Big Country - The Crossing (1983)

 I’ve been so wrapped up in finishing my own album that I am only now finally getting in the first spin of ‘24. Of course it has to be a big one. 

The Crossing is an album that I have heard at least 5000 times and yet I am still always transported back to my very first spin. Literally everything I had ever looked for in a band was combined into this unique Scottish megabeast and, to this day, Big Country remains one of my favorite bands of all time - every album, every b-side, every archive track has its claws deep in my soul and Stuart Adamson lives on within the fabric of my own songwriting. While I have since come to appreciate their second album, Steeltown, even more than the first, The Crossing is no doubt one of the greatest debut albums from any band ever and it really should have been a much bigger deal. Everyone should know this album and this band. 

This being my first spin of the year is especially significant in that I will be finally visiting Scotland in 2024. My ancestral homeland, it has been high on my list forever and I am beyond psyched to finally make it. This album just pumps me up even more. I will be spinning their discog a lot.

Sloan: Alive & Alright (2023)

 Cracking live set from one of my favorite bands of all time, performing one of their greatest albums live in front of a tiny crowd on a sound stage, back in 2000. The tracks are delivered slightly out of order, and there is one extra song, but this is still an outstanding account of Sloan’s powers as a live band.

Guided By Voices: Cool Planet (2014)

 The 6th and final album of the reunion era, Cool Planet might not be as immediate as some of the earlier ones but there are still several great tracks here. The best are from Tobin Sprout, who offers up several gems including “All American Boy” and “Narrated By Paul” (among others). The rest of the album is dominated by Bob Pollard and it does not sound too far off from his solo work of the time. While it can be argued that he saved his best songs for those solo albums but there are still many fantastic tracks here, including “Males Of Wormwood Mars” and “Table At Fool’s Tooth”. 

By this point, Kevin Fennell had been sacked and replaced by former/future GbV drummer, Kevin March, so the whole “classic lineup” thing was kaput. There must have been other issues with the lineup as, a few months after this album the band abruptly split. Tours were cancelled and the bridge was burned. Sad but that reunion had never been expected in the first place, so every song and album was a gift. 

Within three years of that split, a new GbV came into being and has since, without any lineup changes, has since released sixteen albums (we’ll talk about those later).

Guided By Voices: Motivational Jumpsuit (2014)

 This 5th reunion era album was the one that always seemed to elude me, until this week, and I may be hearing this for the first time ever. As with all of the albums from this era (or any era really), there are a lot of really killer tracks (including some fantastic Tobin Sprout offerings) and a lot that don’t really differentiate from other tracks from this period. That said, this album is remarkably consistent and I am very glad to finally welcome it to the collection.

Guided By Voices: English Little League (2013)

 The 4th album to come from the reconstituted GbV came only 15 months after the first but there still was no shortage of material and ideas. As always, some of it is classic GbV and some of it is way left field. At the time I felt it was getting to be too much and it all started to blend together, and guess I kinda feel that way still but, considering how that story unfolded (and continues to), hindsight and distance has given this album identity and purpose. So long as you have that then I guess you’re okay. There would be another album around the corner anyway….

Guided By Voices: Down At The Racetrack (2013)

 In the midst of the deluge of albums and singles to come during the reunion era came this six track EP that harkens back to their early ’90s releases such as The Grand Hour, Get Out Of My Stations, Static Airplane Jive, etc. Solid little record.

Guided By Voices: Class Clown Spots A UFO (2012)

 Proving that Let’s Go Eat The Factory was no fluke, the reconstituted Guided By Voices bounded back five months later with this set which is one of the best of this era. This one just hits, right and left. It’s a bit more obtuse than Factory, but also a bit more consistent. “Keep It In Motion” is a killer single and the title track is just one of the best GbV tracks ever.