Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

ERIC BURDON & THE GREENHORNES – EP

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Recorded in a weekend, this EP comprises four tunes by retro/garage rock band The Greenhornes (best known for their association with Jack White and Brendan Benson) jamming with ex-Animals vocalist Eric Burdon.  Given Burdon’s prior love for keeping things a little raw and The Greenhornes naturalistic performances, the results are interesting.

“My name’s Winston Churchill…and I’m having a fucking nervous breakdown” grumbles Burdon during the intro of ‘Black Dog’, as Patrick Keeler leads the band with a crashing entrance, before everyone settles into a classic blues groove that’s a dead ringer for Hendrix’s ‘Who Knows’ (from ‘Band of Gypsies’).  Backed by slabs of organ and fuzzy guitar lines, the aging Burdon lets his inner animal loose as he snarls and shouts, delivering each line with a real fire and defiant power; his loudest moments among the best a white blues growler can muster, while his quieter moments (of which are few) have an equally ominous presence.

With cleaner guitar and a very welcome electric piano, ‘Out of My Mind’ finds Burdon turning in a much more thoughtful performance, though never quite managing to eclipse Jack Lawrence, whose wandering basslines are very high in the mix and sound terrific throughout.  In the producer’s chair, Brendan Benson seems to have had the good sense to let everything happen naturally, doing very little himself – the “live in the studio” vibes are perfect for both The Greenhornes and Burdon.  ‘Can You Win’ pitches Burdon’s fearsome growl against a near funky bass and some reverb-filled guitar lines.  Burdon’s voice wobbles, caring not for anything remotely close to perfection, but placed against the quasi-aggressive guitar lines and loud drum parts, this appears to be a yet another perfect matching of musicians from different generations.  As they pull things to a close, it’s clear that this is their finest moment – one which you may wish could have gone on for longer.

After three blistering performances, expectations are set high for the EP to finish with a forth.  Sadly, the EPs closing track ‘Cab Driver’ is so bad – so offensively bad, even – it comes close to spoiling the good work that’s been laid down previously.  So, what’s so objectionable?  Over a tune with a distinctly eastern flavour – like a garage band jamming out bits of Sol Bloom’s ‘Snake Charmer’ music – Burdon adopts a cod Arabic accent where (amongst other things) he “sings” about having a tattoo removed that was anti-American, before claiming he has nothing against the English soldiers if they stay lying in their graves.  Christ.  How this was deemed to be okay in the 21st century is a mystery, considering other racially motivated pieces – such as ‘Doctor I’m In Trouble’ by Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren – are often viewed as being in bad taste.  Much in the same way his ‘PC3’ did forty years previously with its themes of police brutality and sexualising the monarch, was Burdon aiming for controversy here?  Yes.  Was it necessary? No.  Should this have been kept private? Certainly.

So, there it is – four tunes recorded in less time than it takes some bands to decide on a drum sound.  The off-the-cuff approach yields some excellent results from a great band sparking off an unquestionably edgy vocalist.  In places, it could even represent the sound of artists who’d been working together for years.  Now, if someone had the foresight – and possibly the guts – to tell Burdon that ‘Cab Driver’ was a bad idea, this EP would have been even better.

November 2012

VARIOUS ARTISTS – Drug Buddies: A Tribute To The Lemonheads

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In terms of mainstream popularity, The Lemonheads’ peak came in the early 90s, when their fifth album ‘It’s a Shame About Ray’ and cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Mrs. Robinson’ both became big hits.  Either side of that release, despite hugely unstable line-ups, the band recorded other great music, both punk based and of the summery slacker pop variety.  Each of the albums within the band’s catalogue are worthy of investigation.

With such cult status – and Evan Dando’s knack with a throwaway pop ditty deserving of the praise he has intermittently been given – it’s obvious they would be a huge influence upon other jangle-pop bands from Boston and beyond.  On this tribute disc, twenty one DIY bands have been brought together, putting their mark on various tunes associated with The Lemonheads, alongside one original composition about Dando himself.  The results, as you may expect, are mixed.

For ‘I’ll Do It Anyway’, Star fuzz things up considerably, so much so there’s more distortion than actual tune in places, but they make it their own.  Cutting through the sheets of trebly noise, a twee female voice evokes recordings by Velocity Girl and other 90s indie favourites, and once you’ve tuned into the band’s style, Dando’s melodic leanings eventually shine through, especially on the chorus, which still stands up as an amazing piece of pop.  Far less fortunate is Marauder’s take on the lovely ‘Down About It’.  There are a few nice slide guitar notes and a reasonable jangle, but any enjoyment is killed by an extremely flat vocal performance.  Better, Himson re-imagine ‘My Drug Buddy’ as stripped down workout for acoustic guitar and ukulele.  While it turns out exactly as you’d expect for something with a uke in tow, all harmony vocals are well executed and the electric guitar laying down jazzy leads intermittently provides a welcome addition.

Following a long-wave radio-esque intro, Shindig don’t really use the full spectrum of their obvious talents on ‘Confetti’, preferring instead to offer something as close to Dando’s vision as they can. This is fine, but without the sharpness in the guitar department it doesn’t quite have the impact it should.  Vicious Whiskey turn in a raucous version of ‘6ix’ (originally from the overlooked ‘Car Button Cloth’) which, while a little unimaginative, their version is great in its own right, chockfull of garage-sounding guitar lines and a small serving of feedback for good measure.  In the hands of The Neuvos, ‘It’s a Shame About Ray’ has plenty of summery guitars, shimmering constantly and an occasional accompaniment which sounds as if it really ought to belong to a brass section.  Both features are enjoyable on this slightly slower rendition, but like Marauder, The Neuvos is a band hampered by a wobbly vocalist.  Overall, Neuvos’ offering is a case of “close, but…”

Fans of The Lemonheads’ punkier sounds may find some enjoyment from Numbers on Napkins thrashing their way through a decent version of ‘Uhh’ (the comp’s only Ben Deily related tune), and Suinage taking the jangly ‘Stove’ and cranking the speed and volume just enough to make it interesting.   Both are worth spinning, though neither are classic.  [Since Deily’s compositions are seemingly fair game – unless, of course, NoN chose ‘Uhhh’ unknowingly, it’s a pity they didn’t plump for his vastly superior ‘Second Chance’.]

So with a lot of the material hovering around the enjoyable but workmanlike mark or – in a couple of cases – bewilderingly bad, why should you bother checking out this comp?   Hidden amongst the more average material, there are a few of bright shining stars…and it’s those that have used a little more imagination that gives ‘Drug Buddies’ a huge lift.  With a staccato riff leading the way, Trucker Cleavage offer a rendition of ‘Being Around’ that’s got plenty of punch via a chunky bass riff and slightly discordant lead guitar.  What makes this enjoyable, though, is the lead vocal performance: it’s delivered in a nasal harmony throughout, hugely reminiscent of John Linnell and John Flansborough of They Might Be Giants!  A hugely jangly take on ‘The Great Big No’ sounds at times like the work of a bad Matthew Sweet impersonator, but if you can make it past that, it’s musically sound, making use of swirling keyboards and  big power pop harmonies throughout.  You’re probably curious about the ballsy one-note guitar solo from the original version…  It’s now nowhere to be heard!  The instrumental break here is filled with a suitable amount of noodling, always tastefully played, not shadowing the rest of the tune.

The best of the bunch is Lucky Day’s thoughtful reimagining of ‘Bit Part’, stretching it out to three times the original length.  While the vocal melody remains intact, the music is soft and almost loungy, with the addition of wordless oohs and ahs reminiscent of Sixpence None The Richer.  Of all the tunes featured on ‘Drug Buddies’, Lucky Day are streets ahead of the competition, taking a once trashy ninety second trashy number and dressing it up with passionate vocals and a multi-layered arrangement, culminating in a funky lead bass solo.  In short, this is a tune not to be missed.

…And that previously mentioned original track written as a tribute to Evan?  Mean Carlene’s ‘Evan Says’, surprisingly, is an okay slice of jangle pop that befits Boston’s slacker hero.  Staccato riffs and a repetition of the title are its main concerns, but it’s a more than solid piece of pop rock. Given that it’s writers Mean Carlene appear to be reasonably talented – certainly far more talented than some of ‘Drug Buddies’ contributors – it would have been good to hear them singing one of the many Lemonheads numbers not included here: where are ‘Dawn Can’t Decide’, ‘It’s About Time’ ‘Mallo Cup’, ‘Half The Time’?  Surely all are better than the ‘Car Button Cloth’ era tunes present…

Listen for yourselves using the widget below.  For the hardcore Lemonheads fan, ‘Drug Buddies’ may not always be much more than a welcome distraction, but there are a handful of tunes worth downloading.

November 2012

JEFF WAYNE – Musical Version Of “The War Of The Worlds”: The New Generation

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Jeff Wayne’s 1978 ‘Musical Version of The War of the Worlds’ is considered by many to be one of the finest records of its era.  Whether you’re either old enough to have  purchased it yourself at the time of release, or you’ve grown up with parents who enjoyed it, it’s an album which holds a special place for many. Even with it’s reliance on synthesised orchestras, its performances have survived the passing decades very well indeed.  Almost thirty five years on – after various re-issues of the original album and love them/hate them stage productions – comes this completely re-recorded version of his masterpiece, potentially tainting his legacy even further.

First off, it has to be said, Liam Neeson has none of the presence of Richard Burton.  In places, he doesn’t even have the same level of command that Anthony Hopkins bought to Wayne’s much maligned ‘Spartacus’.  He often seems like his narrative should be a louder.  Very little consideration has been given to the fact that his slightly gruff, slightly cracked voice – while a great speaking voice – doesn’t always have quite enough bottom end to carry itself against the kitchen-sink approach of the musical arrangements – and some rather aggressive synthesizers.

Since this would have been a perfect opportunity to do so, it’s a shame Wayne didn’t actually take time out to hire a real orchestra.  Within a few bars of ‘The Eve of The War’, the old-fashioned synths – if anything – sound even more synthetic than they did in the late 70s.  The funkiness of the arrangement is a touch less disco, but the relative danceability is still there, albeit in the form of programmed beats which would have sounded contemporary some twenty years before this recording was made.  All keyboard embellishments are sharper than before, but also horribly dated, while the “chances of anything” vocal lines appear terribly filtered.  Despite the faults, ‘Eve of the War’ is still an enjoyable tune, though it’s hugely likely that – for most people – any enjoyment only comes from having so many vivid memories associated with the original recording.

The rest of the album follows in a similar fashion – familiar, yet inferior, with musical arrangements that can no longer be labelled as being “of their time”, now just synthetic and horribly dated.  The bass on ‘Horsell Common and The Heat Ray’ is big, but oddly unsettling, but not in the cool way of its predecessor, but the guitar parts and drum parts have a stronger presence and welcome crispness – one of the few times this recording reaches anything like it’s real potential.  An over-reliance on really ugly synths, kills ‘The Artilleryman & The Fighting Machine’; attempts at cranking up the guitars in response doesn’t actually build tension as much as make the whole thing a little overbearing.

Closing the first half, the album’s two best songs – ‘Forever Autumn’ and ‘Thunderchild’ – are particularly nasty.  Justin Hayward’s reading of ‘Forever Autumn’ stands as one of the great 70s ballads and a watershed recording for the Moody Blues man.  Gary Barlow brings no emotion to the ‘New Generation’ recording: it’s not necessarily GB’s fault; he won’t have chosen to have his voice smoothed out/filtered in post-production.  During the track’s second half, Wayne crushes any hope of the track getting better as he instigates a programmed drum loop, adding an unwarranted clunky, rhythm track, thus adding slight dance elements where unnecessary, as if he’s pre-empting any future remixes.  For ‘Thunderchild’, singer-songwriter Alex Clare takes the reign for the album’s most rock-driven outing and tackles it with all the power of a wet lettuce, his thin vocal line nearly as weightless as the horrid synths which insist on cutting through anything half-decent.

Thankfully, the wandering ambient soundscapes of ‘The Red Weed (part 1)’ have not been subjected to any extra drums or anything to detract from music’s other-worldliness.  The synths that sound like flutes are almost identical to their 1978 counterpart, while a few others are a touch more gurgly (while not especially a necessary change, at least it’s one which fits the mood).  Most striking during these seven minutes are the moments of piano which cut through in a near avant-garde fashion; almost jazz like, they appear fleetingly, rattle the listener and then disappear, like something rising from the acres and acres of thick martian sludge.  ‘The Red Weed (part 2)’ is far less fortunate, having had its melodies beefed up and subjected to something akin to a Ben Liebrand remix, circa 1990.

As before, between the two encounters with the weed, ‘The Spirit of Man’ attempts to highlight the human struggle against the invaders.  In 1978, Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott gave the original album one of its strongest performances.  Do we get a rock icon here to fill his unfillable shoes?  No.  Step forward rapper/r ‘n’ b performer Maverick Sabre…  A man who manages to sing every line with such a reggae affectation that it’s almost impossible to make out the words in places, it’s a good job you all know them already.  Taking the thin-voiced (and over-rated) Julie Covington’s place as the pleading wife is soul diva Joss Stone – who unlike most of the performers here does her best with the material and delivers something she can at least be half proud of.  Kaiser Chiefs man Ricky Wilson’s faux cockney antics sound trite on ‘Brave New World’, a performance that has none of the (necessary) fine balance between fear and bravado that David Essex bought to the table.  There’s nothing else to add here except it (once again) suffers from a few unnecessary early nineties style beats…all topped with more questionable synths, some of which sound like Jarre cast-offs.

Between the martians yelling ‘ULLA!” and Richard Burton’s deep booming voice, the ‘Dead London’ climax gave children sleepless nights in the 70s and 80s.  There’s a unsettling nature here, but Neeson just doesn’t cut it…while the martians sound even more like a man yelling through a vocoder than ever before!  …And yet, when the martian voices cease, the few seconds of silence are genuinely chilling.  Like the preceding material, the moments of greatness are there, but so, so fleeting.  [Again, Why were we not treated to the presence of a real orchestra on these recordings? It would have at least given something ranging between awful and average a bit more gravitas].

On the one hand, it’s Wayne’s musical creation to twist and tweak how he sees fit, but on the other, other than to eek a few more quid out of a successful concept, this has no real purpose. It’s like “Jeff Wayne’s Karaoke Version of The War of The Worlds: The New Generation”.

For those who’ve never heard the original LP, the dated synth sounds here will possibly be too ugly for words, while for everyone else, there’s little to nothing here that holds a candle to its earlier counterpart.  ‘The New Generation’ is not awful, but in a few places it comes  pretty close.  If you’ve bought it, do the decent thing: listen to it out of politeness, maybe even some misdirected sense of duty, then file it next to your ‘Star Wars’ prequels and watch it gather dust.

November 2012

Posted in pop

THUNDERFUCKS – EP

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Mixing garage punk, a little garage blues and a whole world of attitude, this debut EP by New Yorkers (the) Thunderfucks has little time for subtlety.  Despite never taking the speed-punk route of bands like Zeke (whose debut clocked up twenty songs in just about twenty four minutes) it’s still pretty damn fast in places.  That speediness combined with a hefty love of trashy 50s influenced rock ‘n’ roll – bringing forth a little Ramones and a whole world of early Misfits in their sound – means these guys don’t mess around.

Without any time to warm up, ‘Crazy Wild Style’ crashes into a rock ‘n’ roll thrasher that sounds like Rocket From The Crypt spun at 45 rpm, with plenty of shouty gang vocals backing up a lead voice that attacks the listener with a near guttural delivery.  Another lightning fast romp, ‘Sick Girl’ – clocking in at just a minute and a half – allows drummer KC to let loose on his hi-hat, while the rest of the band sweat it out through a brilliant, screaming rock ‘n’ roll number with a killer old-school lead break from Leopardman Tom, underneath which  Handsome Dan delivers a lovely hurried bassline.  With the combination of semi-aggessive vocal, brief playing time and great soloing, this number presents Thunderfucks at their most urgent, even if not their most wholly accessible.

The other tunes are a little tighter all round.  ‘Another Day’ begins with a riff that would make Johnny Ramone proud, but by the time Charlie Kong launches into a strong lead vocal topped with a croon, this band’s Misfits about as subtle as a brick – but since this tune is potentially better than anything that band has committed to record since Glenn Danzig’s departure, who cares?  On the basis of this and ‘Entertain Me’ (which follows in a very similar mood), Thunderfucks take the punk ‘n’ roll ethic, kick it in squarely up the arse and get superb results, even in spite of a couple of wobbly lead guitar breaks.   On ‘Entertain Me’ in particular, Kong sounds very confident with his adopted croon.

Since these four tunes have two distinctly different attitudes, that means there’s just enough variation within the band’s chosen styles for them not to feel repetitive.  This too, of course, is helped by the shorter EP format.  All together, it adds up to a debut EP that’s a sweaty but joyous affair that no fans of punk/punk ‘n’ roll should miss.

October 2012

GENE THE WEREWOLF – Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal

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When a press release uses a phrase like “[we] play music that’s as ridiculous as it is awesome”, it’s enough to strike dread in the heart of the potential listener.  After all, if it’s not awesome, then it’s just ridiculous…and if it’s just ridiculous, it’s then bordering on being a novelty – and novelty is not for everyone.  Luckily, on this international debut release, aside from a truly terrible choice of name, there’s nothing novelty about Pittsburgh band Gene The Werewolf.  While not really awesome either, the five man band does a great job pulling various elements from classic rock’s past, yielding an album which is surprising enjoyable.  Actually, despite all the things they think they are, most of the time on this release, what they actually sound like is a KISS tribute band, specialising in tunes from the ‘Dressed To Kill’ era.  With that in mind, if you hate KISS, there’s (almost) nothing for you here.  If you’re a KISS fan but hate people who spend half their time desperately wanna be KISS, there’s (almost) nothing for you here.

Never were the KISS influences more obvious than on parts ‘I’ve Got The Love’ when frontman Drew Donegan really channels his inner Paul Stanley, so much so, he could probably pull off being in a tribute band (assuming he’s not already tried that for a career prior to forming GTW).  The falsetto ‘oohs’ set the dials for fun, while the hard rock drumming and glammy guitar chords rock out like it’s the mid 70s all over again.  It’s not until the chorus hits that this tune offers anything truly brilliant, however…and for that chorus GTW impersonate their heroes as best as they can muster.  The hook may be trashy, but it’s fairly instant; although this is good enough, it’s the emergence of  Drew’s near-perfect Paul Stanley impersonation which leaves the biggest overall impression.  There are similar Stanley-esque leanings during parts of the feel-good ‘Superhero’, although any obvious KISS influences get offset by some rather lovely new wave keyboards set high in the mix.  Here, a few hair metal edges meet with an almost Cheap Trick level of confidence that, once again, shows this band off as great musicians in the “classic rock” sense.

When the KISS obsession is at its lowest ebb, there are gentle nods to late 70s AC/DC – though any potential influence never comes with the sledgehammer intent of Aussie rockers Airborne.  ‘I Only Wanna Rock N Roll’ mixes three chords worthy of Angus Young with a simple hook that the fledgling Poison may have killed for.  It’s totally old school – right down to relying on enormous whoahs for half of its impact – but often, the simpler the better.  By the track’s end, when things beef up a little and the gang vocals really hit home, it’s not quite so AC/DC influenced anymore, but rather more in the glam rock field – which is clearly where these guys feel most musically at home.  Perhaps better, ‘Rock N Roll Animal’ follows a similar tack, only with a guitar riff that is in danger of lapsing into AC/DC’s own ‘It’s a Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock N Roll)’.  It may be largely borrowed, but that really doesn’t stop the professionalism of GTW’s own musicianship shining through – the guitar leads which busily fill the last few bars of this particular homage to classic rock are first rate.

As for the best of the rest, ‘Light My Fire’ features yet another great chorus, some Def Leppard-esque harmonies and the obligatory nod to KISS, while ‘Heart of Steel’ sounds like classic power pop in places, but is pushed back into the classic rock sphere thanks to a full compliment of 80s glam metal guitars.  Perhaps better still, ‘Ruffneck Woman’ takes another obvious KISS influence, mixes it with a couple of other key notes from classic rock’s glory years and comes up with yet another predictable yet enjoyable winner.  Despite adding nothing new to the Gene The Werewolf repertoire (or indeed, absolutely anything previously unheard within the much-loved glam rock, hair metal or classic rock subgenres) one thing is guaranteed: like everything else on ‘Rock N Roll Animal’, GTW play this with the kind of huge self-belief their music demands of them.

The KISS-isms may be far too obvious at times – right down to the name Gene in the name, a choice that is certainly no coincidence – but at least with Gene The Werewolf, you don’t have to live with the threat of Mr. Simmons delivering thinly veiled references to his penis.  Although Gene The Werewolf are short on original sounding thrills, purely and simply, their various homages result in a decent record.  Overall, it’s more enjoyable – and far less crass – than the stupidly over-rated Steel Panther, while retaining a similar vibe of good-time trashiness. Though this album is no contender for “genre classic” status (due its being little more than systematic pillaging from actual genre classics), the band’s claim of wanting to offer music of a “ridiculous” nature could have turned out far, far worse.

November 2012