Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern... 2xLP

Key Systems (2022, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Despite this album coming out in 1991, right in the thick of my obsession with hip hop, Freestyle Fellowship is a group that I only ever knew the name of back then.  They were rumored to be extremely innovative MCs and I'm pretty sure I read about them in The Source, but I don't believe I ever saw them on Yo! MTV Raps and I definitely don't remember their CDs being around at the time.

So, these guys are another group that I've come to after the fact, trying to find some new-to-me sounds that take me back to the golden era.  It's something of a mixed bag.  As a whole I like the album and liked it enough to buy the newly reissued 2xLP of this album as well as the recent reissue of their second record as well.  The lyrics are strong and they are certainly innovative in a left-of-center kind of way.  

Each of the various members has a unique flow and they pile words and rhymes on top of each other.  Their styles are more complicated than even some of the most tongue twisting Hieroglyphics songs, but the downside is I don't find them as catchy or as memorable.  In a lot of ways it feels complex just for the sake of being complex rather than elevating the proceedings in a meaningful way.

I think if the beats were a little stronger it would probably help things out.  Don't get me wrong, they're perfectly serviceable and pretty strong in places, but they don't stand out in a way that a group that's hanging their hat on their inventiveness probably should.  This probably sounds like a lot of complaints about an album that I actually like quite a bit.  I think that more than anything the reality of the album didn't quite live up to the hype I'd created in my head for Freestyle Fellowship.  I had built them up in a mythical way and the reality is that they're a good group with a good record.  And that should be enough.

Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern...:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_ml7t7gdmapDMVn6WZRrkc-ZxVxTj3Sp5E

 

Swami John Reis - Ride The Wild Night LP - Green Vinyl & Black Vinyl (/200)

Swami (2022)

I think you can be a casual or occasional reader of this website and still ascertain pretty quickly that I'm moderately obsessed with every band that John Reis has been involved in over the years.  From Rocket From The Crypt to Drive Like Jehu to Hot Snakes to Sultans to Night Marchers to Pitchfork to Plosivs and every weirdo one-off done in between, I collect them all and I listen to them pretty constantly.  I've said recently that his music has simply made my life better and I'm grateful for all of the noise he's put out into the world.

This record is somewhat different.  It's the first time he's released an album exclusively under his own name (there were other projects with Blind Shake and Metz, but those band names were part of the titles for those releases).  I can't imagine that anyone who likes John's other bands wouldn't like this.  There's definitely similarities in song structure and feel.  But it's also different in that the bones of these songs are mostly built around an acoustic guitar and piano. 

That doesn't mean that John has gone troubadour and has made a quiet singer-songwriter record.  The acoustics provide the foundation, but there's electric guitar, some synth and an upbeat rhythm section that keeps everything definitely in the same punk-adjacent wheelhouse that most of John's other work also resides.  He has a sound that's really distinct and I can always hear the common thread from band to band even when the singers change and the tangents veer into different directions.

There are two versions of the record.  The standard version available in stores is on green vinyl.  The limited version is the one on black vinyl, in this case limited to 200 copies and only sold via the Swami webstore.  This isn't the first time the black one is the limited one.  It's funny to me since usually people put the premium on the colored vinyl, but I always enjoy the chase.

No surprise, but I love this record.  In particular the title track, "When I Kicked Him In The Face" and "Days Of Auld Lang Syne" are the songs that stand out the most to me as being stupendously catchy and where I would recommend folks start if they want to sample these wares.  But really, at this point do you need to sample?  If you bother reading my dumb website, you should see John's name and just know that record should be part of your collections.

Swami John Reis - Ride The Wild Night:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nXej11afJ1d2xZpXMlpQk6NgInfLHKGAM

Godzilla vs. Hedorah LP - From Godzilla: The Showa Era Soundtracks, 1954-1975 Box Set

Waxwork (2021) 

For the next several Fridays I'll be writing about an LP from the fantastic Godzilla Show Era soundtrack box set. Godzilla was such an important part of my childhood and the music was such a vital piece of that puzzle. Thrilled to finally have these on vinyl.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah, or as I knew it as a kid; Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster, is definitely one of the odder Godzilla movies out there.  But I think its inherent wackiness is one of the reasons I'm so fond of it.  Whether it's Godzilla flying as he's propelled by his own atomic breath or the sheer fact that he's fighting a monster made from pollution, this is a Godzilla movie that may not go down quite as smoothly as some of the other Showa entries.  But again, I love it.

The soundtrack is equally wacky.  The score by Riichiro Manabe shrieks and wails and then chills out only to get ramped up again.  In some ways it's kind of cartoony and in other ways it's bizarrely appropriate.  And let's not forget the SIX versions of "Give Back The Sun" which cover varying degrees of psych rock weirdness.

Again, like the others, the LP was handled in an outstanding manner by the Waxwork folks.  Sounds great, looks great and is just a shocking thing that I am allowed to have in my record collection.

Godzilla vs Hedorah - "Opening/Give Back The Sun I":
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ttz35

Smif-N-Wessun - Dan Shinin' 2xLP

HHV (2018, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I've mentioned it before, but my definition of the Golden Era stops in 1994.  That's kind of where I checked out on hip hop as a teenager.  It was partially fueled by my newfound interest in punk and indie rock, but it was also because there were fewer and fewer hip hop albums that I was getting excited about.  There was some sort of seismic shift that happened that rendered post 94 albums useless to me.

Dah Shinin' came out in 1995 and I never heard it.  I remember hearing the name Smif-N-Wessun and thinking it was kind of a goofy name, but I never listened to it.  I don't think I knew that they were affiliated with Black Moon and the Boot Camp Clik, I might have given them more of a chance at the time if I did.  But as I've been digging around for lost (to me) classics, I stumbled across Dah Shinin' and finally picked up a copy.

I can't, in good conscious, say this is top tier Golden Era stuff.  It is good and I like it way more than most records that came out after 1994, but it suffers a little bit from being kind of slow.  Both MCs are also on the more laid back side and coming in at an hour and eight minutes long, it probably goes on a little longer than it needs to.  That's a lot of criticisms for a record that I'm trying to convey that I think is actually good.  

What I can say on the positive side is that the beats are really strong.  They're full and layered and while I do wish they were a little more upbeat, they do match the vocal stylings of the group quite well.  And lyrically, Smif-N-Wessum really bring it on Dah Shinin'.  They are focused and creative.  They are laid back, for sure, but it does typically work out for them.  I do wonder what I would have thought of this record if it had come out in say 1993 and had some Yo! MTV Raps videos behind it, but for now I'm happy that I was able to discover it for the first time now, when I do have a greater appreciation for things I missed out on the first time.

Smif-N-Wessun - Dah Shinin':
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mm04Ke2Ku48cM7kATnimgR51NAOz5qjnk

All Monsters Attack LP - From Godzilla: The Showa Era Soundtracks, 1954-1975 Box Set

Waxwork (2021) 

For the next several Fridays I'll be writing about an LP from the fantastic Godzilla Show Era soundtrack box set. Godzilla was such an important part of my childhood and the music was such a vital piece of that puzzle. Thrilled to finally have these on vinyl.

As the US has gotten better access to the original Japanese versions of Godzilla movies, they are also starting to be more commonly referred to by their Japanese names.  I'm having a little trouble adjusting to some of them, particularly Godzilla vs The Smog Monster and this film, what I've always known as Godzilla's Revenge.  All Monsters Attack is certainly a cooler sounding name than Godzilla's Revenge is, though I'm not sure that either is really a great title when you consider that the vast majority of the movie is about Minilla (the Son of Godzilla) and a kid named Ichiro.

This was historically derided as the worst Godzilla movie, though further analysis of it as a kids movie that focuses on the latchkey kid generation and the concept of standing up for yourself has seen it painted in a much more favorable light in recent years.  While I can see it for what it is in that regard, it's still my least favorite Godzilla movie and one that I don't really get a ton of joy watching.  It was always the least played VHS tape in the collection as it relies so heavily on stock footage from older films.  And that status of it being least watched hasn't changed since I upgraded to DVD and then again to Blu Ray.

The music on the soundtrack has its hits and misses.  The general score is ok and is handled by Kunio Miyauchi.  There's also a few rock style numbers that are pretty fun and break things up in a positive way.  But holy crap, the first two songs with vocals, "Monster March I" and "Monster March II" are rough listens.  Kids singing isn't my bag at the best of times, but the vocals are particularly grating here.

Like all of the albums in this box set, it looks and sounds great.  But of all of the LPs, I imagine I'll probably play this one the least.

All Monsters Attack - "Monster March":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCh2l47cRck&ab_

Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill 2xLP - Red w/ Black Smoke Vinyl

Get On Down / Columbia (2022, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I wrote about this record before when I added the basic, single LP version to the collection.  I don't really have too much more to say about it, but I will repeat how I hated the Cypress Hill song "Phuncky Feel One" the first dozen times I heard it on Yo! MTV Raps.  I also couldn't understand why they kept playing it week after week.  They they started up the second single, "How I Could Just Kill A Man."  

My first thought was "oh no, not another Cypress Hill song," but it didn't take long for me to recognize how great a song it truly was.  It lead me to liking Cypress Hill so much that for a little while I actually wore a necklace that had their logo on it.  Hey, I was fourteen years old and it was 1991, have some empathy.

This new 2xLP version looks great, has rad liner notes in the gatefold and finally gives the album enough space to breathe over 4 sides of vinyl.  They also threw on two remixes that weren't on the first version of the album.  If you have this record already, it might be worth considering the double dip, it's pretty solid.  But if you do not already have this album, this one is pretty much a classic of the era and if I were buying any version, this is the one to get.

Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nFuSAVZsc11fgTZYjM9Mn9jcNZ6v1VB4Y

The Dandy Warhols – Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia 2xLP - Purple Vinyl

Capitol / Schizophonic (2021, Reissue)

I'd have to say that during the time I spent working in the music industry, there are probably only a handful of bands that I discovered strictly because I was working where I was working and doing what I was doing.  Dandy Worhols are for sure one of those bands.  I can't imagine that I would have stumbled onto them had it not been for the fact that coworkers played this record pretty often in the office.  What seemed kind of goofy at first eventually just morphed into a band that felt fun and familiar.

Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia is really the only Dandy Worhols record that I really like all that much.  I have a promo CDs of a couple of their others, but I don't think I've listened to those since the year they came out.  Thirteen Tales is on I revisit quite often.  The beginning of the record and the first four songs are kind of nondescript, if I'm honest.  To this day I tend to zone out a little bit when I fire the record up, but by the time their big hit single "Solid" comes on, I'm pretty enthralled by the rest of the album.

"Horse Pills," "Get Off" and "Shakin'" round off my favorite songs on the record, but pretty much everything from "Solid" on is really great.  I'm not even saying the first four songs are even bad, they're pretty good too, but it's more that the record just takes off into the stratosphere once we hit song number five.

I had been looking for a copy of this on vinyl for quite a while, but it had been out of print and expensive.  They finally did another pressing of it late last year and I was able to add it to the collection at long last.

 The Dandy Warhols – Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mnVWfgtRZxOMxBEDs7bzoHfRsegPwGhdc

Destroy All Monsters LP - From Godzilla: The Showa Era Soundtracks, 1954-1975 Box Set

Waxwork (2021)

For the next several Fridays I'll be writing about an LP from the fantastic Godzilla Show Era soundtrack box set. Godzilla was such an important part of my childhood and the music was such a vital piece of that puzzle. Thrilled to finally have these on vinyl.

After Son of Godzilla, the Showa series really bounces back in the strongest possible way with Destroy All Monsters.  It's always been one of my favorite Godzilla movies with its all star cast of Monsters from the Toho universe.  At this point, the alien invaders taking control of a monster trope was well established, but it still doesn't take away from how much fun the movie is, particularly when we get to the battle royal at the end.  My only wish would have been a bit more of Varan, but that's picking nits.

Akira Ifukube is back for the score and it's as wonderful as anything he ever did.  Menacing when it needs to be, triumphant when it has to be.  It pulls you into the world and builds tension while reviving familiar themes and feelings.  Top notch stuff for what I've read was originally imagined to be the last Godzilla movie.

At this point I'm a broken record about the Waxwork level of quality on this thing.  As with the others, it looks great and sounds even better.  I'll say this over and over, I'm just so happy to finally be able to have something like this in my collection.

Destroy All Monsters "Main Title/Title Credits":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5DF9FuWwjo&ab_

Mysterme & DJ 20/20 – Let Me Explain LP

Taha / JTLM (2020, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I have spent a lot of time the last couple of years really trying to dig back into golden era hip hop from the late 80s and early 90s.  In addition to rediscovering records that I hadn't heard in quite some time, I've also unearthed a bunch or really great records that I hadn't heard before.  Among those new discoveries, I don't think any have been quite as great as Mysterme & DJ 20/20.

I literally have never even heard of these guys prior to seeing their name on a list of 'overlooked hip hop records of 1993' or some article with a title similar to that.  I did some digging, listened to a few of the songs and immediately went looking for a copy on vinyl.  Luckily, some people way smarter than me were ahead of the curve and had rereleased this album in 2020.  While I did have to pay for it to be imported from Europe, at least I didn't have to pay collector prices for it.

That brings me to finally say something about the actual record.  The beats on this thing are unbelievably great.  This is 90s East coast boom bap, but with the sort of rumbling bass and upbeat samples that I'm more accustomed to hearing on Hieroglyphics records from this era.  You aren't going to find beats much better than this.  Lyrically, while I couldn't put Mysteryme in the upper echelon of MCs from the era, he absolutely holds his own and handles the beats well.  He has a pretty straightforward flow, but that is in no way a criticism as he weaves well crafted stories through the excellent production.  Did I mention how great the beats are on this thing?  Anyway, this is absolutely something worth digging into if you're looking for top tier golden era hip hop.

Mysterme & DJ 20/20 – Let Me Explain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vEenEPTht0&ab_

Snuff - Potatoes & Melons, Do Do Do's and Zsa Zsa Zsa's LP - Cream w/ Red Splatter Vinyl (/252)

10 Past 12 / SBÄM (2021)

Let's get this out of the way.  Yes, this is only one of way too many versions of this LP that are available.  And on top of that, I can't get them all at one place and on top of that all places to get them from are in Europe.  It makes it somewhat expensive to try to be a completist, something that I've always tried to be for Snuff.  This looks like is the album where I may have to finally give up.  I picked up this version from the Snuff webstore and I have another version with different cover art preordered from the SBÄM store.  The other vinyl variants are just going to have to elude me for now.

On to the record itself, this is a compilation of Snuff songs, primarily from the old Potatoes And Melons At Wholesale Prices Direct To You The Public (or Straight From The Lockup if you have the Fat Wreck version) EP.  It also adds in songs from the Do Do Do  and Gandara 7"s among others.  There are a lot of cover songs in here along with Snuff originals of varying seriousness.  That's always been what I like most about Snuff, their records and shows are always so much fun.  Do they have great songs with no comedy elements? Of course.  But what's better than sandwiching those in between commercial jingles?

Everything on here is fun, but the Do Do Do 7" songs stand out to me in particular as it was among the earlier Snuff releases that I picked up when I first got into the band.  The covers of "I Will Survive," "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" and "Soul Limbo" are just so great.  There are actually two versions of "Soul Limbo" on here, I prefer the Do Do Do one.  There are also two versions of "Theme For Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads," for these I prefer the one that was from the Deceptive Christmas 7".

It's great to have all of these songs on one LP.  Of course I have the original 7"s, CDs, 10"s and LPs that originally contained these songs, but it's nice to have one record that I can pop on to hear them all.  If there's only one complaint, it's that I wish the Long Ball To No-One songs were also on here.  After all, "Dow Dow Boof Boof" is my very favorite Snuff song.

Snuff - "Soul Limbo" (Do Do Do Version):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LziwhD8J1Ow&ab_

Snuff - "I Will Survive":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7d9Kp8ezVs&ab_

Son of Godzilla LP - From Godzilla: The Showa Era Soundtracks, 1954-1975 Box Set

Waxwork (2021) 

For the next several Fridays I'll be writing about an LP from the fantastic Godzilla Show Era soundtrack box set. Godzilla was such an important part of my childhood and the music was such a vital piece of that puzzle. Thrilled to finally have these on vinyl.

Son of Godzilla isn’t one of my favorite Godzilla movies.  It starts with how ugly the suit is.  This is a bad look for Godzilla and I just will never understand why they designed his head to look the way it does.  And then there’s the whole concept of Minilla.  Putting aside the bad design, he’s pretty much just the butt of jokes and abuse for the duration of the film.

I don’t hate it or anything, but when compared to just about any other Godzilla movie, it just comes up short for me.  Luckily the soundtrack is pretty solid.  While I think it falls a little short on the tropical good times of Ebirah, it still feels like a somewhat similar vibe,, though there are certainly more moments of childlike innocence.  While I’ll always probably like Akira Ifukube’s work best, Masaru Sato’s scores are ones that I don’t seem to remember that I like as much as I do until I’m listening to them.

Vinyl sound and art design is great like the rest of the box set.  It’s probably not the first LP I’d grab if I wanted to listen to something, but it’s good to know it’s there if the spirit moves me.

Son of Godzilla - "Main Title Theme":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBbuiMlx7oc&ab_

Tim Dog - Penicillin on Wax 2xLP - Green Vinyl (/1000)

Music On Vinyl (2017, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for twenty-five plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

This album was another I had on CD back in 91 when it originally came out.  Though the album is probably most well known for it's anti-west coast/NWA diss track, "Fuck Compton," for me it was the song "Step To Me" that always stood out.  It's the song that had a video on Yo! MTV Raps and is what inspired me to grab the CD, I'm imagining as part of a BMG/Columbia house scam.    

"Step To Me" still holds up to me as the best track on the album, but the entire album, if nothing else, is really well produced.  Considering that the bulk of the beats were handled by folks from Ultramagnetic MCs, that shouldn't really be too much of a surprise.  It's remarkably varied on the production side, especially considering how one dimensional Tim Dog is as an MC.  He's not bad, but he pretty much says the same stuff over and over again and doesn't really change up his by the numbers flow.  

Lyrically, lots of cussin' and shock value stuff here.  The skits are universally terrible and I'm grateful that they're all mercifully short.  I think had I heard it for the first time now instead of when I was fourteen years old, I'm not sure that I'd be too keen on the whole package.  But again, the beats are really good and it has that weird baked in nostalgia that I'm certainly guilty of indulging in.  Not sure everyone needs this in their collection, but it has its moments.

Tim Dog - Penicillin on Wax:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l_IhEG06EGgmA9HsD9q0Btv2YcPmnALIk