Chameleons - What Does Anything Mean Basically?

Easily the high point of the Chameleons' fascination with digital delays, pedals, and making the studio an instrument, the band's second album still is seen by many a fan as being just a little too lost in the production to have the same impact as Script of the Bridge did, despite equally excellent songs. The decision must ultimately be the listener's, but in the end the production argument is much more a quibble than a condemnation -- no matter how you look at it, What Does Anything Mean? Basically and proved to be that rarity of sophomore albums, something that at once made the band all the more unique in its sound while avoiding a repetition of earlier work. Ironically, the first track, "Silence, Sea and Sky," turned out to be the least Chameleons-like track ever, being only a two-minute synth intro piece played by Mark BurgessDave Fielding. But with the gentle intro to the absolutely wonderful "Perfumed Garden," lyrically one of Burgess' best nostalgic pieces, it rapidly becomes clear exactly which band is doing this. The empathetic fire that infused Burgess' words for songs like "Singing Rule Britannia (While the Walls Close In)," a poetic attack on the Thatcher government, finds itself matched as always by brilliant playing all around. John Lever's command of the drums continues to impress, and Fielding and Reg Smithies remain guitarists par excellence; the searing, sky-bound solo on "Return of the Roughnecks" alone is a treasure. The sublime combination of the rushing "Looking Inwardly" and the soaring, blasting rip "One Flesh," leading into a relaxed instrumental coda, anchors the second side, while "P.S. Goodbye" provides a lovely, melancholic conclusion to an astounding record. CD copies include the 1981 "In Shreds"/"Nostalgia" single as bonus tracks.

Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell

There is a series of 60-minute documentaries entitled Classic Albums and each one takes a small peek into what it takes to make a classic album. I got lucky. I got to see how Bat Out Of Hell was made. If there was ever an example of catching lightning in a bottle, this is it. In a time period when the last thing that would sell is a rock album that borders on theatrical, Bat Out Of Hell managed to defy everyone.

Iggy pop - Rude & Nude

Coming months after Naughty Little Doggie, this collection also finds Pop looking back on his life. While Doggie had a yearning quality, this is more balls-to-the wall, with the edgy musician ripping through his catalog with a fierceness and single-mindedness. The Asheton brothers' absence is glaring on the Stooges cuts, but the solo stuff is rough magic.