I was never a real Bowie fan - I liked the seventies hits, but never really dug deeper. Even without the digging, it was obvious that he was one of the giants and seeing various reactions in the media and from freinds on Facebook underscored how much of an impact he had on a lot of people's lives. Saw him live in 1990 on the "Sound + Vision" tour - partially because it was going to be a "greatest hits" tour (so I'd know the material), and partially because Adrian Belew and his band would be his backing band, and I'm big Belew fan. The show was tremendous, exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for.

So, I became one of those people. You know, the ones that get interested in an artist right after they pass away. Hearing about Bowie's death and seeing the reactions really did made me wonder what I'd missed out on. A friend (Phil Obbard) brought me up to speed on Bowie's classic period, starting me out with Hunky Dory and Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps). That led to Station To Station, Low, and lastly the obvious The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars. Yes, I get it now. So far, Station To Station and Ziggy Stardust are my favorites, but all of the albums impressed the heck out of me. So yes, I'll definitely be digging deeper into his catalog.

Like Warren Zevon, Bowie kept working despite his illness and recorded his his final album, ★, with his fanbase unaware of his health problems. I definitely respect Bowie as an artist and for his clear affection for his fans. So, yes, I'm a newbie, but I'll still miss him. Rock music needs artists like David Bowie to push boundaries. He'll be missed.

The Hold Steady Reissue Review Page

Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet Reissue Review Page

Back in 1991, I wrote:

R.E.M. has been getting more and more adventurous with each release, and it still works. Out Of Time is their most eclectic album yet, and it holds up nicely with their best work. This time out, Peter Buck plays more mandolin than lead guitar, and bassist Mike Mills plays lots of keyboard. They've thrown in a string section on several cuts, plus a guest rap from KRS-1 on "Radio Song". "Losing My Religion" (which by the way is a slang phrase for being at the end of one's tether) is a gorgeous, stirring song, and one of the best they've ever done. "Shiny Happy People" is a catchy pop song, and "Country Feedback" is a dramatic, feedback-laden ballad. "Belong" is arem out moody melody overcut with a Walkman™ tape of lead singer Michael Stipe reading some original prose. I don't know how, but R.E.M. keeps changing themselves, yet each time it still works.

Looking back, Out Of Time hasn't lost any of its luster. It was a gutsy career move then, and it still holds up very nicely today. The new 25th anniversary adds a ton of demos (some instrumental, some vocal). Given the lighter feel of the album, the demos are much closer to the final versions and they're fascinating listening. You also get a CD worth of songs from the "Mountain Stage" radio show performance. It's a good show - all acoustic, with a focus on songs from Out Of Time with a few older songs mixed in and a couple of covers - The Troggs' "Love is All Around" and The Flatlanders' "Dallas" (which featured Billy Bragg, Robyn Hitchcock, and Clive Gregson & Christine Collister). Definitely worth the upgrade.

Rush's breakthrough album, 2112, gets its second reissue in the last four years. The 2012 edition added a graphic novel version of the title track's lyrics along with a live version of "Overture / Temples Of Syrinx" and "A Passage To Bangkok" and a DVD with a surround sound mix of the album. This time around, the bonuses include Neil Peart's reading of the "solar federation" finale from "2112", live versions of "2112", "Something For Nothing", and the rarely performed "The Twilight Zone", along with a radio ad and a handful of covers. The covers are surprisingly good, with "Overture" as the standout. There's a DVD again, but instead of the surround version, you get rare footage of Rush on the All The World's A Stage Tour in Passaic in 1976. It's only a little over a half-hour long (Rush was opening for Foghat and Montrose at this show), and the footage is black-and-white and of so-so quality, but it's really, really cool to see.

If you're a fan of the album, definitely pick this up (but hang on to your 2012 version too).

After years of legal wrangling between The Who and album producer Shel Talmy, the Who's classic debut finally got an official release in 2002 as a double CD of the album and various outtakes. Fourteen years later, My Generation gets the "super deluxe" treatment and the box set is essentially a summary of The Who in 1965. The box includes in mono and stereo, the band's first two singles ("I Can't Explain" and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", both with their b-sides), a slew of outtakes and alternate versions (many of which were not on the 2002 set), and a disc of some of Pete Townshend's early demos, including three previously unreleased/unbootlegged demos and a 1964 demo of "Sunrise" (the song would be released as part of the band's third album, The Who Sell Out, in 1967). And of course, you get a giant book, posters and other printed materials.

If you're only familiar with albums like Tommy and Who's Next, My Generation will be a bit of a surprise. "My Generation" and "The Kids Are Alright" are the commonly known songs, but the album includes gems like "A Legal Matter", "It's Not True", "The Good's Gone" (a real favorite of mine), and closes with a chaotic instrumental named for John Entwistle's nickname ("The Ox"). It's also got the then-obligatory covers - Bo Diddley's "I'm A Man" and two James Brown covers ("I Don't Mind" and "Please, Please, Please"). "I'm A Man" contains a dazzling instrumental break about a minute in that shows off Keith Moon's anarchic drumming and Pete Townshend's aggressive guitar. It wasn't on the original US release of the album (retitled The Who Sings My Generation), so it may come as a bit of a surprise. The album's style is very mixed. The James Brown covers sound dated, "My Generation" is timeless, and the rest of the Townshend originals are a bit poppier than you'd hear on later Who albums, but you can hear the beginnings of the band's sound.

Obviously a must-have for Who fanatics. If you've got the 2002 reissue and you're a more casual fan, you probably don't need quite this much. But it's a hell of a lot of fun to listen to!

After releasing White City: A Novel in 1985, Pete Townshend gathered up the band from the album (including David Gilmour), dubbed them Deep End, and played three shows in 1985. Excerpts from the first show were released as Deep End Live! (the live cover of The English Beat's "Save It For Later" is from that album). That whole show was eventually released as Live: Brixton Academy '85 through Townshend's web site.

The band played one extra show in January of 1996 for the MIDEM convention in Cannes. That performance was shown on the German TV program Rockpalast. Face The Face includes a DVD of the complete show. The set is a little shorter than the Brixton show, but it's still a great performance. The CD has almost the full show ("I Put A Spell On You" was dropped, I assume, to get the show onto one CD).

These were great shows. The band sounds terrific and it's really cool to see a professionally filmed show. A must for a Townshend fan. And if you're a big Pink Floyd fan, Gilmour sounds great on here and gets a lead vocal on "Blue Light" (from Gilmour's 1984 album About Face).

Earth is both a live album and a concept album. As a live album, Earth is very good. Promise Of The Real provided a Crazy Horse‑ish vibe to the songs, and while the song selection focuses on The Monsanto Years as you'd expect, it's nice to hear older songs like "Country Home" and "Love And Only Love" mixed in. Left as is, this would be a really solid live album.

"We made a live record and every creature on the planet seemed to show up" - Neil Young on Facebook.

Therein lies the problem. To give Earth the feel of a concert for the whole planet, Neil has dubbed in sounds of animals, weather, and buzzing insects into the performance. These are not little between-track fillers - they are right on top of the performances on parts of the album. It's not constant, but it's frequent enough to be worth mentioning. On 2014's A Letter Home, Neil recorded a selection of covers using 1947 technology. The performances were pretty good, but they were completely overshadowed by the extremely lo-fi recording. It turned a potentially interesting album into something pretty unlistenable. Earth suffers from the same problem. A decent live album has been rendered unlistenable (to me, anyway) by the sound effects. Kind of a shame.

In 1981, King Crimson leader Robert Fripp recruited his old bandmade drummer Bill Bruford, guitarist/singer Adrian Belew and bassist/Chapman Stick player Tony Levin to form a new band to be called "Discipline". By the end of the year, the name had been changed to King Crimson, but the new band's sound was a big departure from the previous edition of King Crimson, swapping progressive and heavy rock for shorter new wave-inspired pop songs (but with tricky time signatures and dazzling twin guitar work from Fripp and Belew).

The band recorded three studio albums: The debut, Discipline, is the best of the three with the knotty guitars and wordplay of "Elephant Talk", the lovely "Matte Kudasai" (Japanese for "please wait"), the hypnotic interlocked guitars of "Frame By Frame", and the rock-with-monologues of "Indiscipline" and "Thela Hun Ginjeet" (an anagram for "Heat In The Jungle"). The second album, Beat, follows a similar pattern, with the single "Heartbeat" being the 80's Crimson's best song. The instrumental "Sartori In Tangier" is another tricky instrumental that features terrific Chapman Stick work from Levin. The final album,Three Of A Perfect Pair is basically an album in two parts. The first half is made of Belew pop songs with the dance flavored "Sleepless" as the killer track here. The second half is more experimental with three instrumentals and the avant-garde "Dig Me".

On (and off) The Road collects those three albums, and adds outtakes, live albums and videos from the '81-'84 period of the band. At first, it's a little staggering. You get eleven CDs, three audio DVDs, two video DVDs and three BluRay discs (plus a nice book). But what it ends up being is the definitive collection of this specific era in King Crimson's varied career. I'm a fan of King Crimson in general, but for my taste, the '81-'84 lineup is their best. I think they were one of the very best bands of the 80's, and this box is very highly recommended.

I loved American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, but lost track of the band after that. Reviews for ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! didn't exactly inspire, so I ignored them. Read that Revolution Radio was a "back-to-form" album, so I gave it a try. Basically, it sounds like the logical progression from 21st Century Breakdown. There's no story here, but Green Day continues to vary their sound more so it's not all high-energy pop/punk like "Bang Bang". The opener "Somewhere New" and "Troubled Times" slow the tempo down a bit (which ends up being a nice change of pace) and "Still Breathing" uses a poppier version of the Pixies old formula of quiet verses and loud choruses. Yes, Green Day still has kind of a cartoony vibe around them, but this is really a very good album and definitely worth hearing.

Former R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills wrote the "Concerto For Violin, Rock Band, And String Orchestra" for his childhood friend, renowned violinist Robert McDuffie. McDuffie's violin is definitely the lead instrument, but the rock band (guitars, bass, drum and occasional piano) is a big part of the sound. The balance of the piece changes over it's run. For instance, the second movement, "On The Okeefenokee" skews more towards the classical instruments, and it's the prettiest part of the concerto. The third movement, "Sonny Side Up" switches the focus to the rock band (although the violin is still the lead). The fifth movement is a lovely arrangement of R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming" with McDuffie's violin replacing the vocal and Mills reprising his piano part. Overall, this is a terrific performance - there's a nice blend of rock band and strings. The result is much more balanced than, say, ELO was. This isn't a rock band with strings filling out the sound, it's much more unified. Definitely worth a listen.

NOTE: The other two pieces on the album: John Adams' "Road Movies" and Philip Glass' "Symphony No. 3" are conventional classical performances by McDuffie without Mills or the rock band.

The Monkees? Seriously? Yes.

The key to the original Monkees albums wasn't The Wrecking Crew (the studio musicians who performed the music), it was the songwriters used to craft the band's hits. Good Times! updates that formula by drafting in modern songwriters who "get" what the band should sound like. Along with a producer Adam Schlesinger (Fountains Of Wayne), songs are written by Andy Partridge (XTC), Rivers Cuomo (Weezer), Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie) and a cowrite from Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller. And yes, the Monkees do contribute one song each to the album, and they're the weakest ones on the album (not unexpectedly, I suppose).

The big highlight for me (and the song that made me check this album out) is Andy Partridge's "You Bring The Summer". It's a perfect little pop song that makes me think of the original Monkees crossed with XTC's alter-ego The Dukes Of Stratosphear. The album is so-so overall, but it's worth a listen to at least hear the highlights.

Like the first two volumes, The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 3 is a collection of fresh recordings of older Randy Newman songs, all performed solo at the piano. If you liked the first two volumes, you definitely need this one. If you're weren't aware of the series, I'd recommend Vol. 1 as the best of the series, but really, it comes down to which Newman songs you prefer. Vol. 3 starts out strong with songs like "Short People", "Burn On", "You've Got A Friend In Me" and "Guilty". For me, the album slows down in middle: "Davy The Fat Boy", "Red Bandana", "Old Man" and "Real Emotional Girl" aren't high on my favorites list. But overall, if you're a Newman fan, you definitely want this one too.

After I picked up Vol. 3, I learned that a 4 LP box set was coming out containing the three volumes plus five bonus tracks. The bonus tracks are on iTunes now, so if you've already bought the CDs there's at least one way you can pick up just those new tracks. If you're a big fan (and haven't already invested in the three CDs), you may want to just pick up the box set.

The good Reverend's first album in a decade or so is a nice overview of what he does best - a mix of comedy and Jerry Lee Lewis-fueled piano blues and rock with an occasional country twist. This time around, Rev. Billy's terrific piano is backed by a great blues band - The Nighthawks - who are a perfect fit. The album is a mix of new songs like the witty "Too Old" and "One Point Five", old favorites like "Rockin' Up To Gloryland" (originally on his small label debut from 1983), a solo piano version of "Mama Was a Deadhead" and the Rev's classic "Mennonite Surf Party", along with inspired cover choices like "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" and the subversively filthy "The Hand Of The Almighty" (a song Billy really should have written, but strangely didn't). It's great to have Rev. Billy back. Definitely check out the YouTube clips.

Do you like the really long prog-rock epics like "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", "Close To The Edge" or the suite on side one of Misplaced Childhood? If so, you need to hear In Extremis. It's a terrific album of modern progressive rock. The two-man band (Sepand Samzadeh on guitar and Oscar Fuentes Bills on keyboards) are joined by prog heavyweights Tony Levin, Peter Banks, Rick Wakeman and Billy Sherwood. "The Man Who Died Two Times" has a rare lead vocal from former XTC bassist/songwriter/vocalist Colin Moulding.

In the tradition of classic prog, the album is essentially broken into suites. The first four songs are essentially one terrific extended piece. "The Man Who Died Two Times" follows, and it's a classic pop-prog single with a great lead vocal. "Waltz In E Minor" is as advertised - it's a short classical piece played by the Angel City Orchestra (who appear on other tracks as well). "Eggshell Man" is a longer standalone track with a nice keyboard solo from Rick Wakeman. "In Extremis" is a 6-part, 21-minute epic that moves through quiet and loud parts with long instrumental sections.

In Extremis is definitely old-school - it's not built for shuffling on an iPhone. It's a beginning-to-end listen, and an excellent one.

For me, ★ (pronounced "Blackstar") is my first foray into more current Bowie. Clearly recorded as a farewell, it's a challenging album that shows Bowie was willing to push boundaries right up to the end. The title track is a nearly 10-minute epic, but far more experimental than the 70's/80's Bowie that's been my introduction. The opening section isn't to my taste, but it moves into a genuinely lovely section in the middle and end. For me, the highlights are the dramatic and revealing "Lazarus" ("Look up here, I'm in heaven / I've got scars that can't be seen"), the lovely "Dollar Days" and the surprisingly Eighties-flavored "I Can't Give Everything Away". It's a daring finale to Bowie's career, and certainly worth a listen. But if you're a newbie like I was, don't start here. Try the albums I mention in the opening.

Ex-Jam bassist Bruce Foxton's current band, From The Jam, is a tribute band featuring Russell Hastings on guitar and suitably Paul Weller-ish lead vocals. Bruce Foxton's 2012 album, Back In The Room, was basically the band's debut album of original material (although credited to Bruce instead of the band). Smash The Clock is the band's second album (although still just billed to Bruce Foxton). The opener, "Now The Time Has Come", "Full Circle", "Smash The Clock" could pass for latter-day Jam songs, but the album isn't just a Jam pastiche. "Pictures & Diamonds" and "Louder" are soulful pop, "50 Yards Down Sandy Lane" is the elegant, string-driven closer. If you're a fan of the 80's Jam (like "Absolute Beginners" and The Gift), this is definitely worth a listen.

Despite the band being named after Siddhartha (with a nod to Syd Barrett and Arthur Lee), Syd Arthur's sound has is less sixties and more indie pop in a similar vein to The Shins. The vaguely Hendrix-y "Plane Crash In Kansas" and "No Peace" are my favorites, but there really isn't a bad song on here. "Into Eternity" adds a nice dramatic flare, and the closer "Apricity" adds in some slight electronic touches.

Six years after their renunion album and tour, Mudcrutch returns for a second album. The country rock feel of the first album isn't quite as strong on 2, and like the debut, this will remind you a lot of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. Mudcrutch is a little more democratic though: Every band member wrote at least one song and has at least one lead vocal. The opener, "Trailer", was originally a Heartbreakers song (it's the b-side of the "Don't Come Around Here No More" single), but it fits the Mudcrutch vibe perfectly. Tom Petty's "Dreams Of Flying" is my favorite on the album, although it sounds like a Heartbreakers single. Randall Marsh's "Beautiful World" is excellent and another highlight. Tom Leadon's "The Other Side Of The Mountain" adds in some banjo for the most country song on the album, but it's definitely more country-rock. Benmont Tench's "Welcome To Hell" and Mike Campbell's "Victim Of Circumstance" are rootsy rockers.

It's tempting to call 2 a great Tom Petty album, but the other band member's contributions make this one feel more like a band effort, instead of Petty with a different backing band. Excellent.

Back in 2010, I wrote about the last Teenage Fanclub album, Shadows:

Shadows falls into much the same pattern [as 2005's Man-Made]. It's been five years, TFC's sound is pretty much the same, and it's a great album. Early on in their career, Teenage Fanclub slowly evolved from a sloppy, grungy band into a pure pop band inspired heavily by Big Star. While it's true they've stopped evolving, they've settled into something pretty amazing. Looking forward to that 2015 album.

OK, so I was off by a year. But Here follows the same pattern as the three albums prior - twelve songs of exquisite chiming guitar pop with four songs written and sung by each of the band's three songwriters. Norman Blake's "I'm In Love" and "The Darkest Part Of The Night" are the big highlights of the album, athough Gerry Love's gentle "I Have Nothing More To Say" and rocking "Thin Air" are damn close and Raymond McGinley's "Hold On" is a gem as well.

Like AC/DC, Teenage Fanclub seems to have settled in to make essentially the same album over and over again. However, the songs are so good that it really doesn't matter. See you in 2021?

Though not credited as such, Patch The Sky is third album of what is basically the new "Bob Mould Band" (Bob Mould, Jason Narducy, and Jon Wurster). The album follows the formula of the first two (Silver Age and Beauty & Ruin) mixing Mould's classic punk-pop with the occasional acoustic song (like the killer opener "Voices In My Head"). The single, "Hold On" is a Sugar-flavored Mould classic: one of those songs that sound like it would be a massive hit in alternate universe. And of course, Bob and band roar on songs like "Losing Time". Sugar self-destructed way too early, but I think Bob's finally got his post-Hüskers band.

Prospect Of Skelmersdale is an album of hypnotic, atmospheric chamber pop with songs about the town of Skelmersdale, which had become the center of the UK transcendental movement by 1984 when Simon Tong's family moved there. The first proper song on the album "Pennylands" blends gorgeous pop, with great harmony singing and a lush arrangement and sets the tone for the album as a whole The album closes with a gorgeous cover of George Harrison's "Run Of The Mill" from his 1970 classic All Things Must Pass. Definitely a must hear, especially if you have a taste for elegant, lush pop.

Ouroboros is an album of dreamy (and occasionally folky) rock that feels like a lost pre-Dark Side Pink Floyd album. "In My Own Way" makes me think it could be an outtake from Meddle (or perhaps an alternate take on "Echoes"). Ouroboros does have a little heavier, rockier feel in places with Jim James adding some pleasantly grungy guitar to spice things up a bit. "Hey, No Pressure" provides the album with its heaviest moment, but it still fits the dreamy vibe of the album. Overall, Ouroboros is an album. Like I mentioned about In Extremis above, this is an album to listen to beginning to end. Superb.

Following the tour supporting the sprawling double-album Opposites in 2013 (my pick for album of the year), Biffy Clyro took a year off and singer/songwriter Simon Neil suffered through a severe case writer's block. Clearly, everything came back into place, because the followup album, Ellipsis is another stunner. It's not quite as eclectic as Opposites, but Ellipsis still offers plenty of variety. "Wolves Of Winter" and "Animal Style" are full blast rock with hooks to spare. "Friends And Enemies" and "Herex" effortly shift between loud and soft, and songs like the gentle "Re-Arrange" and the acoustic "Medicine" balance out the volume. And if you need and irresistbly catchy single (like "Pocket" from Opposites), give "Howl" a listen. Ellipsis is Biffy's second classic in a row.

Oh, and definitely go for the Deluxe Edition. "Don't, Won't, Can't" and "In The Name Of The Wee Man" aren't just throwaways. They're as good as anything on the main album.

case/lang/veirs is a new collaboration between k.d. lang, Neko Case and Laura Veirs, and it's a fantastic album. Laura Veirs seems to be the primary songwriter (the other two co-write some of the songs), so the album tends towards the folky pop of her albums. If you like harmony singing, you really need to hear this. The blending of their three voices is what sets the album apart, but the lead vocals are pretty stunning as well. "Blue Fires" and "Why Do We Fight" are torch songs that fit k.d. lang perfectly. Neko Case is terrific on the pop/rock of "Delerium" and the dramatic "Behind The Armory" and Laura Veirs shines on the poppy "Best Kept Secret" and the rocky closer "Georgia Stars". From what I've read this is a likely a one-off, but I really hope they do a sequel. This is a stunning album.

If you like the album, check out the live performance linked below from Oregon Public Broadcasting. It shows case/lang/veirs backed by a band playing the album in order. And it sounds great live.