This Is It: The Best Of (©2003 Slash/Reprise/Rhino)

1: Arabian Disco 2: We Care A Lot 3: Annie's Song 4: Introduce Yourself 5: From Out Of Nowhere 6: Epic 7: Falling To Pieces 8: War Pigs 9: Cowboy Song 10: As The Worm Turns (Live) 11: Midlife Crisis 12: A Small Victory 13: Be Aggressive 14: Easy 15: Digging The Grave 16: Evidence 17: Last Cup Of Sorrow 18: Ashes To Ashes 19: The Perfect Crime

This one was hard to pin down. There are moments of brilliance interspersed with songs that don't do all that much for me. These guys charted their own course, and in hindsight they were charting the way for much of what is popular now in the nu metal, or whatever it is they call it now.

The big hits are here, Epic, and Midlife Crisis, but so are songs like We Care A Lot, From Out of Nowhere, Last Cup of Sorrow. There are a couple more, but I'm not going to reprint most of the track list here - I'm too lazy for that kind of effort, even if it is mostly cut and paste.

They didn't get the credit they deserved, and probably never will, but this is a pretty darned good collection of rock songs.

Reviewed August 17, 2003

From Under the Cork Tree (©2005)

1. Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued 2. Of All The Gin Joints In All The World 3. Dance, Dance 4. Sugar, We're Goin Down 5. Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner 6. I've Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song) 7. 7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)8. Sophmore Slump Or Comeback Of The Year 9. Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends 10. I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me 11. A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me" 12. Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part To Save The Scene And Stop Going To Shows) 13. XO

After years of hearing about these guys, I finally picked up From Under the Cork Tree – and was pleasantly surprised. Yeah, these guys are mining the emo-power-pop-punkish vein so many have mined before them - but they’ve managed to tap into a pretty rich deposit. The album blasts out of the chute and the album gains steady momentum over the first five songs, until they slow down a bit for the mid-tempo jingle jangle “I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)” a song where the title is more entertaining than the actual song. Speaking of song titles, these guys have a good sense of humour. This album features some of the longest and best titles I've ever come across.

The rest of the album waffles between burners, and emo-churners – even dabbling in some guttural hardcore shrieking, that frankly feels out of place (thankfully, it's only on one song). One of the weirdest and most awkward moments occurs on “Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part to Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows)” where the song ends what with I can only assume is a really poignant rambling rant meant to speak teen angst – but in all honesty just sounded stupid.

Despite myself though, I have to say that I enjoyed this album – there are more than a handful of really great songs here, and I’ll be looking for more from these guys.

I have to single out “Dance, Dance” as the song I’ve heard more than any other song in recent memory around the house. My eleven year old son has had the song on repeat the last few days – and frankly I’m waiting for him to discover the rest of the album ...

Reviewed April 16, 2008

Meat The Farm Beetles by (©1998 Ed Records)

the songs: Yesterdie / Hilter Skilter / Strowburry Fields / A Day In The Laff / Imagin' / Within Ya, Without Ya / Bertday / Ravolution # Niner / 'N In The End

If you think the Beatles are sacred, and that John and Paul rival the Apostles, this album will go over like a fart in church (they don't call them pews for nothing). Think of the half star ratingas being an excellent golf score (this really is a fabulous recording in its own twisted way). Scathing and brutally funny this is an album that will probably be impossible to find in a few months. Best line comes from Hilter Skilter, "I've got warts on my heinie and a skid in my long-Johns." The CD is a homemade thing that I managed to snag from Stunt Records. Clocking in at an agonizing 20 minutes the CD worked out to a buck a minute - it was all I could take. I'd have had to shoot myself if the guys had decided to remake the White album.

The musicians have remained anonymous, choosing to hide under various pseudonyms: Paul Bob, John Boy, George Bob, and Ringo. I know Terry Taylor is hiding in there somewhere, and more than likely most of the guys from the Lost Swirling Amos Dogs.

In short if you're a die-hard fan of Terry Taylor's side projects this is a must have. And I have it, and no - you can't have it.

Reviewed July 2000

All the Pain Money Can Buy (©1998 Hollywood Records)

1: The Way 2: Fire Escape 3: Better Than It Was 4: Which Way To the Top? 5: Sooner Or Later 6: Warm Fuzzy Feeling 7: Slow Drag 8: G.O.D. (Good Old Days) 9: Charlie, The Methadone Man 10: Out Of My Head 11: Damaged Goods 12: Nowhere Road 13: Sweetwater, Texas

Sometimes I can be a little behind the times. When this one first came out I really liked the lead off single "The Way", and to a lesser degree "Fire Escape" (mainly because I think I heard it once on the radio) - I was going to buy the album, but somehow didn't get around to it for seven years.

Of course I never heard anything else by these guys, and just assumed they were a casualty of one hit wonderness. I know they're still around, and chances are they're still making decent pop albums. Note to the band, I accept review copies and am willing to listen.

Fastball is a pop trio anchored by the one two punch of singer songwriters Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga. Their tracks alternate on the record, and they are good generic pop writers. They pack enough zing into their arrangements to make the album good fun, but when all is said and done the album never emerges from the shadow of the killer lead off track. Sometimes track order can make or break an album.

At least they had their fifteen minutes of fame - most band never even get close enough to see the clock.

Reviewed November 12, 2005

Out To Sea (©1991 True North)

the songs:Out To Sea / Dublin Bay / Carsten / Welfare Wednesday / August 6th And 9th / Tryin' Times / The James Medley / Beguiling Eyes

A few years ago a buddy of mine was getting rid of a bunch of CDs. "Hey do you want these?" So I became the recipient of a couple Stephen Fearing albums. I was really surprised by this album. I like acoustic flavoured stuff from time to time, and Stephen is a pretty fine player. He's also a pretty solid writer. For me the most moving piece of music was The James Medley. His playing of St Patrick's Breastplate is haunting.

I guess he's been tagged as a "folk" performer, but that's not fair. He belongs more to the classic songwriter/singer school. A very good album.

Reviewed January January 29, 2001

Blue Line (©1991 True North)

the songs: The Bells Of Morning / Our Father And The Big Wheel Of Fortune / Sarah's Song / Race Of Fractions / Little Child Eyes / Blind Horses / Blue Line / Born In A Story / Turn Out The Lights / Jesse Meets His Future Wife Zee Mimms

My other inherited Stephen Fearing CD. Stephen has a distinctive voice. The closest comparison I can make is that he sounds like a more mature version of Steven Page from Barenaked Ladies. This is a good album of nicely crafted folk/country/pop/story songs. A lot of his songs are stories about life, and I like that kind of stuff now and again. Sonically this is more polished than Out to Sea, but for whatever it didn't take with me like it's predecessor.

Reviewed January January 29, 2001

Try Whistling This (©1998 WORK / Sony)

the songs: Last One Standing / Souvenir / King Tide / Try Whistling / She Will Have Her Way / Sinner / Twisty Bass / Loose Tongue / Truth / Arts / Dream Date / Faster Than Light / Addicted

As a fan of Split Enz and (to a lesser degree) The Finn Brothers, I was eagerly waiting Neil's inevitable solo effort after the dissolution of Crowded House. After the first listen I wasn't sure if I was impressed or not. The writing was wonderful, and his vocals were haunting. But was this the work of a pop genius? So I left the album in my CD player for a while, and it didn't take long for the songs to mature. Okay so it's not a grab you by the balls infectious pop album, but if you're a Crowded House fan and want an album that will make you tap your foot and bring a smile to your face this is worth picking up. Sinner is a song that is so annoying it actually grows on you. The piano riff drives me batty.

Jevster's featured album March 2000

One Nil (©2001 EMI / Parlophone)

the songs: The Climber / Rest of the Day Off / Hole in the Ice / Wherever You Are / Last To Know / Don't Ask Why / Secret God / Turn and Run / Elastic Heart / Anytime / Driving Me Mad / Into the Sunset

I was really happy to find another album by Neil in the bins. As an import it cost me more than I wanted to pay, so I haggled. I got the poor kid to drop 10 bucks off the price. He still made money, and I got a great album at a more reasonable price. Rejoice, for Neil is back. Okay, the cover is something to behold, what's the deal with bad cover art as an art form?

Oh well, it's what's inside that counts right? And what's inside is great pop. Neil has a voice that is gritty silky smooth combination that conveys a strong sense of emotional integrity. The songs themselves are edgy with the dull polish you would expect, without the whole thing feeling overdone. Features some nice work by Sheryl Crowe on Turn and Run and Driving Me Mad. Overall this is a stronger effort than his previous outing, and hopefully the next is better yet.

Reviewed July 17, 2001

One All (©2002 Nettwerk)

Tracks: The Climber / Driving Me Mad / Hole in the Ice / Last To Know / Wherever You Are / Secret God / Lullaby Requiem / Human Kindness / Turn and Run / Anytime / Rest of the Day Off / Into the Sunset

Bloop. Bloop. That's the sound of me being fished in. Here we go again, this time it's been renamed, re-mixed, re-sequenced, and re-released. Don't Ask Why, and Elastic Heart were swapped with Lullaby Requiem, and Human Kindness. One has to ask why mess with success? Why not? It still works, it's still a very good record, and if it helps push the album more power to you Neil.

Did I notice a huge difference between the versions? No. Was it worth the money for the two new songs? Not really, but I'll stand by my decision, since my wife will call me an idiot when she finds out I basically bought the same album twice, so I'll have to be strong in my convictions. Since she never reads my stuff I'm pretty safe. It'll be our little secret okay?

Reviewed August 2, 2002

Finn Brothers (©1995 Discovery)

Only Talking Sense / Eyes of the World / Mood Swinging Man / Last Day of June / Suffer Never / Angels Heap / Niwhai / Where Is My Soul / Bullets in My Hairdo / Paradise (Wherever You Are) / Kiss the Road of Rarotonga

After years of trying Tim and Neil finally got their wish and were able to release a Finn Brothers record. They got close a number of years ago, but the sessions wound up on Woodface. This album isn't as polished as a Crowded House record, or as rough as Tim's work on Alt - the boys manage to walk the line between sparse and polished.

Only Talking Sense is one of the best songs on the album, and is vintage Finn. The rest are very good, and you can tell the guys are having fun. I've you've been a fan of Tim or Neil this is probably already in your collection. If not shame on you.

Reviewed January 29, 2001

Everyone Is Here (©2004 Nettwork)

1: Won't Give In 2: Nothing Wrong With You 3: Anything Can Happen 4: Luckiest Man Alive 5: Homesick 6: Disembodied Voices 7: A Life Between Us 8: All God's Children 9: Edible Flowers 10: All The Colours 11: Part Of Me, Part Of You 12: Gentle Hum

After a long delay, Tim and Neil regroup with Everyone is Here. It's more polished than the duo's previous work, and falls somewhere in between the solo work of both Neil and Tim, who over the intervening years have been pretty active. If I was to draw a comparison this album has more in common with Crowded House's Woodface, which isn't a surprise, given the involvement of Mitchell Froom and Bob Clearmountain.

Musically the guys aren't pushing the envelope; they're songsmiths and the results here are an even dozen finely crafted pop songs. This will not turn the world on its ear, but for those who have been waiting for almost a decade for more from The Finn Brothers, this album was worth the wait. Tim and Neil aren't kids anymore, and thankfully they're not pretending to have the angst of youth - rather the songs have a contemplative feel with a "been there, done that" feel to them. Neil's voice is a sweet as ever, and to Tim's detractors who have been grinding away on his ability to sing over the last few years, all I can say is "Phooey on you." He sounds great here, as he did on his last couple of solo albums.

There are some surprisingly strong songs here: Won't Give In, All God's Children, and the haunting Edible Flowers (despite what some people think I happen to like the song).

Thankfully there's still room in this world for good solid pop songs.

Reviewed August 30, 2004

Say It Is So (©2000 Periscope)

Tracks: Underwater Mountain / Shiver / Good Together / Roadtrip / Currents / Need To Be Right / Twinkle / Big Wave Rider / Death Of A Popular Song / Some Dumb Reason / Rest

I’d read some reviews that trashed Say It Is So. “Tim’s voice is shot.” “The songs are crap” and so on. So I waited hoping it would go on sale. It didn’t. Then a year later Tim released another album. Holy cow, the guy was on a run. So I decided to take a chance and bought both albums. Since I bought them the same day, it’s fair game to write about them on the same day too.

Well, let me say a pox on the unbelievers. Now I’ve been very guilty of being more pro-Neil than Tim, and I have to say that this album blows away Neil’s last couple of efforts. Tim has released an album full of great pop songs. Some songs like Good Together, Twinkle, and Death Of A Popular Song are so good is scary, even the occasional less than great song hangs together. Even Julie Millers’ annoying but cool voice fits here.

To address the Tim can’t sing comments, I thought he sounded pretty good, and he had a good emotional delivery to the songs. The criticism probably stems from the production, which is sparse, and the vocal mix is part of the song, not the focal point. This is a very good album, and I Says So.

Reviewed June 12, 2002

Feeding The Gods (©2001 Periscope)

Tracks / Songline / I'll Never Know / Subway Dreaming / Say It Is So / What You've Done / Sawdust And Splinters / Dead Man / Commonplace / Waiting For Your Moment / Party Was You / Incognito In California

Following on the heels of Say It Is So, Feeding The Gods picks up where the last one left off, and goes one better. Again produced by Jay Joyce this is a feast for the ears.

I’ve always liked Tim’s stuff, but his last couple albums have really put him over the top in my book. The guy gets better as he ages. From the opening cut, this one got under my skin. I’ll Never Know is wicked, Say It Is So is a good tune, and cements the book end feel to his last couple of albums. It’s tough to pull out stand out tracks. The weirdest one is Dead Man. The chorus with it’s sing along buh buh buh buh’s is so odd it works. My three year old burst out laughing when I sang along with the song in the car the other day. It does sound funny, but it’s cool.

As an added bonus the CD also has four videos from Say It Is So which is almost worth the price of the disc. Underwater Mountain, Big Wave Rider, Twinkle, and Death Of A Popular Song. Tim has a great sense of the macabre. He’s fully twisted.

Reviewed June 12, 2002

Big Fun City Blue Sisters Swing (©1986 Statik/Hybrid Records)

Baby Hurricane / Cat Burglar / Let Go / Vaguely Human / Rent Boy / Golden Handshake Girl / In Your Smile / Blue / Laundromat Kat / Just One Second / Seven Hail Marys / Death Shall Come / I May Have Said You're Beautiful But You Know I'm Just A Liar / Who's In Danger? / Black Tattoo / Anti-Social / 1978 (Feel Alright)

This is one of those albums I put on once in a while for fun. I played it like crazy in the 80's but haven't listened to it that much over the last few years. It still sounds pretty great, and I'm still drawn to the song "Laundromat Kat". This isn't to say it's the best song on the CD, far from it - it's just that I'm not a cat fan.

The rest are what you'd expect from an 80's alt rock band. This isn't a slam or a bad thing, just a comment. One of the things I always hated about this one was the total lack of liner notes. I always though the title was stupid and thought it might be more than one album. And sure enough, it was. Now it doesn't sound so stupid.

Reviewed February 16, 2003

1: Alive 2: Welcome To My Hell 3: Pulse 4: Night Woman 5: Metal Madness 6: Blood Of Kings

I like these kids. They're full of piss and vinegar, and you can tell they love what they're doing. I saw them live the other day, and they brought their "A" game. Sean Dyer was ripping it up on guitar. Buried in the mud of distortion there's a decent guitar player trying to get out. Having heard many of the songs on the e.p. live first made listening to their album a bit backwards for me.

There are a few moments where the guys are a bit out of time, and the vocals are buried too far back in the mix, but man oh man has the face and quality of indie changed over the last 20 years. The recording actually sounds pretty good. Which makes reviewing stuff like this both easier and harder. The songs aren't ground breaking, and for a new band, they're throwbacks to the arena metal days of Priest, Iron Maiden, and a countless hoard of other metal bands (prior to the advent of the Hairspray years). Bill and Ted would be in riff heaven.

If you don't like metal, then you'll hate this. If you like big riffs, and soaring vocals and a busy beat these guys are pretty solid, if not memorable. It's all been done before, and although it's pretty musically clichéd it's an okay listen. Although I do have to say, that of the half dozen songs represented here, only "Pulse" really works for me.

I doubt this will get the boys to the next level, but it all depends on what they're trying to do. If they're in it for fun, then they're doing it right.

Reviewed July 31, 2006

Revival (©2007 Fantasy)

1. Don't You Wish It Was True 2. Gunslinger 3. Creedence Song 4. Broken Down Cowboy 5. River Is Waiting 6. Long Dark Night 7. Summer Of Love 8. Natural Thing 9. It Ain't Right 10. I Can't Take It No More 11. Somebody Help Me 12. Longshot

Revival is as close a homecoming you're going to get from Mr. Fogerty - he may not be able to go home again, but he moved into a nice little house in the old neighbourhood. John even re-signed with Fantasy records. (After old Saul Zaentz was no longer in control).

This is a rather surprising record in that it's a good old fashioned dose of swamp boogie - but there's something missing that would truly put this one out of the park. Don't get me wrong, this is a really enjoyable album, and the songs are strong, but nothing really jumped out and grabbed my attention.

Music like this has a timeless quality to it, and although John is just around the corner from being able to collect a social security cheque, but you'd never guess. His voice is as strong as ever, and his playing and energy are that of a man two thirds his age. He may not be the angry young man he once way; he's now the angry old fart in a cardigan shaking his fist in frustration.

It's been a long time coming. It's nice to have you back in the neighbourhood.

Reviewed February 1, 2008

Agent Provocateur (©1984 Atlantic)

tracks: Tooth And Nail / That Was Yesterday / I Want To Know What Love Is / Growing Up The Hard Way / Reaction To Action / Stranger In My Own House / A Love In Vain / Down On Love / Two Different Worlds / She's Too Tough

Love 'em or hate 'em Foreigner didn't allow for a lot of middle ground. I've always liked the band, and they've had some spectacular highs, and some amazing disasters. Well, I exaggerate a little, but to their harshest critics these guys were "corporate commercialism" at it's worst. Punk was supposed to wipe bands like this off the face of the planet. Although from some reports, they were closet fans too. They had enough rough edges and warts to stand apart from some of their perfectly polished contemporaries.

Agent Provocateur is one of my favourite Foreigner albums. Mick Jones really shines with his gritty imperfect working man's guitar playing - which I find immensely entertaining. What he does is harder than it sounds. Of course Lou's vocals are great. The big hit was the slow dance hall of fame I Want to Know What Love Is (which I never really liked all that much) but the rest of the album is full of great rock and roll. Reaction to Action is one of their best songs ever.

The band was at the top of their game.

Reviewed February 17, 2003

Unusual Heat (©1991 Atlantic)

the songs: Only Heaven Knows / Lowdown and Dirty / I'll fight For You / moment of Truth / Mountain of Love / Ready for the Rain / When the Night Comes Down / Safe in my Heart / No Hiding Place / Flesh Wound / Unusual Heat

Bye bye Lou, and hello Johnny. This is an album that could have been recorded by Bad Company during the late 80's. There are some good cookers on this disc, starting with the lead off track Only Heaven Knows. But this is not a Foreigner record. I'm not sure what it is. Can you say "Contractual obligation?" But for whatever reason I sort of like this record.

Meet The Frantics (©2000 Organic)

Tracks: Not With A Bang / What's Up With Your Homey? / Top 40 / Everybody / Another Day / Little Bit Good / Kids Of Summer / Into The Sun / Class Of Whenever / All The Same / Let It Go / Be There

You know you're getting old when an excellent power pop/ nu-punk record draws on the sounds you still like and the kids in the band talk about their "retro" feel. Blink 182, and Smashing Pumpkins and the like could borrow a bit from The Frantics. They also have wonderful musical nods to bands like The Cars, The Knack, Boston, Cheap Trick (ooh yeah) and KISS.

With the demise of Organic Records, remainder bins all over the land have been stocked with leftovers. I was bin dumping when I found this one. Hmm, for five bucks I could take a chance.

Pow - right in the kisser. I'd have to say this is one of my favourite discs this year. For what ever reason, the guys managed to push all of my buttons with this one, and it's been stuck in the changer now for a while. Which is a pretty good feat since I've picked up some wicked albums this year too.

Heck, you've got to like a band whose drummer thanks Bun E. Carlos in the notes. Sadly he thanked Peter Criss too - Which is sad since Peter has trouble keeping time. This band should have reached the heavens rather than just singing about it. Too bad this is their one and only effort. Kids of Summer is one of the best pure pop/rock songs I've heard in ages. Heck, the disc is full of great tunes, and really really deserved a better fate.

Did I mention I really liked this one? Man I'm so gushy on this one I'm making myself ill.

Reviewed November 23, 2002

Franz Ferdinand (©2004 Domino / Sony)

1: Jacqueline 2: Tell Her Tonight 3: Take Me Out 4: The Dark Of The Matinée 5: Auf Achse 6: Cheating On You 7: This Fire 8: Darts Of Pleasure 9: Michael 10: Come On Home 11: 40'

Gentlemen, set your watches for 15 minutes.

This is a really good album, make no mistake. It's a fun punchy bubble gum hook laden 38 minutes of power riff rock. Pay attention, because if you blink you're likely to miss this one. It's the current flavour of the month along with all of the other IPOD flavoured "retro-cool" bands we're being fed at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy rock is back in style again - but it's so prefabricated. It's like trying to get excited about seeing bell bottoms back in vogue. It's just that as good as this is, I don't get a warm and fuzzy about these guys being able to pull off a follow-up - or worse yet let's assume they pull it off there may be no one who gives a crap. Can you saw Chumbawamba? I knew you could.

Still, I don't want to shit all over these guys - they put out a really strong album. The only song that kind of creeps me out is Michael. I guess this could just be a tongue in cheek song (don't go there). Although the album gets thin after repeated listenings (I know, I played it straight for a couple of days at the office), it's a pretty bloody good album.

Reviewed November 7, 2004

You Could Have It So Much Better (©2005 Domino / Sony)

1: The Fallen 2: Do You Want To 3: This Boy 4: Walk Away 5: Evil And A Heathen 6: You're The Reason I'm Leaving 7: Eleanor Put Your Boots On 8: Well That Was Easy 9: What You Meant 10: I'm Your Villain 11: You Could Have It So Much Better 12: Fade Together 13: Outsiders

The thundering Scots have managed to extend their stay past their expiration date, by unleashing a baker’s dozen of day old pop songs. Now to be Franz (hoo hoo, I made a punny!), I didn’t rush out and buy this the day it came out. It wasn’t on my list of albums to buy. After some prodding from a buddy who was wondering what I thought about this one I figured it was time to see what was up.

The best thing that can be said about the album is it’s more of the same manic skinny tie alt-power-post punk pop. Which is as much a plus as it is a negative. The thirteen songs here are bit like having a hyper active kid in the backseat of your car while on a road trip. To complicate matters the kid has to go pee, and you’re miles from the closest service station. Oh yeah the kid is a girl, and you don’t have any suitable paper products in the car. So what am I trying to say? I dunno, I kind of got carried away there.

Not to be totally pissy here, I feel like I have to apologize for being a bit of a prick to these guys. After all, they are a pretty decent rock act; I give them full marks for making a fun rock and roll album. For whatever reason I just can’t get into this one. Which is odd since I love this shit. Taken as singles the songs rock. In fact there’s a uniformity to the songs that blurs everything together, and detracts from the whole.

I get the sense the guys know they’re recycling themselves, but they’re stuck in the groove and can’t get out. Franz Ferdinand reviewed their album in the title.

Reviewed March 7, 2006

Equilibrium (©1999 MTM Music)

the songs:Blaze of Love / Mata Hari / Equilibrium / All For Love / Best I Can Be / Crazy / Tell Me Diana / Falling Into Place / Died In The Midst Of A Dream / The Truth Is Good Enough / Language of Love

Fergie's probably best known for his brief stint with Toto back in the 80's, when he replaced Bobby Kimball on vocals. This is his first solo record, and it's not bad at all. His piercing range has lowered with age, but he can still belt out a tune. Tim Pierce, long one of my favourite players, lends his solid guitar work to most of the tunes on this album. His playing is surprisingly subdued here, no wicked solos (sigh).

Musically this one is all over the map. Some Chicago here, a little Journey there, a helping of Foreigner over there, with a little dash of Toto mixed in just for fun. Checking out the credits, members of all those bands make some contributions to the album.

Don't get me wrong, I love all that stuff. Fergie pulls enough rabbits out of his hat to make this a treat for people who miss the old farts of rock and roll.

Reviewed November 23, 2001

Hold On (©1994 EMI Music Canada)

1: You're The One 2: Healing Hands 3: It Always Feels The Same 4: Hold On 5: I Am With You Tonight 6: Learning To Fly 7: So Blind 8: Once Upon A Time 9: Cloud 9 10: If Only I Could Dream 11: I Wonder Why 12: Falling At Your Feet

I never expected to become an Alan Frew fan (of sorts). I bought Wonderland a couple of years ago and was pretty impressed, and I told myself that if I found Alan's debut kicking around I'd buy it. For those of you who don't know, Alan fronted Glass Tiger. (Who?) They were a pretty big deal in Canada, if memory serves they scored at least once in the US.

Fast forward a bunch of years, and Alan embarks on the solo gig. Even Mickey Dolenz (Who? Come on, this guy was in The Monkees, and he is a really good singer!) lends his pipes to a tune, how cool is that?

In fact the tunes are all pretty solid. True there's nothing overly original here, but there's nothing offensive here either.

Reviewed October 27, 2003

Solo Collection (©1995 MCA)

The Songs: This Way To Happiness / Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed / Common Ground / Call On Me / The One You Love / Sexy Girl / Smuggler's Blues / The Heat Is On / You Belong To The City / True Love / Soul Searchin' / Part Of Me, Part Of You / I've Got Mine / River Of Dreams / Rising Sun / Brave New World

Glenn’s written some great tunes, and this collection has all of the soundtrack tunes that were so good, and a bunch of cuts that really stand out. So how come the album feels flat with so much going for it? It could be the sequencing of the songs, I don’t know. Individually the songs are okay, at times bordering on great - but they don’t mesh together. When I look for something to play, this one doesn’t come to mind, although when I do play it, I like what I hear, and wonder why I don't play it more often.

Perhaps this is a case where more isn’t better – I know a CD can hold nearly 80 minutes of music, but isn't a collection of 10 killer tracks better than bloating up to 16 with filler (if this is too hard to follow substitute regular beer for light beer and reverse the argument - with beer more is better). I guess poor Glenn is like the Rodney Dangerfield of the Eagles alumni. He just can’t get no respect. I guess Don took it all - to quote good old Mojo "Don Henley Must Die". PS A word to the psychos out there I AM NOT IMPLYING I WANT YOU TO KILL DON HENLEY. Last thing I need to is sit in court defending myself because some idiot says "Jevon made me do it."

Reviewed May 27, 2002

Frozen Ghost (©1987 Atlantic)

1: Should I See 2: Promise 3: Beware The Masque 4: Yum Bai Ya 5: Love Like Fire 6: End Of The Line 7: Time Is The Answer 8: Love Without Lies 9: Soldier Cry 10: Truth In Lies

The 80s. They were the best of times, they were the worst of times. Frozen Ghost was a band I really liked back in their day. Arnold Lanni has an instantly recognizable voice which is one of the things that helped differentiate the band from a lot of the stuff that was out at the time.

Of course at times goes by, Frozen Ghost has become part of the classic rock scene in Canada. They also have the distinction of having one of the stupidest rock songs of the 80s. No I'm not referring to 99 Luftballons. I should have clarified my comment: I meant stupidest song from a Canadian band. I mean really what the hell is Yum Bai Ya? Oh well, a hit is a hit even with an "S" in front of it. It was catchy which makes it more irritating.

The songs hold up surprisingly well, except for the drum machines - which were an unfortunate by product of the times. They were cool at the time, kind of like the cheesy synth sounds that Styx was using in the 70s. They aren't aging well.

It had been a few years since I'd let this one spin and it was, and is still very good. Songs like Promised, Beware the Masque, and End of the Line are wicked, and the rest, except one song are all solid.

What else could you ask for?

Reviewed February 29, 2004