Lists : 5 Great Live Albums

Aug 14, 2010 Lists

A lot of people don’t really care too much for the live album, preferring the polished sound of the studio instead, but not me. I love live records, especially those that aren’t just rehashes of what you can find on the studio releases.

There are few things that I think go into making a really good live record. Song selection is paramount. Yes we probably need to hear what are considered the hits or fan favorites, but please put some tracks on there that deeper fans can appreciate. I also need some or all songs to be worked differently, this can be as subtle as just extending the song or as drastic as playing a balls out rocker as a solo acoustic number. Always nice for me is a cover tune because it is always a pleasure to hear your favorite artist play some of their favorites.

As always this list is in no order, and may not be my favorite all time live records, but every one on here gives me joy. Some of them are retrospective live albums, some released with all new material, some rely heavily on covers and some are all original. Without further delay here are some absolutely great live records….

Tommy Womack : Washington D. C. (2003)

Here is Tommy at his Rock n Roll greatest. This is one of my favorite albums to turn way up and scream along to. There are some songs that only appear on this release and there are some songs from his previous releases. As an added bonus Tommy breaks out some favorites from the bis-quits album. This album rocks from beginning to end without stopping.

My personal favorite tracks on this one are “I Don’t Have a Gun” an “Skinny and Small”. Both songs featuring either avoided or inevitable acts of violence against the people that have wronged the narrator or maybe just pissed him off. While neither Tommy nor myself for that matter would ever  commit such acts sometimes it is just therapeutic to sing about doing so at the top of your lungs over top of some hellacious guitar riffs.

Other highlights include : “Betty Was Black (Willie Was White)” and “Sweet Hitchhiker”.

Jane’s Addiction : Jane’s Addiction (1987)

Staying with the Rock n Roll albums, this debut album from Jane’s Addiction really can’t be beat. While some would argue it is not a true live album (there were some overdubs added) to me it still maintains the feel and energy of a live recording. Adding to the intrigue on this one is that it was their debut record which is always a ballsy move for a band to make, shunning the shelter and safety of the studio and just putting out what has gained them a following in the first place, playing live.

Not only do I  love this album, it is by far my favorite Jane’s Addiction record. It has everything you could want from Farrell and company. Some punk rock influenced screachers, a couple of slower more lyrical tunes, Farrell’s ever strange vocals and Dave Navarro destroying a guitar not to mention drummer, Stephen Perkins.

My favorites on this one are “Jane Says”, which is sort of the cliche Jane’s song but who cares, “Whores” a song about the dregs of L.A. and surprisingly enough two cover songs.

They completely nail the two covers that appear on this album. First off is the Velvet Underground’s “Rock n Roll” which Farrell really just kills. Following that is one of the best Rolling Stones covers I’ve ever heard in “Sympathy for the Devil” .

Todd Snider : Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (2003)

Here we have our first acoustic offering of the list. This is a great way to introduce Todd to people who don’t really like to listen to bootlegs. You can never really say you’ve heard him until you’ve seen him live but this is the next best thing.

On this release they did a great job capturing the Todd experience and packaging it on a single disc. He stretches out on multiple tangents between songs and is able to play some songs that leave you laughing alongside  some that bring tears to your eyes. And that is, after what a Todd show is all about.

Personal bests on this one, “Tension”, one of my all time favorite Todd songs that always makes me smile, “Broke” a song about the things you will do when are in that predicament, and “Waco Moon” a tribute to the late Eddy Shaver.

Nirvana : Unplugged (1994)

Full of teenage angst and superb covers, this album helped define my generation. I dare anyone to attempt to argue the validity of this album appearing on this list. I still listen to this one on a regular basis which is  a lot more than I can say for most of the other things I was listening to at the time.

This performance was by far the best in MTV’s series and is probably my favorite Nirvana album as well. It really showed that they were musicians and not just a bunch of anger driven post adolescents. I love everything about the sound on this one from Cobain delivering fine vocals, the acoustic arrangements and the appearance of the members of the Meat Puppets. Not only did it shed new light on their own songs it showed that they were aware and appreciative of people that came before them in musical history.

My favorites on this one may be all covers, not because I don’t like the originals but because the covers were so well chosen. “Plateau” and “Lake of Fire”, two of the three Meat Puppets covers are fantastic. In addition to those, the not well known David Bowie song “The Man Who Sold the World” and the very well known Leadbelly tune, “In the Pines” (credited as “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” are both fucking great.

As for the Nirvana songs on this Nirvana album, the standouts are “Polly”, “Dumb”, and “Pennyroyal Tea”

Will Hoge : Again Somewhere Tomorrow (2007)

Here is another rocker of an album. Hoge seems to be on a mission to save live Rock n Roll and this album goes a long way in doing so. The energy Hoge puts out in his vocals on this recording  is simply amazing. Hoge is like a mixture or Mick Jagger, Chris Robinson and Otis Redding all rolled into one when he gets going.

As always the band backing Hoge on this album is equally gifted, lifting the songs higher and higher throughout.

Favorites of mine on this one are the Motown infused, “Woman Be Strong” , opener “The Man Who Killed Love” and “Southern Belle”, a longing for a specific type of lover.

Every song on this album is great and it is a damn shame that this is the closest I have yet to come to seeing him live (two plan trips have been stopped due to uncontrollable circumstances) but at least it is a great record.

As always this list could o on forever because there are about a million other live albums that I think are great and I’m sure in ten minutes I will be wishing I would have included some of them instead of the ones I’ve written about. Feel free to comment with your favorite live albums or why you think my choices are wrong or right.

Tags: jane's addiction, Lists, Nirvana, todd snider, Tommy Womack, Will Hoge

Lists : Five Debut Albums That I Love

May 24, 2010 Lists

This list is in no way comprehensive nor is it in any order. These may not be the best debut albums of all time or even my favorite ones if I gave it a lot more thought. They are however five debuts that blow me away every time I hear them. Sometimes an artist or band just gets it right the first time around.

1. Steve Earle : Guitar Town (1986)

Earle comes out of the gate with an instant classic, Guitar Town, what’s crazy is that he was already 31 when this record was released. This record was over ten years in the making as Earle honed his songwriting chops hanging out with Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.

Before this album, Earle worked in Nashville writing songs for other as so many writers do and had recorded another album that was not released. However, when it finally hit the shelves it helped make Steve the next big thing as it rose to number one on the country album charts.

Within its ten tracks are so many great songs. Highlights for me are the title track, “My Old Friend The Blues”, and “Daddy’s Little Rock n Roller”.

2. Todd Snider : Songs From the Daily Planet (1994)

I am so conflicted with this album. I love every song on this record, even the songs that have become the cliche Snider songs to like. While some of the album versions of the songs are great a lot of them leave something to be desired. I think the record company people tried to make Todd sound entirely too pretty and that would be a theme on a few of his albums and they don’t capture the raw energy of Todd with his then band the Wrecks or the emotion he plays with solo.

Having said all of that, this is still a great record to listen to. The songs that are nailed here are phenomenal and the ones that could have been recorded differently are still great songs. Snider is one of the best writers working today in my opinion and he let that shine through right from the beginning.

Of the songs that are great on the record, my favorites are “Turn it Up” (because sometimes you just have to rock out), “Somebody’s Coming”, and “Spoke Like a Child”.

3. John Prine : John Prine (1971)

Got to love when one of the “Next Bob Dylans” becomes the first John Prine. I’m not sure if there is another debut album that contains so many classic songs. With his unconventional delivery, Prine released what I feel are some of his best songs on the first go round. Many of these songs would go on to be covered by everyone under the moon and to me the best versions can still be found on this gem of an album.

As for favorites on the album, how can you go wrong when you have “Angel From Montgomery”, “Sam Stone”, “Far From Me”, “Illegal Smile” and “Paradise” and that only makes up half the record?

4. The Counting Crows : August and Everything After (1993)

This record may not seem to fit among the others, but I love it just as much. Ever since its release I have been listening to it on a regular basis and it never gets old. Unfortunately they have never released a record as good as this one again. I have liked just about all of their albums, but they seemed to get progressively worse the farther away from August they got. Their newest release however did break that pattern slightly.

Back to August and Everything After though. From top to bottom the songs on this release are pretty depressing but, extremely well written and they sound incredible. It’s one of those records where I never skip a single song while listening and that is rare even from good ones.

My favorite tracks follow each other back to back in the middle of the album. “Perfect Blue Buildings”, “Anna Begins”, and “Time and Time Again” make for a great three song run.

5. Adam Carroll : South of Town (1998)

The most recent release of this list, South of Town is the first look into what is becoming a great career for Adam Carroll. I love this guy’s writing and his style. He has a way of writing things that sound really poetic and at the same time common. The way he strings words together is beautiful and then he delivers the songs with an aw shucks sound that is often times behind the beat and just comes off sounding amazing.

There is definitely a reason that he is becoming one of the most covered artists to come out of the Texas music scene recently and that reason is prominently displayed on this record. A lot of these songs appear again on his live records as well, but you get a great feeling from the down home recordings found on the studio versions.

Listening to this again last night, I  decided my favorite tracks on it were “Smokey Mountain Taxi”, “Cane River Blues”, and “Home Again”. If you are not familiar with Carroll go and buy this and all of his other records immediately.

That’s it for this list, while most of you probably own these records or at least know of them, hopefully you will revisit them after reading this. This list was fun, I think I will continue it some other time, feel free to comment with some of you favorite debuts if you feel the urge.

On another note, look for the first edition of the Broken Jukebox podcast early this week. It has been recorded and will be up soon.

Tags: adam carroll, counting crows, john prine, Lists, Steve Earle, todd snider

List : 5 Things That Would Make Me Happy

Apr 22, 2010 Lists

Everyone likes lists, they make things easy to see and understand. Furthermore, everyone likes making lists, whether it be top-tens, things to do, best/worst, etc. Well what the hell, I thought I’d go ahead and make my own list. This list has no glue to hold it together except that these are all things that would me happy in the realm of music. The items on the list appear in no particular order. Some of these inevitably will happen, some could possibly happen, and some are completely ludicrous. So keeping in mind those caveats, let’s get to the list.

1. A new Jackie Greene album soon.

Not only do I love Jackie Greene but, it has now been two years since Giving up the Ghost came out.  Let me also (since this is my list) ask that this hypothetical new Jackie Greene record be as good as its predecessor. Some would probably argue that 2006′s American Myth is Greene’s best record, but I’m here to tell you that they would be wrong. Ghost had a little of everything that Greene can give you, some folky, some bluesy, a little pop feel, and a couple of down right ball busting rock n roll songs. So here’s to hoping that Mr. Greene sees this and expedites that new record.

2. The forever rumored to be coming soon follow up to Voodoo from R&B singer D’angelo finally comes and is somewhat worth the wait.

D’angelo ? You might ask, not necessarily in line with the other artists that have been written about in the short life of this site. Yes, D’angelo this guy is great. It’s like Snoop Dogg and Otis Redding had a love child and God granted this imaginary child with a kick ass band and said go forth and sing. Then in this story the hero child seems to squander his talent by making only two albums in fifteen years, touring sporadically, and smoking entirely too much pot. I still listen Voodoo on a regular basis, and this new record has been the subject of rumors off and on for years. The latest of these rumors has the record hitting the shelves late this summer and perhaps having Prince involved. Needless to say it has me interested.

3. Fred Eaglesmith’s new release, Cha Cha Cha, reminds me why I love Fred Eaglesmith again.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what Eaglesmith did on Tinderbox, I’m all for an artist stretching their wings from time to time and it’s not like I hated the record, it was just not one of my favorites. For that matter neither was Milly’s Cafe (which by the way was not out of his wheelhouse) nor was Dusty. So that makes three straight studio records since I was really thrilled about an Eaglesmith release. I have liked all three of those releases, but man I would kill for another Lies, Lipstick and Gasoline or Drive-In Movie.

4. Tommy Womack finds some commercial success.

I could think of nobody else that survives in the indy singer/ songwriter world that deserves it more than Tommy. The man is a great songsmith, a talented guitar player, an amazing performer, and most importantly a genuinely good guy. I have had the pleasure of promoting a number of shows with Tommy in the last couple of years and he is always very humble and grateful for not only the gig itself but, for everyone who comes out to see him. Tommy has seen some good fortunes recently with a new Daddy record and with Jimmy Buffett choosing to cover a song that Tommy co-wrote with his pal Will Kimbrough. So here’s to hoping the Parrotheads embrace “Nobody from Nowhere” and it brings some recognition and financial windfall to Tommy’s doorstep.

5. Tom Waits turns back the clock.

The first Tom Waits record I got into was the Grammy winning Mule Variations, so needless to say I am a huge fan of his newer records. However I feel that I got cheated by my not being able to witness the great live shows he was putting on during the mid to late 70′s. I’d love for Waits to do a tour of small, smoke filled bars with a stripped down band, sit down behind the piano or stand at the mic and start delivering versions of the songs off of Small Change, Blue Valentine, and Heart of Saturday Night. Not only would it just be an amazing atmosphere to be able to experience it would be great to see where songs like “Christmas Card from a Hooker” and “Small Change” would go with Tom now. This one would fall under that ludicrous heading, but one can hope.

So there you have the first official list on The Broken Jukebox. I would imagine I am not alone in wanting these things to happen. Feel free to drop a comment with a few things you would like to see happen this year in music.

Tags: D'angelo, Fred Eaglesmith, Jackie Greene, Lists, Tom Waits, Tommy Womack