Episode 49

Philip Selway – Familial

Phil is primarily the drummer for Radiohead. He has released a solo album. He is the singer/song writer for this album. He plays the guitar on this as well. It is an exceptional album. His vocals are very quiet and the drums are very sparse. It is a wonderful, quiet and subdued album from an unexpected source. This album was a big risk for Phil but I think that it was well worth the risk. The albums sound has been said to be similar to Nick Drake in style. I don’t know any Nick Drake songs but I do recognize the sound that is being produced on the album. I can only guess that this is what Nick sounds like. I can’t say that I would run out and buy any albums from Nick Drake. I love Radiohead so much that I would buy anything that any of the artists from the band would put out. I love the quiet sound of Selways’ voice accompanied by his acoustic guitar. There is something about this album that makes me feel good. I think that I would love to fall asleep to this album on a sunny Saturday afternoon repeatedly with golf on the TV.

Led Zeppelin – Presence

This album is the seventh studio release for the group. It received the least favorable reviews of all of the releases from the group. It is the second album from the group that contains all new and original material after Houses of The Holy. It is my least favorite album from the group in reference to the studio albums. I am not a fan of live recordings so I don’t usually take them into consideration anyway. This album to me after listening to it seems a bit watered down when compared to the rest of their catalog. It is a fair album but doesn’t seem to have that bite that their other albums have. That being said, there are some very cool guitar solos that happen on this album, magnificent soaring solos on this album.

Janet Jackson – Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814

This is the fourth album from Janet. It is also the follow up to Control. This is a concept album focusing on the problems of the world at the time. This is of course not what the record company wanted from her. They wanted another Control album. She basically forced them into letting her do this concept album. There is eight singles off this album. It is a fantastic album even if I don’t like a few of the songs. My favorite of the eight singles are Rhythm Nation and Black Cat, primarily because of the combination of the New Jack Swing style and the use of industrial sounds on the two songs. I remember hearing these two songs particularly and probably all of the other eight songs but they did not stick in my head as well.

Devo – New Traditionalists

This is the album that followed Freedom of Choice, one of their best albums. New Traditionalists could not be expected to be better than its predecessor and it is not. There are some good singles on the album but for the most part it is a lighter weight album than Freedom of Choice. The singles off this album are Through Being Cool and Beautiful World. I remember Beautiful World from popular radio at the time. It is still a very fun album with lots of synth sounds that bring me back to that early 80s time.

George Harrison – Cloud Nine

I have never heard this album until I recently purchased it used on vinyl. I wanted it for the single Got My Mind Set On You. I remember listening to that song on one specific trip up to my friends’ cabin at Breezy Point Resort in Brainerd MN. I was an emotional wreck at that time. At the time this was a happy song for me that kept my emotions in check. For me, this album was only purchased for that song and my nostalgic needs. This song is the last song on the album. This was quite a disappointment in my opinion. The bulk of the album is subdued and not all that entertaining. The album was recorded in an interesting way, the band is imaged in the back ground and very clear but George’s vocals are subdued, not quite as clear but still imaged in the front. I don’t know if this is just my copy or on purpose but it is interesting none the less.

Thomas Dolby – Blinded by Science

This is an EP with the song She Blinded Me With Science as the first track. It is a 5 track EP or mini LP as it is labeled on the sleeve. Of course I got it for the single. The other 4 songs on the EP are not as great or as punchy as the single but are still listenable as the extra songs. This will probably be the only set of songs that I would buy from this artist only because I don’t know any of his other music. He has put out other albums but I don’t have a interest in any of his other stuff.

Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive!

That’s right the classic standard live album. This double vinyl live album is one of the best selling live albums to date. The album was recorded from multiple live sessions but only from two venues. The two venues were Winterland from San Francisco, California and Long Island Arena from Commack, New York. There are more details on this at Wikipedia if you are interested. The record was pressed in automatic turntable sequence, i.e. record 1 has sides 1 and 4. This record was also priced at lower than a single LP prices by one dollar. So, at the time it was priced at $7.98. This is a silly little fact but it shows how inflation has affected prices of albums today. I got this album simply because it is a standard. I recognize the singles and they are good but as a collector of music it seems that this should be in my collection.

That is all I got for now.

Signing off