If you haven't done so, remember, Play With Your Toys - the new album by The End Men is now available for immediate download. Get it NOW!
Now, we left you hanging on a Wrong Way Street... so, let's bring this sucker home:
First off if you're late to the party, here's what you need to know:
tracks: Cleaning Your Mind, Run Away and Long Way to the Ground
tracks: Into the Mines, Play with Your Toys Pt. I and The Ballad of Billy Polk
tracks: It's All Wrong, Mental Trapeze, Play With Your Toys Pt. II and Wrong Way Street
Toys Mix Pt. 4 of ? begins after the jump:
Track 11: Stack Chips. After taking us to the dizzyingest of heights and then dropping us into the mines, after swinging us on a mental trapeze and leading us down a wrong way street. After setting the blues rock (and rock/rock) bar about as high as it can go, after pulling out all the stops and all the toys... after all that and more... The End Men up and leave us with one of the most brutally lovely songs on the album. The song is a not so gentle reminder of the temporary nature of things like wealth and privilege and indeed life itself.
So... the question is, is this the end of this multi-part review? And if it is the end, why did I leave that '?' at the end of the post title? Well, we've written about all 11 tracks on the album, and when we get back to our morning walk on Tuesday, we will be going back to the usual shuffle. So maybe this is the end. Maybe we should've named this Toys Mix Pt. 4 of 4. Maybe? or.... (to be continued? You bet)
*Bloggers note: Among the many great things about writing is a blog (besides the free stuff which is cool) are the amazing people I have met along the way. At or near the top of that list are Matthew Hendershot and Livia Ranalli. I alluded to this in a previous post, but I'll just flat out say, that what I see in them is a true generosity of spirit which I find very refreshing. Nevermind that they are crazy talented (mind you they are), but they are really awesome people who go out of their way to support their fellow musicians and even us lowly bloggers. They even included me with a "Thanks" in the liner notes of Play With Your Toys (which is totally awesome and which I didn't know before I started on this multi-part review). I'll stop with the sentimental (but honestly true) crap... bottom line. Play With Your Toys is a truly great album. I know there are tons of people who will fall in love with this band and this music they way I did, and I know that way too many will not take the time to listen. So, I will keep shouting from the rooftops.
Meanwhile, there is a whole slew of cool music being made. So, we will get back to the regular shuffle. I also have accumulated a pile of music news which I will be disseminating soon: New Albums, Tours, Bands breaking up and changing names, awards and honors and all sorts of stuff you may have missed.
So... Stack Chips took up a little over half of my walk in this morning, and so I fired up the shuffle mode and skipped around a bit until I came across two songs worthy of closing out this chapter of Ear to the Ground. Here is the limited (semi-random) shuffle from this morning:
How about Brenda Lee's 1959 single Sweet Nothin's which was included on her second (self-titled album) in 1960? The album also produced Lee's best known song, I'm Sorry.
And then, well, what can I say? We have The Reverend Horton Heat with Drinkin' and Smokin' Cigarettes, the lead track from their tenth studio album 2009's Laughin' & Cryin' with The Reverend Horton Heat.
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