ALBUMS

• JOHN LENNON: THE JOHN LENNON COLLECTION: 1982: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS:  20 of Lennon’s hits and best known songs from his too brief solo career. My Mount Rushmore of John Lennon solo song- Instant Karma/ Watching The Wheels/ Cold Turkey and #9 Dream…. at least at this moment.

• RANDY NEWMAN: RANDY NEWMAN: 1968: 4 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: Newman’s debut album released fifty years ago today. Unlike what would follow in his album career- this album is Randy on piano with an orchestra backing him up. Great songwriting. Over the years the album has grown on me- at first I hated the orchestration. Favorite tracks- Love Story, Bet No One Ever Heard So Bad,  Living Without You. Laughing Boy, I Think It’s Going To Rain Today. Davy The Fat Boy.

• LYLE LOVETT: LYLE LOVETT AND HIS LARGE BAND: 1989: 4 1/2 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: Lovett’s third album much more bluesier than country on most songs. The album includes a gender-bending cover of Stand By Your Man. Favorite songs on it- Here I Am, Cryin’ Shame, Good Intentions, I Know You Know and Nobody Knows Me.

• JEFF BECK: TRUTH: 1968: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: Yet another listen this week….

• TELEVISION: MARQUEE MOON: 1977: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: An early punk/ alternative music pioneer band–like many punk bands- high on influence and acclaim from the critics but low on sales. They only released two albums during the late 70’s- before breaking apart their third album came along in 1992. An album that deserves to be played loudly. They did better with this album in the UK- two singles went Top 30- Marquee Moon and Prove It. In the US it sold less than 80,000 copies and didn’t even crack the Top 200 album chart.

• SILVER APPLES: SILVER APPLES: 1968: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: I listened to this for the first time just a few days ago- ordered it online and it arrived here today- on one CD- Silver Apples and their second album 1969’s Contact. Their third album wouldn’t come until 30 years later. What a shame. I am really liking this album a lot. Ahead of it’s time.

• SILVER APPLES: CONTACT: 1969: 4 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: My first listen to this album. As I mentioned above- they were a group years ahead of their time- and like many who fall in that category were virtually ignored during that time. After two albums they broke up- and around 30 years later put out their third album. Some catchy tunes on this one too- I need more listens to narrow them down. Glad I picked up this cd- with both their albums on it.