CD Odyssey Disc 257: Neil Young

Before I begin this review, I'd like to make a quick comment on the type of liner notes I like to see in a CD. I like to see the lyrics to the songs, not a bunch of Polaroids of the band goofing off on the road. I like those lyrics in a font that is easy to read, not written in a way to mimic the scrawl writers use in their personal notebooks. Finally, I like a 'thank you' section that is reasonably inclusive, without being exhaustive.

This next disc gets excellent grades on all counts - but how about the music? Well, read on, and find out.

Disc 257 is...Harvest Moon

Artist: Neil Young

Year of Release: 1992

What’s Up With The Cover?: I believe this is a man pretending to be a scarecrow, or possibly (but less statistically likely) a scarecrow pretending to be a man. Since this album is a bit of hearkening back to Neil's earlier folk sound, I guess it only makes sense that he choose dubious cover art.

How I Came To Know It: I have been listening to Neil more seriously since the late eighties, but I did not get this record when it came out, but instead bought it years later, after being inspired by an even more recent record, "Prairie Wind" (reviewed back at Disc 160).

How It Stacks Up: I have fifteen Neil Young albums. If you are following along carefully, this means you know I've bought three more since my last Neil Young review on October 1st, 2010 - including just getting "Ragged Glory" earlier this month. So yeah - I like him, and I'll likely get more before I'm done. Of those fifteen, I'd say this one is somewhere around 7th or 8th. Not that it is bad, it is just there is stiff competition.

Rating: 3 stars, but almost 4.

It took a long time for me to come around to buying "Harvest Moon". This was principally because I thought the record received undue hype. It was billed as a comeback record, and had all kinds of commercial success in Canada.

I'm not sure what Neil was supposed to be 'coming back' from. His two previous records, 1989's "Freedom" and 1990's "Ragged Glory" are great records - both of which I prefer to "Harvest Moon".

More correctly, "Harvest Moon" was a return to his earlier folk sound. I think it was just an album for its time and place, and so received greater interest than it might have if it had come out a little earlier or a little later in his career. As evidence of this, I look no further than 2005's "Prairie Wind" - a record in the same vein of "Harvest Moon" which if anything is superior. Like many records later in an artist's life it didn't come at the right time, and made a much smaller ripple (for another example of this, try Tom Petty's "Highway Companion" - but more on that hidden gem when I roll it).

Now that I've gone to all this trouble to diminutize "Harvest Moon", let me build it's reputation back up again - starting with an admission that the only person I hurt by not buying this record for fifteen years was myself.

There are some true gems on this album, my favourite being the opening track "Unknown Legend", a character study of a free-spirited woman who once rode her Harley Davidson across the great North American countryside, but is now tied down to a different life, with children, still dreaming of that perfect freedom we have in youth, where we have so few responsibilities, and seemingly limitless options.

This song sets the tone for the album, which is a record in large part about getting older, and looking back. If it is a bit wistful, it is also fairly gentle - particularly following the harsher lens that "Ragged Glory" and "Freedom" chose to see the world through.

The album also sees the present in a mellower tone - the big single being, "Harvest Moon" capturing the love between two people who've been together through thick and thin. It is a good song, stronger in its use of understatement.

Not so, the other love song on the album, "Such a Woman" which I find a painful and awkward intervention into 'wall of sound' folk, such as is employed by Enya. Neil is no Enya, and should'nt try to be. In using layered sound, and background choir to evoke the majesty of true love, he instead left me feeling disassociated from a song that isn't that strong to begin with.

That's because Neil is best when he sings from his heart. My favourites on this album are exactly these. "Unknown Legend"'s reverence for a woman still holding on to the memory of the freedom of the highway and the Harley Davidson, even as she accepts that part of her life is now only a dream.

Later, Young inverts this experience, with "Dreamin' Man" a song about a man who not only refuses to put his dreams on hold, but freely admits he's not capable of doing so:

"Now the night is gone

A new day is dawning

And our homeless dreams

Go back to the street

"Another time or place

Another civilization

Would really make this life

Feel so complete.

"I'll always be a dreamin' man

I don't have to understand

I know it's alright."

Sometimes Neil's waking dreams can run to darkness, such as the apocalyptic "War of Man" but light or dark, he always brings this experience back to a very intense, personal place - where he best operates, and where we can best relate to both his music, and ourselves.

"Harvest Moon" sneaks up on you this way - not his greatest record by any stretch, but damn good nevertheless, and worth your time, even if that time comes years later, as it did with me.

Best tracks: Unknown Legend, War of Man, One of These Days, Dreamin' Man.

CD Odyssey Disc 256: The Clash

I spent today racing all over the place, and as a result this next disc got many consecutive listens - which in this case was a good thing.

Disc 256 is...The Clash (Self-Titled)
Artist: The Clash

Year of Release: 1977

What’s Up With The Cover?: A very young looking band photo, as they each try their best to strike a dangerous pose, because punk is dangerous, man.

How I Came To Know It: I was introduced to The Clash more generally by my lovely wife Sheila, but this particular album was introduced to me by my buddy Nick, who not only played it for me a few times over the years, but bought it for me for my birthday. Thanks, Nick!

How It Stacks Up: We have all five Clash albums, and this one is pretty damned solid. I'm going to put it just behind "London Calling" and so - 2nd.

Rating: 4 stars, but almost 5.

Certain bands are just ahead of their time, and the Clash is one of those bands. Nowhere is this more evident than on their debut album.

This record came out in 1976/77, and introduced an unprepared world to a new aspect of rock and roll - punk. The sound of The Clash's debut is as fresh today as it was thirty-five years ago.

Earlier today I was listening to it in the car with Sheila (not to worry - I had already listened to it alone, so no rules broken). Every second song, I'd ask her, 'was this one a hit?' and each time she'd say no. It is amazing how many great songs on this record are famous only because people know this record - not because some soulless record exec released it on AM radio.

My version is the US 1979 release, which has a few different tracks - notably my version includes "I Fought The Law" and "Clash City Rockers", two awesome songs released as EPs or singles in England, that I'm glad to have. This whole US/UK version thing seems fairly common in the 1970s. I wonder who determines just what each audience is going to like? Probably, the US version is just an effort to add in a few more hits from other sources, to make the record more palatable to an audience that would be less familiar with the band.

Back to the record which is raw punk, that rarely takes its foot off the accelerator. Songs like "White Riot", "London's Burning" and "Career Opportunities" paint an angry picture of urban England, where police clash with punks, and angry citizens raise active insurrection against the establishment.

In other songs, the Clash show their reggae side to good effect, particularly "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" and the awesome "Police and Thieves". "Police and Thieves" puts a new twist on the civil disobedience theme, but this time from the viewpoint of the terrified citizens trying to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Most songs on this album are typical of punk in their brevity. "Police and Thieves" is a glorious six minutes of reggae beat, and I loved every moment of it.

Because they were so innovative in the punk genre, the Clash often get pigeon-holed as only a punk band, but this record shows that from the very beginning, they were a band with a lot of range. Reggae, hard rock, and even catchy pop melodies all mix in with the new punk sound.

They are also often compared with the shouty and pointless Sex Pistols as the founders of punk rock, but beyond the requisite anger, the Pistols aren't even in the same league. The Clash are first and foremost musicians, the Pistols are just punks - frankly I can't stand most of what they do.

As an example, we need look no further than how their songs are remade. The Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK" is more famous for its angry message, than its skillful delivery. Megadeth's version updates the song so well, it is the only one I ever want to hear any more, even though it's the only remake of the track I know.

Comparatively, "I Fought The Law" is one of the most remade songs going - originally done in 1959 by the Crickets. Since then a number of great acts have taken the song on and made it their own, including stellar versions by Johnny Cash and the Dead Kennedys. But who's do we remember the most? The Clash's version from this record, of course - in fact I thought it was a Clash song until I looked it up online - that is how thoroughly they own the song.

The Clash's debut album will always lie in the shadow of "London Calling" and that is a shame. If you were to only own two Clash albums, this should be one of them. Sadly, most people end up going the way of "Combat Rock", which is OK, but quite simply not at the same level.

Best tracks: So many, but let's go Clash City Rockers, I'm So Bored with USA, White Riot, London's Burning, I Fought The Law, Janie Jones, Career Opportunities, Police and Thieves.

CD Odyssey Disc 255

This latest disc marks the second time in the Odyssey that I've finished all the albums by a particular artist - both times it was three albums by a Canadian folk artist (the first was Captain Tractor).

Disc 255 is...Tripping Up The Stairs
Artist: Spirit of the West

Year of Release: 1988

What’s Up With The Cover?: The band is seen sitting in some coffee shop. How very westcoast-folk of them! I like this cover. It edges close to pretentious, but stays far enough away to just feel appropriately artsy.

How I Came To Know It: I purchased this album after hearing it at UVIC back in the late eighties. I don't think this one had any hits, but I might have heard it on the juke box in the Student Union Building pub. Back in the day, the pub used to be in the basement, and you could play Tetris while having a pint. This was because the Tetris game was ALSO a table. Could a match be more heavenly? Those were heady days, my friends, heady days indeed. But I digress...

How It Stacks Up: I have three Spirit of the West albums, and they are all pretty equal in my mind - I like each for different reasons - but I'm going to say the other two edge this one by a hair, and so I'll reluctantly put it third. I still love you, "Tripping Up the Stairs" but hard decisions had to be made. Also, as per my Captain Tractor review, I'll now also give a synopsis of the full collection, in order of preference

1a. Save This House: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 91)
1b. Political: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 23)
3. Tripping Up The Stairs: 3 stars (reviewed right here)

Rating: 3 stars, but almost 4.

As I've already reviewed this band twice, I'll just summarize that Spirit of the West (SOTW) is a folk protest band from Vancouver, which had a degree of popularity in the late eighties and early nineties. Their lead singer, John Mann, has gone on to a small acting career (he plays a Viper Pilot in the Battlestar Galactica reboot pilot. Spoiler alert - when the cylons attack, it doesn't go well for him).

In any case, like the coffee shop they are seen in the photo above, I would suggest, SOTW is a fine blend - in their case of political commentary, Canadian folk sensibilities and more traditional Celtic sounds.

"Political" is their most protest filled album, and "Save This House" is their most radio friendly. "Tripping Up The Stairs" is their most straightforward folk album, with a much greater focus on traditional jigs and reels mixed in.

Listening to it with the benefit of hindsight, you might be tempted to say that this Celtic feel is because they are still finding their voice, but I think that would be a mistake. Yes, the album has a more traditional feel, but it is still very distinctly SOTW, with the liberal (and successful) use of penny whistle and Celtic drum mixed with Canadian pop sensibilities.

The arrangements are more sparse than later efforts, but I actually think this sparseness suits them well. It lets their natural energy flow through - almost giving the album a live feel without sacrificing any preciseness in the playing.

In particular, "Our Station" has a similar feel to the much more famous "Home For A Rest" from "Save This House". I am convinced "Our Station" is a song about the Railway Club in Vancouver. I've always meant to find out, but have never definitively proved the theory. In any case, it is a fun song, albeit a bit more gentle in tempo to "Home For A Rest".

I'm also a fan of "The Crawl" a song about a pub crawl through the North Shore by a bunch of good old boys on an autumn afternoon. If you've ever done a pub crawl with a bunch of buddies, this song will sound very familiar. To jog your memory, it starts like this:

"We planned to have a gay old time, the cash we did not spare,
We left all the cars at home and paid the taxi fare;
I got out to Horseshoe Bay a little after five,
From a table in the corner I heard familiar voices rise."

And it ends like this:

"We arrived out at The Raven just in time for the last call,
The final destination of this the first annual crawl;
We dug deep into our pockets there was no money to be found,
Nine miles home and for walking we are bound."

I would also not be completely honest if I failed to note that I love all these local references.

In addition to fun pub songs, "Tripping Up The Stairs" has the requisite amount of political music, including songs about the working class dream of winning the lottery in "An Honest Gamble", and a variety of other topics. As I noted back when I reviewed "Political" whether you agree with all, some or none of their opinions, you can enjoy a well written song regardless.

I'm not sure "Tripping Up The Stairs" has the polish of "Save This House" or the emotional depth of "Political" and so I ranked it slightly lower, but it is a good record, that I put on a fair bit - and will put on even more now that I've been recently reminded of its quality.

Best tracks: An Honest Gamble, Our Station, The Crawl, When Rivers Rise, Be Right.

CD Odyssey Disc 254: Nazareth

Well I've just finished all my worky-work stuff for tonight and here I sit at 8:30. I'm tired, but thankfully the tonic of the music review awaits. Well - at least it's a tonic for me - you'll have to decide how you feel when you get to the end.

Disc 254 is...The Primo Collection
Artist: Nazareth

Year of Release: 2007, but with music from 1971-1981

What’s Up With The Cover?: Somebody over at Primo records was playing with the background maker on their graphics program, and discovered 'water'. Inoffensive, but uninspiring, particularly given how many awesome covers some of the original Nazareth records had.

How I Came To Know It: I have known Nazareth since I've been conscious of music. their 1975 Greatest Hits album was the second record I ever bought (after KISS' Destroyer). I have two records of theirs, but nothing on CD, so when I saw a 2 CD set I bought it, despite my misgivings with 'best ofs'.

How It Stacks Up: It may say "The Primo Collection" but we all know that actually is just another way to say 'best of', so of course, it doesn't stack up. I do have an actual Nazareth studio album, "Loud and Proud", but only on record, and this is a CD Odyssey.

Rating: 'best ofs' don't get a rating.

Nazareth is a seventies hard rock band from Scotland that was a big influence on me early on. I used to play their 1975 Greatest Hits record and "Loud and Proud" all the time when I was a kid.

"The Primo Collection" is two discs, and 24 songs. Listening to it over the past three days, I think it is safe to say that I am no longer enamoured with the band like I was when I was seven years old. I still had fun, mind you.

Being a Greatest Hits collection, the Primo Collection has a lot of good songs. Standouts include their famous remake of Joni Mitchell's "This Flight Tonight" which I maintain is better than the original. Incidentally, Nazareth also does a very good job of Bob Dylan's "Ballad of Hollis Brown" although sadly that song didn't make it onto this compilation. What did make it on, was a version of Clapton's "Cocaine" which isn't the greatest.

Worse, "Cocaine" is a live track, and reminds me of the time in the early nineties I saw them play in a local club. That was a bad concert, but the crowd was worse. They booed Nazareth when they played songs off their new album, and just kept calling for "Hair of the Dog" (I think Nazareth did it twice). It was a painful moment for a band that once did a whole lot better for themselves. I'm told in recent years their live act has improved, which is good. I hope they've been rewarded with more respectful audiences as a result.

Back to the record, which has a few highlights that I remember from my old seventies greatest hits album. These include "Razamanaz" (off of the album of the same name) and "Shangai'd In Shanghai" (off of "Rampant").

There is also a lot of filler, like "Telegram" which is a song composed of very obvious heroic couplets, that would have Alexander Pope spinning in his grave and - even worse - songs that I absolutely loved as a kid, but which have not aged well. "Go Down Fighting" comes to mind here, which meant a lot to a skinny kid who dreamed of being tougher on the playground, but just doesn't resonate anymore.

Listening to this album made me want to own more than one of Nazareth's studio albums - maybe as many as three ("Razamanaz", "Loud and Proud" and "Rampant" come to mind), but ultimately, I think the songs I enjoyed most here, were the ones off of their 1975 Greatest Hits record, minus all the filler on the "Primo Collection."

Additionally, while all their classic albums have been re-released as remastered "30th Anniversary Editions", they cost around $24-$28, and all have additional 'bonus tracks' (which are rarely a bonus, in my experience).

So I'm going to resist drilling into the collection of this once proud seventies band (this may be a first) and actually downsize to a more manageable Greatest Hits package. A humble fate for a band that once filled my entire musical horizon. Thanks for the memories, Nazareth.

Best tracks: This Flight Tonight, Hair of the Dog, Razamanaz, Free Wheeler, Shanghai'd In Shanghai, Teenage Nervous Breakdown

CD Odyssey Disc 253: Billie Holiday

On we go, in the search for musical Ithaca. We return again to the very foreign land of jazz.

Disc 253 is...The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 4
Artist: Billie Holliday

Year of Release: 1937

What’s Up With The Cover?: It is Billie, belting out a tune. I love her hat - but is it wrong to point out that dress makes her look a little thick around the middle? The pearls are a nice touch though...but since this is A Creative Maelstrom and not a fashion blog, I'll just note she's one foxy lady, and move on.

How I Came To Know It: As I noted in my last Billie Holliday review (back at Disc 165), I was introduced to this music by a woman I used to date. A woman who left a favourable impression on me - and not just with the Billie Holliday. I wish her well, wherever she is these days, and this album had me thinking good thoughts of her, as it often does.

How It Stacks Up: These 'quintessential' albums don't really stack up, since they are all best ofs. I will say, I enjoy this one the most of all three.

Rating: 'best of's don't get ratings. That's how it works, jerkie!

Another of my ill-fated efforts to 'get' jazz. I certainly 'get' Billie Holliday better than most jazz, so this album is a qualified success.

This particular selection of songs has a lot of standards I'm pretty familiar with, including "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me", and having a few familiar landmarks, makes sailing the treacherous waters of jazz a little bit easier to navigate.

I very much enjoyed "How Could You?" on this listen, which is a woman scorned track. Other than that, a lot of the songs seemed very similar to one another to my untrained ear. That said, they all sounded good.

I had a friend I used to work with who was much older than me named Rean. He died a few years ago of cancer of the esophagus - which by the way should be high on anyone's list of 'things you don't want to die of'. This music had me thinking of him, not because he was a Billie Holliday fan in particular (in fact, he preferred regimental marches).

However, his widow, Shirley loved music of the Billie Holliday era. She only lived a little over a year after Rean died, but I used to visit her during these times. Sometimes she'd spontaneously sing one of these songs during the visit. She had a surprisingly beautiful voice, and I used to subtly encourage this so I'd get to hear her sing.

I think that she'd often pick songs from sixty years ago shows just how enduring these tunes are. In fact, they are still being reimagined by modern jazz artists. A good song simply never gets old.

Take a song like that and give it to a woman as brilliantly talented as Billie Holliday, and I should have really enjoyed this album more than I did. I did like it, and I'll be keeping it as an important part of my collection. However, before I rolled this, I didn't put Billie Holliday into rotation a lot and after tonight I will be similarly disinterested.

But for now - for tonight - Billie has me remembering absent friends, and old lovers. It is music to remember by, and so I'll skip any faults it may have, and just say - thanks for the memories, Billie.

Best tracks: Carelessly, How Could You?, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, They Can't Take That Away From Me, I'll Get By

CD Odyssey Disc 252: Soundtrack

I'd like to take this introduction to thank all of my friends that read this blog. I am often surprised to hear people are still reading it, and even though I write it chiefly for myself, I have to admit it feels good to hear I have an audience.

So please don't hate me for mailing this one in, Dear Readers. I wasn't terribly inspired, and it has been a long day, so here goes nothin'.

Disc 252 is...About A Boy Soundtrack
Artist: Badly Drawn Boy (they do all the music)

Year of Release: 2002

What’s Up With The Cover?: In traditional soundtrack manner, it is a picture of the movie poster, or a reasonable facsmile thereof.

How I Came To Know It: I think Sheila saw this movie at the theatre, liked it and subsequently got me hooked. She heard the soundtrack at the same time and liked it, so she bought it - and here we are.

How It Stacks Up: I have around 23 soundtracks (I've sold a couple through this process). "About A Boy" is not my favourite, which is to say near the bottom, but a massive and measurable amount better than "Moulin Rouge".

Rating: 2 stars.

"About A Boy" is a romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Toni Collette. Grant plays a misanthrope, who lives off of the royalties from his one hit, a Christmas song called "Santa's Super Sleigh". He meets a boy and they strike up a strange friendship, which eventually shows Grant's character that it is worth caring about other people in the world. It is a much better movie than that little synopsis makes it seem. Go watch it.

As for the soundtrack, it is inoffensive, but didn't really inspire me. It is roughly one half pop songs and one half whimsical score type music. It is all done by one artist (Badly Drawn Boy) and this helps give the film a nice cohesiveness. I'm not sure it translates as well as just a record.

Badly Drawn Boy's music is a sort of indie-pop sound, kind of like a cross between Enya and the Cranberries, only stripped bare of any Celtic overtones, which are replaced by synth and piano.

It is the kind of music I would ordinarily dislike (I'd be tempted to say it needs some Celtic overtones) but it is actually passably good. The music has a nice flow and after a hard day at work, I found it a relaxing drive home. There is even a disco-esque track called "S.P.A.T." which got me moving a bit.

I also liked "A Minor Incident", which has a bit more of the folk overtones that I like in music of this tempo and simplicity.

Apart from these, I just didn't feel challenged or inspired. Not angry in a 'why won't this album end?' kind of way either - just sort of 'meh'. Inoffensive pop that makes for a good soundtrack, as part of an excellent movie, but maybe takes a step down when forced to stand on its own.

And that's all I've got tonight - hope you got your money's worth.

Best tracks: S.P.A.T., A Minor Incident

CD Odyssey Disc 251: White Stripes

Certain albums in your life get a lot of heavy play when you first buy them. This next review is one of those.

Disc 251 is...Elephant
Artist: White Stripes

Year of Release: 2003

What’s Up With The Cover?: The White Stripes like their covers to be red, white and black, and here's another. I quite like the simplicity of this cover though. Meg looks like she's crying, and Jack looks astonished - or vacant. I can't imagine Jack White as vacant so I'm going to go with astonished. Also, is that a cricket bat he's holding? That's a bit odd...

How I Came To Know It: Like every person with a pulse in 2003, I heard the song "Seven Nation Army" and had to have this album.

How It Stacks Up: I have six White Stripes albums, and with their announced retirement that may be all there will ever be. Of the six, there are three I prefer, and "Elephant" is one of those. I think I'd put it either first or second. I have a hard time ranking White Stripes albums though, as they are all pretty close, so that might change by the time I roll another one of their records.

Rating: 4 stars but a very thin line from 5

Is there an elephant in the room? Yes - and that elephant is that everyone already knows this record. If you don't then I applaud you - living under a rock for the past seven years has probably saved you a considerable amount on rent.

This is also the album that broke the White Stripes into the main stream where schmucks like me would hear them. This happened a little late, as "Elephant" is their fourth studio release. They made some minor waves on their previous record, "White Blood Cells" (reviewed back at Disc 126) but nothing comparable to the success that came with "Elephant".

As a result of the late blooming, the sound of this album is very mature to me. All White Stripes albums have that visceral production and bluesy grit that Jack White is so good at, but "Elephant" is definitely a well formed idea.

That idea begins with one of the great rock songs of our generation, "Seven Nation Army". This is one of those songs that we'll still be hearing on rock radio stations thirty years from now. For all that I've heard it countless times, I still love it. White consistently shows that every great riff was not used up in the seventies - there are still plenty more to discover, and he lends one to this modern day classic.

That said, the album is more than "Seven Nation Army" and "The Hardest Button to Button" (the other hit). These songs form the nucleus of seventies inspired blues rock, but "Elephant" reaches in both directions from here. "Ball and Biscuit" is over seven minutes of the blues, amplified out of all ho for your listening pleasure. Like a good blues song, it never feels like it is dragging, despite playing the same basic riff most of the time.

At the other end we have "In The Cold Cold Night" a tight little song, with Jack showing he can play quietly in the background, and Meg's voice - fragile and real - singing proudly, when so often she sits behind her drum kit, comfortably anonymous.

There are even punk elements on furious tracks like "Hypnotize", although White's natural musical ability and clear ennunciation always make his songs too melodic to fall far into the realm of punk, "Hypnotize" does capture the ferocity of the movement.

The one bad track is the 14th, "Well It's True That We Love One Another" which is a too-cute dialogue between Jack, Meg and guest vocalist Holly Golightly (herself, possessing of a name too-cute all on its own). It is supposed to be lively banter between the characters on the nature of their various relationships. Instead, it sounds like something that was borne from a jam session in the studio, and should have been left on the cutting room floor. Still, with the other 13 tracks as strong as they are, this is a minor quibble.

I won't wax on (or off) much longer. The truth is, the White Stripes are already a critical darling, and this album is the most precious among their offerings. Consequently, we've all read plenty about it, and I won't be able to add much that hasn't already been said.

I will say that my work took my up to Camosun College yesterday when I had this in my car and while I was there I noted a sign on campus pointed to the Jack White Building. It struck me to the point that I took a picture of the sign.

Of course, this would be an entirely different Jack White, but the moment was nevertheless illustrative; even out of my car and thinking about work, this album had gotten into my head to the point that I was noticing it even when it wasn't present. Or put more simply, it leaves an impression.

Best tracks: Seven Nation Army, There's No Home For You Here, In The Cold Cold Night, Ball and Biscuit, The Hardest Button to Button, Girl You Have No Faith in Medicine

CD Odyssey Disc 250: Budgie

The last time I reviewed an album by this next band, I was flush with the glow of love's onset. Now I've had a little bit of separation - I still like the band but probably not as much as I did six months ago.

Disc 250 is...Never Turn Your Back On A Friend
Artist: Budgie

Year of Release: 1973

What’s Up With The Cover?: Budgie does some seriously cool album covers, many of which feature some fantastical scene where some person or creature has been given a budgie's head. In this cover, both the creature AND the person have been 'budgified' which only makes it twice as cool.

How I Came To Know It: I covered this when I reviewed "In For The Kill" back at Disc 174, but in a nutshell, my friend and fellow music lover Spence put me on to these guys. Thanks again, Spence!

How It Stacks Up: I now have 5 Budgie albums (with plans for more down the road). Of these five, I'd put "Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" 2nd or 3rd best, or roughly equal to "In For The Kill".

Rating: 4 stars.

"Never Turn Your Back On A Friend" (Hereafter referred to as "Never...") is an uneven album. It is part noodle-fest and part hard rock masterpiece, and rarely anything in between. Because the hard rock masterpiece moments outrank the noodle-fest moments, I gave it a generous 4 stars, but it is not for everyone.

What is for everyone (everyone with ears, anyway) is the opening track, "Breadfan" which has become one of Budgie's most famous songs. Never heard it before? Well, that says more about Budgie's relative fame level than it does about "Breadfan"

"Breadfan" is just over six minutes of one fine rock star, starting with a furious riff (Budgie's strong suit), descending briefly into a prog-swamp in the middle for a couple of minutes, and then re-emerging into the same furious riff. Lest you be fearful of the prog swamp, don't be. Without the brief respite, "Breadfan's" riff would cause your ears to melt off. Or in less metaphorical terms - the soft bridge in the middle helps give a little balance to the experience.

The album also has a remake of the thirties blues song "Baby Please Don't Go" which is played well, although lacking any real innovation. I've heard "Baby Please Don't Go" too many times over the years, and subsequently the song just doesn't grab me anymore, even if it is supposedly a classic.

The album also has a series of very slow ballads. Budgie takes great pride in their ability to play both 'soft' and 'hard', and every album has a few of these ballads. On "Never..." they show off some of their better stuff, particularly the fanciful "Riding My Nightmare" and the more philosophical "Parents".

"Parents" is a bit overlong at 10:22, but it is also a very insightful track about moving out of your parents place for the first time, and how all the things they taught you continue to stretch their shadow over your decisions. Whether you are following their advice, or rebelling from it, our parents shape our world view, and this is a song that takes an unflinching look at this fact.

Lest you think "Parents" is indicative of Budgie's level of lyrical insight, it is actually the exception. I find most of their lyrics next to non-sensical, and they seem more focused on a turn of phrase than any clarity. I've already mentioned "Breadfan", which may be great, but don't ask me what it's about - or even what a 'breadfan' even is.

A couple other noteables include "You're The Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk" and "In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand". Um...yeah. "In The Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand" is one of my favourites on the album, but don't ask me what the hell it is about - I'm not even sure what a Tyrefitter is.

As for "You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk", the song begins with over two solid minutes of the most painfully uninventive drum solo you'll ever hear, and never recovers.

Since this album hits more often than it misses - and comes in at a tastefully restrained seven songs, I'm sticking with my four star rating. Budgie isn't for everyone, but if you like progressive seventies rock, and hard hitting riffs, this album could be for you.

Best tracks: Breadfan, In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand, Riding My Nightmare, Parents

CD Odyssey Disc 249: Sarah McLachlan

After an album that took five days to get through, I'm now on a run of 'one and done's. Here's my third straight album done the day I started. Too bad, though - I really like this record.

Disc 249 is...Solace
Artist: Sarah McLachlan

Year of Release: 1991

What’s Up With The Cover?: Extreme close up: Sarah McLachlan edition. I suppose if you are going to make your album cover a giant head, Sarah's is a good one to choose. She's a fetching lady, even when the photographer has made her look like some kind of statue or vampire-girl.

How I Came To Know It: I've had this album since it came out twenty years ago, so the exact nature of my discovery is a bit hazy at this point. I probably heard a couple of the songs and liked them and bought it.

How It Stacks Up: I have five Sarah McLachlan albums - I believe her first five. Of those, "Solace" is at the top of the list. Simply the best; better than all the rest, but without all that creepy Tina Turner stuff usually associated with that expression.

Rating: 4 stars

"Solace" was a pretty big album in Canada in 1991, and had at least three singles. This was before the rest of the world knew Sarah, before Lilith Fair, and before she became the default person to ask questions related to "women in music".

I don't think any of that relates to how good or bad this record is - in point of fact, McLachlan made a great deal of good music after she achieved international fame.

I do think that being early in her career, "Solace" benefits from sparse production, which allows her powerful songwriting to shine through. There are great production decisions on later McLachlan albums as well, but the best moments on "Solace" relate to what isn't done.

As an example, my favourite song on the album (and my favourite Sarah McLachlan song period) is "The Path of Thorns (Terms)". This song is pretty basic. Just a drum and a guitar and Sarah's beautiful voice. The guitar is basically just an Indigo-Girl strum-fest, but I'm always knocked out by the way the guitar strumming rises and falls in intensity - almost adding a whole separate rhythm to the song. Even after twenty years, and hundred of listens, every time I hear it, I can't help but "air strum" along.

Lyrically, "Solace" is very dark in places. It is an album that paints the spaces between people black - and exposes our vulnerabilities in that stark separation. It is introspective, but it is an introspection that is fundamentally about our desire to connect, however fleeting or failing those efforts are.

The lines that haunted me the most when I was 21 years old are still the lines that haunt me today, from the song "Shelter":

"I've seen a part of people that I never
really want to share
I've seen a part of people that I never
knew was there."

Simple lines, that admittedly don't translate their depth when transferred to the page. Sung by McLachlan in a soft, mournful manner they make me think of all the injustices that exist in the world - both the terrible events we read in the news, and the disappointments we encounter in our own lives - maybe even in ourselves. "Shelter" is a song about innocence, and how we all lose it along the way. At the same time, it reminds us that we can never truly lose it - because allowing ourselves to be disappointed reminds us that it can be better than that - and if we're still reminding ourselves, then we're still in the game.

There isn't much to say in the negative about this record. For the most part, McLachlan sticks to her sweet spot, both musically and thematically. There are a couple of songs that I could do without, however. For one, "Mercy", which takes her sad detachment too far - it is overly-sparse, and the lyrics seem strained to the point where she loses her audience into a sort of art-hall experiment.

At the other end, "Into the Fire" is too 'pop music' for my tastes. It is out of her sweet spot in the other direction - trying to hard for a radio-friendly sound, and losing any resonance in the process. Ironically, "Into The Fire" is the biggest hit on the record, which is a real crime, considering how many gems go unnoticed.

"Solace" is a powerful record from a powerful artist, who has left a lasting mark on the Canadian music scene. I almost gave this record five stars, and on another day I might have - but whatever the arbitrary rating, it is a record I don't plan to get tired of any time soon.

Best tracks: Drawn To The Rhythm, The Path of Thorns (Terms), I Will Not Forget You, Back Door Man, Shelter

CD Odyssey Disc 248: ACDC

After a very long stay with Lou Reed, it was enjoyable to roll a very compact album from the days when vinyl dictated it had to be thus.

Disc 248 is...For Those About To Rock
Artist: ACDC

Year of Release: 1981

What’s Up With The Cover?: One of the most iconic rock and roll album covers of all time. Band name, album title and a cannon. Frankly, I'd settle for the cannon.

How I Came To Know It: I have known ACDC since I was a kid - they were a big deal in the small town I grew up in, and I've always liked them as well. I first heard this album when it came out in 1981, although I never owned it until fairly recently when I bought a remastered edition about five years ago.

How It Stacks Up: I don't have close to all of ACDC albums, but I've got a few - eight in fact. Sadly, of the eight albums, I must put "For Those About to Rock" last or 8th. I fully expect it is better than some of the ones I don't have, but the Odyssey doesn't work that way, and so it will have to be satisfied being 8th out of a strong field.

Rating: 3 stars.

There isn't a lot to say about "For Those About To Rock". It is their second album with new lead singer Brian Johnson. I am admittedly more of a Bon Scott guy, but I respect what Johnson brings to the band, and have three albums from that period (but more on the others when I roll them).

Johnson's vocals are strong on the record, and the band is as tight as ever (which is to say, very). The problem with the album are there just aren't enough stand out songs to carry it.

The album starts very strong, with the title track "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" one of the great eighties rock songs. This song hasn't stayed as popular as it has over the past thirty years by accident. The signature riff is excellent, and it is a song that shows Johnson at his best. Also, it features cannons being fired in honour of rock and roll, and who doesn't love that? In fact, I'm going to say this is the second greatest use of cannons in music - only after Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

After this things fall off substantially. The riffs that open each song are still ACDC staples. Driving, blues driven guitar converted to a rock aesthetic and then delivered in a way designed to drag you around the room by your crotch. So that part is still working. The problem is more that these riffs aren't followed up with anything particular memorable. The other elements added to the songs don't build on the riffs, or support them in the way that makes so many ACDC songs go from good to great.

I was going to give this album a friendly 2 stars, but I may be being overly harsh simply by comparing them to their other albums. ACDC has some of the great rock albums ever made, and so they shouldn't be overly faulted for delivering one that is simply 'good'. "For Those About To Rock" is good, and I enjoyed listening to it. I wouldn't start here, though - there are at least seven albums I'd put you on to first.

Best tracks: For Those About to Rock, Let's Get It Up, C.O.D.

CD Odyssey Disc 247: Lou Reed

For those wondering, 'where the hell is the next review?', rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I am still on track to pull into the auditory equivalent of Ithaca in a few years, it is just the last album was rather long.

So long, in fact, I decided to skip my usual practice of listening to the news on the way to work this morning just so I could finish listening to it on the drive home.

And so, here it is.

Disc 247 is...NYC Man: The collection
Artist: Lou Reed

Year of Release: 2008

What’s Up With The Cover?: It is a picture of Lou Reed belting out a tune and looking cool because that is what Lou Reed does.

How I Came To Know It: I knew a couple of Velvet Underground hits all my life, and I had this great tape years ago that had a whole bunch of classics, including "Sweet Jane", "Walk On The Wild Side", and "Heroin". It also had this cool early song, "Pale Blue Eyes". After I sold the tape, for years I looked for a CD that had all the classics, but it had to have these four songs in particular. You'd be surprised how long it took (with "Pale Blue Eyes" usually the sticking point). I finally found this one in 2004 and bought it right away, heedless of just how many other songs were on it.

How It Stacks Up: This is a 'best of' and so can't stack up. Moreover, it is the only Lou Reed I own. I used to have "Dirty Boulevard" on tape and liked it, but likely won't buy it again. Maybe one day I'll get "Transformer" which is admittedly a rock classic.

Rating: best ofs don't stack up - even after four days of brainwashing in the car, I know my Odyssey rights!

This album was a bit of a haul to get through. Put simply, just a little too much Lou Reed/Velvet Underground in one go. It is a two CD set, with a total of 31 songs, many of them of the lengthy variety.

While I usually gripe about overlong albums (and just did again, in a way), you have to cut some slack to an artist when you buy something called an 'anthology' or a 'collection'. By definition, these kind of compilations tend to be a little bit more comprehensive.

So with this in mind, I'll say no more about it and get to the music.

Wasn't Lou Reed cool as a fallen angel/artist in that German movie about angels many years ago? I really believed him in the role - the guy is a pretty good actor, as well as being an accomplished visual artist and musician.

OK, now I'll get to the music, scout's honour.

Lou Reed has been making music since the late 1960s, and has left a significant mark on alternative rock and punk music that I don't think can be easily summed up by an anthology of 31 songs, much less by this little slice of a review, but they don't not-pay me to publish a blank entry.

The first thing that jumps out is the range to the music. Reed switches from understated melodic pieces with exquisite guitar ("Pale Blue Eyes") to catchy rock riffs that remain timeless forty years later ("Sweet Jane") and into punk songs full of distortion and reverb ("White Light/White Heat" that went on to influence a generation of east coast punk bands in the seventies).

My knowledge of Lou Reed albums is extremely limited, but having had a previous 'best of' on tape, a number of these tracks were recognizeable. I also knew "Dirty Boulevard" from the album of the same name. As late Lou Reed goes, "Dirty Boulevard" is a pretty sweet track, and I recall it even being a minor hit in 1989 or 1990.

It is a song much like his earlier work, in that it captures the lives of the down and out in all their grim majesty. Much like Tom Waits, Reed has a special ability to talk about the type of person that society mostly considers forgettable, and ensures we remember them.

The difference is that Waits' characters always seem like they are pulled from a dimestore novel - they have a charm that is somehow separate from their reality. Reed's street characters are all grit, and little glory. Grim poverty clings to their stories, even when they are ostensibly enjoying themselves (often by shooting up drugs).

On this listen, I was struck by the 1973 song, "Caroline Says II" about an abused woman in such a life.

"Caroline says
As she gets up off the floor
'Why is it that you beat me
It isn't any fun.'

"Caroline says
As she makes up her eye
'You ought to learn more about yourself
Think more than just 'I''

"But she's not afraid to die
All of her friends call her Alaska
When she takes speed
They laugh and ask her
What is in her mind"

Lou Reed tells you just what is in her mind, but as a listener you almost wish he hadn't. At the same time, he helps sensitize you to the next time you see someone down and out just why they might be like they are. He shocks you into noticing things that many people walk by every day without a second thought.

Another song that stood out from the ordinary this time around was "The Last Shot", which is from the 1983 album "Legendary Hearts." This is a song about addiction, and trying to give something up - in this case alcohol, although the song later relates obliquely to heroin. Whatever the drug of choice, it provides the unique regret of the addict trying to kick their habit. I love the double meaning of the chorus:

"When you quit, you quit
But you always wish
That you knew it was your last shot."

This is the wish that you wish you savoured that last drink more, and at the same time, the uncertainty that it actually will be. On top of this, "The Last Shot" is a great rock song, with a kick ass riff.

These are the brilliant moments on this record, but at times I found myself trapped in an overlong noodle fest. Such as in "The Bells" a song that immediately follows "The Last Shot" and is over 9 minutes of saxophone noodling, murmuring and guitar drone. "I Wanna Be Black" is more noodling - this time the blues version, clocking in at 6:30 and making me want to throw the disc out the window of the car. For every brilliantly used eight plus minutes ("Heroin" or "Street Hassle") there is one of these little self-indulgent turds.

Overall, I both enjoyed and admired NYC Man. I could've used about ten less songs, but every anthology that short was missing "Pale Blue Eyes" and so I took a deeper dive to get what I wanted. If it felt a little hard to breathe from time time to time, I don't regret the pearls thus uncovered.

Best tracks: Sweet Jane, Rock and Roll, I'm Waiting For the Man, Street Hassle, Caroline Says II, Walk on the Wild Side, Vicious, Legendary Hearts, Heroin, The Last Shot, Dirty Blvd., Pale Blue Eyes

CD Odyssey Disc 246: Mary Chapin Carpenter

Not much is going to measure up against Dire Straits' "Making Movies" but my next album still represented itself well. We return now, to country folk crossover.

Disc 246 is...Hometown Girl
Artist: Mary Chapin Carpenter

Year of Release: 1987

What’s Up With The Cover?: A photo of Mary Chapin Carpenter that looks like it was taken from her agent's portfolio, superimposed on top of a picture of an old farmstead. I'm sure this is supposed to evoke the 'hometown girl' feeling, but it skates dangerously into 'bad folk album photography' territory.

How I Came To Know It: As I noted when I reviewed "Stones In the Road" way back at Disc 44, I can't perfectly remember, but I think it was a music video off of her 4th studio album, "Come On Come On". That was the first album I bought, but "Hometown Girl" was second, I think partly because it was in the sale rack. Fools!

How It Stacks Up: I have four Mary Chapin Carpenter albums (4 of her first 5 in fact). Of the four, I'd have to put "Hometown Girl" at the top of the list. It doesn't have the slick production values of later records, but it more than compensates with superior songwriting.

Rating: 4 stars.

"Hometown Girl" is one of those many albums that never had the commercial success it deserved. Carpenter would go on to make a modest string of hits, but her first album never even charted. Again, I declare - more emphatically this time - fools!

So many quietly beautiful songs populate this record, it is hard to know where to start. It is a record - not unlike Rilo Kiley's "Takeoffs and Landings" that captures the mixture of exhileration and regret that we feel in early adulthood as we leave to pursue our dreams. In Carpenter's case, this is brought into focus through songs that look back on her own youth, and the choices she has made to pursue music. As she sings in the title track, "Hometown Girl"

"I knew girls when I was sixteen
Could make a smart boy stutter, turn a nice boy mean
And the boys turned the girls into homecoming queens
And married each other instead of their dreams."

She contrasts this life she avoided with her own current experience in the chorus that follows:

"These days I'm mostly out on my own
Looking for someplace that I can call home
Late at night or just before dawn
I pretend your with me now
It never seemed so hard before
What happened to that hometown girl?"

Other songs, capture the ephemeral nature of fame. Already off and running with a record deal, Carpenter pays homage to her fellow musicians that weren't so fortunate in "A Lot Like Me":

"Well he played a lot of places where the only wages were food and beer for free
No fancy licks but he had a gift, the kind of songs he'd sing
But you do what you can to be a satisfied man just to have your piece of mind
So he gave it all up for a government job where the paycheques come on time."

And underscoring the point, Carpenter notes that at the end of her set, she gets her old friend up on stage, and the results remind us that the line between fame and obscurity in music is razor thin, and often arbitrary:

"When I get him up, at closing time
A couple of songs and a chance to shine
As the star that he longed to be
He looked a hell of a lot like me."

This theme also closes the album, on "Heroes and Heroines", which is one of my favourite folk songs over the years. It is a song that bemoans that with each great and brave discovery, there is one less uncharted frontier. While paying homage to those heroes of our past, Carpenter ends with a comparison to those people still willing to strike out anyway:

"Lord help the fool who said,
'better quit while you're ahead'
A dreamer born is a hero bred"

There are so many other great songs on this record - including a remake of Tom Waits' "Downtown Train" which is very good (and a damned sight better than the Rod Stewart monstrosity). Carpenter sings beautifully throughout, and Steve Buckingham's guitar playing is skilled albeit respectfully in the background.

"Hometown Girl" does suffer slightly in terms of range, where the songs are generally introspective and quiet, making it hard to find auditory landmarks on your first few listens, but it is also what makes doing so that much more worth the effort.

Each of the tastefully restrained 10 songs on "Hometown Girl" not only tells a story, within that story it shows us a facet of life in a new light. That the production values are subpar just makes it a diamond that's a little rough around the edges, but polishes up beautifully.

Best tracks: A Lot Like Me, Other Streets and Other Towns, Hometown Girl, A Road Is Just A Road, Just Because, Heroes and Heroines

CD Odyssey Disc 245: Dire Straits

It is the nature of the human mind to find patterns even in randomness, and so it is that I note this is my third straight review of an album that my lovely wife Sheila introduced me to. This is one is head and shoulders the best of the three - and has come to be one of my favourite albums.

Disc 245 is...Making Movies
Artist: Dire Straits

Year of Release: 1980

What’s Up With The Cover?: Not much. Is it supposed to be a film frame? I honestly have no idea.

How I Came To Know It: As noted in the teaser, Sheila introduced me to this album. I think she bought it when it came out on remastered CD in the mid-nineties. I've loved it ever since.

How It Stacks Up: We have all six of Dire Straits studio albums, as well as one live album. "Making Movies" is my favourite of the lot.

Rating: 5 stars.

"Making Movies" is a classic rock album, short, powerful and perfectly balanced. I consider it a must-have in a CD collection.

The record begins with the eight minute epic, "Tunnel of Love" a song about love discovered at the fairground. Strangely, Bruce Springsteen does a song much later in the eighties also called "Tunnel of Love" and also about love at the fairground, albeit a little more focused on one ride. Springsteen's is pretty good as well, but nothing compared to this song.

What I love about "Tunnel of Love" isn't the topic, so much as the construction of the song. Piano and drum holds down the basic melody, as Mark weaves the story, sometimes with the lyrics, but even more so with his signature guitar sound. I personally hold Mark Knopfler at the top of the top in terms of guitar players. Iommi, Hendrix or even Dharma come close, but my money is on Knopfler.

Many of the songs on "Making Movies" have an artful fade out of a Mark Knopfler solo. Unlike the overlong noodling of their live album, "Alchemy", the songs on "Making Movies" have guitar moments that are just long enough to explore the space (minus cowbell) but not so long as to be masturbatory. It is a fine line, and on every song on this album, Dire Straits walks it perfectly.

The second song, "Romeo and Juliet" is a modern reinterpretation of the star-crossed lovers. I first heard this song as an Indigo Girls remake, and because it is so different from that reinterpretation, it took me quite a while to accept the original.

Now I love it. Not that I've abandoned Amy and Emily - I still like their acoustic effort, but Dire Straits' version is equal to it, and moreover - it is original, which breaks the tie in their favour. "Romeo and Juliet" has so many good lines, but I'll just share one stanza that is grabbing me on this listen:

"When you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin
Now you just say 'oh Romeo - yeah you know I used to have a scene with him."

While "Romeo and Juliet" is inspired by an earlier work of art, "Skateaway" in turn went on to inspire a movie (or so I believe). The song is about a girl who loves to rollerskate through traffic and making movies. I can't see how this wasn't the inspiration for Heather Graham's character of "Roller Girl" in "Boogie Nights".

Unlike my previous review for "Exciter" I've heard "Making Movies" countless times over the past fifteen years or so, and I've never tired of it. I even enjoy the lesser tracks like "Solid Rock" and "Les Boys". I particularly get a kick out of "Les Boys" which is about the gay leather scene. It pokes gentle fun, but clearly comes from a place of respect well ahead of its time. Good for you, Dire Straits.

"Making Movies" has no bad songs, features exceptional musicianship, makes consistently good production decisions, first rate lyrics and keeps you interested from the first listen through the hundredth - all the while weighing in at only seven songs. In short, it is how music should be made.

Best tracks: All of them, but I guess "Solid Rock" is the runt of an impressive litter.