Tony Mentzer was very talented. He had a knack for writing songs, and creating music from disparate sources. Tony heard music where most people didnt. He mixed sounds that clashed in just the right way. Tony's very first solo release was called Anti-Music, and it was the perfect title, what with playing a record of a 30s Italian Opera singer, by hand, backwards, while having a dog barking... or throwing a drumset down the stairs... then later on, writing proper songs and making better recordings and experimenting with what a 4 track and delay pedal can do, all in his living room at The Space Station. That eventually led to full blown Mad-Scientist, hermit-like behavior recording a new song every day, just to have fun with it. Then Computers came along, and .. well... That led to a LOT of material.

I have often thought of how difficult it must be for anyone new to Tonys music to know where to start. Tony has 20 solo albums, with a huge variety of styles; acoustic folk, rock, ska, punk, psychedelic, thrash, garage, dance, noise, and experimental sound collages, all mixed up in a jumble, not to mention several cd's from 4 or 5 different bands. Where to begin??

When I originally put together a "Best of Tony" playlist, it had 87 songs. I wanted to keep it closely confined to just Tony's solo stuff. No Infidels, no Illuminatus!, no Glory Stompers... just Tony. It was difficult, and I strayed from the path just a little, but I managed to narrow it down to 25 songs. A primer for the new-comer to have some place to start, while still getting the full Tony treatment.

I hope that is what this becomes. A starting block to begin your journey into the weird, Mad-Scientist musical mind of the one, and only, Tony Mentzer.



-Jim Jewell
March 24 2019