Music Library: Willie Dixon, Willie Nelson, Wilson Pickett, Windbreakers, Wings, Wire, Woggles, Wolf Parade, Mozart, Wolves In The Throne Room, Wooden Shjips, Woods, Woody Guthrie, Wreckless Eric, Wrens, Wu-Tang Clan, Würm

Continuing to keep it brief with an eye on finishing this damn project before I am overtaken with the sweet relief of death.

Willie Dixon - I Am The Blues (1970). You know, he really is. When other people (Howlin' Wolf, primarily) play his songs, they are the blues, but Willie Dixon is always the blues, too. These aren't the best versions, but they're pretty good.



Willie Nelson - Crazy: The Demo Sessions (1966), Phases and Stages (1973), Shotgun Willie (1973), Red Headed Stranger (1975), To Lefty From Willie (1977), Stardust (1978), Willie and Family Live (1978), Greatest Hits (And Some That Will Be) (compilation, 1973-81). Once I didn't care for Phases and Stages, but now it's my favorite. I know I need more Willie albums, but I don't know which ones. Any advice would be appreciated.



Wilson Pickett - The Exciting Wilson Pickett (1966) and The Very Best Of Wilson Pickett (compilation, 1965-71). Mr. Pickett is definitely exciting.



The Windbreakers - Run (1986). Pretty great Southern power-pop from Mississippi.



Wings - Band on the Run (1973), Venus And Mars (1975), and At The Speed Of Sound (1976). I'm not a big fan of Macca's post-Beatles work. These are ok, especially the hits, but the deep cuts really sound like filler.



Wire - Pink Flag (1977), Chairs Missing (1978), The Peel Sessions Album (1978), 154 (1979), Live 1978-79, On The Box: 1979, A Bell Is A Cup... Until It Is Struck (1988), Wire 1985-90: The A List, Read And Burn 01 EP (2002), Read And Burn 02 EP (2002), Send (2003), Read And Burn 03 (2007), Object 47 (2008), Red Barked Tree (2011), and Change Becomes Us (2013). I freakin' love Wire. The first two albums are perfection, with the uber-chilly 154 not far behind. The 80s electropop albums aren't as fun for me, but they are still full of brilliant ideas. The 00s reformation as a frosty industrial--punk-metal outfit are most excellent and the reworking of their nonalbum tracks from the 70s in Change Becomes Us (the original versions appear on the Live 78-79 bootleg) is also definitely fascinating. Man, this is one of my all-time favorite bands.



The Woggles - The Zontar Sessions (1994) and Wailin' With The Woggles (1998). I have more Woggles on vinyl. Utterly great garage band from Georgia with the utterly great Dan Elextro on drums and a first-rate frontman in Professor Manfred.



Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer (2008) and Expo 86 (2010). I don't much care for these guys' output. Sounds like 80s radio music to me.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem, KV 626 (BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis, 1967), The Complete Mozart Piano Concertos, Vol. Seven (Derek Han, 1996), various other compilations. I got bored trying to write out all of these Mozart performances, sorry.

Wolves In The Throne Room - Diadem of 12 Stars (2006). Black metal made by hippies in the Pacific Northwest with a theme of ecological disaster. Pretty damn cool.



Wooden Shjips - Volume One (2007), Wooden Shjips (2007), Dos (2009), Vol. 2 (2010), West (2011). Build a jam song on a solid foundation of bass riffs and it will rock every single time. Each of these albums is better than the last, so that's pretty awesome.



Woods - How To Survive In/In The Woods (2007). 'Sokay. Needs work.

Woody Guthrie - Dustbowl Ballads (1940), Worried Man Blues (1944), This Land Is Your Land: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 1 (1944), Muleskinner Blues: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 2 (1944-45), Hard Travelin': The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3 (1944-45), Buffalo Skinners: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 4 (1944-45), Ballads of Sacco and Vanzetti (1947). The man is a legend for a reason. "This Land Is Your Land" should be our national anthem.



Wreckless Eric - Wreckless Eric (1978). Great Stiff Records (aka pub rock-protopunk-power-pop) singer-songwriter-guitarist with a feel for the rootsy guitar-pop of Nick Lower and early Elvis the C.



The Wrens - Silver (1994), Seacaucus (1996), Abbott 1135 EP (1998), The Meadowlands (2003). As unlikely as it seems, the Wrens are supposedly still working on a follow-up to The Meadowlands, a near-perfect piece of indie rock. The prior albums, especially Seacaucus, are also really good.



Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), Wu-Tang Forever (1997), The W (2000), 8 Diagrams (2007). I keep forgetting: Is the Wu-Tang something that I should be trying to fuck with? Or are they for the children?



Würm - Feast (1985). SST-approved metal with Chuck Dukowski on bass and vocals.