ALBUMS

• THE KINKS: ARTHUR [OR THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE}: 1969: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: I listened to this a week or so ago- before I started The Kinks from start to finish project. This is an album that seems to get better each time I listen. A concept album inspired by his sister and brother-in-law leaving England for Australia. Upon release it received universal praise from the critics but didn’t go over well with the public in either the UK or US- #105 on the US album chart- it didn’t even make the UK album chart- blasphemy.

• R.E.M. RECKONING: 1984: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: R.E.M’s second full length album came out almost a year to the day after their debut. They could do no wrong in the 80’s. This band had no problem coming up with material for their second album- they had so many new songs that Peter Buck tried unsuccessfully to have the band make it a double album. No hits of course on this record but some of the songs should have been hits- So. Central Rain, Don’t Go Back To Rockville and Seven Chinese Brothers to name a few. In 14 months they would deliver album #3.

• BERT JANSCH: BERT JANSCH: 1965: 4 1/2STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: I have been acquainted with Bert Jansch from listening to Celtic Crush on The Loft. The host of Celtic Crush- Larry Kirwan plays Jansch now and then and holds him in very high esteem. I have liked the Jansch I have heard so time to expand on that. Jansch was a Scottish folk musician. This was his debut album and it was recorded on a portable tape recorder in his kitchen- and he was playing a borrowed guitar. Jansch was an excellent acoustic guitar player and a fine writer. 14 of the 15 tracks are Jansch originals. He has been compared to fellow Scot- Donovan but darker and less pop oriented. Needle Of Death is the most famous song on the debut. An artist I want to explore more.

• LED ZEPPELIN: LED ZEPPELIN: 1969: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: To get yesterday’s Greta Van Fleet out of my system- I thought I’d listen to the real thing. Their debut album and the first of two albums they would release in 1969.

• NICK DRAKE: FIVE LEAVES LEFT: 1969: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: Nick Drake was 21 when his debut album was released in 1969. Drake’s stardom has been posthumous, at the time he was among the living his music was being ignored. In a review Alternative Press calls “Five Leaves Left” one of the most beautiful and melancholy albums ever.” I couldn’t argue with that.  Not only are the songs he wrote remarkable but so is his acoustic guitar playing.

• THE ROLLING STONES: LET IT BLEED: 1969: 5 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: Released at the end of 1969 was one of the years best albums- Let It Bleed by The Rolling Stones. The second in the string of Jimmy Miller produced albums. This was also the first album to feature their new guitarist Mick Taylor. The late Brian Jones appears on only two of the songs. The most famous songs on this- the opener Gimme Shelter and the closer You Can’t Always Get What You Want. Everything in between is excellent also.

• THE BEATLES: YELLOW SUBMARINE: 1969: 4 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: Not a regular studio release- a thrown together soundtrack for the animated film that The Beatles had little to actually do with. Four new Beatles songs- Hey Bulldog being the best. The others Only A Northern Song, All Together Now and It’s All Too Much were songs The Beatles had done over a two year period that were looking for a home. Yellow Submarine and All You Need Is Love bookend side one- they had been previously released. Side 2 is Beatles producer George Martin movie soundtrack instrumentals.  My friend Helmut recently bought this album for the first time and was very impressed with it- due to the four ‘new’ songs- he had only heard Hey Bulldog previously.

also listened to last Sunday’s edition of Celtic Crush on The Loft with host Larry Kirwan.