Tex-Mex - Various Artists

Advantages: Fantastic music
Disadvantages: Not a single one

.... Cursing the dead that can't answer him back, I'm sure that he has no intensions of looking your way, unless it's to say that he needs you to test his inventions." Weird lyrics, especially when married with the sub-Beach Boy guitar playing (with hints of Tex Mex) and trumpet riffs. Never quite sure what on earth this song is about. The lyrics were written by Bob Dylan, and sometimes, well, you get to thinkin' that maybe bob doesn't want you understandin all of his lyrics! Track Fifteen is Golden Earrings by Gandalf. Laidback guitars, melodic strings and sparse, though well-used keyboards, supporting powerful lyrics that were very well presented. Track Sixteen Land of Their Dreams by Autosalvage. Good, interesting typical psychedelic tune, impressive use of a wide variety of instruments, the guitars are backed with acoustic guitars and strings... Read review

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Advantages: -
Disadvantages: -

...KVND station that enabled Holly and his backing band The Crickets to get a record deal with Coral. From 1956-1958 Buddy Holly & The Crickets had a number of hits. His musical style was hard to pin down for the time. Too soft to be pure rock and roll, but too heavy for country. The title "Tex-Mex" came to sum it up both as a nod to his home state and to some of the outside influences he would have picked up in his formative years. His legacy to popular music remains, not just for the music he made whilst alive but as an influence on many of the up-and-coming acts of the early 1960's. Maybe it's time for a reappraisal because although his UK label MCA brought out several Best Of albums during the rock and roll revival years of 1973-74 you don't see too many of his works on sale these days. Apart from this CD of course. Although... Read review

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Advantages: Fine songs and backup from The Band
Disadvantages: A couple of questionable songs

...'Planet Waves' isn't Dylan's most trailblazing record by a long way, but it succeeds in being an enjoyable, comfortable listen without the blandness or peculiar vocals which marred 1969's 'Nashville Skyline'. There's a loose, funky feel to the opening song "On A Night Like This", with its Tex-Mex accordion shuffle beat, and the more gritty "Tough Mama". The old introspective mood comes across on the wistful "Something There Is About You", Robbie Robertson's chilling guitar adds a nice touch to "Going Going Gone", and "You Angel You" is a classy pop/rock number which was recorded in fine style a few years later by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. On the debit side, two versions of "Forever Young" (one a sweet folksy ballad, one more funky) sounds rather like padding, and the overlong, tedious "Dirge" sounds like self-parody. And I won't say... Read review

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