Week 6

Patronage is defined as the financial support or business provided to a store. This week I visited Nice Price Books (both the Carrboro and Durham branches), Chaz's Bull City Records, and CD Alley. The financial support came mainly via me relieving them of several vinyl records. Stephen Stills and Aerosmith releases seemed constitute the majority of my purchases, but Beethoven, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, & The Band were included. Yes, if it hasn't already been stated enough, this music obsession appeals to my addictive nature. As one person stated, there are certainly worse things to be addicted to. Without further ado, on to this week's set (2/8-2/14):

Jeff Beck Group - Beck-Ola (vinyl)
Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey And The GrooGrux King
The Lemonheads - Car Button Cloth
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cardinology
The Casual Fiasco - Casual Fiasco, The
Jupiter Coyote - Cemeteries And Junkyards
John Fogerty - Centerfield
Chickenfoot - Chickenfoot
Guns N' Roses - Chinese Democracy
Christina Aguilera - Christina Aguilera
Lenny Kravitz - Circus
Mounatin - Climbing!
Grand Funk Railroad - Closer To Home
Led Zeppelin - Coda
Kid Rock - Cocky
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses

This week began with a large flavor for indie bands. The Lemonheads were surprisingly very good. The first time I listened I wasn't sure if I liked them. That was nearly a year ago and this time through it hit me right. Jupiter Coyote's Cemeteries And Junkyards marked the 100th album of my listening project. The Casual Fiasco is no longer together, but some of their former members have kept their careers going. Been meaning to check them out - no time like the present. There is one album in this week's set that doesn't fit. Let's play "One of these things is not like the other". Please feel free to comment, but realize that just because I have certain music doesn't necessarily mean I consider it my style. Moving On!!

Ryan Adams - not to be confused with Bryan Adams -  who hails from Jacksonville, NC has released nearly every song he has written this decade. Some of his solo work is less-than-ordinary, but Cold Roses and Cardinology with The Cardinals contains some of the finest alt-country work recorded. Each album is a solid collection with no tracks that need skipping. Cold Roses is my favorite of the two albums.

Grand Funk Railroad's album Closer To Home is one of my all-time favorite albums, which is why I added it to my growing vinyl collection during this week's shopping spree.. We're An American Band is the band's most well known single (from the album with the same title), but their best selling album is Closer To Home. While the entire album is solid, the first 4 tracks are the highlight. Nothing Is The Same was how I learned about this album, through seeing Rose Hill Drive cover it many times. "When something keeps right on knocking, well my friend you better let it in". Let this album in and you won't be disappointed.

Mississippi Queen might be the only song many people know by Mountain, but this band made plenty of great music beyond that one hit. In fact, when Mountain performed at Woodstock in '69 that song wasn't even in rotation. The Woodstock performance was actually only the band's 4th live performance. When mentioning the great classic rock bands from the 60's and 70's Mountain and GFR are often overlooked  which is a shame. These two bands had a large influence on the music during that era and both of these albums are prime examples why.