I Want my Band Back!

Audioslave

Revelations. 

2006, Interscope  

Produced by Brendan O'Brien

Chris Cornell - vocals
Tom Morello - guitar
Tim Cummerford - bass
Brad Wilk - drums

Singles -

• Original Fire/ Set it off/ Gasoline
• Original Fire/ Doesnt Remind Me
• Revelations

This is the third and last offering from Audioslave, which is a pity, because it seemed to me that finally they had found their own sound.  Rage Against the Machine was a pretty tight rhythm section fronted by a rapper/singer.  When they broke up, the tight rythmn section decided they could just get another front man and continue making music.  The first two albums sounded just like you would expect, Rage Against the Machine, with a singer, instead of a unique band.  This album saw a departure from that and began to sound like a cohesive band, a single sound, not a band and singer separate and sharing a track.  I was always frustrated with Audioslave, after being such a huge Rage fan.

Ideally, Audioslave could have been what was good about Rage Against the Machine's music and sound, and what was good about Chris Cornell's range and vocal ability.  Instead, we got mediocrity from both parts of the equation.  Chris Cornell never seemed willing to play well with the politics of the other three quarters of his new project, and Tom Morello seemed like he just wanted to produce as much music as possible in as little time as possible, going for volume over quality.  There are a few tracks on here that do address current events and borderline politics, the most obvious is Wide Awake about New Orleans and the Katrina hurricane.  And there are a few tracks that sound like there was more thought and time put into the song structure.  This is the better of the three Audioslave albums.  The album is well crafted, listenable from beginning to end.

The Superest Super Group

Taveling Wilburys

Vol. One 

1988, Warner Brothers Records 

Produced by Otis and Nelson Wilbury

Nelson Wilbury - guitar, vocals

Otis Wilury - guitar, vocals

Lefty Wilbury - guitar, vocals

Charlie T Wilbury, Jr - guitar, vocals

Lucky Wilbury - guitar, vocals, harmonica

Buster Sidebury - drums

Singles-

• Handle with Care/ Margarita
• End of the Line/ Congratulations

This is quite possibly the best musical accident of all time. Starting as a project to record a B-side for a George Harrison single that was so good they just had to record an entire album. This is the way every supergroup wishes it could behave. These guys loved playing together, and egos never got in the way, which is usually how the supergroup project falls apart (see Audioslave, Velvet Revolver).

The songs are fun to listen to, you can sing to them, which is always a plus, and even though you can hear the different individuals in the group, they play well together. Dylan wrote some tracks, however, only one definitely sounds like a Dylan song. Also, this is probably the first time I, as a young kid, realized that sex was something you could sing about, and not get yelled at by your parents.  

The death of Lefty Wilbury was truly a tragedy, and even though the remaining Wilburys released another album a few years later, his contribution was sorely missed. This album was rereleased after the death of Nelson Wilbury in a box set compilation with the second album, and the band reunited to play at a show in his honor with his son Aryton Wilbury sitting in.

Always Tip the Delivery Boy

Jerry Garcia/ David Grisman/ Tony Rice

The Pizza Tapes 

2000, Acoustic Disc

Produced by David Grisman

David Grisman - Mandolin

Jerry Garcia - Guitar

Tony Rice - Guitar

Jerry Garcia is famous for being the Grateful Dead front man, as well as leading his own band named after himself, however, he also played with New Riders of the Purple Sage, Legion of Mary, and Old and in the Way. David Grisman was one of his better friends and also one of the best mandolin players in the genre. They played together many times, and when together, referred to themselves as Grateful Dawg. This album is a great example of crime benefiting everyone.  

The fact that this would probably not be produced and released as an album if it were not for a thieving pizza delivery boy makes it pretty damn interesting. This particular jam session with Jerry Garcia, Tony Rice, and David Grisman was recorded, which we're all truly grateful. But then the tapes were stolen by a pizza man and bootlegged, becoming a much sought after recording. David Grisman then recovered the stolen masters and released it professionally through his own bluegrass label. It is one of a long list of posthumous Garcia releases, and probably opens this conversation up to the ethics of releasing material  featuring a dead celebrity... 

The informal session gives a glimpse into the relationships of these three artists that wouldn't necessarily come across in a more professionally produced album. Plus, this is the only known recording of Garcia playing Amazing Grace. Although not the finest piece of Garcia related recording, it is still worth a listen, especially for die-hard fans.  

You Make Me Want to Cry Alone in the Dark

Alkaline Trio

Crimson 

2005, Vagrant.  

Produced by Jerry Finn

Dan Andriano - bass, vocals

Matt Skiba - guitar, vocals

Derek Grant - drums

Singles:

• Time to Waste/ We can Never Break Up/ Dont Say you Wont

• Mercy Me/ Buried

• Burn

There was a time when I was into horror punk.  Punk with a creepy dark edge to it, like the Misfits, the HorrorPops, AFI, and Alkaline Trio.  

I want to start out by saying that I like this band, probably more than they deserve.  They're from Chicago, I have family there.  They have a cool three-piece band with two singers whose voices compliment each other.  And for the most part, they are capable of writing pretty decent poppy punk songs.  

The album prior to this is called Good Mourning, and I cant say enough good things about that album.  Perhaps it will make an appearance on this blog in the future.  As far as pop-punk goes, Alkaline Trio definitely knew how to do this right, catchy tracks with singable melodies and angsty lines, but with some maturity, unlike Blink 182 who still thinks they're 16, and they did it without going too far into the woe-is-me-emo-hipster-realm.  

However, Crimson let me down.  The first track, also the first single, and the first video, Time to Waste, is fantastic!  and then the rest of the album disappoints.  I probably should have known just by looking at the cover.  Alkaline Trio had fallen into the same trap as Blink 182!  They became sentimental and slipped into the trendy emo void, as evident by the black and white cover of half a woman's sad face, and half of a nicely dressed, but miserable looking dude.  Suddenly I was listening to a morbid version of Jimmy Eat World.  I hated every track on here except for Time to Waste and Back to Hell.  Potentially good songs like Sadie are ruined when they stop the flow of the song to add spoken word nonsense.  

Even the title of the album is lame.  I heard that it was almost titled Church and Destroy.  They should have gone with that, way more interesting than Crimson.  

Skip this one...  but buy Time to Waste and Back to Hell on iTunes or something.  Agony and Irony (2008) is better.  Good Mourning (2003) is the best.  and if you can find the BYO split they did with HotWaterMusic, get it.  

The Boss of Americana

Bruce Springsteen

Ghost of Tom Joad 

1995. Columbia  

Produced by Chuck Plotkin

Bruce Springsteen - guitar, keyboards, vocals, harmonica

Danny Federici - accordian, keyboards

Gary Mallaber - drums

Garry Tallent - bass

Jim Hanson - bass

Marty Rifkin - pedal steel guitar

Soozie Tyrell - violin, vocals

Lisa Lowell - vocals

Patti Scialfa - vocals

Singles: 

• The Ghost of Tom Joad

This is the second album in the acoustic folk trilogy from Bruce Springsteen, following his 1982 Nebraska and preceding his 2002 Devils and Dust.  This is my favorite album from the Boss.  It may be because I stumbled into it in 1997 after hearing Rage Against the Machine cover it in their Metal/HipHop style, and it might be because I have a thing for acoustic country/folk songs.  The overall sound could be summed up as full of despair.  However, I believe this is an over simplified and unjust judgement.  True, the subject matter of the songs is modern dustbowl Americana, but I think under all the dust and grime and sense of despair, there is a message of hope, and beauty in the plain and mundane.  And I like that the most.