Staff Picks for October 2024
October 31, 2024
There may be no better place to hear how both punk and prog rock informed the New Wave of British Heavy Metal than Iron Maiden's self-titled debut. Often overlooked and overshadowed by the glorious Bruce Dickinson years, it's easy to forget that Iron Maiden was itself a game-changer when it appeared on the scene in 1980.
October 30, 2024
Eerie vocals paired with slamming lyrics, edgy basslines, and the occasional smattering of haunting strings cement this 2008 Mother Mother album as a quintessential part of spooky season. Delving into themes of heartache and discomfort in one's own skin, the indie-rock band's thirteen tracks feature intricate musicality and alluring melodies, evident in songs like "Hayloft," "Wrecking Ball," and "Arms Tonite."
October 29, 2024
Adding to the record's expert evocation of the Halloween spirit are some fiendishly voiced intros, the cover art's cartoon potpourri of horror film characters, and the dubious claim made in the liner notes that Scientist mixed it all at midnight on Friday the 13th (reach for the flashlights kids).
October 28, 2024
There are no hormone-driven odes to women in tight dresses (a recurring theme in metal and hard rock) on Keeper; from "Future World" to "Twilight of the Gods," Helloween sticks to the type of gothic, fantasy-oriented lyrics it was known for.
October 27, 2024
Upon its release, there was considerable doubt that Ozzy could become a viable solo attraction. Blizzard of Ozz demonstrated not only his ear for melody, but also an unfailing instinct for assembling top-notch backing bands. Onetime Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads was a startling discovery, arriving here as a unique, fully formed talent.
October 26, 2024
The debut effort from Le Tigre, released 25 years ago today, sounds like the best new wave album not to come from the 1980s. Here, frontwoman Kathleen Hanna expands on the lo-fi sounds she tinkered with on her debut solo album. Le Tigre melds punk, new wave, and hip-hop into a seemingly cute package.
October 25, 2024
Natty Dread, released 50 years ago today, is Bob Marley's finest album, the ultimate reggae recording of all time. Marley was taking on discrimination, greed, poverty, and hopelessness while simultaneously rallying the troops as no other musical performer was attempting to do in the mid-'70s.
October 24, 2024
During lulls on the lengthy Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness tour and before the Smashing Pumpkins returned to the studio to record Adore, James Iha made his first solo album, Let It Come Down. Fortunately, it is one of the rare solo projects from a member of major band that explores territory that could not be covered by the band itself.
October 23, 2024
Paul Desmond's first genuine all-Brazilian album under the Creed Taylor signature was a beauty, a collection of songs by the then-moderately known Edu Lobo and the emerging giant Milton Nascimento, then only in his early twenties. All Desmond has to do is sit back and ride the Brazilian grooves while lyrically ruminating on whatever pops into his head.
October 22, 2024
Some players from Ray Charles' big band are joined by many ringers from the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands for the first half of this album (released 65 years ago this month), featuring Charles belting out six songs arranged by Quincy Jones.
October 21, 2024
For their second album, the Refreshments moved away from the half-serious alt-rock that made their debut effort a minor hit. With the assistance of producer (and Butthole Surfer) Paul Leary, the group dreamed up an earnest, dustier sound, blending heartland rock & roll with elements of country and power-pop.
October 20, 2024
After listening to The Many Sides of Fred Neil, it makes sense that Neil turned into a recluse -- this is moody, haunting music, unlike much of the work of his contemporaries. In particular, his eponymous album boasts challenging, innovative arrangements that remain fresh and startling to this day.
October 19, 2024
This album, released 25 years ago today, ends up as a showcase for their eclecticism, tailoring productions to their collaborators and creating a colorful universe where classicist rap, turntablism, trip-hop, and electronica all get along comfortably. Parts of the album are surprisingly atmospheric, and rely more on the texture of the sound than the star power of the guest -- which makes sense for a producer's album.
October 18, 2024
Analog Worms Attack, released 25 years ago today, is an inventive album that somehow marries the experimental side of techno (Cristian Vogel, Laurent Garnier) with the outrageous flair of novelty tracks usually seen on, well, television commercials.
October 17, 2024
Following the success of their self-titled debut, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils' sophomore release, It'll Shine When It Shines, released 50 years ago this month, continues on their already established path of California-style country-rock.
October 16, 2024
Fully Completely is where Kingston, Ontario's Tragically Hip finally come to the apex of their talent. Lead singer Gord Downie sounds crisp and full of life, and the songs he verbally dramatizes are rich in lyrical sharpness and instrumental color.
October 15, 2024
If Closing Time, Waits' debut album, consisted of love songs set in a late-night world of bars and neon signs, its follow-up, released 50 years ago today, largely dispenses with the romance in favor of poetic depictions of the same setting.
October 14, 2024
Over the course of seven songs, Martin Rev's dense, unnerving electronics -- including a menacing synth bass, a drum machine that sounds like an idling motorcycle, and harshly hypnotic organs -- and Alan Vega's ghostly, Gene Vincent-esque vocals defined the group's sound and provided the blueprints for post-punk, synth pop, and industrial rock in the process.
October 13, 2024
Taking her cue from the vengeful spurned woman of "Kerosene," her hit debut single, Lambert has built her second album around a tough-chick persona, something that may be clear from the very title of the album, but this isn't a one-dimensional record by any stretch.
October 12, 2024
Black on Both Sides is a tour de force by an artist out to prove he can do it all. Its ambition and execution rank it as one of the best albums of 1999, and it consolidates Mos Def's position as one of hip-hop's brightest hopes as we entered the 21st century.
October 11, 2024
Samson's best album, 1981's Shock Tactics, was the last to feature singer Bruce Dickinson (then known simply as Bruce Bruce). The band's songwriting had improved and was comparable to other up-and-coming British heavy metal bands at the time, such as Saxon, Diamond Head, and Iron Maiden.
October 10, 2024
Shuggie Otis' fourth and last album Inspiration Information, released 50 years ago today, exists out of time -- a record that was of its time, but didn't belong of it; a record that was idiosyncratic but not necessarily visionary. It was psychedelic soul that was released far too late to be part of any zeitgeist and it was buried at the time.
October 9, 2024
Ella Fitzgerald was at the peak of her form during her 1960 tour of Europe. Her Berlin concert is most remembered for her hilariously inventive version of "Mack the Knife," during which she forgot the words and substituted ones of her own that somehow fit, amazing herself in the process.
October 8, 2024
Ice Pickin' is the album that brought Albert Collins directly back into the limelight, and for good reason, too. The record captures the wild, unrestrained side of his playing that had never quite been documented before.
October 7, 2024
Mingus had always had a bizarre sense of humor, as expressed in some of his song titles and arranging devices, but Oh Yeah often gets downright warped. That's partly because Mingus is freed up to vocalize more often, but it's also due to the presence of mad genius Roland Kirk whose chemistry with Mingus is fantastically explosive.
October 6, 2024
Red, released 50 years ago today, became Robert Fripp's last thoughts on this version of the band, a bit noiser overall but with some surprising sounds featured, mostly out of the group's past -- thus providing a glimpse of what the 1972-era King Crimson might've sounded like handling the later group's repertory.
October 5, 2024
Bob Newhart's records remain fresh because they were elegantly written, easily delivered, perfectly formed sketch comedy, the kind of routines that could appeal to all audiences, yet still contained twists and asides that proved how hip and clever Newhart was.
October 4, 2024
Odds & Sods, released 50 years ago today, is a compilation of outtakes and rarities from the Who's first decade. Setting your expectations at the appropriate level, you'll find much of this worthwhile.
October 3, 2024
When Eve debuted in 1999, she surprised many as one of the few female rappers capable of attaining both popularity and respect without having to take on a sleazy role or sacrifice any of her muscle. In fact, her muscle seemed to be what impressed the rap community most.
October 2, 2024
Using his touring band, which included keyboard player Mike Finnigan and guitarist Jim Krueger, Dave Mason turned in a strong pop/rock collection on his second, self-titled Columbia album, released 50 years ago today.
October 1, 2024
The Misfits' 1982 debut full-length rapidly became a legendary effort of U.S. punk, the more so because it so willfully violated many rules which were already ironically straitjacketing the scene. Nearly every song on the album -- 13 total, delivered in a light-speed 25 minutes -- is a twisted classic, with the band's trademark '50s/'60s melodies run through a punk/metal meatgrinder on full display.