Come - Eleven:Eleven (1992)

Related:

Uzi - Sleep Asylum (1986)

Alright, so this one doesn't really fit my Halloween theme. It's dark for sure, but it's the oppressive, existential dread kinda darkness, not the "look out there's a wolfman behind you" or the "let's conjure Satan" kinda darkness. But fuck it, I'm sick of this record not getting the respect it deserves. It's absolutely one of my favorite records of the alt rock era -- explosive, simultaneously sludgy and sharp guitar work that's heavy on slide guitar and whammy bar; a dynamic, dialed-in rhythm section; and the raw, strung-out-sounding vocals of Thalia Zedek at the peak of her powers. An actual masterpiece. Yet you can (as I did) still find sealed copies of the 2013 Matador reissue for under $20. What's up with that?

Track listing:

1. Submerge

2. Dead Molly

3. Brand New Vein

4. Off to One Side

5. Bell

6. William

7. Sad Eyes

8. Power Failure

9. Orbit

10. Fast Piss Blues

11. I Got the Blues

Well I taste the sweetness of life

And I lick off the knife

Then all the blood in my brain

Will pump out a brand new vein

Also listen to:

Helium - Pirate Prude (1994)

lowercase - The Going Away Present (1999)

Guitar Red - Hard Times (1976)

First and only solo album by Guitar Red, aka Chicagoan guitarist Paul Johnson. Hard Times rides the fine lines between soul, funk, and old-school rhythm and blues, with a lo-fi, synth-y, drum machine-driven twist. I get that Guitar Red was the man's stage name and that he had a career outside of making this album, but guitar really takes a backseat to synth here. The kind of record that was destined from day one to be ignored by the many and absolutely adored by the few, then reissued by some boutique label a few decades later. Wish I could remember which of the old mp3 blogs I got this from -- Mutant Sounds, maybe? 

(The title track is not to be confused with the classic Baby Huey track of the same name.)

Track listing:

1. Hard Times

2. Fantasy

3. Share Your Love

4. Space and Time

5. Sad Day

6. Disco from a Space Show

7. Love Walked In

8. Sad Day - Inst.

Today I saw the rat in the alley eating onions and crying

If you like this, try:

The Diddys Featuring Paige Douglas - Agony & Extasy (1977)

The Kaplan Brothers - Nightbird (1978)

Buddy Guy - Sweet Tea (2001)

My knowledge and enjoyment of the blues has always been largely limited to the rawest, most minimal form of the genre -- one man, one guitar, and 99 problems. But a while back I worked briefly with a blues aficionado, who put on Sweet Tea and said it was some of the greatest electric blues ever recorded. I didn't (and still don't) really know shit, but about two minutes into the hypnotic, menacing fuzz of "Baby Please Don't Leave Me", I was inclined to agree.

Track listing:
1. Done Got Old
2. Baby Please Don't Leave Me
3. Look What All You Got
4. Stay All Night
5. Tramp
6. She Got the Devil in Her
7. I Gotta Try You Girl
8. Who's Been Foolin' You
9. It's a Jungle Out There

I got something on my shoulder
Just waiting for you, babe

Also listen to:

Lightnin' Hopkins -
Lightnin' Strikes (1963)

Dr. John -
Babylon (1969)

Dr. John - Babylon (1969)

Mind-melting second album from this New Orleans legend. A dense stew of bluesy guitar, hammond organ, clattering percussion, saxophone, soulful backup singers, and the man's own gravel-throated vocals over raw, buoyant grooves. Bursting with life but heavy with sorrow and anger, and rough around the edges, Babylon is a serious head-trip of an album, but it's definitely one worth taking.

Track listing:
1. Babylon
2. Glowin'
3. Black Widow Spider
4. Barefoot Lady
5. The Patriotic Flag-Waver
6. The Lonesome Guitar Strangler

This is not the land of milk and honey
This is a place where people sell their souls out for money

You might also like:

Aum -
Resurrection (1969)

Larry Coryell -
Coryell (1969)

The Misunderstood - Before the Dream Faded (1982)

Phenomenal, dark-tinted early psych/garage. Before the Dream Faded compiles material from various sessions between 1965 and '66.

Track listing:
1. Children of the Sun
2. In My Mind
3. Who Do You Love
4. I Unseen
5. Find a Hidden Door
6. I Can Take You to the Sun
7. I'm Not Talking
8. Who's Been Talking
9. I Need Your Love
10. You Don't Have to Go Out
11. I Cried My Eyes Out
12. Like I Do
13. You've Got Me Crying Over Love

But you don't want to go

If you like this, listen to:

The Five Day Week Straw People -
The Five Day Week Straw People (1968)

The Open Mind -
The Open Mind (1969)

Mick Ronson - Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974)

In keeping with my tradition of posting stuff a day late, here's Slaughter on 10th Avenu, the solo debut of the late, great Mick Ronson, who left us 25 years ago yesterday. It's not just one of best glam rock albums in existence -- it's a showcase for his production and arrangement skills that brings his role in the formation of Bowie's glam-era sound into sharper focus. So put this on and pour one out for Mr. Ronson, one of rock's greatest unsung heroes.

Track listing:
1. Love Me Tender
2. Growing Up and I'm Fine
3. Only After Dark
4. Music Is Lethal
5. I'm the One
6. Pleasure Man / Hey Ma Get Papa
7. Slaughter on 10th Avenue

My friend myself, boredom's hero, prince of the alleys
Stumble falling to a winsome table, in search of wine

If you like this, check out:

Jobriath -
Creatures of the Street (1974)

T-Rex -
Futuristic Dragon (1976)

The Chrome Cranks - Dead Cool (1994)

Creepy, tense garage-punk-blues. You know how The Cramps are great, but bands that are influenced by them usually suck? These guys are an exception to that rule.

Track listing:
1. Dead Cool
2. Desperate Friend
3. Way-Out Lover
4. Down So Low
5. Bloodshot Eye
6. Nightmare in Pink
7. Shine It On
8. Burn Baby Burn

You're so dead

More like this:

The Necessary Evils -
Spider Fingers (1997)

Cheater Slicks -
Refried Dreams (1999)

Hairy Chapter - Can't Get Through (1971)

German heavy psych. Long, jam-y songs that bring the riffage and the solos, plus some killer drumming, and none of the wannabe-bluesy cheese that plagued a lot of their peers. Smoke a spliff and listen to this somewhere sunny.

Track listing:
1. There's a Kind of Nothing
2. Can't Get Through
3. It Must Be an Officer's Daughter
4. As We Crossed Over
5. You've Got to Follow This Masquerade

Looking for a decent freedom

You should also check out:

Bulbous Creation -
You Won't Remember Dying (1971)

Leaf Hound -
Growers of Mushroom (1971)

Leaf Hound - Growers of Mushroom (1971)

Raw, heavy psych perfection. Blown-out, riff-y guitars, busy drumming, and a hair farmer howling about boning, doing drugs, feeling down, and being a good man. A record nerd classic.

Track listing:
1. Freelance Fiend
2. Sad Road to the Sea
3. Drowned My Life in Fear
4. Work My Body
5. Stray
6. With a Minute to Go
7. Growers of Mushroom
8. Stagnant Pool
9. Sawdust Caesar
10. It's Gonna Get Better [bonus]
11. Hip Shaker [bonus]

Went and blew it all

You'll also dig:

Night Shadow -
The Square Root of Two (1968)

Råg I Ryggen -
Råg I Ryggen (1975)

Larry Coryell - Coryell (1969)

Influential fusion guitarist Larry Coryell has passed along to the great marijuana field in the sky. Coryell is more psych- and blues-rock oriented than one might expect from a man known as a founding member of the jazz fusion subgenre, but it was my introduction to the man's greatness, and it's great in its own right. Plus, I actually started working on this post a couple of weeks ago but got lazy and left it unfinished, so it looks like now's the time.

Track listing:
1. Sex
2. Beautiful Woman
3. The Jam with Albert
4. Elementary Guitar Solo #5
5. No One Really Knows
6. Morning Sickness
7. Ah Wuv Ooh

Full moon and empty spirits rise into flight

If you like this, check out:

John McLaughlin -
Devotion (1970)

Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer -
Like Children (1974)

Aum - Resurrection (1969)

Weirdly religious psych from this Dutch trio. Dynamic songwriting ranging from thunderous would-be anthems bluesy garage rock to goofy lil' ditties to hazy, melancholic ballads.

Track listing:
1. God Is Back in Town
2. Resurrection
3. Only I Know
4. Bye Bye Baby
5. Today and Tomorrow
6. Little Brown Hen
7. Aum
8. Pachuko Boogie

And the ghost of a thousand suns came shining through the trees

Also of interest:

Bulbous Creation -
You Won't Remember Dying (1971)

Phil Flowers & His United Family -
Alpha and Omega (1973)

Brightblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin (2008)

Frontrunners in the Most Stoned-Sounding Band in the World competition. Rhodes piano, horns, slide guitar, heavy-lidded R&B-style backing vocals, and a lead vocalist who sounds dangerously close to passing out behind the mic. The perfect accompaniment for oppressive heat and mind-expanding drugs.

Track listing:
1. Introduction
2. Hologram Buffalo
3. Gathered Years
4. Oppressions Each
5. Another Reclamation
6. A Rainbow Aims
7. Summer Hoof
8. Past a Weatherbeaten Fencepost
9. When Beads Spell Power Leaf

Nobody needs oppression