CD Odyssey Disc 111: Soundtrack

At this point I would like to remind you, dear reader, that not all the music in this collection is mine - some of it belongs to Sheila. So it is with this album. However, in the interests of full disclosure, I'll admit I enjoyed it.

Disc 111 is...Les Miserables

Artist: Original Broadway Cast

Year of Release: 1986

How I Came To Know It: I never gave musicals a second look, so it was Sheila who introduced me to this music. In fact, I went with her to see it at (insert voice of James Earl Jones) "The Ford Centre for the Performing Arts" in Vancouver. It was pretty fun, but didn't hook me on musicals.

How It Stacks Up: I have over 20 soundtracks, but we only have four musicals. Of the four, I'll say that critically, "Les Miserables" is by far the best, but it is only my second favourite (I have a secret guilty pleasure - but more on that when I roll it).

Rating: 3 stars.

At times on this album, I found myself wondering why all the characters felt the compulsion to sing everything. Oh, right - it is a musical; that's what they do. Not really my thing.

Having said that, as musicals go, this one is pretty strong. The music is catchy and rousing, and the singing is very strong. I mean, really strong - like these people could be on Broadway! Oh, right - they are on Broadway.

Anyway, this is a musical adaption of Victor Hugo's novel about revolutionary France. Everyone knows the basic story - there is a criminal named Jean Valjean, and he reforms himself, but is still pursued by his over-zealous jailor Javert. Along the way, Valjean takes in a dying prostitute's daughter (Cosette) and raises her as his own. Hilarity ensues (OK - not that last part).

Later there is some sort of love triangle between a grown Cosette, a revolutionary named Marius and another woman pining for Marius named Eponine. It gets a little complicated (Sheila had to explain it to me in the car three times) but the important thing to remember is this: The love story is like the story of Frodo and Sam in Mordor. It's boring, but it keeps up the dramatic tension for the more entertaining stuff, which is the struggle between Jean Valjean and Javert.

The music is strong throughout, with a gloriously bombastic end to the first half, which goes out with the martial "Red and Black" and the idealistic "Do You Hear the People Sing." I like these lines from the latter:

"Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the songs of angry men
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again
When the beating of the drums
Matches the beating of your heart
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes."

I really enjoyed listening to this in the car, although it is a little overlong. I wasn't even embarassed at stoplights, although I suppose I could've been.

A closing note that while I have yet to read the original Hugo novel, there is a good film adaptation from about 10 years ago staring Liam Neeson as Jean Valjean and Geoffrey Rush as Javert. Both are brilliant, and the movie is worth a watch.

The musical is worth a listen, too, even though the characters insist on singing all their lines.

Best tracks: Red and Black, Do You Hear the People Sing

Figurine: Half-Elf Bard and the Blackhearts

After painting that Lord of Chaos figure, it was a relief to get a regular sized figure for a change. This one is a half-elf bard. Because her guitar looked so rock n' roll, I was inspired to do her like a famous female guitar player. It came down to Lita Ford, Liz Phair and Joan Jett.

Lita's hair was too poofy to look right on this figure, and Liz's guitar was too boring to paint - so I went with Joan Jett, which sort of inspired me from there. Note the funky backdrop - that's a picture of Jett's actual guitar!


She is a total babe - even has a 'misplaced' lock of hair across her face. Here she is from behind:

And here's a shot of her with a backdrop of the picture I used for inspiration.

This figure was frustrating in places, and what should have been a relatively simple piece ended up with a lot of touch-ups and do-overs, but I think she turned out OK.

Next up - an owl! That's right, just a plain old owl. I hope it turns out better than the prairie falcon I painted a while back.

CD Odyssey Disc 110: Gordon Lightfoot

It has been a while since I invoked the rarely used Rule #5 in the CD Odyssey (allowing automatic review of a newly purchased CD). I have bought quite a few since starting, but I just prefer the random element. Mostly I just listen to new discs at least three times, then leave them in a "new" section for a while, and then file them and wait to roll them.

I am reviewing this one because a) I had just reviewed a bad Lightfoot compilation at Disc 107 and I had just reviewed a CD with a thoughtful whale song on it at Disc 109. Given these facts, and my rekindled excitement with Gordon Lightfoot (I bought four of his albums last weekend), it seemed a natural fit.

Disc 110 is...Don Quixote

Artist: Gordon Lightfoot

Year of Release: 1972

How I Came To Know It: I have known most old Gordon Lightfoot since I was a kid through "Gord's Gold". This is me finally collecting all of his studio albums - and I bought this one alongside 3 others ("Cold On the Shoulder", "Summer Side of Life" and "Endless Wire").

How It Stacks Up: Of the four I bought last weekend, "Don Quixote" is the best. Overall, I now have nine of Lightfoot's studio albums, and hungry for more. I think "Don Quixote" is probably the best of the nine (although "Old Dan's Records" might be its equal). Also it has, hands down , the coolest picture of Gord on the cover.

Rating: 5 stars.

Canadian folk simply doesn't get better than Gordon Lightfoot, and "Don Quixote" is Gord at his best.

This album came out in 1972, right in the height of Gord's ability. I love the raw sound of his voice and guitar in his sixties work, but by 1972 he has really honed in on his own unique sound. "Don Quixote" is blessed with simple, but beautifully toned production. Gord's voice sounds powerful, yet seemingly in a state of perpetual reverie. It draws you in, and speaks to you gently, but firmly about stuff that is important to Gord, and makes it important to you.

At the same time, his guitar has that signature sound, a playful plucking that perfectly matches the mood set by his voice.

This album is stacked with songs that many of us know, the most famous of which is the title track "Don Quixote". As a kid I absolutely loved this song, and knew all the words, even if I didn't quite get all the social commentary until later in life.

"Don Quixote" is one of the most singularly recognizeable folk songs in existence - and as the first notes strike you instantly know what you're hearing. At the same time, the lyrics are a beautiful mixture of themes.

On the one hand, Gord paints the story of a character that was traditionally comical, and makes him instead a tragic hero. At the same time, Lightfoot then takes Don Quixote's willingness to fight the unwinnable fight, and turns it into an anthem for the struggle of the common man as he rails against injustice. Here's one of my favourite parts:

"I have come o'er moor and mountain, like the hawk upon the wing
I was once a shining knight, who was the guardian of a king
I have searched the whole world over, looking for a place to sleep
I have seen the strong survive and I have seen the lean grown weak

See the children of the earth, who wake to find the table bare
See the gentry in the country, riding off to take the air

Reaching for his saddlebag, he takes a rusty sword into his hand
Then striking up a knightly pose, he shouts across the ocean to the shore
Til he can shout no more."

It is a beautiful song that I have somehow been unable to overplay despite a ridiculous amount of listens.

Remember - this is only the album's first song. There are 10 more, and while not all as strong, many are close.

I am particularly fond of "Christian Island", a song about Gord on his boat, telling the story of sailing during the summer, and then tying back up in the lee of Christian Island at the end of the season. It is a song that says summertime, and reminds us to enjoy the little things.

"Tall and strong she slips along
I sing for her a song
And she leans into the wind
She's a good old boat and she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
When the summer ends we will rest again
In the lee of Christian Island"

At this point, we are only two songs in.

The album shows great emotional range - the activism of "Don Quixote" and "The Patriots' Dream" are balanced by relatively gentle travel songs like "Christian Island" and "On Susan's Floor". I like Gord in his mournful and dark side as well.

For this, I really enjoy "Second Cup of Coffee", where Gord sings about hard memories, and the hard liquor he uses to soften them:

"I'm on my second cup of coffee and I still can't face the day
I'm thinking of the lady who got lost along the way
And if I don't stop this trembling hand from reaching for the phone
I'll be reaching for the bottle Lord, before this day is done"

"Ode to Big Blue" tells the story of a blue whale, a century old, that has escaped the whalers harpoons all those years. Lightfoot paints a picture with equal majesty and dignity that he gives the old knight in "Don Quixote", but expands his message from how we treat each other, to how we treat the world.

In closing, this album has some of the most memorable folk music I own, by one of my all time favourite artists. If you are only going to own one Gordon Lightfoot album you could play it safe and get Gord's Gold, but that is so obvious. Get this instead, and be just as happy.

Best tracks: Don Quixote, Christian Island, Alberta Bound, Ode to Big Blue, Second Cup of Coffee, On Susan's Floor (the other four are pretty good as well)

CD Odyssey Disc 109: Pearl Jam

When is a compilation of songs not a "best of"? When is making a double album instead of a single one excusable? When does a record with 30 songs somehow avoid an automatic downgrade? Answer: when it is this album.

Disc 109 is...Lost Dogs

Artist: Pearl Jam

Year of Release: 2003, but with music from 1991-2002.

How I Came To Know It: I am a big Pearl Jam fan, and when this came out I snapped it up.

How It Stacks Up: This is an odd album. It isn't a normal studio album, since it is a compilation of all the songs that didn't quite make Pearl Jam's albums over the years. At the same time, you can't call a bunch of previously unreleased songs a "best of", so I think this one is going to get a pass. And a grade. And a passing grade. Of my ten Pearl Jam albums, I'd say this one ranks about 6th - meaning a bunch of rejected songs piled together is superior to at least four of their other albums.

Rating: Lost Dogs is two discs. Disc one is a solid 4 stars. Disc Two is weaker, probably a solid 3 stars. However, Disc one is that much more solidly four, so I'm going to go with 4 stars overall.

I often speak in hyperbole when I am talking about Pearl Jam, which over the years has grown into one of my favourite bands.

"Lost Dogs" is a good example why. As I noted above, this is a record that is principally a bunch of tracks that for one reason or another did not make it onto their earlier albums. In addition there are a few "one offs" that the band did for benefit concerts or albums (like the "Music For Our Mother Ocean" series).

Given the quality of the material here, it is hard to understand how these songs ever got left of, until you remember the strength of the tracks that were initially included.

This two volume set has 30 songs, which is too many by far, admittedly. I am giving this excess a rare pass this time for two reasons.

Firstly, this album is about songs that got left off of previous albums. It seems equally excessive to do that to some of them twice. Who knows what self-destructive behaviour these songs would turn to if they were rejected again? Even the runts of this litter deserve a chance.

Secondly, despite the size of the litter, there aren't many runts in here. There is easily 15 tracks equal to anything the band has done elsewhere, maybe as many as 20.

I also appreciate how the liner notes for these tracks are laid out. A little background for each song. Nothing excessive, sometimes describing the sound or the inspiration, and sometimes discussing how they ended up getting cut. The notes also indicate which specific album each song was rejected from - allowing you to compare them with what did make it.

I was particularly interested to see what was left off some of Pearl Jam's weaker albums, like "No Code" or "Binaural". Songs like "All Night", "Education" and "Black, Red, Yellow" are flat out better than some of the content that made it on.

I recently made a double album of my own "best of" Pearl Jam (I am old-school "mixed CD" kind of guy). At the final cut, five "Lost Dogs" actually made the list, compared with two songs from "No Code" and only a single track from "Binaural" (Ironically, the single track was "Insignificance").

Other highlights include the remake of "Gremmie Out of Control" which is a surfer-guitar track. When I first heard it, I thought it was about a guy driving a Gremlin - then I learned that a Gremmie is a surf-term for a doofus surfer who is never welcome at the beach. As the song says,

"His board is always full of dings
'cause he's always doing stupid things."

I also dig the mournful, yearning tone of "Yellow Ledbetter." A song where I still have no idea what is going on, despite repeated listens. Looking in my handy liner notes I read the following from Mike McCready:

"Eddie started making up words on the spot and we kept them. I still don't know what it's about and I don't want to!"

Umm...unhelpful, Mike.

And although not musically one of my favourites, I love this line from "Whale Song"

"They won't fight back - I'm sure they know how."

To me, that's a pretty good sum up of whales. We're shocked when they kill someone - Pearl Jam points out that we should be shocked when they don't.

Anyway, I'm glad most of these lost dogs - and whales - found their way unharmed to my CD shelf. They'll get plenty of play time to make up for all those years unloved.

Best tracks: All Night, Down, Alone, Education, Black Red Yellow, Gremmie Out of Control, Hold On, Yellow Ledbetter, Dirty Frank

CD Odyssey Disc 108: Megadeth

The Islands of Bad Production behind us, it was time to take a sharp turn from folk back to metal.

Disc 108 is...So Far, So Good...So What!
Artist: Megadeth

Year of Release: 1988

How I Came To Know It: Sheila bought me this album for my birthday, knowing that I had enjoyed "Peace Sells" (which I reviewed way back at Disc 8).

How It Stacks Up: I only have two Megadeth albums, but I'll probably get a third at some point. Of the two, this is the weaker one.

Rating: 3 stars.

Once again Megadeth delivers a great album name. Nothing so aptly sums up Dave Mustaine's nihilistic world view like "So Far, So Good...So What!" Having said that, if I were naming this album I think I'd punctuate with a period - the exclamation point is a bit much. Ah, the exclamation point - so often abused. And for what! For what!?!

But I digress...

This album is principally known for the remake of the Sex Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK". As remakes go, this is a pretty good one, and I actually prefer it to the original (I'm not much of a Sex Pistols fan, though).

I also really love the music in "In My Darkest Hour" which really puts Mustaine's ability to write killer guitar licks on display. Just don't listen to the lyrics, which are not just awful, but bordering on pathetic. Mustaine comes off as a sullen teenager who has just been dumped by his girfriend. "First Metallica, and now this? How much rejection can I squeeze into these tight jeans?" OK - that's not a lyric from the song, but it might as well be.

While the best songs on this album aren't as good as those on "Peace Sells" I think the overall quality of the songs might actually be a bit higher through the lesser tracks. For this reason I gave it a three as well.

The production on this CD is excellent and arguably better than "Peace Sells", although it is another remastered album where the artist felt the need to add a bunch of extra tracks. In this case, the extra tracks are four songs ("Into the Lungs of Hell", "Set the World Afire", "Mary Jane" and "In My Darkest Hour") redone with the "Paul Lani Mix".

Frankly, the "Paul Lani Mix" doesn't sound noticeably different from the original mix, and yet fully half of the albums eight tracks get this treatment. It is excessive.

Anyway, this album isn't an all time classic, but it has its moments.

Best tracks: Anarchy In the UK, In My Darkest Hour

CD Odyssey Disc 107: Gordon Lightfoot

Wow - another album, another bout of the Production Blues. This time I was seriously irked, as it was at the expense of one of my all-time music heroes.

Disc 107 is...Gord's Gold Volume II

Artist: Gordon Lightfoot

Year of Release: 1988

How I Came To Know It: I've known Gordon Lightfoot all my life, having grown up with the original "Gord's Gold" which was a staple in my Mom's collection. I bought this album back in the late eighties/early nineties when I was looking for "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and couldn't find the studio album that had it. Incidentally, that album is "Summertime Dream" which I now have - but that's not our subject today.

How It Stacks Up: This is a "best of" and they don't stack up. However I have three different Gordon Lightfoot "best ofs" and this is the worst of the three. I also have five studio albums which I am really looking forward to reviewing (and this weekend it is my intent to add to this collection).

Rating: I don't rate best ofs, dammit. That is the way of it, here at "A Creative Maelstrom" and that is the way it is gonna stay!

This album is by one of the three greats of Canadian singer/songwriters, Gordon Lightfoot. The other two are Leonard Cohen and Neil Young. Recently Cohen's song "Hallelujah" stole the show at the Olympic opening, and Neil Young was by far the best part of the closing ceremonies. Lightfoot was third man out, unfortunately.

Like Cohen and Young, Lightfoot isn't getting any younger, and in fact there was a recent hoax where for about 4 hours I thought he had died. Later it was revealed to be one of his friends engaging in a prank that got out of hand (nice to see Gord is still pushing the envelope). I was seriously depressed thinking he was gone, and I realized how sad I am going to be the day the headline is true for any of those guys. I am fearful it won't be long we'll start to lose them, and we won't see their like again.

Anyway, before I get all maudlin, back to the album.

Although not well known, Gord doesn't just do best of records. He will often re-record all the songs when he puts it together - no original recordings. He did this with "Gord's Gold" as well. In some cases the songs sound quite a bit different from the original as a result.

This can be a good thing - "Gord's Gold" is a quality "best of" album. Frankly, it is one of the best compilations in my collection, and not least of which because the songs sound fresh.

Unfortunately, Volume II's production is about as nice as the sweater Gord is wearing on the album cover. Recorded in 1988, it is solidly in Lightfoot's mumbly-contemporary phase.

Not that I always object to this phase - in fact I even have a soft spot for 1986's "East of Midnight" which is definitely a departure many fans didn't appreciate.

Unfortunately, most of the tracks on "Gord's Gold Vol. II" are done with an earlier production in mind. Consequently the songs just don't suit themselves to "Ambient Guitar Mumble-Sing" (This style is surprisingly tolerable on "East of Midnight.").

So, while I admire Lightfoot's efforts to re-imagine his older songs when he compiles them, in this case he only accomplishes making them sound bad. That isn't to say this album is bad - the songs themselves are strong enough to survive any production. Lightfoot does his level best to ruin them, but only partially succeeds.

In fact, even the bad re-imagining of "Wreck of the Edmund Fitgerald" had me choking up when I heard these lines:

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd've made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind 'em."

Tough stuff - and this song should be required listening to anyone who calls themselves a Canadian. Just listen to it on "Summertime Dream" where it sounds like it is supposed to.

Of course, Gord would say when he played it the first way, that's how he wanted it, and when he played it the second way, that's how he wanted it as well. Fair enough, Gord - it's your song, I'm not going to argue over it. Besides, even at age 72 I am fairly certain you could still kick my ass if I pressed the issue.

For now, I'll keep this album - of the eighteen tracks I only have seven on other albums. However, once I reach at least ten, I'm going to let her go and free up space on the CD rack.

Best tracks: There are lots of good tracks on this record - and I heartily recommend you find them in their originally recorded versions.

CD Odyssey Disc 106: U2

Admittedly it is hard to follow up Black Sabbath's first record, but I think it could've gone a lot better than this.

Disc 106 is...How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

Artist: U2

Year of Release: 2004

How I Came To Know It: I was a big fan of the album preceding this one (All That You Can't Leave Behind) and so quickly bought this one when it came out.

How It Stacks Up: This album is all that you can leave behind. I have seven of U2's studio albums (plus one "best of" previously reviewed). This one is 7th of the seven studio albums.

Rating: 2 stars.

First off, I'll freely admit I haven't given this album many listens in the six years since I rushed out to buy it. I've probably listened to it about seven or eight times in those six years - and three of those are when I bought it, and two more was the last two days. So, maybe I haven't given it all the time it needs. I did enjoy it more the second time around on this listen.

Then again, if an album doesn't grab you after three listens, is it ever going to grab you? I doubt it - and this album certainly hasn't grabbed me.

It isn't that it is offensive - the music is passable enough, but nothing really jumps out at you. It is the worst kind of music - kind of an OK groove in the background, but that refuses to catch your attention.

Case in point - I am listening to it right now (for the third time) to try to pick out which are the best songs for the end of this review. But I just realized I'm four tracks in, and can't remember what I've already heard - and two of the songs that are already over "Vertigo" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own", are singles!

Stylistically, "HTDAAB" (I'm not typing the album title over and over again) picks up where 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind" ends. Somehow it can't make it on its own, and never finds the same magic. All the elements are there - Bono can still sing, the band can still play, and they seem to still be feeling it, but all the parts don't come together. It all just comes off competent but OK - and that's not rock and roll.

The hit song "Vertigo" just sounds to me like a bad version of "Elevation", and the atmospheric ""Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" while good, sounds like a less interesting version of "Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of."

This is a good time to note that U2 needs to stick to titles of five words or less. Like how about "Sometimes" and "Stuck in a Moment" for those two. Some of the most famous poems in the world are actually "untitled" - take a lesson, U2!

But I digress...

To get back to the point, when a record has good fundamentals, and good writing, but doesn't move you - it is often the production that is in question. It is worth noting that "All That You Can't Leave Behind" was produced by Daniel Lanois - one of the great pop/rock producers of our time. "HTDAAB" was produced by...some other guy. Let's call him "not Daniel Lanois". Note to U2 - next time, call Daniel. You'll also remember him from such albums as "The Unforgettable Fire", "The Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby". Call him and pay him what he asks for - you're rich, you can afford it.

Best tracks: Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Crumbs From Your Table

Figurine: Lord of the End Times

I finally finished painting another figurine. This one took a lot more time than I expected. Because of the way he was constructed, I had to paint him in six different pieces. Usually having it all glued together first makes it a lot easier to both hold on to and to paint.

Because I couldn't do that here, there was a lot of touch ups and frustration before I was finished. Anyway - here he is:

This guy is a Warhammer figure called "Archaon, Lord of the End Times" which is a pretty over-the-top title. I'm sure in the Warhammer game he is some kind of bad-ass, but I wouldn't know - I don't play Warhammer, I just paint their figures.

Since this guy had an apocalyptic feel, I made his base look like it was streaming lava, or at least tried to. Here's another angle showing off the base a bit better:

You'll have noted by this point that his horse is not exactly normal (it has bone protrusions sticking out of it all over the place, for example). I went with this and painted it as a Nightmare, with hellish light in its eyes and mouth as well. You can see this a bit better in this "he's looking right at me!" close up:

Archaon has this great pose as he's bringing his horse around to attack. Check out his skull necklace - it isn't a necklace with a skull motif - it is a necklace made of skulls. Also, he has a chaos shield - of course that was a big selling feature for me.

And finally, the back, showing off his fur-shouldered cloak:
This guy turned out pretty much how I wanted him. Since we're not at the End of Times, I'm carrying on painting, and my next figure will be an elf bard with a guitar. Hopefully soon!

CD Odyssey Disc 105: Black Sabbath

Happy 40th Birthday, Black Sabbath! Black Sabbath turned 40 on February 13th - and here's the album that got it all started.

Disc 105 is...Black Sabbath (Self-Titled)

Artist: Black Sabbath

Year of Release: 1970

How I Came To Know It: As I noted in my review for Vol IV way back at Disc 6, I've known Sabbath all my life, but the early years were rekindled by my friends Nick and Spence. This album always makes me think of Nick, who loves the opening lyrics of "What is this that stands before me?/Figure in black that points at me." As openings go, that is a good one.

How It Stacks Up: I have 11 Black Sabbath albums. I'd put this one probably 4th. That isn't really fair though, since almost all Sabbath records are great, and hard to rank.

Rating: 5 stars

What can you say about the album that arguably invented an entire genre of music - heavy metal. You can say thank you.

Thank you, Black Sabbath.

I really love this album. From its famous (and oft-noted) opening chords, through the incredible bass lick that opens "N.I.B." all the way to the last song, "Wicked World", which features some furious drumming by Bill Ward.

I don't usually like to contextualize an album in terms of its place in music history. I prefer to take each album on the Odyssey on its own terms, free of an excess of background information that more often than not drowns out the pure enjoyment of a record.

However, in this case, it has to be noted what a huge influence this album was to the music world - and how amazing this sound is for 1970. For the past forty years (coinciding nicely with my entire life) this album has had a ripple effect on heavy music that has not - and will likely never - end. So yeah, it is a big deal.

Musically, I think this is some of Sabbath's best stuff - I particularly enjoyed Iommi's guitar and Ward's drums on this record. In terms of sheer rock grandiosity, this record's crowning achievement is "N.I.B.", which has one of the greatest guitar riffs, one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. It also has that rarest of achievements - someone going "oh yeah" and it not sounding like they didn't know what lyric to put in (are you reading along, Shania Twain?).

I have no idea what "N.I.B." stands for, and I'm not even sure it has ever been fully determined. For me, it represents one of Sabbath's top three riffs, alongside "Sweet Leaf" and only slightly behind the incomparable "Supernaut".

The only criticism I have of this record is a slight tendency to noodle overlong, a la Led Zeppelin. In particular "The Warning" has the makings of a couple of good songs, that were instead fused together into one overlong jam session. To this was added a whole bunch of other sounds and solos that sound like studio tailings that never became complete songs. It is too bad, because if you shaved "The Warning" from its current 10:33 to a more modest 7:30, I think it would rule.

I almost gave this album 4 stars, because I was determined not to judge it on its place in music history, but only on the music itself. Still, after a couple of listens, and even with the noodling, there is no denying this record is a 5 star affair. If I added its importance to music, giving this album 5/5 would sell it short.

Best tracks: The Wizard, Behind the Wall of Sleep, N.I.B., Evil Woman, Wicked World

CD Odyssey Disc 104: Beastie Boys

The soundtrack reign of terror is over! Instead, I rolled some old bullshit. No - seriously - that's what I rolled.

Disc 104 is...Some Old Bullshit
Artist: Beastie Boys

Year of Release: 1994 but the music is from 1982 and 1983.

How I Came To Know It: I had most of the Beastie Boys other albums and knew this was out there. I had half-considered getting it, and I actually think Sheila eventually bought it for me for my birthday one year.

How It Stacks Up: I have all the Beastie Boys albums, while this album is technically a compilation of all their early stuff, and not a true album, I will still rank it - I'll say it is 9th out of 9 albums. That is to say, last.

Rating: 2 stars.

As I noted earlier, "Some Old Bullshit" is just that - a bunch of the Beastie Boys' very early work, when they were a hardcore band, not a hip hop band. All the music on this album is pretty much a hardcore punk sound, with only "Cooky Puss" remotely resembling their later fusion of this sound with hip hop and rap.

I'm not a big fan of hardcore, and so this stuff doesn't really grab me. I am impressed with the visceral energy on this album, and you can see the early seeds of why they'd one day be huge.

This album is also the earliest example of the Beastie Boys' fascination with egging people, later to be brought up on their second LP, "Paul's Boutique." I don't quite know if this egging thing is some urban code for something, or if they actually engaged in egg-throwing battles with their rivals. I just know I wouldn't have invited them to parties.

I like the liner notes, which has a couple of gems, including the publication of an early letter written to them slamming them as "the most feeble band I have ever seen".

I also enjoyed learning the early history of the band as written by Mike D, which reveals that "Beastie" is actually an acronym for "Boys Entering Anarchistic States Towards Internal Excellence" which he thankfully acknowledges "might sound idiotic." Of course, the Beasties are known to outright lie about stuff like this, so I don't take it for gospel, even when it is printed with the record. It certainly sounds idiotic.

Generally, this album sounds like stuff that could just as well have been left in the basement. This changes with "Cooky Puss", which singlehandedly saves the record. I don't fully know what this song is even about, apart from a series of loosely connected prank calls and sexual references. It has a great groove though, and it is damned funny.

At one point, between calls, our singer exclaims (without prior set up or warning):

"These pussy crumbs are making me itch
Maybe I should scratch?"

Then the Boys break out their two turntables and proceed to do just that - and do it well.

And the rest, as they say, is history - or some old bullshit - depending on your perspective.

Best tracks: Cooky Puss (uncensored version only).

CD Odyssey Disc 103: Soundtrack

Another random disc, another soundtrack. This time it was also a 'best of'. A foul chimera indeed!

Disc 103 is...The Best of James Bond (30th Anniversary)
Artist: Various, but definitely Shirley Bassey

Year of Release: 1991, with music from 1962 through 1989.

How I Came To Know It: Like many before me and many after me, I grew up with James Bond - the idealized man in every ten year old's mind. It wasn't a stretch to get a bunch of music that reminded me of all those classic bond films.

How It Stacks Up: Best ofs don't stack up, so on that point - this album is moot. As a soundtrack, I'd put it near the bottom of my 22 (or 23) soundtracks.

Rating: Although this is a soundtrack, it is called "The Best of James Bond". You don't flaunt the words "best of" at me and expect to get a rating. Fie on such notions!

This album is a real collection of schmaltzy Vegas pop. The music swings wildly from glorious over-the-top croon-fests to hokey juvenile crap.

On the croon-fest end, I particularly like Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better", Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only", and Paul McCartney and Wings' "Live & Let Die".

On the juvenile crap side of the ledger you can find such turds as on-hit wonder A-Ha euro-popping to "The Living Daylights" and Matt Monro doing the world's worst Dean Martin on "From Russia With Love."

Perennial Bond crooner Shirley Bassey singlehandedly spans the distance with the awesomely ridiculous "Goldfinger" through the passable "Diamonds are Forever" on the way to the annoyingly obtuse "Moonraker" (the movies was just as bad).

The true crime of this album is not murder, however - it is the inclusion of Duran Duran singing "View To A Kill". Duran Duran is to me the eighties artistic equivalent of Nickelback. I hated Duran Duran in high school, and unlike many other bands I falsely accused then, in this case I am unrepentant. They still suck. I am ashamed that even one of their songs exists in my home.

Still I can't part with it - if for no other reason than this album also reminding me of my eighties crush on Sheena Easton - and I don't ever want to lose that memory. Mmm...Sheena.

This record got me thinking about the age old dilemma of which is the better Bond - Roger Moore or Sean Connery (and their latter day equivalents Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig).

The first Bond movie I ever saw at the theatre was Moonraker when I was nine years old. That was an inauspicious start, but things quickly improved with For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy. Naturally, I was a devoted Roger Moore fan for many years. I think the first way we decide which Bond is usually this method - initial exposure at an impressionable age.

But as I've gotten older, I think I now lean to the Sean Connery/Daniel Craig side of the ledger. I think with a little more life experience, I am more drawn to a morally ambiguous Bond. Let's face it - Moore and Brosnan are just too damned perfectly suave to kill people for a living.

You may be wondering - but what about the third Bond archetype? Surely we can't forget about George Lazenby/Timothy Dalton! Actually, we can. That's because those guys are forgettable middle-grounders. Let us not speak of them further.

Believe it or not, despite a light body of work, I actually favour Daniel Craig these days. He is like Sean Connery but he conveys this simmering anger and threat of violence under his rough charms. I would expect that edge in a man who is essentially a state-sponsored killer, and Craig delivers.

Best tracks: Goldfinger, Nobody Does It Better, For Your Eyes Only, Live & Let Die, Thunderball

CD Odyssey Disc 102: Soundtrack

Another disc, another soundtrack. This is my 6th review of a soundtrack - I am a little surprised how many of these I have, but I enjoy them when I listen to them, so I guess that is alright.

Disc 102 is...Pulp Ficton Soundtrack
Artist: Various

Year of Release: 1994

How I Came To Know It: The usual way. I saw the movie, and bought the soundtrack based on the strength of the music. Of interest, when I met Sheila, she also had this soundtrack. Always interesting to see what your significant other and you share when you first combine your CD collections. In this case, no surprise - I think everybody owns this soundtrack.

How It Stacks Up: I've got either 22 or 23 soundtracks - it is hard to count them as they are mixed up with the "scores". I'd say "Pulp Fiction" is somewhere in the middle, maybe the top third. It would be higher but there are a couple of duds among the many gems.

Rating: 3 stars.

This is my second review of a Tarantino movie soundtrack, (I covered "Jackie Brown" back at Disc 30). What can I say? The man makes an awesome soundtrack. In fact, I recently watched Kill Bill Vol I and II and I decided to get the soundtracks soon - I was waylaid by Thin Lizzy this weekend, but soon, I shall have bloody satisfaction, Bill.

Back to "Pulp Fiction" there isn't much to be said here that hasn't been said before - this is one of the most talked about and critically reviewed movies of all time, and the soundtrack has likewise been parsed from all angles.

I'll just add that "Pulp Fiction" should've won best picture. It isn't just that it revolutionized film making (it did). Even if it hadn't, it would be a great movie on its own merits. I watched the Oscars last night, and was hoping against all odds that "District 9" would win, but I would've been happy with "Inglorious Basterds" just to reward Tarantino for his body of work.

The music on this disc is a great mix of the Seventies Motown and pop that Tarantino loves in all his stuff, along with a whole bunch of surf-guitar bands. This surfer music really ties the film together, and brings an ethereal numb kind of groove that perfectly matches all the characters wandering around stoned on dope and heroin.

This album's surfer sound is what got me interested in Dick Dale, in fact - and after toying with the idea for years, I finally bought a Dick Dale album last month. I am really enjoying it, but more on that when I roll it (the urge to insert new discs has left me for the nonce).

Tarantino soundtracks always feature snappy dialogue from the movie, and in this category, "Pulp Fiction" is by far the best. On this album we have Vincent Vega describing buying a "Royale With Cheese" in a French Macdonalds, Bruce Willis telling his girlfriend that "Zed's dead" and the Samuel L. Jackson monologue that has ensured a generation of moviegoers can quote at least one biblical passage by heart (Ezekial 25:17).

Like so much of Tarantino - and so much of this album - it becomes part of our everyday cultural reference. A handbook of common expressions for Gen Xers the world over.

One minor quibble on this album is the cover. Uma Thurman looks smokin' hot - but in the movie she never wears these high heels. In fact, she wears flats, and most of the time takes them off to pad about or dance the twist in bare feet.

Putting Uma in that set of pumps on an album cover and then not having them in the movie is at best false advertising, and at worst a cruel joke on men the world over.

Fortunately, her bangs are as advertised. Mmmm....Uma.

Anyway - this is a good soundtrack, but you probably already know that, because you probably already own it.

Best tracks: Jungle Boogie, Let's Stay Together, Son of a Preacher Man, If Love Is A Red Dress.

CD Odyssey Disc 101: Cake

And so I enter the second hundred discs in the Odyssey. And to start it off,

Disc 101 is...Prolonging the Magic

Artist: Cake

Year of Release: 1998

How I Came To Know It: Sheila was a fan of the song "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" and "Never There" - I think she bought this album and the one that preceded it. This one has "Never There", which was a medium-sized hit in 1998.

How It Stacks Up: We have all six Cake albums (including one of remakes). Although I used to really love this album, looking at the whole collection, I'd say it is 4th or 5th at best. I'm not saying it is bad, I just like those other albums more.

Rating: 3 stars.

I know Cake's music pretty well, but I don't know much about the band - I suspect they are a college act that hit it big, and entered the mainstream. This album is a pretty good example of what they do, with a bit of the funk guitar that features in not a few of their albums, attached to an indie-pop sound. They also mix in a horn section which I think really works for them.

"Prolonging the Magic" as an album has a few songs I could live without, like the overly whimsical, "When You Sleep", which asks the question "when you sleep/where do your fingers go?" Answer - who cares. If this question has any deeper meaning, it has eluded me over many listens. If it doesn't, why the hell ask?

Other tracks really appeal to me, especially the ones that are a bit on the funkier side. I really like the guitar riff in "Satan Is My Motor", which is a song about owning a car - it has that perspective you have in college when owning your own car is exciting in its novelty.

Cake sings a lot about cars, often with a negative connotation. I don't know what that means - I suspect they are from California and sick of car culture, but I've never put that theory to a test of research.

I also really like "Sheep Go To Heaven" which is a song with a more appropriate amount of whimsy, that I actually think has a little bit more to say beyond its groovy guitar lick. Here's a few of my favourite lines:

"The grave digger puts on the forceps
The stone mason does all the work
The barber can give you a haircut
The carpenter can take you out to lunch.

I just want to play on my pan pipes
I just want to drink me some wine
As soon as you're born you start dying
So you might as well have a good time."

I like the way they refer to a doctor as a gravedigger, which is about as quick as you can jump on the whole "we're all gonna die" bandwagon as can be done.

Also, this song provides useful information. I'm sure you knew that the barber can give you a haircut, but knowing that the carpenter will take you out to lunch is pretty useful intel.

I've heard this song a lot, and I haven't successfully picked out any pan pipe playing, but maybe it's there. Technically, he doesn't say he's going to play on his pan pipes, he says he wants to. I can't play the pan pipes or the funk guitar, but I certainly know how to drink me some wine and have a good time (the dying part's a given).

Also a note on the cover. Cake loves to have these kind of weird covers, with iconic imagery and primary colours. This one, as you have seen, features a pig. Not sure if there is anything else to say. I have attempted to grok the pig in its fullness, but sometimes a pig is just a pig. I think that's the case here.

In closing, this album is fun, musically interesting and waffles between vaguely insightful and simply silly. It is a good listen, and it has a pig.

Best tracks: Satan Is My Motor, Never There, Sheep Go To Heaven, Alpha Beta Parking Lot, Cool Blue Reason.

CD Odyssey: The First 100

I started the CD Odyssey in earnest in July of 2009. With today's Stan Rogers review, I've officially reviewed my first 100 albums.

For posterity, I think it'll be fun to celebrate each such milestone along the way with a quick recap of where I'm at.

I've certainly learned that I like music spread pretty evenly over the last four decades. I've reviewed only one record with music from the forties and fifties (and one from the 19th century - thank you Tchaikovsky). I've done another six from the sixties. The rest breakdown as follows:

Seventies: 22
Eighties: 30
Nineties: 25
Oughts: 21

Due to soundtracks and best ofs, there is some crossover, so don't worry your pretty little head as to why the numbers don't add up.

In terms of ratings, here is where they stand now. I have gone back and removed double-tagging in the ratings, since really, that's just cheating. Pick a number and stick with it, Logan!

5/5: 10 albums
4/5: 34 albums
3/5: 29 albums
2/5: 20 albums
best of (not rateable): 7 albums

One in ten albums rating a 5/5 seems a bit high to me, but I guess this is my music, so I am going to like it more. Of the 20 albums that receive a 2/5, two of them have been sold (Primus and the Honeymoon In Vegas Soundtrack).

I've found that generally speaking, the dice have been pretty random, and no single section of the collection has been over-reviewed. That said, a few artists seem to be particularly popular with the Dice Gods:

Kiss and Queen lead the way with 4 albums each.

Close behind are Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt and Judas Priest with 3 each.

Shockingly, despite owning 15 Blue Oyster Cult albums, I've yet to roll a single one of them. Throw me a freakin' bone, here!

In terms of genre, it is thus far a battle between Rock and Folk. This is hardly surprising - I've fallen hard for both those temptresses over the years. Here's the top five after 100:

Rock: 36 albums
Folk: 32 albums
Pop: 14 albums
Metal: 11 albums
Country: 11 albums

Again, there is some crossover in genres, so once again, don't pop a blood vessel trying to make the numbers add up. They are for "illustrative purposes only".

I'm looking forward to the next 100 albums - what will be next? Bring me my dice and let's find out!

CD Odyssey Disc 100: Stan Rogers

Wow - here I am at Disc 100. I currently randomly roll from 23 roughly equal sections of 40 albums each, so that tells me I've still a ways to go.

After each landmark of 100 discs, I'll do an extra post taking a snapshot of where we are at so far - but first, the disc at hand is due its moment.

Disc 100 is...Home In Halifax
Artist: Stan Rogers

Year of Release: 1982 (although not released on CD until 1992).

How I Came To Know It: Back in 1995 my work took me to Ottawa, where I found a pub called "The Heart and Crown", which was a refuge for the many Maritimers that work at various political jobs in the nation's capital. For whatever reason, this place captivated me.

While there (on a series of nights) I got to know some of the pub's regulars, and they taught me all the words to "Barrett's Privateers" (you're supposed to sing along), complete with various actions.

Once I knew the song was originally by Stan Rogers, the rest was easy - except that I bought this album thinking it was a studio album - when it is in fact a live album.

How It Stacks Up: I only have this, plus one other album of Stan Rogers at present. As one is a concert, and the other is a studio album, they can't really be compared. For what it's worth - I like this one.

Rating: 4 stars.

As most everyone knows (or damned well should know), Stan Rogers is one of the greatest and most influential folk acts ever to come out of Canada. This album was made live in...Halifax in 1982 - and a little more than year later Rogers would be killed in a plane accident in Cincinnati at the age of only 33, with only three studio albums to his credit.

This album shows just how much he gave us on those three albums. He shares with Gordon Lightfoot as one of the great preservers of the traditions of hard working blue collar Canadians; with particular love for farmers, fishermen and all manner of Eastern Canadians moving west in search of work in the 1970s.

Each of these songs is sung in Rogers' instantly recognizeable gravelly baritone voice. The songs are simple in arrangement, simple in topic and deeply affecting to the spirit. It is clear that Rogers cares about these characters, and his words give voice to a dignity so often overlooked for flashier topics. It is folk music about ordinary folk.

I particularly like "Field Behind the Plow", which is a song about a farmer sowing seed, and thinking about the hard life he has chosen. I particularly like the second verse:

"Poor old Kuzyk down the road;
The heartache hail and hoppers brought him down.
He gave it up and went to town.
And Emmett Pierce the other day took a heart attack and died at 42,
You could see it coming on, 'cause he worked as hard as you."

This is a common theme in Stan Rogers' music, where everyday people make tough choices to earn an honest living.

Rogers also sings about Canadian history, and this album has the famous song about the "Bluenose" which always makes me swell with pride, as the song itself launches out of the gate:

"Once again with the tide she slips her lines
Turns her head and comes awake
Where she lay so still there at Privateer's Wharf
Now she quickly gathers way
She will range far south from the harbour mouth
And rejoice with every wave
Who will know the Bluenose in the sun?"

Answer - we all will, and we all do, and Stan Rogers' beautiful track will help keep the memory of that great ship alive. In fact between "Bluenose", "The Mary Ellen Carter" and "Barrett's Privateers (featuring the sloop "Antelope"), Rogers immortalizes three ships in one album. I'm pretty sure Gordon Lightfoot only ever managed the one.

Of course, the definitive Stan Rogers song will always be "Barrett's Privateers", a song about an 18th century pirate vessel (I mean "privateer" - they were licensed!) that embarks on a sad and ill-fated journey in search of Yankee gold during the American War of Independence.

The song is fun to sing along, fun to hear and best with as many friends and as much beer as possible. Many a night in my twenties recall fond memories of walking home from the pub, singing out the tragic tale of "The Antelope" yet again.

When I die, there will be two songs played at my funeral - "My Way" and "Barrett's Privateers" - and you better sing along when your part comes up!

Best tracks:Bluenose, Field Behind the Plow, Night Guard, The Idiot, Mary Ellen Carter, Barrett's Privateers, Sailor's Rest.

CD Odyssey Disc 99: Alice Cooper

A second disc in a row from 1978 brings us to my third Alice Cooper review, and one of the greatest records it has been my privilege to hear over the years.

Disc 99 is...From the Inside

Artist: Alice Cooper

Year of Release: 1978

How I Came To Know It: I have known this album since my brother bought it home the week it was released. I remember to this day how cool the record was - the back had a set of hospital doors that were perforated - you could open them to see a bunch of asylum inmates charging towards you with "release papers". The eyes on the front also opened - I can't remember what was behind them - but I'm sure it was cool.

How It Stacks Up: I have all 25 of Alice Cooper's studio albums. This is one of the best. I'll rank it 3rd, but I have to say it is the equal of both #1 and #2 in many many ways.

Rating: 5 stars.

"From the Inside" is the 4th of Cooper's solo albums, a period of music I like to refer to as "Drunk and Alone" since he had split from the band and was in the throes of a very serious bought of alcoholism. Contrary to popular belief, Cooper was never into drugs - but he was a serious alcoholic.

In 1977, he became so wasted that he committed himself to a sanitarium, and "From The Inside" is inspired by this experience. Some of this inspiration comes from the characters he met in the institution, such as:
- a sex-addicted priest (Nurse Rozetta)
- a serial killer couple (Millie and Billie)
- a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran (Jackknife Johnnie)

This album was co-written by Dick Wagner and Bernie Taupin (of Elton John fame) and Taupin's brilliance definitely adds something to Cooper's already considerable lyrical talent.

Some of these songs are hilarious, like in "Nurse Rozetta", which has our sex-addled preacher having a tough time dealing with one of the local staff:

"She's so creative with a bar of soap
And so inventive with a stethoscope
To check my pulse she's gotta hold my hand
I blow the fuse on the encephalogram
...
I surrender to my urges felt
She popped the buckle off my bible belt."

Or in "Millie and Billie", a duet where our two lovers are thankful that "God made love crazy so we wouldn't feel so alone - he was thinking of us," one particularly entertaining vignette:

"Oh Billie it's fresh in my memory
The night that it just had to be
You with your pick axe and scissors
And you with your shovel and gun
And I liked your late husband Donald
But such torture his memory brings
All sliced up and sealed tight in baggies
Guess love makes you do funny things."

While some songs are disturbingly humorous, others show a genuine pathos for people struggling in their own realities. From "Jackknife Johnny":

"Institute lackies, with hot bourbon breath
White coats and needles, Johnny like to scare you to death
Dear Johnny, do you feel your best
When you're strung out at night on your morphine and meth?"

Equally compelling, are Cooper's obvious internal struggles with alcohol addiction, inextricably wrapped up in his difficulty separating from his stage character of Alice. Complicating this, he fights shame of letting his wife down, and how she will receive him when he is eventually released (captured brilliantly in the album's hit song "How You Gonna See Me Now?").

At his lightest, he worries about who is taking care of his dog. At his worst, he sits in "The Quiet Room" having thoughts of suicide. The album is an unflinching look at someone who is unhinged, and yet keenly aware of exactly how they came to be so.

Musically, "From the Inside" isn't nearly as heavy as either his early work, nor his more recent metal-inspired fare. However, what it has is great range, hitting just the right moods at just the right times. It is soft and introspective to match "The Quiet Room", tender and creepy for "Millie and Billie" and adrenaline-fueled seventies rock as Alice channels all the rage and stage anxiety that got him here, in the title track "From the Inside" and "Serious".

The album is also perfectly paced - beginning with "From the Inside" describing how Cooper came to be in this predicament and ending with "Inmates (We're All Crazy)" where Cooper finally and fully identifies with his fellow inmates - and I think recognizing that he is not just observing - but that he is one of them, and needs help.

In "From the Inside", Cooper sets the tone for what will be an album of discovering himself - peeling the layers from anger at what's happened "to" him, until he can take ownership and reconstruct himself (and by extension - rebuild the Alice character) from there:

"You all got your kicks from what you saw up there
Eight bucks buys a folding chair
I was downing Seagrams on another flight
And I worked that stage all night long
You were screaming for the villain up there
And I was much obliged.
The old road sure screwed me good this time
It's hard to see where the vicious circle ends."

It wouldn't end with "From the Inside". Cooper would continue to fight the booze, and he would be back in 1983 - this time admitted against his will. The second time took, and I believe he's been sober for almost 25 years.

Along the way he made some great records - and "From the Inside" is one of the best. It is as perfect as music gets - honest, evocative, provocative and more real in its artificial environment than most albums inspired in what we think of as a sane world.

Buy this album.

Best tracks:all songs