And your wise men don't know how it feels to be Jeffrey Morgan's Media Blackout #149!
Jethro Tull — Tullicatessen (Chrysalis) :: Includes the hit single "Schwarma For One."
Demander — The Unkindness of Ravens (self released) :: Wherein Karen Kanan Corrêa shows she has her Siouxie Sioux shtick down cold.
Mark Davis — Part One: Don't You Think We Should Be Closer? & Part Two: Mistakes I Meant to Make (self-released) :: I'd really like to say that this guy's the prolifically inventive multi-instrumentalist Todd Rundgren of country music, but I just can't. He does get an A for ambition, though.
The Stooges — The Weirdness (Virgin) :: Album of the year.
Belinda Bruce & the Tawny Stars — The Good Life (self released) :: Capable country cuts that're elevated by the seven-minute-long "Blackout," which invents an entire new genre: ambient country art rock.
The First Time — Taking Breaking Down (Frontline) :: Snappy snarlin' songs with a proto-punk pop pedigree.
The Holloways — So This is Great Britain? (TVT) :: I bought The Clash's London Calling. The Clash's London Calling is in my record collection. Holloways, you're no London Calling.
Johnny Irion — Ex Tempore (Rising Son) :: I've heard Neil Young ape jobs, but the quavering vocal inflections on this stellar swipe-job are uncannily eerie, right down to the sparse After the Harvest musicianship. And your point is?
Tia Carrera — Heaven/Hell (Arclight) :: These clods steal Yes' classic song "Starship Trooper" and then rename it as their own composition, thinking that no one will notice. Well, I notice everything — and I hope Chris Squire sues their sorry, thieving asses off.
SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK:
Kate Mann — Devil's Rope (Orange Dress) :: Kate's got a back tat that's the size of Oregon and a voice that's twice as big. Armed with a guitar and harp, she cranks out a chicken-wired wall of country rock that'll have your toes tappin' while you watch out for flying beer bottles.
Frank Zappa, Dolly Parton & Lou Reed — Mother, Jugs & Speed (Bizarre) :: Includes the hit single "I'm Waiting For My Mammary."
It's been real!
