TOMORROW ON OUTQ: ALBUM ANNIVERSARIES: ALICIA KEYS, RYAN ADAMS, NIRVANA, MEGADETH, R.E.M.

Tomorrow morning on SiriusXM OutQ's Morning Jolt with Larry Flick, I'm talking about some albums that are being reissued in special anniversary editions.

First off, Alicia Keys' Songs In A Minor, which celebrates its tenth birthday this year. I wrote about this one the other night, I think it's a great LP.  To me, it heralded the arrival of a major artist who is going to be making important music for decades.  People rip on her for lots of things.  I guess the fact that she was a star pretty much the minute the album hit stores (thanks to both Oprah's endorsement and also an undeniable first single, "Fallin'") made her seem like an overnight star. (In fact, when she signed to J Records, it was her third record deal, she'd been signed and dropped twice previously). And, more recently, people have criticized her for more personal things which I won't get into.  I'll say that she seems to try and have a positive effect on the world with her money and fame, and I think she makes great music. I'm glad she's a star, and I always look forward to hearing what she's going to do next.

Also turning ten this year is Ryan Adams' Gold. I wrote about this one recently also. When Elton John released his 2001 album Songs From The West Coast (one of my favorite Elton albums, and one that is totally underrated), he said it was influenced by Ryan (although I think he was specifically referring to 2000's Heartbreaker). He wanted to take his band into the studio and do an album in two weeks. Around this time, Elton and Ryan were supposed to film an episode of CMT's Crossroads in New York City.  I was fortunate enough to get tickets.  Ryan, for some reason, didn't show up, but his band did, as did Elton. Elton started off with a solo piano set, and then Ryan's band joined him for a set of Ryan's songs. It was amazing. I'll always remember Elton's version of "La Cienega Just Smiled" from Gold. Ryan has put out lots of albums since then, but I think this is his finest moment.

Nirvana's Nevermind turns twenty this year. Wow. I remember hearing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the first time.  I was driving my car on the Meadowbrook Parkway in Long Island while I was in college.  I was listening to WDRE and wondering why they were playing a band that was heavy like Metallica, but of course the singer sounded nothing like Metallica or anyone else. I got Nevermind when it first came out. Obviously it is a classic album.  I loved "Lounge Act," I thought it sounded like The Smithereens (I later read that they were, in fact, an influence). At some point, I found Kurt Cobain a bit too precious and annoying (wearing a "corporate magazines still suck" shirt while doing a corporate magazine cover was cute, but complaining about Pearl Jam bugged me), and I stopped listening to them for a bit. That was dumb of me.  They are one of the greatest bands ever, and Nevermind is an incredible album. There's a deluxe version coming out later this year, but for now, Spin magazine has curated a tribute album called Newermind with The Meat Puppets, The Vaselines, Charles Bradley and Butch Walker, among others.  You can get it for free by liking their Facebook page.

R.E.M. has released a 25th anniversary edition of Life's Rich Pageant.  Having listened to it a bit lately, I've concluded that it is probably their best album (although I also love Automatic For The People). I'm going to do a separate post about this album.  The reissue comes with a second disc of demos and some songs that didn't come out on the album (some were re-recorded years later, others are being released for the first time here). Honestly, the bonuses are cool but kind of academic. But you need to have at least the album proper, if you don't already.

Finally, Megadeth's Peace Sells, which also turns 25.  Unlike the R.E.M. album, I remember this one coming out (I wasn't really aware of R.E.M. yet in 1986).  I knew they were led by a guy who used to be in Metallica, and lots of people were talking about it (I think I also knew that frontman Dave Mustaine was actually credited as a co-writer on a number of early Metallica classics). I listened to this album over and over, just as I did with Metallica. I felt Mustaine had the ability to take metal even further than Metallica did. They seemed to be a bit more political, which I was interested in at the time.  To me, this is one of the best speed metal albums ever. The bonus disc is a poorly recorded live concert from the era.

I know U2 will be releasing a Achtung Baby/Zooropa box set later this year, I can't wait to hear what they put on it (I have most of the b-side and remixes from the era though). I look forward to bringing that one onto a later episode of Larry's show.

RYAN ADAMS "GOLD" TEN YEARS ON

Ryan Adams had been around for a while when he released his breakthrough album, Gold, in 2001. In the '90s, he fronted the alt-country band, Whiskeytown, and in 2000, he released his solo debut, Heartbreaker.

The first single from Gold, "New York, New York," was great on its own. The video was shot, weirdly, with the Twin Towers in the background, days before 9/11. It's hard not to think of those horrible days when I hear that song.  Still, it's a great song.  And the album holds up even without that song. "When The Stars Turn Blue" is a classic (it's been covered by Tim McGraw as well as The Corrs with Bono), but my favorite is "La Cienega Just Smiled." The album sort of set Ryan up for stardom, which he seemed determined to avoid at all costs.  Well, he was successful.

I remember interviewing him a few years after Gold, you could just tell that he absolutely didn't care about being popular, but he cared a lot about his music. In some ways, he reminds me of Prince. He kind of operates on his own terms, releases more music than even his fans know how to deal with.  I think Gold is Ryan's Purple Rain. I don't know if he's released his Sign O The Times yet.

The label that released Gold, Lost Highway Records, is also celebrating its ten year anniversary this year. To celebrate, they have been reissuing some of their important albums on limited edition clear vinyl. Gold is among those and the vinyl reissue has some bonus tracks.

I've been thinking about Amy Winehouse for the past few days; at one point, it seemed like Ryan was on that same kind of dark path.  I'm glad he seems to be doing a bit better these days, it's always interesting to see what he does next. (Right now, for some reason, he's posting covers of Vampire Weekend songs to his website. Next on his list: KISS).

BEST OF THE '00S: WILLIE NELSON

Most people might not think of Willie Nelson as one of the top artists of the '00s. But the problem with "most people" is that they don't pay enough attention to things that aren't being shoved down their throat. Willie has put out some incredible music this decade, including what may be my favorite Willie album ever, 2004's It Will Always Be.

Talk about being vital: by my count, he's put out thirteen albums of new material this decade. Not all of them were great: the reggae album (2005's Countryman), the children's album (2001's Rainbow Connection) the collabo-heavy album (2002's The Great Divide) and the blues album (2000's Milk Cow Blues) aren't really classics. But they are all ambitious and all have their moments. Two of his other albums got slammed but also had some cool moments: the Ryan Adams produced Songbird (from 2006) and the Kenny Chesney produced Moment Of Forever (from 2008).

But lets get to the good stuff: other than It Will Always Be, there was You Don't Know Me: The Songs Of Cindy Walker from 2006, 2003's Run That By Me One More Time with his old boss Ray Price, Last Of The Breed, a 2007 double album collaboration with Ray Price and Merle Haggard, and this year's collaboration with Asleep At The Wheel, Willie and The Wheel.

Then there's the one off stuff: his hit single with Toby Keith, "Beer For My Horses," "You Are My Flower" from the 2004 Carter Family tribute album, his daring cover of Bob Dylan's "He Was A Friend Of Mine" for the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack, the equally daring (but funnier) follow-up single, "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond Of Each Other." There was the collaboration with Gillian Welch, "I'm Not Afraid To Die," the much funnier iTunes single "Superman." He did a cool cover of Fats Domino's "I Hear You Knockin'" for the Goin' Home tribute album. And another Dylan cover, an amazing verion of "Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)" backed by Calexico for the I'm Not There soundtrack (which made me think he should do a full album with Calexico). And, oh yeah, he covered Waylon Jennings' "Good Old Boys" for the Dukes Of Hazzard soundtrack. He also appeared in the movie. Who else worked with Gillian Welch and Jessica Simpson this decade? Oh yeah, he co-starred in the movie as well, and he also was in Toby Keith's Beer For My Horses flick too.

He still runs Farm Aid, and is a political activist for everything from the legalization of pot to the banning of slaughtering wild horses for meat. Also, he is the proprieter of Carl's Corner Truck Stop in Texas, and also of the great SIRIUSXM Channel Willie's Place.

We should all be so vital in our 70s! Here's to another great decade, Willie.

More Best Of The '00s: Bob Dylan

RYAN ADAMS: GAMER, ARTISTE

Ryan Adams is kind of a renaissance man: not only can he tackle all kinds of music, from alt-country (a genre he claims to detest) to metal, punk, and Smiths-style music and he's even been a sideman to Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead. But his abilities extend beyond music. His paintings are going to go on display at the Morrison Hotel gallery in NYC next month, and he's also started a video game blog.

RYAN ADAMS - NOT REALLY QUITTING

Earlier today, music websites were going nuts over the news that Ryan Adams said he was leaving his band The Cardinals, and stopping music for a while. Apparently, he said this on his blog. I had a busy day, and at any rate, Ryan Adams isn't known for his great editing skills or his brevity, so I figured I'd check the blog out from home. It looks like he's taken that post down, and now he says: "Of course everything i said got taken out of context.
as always, i did not say i was quitting i said i was taking a step back… so thanks…..thanks again." I think he's a very talented songwriter who clearly has some issues. I know he's recently fought a winning battle with addiction, but that must be tough when one is on the road. Right now for Ryan Adams, I'd say it's probably better to fade away than burn out.

THE COWBOY JUNKIES RETURN TO (THE) CHURCH

One of the greatest albums ever is Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Sessions.  The band recorded it in Trinity Church in Toronto twenty years ago. With one microphone.  You read that right: they just crowded around one microphone and recorded the album like that. I guess sometimes the magic is just there. The magic was there that day in that church.  

The group have done a lot of great albums since then (Miles From Our Home is one of my favorites) but The Trinity Sessions remains their landmark. 

So, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, they returned to Trinity Church to perform the album for an audience, with some friends, including Natalie Merchant (who was fronting 10,000 Maniacs when Trinity came out) and Ryan Adams, who was probably a teenager, if that. The performance was recorded for a live album and DVD called Trinity Revisited. Of course they used more than one microphone this time. I've not yet watched the DVD, but I am enjoying the recording. Of course, you can never top the original, but this project is certainly one to be proud of. 

The period that yielded the original album, twenty years ago, was a cool one. It seemed to be an era where lots of women were releasing great albums, and it didn't matter what they looked like. Not just the Junkies and 10,000 Maniacs, but Tracy Chapman, Aimee Mann was starting her solo career, Lucinda Williams was just getting semi-popular, Victoria Williams, it was a good time for music. Before things started too crass. Trinity Revisited sort of reminds me of that time. Of course, the album is completely timeless, in a way that most rock or pop groups can't begin to approach. 

It's inspiring that the group has been able to keep touring and releasing albums and DVDs outside of the major label system.  I know I've probably mentioned that about a few other groups, but there's something to be said about a group that just needs to notify its fans that a new album is out, or that they're coming to your town, without having to rely on marketing. That's a No Expiration band for you. 

COOL OLD MUSIC: LYNYRD SKYNYRD, WHISKEYTOWN

I'm a sucker for reissues. I love box sets, reissues, the whole thing. Universal does a great job with expanded reissues, and today they released two really cool ones. I won't "review" them, as I haven't had enough time to listen through all of them yet.

Lynyrd Skynyrd's Street Survivors was their last album before the tragic airplane crash, which killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and his sister, backing singer Cassie Gaines. Man, that album cover is still creepy. The album features two huge radio hits, "That Smell" and "What's Your Name." But as is often the case with Skynyrd (and many other bands sainted by classic rock radio), there are a lot of great tracks that have been forgotten. I'd call one's attention to "I Never Dreamed," for starters. Anyway, this album is worth the bucks. I never knew that the version of Street Survivors that was released was their second attempt at recording the album. The expanded version also includes the original one, as well as live versions of some of the songs.

I never had the original version of Whiskeytown's Stranger's Almanac, but I'm looking forward to diving in. I'm not one of those folks who falls head over heels over everything Ryan Adams does, but you can't deny his talent. One of his talents is not editing, so I'm not sure I'll love a formerly 13 track album that now has 39 tracks, but Whiskeytown was a band, not just Ryan.

I walked into work with both albums, wrapped and price tags intact. This one guy was like, "You paid for those?" That's how I roll, my friend.