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CD SPINS

(CD Review Section)

by Staff

TIM GRIMM
Heart Land
(Vault Records)

   With this aptly titled album, Central Indiana's celebrated son, Tim Grimm, proves himself to be one of the best singer/songwriters to sprout from the Midwest in many years.

    Elements of folk, country and acousti-rock can be detected in his flavorful troubadour style.

   The way this talented artist can paint pictures dripping of time-honored Americana images with his words, can not help but evoke comparisons to everyone from Woody Guthrie and Steve Goodman to Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen.

    There is a remarkable sincerity and earnestness to Grimm's soul-deep lyrics and a heartfelt beauty to the traditional acoustic instrumentation in which he delivers them to our ears.

    His voice resonates with a profound clarity and depth as the singer   observes life from a "common man" point of view and he embraces what he sees with an old-fashioned sense of value and morality that harkens back to a time when the human aspect of things meant so much more than it does today.

    His songs are compelling, for they drip with a sense of humanity and emotion not often heard in these modern times.

   One can feel the heartache of a love lost in "Carter's Blues," the confusion of change in "Down The Road," the need for a back to basics lifestyle in "Better Days," and the joy of walking through tall grass and knowing you hold the title to your own piece of heaven in "80 Acres"

   Grimm gives a personal slant and lays a uniquely personal image over universal feelings and desires we all harbor for a return to simpler times.

    "Heart Land" is a truely wonderful collection of songs from a true
remarkable talent that I pray will keep his roots just where they are today.

- Tom Lounges

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EVERLAST
Eat At Whitey's
(Tommy Boy)

    Folk hip-hopper Everlast (aka Whitey Ford) brings more weary tales of life's agonies on the follow up to his debut CD, "Whitey Ford Sings The Blues. "

    Whitey... brought Everlast success amid naysayers who thought Everlast was a white poseur restarting his faltering rap career with watered-down traditional blues music with his rap amalgams. You can hear his satiric approach on that topic with "Black Jesus," the first single off his new CD, "Eat At Whitey's." Over a funky acoustic guitar groove, he espouses wack limericks ("Bird, bird, bird, yes, bird is the word") and misleading rhymes ("They call me white sinner/ Black martyr/ Live wire/ Fire starter/ Jungle brother/ Redneck cracker...") as he erases any hint of wigger pride.

    Things pick up after "I Can't Move," a picture frame of slacker hood over string arrangements and it carries through "Black Coffee," a heartbreaking tale of love lost.

    His duet with Carlos Santana on "Babylon Feeling," is a winning combo that propels Whitey as war-torn scratchy throat rock star and he also does a fine job remaking rapper Slick Rick's "Children's Story."

    Everlast is no Rambling Jack Elliot (he has a couple of albums to go) but he does have a sense of abstract storytelling and spirituality that will only strengthen through the course of subsequent albums.

- Trent Fitzgerald

TRISTEN
Something Good
(Indie)

   Tristen's latest album is truly a triumph. The musical talent that Tristen poseses, including both her song writing ability and her angelic voice, is a welcomed and much needed breath of fresh air in an industry where talent and creativity have become as stagnant and unoriginal as the cookie-cutter creations of the record companies.

   Her newest album "Something Good" has a bit more of a country twang than her last CD in my opinion, although I still feel it has a very Jewel-inspired sound. I think that "Easy Jo", which was written by her father, has an especially country sound.

   I have always held a certain amount of respect for an artist who writes their own music. I just do not see how you can put feeling into a song written by a complete stranger. I totally love the fact that Tristen and her father write all her songs. There are a lot of great singers out there, but it really takes talent to write a good, meaningful song.   I am amazed at how a girl who is only 17 years old can write such deep lyrics.

   One of my favorites off her new album is a song in which she wrote both the music and words. It is called "I Love You". To me, this is a song that any teenage girl can relate to. The way that I interpret the song is that it is about loving and needing someone, but not knowing if that someone loves or needs you.

    "Something Good" should be renamed as "Something Fantastic" because that is exactly what it is. As a fan of her first album I can honestly say that I was not disappointed, although I do wish that there were more than four songs. I just cannot wait until she releases a full-length CD.


- Sarah Lounges

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VARIOUS ARTISTS
Strait Up: In Memory Of
James Lynne Strait
(Immortal Records)

   James Lynne Strait was the charismatic frontman for a California rock-rap
group named Snot, whose 1997 debut CD, "Get Some," was an impressive display
of unrelenting funk, punk and rock.

   Unfortunately, the band's musical career came to a halt, when in December
11, 1998; Strait was killed, along with his dog Dobbs (who can be seen
balancing a lemon on his snout pictured on the band's front cover), in a car
accident near Santa Barbara, California.

    The tribute CD, "Strait Up," is an intense disc featuring a cavalcade of
rockers who befriended Snot during their brief musical journey. Some of the
guests include Serj from System Of A Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Limp Bizkit's Fred
Durst, Korn's frontman Jonathan Davis, Slipknot's Corey Taylor and many
others - all screaming at the top of their lungs and angered by Strait's
untimely death.

    Unfortunately, you have to scrape through some of the muck to hear some
decent rock eulogies. Most notable is Sevendust's Lajon Witherspoon's
yearning condolences to Strait over acoustic guitars on "Angel's Son," which
sounds more fitting than any of the yelling done by the rest of the featured
guests.

   Another song, the head banging "Absent," which was pre-recorded by the
band before Strait's death, really offers a glimpse into Snot's potential as
they were on the verge of becoming big.

- Trent Fitzgerald

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TRINKET
Set To Explode
(RCA)

   Two years after releasing their self-titled debut album, Georgia's
pop/rock band Trinket, are back for a second shot with "Set To Explode."

    Heralding the new album is their first single, "Boom," which the band
recorded during sessions in Los Angeles late last year. Trinket has also
modified its sound since their last outing to now include more samples and
loop-driven beats.

   Wallflowers guitarist Michael Ward guests on three new tracks, as well as
a souped-up take on "All The Rave," which was the lead track from the band's
1999 Trinket album. Mark Skinner has joined up as the band's new guitarist
since their last album and proves himself to be an asset.

    "Pure," a slower number with catchy lyrics, sounds like something that
Nine Days might release.

   The song is more 'alternative rock' then carrying the eternally upbeat
pop/rock feel for which Trinket is known. "Throwaway Culture" is Weezer-like
tune. Despite the unneeded occasional electronic-like tunes in the
background, the song is very captivating.

   "Deceiver" has a sound very different from the rest of the album. The song
has a real Limp Bizkit type of feel to it.

   Trinket basically has a good, if not completely original sound, which
could land them some radio spins with just a little more promotional push
from RCA.

- Brad White

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CHRISTINA AGUILERA
My Kind Of Christmas
(RCA)

    Christina Aguilera does a wonderful job singing on this album of
traditional Christmas songs.

   This teen queen gives us some really great renditions of all the classic
carols we know and love, such as - "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,"
"Oh Holy Night" and "The Christmas Song."

     This set of music has a nice R&B sound to it and I really like the way
that she did "Angels We Have Heard On High."

    An exceptional track is her jazzy take on the old standard, "Merry
Christmas, Baby," with old-school boogie-woogie piano master, Dr. John
tinkling the ivories for her.

    One thing I did notice on this album is that Christina tries to sound
very black. With this album, she might tend to draw more comparisons to
Whitney Houston than to Britney Spears.

    I think that it is a wonderful album that will bring a little traditional
sounds into a lot of teenage bedrooms this holiday season. "My Kind of
Christmas" just might become your kind of Christmas album!

- Sarah Lounges

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2-SYDZ
Double Script
(Indie)

A slab of guitar rock mined in the rust belt of Northwest Indiana, "Double
Script," draws heavily from the late '60s and early '70s hard rock genre in
regards to its guitar sound and the Ozzy-esque vocalisms.

   While there is no denying the energetic spirit with which the hard-rockin'
Hoosier quartet approached this 14-song set, the end result is mixed.
    The group is most in it's element on a song like "Down For The Count."

     Easily the best track on this debut set is "Down For The Count," a
tempo-changing hard rocker which allows the members to stretch out musically.
On this song, the vocals do not have to fight against the instrumentation
for a place to fit. The arrangement works and everything gels really well.
2-Sydz needs to focus more songs of this caliber.

   Another track that comes off well is the slightly western-sounding
"Personal War," where the whine-inflected lead vocals of Geoff Eustice fits
the mood of the song.

   Sadly, on most of this album, the band members' respective talents suffer
from songs that are way too busy and production that is much too cluttered.

   In the end, they too often seem to be competing instead of complimenting.
As such, the song is too often lost amid the din of trying to do too much in
too little time.
   I like this CD for what it shows this band can be, but on future
recordings they need to allow a little more ebb and flow in the songs.

    Two other exceptions to this are "Lies" and "Love Fadin' Away," a pair of
laid back numbers which do well to showcase the subtle side of the band's
dual guitar talents.

   For song samples and more band info, log on at: http://2sydz.cjb.net

- Ernie Thomas

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LIMP BIZKIT
Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water
(Interscope)

   Can 3 million people be wrong in buying Limp Bizkit's strangely titled
rap-rock CD, "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water"? (Try saying
that ten times without regurgitating.)

    I can see the appeal in the Bizkit. They are a fun, anti-establishment
bunch of guys who - supposedly - represent today's frustrated teens. Without
question, Fred is angry - venting at society, pop starlet Christina Aguilera
and spitting challenges at Creed's hunky frontman Scott Sapp.

    One thing is for sure, Fred is a horrible rapper. What saves this CD from
getting slam-dunked into the trash can is the band's sure-fire, confident
rock-rap
performance. I also suggest fans check out the juvenile antics of their
label mates, The Bloodhound Gang. With that band's CD,Hooray for Boobies.,
they will hear a much soldier rap-rock fusion and get a worldwide view of our
generation's rebellious angst.

    As for the Bizkit's "CSATHDFW," it only left me scratching my head
wondering if Fred and Co. is trying to pull a fast one on us. I demand a
recount.

- Trent Fitzgerald

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INNOSENSE
So Together
(RCA)

    Innosense, which is made up of Nikki, Jenny, Veronica, Danay, and Mandy,
is one of the new girl groups on the block. Their single, "Say No More," has
already proven to be a hit with Chicago audiences. They proved that when
they were one of the opening acts here in Chicago for Britney Spears.

     Their album "So Together" is really a solid album of bubble gum pop.
They sound very similar to Nobody's Angel and to R Angels. This album has
got a nice mix of both dancey, up beat songs and slow, mellow ballads.

   Two of the slow numbers that really stand out here are "Rain Rain" and
"You Didn't Have To Hurt Me." Both are break up love songs to which anyone
who has ever loved and lost will relate.

    One of the best dance songs here is "Ride," which songs like a second
radio single waiting to me.

     So Together would make a great gift for any teenage girl on your
shopping list this holiday season.

- Sarah Lounges

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OUTKAST
Stankonia
(LaFace)

     Atlanta's hip-hop duo OutKast were street observers on their classic
1998 CD, Aquemini. Now they are wise philosophers spitting tongue-twisting
lyrics with drawls as thick as their funk on their more trippy-than-hip-hop
funk opus, "Stankonia. "

    Tracks like "Gasoline Dreams," are where P-funk and heavy metal clash.
Rappers Andre 3000 and Big Boi deliver their unassuming rhymes through a
voice box in a way that trounces today's average rap-rock conventions. The
soulful and melodic "So Fresh, So Clean," where Three Company's Jack Tripper
and Holocaust survivor Anne Frank gets name checked amid the duo's
braggadocio raps, is so... demulcent. And the apologetic song to their baby
mamas, "Ms. Jackson," bumps along like an old gospel-funk record by Al Green.

    What most impressive is the duo's musical influences emanating from their
24-song release. For example, the somber "Toilet Tisha," sounds like a song
Prince would do if given a chance to flex his creative muscles. And "We Luv
Deez Hoez" sounds like a banging Dr. Dre track.

   Meanwhile, "B.O.B." is a hyped up Miami drum-n-bass party-starter that
sounds as if the 2 Live Crew possessed the duo during the recording process.

    If critics think that Eminem's CD, "The Marshall Mathers LP," is this
year's wooly mammoth of a rap album, then OutKast's "Stankonia" is this
year's delicate, yet, endangered butterfly, flittering in the summer sun. Not
only is it a sonic experience , it's also a hip-hop treasure.

- Trent Fitzgerald

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SHAKING TREES
Matter Of Choice
(Knot Known Records)

   Lead singer/songwriter Dain Estes has put a magical touch on this
versatile, upbeat, rhythmic Knot Know Records release "Matter of Choice."
Resembling that of Rusted Root, Poi Dog Pondering, The BoDeans, and other
eclectic/pop/rock/world outfits... Shaking Trees has the talent to take it to
the next level.

    Pop in the disc and listen to the combination of Latin, Bluegrass,
Celtic, and Caribbean music roots in the music. Light up a big spliff and
dance around to the swirling rhythms which beckon with every beat.   Only
you have felt the effects of the high called. Shaking Tree.

- John Bowles