FIVE ALBUM TITLES THAT TELL THE SAD TRUTH

by Peter Gorman

1. Howlin' Wolf: This Is Howlin' Wolf's New Album - He Doesn't Like It
This was the actual title of Howlin' Wolf's 1969 release, a psychedelic rendition of the blues that the record company demanded from him. Wolf's revenge was the album title. Why the record company agreed to it is a mystery, unless it was in Wolf's contract that he had complete control over his album titles, but not, apparently, his music. After Wolf's death the record company re-released the album and dropped the "He Doesn't Like It" part from the title, failing to add, "He's Dead, Who Cares What He Thinks," but implying it anyway.

2. David Crosby: If I Could Only Remember My Name
The too-stoned-to-think album. Song titles include "What Are Their Names" and "I'd Swear There Was Somebody Here." Crosby seemed quite a bit confused in 1971. And if he could remember his name, what then? He'd realize he was in Crosby, Stills, and Nash? The police would leave him alone? He'd vote? All signs pointed to a serious drug problem in the making.

3. Meat Puppets: Mirage
It may look like something appealing from afar, but up close it turns out to be nothing. The Meat Puppets were on a roll in the 80s, until putting this one on the market back in 1987. Even the album's cover is a warning, an ugly splattering of colors, and I don't mean ugly in the gothic sense which can be quite appealing, I mean ugly in the garish-urban-road-sign-for-porn kind of way. The Meat Puppets have made multiple good albums, but this one's just an illusion.

4. Lou Reed: Mistrial
He could have called it Guilty (others have - see Barbara Streisand, and I'm not kidding) or Innocent (he's just an average guy, after all), something that would have reached a verdict, rather than giving it a title that indicates going through the motions but having nothing to show for it. At the very least he could have called it Hung Jury. But changing the title wouldn't have changed the music, and Mistrial tells it like it is.

5. Brian Eno: The Drop
He might as well have called it The Fumble. This late 90s release was a far cry from his peak days in the 70s, or even from his 1990 collaboration with John Cale. A career in free-fall? The album sounds like a stoned teenager falling into a stack of synthesizers. Soon after the album's release Eno announced his retirement from the music business, not wishing to add to the glut of cds in the market. Definitely a case of a man who had burned out, but Eno's retirement didn't last long. We now await The Rise, and for damn sure we'll call it a comeback.

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