Stanky Brown Group (the) - If The Lights Don't Get You the Helots Will

Name: The Stanky Brown Group
Album: If The Lights Don't Get You the Helots Will
Year:1977
Style: Light Rock
Similar Bands: Kavaret, Kinks, Eagles
"One-Word" Review: Folksy Rock
Based Out Of: New Jersey
Label: Sire / ABC Records

Cover, Lyrics, Record

Back, Liner Notes, Record

If The Lights Don't Get You the Helots Will (1977)

1. Coal Tow 3:20
2. Life Beyond 4:04
3. Woman Don't Let it Slip Away 3:25
4. Confident Man 3:14
5. Faith in the Family 3:53 /
6. Alone Tonight 3:11
7. Good to Me 3:00
8. As a Lover I'm a Loser 2:32
9. Stop In The Name of Love 3:06 (Supremes Cover)
10. Free and Easy 5:03

Album Rating (1-10): 6.5

Members & Other Bands:

• Hank Medress - Producer, Mixing
• Dave Appell - Producer, Mixing
• James Brown - Keys, Vox, Arrangements (David Duke)
• Jeffrey Leynor - Guitars, Vox (David Duke)
• Richard Bunkiewicz - Bass (David Duke)
• Jerry M Cordasco - Drums, Percussion, Vox
• Jimmy Miller - Guitar
• Frank Greene - Lyrics
• Elliot Randall - Guitar (Randall's Island, Sh Na Na, Steely Dan, Loudon Wainwright III)
• Jimmy Maelen - Conga (Ambergris, Shobizz, Hollywood Vampires, Latin Dimension, Peter Gabriel)
• Werner Fritzsching - Guitar (Riff Raff, Pierce Arrow, Cactus)
• David Lasley - Backing Vox
• Lynn Pitney  - Backing Vox
• Arnold McCuller - Backing Vox
• Billy Radice - Engineer, Mixing
• Michael Getlin - Asst. Engineer
• Bob Ludwig - Mastering
• Chris Dedrick - Strings & Horns
• Artie Kaplan - NYC String & Horn Contractor
• John Gillespie - Art Direction
• Moshe Brakha - Photography
• Steven Bartel - Album Design

Unknown-ness: Never heard of this band, but by the toilet humor name and cover album photo in front of the Statue of Liberty, I imagine this to be a southern bluesy rock band like Lynyrd Skynyrd or something.

Album Review: This is a 70's folksy AOR band with a little more bite. Some fun southern bluesy elements incorporated to power pop and classic rock songs. Not much about them out there on the internet...perhaps the most is on the comments section of a youtube video. Not quite as silly as the name would indicate.

Stand Out Track: Coal Town

Links:
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coal town video

Ministry - Twitch

Name: Ministry

Album: Twitch

Year: 1986

Style: Industrial Techno, Gothic

Similar Bands: Low Pop Suicide, Nine Inch Nails, My Life With Thrill Kill Kult, KMFDM, Front 242

"One-Word" Review: Mechanical Snake Dancing

Based Out Of: Chicago, IL

Label: Sire

 Twitch - Cover, Sleeve

 Twitch Back, Sleeve

Twitch - Record

Twitch (1986)

1. Just Like You 5:00
2. We Believe 5:56
3. All Day Remix 6:02
4. The Angel 6:06 / 
5. Over The Shoulder 5:11
6. My Possession 5:02
7. Where You At Now?/Crash & Burn/ Twitch (version 2) 12:15

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:

Alain Jourgensen - Vox, Producer, Engineer (Special Effect, PTP, Front Line Assembly, Prong, Revolting Cocks, Lard, Skrew, 1000 Homo DJs, Skinny Puppy, Alan Vega)

Adrian Sherwood - Producer, Engineer

Gareth Jones - Engineering

Keith LeBlanc - Percussion, Programming (Nitzer Ebb, Wolfgang Press, Tackhead, Nine Inch Nails, Sugar Hill Gang)

Patty Jourgensen - Vox

Brad Hallen - Bass (Willie "Loco" Alexander, Aimee Mann, Peter Malik, Duke Robilliard, Roomful Of Blues)

Stephen George - Percussion (Black Cross, Colortone, Elliot Easton, Ric Ocasek)

Luc Van Acker - Vox (Shreikback, Revolting Cocks, Mussolini Headkick, Die Krupps, My Life With Thrill Kill Kult)

Brian Shanley - Cover Design, Photography (Honor By August, Revolting Cocks, Askold Buk)
Adrian Sherwood - Producer

Unknown-ness: I know I've heard of this band thanks to a bunch of friends in High School, but for the life of me, I could not remember if they were hardcore or industrial. So when I saw this in a thrift store basket, I had to take a chance on it. I’m pretty sure they were more along the lines of industrial- Nine Inch Nails, and this is probably one of the bands I know more about than I think I do, but I’m curious how this one sounds out of the catalogue, and more interestingly, how this style of music (that I’ve not really kept up with) sounds in today’s world, with my current musical palate.

Album Review: “Just Like You” begins with a cold drum beat with robotics and mechanics echoing in the background. Along with a synth horn, and propaganda-like spoken word vocals. The vocals then begin, they sound suspicious and whispery (I’m reminded of the Soup Dragons), and are supported by vocals in the background that shout the title. There are a lot of techno an synth percussive beats competing for attention, along with synth keyboards and brass. Underneath it all there is a bass line that sounds like the “bow down” bridge of “Head Like A Hole.” The album’s name sake is present in this song, but I can’t believe this is not a remix. It is the shortest song, but it goes on forever. But it does finally end with a percussive fade out. I’m reminded of previous TSM entries the Borghesia and Christian Lunch

“We Believe” is slightly more driving with synth bottle neck banging percussion at the beginning. That transitions into a darker new wave keyboard samples layered to create a cold, bleak scene. The vocals are distorted through a tinny vocoder, and sound slithery sharp. The vocals sound like combination of Cobra Commander and Decepticons. The end of the song has a gruff, dying vocal that repeats the title over, layered over a crescendo of synth elements that is picking up speed and sound. But then, it just fades away.

“All Day Remix” again bring the element of war and battle with a 1-2-3-4 chant and army direction laid over 80’s synth sounds and industrial drums. The whisper-distorted vocals sound downright sunny compared to the other songs so far, and although the song is still bleak, it has a more straight forward dance club atmosphere. There is a breakdown halfway through, that is followed up with sound clips from tv shows or movies. It then kicks back into the dancey song, as if it never lost a step. A heavy breath also comes in to rhythmically drive the song along, which also finishes the song out.

“The Angel” features maraca percussion at the outset. Synth effects and vocals are sporadically peppered in, and then a vibration wave synth gives the song momentum. 2 minutes in, and the song still feels like it is just starting to put things together, with an extra echoing 2-hit drum beat. The song still feels like a sketch of a song. It is a little ethereal, but overall, empty. The repeating line of “always an angel there” features female backing vocals.

“Over The Shoulder” first sounds like an airplane oscillating between taking off and landing. Then the industrial percussion adds in, with a neurotic bubbly bass, and the elements come together like a Nitzer Ebb song. The song features what sounds like the gothic version scratching and rapping. I like the energy in this song, and the vocals sound like they are trying to hold on, being as wispy as possible. A synth wood block section that accompanies the iron works industrial beats and airline sounds reminds me of the intro to Milli Vanilli’s “Blame It On The Rain,” which came a few years later. The song features a fade out as well, but overall, it is about a minute too long.

“My Possession” repeats a well tread path at this point with jittery, boingy synth and industrial presses and gas jets. The vocals drive the song along with their snake-like trajectory. It even sounds like it could be a cover of a Devo song, just with very different application. The end features a breakdown of just the driving drums and the vocals before it kicks back in for a short sprint to the finish.

“Where You At Now?/Crash & Burn/ Twitch (version 2)” is a three part song that starts off with industrial percussion and synth effects and the similar fast, bouncy/jittery bass synth. Those effects are traded in for a fast driving drum beat, and other varients are added to keep the repetitive rhythm interesting. There are more quotes spoken and layered over the industrial Devo like melody: “I’ll Save Ya (?) & Come on Get Out Here.” Like a dream sequence, other effects and melody come in like a shaky, staticy picture. At 5:30, the song shifts with the yelling of Crash and Burn, and the song changes to rhythmic firecracker percussion. The percussive sounds shift from left to right speaker, making the echoing more like an annoyance where you cannot concentrate on where the sound is coming from. Might be cool with headphones, though. This techno instrumental portion of the song relies on a steady import and exports of sounds in precise executed segments. At 9:12 a more steady percussion takes the background, and is again and again drowned out by the bombastic, consistent firecracker effect. 10:19 dishwasher like effects leads into a final section of the song. This sounds like the music going through the minds of the people who made the Running Man universe or the video game Smash TV: industrial metal sounds and kitchen sink percussion. The end of the song is warped vocals talking about entertainment. And the album just comes to a chaotic hault.

Stand Out Track: "Over The Shoulder"

Links:
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Prongs

(the) Judybats - Native Son

Name: The Judybats
Album: Native Son
Year: 1990
Style: Adult Alternative
Similar Bands: Ocean Blue, Pixies, Game Theory, Gin Blossoms, Cocteau Twins,
"One-Word" Review: New-Age Gothic Pop
Based Out Of: Knoxville, TN
Label: Sire, Warner Bros., Time Warner

Native Son - Cover, Notes & Tape
Native Son - Liner Notes & Tape

Native Son(1990)

1. Native Son 3:18
2. Daylight 3:18
3. Convalescing in Spain 4:07
4. Don't Drop the Baby 3:41
5. She Lives (in a time of her own) 4:05
6. Incognito 3:02/
7. In Like with You 4:04
8. Woman in the Garden 3:59
9. Waiting for the Rain 4:07
10. Counting Sheep 3:25
11. Perfumed Lies 3:43
12. Wanted Man 4:45

Album Rating (1-10): 5.5

Members & Other Bands:

Jeff Heiskell - Vox (Heiskell)

Timothy Stutz - Bass, Vox (High Signs)

Peggy Hambright - Keys, Strings, Vox, Design, Illustration

Greg Calbi - Mastering

Terry Casper - Drums, Design

David Cook -Additional Engineer

Richard Gottehrer - Production

Chris Laidlaw - Mixing Asst.

Jeffrey Lesser - Co-Producing, Engineering

Jeff Lippay - Asst. Engineer

Johnny Sughrue - Guitar, Vox, Photograhy

Ed Winters - Guitar
Dennis Oppenheimer - Management

Unknown-ness: I know I’ve heard of these guys before I bought this tape, but have never really listened to the tape and don’t know how they sound at all. I’m sure I saw, read about or heard them in some alternative magazine, on W-DRE, 120 Minutes or post modern PST. I also like the artwork on the front of the tape. It reminds me a little of Edward Gorey, and that coupled with the italicized album title make me think that this will be a musically complex/dense adult-alternative album with a gothic tone.

Album Review: It seems that the band was plagued with label disagreements and unhappiness that lead to the demise of the band. Included in the allegations was that the label rudely asked Peggy to lose weight for the image of the band.

“Native Son” begins with bass, and a comfortable melody that reminds me of the Pixies. The male lead and female backing vocals are harmonized together and double layered in the (at the time) popular fuzzy and not quite solid way that prevents you from putting your finger on the actual voice, or how many there are. There are a slew of guitar effects that are used to create depth in the sound.
“Daylight” flows from the acoustic/electric guitar beginning. Like a singer songwriter demo, and perhaps a little like the Gin Blossoms, but not in an extremely terrible way. The vocals are cleaner and stronger, yet still layered and grouped with a chorus in the background. The speed of the singing in some verse sections reminds me of the quick pace that XTC uses on occasion.
“Convalescing in Spain” begins with a harpsichord sounding guitar, and a wha-wha bass. The song then changes gears and becomes an energetic driving pop song like the Bongos/Cucumbers Hoboken early 80’s scene. The vocals possess over- accentuated nasally syllables in each line ending accent. It kind of reminds me of Presidents of the United States. The song’s tempo changed throughout the song and piano is incorporated when things slow down.
“Don't Drop the Baby” is a slightly gothic (thanks to the bass and synth) melody that floats on by via a crystalline breeze. Musically the soundscape they are trying to meet is a pop version of the Cocteau Twins. The song is anthemic.
“She Lives (in a time of her own)” also used the echoing vocals, which are delivered with a powerful prog-storytelling style. The synthesizer keys buried in the background and are less new age, but it still feels meandering and the whole song feels overly complex.
“Incognito” starts with a liquid crystal guitar, medieval and minstrel in the way it is used behind and to accent the vocal melody. This is the quiet lighter raising ballad…or perhaps oversized candle and dream catcher raising ballad.

“In Like with You” begins with more watery sounding happy pop guitar. It has a nice build to the chorus, and the bridge increases the anticipation, and it does deliver well, however, it is not a very long delivery, and the cycle begins again. The instrumental brings us back to the new age mystical trance. This could be a very different song, if it were recorded with a faster punk production, which is very possible, given the progression of the sections.
“Woman in the Garden” is not quite a ballad, but definitely not a pop song. It is a slithering wispy gothic prog song. The song is pretty boring in its stale beauty.
“Waiting for the Rain” is more poppy and fun, but it employs this keyboard effect that sounds like an electric cat whining. It is part bell, and part liquid, but all annoying when the note is held and wavers. There is a chugging guitar in the background that sounds like The Police, and the vocals are fluid and possess a great melody. Then there is the angelic chorus at the end that is followed up with Christmas like synth bells. And the song ends with that terrible effect.
“Counting Sheep” has a fun late-Clash like rhythm to it in short verse sections, but it also uses more cheesy 80’s sounding effects that push it into the realms of new age than pop. And anything fun or catchy is replaced and sucked out with the choices of synth effects.
“Perfumed Lies” features a terrible synth steel drum. The song is nice, uplifting and refreshing: just pleasant. It is not complicated or deep, and ends up feeling a little like a late period English Beat song. This song would do good being sung by Morrissey.
“Wanted Man” begins with echoing anthemic chugging guitar…oh and some new age whistling to suck the life out. Then, for no good reason it added a synth violin that is played at jilting moments. But the song itself is good, driving pop.

The album has promise and the songs could be really good and catchy, if it were not bogged down in the style and odd appeal of the synth effects they decide to use & enhance the songs. Really, the little effects are too distracting and they take away more than add.

Stand-Out Track: Native Son

Links:

Wikipedia

Allmusic

Heiskell

myspace

fan page

Heiskell myspace

Trouserpress

Copacetic Zine

Last FM

Gruppo Sportivo - Mistakes

Name: Gruppo Sportivo
Album: Mistakes
Year: 1979
Style: New Wave/Post Punk
Similar Bands: Blondie, Delta 5, Human Hands, ? & The Mysterians, The Daves, Berue Review, Brian Ritchie, INXS, Kinks, B-52's, Beatles, Sugarplastics, Bonzo Dog Band, Ween, Mosqitoes
"One Word" Review: Awesomly-crafted-new-wave-oldies
Based Out Of: The Hague, Netherlands
Label: Sire, Warner Bros.

Mistakes - Cover & Sleeve

Mistakes - Back & Sleeve Notes
Mistakes - Record

Mistakes (1979)

1. Mission A Paris 4:17
2. Dreamin' 4:17
3. Henri 4:21
4. Hey Girl 2:25
5. I Said No 4:14
6. I Shot My Manager 2:50 /
7. Blah Blah Magazines 2:01
8. Beep Beep Love 2:54
9. P.S. 78 3:00
10. Superman 6:22
11. One Way Love (From Me To You) 3:07
12. Bottom Of The Class 2:04
13. The Single 1:13

Album Rating (1-10): 10

Members & Other Bands:
Hans Vandenburg - Vox, Guitar, Producer
Peter Calicher - Keys
Eric Wehrmeyer - Bass
Max "Climax" Mollinger - Drums
Josse Van Iersel - Grupettes, Backing Vox
Meike Touw - Gruppettes, Backing Vox
Robert Jan Stips - Producer (the Nits)
Aad Link - Engineer
Jan Schuurman - Engineer
Robin Freeman - Engineer
Young & Ugly - Art Direction
Dorien Van Der Valk - Design & Photography
Anton Corbijn - Design & Photography
Van DeFruits - Writing
John Van Vueren - Management

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of these guys before. From the cover and nice condition of the record, I though the band was going to be a wacky 80’s college radio band with their goggle-eyed picture on the front. But the date on the record is 1979, so that was what really stood out. It could be something really good. With their potentially foreign background, I was really not too sure what I was going to be listening to. But the whole packaging, the minimal template front and back image & text was appealing.

Album Review: Grupo Sportivo is somewhat of a silly inspired new wave act from the Netherlands. This is a US release of the “best of” compilation from their first two non-US albums, which date back to 1976. Apparently the main singer still holds some variation of the band together to this day. After listening to this album the first time for recording purposes I knew I liked this album.

“Mission A Paris” begins with a great new wave organ and a jittery bouncy “96 Tears” style melody. The female vocals lead us in a monotone singing, like Delta 5 or Blondie. The chorus is absolutely grand. And the verse and rest of the song is like an incredibly garage psych trip. There are buzzing kazoos that accent the melody. This is the perfect bit of new wave pop I could dream of, including the reworked sections where the bass has a watery rubber band effect added. The harmonized Wooos in the background add the perfect pop touch.
“Dreamin'” picks up a different aspect of new wave, where the driving melodic organ is transplanted with rhythm guitar franticly strummed, and a bass groove that both calm and shift as the vocals begin. The vocals are similar to the masculine vocals of Human League or Brian Ritchie from the Violent Femmes. They, like the female vocals in the background are sung with a monotone. Once the synth is added, the female vocals repeat a selection that together, gives the song a disco vibe.
“Henri” is like an oldies, side-to-side ballad. It is sung in female falsetto, and the loving and simultaneous longing for Henri is palpable. The vocals come down to a more aggressive singing in the “chorus,” which really functions as a bridge back to the verse, without a chorus. It is a very pretty song, even if it has twangy alt-countryish guitars in the background. A sax or two are brought in to enhance the mourning and sad vibe that this slow-dance is trying to evoke. It folds nicely back into the swaying verse, and smoothly ends in a falsetto held note.
“Hey Girl” is a nervous energy pop song, that is part 80’s synth (I say this remembering that this is like 1978, well before bands like INXS perfected the style). In fact this whole album so far is way before its time by a good 6 years or so. It is not a very complicated song, and the brass and sax just heighten the nervous tension, rather than breaking it.
“I Said No” begins with vocals and bouncy piano only, like a Billy Joel song, and picks up with a darker stomp beat with guitar and bass playing in sync. More horns are added. The vocals here remind me of the Kinks. The vocals are part sung and part spoken. But the boldness of the chorus is what really mimics the Kinks. It is supported and harmonized by the female backing choir. The female “whoooo’s” end the track.
“I Shot My Manager” is a spoken/sung verse, where the male and female leads take turns and overlap in the chorus. The style is very folk-pop, I’d say again like Brian Ritchie. Then, all of the sudden, once the song reaches the song title, the tempo slows down and it becomes parody of “I Shot the Sherriff.” There is a constant organ note held throughout the background that raises or lowers in pitch as the song progresses.

“Blah Blah Magazines” is back to the jittery new wave. The vocals are light and seem unsure of themselves. The lyrics seem like they are just thrown off without too much care or thought. This song’s pace is maintained not just by the staggered drum/bass beat, but by the piano whose individual notes stand out, as if the song is being played with children’s play instruments. The keyboard sound on the synth is bright and fun.
“Beep Beep Love” blends seamlessly from “Blah Blah” with the same jittery piano, but the lyrics are about a future lover, and you know the new song had begun a while ago. The chorus is a very funky, near disco female sung section. The melody of the Beatles “All You Need Is Love” is borrowed for a section of the verse. But there are many individual sections all blended together with the bouncing bass and guitar that it all makes perfect sense, like a song with ADD, it cannot remain on a single section, but it is the changes that make it so perfect. Both of these tracks are fantastic. “All you need is Beep Beep love. Love is such a Beep Beep feeling.” Some great lyrics: there has got to be a metaphor there somewhere. The song has a couple of fake endings. Both times the chorus brings the song back for a couple more go-rounds, and it is completely fun, repetitive chorus that could continue forever
“P.S. 78” borrows a lot of energy from Blondie’s disco style and the surf vibe of the B-52’s. This again, seems to be their formula. Take an oldie rock n’ roll melody and modernize it with fun, upbeat synth effects, and sing the vocals with high energy that seem to beg for listener participation. The song slowly devolves into a greaser rock n’ roll tune complete with cheerleader chanting of the chorus.
“Superman” follows up with that oldie surf vibe that actually reminds me quite a bit of the Beatles soundtrack work. Female “La La La’s” are added and at first appear to be the only vocals in this simple catch a wave tune. Many of the effects are famously used in older songs (think Palisades Park). The vocals finally begin, and it completes the image of a bad boy cool singing to his pack of fawning female admirers. They capture that 50’s poodle skirt and cig-pack sleeve rolled greaser quite well. At any moment the song could turn into the Monster Mash. The last 30 seconds the song breaks form and the vocals become bombastic, outrageously entergetic, like the cool, calm hip boy is defending his honor and wants to be the chick’s superman.
“One Way Love (From Me To You)” is a quieter, less confident ballad. It needs to be since the topic is unrequited love. The vocals remind me of the LA band, the Sugarplastics, and even the melody does as well. This song is yet another oldies inspired ballad. But it has more character and substance than a throwaway forgettable ballad with its only use to coerce a slow dance from some victim. It has a lot of minimal elements that make it a fun song to listen to and a complicated production.
“Bottom Of The Class” is a soft, minimal story-song featuring metronome percussion, and the light geeky, non-offensive vocals. The melody of the vocal is instantly catchy, and rolls up and down so familiarly that it feels natural, almost like home in a song. The voice reminds me a lot of the male singer from the band the Mosquitoes. It is the main carrier of the melody, as the bass and guitars gently plow underneath. The end of the song, the verse is accompanied by a choir of children, singing “Do your homework and your parents love you” It is a Beach Boys positive school song.
“The Single” is a barely over a minute long instrumental jittery surf song, a surf song that places you down in the south, rather than west coast. It kinda feels like a throwback or b-side to one of Ween’s 10 Golden Country Hits. Actually, it sounds remarkable like a Ween b-side called “I’m Fat.”

Stand Out Track: Mission A Paris

Links:

Wikipedia

Allmusic
Myspace

Hans Youtube Channel

Official Site

Last FM

Trouser Press

Live 2008 Kill Ugly Radio

Mission A Paris song of the day

Jerry Harrison - Red and the Black~ & Casual Gods*

Name: Jerry Harrison
Albums: The Red & the Black~, Casual Gods*
Years: 1981~,1987*
Style: New Age New Wave~ Synth Rock*
Similar Bands: Talking Heads, Brand X~, Max Rebo Band (Star Wars)~, Lou Reed, INXS*
"One-Word" Review: Buried-funk-rock-under-overdatop-synth
Based Out Of: Milwaukee, WI
Label: Sire, WEA Records, Warner, Warner Bros*

The Red & the Black - Cover & Insert

The Red & the Black - Back & Insert

The Red & the Black - Record

Casual Gods - Cover, Liner Notes & Tape

Casual Gods - Inner Photo

The Red & the Black (1981)

1. Things Fall Apart 5:03
2. Slink 4:22
3. The New Adventure 5:07
4. Magic Hymie 4:52/
5. Fast Karma/No Questions 4:00
6. Worlds In Collision 5:09
7. The Red Nights (Instrumental) 4:02
8. No More Reruns 4:27
9. No Warning, No Alarm 3:36

Casual Gods (1987)

1. Rev It Up 4:17
2. Song Of Angels 3:35
3. Man With A Gun 4:35
4. Let It Come Down 4:52
5. Cherokee Cheif 4:20 /
6. A Perfect Lie 4:25
7. Are you Running? 4:20
8. Breakdown in the Passing Lane 4:36
9. AKA Love 4:10
10. We're Always Talking 4:40
11. Bobby 4:03

Album Rating (1-10): ~5.0 *6.5

Members & Other Bands:

Jerry Harrison - Vox, Produced, Arrangements, Guitar, Bass, Synth, Clavinet, organ, piano, Melodica, Percussion, Mixing, Sleeve Design, Cover Photo~*(Modern Lovers, Talking Heads, Bonzo Goes to Washington, The Flying Hearts)
Dave Jerden - Producer, Engineering, Mixing~

Nona Hendryx - Backing Vox, Arrangement, Lyrics~
Bernie Worrell - Organ, Clavinet, Synth,~Bass Synth*,
Yogi Hornton - Drums~*
John Cooksey - Drums~
Steve Scales - Drums, Percussion~
Georde Murray - Bass~
Tinker Barfield - Bass~
Adrian Belew - Guitar~
Dolette McDonald - Backing Vox~
Koko Mae Evans - Backing Vox~
Butch Jones - Engineering~
Eddy Schreyer - Mastering~
M& Co - Sleeve Design~*
Chris Callis - Cover Photo~
Ernie Brooks - Asst. Producer, Songwriting, Vox*
John Sieger - Songwriting*
Arthur Russell - Songwriting, Vox*
Monique Dayan - Songwriting, Vox*
Alex Weir - Guitars, Bass*
Chris Spedding - Bass*
Robbie Mcintosh - Bass*
Rick Jaeger - Drums*
David Van Tieghem - Drums, Percussion*
Jim Liban - Harmonica*
Dickie Landr - Sax*
Arlene Holmes - Vox*
Lovelace Redmond - Vox*
Joyce Bowden - Vox*
David Vartanian - Recording, Overdubs, Mixing*
Jay Mark - Recording, Mixing*
Dave Avidor - Overdubs*
Robin Lane - Overdubs*
Eric E.T. Thorngren - Overdubs, Mixer*
John "Tokes" Potoker - Overdubs, Mixer, Additional Engineering*
J.C. Covertino - Overdubs*
Don Peterkosky - Asst Studio*
Nick Delre - Asst. Studio*
Tony Masciarotte - Asst. Studio*
Mark Roule - Asst. Studio*
Fernando Kral - Asst. Studio*
Stan Katayama - Can Am*
Tom Vercillo - Sountrack
Bob Brackman - Soundtrack*
Jack Skinner - Mastering*
Sebastiao Salgado/Magnum - Photography*
Gary Kurfirst - Management*

Unknown-ness: I was not familiar with him when I bought the record and tape. It was only after I looked up information that I realized he was in Talking Heads, whom I like, but am not a huge fan of obviously. I got the record first because of the usual draws: its artwork and year. The repetitive nature of the album name and the stylized photo of Jerry on the front stood out from the rest of the records. It looks like an album full of energy with the Chinese-styled sunburst on the back. And 1981 was the tail end of the great new wave/rock records that I like. Knowing the Talking Heads ties, I can only hope for their earlier style, but looking at the song lengths, they will probably be the (still good) percussion driven, drawn out style of latter Heads stuff. And as far as Casual Gods, I got it because I recognized the name from the record I had just bought, still not knowing the TH connection.

Album Reviews: ~“Things Fall Apart” starts off with some xylophone and tribal beats mixed together with standard drum. The grooving, danceable bass begins with the jangley repetitive guitar. His moderately deep vocals are reserved, sounding like he’s leaving off the last syllable of the lyrics as he rushedly sings. A chorus of female vocals backs him up. They rise in energy together and settle back, paralleling each other. Synth and electronic sounds glide around, and sound like 80’s new wave jokes in its production, rather than bringing the funky element I’m assuming they were going for. “Slink” is next, with funky Talking Heads style rhythms, and vocal performance both from Jerry and the female chorus. The music is splattered with the 80’s over-the-top synth production. I really can’t believe this is not a talking heads song, and I guess that is just a hat tip to how important Harrison is to the Head’s sound. “The New Adventure” begins with high pitch vocals echoing as they fade in. More laughable synth effects add. I mean, what is that supposed to be: A trumpet, sax, or just a weird keyboard? The vocals are tired, but calculated, alas, they are not to my liking as they don’t flow very smoothly over the off-tempo song. There is a sitar sounding instrument used for part of the song, and the nonchalant vocals return, part joy division, part Lou reed in their seemingly non-existent effort. It fades out without any notice, and “Magic Hymie” begins. A sparse, yet funky bass beat leads into a drum fill that starts a song that sounds like something out of Return of the Jedi: Jabba’s Palace. There are oddly placed vocals and samples layered deeply on the track, and it really just chaotically runs over the steady drums and bass beat. It is impossible to reference all the style changes and idiosyncrasies that draw and quarter the song in different style directions.

“Fast Karma/No Questions” begins the second side with a more refined style with its funky bass and keyboard beat over steady drumming. The lead vocals are mixed with echoing reverb. It never strays from the basic rhythm, even if it displays some energy filled vocals toward the end, the music carries it well. It fades into the next song, “Worlds In Collision.” A humming, metallic bass beat, combined with an industrial sounding drum beat and spoken vocals give way to a funky Stevie Wonder style keyboard section. It then reverts back and forth between the two styles, continuing with the monotone, barely sung vocals. Dog barking is added, along with a soaring synth guitar sound. It is one part Russian Propaganda recreation and one part Van Halen played as a midi file. The song breaks down at the end to the point where it should just end, and it fades out, but right into the instrumental “The Red Nights.” It is an ethereal, hollow song, like new age relaxation music. It is aquatic sounding and like a whispering wind through the trees at the same time. Cue some chanting female vocals and rock metal guitar mixed low in the back, and you have yourself a perfect musical accompaniment to those black t-shirts the dirty kids wore in high school with a wizard summoning lighting bolts while perched on a mountain top. A driving, alarm sounding guitar and grooving bass beat fade in at the start of “No More Reruns.” The vocals are more sung here than they have been in the past, kinda like a deeper version of The Walkmen. It is a good song, but it comes off a little long, with a long fade out to boot. “No Warning, No Alarm” starts out strong, but the synth production of the time period drag it down, and away from the solid Talking Heads song it could sound like. The vocals are a type of chant rapping, and keep the rhythm going. He breaks out with some good singing vocals for the chorus, supported by the choir of female vocals. Lead metal guitar (courtesy of Adrian Belew) solos come in for no real reason, detracting rather than adding to the song. But even as it ends the album, it is the most consistent, and funky song on the record. And it too features a long fade out as the record ends.

* “Rev It Up” is the first song on the tape. And instead of the stereotypical synth sound, we first hear a very tinny guitar strummed and echoing drums. This is more straightforward without all the superfluous production. There is still a huge Talking Heads style presence here. And then the squeaky synth keyboards play their annoying, grating solo. “Song Of Angels” begins with techno dance synthesizer and morphs into a light OMD ballad, yet still with the funky beat. The vocals are reminiscent of David Byrne, especially with the female chorus supporting his voice. Part Lou Reed, part Robyn Hitchcock, “Man With A Gun” quietly creeps along with catchy guitar hooks, and proud, smooth vocals. A second comparison of the vocals could be made to Flight of the Conchords’ Jermaine, when he tries to sound mature and knowledgeable. It is a good song too, though. Drum Machine sounding percussion and back to the first album’s synth sounds start “Let It Come Down.” The vocals here sound like Michael Hutchence when his vocals were calm and reserved. It also sounds a bit like the Dire Straits, but I fear that I compare most things that sound like this to them, so I’ll just end the comparison there. Right as the song gets set to build up, it fades out. “Cherokee Chief” is a growling metallic synthesizer, dirty and shady in its sound. It is a barroom stomp, driving and motivated by the static drum beat. Toward the end, he totally breaks into a David Byrne chorus chant. It sounds identical to a myriad of TH songs. And it fades out.

“A Perfect Lie” enters with a typical bass beat and jittery reggae organ synth. Here, Harrison shares the vocals with female back ups that come to the front. It feels very simplistic, especially given the back catalogue of what we’ve co-me to expect on these albums. Sure, a loud guitar solo fills some space, and his vocals are much more melodic than the first record, but the percussion leaves an empty feeling for the song. It seems the same bass beat continues into the next track “Are You Running?” It has the same formula of dual vocals and odd synth sounds in minimal usage. The synth sounds would not be out of place in video games, especially Sonic the Hedgehog. Adding extra echo & reverb to the vocals, “Breakdown in the Passing Lane” loses no time in picking up the slow funky yet simple dance beat. The song evolves into another INXS type song played to the musak genre. Oh, but there is a harmonica in this one. And there is a long, well, breakdown that features an “I Just Called To Say I Love You” era Stevie Wonder sound. More echoing synth effects splatter on the front end of “AKA Love.” As the album is more melodic, that mindset is quickly fading into nonsense as most of these synth music numbers are stripped of their thick, full complex sound, and instead come off as abridged samples, where the high or low end of the stereo is tuned out, leaving out crucial sections of the production. Perhaps the album is just 2-3 songs too long. A cold drum beat along with a catchy vocal melody introduce “We're Always Talking” and it leads into an even catchier chorus. The synthesizers do not draw attention away from the dark dance beat of the track. But then around 2:30, the synth effects are introduced as a buzzing assortment of distraction, and offer reason to be turned off from the song. But the chorus is perhaps the catchiest thing on either album. The final track, (also repeated as an un-reviewed remix on the album) “Bobby” possesses a liquid bubbling effect acting as the bass. There is nothing else much to the song except the slightly tribal percussive synthesized beats. It feels very minimal and empty of production. The vocals are calmly uttered, with injections of shouts and emotion along the body of the song after the first 2 minutes. Synth keys begin around 2:30, and the song slightly grows thicker. The vocal is distorted with a barrage of effects, really, whatever seems to be found as keyboard functions, one at a time. The album winds down with what sounds like a distorted didgeridoo swirling like it is flowing down a bathtub drain.

Stand Out Tracks: ~No Warning, No Alarm

*Song of Angels

Links:

Wikipedia

Allmusic

NNDB

Discogs

Quotes

IMDB page

Apple article

Talking Heads Bulletin Board

Talking Heads JH bio

Trouser Press

Gay Dad - Leisure Noise

Name: Gay Dad
Album: Leisure Noise
Year: 1999
Style: BritPop
Similar Bands: Radiohead, Suede, Big Star, Grandaddy, Travis
"One-Word" Review: 70's-reincarnate-brit-splosion
Based Out Of: London, England
Label: London Records, Sire

Leisure Noise - Cover, CD, Back (Advanced CD)

Leisure Noise (1999)

1. Dimstar - 5:14
2. Joy! - 5:00
3. Oh Jim - 2:46
4. My son Mystic 3:26
5. Black ghost 7:35
6. To Earth with Love 5:05
7. Dateline 4:43
8. Pathfinder 3:57
9. Different kind of blue 4:51
10. Jesus Christ 4:16

Album Rating (1-10): 6.0

Members & Other Bands:Cliff Jones - Guitar, Vox (Brutus)
Nicholas "Baz" Crowe - Drums (Brutus)
Charley Stone - Guitar (Salad)
Nigel Hoyle - Bass (Brutus, Gramercy)
James Riseboro - Keys
Tony Visconti - Producer (David Bowie, T-Rex)
Mark Firth - Engineer, Producer
Gary Langan - Producer, Sound Engineer (Art Of Noise)
Chris Hughes - Producer / Sound Engineer (Adam & The Ants)
Peter Saville - Artwork

Unknown-ness: I don’t remember when I got this CD, but I know I got it on the cheap as an advanced CD. I probably heard the hype that the band generated, while following bands like Blur, James, and the Lightning Seeds, and then found it in a used bin somewhere. Also adding to the appeal is the sleek, clean “road sign” artwork. I do not remember what it sounded like, or if I ever listened to it really, so it will be all new experiences this run through.

Album review: “Dimstar” quietly begins with a fade into an echoey dripping effect that places us in a cave, and a mystical synthesizer adds to the atmosphere. The Brit Pop guitars begin soaring and the driving drum beat takes us to the song proper. The vocals are smoothly gliding and moodless in pitch. Sort of like Radiohead or Suede without Yorke or Anderson’s unique voice. In the breakdown, the vocals become more shreikly spoken than sung, and the result offers a hard rock metal tone for the brief section. Fuzzed guitar ends the track and transitions right into “Joy!” which sounds muted after the guitars end. Again the vocals swoop across the instrumentation, and don’t precisely match up, but offer a good combination. This is as close to the Lightning seeds dance pop as they get, with the drum beat and electronic samples. Out of nowhere comes the chorus, completely different in style, production, and emotion from the rest of the song. His vocals are supplemented by harmonizing female vocals. The chorus is quite catchy, but the verse is what commands the song, and gives it an overall spacey feel. The vocals in the breakdown at the end of the song remind me of something that Blur might choose. “Oh Jim” starts as an acoustic lullaby, and then launches into a grand Big Star sounding chorus. “My son Mystic” is a straightforward, almost a throwaway brit-pop number, with forgettable melodies that you might expect to find on typical Gin-Blossoms radio. “Black ghost” is an epic 7.5 minute song that slowly creeps up from the beginning with its simple drum beat and guitar work. Synthesizers add to the mix, but they are straightforward single notes meant for melody rather than extravagance. The light vocals begin and the result is a light and airy psychedelic atmospheric piece. The song is more reliant on the musical sections and droning vibe that is created, rather than the 70’s rock feel that the vocals offer. The way that the vocals and music are combined reminds me of Grandaddy minus the electronics. A long quiet fade out ends the song.

“To Earth with Love” is the single that brought fame to the band, over a year before the album came out. The vocals are whiney to aggressive, and the song is a driving pop-rock tempo. It sounds a lot like U2. It has some catchy parts, but over all, it sounds very commercial. There is one saving aspect of the song, which are the backing vocals to in the chorus. The song feels a bit structureless, which may be a good, appealing thing, but it feels like a clips song of a Broadway show. “Dateline” is a strong, driving brit pop song with rushing guitars and great echoing keyboards. Unfortunately the vocals are a bit too shrill and 70’s in style for my liking. They are even a bit like Billy Corgan’s voice at times. The singer recaps his life in a timeline in the lyrics to the song. The musical breakdown features a piano and a very slowed down tempo from the rest of the song, and lasts for the remaining 1.5 minutes of the song. “Pathfinder” reverts back to the smooth vocals, with instances of the nasally sound. It is a quiet and feels like a very sentimental song. The smoothness in his vocals is abandoned for an Ours or Muse like propelling vocal. But it ends in the quieted smooth vocal sound. “Different kind of blue” starts off with a marching drum only portion and then adds light instruments, including a hushed vocal performance again. The production picks up in spurts, but over-all, it is a quiet, introspective song. He picks up the emotion and energy to his singing at to end the song, as the music soars up to a climactic and chaotic ending. “Jesus Christ” is a drum and piano inspirational tune sung like something from Travis. There is no tongue in cheek humor; it is a straightforward religious hero song. This is very much a downer to end the album on, even if the song is meant to be good. Okay, it sounds too much like a Christian rock song, I gots to turn it off.

Stand-Out Track: Joy!

Links:Wikipedia
Allmusic
Myspace
Guardian Article
Headcleaner Single Review
Epinions
Hip online
NME page
High Beam Article
Rate Your Music

Fad Gadget - Under The Flag / Singles

Name: Fad Gadget/Frank Tovey
Album: Under the Flag* Singles^
Year: 1982*, 1987^
Style: Gothic, Electro-New Wave
Similar Bands: Yaz, Depeche Mode, OMD, Madness (a little)
"One Word" Review: Monotonous-kill-thyself-wave
Based Out Of: Leeds, England
Label: Stumm8*, Mute Records*^, Sire^ 

Under The Flag - Cover, Insert & Record

Under The Flag - Back & Insert

Fad Gadget Singles - Cover, Insert & Record

Fad Gadget Singles - Back & Insert

Under The Flag (1982)

1. Under the Flag I 3:09
2. Scapegoat 2:53
3. Love Parasite 5:29
4. Plainsong 3:53
5. Wheels Of Fortune 4:55 /
6. Live On The Line IV 3:57
7. The Sheep Look Up 3:37
8. Cipher 5:39
9. For Whom The Bell Tolls 5:16
10. Under The Flag II 2:53

Fad Gadget Singles (1985)

1. Back To Nature 5:45
2. The Box 4:14
3. Ricky's Hand 4:05
4. Fireside Favourite 4:12
5. Lady Shave 5:44 /
6. Saturday Night Special 4:29
7. King Of the Flies 3:04
8. Life On The Line 3:52
9. For Whom The Bell Tolls 3:31
10. I Discover Love 3:48
11. Collapsing New People 4:15

Album Rating (1-10):
4.5*
6.5^

Members & Other Bands:

Frank Tovey - Lead Vocal, Computer and Synthesizers, Producer*^ Recording^

David Simmons Grand Piano, Synthesizers*^ Tuned Bottles^

Nicholas Cash - Vibraphone, Timpani, Hand-Held Percussion, Drums*

Alison Moyet - Chorus, Sax* (Yaz)

Barbara (BJ) Frost - Chorus*^ Photography^

Jill Tipping - Chorus, Typography*^

Yvette Anna - Chorus*

Andrew Kay - Chorus* Design & Typographer^

Anne Clift - Chorus*^

John Fryer - Chorus, Engineer, Produced*^ Recording^
Patricia Bakker - Dutch Nursery Rhyme*

Anton Corbijn - Art & Photography*^
Daniel Miller - Producer, Synthesizers, Recording, Drum Machines^

Eric Radcliff - Producer, Engineer, Bass, Banjo, Recording^

Gareth Jones - Producer, Engineer, Tonemeister^

BJ Frost - Choir Girl Effect^

Pete Balmer - Bass^

Joni Sackett - Vocals^

David Rogers - Double Bass, Bass Synth, Slide Guitar^

Rowland S Howard - Guitar^

Daryl Williams - Brass^

Simmon Gardner - Brass^

Eddie Carnihan - Brass^

Paul White - Sleeve Design^

Simone Grant - Design & Typographer^

Neil Waving - Photography^

Max Kisman - Photography^

George Bekker - Photography^

Unknown-ness: Never heard of these guys, but just from the stark, bleak cover, and the albums that these were mixed in with at the thrift store, I would have to imagine they are like depressing, post-punk new wave, along the lines of (gulp) Depeche Mode or Siouxie Sioux. Under the Flag makes me think of the minimal art work of, say Wire, and the Singles record makes me thing of Iggy Pop. But the clown on the back makes me think that there may be some interesting evil carnival music tones mixed into these songs. But as far as being influential or groundbreaking, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of Frank Tovey or the band…should I have?

Album Review: “Under the Flag I” is a dark, depressing song, with the basic tempo kept in time by the synthesized drum beat that sound a bit like a helicopter. The lyrics are sang in a depressed monotone. “Scapegoat” follows with two overlapping synth sounds, mixing Yaz and OMD. The lyrics are again sung with the same depressed monotone, which makes me think about Depeche Mode (it is Mute Records, after all), but they vocals are not as close to as annoying. The secondary, more upbeat synth sound is a metallic pinball effect. The supporting vocals, a female choir adds depth and a bit of hopefulness to the song. “Love Parasite” sounds like the background music for a fast-paced Atari game. Then the deeper bass synth is added to the fore-front, and adds to the Atari theme. This is less than 8-bit repetitive action! The title lyrics are repeated over and over, in a dismal, shoot-me-so-that-it-will-all-be-over way. There are other odd effects (good effects) that flesh the song out well longer than it needs to be. “Plainsong” begins with some reverberating distorted vocals. Minimal instrumentation and a choir of vocals support this aptly named plain song, which is repeated over and over; as is the verse at the end of the song. “Wheels Of Fortune” picks up the pace with an energetic drum beat and piano. There is more melody and confidence behind the vocals here, and even a sax effect. It has a little Roxy Music / Bryan Ferry feel to it (at least, compared the little I know about them).

“Live On The Line IV” starts side two with a prog style synth sound and more of the quiet monotone vocals. This is very sparse in musical depth, and has a hollow, haunting sound because of it. It actually sounds a little like Madness’s later stuff. “The Sheep Look Up” begins with a piano and vocals. It is kind of like a show tune, just in a gloomy, empty way. I could see an avant-garde musical dance interpretation performed to this song. “Cipher” has a slow start, it creeks into existence with a drum heart beat, deep bass sounds and mystical chimes. Actually it is not a start at all, it lasts for 3 minutes before the quiet Jarvis Cocker style vocals are added. But the vocals don’t change the tone or direction of the song at all. “For Whom The Bell Tolls” follows it up with an upbeat echoey gothic dance beat. There is more energy behind the vocals here, but they are quite often fall into the realm of monotonous. The song ends with a few tribal sounding vocal outbursts, and synthesized laser sounds. “Under The Flag II” revisits the first song on the album, with dialogue overlaid, and more chanting. The same rhythmic beat is there, it is just mixed up with extra effects and vocals, which make it a thicker, more complex song that the version I.

Because this is a greatest hits album, the cohesive nature of the songs will not really exist. But that is nothing really threatening to how I review, since I break it down song by song. “Back To Nature” continues the vocal style that is familiar to the full length. There is the same darkness and disparity to the music as it feels sharp and jarring in its tone. The song winds down with some electric tones played at what seems random. “The Box” starts with a liquid, vibrating bass sound. The vocals are more chanting and energetic than usual. But the song is still not very deep in musical structure. “Ricky's Hand” is a fun electronic, nearly dancy song full of industrial effects and computer samples. It sometimes feels like a Nintendo video game, of which, I was always a fan of Mega Man for music and play. “Fireside Favourite” is actually a fun, twisted carnival romp. If only more of the material was like this! It has a fun bass and drum kit beat, and the synthesized squeaky key sound makes me also think of Sonic the Hedgehog. It is still gloomy, but it is a rich gloom, hazed over with whisky and balloons. “Lady Shave” is back to the more German electro industrial music style. There is an interesting odd computer-synth sound effect that is kinda evil carnivally, and redeems the otherwise starkly depressing song. The lyrics, angrily whisper-shouted “shave it!” are a little off-putting, too; especially at the very end where they repeat without end in a fade out.

The second side of this compilation features two songs from the “Under the Flag” album, so I have omitted reviewing them again. They occur midway through the side, so I will review the songs as if they were not there at all. “Saturday Night Special” is another along the line of “Fireside Favorite” where it feels like the theme song to a shady traveling carnival. The tinkling piano mixed with the oompa-polka bass completes the dingy vision. The ending repetition of male and female vocals layered upon each other extends the song for a bit long. “King Of the Flies” breaks all form and puts out a full on post-punk electro dance song. This one is really good, kinda disco in the bass and piano delivery. But all the weird creepy effects are present, just wrapped neater and tighter in a complete musical package. “I Discover Love” is like a sneaky detective song, mostly parallel to Madness in their most sinister. The song is very good too, with brass sections, and a jazzy bass rhythm. Even the backing vocals and piano make me think of Madness. “Collapsing New People” brings together the industrial rhythm and latter period xylophone and a bit of brass effects. It is much more upbeat than the earlier stuff. Even in the vocals, there is an upbeat energy that was not present before. Like there is something to live for, for the first time.

Over all, the singles collection reveals a stark change of style and mood from the early years through to the end of the collection of 1985. I am very impressed with the later years, and I’d be interested to hear more of the album that features “I Discover Love” and “King of the Flies.” Thems good songs.

Stand Out Tracks:

Under the Flag II*

King of the Flies ^

Links:

Allmusic

Wikipedia

official homepage

Last FM

Discogs

Rate Your Music

Music Map

Photos

Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Wise Guy

Name: Kid Creole & The Coconuts
Album: Wise Guy
Year: 1982
Style: Island Disco
Similar Bands: Dr Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, Bus Boys
"One Word" Review: Comedic-Jam-breezy-disco-groove
Based Out Of: NYC
Label: Sire, Ze Records, Warner Brothers, Warner Communications, Puddle Records

Wise Guy - Cover & Sleeve

Wise Guy - Back & Sleeve
Wise Guy - Record

Wise Guy (1982)

1. Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy (6:27) (sample)
2. I'm A Wonderful Thing Baby (5:16) (sample)
3. Imitation (4:11) (sample)
4. I'm Corrupt (4:11) (sample)/
5. Loving You Made a Fool Out of Me (4:48) (sample)
6. Stool Pigeon (4:59) (sample)
7. The Love We Have (5:14) (sample)
8. No Fish Today (4:56) (sample)

Album Rating (1-10):
6.5

Members & Other Bands:
August Darnell - Music, Lyrics, Produced, Directed, Horn/String arrangements
Sugar-Coated Andy Hernandez
CO-STARS:
Peter Scholt
Carol Colman
Adriana Kaegi
Jimmy Rippetoe
Cory Daye
FEATURING:
Angelica de la Luna
Ronnie Rogers
Dave Spann
Winston Grennan
Jay Stovall
Yogi Horton
Charles Lagond
Cheryl Poirier
Lori Eastside
Taryn Haegy
Perri Lister
Stephanie Fuller
Dutch Robinson
Chris Wiltshire
Mark Mazur
Clarence Banks
Andrew Lloyd
Floyd Fisher
Sam Turner
Eugene Grey
Bob Blano - Cheif Engineer
Michael Frondelli - Chief Engineer
Carlos Franzetti - Horn/String arrangements, orchastrated
Giampietro Favero - Photography
Bruce Buchalter - Asst Engineer
Michael Sauvage - Asst Engineer
Champion Entertainment - Management & Direction
Lori Barbaria - Hair & Make-up
Michael Zilkha - Exec Producer

Unknown-ness: I had heard of these guys in passing, but never associated them with a specific kind or genre. But from the cover, it seemed like it would be theatrical story lines presented in Caribbean/island style music. With the whole plot synopsis of this themed record, it seems like it might be a somewhat cheezy 80's lite world music. But I do have a little more insight to the sound from doing the review of Dr Buzzards, and recognizing Darnell's & Hernendez's names from that band. But I don't believe it will be all that similar to that band.

Album Review: The plot of this album is that it was recorded while stranded on an island of sinners, and the music is the only way out (somehow). Let’s just assume that is a fact, and put the record on. The first track is “Annie, I’m Not Your Daddy,” which begins as a techno-dancy track. It takes on a trumpet and an island rhythm & beat very quickly. Once the vocals begin, they are immediately catchy. And they become more catchy and memorable as the chorus comes around. The melody rolls up and down in a very fun, bouncy, happy way. The song claims that the singer is not the child’s daddy, via the simple fact that the child is too ugly to be his. Silly lyrics aside, this is a very fun song with a few great hooks. But as this is the long LP version, the song loses the listener’s interest after 5 minutes, as it continues on much longer than it should. Song two is “I’m A Wonderful Thing Baby.” It starts with a disco flavored soul tone. The vocals come in low, and steady with the slow marching beat. It is very smooth, and a nice catchy song, if you can get over the ego-centered lyrics. The repetitive guitar chord strumming keeps the song in rhythm. Eventually, a sax, as well as some electronic sounds typical from the time period, are overlaid. The song winds down with spoken dialogue over the repetitive jam of drums and piano. “Imitation” starts off with a secret agent man disco hook. This song has the same outrageous expression of the vocals in the verse that many new wave bands also offer. It reminds me of the recently reviewed band, The Bus Boys, as it could have fit on their album. There is a brass section used very lightly in the background, and the music’s flow has a danceable beat carried throughout the song. “I’m Corrupt” again, trumpets the sound of disco, with its drums, bass, & ringing guitar. It features a chorus of female voices, similar to Dr Buzzard’s song “Sunshower,” without which, this would be a Caribbean influenced instrumental disco track, complete with steel drum, and barking dog.

Drums and a harp start the disco dance on side B with “Loving You Made a Fool Out of Me.” It is a jammy funk song. The song features Human League style vocals, where the man tells the story first, and then a female voice tells her story, but the voices never come together to share the stage. There is more brass and hand claps in this song, and the stand-out feature is the deep, funky, slinky bass. The pace and tempo is continued into the next song, with hand claps, and jangly guitar chords on “Stool Pigeon.” The vocals are up and down in melody, in a half-speed Sugar Hill Gang rap style. The lyrics tell a story about a stool pigeon, gangster-type character, who sets his cohorts up with the FBI. The next bass heavy hand clapping disco song, “The Love We Have” continues with all the elements previously unveiled on the album. The vocals are on the mellow side. And there is really no chorus in the song, just a continued groove. Around 2:30, it changes melody, kicking it up to a little higher tone, with a bigger hook. But it then reverts back to the original sea-wavy beat for the rest of the song. “No Fish Today” finishes off this themed record with a soulful, slowed down disco groove. The song is very catchy, and fun, it dialogues the plight of a fisherman trying to explain how there are no fish to sell, as well as a retorting need of fish from his female patron. It is a simple song, with too much background elegant disco effects, which take away from and ruin its simple folky nature. It would be a better song with guitar in the forefront & the bass and drums just to keep pace in the background.

So I could not grasp how this album would get the band off of the island. The theme presented by the artwork falls short, and is not followed through anywhere on the album. It is a good album, and a neat theatrical idea, but together, they do not seem to overlap. The best two songs sandwich the album, and everything between is a nice light taste of island disco music.

Stand Out Track:Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy

Links:
Kid Creole - Wikipedia
Kid Creole - allmusic
Kid Creole website
Kid Creole - fansite
Kid Creole - youtube page
Kid Creole - IMDB page
Kid Creole - Myspace
Kid Creole - details of 1980 SNL apperance
Kid Creole - photos
Kid Creole - Last FM

(the) Bluebells - s/t

Name: The Bluebells
Album: s/t
Year: 1983
Style: College Radio Folk-Rock
Similar Bands: Hooters, Tears For Fears, Aztec Camera, Big Country,
"One-Word" Review: Folky Sun-pop
Based Out Of: Scotland
Label: Sire, Warner Bros. Warner Communications

Bluebells - Cover Bluebells - Back

Bluebells (1983)

1. Cath (3:05)
2. Everybody's Somebody's Fool (2:28)
3. Patriot Games (4:02)/
4. Sugar Bridge (3:42)
5. Aim In Life (3:04)

Album Rating (1-10):

6.5

Members & Other Bands:Robert Hodgens (Bobby Bluebell)- Vocals, Guitar, Design (Up, The Poems)

Kenneth McClusky - Vocals, Mouth Organ, Flagelette (The McCluskey Brothers)

David McClusky - Drums, Vox, Guitars (The McCluskey Brothers)

Russel Irvin - Lead Guitar

Lawrence Donegan - Bass (The Commotions)

Elvis Costello - Producer
Alan Tarney - Producer
Colin Fairley - Producer
Robin Miller - Producer
Fraser Taylor - Illustrations
Paul Cox - Photography
Simon Halfon - Design

Unknown-ness: I had never heard of these guys before. I did read that Elvis Costello produced the record, so that was what intrigued me about getting this record. From the cover, they look like one of a thousand mid-80's independent bands. Proudly displaying their instruments in front of a castle, they seem to be eager to play. The design on the back, containing photo head shots and the open space, makes this out to be an album of high potential.

Album Review: A harmonic begins the EP, and soon after, a pleasant British voice adds in. This first anthemic track feels like it comes out directly of their homeland, Scotland. A minute and a half into the song the guitars and harmonica quit, and they have a drum & vocal audience participation chant of 'cath, whoa-a-whoa.' The song picks back up and cruises along until it ends with a mandolin fading out. The second track also begins with a harmonica, and adds a bass that follows, then picks up the same melody. A thicker British accent speak-sings the verse, and a chorus of chanting 'everybody's somebody's fool.' The musical hook is short, repetitive and addictive. The third song starts with a slow Celtic, beer drinking sway melody, and is supported by drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards, added one at a time. The song transforms into a colonial military march, complete with fife & drummer boy instrumentation. "Sugar Bridge" is another polite pop number. Non-threatening new wave keyboard sounds accompany "Doo Do-Do Do-Doos." The chorus repeats a good many times, and is itself declarative 'surely you will stand, now.' The EP ends too quickly, and with a quiet number at that. "Aim In Life" starts out as a virtual accapella (very minimal harpsichord music in the back) tune. Slowly more elements are minimally added into the music: picked strings, a distant tambourine, and some back-skipping electronic sounds. These elements give the feeling that the song could take off at any time. And just as the guitar is added, the song ends quite abruptly.

These upbeat numbers are a shining, positive foray into college radio pop. I do not hear anything too new or revolutionary, but they had a good recipe for cheerful catchy folk-rock. As it is only 5 song debut EP, it is tough to get a complete picture of where they went from here. I've read that they were quite the influential and popular band in their short career.

Stand Out Track:

Everybody's Somebody's Fool

Links:

Bluebells Allmusic

Bluebells Myspace (Cath)

Bluebells Wikipedia

Bluebells Review of Cath on Little Hits

Bluebells fansite on Ear.fm

Aztec Camera - Stray

Band: Aztec Camera
Album: Stray
Year: 1990
Style: Adult Alternative & British Rock/Pop
Similar Bands: Trash Can Sinatras, Elvis Costello & Squeeze - lite, Tears For Fears
"One Word" Review: Bi-Polar-Acoustic Lounge-Pop
Based Out Of: Glasgow, Scotland
Label: Sire, Reprise, Warner

Stray: Cover Side

Stray (1990)

1. Stray 5.35 (sample)
2. Crying Scene 3.37 (sample)
3. Get Outta London 3.41 (sample)
4. Over My Head 5.54 (sample)/
5. Good Morning Britain 4.05 (sample)
6. How it Is 3.58 (sample)
7. Gentle Kind 5.34 (sample)
8. Notting Hill Blues 6.42 (sample)
9. Song for a Friend 2.32 (sample)

Album Rating (1-10):
06.5

Members & Other Bands:Roddy Frame - Guitars Vox, Production
Paul Powell - Bass
Gary Sanctuary - Keyboards
Frank Tontoh - Drums & Backing Vox
Paul Carrack - Guitar (Ace, Mike & the Mechanics, Squeeze)
Edwyn Collins
Mickey Gallagher
Mick Jones (Clash, Big Audio Dynamite)
Steve Sidelnyk - Percussion
Eric Calvi - Producer, Engineer
Simon Dawson - Engineer
Cameron Jenkins - Asst Engineer
Nick Davies - Mix Engineer
Chris Blair - Mastered
Recorded @ Rockfield, Monmouth & Powerplant, London
Richard Burns - Photography

Unknown-ness: I believe I had heard the name Aztec Camera before I got this tape, but I was not sure what they were like. I was under the impression that they were just another brit-wave band from the late 80's early 90's, with mellow yet complex songs, and smoothly produced vocals. The look in the eye on the cover looks of boredom, complacency, and twee-ness, so I am anticipating moody, tedious songs.

Album Review: The first track is a quiet, very Jellyfish-like song. It creates the mood of comfortably waking up, rubbing the crust from your eyes, to a rich, youthful, perfect bedroom. A slow bass line gently guides the song, along with minimal quiet piano & cymbal percussion. The acoustic guitar adds dimension, but does not draw attention to itself. It also is reminiscent of Elvis Costello's Juliet Letters in production. The second song wakes you up. More aggressive, but smooth vocals cover over a fake-electric guitar. A slow bass builds foundation in the background. The hook in the chorus certifies the tune as a catchy little pop number. "Get Outta London" starts off with just vocals and bass. But it builds in aggression and pace. This is an anthemic track; the syllables are exaggerated to put emphasis on each and every piece of every word. And it ends with an XTC like reprise of the chorus. Over My Head is a rainy ballad, which starts off with a minute and a half of guitar, sailing lovingly along before vocals come in just as slow and caressively as the guitar. Piano and bass are added, creating a slow slow jazz ensemble. The song creates the same mood and is remarkably similar to Elvis's version of "My Funny Valentine."

An Australian-sounding fuzz-bass begins side 2: "Good Morning Britain." This is another Anthemic song, sung with Mick Jones (of B.A.D. & The Clash) in a wrap around call back rap style. There is even a hint of electronic mixed down in this song. The song has a driving musical base and the chorus is slow yet strong, holding onto each word, stretching it over the driving music. This sounds somewhat like the Alarm and James. The next song begins just as rocking, with an electric whiny guitar, familiar to John Cougar Mellencamp songs. In fact, this song has the feel of and is sung like a mid-western small-town rock song. "Gentle Kind" is much lighter, like adult contemporary alternative. This is the burned out, grown up voice of a formerly angsty kid. Very much like Squeeze in their latter days. The album gets even quieter with the six and a half minute "Notting Hill Blues:" A loungy, echo-y lament. A quiet organ and slow jazz bass float the song along. The mood is sad, but it still seems to hold onto an optimistic point of view. His voice sounds a little like Duran Duran and George Michaels at the same time when his lament takes on a louder, more emotional nature toward the end of the song. And the album ends with a folky, acoustic campfire ballad. This song shows a more confident, knowledgeable, grown up, and aware voice.

Stand Out Track:
Crying Scene

Links:
Aztec Camera Wikipedia
Roddy Frame Fan Site
Brief History
Roddy Frame Allmusic
Aztec Camera Allmusic
Aztec Camera Live-Italy 1984
7 Aztec Camera VH1 Videos
Aztec Camera - Myspace
Roddy Frame - Myspace