Damn Yankees (©1990)

1: Coming Of Age 2: Bad Reputation 3: Runaway 4: High Enough 5: Damn Yankees 6: Come Again 7: Mysified 8: Rock City 9: Tell Me How You Want It 10: Piledriver

They were the best of times, they were the worst of times. By 1990 Damn Yankees were coming on the scene just in time to take a kick at a dying horse. At the time I didn't know that, and despite some of the worst reviews I'd ever read in the now defunct but awesome CD Review I eagerly snatched this album up. After all it had Tommy Shaw, Jack Blades, and the Motor City Madman himself Ted Nugent.

In short this had all the markings of a super group - although the combination of pedigrees: Styx, Night Ranger, and Nugent seemed like oil and water - this album was slicker'n snot, and was a lot of fun to crank up really loud. Heck, "High Enough" is still one of the best power ballads ever in my opinion. As is "Come Again" another Tommy front mid tempo rocker.

Of course Ted makes his presence known throughout. "Rock City" is a hoot - it's bits and pieces of "Just What the Doctor Ordered" with lots of upper register tweeter squeakers. "Piledriver" is pure Ted, and to be honest is probably the worst song on the album.

It's been a few years since I've played this one, it's still a lot of fun to crank up loud.

Reviewed July 24, 2008

The Platinum Collection (©2008)

1. I Believe in a Thing Called Love 2. One Way Ticket 3. Love Is Only a Feeling 4. Is It Just Me? 5. Growing on Me 6. Girlfriend 7. Get Your Hands Off My Woman 8. Black Shuck 9. Givin' Up 10. Stuck in a Rut 11. Friday Night 12. Love on the Rocks with No Ice 13. Holding My Own 14. Knockers 15. Dinner Lady Arms 16. Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time 17. Hazel Eyes 18. Bald 19. English Country Garden 20. Blind Man 21. Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)

I have to admit that I didn't exactly jump on the bandwagon when The Darkness first appeared on my radar a few years ago. The guys came across like a parody of a rock band, and Justin Hawkins falsetto and Freddy Mercury-lite mannerisms simply served to kind of irritate me. So I kept the band in a holding pattern waiting for the day I'd find something cheap.

As is often the case, the passage of time softens even the hardest of hearts (time softens a lot things, which would explain the excessive amount of adverts on the TV selling those little blue pills). A while back the band's "Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" actually caught my attention, and I started to "get" what these guys were riffing on. Yeah, they border on parody, and are over the top. Heck, isn't that what rock is about? - The fact that these guys have a sense of humour to go their chops is an added bonus.

So here I am several years after the fact writing about a band who after only two releases has since flamed out. Let's be clear right off that this is three chord party rock that marries the excess of glam with the standard hard rock clichés. Which roughly translates into a lot of fun. It's a little sad to listen to this stuff knowing what was ahead for the band. Justin would suffer for the excesses, and his brother Dan would try and make a go of it in Stone Gods (no idea, haven't got anything by them).

The band is chalk full of piss and vinegar, blazing guitars, and big vocals. Thankfully the falsetto gimmick is sparsely employed, and Justin more than backs up his swagger with gusto and ballsy machismo. Steven Tyler would be proud. As hindsight would have it, they never did get permission to land and ended crashing and burning. Now we'll never know if it was better to burn our or to fade away.

The Platinum Collection lives up to it's name as it contains all of the songs from the band's first two albums, and even contains the Christmas song. This is really pretty cool and I'm sorry it took so long for me to see the light.

Reviewed June 9, 2009

A Few Unfinished Songs (©2002 Lo-Fidelity)

Tracks: All The World to Me / Bleeding / Logical Conclusion / Daydream / Memories

Another great indie release from Jeffrey and Lo-Fidelity. Here are the pluses: nice packaging, great songs. Here are the minuses: no credits, too short! What a wicked tease you are Mr. Daugherty. Tsk tsk. At least you left me wanting more.

If these songs are a taste of things to come the full album's worth of tunes will be something to behold. The songs are fun pop. The show stopper is "Logical Conclusion", which is one of the best up tempo love songs I've heard in a long time. Derri sounds a lot like Phil Keaggy on this one (some would argue that it's a nod to Sir Paul).

Here's hoping more songs like see the light of day.

Reviewed October 24, 2002

Boomtown (©1986 A&M)

the songs: Welcome to the Boomtown / Swallowed by the Cracks / Ain't So Easy / Being Along Together / A Rock for the Forgotten / River's Gonna Rise / Swimming in the Ocean / All Alone in the Big City / Heroes

In 1986 this duo released one the best albums I picked up that year. The first three songs are among the best songs I've ever heard. The rest of the album is pretty solid too. Sadly this was it as far as albums went for the boys, although David Baerwald is still kicking around. He's an interesting guy, and is a songwriter's songwriter.

The Very Best of Deep Purple (©2000)

1: Hush 2: Kentucky Woman 3: Black Night 4: Speed King 5: Child In Time 6: Strange Kind Of Woman 7: Fireball 8: Demon's Eye 9: Highway Star 10: Smoke On The Water 11: Space Truckin' 12: Woman From Tokyo 13: Burn 14: Stormbringer 15: Knocking At Your Back Door

I was never the biggest Deep Purple fan. In fact you could say that I considered myself one of those people who didn't like Deep Purple. As a little kid in the 70's "Smoke on the Water" was a song I couldn't stand. Mainly because my cousins who were a couple of years older than me didn't like it. We were into better things like Alice Cooper, BTO, and that "Seasons in the Sun" song by Terry Jacks.

Then a few years ago I was rocking out to "Hush" and I discovered to my astonishment that it was by Deep Purple. This was the final straw for me - I went looking for a greatest hits album that had it all. There were no shortage of best of collections, but it was Rhino who had the definitive batch of songs for me.

Deep Purple is an odd band - they get a measure of respect from the great unwashed masses, but not enough in my opinion. These guys covered a lot of ground - from the 60's anthems, to prog, even touching on the 80's rock wave (their weakest phase in my opinion). To lump them into the heavy metal bucket does the band a disservice - they're a rock band: and one of the best ever.

Deep Purple has featured some of the GREATEST voices in rock front the band: Ian Gillan and David Coverdale. Then there's the one of the original guitar heroes. What would air guitar be without Richie Blackmore? This guy is as iconic as they come. Then there's the keyboards, which were a huge part of the band's sound. Jon Lord's impact can't be overstated in my opinion. Bass has featured players like Roger Glover and Glenn Hughes. Finally behind the kit from the beginning is Ian Paice who isn't a household name has laid down the groove on some of rocks most influential songs.

This collection rocks full on from to start to finish. It's amazing to me how many of these songs I actually knew, but didn't associate with Deep Purple. Even one of music's guiltiest pleasures "Smoke on the Water" is cool. It would be tricky to name a more recognizable riff in rock.

So here's to Deep Purple a band who without me knowing it totally rocked my world.

Reviewed July 14, 2008

To Extremes (©1994 Benson)

Stressed / People Got To Be Free / Hangin' By A Scarlet Thread / Rebel For God / Judgment Day / Hyper-Faith / To Extremes / Carry The Cross / Dangerous Place / Reclaim America

The last car on the long running D&K train. As the caboose of their catalog it’s an okay end to a pretty good run. I’ll admit to being a casual fan who had a lot of their old records, and a quite a few of their discs as they were starting to wind down.

This one moved a little more to the middle of the road, but kept a lot of their signature guitar / keyboard sounds. Dana as always sounds like Michael McDonald, but who am I to start picking on this now, since the guys started releasing albums in 1978.

Not a lot to pick off in the way of outstanding tracks this time out, although the anthemic (if that’s not a word it should be) Reclaim America is more poignant now in 2003, than it was nearly a decade ago. This isn’t to say that this albums sucks either, it blends nicely together and is a standard run of the mill rock record. If you like their older stuff, chances are you’ll like this too.

I think Eddie and Dana realized that they had pretty much run their course musically as well, as this was it in terms of new releases. They were a good band, and released some pretty cool stuff. It would have been nice to go out on top with a killer album, rather than just fade away.

Reviewed April 2003

Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (©1994 Forefront)

1: Every Moment 2: Out Of The Danger Zone 3: Boycott Hell 4: All The Losers Win 5: Jericho 6: Are You Ready 7: Destined To Win 8: Acoustic Medley: Long Distance Runner/Rock Solid/Six, Six, Six 9: Ultimate Ruler 10: Let's Get Upset 11: Competition 12: I Believe 13: Emmanuel 14: Mary 15: If God Is For Us

I always like it when a band that really had no “hits” other than on some non-existent Christian rock format stations (I know that there are CCM rock charts where bands will have #1 charting singles and sell like 5,000 copies of an album) puts out a greatest hits collection. I wish they’d just call them a “best of” or anything other than greatest hits. That fact that this was a Volume 1, set off my early warning scam alert filter: This means that the first volume will be incomplete, and will only be more or less a complete greatest kind of best of collection after the second or third volume. Considering it’s been over a decade with no second volume, I can safely assume this was indeed as good as it got. too bad, the band deserved a far better anthology than this collection of near misses.

There, now that I’ve muddied the waters, I’ll go on about this so called greatest hits collection. First let me state that this is a good collection of some classic D&K moments in addition to some of their cheesier moments. In other words it’s a typical D&K effort. Now these boys paid their dues and came up through the ranks during the stinky years of CCM (hey, you had to be there, they really were lean years Amaziah anyone?), and by their virtue of playing and recording better quality music than most of their peers they have a special place in the annals (I said ANNALS!) of Christian rock. For me those first few albums were wildly uneven, but they also had some killer tunes. Some of which are here. I guess they were saving God Good, Devil Bad for their second volume, but unwisely included the equally stinky Boycott Hell. Lyrically the lads were somewhat weak at times. For a band best remembered by my as a rock band, this collection aside from the horrible Out of the Danger Zone (the party disease song) is mostly their mid tempo stuff.

Oh well, it gets the three stars because of nostalgia and a couple of really good songs mostly from the early years: "Jericho", "Emmanuel", "Mary", and the "Acoustic Medley". Not a great place to start with a band that is better than what is represented here.

Anyone notice how I resisted attacking the cover art?

Reviewed January 10, 2005

River Disturbance (©1994 Brainstorm)

Tracks: Belltown / After I Fell / River Disturbance / Now & Then / Speed Of Light / A Little Sleep / Map / You Still Smile / Breathing Still

This really isn't my cup of tea. I like hard crunchy music, but the guttural gothic metal stuff never worked for me. Still there's one pretty wicked moment - that at the time probably caused their fans no end of confusion: "A Little Sleep" mixed of rap and metal just wasn't really a big thing in '94. The whole nu-metal thing hadn't blown the doors off yet (not counting Faith No More). Funny how a lot of the songs are almost there, but just miss going over the top into wicked territory.

Still for whatever reason this makes the occasional trip to the CD player. It's not so bad as I make it out to be. If you're into Rage Against the Machine and the like this is probably right up your alley.

Nods to producer Terry Taylor, not a guy usually associated with metal. This is an interesting album but it won't get a lot listens at my house.

Reviewed October 24, 2002

I … I Like Me (©1995 Swirle Records)

1: Me Me Me 2: Be Beautiful 3: I Like Me 4: Girlfriend 5: You Got In My Head 6: I Got You 7: King Of Almost 8: Eddie 9: Funky Chick 10: My Bike 11: Best Friends Girl 12: Annakin

The other day I bought a couple of CDs, this one, and a disc by Curious Fools. Lo and behold these guys in this band have the same first names as the guys in that band. Coincidence? I think not, but who knows for sure. Well, to be sure the two bands have night and day styles. The ability of Murray the singer to change his vocal sound is pretty impressive.

But enough of that, back to the task at hand. I get the sense that this was supposed to be a fun wacky pop album that that would make Barenaked Ladies look like a bunch of serious art students. But other than the cover art, this is just a collection of solid generic pop songs, some of which are kind of small “w” wacky. Buried in here are two cover songs. The first being a wicked ass version of the old Split Enz classic "I Got You", and the second is a less successful interpretation of The Cars classic "Best Friends Girl" - Deaton can really play, but you'd never guess here. Elliot Easton he ain't. Maybe they'd have had more luck selling shower curtain rings.

There’s nothing offensive or overly exciting here. It’s a solid album of mostly forgettable pop songs. To The Dell Griffiths all I can say is “I … I Guess You're All Right.”

Reviewed February 11, 2004

Delp and Goudreau (©2003)

1: What You Leave Behind 2: Hands Of Time 3: Let It Roll 4: Out Of My Hands 5: Keep On Runnin' 6: Everyday 7: I Need Your Love 8: The Rhythm Won't Stop 9: Reconciliation 10: My One True Love

Snuck in as a bonus disc on the RTZ Lost and Found disc, this undated (guessing around 2003) collaboration is worth the price of the disc. After almost 30 years of standing in the shadow of Boston the guys actually step out and show what they can do. The songs are subdued rockers with an organic feel. Brad isn’t singing in dog whistle territory and sounds great. Barry is a really good workingman’s guitar player. He’s got solid rock chops, but isn’t a shredder or virtuoso. This isn’t a slap to the side of the head it’s a compliment. The album is very guitar oriented, and has a great classic feel to it, without completely sounding like a 70’s retread.

To be honest I was a little hesitant the first time through. I was listening to it back to back with the RTZ stuff, and it took me a couple of listens through to change gears. I was pretty much prepared to write this off as so much sonic filler, but I couldn’t. It actually started to grow on me. There are some really good songs here, starting with the lead off track “What You Leave Behind”, followed by “Hands of Time” which has a Gospel feel to it. “Reconciliation” is a bit of a Lenny rip off but it’s guilty fun. I know there’s a long musical history behind the bogus live song ala “Benny and the Jets” but on “The Rhythm Won’t Stop” was it really necessary? It’s a catchy song, but the audience bits are embarrassingly hokey. The album closes with the acoustic flavoured “My One True Love” which is a great song, and even the whistling, which is on par with the fake audience effect doesn’t kill the song – in fact in a strange way it adds to the laid back feel of the song.

This was a surprising album, surprising in that I liked it as much as I did. Hey life is full of little surprises.

Reviewed January 11, 2006

Boomchild (©1998 MCA)

the songs: Beneath The Moon / The Best Is Yet To Come / What A Way To Go / Harry's Hands / Boomchild / Who Shot Daddy? / Onside Looking In Again / Won't Go Wasted

When you find things on sale it makes it easier to put up with the fact that it kind of sucks. Clocking in at under 40 minutes at least it doesn't take all that long until it's over. The album starts off okay enough, and from there it makes it's way down a rather mediocre path. "Harry's Hands" is so terrible it actually grows on you after repeated listenings. "Boomchild" is a game effort at a punchy pop tune, and just misses being catchy. "Who Shot Daddy?" is just brutal.

When Dennis was in Styx during their glory years he wrote and sang some incredible songs. There isn't even an echo of his past glory here. The closest you get to the past are hints of his first solo album, and that was just that - in the past.

Reviewed June 9, 2000

One Hundred Years from Now (©2007)

1. One Hundred Years From Now 2. This Time Next Year 3. Rain 4. Save Me 5. Breathe Again 6. Crossing the Rubicon 7. Respect Me 8. I Believe in You 9. Forgiveness 10. I Don't Believe in Anything 11. Turn Off CNN

This is the Canadian release of Dennis' One Hundred Years from Now. I have to admit I wasn't exactly drooling at the prospect of listening to another DeYoung solo effort. The album opens with a duet with French Canadian singer Eric Lapointe - and frankly I suppose it was one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. I've heard that the US release has Dennis singing it all, and that would be cool to hear as it's a really good song.

There's been a lot of buzz about Dennis returning to his rock roots, and without question he does crank it up - which is great considering it seems like he's done everything he could to distance himself from anything that even remotely sounds like Styx. Which is a welcome return, because I have to tell you that (aside from his showtunes stuff) I've been along for the ride and picked up all of his solo stuff and other than the occasional moment have always wondered why I spent my money.

One Hundred Years from Now, while not a great record, it is quite good and in my opinion is Dennis' finest solo album. There are layered backing vocals that hearken back to his past work. Now I've been a dick to Dennis in the past for taking sucky to a new level and I've still not forgiven him for writing "Babe" but the strongest song on the album is "Save Me" which is a midtempo tune - but dang it's a keeper. There are some strange moments that don't quite work, although I'll give part marks for trying to use the word rubicon is a sentence - which is too bad because musically it's one of the best songs on the album. I'm betting that Dennis is a Red Dwarf fan because on "This Time Next Year" when he sings "When I say remember ... " it sounds exactly like Danny John Jules singing "Tongue Tied" although it's probably a coincidence, I can't hear the song without getting the giggles.

I know I'm blowing smoke out my ass here, but it seems like Dennis has finally been able to come to terms with musical legacy, and rather than release another solo album that has no connection to what made people fans in the first place, Dennis has returned with a solid collection of songs giving his fans what they've been patiently waiting for.

Here's hoping the title doesn't refer to the timing of the next album.

Reviewed October 9, 2009

Oneman (©1997 Absolute)

1: Hello Again 2: Love Somebody 3: For You For Me 4: Fall Into Me 5: Maybe Tonite 6: Peacehopejoy 7: East Coast/West Coast 8: Oneman 9: This Song 10: Like A Merry Go Round 11: Home 12: The Way I Feel 13: Real To Me 14: Untitled

Oneman is a pretty good album. It seems to grow on me a little more with each listen. Not being a huge Prince fan I never took the time to memorize any of the band member's names, otherwise I'd have recognized Dez as the guy with the red bandana. Instead I recognized his name from production credits on a bunch of albums I have. Dez is a wicked guitar player, and has an interesting voice.

The story goes that Dez left Prince's band to go solo. Fourteen years later he released Oneman. I guess time flies when you're having fun.

Musically Dez runs the gambit from pop to hard rock, and he does it with ease. The album opens with Hello Again which features Phil Solem from the Rembrandts. All of the songs here are pretty good, and thanfully this doesn't sound like recycled Prince. In fact a couple of the songs almost sound like Kings X - go figure.

Still in all, this was a nice surprise and I wonder how long it will take him to release a follow up.

Reviewed April 12, 2004

Fantastic Distraction (©1997 Sarabellum)

Tracks: Fantastic Distraction / Break the Blue / All About You / Boxing Shadows / Soothsayer Speaks / Suckers Alchemy / Yeah Sure OK Monet / Mystery / King of the Tragic Ones / Heavy As It Goes

This is a pretty good album. I'd heard the name, but never heard any of their stuff before buying this. Musically this is all over the pop map. At times I pick up little bits of Counting Crows, Black Crows, Tragically Hip, and a bunch of faceless jangly guitar bands. This isn't cutting any new ground, but it does deliver some juicy pop bits, with better than average lyrics.

It's been spinning a lot in my CD player the last couple of weeks. The lead of track Fantastic Distraction is great, and there enough good tunes to make this enjoyable.

Reviewed November 7, 2002

Alchemy (©1984)

Disc: 1 1. Once Upon A Time In The West 2. Expresso Love 3. Romeo And Juliet 4. Love Over Gold 5. Private Investigations 6. Sultans Of Swing

Disc: 2 1. Two Young Lovers 2. Tunnel Of Love 3. Telegraph Road 4. Solid Rock 5. Going Home (Theme From 'Local Hero')

Quite possibly one of my favourite Dire Straits albums. Live albums are a strange breed, over the years I've heard some good ones, and some real doozies. This one is a real doozie. I first heard this at a buddies place in 84, and oddly enough "Telegraph Road" received a fair bit of airplay where I lived at the time. Truth be told, it's the reason I got Alchemy - the song is that good.

The two discs clock in at just over an hour and a half, so it's a pretty good taste of a live show. The songs are taken from the bands albums prior to breaking huge with Brothers in Arms. Not being an über fan I don't know their catalog inside out. However, it would have been great to have "Industrial Disease" instead of "Solid Rock" or even take the place of "Expresso Love" - still it's a hard call as this album works so well. Mark and company take the songs, and twist them, elongate them, and speed them up as necessary. Even the bombastic overplaying of Terry Williams works with Mark's self indulgent playing. Hey, that's not a shot - people paid to hear Mark play - and boy did he play. "Sultans of Swing" strays so far from the original it's like a different song.

If you don't like your live albums to stray from the beloved originals, you'll want to stay away from Alchemy. However, if you like a little extra veggies in the pot you'd be well served with this collection. The guys managed to turn this collection into pure gold.

Reviewed December 31, 2007

Brothers in Arms (©1985)

1: So Far Away 2: Money For Nothing 3: Walk Of Life 4: Your Latest Trick 5: Why Worry 6: Ride Across the River 7: The Man's Too Strong 8: One World 9: Brothers in Arms

For many people this was the defining moment for Dire Straits. The band's unusual approach to pop music paid off, and Brothers in Arms set a high watermark for the band. As much as people poo poo the 80's as the lost decade musically, it was a great time for music, and a time when a band like this was at home in almost any genre.

The album caught my attention back in the day mainly because of "Money for Nothing" it was a killer blending of "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Cat Scratch Fever" and it didn't hurt that Sting was warbling on the track either. Of course over the next year and a bit, just about every single song on the album got some kind of airplay. I didn't like all of the songs a couple of decades ago, and to my surprise I find myself liking the album as much today as I did then. Although, truth be told, "Walk of Life" a song that irritated me then is as irritating as ever. Some things just don't change. Songs like the dreamy "Why Worry" and the stunning opus "Brothers in Arms" haven't aged at all. The song I liked the most back then is the one that feels the most out of place now. "Money for Nothing" still rocks, and although it's not as dated as the "cutting edge" video it's pure cheese.

I remember waiting for the follow up ... and waiting ... and by the time On Every Street came out in 1991 most people had moved on - myself included and it would be the end of the band and an era.

Reviewed April 20, 2008

{Speak} (©1996 Sparrow)

1: In The Event 2: Necessary Pain 3: Thrown Away 4: Dogs Of Peace 5: Do You Know? 6: I Wanna Know 7: The Truth 8: Pray To God 9: The Burning Bush 10: When I Believe It

Dogs of Peace are Jimmie Lee Sloas, and Gordon Kennedy. Between the two of them they have crafted a wicked pop album that plays up Gord’s six-string ability. This was an album that came recommended to me by Kyle DeVoe. Lo and behold, this was indeed a really solid album.

This is pure pop at it’s best. There are some beauty tunes throughout, and I have to agree with Kyle Do You Know is an absolutely killer song – it’s like a the Beatles meet Pink Floyd. Gordon’s guitar work is outstanding on this song. Other really good songs include: Necessary Pain, and Thrown Away.

This is still available if you look hard enough. I doubt there’ll ever be a follow up album, which is really too bad. Both men have moved on, but at least the dogs left this behind as a reminder. Oddly enough I did pick this up in a little plastic bag.

Reviewed May 18, 2005

The Very Best Of Dokken (©1999 Elektra)

1: Breaking The Chains 2: Paris Is Burning (Live In Europe 1982) 3: Into The Fire 4: Just Got Lucky 5: Alone Again 6: Tooth And Nail 7: The Hunter 8: In My Dreams 9: It's Not Love 10: Dream Warriors 11: Burning Like A Flame 12: Heaven Sent 13: Mr. Scary 14: Walk Away 15: Mirror Mirror - Don Dokken 16: Too High To Fly

(whoop whoop groan alert)Yee-haw, I’m fokken rokkin with Dokken! Yeah I know this is cheesy stuff at times. So what! I happen to like this stuff –the fret wizardry of George Lynch, and the tweeter nut vocals of Don Dokken were like a small-scale version of Eddie and Dave. There’s something about guitar players and singers that just leads to trouble. However, here the singer’s name was in the band …

Don’t let my smart-ass comments detract from these guys – they should have been bigger – they were just a little ahead of the pack. The guys wrote some kick ass songs, and when all is said and done, Dokken had a lot to do with the 80’s sound.

The band is kicking around less George and others, but Don is still rokkin. That’s the beauty of having your name in the band. But this was the very best of Dokken.

Reviewed May 18, 2005

The Very Best Of The Doobie Brothers (©1999 Elektra)

Disc One: 1. Listen To The Music 2. Jesus Is Just Alright 3. Rockin' Down The Highway ( 4. Long Train Runnin' 5. China Grove 6. South City Midnight Lady 7. Another Park, Another Sunday 8. Eyes Of Silver 9. Nobody 10. Black Water 11. Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While) 12. Sweet Maxine 13. I Cheat The Hangman 14. Takin' It To The Streets 15. Wheels Of Fortune 16. It Keeps You Runnin'

Disc Two: 17. Little Darling (I Need You) 18. Echoes Of Love 19. What A Fool Believes 20. Minute By Minute 21. Dependin' On You 22. Real Love 23. One Step Closer 24. Wynken, Blynken And Nod 25. Keep This Train A Rollin' 26. Here To Love You 27. You Belong To Me 28. The Doctor 3:45 Album Only 29. South Of The Border 30. Need A Little Taste Of Love 31. Dangerous 32. Rollin' On 33. Ordinary Man

As a kid my aunt and uncle introduced me to a lot of cool music. Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, and The Doobie Brothers. "China Grove" kicked some serious riffin' ass. I have to sheepishly admit to only buying a couple lps - and they were the Michael McDonald era stuff. So I never did get any of the truly classic stuff. Isn't that what greatest hits collections are for?

So, unlike true fans who can tell the difference between an album cut and a radio edit, I'm just a guy who remembers a lot of the stuff from days gone by, and this is just a great trip down memory lane. There really are two bands represented in this collection: the biker boogie woogie band, and the soul R&B band. Both had great success, but one could argue that despite the fan base built on hits like "China Grove", "Long Train Runnin'" and even "Black Water" - that it was the Michael McDonald era that is thought of by many as the golden age of the band.

The two discs run through the band in chronological order and you can hear the band change over time, and then come full circle again. Oddly enough as I listen to this, it's not the Michael McDonald stuff that stands out for me. But I'm not about to dismiss his contributions either. It just depends on what you feel like. The band delivered on two fronts and that's not an easy trick.

I'm sure that there are favourite songs missing if you're a true blue fan - but you have to admit that for a band to pull together a collection containing this many songs, and have so many outstanding and familiar songs is a pretty amazing achievement. Just listen to the music, and you'll agree - this is just what the doctor ordered.

Reviewed January 5, 2007

The Real Me (©2000)

1: Believe 2: In Love Forever 3: Hiding Place 4: Is It Me? 5: Hold On 6: Sometimes 7: Lesson In Falling 8: Strength For Sale 9: Paradise 10: Do You Know Him?

This was one of those let's take a chance discs that I found for cheap. Downpour is essentially a duo act featuring Brannon Hancock and Stephen Busch. The album was produced by Quinlan (I remembered his name from Broomtree a few years ago) and he also provided a bunch of the instrumentation.

The album mostly plays it straight down the middle. The songs themselves are okay, but for the most part there's really nothing horrible about them, nor is there anything that really sells that band either.

I suppose for CCM though having loops and that keyboardy-vocodorish thing is pretty "bleeding edge". One of the things about writing about stuff that I'm not totally enamored with is that I spend more time trying to find the silver lining than I do with stuff I like. So I found myself with pen and paper making notes song by song - which is a tedious process for me, since I mostly like to put down my impressions.

So here's the positive things I have to say about Downpour's effort. "In Love Forever" is quite catchy, and is a decent pop song as is "Is It Me". "Strength for Sale" is in my opinion the best song on the album. It starts kind of slow, but it builds up and makes good use of the guys voices.

Unfortunately there aren't enough of those moments, that rise about being generic. The album's closer "Do You Know Him" is typical preachy CCM - and the song clocks in at almost 20 minutes which includes the "bonus" songs. One of which has that most loved of Christian music sounds - the keyboard sound from Styx's "Babe" - if there ever was a nausea inducing sound that's it right there. That moment alone just about killed the album for me.

For an album titled The Real Me I suppose I'll never get to really know Downpour as I couldn't figure out what they were trying to be with this album.

Reviewed August 18, 2008

Pronto (©2005)

1. Landing A Chopper 2. Make It With You 3. Mexico 4. Theme 5. Hey 6. Oh my God 7. Pronto 8. Saddest Song In The World, Ever 9. Crisis Mountain 10. Girl, My Love Is Like Keno 11. Jameson On The Rocks 12. The Dinosaur Song 13. 2600

I took a wrong turn the other day on the information super highway and wound up at Jason Dove's website. "FREE stuff!" the site proclaimed. Being a sucker for free, I downloaded a bunch of stuff. I gave Pronto a couple of cursory listens, and thought it was okay. So I figured I'd give it my undivided attention and take some notes.

First things first. I'm not exactly sure what genre this is. Psychedelic folk Alt rock? There's a lot to like here, and what I liked is Jason's inability to stick with a style. I know musical consistency eases digestion, but this is music, not a trip to the crapper so I can deal with a little variety now and then.

Pronto is essentially two albums - there's the unabashed classic rock instrumentals - there are a half dozen of them, and some of them are retro riff fests: "Theme" "Jameson on the Rocks" and the album's closer "2600" are wicked. Then there are the wordy songs, which aren't as strong, and at times fall embarrassingly flat. "Make it with You" is uncomfortably bad - probably on purpose. The desperate plea of a horny college student trying to get inside a pair of pants just didn't work for me. Although "Hey" was pretty funny. It reminds me of playing in bars and having drunken patrons try and climb on the stage to sing along or make requests while you're playing. "Play some Anthrax! Do you know anything from Fist Full of Metal?" I have to say that "Saddest Song in the World, Ever" is a nice kick in the wedding tackle to all those Rob Thomas, Dave Matthews sensitive singer songwriters. I'm assuming Jason was lampooning - if not, it was still pretty funny.

The weird thing about free, is that sometimes it costs more than you want to pay. Like the commercials say, "Something's you just can't buy." Pronto was a pleasant surprise, and even though there were some bits and pieces I didn't think that much of, there's a lot more stuff here I really liked. Overall, this was a decent effort, and I'll be keeping an ear out for more stuff.

Reviewed November 30, 2007

We Should Be Together (©2007)

01. We Should Be Together (Introduction) 02. So You Know 03. Slumber Party 04. They’re Watching You 05. Every Aspect of Entertainment (Part One) 06. Every Aspect of Entertainment (Part Two) 07. Come Back To Me 08. Wishing It Was Over 09. Old Men 10. Let’s Not Think 11. Stoned On Beer 12. When Autumn Comes Around 13. We Should Be Together 14. End of the Year

I kind of figured I'd be getting more of the same with We Should Be Together but unlike the appealing but uneven Pronto Mister Dove took his time, settled himself and pulled a rabbit out of his hat. Blending his lyrical quirkiness, love of a good riff, along with his alt-folk sensibilities he's come up with an album that has hints of vintage Joe Jackson, Jonathan Richman and The Beach Boys. In all, something pretty cool.

Jason's voice has a familiar quality to it that's hard to place but is pleasant to listen to, and enhances the music. "Slumber Party" is an irritating song in the same vein as "Make it with You" - I guess I've lost my sense of humour, but it's a cute lyrical conceit that doesn't materialize. It's really the only song on the album that doesn't work for me. Whereas "They're Watching You" is one of those songs that gets under your skin. "Every Aspect of Entertainment" is another cool little song in two parts. Part 2 really kicks. Probably one of the highlights (right now anyway) is "When Autumn Comes Around" - it's like baby bear's bowl of porridge. It's just right.

Jason Dove is one of those guys who writes a decent pop song. The songs on We Should Be Together are polished just enough to sparkle, without coming across as too glittery. I liked what I heard - I'll be keeping an ear out for more of his stuff.

Reviewed December 20, 2007

Greatest Hits and More (©1987 Capitol)

1: Sylvia's Mother 2: The Cover Of Rolling Stone 3: Only Sixteen 4: A Little Bit More 5: Walk Right In 6: Making Love And Music 7: I Couldn't Believe 8: A Couple More Years 9: Sharing The Night Together 10: When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman 11: Better Love Next Time 12: Sexy Eyes 13: Years From Now 14: The Radio 15: Sweetest Of All

Roll me in cheese and call me late for dinner. Dr. Hook, the band infamous for having more members than the Commodores and Three Dog Night, and the only band this side of Kansas to feature a guy with an eye patch. Dr. Hook was a band I could always take or leave – except for their timeless classic “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” which I never tire of. I got this one mainly because I wanted a copy of the aforementioned song, and was curious about the band.

“Sylvia’s Mother” is a song I still can’t stand, but nostalgia has a way of making even the most horrid music palatable. “Only Sixteen” is a creepy song, and I guess if you were a love struck teenager in the early 70’s this was a song you could relate to; but somehow trying to imagine either Dennis Locorriere, or Ray Sawyer singing it today is just – wrong. Then there’s the syrupy “A Little Bit More” which is 100% pure cheese. I guess chicks love this stuff, and it was the 70’s. How else can one explain Dan Fogelberg?

The guys had a great sense of fun, and no doubt their cheeks were sore from all the poking their tongues were doing at the time. “A Little Bit More” is an oddly infectious song, that still puts a grin on my face. The band wasn’t immune to disco, as they managed to score with “Sharing the Night Together”, “Making Love and Music” and “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman”.

I’m not if having a lot of schmaltzy disco hits makes good or not, but I was surprised at the sheer number of familiar songs on this collection. Liking them is another story …

Reviewed May 17, 2006

Images And Words(©1992)

01 Pull Me Under 02 Another Day 03 Take the Time 04 Surrounded 05 Metropolis - Part I (The Miracle And The Sleeper) 06 Under a Glass Moon 07 Wait for Sleep 08 Learning to Live

I have resisted for years listening to, or picking up anything by these guys - mainly because I have a buddy who really likes these guys, especially their freakishly good drummer Mike Portnoy. Because I enjoy being contrary I never bothered picking anything up by them. So here I am a decade and a half later listening to Images and Words and I have to say, "Holy crap, this rocks!" Mike Portnoy is indeed an octopus behind the kit - but as complex as things can become, his playing doesn't come across like a drum clinic for the technically envious - it's simply tasty.

The other major plus is John Petrucci who is to strings what Pornoy is to skins. Then there's the bass playing of John Myung who is a monster player in his own right. James LaBrie's vocals fit really well, and oddly enough his singing reminds me more than a little bit of Rik Emmett (this is not a shot, I happen to like Mister Emmett's voice) and he's often singing in a register reserved for dog whistles.

What I really loved about this album was not only the techical ability of the musicians, but the fact that their compositions were enjoyable. It didn't hurt that the album still sounds fresh after all these years. The guys could easliy have put out a technical wank fest showing off their chop and put out a collection of atonal crap. Thankfully these guys are about the music.

Reviewed December 29, 2008

Rockferry Deluxe Edition (©2008)

Disc 1: 1: Rockferry 2: Warwick Avenue 3: Serious 4: Stepping Stone 5: Syrup & Honey 6: Hanging On Too Long 7: Mercy 8: Delayed Devotion 9: I'm Scared 10: Distant Dreamer

Disc 2: 1: Rain On Your Parade 2: Fool For You 3: Stop 4: Oh Boy 5: Please Stay 6: Breaking My Own Heart 7: Enough Love

There aren't many acts I see live before I hear their recorded work. I was cajoled into going to see her back in October. I'd heard her version of the rehab song "Mercy" and frankly I really didn't expect much from her. So I was pleasantly surprised by her performance, and she came across as a singer who loved singing. So I picked up her album, and the 10 songs clocked in under 40 minutes and then shortly afterward the deluxe edition came out. Essentially just a second disc that would have fit on the first one.

Which pissed me off. It would have been smarter to release it as an e.p. and a deluxe edition. Oh well, who am I to question the marketing genius of the record companies. To make it more interesting, iTunes has the regular version with 12 songs. One of the bonus songs isn't on this deluxe edition "Save it for Your Prayers" will no doubt be on the super duper bonus edition at some point - because you can't buy it as an individual download.

Oh boy, I seem to have gone down a rat hole ... back to the subject at hand. Rockferry is an album I liked much more than I expected. I suppose I was expecting another soulless Diva wannabe with big titties and a husky voice - instead I got a pop singer who paid homage to Petula Clark and Dusty Springfield. Yeah, "Mercy" sounds too much like Ms Winehouse's rehab ditty, but she more than makes up for it on "Warwick Avenue", "Stepping Stone" and the sparse "Syrup & Honey".

The second disc doesn't seem as strong, possibly because I had more time with the first disc. The songs are more mid tempo as if they were aimed at radio programmers. "Rain on Your Parade" being an obvious choice, and the strongest of the set. The acoustic "Oh Boy" is another very good song. If you're going to pick up Rockferry, this is the version to get. It's very good, and although I'm more partial to the first 10 songs, the others grow on me more with each listen.

Duffy is one of those artists who will hopefully grow into her talent.

Reviewed January 9, 2009

Dum Dog Run (©2003 independent)

Dum Dog Run Both The Dum, The Dog And The Run 1: Unraveling 2: Mullet 3: Jennifer Anniston 4: Dream Weekend 5: Superstar 6: Rock The World 7: Psycho Girlfriend 8: Bachelorette 9: Let's Go 10: Let's Ride 11: All Over Again 12: Dreamers Ball

Sometimes you get to hear something that’s so fun it’s hard to imagine that it’s not a mega budget major label release. This was recorded using Logic Audio, and it sounds pretty freaking great (even though my CDR copy is a bit crackly, sigh).

Dum Dog Run features the talents of Mickey Ryan, Kyle Johnson and Ivan Dum (Rick Altizer) and this power trio of no longer young men shows there are indeed tricks young dogs could learn from these grizzled veterans.

Billed as “All guitars all the time” this debut actually exhibits truth in advertising. The spirit of good old power pop is alive and well thank you very much. Don’t look for deep and inspiring lyrics here. This is what rock music was meant to be: ear candy.

The number of standout tracks here are boggling. Jennifer Anniston is quirky and fun, Mullet is a hoot, the guitar bridge on Dreamers Ball (hey, don’t look at me for the apostrophe, they didn’t use it so who am I to put one in?) is wicked cool. For sheer energy Dream Weekend is like shoving a power bar in your ear (I don’t know what it means either, it seemed okay when I wrote it down). Of course for sing along fun it’s hard to top Psycho Girlfriend.

You’ve probably never heard of this, which just goes to show that you need to get out more often. You can tell the guys had a hoot making this; the music is infectious.

If you miss the old great pop bands like Cheap Trick, and the like – Dum Dog Run will give you a musical chubby.

Reviewed September 19, 2003

Dum Dog Run (©2005 Fuseic)

1: I Can't Stop It Now 2: Mullet 3: Psycho Girlfriend 4: Jennifer Aniston 5: Firecracker 6: Unraveling 7: Let's Go 8: Power Ballad 9: Rock The World 10: Dream Weekend 11: Superstar 12: Bachelorete 13: Gig To Play 14: Let's Ride 15: All Over Again 16: Dreamer's Ball

The evolution of the great pop album. I now have three versions. My beloved 2003 early edition. Another one in 2004, that was vastly expanded. The other day I was playing this for a buddy (my 2003 version), and was commenting that these guys weren't signed, and he was amazed. "How can that be!" he exclaimed. Then the third version arrived (thank you Rick) which was being distributed by Fuseic (hey I've never heard of them either, but whoever they are they have great taste ... hold on, isn't that the label Rick works with? Why yes it is - Hmm, I wonder why it took so long to sign to your own band) and it's a real full blown musical extravaganza!

Now for those of you, and there are at least a few dozen out there, who had early CDR copies - you must get this. YOU MUST! From their first iteration as a power trio to the addition of Jade Hanson and four more tunes - not to mention a lot of extra tweaking, this is truly an album worth having. Dum Dog Run are pure pop, pure and simple.

These guys need your support. Go to www.dumdogrun.com and buy copies for you and your friends. It makes a great gift.

Rock on boys, rock on.

Reviewed May 20, 2005

See Through Me (©1998 Bulletproof)

1: Shovel 2: Set In Gold 3: Co-Pilot 4: She Comes Back Sometimes 5: Divining 6: I'll Know My Home, When I See It 7: A Way To Stay 8: Noise In Me 9: Overcome 10: Rhinoplasty 11: Whose Sorrow Now

This is an interesting and strange album. Interesting in that musically it pushes all the right buttons, and every time I play it I ask myself why I don't play it more often. And strange that it's mostly forgettable the moment I turn it off.

I'm not slagging the guys, at least they shouldn't take it as a slag - more that I've reach my saturation point with a lot of the new rock. Still, having said that, they're are some wicked songs here, it's just that if I was to close my eyes I would have trouble guessing the band. For example I'll Know My Home When I See It is more Foo Fighters than Foo Fighters. The rest are good solid rock songs too, it's just that I can't get past the generic feel to the music. Then again, music has always been playing copycat so why am I holding Dumpster's feet to the fire for doing what everyone else is doing? Good question, to which I don't have a good answer.

It's a little like Chinese food for the ears. It's satisfying while you're listening, but once it's off you forget what you had on.

I do like these guys and wish 'em well, but they're going to have a hard time standing out from the pack. If I was to stumble across more of their stuff I'd probably pick it up. It is after all pretty good stuff, even if it's hard to tell apart from a lot of what's out there. A good song is a good song.

Reviewed July 21, 2004

1. E.T.A. 2 The Backward Sightseer 3. Brainclouds 4. In The Arms Of Mother Night 5. Secondhand Home Movies 6. What We Were… 7. Everyone's The Hero (In Their Own Mind) 8. Better Not Turn Out The Lights 9. Secret Language 10. ...And What We Could Have Been 11. Benediction

I’ve known about Dw for a few years, and have heard bits and pieces of his work – and to be honest didn’t think all that much of what I’d heard. With Gibberish, I was expecting it to be some homemade hodgepodge of self-indulgent musical wanking that only a mother would love. Mister Dunphy has taken a page from the Tangerine Dream songbook, added elements of Steve Reich, and Philip Glass, sprinkled a dash of instrumental Floyd and produced what I have to honestly say is one of the biggest musical surprises I’ve experienced in a long time.

This may be an indie album, but it’s a surprisingly crisp recording. I’ll be frank and admit I’m not an audiophile. If it sounds good to me, it sounds good. If it sounded like shit - er crap, I’d say so. But I’m not reviewing this with my “be nice, it’s an indie” voice. I’m reviewing this in the same way I’d review a “real” album. This is really really good. Songs like “Brainclouds” are creative masterpieces. Throughout the disc Dw creates mini audio scenescapes. “Better Not Turn Out The Lights” reminds me of Danny Elfman’s soundtrack work. Don’t take all these comparisons as saying the work is merely derivative of other artists – I state them only as reference points. I shit (dang twice in one review) you not, this deserves a wider audience that the handful of people who will here this.

If there’s a fly in the ointment, it’s the musical postscript after “Benediction” which just doesn’t fit the rest of the album. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

Reviewed May 10, 2006

Decade (©1989 Capitol)

1: Planet Earth 2: Girls On Film 3: Hungry Like The Wolf 4: Rio 5: Save A Prayer 6: Is There Something I Should Know 7: Union Of The Snake 8: The Reflex 9: Wild Boys 10: A View To A Kill 11: Notorious 12: Skin Trade 13: I Don't Want Your Love 14: All She Wants Is

Okay here's the skinny. I have a couple of Duran Duran albums. But I bought them for my wife

Really?

Really, I mean let's go back to the early to mid 1980's and these wankers were dominating the charts and the video channels. No self respecting rocker would even admit to liking these posers. Ick, ack, phooey.

But secretly a few of their songs were pretty bloody good, but on principle they were to despised and trashed whenever possible - with extreme prejudice.

Fast forward a bunch of years, and nostalgia starts to make even the most unimaginable things appealing (except for Culture Club, that'd take more than nostalgia. Perhaps a shot to the head with a hammer and a home lobotomy kit, but otherwise I don't think so) even Duran Duran. I struggle with Decade as a title as I don't think the lads were doing much musically in 1979. The lack of liner notes or decent credits are a real shame. Something more should have been included.

I'm sitting here with the volume up, and I'm transported back in time and the little voice in my head is berating me for betraying the cause of rock and roll, and although the voice is pretty much on the money, there are some pretty good songs here. In fact they're evenly balanced with the tracks that are making me clench my teeth.

I'll give the guys their due, they were better than I gave them credit for at the time, but their music has run past its expiration date for the most part.

Of course, there are still about a bajillion girls out there who matured into fine women who would disagree with my assessment. My wife being one of them.

Oh well, go figure - I bought it for her anyway.

Reviewed August 14, 2003