Music Library: Mel Torme, Melba Montgomery, and... MELVINS

Mel Torme - "Medley: A Tribute To Fred Astaire."  I don't know where I picked up this lone track from the Velvet Fog, but it's a very velvetty, foggy track.

Melba Montgomery - "Before She Changed Your Mind." George Jones's foil from the 60s, singing as lovely as ever.

Melvins:

6 Songs EP (1986), Oven 7" (1989), and With Yo' Heart, Not Yo' Hands (1990). Take a large slice of Flipper, add a healthy pinch of Black Sabbath, and throw in a more pronounced sense of humor, and that is the early Melvins.  Excellent stuff.

Your Blessened/Pronoun Piece Me 7" (1990), Bullhead, and Eggnog EP (both 1991).  Man, I love Bullhead.  If not for all the other albums that could make the same claim, this would be my favorite Melvins album.  The attached song, "Cow," cracks me up.  Two minutes of heavy duty riffage followed by another two and a half of drums that keep threatening to quit, but like a joke that has to keep going on and on until it gets funny again, don't.  Oh yeah, and Boris, another favorite band of mine, took their name from a song on this album.

Lysol and Night Goat/Adolescent Wet Dream 7" (1992).  As Lysol is a registered trademark, this album isn't officially titled Lysol anymore.  But that's what it is.  Although there are covers by both Flipper and Alice Cooper here, this is the point at which Melvins seem to drop down on the doom metal side of their equation, although there's still plenty of the psychedelia and experimentalism that makes Melvins so damn interesting.

Houdini (1993) and Stoner Witch (1994).  More greatness from the 90s.  Some of Melvins albums are hit-or-miss, but I've been lucky.  All the ones I've heard are amazingly great.  I'm really only splitting them out here not because I have anything different to say about them, but because I want to post different songs from each.

The Maggot (1999).  Some might call it perverse that the CD version of this album splits each track into two, even the 2-minute tracks.  Those people would be correct.  Here's a Fleetwood Mac cover, for your pleasure.

(A) Senile Animal (2006) and The Bride Screamed Murder (2010).  Still awesome.  Two drummers.  So awesome.  Wish I was more articulate, but everything else I have to say about the Melvins must be played on a very loud, tuned-down-a full-step-or-two guitar.