Scotch Sampler

[scotchandcigar]

1997 saw her get even bigger, with the release of Surfacing. Songs include Adia, and these favorites

Sarah McLachlan – Sweet Surrender (Afterglow Live)



Sarah McLachlan – Building a Mystery (live, Mirrorball)



Sappy, but good
Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Afterglow Live)



There was a hiatus before the 2003 studio album Afterglow (followed by a live concert recording), and it had hits like Fallen and World On Fire, but my interest had dropped off by then.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

That was a fabulous album.

Artists are criticized for rushing their second album to quickly. Evidently this may be why record companies push them to do so.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

She released Mirrorball in 1999. Has this hit on it (another sappy one):

 

[scotchandcigar]

She released Mirrorball in 1999. Has this hit on it (another sappy one):

Damn Canadian video. Which song?

 

[sadchild]

I first heard her with "Possession", great song. Captivating. I know she has a bunch of other good music, but I don't generally listen to her. My wife, however, loves a lot of her stuff.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Damn Canadian video. Which song?

I Will Remember You.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Today is a natural twofer: Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler. Chris Barron and John Popper went to high school together in Princeton, NJ. They were both in a band called Trucking Company, which turned into Spin Doctors, with Popper going out on his own. But they toured together and created the H.O.R.D.E. festival.

Blues Traveler got recognition first, with their self-titled debut album. It showcased Popper's amazing singing, songwriting, and (in-particular) harmonica-playing talents. His playing is like nothing we've heard before, and likewise, the musical style of the band is not like anything else going on in 1990.

This is the best sounding live performance I can find of this great song
Blues Traveler – But Anyway (live)



I bought their follow-up album, Travelers and Thieves, which got radio airplay with All in the Groove. But it was otherwise more of a longform jam album. The next album didn't do very well, but the one after that, 1994's Four, contained their biggest hit songs, including Run-Around, and this favorite - which is really a big F-You to the hit radio industry

An interesting video all-around
Blues Traveler – Hook (live at Howard Stern Birthday Show)



Their next release had some good stuff, but didn't really chart.

Spin Doctors are a One-Album-Wonder. In 1990, they produced Pocket Full of Kryptonite, which got released in '91, and stayed on the radio through '93. In addition to What Time Is It?, the album contained these mega-hits

I had totally forgotten that Dennis Miller had a show
Spin Doctors - Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong & Jimmy Olsen’s Blues (live on Dennis Miller)



Spin Doctors - Two Princes



Their next album, released in '94, had some minor hits, but if you look at their live performances that year, Chris Barron is clearly messed-up, which led to their demise. Plus the lyrics to their hits didn't do well over time.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I like both artists. I only have the 1 Spin Doctors album and Four from Blues Traveller. I only have Run Around digitized currently,

 

[sadchild]

I dig 'em both, mostly their radio songs.

Blues Traveler

1. Runaround
2. But Anyway
3. Hook
4. Most Precarious
5. ??

Spin Doctors

1. Little Miss Can't Be Wrong
2. Two Princes
3. Jimmy Olsen's Blues
4. Have You Ever Seen The Rain
5. What Time Is It

They were both in a band called Trucking Company, which turned into Spin Doctors, with Popper going out on his own. But they toured together and created the H.O.R.D.E. festival.

Cool I had no idea

 

[scotchandcigar]

A rock artist I really liked in the 90's is the often overlooked Lenny Kravitz. Perhaps due to his famous connections, he's not taken that seriously as a musician. However, I think his guitar riffs alone qualify him for inclusion on any list.

The title track to 1989's Let Love Rule is what first got him radio airplay. That album also gave us Mr. Cab Driver. Then into the 90's, he released an album about every two years. 1991's Mama Said contained It Ain't Over 'till It's Over, and the groovy Stop Draggin' Around (with an awesome riff). But my favorite is this song that was cowritten with Slash.

Here he shows up at a GnR set to perform the song with Slash, after Axl Rose walks off
Lenny Kravitz/Slash - Always on the Run (live)



1993 gave us this title track hit
Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way (live on Letterman)



as well as this kind-of ballad
Lenny Kravitz – Believe (live)



Then 1995's Circus came out with Can't Get You Off My Mind, plus this riff machine
Lenny Kravitz – Rock and Roll Is Dead (live on Letterman)



He released the album 5 in '98, with a great cover of American Woman, plus another song with an awesome riff
Lenny Kravitz – Fly Away (live)



He's put out some good stuff since, but that was his prime time.

 

[sadchild]

Lenny Kravitz

1. Are You Gonna Go My Way
2. Always On The Run
3. It Ain't Over Til It's Over
4. Again

 

[scotchandcigar]

Now we're getting to the meat of the alt/indie movement of the 90's. And there's no artist that characterizes that better than the English band Catherine Wheel. They produced what is now referred to as classic alternative. On their 1992 debut album Ferment, the style is most often referred to as "shoegaze", a reference to the head-down guitar playing. From that album, here's that iconic sound

Catherine Wheel – I Want to Touch You



This song is one of the all-time classics for alt rock
Catherine Wheel – Black Metallic (long version)



Their follow-up was the 1993 album Chrome, which contained the songs Show Me Mary, and this hit

Catherine Wheel – Crank

 

[scotchandcigar]

1995's Happy Days was the high point for me, and the band. I listened to the album all the way through, over and over. And the band toured all the late night shows. Songs include God Inside My Head, Little Muscle, and these

Catherine Wheel – Waydown (live)



Tanya Donelly (of Belly and Throwing Muses fame - and coming up on my list) joins in for this hit
Catherine Wheel with Tanya Donelly – Judy Staring at the Sun



This is just a great, emotional, long-form song, which didn't get radio airplay, but is highly regarded by fans of the band

Catherine Wheel – Heal (live)



They put out a couple more albums after that, but kind-of faded from the scene.

 

[sadchild]

One of those bands that was on the edge of my radar at the time. I knew of them, heard a little, but I never got into them. Looking back I probably could have if I had been exposed to them more. Like if one of my friends got into them and played them around me a bunch.

 

[HecticArt]

I'm in the same boat.
The stuff of theirs I've heard, I've liked.
It surprises me that I don't have any of their albums. I should do something about that.

 

[scotchandcigar]

This next one can go really well, or really poorly. One of my top 10 albums, PJ Harvey's Dry is her groundbreaking 1992 debut album. Combining punk, funk, and alt rock, it showcases Polly Jean's explosive talents. It's been called one of the best debut albums, one of the best of the year, and of of the best all-time. I discovered it after hearing some of it and the next album (Rid of Me) on the radio. The latter was a demo-sounding thing that didn't do much for me, but Dry was an album that I became obsessed with, always playing straight through. Like many great albums, it has an arc of mood and emotion.

I had a hard time selecting songs to feature; I love nearly all of them, but I also realize that most of you will be hearing it out of context, since I'm probably the only fan (until she did Down By the Water). She's British (although she has lived in NYC), and so she's obviously big in England. But in any case, here we go.

Harvey is a singer-songwriter, a fearlessly talented guitarist and performer, and she's got a great live presence. Here's one of the earlier tracks from Dry

PJ Harvey – O Stella



and here's a live performance of a trio of songs from the album
PJ Harvey – O Stella/Dress/Hair (live)



Another song from Dry, part of a manic-depression part of the album (this is the manic one)

PJ Harvey – Joe (live)

 

[scotchandcigar]

Her 1993 follow-up album Rid of Me (which I mentioned earlier) got radio airplay (and the late night show tour) with the title track, Man-Size, and 50-ft Queenie. But her next album, 1995's To Bring You My Love, gave her mainstream success.

This two song performance and interview was done for MTV's 120 minutes. It starts with a ballad that was pretty big on the radio [edit: finishes on the next post]

PJ Harvey – C’mon Billy



and another great rocker from the album
PJ Harvey – Long Snake Moan (Israeli video)



and finally this twofer of popular songs from the same album
PJ Harvey – Send His Love to Me, Down by the Water (live on Jools Holland)



A few years later, she released 1998's Is This Desire? with the hit A Perfect Day Elise, which got a lot of radio airplay. But the next album, Stories From the City/ Stories From the Sea, was a major success in 2000. Songs include Good Fortune, A Place Called Home, The Whores Hustle and the Hustlers Whore, and these hits

PJ Harvey – This is Love (live on Leno)



PJ Harvey – You Said Something (live on Letterman)



She's done some other good stuff since, but they'd be way out on my timeline.

 

[scotchandcigar]

This is the grinding rocker that was part of the 120 minutes MTV concert

PJ Harvey – Meet Ze Monsta (live)



They had blocked the video with the 2 performances together.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I only have heard her "Down By The Water" previously. It's currently #393 on my top 432. Listening to the others now, they sound good but not as good as that one.

 

[sadchild]

This next one can go really well, or really poorly

I have a lot of artists I feel the same way about when I mention them. And like how I wouldn't expect everyone to love Liz Phair's Exile In Guyville or Pop Will Eat Itself's Cure For Sanity (which I think are both genius), as I listen to "Dry" and "Sheela" I can easily see that despite the fact it doesn't rope me in, that Dry is obviously one of those special albums that was a groundbreaker and is worthy of its accolades and praise. Kinda like the Violent Femmes' self-titled debut, which I don't get into, but I understand why thousands of people would call it a classic.

I only have heard her "Down By The Water" previously

Same. Except for having seen the video for "Man-Size" once.