Crack The Sky: Raw (1986)

 Found in the wild yesterday, at Ka-Chunk Records, in Annapolis MD (a very cool spot). At this point CTS was reduced to a duo, with John Palumbo handing most of the instrumentation. A lot of this album really does reflect the sound of the 1986 this was recorded in, while other bits have an almost timeless quality. As with every one of their albums, most of the songs are serious and sometimes a bit heavy in the lyrical department, but there is always one song that’s really fucking dumb (but still kickass). This time we get “Elvis Was My Daddy!” which is really loud and ridiculous but also features some serious shredding by lead guitarist Jamie LaRitz. 

While this album may come nowhere close to what came before or after, it is still an intriguing & entertaining set and a most worthy part of this band’s legacy (as well as my collection).

Guided By Voices: Self Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (1988)

 This third GbV album, from 1988, is where things began to get a bit weird, in all good ways. The debut EP and first two albums had already established that Bob could write great songs. Now it was time to turn it on its side. Things got a bit more lo-fi, songs were included that did not have hooks, and so many were disjointed and totally out there. As usual, however, there are earworms everywhere. “Liar’s Tale” is one of the greatest songs Bob ever wrote, as is the absolutely ferocious “Chief Barrel Belly”. Steve Wilbur’s guitar work on “An Earful O’ Wax” is one of the most kickass things to appear on a GbV record. “The Great Blake Street Canoe Race” is about as perfect an example of the early GbV sound as can be found, as is “Short On Posters”.

Most bands use their third album to expand upon what they’ve learned from the first two, and to really establish an identity as a band. Sometimes it’s met with great success (U2, The Police, Yes, Metallica) and sometimes not so (Rush, REM, Led Zeppelin, Pavement). This album is a little bit of both, which works to its advantage. Some songs hit you right where you need it, some leave ya scratchin’ yer head. 

Self-Inflicted Aeriel Nostalgia is the album where GbV truly became GbV. They would only get weirder and more lo-fi from here, but would also deliver their most classic and revered works. This album joins Mag Earwig, Universal Truths And Cycles, and Please Be Honest as crucial pivot points in this band’s vast discography. 

Kudos to Scat for these reissues. They look and sound fantastic and are so great to have in my collection (without the exorbitant price tag). Devil Between My Toes and Sandbox have already come out and are great and I look very forward to Same Place The Fly Got Smashed and (🤞) Forever Since Breakfast. Until then, I will spin the hell out of this.

The Mothers Of Invention: Just Another Band From LA (1972)

 I know I just spun this the other day but now that we are going through the discog, it gets other go. Such brilliance. “Billy The Mountain” is the pinnacle of the Flo & Eddie lineup and it never gets old.

Frank Zappa: Chunga's Revenge (1970)

 Another from yesterday’s haul. I’ve owned this on CD for ages but maybe only listened to it once or twice. This is a cool album that clearly points the way towards Zappa’s ‘70s output. This is also the first to feature Flo & Eddie, whose vocal interplay defined the second Mothers lineup, as well as the first appearance of “Sharleena”.

The Mothers Of Invention: Fillmore East June 1971 (1971)

 

This was one of the first Zappa records I bought, back in ‘93 or so (which I actually picked up so I could hear “Peaches en Regalia”, after seeing Phish cover it). The kid who bought this record could never have been prepared for the monster that purchase would create. Thirty years later I am still digesting this catalogue. 

While I can’t be certain if this was my first Zappa encounter, it was definitely my introduction to the Flo & Eddie incarnation of the Mothers, of which this is a pristine example. “Billy The Mountain” may be this lineup’s pinnacle but the whole “Mud Shark” narrative is where this lineup found its purpose

Frank Zappa: Hot Rats (1969)

 

Since I’m spinning Zappa, I can’t skip this old friend. Frank’s guitar on “Son Of Mr. Green Jeans” is one of the greatest things ever..

The Mothers Of Invention: Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970)

 

The fifth Mothers album is this cobbled-together collection of outtakes and stitched-up scraps, issued after the original band split, organized into a super solid set that is both totally original and yet unmistakably The Mothers. “Little House I Used To Live In” is epic, and “Holiday In Berlin” is a classic as well. As with so many Zappa albums, you can savor the tracks on their own but this is definitely best taken as a whole. 

I’ve owned this on CD for decades but I’m not sure I ever dug too deeply into it. This is the third of seven Zappa titles that I snagged from Dig! yesterday, in Leesburg VA, and I am very glad to add this one and better connect with it.