The Replacements - Let It Be (1984)

I was late to the party on The Replacements, but they've found some heavy rotation within my listening habits now.  Known as The 'Mats, they were a highly influential band throughout the 1980s, moving from hardcore/punk to melodic songcraft, and known for shambolic live performances where they would either be too intoxicated or play entire sets of covers..or both.  There is one great bootleg where for some reason at random points in the set they yell out "murder!" 

Beginning their career as a loud, punk band, by the time Let It Be was released in 1984, lead singer and songwriter Paul Westerberg had begun to broaden the Replacements' sound.  While their previous albums had featured mainly loud, fast playing, the songwriting began to come to the fore on Let It Be.  The great thing about this album is the way it was able to blend everything that was great about the band into 11 tracks.  The music is still loose and ragged, and certain songs still teeter on the edge of collapse at any moment, but there's also a sincerity to the songwriting.


The album rolls along, with powerful, affecting songs like Sixteen Blue next to the silly hardcore-thrash Gary's Got a Boner.  There's even a cover of the Kiss song, Black Diamond, which hits harder than anything Kiss ever did.  Listening to the album as a whole, it gives off the feeling of adolescence.  It feels like a mess, and it bares its insecurities.  It sounds like the work of someone growing up and all of the rage and the uncertainty that comes with that, as well as the sheer joy in youth.

Nowhere is this more apparent than on the album's centrepiece, Unsatisfied.  Quiet (by The 'Mats standards) and powerful, the song features perhaps my favourite Westerberg vocal.  You can hear the emotion in his voice as he screams lines like "Look me in the eye and then tell me/That I'm satisfied/Are you satisfied?...I'm so, I'm so unsatisfied."  It is easy to see why an album like this was so influential to those growing up in the 80s, and why it remains so influential today (Rolling Stone ranked it #239 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time).

Seen Your Video is almost entirely instrumental, but it rocks with screaming guitar and a catchy melody, with Westerberg only coming in briefly towards the end to scream "Seen your video, your phony rock n roll/We don't wanna know! We don't wanna know!"  This is followed by the aforementioned furious and great Gary's Got a Boner.  It's surprisingly good considering the title, with some incredible guitar parts.

The album closes with two of the most earnest and affecting songs, Sixteen Blue and Answering Machine.  The former tells of the struggle of maturation: "Your age is the hardest age/Everything drags and drags/You're looking funny/You ain't laughing, are you?"  The music perfectly fits the subject matter, ending on a slightly mournful guitar solo.  It sets up perfectly for Answering Machine, Paul Westerberg's response to the impact of technology on personal relationships.  On an album full of great vocal performances, this might be the best.  Westerberg sings: "How do say you're OK to/An answering machine? How do you say good night to/An answering machine?"   The song features just Westerberg and an electric guitar, spitting out ragged, distorted guitar lines.   But it is Westerberg's performance that is the key.  His frustration at being unable to reach the person is heightened by his inability to express himself to their answering machine.  The song ends with a loop of an operator's voice on the line.

If you are a fan of energetic, sincere, ragged, fun music, find this album and listen to it.  Perfect start to a night.






What a mess by mmr421


Can't Hardly Wait by mmr421

MUST HEAR NEIL: Rare & Unreleased

The third in my extremely popular 'MUST HAVE' Neil series (exact statistics of popularity currently unavailable), this time focused on rare and unreleased tracks.  As one of the most prolific artists in history, and having been performing for over 40 years, Neil has amassed a huge number of tracks that have either not made it onto albums, have only made it onto limited release B-sides, or were only ever performed rarely live.

One of my favourites is Pushed It Over the End.  Only ever performed a total of 13 times in 1974, in a full band version with Crosby, Stills & Nash, as well as once solo acoustically, the song is easily good enough to have made it onto an album.  It would have fit in perfectly on the mellow On the Beach.



Interstate dates from Neil's mid-80's country phase, and has had a few incarnations over the years.  It was originally meant to be released as the aborted Farm Aid EP in 1985, and was recorded with his touring band in this period, The International Harvesters.  The version linked in the youtube clip is likely that version, with the gorgeous fiddle and piano.  Neil also recorded a couple solo acoustic versions, one with electric overdubs that dates to 1986, and another without the overdubs from the Ragged Glory sessions.  This is the version that was eventually released as a b-side to the Big Time single off the Broken Arrow album.




Cocaine Eyes dates to the late 80s, and made its debut on Neil's 1989 tour.  It would subsequently find a 1989 release on the Japan-only Eldorado EP, and appears on the aborted-album bootleg Times Square.  The first track on the EP, Cocaine Eyes is a blistering track with Neil's trademark distorted sound.  It marked a return to heavy rock after years of experimenting throughout the 80s with different styles, and it is LOUD.  The riff is dirty and grunge-y, and the song was apparently written about former/sometimes current band-member Stephen Stills.  I love nothing more than hearing Neil play a loud, distorted guitar riff, and this song barrels along. Also look for Heavy Love on youtube.  It dates from the same EP, and is in a similar vein - heavy.  A pre-cursor to the loud and intense tour that would spawn the Weld dvd.



That's one from the 70s, two from the 80s, so here's one from the 90s.  Don't Spook the Horse is a long jam with Neil & Crazy Horse stemming from the sessions for the amazing Ragged Glory album.  It is in a similar vein to that album - loud, rough, and long.  It found a release as a b-side to the Mansion on the Hill single release, and was finally played live in during 1997's HORDE tour with the Horse.  Another example of why the connection of Neil Young and Crazy Horse is incredible.



This is a tiny sampling of what is out there beneath the surface of Neil's work.  While not all of his unreleased/rare material is high quality, it is all a part of the story.

And remember - you better not spook the horse!

MUST WATCH NEIL: Rockin' in the Free World Live at Glastonbury 2009

"Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?"


Paul McCartney sang those lines way back in 1967.  A nod to the reality of aging and losing one's vitality.

Fortunately, no one told Neil Young this.  Five months shy of his 64th birthday when he stepped on stage at the 2009 Glastonbury Festival, Neil still plays the same black Gibson Les Paul guitar he's had since 1969.  Four years removed from surgery to remove a brain aneurysm, Neil still plays as loud and with as much energy as he did 40 years ago.  Name me another 64+ musician out there who is still as true to their original sound and gives each show as much emotion and power as Neil Young does.  He's been as prolific as ever in his older age, and he's every bit as intense and electrifying as ever.

Enjoy some of the best 11:00+ you can spend on the internet.  And for the love of Neil, put it in HD (you may need to double click it and open it in youtube to do this).

Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding (2011)

I'm a huge Oasis fan, so it's not too surprising that I am a fan of Beady Eye.  The band consists of the four members of Oasis at the time of their breakup in 2009, minus chief songwriter/guitarist Noel Gallagher.  That leaves singer Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer (guitar), Andy Bell (guitar), and Chris Sharrock (drums) from the old band, plus a touring bassist and organist.

Liam Gallagher performing with Beady Eye

The remaining members decided shortly after Noel quit the band that they wanted to continue on, albeit under a different moniker.  Bringing together demos from the Oasis days, as well as new material, the band record with producer Steve Lillywhite.  The bulk of the songwriting in Oasis was always down to Noel, he had written all the 'classic' Oasis songs and even though the past few records had featured more democratic songwriting duties, the writing was still considered Noel's territory.

I have to say I was impressed when I heard this album for the first time.  I think I was probably going to look on it favourably regardless, but I kept my expectations fairly low.  Liam has always been one of the greatest singers of the past 25 years, but he really does sound fantastic on this record.  His voice has commonly been referred to as a combination of John Lennon and John Lydon (better known as Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols), and while there are moments of his infamous sneering vocals, his voice has a lightness to it that was rarely heard in Oasis.

While the record starts off furiously with "Four Letter Word," a frantic, bring-it-on sort of song, the rest of the record is decidedly lighter.  "Millionaire" bounces along with a fantastic slide guitar, and the first single, "The Roller" is a holdover from Oasis' Heathen Chemistry album.  It is an instantly catchy, sing-a-long song bearing a passing resemblance to Lennon's "Instant Karma."

That is the thing with the album.  It pulls no punches about being heavily indebted to the music they grew up listening to, and the album plays like a band indulging all of their influences.  It's why one song is called "Beatles and Stones" and ends up sounding like The Who.  They are not re-inventing the wheel, but it does not make it less enjoyable.  The music has an ease and a joy to it that seemed missing all too often from post-1997 Oasis.  "Bring the Light" might have shocked some longtime Oasis fans on first listen, but it rocks and rolls along a Jerry Lee Lewis piano stomp and has even more energy live.

I think my favourite track would be the closer, "The Morning Son."  It has been interpreted as a veiled reference to brother Noel, and more or less confirmed by Liam.  It's a classic, epic closer which reminds me in no small way of "Looking Glass," the closer to The La's critically acclaimed one and only album (which you may be hearing about sooner than later).  I'm a sucker for epic songs, and while it does not touch "Champagne Supernova" (few do), it's still the perfect ending to the album, coming in with waves, seagulls, and a single strumming guitar.  Liam's voice echoes as he sings "You'll never know, unless you try/You're blinded by what, you idolise."  The song builds up and releases in a colourful end to the band's debut.

Hey they're playing in Toronto in June.  Hey go see them.

Sam Roberts Band - I Feel You (2011)

Oh Canadian music is awesome.  One of the best out there is the Sam Roberts Band.  If you are Canadian and have fully functional ears you probably already know them, as I believe they are fairly prominent within the country.  Point is, great, great band.

The band have three records to their name so far, and "I Feel You" is the first single to be released from their forthcoming album, Collider, due for a May 10th release.

The music has subtly evolved from their debut album, and the single starts off heavier than anything I've previously heard from the band, while still maintaining the catchy pop songcraft they've become known for.  Although if the pre-release press from the band is any indication, the album as a whole may be a departure from the retro 70s-style rock, as the band have called it a "brass-blasted Afro-funk blowout" with a soul shuffle.  Percussionist Ben Massarella, from Califone, is featured on the album, as well as Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra woodwind player Stuart Bogie.

Needless to say I'm quite excited to hear what this all sounds like.

Listen to the single "I Feel You" HERE.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Take It From the Man! (1996)

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to go on and on about this band.  For good reason.  In my opinion the Brian Jonestown Massacre are one of the best contemporary bands out there.  Their music has evolved from shoegaze haze to 60s classicism to some strange combination of everything (Icelandic singers!).  My favourite is the listing of instruments played on each album by singer/songwriter/founder/leader Anton Newcombe.  It's typically about twenty instruments long, usually concluding with "and some-weird-fuckin'-Chinese-shit."

Anton Newcombe

Named in honour of legendary Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, and playing on the name of the infamous Jonestown cult, the band released their debut album Methodrone in 1995.  In the 16 years that have passed, the group has seen upwards of 50 members come and go, always revolving around the mad genius of Newcombe.  Former members include Peter Hayes, one of the founding members of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.  The story of the BJM was chronicled (in slightly outlandish terms) in the critically-acclaimed documentary Dig!  Watch the documentary HERE.

The BJM are another band that I have a difficult time narrowing down my favourite album.  Like many people, it is constantly changing, depending on the day or the mood I am in.  That being said, I have always had a fondness for Take It From the Man!  Arriving in 1996, it was the first of three records of new material to be released by the band in 1996 alone.

Take It From the Man is pure 60s Stones.  From the opening seconds to the end, it sounds like a relic from 1966.  Where their previous records had been seeped in psychedelia, Take It From the Man had an edge and an attitude to it.  Newcombe shares songwriting duties with the criminally underrated Matt Hollywood, one of the original members of the band who had a falling out with Newcombe but has recently returned.  Fans of Boardwalk Empire might recognize the theme song as "Straight Up and Down" from the album.

Tambourines shake throughout and the record carries a jangling intensity, each song seemingly on the edge of collapse.  It's a messy, rough, brilliant trip into the history of rock and roll.  While I have had albums by different bands significantly change my musical outlook, I don't know if there is an album out there that, on first listen, had such an immediate impact on me.  I was instantly blown away by what I was hearing.  It was new, but it was old.  Despite it sounding like a 60s record, at the same time it was unlike any album I had ever heard.  Make sense?  It shouldn't, but that is part of the joy of the BJM.  It doesn't always make sense.  But it almost always works.

One final note about the BJM.  I was lucky enough to see them perform live on their most recent tour in June 2010 in Toronto at the Phoenix.  While I will avoid saying it was my favourite live show ever, I was pretty much blown away.  I don't even remember now how many people were on stage performing (7 maybe?) but the band blew through a veritable Greatest Hits (if there is any such thing in the BJM) and it was a glorious wall of sound for over 2 hours.  For a taste of what it was like, click HERE.

A few select tracks from Take It From the Man!

Vacuum Boots

Oh Lord

Straight Up and Down

Get on it!

MUST HAVE NEIL: Neil Young - On The Beach (1974)

It is impossible for me to define what is my favourite Neil Young album.  Or what is the definitive Neil Young album.  There are at least 11 albums of his that I consider "must-haves".  They run the gamut from country to garage rock to grunge, sometimes all within the same album.

One of my absolute favourite albums of any artist in any genre though, is On the Beach.  It is what I like to refer to as my "hangover album".  The perfect record for those mornings when you feel ragged and raw - because this music is ragged and raw.  And powerful.

On the Beach arrived at an interesting point in Neil's life.  The 1970s had seen him hit it huge with Harvest, a radio-friendly country album spawning "Heart of Gold," "Old Man," and "The Needle and the Damage Done."  As he was rehearsing to tour in the wake of that success, Crazy Horse guitarist and friend Danny Whitten tragically overdosed on a mixture of vodka and Valium.  The story goes that Whitten was too far gone to perform during rehearsals and Neil gave him $50 and told him to head back to LA.

Danny Whitten, Crazy Horse

"We were rehearsing with him and he just couldn't cut it. He couldn't remember anything. He was too out of it. Too far gone. I had to tell him to go back to L.A. 'It's not happening, man. You're not together enough.' He just said, 'I've got nowhere else to go, man. How am I gonna tell my friends?' And he split. That night the coroner called me and told me he'd ODed. That blew my mind. Fucking blew my mind. I loved Danny. I felt responsible. And from there, I had to go right out on this huge tour of huge arenas. I was very nervous and ... insecure.”

Neil's guilt over his death permeated the resulting shows, which saw Neil trot out a band that bore little in resemblance to the country-tinged sounds of Harvest.  He introduced new songs to the set.  The band fought with one another.  The crowd reacted angrily to the new material.  Neil drank to the point of developing a throat infection.  The tour was commemorated with a live album, Time Fades Away - a mythical, never re-released album only available on the original vinyls and featuring all new material.  Listen to a track on youtube HERE. 

The aftermath of the tour lead to harrowing and bleak recording sessions, resulting in two of Neil's most critically acclaimed albums.  Indeed, they are arguably two of the best albums in the rock canon.  Tonight's The Night and the aforementioned, On The Beach.

While Tonight's the Night was recorded first, On the Beach was released first.  Functioning as the first studio album since Harvest, the sound was shocking to fans of that album.  Sparse production lends itself to a record that is at points alternatively vicious and lonesome.  Neil's increasing isolation from his stardom permeates the record: "I need a crowd of people, but I can't face them day to day."  It is heavy territory, much as Time Fades Away and Tonight's the Night were.  A snapshot of an artist struggling with the pressures around him and pushing back against them.

On "Revolution Blues," Neil sings of cults in the infamous Laurel Canyon 'armed to the teeth' and threatening the celebrities living there.  The album also contained two songs about one of Neil's favourite subjects: the environment: "See the Sky About to Rain," and "Vampire Blues," where Young plays the role of the oil tycoon ("I'm a vampire baby, sucking blood from the Earth").  The album closes with "Ambulance Blues," a long, rambling narrative referencing old folk joints in Toronto, the plight of the Natives, and hitting back at his critics.  Running almost 9 minutes, it features a gorgeous fiddle throughout, courtesy of famous multi-instrumentalist Rusty Kershaw.   

The last thing that needs to be known about this album, as discussed in the excellent biography Shakey: during the recording of the album, the musicians indulged in a concoction of sauteed marijuana and honey called "Honey Slides" that "felt like heroin."  It's no wonder the album moves at the pace it does.  It is as relaxed and mellow as you would expect from a group of musicians indulging in honey slides.

So, do what you have to do, but find this album and listen to it, front to back.  It's an all too rare thing when an artist bares their emotions and insecurities and challenges the listener to meet them on their terms.

Huzzah!  You have made it through my first ever blog post.  Congratulations.  You have travelled where few have before.  If you enjoyed this blog post you may also enjoy: my next blog post.

I will randomly throw out what I affectionately refer to as my "MUST HAVE NEIL", which is exactly like it sounds, you just must have it.