***Click on 000list to see the full archive of album reviews (includes links to the reviews & stand out tracks)***

~~~Click on Thrift Store Music Player to hear all the stand out tracks on Youtube
~~~

^^^Click on Art Gallery to browse the album covers^^^

Blog Archive

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Nils Lofgren - Nils

Name: Nils Lofgren
Album: Nils
Year: 1979
Style: Songwriter Pop
Similar Bands: Neil Young, Steve Forbert, Faces, ELO + Bee Gees.
"One-Word" Review: Gritty Disco
Based Out Of: Chicago, Il
Label: A&M Records
Nils - Cover & Sleeve
Nils - Back & Sleeve
Nils - Record


Nils (1979)
  1. No Mercy 4:05
  2. I'll Cry Tomorrow 4:26
  3. Baltimore 6:27
  4. Shine Silently 3:41 /
  5. Steal Away 4:05
  6. Kool Skool 3:17
  7. A Fool Like Me 3:09
  8. I Found Her 3:33
  9. You're So Easy 6:00
Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:
Nils Lofgren - Accordion, Guitar, Keyboards, Lead,Vox (Bruce Springstein, Neil Young, Grin)
Bob Babbitt - Bass (MFSB, The Funk Brothers)
Stu Daye - Guitar, Vocals
Bob Ezrin - Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Vibraphone, Vocals
Jody Linscott - Conga, Percussion (Kokomo)
Tom Lofgren - Guitar, Vocals (Grin)
Randy Newman - Composer
Doug Riley - Guest Appearance, Organ (Gold City)
David Sanborn - Guest Appearance, Saxophone (The Players Association)
Allen Schwarzberg - Drums
Andy Sedlmaier - Mastering
Brian Christian - Producer, Engineer
Colina Phillips - Additional Backing Vox
Debbie Fleming - Additional Backing Vox
Al MacMillan - Orchestration
Ringo Hrycyna - Engineer
David Gertz - Engineer
Jim Frank - Engineer
Geoff Hendrikson - Engineer
Damien Korner - Engineer
Bob Ludwig - Mastering
Ann Martin - Production Coordinator
T Lawless - Production Asst.
Inez Fridenberg - Production Asst.
Iiona Pring - Production Asst.
George Minnis - Production Asst.
Gary Nichamin (Boom! Graphics) - Album Design
Len Irish - Photography

Unknown-ness: When I got this album, I did not know who Nils was. But since then, I’ve run across his name, and understand I should probably at least have heard of him before. Just from his style, despite the name, it looks like it will be gritty, Americana singer songwriter style rock. He gives off an air of Bruce Springsteen. So I’m not looking too forward to this record, as it is not my style, but at the least it should be listenable.

Album Review: “No Mercy” begins with a crowd cheering, which was recorded at Madison Square Garden. Nils brittle vocals are layered over a fun bouncy pop song. The chorus has harmonized supporting vocals giving it a bouncy rock version of ELO. The flow of the song is a basic singer songwriter story song. The song builds well and gains a lot of confidence by the time the end comes around.
“I'll Cry Tomorrow” starts with a chugging guitar riff and is layered over with lighter, Neil Young-like vocals. By the time it reaches the chorus, the harmonized backing vocals summon thoughts of the Bee Gees singing over rock. The following verses include breakdowns where he speak-sings a few lines, and it is reminiscent of David Bowie.
“Baltimore” is a Randy Newman cover explaining how hard it is to live in Baltimore. The music style is shady, gritty and underhanded. But the vocals detract from the overall mood and make it seem much less authentic. There is an organ used in the song, which gives it a bit of an R&B funk feel. And along with the electric guitar, they create a rough & dark back alley vibe. There is a long instrumental ending, which is a free flowing, jazzy jam that is quiet and reserved, but waiting to strike at any moment. Rather than strike, it fades out.
“Shine Silently” comes to life with a horn sound and song style that makes me think that Barry White is going to follow up. But Nils voice is quite the opposite. It is higher pitch, and nearly religious in the light way it is presented. But this song is like a disco slow dance, especially with the pulsing bass line that amazingly does not bring any energy to the song.

“Steal Away” brings the rock back with a rattling, metallic guitar sound and a nice driving tempo. This is a song that I could hear a new wave band take and make much more nervous, and synthesized, and it would be a big hit for them. This composition is bold, but lacks the ability to hold my interest. This is basically a straightforward hard rock song with a crooning guitar and forceful beat.
“Kool Skool” returns to a dark and gritty street production. The composition feels loose and generally unstructured. It is a bluesy verse with the chorus sung by the backing vocals all along the verse. The song itself never really reaches a chorus.
“A Fool Like Me” is bridged by the same MSG crowd noise. The song is very much like an ELO style pop song. It is introduced with a smooth jazz sax that makes me think of the theme song to the TV show Night Court or the 80’s SNL cast intros. There is a slow-down breakdown that features what sounds like church bells before it launches into the jazzy, R&B female backing chorus section from before, which fades out.
“I Found Her” had a very similar tempo to “A Fool Like Me.” This song is light and far less rocking or gritty than the other songs. This song would fit nicely on an Air Supply album.
“You're So Easy” has a funky start that would fit nice on a disco floor or Michael Jackson cover. But as the vocals begin, especially the harmonized backing vocals, the song seeks identity with the disco side of the spectrum. The vocals sound like they want to have much more aggression, and persuasion than they actually emit. The vocals sound like they will eventually stop singing words, and might just transition into the Ark-Ark sound that the Martians made in the film Mars Attacks.

Stand Out Track: No Mercy

Links:

Monday, January 30, 2012

(the)Lines - Will You Still Love Me When I've Lost My Mind?

Name: (the) Lines
Album: Will You Still Love Me When I've Lost My Mind?
Year: 1987
Style: Jangley & Dark New Wave
Similar Bands: Midnight Oil, The Bolshoi, Game Theory, The Alarm, Aztec Camera, The Bluebells
"One-Word" Review: Gloomy-College-Fodder
Based Out Of: Brockton, Mass
Label: Sideman Record Company
Will You Still Love Me When I've Lost My Mind? - Cover & Record
Will You Still Love Me When I've Lost My Mind? Back & Record

Will You Still Love Me When I've Lost My Mind?(1987)
  1. Snowbound 4:43
  2. Someday 3:55
  3. Rain on Me 3:44
  4. On My Way Home 3:43
  5. On and On 3:06 /
  6. In My Car 3:35
  7. Indian Summer 4:38
  8. Same Old Scene 3:50
  9. Once Bitten 3:00
  10. One Last Time 4:28
Album Rating (1-10): 5.0

Members & Other Bands:Paul Carchidi - Producer, Management
Eric Hafner - Author, Vox, Guitar
Wouter Habraken - Keyboards
Paul Robbins - Drums
Bob Skaltsis - Bass, Vox
Paul Arnold - Engineer
Toby Mountain - Digital Mastering
Ted Jensen - Mastering

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of these guys. I respect the sparse album cover and enjoy the puzzling line drawn figure with the rotated face. But there is a lack of color scheme and the only chosen color is a horribly boring tan. It looks low budget enough with the minimal band info on the back, but at the same time, there is something appealing about the whole package…perhaps it’s the “this could be anything” mystery.

Album Review: “Snowbound” rises with a chilling, somewhat eerie synth section. The vocals remind me of the aggression that Midnight Oil conveys on their albums. There is a cold, early U2 and other desolate rock trait to this song. Soaring guitars mix with a jangly melody. I guess the Alarm and Aztec Camera would be good comparisons. Maybe Wall of Voodoo.
“Someday” brings us back to an overly complicated melody like the Alarm and much of the college radio of the 80’s. The chorus is just the title repeated over and over again to a catchy melody. But there are so many layers of synth effects that I don’t know what is bass and guitar and what are keyboards. The production is frigid and uncontaminated, basically much smoother than it should be
“Rain on Me” has a chugging guitar buried deep down to keep the tempo up, and the vocals are wondrous and wise, but not in a good way. They are more pretentious. But this is the sound that many bands went for back then, and the amount of echo imbedded in the songs feels like they were preparing for stadium tours. The end takes the chorus and extends it for a bit too long. It is not dynamic enough to maintain interest.
“On My Way Home” has a dark mysticism that like the Cure tend to produce. And the smooth vocals make me think of Tears for Fears a little. The song seems optimistic, but it is buried deep in sorrow. There is more echo and cold synth that draws a very drab picture of the listening experience. But it has a place, at events like the dark & cold wave of the monthly Sex Dwarf dance party in Philly.
“On and On” has the vocals experimenting a little more, and it reminds me a little of INXS. This song is a little more upbeat and sunny, but the church organ keeps it grounded in solemn-ness.

“In My Car” has an almost industrial feel at the outset with a factory drum beat, and metal grinding effects. The song evolves into the normal genre they have created of cold synth and shiny, fragile plastic. There is a little bit of Robyn Hitchcock in the guitar-bells effect used through out the song.
“Indian Summer” feels like it will become a Gene Loves Jezebel song, or that Siouxsie Sioux vocals will begin shortly. But the chorus of this song is truly bold and great. Even if it has the worst lyric in all of music: “There once was a man who thought he couldn’t fall. That man was me.” The line leads back into the anthemic and catchy chorus, and I have to look past it. There is a gritty guitar breakdown that has a little bit of promise, before it casts the hope away on a full on crying guitar instrumental. The chorus reminds me a little of Psychedelic Furs with deep vocals, and an overproduced musical background. It might even be reminiscent of Crash test Dummies.
“Same Old Scene” has a new waveish siren like guitar as its driving tempo for the verse, but the chorus is light and fluffy and gives away any edginess the song built up. The end of the song allows the synth keyboard a bit of free range, which it fills with a neat prog-like section, but it only lasts for 20 seconds.
“Once Bitten” begins like it is going to be Journey’s “Separate Ways.” But the lyrics are terrible. And they should be punished for the overuse of the synth effects and sections in one song. It is just too much and comes off as a mess. The melody might be catchy, but it is buried below too many ideas.
“One Last Time” is a dreary, yet potentially uplifting final song. It feels calculated and with purpose. But the emotional outcry in the chorus is too over the top, especially coupled with the flashy new-age-like synth instrumentation. Aside from the chorus, this song has a little more room to breath, there are not too many ideas overlapping, but the crystalline, earthy production feels about as shallow as a high-school football star.

Stand Out Track: Indian Summer

Links:Allmusic

Flesh Eaters - Destroyed By Fire (Greatest Hits)

Name: Flesh Eaters
Album: Destroyed By Fire (Greatest Hits)
Year: 1987
Style: Punk, Gothic Rock/Metal.
Similar Bands: Cows, X, Social Distortion, Dead Milkmen, Iggy Pop, Bay of Pigs, Danzig
"One-Word" Review: 3-chord-Chaotic-Jagger-Punk
Based Out Of: LA, Cali
Label: SST Records, Shakeytown Music BMI
Destroyed By Fire - Cover, Liner Notes, Tape

Destroyed By Fire (1987)
  1. See You In The Boneyard 3:29
  2. Cyrano De Berger's Back 3:20
  3. Dominoes 1:58
  4. Impossible Crime 1:53
  5. Secret Life 4:54
  6. Hard Road to Follow 5:25
  7. Divine Horsemen 7:07 /
  8. The Wedding Dice 4:16
  9. Pony Dress 2:31
  10. We'll Never Die 3:20
  11. Everytime I Call Yr Name 4:07
  12. Lake of Burning Fire 7:41
  13. Drag My Name in Mud 6:33
Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:
Dave Alvin - Guitar (Blasters, Knitters, Dollar Store)
Bill Bateman - Drums (Blasters, Red Devils)
Steve Berlin - Saxophone (Los Lobos, Blasters)
D.J. Bonebrake - Marimba (X, Original Sinners)
Chris Desjardins - Producer, Vocals Composer (Divine Horsemen)
John Doe - Bass (X)
Robin Jameson - Bass
Jill Jordan - Vocals (Background)
Don Kirk - Guitar, Composer
Christopher Wahl - Drums, Composer
Ed Colver - Flesh Eaters Picture

Unknown-ness: I don’t believe I’ve heard of them. The name is very symbolic with a type of music, that I could only assume this is going to be dark punk, perhaps with Gothic tones. Maybe I’ve heard of them before, but I can’t really recall what the music is like or where I’ve heard of them from. So as this is a greatest hits collection, I do not expect a cohesive album, but a good introduction to their sound.

Album Review: “See You In The Boneyard” begins with a jazzy sax and rocking, driving drum beat. The vocals are gloomy but cartoonish with a side of evil. There is a Stray Cats big band element to the music, but the energy from the rambling lyrics and the shriek energy at the end of each verse gives is a classic dirty punk element. Like an organic Social Distortion.
“Cyrano De Berger's Back” feels like a 50’s greaser love ballad, full of sax and rock-a-billy qualities covered by a morbid punk act. The vocals are raw and full of emotion while the music is just a repetitive canvas for the poetic vocals to flow across.
“Dominoes” starts out as a lazy side swaying melody, but you can feel the tension building, and it launches into a faster, straightforward punk song. It lacks the brass or jazzy backing instruments. But it goes back and forth between the two sections of slow catch-your-breath sections and fast-forwarding circle pit action.
“Impossible Crime” is a nervous, speedy three chord punk song. It changes key for the chorus but quickly changes back for the short verse sections. It is repetitive and driving, never letting down like a good short punk song should be. It actually reminds me of “Tiny Town” by Dead Milkmen. “Secret Life” starts with a nice bouncy bass beat. And the vocals sound drunk, and tripping all over the place up and down off key. But the shrill expression reminds me of Mick Jagger at his most chaotic, and more so, Iggy Pop. The sax is back, but not as produced and prevalent as the start of the record, and it feels less Americana punk, and more smooth jazz.
“Hard Road to Follow” is another drunken King Missile sounding song with minimal, actual singing, and a more slurred tempo. But the range of vocal styles and pitch changes keeps it very interesting, and the music is less punk, and more dark, heavy rock. This reminds me of the other album I reviewed by Bay of Pigs. The guitar has a sounds that is like “Money for Nothing” but heavier.
“Divine Horsemen” starts with some sort of sax sound that reminds me of Akira Kurosawa’s film Dreams, specifically the Peach Orchard sequence. But the music is just a repetitive back and forth guitar and bass section, with a repeating 2 note xylophone bit. The vocals are erratic and agitated, good for the dark punk atmosphere they like to project. The instrumental section at the end just goes on without much variation, to the point where I’d assume it would be quite boring to play.

“The Wedding Dice” starts out with dark prog, like Black Sabbath. And then the pace picks up to a driving punk pace. The vocals lack sobriety, but they parallel the melody to the point of repetitive boredom. During the instrumental break, we revisit the slow prog guitars, which are backed by a squealing sax loop.
“Pony Dress” revisits the short speed punk with erratic singing. It is a simple fast verse, rearranged melody for the chorus, and return to the verse. The monotony is broken up with a bit different section referring to the title of the song at the end. It is repetitive in itself, but as a whole it is refreshing.
“We'll Never Die” starts with a guitar hook that is quite catchy, and then the vocals range from deep, nasally and yowling all in the same lyrical line. At their darkest, they are deep and nearly crooning, like Danzig; at their highest they are raspy and a bit screechy. But there is an undeniable energy the entire time.
“Everytime I Call Yr Name” begins with a fuzzed out metal guitar played at a punk rock pace. The deep vocals again remind me of Danzig or X at their lowest and like an angry feral cat at their highest. Like most other songs, the music does not diverge much from the initial melody, so you have this long song without much change, except it acts as a blank canvas for vocal experimentation and exaggeration.
“Lake of Burning Fire” sounds like it should be a prog song, and it comes off that way with an unconventional beat and a backing sax. The vocals are whine-yelling at first, I’m guessing like they are stuck in hell. It feels a little like a Half-Japanese song. The vocals are the same cadence, but lower than Jad Fair. Then they surpass Fair, and resemble Megadeath’s shouty vocals. The repetitive loop of jazzy prog continues and more yelling moans overlap and feels like an unsupervised jam session. The song then comes back to more lyrics, but nothing new is brought to the song. And they revert back to the howling jam session which is very tedious and extended.
“Drag My Name in Mud” is a heavy sax influenced metal stomp. The drums kick in and it begins at a fast, driving pace, but the vocals feel like they are constantly trying to catch up to the music. This is three chord metal-punk. The slower stomp-tempo is brought back for a breakdown section about 2 min in. By this point, listening to this much, the song feels like it is just rehashing everything that has come before, and the result is a forced feeling, like ideas have all been used up and that well is dry.

Stand Out Track: See You in the Boneyard

Links:
allmusic
Wiki
website
death rock
perfect sound forever
Chris D's New Texture blog
Rate your Music

Friday, January 27, 2012

(the) Laughing Dogs - s/t

Name: (the) Laughing Dogs
Album: s/t
Year: 1979
Style: Power Pop, Classic Rock
Similar Bands: Jellyfish, Badfinger, Steely Dan, The Knack, Sorrows, Hawks, Billy Joel, Queen, Journey
"One-Word" Review: All-Purpose-Power-Garage
Based Out Of: NYC
Label: CBS, Columbia Records
Laughing Dogs - Cover, Sleeve & Record
Laughing Dogs - Back, Sleeve & Record

Laughing Dogs (1979)
  1. Get 'Im Outa Town 3:26
  2. Low Life 2:56
  3. No Lies 3:00
  4. Johnny Contender 3:19
  5. Reason for Love 2:19
  6. I Need A Million 2:54/
  7. It's Alright, It's OK 3:17
  8. I'm Awake 3:14
  9. Round & Round 4:20
  10. It's Just the Truth 3:48
  11. Get Outa My Way 2:46
Album Rating (1-10): 8.0

Members & Other Bands:
Ronny Carle - Vox, Bass, Harmonica
James Leonard - Vox, Guitar
Carter Cathcart - Keys, Guitar, Vox
Moe Potts - Drums, Vox
Eric Block - Assistant Engineer
Bruce Botnick - Producer
Keith Brown - Assistant Engineer
Tom Dwyer - Assistant Engineer
Rob Freeman - Engineer, Mixing
Breuer, Finkel, Koplik - Management
Andrea Klein - Design
Josh Berg - Design
Jerry Abramowitz - Photography
Wally Traugott - Mastering

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of these guys. From the looks of the gritty, black & white sepia artwork, I’m gonna guess they are Pub Rock. That is also derived from their clothing on the back. They look like dressed up working class, and the boy and his dog image on the front supports a working class mentality too.

Album Review: “Get 'Im Outa Town” rings in with an electric guitar strumming one annoying note. Then a piano driven Billy Joel type song begins with smooth ELO vocal harmonies. But there is a dark tone underlying the song that comes from the guitar that began the song. Otherwise, this is straight up power pop. The lead vocals sound like Billy Joel too.
“Low Life” also treads the line of straight up power pop with a foot in the door of pub rock, thanks to the guitar sound. In the sections where the guitar is mixed in the background, the song bops along with smooth production and vocals, but then the chorus grows a little darker. The lead vocals remind me a lot of Jellyfish here. And the chorus is a harmonized, near prog, group effort.
“No Lies” is a piano waltz. It sways side to side with high pitch near-yelling vocals. But the chorus is again harmonized like Jellyfish or Queen, and is very “My Best Friend” catchy. The piano melody reminds me of something out of “Little Shop of Horror’s.”
“Johnny Contender” is a rollicking honky-tonk bar-blues song. It starts off with a yell, and rolls right along with a confident swagger. The chorus is harmonized too, but strangely does not detract from the momentum or the image of the song. The end of the song brings out a “Bad to the Bone” bass section.
“Reason for Love” is a harmonica driven Big Star or ELO power pop song with a very catchy bass hook, and harmonized vocal melody. It is a little bit like the verse to Steve Miller Band’s “Rock n’ Me’.”
“I Need A Million” is a fast, rocking, near-classic rock / glam song with melodically manic lyrics. The song is driven by the fact that it keeps on building, and never finds that release.

“It's Alright, It's OK” wades into the bluesy pub rock pool with a soulful guitar and pulsating rhythm. It evolves into what could be a Journey song by the time it gets to the chorus.
“I'm Awake” starts out exactly like another song I reviewed called “Hang On” by Axe. It has a bouncy piano and bass beat. But this song has a 60’s garage rock feel to it, accented by the harmonized backing vocals that give it a little psychedelic twist.
“Round & Round” is a bit slow, gloomy and reflective in the beginning, sounding like a sad story song. Actually it reminded me of Sound Garden for some reason. But as the song moves forward, the vocals and chorus are more rooted in true classic rock, not alternative’s filter of classic rock. Actually there is one little vocal twist that reminds me of David Bowie. So there is a bit of a Glam quality to it too. The last instrumental minute of the song features a freak out on a bluesy organ sounding keyboard.
“It's Just the Truth” starts with the same drum beat from The Box Top’s “Letter.” But the song begins with the chorus, a harmonized poppy hook that reminds me of Jellyfish. Even the lead vocals sound just like Jellyfish, especially when the vocals get excited and energetic. Ok, so it sounds a lot like Badfinger too, but that’s just because there is a whole string of similar sounding bands.
“Get Outa My Way” begins like Pinball Wizard. Then it really kicks into garage rock mode. And it also reminds me of Soul Asylum’s “Get on Out” when it hits the chorus. With Rolling Stones backing “Do-Do-Do’s”

Stand Out Track: It's Just the Truth

Links:

(the) Elevators - Frontline

Name: (the) Elevators
Album: Frontline
Year: 1980
Style: Powerpop, New Wave
Similar Bands: Cars, Hawks, ELO, Dire Straits, Tom Petty, Richard Marx
"One-Word" Review: 80's Personality Disorder
Based Out Of: Pioneer Valley / Boston
Label: Artista
Frontline - Cover & Record
Frontline - Back & Record

Frontline(1980)
  1. Frontline 3:21
  2. Girlfriend's Girlfriend 2:52
  3. Stop The World 3:03
  4. Stickball Kids 3:37
  5. Lie Detector 2:32
  6. Don't Let Me Die 3:29 /
  7. Tropical Fish 3:09
  8. Lies 3:22
  9. Johnny Train Your Mind 2:56
  10. Friends 3:16
  11. On the Wire 3:57
Album Rating (1-10): 8.0

Members/Other Bands:
Tom Myers - Vox, Keys (Bailey Brothers Band)
Earle Mankey - Producer, Engineer (Sparks, The Pop)
William Benjamin - Drums, Vox (Fat)
Jerry Ellis - Bass
Zonder Kennedy - Vox, Guitars (Bailey Brothers Band)
John Clark - Guitars, Vox (Bailey Brothers Band)
Tori Swenson - Engineer
Irwin-Dresner Mgmt - Direction
Ria Lewerke-Shapiro/Grafis - Art Direction
Lanning Stern - Design & Illustration
Gary Regester - Photography

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of these guys. From the generic football clip-art cover design and the group photo on the back, it would appear they are trying to position themselves somewhere between jock-rock and Madness. But some of the clothing styles on the back point to new wave, and with this being from 1980, I definitely wanted to take a chance on it. I’m guessing it will be more pedestrian than Madness, but probably more interesting than Reo Speedwagon or Loverboy.

Album Review: “Frontline” starts off with a pulsing guitar alarm beat, and a bass beat that makes me think this will be a disco song, or perhaps The Four Seasons “December ’63 (Oh What a Night).” But then the nasally vocals that are an immediate match for Ric Ocasek singing a bit like David Byrne with a disjointed verse, partially with a spoken cadence. The chorus brings in the synth and a harmonized chorus chanting “Frontline” with ELO falsettos mixed in the background as well.
“Girlfriend's Girlfriend” revs up, and feels like a mix between the Cars and Dire Straits. It is a catchy hook for the chorus, and a nah-nah, sing song keyboard hook. Then there is a bridge after the chorus that features a more anxious, higher pitch vocal that reminds me of Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309.” For the instrumental, there is a nice loud pub rock guitar. And the song finishes out with about a minute of repeating the chorus and a fade. This is a great 80’s pop song, featuring lots of examples of typical, dated production.
“Stop the World” begins boldly with a drum and an in your face bass line. The verse moves along like Dire Straits “Money for Nothing.” The chorus, singing “Stop the world, I want to get off” feels like it is just a half baked version of the previous song’s chorus. But the singer mixes in an urgent, nervous and anxious, high energy output along side a confident smooth performance. They mix together as if he’s trying to figure out his emotions.
“Stickball Kids” is more of a folky, middle-American Tom Petty type story-song. It has a darker, sinister bass line that gives it a gritty feel. All in all it has a Graham Parker singer/songwriter quality to it.
“Lie Detector” brings more powerpop and Americana rock to the album than new wave. The verse rushes to the chorus, only to slow down
“Don't Let Me Die” continues the vibe set by “Stop the World” a gritty, dark alley pub rock song. This song has higher pitched, almost like a light-metal sound, like Richard Marx or something. They try to make it more new wavish with their choice of synth keys, but the melody creates such a gloomy, that it cannot break free from the Americana vibe.

“Tropical Fish” has a bit of a Devo feel to it initially, but the rock guitar wipes the nervous, mechanical jitteriness that makes the best Devo songs, and the mood is replaced by a Dire Straits & Cars blend of pop-wave sound again.
“Lies” has a dark Cars “Let the Good Times Roll” sound, mixed with a juvenile Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack feel. The vocals are a little wavering, and there is are a barrage of new wave synth tones in the song, but they follow the slow rhythm of the song, rather than creating fast pace fun hooks.
“Johnny Train Your Mind” is more angular and a cleverly arranged song. There is a lot of pauses and empty space in the verse, which creates the feeling that everything will come crashing down at some point in a positive way. And in the chorus, the instruments align and it becomes solid and catchy. The vocals are very Cars like again here, with a deep throated, nasally tone.
“Friends” has a prog beginning with weird time signatures. This is quickly abandoned for a typical driving new wave beat. There is another odd section where the Cars type vocals are swapped out by a voice that is basically spoken through a megaphone, cutting out the highs and lows, giving a lo-fi but loud section. This is a fun song to follow along with as it never really gives up the driving momentum, and continues to roller coaster along the trip.
“On the Wire” starts with a slowish prodding, methodic drum beat and alarm-sounding keyboard. The bridge into the chorus builds nicely from the verse. The chorus completely breaks out of the minimalism and flirts with Arena Rock production.

Stand Out Track: Girlfriend's Girlfriend

Links:

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Nervus Rex - s/t

Name: Nervus Rex
Album: s/t
Year: 1980
Style: New Wave
Similar Bands: B-52's, Devo, A's, Bananarama, Squeeze, Daves
"One-Word" Review: Smooth Wave
Based Out Of: NYC
Label: Dreamland Records, RSO Records, Polygram Distribution
s/t - Cover & Record
s/t - Back & Record

Nervus Rex (1980)
  1. There She Goes 2:45
  2. Go Go Girl 3:35
  3. Spies 2:29
  4. Real Life 3:29
  5. Start from the Start 3:02/
  6. The God Sheila 3:36
  7. Don't Look 4:00
  8. The Incredible Crawling Eye 3:40
  9. Nobody Told Me 3:18
  10. Venus 1:54
Album Rating (1-10): 9.0

Members & Other Bands:Shaun Brighton - Vox, Guitar (the Puppets)
Lauren Agnelli - Vox, Keys, Guitar (writer: Trixie A. Balm, Washington Squares)
Jonathan Lee Gildersleeve - Drums (Ohio Express)
Dianne Athey - Bass, Design (The Riddles)
Commander Mike Chapman - Producer
Doug Schwartz - Engineer
Steve Hall- Mastering
Glenn Ross - Art Direction
Tim Owens - Design
Moshe Brakha - Photography

Unknown-Ness: I’ve never heard of this band, but from the artwork, the brilliant colors, the electricity in the name, and their clothing, I am super excited to review this record, in hopes that this is the type of new wave record I always hope for. I assume it is new wave; hopefully with angsty neurotic (nervous) vocals and angular catchy pop hooks. The name, image and year are spot on.

Album Review: “There She Goes” starts boldly off with a bouncy bass note repeated to give the nervous beat. The vocals are smooth and catchy. The keyboard in the background has a great organ sound to it. The chorus is very catchy with a pounding, urgent feeling. The verse repeats over and over, but it is so catchy that it is quite desirable. This is a great example of new wave music from this era. It even features female vocals in the background.
“Go Go Girl” has an 80’s radio pop guitar sound, and the tempo and rhythm of the song is like the Ramones, where the same tone is carried out at different levels. But the production is much smoother. The chorus has a dark and secretive tone. The title is revisited at the end of the song with a revised melody that loops and goes off like a siren, like the end of Elvis Costello’s “Accident’s Will Happen”
“Spies” a male/female harmonized vocal starts off the song repeating “the spies.” Then the song bounces right off the handle. It is all the great elements of nervous, anxious, and rushed. It drives and is a rollercoaster of pitch, with the chorus driving right down the musical scale. This reminds me of the Daves.
“Real Life” first feels like the B-52’s with a bit of surf guitar. But the melody is disjointed and rollicking along, more like Devo. It is a constantly building melody that never quite reaches the boiling over point. The chorus, once it is reached, simply simmers down, never giving a satisfying delivery. But this song’s vocal production is incredibly smooth, also featuring female vocals in the background.“Start from the Start” features a blip beeping like a heart monitor in the beginning. This offers the tempo. This is a female sung new wave song, not quite as free-natured as a B-52’s song, but in tight mechanical control. This is a song that builds up and resets, also one that does not offer a satisfying delivery. It ends with the same pulsing blip.

“The God Shelia” starts with a familiar set of tones, but is sung in the same style of real life: incredibly smooth. It has one basic stanza that is only elevated in tone to make the chorus. But it is the same couple of rising and falling sections repeated through out. It is a little repetitive and simplistic, but that does not make it a horrible song. The changing tones are fun to follow along with. On a side note, I’ve been watching the League, so I cannot stop picturing their god of praise on the show, Shiva.
“Don't Look” was apparently their big single on an earlier release, re-recorded here. It feels a little less jumpy and neurotic until the bass kicks in and the song reaches the chorus. It uses the creative lyric structure saying “Don’t look at me that way” which evolves into the opposite phrasing of “Look At Me That Way.” The verse is more pub rock than new wave.
“The Incredible Crawling Eye” is by far, the most campy and creative of the tracks. It combines the surf guitar style of many B-Horror Movies with a storyline about going to see a stupid B-Horror-Movie all the while advertising the movie to the listener. The verse is built on a call & response with the female vocals answering or elaborating on the lead vocals commentary. This is a very B-52’s, fun song. In the middle of the song, we actually hear from the Eye itself, via use of vocal manipulation and distortion, including a wacky laugh from the eye.
“Nobody Told Me” also is rooted in oldies rock and roll, with a bit of a surf guitar overlapping a jangly guitar, and a bouncy bass beat. This song builds up with a smooth let down, such is the production style.
“Venus” is a cover of the song, made more popular a few years later by Bananarama. It is pretty true to The Shocking Blue’s original, minus the honky tonk, with a female vocals, a nice organ & surf Guitar enhancement. It sounds like a version that ? & the Mysterians might have done, just a little quicker and tightened up.

Stand Out Track: There She Goes

Links:

Lesser Known Neutrinos - New Language

Name: Lesser Known Neutrinos
Album: New Language:
Year: 2007
Style: Acid, Prog, World
Similar Bands: Tub Ring, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Cows, Beru Revue, X
"One-Word" Review: Trippy Renaissance Punk
Based Out Of: West Philly
Label: Self Released
New Language: Cover, Insert, Record
New Language: Inside, Lyrics, Record

New Language (2007)
  1. Phantom Cargo 3:48
  2. Psychic Studies 4:50
  3. Hell's Reflection 3:23
  4. Warm December Days 4:32/
  5. Inheritor 3:52
  6. Legacy 3:46
  7. New Language 3:34
  8. Stasis 6:42
Album Rating (1-10): 5.5

Member & Other Bands:
Tony Cesa - Bass, ARP Odyssey, Sequencial Circuts, Pro One Synths, Vox (Sgnls, John Denver's Airplane)
Paul Walker - Guitar, Yamaha AM1X, Korg M3R Synths, Insert Layout (Sgnls)
Monica Pasquinelli - Drums, Cover Art (Vulgar Remedies)
Eleanor Buffam - Electir Viola, Vocal
Steve Roche - Mixed, Mastered, Recording
Erik Ruin - Printing
Sean Fenton - Insert Photography

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band, but I love the homemade nature of the album cover printed/stamped/sick screened on the cardboard, twice, I believe, because the inside try was blurry. The artwork has a cold, bleak landscape, with a bomb cloud rising into the name. So what kind of music will this be? I’m guessing Indie Rock with a cold edge.

Album Review: “Phantom Cargo” has a distorted guitar riffing through some noteless chords. Then a gothic piano adds a dark vibe, and the song begins to feel like a World/Inferno Friendship Society song. There are competing male and female vocals that are harmonized in an odd way. Later some psychedelic swirling synth sounds are layered over the buzzing guitar, which reminds me of the band Tub Ring. The vocal style is very progressive, like dark crooning metal.
“Psychic Studies” starts off with a fast paced punk guitar hook. A viola is layered over top, and then the male vocals start. They are the same as the first song, singing in cadence with the drums, and occasionally belting out a note at the end of a stanza. Also thrown in for genre-confusing are hard-core/emo screams. But a buzzing organ carries the song on its back. It’s a noise that you can’t tell is there at first, but when you do, it becomes all you hear. There is an earthy, space, new age breakdown mid song with a very dark sorcery, Black Sabbath vibe. The song winds down in this section, before rebooting and kicking back into the chorus of singing and isolated screams.
“Hell's Reflection” starts with a chamber music production of strings, echoing as if a cold, stone conservatory. The feed-back guitar is back to insert a note or two here or there, and the anxious vocals are peppered with one-off screams for emo reasons. But the song still feels like it could be a gothic W/IFS song. It changes gears as it goes further into song, and takes on a driving, Gang of Four vocal quality. The song winds down with quick surges of guitars and specks of stings a final mushroom cloud that gives way to the next song seamlessly.
“Warm December Days” begins lightly with a sad Balkan violin sound backed by what sounds like a mandolin. The vocals are half sun, half chanted to the swaying tempo. It feels very renaissance fare-ish. As it almost loses all musical form, and flirts with bad opera. This reminds me a little of Beru Revue for some reason. It really becomes taxing, and barely listenable in its minimal production.

“Inheritor” starts with some odd moog sounds, squirting up and down. The singing is muted in the background at first, and sounds like the hard core Tub Ring songs. And then female vocals give it a go at the same pace and melody, reminding me a bit of Sleater-Kinney. Eventually they are overlapped together. This is just a quirky, weird hard core version of something I’d expect to hear from Forbidden Zone musically. There is a middle breakdown of fast singing the same phrase over and over again, that melts down into yahhhs. The electronic synths wind down, and the end of the song is full of tweeting and static ebbing and flowing, ending in a flat line.
“Legacy” is a heavy display of Prog. Then both male and female vocals take their own individual approaches of speed and melody, seldomly overlapping, which reminds me of X. It has an urgency and intensity, while using some B-horror movie sound effects and instrumentation.
“New Language” combines Dexy’s Midnight Runners celtic strings with a driving punk rhythm. The buzzing guitar nearly drowns out the female vocals, and is mixed up way to far. The time signature changes, and a slow trudging stomp with wavering synth comes forth, covered with male vocals, sung in a very dark vibe. Then the DMR section comes back, but is drown out by the discordant, random, angular guitar mess. Nothing seems to match up at this point. And, as the other instruments give up, the guitar gets more and more staticy until the song just peters out.
“Stasis” is an instrumental (for 3 minutes) with a slow, reflective tempo created by strings, the annoying static guitar, and a slow, stumbling drum beat. It staggers on and on and mourning guitar solos. The vocals, with an X style of harmony, come on in a high pitch singing style that further adds to the sorrow of the song. Nothing ever really changes or expands from this singular vision of a funeral march until the last minute, the pace picks up and they give you one last bit of punk with an eerie moog effect in the background that has a fake ghost sound, a sound of a Halloween decoration.

Stand Out Track: Phantom Cargo

Links:
No.Libs Split 7 inch
SGNLS

Friday, January 20, 2012

Chromatics - Cavecare EP

Name: Chromatics
Album: Cavecare EP
Year: 2002
Style: Post-Punk, Lo-Fi
Similar Bands: Enon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Coachwhips, Glass Candy, Liars
"One-Word" Review: Distorted-Angular-Demos
Based Out Of: Seattle Wa
Label: Hand Held Heart
Cavecare - Cover & Record
Cavecare - Cover & Liner Notes & Trackless Record back

Cavecare EP (2002)
  1. Cavecare 2:00
  2. Steps 2:17
  3. Arms Wither Away 1:37
  4. Trnbrrd 1:22
  5. Beach of Infants 2:35
  6. Jesus 3:30
Album Rating (1-10): 7.0

Members & Other Bands:Adam Miller
Devin Welch - Guitar
Michelle Nolan - Bass (Straylight Run, Taking Back Sunday, Destry)
Hannah Blilie - Drummer (Gossip, Shoplifting, Sarah Dougher, Stiletto, Mr Yuk, The Lumpies, Vade, The Vogue, Soiled Doves)
Aaron Coyes - Recording

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band, but I love the cover art, the basic color scheme, the angular presentation, and the randomness of the logo. I realize it is an EP only, but I imagine it will either be good punk or angular rock.

Album Review: This EP is only on one side of the record, as the other side is just a trackless piece of plastic.

“Cavecare” starts with a dark thudding bass beat and constant drum beat. The vocals are completely distorted as if sung through an un-tuned TV set. But random angular guitar notes are played along with the side to side rhythm as the track ends.
“Steps” is more heads down & driving with a looping guitar hook, pounding drum & cymbal beat and more angular guitars in the bridge, which continue through out the song. The vocals are just as distorted and lo-fi as the first track, but altogether, this song is more cohesive.
“Arms Wither Away” starts with the distorted vocals and mid-pace drum beat. Then heavy angular guitars are added in a sing song manner.
“Trnbrrd” starts out musically just like The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s song “Black Tongue.” And at first the vocals sound like a very distorted Rolling Stones, but the devolve to something Enon would create. I wish this song were longer, it is a good little snippet.
“Beach of Infants” begins with distorted feed back guitars and a plodding, dragging drum beat. The vocals sound whiney in there distorted nature. There is a surprisingly uplifting guitar hook after the first verse, but the vocals come in and yell and whine over the slowish tempo.
“Jesus” has an echoing drum beat, and a dark, murky feed back-like bass line. The five note musical procession, almost like a military drum beat, marches on as the vocals take their own emo-screeching, distorted path over the repetitive music. It reminds me a bit of Early, Early Ween. I mean Synth Socks Ween.

Standout Track: Trnbrrd

Links:Last FM
allmusic

Musique - Keep On Jumpin'

Name: Musique
Album: Keep On Jumpin'
Year: 1978
Style: Disco
Similar Bands: Chic, Sister Sledge, Donna Summer, First Choice
"One-Word" Review: "Disc-a-Disco"
Based Out Of: NY, NY
Label: Prelude Records
Keep On Jumpin' - Cover & Record
Keep On Jumpin' - Back & Record

Keep On Jumpin'(1978)
  1. Keep On Jumpin’ 6:56
  2. Summer Love 6:17/
  3. In The Bush 8:20
  4. Summer Love Theme 8:00
Album Rating (1-10): 7.5

Members & Other Bands:Patrick Adams - Producer, Arranger, Mix Engineer (Sister Sledge,Loleatta Holloway, Coolio, Herbie Mann)
Bob Blank - Engineer
Jeff Ader - Engineer
Bob Lichtman - Photography
Trudy Schlachter - Photography
Ancona Design - Cover Concept
Jocelyn Brown - Vocals (Disco Tex & the Sex-O-Lettes, Incognito, Cheatham/Brown)
Angela Howell - Vocals
Gina Tharps - Vocals
Christine Wiltshire - Vocals (Luther)
Norbert Sloley - Musician
Kenneth Mazur - Musician
Richard Taninbaum - Musician
Alan Rubin - Musician (Blues Brothers, The SNL Band)
Charles Jett - Musician
John Clark - Musician
John Campo - Musician
Richard Perry - Musician (Legends, Escorts)
Arthur Clarke - Musician
Kathryn Kienke - Musician
Joe Malin - Musician
Selwart Clarke - Musician (Puncho & His Latin Soul Brothers)
Dianna Halprin - Musician
Linda Lawrence - Musician
Richard Maximoff - Musician (Hampton Strin Quartet)
Jonathan Abramowitz - Musician
Margaret Ross - Musician

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band. But from the cover, it looks like this is straight up sexy disco. I imagine there to be skates at the ends of those legs in the red tinted sound studio. Love the bubble font, love the energy and I expect this to be terrific disco, not necessarily radio-disco.

Album Review: Four tracks: one an instrumental of the other and two hits. This minimal work is supposed to put out a strong offering. I’ve read that “In The Bush” was a surprise hit that was banned by many stations due to it’s lyrical content.

“Keep On Jumpin’” was the album’s biggest chart topper. It begins with pumpin drums and straightforward bumpin bass. Its stereotypical disco, backed with a string section, and then the vocals of the proud 5 girl chorus. It is a driving toe tapping song filled with echoing, extended vocal holds and a conga drum beat mixed into the instrumental section. The ending plays out repetitively into a fade. It has the step-down-beat generic string section punctuating every chorus repetition.
“Summer Love” has the same stepping drum pulse tempo keeper. Swirling strings bring the intro up to speed to match the angelic, harmonized vocals right away. There are two or three separate sections, one is not more repetitive or chorus like than the next. And the neat thing about not knowing the song is that any section could be next after one ends. It is unpredictable until you’ve memorized the song. Or it could be a bass drum instrumental. A repetitive 4 note keyboard sequence hypnotizes the listener in the first extended instrumental to the point of nausea. With every passing measure, it feels like the ending is coming closer, and once it does reach the end, the listener is woken up with dance euphoria. I’d imagine this would be great on drugs. And after we return to the vocals, it is like nothing has ever changed from the first half of the song. For general listening pleasure, the song is about a minute too long.

“In The Bush” starts out, yet again, with a driving tempo, not really a beat even. It could just be a metronome. The driving nature of this tempo lends the verse to be short quick bursts of disco hooks. The familiar lyric of “beat the clock” (at least that’s what it sounds like) reminds me of Sparks. It was this popular song that got the band into some censorship trouble with the chorus of “Push, Push In The Bush” followed with a singular female voice singing “you know I like it rough, you know I like to get down.” Maybe it is a bit suggestive, but we’ve come a long way since then for what is allowed broadcast. Different variations of the title are sung with the solo female voice enjoying the freedom of not having a strict melody parameter. This song definitely has the most dynamic and experimental melody sections of the other tracks, and thus, is more fun to listen to, as it does not get old as quick, even if the canvas is very repetitive. At one point the lyrics read “You know I like to get down…in the bush, bush.”
“Summer Love Theme” is an instrumental version of “Summer Love” And there you have it.

Stand Out Track: In The Bush 

Links:

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Durutti Column - Valuable Passage

Name: Durutti Column
Album: Valuable Passage
Year: 1986
Style: Ambient, Post-Punk
Similar Bands: Cocteu Twins, New Order, Joy Division, Soundtracks, Jesus & Mary Chain
"One-Word"Review: Lofty Dreamscape
Based Out Of: Manchester England
Label: Relativity Records, Factory UK, Important Record Distributors
Valuable Passage - Cover, Sleeves, Record
Valuable Passage - Back, Sleeves, Record

Valuable Passage (1986)
11. Prayer 3:21
12. Spent Time 4:09
13. Without Mercy (4-7) 6:44
14. Without Mercy (10-12) 7:04/
15. The Room 5:58
16. Blind Elevator Girl 10:04
17. Tomorrow 4:02
18. LFO Mod 6:21

Album Rating (1-10): 4.5

Members & Other Bands:
Manunagh Fleming - Cor Anglais, Oboe
Chris Nagle - Producer
Vini Reilly - Bass, Piano, Drum Programming, Guitar, Vocals, Producer (Ed Banger & the Nosebleeds, Morrissey, Pauline Murray & the Invisible Girls)
Caroline Lavelle - Cello
Bruce Mitchell - Percussion, Congas, Xylophone, Drum Programming (Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias)
Anthony H Wilson - Producer
Michael Johnson - Producer
Mervyn Fletcher - Sax
Richard Henry - Trombone (London Scratch Orchestra, Stan Sulzmann Big Band)
Tim Kellett - Trumpet (Olive, Simply Red)
Blaine Reininger - Violin, Viola (Falling Infinities, Tuxedomoon)
John Metcalfe - Viola (Duke Quartet, Kreisler String Orchestra, London Scratch Orchestra, Millennia Ensemble)
Phil "Snake Davies" - Sax
8vo- Design
Peter Saville - Design
Kevin Cummins - Photographer
Stuart Pickering - Producer

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band. And let me start with saying that I bought this album with only record 2 inside. The sleeve for the first record is there, but the record was not. So I can only review the second half of this double album. The design looks cold, desolate and synthesized. It reminds me of OMD’s early design: square, black and white.

Album Review: “Prayer” is actually the start to side 3, not the album beginning, but seeing as this is a compilation; the album is not created for cohesive play. But this starts out solemn and dark, and it reminds me of “Warning Sign” by Hail Social. It is frosty, magical, and dreamy. It is slow and meandering, with no specific direction. It feels like it could have been useful in 80’s soap operas, in some sort of sad, reminiscing montage. It ends in an uplifting synth keyboard clarity, as if the dreamer was about to wake up
“Spent Time” has New Order-ish bass line, but the icy synth in the background really dates the production style. There are hushed, whispery monotone vocals barely sung and mixed in the background, a bit like Joy Division. The song is very repetitive, so it feels like a long song.
“Without Mercy (4-7)” begins with a repetitive, two liquidy, echoing guitar hooks overlapping and some strings in the background. It sounds like slowed down Mega Man level music. A trumpet is added later on, further accenting the trickling, liquid feeling the song creates: like ice melting and the water running below the still solid surface. It feels like it could go on forever, but it eventually just fades out.
“Without Mercy (10-12)” starts with a trumpet salute to royalty walking into a thrown room. This too is in somewhat slow motion, but it feels like, to me, that it is telling the story of two young royals courting and dancing together after an evenings’ feast.

“The Room” has electric beam effects echo across the soundscape. And what sounds like a Theremin is played in the background, quite repetitively. More quiet, reserved vocals are added sparingly to the background, creating a delicate and futuristic lullaby. I’m recalling imagery from the Ice Palace in The Never Ending Story.
“Blind Elevator Girl” is a long instrumental song, beginning with another welcoming royalty hook on repeat. It begins to sound like a real pop or prog composition with steady drums, and horns, but once the drums disappear, they take the rock song template with them, and the song reverts back to a meandering thought that could coalesce at any time. This song is actually a little jazz-funky with its combination of bass, guitar and horn.
“Tomorrow” feels like a Ween guitar ballad at the beginning. It is folky, and acoustic sounding, while still in the presence of echo. Unwavering vocals lightly sing over the guitar and plucked string accompaniment. The somber voice is comfortable with dying, by admitting “tomorrow never comes.” And once the horn is added, the music takes on a sad Belle & Sebastian quality.
“LFO Mod” is a little more organic in its piano and shuffling synth background. It changes synth settings about a minute and half in to be more bubbly and liquid, and is accompanied by an acoustic guitar crying out a fluttering Santana melody. Later, a stereotypic sexy sax is layered over the warbling, watery keyboard. It is as if the background template is set, and guest instruments take their turns jamming out overtop, creating a different vibe with each transition. And it ends in a fade out.

Stand Out Track: Tomorrow

Links:

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Durocs - s/t

Name: Durocs
Album: s/t
Year: 1979
Style: Power Pop
Similar Bands: ELO, Supertramp, Bee-Gees, Robert Palmer
"One-Word" Review: Studio-Pop
Based Out Of: San Francisco, Ca
Label: EMI, Capitol Records
Durocs - Cover, Liner Notes & Record
Durocs - Back, Liner Notes & Record

Durocs - s/t (1979)
  1. Hog Wild 3.21
  2. Lie to Me 3.14
  3. Don’t Let the Dream Die 4.39
  4. We Go Good Together 4.08
  5. No Fool No Fun 3.02/
  6. It Hurts to be in Love 3.02
  7. Seeker 3.51
  8. True Love 3.19
  9. One Day at a Time 3.44
  10. Saving it All Up for Larry 4.35
Album Rating (1-10): 5.5

Members & Other Bands:
Scott Matthews - Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals, Producer, Arranger, Album Design & Concept, Inner Photos (Sammy Hagar, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Barbara Streisand, Glen Campbell, The Tubes, John Hiatt, the Profits)
Ron Nagle - Keys, Vox, Producer, Arranger, Album Design & Concept (The Mystery Trend, The Excorcist, Streisand, The Tubes, John Hiatt, The Profits)
Elliot Mazer - Producer
Larry "Lord" Blackshere - Vibes, Vocals (Background) (Sandals, Stoneground)
Phil Aaberg - Piano, Synth, Clavinet
John Blakeley - Bass, Guitar, Percussion
Steve Douglas - Saxophone (Phil Spector, Beach Boys, Ry Cooder)
Mike Fusaro - Engineer
Maurice Cridlin - Accordion, Bass, Percussion
Chris Michie - Guitar
Larry Reid - Vocals (King Richard & the Knights)
Eric Stein - Synthesizer
Chris Minto - Patches, Punches & Fades
Wally Traugott - Mastering
Michael Murphy - Cover & logo Design
Deacon Chapin - Liner Photo
Thatcher Nagle - Inner Photos
Cindy Ehrlich - Inner Photos
Ernie Fosselious - Inner Drawings
Greg Vander Leun - Inner Drawings
Paul Power - Inner Drawings
Kip Krones - Handler
Bob Brown - Handler
Greg Fischback - Legal
Linda Komorsky - Pork Administrator
Bruce Ravid - Rave Up
Roberta Van Deer - Angel Loop

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band. But from the pig’s ass on the front, I’m guessing that either they don’t take the music seriously, or they’re just going for a hog-concept album (which is what I’m kinda betting with the pink color scheme and the first track called Hog Wild) which is comedic in its own right. I imagine this will be fun music, and I like the little bit of style that you get from the picture of the two members on the back, around a diner table jukebox. I got this for a pound in a record shop in Camden Town, while on vacation in England.

Album Review: “Hog Wild” is a typical pub rock song, with a catchy power pop chorus. The instrumental bridge even includes a sax, as if the genre insisted on having one. The chorus takes over with the end of the song, repeating over and over, as if it were a song that could go on forever. It is a very catchy chorus, short and punchy.
“Lie to Me” has a smooth ELO style power pop sound. It has a continuously building melody, where the song constantly feels like it is going to evolve into a new music section, but always skips back to the beginning before it releases.
“Don’t Let the Dream Die” begins like a smooth power pop ballad with Air Supply like harmonies and a dreamy yet distant puffy cloud production. It kinda feels like it’s going to break into “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me.”
“We Go Good Together” starts out like a soft Billy Joel jangely piano pop song with a little bounce. But the chorus has a smooth Bee-Gees or Beach Boys harmonized quality to the vocal minus the high pitches. This has a nice Beatleish building melody in the verse. Overall, it is just a generally pleasant song with no outspoken qualities.
“No Fool No Fun” has an overproduced smooth vocal quality that glides along with the melody, and feels stuck in the 70’s. It relies on its choral hook, and repeated it to hypnotism in the end of the song, where it becomes buried under a chaotic mass of shouting voices in some sort of brawl as the song ends.

“It Hurts to be in Love” starts with a melody that sounds like it is a cover of “My Boyfriend’s Back” the rhythm is that of a marching ELO pop song. This is the definition of a Power Pop song. The chorus just drips with guitar power to which the genre is indebted to.
“Seeker” feels like a southern rock song at it begins. Like it is trying to be Bob Seger or something similar. It has a very simple, repetitive verse, and an equally repetitive chorus. The stand out element, aside from the somewhat raspy, shouty vocals, is the sneaky bass line. Sax is added at the instrumental bridge, making it feel like pub rock again.
“True Love” is a glittery “downtown” style song with a sexy sax accompaniment and overproduced smooth vocals. It is a one dimensional song, good, but somewhat forgettable.
“One Day at a Time” is slow and meandering, sung over an 80’s synth keyboard effect. A bit like Air Supply minus the campy pop hooks. And it has a cheesy, uninterested fade out ending.“Saving it All Up for Larry” Brings back the rock with a pub rocking song with a very catchy falsetto vocal for the chorus. It feels very Supertrampish combined with Foreigner style music. It tries to rock out, but even the electric guitar sounds like it could be coming out of a synthesizer, kind of like the sound of Dire Straits guitars in “Money For Nothing”

Stand Out Track: It Hurts to Be In Love

Links:

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Curiosity Killed the Cat - Keep Your Distance

Band: Curiosity Killed the Cat
Album: Keep Your Distance
Year: 1987
Style: Britpop, Smooth Jazz
Similar Bands: Duran Duran, ABC, Tears For Fears, Wham, The Fixx, Kenny G
"One-Word" Review: Doctor's-Office-Pop
Based Out Of: London, England
Label: Phonogram LTD, Mercury
Keep Your Distance - Cover, Sleeve, Record
Keep Your Distance - Back, Liner Notes, Record

Keep Your Distance (1987)
  1. Misfit 4:05
  2. Down to Earth 4:20
  3. Free 4:02
  4. Know What You Know 3:52
  5. Curiosity Killed the Cat 3:12/
  6. Ordinary Day 3:53
  7. Mile High 4:09
  8. Red Lights 5:33
  9. Shallow Memory 4:30
Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot - Vox
Julian Godfrey Brookhouse - Guitar
Nicholas Bernard Thorp - Bass (Twilight Children)
Miguel Drummond - Drums
Toby Anderson - Keys
Stewart Levine - Producer
Sly Dunbar - Producer
Paul Staveley O'Duffy - Producer, Overdub
Robbie Shakespeare - Producer
Peter Smith - Producer
Dennis Weinreich - Overdub
The Unknown - Sleeve
Peter Anderson - Photography

Unknown-ness: I’ve never really heard of this band, but it does sound vaguely familiar. I got this record in the 2-for-1 pound bin in England, so I’m guessing they are a British band. It looks very mid 80’s, which is exactly when it is from. The angular titles seem random, not cool or fun like a New Wave band, and the dress of the band also puts them as some clean cut boy band. The back, with the logo and titles big does not help guess what their sound it, but it looks like it will be some dated foe-heavy rock band that might have seemed cutting edge for its time, but is laughably light now.

Album Review: “Misfit” right off has a Caribbean rhythm to it. It is very light and jazzy and synthesized. The vocals remind me of Tears for Fears, but the music reminds me of ABC or other smooth jazz pop bands. It is upbeat and is backed by a cast of female vocals too. Apparently this is the song that earned them the praises of Andy Warhol, who shot and was in the video for this song. This is the music destined to be in elevators and supermarkets. But for its time, I could see this really packing a punch on the charts.
“Down to Earth” continues with the dated sound of layers upon layers of synthesized instruments in a light airy island jazz genre. You can almost see the silk button-up shirts and baggy pleated pants by the members as they play this song. The sax does sound real, though. This reminds me what Duran Duran would sound like if they swapped their pop dance style for smooth jazz pop. Now this is not to say that songs are not good. They are very catchy, and the vocals are good, especially supported by the backing female chorus, which gives it a bit of a Talking Heads vibe.
“Free” is a little dark in its composition, thanks to the bass line and string accompaniment. A Sax comes in, and the image is changed to a dark, dingy night club where the women wear big shoulder padded dresses and the guys have skinny ties and tweed sport jackets. This song sounds simpler, and less complicated. It has a bit of a late 80’s Elvis Costello feel to it too. The chorus is just sha-ba-da-ba-dap syllables sung rapidly.
“Know What You Know” starts out like a Whitney Houston song with a Wham, “Careless Whisper” sax. The vocals oddly sound like the band Gil Mantera’s Party Dream, if you’ve heard of them. I like the chorus; it has a fun downbeat melody that gives it a slow sexy quality.
“Curiosity Killed the Cat” is a bit jazzier and upbeat, perhaps a bit like bored Madness. And the song reminds me of the little I know about ABC. The song uses the title in an unpredictable way in the chorus, followed by a list of adverbs sung by the female backing chorus. Apparently they played this song, and it landed them their record deal, which also stuck as their band name.

“Ordinary Day” is an island lounge song that has a bit of an old-person’s choice dance beat. The use of the horns is exciting, and reminds me of something Oingo Boingo would use, but the overall production wipes any organic connection the song might have hoped to have. Toward the end the song reminds me of late 80’s Phil Collins Genesis. Not very good.“Mile High” starts off with a slow slinky beat with a jangely guitar that reminds me of the Fixx. The song never progresses out from that slow, dark tempo. This does verge on World Music. This is what Wham would have sounded like with Roland from Tears for Fears fronting them.
“Red Lights” starts with a smooth drum beat and melt-a-way keys. Then enters that smooth jazz sax sound and a crystalline synth effect to further strip any tangible real instrument feel. The sax detracts from the song more than gives, it further dates the song, and diminishes the band’s musical taste for thinking it was needed.
“Shallow Memory” ends the record with what seems to start out as another mystical earthy smooth jazz number. The bass then picks up and the tempo is much more movement inducing. There are some harsh synth accents in the song, but at least it features the female backing vocals that add a nice depth to the song. The song is not tightly knit, rather it is a flowing song that feels like there is much room for improvisation, and the repetition allows for experimentation in different melodies for the same lyrics over the constant backing composition. And this song rides that wave of consistency through to a fade out.

Stand Out Track: Curiosity Killed the Cat

Links:Wiki
Last FM

(the) Lost Gonzo Band - Thrills

Name: (the) Lost Gonzo Band
Album: Thrills
Year: 1976
Style: Southern Rock / Classic Rock
Similar Bands: Neil Young, Credence Clearwater Revival, Commander Cody, older Bee-Gees, Blasters
"One-Word" Review: The South
Based Out of: Austin Texas
Label: MCA Records
Thrills - Cover, Record, Lyrics
Thrills - Back, Sleeve, Record

The Lost Gonzo band - Thrills (1976)
Write A Song 3:20
Relief 4:10
Wilderness Song 2:55
Sweet Little Lilly 3:56
Life is the Reason 4:20
Dead Armadillo 2:14/
The Last Thing I Need 3:55
Life in the Pines 3:15
Ain't No Way 4:04
Sexy Thing 3:34
Daddy's Money 3:42
I'll Come Knocking 3:20

Album Rating (1-10): 6.5

Members & Other Bands:
Michael Brovsky - Engineer, Producer, Remixing
Chuck Childs - Recording Engineer
Donny Dolan - Drums, Percussion
Kelly Dunn - Arp, Clavinet, Organ, Synthesizer
Gene Eichelberger - Engineer
Johnny Gimble - Mandolin, Violin (Asleep at the Wheel, Mother Earth, Bob Willis & His Texas Playboys)
Sanchez Harley - Horn
John Inmon - Guitar, Vocals (Omar & the Howlers)
Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Vocals (Background) (Paul Simon)
Robert Livingston - Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals
Weldon Myrick - Pedal Steel
Gary P. Nunn - Bass, Guitar, Piano, Vocals (Lavender Hill Express)
Tomás Ramírez - Saxophone
Sundance - Engineer
Bobby Thompson - Banjo, Guitar (Acoustic) (Barefoot Jerry)
Bill Halloway - Cover Photography

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of this band, but I have to say, I was immediately caught by the cover art that screams Evil Carnival music. Now I know it is 1976, so it’s not going to be wacky Oingo Boingo style music, but one can hope there is a shred of support for this great cover. And the name is just wacky enough that it might be something I’d like. But something tells me, perhaps the font on the back, that this will just be something simple, especially since its from 1976, when AOR was king.

Album Review: “Write a Song” sounds like it is going to be a delightful, fluffy Billy Joel style piano ballad. And it sounds like a classic Bee Gees song. It feels odd to begin the album here, with a bedtime ballad. But halfway through the song, the production picks up, and it sounds somewhat Beatley. But the song finishes out in piano and simplicity, just as it began.
“Relief” bounces into life with a kick drum, and a stumbling drunk Kinks style song. Based in southern ragtime rock, the song features a nice simple folk-country melody. The vocals are layered with a dense harmonized background vocal effort. I could visualize this being played out on a single home porch with a jug band.
“Wilderness Song” is another slow but bouncy song with a synthesized bass beat. The vocals remind me of Neil Young in this song. The song is simple, one dimensional song, but the sound of that synthesized bass is just overwhelmingly harsh and draws most of the attention from the song.
“Sweet Little Lilly” is the first full fledged country song with a country & western back and forth guitar bounce like from “Country Death Song”. And then at the chorus the song picks up with banjo and fast singing as if you’ve flung the doors open to witness some talented square dancing at a cowboy bar.
“Life is the Reason” has a slow, rising, day break tempo, and again sounds like Neil Young. It again features the side to side bouncing bass guitar sound. The song also includes slide guitar and a fiddle, giving it an authentic country feel. It actually sounds a lot like a slowed down version of the preceding song.
“Dead Armadillo” starts with a nice honky tonk tempo and melody. The vocals are gruff, trying to sound like a bluesman. But as he sings, that impression quickly falls away. This sounds like a Fabulous Thunderbirds or Blasters song. It is classic rock n’ roll brought to life through rock-a-billy & country filters. All that a side, it is a fun song, literally about a Dead Armadillo on the side of the road

“The Last Thing I Need” is a slow country waltz. It has a sorrow mood about it, like a guy who’s singing about his dong that just up and ranned away. And yeah, the song is a sorrowful song about a significant other walking out on the singer. At times it sounds like the singer is about three gulps away from finishing a one liter bottle of bourbon.
“Life in the Pines” is a little faster back & forth bouncing bass with a banjo playing second fiddle. And the song is a Ween-ish country song, one where the lyrics are easy to pick up and where you can feel the rhyme scheme as soon as each verse starts. It is simple, and fun to follow along with, where the notes are held out extra long at the end of each lyrical line. “Ain't No Way” features horns, and is really more of a bluesy, Blasters type song. Again, this song features the synthesized bass that actually reminds me of the similar sound Stevie Wonder used at this period. The song is upbeat and fun, if a bit nasally and repetitive. The end the song breaks the mold, as the band became tired of the repetitive playing, and they allowed a little free space to experiment with vocals and instruments. The very end sounds like the end of “Stairway to Heaven.”
“Sexy Thing” reminds me of a slow and quiet Big Star song covered by a country band. This is a lighter-raising piano and slide guitar anti-love ballad about a hot momma’s girl that won’t betray her mom.
“Daddy's Money” is an upbeat Credence Clearwater type song that has a fun bouncy tempo and a sweet guitar hook backing up the chorus. It has the most energy and is the most straightforward pop song of the bunch. This is usually not my style, but I like this song, especially how every verse is worked to end in “your daddy’s money.” The fun bit about the chorus, is that it has a hidden anticipation / delivery build up. Just as you think the chorus is going to end on a perceived note, the energy is kicked up, and the lyric goes up an octave: Very satisfying.
“I'll Come Knocking” is a final slow ballad, more piano and lounge-based than the other ballads. Again, this makes me think of the early Bee-Gee’s stuff. But the song has a fun guitar sound that reminds me of the liquid distortion that Ween uses in their stuff. The slow nature of the song brings us right back to where the album began. Full circle.

Stand Out Track: Daddy's Money

Links:
Wiki
John Inom's page