ANNIVERSARIES: 'Feel Good Lost'

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
Feel Good Lost
[Arts & Crafts]

One of the privileged few who have gone thru the reverse sophomore slump—their second album, the Juno Award-winning ‘You Forgot It In People’ [Arts & Crafts-2002] was their critical and commercial breakthrough and set the stage for members Leslie Feist and Emily Haines to become stars in their native Canada—this beloved collective started out as a 2-man operation on their debut album.

Before the group swelled to around a dozen or so members and became an indie rock powerhouse, Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew put together dreamy, mostly instrumental soundscapes that can be as effective a soundtrack for late night seduction as a sober Sunday morning.

Released March 6, 2001.

ANNIVERSARIES: 'The Land of Pure Imagination'

ROGER JOSEPH MANNING JR.
The Land of Pure Imagination
[Cordless]

After years of beefing up the ole resume with the likes of Air, Beck, and his own Imperial Drag, Moog Cookbook and the beloved Jellyfish, this multi-instrumentalist decided to finally go solo with impressive results. The spirit of the latter San Francisco retro-popsters is quite prevalent throughout this disc, especially the occasionally child-like, Saturday morning vibe of Spilt Milk [Charisma-1993].

But without the input and participation of co-leader Andy Sturmer—who brought a bit more of a rock and roll attitude to the proceedings—it would be a little off the mark to suggest that this is what the third Jellyfish album would’ve sounded like, but it comes mighty close. Unfortunately, despite superb songs with appealing melodies, addictive choruses and first-rate playing, the album can at times make one long for a bit more oomph, while in other spots it veers dangerously close to Burt Bacharach territory. 

That said, fans of Ben Folds, Todd Rundgren’s classic period (1970-72), and of course Jellyfish, will find very little to dislike about Manning’s initial solo outing.

(Note: Completists might want to seek out the Japanese version—released there as 'Solid State Warrior'—which shares the bulk of the songs on the US version but differs on three tracks. Then again, the deluxe US version adds the three songs from the Japanese version as bonus tracks.)

Highlights: “Too Late For Us Now”, “Wish It Would Rain”, “You Were Right”, the title track. 

Originally released March 5, 2005.

MILESTONES: 'Master of Puppets'

METALLICA
Master of Puppets
[Elektra]

35 years ago, they made their last album with the late, great Cliff Burton (who died in a bus accident in Europe on the tour promoting the album); it was their first to go gold (without the aid of radio or MTV, a feat unimaginable at the time) and eventually sold six million copies. It was also deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" to warrant induction in the National Recording Registry by the United States Library of Congress, becoming the first metal album to be honored in this fashion. Quite apropos for a hands down, metal masterpiece that decades later is still as intense, powerful and transcendent as it was when it debuted. And, quite likely, will always be. Damn.

Which is why despite all the infighting amongst the band faithful all these years, they still love this one unanimously. As it should be.

(On a personal note, it was the first of their albums I ever heard, and to this day, “Battery” not only remains my fave song of theirs, but it rocks even harder every time.)

Widely acclaimed as one of the greatest rock albums of all time, it is undoubtedly one of the greatest metal albums ever made. Not too shabby for a bunch of kids from SF. Yeah...

Released March 3, 1986.

ANNIVERSARIES: 'Frampton'

PETER FRAMPTON
Frampton
[A&M] 

By the mid '70s, the former Humble Pie guitarist was slowly building a solo career that, nonetheless, grew with each subsequent album. So when his fourth release, which came at a crucial time in his career, showed some commercial legs, the powers that be sensed a breakthrough on the horizon and decided that some of the shows on this album’s tour be recorded for a live record. The bet paid off: Frampton Comes Alive! [A&M-1976] was a massive seller and made its namesake a household name and a ‘70s icon. Nevertheless, the album that preceded it was a big part of its success, as it is the home of “Show Me The Way” and “Baby, I Love Your Way” (both hit singles in their FCA! versions) as well as fan favorites “Penny for Your Thoughts” and “(I'll Give You) Money”.

Released March 3, 1975.

ANNIVERSARIES: 'Stain'

LIVING COLOUR
Stain
[Epic]

Album number three—and first with bassist Doug Wimbush—was thisclose to being the band’s last, seeing as they broke up after its tour. They managed to reunite a decade later, with a new album,

but this one was out of print for yet another decade over some legal wrangling. Basically, it’s not been smooth sailing for a record that was darker, harder and more intense than their previous output, and the object of quite a few negative reviews along the way.

A challenging listen indeed, but a rewarding one depending on your frame of mind and willingness to experience both the album and the band in a new light. 

Released March 2, 1993.

ANNIVERSARIES: 'A Wizard, A True Star'

TODD RUNDGREN
A Wizard, A True Star
[Bearsville]

His third album, Something/Anything? [Bearsville-1972], was acknowledged as a ‘70s landmark from the get-go and made him a star. But he didn’t want to be, in his words, “the male Carole King”, so he embarked on what many considered a radical shift in his music, beginning with this one the following year.

Truth be told, he didn’t so much change course as much he made his detours more colorful and insular than before, accentuating some elements of his musical past (ballads, Philly soul, rockers, show tunes) and adding others (prog, psychedelia), while a putting together a similar but more adventurous sprawl than that of his previous album.

It proved a bit much for his fanbase, however, half of which the Runt estimates he lost with this album, leading to soft numbers sales-wise and a rollercoaster of a relationship with the audience that continues to this day. But in the end, the quest was fruitful artistically: the likes of Daft Punk, Hot Chip, and Tame Impala have sung its praises and consider it an influence; and at its best it’s quite simply a breathtaking achievement.
Released March 2, 1973

ANNIVERSARIES: 'Dark Side of The Moon'

PINK FLOYD
Dark Side of the Moon
[Harvest]

What is left to be said about this legendary and ubiquitous collection of songs? The vision of its creators, the majesty of its music, the reach of its influence, and the gargantuan sales numbers have all been repeatedly covered in much detail, so... 

On a personal note, it is not only my favorite of theirs but I truly love this record more and more as the years go by. 

Released March 1, 1973.

The Old/New World Order

FIELD MUSIC
Making A New World
[Memphis Industries-2020]

It seems par for the course, a mere two days before the end of the year, to stumble upon an album that its creators deemed “accidental” and was released within the first 10 days of 2020. But a curiosity for the band’s current status was the catalyst and so…well, that’s the kind of year it’s been. 

Inspired by World War I and how its consequences affect history in diverse ways a century later, the music for Field Music’s seventh album was originally commissioned for a museum exhibit, hence the “accidental” aspect of it. And while their angular art pop (think of XTC circa Black Sea recording Apple Venus) is still present, the necessity of expressing the range of the source material means this collection of tunes expands their sound into other musical realms and might not be the best introduction to this band. (It can seem at times more like a soundtrack and less like an album.) 

But it’s a satisfying listen, regardless.

Too Much and Not Enough

BREAK IT ALL:
The History of Rock in Latin America
[Netflix-2020]

Tracing the roots of rock and roll in the ñ world is a topic that’s important to me, so within a day of its December 16th release date I ended up binge-watching this entire six episode documentary mini series. Noted Argentinean musician/producer Gustavo Santaolalla is among the series' executive producers, so I was expecting something solid despite my initial reservations with Santaolalla perhaps tilting the story too much on the side of his homeland, an assumption which I put aside early on as I let the story unfold. Unfortunately, not only was the trepidation from my gut instinct warranted but it went a bit further than I had expected. 

In a nutshell: certain aspects of the story are over-emphasized while other equally or even more pertinent elements were glossed over or left out altogether; important artists are represented by lesser songs from their catalogs (for instance: are “Persiana Americana”, “Ingrata”, “La Negra Tomasa” the songs that best capture the greatness of Soda Stereo, Café Tacuba and Caifanes, respectively?); despite its Argentine slant the series gives relatively little airtime to a giant like Luis Alberto Spinetta; and the exclusion of the Caribbean's rockers, including those from Venezuela (Sentimiento Muerto, Desorden Publico) and top, latter day Mexican acts like Jumbo and Zurdok while giving airtime to unknowns from Uruguay and rappers Calle 13 is a bit much, to say the least. 

In the end, Break it All is entertaining and well-made but unnecessarily falls short where it should’ve soared. And that they had 6 hours to properly tell the story but couldn’t/didn’t is the most disappointing part of all.

Three Is A Magic Number

PAUL McCARTNEY
III
[Capitol-2020]

The backstory is already pretty much well known but here’s the recap: a byproduct of being on lockdown due to the pandemic of 2020, the man went into his studio to ostensibly work on some film music, took a side turn at some point and ended up with a full-length solo album. Obviously, it’s not his third but it follows in the footsteps of his two previous self-titled one-man-band albums, McCartney [Apple-1970] and McCartney II [Columbia-1980]. Unlike those two, which came on the heels of a band breakup (the Fabs and Wings, respectively) and are strong statements about where he was artistically at those particular junctures, this one feels more like the circumstantial work it was meant to be. In other words, this group of songs comes across as what the artist would have assembled regardless of outside extenuating circumstances, making the relationship to the previous two a bit tenuous. (It would have not been a stretch to title this album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard Vol.2, after his mostly one-man-band record from 2005.) 

That being said, some of the ramshackle magic of the 1970 record is present in the likes of “Long Tailed Winter Bird” and “Lavatory Lil”, as well as in the hypnotic if strangely arranged eight minute-long “Deep Deep Feeling”. Interestingly, while this is the most cohesive and polished of the self-titled trifecta and the songs greatly benefit from the man’s solid multi-instrumental prowess, there’s still a down-at-the-farm vibe to mostly acoustic tunes like “Pretty Boys”, “The Kiss of Venus” and even rocker “Slidin’”. (The latter sure to be a treat in a live setting with the powerful backing of his long-time band.) 

At this late stage of the game Sir Paul has absolutely nothing to prove, of course. And the fact that he still cares about releasing new material at a regular pace in his late 70s is admirable in and of itself. But while III is not as startling as its predecessors were when released, it’s a worthy sequel that shares their honesty and a certain lack of guardedness, which gives this collection of tunes its own kind of charm.