Gold Greatest Hits (©1992 Polydor)

01 Dancing Queen 02 Knowing Me, Knowing You 03 Take a Chance of Me 04 Mamma Mia 05 Lay All Your Love On Me 06 Super Trouper 07 I Have a Dream 08 The Wiinner Take It All 09 Money, Money, Money 10 S.O.S. 11 Chiquitita 12 Fernando 13 Voulez Vous 14 Gimme ! Gimme ! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 15 Does Your Mother Know 16 One Of Us 17 The Name of The Game 18 Thank Your For The Music 19 Waterloo

At times I feel a bit like Peter denying Jesus. "Say, weren't you listening to Abba?" "Who me? Nah, that was a CD someone gave my wife for Christmas a couple of years ago."

I was just a little kid when "Waterloo" was on the radio. Around the same time BTO was kicking out great hits, and radio was a fun thing. As time went by my tastes ran more to the harder stuff, but I'd sing along in my little boy's voice to "Take a Chance on Me", and "Mamma Mia".

When I was in my mid-teens and Cheap Trick, The Cars, and Toto were holding the line against disco, Abba countered with "Does Your Mother Know".

So now that I'm almost officially an adult, I bought ABBA's greatest hits. It holds up surprisingly well considering advances in technology. They were never my favourite band, and they still aren't, but they do provide a lot of nostalgic smiles as they play on the stereo.

Reviewed November 18, 2001

More Gold More Abba Hits (©1993 Polydor)

01 Summer Night City 02 Angeleyes 03 The Day before You Came 04 Eagle 05 I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do 06 So Long 07 Honey, Honey 08 The Visitors 09 Our Last Summer 10 On and On and On 11 Ring Ring 12 I Wonder (Departure) 13 Lovelight 14 Head Over Heels 15 When I Kissed the Teacher 16 I Am the City 17 Cassandra 18 Under Attack 19 When All Is Said and Done 20 The Way Old Friends Do

La la la - I can't hear you. I know I'm an embarrassment to my fellow rockers. I have pussied out, and gone lame. It was bad enough having one collection of Abba songs did I really need to get another? Short answer: Yes. "Why" you ask. "Because." I reply. "Because isn't an answer." You counter. "Sure it is." I say. Before you go on, let me state that this is my webpage, and I can do whatever I want. Period. So today I was listening to stuff starting with the letter "A" and this came up. Simple as that. In my defense I never bought any of their albums in the 70's and mocked them for being a wuss band. But time and nostalgia do strange things to you. I can almost stomach KC and the Sunshine Band now, and even the more awful of disco rock killers The Bee Gees can get my foot tapping.

What I liked about More Abba Gold is the number of familiar songs, and unfamiliar songs I'd not heard before. Considering that these guys were around for less than a decade they sure left a huge mark on popular music. History will tell whether it's a positive mark.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting a strange urge to put on something frilly and dance around the living room.

Reviewed December 29, 2007

Ten Songs (©1988 / 2002 Lo-Fidelity Re-release)

Tracks: Tree House / Beat Peculiar / Who Can Hold Us / Babylon / I've Seen Dominoes / Trouble With Lies / Ain't No Sunshine / Eyes Wide Open / Every Word I Say / The Tenth Song

I missed out on Gene Eugene's Adam Again stuff the first time through. My interest in Christian music is somewhat limited, and although I have a lot of it, I come by it by accident for the most part. Lost Dogs' combination of talent exposed me to The Choir, Mike Roe, and Gene. Over time I've picked up stuff by each artist, and with Ten Songs I get my first exposure to Adam Again.

I had no idea what to expect, but I expected a lot. Several people I know couldn't say enough good stuff about the brilliance of Ten Songs. So when Jeffrey at Lo-Fidelity got the rights to re-issue this one I jumped on it. My first impression didn't blow me away. Since I paid good money (in American dollars) I decided that a marathon session on repeat was what I needed to fully appreciate this one. It's been playing a days now, and I must be stupid or something. I can't see what the fuss is all about.

I realize that 1988 was a few years ago now, but a good tune is a good tune and should stand the test of time. I can appreciate the songs, but liking them is another thing (although I gotta admit The Tenth Song is wicked). I (almost) feel bad not being blown away by this one. Still my feelings won't change the rabid opinions of true Adam Again fans - there's nothing wrong with Ten Songs it's me.

Reviewed October 24, 2002

Dig (©1992 Brainstorm)

1: Deep 2: It Is What It Is (What It Is) 3: Dig 4: Hopeless, Etc. 5: Songwork 6: Worldwide 7: Walk Between The Raindrops 8: Hidden, Hidden 9: River On Fire 10: So Long

After not being astounded by 10 Songs, I was reluctant to add more Adam Again to my collection. Over the last couple of years I would get the occasional note from fans of the band telling me I was essentially a philistine and a cheese eater for not embracing Gene’s brainchild and that unless I’d heard Dig, I was missing out. So I managed to snag a copy, and was pretty impressed the first time through. There are times when Gene sounds like Michael Stipe, or Pat MacDonald from Timbuk 3 – which is not a jab – more a point of reference. After a few times through what emerges is a band with it’s own sound and direction. Trying to find an easy slot to stow Adam Again is like trying to eat a hot dog sideways.

Hard to imagine over a decade has come and gone since Dig was released. It sounds like it released today – which means they were either way ahead of their time, or pop music hasn’t progressed in a long time - Probably a little of both I suspect. The album is an experience, and although there are songs that stand out above the rest, the album deserves to be digested in a sitting. The songs range from noisy and moody, to somber and moody. Dig is a haunting song in its beauty and simplicity, as is World Wide. But the real killer is River on Fire – Gene’s voice is so expressive it’s almost unnatural, and is marvelously counterbalanced by the fretwork of Greg Lawless.

(pun alert) I’m glad I bought this one finally. I guess you could say “I dig it.”

Reviewed April 20, 2005

Hidden Feelings (©2004)

1: Hidden Feeling 2: I Love to Make You Laugh 3: Independent Woman 4: Secret 5: Musings 6: Come Fly Away With Me 7: Progress 8: Where Is Love 9: look into My Eyes

Hidden Feelings is the debut CD by Yvonne Adebar, and it's a pretty solid effort that showcases Yvonne's voice. The songs themselves are simple in structure, and are nicely augmented by the talents of Jon Anderson who lends all of the instrumentation, as well as production duties.

This isn't a folk, country or pop album, although it has elements of all three, if I was to point to a dominant influence I'd point to folk - somehow I picture Yvonne in a tie-die dress driving a volkswagon van following the Grateful Dead around. It's just a collection of songs - some of them pretty good. Independent Woman is a bouncy tune that recalls the Byrds at times with Jon's wonderfully jangly guitar work. There are a couple of other tracks I really enjoy as well. Look into My Eyes is a song that sounds a lot like early 80's Blondie - it's very catchy. To be honest this isn't the type of music I'd normally seek out to add to my collection, but it came my way and I figured I'd spin it a few times for the heck of it.

This is an independent release, and is available from Yvonne - she doesn't have a website, or distribution that I'm aware of, which is somewhat baffling. She went to a lot of trouble to make the CD - doesn't she want people to find out about her hidden feelings?

Reviewed May 6, 2005

How High The Moon (©1988)

1: Save Me From Myself 2: Bullets 3: It's Only The Blues 4: Holiday 5: Waiting 6: Shadows Of A Dove 7: The Boat Leaves Sunday 8: 90-92 9: Here I Am Again 10: The Color of Mary's Eyes

I can't believe it's been 20 years since I bought this album. After All was one of those woulda coulda shoulda bands. The boys were signed to Nettwork, distributed by Capitol - big guns by any one's standards. The album's lead off tracks "Save Me From Myself" and "Bullets" were really good songs. They received minor airplay, but the band never really took off. Which was strange because musically the guys were mining the best of what was going on: Blending U2, The Cure, Grapes of Wrath, Alphaville, Modern English (although they were another woulda coulda shoulda band too) - on and on into a tasty musical product. They weren't completely derivative - but listening now it's easy to pick apart.

At the time this was an album I played a lot, mainly for the first couple of songs, and when a follow up never materialized I just sort of forgot them. It's funny how listening to this, it's better than I remember. Songs like "Waiting for You" with it's folk infused penny whistle and jangly guitar groove stand out now more than they did back then. (Here comes some heavy cheese, wait for it) After all was said and done the band wasn't able to get off the ground let alone find out how high the moon really was.

Who knows why some stuff sticks and some stuff just slides into obscurity. Apparently lead singer Scott Acomba is still active - it would be cool to hear what he's been up to.

Long out of print, but worth hunting up if you want to hear a pretty cool 80's album.

Reviewed March 2, 2008

Never Going Back to OK (©2008)

1. The Secret Parade 2. Never Going Back To OK 3. Keeping Me Alive 4. Tonight 5. Ocean Wide 6. Myspace Girl 7. We Are The Sound 8. Falling Into Place 9. Beautiful Words 10. Forty-Two 11. Summer Again 12. One Moment Away

Runnin' Wild (©2008)

1. Stand Up For Rock 'n' Roll 2. Runnin' Wild 3. Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast 4. Diamond In the Rough 5. Fat City 6. Blackjack 7. What's Eatin' You 8. Girls In Black 9. Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women 10. Heartbreaker 11. Hellfire

Holy crap. 11 songs 36 minutes of musical chubby inspired party riff rock. Now let's get this out of the way right off. These guys bring nothing new to the table. Absolutely nothing. If I was is a pissy mode I'd dismiss these guys as simply nothing more than a glorified AC/DC cover band. Heck, if pounding out straight ahead predictable riff rock was a recipe for success Rhino Bucket and Jackyl would be headlining acts. Although one could argue that they did find some success flogging the same dead horse.

But you know what? I couldn't find it in me to shit on their parade. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then these guys are at least tipping their hats to the masters. Like AC/DC the band is anchored by a pair of brothers. Who knows if they'll strike it big - they just might. After all, the old school guys aren't getting any younger and frankly it's great to see new blood comin' up that ain't afraid to rock and isn't embarrassed by the past.

Next time you're looking for something to play really loud this album was made for you. If there's ever a time to pass the torch to the young guns now's as good a time as any.

Reviewed March 21, 2008

Volume Two (©1990 Virgin)

1: Lo and behold 2: New Age Radio 3: Love Was 4: Making Of Romantic Minute 5: Drive-Thru Colonics 6: Romantic Minute 7: Dermie, the Dermoid Cyst 8: French Made Easy 9: We Went To Graceland 10: Metal Line 11: St. Patrick's 12: Comedy 101, Flatulence Control 13: At The Mall 14: National Tractor 15: WPMS, Air Pirates Farewell

There are two ways of looking at this album. One is by totally dismissing it as a poor man's Monty Python. The other is listening to it, and basically laughing yourself into a state of nausea. I'm not a fan of the big F word and stuff, but I found myself sniggering in all the right places. I am pretty immature at heart, and there's nothing that warms the tummy like little "f" humour (F for Fart). I wonder if that'll be a Sue Grafton novel?

Out of print for years this is a treasured part of my collection. Ian Thomas may not have signed his name to this baby, but he's all over this thing. The Phil Collins song is brutal.

I often wonder if there was ever a volume one. Probably not. There's nothing on the net about this album. Which sucks.

Maybe one day I'll have a coffee with Ian at a Tim Hortons and I'll ask him.

All I Want to Say (©2004 Marathon Records)

1: All I Want to Say 2: Loversong 3: Blue Moon Risin'

A little tease from Andrewesley prior to the release of the upcoming CD. All I Want To Say, is a really solid pop song. It actually caught me by surprise - Andrew Carter as many (thousands and thousands) may remember was the blond guy in Aunt Bettys with the white Les Paul who tortured sounds out of his wood (his guitar - sheesh, mind out of the gutter please). So when this pretty pop song came out of the speakers I had to check to make sure I was listening to the right CD. Loversong is a solo acoustic song, and is quite good. Blue Moon Risin' is another cool acoustic song. I'm not sure where to peg the guy in terms of sound and style, which is a good thing. I suppose "singer songwriter" will have to do. It's refreshing to see the guy has more than one dimension as an artist.

(groaner alert) All I Want To Say about this guys is that I will be picking up the full release when it comes out.

Reviewed March 2004

Strength (©2004 Marathon Records #0001 / 1098)

1: From Within 2: One Step Closer 3: All I Want To Say 4: History 5: Fools 6: Never Again 7: Black Waterfall 8: Look Inside 9: Leave It Alone 10: Strength 11: Blue Moon Risin' 12: A Reply

See, I wasn't kidding when I said I would be picking this one when it came out. In fact for a hick from the wild Canadian wilderness I snagged the first copy, and scored a major coup over all of the California trend setters who were asleep at the switch. HAH!

Anyway, enough of that, eh?

One of the strengths of Strength (yeah I'm shameless) is the quality of the production, and the sonic depth of the album. The days where small market independent music was synonymous with crap are long gone. For those who like the credits, Chuck Cumming (Lifesavers, Aunt Bettys) plays drums, Jeff Elbel (Ping, Farewell to Juliet, Sunny Day Roses) provides the bottom end, and Bill Bowman provided some guitar and engineered and mixed the whole shebang.

As solid and clean as the production is, this isn't a perfect recording - at times Andrew's voice is just a little off (in a good way) and it keeps it real. If I wanted over produced I'd listen to Carman. The songs here are consistent throughout with no runts or filler. Loversong from the CD single doesn't get full band treatment, but Blue Moon Risin' does, and holy crap is it ever a cookin' tune. Other standout tracks include Fools, From Within, and the title track. Of course this is my list today ... it's a really good album, and has been playing a lot lately.

Here's hoping I'll be able to say I was one of the first on the wagon when he's rich and famous.

Reviewed July 6, 2004

Arcade (©1993 Epic)

Dancin With The Angels / Nothin To Lose / Calm Before The Storm / Cry No More / Screamin SOS / Never Goin Home / Messed Up World / All Shook Up / So Good ... So Bad ... / Livin Dangerously / Sons And Daughters / Mother Blues

One of those "Hey I never knew they had a band" albums. Fred Coury (Cinderella - a band I quite frankly never liked) and Stephen Pearcy (Ratt) released Arcade just as the bottom fell out of rock and roll - which would probably explain why I'd never heard of it until I found it in a bin for a dollar.

This is a basic formula riff rock album that offers nothing original or inventive, but dang if it doesn't sound pretty good cranked up. A few of the songs are definite keepers and fans of rock (I think the current term for those who miss the glam hair metal stuff is melodic rock) tunes like All Shook Up is a lot of fun; especially for people who wondered what ever happened to great guitar riffs. Dancin' with the Angels is fun even if it sounds so familiar it's irritating. So Good ... So Bad, is mostly bad - it's the worst kind of metal acoustic ballad songs - an accidentally horrible song. It's almost as bad as Mother Blues. The rest are okay and are good background noise.

I know there are some great moments here, but overall it's really not a great album. It's a fair album with a couple of redeeming moments. Stephen sounds like he always does, and if that appeals to you, so will this. Fred is a solid pounder, but if I didn't know who he was I wouldn't care.

Reviewed January 9, 2002

Neon Bible (©2007)

1. Black Mirror 2. Keep the Car Running 3. Neon Bible 4. Intervention 5. Black Wave/Bad Vibrations 6. Ocean of Noise 7. The Well and the Lighthouse 8. (Antichrist Television Blues) 9. Windowsill 10. No Cars Go 11. My Body Is a Cage

I was pretty skeptical when I was told that I just had to listen to this great band out of Montreal. My wife heard them on CBC and said they were really really cool. She probably heard them on DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera) which can range from excellent to excrement in the same show. DNTO exudes a subversive musical elitism I personally find offensive. All indie is good - everything else is drek for the unwashed who don't know any better and like Nickelback (hey, I like Nickelback). However, this isn't about crapping on the CBC (God bless the CBC) it's about how I finally gave in and gave Neon Bible a fair shake. I guess since someone was shoving the Bible down my throat I was entitled to be skeptical.

The first time through I was distracted and it sort of washed over me. I thought it was okay, but I couldn't figure out what the big deal was. So I started from the beginning again, this time I listened more closely. Oh crap. My wife was right. This is really cool stuff. These guys aren't going to blow you away with musical complexity - but the band creates a rich soundscape (they should, the band has more members than you can shake a stick at - almost as many as Counting Crows) that suits what they're doing (there's a great big "duh" statement). Given the amount of stuff I'm subjected to, I'm constantly underwhelmed by what's out there. It's refreshing to hear music that can actually mix art and style into something enjoyable.

The music is dark, poignant, and richly textured. It reminds me of Sisters of Mercy mixed up with Iggy Pop, Depeche Mode and The Cure for good measure. Please don't think I'm merely dismissing them as derivative - far from it. It's just a musical point of reference. This is definitely something worth checking out. Who knows if they can sustain this - even if they can't they sure nailed it this time.

There are a number of standout tracks - especially "Intervention" but I don't want to sell the rest short - it works as a body of work. The quirky title track is infectious. "No Cars Go" is another song I really enjoy. This is hands down the best album I've heard in a long time.

I suppose there will be the inevitable backlash against these guys - they're Canadian after all, and we love to eat our own.

Reviewed December 21, 2007

Love Is The Only Soldier (©2003 Universal)

1: If You Loved Me 2: Not Saying Goodbye 3: Love Is The Only Soldier 4: Anna Rebecca 5: Four Feet Deep 6: Only One 7: When You Left Me 8: Ruby Red 9: The Right Road Home 10: Fighting For The World

Jann Arden has one of the most emotionally charged voices in music today. She’s attained a level of success in direct contrast to many of her contemporaries by having talent, and not just a great set of lungs. She has an uncanny ability to weave an intricate pop song, however, musically “she’s been there, and done that before." Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm not taking any potshots. This isn’t meant to be a dig at Jann’s expense. Far from it, there’s always a reward for patience. It is a virtue for heaven’s sake. And the reward here; if you sit quietly and really listen the songs begin to expand and take on a depth and fullness not initially evident.

Which when you get down to it, is her real charm.

She's a subtle one.

Reviewed May 11, 2004

Anthologia (©2002 Geffen)

Tracks Disc One: Heat Of The Moment / Only Time Will Tell / Sole Survivor / One Step Closer / Time Again / Wildest Dreams / Without You / Cutting It Fine / Here Comes The Feeling / Ride Easy / Don't Cry / The Smile Has Left Your Eyes / Never In A Million Years / My Own Time (I'll Do What I Want) / The Heat Goes On / Eye To Eye / The Last To Know / True Colors Tracks

Disc Two: Midnight Sun / Open Your Eyes / Daylight / Lying To Yourself / Go / Voice Of America / Hard On Me / Wishing / Rock And Roll Dream / Countdown To Zero / Love Now 'Till Eternity / Too Late / Suspicion / After The War / Am I In Love? / Summer (Can't Last Too Long) / Prayin' 4 A Miracle / Days Like These

Asia is one of of those bands who never made my top 10 favourite lists in the 80's. I remember when "Heat Of The Moment" came out, and I laughed myself silly when Steve Howe's guitar solo stuttered and plunked it's way to the end of the song. I guess it was done on purpose as Steve is a pretty good player. Ha ha ha, a musical joke (notice how I'm not picking on Carl Palmer's clumsy drumming - only one insult per song. I know it was on purpose - I can almost hear the guys in the studio "Let's pretend we're punks who can't play our instruments, it'll sound really bad and make us sound really cool.")

Still, this collection is excellent. Sure it's dated in places, but in a word "Wow" this is really something. Contains the first three albums, and a lot of the b-sides and bonus songs. I was quite surprised by how much I like this. By the time Steve Howe left the band, most of the audience had stopped listening, which is too bad as the songs from Astra really rock. Go is still a phenomenal song.

I know there have been a lot of Asia collections over the last couple of years, but this is the only one I have, and for the price to get their entire catalog in one swoop is a hell of a deal.

Reviewed October 29, 2002

Phoenix (©2002 Geffen)

1. Never Again 2. Nothing's Forever 3. Heroine 4. Sleeping Giant / No Way Back / Reprise 5. Alibis 6. I Will Remember You 7. Shadow Of A Doubt 8. Parallel Worlds / Vortex / Deya 9. Wish I'd Known All Along 10. Orchard Of Mines 11. Over And Over 12. An Extraordinary Life

It's been decades since the classic line up of Downes, Howe, Palmer and Wetton released Alpha. The best thing I can say about Phoenix is that it sounds like the follow up to Alpha. Now, I came into this one with more than an open mind. I listened to deliberately like this one. Mainly because I'd read a couple of pretty uncharitable reviews. There were other sites that were awaiting this with baited breath. I've always kind of like Asia, so I was rooting for the old farts to pull this off.

And they do - sort of. The guys sound great and there are a couple of really great songs. The album kicks off with "Never Again" which is vintage Asia, as is "An Extraordinary Life". They're very good, but this isn't 1982, and although there's retro, there's also self indulgent. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you have to, or should.

This is one of those albums that will no doubt please the band's hardcore fans who have been waiting for 25 years to hear the original line up create music together. I'm kind of in the middle on this one - it's okay, but what was really cool and fresh now sounds cheesy and embarrassing at times.

It's quite likely this Phoenix will never get off the ground. I suppose I'm just an ash hole.

Reviewed May 23, 2008