Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

For a number of years I have had just one album by Elton John. Two things have kept me from buying more. One is that I knew they were going to be remastered and, sure enough, they finally have been so that point is moot. The second thing is that the one album I have had is Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. My fear is that any other album is going to be a big letdown. If you are not familiar with GYBR, it is simply a stunning album and I could not imagine Elton making another that even came close to it, though he was certainly capable of doing so. Silly, maybe, but that's how my mind works sometimes. I recently decided to take the plunge and picked up the remastered Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, considered to be one of Elton's best albums from the seventies. Well, I can report that, while not as good as GYBR, it is not the big letdown I feared. Songs like the exquisite Someone Saved My Life Tonight and the inclusion of bonus tracks including Elton's cover of The Beatles' Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds make this a keeper. Along with those songs, though, are hints of the overproduction that has plagued Elton for the past, oh, 25 years. Tell Me When The Whistle Blows is a good (sad?) example. I prefer Elton's music stripped down with room to breathe so I will be acquiring his earlier albums as I continue. Then again, I like what Hans Zimmer did with Elton's The Circle of Life so what do I know?

Buckethead - Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains

Now that Buckethead is out of Guns 'n Roses you say you don't know how you're going to get your Buckethead fix? Are you mad? Buckethead, the first guitar god of the 21st century, always has something going on...usually several things at the same time. He just finished up a tour with Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, which is basically 3/4 of Praxis (Buckethead, Bernie Worrell and Brain) along with Les Claypool, in support of their recent release The Big Eyeball in the Sky. It's pretty much what you would expect from these guys if you are familiar with them: seriously offbeat tunes, exceptional musicianship, and Les's Zappa-esque "singing". Check out Thai Noodles and Ignorance Is Bliss. You can also buy recordings of the tour's shows from C2B3Live. If you want just Buckethead there is his latest album, Cuckoo Clocks of Hell, and you purchase a few of his live shows for download from BucketheadsLiveWedges.com. And if that isn't enough, you can spend New Year's Eve watching him perform. The man is busy, people! So break out your yellow windbreaker and stock up at KFC. If all else fails, it will make a great halloween costume.

Bubble - Rock n Roll Hell

Bubble is an uncomplicated band that is what they say they is: "No gimmicks. No novelties. Just rock n roll with noisy guitars, bass and drums." With former Vixen bass player Share handling vocals and guitar and her husband Bam on drums, this three piece gets right to it on their latest CD, Rock n Roll Hell. Bigtop is a great opener and sets the pace for the rest of the album. I have to admit that the singing falls into a tough rock chick cliché at times but on Deadender, she really hits her stride. A catchy tune with attitude-a-plenty behind the mic. As a side note, Bubble have done something really cool with their two previous albums. The albums are out of print but the band has made both how 'bout this? and Total Harmonic Distortion available on iTunes. At least I think it's cool...then again, I'm a nerd.

Nuggets - Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era

What's that? You say you're a fan of sixties rock but you're tired of the same old, same old? Feel the need to branch off from the usual crowd: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Mamas and The Papas, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, et. al.? I have just the thing for you: Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era put out by Rhino Records. A four-CD set, it focuses on songs from the middle of the sixties. There are a handful of songs you may recognize, such as Incense and Peppermints by The Strawberry Alarm Clock and Journey To The Center Of The Mind by The Amboy Dukes (featuring little Teddy Nugent on lead guitar) but most of the songs I have never heard of, by bands I have never heard of. Included are such, um, nuggets as Put The Clock Back On The Wall by The E-Types, Live by The Merry-Go-Round (anybody know what swingin' eighties group covered this?), and the best Beatles knock-off of all time, Lies by The Knickerbockers. There is a Nuggets II that focuses on British bands from this same period but I think the first box is the better of the two. I wouldn't call all the music psychedelic. In fact, much of it sounds garage-y, so with low-fi bands currently in vogue this music might even be hip again (or whatever the current word is).

E.S. Posthumus - Unearthed

This one is a puzzler. I know next to nothing about classical music so I don't know if Unearthed, the debut album by E.S. Posthumus, is neo-classical brilliance or just cheezy new age fluff. It sounds good in the background, whatever it is. Has a cinematic quality to it, too, which CBS must agree with since the track Nara is the theme to the TV series Cold Case. Check out the lead-off track, Antissa, as well.

Purr Machine - Ging Ging

I was watching Monster House with the kids the other night and on that night's episode they had some misfits from earlier shows come back to try and redeem themselves by making a dog house. They show the owners, a man and a woman, and I wasn't really paying attention until the woman spoke. "Wait a second, I know that voice. What did she say her name was? Hey, I have their album!" This gives me a great excuse to write about Betsy Martin, her old band, Caterwaul, and her new band, Purr Machine. Arizona-based Caterwaul released three albums in the late eighties that featured Betsy's distinctive voice. I don't know how well they did but Caterwaul seems to have a small cult following out there. Check out the song Good For You to hear what you missed. There was one more release, Killer Fish, that came out several years after the band had disbanded. Sigh. In 1996, Betsy hooked up with Kevin Kipnis and formed Purr Machine, which released Ging Ging in 1999. Less guitar and more electronics than Caterwaul but that is definitely Betsy singing. Check out The Moon and My Head are Full and Keep Calm. Betsy and Kevin are hard at work on their follow up so I will be on the lookout for it in the next several months.

Gibby Haynes and His Problem

I have to admit that I'm writing this with the distinct disadvantage of ignorance. See, I've never heard any Butthole Surfers songs. None. Sure, I know of the Butthole Surfers and I know that Gibby Haynes is their lead singer but I haven't actually listened to them before. The closest I've come is Gibby's guest vocals on Ministry's Jesus Built My Hotrod. Why? Well...um, you know...I mean, come on; they're named the Butthole Surfers. When I saw Gibby Haynes and His Problem on the list of new releases, though, for some reason I wanted to give it a listen and I can report that, once you get past that nasty cover, it's not bad at all. It's off the beaten path, which is always a good thing. Gibby's reputation for lyrics from another dimension is well-deserved ("Let's all go to Superman's house. Everything is stolen.") but not distracting. Check out Woo and the hilarious Redneck Sex. Nothing wrong with taking the path least travelled. Now I'll have to check out some of that surf music he's done :-).