The College Crowd Digs Me

"This ele ctric phase... ain't no teenage craze." --> UFO <-- Another great Classic Rock album from UFO ...and one that never received much radio justice. Plenty of good stuff on... "Lights Out" ...to rattle your ceiling fans and poltergeist your curtains. These guys are terribly underrated and almost faceless in the States.  But just put your ears on...and then try to explain how they don't make the 'A' list. This is UFO Lost Gem:--> "Electric Phase" ...is a great song buried deep on side two. Classic Michael Schenker stokes the blazing rock-oven with churning guitar riffs.   And under-appreciated singer Phil Mogg carries the news that your daughters are gonna reach out and touch someone.  A nice bit of slide and bass underneath, as well. Have you heard this gem? On the wires I can hear you comin' With a rush and a strummin' This electric phase ain't no teenage craze In your house a phone ...

"Roll over lay down and let me in." --> Status Quo <-- Boogie rock-n-roll at its finest. Status Quo absolutely sets fire to your feet with their crankin' fun-time rollers. These guys wail and jam with abandon and must have been something to behold "live". (Anyone care to share!?) The album cover of this 1973 release... "Hello"... might have unintentionally been partial inspiration for another rather "infamous" Spinal Tap album (many albums issued were unreadable)...but no matter. The music is catchy, loose and fun as hell. These guys can play. In fact, guitarist Francis Rossi , is one of the lost diamonds in the kingdom of guitar-spankage . Lost Gem:--> "Roll Over Lay Down" ...an awesome rocker that burns and churns with a great middle. One of the greatest boogie rock songs ever. Have you heard this gem? When I got home that night early one morning Seeing the note written in ink pinned to th...

Time For Mailbox Gems! The Lawsuits "Hot Love" (2012) I've had The Lawsuits playing steadily through my car speakers all day. With a refreshing Americana synergy, solid vocals propound lyrics about missed chances and close calls...almosts and do-overs. This five-member band outta PA play good time loose but never sloppy. They're having fun but they intend on keeping all the marbles. "Hot Girls Make Porn" - The Lawsuits Houka Monks "Houka Monks" (2012) The passive/aggressive rock funkines s from Houka Monks is both radio-fresh and pleasingly strange. Like a mysterious Ray Bradbury traveling carnival show that sets up in the middle of the night - You might have trepidations about going...but you're absolutely going just the same. "Halleluja" - Houka Monks Dastardly "Bury Me In The Country" (2012) This alt-blue-country band still shows veneration to the traditional mountain spices...but ...

"They're running up behind you  and they're coming all about. Can't go east 'cos you gotta go south." --> Queen <-- Horror stories about friends heading off to cabins for some rest-&-rec only to meet up with nasty strangers has been done...ten times ten. So anybody attempting to write another one had better know how to bring it. And hard! But it was 1980 when Jack Ketchum delivered this gut-wrenching page-turner. And even after some forced editing.... "Off Season" ...still received a huge backlash for its gore and violence. So much so, Ballantine Books withdrew their support after the novel's first printing. Jack Ketchum...a real nice guy. Thirty years later, this controversial gorefest still maintains cult status. It has since been reissued in Ketchum's original unedited version ...and that's really the way to go. "Off Season" is a fast, disturbingly fun novel about surviving in an extremely twi...

"I still think about those happy days  and our street corner serenade." --> Wet Willie <-- Lost "Radio" Gem :... a single that may have charted, but deserved better. Wet Willie , for better or worse, has been cataloged under the Southern Rock flagship...but they had a decidedly different way of delivering the noise. Led by Jimmy Hall's solid blue-eyed vocals and tight sax/harp play, Wet Willie brought a unique funkiness to the genre. Never heavy on the guitar, (ala Skynyrd, Outlaws)... Wet Willie were more a of southern Southside Johnny and were always under-appreciated. Wet Willie When... "Manorisms" (1978) ...was recorded, Wet Willie had mostly left the SR genre behind for a more soulful rock presence and it turned out to be their best album since their definitive "Keep On Smiling" (1974) . Lost Radio Gem: "Street Corner Serenade" (#30 BB charts)...is a simple, catchy, roll down your window feel g...