MIKE BOEHM : Enticing Earful for Personal Listening Pleasure

A couple of things to keep in mind regarding these lists of my favorite things of ‘93: First, I didn’t hear every worthwhile album or concert. Listed are the best I happened to come across.

Second, my own pleasure is the sole criterion I use in compiling lists of favorites.

I don’t care what music was deemed “important” by the rest of the pop cognoscenti. I don’t give extra credit for music merely because it serves as a document of its times or defines an influential trend. I have no affirmative-action quotas that apportion slots on the list by gender, race, nationality or stylistic category.

All I have is my own taste. These lists consist of the albums that were most enticing to my ears, that most engaged my mind and spoke most deeply to my heart. They probably are not representative of what the year in pop was all about--whatever that might have been. But they are the records that gave me the most pleasure in 1993, and which I expect will continue to be rewarding when I return to them in years to come.

Favorite Albums 1. Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, “Respect” (A&M;). Utterly out of step with the grunge trend, poor Robyn didn’t win much respect, or attention, with his second straight brilliant album (following 1991’s “Perspex Island”). But this is masterful pure-pop, invested with craftsmanship, wit and heart as Hitchcock ranges from cosmic questions of mortality and faith to celebrations of eros as a life force. He plays the pop game on an elevated plane, with the ‘60s rock classics as his guide and an imaginative and metaphoric gift that is all his own.

2. Jimmie Dale Gilmore, “Spinning Around the Sun” (Elektra). So much country music is dauntingly generic, but Gilmore’s streak of singularity is as wide as his native Texas. A work of haunting beauty, philosophic depth and an embracing humanity.

3. Belly, “Star” (Sire/Reprise). Tanya Donelly gave up playing second fiddle in the excellent band Throwing Muses to build a new band around her own musical vision. The result: an alluring album that can be sweetly poppy and exuberant, but that also swims in deeper, more disturbing currents.

4. Slim Dunlap, “The Old New Me” (Medium Cool/Twin/Tone). If Keith Richards had cut this album note-for-note, it would have been most critics’ album of the year. Assured, Stones-style rockin’ and earthy wit make this the best solo album by an ex-Replacement.

5. Frank Black, “Frank Black” (4 AD/Elektra). The first solo album by the former Pixies front man was as fanciful and pop-savvy as ever. Black’s fixation on space travel and other oddities remains, but he invested them with metaphoric significance, singing not from mere whimsy, but to illustrate his feeling of displacement.

6. Midnight Oil, “Earth and Sun and Moon” (Columbia). These Aussies’ forte is marrying impassioned political commentary to rock music that is rousing, muscular and expertly-wrought. Tougher and more consistent than their last studio outing, “Blue Sky Mining,” and this time they showed a hint of the personal dimension that has been their chief lack.

7. Archie Roach, “Jamu Dreaming” (HighTone). One of the world’s best country singers lives in the Southern Hemisphere. Roach is supremely affecting as he sings about the oppression he has suffered as an Australian aborigine and of the peace he has found in family life and his strong sense of peoplehood. Earthy Archie and Cosmic Jimmie Dale--now, that would be a double bill.

8. American Music Club, “Mercury” (Reprise). Bangs and whimpers alike as songwriter Mark Eitzel sings about the way one’s inner world freezes over as terminal despondency sets in. Recommended for Elvis Costello fans who like Costello’s rock ‘n’ roll better than his chamber music.

9. Mazzy Star, “So Tonight That I Might See” (Capitol). Another despondent one as partners Hope Sandoval and David Roback weave an extended spooky, meditative, played-out, dreamlike mood piece set in the depths of night. A cousin to Neil Young’s “Tonight’s the Night,” but with no “New Mama” dawning in sight.

10. Dramarama, “Hi-Fi Sci-Fi” (Chameleon/Elektra). Too many drugs and too little success are the problems bugging singer John Easdale and band mates. You can never have too much pop savvy, though, and Dramarama delivers it with its hardest-hitting and most affecting album.

Another dozen (in alphabetical order): Arthur Alexander, “Lonely Just Like Me” (Elektra Nonesuch); Dave Alvin, “Museum of Heart” (HighTone); Cracker, “Kerosene Hat” (Virgin); Dick Dale, “Tribal Thunder,” (HighTone); Rick Danko, Jonas Fjeld, Eric Andersen, “Danko/Fjeld/Andersen” (Rykodisc); Paul Geremia, “Gamblin’ Woman Blues” (Red House); Lisa Germano, “Happiness,” (Capitol); P.J. Harvey, “Rid of Me” (Island); John Hiatt, “Perfectly Good Guitar,” (A&M;); Liquor Giants, “You’re Always Welcome,” (Lucky); Madder Rose, “Bring It Down,” (Seed); Nirvana, “In Utero,” (Geffen/Sub Pop).

Favorite Orange County Albums In compiling this list, I had to come to terms with certain existential questions. One was “What is Orange County?” Another was “What was 1993?”

In my view, an artist can be from O.C. without living in O.C. Performers from the related Long Beach scene qualify. So do expatriates with particularly strong ties. For example, Dick Dale, who resides on a ranch in the San Bernardino County desert, and Liquor Giants maestro Ward Dotson, who at last check was in New York City, developed as musicians in Orange County and have such solid links to the local scene that they will always be a part of it, no matter where they live.

Similarly, Fluf is rightly identified with the hot San Diego alternative-rock scene, but members O and Jonny Donhowe developed strong O.C. ties in their previous band, Olivelawn, and in considerable hanging around with O.C. players. The band’s drummer, Miles Gillett, remains a local lad.

By the same token, I excluded the worthy Dramarama album from the Orange County list, even though its singer-songwriter, John Easdale, lives in La Habra. The band’s ties are to New Jersey and Los Angeles; I doubt its members would identify themselves as an Orange County band, despite their strong following here.

Ditto for the Muffs, who released a zesty debut album of garage-rock in ’93. Some members have an O.C. background, but now and in past bands they have presented themselves to the world as L.A. rockers.

In the case of the Liquor Giants, a ’92 release qualifies for the ’93 list because it was released by a tiny Seattle label and (as often happens in the world of indie distribution) really didn’t find its way into circulation until after the year had turned.

1. Dick Dale, “Tribal Thunder” (HighTone). Furious surf guitar, strong new compositions, a rumbling rhythm section, a stripped-down, vibrant sound. Dale would be a perfect touring partner for Metallica or Nirvana, if they think they can keep up with the old fella.

2. Liquor Giants, “You’re Always Welcome” (Lucky Records). Actually the first solo project for Pontiac Brothers guitarist-songwriter Ward Dotson, who probably has more good, pop-savvy ideas (his own or via enlightened thievery) than any songwriter to have come out of the local ‘80s underground scene. As ever, he offers tipsy warmth and hangdog humor in the face of emotional wear and tear.

3. Standard Fruit, “Standard Fruit” (Ellis Island). The local debut of the year by an unassuming band that manages to be charming, affecting, seductively melodic and smart while eschewing noise and the oversized gesture. If subtlety ever comes back in favor, the time will be ripe for Fruit.

4. Joyride, “Another Month of Mondays” (Doctor Dream). A hefty but catchy example of the good things that can happen when a band is confident enough in its punk credentials to give its pop instincts free rein.

5. D.D. Wood, “Tuesdays Are Forever” (Hollywood). A fetching debut album showcasing Wood’s exceptional ear for melody, her forthright treatment of sometimes painfully personal concerns and her appealing, dusky, country-tinged voice. This wasn’t the year for grunge-free pop-rock records with a polished production gleam, though. The album had barely been released when Wood’s label dropped her.

6. Naked Soul, “Visiting Your Planet” (Scotti Bros.). A solid local yeoman for many years, singer-songwriter Mike Conley took a step forward with his band’s first full-length album. Conley beefed up the guitars and laid on the Angst in line with prevailing trends, but he matched them with his strongest melodies and a passionate delivery.

7. Trouble Dolls, “Cement” (Doctor Dream). This unpretentious, straightforward guitar band sorted through all manner of relationship woes and let the rest of us hum along to its canny vocal melodies and instrumental riffs.

8. Fluf, “Mangravy” (Headhunter/Cargo). Dense sound, meaty riffs, strong hooks. O’s acerbic commentary about stuff he disdains (and he has a penchant for disdain) was wedded to his open-hearted observations on friendship and loyalty.

9. Nick Pyzow, “Torchlight” (AsFab). This veteran heartland-style rocker still comes off sounding a lot like Bruce Springsteen, but the package offers his most insightful songwriting--especially on close-in portrayals of foundering relationships--and features a flavorful use of acoustic instruments.

10. (Tie) Bazooka, “Perfectly Square” (SST) and James Harman Band, “Two Sides to Every Story” (Black Top). Both bands infuse their music with humor--Bazooka in an unusual jazz-rock power-trio format that resembles Cream, but with Tony Atherton’s funky sax subbing for Clapton’s ax. Harman turns in another laid-back, comfortably assured take on traditional blues. Tasty stuff, but it’s encouraging that Icepick James is thinking about rocking it more often on his next outing.