Music Library: Max Romeo, Ron Wood, Ronnie Dawson, Ronnie Von, Roots, Rosanne Cash, Rose Melberg, Jack Rose, Roxy Music

Max Romeo - War Ina Babylon (1976). This is an extraordinary reggae album produced by the great madman genius Lee "Scratch" Perry. Top freakin' notch.



Ron Wood - I've Got My Own Album To Do (1974). Some Stones, some Faces, an ex-Beatle, and the sublime "Mystifies Me." All good.



Ronnie Dawson - "Action Packed" and Just Rockin and Rollin (1996). The original 1958 single, which was covered by Jonathan Richman and is one of my favorite songs, and an excellent album from Dawson's 90s renaissance.



Ronnie Von - Ronnie Von Nº 3 (1967) and Minha Máquina Voadora (1970). Von is the Donovan or one-man Monkees of the Brazilian tropicalia movement. He hosted a TV show that frequently featured Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and Gilberto Gil when such an act was political defiance. His songs are not up to the heights of tropicalia's best, but they are still pretty good.



The Roots - Things Fall Apart (1999) and Rising Down (2008). Considering that this is being written in 2013, I don't need to talk about who the Roots are or explain that these are good albums. Well, Things Fall Apart is fantastic, but Rising Down is only good.



Rosanne Cash - 10 Song Demo (1996). Stripped-back country music from the daughter of Johnny Cash when she would have been 41, which is, incidentally, my age as I write this.



Rose Melberg - "The Love We Could Have Had." Fuzz-pop!



Jack Rose - Luck In The Valley (2010). One of the last albums by the avant-folk genius who died the year before this came out.



Roxy Music - Roxy Music (1972), For Your Pleasure (1973), Stranded (1973), Country Life (1974), Siren (1975), and Avalon (1982). For such a popular band, they are such a weird combination of sounds. Ferry crooning, Manzanera wailing, Eno warping the sound (at least on the first two), Andy Mackay bridging the gaps. The first two albums are the best, but the next two are also brilliant, and Siren is good. I don't much care for Avalon.