Posted on

7X7x7: Seven underrated artists, albums and songs, album in MVC collection (blog)

This is the first in a three-part series.



TODAY: The Top 7 Most underrated artists in my collection of 678-plus records

I’ll say it out front. This is a list story.

You know how much news sites love lists. You know why?

Because you, my readers love lists. This time we are going 7X7X7.

That means: Three lists, with 7 spots each. I feel lucky. I am starting No. 1 of 3 today on my blog. I will smooth it all into one long story for AL.com by the weekend end.

The collection I have been using on my website, www.myvinylcountdown.com to raise awareness to my fatal brain disease, Lewy body dementia. As  I count them down, I stop now and again to write something different or pull out a story like this. The rules are simple. I make the picks. I can’t have any one artist on more than one list. John Hiatt does not qualify because I wrote an earlier post pretty much anointing him the most underrated artists of the 1980s.

I will provide links, please listen to the music, especially if you haven’t heard it. When we talk about underrated we are mostly dealing with folks that have lower name recognition but deserve better. But a band of renown could have an underrated song or album, for example. Also worth noting that since these are from my vinyl records, there’s a good chance that most will be older music from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, although there are some exceptions involving cases where I bought new vinyl. So here we go.

The Top 7 Underrated Artists from MyVinylCountdown.com

  1. Tonio K. – Those who know me well won’t be surprised at this choice. Tonio K. aka as Steve Krikorian debuted with Life in the Foodchain, a punky, intelligent tour de force in 1978. It is a legitimate classic with the title song, Funky Western Civilization and H-A-T-R-E-D, <Note language in that song that may be objectionable to some>standing out. The rest of his body of work is excellent as he followed Foodchain with an almost equally angry album “Amerika’ and later some spiritually infused albums with songs like ‘You Will Go Free’ that, with exceptions, deep-sixed the anger — but let fly intelligent, socially conscious music elevated by great writing.

Excerpt:‘ Funky Western Civilization’

They put Jesus on a cross; they put a hole in JFK; they put Hitler in the driver’s seat and looked the other way; Now we got poison in the water; and the whole world is in a trance; but just because we’re hypnotized don’t mean we can’t dance.

(Queue Dick Dale chicken scratch guitar and a river of melodic metal by Earl Slick and Albert Lee.)

 (2) 10cc — A British band that walked a fine line between art school pretension and brilliant pop songs. The music is full of biting satire, irony and good playing. The album ‘100cc 10cc’ is a compilation of early songs that is top-notch from top to bottom, including Rubber Bullets and the Wall Street Shuffle. Later they had some well-known singles, ‘I’m Not in Love,’ ‘Dreadlock Holiday’and ‘’Things We Do For Love.’ But they never rose to levels  expected given the talent here. They probably lost the cool crowd with the high charting bubble-gummy ‘Things We Do for Love.” They had to pay the rent you know, but some of their work such as the record ‘How Dare You’ experimented with jazzy, multi-layered sophisticated sound and sharp as a stiletto lyrics. Queen, though brasher and more theatrical, was influenced by this band.

(3) War — The band had some hits. Cisco Kid, Low Rider, Why Can’t We Be Friends. Those first two were some of the best songs on Top 40 radio at the time. ‘Friends’ was just kind of a ditty. Those who heard only the radio and didn’t get the albums were missing out on an extremely tight funk/jazz/rock band. I don’t think they ever got their due as true pioneers, perhaps overshadowed by Earth Wind and Fire, Parliament, and Sly and the Family Stone. But they could jam like the best of friends in songs like ‘Smile Happy‘ and ‘Four Cornered Room.’ BTW my two old War albums have terrific sound with a heavy bottom as this music needs.

(4) Gayle McCormick/A Group Called Smith

McCormick had the kind of voice that made you marvel where it came from, powerful as a bullhorn when she sang ballads and straight ahead blues and rock and roll. Despite her obvious break-out talent, with Smith (and a Group Called Smith after legal conflicts with another group — and, no it was not the Morissey group that came much later out of the UK.) The group and McCormick scored big with a song “Baby It’s You,” later picked by Quentin Tarantino to be used in ‘Pulp Fiction.’

She went on to record a couple of albums that are hard to find. I got a used copy of her first solo album which has some decent covers of popular songs such as ‘Superstar’ and ‘You Really Got a Hold of Me.’

The two Smith group albums, however, should be better known. There’s good hard rock and roll on these. Highlights: ‘Tell Him No,’ ‘Last Time,’ Let’s Get Together,’ ‘What Am I Gonna Do‘ and ‘Take a Look Around.‘ Oh and did I mention there’s some nasty organ and dirty horns on these, not to mention a bass player who gets under the songs and lifts..

(5) Peter Himmelman (Solo; Sussman Lawrence)

OK get the ‘newsy’ thing out of the way, his wife is Bob Dylan’s adopted daughter. On to the music which Catherine, my wife, and I would agree has been at many times the soundtrack of our lives — from Mission of my Soul to Rich Men Run the World ; from Woman With The Strength of 10,000 Men‘ to The Boat that Carries Us; From Raina (beloved Raina) to Angels Die.

When Peter learned I had Lewy body dementia, he sent me three vinyls of his music. Listening right now to ‘Fear is Our Undoing.‘ Brilliant song off of the brilliant record ‘There is no Calamity.’ )

A Minnesotan by birth now in California, Himmelman played in an indie band called Sussman Lawrence before going solo. He has been nominated for a Grammy for a children’s album and has written music for several TV shows. His songs are great and I can hear between the notes and words a search for that elusive truth that connects us.

(6) Ronnie Lane (Small Faces, Faces, solo)

Ronnie Lane was an elfin man with a lilting voice that worked to perfection when he was harmonizing, Lane embodied happy music, and yes probably happy hour music. He played his long necked electric bass like he was hugging a woman taller than he was.

The bass player was a founding member of Small Faces and Faces, two highly influential rock bands. ItchyKoo Park and All or Nothing were sizeable hits, at least overseas. And Ooh La La is a classic.

Listen to his music and try not to smile. You’d follow him out to the country side and he would lead like the pied piper to his dilapidated country farm. When Steve Marriott left Small Faces, Rod Stewart joined. Because the band’s name was based on Lane’s and other group members’ stature — they were all under 5-foot-5, they dropped the ‘Small’ when the 6-footer Stewart joined. Faces.

In addition to his fabulous singing and writing and playing with both Faces incarnations, he also had successful collaborations with Ron Wood (Mahoney’s Last Stand) and Pete Townshend solidifying his status as a top-notch collaborator and creator. The songs ‘Stone,’ ‘The Poacher’ and ‘Brother Can you Spare a Dime’ are standouts on his Ronnie Lane’s Slim Chance album, which I have. (I also have Mahoney’s and Rough Mix plus lots of Small Faces and Faces, including the experimental concept album Ogden’s Gone Nut Flake.) The beautiful song ‘Annie‘ was one of the best on his Townshend project ‘Rough Mix. After battling Multiple Sclerosis for 21 years, Lane died in 1997 at 51.

(7)Joseph Arthur (Solo, Joseph Arthur and the Astronauts)

It’s hard to describe this prolific musician other than to say he’s been writing some of the best songs of the millennium. But there seems to be a million of ’em. His latest — or probably not latest at this point — but a recent one teaming up with REM’s Peter Buck. The album, ‘Arthur Buck,’ approaches ear weevil stages at about the fourth listen. It’s good and gets better the more you listen and figure out what’s going on. Arthur has a good two decades behind him. I’ve seen him in concert a couple of times in the SF Bay Area and he’s the real deal. As I said, he has so many great songs including, ‘In the Sun,’ in which he recorded several versions, one featuring REM’s Michael Stipe and the other featuring Coldplay’s Chris Martin — all for Hurricane Katrina relief. Other songs that he’s known for include ‘Honey and Moon,’ ‘Temporary People,‘ and ‘The Smile that Explodes, ‘I Miss the Zoo‘ and ‘Say Goodbye.’ Albums include. ‘Nuclear Daydreams,’ ‘Redemption Son,’ and ‘The Ballad of Boogie Christ.’ He is well worth exploring because even if you run into songs you don’t like if you keep looking you’ll find something that will change your life — or, at least, your week. And one close to my heart, a tribute to Robin Williams.



Posted on

Vinyl Negotiations: Records I didn’t sell

If you came here from my vinyl negotiations story at AL.com you are in the right spot.

If you have read that article you know that I sold three records at a recent record show in Gardendale:  Nick Drake’s ‘Five Leaves Left;’ ‘Buckingham Nicks’; and Electric Light Orchestra’s ‘OLE with yellow/gold vinyl.

I feel like I could have stayed and sold more but I felt drained. Here’s what I didn’t sell:

Led Zeppelin ‘Houses of the Holy’ (original pressing, Broadway address, Robert Ludwig initials in dead wax). I was asking $200 and was pretty firm about that price. Several expressed interest but no offers on that.

Jimmy Buffett ‘High Cumberland Jubilee’ (an early, early Buffett album). I was asking $20 but would’ve taken $15.

Keith Whitley ‘A Hard Act to Follow.’ Near mint EP with press release and 8X10 photo. Asking $50 but would have taken $30.

Scorpions ‘Virgin Killer’ and ‘Best of Scorpions’ (I was asking $15 each but would have taken $10 each.)

Dion ‘Runaround Sue’. Cover was frayed but Laurie label record pristine. I was asking $30. Probably would have taken $20.

Tips for vinyl negotiations.

Posted on

Joseph Arthur — 602

ALBUMS: Temporary People  (2008)  Limited Edition

MVC Rating: 4.0; $$$$$

Arthur is one of my favorite artists. I feel like he has somehow channeled some of the best of my 678 vinyl records and re-created them, absorbed all their influences. Dylan, Stones, Beatles, Lou Reed, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, Small Faces, Byrds, Bad Company, Donovan, Cat Stephens, the Replacements, Violent Femmes.

Rare hand-drawn cover by Arthur for his Temporary People album

This is that  A-music artist I mentioned in my previous post that somehow got stuck in the C-section.

He has channeled a lot  of music and culled the good stuff. He copies and creates. He can write hits. He can write and perform alternative to alternative. He has, I heard, worked in a record store or was it guitar  store? Either way makes sense.

He’s so prolific, I feel like he needs to slow down.  His lyrics dip close to cliche but then swing back to poetry: I  need to smell your dad’s cigar in the ashtray as you wrote in Redemption Son. That’s concrete; it immediately brings me to where you are at. The cigar summons the ghost.

But, I mean this with all love. There’s something about his tremendous musicianship, his bass to falsetto vocal delivery. He makes beautiful and cathartic songs. I hope he finds that thing that will take it even higher.

 ‘Cause I been caught in between all I wish for and all I need’

Yes, that’s us. All of us. Good line.

I’ have lot of Arthur on digital. This is my only vinyl record of him. His body of work occurred in  the CD era, so I appreciate this album. Here’s a couple videos that only give you a glimpse. Also below is a  lyric so simple but so sad. Don’t know if it would help.

If you’re gonna leave, you should say goodbye
You should say goodbye
You should say goodbye

Counting down my 678 vinyl records before I die of brain disease.

Posted on

My Vinyl Countdown Numbers

I’m counting my 678 records down and reviewing them one by one, racing the progression of my disease, Lewy Body dementia.

As I finished off the B’s (finally) this weekend, I thought I’d give a brief update on the numbers.

I have reviewed, by my own uncertain tally, 71 albums. That means 607 to go.

My total post number is 82.  Some of those posts were not ‘countdown’ reviews but intermissions, interjections or just my impressions. (It’s all right to have a good time, it’s all right). Oops. Diversion.

Yes, the B’s were a long haul.

Headed toward my vinyl countdown

Of the 71 albums reviewed, 12 were A’s. I counted. That means there were 59 B’s. Wonder why so many B’s and so few A’s; maybe it starts with the influence of the Beatles. Only to be followed by Beat Farmers, Bongos and Bread.

So, 71 albums reviewed since Sept. 16 when I posted my first two reviews, King Sunny Ade and Aerosmith.  Back of the napkin math, I’m knocking out about  20 albums a month or 5 albums per week. (Remember this is on top of some of my other essay  attempts.For example, this post will not count as a review toward my countdown.)

So at 20 albums a month that means I’ll need about 30 more months to get to Zappa or Zevon or Zzzzzz, whomever may be waiting. I am going alphabetically by artist, realizing (now) that ultimately leaves us  in the end with a Z to A listing on the blog. Oh well, things are a little upside down anyway.

So let’s see what we see in  the C’s. I see perhaps some CCR, some CSNY,  , ample EC, and some more obscure  ones you never even heard of like Crack the Sky or Lee Clayton. But guess what, there is likely going to be a song or album or artist  on this blog that (eventually) may deliver the soundtrack of your life. That’s how much I believe in the power of music.

Brett L. https://www.flickr.com/photos/brettlider/72767718/in/photostream/

Speaking of such an album or at least a contender for being one of my favorite artists. I’m going to drop an ‘A’ album review here soon.  The  A artist, Joseph Arthur, and this unusual vinyl 2007 record called Temporary People, was misfiled. I rummage through my records quite a bit and sometimes do that. So it’s catch up time on My VInyl Countdown. The ‘new’ vinyl record given to me several years ago by my daughter Hannah and her husband Tom, who knew my fondness for Arthur. Hannah and I actually went to see him in San Francisco at the Bottom of the Hill. Before that my wife Catherine and I saw him in downtown SF, at the Great American  Music Hall, from a table at the front.

So stay tuned for that post. Meanwhile, check out this Arthur song from his earliest days as  the former Ohio native and Atlanta record store clerk does one of his early songs, which was  resurrected by Martin, the Coldplay guy, Stipe, the REM guy and Arthur to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims.

More later.