1 – Never Walk Alone – Agnostic Front – “This is our lives, this is our scene, this our passion…” AF chants, if one person can be a chanter, in an ode to a scene so singular it seems to exist somewhere, New York hardcore at the dawn of time, maybe – B
– 2 – Old New York – Agnostic Front – ‘I miss the old New York” goes the hook, they should hang loose, it will be back any minute – B+
3 – You Go To My Head – Cassandra Wilson – I can’t her versions of songs made famous by Lady Day -there is too much disconnect between the singer and the song and the superstar… plus, I don’t like her voice. The one time I saw Cassandra live, opening for Ray Charles, it was apparent we would never be friends – C+
4 – Outlaws – Delta Rae – Sounds like Christian contemporary to my ears – C
5 – Meet Me In The Woods – Lord Huron – The beat always seems to sound like a train, and the songs are samey and filled with declarations and disclaimers. Hear one and you’ve heard them all, but you’re still gonna wanna hear em all – B+
6 – Barefoot In Heaven – Ray Wylie Hubbard – This guy has his songs and has his uses and this is neither – C+
7 – Debbie Downer – Courtney Barnett – The problem with having a unique sound, as Lord Huron and Ray Wylie can attest, is you can’t get out of your own way. Though to be fair, Courtney gives it her best shot here – B+
8 – Squeeze Box – The Who – A brilliant extended musical metaphor with a chorus that sells it without being censored on the BBC: “it goes in and out…” – A
9 – Eminence Front – The Who – This one separates the men from the boys. Unfortunately, I’m a boy t(hough my Ma won’t admit it0 and this faux-funk doesn’t cut it – C+
10 – I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra – It’s not that this is his greatest vocal performance (though it comes from his golden 50-s era) or his best song, but it is his most Sinatra performance, both filled with virility and insecurity, he whips itself into submission, whips himself into submission as well, plus a glorious mid-song orchestral fade in, slams it into the stratosphere. The first time the orchestra played Nelson Riddle’s arrangement they gave it a standing ovation – A+
