The College Crowd Digs Me

"Here Comes The Night" - Them (1965)      This is where it all started for Van the Man.  Van Morrison.  The band  Them's  first album, in the US, anyway, was  "Here Comes the Night,"  released in 1965, with the title track being the promoted single. B ut it was the song, "Gloria," that would cement Van's fate in the annals of rock 'n' roll asskickery.  Their debut album definitely holds its own against their better-known peers, but I'm guessing distribution here in the US might've been lacking because I seldom see any Them albums in the bins.  And that's a shame, shame, shame, because there is more to enjoy than what radio would have you believe.         "Here Comes the Night"  is a square that bangs R&B with cool garagey vibes that are raucous, soulful, and a bit menacing.  Morrison wrote 7 of the 12 songs, including "Gloria," but each song is delivered as if it could be his last.  Aft...

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Serial #1 Max Allan Collins, Gabriel Rodriguez, Ashley Wood Published January 1, 2003 Graphic Novel, 144 pages NO SPOILERS:       If you are familiar with the CSI TV show, the parlay within these pages will ring familiar, but it can sometimes be annoying.  Thankfully, the story keeps a good pace, and everything clicks and plays nicely with the mystery.  But Ripper stories, as you well know, have been done to death in all their various shades of blood splatter and knife slicings.  If you're cool with this overworked premise, you'll find this one is no worse for wear.   CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Serial  #1 (inside graphic novel)      Here we have a modern-day Jack the Ripper imitator reinacting the historic murders committed in the 1800s during a "Ripperologist" Convention.  It's kind of corny, and yet the pages hold court pretty well.  The artwork is fine, but it would have behoove...

"Fantasy" - Fantasy (1970 )       Fantasy's self-titled album is a mix of psych and prog, a little heavier on the prog side yet somehow stays mostly grounded.  There are a couple more jammier rockers, one of which is an instrumental track... "Stoned Cowboy" ... that received a lot of heavy radio play for a fairly long minute.  If Jefferson Airplane Grace Slick vocals are your thing, or perhaps if the occasional Frumpy legend  Inga Rumpf snags your swag, you'll definitely enjoy this.  And singer  Lydia Janene Miller's vocals   belie her age.  She was just 16 when she hooked up with the band to record this album.  Miller sounds like a girl who could sell seashells down by the seashore, and customers would still hit the tip jar.  Good stuff.        As for this band that called Miami home,  Fantasy's  songs often slip into some kind of art-rock wigout, and at times, sound pretty dang ambitio...

"Pretties For You" - Alice Cooper (1969 - Rei 1970 )       "Pretties For You" is an unexpected Alice Cooper psych album.  The square is a widowmaker of surprises and louies from needle drop to label.  At times, the band rubs shoulders with The Beatles and shakes hands with the early Syd Barrett Floyd the next.  It gets heavy over here and goes jazz-trippin' over there.  Everything in good measure.  The harmonies are great.  The musicianship is solid.  And conviction is the rule of the school.  Not quite the dangerous, creepy, hard-rock sound the band would later create, but there is still a delightful strangeness here that hits the sweet spot.       And lest we forget, this was the band's debut!  And what they couldn't sell in the open market, I expect, would quickly change hands in the murkier alleys.  The album may be underrated or underappreciated; I can never make up my mind about which word to c...

"After The Gold Rush" (w/ Pink Text ) - Neil Young (1970 - Rei 1976)      I'm showing this Neil Young album because it's the rare-ish 1976 reissue with pink text instead of the usual yellow-gold.  I wasn't a fly on the wall when Neil found out, but apparently, he was plenty pissed and demanded that the albums be yanked from stores PDQ.  And that's what they did.  The pink text copies were pulled from record shelves faster than you can say 'hey-hi-you!'  How many actually got out is unknown, but it's safe to say not all that many.  I mean, they're out there, but...  So I guess in the whole Rock and Roll records scheme of things, these pink-text albums are like leprechauns.  I mean, they're around, but you don't see'em very often.       Some copies are known to fetch relatively high dollars.  Over $100 from time to time.  You're probably not gonna get rich, but there's still something cool about an album, "r...

" And Paul said,  'What are you doing for the next few years?'" ~ Laurence Juber ~ Hailing from East London, but now calling L.A. home, Laurence Juber has had plenty of days playing in the sun.  With a 30-plus discography of critically acclaimed CDs under his belt, the fellow definitely knows his way around a guitar.  Juber is recognized as one of the top acoustic guitar players of all time and was once voted Guitarist of the Year .  He has received two Grammys, and his fingers have never once left his hands.  The guy can play.       Since moving to California, Juber has put his guitar stylings to good use composing or co-composing soundtracks and scores for shows as diverse as Dateline NBC, Ken Burns documentaries, and even The Brady Bunch.  Juber has added his guitar to soundtracks and dozens of films and television shows.  From "Good Will Hunting" to "Dirty Dancing."  From Eric Carmen To Harry Styles.  The man walks throu...