Great Albums- Sailin' Shoes

Little Feat Sailin' Shoes
1972

We tend to think of the '70s as the disco era but the more I look at "old" albums, the more impressed I am with the music put out from 1970-73. (I was just listening to Workingman's Dead yesterday,(1970) and then today I put on this one from 1972.

If you don't know early Little Feat, when Lowell George was alive and with the band, go back and listen. Those of you only familiar with "Dixie Chicken" owe it to yourselves to listen to some of their other stuff. The strongest Little Feat album is probably Waiting for Columbus, which is a live album, but for a studio taste of the band, you can't go wrong with Sailin' Shoes. The lyrics are a little on the trippy side, and the music isn't exactly pop, or rock, or blues or jazz, but kind of all of them mixed together, so it might take a few listens before you love it, but listen to it loud and I bet you'll like it right away.




1. Easy to Slip
2. Cold Cold Cold
3. Trouble
4. Tripe Face Boogie
5. Willin'
6. Apolitical Blues
7. Sailin' Shoes
8. Teenage Nervous Breakdown
9. Got No Shadow
10. Cat Fever
11. Texas Rose Cafe

Great Albums- Blood and Chocolate

Elvis Costello- Blood and Chocolate 1986

Elvis Costello used to rock hard. Some of his early stuff sounds as fresh and angry and funny and cynical and everything as it did when he was a skinny punk with big glasses, and I will no doubt be featuring a couple of those early albums here at some point in the future, as well as a bunch of his songs. First, though, this album:
Blood and Chocolate.

I start with this one rather than one of his punkier ones because unless you're an Elvis Costello fan, there's an excellent chance you've never heard any of the songs on here, which is a shame, because they're quite brilliant. His early songs were punky and fun and rocking. Here he's mature and still rocking, so you get to hear him really at his peak, after he figured out something to say but before he started doing lounge music. The bouncy music of "Tokyo Storm Warning" masks its dark lyrics, which is a great way to start this album because the whole album is pretty dark and twisted. ("I Want You" is a seriously twisted but infinitely catchy tune). This is probably not stuff you'll hear on an elevator anytime soon.

If you like Elvis Costello even a little, do yourself a favor and get this. If you want a great sample, go to iTunes and get Los Lobos' version of "Uncomplicated".



Ok, click on the album above and buy this album, because the original album that I love contains just these songs:

1. Uncomplicated
2. I Hope You're Happy Now
3. Tokyo Storm Warning
4. Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head
5. I Want You
6. Honey, Are You Straight Or Are You Blind?
7. Blue Chair
8. Battered Old Bird
9. Crimes Of Paris
10. Poor Napoleon

But this bonus CD also contains these:

1. Leave My Kitten Alone
2. New Rhythm Method
3. Forgive her Anything
4. Crimes Of Paris (Alt. Version)
5. Uncomplicated (Alt. Version)
6. Battered Old Bird (Alt. Version)
7. Seven Day Weekend
8. Blue Chair (Alt. Version)
9. Baby's Got A Brand New Hairdo
10. American Without Tears No. 2

Great Songs- In a Little While

U2- In a Little While
All That You Can't Leave Behind
October 2000

Because there was such a nice batch of comments about U2 here and on the real blog, I thought I'd follow up with a newer U2 song, and I thought I'd pick one that wasn't a huge hit like "Vertigo".

I love the opening riff on this song as well as the Edge's guitar tone throughout. It's not a usual U2 sound, but it all comes together to make a classic U2 song.