A Lifetime-Plus of Music

     For some reason, the Stone Temple Pilots came on to the scene with a very negative connotation.  Many listeners looked down on them as some kind of 2^nd rate knock-off of Pearl Jam.  I never shared that opinion, and I think the argument could be made that the quality of songwriting and their overall delivery rates as high as any of the Seattle-based grunge bands who seemingly had more street credibility.  Scott Weiland was a fantastic front man, bringing a hint of glam and charisma to this downtrodden genre, and the DeLeo brothers on guitar and bass delivered a high-energy crunch with every song.  As time passed, their reputation enhanced significantly, and their music lives on today very actively on rock music radio.  Their debut album, “Core”, was one of my favorites of the time and I still love it just as much now.

     Just as capable as being dark and disturbed, the album opens with three really excellent songs, “Dead and Bloated”, “Sex Type Thing” and “Wicked Garden”.  I particularly love the vocals and guitar on “Sex Type Thing”.  Not unlike Axl Rose, Weiland has a very versatile voice that can present many different styles and sounds within a single song, and this song is a guaranteed volume increase.

     There a couple of odd, short transition songs within the album like “No Memory”, an instrumental track, but the rock continues with the slow blast of “Sin” and the equally unsung but strong track “Naked Sunday”.  The hits continue with “Creep”, one of their slowest and most reflective songs, opening with a rarely heard acoustic guitar.  Weiland’s vocals are particularly soulful here, and although it is slower than most of the others, it is a great change of pace. 

     The rhythm section powers back in on “Piece of Pie”, followed up by their biggest hit from this album, “Plush”.  Another dark song written around a tragic murder, the chords of this song are pretty iconic for the time.  Not only is the original version stellar, there also is a widely played acoustic version they recorded for MTV’s Headbangers Ball that gives us a very honest and transparent view of Weiland as a singer.

     After the next odd transition song, “Wet My Bed”, we get to my favorite song from this album, and definitely one of my favorite songs of the 1990s with “Crackerman”.  I love several elements of this song.  First off, Weiland is crazy good and I love the megaphone-like distortion he brings to his vocals on the chorus.  Secondly, I love that this song starts fast and intense, and never backs off from the pace for the entire song.  There are too many songs that are awesome until they have some weird change of tempo in one of the bridges, and I love that “Crackerman” just keeps punching all the way to the finish line without taking a breather.

     The album ends with “Where the Rivers Goes”.  At 8:25, it is longer than most songs in this category, but it successfully holds up with the rest of this really strong album.  This record was a big hit from the beginning, and rightfully so.  Both with his success as well as the sad traps that came with it, Scott Weiland and the Stone Temple Pilots assumed their role as one of the best bands of the 1990s, even as they were the only grunge titan not to emerge from Seattle (they originated in San Diego).  More great music to follow…

     From the frivolous back to the intense, we return to the continued evolution of grunge rock with another outstanding album, “Dirt” by Alice In Chains.  Not only does this record contain my all-time favorite track from any of these artists, it is the #1 all-time rated grunge album on loudwire.com, even over higher profile releases from Nirvana and Pearl Jam.  I would tend to agree, there is just something extra that connects with me regarding the pairing of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell.  Staley’s vocals only grow darker and more haunting with this record, and the songwriting excellence, guitar riffs and harmony vocals from Cantrell make them an unmatched power duo in this genre.

     The record explodes with “Them Bones”, another of their very best songs, and I just can’t relay fully how perfect Staley’s voice is for songs like this.  Already sinking into the world of depression and addiction, you can hear and feel the pain of his existence in each song, and this one is particularly prophetic of his long and tragic decline.

     “Dam That River” is a more up-tempo rocker, and Cantrell carries this tune with his grinding, driving guitar lead.  “Rain When I Die” slows it back down, and their harmonies blend in perfectly around the crushing guitar and rhythm section.  It doesn’t get any more optimistic with “Down In A Hole”, and “Sickman” reminds me of what we would eventually hear from Rob Zombie and his band.

    The highest praise here is reserved for “Rooster”, a sad and terrifying tribute to Jerry Cantrell’s father and his time served in Vietnam.  If any song has ever fully captured the despair and sheer horror of war, it is this song.  Staley’s tortured vocals are absolutely perfect, both in the low register and when he rages as the chords slam down.  Hard rock under any label, whichever one you may prefer to use, just doesn’t get any better than this, and to me, this song still stands as the best example of how great Layne Staley was as a rock singer.

     Other stand out tracks on this album are the title track, “Junkhead”, and “God Smack”, and the rest of the album is equally morose and sadly tragic as the noose of heroin begins to slowly tighten.  It is amazing how good this band was at their best, and even though Cantrell ultimately fared much better than Staley, you can’t help but wonder if there was any other way but the path they chose.

     As you may recall, among the albums included on this list are the #1 selling album in the U.S. every calendar year.  In some years, those choices are obvious.  With some other years, the choice of the people is a bit more confounding.  With all of the innovative and emerging music of 1992, the #1 selling album was the debut album from Billy Ray Cyrus, “Some Gave All”.  Usually when an album does that well, there are several tracks that carry the day, and while he did have three other singles that did reasonably well from this album, naturally the dominant track here was the massive hit “Achy Breaky Heart”.

     So where do we go from here?  We all know “Achy Breaky Heart”.  Some of us still love it, and others are tormented by it.  It is a catchy tune, and even now, I can see why it was such a big success, even if I’m puzzled why over 9 million people felt they needed the entire album.  So how is the rest of the record?  Let’s give it a look.  I read one comparison that called it the Michael Bolton of country music.  I’m not that critical, even if I won’t be adding much of it to my playlist.

    Honestly, the rest of the album is pretty benign.  Cyrus has a decent voice, if not a classic country voice, and the songs are pretty easy to digest.  Like a lot of country music, most of the songs are break-up songs, and with both sad songs of goodbye like “Could’ve Been Me” and more comical twists like “Wher’m I Gonna Live”, the music rings true to its roots, even if it lacks the truly soulful country tone of many of the legends we have looked at on this journey.  In case you need one more reason to be curious, there is an unexpected cover of the Nancy Sinatra classic “These Boots Are Made for Walking”.  I think this song could be an interesting cover, but this version falls pretty flat and thin for me.  The title track is a well-intended tribute to our fallen military, at a time when this wasn’t as politically divisive or naturally marketable as it is today.

     Billy Ray Cyrus was quite the phenomenon, and he has experienced several renaissances beyond his nearly one-hit career.  He also co-parented his daughter Miley towards a very successful career that has not only well surpassed his own success, she has reinvented herself many more times than he ever did.

     I think there is one more important observation here to be made.  Somewhere along the way, probably to coincide with the music video and dawn of the internet, physical appearance became more of a prerequisite for success for all performers, and nowhere is this more evident than in country music.  This isn’t to say that some of these beautiful people of today aren’t good singers, but clearly the point of entry started with a close review of their physical attributes.  I could be wrong, but I feel like Billy Ray Cyrus was at the front end of this transition.  While he is a decent singer, clearly his chiseled, powerfully handsome appearance, even with his mullet hairstyle, opened a lot of doors for him in the business.  He wasn’t the first and certainly not the last, but I think he is a great example while the Merles, Waylons and Willies of today might have more of an uphill battle to reach their audience. 

     Nine million albums sold… wow.

     So many acts come out with a single album that goes big, and then you never really hear from them again.  After the Beastie Boys hit the big time with “Licensed to Ill”, it wouldn’t have been hard to envision that scenario with their novel sound.  In contrast, they continued to expand their skills and diversified their sound, delivering an entirely different but even more creative record in “Check Your Head”.  Critical reception to this record was oddly mixed, but it really is a top-notch release and is the #261 rated album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     Returning to their roots as punk band with a much richer slice of funk, and they play almost all of their own instruments on this record, with Ad-Rock on guitar, MCA on bass, and Mike D on drums along with their instantly recognizable vocals.  The tracks are usually rounded out with Money Mark on keyboards and the sharp production of Mario Caldato, Jr.  The proficiency of their self-performed music was really impactful for me, as this is a tight band that knows their trade well.

     The centerpiece of this album is my all-time favorite Beastie Boys song, “So What’Cha Want”.  Laying down a brutal drum beat behind a recurring organ riff, the perfectly caustic blast of this song has always fired me up.  It also is one of my favorite music videos of the ‘90s, and it completely captures the personality and attitude of this unique trio.

    There isn’t a single song on this album that I don’t really like, but two that really stand out to me are the instrumental tracks “Groove Holmes” and “In 3’s”.  If you played me either one, especially the first one, and asked me who the performing artist was, I would have probably guessed the Meters.  And I assure you, that is about as high a praise I can give any artist laying down the funk.

     Back to their more traditional jarring punk rap, “Pass the Mic” and “The Maestro” are two of the best on this album.  This entire record is so creative in its blend of songs; I only wish I had spent more time appreciating it back when it was released.  My neighbors may end up not loving this album, but I’m pretty sure this one is coming back out the next time the sound system is getting a late-night workout. 

     One of the most important components of listening to all of these albums is making sure I give them sufficient consideration.  While some albums grab your interest from the beginning, others are more of an acquired taste.  That is definitely how I would label today’s record, “Vulgar Display of Power” by Pantera.  Taking another step down the path of intense metal music, this album is the #5 rated metal album of all time on loudwire.com. My first reaction was that this metal was just a bit too heavy for my tastes, but it absolutely grew on me over the course of several additional listens.

     With the legendary Dimebag Darrell on guitar, his brother Vinnie Paul on drums, and the rough growl of Phil Anselmo on vocals, Pantera delivers a record full of anger, intimidation, and fury.  “Mouth for War” kicks things off, and there really isn’t a break from the fire anywhere on this record.  For me personally, some of the vocals are just a little too far removed from melody, but the more I listen to this record, the more I enjoyed the wallop of song after song.  My favorite song on this record is the militant command of “Walk”.  I think this one will be a good add to my running playlist, as I don’t think anyone can sit back and take it easy during this track.

     I did have to sit back and think for some time during the song “Fucking Hostile”.  As it surged into the chorus, through the roaring I heard a chord sequence I knew well, but couldn’t place where I had heard it before.  After several times through it, I finally pulled it from mid-air… these are the same chords as “Heard It On the X”.  I don’t think anyone will confuse Pantera with ZZ Top, but it was good to hear one more common thread through all of the music I have enjoyed along the way.

     Most days, Pantera is probably going to be a bit more anger than I need, but given the right mix of traffic, long lines and annoying people, it will work perfectly as mood music. 

     I’m still not really quite sure what to make of today’s album, “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine.  It is our second day in a row with an Irish band, and perhaps there are shadows of this sound in where U2 and others were headed, but I did not expect to discover a new sub-genre in music that I did not even realize existed.  Shoegaze music, which is identified with bands playing in a fixed, immobile stance as they grind away staring at the ground below them, is known audibly for its excessive distortion, recurring rhythms and riffs, nearly indistinguishable vocals and apparently intense volume during live shows.  Although I had never heard of it before this process, “Loveless” is the #73 rated album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and apparently was the foundation for all shoegaze music that followed.  Even after several listens, I’m not quite sure what I have listened to, but there are some inviting sounds along the way as I sift through the audio haze.

     The record opens with “Only Shallow”, one of their most well-known songs and one of several to contain a very hypnotic and rhythmic riff that is unforgettable, almost as if it was an air raid raining down on Dublin.  “Loomer” and “Touched” are transition songs, with the latter emitting a riff that seemingly simulates the sound of whales communicating under the sea.  “To Here Knows When” is a unique creation, in that it is over five minutes of what feels like one extended chord drawn out, as if it was warped vinyl riding up and down the single note.

     “When You Sleep” is the closest thing to a pop single on this album, with another catchy recurring riff that rides the same warping roller coaster ride.  The vocals aren’t quite as buried in the mix, and I genuinely have grown to really like this song as an identity for this album.  “I Only Said” follows that same hypnotic pattern, as if you are being drawn to a light from afar.

     If I had to pick any band I know who has some of this sound, it would be The Smashing Pumpkins, and the song “Come In Alone” has a very similar chord structure and vocal pattern to “Rocket” by Billy Corgan and company.  “Sometimes” centers around a lower and crunchier guitar chord, and “Blown A Wish” is built around the female vocal leads of Bilinda Butcher.  The album ends with “Soon”, which opens with a Beatles-esque distortion fading into one of the most up-tempo tracks on the record.  In some ways, this song feels like the closing credits, and it delivers the energy to let you know this band is only getting started.

     My Bloody Valentine has had several stops and starts along their long shoegazing journey, but “Loveless” will always be their biggest accomplishment in the studio, and like many records along the way, I’m grateful for learning about an entire movement of music, much less a single artist or recording.

     Another intense grunge rock masterpiece today, with our first look at Soundgarden, fronted by the incredibly powerful voice of Chris Cornell.  As I have noted previously, each of these Seattle grunge rock legends came from different origins, and both Cornell and the sound of his band draw more deeply from the depths of heavy metal, both with the explosive vocals and deep and full chords and riffs.  “Bad Motorfinger” was their third studio album, and it is rated as the #7 grunge rock album of all time by loudwire.com.

     The centerpiece and showcase of this album for me is the second song, which is one of my favorites of all time from this era, “Outshined”.  Not only does it have an incredible riff that is rounded out at the bottom by the addition of bass player Ben Shepherd, it also features one of my all-time favorite song lyrics:

     “Well I just looked in the mirror, and things aren’t looking so good…

     “I’m looking California, and feeling Minnesota…”

     To me, that is the perfect encapsulation of somehow pulling it together on the exterior, but feeling miserable on the inside.  Like most of his peers here, Cornell spent a lot of time in the dark corners, and I love this imagery, even as it expresses pain and sorrow hidden under a shiny surface.

     The rest of this album isn’t quite as consistently strong as some of their subsequent music, but it is a deceptively good album that has grown on me over several new listens.  I do specifically recall buying a used version of this CD for “Outshined”.  I would divide the record into two categories.  Approximately half of the songs are just really good intense rock songs, and the other half go a little too far with too little.  There is no other singer from this genre who has the range or sheer strength of voice that Cornell has, but it still has to be embedded in a good song with an appealing hook.  Of the songs I like best, I would list “Rusty Cage”, “Slaves & Bulldozers”, “Jesus Christ Pose”, and my second favorite song on the album, “Searching With My Good Eye Closed”.  This song is a longer one with an extended buildup, but the primary riff and mix of guitars and bass with Cornell’s hypnotic vocals merges in a really unique building chorus.  I can only imagine the ferocity of this song in a live venue.

     Cornell did a great job of collaborating with his bandmates here, and there is much more to anticipate as his songwriting and vocal performances continue to evolve.

     Another extension of my search for alternative music in the early 1990s was the southern California band we still know today as the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  For the second day in a row, we have a very bass-centric sound, as the Peppers have always been driven by bass player Flea and his remarkable playing and exuberant personality.  On their fifth album, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”, the band realized new levels of commercial success, blurring the line between alternative and mainstream rock.  Widely acknowledged as their best overall production, it is rated as the #186 album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     At their best, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are a great blend of punk and funk.  At times, the vocal style and machinations of vocalist Anthony Kiedis can be a bit grating, but in general, I really like this album a lot. Guitarist John Frusciante brings a lot of the funk sound to the record with his groove, and the second song, “If You Have to Ask” is a perfect example of him at his best.  Another great presentation of this sound is the fourth song, “Funky Monks”, and I enjoyed hearing songs I didn’t previously know move up my list of favorites on this record.  A third gem is “Mellowship Slinky in B Major”, which is a phenomenal showcase for Flea to take center-stage.  If you like those three songs, you will also love “Apache Rose Peacock”.

      “Breaking the Girl” is a softer and more melancholy song, and it provides good contrast to the funk jams throughout this album.  It was also one of the four fairly well-known singles to emerge from this record.  Another big hit that helped to define their sound on this record was the funk-rocker “Suck My Kiss”.  The more I listen to this record the more I like it, and this song is one of the best examples of that growing appeal.

     The mood and tempo shifts again on “I Could Have Lied”.  It is reminiscent of their biggest hit on the record, “Under the Bridge”, but it does demonstrate their versatility as songwriters and performers.  It is fairly late in the record when we come across their other two huge hits from the album, “Give It Away” and “Under the Bridge”.  Both tunes have worn out their welcome with some listeners over 30 years of consistent rock airplay, but I still really enjoy both, including that contrast of styles I have cited above.  At his best, Kiedis blends a delivery of punk, rap, and funk with a sincere reflection on his own life struggles, and Frusciante and Flea create a perfect canvas for their one-of-a-kind style.  If I had to pick out one more song from the rest of the record, I would go with “Sir Psycho Sexy”.  Chad Smith slows the pace with a groovy hammer beat, and the distorted bass grind hits hard once again, and this Funkadelic soundalike is truly legit.  I didn’t expect to find this many songs I didn’t know but turned out to love, so I will rate this album a big success for the expected and undiscovered.

     I have to end this writeup with my own Red Hot Chili Peppers story.  The year was 1989, and well in advance of this record, they were still working their way up the ladder and arrived in Greeley, Colorado for an oddly scheduled show in our school gymnasium, Butler Hancock Hall.  The show was an afternoon performance on the weekend, and not surprisingly, our venue was not equipped for alcohol sales.  As the Chili Peppers exploded on to the stage, I was again confronted by the unexpected realities of the mosh pit and slam dancing, and I suddenly had flashbacks to Circle Jerks show I fled many years before.  Thankfully, I adjusted better this time, and made it to the halfway point before our lack of alcohol became more problematic.  I took the lead to run several blocks to Gordon’s Liquor Store for an infusion for Mike, Jim, and whoever else was in tow for this show.  As I came to the register to pay for the contraband I would smuggle back into the show, I encountered my stoic and usually stern marketing professor Dr. Kendall.  After a minute of awkward conversation and my confession as to the day’s agenda, he suggested that I could get back to the show much quicker if he drove me back.  How could I say no to that offer?

     So, Dr. Kendall, thanks for being a better dude than I expected, and thanks for somehow passing Mike and I no matter how we chose to spend this Saturday.  It is greatly appreciated, as are the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

     Today is one of those days when I’m really glad I give each album several listens before I render my opinion.  Not that I didn’t like “The Low End Theory” by A Tribe Called Quest, but after several streams, I absolutely love it.  Coming from the same sound and style as De La Soul, this “low-fi” groove of hip-hop is just so warm and lush to enjoy.  “The Low End Theory” is rated as the #10 hip hop album of all time by definitivedose.com, and is the #43 rated album of all time on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

     Driven by the alternating vocals of Q-Tip, who appeared on “3 Feet High and Rising” from De La Soul, and Phife Dawg, who takes a larger role on this record.  We also see the broader debut of Busta Rhymes, and the real secret sauce of this album is the bass playing of Ron Carter. 

     This record gets stronger as it flows.  “Excursions” is a good start, but it gets better with “Buggin’ Out”.  “Rap Promoter” opens with a Hendrix-like “Voodoo Chile” riff, and then the record really hits high gear with “Butter”, which is one of my two absolute favorites on this record.  The next song is my other top pick, “Verses from the Abstract”, which borrows chords from “Am I the Same Girl”, made famous by Dusty Springfield, Barbara Acklin and Swing Out Sister among others.  This song is just so smooth, it is impossible not to feel good when it comes on.

     The rest of the album is just as funky and groovy, and it becomes more infectious with each trip back through it.  “Check the Rhime” may have been the most recognizable track on the record, and it is a good one, but my other two favorites are probably “Everything is Fair”, with its 1960s funk chorus, and “Jazz (We’ve Got)” which beautifully embeds the chords from True by Spandau Ballet into the vibe.

     What a remarkably great album, reminding me once again why you should never stop seeking new music in your life, even if the music isn’t really new at all.

     With the second half of our grunge blockbuster, we have the large-scale debut from Nirvana, “Nevermind”, with their classic lineup of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl on drums.  With some similarities and some distinctions in sound, Nirvana helped to reinforce Seattle as the epicenter of grunge rock in the early 1990s.  Their sound was much more punk-based than many of their peers, both in the guitar playing and vocals from Cobain.  Even so, this album was a massive mainstream success and is one of the best-selling albums of all time.  It is rated as the #6 album on Rolling Stone’s Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and is the #2 grunge rock album of all time as rated by loudwire.com.

     Even though it quickly devolved into a song Cobain hated to perform and be associated with, the lead track “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is one of the most definitive and recognizable songs of the decade.  A mix of simple power chords, Grohl’s powerful overt drumming and Cobain’s angry lyrics of generational confusion, the shift from mellow to intense drives an unforgettable hit.  The second song on this album, “In Bloom”, an ode to deranged and obsessive fans, is my favorite Nirvana song of all time.  Again, the guitars and drums blend perfectly around the bass line from Novoselic, and Cobain’s voice rages over what still is a very catchy chorus and hook.  If you want to hear a very unusual but amazing cover of this song, check out the country-flavored version by Sturgill Simpson.

     A third timeless hit follows, with the eerie and inviting “Come as You Are” again reinforcing the magnetic intensity of this trio.  “Breed” is a fairly straight-forward punk grind, and then we have the fourth successful single from the album, “Lithium”.  Even on this album, Cobain never shies away from the darkness of mental health decline, depression and the potential for violence and tragedy.  Like the other three big hits, “Lithium” was omnipresent on rock radio during the run of this album, and they all remain timeless tracks to this day.

     The rest of the album is a blend of sheer punk rock and more traditional guitar rock.  My tastes tend to lean towards the less intense tracks, and I particularly like “Lounge Act” and “On a Plain”.  Both songs represent really good guitar rock, no matter what label you want to assign.  Some of the other songs, like “Territorial Pissings” and the last track, “Endless Nameless”, which is like the punk version of “Revolution #9” from the Beatles or “Third Stone from the Sun” by Jimi Hendrix, are just a little too abrasive and extreme for my tastes, although I’m sure they line up perfectly with the most devoted of Cobain fans.

     These exceptions aside, this is obviously another remarkable album, and it is impressive how many of these bands did their best work within a very concentrated window of time.  Cobain’s voice is distinctive and pained, and it boils down to the songwriting for me.  His voice isn’t as naturally compelling as Layne Staley or even Eddie Vedder, but his place as a rock icon is firmly secure with this album, even with more great music still ahead.