Scenic Routes (©1992 Brainstorm)

Scenic Routes / You Gotta Move / Built For Glory, Made To Last / Bullet Train / The Fortunate Sons / The New Physics / I Am A Pilgrim / Lord, Protect My Child / Amber Waves Goodbye / Bush League / Old And Lonesome / I Can't Say Goodbye / Why Is The Devil Red? / Smokescreen / The Last Temptation Of Angus Shane / Hard Times Come Again No More / Breathe Deep

Ten years (gasp – a decade!) ago Lost Dogs began a musical journey as a lark that over time has become a real band. My first thought was typically jaded. “Oh look a Christian version of the Traveling Wilburys.” Of the bunch assembled I knew of Terry Taylor’s stuff (of which I have an almost disgusting amount of). I’d heard of the Choir (have since picked up their catalog), and 77’s (have bits and pieces, but they’re on my “to get” list) but not Adam Again (still don’t have any – hey I’m not made of money!). So I put it on, the lead off song Scenic Routes didn’t exactly grab me by the short and curlies, and reinforced my Wilburys comparison (take it anyway you want). But then You Gotta Move came on, and from there on I knew I was in for a fun listen if the boy’s could bottle lightning. And sho’nuff they did.

There’s a sense of barely restrained fun and looseness about this recording you don’t hear everyday. Some of the songs suffer from sounding more like R.E.M. than R.E.M. does. The music wanders between country rock, blues, and points in between. They’re often mislabeled country, or alt rock, which is confusing. But whatever round hole you want to shove these square pegs into doesn’t make a difference to the quality of the effort. This is great stuff because it really isn’t like the stuff from their day jobs. If you can forgive the pun, there really isn’t a runt in the litter. There are two brilliant moments on this disc that outshine all the rest in my opinion. The first being The New Physics, which gives me chills to this day. The second is Breathe Deep, which is one of those songs that takes all of our human failings, and reinforces God’s unequivocal forgiveness. It’s very powerful.

Reviewed March 28, 2002

The Green Room Serenade (Part One) (©1996 Brainstorm)

1. The Green Room Serenade 2: Up In The Morning 3: Cry Baby 4: Love Takes Over The World 5: Close But No Cigar 6: All That Remains 7: Sweet Work Of Love 8: If It Be Your Will 9: Mexico 10: The Prodigal Bride ( I'll Wait For You ) 11: Hey, You Little Devil 12: I Don't Love You 13: Reasonable Service 14: Waiting For You To Come Around 15: Breathe Deep (The Breath Of God) - 1996

Another welcome addition to the Dog's litter. Green Room Serenade is one of my favourite Lost Dogs albums - it's all over the map and has no regard for musical continuity. In fact for the most part the boys are rocking out for most of this one - which is great to hear, and is an element I sadly miss in later Dogs efforts.

Their cover of Leonard Cohen's If It Be Your Will is a nicely done. But this album is about rock, and Mexico is a song so good I get chills (brrrr). The riff and groove is worth getting the disc for. It's that good. The whole album is chock full of great tunes - the only real runt of the bunch this time out is the title track. Even then it's quirky enough to stand on it's own after a few listens. The guys also reprise Breathe Deep, and it gets good treatment.

Sadly there never was a part two, but that's how it is in the heady world of rock and roll boys and girls.

Reviewed May 2003

Gift Horse (©2000 BEC)

Tracks: Ghost Train to Nowhere / A Vegas Story / If You Loved Here, You'd Be Home By Now / Diamonds To Coal / Blessing In Disguise / Loved and Forgiven / Rebecca Go Home / Honeysuckle Breeze / Ditto / The Wall of Heaven / Farther Along

A Lost Dogs release is always something to behold. This one was somewhat different from the last couple of albums – it was much farther down the road in the folksy / alt roots sound. Terry assumed the writing duties this time out, which on the plus side was great for musical consistency, but bad in terms of musical diversity (I am not saying the songs are bad – far from it!). Now I’m as big a fan of Terry’s as anyone, but the Lost Dogs in my humble opinion are a collective of singer songwriters, and I would hate to think of the Dogs as being viewed as just another Taylor vehicle. I’m sure that won’t happen given the strength of musical personalities.

The songs and music are brooding, and from the haunting (no pun intended) Ghost Train to Nowhere, to the closing track this is a very strong album. I really like this one, and of course the subtle and solid drumming of Burleigh Drummond keeps the meter running. What started as a fun exercise has taken on it’s own life. Lost Dogs are a real band that is as much as or more than the sum of it’s parts. Dare I say, they're magical?

Reviewed June 12, 2002

Real Men Cry (©2001 BEC)

1: A Certain Love 2: The Gates of Eden 3: Real Men Cry 4: Three Legged Dog 5: When the Judgment Comes 6: In the Distance 7: The Great Divide 8: The Mark of Cain 9: Dust on the Bible 10: Wild Ride 11: Golden Dreams 12: No Shadow of Turning 13: Lovely Man

This is a bitter sweet album. Bitter in that Gene Eugene's passing left a hole in the heart of the Dogs. Sweet, in that the boys regrouped, circled the wagons and carried on just like the proverbial three legged dog.

The Dogs are once again anchored by Tim Chandler's bass, but missing is Burleigh, who had appeared on all of the previous efforts. In his place is Frank Lenz. Frank's drumming on many of the songs is excellent; however, there are a number of times when he really gives Animal from the Muppets a run for his money. It's as if Frank wants to prove he can nail everything in his kit at least once before the song is over. The dogs are about the voices, words and guitars. The drums are an anchor that should hold things in place, not sink it like a stone. I know that there are people who really like the addition Frank's style. I'm entitled to my opinion, and although it's fun to have an energized player, there is a line between distinctive, and distraction.

Anyway enough of the bitching and moaning. Real Men Cry picks up and carries their sound further on down the roots rock vein. The songs are tight, witty, and full of the Dog's breath (ooh, I like that one) we've come to expect. The only weird bit is the odd back to back pairing of Three Legged Dog and When the Judgment Comes (both songs have the same tempo and structure). Of course there's a story here, and it turns out that the "hidden" 13th track was nestled in there originally, but the people at BEC had some issues with some of the Mike-isms, so they did some digital editing and removed the offensive bits and hung it off the end. Of course this royally screwed up the sequencing, but hey kiddies - THIS IS ROCK and ROLL!

Overall though as good as this album is, it bleeds to much into Gift Horse, and dare I say - it's starting to sound the same. Which isn't a problem really, I just wonder how many times they can rewrite the same songs ...

Reviewed finally completed June 2003

PS I've been listening to this for a couple of years and the more I listen to this the more enamored I become with Franks drumming. When it works it's amazing. Yeah, he's a little messy at times, but he does bring a certain charm to the razzle dazzle songs. I wrote much of the above a couple of years ago and never got around to posting the full review. Man I can be lazy at times.

The Green Room Serenade Part Tour (©2002 Lo-Fidelity / Fools of the World)

Tracks: Built For Glory / Up In The Morning / Pray Where You Are / The Last Testament of Angus Shane / Red, White And Blue / Breathe Deep / Bad Indigestion / Rocky Mountain Mines / Close But No Cigar / Why Is The Devil Red? / No Ship Coming In / Jimmy / If It Be Your Will / With Me Tonight / Lord, Protect My Child

Part Tour was captured live back in 1996 and features the talents of Gene Eugene, Terry Taylor, Derri Daugherty, and Mike Roe. The dogs were supported by Bruce Spencer from the 77s and Sam Hernandez from Dime Store Prophets. There are also a couple of studio tracks at the end. One good, one not so good. But it's a matter of taste. Whether I have any or not is up for debate.

The sound is surprisingly bright and clean (although the fade in for the first cut is irritating) and leaves most of the song chatter intact. Although I don't find the "used to play the big rooms" as hilarious as the boys do, since they reference this almost a half dozen times. It must be somewhat discouraging to have been around long enough (i.e. survived) only to be viewed as has beens to a bunch of snotty nosed kids who think the latest silicon enhanced diva is an artist.

For a band that started as a side project, the boys gelled into a real band, and make some incredible music. This is definitely worth picking up. The remaining Dogs continue to tour and release great tunes. They are something to see and hear, even if they don't play the big rooms anymore.

We miss you Gene.

Reviewed November 8, 2002

Nazarene Crying Towel (©2003 BEC)

1: Moses in the Desert 2: There You Are 3: Deeper in the Heart 4: Come Down Here 5: Be My Hiding Place 6: Jesus on the Shore 7: Mercy Again 8: Cry Out Loud 9: The Yearning 10: Crushing Hand 11: Home Again 12: Darkest Night

There's an undeniable appeal to these three veteran musicians. With Nazarene Crying Towel the band releases their most introspective work to date. This probably comes the closest to capturing their live sound than any of their previous works.

This time around the band taps into the talents of Dennis Holt, a drummer who has played with Kansas' touring band, Kerry Livgren's AD among others. His drumming is so understated it's almost hard to hear, which is in direct contrast to the bombastic mix the drums received on Real Men Cry. Other guests include Tim Chandler on bass, the multitalented Phil Madeira on lots of stuff, and Steve Hindalong on percussion.

The songs are unassuming and I'll somewhat ashamed to say I found them somewhat boring the first few listens through. No, that's not right - boring is too negative. The songs just sort of played in the background without any of them jumping out demanding special attention. I was tempted to put it on the shelf as an okay album, but nothing special.

Then a strange thing happened. I paid attention. Then songs started jumping out all over the place. The wax fell from my ears like Paul on the road home from Damascus. One should never confuse quiet with boring. I'm not sure what the future holds in store musically for the dogs, as Nazarene Crying Towel feels very much like a culmination of sorts for the band. If you've been following along at home you've probably noticed each album becoming more and more of less (think about it, it'll make sense eventually).

Who knows, maybe next time the boys'll strap on their electrics and cut loose.

Minor complaint is with some poor quality control on the liner notes. Some punctuation is missing, and some parts are truncated and repeated. Oh well, you can't hear that stuff so who am I to complain about it? But hats off to the designer of the overall package, it is a beautiful cover.

Reviewed April 2003

Via Chicago (©2003 Lo-Fidelity)

1: A Certain Love 2: Free Drinks and a Dream 3: The Wall of Heaven 4: In the Distance 5: The Great Divide 6: Wild Ride 7: Moses in the Desert 8: Bad Indigestion 9: Why is the Devil Red 10: Honeysuckle Breeze 11: Breathe Deep 12: Joel

Bonus CD 1: Free Drinks And A Dream 2: Civil War Intro 3: In The Distance 4: The Great Divide 5: Bad Indigestion 6: Why Is The Devil Red 7: Honeysuckle Breeze 8: Breathe Deep 9: Joel

Hats off to Jeffrey at Lo-Fidelity for digging deep into his bag of tricks and pulling out the lost dogs. This is an excellent introduction to the band. The concert is filmed in black and white, and the sound mix is first rate. The guys are in fine form throughout, and they appear to be having a good time.

Much of the in-between banter has been streamlined, and concentrates on the songs, which for a live release is a good thing. Seeing the guys fart around tuning and tuning and tuning is fun, but I don't see it translating well on to DVD.

The interviews are fun, and show a band at ease with where they are in life. The audio commentary is the only weak part of the disc, but it's not a distraction from the overall disc. This is some good stuff kids.

Reviewed November 20, 2003

MUTT (©2004 Lo-Fidelity / Fools of the World)

1: If You Want To 2: The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes & The Pride Of Life 3: Like A Cloud 4: Grace Is The Smell Of Rain 5: Sunshine Down 6: To Cover You 7: It's So Sad 8: Ain't Gonna Fight It 9: Beautiful Scandalous Night 10: I'm Setting You Free (But I'm Not Letting You Go)

A new album by the Dogs is always reason to celebrate. When I first heard the boys would be digging into their respective back catalogs and covering themselves I kind of figured this had "fan only" written all over it. Have no fear, each version has been re-visioned, and stands on it own. It's not that these versions are better or worse, they're now Lost Dog tunes, rather than a hodge podge of collected songs. Each song was obviously chosen for its poetic strength and the end result is a surprisingly cohesive album.

I figured that the boys were heading farther down the NCT road (although I was secretly hoping they'd go electric again), and musically on MUTT they have. They just went down farther than I thought they would. The delivery is relaxed and subdued, with the lone Mike twangy thing being the exception. Don't misread me, relaxed and introspective doesn't necessarily equal boring, just casual. The guys have paid their dues, and they're entitled to do pretty much what they want to at this point in their careers.

Steve Hindalong is handling percussion this time around. For the most part he's using a subtle touch. There are a couple of quirky moments however, on "The Lust", and "BSN" Steve adds some percussive bits that don't work for me. A glockenspiel? Oh lord. They don't totally sink the songs, but they do put a couple of holes in the boat (Oddly enough it really works on "Grace is the Smell of Rain"). I'm sure in time they'll grow on me. I guess I was expecting Ginger Ale, and someone snuck me a Ginger Beer instead.

The other sidesman is the ever present Tim Chandler, who like Steve is featured father back in the mix than on past efforts. Which makes sense. The dogs are about the songs, and their lyrics, and if you can't hear what's being sung you're missing most of the song.

It's not easy pulling out the stand out tracks, but as of today I really like the renditions of "If You Want To", "Sunshine Down", "To Cover You", and "It's So Sad". Of course this doesn't mean I don't like the rest. I do, even the two runts of the litter have more than enough redeeming qualities.

The boys have once again enlisted the aid of Jeffrey K. and Lo-Fidelity to get this one out to the public. For those who have been paying attention this is the same young man who helped bring the world Part Tour, and the wonderful live DVD. Which means that in terms of retail point of purchase this will be harder to find - however, the world is a changing place and you can conveniently order MUTT from the convenience of you chair. Order your own copy.

Tell Jeffrey you saw it here, and it made you want to buy the album.

Reviewed July 17, 2004

Island Dreams (©2005 Fools of the World)

1: Escape to Paradise 2: Wikki Tikki 3: Sailing the Cove 4: Lover's Lanai 5: Veranda by The Bay 6: Rainforest Romance 7: Sailing the Cove (Reprise) 8: Sleepy Blue Lagoon 9: Kissed In The Mist 10: Carnivale 11: Under the Wave

Island Dreams is not your typical Lost Dogs album – it’s a little bit of Daydream by Roe and Harmon, and a Day without Pain by Enya. Maybe the guys should have put this out under a pseudonym: Perhaps a play on the 7&7iS moniker: LostDoGiS, LDiS, or perhaps DOGiS. Mutt was already taken … Palm Warmers would be offensive (but in keeping with the tropical theme – kind of), and The Electric Hair Dryers could possibly invite legal action from Jeff Lynn. So the guys took the easy way out and labeled it with their customary name and proceeded to toss a quick one to their waiting fans just in time for their summer tour. After all what good is a tour without product to flog?

What makes this fun is that it is such a departure from the American rocks roots of the last few albums. This is truly a right angle turn for the dynamic trio. No it’s not the harbinger of a new direction. It’s a casual one off that filled a void, and added another title to their discography. No doubt there’s a real story behind the scenes on this one (I’ve heard snippets from various sources, but since The Dogs aren’t talking, neither am I. Let’s just say I received a significant “love offering” from everyone’s favourite tuxedo clad megastar to keep quiet), but it’s nowhere near as clever as the musings by Terry which are just about the funniest liner notes I’ve ever read. They’re almost worth the price of the disc just to get the notes.

There are a couple of wonderful tracks “Escape to Paradise” and “Lovers’ Lanai” which to me is the best song on the album. The rest are quiet mellow breezy instrumentals with the occasional vocal la la la bits by Christine Glass Byrd which are at times beautiful and sometimes a little annoying (however not as annoying as say, oh, a glockenspiel). Overall this is good clean fun, and stands on it’s own as light background music. Heck, I’d bet Jimmy Buffett could get wasted away listening to this. Who knows, maybe he could get Warren to finance their next album.

Everyone is allowed to take a vacation now and again. The guys did theirs with a soundtrack.

Reviewed November 8, 2005