I just bought the new Stones album Grrr! I haven’t read much about it and so it was a bit of a shock to find it was a compilation album with only two new tracks; “Doom and Gloom” and “One More Shot”. “Doom and Gloom” kicks arse and “One More Shot” I could take it or leave it, maybe it will grow on me. The album comes in a few different configurations to drive the hard core fans and completists nuts but essentially there are only two new tracks. You can add this one to your pile of other Stones rehashes ; Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), Flowers, Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), Hot Rocks 1964–1971, Hot Rocks 1964–1971, Metamorphosis, Made in the Shade, Rewind (1971–1984), Singles Collection: The London Years, Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones (UK) and Rarities 1971–2003. In fact if you’ve got any of these I wouldn’t bother with Grrr! just buy the singles. As for the hard core Stones fans, I’m sorry but I’ve got to call it as I see it – 1 out of 5 rubber chickens the Stones are getting lazy.
Maureen Cleave’s John Lennon quote from the London Evening Standard; March 1966;
“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first—rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me”.
Quality of music comes and goes and in my opinion contemporary music is in a bit of a rut. I never agree with the Rolling Stones 500 best albums or NME’s polls either for that matter. Who are these industry pundits that choose anyway, aren’t they listening to the same musical masterpeices that I do? – Philistines. – Here’s a list of my 50 alltime faves for the perusal of these music industry heavyweights.
1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced
2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland
3. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis Bold As Love
4. The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
5. The Beatles – Abbey Road
6. The Beatles – Let It Be
7. The Beatles – Rubber Soul
8. The Beatles – White Album
9. The Beatles – Revolver
10. The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed (Let it Bleed/Let It Be? Mmmmm!)
11. The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
12.The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St.
13. The Rolling Stones – Some Girls
14. The Doors – self titled
15. The Doors – Morrison Hotel
16. The Doors – L.A. Woman
17. The Doors – Strange Days
18. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmos Factory
19. Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon
20. Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
21. Pink Floyd – The Wall
22. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Deja Vu
23. Crosby, Stills & Nash – self titled
24. Neil Young – Harvest
25. Neil Young – On The Beach
26. Neil Young – Hawks & Doves
27. The Easybeats – Easy
28. The Easybeats – Its 2 Easy
29. The Easybeats – Volume 3
30. Cream – Disraeli Gears
31. Led Zeppelin – 1
32. Led Zeppelin – 2
33. Led Zeppelin – 3
34. Led Zeppelin – Houses Of The Holy
35. Led Zeppelin – Sticks album
36. Inside Deep Note – Music of 1970’s Adult Cinema
37. Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti
38. Led Zeppelin – In Through The Outdoor
39. Fleetwood Mac – The Pious Bird Of Good Omen
40. Fleetwood Mac – Mr. Wonderful
41. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
42. Janis Joplin – Cheap Thrills
43. Janis Joplin – Pearl
44. Janis Joplin – 18 Essential Songs
45. The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – self titled
46. Joe Cocker – Mad Dogs & Englishmen
47. The Kinks – You Really Got Me
48. Georgie Fame – Get away With
49. Jimi Hendrix – First Rays Of The New Rising Sun
50. Jimi Hendrix – South Saturn Delta
I hope you read this Rolling Stone & NME pundits as I have now done the hard yards for you and I expect your next poll to be suitably enlightened.
I consider myself to be a reasonably rational person but as anyone who knows me well, would tell you; that is just a front. Behind the well honed, facade lurks an hysterical fan of sixties pop. I have often pondered why this might be so as it appears to be quite irrational. I was in nappies when most of my idols ruled the airwaves or at least not far from it. In fact many of my idols are dead and yet the allure of the music and the intrigue of the history is for me eternally fresh. Collecting the catalogues of my favourite musicians is a most enjoyable quest which has long since departed from anything that would be considered normal.
No doubt I will persevere until I die and then my wife will have to deal with my hoardings and dismantle my shrines. For my family, my behaviour is normal in an eccentric sort of way and although they don’t share my passion they have learn’t to live with it. Indeed I have somehow drawn them into my delusion as every birthday I receive some sort of offering to my sixties world which is housed in a special room – my inner sanctum.
Although I am an orphan in my real life persuits of all things sixties, online I am but one of a great army – many of whom make me look relatively sane. This for me is both vindication of my behaviour and a great source of nourishment for my hobby.
One of my obsessions for many years was collecting photos on the net of Jimi Hendrix and then dating them by what he was wearing or by what guitar he was playing. I would then cross reference them with Johnny Black’s most excellent book “Eyewitness Hendrix”.
This brings me to my next point; obsession. Admitting that your behaviour is a tad obsessive suggests a mental condition. Well I’m certainly quite mental and probably somewhat compulsive but I function pretty well in the rest of my life, at least in public. I don’t harm anybody and most importantly, I enjoy myself. I guess I’m the kind of guy who dances on the inside – I would like to let out my inner freak but he’s probably best left in his “special room”.
Baghead Kelly's Blog 