Three Minute Movie – March Winds And April Showers Bring May Flowers LP

Bloated Kat / Dead Broke (2023)

I have been listening to Three Minute Movie since their first 7" and 3" CD compilation appearance came out in 1999.  At that point, I was already instantly purchasing anything that Snuffy Smile released in Japan.  I was completely blown away by the three songs that came out over those two releases.  There was a late 90s emo lean for sure, but like so many of their label mates, Three Minute Movie elevated the material into being something truly special.

As the years have gone by Three Minute Movie's sound evolved.  They've still had sons that venture into emo territory, there's been dalliances with garage rock and some good old pop punk thrown in for good measure along the way.  The band's newest album, March Winds And April Showers Bring May Flowers, is an amalgamation of those sounds. 

The main thing you will hear when you listen are some tremendous, catchy songs with great harmonies and hooks all day long.  The songs are probably not quite fast enough to be considered 'pop punk' in the most literal interpretation of that word, but the pop is definitely front and center.  There are still moments that have a garage flavor to them, such as "Stay By Yourself," which really showcases their lovely, fuzzed out guitar tones.

Then there's a song like "Talking to my Heart."  This is one that reminds me of the bands earliest days.  The band has put together a song that sounds influenced by that 90s emo the band came up during, but not in a way that sounds like a retread.  It's a song that has heart (just look at the song title), but still feels like something that actually came out in 2023.  After all of these years, I'm psyched that Three Minute Movie is still putting out music, and I'm especially psyched that one of their albums has finally been released on vinyl.

Three Minute Movie – March Winds And April Showers Bring May Flowers:
https://bloatedkatrecords.bandcamp.com/album/march-winds-and-april-showers-bring-may-flowers

Spoilers - There or Thereabouts LP - Green With Purple & Blue Splatter Vinyl

Brassneck / Waterslide / Rad Girlfriend / SBÄM (2023)

I have a major complaint with this album.  I get it in the mail, I'm excited to hear something new by a band that I like and it's only eight songs?  How dare Spoilers write eight perfect melodic punk songs and have the temerity to stop there and not write three or four more?  I am being deprived of more great melodic punk and I won't stand for it.  Sure, sure it's very clear on every label's website that it's a mini album, but do you expect me to admit that I didn't notice that at first?  Am I supposed to cop to the fact that maybe the band didn't release this only with me in mind?  Never.

All kidding and stupidity aside, whether this release was two songs or twenty songs long, it would be in the upper echelon of albums I've heard this year.  I've liked Spoilers for a while now and have all of their other records, but this one is hitting me differently this time.  There's so many amazing hooks and melodies in this album.  In the past I'd compared them to Demma-era Snuff, but they've evolved a bit from there and while that Snuff energy is still there for sure, I'm really hearing a different kind of melody, a Crocodile God/Mark Murphy style delivery that punches me right in the face.

I really can't say enough good things about this album and I was serious when I said every song is pretty much perfect.  I very selfishly wish there were a few more songs on here, but only because I just want more once the record ends.  Hopefully Spoilers are hard at work and have more songs in the hopper ready to for a full or maxi or whatever we need to call the album type to get me more of these great songs.

Spoilers - There or Thereabouts:
https://brassneckrecords.bandcamp.com/album/there-or-thereabouts

Ultramagnetic MC's - Funk Your Head Up 2xLP

Music On Vinyl (2023, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I've written about this Ultramagnetic MC's album twice before.  Once back in 2012 when I found the original, single LP pressing of the album and then again back in 2021 when I purchased a bootleg, double LP version of the album.  When I wrote about that album, I said that I would instantly purchase and official, double LP reissue of this album if one were ever to come out.  Well, finally in 2023 my dreams have come true,

Music On Vinyl has released a 180g two LP version of this classic and it sounds better than it ever has.  I've twice spun the yarn about how I first picked up the CD of this album in the Heathrow airport in 1992 while on a seven hour layover as part of a school trip.  But that purchase made because I had some extra trip money in my pockets turned out to be such an eye opening moment when it came to how I viewed hip hop.

While it's definitely colored by nostalgia, Funk Your Head up has always been my favorite Ultramagnetic MC's album.  That isn't taking anything away from Critical Beatdown or The Four Horsemen.  All three arte stone cold classics that should be in anyone's Golden Era hip hop collection.  But now, for the first time in decades, it's pretty easy to finally pick up a copy of this album on vinyl.  Don't miss out, I've watched several past Music On Vinyl reissues go out of print and end up selling for way more than I'm comfortable paying.  I just hope someone completes the trifecta and does a proper reissue of The Four Horsemen next.

Ultramagnetic MC's - Funk Your Head Up:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nbDAjv6c6jWanuBHF9N2jpK3BZhPyY1rM

Reverse - Behind These Walls LP - Mustardy Brown Vinyl

Boss Tuneage (2023)

Normally, I don't post any reviews the week of Thanksgiving as I typically take off from work that week and try to relax a bit.  But, since I have missed so many posts over the last few weeks, I'm going to try to power through and get some up this week as well.  It's especially important to try to do this for me as I've gotten in a sudden deluge of new records and want to make sure I've gotten to everything so that I can put together my end of the year list.

That brings us to Reverse and their new album Behind These Walls.  If you want to talk about an album that is guaranteed a top spot on my year end list, this would be one of the first albums I'd be talking about.  Reverse was originally active in the 90s UK punk scene and they put out a string of four 7"s that completely blew my mind at the time.  They disbanded without having put out a full length and most times, that would probably be that.

Fate intervened and the band started to release their 7" tracks and other unreleased goodies on SP records from Japan in the form of two CDs.  Then a new 7" followed and that all led to the band putting out their first proper full length a few years ago, Empty Spaces.  What a record that was.  Somehow, I think Behind These Walls is even better.  If anything the songs feel even closer to the magic the band captured on those early 7"s and I haver been listening to this record non-stop since it arrived.

I feel like I may have said something like this about Reverse before, but Behind These Walls sounds ripped straight out of the 90s.  Not that it's a 90s bands with new tunes that sort of sound like the music of yore.  If you told me that the band actually recorded these songs in 1995 and they were just releasing it now, I would one hundred percent believe you.   And this is not some backhanded compliment insinuating that the songs sound old, they sound fresh and vibrant and exciting in a way that so few bands are able to put together these days.  The album has that glorious feeling that so many of my most favorite albums of the 90s had.  It's a palpable energy that is so difficult for me to describe, but it's there and I feel it in my bones when the record is spinning.

Anyone that is into the mid 90s UK punk scene really needs to give Reverse a listen.  They can stand shoulder to shoulder with groups like Broccoli and Hooton 3 Car, that next batch of bands that were following in the footsteps of Snuff, Leatherface, Senseless Things and Mega City Four.  It's so great that a record like this can exist in 2023 and I hope that the boys in Reverse keep this going for many, many more years.

Reverse - Behind These Walls:
https://bosstuneagerecords.bandcamp.com/album/behind-these-walls

Otis Redding - The Singles 2xLP (From Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 Box Set)

Rhino / ATCO (2023) 

My plan of reviewing every Otis Redding album in this box set over a series of consecutive Fridays and/or Mondays failed miserably. But at long last, we can get to the final, double LP of this set, The Singles. For me, this was absolutely the main even of this box set and is something I’ve been waiting for when it comes to Otis. A proper singles compilation.

To me, the comparison must be made to the Three CD set, The Complete Stax/Volt Singles Collection. This set captures every single that Otis Redding released, but there was never a vinyl equivalent. Is The Singles that equivalent now? Not exactly, but it gets us very close. I actually made an Excel spreadsheet and listed every song on the CD set. I then went through and noted when that song appeared on any of the records in the two Otis Redding vinyl box sets. My goal was to see if by having both box sets, do I have all of these songs on vinyl. Turns out, it’s pretty close.

There’s only three songs (excluding live versions) that only exist on the CD set: “Mary’s Little Lamb,” “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and “I’m Depending on You.” That’s not bad considering the CD set has seventy songs on it. Spreadsheet aside, The Mono Singles is an excellent collection of non-album Otis Redding tunes and includes some of my very favorite songs of his.

When you have an album that has hits on it like “Hard To Handle,” “The Happy Song” and “Can’t Turn You Loose,” that’s a pretty high bar. And those are just the highest of highs on an album crammed full of them. To me, this album is worth the purchase of the entire set and having nice shiny copies of all of his posthumous albums is a bonus. I still don’t understand why both box sets include The Dock of the Bay album as that’s just an extra, unneeded copy of you buy both sets, but being able to make two purchases and have pretty much the entire catalog of Otis Redding on vinyl is a truly wonderful thing.

Digital Underground - Sons of the P LP

Tommy Boy (1991)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years. 

Sons of the P was the second Digital Underground full length, though it was actually the first one of theirs that I bought when it came out in 1991. Naturally, I was very aware of “The Humpty Dance” but it wasn’t something that was driving me to buy a Digital Underground album that felt a little old to me. In hindsight, that’s ludicrous as it was not even a year old, but for whatever reason I didn’t prioritize picking it up immediately. I fixed that pretty soon and grabbed the Sex Packets CD as part of a Columbia House/BMG scam within the next year. 

But, that’s not what we’re talking about right now, we’re talking about Sons of the P. Why did I pick up this album right away? It was the strength of the “No Nose Job” video. That made me buy the cassette single of that before the album came out and then I grabbed the album when that was finally released. I’m not sure why I liked “No Nose Job” as much as I did, but I did and still do. I’ve always had affinity for the less popular Humpty songs for whatever reason. I’ve always liked Digital Underground, but as a kid, I really didn’t appreciate the diversity of their albums the same way I do now. 

At the time, I wished everything was a bit more straightforward and ‘hip hop.’ The Parliament style dalliances where more distracting to me then. But now, I can understand the artistic vision of these albums as something more ambitious than a typical early 90s hip hop album. The experimentations seem more interesting now and the flow of the album has more of a narrative quality than I was aware of in my younger years. Do I still prefer the more straightforward hip hop songs? I do, but I just have a lot more respect for the whole puzzle now. 

I’d been looking for a decently priced version of this on vinyl for quite some time and when one popped up on Discogs, the time was finally there. Though, I would not have been able to grab it without some overseas assistance from my buddy Scott, from Brassneck – so many thanks for helping me finally get my hands on the vinyl version.

Digital Underground - Sons of the P:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mGQod8AtFOI1OfG63KHcgIEMc_4pZWNBQ

Pop Marshal - Rejoice! CD

Fixing A Hole (2023)

Apologies for going such a long time without posting anything.  I've had some real life stuff going on that has made it a bit difficult to be on my normal schedule.  It's still ongoing so I might miss some time here and there in the next few weeks, but I am going to try to get things back to normal as much as I can.  I've got some records to get to before the end of the year, so I'm going to give it my best shot.

Today we have a CD, which isn't as common for me to pick up as vinyl, but when there's a band putting out great tunes, you go where the music is.  Plus, it's on a label in Japan where CD releases are still pretty common for punk rock bands.  The band, however, is not from Japan.  Pop Marshal formed in the wake of Headsparks calling it a day.  I've written about Headsparks before, fronted by Andy Barnard who I've known from his 90s bands of Donfisher, Ohno Express and Gan.  There's still a piece of me that hopes there's a lost Donfisher album out there somewhere that's been hidden all these years, but I digress...

Pop Marshal is very much the next logical step after the last Headsparks album.  You can't say they are all that dissimilar at their cores.  It's another album of outstanding, melodic punk rock that has the quintessential UK feel from the 90s that has always been my favorite scene in the world.  I always feel a similarity in Andy's bands with Hooton 3 Car.  There's something about the way his songs are structured and how the hooks reveal themselves that always reminds of one of my favorite all time bands.

This time out we've got ten songs and they've got fast paced pop songs like "Big Scene," "Less You Know" and "Act Normally."  These are balanced out nicely by some lower tunes that have, to me, more in common with The Last-era Leatherface like "More For Equals" and "Lie Low."  There's even a song the leans into surf sounds on "Bad Beach."  It's a diverse and easy to listen to album that's definitely one of my favorite things to come out this year.  For sure I wish this was on vinyl, but the CD has been spinning in heavy rotation ever since it came in.  Go out of your way to check this one out if you're a fan of the 90s UK scene.

Pop Marshal - Rejoice!:
https://popmarshal.bandcamp.com/album/rejoice

Shoplifters - Second Nature LP - Orange Vinyl (/250)

PopKid / Brassneck / Rad Girlfriend / Waterslide (2023) 

It’s been four years since PopKid records has had a release.  That’s a long time and I’m sure that it is obvious that the label isn’t something we’re able to make a huge focal point of our lives at this stage.  It’s expensive to do a record label and we don’t often sell too many records through a combination of many factors.  A key one is probably that we tend to want to work with bands from other lands.  Bands that often don’t have the ability to come to America to show the locals just how good they really are.  But this is where my heart is when it comes to music. 

It’s easy to look at the unsold records I have hanging around from past releases and not be enthusiastic about adding more to the pile.  But then a band like Shoplifters comes around. Shoplifters inspire me to get back in the game.  So here we are, PKE030 – Second Nature.  This is the third Shoplifters release on PopKid, following up on the Forgiver 7” and 2019’s Secret Free World LP.  Everything that made me love and get involved with those two prior records is still here.  This is a band that has somehow found the exact strain of melodic punk rock that I want to listen to. 

If you’ve read anything I’ve written about Shoplifters before, you’ll see I’m always mentioning Bob Mould, Snuff, Big Drill Car, Leatherface and the clearest comparison to me, China Drum.  It’s like they went into a lab to try to create the exact band that would appeal directly to me.  Second Nature is such a great album, and the band has really put together an incredible group of songs.  “Hungry Lions” has that perfect chugging guitar during the verse that makes the payoff in the chorus even more triumphant.  It’s probably my favorite song on the album, but there is some stiff competition. 

The vocal melody throughout the entirety of “The Ones” is so strong and catchy, it kind of makes the entire song feel like one big chorus.  The guitar work on “Braced for Fall” reminds me so much of The Last era Leatherface, with an ethereal vocal hook.  Then there’s the piano punctuated pop of “Do What You Want” with a singalong chorus that has been stuck in my head for months now.  Every song on the album is like this for me, they're just a perfect band.

Today is the album’s official release date and the entire thing is available to listen to on Bandcamp now. Please check it out and pick up a copy if you enjoy. 

Purchase the record from our webstore here: 

https://popkid.limitedrun.com/products/748603-shoplifters-second-nature-lp

Purchase a specially priced bundle Shoplifters bundle that includes the Second Nature LP, the Secret Free World LP and the Forgiver 7": 

https://popkid.limitedrun.com/products/748709-shoplifters-vinyl-extravaganza 

Buy the vinyl, bundle or digital version on our Bandcamp page here (and get instant mp3s): https://popkid.bandcamp.com/album/second-nature

Otis Redding - Tell The Truth LP (From Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 Box Set)

Rhino / ATCO (2023) 

For the next few weeks, on Mondays, I'm writing about individual albums in the Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 box set. This is the second Otis Redding box set I have, but this one focuses on his posthumous albums. Otis has been a long time favorite of mine, and the opportunity to finally pick up nice copies of the albums released after he passed was one I was not going to pass up.

Tell The Truth is an album that I'm really not familiar with at all.  It's never been in my collection in any format and while I know a couple of the songs, this is like a new Otis Redding releases for me.  By the time we get to Tell The Truth, the fourth posthumous Otis Redding album, it's starting to become clear that they were digging a little deeper into the the vaults at this point.

That's not to say that this is a bad or even a lackluster record, but it is missing some of that uniformity that made the others sound like full albums.  Tell The Truth just sounds like a collection of songs, without the same type of cohesion from track to track taking you through the record.  That's not to say there aren't some incredible songs on here.  Otis had an incredible knack for composition and that man was a hit machine.  Not sure it would even be possible for him to write a bad song.

While this might not be the classic Otis record that some of his others may be, it's still a damn good record and finally having a nice sounding, pristine copy on vinyl is all I could really ask for.  We'll close up this box set review next Monday, with the double LP main event that is probably the main selling point of the whole box for me.

Otis Redding - Tell The Truth:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=XN5eXZPsAeM&list=OLAK5uy_nG_wJwEHjrObCjeV7X88WQ3JK98evvSGQ

Boogie Down Productions - Live Hardcore Worldwide 2xLP

Jive (2004, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I wrote about the original pressing of this album at length a few months ago.  You can go here to see what I wrote in full: https://www.ibuywaytoomanyrecords.com/2023/04/boogie-down-productions-live-hardcore.html. In a nutshell, while live albums are not typically something that I drawn too, this is one of the few out there that has always been special to me, particularly because it was the only way for me to hear any of the songs from Criminal Minded for a few years.  But the CD was long and in order to make is fit on vinyl, they cut songs from the tracklist as opposed to making it a double LP.

I'm not sure what prompted it exactly, but in 2004, Jive corrected this issue (mostly) and rereleased the album as a double LP, finally including every song from the CD on vinyl.  Why they did this as a white sleeve DJ copy instead of a fancier reissue, I'll never know.  But at least I finally have all of the songs on vinyl.  Plus, I do have the artwork from the original pressing that I wrote about before, so I have everything that there is, it's just split across two releases.

Would I buy it a third time if a proper double LP reissue with full artwork was released?  I'd like to be fiscally responsible and say no, I wouldn't need to pick up yet another version of this.  But I think anyone reading this knows me well enough to know what the real answer would be...

Boogie Down Productions - Live Hardcore Worldwide: 

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kwQhGQIdTAdPhjxad_3RyDAFzNm-xe0KQ

Otis Redding - Love Man LP (From Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 Box Set)

Rhino / ATCO (2023)

For the next few weeks, on Mondays, I'm writing about individual albums in the Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 box set. This is the second Otis Redding box set I have, but this one focuses on his posthumous albums.  Otis has been a long time favorite of mine, and the opportunity to finally pick up nice copies of the albums released after he passed was one I was not going to pass up.

The third of Otis Redding's posthumous albums is Love Man.  You would think that after mining two LPs worth of unreleased material already, the vaults might start to run dry.  Especially considering that Otis' career was tragically brief.  But somehow, this album is still a revelation.

Maybe it's not quite as strong as the prior two, and maybe there isn't an epic, classic, signature song like "Dock of the Bay" (Though "Love Man" really isn't too far off, in my opinion), but the quality and consistency of the songs Otis recorded at the end of his career are so impressive.  Equally impressive is that this isn't a collection of cover songs.  Of the twelve songs on the album, only three weren't written, at least in part, by Otis himself.

As an album, this and next week's Tell The Truth are the ones that I was least familiar with coming into this box set.  But the wave of familiarity washed over me as I listened to Love Man.  There is something so timeless and perfect about Otis Redding and there really isn't ever a time where his music doesn't put a smile on my face.

Otis Redding - Love Man:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=hdFjGVBtx0w&list=OLAK5uy_m-4BurZK-qVjlAp5NuErHhByb5CFkPous

Shoplifters - Second Nature LP - Test Pressing

PopKid / Brassneck / Rad Girlfirend / Waterslide (2023)

I have mentioned a few times this year that I hadn't bought as many new records as I have in the past and that I've had a hard time finding those albums that I really connect with.  So I decided to do something about it.  PopKid Records is back for 2023 and we teamed up with friends far and wide to release the new Shoplifter album.  

We're putting up the album for preorder today (don't worry, I have them in hand and the release date is in two reeks on October 20th) and to celebrate that I'm writing a little bit about the record, though just a bit to start.

The picture you see above isn't the actual artwork, this is the alternate cover for the test pressing that the labels and bands got.  It's very cool, but the actual artwork looks even better.  I've never been a huge test pressing guy, but of course the PopKid ones are very near and dear to my heart.

The record is really wonderful.  Tight, catchy, melodic punk rock that makes me smile every time I listen to it.  I'm going to take a picture of the actual record and write a bit more about it in two weeks, but I wanted to put up a little something special in honor of the preorder kicking off today.

Please check it out and I hope you love it as much as I do.  Or at least like it enough to buy a copy.  Also, it's Bandcamp Friday, so there really isn't a better day to buy it from me if Bandcamp is your scene.

Purchase the record from the PopKid webstore here:
https://popkid.limitedrun.com/products/748603-shoplifters-second-nature-lp

Purchase a specially priced bundle Shoplifters bundle that includes the Second Nature LP, the Secret Free World LP and the Forgiver 7":

https://popkid.limitedrun.com/products/748709-shoplifters-vinyl-extravaganza

Buy the digital version (and/or the vinyl) on the PopKid Bandcamp page here: 
https://popkid.bandcamp.com/album/second-nature

Cypress Hill - Black Sunday 30th Anniversary 2xLP - Brown Vinyl (/1993)

Get On Down / Columbia (2022, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I couldn't help myself and I bought this fancy version of Cypress Hill's second album from 1993, Black Sunday.  I did have a perfectly serviceable copy of this on vinyl already, but the inclusion of some extra bonus tracks and the deluxe version and all piqued my interest enough that I couldn't help but double dip.

Is it worth it? I don't really know.  Bonus track wise, maybe not.  There are three bonus tracks in total.  First is an extended version of "Insane In The Brain" that is exactly as advertised.  It's longer.  That's really it and not something I would say is super important.  Then we have "Scooby Doo," originally released as a B side on the Lick A Shot single.  It's not the most exciting song in their catalog and I wish it had drums that hit harder.  That would improve it in my eyes.  Lastly is the T-Ray remix of "Hits From The Bong."  This one is quite excellent and while not quite on the level as the original version, it is still some pretty stellar Cypress Hill-ing.

The main album sounds great, I'm not sure it's any better or worse than the other version that I have, but it gets the job done.  The artwork really is lovely as a nice gatefold with shiny metallic print job.  It definitely looks the business.  So, is it worth it?  If you don't have the album, this is absolutely the one to get.  If you have it already, it's probably not that important to pick up unless you're a sucker for fancy reissues (guilty).  I'll probably end up selling my other copy though, there's no reason to have two of these.

Otis Redding - The Immortal Otis Redding LP (From Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 Box Set)

Rhino / ATCO (2023) 

Sorry, change of plans.  I didn't really think before I started writing about these records on Friday.  I have some other things planned for a couple of Fridays in the next few weeks, so I'm going to shift Otis around and we're going to talk about each of the individual albums in the Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 box set over the next few Mondays. As I mentioned on Friday, this is the second Otis Redding box set I have, but this one focuses on his posthumous albums.

The Immortal Otis Redding came out in 1968 and features songs that he recorded just prior to his death in December of 1967. Of all of his posthumous releases, this one seems the closest to an actual planned album to me.  The songs feel purposefully sequenced together, it's just not cleaning out odds and ends.  And boy oh boy, the songs on this record.

We've got hall of fame worthy classics like "The Happy Song," "Nobody's Fault But Mine" and "Hard To Handle."  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.  Every song on here is great, not a single piece of filler in the bunch.  It's difficult to think about what this album could have meant to his career if he had not passed and was able to release it as the next album in his career.

I'm really happy to finally have a good, clean version of this album on vinyl.  It was definitely the co-main event of this box set for me and is quite simply a classic album that I will never tire of listening to.

Otis Redding - The Immortal Otis Redding:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3mW7KfVrv-o&list=OLAK5uy_mZZlUxmBFoQhgyRR9S_ltNa_rW1l772lM

Otis Redding - The Dock of the Bay LP (From Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 Box Set)

Rhino / ATCO (2023)

Over the next few Fridays I will be writing about each of the individual albums in the Otis Forever: The Albums and Singles 1968 - 1970 box set. This is the second Otis Redding box set I have, but this one focuses on his posthumous albums.

We start off with a weird one, to be honest.  The first album in this box set is Dock of the Bay.  Why is that weird?  Because it’s the last album in the Definitive Studio Albums box set. Why is the same album in two different box sets?  I couldn’t tell you.

Especially since this box set is absolutely being positioned as a companion piece to the first set. The artwork is similar and they are really meant to sit side by side.  So it’s kind of odd that there’s a duplicate album between the two sets.  I guess you can say that the one in this set is in stereo, while the prior version was in mono.  But honestly, that’s not anything particularly important to me.

That said, it is a great album. I don’t really feel the need to write too much about the music as I did so here: https://www.ibuywaytoomanyrecords.com/2019/02/otis-redding-dock-of-bay-lp-from.html?m=0. It’s not like having this record in the box would ever dissuade me from buying it, but I can’t help think they could have made the set a bit cheaper by not including it.  Oh well.

Otis Redding - The Dock of the Bay:

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu5chXCp1Ag

Black Sheep - Non-Fiction 2xLP

Mercury (1994) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Like just about everybody in 1991, I loved the first Black Sheep album, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.   Fueled by the massive hit "The Choice Is Yours," Black Sheep were inescapable yet not overplayed.  It's a difficult thing to describe.  I definitely got sick of hearing "O.P.P." after the millionth time, but I could listen to "The Choice Is Yours" a million times a day.  Black Sheep didn't come back with a follow up until 1994 and in those three years, a lot changed in hip hop.  

In hindsight, Black Sheep probably should have tried harder to strike while the iron was hot and get something out in 1992 or early '93 at the latest.  But they waited.  Dres made a ton of guest appearances and then in DECEMBER of 1994, Non-Fiction was released.  I don't want to say it was a flop, because honestly I don't know the particulars, but there was certainly no buzz that I ever heard back then.  As I've said a million times, 1994 was the year I stared checking out following hip hop as the sounds were becoming too homogenized.  I didn't buy Non-Fiction when it came out and I honestly never thought much about it for decades.  It doesn't really seem like a lot of other folks did either.

Revisiting this album many years later, we were all wrong.  Now, I can't and won't pretend the record as a whole is as strong as the group's debut.  Nor will I say there are any songs even close to the caliber of "The Choice Is Yours."  But, it's still a really good record.  It's a bit more laid back, but the jazzy samples and thumping drums are still here.  It just further supports my feeling that this album was probably a victim of timing more than anything else.  You can't convince me that "City Lights" wouldn't have blown up on Yo! MTV raps if they played it in early 1993.  Granted, that's not one of the singles they picked for the album, but the point remains.

The vinyl has never been repressed in the nearly thirty years since it's original release.  But it's also not super difficult or pricy to find.  I waited a while trying to find a copy in the condition I wanted and was at at a price I was comfortable paying.  I'm glad to have it in the collection and it's an album I think people should give another chance to.  There's a lot to like here.

Black Sheep - Non-Fiction:

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nIs1lK0F65uIw2HTDN0jSWhcsbOAWKUWM

Telegenic Pleasure - Concentric Grave LP

Feral Kid / No Front Teeth (2023)

I have a small pile of records that some labels sent me to write about.  I'm going to make an effort to get through these over the next couple of weeks and clear out the record bin I keep in my office that houses the stuff I haven't written about for the site yet.  First up is Telegenic Pleasure.

I've been sitting on this one for a little bit.  It's one of those 'dude recorded it by himself during the pandemic' albums.  I've heard records made like this that are fun, and then there are others that sound like someone just going crazy.  This one is kind of in the middle.  I could never say that I like it, in a lot of ways it's the epitome of annoying solo recording that bug me.  But at the same time, there was a definite point of view being pursued.  Just because I don't like the point of view being followed, does that make it bad?  A quandary.

Anyway, there's lots of synthy drum programming, spacey noises and distorted vocals.  The songs are all pretty weird and don't follow the most standard structuring I've ever heard.  There are early Love As Laughter songs that mined similar sonic territory, but those those ones always felt more spontaneous and exciting.  These Telegenic Pleasure songs don't have that same sort of off-the-cuff flavor.  I don't know, I'm getting lost.  If you like weird, spacey, bedroom recordings, you might like this.  You might also find it annoying because there's nothing all that interesting going on.  I can only hope you don't find yourself in the position of having to write two paragraphs about it.

Telegenic Pleasure - Concentric Grave:
https://feral-kid-records.bandcamp.com/album/concentric-grave

Yaggfu Front – Action Packed Adventure! LP

 

Mercury (1994) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I've mentioned more times than I can count that I have found a lot of really interesting hip hop records digging through lists on the internet.  My best friend for a while was the obligatory 'forgotten hip hop records of the 90s' type lists, of which there are no shortage of.  One of the very first groups I came across from those lists was Yaggfu Front.  But hot damn was it impossible to find a copy of this bad boy on vinyl.  I kept holding out hope that someone would reissue it, but it just never happened,

After passing on copies priced well over $200 and sometimes quite a bit more than that, I finally stumbled across a copy that was more reasonably price.  Note that I said 'more reasonably priced,' it really wasn't as reasonable as I would have liked.  I definitely overpaid for it, but I had been searching for so long I had to grab it.  Why was I willing to search for so long?  It's the production on this record, which is as strong as anything released in 1994.

Lyrically, no one in Yaggfu Front is an elite MC.  They're fine, there's nothing bad here but there's never a track that gets me thinking I'm in the presence of an amazing lyricist.  They are all mostly there to serve the beats, and they serve the beats just fine.  Or maybe it's more accurate to say the beats serve them, and truthfully pick the album up in a way that makes the record sound really great.  The beats, hooks and samples on this record are so good that the rapping on it is almost an afterthought.  Again, the rapping isn't bad at all, but the production hits that sweet spot of what I'm looking for in a hip hop record so perfectly that I'm really distracted from paying attention to much else.

I really recommend giving this record a listen.  It might not be worth hunting down a copy for everyone, but it's certainly worth finding it on youtube or whatever.  And if anyone does ever rerelease it at an affordable price, it's absolutely worth a pickup.

Yaggfu Front – Action Packed Adventure!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUxX2nNOhWs&ab_

Bad Idea - Sonic Hellride LP - Yellow Vinyl

Self Released (2023)

Bad Idea hail from Minneapolis, a city that has produced more than its fair share of bands that I really dig.  And while the bulk of bands I have enjoyed from this fine city have skewed towards the pop punk side of the spectrum (with some detours into Big Drill Car sounding territories), Bad Idea are playing a old school/garage-y sort of punk rock that I don't typically associate with Minneapolis.  Granted, I don't live there so it's possible a thriving community of likeminded bands exist, but they aren't typically on my radar.

Most people that know my taste in punk rock will know that Bad Idea don't immediately fit the bill.  It's not as hooky as I would prefer and there certainly aren't many vocal harmonies as are on a lot of records I own, but they still resonate in a way that most bands like this do not.  A major reason is because of the quality vocals.  So many groups like this are shouting and hollering and yelling in a way that my tender ears do not appreciate.  This singer is one that can actually sing.  It's gruff, maybe in a less gravelly Lemmy sort of way, but he's carrying a tune and that goes a long way with me.

Some of the songs are straighforward in a beat you over the head sort of way, and I don't click with those quite as much.  But then there are a few that lean more towards my wheelhouse like "TV Brain" and "Act Of Violence."  I wouldn't call them pop by any means, but there's a different level of dynamics there that elevate them higher.  As far as the songs that are of the more straightforward variety, if you like your punk rock a little more old school and traditional, particularly with a tinge of garage energy, this is probably a record you should check out.  They do this style better than most.

Bad Idea - Sonic Hellride:
https://badideampls.bandcamp.com/album/sonic-hellride

The B.U.M.S. - Lyfe 'N' Tyme 2xLP + 7"

90s Tapes (2023, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Lyfe 'N' Tyme originally came out in 1995, and if you are even a somewhat casual reader of my Wednesday nonsense, you know that year is the cut off for following hip hop.  1994 and earlier, I was paying very close attention to what was happening.  1995 and beyond was a total mystery to me for decades because there wasn't anything catching my interest.  As a result, I ended up missing out on quite a few really good records.  I still contend that very few albums from after '95 can hand with anything from what I consider the Golden Era of 1988-1994.  But again, there are some that have popped up as I've been digging around the last few years.

The B.U.M.S. are one of those groups that ended up on my radar looking for something new that I hadn't heard before.  I checked out their only album Lyfe 'N' Tyme and while I liked it, it wasn't one of those albums that made me think I must pay collector prices and get this record in my collection immediately.  Not rushing into that paid off in the long run as my favorite hip hop reissue label, 90s Tapes, stepped up and rereleased a great version of this album.  Double LP with a bonus 7", you really couldn't ask for a more definitive version.

As far as the music goes, I still contend that it's a good record, though it never really crosses that line to be considered top tier.  The beats are mostly laid back and rely on some jazzy samples, but they don't really have the energy of something like Tribe or Gang Starr.  There's laid back and then there's slow, Lyfe 'N' Tyme is really riding that line between the two.  Lyrically is where the album really shines, with dynamic flows and rhymes.  Being from the Bay Area, you could draw a dotted line to the Hieroglyphics folks, but The B.U.M.S. are a bit more straightforward and don't experiment quite as much.

It really is a solid record and had it come out when I was in the thick of my teenage hip hop obsession, I probably would have been playing this in my car fairly often.  Today, it's a solid record and a nice change of pace when I'm looking to listen to something I'm less familiar with.

The B.U.M.S. - Lyfe 'N' Tyme:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k9uX4uE8mbwuAOucRI6QOA1f6L4FDeu_o

The Subjunctives - Let's Try This Again LP - Pink Vinyl

Top Drawer (2023)

When I think about it, it seems kind of inconceivable that the last Subjunctives album came out four years ago already.  Sunshine and Rainbows still feels like a new record to me and while I'm fully aware that my sense of time has been distorted over the past few years, it's wild that I'm holding the band's new record thinking 'boy, they sure pumped out another one of these pretty quick.'  Yet the entirety of how long it takes to get through high school has happened since the last one.  Feeling old yet?

Let's Try This Again picks up where Sunshine and Rainbows left off, with Ean, Jeff and new drummer Wendell crafting poppy punk songs that lean on Bob Mould style guitar crunch as much as they do Sicko style irreverence and tight hooks.  I had mentioned when I wrote about the first Subjunctives record that this was the Ean band that was able to scratch my Sicko itch, and while there's probably a better way to phrase the sentence in a way that doesn't make it seem like I'm dealing with some sort of rash, it's still true.  This makes me feel like it's 1996 again, hanging out in the record store and just enjoying the way the music was making me feel.

Lyrically, Ean is really in top form here.  We've got songs about smart pop punk vs. dumb pop punk, career paths, Covid, fuckers and Lance from J Church/Cringer.  It's subject matter that certainly resonates with me and it's refreshing to hear an album that feels thematically targeted to someone in their 40s and 50s.  And that's not to say the kids won't be able to get down with these funky sounds.  I'm sure many in their 20s will agree that these tracks slap.  Which is a somewhat obnoxious way to say that this kind of pop punk always feels universal to me.  Even if the specific topics might skew to an older demographic, the overall feelings of battling insecurities, fears and trying to celebrate the things that help get you through each day are common themes that everyone can relate to.  

Start to finish, it's just as strong a record as Sunshine and Rainbows.  We've got short fast songs, we've got mid tempo guitar pop and we've even got a cover of the Sicko song "Believe" played even faster than the original.  To me the biggest difference between Let's Try This Again and the last record is in the vocals.  The way they are recorded is much more slick and it's dripping with massive harmonies on just about every song.  It sounds full, crisp and and impeccably recorded, though it is missing a little bit of the scrappiness that I tend to associate with Sicko and the first Subjunctives album.

2023 is a year that, for me, has really been lacking in new albums that I've connected with.  There's been a some, but I can't remember a year where I've bought fewer new records.  Luckily, The Subjunctives were aware of my plight and put out a record that reminds me that there's more to life than 90s reissues.  There's also people from the 90s still writing great music.

The Subjunctives - Let's Try This Again:
https://thesubjunctives.bandcamp.com/album/lets-try-this-again-2

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Original Series Soundtrack 2xLP - Blue w/ Black Smoke Vinyl

Milan (2023)

I don't buy a lot of soundtracks on vinyl, but I have been picking up some of the cooler ones that get released.  If it's Godzilla or Toho related, that's probably an instant buy.  Then there are others that pop up randomly like Cowboy Bebop and Star Wars type stuff.  I don't buy all of it, but I will pick up the occasional record that I think is cool.

I don't watch much anime.  In fact, I really don't watch any.  The only exceptions are the aforementioned Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion.  I stumbled across Evangelion in college, maybe in 1997 or so?  It was recommended to me and I started buying the VHS tapes that were being released at the time.  Two episodes per tape and lots of trips to Suncoast Motion Picture Company.  I loved that show and though it was so interesting and powerfully written.  Until the last couple of episodes anyway, then it just kind of goes a little crazy and I don't really understand what's going on.

The thing I always remember about the soundtrack is "Angel Attack," a rousing piece that captures the sound of impending doom perhaps better than anything since the Imperial March.  The rest of this soundtrack is only kind of OK.  I mean, nothing is bad or anything, but when I listen to it I'm not getting that immersive experience that I tend to while listening to other soundtracks.  Maybe I'm just not as familiar with the music of Evangelion, but it's not until the closing version of "Fly Me To The Moon" that those nostalgic memories hit again.

This was out of print for a while, as best I can tell.  It recently got repressed and I was able to pick it up for pretty cheap, so I did.  I'm glad to have it, but as far as soundtracks that I'm going to listen to often, this one will end up being lower on the priority list.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - Original Series Soundtrack:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kymSzIaRe3oEW786pYicK32t9v_c7A0f0

Gang Starr - The Ownerz 3xLP

Virgin (2015, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

The Ownerz was the final Gang Starr album of the group's original run.  It came out while I was working my radio promotion job and a buddy that was working at Virgin at the time hooked me up with a CD copy back then.  So unlike a lot of hip hop from 1995 until recently, I did actually hear this right when it was released.  It got to a point where this album was the only one of theirs that I didn't have on vinyl, so I finally picked it up to complete the full length collection.

Gang Starr has pretty much always been amazing.  Even in 2003, when the bulk of hip hop was absolutely not my cup of tea, Guru and Premier put out an album that still felt like the sort of thing I would have listened to at the height of my hip hop fandom.  The beats still feel like classic Premier and Guru's lyrics are as sharp as ever.  If it was primarily the two of them over the album, it would be another classic.  But to me, that's the album's biggest problem.

There are way too many guest appearances for me.  I know that's what hip hop turned into, everyone on everyone else's albums, but if I buy an album, it's because I want to hear the person or group putting out that album.  Of The Ownerz' nineteen tracks, eight of them have guest verses on them.  It makes everything feel watered down to me and I think the album would be significantly stronger if those verses were replaced by more from Guru.  That aside, it's still a solid album and considering when it came out, it's certainly one of the better post-golden era releases out there.

Gang Starr - The Ownerz:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mBFNxw8008IL_EVoKRxvaJsk6fR1yTXzM

The Pretty Flowers - A Company Sleeve LP - Opaque Blue Vinyl - Record Release Sleeve (7/47)

Double Helix (2023)

This will be a quick write up today as I just posted a much lengthier missive about this fabulous record the other week.  Please go here if you want me to tell you how great the music is: https://www.ibuywaytoomanyrecords.com/2023/08/the-pretty-flowers-company-sleeve-lp.html

For today, I wanted to show off the limited, alternate sleeve version from The Pretty Flowers record release show.  They did 47 of these in total and they were sold at the show, with a few leftovers winding up on Bandcamp.  The folks at Pretty Flowers Inc. were kind enough to make sure that my alternate sleeve came with the opaque blue version of the vinyl, so I have both colors now as well.  It also came with a signed promo photo straight out of 1997.  I haven't seen one of those since my time writing at my college newspaper many, many moons ago.

This is one of those variant hunts that I've tried very hard to keep from overtaking my record collection.  For the most part, I'm much better about only buying one version of a record when it comes out.  But there are sometimes bands or variations that tug at my heart strings and I just can't help myself.  This is one of those records and I'm happy to have it.  

The Pretty Flowers - A Company Sleeve:
https://theprettyflowers.bandcamp.com/album/a-company-sleeve

J.U.I.C.E. - The Man 2xLP

 

90s Tapes (2023, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

This is another 90s Tapes release by an artist I had never heard of prior to this album going up for sale.  Doing some digging, I found out that J.U.I.C.E. was a force on the freestyle battle rap scene in the late 90s.  It's admittedly a scene I don't know very much about as I had kind of moved on from hip hop by that point and was pretty wrapped up in punk and indie rock by then.  Apparently J.U.I.C.E. crossed paths with Eminem as both were working their way up the battle rap circuit and during that battle, J.U.I.C.E. came out on top. 

Their careers took different paths from their, as I'm sure you have figured out.  And again, I never heard of J.U.I.C.E. until this 90s Tapes double LP came to light.  In 1998 J.U.I.C.E. put out a four song cassette EP called The Man.  This double LP takes the demo versions of the songs from that release and adds in a myriad of extra, unreleased tracks from the same era.  While hip hop in the late 90s typically doesn't resonate with me the same way the releases at the beginning of the decade do,  there's a lot to like about these songs.

The production is solid, but maybe not as strong as the early 90s beats that I usually gravitate towards.  The drums, bass lines and samples can be understated at times, but they are still good and have a lot in common with the more backpacker indie rap sounds of the early 2000s.  I can appreciate that style as well.  It's really the lyrics and delivery that makes this album stand out.  J.U.I.C.E. obviously a very gifted MC and he uses his freestyle skills to put together tracks that showcase those talents.  

He has a complicated flow, but not one that's outlandish just for the sake of it.  Some tracks have strong narratives while others have J.U.I.C.E. just throwing down battle rhymes.  It's a good mix and I think it would be difficult for anyone to not walk away impressed by his skills.  I feel like if he had come around five or six years earlier, he probably would have ended up among my very favorites if the production was a little more in line with the sounds of 1992 or 1993.  But that's just my personal bias on hip hop production.

J.U.I.C.E. - The Man:
https://90stapes.bandcamp.com/album/the-man

Skiploader - From Can Through String LP - White Vinyl

Tim/Kerr / Geffen (1996)

Skiploader is a band whose name I remember being kicked around in the 90s, but they weren't a band I had ever spent any time with.  In fact, I'm not even positive I ever heard a single song by them back then.  One of my buddies, Jason, had mentioned them to me a little ways back and it reminded me to give them another listen.  I did, and then I picked up a sealed cutout of their first full length, From Can Through String.  It was cheap and sealed, so that was a bonus.

My original expectations were that this would be the sort of slow twinkly emo that was in vogue in 1996.  Sad sack music lamenting all of the things wrong with the world.  The fact that it was on Geffen should have clued me in that it would need to be more exciting than that, and it is.  Skiploader's album is an energetic blast of catchy songs with big, crunchy guitar chords.  Is there an emotional undercurrent to the songs?  Absolutely, but it's done in a way that makes everything more dynamic and interesting than your by the numbers pop punk band of the era.

In fact, the band this album makes me think about the most as a comparison is actually Seaweed.  Both vocalists have the strained, but powerful delivery and the guitar riffage also has moments of similarity.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying that Skiploader is quite as good as Seaweed was.  Seaweed had an intensity level that Skiploader can't match.  But Skiploader is carrying on a similar tradition and this record is way better than I would have figured based on everything I knew about them before actually listening to it.

Skiploader - From Can Through String:
https://skiploader.bandcamp.com/album/from-can-through-string

Unwound / Karate - Fantasma Split 7" - Red Vinyl

Numero (2023)

This 7" was originally available at the Primavera Sound Festival that took place in Barcelona.  Unwound and Karate both played on day three and were grouped as part of the third font size (out of four) on the poster.  As both of these songs are also available on albums by each band, I assume this was mainly released to be a take home trinket of the experience.  Lucky for record dorks like me, Numero put some extra copies up on their website, so I was able to keep my Unwound 7" collection up to date.

On the Unwound side we have "Look A Ghost," from their Leaves Turn Inside You album from 2001.  While the later era Unwound records are definitely not my favorite of their overall discography, this song does stand out as one of the best.  It's not quite as noisy as I usually want my Unwound songs to be, as they rely more on a clean (as in not distorted), but muddy guitar tone.  The playing is intricate though and it's not sleepy like some of the band's other later era songs. 

Karate is a band I never listened to.  I'm not entirely sure why as they aren't a band that I can point to and say "I don't like them because ______."  I just never listened to them and I think I always thought of them as a slow, kind of boring band.  Now that I've heard their contribution to this 7", "There Are Ghosts" from the 1998 album The Bed is in the Ocean, I'm not sure my assumption was incorrect.  It's not a bad song, it is pleasant enough, but it has that slow, smooth jazz sort of indie rock vibe that never did anything for me.  Maybe they have other songs that are a bit more dynamic and exciting, but this one is kind of just there.

If you didn't go to the festival and already like either band, I'm not sure this is an essential release as you probably already have the song.  But for that segment of people that need to hunt down things like this, you can get it at a reasonable price from the fine folks at Numero.

The Concept of A.L.P.S. - The Classic Collection 3xLP

90s Tapes (2023, Reissue) 

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I have something of a backlog of 90s Tapes releases, so you might see quite a few of them in the upcoming weeks.  This particular album and group I had never heard of prior to this reissue being made available for purchase a few months ago.  The Concept of A.L.P.S. (or as they are sometimes called, The Alps Cru) hailed from St Louis and in 1994 started releasing a string of independent 12" singles.  They had three singles in the mid 90s, but never put out a full length.

Then starting in 2008, they began releasing more singles and stayed relatively active putting something out every few years.  Again, they never put out a full length during this run either.  Enter 90s Tapes.  They have compiled everything from those 12"s from the 90s and most of the tracks from the later singles as well and put them all on one convenient triple LP (though one of the 3 LPs is the instrumental versions).  The label is based in Germany, so their on sale times are in the middle of the night for me.  I don't typically have a problem getting my hands on the albums of theirs that I want, but Alps sold out before I even woke up that morning.  I spent a little bit of time hunting, and I did have to pay collector prices, but I was finally able to track down a copy for myself.

And it was important that I did hunt this down.  It's a great album full of slower tempo, jazzy beats that still have a rugged feel to them.  I'm at a loss for an easy comparison point to another group, but certainly if you are into Tribe Called Quest or Gang Starr, you will be able to appreciate what the Alps Cru are offering, even though they don't really sound a ton like either of those groups.  Regardless, this is an album that my hip hop ear can enjoy, they are of their era enough that I'm interested, but left of center enough that they still sound like the sort of thing indie hip hop folks of today would enjoy.  Worth checking out, but be prepared to pay for the vinyl if you find it.

The Concept of A.L.P.S. - The Classic Collections:
https://90stapes.bandcamp.com/album/the-classic-collection

The Pretty Flowers - A Company Sleeve LP - Translucent Blue Vinyl (/250)

Double Helix (2023)

Of the records I've written about over the past five years or so, I'm not sure that any connected with a certain segment of my friends more than Why Trains Crash, the first album from The Pretty Flowers.  I wrote about it back in 2018 and most of the people whose taste in music most closely matches mine seemed to love it.  And not just love it, to further evangelize it to others.  Watching that happen for a record I loved so much was really quite wonderful.  My circle of music friends often agree on what bands are good, but there was something pretty special about the way every seemed to connect with The Pretty Flowers.

Fast forward to 2023 and five years have gone by.  That's a pretty long time since their last record and factor in that the five years that went by felt more like thirty and I wondered what would happen when A Company Sleeve finally came out.  Well, everyone I know loves it and that includes me in a big way.

Despite being fully aware that I do it, I often fall victim to the trope of trying to compare a band to other bands to try to help explain what they sound like.  There's only so many times you can write things like 'catchy' and have it really be a description of the music that you're listening to.  I still think that the bands that I most associate with The Pretty Flowers when trying to come up with a comparison point are The Weakerthans (for the storytelling component and hooks) and early Built To Spill (for the band's ability to weave in more complicated guitar attacks, but not overwhelm with unnecessary solo wanking).  

Even without referencing these touchstones, it's impossible to not gush over how expertly this entire album has been crafted as a body of work.  The individual songs are all spectacular, but the way they flow from one to the other is a masterwork in sequencing and thought put into making this feel like an album and not just being a pile of twelve songs.  This is not a concept album, but the concept of these songs being an album was obviously something that was taken very seriously.

I can't say enough great things about this record.  It's hands down the best record I have heard all year so far and I'm not really sure anything else is even close.  If you are ever the sort of person to put stock into anything I write and didn't pick up on the first Pretty Flowers album, listen to me this time and make sure you grab A Company Sleeve.  A shoe in for album of the year if John Reis doesn't put out anything before January.

The Pretty Flowers - A Company Sleeve:
https://theprettyflowers.bandcamp.com/album/a-company-sleeve

Al' Tariq - God Connections 2xLP + 7"

90s Tapes (2023, Reissue) 

 Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Before he was Al' Tariq he was known as Kool Fash and was part of The Beatnuts.  While I wasn't really familiar with The Beatnuts as a group back in the 90s, I was aware of them via their production involvement with several groups that I did listen to at the time.  I discovered the first Beatnuts full length many years later and was definitely a fan.  After that album originally came out, Kool Fash left the group and changed his name to Al' Tariq.  

God Connections is Al' Tariq's debut album and it originally came out in 1996, which is way past my typical hip hop expiration date of 1994.  What I've learned over the years is that for the most part, I'm right - the vast, vast majority of rap that came out after 1994 is pretty terrible.  But I've also learned that a blanket statement like that just cannot apply to everyone.  I have found some post-94 jewels over the last few years, and God Connections is one of them.

It's not a a perfect record by any means and I do with that the production was a little more upbeat and dirtier, for a lack of a better word to describe it.  Things are pretty polished and you'll never mistake it for something that came out in that 88-94 golden era.  That said, it is still quite good.  The beats do still hit relatively hard and the bass, while smooth, still thumps.  Lyrically, Al' Tariq is great and he's the main reason the album's highs get as high as they do.  As good as he was on Beatnuts' records, he' elevated his game further and spins killer stories on each track.

God Connections may not be an essential record that everyone needs to own, but if you are like me and are hunting for records outside of your comfort zone that can really hang with golden era classics, you could certainly do worse than Al' Tariq's debut.  It's definitely worth checking out.

Al' Tariq - God Connections:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kvdbmCnLbKgDsjJ3W4nloTYa_028c-36U

Lifer's Group - Living Proof LP

Intercord / Hollywood BASIC (1992)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

While I never heard any music from Lifer's Group back when it was originally released in the early 90s, I was aware of their story.  Born out of the Rahway State Prison's program that was highlighted as part of the Scared Straight documentary, the group came about as another idea to reach out and share their message through music and try to dissuade young people from activities that could lead to imprisonment.

What I didn't know is that the record is pretty great.  It came out in 1992, which you could really make a case for being the highlight of the Golden Era (it's either that or '93, for sure).  The beats are pretty much what you'd hope to hear on a record that came out at this time.  It's hard hitting, with aggressive drum breaks and tons of low end.  While not anywhere near the perfection that EPMD was producing at the time, there is something about the sounds on Lifer's Group that does make me think of Erick and Parrish's production prowess.

Lyrically, there's a bunch of MCs an the album and all of them are pretty great.  To be honest, I don't really know who is who from song to song, but everyone steps up to the mic and does an excellent job.  Lyrically it's a mix of positive lyrics encouraging people to stay out of trouble and tracks that play out as cautionary tales of what can happen if you engage in some of the activities that led to the participants being in Rahway to begin with.

At the end of the day, it's just a really strong, entertaining listen.  The beats are always what opens the door for me, but in this case the lyrics are what keeps me coming back for more.

Lifer's Group - Living Proof:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJMfO1C3-yM&ab_

Pharma - See? 7"

Big Neck (2023)

I feel like the 7" is a dying art form.  The cost of getting one pressed these days is so high and the resulting price that you need to sell it for to not lose money seems a bit crazy to me.  I'm not saying that labels are over charging for them in general (though some probably are for sure), but it's just how much they cost now.  As someone that's been buying 7"s since my dad let me buy the "Walk Like An Egyptian" one at Sam Goody as a kid, it's kind of crazy to see $15 7"s becoming the norm.

Now, Big Neck isn't charging $15 for theirs, so kudos to them for that.  And kudos to them for releasing a 7" at all.  So many bands and labels have given up on them completely.  In some ways, Pharma is the perfect band for a 7".  It's five songs long and all but one are under two minutes long.  A throwback to punk rock 7"s of yore.

That said, there were a lot of punk rock 7"s back in the days of yore that I didn't buy because they were kind of like this.  There's lots of yelling over distorted guitar, at times frantically placed and kind of sludgy at others.  It's just not the kind of punk that ever really connected with me, though I have to give the band credit for their ability to make the vocals sound truly otherworldly and insane.  There's a chaotic energy captured that really is above and beyond a lot of bands playing this sort of thing.  Unfortunately, this sort of thing isn't really my speed.

Pharma - See?:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/pharma-see

Knapsack - This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now LP - Blue & Yellow Pinwheel Vinyl - From The Complete Discography Box Set (/300)

Spartan (2023, Reissue) 

I recently got my hands on the vinyl box set of all three Knapsack albums. Rather than try to write one really long review that encompasses all of the albums, I figured I would break this into multiple parts like I have with other box sets I've written about. For the next three Friday's we'll visit each of Knapsack's albums. Even though I have the original pressings of each album, the box set was just too cool to pass up. For the final week we'll focus on the third Knapsack album, This Conversation is Ending Starting Right Now as well as the box set as a whole.

This Conversation is Ending Starting Right Now came out right when I was starting out at my college radio station.  When I started college, the campus station was playing a top 40 format and was really seen as a training ground for DJs.  But in my fourth year, that teacher split and a new guy came in and decided to change the format to a more traditional college radio station.  I went over there immediately and became a DJ.  

No one at the station had any real connections and didn't know how to get music sent to them, I had a lot of contacts from my time writing at the college newspaper, so I used them to get records and became the music director of the station in fairly short order.  One of the first people I reached out to was my contact at Alias and one of the first new records he sent was This Conversation is Ending Starting Right Now.  He also hooked me up with a ton of back catalog to help jumpstart a library that didn't exist, so I was grateful for that as well.  Unfortunately, I don't remember the guy's name, but he was a good dude.

I had my copy before Alias sent one to the station, but I'll always link that record to my time there as it was so pivotal.  Having already been a Knapsack fan, I was really excited that a new album war coming out and was expecting it to be good.  I was not expecting to think it was even better than Day Three of my New Life.  But, I thought it was and still think it is.  

Both are insanely stellar records, but something about how well the songs are structured on This Conversation is Ending Starting Right Now takes it over the top.  I hesitate to call the songwriting mature, as there is still a nice amount of that angsty energy that is so important to Knapsack working, but there's definitely growth.  The songs are more complicated, but are never overwrought.  The hooks and choruses shine even brighter than before and for me this is the quintessential Knapsack album, with Day Three a very, very close second.

Now for the box set.  I'm not going to spend multiple paragraphs singing its praises, but hot damn is it beautiful.  The outer box is high quality and has a nice, hefty feel.  The records themselves have good weight and sound great, though I do question some of the colors that were pickled.  I think some of the individual releases had vinyl colors that played better with the album art, the box set ones tend to feel a little wacky to me.  This particular album has a good color to match the art work, but the first two really don't.  And none of them match each other in any sort of cohesive way, so it feels kind of jumbled and disjointed.

It also comes with a large, awesome book that has an oral history of the band with input from all of the key players.  There's even a listing of every show they ever played.  They only did about a dozen more shows after the time I saw them in NYC with Archers of Loaf in 98, until the reunion shows kicked off.

It's an incredible set.  I really couldn't be happier with it aside from the vinyl color weirdness.  It is sold out a few times over at this point as they ended up making more boxes with other versions of the vinyl from other pressings.  Some of those look better than the exclusive version, but I ordered my set right away, so there were no choices to make when I was buying.  At the end of the day, I'm just happy it sounds great and the box and book look awesome.  I wish more sets like this could be made for other bands that I love.

Knapsack - This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ksx5rz0ZTfsemUBL0t-g2wMlcbLkmqcwI

De La Soul - Stakes Is High 2xLP

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Chrysalis / AOI Records (2023, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Of the De La Soul records I have written about thus far, Stakes Is High is the one that I really knew nothing about.  While I'm familiar with the phrase 'stakes is high' as part of the vernacular, I never had listened to this record prior to purchasing this reissue.  I wasn't even sure I was going to buy it as it came out in 1996, which is typically a few years removed from any hip hop I've historically cared about.  I've gotten more open minded about hip hop that came out after 1994 in recent years, but I'm still often trepidatious about release post-Golden Era.

Now that I've spent a little time with Stakes Is High, I could make the argument that it's the best De La Soul record.  It doesn't necessarily have the best songs, the highs aren't as high, but as a consistent record, it's pretty aces.  A big help is the fact that it's not bogged down with a bunch of crummy skits, you can actually listen to this as a record without getting interrupted by nonsense that ceases to be even remotely funny after about the third listen.  

On Stakes Is High De La just brings great beats and great rhymes.  No Gimmick.  This was the first album they recorded without Prince Paul helping out with production, but that doesn't hurt the beats at all.  Even though this is a '96 release, the feel is absolutely of the era I always gravitate towards.  I was pretty sure I was only going to buy the first three De La Soul reissues, but I took a chance on this, their fourth, and I'm really glad I did.  Does that mean I should give their next record, Art Official Intelligence a try?  I'm not sure, but I'm considering it.

De La Soul - Stakes Is High:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m2ITVdSZ6vxDIoaifH7LI8A0dXT1nTa0I

Chinese Junk - Fly Spray LP - Clear Vinyl

Big Neck (2023)

I wanted Chinese Junk to sound like Chinese Telephones, but that's an unfair expectation to put on a band only based on their name.  Funny enough, they do have some sonic similarities, but the tunefulness of the songs is a separating point between the two bands.

Chinese Junk are playing fast, Ramones-style, downstroke heavy punk rock.  Musically, it's catchy in a similar way to Johnny & co., but it's very much a rougher, lower fidelity version.  All but one of the albums fourteen tracks clock in at under two minutes and that one outlier only breaks the two minute mark by four seconds.  It's maybe a bit trashier than is my usual cup of tea, but there are endearing qualities about a band that just sets up and blasts through a dozen of so songs at warp speed.

The vocals are where things are a little dicier for me, and it's the same observation that I've made a thousand times.  The recording quality of the vocals is just a bit too rough and distorted for me.  Now, I don't like over-produced, slick vocals, but I don't prefer them to be blown out to this extent.  The Marked Men are about as distorted as I can take before they've gone overboard, Chinese Junk is a bit past that.  That said, I really think the record is pretty strong for this style of band.  If the vocals were reigned in a bit more, I could probably get behind it.

Chinese Junk - Fly Spray:
https://bigneckrecords1.bandcamp.com/album/chinese-junk-fly-spray

Knapsack - Day Three of My New Life LP - Orange Vinyl - From The Complete Discography Box Set (/300)

Spartan (2023, Reissue) 

I recently got my hands on the vinyl box set of all three Knapsack albums. Rather than try to write one really long review that encompasses all of the albums, I figured I would break this into multiple parts like I have with other box sets I've written about. For the next three Friday's we'll visit each of Knapsack's albums. Even though I have the original pressings of each album, the box set was just too cool to pass up. This week, we're on the second Knapsack album, Day Three of My New Life.

Day Three of My New Life was the first Knapsack record I picked up.  It made an immediate impact on me in 1997 with its angsty, impassioned vocals over those thick, crunchy guitars.  I listened to the album on repeat and even picked up a T shirt with the album art on it from a store, as I didn't see them play when they toured this album.  I traded the shirt away for a 7" and that shirt is way harder to find now than the record is.

Of all the albums in this box set, this is the one I'm most excited about.  It's not because it's my favorite of the bunch, but because the pressing I've always had is the double 10" version that Alias put out.  While it is unique and neat looking, it's always been a pain to actually play, having to flip or change the record three times to get through the whole thing.  Now, I can finally listen to it as a normal LP along with the bonus track "Drop Kick," which was originally on Knapsack split 7" with Stuntman.

Knapsack - Day Three of My New Life:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l9m6okmObLcQUaSkuy05O38ho5fwCh2cM

Terminator X & The Godfathers Of Threatt – Super Bad 2xLP

Rush / P.R.O. (1994)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I had the first Terminator X album back in the 90s and was quite the fan of it.  While not every song was incredible, it was a solid listen all the way through and the highs were pretty high.  The follow up to that album wasn't released until 1994, and honestly I had no idea it even existed.  1994 was definitely a year where my taste in music was starting to change, as hip hop was also changing.  I guess I wasn't paying as much attention as I thought as this one just slipped by me until I discovered it a few years ago.

It's never been rereleased, so it took me a minute to find a copy in good condition that was also at an affordable price.  That second part was very important because while this is a solid record, it is absolutely not good enough to pay collector prices for.  The highlight of the album is the production.  Terminator and Chuck D crafted a record full of interesting samples and beats and there's a consistency there that I wish carried over to the vocals.

There are moments of lyrical excellence.  Chuck D, Ice Cube, Ice T and MC Lyte all contribute to "Sticka," a fiery anti-censorship screed over a laid back beat.  There are also a lot of appearances by those considered old school at the time like Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Cold Crush Brothers and Fantastic Five.  These appearances are kind of uneven and for me, only Whodini's run on "It All Comes Down To Money" really sounds like something from 1994.  And even that song is almost ruined by the nonstop repetition of the sung hook.

All in, it's a fun record and one I'll definitely listen to on occasion.  But if you only have room for one Terminator X record in your collection, go with Jeep Beats.

Terminator X & The Godfathers Of Threatt – Super Bad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xedga5Jo3M&ab_