The College Crowd Digs Me

"Vagabonds Of The Western World" - Thin Lizzy (1973 )    My gateway album for Thin Lizzy was "Vagabonds of the Western World."   It's the one I heard first.  And listened to a lot.  I loved it then and still love it.  It doesn't have the familiar twin-guitar Lizzy sound that later studio albums would possess, and where the band did their real banking.  But "Vagabonds..." , their last album as a trio, is an incredible album in its own right.       Phil Lynott's songwriting is wonderful, as are his warm vocals and his bass playing, which is always a good time.  Phil Lynott,  with co-writers Eric Bell and Brian Downey, delivers the definitive macho jammer, "The Rocker," then turns around and kills us with his kindest of ballads, "Little Girl in Bloom," a song that offers so much hope.  It's a beautiful ballad…and his best.  Longtime drummer Brian Downey is on time as ever.   And the often underapprec...

"The Forest Of My Mind" - Paul Parrish (1968 )      This is all flowers, patches, peace, love, and maybe something to pass around while everyone is in...the forest.  Looking a bit like Freddie Mercury trying to decide what to bag up at the Nifty Nut House, Paul Parrish brings us a cool, groovy spin for the mind-palette.  Included in The Acid Archives , the album "The Forest Of My Mind" is filled with well-written songs, with good melodies and nice arrangements, each lightly dusted in various shades of psychedelic folk-pop bliss.  A cash-in of the lysergic variety, perhaps, but the album sounds much better than that.  Nothing on this square is a mind-blow.  Nothing here is deepy-deep by any means.  However, "The Forest Of My Mind" is presented in such good faith that the spin makes it nigh on impossible to stay in a bad mood.        Bonus still, it's a square that somehow gets better with each new listen....

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. One & Two Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1930)  Hardcover, 1122 pages NO SPOILERS:      The two volumes include 56 short stories and four novellas.  I began  The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume One flipping imaginary pages on my Paperwhite.  With Volume Two , I grabbed the hardback version. (see pic above.)  Either way, it was a blast getting to know these famous fictional characters - Sherlock Holmes and his bestest friend, Dr. Watson.   Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sure had himself a winner when he began writing his Sherlock mysteries in 1886.  The stories are clever and don’t waste much time dancing around.  Each mystery is quickly set in motion.  No dawdling.  Just kick back and read how Detective Holmes uses his powers of deduction to the nines.  Plenty of details and suspense, and sometimes a laugh or two.           Sherlock is a one-of-a-kind ...

"Lyle Lovett" - Lyle Lovett (1986 )       "Closing time.  Unplug them people."   I've been a fan of Lyle Lovett ever since watching him on Austin City Limits.  As I recall, he performed several songs from this album.  He had the audience in his back pocket.  I also remember watching a clip of him performing at a small summer outdoor get-together, before his name meant anything, where some people half-listen and the other half do whatever.  It reminded me of doing comedy at nowhere bars where they kept the TV on while you're trying to get some laughs.  You just keep doing what you set out to do, telling yourself somebody's listening.  And that's just what Lovett did.  Sang his songs like he's selling fresh butter for hot biscuits.  His debut album sounds a lot like that.  Even when his tongue is firmly in cheek, we still hear echoes of truth.  Drop the needle at the end of a long day, and it's a deep sigh. ...

Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers, Vol. 1 Stan Lee (Writer), Jack Kirby (Illustrator) (2002) (First issues #1-10) Hardcover, 240 pages      It's all about the nostalgia.  Especially if you were a kid growing up in the early 60s.  But it's still enjoyable and entertaining, even if you weren't.  This Marvel Masterworks volume contains the first ten  issues of  The Avengers  comic book that  Marvel  created in 1963, in all  its colorful, innocent glory.   The  Marvel Masterworks  are hardbound, look and feel classy, and bring to mind the old Time/Life books many of your parents might have picked up, now collecting dust on their shelves.   These offerings can be pricey, but you can often find used volumes for much less.  And the dust jackets can be just as cool, holding Easter Eggs for those who take an extra moment to look.  If you tilt the book at a certain angle, famous comic book heroes a...

"Alamo" - Alamo (1971)      Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Alamo's eponymous one-and-done album jams off and rocks out with classic acid rock aplomb.  Under the wide umbrella of early Grand Funk attitude, the album feels different enough, with its own strut, energy, and confidence to keep it real.   I just luv this era of classic rock and "Alamo" is a killer album when you just want to leave some highway miles in your rearview mirror.  Excellent guitar wahs and fuzz and churning Hammond organ strike a wonderful balance that's easy to like and hard to shake.  And the drummer on this album is the pusherman.  Good solid jammin' throughout.      The vocals are raw and raspy, melding perfectly with whatever track the band lays down.  It has a familiar Terry Kath-like timbre that sells every word.  And though the eight songs on this early '70s square don't especially push the envelope, they still bring the he...