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Johnny Cash Sings Folsom Prison Blues (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Johnny Cash Sings Folsom Prison Blues
  • Artist name: Johnny Cash
  • Year: 1970
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Share Records
  • Collection: Friedman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $55.77

Johnny Cash Sings Folsom Prison Blues

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never listened to this compilation, but I’m a Johnny Cash fan and recognize a few of the songs on it.

What I expected

Country.

What it was actually like

This was great, and even though I anticipated being familiar with a lot of it, the only songs I knew well were Folsom Prison Blues and The Ways Of A Woman In Love. That one was unusual for having backing vocals, both male and female, though the entire record was in Cash’s unique and consistent style, sort of an acoustic rockabilly shuffle.

There were no bad songs at all and I would listen again any day, but if I had to pick two, Don’t Make Me Go was the most relatively boring and Down The Street To 301 was the most relatively corny.

Grade

5/5: love it

Wings at the Speed of Sound by Wings (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Wings at the Speed of Sound
  • Group name: Wings
  • Year: 1976
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Capitol Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics: hole punched through top right corner
  • Buy it on Amazon: $29.99

Wings at the Speed of Sound

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I listened to a Wings record, Band on the Run, back in May, and was not impressed. I’ve never heard Wings at the Speed of Sound before.

What I expected

More forgettable Faul McCartney post-Beatles songs.

What it was actually like

Like the other Wings record, this one was pretty bad.

Let ‘Em In had a disco sound, which I found extremely jarring, and also the chorus sounded a little like a fife and drums marching band. Silly Love Songs was also disco. I get that it was 1976, but come on.

Wino Junko was all right, and I liked its electric guitar.

Cook of the House was a very poorly executed rockabilly song that could have been great, if they had been serious about doing it in a rockabilly style.

Grade

2/5: bad, but I was able to listen to the whole thing

Last of the Red Hot Burritos by The Flying Burrito Brothers (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Last of the Red Hot Burritos
  • Group name: The Flying Burrito Brothers
  • Year: 1972
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: A&M Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on top left of album, indicating that my father owned it
  • Buy it on Amazon: $19.99

Last of the Red Hot Burritos by The Flying Burrito Brothers

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve heard of The Flying Burrito Brothers, but I don’t think I’ve ever listened to any of their music.

What I expected

Country rock?

What it was actually like

This was an outstanding live record with two very different sides.

The first half of side one was a mix of rock and country rock. I thought Devil in Disguise sounded a bit like the Allman Brothers and that it was pretty good, but their version of Six Days on the Road was more rockabilly style and I loved it.

The second half of side one was all bluegrass. Dixie Breakdown had some very serious Scruggs style banjo, and it was really remarkable how much the crowd went wild for all the different solos – banjo, mandolin, fiddle. Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down was a Flatt and Scruggs song that they did very nicely, and when my father heard that I was about to listen to this record, he got so excited for Orange Blossom Special that he insisted I turn up the volume on my (his) speakers. That wasn’t necessary, but the Flying Burrito Brothers absolutely knocked this classic bluegrass song out of the park.

Side two was much more about rock music, especially blues rock with some country sound. I liked all the songs on it, but they just weren’t as good as the stretch of bluegrass songs on side one.

Grade

5/5: love it

On Stage by Loggins and Messina (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: On Stage
  • Group name: Loggins and Messina
  • Year: 1974
  • Number of discs: two
  • Label: Columbia records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “PROMOTION RECORD NOT FOR SALE” stamped in red on back of album
  • Buy it on Amazon: $2.50

On Stage by Loggins and Messina

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I don’t know very much about Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, but I listened to Loggins and Messina a few months ago, and wasn’t that into it.

What I expected

On Stage is clearly a live record, so I hope it won’t have some of the things that I disliked about Loggins and Messina.

What it was actually like

On Stage got off to a bit of a slow start, but I definitely recognized Danny’s Song, though I had no idea that it was a Loggins and Messina song. I always thought of it as a kind of campfire type song, without ever stopping to wonder who had written it. The version on this record wasn’t the best, but I was happy to hear it.

The aptly titled Listen to a Country Song was great – very lively and catchy, and I loved the fiddle in it, and though there was at least a bit of country sound throughout the whole record, that track kicked off a stretch that consisted of country songs, through Holiday Hotel and to the next side, where Just Before the News was more of a bluegrass song that was also excellent.

Similarly, Your Mama Don’t Dance was another song that I loved – kind of a rockabilly thing, and the saxophone didn’t even bother me, though I still think that part should have been a guitar part.

On the other hand, several parts of On Stage were rather boring, and those parts tended to be where they used the horns section the most, such as Golden Ribbons and Back to Georgia, as well as parts of Trilogy. It wasn’t as corny on this record as when some other musicians have done it, however.

Angry Eyes was a really excellent rock jam that was a high point on the record.

Vahevala, which was 21 minutes long and took up the entire third side, had a lot going on: rock, country, a strong and prominent bass line, guitar solos, great percussion, flute. Parts of it were pretty dancey and I could definitely imagine this being a hit with concert audiences. Towards the end it tapered off, slowed down and got very tiresome, with seagull noises and other sound effects. Then it picked back up, but there was way too much horns at the very end.

Overall, I was extremely pleasantly surprised by On Stage!

Grade

4/5: would listen again