Bill Cosby:

Hooray For The Salvation Army Band!:(1968)

No, it's not an album featuring the spoken word comedy stylings of Bill Cosby. Although, there is humor in some of these tracks. No, this album features Bill Cosby singing/speaking some hits of the time, as well as some rewritten send offs of some hits. Hooray For The Salvation Army Band is a parody of Purple Haze. All the while Bill is being backed up by the incredible Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. Not gonna lie, this is a weird album. I mean, at one point he turns the song Reach Out (I'll Be There) into a song about a girl in the jungle getting chased by a snake in a tree, and all the excuses as to why he can't come help her. I really think the album cover says it all.

The Dave Clark Five:

Glad All Over:(1964)

Good clean Rock'n'Roll fun, that's what you get here. Hell, seconds into the song Glad All Over I'm smiling at the two drum hits that take us into the chorus. Couple that with Bits and Pieces, and you've got the makings of a rock classic. Of course, I have to mention the guitar lick on All of The Time, so clean, and swimmy, and awesome. Go ahead, pull up Glad All Over right now, and I bet you're smiling by the end.

Stewart Copeland:

The Rhythmatist:(1985)

Stewart Copeland is a fabulous drummer/percussionist, and like many with such a bent, he turned to exploration in African music. However, unlike a lot of musicians, his pockets allow him to actually go there, and jam, record, and explore with the locals. Hence, The Rhythmatist. This is actually a pretty good record, aside from some of the 80's production choices...i.e. gated reverb etc. Side A is stronger than B. Key track here for me is Koteja (Oh Bolilla).

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen:

Lost In The Ozone:(1971)

A Country band with a taste of Rock'N'Roll, Western Swing and all Americana. I first bought this album after hearing Hot Rod Lincoln. I will say that the album cover perfectly matches the music contained inside. This is the Country music of dope smokers, and beer drinkers in the 70's. Check out the tracks, Seed and Stems (again), and Lost In The Ozone.

Country Casanova:(1973)

More of the glorious same on this album. Key tracks here: Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (the Cigarette), and the track that got hem banned on country radio, Everybody's Doin' It Now.

Albert Collins:

Ice Pickin':(1978)

There has never been a guitar player that sounded like Albert Collins. I was about thirteen the first time I heard his name or his music, and I was mesmerized. The odd and cool way he kept rhythm by popping his thumb against the low E, and the palm of his hand against the bridge cap of his telecaster was intoxicating. Not to mention the power with which he attacked the instrument. I had many cassettes of his albums, but this one, this one is my favorite. That's why it's one of the only ones I have on vinyl. There's not a back track on this record. I was in Denver at a record sale, and a buddy of mine was selling some records of his. I pulled out this one, and the first Roxy Music album. When I tried to pay him, he said "Ah, Man, I can't take your money. It'll just be nice to know those are going to a good home." Thanks, Justin.

Showdown: (1985)

The interplay between these three is really good. I bought the album because Collins, and Copeland were on it, I've never been a fan of Robert Cray's guitar tone. On this album, it seems like all parties involved had a great time. Key track here would be, Black Cat Bone or Blackjack.

Ornette Coleman:

Twins:(1971)

Seems like when it comes to jazz, and boundary pushing most get to Miles Davis and John Coltrane and stumble. And perhaps Ornette is further out there than most care to venture, but he is a bold genius of music and invention. This particular album was put together by the Atlantic Records without Coleman's input, and it comprises outtakes from a few different projects. I suggest checking out First Take. There is a magic in Ornette's playing that transcends genre.

Leonard Cohen:

Songs of Leonard Cohen:(1967)

The master of language, the serious mystic, a man named Leonard Cohen. It's hard to put into words how much Leonard's music and writing mean to me. This first album sets the scene so well with the gentle nylon string guitar dancing between the fabulous orchestration. 

Songs From A Room:(1969)

Leonard Cohen seems at once of, and not of the real world we call the Earth. A master of language and subtlety like no other. I first got turned on to him when Jackson Browne made reference to him in an interview, more specifically the song Famous Blue Raincoat. As I’ve stated before, I love studying the influences of my influences, so I dug through the Cohen catalogue with much fascination and joy. Songs From A Room is particularly interesting, not just for the intense lyrical content, but the mysterious back cover depicting Cohen’s then girlfriend Marianne, of whom he sang. In that picture I could see how he could fall in love with her...I fell in love with her in that picture. I fell in love with the idea of an artist that could create this masterpiece of an album that seemed so removed from all its contemporaries. It’s an album that to me sounds as good today as it ever did, which focused me on the timeless quality I dig in so many records. I remember putting on this album while driving to take my SAT exam. My mind roaming the vast countryside conjured by the songs, and not thinking of the test that others said was important. I certainly never said that it was important. I remember thinking what a waste of time all the testing was. I didn’t want more schooling. I believed then as I do now, that I was getting more from the music I was listening to than I was from all that school and testing. There’s an element to this album that reminds me of a Fellini film like 8 1/2, black & white and highlighting the serious absurdity underlying some difficult issues.

Live Songs:(1973)

Like a ghost staring out of a bathroom mirror, so Leonard Cohen looks out of this album cover, so much power contained in his eyes. A cigarette before taking the stage for a live performance that seems more like a communal campfire gathering than anything else. The record is aged and crackling like a fire. 

Recent Songs:(1979)

"I came so far for beauty

I left so much behind

My patience and my family

My masterpiece unsigned"