Cheevyjames’ Musical Roundhouse

Released: 1999
Tracks: What are you doing; Click; I just got here; Naked horse; Blue jean baby; The knife & drum; Paprika; Nine; Sunset over the paprika festival; Juzz; Chew; Show yourself; Don’t hurt our paprika!; Clumpy clumpy o; Oh angel; The Boing-Ah steroid; On a glandular level; The blumpy hop; Draconian blump; Rake Bannuh’s men; Odon; I love it here; Drumsticks; Oprah talks to teens; Hum; Rake’s men hurt their back; Piezo clambake; Medic!; Hang tough; An understanding of my self as other; Self ‘n’ Other; O, stamp collector; Show more of yourself; Lights out, eyes open; What I have done
Best Tracks: Click, Hum and On a Glandular Level
Tracks to skip: Naked Horse, Show Yourself, Odon

I really like this album, but boy it is difficult to actively listen to all the way through.  It’s pretty sparse instrumentally, but the music is so dense and there are so many ideas here that to solely concentrate on it for 75 minutes is difficult.  It takes a lot out of you.  Then again, if you have it on in the background while you’re doing other stuff (browsing, driving, housework, whatever) I think it’s more successful.  Listening to it in small chunks, or mixed in with other music also works too.  75 minutes of it is hard to get through, though.

This was Keneally’s first album for his new label, Exowax, and for it he decided to go all out and make the instrumental album he envisioned when he was 12.  A couple of the songs have “vocals”, but there aren’t any lyrics here, just vocalizations.  Other than that, yeah, it’s all instrumental and Mike played everything by himself.  The album is beautifully recorded and features loads of cool playing.  Nearly all of the compositions are interesting in some way or another.  The only ones that I didn’t care for in a critical sense are the 3 listed as “skippers”.  It’s not really a big deal, though.  A nice chunk of these songs are played live by Keneally’s band and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the tracks that work best in a live setting are the best ones here too: Click and Hum.  Both are very cool compositions and rank up there with some of the best stuff he’s composed.  I also mentioned On a Glandular Level – it’s really short (half a minute), but the guitar part is exceptionally cool.  Other individual stuff I love includes the guitar solo on Knife and Drum (very Satriani-esque), the great melodies on Paprika & Oh Angel, the bass work on Chew.  I Love it Here is a cool track that starts off really funky before moving into a lot of different and really interesting areas.

Keneally performed a live version of this album with the Metropole Orchestra in Holland and I’ve heard a few of those tracks and it’s *excellent*.  I hope he releases the full thing one day – maybe it could happen this year as it’s the 10th anniversary of this album?  As I mentioned up there, Nonkertompf is difficult to listen to actively all at once.  It’s a really good album, but it’s not an easy listen.  Still, there’s a ton of great music here and if you already like Mike Keneally’s music then you should definitely get this.  I’d recommend all of the other albums first, but that’s not to say you should leave this off your list.  It was his first truly experimental work and definitely an important one in his catalog.

Rating: 84

Released: 1999
Tracks: Making Love to Jewel; Nonkertalk; Hiding in Front of You; Nonkertalk; Buzzbomb Creeper; Nonkertalk; A Little Break; Nonkertalk; Clumpy Clumpy Banjo
Best track: Buzzbomb Creeper
Track to skip: if you have to, A Little Break

The interviews are really the important part here.  They’re a great look into the history of this album and Mike’s thoughts on the songs.  You get a better appreciation for the Nonkertompf songs after hearing him talk at length about them and the album as a whole.  It was very useful and informative for me.  I also like that there are basic tracks from the album proper played underneath, and the guys talk about things you may not have noticed in the mix.  As I mentioned above, “A Little Break” would normally constitute a skippable track, but it’s really just a “break” between those two interview segments.  In the context of the disc it’s a funny track that has Scott and Mike making random vocal sounds for 22 seconds before continuing on with the interview.  In terms of putting it on my iPod…yeah, I won’t worry about importing it; it doesn’t really work in isolation.  I think this disc is a great companion to the Nonkertompf album and it helped me understand it better.  As a stand alone disc I rarely listen to it all the way through, but it’s good to own.

Rating: 82

Released: 1985
Tracks: Cheeseburger In Paradise; He Went to Paris; Fins; Son of a Son of a Sailor; A Pirate Looks at Forty; Margaritaville; Come Monday; Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes; Why Don’t We Get Drunk; Pencil Thin Mustache; Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit; Boat Drinks; Volcano
Best track: it might be He Went to Paris, but they’re all great
Track to skip: none at all

So that brings us to this album, without question his most popular.  It’s a nice 43 minute overview of his best material from his best decade of music.  Yeah, there are a lot of songs that one could argue should be here, but there’s nothing you can take away.  When this came out, Come Monday was his only true “hit” (thus the album title), but that’s only when you’re talking about music charts.  By ’85 all of these songs were classics where his fanbase was concerned…and they’ve only grown larger in the past 20+ years.  Listening to this even now, I absolutely love these songs.  I wish I could write songs this engaging.

As for the songs, this is a stellar Greatest Hits album.  You get the upbeat, fun and danceable songs (Cheeseburger, Fins, Margaritaville, Volcano, etc) and also the quality slower contemplative material (He Went to Paris, Pirate Looks at Forty, Come Monday).  I really love all of these songs.  Well, yeah, stuff like Cheeseburger in Paradise hasn’t aged too well, but it’s still a lot of fun.  Even though I’ve heard all of these songs a million times, they’re still great to hear.  No way do I get tired of Changes in Latitudes or He Went to Paris.  They’re great songs.

It is a bit interesting that this contains no material from Buffett’s 80’s output.  I understand it though, because this is the stuff that most people want to hear and the 70’s featured his best material.  This album flows together really well too.  The slow songs are well-placed here and they’re not overwhelming in their number.  The older I get, the more I connect with the slow ones and I think maybe they hold up the best.  Eh, no matter – I love all of these songs.  For most people, this is the only Buffett they’ll ever need.  For me, however, I think his box set Boats Beaches Bars Ballads is a better collection than this.  I’ll get to that one soon enough.  If you just want 1 Jimmy Buffett CD, go for this one.  If you don’t mind shelling out the extra cash, head for the box since all of these songs are there and it’s an even better representation of the man and his songwriting.  As this album stands though, it’s a great collection.  Solid songwriting all of the way through and a hell of a lot of fun.

Rating: 95

Released: 1983
Tracks: Stars on the Water; I Used to Have Money One Time; Livin’ It Up; California Promises; One Particular Harbour; Why You Wanna Hurt My Heart?; Honey Do; We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About; Twelve Volt Man; Brown Eyed Girl; Distantly in Love
Best track: One Particular Harbour
Tracks to skip: I Used to Have Money One Time, Honey Do

Six of these songs are found on the box set and truthfully those are the best tracks on here – Stars on the Water, California Promises, One Particular Harbour, Twelve Volt Man, Brown Eyed Girl & Distantly in Love.  Of the remaining 5, I really don’t care for I Used to Have Money.  It’s typical of Jimmy trying to be too clever in his songwriting, which he’s known to do from time to time.  Honey Do is another example of this and while it’s a better song, on the whole it’s forgettable.  Livin’ It Up I’m kind of torn on.  On one hand, it has HORRIBLE 80’s synth sounds and it sounds extremely out of place on *any* Jimmy Buffett album.  On the other hand, it’s catchy and I like hearing it.  None of the other songs on this album sound like it, so it really sticks out.  I think he was trying to push it as a single, but it failed miserably.  The tune would probably be better if he played it straight.  Why You Wanna Hurt My Heart is a decent tune and I don’t mind it.  The find of the album for me is We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About.  Holy crap that’s a long title.  It’s one of the more popular tracks from this album and it’s a solid song.  It’s a lot of fun, certainly.

For the ones I was familiar with from the box set, I think they’re all great.  Stars on the Water gains new importance as the album opener and I gained a new appreciation for Distantly in Love hearing in its proper closing spot.  It’s a great song with a simple arrangement and some excellent mandolin playing.   Both this and Twelve Volt Man are the ballad highlights from the album.  Twelve Volt Man is a great song and one I always love to listen to.  Buffett’s version of the Van Morrison tune Brown Eyed Girl is surprisingly good (to me anyway, as I’m not a fan of Morrison’s work) and one of the liveliest tunes he’s recorded.  I love how he “Buffett-ized” the arrangement.  The highlight of the album is definitely the title track.  It’s a great song and I never get tired of hearing it.  It goes back and forth between great grooves and contemplative slow parts so that it always keeps you on your toes.  The steel drum/keyboard section in the middle is one of my favorite things he’s ever done; pure shake-your-ass fun.

All in all I like the album.  It’s definitely a step down from the earlier albums, but there’s no denying that most of it is a lot of fun.  It’s true that you can get the best songs from the box set, but it’s always good to hear songs in their proper place and not buried somewhere on disc four.  If you’ve made it through Buffett’s 70’s albums, consider heading for this one too.

Rating: 85

Recorded: 1994
Tracks: Workin’; To Give; Vagrant; Waterfall; Naked and So…; Simple Way
Best tracks: Waterfall > Naked and So… > Simple Way
Track to skip: none

First off, this is a great soundboard recording – everything sounds perfect.  Workin’ starts the set off and it’s the weakest of the bunch.  I’ve come to appreciate it over the years, and the stuff near the end is really cool, but on the whole it’s not my favorite song they wrote.  To Give is much better, but they really get going on Vagrant.  An excellent live version of this opening track off the Naked and So… CD (first version, anyway).  Vagrant was always one of my favorite songs of theirs and the live versions always kicked it up several notches.  From a live performance stand point, I love how the drums and bass immediately launch into this following To Give while Jason talks to the crowd.  I’ve always liked it when bands don’t take a couple of minutes in between songs while the singer blabs on about nothing.  This reminds me of the first Flat Mass show I saw – they played for 45 minutes and there were only 2 breaks in the songs.  They didn’t only play 3 songs that night, but they wove them together so seamlessly that it just seemed that way.  Anyway, it’s done with great effect on Vagrant and from this point forward this show is just in the stratosphere.

Waterfall is extended from the studio version and it really helps the song out.  It’s interesting to hear this early version of the track without lyrics.  It’s an excellent song that leads into Naked and So… (not on the album of the same name) which is by far one of FM’s cooler tracks.  They really extend this one and it features some incredible improvisation from the band.  They were so telepathic in their playing, it’s really like they were one singular brain on stage.  The set closer, Simple Way…well, hell, even better than Naked & Waterfall.  Jason Weisenburg’s use of the delay pedal on this is inspired and very few guitarists can keep up this level of speed and accuracy with a delay going.  From the first note on, this song is slung into action and tight as hell all the way through, until they come to the last note and stop on a dime.  These guys do not mess around here.  It’s intense and almost chaotic, but they effortlessly hold everything together.  I’d equate it to a roller coaster in the dark, with a one-note stop.

As good as this show is, it still doesn’t compare with a few that I saw live which were just transcendent.  As far as live shows committed to tape, this one is my favorite.  It’s a perfect representation of what this band was about live.

Rating: 95

Recorded: 1993
Tracks: Intro; When the Time Comes; Clear as the Wind; About You; Once Upon; Cringe; Try So Hard; El Du Alami
Best track: Cringe
Track to skip: none

The show is just over 45 minutes and they managed to cram a lot in.  There are some fantastic improvisations and jams here.  I love the extended version of El Du Alami on this show.  After the song proper the four of them go off into a very cool spacey area.  The show intro is a great lead-in for everything and you can hear the guys feeling each other out and getting comfortable in the space.  It’s a great way to set up When the Time Comes, an excellent version of this song.  I think Cringe is my favorite of this set, it’s very powerful and Jeff Curnutt sounds fantastic on it.  Honestly, he’s just ferocious throughout this whole show.  Great version of Clear as the Wind on here and I love that transition from About You>Once Upon as well.

I listen to Flat Mass so much that sometimes it’s easy to forget just how amazing of a live band they were.  I almost take it for granted sometimes.  They really were one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen, and certainly the best “indie” band I’ve seen live.  What they could do with three people (four in the case of this show) was really impressive and they sound like a much bigger band than just three members.  Great show and the band were really focused.  I love the addition of Strausburg’s Alto Sax.

Rating: 93

(this is a new song I wrote this past Saturday about someone I met earlier that day. Not exactly a positive meeting, but I felt like she needed a song about her. No music or melody yet, no revisions either)

Did I hear you say there would be a civil war,
That there would be a division in my nation?
A little bird told you “my people” would defect
And finally separate from the righteousness of Cascadia

Or, as the prophet said, he will lead as astray
We will repeat history to arrive at a nuclear war
Maybe you misheard and he will only be murdered,
Shot down once again at the hands of “my people”

You spoke of the greatness of this nation,
But you fail to trust the intelligence of its people
You refuse to believe we can cast away
And defeat the sins of previous generations

Clearly your superior nation has taught you
To think of our friends to the South as “wetbacks”
You did not stop there
More crap flowed from your lips
You spoke ill of Parisians
And your countrymen to the East who share their language

But wait, there was more - more prejudice came from you
All music, save one, helped the Earth & made things grow
Though, when heavy metal is played, new life will be no more
It alone will cause the wine to sour

There was certainly more said,
But I honestly tuned you out
My countrymen, my people, have already proven you wrong

No music is evil & none causes destruction of the Earth
Nor will this country descend into civil war
I hope you will stop following these false leaders,
Reclaim your critical thinking & fulfill your humanly promise