Review: Rachel Taylor Brown - Susan Storm's Ugly Sister and Other Saints and Superheroes

Label: Cutthroat Pop Records

Released: April 29, 2009

On the surface, Susan Storm's Ugly Sister and Other Saints and Superheroes is an album of bold piano pop that at times dabbles in showtune pomp, proggy complexity and Beatlesque near perfection. The songs have the nature of a musical soliloquy as they meander between upbeat and melancholy, never being fully one without the other. On the surface, it's a very good record. But what's beneath the surface is where the album's soul is. Brown draws parallels between superheroes and saints that finds some truths about being a good guy. Whether predominantly bold or subdued, violent or peaceful, each song is a vignette that shows the loneliness of the righteous path, but also delves deeper into what saints (and superheroes, in fiction) have found, a joyful asceticism. Few books on the subject could express as succinctly and easily what this album does about the peculiar happiness of humility and self-denial and Brown pulls it off in a quirky, down-to-earth manner that speaks endearingly to the soul.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 9/10
Aretha: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

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Review: Lovers - I Am the West

Label: Able Heart Records

Released: April 28, 2009

I wonder why it is that when a band rehashes 60s garage psych or 70s hard rock, I'm so much more open to it than I am to the now-popular revisiting of 80s pop. I think the answer is two-fold. First, I lived through the 80s. I missed the 60s and was too young to appreciate the 70s, so those decades hold more mystique for me than the 80s. I have to keep this in mind when listening to anything that looks from a distance at my own formative years. More importantly though, simply playing a style from the past doesn't cut it whether I like the original genre or not. The band has to tap into something deeper, into the music's soul. The trouble with revisiting the 80s is that soul was kind of the exception, not the rule. Looking back fondly on something empty often produces more emptiness.

Lovers creates a catchy amalgamation of 80s pop on I Am the West. A list of its influences would be a who's who of middle of the road 80s artists, but sadly, the album never taps into any of the darkness or creativity that was stewing just outside of the Billboard Hot 100 back then. The songwriting is solid, making for a pleasant experience, but not one that presents any challenge or anything that really sticks. I Am the West will likely have more appeal to those who didn't live through the 80s the first time. However, by definition of what it is, the album is thin on soul and that really limits it.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 4/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 4/10
Overall: 5/10

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Review: Rod Stewart - The Definitive Rod Stewart

Label: Warner Brothers

Released: November 18, 2008

Rod Stewart may have the perfect rock voice. It's raw and honest and warm and he expresses emotion with ease. Its rough edges are its primary strength. The first handful of tracks on this collection, rock songs tied tightly to their folk, boogie and blues roots, are ideal vehicles for Stewart's perfect imperfection. The heartfelt "Maggie May," the earthy "Mandolin Wind," the rollicking "Stay With Me" all draw the best out of Stewart and he in turn elevates them in a way that few if any singers could.

The trouble is that as Stewart cleans up his sound and adapts to the changing world of pop music, he tempers his strength. Sure, it doesn't all go south with the disco stylings in "The Killing of Georgie," but he has started down the slippery slope. Stewart still brings his best on "You're in My Heart" and makes it easy to forget that without him, "The First Cut is the Deepest" would be an average rock song at best. Even "I Was Only Joking" has its moments. But by "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," Stewart had clearly crossed the line. Stewart is a great rock singer, but he wasn't able to re-invent himself to turn down each new pop avenue.

To be fair, Stewart doesn't kill his later material so much as it kills him. The synth pop of "Tonight I'm Yours" is the polar opposite of everything Stewart had done right earlier in his career. Even a rocker like "Infatuation" is so inundated with bad 80s production that it sucks out anything Stewart brings. Where the late 60s and early 70s were the perfect time for Rod Stewart, the 80s were anything but. "The Motown Song" has some charm and "Reason to Believe" from Unplugged is at least somewhat of a reminder of Rod Stewart the rock singer rather than Rod Stewart the pop star. The previously unreleased "Two Shades of Blue" sat in on the shelf for ten years and frankly, it could have stayed there. Nice try with the classical stuff, but Rod needed more rock, not more phony sophistication.

Also included in this set is a DVD of Stewart's music videos. It's not a bad bonus, but it'd still be a better idea to skip this and just buy the early albums individually. Videos are never a good substitute for better music and his early album tracks hold up better now than does his mid to late period output.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 5/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 6/10
Overall: 5/10

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Review: Matthew Sweet - Sunshine Lies

Label: Shout! Factory

Released: August 26, 2008

Matthew Sweet had a good run in the early to mid 90s, releasing three very good albums in a row. Since that time, he's been erratic at best, including the appropriate but lackluster covers collaboration with Susanna Hoffs. Granted, Sweet's music has been lite, but his best efforts manage to meld sweet pop with a confidence in his own pleasantly bizarre perspective.

Sunshine Lies starts off with a series of 60s-drenched psych pop tunes that are among his best. The jangle is there, the hooks are abundant and the music, even when melancholy, feels awfully good. Heading into the second half though, Sweet stumbles into the Carpenters-esque saccharine pop of "Pleasure is Mine." But two songs later, Sweet is on track again with fuzzy garage rocker "Sunrise Eyes" and he puts together a strong finish with catchy songs that have Sweet's peculiar identity.

Sweet may never make another album on par with Girlfriend or 100% Fun, but that doesn't he won't make albums worth hearing. Sunshine Lies isn't without its sketchy spots to be sure, but in its best moments he at least knocks on the door of his past success.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 6/10
Overall: 6/10

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Review: Teletextile - Care Package

Label: Self-released

Released: 2007



Ratings
Satriani: 5/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 6/10
Overall: 6/10

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Review: Billy Joel - The Stranger (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Label: Sony Legacy

Released: July 8, 2008

Billy Joel is a top-notch songwriter, but there's always been something that I just didn't like. Maybe it's the showtune quality of many of his songs, maybe it's that many are geared toward adults, maybe it's because he often tells the stories of characters I just can't bring myself to care about. Anyway I look at it, I can appreciate him, but I can't get into him.

That being said, I don't think I need to go into the details of The Stranger. If you don't know these songs, you must have spent the last 30 years in a fallout shelter or something. They're practically anthems of the post-60s Baby Boomers who had cut their hair, forgotten their protests and were gearing up to vote for Reagan in a few years. The Stranger is, as it always has been, a great album...if you like that kind of thing.

So, the question with this Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition is, "Does this re-packaging make it worth buying again?" Well, if you have a thing for nice vinyl, this is your opportunity to get The Stranger in all of its 180 gram glory. The LP only includes the original tracks, but it does come with a download code for the album as well as the bonus disc, a show recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1977. It is always nice to get a live recording that comprises a single show, but it's also nice to get one that shows an artist freed from the studio and firing on all cylinders. While the Carnegie Hall show does occasionally find Joel in fine form, it is largely no more spontaneous that his studio records. None of the banter gives any insight into Joel himself or the songs. It's a good bonus for serious Billy Joel fans, but non-essential for the rest of us. The CD version also comes with a live DVD of Joel's 1978 appearance on the BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test. Because I have the LP, I can't comment on the DVD, but I suspect the high-quality vinyl is a bigger attraction than his BBC appearance. Either way, Billy Joel fans get something good, but most of us can probably live with our old copy of The Stranger.

Original Album:
Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 8/10
Aretha: 5/10
Overall: 7/10

Carnegie Hall Bonus Material:
Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 8/10
Aretha: 3/10
Overall: 6/10

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Review: Cinematic Sunrise - A Coloring Storybook and Long Playing Record

Label: Equal Vision

Released: May 13, 2008

The presense of Chiodos' Craig Owens and Bradley Bell will likely lead listeners to expect that band's bold and expansive offshoot from hardcore, but nothing could be further from Cinematic Sunrise. This project replaces punch with pop and challenges with safety. While that might not make every Chiodos fan happy, it at least gives this side-project a purpose and life of its own.

Cinematic Sunrise leans heavily on 80s pop style and production values and mixes it up with more recent emo crunchiness without creating a harder sound. Whether they're drawing on 80s piano-pop or folk-pop along the lines of the Church, it all taps into that long tradition of teenage drama songs.

These songs are all well-played, but lite and that begs the question: Is the material believable? The hooks make me want to believe, yet they're just so slick that there's that nagging feeling that there isn't much under the surface. Perhaps the answer comes on the EP's final track, "You Told Me You Loved Me." It rings about as true as "Sister Christian" and makes me think more of those K-Tel collections from the 80s that compiled "rock's sensitive side."

While the songs are well-crafted and the packaging (see below) shows a great sense of childlike fun, in the end they are, like the band's name implies, ultimately just an image even when they seem beautiful.



All that being said, I did catch their set on the Warped Tour and the music has some teeth live. Don't get me wrong, it's still nothing like Chiodos, but some of the slickness is tempered by hints of edginess and a lot of good-natured fun.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 4/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 4/10
Overall: 5/10

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Review: Prints - Just Thoughts

Label: Temporary Residence Limited

Released: August 5, 2008

I hear enough Prince on Just Thoughts to make me wonder if Prints is really a clever play on the Purple One's name. Either way, the four tracks on this EP show both similarities and key differences between Prints and Prince.

Prints does manage to find a similar ability to find solid hooks in their synth-laden music just as Prince did, particularly in the 1999 era. These are catchy songs that don't let go easily despite an overall coldness that plagues them. Even on the organic indie pop of "Fire Days," the measured approach has more in common with engineering than creativity. And therein lies the fundamental difference between Prints and Prince (or any other truly great pop songwriter): They think it more than feel it. Where 1999 had deep funk roots that warmed up its cold, processed instrumentation, Just Thoughts lacks a similar heat source.

The songs on Just Thoughts are catchy and memorable, but not always moving because they just come off too cold. So, Prints is halfway there. They have the songs, now they just need to infuse them with life.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 4/10
Overall: 5/10

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Review: Pomegranates - Everything Is Alive

Label: Lujo Records

Released: May 13, 2008

The liner notes of Everything Is Alive sent me into a wonderful daydream. As the opening drum loop circled through my ears, I read the line, "We experienced the hospitality of strangers letting us spend the night on their couches or their floors." I was immediately taken to a pleasant picture of the band curled up in sleeping bags amidst my menagerie of fuzzy dogs, basking in the afterglow of a great show at the Ottobar as we all took turns playing our favorite albums on the crappy little stereo in my living room.

Then the vocals kicked in, and my fantasy fell apart. Even though I listened to their EP, Two Eyes, I forgot about the singer with the really cute voice. My goodness, I really forgot how cute her voice is. Where will she sleep? Does she get my bed? If so, I guess I have to sleep on the floor, and my back gets all wonky when I sleep on the floor. And what if she's dating one of the guys in the band? I don't really want them getting it on in my bed, but I'm not going to be a jerk about it either. Who am I to stand in the way of young love?

And then I remembered. There are only guys in Pomegranates. Great. So Everything Is Alive is a near-perfect indie-pop gem that has me totally questioning my sexuality.

Okay, seriously, I really like this album, but it is a bit disconcerting that one of the singers -- I don't know if it's Isaac Karns or Joey Cook -- has an incredibly cute voice that makes me think of holding hands and running through the park in summertime. Don't get me wrong, he's got a good voice. It just reminds me a lot of Palomar. And that's cool, because I like Palomar, and frankly, getting compared to Palomar is a high compliment coming from me. Palomar knows pop, and Pomegranates know it almost as well. Pomegranates are a little bit heavy sometimes and a little jangly at other times, but at their core, they make fun and upbeat indie pop with the kind of hooks that you don't remember until you put the album on for the second time, and then you sing along with every single song because you remember them all. This is pop, in a way that crappy American Idol wishes it could be pop.

Everything Is Alive is a very good record. It makes me excited for their next album, because these guys just might have a great record in them.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go call my shrink and tell him why I'm having dreams about skipping through Central Park as I'm holding hands with an indie rock boy in a sundress.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 5/10
Dylan: 7/10
Aretha: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

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Review: Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs

Label: Atlantic

Released: May 13, 2008

You and I are about to engage in the most intimate act that a critic and a reader can share: the record review. But before the door closes behind us and I lift my shirt to reveal four stars tattooed on my chest, you need to know a secret that will color every word of this review.

You need to know that I love Death Cab for Cutie.

If I had to pick the best band of the past decade, Death Cab would probably be my choice. The 2003 album Transatlanticism is a masterpiece that can connect with a troubled 14-year-old boy as effortlessly as it can reach out to a 40-year-old housewife. 2005's Plans doesn't take as many risks musically, but it's a simple and charming gem.

DCfC albums take a while to sneak up on me, though, and Narrow Stairs is no exception. Death Cab tends to hide little presents in the dark spaces of their music, which makes it difficult to critique their albums after a few quick listens. Sure, I've made some initial observations, like the fact that the band is taking more musical chances and Chris Walla's production is a bit more urgent than usual. This album is obsessed with the failures of uninspired relationships, and though that's not new territory for Death Cab, lyricist Ben Gibbard delves deeper into the subject than he has before.

Death Cab's greatest strength lies in Gibbard's lyrics. The man can take simple words and use them to paint portraits. He's subtle about it, though. Most lyricists beat you over the head with how smart they are, but Gibbard... he just paints the scene and trusts that you'll see it. It takes a brave artist to do that.

Like I said, DCfC albums take a while to sneak up on me. I haven't had this CD long enough to see all of Gibbard's pictures, but I have a pretty good idea they're there. For now, I'll reservedly give it eight out of ten; it's very good, but it doesn't have the broad appeal of their last two records. But ask me again in a few months, and I may tell you it deserves a perfect 10/10. It all depends how many more gifts are hidden in the dark spaces of Narrow Stairs.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 8/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

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Review: Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning

Label: Yep Roc Records

Released: August 6, 2007

Liam Finn has a Beatlesque knack for writing great pop songs. Perhaps that comes from his father Neil of Crowded House/Split Enz fame, but Liam walks his own path, making the connection to his father more trivial than musical. The singer-songwriter thing can be pretty limited, but Finn's generally folky pop has at different times elements of psyche, baroque pop and reggae. He even manages to incorporate the deliberate plodding of grunge as an undercurrent to some of his songs. His hooks are easy to get wrapped up in, yet they come as curveballs and change-ups as often as fastballs. Finn does borrow a bit from Elliot Smith's pleasant, sad melodies, but not without adding his own unmistakable mark that sets him apart. As catchy as I'll Be Lightning is, and it is very catchy, it is neither slick nor shiny nor maudlin. Finn covers a range of emotions from the soothing "Lullaby" to the wild "Lead Balloon" and everything in between. Over the course of the album, he gained such power over me as a listener that I suspect he's one of those rare artists who could hold an arena captive to his music just as easily as he could a small club.

Ratings
Satriani: 7/10
Zappa: 7/10
Dylan: 8/10
Aretha: 8/10
Overall: 8/10

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Review: De Novo Dahl - Move Every Muscle, Make Every Move

Label: Roadrunner Records

Released: March 25, 2008

De Novo Dahl find themselves in the difficult position of following up their amazing Shout EP with a full-length release. Even if they were able to reproduce the exuberance of "Shout" (the best musical expression of joy since U2's "Beautiful Day") over the course of the entire album, I think it may well have killed me (albeit with happiness). What they manage on Move Every Muscle, Make Every Move is to carry over the joy of their EP and to mix it up with different moods and tempos that keep the album interesting and even manage to put the exclamation point into the already exhilarating "Shout."

Fearlessly, De Novo Dahl kicks their latest album off with the very song that sets their own bar so high, offering up the rest of the album to be compared and critiqued beside it. They let things down easy with hooks borrowed from Elvis Costello on "Heartbreaker" and then get a little moody with the agitated pop-punk of "Means to an End." Further in, "Shakedown" dabbles in disco. "Make Some Sense" gets back to pure pop goodness and "Marketplace" masters melodramatic folk-pop. The bottom line is that they did figure out how to keep the album moving and changing and fresh instead of just trying to maintaining the high level of energy in the opening track (as good as it is). And they do it all with an overriding optimism that's every bit as colorful as their outfits. Prior to listening, I suspected that this would be an impossible task. After listening, I just think De Novo Dahl is the best pop band in the world right now.

Ratings
Satriani: 8/10
Zappa: 9/10
Dylan: 10/10
Aretha: 10/10
Overall: 10/10

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Review: Vendetta Valentine - There's Nothing Safe

Label: self-released

Released: March 4, 2008

The opening track of There's Nothing Safe sounds like a cross between 80s synth pop and the Runaways. Over the course of the album, they throw in alt rock, new wave and post-punk. It may sound like a pretty bland stew that they've cooked up here, but they've largely taken the strengths of these genres and turned them into a sound that, while not entirely unique, does give them a voice. In a sense, they've found the danceability in everything they bring into the mix and that's what gives it cohesion. There's also a definite coldness in the music that is at odds with its more human elements. Their ability to sit on both sides of that emotional fence keeps the sound big, especially for a three piece. With a good sense of catchiness, some punk rock urgency and a touch of soul for good measure, Vendetta Valentine has a pretty good album on their hands.

Ratings
Satriani: 6/10
Zappa: 6/10
Dylan: 6/10
Aretha: 6/10
Overall: 6/10

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Review: Thao with the Get Down Stay Down - We Brave Bee Stings and All

Label: Kill Rock Stars

Released: January 29, 2007

We Brave Bee Stings and All begins and ends like it may be a simple twee pop album. Both songs have a thin, light pop sound that could be mistaken for a novelty. What happens between those two songs, however, is anything but. There is no doubt that a twee influence runs through the album, but there is so much more. Unlike cutesy twee songs, there is real pop substance here. Thao's voice can be sultry and subtly brooding, which gives the music real substance beneath its pop sheen. The hint of darkness under the bright, shiny surface is the album's real texture and color. The Get Down Stay Down is an inconspicuously good band. They run from shades of twee to folk to jazz to reggae to calypso to vaudeville to, most importantly, soul, but all with an understated, low-key performance that makes them both essential and nearly transparent. The instrumentation is thin and the rhythms sparse with only light percussion and a bass line that lives quietly in the background. Even when horns get into the mix, they're almost unnoticeable, yet their absence would significantly change the song. "Bag of Hammers" is immediately memorable, yet on a second listen, just about every song had found its way into my subconscious. That's the sign of really good pop music.

Rating: 8/10

"Bag of Hammers" mp3

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Review: Steel Train - Trampoline

Label: Drive-Thru Records

Released: October 16, 2007

Trampoline is aptly titled, because the album has a lot of bounce and not the teeny-bopper kind of bounce either. This bounce is the combined force of Steel Train's energy and elasticity. The band's biggest influence is perhaps the Beatles (and who would complain?) and they draw on everything from early jangly pop ("Dakota") to psychedelic experimentation ("A Magazine") to the soulful leanings in the Fab Four's later recordings ("I've Let You Go"). They also hit up U2 and the Clash ("Firecracker" might be a little too close to "Hitsville UK") at times as well. Steel Train even draws just a bit out of arena rock and 90s alt rock to fill their sound out, but not so much as to become generic themselves. Despite clear influences, each song takes off and soars in its own way. Steel Train knows the formula for a very good pop song, but they also know how to tweak the formula just enough to make it their own.

Rating: 6/10

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Review: Ringo Starr - Liverpool 8

Label: Capitol/EMI

Released: January 15, 2008

Can Ringo Starr do anything without seeming like a goof? He was the comic relief for the Beatles and he's continued in that role during his solo career, including his latest release, Liverpool 8. It's a bit of a sentimental journey for Ringo it seems, but not one with a lot of depth. It benefits from being a band effort which includes ex-Eurythmic Dave Stewart once again and in it's best moments, the album produces some fun pop music with hooks simple enough for Ringo's flat voice to carry. Even when it relies too much on range-deprived Ringo's vocal skills, it has a light-hearted nature that makes it far less offensive than it could be, though not nearly as charming as he was on "Octopus's Garden" and the the like. It's pretty clear that Ringo learned more from McCartney's pop approach than he did from John's sarcastic wit. There's nothing here we haven't heard from Ringo before and the album, like his naive world-view expressed throughout, is best described as a well-meaning flop.

Rating: 4/10

Review: Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full (Deluxe Edition)

Label: Hear Music

Released: November 6, 2007

I reviewed the standard release of Memory Almost Full already, so this review will focus on the additional material: three bonus tracks and a DVD.

The bonus tracks are all clearly B-side material. The best of the bunch, "In Private," is an instrumental that might work as an album track, but certainly doesn't add value to the package. The other two tracks didn't make the cut for the standard release for good reason. "Why So Blue" has a few moments of potential, but is generally flat in both writing and performance and overwhelmed by the string arrangement. "222" just stinks of light jazz and should have been scrapped before being committed to tape.

The DVD offers some value. Excerpts from a show at London's Electric Ballroom include "Drive My Car" and four songs from Memory Almost Full. Since McCartney is usually an arena attraction, there is a nice intimacy to the performance. Unfortunately, there are hard breaks between songs that counteract that intimacy. There's also videos for "Dance Tonight" and "Ever Present Past." The former is a typical corny McCartney video, but the latter is almost like his take on "Addicted to Love," sufficiently less suave to fit with McCartney's personality rather than Robert Palmer's (and better filmed).

The trouble with this set isn't the price (it lists for a mere dollar more than the standard edition), but that it came out five months later. McCartney fans already bought their copy and then the record company parades a deluxe version out to milk them for their loyalty. Memory Almost Full is worth hearing and if you didn't buy it already, there's no reason not to pick up the deluxe version. If you ran right out to buy the standard version in June though, don't waste your money on substandard bonus tracks, some live footage and a couple music videos. There's nothing all that deluxe about it.

Review: Birds of Avalon - Bazaar Bazaar

Label: Volcom Entertainment

Released: May 22, 2007

If I were to write that Birds of Avalon mix grandiose prog, upbeat power pop and riffy psych and leave it at that, most people would scratch their heads and just assume that Bazaar Bazaar was an erratic affair that couldn't possibly find itself. That assumption seems like a good one, but it's flat out wrong. Birds of Avalon reminds us that prog doesn't have to be devoid of emotion and that pop doesn't have to be devoid of grandness. Surprisingly, the two aren't mutually exclusive and Birds of Avalon bring the them together along with an element of trippiness for good measure. It's no small feat, but Birds of Avalon do it with such ease that it doesn't even seem striking unless you think about it.

Rating: 8/10

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Review: Clare and the Reasons

Label: Frog Stand Records

Released: September 4, 2007

Clare and the Reasons find their inspiration somewhere between the old pop standards of the 40s and 50s and a vaudeville show, but their music is only partially a revival because they bring their modern selves into the mix. It's clearly intended to have a retro feel, yet all the years of pop music that have intervened are not ignored. There is a shiny, happy veneer and there's a darker side with a kind of film noir feel beneath (that's a bit less obvious than it is on the cover art). This duality runs throughout, but is most prominent in Clare's voice which is sexy, but more coy on the surface than overt. They avoid being too slick and occasionally little oddities give them a sense of independence and rebelliousness. With The Movie, Clare and the Reasons have gone back through pop music's past and applied an off-kilter sense of modern indie music that turns it slightly away from center. The result is is an album with a subtly dark undercurrent that successfully plays to both the past and present.

Rating: 7/10

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DVD: Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years

Label: Rhino

Released: November 13, 2007

Like Paul McCartney's post-Beatles career, this collection is erratic. Some of it is amazing, some is trite, some is timeless and some is dated. The first disc is by far the least interesting. While some of the very early classics are on there, the videos generally show Paul's escape to a pastoral life that may have been very refreshing for him, but makes for dull music videos. The second disc picks up with the shallow visual interpretation of "Pipes of Peace," but also contains a lot of McCartney's best solo work, from the Flowers in the Dirt singles on. Plus, there's a really interesting tour of Abbey Road studios from Paul as a bonus.

The real gem is disc three, the live shows. It includes 1976's Rockshow, excerpts from his amazing Unplugged appearance, his Super Bowl show and "Let It Be" at Live Aid. While it would have been nice to see the whole Unplugged show, the commentary on that set as well as Live Aid went a long way to make up for it. The real gem on this disc though is his headlining gig at Glastonbury in 2004. Thirty-five years and so many sappy silly love songs later, he shows that he's still quite relevant, particularly with a version of "Helter Skelter" that he may just steal back from Charles Manson.

Because McCartney's solo career is imperfect, this DVD too is imperfect. However, the highs are high enough to carry it and the live performances show that McCartney isn't the lightweight that he's often accused of being. In addition to being very comprehensive, the restored original films look fantastic and the menu gives you the opportunity to view the videos chronologically or in McCartney's hand-picked order. Obviously, it's a must-have for McCartney fans, but the collection also has a lot of value for anyone who appreciates McCartney's career.

Rating: 8/10

Review: De Novo Dahl - Shout

Label: Roadrunner Records

Released: 2007

I'm gonna cut to the chase here. "Shout" is the biggest slice of musical joy I've heard since U2 released "Beautiful Day" seven years ago. The song bursts with unadulterated happiness. It's hooks and harmonies grab you right from the start. A tide of pop beauty rolls in on driving rhythms, infectious bass lines and waves of guitar, organ and voice and it flows out on low-key verses whose soulful vocals clear the way for the tide to return.

"Shout" acts as the mission statement for the EP (and perhaps the band as a whole), but the other two non-remixes don't give up any ground. They follow the same undeniable plan that makes the whole experience nothing short of exhilarating. Their mix of pop and soul in the vocals and keys with a rock edge, courtesy of a big guitar sound and an animated rhythm section, and the electronic details of the omnichord rocks as hard and passionately as the White Stripes, yet is as quirky and fun as Devo or They Might Be Giants. While the songs build from quiet to explosive, the actual energy never lets up, not even for a moment.

The second three tracks on the EP are remixes of the first three. While they do a few interesting things, the originals cannot be contained by their tricks and therefore the remixes never seem to capitalize on the strengths of the originals. The quality of the songs in their purest form makes the remixes expendable.

Let me leave you with one warning about this EP: If you play "Shout" really loud, be careful. You're liable to experience pure ecstatic joy.

Rating: 9/10

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Live: De Novo Dahl, Bedouin Soundclash and Hot Hot Heat

October 15, 2007, Rams Head Live!, Baltimore, Maryland

I hadn't heard of De Novo Dahl prior to seeing them on the bill for this show. Other than a few tracks I sampled to get an idea of what to expect, this show was my first exposure. That being said, I don't think there was much that could have prepared me for their set. They sported bright, tacky, sequined outfits that matched their apparent love of cheap, tacky 70s pop. However, both of these seeming improprieties are part of a broader whole that is predominately made up of rock and soul. The core of the band's performance is singer/guitarist Joel J. Dahl, whose mixture of rock guitar flourishes and soulful vocals (including a nice falsetto) is the flag around which the band rallies. They would have done well to incorporate more background vocals from percussionist/omnichordist Serai Zaffiro whose breathy voice goes so well with Dahl's, but that's a minor complaint. Most interesting of all was how this quirky pop band was able to achieve two things that elude most of their peers. First, they rocked. Not just in the generic sense, but in the broken strings and drum sticks sense. They were powerful...and sweet. Second, they were down-to-earth. Bassist Keith Lowen's nervous speech about their upcoming video shoot put the band on a plane with the crowd. After the set, drummer Mixta Huxtable walked over and gave a broken stick to a kid up front. Even without these overt examples, De Novo Dahl connected with an audience that wasn't even there to see them. People danced. The crowd was excited. They won us over on their own terms, without even asking.

Bedouin Soundclash is the band I was there to see. After hearing Street Gospels, a huge step forward in songwriting and performance, I had very high expectations for the live set. I was certainly hoping that the set list would concentrate on their recent release, but only three songs came from that album. That being said, the songs from Sounding a Mosaic incorporated everything Bedouin learned between the two albums and sounded every bit as good as the new ones, muting my disappointment in not hearing "St Andrews," "Trinco Dog" or the a cappella "Hush." Everything that made Street Gospels great, tightness, flow, energy and soul, made their live set just as good. The problem was simply that they capture so much of that on the album that the live show can't provide much more, making them victims of their own success.

I'm not a big Hot Hot Heat fan. They're a middling band who's released some decent material, but has never really found their own thing at which to excel. Unlike Bedouin, I had only moderate expectations for the headliner and by and large they failed to hit even that meager mark. Overall, their performance was as thin and dull as their imitation of the Strokes. They kicked off the show with a bombastic entrance that would have been cool had they either been an amazingly simple band (the irony angle) or as good as such an entrance suggested (the arrogance angle). Instead the band lazed through the set while frontman Steve Bays overcompensated, prancing around like Mick Jagger in a Broadway show. Interestingly, when the band finally kicked in on the last two songs of the regular set, Bays' antics no longer seemed so affected. It was as if he was free to actually perform once the weight of the show was off his shoulders. Had Hot Hot Heat played the whole set like they did the last few songs, they would have lived up to their entrance and their name. Instead, they seemed more like Lukewarm Lukewarm Heat.


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Review: Hanslick Rebellion - The Rebellion is Here (live)

Label: July 10, 2007

Released: Eschatone Records

The Hanslick Rebellion was once heralded as "possibly the finest band to ever call Albany home" (by a writer from the local paper). I suppose that might be true, but it's still not much of a case for greatness. Neither is the re-issue of this ten-plus-year-old live recording. Back in the 90s, the band established themselves as a regional college crowd favorite and for good reason. They play a loose, jam oriented brand of rock that seems to thrive in every college town. Their originals have that kind of inside-joke rapport with the crowd that makes a band very popular with the locals, but never seems to translate out in the big wide world. Like every local college favorite, they do their share of covers and they do them well. They add funky energy to the Modern Lovers' "Pablo Picasso" and do the B-52s doing Syd Barrett on "Vegetable Man." They throw in a medley that mixes the Archies and Mighty Mighty Bosstones into "Heroin" which has some tongue-in-cheek charm. The covers are certainly more fun than the originals, but not a single one is even remotely essential.

While the album does capture the live experience well, the Hanslick Rebellion merely manages to give their spin on the forced quirkiness of bands like Barenaked Ladies, just a little angrier and a little less clever. People who enjoyed the local scene around UAlbany in the mid-90s will probably find this to be a fond memory, because the show was clearly a fine time, but that charm is lost on the rest of us.

Rating: 4/10

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Review: Bert Susanka - Onward Christian Slater

Label: Cornerstone RAS

Released: February 13, 2007

I once saw an interview with a pro surfer. When asked who was the best surfer in the world, she replied, "The one having the most fun." Bert Susanka might be the musical embodiment of that surfing ideal.

Onward Christian Slater takes the harmonies of the Beach Boys, the down-to-earth grittiness of the Replacements and the quirky eclecticism of They Might Be Giants and wrap it up into a charmingly imperfect package. There are hints of surf, ska, power pop, hip-hop, pop punk, doo-wop, even psychedelia, so the album doesn't really have a lot of musical continuity. However, it's laidback spirit ties it together in a way that can escape even the most single-minded albums. The songs are so close to pop brilliance at times that you might think with just a bit of polish these songs would be amazing. But don't be fooled. Polish would suck the life out of them. It would destroy their beauty. It would crush their spirit. This is an album that's right even when it's wrong.

It's more than just the surf theme that crops up throughout (most notably on the story-song, "The Trip That Needed to be Took") that makes this a surf album. The Beach Boys had far more of that. It's really the essence of surfing that makes it ultimately a surf album and that's something that speaks to more than just actual surfers. In a sense it may also be similar in character to the Dude from the Big Lebowski. This is not an album about the pristine, but the laidback, the easygoing, the happy (even when it's sad). It's an album that "takes it easy for all us sinners."

Rating: 8/10

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Review: Zerobridge - Havre de Grace

Label: self-released

Released: September 18, 2007

Zerobridge was formed by two Kashmiri brothers who grew up near the namesake of the their EP, Havre de Grace, Maryland. While this broader cultural experience may seem like a boon for the band, their music has little to do with the former and everything to do with the latter.

Zerobridge relies on the straightforward rhythms and the simple hooks of neo-new wave as the basis for their music. They suffer perhaps, because the new wave revival is getting played out and because it's hipper than thou musicians/fashion models are getting more annoying by the day. Zerobridge reminds me a bit of Modern English which is a bit on the periphery of what most bands of the genre borrow from. As with just about every pop or rock artist in the last 20 years, they also bear the marks of many hours with U2, so they aren't all that much different from the others in the game. What makes Zerobridge most pleasant though is that they don't seem affected by the hipster leanings of their peers. That alone makes them more palatable.

Havre de Grace would benefit from a bit of influence from their roots in Kashmir, but as it is, it really only draws from mainstream America. It's very listenable though and avoids the style over substance trappings that turn so many similar bands into annoyances.

Rating: 6/10

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Review: Overlord - Ticker Symbols

Label: Storm Tower Records

Released: September 5, 2006

Awhile back, I wrote a review of Overlord's music from their MySpace page. Recently, I was contacted by George Pasles, who it seems pretty much is Overlord, who asked me to check out the CD since the tracks on MySpace were demos that he posts periodically to keep the page fresh. Knowing that and hearing Ticker Symbols put a lot in perspective.

Unlike the raw tracks from MySpace, the album is carefully crafted and downright irresistible. It draws on happy, jangly pop from both the 60s and the 80s and creates something very near to perfect in its own realm. This isn't an album where any single element stands out. Vocals, guitar, rhythms, none of these stand up on their own, yet together they fall so perfectly into place that it's mind-boggling. This is the stuff for which you can't take lessons. You either have it or you don't and Overlord has it.

The drums are minimalist; the bass lines sometimes simple, sometimes elaborate; the guitar, clean and ringing, never overdriven. The vocals are the key though. Their sweet harmonies conjure up visions of the Moody Blues or Herman's Hermits' big hit, "I'm Into Something Good." But this isn't a 60s revival. Overlord also shows an affection for the 80s guitar pop of the Church, REM and, most importantly, the Smiths as well newer elements of pop that have developed over the last decade or so.

The Smiths turn out to be both a musical and spiritual guide to Overlord. Not only does Ticker Symbols interpret the Smiths ability to make hauntingly upbeat guitar pop, it also runs with the Smiths' clever idea of matching such pop bliss with sadness. However, Overlord is far less maudlin than Morrissey and that makes the effect more subtle and in a sense more conflicting.

In a sense they bridge the gap between the 60s and 80s and make it all current with a touch of ambient electronics, used sparingly. In addition, the album vaguely dabbles at times in psychedelia, punk, even country. These almost unnoticeable forays are bigger than they seem in the scheme of things. They keep it interesting without even seeming different.

A term that would often be used with a band like Overlord is "pop sensibility." It usually refers to an uncanny ability to incorporate hooks into the music. It doesn't quite apply to Overlord though. Theirs is more of a pop consciousness or pop being. Ticker Symbols doesn't merely understand how to use hooks, hooks are its very essence. Like the groom on the album cover, you might feel like you've been left at the altar, but the cake still tastes great.

Rating: 8/10

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Check out my review of the album cover at Whole Lotta Album Covers.

DVD: The Bangles - Return to Bangleonia

Label: Shout! Factory

Released: August 14, 2007

I've always loved the Bangles. Even the big sellout of Different Light still had the sweet harmonies and sixties jangle that I loved in their days in the Paisley Underground. I don't operate under the illusion that bands often recapture their prime when reuniting, but I did expect an energetic show and an enthusiastic crowd for this 2000 set at Hollywood's House of Blues. I got some of the former and none of the latter.

Part of the joy of a good live performance is drawn from the vicarious energy of the fans lucky enough to be there. Without that energy and its interaction with the band, there's really no point to a live recording. That's the biggest problem with this DVD. Most of the fan noise is filtered out, even between songs. That's just half the crime though. It really doesn't appear as though the crowd had much to offer anyway with only a few hands in the air for "Walk Like an Egyptian" and little other response. It looks like a crowd at the theater, not a rock show.

With little energy from the crowd, the Bangles are only partially culpable for a lack of excitement in their performance. Still, great bands rise above adversity and the Bangles aren't fully able to do that. Things don't get off to a good start with their cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter." One of the several fine covers from their prime, the song, Vicki Peterson's guitar leads in particular, drags as though they're unsure of themselves. By "If She Knew What She Wants," the band is in better form and they manage a soild if unspectacular performance. To their credit, they play five new songs that would ultimately end up on Doll Revolution (still three years away at the time of this show) rather than playing it completely safe with the material from their two biggest and least personally creative records. While they did pull three songs from All Over the Place (including "Hero Takes a Fall," which may be their best tune), I would have gladly traded "Angels Don't Fall in Love" (from Different Light) and "Get the Girl" (from the Austin Powers soundtrack) for "James" and "Dover Beach." Still, at least they kept the contributions form Everything to a minimum and threw in a solid cover of the Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard." So, the set list was decent, but not perfect and once they got going, the did justice to the songs I love.

Return to Bangleonia showed me what I always suspected was true: The Bangles are merely a good, not great, band, no matter how much I love their music. Still, the songs sound good all these years later. It makes me wonder why the crowd was so dull. With a little help, the performance may have come across much stronger. It also makes me wonder why anyone would go to the House of Blues. It's not a venue that's conducive to fan participation and energy, so why not just stay home and listen to records?

Rating: 6/10

Review: Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full

Label: Hear Music

Released: June 5, 2007

Paul McCartney's solo career has been erratic to say the least. His first solo effort shows us both that he's a great pop songwriter and that he’s willing to stretch out and take chances at times. Sometimes those chances worked, but often they were too slick for their own good. From the mid-70s until the mid-90s, it seems that even his hits were really misses, at least artistically. His misguided belief that he should be writing more than pop songs culminated in the disastrous Liverpool Oratorio which went way beyond the watering down of decent songs. At that point, he was just out of his league. Then, beginning with 1997's Flaming Pie, McCartney seemed to rediscover himself. His pop sensibilities were still present, but he abandoned the slickness in favor of a raw and genuine approach. The results were solid and even excellent albums where he sounded far more alive than he had in his 30s and 40s. That brings us to his latest release, Memory Almost Full. His recent run of critical success would lead one to expect more of the same, but McCartney opts for some changes, returning to some of his earlier ambitions with varying success.

Generally speaking, there are no really bad songs on here, only some bad moments. The album actually has some tracks that nearly rank among his best. The opening track, "Dance Tonight," is upbeat folk with a stomping rhythm, some mandolin and a catchy hook. It certainly raises expectations for the rest of the album. Things take a definite turn with "Ever Present Past," which gets a bit glossy much in the vein of McCartney's 80s output. Still, the hook is strong enough that the gloss isn't overbearing. He tries a bit of blue-eyed soul on "See Your Sunshine." (Seriously, I checked the songwriting credits to see if Paul wrote this one with Daryl Hall.) It's a good pop song, but lacks the teeth of his recent releases. "Only Mama Knows" tries to recreate some his best rock bombast. It falls significantly short of that target, but still ranks as a solid, energetic track. "You Tell Me" is one of several tracks that sound like it may have been an Abbey Road outtake. Far from being a knock, his ability to recapture any elements of the Beatles' most complete effort is amazing almost 40 years down the road. McCartney has slight hints of hip-hop in the odd cadence of "Mr. Bellamy," but it doesn't work very well and the result is one of the album's real orphans. "Gratitude" also captures some of that Abbey Road essence. It's an oddly sweet and loving send-off to Heather Mills. As such it is one of his best love songs, being completely devoid of the saccharine nature that invalidates so much of his worst work. "Vintage Clothes" is more solid upbeat pop, but suffers somewhat from heavy-handed production and corny lyrics. To be fair though, McCartney has gone much farther down this road in the past and he at least showed some restraint here. "That Was Me" has a bit of an awkward modern arrangement, but makes up for it with jazzy pop energy. The album is reined in a bit on the folky "Feet in the Clouds." The strings are a bit too much, but once again McCartney's return to his more polished former self doesn't do the damage that it once did, resulting in another decent song. "House of Wax" is unusually weak songwriting for McCartney coupled with overwrought production and way too much ambient noise. There's a decent guitar solo, but that is by no means enough to save the song. If there is any doubt that Paul is facing his own mortality, "The End of the End" sufficiently dispels it. It's a low-key piano-driven piece that is part last wishes and part end of life optimism. It's more subtle than a lot of the album, but really sinks in as one of the best tracks. To avoid ending on anything remotely melancholy, Memory Almost Full closes with "Nod Your Head," another fine McCartney rocker that falls only a tad shy of "Live and Let Die."

There is a consistent feeling that Paul sees the end of his career (and possibly even his life) approaching. Yet, he doesn't greet it with trepidation. Rather, he embraces the past and pushes on toward the future openly and willingly, albeit not flawlessly. The touch of sadness to Memory Almost Full is countered, though not overwhelmed, by its good vibe. Over the course of the album, McCartney borrows from some of his most ambitious work, some of his worst work and some of his most genuine work. The results vary as he falls short of his best, yet even shorter of his worst efforts. While this may be his worst album in ten years, it's as good or better than anything in the 20 years before that.

Rating: 6/10

Review: The Go-Gos - God Bless the Go-Gos

Label: Beyond Records

Released: May 15, 2001

With very few exceptions, reunion albums are not essential listening. The best we can hope for is a solid album that at least isn't an embarrassment. In 2001, the Go-Gos released their first studio album in 17 years. Considering such a long layoff and that their first go round was short and inconsistent (one very good album and two spotty ones in four years), I can't imagine anyone held out much hope for God Bless the Go-Gos. However, it did get good reviews at the time and I think that is more likely due to it exceeding expectations than actually being that good.

First, don't expect this to be on par with 1981's Beauty and the Beat. The youthful energy and punk rock edge of that album is hard to reproduce at this stage of the game, especially considering that it was already largely gone a year later when they released the inconsistent Vacation album, which along with 1984's Talk Show had only a few good songs and a lot of filler. What God Bless... gives us though is a largely above average set of songs with only a slight lull through the middle. The songs are solid, mixing upbeat pop with slower ballads and the sound is very much the Go-Gos with only a touch of 90s alt rock influence in places. The Go-Gos successfully walk the line between losing their identity and merely recreating their past and that alone makes this one of the better reunion albums out there. Still, there is absolutely nothing essential about it, so this is only for those who wish for more quantity in the Go-Gos' catalog. If you're looking for quality, Beauty and the Beat is still the way to go. However, if you're going to buy a second Go-Gos album, this should edge out both Vacation and Talk Show.

Rating: 6/10

Review: Paul McCartney - McCartney

Label: Capitol

Released: April 20, 1970

For his first proper solo effort, Paul McCartney chooses to curtail the elaborate arrangements he had indulged in with the Beatles in favor of a more grounded album full of country, folk, blues, boogie and soul. To expect a solo album to meet the standard set by the Beatles (and particularly their finale, Abbey Road) would be unfair, but certainly anything McCartney touched should meet a higher standard than something released by just about anyone else. So, Paul's first non-Beatle release likely left the rock critics of 1970 in the difficult position of determining just where that line would be. Lucky for us today, Paul's solo career has proven so inconsistent over the last 37 years that the line is now in the realm of mere mortals and therefore easier to ascertain. So, it is with the caveat that I benefit from hindsight that I am undertaking this review.

Probably due to all the infighting among his band mates, McCartney decided to record his debut almost entirely on his own (with only a bit of background vocals from his wife Linda). The result is consistency in both feel and quality without the album getting stagnant. It starts off with the very short and sweet folk of "The Lovely Linda." While it may seem like a bit of light fare, it actually sets a good tone for the album by being simple not deep and heavy. "That Would Be Something" is country-tinged boogie
with a mellow groove that McCartney accents with some subtle rhythmic vocal parts. As much as I enjoy the track, it isn't so strong that it needs to set it apart from the rest of the album, but the instrumental "Valentine Day" does just that. Other than coming up too soon, it's a nice, raw, medium-paced blues song that very much fits the album as a whole. "Every Night" has a great hook and hints at McCartney's later slicker ballads without giving in to some those roads he would unfortunately travel a few years later. "Hot as Sun/Glasses" couples a fun, light-hearted tune with an experimental track. While neither would stand on their own, both combine for an interesting interlude. The first of McCartney's Beatle leftovers to appear is "Junk." It's low-key and has a certain continental sense to it, much like "Michelle." The pace picks up with "Man We Was Lonely," an excellent country rock song with a hook worthy of a single. McCartney shows he can sing (and play) the blues on "Oo You." It may not be the strongest track, but it's a fine rocker on this generally laid back record. "Momma Miss America" starts off sounding like some of McCartney's later rock songs and then continues in a similar vein to "Oo You." It's a better song over the second half, but still one of the album's weakest moments. "Teddy Boy" is another Beatles cast-off that McCartney includes here. It's catchy, but remains raw and simple. It's also quite a testament to the Beatles that their throwaways were this good. "Singalong Junk" is an odd inclusion since it's simply an instrumental track of "Junk" that runs a little longer. It isn't bad, but seems a bit pointless even though I get idea of the "singalong." "Maybe I'm Amazed" may be a ballad, but not in the sense we typically think of ballads, because it rocks. It really is the album's best track, with McCartney at his best as both a writer and a performer. He actually has some edge on this one, which is something that is too often absent from his solo work. Because perfect pop songs are McCartney's forte, the experimental nature of "Kreen-Akrore" might put off some people. However, it's got some strong moments and actually draws the album to a close that likely left the listener of 1970 wondering where he would go next. Unfortunately, that promise would later be left unfulfilled as McCartney kept to the middle road and "filled the world with silly love songs" for years.

Paul McCartney had to be as unsure of where he would go as a solo artist as the world was when the Beatles called it a day. However, the McCartney album finds him with fine songs and a cohesiveness that makes his solo debut shine. Sadly, the organic, rootsy sounds would give way to pure pop-crafting that was technically great yet almost entirely soulless (with some obvious exceptions).

Rating: 7/10

Addendum: I wrote this review in response to Bill's review over at Rock of Ages. Check his review out too to get a slightly different angle.