WHAM!: An Appreciation

 I have meant to write about George Michael for a long time, so here goes.

I write about certain topics and he checks off a lot of boxes. A tribute for his passing (has it been seven years?), a favorite of my Moms who loved a few 80s artists (Michael/Wham, ABC, Spandau Ballet) a favorite of mine as a kid (which I usually tag as #raisedonradio) and lest we forget a new release - there is a brand new Netflix Wham documentary accompanied by a Greatest Hits compilation Singles: Echoes from the Edge of Heaven.

My mom loved Wham and Make It Big was one of the few records and few non-60s vinyl records that I picked up from #momsmusic collection

I loved Wham as a kid and still do. As a teen, I picked up a bunch of 45s from the local rummage shop -Wham, Prince- I can’t remember what else but definitely everything I could have those two.

The US skipped the first album 1983s Fantastic which is probably just as well. I don’t think it would have been the memorable debut Make It Big was. “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” was one of those pop songs that turned the world on its head

It really was a game changer. Like “Hey Ya” or “Smooth”, music either existed before or after. The flashy video probably helped and though it is more prevalent now, living in the Bible Belt, “Choose Life” meant a stance on abortion.

I don’t think you can understate how big Faith was. Although I had kind of moved on, it was a big deal. It is probably fair to say it affected two generations as Limp Bizkit made a Nu metal cover of the title song exactly 10 years later.

In the early days of the internet, one of my first non-IRL virtual friends was a huge Michael/Suede/Brett Anderson fan and I was a huge Morrissey/Suede/Brett Anderson

I think I offended her when I said George was a great pop star (which is probably a slight). I am not sure if I meant it as a slight then, but I would probably still say it today without negative connotations.

Pop and indie music were judged rather separately 20 years ago, but now artists like Taylor Swift and Carlie Ray Jepson get reviewed regularly by places like Pitchfork. This didn’t happen when say, Janet Jackson was on the charts, despite the fact she made great music.

But Michael was a great pop star. I have a soft spot for pop and I say the same for others. Ricky Martin was a great pop star. Harry Styles and Beyoncé are great pop stars. Robbie Williams and Lily Allen were great pop stars. Sia is a great pop star

Michael did try to make a serious album with the ambitiously titled Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1.

Michael feuded with his record company and it did slow down his chart success. He still had some great tunes, including one of my favorite songs of the late 90s:“Fastlove”.

I have heard mixed reviews on the Wham documentary. I do hope to watch it some day. My brain always goes to one of the last Wham hits which was billed as Wham Feat George Michael (a bad sign when you are a duo). Still, my understanding is that the two friends were of great help to each other - Ridgely both a major force in the band finding fame and also supportive enough to step back and let George take the limelight

Album Review- WITCH- Zango

 One of my favorite albums of recent years are 2017s Welcome To Zamrock Vols 1 and 2.

The rock music of Zambia of the late 60s and early 70s was a mix of protometal influences like Cream and Blue Cheer with some funk and psychedelica sounds added to the mix.

Some of the most prominent bands were Amanaz, the Ngozi Family and Musi-O-Tunya but probably the stalwart of the genre was the band WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc).

The modern music landscape means that a lot artists from the past are getting rediscovered and recognized that otherwise might be forgotten.

In the case of Zamrock, many of the bands have broken up or the artists have passed away like Paul Ngozi and all but one of the original members of WITCH.

It would seem unlikely to expect new Zamrock tunes in 2023, and even more unlikely that it would be worthwhile.

But the attention did bring Jagari Chanda out of retirement and the man who led WITCH from 1972 to 1976 joined with keyboardist from the 80s post-Chanda iteration of the band (Patrick Mondwela) and brought the band out of retirement.

Touring for ten years now, the band is now releasing its first original material in almost 40 years, and it’s pretty great.

WITCH in 2023 doesn’t sound all that much ulike other bands around now that pull in from Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Hawkwind. Of note, some of Zambia’s biggest artists guest here.

There’s Theresa Ng’ambi, singer and instrumentalist who has been feted by the BBC and rapper Samba the Great who has two Top 12 albums in Australia. On paper, cameos call to mind albums like Prince’s Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic - ham handed attempts to sound modern and relevant.

But Zango hits the right balance of sounding like the 70s band, but in a modern setting. At around 42 minutes, the music goes enough different directions without wandering too far off and there’s no real clunkers.

Chanda at 71 sounds like he could be 21, full of energy and still listening to the same proto metal bands that power many upcoming artists. I like it.

Album Review- The Baseball Project- Grand Salami Time

A band that I heard once and didn’t like was the Baseball Project. I likely would have always ignored them until a friend told me how good they were via a conversation on “unloved records”. I am grateful for that second listen.

Here’s the thing. The Baseball Project is weird and there’s really no getting around it. On paper, it is a supergroup: Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate and a lengthy solo career, Peter Buck and Mike Mills of REM, Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows and Minus Five, and Linda Pitman of Zuzu’s Petals and Filthy Friends.

I took a first listen as a huge REM fan and this isn’t typical rock fare.

It’s less Mitch Easter jangle pop and more Terry Cashman who had a left field (ha!) hit in 1981 called “Talkin Baseball (Willie, Mickie and the Duke)”

And even more odd, that description isn’t an exact fit either. Yes, all the songs are about baseball, they are nostalgic and they are specific, but they are also strange, profane, not-intended-for-kids tales.

If there is a comparison for The Baseball Project, the closest artist might be Sufjan Stevens. Thematic tales told in a goody folk style similar to say a Camper Van Beethoven or Mountain Goats.

I am a big fan of College rock and a big fan of Baseball and even though it is an enjoyable enough example of the former, it must be the latter that draws me in.

I was late to the band’s first three albums, but I am caught up now in time for 2023s Grand Salami Time.

With these types of story songs, some are durable, and some you can hear once and not need to hear again. The band has provided a good mix of both.

It perhaps seem as a matter of process, but it is notable that all four albums are of consistent quality. Yet, that is maybe another quirk- it surely isn’t that easy to crank out four volumes of this, and still be interesting

Album four tackles Pitcher Steve Blass (who famously couldn’t throw all of a sudden) the accidental drowning of up and coming star Jose Fernandez, baseball’s great pariah Jim Bouton, as well as fantasy baseball, the White Sox 1979 Demolition Disco Night, Sabermetrics and of course, more.

Particularly of note, the new album is coincidentally produced by Mitch Easter who of course worked with Buck and Mills on Chronic Town, Murmur and Reckoning.

 

Album Review- Jim Bob

 One of my favorite albums is “1992: The Love Album by Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine

That duo was part of a scene that at times was called Grebo or the bigger umbrella of Brit-pop and Alt Rock or called Dance rock or Funk Rock and generally lumped in with bands like the WonderStuff, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Pop will Eat Itself and Gaye Bikers on Acid

Now, while there seems to still be a strong contingent of Neds fans online, it is likely the hair, the band names and the clothes probably kept this scene from hitting the heights of modern day nostalgia

James Robert Morrison (dba Jim Bob), the singer for Carter USM has now recorded 12 solo albums.

I hadn’t given him much thought until his career had a bit of a resurrection with 2020s Pop Up Jim Bob.

That album was so enjoyable to me. It seemed like little character studies. Whereas 1992: The Love Album had clever wordplay, the same level of intelligence held intact, a bit of Blur and a bit of Bowie, but the focus was catching the spirit of the current times- cancel culture, Gun violence, internet society and so on.

Jim Bob’s next two records were 2021s Who Do We Hate Today and the recently released Thanks for Reaching Out. The three albums form a trilogy of sorts covering similar ground, featuring similar striking artwork by Mark Reynolds and the same backing band with Terry Edwards (Gallon Drunk, PJ Harvey) and Kate Arnold (Fear of the Forest). Each around the old school record time of under 40 minutes.

The thing about the trilogy is that they all occupy the same headspace. At the same time, they don’t suffer repetition.

To the extent that I don’t know if I have a favorite or if I would rank them 1 to 3 the same way from day to day. Each has great moments, each has a certain flow and each is a great listening experience. The only drawback of the third is that it isn’t as surprising as listening to the first for the first time.

Here, the subjects are Elon Musk, police brutality, Doomsday preparing survivalists, and toxic masculinity.

These are some of my favorite records of the last five years. Not for everyone of course but worth a listen

Album Review - Crocodiles- Upside Down in Heaven

The roots of Crocodiles start with a band called The Plot to Blow up the Eiffel Tower- Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell. There’s not a ton about the band on the internet but the gist of the info is that they would play concerts anywhere that would let them and they would be wild.

In fact, I saw TPtBUtET and I saw them at the local Botanical Center and while nothing “internet legendary” happened, it was a wild show.

TPtBUtET lasted five years and two albums. Their style definitely picked up from Black Flag but also called to mind artists like James Chance and X Ray Spex - a mix of West Coast hardcore punk, jazz, No Wave and Dischord Records

After a few adjustments, Crocodiles emerged with the perfect sound for the times. 2009s Summer of Hate and 2010s Sleep Forever were released on Fat Possum Records to great acclaim. The noise of the previous band now refined into something more melodic pulling from post punk, psychedelica and shoegaze

With time, trends change and fashions change and the band continued but further from the indie rock limelight.

I fell back in love with Crocodiles in 2020 when they released a series of EPs called Shitty Times where they covered a list of artists like Madonna and Lou Reed to the Crass endorsed anarcho punk band Zounds and Henry Badowksi and even more obscure choices.

I think the exercise did bring a new fire to the band. Upside Down in Heaven is album # 8 if you don’t count the EP compilation and it’s as solid of a beginning to end listen as anything out there this year.

An Album of the Week for the website Tinnitist who recounts the story of the band moving from San Diego to New York to LA and changing lineups a few times, as well. It does seem the band has found a niche of power pop meet garage rock meet fuzzy psychedelica. Other reviews compare the album to the Stiff Records label artists, the Strokes and the Black Lips and point out the 10 songs that fit into 30 minutes. If any of these things are of interest, then check it out

Album Review- Zach Bryan-s/t

 

Last winter, while doing incredibly long amounts of driving, I found myself “discovering” Zach Bryan. Bryan had a sizable hit with “Something in the Orange”. 

Bryan’s third album “American Heartbreak” was a large 34 track two hour-plus record with six singles and all seemed to be playing on the radio with “…Orange” and “From Austin” getting the most play. And they were everywhere- mainstream country, Americana, pop, rock- probably everywhere but the Reggae, Hip Hop and Classical music channels. 

I was struck by Bryan who I found incredibly talented. Like the other big star of 2022, Harry Styles, I found some songs really resonated with me, while other were complete misses. 

Obviously, I was hoping for big things in Bryan’s future. I was really struck by what I felt were similarities to the early radio hits of Steve Earle. 

I say this as I feel like those singles really teeter on being pure country and whatever term you want to give Alt Country. 

I am not saying that he’s the first person on country radio that sounds like he should be on an Americana station or vice versa. I can think of more than a few examples- Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and so on.  

But listening to Bryan really put him on the line of wondering where he would go next. 

Where he went next was becoming one of the biggest stars on the planet. It hasn’t been without some diversion- a public dispute with Ticketmaster, an arrest for obstructing, an appearance on Yellowstone, a much publicized Red Rocks appearance, Grammy nominations and sales, sales, sales- concerts and charts. 

It led to the media claiming that his new self titled album is the “Nevermind” moment for Alt Country. 

That is the kind of hyperbole that the media loves but if sort of feels on point. 

For starters, the idea that grunge killed glam metal isn’t completely an accurate cause and effect. Styles always change. We would still be wearing mop tops or skinny ties. Every fashion and trend evolves. 

So there’s a conventional wisdom in saying the trend of so called BroCountry that has dominated country music radio for the last decade or more (indeed dominated radio) with artists like Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan (no relation) that grew from a generational mix of Garth Brooks, Toby Keith and Kenny Chesney but also adding those Hip Hop and Southern Rock influences. Songs about partying and weekends and good times. 

It isn’t surprising that the parallels to glam metal and grunge are there. It isn’t all that shocking that a movement for more heart felt music with meaningful lyrics would pop up as the next trend. 

It is also a bit silly, right. Party rock never completely goes away and introspective songs never did not exist either. 

So yes, absolutely- I see the parallels and yes, please slap me when I take this so seriously. I do think there are contributing factors. 

I think the river of alt country and Americana and Adult Alternative music that flows probably from the first time someone picked up an instrument has got us here and I think that you can kind of see the fork (or forks) that came out of DriveBy Truckers 2004s The Dirty South and Jason Isbell’s 2013 Southeastern

  

It’s not so much I see similarities between Bryan and Isbell, but I see a host of singers in the last 10 to 20 years that saw a path for their music and do remind me of Bryan in style- the aforementioned Simpson, Cody Jinks, Tyler Childers and Colter Wall among others 

There also has been a movement of (mostly) Oklahoman musicians called “Red Dirt Country Music” that combines a lot of older country influences like Western swing, outlaw country, pre WW2 folk and combines with more modern influences like Classic Rock and Cowpunk. 

Bryan, also an Oklahoman gets looped up with the Red Dirt guys. That movement’s biggest ebb might have been the late 00s but with bands like Turnpike Troubadours and Cross Canadian Ragweed gaining huge cult following, it was only a matter of time before someone, if not Bryan, from that generation would go mainstream. 

There’s a couple of other trends. Country music has been dominated of late by Morgan Wallen and whatever you’re feelings on the artist, he has stylistic similarities with Bryan (as do also recent successes like Kacey Musgraves, Stapleton and Cody Johnson). 

There was also the top rated television series Yellowstone which had a strong alt country connection. Not only were singers Ryan Bingham and Lainey Wilson part of the cast (and cast stars Kevin Costner and Luke Grimes have both recorded alt country tinged albums), but the soundtrack was filled with alt country names- Childers, Wall, Shane Smith and the Saints, Whiskey Myers , Stapleton, Whitey Myers and the 78s, Isbell, Simpson, Jinks, Hayes Carll, and of course, Bryan (who appeared in an episode as well)

The self titled 2023 album ended up being the album I hoped for. If you need proof of intent, it’s there with the A List Americana guest stars- Musgraves, The Lumineers, the War and Treaty and Sierra Ferrell. If you were on the fence about Bryan, I think this will sway you. It certainly swayed me and internet action is generally positive. 

Commercially, he’s a lot more popular than most of my current listening. There might not be a more successful country artist these days that’s not named Wallen or Swift. And if he’s not for you, I get that too.

Album Review- The Bomboras - Songs from Beyond

 Certain people epitomize certain moments and certain elements in time of pop culture. It might be Quentin Tarantino or Kevin Smith or Jack White or Oprah or Howard Stern or whoever pops up and catches the cultural zeitgeist of that date and time

In 1998, one of those people was Rob Zombie. Now he would go on to have a significant film career in the 2000s and even now, he’s able to co-headline a concert tour with Alice Cooper.

But back then, he seemed to be on the cutting edge and the future, and in this case, the future was the past: B-horror movies and all that come with them

So much so that Geffen Records gave Zombie his own Record label imprint. It was called Zombie A Go Go Records and was inspired by the soundtrack of that style - garage rock, surf, The Cramps, rockabilly, Halloween monsters, rockabilly and 1960s exploitation films

There are five albums that were released on the label - one was a compilation- Halloween Hootenany and was a sizable hit featuring artists like Rev Horton Heat, Southern Culture on the Skids and Los Straitjackets. One album was a spooky Sound Effect album called The Words and Music of Frankenstein and the last album was released in 2009 and was a tie in from Zombie’s Halloween 2 movie with Jessie Dayton fronting the fictional Captain Clegg and the Nightcreatures.

Which means there were two bands signed and had an album released on the label (both in 1998) and in my opinion both albums were strong additions to the genre- sounding like the past but also sounding modern.

The Ghastly Ones with A Haunting We Will Go and The Bomboras with Head Shrinkin Fun. It is easy for me to recall my 1998 soundtrack which was heavy into rockabilly, 50s and monsters. It was these two albums, the similarly themed American Psycho by the Michale Graves led Misfits and the 25 track Stray Cats compilation Runaway Boys, both which were released a year earlier.

I have tried to keep tabs on both bands. The Ghastly Ones never really getting much attention besides an appearance of one of their songs in a 2009 episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants. According to Wikipedia, drummer/co founder Baron Shivers is focused on making movies and keyboardist “Captain Clegg” David Klein has played or recorded with about 100 bands, most notably touring with recent editions of the Seeds and Agent Orange.

It was a bit easier to track the Bomboras as they evolved into (or at least their band leaders Jake Cavaliere and Johnny DeVilla formed) the Lords of Altamont- another nostalgic act - this one tying in fast cars, the Wild One soundtrack, Big Daddy Roth and psychedelia and that band made a significant splash with 2003s To Hell With The Lords on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label- the first of seven albums. That band at various times including Harry Drumdini (Nick Knox’s successor in the Cramps) and Michael Davis (bassist for the MC5).

The Bomboras popped back up with 4 new songs in 2021 and 2023 sees their first album in (*gasp) 25 years. And it sounds like you might expect. Instrumental surf augmented with Farfisa Organ bringing to mind aliens and the space race as informed by the Sonics and the Ventures.

Which isn’t as easy as it sounds, or everyone would do it, but the Bomboras pick up where they left off and if you are a fan of the genre, it’s worth your time

Album Review- Rodney Crowell- Chicago Sessions

I grew up in a house that listened to country music. I wasn’t a huge fan myself though of course I did love certain songs. Who doesn’t love Johnny Cash?

I am not sure if I molded my taste in music or if music molded me, but here is what happened: in the late 80s, my aunt worked for a magazine publisher and I spent a lot of time at her house. Which included devouring “Country Music” magazine- the articles and the charts.

It also happens to be a great time for the genre (in my eyes)- Neotraditional Country which got popular between the era of Urban Cowboy and the rise of Garth Brooks.

If you know how big of a Steve Earle fan I am, you might think this is where it started. It didn’t. Though I knew and liked him and watched the record companies try to figure out how to market him. It was really 1996s I Feel Alright where I fell in love with his artistry.

Although I liked a few artists of the time, I would have to say that there were three that stood out as my favorites. Roseanne Cash, Rodney Crowell and Dwight Yoakum

Crowell was probably the most successful and yet he ended up being a bit forgotten. I hadn’t listened to him in years- and when I revisit those singles, they are so good. I never tire of them - “I Couldn’t Leave You if I Tried”, “Above and Beyond” “She’s Crazy for Leaving”, “If Looks Could Kill” and Many A Long and Lonesome Highway”

I had forgotten Crowell a bit too. But there are a lot more outlets for music now and when I heard some of his 21st Century songs, I got back into him.

2023s “The Chicago Sessions” is most likely the most attention given to Crowell in 30 years. He pairs up with producer Jeff Tweedy

Tweedy of course was in the bands Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. To attempt to label genres, I would say Tweedy and his bands (along with Whiskeytown, Old 97s and others) helped create Alt Country

Now labels and names get thrown around, so for the sake of this conversation, I would say Alt Country falls under a bigger umbrella of Americana music that includes the aforementioned Neotrad country but also Cowpunk, Cosmic Country, Red Dirt Country, jam bands, Outlaw Country, Roots Rock, Folk Rock and likely more related rivers that flow into the bigger Americana Ocean.

Which means if Tweedy and Crowell don’t sound the same sonically, they at least have similar mindsets

The Chicago Seasons cover immediately calls to mind 1978 debut. That album is a reminder that Crowell’s songs may be even more well known than he is - this particular album has “Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight” a # 1 Country hit for the Oak Ridge Boys and the title track “Ain’t Living Long Like This”

I don’t know Crowell’s every note but I have some dablings with his 21st century material 2001s The Houston Kid is considered a masterpiece of the genre and rightfully so. I don’t know any of the next albums that well but know they are critically acclaimed and I have liked what I heard. Of those, I have spent a bit of time with 2014s Tarpaper Sky and 2017s Close Ties which have some great songs.

My intro back to Crowell was 2019s Texas, one of Uncut Magazine monthly picks. It ended up being a perfect jumping back on spot for me- having missed his post -80s work. I had loved his classic hits and likely presumed he was cranking out cookie cutter albums

Texas pairs Crowell with a bunch of cameos. So often it mirrors the personalities that he was playing with (Steve Earle, Billy Gibbons, Lyle Lovett, Ringo Starr and so on).

2021s Triage was a more intimate and personal album. Crowell is at his best with humor and pathos. It deals with mortality but has its fun moments too.

Which brings us to Chicago Sessions which with Tweedy involved seems to suggest it will take Crowell to one extreme or another

But it doesn’t Rock like Texas nor does it have the gravitas of Triage. If anything it’s..just fine. It doesn’t seem to do anything better than the last two albums did (or the other albums I mentioned earlier)

It’s not a particularly bad album. It just doesn’t feel like much more than background music. I half suspect that I don’t like Tweedy’s production which aspires for the intimate but is not my preferred version of Crowell. I prefer Crowell’s work with himself in the producer chair where he usually is.

Tweedy also produced Richard Thompson’s Still album (2015) another example of a lesser album in a great catalogue (in my opinion).

That said, it is an enjoyable listen with a few highlights and I do love the attention Crowell is getting and this seems to be well received so I quite possibly am an exception here.  

Album Review- Inna de Yard- Family Affair

It seems like every review of Inna De Yard mentions the Buena Vista Social Club and there are so many parallels, that it is understandable

The roots of the project start with a record label of the same name. The idea of a collective based on natural voices and instruments made outdoors.

There are two releases on the label that I heard and knocked me over - one from a new generation (the much missed Matthew McAnuff) and one from the older (the legendary Ken Boothe), but the world as a whole probably were introduced via the 2017 album and accompanying documentary The Spirit of Jamaica.

Family Affair is the collectives third album which returns some of the genre’s greatest elders : Cedric Myton of The Congos, Winson McAnuff and Kiddus I and some rising reggae stars: Derajah, Kevor “Var” Williams, Kush McAnuff and Steve Newland with a great backing band led by Dwight Pinkney (Roots Radics) that has played on the previous albums

Like any franchise, I think this third album is probably the third in quality if I am ranking them, but like any decent series, it just means that they are all strong.

On the first two albums, the star power was Boothe, the Viceroys, Judy Mowatt of the I- Threes, and Horace Andy.

On this album the headliners are Keith and Tex who sang the definitive version of the much-sampled/much covered reggae classic “Stop That Train”. A new version is here of course. Also, 70s/80s dancehall star Keith Osbourne to perform a version of 1979 hit “Truth and Rights”

I don’t think I can recommend the Inna de Yard albums enough and this one is as good as any to start with. You will be hooked. 

Album Review- VNV Nation- Electric Sky

Some of my favorite music came out in the mid 2000s. It seemed like such a creative era. As someone then entering their 30s, I think it’s probably typical to see newer bands as continuations of bands liked in the teen years or twenties. For example, I loved The Libertines, the Killers, the Strokes, Franz Ferdinand and others who were clearly born from influences like the Smiths, Clash, the Jam, the Cure and so on. There also was a movement at the same time that from a big picture point of view could be classified as “dark wave” (I have also heard “future pop”) which in my mind kind of starts with Depeche Mode and 80s synth pop and slowly added more modern elements like the techno industrial of Frontline Assembly, the hard goth rock of Sisters of Mercy, the rave elements of the Prodigy and them you can hear melodic pop elements and soundtrack elements and even maybe reaching back to an earlier lineage of artists like Jean-Michel Jarre, Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk To me, the stretch of six albums from 1999s Empires all the way to 2011s Automatic is their golden era. At various points, it sounded like the band was done, though looking back, they never seemed to sit idle. Like their spiritual predecessor A Clan of Xymox, they have a lot of attributes in the fact of being incredibly prolific in a narrow genre. This means new albums can have a sense of repetition. Like Xymox, VNV Nation is now largely the work of one man (Ronan Harris with the departure of percussionist/drummer/keyboardist Mark Jackson in 2017). 11 albums in, there is, pardon the pun, nothing new under the sun, and I would still recommend new listeners to those earlier records but Electric Sun is their best album in at least a decade.

What I have been listening to: Funkadelic

 A favorite band of mine is Parliament. They were sliding into obscurity in the 90s until they seemed to come exploding back. I mean obviously rap and hip-hop, there weren’t many artists that got sampled as much. So many key Dr Dre moments had Parliament roots. But it wasn’t like it was just that. If you were a rock fan, bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primal Scream were working with him. George Clinton made the Lollapalooza tour. He showed up in the 1994 movie PCU and on the soundtrack alongside bands like Mudhoney and Redd Kross. But Parliament was everywhere in the 90s- the band also was namechecked by Digital Underground and Clinton’s solo career was given an assist by Prince. Bootsy Collins was involved in bands as diverse as Dee Lite and Praxis. Bernie Worrell worked extensively with Talking Heads, Les Claypool and Govt Mule.

I probably regret not seeing the P Funk All Stars when I had the chance. Still, it always felt like the golden P Funk age has passed. But dang if going back and discovering the classic tracks was so rewarding. One part Sly and the Family Stone funk rock, one part Frank Zappa weirdness, some Hendrix guitar heroics and let’s throw in the kitchen sink of rock, jazz, soul, funk, disco, rave and rap. Parliament seemed to transcend a person’s age, race or any number of determining factors.

In 2018, Parliament surprised everyone by releasing a new album Medicare Fraud Dogg. I would be lying to say it was a great album but a handful of years removed, the album puts me in a specific time and place that I was listening to it. (It’s major defect being it’s 24 songs and should have probably been one album not two)

In any case, though I love Parliament, I had yet to really get into Funkadelic- the brother band who took that aforementioned mix and doused it with a heavy dose of Led Zeppelin and birthed a new generation of African American guitar heroes.

In recent years, Maggot Brain is probably considered the bands epic. It’s an album as weird as it’s cover - heavy in sound and heavy in spirit, influence impossible to measure- it would be ground breaking of released in 1981 or even 1991, but instead born in 1971

It is an album that like Trout Mask Replica, I have never quite seemed to crack. But I have been dipping into Funkadelic again recently.

Although I might go for a detour here and there, my recent jam is probably the bands most accessible point -1973s Cosmic Slop and what a great record it is.

Not a commercial success at the time, it feels like a classic album now- which finds all roads leading to a perfect tune - the title track.

It’s a roller coaster of emotions, musical genres and moods. The title track makes an appearance on Doing Dumb Sh*t from Ice Cube’s 1991 album Death Certificate. Though nearly 20 years apart, both albums have a lot in common- there’s Urban reality and a lot of sex. It sounds like a Party but there’s a lot bubbling underneath.

One of the things that makes so much of Maggot Brain special is guitarist Eddie Hazel who just could make soulful psychedelic music, but my understanding is he was only minimally involved with the band by Cosmic Slop. It is Gary Shider and Ron Bykowksi who do the guitar work here and it’s Shider who would feature on “One Nation Under A Groove” (At this point Funkadelic is a pretty slimmed down group but they are all great here- Worrell, Boogie Mosson and Tyrone Lampkin) and Shider playing guitar on one of my favorite P Funk related albums (and recent discoveries for me) “Stretchin’ out in Bootsy’s Rubber Band”

And it’s Shider on lead vocals that make that title track so compelling. With so many colorful characters and comings and goings in the P Funk collective, Shider gets overlooked. For better or for worse, he is known as Diaper Man for his memorable concert uniform.

Thirty years from when I first heard of Parliament, it’s amazing that there’s still so much ground for me to cover.

In March, Fuzzy Haskins passed away. A reminder that this artistic generation is getting older (Hazel, Shider, Worrell and Mosson have already passed). Haskins wrote “Up for the Downstroke” and pops up all across the band’s history going back to the original doo wop Parliaments to the Original P - a non-Clinton group that toured in the 90s. Haskins can be found on Parliament’s Clones of Dr Funkenstein (1976) and Funkadelic’s America Eats It’s Young (1972)

Unloved Music- Richard Thompson

Now is probably the chance I am looking for to write about Richard Thompson and it’s the #unlovedmusic series Allmusic gives Thompson’s 1996 album You?Me?Us? a dismal 2.5 stars out of 5 I am not sure where I first heard Thompson. I suspect I saw “Shoot Out the Lights” named in Rolling Stone’s Best Albums list and just bought it. I don’t know. I did it at times. I did have a friend who was a fan and I did see his albums at the college radio station so these are also possibilities. The summer of 1993 was the proverbial “best of times and worst of times”. I stayed at my Grandparents and that definitely stands out and was memorable. That summer, I played “Shoot Out the Lights” constantly (in a rotation with The The’s Dusk, 10000 Maniacs’ Our Time in Eden and quite possibly the Use Your Illusion albums). I still think It might be the best album ever. (I Want to See The Bright Lights Tonight is probably somewhere in the conversation too) Thompson feels like the most unlikely pop artist out there. Even while Lou Reed, Elvis Costello and others seemed to find an alt rock niche - Thompson still feels uniquely different. I remember 1991s Rumor and Sigh having a buzz and indeed “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” has gone to become a favorite of Thompson fans, a staple of Del McCoury Band concerts and covered by many. In 1994, Thompson got the Tribute treatment and I really enjoyed it. Beat the Retreat was a solid record with artists from REM to Bonnie Raitt to the Blind Boys of Alabama to Beausoliel. I’m not usually a tribute guy but it’s a great, great record. I pick up my story in 1996. That year Thompson released what feels like a very ambitious double album - one side Electric (Voltage Enhanced) and Acoustic (Nude) Everything from the title to the competing halves feels like a statement. The songs are top notch. The lyrics as good as any he or anyone could compose. But it feels like every album since Rumor and Sigh feels similar insomuch as they get some attention at the time, but upon not conquering the world, time moves to the next one and repeat. In retrospect, Y?M?U? doesn’t get a lot of attention. Yet I stick with my initial assessment. It’s a great album. Allmusic gives it the kind of review that tells people to skip it (Allmusic constantly says Mitchell Froom’s production ruins his records, but I don’t hear it). When I bring the album up to Thompson’s fans, I get a closer opinion to mine. I have followed Thompson’s career quite closely. He hasn’t seem to quite have had that album considered that late career classic with one exception- 2017s Sweet Warrior I don’t even know I loved it at the time. It was definitely ambitious. It felt implicitly and sometimes explicitly an Iraqi War era record. I think it certainly now sounds like an album built to last. I don’t think a real Thompson fan would complain that much about any of his recent work. Thompson might be unpredictable but I never got the impression that he wasn’t in perfect control of what he wanted to do next- soundtrack a Werner Herzog movie, write a concept album about the Industrial Revolution or covering Britney Spears 2018s 13 Rivers made my Year end best of. I mean it’s just Thompson doing what he does. For any other artist, you would probably call it a return to form- but he’s never been that far out of form. To finish the conversation, I should say I have never really delved into Fairport Convention as I probably should (outside the two albums that generally get the most attention - Unhalfbricking and Liege & Lief. Both great) I saw Thompson on the Y?M?U? with a fellow diehard. She said we would be the youngest people there and we were. I am pretty sure I saw the Cramps the same week and if I am misremembering, the story is close enough to the truth to make the point. It’s been so many years but I remember Thompson being great of course and making a comment (which I think I have heard him repeat) that Great Britain didn’t need any help from us to win World War 2. They were doing fine)