Greatest band of the 90's!

OK, maybe not they're not the greatest band of the 90's, but I loved the Tin Machine records. Essentially, they were an 80's band, this came out in 1989. But, they sure didn't sound like an 80's band. Being a Bowie fan, you get used to being challenged and this was one challenge that I was up for. A kick ass rock band fronted by Bowie, yes please!

Outkast

And then....there's Outkast. There's just not too many songs cooler than "B.O.B."

Great Canadian bands.

Bootsauce - The Brown Album
First of all, Bootsauce is probably one of the coolest band names, ever! These guys came out of Montreal in the late 80's and effectively funked everything up. The first time I saw the video for "Scratching The Whole" I knew I had to get "The Brown Album". The rest of the world had a bit of a hard time accepting the 'sauce, so naturally the one cover song on the album, "Everyone's A Winner" was the biggest single. But with songs like "Payment Time", "Catastrophe Seas" and "Masterstroke" this record became an instant classic for me.Their follow up record, "Bull" was a predictably watered down (ie. major label) attempt to make them big stars, but the band disappeared soon after.

On the beach and in the ditch.

Neil Young - On The Beach, one-third of his infamous "ditch trilogy". A masterpiece recorded on the tail end of a tough time. Very mellow, with some seriously tough lyrics, you get the impression that he had about had it by the time this was recorded. His was a heart of gold no more.

Little Stevie no more.

This one marked the beginning of a new era for Stevie Wonder. No longer the "12 year old genius", the title of the record gets straight to the point, you're hearing what Stevie's hearing. He would go on to release a string of iconic albums following this.

Live at the Regal

I talk about great live albums all the time and this one is definitely up there, top 5 on my list. Recorded at the Regal Theatre in 1966, this is B.B. in front of his real audience, not one of those silly 'live in prison' records. Real blues, real live, real good!

Naked at last

Talking Heads - Naked
A highly underrated Talking Heads album, my favourite Talking Heads album and sadly, the last Talking Heads album. But at least they did it right. They ended on a high note and haven't diluted their legacy with a reunion. Nice work Talking Heads, nice work.

Vitalogy

Hard to beat Pearl Jam on vinyl. This record was actually released in vinyl format before anything in else and this was in 1994. When everyone thought digital and CD's were the greatest thing, Pearl Jam knew what time it was. Honestly, I didn't get this on vinyl when it first came out, I was all about CD's ha ha This was given to me about 9 or 10 years ago, a fantastic gift to receive and even better to listen to.

NIN LP

Nine Inch Nails are awesome! "The Fragile" is an awesome album! Nine Inch Nails, "the Fragile" on vinyl is just a whole lot of awesome sauce!

Radiohead live

This one is definitely up there for one of my favourite live albums. Basically the best tracks from "Kid A" and "Amnesiac" performed live. The energy and intimacy of Radiohead live is captured in perfect form and the songs sound fresher and livelier than they ever did on the original albums. 
It also has the perfect ending to a live record, Thom York saying, "Thank you everybody".

Great Canadian bands

From Vancouver, Sons Of Freedom were a breath of fresh air when they appeared in the late 80's. They were a big forerunner of the 'grunge' sound that was soon to explode from the neighbouring pacific northwest in a few years. 

This is their first album from 1988 and has a raw energy to it that punches you in the face, in a good way. Very much a soundtrack for what was coming out of the Vancouver underground at the time, Jim Newton's voice just has a little something to it that stands out. He's not rough, he's not depressed and he's not trying to sell you anything. He's just got a haunting howl that tells you stories about a world you knew existed, but were too afraid to ask about. Even the instrumental, "Super Cool Wagon", which has the best song title ever, tells you more than most songs with lyrics.

"The Criminal" was featured on Much Music and it looked like this band was on their way to much bigger and better things. The next album "Gump", released in 1991, is even better and debuted ahead of Nirvana's "Nevermind" on Canadian campus radio when it came out. 
The band broke up in 1992 and disappeared until a brief 1995 reunion tour for the rarities collection, "Tex".

One of the best records of the 70's you've never heard.

Slade - Nobody's Fools
 
If you ask 100 people what the best record of the 70's was, you'll get 100 different answers. This is one record that none of those 100 would name, but they should. I went through a bit of a Slade phase recently. Having only knowing their 80's material, it was a treat to discover the early 70's material and then I stumbled onto this gem. 

Slade moved to U.S. in 1975/76 to take a shot at making it in America. This is considered their 'American-ized' album and it certainly is, to an extent. It still sounds very Slade, "In For A Penny" is a classic Slade sound. But the song writing is much more developed from a few years earlier. The title track is an instant classic and the album closer, "All The World Is A Stage" is as good a stadium anthem you'll ever hear. In between Slade managed to create a stellar record that deserves another shot to be considered a classic! 

The Kills

Love the Kills! This is their first album, "Keep On Your Mean Side" and it's fantastic. All of their albums are actually, they are incapable of making a bad record. I own them all and play them all regularly. The edge that they bring and the songs they write are second to none. The fact that you never know if they'll make another record adds to the mystique and if you look up cool in the dictionary, there will be a picture of Jamie and Alison.

Elvis live at home

That's right, Elvis live in Memphis! Recorded in 1974 and largely ignored because "Aloha From Hawaii" was such a huge success. This is from my mom's collection and is rare because it has a picture of Graceland on the cover. Most 70's Elvis records have pictures of him on the cover, especially the live ones. My wife and I visited Graceland and it was a thrill to finally see this album cover in person.

Pebble To A Pearl

If you've never heard of even 'heard of' Nikka Costa, do yourself a favour and look her up. This is from 2008 and is a fantastic album. Even better, it was released independently on her own, "Go Funk Yourself Records" label. Gotta love Nikka!

Not Faking It

Michael Monroe's solo album from 1989, a killer album! This guy had the best rock voice out there, with a better growl than Jagger. If the Stones were a hair band, they would've made this record.

Give me a glazed donut and a bottle of anything....to go!

The whole Van Halen situation can be a little too much to digest sometimes. But, when Dave split back in the 80's, he managed to put together a classic album. Having Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan in the band didn't hurt things either. "Tobacco Road", "Yankee Rose", "Ladies Night In Buffalo", "Going Crazy", "Elephant Gun", etc. Start to finish a fantastic album! 
It's hard to do comparisons, but I'd have to say this one holds up better for me than "5150" At least, between the two, I'd put this one on first.

Kiss this

Going through a Kiss phase lately and there's never a bad time to get "Dressed To Kill" on the turntable. "Room Service" is an underrated classic! Easily one of my favourite Kiss album covers too.

Live Bootleg

A fantastic live album and great document of Aerosmith at their most wasted, during the late 70's.

Elvis

This is Elvis' second album, which came out in 1956. I prefer it to the first, it's much more cohesive and sounds fantastic. This was one of my mom's old records that I still love to spin. Mom had great taste!

My favourite live album!

Jacques Higelin - a Mogador

I listen to more french music than most french people. This one kick started it. Given to me by my friend Pierre on our visit to France in 2011. I listened to the record so much I bought the CD off ebay so I wouldn't wear the vinyl out.

Hands down, my favourite live album.

I would recommend everyone find a copy of this one. 

American gospel in Belgium?

I picked this up at a little book/record store in Brussels, Belgium. Of the cities I've had the chance to visit and record shop, none of them have more record stores than Brussels!

Record number 1,000!

This is record number 1,000 in my collection! Australian funk from the Bamboos, a stellar album start to finish. I found out about these guys after hearing their cover of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking", which is fantastic!

Tyler the Creator

Still haven't heard a better hip-hop song than "Yonkers". This record is not one to listen to during a quiet evening at home with the wife. But, great for putting on and getting stuff done!

Charley Pride

The Pride of America, a little Charlie in the morning! "Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town" is one of my favourites!