Cher “3614 Jackson Highway” (ATCO, 1969)
[After we reviewed Sonny Bono’s Inner Views in May, it seemed only right and natural to write about a Cher album soon after.] I love it when an artist’s outlier album is their best. Another case in...
View ArticleHarumi “Harumi” (Verve Forecast, 1968)
Harumi Ando is part of that rarefied club of one-and-done artists: musicians who released one great LP and then peaced out for various reasons. My own pantheon would include Skip Spence, the United...
View ArticleBill Withers “Still Bill” (Sussex, 1972)
West Virginia-born troubadour Bill Withers’ first three albums warmed the US charts and the hearts of millions of listeners with their salt-of-the-earth lyricism, distinctively soulful vocals, and...
View ArticleDug Dug’s “Smog” (RCA, 1973)
Dug Dugs are notorious for being the first Mexican group to sing in English and to cover the Beatles. The Fab Four’s knack for sweet melodies occasionally seeps into Dug Dugs’ sound throughout their...
View ArticleMarsha Hunt “Woman Child” (Track, 1971)
Born in Philadelphia in 1946, Marsha Hunt attained cultural cachet and musical brilliance in the UK during the hothouse milieu of late ’60s and ’70s London. She is something of a Renaissance woman,...
View ArticleFever Tree “Fever Tree” (UNI, 1968)
Here’s a minor rock classic that’s often sitting in plain view in used bins for very reasonable prices. Do not pass it by. These one-hit wonders from Houston, Texas worked some serious magic on this...
View ArticleThe Byrds “Ballad Of Easy Rider” (Columbia, 1969)
Unless you’re a staunch contrarian, your favorite Byrds album is probably one of the six that was released between 1965 (Mr. Tambourine Man) and 1967 (Sweetheart Of The Rodeo). But post-1967 Byrds—with...
View ArticleArea Code 615 “Trip In The Country” (Polydor, 1970)
Area Code 615 are best known—if they’re known at all—for their track “Stone Fox Chase” being the theme to the progressive UK music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. But more importantly, these session...
View ArticleWeen “Pure Guava” (Elektra, 1992)
Talk about a uniquely weird major-label debut… The New Hope, Pennsylvania duo Ween were coming off two strange indie albums that were definitive cult artifacts: God Ween Satan: The Oneness and The Pod....
View ArticleTed Lucas “Ted Lucas” (OM, 1975)
Could Detroit folk-rocker Ted Lucas be poised for a posthumous revival à la Nick Drake? Stranger things have happened. The guitarist/vocalist/sitarist/harmonica player—who passed away in 1992—only...
View ArticleFleetwood Mac “Mystery To Me” (Reprise, 1973)
Fleetwood Mac’s eighth studio album—which peaked at #67 in 1973 and took three years to go Gold—represented a high point in that group’s unstable post-Peter Green era. Dominated by American...
View ArticleThrowing Muses “Throwing Muses” (4AD, 1986)
This stunning debut LP by Boston quartet Throwing Muses is as enduring as Love’s Forever Changes, as mysterious as Wire’s 154, and as otherworldly as Clock DVA’s Thirst. That it’s the product of three...
View ArticleTraffic Sound “Virgin” (MaG, 1970)
I first encountered Traffic Sound in the ’80s, at a time when very few records by Peruvian rock bands infiltrated North American stores. We had access to many Brazilian releases back then, but Peru?...
View ArticleThe Doors “Waiting For The Sun” (Elektra, 1968)
Waiting For The Sun is the Goats Head Soup of the Doors’ catalog. It followed their two most beloved albums—The Doors and Strange Days—and was considered a letdown by most critics and fans upon its...
View ArticleBrightblack Morning Light “Motion To Rejoin” (Matador, 2008)
Brightblack Morning Light essentially have one song—but lord have mercy, what a wondrous song it is. Their third album, Motion To Rejoin, finds singers/multi-instrumentalists Nathan Shineywater and...
View ArticleRodriguez “Cold Fact” (Sussex 1970)
As you probably know by now, Detroit troubadour Sixto Rodriguez passed away on August 8 at age 81 (cause of death has not been reported). Heads around the world have been mourning and eulogizing this...
View ArticleWendy & Bonnie “Genesis” (Skye, 1969)
The perfectly named Wendy and Bonnie Flower made one great album, Genesis, and then dispersed after Skye Records went bankrupt following its release and its producer Gary McFarland died as they were...
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David Crosby “If I Could Only Remember My Name” (Atlantic, 1971)
This major-label album has emerged through nearly five decades of fluctuating interest and apathy to become at once a bargain-bin staple and a cult favorite. You don’t see that happen very often. My...
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Nancy Priddy “You’ve Come This Way Before” (Dot, 1968)
Nancy Priddy had a one-and-done solo career in music, but You’ve Come This Way Before stands as one of the best albums by an actor—perhaps a low bar, but still. (Priddy acted in TV shows such as...
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Björn J:son Lindh “Sissel” (Metronome/CTI, 1973)
One of my goals in life is to bring Björn J:son Lindh’s outstanding music to more people’s attention. It’s hard work, but somebody has to do it. I’m by no means an expert on this Swedish fusion...
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