Week 9

Man am I slacking on this project. Keeping the momentum and finding the time to write has turned out to be harder than I expected. I have yet to finish my Ray Bradbury book, but I am trudging slowly through the pages as time permits. The old adage holds true - "Sometimes life gets in the way of living". I keep reminding myself that the reason I am doing this is to broaden my musical horizons, while along the way educating myself and perhaps others. On with the show (3/1-3/7):

Buddy Guy - Damn Right I've Got The Blues
Michael Jackson - Dangerous
Nickelback - Dark Horse
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town
DAUGHTRY - Daughtry
David Gilmour - David Gilmour
Metallica - Death Magnetic
Rolling Stones - December's Children
Gov't Mule - Deep End Vol. 1, The
Gov't Mule - Deep End Vol. 2, The

Buddy Guy's resume is an impressive one, but not just because who he's played with. Even more impressive is the list of artists he has influenced - Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Angus Young, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I had the joy of seeing him play at the Bull Durham Blues Festival at the old Durham Athletic Park (DAP). Buddy paid tribute during segments of the show to Jimi and SRV, as well as many other guitarists, by jamming and playing solos in the style that those guys played. It was one of the best nights in music even though Buddy never actually played an entire song that I can remember. It was a jam session with a lot of musical knowledge thrown in, but no one seemed to mind, self included. Damn Right I Got The Blues is full of straight-ahead blues tunes done only the way a legend can. Damn right this Guy can play!!

Michael Jackson may have been a bit of an (cough)..."unusual person", but that doesn't mean he didn't make a huge impact on the musical landscape. I can't say that I admire the person, but I like the music. Dangerous is one of his finest albums, not only because it is full of good tunes, but because it features Slash on two tracks - Black Or White and Give In To Me. This is the album Mike decided to leave behind long-time producer Quincy Jones. The album has more edge than his earlier pop releases (of course it has SLASH - Duh!) It had been a long time since I last listened to this album in it's entirety. I was pleasantly reminded how good it is. RIP one-gloved one!

Nickelback is one of my favorite bands, but Dark Horse was a big letdown in my eyes. The album seemed a bit forced and too formula driven. I actually liked Daughtry's debut release better even though the albums differ very little. The difference is that Daughtry was the first pass of an American Idoler, while Nickelback is deep into their career without showing any huge signs of musical or lyrical growth. The album isn't bad, but I would certainly recommend many of their earlier releases over this one. All The Right Reasons is my personal favorite.

The conversation topic, "If you were stranded on an island and could only have 10 albums to listen to what would you pick?", recently came up and got me pondering. First, I never consider compilations in this discussion and second picking 10 is darn near impossible. However, I know Dark Side Of The Moon would make the cut. The album is epic, full of multi-layered sounds/genres, never dull, and contains some sweet tunes. A few years ago I did my own search into the myth about the connections made between The Wizard Of Oz and Dark Side Of The Moon. The term is known as synchronicity and fans labeled the "connection" Dark Side Of The Rainbow. Members of Pink Floyd have gone on record numerous times denying the connection. It's all basically coincidence, or if you think really hard a bunch of stoned/high fans with way too much time on their hands. Back to the point - this album never gets old to me. Each listen feels like the first which is why it would make it on my island list. The flow of this album is like a musical journey that takes your mind to another place and time, but not sure exactly where. By the end of this project I am going to complete the 'Top 10 Island List'. No doubt it will be tough, but I have already covered two other albums in strong contention - Beggar's Banquet and Appetite For Destruction.

Metallica's Death Magnetic brought the guitar solo back to the fore-front in their music and reminded us all that Kirk Hammett can shred. I stated in earlier posts that AC/DC's Black Ice and Death Magnetic were highlights in 2008 music for me. Both bands went back to old formulas without making a boring repetitive album (see above). There is not one bad track on this album. My favorite being The Day That Never Comes, which clocks in at a staggering 7:56. Actually, the shortest track on the album is 5:01 with the longest reaching 9:57. Also of note, the famed producer Rick Rubin was brought to guide the train.

The two volume set laid out by Gov't Mule, The Deep End, was a tribute to lost bassist Allen Woody. Both volumes feature a who's who of bassists, which were Woody's favorites. The list includes -  Jack Bruce of Cream, John Entwistle of The Who, Mike Watt of Minutemen, Les Claypool of Primus, Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Chris Squire of Yes in addition to others. It speaks volumes to how good Woody was that Gov't Mule called out to these guys and they said yes. It also means that both volumes are never boring as each bassist contributes a little different approach making this album truly unique. The constant is still the heralded playing of frontman/guitarist Warren Haynes and drummer Matt Abts. I prefer Vol. 1, but both are full of gems and should not be overlooked. My favorite track from either album is the Allman Brothers tune penned by Haynes - Soulshine.