My rave of the week is for two albums I borrowed from a friend--Aztec Camera's 'High Land, Hard Rain,' and Elvis Costello's 'Out Of Our Idiot.' I remember hearing Aztec Camera songs on the radio a long, long time ago & liking them a lot; but I never heard the album, never even saw it, and I looked for a long time. I came upon a copy of the followup record, Knife, nearly 15 years ago, but it was nowhere near as good & I never really got into it. Finally got my hands on a copy of the debut. Very Smiths-like, and in fact I'd say it compares favorably to quite a bit of Smiths stuff. I mean, I shouldn't say I think it's better, or anything like that, but it's in a similar vein & it's real, real good. What the Smiths recs have going for them this doesn't, of course, is the superior lyrics & the sheer oddness of Morrissey's voice & singing. Outside of that, musically, I do hear quite a bit of similarity. I haven't heard any of the songs on it for years & years...I wonder why it's so buried, so unknown? I think it sold a few copies in its day, and it's so much better than a lot of the 80s stuff that's been regurtitated in recent times by people who are starved for nostalgia...oh, well.

The Costello album, like 'Taking Liberties,' was a collection of rarities & outtakes. Came out in 1987. I noticed that the songs on 'Taking Liberties' ended up as bonus tracks on the Ryko reissues of the first few EC recs. It's possible that much of this was similarly released, but if so, I don't have the recs they've seen the light of day on, or at least most of 'em. (Didn't bother taking a look to see if 'Goodbye Cruel World' had any of this stuff) Like Get Happy!, there's nearly an hour of music squeezed onto two sides of crisp black vinyl. Most of the originals are pretty good, and there are oddball covers of stuff like 'Baby It's You' (a duet with Nick Lowe, every bit as good as the Beatles' version) & Yoko Ono's 'Walking On Thin Ice.' If, like me, you like most (or at least a lot) EC that you hear, this is for you.

Joe Strummer's Streetcore still in heavy rotation; absolutely, definitely the record of the year for me. Other stuff I've listened to in the past week or so:

NRBQ—At Yankee Stadium
My Morning Jacket—It Still Moves
Elton John’s Greatest Hits (yes)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds—Your Funeral My Trial, Tender Prey, From Her To Eternity
The Smiths—The Queen Is Dead
The Band—Music From Big Pink
Dylan & The Band—The Basement Tapes
The Best Of The Chocolate Watchband
The Clash—Give ‘Em Enough Rope
Iggy Pop—Skull Ring
The Best Of Love
Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers—L.A.M.F. (The Lost ’77 mixes)
John Coltrane—Ascension
Bad Religion—How Could Hell Be Any Worse?
Anti-Nowhere League—We Are…The League