“Push Me Pull Me” Pearl Jam, Yield

I’m a bit of a fair-weather Pearl Jam fan, having liked their first couple of albums and bits and pieces of everything they’ve released since but man, “Push Me Pull Me” is down in the lower tier of the catalog.  A bit surprised that I actually have this song on here but with a lot of Pearl Jam I’ve picked up over the years, I’ll leave it on and then see if something grabs me in shuffle mode.  This does not, although the bass throb from Jeff Ament and drum whack from Jack Irons is decent but the disaffected vocal from Eddie Vedder makes this a thumbs down for me.

“Man Of Golden Words” Mother Love Bone, Mother Love Bone

Oh, if Andrew Wood would only have lived how the entire grunge scene would have changed..  well, maybe not the entire scene but no Pearl Jam (Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament were on board here).  At any rate, “Man Of Golden Words” is a decent, solemn piano and acoustic based ditty that features the cool croon from Wood and for you trivia buffs out there is the song in which Temple Of The Dog took their name from.  Interestingly, this leans a bit closer to Alice In Chains/Soundgarden territory in darkness but stands uniquely on its own.

“Cowboys From Hell” Pantera, Cowboys From Hell

NOW we’re talkin’….  early 90s were certainly a sea change in rock and metal music-  hair was fading, alternative rock was making a scene, grunge was creeping around the corner, and heavy music was getting more and more bombastic and rifftacular.  And boy what a riff-  “Cowboys” features one funky, choppy chunkster, putting Dimebag Darrell Abbott front and center as the latest guitar hero in town.  And the rest of the band ain’t to shabby either with brother Vinnie Paul on drums and Rex Brown on bass, but holy sh!t those vocals…  Philip Anselmo is LETHAL.

“Execution – Don’t Save Me” Death Angel, The Dream Calls For Blood

Kicking off with a brief acoustic spot topped with harmonized guitars (“Execution”, I’m assuming) comes this heavy thrasher from Bay Area boys Death Angel.  This cut mixes some serious breakneck pacing in the main riff which eases the throttle some in the main verse section before flooring it during the solo sections once again, while singer Mark Osegueda belts out in fine, rip roaring fashion.  In some ways I miss that early, nearly chaotic vocals that young Mark would belt out back in the day but his voice has matured like a fine wine.  Still, it’s those riffs that bring us all to the yard.

“Willie Brown Blues” Ry Cooder, Crossroads

I’ve always had huge respect for Ry Cooder although I’d not picked up much of his material until just recently.  The Crossroads soundtrack was one of the first I’d grabbed as I’d loved the movie and dug the tunes (dig the cameo from Steve Vai!) with “Willie Brown Blues” being a good example; pretty much a jump blues with some fiery harmonica playing from John “Juke” Logan and vocals from “Willie Brown” himself, actor/singer Joe Seneca.  And yeah, movie magic made Karate Kid Ralph Macchio look good on the six string but that’s actually Mr. Cooder himself with the funky goods.

“Child Of Mine” Fleetwood Mac, Bare Trees

Mid-period Fleetwood Mac reminds me of that old joke…  “Paul McCartney was in a band BEFORE Wings???”  Yeah the Mac has gone through a few iterations before the Buckingham/Nicks era, with “Bare Trees” being the only album that featured the guitar tag team of Danny Kirwan and Bob Welch.  “Child Of Mine” is a damn good rocker, sounding maybe a tad bit like Marc Bolan backed by the Stones with Billy Preston on organ.  Sung by Kirwan with a cool vocal but man, that rhythm section of McVie\Fleetwood is nails and Christine McVie is groovy baby on the keyboards

“Things Change” Dwight Yoakum, The Very Best Of

I’ve made plenty of comments before about how I dislike most modern country, but as Dwight likes to sing…  things change.  But hey, screw it-  I’m not in the demographic they are writing for.  At any rate Dwight is on point here with one of his late 90s hits that’s maybe a tad bit more produced than his classics, but dig that vocal melody and his excellent voice plus those singalong “na na nas” that stick in the brain like an earworm.  Toss in some sweet electric guitar playing from his partner in crime Pete Anderson and you’ve got a country tune I can agree with.

“Ain’t Enough” Army Of Anyone, Army Of Anyone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ox_B0z9zGk

Army of Anyone was a bit of a one album supergroup featuring the brothers DeLeo from Stone Temple Pilots, singer Richard Patrick from Filter, and drummer Ray Luzier who spent time bashing away behind David Lee Roth.  Their lone album featured alternarock not too far removed from STP although Patrick’s vocal melodies hailed more toward classic rock singers than some of the Bowie flavors and warbling roar favored by that groups Scott Weiland.  If you like STP and Filter then you should dig what’s going on here as it’s not far removed from either band.  All in a all a good tune.

“Black Dog On My Shoulder” Manic Street Preachers, This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours

One of the great things about buying so many CDs and doing a good bit of listening on shuffle mode uncovers a lot of gems that you might not pick up as you listen to a band’s single disc.  I’d had the Manic’s rollicking debut album and had picked up a couple of latter period discs but hadn’t really listened to them until their brilliant, beautiful melodies of Everything Must Go.  “Black Dog” is a bit similar in style but leans a bit more 70s with its mix of sunny, folky acoustics and string backdrops but it’s James Dean Bradfield’s vocals and melodies that shine.  Quite an underrated band that is good for a smooth change of pace.

“Travelin’ Band” Creedence Clearwater Revival, In Concert

One of my all time favorite Creedence tunes, “Travelin’ Band” owes a serious debt to Chuck Berry from a guitar standpoint but John Fogerty sure lays down his best Little Richard impression too with his shouty, exuberant vocal.  How can you not like this?  Well, I have to drop a few points as this is the live version which is pretty darn swell and as usual Fogerty is on fire vocally and on guitar.  But what’s seriously missing from this version compared to the studio is that horn accompaniment, which is capably replicated here on guitar but is a bit too loosey goosey and not as tight as it should be, especially during the solo.  But it’s Creedence!  (I love Creedence 🙂 )

The gold goes to Cowboys From Hell by 20 car lengths followed by Travelin’ Band (only penalized by it being live) for the silver and the gold goes to Child Of Mine.