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Dah-veed - Culture Vulture |
| February 16th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1993
Tracks: Steer Clear; Cold Samba; One Drop; Silawe; Carnival; For Keeps; Cupid Awake; Simple Things; Influence; Up; Severe; Isis and Osiris; Evolve
Best track: so hard! Either Influence, For Keeps, Isis & Osiris or Evolve
Track to skip: none
On this album it is seriously impossible to pick a best track. You can make a case for at least 10 of these songs being the ‘best’ and you’d have a valid argument. Culture Vulture was the first album under the band name of “Dah-veed” which is nice sarcasm to everyone who mispronounced Davíd Garza’s name. It’s not “David Garcia”, as many have wanted to call him; the name of the man and the band is Dah-veed. It’s always just easier to refer to the man/the band as Dah-veed Garza. So if Eyes Wide Open is the beginning of the ‘wow’ stuff, then this album is the culmination of all that; this is absolutely the best album Davíd Garza has ever made. Now, I’m not going to claim that he’ll never make an album as good as this; it’s always possible. For now though, it’s the best one. The core of the band is still Davíd on vocals and guitar, Clay Pendergrass on bass, Michael Hale on drums & Jim Cocke on keys. Juliana Sheffield is on most of these songs doing her wonderful backing vocals and after that there are just a lot of guests. I can tell that Davíd was trying to make the absolute best album he could (that should always be the goal) so every song is filled with what it needs to be great. Some songs have a huge multi-percussion breakdown (Severe) and some are extremely sparse, like For Keeps, which is just guitar, violin & voice. I just love this song and it’s SO gorgeous that I nearly bawl every time I hear it. Reggie Rueffer, the said violinist, plays the absolute perfect notes to accompany Garza’s delicate guitar playing. I’m not one to get all emotional about love songs (I usually don’t care for them), but this one cuts through my defenses and just turns me to mush. I love it.
Dah-veed expands on the eclecticism of the last album on Culture Vulture. I think the biggest difference is that Culture Vulture is a lot more rhythmic. Lots of danceable rhythms abound on this album, which in turn meant that in a live setting all of these songs were just killer. Besides attempting new musical styles (for example, polka on Up) and rhythms, I’m always struck by how much better Garza’s lyrics had become by this album. Isis and Osiris is about how divorce affects a child and the sort of tug-of-war that can exist over the child of divorced parents. The line, “Imitating us is the worst thing you could do, because ever since you’re born we’ve been imitating you” totally sums up the whole thing of how stupid divorcing parents can be in that situation. My parents divorce wasn’t anywhere near as childish, but having gone through that I really relate to the lyrics as a whole. Like any great songwriter, Davíd Garza writes lyrics that relate to many different people in hundreds of ways. And that sort of brings together the whole ethic of not only this album, but also Dah-veed’s music as a whole: there’s something there for everyone regardless of what kind of music you listen to. Culture Vulture is absolutely one of my all time favorite albums and I love every second of it. I highly recommend seeking this out.
Rating: 97
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Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti |
| February 16th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1979
Tracks: I Have Been in You; Flakes; Broken Hearts are for Assholes; I’m So Cute; Jones Crusher; What Ever Happened to All the Fun in the World; Rat Tomago; Wait a Minute; Bobby Brown Goes Down; Rubber Shirt; The Sheik Yerbouti Tango; Baby Snakes; Tryin’ to Grow a Chin; City of Tiny Lites; Dancin’ Fool; Jewish Princess; Wild Love; Yo’ Mama
Best track: middle of Wild Love > Yo’ Mama
Track to skip: not a second
This was my first Zappa album and actually my first Zappa experience. I’m a big King Crimson and Adrian Belew fan so this album did interest me since Belew’s on it and I’d never heard Frank Zappa before. Around the same time I heard from a few different people (at unrelated times) recommend this album to me almost out of the blue. So, I had to get it. All I knew about Frank Zappa was that he was a little bit weird and his music was supposedly the most amazing and complex and mind-blowing stuff ever. Well, yeah, that’s pretty much it. However, this album is more in the ‘comedy’ vein than something like Jazz from Hell (which is all about the music, not a lyric on that one). Eventually it turned out that Sheik Yerbouti wasn’t *just* about funny stuff; there’s also some seriously amazing music on this thing. So, on my first listen I’m going through and laughing my ass off, but not really hearing this ‘amazing music’ that I’d heard was central to the Frank Zappa experience. Until I got to Wild Love. It’s a strange song, further dogging at people of the disco era (see also Broken Hearts and especially Dancin’ Fool), and then the middle section comes and it just fried my brain. I though, ahhhh, so THIS is what he’s all about…WOW. Everything just opens up in that middle section and nothing is the same. Then it segues into Yo’ Mama and one of the coolest guitar solos I’ve still ever heard. Damn. (Actually, that’s what’s playing as I type this: Frank just ripping it up in Yo’ Mama) Even though my world was rocked by Wild Love and Yo’ Mama, it took a while (years maybe) before it really clicked of how great this album is.
OK, of course there’s the cool musical stuff I just mentioned. Besides that, the main reason this album is so good is because of the band Frank had this time around. Roll call: Patrick O’Hearn (bass, vocals), Adrian Belew (guitar, vocals). Tommy Mars (keys, vocals), Terry Bozzio (drums, vocals), Peter Wolf (keys) & Ed Mann (percussion). Let’s get the argument going; I think this was Zappa’s best band ever (and that’s saying a lot). How these guys interact with each other, and with Frank, is astonishing. Just total telepathy going on there. Most of the basic tracks for these songs were recorded live and then overdubbed in the studio. That makes an interesting mix for an album. Since the basics were done live, you get that electric vibe that can only happen when you’re playing in front of an audience. And by overdubbing all the main parts, you get perfection on top of all that energy. A few of the songs (the guitar solos Rat Tomago & Sheik Yerbouti Tango, in addition to most of Yo’ Mama) are totally live. Of course it should be noted that Zappa always improvised all of his guitar solos when he played live.
Sheik Yerbouti (an obvious pun on the KC & the Sunshine Band’s tune) was originally a double album so at just under 80 minutes it is a bit long. There’s a lot of stuff here. And yes, mostly the focus of this album is stuff that’s designed to make you laugh. Naturally there’s a good chance you’ll be offended at something on this album, but I think the thing to remember is that Zappa really just targeted stupidity. That’s the good thing, he didn’t discriminate: he picked on everybody. As funny and silly as this album is, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. These guys clearly had a blast playing this material. This isn’t one of my favorite Zappa albums just because it was my first one, but because of how good it is and how fun it is to listen to. Not many of Zappa’s albums get as good as this.
Rating: 97
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Frank Zappa - Zoot Allures |
| February 16th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1976
Tracks: Wind Up Workin’ in a Gas Station; Black Napkins; The Torture Never Stops; Ms. Pinky; Find Her Finer; Friendly Little Finger; Wonderful Wino; Zoot Allures; Disco Boy
Best track: Black Napkins
Tracks to skip: Torture Never Stops, Ms. Pinky, Find Her Finer, Disco Boy
This is another one of those Frank Zappa albums that pisses me off. On one hand, you have two of the greatest guitar songs he ever wrote in Black Napkins and Zoot Allures (which is an English corruption of the French phase meaning “Damn it”), while on the other there’s the total lack of energy and enthusiasm and overall boredom of most of the rest of the tracks. The four tracks listed above as skippers (more than half the album since Torture is a LONG and plodding song) are in themselves good compositions, but the versions Frank recorded for this album are just slow and boring. SOOO boring. I’ve wanted to make my own version of songs from this album using live versions of the songs I skip. I need to do that, mostly so I don’t always have such a sour taste about these songs. For instance, there’s the Torture from You Can’t Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 1, Find Her Finer from Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life, Disco Boy from Baby Snakes, Ms. Pinky from YCDTOSA 6, and to some extent the Workin’ in a Gas Station also from YCDTOSA 6. If you could substitute those tracks, then this album would be WAY different. As it stands in this 1976 studio version, most of the songs are lifeless. I actually like the version of Gas Station on here; it’s more upbeat and actually fun (but I still prefer the YCDTOSA 6 version).
I think the overall determining factor is live vs. studio. Black Napkins, Zoot Allures and the solo from Friendly Little Finger are all recorded live with a full band. For the rest of the album, the ‘band’ is mostly just Terry Bozzio on drums and Frank Zappa on everything else. A few guests here and there, but it’s mostly Zappa and Bozzio. And it’s so frustrating, because Terry Bozzio is an AMAZING drummer, but the tempos of most of these songs are SO SLOW that even Terry can’t do much to liven them up. Although Patrick O’Hearn & Eddie Jobson are on the cover, they don’t play on the album. If they would’ve, and sped up the tempos, then we’d have a totally different album. *That* album would be great. Unfortunately, we don’t get that one. Wanna hear what Zappa-Bozzio-O’Hearn-Jobson sounds like (with guests)? Get Zappa in New York, the album following this. Now that’s good stuff. This, ugh, isn’t. And I hate badmouthing an album with something as incredible and beautiful as Black Napkins on it. The thing is, I have to take this album as it is. There’s some really good, but also a lot of really bad. Unfortunately it’s “essential” for Black Napkins and Zoot Allures, but the rest will make you wonder why he even bothered.
Rating: 73
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Jimmy Buffett - A1A |
| February 14th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1974
Tracks: Makin’ Music for Money; Door Number Three; Dallas; Presents to Send You; Stories We Could Tell; Life is Just a Tire Swing; A Pirate Looks at Forty; Migration; Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season; Nautical Wheelers; Tin Cup Chalice
Best track: Pirate Looks at 40 through Tin Cup Chalice
Track to skip: none
This is a really interesting album, primarily in that we hear Buffett’s progress and change within the span of an album. Actually, the change really happens between sides 1 and 2 (Tire Swing/Pirate). Side one is a continuation of what Buffett did on his previous album (more countrified), and side two is almost a rebirth…it’s Jimmy Buffett as we know him today. The first half starts out in silly-country mode (first two songs) but then it starts to settle into a batch of 4 really good songs. For me, and probably most Parrottheads, the second half is really where everything in Jimmy Buffett Land comes into focus. These five songs are excellent and some of the best Buffett has ever written. The vibe of these five are the laid back, story-telling kind of vibe that Buffett is known for. If there’s anything that can put you in a summer mood, it’s side 2 of this album. As I stated above, it’s impossible to pick a best track from this album; it really is all of side 2. I think White Sport Coat is a more consistent album, but overall this one is better thanks to you-know-what. I haven’t heard too many Buffett albums all the way through, but so far this is my favorite studio/non-compilation one.
Rating: 91
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Pink Floyd - Animals |
| February 14th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1977
Tracks: Pigs on the Wing 1; Dogs; Pigs (Three Different Ones); Sheep; Pigs on the Wing 2
Best track: Dogs probably, maybe Sheep depending on my mood
Tracks to skip: Pigs on the Wing 1 & 2
Pigs, Dogs & Sheep…obviously it all works into an Animal Farm type thing. I’m not too big on lyrics so I’m not too moved by it all. To me, the important part is always the music. The thing that stands out most about Animals is how stripped down it is. True that the 3 main songs are long (17, 11 & 10 minutes respectively), but to me this album seems almost punk-like in its presentation. Stripped down & rawer than Floyd had possibly ever been. Rick Wright’s keyboard textures are more subdued on this album, there’s more guitar, Roger Waters’ best bass playing so far on record and definitely less ‘atmospheric’ stuff than Pink Floyd are usually known for. So, while this is absolutely stuck in the middle of the ‘classic’ Pink Floyd material, it’s definitely different; it’s not ‘just another Pink Floyd album.’
The two Pigs on the Wing are both minute and a half long things that bookend the three ‘real’ songs of the album and are total filler. They’re very boring and basic and I always skip them. I’m sure they work into the whole lyrical composition, but in my view they’re useless. However, you can’t judge this album by those two songs. The three songs in the middle are clearly the meat of this album. Dogs is a great track and today I think it’s the best one. Some days I learn more towards Sheep, but not today. I’m willing to bet that it’s because the track was co-written by David Gilmour. I think I’m always partial to his stuff. Dogs and Sheep are both excellent songs and surprises to those of us who’ve only heard Pigs (Three Different Ones) as the lone radio representative of this album. Yes, Pigs is a good song. I really like it and thankfully (probably since it’s 11 minutes long) it’s not played to death on the radio like a lot of other, shorter Floyd songs are.
Even if you don’t pay attention to the lyrics (like me), I still think that musically more people could probably relate to this album more. It’s not very spacey at all; light years away from the early stuff. All in all, this is a really good album. It does annoy me that in my view there are only three songs worth listening to, which makes this to be a short album. Maybe it just feels short; I mean, it’s longer than Revolver by a few minutes. It’s something we have to live with, though. All single-disc albums in the 70’s didn’t go much past 40 minutes so we can’t possibly expect something like Animals to be an hour long. For the length that it is, Animals is great album. It’s not as great as Dark Side and Wish You Were Here, but it’s still more than worthy of being in your record collection.
Rating: 92
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Dream Theater - The Silent Man single |
| February 14th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1994
Tracks: The Silent Man; Take the Time (demo version); Eve
Best track: Eve
Track to skip: none
Second single released from DT’s Awake album (first being Lie…which I need to get) and again like Lie, it’s essential if you’re a Dream Theater fan. Obviously there’s no need for Silent Man, as it’s the album version (still a good song though). Take the Time is a demo and while it’s interesting to hear this pre-Images and Words version, you can live without it. I mean, there are differences, but it’s mostly the same, just less produced and thinner sounding. The real reason to own this single is for the previously unreleased track, Eve. Eve is a gorgeous instrumental and I so wish that there had been room on Awake for it. Not that it would really fit though, so it makes sense that they left it off. It’s a nice departure from the rest of Dream Theater’s heavy stuff and something I wish they’d do more of. Eve is the reason I own this and I’m happy I do.
Rating: 88
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John Coltrane - Complete Africa/Brass Sessions |
| February 14th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1961 (original album)
Tracks: Greensleeves; Song of the Underground Railroad; Greensleeves (alternate take); The Damned Don’t Cry; Africa (first version); Blues Minor; Africa (alternate take); Africa
Best track: Africa
Track to skip: none
This was John Coltrane’s first album with his new record label, Impulse. He was with Impulse from 1961 until his death in 1967. Coltrane wanted his label debut to be different so he went with a pseudo-orchestra approach. The distinguishing factor is that the ‘orchestra’ sounds different from other ones added to jazz albums. Like the title suggests, there are a lot of brass instruments on this album; mostly brass with a few reeds thrown in the mix. Also interesting is how the songs were arranged for the large group. The orchestra parts are written in the style of McCoy Tyner’s piano playing so it’s almost an extension of the piano. The quartet (specifically Coltrane) is the focus of the album with the orchestra providing a cool addition.
The song Africa is the centerpiece of the album and so it makes sense it’s the best track on here. This is the ‘Complete Sessions” so we’re fortunate enough to trace the evolution of Africa through the 3 different takes. The album is divided up nicely in that the first disc is from the first session (first 5 tracks) and disc 2 (last 3) is from the second, about a month later. Of course the alternate takes aren’t essential, but they’re enjoyable to listen to, especially to hear how Coltrane changes things up. Most of the tracks on here are really good; the only misstep is The Damned Don’t Cry. It’s clearly not rehearsed enough and it lacks energy and focus. Until the solos come in and then the whole group wakes up. Because of the quality of the solos I don’t skip it, though. Besides that small thing, this album is really good. This was the only time Coltrane recorded with an orchestra and in true Coltrane fashion he does something completely different. Good stuff.
Rating: 90
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Flat Mass - Naked and So… (version 2) |
| February 14th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1994
Tracks: To Give; On and On; Clear as the Wind; Little Song; I Can See; Vagrant; Try So Hard; Cringe; El du Alami; Ode to Cave Cricket; Once Upon; Pass it On
Best track: same as the original version, either Clear as the Wind or Ode to Cave Cricket
Track to skip: none!
I’m not completely sure in this, but I am guessing that the reason this album was released a 2nd time was because the first pressing sold out and in making the second pressing, they decided to add 4 recently recorded tracks and change the order around a bit. Obviously I would have preferred that they recorded a whole new album, but I more than understand how bands don’t have enough money for stuff like that; and a 2nd pressing with 4 new songs is the best thing to do. The four new ones are To Give, On and On (with super repeating choruses!), Try So Hard and Cringe. Cringe was on the original demo, but this version is a new recording and betters the previous version. To Give is good opener to the disc, and even for the MANY repeats of the word ‘on’ in On and On it’s still a good song. Try So Hard took me a long time to even like. It’s very different than all the other Flat Mass songs; it’s very poppy. I really used to despise it, and it took seeing it live to appreciate it. Still, it’s the worst song on the CD and my least favorite of all the songs they wrote, but I never skip it. It’s a fun song to listen to and sing along with. I do think the chorus is pretty cool as well. Besides the 4 new songs and the revised track order (I have to admit, the order on the first version is my preference), the only other difference is the lack of the hidden track. Thankfully they left it off. I’m very happy I got these 4 new songs, but I still kind of like the first version better. It flowed better I think. However, when I’m in the mood for “Naked and So…” I *always* put in this version. For obvious reasons. The 4 songs don’t add a whole lot to this album (it’s great already) except for Cringe, which is excellent. Yes, Clear as the Wind and Cave Cricket are still the best songs on the album, but Cringe, Vagrant & Once Upon are also quite excellent too. Since the first pressing sold out, this is the version you’d find…IF you could ever find it. The album’s getting the same grade as before, as the 4 new tracks aren’t going to bump it up any higher.
Rating: 96
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Journey - Escape |
| February 14th, 2004 under Album Reviews. [ Comments: none ]
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Released: 1981
Tracks: Don’t Stop Believin’; Stone in Love; Who’s Crying Now; Keep on Runnin’; Still They Ride; Escape; Lay it Down; Dead or Alive; Mother, Father; Open Arms
Best track: Escape
Tracks to skip: Who’s Crying Now, Dead or Alive
Ah yes, this is where it all begins. *This* is why I love Journey. It’s all finally coming together exactly why this was a huge album. Simply, it appealed to a lot of different listeners. Escape was one of those albums that both guys and girls could love. For guys, you have the rockers like Stone in Love, Keep on Runnin’ and Escape while the girls get Who’s Crying Now, Still They Ride and of course, Open Arms. After just listening to Keep on Runnin’ (a great song) I finally noticed that Journey hadn’t rocked this hard in a while. Maybe it just seems like that. For the first time, Journey was able to have 2 guitar players and that absolutely enhanced the sound and power of songs like Stone in Love and Keep on Runnin’. New keyboardist Jonathan Cain thankfully also doubles on guitar and that brought out the Rock more than before. This album came out in 1981 and it does not sound like it’s from a 70’s band. This is almost like a totally different band. Different? Well, maybe just honed down to this perfect example of a rock band. I think Greg Rollie is a great keyboardist, but the entrance of Jonathan Cain was really what this band needed to take off. He doubles on rhythm guitar, he’s a great keyboardist and he writes some GREAT songs. His name is on every one of these songs and he brings a lot of enthusiasm to this band.
The title track is still the best thing that Journey ever did. Always great songwriters, but Escape is just the best. Of course, there are some other nice tunes on here as well: Don’t Stop Believin’, Stone in Love, Keep on Runnin’, Mother, Father, Open Arms, and so on. You know, Mother, Father is one of those songs (well, Still They Ride also) that you’d never hear on the radio but it’s still SO good. Nearly all of these songs just knock you over. NEARLY. I’ve never really liked Who’s Crying Now and I don’t understand the attraction to it. It’s dumb, and I could live without it. Of course, there’s also Dead or Alive, and even though it rocks, it’s still a silly song. I mean, it’s placed in the filler spot (middle of side 2) for a reason. I know that classic rock radio plays Don’t Stop Believin’ and Open Arms so much it makes me want to scream, but I still think they’re both great songs. I’m more tired of Open Arms, but most of the time it doesn’t bother me. Hey, it got a lot of people laid so I’m all for it.
Of the main Journey studio albums (Dream After Dream is a whole different animal) Escape is by far the best. Just like when any group hits upon the perfect combination and produces something that was popular and artistically excellent, Escape is that album for Journey. I still love this album and I’m willing to bet that won’t ever change.
Rating: 95
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