Review- Jesse Jones/ Jesse Jones

Jesse Jones/ Jesse Jones (Burger, 2015)

I am admittedly out of my depth reviewing this album. I picked this up because Bobby Harlow (of The Go, Conspiracy Of Owls, Magic Jake And The Power Crystals, etc.) produced it, buying it blind. Being more of a classic Rocker type, this left me scratching my head on the first spin. I always give an album three spins before I form an opinion, and I do this for two reasons. One, there have been albums that have bowled me over on the first spin but by the third I am yawning, and Two, there have been albums that went right over my head on spin one but by spin three I get it and realize what it was that the artist was trying to say and dig the shit out of it.

There are many textures and sounds that are pleasing to the ear. Jones' voice bends in a number of directions, my favorite being the Carole King direction. (Yes, I am so Metal that I can freely admit to owning Carole King albums.) Make It Spin is bizarre, bouncy and catchy while not being an obvious Pop song. It is though, at least in the traditional sense. I am sucker for Psychedelic music, and this is some trippy shit. Underneath all of the trippy table dressing you have to have songs or it is a waste of everyone's time, and this album does indeed have songs.

There are Indian or Asian scales in Prisoner's Cinema and Lady La De Da that sound very strange to my western world ears. My wife, who majored in music at one time (she has 2/3 of a music degree but switched majors way back when) was all over this album. Normally she rolls her eyes at most of what I play but dug this big time. All of this is sort of Avant Garde and a bit above my pay grade.

Twelve Hour Man is absolute genius. Think of the best big sounding early 1970s song. Pick anything off of the first Steely Dan album early Chicago, Carole King...this stands up to, if not surpasses, any of those songs. To call it bliss is an understatement. The song is a gift to the ears.

Again, I have no real reference point or a yardstick to point at for this type of music. Is it Rock? Pop? I have no idea what to call it, so let's just call it good.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into nitpicking aspects of physical media. iPod or mp3 folks can feel free to leave. Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you around. For those of you still here, I am a square and so I bought this on CD, so that is what I am reviewing here. It comes in a trifold sleeve, with the CD sliding into a pocket inside. The lyrics are all printed on the foldouts as well as the album credits. Part of me wishes that I bought it on vinyl, and maybe I will grab it on vinyl too. Who knows. 

Review- John Krautner/ Fun With Gum Vol. 1

John Krautner/ Fun With Gum Vol. 1 (Burger, 2015)

Bobby Harlow and John Krautner of The Go are like the Lennon and McCartney of Detroit Rock. Since Bobby produced this album it would be like if John Lennon produced Paul McCartney's solo debut. As The Go progressed John's songs became more bubble gum oriented, so it should come as no surprise that that sound is played to the hilt here.

The songs are short and sweet and to the point. Much like The Go, John doesn't waste any time. If something doesn't work toward the goal of the song it is thrown out. I have always been of the mindset to leave them begging for more rather than screaming for mercy. You should want to play an album again as soon as it's done, not be glad that you endured the length of it. This album flies by and you want to play it again as soon as it's finished.

I Need Sugar is one of the catchiest things John has ever done. This song has caused me to increase my sugar consumption since the first time that I heard it. I Get A Kick shares a lyrical theme with much of the rest of the album: optimism about love and/ or friendship. You might think that it's corny but there is way too much cynicism and negativity in this world. I'll take sunshine whenever I can get it. Lion Eyes and I Know What's Right would both sound at home on an earlier album by The Go. Northwood is John's love letter to the stripmall of his youth. I grew up on the opposite end of town from John, and while Northwood stands to this day my “Northwood” is now an abandoned husk with only 2 occupants and 24 empty store fronts complete with bums roaming around like zombies. Still, I spent many broke yet carefree days wandering around that place as a kid, so I can share the sentiment.

Where Is Terry? is pure Pop, in the true bubble gum sense of the word. This song, like several others, has a nostalgic bent to it lyrically. Good At The Bad Things is another great one, but Music Is the Thing is the highlight of the album. Someone once told me that music is the glue that holds memories together. I would take it a step farther and say that music is what brings people together as well. I still believe that Rock and Roll can save the world.

So after seemingly endless delays the album is out, and it is real and in my hands. I have been raving about these songs in reviews from live shows over the past year and a half or so, and now you can find out what I have been talking about all this time. Lovers of Rock and Roll rejoice...the feel good album of 2015 has arrived.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

Available at finer record stores everywhere and at Burger's website. Operators are standing by!

The OCD zone- For those of you new to this blog, this is the section where I dive into packaging elements. I am a physical media dinosaur and junkie, and the packaging is part of the experience of an album for me.

There is a card inserted that are a sort of mock trading card set. The fact that the pictures were taken in Midwest Walmart-competitor Meijer only adds to their awesomeness.

I have this on limited edition colored vinyl, which in this case is pink. Like bubble gum, get it?

Review- Judas Priest/ Defenders Of The Faith Special 30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Judas Priest/ Defenders Of The Faith Special 30^th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Columbia/ Legacy, 2015)

Original album released in 1984.

I hate my money. Absolutely hate it. Why else would I buy five copies of this album??? My first copy was on vinyl. That Christmas I got it on cassette along with my off-brand Walkman (a Sharp?). Then I of course upgraded to CD...then the 2001 remaster with bonus tracks...and now this 3 disc version. You could do worse than buying an album this awesome five times in the past three decades, but you catch my drift. 

L- Original CD release; C- 2001 remastered editon; R- New version

Judas Priest replaced Kiss as my favorite band during this time. This album blew my mind, as it was the heaviest thing that I had heard when it came out. Bear in mind that many record stores did not carry independent or import titles at this point in time, so as far as my  10-11 year old mind knew this was the heaviest thing on the planet. Aside from the unrelenting heaviness there were actual, honest-to-gosh songs underneath it all. Songs rule all. You can be heavy as all get out and if you can't remember the song five minutes after the album is over then you don't have shit.

Priest were so badass in 1984. Every single song on this album is a jam. To this day I get pumped when I listen to this, and I have played this album umpteen times in the past three or so decades (since this 30^th Anniversary edition came out 31 years later). Discs 2 and 3 capture the band at the peak of their powers, an uncompromising arena juggernaut selling out everywhere they went. What a great set it was, too. Priest always played faster than their recorded versions, and Sinner is literally done in double time from the version found on Sin After Sin. Desert Plains is another one that was worlds better live than on album. They absolutely killed it back then, as they were the best live band on the planet in the 1980s.

The remastering here sounds better than the 2001 version. While the original CD was stiff and slightly slower than the vinyl and cassette, it had the correct EQs and mix. The 2001 version swapped the right and left channels, with Glenn being on the right and KK on the left, which is of course unnatural and unholy. I got into an argument with their manager about these remasters at the time about this and the defacing of the artwork by changing the logo colors. It didn't end well for me.

Little did I know at the time that this would mark the end of the classic era of the band, with Turbo steering the band off course into mainstream waters for short term commercial success with long-term damage to their standing with the fans. This album, however, should be in the collection of any self-respecting Heavy Metal fan.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 6 out of 5.

The OCD zone: For those of you new to this site, this is the section where I dissect the packaging elements of a release. It seems that here in the brave new digital world there are two camps: one who care nothing about packaging or artwork whatsoever and the other who care about the packaging nearly as much as they do the music. I fall under the latter.

Like the 2001 remaster, they colored the logo incorrectly, this time with a blue instead of gray. The 2001 remaster was far worse, with that garish silver lettering. Still, it remains incorrectly colored and this bothers me. They also changed the placement of the logo, with it being closer in appearance to the T-shirts from this tour. Art is abandoned and never finished, or so the saying goes. Priest should have left the artwork as it was when the album was finished in 1984.

Other packaging elements not retained from the original release are the sleeve photo collage of the band and the lyrics from the flip-side of the sleeve (or booklet on the original CD; cassette buyers were SOL in those days).

Also, not one photo of drummer Dave Holland is in the entire package. That's ridiculous. I understand that he left the band under less than desirable circumstances and that he was convicted of rape/child molestation in 2004, but he was the drummer for the band for 10 years.

There are several live B-sides from various 7” and 12” singles from around the world that would have been the cherry topping of this otherwise delicious sundae. Maybe those will be included on the 40^th Anniversary Edition.

Review- Danny James Etc./ Pear

Danny James Etc./ Pear (Burger Records, 2015)

This album was originally released on cassette in 2013 and was available as a download for a while there. Square that I am I was unaware of this album until someone posted a Youtube clip on Facebook last month. The LP and CD did not see a release until this week, so it's kinda sorta a 2015 release I guess. It's a good thing that I don't do end of year lists, because this sort of thing would really throw me for a loop.

This album sounds like it could have come out between 1973 and 1975, one of those big-sounding “hit” albums experimenting with then-emerging funk and synthesizers in the era before Disco and Punk would change music forever. It sounds like a coked up Elton John album from his '70s heyday filtered through the 21^st century. Or maybe ELO. Smelling Ghost is one of those songs that sounds like Goodbye Yellow Brick Road era John, and that is meant as a compliment you hipster snobs.

Lydia is a great psychedelic song. That one sounds better on vinyl than on CD, as you can hear things on it that for some reason don't leap out on CD. The guitars in general sound better on the vinyl version, although the CD has more punch. Boomerang Kids sounds steeped in that early to mid-70s songcraft, back when “Pop” wasn't a dirty word.

One of my favorites is Dear Heart. I am a sucker for the early Elton John vibe, back when he had ambition and believed that he was the greatest songwriter on the planet. (That's Not) The Plan is the star of the show as far as I'm concerned. Think of Buffalo Springfield's multifaceted epic Broken Arrow...only add in cocaine and '70s excess and you're almost there. The guitar solo rules.

It's not all crooning and pop though. Lucke gets up and goes but is still catchy and has songwriting polish. There is an unlisted bonus track on both the LP and CD called Water Moccasin. I only knew the name because it showed up on my car dashboard when I played the CD (although I guess it would also show up if you put it in your computer). Now on vinyl I thought that the final song (Without Reluctance (Reprise)) was just extra long with an extended coda or whatever since I listened to it that way first. Just noting the difference in the experience of each format. It's another great song.

There is an audience for this sort of grandiose Rock out there in the basements and corner bars of the world. The trick is reaching people. Maybe someone should drive around and play it on a PA like they did in The Blues Brothers or something. With great ideas like mine success and wealth still elude me. Strange.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- For the uninitiated, this is the part where I nitpick packaging. I am a physical media dinosaur and proud of it.

LP- Super heavy cardboard with a tip-on sheet and pull out pear tab on the front. Heavyweight 180g vinyl. Weighs as much as a '60s album. Inner sleeve has a picture on one side and some lyrics on the other side. I bought the black vinyl version, as I don't trust that newfangled colored vinyl. LP comes with download code.

CD- Gatefold cardboard. CD slides into slot like a wallet, which I dislike since it will become scuffed. I won't store the CD inside of this sleeve. Inside of gatefold has the back of the album cover as well as the picture from the inner sleeve. LP cover is split between the front and back of the CD. 

Available at Burger Records. Act fast, because their print runs are usually small and things fall out of print sooner than later. Operators are standing by!

Review- Kiss/ Love Gun Deluxe Edition

Kiss/ Love Gun Deluxe Edition (Casablanca/ Mercury/ Universal, 2014; original album released 1977)

Kiss...oh how this band has bled me dry over the course of my life. This marks the eighth time that I have owned this album. My first copy on LP was a gift on my fourth birthday in 1977 (Mom, what were you thinking, putting me on this path which has led to my eternal damnation?), then a Columbia House cassette copy with a sticker label, late '70s (my Mom may have forgot to return the card on time?), eight track cartridge purchased in the '90s, a cassette copy purchased in 1987, original CD purchased in early '90s, Japanese remastered CD in LP-style card sleeve circa 1996/97, US remastered CD in 1997, and now this 2 disc Deluxe Edition. Yes, I love Kiss. Yes, I obviously hate my money, which is a prerequisite of being a member of the Kiss Army, you know. All children in the late '70s were indoctrinated by Kiss and Star Wars. So severe was the cultural penetration that it swallowed us all whole, and to this day Star Wars and Kiss remain beloved symbols of our childhood.

The main album is, of course, absolutely brilliant. While many of the OG members of the Kiss Army went AWOL during this era there were so many new fans that it would be several years before the fallout would become apparent. I know someone who saw them at Cobo Arena on the Alive! Tour in January of 1976 and he said that this was the album where he bailed. Fuck that Christine Sixteen shit. Girly music, he says. Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush, man. So spoke someone who was there at the time. I Stole Your Love, Tomorrow And Tonight, and Plaster Caster are among the greatest songs ever written. I just wish that the CD label was a replica of the original vinyl label. The reremastering doesn't sound too different from the 1997 remastering, maybe a little flatter on the EQs but nothing too noticeable. If you were not happy with the remastering before you won't be now.

Disc Two is the real draw, as we get three unreleased songs from the Love Gun sessions. Much Too Soon, a sort of Stonesy throwaway; Reputation, which would go on to become Radioactive on Gene Simmons' 1978 solo album; I Know Who You Are, which would become Living In Sin, also later found on Gene Simmons' 1978 solo album. The other demos are interesting but not essential. The Gene Simmons Radio Interview from Montreal 1977 shows that Gene Simmons has been laying his line of bull on folks for a long, long time. Love Gun (Teaching Demo) shows the inner workings of Paul's mind as he wrote the song. It is obviously sourced from a cassette but that is part of the charm, like he is sitting in a hotel room calling out chords and notes as he maps out the song in his head. Fascinating.

The three live tracks show just how “sweetened” Alive II is. We all know that Kiss did a lot of rerecording of that “live” album in the studio and that it is not at all indicative of the summer 1977 setlist. I wonder if they did any further tinkering with these here? My guess is probably. I would love to see a series of true live album from every tour released.

The packaging is one of those cardboard tri-fold digi-paks with two plastic hubs. There is a booklet with all kinds of cool pictures and notes, including the original cover pitch which was rejected. There is a magnet replica of the original popgun, which is cool. My only complaint is that the BANG is absent, whereas it is included in the booklet of the 1997 remaster.

So yeah Kiss, you got my money again. I can't wait to buy the entire catalog yet again in this deluxe format. Kill me now.

Junk Food For Thought rating- Main album: 6 out of 5. Disc Two- 4 out of 5. 

Review- The Smashing Pumpkins/ Adore Deluxe Edition Box Set

The Smashing Pumpkins/ Adore Deluxe Edition Box Set (Virgin/ Universal, 2014)

'90s nostalgia...I am not feeling it. I bought the original album the day that it came out and loved it immediately. While every late 30s/ early 40-something claims that they loved Gish and maybe Siamese Dream, the fact of the matter is that The Pumpkins could do no wrong to these people until this album came out. This album was a successful artistic experiment to me but was essentially career suicide as far as the general audience was concerned.

I tend to dislike electronic music, as it feels like a soulless shuffle of beeps and blips. The curious thing about my disdain of it is that I found this album to be highly listenable. I loathed Techno and DJs during this time. While I enjoy the Pumpkins at their rockingest, it was always the quieter interludes and dynamics which drew me to them like a moth to the flame. This album delivered it in spades. The acoustic, almost folky sound was marinated in electronics...and for my money it worked. Lyrically Corgan was pushing himself to his poetic best. Those with less ability call it pretentious. The rest of us celebrate his work while he is still alive, as all of the naysayers will when he dies.

The Rock was almost nonexistent on this album. Sure, Pug is basically an electronica version of Blue Oyster Cult's Godzilla and the guitar solo for Ava Adore was Billy Corgan's love letter to Brian May, but beyond that Rock was dead in 1998. I was a sad panda at that time. I immediately recognized the bridge of For Martha as the Mellon Collie outtake Wishing You Were Real (I had the silver back Moonraker bootleg The Mellon Collie Demos in 1996; still own it and many others). If I had a blog in 1998 these observations would have been listed after a single listen.

While the original album is remastered on Disc One (not sure why- it was recorded digitally and mixed and mastered for the CD format to begin with), it is the Mono mix on Disc Two, originally done for the vinyl release, that really made me sit up and take notice. Songs with excessive bass like Ava Adore are rendered a muddy, thuddy mess. Once Upon A Time was a revelation, though. The mono mix for that song was like hearing it again for the first time. So much better. Shame remains one of my all time favorite Pumpkins songs in mono or stereo.

I was an avid bootleg trader back in the Internet stone age. Dial up made torrents pointless, so traders burned CDs and mailed them to one another. I have had many of the unreleased songs found on Discs three through five for years. Songs like Chewing Gum and My Mistake are old favorites to me. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely thrilled to see this stuff see an official release. The 2014 remixes of songs are worthless to me, though. There are several B-sides, soundtrack songs, and EP tracks omitted from this set, any of which would have been preferred to the pointless 2014 remixes. It was cool to finally hear the Adore version of Let Me Give The World To You, as that was one of those mythical songs that never surfaced way back when. Had the band included this and released it as a single this album might not have stiffed on the charts. It is easy to say this from my armchair 16 years later. Who could predict that the band's audience wouldn't join them on the journey?

Disc Six is a live compilation. I caught the band on this tour when they played the State Theatre in Detroit in July of 1998. While I loved the different arrangements of these songs the crowd was bored to tears due to the downbeat nature of the album. They played the album in it's entirety and three songs off of Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness in radically different form. The songs from Hallowe'en 1998 at Dodger Stadium were televised as part of the Kiss Psycho Circus tour opening night special. I remember watching it, and I have a bootleg of the full Pumpkins show somewhere in my stacks of Pumpkins bootlegs.

I have yet to watch any of the DVDs that have come with any of the other five Deluxe Edition box sets, so why start now? I listen to music. If I want to watch music I will go to a concert. I am extremely old fashioned in this regard, and it comes from growing up in a house without cable and listening to music rather than watching it on MTV like all of my friends did.

This box set is quite an undertaking. Six audio CDs and one DVD in a deluxe box. The box has a foil wrapping and the cover is a different shot from the roll of the original album cover. It is presented in color here. I never realized that the woman's dress was a flower until seeing it in color. Inside are several “snapshots” and a nice booklet. The seven discs are all in individual card sleeves. You certainly get your bang for the buck here. While I own everything from this era I like comprehensive compilations too. I would have been in for an eight disc set with the remaining material B-side, EP, and soundtrack material. Maybe when Billy Corgan does the super duper duper ultra mega box in 2030...

Adore remains one of my personal favorites, possibly the greatest break up album of all time. Little did I realize that the band itself was breaking up internally at the time. I have no nostalgia for the '90s; that is for those that were too young to live it. I lived the decade and am done with it. This album still sounds good to my ears but it is not a nostalgia trip. I remain passionate about the band all of these years later and look forward to both new albums next year, and buying them again in 2031 in box set format.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5. 

Review- Duende!/ Mezcal

Duende!/ Mezcal (Bellyache Records, 2014)

I have had this for a minute but putzed around writing my review of it. Sorry but I get lazy sometimes. This seven song EP is pretty close to longplayer length in my book, but that would be for the discogs of the world to decide.

These guys move around a bit much for a square like me to follow. I can grasp the boozy tunes like One More Time and Mezcal easily enough. Devil Do is Hallowe'en music. I love the macabre aspect, as it reminds of me early '60s Hallowe'en decorations. Without divulging the secret location of their headquarters, I will say that the sound of this song reminds me of the neighbors in the house next door to Duende HQ around Hallowe'en time. This song sounds like whiskey soaked desert Rock, if that makes any sense. Like you stumble into a saloon in a ghost town on Hallowe'en and the band is playing, only later you find out that everyone in the town died a long time ago. Burn This Town is kind of long for my tastes, but your mileage vary. Mezcal is good stuff that would undoubtedly be fun live. I am going to have pack up the missus and head on out sooner than later.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Buy Duende!/ Mezcal here.

Review- Wolfmother/ New Crown

Wolfmother/ New Crown (self released, 2014)

Patience is a virtue. When Wolfmother released their new album exclusively on iTunes this spring I held off, hoping for a real factory pressed compact disc. The band finally announced LP and CD releases for sale exclusively on their website in August so I jumped on it. Six weeks later it finally arrived from Australia.

Wolfmother is a band that has had and lost it all. Their first album went gold within a year and their second showed them the cruel indifference of major record labels. High band member turnover and being left without a label resulted in this fully independently funded and released album. New Crown is the sound of a band who had the world and lost it, finding itself in a life and death struggle to get it back. Desperation breeds greatness.

I will be storing the CD in a case to prevent further scuffing of the disc.

Everything that made Wolfmother great is present on this new album. The production, and I use the word loosely, is a wonderful sloppy mess. The mix is off, drums are buried, bass is too loud or too quiet...I honestly enjoy the slapdash sound of this album. Wolfmother should let some producers who really know how to make good shitty sounding music have a crack at them. Greatness would ensue.

The song New Crown is too long and dull in the middle part. A producer applying a razor blade to the arrangement could have fixed that. Feelings is very Punkish. Wolfmother is not a Punk band. They studied at the altar of the elder gods, the Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, and Deep Purple. Punk was the antithesis of this. Once we destroyed the elder gods and Punk Rock made anyone a “Rock star” the world stopped believing in Rock and Roll. Think about it. People still worship the elder gods, but how many Rock bands over the past 35 years are on par with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or Led Zeppelin? The bar has been lowered so far that bands trip over it. Wolfmother always seemed to aim higher than this, and so this song was a disappointment to me, the weak link of an otherwise strong chain.

Tall Ships is a jam, one of those hypnotic things that accesses the part of your brain and makes you move without really wanting to. I call these types of songs snake charmer music. Plus any song that has an organ solo is tops in my book. Tangerine Dream is sweet. Layers upon layers upon layers of distortion. The name is obviously taken from the electronic music band, even if the sound is not. Record collectors looking for the mother of all challenges should track down the entire Tangerine Dream catalog like my friend did some twenty odd years ago. You will have a nervous breakdown trying to piece the complete catalog of over one hundred releases together.

Wolfmother's greatest strength has always been their ability to write songs and then heap tons of distortion on top of them. Underneath that wall of sound there are memorable, hummable tunes. So many bands miss this point when it should be the first thing that clicks for them. You can look cool or be faux-artsy but if you can't remember the song when you are walking down the street then the songs that you write aren't worth a shit.

I can hardly believe that it has been five years between albums. My daughter was a newborn when Cosmic Egg was released and entered kindergarten this fall, to give you a point of reference. I hope that she isn't entering middle school by the time the next one is released.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5

The OCD zone- The packaging is a card sleeve with a slit on the top and that's it. The CD comes out of it scratched and beat to Hell the very first time you pull it out, which is ridiculous. If bands insist on doing these cheap cost saves then I insist that you at least have a paper insert sleeve. CD buyers value their stuff as much as vinyl buyers do. I am happy to have a physical release. 

Review- King Tuff/ Black Moon Spell

King Tuff/ Black Moon Spell (SubPop, 2014)

Be forewarned- the opening riff on Black Moon Spell is a threat to your speaker's mid-range. Not since Metallica's Kill 'Em All has the mid-range been pushed so far into the red. Proceed with caution lest you desire your speakers to become confetti. This album is produced by Bobby Harlow of The Go, and his greasy pizza fingerprints are all over this beast.

The Rock is pushed to the front here. Those with an aversion to fun and life would do well to avoid this album like the plague, as the result of a listen straight through is a good time. King Tuff treats Rock and Roll like a buffet spread, grabbing bits from this and from that and making it into a stew where the ingredients become almost indistinguishable. I can pinpoint where bits come from but this is more gut and less cerebral, so it is best to just punch the gas and go with it. Madness and Demon From Hell will sound as great live as they do when you are blowing yellow lights.

Eyes Of The Muse is “the hit” to my ears, all fish hooks to the brain, a radio hit in the 1974 of Counter Earth. Staircase Of Diamonds reminds of Billion Dollar Babies-era Alice Cooper. It's incredible. Many of King Tuff's reference points are that sort of early '70s Rock, the time before Rock started taking itself so goddamn seriously and forgot to breathe. Eddie's Song is probably the most reminiscent of King Tuff's earlier albums, the sped up, amped up boogie that makes me happy. Nobody likes to boogie anymore. Everyone should clap and dance and stop trying to look so cool at shows. If you are concerned with how you look at a show then you are doing it wrong.

The best way to describe this is “Loser Rock”. King Tuff isn't the guy who was popular on the homecoming court and got laid in high school. He was the guy that you cut sixth period with only to realize that you only have three bucks between the two of you and you decided to blow it on video games anyways. The popular kids get old and unpopular while the losers are still happy blowing their last three bucks on something fun. The meaning of life can be found within the grooves of this album if you are worthy.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Those of you who just wandered in, pull up a chair. This is the part where I talk about the album's packaging. MP3 people, thanks for stopping by, it's been real. The rest of us who still dig physical media, welcome.

I bought this on CD. While the LP has a Loser Edition available, I believe that the CD is the real loser edition. All of the cool kids have their records and tapes while the rich kids have their iPods and phones, leaving us squares at the CD table at the music party. Hey, where is everybody? Plenty of seats over here. Anyone? Oh well.

The case is a gatefold card sleeve with an inner sleeve to protect the CD from scratches, providing me with a lifetime of PURE LISTENING ENJOYMENT when handling my CD from the edge and placing it directly in it's case upon completion. The crystal ball is a foil stamp, which is way cool. There is some additional foil stamping on the inside of the gatefold as well as on the back cover. 

Review- Queen/ Live At The Rainbow '74

Queen/ Live At The Rainbow '74 (Hollywood, 2014)

This is the holy grail, two soundboard recordings from 40 years ago. I bought the standard consumer edition 2 CD set, although there are a number of other configurations available (single CD, 4 LP set, Blu-Ray, DVD, etc.) Disc One is taken from the Queen II tour stop at the Rainbow in London, England in March of 1974. The band was on fire, with everything played punchier and rocking much harder than the recorded versions of those songs. While Queen thrived with studio magic they could cut the mustard live and go toe to toe with any heavyweight band of the era, even Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath.

The track Guitar Solo would come to be known as part of Brighton Rock, as it is the guitar break from that song. It was already nearly fully formed here and would be recorded for the Sheer Heart Attack album later that summer. Why they broke up Son And Daughter into three separate tracks makes no sense. This solo fits neatly into the middle, but I guess if you really hate two and a half minute guitar solos you could hit skip and go right back into the song. They did the same thing with the song Drum Solo, splitting Keep Yourself Alive into three tracks. That one is even more asinine, as the drum part is merely a more fleshed out version of the fill toward the end of the recorded version and clocks in at around 30 seconds. This is repeated for both of these songs on Disc Two.

There are some non-album songs here, the encore Jailhouse Rock/ Stupid Cupid/ Be Bop A Lula medley and the B-side/1991 Queen II reissue bonus track See What A Fool I've Been. While the solos and reprises are given individual track numbers there are in reality only 12 songs here not counting recorded intro Procession. The set is split neatly with five songs off of each of their albums, the cover medley, and a B-side.

I have never seen Queen live and would have killed to be at this show, or any Queen show for that matter. Freddie Mercury was brilliantly playful with the way that he worked the crowd, all wink and no machismo like so many bands of the era. Roger Taylor kills it on drums and is criminally underrated. His and Brain May's backing vocals rule. This is an absolutely brilliant performance.

Disc Two was from their triumphant homecoming show at the same venue some eight months later. The band seemed more cocksure and seemed to put slightly less effort into impressing the audience, with their place in their hearts seemingly assured by this point. Tempos were slowed a pinch, being closer to the albums, while the then-new material off of Sheer Heart Attack was so different from the first two albums that the set didn't seem to flow quite as well. If I had to pick one show of the two I would go with the one on Disc One. Having said that, I would have been thrilled to witness the show captured live on Disc Two (Sides 5-8 for you vinyl people following at home). This era was the beginning of the shift that would turn Queen into a worldwide household name. One can only hope that this is the beginning of more archival live sets. I know that I would buy them all.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- For those of you who just walked in, this is the part where I dissect the packaging of a product. Those who buy mp3s and eBooks may be scratching their heads and thinking who cares, but to those of us who still value physical media this has some merit. The digipak has a trifold with a full hub for each disc. The booklet slides into the middle. This is a really nice package at this price point. 

Review- Chris Robinson Brotherhood/ Phosphorescent Harvest

My copy does not have the oval with logo on it. 

Chris Robinson Brotherhood/ Phosphorescent Harvest (Silver Arrow, 2014)

It seems that if Chris Robinson is not touring (either solo or with The Black Crowes) then he is recording new material. I kid you not, this is the CRB's third LP in just under two years...and that is with this band being mothballed for 2013 while The Black Crowes were reactivated.

This album is a different beast than the two-headed monster that was Big Moon Ritual and The Magic Door. Those were two sides of the same coin, whereas this album is slicker and fresher sounding, easily the most produced thing that Chris has been a part of since Lions. Like the other CRB albums, there are plenty of songs that sink into your brain and sort of stick there. Badlands Here We Come is great. Many of these songs have been road tested over the years.

Phosphorescent Harvest is less rocking and more psychedelic than either of their previous albums, with songs like Clear Blue Sky & The Good Doctor shifting between choruses and quieter interludes. These songs sprawl on album and it will be interesting to see how far off the rails they go live. Tornado is a reworked version of The Black Crowes song, which seems to be something of a trend for this band. Jump The Turnstiles erupts into full blown '70s stadium Rock at around the 5 minute mark. They should have cut that song in half and kept that part for another tune.

The album proper ends with Burn Slow, a melancholy tune clocking in at over seven minutes. I enjoyed the layered sound of this album, as it was a stark contrast to the sweaty vibe of the first two albums. I bought this on CD, and it includes the bonus instrumental track Humboldt Windchimes. Vinyl buyers get this song and one additional song not on the CD or digital versions. The vinyl version has been recalled due to a manufacturing error which resulted in extreme surface noise on the first LP. (It is a 2 LP + 7” w/ 2 bonus track set). The CD comes in a LP-style cardboard sleeve complete with a cardboard inner sleeve and a decal.

The most interesting, and maddening, thing about the packaging is that nowhere on the CD, not on the cover, the spine, the disc, or the inner sleeve is the album title provided. When archaeologists in the 23^rd century are digging through the remnants of civilization and they encounter this CD it will be a source of academic debate as to what to call this album. Kidding aside, this is a great album that has made the world seem right, if only for a bit.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Review- The Beatles/ The U.S. Albums

The Beatles/ The U.S. Albums (Capitol, 2014)

I hate my money. Fucking hate it. There is no other explanation why I do this shit to myself. I have bought these albums multiple times in multiple configurations, but was only too happy to do it again. Why? Because I am mentally ill and I hate my money. Allow me to explain.

I own the original CD releases, but was always a sad panda that they were the UK versions and not the versions that my older brother played endlessly when we shared a room growing up. Beatles '65 will always kick Beatles For Sale's ass in my opinion. Imagine my delight when The Capitol Albums Vol. 1 box set was released in 2004 to cash in on The Beatles' fortieth anniversary of invading America. This delight continued when The Capitol Albums Vol. 2 box set was released in 2005. While I was dismayed that A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and The Beatles' Story were omitted from these collections I was pleased as punch by the real fake US stereo sound.

Word of this box hit me like a ton of bricks. Wait, you mean that I have to buy all of these again to get A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), The Beatles' Story, Yesterday And Today, the US version of Revolver, and Hey Jude on CD? No, they were releasing these all as individual discs. Hooray! Except for the fact that they were issuing the infamous butcher cover for Yesterday And Today exclusively in this box set. Motherfucker! You greedy bastards got me again! I decided to eat a hamburger in protest of this and then pre-ordered this box set. 160 bucks that I will never see again.

The worst part of all of this? While the packaging of the original US LPs is flawlessly reproduced (including authentic first pressing paper sleeves) on dull matte cardstock, the UK mixes from the 2009 remasters are substituted for the “real” fake US stereo mixes found on the two aforementioned CD box sets. What does this mean? It means that OCD completism wins again! USA! USA! What it means for the fan who didn't buy those boxes but picked this one up is that most of the American elements that you would buy these albums for are missing. Here is what you won't find in this box set, to the best of my ability. Beatles experts can likely find a few more flaws, but this is what I came up with:

Meet The Beatles- 9 of the 12 mono tracks have UK mixes, while 10 of the 12 are stereo versions are the US ones.

The Beatles' Second Album is stripped of the original Capitol reverb. Buy The Capitol Albums Vol. 1 box set for the real deal on CD. Every single album has variances from the original US versions. Just buy those boxes now before they go out of print and spare yourself an aneurism. Help! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is 100% wrong for the non-instrumental tracks. It is presented in a correct gatefold sleeve here at least.

A Hard Day's Night (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), like all of the early albums, includes the mono and stereo mixes. Problem is, there was no stereo version of this album, aside from the instrumental tracks! So you get a free stereo mixtape from the 2009 remasters I guess. The mono is spot on though.

Yesterday And Today contains five of the eight unique US stereo and mono mixes while curiously omitting the original US duophonic mixes of I'm Only Sleeping, Doctor Robert, And Your Bird Can Sing. Doctor Robert in mono is the original US mono mix but cuts off Lennon's spoken word outro. The 1987 remixes for the original CD pressings are used on Act Naturally, Yesterday, Drive My Car, What Goes On, and If I Needed Someone are used rather than the 1965 ones.

Revolver is correct as far as I can tell. Hey Jude has the proper US stereo. Paperback Writer had reversed channels on the original US release but has the correct/wrong UK ones here. The Ballad Of John and Yoko has the ending slightly faded. This album was originally called Beatles Again, and as such should have been labeled that here. Or maybe they could have included a sticker of that as well.

The box itself is quite nice. Each mini-LP style card sleeve comes in a resealable plastic sleeve. Each CD has a clear plastic sleeve to protect it from scratches going in and out of the cardstock sleeve. There are also replica paper sleeves that you could use if you dared.

A handful of songs throughout the box have curious, unknown to me mixes that sound like neither the US nor UK versions. I defer judgment to more qualified Beatles experts on a lot of this stuff. It is daunting compiling these lists. I despise the fact that these CDs don't automatically load the name on my car CD player. I can burn CDs that do that, why can't Capitol do this in 2014? Cripes. It's annoying to me. Not as annoying as wasting time comparing this CD to that or reading a hundred reviews and compiling a consensus of Beatles experts, but pretty damn annoying nonetheless.

All of this aside, the bottom line is The Beatles still rule. Yesterday And Today is the best Capitol designed album. And Beatles '65 will always kick Beatles For Sale's ass.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.