Letectvi a Kosmonautika 1988 17

Even amidst the already seedy underbelly of the late-'80s L.A. glam metal scene, L.A. Guns were the undisputed bottom-feeders. A ragged collection of outcasts from various other bands (guitarist Tracii Guns was the original "guns" in Guns n' Roses, drummer Steven Riley had recently vacated the stool with shock-kings W.A.S.P., and British vocalist Phil Lewis had done time with London glamsters Girl), they elevated the unrepentant sleaziness and undeniable tackiness of their environment to a new VD-encrusted low. The union of such an unsavory cast of characters could only result in a wildly over-the-top rock & roll album, and while it may not have been as successful as their latest efforts, this eponymous debut rocked with a bile and fury not seen since Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil. Sh*t-kicking anthems like "No Mercy," "Sex Action," "One More Reason," and the marvelous "Bitch Is Back" slap the listener silly while still making room for slightly more commercial but equally hot offerings such as "Electric Gypsy" and "Down in the City".

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat is a chamber opera based on Oliver Sacks's book of the same name. A true story, it takes the form of a neurological case-study; Dr P, a professional singer, suffers from visual agnosia—an inability to recognize or make sense of what he sees—and the opera describes in simple, unpretentious dialogue two consultation sessions during which the other two characters, the neurologist (Dr S) and the patient's wife (Mrs P), by way of a sequence of tests and conversations, gradually penetrate the mystery of the symptoms.

For a time in 1988, Moe Koffman (tripling on flute, alto and soprano) teamed up regularly with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. On this CD, Koffman and his regular group (guitarist Ed Bickert, keyboardist Bernie Senensky, bassist Kieran Overs, and drummer Barry Elmes) perform three of Dizzy's tunes, originals by Koffman and Senensky, and "Lush Life" with Gillespie. Diz's trumpet playing was clearly past its prime by 1988, but his scat singing on "Oop-Pop-A-Da" is quite virtuosic and outstanding, easily the high point of this little-known set.