Bring Me The Head Of Thomas Bucknasty

Hayden Childs' article from The High Hat entitled "Delicate Balance" about Dave Marsh's first edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide really had me chuckling to myself. There was a period in the 80's when I toted that book around with me everywhere I went (that and Ira Robbins' Trouser Press) and can still quote several of my favorite piss-poor reviews verbatim:


THOMAS BUCKNASTY
Blast-O-Funk / RCA (NA)
Rot-o-record -- J.S.

But does anyone else remember that summer of '87 when the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time hit the stands, and subsequently contradicted many of the previously panned albums in the original guide, elevating them to instant 5-star status? I remember holding both my record guide and my well-worn copy of the collector's magazine, caught between the paradox maelstrom. Who do I listen to now? Who do I trust? Is everything I thought I knew wrong? Why is God punishing me? And why did both book and magazine so tout the Trout Mask Replica but when I went out and bought the cassette that summer I was finally convinced that both reference manuals had to be an elaborate Barnumesque put-on?

Actually over the years as I developed a deeper appreciation of free jazz I grew to love me the Trout Mask Replica. But I admit I'm still morbidly curious about that Blast-O-Funk album.