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RAVEN
CHIP TAYLOR/Angels & Gamblers Best of 1971-1979: Long before there was Americana there was the section of country rock that was simply too hip for the room and that was where Chip Taylor hung out in the 70s. After three unheralded gems for Warner Bros., he went on to make a few equally sweet records for Columbia and Capitol that would have been completely forgotten if not for this anthology. A distillation that easily foretells his amazing duo work to come later with Carrie Rodriguez, it’s easy now to look back and say this work was way ahead of its time If you were too hip for the room back in the day this long overdue CD anthology is more than going to float your boat. Certainly, this collection is going to make you look at Angelina Jolie’s uncle in a whole new light.
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SOUTHSIDE JOHNNY & THE ASBURY JUKES/Fever-The Anthology 1976-91: If you go back far enough, you might remember that everyone thought Southside Johnny was actually the Boss’ alter ego when the Boss was in contract limbo over legal problems. Just because he recorded a bunch of Springsteen tunes and was the launch pad for Miami Steve, it was easy to see how this mistake could happen until Johnny and the gang rightfully claimed their crown as the greatest bar band in the world. A career long retrospective, this white-hot white R&B collection might not silence Johnny’s internet complaints about how the labels are doing him wrong but it certainly will silence fans complaints that there just isn’t enough Southside Johnny on CD. Painstakingly programmed for maximum effect, this is the glorious way it all sounded before arena rock ruled the earth.
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MANFRED MANN/Hit Mann! Essential Singles 1963-69: Long before he became a voice for Springsteen Mann ruled the charts in England, knew how to do wha daddy diddy and try to take a spin on the Dylan train. While his sound might have petered out at the end of the 60s and he needed a break for reinvention, despite being a South African Mann knew how to make the British invasion work for him as this collection capably shows. Being equally adept at jazz, blues and blue-eyed soul, this collection shows how Mann had more onboard than the typical British invasion confection. A solid look back at a solid decade of hits.
280
RUNAWAYS/The Runaways-Queens of Noise: With the stuff you can find on MySpace these days without even trying, the jailbait sexuality of The Runaways now seems like the stuff of Saturday morning cartoons. 30 odd years ago, it was quite another story. It was also Cherie Curie’s show instead of Joan Jett’s but that’s also another story. No matter what the ravages of time do to tracks like “Cherry Bomb” and “Rock ‘n Roll” are simply rock essentials. Whether you think it was hype masterminded by Kim Fowley or the real thing, The Runaways music has certainly grown in legend as time has rolled on. Finally given the credit for the punk rock pioneers that they were all along, this anthology of their first two lps deserves to stand side-by-side with any of the rock classics of the era.
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SAM PHILLIPS/Disappearing Act 1987-98: The former Mrs. Burnett may have single-handedly set the standard for 90s albums that were too hip for the room. Every hipster has an album they can point to that simply too cool but Phillips seems to have made an entire career out of being too cool. A first-class lyricist almost without peer and a player with a knack for attracting the hippest of the hip musicians, this distillation of Phillips’ four 90s albums is a body of work almost anyone would kill to be able to lay claim to. If you’re a fan of Burnett’s work, of which this collection is a part, you can check it out fearlessly, even at first impression, and not have to worry about being left cold. It’s classic stuff that never got its full due but continues to shine.
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Volume 31/Number 268
July 25, 2008
MIDWEST RECORD
830 W. Route 22 #144
Lake Zurich, IL., 60047
CHRIS SPECTOR, Editor and Publisher
©2008 Midwest Record
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