2190. Rolling Stones: England's Newest Hit Makers
2191. Rolling Stones: Around and Around
2192. Rolling Stones: 12 x 5
2193. Rolling Stones: Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass)
2194. Rolling Stones: Between the Buttons
2195. Rolling Stones: Flowers
2196. Rolling Stones: Through the Past Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
2197. Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet
2198. Rolling Stones: Let It Bleed
2199. Rolling Stones: More Hot Rocks (Big Hits and Fazed Cookies)
2200. Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers
2201. Rolling Stones: Exile on Main Street
2202. Jamming With Edward
2203. Rolling Stones: Some Girls
2204. Rolling Stones: Tattoo You
Mixworthy: "It's All Over Now," #2192; "The Last Time," "19th Nervous Breakdown,"
and "Get Off of My Cloud," #2193; "Back Street Girl," #2194; "Out of Time," #2195;
"Street Fighting Man" and "Prodigal Son," #2197; "You Got the Silver," #2198;
"Sway," #2200.
Well, what do you know--I used up all 10 spots before even getting to Exile. Rather
than knock off a song or two--I wouldn't want to be without anything above--I'll
just say that Exile is their greatest album and can stand as a phantom 11th pick
unto itself. One huge omission from the two or three early LPs not listed, all of
which I've managed to download in the past few months: "I Am Waiting" from After-
math, a great album that's maybe not quite as great as its reputation ("Goin' Home"
drags, and there are a couple of minor throwaways). Only two post-Exile LPs--I had
Goat's Head Soup a long time ago, before I started collecting in earnest--and as
long as you're OK with that, I am too. (There's a parallel universe out there where
people advocate that the likes of Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You aren't just formu-
laically good records, they're in fact more vital than Exile. This argument has not
extended to Voodoo Lounge or "She's the Boss" thus far, but you can never be sure
where such roads lead.) The Rolling Stones have systematically squandered more good-
will than anyone in pop music history save for Michael Jackson, and it's difficult
to take a step back and write about them as if that's not a factor. I don't think I
knew much at all about the Stones prior to their 1972 stop in Toronto (I must have
been familiar with at least a few of their '60s hits from the radio, but I don't
think I had any sense of their place alongside the Beatles in the overall scheme
of things), the tremendous fanfare over which I still remember. Urjo Karedo wrote
a splashy overview of the band's career up to that point for the Star, there was a
big radio special I recall listening to, and I quickly became aware that this was
something that mattered a lot. I bought Hot Rocks shortly after and played it to
death for the next couple of years; my favourites included most of the warhorses
I'm now completely sick of ("Satisfaction," "Brown Sugar," "Sympathy for the Dev-
il"). I survived the mid-70s still loving all the '60s hits, and then towards the
end of high school my fandom peaked as I discovered all the amazing album cuts on
Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. That's about all I can do at this point: piece
together my own history as a fan, which is that of someone who was too young to
have had my world turned upside down by the first half-dozen albums--I've never
really had any feel for their early blues covers--but just old enough to have
jumped on board at the tail-end of the Mick Taylor period. That it took me about
a minute to list 10 unassailably mixworthy songs without drawing from what I count
as their greatest album says far more than whatever ambivalence, exasperation, or
just plain boredom I might feel about the whole saga at this late date.
________________________________________________________________________________
2205. Priscilla Rollins: I Love You
2206. Sonny Rollins: First Recordings
2207. Sonny Rollins: Worktime
2208. Great Moments With Sonny Rollins
2209. The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits!
2210. Romeo Void: It's a Condition
2211. Linda Rondstadt & the Stone Poneys: Stoney End
2212. Linda Rondstadt: Greatest Hits
2213. Linda Rondstadt: Living in the USA
2214. Linda Rondstadt & the Nelson Riddle Orchestra: What's New
2215. Tim Rose: Morning Dew
2216. Tim Rose: Through Rose Colored Glasses
2217. Diana Ross/Marvin Gaye: Diana & Marvin
2218. Diana Ross' Greatest Hits
2219. Diana Ross: The Boss
2220. Diana Ross: All the Great Hits
2221. Roxette: Look Sharp!
2222. Roxy
Mixworthy: "Alfie's Theme" and "Three Little Words," #2208; "You Baby" and "When I
Saw You," #2209; "My Mistake (Was to Love You)," #2217; "Love Hangover" and "Ain't
No Mountain High Enough," #2218. (Agreeably chirpy-chirpy-cheep, but not quite:
"Upside Down" and "I'm Coming Out," #2220.)
The Ronettes album is of course the British reissue of Presenting the Fabulous Ron-
ettes that came out sometime in the late '70s--different title, different cover, same
record. I was going to list it under its proper title, but I didn't want to leave the
impression I had an original lying around the house, listed at $800 in the Goldmine
price guide. Phil Spector sees that, he's sending people over here to break in, pos-
sibly even to kill me. Although I've only picked a couple of less familiar songs,
sidestepping hits I've heard too often, it's pretty much a perfect statement from
start to finish. There's also a collection of stuff done for Colpix that predates
Spector--I bought it for someone as a gift once but haven't heard it myself...An
obvious taking-sides picture thread for ILM (or better yet, a whole new "I Love the
Seventies" bulletin board): Linda Rondstadt's Living in the USA vs. Carly Simon's No
Secrets. My vote goes to Carly, even though it's the other I actually own...I wrote
a little bit about Bob Segarani back in the Dudes entry; Roxy was another one of his
bands from even earlier in the decade. If I can track down the three Wackers album
(Wackering Heights, Hot Wacks, and Shredder), I'll have a complete collection of
Failed '70s Power-Pop Groups Led by Bob Segarani. The really strange thing is that I
have no interest in him whatsoever, beyond maybe that he's got a name that passes the
"Mistadabolina Test." Remember an early '90s rap hit by Del tha Funkee Homosapien
called "Mistadabolina"? "Mistadabolina, Mr. Bob Dabolini..."--they took the chorus
from some bit off the Monkees TV show. Anyway, to amuse myself sometimes, I try to
think of marginal old baseball players who fit the song perfectly (it'll help here
if you know the song): "Mr. Apodaca, Mr. Bob Apodaca..." "Mr. Alexander, Mr. Doyle
Alexander..." "Mr. Cannizaro, Mr. Chris Cannizaro..." Sometimes it works with people
I know: "Mr. Zachariah, Mr. Justin Zachariah..." And with Segarini: "Mr. Segarini,
Mr. Bob Segarini..." Whether or not that's good enough reason to be accumulating
his collected works, probably not.
________________________________________________________________________________
2223. Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure
2224. Roxy Music: Siren
2225. Roxy Music: Greatest Hits
2226. Royal House: Can You Party?
2227. Rubber Rodeo: Scenic Views
2228. The Rubinoos
2229. Ruby & the Romantics: Our Day Will Come
2230. David Ruffin: Feelin' Good
2231. David Ruffin: My Whole World Ended
2232. Ruffin & Kendrick
2233. Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars: Sunday Jazz a la Lighthouse
2234. Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All-Stars, Vol. 6
2235. Run-D.M.C.: King of Rock
2236. Run-D.M.C.: Raising Hell
2237. Run-D.M.C.: Tougher Than Leather
Mixworthy: "Editions of You," #2223; "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore," #2229;
"My Whole World Ended (The Moment You Left Me)," #2231.
I tried to summon the ghost of Scott Woods' album inventory to help me write some-
thing worthwhile about Roxy Music, but no luck, I'll have to go it alone. One thing
I know is that I had a much more intuitive pipeline into whatever it was that they
were up to when I was in high school than I do now. I bought Siren not too long
after it came out and played side two a lot, primarily for "Both Ends Burning," a
great song to read drug connotations into when you're 16; "Love Is the Drug," which
is deader than dead to me now, and has been for a long time, was exciting too. I
don't recall thinking of either the band or the album as any weirder or artier than
Queen, or Aerosmith, or Kiss, or anybody else in my collection up to that point; I
was totally in the moment, and it all made sense (or, more accurately, I didn't feel
the need to make sense of any of it, it all just was). Roxy Music remains the emble-
matic '70s band for a lot of people--the first one they'd point to if someone said
"Explain the '70s"--but I'd nominate either Cheap Trick or Steely Dan in that role,
while Roxy Music stands apart as a curiosity I sort of like but for whom I don't have
any kind of feeling whatsoever anymore. I played Greatest Hits before writing this,
and outside of "Editions of You," which lives up to its line about crazy music that
drives you insane (and lives up to the way Greil Marcus writes about them in Strand-
ed), even the best songs ("Street Life," "Virginia Plain," "The Thrill of It All")
ultimately sound a little hollow to me. Bryan Ferry definitely had as much to do with
inventing the '80s as anyone else, so it stands to reason that I come up short there,
too...I bought the Royal House LP at this short-lived store in my hometown of George-
town (can't remember the name) that sold books, sportscards, and a mix of used and
discounted new albums, the latter of highly suspect origin. They seemed to have an
inordinate number of still-sealed house compilations for sale in there, even though
the guy who ran the store looked like he was franchising growhouses in his spare
time, and even though house music still hasn't hit Georgetown 15 years later.
About the only thing more absurd than them selling house albums was me buying
them.
________________________________________________________________________________
2238. Todd Rundgren: Runt
2239. Todd Rundgren: Something/Anything
2240. Todd Rundgren: Todd
2241. Merrilee Rush: Angel of the Morning
2242. Merrilee Rush
2243. Tom Rush: The Circle Game
2244. The Best of Tom Rush
2245. Jimmy Rushing: If This Ain't the Blues
2246. Leon Russell
2247. Luis Russell and His Orchestra
2248. Mitch Ryder Sings the Hits
2249. Sade: Diamond Life
2250. Sade: Promise
2251. Sir Douglas: Way Back When He Was Just Doug Sahm
2252. Sir Douglas Quintet: Mendocino
2253. Sir Douglas Quintet: 1 + 1 + 1 = 4
2254. The Best of the Sir Douglas Quintet
Mixworthy: "We Gotta Get You a Woman," #2238; "I Saw the Light," "Couldn't I Just
Tell You," "Cold Morning Light," and "Hello It's Me," #2239; "No Regrets" #2243;
"At the Crossroads," #2252.
And if not Cheap Trick or Steely Dan (see above), then maybe Something/Anything.
There can't be more than a handful of studio-albums proper in my collection where
I've listed, or will list, four songs; I've got four from Something/Anything, and
almost added "It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference" for a fifth. The strange thing
is, I don't consider it among my favourite LPs--it's a double, and beyond those five
songs, there's nothing else on there I care the least about. I've had it since '77
or so, by which time the original gatefold was gone; it was side one I always played
through high school, not paying too much attention to either "I Saw the Light" or
"Hello It's Me," radio hits I knew from five years earlier. I'm not sure exactly
when or why, but sometime in the mid-90s I rediscovered "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw
the Light," and it was one of those overwhelming epiphanies where something clicks
and you're transported back to some time and place--and all the feelings associated
with that time and place, even if you couldn't quite give them a name--that still
occupies a much larger place in your being than you would have guessed. (All of
this probably happened in close proximity to a fanzine piece I wrote about my high
school years in Georgetown.) Ever since, I've thought of both songs as being as
important to me in an autobiographical sense as almost anything else I can think
of--Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere cuts even deeper, and that might be it. I'm
probably missing a song or two from Todd, which I barely know at all; I bought it
at an amazing Boxing Day sale 10 years ago that I'll talk about in another entry...
Mendocino was one of my best cutout finds ever; I got it in Rockford, Illinois, in
'81 or '82 while visiting Tom Mayock, my aforementioned first-year roommate. I knew
it from Ed Ward's list in the Gambaccini Top 200 book. 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 makes a good
companion piece for Grin's 1 + 1; Sir Doug can't add, Nils Lofgren's too lazy to
even try. Wire once tried something similar with their (1 + 1 + 1)! = (5!/20) LP.