Best Songs

1. Aretha Franklin – “Rock Steady”
‘Ree lays down one of her toughest grooves on this burner. You can hear her riding that hard R&B wave straight into funk and almost out the other side as disco.

2. Rolling Stones – “Brown Sugar”
Is this the sickest number one song ever? The boys from London deconstruct their own bad selves and decide that that they are the foppish plantation owners and their slave goes by the name of rock n roll. Truly twisted in the still warm aftermath of civil rights and race riots it’s at once political commentary, winkingly self-aware, and wickedly poor taste. And you can dance to it. Along with “Satisfaction”, their most perfect single.

3. Al Green – “Tired of Being Alone”
Shit, Al, you won’t be tired long with that voice, that band, Willie Mitchell’s snap-tight production and that killer, killer song.

4. Van Morrison – “Wild Night”
Van the man in full-on R&B mode – stand back! He still knew how to do uptempo at this point with the right amount of subtlety and an arrangement that’s all about tension and release.

5. The Faces – “You’re So Rude”
These guys were giving the Stones (who’d moved on to a whole ‘nother plane of existence musically speaking) a run for their down and dirty millions back in 1971. If only they could keep that lead singer’s attention.

6. Badfinger – “Day After Day”
The non-Beatles Beatles on the Fab Four’s own label, Badfinger was there to fill that poppy, melodic radio hole, especially as George Harrison (who this song most closely resembles) began to blow the great promise of his 1970 solo debut with a long gestating follow-up. In all fairness this is a terrific song and Badfinger had plenty to offer despite the shadow of their patrons.

7. The Kinks – “Oklahoma U.S.A.”
One of Ray Davies many brilliant songs, here imagine an America they had barely scratched the surface of in person. Instead they have films and movie magazines to guide them through a still-unfamiliar landscape.

8. Chairman of the Board – “Chairman of the Board”
One of the great songs named after the band songs, this just rips with an almost retro gutbucket feel. Nice and hard fellas.

9. Johnnie Taylor – “Hijackin’ Love”
Taylor was a flexible guy ranging from blues to R&B and eventually to disco. This was semi-topical in the hijacking reference but ass-shaking in it’s musical inference.

10. Led Zeppelin – “Going to California”
The Zep boys at their pastoral best. Lots of patchouli scented makeout sessions were started to this song.

11. Honey Cone – “Want Ads”
Ah, the days before Internet dating. The gals place an ad in the paper for the kind of man they want.

12. Rod Stewart – “Every Picture Tells a Story”
Rod gets his bandmates in the Faces to back him on a set of songs that simply destroys most of his bands output, including the huge hit “Maggie May.” This is the burner though – a great British folk-rocker that really pounds. makes his decline that much sadder.

13. The Temptations – “Just My Imagination”
One of the last great Motown songs in the classic mode, impossibly lush and yearning. Perfect in every way.

14. Curtis Mayfield – “Keep on Keeping On”
Curtis was a year away from “Superfly” and already staking out his new post-Impressions territory squarely in the funk sound pioneered by Sly Stone.

15. Carole King – “I Feel The Earth Move”
Former Brill Building songstress with ex- Gerry Goffin, King went out on her own with a blockbuster solo album that ushered in the singer-songwriter movement for better or for worse. Still she could write a dman good tune, as here.

16. Jean Knight – “Mr. Big Stuff”
Knight brings the sass with this throwdown classic, later sampled by the Beastie Boys on “Johnny Ryall”.

17. Black Sabbath – “Paranoid”
Ozzy invents metal and accidentally grunge and maybe even punk with this sludgerock touchstone.

18. T. Rex – “Monolith”
The guitar mimics a record-scratch in the intro and Flo and Eddie warble sweetly on this killer Marc Bolan song- one of several outstanding songs he released in 1971.

19. Brenda & The Tabulations – “Right on the Tip of My Tongue”
One of the best band names ever with a sweet sweet soul groove. Don’t forget to say “I love you!”

20. Dave & Ansel Collins – “Double Barrel”
“I am the magnificent!” Yes, yes you are. Like Booker T. in a funhouse.

21. Sly and The Family Stone – “Family Affair”
Whoa your speaker’s blown dude! Nope it’s just the sound of a bass groove redlining. Sly’s sunniness clouds over into some of the deepest darkest music ever while still hitting that pleasure center. Genius.

22. The Chi-Lites – “Have You Seen Her”
Oh man that glorious fuzz guitar just undercuts the sweetness of the vocals perfectly. The aptly named Eugene Record was one of the 70s most under-appreciated songwriters.

23. Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose – “Treat Her Like a Lady”
This is always sound advice.

24. Baby Huey – “Running”
Baby Huey somehow never became a superstar despite having an amazing voice and knack for great songs and arrangements.

25. Jerry Butler – “Ain’t Understanding Mellow?”
Only the 70s could handle a song as passively chest hair medallioned as this one. Just bliss out on the vibes, baby.

26. Harry Nilsson – “Jump Into The Fire”
Harry Nilsson was some kind of self-destructive genius, John Lennon’s lost weekend buddy and the guy who wrote “Without You” as an over-the-top lark only to have it covered by the likes of Mariah Carey sans irony. Then there’s this barnburner, a stomping workout that doesn’t let-up with a bass part that is gluteous cuppingly awesome.

27. Delroy Wilson – “Better Must Come”
Delroy’s signature tune has the resonance of the best soul songs – that touch of gospel deliverance and yearning coupled to an unstoppable rhythm.

28. Arthur Lee – “Everybody’s Gotta Live”
Love frontman Arthur Lee went solo with this typically incisive and catchy song – another in a canon that is just beginning to be accorded the respect he deserves.

29. Colin Blunstone – “I Hope I Didn’t Say Too Much Too Soon Last Night”
Zombies vocalist Blunstone deploys his distinctive voice on this wonderful B-Side which accompanied his very Nick Drake like foray into solo-dom.

30. John Kongos – “Step On”
Covered quite well by Happy Mondays in 1990, this is the real deal – a little touch of the contemporaneous glam sound T. Rex was inventing but with a stomping rhythm track that will have you stepping in time and maybe even doing The Roach.

31. Aretha Franklin – “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Aretha puts the church into Simon and Garfunkel’s mega-hit from the year before and naturally, makes this her own. When Aretha wants your song she bloody well takes it man.

32. Deep Purple – “Anyone’s Daughter”
Probably not what people think of when they think Deep Purple – a jaunty countrified lament.

33. L.V. Johnson – “Doncha Mess With my Money, My Honey, or My Woman”
Some pretty clear instructions but the guy sure like’s his honey doesn’t he? I would have thought “honey” was synonymous with the first or last thing on his list but apparently not.

34. Todd Rundgren – “Who’s That Man”
Todd fills his first album with a range of stylistic references including this, a quick nick from The Velvet Underground’s sound which in turn would be pilfered by David Bowie in coming years.

35. Tony Orlando and Dawn – “Knock Three Times”
What the? Hear me out – this is a cheeseball classic for a reason. A pastiche of the kind of songs Lieber and Stoller were cranking out in the early 60s hides behind Tony’s mustache.

36. Can – “Mushroom”
A huge influence on everything from Talking Heads to Pavement to Radiohead to PIL.

37. Joe Simon – “Drowning in the Sea of Love”
“I’ve been down one time..” Joe Simon really sounds like he’s drowning in this dramatic, obsessive lament.

38. Tami Lynn – “Mojo Hannah”
Straight from New Orleans, Tai Lynn’s tale of a voodoo priestess brought gutbucket funk to the fore.

39. Johnny Cash – “Man in Black”
Johnny helpfully answers the question “Hey Johnny, what’s with the black outfits?”

40. James Brown – “Soul Power”
Brown and band still at their peak with a syncopated call and response. Who needs a chorus or a bridge when you’ve got a groove?

41. Joni Mitchell – “River”
A heartrending memory song that stays on the right side of cloying despite incorporating elements from “Jingle Bells.”

42. The Stylistics – “Betcha By Golly, Wow”
The title sounds like a Sarah Palin stump speech but this is a deadly serious love song. Never have those words been intoned with such gravity.

43. Marcell Strong – “Mumble in My Ear”
This is some sexy stuff, hence the ridiculous image that believe it or not accompanies the only YouTube posting of this song. Honestly, the song already sounds like erect ladynipples, not sure we need to see them too. Not that I mind.

44. John Lennon – “Jealous Guy”
“Imagine” gets all the attention and yes, it’s a great song about atheism but this one hits the emotions in a whole different way. Therapy obviously unleashed a lot of stuff for Lennon and when he sings about losing control you believe it.

45. Yes – “I’ve Seen All Good People”
This is easy to laugh at but the intricate arrangements that punkers sneered at were also catchy as hell. At least on thsi song.

46. Alice Cooper – “Eighteen”
“Half a boy and half a man” sings Vince Furnier who himself was becoming his own band’s name, Alice Cooper. This was 60s garage rock blown up with a touch of grandiosity and a dollop of tongue and cheek – signposts both for grunge, hair metal and indeed Marilyn Manson.

47. The Who – “Behind Blue Eyes”
In a weird way this song all made sense for me at the concert for 9/11 first responders in New York, where the Who played a version for a rapturous audience of worn out Ground Zero workers. It’s something unusual in rock, a requiem for the authority figure who wields power and is aware of the moral conundrum inherent in being, say, a country that values freedom but stands for oppression to some people. And it rocks.

48. Black Sabbath – “Sweet Leaf”
Ozzy’s ode to the ganja – heavy riffs redolent of bong smoke propel this woozy, wobbling wonder.

49. The Grass Roots – “Temptation Eyes”
Creed fro the Office and his bandmates rock out on this tribute to the eye-screw. Any of these lines probably went over well in the eras singles bars. The horn chart is pretty stellar too. Covered memorably with a gender switch by The Blake Babies.

50. Marvin Gaye – “What’s Going On”
Marvin Gaye breaks out of the Motown assembly line to write and produce this classic. While the social commentary is tame compared what Sly and The Family Stone and others were doing, it edged Motown towards a cultural relevance they were in danger of losing touch with.

51. Melanie – “Brand New Key”
Ah the old rollerskates as vagina metaphor.

52. Niney The Observer – “Blood and Fire”
Sampled brilliantly this year by PJ Harvey, this never gets old. “Let it burn” teases Niney and you can hear The Bronx burning a few years later to a disco beat, roofs on fire to hip-hop, and L.A. in flames over Rodney King.

53. Hollies – “Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)”
The Neil Young business was booming in the early 70s, so much so that the likes of The Hollies and America with the execrable “Horse With No Name” felt compelled to fill the market with knock-offs. The Hollies were no shlock merchants and thus this track is high quality indeed.

54. Ringo Starr – “It Don’t Come Easy”
Ringo’s greatest hit via George.

55. The Who – “Baba O’Reilly”
The Who had an album chock full of CSI themes in waiting but this might be the best of them, starting with that hypnotic synthesizer pattern in honor of Townshend’s titular guru.

56. Lee Sain – “Them Hot Pants”
Hot pants – pro or con? Apparently this was a big topic in the early part of the decade, at least udging by the multitude of soul songs on the subject. Sain comes down firmly on the “pro” side opining: “They all look good in hot pants…”

57.Joe Tex – “Give The Baby Anything That The Baby Wants”
The existential question is whether Joe is talking about his chick or his own insatiable inner self, the baby inside us all that wants wants wants.

58. The Beach Boys – “Til I Die”
Whoa heavy man … some of their most psychedelic thoughts beautifully sculpted into a soundscape for depressive rumination by Brian Wilson.

59. The Poppy Family – “Evil Grows”
Control freak alert! Note that this is the same dude who sang “Seasons in the Sun” which is even scarier.

60. The Staple Singers – “Heavy Makes You Happy”
Still not sure if this is about preferring fat broads, but I like to think it is.

61. The Rolling Stones – “Moonlight Mile”
Epically gorgeous, every Guns N Roses ballad aspired to this (and fell short). The strings were highly controversial at the time, no-one had added orchestration to rock as down and dirty as the Stones before. And it kills.

62. Tom Jones – “She’s a Lady”
Of course this is ridiculous but it’s also great.

63. The Dramatics – “Watcha See is Watcha Get”
It’s that Latin rhythm that puts this over, plus the great vocals and timeless message “Some people are made of plastic, some people are made of wood, some people are up to no good…” These guys know that with all the coke snorting and the heavy hand of “the man”, the gals are likely to be paranoid and need to be talked down.

64. Eugene McDaniels – “Jagger The Dagger”
This comes on like a really mellow acid trip that keeps threatening to get heavy but never quite does. Sampled heavily by the likes of Tribe Called Quest and why not? Brilliant.

65. King Floyd – “Groove Me”
More of a command than a request, befitting the appellation “King”.

66. The Staple Singers – “Respect Yourself”
While Madonna was about Expressing ones self, the Staples started with the basics, good old R-E-S=P-E-C-T. It helps when you have a killer bassline too.

67. Bobby Womack – “Communication”
Womack may have been reared on Sam Cooke but he’s all about JB on this and more’s the better.

68. Rasputin’s Stash – “Mr. Cool”
Beck lifted a big chunk of this but it’s all even better in context from the handsmack sound effect to the giant hit of reefer that opens the track.

69. David Bowie – “Life on Mars?”
While much of Bowie’s output was a bit too fey for me at this point, this remains a beautiful and moving song – so much so that it lent it’s emotional heft to the acclaimed BBC show of the same name and it’s American remake.

70. Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band – “Scorpio”
Hot Detroit instrumental funk. Also clearly the best Zodiac sign.

71. T. Rex – “(Bang a Gong) Get It On”
The song most people know by T.Rex and it’s a great calling card, reaching back to Chuck Berry and forward to Prince and kicking off the whole glam movement.

72. Freda Payne – “You Bought The Joy”
Named like a shrink in a Dick tracy comic, Payne had a set of killer 70s soul hits. This one starts to edge ever closer to what would become disco but still keeps bouncing back to classic soul.

73. Focus – “Hocus Pocus”
Gauranteed to put a smile on your face. Yodelling and guitar wanking? Nothing I can say more can top this YouTube comment: “This song makes me want to sniff cocaine out of a wooden clog…”

74. Lee Michaels – “Do You Know What I Mean”
Kind of a weird faux reggae by way of New Orleans, this is his one big hit and it’s pretty great.

75. Paul McCartney – “Too Many People”
McCartney took his early solo years as a chance to explore some of his favorite Beatles byways, one of which was the multi-section song aong the lines of side two of Abbey Road. When you write melodies as insidiously pretty as these the gambit can work. In theory it’s a companion piece to Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?”, attacking his former bandmate. But where Lennon is caustic and petty, McCartney is judgementally wistful.

76. Eric Donaldson – “Cherry Oh Baby”
Classic reggae later covered by the Stones.

77. The Emotions -”Blind Alley”
The Emotions cut their man to the core: “You’re not penetrating..” Ouch.

78. Paul McCartney – “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”
McCartney’s other big multi-section song of the year was this charming hit that is guaranteed to chase all other earworms away.

79. Bill Withers – “Ain’t No Sunshine”
This is all about the timing and phrasing.

80. Tommy James – “Draggin’ The Line”
Tommy James says goodbye to the Shondells and bubblegum and hello to hippy-dippie rhymes with some boss horn charts.

81. Baby Huey – “Hard Times”
Great socially conscious funk – Curtis Mayfield slowed this down on his version and melted into the despair of the lyrics but Huey’s tougher attack is downright angry.

82. The Move – “Message From The Country”
The Move was about to morph into Electric Light Orchestra but before that happened they still had some graceful pop songs in the hopper. Jeff Lynne would take these Beatles-esque melodies and run with them in ELO during the same year.

83. Lee Dorsey – “Yes We Can Can”
The great Lee Dorsey with one of his signature tunes, oft-covered but rarely bettered.

84. The Buoys – “Timothy”
This may be one of the only hits ever recorded about 3 miners trapped in a mine and turning to cannibalism. If you don’t count “Blame it On The Rain” by Milli Vanilli.

85. The Doors – “L.A. Woman”
The Doors tribute to their hometown – after years of seeming irrelevance Jim Morrison and company made a strong comeback which would be painfully cut off by his death in Paris. A masterful song that shows off the band at it’s best.

86. Jerry Reed – “When You’re Hot, You’re Hot”
Long before he was Burt Reynolds’ sidekick in the Smokey and The Bandit films Reed was a country music star. The guitar playing good timer ably straddled genres with this ode to the hot streak.

87. Ike and Tina Turner – “Proud Mary”
They didn’t do anything nice, and easy. The Creedence cover that brought them mainstream success but proved hard to follow up commercially.

88. Yoko Ono – “Midsummer New York”
Yoko Ono was accorded little respect in music circles in 1971 and it’s only in the last few decades that her avant-rock has been seen as the influence it is on music as varied as The Slits, Sonic Youth, L7 and countless others. This molten blues is the equal of anything on her husband’s contemporary album.

89. B.T. Expess – “Express”

90. The Moody Blues – “The Story in our Eyes”

91. The 8th Day – “She’s Not Just Another Woman”

92. Carpenters – “Superstar”

93. Electric Light Orchestra – “10538 Overture”

94. Pink Floyd – “One of These Days”

95. The Flamin’ Groovies – “Teenage Head”

96.Eddie Floyd – “Oh, How It Rained”

97. Led Zeppelin – “When The Levee Breaks”

98. Grateful Dead – “Truckin’”

99. Isaac Hayes – “Theme From Shaft”

100. Osmonds – “One Bad Apple”

…and the 24 best albums of 1971.

24. Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On?

23. Beach Boys – Surf’s Up

22. Badfinger – Straight Up

21. The Doors – L.A. Woman

20. Curtis Mayfield – Roots

19. Todd Rundgren – Runt: The Ballad of Todd Rundgren

18. Paul McCartney – Ram

17. Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey

16. Faces – A Nod is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse

15. Al Green – Al Green Gets Next to You

14. Black Sabbath – Master of Reality

13. Harry Nilsson – Nilsson Schmilsson

12. Joni Mitchell – Blue

11. Baby Huey – The Baby Huey Story: Living Legend

10. John Lennon – Imagine

9. Funkadelic – Maggot Brain

8. Rod Stewart – Every Picture Tells a Story

7. Can – Tago Mago

6. The Who – Who’s Next

5. Lee Moses – Time and Place

4. The Kinks – Muswell Hillbillies

3. T. Rex – Electric Warrior

2. Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers

1.  Sly and The Family Stone – There’s a Riot Goin’ On

The Stooges - one of 1969's best

For our latest flashback we take you on a trip back to 1969 – the year of Woodstock and Altamont when peace and love co-existed with the fallout of the turbulence of the previous year’s wave of assassinations, the election of Richard Nixon, and the continuing trauma of the Vietnam War.

It was a rich year for music with a number of major acts at their peak, a few hidden gems, and the roots of a few genres like funk, punk, and alternative beginning to emerge. So what albums make my favorites list? Here they are in no discernible order at all – my top 25 of 1969:

1. The Beatles – Abbey Road

Though 1970′s Let it Be would be the last album the Beatles would release, Abbey Road is the last one they recorded and it functions as their true swansong, closing the book on what could be the greatest career in rock. Their most lush album also features the best ever harmonies from all four Beatles – ironically their voices had never blended so sweetly across so many tracks. Paul McCartney’s bass playing is at a peak, nearly a lead instrument in its expressiveness and tonality.

In fact this is often described as McCartney’s album which is a bit unfair. Side 2′s extended suites are indeed the work of McCartney and George Martin in terms of sequencing though the encompass Lennon and George Harrison songs but Side 1 belongs to Lennon’s sequencing. More importantly Harrison’s songs are his two best to date (“Something” and “Here Comes the Sun”) and Lennon is no slouch with tracks like “Come Together” and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”. That second side? Pure bliss and a knowing, fitting coda for 8 years of innovation and musical accomplishment that eclipsed all others.

2. The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed

Let it Bleed is the second of a set of classic albums that define the Stones at the peak of their powers (the others being Beggar’s Banquet (1968), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile on Main Street (1972)) . It’s similar in sequencing and feel to the previous record but builds on many of its strengths with a darker more chaotic vibe. “Gimme Shelter” and “Midnight Rambler” take the voodoo groove of “Sympathy For The Devil” and run with it. “Let it Bleed” is a country blues epic and the magnificent “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” with it’s angelic boy’s choir and killer buildup served as the basis for entire albums of material by the likes of Primal Scream and every inferior overblown Guns N Roses ballad.

3. The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground

After the lacerating feedback and experiments in sound that marked their previous record White Light/White Heat VU explored a quieter and just as compelling side, with some of Lou Reed’s strongest songs. Absent was John Cale, who had acted as a provocateur to Reed in much the same way as Brian Eno would for Bryan Ferry a few years later in early Roxy Music. As in Roxy though,  the Reed’s pop sensibility would win out though “The Murder Mystery” is as ear challenging as anything in their catalog. Despite such standout tunes as “Candy Says”, “Pale Blue Eyes” and “What Goes On” not to mention drummer Mo Tucker’s charming lead on “After Hours” the record was a flop – just like the first two Velvet’s albums.

4. Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

After the breakup of Buffalo Springfield Neil Young lit out for a solo career and promptly released two records in 1969. The first was a fine and eclectic effort aided by Jack Nitsche with grand orchestrations and overdubs throughout. The second Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, which came out a scant four moths later, was with a bar band called Crazy Horse and featured blazing guitar epics offset with yearning country rock. For the rest of his career he would use the sound of this album as a touchstone – from the intensity of “Cinnamon Girl” to the twang of the title track to the long workouts of “Cowgirl in the Sand” and “Down by the River”.

5. The Band – The Band

The first Band album Music From Big Pink signaled a shift away from the expansiveness of psychedelia into a more earnest and rich exploration of roots music, what today would be called Americana. As praised as that record is (and justly) the self-titled follow-up is even better, with seemingly timeless songs like “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Rag Mama Rag” exploring a mythic America that Bob Dylan would similarly limb on his most recent records like Time Out of Mind.

6. Led Zeppelin -  Led Zeppelin II

Jimmy Page was a legendary guitar-slinger for hire throughout much of the 60s, rumored to have played on tracks like “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks amongst many others. His last big gig was in the Yarbirds, filling a guitar chair previously occupied by Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Zepplelin was his own creation though as he proved by ditching the original moniker of The New Yardbirds and spewing out two great albums in their inaugural year. As great as the first record was though, as with the Band and Neil Young it’s LP number 2 that cemented the legend – “Whole Lotta Love”, “Heartbreaker”, “The Lemon Song”, all charge ahead with brutal efficiency while “Thank You” nods at the broader palette that would open up subsequently.

7. The Kinks -  Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire

A spat with the musicians union had all but killed The Kinks career stateside, which may or may not have spurred Ray Davies into his explorations of Britishness that would lay the groundwork for the Britpop bands of the 90s like Blur, Pulp and to a lesser extent Oasis. Arthur is named for Davies brother-in-law and taken in part from the story of his sister’s family and their emigration to Australia. It’s a tougher-edged record than Village Green Preservation Society with uptempo tunes like “Victoria”, “Driving” and “Arthur” setting the pace. The extended “Shangri-La” is one of the Kinks best and most ambitious songs, a multi-part extravaganza that would make the Decemberists green with envy.

8. Sly and the Family Stone -  Stand!

Sly Stone was a DJ and producer in San Francisco and was well-aware of the move away from singles to well-sequenced albums, yet the first few albums by his band were patchy affairs. With Stand! Stone would find his groove, with track after track of impeccably arranged ass-moving songs that spoke to the political and social changes that were happening. Where his earlier songs held out hope for reconciliation, on this record for every “Everyday People” there’s a “Somebody’s Watching You”, prefiguring the stoned-out dread of 1971′s There’s a Riot Going On .

9. The Flying Burrito Bros- The Gilded Palace of Sin

Gram Parson’s would prove to be a controversial figure in rock, a trust fund kid who would bring country grit to rock and lead The Byrd’s to singing about stuff like life in prison and deep religious belief which were far removed from his own experience. Still, whether covering others or writing his own stuff as on most of this record, Parson’s always felt 100% authentic – something that would entrance fellow hard-liver Keith Richards who would soon fall under his spell.

10 Fairport Convention – Liege & Lief

Just as Neil Young and Gram Parsons were bringing folk and country sounds to a rock audience in the States, Fairport Convention were doing much the same with traditional folk tropes in Blighty. They released a whopping three records of great material in 1969, but it’s here that vocalist Sandy Denny fully melds with their classic line-up which feature Richard Thompson on guitar.

11 Isaac Hayes -  Hot Buttered Soul

In its own way as psychedelic as anything to come out of San Francisco, Hayes like Sly Stone was pioneering album based soul – what would come to be known as funk. Hayes rich orchestrations and lengthy songs also prefigured disco only with a deeper, slower groove. The standouts are “Walk On By”, a remarkable reconfigurement of Burt Bacharach’s classic stretched like taffy past the 12 minute mark. Then there’s “By The Time I get to Pheonix”, a song that it’s hard to imagine original writer Jimmy Webb seeing as clocking in at nearly 20 minutes – including monologue.

12 Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willy and the Poor Boys

Creedence has a remarkably short peak – pretty much all of 1969 with some greatness at the tail end of 68 and the beginning of 1970. As their albums went, this was the peak of the peak- showing off some of John Fogerty’s best songs with very little filler. Creedence was knocked at the time as not being an important ambitious band but the songs come from the gut – short and aharp like the populist “Fortunate Son” or the cowbell nirvana that is “Down on the Corner”. It may be that their continued embrace of the individual song over the album and their love of straight-ahead rock forms (not unlike The Band) led long-haired rock critics to view them as the musical equivalent of the reactionaries who voted for Nixon in ’68.

13 Caetano Veloso – Caetano Veloso

While American bands like the MC5 and Jefferson Airplane played at political subversion in Brazil artists like Veloso were living it – imprisoned by the military dictatorship for their songs. Veloso recorded his vocals from his prison cell which is a lot cooler as an act of defiance than a badge of street cred as it often is for modern rappers. It’s a sad, engrossing record that reflects a dark period that is not so far removed than the reality that artists face in many countries today.

14 The Stooges - The Stooges

Iggy Pop’s introduction to the world was at the hands of one of his heroes – ex Velvet Underground guy John Cale who produced this remarkable debut album. The Stooges were a much more aggressive and assualtive band than the Velvets, essentially birthing punk with their raw sound, stripped of most of the overt blues signifyers that had underpinned most rock. The most Velvet’s like track is the 10 munte “We Will Fall” which has Cale’s experimental fingerprints all over it, but it’s anthems like “I Wanna Be Your Dog” with it’s nagging keyboard riff, “No Fun”, and “1969″ which all declaimed Iggy Pop’s war against the hippy culture that defined music at the time.

15 The Who -  Tommy

Tommy may not be The Who’s best album, but it is their signature record – the work that brought them stardom and put them on nearly equal fotting with the best of rock royalty. As the first concept album recognized as such (if not in actuality), it bears all the fdrawbacks of the form – song fragments that exist only to adavance a barely coherent plot, bombast, overlength. Yet it mostly succeeds on the strength of the band’s talents and the core of great songs by Pete Townshend like “Pinball Wizard” and “I’m Free”.

16 Captain Beefheart  - Trout Mask Replica

Zappa compatriot Captain Beefheart had a similar taste for the avant-garde but where Zappa deigned to employ forms like doo-wop and garage rock, often with a wink or sneer, Beefheart simply put everything into a blender – free-jazz, improv, rock – and came out with something unique. Trout Mask Replica sounds like absolutely nothing else – even followers like no wave skronksters John Zorn or James Chance have to approach from another angle. Not often something I play, it’s still one I’m glad to have heard and own.

17 Gilberto Gil – Gilberto Gil

Like Caetano Veloso, Brazil’s military dictatorship would imprison Gilberto Gil, leading to the pair’s flight to safety in England. Before being locked away though he recorded this album which is another classic in the tropicalia genre, melding elements of traditional Brazilian pop, psychedlica and straight ahead rock into an appealing stew that would heavily influence later artists like Talking Heads and Beck.

18 Gal Costa - Cinema Olympia

Another entry in Brazil’s thriving music scene, Costa managed to avoid prison, perhaps because her musical groundbreaking managed to distract the authorities from her lyrical content. Throbbing bass and rhythm, noisy guitars and out-there vocal paroxysms all meld into a unique musical experience and one of the best albums of a fertile scene.

19 Bob Dylan Nashville Skyline

For the tea-leaf readers looking for political insight and guidance from Bob Dylan, Nashville Skyline was nothing short of dismaying. While John Wesley Harding’s biblical and outlaw imagery suggested a return to the land in order to foment revolution a la the Weather Underground, this album’s wholehearted embrace of country, the most conservative of musical forms, seemed like a capitulation. Dylan doesn’t even sing like himself , gently balladeering on “Lay Lady Lay” in a completely new tone. Yet it’s a remarkable and listenable album, from his duet with Johnny Cash on “Girl From the North Country” to “I Threw it All Away”.

20 Procol Harum – A Salty Dog

For most folks the Procol Harum story begins and ends with their 1967 smash “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, but they made several varied and excellent records into the early 1970s. A Salty Dog is one of their best, showing off the range of Brooker and Reid’s songwriting and the flashy guitar of then-member Robin Trower on songs like “The Devil Came From Kansas”, the title track, and “Wreck of the Hesperus”.

21 Love – Four Sail

Arthur Lee, Love’s main man, had pretty much replaced every original member by the time this one came out, perhaps in response to “Alone Again Or” becoming the band’s biggest hit to date without him singing or writing it. Four Sail is a more insular album than their previous work but Lee is an amazing songwriter serving up gems like the multi-hued “August” and the pensively gorgeous “Always See Your Face” with it’s breathtaking horn arrangement.

22 Shocking Blue – At Home

Shocking Blue is sometimes considered a bit of a joke, mostly known for their hit “Venus”, but no less than Kurt Cobain thought enough of the band to cover the fantastic “Love Buzz”. This album is full of similar crunchy, brightly arranged tunes set slightly askew by somewhat tortured English-as-a-second-language lyrics (they were Dutch after all) – which only make it more fascinating.

23 The Beach Boys 20/20

At this point one of the only folks to find the Beach Boys cool was Charles Manson, who hung around the group and even wrote the b-side “Look at Your Game Girl”. Everyone else had moved on to heavier things leaving the band to struggle along with material that was often as interesting as it was frustrating to record companies. 20/20 was a hodgepodge that showed that Capital records would prefer to put albums together the bad old way, singles surrounded by a grab bag of tracks from anywhere and time – in this case some Smile leftovers like “Cabinessence”. This still made for a highly listenable stew.

24 The Shaggs -  Philosophy of the World

Much has been written, by many better writers than I, about the three Wiggens  sisters and the album that was recorded for them at the behest of their biggest fan, their father. As primitivist as Captain Beefheart but coming from a genuinely naive, untrained place, it’s a record that surfaces all kinds of questions about teh nature of art, creativity, even melody and song form. “Who Are Parents” and “My Pal Foot-Foot” are the kind of things hipsters strain to emulate without the guilessness and geniune discovery of The Shaggs.

25  Nick Drake -  Five Leaves Left

Lush and inviting, Nick Drake’s debut took folk into some of the daring orchestrations Neil Young attempted on his debut but with more subtlety and success with songs like “Cello Song” and the gorgeous “River Man” leaving a haunting indelible impression.

Franz Ferdinand grab a bite

My initial response to Franz Ferdinand’s third album, titled perversely (for a non-live album) Tonight: Franz Ferdinand was tempered by the pre-release press and band statements that suggested a major sea-change for the band.

Lo and behold, on first listen there are some departures but this is very recognizably the work of the Scotsmen who gave us “Take Me Out.” That is, Danceable rock that’s more sprung than the Strokes but less overtly discofied than The Rapture.

There’s also Alex Kapranos louche lyrics and the bands tightly packed hooks and changes  – all in place as per usual. You could even sing “Take Me Out” over first single “Ulysses” and hardly notice the difference.

Except that damn single stayed in my head – Bob Hardy’s nagging bassline and the subltle skittering of Paul Thompson’s drums reminding me that Franz have one of the bets rhythm sections in rock. Unlike their last album You Could Have it So Much Better, the two have a lot of breathing space with guitars and more keyboards than usual providing wider swaths of coloration.

Maybe there’s more than met the ear here.

You still have to paw through a few songs on the first half like “Turn it On” that are quite fine but don’t really sound like much of a change before you get to the interesting stuff like the ode to non-marriage “Live Alone” which is like the bastard child of Blondie and Iggy Pop in his Lust For Life phase. “Can’t Stop Feeling” whomps in on syths and rhythms that an 80′s new romantic band would stab themselves for and “Lucid Dreams” throbs into a song-length outro worthy of The Chemical Brothers.

After all the heavy breathing Franz end things with one of their best ever ballads, the lightly skipping “Katherine Kiss Me”, which recalls their charming “L. Wells” single from a few years ago. It’s of a piece with “Eleanor Put Your Boots On”, one of the highlights from the last record.

So while it may not be the beginning to end masterpiece of their debut, Tonight has the feel of a transitional album into what will really be Franz Ferdinand’s next phase. And oh, what a rhythm section!

1.  Deerhunter – Microcastle
Deerhunter’s Cryptograms, released last year, along with their debut album suggested a band in thrall to art punks like Swell Maps complete with song fragments and experimental interludes. Some of that spirit shows up on the bonus disc of Microcastle entitled Weird Era but the album proper is stuffed with amazingly tuneful songs bracketed by the occasional introspective short instrumental. The songwriting and arranging is spot-on and the chugging guitars seem to meld Velvets drone with bratty Pavement melodies.

2.  The Hold Steady – Stay Positive
Here’s a band that by all rights should have been a novelty act. Craig Finn, former vocalist with Lifter Puller, made his mark on Hold Steady’s 2004 debut Almost Killed Me as more of a ranter than a singer. His sing-songy cadences and clever clever lyrics were fun over one album of standard issue bar band tunes but this is album number four – how’d they get to be my 2nd favorite of the year? Mainly by growing in leaps in bounds from each release. The band is tighter with better, more complex arrangements and killer choruses. Finn actually carries tunes here and his stories have the weight, economy and sadness of prime Raymond Chandler. Harpsichords are bought in, reggae beats are toyed with and I’ll be damned but it all works as the sing-along record of the year.

3.  TV on the Radio – Dear, Science
Their last album had some great songs but the production was stultifying and it wasn’t a rewarding experience to revisit. Like Radiohead’s In Rainbows though the latest from TV on the Radio opens up their sound to let the songs breathe, leading to the first album to reward the promise of their debut ep. For a change their sense of humor and their sexiness is allowed free reign and at times there are hints of vintage Talking Heads – a pop art musical touchstone.

4.  Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Dig Lazarus Dig!!!
Nick Cave ought to be off writing his goth novels and screenplays for his Australian cowboy films but he keeps coming back to making music. Last year’s Grinderman side project showed him moving from balladeering back to raw guitar noise and this one splits the difference a bit with the Stooges quoting “Today’s Lesson” jostling with the beat poetry of “Moonland.” It’s Cave’s most vital album in years, and one of the best in his catalog.

5.  Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping
A sequel of sorts to last year’s artistic breakthrough, Skeletal Lamping finds Kevin Barnes giving his hedonistic impulses full flower. Beyonce may have Sasha Fierce but Barnes has Georgie Fruit, a bisexual soul singer who gives this album the sound of Beck circa Midnight Vultures crossed with the ADD songwriting of The Fiery Furnaces. As awful as that might sound, it’s a paradise of hooks, pumping rhythm, weird falsettos, and sleazoid lyrics.

6.  Neon Neon – Stainless Style
Super Furry Animals guy Gruff Rhys has seen his band abandon the earlier electronica flourishes that made them one of the best britpop bands and embrace increasingly uninteresting beardy psychedelia. For his Neon Neon side project he fully embraces  that which has been rejected with the help of producer/collaborator Boom Bip. The album’s unlikely subject is disgraced swinging car entrepreneur and would-be coke dealer John DeLorean. Somehow it works, with great songwriting and beats underscoring the need for a chin implant in “Michael Douglas” and even room for a side trip to Star Wars love in “I Told her on Alderaan.”

7.  MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
If you don’t like a song on this Brooklyn band’s audacious debut wait, the next one is likely to sound completely different. Though this does little for coherence, the songs themselves range from good to amazing. The comparisons have been to The Flaming Lips, and they share a producer in David Fridmann, but that fails to embrace their LCD Soundsystem -worthy “Let’s Pretend” in which they imagine themselves as rock stars with model wives who eventually choke on their own vomit or “Electric Feel” where they channel classic late 70s disco sounds.

8.  The Knux – Remind Me in 3 Days
 The long sad decline of hip-hop continued this year but The Knux suggested a jury rigged hybrid where indie punk and indie rap meet halfway. Dressing like throwbacks to the fat gold rope days, playing their own instruments and laying down rhymes, The Knux suggests a way forward for an ossifying genre. And you could shake your ass to it too.

9. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles
There was some good electronica in ’08, and then there was Crystal Castles which melded an Atari 5200 sound chip into mind bending melodies and  hypnotic beats. They get a surprising amount of variety from what could have been a limited palette. Named after an arcade game but anything but toylike.

10.  Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Modern Life
What could be wrong with a band who’s name so threatened the New York Times that Ben Ratliff’s review referenced a band named —— –. Aside from being the funniest music review in the paper since, well, ever, it was obvious what band he was talking about. Taking the shouty vocal chord shredding vocals and pummeling beat of hardcore punk, Fucked Up spikes it with guitar washes and subtle melodies that entice and draw the listener in.

And the rest…

11. Department of Eagles – In Ear Park
12.  Lambchop – OH(Ohio)
13.  Nas – Untitled
14. Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer
15. Apes – Ghost Games
16. Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
17. Girl Talk – Feed the Animals
18. No Age – Nouns
19. Flying Lotus – Los Angeles
20. Joan as Police Woman – To Survive
21. Chandeliers – The Thrush
22. Dr. Dog – Fate
23. Martha Wainwright – I Know You’re Married but I’ve Got Feelings Too
24. The Breeders – Mountain Battles
25. Murs – Murs For President
26. The Fall – Imperial Wax Solvent
27. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Lie Down in the Light
28. Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward (UK Version -avoid the censored American release)

29. Alias – Resurgam
30. Blitzen Trapper – Furr
31. Okkervil River – The Stand-ins
32. Plants and Animals – Parc Avenue
33. Portishead – Third
34. Randy Newman – Harps and Angels
35. RZA as Bobby Digital – Digi Snacks
36. Santogold and Diplo – Top Ranking
37. Stephen Malkmus – Real Emotional Trash
38. Truckasaurus – Tea Parties, Guns and Valor
39. Atlas Sound – Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
40. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes

I’ve listed my favorite archival releases of 2008 below, in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. Big Dipper – Supercluster
Underknown and underappreciated during their late 80s heyday Supercluster collects their first two albums and ep, plus  abonus disc of an unrecorded esarly 90s record – leaving out only their major label misfire on Epic Records. It’s not missed, as their indie material was far superior and presciently hinted at the sound of later bands like Pavement and Wolf Parade.

2. Mission of Burma – reissues
The core of Big Dipper were refuges from ex-Mission man Peter Prescott’s follow-up band, Volcano Suns. Though the Suns were pretty good Mission of Burma is essential listening for anyone who is serious about post punk or indie rock. The key records here are Vs. and Signals Calls and Marches – an EP expanded here to album length with the crucial addition of the band’s first single and bonus tracks. Pristine production helps define the band’s gargantuan sound and effortless dynmics, with tunes that span the gamut from hardcore to power punk with a touch of progressive rock styled time-signature trickery.

3. Willie Nelson – One Hell of a Ride
Willie Nelson is the perfect artist for a box set and One Hell of a Ride shows why. 4 Discs of prime Willie from demos of songs he wrote and were made famous by others to 70s outlaw classics to his standards period to his sometimes cheesy star duets this has it all.

4. The Replacements – reissues
The catalog of Minneapolis’ finest rock band finally resides under one roof at Rhino, which has done a fantastic job of reissuing their Twin/Tone and Sire albums with lots of juicy bonus tracks, including sessions produced by Alex Chilton. If you’re not sure where to start, the trio of Let it Be, Tim, and Pleased to Meet Me are the band at their most consistent. A huge influence on bands like Wilco, The Hold Steady, and the usual punk emo crowd who could learn a few tricks about songwriting from Mr. Westerberg.

5. Steinski – What Does it All Mean?
The first track I ever searched for back in the days of an unfettered Napster was Double-Dee and Steinski’s Lesson 1 – the grandaddy of all sampling. Only it was done before there was such a thing as a sampler. Every song snippet and line of movie dialogue had to be done by hand with a razorblade and audio tape. Steinski went on to make many more incredible tracks and most of the great ones are here. Even better is the second disc which is an extending radio show that shows the depth and breadth of his style. Essential for fans of Girl Talk.

6. Dennis Wilson – Pacific Ocean Blue
Tragic Beach Boy Dennis Wilson is often overshadowed by equally tragic but still living brother Brian. Dennis started coming into his own a as a sonwriter as both Brian and the Beach Boys entered their long period of decline. Frustrated with the band’s conservatism he struck out on his own with this brillianst slice of 70s gritty singer songwriter rock.

7. The Jesus and Mary Chain – The Power of Negative Thinking
Mining their b-sides for gold, the Jesus and Mary Chain give fans and newbies a treat. The quality of these outtakes are uniformly high and essential tracks like single “Sidewalking” make this a must have for any JAMC lover.

8. Roy Orbison – The Soul of Rock and Roll
This is why box sets were invented – a stunning career overview with all te highlights that puts an extraordinary talent in perspective. From fascinating early recordings alone and with the Teen Kings to his last album and cuts with supergroup The Traveling Wilburys this is a revelation.

9. The Clash – Live at Shea Stadium
Their opening gig for The Who at cavernous Shea Stadium isn’t the concert gig I’ve been dying to hear from this legendary band but it’s pretty great nonetheless, right down to Joe Strummer scolding the typically New York audience for yammering. I’ll always prefer Topper Headon as a drummer but Terry (Tory Crimes) Chimes acquits himself well, even with the newer material. The recording quality is superb. Now how about those Bond’s Casino shows?

10. Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs
Dylan’s Bootleg Series jumps around as much as his autobiography did, this time taking in recent outtakes and stragglers. Luckily he’s been in a purple patch of late and his alternate versions of tunes always fascinate as he never plays the same way twice. Boo on the ultra-expensive 3-disc version though.

11. New Order – Reissues
Fascinating re-glimpse into one of the 80s best and most innovative bands. Out of the ashes of Joy Division came a band that at first hewed to the mopey rock of their earlier incarnation but soon fell in thrall to club beats and synthesizers. The albums have been smartly packaged with their contemporaneous singles which were often more poppy and innovative.

12. Various Artists – Love Train – The Sound of Philadelphia
A fine collection of 70s soul that finds room for some late 60s and early 80s tracks and doesn’t hew overly closely to its theme. The meat is some great moments from the Spinners among others that showed those MFSBs what the TSOP was all about.

13. Belle and Sebastian – The BBC Sessions
Alternate radio versions of some great B & S classics plus a later live show. Not the place for non-fans to start but for those who already know what’s in store, pleasure awaits.

14. R.E.M. – Murmur
One of the greatest debut albums ever is finally remastered, showing anew the deep strangeness and great songwriting and playing of what many still consider to be this band’s finest album. Disc two adds an amazing period live club show. It’s hard to remeber how much R.E.M. owed to Wire and P.I.L. until yougo back to this early stuff.

15. Pavement – Brighten The Corners –Nicene Creedence Ed.
Matador continues their superlative Pavement re-issue series with this underrrated gem. as is the costume, the value of my rare singles is droppe dby appending them as well as previously unheard bonus tracks and obscurities.

Review by Noah Mallin

Kim Deal has had a helluva life away from The Pixies, the band in which she first found fame. The Breeders was originally a side project with Tanya Donnely of Throwing Muses (and later Belly). Their 1990 debut Pod is an indie classic, mixing rubbery rhythms and spiky songforms on songs like “Oh” and “Metal Man” and a phenomenal cover of the Beatles “Happiness is a Warm Gun”.

By 1992 the Pixies had died and The Breeders had shed Donnely and added Kim’s twin sister Kelley for the wonderful Safari EP, but it was Last Splash and the hit single “Cannonball” the following year that brought Kim-mania to its full public flowering.

Deal responded to her first platinum-selling album by recording and scrapping a follow-up, then re-recording the songs under the band name The Amps. Ironically she and Kelley played locally in Ohio as teenagers as Tammy and The Amps, but Kelley had been sidelined thanks to a growing drug problem (never Fed-Ex your dope kids). The Amps lone album was quite charming, lo-fi in a way that reflected Deal’s love for fellow Ohioans Guided By Voices.

Finally The Breeders returned scuffed and scruffy for Title TK in 2002 — beloved by some fans but hardly the poppy crowd-pleaser that Last Splash was.

Which brings us to Mountain Battles. Deal has toured with her old band and both sisters have cleaned up the drugs and boozing since last we heard from them but it makes not a whit of difference to their sound. They take a long time to make albums that feel gloriously tossed off, like eavesdropping on a basement rehearsal at times.

Battles has those glorious breathy-woozy-sassy Deal sister harmonies in full force and a generally strong set of songs that touch on most of Deal’s various sounds without sounding like a retread. The songs sung in Spanish (a trick better left to erstwhile Pixies-mate Black Francis) and German don’t go anywhere good but the first five tracks are a welcome beginning.

“Overglazed” is just some rapturous instrument bashing with Kim announcing sunnily “I can feel it..oooo” and yes, so can we. “Bang On” is just as simple, a repetitive beat pounding away with a sweet little guitar filigree and the Deal sisters musing “I want no-one, no-one wants me…” and words to that effect which put me in mind of Ben Gazzara’s bitter character in Todd Solondz’s pitch-black comedy Happiness. His wife is convinced that he’s ending the marriage because he must be in love with someone else. “I love no-one!” he repeatedly shouts.

Then the achingly gorgeous “Night of Joy” floats in, one of several deliciously mellow songs on Mountain Battles that allow the listener to wallow in Deal’s tip-toeing chord changes and the sister’s indelible harmonies. “We’re Gonna Rise” is another such track.

There are a few moments like “Spark” that get bogged down in the willful twistiness that marked Title TK but all is forgiven when “Walk it Off” comes strutting through the speakers with the kind of descending bassline bop that made Last Splash a dorm room must-have.

Overall a welcome return indeed.

Here’s a fan vid of “It’s The Love” with footage from Cinema Paradiso:

Review by Noah Mallin

Standing at the t-shirt booth and checking out the road wares at the Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks show at the Bowery ballroom in New York last night, a swaying gentleman in a blazer and t-shirt breaks away from an intense negotiation with the fellow behind the table to swivel his head in my direction.

“Hey…” he says to me as his eyes focus behind his glasses, “I’ll buy you two shots of tequila at the bar if you buy me a t-shirt. All I have is a credit card.” I look at the placid guy working the shirt stand — he’s seen it all before. He shrugs his shoulders,” Cash only…” So it’s going to be that kind of a show.

Upstairs the band is clearly having monitor issues. Bassist Joanna Bolme keeps gesturing to the mixer to turn up her bass. Every time she waves her arms the guy behind me intones, “Gawd she’s hot.”

To be fair, the whole band is hot in every sense of the word: Sweaty in the humid funk of the sold out club, attractive sure, and blazing musically. Bolme has always been a sharp bass player, anchoring Malkmus’ twisty-turny songs. Malkmus himself is an ace guitarist changing tones from Allman-like lilting runs to heavy distorto sheets within a single tune, his voice squawking and cooing like dyspeptic songbird. Mike Clark hops around from guitar to keyboards seamlessly, his silver lame flashing.

The real deal last night was the newest member of The Jicks, drummer Janet Weiss. Weiss was the powerhouse behind the late Sleater-Kinney’s crunch and the whomping swing of the band Quasi which she formed with her ex-husband. Her unerring timing, Bonham-like attack, and turn-on-a-dime tempo shifts have freed Malkmus into even wilder guitar runs — The Jicks are finally the jam band of his dreams.

There’s a cry from the crowd for “Box Elder,” a song by Malkmus’ original band Pavement. Malkmus murmurs a succinct “No.” into the mic. Though Pavement began to take a more expansive view of 60′s rock archetypes as they soldiered on before splitting at the end of the 90s, it would have been hard to imagine them as the liquidy groovesters the Jicks were last night. A whole room full of achingly hip indie kidults were doing the deadhead shuffle-sway dance thing as jazzy riffs rang out from the guitar and the rhythm section locked in while Clark did a Ray Manzarek impression behind the keys. Yet, just when you think you have the band pegged as hippie revivalists they switch it up with a cover of hardcore band Fear’s “I Don’t Care About You.”

Most of the set was made up of new songs from Real Emotional Trash with nary a peep from Malkmus’ poppy first solo record. Highlights included a sweaty workout on “Baltimore”, a plaintive version of “Baby C’Mon” from the last album and a wrung out full-on Woodstock take on “Hopscotch Willie.”