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Dream Theater – Live at the Marquee |
| April 4th, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1993
Tracks: Metropolis; A Fortune in Lies; Bombay Vindaloo; Surrounded; Another Hand – The Killing Hand; Pull Me Under
Best track: Fortune in Lies
Track to skip: nyet
If you’re looking for this in the US, you might have some trouble. I got it in Europe, where it’s cheap and readily available. In the US it’s an import and usually pretty expensive. I think it’s worth it, but you might not. But if you ever wind up in Europe, seek it out and you can usually find it for around $12.
The CD is part of the last show DT did on their first European tour. Half of the songs on here are on Images and Words, 2 are from the band’s first album (before James LaBrie joined), When Dream and Day Unite. The 2 old songs sound so much better with LaBrie singing them and overall the whole disc has a great energy. The track Bombay Vindaloo sounds like a jam to me and not an improv. It sounds as if the guys are playing a pre-determined theme and not just making up everything on the spot. Either way it’s a cool track and a great inclusion on this disc. Overall, if you like DT, then this is essential. It’s a really good release, but it’s kinda short and I can’t place it, but something seems missing. Whatever, you’ll know if you’d like this or not.
Rating: 88
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King Crimson – Islands |
| April 4th, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1971
Tracks: Formentera Lady; Sailor’s Tale; The Letters; Ladies of the Road; Prelude: Song of the Gulls; Islands
Best track: Formentera Lady >Sailor’s Tale
Track to skip: none
A new Crimson album and another lineup. Mel Collins is still around (yay) and Fripp adds Ian Wallace (drums, another underrated musician) and Boz Burrell on bass and vocals. Sinfield is still around to write words as well. This album was the beginning of the 2nd ‘official’ group in Crimson’s history. The previous two were only around long enough to record the respective albums and then they split or whatever. This group actually toured a few times in 71/72. Both Collins and Wallace are excellent players, but I really think they kept it simpler than they could’ve since Boz was new to playing bass (Fripp taught him how to play it prior to the sessions). Boz’s bass playing isn’t that bad considering he was a beginner. His vocals are decent, but more importantly they’re a huge improvement of Gordon Haskell’s vocals from the last album. With Wallace behind the drums, Mel Collins finally gets to show off how damn good he is. He’s a Coltrane disciple all the way and at times the music sounds like Coltrane on an off night (that’s a compliment).
The songs on here are pretty eclectic (a norm for Crimson), but I’m still not sure if they all work together. Maybe that’s the point Fripp was making. Formentera Lady is a gorgeous piece and starts the album off in a great way. Over the course of the song it starts to morph from innocent to menacing. It has a great buildup until Wallace starts to hit his ride cymbal and in a few seconds the band breaks in with the excellent Sailor’s Tale. Sailor’s Tale is an amazing song with possibly the most original and moving guitar solo ever recorded. Like my friends Ben and Matt say, it sounds like a train wreck at the end of the song. Absolutely thrilling. The first half is concluded by The Letters, which is an OK song. It incorporates most of the material from the previously unreleased (but played live) Drop In.
Ladies of the Road starts side 2 with the only Crimson song about Groupies. It’s a very bluesy song and Collins delivers the sleaziest sax solo I’ve heard; it’s great. Now comes the strange thing. After the heavy blues of Ladies, Fripp changes direction to 100% classical for the rest of the album. Song of the Gulls is Fripp’s version of an orchestral piece. It’s a nice piece, but its placement is strange. The title track finishes out the album with another classical sounding piece.
Most of the songs are really good (Letters is average) but the organization of the whole album leaves you thinking about it. It’s a very broad and diverse album and one that’s completely different from the one preceding it (and following). I absolutely love Sailor’s Tale, but something about the album as a whole doesn’t sit right. I think Fripp knew it wasn’t right either so he completely started over in ’72 with a whole new lineup that kicked the pants of everything Crimson had done before. This album really isn’t ‘transitional’, but more of an ending for the first 3 years in the life of King Crimson.
Rating: 92
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King Crimson – Lizard |
| April 4th, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1970
Tracks: Cirkus; Indoor Games; Happy Family; Lady of the Dancing Water; Lizard (Prince Rupert Awakes; Bolero – The Peacock’s Tale; The Battle of Glass Tears; Big Top)
Best track: Prince Rupert Awakes
Track to skip: none
Strange album. This thing has caused so much controversy between Crimheads and band members alike. I think it’s safe to say that most Crimheads (including Robert Fripp) don’t care for this album very much. However, I’ve also talked to Crimheads who think that it’s their best work. Yes, this is a strange album. It’s really unlike any other Crimson album and it kinda sticks out in the KC canon. Not sticks out like a sore thumb, but it’s out there.
It’s probably the jazziest album that Crimson has put out. Mel Collins (flute and sax) is incredible on this and he is a severely underrated musician. Keith Tippett adds the crazy piano and there are also a few extra horn and reed players who add to the overall jazzyness. Fripp’s mellotron playing on Lizard is the most intense space-filling of any of the Crimson albums. Actually, all the musicians on this are just phenomenal and there’s often so much going on that you just get enveloped in the music.
If you get past the stupid layer of “strangeness”, you have a really good album. The only real negative thing I can say about the album is that Gordon Haskell’s voice is HORRIBLE. Why Fripp wanted him to sing on this is a mystery to me. I think he’s awful and almost ruins these songs. The songwriting manages to beat out the bad vocals, but they are a major distraction. Thankfully this was his last appearance in King Crimson.
The balance on this album between the weird jazzy stuff and the gorgeous melodic stuff is staggering. Most of the first half tends be louder and a bit more strange, while the 2nd half is mostly one big slab of beauty. Prince Rupert Awakes has a gorgeous chorus and has the only good vocals on the album, thanks to Yes’ Jon Anderson. Bolero is equally as beautiful with proof that Fripp writes some incredible melodies. For all the good qualities, I just keep going back to the bad vocals of Haskell. It’s kinda hard to give this album a grade in that regard, plus that it’s just so different makes it hard too. The good stuff is there, it’s just a bit buried.
Rating: 91
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Steve Perry – Street Talk |
| April 4th, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1984
Tracks: Oh Sherrie; I Believe; Go Away; Foolish Heart; It’s Only Love; She’s Mine; You Should Be Happy; Running Alone; Captured by the Moment; Strung Out
Best track: You Should Be Happy
Track to skip: none
It was always there, but Steve Perry’s Motown influence really comes out on his solo album. At times this sounds like a soulful and white Motown album. This is especially true in I Believe and You Should Be Happy. This album, like all the old Journey stuff, is part of my DNA. I have been listening to this album for a long time.
I don’t listen to this near as much as I used to, but I still like it. There’s too much synth on the thing, but it was 1984 and I think everyone (except Iron Maiden) was guilty of cheesy synth use in ’84. But besides that, everyone plays pretty well. I mean, except for Steve Perry, it’s just a bunch of studio guys, but they do a fine job. Perry sounds great as usual. Most people would view this album as terribly cheesy, but I guess since I grew up listening to it I’m not too bothered by the cheese. I’m sitting here trying to think what my favorite song on here is, but I honestly have no idea. Some are better than others, but there’s no song that really stand out as the best. There’s not a bad one on here, but there isn’t any excellence either. Um, I guess I’ll choose You Should Be Happy, but that’s just my opinion of the best one on this particular listen. If you like the singles off this (Oh Sherrie, Foolish Heart) or are a Journey fan then you should enjoy this no problem. On the other hand, if you despise Journey and think Perry is total cheese, well, I don’t think you got this far anyway.
Rating: 86
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Mike Keneally & Beer for Dolphins – Sluggo! |
| April 4th, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1997
Tracks: Potato; I, Drum-Running, Am Clapboard Bound; Why Am I Your Guy?; Looking For Nina; Frozen Beef (Come With Me); TRANQUILLADO; What Happened Next; Chatfield Manor; Beautiful; “I Guess I’ll Peanut”; Voyage to Manhood; Egg Zooming; Own; I’m Afraid; Cardboard Dog; Sluggo
Best track: Frozen Beef
Tracks to skip: What Happened Next, Peanut
Fantastic album. There are a couple of useless things (mentioned above), but they’re both really short songs. The rest of the album is great. The more I listen to it the more I like it. Or, the more I LOVE it. The difference between this and Hat is amazing. In the span of 5 years it sounds like he grew up 10. Now, I don’t yet have Dust Speck or Half Alive, so I can’t fully trace the progress, but the difference between the two is astounding. The songs are great, the playing is mind blowing and Keneally’s such a more confident singer and songwriter. Mike plays a lot of instruments on this album, a lot more keyboards than on Hat. Another thing that makes a huge improvement is the production. It’s really clear and open on this.
Picking a ‘best track’ was rather hard since all of the songs are excellent. Some are very poppy, some are hard core prog and some don’t fit into any category he’d done before. At first I didn’t like I’m Afraid at all, since it’s pretty sappy, but the more I hear it the more I just love it. I no longer see it as ‘sappy’ and now to me it’s just so sad and depressing. It’s a very honest song about how Keneally is unable to be with his daughter on her birthday (he was on tour). It’s actually quite a shock to see a musician open themselves up that much and show that much vulnerability. And the melody on it is stunningly beautiful. The other ‘different’ track is Sluggo, where Mike calls up the ghost of Duke Ellington and unleashes a solo piano piece that swings and sounds like Mike had been playing jazz his whole life.
This is an excellent album, but I still say it’s not as great as Dancing. However, if you want an introduction into MK’s music, then this is a perfect thing to pick up. All his styles are represented here and they’re all done masterfully. Excellent.
Rating: 96
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Lyle Lovett – The Road to Ensenada |
| April 1st, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1996
Tracks: Don’t Touch My Hat; Her First Mistake; Fiona; That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas); Who Loves You Better; Private Conversation; Promises; It Ought to Be Easier; I Can’t Love You Anymore; Long Tall Texan; Christmas Morning; The Road to Ensenada
Best track: That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas)
Track to skip: none
I think more than anything, the sound of Lyle Lovett’s voice reminds me of Austin. As I’m in North Carolina typing this, man, this music makes me homesick. Sigh. Anyway, a scan through my collection in these here reviews will show a significant lack of country CDs. I’m not a fan of most country (even though I’m from Texas), since the genre is overflowing with horrible soulless crud. All the pop-country stuff…you know what I’m talking about. What I prefer is the older stuff, what’s usually known as Outlaw Country as well as anything that puts musicianship and songwriting over fluff and entertainment. I think Willie Nelson is a fantastic musician and songwriter and there are a handful of others I really enjoy. And of course, Lyle Lovett is totally included in that list. Even my wife, who despises country, adores Lovett and thinks that he has a beautiful voice. She’s so right about that.
I was first introduced to his music through my good friend Bryan who played Her First Mistake for me. I really dug his voice, but it was the song itself that really grabbed me. I thought, any ‘country’ musician who can play and writes with jazz chords and has lyrics as clever as these, then that’s what I call good music. First Mistake is a great song with perfect lyrical delivery. I love it. And truthfully, the whole album is one great song after another. Slow songs, fast songs; they’re all good.
A special mention goes out for That’s Right (You’re Not From Texas). This one should be the National Anthem of Texas. It’s beyond perfect and swings like nothing else. Everything about it is just perfect: the playing, songwriting, the horns, the vocals, the lyrics…wow. Absolutely one of the best songs ever written. I love the line, “I was born and raised in Texas and it means so much to me”. That just says it all.
Contrary to what commercial radio force-feeds everyone, there actually IS good country music. This is that Good Country Music. I highly recommend this CD to everyone who enjoys great songs with a great singer singing and writing them.
Rating: 94
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Strunz & Farah – The Best Of Strunz & Farah |
| April 1st, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 2000
Tracks: Levantina; El Jaguar; Rainmaker; Twilight at the Zuq; Recuerdo; Jardín; Nuevo Sol; Bola; Ida Y Vuelta; Zagros; Balada; Rayo; Nomad
Best track: either Jardín or Nuevo Sol
Track to skip: none
These guys can be found in sometimes three different places in a music store: Jazz, Latin, or New Age. I don’t really see how they’re jazz, and putting them in New Age is REALLY stretching that category. The easiest place to put them is in with the Flamenco section, but they’re not really traditional Flamenco. Some tracks are more traditional, some are more Latin influenced while some others are cool Arabic stuff. This disc is mostly instrumental, possibly only 1 vocal (I’m not sure).
There is phenomenal guitar playing on here and the rest of the music is really cool too. This is a good thing to put when you want to relax or slap it in when you’ve got the multi-disc changer on shuffle and need some variation between all the Metallica and Ozzy. I’m working on getting my music collection more eclectic as there is more to music than just stuff from the US and UK. World music rocks! Actually, Flamenco is a beautiful art and something that should be experienced in a live setting by everyone. This CD isn’t 100% authentic, but it’s still really good music. Give it a try.
Rating: 86
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Iron Maiden – Killers |
| April 1st, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1981
Tracks: The Ides of March; Wrathchild; Murders in the Rue Morgue; Another Life; Genghis Khan; Innocent Exile; Killers; Prodigal Son; Purgatory; Twilight Zone; Drifter
Best track: Wrathchild/Murders in the Rue Morgue/Genghis Khan/Killers/Prodigal Son/Purgatory
Track to skip: Innocent Exile isn’t that hot but don’t even THINK about skipping any of the others
Ahhhhh, my head is exploding! I love this album. Clive Burr is such a monster on this, esp. on Genghis Khan. Oh my gosh, that middle section. I am mush. In addition to Clive’s excellence, this disc was the introduction of Adrian Smith on guitar. Adrian takes the first solo in Ides and there’s no stopping him after that. Actually, *everyone* sounds great on this album. The enthusiasm and intensity here is so contagious.
This album starts a trend where each new Iron Maiden album is the Best One Yet. That’s one of the reasons why Maiden is such an incredible band. How many other bands keep topping themselves for their first 6 albums, with their 7th being just a smidge below #6? None is right.
Killers is an exceptional album with so many incredible songs. It’s too hard to pick a favorite. This album was really shredded by the fickle press back in the day, but we know how stupid and wrong they were. I have to mention The Funniest Iron Maiden Moment: it’s totally unintentional, but when Di’Anno screams “Rock and Roooooooooooooll” at the beginning of Drifter, I laugh my butt off. Anyway, please, go buy this and be happy as I am.
Rating: 94
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Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden |
| April 1st, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1980
Tracks: Prowler; Sanctuary; Remember Tomorrow; Running Free; Phantom of the Opera; Transylvania; Strange World; Charlotte the Harlot; Iron Maiden
Best track: Phantom of the Opera
Track to skip: Charlotte is kinda silly, but it’s still a good song.
I’ve been reviewing albums for almost 3 full months now, and I’m just now getting around to Iron Maiden, my all-time favorite band. Please don’t argue, Maiden is The Best. Ever.
I suppose back in the day (1980) this was a pretty cool new thing and a popular album. It was the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and Maiden were the leaders. Whoopie. You know, all that means nothing to me. Right now all I care about is how good this album is. And yes, it is. Bruce Dickinson isn’t on here, but singer Paul Di’Anno sounds just fine on here. Also a notable absence from the usual line up is Adrian Smith on lead guitar (he comes on board for the next album). Dennis Stratton handles the guitar work with Dave Murray taking most of the kick ass solos. Clive Burr (underrated) is on drums and of course Steve “The Man” Harris handles the bass playing.
The real stars of the album are Harris on bass (duh) as well as for his songwriting, and Murray for his perfect guitar playing. Clive is good here, but he’s not quite the Monster he becomes on Killers and Number of the Beast. But the songwriting, oh the songwriting, is very excellent for a debut album. This thing is really solid all the way through. Charlotte is a dip along the way, but who cares? There’s a reason this thing is a ‘classic’: all the songs are good and a few are still played live by the band. Sanctuary wasn’t on the original issue of this as it was a non-album single. I grew up with Sanctuary tacked on after Strange World…they added it for the US versions, so I was curious to hear how it would fit in its new placement as track #2. They got this one right and the flow is even better with Sanctuary following Prowler. Start to finish this is a super-duper nice thing. Essential for Maiden fans or any fans of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal.
Rating: 92
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James Brown – 20 All-Time Greatest Hits! |
| April 1st, 2002 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1991
Tracks: I Got You (I Feel Good); Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1; I Got the Feelin’; Mother Popcorn, Pt. 1; Give it Up or Turn it Loose; Make it Funky, Pt. 1; Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, Pt. 1; Think; It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World; Try Me; Night Train; Cold Sweat, Pt. 1; Get on the Good Foot; Papa Don’t Take No Mess, Pt. 1; The Payback; Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud). Pt. 1; Super Bad, Pts. 1 & 2; Hot Pants, Pt. 1; Get Up Offa That Thing; Please, Please, Please
Best track: Sex Machine
Track to skip: The Payback
If your musical taste is anything like mine (primarily rock-based with other stuff thrown in) then you may not have a lot of soul/R&B/funk in your collection. That’s a shame, because I think everyone needs some funk and soul in their lives. This is what you need. Everybody knows I Got You (it’s not called I Feel Good, by the way) and a few others are probably very familiar to most everyone, BUT experiencing this collection as a whole is an awesome thing. Dammit, you NEED Sex Machine in your life. It is THE funkiest thing ever, ever written. It blew me away the first time I heard it; I had no idea that music could do that!
This album is mostly at the highest levels, although there are a few dips along the way. Most of these, like the R&B songs (Think, Try Me, Man’s World, Please…), are average songs, but they are really useful to calm you down before and after all the massive slabs of funk. They need to be there. The only song on here that really just annoys me is The Payback. The groove is not very exciting and it just goes on WAY too long (7+ minutes). It has one very small change, but it’s not enough for any kind of interest. Although, the song does contain the super goofy line “I don’t know karate, but I know ka-razy!” Go Godfather. So yeah, besides that, the CD is awesome and something you need amongst all your Iron Maiden and Zappa and Beatles CDs. This is a fantastic place to start if you have any interest in James Brown or funk. Essential.
Rating: 96
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