The Kinks - Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968)

When someone asks me if I'm more of a Beatles or Rolling Stones kind of person, I usually reply with "The Kinks". They are a land mark band after all, & this album, is one of my favorites. So what would a Beatles fan say when asked to critically review Revolver? It wouldn't happen. That means this is less of a review & more of an attempt to get you to listen to it. The album starts with a tongue-twister of a title track, & gets things off to a perfect start. If you were ever a fan of Green Day, their song Warning ripped off The Kink's Picture Book. There is an earlier European version out there with a slightly different track listing, but the US/UK one has a bigger & better collection of songs, specifically Last Of The Steam-Powered Trains & Big Sky. Seriously, that's only a few songs from side A. I'll let you discover side B on your own.

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Stampeders - Against The Grain (1971)

The Stampeders are a bunch of Canadian cowboys that play their own version of 70's rock with a touch of country western. They were originally called The Rebounds & after a few line up changes came out with the tune Sweet City Woman that hit the charts in Canada & The U.S. It's the perfect track to jump in a truck, roll the window down, & go drive through the country side. Against The Grain is the Canadian version of the album. The U.S. version was renamed after the title track. Sadly, there is a lot of crap on their full release, but a few gems to make it worth a listen. Gator Road is a funky swamp-rock b-side while Man From PEI sounds like it could have been a big hit if The Who did it.

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Outsiders - Time Won't Let Me (1966)

The Outsiders were a group of rock 'n' rollers from Cleveland, Ohio. Their first full release comes with their big hit, Time Won't Let Me. It's a Motown infused garage rock tune with horns & bass a'plenty. They wrote four other tracks on this LP that are more on the 50's pop driven side of things. What Makes You So Bad, You Weren't Brought Up That Way might be the best of them, with the use of an harmonica. The rest of the album is filled with covers of popular bands like Herman's Hermits, Buddy Holly & Jay & The Americans. The best being their version of Rockin' Robin & My Girl, originally by The Temptations, but nothing will really blow you away.

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Count Five - Psychotic Reaction (1966)

Here's some classic garage rock from the sixties. Count Five was a cape-wearing band from San Jose, California. Their song Psychotic Reaction is recognized as a cornerstone garage rock & a precursor to the glam & punk movements. It's been covered by the likes of Television to The Cramps & ended up on the Pebbles compilation. So how's the rest of the album? Well they start things out by hitting you with 'a' Double Decker Bus. It's a driving beat with fuzzy guitar & harmonica with a killer drum break in the middle. There's a cover of The Who's My Generation, which falls short of Roger Daltrey's stuttering. Among some of the softer stuff there's the more Beatles-ish sounding She's Fine & the psychedelic solos in Peace Of Mind. Out In The Street hits fast more like The Animals. There's a lot to like on this record.

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Neil Diamond - Shilo (1970)

Neil Diamond is another pretty common thrift store find & I've skimmed past plenty of his records. I finally broke down (I blame a girl) & bought one when I found out his early stuff was on Bang records, a label full of 60's pop rock. His pre-Sweet-Caroline era was actually pretty rockin' comparatively. This release is a compilation full of his first hits with a connect-the-dots album cover none the less. There are some mellow tunes on here like the title track about a childhood imaginary friend, Red Red Wine & Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon. The more up beat stuff such as You Got To Me & Thank The Lord For The Night Time really shine though. It also has originals of some staple hits covered by just about everyone. I'm A Believer was made famous by The Monkees. Solitary Man is genius song writing. Don't knock the Neil.

On a side note, I've seen plenty of used records where someone went through & connected the dots. I also saw this one, where a more artistic owner painted their own creepy picture of Neil.

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The Moody Blues - Every Good Boy Deserves Favor (1971)

Moody Blues records are a common find in bargin bins. They are known for mixing classical music into their unique blend of English rock, producing progressive rock that's easy on the ears. Every Good Boy Deserves Favor is their seventh album, & is named for a mnemonic for the treble scale. The real highlight of this record is the intro track Procession, which tells the evolution of music. It rolls right into the popular hit track, The Story In Your Eyes, which is the most energetic song of them all. Afterwards, the listening experience softens up & fades away.

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Centipede Eest - Surf Licks & The Wall Of Sound For World Peace (2007)

Centipede Eest is a hard to pin down band from Pittsburgh PA. Is it a post-garage jam session or an indie noise experiment? The guitar defines this band & is either the work of a jazz-influenced genius, or a random note generator. I was hoping to hear some surf licks that were mentioned in this EP's title, but I strained to hear only influences. Still, this was a suprisingly cool sound. Mirrors is the track that shines with a catchy repeating guitar riff over a freaky drum beat, all somehow held together to create a really rockin' tune.

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Face To Face - Confrontation (1985)

Are you looking for some 80's pop dribble? Boston's Face To Face delivers just that on their 2nd release. I bought this album for 50 cents because the singer, Laurie Sargent, was dressed like a hot pirate on the cover. I was disappointed when all the songs sounded like a crappier Sheena Easton or Pat Benatar. Apparently there were so many promotional copies shipped out, it's harder to find one without that gold stamp pressed into it. If you do happen to find one, I wish you the best of luck finding a collector.

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Jo Jo Gunne - Jo Jo Gunne (1972)

Jo Jo Gunne, named after a Chuck Berry song, were a classic rock band from the early 70's. With members from the defuct band, Spirit, they had a single hit with the song Run Run Run. Their self-titled release, including the hit, turns out to be a mixed bag. It's got some nice country blues-inspired guitar & driving bass lines. There's also a heavy dose of piano. The anthemic track I Make Love has that catchy LA rock sound & is hard to hate. Being on Asylum records, I also can't help comparing them to Joe Walsh, but with less presence.

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Submerge - Submerge (2006)

 In the mood for some evil French thrashcore? Submerge might be the answer. The region of Burgundy is known for it's red wine, but it's also home to Submerge's hatred. This self-titled LP from Abstraction/Destructure is a real revolution starter. Half the tracks are in English & the other half, in French, though it matters little. The dark & indecipherable lyrics overpower a typical hardcore death metal sound. I can't say any particular song stands above the rest & there are no suprises on this album, but it's nice to know anger translates into any language.

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Paul Hardcastle - 19 (1985)

Paul Hardcastle is an electronic musician from England that fell into jazz in his later years. Before he did, he hit the charts with his one-hit wonder, 19. It's 80's synthpop at it most exemplary. It 's title is named after the average age of an American soldier in Vietnam. Although the Vietnam war ended in 1975 the pop hit chronicles the war 10 years later. It's light dance tunes are juxtaposed by clips of war statistics, soldier's experiences, & traumatic experiences. The version on this 12" single is called the Destruction Mix & is a little longer, but pretty much the same hit song. Side B of the release is really an interesting change. It's full of less popular, but equally as interesting electronic instrumental tracks: There is the weirdo track The Asylum, the light-hearted Dolores, & the funky Fly By Night.

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Various Artists - Viva La Vinyl Vol. 3 (1999)

Here's a cool little punk compilation released by LA's Dead Beat Records. It's a pretty ripping collection of punk rock bands before they hit their prime. It includes 45 pressing from Temporal Sluts, The Stiches, The B-Movie Rats, Scarred For Life, The Dirtys, URBN DK, The Spasms, The Slobs, Dead End Cruisers, Smog Town, The TV Killers, Inflicted, Haunted Head, The Bodies, & finally, Detestation. I'm personally a fan of the track You're A Sick Rat, but that's because I am. It's quite a collection ranging from hardcore to garage & comes with a 12 page booklet. I'd love to track down the first 2 volumes.

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Various Artists - Unforgettable Oldies (1967)

Unart was a budget sublabel of United Artists Records in the 60's. I originally picked up this title because I'm a fan of Toledo, Ohio's Johnny & The Hurricanes, who have three fantastic tracks on here, Red River Rock, Sheba & Reveille Rock. It also hold three of Del Shannon's hits, including Runaway & Hats Off To Larry. Johnny Gibson makes a welcome appearance with Midnight too. That leaves very little room to fit in the other teenie boppers, The Royaltones, The Volumes, & The Dream Girls. It's a nice balance of rockin' instrumentals with a side of early pop.

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B-52's - Party Mix (1981)

Party Mix is a remixed B-52's album with 6 songs on it. They are all from the band's first two albums. In traditional 80's remix style they all transition into each other making for a fluid listening experience. The tracks are stretched out a bit with a 7 minute version of Give Me Back My Man & a 6 minute Lava track. Dance This Mess Around & Party Out Of Bounds were the weakest songs on the record, while Private Idaho & 52 Girls stand out as the go-to party makers. It's a fun EP to get a hold of, but it's not as complete as some of their comps, and comparably, the original albums have more substance. This is pretty much for the die-hard B-52's fans.

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