1989
L’eau Rouge by The Young Gods
There are not many bands like The Young Gods. There weren’t back in 1989 when they released their second album. And there are not today. Hailing from Switzerland, Franz Treichler usually sang in French. Cesare Pizzi created massive soundscapes on his keyboards and Use Hielstand provided aggressive drums when needed – at other times, his drums are simplicity itself.
On L’eau Rouge (Red Water for those of us who never took high school French), they open with the dramatic “La Fille de la mort” (translate that one for yourself) with sad, demented carnival sounds. Then they burst into pummeling industrial rock – albeit with orchestral strings flying in and out among the guitar and drums – on “Rue des Tempetes.” The title track follows with portentous drama, guitars, and strings soaring over a tribal drumbeat while vocals simmer beneath.
Throughout all ten tracks, there is fascinating, surprising sound embellishing Treichler’s increasingly ominous, brooding vocals. The Young Gods spread influence on the disparate fields of EDM and Industrial metal. If you can imagine that, you have some idea of their unique, awesome sound. After L’eau Rouge, check out what they do with Kurt Weil in the aptly titled Play Kurt Weil from a couple of years later. Treichler sings in German and English on that one.
Friday Night in America by New Grass Revival
The final album from one of the most innovative bands in the progressive bluegrass movement. Not everyone was cool with what Sam Bush, John Cowan, Bela Fleck, and Pat Flynn – the second classic New Grass lineup – were doing to traditional bluegrass, but with the benefit of hindsight, it now seems even more essential to the recent uptick in the old genre’s popularity than it did in the ‘80s.
The title track provides a modern sound pouring out of banjo and fiddle in the service in what could very easily be a pop hit. “You Plant Your Fields” is simply gorgeous country music. John Cowan’s vocals on “Let’s Make a Baby King” rivals any pop singer. “Callin” Baton Rouge,” which would be better known when Garth Brooks covered it, is simply great country pop. Bela Fleck has lots of banjo fun on “Bigfoot.”
Life in Exile After Abdication by Maureen Tucker
Truth be told, I wrote this entire series because of this album. Maureen Tucker was the true trailblazer of the most trailblazing of all rock bands in the 1960s. There were precious few female drummers back then and none of them were playing with someone like Lou Reed and a band like Velvet Underground.
But that’s exactly what Tucker did. Her drumming was far more aggressive than she got credit for, especially when fans heard her barely-in-tune adolescent vocals on VU cult favs like “After Hours,” and later, on the sing-songy classic “I’m Sticking With You.”
20 years after Reed essentially ended the band, Tucker returned with this glorious album, opening with the hard rocking “Hey Mersh!” Her voice is still youthful but there is much more gravitas to her sound. Reed shows up to play guitar on “Hey Mersh!" and on Tucker’s cover of his “Pale Blue Eyes,” which is even more ethereal than the original – though the effect is not necessarily better.
Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon backs up Tucker on several tracks, including playing bass on a wonderfully messy, bouncing version of “Bo Diddley,” in which Tucker’s vocals are buried so deep they are barely window dressing. And Gordon is joined by Sonic Youth’s twin guitar gods Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldi on the titanic, noise-rock workout “Chase.” She closes the album by going back to the basics with a lovely, echoey “Do It Right,” accompanied only by Daniel Johnson’s tinkly piano.
Well, I promised a little something for everyone. Hope you found something you like. There’s so much music that has been forgotten, but it lives on for some, continuing to entertain and inspire today. Its impact is often greater than it may initially appear.