Forgotten: Sunday Cannons - Red to the Rind

Back in 1988, I caught an Amnesty International benefit show at the Towson Armory in Towson, MD. Having seen locals Black Friday a few months before, I was anxious to catch them again along with Pearl Fishers, Sunday Cannons and the Unknown. While the latter was fairly rotten (one of the few bands whose set I walked away from), the other three were all very good. Sunday Cannons were so good, in fact, that I bought Red to the Rind the following week.

I pulled the album off the shelf a few weeks back and found that this punk/alt/psych material still appealed to me 20 years later, perhaps even more than it did at the time. It's true that there were plenty of bands in this vein in the late 80s underground, but Sunday Cannons are a fine example of that time and place. Perhaps some of the appeal for me today is nostalgia, but there's more to it. It's not just about a sound, but a vibe that still finds it's way into good music today.

Thanks to Mike Lane (now of The Lanes) for permission to make the album available for download.

Sunday Cannons - Red to the Rind

Review: Joe Jackson - Live 1980/86

Label: A&M

Released: 1988

In the liner notes of this album, Joe Jackson writes perhaps the best case for this album's greatness:

"I've always had two stubborn rules about playing live. Firstly, no matter how small the audience, how bad the acoustics, how smelly the dressing room, etc, every show is important. It's possible to play to about a dozen people throwing garbage and still be called back for an encore. Secondly, play what you want to play....My theory was that if I could still get excited about what I was doing, the audience could get excited about it too, even if it wasn't quite what they'd expected. After all, they could always go home and play the records."

Those words, it seems to me, should be the mission statement of all live performances and any live album worth the vinyl it's pressed on should convey that.

On Live 1980/86, Joe Jackson lives up to those goals entirely. Ranging from edgy new wave to reggae-infused rock to jazz and all things in between, Jackson is never short of the best a performer can offer. Whether he's angry, upbeat, sarcastic or melancholy, he shares that entirely with the audience. These shows are important and as a result, so is the album.

Jackson's performances span styles and bands (all of them top-notch, by the way), but nothing shows his desire to change things up and play what he wants to play, how he wants to play it, better than the three (count them, three) versions of "Is She Really Going Out With Him." The most mundane version here clocks in at over six minutes (almost twice as long as the studio version). The a capella version gives me chills. This is his best-known tune, the one everyone wants to hear whether they're a diehard fan or not, but he does it his way and succeeds in a way you have to hear to believe.

Often, live shows don't live up to their potential. Bands play the same set over and over. They fail to mix anything up to make the performance unique. Joe Jackson doesn't have these problems and the fact that it's clear on an album makes that album one of the greatest live recordings of all time and absolutely essential listening for everyone.

Ratings
Satriani: 10/10
Zappa: 10/10
Dylan: 10/10
Aretha: 10/10
Overall: 10/10

If you're curious about my rating categories, read the description.