CD SPINS
by Staff
THE STRANGE
Self-Titled
(Independent)
This talented Chicago Ridge trio consists of guitarist Brian Carter and
the rhythmic brothers Paul and Herb Berwanger on drums and bass,
respectively. They are stellar players with a knack for writing songs that
grab your attention.
In their live shows, The Strange dare to dive deeply into such sacred
songbooks as those of Dylan and Zappa (thank you guys!). So it is not
surprising to find that their original material on this abstract set reflects
some eccentric influences.
While this CD is relatively short at just over 21 minutes, a lot of
musical ground is covered. The sound here runs the gamut from guitar-driven
contemporary rock ("Fuel For The Fire"), to quirky Capt. Beefheart-isms
("Time"), to something that sounds a bit like post-NY Dolls era David
Johansen ("The Serviceman").
My personal favorite here though is "Scary Carnival" with its eerie
overtones, odd timing and subtle background sounds.
This CD is not for everyone, but it's certainly something that might grab
the interest of those who embraced unconventional artists like Beefheart,
Zappa, and Rootboy Slim.
- Tom Lounges
MULLMUZZLER
Keep It To Yourself
(Magna Carta)
Dream Theater vocalist James Labrie has assembled several accomplished
musicians to join him in his "solo" effort. Matt Guillory plays keys, Mike
Mangini (Extreme, Steve Vai) handles the drums, Bryan Beller (Steve Vai)
plays bass, and the brilliant Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai) plays
guitar.
I spoke with Keneally and Mangini after a recent, very intense Steve Vai
show at the House of Blues. They told me that the band was never in the
studio together at one time. They communicated via e-mail and telephone and
passed the tapes along 'til the project was completed.
Once it was all in the can, Terry Brown (Rush's man behind the soundboard)
made sure that it all sounded as if they were in the same studio at the same
time (no easy task), and he really did an incredible job, considering how the
individual parts were recorded in different studios with different sound
levels and recording methods.
The songs themselves are varied in terms of lyrical subject matter and
instrumental feel. Under Labrie's powerful vocals, the musicians play
flawlessly, complementing each other with consummate expertise. They sound
very sonically "together," even though geographically, they were not.
The subjects of the songs include abuse ("His Voice"), deception ("Shores
of Avalon"), confused sexuality ("Lace"), and even President Clinton
("Beelzebubba"). Throughout, Labrie delivers passion, subtlety, and raw
power. The most vocally involved piece is the last one, "As a Man Thinks."
Multi-layered harmonies flow over and under each other to an accompaniment
that is by turns funky and, strangely enough, hymn-like.
Dream Theater fans will love Keep It To Yourself, and rightfully so. Now,
if only I could learn how to produce a disc via e-mail...
- Ben Likens
FOO FIGHTERS
There Is Nothing Left To Lose
(RCA)
Someone's gotta play some decent arena rock these days, especially now
that plodding shit like Creed is filling up the airwaves and hockey rinks.
Enter Dave Grohl - I mean, this guy blew the doors off the place when he
was essentially Nirvana's hired gun in the drum seat. Now, with the Foo
Fighters' third album, he puts the comparisons with that Cobain guy almost to
a halt, crafting tunes that recall Cheap Trick more than the grunge stuff.
Grohl is one hell of a songwriter, having the knack for putting a good hook,
a solid riff and above-average lyrics into his tunes, each one of 'em on this
disc being well-crafted and memorable.
First track "Stacked Actors" kicks the doors off the hinges, feisty growl
and sarcasm in tow, followed by a pure pop ditty in "Breakout." Cut three is
a combination of the two, being the appropriate first single, "Learn to Fly."
The rest of the album is well-paced, smartly balancing credibility and pop
sensibility. "Aurora" is a beautiful semi-ballad, it's shimmering guitars
adding intelligence to stickiness; "Live-In Skin" builds, peaks and offers a
satisfying denouement and conclusion. The second half of the record isn't
nearly as immediate as the first, but that's only a minor bitch.
There is Nothing Left to Lose mixes the sensibilities of the
straight-to-the-throat pop punch of Foo Fighters and the more sprawling,
introspective their sophomore release The Colour and the Shape. It's not a
progressive leap for Grohl, but he's polishing the chrome on his flying
machine this time, paying attention to the subtle nuances that put this
record above any other pop-rock outfit that's clamoring for the public's
dollars.
Thankfully, Grohl seems to be enjoying the process of making a quality
record, commercial benefits being secondary - but inevitable, considering the
nature of his songs. Excellent stuff.
- Fallout Boy
DEREK SHERINIAN
Planet X
(Magna Carta)
Veteran of Alice Cooper's band and Kiss, keyboard whiz Derek Sherinian has
released a disc full of atmospheric instrumentals with the help of guitarist
Brett Garsed, bassist Tony Franklin (ex-Firm), and drummer Virgil Donati.
The music contained on Planet X is diverse, multi-layered, and often
challenging, in the best sense of the word.
The set begins with "Atlantis," a song-suite that includes a multitude of
sounds, feel changes, tempo changes, and incredible playing by all concerned.
There are echoes of Led Zeppelin (in some phrases reminiscent of
"Carouselambra"), and even Move and early ELO (in other phrases reminiscent
of "Message From the Country" and "10538 Overture", respectively)
Other highlights include "Box," with its elephant-like keyboard beginning,
and "Money Shot," (a porn industry term referring to the male climax) with
its short, excited phrases and some jaw-dropping playing courtesy of Garsed
and Donati.
Planet X is definitely worth listening to more than twice. Expert
musicianship is combined with innovative songwriting and unmistakable attitude
. Book your flight now!
- Ben Likens
METALLICA
S&M
(Elektra)
This is a pretty novel idea for Metallica: joining forces with a real,
live symphony orchestra and putting on a grand 'ol metal show, recording it
and putting it out on CD and video for your consumption.
Of course, Metallica puts out everything they've ever done "for the fans"
(can't wait for each band member's solo album, complete with recorded
versions of each one of 'em taking a dump), but you can't help but wonder if
S&M - short for Symphony and Metallica, of course, chuckle chuckle snort -
isn't a vanity project.
Still, it' a pretty interesting experiment for the band that was once
considered to be the heaviest metal band on the planet. Essentially, you've
got 21 tracks (counting the intro music) spread across two discs - kinda
long, some of it not essential, but the good does outweigh the not-so-good.
New songs mingle with oldies, all with varying success; obviously, older
material like "The Call of Ktulu" (a brilliant choice, if you ask me),
"Master of Puppets" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" were orchestrated and
complex in the first place, so adding the symphony is a no-brainer, and it's
effective enough to give old Metalli-bangers goosebumps.
The same goes for "Battery" and "Wherever I May Roam." But add strings and
horns to a straight-ahead rocker like "Fuel" or the loping "Devil's Dance"
and you have the aural equivalent of putting shiny hub caps on a rusty,
junked-out '78 Camaro. And do we really need gluttonous, latter-day material
like "The Outlaw Torn" or "Bleeding Me" (both top the nine-minute mark) when
"Fade to Black" and "The Unforgiven" are begging for symphonic enhancement?
Also included are new, unreleased tunes "No Leaf Clover" and "Human," but
neither leaves much of an impression. Ultimately, S&M is a worthy and
credible experiment for Metallica, but after a few initial listens, the
novelty will wear off, and you'll end up relegating this to the shelf and
pulling it out once or twice a year.
- Poochie
STEEL PULSE
Living Legacy
(Tuff Gong)
Steel Pulse's Living Legacy features more than an hour of great
rock-steady reggae recorded live in France, Puerto Rico and Holland during
their 1999 world tour.
This is the Birmingham-based band's 15th disc in 22+ years of recording,
and it shows Steel Pulse haven't lost their edge: they still sing of
political struggle ("Islands Unite") or the freedom to worship Jah
("Nyhabinghi Voyage").
The 14-minute "Medley Medley" gives Steel Pulse a chance to stretch a bit
as they sing some of their more popular songs.
Steel Pulse still sing of revolution and social injustice like no other
traditional reggae band on the charts today. The disc is dedicated to
Augustus Pablo, Dennis Brown, and Kwame Toure (aka Stokely Carmichael).
They'd all be proud of these Rastas, live and up-front on Living Legacy.
- Eric Steiner
Ericrichd@aol.com
METHODS OF MAYHEM
Self-Titled
(MCA)
Well, there's one place to put Tommy Lee's new project, Methods of Mayhem
- somewhere between Kid Rock's white-trash-pimp shtick and Vanilla Ice's
"Look ma, I have a rap-metal band, I'm cool now!" comeback.
Lee has essentially lifted some armor-plated, downtuned mosh riffs from
Limp Bizkit and welded them to some Prodigy-esque techno beats and electronic
flourishes, tossing some hip-hopped vocalizing on top, complete with macho
posturing, the yelling of multiple obscenities and mucho spleen-venting.
So, needless to say, Methods of Mayhem isn't an exercise in originality,
but at least it's pretty far removed from Motley Crue's dead-in-the-water
'80s rehash.
Yeah, admittedly, some of this disc is fun, but it's dumb fun at best (see
leadoff single and dipshit anthem "Get Naked") and messy in concept. The
techno instrumentals at the end of the disc will have you asking - "Why?"
Well, at least well-produced. Baggy-panted Bizkiteers should dig this for
a couple of weeks before jumping on another trend.
- Freddy Quimby
VERTICAL HORIZON
Everything You Want
(RCA)
Although Vertical Horizon's major label debut, Everything You Want popped
into record stores in the latter part of 1999, odds are that the recent
success of its first two singles, "We Are" and "Everything You Want" will
lead to further promotion from RCA during the course of 2000. And Everything
You Want is full of potential singles.
The Washington DC-based quartet already had three previous independent
releases under their belt (since re-released by RCA) by the time they began
recording this album and it shows.
This fourth effort displays a songwriting maturity for Vertical Horizon
that isn't often found on contemporary charts. Like such peers as Collective
Soul, Vertical Horizon combines crunchy guitars, perky backbeats and skilled
vocals with talented insightful writing. Lead vocalist/guitarist Matt
Scannell and co-founder, guitarist/vocalist Keith Kane possess voices that
seem to merge effortlessly.
Six songs deep, like the pulsing, shuffling track "Finding Me," it becomes
obvious that Vertical Horizon isn't straining their talents or running out of
ideas. The team incorporates a sampled beat on the mid-tempo ballad
"Miracle," anchored instrumentally by a lonely guitar signature.
Everything You Want is more than just a collection of 11 strong rock
tracks. The CD symbolizes a victory for a hard-working quartet whose live
shows have earned them deserved success. In the cookie-cutting abyss of
contemporary pop, their eight-year existence is, in itself, an achievement.
- Dave Hall
CELINE DION
All The Way: A Decade Of Song
(Epic)
Celine Dion's newest album is a collection of her greatest hits
including such favorites as "My Heart Will Go On"(the love theme from
Titanic), "I'm Your Angel"(duet with R. Kelly), " Because You Loved Me" and
her new song "That's The Way It Is".
Add to that tasty covers of Frank Sinatra's classic "All The Way" and
Roberta Flack's syrupy '70s love ballad, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your
Face".
Although she has had many French language CD's, none of those tracks have
made it here. This album covers only the highlights from her English singing
career. I, being a Celine fan, enjoyed this CD.
If you've never really listened to her before, than this is the perfect
album to serve as an introduction to her music, because it will give you a
summery of her career and the many great songs she's tracked during the '90s.
I totally recommend this CD to anyone who loves Celine Dion. Definitely
some of her finest work yet.
- Sarah Lounges
THE SUICIDE MACHINES
Self-Titled
(Hollywood)
The latest album from Detroit's Suicide Machines finds the quartet
drastically changing its sound yet again on its self-titled third release.
The Suicide Machines embraces melody, harmonies and orchestral textures(!)
- such as French horns, timpani and strings on tracks such as "Extraordinary"
- completely dropping the hardcore thrash-punk of 1998's Battle Hymns.
Sure, The Suicide Machines are undeniably punk at the roots, but they have
branched out in a jolting way, making pop-punk music that seems more
accessible than ever.
While it's admirable the group is committed to variety, the sound seems
dated and played out - we've heard enough Offspring and Green Day rip-off
bands on radio airwaves.
Still, The Suicide Machines is a jaunty, upbeat album that keeps things
moving fast enough to avoid monotony. Just don't count on keeping it in your
CD rotation too long.
- Tim Pratt
GUNS N' ROSES
Live Era '87-'93
(Geffen)
Guns N' Roses, double live. Sounds like a nightmare, doesn't it?
Well, this is certainly better than that absolutely unnecessary
double-live Motley Crue aberration floating around out there, and I wouldn't
deem Live Era '87-'93 (stupid title) a piece of junk - it's actually not that
bad in terms of song selection and packaging - but how necessary is this,
really?
Well, GNR is basically D.O.A. these days (that new cut on the "End of
Days" soundtrack was a screechy joke), so why not capitalize on the
where-are-they-now rumors surrounding Axl's latest incarnation of the band?
This 22-track monster, patched together from who-knows-how-many
performances (the booklet doesn't say, only an enigmatic "recorded across the
universe from 1987-1993"), may give hardcore fans something nostalgic to chew
on, but when you get right down to it, you're going to go back to the
meat-and-potatoes studio versions. Unless you really dig the retarded jamming
at the end of "Sweet Child O' Mine," the lukewarm production and the
occasionally sloppy performances. Bottom line: never awful, but never
extraordinary, either.
- Lunchlady Doris
CHICAGO RHYTHM & BLUES KINGS
Self-Titled
(Blind Pig)
Who are they kidding? A new band called the Chicago Rhythm and Blues
Kings? Chicago has a rich musical legacy, and any band calling themselves
the Chicago Rhythm and Blues Kings better be hot.
Well, these guys are. This sextet lives up to their name on their
eponymous Blind Pig CD, but a little history lesson is in order. Horn players
Terry Ogolini and Don Tenuto, bassist Bob Halaj, guitarist David Mick, and
drummer Willie Hayes, used to be The Mellow Fellows behind the late, great
Big Twist (a true king of the midwestern club circuit in the '70s and '80s).
"Help Wanted" shows off a punchy horn section, while "Street Musician"
features producer Gene "Daddy G" Barge on vocals and sax. Daddy G's horn
powered '50s and '60s hits by Gary U.S. Bonds, Koko Taylor and Little Milton,
to name but a few.
These guys live up to their name in a big way...blues fans need to check
this collection out!
- Eric Steiner
Ericrichd@aol.com
DREAM THEATER
Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes
>From A Memory
(Eastwest)
I'd love to judge this album on its musical merits, but this conceptual
piece is such a pretentious schlep through guitar wankery, keyboard washes,
wussy-ass singing and 57/29 time signatures that I can't even accurately
convey how annoying it all is.
And the storyline in the lyrics - Lord, help me - is a soap opera combined
with what appears to be a particularly compelling game of Clue that the band
members played one time. Hell, might as well make an album out of it!
The bottom line here is that there's a bunch of non-engaging non-songs
contained on this particularly fatty piece of meat, but thankfully there's
plenty of ludicrous keyboard and guitar solos here to keep yer attention
(yeah, right).
Metropolis would get a failing grade, but the guys do know how to play
their instruments well, so I've marked it down in red pen as a D- in my
gradebook.
- Itchy
BRUTAL TRUTH
Goodbye Cruel World!
(Relapse)
This 2-disc set, officially marks the grave of the best grind band ever,
Brutal Truth (hence the title).
Disc one consists of 23 live tracks; disc two collects 33 odds-n-ends
"tunes" from various bootlegs, b-sides and 7-inches.
Essentially, Goodbye Cruel World! further proves how destructive and
innovative BT was, combining metal, punk and jazz (can't forget the hemp,
either) into one lethal, multi-faceted weapon that was capable of both
precision slicing-n-dicing and doing the 'ol caveman basheroo.
I can't honestly say that this is an essential purchase, but it shows just
what a bunch of twisted bastards these guys are. R.I.P. Brutal Truth!
- Leslie Hapalap
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