THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE - "THANK GOD FOR MENTAL ILLNESS" LP

At the risk of belaboring a rather obvious point, with Thank God for Mental Illness, their third collection of absolutely stunning music to be released in 1996, The Brian Jonestown Massacre parallels the prolific and effortless brilliance of The Rolling Stones at their fevered late-1960s peak; the sheer scope of their achievements is stunning - rarely are bands quite so productive, or quite so consistently amazing. Thank God is The BJM's down-and-dirty country-blues outing, all 12-odd tracks supposedly recorded on a single July day at a cost of just $17.36. It was the only Brian Jonestown Massacre album that (Anton) Newcombe gave a copy of to his father, who committed suicide less than a year later.