2025 Folk / Country Journal

Los Dandy's - Lindo Amorcito. 2016 Pharaway (LP) (1985). Like with Big Lost Rainbow, another surprising 69 cent find at the thrift shop. I've always appreciated Guerssen's commitment to rarities, but this one may have been a bridge too far for most collectors. It's essentially Cumbia music from Peru, just as the back cover suggests. There's lightly strummed electric guitar throughout, and what sounds like video game synthesizers. Primitive and perhaps therein lies its charm. It's a reissue of a very rare 1985 album, one that has yet to surface on Discogs. (12/2)

Big Lost Rainbow. 1999 Akarma (LP) (1973). Looks like it's been 10 months since my last folk entry. Yea, not in my wheelhouse for sure. I usually go through these titles quickly and just push them to the show boxes. Only so much time. But here was a surprise. Not an every day thrift shop find (69 cents!), and on Akarma no less. I'd never heard of this album prior, so guessing the original reissue descriptions didn't lure me in. Originals command a decent price, though nothing extraordinary. From the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts, Big Lost Rainbow is one of those more-rare-than-good albums. At least from my purview. Though I'm sure I would have been elated to find an original. It's mostly low key folk, with piano, cello, flute, acoustic guitar, and a lot of vocals. The latter have a bit of Crosby Stills and Nash in them. No Neil Young fortunately. There seems to be a post mortem hippy vibe, perhaps still a viable way to make a living at the local New England pubs. Lengthy closing piece trends towards the jazz lounge scene. A whole album of that would have been better received, I think. Nice curio piece, though likely to be forgotten in the annals of history. (11/21)

Neil Young - Time Fades Away. 1973 Reprise (LP). Here we go again with Neil Young. This is another one of his high rated albums that leaves me more puzzled than ever. I'd be more sympathetic if the high ratings came only from Country fans. Lots of apologists out there stating it was a live album with all new material and there's two really great tracks that should have been in the studio. All lost on me though. Out of tune vocals and unmemorable songs. Something tells me his albums are going to be ignored in history. But so far, he's remained popular far more than most of his generation. (1/18)

2023 X-Wave Journal Vol. 1

Neil Young - Trans. 1982 Geffen. Cheapie found at the Denver Record Show (Oct). As I mentioned on the Harvest blurb, I really don't know Neil Young all that well. On Trans it appears Neil Young doesn't know himself very well. This was an ill advised move in an attempt to be current and relevant. Neil Young and new wave don't go together. Generally rated as one of his worst albums. I don't think it's bad, but it's not a very good example of the genre. 

*Swing Out Sister - It's Better to Travel. 1987 Mercury. One of those odd albums I picked up real time in my earliest exploration of "other styles". I really liked 'Twilight World' when I first heard it, a contemporary take on the late 60s and early 70s insouciant jazz pop motif. Something Burt Bacharach might have penned had he taken a shine to modern rock music. The rest of the album didn't follow that pattern, and as I deep dived further into prog in the middle 90s, albums like It's Better to Travel had no further purpose, so I let it go. I recently rescued a perfect mint copy out of a local brick and mortar for a buck, so let's hear it again - as the last four years have mimicked where my headspace was in the late 80s. OK - yes, this is really great throughout, with 'Twilight Zone' sounding even better than I remembered. Today they call this style Sophisti-Pop, a cousin to the Japanese Shibuya-kei. I need more of this honestly. Keeper and a half. (Oct)

*Prismatic Shapes - Through the Prism (EP). 2021 Static Blooms. Fun one here. Mrs. UMR and I were traveling in the Kansas City area a couple of weeks ago and I found brand new stock of this 4 track EP for dirt cheap. So I decided to play one of the copies. Not bad at all. The group moniker, title, and cover do not indicate that this is pure retro early 80s danceable new wave music. It's more Flock of Seagulls than The Cure that's for sure. And they're from Mexico, who I don't believe had much of a synth pop tradition 40 years ago. All good fun. Vinyl is pressed as "blood red splatter on bone". OK, sounds good to me. I'm keeping one for the memories. (Oct)

Kajagoogoo - White Feathers. 1983 EMI. This was one of those "why not?" pickups. I remember enjoying 'Too Shy' in the past, something that was generally far from my normal listening fare while in college. Overall I found this one a fun listen, but not a lot of depth for repeated listening. That wasn't its intent - more to get people on the dancefloor. Borderline novelty act here. (Jul)

Crowded House. 1986 Capitol. Also with the R.E.M. (Mar). Australian group who had a big hit with 'Don't Dream It's Over' something I even recognized from back in the day. It's a good song, and happens to be the only thing decent on Side 1. I also like B2 and B5 and that's about it. Straddles the line between the kind of early 80s new wave I enjoy and the rather bland and straightforward late 80s alt rock that I don't care for. More of the latter too. Average rating from me. 

Peter Gabriel - So. 1986 Geffen. With the R.E.M. (Mar). In recent times I've shared my thoughts about Peter Gabriel's solo albums. The first three ended up being a disappointment, in some cases being worse than I remember. Then the 4th (aka Security) resulted in a +2 listen, some of that no doubt attributed to the nostalgic factor. And now we get to the successor So. And I fear to say that my original grade of "good" remains. It's very well executed and polished. Gabriel's ability to tap into the mid 80s mindset is brilliant, and the music defines the 1986 era. As noted many times before, I was detached from my peer group by then, and the nostalgia for this time and place is not very strong, like it would have been for 1983. This wasn't an album I heard in full until 2015, so all my views on it are purely retrospective.

R.E.M. - Document. 1987 I.R.S. Estate sale find (Mar). I'm trying to force myself to listen to these 80s albums through and through. Honestly I don't like R.E.M. Never heard much from them that I even recognize much less care about. There is some synchronicity happening in that this is the first LP I've found from them in the wilds and I was in Athens, Georgia a little over two weeks ago. And would you believe I saw them live once, with Sonic Youth opening? I preferred the opening band naturally, but R.E.M. weren't bad. That was back in May of 1995 and I had not long before started a new job in Denver. This was the start of many company/partner-driven events I would be fortunate enough to go to over the years. As for this LP, yea I don't really care for it much at all. OK, I recognize two songs 'The One I Love' (just looked at the set list and they didn't even play it!) and 'It's the End of the World as We Know It' which they completed their encore with. If you hang in there with Document the last track 'Oddfellows Local 151' is quite good. But mostly this is average at best. 

* - Keeping for the collection