Category: Record Of The Day

I backed into an appreciation of Doug Sahm, and I can tell you exactly how I got there. In 1996, I got married, and my then wife was a huge fan of Los Lobos. I became a huge fan, too, and we started buying other albums by members of Los Lobos, including the 1998 album by the supergroup Los Super Seven. That band featured David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos, along with Tex-Mex and tejano giants such as Freddie Fender, Joe Ely and Doug Sahm. Sahm’s voice hit me immediately, sounding like last call in all the juke joints in the world. That said, I didn’t start listening to too much of his own music until I started working at Webster’s. I kept seeing “Sir Douglas Quintet” records and passing them by, not realizing that “Sir Douglas” was Doug Sahm. Once I listened, though, I was hooked.

What more can I say about this album that hasn’t been said already? One of the greatest albums EVER, by ANYONE. Spinning this at the store in honor of the end of Stevie’s Songs In The Key Of Life tour, and sending this out to Josh and Hilary, who got to see him perform this album.

Holy god this is a good record. Earnest 80s power-pop by a band that at one time was as big as they come.

Richard Thompson feels like the forefather of all the rock music that followed him. I know the story is more complex than that, but when you listen to a record like Amnesia, it sure does sound like, “Oh, this is where it all came from!” This record is overflowing with great session players like Mitchell Froom and Tony Levin and Jim Keltner. The songwriting is weird and wonderful and takes more left turns than you’d think possible.

BUY IT.

I’d never heard of Sparks until a couple years ago when I started listening to Mark Kermode & Simon Mayo’s Film Reviews on the BBC. Both Mark and Simon mentioned the band several times, and then I think they played “Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth” on one show. I knew and liked that song (without realizing it was by Sparks) and decided to check out the band responsible. I was instantly smitten, and I’ve been listening to Sparks ever since.

This album was released into the world one day after I was. I listened to it for the first time today and it’s fabulous. I’d heard several of the songs before: popular live closer “Rosalita” as well as “Kitty’s Back” and “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).” I enjoyed everything about this record, from the songwriting and the performances to the production and the mood.

Dire Straits has made it onto Record Of The Day once before, and let’s be honest, they’ll probably be here again. I adore this band. Part of the reason I love them so much is because of Douglas Adams, who used Dire Straits in So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, during one of the most romantic moments between Arthur and Fenchurch. I also remember an exchange student who stayed with my family back in the 80s named Christian. He brought some Dire Straits records with him because his English teacher in Denmark had used Mark Knopfler’s lyrics as a teaching tool.

First things first. “Ooh Child” by Stair Steps is one of the best feel-good songs ever recorded. And the rest of this collection, released by Pickwick Records in cooperation with Buddha Records, is top-notch, from “This Is My Country” by Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions to “Testify Parts 1 & 2” by the Isley Brothers.