What albums did you listen to today?...continued

Susanne Sundfør - The Silicone Veil

Joan as Police Woman - The Classic

ColorStar - Komfort

ColorStar - ColorStar

Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life

PFM - Storia Di Un Minuto

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress

Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F# A# Infinity

Yesterday, including a few albums for Nick. Happy birthday man 

This morning's albums:

Strunz & Farah - Primal Magic - Being a late 80's-90's Strunz & Farah album, all of the instrumentals tend to sound the same (on the bright side, they all sound consistently good). What I really like about this particular album are the two vocal songs, Rainmaker and Canto Al Sol. The guitar playing is top notch on both of these songs, but the added vocals make it sound just that much more primal. Maybe even magical, you could say! 

Joe Satriani - Crystal Planet - The start of Satriani's modern era. This is probably one of my less preferred albums from him, but there are still a few songs on it that make it worthwhile. The opening track, Up In The Sky, may very well be his most thrilling opening since Surfing With The Alien. Ceremony, Lights of Heaven, and A Train of Angels are favourites of mine.

And this evening's:

Glenn Miller Orchestra - Greatest Hits - Ah, here's where the fun begins! You wouldn't normally expect this to be much of a party starter, but I love Glenn Miller's stuff! In The Mood kicks 'er off, and gets me right in the mood to enjoy some fine, catchy music. The real highlight here, of course, is Chattanooga Choo-Choo. There are only a handful of songs that I will belt out loud in unison each and every time I hear them playing, and this is one of them. Say what you like about your wussy prog bands, this is the good stuff. 

Allman Brothers Band - Brothers And Sisters - Mmmm, that sweet Southern Rock goodness. I really wish that this Allman Brothers lineup put out more material, because it's like the perfect blend of Dickey Betts' solo material and Sea Level. Both are fantastic on their own, but put together, it's the next best thing since Duane Allman was in the band. 

Deep Purple - Machine Head - Man, after jamming along to Chattanooga Choo-Choo, there are only so many followups that I can put on that will curb my insatiable lust for exhilaration. I guess Highway Star is a pretty good one. Actually, with all due respect to the other great material Deep Purple put out, Highway Star may very well be the crowning jewel of their entire catalogue. It perfectly encapsulates everything that made rock in the early 70's so ridiculously awesome. The engine-hum drum beat and power chord strumming, the over the top, made-up-on-the-spot lyrics, Ian Gillan's primal scream at the start (with about 5 echoes for extra awesomeness!). And let's not forget Jon Lord totally hamming it away on the organ, thinking he's in a prog band or something, playing his hyper-speed Bach arpeggios a la Rick Wakeman over top of the rest of the band's total numbskull back beat. If you can point me to a song that better captures every crazy thing that music in 1972 was all about, be my guest. But as it stands, Highway Star is objectively the best rock song every recorded. 

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Nuthin' Fancy - Not the best classic Skynyrd record, but that's not saying much. What I love about this one (aside from the raw, ZZ Top-ish sound of Saturday Night Special and On The Hunt) is that it seems especially personal, even by Skynyrd standards. Am I Losing may very well be the most underrated Skynyrd ballad, Railroad Song is good, clean, fun, and Whiskey Rock A Roller is one of the best driving tracks around. The studio version of this last one is admittedly a little weak sounding, so I always substitute with the Knebworth festival recording for that extra "turn it up to 11" factor! It probably helps that Ronnie Van Zant and I have roughly the same range, because by this point in the night I was singing along to everything. 

Outlaws - Lady In Waiting - One last album to finish off a night of fun, and what a perfect album to harmonize to! I've always considered the Outlaws to be a vastly underappreciated band in the world of Southern Rock (and in general, of course), and this second album is so close to being as much of a masterpiece as the debut. All I can think that could improve this one is if they cut out the two ballads. Boring! Fortunately, the uptempo tracks are all killer - no filler. The best song on here, though, is the closer, Stick Around For Rock & Roll. No single song better captures the spirit of Southern Rock, the beauty of America, and the freedom of the open road, than this one. 

ColorStar - Solarize

Taipuva Luotisuora - IV

Taipuva Luotisuora - 8