|
| Dr. Reptile's Greatest Hits 2005 liner notes | | Date Created: Dec 11, 2005, 06:38 PM |
 Dr. Reptile's Greatest Hits 2005
Liner Notes
This is getting tough. There just weren't enough great songs to make a power-packed Dr. Reptile CD this year let alone enough worthy commercial CD's to recommend. It's as if music is an ever-expanding universe that's dying from entropy. Too much music, too spread out, too little energy in any one place. Or is it that Dr. Reptile isn't hearing it? Or maybe his standards are getting too high. Or maybe one or two listens -- all there's time for with competing media (including older music) -- isn't enough to get into it. Or maybe some of us are just getting too old.
Dr. Reptile continues to listen to a lot of old stuff and obscure stuff because there isn't much new stuff that's worth it (and also because that's what they play on Sirius Disorder). If you really want to go out there beyond the realm of reality, listen to David Johansen's Mansion of Fun on Friday afternoons (Disorder channel 24 Sirius Satellite). Of course Shree Ramalama Ding Dong Johansen's obsession with Maria Callas isn't going to get her on the Greatest Hits.
Podcasts also debuted this year. First there were blogs (where this is going) and you could get your writing online whether someone was interested in it or would pay you for it or not. Now you can be a DJ and get it out there too. The problem is you have to get permission to play copywrited songs or you can get in trouble with the dying music industry. A great concept (concept, not great DJ) like Brian Ibbott's Coverville requires an inordinate amount of effort to get permissions and limits what he can play. But gradually things will shift and some new form of delivering music (or lots of ways to access music) will change the music industry, radio, and CD's. Right now it seems that iPods and the Apple Music Store are winning. The loser seems to be paying $18 for a CD with one or two songs you like. This affects brick-and-mortar record stores and music companies but not necessarily artists who have found ways to get around the old system. People will pay for good music if it's easily obtainable, useable, and inexpensive (compared to old alternatives). We seem to be seeing a resurgence of the "single" and we're certainly choosing our songs and making our own CD's or playlists.
Hey! That's like this CD... It's the best Dr. Reptile could find this year. There are two artists with two songs from the same CD (Becks' Guero and the Go-Betweens' Oceans Apart). There are two cover versions and no instrumentals. An entire CD of cover versions didn't seem like an alternative even though there are a lot of great ones out there. Maybe another time. But a CD of instrumental greatest hits seemed like a good thing. So this year there's a bonus disk of instrumental greatest hits. Hopefully between the two it will seem like the usual great Dr. Reptile CD.
Last year we started out with a bit. "Is It Rolling Bob?" so why not two bits? Love those audio bits... One is from old favorite A3. They have really continued out there beyond "Woke Up This Morning" so we left it with "Put the needle on the record". It took quite a few listens to realize that My Morning Jacket's album, Z, had anything worthwhile. Perhaps it was how great their previous CD, It Still Moves, was and unrealistic expectations. It's still hard to believe these guys are from Louisville, KY too. There is still a lot of potential for this band. But at the moment, the bit about putting the needle on the record seemed to need to be followed by the Hawaii 5-O riff of "Off the Record". The next bit is from a group called Stars and their CD, Set Yourself On Fire. The bit that leads it off was so good it was used for Dr. Reptile's Greatest Hits Theme CD called FIRE!.
Then we blast off into Beck stratosphere with "E-Pro". The Two Turntables and a Microphone guy continues to put out varied, challenging, idiosyncratic, and worthwhile modern rock. Keep an eye on this guy too.
Comparable to U2 coming out with How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb last year, the Rolling Stones came out with A Bigger Bang this year. Not a bad effort from guys in their 60's. It's not Sticky Fingers or even Some Girls but it's only rock 'n roll and we like it. It is suggest you ignore the gratuitous PC song, "Sweet Neo-con". PC'ness is afflicting a number of talented artists who can't overcome their political bias and concentrate on the music. Neil Young, Steve Earle, and Ry Cooder are examples that come to mind.
A new find based on a friend's experience with the audio feed on a plane flight, is Robert Randolph & The Family Band. This can best be described as modern soul-rock. "Going in the Right Direction" should have been a great single and one of their instrumental cuts made the bonus CD. Their CD, Unclassified, is worthy to check out.
Having done a theme CD of girl's names and once having an employee named Maureen, it was too much to ask that Fountains of Wayne would put out a great song by that name. Sure it's Old School and derivative, but what's not to like? They also have a great cover version of "These Days" (they made the '03 GH with "Better Things") and some weird Xmas songs like "I Want An Alien For Christmas."
Reading the British music mags like UNCUT and MOJO brought out The Magic Numbers. They've been compared to the sound of Beck and The Flaming Lips. Plus there from the British music scene which seems a bit more focussed and happening than the US. How's this for obscure rock lyrics:
You're in denial
You're in denial, and I know
Well, what's my name?
Well, what's my name? I don't know
What's left of alt.country is probably represented by Big Blue Hearts. (Blue Cheer, Blue Rodeo, Blue Mountain what is it with these groups with Blue in them?) They sound like Chris Isaak or Dwight Yoakum singing with The Derailers. This is another example of the title track of an album but the CD is worthy if you like this song.
One of the things that forced Dr. Reptile to do a Greatest Hits this year was Susan Cowsill's "Just Believe It". Yes, that Susan Cowsill. She was also in the Continental Drifters who made Dr. R's GH a few years back. Susan's solo effort was originally released in England but had a US release by this fall. Another title track and, of course, you have to like her voice, but you might enjoy the rest of the CD too and support a trooper from the 70's family pop band shows. She's no Donnie or Marie Osmond.
And moving into the subcategory of male-female duos, we have The Kennedys who made the '04 GH last year with their extremely pop retro sound. They have a specialty show on Sirius Satellite Radio called Dharma Cafe. This was one of the better CD's of '05 if you're into such sounds. Let's hope they keep up that end of the music spectrum as "the long road stretches out a half a million miles".
Dr. Reptile happened to get invited to a local promotional party for The Believers. This is another male-female duo who won the imaginary Chip Taylor/Carrie Rodriquez Americana award this year. (Chip and Carrie didn't make it on this year's release, Red Dog Tracks.) Craig Aspen and Cynthia Frazzini (and their dog, Beanie Boy) who make up The Believers are the real deal and very dedicated to making it as alt.country/folk/Americana young artists. They were home to visit Cynthia's mother who lives in the Denver area before leaving on a tour of Europe where they've gained some attention. Their CD, Crashyertown, is very worthy of your attention, particularly the first four songs.
The Australian band, Cat Empire, didn't quite make the cut but The Go-Betweens did. They have two cuts on the GH this year and a CD called Oceans Apart that is worth looking for. It's hard to describe their sound. It sounds vaguely like British prog rock -- a modern version of the Moody Blues. There is a definite Beatles pop influence and an 80's synth band sensibility. Listen a few times and it will become hard to get them out of your head.
OK, "Refugee" is a cover obviously, and Melissa Etheridge's version didn't come out this year. Well it sort of did. Following the usual repackaging trend to sell more of the same in different ways, Etheridge released a new collection of her greatest hits this year that included the obligatory new songs that are judged to already be greatest hits. Don't be fooled. Writing songs about getting breast cancer ("This Is Not Goodbye" and "I Run For Life") is courageous but not great rock 'n roll. Still, if you don't already have her greatest hits, this one will do.
North Mississippi Allstars have been bubbling under the Greatest Hits and this year's release, Electric Blue Watermelon (there's that blue thing again!) wasn't quite up to expectations, but it did include a duet with Lucinda Williams (OK, everyone wants Lucinda to sing on their record) that is a catchy little southern country-rock number that will sub for A3 and Lucinda's latest solo effort.
And then we're back to Beck with a catchy little number that suggested a theme CD of GIRL which had to be divided into GOOD GIRL and BAD GIRL. You'll have to look through the theme CD's to see which one "Girl" is on. The lyrics of the chorus are supposedly "Hey, my sun-eyed girl" but if there ever were misheard lyrics, these would surely qualify. We'll have to ask Beck next time we see him.
And welcome back John Prine who has survived some sort of throat or neck cancer (yeah, he does a lot of tobacco) and put out his first studio CD in about 10 years, Fair and Square. He looks a little worse for the wear but his voice, which was never his long suit, is still there and he's still singing about "The Glory of True Love" and joking around.
Another hall of fame singer-songwriter that's still gettin' it done, is John Hiatt. He puts out a CD nearly every year. This one is not his greatest but the song, "Master of Disaster" is vintage Hiatt and should be included on his greatest hits package -- he's due for another one by now.
Now comes an obscure male singer-songwriter who happened to pen what should have been the song of the year. Greg Trooper wrote and sang a wonderful song about the hurricane that leveled Galveston, TX in 1900. This was before Katrina came and flooded New Orleans but the sentiment was the same. You can't hear this song without transferring it to New Orleans. The whole CD's not bad and I hear he's a good performer. It's hard to believe that he and this song haven't gotten more attention.
And at the last minute a old friend and music industry insider reminded me that Chris Hillman had put out a solo CD this year. Hillman was there at the start of both Beatles era rock and Gram Parson's country-rock. He's a national treasure that hasn't been recognized yet. "Eight Miles High" was a gorgeous Byrds song that sounds even better with country-rock instrumentation, and Hillman's been there, seen-it-all voice still sounds like the sweet kid he's always looked like. He and Gram Parsons were a real pair.
Instead of an instrumental we end with another enigmatic Go-Betweens song about the "Streets of Your Town". Have a Cool Yule
Scott L. Replogle for Dr. Reptile
INSTRUMENTAL GREATEST HITS
Reptile - Eric Clapton
Stomp - Little Feat
Squeeze - Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Next - Béla Fleck & The Flecktones
Puffy - Béla Fleck & The Flecktones
Spain -Béla Fleck
Romance Of Death - Airto
Mambo Sinuendo - Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban
Los Twangueros - Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban
Big Cat-Afro - Celt Sound System
Mambozart - Klazz Brothers & Cuban Percussion
Salsa No.V - Klazz Brothers & Cuban Percussion
Right Now - Mocean Worker
Hard Times - Bill Frisell
Poor Side Of Town - Johnny A
What can you say about a collection of songs that starts out, "Reptile", "Stomp", "Squeeze", "Next", "Puffy", and "Spain"? Clapton's "Reptile" had to figure in Dr. Reptile's Greatest Hits somewhere. If Dr. Reptile ever does a radio show, the theme song behind it won't be "Reptile" though. It'll be Little Feat's "Stomp". What a killer riff as the chorus comes around. Bela Fleck put out an amazing CD, Ten From Little Worlds, that had two magnificent songs, "Next" and "Puffy". Or should that have been "Puffy" and then "Next"? "Spain" is old Bela Fleck and it's a cover of the Chick Corea/Return to Forever song. The vinyl version of Airto's classic album, Fingers, got dragged out and converted to digital. There doesn't seem to be a CD version. What a shame. Everything from the cover art on down is great. OK, it's from the early 70's. Dr. Reptile almost included Ray Barretto's El Watusi which is even older. And then there's the wonderful Ry Cooder CD, Mambo Sinuendo. It was hard to limit it to just two cuts. Sirius Disorder was playing "Big Cat" which probably should have led into a Gato Barbieri song but Airto was enough old stuff. The Afro-Celt Sound System seems to be doing some great stuff besides the hit with Peter Gabriel. Klazz Brothers & Cuban Percussion was the big hit CD last year as far as Dr. Reptile was concerned. Latin-rock-jazz doing Mozart and classical themes was pulled off with energy and a unique sound. Mocean Worker is another find from Disorder. Very modern, hip-hop, jazz, DJ, electronic influenced. Very tough to pin down. "Right Now" seemed appropriate. Bill Frisell has been doing jazzy guitar interpretations of non-jazz songs for several CD's now. He always plays with great sidemen and no one does it better. Dr. Reptile did a CD that collected all the versions of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times" and certainly the best instrumental one was by Bill Frisell. Another great cover was Johnny A's version of Johnny Rivers' "Poor Side of Town". It could have gone on and on. Depending on the feedback, a CD of best cover versions might be just the bonus for next year. Presuming there is one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
