Various Artists

Roadrunner Records

Metal Mind / Roadracer / Roadrunner

originally published February 14, 2007

Gorguts, Sadus, Pestilence - these aren’t the names of bands that frolicked in the Woodstock mud. Rather, the many graduates of indie label Roadrunner Records were a crucial link in the chain of heavy doom - and eventually full-on death - metal.

Polish label Metal Mind, in cooperation with Roadrunner, has reissued some of these hard-to-find albums in limited editions. Initially, most Roadrunner bands sound as though they’d just as soon devour elder prog-metallers like Geddy Lee for breakfast. Some of the reissue subjects, like Frisco band Heathen, though, owe a substantial debt to the ‘70s wave of progressive metal. Solitude Aeturnus' first two releases - Into the Depths of Sorrow and the much more substantial Beyond the Crimson Horizon - sound as if the Californian sledgehammers were weaned on a steady diet of Sabbath, Rush and King Diamond.

Solitude Aeturnus is just one notable rediscovery, as is Last Crack, whose 1991 hardcore freakout Burning Time is also part of the campaign. Then, there’s the politically charged Realm and breakneck thrash rock band Sadus which preferred speed and possible whiplash to the slower Sabbath-influenced method. The official lineup can be checked out at www.metalopolis.pl.

Each disc in the ongoing series, though limited, is still pretty affordable - certainly much less than the out-of-print original pressings apparently fetch on eBay. Liner notes from the several of the reissued bands’ members, such as Solitude Aeturnus guitarist John Perez and Sadus’ Steve DiGiorgio, are also pluses.

Michael Andrews

Lucinda Williams

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Deluxe Edition

Mercury

originally published February 14, 2007

Lucinda Williams had recorded, toured and written songs for almost 20 years before releasing her most acclaimed album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road in 1998. After that, neither Williams’ consistently low profile or her country-infused aesthetic would be the same, as the album that put her on the mainstream map also signaled a distinct shift in Williams' future projects. The Car Wheels Deluxe Edition doesn’t really offer up much in the way of surprises, adding a couple of one-offs and a bonus live disc to the package. Still, the original album remains one hell of a statement from one hell of a singer-songwriter.

Those familiar with Williams’ meticulous onstage reproductions of her studio material already know what to expect from the bonus disc: predominately lust- and fate-driven songs personified by characters who more often than not meet tragic and early ends. A fiery version of “Pineola” kicks off the live disc, taken from a crisp World Café radio performance, and Williams with her crack road band in tow doesn’t dare let things get slow or tedious from there.

The Robert Johnson homage of “2 Kool 2B Forgotten,” the title track’s bare-boned recollection of Williams’ itinerant childhood and the lonesome prison context of “Concrete and Barbed Wire” are just a few of the sharp literary elements that made Car Wheels such a solid and memorable outing from the unpredictable Williams. Oh, and she doesn’t attempt to rap here, either. Instead, Williams commendably soothes the soul with snapshots of lives hard-lived and the possible roads beyond.

Michael Andrews

P.F. Sloan

Measure of Pleasure

Collector’s Choice

originally published February 14, 2007

Soulful “Eve of Destruction” songwriter P.F. Sloan gets some just desserts with a recap of his first foray into funky, 1968’s Measure of Pleasure. Sloan never attained the acclaim of like-minded artists from his era like Tony Joe White or B.J. Thomas. The shift from the mostly acoustic West Coast folk of his first two releases to the blues- and soul-inflected pop of Measure may have contributed to this, but, more than likely, Sloan’s abrupt departure from recording after only releasing a handful of albums was a more predominant factor.

Atlantic Records control whiz Tom Down produced Measure and undoubtedly added to its rich, live-in-the-room sound. Though Sloan penned the album’s 10 tracks himself, Measure does more to show off his talents as a vocalist. Opener “One of A Kind” chugs along with some great twangy guitar licks behind it. Driven by Sloan’s slow, wavering lead, “(What Did She Mean When She Said) Good Luck” sounds like it should’ve been an A.M. radio chart-topper (but wasn’t), and “Star Gazin” adopts the energetic country/ soul style cultivated by artists like Joe South and Billy Joe Royal.

He may have never attained the recognition of those peers, but Sloan’s third album still measures up quite admirably more than 30 years after its initial release.

Michael Andrews

Eric Burdon

Wild & Wicked

AIM

originally published February 14, 2007

Anyone looking for the suave, snarled-lipped Eric Burdon found on the Animals' “House of the Rising Sun” will likely be in need of a strong pick-me-up after experiencing Wild & Wicked, a disc that compiles rare cuts planned for a film soundtrack that never happened and live cuts from LA’s Roxy that, in retrospect, probably shouldn’t have happened either.

Both sets of songs have been reissued several times over the years but have also been hard to track down. Chintzy labels aside, the contents of this re-release are telling documents of why, exactly, that might have been. Burdon, a more than capable practitioner of blue-eyed British soul, wheezes and skeezes through much of the first half, while the live cuts form a set that’s equally uncomfortable and unflattering.

Burdon belches and threatens his in-song love with firearm damage at one point, and the singer of “Cum” is a far cry from the steely-eyed gent who also crooned the ‘70s baby-making classic “Spill the Wine.” Anyone in search of a good Burdon fix - and not a literal burden in and of itself - should consider any number of Animals hits packages or Burdon’s 2006 release Soul of a Man, and steer clear of this skippable hodgepodge.

Michael Andrews