50: Red House Painters’ Songs for a Blue Guitar (1996)

Since Kozelek is such a weird OCD perfectionist, it’s hard to listen to songs like “Make Like Paper” and his brilliant rendition of “Silly Love Songs”, and their intricate and seemingly off-the-cuff guitar solos and keep whatever you previously thought of Kozelek straight in your mind. The word on the street is that this record was done differently on purpose, with new musicians and unfinished songs being worked on in a group setting, instead of Kozelek writing and instructing everyone else. Aside from that, this album revealed some Kozelek moments that introduced us to the side of him that is a huge Angus Young fan, the side of him that has earned his spot as one of the greatest songwriters of our time, and the part of him that understands what makes other people’s songs great, as well. The Cars cover (”All Mixed Up”) is one of his greatest moments ever, and if you can forgive his sometimes hokey lyrics (even he must realize that rhyming ‘nice’ with ‘nice’ is kinda lame), this album is a stand-out and minor masterpiece.

Red House Painters: “All Mixed Up” (mp3)