Cheevyjames’ Musical Roundhouse

Released: 1994
Tracks: Pretty Good Year; God; Bells for Her; Past the Mission; Baker Baker; The Wrong Band; The Waitress; Cornflake Girl; Icicle; Cloud My Tongue; Space Dog; Yes, Anastasia
Best tracks: God, the chorus of Past the Mission
Tracks to skip: Baker Baker, The Wrong Band, Icicle, Cloud My Tongue, Yes Anastasia

Second album! On the whole I think this is a successful follow-up to Little Earthquakes. She certainly didn’t have a sophomore slump. The songs are familiar enough and “safe”, but at the same time she pushes new ground and expands what she’s capable of doing. It’s growth, but not an obscene amount of it. As I said, a successful follow-up. As with Earthquakes, I do feel it goes on too long. I don’t know, I’ve gotten used to it. I expect there to be some songs that just don’t grab me and I usually wish the albums ended sooner. I also expect there to be some songs that absolutely knock my ass off. This album is no exception in either regard. God & Cornflake Girl were the main singles off this album and both are excellent songs, God especially. It’s definitely my favorite song on the album. Well-written song with some great bass playing and, holy crap, she gets pretty funky on here. There are some very cool changes in here and I love the way she sings this song. This might be her best-known song and it’s certainly deserving of that distinction. Cornflake Girl has this cool Irish undertone, but she moves the song in a completely different direction and brings out another grooving song.

I think Pretty Good Year is a good opener with some unexpected changes. I especially like that heavy bit in the song. Really, in many of her songs she throws in so many twists and turns in the music that it’s no surprise to me that I focus on that stuff. The Wrong Band is also a bit structurally unpredictable, even if I do end up skipping it. I like the humorous & quirky bits, but ultimately it’s not one I want to hear that often. Space Dog, whew, she’s all over the place in that one. Decent song, but totally unpredictable. The Waitress is a cool song with some nice experimentation in programming. I like that transition from Bells for Her into the verse of Past the Mission. It’s such a great clash of styles and moods. On Bells for Her I’m not sure if it’s a treated piano or if it’s some strange microphone placement, but the effect of the piano is quite cool – some really wicked overtones and harmonics. When that leads in to Past the Mission, it starts off with this just overly-happy piano bit that’s really shocking in a way. Maybe she’s being sarcastic. But then, oh crap, the chorus. I bet I’m not alone in saying that the chorus for Past the Mission is one of the coolest things in her whole catalog. A great chorus anyway, but Trent Reznor adds some excellent vocals and it provides a nice “male” counterpoint to Tori’s voice.

The structure of this album is a bit odd in that it’s got 4 good songs before heading into 2 not-so-good ones in Baker Baker and The Wrong Band. The flow starts to drag with those two, but thankfully picks up for Waitress & Cornflake Girl. Then, crap, more songs that lose me. Icicle is just kinda creepy and it’s not one I want to hear very much. Cloud My Tongue – eh, sounds pretty cliché for her. It doesn’t hold any interest for me. So that’s how it goes: some great tracks…then two skippers, a couple more great tracks…then two more skippers. This really affects the flow of the album and by this point I have to admit, I’m gone. Space Dog is decent enough, but it doesn’t hold a ton of interest before the album concludes with Yes, Anastasia. 9 minute songs can be great, but the first half of this one bores me. I really like it when the strings come in roughly half way through; that provides some nice movement to go against Tori’s vocals. The 2nd half of the song almost redeems the track, but on the whole I honestly skip it and I think it’s a “blah” ending for this album.

I do think that Under the Pink is a great 2nd step for Tori Amos, even with all of its problems. Some of the sequencing and songs are great, some…ugh, I just can’t sit through it. What I like about this album is that it’s a big enough step past the first album and she really gets more confidence on here (that’s not to say she didn’t have it in the first place, she certainly is very confident on Little Earthquakes). So there you go, some of this I really like, and some I don’t need to hear anymore. If you’re a hard core fan (ears…feet…phile, whatever) then you probably already own this. If you like the first one, definitely check this out.

Rating: 80

Released: 1994
Tracks: When We Dance; If You Love Somebody Set Them Free; Fields of Gold; All This Time; Fortress Around Your Heart; Be Still My Beating Heart; They Dance Alone (Cueca Solo); If I Ever Lose My Faith in You; Fragile; Why Should I Cry For You?; Englishman in New York; We’ll Be Together; Russians; This Cowboy Song
Best track: Fortress Around Your Heart
Tracks to skip: Why Should I Cry For You always bored me, same for We’ll Be Together

I think this album is an excellent musical study in How to Write a Good Pop Song. It could almost be considered a text book for songwriting. Sure there are some misses, but for the most part it’s an incredibly solid and well-written album. I haven’t heard all of Sting’s albums all the way through (half of ‘em, I’d say), but when you take the hits and put them together, you’ve got a very strong album. I think at 66 minutes it’s the perfect length too. Yeah, you could squeeze a few more tracks on there (and I believe some international releases did), but it’s the right length just the way it is. In this collection you get 2 new songs (When We Dance & This Cowboy Song), 2 remixes (Fortress & Why Should I Cry For You) and a previously unreleased version of We’ll Be Together. I guess this stuff is designed for collectors or something; fortunately the remixes & the other version of We’ll Be Together keep the integrity of the originals intact. For me, though, I’ve never liked We’ll Be Together – it’s just way too cheesy and sounds pretty half-hearted of a song. Like I said above, Why Should I Cry For You just plain bores me. I mean, it’s OK, but there’s not much to it. Besides those two, yeah, we have a solid group of songs.

Fortress Around Your Heart is my favorite and has always been my favorite song of his from the early years. It’s just an excellent song that shows the strength in Sting’s songwriting. Also songs like Fragile, All This Time, If I Ever Lose My Faith in You & Fields of Gold are major career highlights. Fragile is especially excellent. I really like the two new songs as well, both are strong compositions with This Cowboy Song being a welcome “fun” thing after the heaviness of Russians. Englishman in New York is another silly song and while that cheesy “heavy” drum break in the middle annoys me, for the most part the song is inoffensive to me. It doesn’t bother me, but I’m sure it bothers some people. Sting doesn’t get too political here, only bringing it out in Russians & They Dance Alone (I love that awesome drum bit at the end, played by Manu Katche I assume).

I think it’s time for Sting to release a stellar 2-disc “best of” since he has plenty of stuff to add in the years since 1994. Until that time, this is still the best way to go to get the best stuff he did in the 80’s and early 90’s. True, you’re going to miss some amazing songs that are only on his proper albums, but this is a great introduction to his solo music. I’d avoid getting the “best of Sting & the Police” CD as it’s a crime against humanity to force a few Police hits onto a CD of Sting’s solo stuff. Yes, I totally prefer the Police’s music to Sting solo, but this is a perfect starting place when diving into his solo music.

Rating: 92

I met a couple of my neighbors, Chris & Andrea, the other day; they live a few houses down from me.  We were all hanging out next door at Travis & Brooke’s enjoying the first Saturday of college football.  As T&B had just met them a week or two ago, we were all getting to know each other.  Eventually the topic of music came up (Brooke played them some bits of Protean Mean…I thought that was cool of her) and Travis asked Chris what kind of music he listened to.  Christ answered “I listen to everything”.

I’ve been pondering this question & answer for a few years, because it ALWAYS comes up when people talk about music.  I haven’t met anyone in the past 10-15 years that didn’t give that answer to the question of “what kind of music do you like/listen to?”.  That’s nothing against Chris & Andrea’s answer, because I give the same one.

It could have been earlier for all I know, but in my life I started hearing that answer to the “music” question back in the early 90’s.  Back then, in high school, people started to have eclectic tastes.  Or at least “I listen to rock, r&b and country”.  Most everyone I knew back then liked some rock, some r&b/rap and some country.  Some people even listened to other stuff (Jazz?  WTF is that?!?).  I’ve noticed that since the early 90’s everyone I’ve asked the “music” question to has answered the same.  The truth is we ALL listen to different kinds of music.  The overall music since the early-mid 90’s may not have been of a high quality, but people have definitely been expanding the type of stuff they listen to.  We all have.  I certainly have.

Whenever the question gets put to me, I usually answer, “I listen to *most* everything”, which is true because I don’t listen to everything and I’m not going to pretend that I do.  I don’t listen to opera, I don’t listen to folk much, I don’t listen to hip hop, I don’t listen to any Christian music, I don’t listen to New Age, I don’t listen to Broadway showtunes.  I avoid all Top 40 if I can help it.  There’s a lot I don’t listen to.  On the other hand, there’s a ton of stuff I do listen to.  I’m perfectly happy with a mix of Iron Maiden, Jimmy Buffett, Miles Davis, Bebel Gilberto, Willie Nelson, Zero 7, Stevie Wonder, Ffynnon, Mars Volta & Journey.  Hell, that would make me incredibly excited to hear all of that together.

So, my point is that we’re all eclectic and we all “listen to everything”.  It’s not that the answer is bad, it’s that the *question* is the wrong one.  Maybe we could start asking “what kinds of music do you listen to most?”  My answer is easy - Rock mostly, with Jazz & World coming after.  Yes, those are very broad categories.  “World Music” especially, since it can encompass pretty much anything not based in Western tradition.  Bossa Nova, Afro Pop, Conjunto, Tango, even Hawai’ian music is considered “world”.  For me “rock” is a very nebulous term anyway, and it encompasses a HUGE variety of music.  From my personal collection, things I consider “rock” are: Beatles, Maiden, Journey, Frank Zappa, Radiohead, David Garza, Jonathan Richman…and a million other bands fit in there too.

So the “what kind” question can work, but maybe an even better question - and one that I think would get the best answer the questioner is looking for - is “who are some of your favorite bands” or some variation thereof.  Even with me, the “rock-jazz-world” tag is incredibly nebulous.  Which bands, though?  Iron Maiden, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, David Garza, James Brown, The Beatles or many others depending on my mood.  I think asking about specific bands we’d all get a better representation of what that person listens to.

It’s a hard habit to break, because we’re so used to asking “what kind of music do you like?”.  We just have to re-frame the question to get the desired answer.  Because honestly, “I listen to everything” is an answer that everyone will give.  Ask better questions.

NP - a bunch of stuff on shuffle from iTunes…eclectic as always.  Currently on David Garza but I’ve been through: Sorcerer, Protean Mean, The Kinks, Jimmy Buffett, Rush, Tori Amos, Mike Keneally, Dwar.f, Zero 7, Swervedriver, Jonathan Richman…

Released: 1978
Tracks: Next to You; So Lonely; Roxanne; Hole in My Life; Peanuts; Can’t Stand Losing You; Truth Hits Everybody; Born in the 50’s; Be My Girl – Sally; Masoko Tanga
Best track: it’s hard to choose – Next to You, Can’t Stand Losing You, So Lonely, maybe even Roxanne
Tracks to skip: Peanuts, Born in the 50’s, Be My Girl – Sally

I think on paper this band would be unlikely to become popular – jazz & prog guys playing a mixture of reggae, punk & goofy rock stuff.  It doesn’t make sense (either today or in 1978)…but somehow it worked and found an audience.  A HUGE audience.  Musically these three guys (Stewart Copeland – Drums, Sting – Bass & Vocals, Andy Summers – Guitar) are absolutely fantastic, but they wouldn’t have gone anywhere if they didn’t have such superb songwriting ability.  Sting wrote nearly all of these songs by himself, with help from Summers on Be My Girl and Copeland on Peanuts.  Roxanne was the big single from this album that propelled them to stardom and Can’t Stand Losing You was a big hit as well, but you can’t neglect some of the other songs here.  Yes, those two songs still hold up, and even though you probably hear Roxanne 80 times on commercial radio every day in the US, it’s still a great song.  Next to You is such a frantic and fantastic opener to this album.  It’s really hard for me to pick a best song on this album because there’s so many.  Next to You starts it off with a punk attitude and a great chorus before heading into reggae for So Lonely.  Right off the bat the band shows how talented they are and how effortlessly they can move from genre to genre.  I really love these first four tracks here and Hole in My Life is no slouch either.  I mean, the album’s over and that’s the one that’s currently staying in my head.  Such a tremendous song.  Side 1 finishes off with one of the skippers, Peanuts.  It’s a really weak song and honestly has no business being on the same side as such great songs like Roxanne & So Lonely.

Thankfully the band sequenced side 2 to start off with another bang: Can’t Stand Losing You.  Another kick ass reggae song, the kind that the band did so well in their early years.  Of all of their singles, this is still one of the best ones they put out.  Great song.  Truth Hits Everybody is a solid song, though not particularly remarkable following Can’t Stand Losing You and all the great stuff on side 1.  After that…man, this album really heads downhill.  Born in the 50’s is a pretty stupid song without much substance and while Be My Girl – Sally shows off their silly side and features some cool guitar tone from Andy Summers, it’s still a very bad song in my eyes.  I get the joke, ha ha, she’s a blowup doll, but it’s just a weak song.  The album closes with something that would be a regular feature of Police albums – the “weird” track.  Masoko Tanga is not too bad of a track and the cool parts show the band stretching out a bit more.  I don’t believe Sting is singing in any recognized language on this.  Doesn’t sound like it to me.  On its own it’s a decent track, but as the ending of the debut album it’s certainly a head-scratcher.  Coming after Born in the 50’s and Be My Girl puts the song at a big disadvantage and ends the album on major down note.

Overall I like this album, because the good tracks are SO good that they are how you remember this album.  You don’t think about Be My Girl, you think about Can’t Stand Losing You or So Lonely.  Still, 7 out of 10 doesn’t make it an amazing album.  It’s a great start to their recorded career and we definitely get a sense from this album of how talented they were right out of the box.  We just don’t quite get the full package yet.

Rating: 83

Released: 2002
Tracks: Put it There; Sailor’s Progress; Savannah, Joe & the Rail; Another Stormy Day
Best track: Put it There or Another Stormy Day
Track to skip: Savannah, Joe & the Rail is quite a bit weaker than the others

Here we are, Don de Leaumont’s first CD.  Folk music is one of the few kinds that I really don’t listen to and that makes it infinitely harder to review.  Although Don is a metalhead at heart, the music he writes is decidedly NON metal and more influenced by Dylan, the Dead & Neil Young rather than Metallica, Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath.  I have to say though, that I can hear a slight bit of “metal” singing in his voice at times.  More glam metal, maybe some Paul Stanley in his softer moments, but it’s there if you know what you’re listening for.  I think Don’s voice is pretty good throughout this album.  He doesn’t have an amazing voice, but it’s good enough that you never really think about the quality of it.  His voice (good or bad) doesn’t get in the way of the songs.  There are a few spots here and there that he’s a bit too nasally, but it’s not a big deal.  His guitar playing is solid on here, but he doesn’t take any chances with it either.  I think for me that’s a lot of the problem I have with this album – it’s too safe musically.  The song structures are all pretty basic verses and choruses and while they all tell nice stories, it would be welcome to have some bridges in the music.  Maybe a change in key or feeling or something – I’d like to see more of that in his songwriting.

As for the songs themselves, for the most part everything’s solid.  Put it There wisely opens the album and is the only upbeat one of the bunch.  It’s one he still plays in his live shows and that longevity certainly makes sense.  It’s a good song that essentially describes what kind of person Don is; it’s a good “first song” of his recorded career.  Another Stormy Day is my other favorite of the album.  I’m not usually a fan of the “I’m a pathetic guy and only this certain girl can save my pathetic life” kind of song, but this one seems to resonate better with me.  Sailor’s Progress introduces us to Don’s fascination with water, which is a frequent topic in Don’s songwriting and we’ll definitely hear it more as I get into his other albums.  It’s a decent song, but ultimately forgettable.  I think the weakest song of the album is Savannah, Joe & the Rail.  It’s a good attempt at telling the story of these two lost souls who leave their lives behind and travel by rail across the country, but for me it ultimately falls flat in not only believability, but also in basic execution of the song.  The ending is just kind of “oh, they end up in Virginia” and that specific line of the song is the only point of this whole album where I feel there’s an acceptance of mediocrity and letting the song end on a sour note from a songwriting point of view.  But hell, 1 line in a song isn’t going to make me dislike an entire album, it’s just unfortunate that it appears in the weakest song here as well.

As I said earlier, I don’t listen to folk music.  The music part of this album is tight, but there’s nothing for me to latch on to as a musician and that makes me tend to be more critical of everything else.  So there’s my musician bias coming through.  I don’t dislike this album by any means and I think I might like it more than Don himself does.  It’s a solid, but not amazing, album.  I wish it had more upbeat songs.  It’s a good start, though.  (you can download it for free at Don’s site - http://donontheweb.com/don_musicarchive.htm)

Rating: 71