As Pearl Jam celebrate their 20th Anniversary this year with recent re-issues of their albums, another Seattle band is making some noise of their own. Last year Soundgarden regrouped after a long breakup to play some summer shows, compile the Telephantasim retrospective and release their first live album Live On I-5 (A&M).
Recorded during their last tour in 1996, this is a pretty hearty reminder that they were a dammed great band. They were the first to truly merge their alternative rock with a heavy metal foundation. They were the band that was supposed to put Seattle on the musical map, not Nirvana and definitely not Pearl Jam.
After their split in 1997 they went on their own way to solo records and collaborated with Screaming Trees, Wellwater Conspiracy, Audioslave and Smashing Pumpkins. But they never matched the success as when lead vocalist Chris Cornell and guitarist Kim Thayil got together to spearhead Soundgarden.
Standouts include “Slaves and Bulldozers,” “Fell On Black Days,” “Head Down” and “Search and Destroy.”
There really have not been that many American Idols to become well known in the record business; their claim to fame can be fleeting. Ask David Archuleta, who’s debut album opened at #2, only to be dropped by his label this past February.
Jennifer Hudson who came in sixth on her AI run is beating the odds. She received an Oscar and Golden Globe for her role in Dreamgirls. If there was a knock on her it was that her records suck. Not the case on her latest and one of the year’s best, I Remember You (Arista). Yea, that’s what I’m talking ’bout. Here’s an album that let’s a singer sing, no auto-tune and very little reverb allows us to wonder in Hudson’s vocal majesty.
That might sound like a no-brainer but you’d be amazed on how easily the obvious can be screwed up.
A hand full of producers keeps the train on the right track with big kudos to Alicia Keys and Harvey Mason Jr. Standouts include “Angel,” “Everybody Needs Love,” “Feeling Good” and my favorite on the album, the first single “Where You At.”
Wow, Jennifer Hudson and I Remember Me is yet another strong female presence on the scene joining the likes of Adele and Lucinda Williams with real strong impressive projects.
Once again blame The Beatles. When they released remastered versions of their classics in their original Mono format, there label thought no one would be interested. Of course they were wrong and they sold a ton of cds. Since then Bob Dylan followed suit and released his first six studio albums in Mono and as of last week Neil Diamond has joined the fray.
Neil Diamond: The Bang Years 1966-1968 (Sony) curiously has been released hot on the heels of his induction to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame this month. These were the first songs Diamond recorded for Bang Records right after he was fired as a staff songwriter at the famous Brill Building.
Yep, there were some hits here including “Kentucky Woman,” “Cherry Cherry,” “Thank The Lord For The Nighttime” and “Solitary Man” but nothing special, especially for that time.
I mean I recall him as the guy that made horrible records later on like “Love On The Rocks” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” Like they were the kind of records that stunk of bad after-shave. So he’s in the R&R HOF and great American innovative bands like Paul Revere and The Raiders are ignored.
That being said if you’re interested in The Bang Years other offerings include “Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” “Red Red Wine” and “I’m A Believer”, which was later claimed by The Monkees.
Speaking of The Raiders, a new set of their material has also hit the marketplace, The Essential Paul Revere & The Raiders (Legacy) is a terrific overview of arguably America’s greatest 60’s singles band.
Originating out of Portland the band has always had a more r&b-ish sound with their energetic garage rock, at a time when everybody thought the best thing was to emulate the British sound. They were a relentless group that hit
the road and worked record after record and fought and scraped there way to get air play on radio stations across the country.
Doing anything to separate themselves from countless other bands, they wore soldier uniforms and performed a complex synchronized stage show. Hard work paid off when they became a television staple on Dick Clark’s Where The Action Is, which doesn’t mean anything if you don’t come across with the goods.
In an era that was ruled by hit singles, they scored big with stuff like “Steppin’ Out,” “Just Like Me,” “Don’t Take It So Hard” and their biggest hit “Kicks” that addressed drug addiction, which back in 1966 wasn’t as commonly addressed as it is today.
Other standouts include “”Hungry,” “Good Thing,” “The Great Airplane Strike,” “Him or Me” and “Cinderella Sunshine.” The set was compiled by Bill Irwin and has a fair amount of both original stereo and mono mixes.