The Swirling Eddies. To the bloated and self-righteous the very name conjures fear and loathing. To most people the name means nothing, or it brings to mind images of water. But to a select group of musically discerning and very intelligent aficionados, the Eddies are among the best of the best, or as we like to say, "The Berry Vest". Their tongue in cheek delivery, their biting commentary, their riffs, and their lyrics are just about as good as it gets (I think I set a record for the most occurrences of the word "their" in a single sentence). Except for Sacred Cows, which frankly is about as bad as it gets. Not as in bad is good, but as in truly bad which means bad is bad, nowhere near good. It's probably one of the most expensive one joke concepts ever produced. Not counting the last Star Wars movie.

Before I begin in earnest, you've probably noticed four stars here, four stars there, and ding dang purdy near four stars everywhere. So I'm interrupting this important segment to clarify my complex and highly scientific rating system. My system is the tried and true five star system. Each star is representative of a point on the scale. One star, one point. One point = poor. Five points = excellent. See where this is going? If an album is very good, I'll give it four stars. Of course not all four star reviews are equal. Example on this page, you'll find more than a couple of very good alternative alt rock discs. But some are better than others, but I hate rating albums against each other. So if it's good it's good. Simple? Well, not really since good is three stars, which is pretty much average for me. I hate rating things fair and poor, mainly because it calls to question my ability to be a savvy consumer.

There, I'm glad that's done.

"Are we good? Nay, we are excellent!"

Now on with the show.

Let’s Spin! (©1988 Alarma Records)

Tracks: Let's Spin! / Catch That Angel / The Unsuccessful Dutch Missionary / The Big Guns / Rodeo Drive / Ed Takes A Vacation (A Suite) / Snowball / I've Got An Idea / Don't Ask Me How I Feel / Ed Again / What A World, What A World

The mystery men of rock and roll release one (sounds suspiciously like a fart reference - not intended, but I got to use the "F" word in a review, and as such just made my day) to an unsuspecting world. It actually generated a bit of interest. But then the boys were unmasked and people stopped looking but that didn't stop the boys and they kept playing in their sandbox.

Without spoiling the surprise, I’ll not drop any names (cough, the guys from Daniel Amos, cough). Mainly because I’m too lazy to type them out. Let’s stick to the tunes. They’re fun, serious, and weird at times. There are some very good moments here, and "What A World, What A World", is a wicked good song.

I’ll admit to a weakness for "The Unsuccessful Dutch Missionary".

Reviewed June 10, 2002

Outdoor Elvis (©1989 Alarma)

1: Outdoor Elvis 2: Driving in England 3: Urban Legends 4: Tiny Town 5: Attack of the Pulpit Masters 6: Mystery Babylon 7: Arthur Fhardy's Yodeling Party 8: Hell Oh 9: Blowing Smoke 10: Hide the Beer, the Pastors Here 11: Hold Back the Wind, Donna 12: Knee Jerk 13: Don't Hate Yourself 14: All the Way to Heaven 15: Rubber Sky 16: Coco the Talking Guitar 17: Yer Little Gawd 18: Billy Graham 19: Potential 20: Strange Days 21: Elimination (The Band That Wont Go Away)

My tastes run to the more pop and straight ahead rock sounds of Daniel Amos (okay, so they weren't always so straight and narrow, but it was cool for the most part), and their weird music is cool and all, but not my favourite stuff from the band. Then came the first Eddies album, and it was really good, and wacky in parts, but mostly it was really good.

Outdoor Elvis came out a year after Let's Spin, and I snagged it expecting somewhat naively Let's Spin Part II. Well, in a word: Not. Thus began the slippery slope into full on musical anarchy. Oh there were moments of pop magic, but the boys were weaving their evil spell on me and for the most part Camarillo and crew were too busy poking the brown eye of the musical establishment to worry about recording “pretty songs”. Little did I know that years later I would find myself sitting at my desk scratching my head trying to come up with something to clever to describe this album knowing what I know now, and trying to unload the still heavy baggage from my first impressions over a decade ago. This one is considered by many to be a high water mark for the band. Me? Well, I’m still not convinced. Sure, it’s a must have for the hardcore fan. The boys continue down the slippery slope with Outdoor Elvis (wait a second, didn't I just say that?), and the results are at times extraordinary, but often noisy and difficult to listen to.

I've come to a compromise of sorts with myself. I still love the pure pop of "Driving in England", and "Hold Back the Wind, Donna". But it's the weird "what the hell was that" stuff that time has shown to have most staying power. The fun novelty of "Arthur Fhardy's Yodelling Party", and "Hide the Beer" still have some charm, but it's the overlooked songs that give me something fresh to listen to when I pull this out and play it. Terry as always manages to bury his wit in the folds of the music, and there lies the Eddies charm.

If Willy Wonka wrote songs instead of making chocolate he'd likely be a member of the Eddies. To really experience the album you have to put on some headphones, find a comfy chair, and read along with the lyric sheet a couple of times. It doesn’t make the songs more user friendly, but you can really experience the full impact of the disjointed marriage of intelligent writing with complicated music. Of course being an intellectually shallow person, much of the genius of the Eddies is lost on me. I’m one of those people who still defends rock by saying “I listen to the music ..."

Mister Gump might not approve, but I wouldn't say the Eddies are like a box of chocolates; more like a big bucket of greasy chicken. Are these guys evil or evil geniuses? Hard to tell. They make a pretty solid case for both opinions.

One thing for sure is that they really are the band that won't go away.

Reviewed March 22, and April 10, 2004

Zoom Daddy (©1994 Alarma)

Tracks: I Had A Bad Experience With The CIA And Now I'm Gonna Show You My Feminine Side / Mr. Sharky / (Disco) Love Grapes / Nightmare At The Elks Lodge / The Golden Girl Of The Golden West / Sweet Mother Of God / The Twist / God Went Bowling / Multipurpose Man / Pyro Sets A Wildfire / Some Friendly Advice / Art Carney's Dream / Holy, Holy, Holy / Zoom Daddy

Zoom Daddy is one of the most inaccessible albums in my collection - it also happens to be one of the most creative and lyrically challenging releases to grace my shelves. I've had this since it was hot out of the wrapper, and have been consistently drawn to it - partly in an effort to understand it, and partly in an effort to make myself appreciate it. To quote a beer commercial, "Those who like it, like it a lot." (Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale - hmmm beer)

After all these years I feel I've finally reached the point where I've come as far as I can with this one, and will now poop out my thoughts about Zoom Daddy.

Ready?

The more I listen the more musical parallels I pick up between Zoom Daddy and Songs of the Heart by Daniel Amos (released about a year later). "Nightmare at the Elk's Lodge" reminds me very much of an extended groove from "Get into the Bus, Aloha". All very strange and wonderful. For every weird backassward clunker on Zoom Daddy there's a spark of genius. "Pyro Sets a Wildfire" is one of Terry's best tracks ever, as is "The Twist". "Zoom Daddy" is a hell of a track too.

In all this is some funky weird sheet (ooh, it's okay to say shit in a Soul Junk review, and not here? Hypocrite!).

Reviewed November 6, 2002

The Midget, The speck, & The Molecule (©2007)

1: It All Depends 2: The Midget, The speck, & The Molecule 3: Madonna Inn 4: Giants In The Land 5: Salton Sea 6: My Cardboard Box 7: Snow In A Can 8: Medley Of Our Hit 9: Tremolo 10: A Humble Man Rises 11: This Is The Title - The Old Hitchhiker

Nearly twenty years after Let's Spin, The Swirling Eddies return with one of their most musically accessible albums. This was an album I had pre-ordered a couple of years before it was released, and it seemed as if it would be a race to see which came first the rapture of the news Eddies album. To be honest I'd just about written this off as a learning experience - then it arrived. I have to admit that after a few cursory listens I was pretty happy with this album but then it got lost in the pile of other stuff that crossed my desk. Then as I was thinking about the most anticipated albums of 2007 this one came to mind. So I dug it out of the library to give it another spin.

The Eddies have always been an odd side project - each album is different. The sound this time out is a bit of Buechner's era DA, with elements of Lost Dogs, and Terry's Imaginarium mushed together. It's an odd mix that feels natural. The songs have a looseness to them that feels like a comfortable old shoe. Musically and lyrically Terry is in top form. The songs here are cover a lot of ground. "Snow in a Can" is a nice bookend to "Snowball" from the debut.

The only real head scratcher here is the strangely vindictive "Medley of Our Hit" - which seems oddly out of character for Terry, but is perhaps right on the money for Camarillo. It's not everyday Terry flips his listeners the bird. There was a flap over the pre-orders and I'm guessing some of the "executive producers" weren't happy with the timeliness of the release. Whatever the reason, the song is a long sour note, and frankly the anger in the song surprised me. It actually takes away from an otherwise excellent album. Still this is the Eddies, and if Sacred Cows is a barometer for anything, it's that the band pulls no punches and funny is funny unless the barbs are aimed at you.

The album is a worthy addition to the Eddies catalog and showcases a bunch of old farts who are more full of piss and vinegar than most of today's angry young men. There's nothing in the world like an angry old man who has nothing to prove, but keeps going on principle.

If this is truly the swansong alluded to on "This Is The Title - The Old Hitchhiker" then the Eddies went out on their terms.

Reviewed January 3, 2008