Velvet Underground - 1968 - White Light / White Heat

The world of pop music was hardly ready for The Velvet Underground's first album when it appeared in the spring of 1967, but while The Velvet Underground and Nico sounded like an open challenge to conventional notions of what rock music could sound like (or what it could discuss), 1968's White Light/White Heat was a no-holds-barred frontal assault on cultural and aesthetic propriety. Recorded without the input of either Nico or Andy Warhol, White Light/White Heat was the purest and rawest document of the key Velvets lineup of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker, capturing the group at their toughest and most abrasive. The album opens with an open and enthusiastic endorsement of amphetamines (startling even from this group of noted drug enthusiasts), and side one continues with an amusing shaggy-dog story set to a slab of lurching mutant R&B ("The Gift"), a perverse variation on an old folktale ("Lady Godiva's Operation"), and the album's sole "pretty" song, the mildly disquieting "Here She Comes Now." While side one was a good bit darker in tone than the Velvets' first album, side two was where they truly threw down the gauntlet with the manic, free-jazz implosion of "I Heard Her Call My Name" (featuring Reed's guitar work at its most gloriously fractured), and the epic noise jam "Sister Ray," 17 minutes of sex, drugs, violence, and other non-wholesome fun with the loudest rock group in the history of Western Civilization as the house band. White Light/White Heat is easily the least accessible of The Velvet Underground's studio albums, but anyone wanting to hear their guitar-mauling tribal frenzy straight with no chaser will love it, and those benighted souls who think of the Velvets as some sort of folk-rock band are advised to crank their stereo up to ten and give side two a spin.

1 White Light/White Heat Reed 2:47
2 The Gift Cale, Morrison, Reed, Tucker 8:19
3 Lady Godiva's Operation Reed 4:56
4 Here She Comes Now Cale, Morrison, Reed, Tucker, Tucker 2:04
5 I Heard Her Call My Name Reed 4:38
6 Sister Ray Cale, Morrison, Reed, Tucker, Tucker 17:27

¡Aquí!

Joplin, Janis - 1980 - Anthology (2CD)

Anthology is an adequate double-disc retrospective of Janis Joplin's years with Big Brother & the Holding Company and her solo career, containing most of her best-known songs and a selection of forgotten gems. It's a fine set, but the single-disc Greatest Hits is better suited for casual fans, and the box set Janis serves the needs of collectors much better than this, so the 1997 reissue of this double album is a little puzzling and unnecessary, even if it is an enjoyable listen.

		1		Piece of My Heart	Berns, Ragovoy	4:17
		2		Summertime	Gershwin, Heyward	4:01
		3		Maybe	Barrett	3:43
		4		Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)	Ragovoy, Taylor	4:01
		5		To Love Somebody	Gibb, Gibb	5:22
		6		Kozmic Blues	Joplin	4:22
		7		Turtle Blues	Joplin	4:25
		8		Oh, Sweet Mary	Joplin	4:19
		9		Little Girl Blue	Hart, Rodgers	3:51
		10		Trust Me	Womack	3:07
		11		Move Over	Joplin	3:43
		12		Half Moon	Hall	3:55
		13		Cry Baby	Berns, Ragovoy	4:00
		14		Me and Bobby McGee	Foster, Kristofferson	4:35
		15		Mercedes Benz	Joplin, McClure	1:49
		16		Down on Me		3:02
		17		Bye Bye Baby	St.John	3:47
		18		Get It While You Can	Ragovoy, Shuman	7:15
		19		Ball and Chain	Thornton	8:00

¡Aquí!

Flamin' Groovies - 1976 - Shake Some Action

A lot had happened with the Flamin' Groovies in the nearly five years that separated the epochal Teenage Head album and their return to American record racks with Shake Some Action. The Groovies lost their record deal with Buddah, lead singer Roy Loney had quit the band leaving Cyril Jordan as uncontested leader, and they had spent a lot of time in Europe, building a significant following in the United Kingdom. As a result, the Flamin' Groovies on Shake Some Action almost sound like a different band, albeit one driven by a similar obsession with the utter coolness of pre-hippie rock & roll. (The fact that Jordan and bassist George Alexander were the only holdovers from the Teenage Head lineup probably had a lot to do with the different approach as well.) The rawer blues and rockabilly accents were gone from the Groovies' sound, with the guitar-fueled cool of the British Invasion era taking their place. While this version of the Flamin' Groovies didn't rock out with the same manic fervor as they did on Flamingo or Teenage Head, they could indeed rock when they felt so inclined, as demonstrated by the glorious "Please Please Girl," "I Can't Hide," and "Let the Boy Rock and Roll," while the Brit-flavored take on "St. Louis Blues" showed that some shades of the old band were still visible. And the title cut was a stunner -- a brilliant evocation of the adventurous side of British rock circa 1966, "Shake Some Action" was tough, moody, wounded, and gloriously melodic all at once, and by its lonesome served as a superb justification for the Groovies' new creative direction. If Shake Some Action was the first salvo from the new and improved Flamin' Groovies, it also demonstrated that this edition of the band had as much promise as the Loney-fronted group.

		1		Shake Some Action	Jordan, Wilson	4:34
		2		Sometimes		2:21
		3		Yes, It's True	Jordan, Wilson	2:29
		4		St. Louis Blues	Handy	2:39
		5		You Tore Me Down	Jordan, Wilson	2:49
		6		Please Please Girl	Jordan, Wilson	2:03
		7		Let the Boy Rock and Roll		2:18
		8		Don't You Lie to Me	Berry	2:27
		9		She Said Yeah		1:38
		10		I'll Cry Alone	Jordan, Wilson	2:15
		11		Misery	Lennon, McCartney	1:39
		12		I Saw Her	Hunter, Jordan	2:41
		13		Teenage Confidential	Jordan, Wilson	2:45
		14		I Can't Hide	Jordan, Wilson	3:12

¡Aquí!

Kinks - 1966 - Face To Face

The Kink Kontroversy was a considerable leap forward in terms of quality, but it pales next to Face to Face, one of the finest collections of pop songs released during the '60s. Conceived as a loose concept album, Face to Face sees Ray Davies' fascination with English class and social structures flourish, as he creates a number of vivid character portraits. Davies' growth as a lyricist has coincided with the Kinks' musical growth. Face to Face is filled with wonderful moments, whether it's the mocking Hawaiian guitars of the rocker "Holiday in Waikiki," the droning Eastern touches of "Fancy," the music hall shuffle of "Dandy," or the lazily rolling "Sunny Afternoon." And that only scratches the surface of the riches of Face to Face, which offers other classics like "Rosy Won't You Please Come Home," "Party Line," "Too Much on My Mind," "Rainy Day in June," and "Most Exclusive Residence for Sale," making the record one of the most distinctive and accomplished albums of its time. [The CD reissue of Face to Face included six bonus tracks: the singles and B-sides "I'm Not Like Everybody Else," "Dead End Street," "Big Black Smoke," "Mister Pleasant," and "This Is Where I Belong," plus the previously unreleased "Mr. Reporter" and backing track "Little Women."]

		1		Party Line	Davies, Davies	2:35
		2		Rosie Won't You Please Come Home	Davies	2:34
		3		Dandy	Davies	2:12
		4		Too Much on My Mind	Davies	2:28
		5		Session Man	Davies	2:14
		6		Rainy Day in June	Davies	3:10
		7		A House in the Country	Davies	3:03
		8		Holiday in Waikiki	Davies	2:52
		9		Most Exclusive Residence for Sale	Davies	2:48
		10		Fancy	Davies	2:30
		11		Little Miss Queen of Darkness	Davies	3:16
		12		You're Lookin' Fine	Davies	2:46
		13		Sunny Afternoon	Davies	3:36
		14		I'll Remember	Davies	2:27

¡Aquí!

Van Morrison - 1974 - It's Too Late To Stop Now (2CD)

While Van Morrison is, to be kind, an erratic and temperamental live performer, he's in stellar form throughout the double album It's Too Late to Stop Now, a superb concert set that neatly summarizes his career from his days with Them (represented by scorching renditions of "Gloria" and "Here Comes the Night") through 1973's Hard Nose the Highway ("Warm Love," "Wild Children"). In addition to the hits, including "Caravan," "Domino," and "Into the Mystic" (the final line of which gives the album its title), Morrison even pulls out a handful of R&B chestnuts ("Bring It on Home to Me," "Ain't Nothin' You Can Do") before capping off the collection with a show-stopping rendition of Astral Weeks' "Cyprus Avenue." An engaging, warm portrait of the man at the peak of his powers.

		1		Ain't Nothin' You Can Do	Malone, Scott	3:44
		2		Warm Love	Morrison	3:04
		3		Into the Mystic	Morrison	4:33
		4		These Dreams of You	Morrison	3:37
		5		I Believe to My Soul	Charles	4:09
		6		I've Been Working	Morrison	3:56
		7		Help Me	Dixon, Williamson	3:25
		8		Wild Children	Morrison	5:04
		9		Domino	Morrison	4:48
		10		I Just Want to Make Love to You	Dixon	5:16
		11		Bring It on Home to Me	Cooke	4:42
		12		Saint Dominic's Preview	Morrison	6:18
		13		Take Your Hands Out of My Pocket	Williamson	4:04
		14		Listen to the Lion	Morrison	8:43
		15		Here Comes the Night	Berns	3:14
		16		Gloria	Morrison	4:16
		17		Caravan	Morrison	9:20
		18		Cyprus Avenue	Morrison	10:20

¡Aquí!