Album of the week

A couple of weekends ago, I made trip to Cheapo Records along Eat Street on Nicollet Ave. I decided to pick up a copy of L7's Smell the Magic. I missed owning a physical copy of the album. I used to own the cassette version before I sold most of my cassettes to Cheapo years ago when they were still in uptown. I love Bricks Are Heavy. That was the first L7 album I bought. That album and Social Distortion's self-titled album were the soundtracks to my high school years however Smell the Magic is my personal favorite L7 album. I believe I bought the album shortly after I got Bricks Are Heavy. This was back in the mid-'90s. I was still in high school. I thought the production is looser and not as slick as Bricks are Heavy. I still feel this way. Butch Vig did a great job with Bricks Are Heavy but what he did on that album matched the energy and fury of its predecessor. Love the raw, unbridled energy of the music especially on tracks like "Fast and Frightening", "(Right On) Thru", and "Till the Wheels Fall Off".

After 27 years since its release, Smell the Magic has really held up well to the test of time. I will though say I would love to see the band's catalog receive a remastering treatment. Their music definitely deserves to be remastered and repackaged.