As we approach post number 50, which I had damned well
better pick a decent record for, I’m
trying to think of what that record should be, and that means for sure,
Mick Collins has to be in consideration. I think Mick is one of the absolute best things
about American music. He’s got a guitar
sound that is almost indescribable, and the guy can sing with as much soul and
feeling as anyone, anywhere, anytime. I’m
not sure what he would consider his musical direction to be, because he’s all
over the map stylistically, but his bands always have a style that they stay
true to, but at the same time they don’t mind pushing envelopes. Mick seems real good about letting the band
sound like themselves, and I’d think that probably means he’s a pretty generous
musician and it’s probably fun to play in his bands.
So today I’m gonna talk about
Blacktop. This is
Mick’s band after The Gories, and no, I wasn’t anywhere near
cool enough to know who they were while they were functioning as a unit. I barely knew who The Gories were, and for
me, the book is still out on them. But
Blacktop was awesome.
I mean, these guys were noisy and dark, with big, thumping drums and
distorted, raw guitars. Reading the
liner notes of the cd version of I Got a Baaad Feelin’ About
This also explains why Mick’s voice is as shredded as the
guitars. I’m pretty sure a lot of people
won't like Blacktop, but who cares? I think it’s fantastic. One of the albums I’m more than happy to have
the original vinyl of as well as the cd with tons of bonus tracks.
The best thing about the record is that it’s one of those
rare albums that are just cohesive and perfect in and of themselves. You don’t need the cd if
you have the vinyl, but it’s nice to have.
The best thing about the cd is they put the whole album in order and
then they add everything else after, so you can listen to it the way it came
out originally, just quit listening after track 14. You’ll be good after that anyway, trust
me. Like I said, it’s kinda dark and it’s
a record that demands your attention.
Not like it’s hard to listen to, but it’s hard to not
listen to it. You’ll pay attention. You may get up and dance, but you’ll be
involved because this is involving music.
Which kind of means that if you came here because you wanted
to find what I have to say about Rod Stewart or Artful Dodger you may not like this at all. Which is fine. This is my record collection, and when push
comes to shove, as much as I like things like BTO or
David Bowie, I bet I listen to things like this more
often. It’s a shame drugs fucked this up
(not Mick Collins, he’s not fucked up at all – in fact, I talked to him at a
show and he’s a super nice guy), because I think Blacktop could have been
something. I’m not thinking commercial
success, but something other than a band I have a record and cd of and wouldn’t
ever get rid of either because I think they’re so unbelievably great. So to me, this is one of the posts I think
should get 1000 hits, but it won’t. It
will get 25 in two years, but that’s just the way it is. Maybe if you haven’t heard them and you made
your way to my little blog, you’ll check them out and you’ll like it as much as
I do.
Now, my cd is the usual cd – silver and flat with terrific
liner notes by Mick. My record is
cooler. I found it at a record show, and
the guy selling it didn’t know what it was, and he seemed pretty knowledgeable
about more underground bands. It was
cheap, and it’s almost perfect in every way.
It was fun talking to the guy I bought it from. I told him it was one of my all-time
favorites, and it was Mick Collins. He
knew The Gories and The Dirtbombs but had no idea about
Blacktop, and after I told him about it he said he wished he had listened to
it. I told him I was glad he didn’t,
because I didn’t think he’d have sold it to me if he had!
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