Friday, September 24, 2004
KIM WILDE
Close
MCA Records, 1988
...but no cigar.
LOU REED
I Can't Stand It
RCA Records, 1982
...so what chance do I have?
THE DAVE CLARK FIVE
Try Too Hard
Epic Records, 1966
...and it's painfully obvious.
SMASHMOUTH
You're My Number One
Universal, 2003
...but you sound like number two.
GENE PITNEY
Only Love Can Break A Heart
Musicor, 1963
...but anyone can break this record.
RADIO STARS
Stop It
Chiswick, 1977
...I concur.
SPANDAU BALLET
To Cut A Long Story Short
Alex Imports, 1990
...too late.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Alive and Amplified
Columbia, 2004
Now we're speaking my language. This is the best record not from 1973. The Moonies crank up their amplifiers once again. They kick ass, take names, write the names down, swallow the paper and spit out confetti, make a video of it and sell it to Inside Edition. They make boys feel like men, old women feel young and turn virigns into sexual surrogates.
This time the all-out assault of their Rock comes off slightly less Who and Cream and more Grand Funk Railroad and Slade, with a bit of bubblegum influence and even a few acoustic ballads. Producing Team Of The Moment (as coronated by the rock press) The Matrix are on the mixing board. They have brought their serious pop mojo to bear upon the thick, chugging rock sleaze of TMS. Since they have worked with pop divas like Britney Spears, purists worried about them diluting the mighty power of TMS.
Not to worry, though: the boys are still as rocking as ever. However, the Matrix have added a bit of color, and as the band themselves refer to it, "kaleidoscopic depth" to the proceedings. "Primitve Condition," the opener, is a stone-age stomper. "New York Girls" leaves quite an impression as an answer song to "California Girls." "Hot Sugar" is about as bubblegum as this record gets, and it wouldn't be out of place on an album by Sweet. But my favorite, anthemic, booty-shakin', irresistable, unstoppable, groovalicious cut must be "Loose 'N Juicy." (And yes, they do spell it that way.)
While listening to this CD, I felt like I could have been enjoying an especially good episode of Top of the Pops from 1973. Glam, Pop and Hard Rock collide with garage sounds here, and we are all the better for it. The retro vibe even extends to the psychedelic cover painting, which looks to be straight off a Carlos Santana record of that period.
Any fan of hard rock sounds out of the past will find much here to groove along with. If you don't get it, then get it. BOOGIE! RATING: Life Changing
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Primary Domain
Triple X Records, 1995
Miracle Workers were (to the best of my memory) linked with the "Paisley Underground" phenomenon, whatever that was. Okay, for those of you scratching your heads, in the middle 1980's, there were a small number of Rock bands in L.A. that tried to emulate the feel/sound/attitude of 1960's garage/acid rock music. Amongst their influences and models were The Byrds (number one), Beatles, Hendrix, Love, Doors, Velvet Underground, and local heroes like The Flying Burrito Brothers.
Anyhow, Miracle Workers were thrown in with this group of artists, deservedly so or not. Since they were not from L.A., but rather from Portland, Oregon, they may have stood apart from L.A. combos like The Rain Parade. And they were always more about Sonics/Wailers thrust than flights of fancy.
Clearly this release comes well after the main period of the movement, but is still worthwhile for garage fans, although reportedly it was recorded in 1989 and released overseas at that time. The group has toned down the more obvious 60's touches and gone for a meaty-straight ahead Garage Rock sound, playing a program of all original tunes. Their approach was more in line with the rock music scene at that time, which labored under the thrall of Nirvana and Soundgarden et al. Indie label Triple X Records never had a really stellar distribution, so this may be a tough number to find, but the Internet should make the task easier. RATING: Used Buy
See It.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
25 YEARS OF ATV:
Alternative TV Live at CBGB
Metrodome/Dressed to Kill 2002
Recorded live at CBGB in April 2001 for a Spin Magazine "25 Years of Punk" event, this is original British Punk Rock guys Alternative TV, still bashing it out all those years later.
Punk was never about subtlety, or maturity. So it should come as no shock that this set probably sounds exactly the same, or very close, to one of their gigs from 1977. That either makes it very sad or very admirable, depending upon your point of view. ATV is either "remaining true to the spirit" of the original punk rock (not "selling out" being a very important consideration for a group's vaunted Indie Cred), or are a sad bunch of old men trying to recapture the glories of youth.
Rock and roll increased the danger of artists not being able to grow old gracefully with their art; punk rock upped that danger tenfold. I guess it makes it all the more important to retain audio only recordings of music and concerts: at least we don't have to see the old codgers. Besides, the British all age especially tragically.
We got here a 14 song set of all originals, excepting one Frank Zappa cover (!), not exactly someone that most punks would respect, you'd think. The listener gets just what he should expect here: old-line Punk Rawk. Nothing as compelling as the Pistols or Clash, but maybe somewhere in the range of Sham 69 or the Damned on an off night. There's a bad reggae impression and a Ramones/Television tribute song. Decent stuff, not embarassing, but not life-changing either.
In between songs leader Mark Perry amps up the Cockney-accented punk-rocker schtick, as heard in countless hack comedy routines and annoying TV commercials (ironic, no, considering the band's name?) and throws a few insults at the "ignorant Americans" in the crowd. Naturally, the crowd eats it up. Rating: Bargain Bin Buy.
Monday, September 13, 2004
A Tribute To The Legendary Man In Black, Johnny Cash
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Invisible Records, 2002
Tribute records are a hit-or-miss affair, and this low-budget effort is no exception to that well-worn rule. Going into this, my hunch was that this was all going to be the reverse of Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt' which raised so many eybrows. My suspicions were confirmed with the first track, 'Orange Blossom Special' by Nine Inch Elvis. Just what you would think: an overproduced techno-rock fart filtered through one of Cash's folk song favorities.
But the whole CD does not stick to that one easy joke. The industrial version of 'Ring of Fire' by Bagman (whoever the hell they are) is very well done if barely recognizable, perhaps worth the freight alone if you find this disc for only a couple bucks. The listener can also find some rather more straight-ahead country rock takes on some of Cash's country greats, which are quite pleasant if light on innovation. There's a psychobilly feel on some of the numbers. On the down side, the version of 'Folsom Pison Blues' by Kill Switch Kick sounds like the lounge band at the Trent Reznor theme restaurant fronted by a James Hetfield impersonator. For the extremely adventurous or John Cash fanatics only. Rating: Bargain Bin Buy
Friday, September 10, 2004
A Good Tip For A Good Time
Emporer Norton Records, 2001?
The Hives have so much to answer for. Or was it The Strokes, or perhaps The White Stripes, that kicked off the most recent wave of Garage Rock bands, about five years ago. The Cato Salsa Experience, however, are, like The Hives, from Scandanavia. Unlike most of you civilians out there (and I use that term tongue-in-cheek for the masses of not-insane non record collectors, i.e., 99% of the population), I have been aware of the untoward number (proportionally speaking) of Sixties-influenced Garage Rock combos lurking amongst the fjords and permafrost of Scandanavia since the mid 1980's.
Why scandanavia? Why do supposedly mild-mannered, national-health-care patron, Volvo-driving white people gravitate toward what are gritty R & B sounds played on loud, distorted guitars? Admittedly, most of the original Garage Rock combos from the USA back in 65-66-67 were white teenagers, but at least they had SOME passing familiarity with Black People. They may have known some black people in their communities, been to some concerts with black musicians, even purchased a few Motown 45's at their local Ben Franklin stores. A few may even have had real live Black People in their teenage rock bands! How cool would those guys have been? The coolest possible!
But what in the name of Gravlax would cause Sven and Anna to take the tramway through downtown Stockholm or Oslo to search out imported ? and the Mysterians 45's to worship at and emulate? What the?
Who can say? My only hypothesis is the harsh weather of the northlands may have drove them to it. I can only compare the extremes in temperature to those in Texas, a land which back in the day was the proud producer of more lysergic rock shamen than you could shake a stick at, buddy, and I know you can do some pretty intense shakin'!
So, musically, whaddawe got here? This is good solid stick-to-the-ribs garage hooch. Sometimes more on the R & B side, sometime more on the rock tip, but with loadsa fuzz and several cuts with criminal over-use of wah-wah pedal: just the way I likes it! There's also plently of organ, an instrument I consider mandatory in Garage Rock, and even some theremin! The song titles say it all, and include "I Can Give You Anything," "Time To Freak Out" and "Albert Bones Electric Meal."
All the musicians use fake noms-de-garage: Francis Moon, Cato Salsa, Jon E. Lugar and Nina Delay. You're not foolin' anyone, Lars and Ole. All in all, this is a good pick for fans of the genre, but I wouldn't go out of my way or pay full retail. I would guess, however, that uninformed used-record-store clerks would not know the true greatness of this disk, and throw it in the bargain bin. At 3 or 4 bucks, this thing is a no-brainer. It shreds. And it's made me want to go searching for the great, lost, unknown native Alaskan garage combo that must be tearing up an igloo somewhere in the tundra right now! Rating: Used Buy
See The Cover
