Music Library: Parliament, Dolly Parton, Parts & Labor, Patsy Cline, Patti Smith, Patton Oswalt, Paul Ansell, Paul Bley Trio

Parliament - Up For The Down Stroke (1974), Chocolate City (1975), Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo (1976), Mothership Connection (1976). George Clinton's other outfit. So great that it is unnecessary for me to point out that these are truly great albums. The first and last of these are among the best damn funk albums ever made.

Dolly Parton - Just Because I'm A Woman (1968), Just The Way I Am (compilation, 1972), and Jolene (1974). I first wrote about Dolly when I went through the Ds, but I have subsequently transferred these from vinyl to mp3s. Like so many country albums of the day, these have super-high highlights but also lots of filler.

Parts and Labor - Stay Afraid (2006) and Mapmaker (2007). I used to quite like Parts and Labor's glitch-rock, but I've lost interest over time.

Patsy Cline - 12 Greatest Hits (1957-1963). Phenomenal.

Patti Smith - Piss Factory 7" (1974), Horses (1975), Easter (1978), Wave (1979), and Land (1975-2002). Horses burrowed its way under my skin when I was 16 and remains one of my favorite albums, its raw punk ferocity and Smith's ultra-romantic song-poems out-Doorsing lame ol' Jim Morrison any day of the week. While I love the rest of these, I've been much less enthusiastic about Ms. Smith's later output, although considering my tendency to re-evaluate, I'll probably fall head over heels for them in another five years or so.



Patton Oswalt - Werewolves And Lollipops (2007). While I find Oswalt's subject matter appealing, his execution often has a rather ugly edge to it. There's some Ain't-It-Cool-News nerd-first bullshit that crops up in unappealing places.

Paul Ansell - "Tear Joint." A Brit about whom I know little, Ansell had the good taste to hire my buddy Matthew to play drums on this track.

Paul Bley Trio - Closer (1965). This was probably the 1965 jazz version of glitch-rock, but I connect to Bley's noise and lyricism much more.