Creating a "best of" CD compilation for any artist can often be a rich, if
frustrating, experience. The first, most obvious problem: What to leave
in, what to leave out. For an artist like Juliana, it's not an easy task -
she has too many good songs to fit onto one 80 minute disc. It comes down,
in the end, to personal preference. In my case, that translates to lyrical
guitar work-outs meshed with aching, breathy ballads, songs that resonate
long after they're over. A second, less-obvious dilemma: chronological or
thematic? In most instances, I tend toward the chronological; but,
occasionally - as here - try for the thematic. It's akin to creating a
concert set-list: what songs play off, accentuate and bring out the best
in each other?
I'm not sure which of
these songs are available as downloads ... to be frank, I own all the CDs
- and so should you! Juliana's CDs, both alone and w/the Blake Babies and
Some Girls, are worth the investment.
"Got No Idols" -
- An electric workout that will leave you
hitting "repeat" time and again.
"Down on Me" -
"I Want to Want You" -
- Quite literally, the lead-off tracks
to Juliana's scintillating 1998 return from the record-company abyss.
(When Atlantic/Mammoth rejected her long-in-the-making album God's Foot,
she fled to her her current home, Rounder/Zoe, and excised all demons
with this fiery breath of fresh air ... bitter, angry, raucous and
real.)
"Every Breath You Take" -
- A cover version of the classic Police
ode to obsessive love. In Juliana's hands, it's riveting ...
"Sunshine" -
- A sheer blast of pure pop with
to-die-for vocals.
"Universal Heartbeat" -
- Back when it was released (1993), I
thought
was something of a let-down following the
near-perfect
. The album as a whole still seems to me like
Juliana's attempting to replicate the success of its predecessor,
hitting all the marks but ... coming up short, save for this track and
"What a Life." Hence their inclusion here.
"Spin the Bottle" -
- Juliana's first solo masterpiece,
,
is best appreciated in its totality. That said, this tour de force is
affecting on its own ... and makes me wish CDRs held more music, as
I'd've loved to put on a few more of its sister songs. That I didn't
says much about ...
"Tourist" -
"Tomorrow Never Comes" -
... her latest album, which has caught my
fancy like none since ... when did she release her last solo album? The
2000
, that's when.
has fast supplanted any and all other albums from my CD
player. These songs are two more of its gems; and feature stunning,
heartfelt vocals from Juliana. Through the years, I've read reviews that
dismissed her because of her "little girl" voice or some such shit. It
reminds me of crap you occasionally hear about
Neil Young's voice, which basically
comes down to this: some folks have a problem with any non-technically
great voice. No, she probably
wouldn't win "American Idol" (tho' I'd vote for her) ... who
cares? Rather, she packs more emotion into her voice than most; and she
will, and does, write incredibly affecting songs ...
"Close Your Eyes" -
"Cry In the Dark" -
... like these two from the sublime
, which was released simultaneously with the metal madness
of
- which may well have been its
undoing, as the relatively lush and quiet outing was lost beneath the
feedback of Juliana's Pony. These two songs are gems.
"Disappear" -
- What better way to return to the past
than this, a Juliana track from the Blake Babies' reunion album of a few
years back. Great song and, as I discovered while putting the links
together for this page, available as a **free** download from Amazon. So
what the hell? If you don't own the album (and why not?), download it
... for free.
"Gimme Some Mirth" -
"Sanctify" -
- Two classic songs from what is one of
the top albums of the '80s. Nothing fancy here, just guitars, guitars
and Juliana's wailing. I'd hoped to have room to include the other
classic track from this album, "I'm Not Your Mother," but ...
"Temptation Eyes" -
"Over and Over" -
- "Temptation Eyes" is the song that
introduced me to the Blake Babies way back when ... Needless to say,
it's the old Grass Roots hit and near-perfection in a pop song.
Likewise,
is a near-perfect compilation of the
Babies' CD, working both as a good introductory to the band and, once
you own all their CDs, remaining a mainstay thanks to the rarities it
features ... like Neil Young's "Over and Over," which echoes the
brutal grace of the original in both form and substance. To my ears, Juliana is
akin to a
distaff Neil Young. She whips up a storm on guitar, I'll tell ya that
much ... here's wishing she'd cover "Like a Hurricane."
"What a Life" -
- The other great track from her
otherwise so-so 1993 release. The guitars are what immediately grab you;
that, and the sarcastic lyrics ...
"Total System Failure" -
- As a whole, the white noise of the Julia's Pony project proved less
powerful than its lower-volume sister CD
. This song, however, has it all: fierce
vocals, bitter lyrics, grinding guitars and ... did I say "grinding
guitars"?
"Forever" -
- Another stunner from
, this one about addiction ... truly hypnotic.
"I See You" -
- The one track from her solo debut that
I deigned to include here (primarily for reasons of space. Eighty
minutes just ain't enuff.) I've purposely sandwiched it with tracks from
to show just how strong - and timeless - a song it, and
Juliana's music as a whole - is. It stands shoulder-to-shoulder, in
other words, with her best ...
"Don't Let Me Down" -
"My Enemy" -
- The final two songs from
are bona-fide stunners. No, the first isn't a cover of the
classic Beatles song (tho' it'd be wild to hear Juliana cover that some
day); but it's just as powerful. Likewise, "My Enemy" is an intense coda
for the album as a whole, excising demons via a spine-tingling
confessional.
"Got No Idols" (piano version) - "For
the Birds" CD single
- A sparse, haunting rendition of the song, one that positively quivers.
Well worth hunting down ...
