Second Person Present Tense

Present Tense was born out of two very specific desires. First, saxophonist James Carter wanted a precise recorded portrait of where he was at as a musician, aesthetically and technically. Second was producer Michael Cuscuna's dead-on assertion that Carter, for all his instrumental and aesthetic virtuosity, had never been represented well on tape. Carter's inability to resist overdoing it on virtually everything he records (ten-minute solos in standards, etc.) makes that point inarguable. Cuscuna proves to be the perfect producer - as both ally and foil - and reins Carter in to benefit the recording as a whole. The band on Present Tense is solid: the young trumpeter and fellow Detroiter Dwight Adams, pianist D.D. Jackson, bassist James Genus, and drummer Victor Lewis round out the quintet, with percussionist Eli Fountain and guitarist Rodney Jones playing on three cuts each…

Shoes - Present Tense + Tongue Twister (1979, 1981) {Black Vinyl Records BV 19888 rel 1988}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 509 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 178 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 30 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1979, 1981, 1988 Elektra/Asylum Records / Black Vinyl Records | BV 19888
Rock / Power Pop / Synth-Pop

Some things were destined to be together: Lennon and McCartney, peanut butter and jelly, hamburgers and French fries, and country & western are a few examples. The fabulous Present Tense/Tongue Twister CD is another. The entirety of Shoes' first two Elektra albums (1979's Present Tense and 1981's Tongue Twister) on one disc makes for one of the most highly recommended power pop CDs of all time! Forget what you have heard about Big Star (they were way too sloppy), Raspberries (too inconsistent), and Jellyfish (too self-indulgent); these two albums are the real deal. With harmonies that embrace and cradle your heavy heart plus some of the most delicious melodies since the golden days of Badfinger, Shoes will win over anyone searching for bands that know how to write "the song."