Music Library: Waco Brothers, Wake Ooloo, Wall of Voodoo, Walter Franco, Wanda Jackson, Warren Zevon, Abigail Washburn, Mike Watt, Wayne Shorter, We Are Wolves, Weakerthans

The Waco Brothers - ...To The Last Dead Cowboy (1995), Cowboy In Flames (1997), and Electric Waco Chair (2000). Jon Langford's first Mekons side-project, the Wacos are an outsider's take on outlaw country and fun as hell. And jeez, Langford knows how to make things awesome.



Wake Ooloo - Hear No Evil (1994), What About It (1995), Stop The Ride (1996). Glenn Mercer's first post-Feelies band also featured Dave Weckerman. Not as great as the Feelies, but pretty damn great, anyway.



Wall of Voodoo - Call of the West (1982). Some of my friends love Stan Ridgway's noir-pop. I like "Mexican Radio" like everyone else, but I'm not crazy about the rest of this.



Walter Franco - Ou Não (1972). Lovely tropicalia.



Wanda Jackson - Wanda Jackson (1958), There's A Party Goin' On (1961), Two Sides Of Wanda (1964), and Queen of Rockabilly (compilation, 1957-64). The queen of rockabilly is a correct assessment.



Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (1978). Similar to Randy Newman, I can see why so many of my friends adore Zevon's music, but it doesn't really move me.

Abigail Washburn - Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet (2008). This is a bluegrass banjo player attempting compositional music. I do not much care for it, although I appreciate her ambition.

Mike Watt - hyphenated-man (2011). I reviewed most of Watt's solo work elsewhere. This one came out in 2011, a 30-song Minutemen-like rock opera about the works of Hieronymous Bosch. It is freakin' ridiculously excellent.



Wayne Shorter - Footprints Live! (2002). I like Shorter best when he's under Miles Davis's thumb, but here he attempts some Davis-in-1970-style jazz, and it's pretty good.

We Are Wolves - Total Magique (2007). Eh.

The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site (2003). Highly recommended by a trusted friend, but I'm not that crazy about it.