The Boots - Beat! The Complete Telefunken Years (CD) 2016

The German Boots! Well, I have read about this band for years and I finally found a compilation that caught my attention so I bought it.  What we have here is a 2 CD set with the first and only two albums of the band, Here Are The Boots (1965) and Beat With The Boots (1967) plus assorted bonus tracks all on the Telefunken label out of Germany.  The first CD contains the first album and it is a pretty straight, dirty RnB music.  Just like you know I like it. By the time the second album came out the band pretty much turned into a mod, soul band so don't be startled by the switch.  To give you a taste of the differences in sound, check out But You Never Do It, Babe  If you like that, then you will love the rest of the first album.  In the more soul vein, check out In the Midnight Hour.  

Personally, I prefer the beat, RnB sides more than the mod, soul sides but not by a lot. Either way, this is a great historical document and if you avoid this you will be sorry!

Dinosaur Jr - Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not (CD) 2016

One of my favorite bands. Full Stop. I picked this up on CD because I was about to drive 2 hours to San Diego and I wanted to hear the record while I drove (rather than buy the vinyl copy and then have to wait until I got back home from my trip to play it!).  Another great outing from J. Mascis and the band and the guitar work is as tasty ever.  Great riffs, great guitar solos and, as always, great intensity.  Dinosaur Jr rocks and if you are into heavy but melodic guitar playing, then this band just never disappoints.  I have already heard this CD twice and I was really taken by Be A Part  Enjoy.

Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars (CD) 2015

I got turned on to Beach House by a friend of mine that worked at Good Records in Dallas, Texas.  Hi Jacob!  For me Beach House is the type of band that plays what I call 'dream pop'.  Slow, moody, and melodic. I think the best way to listen to Beach House is turn out the lights and lay on your couch.  Close your eyes and let those haunting melodies just sweep over you.  Go ahead, fall into that trance!  I think this is my 4th album by them and all of them are quite good and sort of follow the same pattern - slow, pretty melodies and the female vocals of Victoria Legrand.  Yes, I have a thing for female vocals of this type.  For those that are more familiar with my taste in music you know that these types of bands are not common for me but Beach House is hard to resist.

For those that have never experienced anything by Beach House, please try this song, Majorette

Green on Red - Gravity Talks (1983) Vinyl

Another used record find.  Green on Red were an interesting band indie band.  They were not punk rock. They actually (based on my listen) had a little of a garage-type sound. I think it is the organ. Also, Dan Stuart's vocals were passionate.  This album is sounding much better than I remember back when I first heard it in the early 80s. Glad I picked this up.  Here is something to check out from this record Blue Parade

Marshall Crenshaw - What's In the Bag? (CD) 2003

Marshall Crenshaw in a somewhat somber outing. It is still a very good record with great melodies and great vocal hooks. It just appears that Marshall seems a bit mellow. We all get older, including myself. Maybe I just don't get as excited about Marshall Crenshaw albums anymore and I should be because he is a wonderful artist. I might be forcing this and over-thinking. Enjoy Marshall Crenshaw. I always do. Apparently the song A Few Thousand Days Ago was a played on the popular show ER. Enjoy.

Just a note- I have this sealed copy sitting around for a long time. I never bothered to listen to it for years. As I went to record it in Discogs I realized that I have another copy of the CD someplace in the stacks. Hmm...need to shore up my purchasing standards.