By the Book [LP] [VINYL]

Green Day's second full album was the perfect dry run for the band's later assault on the mainstream, containing both more variety and more flat-out smashes than previous releases had shown. With Tre Cool now firmly in place as the drummer, the lineup was at last settled, and it turned out Cool and Mike Dirnt were a perfect rhythm section, with the former showing a bit more flash and ability than John Kiftmeyer did. Together the two throw in a variety of guitarless breaks that would later help to define the band's sound for many - warm and never letting the beat go. As for Billie Joe Armstrong, his puppy-dog delivery and eternal switching between snotty humor and sudden sorrrow was better than ever, as were his instantly memorable riffs. The metal-strength chug that always informed the band's best work isn't absent either - check out Armstrong's opening riffing on "Christie Road." the whole thing starts with a note-perfect bang - "2000 Light Years Away" is the absolute highlight of the group's premajor- days, with a great chorus and classic yearning lyrics. It got buried in the wave of Dookie's success a bit, but one other number didn't - "Welcome to Paradise," also a standout on that album, appears here in it's original form. Rob Cavallo punched up the radio-friendly sound on the latter take, but even here it's a treat and a half - quick, rampaging, and once again with a great stop-start chorus to spare. This vinyl version is on pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Album Tracks 1. 2000 Light Years Away 2. One for the Razorbacks 3. Welcome to Paradise 4. Christie RD 5. Private Ale 6. Dominated Love Slave 7. One of My Lies 8. 80 9. Android 10. No One Knows 11. Who Wrote Holden Caulfield? 12. Words I Might Have Ate

Beck-Ola - Jeff Beck's second album, originally released in 1969 and featuring Rod Stewart on vocals and Ronnie Wood on BASS. Album Tracks 1. All Shook Up 2. Spanish Boots 3. Girl from Mill Valley 4. Jailhouse Rock 1. Plynth (Water Down the Drain) 2. The Hangman's Knee 3. Rice Pudding