The College Crowd Digs Me

"Then Play On" - Fleetwood Mac (1969)      This isn't the "early" early  Fleetwood Mac blues rock, which I never really had an ear for.  However,  "Then Play On,"  the band's third studio album, is an almost spiritual revelation.  There is an overall lysergic dusting that's hard to finger, but it's there.  Guitars are floaty and moody and often beautiful. And when the jamming arrives, the tracks are also welcome and enjoyable.       Mac doesn't abandon blues rock completely, but they do allow room for new ideas to stretch its legs.  It's like the neighbor from across the street who visits, drops off her tasty green-bean casserole, and leaves.  Only to come back later with some chocolate Oreo pudding.  And I really dig it when the neighbor drops by for a few minutes, and I'm also glad when they bring something different.  It makes for a groovy day.      Best of all, the album has a timeless ...

7 Favorite  Books  I  Read  In  2025 "Every book is a new book if you haven't read it!"   And so, let us begin. Sarum: The Novel Of England by Edward Rutherfurd (1987) Paperback, 1035 pages      Sarum, England, also known as Salisbury, is home to Stonehenge and the famous Salisbury Cathedral. The novel takes us from the Stone Age to the mid-twentieth century, introducing a variety of characters across many generations.  Sarum is over a thousand pages, but don't let that discourage you. The book reads easily and is a fun and fascinating page-flip. (full review) Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King  (2017) Hardcover, 702 pages      Sleeping Beauties is not exactly horror.  It doesn't have a significant thrill factor.  However, the novel's idea is interesting.  The story is okay for what it is, but the characters are just not developed enough to separate the wheat from the chaff.  So...

You Like It Darker by Stephen King (2024) Hardcover 512 pages NO SPOILERS:      At least two of the 12 stories in You Like It Darker fall into the novella bucket, which is fine because they both shine.  As for the rest of the tales, they range from good to fantastic.  Not a bad one in the bunch.  The stories are not as dark as you might have hoped, but they suck you right in just the same.  And all the stories have subtle degrees of creepy effluvia that keep everything a wee bit unsettling.  A dusting of uneasiness, if you will.       There's an Easter Egg or two to be found within these pages for the Constant Reader to appreciate, or at least bring a smile to their faces.  Perhaps best of all, Stephen's character development is solid as ever.  It's this special talent that wins the day.  For me, this is King's best short story collection since Skeleton Crew and Nightmares & Dreamscapes .  Not as dar...

"A Mouth In The Clouds" - The Group Image (1968 )      I recently added another psych album to my collection, and one that still flies a bit under the radar.   The album " A Mouth In The Clouds"  has a West Coast folk-psych spirit, although the band hails from Manhattan, New York.  Midtempo vibes drift from an easy rub to more jammier fortes.   The lyrics are interesting and trippy with an even mix of male/female trade-off.  I had no luck identifying the main male vocalist, but it’s all good.  The Group Image definitely enjoys adding a mildly lysergic hippie panache all over the wax, and it’s easy to imagine friends sitting on shag pillows, passing a few strawberry Bamboo twists around while discussing whatevers as hippie lamps throw colored lights on the walls.  It's an interesting spin if you find one.       “A Mouth In The Clouds”  was the band's only album,   and though not rare, it is a hard one ...

Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery, Vol. 1 Len Wein (Writer) and Bernie Wrightson (Artist) DC Comics (2006) (first published in 1968-1971) Graphic softcover, 552 pages      This is all about the nostalgia. A whopping 552 pages of reprinted stories from the DC comic The House of Mystery .  The pages have a bit of the lowest-tier Twilight Zone panache, filled with atmospheric stories of people making bad choices and receiving their comeuppance.   Each tale has some kind of "gotcha" twist ending that can be seen coming a mile away.  But it's fun nonetheless. Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery (inside)      There are plenty of groaners and eyerollers here, but there are a few good 'uns that have legit payoff.  I mean, the scares are lame, but they were always lame, so just let it go.  The House of Mystery is definitely not one you'll want to binge.  I recommend reading two or three stories and then setting the book a...

"Metamorphosis" - Iron Butterfly with Pinera & Rhino (1970 )      I picked up a lot of cheapie albums in the wild this summer.  25¢.  50¢.  Maybe a buck.  I was pretty forgiving, but for two things.  The vinyl had to eyeball VG/VG+ or better.  And the cover had to be decent.  I rarely went to record shops during the warm months, choosing to do my own hunting. Anyway, I'm just now getting around to cleaning them up and giving them proper attention.  I'll either keep them until I find an upgrade or I'll pass them along to someone else.       Iron Butterfly  were never gonna be as great as their band name, but hey, it's Iron Butterfly.  What I mean to say is, you know what you're gonna get when you drop the needle on the bone.  "Metamorphosis”  was the band's fourth album, and while it still exudes the band's spirit, the guys were also trying to stretch their wings. Not as much acid rock, but the...

"Journey To The Center Of The Mind" - The Amboy Dukes (1968 )      The album sounds like a group effort, with each one trying to hold the fort.  Nugent provides some wonderful guitar tones and riffs as one might expect, but Steve Farmer's lyrics and  J.B. Drake's  vocals help keep the mind in cool flux.  As does the steady bottom push.  A few of the tracks shoulder-rub the acid psych realm heavily, while others splash into a more trippy, melodic psychedelia.  And it's this variety that keeps the mind on tippy-toes.         Especially side two, where the opening song, the psych-flag title track, fiercely sends the listener off into the unknown, with a string of songs following, very much of the time.  No concept that I could point a finger at, but they're done well.  By needle-lift, the "journey" eventually returns us, full circle, in and out of our minds, in a pleasing, satisfying way.  You can tick ...

IN THE MAILBOX "Inside The Sandbox: A Tribute To Rick Selga" (2025)       "Inside The Sandbox"  honors longtime drummer  Rick Selga , a staple of the Long Beach underground music scene.  This compilation includes unreleased music from Rick Selga's band,  Secret Hate , as well as from a few other bandmates he's befriended and influenced.  A bleeding needle's worth of California punk burn to help weather the storms.  Now streaming. SECRET HATE A1   "Tough Guys Suffer" A2   "Odd Walking Man" A3   "Black Cloud" GLUE FACTORY A4   "Glueming" A5   "Little Lords" A6   "Too Many People" A7   "Running" HAMAPPLE B1   "Undone" B2   "Cops" B3   "Sick Surreal" B4   "Hazy Shade Of Winter" DAS KLOWN B5   "Dark Robot" B6   "Dumb Dumb" B7   "We Don't Give" "Hazy Shade Of Winter"  - Hamapple (2025) "Dumb Dumb"  ...

"Dawn Explosion" - Captain Beyond (1977 )      I like Captain Beyond .  I have their self-titled lenticular album as well as their follow-up.  Both are equally enjoyable.  You can't go wrong with either.   But as for their third and last album,  "Dawn Explosion," I just never had much interest in picking it up.  Mostly because of weak reviews I've read, and plus, you just don't see this square out in the wild very often.  But I'm glad I finally did.      The previous two Captain Beyond albums are filled with hard rock and a cool prog-psych mindset.  It would be four years before the band released their third, and last album... "Dawn Explosion" in 1977.  A long time to wait to satisfy the studio itch, and perhaps a bit risky, but it's a worthy effort.  Both sides have a couple of tracks that really grab the golden ring, while others sometimes slide into the classic-rock lake that other band peers wer...

"Fraser & Debolt" - Fraser & Debolt (1971)     Upon examining the front cover, Fraser & Debolt's  eponymous album gives no hint that it might be listed in the Acid Archives .  But in the Acid Archives she be.  Along with Ian Guenther and his amazing violin,  this duo created a wonder of a square.  Not necessarily a gem for everyone, but something magical is definitely going on here.        The music has been described as a mix of hippie country and acid folk, and although there is nothing psychedelic that I can specifically point a finger at, the cool vibes are in the air.  I don't know much about this Canadian duo,  Allan Fraser and Daisy Debolt,  but on their debut, they sound like a couple who have just fallen and trust each other unfettered.  Their hearts are still catching rainbows and falling stars, and the music keeps no secrets.   Fraser and Debolt sing together with reckless...

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (2009) Paperback, 543 pages NO SPOILERS:      No need for any book-reading snobbery here.   Lee Child's mass-market Jack Reacher creation is fire.  It ticks all the boxes.  This particular story is a thriller first and foremost, but the mystery that unravels is a sweet ride as well.   In  Gone Tomorrow,   Reacher encounters plenty of ducks, dodges, and louies along the way, and we tag along as he breaks it all down and adds it all up.  Reacher's experience in various combat methods and ability to quickly strategize any situation are top-notch.  I t's all about the justice with this guy.  There are no fences to straddle.  Reacher is the good guy, and we like him.       Lee Child novels may be a wee bit formulaic, but it doesn't diminish the enjoyment.  In this page-turner, Reacher finds himself on a late-night subway ride where he notices an unusual passenger who...

"Love" - Love (1966)       Finding  Love's  debut album in one of the 2 or 3-dollar boxes on the floor at Spektrum Muzik, located in the Delano District, was a pretty cool and unexpected surprise.   It was the latter part of May, the first of June, right before the weather started getting hot.  Just sitting in one of their bargain boxes.  It was an original copy with some expected ringwear, but there were no seam splits, and the spine was clean and readable.  The album had someone's name written on the front cover up in the top-right corner, but it was small and fairly neat.  Usually, a name on the front is a deal-breaker, but honestly, I hardly noticed it.  As for the vinyl, it looked almost VG, but for a weird, hard crumb stuck in one of the grooves on the very first track on side one.  It was tiny, but I could feel it.  Still, for less than a Lincoln, I thought it might be worth it to take the record home and try to res...

"Electric Mud" - Muddy Waters (1968 )     "Electric Mud" is the album where Muddy Waters went psych.  Still the blues, but with rock guitar distortion and fuzz.  A little more guitar juice.  Muddy does all the singing, and he shares the guitar work with his band.  Apparently, this album alienated many of his fans, ala Dylan, and maybe I get that, but it's all biscuits, gravy, and hot coffee to me.  "Electric Mud" is a fun spin, and it rocks out wicked.  The best of both worlds.  It was 1968, and this square is fire.      I'd been looking for a copy of  "Electric Mud"  with the black cover for a very long time, and I didn't want to listen to it until I found one to spin for myself.    This is an original copy pressed in Germany on Chess Records.  The vinyl is very clean, but with a couple of light scuffs, and it sounds really good.  It is the black cover album; the white cover albums are the mor...

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (2003) Softcover, 935 pages NO SPOILERS:      The novel  Shantaram is an ambitious adventure loosely based on events that occurred after the author  Gregory David Roberts escaped from a prison in Australia.  Trying to avoid discovery, he finds himself swallowed up in Bombay, India, where the story begins.  Whether this is a 'true' story or one that has been carefully crafted and roadmapped doesn't matter.  It rings the bell of authenticity, and I was all in.         The exotic atmosphere of Bombay is captured in the traffic-heavy city as well as the crammed-together, slum-like villages.  The prose pulls it all in so tightly I could almost feel it, taste it, and smell it.  It's heady stuff.  Descriptive and emotive, dozens of characters pass through the pages, and I never lost track of a single one.  It's beautiful here and dangerous there.  Sometimes both. ...

"Violent Femmes" - Violent Femmes (1983 )      I picked up a copy of the Violent Femmes album in Goddard, KS, for $40 at a yard sale.  I've seen them go for much higher.  The record had three stickers plastered on the front cover, and after taking a closer look, I thought that when I took it home, I could remove them by using the blow-dryer trick.  I'd had some good luck in the past, and it almost worked...but then it didn't.  Not this time.        The first sticker came off easy-peasy.  It practically fell off on its own.  But the sticker right above was not as friendly.  It started coming up easy, but slower…at first.  And then right about in the middle, the sticker began pulling the ink from the album.  I wasn't rushing, but it was too late.  I don't understand it.  The third, smaller round sticker, I just left alone.  I'm so bummed.  I'll leave a picture of the album cover belo...