1001 Albums (311-325): Gasoline Alley - Goo

Note: In an effort to continually shake things up and to use less brain cells, I've arranged this group by decade. TaDa. Plus, I don't know that much about any of these albums to adequately separate them any other way. I kind of doubt I'll get to this next week, so you ought to make this last in case you get some sort of fix from my ramblings.

1950s

The Genius of Ray Charles (1959) by Ray Charles

Charles continued to demonstrate that his music could not fit into a label or category. He wavers around R&B, Big Band, classic standards and host of other sounds and influences.

1960s

Getz/Gilberto (1963) by Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto

Stan Getz was the gringo in this Latin American dance group. I guess it worked out OK.

A Girl Called Dusty (1964) by Dusty Springfield

Springfield belts out her range hitting a lot of Motown tunes like “Do Re Mi,” “You Don’t Own Me,” and mixing that with stuff like “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?”

The Gilded Palace of Sin (1969) by Flying Burrito Brothers

These guys win the prize for best album title and best band name for the week. This is the rebound band for Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman after the breakup of The Byrds.

1970s

Gasoline Alley (1970) by Rod Stewart

This is a rock’n’roll based album made prior to “Every Picture Tells A Story.” Ron Wood steps in and guides Stewart through this early solo project.

Go Girl Crazy! (1975) by The Dictators

This was a forerunner to punk but bad management, band bickering and the label pulling support cost The Dictators. By the time, The Ramones hit and punk became cool, these guys were past their prime.

Germ Free Adolescents (1978) by X-Ray Spex

A female led punk band cut short by the lead singer turning toward religion. Maybe this would be cool to hear.

(GI) (1979) by The Germs

More punk fun. Darby Crash a mixture of every member of The Sex Pistols cultivated hard-hitting punk before dying of a drug overdose.

1990s

Goo (1990) by Sonic Youth

I guess to continue the punkish vibes of this group. We’ll skip the 80s and get so more Sonic Youth. This band had several albums and this is one of them.

Gentlemen (1993) by The Afghan Whigs

These guys were cult and college favorites on both sides of the Atlantic. They based there music around a mixture of rock and soul.

Giant Steps (1993) by The Boo Radleys

This is another 90s underground trippy, group that never hit it big. This is a theme for the week.

G. Love And Special Sauce (1994) by G.Love and Special Sauce

Warning white rap spanning the period between Vanilla Ice and Eminem. You judge what this is probably like.

2000s

Gold (2001) by Ryan Adams

A couple bad breakups fueled this album as Adams spun out 16 tunes in the matter of days. “New York, New York,” got a lot of love on MTV. Snake has some of this guys, I don’t know if he has this album though.

Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003) by 50 Cent

It was hard to avoid 50 Cent when this album hit. Although I am not sure how much it had to do with the music as it did with people just like saying this guys name correctly.

Get Behind Me Satan (2005) by The White Stripes.

FYI: This is the last album in the book. That gives everyone a time frame when they stopped taking new albums. Here’s the one band that seems destined to make a career of exploring music instead of simply making money, doing drugs and burning out.

Snake's Encore: Frank - Garbage

NOTE: This is me phoning it in this week. I looked at the list and besides Franz Ferdinad, nothing really tripped my trigger. Then I looked through my albums and come out with the only snub being an album by a local band. That probably sunk me there. So I poured my heart into a great album and didn't waste with filler.

In Snake's Collection:

Franz Ferdinad - Franz Ferdinand

I would put this in my top 5 albums in the last five years. 'Take Me Out' is entrancing and the video mesmerized me, forcing me to conduct a rampant search the next day to find this band. These Scottish boys work very hard at making it seem effortless. The album starts out with 'Jacequeline' containing the line "we only work when we need the money" which I think is brilliant and is a setup for the imagine these guys try to portray. 'Tell Her Tonight' has this sixties vibe with the harmonies in the chorus. 'Take Me Out' is probably one of the best singles ever and definitely in recent memory. 'The Dark of the Matinee' is a pure gem that is mildly popular over in Britain. I think it is the perfect example of their rock grooves, dance beats, vocal harmonies and dark sexuality that permeates the band. 'Auf Achse' starts slow and beautiful until it builds into this crescendo of love gone wrong. 'Cheating On You' brings back the frantic pace with some tight guitar chops. 'This Fire' is probably the 2nd most famous song from this album with some straight forward rock. 'Darts of Pleasure' is another gem touting some lyrical prowess and a very seductive sound that ends with this crazy retro sounding outro. "Words are poison darts of pleasure". 'Michael' is a peppy dance number. 'Come On Home' slows the pace slightly. It is drives with this tight riff and then peels off for a tender chorus longing for his love to come back. '40'' ends the album much like it began. I like the sound, but have a hard time understanding some of the lyrics. So I am not entirely sure what the 40 feet that remain signify.

This album is probably one of the best debut albums ever. It is well crafted and efficient clocking in at 39 minutes. They took rock's roots, especially English 60's bands, of straight forward guitar hooks, simple harmonies and beats you can dance to, then jacked it up a few notches adding their cool swagger and sexuality. This album is a pure gem and I would recommend it to anyone. I would mail you a copy if you asked, that is how much I love and believe in this band/album.


The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan

This is the album that sent the stage and instantly made him a folk icon. It is also the album of his that I am least likely to just start listening to. 'Don't think twice, It's Alright' is my favorite here with the other standards appearing as well. I understand it's importance and see it myself. But I guess it doesn't appeal to me as much as his later work.