Jive Time Records

I Am Kurious Oranj is a typical Fall LP in that it frequently surprises with new twists on old themes. The British post-punk legends weren’t really progressing here; rather, they were expanding in several directions at once (glam, funk, reggae, acid house, etc.). This nonchalantly diverse 1988 album stands as a testament to the band’s restless ingenuity. Read critic Buckley Mayfield's review of I Am Kurious Oranj on our blog. Link in comment.

On Aug. 9, renowned Seattle music journalist and biographer Charles R. Cross passed away at age 67. A lot of people—including us—are still processing this immense, shocking loss.

Internationally, Cross is best known for his authoritative, deeply researched biographies of Kurt Cobain (Heavier Than Heaven), Jimi Hendrix (Room Full Of Mirrors), Heart (Kicking & Dreaming, written with Ann and Nancy Wilson), and Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin: Heaven And Hell), and Bruce Springsteen (Backstreets—also the title of the long-running Springsteen fanzine that Cross founded).

In the Pacific Northwest, Cross gained notoriety and respect as editor of The Rocket magazine from 1986 to its closure in 2000. In my 20 years of living in Seattle, I've never heard anyone badmouth The Rocket—a remarkable state of affairs. (I'm sure there were/are haters, but probably it was because their lousy bands received poor reviews.) The Rocket was where one could find perceptive criticism, find out about shows happening in Seattle, find musicians with whom to form bands through the classified ads, and learn about record stores in the region.

Besides all of these feats, Cross was something of a mentor to Jive Time owner David Day when Day worked as a designer for The Rocket in the late '80s. Charley provided helpful encouragement at the start of Day's graphic design career and later was very supportive of Jive Time. Over the years, Cross sold the shop part of his record collection and directed many of his friends to Jive Time, as well.

At the time of his death, Cross was working on a book that was part autobiography/part history of Seattle music. It likely would have added to an already amazing legacy. Charles R. Cross left us too soon; he will be missed by many in Seattle and worldwide. RIP.

On their classic 1988 debut album, New Zealand quartet Straitjacket Fits blended the Chills’ achingly beautiful melodic sensibilities with Sonic Youth’s soaring drone science. The result was a distinctive hybrid that doesn’t owe too much to either band. SF's creative core—Shayne Carter and Andrew Brough—were two of the greatest songwriters in rock history. Yet they’re not even in the conversation when that topic arises. Critic Buckley Mayfield attempts to redress that injustice in a review on our blog. Link in comments.

This stunning debut LP by Boston quartet Throwing Muses is as enduring as Love’s Forever Changes, as mysterious as Wire’s 154, and as otherworldly as Clock DVA’s Thirst. The crazy thing is, vinyl copies are scarce and even CD versions go for large sums. Maybe critic Buckley Mayfield's rave review of Throwing Muses' 1986 s/t album on our blog will change things? We remain ridiculously optimistic. Click the link in comments, if you would be so kind.

Half Japanese’s wild sixth album, 1987's Music To Strip By, rambles all over the musical spectrum like a sugared-up toddler. Led by guitarist/vocalist Jad Fair, Half Japanese animated their blues, jazz, speedcore, R&B, and No Wave with a wrongheaded, primitive minimalism that threw a new light on these styles. It all culminated in what might be the greatest 22-song record ever. Read critic Buckley Mayfield's review of it on our blog. Link in comments.

Originally perceived as "the black Jesus And Mary Chain," UK duo A.R. Kane shattered precedent with their singular 1988 debut album, 69. On this lauded record, they pretty much shed their rock attributes and explored dub, In A Silent Way-era Miles, fuzzed-out ambient, and proto-shoegaze styles. The unintentional touchstones were Tim Buckley's Starsailor, Can's Future Days, and early Cocteau Twins, but A.R. Kane essentially were adventuring on their own solar-soul trip. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of 69 on our blog. Link in comments.

The Feelies' Only Life stands as one of the greatest rock records of the '80s. On this 1988 magnum opus, the New Jersey group took their Velvet Underground worship to the limit, climaxing with a speedy, scorching cover of "What Goes On." Critic Buckley Mayfield details the white light/white heat going on here on our blog. Link in comments.

The Washington, DC ensemble Trouble Funk are the standard-bearers of go-go, a strain of chunky, percussion-heavy funk and call-and-response rapped vocals that’s organically geared to activate bodies and stimulate libidos. When you need music that’s even more muscular and obsessively drilled than James Brown’s J.B.s, call on Trouble Funk. Critic Buckley Mayfield explains why their 1982 album Drop The Bomb remains one of greatest party platters of all time. Read his review on our blog. Link in comments.

Australia has fostered many bands with Iggy Pop & company’s DNA, but nobody outside of Birthday Party captured the Stooges’ menacing, seething quality with as much pizzazz as Scientists, who were led by charismatic vocalist/guitarist Kim Salmon. You can hear the zenith of this approach on Scientists' 1983 mini-album, Blood Red River, which critic Buckley Mayfield reviews on our blog. Link in comments

The Isley Brothers were masters of tear-jerking ballads AND the nastiest funk that ever soundtracked erotic encounters. You can hear both styles in full bloom on 1972's Brother, Brother, Brother, which was part of a torrid run of releases by the Isleys in the Me Decade. THREE Carole King covers might seem a bit excessive, but these bros turned 'em out in fine style. Read critic Buckley Mayfield's review of this stellar LP on our blog. Link in comments.

The mysterious Japanese band Karuna Khyal released one fantastic album in 1974, Alomoni 1985, that flipped the wigs of UK avant-rock group Nurse With Wound, who duly told the world about it on the famous list of influences that accompanied their 1979 debut LP. A unique masterpiece, Alomoni 1985 still sounds utterly baffling and, frankly, scary 50 years after its release. Critic Buckley Mayfield tries to get his head around it in a review on our blog. Link in comments.

Bob Seger System's 1969 sophomore LP, Noah, was a strange follow-up to their classic 1968 debut, Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, in that the band's leader basically became a supporting player for unknown singer-songwriter Tom Neme. Nevertheless, despite its erratic quality control, Noah boasts some of the Seger System's greatest songs—and Bob's weirdest ever, by far. Read all about this record that Seger, to this day, would prefer never existed, in critic Buckley Mayfield's review of it on our blog. Link in comments.

The consensus best Staple Singers album, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself is a paragon of gospel roots music blooming into R&B and funk songcraft with a sociopolitical message. While their music was steeped in Christianity, the Staple Singers were so soulful and righteous with it, they could even sway atheists to get behind their uplifting, Jesus-intensive songs. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of this wildly popular and important 1972 album on our blog. Link in comments.

As most mortals know, Ventures’ albums consist mostly of covers of popular tunes from whatever period they were released. And they often have a marketable theme—or gimmick, if you want to be less charitable.
By contrast, Underground Fire can pretty much stand alone as a creative milestone for these surf-rock legends. Side one’s all originals; side two’s all covers of some heavy, late-’60s hits that you know and probably love. But the group prove they’re much more than master replicators of popular idioms; these cats can also write some memorable instrumentals, when they set their minds to it. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of this 1969 scorcher on our blog. Link in comments.

Detroit guitarist Eddy Senay faced some stiff competition while coming up in the ’60s and ’70s: Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel, the Funk Brothers’ Dennis Coffey, the MC5’s Fred “Sonic” Smith and Wayne Kramer, etc. But Senay held his own among these heavy Motor City axe-slingers on his two lone albums for Sussex Records, Step By Step and Hot Thang (both released in 1972). He wasn’t as incendiary a player as the aforementioned musicians, but Senay ruled as a purveyor of mellow finesse, a virtuoso of blissful licks. Read critic Buckley Mayfield's review of Eddy's best LP, Hot Thang, on our blog. Link in comments.

Most of us in the US first encountered Traffic Sound in the ’80s, at a time when very few records by Peruvian rock bands infiltrated North American stores. We had access to many Brazilian releases back then, but *Peru*? Our ignorant, pre-internet asses didn’t even know that that South American country harbored a rock scene.
But Traffic Sound were the real deal, and they broke through to receptive heads, becoming many listeners’ introduction to Peru’s rich rock landscape. Their second LP, Virgin, is both their most popular LP and their creative peak.
Critic Buckley Mayfield reviews this newly reissued psych-rock classic on our blog. Link in comments.

The peak album from Ellensburg, Washington’s finest, Even If And Especially When stands as one of the greatest psych-rock releases of the 1980s. Produced by the great Steve Fisk and Screaming Trees, Even If abounds with indelible melodies played with nuanced attention to the details of 1960s psychedelic rock. This addictive album can withstand repeat listens, with no ill side effects. Read critic Buckley Mayfield's review of it on our blog. Link in comments.

The late swamp-rocker-bluesman Tony Joe White should’ve been at least 75% as popular as Elvis Presley. TJW’s first five albums from 1969-1972 are all great and representative of his prodigious sangin’ [sic], songwriting, and guitar-pickin’ skills. Critic Buckley Mayfield could've written about any of them, but chose his third LP, Tony Joe, because the poncho Tony’s wearing on the back cover and the horse he’s riding look cool. Plus, "Stud Spider" and a killer cover of "Boom Boom." Plus a whole mess of other thangs... Read the entire review on our blog. Link in comments

Syreeta Wright (1946-2004) was a fantastic soul/funk vocalist respected for her releases on Motown and its MoWest subsidiary. Blessed with a dulcet and expressive voice, she worked with her genius ex-husband Stevie Wonder on her best albumsm including 1974’s Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta. It showcases the Motown legend’s ex-partner in spectacular form as both singer and lyricist, especially on euphoric reggae strut of "Your Kiss Is Sweet," which Björk covered in Icelandic when she was a wee lass. Read critic Buckley Mayfield's review of this Wonder-full record on our blog. Link in comments.

Recently deceased drummer Keith LeBlanc had lent his rhythmic prowess to *two* major movements in the 1980s, recording several sessions for artists on the pioneering hip-hop label Sugar Hill and for the innovative UK dub imprint On-U Sound. For his 1986 debut LP, Major Malfunction, LeBlanc and his Tackhead bandmaters let loose with a sampladelic banger built more for the concrete bunker than for the dance floor. Critic Buckley Mayfield reviews this industrial-funk mindf**k on our blog. Link in comments. And RIP, Keith LeBlanc.

Led by the wife/husband team of vocalist Mika and guitarist/composer Kazuhiko Katō, Sadistic Mika Band released three very good albums in the ’70s that peddled an over-the-top strain of glam rock, with surprising undercurrents of funk. SMB often have been called the Roxy Music of Japan, and for good reason: their chops and production values were impeccable and their songwriting teemed with invention and personality. On our blog, critic Buckley Mayfield reviews SMB's by turns schmaltzy and sublime 1973 debut LP. Link in comments.

Eugene McDaniels’ outré political-protest-album era was short, but yielded two classics: 1970’s Outlaw and 1971’s Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse. These records deviated from his previous output as a relatively conventional R&B singer, becoming treasure troves of samples for hip-hop producers and earning love from counter-culture types, too. Eugene threaded the needle with songs that double as fascinating character studies and trenchant sociopolitical commentary. Read critic Buckley Mayfield's review of Outlaw on our blog. Link in comments.

Waiting For The Sun is the Goats Head Soup of the Doors’ catalog. It followed their two most beloved albums—The Doors and Strange Days—and was considered a letdown by most critics and fans upon its 1968 release. Nevertheless, it reached the top of Billboard‘s LP chart. But, as with Goats Head Soup, time has been kind to Waiting For The Sun. Over the decades, the deep tracks on both records have risen in esteem and they’ve proved to be some of the best work by both groups. On our blog, critic Buckley Mayfield explains in depth why it's a mistake to ignore Waiting For The Sun. Link in comments.

As you likely know, the 1970 debut LP by Denver rock group Sugarloaf teems in bargain bins. Newsflash—it's cheap heat! The album charted in the US, buoyed by the fantastic "Green-Eyed Lady," an epic jazz-rock hit that reflected a rare window of time when commercial radio embraced adventurousness. But Sugarloaf has more to offer than that gem, as critic Buckley Mayfield explains in a review of Sugarloaf on our blog. Link in comments.

If you only know Timmy Thomas' 1972 LP Why Can’t We Live Together for its stirring, racial-harmony-desiring title track (which peaked at #3 in the singles chart ), you’re in for a treat. This is a damn strong album all the way through—and reputedly the first record to prominently feature a rhythm machine instead of a drummer. A session musician for Miami’s T.K. Records, Thomas played and sang every damn thing on Why Can’t We Live Together, and he deserves way more respect for this sociopolitically conscious platter than he’s received. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of TT's minimalist soul-funk classic on our blog. Link in comments.

The late vocalist/lyricist Damo Suzuki (RIP) commanded the mic on three of the greatest albums by the greatest rock group ever, Can. For many, 1972's Ege Bamyasi is the best of that triumvirate of innovative and influential records by the Cologne, Germany band. Sure, it has perhaps Can's most popular track, B-boy/girl fave "Vitamin C," but Ege boasts six other songs that constitute an LP whose pleasures are infinitely renewable. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of it on our blog. Link in comments.

Impulse! Records is rightly best known for its fiery, spiritual jazz releases by the Coltranes, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler, et al. But the revered American label also dabbled in funky blues (and bluesy funk), with superb session guitarist Mel Brown's 1967 debut Chicken Fat being an especially, uh, delicious example. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of this raunchy gem on our blog. Link in comments.

As part of Detroit’s MC5, the late Wayne Kramer helped to draw the blueprint for both metal and punk with their cataclysmic 1969 debut, Kick Out The Jams. Their bombastic sonic attack combined with lyrics of personal and political revolution resulted in one of the most dynamic first LPs in rock history. Elektra Records had a real monster on its hands. Various factors led to Elektra dropping MC5. Picked up by Atlantic Records and working with producer Jon Landau, MC5 cut the much cleaner-sounding and more streamlined Back In The USA. Despite seeming like a poor fit for MC5, Landau tightened up the group’s songwriting and playing and many great songs spilled forth, albeit not without some corniness, too. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of the legendary proto-punk/-metal group's sporadically excellent second LP on our blog. Link in comments. And RIP, Wayne Kramer!

Jazz and soul singer Marlena Shaw was a true American musical treasure whose abundant vocal charms and moving lyrical skills peaked on her second album, 1969's The Spice Of Life. Produced and arranged by Cadet Records geniuses Charles Stepney and Richard Evans, The Spice Of Life boasts two of Shaw’s greatest and best-known songs, “Woman Of The Ghetto” and “California Soul.” The album would be worth the price of admission just for these two classics, but it contains some other lesser-celebrated treasures, too. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of The Spice Of Life on our blog. Link in comments. And RIP, Marlena Shaw, who passed away on January 19 at age 81.

Birmingham, Alabama's Odetta Holmes (1930-2008) was a Renaissance woman: singer, guitarist, civil rights activist, actor, and, according to MLK Jr., “the queen of American folk music.” Her lone LP with Polydor, 1970's Odetta Sings, was aided by Muscle Shoals' ace session musicians and other luminaries, including Carole King on piano and Merry Clayton on backing vox. This attempt to make Odetta a crossover star didn’t quite pan out, but the album has yielded many spicy samples—hello, "Hit Or Miss"—and very interesting cover versions. Read Buckley Mayfield's review of this righteous little gem on our blog. Link in comments.