Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – Mr Blue Sky: The Very Best of ELO

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On the surface, ‘Mr Blue Sky’ masquerades as yet another Electric Light Orchestra compilation featuring most of the usual suspects.  There’s more to this 2012 release than just mere “greatest hits” however, since Jeff Lynne has succumbed to artistic licence.  Although many ELO records remain beloved by a cross section of pop, pomp and prog rock fans, Lynne felt that by more more modern recording/production techniques, those old hits could do with a dusting down and polishing up and so, has completely re-recorded each of the tracks included here.

…Or so says his official line.  Earlier in 2012 Def Leppard made threats about re-recording their back-catalogue since they were effectively being screwed by their record company.  If these tunes exist via a similar dispute to the one that plagued the Leps, then fair play to Lynne, he has done a fantastic job.  If, as he claims, these were recorded to tweak and improve and nothing more, he has still turned in a fantastic job.

While these re-recordings undoubtedly please Lynne by fixing whatever he thought wrong with them previously, thankfully he never stretches the fans’ goodwill by adding anything too outlandish; the arrangements (although a little shinier all round) by and large stick firmly to their original blueprints.  As such, they are far more concerned with utilising modern technology and Lynne’s further experience as producer – that doesn’t actually make the works of ELO more palatable for more modern ears.  As such, it would still be easy for a non-fan to accuse them of sounding quite dated in terms of their falsetto vocals, analogue synthesisers and use of vocoders, all dished up with an abundance of flared-trousered, hair-permed goodness.  From a fan perspective, on the other hand, if that’s why you loved (and continue to love) ELO, you certainly wouldn’t want any of that to change.   Leaving no stone unturned on this selection of tunes, the tweaking is only ever relatively minor, but even so, for those who know the hits inside out, the amendments really jump out – and often in a good way.

So what’s so different?  Most obviously, on the always brilliant ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’, Lynne has opted to make the “Bruce!” chorus vocal marginally less silly, but more importantly, taken the piano part near the end and pushed it to the fore.  The result sounds not unlike something from a wild west bar-room.  Despite these two relatively obvious differences, everything else closely mirrors the 1979 recording, so much so that the rattling noise at the very end is even re-recorded!  The differences on ‘Evil Woman’ and ‘Livin’ Thing’ are even more slight: on the former, we are given a crisper rhythm guitar part (a change for the better, probably) while on the latter, the pizzicato strings are more audible than ever before.  Both are certainly changes which fit the claim that Lynne only wanted to improve things rather than change them per se.  Similarly, ‘Do Ya’ benefits from a much louder lead guitar, which too, is a welcome amendment considering its place as one of the band’s rockier tunes.

One of ELO’s signature pieces, ‘Mr Blue Sky’ has become a radio staple and it is almost unthinkable that a version may exist that isn’t exactly the same as the one we’re heard regularly for decades…  Sadly, the spruced up 2012 recording doesn’t quite have the all round greatness of the original (or indeed, most of these re-recordings).  There’s certainly more definition between the chorus vocals and some may see that as a plus, but the drum sound doesn’t quite cut it and Jeff’s lead vocal doesn’t appear quite as sparky as before.  Everything’s almost right, yet – perhaps due to the sheer complexity of the piece – it doesn’t improve on the original version even slightly.  Perhaps ‘Out Of The Blue’s material was trickier to amend, since ‘Turn To Stone’ also comes out rather flat, with a particular weakness during the multi-tracked section of voices at 1:51.  To the non-ELO fan, those voices on the original cut can sound rather ridiculous with their falsetto; here, with a huge phased effect added, they don’t actually sound any less ridiculous or over-blown than before, they just sound a little gurgly.  On the plus side, the strings during the second half are more pronounced (though almost certainly provided by keyboards), but this has the knock on effect of making the drums sound somewhat woolly.  If this disc features any cuts that make you want to reach for your beloved originals rather quickly, these two are the most likely.   [Also, Jeff’s re-recording of ‘Mr Blue Sky’ isn’t as much fun as Holmes’s 2011 cover, which you can hear here.]

There are literally dozens of subtle (and occasionally not so subtle) differences peppered throughout the numbers on this collection; you can spend time spotting the rest for yourselves, since with this kind of project, therein lies most of the fun – after all, you wouldn’t want a review to spoil all of the surprises…would you?!

For those who want more than revisited material, this compilation also features a previously unreleased track.  With roots dating back to 2009, ‘Point of No Return’ is an excellent three minute pop tune, driven by ringing guitars.  A simple chorus and a general Wilbury-esque sound means the bulk of it would have sounded just as good in the hands of Tom Petty if Jeff had passed it on. However,  a subtle backing vocal – slight falsetto, no words – and a brief string sound creeping in at the end helps to give it just a little more of that ELO magic.  Although this sounds a little flat when measured against those Electric Light Orchestra classics, it is a welcome addition to Lynne’s back catalogue and is certainly far more enjoyable than anything included on his 2012 solo record ‘Long Wave’…

Revisiting past works out of perfectionism/vanity (delete as appropriate) can be a tricky business.  When Kate Bush re-recorded a bunch of vocals for her ‘Director’s Cut’ project, the results were more than misguided; when Squeeze invited listeners to ‘Spot The Difference’ in 2010, their approach may have been far more traditional, but when Difford and Tilbrook began to sing, that the “difference” became more than obvious.  With ‘Mr Blue Sky’s revisitations, Jeff Lynne, mercifully, fairs far better than both: he’s created a record that still entertains the casual listener with the ELO hits, while simultaneously giving the hardcore fan something to think about.  ‘Mr Blue Sky’ is a sharp reminder of why Lynne is considered by many to be one of pop music’s master craftsmen.

October 2012

TSAR – The Dark Stuff EP

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Back in the early 2000s, an acquaintance gave me a CD-R of tracks by undervalued power pop/melodic alt-rock bands he loved – bands he felt deserved more attention.  While the exact contents of the homemade disc are now just a fuzzy memory, it introduced me to Far Too Jones and Sugarbomb – two sadly missed bands who released a couple of superb records.  Also included was the Tsar track ‘Kathy Fong Is The Bomb’ – a stupidly, stupidly infectious tune that mixed power pop and glam, ultimately delivering an absolute suckerpunch of a chorus which, once heard, was never to be forgotten.

I quickly sought out a copy of Tsar’s self-titled debut on the sheer strength of that track, only to be bitterly disappointed.  Despite numerous attempts to get into it, none of that album’s tunes hit me in the way ‘Kathy Fong’ did.  In fact, I found nothing else to be particularly memorable and eventually, I gave up trying to like it.  Tsar, meanwhile, released a follow up record a couple of years later and recorded demos for a third in 2008, before taking a brief hiatus.

The band reformed in 2010, some ten years after ‘Kathy Fong’ first lodged itself inside the heads of a few unsuspecting power pop connoisseurs.  In 2012, they released ‘The Dark Stuff’, a five song EP of brand new material, celebrating their brand of glam rock chops and power pop hooks as if they’d never been away.  In honesty, it’s fair to say that if you liked Tsar before, then ‘The Dark Stuff’ will be a welcome addition to your power pop collection.  If they never clicked with you first time around, even though parts of this EP have a more mature sound, chances are, they still won’t.

There are a couple of occasions where Tsar sound great, as they do on the lead track ‘Police Station’.  A combination of twin guitar leads and trashy pop collides to create something brilliantly disposable, while a wordless chorus adds to its overall dumbness and a rock ‘n’ roll guitar solo appears in danger of going totally off the rails…  It’s a great track, evocative of the wondrous Redd Kross.  ‘White Lipstick’ is an upbeat fuzzy, glammy affair replete with distorted vocals, where again, Tsar bear more than a slight resemblance to Redd Kross – but frankly, if this were the work of that band, the McDonald brothers would have taken things up a notch and absolutely smashed their audience into oblivion.  For Tsar, despite best efforts, such attitude seems to come far less naturally.

Less instant, ‘Punctual Alcoholic’ blends downtuned acoustic guitars with a harmony driven – though not especially memorable – hook, which when pulled across almost five minutes just wanders into indifference, while ‘Little Women’ brings similar harmonies to a slightly reverbed tune that never quite kicks in.   A little better, ‘Something Bad Happened To Me’ is a decent pop-rocker with a late 70s/early 80s influence, loaded with a a radio friendly hook and a great – if a little raggedy – guitar break.  Although the music is well arranged, it’s on this track that the vocal limitations become more apparent; as before, Jeff Whalen has one of those nasal voices which, if not approached in the right frame of mind, can grate fairly quickly.

Overall, ‘The Dark Stuff’s weaker moments make Tsar sound more mature than they did before, and obviously, that’s a plus.  And even though those weaker songs don’t have the chops to stay in on the mp3 player for the long term, they’re far from objectionable.   As for its two killer cuts, despite going in with all guns blazing, they may just not be killer enough to make ‘The Dark Stuff’ a favourite.  While the Redd Kross influence that powers those numbers is very, very welcome, after a few spins you may find yourselves reaching for a Redd Kross record instead…  [and if you’ve not already done so, make sure you check out their comeback disc ‘Researching The Blues’ – it’s one of 2012’s finest releases].

September 2012

JEFF LYNNE – Long Wave

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One of two Jeff Lynne projects for 2012 (the other being a selection of re-recorded hits from Electric Light Orchestra), ‘Long Wave’ finds the sunglassed, curly haired Brummie paying tribute to those songs he heard on his fuzzy long-wave radio during his younger years.  Despite the age of the chosen songs and the home demo feel to the album, Lynne’s choice of material comes delivered exactly as you’d expect: multi-tracked and then topped off with that compressed drum sound (a la Traveling Wilburys), a sound that makes so much of his work so distinctive.

Lynne’s rummage through the catalogues of a pre-Beatle world results in somewhat of a mixed bag, but he really comes alive on ‘At Last’ – a much covered tune, but most famous in a version recorded by Etta James.  Synthesised string sounds (which surprisingly, do not sound too bad here) meet a stabbing piano in a way that only the period could muster, and even with Lynne’s more modern shine – and the fact that he’s not quite as gifted vocally as some who’ve tackled this tune previously – the power of the song comes through in spades.  Lynne’s noodling, jazzy guitar tones are also a nice touch, of which, perhaps more could have been made.  Against the odds, ‘Beyond The Sea’ also comes out rather well, with sharp, multi-tracked electric guitars replacing the strings to great effect.  Those guitars are a gentle reminder of just one of the many things that made ELO’s best work so enjoyable.  To be honest, ‘Long Wave’ could have used a few more of them… Likewise, the album’s lead single, ‘Mercy, Mercy’, while not presenting anything out of the ordinary for Jeff, comes across with sparkle and it’s obvious he loves this song.  In fact, with its gated snare drum and spirited vocal, it wouldn’t have been out of place on his ‘Armchair Theatre’ disc.

On the surface, Roy Orbison’s ‘Running Scared’ gets a respectful reworking, with Jeff’s vocal still allowing the listener to imagine The Big O crooning his way distinctively through each line.  While Lynne’s voice is perfectly good and stabbed piano and acoustic guitars evoke Orbison’s favoured musical arrangement, a closer listen uncovers something of a disappointment – it’s a pity Lynne didn’t splash out on a full string section as warranted.  His choice of synthesised strings (on this track and a couple of others) just pushes things too far into the realms of “polished home demo”.   Many would suspect that Chuck Berry’s ‘Let It Rock’ would be one of ‘Long Wave’s highlights – and in many ways they’re not wrong, since Lynne’s rock ‘n’ roll influenced numbers were always decent in the past.  As good as his take on Chuck is, though, there’s a sense of the over-familiar and as a result, it lacks the overall enjoyment of Lynne’s own works within that field, whether that be The Wilburys’ ‘Rattled’ or ELO’s ‘Hold On Tight’ et al.

Much more unfortunate, a take on the Richard Rogers tune ‘If I Loved You’ is slow, a tad laboured and so ultimately uninteresting that even Jeff’s lead vocal drags in places.  With an over-reliance of blanket keyboards to replace the string section it begs for, it’s all a bit dirgy.  The only bright spark is a huge guitar chord appearing just once, only then to vanish under the dragging mire of droning keys.  The old crooner within tries his hardest on ‘Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered’, but the end result is ordinary at best, while ‘Love Is a Many Splendored Thing’ (from the 1955 movie of the same name) turns out a little better.  The rumpty-tumpty way the tune lumbers along suits Lynne’s trademark drum sounds, his guitar adds a few nice jazzy flourishes and – lurking in the back – a piano fleshes everything out.  Most importantly, occasional wordless vocals hint at Lynne’s own musical past with ELO – although, thankfully, he forgoes any use of vocoder!  Despite some okay elements, though, it is not something many would consider a classic Jeff Lynne performance.

Elsewhere, you’ll find reasonable renditions of ‘Smile’ (the Charlie Chaplin penned standard) and The Everly Brothers’ ‘So Sad’ alongside Charles Aznavour’s ‘She’ (a commendable effort which incorporates just enough of Lynne’s own style, but ultimately isn’t a patch on Elvis Costello’s version).   After hearing, it is obvious why each one has been chosen, but the resulting performances are predictable.  As with much of ‘Long Wave’, instead of insisting on playing absolutely everything himself, perhaps Jeff should have hired a few extra musicians to give these performances a little more dimension?

Listen to Lynne collaborating with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and George Harrison on ‘Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1’ and the spark of various geniuses colliding results in something that sounded like it was fun to be a part.  Similarly, Lynne’s studio expertise on Harrison’s ‘Cloud Nine’ and Petty’s ‘Full Moon Fever’ appears to lift those works to new, sparky levels.  Looking beyond ‘Long Wave’s home-recorded roots, it is full of multi-tracked wonderment from a technical level, but the lack of other musicians means that, in places, it’s lacking a sense of fun – something that no amount of studio understanding could ever replace.

‘Long Wave’ worth hearing for ‘Let It Rock’, ‘Mercy, Mercy’ and a couple of others, but it’s all rather more a labour of love than a musical masterpiece.  Although the more devoted fans will love Jeff Lynne no matter what, since ‘Long Wave’ comes over two decades since Lynne’s last solo effort – and some eleven years since the last completely new work from ELO – the fans deserve much better than they essentially get here.

October 2012

BONRUD – Save Tomorrow

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Eight years is a long time between albums, especially for a band that is less than established, but that’s how long it took Bonrud to follow up their self-titled record from 2004. While it is unlikely Paul Bonrud and his chosen band spent all of the intervening years working on this sophomore release, the end result does not sound like it was rushed.

In those passing years, Bonrud changed labels from Frontiers Records to Escape Music and prior vocalist David Hendricks stepped aside for Rick Forsgren (previously of Conditioned Response), but essentially the band’s core sound of big and beefy melodic rock remains unchanged.  ‘Save Tomorrow’s twelve songs may not bring anything new to the melodic rock/AOR genre, but the songs are well crafted for their type and given plenty of life by noted Fleetwood Mac/Journey/Whitesnake/REO Speedwagon producer Keith Olson.

On the title cut, Bonrud go straight for a classic AOR sound.  The staccato rhythm guitars and driving quality echoes the 80s greats, with a particular nod to Journey in the way the vocal rises during its chorus and the lead guitars beaver away throughout.  It’s strictly by-numbers, but Mr Bonrud’s technical abilities are such that this tune holds its own.  A similar influence is at the heart of ‘I’d Do Anything’, a harmony-driven workout which echoes the kind of albums on which Olson made his mark in the past.  The vocals are powerful – enjoyable too, provided you can grasp Forsgren’s John Schlitt-esque top end wail – while, once again, Bonrud’s lead guitar work during the outro tips the hat to Neal Schon.  Interestingly, it’s not actually until that outro he plays anything too distinctive, preferring instead to let Forsgren’s voice and an old fashioned slab of keyboards carry the song.

Exercising the band’s harder chops, ‘Bullet In The Back’ really delivers the goods.  The riff is chunky and Paul Bonrud’s sweeping lead guitar lines top said riff nicely.  While Forsgren’s vocal delivery is a little full on, he’s complimented by a thunderous bassline, which favours meaty simplicity over anything complex. While not technically flashy, Olson’s production really brings it out – so much so you can hear the strings rattling on occasion.  A noticeably weaker cut, ‘Blinded’ mixes sharp lead guitar work with a mid-paced riff which occasionally sounds like it might break into something more interesting but never really does.  Despite Bonrud’s best efforts in the lead guitar department, this tune is a little ploddy all round.

While it’s somewhat of a coup to have First Signal/Takara keyboard player Eric Ragno guest on a couple of tracks, he isn’t given the opportunity to make the most of his talents.  On ‘We Collide’ in particular, after about two seconds of synthy keyboards, there aren’t that many audible keyboards to speak of.  No sooner is it out of the starting blocks, the music smashes into a piece of hard rock/melodic metal with a huge presence, with barely any room for keyboard flourishes.   One of Bonrud’s toughest tunes, even with the addition of harmonies, most of the vocals are more of the Tony Mills/Geoff Tate mould than straight up AOR.  As with most of the album’s best moments, it is Paul Bonrud who is the real star: during his couple of lead breaks, he shreds enough for this tune to be considered metallic, but his playing has just enough finesse to remain melodic.   It would have been a definite plus to hear more of Ragno, though.

Although ‘Save Tomorrow’ features strong material almost throughout, the band closes the disc with one of its strongest tracks.  ‘End of Days’ combines crisp rhythm guitars with a blanket of keys during the intro, before  quickly finding its feet as a punchy mid-paced rocker. Forsgren’s curling vocal combined with the keyboards and a pompier tone hints at influences from classic (‘Mindcrime’ era) Queenryche.  Again, it’s the kind of thing that won’t be new to any melodic rock buffs, but a good performance, solid song writing and sharp production from a legend in his field makes a winning combination.

Fans of the slightly harder end of the AOR spectrum will enjoy ‘Save Tomorrow’.  Despite Forsgren’s tendency to over-sing on occasion, the production is fine and each of the performances are often more than solid.  Although recorded at various different sessions – with different guest keyboard players and bassists – it has a surprisingly consistent feel too.

It’s a minor point, but it seems that Bonrud’s weakest element is their choice of band name:  In the summer of 2012, Real Gone poked gentle fun at Wigelius for having a vanity moniker – but at least we never had any trouble remembering it!  For some reason, “Bonrud” took a long time to stick… Prior to writing this review, they got called Bodman, Bodrun, Bodrum and often Bodnar… Only two syllables and yet it just would not sink in.  Since the band has two Pauls at its core and Paul #1 insists on naming project after himself, may we suggest “PAUL!” [exclamation mark optional] next time?

…No?
Okay then…

September 2012

THE DEAD EXS – Relovolution

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Dead ExsBlending the attitude of The Stooges and Billy Childish with some traditional Howlin’ Wolf-esque blues grooves, The Dead Exs debut record ‘Resurrection’ was one of the finest releases of 2011. Since the New York duo’s fuzzy sounds have their obvious limitations, a follow up record ran the risk of just settling for more of the same, but thankfully, although it has many similarities, 2012’s ‘Relovolution’ takes the band’s talents and in many places pushes them to deliver a more mature record.

The title cut begins the album in style with a rallying cry before David Pattillo (guitar/vox) and Wylie Wirth (drums) throw themselves headlong into a stomper driven by furious slide guitar work and an aggressive reinterpretation of Johnny Cash’s “boom-chick-a-boom” rhythms.  In just under three minutes, these guys work up a real sweat as Wirth absolutely dominates with an unshakeable drum line, while Patillo’s heavily distorted voice cries out with carefree abandon.  Similarly, on the reverb drenched ‘White Collar Crime’ the duo adopt the subtlety of a truck as they crash headlong through a number which takes everything that made them great previously, turning everything up to eleven in the process.  It’s like experiencing Jon Spencer tackling Leadbelly’s ‘Rock Island Line’ while having his demons exorcised.

A largely unaccompanied vocal punctuated by two chords makes ‘Get Over’ immediately striking, and while this tune could have fit snugly onto ‘Resurrection’, with extra experience under their belts this performance sounds a touch more self-assured than The Dead Exs did previously. Wirth attacks his kit with the kind of energy befitting of a garage blues band, but occasional bass pedal moments hint at a more focused edge to his playing than before.   Tackling something a little more unexpected, on parts of ‘Let The Natives Loose’, Pattillo’s guitar mixes staccato rhythms and bigger, longer blues-filled notes in a way not quite experienced on a Dead Exs recording before. The more sophisticated approach to light, shade and subtler grooves suggest that these guys have worked very hard to ensure ‘Relovolution’ has elements which catch even their most staunch fans a little unaware.

While ‘Relovolution’ is a very consistent album, three of its most essential tracks are also its most commercial, relatively speaking.  Putting Pattillo and Wirth in pure blues mode with a strong ‘Little Red Rooster’ influence, ‘Paper Doll’ is tough yet lean, while ‘If You’ve Got The Time, I Got The Love’ owes a great debt to Stevie Ray Vaughan and his brand of Texan boogie blues.  Its main riff blends distorted edginess and very accessible blues tones in a fashion that is certainly far smoother than anything from The Dead Exs’ debut.  Although slightly sleazier, similar grooves sit at the heart of ‘Don’t Mess With The Girl From Texas’, a track which captures both musicians in a restrained mood, pulling the best from the kind of blues sounds which would suit Walter Trout, SRV et al. There’s enough grit on each of these numbers to avoid the band being labelled sell-outs by those members of their audience who prefer things a little more raucous, while the more accessible elements may help pull in a few unfamiliar listeners.

Like ‘Resurrection’, ‘Relovolution’ is a release that quickly grabs the listener and then refuses to let go.  Although a couple of bouts with the Texan blues and a few moodier numbers helps to ensure it isn’t a carbon copy of its predecessor, most people will be thankful of this album’s largely familiar nature.  There’s more than enough variety here to keep you listening… Join the “Relovolution” now!

September 2012