Author: robatch

Ho Ho Ho! ‘Tis Christmas Eve and time to cover one of the best Christmas albums ever made! Since this is a special holiday post, that means it doesn’t have a rating or a top track. Just a special little Christmas nugget for the few who actually read my blog. For those who don’t read my blog, well then it’s just a lump of coal for you. Yup, this post is going to be short and sweet, just like the songs on this album. This contains five original songs and seven ‘Christmas standards’ and reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 in 1964. It also eventually went gold! Despite being a Christmas album, the sessions for the album spanned the month of June, 1964. The song ‘Christmas Day’ was the first Beach Boys’ song to feature rhythm guitarist Al Jardine on lead vocal. Al can be seen on the bottom left corner of the cover photo of the album. The A-side of the album consists of mostly original Christmas-themed rock songs written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. The B-side contains more pious and traditional standards with some orchestral accompaniment. Listening to this album on my turntable gives me those warm holiday feelings with the warm sound and the slight crackling of the vinyl. Sure, it’s nice listening to the album on CD or by streaming it, but there’s nothing like listening to a classic Christmas album on its original audio medium.

This record holds fond memories for me as I grew up listening to it around the holidays. ‘Little Saint Nick’ will forever remain one of my personal favorite Christmas songs along with ‘The Man With All The Toys’. The legendary harmonies of The Beach Boys just fill me with that ol’ Christmas spirit and get me ready for Santa. Brian Wilson’s solo vocals on ‘Blue Christmas’ was something different for the group and showed Wilson coming into his own creative identity that would be featured on the band’s album “Pet Sounds” two years later. Brian Wilson is the only one wearing a yellow sweater on the cover by the way. While the A-side of this album is fun to dance and sing long to, the B-side is a nice counter with slower, melodic tunes that are great to chill out to. I also appreciate the fact that the band decided to end the album with ‘Auld Lang Syne’, which is traditionally more of a New Years’ song. The group’s voices are so soothing and the message from Dennis Wilson is a great wrap up to the album and a sweet ending to a great Christmas album. So, to wrap up this special holiday post, I would like to end with Dennis’ (Denny) special message.

‘Hi, this is Denny, and speaking for the rest of the guys
I’d like to say that it has been a great pleasure
For all of us to bring you this Christmas album
We hope you will treasure it the way we do
And if you happen to be listening to this album right now
Mike, Brian, Carl, Al and I would like to wish every one of you a very merry Christmas
And we hope the New Year brings you as much happiness as this year has brought us
Thank you very much’

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from your friendly blogger, Ro🎄

Rating: 8.5/10

Top Track: ’10 A.M. Automatic’

Hello. It’s good to be back after such a long hiatus. I hope to catch up and put out multiple post in the coming weeks. Apologies about my last post. That was a final for a music class I had this semester and I chose to use this blog as my outlet for that project. I may decide to make that public in the future. Anyways, let’s get on with the post!

This is my 20th post! I can’t believe it. Even though it’s been awhile since I’ve posted, it’s just so crazy to me that I am already at my 20th post. For my tenth post I decided to cover one of the albums I own instead of one of my father’s. I stated that every tenth post I would be covering one of my own personal albums and for this post I decided to cover “Rubber Factory” by The Black Keys. This album was one of the first vinyl albums I bought with my own money a few years ago. I have always loved The Black Keys and I feel that this album is severely underrated when it comes to the band’s albums and 2000s albums in general. It has a great sound, I love the cover art and I think the band really comes into their own on this record. It was Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s third album as they were rising from garage band obscurity recording albums in a basement to being commercially recognized. “Rubber Factory” was their follow-up to their second album, “Thickfreakness”, which had done surprisingly well earning them radio plays, bigger venues, even their song ‘Set You Free’ was featured in one of my favorite movies, “School of Rock”. While “Rubber Factory” didn’t feature any break out hits like its predecessor, it received positive reviews from critics and was the band’s first album to chart on the Billboard 200, reaching number 143. The band recorded their first two records in Carney’s basement, but after the release of the second album the building’s landlord sold the building leaving the band searching for a new place to record their third album. They decided to set up a makeshift studio in an old abandoned tire factory in their home town of Akron, Ohio; the building can be seen in the background of the album’s cover. Hence the name “Rubber Factory”. The band rented the entire second floor of the building for $500 per month, and nicknamed their space “Sentient Sound”. The recording space ended up being less than ideal, being too far away from the band’s homes and being too hot during the summer as they were unable to open the windows. If that didn’t cause enough problems, the band used a used mixing console Carney purchased on eBay that kept malfunctioning throughout the entirety of the album’s recording, stretching the sessions nearly five months. The album was recorded on recycled tape provided by their record label, Fat Possum, located in Mississippi, giving it that rough, gravely sound. The album’s artwork was curated by Patrick Carney’s brother, Michael Carney, who was also the band’s creative director featuring images of the east side of Akron. The sleeve of the record itself contains handwritten lyrics of each song on the album.

Since this album didn’t have a stand out hit nor did I have an outright favorite track, my choice for top track was somewhat of a difficult decision. I landed on ’10 A.M. Automatic’ because it’s just a fun song to head bang to, play air guitar with, and just flat out rock out to. Considering the band only consists of two members with Auerbach on guitar and Carney on the drums, it always surprises me how much noise they can make. This track certainly has a lot of noise. The whole album does. I actually picked this song as my top track before I found out that it was the first single to be released off of the album. Do I know my stuff or what? It just has that classic Blues rock feel, with simple lyrics about a guy singing to a girl. The guitar riffs are minimal, but memorable and Auerbach’s guitar breaks in between verses are just cool, man. Carney has never been considered an amazing drummer by any stretch of the imagination, not technically, stylistically, nothing, but the guy is self-taught and has embraced the role fully and I respect the hell out of him for it. He can keep a solid beat and bangs on those drums for all he’s worth, and really, what more could you ask for from a self-taught Blues drummer? This song just does not get old. I could listen to it on repeat for hours and hours and never tire of it. Get it? Tire, rubber factory. Har har. But seriously, how the hell could someone hate this song? I’m not saying you gotta love it like I do, but it is hard not to like. Plus, listening to it on vinyl just puts the track on a whole other level compared to my earbuds.

I also thought about choosing ‘Girl Is on My Mind’ or ‘Till I Get My Way’, which were also singles off of the album. Man, I am on fire! There are just so many great song to choose from on this album. They all have a similar sound and feel, but are each unique in their own way. That’s what I like about The Black Keys, or their early work anyways, they stay true to their sound. They know who they are and don’t try to pretend to be something they’re not. Dan Auerbach grew up listening to classic Blues records from the 60s and 70s and his influences come through on the band’s albums. The songs are simple and straight to the point, yet they can knock you on your ass, if you know what I mean. To me, they are (or were) the prefect ode to classic Blues rock from decades ago. Which is why I never understood the comparisons to The White Stripes. Yeah sure, I mean both groups consisted of a guitarist and a drummer (who needs a bassist anyway?) and had major Blues rock influences, but The White Stripes were more modern and forward-thinking in their sound while The Black Keys kept it laid back and old school. Both of these bands are fantastic and fun to listen to in their own ways, but please stop comparing two things that both drink from the same watering hole, their two different animals. Also, I would like to apologize about that bass joke I made; bassists, y’all are cool cats and I dig ya. Let’s take a moment to talk about Dan Auerbach’s voice. It’s certainly nothing to write home about, but it worked perfectly with what he and Patrick were trying to do. He sings in tune and while he may not have any pipes, as the kids call it, but who needs an amazing voice when you can hammer away on a guitar like that?

The Black Keys have always been one of the bands that I hold close to my heart. From the day I was gifted “El Camino” on CD at the age of 11 to listening to ‘Set You Free’ on repeat in middle school to now, writing about one of their most undervalued and, frankly, forgotten albums. That sound of the grunge-y guitar and Dan’s gruff voice of been ringing through my ears for almost ten years now and it’s been fantastic. Also, I want to give a proper shout out to the group for covering ‘Grown So Ugly’ by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band off of the album “Safe As Milk”, which I covered back in June. Goes to show that everything here on The Vinyl Vault Blog is connected in one way or another. The Black Keys rocked the song up a bit and it’s a great homage to the original as well as the group that originally recorded it. This group has such an admiration for their music heroes and I have such an admiration for them.

Rating: 7/10

Top Track: ‘Dead Man’s Party’

Well, today is Halloween and I have decided to end my hiatus which has lasted for entirely too long. Not to mention, this post is coming out pretty late into the evening, but hey, I’m back. And what a way to come back with Oingo Boingo. I wanted a spooky-themed album for a Halloween post and this album’s name is “Dead Man’s Party”, it’s kind of too perfect. The cover art is an homage to the Mexican Holiday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which I also observe as a Mexican. So a but of a twofer with this one. Oh, and heads up, this post is going to be a little shorter than past posts. It still counts as a full post, but it’s a holiday post and I’m not taking this one too seriously. Unfortunately, there is a lack of Halloween parties this year thank to the lovely coronavirus, but if I would to suggest an album to provide the soundtrack to such parties, this would be the one. Different from the band’s previous records, this album lends itself to a more pop-friendly and danceable vibe. Okay yes, this album has a lot of 80s and New Wave elements to it which aren’t super popular with today’s crowd, but I have yet to find an album that I can get down and boogie to while giving me those spooky feels. This album wasn’t critically acclaimed in any way, but it’s sales were decent and it is arguably the band’s peak with a couple of their biggest hits. All of that being said, let’s move on to the top track!

This decision was too easy. It’s Halloween and the title track of an album called “Dead Man’s Party” has to be my top track. This song was a staple of the Halloweens of my childhood. From elementary school memories of my parents dancing together in the living room to this song while it played on our stereo to adding it to a playlist for a family Halloween party in my early teens. The opening guitar intro followed by three beats of a drum have been tattooed into my brain (along with every single lyric of the song). Oh, I have I mentioned the electric guitar chord progressions throughout the song? I haven’t? Well allow me to elaborate. Musically, the best part of the album as a whole. It just adds that extra element of style that pushes this song from good to great as well as an excellent Halloween song. The horns in this song add some power that kick this track into high gear while also adding an element of ska that would inspire future acts of the 90s. Ig all of that wasn’t enough, the bitchin’ keyboard solo break at the four-minute mark of the song keeps the song from being too repetitive and is so fun to dance to. Don’t even get me started on Danny Elfman’s vocals on this song. I can’t even count the number of times I have tried to emulate the man’s insane vocal range and unique sound. This song is just so fun, I could play it any time of the year and it would still hit the same.

I don’t have too much else to say about this album. All songs are fairly similar and none of the other tracks are on a ‘Dead Man’s Party’ type of level. I do really like ‘Just Another Day’, which is the opening track of the album. It’s a great way to start the album and sets an accurate tone for the other eight tracks on the album. I think the song is almost equally as great as ‘Dead Man’s Party’, but considering this is a Halloween post and the song isn’t Halloween-themed nor as fun, I could not pick it as my top track, but I do truly like it. That’s pretty much the only other song I like on the album. I do have a love-hate relationship with ‘Weird Science’, the ninth and last song on the record. It’s just different enough from the other songs between it and ‘Dead Man’s Party’ and has a nice dance feeling to it, but it’s not something I’d want to listen to all of the time.

That’s it for this late Halloween post. If there is any time to listen to this album (or at least my top track), I recommend it. It’s a great throwback to 80s Halloween that isn’t “Thriller”. Plus it’s super pop-y and has some New Wave vibes that mix up what some people probably listen to during this season I’d imagine. Then again, I don’t know.

I apologize for my super long break from the Vinyl Vault Blog, but it feels good to be back!

Happy Halloween!

Rating: 8.5/10

Top Track: ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’

Okay, I needed a break from the 70s. I wanted to listen to something that was younger than 40 years old. I do believe that this is the first album I am covering from my dear mother’s collection. I don’t know for sure, but The Smiths are one of her favorite bands and my dad was never really big into new wave music. So, I deduce that this classic album belongs to my Mama. I admit that I did not know much about this album other than ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’ and that Morrissey was the lead singer of the group. Since listening to it many times through, I must say I have fallen somewhat in love with the record. I really love the sound of the band and they way Morrissey sings; it’s extremely unique and will probably never be recreated by anyone else. As for the record itself, there is a picture of the band standing in front of the Sanford lads club on the inside cover with lyrics of all the songs printed on the other inside cover. Morrissey’s hair is standing straight up in a hilarious gravity-defying, Frankenstein monster look. As much I adore the soft sound the band achieves on the album, I was surprised to learn they were influenced by early punk acts of the 1970s like The Velvet Underground and The Stooges. I still can’t get away from the 70s! Considering all this gushing I’m doing about the sound and whatnot, why only give the album an 8.5 instead of a 9 or higher? Fair question. I do really like the sound of the music and Morrissey’s voice along with his lyrics, but I feel like the band stayed in that pocket for the whole album and didn’t take any real risks or expand their sound. I know that’s a lot to ask, but considering all of the legendary albums I’ve covered thus far, I had to go with an 8.5. Still Morrissey’s lyrics and Johnny Marr’s music composition is probably one of the greatest songwriting combinations of the 80s.

Super easy decision for top track this week. While ‘Cemetery Gates’, ‘Vicar in a Tutu’, and ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ definitely turned my head, ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’ is a timeless classic. It’s instantly recognizable from the first chord and can get anyone tapping their foot. Not to mention my mom knows all the words and will not hesitate to sing the song in its entirety at me when it comes on the car radio. Love ya Mama. The track is also super danceable. In fact, I’m dancing right now. Good thing no one can see me. If i was asked to make a playlist of 100 songs to play at my wedding, this song is making the list. I like it that much. I also picked the song because of of the creativity of Morrissey’s lyrics. Creative and unique lyrics always get me. I remember hearing the song for the first time over the radio and thinking if a double-decker bus does what? It’s such a violent and romantic lyric, it’s got to be one of my favorite lines ever from a song. I just want to give a quick shoutout to the bassist, Andy Rourke, who lays down a great bass line that is often overlooked on this track. In fact, Rourke does a great job on every track on the album. Also, Johnny Marr did a great job with the chord progression on this song. Simple, but effective. When you’ve got great lyrics like that, why cover it up with complicated musical composition? The keyboards on the track make the breaks in the song very memorable and tie the track up as a whole with a nice bow. I don’t know how this band didn’t use this song as the single for the album, but I still love it nevertheless.

The thing I fell in love with the most about the sound of this album is the combination of the acoustic and electric guitar. Johnny Marr is a genius. I had to say it. The way he played his Fender Jaguar and came up with that signature sound is the stuff of legend. This type of sound would inspire future bands such as Oasis and The Killers. I think the only song that doesn’t have this combination is the first track, ‘The Queen Is Dead’. With heavy drums and a rockin’ bass, this title track starts off the album with a bang. The lyrics are clever as ever and I just cannot get over how Morrissey pronounces “piano”. Listen to the song to hear what I’m talking about. I think this song is the closest to a risk the band has on the album. But it’s still very cohesive with the other tracks. That’s the thing I kind of like about this album; I know I said I didn’t give the album a higher rating because the band played it safe, but I like the cohesiveness of the entire album. It makes it easy to sit through (or dance through) as a whole. It also makes it easy to listen to the tracks out of order, if anyone feels so inclined.

The biggest surprise of listening to the album all the way through for the first time was how much humor was on the album. Songs like ‘Frankly, Mr. Shankly’, ‘Vicar in a Tutu’, and ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’ have some very funny lyrics and a fun melody. All of those titles are very funny in of themselves, but the songs themselves genuinely make me smile. I don’t know why I was so surprised by this element of humor. I guess I just thought of Morrissey and The Smiths as having a kind of soft, serious sound, but this album has completely changed my perspective. So, it was a very pleasant surprise. I like the way the band messes with the listener by fading the sound in and out at the beginning of ‘Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others’, I thought something was wrong with my speakers for a second. Overall, I think this album is a great one and has aged very well. I think if this album was released today, it would do very well. I have a newfound affection for The Smiths as well as “The Queen Is Dead”. For anyone who hasn’t given the band or the album a chance yet, I highly recommend listening to it. I think I might even know more lyrics off of this album than my mom now. Anyways, thank you for introducing me to this music Mama; and thank you to Morrissey and Johnny Marr for writing such beautiful songs.

Rating: 10/10

Top Track: ‘Imagine’

Time for my favorite John Lennon solo album. To me, this album captures Lennon at his peak and is much more than its title track ‘Imagine’. This album is also only the second album I have given a rating of 10/10 to. There’s a reason I don’t give out 10/10’s willy-nilly. That rating means that I can listen to this album over and over and never tire of it. It means that if I had to choose just one album to listen to for the rest of my life, this one is one of my top choices. Keep in mind that my ratings are totally subjective and shouldn’t be taken very seriously. I’m sure, but I think this album might’ve been my dad’s favorite Lennon album as well. Inside of the cover there is a fairly large white-washed poster of John playing the piano with pin holes and tape marks all over the corners (thanks Papa). The sleeve that holds the record itself is covered with headshots of all the musicians who contributed to the album and a spiraling list of who played which instrument. The other side of the sleeve contains lyrics to every song on the album. The the label of the record itself, on a picture of an apple core, are the initials “RB”, my dad’s. On the back of the album cover is the quote, “imagine the clouds dripping. dig a hole in your garden to put them in” credited to “yoko ’63”. The quote was pulled from Yoko Ono’s book Grapefruit which was being re-released at the time. This album was made to be listened to on vinyl. Sure, on Spotify is sounds great, but like I’ve said before, there’s nothing like the real thing. I find everything about this album fantastic, from the range of sound to the polaroid photo of John on the cover (taken by Yoko, not by Andy Warhol who was rumored to have taken it). Alright, let’s get into the top track.

This was probably the quickest decision of a top track that I have made thus far. Sure, songs like ‘Jealous Guy’, ‘Gimme Some Truth’, and ‘How Do You Sleep?’ were taken into account, but they were never really in the running. How could I not pick the title track of this album as well as one of the best songs ever written? It had to be ‘Imagine’. I would give anything to listen to this song for the first time again. I can still remember being a wee lad and having my mind blown. Yes, the song is extremely overplayed by disc jockeys and amateur piano players alike; and while it is overplayed, it never gets old. I didn’t just pick the song because of its popularity or even because of how great a song it is, I picked it because it speaks to me. In fact I picked it because it speaks to everyone. Which is all John Lennon wanted. I think that ‘Imagine’ is the most John Lennon song he ever wrote. If any of that makes sense. I think this song is as close to perfect as any song is ever going to get. The music has a minimalistic quality that does just enough to lay down one of the most memorable melodies ever recorded. John doesn’t try to do too much with the music and the same goes with the lyrics. The song is a call to everyone who hears to come together and live in peace. That’s all John Lennon wanted. Cut the crap, all the division, hate, and labels that pull us apart and just “be as one.”

Okay, so why is this album a perfect 10/10 in my eyes? Like I said, this is John Lennon at his peak. The range of sound on this album is just incredible, from the softness of songs like ‘Imagine’ to blues-y tracks like ‘It’s So Hard’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama’; even some straight up classic rock, Beatles-y songs like ‘Gimme Some Truth’ and ‘How Do You Sleep?’. And why not throw in a fun, goofy song like ‘Crippled Inside’. The levels in this album are just insane. John always seemed to have a flair for the dramatic. Speaking of dramatic, I want to talk about ‘How Do You Sleep?’. I think that it’s quite possible that this song could be considered the first diss track ever written. Way before hip hop artists were flaming each other on SoundCloud, John Lennon was doing it back in the 70s. The wounds of the Beatles break up were still pretty fresh when recording this album, especially between John and Paul McCartney, whom the track is about. This song basically calls out Paul for being a phony and thinking too highly of himself. That must’ve stung coming from someone who used to be your best friend. And to add insult to injury, George Harrison plays a remarkable blues-filled guitar solo on the track; another ex-Beatle and close pal of McCartney’s. McCartney would later respond with a track of his own, but more on that later (hint, hint). All that aside though, I really enjoy this song. The heavy guitar, the strings, the keyboard, it’s easily my second favorite song on the album. ‘Jealous Guy’ is probably my third favorite for anyone wondering.

I really like the way Lennon decided to end the album. ‘Oh Yoko!’ is one of my favorite Lennon songs believe it or not. It’s so upbeat and happy, it just has a great vibe to it; and it’s extremely enamored John is with Yoko. I mean, he’s just so in love; and how can love be a bad thing? I mean, their relationship was a big part in breaking up the Beatles, but let’s not get into that. John begins the album with a slow, hopeful song and ends with a cheerful song about the woman he loves, as well as a harmonica solo. He literally ends the album on a high note, well kind of. I think my point was made. The piano playing on the track is really great as well. In fact, I think the piano playing on all the tracks is great, especially on ‘Jealous Guy’. I think it really makes the song. Man, that man was so talented.

Well, I hope this post convinced some people that this album is more than its title track and did, in fact, deserve the 10/10 I gave it. I absolutely love this album and John Lennon himself. If there was a Mount Rushmore of song-writers, John Lennon’s face would be one of the four, without question. He has served as such an inspiration to artists of all mediums from all parts of the world. He inspired two of my personal song-writing heroes, Kurt Cobain and Noel Gallagher. I believe this album has aged ridiculously well. I would put it up against any great album of the past 20 years. John Lennon was so good at writing and playing timeless music. It makes me emotional to think about how he died and how he didn’t get to keep doing what he loved to do. He would’ve been 80 years old this December and it has been nearly 40 years since he passed away. R.I.P. to the legend and may his music live on forever.

Rating: 9/10

Top Track: ‘Changes’

How did it take me so long to get to Bowie? I mean, c’mon dude. Maybe it’s because I love almost every David Bowie album from his first in 1967 up through 1983. That’s not to say I don’t like his later stuff, I do. It’s just hard to beat Bowie from the 70s. How did I eventually land on “Hunky Dory”? I have no idea. To give a bit of a peek behind the curtain, I picked this album out over a month ago. I don’t remember what my process was. Maybe I ran my finger up and down my dad’s Bowie collection and stopped on a random album. Maybe “Hunky Dory” was the first Bowie album I found. Who knows. Who cares. The point is it’s a fantastic album and there’s a reason I gave it a 9/10. Granted, I’ve been pretty liberal with my ratings, but this album really earns it. Is it my favorite Bowie album? Maybe. Truth is, I don’t really have a favorite Bowie album. It’s almost being asked which of my children I love the most; if had kids or if I made amazing music like this. All I’m saying that I really this album. This was Bowie’s fourth studio album and his last pre-Ziggy Stardust phase one. I think this album is a great snapshot of Bowie just hitting his stride. He had shown some obvious signs of genius and greatness before this album, but I think this is the one where he really started coming into his own. It came to fruition after he took some time off after finishing his third album, “The Man Who Sold The World”, which is why I think he changed his heavier rock sound from that album to this one. Bowie also had a change in managers in between albums, so I like to view this album as a sort of rebirth of Bowie . In this rebirth of album, he gives nods to other artists he admires, Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, and The Velvet Underground. Bowie was such a visionary and a personal hero of mine, it’s crazy to think about how he had personal muses of his own. That being said, let’s move onto the top track.

Yet another album where choosing the top track was somewhat difficult. ‘Changes’ seemed like the obvious choice, but that’s not why I went with it. ‘Life On Mars?’, ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’, and ‘Queen Bitch’ would have all been excellent choices as well. I went with ‘Changes’ not because of how obvious of a choice it is, but because of how iconic it is. It’s one of Bowie’s most well-known songs, it’s the opening track of the album and it’s been an icon in pop culture since the album was released; the opening scene of The Breakfast Club (1985) contains a quote from this song. While ‘Life On Mars?’ further cements Bowie’s genius in grand songs about etherial life, ‘Changes’ is a simple-ish pop song, but Bowie-fied. This song also gives more credence to my theory that this album was sort of a rebirth for Bowie. He was going through lots of changes in his life, the firing of his previous manager, his wife was pregnant with their first child; Bowie was beginning a new chapter in his life and he recognized that. This song also spoke to me during my angsty, hormone-filled teenage years when I thought my parents didn’t understand me and I felt somewhat alone. This song served as a sort of anthem for my first couple years of high school. I believe that a great song doesn’t force a message on the listener. A great song lets the listener decide for themselves what the song means to them. This song is a great song. I think that it could serve as an anthem for anyone going through any type of development in their lives. It’s upbeat and empowering. The piano is so elegant, the lyrics are moving, and Bowie’s saxophone playing at the end is just the cherry on top. I have also always thought that was John Lennon’s voice in the chorus. I’ve looked it up and he’s not credited. No one really knows who it is. It might be guitarist Mark Ronson’s voice in all honesty, but I think I’ll stick with my story. This song can make my day, this song can make me cry. That’s why I chose it as the top track of this album.

I just want to say that no one can write a song like David Bowie. I have no idea where he gets the ideas for his songs from. But man, I’m grateful that man thought the way he did. His lyrics change my world view for the better. He makes me see things with such an enlightened lens. I can only name only a handful of other songwriters that make me feel that way. I know I’m not the only one who feels that why either. I think that says a lot about a songwriter when that can effect the way people see the world. He’s also one of the few artists I’ve notice to cross across not only musical genre divides, but generational divides as well. Metal heads in the 80s love Bowie, classic rock hippies love Bowie, even modern pop millennials love Bowie. Everybody loves Bowie! How can one artist be so beloved even posthumously? No seriously, I’m asking. I mean, he’s mainstream without feeling like a mainstream artist. He stayed true to himself even when people criticized him for his imagine or rumors about his sexuality. I think that’s the reason so many people can identify with him. What’s more relatable than being yourself.

Okay, not everyone loves Bowie. I contradicted myself in that paragraph when I said everybody loved him, and yet he received criticism about his image and whatnot. That’s the thing about Bowie, he’s controversial and isn’t afraid to break some rules. Some people don’t like that, but more people do like it. Anyways, I want to move on from what people think about Bowie to what Bowie thinks about other people, sort of. I stated in my first paragraph what he gives nods to Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, and The Velvet Underground. The first two are obvious nods. the songs ‘Andy Warhol’ and ‘Song for Bob Dylan’ kind of give it away. Both are pretty good tracks in their own rights. Both are kinds of odes to the artists and how much Bowie admire’s their work. The third nod to The Velvet Underground is a little less obvious than the title of a track. The track is ‘Queen Bitch’. Bowie doesn’t explicitly mention the band, but listen closely to the style of the song, Bowie pays homage to The Velvet Underground with the music itself. The chord progression and the neo-punk style of the chorus and the song itself was meant to sort of copy the style of The Velvet Underground. That means all three songs that honor other artists are consecutive on the album as tracks 8, 9, and 10 respectively. I don’t know why I decided to include that, I just thought it was interesting.

So that’s it. That’s “Hunky Dory”. An absolutely fantastic album. I highly recommend anyone who has not listened to it before to listen to it; and for people do not have much knowledge about Bowie, it’s a great starting point. Bowie’s death shocked me to my core in 2016 and it’s been a great honor writing about one of his best albums. A masterpiece.

Rating: 9/10

Top Track: ‘Walk On The Wild Side’

I’ve done The Velvet Underground. Now it’s time for Lou Reed. This guy, T.Rex, and David Bowie were probably the most influential musical acts in the glam rock genre of the early 1970s. In fact, Bowie was actually one of the producers of this album. Both Bowie and his guitar player, Mick Ronson produced this album because they loved The Velvet Underground’s music so much and wanted Lou Reed to do well. For those that do not know, Lou Reed was the songwriter and frontman of The Velvet Underground (go read my post on “Loaded”). Ronson provided guitar, piano, recorder, as well as backing vocals on the record. He even contributed the string arrangement for ‘Perfect Day’. I think it’s safe to say that without Bowie and Ronson’s help, Reed would have never achieved the mainstream success in his solo career that he did. I also think it’s safe to say that this is the album that pushed him into that success. His first solo album didn’t receive much recognition, but this album made his a household name for avid classic rock listeners. “Transformer” is easily one of my favorite 70s albums. Everything from the lyrics to the cover art, I think it’s a brilliant album. Speaking of cover art, the way the picture of Lou turned out was a mistake. Mick Rock, a legendary music photographer inadvertently overexposed the photo while developing it in a darkroom. He liked the way it looked and now it’s on the cover of the album. How about that? The cover is so simple, yet elegant and I think it reflects Reed’s music perfectly. I know this is such a hippie thing to say, but his music just sounds so much better on vinyl. I can’t explain why or what I mean, but listening to Reed’s music on vinyl just makes the experience so much more immersive.

Time for the classic I had such a tough time deciding the top track for this album. But I actually had a tough time deciding the top track of this album. There were three candidates consisting of ‘Vicious’, ‘Perfect Day’, and ‘Walk On The Wild Side’. I eventually landed on ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ even though I wanted to choose ‘Vicious’ sooooo bad. But why didn’t you just choose that then Ro? I mean, it’s your blog right? That’s a fair point. I don’t have a real answer other than “Walk On The Wild Side’ is Reed’s most commercially successful song. So, yeah. I kind of sold out on this pick, but hey it’s my decision. I think another reason I picked this song was because of the subject matter covered. Though it wasn’t a factor when determining the top track, it was pretty taboo to discuss sexual orientation, gender identity, prostitution, and drug use so openly and plainly like that. Reed took a risk and I think it paid off. Although the song has faced some recent scrutiny due to its hook “…and all the colored girls go doo doo doo…” While it’s less risque to cover sex and drugs today, Lyrics don’t use the word “colored” to reference a group of people anymore. However, it was 1972 and times were different; I think it’s a little unfair to judge something made almost 50 years ago by today’s standards. Plus, the language is only half of it, the other half is intent. It’s pretty difficult to think Reed had harmful intent in mind when he wrote this song. This song about taking a risk and living life a bit on the edge. Maybe some people can’t look past that lyric, but I think it’s harmless; especially in a song about cross-dressing prostitutes. Before I move on, I would be remiss if I didn’t address that classic backing track. Such a classic bassline, acoustic guitar, and snare drum combo. This backing track is so good, it gave way to two hit songs. ‘Walk On The Wild Side’, of course, and A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘Can I Kick It?’. I think it says something about a track when a group of a totally separate genre samples it in a song 18 years later. Where did that saxophone solo come from? What a way to end such a terrific song.

I would like to talk about why I wanted to choose ‘Vicious’ as my top track. If i”m being completely honest, it’s my favorite song on this album. Which gives more credence to Why didn’t you choose it then? It’s like I said, I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s a great way to start and album. A great, catchy guitar riff and a solid rhythm section backing with the bass and drums. It’s a great, of what was then, modern take on a 60s pop song. When usually guys would be singing about how much they love a girl, Lou decided to go with “…hey, why don’t you swallow razor blades?” Which definitely gives the song a punk element. That’s not surprising seeing as I called The Velvet Underground’s sound neo-punk. I believe that Lou Reed had a huge influence on the punk sound of the 80s along with the glam rock sound of the 70s. Not only was this man’s music great, but it was also, and still is, highly influential. I mean, who’s writing songs like this now? Nobody. Nobody! Also, shout out to Mark Ronson on that great guitar solo. ‘Vicious’ was actually inspired by Andy Warhol who Reed was still good friends with after his time with The Velvet Underground. According to Reed, Warhol told him he should write a song about someone vicious. When Reed asked what he meant by that, Warhol said, “Oh you know, like I hit you with a flower,” and violá, the song ‘Vicious’ was born.

Man, what do I like best about Lou Reed? His lyrics? His experimental guitar playing? His subject matter? I think it’s his voice. Let me be clear, Lou Reed does not have a good singing voice by any means. That’s not to say he’s a bad singer; he just doesn’t really sing. The thing that draws me to his music is his deadpan tone. Maybe it’s because he feels his music and his lyrics speak for themselves and he doesn’t have to give a great vocal performance. Or maybe because that’s just the way he does it. Either way, I love it. It makes him unique and easily distinguishable from all of the other artists trying to make it in the 70s. Despite the fact that none of Lou Reed’s sequential albums ever came close to the commercial or critical success of “Transformer”, Lou Reed had made it. He would spend the rest of his life in the spotlight as a solo act and working with other musicians and bands like Metallica. The album that resulted from that collaboration, “Lulu”, is definitely interesting and was Reed’s final studio album before his untimely passing in 2013. I can’t believe it’s coming up on seven years that he’s been gone. At 71, I think he still had some years left in him and I would have really liked to see him live. All I’ve got is this album and all Lou’s got is a guitar pick (listen to ‘Vicious’). Anyways, Lou’s gone, but his music lives on and I’m proud to play his music and spin his records on my turntable.

Rating: 8.5/10

Top Track ‘Oye Como Va’

When I think of the best guitarists of all-time, who comes to mind? That’s a good question. Thanks for asking. Well, we’ve got Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, and Carlos Santana. Of course my list of great guitarist is much longer than that, but I think my point is made. That point being that Santana’s name has to come up when talking about great guitar players. Not only that, he’s probably the best Mexican-American guitar player to ever live. As a Mexican-American myself, I’ve always held Santana in high regard; which is probably why his name would appear higher on my guitar players list than most other classic rock enthusiasts. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the album, shall we? I feel like I should address the album cover first. It’s got a lot going on and frankly, I don’t have enough time to unpack it all. It’s like a crazy acid trip. It’s got two naked ladies on it and that’s about all I’ve got to say about that; I think the cover can speak for itself. When I first opened the album up, I noticed something in the front sleeve of the album cover. I pulled it out and it was a neatly folded, near-mint black-and-white poster of the band; Carlos Santana, Gregg Rolie, David Brown, Michael Shrieve, José “Chepito” Areas, and Michael Carabello. They’re all laughing about something, maybe one of them made a joke. That’s the thing with vinyl. I can tell you there’s no getting posters of any band listening to music online. There’s no special connection made. Vinyl’s pretty cool, man. “Abraxas” came out one year after the band’s breakout performance at the Woodstock musical festival. Before that, no one had really heard of the band from San Fransisco experimenting with latin-blues-rock fusion. That wasn’t so true anymore as the band’s second studio album went to number one on the U.S. charts when it was released. I understand why as I’m currently listening to the album for the umpteenth time. Does anyone else feel like dancing?

Unlike most albums I have previously covered, the choice for Top Track was fairly easy. The two main choices were ‘Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen’ and ‘Oye Como Va’. Seeing as the former was a rendition of a Fleetwood Mac song that was released the year prior, I decided to go with an original. Besides, I genuinely like ‘Oye Como Va’ better. From the “Rrrr sabor” at the beginning to the fantastic guitar solo that finishes the song off. The fact that this song only has nine words repeated over and over just makes it that much better. I have no idea why.

Oye como va
Mi ritmo
Bueno pa' gozar
Mulata

That’s the whole song. And it’s all in Spanish, which I think is fantastic. It’s a Latin song, why not sing it in the corresponding language? Right? I thought about translating it, but Google Translate doesn’t always work and I figured there’s no translation that could convey what the words truly mean. So I’ll just let it be what it is. Have I mentioned Rolie’s keyboard solo? I haven’t? Perhaps I should. After Santana’s excellent shredding for about the first two minutes of the song, Rolie gives him a break and takes over with a high-energy solo that blows me away every time. Best believe I’m miming some air keys along with Rolie during this song.

Born in the small town of Autlán, Jalisco in México, Santana learned to play the guitar at the age of eight from his father who was a mariachi musician. In the 1960s Santana’s family moved to San Fransisco. A young Santana soon formed the Santana Blues Band and the rest is history. All of Santana’s influences, as well as the rest of the band’s, comes through on this album. Especially on the first track. ‘Singing Winds, Crying Beasts’ is such a great example of Latin-Jazz fusion. That 60s jazz feeling is undeniable and even shades of Miles Davis peeks through. The percussive instruments used really add that Latin touch, as they do to all the track on this album. I also love the way the first two tracks fade into one another, almost as if they were recorded back to back. Which is what might have actually happened, I’m not sure. The second track, ‘Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen’ starts off with a great keyboard riff and Rolie’s voice is so very smooth. All of that combined with Santana’s guitar gives the song a very sexy feeling. Until the breakdown. The band quickly picks up the tempo as the percussion goes double-time and Brown lays down a quick salsa-like bass-line. The last minute and a half of that song just makes me want to move my hips, baby.

Before it wrap it up here, let me just address the percussion work going on on this album. “Chepito” Areas and Michael Carabello really hit it out of the park on this album. But don’t just take my word for it, take a listen to ‘Se a Cabo’. That first track on side 2 of this album has some of the best conga playing I have ever heard. Still not convinced? ‘El Nicoa’ should do it. That song is almost all percussion. Take a listen to both of those track and just try not to dance. Man, this album really does have everything. Classic latin, rock, jazz, blues. Oh yeah, blues! ‘Hope Your Feeling Better’ probably showcases the band’s blues influence and rocks harder than other track on this album. What more could a Mexican-American boy ask for? This band introduced Latin rock to mainstream music listeners and laid the groundwork for future Latin rock groups like Los Lobos. This band, this album, and more specifically, this guitar player is one of the best.

Muchas gracias por su música Santana.