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

Four O' Five (©1996)

1: How I Feel 2: I Think I'll Probably Rule The World 3: Matt's Song 4: Girl In My Pocket 5: Can't Stop Lov'n You 6: Change 7: Hate Free 8: Close My Eyes 9: The Trees Look The Same 10: Blue/Grey Brain 11: Dry 12: Black Rain 13: (Hidden ) Answering Machine 14: (Hidden ) Sally

It's always a weird thing to pull out stuff that's getting old, and try and listen to it with "new" ears. I am constantly amazed at how much stuff came out of Gene Eugene's Green Room - not to mention how much of it has managed to find a home in my house. Some of it good - some of it not so good.

Afewloosescrews is one of those baggy-assed skater thrash punk bands that has more energy than melody. I suppose there are people who think (or thought, as the case may be) that this was the cat's meow. I don't count myself among them - not to mention that I don't like cats. The band offers a tip of the hat to Rez Band with their cover of "Can't Stop Lov'n You" which is actually good fun. But this is one of those albums that runs one song into another and after close to an hour of atonal mush I really can't distinguish one piece from another.

I have to give props to Del, Dave and Matt for asking people to let them know how bad their record really was. It's not really bad - it's not good either.

Reviewed September 17, 2008

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

The Afters are the kind of band I like to dislike. They don't bring anything new to the table, and their fizzy brand of pop tends to go flat pretty fast. In short they're just another faceless band digging for gold and hoping to catch a lucky break.

To that end I can't really fault the boys in the band. The album is full of catchy songs, and are delivered with enough energy and life to make it enjoyable - while it's playing - and oddly enough it's an album I've spun more than a few times. The title track is a polished gem and as good as anything I've heard lately. Even the insipid "Myspace Girl" has a tongue in cheek charm - although it doesn't hold up over repeated listenings.

Who knows if these guys will make it over the hump and standout from their contemporaries - this was something I found by accident, and found myself enjoying it. This isn't a great album, but it is better than okay.

Reviewed July 23, 2008

1. Laser Love 2. One Rule for You 3. Dancing in the Shadows 4. Sometimes 5. Sailing Ship 6. Carry Me Home 7. Frozen Rivers 8. Love Will Always Make You Cry 9. Starflight 10. Der Kommissar 11. 1980-F 12. Der Kommissar (extended) 13. Joy

This was a strange trip down memory lane. I'd not heard these since the golden age of vinyl. At the time this cheesy 80's synth pop was all over the place and AFT hit it big with their take on Falco's Der Kommissar.

This collection is fun in the way looking at old home movies is fun. There are a lot of moans and groans and embarrassing shrugs when confronted by what you used to think of as cool and cutting edge. But for the most part this is good fun, and it's got enough energy and life to make up for the dated nature of the performances.

I remember listening to this quite a bit back in the early 80's, and although "Laser Love" has aged horribly, "Sailing Ship" is still as epic as I remember it, and when the band cut loose like on "Sometimes" they were a lot of fun.

Reviewed June 15, 2009

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.

Liberty Manifesto (©2007)

1. Edge of Your Mind 2. Midnight Black & Blue 3. Liberty 4. Headstream 5. River Runs Deep 6. Find Your Way 7. Addicted 8. Code 9 9. Rise 10. Moving Day 11. Transmutation 12. Cryin' Shame

Mike Shotten and Rik Emmett make up Airtime. Rik returns to his rock roots, and Mike Shotten pounds away - and despite having a good rock voice of his own, pushed Rik front and centre. Liberty Manifesto for many will be a welcome return to form for Rik. For me, this was something I read about, and it was pumped up as one of the year's great rock records.

The album sounds great, and benefited from a great mixing and mastering job at Metalworks. A side benefit of burying the hatchet with his old band mates (Gil runs the studio). While Airtime isn't Triumph, it's not really a Rik Emmett solo album either. Although this isn't the great album some of the press is hailing this to be, it is a pretty good rock record that back in the late 80's and even the early 90's might have turned a few heads. There are a couple of killer tracks here, which really stand out: "River Runs Deep" is quite possibly the best song on the album, and the riff infused "Rise" is a great tune with a lot of grit. "Transmutation" is another one of those riff rock songs that for lovers of classic rock, is a lot of fun.

I'm guessing this was a one off, and although it's a pretty genetic rock album, there are enough choice cuts to appeal to Rik's longtime fans.

Reviewed July 22, 2008

Standards (©1990)

1. Road 2. Unsafe Building 3. Stand 4. Sixty Eight Guns 5. Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke? 6. Absolute Reality 7. Strength 8. Spirit of '76 9. Rain in the Summertime 10. Rescue Me 11. Sold Me Down the River 12. Devolution Workin' Man Blues 13. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) 14. Marching On 15. Blaze of Glory

The Alarm is one of those bands I never really gave a lot of props to back in the 80's. The first album of theirs I picked up was Strength, and the title song absolutely rocked my world - but the rest of the album I dismissed as filler. Then a few years later I picked up Change and really like a couple of songs but for the most part they were a decent band, but not one I was rabid about.

So when I picked up Standards, it was more to get "Strength" (which still rocks my world by the way, and was probably the source of all the U2 comparisons) and some of the other songs I'd heard in passing - what I wasn't expecting was how good the rest of the songs would be. There is an 80's Brit-rock vibe to this, which stands to reason - Mike Peters' voice has been compared more than once as Bono "lite" but that's actually quite unfair. They need to spend more time actually listening to the band.

I'm not familiar enough with the band to know if this is their definitive "best of" from their early catalog - what I can say is that of the 15 songs represented here, there are some absolutely killer songs here, from the opening guitar attack on "Road", the soulful lament of "Unsafe Building", the anthemic "Spirit of '76" - the band literally closes the album with a "Blaze of Glory."

With Standards, the band has set the bar pretty high. If this is ordinary, what does it take to be excellent?

Reviewed September 18, 2008

1. I Wanna 2. Fallin' Apart 3. Damn Girl 4. Gives You Hell 5. Mona Lisa 6. Breakin'
7. Another Heart Calls 8. Real World 9. Back to Me 10. Believe 11. Wind Blows 12. Sunshine (hidden track) 13. I Wanna (demo)

Yeah I know I should be ashamed of myself. These kids are all that's wrong with pop music today. They're faceless, nameless, generic and lyrically pointless. Would it help if I said I agreed? But I can't help myself; I get a kick out of power pop. So what if it's all been done before? These guys are delivering the goods and if that puts them a notch above the Jonas Brothers, good for them.

I got this one off iTunes (a depressingly more regular occurrence than I want to acknowledge) and opted for the regular version, since the uber-duper version was just a bunch of demos and stuff, and frankly the first eleven songs was where the production budget went so that's the stuff I want to listen to.

The album delivers right out of the chute with "I Wanna" and when the next tune "Fallin' Apart" came on I did a double take. They lifted the intro from Dexys Midnight Runner's "Come On Eileen". I suppose they assumed (and rightly so) that a song written before they were born would be too old for any of their fans to recognize. Musically for the most part the songs on When the World Comes Down are pretty ordinary emopop stuff (I don't think it's a genre, but it should be) but the songs are pretty strong and I don't find myself skipping forward through any of the songs. There are some standouts: "Gives You Hell" is one of those songs that is wickedly catchy, and the great gang chorus midway through is a lot of fun.

There's the key to why this works so well. Fun. These kids know what they're doing is supposed to be fun. The guys show a little maturity on occasion "Mona Lisa" is a restrained acoustic ballad that is pretty lush for a barebones song, it's kind of the title track. Another standout is "Real World" which is right up there with the best songs on the album. No doubt radio will pick up on this - provided there isn't a new flavour of the month band that moves in on their musical territory.

When it all comes down, this is an album that delivered all the way through, and if you want to pick on these guys for rehashing the same of tired chords and teen angst there's enough here to fill your boots; however, I couldn't help myself and I found myself really enjoying the album.

Will the feeling last? Probably not. After all, this is bubble gum music - but while it's fresh it's awesome.

Reviewed May 4, 2009

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

Autocondo (©2008)

1: Paralyzed 2: Saw The Light 3: Wits End 4: Send Her Back 5: When The Dust Falls 6: Crimes 7: Better Days 8: Lemego 9: Cry Baby Cry 10: Evolution 11: Universe 12: Saw The Light (Reprise)

What do you get when you combine the talents of Tony Duggan-Smith and Neil Chapman (Pukka Orchestra, Neotone) with Russell Walker (a guy with a guitar and a studio) then add in the occasional lyrical contribution from Graeme Williamson (another old Pukker)? I don't know either, but the resulting musical cocktail is pretty freakin' good.

Tony, Neil and Russell each bring a slightly different feel to the songs they front. For beast with three heads this is a surprisingly cohesive work. Before I get too far along, I should probably point out this a concept album of sorts. You'll have to imagine the deep voiced (sadly now dead) movie trailer guy saying, "In a world without gas where even Mel Gibson would be hard pressed to drive a car, people have taken refuge in stacks on automobiles after the collapse of the condo market. These autocondos are home to those who are fighting to make a life for themselves without the benefit of caffeinated beverages"

Musically this is one of those albums that touches a lot of my happy buttons. It's got edge without resorting to noise. It's got melody and melancholy. It's got loops and funky percussion. There are jangly Beatlesque tones and with hints of Americana without resorting to cowboy hats (not counting the one Neil wears). The result is cooler than it sounds. There are even moments where Tony's vocals brings to mind echoes of Al Stewart's heyday (no that is not a shot! I thought it was cool). The boys even bring in a girl to sing. Sue Breit carries the reprise on "Saw the Light" and it's a nice addition. I wonder if she's part of them there brothers Breit who are so talented.

I've had this playing pretty steady for about a month and I keep finding more to like the more I listen to it. Songs like "Saw the Light", "Send Her Back" are really strong, but it's "Crimes" that really stands out as the showpiece for me. "Evolution" suffers a bit from sounding a bit like R.E.M.'s "The One I Love". I'm not good with lists, because like the dreaded "thank you" speech, invariably something gets left off.

If there's a downside to this album it's more to do with the state of album oriented radio and distribution. This is really good stuff and there are a lot of people out there who would no doubt really enjoy hearing this if they only knew about it.

Reviewed March 6, 2009

Sign in Please (©1984 RCA)

1. Send Her to Me 2. Turn up the Radio 3. Night Teen & Non-Stop 4. Cloud 10 5. Deep End 6. My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me 7. Thrill of Love 8. Friday 9. In the Night 10. All I'm Gonna Take

Okay, this falls deep into the guilty pleasure territory - I first bought this back when it came out, and it pushed all of my musical hot buttons. Of course the killer tune at the time was "Turn up the Radio" which featured some killer riff work by Steve Lynch who could tap and shred with the best the 80's had to offer. But I also got a real kick out of "Night Teen & Non-Stop", "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me" and "Friday" - songs that still bring a silly grin to my lips.

I have to admit that my review is based as much on nostalgia as it is the songs. This is pure 80's Glam, and if you were big into Def Leppard, and Van Halen this album delivered more than enough decent songs to be a welcome addition to any 80's fan.

I never had anything else by the band, and often wondered what became of these guys. I know there are a bunch of CD re-issues available by these guys - who knows I may satisfy my curiosity one day ...

Reviewed November 25, 2008

01011001 (©2008)

(Y) 1: Age Of Shadows 2: Comatose 3: Liquid Eternity 4: Connect The Dots 5: Beneath The Waves 6: Newborn Race 7: Ride The Comet 8: Web Of Lies

(EARTH) 1: The Fifth Extinction 2: Waking Dreams 3: The Truth Is In Here 4: Unnatural Selection 5: River Of Time 6: E=Mc2 7: The Sixth Extinction

I came across this album by accident near the end of 2007 and what I heard was intriguing. When it was released early in 2008 I snagged the deluxe package, and was blown away by what I heard. Ayreon is the brainchild of Arjen Lucassen a guy from the Netherlands who has been producing some of the coolest prog rock I've heard in ages. Thankfully Europeans have kept rock alive. Many of the vocalists I've not heard of, while others like Jorn Lande, Steve Lee (Gotthard), and Ty Tabor (King's X) are already at home in my collection.

The album is a conceptual thing, involving the Forever people, and the people of earth - it's pretty airy fairy, and to be honest the story isn't something I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out - which makes me pretty lazy, and a sloppy reviewer (ask me if I care). I'm more about the music and the songs, and what I like about this album is that it's not just a thrashfest - it's an intricate musical tapestry and it really does work as a complete piece over both discs. That being said, there are individual pieces I am drawn to. The opening track "Age of Shadows" is the centre piece of the collection and a hell of a track to boot, "Beneath the Waves" is very cool, and "Waking Dreams" is another piece I really like, it has an almost Alan Parson's element to it (no it doesn't suck) and a wonderful female vocal provided by Anneke van Giersbergen. Most of the tracks are quite strong, the only song that really doesn't work is the Internet love story "Web of Lies" a song that opens with the sound of a modem connecting to an ISP, something I'd not heard in years. Thankfully it's also the shortest song and by the time it gets annoying it's over. It's the only fly in the ointment so to speak.

The DVD is truly worth getting just to hear the guide demos with Arjen singing. He's got a great voice, and I wish I they were audio tracks that could be added to my audio library. Oh well, it's a pain in the ass, not the end of the world.

So how come it took so long for me to get to posting my thoughts on the album? I really don't know - I made more than one attempt to write it up, and I couldn't quite get it right. Which probably has you scratching your heard at this point doesn't it? I mean really, I've had this almost a year and my rambling thoughts are the best I could come up with after all this time?

In a word: Yes.

But take my word for it, if you like big, majestic, intricate and overblown prog with all the trimmings, you need to pick this up.

Reviewed (better late than never) January 8, 2009