Harvest Moon

Time to resurrect this beast of a blog back from the dead. For those of you wondering where it went, the short answer is nowhere really. Things happened, life unfolded some more and this sort of took a back seat. The goal is polish of the A-Z thing and focus on some lesser known bands and other albums that tie into who I am. The blog did kind of get away from what I had envisioned, but it's time to get things back on track. So I'm short on the Y bands, but I've had a lot of time to think about things in general and decided to go with a weeks worth of albums from an artist who has shaped me in a few ways. So strap in for a week on Neil Young albums.

For those of you not familiar with Neil Young outside the reference to him in the classic Skynyrd track 'Sweet Home Alabama', Neil has been making music for many a decade now. Hailing from the Great White North that is Canada, Neil has been called everything from a Folk Rock pioneer to the Godfather Of Grunge. Playing in a band or as a solo artist since the mid 60's, he's played with the likes of such greats as Joni Mitchell, Rick James (Yes, That Rick James), David Crosby, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, and Pearl Jam, just to name a few. Releasing a wide range of albums over the years, Young has released some classic genre defying albums. Some of which I'm gonna feature and how the relate to me.

My earliest memories of hearing Neil Young probably date back to me as a kid in middle school. I just started finding my taste in music thanks to my Dad's old cassette collection. Hendrix, Clapton, Rush, Young, all the greats and some underrated bands were all in there. About the time we had settled up in the desert in California, my Dad picked up a copy of "Harvest Moon", which was released back in 92. So by now the record is five years old, but still new to me. The album was seen as a somewhat follow up to the classic 72 record "Harvest". I remember listening to this record every weekend it seemed like for months on end. I knew the opening riff to 'Unknown Legend', the folksy tale of 'Old King' and perhaps became a bit of a 'Dreamin' Man' myself. The music was stripped down and yet still told a story. Showing me that everything doesn't always need to go to 11. This became my introduction to Neil Young. Some years later my Dad decided to actually upgrade and spring for the CD copy of the album. By now I think the cassette was worn pretty bad. We put the album in the rotation seemed like in the Fall and it stayed there. We knew the music, the lyrics, but never grew tired of it. In 09, Neil put out as part of his Archives, "Dreamin' Man", which was the album Live from various stops from that tour. It came out about a year after my Dad's passing. It's one album I'm sure we would've worn out.

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X-Ray Spex

We jump across the pond for the other X band. And unless you're a Punk junkie, you may have not heard of this next band. X-Ray Spex were a London Punk band that formed in 76. During their initial lineup the band in three years released one album and five singles. Perhaps what set X-Ray Spex apart from the othe UK Punk acts at the time was that they were led by a female, Poly Styrene and the band happened to feature a Saxophonist. Yes you read that right, a Saxophonist. In addition Poly's voice was unmistakable, at times sounding like a wailing banshee. Plus who ever heard of a Saxophone in a Punk band? The band played in and around the UK until 79 when Poly tired of touring left the group. The group briefly reformed in 88, 91 & 95 to play gigs, but never recording any new material. The band did reform and play their entire album 'Germ Free Adolescents' in 08. The album was recorded live and released. Sadly any future reunions were cut short when Poly passed away in 2011 due to cancer. The band remains somewhat of a cult favorite and can be seen as a precursor to what became the Riot-Grrl movement in the early 90's. The band didn't have a whole lot of material, but the wonderfully done 'Let's Submerge, The Anthology' captures the band fully. The album includes the album and the singles, along with their John Peel sessions and some live material from 77. An interesting band that deserves a listen.

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X

It's been a bit since I've updated this blog, so in rummaging through my collection I realized I was a bot short on the X bands. So it's a quick double shot of Punk bands. First up is the iconic Punk band X. Formed in Los Angeles in 77 by Billy Zoom and John Doe, X were among the first wave of American Punk bands that shaped the scene. The band scored a record deal with Dangerhouse records in 78 and released their first single 'Adult Books'. As the band gained attention in the LA scene the band caught the attention of Slash records and somehow managed to get former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek to produce their debut album 'Los Angeles'. While the album gained some minor success in the mainstream media, the underground grabbed a hold and didn't let go. The band would continue to release material through the mid 80's before taking several hiatuses. The band continues to play live as a band as well as in solo projects. While initially shunned by mainstream critics, 'Los Angeles' today is revered as one of the best Punk albums ever released. I've gone ahead and uploaded the deluxe version which features the Dangerhouse Records cuts as well as some demos.

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Worm Ouroboros

Closing out the W's is Bay Area band Worm Ouroboros. The band plays what could be described as Atmospheric/Doom/Shoegaze metal. A trio by nature the band is comprised of members of Ludicra and Agalloch. Led by two females in Bassist/Keyboardist, Lorranie Rath and Vocalist/Guitarist Jessica Way, the band is rounded out by former Ludicra and current Agalloch drummer Aesop Dekker. Released in 2012 'Come The Thaw' is a solid album, but not one that's for everyone. This is a bit more turned down, dark and deeper metal you wanna throw on during a dark night. While dark and somewhat mysterious, the songs are quite lengthy but still manage to keep you listening intently without being bored senseless. Worth a listen if you're looking to expand your listening pleasures.

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Woods Of Ypres

From Sweden we venture to the great white north of Canada for the next post here. Woods Of Ypres were a Melodic/Doom Death Metal band that hailed from Canada. Having somewhat of a reputation in the underground, drawing comparisons to bands like Agalloch, Fen and Ulver, the band released five albums in a decade before the tragic death of frontman David Gold. Each album possess its own unique sound a vibe and sometimes a tongue in cheek song or two. But the foreshadowing on the final album 'Woods 5: Grey Skies And Electric Light' may have been a bit to eerie. Songs like 'Career Suicide (Is Not Real Suicide)' and 'Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)' remain the standout tracks on the album. David's passing was unexpected and tragic and unfortunately meant the end of the band. However tribute shows and a forthcoming tribute album keep his memory alive. Note this is the advance copy of the album that was released by Earache Records shortly after David's passing.

I got into this band not long before David's passing. I found the comparisons to Agalloch to hard to ignore and after a few listens to 'Woods 4: The Green Album' I was hooked. Songs like 'Wet Leather' and 'I Was Buried In Mount Pleasent Cemetery' were both tongue in cheek and epic all at once.I'm not sure a lot of people got this band, but the stories about what a great guy David was are all too much to ignore. Truly a great band that sadly ended before they reached their full potential.

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Witchery

Time to speed things up with some Blackened Thrash Metal from Sweden. Witchery has been somewhat of a cult metal band since the late 90's. Formed out of the ashes of Satanic Slaughter and featuring members of The Haunted and Mercyful Fate, the band plays what can be best described at a Blackened Thrash approach to Metal. Releasing five albums and an EP since 98, the bands latter release have been years apart, with their last effort 'Witchkrieg' released in 2010. The band had a pretty solid lineup until recently with a drummer replacement and two vocalist changes, the band rarely preforms live. Legend has it though the early shows were really intense. The albums have always been fairly solid and featuring numerous guests musicians along the likes of Hank Shermann (Mercyful Fate), Kerry King (Slayer) and Gary Holt (Exodus), the band continues to remain a cult favorite. I decided to go with the EP here though. 'Witchburner' is a short and sweet EP featured four covers songs from Accept, WASP, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest in addition to a few original tracks. This EP is what sold me on the band. From the opening scream in 'Fast As A Shark' to the last shrieks of 'Witchburner' this album is 25 minutes of pure metal worthy of your time.

Witchery were actually one of the first extreme metal bands I got into. I had heard some material off their record 'Dead, Hot And Ready' and really dug it. From there I got into The Haunted and and I was already into Mercyful Fate and the more darker side of Metal. Funny story about the band though. I actually own the shirt for 'Dead, Hot And Ready' and it's a somewhat obscene shirt. For those not familiar with the cover art go Google it. The back of the shirt says "Dead Hot And Ready" in large letters. I happened to be out in LA at the time visiting the Natural History Museum of all place when I had a school teacher with a group of prolly 5th grader come up to me and compliment the shirt. I walked off laughing, she seemed sincere about it too. Anyways it's a shame this band never got real big. The reviews are always great and we always want something new from them.

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Steve Winwood

A while back I did a post that featured the band Traffic. Well this post can be seen as somewhat of a continuation of that previous post, as this one will focus of the Traffic frontman Steve Winwood. Maybe best known for his work in the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith or even his solo career, Steve Winwood remains one of rocks legendary vocalists. While as a student he would back blues greats when they toured the UK and by 14 he was a member of The Spencer Davis Group. After leaving the group in 67 Winwood formed Traffic and became somewhat more well known across the pond. In addition to playing in some great rock groups he's also played with some other well known musicians on some famous records. Playing with the likes of Jimi Hendrix ('Electric Ladyland'), Marianne Faithfull ('Broken English'), and George Harrison's self titled album. It's hard to solo out any one album he's done or played on, so thankfully there's the '20th Century Masters: Best Of Steve Winwood'. While this focuses mainly on his work in The Spencer Davis Group and Traffic, it highlights some of his best work.

Traffic for me still remains as one of my favorite bands of all time. That's one band I can throw any record on from them and just relax or jam out to. I've had the pleasure to see Winwood twice now, once with Eric Clapton and once solo with his band. Both shows have been nothing short of amazing. It's rare to see someone who's been in the music business for so long still continue to perform at such a high level and continue to tour year after year. Sure it happens occasionally but rarely is it ever on this level.

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