CD Odyssey Disc 1970: Paul Kelly and the Messengers

Happy Halloween, and welcome back to the CD Odyssey! Before our review I will share four of my favourite albums from the year corresponding with the review number – 1970!

• Black Sabbath x2, “Self-Titled” (Disc 105) and “Paranoid” (Disc 194)
• Simon and Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” (Disc 351)
• Allman Brothers, “Idlewild South” (Disc 940)

I’m falling behind in my listening to new albums right now, as my wallet is turning out to work faster than my ears. This next album is one of the reasons why – an impulse buy that led me to several more of the same.

Disc 1970 is…Comedy

Artist: Paul Kelly and the Messengers

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover? A dingy comedy club awaits its next hopeful fool. The time lapsed photography blurs some of the patrons and lends an air of listlessness. Every night in this place is the same –uneven performers and tired jokes.

On the plus side, cheap drinks and no cover!

How I Came To Know It: My friend Casey introduced me to Paul Kelly when he bought me Kelly’s 1989 album “So Much Water, So Close to Home” for my birthday one year (thanks, Casey!). Years later I saw “Comedy” and a couple other albums sitting in the local record store at discount prices. I took a chance on all three and here we are.

How It Stacks Up: Paul Kelly has an impressive 28 studio albums across his career, but I only have four of them. Of those four, I put “Comedy” in at #1.

Ratings: 4 stars

Going for a double album is a delicate decision. For every “London Calling” and “The Wall” out there, there is another double record in desperate need of a trim. Paul Kelly’s “Comedy” lands somewhere in the middle. Could I have cut a few tracks and squeezed it into a single LP? Probably, yes, but the quality of the songs would have made the task difficult. So while I initially chafed at the length of this record, I still found myself sinking into a lot of timeless gems from one of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters.

In 1991 Paul Kelly was walking that folk/rock line that would later morph into what the kids now call “Indie” but back in the day we called it “College Rock”. Terms change, but this particular mix of lyric-forward delivery and jangly guitar will be well familiar to any fans of R.E.M., Uncle Tupelo and countless other bands doing similar stuff across the Pacific and International Date Line. Slap a helping of the Pogues in there, and you’ll have the idea.

If you like that jangly, sometimes dark approach to storytelling, then this record will not disappoint. Yes, the sound and production is a bit light on the low end, but its by design, not accident, and once you settle in and acclimate you can appreciate how that slightly diffuse sound brings exactly the kind of uncertainty that these songs need to help you think deep thoughts.

The album opens with “Don’t Start Me Talking” which for an album called “Comedy” is a pretty good (if unintended) inside joke. The song isn’t about the fact that a double album and 17 more songs await you, but it was hard not to feel Paul was winking at me.

Kelly is a masterful songwriter, and he knows how to take a small event or image and blossom it into a broader theme that explores the complicated trials of the human heart.

“Wintercoat” is a fine example, which in just three and a half minutes walks us through the start of a relationship, its collapse and the stark cold that you’re left with. Our narrator clutches his coat about him against the winter air, but the song leaves an unstated certainty that the chill is coming from within, and the coat’s value is in its memory, not its warmth.

“Leaving Her for the Last Time” is a good example of a song where just the refrain can tell you more than the narrator is willing to say out loud. Anyone who is leaving their problematic relationship “for the last time” already has an established track record of not following through.

Kelly is a master of language to match his musical themes. “I Won’t Be Your Dog Anymore” is full of minor key menace, and a plaintive chorus that cries defiance. The lyrics are some of the best on the record and match the tone. A couple of great snippets:

“I’ve been drinking muddy water
And it tastes like turpentine
I’ve been leaving muddy footprints
Up and down the Morgan line”

And later…

“Now the mangrove sun is sinking
And the moon is bloody red
Every gun is clean and loaded
Lying by a feather bed”

That is some dark and brilliant shit.

At the end of our epic journey, Kelly returns to his comedy theme with, “Little Boy Don’t Lose Your Balls”. It’s a funny time and a good image to giggle to, but like “Don’t Start Me Talking” it isn’t just for laughs, as Kelly works in deeper messages. On “Don’t Start Me Talking” Kelly warns that if you invite him to share his deepest thoughts he’ll do just that, and the record that unfolds explores individual tragedy, as well as social justice themes, inequity and a host of complex human emotion.

“Little Boy Don’t Lose Your Balls” bookends our journey through comedy that’s not. It’s a reminder that wealth and recognition don’t mean a thing if you lose your integrity along the way. Wise words to live by.

Could this record shave four or five of its 18 songs and be slightly better? Absolutely, but even with the bloat it is still one of Paul Kelly’s best.

Best tracks: Don’t Start Me Talking, Wintercoat, Leaving Her For the Last Time, I Won’t Be Your Dog Anymore, Take Your Time, Sydney from a 727,  Little Boy Don’t Lose Your Balls

CD Odyssey Disc 1968: Orange Goblin

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. As we’ll be doing for the next 50 or so reviews, here’s a few records I recommend from the year corresponding to the review number.

• The Rolling Stones, “Beggar’s Banquet” (Disc 381)
• The Beatles, “The White Album” (Disc 593)
• The Byrds, “Sweethearts of the Rodeo” (Disc 1021)

Not exactly a very surprising list, and overall 1968 does not look to be shaping up as my favourite year in music.

And now…goblins!

Disc 1968 is…Frequencies from Planet Ten

Artist: Orange Goblin

Year of Release: 1997

What’s up with the Cover? There is a LOT going on with this cover. We have landed on an alien planet just in time to see a musical meet up. A giant intergalactic amp and speaker stacks are pumping out tunes to all the groovy guests.

The dude with the hookah may even be producing some sonic creations of his own with all those shoulder pipes. The cone-headed green dude has a squeeze box of sorts, if a squeeze box was a disembodied mouth that shrieked when you squeezed it.

As for the moon, he is the only one who appears distressed at the whole affair. Maybe he’s already had some noise complaints from the other planets, or maybe he’s just afraid of music. I admit I am also a little afraid of music that features a screaming mouth being squeezed by a disembodied hand.

That said I’ve got pretty varied tastes and would be willing to give it a go.

How I Came To Know It: I was introduced to Orange Goblin by my friend Chris, who played a record of theirs one day during a barbecue. It isn’t your usual fare for a barbecue, but it worked.

This particular album is part of a 2002 rerelease of Orange Goblin’s first two records (the other being 1998’s “Time Travelling Blues”) that I found used at the local record store and snapped up on the cheap.

How It Stacks Up: Orange Goblin has 10 studio albums, but I only have four. Of those four, I put “Frequencies from Planet Ten” at #2.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Frequencies from Planet Ten” is Orange Goblin’s first record, so it can be forgiven for wearing its inspirations on its sleeves. Fortunately, those influences are honoured and blended, not simply imitated. The result is a record that at different times can feel from a previous time and also strangely current, often alternating between these sentiments within a single song.

Orange Goblin is for the most part a psychedelic metal band, prone to groove-driven guitar riffs suitable for watching a pack of Harley Davidson’s drive by. They also liberally mix in garage rock and even a soupcon of KISS in the vocal delivery of lead singer Ben Ward.

Ward’s raspy tones are more Lemmy than Simmons/Stanley but the phrasing of the songs have a KISS groove to them in places that the more punk-flavoured Motorhead doesn’t explore.

I found the sound initially a bit too full and busy, but Orange Goblin is like a very hot bath – you’ve got to immerse yourself for a while before you decide if you like it. The longer I listened the more I started to pull the intricacies of time signatures, and internal melodic shifts.

When they do these well they hearken to greats like Black Sabbath; chugging riffs that made me want to swing what’s left of my hair in a mosh-fueled fury. Those riffs tend to sit forward in the pocket creating that urgent lean that had me thinking earlier of fat-bodied choppers and growling sword pipes.

There were also many occasions where they descended into a more experimental thrashing about. Sometimes these worked (and reminded me favourably of Deep Purple) and other times they got a bit too impressed with themselves (and reminded me of Cream).

You read that right, dear reader: I admire Cream’s contributions to hard rock, but I don’t like listening to an album full of it.

But I digress…

The band does a bit of all of this stuff – the groove, the psych, and the weird – on “Saruman’s Wish”, which is one of my favourites almost despite itself. You can enjoy this record just for the many different musical movements it explores across a little over six minutes, but the lyrics are also solid. They explore Saruman the White’s descent into madness (presumably with all that Palantir-staring he’s been getting up to). He sees a world lost, with the only escape to selfishly seize what power he can.

Later the band will do a short instrumental tune capturing the mysterious beauty of the forest of Lothlorien (which they misspell “Lothlorian”). It is a lovely palate cleanser halfway through the record’s otherwise furious pace.

Lord of the Rings fans, that bit was for you. IYKYK.

I actually found the back half of the record stronger than the front, but that could be because on each listen it took a while to sink in.

“Orange Goblin” (the song) is the crunchies track on the record, which is saying something. This is fist-pumping thump at its best. A lot of the lyrics on this record are overwrought and ridiculous, but it works well when paired with the bombastic beats and riffs on a song like “Orange Goblin”.

There are two bonus tracks on this re-issue, which are basically adding a two-song EP onto the back end. I don’t usually like when a band adds bonus tracks onto the same disc, but this EP is only two tracks (“Nuclear Guru” and a cover of “Hand of Doom”) also released in 1997, and is a good stylistic fit.

As for the cover of “Hand of Doom” it doesn’t add a lot to the Sabbath original other than 90 seconds of playing time, but it is well-played and any day I get a chance to hear “Hand of Doom” is a good day.

Overall, this record is very solid debut. There are places where they stray a bit too close to the edge of imitation (one track has Ward calling out a very Ozzie-like off-the-beat, “all right now!” which I thought unnecessary) but they are rare moments that I forgive as part of the recklessness of youth. For the most part this is a band exploring myriad off hard rock traditions and forging their own space in the process.

Best tracks: The Astral Project, Saruman’s Wish, Lothlorian (sic), Orange Goblin, Star Shaped Cloud

CD Odyssey Disc 1967: The Tragically Hip

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. Before we get to Disc 1967, here are a few records I heartily recommend from the year 1967:

• Jimi Hendrix, “Are You Experienced?” (Disc 1928)
• Leonard Cohen, “Songs” (Disc 522)
• Albert King, “Born Under a Bad Sign” (Disc 1862)

OK – on with the album review…

Disc 1967 is…We Are the Same

Artist: The Tragically Hip

Year of Release: 2009

What’s up with the Cover? Some fellas (presumably the band) stand around an outdoor fire. At least I hope it is outdoors, because the sparks coming out of that chimney will definitely damage the ceiling.

How I Came To Know It: I heard the song “Coffee Girl”. This was years after this album was released and I wasn’t really focused on the Tragically Hip at the time, but I liked the song and was intrigued by what the Hip had been up to all these years.

While not my favourite Hip record, it did return me to them and caused a second round of exploring their discography from the other end of their career, so that was cool.

How It Stacks Up: I have eight of the Tragically Hip’s thirteen studio albums, which is a goodly amount, but not at the level of super fan this band tends to attract. Of those eight, “We Are the Same” comes in at a #7, which sounds bad, but it isn’t – it is just a tough field.

Ratings: 3 stars

For the most part, I am an “early Hip” fan, and all my other records span from their eponymous EP debut in 1987 through to “Phantom Power” in 1998. “We Are the Same” is the exception to that rule, a full decade later returning me to a band and making me ashamed that I had left so soon.

“We Are the Same” is a slightly softer, gentler record overall in its arrangements, but the key ingredients to the Tragically Hip are all there. The superior musicianship - more orchestra of sound than individual showboating, and melodies that draw you inward to a beauty that emerges more fully only after repeated listens. Along with all of that, the thoughtful Gord Downie lyrics, masterfully phrased out into the song.

Downie’s vocals on “We Are the Same” are less aggressive on this record, but just as emotive. His voice has a natural hurt in it, and on “We Are the Same” it surprised me with just how soothing hurt can be, when done right.

This is most notable on the lilting beauty of “Coffee Girl” which paints the perfect picture of the neighbourhood barista, recasting that person you see for five minutes a day as a three-dimensional human. Downie’s artistry is showcasing the “why” of the character, with half-painted scenes that honour the character while reminding the listener that no, you don’t really know this person like you think you do.

I didn’t love all the lyrics on the record as much as “Coffee Girl” but that’s a feature of a Tragically Hip record, where often you’re not sure what Downie is singing about fully, catching his poetry like phrases of passing conversation, or gusts of wind blowing leaves. Evocative in the moment, but fleeting, and a bit mysterious.

Musically, my favourite is “The Last Recluse” which has Downie delivering a sublime set of high notes that lifts your spirits while simultaneously leaving you uncertain just where you are being lifted to. Best line:

“When the wind comes up and the surface of the water scuffs

-      Enough! Enough! – the ferry whistle cried.”

“The Depression Suite” holds down the end of Side One with a deep exploration of depression. The theme is that even when we are down and feel alone, someone else is feeling just as depressed as you are: the Hip’s answer to R.E.M’s “Everybody Hurts”. Observant readers will note later that despite this praise it does not feature in the “best tracks” summary. That’s only because the song is over nine minutes long and could probably accomplish the same magic in five or six.

The record has a pastoral quality to it. The first song features the still imagery of an overly quiet early morning with “Morning Moon” and the final track bookends it nicely with “Country Day”. In both cases, the quietness around him has Downie thinking Deep Thoughts (this is a common state for him).

The songs still manage to rock out in places, but they feel rounded around the edges in the production, and you get the sense of a veteran band that has settled into their sound and are comfortable letting it unfurl without having to press. Still thoughtful, still creative, but all with a greater sense of calm. Is it better or worse than the groove-filled rock of their earlier work? It’s neither. It’s just the exploration of a different facet of the band’s sound, and while not my favourite, still a worthwhile entry into their impressive catalogue.

Best tracks: The Last Recluse, Coffee Girl, Queen of the Furrows, Country Day

CD Odyssey Disc 1966: Ozzy Osbourne

I’ve decided to try something new where before I do the review of the day, where I list a few (no more than five) of my favourite records from a year with same number as what review I am on. Obviously once we are “in the future” this will cease, but it’ll be fun for a while.

So, without further ado, here are two great records from 1966:

·       Bob Dylan, “Blonde on Blonde” reviewed at Disc 306

·         Simon & Garfunkel, “Sounds of Silence” Disc 239 – where I wrongly labelled it’s release year as 1965 (in my defence it was January, 1966).

I also really dig the Supremes – “Supreme A’ Go-Go” but I don’t own it yet. That is going to change very soon.

“Wait a minute”, you may be saying, “did he just exclude both "Pet Sounds" and "Revolved"? Yeah, I did. I like both those records just fine, but these are some of my favourite albums from 1966, not someone else’s…

Disc 1966 is…No More Tears

Artist: Ozzy Osbourne

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover? Ozzy, having doffed his shirt, is looking angsty and withdrawn. This is in contrast to early Ozzy covers that have him in full cosplay looking like a crazed maniac.

This may seem an odd departure, but don’t judge Ozzy. Every band not still in the denial of hair metal’s death spiral at this time was trading in for tarp-less angst.

Frankly, I think Ozzy wears it better than most. He’s even sprouting a small angel wing on his back, which would have made wearing a shirt itchy.

How I Came To Know It: This is yet another of my Ross records, obtained from my buddy Ross when he divested his CD collection. This is the seventh review of that bunch so far. Thanks, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I currently have four Ozzy records (two via Ross, and two via my own devices). I don’t know any of them well enough yet, but I am confident “No More Tears” at least good enough to be third, and maybe even second. For now I’ll put it in third. Maybe it’ll finish second, but that’s the disadvantage of skating first…

Ratings:4 stars

Great artists tend to have later career classic records, and “No More Tears” is one of those for Ozzy Osbourne. More than a decade after he launched his solo career with the brilliant “Blizzard of Ozz” Ozzy returns with a record that is a bit more polished than what fans might expect but showcasing some of his strongest work.

While the record leans a bit more into hard rock ballads than pure metal, there’s no denying its edge, with Ozzy always willing to lean into the darker side of the human experience.

This is never truer than on the opening track, “Mr. Tinkertrain” a song told from the perspective of a child abuser, who has given himself the clownish alter ego of Mr. Tinkertrain, under which he hurts kids. Ozzy sings about madmen and werewolves without a second thought, but the deep dive into the terrifying and horrible Mr. Tinkertrain is as dark as he gets. It is genuinely creepy.

The record features two timeless earworms that would help define the decade for those with an ear for metal. The first of these is “Mama I’m Coming Home”, fueled by the inspired picking of guitarist Zakk Wylde. Wylde’s work here is like a pastoral folk song in places, then switching to pure metal magic in the inspired solo that – like all good solos - relies more on tone than speed.

“Mama, I’m Coming Home” has some of Ozzy’s best work as a vocalist as well, as he does what Ozzy always does – turns his performance deeply inward to his most vulnerable, and then lets that vulnerability blossom out to his audience. The ability to share the unseen storms in the depth of the human heart is a true art, and few do it as well as Ozzy.

The other big hit was “No More Tears” which is another metal classic. It has an odd bit of synth production at the front end that are very much a product of the time, but “No More Tears” makes that fuzzy production a feature not a bug. The song is a long one at 7:23 in playing time, but you never get bored.

While those are the radio hits (I assume) the whole record is great, and on successive listens I enjoyed this record more and more. In addition to freaking us out with “Mr. Tinkertrain” and making us feel the feels with “Mama…” Ozzy throws in a bunch of songs that are ground zero for metal conversation.

“Hellraiser” is a song about being on the road and rocking out. It’s simple message: “come to my concert, and I will blow you away”. “I Don’t Want to Change the World” is classic metal rebellion. A “screw you” for all those critics saying Ozzy is bad for your kids. Best lines:

“Tell me I'm a sinner, I've got news for you
I spoke to God this morning and he don't like you
You're telling all the people the original sin
He says, he knows you better than you'll ever know him”

“Zombie Stomp” is a weird Side Two offering that took me a while to love. It takes forever to get going and feels like more of an exploration of beat and rhythm than a full song. In the end it never became a favourite, but I started to appreciate it for what it was. Could the record (which approaches a full hour in length) live without the six-minute stretch of “Zombie Stomp”? Yeah, it could, but it is more weird and out of place than objectively bad.

The final track, “Road to Nowhere,” is a perfect summary of Ozzy’s ability to pull you in with deeply personal compositions. Here Ozzy is feeling a bit of regret across past years. He doesn’t wallow in mistakes once made, but he acknowledges them in a way that feels sincere and thoughtfully explored.

“The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me
It just won't leave me alone
I still find it all a mystery
Could it be a dream?
The road to nowhere leads to me”

Ozzy isn’t saying he’d change anything in this song, he’s just recognizing that he got here on his own. By internalizing his own road to nowhere, and sharing it with the audience, he invites us all to a little introspection.

Purists might say that some of these songs are too soft around the edges for an Ozzy record. I might have said the same in 1991 when it came out and was not yet a converted Ozzy fan. But those people (including me) were completely overlooking just how consistently ballsy Wylde’s guitar work is on this record. We were also overlooking that at their core these are just well-constructed songs, that would be bangers in any genre.

I’m so glad that through my friend Ross I had a chance to reacquaint myself with this record 25 years later and both recognize my initial error, and this record’s greatness.

Best tracks: I Don’t Want to Change the World, Mama I’m Coming Home, No More Tears, S.I.N., Hellraiser, Time After Time, Road to Nowhere

CD Odyssey Disc 1965: Lera Lynn

This next album review doesn’t have a concert component, but I did see this artist live eleven years ago in Nashville. You can read all about it back at Disc 792.

Disc 1965 is…Resistor

Artist: Lera Lynn

Year of Release: 2016

What’s up with the Cover? Angles and shapes, yo! Also Lera’s disembodied head in a circle.

I’m not sure what this cover is going for, but apart from an exploration of rudimentary geometry, it does not land it.

How I Came To Know It: By 2016 I was already three albums deep with Lera, so this was just me buying her latest release and hoping for the best.

How It Stacks Up: I have seven Lera Lynn albums, which I feel is a lot. Of those, I put “Resistor” in at #4, so right in the middle.

Ratings: 3 stars

“Resistor” finds Lera Lynn doubling down on the same “mood music to be murdered to” kind of vibe that worked for her so well on her 2014 record “The Avenues” as well as her contributions to the second season of “True Detective”. It’s a warm and sultry soak in cigarette smoke and whiskey neat.

Sounds alluring – but it doesn’t come easy. “Resistor” is a headphones album – better when you can immerse yourself in it without distraction. As driving albums go it is a forgettable bit of background hum, but if you give it your full attention without the roar of the engine competing with the low notes and it is instantly so much better.

These songs are lounge personified, and while there is a wall of sound quality to it, Lynn’s vocals have an ability to travel through without ever breaking the broader mood.

The opening track, “Shape Shifter” is a bit of a banger, up tempo and with the snap of a snare drum and syncopation that won’t show itself much for the rest of the record. This song is the one tune that throws its hip into the street and invites you to give the rest of the record a chance. It’s a wise opening choice, but don’t expect more of the same, as the remainder of the record will instead retreat into the deeper swells of sound.

These are songs that take their time, and if you’re in a hurry it is going to irritate you. Lynn’s purpose is not to show you vocal gymnastics, nor to hop from one musical concept to another. She’s here for the slow burn, the late-night confessions that come only after the second bottle of wine gets opened.

Lynn’s early records are much more country in style, and through the mist and mystery of her more urbanized self you can still pick out a western twang, particularly on songs like “For the Last Time” and “Slow Motion Countdown”.

The subtle reverberation of “Slow Motion Countdown” features the many and varied dangers of the night: the rattlesnake in the midnight desert out back, and the distant stare from a lover in the booth across from you, both cold-blooded and dangerous. It’s a song about fading love, but more than that, it is a song about the untethered danger of what comes next.

There are places where the whole thing is so atmospheric it almost collapses under the weight of its own coolness, and not every song has the bones to hold the groove on its own. Just a touch more balance toward that earlier twang would have been welcome, but Lynn won’t go back to simpler times any more than the complex and alluring characters she sings about.

In the end “Resistor” is a slow dance of a record that can go a couple of different ways. Awkward and a bit distant if you are only willing to put your hands on its hips and avoid eye contact; evocative and tactile when you embrace it close against you, and surrender to its perilous charms.

Best tracks: Shape Shifter, Cut + Burn, Run the Night, For the Last Time, Slow Motion Countdown

CD Odyssey Disc 1963: Ted Nugent

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey where I randomly select and review every album in my collection. Since we’re not done yet, let’s sail on to the next port of call.

Disc 1963 is…Weekend Warriors

Artist: Ted Nugent

Year of Release: 1978

What’s up with the Cover? You’ve heard of the key-tar? The double-necked guitar where one neck is a bass? Well Ted does this one better with a guitar that doubles as a shotgun.

Apparently the ‘gun-tar’ is fired when Ted plays a particularly killer riff, as Ted demonstrates here. Any concert where this thing gets played probably needs an extra rider on the insurance.

How I Came To Know It: This was another of the “Ross Records” collection that I got from my buddy Ross when he was divesting himself of CDs. I was already a fan of Nugent so this was an easy selection. Thanks again, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I have four Ted Nugent albums, two with the Amboy Dukes and two solo. I like them all, but competition is fierce and “Weekend Warriors” lands in fourth – but a respectable fourth.

Ratings: 3 stars

The world can sometimes be a confusing place but there is one thing you can count on: put an electric guitar in the hands of Ted Nugent and magic happens. On his fourth solo record since parting ways with the Amboy Dukes, Nugent once again displays his mastery on the axe.

That is the main thing that draws most people to a Ted Nugent record, and on “Weekend Warriors” I was not disappointed. The style is solidly hard rock, with heavy influences of rock’s next-door neighbour, the blues.

The blues vibes on “Weekend Warrior” are strongest on “One Woman” and manifest in the chord progression and classic blues riffs. However, the way the song is played is crunch-forward with a metallic aftertaste that lets you know that hard rock is the driver on this record, even if blues helps with the initial recipe.

I’m a big fan of the epic sonic explorations on Nugent’s early work with the Amboy Dukes, and while there is less of that on this record, there is still plenty to get behind. The best song for those who also love that early sprawl is “Venom Soup”. The album’s longest song by well over a minute and a half, “Venom Soup” is a throwback to that earlier sound. It takes a little time to get going but once it does you are rewarded with a deep soak in Nugent’s guitar brilliance.

To varying degrees, Nugent’s guitar work is a star on every song on the record, but on the majority of tracks the vocals are handled by bandmate Charlie Huhn. Huhn takes singing duties on six of the ten tracks, but his tone and Nugent’s are so similar that I didn’t really notice who was on the mic and had to look it up several times to confirm. If anything, Huhn’s voice is the stronger of the two, but Ted’s got that patented Nugent grime to it which lets you forgive a lot.

My favourite of the Nugent-led tunes is “Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine” which is a classic Nugent song in the “party on” vibe that his music inspires. The solo work in “Good Friends…” sits back a bit in the mix compared to some tracks, but when it hits it grabs your attention and does not let you up for air.

It is hard to describe what makes Nugent’s guitar solos so singular and impressive. So many other guitarists in the hard rock/metal world will fall into a fit of excess, showcasing how fast they can play or how “balls-out” they can sound. Nugent writes solos that serve the song’s underlying melody but that also take you on a journey through a different facet of that melody, just like a good solo should. Yes, he can play fast, but only when the moment calls for it, and he never sounds hurried.

I didn’t learn a lot about life, the universe, and everything while listening to “Weekend Warriors’ nor was there a plethora of new musical ideas to choose from. But that’s not what you come to a Ted Nugent album looking for. You come looking for songs about good times and bad times, played with virtuosity by one of rock and roll’s greatest.

On that front this record delivers and then some.

Best tracks: Venom Soup, Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine

CD Odyssey Disc 1962: Neil Young

I made the mistake of trying to listen to this on my MP3 player after sorting for “album name” and got a mix of songs from Neil Young and the Offspring for my troubles. The CD in the car was far more reliable.

Disc 1962 is…Americana

Artist: Neil Young and Crazy Horse

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? What you see here is not the cover, but an artist’s rendering of turn of the century America on the inside fold of the CD jacket.

For the actual cover, Neil took a 1905 photo of Geronimo and some other First Nations and superimposed the faces of the band over top of them. Opinions no doubt vary on what Neil was intending here, but at minimum it could be triggering, and I’ve chosen to go in another direction. Forewarned, you can look it up elsewhere on the internet.

How I Came To Know It: This was just me giving Neil a chance based on previous positive experiences. I was learning around this time to be more discerning with which Neil Young albums were worth my time.

How It Stacks Up: Neil Young has released 45 albums over his long and illustrious career, but I don’t have all of ‘em and I don’t like all of ‘em. I have at one time or another owned (and reviewed) 23 albums. This is the last one left, and I rank it…21^st. So, not good.

Ratings: 2 stars

As this is the final Neil Young record in my collection, here is the full and exhaustive recap of all 23 (read them all here). Enjoy and/or seethe with disagreement as the mood strikes you:

1. Harvest: 5 stars (reviewed at Disc 1877)
2. Rust Never Sleeps: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 664)
3. On the Beach: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 579)
4. Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 497)
5. After the Gold Rush: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1450)
6. Hawks & Doves: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 188)
7. Prairie Wind: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 160)
8. Le Noise: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 403)
9. Hitchhiker: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1158)
10. Chrome Dreams II: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1196)
11. Harvest Moon: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 257)
12. Comes a Time*: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 883)
13. Homegrown: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1604)
14. Freedom: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1750)
15. Sleeps With Angels: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 20)
16. Ragged Glory: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 730)
17. Tonight’s the Night: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 422)
18. Self-Titled: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 435)
19. Everybody’s Rockin’: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 914)
20. America Stars ‘n’ Bars: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 855)
21. Americana: 2 stars (reviewed right here)
22. Colorado: 2 stars (reviewed at Disc 1809)
23. A Letter Home: 1 star (reviewed at Disc 850)

·         *I was probably a bit harsh on “Comes a Time” at three stars, and it likely should be higher on the list, but a star laid is a star played…

Before we launch into “Americana” let the record above show that I’m not one of those “I only like his early stuff” jerks, and there have been plenty of records (well, five) that Neil put out after 2005 that are solid records.

But it is also true that later Neil has doubled down on doing whatever the hell he wants. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. On “Americana” it doesn’t.

“Americana” sees the return of Neil’s backing band Crazy Horse, whose presence is almost guaranteed to make a record grimier. When these folks get together with Neil everything tends to get drawn out a bit longer with a lot more reverb on the guitar.

Given that this record is a collection of re-imagined old classic American folk songs, I was hopeful that this would mean that some of the “lost” lyrics of standards like “Clementine” and “Oh Susannah” would make an appearance. Some of those lyrics make these old songs even darker and creepier than they already are. To some degree, this hope was rewarded, particularly on these two tracks.

However, Crazy Horse mostly used the extra time to “explore the space” with a lot of not very inventive jam-session style grooves that were equal parts self-indulgent and unimaginative.

The further I went into the record the more irritating this long, drawn-out “go nowhere” vibe became. If the song is going to be five plus minutes long, I want most of that time exploring the various lost stanzas of these classics, not a bunch of hot-boxed, blue haze studio wankery.

Whether you’re covering a song from two, twenty, or two hundred years ago, the unspoken rule of the exercise is well understood: make it original and do it well.

For most of this record, Neil and Crazy Horse only manage the first half of that social contract. Yes, these sound original, but they are mostly deliberately messy dive-bar renditions. If that’s what you want with your timeless folk classics, you might like – even love – this record. I thought it was just a lot of doubling down on an idea that was good for a couple of songs (both of which I’ve already mentioned) but not for a whole record that approaches a full hour of playing time.

“Tom Dula” is a particularly good example of the excess, with eight full minutes that go nowhere special and travel there in the loudest manner possible. The song features plenty of Neil Young’s exceptional guitar playing, but I kept waiting for the song to have a purpose, and it never did. Instead all the layers of improvisation just caked an otherwise interesting tale with a thick layer of sonic mud.

Half-way through the record you get a listless version of “Get a Job,” lurching like Frankenstein’s Monster through a song designed to be lively and full of jump. I found myself wishing this song had instead appeared on Neil’s 1983 rockabilly record “Everybody’s Rockin’.

As a fan of folk music history, there was a part of me that was just happy to have all these old songs, but then I realized that over the years I had many of them by other artists. A quick search of my music catalogue revealed many a gem (“Oh Susannah” – the Be Good Tanyas and the Byrds; “Gallow’s Pole” – Led Zeppelin; “This Land Is Your Land” – Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings; “Wayfarin’ Stranger” – Emmylou Harris; and “God Save the Queen” – Queen).

Young’s version of “Wayfarin’ Stranger” (where he finally tones it down) is pretty solid but he’s no Emmylou…

At the end of the otherwise brilliant version of “Clementine” you can hear a member of the band say, “I thought we shoulda gone back to the F sharp minor”. It’s the kind of conversation you might have with your buddies while jamming, but it isn’t something worth recording.

Which, sadly, is how I felt about large chunks of this record.

Best tracks: Oh Susannah, Clementine, Wayfarin’ Stranger

CD Odyssey Disc 1960: Bleached

Today we explore the bittersweet experience of what is likely a band’s last album. Technically this band is still active, but it has been seven years since their last full LP so hope is getting slim. Nevertheless, let’s live in the moment, where that moment is 2019.

Disc 1960 is…Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough

Artist: Bleached

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? The ladies of Bleached looking sassy and dangerous. Likely ready for a party, although as this record explores, partying doesn’t always end well…

How I Came To Know It: I was already a Bleached fan through their first two albums. This was just me exploring their latest offering.

How It Stacks Up: I have three Bleached albums, which is all of them. Of those, “Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough” comes in at #2, with a surprise nudging of “Ride Your Heart” in the process.

And since this is the final album in my collection here’s a recap:

1. Welcome the Worms: 4 stars (reviewed at Disc 1218)
2. Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough: 3 stars (reviewed right here)
3. Ride Your Heart: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 971)

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

“Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough” sees sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin departing from their earlier fuzzy pop/punk sound toward a cleaner more pop-forward production. It isn’t bad, it’s just evolution. Bands are allowed to do that. If you miss the grittier sound of their previous two records, I have good news for you – both remain available and recorded.

The new sound has them much more aligned to Canadian band the Beaches. Like the Beaches’ Jordan Miller, Jennifer Clavin has a natural rock vocal, not as rich and deep as Miller, but featuring the same combination of rock star and playful pop icon. It had me thinking that the two bands would make a very good 1-2 punch on tour.

Bleached retains their traditional base of garage punk and Go-Gos/Shangri-Las fun on “Don’t You Think…” but also branch out into new territory. On previous reviews I noted their obvious love for Blondie, and that is again evident here, but it is more the later disco-adjacent Blondie. “Hard to Kill” in particular had me thinking of “Heart of Glass”. It isn’t a copy, just an homage, and they take the basic rolling disco rhythm in new directions that results in one of the better songs on the record.

Like a lot of the songs on “Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough”, “Hard to Kill” explores unhealthy choices and struggles with sobriety in a way that feels on the surface like a party song, but on a closer listen reveals a darkness. There’s a price to be paid when you party this hard, and the record is a retrospective of excess and – not infrequently – regret.

We get a lot more of this as the record progresses, with most of the typical outcomes from an unhealthy relationship with drugs and/or alcohol: bad relationships, betrayed friends, calls to 911, and the inevitable apologies that are part of recovery. It’s been done many times by many rock and rollers before, but that doesn’t take anything away from Bleached, who approach the topic with unabashed honesty and a healthy dose of uncertainty of what comes next.

The album features plenty of pop record tricks, like hand claps and whistles all of which have been deployed on various records throughout the years for one reason: it works. True to form, these little flourishes add colour and texture to songs that aren’t complicated in construction and lend themselves to different treatments. There were a couple of places where one too many tricks and instrumental shifts had me feeling fidgety, but mostly I liked it even when it went too far.

Bleached have a natural ability to write a pop hook, and I admire that they add in elements of doo wop, disco and punk wherever they damned well feel to make it more interesting. There was a part of me that kept thinking other Bleached fans might balk at the adjustments, but I had no problem with the evolution of their sound. It didn’t make their sound any more innovative –likely it made it less so – but it generated a lot of novel approaches to songs that, in their bones, are just solid pop hits that deserve to show off a little.

Best tracks: Hard to Kill, I Get What I Need, Somebody Dial 911, Rebound City, Valley to LA

CD Odyssey Disc 1957: The Hives

When you’re a kid you might say “let’s pretend” to get your playmates to buy in to some imagined world. As a teenager it morphs to “let’s say” and as adults we try to pull off the sophistry of “I think we can all agree” without anyone noticing.

Here on the CD Odyssey we don’t do any of that. It’s just one person’s musical observations (mine) and you can agree as much or as little as you like.

Disc 1957 is…The Hives Forever Forever the Hives

Artist: The Hives

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? The Hives dressed up as a quintette of kings (which would be a good name for a band).

When I was younger I belonged to a medieval re-enactment group. I was a 15^th century pirate with a penchant for purple, which some of the more ardent re-creationists felt was an affront to the king.

It was good fun and I was mostly left unaccosted unless I crossed too close in front of the throne (occupied or not) and made it even more of a thing.

If the Hives tried to cosplay these particular outfits there would definitely be some accosting. Of the fun kind, though. Less fun if they were actually trying to pull this off in the actual 15^th century, where it would have led to five very serious and immediate beheadings.

How I Came To Know It: I read a review and overcame that common bias we experience when we know a band has been around for a while and assume that if we were going to like them it would’ve happened by now. Instead I gave it a go and…here we are.

How It Stacks Up: The Hives have a bunch of records but so far this is my only one, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 3 stars

Sometimes when you see a bunch of soccer hooligans marching toward a stadium and chanting I think to myself “what do these guys listen to pre-game to get themselves into a good lather?” “The Hives Forever Forever the Hives” feels like a strong contender. More on this later.

“The Hives Forever, etc.” are what I would call “straight rock and roll, no chaser”. This is the pure stuff. Not particularly creative, nor innovative but just good old fashioned guitar riffs and up-tempo bangers. Good for driving fast, toasting your buddies, or maybe fisticuffs. I like the first two of those things (n.b. not at the same time) and that generally supportive but not all-in approach is how I’d characterize my reaction to this record.

The Hives have a throwback British punk scene sound, with beats that lean forward and guitar chords that crash with frenetic energy. I was surprised to learn they are actually from Sweden. Not exactly a Stefan Edberg “talented but genteel” vibe here.

Where they are Edberg-like is in the precision of their playing, which is top notch. These guys are tight in a way most bands dream about. It is all very fast and furious, but their skills give these songs a polish that most pop songs would envy.

The result is a lot of radio bangers that aren’t exceptionally creative but are a lot of fun. Not a complicated road course here, but they lean tight and fast into what corners there are. As for the riffs, at their best they are timeless perfection and at their worst they are “pretty sure I’ve heard this one before – but still like it”.

In terms of the lyrics, I found myself returning to the aforenoted hooligans (I told you we’d return). I would say that the Hives mostly sing about what can best be characterized as mindless rebellion; middle finger raised to the world (or two fingers in England) combined with recurring announcements exhorting you to party. I love to party, but the parties depicted here feel like the kind that start with friendly toasts and end with someone getting head-butted over something they said about Arsenal.

The opening lines of “Enough is Enough” are:

“Everyone's a little f**kin' bitch
And I am getting sick and tired of it
Went to the doctor 'cause I was sick
Sick of everybody's bulls**t”

And if that doesn’t sufficiently paint a picture, try the chorus from “Paint a Picture”:

“Oh, let me paint a picture
I ain't no f**king slob
Oh, let me paint a picture
More like a f**king god to you”

The chorus from “Paint a Picture” is delivered in unison barroom style that was tailor-made to be a soccer chant someday, if it isn’t already. It’s fun to sing along but it doesn’t exactly provide compelling metaphors or convincing oratory. Then again, it isn’t supposed to. It is supposed be mindless fun, and “The Hives Forever, etc…” is exactly that. Not in any way thought-provoking but a high-energy good time whether driving fast, partying hard, or just getting energized – ideally with no one getting punched.

Best tracks: Enough is Enough, Bad Call, Paint a Picture, Path of Most Resistance