Rod Stewart - Gasoline Alley (1970) - Lp

Gasoline Alley is the second solo studio album by the British singer-songwriter Rod Stewart. It was released in June 1970. It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Originally released in the UK on the Vertigo label. It is a collection of covers combined with Stewart’s own compositions. Like many of Stewart’s solo albums from the period, it featured significant musical contributions from the other members of his band Faces.
Gasoline Alley follows the same formula of Rod Stewart‘s first album, intercutting contemporary covers with slightly older rock & roll and folk classics and originals written in the same vein. The difference is in execution. Stewart sounds more confident, claiming Elton John‘s “Country Comfort,” the Small Faces‘ “My Way of Giving,” and the Rolling Stones‘ version of “It’s All Over Now” with a ragged, laddish charm. Like its predecessor, nearly all of Gasoline Alley is played on acoustic instruments — Stewart treats rock & roll songs like folk songs, reinterpreting them in individual, unpredictable ways.
For instance, “It’s All Over Now” becomes a shambling, loose-limbed ramble instead of a tight R&B/blues groove, and “Cut Across Shorty” is based around a howling, Mideastern violin instead of a rockabilly riff. Of course, being a rocker at heart, Stewart doesn’t let these songs become limp acoustic numbers — these rock harder than any fuzz-guitar workout. The drums crash and bang, the acoustic guitars are pounded with a vengeance — it’s a wild, careening sound that is positively joyous with its abandon. And on the slow songs, Stewart is nuanced and affecting — his interpretation of Bob Dylan‘s “Only a Hobo” is one of the finest Dylan covers, while the original title track is a vivid, loving tribute to his adolescence. And that spirit is carried throughout Gasoline Alley. It’s an album that celebrates tradition while moving it into the present and never once does it disown the past.


Side A
A1.  Gasoline Alley”  (Stewart, Ronnie Wood)  – 4:02
A2.  It’s All Over Now”  (Bobby Womack, Shirley Jean Womack)  – 6:22
A3.  Only a Hobo”  (Bob Dylan)  – 4:13
A4.  My Way of Giving”  (Ronnie Lane, Steve Marriott)  – 3:55

Side B
B1.  Country Comfort”  (Elton John, Bernie Taupin)  – 4:42
B2.  Cut Across Shorty”  (Wayne P. Walker, Marijohn Wilkin)  – 6:28
B3.  Lady Day”  (Stewart)  – 3:57
B4.  Jo’s Lament”  (Stewart)  – 3:24
B5.  You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want to Discuss It)”  (Dick Cooper, Beth Beatty, Ernie Shelby)  – 4:27

The Modern Lovers - Rock 'N' Roll With The Modern Lovers (1977) - Lp

Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers  is an album by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, released by the Beserkley Records label in August 1977. It reached #50 in the UK Album Chart in that month.

Rock 'N' Roll with the Modern Lovers. Richman branches out to Japanese music, a "South American Folk Song," and even "Egyptian Reggae" (the last earning him a UK Top 5 hit), but the real highlight on Rock 'N' Roll with the Modern Lovers is that ode to a totaled car, "Dodge Veg-O-Matic."

With Rock 'N' Roll With the Modern Lovers, Jonathan delivers yet another album filled to the brim with innocent delight (perhaps even more so than its predecessor). At first, I was thrown off by the inclusion of the children's song "The Wheels on the Bus", but good god, it's perhaps the most genius cover of a traditional children's song I've had the pleasure of hearing. Especially the inclusion of the verse with the monster, which he returns to at the end in what is possibly the greatest 15-seconds in music history. And to people that call Jonathan Richman "punk" or "proto-punk" -- eff you. Pure childlike innocence and charming rock n' roll tunes =/= "punk".

"Ice Cream Man", "Egyptian Reggae" and "Roller Coaster by the Sea" are all superb, and if this album doesn't make you happy, you oughta take a long hard look at yourself in the mirror and think about how detached you've become from your fun-loving roots. It's amateurish and uncomplicated, sure, but if you let your allegiance to prog and wanky musicianship influence your view of this, then the only solution is to find the nearest bridge and dive off of it. Jonathan Richman is simplicity at its most affecting.


Side A
A1.  The Sweeping Wind (Kwa Ti Feng) - 1:59
A2.  Ice Cream Man - 3:01
A3.  Rockin' Rockin' Leprechauns - 2:09
A4.  Summer Morning - 3:49
A5.  Afternoon - 2:45
A6.  Fly Into The Mystery - 3:19

Side B
B1.  South American Folk Song - 2:34
B2.  Roller Coaster By The Sea - 2:05
B3.  Dodge Veg-O-Matic - 3:45
B4. Egyptian Reggae - 2:34
B5.  Coomyah - 2:08
B6.  The Wheels On The Bus - 2:26
B7.  Angels Watching Over Me - 1:50

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13hfRDqdbBmBl6kO4-LBqrbrlxtZJM6Te/view?usp=sharing

Jermaine Jackson - Dynamite (1984) - Lp

Jermaine Jackson (released internationally as Dynamite) is the tenth studio album by United States singer-songwriter Jermaine Jackson, released in 1984. It was his debut album with Arista after leaving Motown. The album features Whitney Houston and his brothers Michael, Tito and Randy.
After nearly eight years as a Motown solo act, his career was punctuated by false starts and major, sporadic hits. Jermaine Jackson, his first album for Arista, is his first since 1982's Let Me Tickle Your Fancy, and has him doing a slickly produced variant of the R&B/pop his brother was making sound effortless. The biggest hit here, the jaunty "Dynamite," mixes smooth R&B with a hint with a new wave-ish rhythm and synth patterns that has his ingratiating tenor sounding strong and confident. The percolating and infectious "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" is a duet with brother Michael Jackson.

The song attains a well-produced L.A. pop/R&B sound, and has the nervous energy, if not paranoia, of other like-minded Jackson family performances. In the reunion vein, "Escape from the Planet of the Ant Men" features the Jacksons.
With its mind-boggling premise and over-production, it all but obscures the fact that it's one of Jackson's strongest vocal performances here. As a devout fan of Marvin Gaye, the artist also has a few romantic moments here, too. The sultry "Do What You Do" boasts a strong arrangement and Jackson's persuasive vocals. "Take Good Care of My Heart," a duet with Whitney Houston, has the two having good chemistry.
The last track, "Oh Mother," is an emotional and spare ode that has Jackson's voice at times resembling Art Garfunkel. While Jermaine Jackson's not a perfect album, despite the ground covered, it is a strong one.


Side A
A1.  Dynamite  (6:01)
A2.  Sweetest Sweetest  (4:05)
A3.  Tell Me I’m Not Dreaming (Too Good To Be True)  (4:22)
A4.  Escape From The Planet Of The Ant Men  (5:04)

Side B
B1.  Come To Me (One Way Or Another)  (5:17)
B2.  Do What You Do  (4:46)
B3.  Take Good Care Of My Heart  (4:17)
B4.  Some Things Are Private  (4:05)
B5.  Oh Mother  (4:48)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_XpWc1Gf6jcS9g2JJCFpewAwbhzivpJD/view?usp=sharing