Don’t Read This on a Plain

Any discussion of the Top 100 '90s Rock Albums will have to include some grunge, and this one is no different. A defining element of that decade, the genre (and the bands that rose to fame playing it) was given credit for revitalizing rock at a badly needed moment. That said, there's far more to the story. Our list of the Top 100 '90s Rock Albums, presented in chronological order, takes in the rich diversity of the period.

Lars Kolshus (DE STRESSLESS) was twenty years old when he moved from Oslo, Norway, to the United States of America. Lars flew into New York City’s JFK Airport in the summer of 1986 and spent his first night in the USA at the local YMCA. Lars then traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended Berklee College of Music. Lars was a multi-talented musician who played bass guitar, keyboards, and drums. Lars saw an ad in a Boston music paper by guitarist/songwriter Mike McManus (UNCLE MOONDOG, QUEEN NATION, BOOGIE NIGHTS) who was looking for a band. Lars was hesitant to call, but his wife encouraged him to contact Mike.

This set works very well. Dave Grusin and his younger brother Don Grusin use a variety of keyboards to create a series of colorful duets. Other than Dori Caymmi's "Southern Wind," all of the fairly spontaneous yet well-planned performances are originals by one or both of the brothers. Even listeners who are not that much into electronics will find much of interest on this melodic and funky, yet often unpredictable set.

These two LPs combined on one CD (with one bonus track) show off the duo's strong and weak points at once. Peter & Gordon did good Beatlesque songs, although they couldn't really compete with the real article without the occasional outside song like "A World Without Love" or "I Go to Pieces" coming their way. And they did all right, if not exceptionally well by folk-style numbers such as "Pretty Mary" and "Willow Garden," on which they compare favorably with the Everly Brothers. But when they do blues ("My Babe," "Trouble in Mind"), they sound plain silly, and pretty lightweight when they cover songs like "Lucille" as well. Additionally, they do the occasional over-orchestrated number that breaks the spell altogether…

Any discussion of the Top 100 '90s Rock Albums will have to include some grunge, and this one is no different. A defining element of that decade, the genre (and the bands that rose to fame playing it) was given credit for revitalizing rock at a badly needed moment. That said, there's far more to the story. Our list of the Top 100 '90s Rock Albums, presented in chronological order, takes in the rich diversity of the period.