Tom Waits, Small Change (side A)

1976's Small Change has long been acknowledged as the classic of Waits's early work, so it's hard to add too much new about the album. Bones Howe's recording sounds great, particularly on the vocals and bass. Shelley Manne was of course a great drummer, and string arranger Jerry Yester's history has now been well-documented by Richie Unterberger. Small Change deserves its reputation as a classic.

Gary Higgins, Red Hash (CD)

This introverted private-press folk LP from 1973 has a coterie of die-hard fans, who are generally super wise musicians and record collectors. While I like Red Hash and appreciate the 2005 CD reissue, I don't count myself among the die-hard. There are some incredibly beautiful songs here, especially the opener "Thicker than a Smokey" and "I Pick Notes from the Sky", but I find the rest of the album less consistent. The vocals don't sound great on the obviously low-budget recording, and they're buried lower in the mix than I'd like to hear them (Higgins has a cool, distinctive vocal style, but the takes here aren't always special). The remaster doesn't much help the vocals (it does make the guitars sound nice) and the bass frequencies feel uneven here.

Great Lakes, Great Lakes (side A)

I worked with Ben on the latest Great Lakes record (Ways of Escape), so I'm obviously biased here. Great Lakes' self-titled debut, from 2000, dates from the era when they were still based in Athens GA, and it proudly sports a tiny Elephant 6 logo on the back. Great Lakes features a cast of the group's neighbors and peers, and the resulting sound is dense and energetic, with a bit of a carnival-like air. The packaging is similarly vibrant, though I didn't follow the directions to cut up the insert, and the mastering is a bit present and bright.

Sonic Youth, Evol (CD)

While I don't count myself among the legion of die-hard Sonic Youth fans, it's impossible to ignore the group's importance and impact. 1986's Evol defined the future of the group, and I consider it Sonic Youth's definitive statement that they've tried to emulate ever since. It's the first time that melody and concepts of pop music really came to the fore (probably too much so on "Bubblegum"), and, despite its inconsistency, it features some of their best songs. While in the years since, they've moved to a more precious and delicate recording quality, Evol retains more of the primitive punk-like sound of their early years. For me, it's the record that comes the closest to justifying the band's cult-like following.

Mengelberg/Lacy/Lewis/Gorter/Bennink, Change of Season (side A)

Two years after they played Monk and Nichols tunes on Roswell Rudd's Regeneration LP, Mengelberg/Bennink/Lacy teamed up again to make Change of Season—7 Herbie Nichols tunes with Mengelberg as the nominal leader (it probably makes more sense to have a pianist the leader for a Nichols set than a trombonist). Change of Season is mostly a straight reading of the tunes, far closer in style to Regeneration than to 1987's Two Programs, where Mengelberg and Bennink radically rework Monk and Nichols tunes with their ICP Orchestra. The strangest thing for me is the contrast between the modern production style, with the bass and drums prominent, against the faithful performances of 1950s tunes. Hints of 30 years of freedom and evolution turn up, for example in the solos on "Hangover Triangle". The record mostly features great players paying fairly literal tribute to Nichols's work, which, despite its relative accessibility, remains overlooked 25 years after this LP came out. The cover art neither relates to nor flatters the music inside, and Arjen Gorter's first name is misspelled on the front cover.

Sandy Denny, Who Knows Where the Time Goes? (side C)

This crazy 4-LP set from 1985 collects a bit of everything from Sandy Denny. There's no effort for historical or thematic unity—the sequencing seems to move in a more stylized fashion, which emphasizes her beautiful voice as it lives in different contexts. The recordings sound consistently great, whether from John Wood and Jerry Boys or BBC staff engineers (about 1/4 of the set is outtakes and alternate versions), and the mastering job is excellent (though the vinyl itself of my 1991 reissue pressing occasionally seems a bit rougher in quality). The booklet and photos are tastefully assembled with detailed credits and lyrics where they could be published, and they even credit Ed Haber! Who Knows Where the Time Goes does a great job of capturing the beauty of Sandy Denny's recordings and performances.

The Byrds, Mr. Tambourine Man (side A)

The classic albums are always the hardest to write about. 1965's Mr. Tambourine Man is full of memorable hits, including Dylan covers, Gene Clark's unforgettable "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better", and their beautiful version of Pete Seeger's "Bells of Rhymney". The front cover fish-eye photo is striking and memorable, even if the back cover text is dated. Michael Clark was a great drummer, but was mixed too quietly by even the most modest of contemporary standards.

Warn Defever, I Want You to Live 100 Years (CD)

His Name is Alive can be hard to track through Warn's stylistic twists and turns, and 1998's I Want You to Live 100 Years is certainly an odd and surprising curve. Warn sings primitive songs of guitar, piano, and vocals with a vaguely country/old-fashioned blue-collar bent, combined with a bit of his indie-rock personality that comes through. It's mostly very narrowly filtered to sound like a telephone or old wire recorder, but once in awhile some hints of modern fidelity do come through. His vocals sound stylized to a point where his voice is hard to recognize, and there are a couple of (what seem to be) found recordings thrown in. The blurry cover photo reflects the old-fashioned side, while the fonts and design tie more to the indie rock side of the album.

Pretty Things, Parachute (side A)

Rock music changed a lot from 1968 to 1970, and the Pretty Things changed with it. 1968's SF Sorrow is still part of the hippie era, but by 1970, Parachute had moved away. There is less of an emphasis on catchy melodies and more on ensemble interplay. Parachute and Alice Cooper's Easy Action (also from 1970) feel like siblings, with some heavy playing (far beyond that of SF Sorrow) featured among some diverse stylistic leaps. My copy appears to be a vinyl bootleg, but the sound quality is not particularly bad for such an unauthorized pressing—it does preserve the original gatefold packaging.

The Great Lost Brew Wave (CD)

Regional US compilations were a small phenomenon in the late-70s and early-80s—English session keyboardist Morgan-Fisher even parodied them with his Hybrid Kids LP. The classic of the genre, in retrospect, is probably Bloomington, IN's Red Snerts. While The Great Lost Brew Wave is not quite as diverse or remarkable, it might be remembered in a comparable light had it been completed and released 1982, rather than lying dormant until 1997 (with a few bonus tracks added from the original compilation). While the bands on this compilation have generally been forgotten, Milwaukee had developed an impressively fertile music community. Kevn Kinney from the Prosecutors later moved to Athens GA to form Drivin n Cryin, who had a moment of fame from their R.E.M. connection. Plasticland are remembered by psych-revival fans, and the Oil Tasters' material was finally and deservingly reissued by Australia's Lexicon Devil label. Many of the other bands fall into a power-pop or pop-punk genre, yet the compilation manages to maintain diversity, and it's a fun listen.

dirtmusic, dirtmusic (CD)

dirtmusic is a trio of Chris Eckman (Walkabouts), Hugo Race (Bad Seeds), and Chris Brokaw (Come, many other bands). 2007's dirtmusic is their debut CD, and a follow-up came out in 2010. It's a mostly laid-back acoustic album, with minimal percussion and no drums. The songwriting and guitar playing talents of these 3 seasoned veterans easily comes through, and some of the songs are quite engaging. At other times, the arrangements seem a bit awkward, like the then-new group was still learning to collaborate with enough space for everyone's talent and personality to come through. I've been a Walkabouts fan for years and have a bit of a soft spot for Chris Eckman's vocal style. The sound is clean and tasteful, if a bit modern and bright for my taste in folk-y music.

Roxy Music, Stranded (side A)

After Brian Eno's departure, Roxy Music took a distinct turn in a more approachable direction. While there are some really strange parts on Stranded (1973), with very abstract solos in extended instrumental sections, the strong personality that often emerges as a leader is Brian Ferry. His theatric/cabaret influences are far more notable here than on their first two albums. The production also emphasizes the vocals in very clean mixes, and lead instruments are often brought to the front in instrumental sections—it's a leap from the more ensemble-focused sound of the earlier albums. Stranded defies the unfortunate modern convention to front-load albums, with "A Song for Europe" and "Mother of Pearl" near the end.

Rocket from the Tombs, The Day the Earth Met the... (side C)

Rocket from the Tombs have been incredibly well-documented as the band that birthed both Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys. It's really nice, long after the bootleg vinyl went out of print, that this double-LP from 2002 finally collected what little recorded legacy the band had. As a reissue of such an important band, The Day the Earth Met... is a great document, but could be even better. The mastering is a bit overly present (even acknowledging the inadequate source tapes), and the cover design has little relation to the music inside. The music reissued here is, of course, timeless, with formative versions of classics like "Ain't it Fun" and "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" alongside Stooges and Velvets covers, plus a few songs that would otherwise be lost.

The Dream Syndicate, The Day Before Wine and Roses (CD)

Radio gigs are typically primitive recordings—this one is no exception, and it could probably have been mastered better. The Day Before Wine and Roses, recorded in 1982 and released properly in 1995, captures the Dream Syndicate in their peak form (right around the same time that Dennis Duck recorded Look to This with the Doo-Dooettes, strangely enough). There are excellent covers from Dylan, Donovan, and Neil Young, plus high-energy, full-on performances of some of the Dream Syndicate's early classics. Both the classic covers and the originals display the obvious influence of punk/new-wave—the Dream Syndicate merged their influences seamlessly. It's a great reissue, despite the arbitrary image chosen for the cover.