Saturday, April 17, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #779JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #779.518.146! Testa
Rosa - Testa Rosa (Latest Flame) :: If I could crank out thunder crunge like this FMM trio does on the way-too-brief
"Hollow Arm," I'd lay off the wispy Melanie melodies and record an album full of similar sonic enlargers. Melanie & The Dominoes - Brand New Key To The Highway (Polydor) :: Donovan used Led
Zeppelin and the Jeff Beck Group as his backing band, so don't laugh. Valerian
- Guerilla Fighting Method (City Canyons) :: I'm not saying that someone should drop these camouflage-clad sissies
into a real war zone and see how long they last, I'm typing it. Oxbow - The
Narcotic Story (Hydra Head) :: Just say blow. Brothers Of A Feather Featuring Chris
& Rich Robinson - Live At The Roxy (Eagle Rock) :: The Black Crowes sure do got their Blind Lemon Gumball
voices down cold, they sho 'nuff do. The Undesirables - Doghouse Dreams
(self-released) :: Even better, spin this acoustic set from a group that-unlike the Robinsons-doesn't feel the need to imitate
dead Delta bloozemen. Plus, they write better songs. Zonaria - Infamy And
The Breed (Pivotal) :: And in the deaf, as the last few eardrums lay bleeding in the slimy headphones, black mutant metal
shrieked out from Screamo City, some more schlemiels. Swedes the size of rats sucked. SIZZLING
PLATTERS OF THE WEEK: Robyn Hitchcock - Storefront Hitchcock and Jewels For Sophia (Noble Rot)
:: Don't miss these reissues from one of rock's most oddball auteurs. Storefront is a sparse live set that alternates
Francis Bacon monologues with time travelogues like "1974" while Jewels is a full-band blast that features
"Viva! Sea-Tac" with its immortal lines: "People flock like cattle to Seattle after Kurt Cobain. They got the
best computers, coffee and smack." Goot heave-nink!
Sat, April 17, 2021 | link
Saturday, April 10, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #778JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #778.517.145! Leo
- Nightmares (Dream Makers) :: Welcome to their Nightmares, I think you're gonna like it. I think you're
gonna feel like listening to this angst-riddled album. The Future Kings Of Nowhere
- The Future Kings Of Nowhere (307 Knox) :: Just like the Kingston Trio, only faster and bloodier. Shuyler Jansen - Today's Remains (Black Hen) :: Finally, a country album that cuts through
the current commercial crapola and digs deep to mine the core of quality workmanship. Bedouin
Soundclash - Street Gospels (Side One Dummy) :: Street garbage that makes me lift my leg and do the pissant
shuffle. Eve To Adam - Queens To Eden (KDS) :: Track one is a banal
blooper about popping pills. Track two is a pooped popped-up power ballad. The result is an easy double play that retires
the side and leaves the rest of the album stranded in the on-deck circle. Heavy Trash
- Going Way Out With Heavy Trash (Yep Roc) :: Jerry Lee Lewis soaks the Cramps with spo-dee-o-dee wine and gives
them a butane flame job. Mucho recommendo. Caribou - Andorra (Merge)
:: Ethereal electronics which soar like a hot air balloon escaping from a Fripp & Eno prisoner of pop camp. Mister Mann - December Looms (self-released) :: A guy who looks like Willem Dafoe and sings:
"I become the rapist from your past." What are the odds? SIZZLING SNATCH PLATTER
OF THE WEEK: Gore Gore Girls - Get The Gore (Bloodshot) :: Not since the recently reunited Cycle Sluts From
Hell has there been such primo pseudo-primitive, boob-bouncin', ball-bashin', power-pop that's more Funicello than a squirtin'
spread-eagled beach blanket quim quench and tuffer than Tura Satana layin' a patch over your chewed-off and spat-out knob. Be seeing you!
Sat, April 10, 2021 | link
Saturday, April 3, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #777JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #777.516.144! Isaac
Hayes - Live At Montreux 2005 (Eagle Vision) :: Wherein a soporific Black Snoozus ponderously pontificates
through his greatest hits. Bonus points for finally coming alive to conduct the synthesized orchestra on an extended version
of "Shaft." Points deducted for not having the testicular fortitude to encore with "Chocolate Salty Balls." Mahavishnu Orchestra - Live At Montreux 1974 (Eagle Vision) :: A year after recording the
seminal Birds Of Fire album, John McLaughlin played Montreux with a new lineup that included Jean-Luc Ponty and Narada
Michael Walden. Picking up where the live-in-Central Park album Between Nothingness And Eternity left off, this rare
archival footage is essential viewing for any Mahafusion fan. Asia - Fantasia:
Live In Tokyo (Eagle Vision) :: Any band that can lay claim to playing authentic versions of "Roundabout" (Steve
Howe), "Fanfare For The Common Man" (Carl Palmer), "In The Court Of The Crimson King" (John Wetton) and
"Video Killed The Radio Star" (Geoff Downes) all in one concert is worthy of your admiration, however begrudgingly. Al Di Meola - Speak A Volcano: Return To Electric Guitar (MVD Video) :: As close to intuitive
musical Zen as you can possibly get, the sheer effortless fluidity of Di Meola's playing is positively breathtaking. Bonus
points for including a video guitar clinic. Various Artists - Dear Mr. Fantasy:
A Celebration For Jim Capaldi (Eagle Vision) :: Am I the only one who thinks that the drearily dull "Dear Mr. Fantasy"
is the most overrated rock song ever? After watching these well-meaning geezers dodder around the stage for two hours, I guess
I am. SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Marvin Gaye - Greatest Hits Live In '76
(Eagle Vision) :: Wearing a striped slime green barbershop quartet outfit that has to be seen to be believed-sunglasses not
included-our bow-tied man in Amsterdam rips through a whopping 24 songs in a Ramones-worthy 51 minutes flat. Hey, if I
wore a fey-glo leprechaun suit like that, I'd wanna get off the stage as fast as I could too. Be seeing you!
Sat, April 3, 2021 | link
Saturday, March 27, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #776JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #776.515.143! Bootsy
- Ultra Wave (Collectors' Choice) :: CC-that's Collector's Choice not Chocolate City-has just reissued four vintage
albums by everybody's funniest P-Funkster. But this sly "Made in Detroit" slinkfest is the one I bought first. Aided
and ably abetted by brother Catfish Collins and the legendary Horny Horns of James Brown veterans Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker,
Bootzilla stomps hisself silly all over songs like "Mug Push" and "Sound Crack" until the sonic landscape
is reduced to riotous rubble. Yes - Live At Montreux 2003 (Eagle Records)
:: Granted, this may not be the ferocious metal monster that Yessongs is, but given that it's performed by the self-same
lineup of Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman, and White exactly 30 years later, it's definitely the next best thing.
Rick Wakeman & The New English Rock Ensemble - Out Of The Blue
(MVD Audio) :: Meanwhile, this live Argentinean recording from 2001 is worth owning just for the marathon reworkings of "Starship
Trooper" and "Catherine Parr." The Sojourners - Hold On
(Black Hen) :: Radiating a purifying white light, this is spiritual three-part harmony gospel music at its redemptive finest.
The Black Swans - Change! (La Société Expéditionnaire) ::
Louie Reed meets Lenny Cohen. T-t-turn and face deranged. Slave To The Squarewave
- Big Change (Sparks) :: Skinny tie retro syntho that smacks of the '80s in blow-snortin' way-which is why they're
dopey enough to steal one of their song titles and lyrics wholesale from "The Jean Genie." SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Oblivion Sun - Oblivion Sun (MVD Audio) :: Finally, a band
that knows how to forge Moog-fueled prog-rock just like the masters used to melt. Shades of Phil Manzanera's similarly-titled
Quiet Sun collide with fragments from Stomu Yamashta's Go with a bit of early Genesis and ethereal Jade Warrior thrown in
for good groovy Mahavishnu measure-and it's about time, it's about space. Be seeing
you!
Sat, March 27, 2021 | link
Saturday, March 20, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #775JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #775.514.142! Johnny
Thunders - Who's Been Talking? (MVD Visual DVD) :: Recorded a few days before El Thunderoso died in April
1991, this Japanese gig is a joyous energetic romp, admirably augmented by the big Amazonian lungs of super-stacked platinum
blonde chantoozie Alison Gordy. Better than any smarmy stew Buster JoHasbeen ever served up, this excellent appearance cooks
from start to finish just L.A.M.F. should. Deep Purple - In Concert
With The London Symphony Orchestra (Eagle Vision DVD) :: The inevitable last word in orchestral rock concerts comes when
Ian Gillian and Ronnie James Dio rip into "Smoke On The Water" and the band plays so loud that you can't hear the
100 piece orchestra behind them! Now that's entertainment. Tim Buckley - My
Fleeting House (MVD Visual DVD) :: From his early 1967 gig on The Monkees to rare European television and live
footage in 1974 just before he died, this Buckley mixture is the definitive documentary for those loyalists who still revere
his unique brand of musical eclecticism. I'm not one of them, but then again, I never thought Robert Johnson was any great
shakes, either. Of course, I was wrong. Paul Rodgers - Live In Glasgow
(Eagle Vision DVD) :: The lead singer of Queen wants to break free-and does! You gotta give the guy credit for not performing
any Queen numbers, opting instead to cover more obscure traditional blues numbers like "All Right Now" and "Can't
Get Enough" in chest-thumpin' versions that make his Queen songs sound positively fey by comparison. SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Harptallica - Harptallica (self released) :: If you thought
that Apocalyptica's album of four cello versions was the last word in Metallica covers, then you ain't heard what Patricia
Klein and Ashley Toman can do with just a couple of harps. By extracting the chilling core of Metallica's music, these women
have come up with the most eerily haunting harp album you'll hear this year. Even better, they're two pretty hot babes! Harpo Marx - Harpo In Hi-Fi (Mercury) :: Hush little baby, don't say a word. Be seeing you!
Sat, March 20, 2021 | link
Saturday, March 13, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #774JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #774.513.141! Grant
Morrison & Frank Quitely - All-Star Superman (DC Comics) :: After 70 long years, you'd
think that every possible Superman story angle had already been done to death, but you'd be dead wrong. Defying all odds and
exceeding all expectations comes this refreshing new take on the world's greatest superhero. Consistently entertaining with
inventive writing and art that eerily evokes Tanino Liberatore's wonky work on RanXerox, this is one comic that truly
is of "All-Star" caliber. Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
- Keep Reachin' Up (Light In The Attic) :: Despite being recorded in Helsinki of all places, this compilation sounds
as if it came straight outta mid-'70s Philly. Far from being your usual retro Blaxplo, Nicole Willis and her Finlandia funksters
don't just tap into the essence of urban Afrocentricity. They mine a deep-grooved authenticity that can't be faked. Even her
album cover strikes the correct cool vibe; look it up for yourself and see if I'm not right. Then take it from me that the
sounds within do that graphic gem justice. Queen V - Death Or Glory
(Royal Noise) :: Queen V is the raunchy new Wendy O. Williams of rock 'n' roll. Just like WOW, this snarlin' guttersnipe has
a primo Plasmatics attitude and, even better, she does her own duet with Lord Lemmy, aka King Kilmister. Bow down, bow down
to the Queen. The Queen of Queens. There is only one. SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK:
Betty Davis - Betty Davis (Light In The Attic) :: Try not to pass out ‘cause this Betty Davis reissue
is the hottest 'n' horniest, ruffest 'n' tuffest, funkiest 'n' freakiest, sweatiest 'n' sexiest female debut album ever recorded
(in 1973, to be exact), period. From the sassy streetwalkin' national anthem "If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up"
to the hussy-hissin' late-night catfight "Your Man My Man," Betty's bold spread-eagled style is so brazen, it makes
her late ex-hubby Miles' brand of hardcore fusion sound like castrated folk music. And you wonder why Miles lost his voice.
Be seeing you!
Sat, March 13, 2021 | link
Saturday, March 6, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #773JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #773.512.140! SIZZLING
SOUNDTRACK OF THE WEEK: James Hyman - A Quentin Tarantino Mash-Up :: (A James Hyman/Audio
Shrapnel Feature Presentation) :: So you all will know the seriousness of my warning, I shall say this in English. James
Hyman, a highly respected UK tube 'n' flick music industry veteran and dizzbusting Saturday night radio DJ on London's XFM,
has skillfully stitched together an extraordinary audiologue that effectively encapsulates the stylistic offbeat essence of
multifaceted movies like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. That's
because James Hyman's A Quentin Tarantino Mash-Up is an absolute bona fide bravura masterpiece that doesn't
drop the beat once, all right? Clocking in at an extensively exhaustive 78 minutes, this gargantuan-I've always liked that
word-55 track epic not only features music and dialogue from QT's first four movies, it also includes vital spoken word passages
from rarely heard promo-only albums like Truth And Fiction. Toss in an astute selection of other inspirational
like-minded songs that QT never used in any of his films-but sure wishes he had-and you'll know why Tarantino himself gave
this marathon magnum opus his certified cool Red Apple seal of approval once he heard it. After
all, where else can you hear the Beatles backing Elvis Presley or Missy Elliott doing a duet with Steelers Wheel or Britney
Spears joining the stacked cast of Girls Who Love Guns or QT himself singing "My Sharona" with
the Knack after competing in a rap throwdown with Andre 3000-all masterfully mixed into one seamless thematically linked soundscape?
This must-have album is essential listening because it's the only QT LP you'll ever need. Unfortunately,
just like a Hattori Hanzo sword, A Quentin Tarantino Mash-Up is priceless and not for sale-not even in El Paso. But go to
jameshyman.com anyway and see if you can buy one-no matter what the cost-because this unrelenting aural canvas of carnage
'n' comedy proves that James Hyman is the all-time undisputed modern master of the mash-up, all right? Be seeing you!
Sat, March 6, 2021 | link
Saturday, February 27, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #772JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #772.511.139! Brian
Azzarello & Eduardo Risso & Patricia Mulvihill - 100 Bullets, Volume
11 (Vertigo) :: The greatest full-color crime comic ever is back with a gritty new 200-page collection that's stuffed
full of unbridled menace and unrepentant mayhem. If you haven't experienced this elegantly seedy modern masterpiece of rampant
recidivism yet, then it's definitely time to get your hands wet because 100 Bullets is the textbook definition of
what a contemporary crime comic should be. So, don't be a lollygagging sap waiting for someone to make it into a flick, go
out and buy it now. It'll be the best 16 bucks you spend this week. SIZZLING PLATTER OF
THE WEEK: Ted Nugent - Love Grenade (Eagle Rock) :: If you missed Ted's last couple of albums, don't worry
'cause you didn't miss much. Both Spirit Of The Wild and Craveman were half-assed instant delete bin efforts
that feebly marked musical time before a bored Ted rightly retired from the studio to hunt and star in his own ferality TV
show. But just in case you missed it the first time around, a refreshed Ted is back with his best
start-to-finish solo album since he recorded Ted Nugent over 30 years ago. It's so good that his 40th anniversary remake of
"Journey To The Center Of The Mind" is actually the album's weakest track. In fact, the only way Ted could've improved
Love Grenade is if he'd hired Derek St. Holmes to sing half the songs. Sure, the record's
one long lascivious leer, but don't ask Ted to return to the days when he used to write socially conscious songs like "Pony
Express." I did once and Ted hauled off and slugged me in the shoulder. Just make sure that
the copy you buy has the real sizzling platter on the front. That'd be the album cover with the photo of a naked woman. With
her wrists tied behind her back. Doubled over and kneeling on a large cooking platter. Garnished with vegetables. With a hand
grenade shoved in her mouth. You can't Ms. it. Be seeing you!
Sat, February 27, 2021 | link
Friday, February 26, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S ROCK ’N’ ROLL PHOTOGRAPHSJEFFREY MORGAN'S ROCK 'N' ROLL PHOTOGRAPHS
While you're visiting, don't forget
to view the dozens of essential selections from my vast archive of hundreds of extremely rare and previously
unseenrock 'n' roll photographs from the 1970s and 1980s--all of which were taken by myself from my front row center
seat at various venerable venues; vintage historical portraits which include the following rock stars caught in their youthful
prime:
David Bowie (1976 Station To Station tour) :: Lou
Reed (1974 Sally Can't Dance tour) :: Iggy Pop (1977 The
Idiot tour) :: Bob Dylan (1978 Street Legaltour) :: George
Harrison (1974 Dark Horse tour) :: Paul McCartney (1976 Wings
Over America tour) :: Pete Townshend (1976 The Who By Numberstour) :: Johnny
Winter (1976 Captured Live! tour) :: Jeff Beck (1975 Blow
By Blow tour) :: KISS (1977 Love Gun tour) :: Alice Cooper (1975 Welcome
To My Nightmare tour) :: Freddie Mercury (1977 News Of The World tour)
:: Amanda Lear (1975 Sweet Revenge tour) :: Rod Stewart (1977 Foot
Loose & Fancy Free tour) :: Mick Jagger (1975 It's Only Rock 'n Roll tour)
:: New York Dolls (1975 Tokyo Dolls Live tour) :: Keith Richards (1975 It's
Only Rock 'n Roll tour) :: Ian Hunter (1989 YUI Orta tour) :: Elton
John (1974 Caribou tour) :: Mick Ronson (1989 YUI Orta tour)
:: Steven Tyler (1977 Draw The Line tour) :: Sparks (1975 Indiscreet tour)
:: James Brown (1986 Gravity tour) :: Miles Davis (1985 You're
Under Arrest tour) :: Roger Daltrey(1976 The Who By Numbers tour) :: Bruce
Springsteen & Clarence Clemons (1975 Born To Run tour) :: John
Entwistle (1976 The Who By Numbers tour) :: Keith Moon (1976 The
Who By Numbers tour) :: The Who(1976 The Who By Numbers tour) :: and more!
Ask any dealer and he'll tell you that the best way to get someone hooked on your product is to give them a free sample,
so here's just a small taste of what's coming your way when you click on the eleven gallery links to your left:
Fri, February 26, 2021 | link
Saturday, February 20, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #771JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #771.510.138! Various
Artists - Wattstax (Stax) :: After my minimal Wattstax review ran two weeks ago, I received the
following anonymous letter: "Dear Jeffrey Morgan. I was at Wattstax years ago and I was appalled at the short shrift
you gave this new expanded version of the original album. You neglected to mention that this three-disc box set is a treasure
trove of classic and unreleased tracks that brings the Wattstax experience to life. Or that virtually every Stax artist is
represented doing their greatest secular, spiritual and soulful hits. Have you ever written any liner notes yourself, sir?
I doubt it because if you had you would know that the musician interviews contained in Rob Bowman's excellent liner notes
are a true revelation. Wattstax was much more than just the black Woodstock, it was a historical watershed moment and peaceful
cultural uprising against The Man that still resonates to this day as the very embodiment of The Living Word! Not only is
this new definitive version of Wattstax the greatest live album ever, in my opinion it is also the album of the year
and if I had a weekly column like yours I would tell people to go out and buy it so they could hear for themselves what hope
and faith sound like. You should be deeply ashamed of yourself for insulting an entire community by using this excellent Wattstax
box set as a springboard for your cheap Charlie Wattstax joke." Cheap? SIZZLING PLATTER
OF THE WEEK: Tony Palmer - All My Loving (MVD Visual DVD) :: This essential late-'60s UK film about rock
music and pop culture is the perfect visual companion to Revolt Into Style, George Melly's essential early '70s UK
book about pop culture and rock music. All My Loving skewers rock 'n' roll with a savage unblinking eye that's both
riveting and revealing. Everyone who is anyone is interviewed, from the Fabs and 'Oo to Donovan and Zappa. Too bad about the
indefensible inclusion of Nazi concentration camp and Vietnam atrocity footage, though. Be
seeing you!
Sat, February 20, 2021 | link
Saturday, February 13, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #770JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #770.509.137! SIZZLING
PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Zeitkratzer - Metal Machine Music: Live (Asphodel) :: Right from the very beginning,
when it first came out in 1975, decades before the advent of such caffeine-laced drugs as Jolt Cola and Tylenol Ultra, I habitually
used Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music as industrial strength therapeutic headache medication. I'd crank side one up
to maximum volume and the grinding high-pitched feedback would lock in at the exact same neural frequency as my headache and
neutralize it without fail, usually within five minutes. So when I had lunch with Unca Lou a year later in 1976, we confided
as one dedicated user to another. JEFFREY MORGAN: That album performs a service,
at certain times. When you need it, it's there. LOU REED: Metal Machine?
When I need to get it out of my system so I don't kill somebody...it gets things out of my system. It's cathartic. Over time, my avowed advocacy of the album became well known. One day in the early '90s, during the brainstorming
session when I came up with the title Between Thought And Expression for Lou's RCA anthology-if you have a copy of
the booklet, you could look it up-box set producer Rob Bowman asked me: "Be honest. When was the last time you listened
to Metal Machine Music?" "Two weeks ago!" I replied and Rob laughed, knowing that I was telling him
the truth. And because I do have every sonic squeal and squelch of that album committed to memory,
I can tell you with a fan addict's unabashed authority that Zeitkratzer's live version of Metal Machine Music is
an astonishing absolute exact aural duplication of the original random-generated electronic studio recording, transcribed
into sheet music and played on an unlikely array of instruments, ranging from accordion and tuba to violin and trumpet. But the real payoff comes at the end, when Old Unca Lou himself takes the stage to pound out a solo guitar shriekfest
that's even more scabrous than his synapse-snapper on "I Heard Her Call My Name." Be
seeing you!
Sat, February 13, 2021 | link
Saturday, February 6, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #769JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #769.508.136! Various
Artists - Wattstax (Stax) :: The black Woodstock. Various Artists
- Charlie Wattstax (ABKCO) :: The black Altamont. SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK:
Spacekitti - Galaxy (Dart) :: So there I was, doing the seedy sidewalk shuffle late one night, when all
of a sudden I hear this compelling cacophony of chaos detonating out the door of a corner bar. Instantly in love, I walk in
and am I stunned to see this bodacious blond bombshell with a binary brain sitting all by her lonesome onstage with a guitar
slung across her lap, hammering out cosmic coruscating sheets of rampant ambient drone, all mega-amped up to the nillionth
hyperwatt degree like she's the new hard-wired industrial age Nico. Letting the amateurs stay safely ensconced at the back,
I stood at the front of the stage and watched as this woman single-handedly sculpted an aural psychetecture that evoked everything
from Edgar Froese and Klaus Schulze to Steve Reich and Terry Riley. After I recovered, I scooped
up a copy of her record Galaxy and took it home, fully expecting to wallow in a marathon drone session. Instead,
I found a concise set of five pop songs primed to a percolating electropulse. How do I love it? Let me count the ways: "Fearless"
is a whispering wash that evokes the best of early Ralf and Florian when they were still a duo; "High Strung" is
a rapid-fire foggy mental breakdown; "Nobody Cares" is a deliriously disjointed herky-jerk that out-deadpans Annette
Peacock; "Strung Out" is a minimal off-world space sitar recital; and "Ibizakitti" is a languid flow house
drone. But as great as Galaxy is, it's just a foretaste of what this woman is capable
of doing. In her hands, the guitar is a time-spanning teleportation device through which all matter is made malleable as she
spans the cosmos, traversing the space between the notes. She is Spacekitti. Spacekitti is Jilli
Dart. And Jilli Dart is the future of electronic sonic exotica. Be seeing you!
Sat, February 6, 2021 | link
Saturday, January 30, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #768JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #768.507.135! The Mohawk
Lodge - Wildfires (White Whale) :: Ugh. Portico - Progeny
Blues (Cooperspine) :: Had Kurt Cobain been born a woman, he would've stuck around to record this killer rock album. Dana Gillespie - Weren't Born A Man (RCA) :: Too bad her record sales weren't as big as
her tits. Botch - America Nervoso (Hydra Head) :: But putting a pair
on an album cover is still a good way to get my attention! Mark Berube - What
The River Gave The Boat (Kwalu) :: Why the reviewer gave the boot: Jobriath meets Tom Waits. Okkervil
River - The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar) :: This is the absolute best cabaret angst record I've ever heard.
It's the only cabaret angst record I've ever heard, but it's the absolute best. SIZZLING
PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Various Artists - Vee-Jay: The Definitive Collection (Shout! Factory) :: The hip record
company that first introduced The Beatles to America over 50 years ago is back with this comprehensive 86-track compendium
of everything essential that's absolutely worth hearing, from gospel and blues to soul and doo-wop with a hot load of rude
rudimentary rock squirted deep in between for good measure. Some of the stellar standouts include: Billy Boy Arnold's "I
Wish You Would," Pricilla Bowman's "Hands Off," Elmore James' "It Hurts Me Too," Camille Howard's
"Rock ‘n' Roll Mama," Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do," Christine Kittrell's "I'm
A Woman," Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons' "Sherry," Betty Everett's "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's
In His Kiss)," Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love" and-my fave-the Honeycombs' "Have I The Right." With
an all-star lineup like that, it goes without saying that this ecstatically eclectic four-disc box set is the perfect nonstop
soundtrack for your next swingin' soirée, whether it's a soda-sippin' sweetheart sock hop or an oiled up orgy-a-go-go. Be seeing you!
Sat, January 30, 2021 | link
Saturday, January 23, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #767JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #767.506.134! SIZZLING
PLATTER OF THE WEEK: KMFDM - TOHUVABOHU (Metropolis) :: If you doubt that I have nothing but maximum respect
for this band, Google my exclusive WWIII combat zone interview with KMFDM's Minister Of Excessive Force, Group Käptain
Konietzko. But just because I voluntarily enlisted to support the cause doesn't mean that I have to own all their albums because,
frankly, on some of them, KMFDM sucks. And although I gave Hau Ruck a busted rank dishonorable discharge for being
AWOL, I'm pleased to report that TOHUVABOHU is a stunning triumphant return to witty, informed, front-line form that
solidifies and summarizes the classic synth-soaked, guitar-shredded, self-referential and relentlessly bludgeoning sonic brutality
of previous successful scorched mirth campaigns NIHIL, ANGST and XTORT. So,
when I tell you that KMFDM's industrial soundtrack to the holy wars continues unabated, that's not me projecting a wistful
nostalgic assessment; that's me stating a cold hard fact-one made even more amazing when you consider that every band member
from the turbulent TVT days is long gone. But that doesn't mean Sascha's new incarnation is aping the old crew. It means that
the new crew has successfully encapsulated and enhanced the classic core KMFDM sound. And don't try to tell me that they've
gone "pop," because previous mandatory mass inoculations like "A Drug Against War," "Juke Joint Jezebel"
and "Son Of A Gun" were always intended to be subversive toe-tapping mission statements right from the very beginning. I've said it before but just in case you weren't paying attention the first time I'll reiterate for ya: Sascha Konietzko
is the new Paul Kantner, Lucia Cifarelli is the new Grace Slick, and KMFDM is the new and improved hyper-heavy socially conscious
Jefferson Airplane of the 21st century. Stronger than never ever before, KMFDM is the superpower you can trust. So ask for
TOHUVABOHU by name and take it as often as required whenever you need fast, fast relief from sub-sonic mediocrity. Be seeing you!
Sat, January 23, 2021 | link
Saturday, January 16, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #766JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #766.505.133! SIZZLING
REPRINT OF THE WEEK: Chester Gould - The Complete Chester Gould's Dick Tracy, Volumes I & 2, 1931-1935
(IDW Publishing) :: There's no denying that the world's greatest detective comic strip ever created was Chester Gould's relentless
two-fisted marathon of crime-busting mayhem, Dick Tracy. Splattered out in unequal portions of one part heartfelt
sensitive romance and three parts hardcore sadistic violence, Gould's 1931 creation was a radically new form of strip which
reflected the real-life gangster era. Years before he introduced misshapen criminals like the legendary Flattop and futurist
crimebusting tools like the decades-ahead-of-its-time two-way wrist radio, Gould had Tracy tossing lead with petty thugs,
crime bosses-even the occasional corrupt City Hall official who would get perforated outside his office. For his trouble, Tracy was routinely shot up, beat up and brutally tortured in a series of ambushes and death traps
that always left him bloodily battered. Even Tracy's extended family wasn't immune to the big payback: His girlfriend Tess
and adopted son Junior were kidnapped on more than one occasion-and once the kid was literally soldered into an empty residential
hot water tank which was then heated up with a blow torch. Quentin Tarantino would blanch at portraying something like that
today, yet graphic scenes like this took place in the comics section of family newspapers all across America in the 1930s. Now-finally-IDW Publishing has begun printing a series of definitive chronological hardcover reprints of this seminal
series, edited by respected crime author Max Allan Collins. The quality of the black and white reproductions is uniformly
crisp, and a majority of the strips contained in these first two volumes have rarely been reprinted in other Tracy anthologies,
if ever. You'll be amazed at how fast-paced these exciting action-packed adventures are, thanks
in part to Gould's unique overlapping writing style of beginning each new storyline a week before the current one ends. Trust
me, these crimestopping textbooks are essential reading for any hard-boiled crime buff. I'm
on my way!
Sat, January 16, 2021 | link
Saturday, January 9, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #765JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #765.504.132! SIZZLING--geddit?--PLATTER
OF THE WEEK: David Bowie - Blackstar (ISO) :: You'd think that suffering a heart attack after recording
the less than holy holy Heathen would've warned him to resist the dark side, but nooooooooooooo. Various Artists - Moogfest 2006 Live (MVD Visual DVD) :: When it comes to aural affection,
Moog synthesizer adherents are the most avid. Jan Hammer hurts 'em with a solid set that spans his solo career, from his work
with Steve Kindler and Jeff Beck to his Miami Vice days. Meanwhile, an unrecognizable Keith Emerson knifes away through a
marathon performance of "Tarkus" using his trademark 15-foot-high patch board. Both lads still have their speed
freak chops intact; close your eyes and you'll swear it was 1973. If you still delight in the classic Moog "bee-yow"
synth sound, then this DVD's for you. Rick Wakeman - Amazing Grace (MVD Visual
DVD) :: Wherein the world's greatest rock 'n' roll keyboardist sits down at the grand piano for an acoustic interpretation
of the world's greatest rock of ages hymns. This one features live and studio performances along with-don't laugh-some truly
evocative scenes of nature. Rick also personally introduces each hymn with an educational historical overview. And since his
speed freak chops are still just as fast as Emerson's, it's interesting to compare Rick's reverent rendition of "Jerusalem"
with Keith's electronic one on Brain Salad Surgery. Various Artists
- San Francisco Rock: A Night At The Family Dog (Eagle Vision DVD) :: Ralph "Jazzbo" Gleason presented
this February 1970 show, featuring "Che" Santana and the Grateful Airplane. Che's set features a sweat-soaked "Soul
Sacrifice" which demolishes the Woodstock version, while the Airplane do strident takes of "The Ballad Of You And
Me And Pooneil" and "Eskimo Blue Day." Major points deducted for Jorma's swastika pendant-kids, huh?-but even
so, these bands never looked as good as they do here. Except for Grace "Does Anyone Have A Safety Pin?" Slick, who
couldn't keep her dress on when I saw her front row center a month later at O'Keefe Center on the Volunteers tour.
Back then it wasn't a "wardrobe malfunction"-it was called getting your six bucks' worth. Drool drool. Bee-yowing you!
Sat, January 9, 2021 | link
Saturday, January 2, 2021
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #764THE BEST OF JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #764.503! Presented for your approval, in semi-strict order so as not to show any undue payola favoritism,
is Jeffrey Morgan's five year flashback from 2015 Top Ten List Of Records as they appear on my official ballot for this year's
Village Voice rock critics poll, which I've been
voting in annually ever since Robert Christgau was kind enough to give me the nod five decades ago. In other words, and I've
got a million of 'em, these are my Sizzling Platters Of The Year, all of which deserve repeated spins on your Victrola. 01 :: Wendy James
- The Price Of The Ticket (Pledge Music) :: The
greatest supersonic offering yet by America's all-time greatest femme fatale-and I do mean female! 02 :: Sarah Jane Morris - Bloody Rain (Fallen Angel Records) :: The greatest supersonic
offering yet by England's all-time greatest femme fatale-and I do mean fatal! 03
:: Room Full Of Strangers - Bad Vacation (self released) :: Perfectly primed with enough percolating primo
punk attitude to do you through, Room Full Of Strangers crank out the kind of dirty distorto rock 'n' roll that Mother used
to hate-and on their new album Bad Vacation they
effortlessly exude enough verve and swerve to conjure up fond fun-filled fuzztone memories of Blue Cheer and The Amboy Dukes,
all garnished with a snappy snooty side order of two tub Dictators via the sardonic Boy Howdy! satire of CREEM: America's
Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine! 04 :: Marco
Minnemann - Celebration (Lazy Bones Recordings) :: Most regular readers of this column know who this dizbusting whizz kid is but I'll reiterate
for ya: Marco Minnemann plays the drums like Jeff Beck plays the guitar, which pretty much tells you all you need to know
about this unreasonably hypersonic session that sounds like a kinetic cross between Todd Rundgren and Frank Zappa performing
their most visionary and volatile audio pyrotechnics! 05 :: The 24th Street Wailers - Where Evil Grows (LBM Records) :: Four on the floor
supercharged rock 'n' roll fused with the power of the blues! 06 :: Leslie West - Soundcheck (Provogue Records) :: Leslie West? Enough said! 07
:: Left Lane Cruiser - Dirty Spliff Blues (Alive Records) :: Don't Bogart that track, my friend, spin
it over to me! 08 :: Gregg Allman - Alive: Back To Macon, GA - January 14, 2014 (Rounder Records) :: Gregg Allman? More than enough said! 09 :: Retrocity - Mixtape (self released) :: If you missed their first album Totally
80s A Cappella back in 2006-or, for that matter, if you missed the entire decade known
as the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Eighties-now's your chance to catch up on both! 10
:: Various Artists - 24 Classic Blues Songs From The 1920s Volume 12 (Blues Images) :: For over a
decade I've been bending your ear about John Tefteller's annual Blues Images calendars, each one of which is accompanied by
a long player of vintage historical 78 rpm tracks. Well, consider this a friendly reminder that it's high time you went to
BluesImages.com and found out for yourself why the 2015 edition made this Top Ten list. Better yet, go there now and start
the new year right by buying their 2016 wall calendar and getting a head start on hearing why the accompanying Volume 13 disc is bound to be glorified on next year's Top
Ten list! Be seeing you!
Sat, January 2, 2021 | link
Saturday, December 26, 2020
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #763JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #763.502.131! The Two
Koreas - "Altruists" (Unfamiliar) :: The amphetamine gitbox style of Lou Reed + the hyperkinetic
vox style of Pete Townshend = relentless rock 'n' roll. Stamen & Pistils
- Towns (Echelon Productions) :: Secret life plant music so ploddingly impenetrable it makes A Passion Play
sound like Follow The Leader. Korn - Unplugged (Virgin) ::
Strip away the artificial angst and they begin to sound like Jethro Tull. Little Aida
- Mad Country (Second Shimmy) :: Acoustic mellotronian harmoniums. Lighting Dust
- Lightning Dust (Jagjaguwar) :: Armed with a mighty quim quivering voice that's part Grace Slick and part Tiny Tim,
distressed songstress Amber Webber is the unstable female Neil Young. Maps + Atlases
- Tree, Swallow, Houses (Sargent House) :: Frippertronics on a hot tin roof. Nurses
- Hangin' Nothin' But Our Hands Down (Sargent House) :: Amateur hour goes on and on. Worst album of the year, hands
down. John Wort Hannam - Two Bit Suit (Black Hen) :: Competent generic
country that ain't bad but nothin' new neither. Klaxons - Myths Of The Near
Future (Geffen) :: A-OO-GAH music for cokeheads. Make sure you remove the brass tube first before you sit down, Stevie. Autons - Short-Term Manifesto (Zip) :: Rexian gitbox boogie + Roxite synth sonics = relentless
rock 'n' roll. SIZZLING STATEMENT OF THE WEEK: Jon Brooks - Ours And The
Shepherds (Exile) :: I may be a "might makes right" kinda guy, but I sure know quality when I hear it-and this
thoughtfully insightful low key concept album about warfare though the ages has lots of it. And although I don't agree with
everything he says, I know his heart's in the right place. Besides, he's less obfuscating than Dylan and more sincere than
Springsteen. Be seeing you!
Sat, December 26, 2020 | link
Saturday, December 19, 2020
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #762 JEFFREY MORGAN'S MEDIA BLACKOUT #762.501.130! Telephone
- Automatic (Cobra) :: Telephone is ringing, this exceptional rock solid rock, which sounds as if it came straight
outta England's mid-'70s new wave movement, has got me on the run. I'd accept the charges if I were you, anticipating fun. Dälek - Deadverse Massive Vol. 1 :: Dälek Rarities 1999-2006 (Hydra Head) ::
Cascading shards of sound careen across an uncanny adventurous hip-hop terrain that alternates between easy-listening ambience
and archetypal electro-synthscapes. Portugal, The Man - Church Mouth
(Fearless) :: The wondrously weird 'n' wonky solo album that Russell Mael never recorded but sure should've features falsetto
songs that recall the early '70s at its quirky best. Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
(Virgin) :: He may have done the self-destruct samba on The Bride Stripped Bare, but this genial gem is El Ferranti's
best solo work since In Your Mind. And although he's not as vociferously vocal as he was when he belted out "Hard
Rain" on his first solo foray, any Roxy-related album that has the classic alliterative credits "Farfisa :: Ferry"
and "Electronics :: Eno" is definitely worth your while. Bob Dylan
- Ferryesque (Columbia) :: I wish. SIZZLING PLATTERS OF THE WEEK :: Paranoids
- Obsessions Delusions & Headtrips Volumes 1 & 2 (Gaff) :: Several years ago, the Paranoids released a four
track EP that contained a truly grand glam rock song called "The Party's Over." Now come these two ambitious discs
which showcase the full scope of their mature musical ability. Volume 1 came out in 2005 and was such a quantum evolution
of their usual style that I couldn't get my head around what they were doing. But with the release of Volume 2, I finally
realize (a) that the Paranoids can record pensive modern music right up there with the very best of them; and (b) that the
Paranoids just might be the smart 'n' stylish new-fangled art rock messiahs we've all been waiting for. Be seeing you!
Sat, December 19, 2020 | link
Saturday, December 12, 2020
JEFFREY MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #761 JEFFREY
MORGAN’S MEDIA BLACKOUT #761.500.129! The Stooges – “L.A. Blues”
(Elektra) :: Song title of the century! Chuck Berry – “You Never
Can Tell” (Chess) :: Bonus points for actually singing: “They had a teenage weddin’ and the old folks
whooshed ’em well.” Parkas – Put Your Head In The
Lion’s Mouth (Savory) :: This exceptional album just might be the long-lost imaginary home-spun sequel to Exile
On Main St. that the Rolling Stones were too outta their heads to record. Datarock
– Datarock (Nettwerk) :: These two guys say: “BMX is better than sex!” Jeffrey Morgan says: “Get
a second opinion, you closeted pudknockers.”
To The Lions
– Baptism Of Fire (Goodfellow) :: The record company claims that this hardcore album is “chock full of
sing-along vocals.” That’s a choke, son. Jeffrey Morgan claims that if they slowed down a little they could be
Burlington, Ontario’s answer to Mötörhead. Gag, that is. The Doors
– “L.A. Woman” (Elektra) :: Song title of the century! Gary
Moore – Close As You Get (Eagle Rock) :: Gary’s corrosive and downright scabrously
filthy guitar sound will tell you more about what real blues are than the actual songs themselves. Get any closer and you’ll
need to scrub down in a vat of lye. David Bowie – “The Jean
Genie” (June 16, 1974; 6:30 show) :: Bonus points for actually singing: “New Yooks a goo goo and everything
tastes nice.” SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE WEEK: Doug Cox & Sail Bhatt
– Slide To Freedom (Northern Blues) :: This pioneering East Indian-themed album admirably and definitively
redefines what a “blues” album is in the same way that George Harrison’s pioneering East Indian-themed Wonderwall
Music admirably and definitively redefined what a “rock” album is. Jimmy
Page & Robert Plant – No Quarter (Atlantic) :: Amateurs. Led
Zeppelin – “L.A. Drone” (Atlantic) :: Song title of the century! Be seeing
you!
Sat, December 12, 2020 | link
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