Rarebird's Rock and Roll Nest

Two of the solo albums by former Cars leader Ric Ocasek recently went out of print. Beatitude (1982) and Troublizing (1997) are now both reviewed on the Cars solo albums page. Beatitude is arguably his best solo album to date. It employs a soothing and mellow electronic sound, without most of the Cars' rock and roll bounce. It basically set the pattern for Ocasek's subsequent solo efforts. However, Troublizing was an exception. On that album, Ocasek fully embraced '90's alternative rock, and collaborated with such prominent alt-rockers as Billy Corgan and Melissa Auf der Maur. The results consist of more guitar noise than you would expect from an Ocasek album. Not his best work, perhaps, but no one can say it is indistinguishable from Ocasek's other work. After Troublizing , Ocasek took a casual eight-year hiatus before recording his next album, 2005's Nexterday .

Rock Star: Supernova fan alert: Gilby Clarke has released a new self-titled album, which is basically a compilation of the five solo albums he recorded between 1995 and 2002. But it does contain a new version of his song called "Black", which features Dilana on the lead vocal.

I've just learned that steel guitarist "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow, an original member of the Flying Burrito Brothers who was also involved in many of that band's later lineups, has died. He passed away last Saturday, January 6th, from complications caused by Alzheimer's disease. He was 72. Besides being a frequent member of the Burritos, Kleinow also had a long and distinguished career as a session musician, and also worked in film animation and special effects. His obituary in the Los Angeles Times is here . Rarebird's Flying Burrito Brothers Reviews