece composed my Philip Glass around Allen Ginsberg's poetry reading. Recorded near the close of the 80's, the album is divided into two parts.

Part One: Song #1 From Iron Horse


Part Two: Song #7 From Howl Part II

Rollinghead: Daddyhorse

Rollinghead were a Kalamazoo band from the mid-nineties. They were one of my favorite bands back in the day and I saw them every time they did an all ages gig. They released two studio albums and one live album. Their debut, Daddyhorse came out on Piranha Alley Records.