Nick Lowe - Party Of One - Cassette tape on Upskirt Records 1995

Dave Edmunds produced this 1990 album, the first time the two had worked together since a rift broke up Rockpile a decade prior. There's an undeniable punchiness and Edmunds also contributes guitar, but the most recognizable guitar sound is that of Ry Cooder (with whom Lowe played in Little Village, along with drummer Jim Keltner, also present). Sadly overlooked upon its initial release, the word "party" in the title is apt, as the whole thing plays like a flat-out house party. "Shting-Shtang" and "Honey Gun" are simple fun, while Lowe's wit is found to be in fine form on "All Men Are Liars," and his penchant for country-tinged balladry given a turn on "What's Shakin' On The Hill"

Nick Lowe - Party Of One - Cassette tape on Upskirt Records 1995

Michael Stanley Band - Right Back At Ya (1971-1983) - Cassette tape on Razor And Tie Records

Cleveland native Michael Stanley became a regional phenomenon, but the singer/songwriter/guitarist and his Michael Stanley Band deserved more national success than they achieved. Stanley, whose real name is Michael Stanley Gee, played bass with the folk-rock group Silk in the late '60s. He then went solo and released two solo albums in the early '70s that fit right in with the "singer/songwriter" era. His talent attracted the likes of producer Bill Szymczyk and guest musicians Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, and David Sanborn from the beginning. He formed the Michael Stanley Band (aka MSB) in 1975 and pursued a more straightforward rock direction. MSB recorded a string of albums through the late '70s and early '80s that were modest successes nationally but major hits in Ohio. In fact, the Michael Stanley Band was such a sensation at home that it still holds attendance records at major concert venues. 1980's Heartland was easily MSB's best album, and Stanley agrees. It included the hit single "He Can't Love You" (sung by vocalist/keyboardist Kevin Raleigh) and the minor hit "Lover" (sung by Stanley and featuring blistering saxophone by Clarence Clemons). MSB's second and last Top 40 hit was Stanley's anthem "My Town" in 1983. After recording for Epic, Arista, and EMI, MSB independently released two albums on their own before breaking up in 1987.

Michael Stanley Band - Right Back At Ya (1971-1983) - Cassette tape on Razor And Tie Records

Ritual Device - Henge - Cassette tape on Redemption Records

Ritual Device imported the Chicago sound of Big Black, the Effigies, and the Jesus Lizard inspired punk to their hometown of Omaha, NE. With their own ire of complex guitars and screaming vocals, Ma's Ruin Records debuted the quartets hallmark noise on a 1994 split 10 with Killdozer. Continuing with the -ismist Records 7 of Rabe, the lineup of Randy Cotton (bass), Eric Ebers (drums), Mike Saklar (guitar), and Timothy Moss (vocals) settled in 1995 as they toured the East Coast. But by the time their live album Trademark of Quality Years came out by the end of that year, Ritual Device called it a day with Tommy Moss moving on to Men of Porn while Cotton and Saklar continued with Ravine.

Ritual Device - Henge - Cassette tape on Redemption Records

Hieronymus Firebrain - There - CD featuring Jonathan Segal of Camper Van Beethoven on Magnetic Records

Led by ex-Camper Van Beethoven multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Segel, the free-form underground rock unit Hieronymus Firebrain was an extension of Segel's 1989 solo LP Storytelling, comprising many of the same musicians who played on the album. After issuing a self-titled 1991 debut record on the Delta label, however, Hieronymus Firebrain's roster underwent a series of fluctuations which left Segel as the sole remaining original member; a new lineup released the 1994 LPs There and Here before disbanding. Segel and drummer Russ Blackmar soon reunited in the trio Jack & Jill.

Hieronymus Firebrain - There - CD featuring Jonathan Segal of Camper Van Beethoven on Magnetic Records

Yazoo and Yaz are actually the same band. They had to use the name Yaz in the U.S. because of copyright issues.
Vincent Clarke of Yazoo was actually one of the founding members of Depeche Mode, but left after their first album and enlisted Moyet to create Yazoo.
After two albums, Clarke and Moyet split. Alison Moyet went on to pursue a solo career. Vince Clarke continued to create other projects/bands, most notably Erasure.

Yazoo - Situation - 7 Inch Yaz Depeche Mode on Mute Records

HR - Keep Out Of Reach - CD on SST Records

An epic -- downright metal-sounding, even -- single, Keep out of Reach slots in neatly aside Bad Brains' I Against I in its slightly more mainstream but still pretty strong punch. The title track itself appears in two versions, the main one mixing hints of reggae into the music, but mostly keeping that atmosphere with H.R.'s fine singing voice. Calmer dub beats slot alongside some soaring guitar, especially toward the suddenly all-the-more-anthemic ending, and the whole is a pleasant listen indeed. The second version is explicitly listed a dub take, though most of the echo and treatment is applied to the vocals; aside from extra swirling guitar here and there, the music is pretty well unchanged. "Power of the Trinity," meanwhile, is a fine praisesong for Haile Selassie, shifting between stop-start thrash, warmer reggae grooves, more cascading guitar swells, and some highly wacky humor, H.R. is always the perfect vocalist at any point.

HR - Keep Out Of Reach - CD on SST Records

Meat Puppets - Huevos - Cassette tape on SST Records

Huevos means "eggs" in Spanish. It also, slangily, refers to balls. It's clear which connotation the Meat Puppets were alluding to when they named this record. It's as if they traded in their stoner VW bus for a muscle car. To push the metaphor further, it's as if they put away the hallucinogens in favor of Jack Daniels. There are far fewer overtly psychedelic touches on HUEVOS than on previous records. Whereas the group's records used to travel a circuitous path, on HUEVOS, the Puppets stick to the main road.You know you're not listening to your grandfather's Meat Puppets from the opening notes of "Paradise," which bears the unmistakable mechanized churning of MTV-era ZZ Top. The sound is altogether thicker, and the vocals are less from the upper chest than the lower diaphragm. But amid the balls-to-the-wall rockers like "Automatic Mojo" are starbursts of color, most notably "Fruit," with its jiggly beat and sighing backup vocals, and the molten, sublime axe work that decorates "Dry Rain."

Meat Puppets - Huevos - Cassette tape on SST Records