R.I.P. Prince

Holy Shit.... we lost another one last week kids!

Prince Rogers Nelson died in his Paisley Park estate last week.

So many great songs, one great movie, a great Chappelle sketch and perhaps the greatest Super Bowl halftime show ever!  (sorry Coldplay... yechh!)

We're gonna listen to Purple Rain now.

Oh and also 1999, Around the World in A Day, "Nothing Compares 2U", "L.M.L.Y.P.", "Manic Monday" & "Batdance".

So sad, yet so funky.

100 Watt Vipers - "Oh Lord I'm Down" (2016)

Some great DIY rock & roll from Jacksonville, Florida.

Working class dudes playing working class rock.

Enjoy!

SLY!

Sly & The Family Stone - "Greatest Hits" (1970) - Epic Records

Hello Friends,

Things are getting funky tonight at the Tiki Bar.

Even though Sly & The Family Stone would be around up until the early 80's, this Greatest Hits collection was released just three short years into their career and mines material from four pretty great albums.  (Also released to probably capitalize on their great performance at Woodstock the year before!)  Late 60's psychedelic soul at its very best!

If we threw parties, this records would definitely be in our "party rotation"!

(And there's little doubt that these guys knew how to party!)

RATING: 4.5 Lookin' At The Devil Grinnin' At A Gun out of 5 

Lou Reed likes Honda Scooters

Hey, don't settle for walkin'

Lou Reed's First Album

Lou Reed - "Lou Reed" (1972) - RCA Records

Hello Friends,

Spring is in the air and there's some Lou Reed on the turntable.

Reed's self-titled, debut solo album contains mostly leftovers and outtakes from his Velvet Underground days. Its an under-the-radar, oft-overlooked album falls between the VU classic Loaded and Reed's solo masterpiece, Transformer.  

Like most things Uncle Lou related, we totally dig it.

Ten fairly straight-forward rock & roll tunes. Not as deep, poetic or devastatingly depressing as much of his 1970's solo stuff (I'm looking at you Berlin!), but its a great collection and highly listenable.  Its like a hint at the undisputed greatness that was to come! (In some ways, its akin to Neil Young's oft-overlooked solo debut, Neil Young.)  

Side One contains the VU leftovers, "I Can't Stand It", "Walk and Talk It" and "Lisa Says" along with the new songs "Going Down" and an early-version of "Berlin".

Side Two is comprised completely of Velvety leftovers, "I Love You", "Wild Child", "Love Makes You Feel", "Ride Into The Sun" and "Ocean."

FUN FACT: We did a double-take when we read that Lou Reed used London-based session musicians as his backing band on this record including two members of the prog rock giants, Yes.  Steve Howe providing some guitar work and Rick Wakeman on keyboards.

Neat!

RATING: 4.5 Looking For Another Place For Someone Else To Be out of 5

Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard - "It's All Going to Pot" (2015)

RIP Merle!

Just say no Kids!

Actually, Willie is looking pretty goddamn spry. 

Maybe he's onto something!

RIP Merle Haggard

Another sad day friends!  Another legend lost!

Merle Haggard passed away yesterday leaving behind an amazing & legendary career.

From his early singles like "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers", "The Bottle Let Me Down" and "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive" to his 2015 collaboration with longtime friend Willie Nelson on Django and Jimmie, Haggard will forever be remembered for his hard-livin', grizzly-sung underdog songs and for being a total badass. 

They certainly don't make them like this any longer!  R.I.P.

Bee Gees - "Massachusetts" (1967)

Even though its freezing outside and a light snow covers the ground, Baseball season starts tomorrow!

To celebrate, The Brothers Gibb are providing some ear-candy for our listening pleasure. Ridiculously sweet!

Go Sawx!

Its a Cryan' Shame!

The Cryan' Shames - "Synthesis" (1968) - Columbia Records

Hello Friends,

Straight from the rough streets of Hinsdale, Illinois, we've got the Cryan' Shames on the turntable tonight.

Synthesis is the band's third and final album and it definitely takes a more psychedelic approach than their first two records.

The Cryan' Shames biggest "hit" came out in 1966.  A cover of The Searcher's "Sugar & Spice" and there's nothing on Synthesis that really comes close to the succinct sweetness of that garage rock nugget!

But there's a certain over-reaching charm to this record. 

Our pick for the record is the first track, the garage-y, "Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith & Jones" (written by Isaac Guillory).

RATING: 3.5 Kisses Sweeter Than Wine out of 5