Toto - IV (1982)

One of my favorite dives in Chicago always has a DJ spinning great records that surprise the hell out of you & keep you on your feet. They only have one rule: No playing Toto. Sounds straight forward, but there is so much depth to that one rule. It's a middle finger to over-produced pop crap that, thanks to an anti-culture movement that says that things that are embarrassing uncool are suddenly cool again, has made a resurgence. That being said, I'd be a fool to say that you can't like a song just because, & after a few beers I want to sing along to their anthemic one-hit wonder, Africa. There is a 45 out there somewhere that is cut in the shape of the African continent. Buy that one cause nothing else on this LP is worth it.

Like us on Facebook

Gene Ammons - Bad Bossa Nova (1962)

I'm not really a big jazz guy, but I got into Bossa Nova a few years ago thanks to Stan Getz's The Girl From Ipenema  & Joe Harnel's Fly Me To The Moon. Figured I couldn't go wrong with Gene Ammons foray into the genre. This was the last album the Chicago-born saxophonist released before getting jailed for possession of heroin. Come on, drug-influenced jazz has gotta be good, right? Sadly, the title, Bad Bossa Nova, is exactly what you get. I wouldn't even consider it Bossa Nova. It's more Latin-infused jazz. It does have a lackluster version of the Haitian classic, Yellow Bird & my favorite tune on the album, Moito Mato Grosso.  The text on the back says it's based on a Brazilian tale of an elephant stomping on ants to create the Amazon river. It reminds me more of the Pink Panther theme though.

Like us on Facebook