This blog started on Monday, March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, covering my listening for the previous week. It has spun into a blog that carries that forward and blends in with my listening for the week leading up to today, March 24. I am hitting a brick wall when it comes to reviewing music. I can only give generics, but that seems so small compared to what I have been able to do in the past. Regardless, what you see is what you get; I will not cut and paste or plagiarize other people’s reviews.

Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits 1974-78

In 1975, my friend Steve Miller and I quit our jobs at the coal mine in the Crowsnest Pass and headed for Mexico. We listened to a lot of music on that trip, but I don’t recall ever listening to anything by the musician Steve Miller.

Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys – Bluegrass Classics Radio Shows 1946-1948

The header is almost as long as the review—classic early bluegrass music.

The Monkees The Monkees

The Monkees Headquartes

The Monkees More Of The Monkees

These three albums came in a haul of about 100 albums that I paid $20 for. It is a fun trip down memory lane for those of a certain age, and I think I got my money’s worth.

Harry Rusk Canadian Country Hits

Included in those boxes were numerous Canadian albums; this was among them. I couldn’t find much information about Harry Rusk besides the fact that he had a single that charted in 1969; it isn’t on this album. This album is a good listen if you enjoy Country and Western music.

Duane Eddy Twistin’ ’n’ Twangin’

Classic sock party music.

Jimmy “Arthur” Ordge Tears From A Country Hear

More classic C/W music. Jimmy “Arthur” Ordge was an Albertan who made a bit of a wave in C/W music. He had a few songs that charted, he appeared on Canadian television, and toured relentlessly. I enjoy his music; I’m not sure if I saw him live or on television, but I can remember him from the distant past.

The Moody Blues On the Threshold of a Dream

The Moody Blues Days of Future Passed

The Moody Blues Long Distance Voyager

The Moody Blues To Our Children’s Children’s Children

My musical week had two heavy hitters, one of them being The Moody Blues. They were a band I enjoyed in the past but didn’t dive into deeper than casual listens. They had their unique sound and made some delightful music.

Francine Morrison Sweet, Sweet Spirit

Francine Morrison had a strong and sweet, sweet voice, and my wife and I enjoyed listening to this sweet, sweet southern black church music album.

Montreux Sign Language

Montreux is considered a supergroup of electronica in the contemporary jazz scene. I enjoyed this album, but not enough to run out and buy another one.

Mountain Climbing

Mountain are a band with a long article in Wikipedia that you can read on your own. I will only add that I have a long history with this album. I’m not sure when I bought it, but I know I have been listening to it for a long time. It has held its age very well in my library. It is often cited as an album that started the heavy metal scene. I can hear why that connection exists. I like listening to this recording, and it has remained glued in my repertoire for good reason; it is a good album.

Tina Turner Gold

I gave my wife tickets to Tina – The Tina Turner Musical for Christmas. It was a grand show that both of us enjoyed immensely. Then we came home and listened to the album I gave her, along with the tickets. We should have withheld the album listen for a bit longer because the hangover from the live show was still fresh, and I couldn’t help myself from referencing back and forth. The show was top-notch, but Tina Turner, at her best, was a tough act to follow. She had powerful vocals and owned the show when she let loose.

Van Morrison Astral Weeks

Van Morrison Moondance

I only managed two Van Morrison records this past week; more will come next week. Van Morrison has a style that blends many elements of music. Here is what shows up on Wikipedia: blue-eyed soul, Celtic, rock, R&B, folk, blues, jazz, country and Christian. His music has something for everyone; you may have to listen to all of his records to find it, but it is in there somewhere. I don’t have a go-to Morrison album. I enjoyed playing through all of them. His music has something for everyone; you may have to listen to his complete discography, but it will be somewhere. I don’t have a go-to Morrison album. I enjoy playing through all of them. If you ask the casual man on the street what their favourite Van Morrison album is, you will probably get Moondance more often than not. While it is a good album, I’m unsure about holding down the number one slot. It came early in his solo career, and he was prolific, with 48 solo albums. If someone held a gun to my head and told me to pick a favourite Van Morrison album, I would have to say No Guru, No Method, No Teacher with Hymns To The Silence a close second. There are some that I am relistening to this week, and that answer might change.

Next up, the week from March 17 to 24.

Van Morrison Tupelo Honey

Van Morrison Saint Dominic’s Preview

Van Morrison Common One

Van Morrison Poetic Champions Compose

Van Morrison Van Morrison

I listened to an abundance of Van Morrison over the last two weeks. I have enjoyed the journey, but it is time to move on.

Elton Motello Victim Of Time

This album was a small-time hit with the song Jet Boy, Jet Girl. There was a bit of talk about the song’s contents, Jet Boy, Jet Girl.” It is about a 15-year-old boy’s sexual relationship with an older man, who then rejects him for a girl. Victim Of Time has not aged well from where I listen. It checked all the boxes for a punk/new band in 1977, but not in 2025.

Werner Muller and His Orchestra Percussion In The Sky

A bit of background music for whatever you are doing.

Various The All American Pop Collection Volume 5. I now have all five of these albums. I still love collections like this. I scored a couple of boxes of vinyl last week, and this was in that box.

Various 30 Original Artists Sing Their Original Country Hits

Adding another best-of collection to my collection.

Judy Mowatt Only A Woman

Judy Mowatt had a modest solo career but will most likely be best remembered as a backup singer to Bob Marley. This album was a good listen for a golf ball like me.

Barbara Mandrell The Best of Barbara Mandrell

Pop country. It’s pleasant, but not the country music I enjoy listening to; see the album two stories up; that is the original country I like listening to.

And now for some new music mentions.

Ecce Shnak Shadows Grow Fangs

I have enjoyed listening to this album. It is a bit of fresh music in an era that all too often celebrates the mediocre. Ecce Shnak, Eh-kay sh-KNOCK wanders between gentle sentimental songs, Stroll With Me, to the thunder of ‘Jeremy, Utilitarian Sadboy.’ Shadows Grow Fangs is a thrilling EP that takes the listener along on a journey I was never sure about when it started or where it should end.

Thanks to Shauna McLarnon for Shameless Promotion PR

Tombstones In Their Eyes Asylum Harbour

Tombstones In Their Eyes would be a good title for a spaghetti western. They could use Asylum Harbour as the soundtrack. I listened to the album again while I was writing, and I changed my mind. Tombstones In Their Eyes would work wonders with something like Jonah Hex or The Preacher, some of the new Western-themed shows.

The LA-based psych-rock shoegaze collective is made up of long-time members John Treanor (vocals & guitar), Stephen Striegel (drums), Courtney Davies (vocals), Phil Cobb (guitar) and Paul Boutin (guitar), along with new band members Joel Wasko (bass) and Clea Cullen (vocals).

“‘Gimme Some Pain’ was written in May 2023 – one of the worst years I’ve experienced since way back in my 20’s. Life was falling apart, I was feeling heavy guilt and shame. Suicidal ideation almost every day. I have no idea how I managed to perform normal functions like go to work along with all the other responsibilities I have. All that is background to the song’s creation. I realize that, compared to those in really unfortunate circumstances, my problems are probably pretty petty, but the thing about pain is that it’s a subjective experience,” says John Treanor.

  “I don’t usually write on acoustic guitar but I like to mix it up occasionally. The song is made up of some pretty simple chord progressions that rolled right out. The lyrics are like a mantra repeated over and over. A mantra about where I was and what I was feeling at that time. The chorus, which just came out of my mind as is, turned out great and is in a range where I can sing it with a lot of energy and feeling”.

Singing with energy and feeling is what Tombstones In Their Eyes do. They lasso you and pull you into the arc of their music, and it is very easy to linger there.

This album is another gem from Shameless Promotion PR 

Dragon Welding The Naughty Step

This album is another gem from Shameless Promotion PR . It’s been a good month listening to their tunes. The lyrics of The Naughty Step connected with me on more than a casual basis. The music adds to the allure of the album.

“The lyrical theme of the album overall is me trying to deal with problems that I’ve never quite resolved in my mind, while all the time, new problems appear. It’s never ending and I will continue to write songs about it until I stop caring,” says Andy Golding.

“The song is about that vague feeling you get when your judgement is questioned. You’re pretty sure you’ve done nothing wrong, but you still have the nagging cloak of guilt draped around your sloping shoulders,” Golding explains. “I was at school at a time when corporal punishment was still allowed: beating children with canes and slippers. The line about the ‘punishment boys’ is about queuing up outside the sport teachers office, waiting for the cane, but neither you nor the teacher remembering the exact reason you were there. It sounds Dickensian, but it was the 1980s!” continues Andy Golding.

Full stop. I look forward to what I shall listen to this week. Have fun and listen to the music.