C.A.T: Gorillaz

Gorillaz – Gorillaz (2001)

This month, Gorillaz released their ninth album, The Mountain to glowing reviews, the band is already in midst of a world tour, and a few weeks ago made their first ever appearance on SNL. Not bad for a band that sort of doesn’t exist.

What you might not know is that today, yes TODAY marks the 25th Anniversary of the band’s debut self-titled album. Twenty-five years. Christ. It feels like yesterday I was watching the “Clint Eastwood” video on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. But no, that was the Summer of 2001. Now I’m an old-ass man. The future is comin’ on.

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C.A.T: Can’t Get Enough

Barry White – Can’t Get Enough (1974)

Welcome to a special “Wuv Week” edition of “Classic Album Tuesdays” where it’s time to “take off that brassiere dear”, for Mr. Barry White.

Now there are a lot of sexy albums I could have picked: Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, Voodoo by D’Angelo, and how many children have been conceived by the mere sight of Herbie Mann’s Push Push album cover?

But when I think of sexy music, there is one figure who towers, about 6 ‘4”, to be exact, over the rest: Barry White. Known as “The Maestro” for his work as a producer and conductor, or by his less flattering moniker “The Walrus of Love,” Barry White was one of the preeminent soul singer-songwriters of his era. A two-time Grammy winner, he scored 20 gold and 10 platinum singles, led the 40-piece Love Unlimited Orchestra, and sold over 100 million records worldwide before his untimely death at 58 in 2003.

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C.A.T: Ace Frehley

Ace Frehley – Ace Frehley (1978)

The Spaceman has left us. Like E.T., he came into our lives, enriched them, got drunk, and returned to his home planet. “Space Ace” was a character. Everyone in Kiss was a character, but the Spaceman always felt like the most irreverent, carefree, and fun member of the band.

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C.A.T: Breakfast in America

Supertramp – Breakfast in America (1979)

It’s been a rough year for rock star deaths. Just this summer we’ve lost Brian Wilson, Sly Stone, Ozzy Osbourne, Mick Ralphs, Bobby Whitlock, and George Kooymans, to name a few. One name that almost slipped by me was the passing of Supertramp founder Rick Davies, who died on September 6th from multiple myeloma at the age of 81.

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C.A.T.: No More Tears

Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears (1991)

Alas, we bid farewell, as the Prince of Darkness has finally taken his throne in Hell. Ozzy Osbourne, who probably should have died in 2003 after being crushed by his quad bike, or in 1978 when he challenged David Lee Roth to a cocaine duel, or during his self-reported “40-year bender” that lasted until he got sober around 2018, has died.

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C.A.T.: Love Gun

KISS – Love Gun (1977)

This weekend I will see KISS in concert for the first (and almost certainly last) time. 2018 marks the beginning of their “End of the Road” tour, which will see the longtime rockers/sell-outs trekking across the world and gracing their fans with 40-year-old rock songs in what will supposedly be their last tour ever. To say that there’s any kind of wish fulfillment in seeing this band live would be a bit generous, considering I’ve always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with KISS. And I’m not sure there’s any better example of this love/hate relationship than 1977’s Love Gun, arguably the last “classic” KISS album. Continue reading →

C.A.T.: Rage Against The Machine

Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine (1992)

Is Rage Against The Machine any good? This is a question I’ve often asked myself ever since listening to them as a mid-‘oos high schooler. The answer then seemed to be “yes”, though it may have been partly because they were a fun band to groove along to when I was first learning to play drums. However, they seemed much less good during the late ’00s/early ’10s of my college years, which may have been due to my budding indie rock snobbery. Meanwhile, they’ve sounded pretty darn good to my ears the last two years. Which is to say, how good this band sounds may all be correlated to the political climate of the time. Continue reading →