(December 2024) Episode 618 is GERRY AND THE PACEMAKERS. There are only two groups who can ever be called the biggest bands out of Liverpool. The first was Gerry and the Pacemakers, who hit the charts slightly before those other lads. Their mix of peppy guitar pop and sweet ballads helped define the Merseybeat sound. Their sound is very similar to the Beatles’ first couple of albums – unsurprising as they were managed by Brian Epstein and produced by George Martin. They were even given their own “Hard Day’s Night” film/soundtrack project: Ferry Cross the Mersey. Gerry Marsden was their only singer, though, and they suffered in comparison to the Beatles’ three-part harmony. And once the UK’s center of musical gravity shifted to the London R&B bands, the Pacemakers’ sound fell out of fashion ad they broke up. But they live on at every Liverpool FC* home match when fans chant the team anthem, the Pacemakers’ version of “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Favourite album: Ferry Cross the Mersey

Favourite song: It’s Gonna Be Alright

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: If you’re looking at one album, try Ferry Cross the Mersey, but a greatest hits package will capture their peppy early chart toppers like “I Like It” and “How Do You Do It?”

* this Everton FC fan says boo.

(November 2024) Episode 613 is NAILS, a contemporary extreme metal/punk band that exists in that liminal space between hardcore punk and thrash and death metal, at times called grindcore. Whatever the label, it’s a mack truck of howls and thunder riffs hitting your face at 100 mph. Displaying its punk side, the songs are short, giving you time to take a breath between.

Favorite album: You Will Never Be One Of Us

Favorite song: Into Quietus

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: If you like things at the extreme, this may be for you.

(February 2024) Episode 546 is MELVINS. It’s difficult describe their sound, so let’s start where they started. The first recordings of this Washington state band in the 1980s had a heavy rock sound, with drop-D tunings jumping back and forth to the third fret, with a somewhat anarchic vocal style. This was grunge before grunge and sludge metal before sludge metal. So Melvins are credited as a key influence for both genres, although their subsequent two dozen+ albums defy either label. Low sludgy guitars are the regular feature throughout, but how they’re used varies. Styles shift within and among albums: various metal, hard rock, experimental, noise, sound collages, pop punk, country punk, and some clever covers. Amidst all this, they sound like they’re having a lot of fun, which is the glue that holds together what otherwise might come off as haphazard affairs.

Favorite album: The Maggot (1999)

Favorite song: Amazon (part 3)

Favorite early album: Ozma (1989)

Favorite later album: Working with God (2021)

Favorite cover song: I Fuck Around

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: I picked The Maggot as my favorite as it offers the most consistent heavy sludge/stoner grooves, but that may be my preference. There’s so much weird stuff here that you’ll have to explore on your own.

(March 2023) Episode 482 is WAYLON JENNINGS, arguably the most iconic figure in Outlaw Country, one of the least unpalatable subgenres of country music.  His dirt-encrusted baritone is all-American and one of the most recognizable, if not widely imitated, voices in country.  He recorded prolifically, including numerous collaborations (most famously with Willie Nelson), soundtrack and theme songs (“Dukes of Hazzard”).  On side comment: covering songs is a staple of country recording artists, especially of each other. Occasionally they extend to pop and rock. I found Waylon’s covers of beyond-genre songs particularly cringy, with examples listed below. 

Favorite album: Lonesome, On’ry and Mean

Favorite song: Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: A sampler will do for the casual listener. The early 70s albums are the peak of his outlaw output, but the late 60s recordings are good too.

Cringy covers: MacArthur Park (Richard Harris), Do It Again (Steely Dan), Norwegian Wood and You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away (The Beatles), Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac), Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty), Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond), I’m on Fire (Bruce Springsteen), Hold On! I’m Comin (Sam and Dave)