Welcome back to (Un)Focused Definition, a weekly series where I put together a playlist of tunes around a theme of my choosing. I’ve been thinking about the format for this thing, and we’re going to keep it pretty short, focusing on the music with maybe a little commentary about the selected tracks. This week we’re looking at recent acquisitions. I just turned 51 a few days ago, and surprise (not): most of my gifts were records. We’re all over the map with jazz, classic rock, prog, and black metal so let’s build this thing and get the weekend started, huh?

• Buzzcocks – “Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?)
• The Clash – “English Civil War”

It may have started with the Sex Pistols, but that soon gave way to other bands with more lasting power. Buzzcocks are a more recent fascination – I’ve played my copy of Singles Going Steady until the grooves wore out, and the chance to grab remastered versions of their first two albums was a must buy. The Clash have been a favorite since getting a cassette of Combat Rock as a kid; for some reason I never owned a copy in any format of Give ‘Em Enough Rope. That’s now rectified.

• Caravan – “Golf Girl”
• Bed Maker – “Two Left Feet”
• Tool – “Pneuma”

Caravan was an early listen when I started getting deeper into progressive rock and discovered the Canterbury scene. In the Land of Grey and Pink is a classic of the genre, and the remastered vinyl sounds fantastic. I’m a massive fan of about everything Dischord Records puts out (see here and here for examples) so when I heard about Bed Maker featuring Amanda MacKaye I knew I would dig it before I heard a single note. Guess what? I was right. It took forever for Tool’s Fear Inoculum to click with me, but when it did, it clicked big time. “Pneuma” is a favorite, but the whole album really works for me, especially when I need to clear my head and just drift…

• Plumb – “Five Minute Joint”
• Stevie Wonder – “You Haven’t Done Nothin'”
• Jethro Tull – “Back-Door Angels”

What happens when you put Questlove, Ray Angry, and Dave Murray in a room? You get hours of great improvisational jams in the form of Plumb, one of my favorite albums of 2023. I finally got the deluxe vinyl package which came with a drumstick, the complete set on vinyl in a velvet box, and another jazz album from the label. “Five Minute Joint” is a shorter, more atmospheric piece, but I really recommend checking out the lengthy jams to hear three guys totally vibe out. Does anyone NOT love Stevie Wonder? If so I don’t want to know them. From his classic run I didn’t own Fulfillingness’ First Finale, and now I do so you get the slammin’ “You Haven’t Done Nothin'”, one of the more rocking songs from the album. And I make no apologies for my utter love of all things Jethro Tull – I had War Child on CD for years but now that I have a pristine condition vinyl I’ve been playing it a lot and “Back-Door Angels” is a gem of a tune.

• Morgul Blade – “Heavy Metal Wraiths”
• Uriah Heep – “Bird of Prey”
• Abrams – “Blue City”
• Cradle of Filth – “Blackest Magic in Practice”

Let’s get heavy, shall we? Morgul Blade trades in black and roll with lots of groove, and their new album Heavy Metal Wraiths is a great tight package, even better than their debut. I finally completed my early years run of Uriah Heep albums when I found a great copy of Salisbury on Discogs, so wanted to add the killer proto-metal track “Bird of Prey” here. Abrams treads a lot of different territory, but if I had to be reductive I’d say stoner rock. Blue City is their latest release, and their best to date. Finally, what can I say? I unabashedly love the theatrics of Cradle of Filth, and their recent run of albums rivals anything in their catalog. “Black Magick in Practice” comes from 2015’s Hammer of the Witches and is a good track to represent their current sound.

• Frank Zappa – “Uncle Remus”

I can’t NOT put a Zappa track on one of these playlists…it might be like Rollins always including at least one song from The Fall on all his radio shows. No other musical artist had a greater impact on my life, and I’ve slowly been buying all his records on vinyl (originals when I can). The last trip upstate I snagged copies of Freak Out, Lumpy Gravy and the astounding masterpiece Apostrophe (‘), my introduction to the man’s music. So there’s no better way to end this week’s playlist than with the concluding track from that album, the sublime “Uncle Remus.”

Okay, that enough chit-chat. Be safe, and see you next week.