"Addictions" Volume 1 (©1989 Island)

1. Bad Case Of Loving You 2: Pride 3: Addicted To Love 4: Sweet Lies 5: Woke Up Laughing 6: Looking For Clues 7: Some Guys Have All The Luck 8: Some Like It Hot 9: What's It Take? 10: Every Kinda People 11: Johnny & Mary 12: Simply Irresistable 13: Style Kills

For a while there in the late 1980's Robert Palmer was the king of cool. He had some monster hits, and it was only a matter of time before a greatest hits collection was put out. Here it is, and it's a pretty poor album. He even managed to assemble an "addictions" volume 2. How he managed to fill two CD's is beyond me.

However, not to be too hard on the guy I will say that there are a bunch of killer songs on this collection. Moon Martin's Bad Case Of Loving You still rocks! Looking For Clues is as quirky stupid as ever. It's just that it seems like for every good song there's a stinker. How does that formula go? For every action there is an equal and opposite something or other. However it goes it applies to this album.

Reviewed November 6, 2000

A Valid Path (©2004)

1. Return to Tunguska 2. More Lost Without You 3. Mannagamma `04 4. We Play the Game 5. Tijuaniac 6. L'Arc En Ciel 7. A Recurring Dream Within A Dream 8. You Can Run 9. Chomolungma

This wasn't what I expected and I didn't think much of it the first time through - but then as I sat down to pick it apart and have fun at the expense of poor Mister Parsons, a strange thing started to happen - it started to grow on me. A Valid Path marked the departure of longtime guitar player Ian Bairnson - in my opinion one of the tastiest players on the face of the planet - and one of the most cohesive elements in both the Project, and also the "solo" Parsons albums.

Like I was alluding to, the first time through I had one of those "WTF" moments, where I had to check to make sure I was listening to the right album. Yeah, the trademark Parsons keyboard electrofartic sounds are all over the place - but they're juiced up. Old Mister Parsons went electronica while no one was paying attention. Maybe that's part of the problem. No one was paying attention. After being a commercial force to be reckoned with in the 70's and 80's - Alan wasn't about to go quietly into that good night.

The album feels like a desperate attempt to be cool.

This album isn't cool.

But it's not half bad either. Alan Parsons may be the musical equivalent of a cougar out for drinks at a club, but I have to admit that after a couple of shots and the right lighting this album started to grow on me.

Now, while this isn't the Alan Parsons of my youth, this it stays relatively true to itself - the album's moody opener "Return to Tunguska" is a great piece, and is supported quite nicely by David Gilmour. Heck Alan even takes a turn singing this time out, and oddly enough he has a warm voice that brings to mind his old writing partner - who shall for the purposes of this review remain nameless. He even makes more than a few passing nods to his past work. "A Recurring Dream Within a Dream" and the adventurous, or disastrous depending on where you sit is the reworking of "Mannagamma '04" - I'm still on the fence.

While this will not win over any new fans, and no doubt alienated many of the faithful - this album kind of grew on me. However, most people just don't have the time or energy to try to like things - most people are looking for shortcuts, and that's just the path they take.

Reviewed July 20, 2008

Vulture Culture (©1985 Arista)

1. Let's Talk About Me 2. Separate Lives 3. Days Are Numbers (The Traveler) 4. Sooner or Later 5. Vulture Culture 6. Hawkeye 7. Somebody Out There 8. The Same Old Sun 9. No Answers Only Questions 10. Separate Lives 11. Hawkeye 12. The Naked Vulture 13. No Answers Only Questions

Probably the most overlooked of the project albums I had back in the 80's, and I'd kind of forgotten why. I remember liking it but aside from "Days are Numbers" which to this day remains one of my favourite songs from the band, the album never really clicked. It was good, but nothing special.

So here I am over twenty years later sitting at my desk listening to a remastered version with a bunch of bonus tracks, which were better than I expected. However, I find that although this is still a good album (except for the title track, which sucked then and sucks now) it's not a high point for the band either. Looking back you can see Vulture Culture for what it was: a transitional album. It was the transition from being a commercially viable force, to being a band where each successive album became the proverbial tree falling in the forest with no one left to hear, except for the one armed man who showed his appreciation by clapping.

Reviewed October 28, 2008

Gaudi (©1987 Arista)

1: La Sagrada Familia 2: Too Late 3: Closer To Heaven 4: Standing On Higher Ground 5: Money Talks 6: Inside Looking Out 7: Paseo De Gracia (Instrumental)

After a decade of producing highly polished prop-pop Gaudi marked the end of the line. The album clocks in under forty minutes and contains seven songs, which makes it feel a little bit like an unfinished work, but remember this was 1987, and most artists were still adhering to the twenty two and a half minutes per side way of thinking.

While this isn't a great album, it has enough life to warrant repeated listenings, and considering I hadn't heard it in years, it was still relatively fresh. I still really like "La Sagrada Familia", while "Standing on Higher Ground", still sounds clunky.

What always made these guys stand out was the consistency of the players - particularly Ian Bairnson. Who quite frankly is without a doubt one of the world's most underappreciated guitar players. The guy is bloody brilliant. Need proof? Crank up "Paseo de Gracia".

These guys were sort of the musical equivalent of Rodney Dangerfield - they never got any respect.

Reviewed May 13, 2005

Between Worlds (©1990 Capitol)

1: Can You Love Me 2: Maybe One Day 3: Honest Man 4: Can't You See 5: Untouched 6: Sunset Line 7: Too Quick To Judge 8: About Her 9: Nothin' You Can't Be 10: Brighter Days Ahead 11: Keep That Spirit High

These guys had a monster hit in Canada in 1986 with "Soul City". It was a song I liked, but I never bought the album. Fast forward a lot of years, and I'm digging through a cheapie bin, and low and behold there's a Partland Brothers CD in there. So I take a chance, and you know what? It ain't bad. The brothers have distinct voices, and the tunes are solid, if slightly forgettable. They managed to snag some very good talent to help them out too: Players like Bill Dillon, Ken Greer, Hugh Marsh, and Jon Anderson all make appearances. Not one of my favourites, but it still sees the light of day one in a while.

Reviewed November 6, 2000

Strangelanguage (©1996 re:think)

1: Strangelanguage 2: That's The Point 3: Insult Like The Truth 4: Sneakin Up On Me 5: Rocket 6: The Harvest At The End Of The World 7: Lady Soul 8: Struck Blind 9: Tumble Down 10: Liquid Days 11: Strangerlanguage

I'm still trying to figure this one out. I know that Charlie said it was a like a funhouse mirror of all the weird music he likes. He’s been true to his description, musically this is all over the map, and at times resembles a glorious train wreck more than it does an album of pop songs. Initially after getting this I listened a couple of times, scratched my head and put it away. Then after listening to Kingdom Come, I decided to revisit Strangelanguage and see if I had been out to lunch the first time around.

Okay, so I wasn’t entirely out to lunch, it was more of a snack if anything. Since Strangelanguage is a musical smorgasbord you’ll have to forgive me for picking and choosing the bits I find more palatable. I like a lot of this album, and it is pretty creative. That’s the Point is pure bubble gum pop with it’s happy bob your head chorus – it could be lifted off a TV jingle. Rocket is a beautiful song, and musically is one of the highlights for me. Tumble Down is another accessible song. Of course these are the safe pretty pop songs.

If you like your music a little less than predictable this really is a pretty cool effort. He didn't break any of the mirrors in the funhouse, which was a good thing. Who needs seven years of bad luck?

Reviewed January 17, 2005

Kingdom Come(©1999 re:think)

1: Kingdom Come 2: Wouldn't It Be Strange 3: The Night Won't Last Forever 4: Cheer Up Church 5: Is The Brightness Still In Me 6: Genius In The Details 7: Don't Be Afraid 8: Sacrifice Of Love 9: What We Do 10: Only You

I’ve always had Charlie on my short list of people to be on the watch for. Late last year I came across a couple of Charlie’s discs at a price too good to ignore. I played Strangelanguage a couple of times in the car, but I wasn’t able to really listen and it more or less played in the background not really grabbing my attention. I held off playing Kingdom Come for a couple of weeks, and then one day I was moving a pile of CDs from one corner of my desk to a pile of yet to be played discs to another pile of discs on a shelf in my office when I dropped a few, and one of them was a disc with a simple black and white photo, and it looked intriguing. I put it on, and was able to really listen, and I liked what I heard - I liked it a lot. Charlie has one of those thin pop voices, but it has an eagerness to it that makes up for its lack of depth and power. He’s like a pop version of Michael Franks with elements of Neil Finn mixed in for fun - which is all goodness.

For the most part, the songs on Kingdom Come are pop with jazz overtones. It’s a really good album, and the arrangements, production and caliber of musicianship is first class. There aren’t any lesser efforts here – the whole album is very good. In fact the more I listen to this one, the more I like it. The guy is infectious – genius really is in the details.

Now to those faithful Charlie Peacock fans who have been on the bandwagon over the last twenty plus years I ask that you cut me some slack. I only have a couple of points of reference – so this one stands on it’s own for me. Even the highly cheesy Cheer Up Church is so earnest that it’s hard not to like the song. It’s a musical greeting card to the church, and it works beautifully.

Reviewed January 11, 2005

Free for All (©1992 RCA)

1: Long Way Down (Look What The Cat Drug In) 2: Free Time 3: Coal 4: Seen The Doctor 5: By The Book 6: Drained 7: Slipping My Mind 8: Strange Season 9: Bunker Hill 10: Now We're Even

This is a good pop album. Michael's a good pop song writer. I got lucky and found Free for All as a cut out a few days ago. Sad for Mister Penn, good for me. Musically this falls into Crowded House, Rembrandts, and Odds territory. Like a lot of people I knew him from the song "No Myth" a number of years ago. My sister had March, and I remember really liking it too. For whatever reason I never got around to buying my own copy. I hadn't heard anything about him for years, but figured he was around somewhere. If I can find more of his stuff cheap I'll snatch them up. I hear he has a new one out called MP4. Heck, I may go out and buy one of his albums at regular price.

Reviewed October 29, 2000

Resigned (©1997 57 Records / Epic)

1: Try 2: Me Around 3: Like Egypt Was 4: Out Of My Hands 5: All That That Implies 6: Selfish 7: Cover Up 8: Figment 9: Small Black Box 10: Comfort 11: I Can Tell

Michael Penn releases albums at a furious rate, if he continues at this pace, by the time he's a hundred he will have released a dozen albums. I would venture a guess that the album title is a somewhat tongue in cheek reference to him either a) getting another record deal, or b) accepting his fate as a great singer songwriter toiling just on the verge of obscurity. Being a critical success doesn't put food on the table.

One of the things I like most about this album is the depth of Michael's playing. He is a master of understatement with a six string. There are some kick ass songs here, from the pop mastery of songs like "Try". "Me Around", and the slow smolder of "Out of My Hands" (I hate these lists, because as I shuffle through the songs, they all have substance) but the one that always gets me is "Figment", it's a song that starts with a melancholy lament and slowly builds into a blistering pop song. It is my favourite song on the album.

There is hope for pop music after all.

Reviewed December 19. 2005

Days (©2007)

1. We Are Invincible 2. I Am the One 3. Days 4. Smiling in the Rain 5. Flying Over Paradise 6. What I Need 7. Living On Your Own 8. Island 9. Cold as Stone

This is one of the coolest album covers I've seen in ages. It's also one of the coolest albums I've heard in a while too. I sort of stumbled across this one, and there wasn't much out there on the band other than they're from Poland. Peter Pan is apparentley the brain child of Wojtek Szadkowski - the guy behind a couple of other bands I'd never heard before, but will be on the lookout for: Satellite and Collage. Always good to have things to look for I guess. I honestly expected this to sound like amplified Polish folk music recorded on a cassette deck in someone's garage. What I got was a highly polished and wonderfully executed album. If you're a true prog lover then you'll probably think I'm full of potatoes because this album is more at home with the more mainstream Rush and Saga fans.

The musicianship is first class - Radek Chwieralski is a killer guitar player, and there's some wicked interplay with the keyboards throughout the album. The only weak link is the singing - at times it works, and other times it's like listening to bad karaoke. But it's not so bad as to ruin the experience.

There's enough here to warrant seeking this one out. Some stuff just never grows old.

Reviewed December 18, 2007

Double Take (©2000 Word Records)

1: Judas' Kiss 2: The Coloring Song 3: Dance 4: Beyond Belief 5: The Longing 6: He Came, He Saw 7: Beat the System 8: This Means War 9: Breathe In 10: Creed 11: Praying Man 12: Just Reach Out

This is a wildly uneven effort. Not content to just release a "best of" album, Petra re-recorded 12 of their better known songs. The Police were going to try the same thing many years ago but after hearing Don't Stand So Close To Me 86 Sting said the band decided to cut their losses with the one track.

I guess Petra thought they could pull this off - and they almost did. Some of the songs are very good, and some are just plain stinkers. The sound is bright and crisp, and well performed throughout, it's just that it doesn't sound right. I must pass along huge kudos for not trying to record God Gave Rock and Roll To You again. The only version that ever really kicked was the reprise version with the kids singing the chorus.

Reviewed July 25, 2000

Jekyll & Hyde (©2003 Inpop Records)

1: Jekyll & Hyde 2: All About Who You Know 3: Stand 4: Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda 5: Perfect World 6: Test of Time 7: I Will Seek you 8: Life as we Know it 9: Till Everything I do 10: Sacred Trust

"Petra returns with a rock album that hearkens back to their glory days." This was the general buzz around the record, and as a long time fan I was really pulling for the guys to pull off the big transformation.

There were a few years where Petra was a huge machine, and Jekyll & Hyde tries too hard to push the big buttons, it's too bad but someone forgot to tell the guys that it's not 1990. On the plus side this is a rock album, and a pretty good one at that, and not another in a seemingly endless collection of Petra praise and greatest hits compilations.

Petra has been around so long it's hard to appreciate the fact that they've been cranking out albums since 1974. Of course the passage of time has seen a lot of personnel changes in the band. Bob Hartman and John Schlitt are all that remains of the band. The band always seemed to be Bob's vehicle anyway, and since he can't sing he had to keep the singer. For a couple of old farts Bob and John could probably out rock most of their contemporaries. Which is part of the problem, do we really need to see a couple of 50 something guys rocking out?

Enough already, time to move on the album itself. Jekyll & Hyde clocks in at an astounding 30 minutes. However, the ten songs here are tight, to the point, sound great, but are nothing special - this is journeyman stuff. I'm sure that there people out there who will hail Jeckyll & Hyde as one the best albums ever recorded and call me a picky goof for crapping on the Petra sidewalk. To be fair there are some good moments here, but I wouldn't go so far as to say this is an especially good album. It'll play for a few days before taking up shelf space.

When all is said and done Jekyll & Hyde isn't really a monster album. Perhaps a more appropriate title would have been Return of the Living Dead.

Reviewed May 4, 2004

She's The One (©1996 Warner Bros)

1: Walls (Circus) 2: Grew Up Fast 3: Zero From Outer Space 4: Climb That Hill 5: Change The Locks 6: Angel Dream (No. 4) 7: Hope You Never 8: Asshole 9: Supernatural Radio 10: California 11: Hope On Board 12: Walls (No. 3) 13: Angel Dream (No. 2) 14: Hung Up And Overdue 15: Airport

The album starts off with Walls (Circus) which is a killer song, and I had high hopes for the rest of the songs; and there are a fair number of really decent songs scattered throughout, Climb That Hill, California, but there are a lot of songs that just doesn't do anything for me - I'm tempted to say filler but they aren't that terrible.

I've been a fan of the band for a long long time, and it's a sad thing when your heroes fall short of your expectations. She's The One has glimmers of the Tom Petty of old - but the whole thing just feels flat and it just lays there like a cheap date.

Who can figure these things out?

This is a pretty good album, just not a really good Tom Petty album.

Reviewed May 23, 2005

Exorcising Ghosts (©2009)

1. Exorcizing Ghosts 2. I Want to Jump 3. Likeness and Mystery 4. I Worship You 5. One Heart One Desire 6. Sotto Voice 7. Tell 8. Supercede 9. Eight 10. Wonderful

I've known John for a few years and off and on have heard little bits and pieces he's recorded. About a year ago he told me he was recording an album and Rob Watson (a big deal to those of us who know him) was helping out. Not to be too big a dick I really didn't care all that much. John's a good guy, a decent enough player, but of the songs I'd heard before didn't really make me think he was anything other than a guy with more toys than talent.

So here I am listening to John's album, and I feel like a total shit (language alert!) This is really very good. It stands on it's own merit and is better than just about anything else that's crossed my desk recently. You can feel Rob's influence throughout the disc - if you're going to get a producer who's been making his living scoring soundtracks you should expect things to feel a little bigger than life.

Exercising Ghosts is an album that could be considered CCM, a label that really is the kiss of death artistically. Even though some of the lyrics are clichéd and cringe worthy, they are delivered with conviction and as when taken as part of the whole sonic experience they do work. However I'm a sucker for a good hook and a decent song - I've never been accused of being the deepest thinker. If I like it, I like it - I don't usually agonize over the meanings of what's being said. If it works that's good enough for me.

The songs here are pop with just enough grit to get a little traction in the slipperier sections. I was a bit surprised by John's voice. He's not the strongest singer in the world, but he's smart enough to stay within his range and although he does tend to use his Michael W. Smithesque rasp quite a bit it sounds pretty good. Besides, you can crap on MWS all you want, he's sold millions of records ...

This is an album I've spun pretty regularly the last couple of weeks, and John manages to cover a lot of musical ground. The album's opener is probably the strongest song on the album in my opinion. I'm not implying the rest are filler. Think of it as a story with a great opening that grabs your attention, and doesn't let go. "Likeness and Mystery" is another highlight and features some nice guitarwork and is a song I really like. It's got that Beatlesque touch with a subtle surf twang thrown in for fun. Although "I Worship You" isn't one of my favourites, it is noteworthy in that it feels like musically rebuttal to George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". John cuts loose with "Sotto Voice" and smartly doesn't try his hand at screamo, but he does crank the amps and let's his fingers do the talking. John is a surprisingly good guitar player and colours within the lines quite nicely. He's more like Dave Davies than Eddie Vai Satriani which works for me just fine, thank you. The album closes with "Wonderful" which is a lush mid tempo ballad. When set on repeat "Wonderful" flows back into "Exorcising Ghost" and the whole thing runs again.

John will be releasing this soon on iTunes and other digital outlets, and a physical release should be following. Bottom line this is quite a strong album and is worth seeking out.

Reviewed March 19, 2009

The Final Cut (©1983 Columbia)

the songs: The Post War Dream / Your Possible Pasts / One Of The Few / The Hero's Return / The Gunners Dream / Paranoid Eyes / Get Your Filthy Hands Off My Desert / The Fletcher Memorial Home / Southampton Dock / The Final Cut / Not Now John / Two Suns In The Sunset

How could Pink Floyd possibly follow-up The Wall? Simple answer - they couldn't, and with the Final Cut, a Roger Waters solo album in all but name, they committed commercial suicide. The closest thing to a single is "Not Now John", and the prominence of the "F" word kind of killed any potential radio play. That being said, this is one of my favourite albums. The songs are interconnected and weave a wonderful story that needs to be listened to from beginning to end. Songs like "The Hero's Return", "Southampton Dock", and "Two Suns In The Sunset" are amazing.

The One and Only (©1997)

1: Someday 2: How Much I Don't Know 3: Fall Down 4: Playground 5: It's Been So Very Long 6: One Or The Other 7: Landmarks 8: Let's Try Again Tomorrow 9: Compromise 10: Sterling

Another one of those little finds. I'd heard little snippets of the band here and there and figured one day I'd find something cheap and I'd take a chance. It took a little while but here I am listening to The One and Only and it's a pretty decent recording.

I'm constantly amazed at how much stuff the late Gene Eugene was involved with. I suppose having the Green Room didn't hurt at all. That and most of the stuff sounded good and as a producer the bands he worked with more often than not were pretty decent.

The album kicks off with "Someday" and it's probably the best song on the album. It does have that "heard this before" vibe going on, but it's a lot of fun, and I like the harmonica bit. "How Much I Don't Know" is another solid song, and this one reminded me of Goo Goo Dolls (Superstar Carwash vintage). The album tends to float in that odd post grunge mid-tempo angst riddled stuff that Creed and Days of the New would be tapping into around the same time. The songs on "The One and The Only" just don't have enough oomph to really take the album to the next level, but this isn't saying that the songs suck either. There aren't any real missteps here, and perhaps on an album like this when the highs and lows are flattened out, consistency becomes a detriment - when nothing really stands out. Who knows, this is an album I only listened to a couple of times through before writing it up - it may need time to sink in. Which can be a problem is you don't have the luxury of time.

Still, this was a pretty decent album for all that, and although the band is no more - I'd pick up more of their stuff if I was to come across anything.

Reviewed August 21, 2008

The Fundamental Elements of Southtown (©1999 Atlantic)

Greetings Hollywood / Southtown / Checkin' Levels / Rock The Party (Off The Hook) / Lie Down / Set Your Eyes To Zion / Lo Siento / Bullet The Blue Sky / Psalm 150 / Image / Shouts / Tribal / Freestyle / Follow Me / Outkast

This was a disappointment. I guess given all of the big press these guys have been getting, I was expecting to have my socks blown off. It barely untied my shoelaces.

This whole nu-metal thing is overrated anyway. I mean really, how many ways can you slice and dice rock anyway (lots and lots apparently)? Still, not to wank all over this album it had a couple of stellar moments. Particularly in Southtown, and to a lesser degree the cover of U2's Bullet The Blue Sky (a song I didn't like all that much originally so it was a surprise to find this version appealing). It's not that this is a bad album, far from it, it's just not as brilliant as I was led to believe.

Reviewed August 1, 2002

Satellite (©2001 Atlantic)

Set It Off / Alive / Boom / Youth Of The Nation / Celestial / Satellite / Ridiculous / The Messenjah / Guitarras De Amor / Anything Right / Ghetto / Masterpiece Conspiracy / Without Jah, Nothin' / Thinking About Forever / Portrait

Holy smokes, this was a total surprise. Considering how underwhelmed I was with their breakthrough album I wasn't expecting much. When I heard Boom on the radio I really liked it, and was hoping for at least one more good song to justify the purchase price. This album starts off strong, and is right solid all the way through. In fact the first six songs are killer tunes. The rap reggae stuff doesn't work for me, but thankfully there aren't many songs in that vein on Satellite.

These guys almost make me feel young again (like I'm really old). I'm almost "hip" to this nu-fangled stuff the kids are into today. I'm gonna have to buy me a pair of baggy ass jeans with the crotch by my knees and wear a lot of black.

Oh yeah. Everything old is new again.

Reviewed April 2003

The Best of Poison - 20 Years of Rock (©2006)

1. Talk Dirty To Me 2. I Want Action 3. I Won't Forget You 4. Cry Tough 5. Look What The Cat Dragged In 6. Nothin' But A Good Time 7. Fallen Angel 8. Every Rose Has Its Thorn 9. Your Mama Don't Dance 10. Unskinny Bop 11. Rock And Roll All Nite 12. Ride The Wind 13. Something To Believe In 14. Life Goes On 15. Stand 16. The Last Song 17. Shooting Star 18. We’re An American Band

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. Poison is one of those bands I had no time for back in the 80's. I thought they were weak, Bret Michael's voice bugged me, CC's guitar shredding was a step behind most of the players that made me go "ooh" and "ah". They wrote embarrassing songs, and their music was about as imaginative as a paint by numbers set. In short they were the typical 80's hair band that took everything to excess. Oddly enough considering there were about a gagillion other hair bands out there, I'd never have guessed that Poison would be one of a handful of bands to still be talked about 20 years later.

So I find it very strange to find myself enjoying this stuff. I don't have anything else by the band, so I can't go into a lot detail about whether or not this really is the "best" of Poison or not, or lament songs that aren't here that should be - blah blah blah. Actually it's kind of funny that some of the best songs are from their later albums - almost makes me curious enough to maybe seek out some of their catalog. The album closes with a cover of Grand Funk's "We're An American Band" which really rocks - although it's a bit too muddy, and doesn't really do much over the original, but then again this is Poison, and did I really expect anything else?

What's cool about this one is that it sounds pretty slick - I guess there really is something to the "remastering" business. Although I wonder how long that'll even matter. As I watch the CD aisles shrink monthly, people who download their stuff at time at a measly 128 KBPS won't be able to tell. Anyway, I digress - you can tell I'm getting old.

Reviewed February 24, 2007

Message in a Box The Complete Recordings (©1993 A&M)

Disc One: Fall Out / Nothing Achieving / Dead End Job / Next To You / So Lonely / Roxanne / Hole In My Life / Peanuts / Can't Stand Losing You / Truth Hits Everybody / Born In The 50's / Be My Girl-Sally / Masoko Tanga / Landlord (Live) / Next To You (Live) Landlord / Message In A Bottle / Reggatta De Blanc / It's Alright For You / Bring On The Night / Deathwish

Disc Two: Walking On The Moon / On Any Other Day / The Bed's Too Big Without You / Contact / Does Everyone Stare / No Time This Time / Visions Of The Night / The Bed's Too Big Without You (Mono) / Truth Hits Everybody (Live) / Friends / Don't Stand So Close To Me / Driven To Tears / When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around / Canary In A Coalmine / Voices Inside My Head / Bombs Away / De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da / Behind My Camel / Man In A Suitcase / Shadows In The Rain / The Other Way Of Stopping

Disc Three: A Sermon / Driven To Tears (Live) / Shambelle / Spirits In The Material World / Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic / Invisible Sun / Hungry For You (j'aurais toujours faim de toi) / Demolition Man / Too Much Information / Rehumanize Yourself / One World (Not Three) / Omegaman / Secret Journey / Darkness / Flexible Strategies / Low Life / How Stupid Mr Bates / A Kind Of Loving

Disc Four: Synchronicity I / Walking In Your Footsteps / O My God / Mother / Miss Gradenko / Synchronicity II / Every Breath You Take / King Of Pain / Wrapped Around Your Finger / Tea In The Sahara / Murder By Numbers / Man In A Suitcase (Live) / Someone To Talk To / Message In A Bottle (Live) / I Burn For You / Once Upon A Daydream / Tea In The Sahara (Live) / Don't Stand So Close To Me '86

Funny how time makes a band seem better than they were at the time (my own opinion). Take The Police for example. Never one of my favourite bands, I could count on one finger the number of Police records (no CDs) I had in my collection (you'll have to guess which one it was).

So here it is years later, and I found their box set on sale pretty cheap, and I thought to myself (uh oh) hey, why not? So I did. This is their Holy Grail collection. It includes everything they ever put out (except for the live album), and the whole shebang was remasterd to boot (which means I don't have to buy any other CDs). And you know what? These guy's were amazing. Over their career they recorded a lot of excellent songs, heck the number of classic tunes these guys pounded out in under a decade together is astounding. Even the songs I don't particularly like fit in with the overall body of work. The guys were really an unusual combination of talents.

Truly.

PS I still think that Be My Girl - Sally ranks up their with the coolest songs ever.

Reviewed August 4, 2002

Iggy Pop Nude & Rude: The Best Of Iggy Pop (©1996 Virgin)

1: I Wanna Be Your Dog 2: No Fun 3: Search & Destroy 4: Gimme Danger 5: I'm Sick Of You 6: Funtime 7: Nightclubbing 8: China Girl 9: Lust For Life 10: The Passenger 11: Kill City 12: Real Wild Child 13: Cry For Love 14: Cold Metal 15: Candy 16: Home 17: Wild America

Before I get to far along here let me state right up front that I am not a hard-core Iggy fan. I can appreciate the guy for what he's done, and his impact on rock. He's a true pioneer, and the no doubt a lot of his impact is due as much to his strength of personality as it is the power of his music. I'm one of those rock and roll philistines who jumped on the bandwagon with 1986's heresy "Real Wild Child" and then promptly fell off shortly after.

Nude & Rude is one of those albums I wanted to have as it covered a pretty broad swath of career. I guess to the uber fan this is just the tip of the iceberg, but to the casual fan this is a pretty decent anthology. In fact, as I listen to this for the umpteenth time over the last few months, I'm struck by how timeless this stuff is - it's the sound quality of some of the earlier tracks that betrays the songs origins.

My original impressions weren't all that kind. I was dismissing this as "been there, done that" and then I had to stop and think. Wait a minute, there has to be someone leading the charge. I'm not implying that Iggy was alone, but he was in the thick of it.

Which brings me to this collection. On the plus side I think the folks at Virgin did a solid job in getting the rights to so much of his material, and have done a decent job in representing three decades of music. On the down side, what is the deal with the absolutely shit liner notes. Nothing other than the bare bones track listing. Where's the essay, where's the statement of accomplishments - Iggy's place in history? Shame shame.

Still for a guy who has spent the majority of his career off of the popular radar he's made a hell of an impact on rock and roll. This may not be Iggy's definitive collection but for me it was a great introduction to his past work.

Reviewed December 12, 2005

PopMonster (©2008)

1: Sky Burn Down 2: I Got a Life 3: Lost My Friend 4: Playing Nashville 5: The Only Thing I've Got 6: Burden 7: All Day Long 8: Only One You 9: Footpath 10: Little Thing 11: Magic Show 12: Reason With You 13: Rock and Roll Dream 14: New Song 15: Kickin' It 16: Backwards

After releasing albums with Eager and Edmund's Crown, Greg Pope steps out and puts himself front and centre to take another shot at the big time. I don't know if he will ever hit it big - as much as I want to believe good things happen to good artists the reality is that PopMonster will likely be another near brilliant effort that will go unnoticed by the great unwashed.

Which sucks.

Popmonster is a solo record in the purest sense of the word. Greg performs all the noise, and unlike so many one man band efforts there's an energy and sense of urgency to the music you'd not expect from one person. The great strength of Greg's music is his voice. He's got a voice tailor made for pop. In his own way he's cut from the same cloth as Robin Zander.

As to the songs there are 16 gems, no filler, and lyrically Greg runs the gamut from happy to melancholy. If there's a common thread throughout the songs it's the pursuit of the dream and the joys and futility of chasing the brass ring. Greg may be a dreamer but he's not blowing smoke up his own backside either. "I Got a Life" and the bookends "Rock and Roll Dream" and "New Song" are clever capsules and are as self aware as they are self effacing. I suspect Greg isn't writing from his own experience as much as he's writing character driven songs. Some of the images are pretty sad and tragic, while others are joyfully optimistic.

I really didn't want to get into pulling out favourites or doing a track by track synopsis, but I will give a nod to "Burden" possibly one of the best songs about angst and guilt I've heard in ages. It doesn't offer any answers to life's big questions, it's a seeker's song and it's been a long time such I've heard such an honest plea in a pop song.

Bottom line is Greg Pope is truly a pop monster, and he really deserves to be heard. So listen up!

Reviewed November 25, 2008

Primus

Tales From The Punchbowl (©1995 Interscope)

Tracks: Professor Nutbutter's House Of Treats / Mrs. Blaileen / Wynona's Big Brown Beaver / Southbound Pachyderm / Space Farm / Year Of The Parrot / Hellbound 17 1/2 (Theme From) / Glass Sandwich / Del Davis Tree Farm / De Anza Jig / On The Tweek Again / Over The Electric Grapevine / Captain Shiner

Primus are an unbelievably cool band who release some incredibly irritating and annoying music. It's like listening to art students with tin ears writing atonal music. Having said that art is in the ear of the beholder.

These guys are amazing musicians who seem to revel in the absurd. Who knows what would ever happen if they decided to actually produce something commercial. It'd flop probably.

Like most non hard-core fans I bought this because of "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" - a song so great it's scary. The rest of the album comes across as self indulgent musical masturbation. I'm sure it was more fun to record than it is to listen to. Now that I've been a complete anal opening, I actually like putting this one on once in a while. I don't really like it, but it's so well done that I revisit it once a year or so.

Reviewed January 24, 2003

Born Innocent (©2003 Persevere Records)

1: Born Innocent 2: Should Have Been Loved 3: Blood On Your Hands 4: Unguarded Moments 5: Hate My Love 6: Redeemed 7: You Meant It Then 8: Five O'Clock World 9: He's Just Like Me 10: Role Model 11: No Witness 12: Dear Deidre 13: There's No Doubt 14: Unguarded Moments (Live) 15: Born Innocent (Live)

Another collection of pub drinking barn burning pop songs from the world’s coolest twins (no, not Mary-Kate and Ashley), who once again defy the odds and musical trends to unleash fifteen songs of back driven acoustic powered pop.

The songs convey a lot of emotion while the guys mine their pissed off happy musical vein throughout the disc. There are some pretty solid moments here, and it’s an enjoyable effort throughout. The boy’s cover of "Five O’Clock World" was a surprise – way to yodel guys. The best song has to be "Hate My Love", which is without a doubt one of the meanest songs I’ve heard in ages. This will appeal to heartbroken men the world over – it should be in a beer commercial, it would move a lot of product.

Reviewed May 16, 2005

Project Damage Control (©2005 Project Damage Control)

1: Dreamscape 2: Somewhere 3: Liar 4: New Jerusalem 5: Surrender 6: Lost 7: Wonder 8: Lay Me Down 9: Heaven 10: Try Again

Today I find myself in a bit of a predicament. What am I to do with this new Project Damage Control album? It's an unabashed review view look at the music of the late 80's and early 90's. Music that quite frankly I have a soft spot for. It's got lots of guitar, bombastic drums - many featuring one time Petra pounder Louie Weaver, and the ear splitting shrill seeking vocals of Petra's John Schlitt. Considering that I pretty much shat upon Petra's last effort for trying to recapture their past glory how can I be giving a thumbs up to an album that is mining the same vein? How do I explain myself? Should I even bother?

The difference lies in the way the project came together, and what the guys were trying to pull off. In some ways this is inferior to Fekyll & Hideous - the budget was much smaller, it's not as slick, and sonically it doesn't pack the same punch. However, and this is a big one - this album has a sense of cohesiveness that surprised me.

Musically the guys pull out every 80's cliché, and do it with a big grin on their faces. Yes, you can hear the grin - it's quite odd that. John Schlitt is the wild card here - he brings out the big guns on many of the songs, and on others it's like he's phoning it in for an easy cheque (oh, that's Canadian for check). Rather than focus on the weaker bits, let me pull out songs that really put this over the hump.

"Somewhere" features some kick ass guitar work and an interesting drum track. "Liar" is without a doubt one of the show pieces here. John nailed this so far out of the park the ball's still in the air. Great riff too! "New Jerusalem" is a cool song. John starts in a lower register and it sounds great. "Lost" sounds like one of the better hard rock songs that Petra never recorded. Bummer.

Hats off to both Brent Handy and Alan Sandifer for taking a chance and having fun doing what they love.

Reviewed December 9, 2005

The Finer Things In Life (©1997 7th Time Music)

1: I Need To Sing 2: Blue Jumper 3: So Much Grace 4: The Finer Things In Life 5: I Weep For You Now 6: I Heard A Voice 7: Water From The Rock 8: Haley's Song 9: When This Passing World Is Done

This is something I came across quite by accident. I picked it up because of the Bryn Haworth connection. And quickly came to love the understated quality and laid back less is more feel to this project.

The vocal performances are handled in the majority by Kevin, which isn’t a bad thing, although I’d have personally liked to have heard more from Bryn. But lucky me, I’ve been introduced to another artist to watch for.

Bryn Haworth, and Kevin Prosch are musicians of the highest order, and on The Finer Things they got together and made an album to make other musicians go ooh and ah.

It’s a mystery to me how albums like these get released on small market labels to satisfy small market consumers, leaving nary a ripple on the pond of the mass market purchaser. This is great stuff boys and girls, and it will only be heard by a few. For the most part this is sonically appealing album, although there appears to be a little distortion on a couple of tracks, but it’s hard to pick up unless you’re using headphones. A minor quibble.

It’s all about the music, and so long as the boys can recoup their basic costs, they do it for the love of creation. I’m sure a little in the way of explosive album sales wouldn’t hurt.

Fans of high quality acoustic flavoured roots rock should search this out. I’ve seen it around on sale for cheap (after I bought it) so I know it can be found.

Have I said that this is really good stuff?

Reviewed July 7, 2003

Come Clean (©2001 Universal)

1. Control 2. Drift & Die 3. Out Of My Head 4. Nobody Told Me 5. Blurry 6. She Hates Me 7. Bring Me Down 8. Never Change 9. Basement 10. Said 11. Piss It All Away

Come Clean is one of those “what is this?” albums that crossed my desk. “Hmm, what is this?” I says to myself (See, I told you it was one of those “what is this?” albums). I don’t mind the album to be honest, there are a couple of real killers buried in here, but there’s also a monotonous drone to many of the songs. The music is kind of like Nirvanaback, with Kurt Kroeger doing an awkward impression of Marlon Brando.

I’m just being an ass, this isn’t horrible, and it has enough hooks to push it over the hump. “Blurry” is a great song, and for the highlight of the album.

I’ve played this one a few times, and it’s pretty cool, but it’s not something that will see steady rotation.

Reviewed November 15, 2007

Pukka Orchestra (©1984 Solid Gold)

1: Cherry Beach Express 2: Your Secret Is Safe With Me 3: Spies Of The Heart 4: The Deserter 5: Might As Well Be On Mars 6: Power Cut 7: Listen To The Radio 8: Miss Right 9: Flies (As Big As Your Fist) 10: Rubber Girl 11: A Wonderful Time To Be Young

I first heard Might As Well Be On Mars in 1984, and I was totally blown away. I rushed out looking for the album, and it became one of my most treasured albums. The band featured the very interesting (cool) voice of Graeme Williamson, and the stellar guitar work of Neil Chapman. The band pulled off an album that had great pop tunes mixed up with social commentary (Cherry Beach Express) and a love for plastic (Rubber Girl "Gonna get me a rubber girl, gonna rub her all night long.").

Then low, the vinyl age came to an end. Leaving my beloved copy to sit upon the shelf, since my record player was gone. Sadly in time I had to put my records in storage. Then to make sure I was forever out of the vinyl age nature conspired to fill my basement with water destroying my record collection which was sprawled all over the floor in dozens of boxes.

Then a couple of years ago, I was killing time at a record store (I think that’s what they’re still called) and there under the “P” was the Pukka Orchestra. Holy smokes! (I think I may have said "shit" but I can't remember) Was I seeing things, was it a clever mirage inspired my wishful thinking? Nope it was real, And it wasn’t just a hack re-issue either. It was carefully packaged with great liner notes, and the music was remastered, giving it more depth and punch that I ever remember hearing.

In other words this is a freakin’ must have. In the liner notes there was a lot of munbo jumbo about these guys being regional wonders obviously written from a Toronto perspective (centre of the known universe). Bah, no offense Mel, but I’m not from Eastern Canada and these guys were rock royalty in my house.

Twenty years later I'm still amazed by the emotional power of Might As Well Be On Mars. After all these years the song I liked least, Listen to the Radio, has finally clicked.

Great stuff.

Really great stuff.

Reviewed Septemner 11, 2003 & March 4, 2004