King Crimson - "THRAK" 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2019/1995 (Discipline Global Mobile)

I wrote about King Crimson's 1995 album "THRAK" a little awhile ago, concerning the CD release of this album. Listening to it again (and again) "THRAK" is King Crimson's best album. The sound of two guitars (or more overdubs), two basses, and two drummers, in other words, a double-trio setting makes the sound hard with moments of softness that is truly beautiful. "Coda: Marine 475 is like the greatest Yardbirds rave-up within under three-minutes. I have never been a mega-fan of Adrian Belew's writing, but here he shines as both writer and guitarist. "THRAK" is an accurate title to this work, because that is the overall sound of the album. 

The music is orchestral and very contained in the hands of Robert Fripp and company. Fripp is the Duke Ellington of this band, and he knows how to obtain a singular focus, while still showing each musician's character and trademark. Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto work brilliantly together to give loose almost chaotic rhythms to match the sweetness and mostly the harshness of the guitars. My favorite guitar albums are the first Television and Feelies albums, and "THRAK" is another excellent guitar record. 

Elvis Presley - "The King In The Ring" 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, 2018 (RCA)

Released in many formats, this is a very recent re-release of Elvis Presley's incredible performance on his NBC-TV special from 1968.  At this point, Elvis was a figure from the past, who made too many mediocre films, and this was an approach to bring him back to contemporary culture.  Either by Elvis or the producers, they had the brilliant idea to do a set of songs unplugged and little to no sets, but surrounded by an audience.   

Covering his Sun-era recordings as well as his early 1950s RCA sides, plus a few Christmas songs (including one of my fave Elvis cuts "Blue Christmas"), he's not only back, but also to my ears has the energy of a young proto-punk band.  The Cramps came to mind when I hear this album, and it's not that weird of a comparison or aesthetic.  The sad thing is that Elvis regained his 'moment' but then lost it in the 1970s, at least image-wise.   Often bloated, but I would argue his magnificent voice never failed him.   Now, I wonder if Elvis actually had made a bad record?  Weak ones, yes, but a terrible record?  Still, clad in an all-leather outfit, and an f**K you to 1960s haircut and stance, he's magnificent. 

For one, to see him with his band is like being in a foreign country to me.  It's William Faulkner coming to life, and the happy relationship between him and the group, is very much like a small club where the membership is secret, and although he and they are human, it is still very much of a foreign culture.  But that's me, the ultimate Southern California fellow!  If The Cramps are exotic then so is "The King In The Ring."  It's a double album, of two live sets recorded for the TV special.  The idea was to film both shows and then edit the songs together for the final program.  So, as a listener, we are hearing repeated but different performances such as Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" (five times) "One Night (three times) and so forth.  Each version has its charms, and all are phenomenal.  

The band is basically the original Elvis group of Scotty Moore and drummer D. J. Fontana (playing on a guitar case used as drums), Charlie Hodge guitar and backup vocals, and two Memphis Mafia guys on percussion.  It's a superb band, with Elvis on guitar, and that remarkable voice that cuts down all sense of fakeness, yet theatrical in its presence.  Elvis was a unique artist, where his landscape turned against him, yet, among the rubble, he came out like a pauper King.  These recordings are my favorite Elvis.  It's up there with the Sun Records, but also I like them even better than the RCA early 50s recordings.   They're loose, and he's on fire.

David Sylvian & Holger Czukay - "Plight & Premonition Flux & Mutability" Vinyl, LP, Album, Compilation, Reissue, 2018 (Grönland Records)

David Sylvian and Holger Czukay became good friends when Czukay helped Sylvian on his first solo album "Forbidden Trees," which by the way is an excellent album.   Around that time, Czukay invited Sylvian to come to his studio in Germany, where he recorded and played with his previous band Can.  They made two albums together "Plight & Premonition" and "Flux & Mutability."  Both albums are now reissued on vinyl in one beautiful package, courtesy of Grönland Records, who have been reissuing a lot of Czukay's recorded work. 

On the surface, first, listen one thinks of the David Bowie instrumental sides from "Low" and "Heroes."  They border on the ambient side, but there is something textural that is not precisely like wallpaper music.   The same goes for the Sylvian and Czukay pieces.  Also, these four pieces on the album are improvised works, and I'm not sure how to improvise the Bowie tracks were.  Nevertheless, these primarily instrumental works (with some borrowed voices deep in the mix) are very much in the aesthetic and sound of the Sylvian and Czukay world.  Their relationship is perfect for making music.  To my ears, Sylvian is attracted to third world or Asian melodies, and Czukay has his ears tuned into the European 20th-century classic mode.  There are traces of western orchestration that comes and goes in the mix, and it is indeed a world where the band Japan meets Can.

My favorite cut is "Mutability" which has a lot of guitars, with various pedals/effects.  It's a majestic piece of music.  The music is mellow, but one is never sure how things will play out in the music.  For instance, at the beginning of "Plight," there's a sound of either a voice or a bird screeching that is startling to the listener.  It reminds me of the famous film cut in Orson Welles'  "Citizen Kane" where a parrot shows up suddenly with a loud screech.   A superb collection of two albums, with a beautiful essay by David Toop.  

The Smiths - "Louder Than Bombs" 2 x Vinyl, Compilation, 1987 (Sire)

The Smiths represent an era or a time when things were felt with great wonder and excitement. It was also the last band that really expressed themselves through their design of album and 12" single covers.  Each one was an entrance to a world that seemed gay or at the very least, a portrait of an artist who railed against the system or machine, and either played the price of becoming obscure or a footnote to a series of sad moments.  The Smiths became the voice for those who felt differently or couldn't fit in the world that was clearly made for other people.

There is no such thing as a bad Smiths record, but for me, it is their compilations that speak loudly to me.   The Smiths were one of the last bands to make the 45 rpm single separate from the album.  Albums were important, but I suspect that The Smiths true aesthetic was the A-Side and the additional B-Side. "Louder Than Bombs" is a compilation of their singles, and none (as far as I know, and being a lazy sod, I'm not looking this up as I write this essay) ever made it on to an official Smiths album.    My favorite songs of theirs tend to be the singles and b-sides.  The Smiths were brilliant in releasing incredible B-Sides, which traditionally were throw-a-way songs, and not meant to have any attention attached to them.  But, all of us vinyl lunatics know that is not necessarily true, and The Smiths had brilliant songs placed in the obscure position of being forgotten.  Or not, because The Smiths has paid attention to these 7" little wonders by releasing "Louder Than Bombs," which for the consumer, is a bargain, due to the cost of purchasing 45 rpm imported singles. 

Then, we didn't watch the footsteps leading to a horror show that we now have on hand.   Who would have known?  So in that sense, The Smiths are a band that very much wears the past as a shield, even in its original time of release, but now, it seems that this world didn't exist, or did it?

The Who - "Tommy" 2 xVinyl, LP, Album, 1969 (Decca)

I was 15 years old when I purchased the "Tommy" album.  Oddly enough, considering that I'm a huge Who fan (with Keith Moon/John Entwistle) now, then, I just liked the idea that they smashed their instruments after each performance.  But at 15 I got caught up on the grand aspects of pop music, and when I heard that Pete Townshend was working on an 'opera,' well, this was going to be my first Who purchase.   I admired the Townshend scope and ambition.  Also in publications like Rolling Stone, it was reported that he worked on this project for a long time.  Once I heard it, I knew it was a masterpiece, in fact, I knew so, because being a media child at the time, it was written that "Tommy" is an iconic album.   The truth is, I played the album a few times and forgot about it.  For god sake for one, they were not The Kinks!

Within decades I avoided any album by The Who after "Tommy," but over time, and with great patience, I purchased and listened to Who records that led to their 'opera.'   As a 63-year-old man, I consider that there is no such bad thing as a bad Who album or song before "Tommy."  I lost my "Tommy" album when I made the massive switch from vinyl to CD, during the digital revolution and never replaced it as I did with the earlier Who recordings.

Last March I was on a 9-hour flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles, and in that numb state of mind, I watched the current version of The Who do "Tommy."  I loved it. Not sure if it was due to the boredom of a long plane flight and being trapped in a confining coach seat on the airline, or that I just appreciated the entertainment wherever I can find it.   But it stayed with me until I went to a local record store.  It was a week ago that I bought a used copy of "Tommy" to re-introduce myself to the record without the cultural baggage that came with the rock n' roll opera.   It brought back my memory of being 15, and now I recall why I didn't like the album that much.

The music itself is brilliant.   There is not one bad tune on the entire album.  And I even love the Keith Moon song "Tommy's Holiday Camp" as well as the always brilliant composition by Entwistle "Do You Think It's Alright?"   What I do not like is the actual sound of the album itself.  My cultural hero Kit Lambert failed The Who in the sonic department.   The recording strikes me as a demo more than a finished recorded work.  A sketch when it needed a full oil-paint on a canvas.   Keep in mind that I love Lambert's production on all Who recordings that he worked on, except for the iconic "Tommy."    If I were a total lunatic, I would collect every recording of "Tommy" possible, and I may go down that dark and slippery slope shortly, but meanwhile, I think the best version of "Tommy" is the live recordings such as the longer version of "Live at Leeds."

The big primary question is "Tommy" good for rock n' roll or pop?  I don't have an answer for that.  For one, I have always seen the album as a work that is one whole and not separated by individual song tracks. Of course, this is not always the case by the artists in question.  Still, this is how I look at albums.  I rarely look at an album and go "that's a great song, but the rest...." I take the entire work as if it is (or was) a narrative novel.   There are economic reasons why albums exist, and the difference between the 45 rpm single and the 33 1/3 long player.   But when I play an album, I'm embracing the huge world that this 12" represents to me.   "Tommy" may be one of the first albums for me (as a teenager) that led to the bigger picture of how one approaches the album.  That, and "Sgt. Pepper" of course.

Robert Wyatt - "Different Every Time Volume 2: Benign Dictatorships" 2 x Vinyl, Compilation, 2014 (Domino)

Curated by Robert Wyatt, this is his second compilation of what he feels is his best work on the disc. The first volume was recordings under his own name, but here it is totally devoted to his collaborations with other artists.  Basically, he served on their recordings as a vocalist or even just a backup singer.  The thing is when Wyatt opens his mouth and he sings, he pretty much owns that tune.  It's not that he has the greatest voice on this planet, but as a vocalist, he's a unique presence, and in a manner, he reminds me of Chet Baker. Not that their voices are similar, but both are musicians who also sing.   

Of the seventeen songs here, I only know three songs.  They are Phil Manzanera's "Frontera," Nick Mason's "Siam," and one song under his name, but written by Elvis Costello and Clive Langer,  "Shipbuilding."  Beyond that, all the artists are basically unknown (except for Bjork, Hot Chip, and Epic Soundtracks - artists that I have heard of, but really don't know their music.)   Wyatt I think is moving out of his comfort zone, and that makes him an artist of importance.  He is an excellent collaborator.  I can't say I love every track, but all of them are at the very least interesting.  Special notice to his recording of John Cage's "Experiences No. 2" which was an early Obscure Records release.  

Egisto Macchi - "ll Deserto" 2 x Vinyl, Album, LP, Limited Edition, Reissue 1974/2016 (Cinedelic Records)

Egisto Macchi's "ll Deserto" is a masterpiece.  The orchestration of all four sides is one of quiet, but mixed in with real instruments such as 'maybe' a french horn, oboe, various orchestrational string instruments as well as percussion over an electronic hum that comes in and out of the mix.  "ll Deserto" is very much a sonic portrait of a North African desert, or at the very least a desert in one's imagination.  One wonders if Brian Eno heard this album before he made his ambient classic "Discreet Music," because in parts the music is very similar, if not in style, in the mood that carries the landscape.  

The white album cover is so minimal that it makes The Beatles White Album a complex design.  Yet the cover conveys the vastness of Macchi's music within its vinyl grooves.  Nine pieces are on this double album, and each one flows into the other as natural as the wind blowing across the white sands of a desert.  The rhythm conveys an African feeling and clearly not a Southwestern Desert in the United States.    The original edition of the album came out in 1974 on a small record label based in Florance Italy called AYNA.   Macchi did a lot of music for Music Libraries, which means it is used by a film producer to pick and choose their music if they need something cheaply or quickly for a scene in their film.   Macchi is very much a soundtrack composer, but in Library Music one can make their own soundtracks to fit their own mood.  In other words, the compositions can be experimental or groovy dance tune - nevertheless, it's an area of great experimentation.   

As mentioned, "ll Deserto" can easily fit into the ambient music world, but again, one marvel at the real instrumentation of actual instruments that is a great deal of the final sound.   The music is relaxing, but it has its quiet sinister qualities as well.  A beautiful album to reflect on one's daydreams. 

Joe Meek - "The Joe Meek Story" Compilation, 2 x Vinyl, LP, 1977 (Decca)

My first Joe Meek recording I have ever heard was The Honeycombs "Have I The Right," in 1964.  I was ten-years-old at the time, I knew nothing of the world of the record producer, or even aware of the identity of the songwriter.  I knew the artists that were The Honeycombs and they had a girl drummer.  Did I need to know more?  It wasn't until my year-long stay in Japan that I found a Joe Meek compilation at a swanky music store in Roppongi called 'The Wave.'  I was intrigued to hear more sounds similar to The Honeycombs, which from the very first time of the hearing, I was a life-long fan of that unique echo sound.  

Shortly I became a Meek addict, especially when I read his biography in various publications.  I have always had an interest in the Gay subculture in London, and Meek is a character that was very much part of that world.  Also the fact that he was insane and killed his poor landlady, and then committed suicide.  A tragic incident, but one can hear traces here and there in his recordings that expressed his interest in the after-life, UFOs, and perhaps hidden messages between men.  Meek, perhaps even more important, was a sonic genius.  Once you hear the sound of Meek, you will never forget it.

Over the years there have been numerous compilations on Meek's recordings, which in theory, is difficult to pull off, due to the fact that the record's ownership is often in question, due that Meek often licensed his recordings to other labels.   Therefore we have this Decca Records release "The Joe Meek Story" which is very good, but not complete by any means.  What excited me to have this record is to obtain Meek recordings that are not digitalized for the CD format.  It's not that difficult to find an original Meek production as a 45 rpm single, but locating vinyl compilation of his works is rather difficult.  Except for a handful of original vinyl releases, most of his work came out as singles. 

The plus side of the Meek compilations is that one comes upon a song or recording never released on another compilation.   I have at least 10 compilations of Meek's (all on CD) and often they don't repeat their songs/recordings.   "The Joe Meek Story" is missing some famous recordings, but it's the obscure tracks that I find totally fascinating and great.  Mike Barry and The Outlaws' (featuring Richie Blackmore on guitar) captures the essence of Meek's obsession with Buddy Holly as well as a weird outer-space version of Rockabilly.   Most of the songs here were written by Meek, and as a songwriter, he's never consistent.  But his productions never fail.  Someone like Phil Spector is more consistent with quality, but every Meek record has a tinge of weirdness or eccentricity.   Which is one of the reasons why I like to collect Meek, both on CD and more importantly on vinyl.  I feel each recording by this lunatic expresses a sense of hysteria and desire.  Meek was very much of his culture of the 1950s, that he rebelled against by becoming an independent producer with his own studio - mostly built by his own hands.  The majority of his work is from the early 1960s, yet there is something distant and far away from his music for that era.   He was an artist that wasn't attached to the times, compared to The Fab Four or the work of Andrew Loog Oldham.  Meek is or was very much an outsider artist.

"The Joe Meek Story" comes with fascinating liner notes.  A small biography as well as a breakdown of all the songs selected for this compilation.   The one odd thing is mentioning the suicide (not in detail), and staying away from the fact that he murdered someone before shooting himself in the head.   Art comes with darkness, like life itself. 

Catherine Ringer - "Ring n' Roll" Vinyl, 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, 2011 (Because Music)

These days when I think of the word France I immediately think of Catherine Ringer.   She and her late partner in crime, Fred Chichin were in Les Rita Mitsouko, not only the greatest band in France, but I think one of the great groups of the 1980s.  Chichin a great multi-instrumentalist and co-writer along with Ringer was a force of nature that couldn't fail to charm.  When I heard their album in Los Angeles at my friend's studio, I was seduced by the first song on side one.   Since the tragic passing of Chichin, I worried about what will happen to Catherine Ringer.   Worries are worries, but "Ring n' Roll" (released in 2011) is as great as any Les Rita Mitsouko album. 

Ringer has that 'it' quality that is difficult to define.  A great beauty, but the additional charm of her personality and force is breathtaking at times.   Beside Grace Jones, there is not another chic artist like Catherine.  She can walk into the room and transform it into another dimension.  So when she gets hold of a song, it's a wow moment.  On the most elementary level, I think of her as a French female Iggy Pop.   Another artist who has that 'it' quality that is hard to dispute or understand.  For one, Ringer knows how to rock.   As a singer, she can sing the most heartbreaking melody, but then in a flip of a coin, she can be hysterical.  Truly a star at its most glamorous and profound stature.  "Ring n' Roll" is 12 songs long and not a bump in the road for the entire album.  She works with RZA, Mark  Plati (one of David Bowie's great musicians), who I presume is her son, Rauol Chichin (on guitar), and a Japanese artist by the name of Coba.  Which funny enough the song, "Rendez-Vous" sounds like a Shibuya pop song from the 90s, but with Ringer bringing the music to a more textural level.  

Life cannot be a bowl of cherries for our Catherine, but when I listen to this album, I'm smiling from Side A to Side C (three-sided album).    The production (by Ringer, as well as RZA and Plati) is always a surprise, in that it follows the logic of one's imagination.   It has the Iggy "Lust for Life" zeal, but I feel Ringer takes it to the next level - a genius level.  One of the great artists of the 20th and 21st century.  

Japan - "Oil On Canvas" 2 X Vinyl, LP, Album, Live, 1983 (Virgin)

David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Richard Barbieri and Steve Jansen and on this album, guest guitarist from the country Japan is Masami Tsuchiya.  Not to be confused with the name of the band, which is Japan.  I loathe groups that name themselves after countries, cities or even states, but Japan is a different type of category.   As mentioned before in other of my writings, I have always felt Japan were influenced by Roxy Music, if not in style, in the music adventuresome of the Eno era of that band.   What I first thought was imitation, it eventually turns into originality.   I can't think of another group at the moment that had that odd journey to me.    I fell in love with Japan because of Mick Karn's darkened eyes and David Sylvian's mixture of preppy clothing and makeup.  Japan physically and musically changed in a rapid process from glam rock guys after that movement to a more spiritual and at times, border on a New Age aesthetic.  Sylvian and company have the good taste to go to the root of their obsessions.  Joseph Beuys, Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, and a Westerner's fascination with the Asian East.  That, in a nutshell, is Japan. 

One thing Japan never was, is an overnight sensation.  With the assistance from their (brilliant memoirist) Simon Napier-Bell, he engineered their changes and a darker melancholy into a salable hit in England and oddly enough, in Japan.   The band at the end of their career as a group worked out a sound that was minimal and ambient but still had a funk rhythm, with Sylvian sad sounding vocalizing.  The combination was hard for me to avoid, and I ended up purchasing not only their original albums but also all the 12" remixes and the very few b-sides.   "Oil On Canvas" was the last official release from Japan, and it's a live album.  

For the tour, they brought in Masami Tsuchiya, who was at the time, in a band called Ippu-do.   At the time that band sounded like a combination of Bill Nelson and Japan, so his guitar work, as well as his aesthetic (makeup), fitted perfectly in the Japan format and sound.  It's a shame that he never became a permanent band member for recordings.   Still, this is a live album that is not a museum nor a document of a live show.   Among the live recordings are three studio pieces.  "Oil on Canvas" (composed and performed by Sylvian, and very Satie sounding), "Voices Raised In Welcome, Hands Held in Prayer" (composed and performed by Sylvian and Jansen) and to finish off the album "Temple of Dawn" composed and performed by Barbieri.    It's interesting that these instrumentals are placed in the beginning, the end of side two, and the last is the finishing track on side 4.   All of them frame the live material in the sense that these pieces expose the musicians' interest and future, while the rest of the album is very much like the studio recordings.  The riffs are longer, and the songs are stretched out, but not that far from the studio work.   So like "Oil on Canvas" as you mix paint, it becomes something new or an added texture.  I think Japan was of that opinion in that line of thought as well.   I don't feel this album is a product but in actuality a statement of sorts.  The great painter, Frank Auerbach's work, is on the cover, and he's known for his portraits that merge from massive paint strokes.  

The classic Japan sound is really two instruments up front.  That is David Sylvian's voice and Mick Karn's fretless bass.  The rest of the instrumentation backs up those two sounds, and this is what makes Japan so unique and wonderful.  

LCD Soundsystem - "American Dream" 2 X Vinyl, LP, Album, 2017 (Columbia/DFA)

To be honest with you, I had a gut reaction or feeling about bands coming from the New York City area in the 21st century.   The feeling is, I've done that and been there.   When I read about bands like LCD Soundsystem, it didn't sound appealing.  Especially when its leader James Murphy started producing bands like Arcade Fire, which is not exactly a passionate love for me, but actually a band I can't stand.  Still, I wonder, is this more of a 'me' problem than an LCD Soundtrack problem.  Listening to their new album "American Dream," I have decided that I'm a music snob, and regional (not) sensitive.  But alas, I have the vinyl of this album, and I blasted it through my speakers, and it's... terrific.

First of all listening to this album, I think of Pulp, David Bowie (Lodger), Talking Heads (Remain in Light), and oddly enough Public Image Ltd.   So yes, in my first listening experience I'm playing the game of 'where have I heard this sound before?"   And it's true, Murphy is obviously a fan of all that I mentioned above, yet, is that a bad thing?   No.  

I can't speak for his other recordings, due that my prejudice stopped me from even hearing one note of the older material.  So "American Dream" is very much the only experience I have with LCD Soundsystem.   First off, this is a fantastic sounding record (on vinyl).   The mix and textures are superb, and Murphy's and the other's melodies are really good.  He doesn't do original, but what he does well is taste.  He has the 'taste' to capture moments from other bands and make it his own, in a fashion.   I do have this snob thing about originality, but fuck that.  I think I found a new category of music that's influenced and very much part of a music's history, but a new work.  It kind of reminds me of how David Sylvian in Japan adopted Erik Satie to one of his songs.  Murphy is smart, and as mentioned, he has a taste. 

The record is also analog-ish, and I suspect Murphy is an instrument junkie. One other thing, even though the inner sleeve shows all eight musicians, this album is basically all James Murphy playing most of the instruments, with maybe two others at a time, helping him out on the recordings.  Nevertheless, there is not a bad cut on the record.   "Call The Police," "American Dream," (especially this song) is good as one can get, and the last track is a sonic beauty "Black Screen" which I suspect is about Bowie's death.  The other groove like here is that three sides have the inner-groove (is that what it's called?) where the song keeps going.  Nice vinyl touch.   Great album. 

Sparks - "Hippopotamus" 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, 2017 (BMG)

Sparks equal perfection.   I can never fully understand how someone can write beautiful melodies and equally write words to these songs that fit perfectly, yet are jarring in their meaning and juxtaposition of the melody and lyric.  It's supernatural forces at work, yet, I do know them, and what they do is meet every day, except maybe on Sunday's, to work on their writing/recordings.   A lot of people do that, yet they come up with crap.  Sparks come up with works of genius.

"Hippopotamus" is a collection of songs, for whatever reason, I find moving. There's the humor, but it has a foundation in everyday life, and it reflects on the follies and disappointments that come with the world that we live in.  Russell Mael's singing/voice is the perfect instrument to Ron's words.  It is not only Russell's vocal abilities (which are great) but the knack to get into characters, and not come off as sounding cold, or smart-alecky.  There is a lot of soul in these set of songs by Sparks. 

The title song "Hippopotamus" is like a John Ashbery (or some other New York School of Poet) set to music.  Although nothing alike, the spirit is very modern with the ability to explore the potential of language.  Reading the lyrics to all the songs on this album is interesting because you can see the craft that is put into the works, and it doesn't lack passion, but the appreciation of the songwriting craft.   Bowie always struck me as a songwriter that is schooled in a craft, and that they are not only artists but incredible craftsman in their work.   Sparks is like a master shoemaker.  They know how to take your foot and measure it correctly to make one the perfect pair of shoes.  This whole album fits perfectly into my consciousness.  

My favorite cuts on this album are not the obvious great hits here, and there is plenty of that - but songs like "A Little Bit Fun" is a beautiful meditation on joy, fun, and love.  Its sentiment is simple, but with the minimal melody, psychedelic underneath texture, and Russell's tonality, it's a masterpiece.  I have a top ten Sparks fave list that keeps changing, but this song is on that list for sure, and not only that, I played this song six times in a row today!  "Life With The Macbeths" is another sonic beauty of a song.  A perfect closing to this album.    A humorous lyric, but the music is pure deadly.   Haunted melody; kind of perfect to play around 3 in the morning, and playing it loud.  

The single from this album should be a huge hit.  "Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me)" is a mood piece yet entirely in the pop format.  I wonder if a song with such feeling/wit, can ever truly be a hit. It's the album of the year, but even more important than those stupid ways of acknowledging an album's worth, this is a major work of art. 15 songs, not a weak link anywhere.   You can hang this album right next to "Mona Lisa."  - Tosh Berman

Olivier Messiaen - "Méditations sur le Mystère de la Sainte Trinité" 2 x Vinyl, Album, LP, 1974 (Musical Heritage Society)

I wanted to find the heaviest organ sounding album possible, and I believe I found it:  Oliver Messiaen's "Méditations" with him playing the organ at the Church of Sainte Trinité.  Messiaen is a composer that I know very little of but wasn't much of a laughing guy. This is meditation in the religious sense, where one focuses on the nature of a God in a church and reflecting on the offshoots of such a belief.  Think St. Thomas Aquinas. 

On the other hand, I get off on Messiaen's organ playing and the majestic overpowering sense of power out of his instrument and his skill as a composer.  It's not all bombast and power, there are quiet moments as well, but having this album in full volume is clearly a tunnel from one side (my home and turntable)  to God.