Here we are, the last Sunday of the month. While two in a row, I wouldn't say I'm in a pattern, yet. It's at least setting a precedent. Five for Fighting No.2 is a bit of an odd bunch this time around. I still think it's pretty cool even if it is kind of all over the place. which is how I like it. I'm still working through the backlog of albums from the dollar bin, and a couple new sealed albums that I was pretty stoked to find. However, I've picked up quite a bit lately and little piles have started to build in the basement. Which usually means I'm going to get an ear full from the wife. The one album I was really curious about from this batch was the Mike Lesley one - good thing I'm not a cat. If I was I'd need more than nine lives.
Anyways, here's the second instalment:
Five for Fighting
- Mike Lesley - Mike Lesley (1976)
- James Taylor - JT (1977)
- Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant (1967)
- Valdy - Country Man (1972)
- Real Life - Heartland (1983)
Mike Lesley (1976) The anticipation for this one was probably the most exciting thing I experienced with this album. I took a chance because I noticed Bryn Haworth was listed in the credits. Bryn is a fantastic guitar player and I was kind of excited to hear what this would sound like. The cover was one of those goofy headshots that reminded me a lot of Randy Matthew's 1975 album
Now Do You Understand. Originally I was leaning toward Warren Zevon's
Excitable Boy, but that came out after, and the colour was wrong. Having no idea what to expect I dropped the needle and waited for the opening salvo. I had an open mind and I wasn't expecting much, and sadly after a couple of listens through, that's what I got. I don't need to shit on this one, I think obscurity is enough punishment. I really was hoping for a pleasant surprise. The album itself sounded pretty good, and the performances were all decent but there wasn't anything here to push this over the top. There was nothing horrible here, but there wasn't anything memorable either. Too bad. This would appear to be his one and only release.
James Taylor - JT (1977) I like a lot of James Taylor's songs, but I'm not what you'd call a die hard fan. I got into him in the mid '80s when I picked up his first greatest hits, the one with "Steamroller" on it, dang that is a great song. Then I got 1988's
Never Say Die, an album I really liked, or at least the title track, I can't remember much else, but still think of the album as good.
JT is a really great sounding album, and session aces Leland Sklar on bass, and Danny Kortchmar on guitar really make a lot of the songs pop. Carly Simon who was married to James Taylor at the time provided harmony vocals on a number of songs, which was a nice touch. The mid '70s were a weird time for singer songwriter guitar players, and while much of this could be considered middle of the road and dismissed as such, there was no denying the appeal of songs like "Your Smiling Face" and "Handy Man" a song I still really like despite it being so cheesy. Of course his cringy "Traffic Jam" is silly enough to evoke a lopsided grin, that's as much WTF as anything. I was pretty fortunate to find this in the dollar bin with all of the inserts and notes. I suppose the wobble on the vinyl looked a lot worse than it was. My gain.
Arlo Guthie - Alice's Restaurant (1967) It's mind boggling to think that at the age of 20 Arlo crafted a twenty minute opus that would encapsulate the feelings of a generation into a song that still gets special treatment on Thanksgiving from radio stations across the United States. Okay, I'm assuming that happens, but I know the U.S. station across the border I like to listen to in the car has been playing it faithfully on Thanksgiving for a long time. When I found the album in the dollar bin I thought it was a good score. I was more curious about the second side, and what was to be found outside of "Alice's Restaurant." This is where it becomes evident that young Mister Guthrie was an old soul stuck in a young man's body. Although that's a gross generalization as without the exuberance of youth he wouldn't have been able to pull off songs like "Ring-Around-a-Rosy-Rag," "The Motorcycle Song" and of course his career defining opus "Alice's Restaurant." Then again on "I'm Going Home" and the album's closer "Highway in the Wind" he sounds wise beyond his words. While I'm not as familiar with this era of the '60s, mainly because when this came out my biggest accomplishment in life as a four year old was being able to poop in the toilet by myself. I appreciate the time capsule the music provides, and if I get a hankering to hear "Alice's Restaurant" I can just put it on without having to wait until Thanksgiving.
Valdy - Country Man (1972) When I think of Valdy, I think of "Rock N' Roll Song" and I've loved this song for half a century (Good lord). That song just blew my mind, I mean it was up there with the best of them for me. I remember my Uncle Lloyd had the album, and he said the rest of the album wasn't like that song, at all. I'm glad I didn't listen to it back then as the bait and switch would have poisoned it for me. Now here I am fifty years later and the first thing I have to reconcile is the picture of the hairy hippie farmer that looked like a wizened old man, was only in his mid 20s. Then again, I was only nine, so everyone looked old. I found this in the bin for a buck, and to just get my song it was worth it. What I hadn't really expected was to love the rest of the album. For a debut record Valdy had a maturity and touch generally associated with seasoned performers. The songs sound crisp and fresh and I was totally caught me off guard. The are a couple of Bruce Cockburn covers here, "Goin' to the Country" and "Goin' Down Slow" and a fun version of "Rainmaker" originally performed by Harry Nillson. Yeah this was a pleasant surprise. Thank you Valdy, this is good stuff, but can you still play me a rock and roll song?
Real Life - Heartland (1983) The year was 1983 and new wave techno pop was starting to cross over
into the mainstream, and all of a sudden bands like Real Life hitting the airwaves. As new wave settled down, bands no longer looked like
castoffs from Flock of Seagulls with gravity defying hair (okay that was
mostly Mike Score, who as it turns out must have used some pretty harsh
product as the guy's as bald as Mr. Clean now). Instead they now looked
like extras from a Mad Max film and had a penchant for long overcoats
and welding goggles. At the time they just looked cool and futuristic,
which I suppose was the idea, now they just look goofy and make for great costumes.
Heartland was one of those albums
that really clicked with me. Finding a sealed vinyl copy for ten bucks
was a pretty solid score, and I hadn't heard the album in decades.
Opening with "Send Me an Angel" was a blessing and also a bit of a curse
too. The song is so good, and so nearly perfect that the rest of the
album can't measure up. It's not like there are any duds though which
really helps. They weren't a one hit wonder, they were a one album wonder. Sure they released more stuff, but this is all I have (for now).
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