Good Stuff (©2007)

1: Tell it Like it T-I-S 2: Hot pants Explosion 3: Good Stuff 4: Revolution Earth 5: Dreamland 6: Is that you Mo-Dean? 7: The Worlds Green Laughter 8: Vision of a Kiss 9: Breezin' 10: Bad Influence

Sometimes I get things because I find them in a bin and am curious. You know what they say about curiosity: It killed the cat. Thank goodness I'm not a cat.

Let me state, right off I never really liked these guys. I thought "Rock Lobster" was crap back when I was in my teens, and didn't like "Love Shack" when I was in my 20's. With so much love in my heart is it any wonder I'm not overly enthralled by Good Stuff? I blame nostalgia. Because when I hear their old (s)hits now I don't spew pea soup or immediately run from the room. I actually picked this up hoping I would like it. I listened to it once or twice and them filed it on the shelf.

I saw it today, and figured, "Hey, let's listen to this one, it can't be as bad as I remember it being." I'd not listened to this one for the better part of a decade so there was a chance it was better than I remember. On it went, and I cranked it up. I have to somewhat begrudgingly admit there are a few okay songs here: "Revolution Earth", "Vision of a Kiss" and "Breezin'" are straight ahead pop songs - but really nothing to make them standout from any other okay pop song. Possibly the best song is "Bad Influence" which is a poppy piece that has a fun groove and a good beat, and an edge (I'd give it a five Dick). I actually like this song more than I expected.

Overall though this really isn't good enough. Who knows maybe I'll pull it out again in another few years.

Reviewed May 29, 2008

Angel Down (©2007)

1. Angel Down 2. You Don't Understand 3. Back In The Saddle (w/ Axl Rose) 4. (Love Is) A Bitchslap (w/ Axl Rose) 5. Stuck Inside (w/ Axl Rose) 6. American Metalhead 7. Negative Light 8. Live & Die 9. By Your Side 10. Our Love Is A Lie 11. Take You Down With Me 12. Stabbin' Daggers 13. You Bring Me Down 14. Falling Into You

Yeah I know that Sebastian hasn't been in Skid Row for years and years. But like it or not, that's what he'll be remembered for so I can only guess that Angel Down was his attempt to break free of the past. I was never a big fan of his former band (I have a greatest hits), so it's still something of a mystery as to why I'd want to indulge in his solo work. Curiosity I suppose.

Everyone knows that the guy can sing. He has a set of pipes that are truly remarkable. So what does he do throughout most of the album? He screams his head off. If you were to hear this kind of noise anywhere else you'd call 911. It boggles my mind - I'm guessing that there will be people who will totally get off on the direction of this album, but for those of us who like a little melody in our rock will find this is palatable as a sardine milkshake.

Okay, so that's the bad. But there are a couple of glimmers of hope buried in the nearly hour long aural assault. First, there are a few songs where Axl Rose cameos, that are okay. One of the three is Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle", but the treatment doesn't bring anything new to the song. "By Your Side" and "Falling into You" are ballads, and Bach actually sings. Although they're the bright spots on the album - they're not outstanding songs. You've heard one heavy metal ballad you've pretty much heard them all.

All said and done, this isn't for those who associate Sebastian Bach with melodic rock. This is metal - if that's your cup of tea you may actually enjoy this. For me I'd rather listen the someone drag their nails down a blackboard. There's an angel down indeed; it's fallen and can't get up.

Reviewed January 12, 2008

Every Song Tells A Story (©2002 True North)

1: Prairie Town (song) 2: Prairie Town (story) 3: No Sugar Tonight (story) 4: No Sugar Tonight (song) 5: New Mother Nature (story) 6: No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature (song) 7: Undun (story) 8: Undun (song) 9: Let It Ride (story) 10: Let It Ride (song) 11: These Eyes (story) 12: These Eyes (song) 13: Laughing (pre-story) 14: Laughing (song) 15: Laughing (post-story) 16: Four Wheel Drive (story) 17: Four Wheel Drive (song) 18: No Time (story) 19: No Time (song) 20: American Woman (story) 21: American Woman (song) 22: Hey You (story) 23: Hey You (song) 24: Looking Out For #1 (story) 25: Looking Out For #1 (song) 26: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (story) 27: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet (song) 28: Taking Care Of Business (story) 29: Taking Care Of Business (song) 30: Shakin' All Over (encore song)

Recorded at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre this tiny venue was the perfect location for an intimate evening with Randy Bachman as he reminisced and performed over a dozen of the greatest pop songs ever written (and a couple of the world's schmaltziest songs too!)

Accompanied by a small tight band: Mick Della-vee (bass, vocals), Roge Belanger (drums) and Colin Arthur Wiebe (keys, guitar and vocals), the songs have been stripped down and are delivered with fresh insight.

Randy has one of those voices that truly belongs to a Muppet, but instead has found its way into rock and roll mythology. I know this sounds goofy, but I really like it. The person who probably has the toughest job here is poor Colin. Randy really was in an untenable position – if he didn’t get someone with the same range and sound as Burton the songs wouldn’t work, and if he sounded too much like Burton he was employing a clever imitator. So he got a talented player who sounded like Burton. And as good as his songs sound, I can't help but wish Randy had taken his shot at singing the songs he penned.

The stories are delivered casually and with good humour. Randy is obviously at ease, and is having a great time. The guy is a living legend, and I’m sure if he wanted he could do a spoken word concert and not run out of anecdotes.

With Every Song Tells a Story Randy has managed to take the unplugged genre, and add his own mini audio documentary twist.

This is really something.

Reviewed November 9, 2005

Merge (©1996 True North)

Born To Ride / There Ain't Nothin' Like It / Bad News Travels Fast / I Play The Fool For You / Nothin's Gonna Bring You Down / Anthem: For The Young / Please Come To Paris / No Reason To Cry / Can't Go Back To Memphis / Burnin' Up The Floor / Made In Canada / That's OK

For a while there in the 90's it looked like Randy was going to capture lightning in a bottle yet again. Merge was his second solo album in only a few years, and was even better than Any Road. Suddenly the big man was in vogue again. Like his previous album, Merge featured another collaboration with the venerable Mister Young.

Merge had a lot of good songs that featured Randy's voice and playing to good effect. What is amazing is that Randy's playing is better than ever. The guy is a master musician. It runs in the family too, for his son Tal assists on drums and guitars.

I know I go on about how I was inspired by this guitar player, and that guitar player, but at the top of the pile is Randy. Heck, the very first album I ever bought was BTO's Four Wheel Drive. I spent hours and hours trying to play along. Here it is years and years later, and I'm still being inspired by the old fart (I mean fart in the most respectful way possible) of rock and roll.

On the off chance that Mister Bachman (see, I'm being respectful) ever reads this, all I can say is "Thanks." Heck, I'll even treat at Tim Horton's if I ever get the chance to meet you in person.

PS I can't believe you actually snagged a Monkees Gretsch off Micheal Nesmith. How cool is that? If you'd like to pass a Gretsch my way I'll look after it real good.

Reviewed April 2003

This wasn't a review so much as a fan letter. It's my site, I'll do what I want. Randy rocks. Period.

Tal Bachman (©1999 Columbia)

1: Darker Side of Blue 2: She's So High 3: If You Sleep 4: Like Nobody Loves Me 5: Strong Enough 6: You Don't Know What Its Like 7: I Wonder 8: Beside You 9: Romanticide 10: Looks Like Rain 11: You're My Everything 12: I am free

Holy crap where has the last half decade gone? This has seen pretty regular play around my house for a number of years (mainly because the wife likes it). Let’s get “She’s So High” out of the way right off. It is a piece of pop brilliance that propelled the younger Bachman into the stratosphere. It was also no doubt the proverbial 1000 pound gorilla. Not many artists get a signature song right out of the gate and it always baffled me, why other songs on the album weren’t mined to the same effect.

The whole album is a sparkling example of how to make a great pop record. “If You Sleep” is a song so beautiful and haunting it should have been a monster, monster hit.

One of the hardest things to do is try and be successful as a second generation performer. Tal comes from a rock royalty family. Randy Bachman is just about as big as they come – the old man’s resume reads like a playlist from a rock and roll hall of fame radio show. Talk about trying to emerge out of his father’s shadow. And step out he does. I have no idea where he picked up his vocal inflections, but hey, it works. He’s taken the best elements of pop ala ELO and Badfinger, and harnessed George Harrison’s guitar style - it’s all meshed together into 46 minutes of pop magic.

This should have marked the beginning of an outstanding career. Look at the acts out there today, from Franz Turdinand, to The Killers, Jet and on and on. Tal was there years ago. So what happened?

Reviewed November 10, 2005

Freeways (©1977 Mercury)

the songs: Can We All Come Together / Life Still Goes On (I'm Lonely) / Shotgun Rider / Just For You / My Wheels Won't Turn / Down, Down / Easy Groove / Freeways

I never owned a vinyl version of Freeways. It was the BTO album I avoided buying, as I heard it was the worst album they made. It's not fair to judge an album when you buy it nearly twenty-five years after its release, but I'm going to anyway. For all the bad press, it is a pretty fair album. Not a good album, but it does have a couple of very good moments: "Life Still Goes On (I'm Lonely)" and "My Wheels Won't Turn", rank up there with the best BTO songs. There are even a couple of near misses.

From what I've read Randy wanted to take the band in a new direction and not get left behind. "Can We All Come Together" has a disco influence to it, and there are even strings and horns on some of the songs. Sadly, or thankfully depending of your opinion this was basically the last BTO album.

Reviewed June 16, 2000

Trial By Fire (©1996/1999 CMC Records)

House of the Rising Sun / Roll On Down The Highway / Trial By Fire / Hold Back The Water / Blue Collar / Gimme Your Money Please / Let It Ride / You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet / Not Fragile / Hey You / Take It Like A Man / Nothing Comes Easy / Testify / Four Wheel Drive / A Sense Of Danger

I found this one while surfing around Amazon.com (it was pretty cheap, even with the exchange!). I knew this album existed as it was released in Europe a number of years ago, but it never made it over here (Well, it still hasn't been released in Canada, which is a slap in the face to BTO fans - since the band is fiercely Canadian).

This album is a collection of re-recorded classics and a handful of new recordings. The feuding Bachmans are still at it, and although there's still a Randy in the band, it's Randy Murray. I miss the other Randy, but hey life goes on, and so did BTO.

This is a much better album than I expected. I mean, why go back to the well and redo songs that don't need to be redone? Oh joy BTO covering Bachman Turner Overdrive songs - were the boys that hard up? So I put it on fearing the worst. The first song didn't really help. Once it got going it picked up momentum, and chugged along gaining a pretty good head of steam.

Fred still has a great set of rock and roll pipes, and ranks up there with the best. The new songs were good too. Hey, the boys aren't pretending it's 1974, but they aren't adding samples and scratches either. Just guitar driven rock. Oh yeah!

Reviewed Nov 5, 2000

Here Comes Trouble (©1992)

1: How About That 2: Stranger Than Fiction 3: Here Comes Trouble 4: This Could Be The One 5: Both Feet In The Water 6: Take This Town 7: What About You 8: Little Angel 9: Hold On To My Heart 10: Brokenhearted 11: My Only One

I always liked Brian Howe's voice, and his tenure with the band was more slick and polished than the "classic" era fronted by Paul Rodgers. His time with the band is largely overlooked (completely if you check out the discography section on the band's current website), and although Here Comes Trouble was at the end of the polished rock era (I couldn't quite bring myself to say Hair Band) it was a decent rock album, although it's got a fair bit of cheese. Still, for me it pushed a lot of my favourite rock and roll buttons at the time. It hasn't aged as well as I'd remembered, but it's still a decent listen.

The album leads off with "How About That" and it's probably the best all out rocker on the album. Others like the mid tempo "This Could Be the One" and "Little Angel" are solid songs. In some ways it's too bad that when the Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke reformed the band along with Howe, they stuck with the Bad Company name - I suppose they had the rights, but in hindsight the formula employed by the v2.0 Bad Company bore little resemblance to the "classic" rock from the band's past.

The album's title was in its own way prophetic - except that the trouble that was just around the corner had more to do with changing musical tastes than anything the band was serving up.

Reviewed April 8, 2008

Urbano (©2001 Barnie Bear Records)

Ooh Ooh Baby / Street Meat / I'm A Shy Guy / Have I Told U Lately? / I Know / The Waiting / Oh Billy Billy Billy / Daddy's Little Girl / The Weird & Wonderful / I Hate Everybody Except My Cat / Traffic / Rock & Roll Cat / The Tears of Rain / Take My Hand / The Fine Art of Letting Go / Urbano / Leave Me Alone / Barnie & Janie / Instrumental / Instrumental / Louise Nevelson

Yes, this is one of my own projects - I have enough musical hubris to place my own stuff along side "real" albums. That being said I'll admit to having a hard time listening to a lot of the music I've put out over the years (but that hasn't stopped me from peddling it to an unsuspecting public). Urbano was first released in 1988. The CD was a labour of love, and in the process of putting it together I found an additional eight songs that weren't on the original release. The recording quality is marginal - this isn't 48 track digital (subtrack forty tracks, and make it analog). But it's not completely horrid either.

The music is all over the map. It's indie, pop, rock, progressive rock, and even a little bit of (gasp) country. I had a lot of fun making the record, and I find that I actually like this one. I'm sadly out of practice, and to hear what I was once capable of playing is kind of fun. You won't find this one in stores. If you want to take a chance on an unknown, drop by the webstore.

Reviewed April 25, 2001

All Their Greatest Hits 1991-2001 (©2001 Reprise)

1: The Old Apartment 2: Falling For The First Time 3: Brian Wilson 4: One Week 5: Be My Yoko Ono 6: Alternative Girlfriend 7: It's Only Me (The Wizard Of Magicland) 8: If I Had $1000000 9: Call And Answer 10: Get In Line 11: It's All Been Done 12: Jane 13: Lovers In A Dangerous Time 14: Pinch Me 15: Shoebox 16: What A Good Boy 17: Too Little Too Late 18: Enid 19: Thanks That Was Fun

Like a lot of people I first heard these guys when they burst onto the scene with their cover of Bruce Cockburn's Lovers in a Dangerous Time. I've followed them more or less ever since. There was some BNL backlash at home here in Canada, which is totally hard to understand, but in a strangely demented way very Canadian behaviour. This greatest hits package is a solid overview of the geeky nerds from Canada (notice how many times I was able to refer to Canada in one little paragraph?).

These guys have a deep well of talent to draw upon, and they cover the goofy to the serious with seemly little effort. They can rock too. It's hard to pick out a best moment on this best of collection. The ladies are a big musical parfait. The early layers are fun and folky, but as you go deeper the flavours change.

Who knows, one day these ladies will start to sag, but so far they're still perky.

Reviewed October 27, 2003

A funny thing happened - I reviewed this one twice, a thing I've not done before. So for your viewing pleasure is my second review of Bare Naked Ladies Greatest Hits.

“And nerds shall inherit the earth.” Long live the coolest geeks on the planet. Who’d a thunk a bunch of hyperactive Canadians would take over parts of the free world. Of course to many they’re best known for the silly behaviour and their big “novelty” hits like One Week, and Pinch Me. But to those of us who were first exposed to the guys on MuchMusic (Canada’s MTV) as they took advantage of Speaker’s Corner, or a little later when their video to Bruce Cockburn’s Lovers in a Dangerous Time was every where, these guys were only moments away from being superstars! Of course they attained the success they were due, and for some reason a bunch (at least half the population by last count) decided it was cool to hate the geeks. Of course they came around eventually, but who can figure out Canadians?

Anyway, the title for this disc is lifted from their own tongue in cheek song “Boxed Set.” What’s so cool about these guys is that they are silly, full of energy, but they are completely serious about their music. They write great tunes, and take time with their lyrics and the seriousness with which they approach their art belies their outward attitudes – they are completely serious.

Over a decade (my how time flies) these guys have managed to move themselves from college kids to young adults and they’ve made the transition from nerdy kids, to the cool uncle. This collection of 19 songs is excellent, and oddly enough there are songs I wish were here – which speaks to the strength of their catalog.

Here’s to another decade. I wonder what kind of grandparents they’d make.

Revenge of the nerds indeed.

Reviewed January 13, 2005

Everything To Everyone (©2003 Reprise)

1: Celebrity 2: Maybe Katie 3: Another Postcard 4: Next Time 5: For You 6: Shopping 7: Testing 1, 2, 3 8: Upside Down 9: War on Drugs 10: Aluminum 11: Unfinished 12: Second Best 13: Take It Outside 14: Have You Seen My Love? 15: Another Postcard (Acoustic) 16: Maybe Katie (Acoustic) 17: Second Best (Acoustic)

There’s a saying that you can’t be all things to all people; which flies in the face of Barenaked Ladies latest offering, which as the titles suggests the lads are making a go at making the perfect album.

On the plus side it is a nice sounding record full of very good performances and little nerdy quirky bits that are the trademarks of these adroit musical chameleons. What’s missing is any spark. Another Postcard is fun, but it’s so close to One Week and Pinch Me in its staccato delivery you can almost hear the guys trying desperately to get history to repeat itself. Overall there’s just nothing here to push it over the status of journeyman album. It’s not offensive, or crappy – it just is. It’s not an embarrassment to their catalog, it’s just kind of there. If this album was a cartoon character it would be Charlie Brown (a lot of people liked Charlie Brown).

I’ll keep listening to this one, as no doubt it’ll grow legs and slowly smolder its way under my skin. It’s just that with audiences being what they are, acts don’t get a lot of repeat listens. I’ll listen again and again because I bought it, and dang it, I’m gonna like it (eventually).

The three bonus tracks are interesting takes on the originals, and are worth hearing. See how it’s starting to work its way under my skin already. Give me a few months and it’ll be on the tip of my tongue.

Reviewed October 28, 2003

(a dozen listens later ... )

Okay, I'll admit that someone peed in my cornflakes before I gave this one its inaugural spin. It took a few listens to get under my skin, and it's there now baby. Here's my revisionist take on the album. Notice that there are now more than 3 stars rather than my initial two and a half? That's an improvement of one whole star. I wonder what would happen if I shut myself in a room with no food and water for a week with only this CD to keep me company?

I'm sure the tried and true geek rockers out there were all over this one like flies on stink, but as a casual fan who has a bunch of their records it didn't make a good impression. I still stand by my observation about Ed and his ability to channel Snow on Postcard. I know it sounds cool and all, but it's wearing a little thin, cool once, nifty twice, irritating three times. I can hardly wait to see what they do on their next album. Pinch Me in One Week and I'll see if I got your Postcard (oh that's bad).

If you like the lads you'll like this one too.

Re-viewed October 28, 2003

While The Door Is Open (©1997 Pamplin)

Tracks: Awaken Me / Great Big Sky / Know That I Love You / You Reached Down / Living In Our Hearts / Precious In His Eyes / Beautiful One / Good Shepherd / The Perfect One / Bow Down In The Light

Billy Batstone is a well know name to those who have been reading the fine print on some of the better music to come out in the last twenty years. From his work with Mark Heard, Larry Norman, and Randy Stonehill, he’s a solid musician.

When I found this one, I figured it was worth taking a chance since it was on sale and all. I’ve been listening to it off and on for a while, and have been meaning to jot my thoughts down for a few months.

Well, here they are.

This is surprisingly good. The first track is my favourite tune, and makes a strong opening statement. Billy’s voice is earnest and emotional, and his songs are quiet and engaging. The downside is that this suffers from a sameness that distracts from the overall experience. Perhaps sameness is the wrong word - a lack of energy is closer to the truth. This is very laid back recording, and dances the edge between well played and boringly careful. Don’t get me wrong, I like this album, and it has seen a lot of time in the player this year.

Reviewed March 31, 2003

1962-1966 / 1967-1970 ( ©1993 EMI / Apple)

1962 - 1966 [Disc 1] 1: Love Me Do 2: Please Please Me 3: From Me To You 4: She Loves You 5: I Want To Hold Your Hand 6: All My Loving 7: Can't Buy Me Love 8: A Hard Day's Night 9: And I Love Her 10: Eight Days A Week 11: I Feel Fine 12: Ticket To Ride 13: Yesterday

1962-1966 [Disc 2] 1: Help! 2: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 3: We Can Work It Out 4: Day Tripper 5: Drive My Car 6: Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) 7: Nowhere Man 8: Michelle 9: In My Life 10: Girl 11: Paperback Writer 12: Eleanor Rigby 13: Yellow Submarine

1967-1970 [Disc 1] 1: Strawberry Fields Forever 2: Penny Lane 3: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 4: With A Little Help From My Friends 5: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 6: A Day In The Life 7: All You Need Is Love 8: I Am The Walrus 9: Hello, Goodbye 10: The Fool On The Hill 11: Magical Mystery Tour 12: Lady Madonna 13: Hey Jude 14: Revolution

1967-1970 [Disc 2] 1: Back In The USSR 2: While My Guitar Gently Weeps 3: Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 4: Get Back 5: Don't Let Me Down 6: The Ballad Of John & Yoko 7: Old Brown Shoe 8: Here Comes The Sun 9: Come Together 10: Something 11: Octopus's Garden 12: Let It Be 13: Across The Universe 14: The Long And Winding Road

Affectionately known as the Red and the Blue, together they made up the Beatles’ ubiquitous anthology. Everyone had these it seemed, and when the fine folks at Capitol finally started releasing the Beatles on CD, the hue and cry from the fans as to when they would release their beloved Red and Blue would finally be released on CD was put to rest in the early 1990’s.

Having grown up in the 1970’s the Beatles were years in the grave as I rocked out to “Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room”, “Let it Ride” and “Ballroom Blitz”. However, I knew about the Beatles – how could I not? I never had a lot of their stuff. Just the essentials: The Red, the Blue and the White album (white vinyl baby!). It was sufficient, and covered all I needed. Of course to the hardcore Beatles aficionado, I speak heresy, but to the average person this was all you needed (in addition to love).

Hard to imagine that in the short span of less than a decade these four lads made an impact on popular music and culture that still reverberates to this day. The Red, takes up the early years from 1962 to 1966. It’s hard to imagine two discs and 26 songs, all of which are classics. Unbelievable. You just don’t find albums like this. Anthologies by their very nature are supposed to be hit and miss affairs.

The Blue is the boys with their hair down, and their amps cranked. From 1967 to 1970 the Beatles were pushing boundaries and either leading or mirroring the dramatic societal changes going on. It’s pretty tough to think of the 60’s and not think of the Beatles. There was an undeniable magic between the four, and a creative energy that no other band has been able to replicate. Oh sure, there’s no shortage of bands out there, but there’s great, and then there’s the Beatles. 28 songs are on Blue, and are all little snippets of the times. To put it in perspective the two discs have 54 songs that are all recognizable. There’s no real fluff here, and you just know that there are literally dozens of other songs that didn’t fit on the four discs.

Depending on where you sit on the curve with the Fab Four, you’ll have a favourite era. I waffle back and forth between albums, and can’t really tell you definitively which I prefer.

You’re probably wondering if I’m such a great big fan, why I don’t have all of their albums. To which I can only sheepishly reply, “I’m a product of my own nostalgia. All I need is the Red, White and Blue.”

So if you’re one of those fans who really like the Beatles … you already have this. If you’re new to scene, you can pretty much start and stop here.

Reviewed April 20, 2006

You Had It Coming (©2000 Epic)

the songs: Eathquake / Roy's Toys / Dirty Mind / Rollin' And Tumblin' / Nadia / Lose Canon / Rosebud / Left Hook / Black Bird / Suspension

Attention all you guitar players who think shredding notes is the mark of a virtuoso. Jeff Beck once again proves that the quality of the note is more important than how many you can fit into a second.

You Had It Coming is a little bit like Satriani's Engines of Creation, and a whole lot like vintage Beck. Who'd a thunk that back in the 60's Jeff Beck would be pushing boundaries thirty years later and showing contemporaries the nuances of the guitar. Sure a lot of the more aggressive tunes showcase Mr. Beck as the master of the blistering note, but it is the more subtle songs like Nadia, and the wondrous Suspension where his soaring guitar work makes you stop and go "whoa" I am listening to a master.

Take notes and learn grasshopper.

Reviewed November 16, 2001

Jeff (©2003 Epic)

1: So What 2: Plan-B 3: Pork-U-Pine 4: Seasons 5: Trouble Man 6: Grease Monkey 7: Hot Rod Honeymoon 8: Line Dancing With Monkeys 9: JB's Blues 10: Pay Me No Mind [Jeff Beck Remix] 11: My Thing 12: Bulgaria 13: Why Lord Oh Why?

This one took a few listens to appreciate. Jeff goes a little farther down the road less traveled, and the results aren't always shining examples of melodic pop, but they are pretty freakin' cool examples of how to create some pretty wicked ass tunes.

Of course this makes for some borderline unlistenable music, even if it is technically awe inspiring. Seasons would be an amazing song if it wasn't for Ronni Ancona's vocals. They distract more than enhance the song. Jeff has a number of songs featuring vocals, and for the most part they tend to be the weaker songs, although I'll admit that Hot Rod Honeymoon has a certain novelty charm. When Jeff puts it all together, as on JB's Blues, the results are inspiring.

The show stoppers were saved for last. The first being the all too short Bulgaria, the second Why Lord Why both featuring the London Session Orchestra. A whole album of songs in this vein would be amazing.

Sadly for all the great moments here, it's not really a listen for the casual fan. Then again, does Jeff Beck have casual fans?

Reviewed February 29, 2004

Pat Benatar

Best Shots (©1989)

01 Love Is A Battlefield 02 Promises In The Dark 03 One Love 04 All Fired Up 05 We Live For Love 06 Hell Is For Children 07 Shadows Of The Night 08 Hit Me With Your Best Shot 09 We Belong 10 Invincible [Theme From The Legend Of Billie Jean] 11 Fire & Ice 12 Heartbreaker 13 Suffer The Little Children/Hell Is For Children (Live) 14 Painted Desert 15 Outlaw Blues

When I was in high school Pat Benatar ruled the airwaves. She rocked, was hot, and had a killer guitar player. I'm driving home the other day and "Heartbreaker" comes on the radio, and I was immediately transported back to 1979, when the dregs of disco could still be heard on the top 40. Pat was fighting the good fight. So I went into the dungeon and dug up her greatest hits - it had been a long time since I'd listened to her stuff.

She had a lot of hits too. The number of hits she managed to put our in the span of a few short years is remarkable. What's surprising about Best Shots are the missing songs: "Treat Me Right" and "You Better Run" from Crimes of Passion are missing - they would have fit on the CD. After all, did we really need the live version of "Hell is for Children" in addition to the studio version? Still, a pretty small gripe considering there's really not much in the way of filler to be found here. She was the original metal queen (apologies to Lee Aaron) and for a while there she really did take her best shot, and landed most of them.

It's hard to imagine that it's coming up on 30 years since her debut. As I listened to this collection again I was really surprised at how well her material has held up. There's a lot to be said for writing and performing straight ahead pop songs without a lot of extra baggage - they tend to age better than their more cutting edge counterparts.

Reviewed December 19, 2007

In Loving Memory Of (©1997 Atlantic)

1: The Oaf 2: That Song 3: Look What I Found 4: Blown Wide Open 5: How Would You Know 6: Oh My 7: Under The Lighthouse 8: Fall Through The Cracks 9: Waste 10: By The Way 11: Between You And I 12: Prayer 13: Overemphasizing

I haven't played this for a while, but the with me playing the new Thornley release a lot lately I figured it was time to reacquaint myself with this album. Like many people my first exposure to the band was "The Oaf". The Baba O'Rileyish sound grabbed my attention, and the rest of the song was a killer. This was followed by "That Song" which was huge in Canada, Heeeeeyuge I says! With the mind blowing "Overemphasizing" closing the album.

So here I am again, listening closely to see how things are holding up, and it's actually better now than it was then. The rest of the album is pretty good too. I guess I've finally caught up with 1997.

There was a follow up, which I didn't buy - but if I find it cheap ...

Just so you know, "Overemphasizing" is still an astoundingly great song.

Reviewed October 6, 2004

Warpaint (©2008)

1. Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution 2. Walk Believer Walk 3. Oh Josephine 4. Evergreen 5. Wee Who See The Deep 6. Locust Street 7. Movin' On Down The Line 8. Wounded Bird 9. God's Got It 10. There's Gold In Them Hills 11. Whoa Mule

I was never a big fan of The Black Crowes. Sure, I'd heard the big songs off their debut, and I thought they were pretty cool and all, but for whatever reason the band always kind of bugged me. It didn't help at all when I saw them open for Robert Plant years ago and they pulled off a horrible opening set. Commercially the band has been on a downward spiral since their multi-platinum debut; so when I heard they were releasing their first album of new material in years I really didn't give a rat's ass.

But then a strange thing happened after the Maxim incident. They became under dogs. It's not like Maxim did anything I wasn't thinking, but dang it - that's a professional magazine and they should at least listen to the stuff before shitting on it. So I figured since I didn't really like the band that much, I'd take a chance and see what all the fuss was about.

I have to admit that the first couple of spins through, I thought it was okay, but with a title like Warpaint, I was expecting an aural assault that would leave me breathless. The album kicked off with "Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution" and it's what I would consider a typical Black Crowes boogie woogie effort. It was pretty good, but it didn't really do much for me. Instead the album is mostly mid tempo songs that feature a healthy dose of smoldering riffs and great slide work. The best example of this is "Oh Josephine" a song that builds like a spiritual and ends with a killer musical epiphany. Speaking of spirituals, Chris is unleashed on "God's Got It" a song that brought a grin to my face. But the the strangest song for me was the folk-blues of "Whoa Mule" a song that really got under my skin and is probably one of my favourite songs on the album. I'd love to hear a collaboration between these guys and T Bone Burnett.

No doubt the band's hard-core fans are scratching their heads trying to figure out what happened to their southern rock bar band - but for me this was a heck of a surprise. Given the resurgence of retro, and the success of Americana roots rock, here's hoping these guys are able to do a little victory dance once they take their make-up off.

I may have to go back and revisit their older stuff - there's a pretty good chance I missed out on some pretty good stuff over the years.

Reviewed March 22, 2008

Way Before The Flood (©1995 5 minute Walk)

1: Justified 2: Wbf 3: Mudhouse 4: Cleverness 5: Adrian James 6: Primrose 7: Happy Face 8: Comte's Perspective 9: Handshake 10: Confirmation Day 11: Nail Holes

I was lured into a Christian Bookstore the other day, and there in the back corner was a monstrous table full of clearance stuff - Never one to resist a deal (5 for 20 bucks) I figured I'd go through the pile and see what I could find. I found a couple of titles by the curiously named Black Eyed Sceva, and figured what the hell (whoops), I mean what the Heaven - I'd take a chance and see what they were like.

Now, first off I'll say right off that this is a pretty good record, but there's an overpowering "Haven't I heard this all before" feel to their music. Then again, all music is derivative to some degree. I guess it has more to do with the fact that they're not emulating my favourite sounds. I wish singers would learn that proper diction isn't a bad thing. Even Michael Stipe learned how to enunciate after several years of impersonating Don Corleone.

They have a catchy style that brings to mind early R.E.M. and a host of other angst acts like Counting Crows, and Gin Blossoms. Pretty good company at that, now that I think of it. I've been playing this for a bit now, and it grows on me a little more every time I listen to it. I'm still waiting for a song to leap out at me, but there aren't any stinkers here which is a plus.

Not a bad album, just not a good one either.

Reviewed June 27, 2003

5 Years, 50,000 Miles Davis (©1996 5 minute Walk)

1: Ryan's Driveway 2: Ecumenical 3: Twain 4: Soapbox 5: Confirmation Day (Live) 6: Adrian James (Live) 7: Nailholes (Live) 8: Invisible Sun

The other clearance CD. This continues the band's good old fashioned generic modern rock stylings. Features three live songs that appeared on their album Way Before the Flood. The live songs have a lot of energy, and I can imagine them being pretty cool to hear live.

There's nothing wrong with this stuff, in fact it's pretty good - it's just that I've been listening to a lot of music like this lately, and there's nothing here that really distinguishes itself from the rest of what's out there.

Sorry boys - missed it by this much.

Reviewed June 27, 2003

In the Future (©2008)

1. Stormy High 2. Angels 3. Tyrants 4. Wucan 5. Stay Free 6. Queens Will Play 7. Evil Ways 8. Wild Wild 9. Bright Lights 10. Night Walks

This was an unexpected treat. Somehow through an ever increasingly weird series of six degrees of separation I stumbled upon Black Mountain. The first time through I have to admit that it didn't really do much for me - the songs were plodding, at times overly long, and quite frankly it was hard to get through.

So ignoring my mom's advice about keeping my pie hole shut when I have nothing good to say, I was quietly preparing myself to write a scathing review of In the Future. I put on the headphones, cranked it up - ready to pick fault and crap all over the band's latest effort. Then a funny thing happened ... I started to groove. I was tapping my foot, and for some strange reason got the munchies. The lead off song "Stormy High" owes more to Wolfmother, than it does to anything I remember listening to as a kid - but it was a full on riff-fest. In short it rocked.

Now I will say right off, that I'm having a real hard time with Amber Webber's vocals. One thing I can't stand is a thin reedy voice with an overly pronounced "vibrato" at the end of a phrase. However, I have to say that when the band uses her voice as a counter the effect can be quite cool. It's just when she steps up and take the lead that things go south for me.

But who am I to wank on the band? So let's stick to what works, and this works way more than it falls flat. Sure it's borderline pretentious, and it's over indulgent - but it's good old fashioned classic rock, without resorting to musical masturbation. "Wucan" is really cool, but suffers from a lame fade out. Heck, even Barry Manilow was an advocate for a strong ending. The coolest, and oddly enough at times the worst song on the album is the band's opus "Bright Lights" - the beginning is truly horrible. I had images of Gremlins sitting around in a circle chanting "Bright Lights Bright Lights" - it's almost something I'd expect lyrically from the hairy Swedes in TSOOL. However, the song clocks in at around seventeen minutes, and once it gets going builds up a pretty decent head of steam.

Black Mountain is one of those bands who is mining the past the create the future.

Reviewed February 10, 2008

On Flame With Rock & Roll (©1990)

1. (Don't Fear) The Reaper 2. Transmaniacon MC 3. Cities on Flame With Rock & Roll 4. Kick Out the Jams 5. R. U. Ready 2 Rock 6. Career Of Evil (single version) 7. Godzilla 8. Burnin’ For You 9. Dominance & Submission 10. Death Valley Nights

Growing up I had a bunch of friends who thought that Blue Öyster Cult were the original monsters of rock. They wove sword and sorcery into their music, wrote songs with Michael Moorcock, and had some cool album covers. I did have the Heavy Metal Soundtrack and I did think "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" was cool (although it's not on this collection).

I'd always wanted to pick something up that had "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and "Burnin' for You" - so this budget collection is just what I was looking for. It's funny how deceiving radio can be - the bands big hits all came courtesy of guitarist Buck Dharma. I've always liked his voice, and the big hits were sung by him. What I didn't know was that the official front man was Eric Bloom. There must be some interesting dynamics in the band, but I'd have to guess that since Eric and Buck have been working together for more than 35 years they're comfortable with their roles.

To be honest I found most of the album a bit of a disappointment outside of the two big hits plus "Godzilla". The songs are okay but nothing else really jumped out and grabbed my attention. Still, this little collection had exactly what I was looking for, and the rest of the songs are better than mere filler.

Reviewed December 31, 2007

Blur (©1997 EMI)

1: Beetlebum 2: Song 2 3: Country Sad Ballad Man 4: M.O.R. 5: On Your Own 6: Theme From Retro 7: You're So Great 8: Death Of A Party 9: Chinese Bombs 10: I'm Just A Killer For Your Love 11: Look Inside America 12: Strange News From Another Star 13: Movin' On 14: Essex Dogs

You know, I never thought I’d ever ever ever buy anything by Blur. The song “Girls and Boys” was so outrageously horrible I couldn’t hear the song without wanting to jam sharp sticks into my ears, it poisoned me to the band. Then they came out with a song so infectious I told myself that if I ever found the album cheap I’d take a chance.

Well, here I am nearly a decade later finally getting my first full on exposure to the band. Um, - did I mention that “Song 2” still kicks ass? Of the fourteen songs here, the lads manage to nail a song out of the park – once. Which kind of puts this album around (around, no - exactly) 7.14% excellent.

Of course I’m being a total shit to these poor lads, since some of this is actually pretty creative, but it is not an album I particularly enjoyed - And I was approaching this from my happy place. It didn’t help –after hour or so of the wanking wandering noodling that would make some of Radio Head’s later work sound pleasing I was ready to say uncle.

Have I mentioned that “Song 2” rocks?

Of course this isn’t as bad as I’m making out. I’m still a little pissed at these guys for that “Girls and Boys” song so I’m just being a pratt on principle.

While this really isn’t an album I like a lot, there were some odd moments that worked for me, aside from the frequently aforementioned “Song 2”. “On Your Own” surprised me, since it really is a noisy fart of a song, but it got under my skin, and is actually pretty catchy. “Death of a Party” is cool in a twisted way. “Look Inside America” is probably one of the better songs on the album. "Essex Dogs" is over 8 minutes of drek. It's the musical equivalent of playing dodge-ball and getting hit in the nuts over and over again by some sadist. But you know it’s getting thin when you have to listen that closely to try and pick out the positive.

Which is why I always like Siskel and Ebert. It was up or down. Here I am trying to find the silver lining on an album I didn’t really like all that much except for a few occasional moments.

Did I mention “Song 2” really kicks ass?

Reviewed August 15, 2005

25 Thousand Days (© 1996 Alma)

the songs: I Feel A Change Coming / Giving In / Balloons / Saving Face / While I'm Learning You / The Way Of Things / The Truth / Stuck In Between / 25,000 Days / Old Diamond Ring

This is the third album by The Boomers, and arguably the best so far (I said that about the second too).  All three albums have seen a lot of play at my house.  Fronted by Ian Thomas (yes he's Dave's older brother) and fleshed out by some of the best musicians around, these guys write tight, complicated and real songs.  The music falls in between pop, rock and jazz, but doesn't really fit into any comfortable category.  If you can find any of their albums you won't be disappointed.

Midway (©2002 Alma)

Tracks: I Want To Believe In Something / Greedy Man / Particularly Old / Life Goes On / Can I Love You Now / Imaginary Lines / Expectations / I Remember / Objectify Me / Politically Correct

After too many years The Boomers resurface (finally) with Midway. Ian, Peter, Bill and Rick the middle aged farts of the music business prove that youth is indeed wasted on the young - or at least the immature.

Ian Tomas is perhaps one of the best songwriters on the planet (or at least in Canada). He's got a wicked eye for the absurd, and his emotional vocals allow him to put out the most biting sarcasm without appearing overly angry or defeated. Bill Dillon is an atmospheric guitar player who along with the amazing backing of Peter and Rick rounds out The Boomers.

The songs continue along the tried and true lines of their pop formula from their previous releases (this is not, I repeat NOT a bad thing). This is not to say that this is boring paint by numbers stuff - far from it. If you appreciate layered moody poignant music The Boomers are an oasis in a predominantly barren musical landscape.

This is an enhanced CD with lot of extra goodies, which are an added bonus.

Hopefully it doesn't take so long for the next one.

PS Ian Thomas remains one of the few artists I'd like to have a coffee and donut with at a Tim Hortons. I'll buy.

Reviewed October 28, 2002

Bourgeois Tagg (©1986 Island)

the songs: Changed / The Perfect Life / Heart of Darkness / Body Count / Dying to be Free / Mutual Surrender (What a Wonderful World) / The Move Up / Electric Train / Let The War Begin

I remember hearing the song Mutual Surrender on the radio and thinking that it was a pretty good tune, but I wasn't about to go out and pick up the album. Then a couple of years later I was rummaging through a remainder bin, and there it was. Okay, I could shell out a couple of bucks and not be too hard done by if it sucked.

This is an 80's record, and it has a lot of the synthesizer sounds that were big back then. This is a nice piece of nostalgia, and there are a couple of really good songs here. The best being Dying to be Free.

Reviewed August 12, 2000

YoYo (©1987 Island)

the songs: Best of all Possible Worlds / Cry Like a Baby / Pencil & Paper / Out of My Mind / 15 Minutes in the Sun / Waiting for the Worm to Turn / I Don't Mind At All / What's Wrong With This Picture / Stress / Coma

The songs are stronger this time around and there's a lot more going on musically. I too wish that more of the songs were like I Don't Mind At All. That little song got a fair bit of attention when YoYo first came out, and I know a lot of people felt like victims of a bait and switch when they heard the rest of the album.

That's the way it is folks. Take this for what it is or leave it. I took it, but I don't think too many others did. Which was ultimately their loss.

Reviewed August 12, 2000

Battle Cries (©1992 Pakaderm / Word)

the songs: All Together Now / The Waiting / If That Ain't Love / Running All My Life / Tears Of A Broken Heart / Little Love / Never Live Without Your Love / Big World / Ride With The Rhythm / Just A Man / All Together Now (studio mix) / Running All My Life (studio mix)

Sigh, I miss this type of music. One of the many John and Dino Elefante productions, excellent ear candy, but nothing that will stand the test of time. The Brave fit right in with all the Hair Bands that ever were. Unlike their secular counterparts, the message is a little more meaningful that just trying to get laid, or complaining about not getting laid. There are a number of great songs on this album, Ride with the Rhythm being the best of the lot.

The Breits (©1997 Alert)

the songs: No Regrets / I Should Be With You / Red Line / We Are Ready / Don't Break Down / Rolling Thunder / Faith / Tell Me / Heart Without A Home / One Step To Another / Spirits / Jack & Jill

I waited nearly ten years for this follow up to 1988's The Breit Brothers.  An excellent album, with a gritty thoughtful style that thankfully doesn't have echoes of every other pop band out there. There are a number of stand out tracks, but my favourites (today at any rate) are Spirit, Heart Without a Home (co-written by Tracy Howe), and No Regrets.  All in all worth waiting for.  Hopefully it's not another decade between efforts.

Additional November 2000

If you want to hear a couple of their songs follow the link to John Wheels Hurlbut's page. He's a sound engineer at Manta Eastern Sound and has a number of different full version MP3s available to sample.

Snakes In The Playground (©1992 Star Song)

1: Rattlesnake 2: Would You Die For Me 3: Psychedelic Super Jesus 4: Fallout 5: Saltriver Shuffle 6: Dust Through A Fan 7: I Miss The Rain 8: Don't Use Me (Intro) 9: Don't Use Me 10: Picture Perfect 11: Love, Money 12: Some Things Never Change 13: Goodbye (Intro) 14: Goodbye

Holy freakin’ smokes. I should have been paying more attention to what was coming out of Christian rock in the early 90’s. These guys are monsters, they can play like nobodies business, from start to finish this is a hot tamale of shriekin and shreddin. Except for the mandatory insipid cowboy rock ballad. I Miss The Rain is okay, but I could easily miss this one (hah! I kill myself).

So I’m a little late getting on the bandwagon, but this is a lot of fun, and pushes all of the big fat buttons I like to have pushed. I may even try growing my hair out ...

This is no holds barred rock and roll boys and girls. If you want your metal heavy this is unbeatable. These guys are not kidding around, they rock as hard as they talk.

Crank it up and pour some sugar on me.

Reviewed September 17, 2003

Oddities (©1998 Organic)

Tracks: Intro / I Ain't Coming Down / Why Won't He Break / If I Told You It Was The End Of The World / I Found God / Closer To The Center Of The Earth / Tomorrow Makes No Sense / Day By Day / Spirit / It Is Only When I'm Left Alone / God's Human Oddities / Under The Blood / Die A Little Bit Every Day / Restore Me

Holy Heavy Metal Preachers Batman! These guys have something to say, and they're not gonna be subtle about it. Good for them. Oddities is my first exposure to Bride and it took a couple of listens through to get into the groove. Produced with help from the Elefante brothers and supported by guitarmeister Tony Palacios and vocalist Jamie Rowe of Guardian fame this is a pretty solid rock fest.

Not completely my cup of tea, there are a number of pretty wicked rock tunes on this one. I Ain't Coming Down is brutal (as in good), and sets the tone for most of the album. Admittedly my tastes run to the melodic rock (I know I know, shame on me) and not so much the heavy / grunge rock stuff so this won't find a constant home on my CD player. As I mentioned earlier these boys are about as subtle as a sledgehammer to your big toe.

Reviewed October 28, 2002

Transparent (©1999 Rustproof Records)

the songs: Transparent / Away, Away / Beautiful / Beyond My Sight / My Sometimes / Reckless / Shattered / For Dear Life / Falling Over Me / Dollhouse / Vista / Human After All

Here's a band I found by accident.  I'll admit to getting sucked into one of those 14 discs for a penny things (come on, I can't be the only one!).  So there I was trying to fill in numbers 13 and 14.  Pretty tough, given the list you get to select from at times is pretty limited.  To make a short story longer, I saw a couple of albums by a band named Broomtree.  I took a chance.  What the heck, if they sucked I wasn't really out much.

A little while later (not the same day) a rather large package arrived, and there were my Broomtree albums.  The first one was pretty good, but their second album really cooked.  The music is full of aggressive energy, and positive lyrics - mix up No Doubt, Hole, and remove all of the excess garbage (not the band, real garbage) and you have a rough idea as to what Broomtree sounds like.  Fronted by Kylie Schlig, this isn't a chic band, it's more than that.  It's a band, not some modeling photo shoot soundtrack.  These kids are young too, which bodes well for future releases. I'm glad I took the chance on this record.  I'm hooked.

Reviewed October 1999

Maybe This Time (©2000 Rustproof)

1: This Thought 2: Find Me 3: Remain 4: Song Of Desire 5: Maybe This Time 6: Reach Past 7: Deliver Me 8: Dreams 9: Your Touch 10: Sunshine 11: By My Side

Well, I suppose everyone is allowed to have an off album. It’s not that this is a bad album. It’s all right, just nothing special – which is too bad given the fact that I liked their last album.

There are a few solid tunes on the disc: Find Me, Remain, Song of Desire, Your Touch, but mostly it’s uninspired background noise. I suppose it’s another example of my ever increasing years and my inability to “get” today’s music. Nah, I just didn’t like this one all that much. Which is odd, because when I really listen to this one song by song it’s actually pretty good. It’s just that nothing really jumps out and bites me. Who knows, maybe Kylie was trying to sound like Leigh Nash from Sixpence and the result was mostly boring.

It happens.

A note to the person in charge of art direction: Cool fonts are great and all, but shouldn’t they be somewhat legible? What a shame, since the band went to the trouble of putting in notes and lyrics it would be nice to be able to read them.

Reviewed May 2003

Wishpool (©1998 Virgin Records)

The Songs: Wishpool / Where Was I To Know / Mirror Ball / Machete / I Lie In The Bed I Make / Look For Something More / The Crow Flies / Come Alive Again / The Truth / I Surrender / Lead My Follow / Human After All

Brother Cane is one of those bands who record at least one spectacular song on each album. This time around "The Truth" is that song. This is not to say the rest of the album is filler. Far from it, there isn’t a dog to be found here (not even a runt). It’s just that as good as this stuff is, it just doesn’t quite get over the hump. Damon Johnson is the glue holding the band together and he has a great voice, and is a solid songwriter. From what I gather the boys folded their tent after this one. Which is too bad. They’d get a fair bit of airplay, but sadly it didn’t translate into record sales.

Reviewed March 13, 2002

Wither Wing (©1998 KMG)

1: Stonergirl 2: Getting Normal 3: Out Of Time 4: Ricki Racer 5: Ricki Racer II 6: Happy Old Man 7: Allison 8: Just Wanna Be You 9: Herb's Garage 10: Tattoo (Rock Version) 11: Wither Wing

Released in 1998, I recently discovered this one is a dusty bin. I don't know what made me pick it up and give it a second look, it wasn't the catchy cover art (no offense Mike). When I read the list of contributors on the album I wondered why I'd never heard of this one before. All of the songs were written by Michael Knott, and featured vocal performances by Terry Taylor, Gene Eugene, as well as guys from Plankeye, Starflyer59, and The Prayer Chain (bands I'd heard of but don't have).

Musically it's pretty diverse, but has the edgey feel of restrained punk. Out of Time is wonderful, as are the two Taylor contributions. Ricki Racer, both versions, are fun songs. Although why Mike felt it necessary to put them back to back is beyond me. The real surprise is the breezy feeling title track sung by Wayne Everett, sounds like something the Beach Boys would be proud to call their own.

What a nice addition to my collection. Of course as so often happens, I'm a little late hopping on the bandwagon, and my support comes too late to help.

Sigh.

Reviewed August 17, 2003

Lawyers in Love (©1983 Elektra)

1: Lawyers in Love 2: On the Day 3: Cut it Away 4: Downtown 5: Tender is the Night 6: Knock on Any Door 7: Say it Isn't True 8: For a Rocker

Oh where do I start? This album plugs directly into the nostalgia part of my brain. It doesn’t hurt that it holds up pretty well. My favourite stupid line still kills me after 20 years. Me and my buddy Steve would sing along at the top of our voices “Last night I watched the news from Washington. THE CAPITAL. The Russians escaped while we weren’t watching them. Like Russians do.” Who knows what the hell it meant, it was just so dang funny, and along with the Tarzan yell we loved this song to death.

Then there was "Cut it Away" and 'Say It Isn’t True", songs so great it still make the little hairs on my arm stand up. Then he wraps it all up with a straight-ahead tune aptly titled "For A Rocker". There really isn’t any filler here which is good, considering there are only 8 songs here.

I’m sure some of the hardcore Jackson Browne fans at the time were wondering what the heck he was doing on this one, but for me it was my first foray into his stuff, and it’s still my favourite album of his by far.

Reviewed July 3, 2003

I'm Alive (©1993 Elektra)

1: I'm Alive 2: My Problem Is You 3: Everywhere I Go 4: I'll Do Anything 5: Miles Away 6: Too Many Angels 7: Take This Rain 8: Two Of Me, Two Of You 9: Sky Blue And Black 10: All Good Things

Holy cow, where has the time gone? I still think of this as a new album from Jackson Browne. Time has a way of slipping away huh?

I’ve always liked Jackson Browne’s voice, and he’s written some great songs over the years. I’m Alive kicks off with a great title track, but then settles comfortably into his standard singer songwriter stuff.

With artists like Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Waddy Wachtel, David Lindley, Jim Keltner, Dean Parks, Steven Soles – to mention a bunch – lending support, you know the performances are going to be great – it’s just too bad many of the songs are so – ordinary.

While this is an enjoyable album, it’s not one that really ever stands out and makes me go all a quiver. The album closes strong with “All Good Things” which is another one of those great songs Jackson occasionally pulls out of his hat.

I’m alive, is an accurate description – it’s not dead, but it wasn’t exactly jumping around either.

Reviewed May 12, 2006

Business As Usual (©2001 Galaxy 21)

1: All I Need 2: Get Real 3: Barriers 4: One Wish 5: When I Get Home 6: Got To Get You Into My Life 7: Silent Ruin 8: I Can't Wait 9: Not The Same 10: I Want To Know You 11: Days Gone By 12: The Return

Holy smokes! This is a really good album, and it came to me out of the blue. A while back I was surfing and came upon the Galaxy 21 site; and there was the deal to end all deals. 15 bucks plus nominal shipping would get you 10 discs. Okay, so I had most of the discs anyway, but there were a few I'd been curious about (this one was low on the list) and at the price I'd just give away the ones I didn't need doubles of, and keeps the rest - still a deal.

So a package arrives and I've got a bunch of discs I'm spinning (I'm a kid in a candy store when this happens). I put this one on and was immediately hooked. Which doesn't happen all that often anymore. Considering how much stuff I have, and how bad I am at spending money on stuff.

Honestly, I'm not a fan of ska or whatever the heck they call it nowadays, but this is more what I'd term rock with horns. And oddly enough when I checked out their site that's how they described themselves (one for my side). The music packs a wallop, and is like putting a party on your CD player. There are a number of really good tunes here, but I'll single out their cover of the Beatles Got to Get You into My Life it's a show stopper. Really.

This is one I'm going to keep spinning for a while. Like so many times I'm only about four years too late with my gushing praise.

Reviewed September 23, 2004

Live Worship (©2002 Galaxy21)

1: It is Well 2: In the Secret 3: Every Move I Make 4: We Want to See 5: Lord You Are 6: Holiness 7: Breathe 8: The Return 9: Send Your Oil 10: Power of Your Love 11: I Stand 12: Jesus Jesus 13: Open the Eyes of My Heart 14: Be Glorified 15: I Could Sing of Your Love 16: Jesus Lover of My Soul

I cannot believe this is the same band who blew me out of my socks with Business As Usual. This is not a good album. Oh, I'm sure there are those who really like live worship albums who will praise this as the greatest ska flavoured worship album of all time. These are the same people who give everything five stars on Amazon.com too.

This is bad kids. Dare I say this one sucks? Sorry - I know the guys have their hearts in the right place, and I'm sure the audience found it an enjoyable experience, but whatever was going on didn't make it to the CD. This is flat, uninspired, and plain sloppy.

Did I mention that I didn't like this?

I should probably stop before I get myself in trouble. If you can't say anything nice ...

Reviewed October 7, 2004