Billy Joel - Streetlife Serenade (LP, 1974)

While this is not technically Billy Joel's sophomore album, if you don't count Cold Spring Harbor (and I don't), then this is his second record. If nothing else it's his second major label release, and the one with which he had to attempt to follow up the success of Piano Man. Like any good artist, he was embittered by his fame and chose to test his new audience a bit.

This album's not off-the-wall weird by any means, but putting two instrumentals on the record (especially when one of them is the baffling "Root Beer Rag") is a gutsy move. "The Entertainer" lets us know exactly where Joel stands, with lyrics that don't even attempt to hide his anger at the music game. I love a good fed-up ballad, and this is a great one.

"Roberta" is a great song, a steady pop number that plays it straight and totally works. "Last of the Big Time Spenders" sounds like a song that was left off Piano Man, but the arrangement is much more filled out than anything on that record. "Weekend Song" is a weird working man's anthem that seems both completely fitting and completely uncharacteristic of Billy Joel. "Souvenir" is a fantastic two-minute ballad that's just Billy and his piano, and it's solid.

The best track here might be the opener. "Streetlife Serenader" rides a dark melody that is both angry and delicate, and then gets heavier when it needs to. A great song, and again, a glimpse of what Billy's building towards. Not his strongest record overall, but a solid one. It's always great to hear Billy Joel when he's a bit miffed.

Oh, and this song's a damn good one too:

"The Great Suburban Showdown"

Billy Joel - Piano Man (LP, 1973)

Wow, 1973. I always forget how old this record (and the beginning of Billy Joel's streak of hit songs) is. It seems more '78 to me for some reason.

Anyway, this isn't one of my favorite Billy Joel albums for a few reasons. (First, let me state that a mediocre 70's-era Billy Joel record is still way better than most things, so it's all relative.) Aside from the plucky opener "Travelin' Prayer," the overall sound is very static from song to song, with the piano never really changing in vibe or sound. It's not a bad thing, it just gives the impression of a live show, which may have been the point. I know that Joel wasn't anybody at this point, so it's not like they were laying out huge production budgets for him.

Regardless of the production, songs like "Captain Jack" and the title track just feel too anthemic and hammy for me. Conversely, "Ain't No Crime" seems like the precursor to later gems like "Big Shot," and "You're My Home" is like a peppier "Just the Way You Are." Both cool songs.

Maybe I just hate the song "Piano Man" so much that I am blind to the deeper cuts on this record and don't give them a listen often enough. Could be.

"You're My Home"

Jane's Addiction - Strays (CD, 2003)

You could tell just by looking at the cover that this was going to be a stinker. So hacky.

I don't remember buying this album, but I'm sure it was the result of holding out some misplaced hope that it was somehow going to be good, or that it would at least manage to recapture a tiny bit of the magic the band had left behind in the studio some 13 years prior. No dice. Listening to this today reminded me why I haven't listened to this CD at all in the last five years: it doesn't sound like Jane's Addiction. I should have known.

The absence of original bassist (and underrated songwriter) Eric Avery was the first tip-off that this might not have much of a shot, but of course he hadn't participated in any of the reunions up to this point, so it wasn't shocking that he didn't step up for this. The slickness of "Just Because," the first single, didn't do much for me at first, but underneath the shit guitar tones were some great melodies. But those guitars...

I almost wonder if the producer is as much to blame for the ass-rockisity of this album as the band is. The guitars are embarrassingly cornball, even by then-current Dave Navarro standards. If they were setting out to make a slick modern rock record, they pulled it off. And maybe that is what they were setting out to do. I just don't know who they thought would like it. I tried, but it made me feel sad and dirty.

So I gave up. But I still have it for some reason. Must be the completist in me.

Rule of thumb: if Entourage wants to use one of your songs for the theme to their show, you've made a serious, serious mistake somewhere. But, it's probably one of Navarro's favorite programs.

Bro.

"True Nature"

Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual (2xLP, 1990)

I've been listening to this record for the past few days, and I have to say: I forgot how good it is. I'm still not sure if it edges out Nothing's Shocking, but it's a close call. The band may have been in a drug-fueled netherworld of debauchery, but they managed to pull together some damn solid songs.

Again, the sequencing is dialed in. "Stop" had to be the opener, as it's just too frenetic not to be. A great song, with Farrell sounding as unhinged as ever. "Ain't No Right" is the other fantastic song from the first half of this record, with Stephen Perkins rumbling, tumbling, and never letting his spiral perm get in the way of all-out trap kit assault. "Obvious" and "No One's Leaving" are fine songs, but for some reason they never had much staying power with me. I had a great time listening to them today, but they're not the songs I think of when I think of this record.

The songs that immediately come to mind when I conjure up distant memories of this almost twenty-year-old (!) LP are "Three Days" and "Then She Did...," because I, like everyone else, am a sucker for Jane's at their self-indulgent and sprawling best. I've tried to convince myself that "Three Days" is a bloated wank-off, constructed by a band who was all too eager to believe their own hype, but I can't. It's the best song they ever wrote, and that's the reason why every Jane's fanboy has such a boner for it. It's three songs in one, features Navarro and Perkins going batshit awesome crazy, and also contains some of Farrel's best lyrics. The "All of us with wings" segment is unreal.

"Then She Did..." is just as good, but has the misfortune of coming right after "Three Days," so it seems more timid than it really is. And maybe it's not quite as epic as its predecessor, but it's a deceptively strong song with great lyrics. "Pulled from a headless shell/ That blinked on and off 'hotel'" is a brilliant couple of lines.

I always felt so spent after listening to these two songs in a row that "Of Course" and "Classic Girl" seemed like bonus tracks to me. "Then She Did..." has always struck me as the logical conclusion to this record, but that's probably because I never liked those songs as much and had a habit of skipping them. And they're not bad; they just don't have the same gut-wrenching effect as the two tracks before them.

Oh, and "Been Caught Stealing" is on this record, too. I don't even know what I think of that song anymore. I loved it in high school. And so did you. Don't deny it.

Can anyone pinpoint the exact moment when Dave Navarro went from being a stone cold badass to one of the hugest choads on the planet? It was sometime in between here and One Hot Minute...

"Stop"

Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (LP, 1988)

I used to get in fun-but-frustrating arguments with my friends about which Jane's Addiction album is the best. For me, it's between this one and their debut, but in the end, Nothing's Shocking probably takes it. This is Jane's at their peak, crashing in at a time when music like this wasn't being heard anywhere, let alone a major label. This record had to have been more popular two years after in came out than it was when it first hit shelves.

However, my first memory of it (and my first memory of the band) came from one of my friends showing me the cover to this CD (or it may have been the cassette) when I was at a party in 8th grade. That would have been '88 or '89, so I guess some people my age (though they probably had older brothers that hipped 'em to it) were down with this from the onset. I wasn't one of them. I bought this cassette used in 1990 and wore it out. I used to listen to "Summertime Rolls" over and over, because I found it mesmerizing and blissful in a way that only 14 year old can.

But, I also loved "Ted, Just Admit It..." (a harbinger of some of the more bloated tracks on their next LP) and the full-bore force of "Mountain Song" and "Ocean Size." "Standing in the Shower... Thinking" and "Idiots Rule" have, predictably, not aged too well, but "Had a Dad" still brings it. Again, the sequencing here is key. If "Up the Beach" would have been anywhere but first, it would have been a huge mistake. And "Summertime Rolls" does an incredible job of splitting the record in half. Listening to that track now, I remember why I liked it so much: it's the best song on the album, and some of the better lyrics Farrell ever wrote.

I just realized that my LP doesn't include "Pigs in Zen" on it. Guess I never knew that was a CD/cassette-only bonus track. But there you go. So, this one ends with "Thank You Boys...," which actually allows that song to serve its intended purpose in closing out the record. Makes sense.

A lot of Jane's Addiction fanboys will state with unbending fanaticism that "Ritual, bro" is the best album the group ever put together, and they could make a decent case for that argument, but really it's this one. Or at least that's the way I see it right now.

"Mountain Song"

Jane's Addiction - Jane's Addiction (LP, 1987)

Rarely has a band meant initially so much and eventually so little to me as Jane's Addiction.

Their first three albums are all fantastic, yet since they reunited 12 years ago, I've become completely soured on the whole idea, and especially Perry Farrell. Part of this is due to the fact that I went to see them on their first reunion tour, and it was terrible. They played for less than an hour, did no encore, and seemed to be going through the motions for most of the set. Considering what I paid for the ticket (I don't remember exactly how much, but around 30 bucks) and how far I traveled to see them (two hours), I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

I have utter disdain for the subsequent reunions for entirely different reasons, but I don't feel like spiraling downward into that diatribe. But I will say this: the Perry Farrel of the last 15 years or so strikes me as an egomaniac with nothing tangible to back up his own high opinion of himself, save the three great albums he made before the 90's even hit full swing. Hearing him say that the Jane's reunions are about anything other than money betrays the entirety of the characterization he's worked so hard to craft for himself: that of someone who gives a shit about, if nothing else, art. Check your ticket price the next time you go watch these guys lumber through songs that are way past their prime and ask yourself if you feel he's held himself true to any of that.

Wow, I got a little worked up there. But here's why: when you're a teenager and you hear a song like "Pigs In Zen" for the first time, it really gets into you. Jane's Addiction was a band like no other at the time. They dressed glammy/gothy, seemed both strung-out and ready to surf, and didn't sound like anything else that was around at the time. Their disparate influences certainly can account for most of their unlikely chemistry, but there was such an urgency to all of it that you never felt the need to pick it apart. It was just great. And indescribably exciting.

By releasing their first record as a (mostly) live album, they must have intended to replicate some of their rawer energy on wax. It works. This record is as good as the two that follow it, and at times, better. It bears mentioning that they did a fantastic job in sequencing this bad boy. Putting "Trip Away" anywhere else but first would have been a huge mistake, as would relegating "I Would for You" to anywhere but closing out the first side. Also, putting the two cover songs together might seem to be a dicey prospect on paper, but it works really well here for some reason. It almost seems like a momentary diversion; the section where they pay some tribute.

While "Whores" is a great song to follow the opener, it's "Pigs In Zen" that really breaks things wide open. This is better than the version that ended up on Nothing's Shocking, mostly because Farrell sounds more enthused and Dave Navarro's guitar feels terrifically ragged. One of the band's best songs. "1%" and "My Time" seem to be some of the more forgotten Jane's Addiction songs, but they fit into this collection nicely. "Jane Says" was great the first 2500 times I heard it, but I lost interest after that.

"Chip Away" is a clamoring mass of drums and reverb, and is the song I always think of when I see the cover of this record. Probably the weirdest song they ever did, and the "We both wore dirty faces" bit is brilliant. So are Navarro's butt-rawk wankings all over the end of it.

I don't know if this album has aged well or if it just provides me with fond memories of being young and stoned, but it still sounds great to me. It also probably helps that I haven't listened to it in about five years. Whatever works.

"Trip Away"

Jacksons - Victory (LP, 1984)

This will be the only Michael Jackson-related album I cover in this blog, as it's the only one I own at the moment. Like most people my age, I grew up with a copy of Thriller in the house, and oddly enough, I kept thinking a few months back that I should probably have one around. Now the prices are all jacked up (Everyday Music is selling used copies of the LP for 30 bucks, the assholes) and I'll just have to wait a year or two until the demand drops back to an acceptable level. Anyway.

The timing of this entry does strike me as a bit noteworthy. If I had knocked this one out before I took my break, I certainly wouldn't have had MJ on the brain in the same way that we've all been forced to since his death five weeks ago. More importantly, I wouldn't be able to mention that opportunists are trying to sell copies of this record for $1000 on eBay presently. (But, hey: free shipping!) I must have really lucked out when I paid a dollar for mine... Regardless, MJ's passing hasn't swayed my opinion of this record for better or for worse. I've always liked it, and I probably always will.

Without diving too deep into the discography of Michael Jackson, I do know that this was released between Thriller and Bad, and I recall it coinciding with a huge tour and a slew of Pepsi commercials. My parents bought this record because, like the rest of the world, they were jonesin' for some new Michael. What they got were a few tracks from MJ and some solo jams from the rest of the Jacksons. Calling this a group effort is slightly misleading, as a lot of the tracks come across as solo songs by one Jackson with the others adding backing tracks. However you want to look at it, this is a sweet pop album. Very 1984, very dated sounding now, and each song is a solid five minutes, which seems a bit much in a few cases. Who cares. It's the Jacksons for chrissake.

"Torture" is the first track, clearly the single, and it was written by Jackie but performed my Michael and Jermaine. This is really the only track on which you can distinctly hear Jermaine, though I think he does background vocals on a few others. A solid song that features some wild synth effects.

"Wait" is another Jackie-penned number, and this time he does the vocals. It's a bouncy pop number that is mad catchy and slick as all get-out. Michael ad-libbing at the end is awesome.

"One More Chance" is Randy's solo number, starting with a sweet synth groove that leads into some slightly standard soft rock. This one's for the ladies.

"Be Not Always" is pure Michael, and it's one of the most fragile and delicate songs in the history of the world. If you can stick with it and hold out while it builds, it pays off. This is the MJ I prefer to remember. No one ever questioned his singing ability, but if you need a reminder of his versatility, it's right here.

I still can't fathom why Michael and Mick Jagger didn't film a video for "State of Shock." The lyrics are flat-out terrible, but the song itself should have been a classic duet. Great guitar, great sound effects, it's all there. Apparently there's a version with Freddie Mercury floating around somewhere.

"We Can Change the World" is Tito's time to shine, and as usual, he blows it.

"The Hurt" was written by Randy & Michael and features Randy in falsetto mode, which mostly works. The verses aren't super strong, but the song builds nicely and gets shit going towards the end.

"Body" is a strange choice for the last song on the album, as it's one of the poppier cuts and stronger than the two songs that precede it. Not the most groundbreaking song in the world, but a guilty pleasure if there ever was one. Pure Marlon.

Another thing I came across while lazily researching this record: the original cover art features a white dove on Randy's shoulder, though it's removed from almost all of the covers that are out there. Wikipedia says that early copies feature the cover with the dove intact, but the only ones I can find that have it are the picture discs. Hmmm.

"Body"