Gary’s Nineteen Nineties

Still in a most list-ful mood, but this round-up certainly wasn’t a very easy one to compile, I’ll have everyone know. The pickin’s were extremely, uh, thin, to say the very least.

Nevertheless (or should I say Nevermind)…..

Number One: Mark Johnson12 in a room (1992)
Powerful pop most firmly rooted within the Brill Building anteroom.

Two: CowsillsGlobal (1998)
America’s once-and-forever First Family of Song leave no Partridge unspurned.

Three: Brian WilsonSweet Insanity (1991)
Just to make sure the Nineties weren’t ALL Pet Sounds re-issues.

Four: Dave Rave GroupValentino’s Pirates (1992)
Wherein the former Soviet Union signs its first Western act, then promptly dissolves.

Five: Johnny CashAmerican Recordings (1994)
Rick Rubin produces a Johnny we thought only Sam Phillips could.

Six: Tiny TimRock (1993)
Includes possibly definitive readings of “Eve of Destructionâ€Â and “Rebel Yell,â€Â I kid you not.

Seven: PuffyJet CD (1998)
Oh-so-effortlessly crosses ABBA, Sabbath, and Who’s Next …and all by way of Jellyfish.

Eight: MonkeesJustus (1996)
Those Prefabs go out on a very high note (which, I’ll have you know, they played ALL BY THEMSELVES).

Nine: Shane FaubertSan Blass (1993)
Former head Cheepskate most definitely goes for baroque.

Ten: NRBQYou Gotta Be Loose (1998)
Proof very positive: The greatest live r-n-r band In The World.

Eleven: EvaporatorsI Gotta Rash (1998)
Before Ali G, Baba Booey, and most definitely Tenacious D.

Twelve: Neil YoungArc (1991)
Truly too cool – not to mention loud – for (many) words.

Thirteen: Go-NutsThe World’s Greatest Super Hero Snak Rock And Gorilla Entertainment Revue (1997)
For once, the title says it all.

Fourteen: High LlamasGideon Gaye (1994)
More than filling that cavernous sonic gap between SMiLE and the XTC reunion.

Fifteen: Blue ShadowsLucky To Me (1995)
Hank Williams visits The Cavern by way of Big Pink.

Sixteen: Mojo NixonGadzooks!!! (1997)
Includes “Bring Me The Head of David Geffenâ€Â …and then some.

Seventeen: James Richard Oliver
The Mud, The Blood and The Beer
(1998)
alt. Country with a capital “Oh!â€Â

Eighteen: Chesterfield Kings
Surfin’ Rampage
(1997)
Upstate New York’s finest give their Stones cloning a rest whilst hanging all ten.

Nineteen: JandekTwelfth Apostle (1993)
So many Jandek albums; so little space.