My Music Listening Journal 2021: Day 3- Sunday January 3, 2021

• TWENTY-ONE PILOTS: TWENTY-ONE PILOTS: 2009: 4 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: APPLE ITUNES: ALTERNATIVE ROCK: I had never heard of this band until this past summer when my friend Eclectic Music Lover selected one of their albums- Blurryface in the 2020 Album Draft. This duo is from Columbus only two hours from where I live. I don’t know how I had never at least heard of them. I listened to the Blurryface album and liked it- so I thought this year I’d tune into them a little more. This is their debut album- they have five albums to date. Their music is hard to classify. The debut album is theatrical and many of the songs are piano driven. Mt. Rushmore on first listen- “Addict With A Pen”, “Air Catcher”, “Isle Of Flightless Birds” and “Johnny Boy.”

• RORY GALLAGHER: DEUCE: 1971: 4 1/2 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: IPOD: BLUES ROCK: Rory Gallagher’s second solo album came within six months of his debut- both released in 1971. While he is one of those artists who seems to have gone over better live than in the studio- this is one of his best studio albums. His goal was to capture the live performance feel in the studio. A friend of mine saw Rory in concert back in the day and said it was one of his best concert experiences- and this fella has been to a lot of concerts. When they come up with these Greatest Guitarists Ever- it ticks me off when I don’t see Rory listed- he is certainly as good as anyone- but he lacked being associated with a big named band or having hits on his own. He shouldn’t be overlooked. Mount Rushmore of this album- “I’m Not Awake Yet”, “Crest Of A Wave”, “Maybe I Will” and “Used To Be.”

• THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: WHITE LIGHT/ WHITE HEAT: 1968: 4 STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: VINYL: EXPERIMENTAL ROCK: The Velvet Underground’s sophomore album- a departure from the debut- this one is loud. Recorded in two days- the album lacks the songwriting of the debut. There are only six songs on the album- including the over 17 minute long “Sister Ray.” I am not a fan of the over 8 minute long “The Gift” in which in stereo you hear an instrumental in on the right and a story being read on the left. By far the Velvet Underground album I listen to the least- the others are classics. More influential than great in my book.

• AZTEC CAMERA: HIGH LAND, HARD RAIN: 1983: 5+ STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: IPOD: ALTERNATIVE ROCK: Recently Music City Mike in his blog named this album the best of 1983 and I am in total agreement. This album sounds as fresh to me today as it did the first time I listened to it 38 years ago and it is an album that I still play on a regular basis. Roddy Frame was still a teenager when he wrote these songs. My introduction to them was hearing “Oblivious” on a college radio station- it immediately caught my attention. Mount Rushmore- “Oblivious”, “Walk Out To Winter”, “We Could Send Letters” and “Pillar To Post.”

• The BEATLES: A HARD DAY’S NIGHT: 1964: 5+ STARS OUT OF 5 STARS: IPOD: ROCK AND ROLL. While The Beatles hadn’t radically changed their sound yet- you can tell that the songwriting was rapidly improving on A Hard Day’s Night over the first two albums. I love the energy on this album and it’s always a fun listen. The first album in which every song was written by The Beatles.