Joe Satriani – Surfing With the Alien

• Artist: Joe Satriani
• Title: Surfing With the Alien
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA
• Keeper: Yes

This record is awesome! Sure, it’s mostly for guitar geeks or wannabes, the songs are sorta stiff, and much of the drums are programmed. But who cares!? That stuff is not what Joe Satriani and Surfing With the Alien are all about. Besides, his playing is so exciting and the solos so completely excellent that they are the hooks, and what make the tunes memorable. I can’t pretend to play this stuff on guitar but I tell you I can hum along with every note, and of course air guitar the entire record. It sticks with you.

Be-cause
he’s just
that good.

Bonus on this post is that I remembered to take a pic of the liner with Joe rocking in the Reebok hightops. Bonus number two is that I found my ticket stub from seeing him live in 1988. Mary and I went to see him with my friends Bennie Ingram and Jeff Slay. Of course Joe tore the Boathouse roof off.

Check out Joe’s site.

Echo And The Bunnymen — Echo And The Bunnymen

• Artist: Echo And The Bunnymen
• Title: Echo And The Bunnymen
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Mary, if she’ll claim it
• Acquired: I’m not gonna ask
• Keeper: Maybe

Oh man this album is lame, for Echo And The Bunnymen that is. Now I remember why they were dead to me, DEAD I tell you!, by the time this record came out. Maybe I didn’t give it a fair listen, but I’m not playing it again. If I was right the first time I’ll just suffer again for nothing. The hits “Bedbugs and Ballyhoo” and “Lips Like Sugar” are probably the best songs on Echo And The Bunnymen.

Flushing my head now with some Wolfmother. Heavy riffs, take me away…

ABC — Alphabet City

• Artist: ABC
• Title: Alphabet City
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when she worked at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

When I first started playing this record, “Alphabet City”, the other day for the log I thought it was a little dull by ABC standards. But now the hooks are in me, and I’ve definitely enjoyed it. My favorite song is “The Night You Murdered Love.”

I think this might be the last ABC record we have to play. So, it’s high time I included a link to this article about the band at Wikipedia.

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction — Interview Picture Disc No. 2

Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction -- Interview Picture Disc No. 2

• Artist: Zodiac Mindwarp and The Love Reaction
• Title: Interview Picture Disc No. 2
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: No

OK, this is getting a little embarrassing. I have way too much Zodiac Mindwarp stuff, and this second “Interview Picture Disc” is proof enough. At least this one is a decent interview, with good sound quality, good pictures, etc. But it’s gotta go.

Opal — Happy Nightmare Baby

• Artist: Opal
• Title: Happy Nightmare Baby
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.

The main folks in Opal were David Roback from Rain Parade and Kendra Smith of The Dream Syndicate. Kendra eventually left the band and Hope Sandoval joined Roback to create Mazzy Star. Opal was the record for today, and it’s just a coincidence that I was at my brother’s house tonight and he was playing Mazzy Star. That reminded me how boring that recording is compared to this one. Sure, I like the hit “Fade Into You”, but I like everything on Opal’s “Happy Nightmare Baby.” My favorite is the trippy, riffing, T-Rex-ing album opener, “Rocket Machine.”

X — See How We Are

X -- See How We Are

• Artist: X
• Title: See How We Are
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – When I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

I need to listen to this one again. “See How We Are” was never my favorite X record, but I really wasn’t getting into it after a couple listens today. I do like the songs “4th of July” and the title-track “See How We Are”, but the rest of the album just sounds flat. And that’s despite that there are a number of high-energy fast-tempo songs. Overall it just sounds like they’re bummed out. Maybe they were.

I got to see them live, touring for this record, at the Ritz in New York. They were the opening act for Warren Zevon. To me, at the time that was a bill that didn’t make sense. The whole show was kind of a poignant downer. Guitarist Billy Zoom wasn’t there, replaced by Tony Gilkyson in concert and on the album too, and John Doe and Exene had broken up. The latter point was really driven home by Exene being visibly pregnant with someone else’s child. On top of all that, the biggest let down and surprise was that the most of the crowd was actually there to see Warren Zevon. Maybe I was the last guy to know it was the end for X.

Here’s an article about that show from the New York Times archives. Guess who gets 90% of the ink.

The Saints – All Fools Day

• Artist: The Saints
• Title: All Fools Day
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 8
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – When I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Yes

“All Fools Day” is another very good record by The Saints. My favorites are “First Time” and the indie hit “Big Hits (On The Underground).” I’ll say it again about these guys, adding horns occassionally really brings out the maximum rock and roll. I got to see them live when they toured for this record.

There’s a not-so-comprehensive article about The Saints on Wikipedia where the author describes them as “punk.” I guess that’s accurate in the broadest possible sense, like the way The Clash was punk, but maybe a little misleading. This band is deep and broad, in its influences and its songwriting.

Faith No More — Introduce Yourself

• Artist: Faith No More
• Title: Introduce Yourself
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy / Mary
• Acquired: 1987 – We each got copies from the record stores where we “worked.”
• Keeper: Yes

I definitely like “Introduce Yourself” better than their first record “We Care a Lot.” The title track from “We Care a Lot” appears on both records, and I’m not sure why. Wikipedia has a little info about it. I love that song, but I also love the title track of “Introduce Yourself.” In general this record seems more rocked out and the synth less prominent. “Also available on cassette.”

Dag Nasty — Wig Out at Denkos

• Artist: Dag Nasty
• Title: Wig Out at Denkos
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Probably bought it when I was working at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: No

When these Dag Nasty records came out I remember most everyone I hung with liking them. I guess I did too, then, but now they just bore me. “Wig Out at Denkos” is less enjoyable than their first record, “Can I Say.” It sounds like the death of hardcore, or maybe hardcore dying, painfully, as it moves on to an afterlife filled with guitar solos and even an acoustic ballad. If you can’t really sing, stick to screaming.

Dischord No. 26.

Various — No Age – A Compilation of SST Instrumental Music

Various -- No Age - A Compilation of SST Instrumental Music

• Artist: Various
• Title: No Age – A Compilation of SST Instrumental Music
• Year: 1987
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1987 – Bought it when I worked at Mother’s Records in Hampton, VA.
• Keeper: Maybe

This SST compilation of challenging instrumental music is full of big names, cult names, and just names. Check out the list below and decide for yourself which artists belong in which categories. I have records by many of these folks and I’ve also seen a number of them live. I don’t know if I’ll ever play this double album again. Some tracks were fantastic, but some were just annoying post-prog-rock-for-nerds. Again, decide for yourself who belongs where.

• Black Flag
• Blind Idiot God
• Henry Kaiser
• Elliott Sharp
• Lee Ranaldo
• Lawndale
• Glenn Phillips
• Pell Mell
• Paper Bag
• Scott Colby
• Lawndale
• Paper Bag
• Universal Congress Of
• Steve Fisk
• Gone
• Alter-Natives
• Elliott Sharp
• Fred Frith & Henry Kaiser