ID: Georges of Raw Shack

lab's first flyer ever.

TITLE:Over
ARTIST: Peter Hammill
LABEL: Charizma 1977

Probably one of the most depressing albums. Prog-rock uber-underdog Peter Hammil manages to detail his divorce in excuriating detail . Every aspect is covered - false break-up (Crying Wolf); being on the wrong side of the triangle (Time Heals); realizing you have to move on but don't want to (This Side of the Looking Glass); and the rebound (Lost and Found). All in all, it's classic Hammill (who's influence spans from Bowie to Voi Void!).

TITLE: Piece of Mind
ARTIST: Iron Maiden
LABEL: Capitol 1983

When i played bass in a local metal band with my brother in Miami, Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris was the shit. I got rid of the flying V bass I had and switched to a P-bass like him and even rocked the Nike Top Flights with the red swoosh! He was it and maiden were the shit. Though some of the songs on this one are questionable (Quest For Fire and Sun & Steel at totally lame), I learned more about writing and stucture from this record than anything I listened until....

TITLE: Food for Thought
ARTIST: The J.B.'s
LABEL: People 1972

Food for Thought! To me, this is James laying the blueprint. There is no other J.B. record that has straight soul, blues and the hardest of funk (is there a heavier record than the Grunt???) And the added bonus of having Bootsy before George got to him makes it all the more special.

TITLE: Priest in the East
ARTIST: Judas Priest
LABEL: Epic 1979 (Japan Import)

This japanese version of this record (in the states it's called Unleashed in the East.) has an extra 7 inch included with four extra songs!!! From the cover of Fleetwood Mac's Green Manalishi (this was written before Stevie & co. joined) to the cover of Joan Baez' Diamonds & Rust (written about her break up with Mr. Dylan!!) there wasn't a better live metal record (????) of a group who hadn't broken in the US. And is there a better version of Victim of Changes???

TITLE: Live at PJ's
ARTIST: Kool & the Gang
LABEL: De-lite 1971

Before they became known for the two of the worse songs ever (Ladies night & Celebration), Robert Bell and his band of funkateers were one of the funkiest! The fact that strings were added later in the studio doesn't reduce how incredible an album this is. Plus, N.T. is one of my favorite songs ever!!!

TITLE: S/T
ARTIST: The Meters
LABEL: Josie

At the forefront of what the rest of the world knew of New Orleans funk, The Meters' debut gives you Cajun flavored funk at its finest. Though there are more than a few New Orleans' artists that are funkier, most of them never made it to the LP level. With Allen Toussaint & Marshall Sehorn at the helm, there were very few N.O. records that come close! From start to finish - a classic.

TITLE: Regatta de Blanc
ARTIST: The Police
LABEL: A&M 1979

In the land of the post-punk came three guys who made a big noise. This was when they still were in your face with a ton of energy. They dropped hits like Message in a Bottle, Bring on the Night & Walking on the Moon, but the real gems to me are No Time this time and the Bed's too Big without You. plus I still try to make my snares sound like Stewart Copeland's on this one!

TITLE: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
ARTIST: Public Enemy
LABEL: Def Jam 1988

No other Hip Hop record impacted me more. The be all - end all. the only flaw being Party for You Right to Fight (included instead of The B-side wins again that showed up on Fear of a Black Planet), this is the ultimate beef record! Get dissed on radio?? Write Cold lampin' with Flavor. Tired of party records???? Write Prophets of Rage. if you got a beef, Chuck wrote a song about it. I wish Hip Hop would get back to the grit of records like this.

TITLE: 2112
ARTIST: Rush
LABEL: Mercury 1976

The smartest guys to ever make records decided to educate us of the wrongs of consensus thinking by basing an entire side of 2112 to work of Ayn Rand's Fountainhead. Side two gave us passage to Bangkok & Something for Nothing, but for my money it's the 22 minutes of 2112 that still impresses. "Attention all Planets of the Solar Federation - we have assumed control!"